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“But wait wouldn’t that put him in danger? Even if he’s not the one in there, the traitor’s planning to kill him!”
“Yeah Ann’s right. Wouldn’t killing his shadow have the same effect as just killing him?!” Ryuji exclaimed.
“True,” Morgana began. “But only if it actually dies.” And he smiled with that wicked cat grin.
The plan was incredibly risky, but it only filled Ren with that much more adrenaline. That was perhaps his fatal flaw, getting high on the thrill of danger, and now he was being denied even being in the room with the danger. Well, not exactly.
The Phantom Thieves knew they were going to be double crossed, and Akechi was planning to do away with their leader. There were only two ways out of it: somehow talk Akechi out of it, or have him kill a fake. But Akechi was smart, and knew Ren too closely to fall for a fake. He’d know the moment he walked into that room if it wasn’t the real Ren there. The idea to use a cognitive version of Ren came up since it was likely there would be one there. But Sae only saw him as a feeble criminal who would cower under the might of a prosecutor. Such an image of the leader of the Phantom Thieves would be found out right away by someone like Akechi.
There was another problem. They couldn’t just avoid the arrest for several reasons. Having him labeled as “on the loose'' would be the worst case scenario. They also needed Ren there to get interrogated so they could get Sae Nijima on their side. Successful heart change or not, they had to break through to her.
The plan they came up with was insane. But it all rode on if Ren could convince Sae that there was a bigger enemy. He would need to change her heart the old fashioned way. And he’d have to do so without the strength of his rebellious spirit nestled deep down. It had a different job.
~~~
Things were going according to plan, which wasn’t the same as things going well, but they anticipated that. Ryuji and Yusuke came back with the briefcase they prepared ahead of time.
“This deal we made was a great experience for me.”
“Yeah, sure it was Akechi.”
Despite the bullshit coming out of his mouth, Ren couldn’t deny his bond with the detective. He only felt a tiny bit regretful for how they were about to absolutely out-play him. Ren had to remind himself that Akechi was most likely planning to shoot him in a few hours.
“Huh?! Enemy readings! When did they…?!”
It was go time.
The key here was going to be timing. The police outside didn’t really understand where they were. But as soon as Joker got far enough from the casino proper, his clothes would change. His spirit of rebellion would no longer be physically represented, wrapped around him. Akechi would surely be watching his arrest and he would see every detail. This had to be seamless. The moment his clothes changed, but before he was pulled out of the metaverse, he had to separate from Arsene.
None of them really knew what it would do having their persona turn back into a shadow. Having a persona made them immune to a lot of manipulation. They couldn’t form palaces obviously so they were immune to their desires spiraling out of control. Shadows were also relatively easily swayed which in turn can change a person. It’s one reason the changes of heart worked so well. Persona users were immune to such manipulation.
Having a shadow on the other hand was dangerous. They could easily run wild should the original lose themselves. They were weaker too. And if a shadow was murdered, the real world counterpart would suffer a mental shutdown. And there was an assassin on the loose killing shadows in this very palace.
Shadows, aspects of the self hidden deep down. Once you harness all that you are, accepting the hidden self, it becomes power, a persona. Ren was special. His powers as the wild card allowed him to hold several aspects of self within multiple personas and evolve as he fused them. But, he still only had one shadow. He had said farewell to it early on, but even after fusing him, he could always feel that part of himself deep within.
While laying low, he went to Mementos alone. He went up to the cell door he knew so well.
“I need a favor.”
Igor only chuckled quietly to himself while Ren and the twins fiddled with the compendium. They flipped all the way back to the beginning and found it, Arsene.
“Why do you want that one? Its power is weak compared to what you have now.” Caroline asked as she flipped the pages on her clipboard.
“Could it be because that one is yours?” Justine asked softly. Ren nodded.
“I have a plan.”
“This plan is reckless. I don’t see how it’s useful for your rehabilitation.”
“You need a prisoner alive to rehabilitate him right?” The twins went quiet after that and took his money. He felt a power move from his core to the forefront of his mind. Perfect, now he just had to register the others and delete them. The twins watched with confusion as he left back into Mementos.
There were no shadows up here, it was the perfect spot for a little conversation. Ren put a hand on his mask and lightly pulled on the magnetic connection it seemed to have on his face.
“Arsene.”
The mask burst into a hot blue flame that flushed over his whole body before forming into Arsene in front of him. A deep laugh echoed in the back of his skull.
“Arsene…wanna fuck over Akechi?”
The creepy mask Arsene had for a face smiled wickedly and that laugh in his head grew louder.
~~~
It was happening. He was in handcuffs. He was being dragged away. He knew where the police’s entry point had been. He just needed to wait, wait… a blue flame washed quickly over him, taking his phantom thief attire with it. NOW.
Ren remembered Arsene’s advice. To get rid of him he’d have to break the contract. Abandon his will of rebellion- which was a hard thing to do when this whole plan was a part of said rebellion. He pictured his cell in the Velvet Room, those cold bars, and the chain around his ankle. He imagined it weighing him down, down, until his whole body went limp and lifeless. Any sense of power in his body left him and he felt the same as when he had first entered Kamoshida’s palace. He didn’t even have the energy to crack a smile.
~~~
Arsene-no Ren’s shadow opened his eyes in the underground interrogation room. He immediately didn’t love the feeling of being exposed in someone else’s palace. Well not that she could tell he was even here. Or would care after her defeat at the hands of his thieves. Sae’s treasure of course hadn’t been taken or he wouldn’t be here, but maybe her shadow’s defeat would be enough to change her.
He could leave if he wanted. Gather enough twisted desires of power, create his own palace, yes that sounded fun. What form would it take, and what effect would it have on Ren? He could imagine the cafe, the secret base of the Phantom Thieves, as a true thieves' den full of stolen treasure. A part of Ren did indeed see it that way.
But, no. This plan his thieves had come up with was more interesting than any palace could ever be.
He sat down in the chair and practiced his best Ren impression. Which was not hard, he was Ren. Ren wouldn’t be surprised by Akechi’s sudden appearance. Of course he had expected such a bitter betrayal. He laughed at the memory of Ren realizing Akechi was full of shit due to his slip up about pancakes. Maybe Akechi would have ended up a softie had he not been born with such a lot in life. Though that hardship shaped him into the man Ren and he liked so much. The little game of back and forth between them was part of the charm in their bond.
No, Ren would sit straight up and face his executioner head on. He’d take a crack at that overinflated ego, poke fun at his title of Detective Prince, remind him that his artificial fame could never live up to Naoto Shirogane.
He was so looking forward to this performance.
Oh wait, there was one more issue. Shadow’s have bright yellow eyes. If Akechi realized the Ren in front of him was just his shadow, he wouldn’t stop until the shadow disintegrated. No matter, disguise and deception were well within his skillset. There was also the issue of the beating his counterpart was receiving.
Against all instincts as a shadow, he dropped his “disguise” and regressed to his true form matching the battered form of his counterpart. Damn they had really done a number on him. But it was fine. He’d get back at them in due time. He could be patient until the time came to reunite.
~~~
Either Ren severely underestimated what it meant to lose his persona, or the drugs they gave him were way stronger than what they should be giving a high schooler. He could barely focus on what Sae was saying let alone the mess of a story he was telling her. No wonder she didn’t really believe him.
But in the end, he got through. At least he thought so. He had planted the idea of a true culprit and hopefully convinced her to show him the phone.
Sae left, and a few moments later…Akechi stepped into the interrogation room with a guard. The guard only lasted a few seconds. The guard was of course only a cognitive being, but luckily he didn’t fade away immediately.
“I owe you for all of this…thanks.”
“I assume you didn’t come here to bust me out,” Shadow Ren spat back, trying to feign surprise with enough snark.
Akechi only scoffed. “That’s right. You and your little friends were vital to our plan. And now, it will be completed. Your popularity truly was quite stunning. That just made using you all the more worthwhile…”
The advantage of being a shadow was knowing exactly what you wanted.
“Akechi…you’re the one being used.”
And he wanted to save the man who was about to kill him.
“Don’t even try it. By now you must have pieced it all together. Pleading for your life by trying to sway me won’t work. Case closed. This is how your “justice” ends.”
He wanted this man who had a gun pressed against his head.
Oh how he was holding down a wicked laughter. Akechi had no idea he was in the metaverse. The things a shadow could do to him in the time it’d take him to realize where he was and summon his persona. Maybe he’d even unleash that aspect of himself he hid deep down. What glorious revenge it would be to expose the truth. But it would be oh so much sweeter to do so at his counterpart’s side where he could fight that bit of him, persona to persona. A clash of true identities awaited them, and he wasn’t about to miss that.
Akechi’s expression twisted as he grinned and prepared to shoot.
Shadow Ren had just one more thing to say to get under his skin. He sighed then opened his eyes back up and gave Akechi the kindest, saddest glance he could and spoke just above a breathy whisper.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Akechi’s smile dropped. His eyes widened as he pulled the trigger. His hand shook only for a second, not in shock or disbelief at what he had done, but in anger at Ren’s words.
The bullet had of course been burned up and the blood flowing down his face was a very convincing illusion accompanied by a real, but nowhere near lethal wound. After all, unless they were weak to guns, a single bullet would do little against a shadow at full health. And Joker had been very particular in that last fight against Shadow Sae.
He let his head slam against the table as the crimson blood poured down his face. Completely unblinking, easy work for a master of disguise.
Akechi quickly recomposed himself and placed the gun in his hand. Right, this was going to be framed as a suicide. Akechi turned to leave the room, but paused in the doorway.
“You couldn’t have saved me. No one can save me now. But that’s fine. I’ll decide my own path and it doesn’t need to be headed towards salvation.”
Maybe deep down he knew Ren could still hear him. His footsteps outside finally disappeared and Shadow Ren picked his head up, rubbing at the wound and casting a quick dia over it.
“Goro Akechi…”
~~~
The first thing Ren did after being saved by Sae and explaining everything to her and Sojiro was to run back into her palace. The feeling of weakness and emptiness in his brain was becoming unbearable. As soon as he entered, a deep familiar laugh, although with less reverb, greeted him. He turned towards the sound to see a perfect copy of himself, albeit with shining yellow eyes and blood stains like dried tears on his face.
“Mission accomplished, I take it?” Ren asked the figure.
“Very much so. It was quite fun to toy with him while he thought he was killing you.”
“I figured you’d enjoy it.” Ren smiled. “Thank you, I really mean it. I’d be dead without you. Though I guess you are me, huh?”
“Those are the magic words.” The shadow’s smile turned from evil to light hearted and he spoke, “I am thou, thou art I.”