Chapter Text
"-and that is when I, an utter disgrace to the world, shall rule over him!"
The group was still shocked into silence, Yusuke, ever thoughtful and strange, broke the silence first.
"What a warped thought, it's almost pitiable."
Ren adjusted his mask; the glasses had given him habits, it seemed.
"You want Masayoshi Shido to attain the height of power, to hold everything he ever dreamed in his hands, and then tear it all away by drowning his career in a scandal?"
Goro smiled; "Yes, exactly! And none of you will stand in my way!"
Ren shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I'm game, do your thing Goro."
This... surprised him.
"What."
Ren grinned, stalking his way to a nearby wall to lean against it.
"I have no reason to stand in your way, it sounds like a great plan. You'll go down with him, too. It saves us all the trouble of stealing his heart."
Goro should have felt elated, but instead, he was livid.
"How dare you insult my intelligence, you're just going to do it while I'm not looking!"
Ren frowned.
"No, I've decided we're in too deep, you just happened to give us an easy out, right Mona?"
Morgana perked up at the call of his name.
"Are you referring to the escalation of the strength in the shadows we face?"
Ren nodded.
"Yeah."
Futaba piped up next.
"Considering the general power levels of our enemies lately, we should all be dead, everybody is running on fumes, even Crow."
He had tried not to make the limp obvious, but there was no use hiding it now, he lowered himself gingerly to the floor.
"Yes, I must admit, the shadows here are far more powerful than in madarame or Okumuras' palaces."
Ryuji tilted his head.
"Maybe it has to do with how much they affect everybody around them?"
Ren raised his eyebrows, as if he were realizing something. "How do you mean?"
"Remember when we started out? Mona could heal and fight, but just barely, same as me, I was just a washed up track guy back then. When Panther joined, she was a kinda well known model, and she had Shiho, so she started out a little stronger than us."
He gained intensity and conviction as he spoke.
"Queen's our student council prez, Noir's an heiress, Oracle's an international hacker, and Joker changed all our lives, and he has the strongest personas outta all of us."
Goro scowled, "And me?"
Ryuji crossed his arms, smirking.
"You've probably had your power longer than any of us, and it only gets stronger with experience and conflict-"
Makoto chimed in.
"Even if you started out weaker than Skull and Mona, you've probably been fighting shadows for years, it's only natural that you would grow into your power over time."
Goro nodded, "Yeah," he coughed, dry and quiet, "pretty much."
Ann wrung her hands, fury in her eyes.
"Even if we're beaten down now, there's nothing stopping all of us from training here, or in mementos, until we're ready to fight Shido. You could come with us, Crow, do you have any idea what a change of heart will do to Shido?"
Goros' eyes widened, he hadn't really considered, or even focused on the change of heart beyond the literal steps required to enact it, and the factual result, a convicted criminal.
Ryuji nudged Morgana, "C'mon Mona, you love explainin' stuff, tell it to him like you did with us."
Morgana smiled, and walked forward, towards Goro.
"A palace is a physical manifestation of the rulers' distorted desires, and the core of that world, their palace, is their treasure. When you steal someones' treasure, their palace will collapse, and their distorted desires will vanish."
"So, in other words," Ren continued, "if we steal Kamoshidas'-"
Yusuke was next to speak, "-Or Madarames'-"
Makoto, "Or Kaneshiros'-"
Haru, "Or Fathers'-"
Ryuji, "Or Shidos' treasure-"
Goro spoke, his voice wavering.
"He'll become an honest man."
Morgana, Ren, and Ryuji shared a cheeky grin, and Morgana picked up where they had left off.
"His distorted desires will vanish, but his crimes will remain, and the guilt of having commited those crimes would force him to confess. Did you ever see how Madarame Cried?"
Goro had, in fact, seen it.
"I have, and all I have ever wanted was to make Masayoshi Shido suffer, make him suffer for what he did to my mother and me."
He held out a hand to Ann, and she pulled him up.
"It's what I decided when I had a chance to kill Kamoshida, there are worse fates than what your blind passionate fury can dream up. A change of heart is just what everyone needs to happen."