"And I'm the one you can never trust, cause wounds are ways to reveal us." Time changes people. Experiences change people. The same can be said for Akira Kurusu, the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Given the right trigger, even the most virtuous of heroes can wander down the darkest of paths. Based around a song called "Breakdown" by Seether. It gets me in all the emotions. WARNING: This is a dark story.

• Akeshu | ongoing | LGBTQ+ • Rens Freunde wollten ihn nach Hause bringen. Alles war gut, das Chaos war vorbei, doch auf dem Weg zum Meer überschlagen sich die Ereignisse. Ren kommt zurück in den Velvet Room, doch seine Wahrnehmung ist durcheinander geraten. Nichts ist wie es scheint. Gibt es vielleicht doch eine Lösung für das Überleben aller?

Akira decides to stay at Yongen-Jaya with Sojiro, and is now a third year since it's already been some months, and now the bad events have caught up to him, causing a palace to develop. Akechi's alive, but identified as MIA or Missing In Action since he isn't dead. Will they manage to get their leader back?

The leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Joker, AKA, Ren Amamiya, is not in a good mood. It's been a year after the events that happened in Persona 5, and trouble has struck. Ren's parents have been arguing, and now they are getting a divorce. To find his own peace, Ren decides to return to Cafe Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya. But things seem to get worse, as he gets in arguments and finally decides to be a shut-in. The Phantom Thieves try to reach out to him, but nothing seems to be able to get to Ren. With a little bit of help, the group of teens manage to access the Metaverse that has reformed once again. And to their surprise, they discover a palace. A palace who the ruler is none other than Ren Amamiya himself. I don't own Persona 5 or any of its characters. Artwork displayed is not mine unless otherwise stated. (In this A.U, the events of Persona 5 Strikers/Scramble never occured. This is because I started writing this before it was even released, and I don't want to go back and rewrite this whole story. Besides, then it would contain spoilers from the sequel, and I don't want problems with that.)

Goro Akechi is dead. Shot by his cognitive self. That is until he is given a second chance at life to follow through with his own rehabilitation, but only if he can gain the forgiveness of those he has wronged, truthfully or through more deception. -Spoilers for Persona 5 (not royal) -Akechi X Akira (protagonist)

I thirst for vengeance. And by now, you know me well: Even if I have to die a thousand times over, I will do whatever it takes to get it.

You just managed to save Akechi from an impending doom inside Shido's Palace. Now, out of worry and care for Crow, you convince Sojiro to take him in. But living with the troubled detective isn't that easy...

"I joined recently, and even now I can't tell why you let me join you" Akechi stuttered slightly. "You're a part of the phantom thieves because I want you to be. I rather enjoy having you around. I am not the ace detective, but I can read you when you come to me. You're touch-starved" Akira explained.

Today was the day of all days. Valentine's Day. And after everything Ren and I had been through: countless Palaces and escaping death at every turn, it was our first holiday to spend together. ....but what could I possibly do to surprise him?

For anyone who has read my Dark Sun fanfic, there is a ton of thought and research that went into the story to make it connect in ways that weren't canon to Persona 5 and Royal. I worked consistently on trying to make new connections that seemed canon enough to bring Dark Sun to life. This is some extra content of some of the different ideas, facts, and overall elements in the story that didn't make the cut :)