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Secret Märchen Garden

Summary:

Akira thought Akechi died giving his life for the Phantom Thieves. He was dead wrong when he suddenly stumbles upon a young man who looks remotely similar to the detective. Akira is able to confirm the man’s identity if only because the person the man was running away from was one of Shido’s associates. Akira quickly learns that before Shido had his heart stolen, he wrote a memo explaining that if something were to happen to him that his associates were allowed to do whatever they please with his son if found alive. Akechi knows the names and identities of these people but refuses to expose them. After talking with the Phantom Thieves, the suggestion of going into Akechi’s Palace to change his heart comes to mind despite the fact that they don’t have time to help Akechi and explore Mementos. Akira makes the decision that they will attempt to reform Akechi in three days before prioritizing Mementos. Morgana is far from thrilled thinking that Akechi is not worth saving but Akira insists that this will make Sae’s life way easier. Of course, Akira and the gang did not expect the type of palace Akechi has as well as the inner turmoil that Akechi is currently suffering from...

Notes:

This will probably be the only Persona 5 fic that I will do that is multi-chaptered. Everyone has his or her own headcanon on what should have happened or could have happened to Akechi. For me, I wanted to play with my imagination and do this. Enjoy! FYI, Märchen means fairy tale in German.

Chapter 1: Sit There Child. Nothing Will Change

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Nothing went well in Goro Akechi's life. From the moment he was born to the moment now, he has been a plaything to society. From his father to the adults that used and abused him, there wasn't anyone he could trust. They pushed and pulled on him until he was no longer of any use to them. Even retreating to the back of his mind did not help much.

When your palace was so bad that you had no control of what happened in it, you know you're a messed up individual. Akechi should have had control of the cognition and shadows within. That was not the case. His father…Masayoshi Shido…even in his mind he had absolute control of his life. That was why the worse possible scenario was occurring now.

The Phantom Thieves had wanted to reform his heart. Akechi did not want anyone near his heart even if it was to fix the psychological issues he suffered. They had helped a friend before using this method and they were willing to do it again. The Phantom Thieves had no idea what they were getting themselves into. The palace maze was already hard enough to venture in as it was. Fighting Shido again just seemed redundant to them, but this one wasn't the same as the one that they fought in Shido's Palace. No, he was bigger, stronger and scarier. Their attacks did no damage. He was untouchable…like a God.

Cognitive Shido made quick work of the Phantom Thieves. He remained as impatient as Akechi remembered him to be. Shido chose not to kill the thieves yet. He just needed them to lie on the floor defeated before he decided to finish them off. The one he wanted to kill first was the leader. Akira Kurusu had been the one to interfere with his plans the most. He wanted him gone, but first…

"Do you see now? This is the difference in power between a God and a man. You all have the audacity to attack a living God."

Cognitive Shido was as arrogant as ever. If his ego wasn't bad in his own palace, how Akechi interpreted him was even worse.

"You won't have that much time to live. Think of your final words as I deal with this incompetent son of mine."

Akechi's heart started to race and not in the good way. A part of him hoped the cognitive version of the politician would ignore him but that was impossible. From the very beginning, he was being used as a weapon against the Phantom Thieves. Puppet strings were attached to multiple parts of his body that Shido manipulated on the sidelines. When he got bored, he would unleash an attack that crippled the party. If the Phantom Thieves went out of their way to hurt Akechi, they wouldn't have been in this terrible state now. He was being used as a shield preventing them from doing any real damage without killing the detective. If Akechi died, then the whole journey into his palace would have all been for naught. Akechi wished they never had this plan in the first place because they were going to die for it.

"You were a fool to believe that help would come." Shido spoke. His voice boomed within the palace. "In the end, your pathetic cries for help will be the undoing of you and those criminals."

Akechi wanted to speak up but he couldn't. The puppet strings did not prevent him from speaking by no means, but he couldn't find his voice. His body trembled. Akechi refused to believe he was scared of the cognitive version of his father. Yet here he was doing his best not to look the God Shido in the eye.

"Before I kill you, you need to be taught a lesson on why you don't rebel against your father."

The detective made the mistake of looking at his father before turning away again. Shido wasn't looking at Akechi as much as the clothes he was wearing.

For whatever reason, Shido managed to control what Akechi wore in his own palace. Of all the things he could have worn, Shido made sure to force him to wear the most degrading clothes imaginable in front of the Phantom Thieves. The purpose was to remind Akechi of his place in life as well as to show the thieves of one of the terrible things he has been through. The costume was called a bedlah. Crossdressing was the last thing Akechi wanted to be reminded of in his past especially when it concerned the adults that took advantage of him. A white fitted top that made a certain part of his chest very visible, a hip belt and bottoms that barely covered his legs up. Should the sash be removed, he would be exposed for everyone to see.

Everyone included the Phantom Thieves, his father, the audience watching in anticipation and a Shadow version of himself. The Shadow had been forced to watch in the crowd without any way to interfere with the battle. At a time like this, Akechi wished his Shadow would actually move. Their eyes did in fact meet causing Akechi's head to spin suddenly.

"You only have two options." Shido spoke despite the sudden headache that came to him. "You either die here with your friends or you accept your fate." Shido chuckled as he yanked on the puppet strings. Akechi yelped suddenly being raised in the air. The worse part was that Shido was willing to move one of his fingers to spread his legs to get his point across. The detective trembled causing the God to chuckle. "You knew from the beginning that there was no escape. If I were to go down, you would come down with me. You cannot expect to die as a way to escape your fate."

"That's…" Akechi tried to speak but couldn't find the strength within himself to speak up.

"You are my puppet for me to use and toss away when I see fit. If I cannot use you, my associates will. You will never escape me."

The words stung. Akechi wanted to die when given the chance in Shido's Palace. God apparently hated him seeing as how he was still alive to be placed in this situation. Akechi weakly tried to move his body knowing full well nothing would change. He looked on toward the Phantom Thieves who did not have the strength to get back up. Only Akira was trying to get back on his feet.

"Stay down Akira-kun!" Akechi shouted ignoring his father. "Please! Just stay down!"

Akira was a stubborn mule. He refused to leave a friend in dire need. His eyes were locked onto Shido and Akechi. The God was far from amused.

"Tch. You and that Devil really don't know when to quit." Shido hissed. "Snakes trying to tempt my son to end up as wicked as you. He was obedient before you came along."

"Akechi is not your plaything…" Akira growled weakly. His legs were shaking and he was at wits end, but he sure as hell wasn't going to give up on the detective. "Akechi is his own person…and you will not tell him what he isn't."

"Insolence!"

Akechi could only watch in horror as Shido used another Almighty move to knock Akira back to the ground. How many more of those attacks could Akira take? At this rate, he really would die!

"Stop it!" Akechi shouted before he could stop himself. "Don't kill them!"

God Shido was far from amused. It only took a flick of the finger to force his legs to spread. Akechi gazed in horror at the implication and shut his mouth immediately.

"You must really want to be put in your place. Whatever, you need to remember your standing and why you do not defy God."

Akechi shut his eyes tightly. It really was hopeless.

"So that's it? You're just going to sit there and give up?"

Akechi was confused by the voice. His eyes widened and immediately felt a pounding in his head. He weakly glanced over to the Shadow who seemed to be floating. If the Shadow left his spot, then God Shido would kill him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Your friends are fighting hard for you and all you're doing is sitting back like the damsel in distress you are!"

I'm…not… Akechi murmured to himself. I never was…I never asked for help.

"You think you're the hero who deserves recognition. You think you're the villain who doesn't deserve redemption. When those two sides clash, you're left with this empty husk standing before you. It's so pathetic to see! When are you going to open your eyes and realize that not everything is black and white?! You fool!"

Akechi clenched his fists. His Shadow was so annoying.

"Akira-kun, he wants to help us…and you're just going to let him die for you just to spite him? Why can't you just accept help? Why can't you stop being a coward?"

"Because I am…" Akechi mumbled to himself. He had resigned himself to his fate. "I am a coward who couldn't achieve the one thing he set out to do…"

"There is still hope you idiot! You just need to dive deep into your heart and find the courage from within!"

His Shadow was filled with never ending optimism. He spoke as if he was some hero from a video game. That wasn't the person Akechi was and never would be. God Shido noticed that the Shadow version of the detective had finally decided to leave the stand.

"Akechi, I order you to stand down." The God ordered.

"No! I'm not going to listen to you anymore!" The Shadow yelled. "I'm going to help Akira-kun! I won't let him or the Phantom Thieves die!"

Why was his Shadow so hopeless? Akechi's mind started to hurt more and more. There was nothing he could do to stop the pain.

The worse part was that Akechi felt himself blacking out. He didn't have the energy to escape even if he wanted to. He could only hear battle cries and screams of names. He refused to watch this foolish charade anymore. Shido will finish him off and he can finally rest in peace…

"I am thou…"

Huh?

"Thou art I…"

I don't understand…this isn't Loki or Robin Hood's voice…who…

And then everything went black.

Notes:

Me: TBC with 2374 words. Notes!

1. I intend to keep the context of Akechi's Palace in check as I go back and explain how it got to this point. So there can be mass speculation on how one formed, what shape it takes and what lead to this point. I am going by some creepy headcanons about Shido and Akechi's relationship mind you so the position Akechi is in is kind of obvious. If anyone can guess the type of palace Akechi is in before hand, props to you. Also, I didn't reveal everything that happened in this scene for obvious reasons so when it gets back to this point, there will be way more detail.

2. The Shadow Akechi here will be very important. How it was formed and his role will be revealed later. Just know that the Shadow Akechi is like Shadow Futaba but potentially more helpful/friendly.