World In Us
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." — Anais Nin
Chapter 1: You can't rest.
A beam of light cut through the sky, separating flesh from flesh, bone from bone.
Under that moonlit sky, two figures fought.
Dressed cutely in pink with blond hair set in curls and a purple eyepatch over one eye was Nui Harime. However, instead of smiling and taunting her opponent with affection like she usually did, her face was screwed in anger. Her arm had just been blown off again. Again and again she was injured and injured and injured and injured and injured! Who the hell was this person who kept hurting her?! This person had no Life Fibers, so how were they so strong?! How did this person manage to cut off her pinky finger?! Why didn't it grow back!? Howhowhowhowhowhowhowhowhow!
"My, my, it seems you've lost it again. Oh! It's back again! You sure are quite the durable little cloth doll, aren't you?" Her opponent said. Dressed in clothes made of blue velvet was a girl with platinum blond hair. She was Elizabeth, attendant of the Velvet Room who governed power, and bundled in her left hand was something she had just very recently stolen.
"Die!" Nui yelled as she leaped with her purple Scissor Blade. Nui was fast, impossibly fast! That's what she knew for certain! Some scum without Life Fibers couldn't possible get the best of her!
Calmly, and faster than Nui could even see with her one eye, Elizabeth opened the Compendium and withdrew the Persona Thanatos. The large avatar of the personification of death opened his jaws and unleashed a Megidolaon in the form of beam once more, hitting Nui head on... Or so she thought. Nui had somehow dodged in the air and was now behind her, a wicked grin on her face as she readied her Scissor Blade. Frowning, Elizabeth bent forwards, going underneath Nui's swing while simultaneously commanding Thanatos to launch another Megidolaon in the opposite direction. The beam passed over Elizabeth harmlessly and hit Nui right in the face, sending her flying off behind Elizabeth. Thanatos then disappeared.
Nui then instantly reappeared ten meters behind Elizabeth, actually making distance between the two of them.
"Ah, so you will finally let me go? To be frank, not that I am named Frank to be clear, I did not desire a fight. I was hoping I could leave unperturbed and unnoticed. I'm not allowed to fight others, you see. It's pushing the semi-interference contract a little too far," Elizabeth said with a smile.
"Who are you? Why don't you use Life Fibers to be strong?" Nui asked, now calm. She was in a place between aggression and her normal taunting self. It was odd, and even caused Nui to start with alarm.
"Since you asked so calmly, I am Elizabeth. And these "Life Fibers" of yours only serve to make you weak. Why rely on something else when I have access to far greater power merely through understanding the hearts of others and training? What a strange world this has become..."
Nui grit her teeth. "I don't understand what you're saying, so just die already!"
She charged at Elizabeth, but the woman only smiled. "How childish. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to play with you. I need to get this over to some friends. We need it for a very special purpose."
And then, just as Elizabeth was about to leave, Nui Harime's speed doubled. Caught off guard, Elizabeth couldn't do anything to stop Nui from removing her right arm with that purple Scissor Blade and causing her to drop the Compendium. With a sigh, Elizabeth lifted up her leg and kicked Nui in the chest, sending the blond girl back several feet and buying enough time for Elizabeth to kick open her Compendium and stomp on a Persona card within it.
"Pixie, Diaharan, if you will?" Elizabeth requested to the summoned form before her. Pixie smiled and flew around Elizabeth, covering her in a bright light. Nui charged at the bright light with her Scissor Blade ready to impale Elizabeth and just as her weapon pierced the bright light, she found she couldn't move it forward anymore. The light cleared and Elizabeth stood there, holding the Scissor Blade between the index and middle fingers of her right hand.
Her right hand. She grew it back.
"What the hell are you, pig?! I'm the Grand Couturier! Some nobody like you shouldn't be able to stop my attacks and regenerate!" Nui screamed, now snapping from pure rage. Elizabeth laughed as she pushed the Scissor Blade and Nui away several feet, picked up her Compendium and kicked off the rooftop. Nui rushed her again, but an open blue door materialized behind Elizabeth in midair.
"I'm not human and nothing like you, if that is what you wish to know. Given time, you could be my equal, so it's a shame we had to meet now. I do like a good tussle every now and again. Perhaps another time, ne?"
And then Elizabeth disappeared into the open door. It closed behind her and disappeared, leaving Nui alone.
Filled with rage, Nui screamed.
Stronger, faster, stronger, faster!
She'd become stronger, faster, cuter, and beat that cocky bitch into the ground!
One Month Later
"...100%! Lady Kirijo, the experiment has been a complete success!"
Whirling machinery.
Flashing lights.
The sensation of something wet clinging to his skin.
"It's been so long... To think that after all these years we finally did it..."
Men in white coats, some men in white coats with nothing underneath.
Who ran around nude like that?!
"Mom... What's so special about this guy anyway? He barely looks older than me. "
Machinery reaching all the way to the ceiling.
Every computer, every device, hooked up to one central module.
"Miki, that man is the one of the most powerful people I ever met. He's not only fought beside me and your father, but he's even fought a goddess before... and ultimately won."
And that central module was a large tube filled with a strange, black liquid.
"Rather, he's the only powerful person we have left. So much has been, but while Ragyo's been running her world with Life Fibers, we've been doing what we do best, Miki?"
Dark shapes.
A fist clenched.
"Yeah, Mom. We're working in the shadows, right?"
Grit teeth.
And a blue flash.
"Lady Kirijo! The energy is spiki—
BOOM!
The large tube in the center of the room exploded outwards, but the black liquid hit the already set up barriers preventing it from making contact with any of the workers. Standing on all that remained of the pedestal was a singular man with blue hair. Floating inches behind him was a figure in pure white, the Persona known as Messiah. Looking at the world through nonchalant eyes was Minato Arisato. He then fell to one knee.
His body felt like lead and he was growing dizzier and dizzier with each passing moment.
The area immediately around him was sealed off by humongous walls that also served as one-way mirrors, and each wall had the black substance from earlier splattered against it. The floor was, aside from the black material, pure white. So was the ceiling. Minato actually couldn't tell where the light that lit up the room he was in was coming from, but it was there nonetheless. He slowly pushed himself back up to his feet and forced his body to move. He cautiously stepped off the pedestal that used to be a containment tube and quietly walked across the floor, through the shadowy material, and to the nearest wall. He was already starting to sweat from the amount of effort it took just to get that far. Raising his voice, Minato Arisato asked the first question that came to mind, "Where the hell did you guys put my clothes?"
Because, instead of the uniform that he knew he died in, he was in his birthday suit. Of course, he was starting to feel cold. He was wet, naked, weak and alone. What a wonderful start to his day.
Dead silence responded to his question. Feeling ignored, Minato sighed heavily.
Then one of the walls slid down into the ground, revealing a small army of men in white coats (some not wearing anything underneath said white coats) and two figures in front of them. The first was an older looking women in her fifties, her red hair showing streaks of grey and giving off a dignified appearance. She wore an eyepatch with a golden dragon on it over her right eye, though it was partially hidden by her hair, and wore a black suit. She was holding a blanket and a set of clothes in her arms. Smiling, she tossed them over to Minato. He caught the objects and immediately wrapped the blanket around himself to at least make himself decent. The clothes were his old uniform, complete with S.E.E.S. armband and all.
"Minato? Do you remember me?" The woman asked him kindly. Minato was about to say when he didn't, when he noticed the younger girl by the woman's side. Her red hair was tied into a side-ponytail and her eyes were a steel gray. Her expression was pulled into a scowl and she wore a black skirt and white blouse, clothes that used to belong to her mother. She appeared to be around sixteen and had her arms crossed as she examined him, clearly not looking very happy at all.
'Wait. He called the older woman Lady Kirijo? Then that means...' Minato's thoughts trailed off as the realization hit him.
"Mitsuru, how long was I gone?" He asked, not wanting to waste time on pointless questions.
"Always straight to the point when you ask questions. Good to see that hasn't changed. Well, you've been out of the world for thirty-two years," Mitsuru answered. Minato held a hand to his head, clearly taken aback from the news. Over thirty years? Wait... if he was here, then what about th—
"Don't worry about the Great Seal. Instead of freeing you from it and bringing the Fall back, we instead brought back your body. While Elizabeth was protecting the Great Seal, she noticed that small fragments of your life, or your soul if you want to be religious, were being shaved off and freed from the Great Seal being attacked so much. Through a lot of hardwork, she was able to gather those and gave them to me (Yes, I met Elizabeth. Don't look so surprised. A lot of stuff happened) and I infused those into your body through some very ingenious methods," Mitsuru explained.
"Yeah, so you should be grateful to us," the younger girl beside Mituru chimed in. Minato pointed to her, a questioning look on his face aimed towards Mitsuru. Feeling slightly insulted from him not talking to her, the younger girl stuck her tongue out at him.
Smiling, Mitsuru answered, "She's my daughter, Miki Kirijo. Her father, by the way, is Akihiko. Before you ask how he is, I'll just tell you straight out, Minato. Akihiko, along with a majority of the current Persona-users, is dead. The world is not like you remembered."
"W-What? No..." Minato said, his voice nearly inaudible.
"But before we go into the reasons why, I'll be needing you to get changed and then meet me in the conference room. These men will direct you. We have a few people that would like to meet you and a few final physical examinations to make," Mitsuru said before turning to walk away, heading towards a doorway against the far well.
Filled with questions, confusion, and sadness, Minato got changed beneath the blanket and then went to meet her.
"Welcome back!" Aigis exclaimed as she leaped through the door he just opened and glomped him. He was pushed to the ground with such force that his head slammed against the concrete floor hard. It actually took out a bit of concrete in the floor, surprisingly. Aigis was now straddling him, a smile on her face as he looked up at her.
"Ow... Hello, Aigis," Minato said with a strained smiled. Aigis tilted her head to the side, still beaming at him with her eyes closed. She then leaned down and pulled him into a tight hug with her robotic super strength. Barely able to breath, Minato could feel something wet falling onto his shoulder. Aigis was crying tears of joy.
'She's changed so much. She's so... human...' Minato thought with a satisfied smile.
"He just woke up, Aigis. I think you shouldn't be treating him so roughly," a manly voice off to the side said.
"Oh! Sorry! I'm afraid I just got a little excited," Aigis said, rubbing the back of her head embarrassedly as she got off Minato. She extended a hand to him and helped the coughing teen to his feet.
As he dusted himself off, he said, "It's alright. Look at you, though. You're a lot more human than I remember." Aigis blushed slightly at the compliment, a further sign of how far she had come. She was wearing a black dress similar to the blue one she used to wear with a large red bow around her neck.
"She dressed up just for you, you know?" The manly voice from earlier said. Remembering where he was, Minato stepped through the doorway to meet the people who wanted to meet him. Aigis blushed again at the comment, but only sent a glare at the direction of the voice.
The conference room was a large, circular room with a circular wooden table and all sorts of screen hanging on the walls. He instantly recognized Mitsuru and her daughter Miki, but there were a few other faces he didn't immediately recognize. Seated besides Miki was a woman about Mitsuru's age with pale, teal green hair that was slowly turning white that he determined was Fuuka. Next to her was a man with brown hair swooping to one side and a business suit. The man's strong set jaw and muscular physique would give Akihiko a run for his money. He had a small, confident smile on his face and a long black case that reached above his head next to him.
'He's noticeably younger. Ken?' Minato thought.
Continuing on, there was another Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon that Minato didn't recognize that had long white hair pulled into a ponytail, a bespectacled, bald old man with a long white beard and dressed in a lab coat with a t-shirt underneath, a man with blue hair swept back over his head and his white shirt completely open, and, finally, Elizabeth.
"Hi, Minato. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Ken Amada," Ken said, confirming that the manly voice that had spoken earlier was his. "I missed you so much. I'm very glad to see that you're back, though I would have preferred we met before I became middle-aged."
"...Do you lift, Ken?" Minato asked.
Ken nodded.
"I lift, bro."
'Damn it. I look the least muscular out of all the guys now. I don't know what the hell they did to bring me back, but they could have at least made me look stronger!' Minato internally lamented. He wasn't weak, in fact he should have been the strongest out of all them, but he looked like your standard bishounen due to his body type.
"Anyway, Mitsuru, I need you to tell me what's happ—"
"Hello, Minato! Did you not see me? I supposed you didn't since you didn't greet me, so I greeted you first!" Elizabeth interrupted, immediately grabbing his attention.
"Oh, okay. Well, he— Wait!" Minato suddenly exclaimed, losing his cool for a moment, "You guys need to tell me how you even know about Elizabeth or the Great Seal anyway!" He was normally quiet and almost never freaked out, but this was serious. If Elizabeth went and met them of her own accord and was here, then she wasn't being an attendant. Did she get kicked out of the Velvet Room?! Grinning, Mitsuru motioned to Elizabeth to explain.
"The Velvet Room has broken its policy of non-interference a little. Due to the environment of this current world , we lack the means and time to train another Wild Card. Our past six attempts have all ended in failure and even your successor fell in battle. Thus, we had no choice but to focus our efforts on assisting your friends to bring you back to your body, at least a little," Elizabeth said cheerily, referring to the fact that he only had some fragments of his life's essence back in his body.
"Ms. Elizabeth has been very kind to us, Minato, and you wouldn't be here without her. Ah! I'm Fuuka by the way," Fuuka said. Minato nodded with a small smile.
"Nice to see you again. You look good," he said to Fuuka.
"Oh, stop that. You'll make an old woman feel young again," Fuuka replied, though she blushed slightly at that.
And then, to Elizabeth, Minato greeted, "Hello, Elizabeth. It's been far too long. You look just as nice as when I first met you. Guess time doesn't deliver us all to the same end, huh?" Elizabeth beamed at him.
Mitsuru motioned to the open two seats opposite of her and near the door where Minato was standing. Getting her meaning, Minato sat down. Aigis took the open seat on his left, forming a barrier between him and Elizabeth while Ken sat on his right.
"Alright, we can do introductions later. You really want to know what's happened since you were gone, right Minato?" Mitsuru asked. With a determined expression, he nodded again. Mitsuru took a deep breath, and then began to explain.
"After you... left, I formed the Shadow Operatives with the intention of suppressing Shadows that appeared around the world outside the Dark Hour. We eventually met with another group of Persona-user who formed a sort of an Investigation Team. We teamed up with them for more than one occasion before parting ways. Twelve years after you left, the Kirijo Group was at the top of the electronics industry and the Shadow Operatives were thousands strong with more than a tenth of our members being Persona-users.
Then Ragyo Kiryuin appeared and dominated the apparel industry with her company, Revocs. Her conglomerate took over all of Eastern Japan while the Takaradas took over the western half. Other conglomerates rose, taking over huge parts of the world. The Kirijo Group removed itself almost entirely from Japan and took France as well as a few other territories under its protection. Of course, Ragyo tried to... acquire us using soldiers in special clothing that vastly enhanced their physical capabilities."
"Wait. What do you mean "special clothing"?" Minato asked. Mitsuru removed a remote from the inside of her suit and pushed a button on it, causing the screens to light up with images of a uniform with a strange star emblazoned on it.
"Goku Uniforms and other articles made by her company contain these strange things called Life Fibers. A person's abilities are amplified depending on the percentage of clothing that consists of these Life Fibers. Meaning she can easily make an army of super soldiers with them. The Kirijo Group and Shadow Operatives have been opposing Ragyo Kiryuin's aggressive strategies and super soldiers and she's been retaliating," Mitsuru clenched her fist in anger, "We've lost so many to her... and the thing she's sent at us time and time again."
Mitsuru pushed the button again and the screens changed to display a blond girl dressed in pink with an umbrella held over her head. "Nui Harime. The Grand Couturier. She's killed over a thousand of our Shadow Operatives, Kurosawa, Koromaru, Yukari, and..." Mitsuru's voice caught in her throat for a moment, "Akihiko. And his death drove Junpei to seek more power. He snuck into our Research and Development Center we maintained with our allies and attempted to use a new weapon of ours the day before human testing for it. Since then, he's been missing. The previously mentioned Investigation Team is aligned with the Junes Conglomerate and is partnered with us. They've lost members at her hands as well," Mitsuru explained.
Minato stared at that happy smiling face on the screen. He knew he should have been feeling absolute rage, but the impact of everything still hadn't hit him yet. Everything still seemed so unreal, as if he would wake up at any moment. But this was no dream and he knew it. For now, he'd absorb the information and deal with it later.
"We're also aligned with another rebel group known as Nudist Beach. I'll let their leader explain from here. Mr. Mikisugi?" Mitsuru motioned to the man who had his shirt open and hair slicked back. He stood and smiled.
"First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Aikuro Mikisugi of..." He paused and then threw his shirt all the way off and kicked off his pants, "NUDIST BEEEEEEEACH!" He screamed to the heavens. Unfortunately for everyone present, Akiruo Miksugi had "forgotten" his underpants and his nipples and crotch were glowing with a blinding purple light that obscured them from everyone's vision.
...
...
...
That was a really weird sentence.
Minato, unfortunately close enough to see... things before the purple light appeared, coughed and simply replied, "...Small."
The looks of horror turned to laughter. Quickly, and filled with shame, Mikisugi put his clothes back on.
"Ahem. Anyway, we've been opposing Life Fibers and Kiryuin's Conglomerate for a long time now. Unfortunately, we previously lacked the firepower to be anything other than a minor annoyance to her. However, your friends came to use with these," Mikisugi said before motioning to Mitsuru to push another button on the remote. The screen changed to show a completely bland, black sword.
"Nihil weapons?" Minato asked.
Mikisugi nodded. "Yes. Although there are the flashier versions that you yourself created, the bland ones possess the same, albeit weaker, affect as them. They can cut through and destroy Life Fibers for good. Unfortunately, the flashier weapons are able to do it with ease, whereas it takes many hits to do the same with the blank weapon. I'll pass off the next part to our resident scientist, Dr. Edogawa."
The old man stood, and Minato instantly was able to put two and two together.
"Mr. Edogawa? I knew you knew a lot about Arcanas, so does this mean you worked with the Kirijo Group?" Minato asked.
"Honestly, is asking questions the only thing you do?" Edogawa asked. Minato shrugged. "Well, kid, the world has gone pretty much to shit, we're fighting and losing, and you're one of our only hopes. Nudist Beach has a plan they wish to implement as well, but your going to be our plan to win this. Right now we're doing a good job, but good won't cut it. And you're weak due to the fact that you not only are surviving on fragments of what's basically your soul, but also that you haven't been in that body in thirty-two years. You want to know what we did to preserve your body?"
Minato nodded.
"You don't want to know what we did to preserve your body," Edogawa replied. He coughed at the weird looks the rest of the room gave him and then continued, "You might not notice it, but your body has atrophied quite a bit. We slowed it down considerable and even used several questionable methods to keep your body from completely falling apart when we put you back in. As such, you can't possibly hope to save the world in your current state, So we want to send you to Honnouji Academy. It's run by Satsuki Kiryuin, Ragyo's daughter, and it is filled with many levels of different opponents for you to fight."
"You want me to... train right underneath the enemy's nose? That sounds incredibly stupid," Minato said coldly.
"I agree with the kid. You guys don't know stupid when ya see it," the white-haired ASW said. She looked over at Minato and smirked, "I'm Labrys by the way. 5th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon and Aigi's big sis." She winked at Aigis.
Aigis responded by putting her arm around Minato's neck and pulling him close to her. "Mine," she said, glaring at Labrys. Labrys looked shocked at the aggressive behavior and looked down.
Under her breath, she said, "We're supposed to be close, you know? We're sisters and sisters shouldn't fight. We're supposed to love each other and be together..."
'Wow. Is she a siscon?' Minato thought before having some very strange thoughts involving two robots and one transistor.
"Ahem!" Edogawa actually said out loud (what was with people and "ahem"ing?), "As I was saying, you'll enter as a transfer student under your real name, Minato Arisato. Ken will play the foster father and your mother, let's call her Hamuko Arisato, is dead and you took her last name because you hate your foster dad because he's a wimp."
"Hey!" Ken cried in indignation. However, Mitsuru, Miki, Labrys, and even Fuuka were nodding.
"You have been running away in battle a lot lately..."
"What kind of man uses a spear because he's afraid to let anyone get close?"
"I haven't seen ya fight more than one Goku Uniform at a time ever."
"I wish I could say it wasn't true, but at least you're still alive, right?"
"It's called a tactical retreat. It's utter stupidity to run straight on into a battlefield and rely on willpower and hard work alone to win!" Ken declared.
"...Weren't you the one that adored the Phoenix Rangers and wanted to be just like them?" Minato added. Ken dropped his head in shame.
"You know I was only ten years old then, right?"
Minato shrugged the shrug he normally shrugged in response. Ken sighed. "Look, things just haven't been the same since Akihiko died, all right? I used to look up to him, see him as a role model. But... but he died for a stupid reason. He should have just run away," Ken said coldly.
Mitsuru glared at him, but the look in Ken's eyes was far emptier than she expected, so she just decided to change the topic. "Minato, after entering Honnouji Academy, you need to get stronger and then take down Satsuki or otherwise detain her. Best case scenario would be to have her join us, but that seems highly unlikely. After that, focus on taking down Ragyo herself, but it won't be easy. We have a dufflebag filled with equipment for you to use already prepared as well as a secret weapon that should even the odds. The weapons aren't necessarily the best due to a raid on the Armory last week, but that's what our little secret is for."
Minato raised his hand.
"Yes, Minato?" Fuuka asked, calling on him.
"I never said I was going to help," Minato answered.
...
...
...
""HUH?!"" Everyone exclaimed.
"Look at it from my point of view. I've spent thirty-two years trapped in the Great Seal for everyone's sake and then as soon as I'm released, I have to help fight again? You notice something wrong with that? Who's to say I won't die again this time? I'm weak, tired, and I honestly don't know if I could even fight, let alone want to. Also, how does one conglomertae being aggressive lead to the world being in danger exactly? What aren't you telling me?" Minato asked. Mitsuru frowned and cast her eyes to the ground.
"That's right. It might have been a bit unfair to ask this of you... You're a person, not a weapon. I'm sorry for not asking your permission Minato," Mitsuru said, her voice now getting an edge to it, "But we need you and you can't live peacefully in this world the way it is now. When we fought Nyx, you were the only one who stood. The only one who could stand. I'm asking you to do the same and I swear on my father's grave I won't let you die for us this time! We'll die for your success, so don't worry about death! As for the world being in danger, you see the truth about Life Fibers is that they a—"
[WARNING! WARNING! INTRUDER DETECTED! LEVEL ONE BREACHED!]
All of a sudden an automated voice started blaring out warnings as alarms started flashing, turning the room red with their light. The screens surrounding the room all showed the same image. A blond girl with an eyepatch and umbrella strolling through the compound. Everyone that got close to Nui Harime was sliced into ribbons. She was moving so fast that they couldn't even see her attacks. She just looked as if she was having a leisurely stroll. Then Nui playfully kicked a group of red canisters. The resulting explosion rocked the room and caused the lights to flicker. Everybody was now standing and Mitsuru's face scrunched up as she started shouting orders.
"Damn it, we're out of time! I knew we shouldn't have all met up like this! Sorry, Minato, but this is an emergency! Mikisugi, go secure your men and evacuate them! Edogawa, head to the labs and get the ALFWs up and running, then evacuate! Fuuka, contact Tsumugu and have him initiate the self-destruct sequence! Labrys, I'll need you to guide the ALFWs out of the compound! They're not ready for deployment. Aigis and Ken, escort Miki and Minato out Cargo Bay 3! The dufflebag should be waiting in one of the boats there. Elizabeth?"
"Yes?" Elizabeth asked with a smile. Mitsuru grinned evilly.
"Do what you do best," Mitsuru said. Elizabeth comically saluted and jumped through an open blue door that appeared behind her. "Now, everyone, move out and survive. Don't let that maudite vauch kill you!" Mitsuru ordered, using a French insult. Another explosion rocked the room, causing Mitsuru to grip onto the table tightly to not fall down from the shaking.
[LEVEL TWO BREACHED!]
""Yes, ma'am!"" Everyone except for Elizabeth, Miki and Minato responded.
"Wait, what do you plan on doing, mom?! I'm not leaving you here until you say you'll leave with us!" Miki argued.
[LEVEL THREE BREACHED!]
Without so much as a speck of hesitation, Mitsuru landed a right hook against her daughter's temple, knocking her unconscious. Mitsuru nodded to Ken, who then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before grabbing the black case next to his bag. Aigis then grabbed Minato and threw him over her shoulder.
"Sorry, Minato, but we must leave immediately!" Aigis said as she hurried towards the door. Minato struggled, but her grip was way too strong.
If they were going to leave quickly, then they had no time to argue. There were only four levels to this place and they were on the fourth. Nui was almost there. Edogawa and Mikisugi had already made a quick escape through a tunnel in the floor, Labrys had literally jumped through the ceiling, and now only Fuuka and Mitsuru were left in the room.
"Hold on! I never agreed to any of this! Like hell I'm going to let you guys die for me!" Minato shouted as Aigis carried him out of the room. Just before the door closed and he couldn't see her anymore, Minato could just barely make out the words she mouthed in response.
"It's too late for that."
Then, just as the door was closing, the room exploded.
[LEVEL FOUR BREACHED!]
Nui Harime was having a fu~n time. This new sword she had taken from these little piggies was sharp and rivaled her purpler Scissor Blade in its effectiveness. In fact, even holding it made her faster and stronger and smarter and cuter! So, of course she would use "Lucifer's Blade" with her Scissor Blade! It was so fun to watch people turn into pieces! That look of hopelessness frozen on their faces was just delicious! And they had all these wondrously stupid canisters around this base that she could just tap to make explode!
But of course, she was only here for one reason, really. That Elizabeth pig that she played with was still alive~. And that just would not do~!
"Here's good!" Nui declared with a huge smile as she suddenly stopped in the middle of a cement hallway. Nui then slammed Lucifer's Blade down into the ground, slicing through over twenty feet of concrete bringing down the roof of the room below in an explosion of concrete. Laughing she fell down in the conference room only to be greeted by two old women hiding inside some sort of big women monster with a clear belly. These people were so strange! Nui would love to see what faces they made when they died! She'd kill them extra slowly!
"Fuuka, status report," Mitsuru ordered.
"T-Minus 600 seconds until detonation," Fuuka replied quickly. Mitsuru smirked.
"Think we'll buy enough time?" She said as she removed a golden Evoker from her inner jacket pocket.
Fuuka smiled. "With that, it should be enough."
"I never thought I'd have to use this. I was actually going to hand it off to him." Mitsuru smiled. "Thirty-two years of advancements all culminated into one little thing. I'm a little scared, actually."
"Ara? I'm being ignored? Well then, I should work on showing my good side a little bit more. Ah! I know! I can show you how I crack eggs and get the chickens out!" Nui declared as she pulled out her Scissor Blade as well. With two swords and a cheery smile on her face, Nui lightly kicked off the ground and swung her weapons down at Fuuka's Persona they were hiding in, Juno. The glass surrounding them began to crack as Nui went from not only attacking once, but employing combinations and strikes faster than Mitsuru of Fuuka could even see.
"Don't worry. I'm here with you. We'll do this together," Fuuka said with a smile.
Slash!
Another crack.
"There's only a .00025 percent chance we'll escape this in one piece if I use this. You're not scared, Fuuka?"
Slice!
Another crack.
"I'm terrified. But as long as there's a chance, we'll pull through. If it becomes impossible, we'll make it possible. That's what Minato showed us, right?"
Crash!
Another crack.
"If a happy ending is impossible, if the enemy is unbeatable, even if all the odds are stacked against you, that doesn't mean it's over."
"As long as our bodies draw breath, we haven't lost. As long as our friends are out there, we haven't lost. As long as there's somebody willing to fight, we haven't lost. Are you ready to do it now, Mitsuru? Are you still scared?"
Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash! Slash! Slice! Crash!
"Hmph. I'm terrified. But I'll use that fear in order to live."
And then the glass broke, letting Nui Harime through...
But Mitsuru already had the golden Evoker to her head and pulled the trigger just as Nui pierced Juno.
A golden light flooded the area and then all became silent.
Minato opened his eyes to a familiar sight and a familiar song. He didn't know when, but he must have lost consciousness, for he was now in the Velvet Room. But this time it couldn't even be classified as any sort of room. No, he was standing atop a blue platform that stretched high into a black, starless sky. Looking down, he saw ant-sized people and a city burning with blue flames. However, the people didn't run from the blue flames. They walked through them, lived in them, wore them. Everyone was burning and they didn't even realize it.
One needed to look at them from this high to see the danger surrounding them. One needed to be higher than the rest to be able to save them. It was a dizzying perspective, and one he was glad to be snapped out of by the voice that spoke behind him.
"Again, I welcome you to the Velvet Room," Igor said. Minato quickly turned around to find the familiar, long-nosed old man seated at a large couch. Seated with him was Elizabeth on his left and an unknown, older woman who bore a resemblance to Elizabeth on his right.
Minato smiled. "You look comfortable," he said. He now noticed that, unlike the last time he met, Igor was not smiling. In fact, he looked older and his skin bore the wrinkles and blotches of a senior that had lived for a very long time. Igor waved it off without so much as a smile. Minato could tell right away what was happening. Igor didn't have long left to live.
"I haven't been comfortable in centuries. Now, this," he said, motioning to the woman on his right, "Is Margaret, Elizabeth's sister. I require her help as well just to keep things running. The future of the world has become a frightening thing while you were gone," Igor said. Margaret greeted him with a smile and a nod, which Minato reciprocated.
"Now then," Igor said as he waved his hand to the side, bringing into existence a table with a single paper on it in front of him. "No fancy wrapping or wording on this contract. Sign it, and you will be able to use our services again by taking on the Fool's fate once more."
"No. I don't want to sacrifice myself anymore. You can find someone better than a relic from the past like me," Minato said as he turned away to look out at the burning city.
"There is nobody else. Now, read the contract," Igor ordered. It suddenly appeared in front of his face, floating just far away enough so that he could read it in its entirety.
"I,_ _, do hereby pledge to fight once again. By signing this contract, I will become the last Wild Card chosen by the Velvet Room."
After reading through the contract, Minato frowned. "What's this supposed to mean?" He asked. Minato heard Elizabeth sigh behind him.
"Exactly what it says. By breaking our non-interference, we went against the wishes of our master, Philemon. He's going to shut us down for this, but we managed to get him to agree to wait until you finished this. After this, there won't be any more... inhuman forces trying to take over or destroy the world that humanity won't be able to handle on its own. Rather, the only barrier to peace left will be humanity itself," Igor said with a smile.
"The Wild Card possesses infinite possibilities. Not dying to save the world is one of those possibilities, Minato," Elizabeth said.
Minato froze as the realization of what she just said hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd been stupid. He'd gone alone, thought he had no other choice. All this time, these thirty-two years, he may have wasted due to a mistake. And if he didn't sign this contract, then there were no others left. Even if they could find somebody, what was to stop them from making the same mistake he did?
No, he had to end this. It had to be him.
"...Damn it. I'll sign it," he said with a scowl.
A blue pen appeared before him, floating next to the contract. He grabbed it, signed his name, and then the contract rolled up and disappeared.
"I'm surprised you were so reluctant. Don't you remember that your friends were killed by this Nui Harime? Don't you want revenge?" Igor asked.
Then it finally hit him.
Unlike the death of his parents, there was a singular, living being to blame for their deaths. There existed someone he could fight and kill to avenge them. Officer Kurosawa, Akihiko, Yukari, and even Koromaru (what kind of sick bastard kills a dog anyway?!) were all dead. Now most likely Fuuka and Mitsuru were also dead. They all died for him, so that he could succeed. He didn't bear the burden and die for them this time. No, they died for him.
Something in him broke a little bit.
They were dead. Gone forever. He could never see them again. Somebody took them from him. Somebody laughed and smiled as they died. Somebody would keep taking them from him. Murderer... Their murderer still existed. This wasn't like before! He could kill the bitch who did it?! He could hunt her down and pour all his hatred into her through his sword?! He could fight the cause of all his problems?!
Combined with waking up to a new world, it was too much of a shock.
Revenge; what a sweet word! He could feel joy mixed in with the rage. That burning, bubbling sensation deep in his stomach that turned into butterflies when he thought of how he'd beat her! Minato laughed and laughed and laughed as he felt his sanity cracking. Dead! They were dead! He's losing everything all over again and there's something he can do to stop it!
These events were too shocking. Combined with whatever they did with his body...
He just had to ki—
SMACK!
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden slap across his face. Holding his hand to his face he looked up, his eyes refocusing to look upon Elizabeth who stood there with tears filling her eyes. She then embraced him, holding him close to her as she let the tears fall from her eyes.
"E-Elizabeth?!" Minato said, stunned by her response. Was he saying all that aloud?
"No, Igor. That's not the way," she said angrily. Then, to Minato, "Please do not fall into desiring revenge. Remember your friends that still live and fight for them. Let the dead rest and focus on who remains alive. If you do that, then you'll never lose your path. Remember, there are people that love you and it hurts them to see you losing your way."
Elizabeth held him there, her embrace finally calming him down and bringing him back down to normal.
He smiled as he hugged her back, feeling the tug on his consciousness that told him this dream was about to end.
However, he couldn't bury this burning desire called revenge so easily...
Minato awoke in the backseat of car, his head facing a window. Outside, there was simply empty land that seemed to stretch on forever. He turned to his head to find Aigis staring at him, a look of concern on her face. In his lap was a black dufflebag.
"Minato? Are you okay? A part of the ceiling fell and hit you while we were escaping. Do you have any brain damage?" Aigis asked questions rapidly and without so much as a hint of slowing down. Minato looked ahead. Ken was driving and Miki seemed to be directly in front of him, her side ponytail being a dead giveaway.
"I'm fine," he muttered as he unzipped the dufflebag. Outside, they passed a sign that said: "Honnouji Academy: 20 miles".
Inside the dufflebag was a variety of weapons.
"Deus Xiphos, Balmung, Sabazios, Mjolnir, a Source Bow, and a standard Evoker," Minato said as he went through all the weapons inside. They weren't the most powerful weapons he ever made, but they were strong. They should make up for the lack of strength he currently had.
Then Minato found something else at the bottom of the dufflebag. It was a long black case.
The secret weapon Mitsuru was talking about.
Hesitantly, he opened the case and removed...
"What the hell, Mitsuru?" Minato whispered as he held the "weapon" in his hands.
It was a long, yellow scarf.
Familiar words rang in his ears.
"No one can escape time; it delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes."
A Scissor Blade cut through the air, separating flesh from flesh, bone from bone.
In the wreckage of the base, two figures fought.
But this time, the outcome was very different.
Chained to a wall miles underground, a man smiled, his face hidden by his hat. Only twenty feet away was the one assigned to guard him, to make sure he never escaped or saw the light of day again. This man's sanity had long been stolen away.
"He's back, Kinue," he said to his guard.
And then he began to laugh.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed teen in a suit with a flower adorning the chest smiled as he turned in his report.
"That guy she said would help is back! According to the reports, it's been a beary long time!"
Nanako Dojima, current CEO of the Junes Conglomerate, smiled as she accepted his report and pun. As she read over it, she sang the jingle that she always used to sing as a child.
"Every da~y's great at your Ju~nes."
Satsuki Kiryuin stared at the screen with a smile.
This new transfer student was essentially a representative of the Kirijo Group coming to evaluate her school. Sure, they tried to hide his true self behind lies, but the fact that they had to fake a background profile for him meant this person was of some import to the Kirijo Group. Satsuki knew the Kirijo Group and the Satsuki Conglomerate secretly fought like cats and dogs. If she were to face her mother, she'd need the assistance of that group, at least as a distraction. The Kirijo Group was one of the very few conglomerates that could face her mother's and stand a chance. She may have to act like a proper Kiryuin in front of him and be hostile, but perhaps, in secret, she could make a subordinate of him. Turn him into a soldier and use him to get the entire Kirijo Group underneath her, if not beside her. Her mother would approve of her conquering the Kirijo Group and wouldn't suspect a thing.
If he proved worthy, perhaps she could even finally fill the roll of Student Council Vice President.
"I still don't see what's so important about this kid," Nonon said as she crossed her arms in front of her. Satsuki sipped her tea in response. Perhaps Nonon couldn't see it, but she could. If her power only ended up matching her mother's, then a powerful ally like the Kirijo Group could tip the scales in her favor.
A/N: So, I was reading BahamutReishiki's To My Death I Fight (a very good Kill la Kill and Bleach crossover) and then looked at the only Persona/Kill la Kill crossover. People, we have been slacking! We need more Kill la Kill crossovers! So, yeah. This whole world is very different from what Minato's used to and he won't be the only person from Persona attending Honnjouji Academy. Persona 3 and 4 characters are present and prominent in this world. Anyway, I'm done with this chapter!
And I was going to write the first three chapters before releasing this, but I'm not 100% sure on this idea. Hence, I'd like you guys to give me feedback! So...
Question of the Chapter: What do you think of this idea?
REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW! Pretty please with a yellow scarf on top?