-The Answer: Rebuild-
A blonde woman was sitting alone inside Cafe Chagall on a sunny Saturday afternoon, she drew more than a few stares from the other patrons and the occasional passerby. Aigis didn't bother addressing it though she was a bit relieved that the other regulars didn't bother her.
"Yukari-san and Fuuka-san should have been here 17.783 minutes ago," the blonde made a rather precise measurement of her friends' tardiness, "What on earth could be keeping them so busy?"
The blonde rubbed the bridge of her nose, she was more than irritated by the wait. And she was already on her second cup of pheromone coffee, no doubt the Kirijo techs would give her a stern talking to of what her synthetic digestive system can and can't take in.
RIING!
"Hello Aigis?" the voice from the other side of the phone spoke.
"Yes Yukari-san?" the blonde replied.
"Fuuka and I won't be able to make it to the coffee shop today," the woman said regretfully, "we really hate to make it so last minute."
"Understood," Aigis answered curtly, "may I ask as to why you won't be here then?"
"It's college Aigis, lots of stuff came up about our projects and we won't be able to just blitz all of them at once," the brunette on the other side groaned.
"Very well, I wish you well and I hope to see you two some other time," the blonde answered.
"We're really sorry Aigis," Yukari apologized.
"I understand how important school is Yukari-san, don't worry about me and take care not to overwork yourselves," Aigis said lastly before ending the call.
Without anyone to wait for at the coffee shop, the blonde opted to do some light shopping at the mall before leaving for her dorm.
"Paulownia Mall still hasn't changed after all this time," the blonde smirked, "I remember when he tried to teach me about the way people went about in places like this."
After graduating from Gekkoukan, Aigis, Fuuka and Yukari enrolled in the same college not too far from Tatsumi Port Island. The girls would meet up whenever they could in spite of the busy schedules and go have coffee or shop. Today was not one of those days.
*Sigh*
"Those two must have it rougher than I do," the mechanical maiden contemplated her decision to pursue engineering while Fuuka and Yukari took up courses and activities that ate up most of their free time.
Factoring in Aigis' ability to simply record lectures and cross reference them with any research she might perform at a later time not to mention the breakthroughs not quite made public by the Kirijo did mark a great difference between the study habits of the blonde and the other two girls.
"Of course such a thing could only be expected as the realistic outcome," the mechanical maiden mused.
Thinking that she might as well enjoy her time at the mall, Aigis goes to Power Records where she sees a familiar face.
"Hey!" the brown-haired clerk behind the counter called the girl's attention, "You're Aigis right?"
The mechanical maiden looks at the man's direction.
"Ah, Kenji, I had no idea you worked here," the blonde answered honestly.
"Well, only part time," the boy rubbed the back of his head, "gotta have spare cash so I can enjoy the college dream."
"I see, so what else have you been doing?" Aigis tilted her head.
"Same old, same old," the Magician Arcana shrugged.
"Does that include you chasing after that young teacher of yours," another clerk laughingly said from the back room.
"Hey shut up!" Kenji yelled as his face turned a cherry red.
"Some things never change," Aigis thought before giving a slight chuckle.
Aigis buys a few albums before leaving the record shop.
"What else should I do?" the mechanical maiden raises her index finger under her chin.
As if answering her question, a familiar voice calls for the blonde's attention.
"Yo Ai-chan!" a boisterous laugh accompanied the nickname.
"Junpei-kun," Aigis greets her friend, "are you here alone?"
"Nah, I brought Chidori out," Junpei looked at the redhead to his right.
"Hmph," the goth was giving the boy the could shoulder.
"Hey, Ai-chan was one of my friends who helped you," the hatted one defended.
"Oh," Chidori replied gloomily, "sorry, my memory is still a bit hazy."
"Do not worry," the blonde waved it off, "I don't offend easily."
"Remember when he would just spend his time staring at the wall beside the stairs?" Junpei laughed before mentally kicking himself in the nuts, "Wait, sorry."
"It is alright," Aigis comforted the lad, "I have some fond memories of those times as well."
"Ah," the redhead slumped on the boy's shoulder.
"Are you unwell?" the mechanical maiden moved to check on the girl, placing the back of one hand over Chidori's forehead, "her temperature is fine and her vitals are stable."
"She gets like that after a while," Junpei said with a sullen expression, "although its been happening less frequently. Still, I have to bring her back to the hospital now."
"Very well," Aigis nodded, "it was nice seeing you two."
"..." Chidori smiled weakly.
"Later Ai-chan," the hatted one said as he exercised great caution at handling the goth.
"Junpei-kun has given me an idea if only to pique my curiosity," the blonde thought to herself.
With that thought, Aigis began walking towards the area where the Door to the Velvet Room was once found.
"It's still here..." the mechanical maiden said, lost in thought.
"Of course," a familiar voice stated matter-of-factly, "life is but an endless Journey."
"Elizabeth?" Aigis identified.
"I'm glad you remember me, do please come in," the attendant invited.
Aigis stepped inside the Velvet Door, her body vanishing from Paulownia Mall.
"It looks different now," the blonde commented.
The once elevator with the quirky pair was now messy and filled with gears, springs and computers with various lines of code on the screens.
"The room looks different," the blonde stated the obvious, "where is Igor?"
"The master has taken a leave of absence and has left me in charge of the Room," Elizabeth informed, "as to your first question, the Room takes the shape of the guest's Journey."
"I see now," Aigis thought out, "the way the elevator signified our rising to the moon to meet Nyx and Erebus."
"That is correct," the cat-eyed attendant snapped her fingers, "now the reason I brought you here is because of him."
"Is there something wrong with the Seal?" the mechanical maiden asked, wondering if her friends were in any condition to fight Erebus once more, "Perhaps with the help of the Persona Users from Inaba"
"No, everything is going well on that end," Elizabeth replied with a slight nod, "I have successfully discovered a way to bring him back."
With those words, Aigis' thoughts came to a screeching halt. Smiling, the attendant took a single item from her purse.
"A mask?" the blonde gave a quizzical look, unsure of what she was looking at.
"This is the answer," the Velvet Room's occupant ran her free hand through the mask.
As if by magic, the mask changed shape to that of a single card...The Fool.
"His wildcard, his soul," Aigis understood fully, "but his body..."
"Well that's why I'm staring at the person studying engineering now," Elizabeth responded, pointing her index finger at Aigis' direction.
"You can't possibly mean what I think you're implying?" an undefinable emotion filled the mechanical maiden's voice.
"Of course," the Velvet-clad woman directed her attention to the myriad screens in the vicinity.
Immediately, the screens flickered to a set of images, all of Minato Arisato, featuring all his information to the most minute of details.
"We can rebuild him."
-End-
A/N: Finally going to finish this story, but I've decided to do it from the ground up, more or less similar flow, but change enough for the sake of cohesion.