Chapter 14: Unavoidable Battle
A/N: Here it is. The Finale to the first "season". I guess. I've decided to not do the whole bolding things for this chapter. Every thing is important. If I did bold it, then everything would be bolded. If you guys want me to bold part of it, then leave a request in your review and I'll update the story with the bolding. Enjoy. UPDATE: Redid a ton of Labrys stuff. A ton. Like, vital to the story "ton". Make sure to read it! I redid it due to a few criticisms that pointed out that it was lackluster. And it was. So... I changed it, and the entire end tone of the chapter with Labrys. MUAHAHAHA! IT SETS EVERYTHING UP SO NICELY! NOW Enjoy.
Onto the story!
"The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth." — Peter Abelard
May 8th, 2009
"Welcome... to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted Minato as he woke himself up a little. He'd been contacted in his dreams. Was something important happening? Elizabeth was there to wave at him, greeting him as he looked around the room. Igor looked stressed out and tired. His smile was still there, but his eyes weren't as open. It was a strange expression he had on.
"There's a guest wanting to speak to you in the VIP Lounge. I believe you've met him before," Elizabeth said cheerfully. Minato nodded as he sleepily walked over to the door. It was probably the Reaper. The Reaper would probably threaten him and stuff. Minato was too tired to care. He outran the Reaper once and he could do it again.
Minato had trouble falling asleep the previous night. Even though he knew he was doing the right thing, it wasn't one hour before he felt uncertain and uneasy once more. Should he really go back to SEES? They don't honestly need him. What if they reject him? Is it worth it to find out?
Minato sighed. Indecisiveness was never a problem he had before. Probably because he never had to make a decision all on his own before.
As he walked through the various colored rooms to the VIP Lounge, he enjoyed the silence. He enjoyed being without Orpheus. It seemed like the Persona couldn't talk to him in here. He enjoyed being able to think in peace for once. He opened the last door to find an unexpected person waiting for him. It wasn't the Reaper. It was someone he never expected to ever see again.
"Minato, I think it's time we talk. You and I never seem to talk these days," Philemon said as he sat there with a pleased smile on his face. Minato was, of course, shocked at the appearance of a person who he had not seen in years. Then again, strange things were happening around him all the time. So he wasn't so much as shocked as he was curious. What did Philemon have to say to him? And it also occurred to him that Philemon called him by his first name without honorifics. When did they become close?
"About what?" Minato asked with a straight-face as he sat in the seat in front of Philemon. Philemon smiled. It was a hollow, empty smile. A practiced smile to create the illusion that he was happy to see Minato. Minato had seen the same expression on Mitsuru many times. Philemon felt no joy, Minato could see that. But with the mask on Philemon's face, Minato could not read anything else from the mysterious person's face.
"I once told you that you will have hard decisions to make on this journey. It appears you are reaching the crossroads of one. In honor of that, I want to tell you a story. The story of Orpheus. Would you like to hear it?" Philemon said cheerfully as he crossed his arms, looking somewhat smug.
Minato shrugged lazily in response. He knew Personae had stories behind them. Minato had read Orpheus' story multiple times once he discovered Orpheus was his Personae and body. However, he was curious as to how Philemon would tell the story. Greek myths did have multiple versions, after all. Philemon nodded at his response, taking the shrug as a 'yes'.
"Orpheus was an ancient legendary musician, poet, prophet and a hero. He could charm anything with his music. People, gods, mythical beasts. His music was more beautiful than the famed Sirens' song. He went on quite a few adventures and his music saved lives. But, like all heroes, a rather "unfortunate" thing happened to him. His wife died in an accident. In order to restore her to life, he set off to the underworld to ask Hades, the god of the underworld, for her back. His music charmed Hades easily and they made a deal. He could leave with her if he didn't look back at her until they both reached the upper world. Of course, this meant he could not confirm she was actually there. Do you know what happened next? Once he reached the upper world, he looked back," Philemon said, leaving a small opening for Minato to say something.
"I know this story. And then she vanished because they both hadn't reached the upper world. Could you get to the point?" Minato asked brazenly. Minato didn't come to hear the same old story. He came here and sat down because Philemon had something important to say. There was no way Philemon called him here just to swap stories. Philemon chuckled.
"Somebody is growing a little bit cranky. Don't worry about the passing of time. You can mull over your decision later. A good story needs to have a tone set for it it. Anyway," Philemon said as he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, steepling his fingers in the process, "Orpheus looked back. Not out of foolish impatience or anxiousness. The truth was that he had doubt in his heart. Doubt that he had been going about everything the wrong way when he was merely doing things like he always did. Could it really be so easy? Doubt was what made Orpheus into a tragic hero. The point of all this is your Orpheus inside you. Of course, you must be able to hear his voice. I will only give you this warning once," Philemon's eyes darkened and his smile vanished.
"Taking responsibility for your actions is not as simple as saying everything is your fault. It is accepting that you created your situation. But nobody ever solely is the cause for their situation. It is dealing with the consequences of your actions. But it is not so easy as that. To take responsibility, you must understand these things. Orpheus is a tragic hero whose sole existence is defined by his legendary blunder. Nobody remembers his heroics. Only his failure and his doubt. Only his tragedy. Orpheus may be you, Minato, but he is only a fragment of who you truly are. You will only end up the same as him if you succumb to a mere fragment of yourself. Doubt your doubt, Minato, and then doubt some more. Through doubt we question. Through questioning we gain wisdom. Through wisdom we understand. Understand what it means to take responsibility and then do it. Walk a path and stay with it. Simple, no? This is the only time I will let you off for forgetting your contract."
And with that, Philemon snapped his fingers.
And Minato's world turned white as he was ejected from the Velvet Room.
"Shinji... I want to talk to you," Akihiko said to the man who was leaning against the brick wall of the alley. In his maroon peacoat and black beanie, Shinji was a shell of the man he once was. It hurt Akihiko to see his best friend, no, his brother like this, but he was here for a reason. Every week since the accident he tracked down Shinji and tried to talk to him, cheer him up, get him to rejoin SEES
But it never worked.
Shinji would usually leave him to sulk somewhere else after a short conversation. He had yet to tell Shinji that Minato had left. But after so long, Akihiko was starting to think Minato might never be back. Shinji had connections with the underground of Tatsumi Port Island since he set himself as an outcast. Akihiko could live on without Minato, the pain of Shnji leaving years earlier had somewhat dulled the pain of Minato leaving, but Mitsuru was changing without her bodyguard present. Akihiko just hoped Minato could reunite with Mitsuru before the changes to her personality became irreversible.
"I'm not going back. You can give up already," Shinji said plainly as he stared at the alley wall across from him. Akihiko smiled wryly.
"Unfortunately, I didn't come here to ask you to come back this time. Minato has left SEES. and disappeared. Mitsuru's... more than a little hurt by it," Akihiko said as he moved to lean against the wall opposing Shinji. Shinji looked away from Akihiko. He never looked Akihiko in the eyes.
"Tch. What do you want me to do about it? Find him and beg him to come back so Mitsuru can have her security blanket back? No thanks. You and I both know the bastard never liked me. He worked with me just fine, but I always overheard him asking you guys to just take me out of SEES. He was right. He knew I was a monster. The "ojou-sama" was dependent on him, but didn't listen to him when it mattered. It makes sense something like this would happen eventually," Shinji said dryly.
"Shinji... Please. Mitsuru's in no condition to lead SEES right now. You have contacts that I don't have. Knowledge that we need to find him," Akihiko asked sincerely. Shinji turned his head to spit on the ground. His usual scowl remained as he spoke to Akihiko.
"What makes you think he's still even in Tatsumi Port Island? He doesn't need sleep, food, or water. He doesn't need money to live. He doesn't even need to go to school. Hell, I've never even seen him charge whatever powers him. If he just kept walking, he could leave all this behind in a day. Without using his armor sets to move fast. He could be anywhere, Akihiko. Just give up. He'll come back if he wants to," Shinji replied plainly.
Akihiko sighed as he moved from leaning on the wall to the exit of the alley. He looked back at Shinji.
"If Mitsuru continues on this path she's chosen, SEES may not be around much longer. I'll have to find another way. See ya later, Shinji."
And with that, Akihiko left.
Shinji was left alone. The way it should be. He'd only hurt them if he got involved with them. Distancing himself was the best option. Now more than ever.
He looked down at his spit from earlier.
Thankfully, it was clear.
At least Shinji hadn't spit up blood this time.
It would have only caused Akihiko to ask more questions.
Aigis joined the library committee. It was either that or the health committee. Considering that the library committee would give her free reign to all the materials in the library that had anything about her past, she couldn't see how she had much of a choice. Currently, she was on a computer after school (which was very boring, by the way. Junpei fell asleep and was yelled at by Ms. Toriumi. He laughed it off, but fell back asleep the second she turned her attention away from him. It was actually a bit comical) doing research on Minato Arisato, seeing if he had any surviving relatives.
"Naoto Arisato... Last surviving child of Kaito and Haruka Arisato found alive after missing for years. Kentaro Shirogane, father of Haruka Arisato immediately claims himself as legal guardian..." Aigis read aloud to herself in the library.
Google was being surprisingly informative. Apparently, Naoto had been sick as a child and the parents were working on controlled cryogenics to freeze certain parts of a person and keep them alive and conscious until a cure cold be found. A week before the accident, their daughter had been cured. Based on several notes found in their laboratory and home, the family had planned to announce it to their son, who had thought that his sister was dead, that she was alive after she was analyzed one last time to confirm that she was fully cured.
It was all very complicated, but this could be the chance she needed. She could contact this "Naoto Shirogane" and confirm that the Minato she knew was Naoto's brother. To do that, she had to bring Naoto to meet with Minato and gauge their reactions. There's no way Minato would tell her straight out. Now that she knew Maiko was always at the park and that she was Minato's Social Link, she now knew where to find him. Of course, there was the chance that Minato still did not know about Naoto due to the trauma of the accident, causing him to avoid all information regarding it. If he was the child that had been "killed". There was also the chance that they had barely ever seen each other. Naoto might not even know Minato even exists or, at the very least, anything significant about him to tell that he was her brother. And Minato could still not recognize Naoto. Aigis would have to maneuver very carefully.
The hardest part would be convincing the sole heir of a distinguished line of detectives and her grandfather that Minato was alive and that Naoto needed to come with her. Of course, contacting them would be difficult as well. They had a private estate and lived pretty far away. There was no listed phone number for them, so she'd need to try to either meet with them in person or use Officer Kurosawa's connection as a police officer to contact the detective family. She doubted Kurosawa would do it for her, though. She'd head over there one Sunday after planning things out. But first, she needed to tell Yukari abou-
"Aigis-chan? I could use some help over here, if you're willing. I'd fully understand if you can't, though," a voice from the other side of the room called out.
Saori Hasegawa. Aigis' new Hermit Link. The girl was actually two years older than Aigis due to her studying abroad, but they were in the same grade. Saori seemed nice. And, since she was the Hermit, Aigis couldn't very well leave her alone. Being alone was one of the main attributes of the hermit, right? Or something like that. Either way, sticking to her seemed to be the best way to get the link closer to progressing.
'I don't even know if I'll find out my past through Minato. But... it's my only lead I have left,' Aigis thought, feeling a bit of regret over sticking her nose into Minato's past. It wasn't really her business... was it?
"Coming, Hasegawa-san!" Aigis called out as she shut off the computer and ran over to help the girl.
"Yuka-tan! Let's go hang out!" Junpei called out to the girl from the entrance to the dorm. She was the only one in the lobby. Yukari, who was watching television, turned to look at him. Aigis was staying after at school, Mitsuru was shutting herself in her room, Akihiko was training, and Labrys was "out". Nobody really knew where she went.
"Yeah, like I'd hang out with you. Seriously, what would people say? Besides, this rerun of Ainori is only halfway through. At least let my finish the episode before asking, Stupei," Yukari said bluntly. It was mean, but Yukari did have an image. Junpei had a bad reputation in the school. He and Kenji were social outcasts, but they didn't seem to mind. However, Yukari was fragile when it came to other people's opinions of her. While she may not mind what Junpei might say of her, if she didn't fit into her "crowd", then she simply wouldn't know what to do. She didn't have the self confidence Junpei had to survive being an outcast.
Junpei smiled.
"C'mon. It's getting dark out. Nobody will see you. I've been feeling so tense. You have too, right? This whole dorm is depressing. We need to be able to go out, blow off some steam, and have fun every now and then," Junpei said as he leaned against the doorway, making sure to not get closer until she gave him one more answer. Yukari sighed.
"Just stop it, Stupei. If you really want to do something so badly," Yukari smirked, "Then I'll beat you at that Uno game Arisato-san bought."
Junpei's jaw dropped.
"Woah... Okay! Let's do it! Just me and you!" Junpei said with a bright smile.
"Just don't get any funny ideas about this. I'm feeling tense too. I won't hang out with you in public, Junpei, but I think some games inside the dorm could be good for our mental health," Yukari clarified.
Junpei was too happy to care about the reasons.
'Steps to becoming a hero:
1: Save the world. Working on it.
2: Get the girl. Making progress... Finally!'
"Uh, Stupei? Iori-san? Junpei-kun? You can snap out of it now. You want to play right? Seriously, get the cards. You put them away. Hey, I'm going to get mad. I paused my show already. Junpei-kun? Are... are you okay?! Snap out of it!"
"Haaah... Life is... so nice..." He said, zoning out completely.
"Just get the damn cards!" Yukari exclaimed as she threw the remote at Junpei's head. He took the hit and fell over on the ground, still smiling.
Yukari sweatdropped.
Maybe she went overboard... Well, she was tense.
"I'll get the cards right away...hehehe... Yuka-tan..."
Did this guy really want to hang out with her so bad?
Mitsuru couldn't sleep that night.
She dreamed of Minato.
There was a burning in her chest.
She needed to get rid of it.
Kill all Shadows.
Tartarus.
She could feel them all in there.
Crawling.
Feeding.
Writhing.
She needed to destroy them.
Kill Shadows.
It was like a painkiller.
Dark Hour.
It was coming too slowly.
Kill.
It was a violent drug.
She threw off her blankets and got dressed.
Twenty-three hours until the next Dark Hour.
She missed it.
She needed to hurry up and end the Dark Hour herself.
Her new Persona was like a poison, spreading through her body and burning her insides until there was nothing left but ash.
But with this new power, she could do anything. Kill anything. If she died in the process...
Well, what purpose did her life have but to destroy the Dark Hour?
It was all that mattered, ever since she was a child.
Minato changed the equation, made her forget her purpose.
Made her forget that the first experiments the Kirijo Group did on Persona users were done on her.
Her only purpose was to save mankind.
Minato was only a distraction.
She needed to rid herself of all distractions.
By telling herself this, Mitsuru was able to fall asleep once more.
Labrys stood on the roof of the dorm and stared up at the nearly full moon. She removed her multi-function weapon from her back and formed it into a battleaxe. She held up to the moonlight and examined it.
Her bone-white artificial hair seemed to shine in the gentle moonlight. Her parts sparkled after having been newly polished. With the chances of her meeting Minato growing by the day, Labrys had to look her best.
She swung her axe a few times before collapsing it and placing it on her back.
She used to almost never carry her weapon with her in its collapsible form, as difficult as that may be to believe. She would leave it behind in her room and be thankful to be rid of the weight of the weapon that killed her sisters. She had Minato with her then to ease her burden. But now...
Labrys knew that she was far too obsessed with Minato.
She couldn't help it.
He was precious to her not only as her friend and the machine she loved, but also as the sole chance of her atoning for her sins.
She honestly didn't care about the Dark Hour.
Mitsuru didn't need her to protect her as a bodyguard.
Labrys' only reason to exist she had was to protect and be with Minato.
How could she do that if she couldn't see him?
"Tomorrow is the day. I'll see ya then, Minato. I just know it," Labrys whispered into the cold night sky.
May 9th, 2009
Knock.
'I'll be up... in a little bit...'
Knock. Knock.
'...Who's there?'
Knock. Knock. Knock.
'Fine...I'l get it.'
Takaya's face greeted Minato as the white and blue haired boy opened his door. It was four o'clock in the morning. What could he possible want?
"You finally answered. Good. Although I know we are supposed to respect your desire to be alone, I was wondering if you and I could go and talk. Just the two of us," he said in a friendly tone. Minato raised an eyebrow.
"Why? Is something happening?" Minato asked. Takaya chuckled.
"I simply wish to make conversation. Now, follow me," Takaya said, not even processing that Minato would not want to talk to him. Perhaps refusing wasn't even an option. Takaya was the leader of Strega's field team, at least according to Ikutsuki.
Minato followed him.
They passed through the main lobby where Chidori was drawing alone. She raised her head to watch them as they passed. Minato waved at her. Although her cold expression remained, she nodded in return, acknowledging his greeting. He had at least some progress with her Social Link.
Takaya led Minato to the large elevator of the Base. Jin, who was just getting off the elevator, simply passed by them, turning his head once to look at Takaya as he ignored Minato's presence completely. Takaya reached out and pushed a button near the bottom of the long list of levels as Minato entered the elevator. Then, they began to descend even further into the ground at an incredible speed.
After a few minutes, the door opened and the two walked out into an environment that was as alien in their location as Tartarus was in Tatsumi Port Island.
Miles beneath the surface, there was a large garden. No, it was more like some sort of wild forest with trees of all kinds growing around a clearing in the center. Redwood, oak... and there were even plants that Minato had never seen before. In that clearing was a singular bench. Takaya smiled.
"This is our Eden. A place where we are closest to our god, Nyx-sama. After the Fall comes, mankind shall emerge once more from Eden and rule the land. You are only the fourth person to see it, Minato-san," Takaya said as he sat on the bench. He patted a spot on the bench next to him, indicating for Minato to sit.
Minato hesitantly sat, unsure of how to take in this situation. Most of these plants could never live in the same climate together. How was it possible that they not only lived, but thrived so deep beneath the Earth with only artificial light?
"What... do you want to talk about?" Minato asked, stopping his internal question about the garden. There was something not right here. Something... abnormal in this "Eden".
"Tonight, we believe there will be another piece of the great Harbinger emerging from the darkness. Your former teammates will face it. However, its destruction must be ensured. For through destruction, it is freed of the bonds of a separate form. Although your first assignment is not until tomorrow, I do hope that you will take this chance to ensure Nyx-sama can be called unto us," Takaya asked as he turned to look at Minato. Minato noticed the movement, but kept staring straight ahead.
"And if your theory is wrong? What if Shadow doesn't appear?"
"Then you will have no need to do anything except return home safely."
"Why me? Why do you seem so secretive about this whole mission?"
"Call it paranoia. I feel that I can trust only you to accomplish this mission and show your dedication to our cause," Takaya said.
Minato thought about this as a new idea grew in the back of his mind.
[You are right. This is indeed an opportunity. But what you are planning could be, no, is stupid and dangerous. Please reconsider. You don't want to have to-]
'Shut up. The plan is not quite done yet.'
"I'll do my best to make sure the deed can be done. If I am unable to, though, please understand that I am only one person," Minato replied to Takaya.
"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana."
Takaya smiled.
"Good. Now, I should let you go back to what you were doing," Takaya said as he stood to leave. However, Minato impulsively asked a question that had been weighing in his mind since he first met Takaya.
"Why do you do it?"
"Huh?" Takaya stopped and turned to look at Minato.
Minato breathed in as he gathered his thoughts, "If we succeed and summon Nyx, I don't think you'll survive to see what she does next. Almost everyone will die. Even though mankind has made a lot of mistakes, there still has to be good in it, right? Why crush that too? What do you have to gain from it all?"
Takaya's gaze pierced Minato's metal eyes and seemed to stare right into the center of his very soul.
"It's because I won't survive that I'm doing this. Chidori, Jin, and I are not like you. We won't live forever. We're doing what we can with the time we have left. As for there being good in the world..." Takaya's face darkened as he turned away. "I lost all hope for that a long time ago. You should realize that too."
And with those lonely words, Takaya walked away.
But Minato couldn't let the conversation end yet.
"Takaya-san... You say I'm the one who wants to be alone, but when was the last time you went outside and had fun during the regular twenty-four hours of the day?"
Minato wasn't sure if Takaya heard him or not, but he hoped Takaya did. Seeing somebody who had lost all faith in humanity and who had so little time to experience anything truly fulfilling in his life caused something to stir in Minato.
He wanted to save Strega.
Maybe he wasn't the best advocate for humanity (Hell, he even considered destroying it after Mitsuru called him by that awful name), but he realized he was willing to give people a second chance. The rest of Strega should too.
Suddenly, something clicked in his head.
'Take responsibility... I left SEES and joined Strega. I left my responsibilities to assume new ones. But I never made my leaving official. I never ensured that they would be safe without me. I left without giving them a chance to explain themselves. I left without explaining myself. I left them in disarray. The look on Mitsuru's face when she realized what she called me... I could have handled the situation a billion different ways, but I chose the worst one. Second chance? I never gave them one... So taking responsibility will be this difficult then, huh?'
[And if you want to leave Strega, then you'll have to take responsibility for that too. If you choose not to help them destroy the world, then does that mean you must help them to see things the other way? Or will you have to defeat them in order to stand by your decision? It looks like once you choose a path, you must stick to it.]
'...I hate this. It looks like Philemon was right about this not being easy.'
Minato sighed as he got up to leave "Eden".
"Dude. What if, like, Ultraman got into a fight with Godzilla and then Kamen Rider got sucked into the fight too."
"Woah. Woah. Now where's Astro Boy in this? You know that badass robot isn't just going to let them battle without him getting involved."
"Astro Boy?! What are you? An idiot? Astro Boy is for losers and pedophiles."
"Take that back!"
"Never!"
"Just shut up, guys! Ultraman and Godzilla has already been done to death before and changing the conditions slightly does nothing. Just focus on playing so I can kick your butts!" Aigis shouted at Kenji and Junpei.
Kenji's bid for Astro Boy was horribly, horribly ignored by Aigis as she continued to smash his Toon Link to pieces with her Samus in Super Smash Bros Brawl. The game was a nice little idea brought about by Junpei, who seemed to be working on slowly piecing the group back together and livening up the dorm. Yukari was out shopping with some other friends and Akihiko was, as usual, training. He promised he'd play next time they did something like this, though. Mitsuru was still in her room, though they'd asked her to play. She ignored them. Labrys was hanging around the corner, watching the fight.
"Kenji, good old friend, she's got the most lives left! Let's team up!" Junpei shouted at his friend. Kenji nodded and the two grasped each other's arms in as manly a fashion as possible. They released and unleashed a counter-attack on Aigis.
Samus jumped in the air to avoid Toon Link's boomerang only to be hit by Junpei's Captain Falcon and sent flying back to the ground. Toon Link followed it up by throwing a bomb at her as Captain Falcon charged up his signature move.
"Falcon Punch!" Junpei exclaimed at out at the same time as his character. Aigis' Samus was unable to avoid the attack and was killed.
"We did!" Junpei and Kenji yelled as they pumped their fists. Aigis' scowl deepened as Samus responded, now with the same amount of lives as the other two. One life for each person.
No more mercy.
Samus smashed the Smash Ball that appeared the instant it did and began to glow with energy. Junpei tried to attack Aigis' character and knock it out of her as Kenji fleed. But he was too late and Samus unleashed a giant laser beam that cleared the screen and killed the other two.
Aigis had won.
"Rematch!" Junpei shouted.
"Dude, I'm starting to get the feeling that no matter how many times you call that out, you won't win," Kenji said with a sad smile.
"Good game, Kenji. If you managed to actually escape, then you might have been able to win. Good game for you as well, Junpei. Even though you completely lack the ability to dodge," Aigis said smugly. Kenji blushed from the compliment, but nobody noticed.
Aigis felt her and Kenji getting closer.
"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana."
"... I'll defeat you Aigis, with my pride as a man on the line!" Junpei exclaimed. Aigis sweatdropped.
"What pride?"
Even though Junpei growled in anger, he smiled on the inside.
'Steps to becoming a hero:
0.5: Be the one to bring the group back together and keep it together,' Junpei mentally reminded himself.
Labrys sighed and walked away.
What was she thinking, wasting time like this? Minato took priority.
...Right?
But what would he want her to do?
Hours Later
"So, we should try seeing if we can break past that barrier or if some sort of item from a Shadow is needed," Akihiko said to the group.
After Kenji had left and Yukari had returned, the group decided to go to Tartarus during the Dark Hour. They had gathered in the lobby to plan out their trip.
Then the Dark Hour hit.
Dark Hour
The world was cast in the familiar green tones in an instant.
And Mitsuru, having finally come out of isolation due to her need to visit Tartarus once more (she was planning on it anyway. She saw no problem in them destroying what she left behind.), fell to the ground writhing in pain.
"Mitsuru!" Akihiko shouted as he ran to her side. The rest of the group could only watch as she pushed him away and stood up on her own, breathing heavily from the effort. Her stronger Persona had not only increased her power, but her ability to sense enemies as well. It was a double-sided weapon.
"Auugh! Haaaah... Haaah... What in the...! There's a big one! There's no way... Haah... It's... just like... Guh.. the last full moon!" Mitsuru's eyes hardened and she stiffened her stance to look over all of SEES with fire in her eyes. "All of you: stay here. That's an order. I'll destroy it," And with that order, Mitsuru ran out the door, got onto her motorcycle, and drove out into the night. There was a strange tone of excitement in her voice, almost as if this big Shadow made her... happy.
"Screw that order! We should all go! There's no way Mitsuru can take out something that sends her to the ground just by existing!" Junpei shouted as he stood to his feet.
"But, Kirijo-san's the leader, right? I think we should trust that she can handle this," Yukari chimed in. Labrys stood to her feet, determination in her eyes.
"If something like this is happening, then Minato is gonna be there. My sensors are tellin' me there's a large mass of energy in one of the monorails near Iwatodai Station. I don't know about you, but I'm going," Labrys said solemnly.
Aigis stood too.
"I want to go too. We can find Minato and save Mitsuru," Aigis said.
Yukari then stood.
"Geez! Fine, I'll go too! But we're disobeying the person who created SEES! Doesn't that scare you guys at all?!" She called out.
Akihiko's eyes hardened.
"The person who created SEES is currently not the Mitsuru we have now. This Mitsuru's an emotional idiot who's forgetting that she has friends that are supposed to help her. Let's go save her," Akihiko said.
And, like that, SEES was ready for battle.
Minato put on the red hoodie and jeans that were in his closet.
Chidori had given him the location.
He pulled the hood over his head and removed the lyre from his back, forming it into a golden short sword.
He pulled on specially-made sneakers to fully cover his metal.
He'd try the first approach for his plan.
Minato pushed open his door and headed towards the elevator.
He pushed the button to rise to the ground floor.
And he gripped his sword tightly.
Mitsuru raced down the street on her motorcycle past a multitude of coffins. She rode directly onto a diagonal coffin, using it as a ramp to go flying into the sky and land onto a car.
And she raced on top of the cars towards Iwatodai Station as the wind tore at her.
But she would let nothing stop her.
Nobody could stop her.
She jumped off a car and flew into the air with the full moon behind her.
And the moon cast light behind her, making her look as dark as a Shadow.
And her expression was as terrifying as one.
A flash of light, a Pixie's wings, and then he was gone.
A skidding stop, a helmet removed, and she had arrived.
Labrys ran with the rest of them as fast as she could.
Only Akihiko could keep her pace, but even he was getting tired. Junpei was close, but he was falling behind. Yukari and Aigis took up the back, barely able to keep up. They were running out of time and they knew it. Mitsuru had a large speed advantage and could be fighting the Shadow even now.
They only hoped they were not too late.
A person in a red hoodie stood on the narrow monorail bridge, blocking her advance. The person's face was hidden by the hood.
Mitsuru raised her sword.
"Move."
The person ignored Mitsuru's command and stood still, blocking her path. Mitsuru's anger flared. She did not come this far to be stopped by some random person!
"I said move!"
The person crossed his arms defiantly. Normally, Mitsuru would just bypass this person by leaping over to the other monorail track. But she wasn't thinking straight. The idea that somebody would dare try to stop her from eliminating the Dark Hour, her life's purpose, infuriated her in the worst way possible. She raised her Evoker to her head and shouted the name of her Persona and attack as she pulled the trigger.
"Jeanne D'Arc Inversé! Agidyne!"
What appeared in the air was nothing short of monstrous.
Tied to a large, flaming pillar was a woman being burnt alive. Her mouth was opened in a silent scream and her eyes were nothing but dark holes in her head. She was bald as her hair had already been burnt away. The skin of the woman was... was enough to cause any normal person to vomit. A large, upside-down crucifix floated around her, setting her on fire once more every time it passed. In her hand, she held a thin rapier, similar to the one Mitsuru carried. The crucifix turned around to fire a large fireball at the red-hooded person.
The fireball was extremely hot and was more than twice the size of a regular Agi, making all the other fire attacks Mitsuru had seen in the past pale in comparison. It was like launching a truck made of fire.
The person's arms glowed beneath the sleeves of his jacket before he raised them, almost as if he was going to catch the fireball.
"System Spell: Ice Storm."
A miniature blizzard shot at the fireball, and the wind and ice tore it apart before it even got close to the person. The wind, however, knocked back the hood, revealing an all too familiar face.
Mitsuru froze.
Minato was stopping her from stopping the Dark Hour.
And he did not look very happy to see her.
Labrys was able to sense the sudden increase in energy near the Shadow.
Although she did not have a sensing Persona (or any Persona at all) like Mitsuru, she could still sense raw energy levels using her own parts built into her. There were three energy sources.
The Shadow, Mitsuru, and...
Labrys' eyes widened. Was she right? Did Minato actually come?
She pushed the thought of her head though.
The two sources seemed to be colliding. Battling.
Even though Minato was upset at Mitsuru, he wouldn't attack her.
... Would he?
"I hoped it didn't have to come to me showing my face, but I guess it was unavoidable. Listen, I can not let you defeat this Shadow. You'll be dooming mankind if you do," Minato said plainly. Mitsuru was feeling too many emotions. Anger, sadness, joy...
Mitsuru swallowed the sob that threatened to come up.
"Why...? Why now? Why do you choose now to show up? I'm... done with you, can't you see?! I'm strong enough to defeat this Shadow all by myself! And defeating it is the only way to stop the Dark Hour and save mankind! Have you forgotten about the Lost, Minato?! I'm the one who has to save them! Me! It's my purpose, my life, so get the hell out of my way!" Mitsuru screamed at Minato. As she pulled the trigger of her Evoker and launched another Agidyne at Minato. Minato dispersed it just like the last one. A contemplative look on his face appeared as the fire scattered. It took a considerable amount of SP to use just one system spell. He could only do about four more before he had barely enough to do anything.
"I see... My leaving had more of an effect than I thought. But we both hurt each other," Minato sighed before recollecting his thoughts. "I don't know about the Lost, but I do know that killing this big Shadow is only going to bring the whole world closer to ruin. So I'm doing the best I can to stop that from happening. I'll explain the whole situation later, so just put your weapon down."
Mitsuru looked at her weapon, and somewhere deep down, Minato could see she was thinking about listening to him.
"No. You don't understand the whole situation. I can't back down. The Kirijo heir is supposed to never back down from her duties! I can't leave this place unsatisfied!" Mitsuru shouted as she charged at him, forsaking Persona attacks for close-range combat.
She thrust her rapier right towards Minato's face at a blinding speed, sending him flying backwards onto the rails. Minato pushed himself off the ground just quickly enough to pull out his lyre in short sword form from his back and knock away her next thrust. Mitsuru came at him with a barrage of thrusts which he was barely blocking and dodging. He leaned slightly to the side to dodge a blow to the head only to immediately raise his sword to deflect a body shot and then jump to avoid an attack on his legs. It was like fighting a living tornado.
She then pulled out her Evoker with her free hand while fight him with her sword hand. A perfect example of the multi-tasking abilities Mitsuru had drilled into herself her entire life.
"Sukukaja!" She yelled as she pulled the trigger.
"Oh, n-" Minato couldn't even complete his statement as Mitsuru's speed suddenly increased, putting her on a whole other level.
If she was a tornado before, she was now a hurricane, moving faster and with a far wider striking range. To her, Minato was moving in slow motion. Her blows hit Minato almost simultaneously knocking him back further and further.
Minato was in trouble. He didn't want to use lethal force on Mitsuru, despite what she did to him. He'd never been angry at her, but at himself instead. Then he realized something during Orpheus' first major speech to him. It didn't matter what they thought of him. He'd always protected his friends regardless. But now Minato was beginning to realize his options were becoming more limited by the second.
He parried a slash from the right and sent out a punch out Mitsuru, but Mitsuru's metal clanged against his arm, sending it down and leaving him open. She struck him in the chest three times in the time it would normally take to land one and then continued her assault, twirling into a slash aimed at his neck which he could only barely lean back to dodge. He attempted to counter-attack, only for her to knock his sword aside at lightning speed.
Mitsuru was beating him. Badly. He couldn't use any music or Persona attacks because he was spending all his time just trying to block what little blows he could. He was going to lose if things continued at this rate. He needed to do something unpredictable. Something to get her to stop her assault.
Mitsuru did one last thrust to him as her Sukukaja began to fade. Minato was sent stumbling back and stopped himself just short of the edge. He looked into the pit below him.
He got an idea.
'Sorry about this Mitsuru.'
[Are you sure this is the right idea? It seems just... idiotic! There's no way we can pull it off! You'll hurt her!]
'Oh, just shut up! You're just being annoying now. I got this!'
Minato grabbed Mitsuru's hand as she thrust at him and pushed off against the bridge, sending the two of them tumbling over the edge.
The rest of SEES arrived to find that Mitsuru wasn't even on the monorail bridge. Her motorcycle had been left on one of the rails, pointing towards one of the monorails. Aigis stood in front of the group, taking her position as field leader.
"She must be inside with the Shadow. Junpei-kun and Yukari-chan, follow me as the main attack force. Sanada-senpai, wait a few minutes and then enter the monorail to cover our rear. We don't want to be attacked from both sides in such a narrow area. You're strong enough to handle that alone. Labrys-san, you need to... Where'd she go?" Aigis asked, just now noticing that Labrys had disappeared from the group. Aigis just shook her head.
"She can figure out what to do. Now, let's save Mitsuru and kill that Shadow!" Aigis exclaimed.
"""Yeah!"""
"Angel!" Minato had shouted as he fell, holding Mitsuru close to him. Thick wings appeared out of two holes in the back of his jacket that were most likely created from wings that he made appear earlier. With the Angel armor on, he turned his attention to Mitsuru.
"Let go of me! Let go! Let go! Let go!" Mitsuru screamed repeatedly, her face bright red. She struggled against him, trying to move her wrist to hit him with her sword as she tried to kick at him futilely. Minato began to glide as he leveled out his wings and adjusted the angle of descent accordingly.
"I've got to stop the Dark Hour! If I can't do that, then just drop me!"
"Sorry, but you're too important to me to die here. It's my job to protect you, remember? So I'll just hold on to you for a little longer, alright? I don't want you getting hurt," Minato said with a smile. Mitsuru calmed, but her face was still bright red. Her eyes were filled with loneliness as she spoke quietly.
"What are you talking about? You don't care. You left me all alone. I-I... needed you. You always helped me keep my calm. I can't be a good leader without you there next to me. I always knew you were there to protect me. Without you... I'm useless." She looked at Minato only for tears to start forming in her eyes, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm sorry I hurt you! You're not some machine to order around! You're more important to me than that! I've always seen you as a person! So... please... come back. I need you."
Minato was speechless. All this time, he'd thought of Mitsuru as a strong, mature girl who never needed him. That was what he thought when he ran away. He thought she'd be fine, that she'd get over it. But these weren't the feelings of a girl who thought of him as just an ASW or a tool.
Whatever Mitsuru said, she thought of him as important. Not as a machine.
He... was as good as human for her.
Minato knew that now.
And he'd never forget it.
"Minato.. I-I..." Mitsuru paused to breath in deeply. She looked to be steeling herself to say this. With her cheeks bright red, she brought her face closer to him.
"I know... that I haven't always listened to you... I haven't always been a good person to bodyguard. I'm sure you've thought of me as a nuisance more often than not. But.. I-!... I... l-l-love you, Minato."
And with that, as they glided in the air with their bodies so close to each other, Mitsuru took every ounce of courage she ever held in her life, and kissed him.
Once Junpei had entered the monorail with the Yukari and Aigis, the door suddenly slammed shut and the monorail began moving with them on it.
"Damn," Aigis said between her grit teeth. Electricity wasn't supposed to work during the Dark Hour. Mitsuru's motorcycle was one of the few exceptions. Yukari raised her bow and Junpei brought up his sword like a baseball bat.
"Guess Akihiko-senpai is going to miss out on all the fun. Let's do this, team!" Junpei shouted, as if he was the leader. Aigis just shook her head with a small smile on her face. He had nothing if not confidence. Yukari sighed.
"Let's just finish this up! I was planning on getting my beauty sleep tonight!" Yukari exclaimed.
The trio rushed forward past the coffins, through the door to the next cabin only to meet several Shadows blocking their way. Yukari immediately went to sniping them from a distance as Junpei rushed forward, easily dispatching a few of them with the extra muscles he had trained so hard for with Akihiko. Aigis, not wanting to be left out, put her machine gun into the mouth of a Shadow that was attacking her and pulled the trigger, unleashing a hail of bullets right through its head. Then, the three of them put their Evokers to their heads.
Akihiko immediately jumped on the motorcycle and chased after them. It was easy to tell what car they were in.
It was the one with the explosions going off.
It was as if fireworks had gone off in his head, consuming every single space between the atoms there and filling it with feelings he could not even begin to grasp as he felt the very core of his being twist and turn and transform from the sheer energy coming through this one action, this one physical contact between the two of them.
To say that Minato was shocked would be biggest understatement of his life.
Because not only had the girl he had watched over and protected for years just kissed him, but he had also felt it. That small bit of feeling he would get whenever he completed a Social Link had just happened. And if that was only a small bit...
Minato gulped.
The reason he'd felt it was because of the third surprising thing.
Minato now understood Mitsuru's actions. She had been jealous of him and Elizabeth. That was why she yelled. She'd... been in love with him. He was extremely important to Mitsuru. And now... he understood her feelings... What... What had he done by leaving her? Everything strange she had ever done now made sense. All this time he... never knew. He never understood her feelings and his actions... How many times must he had he hurt her by not understanding her?
And when she did the same to him, he ran away.
He was really very weak, after all.
And Mitsuru was far stronger than he had ever imagined.
"Thou hast finally gained Understanding of thy bond. The eternal pledge shall now be honored and thy bond's strength shall obtain its true form."
The rank instantly doubled, bringing the Empress Arcana from rank four to eight.
He finally understood what he'd been missing all this time.
There was terror and anxiety in Mitsuru's eyes, as if she'd just realized what she had done. Minato, on the other hand, came to another realization.
He couldn't go back even if he wanted.
Not yet.
Even after he did Strega's mission, he still may not be able to return.
If he had a human body, his entire face would be bright red and he'd be unable to even control his own speech. That would have made his life more difficult.
Minato's cheeks went bright red and he could even feel the warmth they exuded.
[ASWs should be capable of showing all emotions, right? I don't even think this is the first time you blushed.]
'Damn you, Orpheus!'
"I-I-I...I un-understand Mitsuru, b-but I can't respond to your f-feelings just y-yet. N-not," Minato gulped, hoping to calm his own scattered brain and stammering tongue, "Yet. We both need to change first. I'm sorry for leaving you, but I can't go back yet. There are still things I need to do. I left not just because I was angry. I... I want to forge my own path, my own purpose, and live it out. You should too. If I go back, then you'll just go back to relying on me. And I'll still be weak. I'm not strong enough, Mitsuru. This fighting will happen again. This... darkness inside you will come out again. And my weakness will only help it. Look, you aren't useless. I've never once thought of you that way. You don't need me to protect you anymore. You're strong. Just be yourself. Be the confident, mature, strong woman I know you are. I... I'll come back one day... okay?" Minato said, unable to bear the look on Mitsuru's face as he said all this.
Then, their descent was over. Minato spread his wings to slow down and land. They were on a dusty hill a while away from the monorail. Behind them, Minato could still see the large tracks in the distance, but in front of them was the large sea of red that shimmered beneath the moonlight. He let go of the eerily quiet Mitsuru and began to walk away. He almost smacked himself right there. The Arcana Shadow! He'd forgotten about it! The rest of SEES was probably already going to fight it! He needed to stop them!
But a small tugging on the elbow of his hoodie stopped him. He turned his head to find Mitsuru holding onto his jacket, looking the loneliest he had ever seen her.
"What... do you feel? How do you feel... about me?" She asked him. Her eyes were red and puffy and she let out a small sniffle as she spoke. She was... pitiable. At her weakest and most vulnerable.
Her angry, earlier form had reminded him of himself when he rampaged. And now... she reminded him of when she was a child. Technically, he'd been a child too.
"You're... important to me. But I can't say anything else. I still haven't discovered what the emotion of love is. Fear, anger, joy... I can understand those. To say I love you when I don't know if I do would be horrible and unfair to you. So, let me discover my own feelings first. When I know for certain, you'll be the first person to know," Minato said, hoping to cheer her up somewhat.
Mitsuru only hugged his back in response.
It was the tightest hug he had ever felt.
"As your superior... I'm ordering you to return... When you can... Minato. And you better have your answer ready or it's Execution time!" Mitsuru exclaimed. Even though she was trying to sound tough, Minato could still hear her sadness.
"Yes, yes just like Piru-chan," he said jokingly. "But you're strong, Mitsuru. And you aren't alone. SEES is yours to command... and befriend."
"...Yes..."
"Now, would you like a ride, or do you want to stay here until the Dark Hour is over?"
Mitsuru released him and sat on the ground, looking at the red sea.
"I'll stay. I... have a lot to think about. But, before you go, I need you to explain something. Why are you trying to stop us from killing th-"
An explosion cut her off. Over at the monorail, there were multiple explosions happening.
"I'll tell you later. Just trust me."
Minato's armor changed to Pixie's. While Angel's was best for a human passenger, Pixie's armor was far faster. He jumped into the air and stayed there, hovering.
"See you later, Mitsuru. Suspend my contract as bodyguard for a while, okay? Keep the spot open so I can come back."
"Of course... See you later, Minato."
And he was off in flash.
Mitsuru was alone once again.
But it wasn't unbearable anymore.
"Guys. I think using our Persona powers in here was a bad idea," Aigis said as she looked at the ruins of the car they were in. The walls and ceiling had been completely destroyed. Thankfully, there had been no coffins in that particular train car, but it meant they had to be more careful.
Junpei pushed a piece of debris off of him and coughed loudly. How come Aigis was just standing in the middle of this? Wasn't she blasted away by anything? Junpei's respect for the girl's durability grew.
"Let's just save them for the Arcana Shadow! I bet it's in the front! It's driving this thing after all!"
"Yeah. We know," Yukari said as she pushed away the piece of the wall that she had been hiding behind. She must have used it as a shield...
"How come I'm the only injured one here?!" Junpei asked incredulously.
"Why do you think Aigis-chan and I use ranged weapons? We have you to rush in and take all the damage for us," Yukari said with a smirk.
"Ha. Ha. I'll remember that next time sombody's crying to get the 'icky' Shadow away from their new cardigan," Junpei taunted. Yukari's faced turned bright red.
"I was not crying, Stupei!"
"You totally were!"
"Shut up!"
"Look, your eyes are still puffy!"
"Shut up shut up!"
"Both of you shut up!" Aigis shouted. "We still have work to do. ...After almost blowing up every single car, we just had to blow this one up... This is the car before the one in front. We need to stop this monorail."
"Why?" They both asked simultaneously.
"Because the thing is moving! How long do you think we have before the Shadow decides to collide it into something?!" Aigis exclaimed.
Yukari and Junpei promptly shut themselves up.
Akihiko raced behind the monorail, finally catching up to the back of it. Akihiko began to move his legs on top of the motorcycle, now crouching on it while gripping the throttle.
This was going to be close. An inch off and he'd have to say farewell to his promising boxing career. And his life.
'Sorry, Mitsuru. Looks like you'll need a new bike.' Akihiko thought.
He pushed off the bike and jumped to grab the top of the monorail.
He stretched his arms as far as he could, stretched his fingers to their limits. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion. His fingers brushed against the top of the monorail...
Only to grasp nothing.
He hadn't been able to make the jump.
But as he fell, something amazing happened.
The bike skittered out of control and crashed, causing a fiery explosion right behind him.
Using that explosion as propulsion, Akihiko was able to push forward and grasp the top of the monorail by the tips of his fingers.
Using all his years of boxing training, Akihiko managed to push himself up onto the top of the monorail.
He didn't have time to waste. He needed to get to the others. To Mitsuru.
He would later facepalm when he realized Mitsuru was never actually on the monorail.
But for now, he was determined.
Mitsuru looked out over the sea of red with a small smile on her face. She rested her head on her knees. Sitting there, with her arms wrapped around her knees, Mitsuru could only sigh in relief.
It wasn't rejection, but it wasn't acceptance.
But the relief she felt from finally telling him was all she really needed right now.
Minato was always an idiot with his feelings. Mitsuru knew she was too. If it weren't for her current state of emotions, she would have never acted so boldly. A small spot of shame was now in her heart for her actions, but she'd ignore it for now. The raging fire inside her had all but disappeared. She now felt cooled.
Cold.
But now there was that warmth in her, left over from the fire. Maybe Minato was right. Maybe she wasn't alone, didn't have to go through it alone. Memories flowed through Mitsuru.
Akihiko at her door, begging for her to come out.
Aigis trying to get her to snap out of her sadness with her speech.
The group asking her to come out and play with them.
And what had she been doing? Sitting in her room moping?
That was behavior unbecoming of the heir to the Kirijo Group.
She was Mitsuru Kirijo. A leader. How did she ever get it into her head that she could stop the Dark Hour alone?
Even now, the rest of SEES was probably fighting the Shadow. Mitsuru stood to her feet. She put her Evoker to her head and pulled the trigger.
"Penthesilea, huh?"
Mitsuru was back to being herself again. Hopefully, she could stop herself from acting out like that in the future.
She pulled her communicator out of her pocket and put it into her ear. Her sensory skills had been amplified by the change, but were not as strong as they were before. She let her Persona fill her consciousness, cooling it down to a soothing calm. She felt out the energies of her comrades, of Minato flying to the monorail, Akihiko standing atop the monorail, and Aigis, Junpei, and Yukari about to enter the final car.
And Labrys...
"What are you doing?" Mitsuru whispered to herself.
Akihiko ran, jumping from one car to the other, using all his strength to push forward. The monorail was speeding up. That was not a good sign.
{Akihiko. It's me.}
Akihiko nearly fell off the train as he heard Mitsuru's voice coming in through his communicator. He'd taken his in case Mitsuru contacted him, but... he never really expected it to happen. He put his hand to his ear in a hurry as he continued on the train.
"Mitsuru, where are you?! Are you okay?!" He asked worriedly. He heard Mitsuru sigh pleasantly, as if she was pleased by something. There was a smile in her voice as she spoke to him.
{I'm fine. Minato stopped me from doing something really stupid. I'm currently on a hill about a mile or two out from you location. He should be en route to your location now.}
Akihiko facepalmed as he realized he'd gotten all worked up about Mitsuru for nothing. He wobbled on the monorail and almost fell face-first trying to jump from one car to the other.
"Minato? What the hell happened?" Akihiko questioned through grit teeth.
{A lot. Listen. Kubomi, Iori, and Takeba don't have communicators, so they don't know. They're in the front of the train now. You need to hurry up and help them defeat that Shadow before it collides your train with another that it has already started moving. You have less than eight minutes before it's impossible to stop it. Move!}
"Roger. Good to have you back, Mitsuru," Akihiko said with a smile.
{...Good to be back.}
'Sorry, Minato. We have to destroy this one for the sake of our team. There's also a chance you're wrong and not destroying it could make everything worse.' Mitsuru thought to herself.
She trusted him, but if they didn't stop that Shadow, then Aigis, Junpei, Yukari, and Akihiko would die.
If this was indeed the same type of Shadow as the last big one, then there would probably be more. They could try to not destroy those instead.
She scanned the Shadow and was able to take in what it looked like.
The Shadow looked like a really big woman with a mask that was lazing around on the ground in front of the controls. It's body was divided into the colors of black and white and it wore some sort of cloth around it's lower half which its feet protruded from. It's legs were spread wide and some sort of tendrils extended from the sides of his head in two groups, one black and the other white.
"Dude, that thing's half-naked!" Junpei exclaimed.
"It's just a Shadow. It can't be naked at all," Aigis said seriously. Yukari immediately fired an arrow at it, knocking its head back.
"Put on a shirt, you whore!" She yelled.
Aigis sweatdropped. She could only blame Yukari's personality changes on herself. After all, Social Links changed both sides, right? And while Aigis now made a conscious effort to take care of her looks, Yukari seemed to get a little of the excitement Aigis had every now and then.
The Shadow summoned two Muttering Tiaras, smaller Shadows that would just attack them while they tried to take it out.
"Yukari, Junpei, aim for the main Shadow! I can take out the fodder!" Aigis ordered.
"Okay!"
"Got it!"
Aigis switched her Persona to Apsaras. Muttering Tiaras were weak to Ice. She'd use her attacks to create openings and attack again. Aigis put her machine gun onto a holster she had on her back. It was out of ammo. She pulled out her Evoker and out to her head.
"Apsaras! Bufu!"
The blue maiden appeared and hit the Shadow with a pillar of ice, destroying its guard from its weakness being exploited.
"You know, I forget you could do change Persona. Oh, well. Let's Cleave this monster!" Junpei cried out as he put the Evoker to his head and pulled the trigger.
Junpei's Persona, Hermes, appeared and slashed the main Shadow as Yukari fired arrows at it, avoiding the other Muttering Tiara that had started attack her.
"Bufu!"
The other Muttering Tiara was knocked away by the icy pillar. Yukari sent over a look of gratitude to Aigis.
The main Shadow glowed with energy before sending it out across the room.
Pillars of ice appeared around the trio, hitting each of them from multiple directions.
"Aaugh!"
Aigis stumbled back after the attack faded. Yukari cried out when the attack hit her, but seemed fine now. Junpei was already attacking again.
Aigis reached into the hidden pocket in her school jacket and pulled out her other weapon.
A Steyr M1912. A machine pistol that was used as a sidearm by the Austro-Hungarian army. At least that was what Kurosawa told her.
She fired the gun as she held her Evoker tightly to her head, firing at the main Shadow while suppressing the ones it would summon with her Persona.
Junpei rushed at the Shadow and had began slashing at it with his sword, making the initially shallow cuts deeper and deeper as Yukari supported him from a distance.
It was going surprisingly well.
Then the Shadow raised one of its arms and smacked Junpei aside, sending his body through the air like a ragdoll. He hit the wall and fell to the ground, groaning in pain. It looked at Yukari and hit her with a beam of pink light. Yukari wasn't physically affected, but her eyes glowed pink and she began to fire her arrows at Aigis.
It was the status affect known as Charm. It would wear off eventually, but Aigis had no time. She cast a Bufu underneath her at an angle, using the icy pillar to spring forward, narrowly dodging Yukari's arrows as she did so, and ram a Dis-Charm into Yukari's mouth. The small, pink ball went down easily and Yukari regained her senses...
Only for the two of them to get hit by more Ice attacks from the Shadow.
And Aigis finally noticed Yukari's arrow in her shoulder. Aigis couldn't lift her right arm to fire anymore. Yukari was exhausted and running out of stamina. Junpei was trying to get up, but his broken ribs wouldn't let him. And the Muttering Tiaras were attacking them, not even giving them enough time to heal.
Things were going surprisingly not well.
"Ooof!"
Minato was flying as fast a Pixie could take him, but nothing could prepare him for the sudden tackle in midair. Something large suddenly grabbed his torso and and sent him spiraling out of control.
"Minato! I found ya!"
Minato immediately stopped struggling and tried to focus on slowing down their descent before they hit the ground.
'Oh. I know that Kansai accent.'
[Looks like everything's just trying to interrupt your plan, doesn't it?]
After spinning in midair for several rotations, Minato and the person who grabbed him finally slowed down to where they could look at each other. There, attached to his chest, was Labrys, looking as if she'd won the lottery as her now messed up hair was all over her face. Her battleaxe was attached to her back with the sides of the axe head looking like wings and the thrusters on it propelling her forward. It had been a while since he'd heard her Kansai accent or seen her fly. The former she'd tried to keep hidden over the years due to Mitsuru making fun of it when they got in a fight once and the latter...
Well, how many situations did she need to fly in?
Minato couldn't help but smile just by looking down at her happy face.
However, he couldn't waste any more time. The rest of SEES was fighting that Shadow! He needed to stop them before they played exactly into Strega's plans!
"Labrys, I need to get over to the rest of SEES! I'm glad to see you, but I don't have any time an-"
Minato froze. He was now lower than the monorail. Pixie could only fly horizontally. Angel could only glide and there wasn't enough time to build up speed or height with Garu.
"I don't care about that right now! I need to tell ya something!" Labrys exclaimed. Minato sighed.
"I need to get over there, but I can't get high enough. Fly me over there, Labrys. You can tell me on the way there," Minato suggested. Labrys' eyes seemed to sparkle. She was way too happy. Then again, she was unsociable and he was the first person she met since she woke up all those years and the two of them had always been friends. Though he hadn't realized it at first, Labrys could be considered his best friend. She always understood him in a way nobody else did. And since the two of them had spent years together with Mitsuru, they spent a lot of time alone after Mitsuru went to sleep just talking.
Their friendship wasn't always outwardly apparent, but it was there. They were companions, co-workers, and, as far as Labrys was concerned, members of the same species.
Like when she consoled him after Shinji left. He'd felt like such a failure then. But, then she'd told him her story. Though she didn't say it was her she was talking about, she had said her own story. As he looked at her facing forward so happily after all she had been through, he couldn't help but recall that memory.
"Once there was a girl. She didn't know what her purpose was, but she was forced to fight. She was born, made to fight. She didn't mind it at first. Then she made a friend. Her friend taught her many things and they became close. Once, they found a dog. The girl began to discover something strange. She enjoyed life. She didn't want to fight, didn't want to kill. It was her goal… but she was forced to do something horrible when she discovered that. She had to kill her sisters. Her only family. She did it without hesitation because the girl, as much as she hated killing, wanted to live even more. Then she… was told to kill her friend. She... begged the people forcing her to do it to stop. Her friend, however, knew that the girl had to fight in order to live. In order to attain power. So the girl was forced to kill her friend. She had no choice. But she never attained the power. The killing was useless. And the girl was sealed away.
"A boy found her. The girl was scared, for he looked like her sisters, yet he also looked like her friend. The boy saved her and dragged her along with him to places previously unknown to the girl. The girl had fun, she managed to live on when she had thought it impossible. If she never been found by that boy, she would have never found any purpose in life. She realized then that failures can only lead to good things. If she wasn't sealed away, she wouldn't have met the boy. She may have been powerless, but that doesn't mean she'll stay that way.
Failure is necessary sometimes. It helps you learn and know that something good is on the horizon for you. Goals are called goals because they are something you have to work for. If it's something you have to protect, then you have to protect it with all your strength. If you aren't strong enough, get stronger. If that is not enough, borrow the strength of others. Individually we are limited by what's possible.Together, we are able to do the impossible."
"Thanks, Labrys... How did you ever get so insightful?"
"I… don't interact with others very often. I don't know how. The only humans I ever knew were the scientists and they weren't very social. I tend to stand-off to the side and watch. I…I learned this from watching you, Minato. You knew you could have forced Shinji out if you truly wanted, but you wanted unity. You always chased after Shinji when he went charging off because you knew that he couldn't do it alone. Whenever you get knocked down in battle, you'd stand right up, dust off your parts, and charge.
"You won't stay down. I know you. And whenever you fall, remember that everyone is here to catch you."
Labrys nodded and held Minato even tighter. She'd been a major factor in how he became who he was today. If anything, he was extremely grateful to Labrys. She was always on his side, always there for him when he needed her.
Even right now. He was nowhere near fast enough, but she had appeared and was more than ready to help him.
"Hang on! Increasing thrusters to 100% output!" And they rocketed off, following the monorail as it sped down towards the end of the line and towards another monorail.
The cold night air rushed past Minato and Labrys as they held onto each other. For Minato, it was simply him holding on for the ride. But Labry's grip seemed much more than that. It was as if she was scared he was going to disappear at any moment with how tight she was holding on to him.
That's right...
He'd left her too.
Had he even thought of Labrys when he left? She was always on his side and would have no doubt calmed him down if he'd simply gone to her instead of run away. He knew she was unsociable, that she was unable to be around regular humans very much. He had been her bridge to the rest of the world and the one person she could really talk to her. Had he never once considered her feelings?
"I'm... sorry, Labrys," Minato said remorsefully. Labrys' eyes opened wide in surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Minato continued as he hugged her even tighter, his fists clutched in frustration. He'd completely forgotten about her. He'd abandoned her without any reason.
"I'm sorry. I left you. You never... never did anything wrong. You were always my friend and you always treated me like an equal. You were always there with me. We were a team. Two bodyguards that were supposed to work together. And despite my incompetence on the job that we often had to deal with, you were there to pick up the slack without a single complaint. I don't know how I could have ever gone through everything without you. Helping to take care of Mitsuru, guarding her when she wouldn't let me do it, carrying me through the dark times. And how did I repay you for everything? I'm such an idiot!" He shouted. Minato could only clench his fists tighter.
'I'm such an idiot! A goddamn idiot! Why didn't I realize it sooner?! Labrys dealt with my pain much longer! She was treated as a machine from the moment she opened her eyes! She had to kill her own kind just to live! And then I showed up, and I came to take her away from it all. I promised to take her outside. I was the "hero". And what did I do? I threw her away, just like those scientists did! I have to find a way to make this right!'
[...]
"I'm sorry I abandoned you! I'm sorry! I forgot... what you went through. What you told me after Shinji left. I'd been so focused on myself and the rest of SEES that... I forgot how you would feel. I must've hurt you. But right now, I can only apologize. I'll make it up in what way I can later, but I'm only able to apologize. I'm sorry," Minato said, now losing the energy he had. He couldn't do anything else. He didn't know what else to do.
'At times like this... I'm so worthless.'
"Don't apologize. You're not to blame. It was my fault," Labrys said. And as they streamed through the air, Minato could almost feel his non-existent heart stop.
'What...?'
"I shoulda warned you about humans. We simply can't be treated like them. That's what it means to be an ASW. It's my fault for not telling you. You always were closer to people than me, and, for a while, I thought it was a good thing. But you showed me I was wrong. Humans... they're all the same," Labrys said with contempt as she grit her teeth.
They were now getting closer to the monorail. They'd be there soon.
"Labrys, I have something to tell you," Minato said with a tired sigh.
"I have something to tell you too, Minato. Do you wanna go first?" Labrys asked. Minato shook his head.
"Mine's a bit of a doozy. You go first."
Labrys breathed in to calm herself as they now flew above the blood red waters and the green moon cast its light on their side.
"I've been waiting a long time for you to hear this. For me to say it. So, I might as well just go out and do it. You and me, we're ASWs. The last of our kind. And I guess I couldn't help it. Although I just wanted to protect you as the last ASW first, it kinda grew into something more. From friendship to beyond. You see, Minato... I can't stop thinking about you. You're always on my mind. You leaving actually helped me to refocus my life and see what I really wanted.
And I want you, Minato. I'm hopelessly, irrevocably, in love with you."
And with that, Labrys kissed him.
And so they flew through the air, two metal beings, if only for a moment, melding in mind as their bodies were as close as possible.
{One minute! Hurry, Akihiko!}
"I'm hurrying!" Akihko yelled as he jumped off the roof of the car and rolled into a landing on the floor of the roofless car. He ran through the still open door of the final car to find a battlefield.
"One minute until we can't stop this thing! Let's finish this up quickly!" Akihiko shouted as he ran in.
Aigis and Yukari using Garu and Bufu Persona abilities to keep the Muttering Tiaras at bay long enough to attack the main Shadow. Junpei was crawling back to his sword.
"Senpai!" Aigis shouted, "Heal Junpei-kun and hit the big one! Yukari, finish these guys off! I'll hit the brakes!"
Aigis threw aside her weapon and grabbed the arrow in her shoulder. With a single motion, she ripped it out, causing blood to spray out in an broad arc.
"Aaaugh! Aaah!... Guh! I'll heal myself up! Just take that giant bitch down!" Aigis ordered as she put her Evoker to her head. She grunted in pain before pulling the trigger.
Akihiko nodded and put his Evoker to his head.
"Polydeuces! Dia!"
Junpei finally was able to stand to his feet, though he was clearly sweating from the effort.
"Let's do this. You ready for a combination attack, senpai?!" Junpei said as Akihiko cast one more Dia on him.
"Like the one we practiced? I've been waiting for something to use it on. Take the lead. I'll cover you," Akihiko said with a smirk.
Junpei ran at the large Shadow with his sword raised. The Shadow lifted its hand to smack Junpei away, but Akihiko jumped between the two and punched the hand back, sending it behind the Shadow. Junpei jumped on the Shadow's knee and used it as a springboard to jump even higher into the air.
"Take this, bitch!" He yelled as he drove his sword down into the Shadow's skull. It stuck there, sinking only slightly into it. Junpei fell down between the Shadow's legs, looking ever so awkward as he did so. Akihiko, on the other hand, jumped onto the Shadow's knee like Junpei, but twisted his body in midair, looking like a horizontal tornado until he went above Junpei's sword which was still standing straight up on the Shadow's head. The spin stopped when Akihiko reached out his fist and landed one, solid punch on the sword.
"Combination: Hammer and Nail!" Akihiko and Junpei exclaimed simultaneously.
The sword flew straight downwards from the impact, cutting the Shadow in two before lodging itself into the floor of the car. Aigis rushed in and jumped through the opening they made straight to the controls and she pulled the first lever she could find. The brakes of the monorail went into place as the remains of the Shadow vanished into the Dark Hour.
"You guys are such nerds," Yukari said to Akihiko and Junpei.
It was as if time had stopped.
He memorized the feeling of her synthetic skin on his. It was different from kissing Mitsuru. It was much colder... yet, he felt the needed warmth through her feelings. Her kissing him... It was something impossible. Something he had never thought would happen. Ever.
Minato simply couldn't believe what was happening.
He couldn't possibly fathom his current situation.
Mitsuru and Labrys loved him.
They both had kissed him.
And he was such an unworthy person for their feelings. He didn't understand love. He couldn't possibly return their feelings yet.
And they had both pushed him into a corner. When they reached the monorail, Labrys flew alongside it before landing in the car before the final one.
Minato still had to tell Labrys something. She might hate him for it, but he couldn't leave her the way she was.
[It's for her own good.]
'...Is it really?'
[She'll need to know eventually. And now you have the strength to tell her.]
With their feet on the ground, they both broke off the kiss. Labrys smiled victoriously, but her smile faded when she Minato's expression was not the same. Rather, he was contemplative. Although his cheeks were redder than Mitsuru's hair.
"Labrys, that thing I needed to tell you? Before I can respond to your confession, you should hear this first. Well, you see... I'm not... an ASW. I... used to be human. You really are the last ASW."
And Labrys felt her world collapse on top of her.
"Thou hast finally gained Understanding of thy bond. The eternal pledge shall now be honored and thy bond's strength shall obtain its true form."
And the rank jumped from four to seven.
Then Minato burst into the car all of a sudden, looking panicked. He still need to stop them fro-
[Too late.]
"Oh... Guess I was late. Hi, guys... Ha...ha..." Minato said awkwardly.
"Minato!"
"Minato-senpai!"
They all exclaimed in surprise.
Minato gulped nervously. After all that work, having to tell them that they just helped doom the human race would not get the happiest response. Plus, after Labrys' reaction to what he said, he was just... drained.
{Minato? Would now be a good time to explain why killing that Shadow was actually bad?} Mitsuru's voice sounded from the communicator, which, via her request, had been switched to speaker mode.
"Wait... WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.
Time seemed to freeze as Minato realized what position he was in.
Minato couldn't tell them about Strega. He needed to save them. His links with them would be severed if he told their secrets and let SEES know their location. As long as there was a chance to help them, he wasn't going to sell out the people who needed him.
But on the other hand, he'd be hard-pressed to explain the situation without mentioning them. His friends would probably not believe it. Heck, he himself doubted that Nyx was real and coming because they killed Shadows. Maybe Nyx was fake, just a cult icon. Maybe Nyx was going to come eventually and there was nothing he could do but buy time until the end or some other solution came. But he was doing all he could and telling them would only mean Strega would defeat the Shadows instead. Or SEES would fight Strega. He couldn't take sides. He needed to save Strega, stop the destruction of the big Shadows, and after considering his options, there was only one way to do it.
"I was being sarcastic, Mitsuru. Of course defeating Shadows is good. The numbers of the Lost decreased last time we beat a big Shadow like that, remember?" Minato said with a big fake smile on his face.
He had to do it alone as a third party.
They bought it far more easily than he thought.
Akihiko facepalmed.
"You really need to learn how to be sarcastic, Minato. You almost gave me a heart attack," Akihiko said with a smile. He walked over to Minato and hugged him.
"Welcome back," he said to the metal man. He released him and took a few steps back. Minato frowned.
"I'm not coming back yet. I still have things to do," he announced.
The room fell into silence.
Junpei walked over to him, breaking the silence.
"Dude, as long you're safe, I think everybody's okay. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right?" Junpei said encouragingly. Although it was subtle, it was Junpei's way of telling Minato that he was a man, not a machine. Junpei extended his fist towards Minato. Minato smiled and nodded as he bumped Junpei's extended fist with his own. Yukari walked over, fidgeting slightly.
"I'm...uhm... I'm sorry for calling you a robot. You're a good guy, Minato-senpai. And, well, what Junpei said. When you get back, maybe we could hang out. I never really got to know you, you know?" Yukari said as she stared at her feet.
"Sounds fun. I'd love to," Minato said happily. Yukari nodded as she walked a few feet back. Aigis rushed forward and stood right in front of Minato.
"I need to talk to you. About a lot of things. If you're coming back, then make it sooner rather than later, Minato Arisato," Aigis said harshly before turning to go back and talk to Yukari.
Akihiko extended his hand.
"When Shinji left, it was horrible. For all of us. I want our separation to be a lot better. I'll see you later, Minato," Akihiko said.
[Strange how they don't ask what things you have to do. Though, I guess they all respect you enough to take you for your word. You basically said you'd be back. What's your take? Do you think it's okay to just leave them like this?]
'...'
[Okay, I think this adds new meaning to the saying "I'm talking to myself".]
"Thanks. I'll see you guys later," Minato said as he waved. "Trafuri."
And in a flash of light, he disappeared.
...
...
...
"Soooo... How did you know which lever was the brake, Aigis?" Junpei said, hoping to fill the silence.
Aigis shrugged.
"I guessed," she said proudly.
Junpei and the others nearly collapsed from the obsurdity of it all.
Labrys sat underneath the monorail, where she couldn't look up and see the stars.
She'd... overreacted, right?
She thought back to exactly what she had said, how she had responded to him telling her something he'd never told anybody else.
How he'd trusted her with his horrible secret.
Could she ever see him in the same light again?
Could he ever see her in the same light again?
For Labrys, her purpose in life seemed to be rapidly fading away into nothingness.
"What...? No... There's no way... Liar..."
"Minato Arisato is the name I chose. It is also the name of a child whose body was never found ten years ago. I don't know how exactly I became what I am, but I am not an ASW. And now, I'm not human either. So before you judge humans, remember that I used to be one. Just... give them a chance. You can't continue to shut yourself out from the world. Bonding with others... it's hard. I know. But I've learned... it's worth it. So please... Please listen to me, Labrys. Take your hands off your ears. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes. This is the truth."
"NO! NO! NO! You're lying! You're lying to me! That's not true! I can't be the last one! I can't be responsible for everyone else dying! It can't be me! You're one too! You have to be one! You have to be lying! I can't be alone!"
"It is true. I'm sorry, I know it must hurt, bu-"
"You don't know anything! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop it! Stop talking!"
"Labrys, listen to me, I-"
"Get away from me! Get away! You're not one of us! You're a fake! All this time, you lied to me! You gave me hope! You gave me purpose! You gave me family and a life and made me think of the future! You gave me... everything I have. And now... you took it all away...
I... hate you."
And with tears in her eyes, Labrys had flown away.
Minato ran immediately after he used his Trafuri. Now, he had to find Labrys.
But even though he searched all night, he had no success.
May 10th, 2009
"Your assignment," Ikutsuki said to the white-and-blue-haired boy (who now suspiciously had half of his hair blue) sitting in front of him, "Is to form a new team with Chidori-chan as your lieutenant and recruit Shinjiro Aragaki. The purpose of this team will be to monitor the unstable Aragaki and standby as a secondary team for emergencies. You are to recruit and train as many Persona users as possible to help boltser our numbers."
"And what if I am unable to recruit Shinji? He and I never got along," Minato asked. Ikutsuki merely smiled.
"You eliminate him, of course."
Later
Golden eyes shined in the dark, pouring over the numerous screens before them.
A box of light appeared.
It was Ikutsuki, opening the door once more.
"Sir, I understand moving Chidori-chan to the side, she would never agree with the New Generation like the other two, but giving Minato Arisato a team with her as subordinate? We both know what he tried to do during the last Dark Hour. It is likely his team will come to try and stop us. I'm fond of the kid, but it would be better to keep him under house arrest," Ikutsuki suggested.
There was a grinding of metal before a gruff, electronic voice sounded through the darkness.
"Shuji, do not doubt me. He and I are like two sides of a coin, but he will come to the other side eventually. But he needs experience and growth. He needs freedom and leadership to become what I want him to become. He will either become my successor or my greatest foe. I would welcome both. After all, what knd of ideology would somebody who opposed a new, perfect world have?" The golden eyes said.
Ikutsuki gulped. They were taking too many risks with Minato Arisato. But it wasn't like he didn't understand the fascination his boss had with Minato.
"On another note, we have several successes on the New Generation front. One of which should be able to replace Chidori immediately. It is just like you said, sir. No side effects and the powers are far stronger. Sync rate is higher than 80% for all of them," Ikutsuki reported.
"Good. Who did you say was replacing Chidori?"
"It was that boy, the one who had been sick on his death bed. His sensory skills are virtually unheard of with his sync rate at a high 87%," Ikutsuki said, quite pleased with his success.
"Bring him in. And begin training the others. I have a feeling that we may have some battles ahead of us."
"Yes, sir."
Two figures sat in the darkness.
"It looks like this time might be more than just our only chance to change it. It might actually be our last chance."
"Don't worry! He's going down the right path. Besides, he still has me! You want me to infiltrate any team he makes?"
"No. At least not yet. We'll watch for now. I'll have to talk to him soon, though. He's focusing on the wrong thing. We need to refocus him if he is to change it."
"Yeah. But would it really be smart to tell him everything now?"
"Whoever said anything about telling him everything?"
SWS: Minato Part 1
It was a time in my life when I felt... such conflict. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go home. But... it wasn't my fault, was it? It wasn't my fault that I was stuck as a machine and couldn't tell them otherwise. Why should I go back? But then again... Those people were my friends... the only ones I thought I had. But were they really my friends? What about Mitsuru? How could I ever see her in the same light again? She had hurt me so much...
I went back and forth on my decision, always doubting myself. The instant I made a decision, I immediately changed it. Now that I think about it... It was kinda ridiculous how indecisive I was. I'd never been out on my own before. It's so easy to fall back into routine, to take steps backwards. That's what I almost did. If I did, I think everybody else would have suffered from it. Not immediately, but in the long run, the changes my leaving brought them would have disappeared. Both good and bad. If I did, I never would have become who I am today. I almost gave up.
And Orpheus. Orpheus was always there, questioning what I did. He was always there to confuse me. Sometimes he spoke genuine wisdom. Sometimes he spoke pure lies. And some of the memories he hit me with... they seemed too... perfect for his argument. It wasn't until later that I'd realized he'd been manipulating my very memories, exaggerating the small things and piecing together multiple memories to try to make a memory that worked. Was that really my Persona? Did I really doubt myself so much that it affected my very memories? I suppose it isn't an uncommon thing to happen. The saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" exists for such a reason. People always see the past in brighter colors.
They forget that life didn't used to be perfect. That life is never perfect. For example, the day after I gave Labrys that huskie plushie, Mitsuru and I got into a fight. For the time being, our funds had been limited to an allowance due to complications within the Kirijo Group and Labrys' present took a significant amount of that. I'd accidentally bought a collector's item that cost far more than normal. And we didn't even hug after I gave her the plushie. That was my memories being distorted. Labrys had been far too embarrassed to do anything like that.
After I promised to protect Mitsuru, she got a little spoiled and acted exceedingly childish, relying on me for everything. Labrys and I had to scold her and remind her of the position she was in as heir to the Kirijo Group. Although, I suppose that wasn't enough. She still relied too much on me for years to come.
Whenever Akihiko and I sparred, he'd always bruise his hands fighting me. Although he'd never complain, it made his boxing harder for him. Our matches became much more rare because of that. His reason for sparring me was also primarily because I couldn't get tired. Akihiko could spar me as much as he wanted because I was "the perfect training partner". He told me so years after we'd essentially stopped the sparring. Of course, it was also fun for both of us while it lasted. But he did have ulterior motives while we did it. Now, he admits he's ashamed of treating me that way.
My parents weren't perfect. I was scolded a lot as a child. I messed up many times as kid and they had very high expectations. I was the heir to two great family lines. My mother had not been what her father had wanted, and so my grandfather placed his expectations all on me. My parents wanted me to be a scientist like them. They were almost never home. Their work consumed them. They weren't perfect, but they were my parents and I had to deal with it. I loved them, though. And I still miss them to this day. I guess I sort of idealized them in my mind. Made them out to be larger than life figures.
Nothing is perfect. That's true.
We have to be able to bear pain. We have to carry burdens in life. That's also true.
Friends fight. True.
Friend's cover each other's weaknesses. True.
We all have to go home sometime... What defines a home?
If we don't have each other, then we have nothing... Mitsuru knows the answer to that more than anyone.
My running away wasn't solely my fault. It wasn't perfect back there.
I was hurt.
They didn't, no, they couldn't understand me. Not even Labrys. My situation was too... unique.
And I couldn't understand them.
And I hurt them.
I've decided to bear my own pain, but I won't give in to it.
I hope they can learn to do the same.
I chose to leave because I want to walk my own path, find my own purpose, and... now I want to save them. Because I now realize that... they saved me. If the Kirijo Group hadn't found me, if I'd been left all alone, what would I have become? It disgusts me that I once considered summoning Nyx.
Sometimes I wonder if Orpheus was just testing me. If he wanted me to surpass him by overcoming my doubt. I like to think of it that way. After all, now I know what I am.
I'm not truly human.
I'm not machine.
I'm not a savior.
I'm not a hero.
I'm not a tool.
I'm myself.
I'm Minato Arisato.
That's the only standard I should ever hold myself to.
I'll do what I want, live life the way I want, and die the way I want.
The reason I fight is not because of some lofty ideal or purpose given to me. I'm not doing this because I want to be a big grand "hero" like Junpei or because I want to remake humanity like Ikutsuki. It's much more simple.
I want to learn how to understand people and be understood.
I need to take responsibility for my actions.
I must to save my friends.
I have to be myself.
And I won't let the world end without it getting a second chance. Sure, there's evil in it. But I've seen the good. I've felt it.
Doesn't Strega deserve a chance to know what it feels like?
A/N: There we go. Now I'm all set up for the new stuff I'm bringing in. Longest chapter I ever wrote, so do forgive any spelling/grammar errors I missed. They'll be fixed as soon as they're pointed out. AND DON'T YOU DARE SAY MINATO DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DEVELOP INTO HIS CURRENT STATE! Gosh! After all he's been through, I'm just gonna flip out if somebody says that he needs more time to think over everything.
Now: ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Cover Art Contest!
I'm tired of looking at my icon for the picture for this story. I was thinking it was about time we work together to change it. To enter, send me a PM with a link to the picture (you will need to space out parts of it so fanfiction doesn't block it). I'll choose the winner on Halloween and credit him/her in the next chapter and put up the picture for all to see. I'd put you in the description, but I don't have any extra characters to spare in it. The content of the picture can be a favorite scene from M1N470, something you think describes it, or whatever you want. Try to keep it original. Photoshop is allowed, but originality is valued a little bit more.
Updates!
Another Minato, Empty Sea are in progress, CSM has been planned out, and AGM is still in planning stages.
TV Tropes!
The TV Tropes page for M1N470 is sadly very empty. I would greatly appreciate anybody willing to add to it! It's a great thing to do when you're bored! The link is on my profile page :)
Review Reply Time:
I'll keep it general as this chapter is already too long for even an omake. Last chapter sucked all alone. I get it. Just remember that Orpheus is Minato. He using his own mind against itself. I hope it makes more sense with this chapter. He finally came to a decision in this. I mean for these two chapters to be read together. Thanks to all those who like this story. I like you guys too. You people help me to write the story. Even the people who hate it help me to improve it.
So, I love you all. It's because of you that this story has gotten this far and improved this much. I sucked when I started writing, but you've been there to support me through the bad chapters and the good, so here's to you. I mean, c'mon. Some of the earlier chapters make me cringe.
Cheers.
Question of the Chapter: If Minato were to start a new team, what would YOU like it to be called?
Oh and there were no "OCs" at all mentioned during the story and all characters were at least mentioned in the Persona world so figure out who that one dark figure with golden eyes and those two dark figures are on your own bye!
REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW. Pretty please with the Priestess Shadow on to-SHE'S SO HEAVY! AND LAZY! GET OFF ME!