Chapter 17 α: Illusion or Reality (Aigis)

I was created to be a weapon, given a personality to use a Persona. My only purpose for existence…was the extermination of Shadows.

A weapon of supernatural origin, created to fight supernatural enemies. It made sense that I my existence should be meaningless if I completed my mission. I accepted that. It is what I was programmed to do.

Until I met him. Until I met all of my friends.

I learned what it meant to be alive. I learned what it meant to have emotions. You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life... Sometimes, all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of.

I found my answer. I would keep living no matter what, so I could protect them.

"…gis…Ai…...Aigis. If you can hear me, please respond. Aigis, please come in."

A familiar female voice calls out to me, alerting me from my standby mode.

"Reactivating all Systems, re-engaging Orgia Drive."

I slowly try to get back on my feet. My left leg is still out of commission. I likely won't be moving around very efficiently like this.

I open my eyes again. My surroundings are exactly as they were before my systems shut down. The husk of my enemy from before still remains.

"Ngh…easy does it…" I finally manage to get up into a proper standing position. Elapsed time: 31.3 seconds. It should have taken only 3.0 seconds.

I call out to the voice.

"Who is this?"

"Aigis, it's me, Ellie. Nara Hishikawa's assistant. I am relieved to see that you are still operational."

Right, I thought her voice seemed familiar.

"I too am overjoyed to hear from you. What has happened?"

"Regrettably, despite your efforts, another Tyrant tracked down Nara. He is currently engaged in battle with it."

"That's…!" I have to find Hishikawa-san right now! He is in no condition to be fighting such a difficult opponent.

"Ellie, please, tell me where Hishikawa-san is. I must find him right away."

"I can use Augmented Reality to navigate you to where he is. But you do not appear to be combat ready. I would suggest that you remain hidden and safe until we have resolved the situation."

My Systems Check indicated that I had no ammunition of any kind left. All of my thrusters are badly damaged and non-functional. Structural integrity of several parts of my armour has been compromised. With my left leg disabled as well, indeed I am unfit for another fight. Even so…

"Please, lead the way." I have already made my decision. I will not lose another dear friend, especially not when there is something I can do to protect him.

"As you wish. But I cannot guarantee your safety if you do this. Please be cautious."

"I will. Thank you."

My vision lights up with red arrows, marking where I should head. I follow them, moving as fast as my right leg could possibly carry me.

….

"No…" I murmur sadly at the sight before me.

After wandering through several dark hallways littered with corpses, I reach an emergency exit. I make out the body of a familiar girl, horribly mutilated and laying in a pool of blood. Nearby are the remains of some kind of monsters.

"It was her decision, Aigis. This was not your fault." Ellie urged me to move on.

But I do not look away. "If I had known to use my Persona sooner…this would not have happened."

"You had no way of knowing. She will be fine after we have resolved this situation."

"I could have done more." It is uncharacteristic of me to say something like that. Never once has my confidence wavered until today.

"The only person truly in danger is Nara Hishikawa. The rest of you, as a result of being transported here through data manipulation, will return to your own reality regardless of whether we succeed or not. Surely you have realized this by now."

"Yes, I know." I finally look away and keep moving forward. I nearly trip over a broken sword that I failed to notice. It must have been used to hold the emergency exit doors closed. "However, this is concerning. If something like this were to happen to my friends…" I trail off. I do not want to think about it.

"You would be able to protect them; Though this may not sound like much coming from an artificial intelligence such as myself, you are strong, Aigis. Nara Hishikawa would not have had you watch his back if he doubted you. He trusts you more than any other person in all the realities he has ever visited."

"That's…" I find myself at a loss for words. Slowly, a small smile starts forming on my face. "I will find him. I am sorry Ellie, please continue to guide me."

"Of course."

After navigating several hallways and stairs, I hear a rumbling as I make my way towards a massive hole in the wall in front of me. I inch forward slowly, prepared to call forth my Persona at the first sign of danger.

"Nara Hishikawa is still in combat, 15 meters ahead."

"Acknowledged. Initiating summoning sequence." I ready my most powerful attack as I enter through the hole.

…..

Chapter 17 β: A Limit I Cannot Surpass (Nara)

"Damn you!" I bolt out of the way of another massive swing from the Tyrant.

I've been deliberately leaving openings so that the Tyrant would attack me. That worked out perfectly, if my goal was to get the living hell beaten out of me. I've eaten enough punches to make a knuckle sandwich platter.

My legs are struggling to stand firm. I abruptly start coughing uncontrollably. I cover my mouth instinctively, and I feel blood rising up my throat and out of my mouth. I'm surprised that I'm still able to move effortlessly after being hit with such force so many times.

The Tyrant gives me no time to rest. It charges at me with a ferocious body check.

"I'm across!" I hear Hisao's voice calling me from a large distance away. "You're all clear, so kill that thing with everything you've got!"

It's too bad all I have left is tantamount to almost nothing.

"Easy for you to say!" I shout back as I teleport to a marked kunai knife behind the Tyrant. The tyrant smashes into the rubble in front of him, completely crumbling it.

As I do, I feel a sudden wave of exhaustion assaulting me. I fall to my knees as if pulled down to the ground by a thousand hands. My entire body feels heavy, and I feel as though I hadn't slept for days. I struggle to keep my eyes open.

"Damn…it…Ellie…what's…going…" I can hardly even speak coherently now.

"You've overused your abilities. Your stamina is in the negatives now. Hang on, I will rectify this."

Thanks for the stupid video game analogy. I'm so drowsy…

I see a giant fist approaching my head as my vision darkens. I hear someone calling my name.

The last thing I hear is a female voice shouting something indiscernible, and the last thing I see is a flash of light.

…

Ngh…Groggy…and my whole body feels likes crap…

I wake up because I'm constantly being shaken up and down. I feel gravity's pull on my head, legs and arms. There's something hard pressed against my stomach, and intense heat assaults my body.

I open my eyes slowly. I think I lost my headband somewhere because I can see out of both eyes. Everything appears to be upside down. At the center of my rather blurry vision is a curvy white object. Some badly damaged golden metal armour pieces adorn the sides of the object. I make out an inverted pair of grimy white mechanical legs furnished with golden plating, connected to black joints and attached near the top of the curves. They're moving at a limping pace.

What I am looking at right now, is without a doubt…Aigis's butt. Yes, I am staring at Aigis's butt. But the question is why am I staring at her butt? Wasn't she supposed to be dead? Or whatever the term for androids is?

"What happened to me…?" I finally managed to squeeze something coherent out of my throat.

"Hishikawa-san, you are awake!" I could hear Aigis's muffled but relieved voice speaking from what seemed like some distance away. "Please, wait one moment!"

I heard the sound of flesh being sliced, then the sound of several bodies being thrown around and hitting concrete. I hear the crackling of fire as well. As I try to raise my head, I see something with a spear and shield. It eviscerates zombies near it and ignites their bodies with several giant fireballs.

"I got him!"

I'm suddenly pulled away from Aigis's shoulder by someone and quickly carried up a flight of stairs in a firefighter carry position. Shortly afterwards I'm set down gently against some rubble. My vision is still hazy, but I think that was Hisao.

"Hey, look at me man. How many fingers am I holding?" Hisao raises some fingers and holds his hand in front of my face.

I count six…? Well whatever. I raise my right hand and my middle finger towards Hisao as a response, smirking a little bit. I'm currently still rather disoriented but I think I will live.

"He's fine!" Hisao calls out to Aigis, his tone clearly conveying exasperation. He offers me his hand.

I find that if you blink several times when your vision is blurry, it'll clear up faster. I do so. But my left eye regains perfect vision much faster. Probably because it's programmed to always give perfect vision. I'll need my headband back though. My left eye's vision is treated the same as an ability by the System. I can expect to collapse suddenly again if I'm not careful.

I take Hisao's hand and he pulls me back to my feet. I am unsteady as I get back up and I nearly fall. Hisao uses his arms to prop me up and support me.

"On second thought, you're not okay at all. Haha…" Hisao seems to feel uncomfortable about physical contact with me. Not surprising after what happened in the sewers.

"I love you too my friend…" I roll my eyes but hang onto Hisao even more tightly. I don't think I can stand on my own.

"I have exterminated all enemies." Aigis comes trotting up the stairs, holding my headband. She looks like she's barely standing as well. Actually, she looks even worse than me. I can see exposed machinery and wires all over her body. Her armour is more or less destroyed. And despite all of that, she came to my aid. She must've overworked herself for sure.

"Aigis, you have no idea how happy I am to see you." I laugh breathlessly. I open my arms and embrace Aigis, holding her close to me like a precious treasure. I turn my head away as a few tears stream down my cheeks.

"Hishikawa-san…!" Aigis is startled, clearly taken aback. I think Minato was the only person she would ever do this with. Really, I have no right to do this; it's just that I'm overjoyed beyond all words. I fully expect her to push me away.

But to my surprise, Aigis slowly places her arms around me and gently pats me on the back.

"You should thank Ellie. She guided me here after I came to. I would not have been able to do anything without her." Her voice is kind and soothing like an angel's.

"Oh, do not worry about that. I have only saved his life about a million times. One more does not matter too much."

"Ellie, you little son of a..." I smile unconsciously. "You knew she was fine all this time and didn't say anything to me."

"I did not want to distract you." Ellie's tone was uncharacteristically haughty. She sounded like she was proud.

I release Aigis, and ask Aigis the question that's been on my mind since she reappeared. "How did you beat that Tyrant? Even I was no match for one."

"I discovered that I could use my Persona." As if on cue, Pallas Athena appears behind Aigis. The Persona twirls its spear once and fades away. "Ending the fight was no challenge."

So that's how she did it. It makes sense now. I had forgotten to tell Aigis that she could use her Persona while she was here because I panicked too much. Certainly, a Persona is more than a match for a Tyrant. If only I could use mine without passing out from the summoning…

"Well…this is a limit that I can't surpass." I grit my teeth and bit, exhaling audibly. I step away from Aigis, taking my headband and putting back on to cover my left eye. I immediately proceed to fall back onto Hisao for support. He gives me an annoyed glance, but, you know, I'd feel awkward asking Aigis to do that for me.

Once again, I am reminded that the System limits you. The more God-like powers you attempt to use, the more physically taxing the power is. I've stress tested this with Ellie before. An ability that lets you decimate large areas of land will leave you feeling like you've climbed mountains for a day without pause. Anything equivalent to that, whether it is flying or teleporting or some other utility ability, will result in the same thing. I can only surmise even more powerful abilities like the planet-devastating Enuma Elish would be a user's last action before a forced disconnection from the System due to death.

"This doesn't make sense." Hisao finally allows me to lean on him for support as I speak. "I know our maximum number of uses of the Flying Thunder God Technique is at least 50. How did I burn out?"

"In case you have failed to notice, you have not slept properly at all since you arrived here. Not to mention the one time we rested you did not obtain any sustenance." There's something I really didn't want to hear at this moment, and that would be it. Ellie's scolding me. "Your capacity is not even 25% of our stress tested maximum."

"Well fuck it all, because that means if I tried to use my Persona I'd be dead." I can hardly keep my frustration in check. Look at us right now. Aigis looks like she can't take another hit, and I can't use any of my abilities freely. As for Hisao, there is only so much he can do when Aigis and I are liabilities.

"For now, we need to rest." Aigis gives the only sensible suggestion. "I do not know what we may encounter if we proceed. It would be wise to recuperate from our injuries."

"But we're so close right now." I look towards the tram exit to my right. "If we get over there right now we can end all of this."

"As they say, do not worry." Aigis motions for Hisao and I to sit down on a nearby bench. "You should think carefully rather than rush recklessly into danger."

"She is right you know." Ellie brings up an interface for me, showing me the extent of both of my own and Aigis's injuries. "I find it a scientific marvel that you did not suffer any life-threatening injuries from that fight. However, the fact that you coughed up blood and are badly bruised mean that you need time to recover."

Now that you mention it, my body hurts a lot. I can still taste blood in my throat too…

"Okay, fine, we'll do it your way Aigis." I chuckle and let Hisao lower me onto the bench. "You're cool with this, Hisao?"

"Well, unlike you I've still got a girlfriend to find." Hisao has a restless expression. "But I can't just ditch you either. So I guess I'm cool with it."

"By the way, Hishikawa-san, I found Fujioka-san on my way here. But there was nothing I could do for her. I am truly sorry." Aigis sits down next to me, looking dejected.

Hisao gives me a regretful look. I make a face as well. "Haruhi shouldn't have been forced to do what she did. We'll make them pay. Whoever's responsible will get what's coming to them. Don't you worry Aigis, I'm already very, very happy that you agreed to come help me in my time of need."

We all fall silent. There's nothing more to say. Once we've had some rest, we're going to the access point. We'll make everything right.

And then, I've got a score to settle with a douchebag who doesn't care about the lives of others.

…

"Ellie, give me a status report."

We're standing before a small glowing sphere just a bit beyond the tram station. I am still using Hisao as my walking stick at the moment. Ellie said this sphere the access point, but she's taking an awfully long time re-establishing connection.

Ellie is speechless. Before I could prompt her to say anything, she speaks in a puzzled tone.

"I do not understand. I cannot make contact with null space. Something is creating static noise and interfering with my attempts at reconnection."

I shake my head rapidly. "I'm gonna need more than that if you want me to help."

"I was not counting on your help to begin with." I don't think Ellie is able to express scorn, but I could feel it in her word choice. "I conducted an analysis just now. I am detecting some kind of reality altering presence. The presence is faint, but most definitely interfering with my functions."

I raise an eyebrow. "Another user's work?"

"It certainly is possible. I am unsure as we have not encountered another user before."

"What does this mean?" Aigis inquires anxiously.

"It means we still have a problem: either an enemy or an unforeseen anomaly." Either another user's fucking with us, or someone I invited to my experiment has powers equal or greater in scale than the Reality Projection System.

"If that is the case, I believe I may have found our problem." Ellie brings up an interface for me. It has a still image of some high-school aged girls wearing sailor uniforms. "Do you recall these individuals? The ones that Itsuki Koizumi invited?"

"Yeah..." I recognized the one with the orange hairband. "She's Koizumi's friend…part of their club or something. Don't know her too well though; I wasn't even that tight with Koizumi. He's just a junior high school friend of mine. Well okay, I made myself junior high school age and attended his school but…"

"Here is the interesting part. I filtered out every individual who has supernatural powers. No one we knew from before has any kind of reality-warping ability. Now, everyone in this club Koizumi is in except for the one named Kyon has a latent superpower, including Koizumi."

"That doesn't make sense." I scratch my head because this contradicts my own memory. "Koizumi never had any powers to begin with. I made sure of that."

"Well he does now. That is not the point. This individual named Haruhi Suzumiya? I analyzed her just now as well."

"Ellie, can you get to the point?" Hisao was very irate. "I'm tired of holding this dead weight."

I kick Hisao's shin in response. Who are you calling dead weight?

"My analysis was inconclusive. That should only happen when attempting to analyze supernatural phenomenon that my processors are incapable of handling."

An ominous silence falls over us. After about ten seconds, Aigis is the first to say something.

"So then." Aigis carefully examines Haruhi's appearance, committing it to memory it seems. "She is not human?"

"Incorrect. From what I can gather from my analysis into her reality, it seems she is a human who has the power to subconsciously alter reality however she wants. By subconscious, I mean that she causes changes without intention or knowledge of her powers."

Slowly, comprehension seeps into my brain. A thin smile finds its way to my lips. "Meaning she's our culprit."

"I have been attempting to scan for the presence of another user, but it appears my sensors are experiencing severe interference. That possibility also cannot be ignored."

"Alright Hisao, you can set me down again. Guess our break is going into overtime." I slowly shift my weight off Hisao and sit down on the floor.

"So? What's our plan?" Hisao sits down across from me, and Aigis follows suit.

"Well, given what we know, our best option is to find Haruhi Suzumiya. This is the part where it gets tricky though. We have two choices once we do. Choice one, we kill her." I take off my headband and look Hisao straight in the eye to show him that I'm serious. "I'm not a big fan of choice one. As a matter of fact, I greatly despise the thought of it. But we might not have another choice if we want to get everyone back."

"You can't be serious." Hisao winced and made a terrified face. "I didn't think you'd be capable of something like that."

"It's easy when I know they're going to be fine. But this time I have no guarantee it will work. In fact, if it turns out we're wrong, we'll be back at square one."

"I hate to the bearer of bad news, but it could be worse than that. If her powers become completely uncontained, it could erase the existence of everyone here. I am warning you now that the System cannot protect you from that. No trace of any of us, including me, will remain."

A chill passes through the air as Ellie informs us of the grave consequences should we misstep. I can't force that upon anyone here. This was my fuck-up. Aigis, Hisao, Hanako, Kenji, Haruhi, Shana, and everyone else shouldn't have to pay the price for my mistake.

I shudder at the thought of facing a fate worse than death. I know what it's like to almost die. I've experienced it for real and within the System. But this scares me far more than something like being torn apart by Lickers. I want to curl up in a ball and pretend the world doesn't exist right now.

"Okay, thanks Ellie." My breathing almost slows to a stop. "So…haha…choice two is a long shot too. We need to find the person who has my Magical Defense Barrier. If we can get that and find Haruhi, I can negate her powers completely. That will give Ellie a chance to fix things."

"Hold on." Aigis's concerned interjection interrupts me. "If her powers are so grand in scale, how can you be sure that this plan will work?"

"Our Magical Defense Barrier completely removes the concept of the supernatural. It is a small-scale Overlaying which overwrites a reality through the System's functions. Do not ask me how it works, as I myself do not know."

"Aigis, basically the System is supernatural in origin, just like your Plume of Dusk. It merges technology with phenomenon unexplainable by science." I want her to understand that she can trust me on this.

"I see. Sorry, please continue." Aigis nods her head, but she still looks like she's contemplating something.

"Since the concept itself is removed, no individual has access to their superpowers while under the effects of the Magical Defense Barrier. Nara Hishikawa and I have already tested this with several divine weapons. Not even a God or Demon is able to resist the barrier's effects."

Ea wouldn't start rotating to synchronize with the Heavens, Excalibur was no more than an indestructible sword, and my Persona would not appear when evoked. This Magical Defense Barrier is both my greatest asset and greatest handicap. The only exceptions to ability negation are superhuman strength, agility, and reflexes. Even if I tried to fight a God, I'd lose because all my useful abilities are negated.

I nod to reassure myself for now. "I say we stick to choice two. Hell, if we're forced to go to choice one, it might be better to kill me instead. At least then your existences won't be in jeopardy."

Hisao shakes his head at me. "Let's not think about that until we have to, okay? Promise me that."

Reluctantly, I nod. "So Ellie, can you tell me who has the Magical Defense Barrier ability?"

"Yes, of course. That would be Shizune Hakamichi."

Fuck…my…life….

"Guess we're going after her then. Good grief." I mutter angrily.

"You really don't like her huh?" Hisao chuckles to himself. "I think you two just got off on the wrong foot."

"Does turning me into a human pretzel count as wrong foot? I think that's a bit too extreme!"

Hisao shrugs at me and says "Hey! You had it coming, bro."

"Psht." I sneered at Hisao and quickly replace my headband. I look away to avoid making eye contact.

"Did something happen between you two?" Aigis looks at me, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Please, let's not-" I begin.

"I'll tell you later, Aigis." Hisao snickers while wearing a huge grin. "You don't want to miss this."

"Oh hell no!" I point a finger at Hisao. My hand shakes with anger. "No! No! You stop that!"

Unfortunately for me, Hisao only seems to derive more amusement from my reaction. I'll start getting along with Shizune once hell freezes over. But until then, I guess we have our next objective.

…

To be continued…