A/N: warning: a lot of guns, blood, and character deaths
"Just a little while…" Minato murmured.
Tick, tock.
"And It's going to be-"
The Dark Hour.
"Midnight…"
Everyone was at loss in the darkness of the lounge. The two guards had turned into shining coffins and the smell of blood confirmed it was not an illusion.
"The hell?" Junpei said. The rest were also in a similar state looking left and right. Koromaru growled.
Minato looked around. No Pharos. He shouldn't be expecting that. How wrong that was.
"I thought we ended the Dark Hour!" Junpei stood up and turned to Mitsuru. "Senpai, what's going on?"
Mitsuru looked down. "I don't know..."
"I was right to have my doubts." Akihiko sighed. "Should've trusted Shinji…"
Ken nodded. "Yeah."
"No way…" Yukari held Fuuka's hand.
Koromaru turned to the door. His ears perked up, then everyone heard it too.
The bell rang in the distance. Three times, far in between. It was clearly audible in the quiet night.
"A bell," Fuuka said.
"But where is it coming from?" Yukari asked.
"Where's Ikutsuki?" Takeharu asked. No one answered. "Well? Why is he taking Aigis with him?"
Mitsuru was lost in thought. She was the leader of SEES and this was unplanned, unexpected, to go up against the adviser of the team.
"Mitsuru," Akihiko called her. They needed her right now.
She slowly nodded. "Father, please stay here… Everyone, prepare for battle."
"We're heading to Tartarus," Minato said.
"Umm to do what?" Fuuka asked.
"There's nowhere else to go," Akihiko said. "And if he's waiting for us…"
"We'll find him there," Ken said.
Koromaru barked. SEES left Takeharu with the dog and headed for Tartarus.
Tartarus… It had not disappeared. It still existed in place of their school. Ikutsuki was standing at the entrance with a grin, and Aigis was standing next to him.
"Ikutsuki-san!" Akihiko shouted. "What's the meaning of this?"
Ikutsuki opened his arms and smirked. "As you can see, the Dark Hour and Tartarus remain."
"You tricked us!" Ken said.
"I said that everything will end. I didn't lie. You have to be patient to see the result." Ikutsuki clapped his hands together. "Your realization has come too late, young kids."
Most members focused on the chairman while the blue haired boy looked at the android next to him.
"Aigis," Minato called out.
The android looked into the distance. All the emotions, her blue eyes that were always shining with curiosity, were empty now. They looked at nothing.
"Aigis...?"
It's as if Aigis didn't recognize him. SEES were strangers to her. Yes, Aigis was a machine, but at least she acted like a human. At least, she was someone. At least she was trying to live.
"She is here merely to fulfill her role… as a weapon," Ikutsuki said, mostly to him. Minato had never disagreed with someone this much before.
Yukari and Junpei knew they wouldn't get any answers by asking.
Akihiko was the most pissed of all. "You said the Dark Hour and Tartarus would disappear if we defeated the twelve Shadows. That's why we fought so hard!"
"It was thanks to your efforts!" Ikutsuki laughed. "The twelve Shadows were parts of a whole… They got split due to the accident." He glanced at Yukari and Minato. "But now they were reunited. All the pieces are connected. Soon Death, the Almighty, shall arise and bring forth the Fall."
The Fall… It sounded familiar.
"Who exactly are you?" Mitsuru asked. "How do you know so much?"
"I was one of the scientists in the project we've spoken of. The Dark Hour and Tartarus were born by the Shadow's power your grandfather had gathered... The goal of the experiment went awry, but it was for the better. It was to bring about the Fall, to bring salvation. The end of all shall come and free this world from despair."
"You call that salvation?" Fuuka asked. "Hurting innocent people and dragging everyone with you?"
"Man, he's totally lost it..." Junpei shook his head.
"I apologize for deceiving you, but this was for your sake," Ikutsuki said. "If you follow me for just a little while longer, you, too, will find salvation."
"We don't want it," Akihiko said. "If we know, we wouldn't have helped you."
"I have a question," Yukari spoke up. "In the video from my father, he said to defeat the Shadows. Was it a misunderstanding?"
"Ah, he did record that himself. Of course, I had to make some modifications."
"You doctored it?" Mitsuru asked.
"I corrected it," Ikutsuki said. "Your father was a superb scientist, Yukari. I truly respected him. But unfortunately, even he could not comprehend the magnificent potential of the Fall."
"He left that recording at the expense of his life." Mitsuru's respect for the chairman was clearly gone now.
"It would seem so." Ikutsuki didn't sound guilty at all. "But it did prove rather useful, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"You used both me and my father!" Yukari snapped.
Ikutsuri grinned. "It was for the sake of the world. Sacrifices are needed to be made."
"It was for the sake of destroying the world," Minato said. "For your own needs."
"Our role is to correct the mistakes of the past," Mitsuru said. "And we intend to do just that."
Everyone nodded.
"Disappointing," Ikutsuki said. "After working so hard to a common goal, you can't see the light. You are just children, after all."
"You lied to us," Junpei said. "We ain't as low as you!"
"It's people like you that bring trouble," Yukari said.
Fuuka nodded. "Some adults can be so cruel."
"What a waste of time. Aigis," Ikutsuki said. "Capture them and prepare them to be sacrificed." His grin got wider at that. He was certain the android would succeed.
"Understood," Aigis said.
The major difference between SEES and Aigis right now was that SEES just had a meal, while Aigis came out from a lab. The android didn't eat and was prepared for battle, unlike them.
"Energy output at maximum. Target locked. Engaging."
SEES regained consciousness one by one. They were on some balcony area of Tartarus. It was the school observatory. They had to look around at each other to understand that they were crucified on crosses. Their wrists and ankles were locked in places by metal cuffs.
Minato tried enchanting some dark spell, but his power was… gone, like it was completely absorbed by the restrains. He struggled. They wouldn't budge. Junpei groaned to his left. Akihiko growled. They probably were trying the same thing.
Minato thought of what happened before this. He was attacked by Aigis. How?
"Pharos, is it-"
Pharos wasn't here anymore.
"Father!" Mitsuru was looking straight ahead.
"Ikutsuki… What is the meaning of this?" Takeharu asked as he attempted to break free from Aigis's iron grip.
"I've heard that question twice already. Why are people so slow to accept the truth?" Ikutsuki held up a remote. It was a controller of some sort. "It is just as it appears. They are to be sacrificed… harbingers of the Fall. The arrangements are complete. The prophecy shall be fulfilled."
"What?" Takeharu was confused.
"You don't know a thing despite being his child." Ikutsuki shook his head. "According to the prophecy, the Fall will be orchestrated by 'The Prince'. And once the Prince has delivered us all, he shall rule the new world as King! Your father who tried it ten years ago failed. But I will not. I shall succeed as the new King... People have filled the world, yet turned it into a void! The only hope of salvation lies in ruin!"
"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna rip your head off!" Junpei yelled.
Ikutsuki was unfazed by Junpei's threat and looked at Takeharu. "I don't need you. Aigis, direct your aim at him."
With her left hand, Aigis aimed the fingers at Takeharu's back. Ikutsuki could do it himself, but he found pleasure in being able to command a weapon to act as he wished.
"Father!" Mitsuru shouted. "Aigis, please, no!"
Takeharu continued struggling but it was in vain. Even with one hand, the android's grip was strong. He stared ahead at Ikutsuki. "You traitor! Are you insane?"
SEES had already got the answer to that.
"Your father really was an unlucky man," Ikutsuki said. "For his only son to not understand his vision."
"My father was wrong," Takeharu said. "Death as deliverance…That is not an ideology anyone should ever embrace!"
"Now, Aigis," Ikutsuki tsked. "Get rid of him."
The android looked at the head of Kirijo. Kirijo Group, the organization that owned her, funded her. Takeharu was her rightful owner.
"What are you doing, Aigis, finish him!" Ikutsuki said.
"I…" Aigis stood still. Takeharu did nothing wrong. "He… is a good person... I can't." She lowered her hand, much to Mitsuru's relief.
"Fine! It's directly programed into your core isn't it? Son of the to-be King, untouchable." Ikutsuki pointed at SEES on the crosses. "But these kids aren't important are they? Execute the sacrifices!"
Still grabbing Takeharu wrist, Aigis turned around and pointed the gun at them. SEES called her, telling her not to do it, not to shoot. Snap out of it, they said. Resist. It was her mission? Don't listen to him. She couldn't. It was her purpose. Ikutsuki was her creator.
"Aigis."
"Minato-san…" Aigis's hand was shaking. Why? Ikutsuki did not command for her hand to shake. "Minato, I..."
Minato looked into her eyes. Even if there was nothing in her eyes, he looked at her.
What is Minato to her? He wasn't the owner to Kirijo Group nor it's heir. He wasn't a scientist nor an engineer. He was... he was a man, a man who taught her how to live, and gave her space when she needed. A man who never shamed her.
"I, I…!" Aigis released Takeharu and fully turned around. With two hands, she managed to shoot the handcuffs of Minato and Mitsuru.
Ikutsuki's thumb moved over the controller.
"Ah!" Aigis's joints locked before she could free the rest. She couldn't move a finger.
"What are you doing?" Ikutsuki groaned.
Takeharu used that time to pull out a gun and point it at Ikutsuki. Ikutsuki took out a gun and did the same, his other hand controlling the remote.
Aigis' hand slapped Takeharu's wrist. "I apologize."
"The gun!" Fuuka cried.
The gun slid across the floor toward Ikutsuki. His own gun was still pointed at the defenseless Takeharu. "Guess I'm at the advantage now?"
"You are mistaken." Aigis stood in front of Takehara and pointed her fingers at Ikutsuki. "I have two guns as well."
Minato and Mitsuru stood beside Aigis, shielding Takeharu. They knew they shouldn't attack. Ikutsuki had the gun and it was not a good situation. Aigis was not completely free, either.
Ikutsuki groaned. Aigis had regained consciousness and was no longer obedient. The remote can control her but it will leave him defenseless. "You are not bulletproof, Aigis, and I don't want to prove it."
"Neither is your head," Aigis said.
Ikutsuki smiled. He had to play that card. "Can you really shoot me, Aigis?"
Aigis kept observing him, her fingers still pointing in his direction.
"I was one of the people who made you, fixed you, taught you things."
"Shut up," Aigis said.
"And the past ten years I was always with you in your little room, even when all the scientists had given up on you."
Aigis shook her head. "It does not matter."
"Really?" Ikutsuki smirked. "We stayed in the same room for almost ten years. And the last two years you were awake. You just can't move…"
ikutsuki was holding the controller. Aigis knew she couldn't resist it. She didn't want to risk by shooting Ikutsuki then was commanded to 'turn around' and ended up hurting others too.
"You know it well, Aigis," Ikutsuki kept talking. "I took care of you better than anyone else! Better than him."
Ikutsuki glance at Minato.
"And him."
He pointed the gun at Takeharu's head.
Aigis did the same to Ikutsuki. "Don't. Move,"
"They are using you, can't you see? You were just a tool for them to kill those Arcana Shadows. They never care about you, unlike me! Move, so I can kill Takeharu and sacrifice them for the fall!"
Aigis shook her head.
"Then I'll make you." Ikutsuki pushed a stick on the remote control. Aigis turned around, her gun now pointing at Takeharu.
Mitsuru gasped. "No-"
Koromaru jumped out from the tower and tackled Ikutsuki. It slid away and fell off the edge. The dog barked. The remote control was gone now. Aigis was free.
This was not good for him. Ikutsuki stepped back. Aigis turned around to face him and pointed her guns at him once more.
"Mitsuru-san and Takeharu-san never beg for forgiveness," Aigis said. "They took responsibility for their own actions. They are honest people who want to help this world."
"Aigis…" Takeharu didn't expect this.
"Unlike you, Ikutsuki-san." Aigis's voice became colder, if that was possible. "You have betrayed me. You are not the same person I know long ago…"
"Ahahaha!" Ikutsuki started laughing. He knew he couldn't convince his own weapon. He could not be saved. He was doomed. "Ahahahahah!"
SEES on the crosses could only look in disgust and pity.
"Please lower the gun," Aigis said. "I have to shoot you if I must."
That didn't affect Ikutsuki. "I lied, dear Aigis. You are bulletproof, and Takeharu is hiding behind your back… But you are not." Ikutsuki sent Minato a murderous glare that even made Minato shivered.
And Minato's mind was totally blank and cold when Ikutsuki's gun was aimed between his eyebrows.
"Because Death has left your body!"
Ikutsuki's finger moved. Aigis fired all the bullets she had in her system. Minato snapped his eyes shut, expecting blood and pain or maybe even nothingness.
A gunshot rang, followed by the sound of submachine guns discarding bullet shells.
The smell was that of gunpowder and blood, blood that would remain even after this hour.
Minato didn't feel pain and he's also conscious, so he opened his eyes to see a back of someone who is coughing blood. Takeharu took the bullet for him.
Takeharu smiled. "You are important to everyone, it seems, even her…"
"Takehara-san!" Yukari shouted.
"This… is the last thing I could do for you all…"
"Father!"
"I'm proud of you, Mitsuru…"
Mitsuru caught her father's body before it hit the floor.
Even with bullet holes on his body, Ikutsuki laughed between bloody coughs as he looked at the sky. He took a few stepped backward, leaving trails of blood.
"If only I… could kill you." Ikutsuki glared at Minato, but that was getting weak and unthreatening. "I… I was so close…"
Ikutsuki took his last step on air. He tipped over the edge and fell off. With those bullet holes, he would die for sure.
Aigis released the rest from the crosses. They dropped down and went to Mitsuru right away. SEES didn't bother to care for the presumed dead chairman.
"... One time, my father made a promise." It was barely a whisper. Mitsuru sobbed, quiet but too loud in the silence. "He swore that he would atone for endangering our generation, even if it cost him his life..."
No one knew what to say. Akihiko knelt down next to her and hoped it helped.
"But, I… I wanted him to live." Mitsuru started crying. "I became a Persona-user to protect him…"
Yukari also sat beside her and let Mitsuru leaned on her and cried into her shoulder.
Away from the crowd, Aigis remained at the edge of the building which had blood smeared all over the place. The android was staring at the emptiness where her creator had disappeared into. She could not see the floor from here. It was too dark to see anything.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Minato's. "Let's go, Aigis… He's gone."
Aigis stood still, her gazed fixed at the darkness and she refused to move. It reminded Minato of Koromaru's past somehow.
"Is it hard to let go…?"
Minato didn't expect the android to nod.