Disclaimer:This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.

Warning: This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.


Bet more than a few of you are surprised I actually got this out less than a day after the last chapter. XD

I did say I'd put it up after a few days but weather's pretty poor over here. Haven't seen the sun in days and the rain's all crazy. One moment it's like a wall of rain, then next there's nothing but they sky is still looks ready to piss on everything in sight. Five minutes later it's raining like hell again. Can't even go for a morning jog anymore without risking it. I had some plans with my friends but most of them changed their mind and didn't want to go out with the weather the way it was.

So I decided to take the extra time to finish this up. Lucky for you guys, eh? :D

Anyway, enjoy. Or not.

Quick warning, this is not a happy interlude.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW AND OLD READERS:

To those who have read this interlude before, you may notice the lack of song lyrics. I took them out. Obviously.

It had completely slipped my mind at the time I first uploaded this chapter that song lyrics aren't allowed. As such, I removed them all and instead just described the music. Some of the impact may fade because of this, but I would rather not have the story deleted by the admins if/when someone reports the violation.

To the new readers, I kept the title of the songs as they are played so, if you feel like it, you can play the song, whether on your playlist if you own the soundtrack, through youtube or something if you want to. At the bottom of the page, just so that nobody gets a spoiler they don't want (even if it's not that big of one), there's a complete list of the songs used in this interlude as well as which version it is (if applicable).

Thank you for your time and patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled update.


Interlude 1: Minato Arisato

September 11, XX13

"Hey Aigis, what've you got there?"

Looking up at the sound of the voice, Aigis's bright blue eyes met with Yang's lilac ones as the latter looked down on the table the android was working on. She gave an offhanded greeting as her eyes returned to the small object in her hands.

It was a small, roughly rectangular object, only slightly longer than her fingers, with one end rounded-off while the other had a small ring attached to it. Attached to that small ring was a strap, long enough to fit over one's head to hang around one's neck, not unlike a necklace of sorts. One side had a small screen a little more than two-thirds its entire length with several buttons running down one of its narrow sides.

On the table was a small mess of tools, wires, a pair of earphones, and a portable Scroll dock.

"It is a music player, specifically an MP3 player," she answered setting down the object on the table. Picking up the wire cutter, she held the rubber-coated wire of the earphones up and cut the length of wire in half. Throwing away the half with the earphones into the trashcan next to her, she moved to the Scroll dock and did the same to its wire and discarded the half that connected to a computer.

Yang had initially come to the room to speak with Ruby about something but discovered that she had missed her by a few minutes. Since Aigis said that Ruby and Weiss only stepped out to get a snack, Yang decided to wait. And while waiting, she watched Aigis sit at the corner desk while holding onto the MP3 player. And so, overcome by her curiosity and a desire to not pass the time in silence, she had approached the android.

And now, watching her work, Yang found herself slightly intrigued. Though she was reassured that only the occupants of the room, the dormitory's assigned manager, the Deputy Headmistress, and the Headmaster himself could enter any given dorm room any time they wanted, Aigis still chose to not walk around naked in the privacy of the room.

Well, as naked as she could be without stripping off her mechanical body's outer shell that is. Yang had rarely seen Aigis without her clothes covering up her mechanical features, save for her headband. Even now, working on the music player, Aigis wore her old school uniform as though worried that someone unaware of her secret would walk in. Though she had taken off her gloves to better perform her task, revealing her artificial, gray-tipped fingers

"And what about all this?" asked Yang, gesturing to the collection of tools and wires on the desk. "Trying to hack into it or something?"

"In a way." Yang blinked, not expecting her little joke to be taken seriously. Or that it would even be remotely correct. "Most of our devices are incompatible with technology in the rest of Remnant. Take this MP3 player for example. I could still use it if I wanted to but its charger is incompatible with the power outlets here in more ways than one."

As Aigis continued to explain, her hands and fingers continued to work, moving with clear purpose and obvious ease. "Even if the prongs were able to fit into the outlet, the research I did indicated that the power running through the outlets is significantly higher than what we are used to. If I were to attempt to charge the device after the battery was drained the device would instantly be overloaded and become unusable because of the sheer difference in power running through the outlet."

Yang nodded along, showing that she could understand the explanation. "Well, it sounds like you know what you're doing but… what are you doing?" But she still didn't know how Aigis planned to overcome that little problem. Shouldn't she be working on the MP3 player instead? Perhaps replacing the battery and/or circuitry to be able to handle the power?

"I am attempting to essentially fuse these two," responded Aigis, holding up the two halves of wire from earlier. One was from the earphones and the other was from the portable Scroll dock. Following the wire to its end, Yang saw that the one that had been attached to the earphones ended in a very small, roughly cylindrical shape, which she assumed went into the MP3 player. "If I can connect these two wires, and make it so that I could connect the MP3 player to the Scroll, I believe that with Fuuka-san's help we should be able to transfer the music to the Scroll."

"Something tells me it won't be as easy as that." Even with only a rudimentary understanding of technology, perhaps even less than that, Yang knew it wasn't as simple as being able to connect the two devices. After all, how the insides worked was also very different.

"Perhaps," admitted Aigis as she set the wires down. Then she looked back at the MP3 player with a look that Yang could only describe as longing. "But I wish to preserve his memory in every way I can."

"His?" Somehow, Yang got the feeling that whoever Aigis was talking about was already dead.

The android nodded. "Minato-san."

Minato. That was the name of SEES's field leader, the one who had led them in battle even as Mitsuru led the group as a whole. More importantly, he was the one who had somehow saved the rest of SEES, giving them a second chance at life in Beacon.

"So that's his?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "What kind of music did he listen to?"

"I don't know."

"Eh?" Yang was definitely surprised by that answer. "You don't?"

Aigis shook her head in response. "I never really thought to ask him. Then again, I don't think anyone in SEES knew. Minato-san was always so quiet. I do not doubt that he would have answered us had we asked, but, for myself, I did not feel the need to ask."

"Why haven't you listened to it yet?" asked Yang, looking at the small device on the table. "It still works, right?"

"It does. But Fuuka-san and I wanted to share it with everyone else. The others do not know that I have this since I wanted to surprise everyone once I managed to transfer the music. Fuuka-san only knows because I had to ask her for help since she is familiar with working with machines and computers."

"Even though you're a machine yourself?" Yang winced when she realized how that must have sounded. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." Somehow Aigis's understanding smile hurt more than had she gotten mad. "Please, do not worry about offending me. I understand that it is difficult to adjust. But as to what you said, most of what I was taught was related to combat. Because of my ability to use a Persona, I lack the memory capacity and the processing power that most would expect of me. As such, I cannot learn and memorize something merely by reading or seeing it."

"Wait, so you have to study?"

"It is a strange concept, I know," said Aigis, smiling at the dumbfounded look on Yang's face. "But we are digressing from the subject. Once Fuuka-san and I manage to transfer Minato-san's music into my Scroll, we will gather the other members of SEES and listen to it together."

Seeing an opportunity to learn more about their new friends, Yang swiftly made to capitalize on it. "Would it be alright if we join you?" At the curious look on Aigis's face, she added, "I mean, we're usually off doing our own things so we haven't had time to really hang out as a group. I just thought it would be a good way for us to hang out since we're all on teams with one another and all that."

The curious expression morphed into a smile even as Aigis nodded her assent. "I believe no one will have any complaints. It's true that none of you knew Minato, but he would not have wanted us to close ourselves off from others for any reason. Could I leave it to you to ask the others?" she asked. "Barring any unexpected problems, Fuuka and I are certain that we can have this ready by tomorrow. I believe the best time would be after we have dinner tomorrow night as that is less likely to interfere with any plans during the day."

"Sure thing. I'll make sure everyone keeps tomorrow night clear and that they keep it a secret. Where are we meeting? The lounge?"

Aigis shook her head. "I believe it would be best to do this in one of our rooms. Since we will be listening to music, I do not wish to inconvenience the other students."

"Makes sense. Do you want us to get anything ready? Drinks and maybe snacks?"

"A little, perhaps. Thank you."

"No problem. Just leave it all to me."


September 12, XX13

'Perhaps a different venue would have been wiser,' Aigis thought wryly.

In hindsight, fitting sixteen people in a room meant to house four people was not the best idea. Even considering that the room was fairly large, the sheer number of people made the room look a lot smaller than it was. Moreover, her maintenance station and ammo crates took up some of that space as well. She would have used a different room but she and Yang, with help from Ren, and Jaune, had already grabbed the chairs from their respective dorm rooms and brought them to ASYR's room.

The room now looked like a small movie theater considering how they had set it up. There were two rows of four seats on each side of the room, with a table in between and directly in front of the door. On that table was Aigis's Scroll, which was resting on an unplugged Scroll dock to help it stand, thereby allowing them to use the Scroll's projection capabilities. And to help with that, a bed sheet had been taped over the door as soon as everyone arrived, acting as a makeshift movie screen.

Each row was occupied by one team. ASYR, simply because they had three members who were among the shortest in the entire group, sat in front with Aigis seated on the chair closest to her Scroll. Seated behind them was KYBT, with Blake making sure to sit near the side of the room, as far away as possible from Koromaru, who was sitting on his haunches right in front of the table in the middle. On the other side of the room, JACN sat in the back row while ANKR sat in front, though Akihiko had to sit at the very end due to his height.

"So what exactly is this about Aigis?" asked Yukari. "All Yang told us was that you had a surprise for us."

Before she answered, Aigis held up a familiar object for the archer to see. "Do you recognize this, Yukari-san?"

It barely took the girl a second. "That's Minato-kun's MP3 player. Why do you have it, Aigis?" There was no accusation in her tone, merely curiosity.

"I entered his room one day while we were still in Iwatodai. While I was reminiscing, I saw this lying on the table. Asides from clothing, this was the only object left in his room. Seeing as we would never return, I decided to take it with me. "

"Ok, I can definitely understand that. But why bring it up now?"

"Fuuka-san and I managed to transfer the music into my Scroll," she announced with a bit of pride. "I felt like listening to the music and so I wanted to share the experience with you all as well."

"But why are the rest of us here?" Aigis turned to her teammate, who was seated at the end of the row and was looking at her with a slightly cold expression. Seeing that, Aigis began to feel some discomfort seeping into her. "For one thing, will we even understand it? You have a different language, correct?"

"What's wrong Ice Queen? Afraid of a little music?" taunted Yang, grinning at the white-haired girl from behind her. "Besides, it was originally going to be just SEES but I asked Aigis if it was alright to bring everyone else. I thought we could all do with a little bonding now and then."

"It is as she said," added Aigis. Jokes aside, she still did not understand why Weiss seemed so cold to her. And so she was grateful for Yang's intervention, even if she might not have known of Aigis's discomfort. "As to the language, I had considered that as well. Using the knowledge within my systems, Fuuka-san managed to create a program to translate the songs should they be in Japanese."

"Won't that make the song sound weird?" asked Junpei. "I mean, I'm pretty sure you can't just translate a song and sing it the exact same way."

"Oh, we didn't do it that way," explained Fuuka. "What we did was just make a basic program that would provide a set of translated lyrics for the songs if needed. And using Aigis's Scroll, we can project the lyrics like we were watching a movie while the song is playing. That way everyone can enjoy the song the way it is while also having a way to understand it. And since the translation was dependent Aigis's knowledge, it won't come out as a direct translation where the words may be out of proper order."

"I see. The two of you have certainly thought this through," said Mitsuru, smiling at Fuuka and Aigis with approval. "Well then, shall we begin?" she asked.

Everyone voiced their agreement, though had anyone been paying attention to Weiss they would have noticed that she did not speak at all, opting to grudgingly settle into her seat. After all, the door was now blocked by the bed sheet and since they were doing it in her team's dorm, she would have to return either way. Leaving now, when she would have nothing to do outside, would just be a waste of time.

Besides, music was music. If she focused on that perhaps it won't be such a bad way to spend the night.

"There were not many songs in his music player. I believe we should be finished in about an hour," Aigis said as she walked over to the covered door and reached behind the bed sheet, searching for the light switch.

Finding the switch, Aigis shut off the lights in the room then, walked back to the table, reached for her Scroll and started up the program that she and Fuuka had spent the day before and part of today creating. Immediately, a light came from the back of the Scroll, much like a movie projector, and hit the bed sheet even as Aigis returned to her seat.

In a few seconds, the first song began to play even as the title was displayed on the screen.

P3 FES
Lotus Juice & Yumi Kawamura

The first sound that came from the speakers, was the sound of the female singer, singing in a language that the Aura-users assumed was SEES's native tongue, Japanese if they remembered correctly. On the makeshift screen, the lyrics, both English and Japanese, were displayed as the words were sung.

As the last line of that verse was sung, the sound of drums began and was soon followed by the voice of a male singer. What caught all of them by surprise was that the words were being sung in English in a style vastly different from the previous one. Moreover, there was little to no hint of a Japanese accent.

The mix of instruments was also surprising as those more familiar with the sounds recognized them as brass wind instruments. As soon as the verse ended, the female signer picked up the song once more. But this time, she was signing in English as well with a slightly different style from either of the two previous verses. Unlike the male vocalist, however, her English was slightly accented. Then after a very brief instrumental break, the male singer continued the song.

The song came to an abrupt end after the last line. Almost everyone was looking around at everyone else, trying to understand what they had just heard. Junpei was the first to give voice to his opinions, even as Aigis stopped the program from playing the next song immediately.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" he asked before turning to Aigis. "You sure something didn't go wrong when you transferred the music, Ai-chan? Maybe the songs got mixed up or something."

"I think that was the actual song," said Akihiko. "As… weird as it was, the instruments played smoothly from start to finish."

"You tellin' me this is the kind of music Minato listened to?" Junpei asked in disbelief. No one could blame him either. Then he just shrugged and said something that surprised half of the room. "Meh, he always was a bit of a weird one."

"That's true I suppose." The way that Yukari had swiftly agreed, followed by slow, agreeing nods from the rest of SEES, was just as surprising. "No surprise his music's a bit weird as well."

Finally, one of them couldn't hold it in anymore. "Woah! Woah! Hold on a moment!" Everyone turned to Yang at her sudden outburst. With only the light from the projector it was hard to see her expression but most could imagine that it was one of disbelief. "You guys always said he was strong, selfless, and all that stuff. So what's with calling him weird all of a sudden? Just… Okay, if you had to describe him in one word asides from weird, what would you use?"

As one, every member of SEES answered Yang without hesitation.

"Strange."

Right after they said that, those who could see Yang's face laughed.

Once she got her laughter under control, Yukari apologized. "Sorry," she said. "It's just… there really is no better way to describe him."

"It's not meant to be demeaning or insulting," Mitsuru said with a fond smile on her face. "It's simply that so much about him is so different from the norm that he stands out in such a way. But regardless of that, he is our friend. We have nothing but the utmost respect for him."

"Perhaps we should listen to the rest of the songs first," interrupted Aigis. As interesting as it would be to discuss Minato's… peculiarities, that was not the reason why they had gathered. Not giving them a choice in the matter, Aigis reached over to her scroll and resumed the program.

Want To Be Close
Yumi Kawamura

This time, the music started out with a mellow sounding rhythm played on an electric guitar accompanied by the drums. Like the last song, a brass instrument could be heard now and then. And this time, there was an instrument they could not identify. Though it was always possible that it was simply a synthesized sound. At around the half-minute mark, the same, accented English, was heard.

Unlike the mysterious blend of styles from the first song, this one used only a single, consistent style all throughout. Though the members of SEES had to cringe at the accent. If not for the lyrics scrolling upwards on the screen, a decent portion of the song might have been easily misunderstood, if not outright unintelligible.

Still, the poetic words provided an interesting distraction as some attempted to decipher the meaning of behind the words.

By the end of the song, there were more than few who looked to be enjoying themselves despite the… unique kind of music they were hearing. Aigis, for her part, just sat there and enjoyed the music to the best of her ability rather than attempt to understand any deeper meaning. She did not need to completely understand something to be able to enjoy it after all. 'Much like life itself I suppose.'

A few more songs were played after that one. Most of what followed were instrumentals – credited to someone named Shoji Meguro – though one song, entitled 'When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars' also had lyrics and was sung by, again, Yumi Kawamura. Thus far, all the songs followed a similar style with the exception of the very first one.

But when they saw the title of the next song, they got the feeling that that was about to change.

Mass Destruction
Lotus Juice

Instantly, the difference in style was very apparent, even if the song seemed to be using the same instruments still. The previous songs had been fairly relaxing and mellow. But this time, the instrumentals were more powerful, more intense. Then an electric guitar was heard along with a fairly powerful bass guitar. Moreover, the artist listed had been one of two from the first song they listened to.

As they listened, a few people were nodding along to the semi-fast song pace and all of them could see why the song was titled as such, given the lyrics. Some had even tried following along but the irregular rhythm threw them off easily.

But when they reached the second verse, every member of SEES suddenly froze in their seats as they saw the very first word of the second line. As it was the first word, the capitalization of the first letter was understandable but that did little to ease the sudden tension that overcame them.

All of a sudden, the entire song took on an entirely different meaning for the eight Japanese. And none of them knew what to think about it. The final line in the song that the male singer had sung did not help. At all.

By the end of the song, SEES were all staring at the screen wide-eyed. Absently, Aigis stopped her Scroll once again, knowing that they would need the time to recover before the next song. They looked to each other with uncertainty, wondering where to start or who would start it. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your view. Someone else decided to start things off for them.

"Did that song just sing about the Grimm?"

Aigis wasn't sure whether Ruby's lack of tact was a blessing in this situation.

"I… I believe so… yes," Mitsuru replied slowly, still coming to terms with the fact that the song had, essentially, been about the Shadows.

"That's..." Ruby had no words for it. Interesting? Inspiring? Disturbing? Whatever it was, it was certainly unbelievable. After all, who would compose a song about creatures that aimed at nothing less than the eradication of all life? Even if it seemed to be about fighting them, it was still a... somewhat questionable theme.

"So you guys actually call them Shadows of Mass Destruction?" asked Yang, curious about that last line. Then she grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Definitely better than Creatures of the Grimm, that's for sure."

Her words sparked a small debate with Weiss, Blake, and Ruby as to whether or not that was something to be joking about.

For SEES, however, the implication was far more troubling. The Shadows were known only to SEES and the Kirijo. No one else should have known about them. If knowledge of it had been leaked, there would have been mass panic from the public.

So how was it possible that Minato had a song in his MP3 player about the Shadows? Moreover, had he had that song since before coming to Iwatodai? If so, did that mean he had been aware of it from the start? Or was the whole song, as unlikely as it was, just a coincidence?

"Think he was listening to this whenever we were out fighting?" Junpei attempts to lighten the mood with humor was, at the very least, appreciated. Sadly, the matter was just too important to sweep away so easily.

Unfortunately for SEES, they did not have time to consider it. In a bout of impatience, Nora had reached over to Aigis's Scroll and resumed the program before Ren could stop her, the title of the next song appearing on the screen. Aigis was tempted to undo what Nora had done but doing so would invite uncomfortable questions. Sharing a glance with Mitsuru, she knew that the redhead was thinking the same thing. They would consider things later. For now, they would do what they had come here to do.

Deep Breath Deep Breath
Lotus Juice

When they first say the artist connected with the song, they thought they would be hearing another song similar to the previous one. But when the music started to play, the tone was significantly lighter than the last song, almost playful.

Again, some people tried singing along but with an unfamiliar rhythm throwing them off, following along out loud was a lot harder than just following along in their head. There were some chuckles, some uncomfortable coughs, and even a slightly indignant reaction from Weiss, when the lyrics mentioned the signer's perspective as having several women each day.

Still, the light tone of the song, along with the humorous tale told by the lyrics – which some would admit were even a little bit romantic and touching – erased most of the feelings evoked by the previous song. It was just what SEES needed to remember why Aigis had gathered them in the first place.

Poem For Everyone's Souls
Shoji Meguro

Just by the name displayed, they knew that it was another instrumental piece. It started off with a powerful piano introduction but changed into a gentler, more somber melody. And then the vocals came on.

Despite the title, no words were spoken. The vocalist simply gave voice to the melody of the song. And what a powerful voice it was. Nobody in the room could deny that. It was as though the song was reaching deep into them, past all physical boundaries, past even their metaphorical hearts, to touch their very souls just as the title had implied.

Was it soothing? Calming? Cathartic? At times they felt strength welling up within them. Only for that strength to abandon them mere moments later, replaced by a feeling of grief and sadness, a desire to shed tears. No one had the words to describe what they were feeling. It was as though every emotion was being drawn out of them one by one but also all at the same time.

All too soon the song had ended, taking with it whatever power had taken hold of them. But that reprieve wouldn't last long as the title of the next song came up.

Battle For Everyone's Souls.
Shoji Meguro

The title had been clue enough for them. Though the song started off with a powerful drum and guitar intro, the rest of the song was much like the last, only stronger, more intense. If the previous song had simply drawn out their emotions, this one drew it out and seemed to be using those same emotions to inspire them to fight, awakening a desire to fight for a cause.

At the end of it, Aigis reached out to her Scroll once again. And looking around, she knew it had been a good decision. Nearly everyone looked to be locked in whatever emotion the last two songs had drawn out of them. It was Pyrrha who broke the silence first.

"I think I can see why you call him strange."

There were chuckles all around but nobody denied it. SEES already knew just how unique Minato was. And, listening to his choice in music, the others were slowly coming to understand that as well.

The next few songs that played were far more peaceful and relaxing, though a few carried a somber tone as well. Still, it was a needed break from what they had just experienced.

As the songs played, Aigis kept count of the number of songs they had listened to. She had not changed the arrangements of the songs, keeping them as they are in an effort to preserve how Minato might have listened to it. It wasn't a significant thing, but for some reason Aigis just felt the need to do so. Almost as though rearranging the songs would ruin the moment.

As they reached the final song, Aigis let everyone know just as they thanked her for telling them. Though it hadn't taken longer than expected, it was still getting late. Classes were due to start in two days and they would need to acclimate themselves to sleeping by a certain time so as to avoid oversleeping. And that time just happened to be drawing near. So everyone readied themselves to hear the final song that had been stored in Minato's player.

Kimi no Kioku (Memories of You)
Yumi Kawamura

Something about the title of the song struck a chord in SEES, tugging at their heartstrings for some unknown reason. Then a somewhat fast-paced introduction with a piano and the drums began to play. The tone was light, a fitting song to end the night, they all thought. And then the words came.

Just the first few lines sent a strange jolt into the hearts of the Japanese teens. Though the melody of the song sounded quite lively, they felt something heavy settle into their hearts and a light pressure coming from behind their eyes. When the first line of the refrain played, the weight grew heavier, pressing down on their chest and making it difficult to breath. And when the chorus began to play, they broke under that weight.

Yet next to each Japanese pair, their teammates continued to listen with faint, or not-so-faint, smiles on their faces. Their heads, fingers, or feet moved along to the melody, eyes following along to the translated lyrics, and oblivious to the growing storm.

As the part of the song that sounded like the chorus ended, many of those listening couldn't help but think that the song was beautiful. The tone of the song and lyrics sounded quite joyful. And though the words they read looked to be words of parting, it also seemed to carry a promise, a promise to never be apart. A beautiful love song.

Then something shattered that moment. A whimper of pain. One that they barely heard over the music.

"A-Aigis?" Those who heard Ruby's soft voice turned to her and to the one whose name she had called.

Due to sitting at the front and being one of those closest to the only source of light, Aigis's features, though shadowed, were still more visible than the others. As such, those who had turned to look could see she seemed to be in pain, her face was tight, her eyes and teeth were clenched shut as tightly as they could. Her shoulders were tense and seemed to be shaking slightly while her hands were curled up into fists, pushing down on her thighs.

Another soft sob escaped her lips. She seemed to be trying to hold in her voice, to hide the fact that something was causing her pain. But before anyone could act, another voice spoke.

"A-Aigis, d-don't…" The voice was female and was coming from behind Aigis. Yukari. "If… If you s-start then I'll… I-I'll…"

Yukari never finished what she was going to say as a loud sob escaped her own lips just as the second verse began. But it was not just Yukari.

Looking around, eight people realized that every single member of SEES was in a similar state. Aigis, Fuuka, Yukari, Ken, and even Junpei were all showing signs of pain. Hands were closed into tight fists, some gripping part of their clothing, lips were pressed shut while some merely clenched their jaws shut with their mouths partly open. Some even had tears beginning to flow down their faces.

Their bodies and faces were tense, and they seemed to be trying hard not to let the extent of their pain show, though shoulders had begun to quiver and shudder and their breaths began to come in staggered waves. Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Chidori were faring better, but it was clear that they, too, were trying to hide something.

Nobody knew what was going on. They couldn't see anything that could be the cause of their pain. But even so, more than half of SEES were openly crying now, faces in their hands or the crook of their arm, tears freely running down their faces, and heart-wrenching sobs emerging from their lips.

Having been the first to see what was going on, Ruby was also the first to act. Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and reappeared behind the table that held Aigis's Scroll. She reached for the yellow Scroll to stop the music just as the second chorus played over the speakers. Whatever was happening was more important.

But before her finger could tap the screen, another hand suddenly latched on to her wrist with shocking speed. Silver eyes followed the hand to its source. But in truth, she did not need to. The moment she saw the gray-tipped fingers, Ruby knew who had stopped her. What she, and those watching, did not understand was why.

But when Fuuka suddenly turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around Aigis's torso, some of them began to understand. Their pain was not physical at all.

When Ruby finally stopped trying to struggle against Aigis's literal iron grip, the hand slowly released Ruby's wrist. She knew, however, that Aigis would stop her again if she attempted to stop the music. With both hands free, Aigis turned in her seat as well to face Fuuka. And even as Fuuka buried her face into Aigis's bosom, the mechanical maiden wrapped her own arms around the smaller teen, her chin resting on Fuuka's teal locks and her face reflecting the pain she felt.

The other members of SEES soon followed suit upon seeing two of their number doing so. Mitsuru and Yukari, Chidori and Junpei, and even Akihiko and Ken, held onto one another.

SEES's sobs and cries could still be heard despite the merry melody pouring out of the Scroll's speakers, the stark contrast between the two sounds simply further emphasizing one another. And amidst all this, their teammates were at a loss.

What had happened? Why had they suddenly begun crying? Was it the song? But why? Wasn't the song singing about someone they loved? Someone they cared for deeply? Or was there something in the song's original language that they could not understand even with a translation?

Eyes immediately turned to the screen just as the chorus began to play once more. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that all of SEES had fallen into such a state. The music had to be responsible for it in some way.

One by one, they came to a startling realization as they read the translated lyrics of the chorus as it was projected before them. They had thought that it was a love song. At worst, they had thought it was a song about two people who were forced apart. In a way, they were right. But they had woefully misinterpreted one aspect of that separation.

It wasn't a matter of time or distance or even circumstance that brought about the separation. It wasn't something that could be mended even with an infinite amount of time, effort and will. It was the height of separation. The one thing that could sever the ties of anything and everything. A force that was unavoidable and irreversible.

And the song caused them to remember that they, too, had been separated from someone by this undeniable force.

And as the song faded away, only the sounds of sobbing and sniffling could be heard. None of them knew what to do. Did they approach their friends? Or did they just wait until they were ready?

Regardless of what they did, however, they all knew one thing for certain. Even now, seven months after the tragedy that had stolen away the lives they once knew, SEES had yet to move on. And now, they were witnessing SEES's collapse as they finally, and truly, felt the weight of the burdens they bear.


Okay, I'm sure a lot of you must be wondering why the heck I made a scene like this. Some of you already know why since the issue was brought up before. The last line pretty much explains it after all.

In those seven months, all SEES did was train and learn. They never found the time to cope with their new situation. Moreover, they never had time to mourn those who had died. And until they can come to terms with all of that they had lost, they will not be able to move on.

Another thing, one that I haven't seen anyone point out yet is how SEES is perceived by their teammates. Leaving out Weiss's perception of Aigis, all of them are pretty much in awe of SEES, of their power and their experiences. This interlude was made to shatter that perception. This was made to show them that SEES is still human despite everything they've shown so far, that SEES is not infallible.

Admittedly, this second reason was also aimed at those who might have start thinking that SEES will steamroll over everything in their way despite their lack of Aura.

When I first decided to include this scene, I had planned on writing it as part of a chapter. It was supposed to be the end of the previous chapter actually.

But when I was listening to the Persona 3 OST to help me get in the mood, I realized that it didn't feel right having them as part of a full chapter. So I decided to make it an interlude instead.

Also, some of you may be wondering "Why isn't Burn My Dread on the list?" Well the answer to that is... a secret for now. XD

It will show up though so look forward to it.

Anyway, the usual deal applies here. Let me know what you think of the story thus far. Like it? Love it? Don't like it? Despise it? Wanna print it out and frame it somewhere? Or do you wanna print it out so you can burn it? Well, whatever the case, tell me what you think.

See you in the next chapter everyone.


Here's the song list:

1) P3 FES (Persona 3 FES)

2) Want to be Close (Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)

3) Mass Destruction (Persona 3 Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream version)

4) Deep Breath Deep Breath (Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)

5) Poem for Everyone's Souls (Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)

6) Battle for Everyone's Souls (Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)

7) Kimi no Kioku (Original Version)