Minato's reunion with his friends had not been an occasion of laughter and fun, like it had been for Souji. In Minato's case, it was more a series of uneasy stares and uncomfortable silence when Junpei, Fuuka, Ken and Koromaru arrived. Finally, after a long uncomfortable silence, Minato spoke.

"Uh...Do you guys mind not staring? You're making me uncomfortable". Junpei coughed up violently in surprise "U-us? Making you feel uncomfortable? Dude, you've been dead for 10 years! We're the ones who're uncomfortable here!". He glanced over toward Fuuka "Fuuka, is it really him? You can sense if it's not, right?". Fuuka nodded "My powers faded alot over the years, but I can tell that much at least...Same body too, which is the odd thing". Minato smiled, noting the larger, older Koromaru rubbing against his leg "See? Koro-chan here agrees".

Ken spoke up, gathering the attention of the room "Uh...If you're really Minato-senpai, tell us some things only he'd know...". Minato was silent for a few moments, looking Ken over "Oh, uh sorry. Didn't even recognise you for a second there Ken-kun! You look alot like Shinji, you know that? I mean, if Shinji was alot less intimidating and less scruffy". He looked over at Junpei "Do you remember...how about that 'incident' in the Kyoto springs?". Junpei hastily silenced his resurrected friend "Ah, let's not go into any more detail on that! I'm convinced!". Minato looked over the others "Do the rest of you need convinving?". The rest shook their heads "Good".

"Um...I have a question...What really happened during your fight with Nyx? Why did you die? How are you back here?" Yukari asked, shifting about uncomfortably in her seat. Her apartment wasn't built to hold this many people at a time, and most were squashed together on the couch for this little meeting. "All excellent questions my dear. You're all familiar with the Velvet Room, yes? Well, after Nyx began descending on the Earth, I was drawn in there. I was given the power of the Universe Arcana and, encouraged by the voices of my closest friends and loved ones, I was given the strength to go confront Nyx face to face so to speak. However, Nyx is an abstract concept. You can't kill death, that's a ludicrous notion. So, I had to think of another way to win...".

"So you used the Great Seal..." Ken added "But how did you know to use it in the first place?". A thin smile spread across Minato's face "The idea, I originally got from Aigis when she sealed Death in me as a kid. I just decided to replicate that, on a much grander scale. Of course, I had no plans to stay dead. When I first used the Universe Arcana, I had psuedo-omnicscience. If I asked myself a question, Bam! I'd know the answer. So, while I was flying up to face Nyx, I began thinking up the best possible plan for a lasting solution to the Fall. I would create a seal with my soul, killing my physical avatar as a side-effect, where I could work on a better Seal with my power. It took 10 years, but I made a far more powerful seal in the space between dream and reality. My body was dug up a few hours ago by Elizabeth, the servant of the Velvet Room, and I was able to fully reanimate myself with my powers. I'd say that wraps it up nicely...".

Fuuka was fidgeting uncomfortably, still rather unnerved by all this "And...Do you still have those powers?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice. "Well yeah. But I have a large portion of it sealed off" Minato replied, folding his arms. "Uh, why?" Junpei asked, not seeing why anyone would give up near-godhood. "A few reasons, really. Mainly because I can't fully control them, and I might accidentaly split the universe in half by frowning" this caused a small shudder to spread through the group. Minato frowned alot.

"Plus, the line between god and man is not one I plan on nearing" Minato continued, the corner of his lip turning downward. "Hey, anyone here have a mirror?" Minato asked, perking up, as if forgetting what he had just been talking about. Yukari raised an eyebrow at the request, but rooted through her purse nonetheless and pulled out a compact mirror, passing it to her recently revived boyfriend. "Ah excellent" Minato remarked with a smile, checking his hair "I figured the 'emo teen' look wouldn't be too fitting for a guy bordering on 30". With a flick of his wrist, the long navy fringe that covered half his face receeded, leaving the young man with an even part on both sides "Nice..." Minato smirked.

"Hey when you, uh, died why did Aigis get your old power?" Ken asked, that detail niggling at him over the years. Minato chuckled slightly "Well, I gave it to Aigis because I knew she'd benefit the most from it. As for how I did it, well that's a secret". Minato hadn't forgotten the silent bargain he'd made with the blue butterfly as it floated past him before he died. The butterfly, at Minato's request had transferred the Wild Card to Aigis. Not like he even needed it since he got the Universe Arcana.

"Are you...Are you feeling all right, Minato-kun? You're acting alot more upbeat then you used too..." Aigis asked, feeling as if she'd start crying again any moment. Minato kept smiling "Ah, don't get too used to it, I'll probably go all moody again soon enough. I'm just so pumped about being alive again! You have no idea whatyou gus take for granted...Blinking, breathing, smelling, touching- this couch feels amazing by the way- All things that I had no idea how much I loved". Junpei smiled "Great to have you back man". He used to dislike Minato, felt a strong sense of jealousy for his old leader and how he was always the hero...Always the most powerful, always the one that girls hit on. And then he had to go sacrifice himself to save the world. It's hard to stay mad at a guy who gave his life to save all mankind, especially when Junpei himself knew he could never have made the same sacrifice. "So everything's good now, right?" Junpei asked optimisticaly.

Minato scratched the back of his neck and rolled his eyes "Weeeellll..." he trailed off uncomfortably "Say, where are Akihiko and Mitsuru? I couldn't reach either when I called 'em...". Fuuka was able to answer for Mitsuru, being her employee "Oh, Mitsuru-san had to attend a business meeting in some rural town...I can't think of the name off the top of my head...". Aigis answered for Akihiko "Akihiko is currently a police detective, working on a case in another city. Why do you ask?". Minato looked over at the clock "Well I uh...It's 11: 59 right now so I figure they'll be trying to get in contact in 5..."

"Wait a minute-"

"4..."

"Oh shit..."

"3..."

"You can't be serious man!"

"2..."

"Can't be!"

"1..."

Back in Inaba, a small laugh spread through the old Investigation Team. They had more or less forgotten the arguement from earlier, sake did work wonders, and were preparing to wrap up for the night. "Well, I gotta'...Gotta' go t' work tomorrow, and Nanako 'sgotta' go to school..." Dojima managed to slur out, getting to his feet awkwardly. Souji laughed slightly, his teenage daughter supporting her father on her shoulder "Okay, see you guys around. I will be sticking around after all". Nanako smiled "I know, best news I've heard in a long time. Later Big Bro".

As the two exited the room, Teddie was busy looking at the clock "Woot! 'S almost midnight! Let's count down!". Yosuke groaned and shook his head "No, let's not". Teddie frowned "Aw...Yosuke, you're such a buzzkill...They should call you uh...That guy who's a buzzkill". Despite that not even being a pun, or remotely funny, Yukiko still burst out with one of her signature laughing fits, which caused Chie to groan "Why did suggest giving sake to these people?".

And then the air grew cold and the lights went out, replaced with a neon green glow from the moon above, in an instant.

It was a sobering experience, and those who had been rendered drunken fools by the earlier party became far more attentive due to the unsettling shift in atmosphere. "Whoa! Wh-what the hell? I don't think this is a blackout guys..." Kanji remarked, clearly nervous. Naoto, the most observant in the room stood up "The clock...It's stuck on midnight". The Investigation team looked around "D-do you think the TV World has something to do with all this?" Chie asked, staring at the green moon outside. Souji, naturally, took up the leadership role in this situation "We should try to arm ourselves if we're going back in. Not sure if our Personae are as powerful, but regardless we have t-".

He was cut short by a frantic Nanako bursting into the room "Big Bro! S-something's wrong with dad!" she yelled. Souji ran over to his young cousin trying to calm her down "Hey, easy Sis...What do you mean something's wrong with your dad?". Nanako led the group outside, showing them a tall black coffin where her father had been mere moments ago. Several other strange coffins also marked the area where other Inn residents had been.

While the Investigation Team didn't understand what was going on, SEES did...The Dark Hour was back in effect.

AN: Hey awesome, four chapters down. Yeah, this'll have Yukari x Minato, sorry to dissapoint any of you hoping for something else. Just didn't think the other romance options were any good, or worth exploring in the story. Anyway though, read and review if you wouldn't mind.