Author's Notes: Wow I finished Tales of Vesperia and that stuff is beautiful. Wish I had a PS3 for all the JRPGs exclusive to it, but the PS4 is not far off.

Chapter 16: Upgrade

Sunday 6/24/2012 Evening

We arrived at our destination some time in the evening. I stepped out of the train and looked around me. Nothing has changed. The city looked the same as it always has, but I know that every day something changes.

"So where are we going to stay?" Junpei asked.

Yukari paused, "Well, we do sort of have a budget so I booked us at a cheap hotel… in Shirakawa Boulevard."

"Really, and I thought Mitsuru-senpai would help us out." Junpei looked disappointed.

"Well it wouldn't be right to rely on her all the time for money." said Fuuka.

"Yeah, I guess, but since were in town let's pay her a visit." suggested Junpei.

"I know, we'll do it tomorrow. I find it strange that she hasn't taken any action yet even when I'm sure she felt the Dark Hour happening." said Yukari. She seems deep in thought.

We all went to a rather questionable building in the Shirakawa district. "Isn't this the same?" Junpei stared at the hotel familiarly.

Yukari quickly interrupted, "Shut it."

I've never been inside here before so it was a new experience. Yukari and the others all seem to be familiar with this place. During our time in Gekkoukan, I had inquired about such a place only to have Yukari tell me to never go near it.

There was only 1 bed in the room. It was large, circular, and covered in red lacey sheets. "So are all 3 of us going to sleep on this?" Fuuka asked shyly.

Yukari replied, "Sure I guess, but would you rather share a room with Stupei over in the next room?" she said so sarcastically.

"Well…." Fuuka mumbled.

I spoke up, "If it is an inconvenience then I shall go sleep in Junpei-san's room."

Yukari stopped me, "It's alright. We can each take a section." Afterwards we unpacked our luggage and fell asleep.

Monday 6/25/2012

Today we had plans to visit Mitsuru. We took the train to the Kirijo Group's office building which stood at a towering height.

"Wow, senpai sure has it good." Junpei whistled in awe.

Yukari dully replied, "Not if she's too busy all the time. Come on let's go." As soon as we entered we were greeted by a woman sitting behind a desk.

"We are here to see Mitsuru Kirijo." said Yukari in a formal tone. The lady asked if we had an appointment, but Yukari told her that we were her friends. The lady told us to wait.

10 minutes pass and we were shown to the top floor of the building. We stood in front of a large pair of wooden double doors. The name plate on them had Mitsuru Kirijo inscribed on it. The attendant left us and told us to enter.

"Man, I feel really nervous going into a big shot's office." said Junpei.

"I'm sure Mitsuru senpai is still the same." Fuuka assured Junpei. I opened the door and saw a redhead sitting on a fancy desk looking at papers.

She looked up and smiled, "Everyone, it's nice to see you all."

"Same to you Mitsuru-senpai." said Yukari. "Say, you haven't been answering your phone calls lately."

"Being the new head of the Kirijo Group has left me busy. I'm sorry." replied Mitsuru. "However I did notice the Dark Hour occurring once again. Care to explain?"

After our detailed explanation Mitsuru grimaced, "So there lays another crisis."

"There have been no significant effects on our world as of yet however we expect that to change." I said.

"Oh by the way Aigis, I know you've decided to live on your own, but have you been keeping yourself maintained?" Mitsuru asked.

She led us to the elevator and took us all down to the basement. I remember that the labs are here.

"Aigis, you should really keep yourself in good condition. The lab has been developing upgrades for you." said Mitsuru.

"Upgrades?" I asked.

"Well they're only physical upgrades like replacement parts. There will be no change to your mental or emotional state." Mitsuru explained. "If you give your consent then I'll let you undergo an overhaul.

"An upgrade, so is Aigis going to have boosters or lasers?" Junpei asked enthusiastically. Yukari pinched his ear which left him yelping.

I sat down in one of the mechanical chairs made for me and wires were connected to me. My consciousness began to fade as I hear the sound of machinery buzz softly.

Thursday 6/28/2012

My eyes slowly open and I slowly regained my vision. I noticed that I no longer had my heads up display and my scan vision. I feel stronger and my movement is much smoother.

"What did you do?" I asked. Mitsuru gladly explained.

Your eyes can switch between normal vision and combat. Normal vision allows you to see things in a broader perspective than you could before. It is similar to human eyesight. Combat vision is the type of eyesight you had before where a HUD would appear and track targets.

Important servos and parts were replaced with more powerful ones. We also put boosters on you as an added precaution.

"I see." I said. It made me sad that the upgrades made me less of a human, but I am the only one who could do this. If it will help me protect everyone then I will accept this. It seems that 3 days have passed while I was asleep.

"Could you go into the blast chamber for your weapons test?" Mitsuru asked. I complied and went inside. I clicked my fingers and it seems I still have my machine gun, but in the room I saw other things. A large Gatling gun, a missile pod, and a cannon lay on the ground.

"With the upgrade you should be able to carry all three of those at once." Mitsuru spoke from behind a microphone. She was above me talking through a glass barrier. She continued, "They should attach perfectly to your body. Use them to destroy the targets."

I picked up the Gatling gun first. Surprisingly I did it without much effort. It attached to my left arm where magazines for my hand cannons would. Next was the missile pod. It went around my waist. Last was the cannon which hung itself on my right shoulder.

The targets appeared. White dummies built in the shapes of shadows that we've encountered before.

"Certain targets are vulnerable to a certain weapon. Use your scanners to determine their weaknesses." said Mitsuru.

I scanned the targets. They were weak to piercing attacks. However I cannot perform a more detailed scan. That is Fuuka's specialty. I aimed the Gatling at the targets and fired. The roar of the weapon and the flurry of bullets shred through the targets.

More targets appeared in their place and they moved fast. I lowered the Gatling and began tracking them. 6,7,8 targets in total. Locked on, the missiles fired each one chasing down its target.

The last target was a large block. It seemed impervious to the other weapons so the only choice left was the cannon. I aimed for the center and fired. A flaming red shell launched towards it. There was a large explosion and as the smoke cleared there was a gaping hole in the center of the block.

"Good job Aigis now come back." said Mitsuru. I left the room leaving the heavy firearms aside.

I went to have a further discussion with Mitsuru.

"Well it seems the upgrade was a raving success." said Mitsuru.

I object, "Isn't this a little overboard?"

"While the technicians were performing the upgrades, they saw through your memories and analyzed your ability." said Mitsuru. "As dangerous as it is Persona research does have its positive effects. Don't worry; I won't make the same mistake as my grandfather.

"What did you find out?" I asked.

"You're emotional state is slowly becoming more and more like of a human being irrevocably so. Also several key components have been destroyed. Normally you would shut down and become beyond repair if that happened however here you are, alive." Mitsuru said in astonishment.

That made me happy to hear that I was becoming closer to humans at the same time I know that I shall always be a machine. What is this conflicting feeling I feel?

"Concerning those weapons, of course it would be impossible for you to carry them around in public and it would be too difficult to conceal. Therefore we utilized the same method of storing multiple Personas and applied it to objects." Mitsuru explained.

"You are the only one who could do this. Like Personas you can store the weapons in your psyche and call upon them. Lastly nanomachines have been built inside you so you can perform self repairs on minor injuries." said Mitsuru.

"How is all this possible?" I asked.

Mitsuru told me that the Kirijo Group has stopped its research of shadows and moved on to researching Personas. The power of Personas can exceed the shadows and are much tamer. She handed me three cards each with an image of the weapon I just used.

"Try summoning them." she told me. I focused and just like evoking a Persona, a Gatling gun materialized on my left arm and a missile pod on my waist.

"Good, it works." said Mitsuru pleased with the results. "Sorry for making so many changes to you though."

"It's fine; this is the power that will help me protect everyone." I nod.

"Be careful with that though." she replied obviously point out the dangers of such power. "I'll join the fight with you sometime in the future after I find Akihiko."

I left the lab and went outside. Yukari, Junpei, and Fuuka were outside waiting.

"Aigis! You're back." Yukari smiled.

"You look different." said Junpei.

"Really, I still think she's still Aigis." Fuuka replied.

I closed my eyes for a moment, "Thank you." I said.

"Thank us? For what? Come on, let's go have some fun. You've already lost 3 days of vacation time." Junpei led on. We spent the entire day together going around the city, looking at shops, and talking to our old friends.

"What were those upgrades Aigis?" Yukari asked as we were about to enter the hotel.

"It's a surprise." I smiled innocently.

"Come on Ai-chan, I'm dying to find out." Junpei moaned.

"I'm sure it can't be something that drastic." sad Fuuka. Oh if only she knew.

"When did you get a sense of humor Aigis? You used to be so literal." said Yukari.

"Who knows?" I replied, "But it all started when I inherited his power."

Yukari mumbled, "Yeah that's right." She went to sleep first. I decided to go to sleep as well.

Friday 6/29/2012

Today was another day of our vacation. I've lost 3 days in the lab and I really want to make the most of my time here. Junpei said he was going to hang out with a Kenji Tomochika. Yukari and Fuuka both went out shopping and I was the only one left.

I walked around town for a bit and noticed the old woman from back then. The one I helped find her cat. "Hello." I greeted.

"Oh, you're that nice lady. It's been awhile." the old woman smiled. "Mewlie's gone, but I think it's for the best." I was saddened by her comment.

"Now don't go worrying about me, my grandson Kiyoshi has been keeping me company once every while." she said.

Kiyoshi? I wondered.

"Kiyoshi's been visiting me more ever since he said he started thinking about what you said to him. What did you say to him?" the old woman asked.

"Nothing much." I replied. I felt relieved.

"Well you should go and live your own life. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." the old woman slowly walked off.

I walked along the road to the shrine. This place always has that enchanting feeling to it that I can't describe. I walked up the steps to the shrine. There was a monk chanting with someone next to him, presumably his wife.

Other than those two I felt that I was being watched. Looking around past the playground, I saw a girl with auburn hair and crimson red eyes. She felt familiar like I've met her before. The girl noticed I was looking at her and she stood up, walked past me, and down the steps of the shrine.

I wanted to tell her to wait, but that would be rather awkward. I sat on the bench at the shrine listening to the monk chant until the sun set. I still could not get off the feeling that we've met before.

Saturday 6/30/2012

Today I was going to go to the shrine. I had a feeling that she would be there again today. I sat on the bench and waited. Soon it was the afternoon around the time students leave school.

As I expected she walked up the steps and came into view. She turned over to my direction and walked towards me. Judging from her school uniform she was a student at Gekkoukan.

"Hmm? It's you again. Weren't you here yesterday?" She looked at me with those crimson orbs that could see deep into one's soul.

"Yes I was, I get the unshakable feeling that I've met you before." I said.

"Well me too, I'm Hamuko. Nice to meet you." she said cheerfully. "So Aigis, how are you doing?"

I was stunned, "Huh? But I never told you my name. How did you."

Hamuko giggled, "Lucky guess I suppose. Maybe we have met before."

A voice in my head rings.

You have established a new bond. The Sun Arcana has been established. Sun rank 1

We continued to talk throughout the day. Just who was Hamuko?

Chapter 16: End

Author's Notes: If you are wondering about the upgrade then it's basically for P4A. I was thinking of ways that Aigis could carry around 3 heavy weapons, hide them, and pull them out whenever she needed them and that was the best explanation.

So…. about that Mshe.