22 November 2009

Outside Tartarus

The Dark Hour

The silence in the wake of the singular gunshot was deafening. The followup was even louder. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" "Junpei!" "Iori!"

The world blurred together for Midori as her blood pounded far too loudly in her ears. Watching iin slow motion as Junpei fell over, her feet froze to the ground. not again She wanted her feet to move so she could rush to his aid, but where Junpei hit the ground she could only see Shinji... she could only see Keisuke... she could only see...

It didn't matter.

Chidori responded with a far more quiet "Junpei?" She reached out to touch his face. "Junpei?" A touch and she could feel through Medea his heat and his life leaving him. She could not see his eyes and wanted to see more. She pulled him up and cradled him against her bosom, closed her eyes and invoked Medea.

For a moment, all was still. Even Takaya seemed perplexed by what was going on. A shimmering light grew from the Pesona, Medea rising above the two on the ground, then draping itself over them.

An eternity rested in that moment as Midori found that her legs had failed her, and that she was now on her knees. Akihiko was leaning forward to reach Junpei. Minato had his Evoker in his hand, moving towards his head. Yukari had dropped her bow. Mitsuru was drawing her sword. Aigis stood unmoving, as though she wasn't sure what to do, or was simply waiting for the right moment.

Then Junpei moved. One hand reached up and caressed Chidori's cheek. "No. Don't." He said this as she leaned down over him, her tears falling onto his face. They shared a private moment, a private word, a private world. Then he pulled her close and kissed her on the lips.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Chidori started to break down in tears as Junpei relaxed for the final time, then in a heartbeat he was gone. Blinking to clear away the cloudy vision, she stared unseeing at the place he used to be. The only remains were the blood on her otherwise pristine white dress and his hat, which lay on the ground as though tossed there.

Takaya sighed in an exaggerated manned. "Oh, what a waste. You've been poisoned to the core." He raised his gun one more time.

"..." Chidori whispered something under her breath, an oath made to the unknown.

"Oh? Last words, traitor?" The hammer cocked. Jin readied a grenade, STREGA now down to two.

"HELIOS" Her Evoker was in her hand, and two guns fired as one.

It was no longer Medea that came, but something new. A red-cloaked humanoid figure, the body covered in bands of metal armour, feathery wings girded in metal. It was thin, lanky, seemingly far less substantial than it should have been. Yet the eyes glowed with a ferocity unmatched, and back-lighting its head - a crown of liquid sun fire.

Helios raised his hand, and Takaya's bullet bounced off the defence of Tetrakarn. Seeking its origin, Takaya took the bullet and fell back against the walls of the tower of Tartarus.

Then Helios was gone, and time moved again.

SEES ran forward, Midori angling for Chidori, all thoughts of battle gone from her mind. There was something more important to find out. "Where's Junpei? What did you do to him?!"

Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Lounge

Numb, they entered into their home. The quiet was only marred by the unprocessed grief shared by all. Mitsuru picked up the phone, only to realize halfway through dialling that there was no Chairman to call upon, no Father to guide her hand. There was no one above her to deal with this. She had to take responsibility. She had to do something...

All she wanted to do was cry. Fuuka and Yukari did so openly. Ken joined them, eyes red but unyielding to the internal emotions.

Koromaru licked Mitsuru's fingertips, trying to get them to move, but all she could do was stare at the phone.

Aigis was impassive. She had nothing to do, except to perform post-dark hour repairs which were negligible. But aside from that, she was evaluating the possible actions of Strega. They had escaped retribution, Jin utilizing an SDF smoke grenade to cover their retreat back into Tartarus.

Given the temporal dilation effects observed in the Dark Hour, there had been hope to pursue them after recovering for a day. But she calculated that recovery would take a lot longer.

Aigis didn't know what to do, and this lack gnawed at her.

Akihiko walked in, then straight up to his room. Some things men had to do alone.

Lastly, Midori and Minato entered. Between them, arms slung over their shoulders was Chidori. While she was asleep, she hadn't stopped crying, and they just couldn't leave her there when the Dark Hour ended.

"I'll take her up to my room." Midori said quietly. Of all of SEES, she showed her pain the least, it becoming an old friend by now. "Least chance of any accidents."

Minato sent her an angry glare that told her he did not take well her insult against their team mates. She replied with an impassive gesture at those still around. The indication was that she was the only one in any condition to watch over Chidori until they could figure out what to do with her and it was Minato's duty as leader to try and help.

He let her go.

3rd Floor, Midori's Room

The Dark Hour ended, the worlds green hues fading away to the normal darkness of after-midnight. Midori turned on the table lamp and cleared a patch off her desk, shuffling homework and costume sketches to one side. Sitting down, she forced herself into thinking hard about had happened.

Love and Justice.

What had happened tonight. Why had she frozen? It didn't make any sense. What voice inside her head had told her to "Stay" and why did she obey?"

She looked back at Chidori, now sleeping on her bed. It had been simple enough to get her out of the bloody Gothic clothes and into one of her spare sets of pyjamas – the ones with the Jack Frost print on them.

This isn't what she wanted to believe. Sure, their would be hardships on the road to victory for her and her beliefs, that there was the possibility of pain and loss. But nothing like this. She thought she understood, thought she had a grip on these things. But she didn't. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be.

Demons and Angels and Personas and The Dark Hour and Babel and Tartarus. Every time she turned around, there was another new threat to humanity just waiting around the corner to be unleashed by the greed of man, or some 'higher' force that was just trying to put them down! "It just isn't fair!" She banged her head against the table hard enough to shake it, spiking a shot of pain through her.

"No, it's not."

Midori spun around to see Chidori was now lying awake. She hadn't lost track of time, had she? Searching for something to say, the most banal words came out of her mouth. "Welcome to my room!" She bowed politely from her seat.

"Where's Junpei?" Chidori spoke with soft worry. Midori could hear the long-forgotten innocence come to the fore in her voice "Where is he?"

Midori put on her best face. "He's gone. Vanished into the Dark Hour." She looked down into her lap. "All we have is his hat."

"NO! He can't be!" Chidori curled up onto a ball, back turned towards her host. "I can still sense him!" Midori had to resist the urge to crawl into her bed to comfort the red-haired woman. She had to settle for reaching out and touching her shoulder. Chodori shuddered at the human touch, but relaxed slightly when Midori made no further move. "I... I remember..."

"Remember what?"

A Place Between Life and Death

Junpei woke with a start, throwing the covers off him as he lurched into an upright position. He looked around. A hospital! He was in a hospital! That meant he was alive!

"Junpei?"

Called, he snapped his head around to see Chidori sitting there, a slight smile on her face. "I'm so happy you're awake."

"Ch.. Chidori! What happened? Is everyone alright? Are you alright?" Junpei tried to move to hold her, but he couldn't from where he lay. Wait. Wasn't he sitting up? Why was he in his own clothes, and not a hospital gown?

"I was... I was... I was wrong, Junpei!" Chidori leaned over the bed to take his hand in hers, the touch sending waves of warmth into her body. "I was scared, and I blamed you for the pain. I never felt this way before, not before I met you! You, you... you are the one who showed me what I wanted!"

"And what is that?" Junpei asked, glad that she was alright, that she was getting better.

"I want to be with you, Junpei."

Oh, those words. There was only one thing to say. "And I, you."

Chidori smiled and Junpei's entire world lit up like the rising of the morning sun. "But, it couldn't be. I'm different."

"So? I don't care."

"Since the moment I gained my power, I knew the day my life would end." Her confession crashed into Junpei's heart, a blow to pierce through all defences.

"WHAT?"

"I've always known, Junpei. And that scared me. I never thought about my death, it was just something that was going to come, the end of my days. Then I met you."

"Chidori!" Junpei tried to find the words to make her feel better, but nothing came.

"That's why I have to do this. I can't let you die here."

"Chidori!" He grasped her hand hard, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't do this! Have mine!"

"What? What are you saying?"

"I'm a dead man! You say you're out of days, well I say shit to that! You can have all of mine! Forever! If I'm going to go down, then I'll be damned if I drag you with me!"

"Junpei! No! You have friends!"

"And you don't! You never had the chance, never had the life that I had, and it's about time you started living for yourself. Not for me, not for STREGA, not for this death you think is coming, not for anyone else but yourself!" Junpei pulled her close.

"I have to save you!" She whispered in his ear.

"No. Don't." He said quietly back to her, closing his eyes and thinking some something that he could do. "I love you, and it would be my honour, and my pleasure to guard you for the rest of your days. May you live forever."

Junpei kissed her in the dream and in the reality, and in that act, gave her Hermes.

Power rocked her world, a new fire that tore through her, scouring her and Medea to the core. Where once was weakness, now lay strength. An armour settled over her, and she could feel him fade away in her arms.

"I love you too, Junpei Iori."

23 November 2009

Gekkoukan High, 3rd Floor Hallway

Lunch

"Did you hear what happened to the President?"

"I know! Food poisoning for the entire Dorm! Man, I'd hate to be the guy who served President Kirijo bad food." A shudder passed through the gossiping students, each dreaming up dreaded punishments for the person who would do such a thing.

Minatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor Control Room

Afternoon

Mitsuru wasn't eager to have this meeting. But it was still needed. Her excuse to the school for everyone's absence wouldn't hold for another day, and things needed to be done. Everyone left was here, except Koromaru, who was sitting in Chidori's lap as she awaited her fate in the sitting area on the floor below. If she tried anything, he would stop her, or at least raise the alarm for everyone else to come to help.

She looked around the table and could feel the hollowness in almost everyone echoed in her. "Iori..." She tried to find the words, but even Shinji's death didn't affect her as much as this. Why was that?

Minato stood, taking the burden of speaking off her hands. "Junpei... he was the first friend I made when I moved into the Dorm. He was loud, rambunctious, stupid, but most of all loyal. When he found out about the Dark Hour and SEES, he joined to do better for the world, and he did."

"We can't bury him because there's no body. But we can remember him. I don't know how we'll explain his absence, but we will have to find a way. Find a way to move forward. A way to move on without him. He fell doing what he did best, and it behoves us to do the same." He sat back down, no more words to be said.

In the awkward silence, Mitsuru moved towards a more progressive line of discussion. "Komaki, please report on what you told me earlier."

Dutifully, she stood and relayed Chidori's account of how she tried to save Junpei by pouring her life into his, and how he rejected that, giving what was his to her. "I don't know if it was a dream, or the truth," Midori took a breath to plan her next words, "but it fits Junpei to do something that stupid."

Yukari slapped the table angrily. "She should have tried harder to save him! He should be here! Not her!"

"Yukari!" Akihiko snapped the name out to reign her in a hair ahead of Mitsuru. Fuuka flinched at the force of the command, even though she wasn't the target.

"He chose it." Ken said, clearly not eager to remember loosing another friend so soon. "We have to respect that."

"I agree." Akihiko shared the same pain, only deeper.

"I wish to report on Chidori-san's Persona." Aigis took her turn to stand. "Of her previous Persona, Medea, there is no trace. Analysis of her new Persona – Helios – indicates that it is an Agi focused existence with strong magic and endurance with mediocre physical prowess. It has no elemental weaknesses, but it does possess complete immunity to both Agi and Hama skills. Most importantly is that Helios is a stable Persona. I do not predict any issues with previous instability." She looked confused for a moment. "When I first analyzed it, it looked like the child of Medea and Hermes."

Midori made the obvious logical connection. "So he fused his Persona to hers? Wow."

Everyone looked at Midori. "What are you talking about?" Fuuka asked politely in the place of everyone else.

"What?" Midori was confused.

"Persona Fusion. What is that?"

"Uh... It's what happens when two..." She was about to launch into the 'Birds and the Bees' speech when the reality of the question hit her. She had just messed up badly and was about to pay the price. "Oh."

"Fusion is the material synthesis of two or more Personas into a – usually – more powerful Persona." Minato explained, adding in a very annoyed glare at Midori. "It's one of the things I use."

"You can do that?" Fuuka exclaimed as the possibilities ran through her head.

But Minato ignored her, focusing instead on Midori. How had she known about Fusion? She had met with Igor, but she wasn't a Wild Card, so maybe...? He would have to ask her later, in private.

3rd Floor, Sitting Area

Absently stroking the dog's fur, Chidori looked up when they came down from their closed door meeting. Some marched past her, down towards the lower floors, others turned to head towards their private rooms. Except Midori, who walked over to one of the vending machines. "What do you want?" she asked as she got ready to drop a coin into the machine.

"Ceilo, please."

Two thunks later and the younger girl held out Chidori's request. "Here you go." She took a seat and opened her own can. "So... I've got good news and bad news."

Expecting this, Chidori focused on the calming aspects of petting the dog. "Bad news please."

"You're going to be moved from the hospital to a more secure facility. Aigis has determined that Helios is not a threat to yourself or anyone else, so round-the-clock observation isn't required any more. Your stuff is being gathered up and packed to shipped to your new home as we speak."

Chidori waited for the rest of the bad news but it didn't come. "So, what's the Good News?"

Midori's face exploded into happiness. "You're moving in here!"

1st Floor, Dining Room

"Senpai, why did you vote for her to move in with us?"

Akihiko put down his water to look at the fuming Yukari. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"Now, if Midori had said that, I wouldn't have had a problem. She voted for it so quickly, I'd swear it was her idea in the first place. And she's crazy enough to think that having her move in is a good thing. Now give me the real answer."

Akihiko went over the tallies in his head. Minato, Midori, Aigis and himself were the Ayes. Fuuka, Ken, Yukari and Mitsuru voted against letting the ex-STREGA member into the Drom. That his was the tie vote, and that meant that Minato's vote was the only one that counted. The fact that he was the one who made it seemed to be enough to prevent Mitsuru from simply ordering things to go her way.

As he pondered why he had joined in that decision, he realized the source of his troubles, and it's solution came from the same person.

"It's because of Love."

"What?!" Yukari couldn't believe what was being told of her. "Love? What's gotten into you, senpai?"

"Because Love without Justice is Sacrifice." He repeated what Midori had told him two months ago when he wept at Shinji's memorial. "Was there justice in Junpei dying, and Chidori living? No. None at all. We don't get to pick and choose the time of our demise, but if Junpei was willing to lay down his life out of love for her, to give her a second chance at a life she never had, who am I...? Who are [i]we[/i] to reject that? She comes here, because that's what he would have wanted from us. The chance to be the first real friends she's ever had. To make up for all our mistakes."

Yukari pulled herself up with a puff. "Gods! We must all be sick! When the words of the Love and Justice freak make the most sense out of anything I've heard. Fine. We'll give her a try. She does anything stupid, I'll kick her out myself."

"Deal."