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Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge
Evening
"That's weird." Fuuka kept staring at the golden door that now rested against the real door leading into the basement. After they had collected supplies using cash on hand, the team had prepared themselves for a trip back through Malebolge to return to the Dorm.
Instead, the Mall connected right back to the Dorm, a sudden and unexpected shift that caused a few moments confusion as people tried to sort out what just happened. Metis wasn't much of a help, simply stating the obvious before finding a place to stand and waiting for Aigis to give her instructions.
"I think," Mitsuru tried to take control of the situation as Ken and Midori put their purchased food in the kitchen, "That we should take a break, rest for the rest of the day, then move onto the next step tomorrow."
"I can agree to that!" Yukari was grateful for the chance to relax, she dropped her weapon on the counter by the front door, and made herself useful collecting the others'.
Akihiko rolled his shoulders, massaging them as best he could with the awkward reach he had. "I'm for that too. I thought I was keeping in shape in the gym, but real battles are something different entirely."
"Like people trying to hit you back." Midori commented as she and Ken returned from the kitchen. "We've got ourselves enough food to last a couple more days, in case Metis is wrong about the Mall resetting. I think we should do something simple, like eggs on rice for supper tonight."
"Don't forget the meat," Chidori reminded her as she sat down on the couch. "I will have to admit though, it is surprising to find access to Paulowina Mall through the Abyss."
Koromaru barked something, and Aigis frowned. "I do not understand what you are trying to say. Since this event has begun, I have lost the ability to understand you."
"The Canine says that he would like his beef cooked properly this time; he did not enjoy the last time Midori cooked." Metis announced without turning around. "That is what he said, Sister."
"You can talk to Koro-chan?" Fuuka sounded surprised, "Well, I suppose it makes sense. You're Aigis' sister after all."
"Another thing we can fault the Wild Card ability for messing with in Aigis, then." Mitsuru made certain that all the weapons were collected by Yukari before securing them herself. "I cannot say I am pleased by this."
"I am not, either. I do not like having abilities removed from me without permission or understanding." Aigis added her concern as she took in the developing table being set for supper. In a way, it was a small celebration. A relief that there was a way forward.
And yet, she still felt unease. The reality of their situation still escaped them, despite – or perhaps because of - Metis's presence and claims. As she had with Minato, she looked around for someone she could emulate, to take her cues from. She dismissed each person in turn for a variety of reasons before she came to the conclusion that she could act at someone not present. She could still emulate Minato.
What would Minato do?
He would talk to everyone in turn. That was first. But then what? How would he take advantage of that knowledge? His thought processes were still a mystery to her. Sometimes they were obvious – making plans to go into Tartarus in order to improve themselves – but other times they were not. This was not one of the former, so it had to be one of the latter.
Mitsuru was an obvious person to start with, but she wasn't sure how to broach a conversation. A briefing on the Abyss and Malebolge was too formal for the casual atmosphere. There had to be some way she could begin.
She could talk to Fuuka.
3rd Floor Lounge
Night
Midori groaned as she tried to sort out where she was going to sleep. While others had offered to pool together a futon or something, it just wasn't right. So for now, she was trying to curl up on one of the seats, or failing that, move the table so that she could raise her feet a bit.
She almost missed sleeping in the parks and back alleys that week.
Quietly, Aigis came up the stairs. "Did Metis go to our room?" she asked when she saw Midori recognize her.
"Yep."
"Thank you." Aigis turned to make for her room for the night when she stopped. In her rounds earlier, she had spoken to everyone except the girl behind her. It wasn't that she was trying to avoid the potential conversation, but just that... just that...
"You wanted to talk?" Midori, the impossibly observant person whom Aigis was certain could see right through her now and again, took the initiative away from her. She shuffled around, and sat properly. "Come on then. Grab a seat. You avoided me all day, and I'm getting tired of it."
Compelled, Aigis did as she was told. "I didn't know what to say. I have already apologized for the actions of my little sister."
Midori stared at her, and Aigis couldn't help but wonder at the depths hidden under those clear blue eyes when they weren't hidden by her glasses. "I... I..." She found herself at a loss as Midori kept piercing her with her look.
"I'm sorry," she finally muttered, "I've been a bad friend."
"Yes, I suppose you have." Midori let out an annoyed sigh, wondering why Aigis wanted to do this now of all times. Couldn't she see that she was tired? It was a chore to keep her eyes focused without her glasses, so she just aimed her head at where Aigis was sitting, and looked at the white blur. "But you have been trying to deal with Metis. I was told what she told you about Frosty, and I'm glad you didn't agree with her."
"It's more than that." Aigis found herself in unfamiliar territory with this sort of confession. It was not something a simple diagnostic could report for her reference, and she doubted that Midori could understand it in the first place. This was something wrong with her that no numbers could describe. "I have been a poor companion, a poor team mate"
"Leader" Midori interjected, causing Aigis to realize she was right.
"Yes. That too. I... Apologize."
"Forgiven." The word was abrupt, but no less true for it. "I forgave you that first night when we fought."
Surprised, Aigis tried to figure out why this could be true. All she could do was run around in logical circles leading to nothing for a minute or two before Midori cut across them with a simple point. "Aigis, you need to forgive yourself. Yes, we had a fight. That's what friends [i]do[/i]. We're not always going to be in agreement on something. We don't always have to like what we're doing, but we're still friends."
"I don't understand."
This time Midori sighed in despair. "You take things to literally. You aren't flexing your mind when dealing with other people. We can't be slotted into easy definitions. Heck, I'm proof of that!" She spread her arms wide open. "You want to know something? Frosty [i]is evil[/i]. He's a demon. But he's also my friend. I trust him. It is our differences, or various strengths and weaknesses that make us better. We can be friends without being the same." She recognized that she was rambling with her desire to sleep, there being less of a filter between her brain and her mouth than usual. She almost revealed the truth of Frosty's existence. She needed to stop. "Just...just learn to forgive yourself."
Aigis rose and left without saying another word.
Midori fell asleep.
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Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor Sitting Area
Early Morning
"Wake up, Komaki." Mitsuru gently rolled the sleeping girl's shoulders to try and shake her into wakefulness. She was curled up in one of the chairs, a spare blanket from Aigis' room spread over her to keep her warm.
And yet, her COMP was sitting on the table, the cord connecting it to the power plug by the space the drink machines used to take up showed that the device was charged.
She considered letting Midori sleep, and to send the message herself. Curious, as she suspected that Midori had taken the simple precaution of assigning a password to her device (though in the same thought, the probability of said password being "Black Frost" or some variant thereof was deemed astronomical), she flipped it open.
Nothing. No password, no login screen. The device booted right to its custom firmware. She really wanted Kihara now, with the skill to reprogram technology like this. She saw amidst the active and deactivated icons the traditional letter symbol of the mail system, and after a moments fumbling with the control scheme (A touch-screen so small? Amazing!), activated the mail system.
Looking back at Midori, Mitsuru decided that she was capable of sending a simple message herself. This would avoid waking the traditional late-sleeper, as well making sure there were no errors or creative additions to the message that the young girl was sure to add.
Curious, she found the list of contacts, and opened it up. It didn't take her long to connect the At-Low in her address book to the Atsuro in reality given that same name appeared on the message and reply currently sitting in the in-box. But there were other names as well. Abel, whom she recalled may have been the Wild Card during the Lockdown. Yoo-hoo, another nickname. Gin, Mari, Ayane. Those names were familiar as she recalled Akihiko's report about other Persona users that Midori fought with, and their aspects. Haru was obviously the singer whose concert was back in January, and whose music Mitsuru now paid serious attention too.
Idly, she wondered if she could start an entertainment sector to the Kirijo Group's business, using her and her band as a starting point. But there was no time for more than idle speculation.
Izuna was obviously the SDF officer, and it was no surprise that there would be contact between the two.
She wondered where the friends she had made before the Lockdown were, but dismissed the thought as frivolous. The COMP came from those events, so it was only natural that the friends and connections she made during that week would appear here, while she had her other friends on a more traditional platform, like a cellphone.
Except the only phone she had was the one that was issued to her as a member of SEES. Or at least the only one she had ever seen.
No! Mitsuru shook her head clear. She had to send this message, and after a moment to sort how how to operate the tiny keyboard on the touchscreen, composed her message, explaining who she was and apologizing for using Komaki's address to ask for Kihara's help.
The Abyss of Time
Morning
"I don't see why she has to be here." Metis didn't sound like she was really objecting to Midori's presence, but she still said the words.
"Cocytus," Midori pointed to the door that was now 'active', "is emanating frost. Thus, Midori and Mitsuru, the two with a natural resistance to Ice, will be joining us."
Midori raised her hand. "No one told me what Cosy-tuss is!"
"Cocytus," Mitsuru corrected Midori's pronunciation, is another reference to the Christian afterlife. It is alternately the River of Wailing, where those laid out their regrets came. Or it could refer to the place where traitors are tormented for their sins. The literature is paradoxical."
"How do you know all that?" Midori demanded an explanation from her senior incredulously. "I mean, I can understand Aigis, she's still a robot with a perfect memory, but you?"
"Dante's Inferno is a classic of literature. I've read it multiple times in my spare time."
The idea that Mitsuru had spare time boggled Midori; she refused to believe it. "Still, that's just..."
"I agree." Mitsuru ran a hand through her hair. "The idea that we are taking a metaphorical journey through the underworld is absurd. We aren't going in the right order. And I'm more interested in what we'll find at the bottom."
Aigis pushed the door open. "Then let us begin."
Cocytus
"Not freezing, Aigis."
"There was no reason to assume that there would be a connection between the condition of the outside door and the environment of the dungeon."
"Aigis, have you ever held a freezer open?"
"No."
"You should. The way the fog rolls out would then have been familiar."
"Are you done insulting Sister yet?"
"I wasn't insulting her. Just pointing out something she's missed while spending years locked in a facility somewhere. I bet you haven't either, Metis."
"..."
Fuuka finally broke in. "I sense the same special shadow as yesterday. It's below you. Get it!" With her encouragement, the team advanced into the Abyss.
They descended further into the Abyss, fighting whatever shadows came their way. It was easy going for the most part, as Aigis' plan to get everyone retrained in Malebolge yesterday seemed to have done the trick.
"You are a good team leader," Mitsuru complimented Aigis during a short break. Fuuka had detected another Floor Guardian below them, and so they decided to rest and prepare themselves for the coming encounter. "I am glad that you have lived up to my expectations."
"Thank you, Mitsuru-san." Aigis bowed, and Metis, proud of the compliment her Sister received, did the same. Midori didn't, as something else had come into her mind.
"Hey Aigis, you haven't found a door to the Velvet Room, right?"
"No," the robot admitted. "I am still unsure as to what I should be looking for in the first place." She thought for a moment before raising a concern of her own. "I also feel like I cannot hold any more Personas. Yet, when the opportunity to have one emerge, I seem to have the option to dismiss one from my repertoire."
Midori remembered that she could dismiss Demons from her COMP if she ran into the limit of 24. Which she never really did, come to think of it. Once she had joined up with Abel, there was enough space in everyone's COMPs for everyone to have their own demons.
And she still berated herself for having two Cait Siths. What was she thinking? Afterwards, the only time they got even close to the limit on their storage was when they were preparing for a lot of Demon Fusion on the last couple days after clearing out the Auction.
"I know." She finally said, but was careful as to how she phrased it. "But once you find the Velvet Room, you should be able to ask Igor to help you Fuse them together. My suggestion? Keep every Persona in your head a different tarot to allow for maximum variation."
"What do you mean?" Aigis asked as Mitsuru said nothing, but instead turned her attention to Midori. It was rare that she spoke of her old experiences like this.
"Well, when you fuse things together, what's important, well, more important than their relative strengths is their type. Fusing the same type together isn't going to give you the same variety as, say, two complimentary types."
"And what, then is complimentary?"
"Deity and Avatar!" Midori pulled out a combination that felt natural.
"Those aren't real" Metis smirked. "You're making things up, tricking Sister!"
"NO I'M NOT!" Midori wanted to hit herself for using Demonic species, rather than Persona Tarots, but fortunately, she thought of an out. "Anyways, it's not like we used Tarot stuff back in the Lockdown. We had to come up with our own system to describe things. So [i]there[/i]!" To add insult to insult, she blew a raspberry and pulled down on one eyelid at the ebony girl.
Aigis looked pensive. "And how do those classifications correlate to the system used by the Kirijo Group?" Mitsuru wanted to know too, but kept quiet as she thought again how good it would be to get Kihara Atsuro into her company. The information she could get from someone not as... emotive and instead more serious and logical would aid her greatly in examining the events of the Lockdown for more Persona users.
Midori was a trustworthy ally, that was for certain. But a reliable source of information? Not so much.
"I don't know," Midori was finally forced to admit. "I never really paid attention to that sort of thing. I got Frosty!" She held up her Persona like a trophy and a shield. The others recognized they would get no further with their questioning.
"We should advance now." Aigis commanded, leading the way to their scheduled conflict.
Midori had no sweat to wipe off. Of the four, she was the least harmed in the conflict. "Seriously?" Her question expressed her boggled mind. "I mean, I know sometimes you get lucky with the elements of the enemies, but this was just sad."
Metis glared at Midori. "Sister was lucky in picking you. Nothing more. You still are nothing before her power."
"Well, duh." Midori checked up on Mitsuru, who was recovering from the hard physical strikes and Fire magic she had taken. "She's a Wild Card now. But those Shadows... What were they again, Fuuka?"
"The Brilliant Cyclops and Soul Dancers?" The reply came from thin air. "I suppose so. Being able to ignore their mutual attacks while striking at their weaknesses did make the fight easier than it could have been." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I've lost that mysterious Shadow again, going further into Cocytus. But the good news is I don't sense any more major Shadows between here and the limit of the dungeon! Everything should be easy for you once you return to refresh yourselves."
"Understood." Aigis took in the report and the status of her team. Mitsuru could use to be rotated off, while Midori was in excellent condition. Metis was somewhere in-between, but could still function. "We will return to the Dorm."
A very proud Midori led the way through the emergent door back to the Abyss and upstairs to the Dorm.
Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge
Mitsuru glared at her shirt. It was damaged, and she wasn't sure she had enough spares in her room due to the necessity of closing the Dorm and moving out. She couldn't ask to borrow anyones uniform as in the case of Yukari, Fuuka and Aigis, they wouldn't fit her. Chidori didn't have one yet (though she was going to be fitted in the next week), and Midori was both too small, and in the wrong school now. That left her with the option of using some of her more causal clothes. It galled her to be on an operation without being in uniform, but what other choice did she have?
A buzzing came from Midori, and quickly the attention of the entire Dorm was on her. She found her COMP and flipped it open, a moments mad tapping to reach the email system. She read the message, then narrowed her eyes in anger at Mitsuru. "You sent the message without telling me?"
"Yes" Mitsuru agreed without guilt. "You were sound asleep, and I chose to send the message to Kihara myself, rather than wake you and trust your ability to function while tired."
"It's MY COMP!" she waved the device in one hand to emphasize her following points. "You may be in charge, but that doesn't give you the right to just use my things like that!"
"Calm down, girl." Chidori put a hand on Midori's leg to try and get her to do so. "I'm sure that Mitsuru had her reasons. There is no need to be so alarmed. You knew the message was going to be sent this morning, but raised no concern when it wasn't brought up. It was only logical that she took the initiative."
"But still!" Midori tried to express the feelings of violation of her privacy she felt. What if Mitsuru had stumbled on something she shouldn't have? It was just wrong, and she wanted to express her Justice in some visceral manner.
"Midori!" Akihiko's sharp call of her name brought her out of her train of thought. He had her attention. "Enough."
"Yes, sensei." She knew that she couldn't punish Mitsuru properly, but Akihiko could. He would be on her side. She looked down at the message again. "He says he sent your message earlier today, and stuff like that." She tossed down her COMP with a huff, allowing Fuuka to pick it up and examine the message herself.
"He has," she reported, then with a glance at Midori, who only huffed, passed the device to Mitsuru, who read the message in turn. The COMP was returned to Midori, who closed it and returned it to its protective pocket.
"I think I shall take Ken and Chidori with Midori and I back into Cocytus now." Aigis said to forestall any more arguments. "We will reach the bottom, then train everyone else some more. I thank you all for your patience."