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Cocytus, The Abyss of Time
Daytime

The four of them reached the bottom without much difficulty as Aigis gained more and more skill in switching her Personas in the middle of battle. It made things a lot easier for the rest of them, as thought the team could pretty much laugh off any form of Agi skills, they lacked a basic variety on the offence.

Finally, they reached the bottom, and they stood before the golden door. "I am confused," Chidori admitted, "Why is this doorway and accompanying area so different in design from the rest of the Abyss, or even the entrance?"

"Perhaps because it's like, an anchor or something?" Ken offered after a moments consideration. "Here is the real 'Abyss of Time', and everything before it is some sort of path?" I mean, we haven't been able to get back into that dungeon that led to the mall, so the path is maybe closed, and we're getting closer to getting out?"

"It is possible. And the rest are coming now." Aigis announced after quick consultation with Fuuka. "We shall wait."

Taking the cue to rest, they went their separate ways, though there was not much space in the area around the door. Aigis came over to Midori after making sure that the others would not be able easily eavesdrop on their conversation. "I still have not found the Velvet Room, or been in communication with Igor or his servants."

Midori could only feel unhelpful in response. "You met him once, right? He said he could help more than me, right? Well, we just need to keep looking."

"And yet, as I advance in experience, I can develop more Personas. And now I have to choose between keeping an old one that is developed, or a new one that may be better or not."

Grimacing, Midori remembered being able to Fuse and summon demons through the Auction House. "Well, do what you can, and be prepared for anything you can because you can't be certain of who is going to be with you or not."

"I know." Aigis shook her head sadly. "I know you want to help, but there is so little you can do for me. I cannot help but wonder why Igor said you could in the first place?"

"I don't know either." Midori spun around on her toes for the heck of it, letting the word rotate around her for once. "I can offer advice, I can even tell you about the things I've seen, but nothing more."

"We're here." Fuuka announced as she and the rest of the Dorm residents arrived.

"That was quick!" Ken said as he brushed himself off of non-existent dust.

"I think the places we go through shrink when we destroy the Shadows in them," Akihiko guessed aloud. "It makes going back through easier, even though we still have to pick off a couple stragglers."

"Sister, are you well?" Metis simply ignored the rest of them to assure herself that her fellow was alright. She quickly examined Aigis for any imperfection, then, satisfied with Aigis' condition strode towards the door. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Needy much, your sister?" Chidori grumbled as everyone gathered around the door. "But she is right. We might as well open this up and get it over with."

"I agree." Mitsuru said, and gestured at the door. "Aigis, please?"

Tartarus

"So, this is the interior of Tartarus," a nondescript man in a labcoat commented as he looked around. Beside him was a tall and very dangerous looking man, and beside him was a young girl with her red hair in pigtails. "I am surprised that we found so many who could come into this place without special protection. [i]He[/i] certainly is a genius."

"Careful sir." The three in the middle of the lobby were surrounded by a quartet of armed guards. "Kandori's theories are still untested."

"What?" Midori spoke from her position at the entrance to the Lobby.

"This... Father?" Mitsuru took a hesitant step forward, then boldly advanced past the incredulous rest of them. "FATHER!"

The scientist spoke, unaware of the disturbance behind him. "Do remember that our normal weapons will have no effect here. Anything you brought will be for your peace of mind only." He turned to look at the others, but gave no sign of the large group behind them. "Everyone here has had their potential measured and improved in our labs. This should offer us some level of protection against the 'Shadows' in this place."

"Mitsuru!" Akihiko finally found his tongue, "Come back here!"

"Father! Listen! It's not safe! Why are you here?" Mitsuru ignored her friend and tried to grab at the man who could not be her father, only for her grip to meet nothing. "Father?"

"What is this, Tin Girl? Answer!" Chidori demanded with fire in her voice of Metis.

"The past."

"Are all the people in Ergo Division a little off?" One of the guards muttered a bit too loudly, "I mean, sir, is it safe to bring your daughter here?"

"I do not mind at all," the young girl said, turning to face the guard that spoke, in turn revealing herself to SEES. "I asked to come here."

"What." Mitsuru looked into her own eyes, the child measuring all she could see around him. "You.. what?"

"Come on, Mitsuru." Akihiko gently took her by the shoulder and began to drag her back towards the others. "I don't think this is real."

"This is real," Metis countered hard, "this is the past."

"Something's not right here..." Fuuka's brow furrowed in thought for a moment. "A SHADOW!" Her warning set everyone on edge, save those who could not interact with her. "But... where?"

A scream of agony ripped into the lobby of Tartarus as one of the guards was accosted by a Shadow as it emerged from the floor. Midori was mesmerized at the apparent hyper-reality of it, as the Maya pulled at the man who drew a pistol and started to fire wildly into the Shadow. It didn't work as he was pulled, fighting, down into the ground where he vanished.

"Well, so much for the concept of potential," the scientist muttered as the humans backed away from the Shadow, "we'll have to go back to the drawing board."

"Damn it, it's blocking the door." Takeharu Kirijo complained in that stoic manner of his as he subconciously moved to protect his daughter from the Shadow."

"This can't be..." the elder Mitsuru whispered through wide eyes. "This..."

"Frosty. Agi." Midori had enough of this play and moved to intercede. Her Persona jumped into existence and quickly engulfed the Maya in fire. It did not react. Assuming an elemental strength, she switched over to her other skill. "Bufu."

And still the Maya didn't react. "Father!" the two Mitsuru's yelled out as one, and in a flash the young girl dashed around to protect her father. A flash of light erupted from her, an unfocused release of power, and the Maya was seared away.

"Ah!" The scientist proclaimed as the light faded. "Persona! Naoya-sensei was right! Such an amazing thing!"

"How can you say such a thing?" Takeharu snapped at the man. "Do you have any idea the curse that is now upon us?"

"Father?" The young girl turned around to make sure her only living family was alright. "Don't worry father. I chose this."

The scene stopped, colour draining out of what was before them. "What." Yukari spoke up for the first time, echoing the question that everyone was asking themselves.

"As I said, the Abyss is tied to the past. This was one such moment." Metis explained again, a slight annoyance in her voice. "It is the moments that binds this portion of the Abyss in place."

"Mitsuru? Are you alright? What was that?" Akihiko held onto her gently as she stared, shocked at the ending of the scene in front of them. "Speak to me, please?"

"It was..." She tried to find the words, only for her tongue to fail her. No. That wasn't it, she realized, it was her own personal inability to admit what had just transpired. "It was real." The admission seemed to set something free. "It was the first time I manifested my Persona. My father wanted to show me the results of his failure. So he made it known that I could come with him, due to my 'power' and I took the opportunity."

Akihiko said nothing.

"The shadow appeared, and killed that man, and it was going to attack the rest of us. I had to use my persona to defend him. It was my first time. I suppose I was lucky."

"Memories?" Ken offered, speaking what was on their minds. "How does that affect the Abyss? I mean, is it using our pasts to be real? How does that work?"

"I..." Mitsuru regained herself. "We should go. Nothing will come of standing here anymore. What's done is done. What's past is past."

"Yes, we should, Sister." Metis agreed as she turned heel to walk back towards the golden door they entered from. "We are done here."

Minatodai Dorm

"What is that?" Aigis looked at something she could only see, a purple door set into the wall beside the front window.

"What is what, Sister?" Metis looked at where Aigis was, but to no avail. "Are you hurt and seeing things?"

"No. I think... Midori?"

"Yes, Aigis?"

"I'm think I'm seeing the entrance to the Velvet Room."

Midori squinted along Aigis' line of sight, but saw nothing. "Well, don't just stand here, go over, use the key he gave you, and say hello!"

"I... Don't know how."

She really wanted to facepalm, but Midori settled for a small sigh, ignoring the looks everyone else was giving them. "Just think of it as like the doors down in the Abyss. Walk up, and walk through it." She hazarded a guess based on her two times in Igor's presence. "And don't forget to be polite to them!"

Nodding, Aigis walked towards the door only she could see. Reaching up with one hand, she rested it against the substance of the door, then to outside observers, simply stopped for a moment before retracting her hand. "How long was I gone?"

"Not at all," Mitsuru replied, "but now I am curious. What did you do?"

"It's almost like how Minato would stare off into space sometimes. I thought he was just thinking." Ken muttered, Akihiko nodding in agreement.

"I met with Igor and his assistants," Aigis said. "We had a talk, then I availed myself of his services in Persona Fusion." She looked at Midori squarely. "I know have, amongst others, the King Frost. I know you dislike... competition in that regard."

"What? No! Whoever said that?"

"You did, when Minato created the Frost Ace."

"What? No! Black Frost is the Best Frost, and there is no arguing with that." Midori was very certain that a fight between a mere King Frost and her Frosty would be very one-sided from her experience. "Besides, you're you and I'm me. Why would we ever fight?"

Aigis seemed to relax. "I suggest we take some time, and talk over what happened at the bottom of Cocytus. This was a nice distraction, but we need to address that before we can go further with our explorations."

The spotlight suddenly on Mitsuru, she took to it as best she could. "Come on then, let us sit down for this." They did, arranging themselves to that Mitsuru had one end of the table while Aigis had the other. "As I said to Akihiko, what we saw there was my memory of the first time I entered Tartarus. My father took me with him, and well, you saw what happened. We were attacked, and I invoked my Persona for the first time to defend us."

"Then why that moment?" Chidori asked the question first, "It's not like it has a thematic connection with the Mall. If there was, we could create some sort of theory."

Everyone turned to look at Metis, who in turn seemed surprised at the attention. "What?"

"Well, you usually say something at this point, so we were expecting something this time." Yukari pointed out to Metis. "You seem to have all the answers, we just have to ask the right questions."

Metis thought about this for a minute, leaving everyone else in awkward silence. "The Abyss is linked to the past, and you are the foundations of those links. It appears as though when we release the various paths from the Abyss and their hold on the Dorm and my Sister, we encounter defining moments of yourselves. Realizing these moments weaken the Abyss."

That set off Midori's bullshit detector, and by the looks of others around the table, they all came to the same conclusion. But the nature of the lies and omissions still eluded her. And yet, it was still the best theory to work with. She didn't like the idea of trusting someone who was like that, and yet...

She wasn't cut out for that sort of thing, that was for sure. Thinking hard was more for Mitsuru and Akihiko, and they would obviously provide answers. "So... does that mean we're going to see something from your memories next time, Sempai, or from someone else?"

"Someone else." Metis said. "That was a weak connection to the past, but one that still had an effect on her. She accepted it and moved on."

"That sounds like it could have been easier to deal with than trying to kill us all," Fuuka accused, eyes narrowing at the implications. "Are you saying we can't face ourselves?"

"I did what I thought was best for Sister, and your welfare and mental capacities did not enter into those equations." Metis was cold in her calculations, causing another wave of ire to be directed at her.

"Mitsuru was kinda cute, don't you think?" Midori shot out in order to forestall the impending arguments. "I mean, she's not as cute as I was at that age, so there's that, but really, how come you didn't keep your hair like that?"

Recognizing the ploy for what it was, Mitsuru allowed herself to be drawn in. "I grew more mature with the knowledge and burdens of my powers. I didn't take them lightly." The not-so-subtle rebuke washed over Midori like water, leaving her to pout. "And I found that as I grew older, the style no longer fit the image of myself, so I went with this instead." She flipped one hand through her hair before returning to the conversation. "But I do want to thank you. You did have the initiative to try and interact with the memory. To use Black Frost to protect us."

"Well, I had to try."

"That's another thing that's different," Chidori turned the conversation towards a more serious thought. "On one hand, we can interact with the Mall – speaking of which, we need to check over there again – and on the other hand, we could only observe Mitsuru's memory. What is the difference?"

Another awkward silence descended on the Dorm.