?, ?, ?

1st Floor Lounge, Minatodai Dorm

Afternoon

"What just happened?" Junpei expressed his confusion as he waited for Fuuka, Midori and Mitsuru to return from checking on Aigis in her room. "I mean, I get the whole beating up the Shadow part, but how the heck did we get to a hug being what solves the problem?"

"I'm not sure," Ken said. "I mean, it's obvious that Aigis knew what she was doing, but what was she doing?"

"That's what Junpei just said," Chidori admonished Ken for mimicking him. "There is no sense in making assumptions about what happened. We will have to wait for the Tin Girl to awake and make her decisions known."

Junpei rubbed his injured shoulder, causing Chidori to instantly fret over him. As he tried to fend her off, Yukari and Koromaru came back from the door leading into the past Paulowina Mall. "I got supper." She announced as she headed for the kitchen, sparing only one glance up the stairs. "Does this mean we're waiting for Aigis before going into the last door?"

"I think so," Akihiko agreed. "What did you get?"

"Beef, some veggies and Rice from the pharmacy. Mostly the instant stuff." Yukari looked down into the bag she held. "Anyone else feel weird spending the same money over and over again?"

"I don't think about it." Ken commented as Koromaru took back his position on the boy's lap. "Everything that's been going on has been so weird that using the cash card like that barely registers. And it's Kirijo money. It's not like it's going to run out."

"What about the last door?" Chidori asked as she finally overcame Junpei to place one hand over the bullet wound. "It has to be hers."

"What could she regret? That's the question." Yukari replied as she came back out from the kitchen, sidestepping the entryway to the Abyss. "I mean, it's not like she's had the same experiences we have."

Akihiko shrugged. "We can't make predictions. We'll have to wait for Aigis to wake up."

3rd Floor, Aigis' Room

Aigis woke up. She didn't open her eyes as she let the new and returned feelings flow into her. After the talk with Igor, she now understood so much. And she now that she knew what was really happening, she had to make plans.

"You're not fooling anyone Aigis," Fuuka said from beside her. "I can tell you're awake my your brain activity."

Opening her eyes, she saw her friends hanging around her. "Are you alright?" Midori asked, obviously concerned.

"I am...well." Aigis answered as she leveraged herself into a sitting position. "No, more than that. I am... whole again."

"Explain." Mitsuru demanded. "What happened?"

"I was wrong to reject Metis," Aigis admitted as she performed internal diagnostics. Physically she was fine. Mentally, even more so. "I had to accept her, I had to accept myself and the flaws in me she represented." She turned to Midori, who was starting to get a glazed look in her eyes at the abstract concepts. "Midori?"

"YES!" She snapped back to attention.

"I'm sorry. I have to apologize to you first. Metis' antagonism of you was based on my feelings."

"I don't believe you," Midori retorted. "You don't hate me."

"No, but I was jealous." Aigis' confession broke through any lingering apathy on Midori's part. "You were always there for me, supporting and pushing me into developing myself, and I resented you for it. You, who were so much more than me, and you never once saw anything other than what I could be."

Midori was stunned. She hadn't thought of her actions like that, and before Aigis pointed it out, she had no idea her attempts to be friends with the robot could be interpreted like that. "I'm sorry?" She wasn't sure if she should apologize or not, given the situation. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"You didn't. I am the one who must say that I am sorry." Aigis got off the couch to bow properly. "You tried to help me, and I was ungrateful. I am sorry."

"Well I'm sorry too, for not taking your feelings into account!" Midori matched Aigis' apologetic bow with one of her own. "Are we friends again?"

"We never stopped."

1st Floor Lounge

Aigis' return was met with a storm of questions regarding her condition, and demands for explanations. Slowly and patiently she answered them all, making amends for her behavior via Metis. One by one, everyone came around, some faster than others. Junpei and Koromaru were instantly on her side, having been affected by the Shadow the least.

Once the politeness was done with, everyone sat or stood around the table to plan their next course of action.

"We're not going to enter the last door today," Aigis firmly decided. "None of us are in any condition to do so."

"Acceptable," Mitsuru agreed. "What then?"

"While I was unconscious after merging with Metis, I spoke with Igor again. He gave me more details about what was going on, and what waits for us at the bottom of the Abyss."

"Is anyone ever actually going to meet this guy?" Junpei commented, earning a reproachful look from several people around him. "What? I'm just saying."

"I have," Midori said. "And Minato. I think he just doesn't like visitors." She remembered how he acted when she was interviewed by that Phil person. "You could try asking next time, Aigis."

"Perhaps. But on a more technical front, I have regained the use of my native Persona, in addition to the powers of the Wild Card." The robot announced. "It will only enhance my performance in the coming days."

"That is good to hear, Aigis." Mitsuru agreed. "Did Igor say anything else?"

"Yes. He told me about an entity called Erebus." Aigis looked around at everyone to make sure she had their attention. "Erebus is an entity similar to Nyx, though not as powerful. While Nyx exists to bring about apathy and sleep, Erebus seeks to join its power to Nyx's in order to become something more – The Desire for Death."

"What."

"Erebus is one of the dark facets to human nature. While Nyx could be seen as mostly passive in nature, Erebus is not. It seeks to reach Nyx for this purpose."

"Where do we come in?" Ken asked.

" 'We' do not. It is I that Erebus wants."

"The Wild Card?" Akihiko guessed. "It needs that to get to Nyx?"

"Yes, senpai. When Minato sacrificed himself to stop Nyx from taking the world, he used his power to seal it away, like a lock whose combination keeps changing. But part of that power passed on to me, and Erebus, through the Abyss seeks to take it from me, to have the Key that will fit the lock."

"That almost makes sense, Tin Girl." Chidori wasn't impressed at the revelations, though she knew she would fight very hard to keep Nyx away forever.

"Effectively, Erebus used the Abyss to trap me, and created Metis to get the Wild Card. That you were all here was an accident."

"So, that accident saved you as you likely wouldn't have been able to overcome Metis yourself?" Fuuka observed, wondering just how close they all came to the world ending again.

"Yes."

Mitsuru now knew that her organization of the Shadow Hunters was the correct thing to do. There was no avoiding it.

"So what's the plan then?" Akihiko was ready for the answer he knew he was going to get, but it was important to make sure everyone else was ready for it as well.

"Simple." Aigis was pleased that the end was finally in sight. "We enter the last door, deal with the Shadow pretending to be Minato, go further, drive back Erebus, and get out."

"I like the sound of that!" Junpei spoke up. "Get out, and get back to life!"

?, ?, ?

The Abyss of Time

They collectively stood around the final, central door. Aigis simply stared at it, as though her vision could somehow divine what challenges lay behind it. "Are you all ready?"

"Are you sure you should lead this, Aigis?" Mitsuru asked as she checked the tip of her rapier one more time. "If this Erebus wants you, wouldn't you going to it be a bad choice?"

"It's the only choice we have. It needs the Wild Card, but it is also weak to it."

"Way to make the rest of us feel left out, Ai-chan." Midori caught herself shortening Aigis' name down to something more Japanese, a pained guilty look coming over her. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"No, that's alright." Aigis smiled, something she hadn't done in weeks. "I'll forgive you this once."

"Oh good." Midori swore to herself she'd keep that name in reserve for special occasions, and would suffer the consequences later.

"Midori, Akihiko, Yukari, would you join me?" Their leader asked, and the three stepped up. "Thank you for coming with me this far."

"No problem!" "Of course." "It's the least I could do."

Aigis reached out and pushed open the last door.

Empyrean

"What does that word mean, the one written on the door?" Yukari asked as the quartet walked down the twisty halls, full of dead ends and switchbacks. "I know we've gone through the layers of the Christian Hell..."

"This is the final and highest layer of the Christian Heaven," Aigis replied. "The source of life-giving fire, and the one least like the material world."

Midori bit her tongue, knowing better than most the real nature of the occupants of 'Heaven'. That the Abyss used this names left a bitter feeling, but one she could not share without revealing more than she was allowed to. "So, Fire. Should have brought Koro-chan and Chidori along instead, right?"

"Wrong kind of fire, Midori. This is the fires of life, not the fires that burn and destroy." Aigis shook her head, wondering if her friend got it wrong on purpose. She was smarter than that, and she was certain to have done some research in the two weeks since they had been trapped.

Midori threw up her hands in a dismissive shrug. "Fire is Fire." And besides, Frosty was from Hell, so she knew where her friends were.

They descended, taking cautious care of the Shadows they came across. Sometimes the battles were difficult puzzles to be resolved, other times they could completely destroy them with the first strike. They didn't talk much on the way down, focusing on the goal.

"I feel something," Aigis said as they found another staircase. "It's the Shadow. Fuuka, can you scan ahead for me?"

"Of course." Their distant support began to use her power to search ahead. "You're right. The next floor is very small, and I can sense it waiting. There are no other Shadows. I think you have it cornered."

"About time," Akihiko muttered under his breath. "Damn thing is finally going to fight us."

"Agreed." Aigis noted. "Are you all ready for this?"

"Yep!" Midori cheered them all on. "One more down, one last thing to go!"

"You are way too into beating up these things, you know that Midori?" Yukari threw a jibe at the younger girl to help alleviate her own worries. "It's like the stranger and more inhuman they are, the more likely you are to offer to help."

Midori thought about that. "Seems about right." She had to admit a bit of a bias there, but she couldn't say for certain that it was right or not. "Oh well, maybe this Shadow will stay in human form the whole time. No alternate forms to turn ugly then really really beautiful this time."

"You've been playing too many RPGs, Midori." Yukari shook her head.

"You haven't been playing enough!" Midori retorted while sticking out her tongue and pulling down on one eyelid. "Come on then."

They descended down the pearled stairs, and into a large square room. In the middle, drawing in the light to stand in dusk was the Shadow that had long evaded them. Now that it stood there, they saw that it indeed looked like Minato.

"Should we try talking?" Fuuka asked in their minds. "I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"

Aigis considered this. Then agreed. "Hello. Who are you?" She called out as the others spread out to her sides, Midori on her right, the others on her left. "Why are you here?"

The figure didn't respond with words, but instead raised a dark sword made of the same shadow as it was in one hand, and in the other, the form of an Evoker.

"So much for talking." Midori readied her own weapon and summoned Frosty in the same motion. "Aigis, would you do the honours?"

"Minato! If you can here me, please, don't fight us! We have to pass to defeat Erebus!" The robot assumed that this was some form of guardian sent by Minato to keep them away from the threat. It was what she chose to believe.

"[ORPHEUS]" It began to speak, putting the Evoker against its head.

"DODGE!" Akihiko yelled, sprinting away from the others as he could read what was coming.

"[TELOS]"

For a moment, Midori stood still as the Persona emerged from the Shadow. She took it in, this Persona so familiar, so alien. Then she rolled off to one side to maximize the distance between her and everyone else as it unleashed its power. The almighty blow exploded in the air above all of them, pressing them to the floor for a moment. They quickly regained their feet as the Shadow slumped over, seemingly drained by the attack.

"Minato!" Aigis cried out painfully. "Don't do this! Please!"

"Please!" Yukari chimed in. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"It's not really him," Akihiko tried to explain and to attack at the same time, but the Shadow fell back, sword-arm in a guard. Frosty, at Midori's command, moved up to support him, though it too fell short of the goal. "We have to fight!"

Unsure, Yukari notched her bow and aimed halfheartedly at the form of her dead boyfriend. "Please?"

"Yukari! Stick to support!" Aigis commanded as she switched Persona, knowing full well what she needed for this to work. And in doing so, gave her the opportunity to not raise her arms against any form of Minato. "PALLAS ATHENA!" With that command, her reclaimed Persona formed above her head and lunged with the tip of its spear at the far smaller Shadow.

It blocked, spear-tip halted by the tip of the shadow-sword.

"[CEASER]" It cried out and a pale mockery of Akihiko's Persona formed from where it pointed the Evoker at itself. The fake-Ceaser pointed its own sword at Aigis, and a sharp bolt of electricity her, drawing forth a cry of pain.

Yukari was quick to act, healing Aigis. Akihiko and Midori provided cover by attacking the thing that looked like Minato. A sharp one-two punch from the man distracted it long enough for Midori to break through its defenses with a sharp thrust with her blunt weapon into its face. Unable to bring its Evoker to bear, the Shadow was forced into a more physical offense, swinging its sword against its two attackers to harm them or drive them back, which it did so while loosing more ground.

Raising its Evoker now that it had the room, the action was interrupted by a hail of bullets from Aigis. "Keep going!" Her words of encouragement kept everyone focused on the enemy, even as it recovered.

"[BLACK FROST]" This time, it copied Midori's Persona, black on black to assail Akihiko with a blast of frigid air.

"It's exploiting our weaknesses!" Fuuka observed as Aigis moved to cover Yukari's healing. "It will probably do you next, Midori!"

She didn't hear as she was far too offended that her precious Frosty had been abused like that, Midori abandoned all pretense of skill and just laid into the thing that pretended to be Minato with everything she had. "Don't! You! Dare!" She yelled as she couldn't hear the warnings of others.

"[ISIS]" The blast of wind was delivered to her at point blank range, throwing Midori across the room. She landed with a roll, and was back up on her knees, though very dizzy. A pink fuzz appeared in front of her and she realized that she had lost her glasses in the tumble.

"Yukari?"

"Idiot!" She snapped before invoking Isis to heal, rather than to harm. "Pay attention!"

"And stop being me?" Midori smiled, though she knew she had failed on some level. "You seen my glasses?"

"No! Dammit! Where?" Yukari looked around, tracing Midori's path to see if they were simply left on the ground. She didn't see them. "Glasses?" she yelled at Aigis, hoping the robot would have better luck.

"I can see it," Midori put one hand on Yukari's shoulder, the other pointing at the Minato that Akihiko was trading fast and furious blows with. "I'll just use Frosty until someone sees them." She focused her eyes on the Shadow, muscles around the eyes exerting themselves to account for her abnormal vision. After a moment, things started to come back into focus, and she simply pointed at the Shadow. "FROSTY!"

Fire leapt from the Persona's fingers, covering the thing in embers which highlighted its features, though at the same time giving it an even more sinister appearance. It turned to face Midori and Yukari and ignored Akihiko to advance on them with weapon raised.

They readied themselves for the close quarter fight, when a single noise drove Midori to sadness.

crunch

"It stepped on your glasses," Yukari announced flatly.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it?" Midori was thankful she had spares, though they were outside the Dorm. So she didn't have any, really. Then the Shadow was on them and the battle was rejoined. Being forced to fight without seeing clearly meant that she took a more physically defensive approach, while trusting in Frosty to maintain the offense when she could spare the effort.

"ORPHEUS TELOS" The Shadow of Minato spoke in their minds, and once again the empowered Persona rose from its master, giving everyone just enough time to brace themselves for the explosion that rippled through the room.

"Is he on some sort of pattern?" Fuuka asked as they recovered enough for Yukari to keep up with the healing. "Oh, Aigis, hurry!"

"Will do." The robot agreed as she switched out her Persona again, this time becoming more personal with the person behind the Shadow. "THANATOS!"

Midori had only seen the harbinger of death once before, and that was out of the corner of her eye while she and Frosty were busy with other things. Here, though, there was no distraction. She saw with her own eyes the thing that emerged, and knew without a doubt that it was real, and had attended the War in Tokyo, everyone would be dead. Such was its presence.

And that was focused on the Shadow. Some great and terrible form moved within the sheltering coffins reached out and took the form of Minato in one hand and squeezed.

Then there was nothing. "It is defeated," Aigis announced.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Yukari and Midori said at the same time, the two girls looking at each other before Midori allowed Yukari to speak first. Age before beauty and all that.

"That was Thanatos."

"I got that, but what!"

"I do not think you are asking the question you think you are asking."

Akihiko felt that was enough of a comedy routine to interject. "Thanatos. That was one he used near the end, and I think they're asking the same questions for two different answers." He pointed at Midori. "She wants to know more about that Persona because she hasn't seen it in action before." Then a gesture to Yukari, "And her because... well, I have no idea."

"Am I really that easy to read?" Midori took Akihiko's direct comment to heart.

"I have experience," he replied as he took off his gloves to examine them for damage.

"No fair," Midori pouted as she also tried to ignore the smashed glass underfoot.

"It was an option." Aigis didn't bother explaining her choice of Persona to anyone. "But it was powerful. I meant nothing of it."

"Is everyone alright?" Fuuka asked quietly. "I don't sense the Shadow anymore."

"I destroyed it," Aigis replied. "We can advance now."

"I'm sorry about your glasses." Yukari said as she stood by Midori. "Do you have extras?"

"Yes, outside." She really didn't like repeating herself, but it wasn't like she could read her mind. "I'm still good though."

"No, you're not." Aigis spoke up as she walked over to Midori. "You are severely farsighted, and without your corrective lenses, you will be a liability."

"WHAT? NO!" Midori turned to face, but not focus on Aigis. Focusing was a strain. "Frosty can do things for me!"

"I will not take that chance. Without proper sight, I'll have to ask you to sit out the rest."

Midori could only stand there, trapped by her own weakness. "I can stand way in the back and fire spells?"

"No."

"Fuuka could aim me!"

"No."

"Can we fix my glasses?"

This time there was silence as Aigis bent to examine the broken object.

"No."

Midori sighed. The finish line was in sight, and now she was being benched. And because of something as stupid as that! But while her first instinct was to argue the point, the part of her that clamored loudly to be Aigis' friend told her not to make an issue of this.

The Friend part won out and she sat down, not intending to move until the follow up crew arrived. "So now what?"

"You can still come with us to the front of the door at the bottom. From there, we wait, and I exchange you with someone else before taking on Erebus."

Yukari groaned. "You know by saying that, Midori's hoping that we get to this Erebus before then."

"I am not!"

Aigis considered that. "If that is the case, I expect you to follow my directions precisely."

"I'm not blind!" This time her argument was more teasing than annoyed. "Come on then. The sooner we get this over, the sooner I can go outside and get my spare."

"Agreed. Fuuka, we are advancing."

"Please be careful!"

End of the Abyss

"This is a whole lot of nothing. Was there not supposed to be something here?" Chidori's droll comment brought a lowered head of shame from Junpei. "Or is this another thing that the Tin Girl can only interact with as part of the deception?"

"No," Aigis said, looking out over a more physical representation of the concept 'abyss'. "There is nothing here."

Midori kicked invisible and immaterial stones over the edge.

"Maybe we should go back?" Ken asked, hanging back. "There could be a change upstairs."

"And maybe Erebus has withdrawn now that its plans have failed." Misturu mused as nothing of note happened.

"Lousy last fight if that was the case." Midori kicked another 'rock' with extreme prejudice.

"You really need to tell us about Tokyo one of these days if we are to agree with you or not." Mitsuru commented, hoping that this would be the time things changed and Midori opened up.

"No I don't. Not really."

"Let us return to the Dorm then and plan our next move." Aigis made her way to the door that would lead them back home and put her hand on it. For a moment, she paused as though the Door shifted in front of her, but then all was normal. Chalking it up to an error, she pushed open and stepped through.

The Velvet Room

"Where are we?" Akihiko spoke as everyone found themselves not in the Dorm room as they expected, but in what looked like a giant elevator, one with chairs, a sofa, a table and a few other knickknacks.

"Welcome," Igor intoned, "To the Velvet Room."

Aigis and Midori promptly bowed. "Hello Igor." They said in unison. Aigis rose first, Midori a moment later. "Why are we here?"

"Your defeat of the Shadow Guardian has caused some... damage to the Abyss." Igor waved one hand dismissively. "I simply connected the Velvet Room to the door that would have returned you to the nexus, and brought you here instead."

"Hello Theodore," Midori took the gap in speech to bow to the other resident of the room. "I trust you are well?"

"I am," the male replied calmly. "Are you well?"

"Broken glasses." Midori produced the damaged spectacles from a pocket and showed them to Theodore as Aigis sat down in the only chair. The rest of SEES looked slightly confused as the two treated this sudden change of destination as something normal.

"Ah, we may have spares. My sister collected many things before her vacation."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Excuse me!" Mitsuru tried to interject.

"That one and that one," Aigis pointed to two cards representing her Personas, "And I'll need to recollect Orpheus."

"Ah, I see what you are doing. An excellent choice, my dear." Igor replied as he went down to business.

"Will SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING?" Mitsuru's patience broke and she roared out her frustrations.

"That was uncalled for," Chidori scolded Mitsuru in the silence following her outburst. "It is obvious that we are formal guests, while the Tin Girl and Midori are more friendly.

"As Igor said, this is the Velvet Room," Midori said as she and Theodore returned from checking out a cabinet empty handed. "That is Igor, he runs this place. This is Theodore, who assists him. Elizabeth is his... sister?.. who also works here."

"Greetings," Theodore bowed. "I apologize for the inconvenience my master may have caused you, as well as any duress." Rising, he took in the array of people before him. "We haven't had this many here in many years. I apologize again for the lack of preparation to receive you."

"Thank you for your kindness," Mitsuru replied automatically before catching herself. "This is the Velvet Room? It is not what I envisioned from what the others described to me."

"Of course." Theodore gestured around him. "The Room is set by the dictates of my Master, and is perceived by human eyes in various ways."

Koromaru barked, and Theodore paid attention. "Of course."

"What did he say?" Ken asked, curious that this man could understand Koro like Aigis could.

"You do not understand him?" Theodore was honestly confused by the revelation that Dogs and Humans couldn't communicate directly. It threw so many thoughts away in a single grand motion that he would have to spend a lot of time coming up with new thoughts! "He asked if what he saw was the same as what you saw."

"Ah, thank you." Ken bowed politely.

"That doesn't answer my question," Mitsuru spoke again, recognizing that Aigis and Igor were busy. "What is the Velvet Room?"

"It is where my Master makes his repose," Theodore answered, though unsure of why a question with such an obvious answer would be asked in the first place.

Mitsuru was about to press on when Akihiko whispered in her ear. "It's not the place, it's the people."

She understood. "Who are you, then? And Igor-san?" She was careful to use a neutral honourific, so as to not imply anything, despite her two juniors already having friendly terms with the man with the nose.

It also didn't escape her notice that Midori looked like she had an answer, but kept quiet. And that meant only one thing. "I am Theodore," the person replied again. "Igor is... I do not know how to describe him."

"I am," Igor spoke up without looking up from the table with the cards, "something of a connoisseur of the human psyche."

"And what does that mean?" She recognized that this Igor was being deliberately obtuse, but she wouldn't let that stop her.

"As some of you have already observed, I am not... human." Igor confided as he kept his attention on the table in front of him, and the actions he was requested to perform. "And please remember that you are still my guests; though I aid you, it is not an unlimited resource."

Mitsuru gaged the reactions of those around her, ignoring Miodori and Aigis, both of whom she could pry for answers later. Igor's comment was concerning, but then again, this was business, and that was something she knew very well.

She bowed. "I must apologize for my rude behavior, and thank you for looking after my people. On behalf of Minato Arisato, Midori Komaki and Aigis, I beg forgiveness for the trespass."

Theodore whispered something in Midori's ear, who spoke aloud back. "She's formal like that. Don't worry about it."

"Forgiven." Igor accepted the apology with the same level of attention he gave to everything else. "I too am partly to blame for my secretive nature. It has been quite some time, as Theodore mentioned, that I have hosted so many guests at once. Please, relax, and I will try to answer your questions once Aigis and I have completed our business."

"How can we relax," Junpei asked quietly as he stood beside Chidori, for once grateful for her tall presence. "Hey Midori, maybe you can answer some questions then?"

Called upon, she at least has the presence of mind to look ashamed. "Maybe. Depends on the question."

"Where are we?" Fuuka piped up before anyone could come up with a more abrasive question. "This place is called the 'Velvet Room', but that doesn't tell us anything."

Midori took a moment to sort out her thoughts, carefully weighing her factual knowledge with what she knew the others knew. "It's hard to describe," she hedged her bets cautiously. "Think of this place as a bubble that is attached to the real world, much like Tartarus and the Abyss are. Except that Igor and his employees reside here, rather than Shadows. It's also much smaller."

The others considered this before Ken asked an important followup question. "How many have you been in?"

"Ken, honey, I'd rather not answer that question."

"Don't treat me like a kid! I'm here too, I'd like an answer." His retort was sharp.

"I'm not. Well, maybe, but the answer stands. Tartarus and the Dark Hour were not the first such place I had been in." She resolved to avoid telling them about the final battle against the Bels and the Babel server and where it took place.

"Fine," Ken grumpily accepted.

"How do places like this come to exist then?" Yukari spoke up next, apparently following some hidden agreement regarding polite order.

"No idea. Theodore?" Midori passed the question along to the person dressed as an Elevator attendant.

"This place exists because the Master wills it. There are no words in this language to describe how it can occur."

"Very well," Mitsuru knew that her company was researching such things, so it was only a matter of time before she got her own answers from someone without suspect motives.

"We are done," Aigis announced as she looked up from the table. "Thank you again for your services, Igor."

"A pleasure, my dear. You have been an interesting guest." The man with the long hooked nose looked up. "I suppose I should speak with you now."

"Why did you bring us here?" Mitsuru demanded quickly.

"As I mentioned, the existence you thought was your home had become unstable with the defeat of the Guardian. I brought you here, rather than risk allowing you to go there one last time." Igor shrugged as he leaned back on his couch. "To answer your next question, you were wrong to conclude that the Dorm was real. It was not; at that Midnight, you were all taken into a copy of that place, crafted by Erebus and its agent whom you called Metis."

Mitsuru saw a flaw in the logic. "Yet Yukari, Akihiko and Iori entered the Dorm after that first day. Are you saying they too are fake?"

A series of horrified looks went amongst the collected audience. None was worse than Chidori who looked at Junpei with fear that he was some image, something that would be taken from her. That no matter how she held on, would vanish in the blink of an eye.

"Of course not!" Igor smiled, willing to knock the arrogant young woman down a notch. "Time is not something you understand. That you perceive as linear is not; the actions of Erebus have altered the concept of 'Cause and Effect'."

"So they are real." It was part question, part declaration.

"As much as you or I."

Satisfied with the answer, Midori went for another line of questioning. "Why help us? Why help Minato?"

"Because I choose to. Because it is my duty. Because it is the right thing to do. What answer would you like?"

"Howabout because we're all friends?" Midori piped up. "Will beating Erebus get us out?"

"Yes, of course Midori."

"Oh good." That was her only relevant question, so she resigned herself to waiting for everyone else to ask irrelevant questions before they got down to finishing this off. And her without her glasses.

"How do we get to Erebus?" Aigis asked.

"You only need to leave, child. After that, your decisions are your own."

"Thank you." Aigis stood up and returned to her friends and allies. "There is nothing more to be done here." Turning, she bowed again to Igor. "Thank you for all your work. May we meet again."

"Perhaps. You are interesting, and who knows what the future holds. Fare well, Aigis."

Dismissed, Aigis made for the door, followed close behind by Midori. Taking the cue, the other followed suit.

The Abyss of Time

Purgatorio

They stood at the edge of a large open plain. On the far side was a colossal door that seemed smaller and bigger at the same time. From the center of the door was a human figure, indistinct in the haze.

Between them and it was Erebus.

The canine shaped creature snarled and not yet aware of the intruders, snapped at the door, only to be rebuffed perfectly. It tried a different approach, and a gout of flame was soundly rejected. At they watched, it attacked and attacked again, making no progress.

Taking a break from the assault, it paced back and forth, gathering energy for the next round.

"That's Erebus?" Yukari was aghast at the differences between this thing and Nyx. Where the bringer of the Fall was stately, almost royal in bearing and efforts, this creature was predatory and animalistic. Where Ryoji in his role bore a recognizable weapon, this thing used tooth and claw.

And it saw them.

Spinning its head around, they saw that it held a multitude of them that weaved in and around each other. Locking its many eyes on Aigis, it saw only what it wanted, not that it could fight back. With a roar or triumph, it moved away from the door, eager to devour the Wild Card.

Aigis raised her weapons, and everyone else were ready to battle. "Thank you all," she said as she took aim, "One last battle, if you please."

"To the end," Midori agreed.

"MESSIAH!"

And then they fought.