Chapter Eleven - Ground Rules
[Yukari: Hey, are you alright?]
[Junpei: Yeah, what's up? You look like a zombie.]
{Nothing.}
{I opened this door, and...}
2
Junpei blinked, not recalling this situation at all, "You serious."
"I don't remember what he said," sighed Yukari. "Though, Nothing seems more in character..."
Junpei sighed, "I know...," as Aigis pressed Down, X.
[Yukari: Huh? What door...?]
[Junpei: Man, are you loco?]
They don't seem to see the door.
Aigis recognized the door, having taken refuge in it multiple times during her excursions in the Abyss of Time. It was where she'd fused her Personas together once she'd gotten...his gift. She'd never brought it up because, well, what reason did she have to? She wondered, briefly, if Minato had had the same idea, all those years ago. But her teammates seemed rather off-put by this Velvet Room, and so she decided to press X over and over again 'till this little dialogue between the avatars would end.
[Yukari: Have you been nodding off? You seem kinda out of it.]
[Junpei: Dude, you're s'posed to be our leader. Get your head in the game!]
Junpei and Yukari hadn't felt as embarrassed as they were this very moment in quite a long time. They both just knew Minato must've felt more than a little upset at them, when this had happened, but being himself, he had kept it under wraps like the stoic emo teen he had been.
Fuuka stared at the screen somberly as Mitsuru looked like she could have used a drink. Akihiko just dejectedly exhaled. Ken scratched his head, feeling more than a little awkward.
Aigis continued on, hoping none of them would ask her if she'd known of the Room as well, after gaining the power of the Wild Card. This had all been complicated enough as it was.
After the game gave some helpful tips involving checking the characters' statuses using the triangle button and saving their progress by accessing the clock to the left of the stairs (which helpfully explained why Minato had always gone to the clock as well and stared at it for seeming ages), Aigis had Minato and his chums take their very first steps into the Tower of Demise.
And again, everyone had found themselves taken years back. Into the dark, dingy green halls; the blood dripping down from the ceilings, from the walls. Shadows, dark abominations creeping in from every corner, seeking to eat their vile flesh and undo the fabrics that held their respective sanities together. S.E.E.S., the last bastion against the darkness, fighting for survival and ensuring that the world would see another year.
Except now they all had to take turns in their fights, apparently.
[Junpei: So, this is it, huh...?]
[Yukari: I hope I don't get lost...]
Junpei and Yukari felt that oddly disturbing kind of nostalgia only the Dark Hour could generate, scraping against the back of their necks. They knew this feeling; it was an itching, looming feeling that something from somewhere 'round the corner was gonna leap at them and rip their throats out. They weren't even in the tower, yet they had this nagging itch at their necks all the same. This pervasive fear that something, somehow could go wrong.
A mechanical, beeping noise. [Mitsuru: Can you all hear me?] she asked, her voice filtered with static.
[Junpei: Whoa! Is that you, Senpai?]
[Mitsuru: I'll be providing audio backup from here on out.]
[Junpei: Wait... Ya mean, you can see inside here?]
[Mitsuru: It's my Persona's ability.] she replied. [I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative.]
[Yukari: Well, THAT makes me feel a whole lot better...] Yukari muttered.
Without even really registering Yukari's response, Mitsuru said, [Mitsuru: Now, based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect.]
[Junpei: Right!]
[Yukari: Got it.] Then, she whispered, to herself, [Why is she always like that...?]
Mitsuru turned to Yukari, who sheepishly rubbed the back of her head in kind. In truth, Mitsuru had been a little aware of Yukari's not-entirely unfounded dislike of her. She'd always just taken it in stride, having not dared to talk about it for fear of fracturing the team's efforts; especially not after the bomb Yakushima had dropped upon all of them.
So Mitsuru had been more than a little surprised when Yukari had taken the time to speak with her on the riverbanks at Kyoto, about the death of her own father at the hands of Ikutsuki. And while it may have seemed a little morbid to bond over their dead parents, Yukari had earned Mitsuru's loyalty at that very moment.
And Mitsuru herself couldn't help but think again of events in the Abyss, where she'd held Yukari close to her in the middle of Purgatory's Colosseum. As she and all her friends mourned the one responsible for giving them their lives.
But looking back on these scenes, seeing the April of 2009 play out so vividly, Mitsuru found herself recalling what it had been like to stand at the base of Tartarus and take the reins as mission control, being the cold and aloof senpai she had been before realizing what the whole team had meant to her.
[Mitsuru: Let's begin. Keep in mind, these are real battles you'll be engaging in. Now, see if you can eliminate all the Shadows wandering around on this floor.]
"First dungeon," grunted Junpei. "First dungeon of the game..."
If there was one thing he and everyone else had to agree upon, it was that the game had an...interesting soundtrack. As Minato and his digital chums sauntered throughout the floor in search of something to do, the Persona-users of the real world grew to really hate whoever had composed the score. Because they knew that someone had to put in the time and the effort into making it specifically for their ventures into the tower. And all that effort paid off into something that actually sounded kind of sort of good.
Which was bad.
Especially since this sounded like the stuff Minato would listen to. He'd always had this weird taste in music—
[Mitsuru: Watch out! I detect a Shadow in front of you! Move in and hit it before it attacks you!]
—and all at once everybody stopped thinking about the music and started thinking about the fact that they were gonna take part in their first ever battle in Tartarus.
Fuuka leaned in, slightly interested in how this was going to play out, as she'd asked about it before and she'd only been told how terrified they had all been—except for Minato, of course—and would've liked a bit more detail. Ken leaned in too, totally not interested in how the game would play out from here, mind you. Akihiko and Mitsuru leaned back in their seats like old soldiers while Yukari rubbed her hands over her face and Junpei took off his cap 'cause his hair was getting a little too sweaty for its own good.
Aigis, on the other hand, straightened her back and and went through all the different Let's Plays she'd recorded into her database and panicked in that way robots would panic when stuck in this kind of situation before remembering that left analog stick moves the character forward—
HELP: PRESS THE X BUTTON TO USE YOUR WEAPON. IF YOU CAN HIT AN ENEMY BEFORE IT HITS YOU, THEN YOU'LL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE AT THE START OF BATTLE.
—and her Anti-Shadow Weapon instincts kicked into overdrive as her finger slammed into the X button and made Minato slash the black blob in front of them that was a Shadow—
BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BAAAAAAAAAA~!
—only for everyone to hear that song.
That stupid song. They would hear it ringing from Minato's earphones almost all the time back in high school. Junpei had kinda liked it, Yukari hadn't minded it until she'd heard it from him every morning, Akihiko and Mitsuru remembered it but recalled not really having been into that genre of music, Fuuka had and still rather enjoyed it (and downloaded Lotus' Juice's other albums in her spare time), and Aigis still listened to it often to remember him by.
But now the game made them hate the song, because the game was the game.
Then Mitsuru suddenly said to our wayward protagonist, as he and his allies got into position against the Shadow in a giant chasm of various shapes and objects that all looked rather like a Dadaist painting, [Mitsuru: Takeba has informed me about your power, but nevertheless you have minimal combat experience. Would you like me to explain the basics of battle?]
{Yes, please.}
{No thanks.}
"I don't remember saying that," Mitsuru said.
"Guess you're the tutorial guide," said Junpei, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head.
"Well...it does seem the logical choice," she noted. "Though it seems...awkward, considering the game had done well enough thus far with using plain text to explain its instructions."
"I don't think instructions are necessary," said Aigis. "I've recorded Junpei-san's last attempt at playing the game, and I believe I may be able to do the same as he."
"What does the phone say?" asked Fuuka.
"Nothing yet—"
Ring.
"—right on time..."
You can do as you please, for now.
Junpei didn't understand how he could hate someone this much despite never seeing their face.
"Guess we can skip..."
{Yes, please.}
{No thanks.}
[Mitsuru: Okay, then I want you to defeat the enemy before you. Try using both the "Skill" and "Attack" options.]
So the crew faced down one Cowardly Maya and one Muttering Tiara. The Maya was a dark blob as large as the tire of a GMC van, and the Muttering Tiara was a floating, tentacled creature with a heart-shaped ornament atop its head. The Shadows' names, weaknesses, and strengths our heroes knew by heart, as you tend to remember the name of things you frequently find yourself having to kill.
Aigis had Makoto press X on Attack, and the fight went on. She saw little real attempt to have fun, so the whole battle consisted of Minato and his friends swinging their weapons around until all the enemies were dead. Sure, Yukari ended up suffering a little scratch, but in the end the Shadows died and the crew was no worse for wear.
The sight should've stirred them. The fight should've pumped them up. Everything should've been so much more painful. But it wasn't. They just had this dull feeling settle in their chests, like they'd taken a thousand steps forward and then another thousand back. They'd gone past fighting Shadows. Past all that nightmarish stuff. And while they had come up again fairly recently, what with their little romp through the TV World, it sucked to see all their achievements reduced to just a game.
Because that was what all this was! A game. To some alternate universe, all their pain and suffering and slow but amazing catharsis was all just someone else's entertainment. A fun game to play on the weekends, when wanting to forget about studying or school or people.
Their whole journey to end the Dark Hour and save the world? Just a neat little story to pad out the game to sixty hours. Yukari's breakdown at Yakushima? A dramatic plot point to add some poignancy to it all. Chidori dying, Shinjiro dying, Ikutsuki dying? All to add some tension and some sorrow for the protagonists. Minato's tragic and sudden death? The bittersweet ending to cap it all off. The Abyss of Time? The expansion allowing for the audience to get some closure.
In some other universe, some writer had just made this story not because he was God and he wanted to create a new world. Someone had written their lives because he'd been paid to. Because it was his job.
Before they knew it, Aigis had encountered yet another Shadow.
[Mitsuru: There's another Shadow ahead of you! You'll be at a disadvantage if the enemy gets the first hit in, so try to surprise your opponents and strike first.]
So Aigis moved the analog stick forward and Minato made a dash, ignoring the briefcase as he honed in on the Shadow's backside.
HELP: IF YOU ARE ABLE TO STRIKE THE ENEMY BEFORE YOU ARE SPOTTED, THEN YOU WILL GAIN THE INITIATIVE. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THE ENEMY HITS YOU FIRST, THE OPPOSITE WILL OCCUR.
Mitsuru muttered quietly to herself, "I literally just said that," as Minato laid down another Slash!
BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BAAAAAAAAA~!
Mass Destruction kicked in as everybody got into their positions. Aigis had had Minato strike first, meaning he and his allies had an advantage in battle.
[Mitsuru: Now's a good time for me to explain about attack properties, which are important to consider during battle. Do you want to know more?]
{Yes, please.}
{No, thanks.}
Aigis was about to move down and press X, but the phone rang again.
Actually, this is rather necessary to learning the game, so I'd advise clicking Yes if you don't want to have a hard time.
Aigis' mechanical brow furrowed.
[Mitsuru: Nearly every type of attack is associated with a particular property,] she said, as Minato's body bobbed up and down and he and the Shadow remained in their positions as though stuck in a Mexican Standoff. [For example, swords can be used to do "Slash" attacks, while bows are used to do "Pierce" attacks. Skills, on the other hand, have different properties. "Bufu," for instance, indicates an "Ice" attack..] Mitsuru had gone on about using the enemies' weaknesses against them and talked about the various spells and skills they all knew and all felt still burning and festering and thriving inside of their very souls. So they didn't really pay much attention until she said, [That falls under "Tactics."]
HELP: THE FIRST TIME AN ENEMY IS ANALYZED, YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT A WHILE FOR THE RESULTS. BUT FROM THEN ON, WHENEVER YOU ANALYZE THAT PARTICULAR ENEMY, YOU'LL RECEIVE THE RESULTS RIGHT AWAY. WHEN YOU ARE SELECTING YOUR TARGET, IF A "?" APPEARS ABOVE THE ENEMY, THEN THAT PARTICULAR ENEMY HAS NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY ANALYZED. YOU CAN SELECT "ANALYZE" FROM THE TACTICS MENU OR PRESS THE L1 BUTTON TO ISSUE THIS REQUEST.
In the real world, Mitsuru felt a little annoyed. The game could choose between either using her or its own text as instructions. Using both of them just felt awkward.
[Mitsuru: Do you follow?]
{Yes.}
{Not quite...}
{That's alright.}
X, because nobody really cared to listen a second time. Luckily, the phone agreed with them.
[Mitsuru: The enemies you're facing have a weakness that you can exploit. Why don't you give it a try?]
Two Cowardly Maya. Three Persona-users. One of whom had a Persona capable of Agi, a fire spell. And everybody remembered the many times Minato had downed these creatures with their weaknesses.
Aigis recalled something about Tactics, so she cycled the action-wheel until she reached that menu. Saw the various functions for the different characters and cycled through them, as well.
"No way to control the other characters, huh?" Junpei asked.
"It wouldn't necessarily be wrong to have that be a function," Fuuka said. "I mean, Minato did direct you guys into battle."
"Maybe when Persona 4 comes out they'll add that in," smirked Akihiko.
And then a great idea popped into the woman's head, but then she decided against it. Nobody had any time for a second run through of a sixty-hour long game.
In the end, Junpei's character had settled on going offensive, Yukari's character had been set to Heal/Support, and Mitsuru simply ran on analysis when they needed her to.
But they didn't need her to, at the moment. Minato twirled the Evoker once in his hand, screamed "Orpheus!" and finally brought everything full circle. His Persona made one motion, and flames scorched the Maya closest in proximity to him, knocking it flat on the ground. Really, the fire should've burnt it to cinders, but this was video game logic.
Hearing his voice again.
It was an odd sensation. Minato had mostly kept to himself. When he wasn't quiet, he was nice. And when he wasn't nice, then he was dealing with Shadows. Or mulling over certain events. Yukari remembered how Minato had stayed indoors the entire week after Aragaki-senpai's passing, Junpei remembered his unfathomably sallow expression after Ikutsuki's betrayal, and so on.
But then they remembered, now of all times, that in battle, Minato was anything but quiet or nice. Every time he screamed his Personas' names, he did so with a passion that almost seemed like new life had been breathed into him. With a single shout, he could rouse up the whole group into fighting against the world. Often, all he'd ever needed to inspire leadership in his peers was to say a name.
But Yukari shouted, "One more!"
For no discernible reason, at first. Until Aigis discovered that it was still Minato's turn.
"Huh?"
"That's interesting," said Junpei. "So you hit it with its weakness, and you get another turn. Actually adds some level of strategy to this whole thing."
At least until Minato would gain Orpheus Telos or Messiah or Thanatos or Lucifer or any top-tier Persona along with the Omnipotent Orb. But the caller figured now that it seemed more expedient to skip over some events they'd later encounter. Might as well get things moving along a little bit quicker. She sent them a text.
"Phone rang," said Yukari.
Junpei grabbed it and read.
Enemies get stunned if you hit their weaknesses or land a critical attack; once you do that, you get another turn. You can attack the same enemy or a different one from that point. If you manage to stun another enemy, you can attack again. And again and again and again, until victory is yours.
Junpei blinked. "That's...not a bad gameplay mechanic."
Ken frowned, "Though it might get repetitive, considering how long this game is..."
You can't knock out an enemy that's already been hit on its weak spot. You can analyze for weaknesses if possible.
Yukari reclined her head in her seat as she groaned in impatience, "Could'a told us this stuff earlier. Would've saved time."
Ring.
Thought it'd be more fun if you guys played the game and learned with time.
"But the game isn't fun," Junpei said. "It's...it's never been fun."
A few seconds of silence. Uncharacteristic.
We'll be ending today's session soon. But I will lay down some ground rules for you as time passes.
"'Ground rules?'" repeated Mitsuru.
1) You can fight however you'd like against Shadows, and you can even call me up for tips if you encounter a tough boss.
Aigis blinked. "That's...quite convenient, actually. Would be interesting. Are the enemies in this game that difficult?"
If you let them be. I suggest training twice a week, at least
"They even have Minato's schedule down pat...," Yukari moaned. But then she tore her head up. She looked at everyone. Everyone looked at her. They saw that glint in her eyes, the spark of an idea that had just hit them as well. They hadn't wanted to think it, they didn't even think it was possible.
This...was not Minato's voice. The text didn't feel like him. Didn't feel right. But then they were learning a great deal about their leader already. They'd learned of his nihilism. Of Social Links and how bonds affected his powers. How he had never gotten to tell any of them of it. How he had made the decision not to say anything at all. About his fears, about his sadness, about that which he'd kept behind bars.
So they couldn't help but have the golden question pop up in their heads as Junpei gripped the phone and his jaw grew slack, as everyone stared at it in anticipation as to whether or not it would answer the question that they were all asking.
So the woman answered them with the truth.
I'll tell you who I am when all of this ends.
But you must know that I am not him.
Yukari and Junpei felt somewhat deflated at that. Fuuka grew more uncomfortable and sank further in the cushions of the couch. Aigis' shoulders lowered and loosened for just a single second. Mitsuru and Akihiko, in their world-weariness, had figured the caller was not him. Because for a moment, hope had risen that perhaps he'd come back. Because despite everything they were learning about him, about the secrets he'd been keeping and the emotions he had not shared at all with them, it at least would've been nice to know that he had...
...that his burden had been...
The reason you are all here is to finally get to know the man you loved, in your own ways.
Everybody's hearts sank somewhat at the vagueness of the text. But the woman knew that she had to save it for when the game would end. Whether they'd finish it in sixty hours, sixty days, sixty months, weeks, years. She would not stop pestering them until they knew everything she knew, and everything they should've known all those years ago.
And all Junpei could say was, "...How does he text so quickly?"
Okay, I know you guys voted that I'd focus on major events and the story behind the scenes, but i feel that the first Tartarus exploration requires more in-depth description, something I can't do before the deadline hits. So we'll continue the expedition in the next chap, and THEN properly begin the quest to make this story more condensed yet at the same time retain its poignancy.
EDIT: Fixed up the dialogue of the caller.