Huh, this Makoto/Pharos v. SEES arc has been going on a bit longer than I had originally anticipated… I'm okay with that. *yawn*
State testing draining you?
Yeah.
Raze Olympus: Someone should put you in a box floating down the river, fuckface!
I remember a time when this was my job.
I remember a time when the AN/s was just you and me bantering with barely any reviews to go off of.
Good times, good times.
Ultimate Kuuga: Pf, bitch please, I'm a god. You can't do shit to me even if you dropped a tactical nuke.
That's it! Someone get me the nukes!
Come at me, whore!
Not as hard as Minato came at me, hehe.
Clevernameeh: Tell me about it. Strega's dead, Sakuya was cut to pieces, and Aigis has a hole in her.
Oh, I'm pulling something off… including his clothes by the end of this.
Is that all you think about?
Apparently it's my AN gimmick.
True.
Nightlyy: Pharos is also a sociopath… So, there's also that to add on top of everything.
Brother like brother apparently.
Hideout
SEES gathered in what seemed to be this place's version of the command room for a team meeting. There was no need to ask what the meeting was about; everyone already knew.
"I believe that it is time that we discuss what to do about… him." Mitsuru was the first to speak during the meeting. "Would anyone like to start us off?"
Mitsuru's question was only met with silence. Each one of them had considered what to do about Makoto and no one knew what to do about him. On one hand, he was a monster that had to be stopped at all cost. On the other, he was still a victim in all of this, and that was not even mentioning the fact that the only one alive that could hurt him was the last person who would want to do so.
Mitsuru let out a sigh, not too surprised by everyone's silence. "Shiomi, would you like to start us off?"
Kotone continued looking down, the decision of what to do played in her mind over and over on a loop. After a few moments, Kotone slowly shook her head.
"Kotone, you know him better than any of us," Akihiko said. "Is there anything you could tell us about him? We were already caught off guard when he started changing personas and using two at once."
"I don't know." Kotone slowly began to clench her fist, "I just… don't know."
"Let's move on to what we do know then," Mitsuru suggested. "Whatever that… thing did to him, he's not in his right state of mind. While the details are unknown, it is likely that the mask that he is currently wearing has something to do with it."
Junpei shuddered as the image of the mask's soulless eyes and unsettling grin flashed before his eyes. "That thing gives me the creeps. Something about it just seemed… wrong."
"Do you think he could go back to normal if we get the mask off him?" Fuuka asked.
"What Sakuya said before his death certainly supports that idea," Mitsuru bit her lip. "If only he survived. That way, he might have been able to provide me with or at least point me towards some of Ikutsuki's research on these things."
"Well," Yukari shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "there is one person who might have an idea."
Everyone slowly turned their gaze towards Junpei, making obvious just who it was that they were thinking about. Junpei immediately jumped out of his seat.
"No way, it's not happening!" Junpei protested, showing an unusual amount of backbone, "she barely remembers anything during her time with the researchers anyway! Leave her out of this!"
"Relax, Iori," Mitsuru tried to calm the junior, "regardless, the fact remains that removing the mask remains the only way we can stop with without also causing another… unwanted casualty."
"But how are we going to do that?" Ken asked. "We were barely able to get out of their alive, even after he had faced Strega, Sakuya, and Kotone-san. Even then, not all of us made it out."
Another moment of silence fell over everyone at the memory of Aigis' sacrifice. Kirijo was able to recover most of her parts but after what Makoto did to her, the odds were not too high for her.
Kotone could only tightly grip the edges of her skirt as she tried as hard as she could to think of what to do. When she tried reaching out to him and mentioning Minako, but it only ended with him lashing out in a fit of rage. If only there was some way…
"If only he was still in there too," Kotone muttered to herself.
Everyone looked at her confused, "He? You mean Makoto?"
Kotone's eyes widened as she remembered an important detail about Makoto that she had never brought up before. She did not know when he learned that she knew about it, but she still kept his secret as closely guarded as he did. Now, she just might have to tell everyone for his sake.
Kotone sighed, "Okay, this… this might take a while to explain."
And with that, Kotone began to explain the secret she had been keeping from them ever since the encounter with Arcana Lovers.
Streets; Dark Hour
"Is there anything else?" The Reaper asked, having been drawn out of Tartarus by the orders of his prince.
"Hmm…" Pharos hummed to himself as he sat on the edges of the rooftop he was one. Before he answered, he sneaked a quick glance at Makoto who even in his feral state had a somewhat disturbed look about him. No doubt this had something to do with the words that that bitch had said earlier, but he did have a point.
"Avoid any casualties," Pharos ordered as he let out a sigh.
"Feeling merciful, Death?" The Reaper asked, noting the unusual trait.
"I merely want to avoid anything unnecessary," Pharos answered. "Their time will come eventually. After all, none escape the abyss that awaits them all."
"I see," The Reaper said, glancing at the streets below as dozens of shadows began to crawl out of Tartarus and into the city. "I think your sisters would enjoy this. Should we summon them as well?"
Pharos groaned as he shook his head, "Please no, I don't have the energy to deal with them physically or mentally."
As Pharos and The Reaper continued to banter, Makoto's eyes fixated on the nearby bridge; the bridge where his life had changed forever. It was there that he was born from pain and despair brought by the foundation that he and Inheritor shared. Even still, it was not until a few years later he adopted the name "Makoto Yuki."
Makoto sighed and watched the streets below as that day began to replay in his mind.
Years earlier
The young boy named Minato Arisato sat on the floor in front of the TV. He had been living with his maternal uncle for the past two years now and today was his ninth birthday; the second year anniversary of his family's death.
To make things worse, Minato had learned the hard way that there was a reason why his mother did not ever mention her side of the family before. From what little he had been able to gather, apparently his mother had run off or something to be with his father; a decision that her family seemed to hold against her and (unfortunately for him) Minato as well.
"Today's the anniversary, right?" A man with grey-ish eyes and dark blue hair said as he leaned into the sofa and sipped his glass of alcohol.
Minato nodded as he continued to look at the TV, "Yes, uncle Kazama."
"Two years, huh," Kazama chuckled to himself, "and to think, that's how long I've been keeping this little mirror around."
"Mirror…?" Minato looked back at his uncle confused.
"Kid, you have my side of the family's hair and your eyes are a couple shades of way from being exactly like mine," He explained with a sigh. "Your sister look like that too?"
Minato looked down at the mention of her and let out a weak, "yes."
"Pf, don't get down like that." Kazama groaned, "Then again, you're probably the reason all of it happened too."
"What?" Minato looked up again, the mere mention of the idea causing his heart to sink and guilt to already well up.
"Well, it's just a theory of mine," Kazama said as he took another sip of his beverage. "See, you were born not too long after your mother ran off and married your father. That got me wondering, 'did she run off because she ended up getting pregnant with those two?'"
Kazama shrugged, "And they were on that bridge because they were coming home from your birthday party, right? Then if I'm right, then that means that they'd still be around if you and your sis were never born, huh?"
Minato looked down with his eyes wide open as that idea quickly became the only thing he could think of. Not only was her death all because of him, but now his parent's might have been his too?!
No…
No…
No, he was to blame for many things but was not responsible for that! They would have been just fine if… if…
"Kid, move over. You're blocking the screen." Kazama ordered, acting as if nothing had ever happened. "C'mon, it's just a theory. No need to get so worked up over—"
"You're wrong."
Minato stood up and walked towards his uncle, stopping only when they were maybe half a meter away from each other, "if I was never born, they'd still be still be alive… and so would you."
Minato looked up and his eyes began to glow a dim blue, "Thanatos."
Before Kazama could understand what was happening, he felt chains wrap around his throat before tightly constricting around it.
The man gripped the chains with chains with his hands, desperately trying to free himself as he struggled with the chains. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing could break free from the grip of the monster growling behind him.
Kazama clawed at his chains and throat as he struggled to breath. He reached out to the boy standing still in front of him, "Mi… na… to…"
"No," the boy shook his head. "Minato died with his family two years ago. From now on, you may call me Makoto Yuki."
Makoto chuckled, "Did you know that name can be interpreted as 'true courage,' uncle?" Makoto smiled to himself, unfazed by the sight in front of him, "But you don't know enough of what happened to understand the irony of that, do you?"
Makoto shook his head as he stood a step back, "Goodbye, uncle."
Kazama continued to struggle as the chains began to fasten their grip until a loud snap filled the room and he went completely limp.
Thanatos faded away as did the chains. No one would think a nine year old boy would have enough strength to kill a grown man. All he would have to say is that he was napping, called the police, and then he would be escorted somewhere else without any suspicion of being responsible.
"What are you going to do now?" Makoto turned to the direction of the voice and saw the same figure that had occasionally shown up ever since his family died.
"I'm done pretending to move on," Makoto answered. "I can't do it. I refuse to live knowing that the ones who caused you and everything else to happen get walk away!"
"So it's a quest for revenge?" The 'boy' asked.
"Revenge, justice, I don't care." Makoto turned to the ghostly figured with his eyes beginning to glow again in response to his emotional state. "They deserve to know all the pain I've felt. I won't let them get away with this!"
"You cannot do this on your own," the figure pointed out. "I can help you, if you wish."
"You already have," Makoto said, glancing at his uncle's body. This death was nothing to Makoto; he and his uncle were blood, but they were not family.
"But if you wish to make up for what you did, then fine." Makoto tilted his head, "what do I call you, though?"
"Hmm…," the figure hummed for a moment before responding, "You may call me Pharos."
"All right then," Makoto said as he nodded and raised his hand, "so are ready to help me find those that did this?"
Pharos nodded and shook the boy's hand, "It's the least I can do. Everyone who has or will make you suffer will pay dearly."
Hideout
"Do you think that his other side will be able to help us?" Mitsuru asked, having heard Kotone's stories about her experiences with both Makoto and Minato.
"After last time, I don't know," Kotone shook her head. "It's at least something, right?"
Before anyone could say anything else, Fuuka who had been scanning with Juno ever since the Dark Hour settled gasped loudly.
"What is it, Yamagishi?!" Mitsuru asked, especially alert now more than ever with Makoto running about.
"I-It's The Reaper," Fuuka exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise.
"The Reaper…?" Ken repeated. One his first Tartarus expedition, he was warned by everyone to never stay on a floor for too long lest they feel the wrath of a powerful shadow.
"I thought that thing only stayed in Tartarus!" Junpei was the first to point out. It was rare for any shadow to come out of Tartarus, never mind something like The Reaper.
"That's not all! There's dozens of shadows too! They're ravaging the city!" Fuuka continued as the urgency of the situation set in.
"We can question why this is happening later," Mitsuru began to bark orders, "For now, we have to stop those shadows from killing any innocent people!"
Everyone quickly rushed to grab their weapons and Evokers as they bolted out of the door. It was not clear why this was happening, but they were ready for the fight of their lives.
…
…
But it was hardly a fight at all.
When they reached The Reaper, all of the shadows either blew themselves up or went down easier than even the ones on the lowest level of Tartarus.
The Reaper itself remained hard to take down, but it hardly fought either. It continued to rely mostly on its pistols and all of the shots seemed to conveniently miss. They landed close enough that the shots could have been fatal if the shadow aimed a little better.
There were so many close calls during the fight… too many.
"Wait, wait…" Kotone ordered everyone as she stood in front of the Reaper. "Don't attack it anymore."
"Tch, foolish girl," The Reaper taunted as it aimed at the redhead, "you will be the first to die."
"Kotone, what are you doing!" Yukari screamed as her friend, but the redhead only continued to hold her hand up to signal for them to stay.
"You're bluffing," Kotone said as she locked eyes with The Reaper. "I've faced you before. You've been holding back this entire time."
"Is that what you think," The Reaper laughed, "What? Because I missed a few shots? You do remember that I'm shooting at moving targets with one eye, yes?"
"That didn't stop you that time you shot Minato when we went to save Fuuka," Kotone said, remembering the first time she saw Makoto's seemingly remarkable ability to heal. "Before that was the time you completely decimated us with just a few spells, yet now you've gotten oddly restrictive."
"Keep thinking that as I kill you," The Reaper replied.
"By all means, take the shot," Kotone urged, silently changing her persona to one that is resistant to piecing attacks just in case her hunch is wrong.
The Reaper remained aiming at Kotone for several moments before chuckling, "Hehe, I like you."
The shadow lowered its weapon and remained hovering in the air, "You are correct, I am under express orders not to end either of your lives. I was hoping to keep you in the dark, but it would seem I underestimated you. No matter, my role is still complete. Now, it is time that you fulfill yours."
With that, The Reaper brought one of its pistols to its head and pulled the trigger, causing it to fade away.
"What the hell just happened?" Junpei asked.
"It means this is a trap," Kotone answered immediately. "We need to get back to the hideout right now!"
It was not hard to understand what she was beginning to imply. Was this all just a trick so that they would be away from their hideout? In that case, what was happening now that they were away?
Running back in a panic, they quickly ran back as fast as they could to the building they had been using as their hideout, only to discover…
… It was completely fine.
"Um, didn't you say it was a trap?" Fuuka asked, both confused and relieved that nothing so far has happened.
"Then what was that shadow talking about?" Mitsuru asked, as confused as everyone else was. "Could it have been lying?"
Junpei let out a relieved laugh, "Man that was scary! Pf, teaches you to believe a shadow, am I right?" He asked, relieved that Kotone's paranoia did not seemed to be justified.
"Your kind is so predictable."
As if on cue, Makoto jumped from the building behind them and stood between them and their hideout. Everyone's hearts sank as they realized what had just happened…
"So this is where you've been." Makoto turned to look at the building before looking back at SEES, "Thank you for leading us to it."
As soon as Pharos' sentence was over, a large purple-ish X began to form with the building at its center. In a sudden flash of light, the building had been reduced to nothing more than mere ashes. Not even a cloud of dust could be seen after the attack.
"H-He just…" Ken took a step back as his face paled, feeling a terror he had not felt ever since he watched his mother died all those years ago.
"H-How… How did…" Kotone's voice was trembling with the rest as Makoto stood there motionless.
"I am a god and he is the chosen prince," Death answered, "ordering shadows around like lapdogs is child's play."
Death began to laugh, "My, looks like we have plenty of time before the Dark Hour ends. Not to mention, I don't think you have many to sacrifice. You could run now if you want, but I'll always follow until your legs can't carry you anymore."
The two white glowing orbs began to reform in the mask's black sockets as Makoto glared at SEES,"So what's it going to be? Fight and die? Or run and die a little later?"
Well that didn't work out.
Oh shit.
Oh yes...
Achoo! I was supposed to wait until Friday to discuss the events of this chapter with my co-author—
Who unblocked him...
Makoto, shut up. Anyway, I was supposed to do that since I didn't really have any good ideas of what to do, but fuck it, I'm sick with a fever, muscle aches, etc. I need SOMETHING to do!
