Chapter 36: A New Problem.
September 15th, 2017
"So… that's what happened?" Morgana asks as the rest of the Thieves sit in silence. "You managed to beat Jin and Takaya, but they vanished before you could fully stop them. And then you fought against Ryoji, only to learn that the moon itself was Nyx. And then we went inside Nyx and vanished alongside the Dark Hour?"
"Pretty much." Shinjiro replies, nodding his head. "Then to add insult to injury, we forgot everything that happened during the Dark Hour the moment it vanished. The only ones who didn't forget were Minako, Minato, and Aigis."
"But… you did eventually remember, right?" Haru asks. "I mean, you clearly do if you told us what happened during those times."
"We did. Eventually." Yukari replies, brushing her hair back. "And it was on the same day we all agreed to meet up as well. Minako and Minato were almost quick to tears when we all remembered."
"So were you Yukari!" Minako remarks, playfully shoving her as the team erupt into subdued laughter. "But even though everyone remembered, there was still one thing that they didn't know." She and Minato let out long sighs while Aigis glanced off to the side. Letting out a lone tear from her eye, thanks to the upgrades Mitsuru hade given her. The same upgrades that Labrys and now Isara and Sophia had in their bodies.
"What do you mean?" Makoto asks, seeing the sadness take them as the rest of the S.E.E.S let out a simultaneous sigh.
"You see, for all that time we believed that you had all returned to your time after stopping Nyx. Yet… that was the farthest from the truth that it could possibly be." Mitsuru tells them, letting out a long sigh. "And even though Minato, Minako, and Aigis knew the truth, they refused to tell us."
"Huh?" Ann replies, blinking in shock as she looks at the three. "Why didn't you?"
"Because it hurt too much to tell at the time." Minato replies, shaking his head. "Seeing everyone believe that you had all gone back to your own time… none of us had the strength to shatter that illusion. But… it was soon taken out of our hands when we got to the end of March." She shakes his head, looking at all of them as his eyes narrow. "When we found ourselves in the Abyss of time."
March 31st, 2010.
The calm ringing of a mobile phone echoes on the 2nd floor of Iwatodai Dorms. Fuuka, standing next to the window, was gazing out at the outside, waiting for it to be picked up until the ringing stopped.
"Hello?" Yukari's voice echoes from the other side, eliciting a small smile on Fuuka's face.
"Hey, Yukari. It's me." Fuuka greets warmly as she looks out at the passing vehicles outside. "I was just wondering if you were coming today?"
"Oh… sorry, but I can't make it. I thought I left a message on the board downstairs mentioning how I have cram school today. It must have fallen off, since I was in a rush."
"I know… we saw it. But… I couldn't help but ask since… you know." She trails off, looking out the window as she rests a hand on it. "Akihiko and Shinjiro can't make it either, and I was hoping you would be able to. Minako as well."
"Yeah… I hoped so as well." Yukari replies with a frown evident by the tone of her voice. "But I already left my stuff at the Dorm, so there's no need for me to be there in person, right? Even if I really wanted to be there."
"I suppose not…" Fuuka agrees, shaking her head.
"Can you tell Mina I'm sorry that I can't make it, and tell everyone that I said hi? My break is almost over, so I have to go soon."
"I will. By Yukari. I hope we can meet up again soon."
"Same here. Bye." And with that, the call goes dead with Fuuka putting her phone away. With a heavy sigh, she heads up to the command room where Mitsuru, Junpei, Ken, Koromaru, Minako, and Minato were waiting. And on the table were their Evoker's and Koromaru's Evoker collar. All of them displaying various marks of wear and tear.
"Did you managed to call Yukari?" Minako asks, tilting her head.
"I did, but cram school is holding her back. She won't be able to make it." Fuuka replies, sitting herself down heavily next to Minato. "She's sorry that she can't make it, and says hi."
"I see…" Minako replies, letting out a sigh. "Well, I can't be mad at her. It's just bad timing is all."
"I'm surprised that Akihiko-san is still training at the gym." Ken remarks, leaning forward. "Did he say why, Mitsuru-san?"
"He told me it's so he can focus on becoming a police officer." Mitsuru replies, brushing her hair to the side. "And that he has a sudden match coming up. He was honestly not happened that he was dragged away like this."
"It's the same with Shinjiro and his cram school." Minato replies, shaking his head. "Well, he did say that he needed to catch up so he couldn't really pass on it."
"Man talking about bad luck." Junpei remarks, shaking his head. "This is the last day before this Dorm closes down! Something must really hate us, huh? Especially with all the memories we've made here." Koromaru lets out a whine as Ken pats him on the head while Mitsuru lets out a sigh.
"It is what it is." She replies, her arms folded. "And it is up to us to chose our own paths from here on out. We can't deny them that. Besides, I can hardly blame them myself. Things have been getting busier even since my father stepped down and made me leader of the Group. If I didn't have to come out to reclaim these, I probably wouldn't have come myself."
"About that, why are you taking them in Mitsuru?" Minako asks, looking at her Evoker. "Won't we need them when Shido arrives? Or if something else comes up that needs Persona users?"
"It is precisely that reason that I need to take them back in." Mitsuru replies, grabbing her Evoker. "We have used them extensively over the past year, not counting the vicious fights we have encountered. They are needed maintenance and possible part replacement. It would not do to have them break when we need them most."
"That's fair." Minato replies, before his eyes fall on something else. "But what about those?" Everyone turns their eyes to the other objects lying on the table. Objects that held a lot of value to them. Seven smartphones, a slim customised laptop, a yellow scarf, and a probation diary. The only things lefts behind by the Phantom Thieves.
"We are to keep them with us. Even if we have no use for them, it would be a disservice to their memory to forget about them." Mitsuru replies, reaching down and grabbing Haru's phone. "That… and someone needs to remember that they were here."
"Ain't that true?" Junpei replies as he looks over the items before raising an eyebrow. "Hold up… isn't there something missing?" At that comment, the door to the lounge opens with Aigis stepping inside. Dressed in her blue dress as she holds on to a card in her right hand. Before gently resting it on top of the table.
"I believe this is the last item of their existence." Aigis replies, her eyes locked on the Calling Card for Ryoji.
"Aigis-san? You've been holding on to it this entire time?" Ken asks, surprise visible in his eyes.
"Yes… to remember them. And Ryoji-kun." Aigis replies, her face unchanging as she looks at the Card. Something that everyone followed as they all looked at the items before them.
"I wonder how they are doing right now?" Fuuka replies, hands grasping. "Have they already started their journey again?" Minako and Minato look away, hiding the winces that they fought to show.
"Maybe. Wonder if they already took care of Kamoshida already?" Junpei remarks, glancing up at Minato. "You've read Ren's journal, right Minato? That's what they would deal with first, yeah?"
"Yeah." Minato replies, looking at the book before picking it up. He had read through it numerous times when they found it left behind in Ren and Makoto's room. Along with their phones and Morgana's yellow scarf. Or spare scarf anyway. "Just reading about what they went through… it makes me want to help them even more."
"Still, I wish we had a proper chance to say goodbye." Ken remarks, shaking his head. "They just vanished on us the moment we beat Nyx. Just… what happened up there when they left us?"
"I don't think it's worth speculating on what happened or the reason for their disappearance." Aigis tells Ken gently as Koromaru rubs his head against his knee. "The only thing I feel certain of… is that they wouldn't have blamed any of us for what happened. At least, I know Minato and Minako wouldn't have." Minato and Minako glance at each other before nodding back in response.
"Yeah… you are absolutely right Aigis." Minako tells her before letting out a smile. "You know, I'm surprised at how you've handled this since then, Aigis. Although… you haven't been as emotive recently."
"Yes…" Aigis replies looking at her hands and grasping them. "My emotions have been… strange recently. I am hoping to find a solution for it when I return to the lab." That got everyone apart from Mitsuru blinking at Aigis in surprise.
"The lab?" Minato asks, hand on chin. "Does that mean you won't join us for the next semester?" Aigis nods back at him, her eyes half closed as she lets out a sigh.
"I am afraid so. I have been feeling strange recently, and I fear that something is wrong inside me. That is why I decided to return to the lab for extensive maintenance. I… do not know how long I will be going under. It is possible that these problems are… permanent."
"But we can still visit you, right" Fuuka asks, glancing at Mitsuru who nods back at her.
"Of course you can. Everyone her has permission to visit the lab whenever they want. Just… be prepared for a lot of searching when you arrive." Mitsuru warns them as she looks out the window. "Anyway, we seem to have gotten off track. I didn't mean for this to be a sad occasion. I've ordered top quality sushi for us all. The kind that Morgana would no doubt love."
"I bet he would eat up all the Fatty Tuna with no shame." Junpei cracks with a smile. Managing to earn chuckles from everyone except Aigis who only manages a small smile. Her emotional systems trying to reflect what everyone was displaying, but only in a subdued fashion.
Evening soon rolled in as the team watch the news broadcast on the TV. On the table, two large empty dishes that once housed sushi lay bare as the team sat in silent contempt. Today may be their last day here, but they would leave with smiles no matter what.
"The number of Apathy Syndrome cases is down from last month, continuing a trend set in February, which seems to mark an end to the strange sickness. In spite of this, surveys have strongly suggested that the public's everyday stress levels remain high. According to an investigation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare…"
"Just like what they said… no more new cases since February." Minato comments with a smile as he hugs Fuuka who leans into him. "I just wish they were here to celebrate with us."
"We can't have everything, bro. Let's just accept the things we can get." Minako tells him, her eyes not leaving the TV as Junpei takes out his phone before his eyes widen at the time.
"Woah!? When did it get so late!? It's almost midnight!" He calls out before shaking his head with a grin. "Hah… almost felt myself jumping up to get my gear on for a sec… man does muscle memory last."
"Hard to believe that time passed by so quickly without doing anything." Mitsuru remarks, letting herself lean into the couch. "I suppose just siting here with all of you just reminded me of times when all of us were here."
"I think I know what you mean, Mitsuru." Fuuka replies with a smile. "I have so many memories of this lounge that I find myself wanting to come back to it." She looks back at the TV, letting out a soft giggle to herself. "I still remember Morgana sleeping on the TV as his tail flicked over the screen."
"Hah! And then Ryuji threw a book at him to stop, and the two got into a fight!" Junpei adds, shaking his head with a smile. "Then Minato, Minako, AND Ren all came down on the both of them! That was so funny!"
"You want a repeat of that then?" Minako asks as she and Minato look at him, shutting Junpei up as he holds his hands up in defence before the two twins laugh at him.
"Still, it's the same with me. When I'm here, I can't help but reminisce on those days." Ken adds, leaning backwards. "It's funny since… Well, the things that happened back then we're exactly pleasant."
"Still, something is bothering me." Minato suddenly comments, grabbing everyone's attention. "It feels like… something is off about the here and now. Just by watching everyone else around me, it's like the words that Takaya and Jin went spreading around has never truly left." He lets out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "Is this really the world that we almost died to protect?"
"It really does take the wind out of everything we did." Minako agrees, kicking her feet. "It's like, everything we sacrificed doesn't even matter."
"It's out of our hands, I'm afraid." Mitsuru replies, shaking her head. "We may have prevented the Fall, but there's only so much we can do to reform society. And unless we figure out how Cognitive Psience works and access the Metaverse, we have no ability to copy Ren and the others."
"We truly are powerless as of now…" Aigis comments, looking back at the TV. Watching as the reported called out the time as the day saw set to carry on without incident.
"…And that's all for the weather. At the tone, the time will be 12 AM."
But it was then that something happened, as a pule rippled out through the Dorm. A pulse that everyone felt as they all jumped to their feet in alarm.
"What as that!?" Ken asks, looking around the room. Koromaru lets out a bark as his fur stands on end while everyone else felt their body tense up.
"It was right at midnight… No way. Is the Dark hour back!?" Fuuka asks in a panic, hands flying to her mouth.
"I don't think so. The TV is still on and there's no green glint." Minako replies, motioning to the news. Fuuka lets out a sigh of relief as the tension in the room filters out for a moment.
"Good evening. It is now March 31st. Here are the latest news reports…"
"Huh?" Everyone asks as one. Not believing what their ears had just heard as Junpei pulls out his phone.
"The 31st just ended, didn't it?" Aigis, eyes blink in bewilderment. "Did the newscaster read the date wrong?"
"If they did, then my phone has done the same thing." Junpei remarks, rubbing the back of his head as all eyes turn to him. "My phone is saying it's 12 AM on March 31st."
"Weird…" Ken comments, pulling out his phone to check the date. "My phone says March 31st as well."
"Why do I suddenly have a sinking feeling about this?" Minako asks, shaking her head with a groan. "It's getting late. How about we call it a night and pray that it's just our nerves from the Dark Hour?" She lets out a sigh, leaning on one foot. "I know we all wanted to leave on high spirits, but we can't do that like this."
"In that case, my I return to my room?" Aigis asks the team, resting a hand on her chest. "I have preparations to make for the move tomorrow." The team let her as Aigis bows to them before returning to her room. But as she tried to fall asleep at her station, Aigis couldn't feel the need to come to her. This hard started recently as well, when her emotions started to become dulled after holding up the pain and loss she felt from the death of the Thieves.
And how that, apart from Minako and Minato, everyone around her believed that they went back to their own time. And she couldn't understand why. Was it a coping mechanic, or were they in denial? Either way, she could not bear the pain she felt, even when Minako and Minato comforted her in private. But then, all of a sudden, that all vanished along with her need to sleep. And it left her confused and afraid about herself.
"It's not use. I can't sleep…" Aigis bemoans as she sits up in her chair. Around her ammo crates and additional armour sat on the floor as she stands up. "Can I really go on living like this? What would all of you have done if you were me?" She lets out a sigh, shaking her head just as a blue butterfly floats past her. The same one they saw back on the 1st of January when Lavenza visited them. "Lady Lavenza?" The butterfly floats around Aigis before landing gently on her shoulder before vanishing, just as the entire building was hit by an earthquake. "What's going on!?"
"Aigis! Are you awake?!" Fuuka's voice calls out on the other said before she suddenly opens the door. "Come quick! We need you!"
"Has something happened?" Aigis asks, feeling her internal weapons coming online.
"It's hard to describe. The lobby floor suddenly opened up, and… Anyway, we need to hurry to the lounge!" While confused, Aigis nods as she follows after Fuuka to the lower floor. Only to find the place a complete mess. Where the table once stood was now a giant door that had been opened up with stairs leading down. The doors itself were held in place by chains But it was the figure standing over Minato and the others who had attentions. As well as the ruined furniture and marks along the wall.
"Be careful, Aigis!" Minako shouts as the strange figure turns to look at her. "Whatever it is, it's not human!" But Aigis didn't register Minako's words as she took on the figure's form with unbelieving eyes. While she did have blue hair and a human head hidden behind a red mask with a golden pattern on it, connected to a gladden headband, it was the rest of her body that shocked Aigis. She looked exactly like her, except with a jet black dolour scheme and a metallic skirt with black feather like pieces. Along with a solid golden hammer in her right hand, with her right arm covered in a shite leave that resembled her own arm. With a stylised shield over her right wrist, matching her visor and top of her skirt.
"A Shadow…?" Fuuka asks as she stands behind Aigis, her eyes drifting to Minato as he lies crumbled against the wall. Holding his arm with a grimace.
"No… she's…" Aigis starts, with the words dying in her mouth. "Impossible! You're just like me!?"
"You're… Aigis." The intruder states. "I'm Metis. I've come to protect you. From them." Metis looks over her shoulder at the wounded members of S.E.E.S, her expression hidden by her visor. "These people pose a threat to you. Therefore, I will eliminate them."
"What are you saying!?" Aigis shouts back, for once, her emotional systems working properly for a change. "I won't let you hurt them!" With that, she takes aim with her finger guns and opens fire at Metis. But the rounds easily bouncer off Metis's body as she shakes her head.
"Then I have no choice. I can't let you interfere. It's for your own good! Psyche! Brave Blade!" Everyone's eyes widen in shock as behind Metis a Persona forms into being with a flowing whitish yellow gown with flowers around the waist. The upper body nothing but the wooden structure of a mannequin doll while the arms, being nothing but gloves the same colour as the dress floated at the sides. While her face was a red mask, the front of which was curled up like the long mouth of a butterfly, with fitting large wings extending off from the side. All coloured red with black detail.
"A Persona!?" Fuuka cries out, ducking behind the wall as Aigis dodges the attack. While the wall behind her suddenly found itself with a new gash. "How is she able to summon one!?"
"Pallas Athena! Primal Force!" Aigis calls out as Pallas Athena forms beside her. How this was happening outside the Dark Hour, she could ask later as she watches her attack slam into Metis. Only for it to do nothing as she gasps in shock. Metis, seeing the advantage, rushes forward to hit Aigis with her mace only for Aigis to duck out of the way and fight back with Akasha Arts. The attack catches Metis by surprise as she is forced back from Aigis. Her feet scraping against the carpet.
"You're stronger… than I thought…" Metis admits as she looks up at Aigis. "So it's come to this… Orgia Mode. Activate." As everyone around her gasp in shock, Metis is suddenly encased in a purple aura as her mask glows a bright orange. With four dark purple wings emerging from her back. Then, moving at speeds that caught Aigis of guard, Metis slams her golden hammer into Aigis. Knocking her into the wall and severely damaging her internally. Before she quickly spins around and slams Ken into the wall. Holding him up by the throat as she readied herself to end his life. "All threats must be eliminated…"
As Aigis lay there, her body not responding to her commands, her vision starts to glitch out as her world starts to go dark. Feeling herself slip into the arms of unsoundness. Helpless to do anything, but watch as everyone rush forward to stop Metis from killing Ken. Helpless and useless…
…just like when the Thieves sacrificed themselves.
Are you going to let this happen again, Aigis?
If Aigis could gasp, she would have at the voice echoing in her mind. It sounded so familiar, so comforting. Like a reassuring wall that was there to support her. But… it couldn't have been… could it?
Who…? No… I won't! I won't let this happen again!
At her call, she could hear the voice chuckling in a dark amused tone. Yet, she did not feel intimidated or scared at all. Instead… she felt relief?
All right then. It's Showtime!
At that call, Aigis found herself standing up despite her power levels fluctuating as she felt herself calling Pallas Athena. The act grabbing everyone's attention as they all look at Aigis in either shock or confusion. But the moment Pallas Athena was formed, she then broke out into fracture as blue flames rushed through the gaps before exploding into a ball of blue fire. As a demonic laughter echoed around the room as a face of fire formed inside the blaze.
Soon, the blaze began to take on a form. A form that to any of them would be instantly recognisable. With a pair of wings that were as dark as night but tinged with a hint of blue, wearing a red gentlemen suit over a black vest and white cravat and boots with daggers for heels. A long black top hat that extended to the very ceiling and two long dark horns made of darkness. And a face that reminded everyone of a lost companion.
"Arsène?" Minato asks, he eyes not believing what he and everyone else were seeing. But there was no denying what they were seeing. It truly was Arsène floating behind Aigis, but his face looked different. "How is this possible?" Minato asks, shaking his head as he looks closer at Arsène face.
Underneath that cloud of darkness that shrouded his visage, Arsène face looked just like Ren's.
As for Metis, she dropped Ken to the floor as she charged forward towards Aigis, but Arsène would not let her as he unleashed a swarm of black and blue feathers at Metis. Each feather battering away at her as her charge was halted in her tracks, knocking her out of Orgia Mode and damaging her systems. Eventually, Arsène halts his attacks as Metis collapses to her knees, her visor retracting to reveal a face that looked almost like Aigis's face but with red eyes.
And it was the last thing Aigis saw before she fell to the floor unconscious.