Chapter 14 - Answers, and More Questions

"You want me to what?"

The sky seemed to stand still.

"I...so soon? Really?" she asked as she stood up. "But why?"

The clouds began moving again, and the air blew through her.

"I understand. But... I thought it would have been best if we held it off till the very end..."

The air swelled around her, to her back and her front.

"Are you certain about this?" I asked him. He answered me silently. I sighed then, "Okay."

The others continued the game. They were close to ending today's session. It was a boss battle, the very first actual boss of the game. It took an unimaginable amount of time to reach this point, but they did it.

She texted them then.

5/9 - Sat
Dark Hour
Full Moon

To be honest, yes, they were putting Persona fusion off. Though not consciously.

Obviously they'd have some reservations about doing what Minato had spent pretty much all his free time on. But they all came to the conclusion that the more powerful Personas they'd be able to fuse, the quicker they'd be able to storm through the rest of the game.

But they'd arranged a party together. Orpheus. Jack Frost. Forneus. Pixie. Angel. Some were from Fusion. Others were obtained from Tartarus. None of them were thinking about it as hard as they should've been. They just wanted this to be over.

"Hey, Mitsuru-senpai."

"Yes?"

"I was just thinkin'...do corpses sink when you put them underwater?"

"What the-why would you ask that?"

"I just gotta verify something."

"What, did you murder someone, and are now currently looking for a way to dispose of the body?"

"No! God, no, just-research purposes, you know?"

She nodded, eyes narrow, "Right."

"So do they?"

"I never threw a corpse into an ocean. Why would you think I know something like that?"

"You know a lot of stuff, you're super smart! I mean, I figured you might know...!"

"I don't!" she was laughing now, half disbelieving this conversation was even happening.

"They don't," Aigis cut in.

"What?"

"Corpses become buoyant when submerged in large bodies of water. If they sink, then they are still alive."

Junpei's hands slammed down upon the coffee table in front of him, and all of a sudden, he's ten again, bearing witness to Sephiroth stabbing Aeris' right through the spine. As his mind's eye turned to the scene where Cloud allowed her body to descend to the bottom of the sea, the bellow that escaped out his throat sounded more like the roar of a beast than the cries of a man.

"Get a grip," said Yukari.

"Wait, did you kill someone?" asked Akihiko.

"No, just...," Junpei held his cap over his eyes and took several deep breaths. "Never mind."

Yukari, shaking her head, turned to Aigis, "You're just breezing through these scenes, aren't you?"

"I boosted my information processor to the point where it could absorb as much in-game text as possible, so as to propel us to the boss faster."

Junpei stammered then, "Y-you couldn't do that earlier?"

"Whoever this person watching us is, they want us to pay attention to all plot and gameplay-critical information. Since the few days before this were spent mainly on interaction with Social Links, I felt it fine to breeze through the dialogue. The caller didn't object thus far, so it seems acceptable."

Junpei blinked. "O-okay." And he took the controller off her hands. It felt heavy again, in his greasy palms.

[Akihiko: You're still at it?]

[Mitsuru: Yeah. You never know when the enemy might appear.]

[Akihiko: But, I thought you couldn't scan outside of Tartarus?]

Mitsuru's cutout looked rather unsure of herself, a sight rarely seen by her compatriots even now. [Mitsuru: To be honest, I lack the power... Maybe this is the best Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering. Although, the power of Persona seems to be much broader than I thought.] Cutout turned determined. [We've even got someone who can switch Personas in the middle of battle. There's something special about his ability. It hasn't been that long since his awakening, either.]

Akihiko smiled. [Akihiko: I have to admit, I was surprised too. But in the end, it's up to him whether or not he can reach his full potential.]

There was much that Junpei had come to regret about himself, after everything was said and done. As much as he'd changed since 2009, there were still bits and pieces of the person he was before that would rear up every now and again.

Recklessness. Talking even when no one would listen. General idiocy and ignorance. He was much better at managing the worse aspects of his character, of course, but still. He'd hate it when he'd go blindly rushing in to things, carried by pure emotion alone.

There had been so much wrong with him then, and there was still so much wrong with him now, but hell. There was no stopping this, and even if it would end everything he thought he knew about Minato, he had to see it through to the end.

[Mitsuru: Huh...? It's a Shadow!]

[Akihiko: What!? You actually found one!?]

[Mitsuru: Wait, something's not right. The reading is too big. We've never encountered anything like-]

[Akihiko: You mean, it's one of those!?]

[Mitsuru: ...It must be.]

"You know, you never really spoke to me that much about the Shadows you fought before I joined," said Fuuka.

"Didn't we?" asked Yukari. "Pretty sure we did...or maybe I just don't remember."

"Maybe I'm the one with the faulty memory. Considering what it was like to fight them, I guess I can understand why you'd be so hesitant to talk about it."

Yukari shook her head, "Do I really have to play this...?"

Junpei then cut in, "Honestly, you were gonna have to, sooner or later."

"Are you sure? I never really played games before. Hell, I don't even remember going to an arcade..."

"Where'd Minato even take you, when you both went out together for a while?"

"Eating places. The strip mall. Clothing stores. Y'know, stuff a girl would like."

"Man, I remember how you looked down on us for our hobbies. Now look at us..."

"Well forgive me for failing to consider that this kind of situation could ever happen!"

[Yukari: We're here!]

[Junpei: Where is it!? I'll rip it a new one!]

[Mitsuru: We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus. We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs.]

Jockeying for more favor, Junpei cried out, [Junpei: In other words, we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!]

To which Yukari sighed, [Yukari: Junpei...]

"You alright?"

"Hmm?" asked Junpei.

Yukari paused for a little. "I mean...you remember what happened-"

"Yeah. I do," he sighed.

Her lips pursed. "Alright. If ever you wanna pass it to me, I'll..."

"Well, we do have to alternate turns," he shrugged. "Guess when we get to the boss, we'll just figure out who does what."

Truth be told, Yukari was still quite hesitant to play. It was all so...repulsive, in its own way. But try as she might, there was little she could do when she saw such a sad look cross Junpei's face.

As much as she may rag on Junpei even now, even she understood how much he was forcing himself to finish all this. If there was any comfort she could offer, perhaps all she needed to do was carry that burden with him. Finally see what the hell she was missing all this time...

[Mitsuru: Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman.]

Akihiko's cutout widened his eyes. [Akihiko: Wha-!? Are you kidding!? I'm going!]

[Mitsuru: You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance.

[Akihiko: Tch!]

[Mitsuru: They'll fare better than you, in your current state. Have faith in them, Akihiko... They're ready. You'll get your chance. But for now, wait for the Chairman.]

[Akihiko: ... Dammit...] This was the most they'd seen him downtrodden.

[Junpei: Relax! I've got it covered!] exclaimed Junpei.

And Akihiko just gestured to Minato. [Akihiko: I guess I've got no choice... You're in charge.]

[Junpei: Him again...?]

Mitsuru turned to Minato. [Mitsuru: We're counting on you...]

{I'll do my best.}

{I can't...}

{Why me?}

2

You're kidding us.

[Mitsuru: Yes, you can. You've done fine until now, right?]

[Junpei: Heh, looks like you're stuck playin' leader again... Sucks to be you.]

Minato had always been so headstrong.

Dashing into fights, attending multiple clubs, befriending so many people. Nothing Minato had ever done spoke of insecurity or fear or all the things hormonal teenagers are supposed to feel. He'd done everything right to the point where it creeped Junpei out whenever it didn't piss him off. Of course he was able to attract the attention of virtually every girl who came his way-he was a confident guy who'd never once showed any sign of weakness.

In his own way, he was perfect. That's why Messiah had been so...fitting a Persona for him in the first place.

I was so...jealous of him. "Was Minato always so...insecure?" asked Junpei.

"No...no, he wasn't," said Yukari. "I don't ever remember him being this timid..."

"Maybe he was," Mitsuru cut in. A dour look in her red eyes. "Maybe all this time, he was."

"I have a theory...," said Fuuka then. "What if this is what Minato had been thinking to himself, the whole time?"

"You think so?" asked Junpei. "He just...never told us...?"

"The choices laid out before us might have been all just options within Minato's head. O-or so it seems," says Fuuka.

"Maybe the bravery was all a front," said Akihiko.

"That can't be...," murmured Yukari. "Why would he feel the need to keep that from us?"

"I mean, it's only natural," he shrugged. "Especially considering what we know about him now..."

"I don't think I'd put it past him to put a brave face for us," sighed Mitsuru. "We'd put so much pressure on him at the time. And with these Social Links... he'd never even told us about them. Multiple Personas or no, it must have been stressful for him to juggle so many things at once."

"He rarely displayed physical signs of distress," Aigis noted. "Even in the heat of battle. He nearly always remained calm and collected."

"What was he like when he did display signs of distress...?" asked Junpei.

Aigis leaned in her seat, closing her eyes. Remembering the death of Shinjiro Aragaki, and how profoundly that had affected him. Remembering the revelation that Shuji Ikutsuki had betrayed them to Nyx. Remembering the confrontation with Ryoji Mochizuki at the Moonlight Bridge.

During the time Aigis' internal processes had allowed for her to develop emotions, she'd caught him once sitting alone at the dining table of the dormitory. He'd held his head in his hands and sat so still it seemed as though he'd turned to stone.

"...he'd just look so sad."

It was then that Junpei received a new text message. His eyes widened. "Guys."

Everyone leaned in.

I'll be at your door in a few minutes.
I'll tell you as much as I'm able to.

Approximately four minutes passed until everyone heard the door knock. The game was untouched. It didn't matter right now.

And Junpei treaded towards the door. Slowly. Surely. Hand on the knob.

He turned to everyone else. There was a fire in their eyes that Junpei'd only seen once before; the night before January 31.

He opened the door.

"Um...hello?"

And everyone was just too stunned to really say anything. Platinum blonde hair. Stark velvet blue dress. Large book in hand. Topaz eyes. The girl was far more beautiful than any of them could've conceived humanly possible. And they'd seen her from somewhere else.

"You're the girl from the Velvet Room!" cried Junpei, pointing at her.

At which point Elizabeth playfully slapped his hand away, "I believe it's quite rude to point. I've learned that much from all my time here."

"I remember you. The P-1 Grand Prix," said Aigis. "Wait. Not just from the Grand Prix, you were...!"

"I remember you, as well," smiled Elizabeth. "I remember all of you. You and your bonds with the man you knew as Minato Arisato have left an indelible impression upon me."

"After the Abyss of Time...," murmured Mitsuru. "I recall seeing you, at the side of Igor."

"Yes. After you defeated Erebus," Elizabeth nodded. "He was so very proud of all of you."

"Holy crap," laughed Junpei. "You don't know how good it feels to hear you say that, but..."

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "I know that you've had somewhat of an introduction with me through that game, but I'd like to make a formal greeting: my name is Elizabeth. I am a former attendant of the Velvet Room, and I served Master Minato Arisato in his tumultuous journey throughout the year of 2009."

Yukari's voice was more wary, because she wanted to dispense with the pleasantries already. "You sent us the game... why?"

Akihiko and Mitsuru steeled themselves. Ken and Koromaru kept themselves quiet. Fuuka decided she'll see where things go from here before butting in.

"Because you and I share the same goal. The man you know as Minato Arisato must be one day freed from the shackles of the Great Seal."

At that everyone's eyes widened. "This-this'll help him be free!?" cried Junpei.

"Finishing the game will do that!?" exclaimed Akihiko, rising from his seat.

"He does not think so. But I do. If only in some small way," she nodded, her expression unusually serious before bouncing back into a smile. "But you'll all have to let me explain. Please?"

Mitsuru folds her arms and shifts her left leg over her right. Leaning in her seat. "Very well. But first things first...what did you mean when you said you were a 'former attendant?'"

Elizabeth's smile and tone turn wistful, "I forsook my status as an attendant of the Room after the Great Seal was formed, and Erebus was kept at bay. Like I've said... I wish to see him freed from the Seal."

Mitsuru narrows her eyes, not out of distrust but out of curiosity. "What led you to seek his freedom? You'll have to pardon us for asking, but to be perfectly honest, we've only become aware of your...relations with Arisato fairly recently."

The woman's topaz eyes lit up, and her smile widened such that it spread from ear to ear. "It is quite a personal matter, oh my...," she chuckled and giggled and pus her hands over her cheeks. "He is...quite special to me. I'm certain you can understand."

Fuuka blushed. Yukari bristled. Mitsuru only allowed a raise of her brow, and Aigis just rubbed her hand to the back of her head.

The other guys decided not to intervene. Even they knew that when girls would rumble, things tended to get more chaotic than when guys did.

"Ooh, I really must compose myself," Elizabeth lightly slapped her face twice. "But back to the subject at hand...I would like to pose a question to all of you."

Mitsuru leans forward, everyone silent.

"How long do you think it will take for Minato Arisato to be freed from the Seal?"

And all at once, no one had an answer.

Of course. How could they determine such a time frame?

"From my own estimations...," Elizabeth mutters, "likely not in your lifetimes. Nor any other time soon."

And it was a bitter pill. A damningly bitter, horrible pill that everyone on the team's already taken.

"Because Minato Arisato gave his life to Seal away Nyx. Keeping Erebus at bay. It's doubtful either Nyx or Erebus will ever be destroyed; their existences are far beyond that of Personas and Shadows. Erebus will always claw at the Seal to try and reach Nyx, spurred on by humanity's desires for death. All you can do, and indeed all any of us can do...is hope our actions can ease his burden."

It takes everyone a minute to let this all settle in, and Aigis is the first to speak up. "We know this. We've known this for years. And we've been fighting, day and night, in the hopes that one day he will be freed. Even if we won't be there to see him again."

"All of us are fighting to ensure that happens. Here, and in every other world."

That makes everyone silent again. Except for Mitsuru. "Parallel universes..."

"Yes. Many kinds of worlds exist. And more often than not, most if not all things in these worlds remain the same. You could exist as an actual person, or be a character in a video game, or be a fictional thought someone would conjure up in a story. Perhaps even your names would be different, but the nature of who you are, and what you are, will remain virtually untouched. Except when it comes to the Wild Cards. These people exist on a level outside of space-time, outside the boundaries of what reality dictates ought to be splintered."

"Minato...existed outside of space and time."

Which was a ridiculous claim, Mitsuru knew. It was an idea that sounded ludicrous to everyone in the room. But they all knew that the game was... pretty much proof that anything could happen.

"To some extent, yes. You've encountered another one similar to him, yourselves; a boy with grey hair who also possesses the Wild Card."

Everyone's eyes lit up at the mention of that, and Mitsuru's the first to vocalize his name. "Narukami Yu."

"Precisely. Let me provide an illustration: we of the Velvet Room possess many different selves, across the different strata of reality, but we are all one. Many persons, one being. In much the same way are the Wild Cards, but they bear abilities that even we of the Room can only dream of. They possess the will and the power to shape the paths of their worlds with their decisions alone. And each of them have the capacity to, in some level, view all the consequences their choices make."

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed. "They can tell the future?"

"Somewhat. You've experienced this yourself, when it comes to loading the game to the last point you'd saved, haven't you?"

Junpei took that analogy to its logical conclusion. "Wait, you're saying Minato could time travel!?"

"He was not aware of this fact, not completely; but he and others like him possess the ability to revert themselves to a junction in their respective timelines and make completely new decisions from there. It is something they unconsciously will into action, perhaps out of a wish for a better future, or perhaps because they'd died and want to start over again. This action can and has in and of itself sprouted different timelines. Their memories of the previous timeline would often drift away, like a forgotten dream. But alas, again...for all their efforts to change things, there are some things that cannot be changed, no matter the circumstance."

Akihiko grunted. "Like Shinji...?"

Everyone turned to him. Mitsuru's brow furrowed in mourning, as she saw the stern look in Akihiko's eye. None else could say anything to console him. Ken in particular shirked, clutching at Koromaru.

Elizabeth knew she couldn't sugar coat this any longer. "The man you know as Minato Arisato never could rescue Shinjiro Aragaki. And he would try his very best, if ever he was aware of his death beforehand. In all timelines where Minato Arisato survives to the year 2009, Shinjiro Aragaki dies."

Akihiko's eyes widened then. "Wait. You're saying-?" He rose. "There's a timeline where Shinji survives!?"

"Many. But in those timelines, Minato Arisato is not there. Arisato dies in the accident that claims the lives of his parents, and another takes his place. A girl. And even then, it's a rare occurrence that Aragaki survives."

Yukari blinks. "A girl...?"

"She goes by many names. Minako Arisato. Hamuko Arisato. Hamuko Yuuki. Kotone Shiomi. Runako Gekkou. But she is like Arisato. In this timeline, and in every other timeline where Arisato survives to 2009, she dies in the incident that claims his parents' lives, on the Moonlight Bridge."

"This 'Igor' character says that the Wild Cards possess infinite possibilities...," muttered Ken, shaking his head. "But it seems their range is so limited."

"There is no contradiction here," Elizabeth says. "Some things will never change, no matter how we may want it to be so. Shinjiro Aragaki will die, more often than not. Shuji Ikutsuki will not be stopped until it is too late. Minato Arisato's parents will always die on the Moonlight Bridge, in 1999. But the freedom lies not in what is determined by fate, but what you choose to do afterwards. This is true even of yourselves. There are many timelines where Minato Arisato chose to kill Ryoji Mochizuki, ending your world."

Everyone was rendered silent by this. Until Junpei found it in himself to say, "That can't be..."

"Minato Arisato will always die, by the end of your story. But how he gets there...that is what changes. This is all undeniably so much to take in. But this is why it is so important this game be given to you. If nothing else, he wanted you to know and to understand."

"Understand what?"

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "How much you all meant to him. Because any word he could say to you...would never be enough."

It was Fuuka who asked the golden question. The one they'd all had on their minds. "Why have you been making us pick dialogue options we don't even remember him taking in the first place...?"

"Because he did make them. In various timelines. There is one thing I want to make clear before going forward, if even you want to go forward. Remember. Many persons. One being. Regular people's memories are constrained to their respective experiences, but Wild Cards are, in a sense...different from most."

"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" Mitsuru asked.

"All Minato Arisato's dialogue options, the ones you see in-game...those are the results of the various versions of himself, all across time, pressing upon his mind. Every single choice he's ever made in front of you. Imagine a million different versions of yourself...screaming at each other, in every choice you make."

Their eyes began to widen in realization. Some took it better than others. Junpei put a hand to his mouth. Mitsuru just leaned further back in her seat and Akihiko knotted his eyes. Fuuka wiped at her eyes, Yukari balling her hands into fists. Aigis didn't let anything show, and Ken just shifted a hand through his hair.

"After the Grand Prix, I'd internalized that I shouldn't just pay attention to the Wild Cards sprouting every which way. I ought to pay attention to those whom they bonded with as well. If I was to at least in some way determine a path towards his salvation, I could at least start there. I hope you'll all find it in yourselves to join me."

And with that, Elizabeth turned her tail and began leaving.

Yukari cried, "Wait, wait, you don't get to leave yet, we still have so many questions!"

"Here is where you make a choice. You can continue through with the game and see it to the very end. Even though you know where it will lead and what pain it may bring you. I will help you every step of the way if you wish. I've finished it forty four times," she smiled proudly, "and you can be certain I know every single inch, nook, and cranny of its digital world. Or... you can give the game back to me and continue living your lives. Doing your very best to unburden him in the here and the now."

"And how will finishing the game actually help free him?" cried Junpei then. "You said you think it'd help, but you haven't said why. So why?"

"Because for so long as someone wishes for death, Minato Arisato will shoulder their agony and feel the lashings of Erebus upon his very being. And though his soul is determined, though he has elevated himself beyond any of us here...how long do you think that will last?"

"What...?"

"Even if every human in the world ends up forsaking their wishes for death...if Minato Arisato were to end up feeling that pain himself, that would mean one more human that would allow Erebus to fester."

"Did he ask you to do this...?" asked Aigis.

"No. This was all of my own volition," she said. "In every world, there is a version of myself taking a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES, and all variations thereof, to other incarnations of yourselves. He did not want to burden you all with his thoughts and feelings and fears, but I understood one painful truth. Something that he understood as well but was unwilling to face, even until the very end."

"What truth?" Mitsuru stood up from her chair.

"You will all die," she said, her mouth a hard line. "Memento Mori. The people whose lives he'd sacrificed himself for will fade away. Generations will pass and he will be protecting and defending people who would never even know he existed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Perhaps one day the sun will die out, and Erebus and Nyx will be gone, and he won't have a world to go back to. He knew this, and every version of him that's sacrificed themselves have pressed onward as the Great Seal for you and your futures. Can't you imagine?"

None could say anything to that at all. None could bear the weight of an answer.

Elizabeth, a former attendant of the Velvet Room, meant to be unbound by the biological constraints of normal humans, wiped her eyes because they'd gotten watery. Then she left.

a/n:

Guess who's back, back again

Sorry if this was poorly written, getting back into the groove of writing for this fic :P

In short, I was busy. Finished thesis, graduated college, found a job as a graphic artist for an English school, beat Bloodborne twice, began writing for my own original stories, the works.

But these coronavirus times have compelled me to focus on what's REALLY important. Namely playing Persona 3 on my ps3 for the first time in literal months, rekindling my passion for the characters and reaffirming to myself why I still think P3 is better than P5.

Ultimately though I was stumped on a certain plot point for this fic, and was left at a loss as to how I'd go about it. It was mainly concerning the caller's true identity. I actually ended up agreeing with the reviews, and I found much of the dialogue I'd written for her to be completely, unreasonably smug. And then I realized that her initial identity as well as her motivations would need a lot more refurbishing.

There's also the fact that I'm also considering making this whole thing a 100% completion playthrough, which is finicky enough already.

So I went back over the caller's dialogue, altered who it was gonna be, made it a helluva lot more obvious who it was, and ultimately fixed up a bunch more stuff I thought needed to be changed.

Now, I think I'm proud of it somewhat.

Just so you know I'm not planning to make a P3P version of this, centering round the 'd be too all over the place and I'm busy enough as it is. Anyone wants to try be my guest.

Criticize me all you want. Pretty sure I could've done this chapter better.

Also, PERSONA 4 GOLDEN IS ON STEAM WHAT-