Insaneiac the Maniac: This idea popped into my head shortly after the events of November 3rd. Essentially, it is a big alteration on the canon storyline, and one that I may indeed expand on in depth as I write this. Enjoy. Also, spoilers. Tons and tons of spoilers. If you don't like spoilers, then run away and don't come back until you beat the game. RUN! FLEE! SCATTER!

As well, a great thanks to One Deranged Scribbler, my beta-reader for this story. Your suggestions were incredible, and your assistance was invaluable.

Summary: November 3rd, 2009, the Moonlight Bridge. Minato Arisato is about to make a choice that will forever change the course of events. He chose this fate by his own free will.

Disclaimer: Atlus owns Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and all related media.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Fated Choices

Chapter 1: Decision

November 3rd, Dark Hour

Moonlight Bridge.

South End.

"It is all just a matter of choice."

The world around them, a twisted and deranged version of the one that is accepted as reality, glistened under the glow of the empty moon overhead. Below the warped bridge was a seemingly never ending sea of blood that beckoned to those nearby towards its crimson waves. In the distance, the very presence of a great Shadow could be felt by all,like a humming sensation against flesh. This was the last one, the final monstrosity released by the events of the horrible tragedy ten years ago. And yet, in between the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad and the looming final battle with the darkness made flesh stood two individuals that had caused the team no small amount of grief.

The first was a pale, eerily lean male with a revolver tucked into the hem of his jeans, a single band making its way around his forehead and long platinum hair. He wore no shirt, freely exposing his rather bony demeanor to the world surrounding him. Tattoos of all kinds and colors wrapped around his arms, and his eyes were an unnerving shade of gold. While he looked as if he belonged in some alleyway, begging passer-bys for food or money, his presence was decidedly darker. There was no doubt that he belonged in this place.

To his left was a shorter male, with blue hair styled towards the left side of his face. He, unlike his companion, wore a full arrangement of clothes. The most notable of which was a thick green jacket with a distinctly military feel, and a suitcase held tightly in his right hand. In the other hand was a grenade that he had taken to tossing up and down. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses adorned his face, lying just in front of unfriendly eyes that oozed contempt for the people before him.

This was Strega. The ones that wanted to stop SEES from succeeding, presumably for their own gain. Persona users that were far from ready to see the Dark Hour go.

"You have come. We have been waiting." The taller one spoke, his voice enigmatic in nature. There was no hint of sarcasm or impatience to his words. They were simply used to initiate contact between the two parties.

Of the SEES team, it was Mitsuru who spoke first. "Strega. Will you move?" The words were accompanied by a sneer, the content dipped in venom before escaping her lips.

"Would you relent?" The response was immediate, and just as much an answer as it was a question. The strong silence that followed was more than enough to signify the SEES reaction. "Obviously you recognize the significance of today," he added shortly there after, his face devoid of emotions.

"You have the title of Leader, but just how much sway do you have among that…rabble?" The sentence rang through Minato's head at the sound of his voice. Minato Arisato, the leader of SEES and the enigmatic junior who, despite being a friend to everyone, no one truly knew. He stood in the center of the group, watching the two seemingly without emotion. However, his head was alive with thoughts and voices, screaming and clawing at him in every kind of way. The voices took identities, some sounding like those that currently backed and surrounded him, others sounding like those he stood across from, and others still sounding like Pharos, his "friend," and the strange pair that resided within the Velvet Room.

"That's a load of crap!" Junpei shouted from beside him, drawing his attention back to the battle of words. "Why don't you just take the hint and scram already?" Takaya, the taller male, had obviously said something that did not coincide with the goals and morals of the SEES team, and it was up to their mascot, the ever appreciated Iori, to return in full force. Just like Akihiko would let his aura of strength do most of the speaking for him; just like Aigis would intimidate with her very presence. They were, all of them, a part of a machine; a unit that worked in tandem with its other pieces. A machine that could not and would not be stopped by any outside force, no matter how powerful it may be.

"I expected as much from the likes of you." He replied curtly, a tired expression briefly flashing across his face. "Obviously, I am addressing the more…intelligent members of your little 'Righteous Order.'" His eyes, in particular, rested on Minato, and the tiniest hints of a grin slipped onto his features. "You claim that you hunt these Shadows to prevent the disasters they bring, and yet countless lives are lost without their intervention." He extended his arms out to his sides, palms facing the Heavens and hands opened completely. "Surely you cannot deny that the power we wield is, in and of itself, not evil?"

Almost everyone turned and looked at Minato at the end of his words, trusting him to retort. He was dimly aware of their gazes, but none of them had nearly as much of an effect as Takaya's did. "You do not wish to eliminate the Dark Hour. You are merely deceiving yourselves…" His last few words were cold and accusatory. And while Junpei and Koromaru growled in response to them, Minato was the only other to react with words of his own.

"I could tell you the answers, but then…what would you ever discover for yourself? All you need to ask yourself is but a simple question. Is this the whole truth?"

"Maybe so." That answer seemed to shock everyone, save for Takaya and his companion, Jin, who smiled with contentment.

"Arisato, what do you mean?" Mitsuru spoke sternly, yet with subtle hints of confusion mixed in her tone. Minato had opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it again. Instead, he turned to glance at his friends one by one.

"The truth is never laid out before one. It is hidden within clouds of darkness. One requires a leap of faith to even catch a glimpse of what truth is."

"You can't deny that he makes a point," he continued, slipping his hands into his pockets as he spoke. He could feel the heated glare from Junpei crashing against the back of his head, and made a point not to look his way. "This power…we use it for a good reason, right? We'd never have gotten this far without it." He closed his eyes and took a breath, opening them once again to come into immediate eye contact with Takaya. "It's not the power that's evil. You can't argue that much, can you?" He was sure his words would fall on deaf ears, but nevertheless he felt it important to state.

"Of course we can!" Yukari responded, tearing her eyes from Minato to glare in the direction of the Strega members. "What we use it for might be good by intentions, but that doesn't redeem it or the Dark Hour! It's not true! It's just not!"

"Do not be blind," Takaya answered, the content look upon his face growing. "Look within yourselves, and you shall see all."

"Well, I don't much feel like looking inward right now." Junpei started, turning back to Takaya and grinning confidently. "But I'll be happy to help you do so by shoving your head straight up your ass!" Soon everyone had drawn their weapons, more than ready to attack.

"I second that notion." Akihiko followed, punching his fists together.

"You are indeed foolish children." Takaya retorted, his expression returning to the tired look he had worn originally. Under the eerie green light, it adopted a darker feel. Or perhaps rawer was a better way to describe it. "Erasing the Dark Hour is the same as erasing yourselves." He brought his opened hands in front of him, holding them out to the SEES members. "Is even that beyond your comprehension?" He lowered them once more, resting his right hand on the hem of his pants. When he spoke again, his voice was laced with false sorrow and disappointment. "As I believed, our goals are irreconcilable."

He pulled out his revolver from his pants and held it at his side, the sound of it snapping everyone from conversation to battle-ready. With his weapon freed, he turned his head to his comrade. "Jin…"

"Forget these maggots." The other spoke contemptuously, tossing the grenade once more before grabbing it tightly and holding it out threateningly to the opposition. He, too, was staring solely at the blue haired leader of SEES.

"And…" Takaya turned his head back to the opposing group, and focused upon the Leader once more. And, much to the chagrin of the SEES, a full grin slid onto his features. "… Minato."

"How can you be so sure that you are saving the world, and not destroying it? What makes you believe so strongly that your quest is one of salvation, and not of destruction?"

Silence had never been as loud as it was then. Even the humming sensation of the Shadow's presence seemed to fade into numbness. There was no feeling on that bridge.

He said nothing, but simply began to walk forward, pushing past a stunned Akihiko and a floored Junpei as he crossed the distance of the bridge and took his place at the right side of Takaya. When he turned around once more, hands still in his pockets, he could already feel the horror and utter confusion that radiated from the members of his team. For a moment, only a brief moment, he regretted what he had just done, until the emotion was gratefully washed away by his own acceptance of the decision.

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." He stated coldly, making pointed eye contact with each individual he had been standing among only moments ago. He could see and feel and hear the horror and conflicting emotions that came from each one, and yet he stood there, against the glares of his former companions. He almost wished the moon with shut off, so that his face would be hidden by a veil of darkness. Yet it did no such thing, and, as expected, the questions began.

"I do not comprehend. Why would you defect?" Aigis finally responded, pulling no punches. There were weak murmurs of agreement from a few of the others. "They oppose your beliefs, do they not? This course of action is void of all logic."

He had opened his mouth to answer, but it was Takaya that was first to speak. "Is it not obvious? He understands and accepts what you ignore and deny." He sounded far too pleased for anyone's liking. His left hand was lifted out towards the Persona users across from himself. "Unlike yourselves, he has embraced an ideal that you have ignored for the sake of convenience."

"That's bullshit!" Junpei shouted, now angry. He was going to go for more, but was cut off as Akihiko stepped ahead.

"We were asking him, not you. So shut up and let our friend answer." He was not so much loud and irate as he was determined and threatening. He would not believe that Minato would choose to do something like this, at least not by his own free will. Yet, even with that belief, he could not bring himself to look directly at him.

"Minato-san, these guys killed Shinji!" Ken shouted, stepping up alongside Akihiko. "They tried to kill us all, simply for their own selfish goals! You…you can't tell me you…" He glanced off to the side as he tried to align his thoughts. "You can't…seriously accept what they're saying, can you?"

"This is no time to be joking around, dude," Junpei added. "Seriously man…This is just a joke, right?" His voice had shaken a bit on the second question. His hand had tightened around his oversized sword as he tried to hold onto the belief that this was all just a ruse. "Cause this just isn't funny!"

"Please, Minato-kun. Please…why are you doing this?" Fuuka begged, still refusing to comprehend that their leader had just switched sides by his own choice.

Yukari was at a loss for words. Her eyes were stuck on Minato, fully expecting him to turn on Takaya in the next moment and strike at him without hesitation. That all of this was a clever ruse to lure their opponents into a false sense of satisfaction. And with every moment that passed, she told herself it would happen in the next. She refused to even consider that this was truly serious. As for Koromaru, he was looking on in desperation, yet preparing himself for the possibility that he may have to attack his former comrade. It was simpler for him. An ally had become an enemy, so he should be shown no mercy.

Aigis, on the other hand, was struggling in trying to compute what her next course of action was to be. If this was truly an honest action by Minato, then would she stay with the SEES team and continue to adhere to her purpose in life, or would she fulfill her obligation and vow to stay by his side forever?

Mitsuru, on the other hand, had taken the time to fully compose herself, and was now staring across at her teammate. "Your own free will, you say?" Minato nodded in response, still not looking away. He would not look away. "And what influenced this decision?"

He did not respond to her.

"If you can't tell us, how can it be enough to convince you to stand against us? Change from who you've fought alongside for countless battles to a group that was responsible for the death of a friend and comrade?" She stepped forward, standing in front of her teammates and staring sternly at the traitor. She would not take silence as an answer. "We're entitled to an answer, Arisato. Choices come with consequences, and this one comes with a great many of them."

"In the end, it is entirely your choice. I will not force your hand. You will either come to me yourself, or not at all."

A gunshot brought all to silence once more, and gazes shifted from the former SEES member to Takaya, holding a smoking gun in his hand as it was pointed to Heaven. "I believe the time for idle questions and explanations have come and past." Takaya once again interrupted, pointing the gun towards the group. "Fate shall decide who will prevail…Come."

A/N: And now you see why this is a big, fat AU! Obviously, I start with the climatic scene at the beginning of the story. After all, it would lose its oomph if everyone was expecting it. The next few chapters will be covering a span of two weeks prior to this night, showing the events and interactions that eventually brought this stunning twist of events. For now, enjoy this start.