Chapter Text
Tick tock tick tock
They carve a path through Tartarus. Minako slices her blade through shadow after shadow, not allowing them an inch towards her friends. Evokers fire, personas summon, and shadows are made into dust.
Minako doesn't dare to summon; she hears her mother's call. She holds fast to Norn and Thanatos, to her friends.
Takaya stands before them. Minako rushes him before he gets a chance to open his mouth. Takaya effortlessly sidesteps, but Minako keeps on going, up the stairs, to the top.
"Where are you going!" Takaya cocks his gun at her back. "I'll offer you up to Nyx myself!"
She hears the rapid fire of Aigis, and her friends yelling at Takaya. She trusts them. She loves them.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
Minato floats above the altar. His skin pale, his arms and legs pitch black. A sword is held in one claw, his feet made into talons. Jet black wings spout from his back. She'll be his mirror soon.
But not yet.
"Minato!" He doesn't react. "I'm going take you back! But first I have to kick your ass!"
He's fast. Closing the distance and bringing his sword down on her. It hits her naginata, the force threatening to knock her off her feet. She digs her feet in and pushes him back, quickly righting her blade to try to jam it into his chest. Her blade bounces off his arm, the vibrations shaking her.
They continue their deadly dance, each attack leads to a parry, which leads to another attack. With each strike, another piece of Norn is cracked.
Minako screams when Norn shatters, her focus falters and Minato knocks the naginata out of her hands. He grabs her and slams her onto the altar. His claws find their way onto her neck tearing into the scarf.
"Minato!" She kicks at him, her talons ripping her boots to shreds. "I know you're in there!"
"I-."The grip on her neck weakens, only for a second. It's all she needs. Thanatos runs his blade through Minato's chest. He slides off of her, onto the ground. "Minako… Sorry…."
She scrambles off the altar. Her claw rips into him, to where his heart was.
"Please." She whispers. "Please. Please. Please don't leave me."
He reaches out. She grabs him. Rips him out of his body. She pushes him against her chest. He flows into her.
Minako's breathing evens, and her vision focuses. Her goal is clear. His Orpheus and her Thanatos fuse. Messiah's presence buys them more time.
There are footsteps behind her. Healing magic flows through her. Her naginata is offered. She stands and Nyx descends.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
"If only more people were like you." The Nyx avatar laments to them. "Then maybe the fall could have been avoided."
The moon cracks open, and everyone hits the ground. Unable to do anything. The specks of black formed on her arms start to pulse and grow, and black ichor tickles out of her mouth, becoming a rushing rapid. She can feel the plumage taking shape on the back of her head, threatening to burst forth. She won't. She can't. She's so close, They're so close. She won't give up!
"WHY DO YOU RESIST HERALD ." The voice of Nyx shoots through her soul. "THIS IS HUMANITY'S WISH, CAN WE TRULY DENY THEM IT?"
"EVEN THE ONE THAT FELL TO ME IS REJECTING ME" Minato stirs. "YOU MUST SERVE."
'It's not all humans wish,' she thinks and she knows it's the truth. She thinks of those she had met, Saori, Kaz, Hidetoshi, Bunkichi & Mitsuko, Maiko, Bebe, Tanaka, and Mutatsu. They all had their challenges and their changes, and she wanted them to live. Akinari wasn't with them anymore, but she would be damned if she let him be forgotten.
And then she thinks of the people next to her, Junpei, Ken, Koromaru, Fuuka, Yukari, Akihiko Mitsuru, and Aigis. Even Shinji, who was so willing to offer his life for Ken's vengeance, was still clinging to life. They want to live. She wants them to live.
She thinks of Ryoji, who so badly wanted her to kill him, to forget, Still, he gave her the means to go this far. To not force her into complete despair. Messiah is the only reason the two of them are not turning their blades upon their friends.
She thinks of Minato, he was her fool as she was his. Even when faced with the fall, and their fate, he still managed to care about her. How he kept on working on the scarf. Even when he was lost he still fought, still tried not to hurt her, and stayed with her.
They feel a surge of power, and they know what they have to do. Their souls sing the song of the universe.
A pair of wings, black but peppered with spots of different colors burst from the back of their head. Another pair from their back, the same position Minato's had. Wingbeats propel them into the air, and they surge toward Nyx, paying no heed to the objections of their friends.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
Minako follows the pull of Nyx. They arrive at the core. Minako should be afraid of it. She should hate the goddess that took everything from her. But she doesn't. She shrugs off the attacks, the songs of her friends carrying her.
Minako's soul would always remember the shape of the seal it was twisted into. Her soul dances, weaving around the core. Minato joins in, making it a waltz. He fills any holes and reinforces the weak spots. The song of the universe, of their friends, amplifies and extends it.
It takes everything that they have. But it's worth it.
Tick tock tick tock tick-
"And that's how we saved the world." Minako lights the incense. "We're sorry we never came to see you before. We were scared"
'Yeah.' Minato's voice rings in her mind. It's going to be weird to get used to that. 'I didn't want to see your name on the grave.'
"Like seeing yours is any better." Minako places the incense on the grave. "And we wanted to say, we're sorry. We won't be joining you."
'You think they're proud of us?'
"I know they are."
—-
"Dude." Junpei pokes her. "You slept through class again."
"Soon your grades will be as bad as Junpei's." Yukari teases . "Are you feeling okay?"
"Just tired." It's not a lie. "It'll be okay."
"Well, at least you're better than that senior in the hospital." Junpei doesn't notice the way Minako's breath catches. "He'll never be able to walk without an aide again. Guess that's what happens when you get involved with criminals."
"He's awake?" Minako forces herself into a sitting position, ignoring how her back screams.
"Yeah?" Yukari shugs. "Don't know why you'd care about him so much. He didn't even come to school."
"I'm just glad that he's okay." Minako fights back her tears.
"You care too much." Yukari sighs. "It's going to get you killed."
"It'll be worth it."
—--
'We're not going to make it.'
'I know.' Minako clings to the railing, trying to focus on breathing. 'We need to go back to the dorm.'
'He…' Minato pauses. 'He'll understand and…'
'He won't remember us anyway.' Minako sighs. 'And we have a promise to keep.'
'Just knowing that Shinjiro is awake is enough.'
—-
Minako still has to pick feathers out of her hair. They're blue and red, a stark contrast to the pitch-black feathers from before. She holds onto them, placing them in the letter she's been writing. She writes, explaining what they did, why they did it, and how much they love them.
They manage to finish the letter before holding a pen becomes too much. Nyx is fading from the world, they'll fade with her. But they have a promise to keep.
—-
They stumble out of bed, their knees hitting the ground. As soon as they do they hear a slow knock then two fast ones. Aigis.
"Come in." They try not to think about how horse their voice is.
"Today is graduation." Aigis stands above them, offering a hand. "May I help you get to school?"
They're late, so next to no one comments on the pair as Aigis practically carries them to school, then up to the roof. It's hard to focus as they lay on Aigis's lap.
"I never forgot." Aigis looks at the windmills. "At the end, did you complete your mission? Did you save him?"
There's nothing they want more than to tell Aigis that Minato came back with Minako. That he's here. All they can do is smile.
"I-I see." Aigis starts to cry. They want nothing more than to reach out a hand and wipe away her tears. "Then there's no need to be sad. I'll protect you, both of you."
They hear a commotion from the stairwell. They can make out the voice of SEES, getting closer. So close. Their heart fills with warmth. They remembered.
The sun is so warm, and Aigis's hand is so comforting running through their hair.
They smile again, looking into Aigis's eyes, and close their own.
The bonds of the seal glow in the moonlight. a soft glow betrays how none may enter and none may leave . Flower blushes dot the craters. Bushes and crops line the rocky ground. Trees of all types, elms, willows, and oak, grow in a thicket. A massive Cherry blossom towers above them all. Foliage born from emotion and souls mixing with death. Among the roots three sleep.
Upon Nyx within the seal, a pair of Heralds open their eyes.
