Chapter Text
It was 3:00 AM. Or at least that was what the clock mounted on the lounge wall said.
That was incorrect.
Aigi's last timestamp from her internal clock marked exactly 1:00 AM, the very onset of the Dark Hour. A more than two hour discrepancy would only mean that one of them was broken, and her system kept telling her that nothing was missing.
Therefore, the wall clock must have been the one at fault—Though she had to agree that something weird was happening.
Both her audio and visual subroutines were functioning within normal parameters. She could see almost all members of S.E.E.S gathered in the lounge, their faces heavy with both preoccupation and a clear lack of sleep.
At the center of the room, and with everyone paying attention to her every word, stood Mitsuru.
Aigis could see her lips moving. And audio packages were indeed being processed, yet…she couldn’t actually hear any of it. A piercing, continuous ringing saturated her auditory systems…her internal diagnostics told her that the ringing did in fact not exist.
She had just realized that she didn’t remember how she had arrived here.
"...at least a week of recovery," Mitsuru’s voice finally cut through the haze. "The wound healed thanks to his Persona, so he is not in any immediate danger, purely exhaustion.”
Everyone in the room let out their collective breath. Tired faces become visibly more relaxed at the news.
Aigis did not react. But she now noticed that Fuuka was close to her, the blue haired girl let out a small sob of relief, quickly wiping her eyes.
Mitsuru waited a moment before continuing.
“...he is still in a deep sleep. But the moment he wakes up I’ll have him recover here. I’ll make sure of that.” Even with the ringing on her audio ports, Aigis could detect deep anger in Mitsuru’s speech pattern.
And not only that. Her usual regal and commanding presence was gone. Heavy circles hang below her eyes. Everyone else in the room was tired, but she seemed on her last legs. She continued talking but it seems she was forcing herself to stay upright.
“...why the hell?” Yukari’s voice rose from the other end of the room. “What do you mean that we can't go back to Tartaturs until he is okay!? That's exactly the reason why he-”
She watched the argument unfold like she was a spectator watching a film. Yukari standing up from the sofa, her fists clenched together and her face contorted in anger that was directed to the third year. Meanwhile Mitsuru’s eyes narrowed with a cold, defensive fire, Akihiko stepped between them, but it didn’t appear to do much to alleviate the situation.
Aigis also noticed how awfully beaten up Mitsuru and Yukari were. The two girls had small cuts and purple tones decorating their uncovered skin. Smears of dried blood stained their S.E.E.S uniforms… Aigis could even detect a slight limp in Yukari's step when she advanced to meet Mitsuru head on.
While they were both arguing, she accessed her memory bank, looking for the most recent recordings and—fragmented.
That would explain the gap in memory. The android played a little bit with the broken pieces of data and could recover something, a small recording from her own eyes, just before the dark hour early that day.
Preparing for another expedition to Tartarus, the team that was chosen for today was Mitsuru, Yukari, Aigis, and of course, their leader. She could see herself and the team stepping into the teleporter toward their last visited floor. After that—
Nothing.
Her systems reported 100% structural efficiency. But she looked at her body. Mechanical hands opening and closing, a slight lag between her order and act. She was indeed almost unscratched, and her body presented the normal amount of superficial damage from their expeditions. She hadn’t suffered any major injuries like Yukari and Mitsuru.
So why was Makoto not present?
Her eyes darted around the room looking for him. Everyone was focused on the discussion of the two girls. Now Mitsuru had lost any semblance of composure, leaving her pride behind and openly engaging in the shouting match with Yukari.
Yes, everyone was looking at the two of them…aside from Fuuka, her brown eyes were staring daggers at Aigis, filled with—what was the emotion called again?
She searched her database for a moment… Oh right.
Hatred.
Fuuka quickly averted her eyes when Aigis looked back.
“And pray tell me what you propose,” Mitsuru’s voice cracked . “Charging back into Tartarus out of guilt? Getting another of us injured?”
“At least it would be doing something!” Yukari shouted even louder." Much more than both of us did in the battle that nearly killed Makoto!”
…Battle..Killed...Makoto..
Aigis processed those words. She knew the individual meaning of each of them, but together—Error.
Her system was giving one failure after another, while at the same telling her nothing happened. The ringing intensified.
“Aigis?”
Someone called her name. She couldn’t see them from all the system failures cluttering her interface.
“Aigis?!”
That was indeed her name. But why were they screaming at her now? And why was everyone suddenly looking at her with full widened eyes and concerned faces?
And why was the floor tilting and getting closer and closer? Oh right—she was failing... and it seems she now couldn’t move. The android realized she had entered in a cascade failure. First her motor functions. Then her eyes. Then her audio.
With the sound of a heavy metal body hitting the carpeted floor, and all her systems marking green.
Aigis shat down.
It happened in the span of five seconds.
Aigis checked the memory fragment for the 347th time.
Another loop. Recorded from her own optical sensors.
The ambush came immediately after the Border Floor guardian fell. Frame by frame, she forced herself to observe it again.
After a hard fought battle, their team was in critical condition, and before they could even decide if to keep going or to stop for today—It happened.
A powerful Shadow stronger than the guardian had manifested without a single warning.
Before the team could even know what was happening, a severely weakened Yukari and Mitsuru were rendered unconscious in an instant. The two bodies hit Tartaru’s floor at the same time.
But the shadow wasn’t done with the passed out enemies. It kept focusing its attacks on them without a single shred of mercy.
And Aigis didn’t move.
She saw the enemy charging its attack. To completely wipe the two unconcious girls for good.
That was the plan…if it weren’t for Makoto stepping to protect them.
Her leader moved between them and the Shadow with no hesitation. Receiving a strong blow he was not meant to take. The Shadow’s attack pierced his organic tissue with catastrophic ease. Crimson disperses across the marble floor of Tartarus.
But Makoto remained standing. Gathering his last strengths and with one final shout of Persona the battle was over as soon as it began. The Shadow disintegrating into fragments of dark mist.
The recording ended and the last frame froze.
An injured Makoto laying on the floor. A pool of blood slowly forming beneath him, nearly reaching the unconscious bodies of the girls. She could see her own reflection in that crimson mirror. An expression she didn’t remember being able to produce.
The results of a battle were she did absolutely nothing.
Not a single step taken.
She replays it again.
Again.
Again.
Her main systems came back online.
Partially.
Motor functions turned on first, followed by some subsystems. Though the important part was that her audio ports were now receiving data.
So she could hear the two voices in the room.
“I’ve run the basic diagnostics…” Fuuka. Accompanied by the clatter of keyboard keys. “None of her hardware is physically damaged.” Her voice was steady, but there was a razor-edge to it—a coldness that didn't belong to the shy support girl she knew.
“Then why did she collapse?” Mitsuru’s voice on the contrary was weary. Whatever strength she had possessed earlier had been spent on her argument with Yukari. Now only tiredness remained. “She seemed more than fine when we escaped Tartarus, but if she actually suffered any injury... we need to know. The Kirijo technicians—"
"No!" Fuuka interrupted her with a small uncharacteristic shout. “I mean—Please,” She corrected her tone quickly, but the force remained. “Let me handle this. I’m the only one who…” She paused, carefully choosing her words. “I’ve assisted with Aigis’s maintenance before. I can do it. Just tonight. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
"..." The silence was heavy from Mitsuru, but again, she seemed too tired for all this. She slowly sighed. ” Very well. Keep me informed if anything happens. We cannot afford to lose another member. Not now."
A few steps. Some wishes for goodnights. And then Aigis heard the doors of Fuuka's room groan open and shut.
Mitsuru was gone. For several seconds, there was nothing but the faint hum of electronics and Fuuka’s shallow, uneven breathing.
“You’re awake.” Fuuka said. It wasn’t a question.
Like her systems were obeying Fuuka’s words, Aigis’s vision finished calibrating. The world snapped into focus.
She was in Fuuka’s room. Small hanging plants lined the walls. A laptop sat open on the desk, cables running from its ports directly into the access panels along Aigis’s back.
The only other occupant aside from the android was Fuuka herself.
“I bought you some time,” The blue haired girl said. Her voice filled with spite. “So do me a favor and leave.”
Aigis quietly analyzed her. While Mitsuru had appeared to be exhausted for the day, Fuuka seemed to have run out of batteries a week ago. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Her usual shy smile was bended into a serious line.
“…Understood. I will take my leave.” Aigis said. Truthfully, she did not understand. Fuuka had always been warm and gentle. The distance in her voice registered as an error Aigis could not categorize.
She reached for her back to disconnect the pressurized cables from her spinal port—
Then their gazes met for a moment.
Fuuka's eyes widened. "A-aigis?!" And now she seemed surprised. Moisture quickly gathered in tears beneath her eyes.
“Yes?” Aigis responded.
Then Fuuka crossed the distance between them in two hurried steps and wrapped her arms around her.
Aigis stiffened. Human behavior remained deeply confusing as ever.
“Fuuka.” she said calmly, “if you do not release me, I will be unable to comply with your previous request .”
“No—no, that wasn’t meant for...” Fuuka shook her head quickly. “Please. Just… sit down.” She offered a small, fragile smile. It seemed almost forced, but it reminded Aigis a little bit of the normal Fuuka. “Let me help you a little.”
Aigis complied.
More time passed. The night settled.
"It is highly unhealthy for students to be awake at these hours." Aigis commented.
“Mitsuru’s letting us skip class tomorrow,” Fuuka replied with a soft giggle that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “And I couldn’t sleep anyway. So… at least I can do this for you.”
The sounds of the smashing of keys and the fans of the laptop were battling for the dominance of the small room.
Aigis could feel Fuuka's programs asking for access in every step of the way. She gave consent to some, but she was surprised to find out that some of them were giving consent or rejected without input on her part. Maybe the settings from last time were saved?
While Fuuka worked, Aigis checked the recording of the battle time and time again…Then she finally gained enough confidence to ask a question she dreaded.
"Makoto is..."
"Okay. He is okay." Fuuka cut Aigis quickly. More for herself than for the android. "You were close to a teleporter, so we could rescue you with minimal damage. "
Minimal. That part seems to only apply to her. Something hurt inside of Aigis. And every time she tried to think of Makoto a little bit too hard an error popped out.
She did not remember how the emotions she experienced were called. Anger? Sadness? Was there a combination of those words?
She wished she could ask Makoto about it.
'He is okay' Those three words seemed to be the only thing holding her together.
"All tests are done." Fuuka said.
Aigis felt the diagnostic program withdraw from her systems, threads of borrowed access receding one by one. The cables connected to her back disengaged with a soft hiss as she removed them herself, setting them carefully on the desk.
Fuuka didn’t look up at first. The clatter of keys slowed, then stopped entirely. Only the faint hum of the laptop’s cooling fan filled the room. “I’m sorry, Aigis,” she added after a moment. “The results are the same as before. Every scan comes back green. You don’t appear to be suffering from anything…I don’t know why you collapsed.”
"No need to apologize.” Aigis replied as she shook her head. "I'm thankful for the assistance."
Fuuka left her laptop. “Aigis…” Her fingers lingered on the edge of the desk. “How do you feel?”
Aigis paused for an instant. "My internal diagnosis seems to be positive. Therefore, I—"
"No," Fuuka cut her quickly, turning to look Aigis in the eye. "I mean you. Ignore the system. Ignore the numbers. How do you feel?"
Ignore your system…that phrase was highly illogical. She was that system. And yet… something about it caught her interest.
"I..." Aigis opened and closed her hand. The metal fingers moved, but the motion felt distant, like it belonged to someone else. “I am experiencing internal incongruence. There is elevated activity originating from my Papillon Heart. It resembles an electrical current dispersing through my frame.” She hesitated. “It is… disruptive.”
Fuuka’s expression softened. She had known Aigis long enough to hear the actual concern in the calm robotic tone of the android. But behind Fuuka’s sympathy, there was a flicker of something cold.
“It’s not as important as your rest,” Aigis continued. “It’s nearly morning and you have not slept. I can perform a deeper self-analysis independently. Once again. I’m thankful for your assistance.”
Fuuka’s smile faltered, turning into something more fragile.The blue-haired girl didn’t meet the android eyes. "I… I’m just trying to help. There’s no need to be thankful, Aigis"
"No. I am," Aigis corrected. She stood perfectly still, looking down at the seated Fuuka. "You have remained by my side all night, even in the lounge. It is an investment of time I cannot logically explain. May I ask you a question?"
Fuuka hesitated only a second before nodding. "...Of course."
Aigis took a step forward, leaning down, bringing her synthetic face inches from Fuuka’s. Behind golden locks, synthetic eyes meet human ones.
"Why has your pulse been accelerated since Mitsuru left the room?"
Fuuka froze.
“Your usual resting heart rate averages seventy-two beats per minute. It is currently one hundred and nine.” A small pause. “It is increasing.”
Fuuka instinctively stepped back, her lower back bumping against the edge of her desk. The contact made the laptop wobble slightly.
Aigis advanced one more step.
“Aigis, I—”
“Your pupils dilated upon my approach,” Aigis continued, with the calmness of someone stating an obvious fact. “There is a minor tremor in your fingers.”
Aigis tilted her head. “Fear,” she concluded quietly. “It is the only applicable descriptor.” There was no accusation in her voice. Only confusion. “Did I cause it?” Aigis innocently asked. “If so, I require clarification. I do not wish to be a source of distress.”
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the frantic beating of Fuuka’s heart against her chest cage—Fuuka swallowed. What Aigis was saying was true.
Fuuka knew that she was easily frightened. She hated confrontation. But…the image of a blue haired boy appeared in her mind.
Leader…She straightened. Looking at the android with a newfound determination.
“Aigis… what do you remember about what happened in Tartarus?”
“Everything,” The reply was instantly. “ I have a complete recording.”
"You do? How is that possible…" Fuuka’s voice became a whisper, thick with an apprehension Aigis couldn't decipher. Fuuka took a breath. She feared this part the most. "Then tell me Aigis… how do I look to you right now?"
Aigis tilted her head. "You appear physically fatigued. Dark circles beneath your eyes. Cause; Clear lack of sleep, your posture—"
“No!” Fuuka screamed for a moment before regaining her composure and shaking her head. “Not that.” She placed a hand over her chest. “Your internal systems. What do they say about me?”
Aigis paused. What an unusual request.
There was no reason to check. Fuuka had been registered as an ally since the day they began fighting together.
Still, Aigis accessed her private file.
Fuuka Yamagishi.
Ally. Teammate. S.E.E.S. Support Unit.
Persona: Lucia.
Designation: Enemy. Type: Love Rival.
…
Uhm?
She reread it. Time and time again.
Fuuka saw in real time Aigis’s face slowly gaining a very much human expression of surprise.
Aigis was an anti-Shadow weapon. Her hostile classifications were reserved for Shadows. Humans could not be categorized as enemies unless they threaten they threatened her teammates or collaborated with shadows.
Unless—
Her systems returned no error. All indicators were green. No one had enough permissions to alter her file
But the file remained unchanged.
Fuuka saw the android beginning to mentally collapse. “Aigis!” She said urgently, standing and gripping her shoulders. “Please, calm down. I can’t explain it right now, but it’s not what you think. Just wait, and—”
Once again. Aigis couldn't hear anything. This time it wasn't a ringing. It was a beating. At the base of her neck. Her Papillion Heart beat so fast and strong it seemed to want to escape her body. Fuuka’s face kept moving. Her lips formed words.
Aigis couldn’t hear her.
She looked at Fuuka. She hadn't noticed before, but she now saw that her systems and interface were treating her as another enemy to be eliminated. Something brutally impossible.
All her internal diagnostics came green once again.
She pushed Fuuka away—harder than intended. Fuuka stumbled, catching herself against the desk as Aigis turned and ran.
The door to the hallway stood open. Only darkness stretched beyond it.
“Aigis—!” Fuuka tried to call after her, but her voice broke halfway through. The strength drained from her legs, and she sank to the floor.
She wanted to chase her down. She wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay. But fear rooted her in place.
One hand pressed against her chest, feeling her racing heart, Fuuka looked back at the laptop screen she had forgotten to close.
Aigis’s diagnostic results were still displayed.
Green indicators illuminated the hardware sections. But next to them, in the main internal systems and processes. Only red and warning yellow stood.
Fuuka’s vision blurred.
“Leader…” she whispered to the empty room. “Please… come back soon.”
Aigis moved faster than she ever allowed herself to indoors.
The red carpet trying its best to muffle the heavy steps of her android body. She was running, though she couldn’t say from what—or even toward where. Her body seemed to decide the path on its own, carrying her down, through the first floor, until her feet stopped at the last door of the hallway.
Moonlight poured through the dorm windows in pale strips, the only thing fighting the darkness wrapping the hallway, in the quietness of the night, Aigis reached his door.
She was an expert on sneaking into Makoto’s room without anyone knowing. Her personal best had been 42 seconds with chances to improve. Now she couldn’t wait that much.
The locked door handle fought for an instant, but with a shriek, it bent over by the android’s grip strength.
The door swung open.
For a fraction of a second, she hesitated. She knew Makoto was not here. She knew her efforts were in vain. But what if—
Empty.
Bed made neatly, desk organized. The moonlight moved the curtains in slow, deliberate waves, the only sign of motion in the quiet room…it was the same as always, but the empty bed alone made her feel like she was in an alien land.
With only the blue hue of the moon as light. Her urgency drained. She stepped forward cautiously, afraid that her steps would disrupt any of the last places he touched. Her hand hovered over the bed. Cold.
A voltage came from her Papillon Heart.
All her decisions were based on data, she knew that Makoto was in the hospital, she knew that he wasn’t there. Yet…like hands pulling on her from all directions. She crumbled.
The cold night air moved the curtains, entering the room and brushing against her arms. She could not feel cold as humans did, yet some part of her—human or otherwise—shivered.
She sat on the bed and closed her eyes.
“Makoto… I don’t know what to do. I used to be able to ask you anything I didn’t understand, but…” Her voice faded. She was speaking to no one. “I do not understand why Fuuka is acting this way. I do not understand what is wrong with me. I… need help.”
She talked to no one. Yet the night replied.
“…Perhaps I can be of assistance.”
A female voice rang through the quietness of the room.
It was not Fuuka. Not Yukari. Not Mitsuru.
Aigis’s eyes snapped open.
In less than a fraction of a second, the vulnerable Aigis was replaced by the anti-shadow weapon, all combat protocols surged to the forefront.
She launched herself from the bed, landing gracefully in the floor and assuming a combat position, her metallic panels slid open along her arms and legs with sharp mechanical clicks. Targeting reticles flooded her vision. Every firearm and concealed artillery unit locked onto the source of the voice—nothing.
There was no one in the door. Then—as quickly as she had jumped. She now turned around and aimed all her weapons to Makoto’s bed.
Even while lost in thought, her subsystems were always working detecting every threat and creature in the vicinity.
She had detected no footsteps.
No approach.
No distortion in the air.
Yet—a woman now sat on the bed where Aigis had been moments before.
The smiling woman, fully dressed in blue, that occupied the bed for all intents and purposes had just materialized out of thin air. Posture relaxed, hands folded neatly in her lap, a book sitting besides her... She smiled as though this were a casual meeting between friends.
“Oh dear,” the woman said lightly. “Perhaps appearing suddenly was discourteous. I did consider wearing kitty ears to seem less threatening.”
From all external metrics, she appeared inoffensive. But Aigis’ threat assessment screamed otherwise, and for the first time today, she fully believed what her systems were telling her. She could feel it, neither shadow nor human, something unknown—and extremely dangerous.
“Identify yourself!” Aigis demanded. The voice cutting through the silence of the night.
Even with a full arsenal aiming at her, the woman’s smile did not falter. She slowly raised from the bed and gave Aigis a small polite bow.
“I am Elizabeth. An attendant of the Velvet Room… although perhaps it is simpler to say I am a friend of Makoto.” She pronounced the word friend with peculiar delight. “It is a pleasure to finally speak with you…Aeon.”
Aigis ran a thousand combat simulations in parallel. Each ended identically.
Total annihilation. Probability of victory: zero percent.
Yet Aigis didn’t lower her weapons. “State your objective.” she said coldly.
“My objective? That is quite simple.” Her golden eyes glowed under the moonlight. “It’s to achieve the happy ending.”