Part 180: 12/2/09

12/2/09

I’m kind of worried about Aigis again.



…I intend to do my best to protect everyone.
I’m counting on you!
…Understood.

I mean it’s probably nothing but nobody’s seen her since school ended and there’s a full moon tonight.



Ryoji’s gone, too.
Weird, huh…?

Ryoji wasn’t around either which is just great because he is the very last person I want to talk to or think about. Bebe said he was almost done with the kimono he’s been working on, so I went down to watch him finish.



> You’re having a good time hanging out with Bebe.
Zeeeere we goooooooo!
I am finished!!
> It seems Bebe has finally finished the kimono.
You did it!
Very nice! I ‘ave no complaints!
> Bebe seems pleased.
When my uncle sees zis, he will surely let me come back to Nihon!
It eez time for I’m to concede!
I must ‘urry up and go see ‘im!
So, I ‘ave to say goodbye for a little while… Sayonara…
But, I’ll be back!
I will not give in to my uncle!
……
Aelita-sama…
Please, take zis!
> Obtained Money Pouch.
I made it from ze leftover material.
It eez a sign of our friendship!
Onegaishimasu… Please…

It’s a shame he had to take the kimono back with him because it turned out really nice. Guess I’ll just have to ask him to bring it back with him if he can talk his uncle into letting him return.



My favorite memories from Nihon…
…are all ze times we hung out togezer.
I’m praying for you.
Z-Zank you so—
…Uw-Uwaaaaa…!
> Bebe is crying tears of joy.
> Bebe seems to truly appreciate all that you’ve done for him.
> You feel your relationship has grown stronger…

Or hell maybe I’ll just visit him.



Oh yeah, so it turns out that Bebe’s been messing with me this whole time, he totally knew what that meant.



Kanashii… It makes me sad, but…
Tomorrow, I must go…
Aelita-sama…
…Aishitemasu.
……
I know ze meaning of zat word.
I knew it all along…
I knew, and I said…
……
Aelita-sama… Please wait for me…
…I shall return… to your side…
> After promising to meet up with Bebe sometime in the future, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Maybe it’s better that he’s leaving, though, because then even if all this crap in my life explodes there’ll be someone who doesn’t look at me and see a horrible person. Anyway like I said there’s a full moon tonight.



Tonight is the full moon…
…but we wont’ be conducting an operation.
Maybe I should summon Juno, though, just in case…
…By the way, have you seen Aigis?
No, I haven’t.
Aigis has been returning late these days.
She never used to…
I wonder what happened.

I’m going to try and get some sleep, if something happens I’ll write some more afterwards.

How could I be so blind?

Video- “Death’s Shadow”

Witness the Past’s Tragedy

> It is the Dark Hour, and a figure on the bridge looks up at the moon…
> Another figure approaches it…
I’ve been looking for you.
…What are you doing here?
Well, to answer your question, I ended up here when I came to my senses.
It’s strange… The sky and the ground look so weird, and there’s no one here…
Something terrible has happened here, and yet I feel at peace.
…Have you forgotten?
Forgotten what?
The Dark Hour—a time period few people are active during.
But you, you’ve somehow adapted to it… Too well for a human, in fact.
……
Yes… It’s all so clear.
Now I understand the reason behind this feeling I sense when you’re around.
You are not good. You are… my enemy.
Your enemy…?
Enemy…

I must be some kind of idiot or something.



It was long ago…
Yes… We met once before…
…as adversaries.
Who… Who am I?
Who are you…?
I am Aigis.
The last remaining Anti-Shadow Emergency Control Weapon.
A machine created to destroy Shadows.
Created to… destroy Shadows…
And you… your true name is “Death”…
You are the Shadow I sealed away ten years ago!
……

I’ve been going on and on about what I want, what I need.



The night I was born into this world, I set foot on this very bridge.
The sole purpose of my existence is to destroy Shadows.
It is for that reason that I was given a personality and a Persona…

I’ve practically been throwing myself at anyone who could conceivably care about me without even considering what they wanted.



Everyone called me “Death.”
But when I was born, a part of my power shattered and was strewn about…
As a result, I was incomplete…
Even so, you were far stronger than I anticipated.
Since I could not defeat you, my only option was to seal you away…
Under the circumstances, there was only one suitable vessel—
A human girl who happened to be nearby.
I had no other choice…

All because of something horrible and selfish that I was looking for. I could only really recently even put it into words, because I didn’t truly know it until I’d seen it.



I see… I was inside her all this time.
And I unwittingly led her to my twelve missing pieces.
And then…!
…I see. I understand now…
……
I remember everything…
Who… and what I am…
A machine is created for a purpose.
Mine is to defeat you… That is the purpose of my existence!
It doesn’t have to be that way…
Aigis…
Palladion!

I wanted someone who cared about me more than anything. I’d always felt something wrong before, but I didn’t really understand until the night Chidori died. That was when I realized how hollow I really was.



…Don’t be foolish, Aigis.
I’m different than before. There’s no way you can win…
I’m sorry…
Augh…!
> Aigis was knocked back without setting a finger on Ryoji…
> Aigis’s chassis was heavily damaged from being slammed to the ground with such force…

But I was a fool, because there’s been someone who thought I was the most important person in the world since before I even met them.



This mission… appears impossible…
A machine that cannot fulfill its purpose…
…has no worth…
I’m sorry, everyone…
Aelita-san…
…I’m scared…

I never really got to sleep, even though I tried to go to bed early. We were all too worried something might show up, and it turned out we were right to.



> Fuuka has summoned Juno and Mitsuru is manning the equipment nearby…
Juno!? Wait, did something happen!?
Yukari. Is something wrong?
Well, it’s a full moon tonight…
You noticed it too, didn’t you, Senpai? Geez, I’m starting to feel like a workaholic!
……
Oh no… Did something…?
We don’t know anything for sure… However, we can’t find Aigis.
Huh? Where would she have gone?
I sensed a Persona, but it quickly disappeared. And soon after that, I couldn’t detect Aigis’s presence.
Could it have been Strega…?
Well, she hasn’t sensed any of their members, but we can’t be positive.
I’ve confirmed Aigis’s location.
She’s on the Moonlight Bridge!
Alright, call the others. Let’s see what’s going on there.

You know I’m really going to yell at her later, thinking it was okay to go off and do this just because she can be repaired or whatever.



> Aigis’s body is heavily damaged. Parts of it are strewn everywhere…
* bark * * bark *
Aigis!?
I’m sorry… I…
I… remember everything…
Who I am… Who “he” is…
> Aigis stretched out her worn hand…
> You gently took it in yours…
Aelita-san…
I know why I wanted to be by your side…
I’m sorry… I failed…
It’s going to be okay!
I’m… sorry…
There’s no need for you to apologize…

But, I don’t know if I can stay mad. I mean she was apologizing to me, when this is all my fault…



……
Ryoji-kun…?
Wait, what’re you doing here!?
Aigis!?
> Aigis is no longer moving…
> It seems she stopped functioning…
What’s going on…?
It’s all my fault…
Wha… You did this!?
Akihiko, wait. He’s not showing any signs of aggression.
Tell us…
Who are you? …WHAT are you?
I’m the same as the beings you call Shadows.
You’re a Shadow!?
I am the embodiment of all Shadows…
The Appriser, born from the union of the 12 Arcana.
The Appriser…?
I remember everything now…
The frightening truth about myself… and Shadows…
It’s all so hard to believe…

I’m the one who brought this evil here.



I do…
What!?
The Shadows are here to facilitate the rebirth of the maternal being.
The maternal being will begin to awaken as she is drawn to me…
The Appriser.
You? You’re the Appriser?
That’s right…
What is this “maternal being”…?
She is a great entity… There is no comparable word in your language for her.
Ten years ago, a man collected a great number of Shadows and contained them in a laboratory…
That’s where I was born.
…But the unification was interrupted, and I awoke in an incomplete state.
Not long after, I fell to Aigis… as she did to me.
Aigis…!?
Is that true!? …Ryoji?
She knew she could not defeat me…

The evil that left me an orphan, the evil I alone was chosen and cursed to survive.



That child grew up, carrying me inside her. And by a twist of fate, she later returned here…
…as a transfer student.
You mean…
> ……
> Everyone is looking at you in shock…
Yes… “Aelita”.
I lived inside her.
> ……!?
> Ryoji was… inside of you…?

The evil that I came to care for, in spite of myself… The one which has left an inerasable stain on me.



Her special Persona awakened…
…as did the 12 Shadows, all in order to become one with me.
Ryoji’s the Appriser?
A-And he was inside her body…!?
None of this makes sense!
It’s all my fault…
I’m sorry.
There’s more I need… to tell you…
Ryoji-kun!
> Ryoji lost consciousness and fell to the ground…
He appears to be exhausted…
Let’s let him rest… We have Aigis to attend to as well.
We’ll continue our talk later.
> ……
> You are in shock at what you’ve just heard…
> Ryoji lived inside you for ten years, waiting to make contact with the 12 Shadows…
> And the boy named Pharos was actually Ryoji…
> ……
> So many questions remain unanswered. However, Ryoji is unconscious…
> You took Ryoji and Aigis home…

I haven’t looked any of my friends in the eye since we found out. I couldn’t bear to see them looking at me with the sort of disgust I know I deserve, so like a coward I went back and hid in my room. I don’t know what I’d say to them anyway. I’m not even sure who I am, who I would be if not for the darkness which clung to my soul. Neither of those things really matter, though. What matters is what kind of person I want to be, what kind of person I should be from this day forward. I’m sick of being weak and selfish, of being the sort of person with so little faith in her friends that she just flees when they find out something bad about her. The sort of person who couldn’t see what was right in front of her. I know that it’ll be a long road, but it’s the only one I can walk if I want to find out who I really am.