Part 41: Entry Thirty-Six: November 5th, 2009

Entry Thirty-Six: November 5th, 2009

Mood: ...
Music: ...



It wasn't over. Of course it wasn't over.



My life is a goddamn mess...



...and I should have remembered that from the start. I was stupid for thinking we'd get off this easily.



Mitsuru: I don't know.
Akihiko: Apparently, I was right to have my doubts.
Ken: Yeah, something didn't feel right.
Junpei: No way...



Off in the distance, we heard a bell toll...



...thirteen times. Each chime seemed to reinforce the hopelessness of it all. We've done everything we could to abolish the Dark Hour and save the world...and it turns out that we've failed.



Takeharu: Well?! Why is he late?! He's got Aigis with him, doesn't he?!
Mitsuru: ...
Akihiko: ...Mitsuru.



Mitsuru: We're heading for Tartarus.
Fuuka: Umm...to do what?
Mitsuru: I don't know, but that's where the sound is coming from. We have to find out what's going on.



We grabbed our gear and headed to Tartarus as fast as we could. Aigis and Ikutsuki were waiting for us there.



Yukari: Aigis? Why are you here...?




Yukari: Huh...?
Junpei: Ikutsuki-san, what's this all about?!



Akihiko: That's why we fought so hard! But now...
Mitsuru: ...What is your intention? It was all a lie, wasn't it? You knew from the beginning that the Dark Hour wouldn't disappear.



Ikutsuki: Unfortunately, your realization has come too late.
Yukari: No...
Ken: You tricked us?!





Fuuka: What do you mean?
Ikutsuki: The 12 Shadows were parts of a whole...they were destined to be reuinted, and that was accomplished in no small part thanks to your efforts.



Ken: ...Death?
Akihiko: What are you talking about?!
Ikutsuki: The end shall come and free this world from despair...the death of everything...but also the beginning...
Yukari: Wh-what is he saying? Is he out of his mind?



Ikutsuki: The experiment went awry, but that is not why the Dark Hour and Tartarus were born. They manifested as a result of harvesting the Shadows' power...just as the experiment was designed to do.



Mitsuru: That can't be.
Ikutsuki: People have filled the world, yet turned it into a void! The only hope of salvation lies in ruin!




Ikutsuki: The man who tried it ten years ago failed, but I will not. I will succeed!
Junpei: Man, he's totally lost it...
Ikutsuki: I apologize for deceiving you, but this was for your sake as well. If you follow me just a little while longer, you, too, will find salvation.
Fuuka: You call that salvation?!



Ikutsuki: Yes?
Yukari: In the video from my father, he said to defeat the Shadows...was that a lie, too?




Mitsuru: You doctored it?!
Ikutsuki: I CORRECTED it. Your father was a superb scientist...he may not have known it, but I truly respected him. While others focused on the Shadows' abilities, he explored much more important things...but unfortunately, he could not comprehend the magnificent potential of the Fall.
Yukari: What...?
Mitsuru: He left that recording at the expense of his life.



Yukari: So you were behind it all?! You used both me and my father!
Ikutsuki: "Used" is such an ugly word...it was for the sake of the world, so how could it be wrong?




Yukari drew her evoker and prepared for battle, as did the rest of us...



Ikutsuki: ...but you are just children, after all. I suppose it can't be helped.




I only vaguely remember what happened after that..

The End Begins



When we woke up, we found ourselves shackled to crosses on the rooftop.



Yukari: What is this?!



Ikutsuki: It is just as it appears...they are to be sacrifices, harbingers of the Fall. The arrangements are complete; the prophecy shall be fulfilled.
Takeharu: You traitor! Are you insane?!
Ikutsuki: Of course not. ...You know, your father was an unlucky man. Even you, his son, after all this time do not understand his vision.
Takeharu: My father was wrong. Death as deliverance...that is not an ideology that anyone should ever embrace!
Ikutsuki: Fool! You are but a nuisance now! Aigis!



Aigis readied her gun and prepared to execute Takeharu...




...but she hesitated.



Ikutsuki: Ten years...I've waited ten...long...YEARS!



Since Aigis wouldn't do it, Ikutsuki prepared to do the job himself...

Loss



In a few moments, it was over. We were free, and Takeharu...



...had fallen.



Mitsuru: But I...I wanted him to live...I...became a Persona-user to protect him...



When someone dies during the Dark Hour, it's not possible to explain it to the authorities. You can't just tell them that they were shot by a madman during an hour that nobody experiences but you and your friends.



They'd think you were insane.



Maybe we are.



Today, of course, the school was all abuzz about what had happened. Nobody knew the truth, of course; I doubt anyone ever will.



After school, Akihiko called a meeting at the dorm...



...so I went straight home.



Yukari: I just can't believe all this...
Ken: It's in the papers, too. "Sudden Death of Kirijo Group's CEO." They blame it on illness, though.
Akihiko: Yeah, it's never the truth.
Junpei: Mitsuru-senpai's not here, huh?



Akihiko: I'm sure she'll be busy for at least a week.
Yukari: That sounds rough...I hope she'll be okay.
Junpei: So what're we supposed to do now? ...what'll happen to Chidori?
Akihiko: No word yet. They're probably too busy to be thinking about that. In fact, the entire Kirijo Group must be in a state of shock.
Fuuka: I hope Aigis is alright...
Junpei: What the hell...am I supposed to just wait for them to get their act together?



Yukari: I see...but still, what are we going to do? We have no idea how to get rid of the Dark Hour...we don't even know what we're fighting against.
Ken: What was that he said about "the Fall"? What would've happened if we had been sacrificed?



Junpei: Yeah, but standin' around here won't solve anything, right?
Akihiko: True, but there is one thing we know...Tartarus is still around, and there's a bunch of Shadows inside it. We should train, so we're ready for whatever it is we have to face.



As the rest of us left to head off to bed, I heard Fuuka mention something to Yukari...



...apparently she had found a deleted video on the Chairman's computer and restored it. She gave it to Yukari to watch, which is all well and good, but I'm more concerned with the current situation.

Is it even possible to stop the Dark Hour? What is "the Fall", anyway? What did Ikutsuki mean about Death? I guess all we can do at this point is go on like we always have...there's got to be a real top to Tartarus, and the answers might be there.

Coming up in the next entry: We're not done yet...