Part 48: Entry Forty-Three: December Third, 2009

Entry Forty-Three: December Third, 2009

(Auto-transcribed voice post)

I don't even know what to say. There's not much point in saying anything anymore. I guess I'm just going through the motions at this point.




Aigis was acting weird yesterday morning, but I thought nothing of it.



I went to see Maiko, but it was a pretty normal day. Nothing special happened.



Then when I got home...




Fuuka: Maybe I should summon Juno, though, just in case...by the way, have you seen Aigis? She's been returning late these days. She never used to...I wonder what happened.



I went to bed early, and during the Dark Hour that night...



...I had a dream.



Ryoji was standing on the Moonlight Bridge, and Aigis had confronted him.



Aigis: What are you doing here?
Ryoji: ...Oh, that's right. You don't really like me, do you? 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...



Aigis: Have you forgotten?
Ryoji: Forgotten what?
Aigis: The Dark Hour - a time period during which few people are active.



Ryoji: ...
Aigis: Yes...it's all so clear.




Ryoji: Your enemy...?






Ryoji: Who...who am I? Who are you?
Aigis: I am Aigis, the last remaining Anti-Shadow Emergency Control Weapon. A machine created to destroy Shadows.






All of a sudden, Aigis assumed a battle stance...

The Errors of the Past



Back at the dorm...



Yukari: Well, it's a full moon tonight...you noticed it too, didn't you, Senpai? Geez, I'm starting to feel like a workaholic!




Yukari: Huh? Where would she have gone?
Fuuka: I sensed a Persona, but it quickly disappeared. And soon after that, I couldn't detect Aigis' presence.
Yukari: Could it have been Strega...?
Mitsuru: Well, she hasn't sensed any of their members, but we can't be positive.




Mitsuru: Alright, call the others. Let's see what's going on here.



We rushed to the Moonlight Bridge...



...and found Aigis trashed, laying on her knees with sparks and smoke shooting from her chassis.





She motioned for me to come closer.





All of a sudden, we heard a familiar voice...



...it was Ryoji.

Yukari: Ryoji-kun? Wait, what're you doing here?!




Upon Ryoji's arrival, Aigis finally powered down.



Akihiko reached for his Evoker...



...but Mitsuru stopped him.




She then spoke the questions on all our minds.






Yukari: The Appriser...?
Ryoji: I remember everything now...the frightening truth about myself...and Shadows...it's all so hard to believe...



Ryoji was spent, and he dropped to his knees in exhaustion.






Fuuka: What is this "maternal being"...?



Ryoji: 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.






Yeah.

Now I know why I keep having weird dreams and visions.

And why I can change Personas when nobody else can.

And why my life is such a goddamn mess.





Ryoji: His special Persona awakened, as did the 12 Shadows, all in order to become one with me.





Before he could finish telling us, though...



...he fell unconscious.





We grabbed Aigis and Ryoji and took them back to the dorm to rest...





...and today, we finally discovered the truth.

It's not easy to hear. If you aren't part of what's happened, you might want to stop reading my journal now.

You'll be better off that wae6cbb0e2c532e86ab2859

(Ugh, shit. Looks like more issues with the archive, folks, but the other half of this one is coming soon!)

Coming up in the next entry: Revelation.