Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You aren't sure why you're here.

Okay, that's oversimplifying things a bit. You're here to fight this Shadow. It's the whole reason you're awake at midnight, instead of trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep. It's a school night.

You can't even say you don't know why you're fighting this Shadow. Shadows outside of Tartarus are dangerous. Big Shadows outside of Tartarus mean there's a disaster in the making, from electrical problems to trains crashing and killing everyone on them. This whole line of Shadows, Magician to Hanged Man, has caused nothing but problems.

As Persona Users, it's your duty to handle Shadows that cause problems. After all, there's no one else who can.

It's a very good reason to be out here. You don't know why you're questioning it. And yet...

Why are you here?

Is it because these Shadows are too dangerous to be left alone? They are, you get the feeling leaving one to wander on a giant bridge is a bad idea for several reasons, but that doesn't feel right.

Is it because you were told to do so? You don't actually remember anyone telling you that. The only person who would have is Ikutsuki, and he was someone who couldn't be trusted. Possibly the only thing you know you agree with him on is that the world would be better off without the Dark Hour, and you think he might just have been saying that because he knew people would agree with it.

You still don't know what role he was playing in any of this. Even when on trial for things like hiring assassins and providing them with drugs, he never gave a reason for any of it. Was it really as simple as wanting to control the local Persona Users?

But... you don't remember him telling you to fight these Shadows for any reason beyond them being dangerously powerful Shadows. Maybe he told someone else, but... it's not the reason you're here.

Is it because you did this last time? You don't actually know what you did last time, aside from how Morgana was completely unaware of the Dark Hour until the whole time travel thing. All that means is that the Dark Hour will be gone eventually.

Could this be the cause, or something that leads to it? Maybe, but you think it's something you would have been directed towards anyway. You think it might have been inevitable, but you aren't sure which part of you is saying it.

But that doesn't feel like the reason, either.

Thanatos roars. You scramble to the side, and watch as he tears in to the Hanged Man, utterly helpless against him. The same way he tore into the Magician, all those months and months ago.

You think you understand, now.

You're here because you have to be. Because someone has to witness this, even if you don't know what it means yet.

More than that, you're here because you couldn't think of anything else.

Whatever it is you were trying to think of an alternative to. You don't know what that is, just that it exists.

Just that, the moment there's nothing left of the Shadow, something changes. You think you hear something in the distance, but it's so faint, it could just be your imagination.

The Dark Hour continues. The moon hangs full and bright in the sky. A sea of blood flows beneath you.

And you're left waiting for whatever it is that'll happen next.

---

"Well. That's the Arcana Shadows dealt with." Nemi doesn't sound particularly happy or upset with this. It's just a statement of fact. "I'd say we're in a better position than last time, but I don't know if anyone's ready for what comes next."

What comes next... You don't know what that is, is the problem. Should you ask?

But even if you did, how would you explain whatever you learn to everyone? Just because they know about the time travel... if anything, that might make it worse. They might wonder why you never asked about it before.

In the corner of your eye, you see the photos on the desk have been rearranged. Aigis-san and Makoto-san towards the front. The rest of SEES gathered in a cluster around them. The rest of your friends scattered toward the back, the picture of Futaba shifting between black and orange hair so quickly you can't tell what either version looks like.

Maybe you could ask about that, but that doesn't feel relevant, really. "Was there anything else we could have done?"

...You don't know why you said that. You've been thinking about it, but if there was another option... surely you would have been told about it by now?

"Not that I know of. Nothing permanent, anyway." The way he says it makes it clear that temporary solutions aren't good enough for him. "When Makoto-san showed up, I started wondering about it. I couldn't think of anything, and if Elizabeth-san never offered another choice... that probably means there wasn't one with what we had available."

So it was something you had to do. Or... someone had to do it, and you just happened to be in the area. You like the sound of that better.

You had to do it because there was nothing else that could be done.

You still don't feel bad about not getting to land the finishing blow. You wonder what that says about you.

You're wondering a lot of things tonight. You know you won't have time for all of them to get an answer. That you might not be able to do anything with whatever answers you're given. You have to ask anyway. (Pick two)


[ ] If Nemi couldn't think of permanent solutions, what were the temporary ones?

[ ] Why does he base the lack of other options on Elizabeth-san in particular?

[ ] What happened when the Shadow died?

[ ] What causes the end of the Dark Hour?

[ ] What did everyone think of the Arcana Shadows last time?

[ ] Why did he only start thinking about options when Makoto-san showed up?

[ ] You don't want to ask a second question. You'd rather hope a photo gives you the answers you need.
-[ ] Which one?

"You decided there weren't other options... because of Elizabeth-san?" There are probably more pressing things you could ask. Your mind is bursting with questions, after all, even if where you are right now doesn't show it. But the thing with people like Elizabeth-san is that they have a way of grabbing your attention. Of making it so you can't think about anything else. "What does she have to do with it?"

"Let's just say she's invested in the way this turns out." You aren't sure what to think of the emphasis he places on that word.

It's probably safe not to like it. Elizabeth-san isn't malicious, but her attention is a very dangerous thing to have. "I know that part. She wouldn't be living here if she didn't..." Care? That feels like the wrong word.

"It's a bit more than that." And you definitely don't like it when he says that. "The results of this year... they're what she left the Velvet Room for." And that's why, to the people who knew her, it seemed so sudden. She was acting on something that hadn't happened yet.

Something important enough for her to leave behind the only place she's ever known.

What could she possibly find important enough to do that for? "So she was still in the Velvet Room, last time."

Nemi nods. "She was the one who worked with Makoto-san." And now her brother has to do that, because she's not there for it. "I didn't really know her then. I remember the time she put Makoto-san in the hospital, but that's something entirely different. I... don't think it'll happen again."

And even if it does, there's not much you can do to stop it.

Still, it's good to know that Elizabeth-san wants a good outcome to this. And she probably knows just how to do it, too, if she's from a world where the Dark Hour no longer exists.

...Morgana is from a future where the Dark Hour no longer exists. You've known this about him for about as long as you've known him. It had been strange at the time, but not so much you felt the immediate need to question it. Especially when there was only one person you could ask, and you had more important things to worry about.

Or you'd just forgotten in the time it took to dream of this place again. But you'll say it's because you had more important things, because it sounds better that way. "Did she leave before or after the Dark Hour stopped happening?"

"After." Great. You're sure that, somehow, you've acquired something resembling useful information.

You wonder if you could manage a bit more. "How did that happen, anyway? The Dark Hour not happening, I mean." You don't think you have to explain your words to yourself, but you don't want to leave any openings to avoid the subject. Just in case.

"That's... not an easy thing to explain." You stare at him until he has no choice but to try to explain, anyway. "To really understand that, you need to understand how it started happening to begin with. I don't remember you finding that part out."

You don't, either, so it probably didn't happen. "But you know how it started, right?" Otherwise, he wouldn't be thinking about the fact that you don't.

A nod. Nemi leans back in his seat. "There were a lot of things that went into it. The simplest version is that a bunch of mad scientists got together and pooled their nihilism, until it magnified itself to look like it represented the entire planet." That's the simple version? "They wanted the world to end, and the Dark Hour was the perfect setup... for the ones that didn't die when it was created, at least. You might have heard about that part- an explosion ten years ago?"

That's something you heard about, all right. You were just over a year old when it happened, but it keeps coming up in school anytime they want to talk about news reports, or disaster response, or recent history. Despite that, the details of the event are always glossed over, aside from how Gekkoukan High was built in the ruins.

Gekkoukan High. The place that becomes Tartarus. "So, the tower..."

"When you reach the top, the Dark Hour will end. One way or another." Implying that you haven't reached the top already.

You aren't actually surprised by this.

When you open your eyes, you still can't tell if you learned anything important from that.

---

In the mornings, you wait for Akira by the school gates. It's a routine you're well accustomed to, because you have things to deliver to him. His school things, his lunch... It's a normal part of your day.

It doesn't go as normal today.

Today, Akira doesn't show up. You check his classroom, in case he got here before you, and he isn't there, either.

Maybe it's just residual nerves from the full moon last night... but you don't feel good about this.

It's fine, though. You have his address. You can just head over and hope his parents aren't there. But if they are... you're going to need backup. Who should you bring?


[ ] Mitsuru-nee.

[ ] Akihiko-san.

[ ] Shinjiro-san.

[ ] Makoto-san.

[ ] Chidori-san.