288Chapter 45
Approximately 3 months ago - The Great Seal
It looked like space, but it wasn't. And if that was confusing, you'd better buckle up.
Stars twinkled out at Minato from his place at the top of nothing, where his eyes stared blankly from his gray corpse chained to the massive door behind him, and where his translucent silver-blue eyes watched it all in his spectral form. Yes, Minato had two bodies - one chained, one spectral, both very dead - resting in the void.
The stars weren't truly stars, however. Instead, they were worlds - perhaps planets, or timelines, or universes - however you wished to view them. There they stood (well, floated, but close enough): tantalizingly visible, but out of reach.
Something snarled in front of Minato, and his spectral form looked up. Staring down at him, right on schedule, was his old foe: Erebus, materializing out of nothing in less time than a flash of lightning. The personified, accumulated malice that comes from the hearts of all living people, as it had once been defined. Something Minato had not realized immediately was that the definition was quite literal: Erebus is not just the accumulated malice of all people in his universe, but the accumulated malice of all living people… including those in different universes.
With a decided disdain for its categorical definitions, Erebus stared down at Minato, glowing red coals of eyes glaring at him, while a body as black as smoky soot hunched over on all four animalistic appendages. Its ribs led to a cavernous emptiness. Its feet were human hands, the same shade of black as its body. From the top of its head, two horns of white bone protruded out like angled spikes, and its teeth - fixed in a permanent grin or grimace - smiled at him. Then, from behind its long body, a second head - slightly smaller than the first, but otherwise nearly identical - turned around, staring at Minato with the same odd, not-quite-emotionless grin.
The jaws on both heads clicked open, and Erebus roared at Minato, one shriek starting just before the first, but both shaking the foundations of all worlds.
Minato stuck out his ghostly tongue at it.
Then it struck.
It lashed out with its hands. It speared with its lance-like horns. It bit with its gnashing teeth. Each strike passed through Minato's spectral form, but slammed against his ashen gray body chained to the massive door - and he still felt them, each blow reverberating through him and sending his ghostly body sprawling. Another hit came; another time Minato was tossed like a ragdoll. Each one made him gasp, wincing and crying out with twisted expressions contorting his face.
After an unknown time, Erebus tired of smashing itself against the impenetrable doorway, and it backed up, still growling and gnashing its teeth occasionally, before it stepped back into the void behind it and was swallowed up by the darkness.
Then it was just Minato again.
He picked himself up, groaned, and reached a hand up behind his head, giving himself a scratch and stretching one arm before taking his seat again underneath his ashen body.
Days did not exist in this place as they do on Earth. But if they did, Minato would have said, "Well, it's just another day ending in 'y.'"
Something that was not ordinary, however, was a portal that began appearing from the ether to Minato's side as soon as he sat down. It was outlined in blue, a tall neon rectangle rimmed in humming energy, and soon more lines appeared from all its edges, intersecting in the center in a criss-crossing pattern of rectangles - one that eventually covered the entirety in azure lines, forming a door. The last thing to form was a handle, one which turned quickly before the door opened.
Now, just because it was unordinary did not mean Minato didn't know what it meant. He smiled as the door opened. "Elizabeth. How are you… doing?"
Trailing off, Minato began to frown. The person stepping through the portal was, indeed, the silver-haired attendant of the velvet room - yet as she stepped through the portal this time, she had donned a grin that leapt back and forth between teasing and… knowing . As in, "I know something you don't," knowing. (Minato, unfortunately, was quite used to this look.)
"Hello, Minato," she said, the smile on her face shining in her voice. She looked around. "I don't suppose you've seen our unruly pet recently, have you?"
"You just missed it," Minato said. "Not more than a minute ago."
The smile wiped itself from Elizabeth's face for a moment. "Drat," she said, her lips twisting down.
"Language."
"Oh, do shut up, Minato."
Minato raised his hands in surrender at Elizabeth's glare - though he could see her eyes smiling and her lips twitching upwards again. "Oh well," she said. "I will have to give it an even warmer welcome next time, then."
"Yes indeed." Narrowing his eyes, Minato's spectral form leaned in. "However, I know that smile. Perhaps a bit too well." Elizabeth quickly wiped any traces of the smile from her face, in her best attempt at an innocent look. Minato just threw her his best unimpressed expression in response. "What's going on?"
"Oh, truly, you do know me too well, Minato." Elizabeth sighed, conjuring up a blue chair with one hand and sitting in it - the navy chair hovering in the ether. "There is indeed something I wished to talk to you about… something rather important, if I may be frank."
Minato raised an eyebrow.
"You see," Elizabeth said, "I have been looking for something. For quite some time, in fact."
"I know. You would never tell me what."
Flashing him an unrepentant grin (while Minato just rolled his eyes), she continued. "In all honesty, it is two things." She raised one finger. "First, Shadows. In great quantities. They would be necessary for the other thing."
She smiled. "The other thing I was looking for were timelines."
On saying this, Elizabeth spread her arms wide, reaching out as the twinkling of uncountable worlds silhouetted her.
Her face beamed - Minato's remained the same.
"Ok," he said, scratching his ephemeral cheek. "Why?"
Elizabeth lowered her arms, looking at Minato with a frown on her lips. "I cannot believe that you still have not learned to appreciate my dramatics." Minato shrugged, trying to keep his lips from smiling as she went on. "There is… an idea, you see. An idea regarding timelines, and our place in them. For instance, can we travel through time utilizing large quantities of Shadows?"
Minato leaned forwards even further at that, but Elizabeth flashed him an apologetic smile – truly apologetic. "Sorry to get your hopes up, dear Minato, but I cannot do that. Shadows do not, as some have thought, allow you to manipulate time. That is simply beyond the understanding of third-dimensional beings - and yes, although I may appear to you as an immutable, divine being that defies all understanding…" Elizabeth grinned wider as Minato rolled his eyes again. "I, too, am a third dimensional being like you."
"You certainly do defy all understanding."
"I shall take that as a compliment."
"Suit yourself." Minato couldn't help the small smirk slipping into his lips. It died quickly as he continued, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "But if time cannot be controlled, how did the Abyss of Time come to be?"
"Oh, my foolish friend," Elizabeth sighed. "Time can absolutely be controlled - but not by people like you or I. And everyone I know who could control time have been very unwilling to help - or to even listen to me, frankly.
"All this is to say - I cannot travel through time. Neither could you - no matter how many Shadows you had at your disposal. Shadows do not control a doorway to time manipulation - they control gateways to other worlds. Their connection to the collective unconscious allows them - and us, if we use them - to move between a physical dimension, but not through time."
Minato frowned, cocking his head. "So, each of these universes - from our perspective - are running in parallel time from ours."
"Precisely!"
"So, by collecting and using many Shadows…"
"I can travel through dimensions! I cannot travel through time, but I can visit other worlds, in the exact time they are currently in - which may be different from the time that we are in. Yet all worlds move steadfastly forward through time at the same rate."
"...That all makes sense to me," Minato said slowly. "But… why are you telling me this? I'm stuck here. I'm protecting this timeline - just as other people like me are doing the same for all the other worlds. I'm sure Erebus is out there, harassing one of the other universes as we speak."
"Yes, yes, of course." Elizabeth waved her hand. "I know. But I have been looking for one world in particular… one that you may be interested in. One very much like the one you came from, but with just a single, minor difference."
Elizabeth's smile was back - one whispering of mischief, with glee and delight barely held back from bursting across her face.
"One where, as we speak, both you and your sister are moving to Port Island."
And suddenly, for the first time in ages, Minato felt an emotion he had almost forgotten - shock. He shot up from his seat on top of nothingness, his back ramrod straight. His visible eye widened. And… well.
Upon hearing those words, the blue-haired boy couldn't breathe.
It was a bold declaration that Ikutsuki had made. One which easily could (and Minato had a sneaking suspicion would) change the course of this timeline irrevocably. And yet, despite the intense ramifications of what was happening, Minato's first thought was:
Well, I didn't come from this world's future. Technically, you're wrong.
Then he clenched his teeth.
…But you're not wrong enough.
Sadly, not even Minato's internal snark could fully dispel the cold sheen of fear that struck him as he felt the weight of the situation press down upon him. His toes curled against the side of the bed as he met Ikutsuki's wide-eyed, far-too-eager stare, the hunger in Ikutsuki's gaze manic, frantic, rapidly seeping out across his face; an outgrowth of toxic, contagious curiosity.
Minato had to shake himself out of his stupor. Get it together, Arisato. This is still salvageable. If you really didn't come from a different timeline, what would you say?
"You think I'm what?" he said aloud, injecting the words with as much incredulity and teenage derision as he could muster.
"I think you're from the future," Ikutsuki repeated. His enthusiasm momentarily disrupted, he cocked his head. "I thought that was obvious from my last statement?"
"I heard you. But I'm not."
"Hm." Ikutsuki frowned, eyes narrowing. "Then how do you explain everything that you have done up until this point? Your knowledge, your actions, and the like?"
"Some things I can't explain," Minato replied, his mind whirling at a million miles an hour. "But for other things, I'm just prepared."
"You brought two doorstops to a Shadow fight. And you prepared them in the exact way you needed to in order to prevent S.E.E.S. from being trapped." Ikutsuki's face twisted, morphing into an expression torn between disappointment and disdain. "That's not luck nor preparation - that's precognition."
"But it wasn't," Minato lied. "I thought that the doorstops may be helpful - Shadows have been shown to manipulate inanimate objects before, and I decided to put the doorstops in place in case the Shadow tried to do that. It just happened to do exactly that." Minato shrugged, praying it looked natural. "I don't know what else to tell you. I've brought plenty of other things that did not come in handy."
That was true enough, and Minato almost allowed himself to relax. But then, further inspiration struck, and Minato frowned and leaned forward. "But you just said something about… old experiments. Ones done by Mitsuru-senpai's grandfather. What is that about?"
Ikutsuki sighed, waving one hand at Minato as he shook his head. "Either you already know, or you shall find out whenever it becomes relevant."
Minato narrowed his eyes. "It is relevant-"
"It's only relevant if you already know of it," Ikutsuki cut him off. "If not, it is irrelevant. For if you truly do not know of it, then I am mistaken about your future knowledge, and in that case this whole conversation is irrelevant."
"I…" Minato started, then stopped. "Look, Ikutsuki-san. I'm not from the future. Period. And I can't think of why you would tell me these kinds of crazy things, let alone why you would think I won't immediately go to the others to tell them about how crazy you are."
A look of confusion flashed across Ikutsuki's face. "Minato-kun, surely it would be obvious that I have already thought of that."
Unease rustled in the bottom of Minato's stomach. "...What do you mean?"
"I told you that this was a gamble, but it is not one I am unprepared for. I am ready for multiple outcomes." Ikutsuki glanced at his hand as he raised it, palm facing upwards. "For instance: you may tell me the truth and accept my deal. This is optimal, and I genuinely hope you consider it. But, if not…" Ikutsuki sighed and raised his other hand, mimicking the same pose from his first hand. "Then, sadly, we shall continue down the path we are currently walking, towards the salvation brought by the Fall and the end of humanity. If you try to stop me, then I shall stop you in whatever way seems most prudent. I could have you killed, but that would be such a waste - and a hassle, if I may be honest. I would prefer to handle you in other ways."
As more and more words flowed out of Ikutsuki's mouth, the floor beneath Minato suddenly seemed to bottom out. His stomach flew up to his throat. Adrenaline shot through his system. More cold sweat wicked onto his shirt.
How could anyone talk so casually about death, murder, and the outright eradication of the entire human species?
"This is insane," Minato said, mind numb.
"Minato-kun, I believe that I am one of the only sane ones left. But no matter." Ikutsuki shook his head. "Moving on - there are other outcomes I am prepared for. I considered that you would want to tell the others, regardless of what I told you to convince you otherwise. You could directly tell them, which would make it your word against mine. That would be a fair fight, but I have many people who trust me, people in high places. I would handle it. Alternatively, you could have recorded this conversation, which would be inconvenient - I would have much more explaining to do. But I have turned off the security cameras in this room for the moment - which, if it ever comes to light, I will explain under the guise of 'privacy,' which is not wholly false. I already checked that your computer was turned off, and your phone can only record up to one minute of audio input at a time - so even if you started recording before I entered, your recording time would now long be up. And the one minute would have been up before I mentioned the sensitive topics which you would have most wanted to record. Plus, I have watched to make sure that you haven't fiddled with your phone since I entered here, so you couldn't have started a new recording. I suppose it would have been possible for you to install other recording equipment in here earlier, but I made sure to watch for that on the recorded videos of this room since you moved in here."
As Minato helplessly listened to Ikutsuki systematically bring up a counter for each and every move that Minato could have made, he felt himself - somehow - simply stop feeling. He knew that he ought to feel an even higher sense of dread, or fear, or horror, or whatever. But he didn't. He could only sit there, frozen in place, and come to a realization that he should have had long ago.
He had been focusing far too much on the threat of Shadows. By changing the future to accommodate for the danger they posed, he had opened the doorway to the other threat in his midst. In everyone's midst.
Minato had vastly underestimated the threat posed by the thin, well-dressed madman casually sitting on his bed.
"...Again, I'm honored to know how intently you've... researched me, Ikutsuki-san," Minato said, Ikutsuki's words still slithering through his head. "But I can't make a deal with you using knowledge I don't have."
"Ah, a fair point." Ikutsuki hummed, dropping his hands and placing them delicately into his lap. "Well, how about this: how about you listen to my proposition, regardless of what you claim to be the truth of your future knowledge, and then you tell me if you'd like to work with me?"
"I-"
"Do not answer, Minato-kun, as you will likely be wasting our time with lies. Let me speak - and please refrain yourself from further interruptions, I understand what I am saying is shocking but this will go much more smoothly if I can get all my words out."
Minato shut his mouth.
Crossing his legs, Ikutsuki breathed out a deep sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "Minato-kun… are you familiar with the 2004 Indian Ocean quake? I assume so, given how recently it happened."
Well, for Minato, it really wasn't that recent. But he did have a recent reminder of it - after something that a certain gruff doctor had told him about Ikutsuki.
"I was in the Peace Corps in 2004," Ikutsuki continued, confirming what Shoji had told Minato a couple months prior. "And I was sent to Indonesia following the quake and the resulting tsunami. I did not know this at the time - no one did - but it just so happened that Indonesia was the country most affected by the disaster."
Ikutsuki paused. "Affected," he repeated, then quietly laughed, looking back down and shaking his head. "Such a simple word. Very objective. But here are some stronger words: One hundred and thirty thousand. That is the approximate number of confirmed deaths in Indonesia alone following the disaster."
Raising his head, Ikutsuki looked straight at the wall. "Tell me, Minato-kun," he said. "Do you know what death smells like?"
Minato did not answer.
"I would assume not," continued Ikutsuki. "Despite what you may think, it is not something that you can smell in the Dark Hour. For it can smell like blood, yes, and also rot and decay, but there is more. It is feces and urine. It is the remnants of a person's last activity - cooking grease, perfume, pet food, play-dough."
Ikutsuki breathed in deeply. "...It is not something easily forgotten. And those who experience it are forever changed. Those who experience this kind of hardship think of things differently - react to things differently. They know their true priorities - they know what is important." Finally deigning to glance at Minato, Ikutsuki gave him a small, knowing smile, at which Minato internally recoiled. "And from all I've read on your background, I know you have experienced this, too."
Minato swallowed back the bile wriggling up his throat at Ikutsuki's words. "My experiences didn't give me quite the same viewpoint."
"It all comes with time, Minato-kun. Time and experience. At some point, you shall see what I see, too." Ikutsuki shook his head. "But that is not why I am here today, telling you all this. As you might recall, I said I had a deal for you."
Reaching out with one hand, Ikutsuki tapped the bedsheet between where he and Minato sat. "I believe the Fall is humanity's salvation, Minato-kun. There are simply too many vapid, unseeing humans - those who do not have the experiences necessary to know what is truly important. And it is somewhat possible to find those people who do know true importance, or to create those experiences - goodness knows there are plenty of ways to cause enough pain and destruction to show people the light, but how do you organize those people afterwards? Group them together? Sadly, Minato-kun, the status-quo is strong - strong enough that the powers-that-be would squash any attempt to organize such a crowd of good people, long before anything got off the ground. The internet has potential to organize them, but mark my words, once the government catches up with the technology - and they will - there will be no escaping them, even there."
Minato still was numb as Ikutsuki continued talking. He watched with a morbid interest as Ikutsuki closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"No, Minato-kun," Ikutsuki went on, "Sooner or later, all of humanity will be doomed to false priorities, selfishness, and sloth. So, before humanity is forever subject to such a fate, I wish to purge us all - deliver us from the tragic fate that will become us."
Ikutsuki raised his head and opened his eyes. "However. That was before you came along."
A light, hopeful smile fluttered onto Ikutsuki's face. "After all, there have been countless tragedies and disasters throughout history. And no government or power in this world has any idea that time travel is possible - at least, not that we know of, though that is a risk I am willing to take."
Minato leaned back, reeling as the meaning of Ikutsuki's sudden eagerness rolled over him. "You want to collect people who have survived tragedies from across time, and bring them together."
The smile on Ikutsuki's face widened. "Starting with the people I met in Indonesia. It would be the largest collection ever of people with the right priorities, all in one place and time - and no one could stop us."
"...And then what?" Minato asked. "Once you have everyone - what then?"
"Then we do it all better," Ikutsuki said, shooting Minato a quizzical look. "Obviously. Better than anyone else in the world could do - we will be the greatest nation in the world, Minato-kun. We will make the world right."
Minato had nothing to say to that. His mind was reeling with the sheer enormity of what Ikutsuki was proposing - all the difficulties it would pose, all the insane work it would take, the logistics (holy shit, the logistics) - that words couldn't even begin to formulate in his mind.
Ikutsuki gave him a small smile again. "My proposal, Minato-kun, is this: Instead of saving humanity by causing the end of the world, we save it by creating a new beginning. You share your future knowledge with me - show us how to time travel - and it all begins from there. What do you say?"
"I…" Minato's eyes felt permanently widened, like his brain had decided that nothing would ever be as surprising as this again, so he might as well stay like this. "I…"
Forcibly closing his eyes, Minato exhaled and clenched his fists.
Just… Wow.
Holy shit.
Where to begin?
First off, Ikutsuki's plan? It was flawed from the outset. Ikutsuki's assumption that everyone who survives any disaster has the exact same priorities is just… wrong. It's simply not true. And that's not even bringing into account Ikutsuki's own insane views. This man is so deluded that not only does he think everyone who goes through trauma shares one view… he believes they share his views. Or at least, that they would eventually share his views. Which, obviously, is also not true - Ikutsuki may have gone through disasters and tragedy, but on top of that, the man's views are simply crazy.
And even if you ignored all of that: what groups of people would you pick? How would you pick them? How would you get them to willingly time travel and start a new nation? Where would such a nation be located?
And then there was the biggest point of all: that Minato couldn't show Ikutsuki how to time travel, only how to timeline jump. Technically, Ikutsuki's plan would still sort of be possible with a timeline jump instead of time travel… but that would change things about Ikutsuki's plan.
God. Even the basis of Ikutsuki's plan was so insane and extraordinary, so irrational, that Minato had to wonder how a man who was clearly so good at planning and forethought would ever come up with such a… crazy...
Hm.
Minato halted his train of thought.
Ikutsuki had been so candid, so unabashedly open throughout this entire conversation that on first listen, Minato had openly accepted what Ikutsuki had said. But a little prickle in the back of his mind whispered uncertainties and breathed doubts.
Minato was biased against the man, it was true. But he had to ask: could a man who was planning the extinction of the human species really be capable of wanting to start a new beginning? Could it be that this Ikutsuki was so disconnected from reality that he did not see the inherent contradiction? Or was he disconnected in the other way - so unused to empathy that he didn't understand how a lie like this would appear insane to someone else?
Not to mention: Minato knew in his original timeline that Ikutsuki had been directly involved in the Shadow experiments the Kirijo Group had done 10 years prior, working directly with Mitsuru's damnable Grandfather. So, had this one done the same and joined the Peace Corps afterwards? Or had he only become involved in the Kirijo Group after the Peace Corps? Or was the Peace Corp story just a front to cover up more of his activities?
Was Ikutsuki just straight up lying about everything?
God, so many questions. How much of this was Minato over-thinking? And how much of this were calculated moves by the insane, omnicidal man before him?
Minato was surprised that the smoke alarm hadn't gone off. With how hard he'd been thinking, he was sure that smoke was pouring out of his ears.
"Minato-kun?" Ikutsuki said. Minato opened his eyes and looked at the man. "You have been silent for quite some time now. And you have not yet answered my question."
Minato knew that. But he didn't want to answer. "...How are you even planning on doing this… time traveling, Ikutsuki-san?"
"This is what you need to tell me, Minato-kun." Ikutsuki sighed. "But I will indulge you. The research done by the Kirijo Group all those years ago indicated that an enormous amount of Shadows is needed to affect time. I have ideas of how to collect large numbers of Shadows at once, but we are uniquely positioned at this exact moment in time to do so quickly and efficiently in one way."
Like a lightning bolt had struck through him, Minato snapped to attention. "The Full Moon Shadows. You're going to harness their power."
"Naturally." Ikutsuki grinned at the sudden alertness of his young companion. "Rather than kill them to cause the Fall, we shall save them and use them as conduits to open ways to different times. That is the theory, at least - I need you to confirm that we can."
Oh.
Oh.
That… that changed some things.
Ikutsuki had implied that he no longer wanted the Fall now that he had a secondary option, but he was going to actively use the catalysts of the Fall - the Full Moon Shadows - as tools. No longer would they be killed to cause the fall… they'd be saved somehow, at least for a bit.
Having Ikutsuki's plan spelled out for him in full, Minato nearly had vertigo.
Ikutsuki wanted Minato's help in saving the Full Moon Shadows.
Ikutsuki wanted Minato's help in saving the world.
Ikutsuki wanted Minato's help in stopping the Fall.
What the fuck.
Now, Minato wasn't positive that using the Full Moon Shadows to timeline jump wouldn't effectively kill them and send them back to Nyx… but just the fact that they were going to be saved at all was a whole lot better than killing them immediately.
Minato gripped the side of his bed, trying to keep himself upright as his entire world flipped upside-down.
Minato's original plan of killing the Full Moon Shadows until he had a way to convince S.E.E.S. that Ikutsuki was plotting the demise of humanity… it had some merits, but it relied heavily on not changing the timeline and thus knowing the best ways to handle the Full Moon Shadows with minimal damage. It also relied on the presumption that he would have the Kirijo Group's backing (due to Mitsuru and her father's support) once he showed everyone what the Fall was. Minato knew that once he began changing the timeline, things might become more difficult, but he had been confident that he would still be able to keep control of things.
And yet here he was, being exposed effortlessly by Ikutsuki.
He could keep denying everything, sure. But he would have to deal with Ikutsuki being suspicious and watching his every move... and if there was one thing Minato had just learned about Ikutsuki, it was that the man was thorough. How much of Minato's efforts would be spent on avoiding Ikutsuki? How much would Ikutsuki change his plans based on his assumption that Minato came from the future, even if Minato continued to insist he didn't?
Dodging Ikutsuki would take so much time and energy. And much of that could be avoided… if Minato could swallow the horrifying prospect of working with Ikutsuki.
Minato had to admit: Ikutsuki was good. He was really good. Because he had given Minato a clear, almost easy choice. Minato would always be working towards the same goal: stopping the Fall. But he had to choose whether to work with Ikutsuki or against him. The problem was, to work with Ikutsuki, he would have to give up some of his greatest weapon: his knowledge. However, loathe as he was to admit it, Minato had to say that his "future" knowledge had not been as great a boon as he had initially thought. Whether it was due to small changes in the timeline (Minato-made and otherwise) or incorrect assumptions about the right course of action, time and again Minato had found himself in different situations than he ever expected.
This is not to say that his knowledge was and is useless - far from it. But he now knew that trying to keep the timeline the same so he could always predict every single event that would occur was a flawed idea. Things inevitably will change - and he must use his knowledge to supplement his actions, not to guide them directly.
Long story short: his knowledge was useful. But it was not all-powerful.
Minato clenched his teeth, a sinking feeling going through him as he realized what he must do.
Could Minato stop the Fall while working against Ikutsuki? Possibly so, but he wasn't sure.
Could Minato stop the Fall with Ikutsuki's help and the backing of whatever resources the older man had at his disposal? Almost certainly. The only question was if he could trust that Ikutsuki would stick to his word… and of course, he could not trust that.
But he could trust that Ikutsuki would do as he said at first. (Probably.) And if he played his cards right, Minato could deal with any other changes that Ikutsuki had planned when they appeared.
After all, Minato didn't need to tell Ikutsuki everything he knew.
Minato took a deep breath. Even though he had already determined what to say, he couldn't help the shivers and the pin-pricks of dread that scattered across his body as he spoke.
"...I did come back to stop the Fall."
Ikutsuki's face, his whole being, lit up.
"And using the Full Moon Shadows should work," Minato continued, thinking back to what Elizabeth told him when she first collected him from the Great Seal. "But I don't know how we could keep them contained for any amount of time, let alone multiple of them - since I don't think one Full Moon Shadow is enough to do what you want."
"Do not worry - leave that to me." Ikutsuki sprang up from his seat, face aglow like a child in a candy store, muttering to himself. "My goodness, there is so much I must prepare - so much to do - Minato-kun, you must tell me everything you know!"
"Another day, please, Ikutsuki-san. Let me prepare myself first."
Ikutsuki's eyes narrowed. "Minato-kun, I must request-"
"Ikutsuki-san, please."
Ikutsuki paused at Minato's plea. Then, the older man sighed - and Minato wasn't sure if it was the last shred of humanity left in the man, or some behind-the-scenes calculation that caused him to back off.
"Very well - I understand that this is difficult. Then let us hammer out the last details of our accord. First, you seem to not wish to share your future knowledge with the rest of S.E.E.S. That is fine - understandable, even. I am willing to work with you to keep this knowledge secret. But in return for me keeping your secret, you must keep mine. I must ask that you not share the truth about my initial work towards achieving the Fall, and our final end goal. We must take things one step at a time - I am only telling you so much because I believe you understand me and would agree with my new plan, Minato-kun. For our joint venture to work, we both must command their respect and trust - if not, then they may not only doubt myself but you, as well. For the moment, we must work together to convince everyone that the Full Moon Shadows must not be killed, and instead must be captured. Then, eventually, we will share my full plan with them when the time is right."
Ikutsuki snapped his fingers. "Ah, one last thing. Minato-kun?"
"...Yeah?"
"I should say - this is your last opportunity to back out gracefully. I will not punish you - not too much. But if you betray me from this point onwards, or if you neglect to tell me the truth of something important in the future, I will not hesitate to deal with you in whatever way I see fit, or to go back to my original plan. Understood?"
Minato swore that he could feel the air nearly vibrate around him with those words. Like the atmosphere itself could hardly bear the weight of the threat. But he nodded nonetheless.
Ikutsuki, seemingly unaffected by his own words, reached his hand out for a handshake, a bright smile on his face. "Excellent! Then, do we have a deal? We shall stop the Fall together, and bring about a new age?"
Minato looked at the outstretched hand, fingers sharp and angled like an adder's fangs. Obviously, Minato did not really want to make a deal here. Minato was not actually trying to start a new age. But he did need to stop the Fall, and eventually - hopefully - stop the Dark Hour, too. And that left him with a conundrum.
Things were happening much too fast, and he had yet to process everything - anything, really. But Ikutsuki seemed to hold almost all the cards - he had much of the Kirijo Group's backing, and he held the trust of many people in the organization. He held much of the knowledge of the Kirijo Group's damning past, and he could quite easily influence things in a way to once more bring about the Fall, shattering the foundations of everything Minato was working towards.
And yet…
Minato looked up into Ikutsuki's eyes.
And yet, Ikutsuki didn't hold all the cards.
Minato held all the "future" knowledge, and thus controlled what Ikutsuki knew. Minato had the trust of several people that Ikutsuki did not have - ones that could prove to be just as important as Ikutsuki's connections. Minato had a Persona, and the ability to fight Shadows one on one. And Minato knew that Ikutsuki's plan would likely be impossible in its current iteration.
Plus, there was one more card that Minato could take away from Ikutsuki: one more thing hanging above Minato's head that he could take care of. One thing that scared the absolute crap out of him, but also one thing that he should have taken care of at the start of the month. Hell, something he possibly should have done ages ago.
But better late than never. If he was going to change the future, he was going to change the future. It was time to even the playing field… for all of S.E.E.S.
"I'll take your deal. But I'd like to make one modification."
Then Minato spoke again. And after a moment Ikutsuki smiled a most peculiar smile, as if Minato had just made an interesting move in a board game. And even though Minato couldn't help but shiver as he shook Ikutsuki's hand - feeling like a snake was coiling around his neck - at least he could say that there would be one good thing coming from this.
What Minato didn't see - though he would not have been surprised if he had - was Ikutsuki's sly smile as he pranced away from Minato's room, eyes bright and expression lively. In this timeline, only Minato would have known to be wary of that expression.
But here, it went utterly, entirely unseen.
S.E.E.S. gathered around the Mission Control room once more the next evening. Every member made it - from Koromaru, to Hamuko, to Yukari, to Junpei, to Fuuka. Everyone was there. They all sat or stood in a semicircle facing Minato, staring up at him expectantly.
He looked at all of them and wished they would go away.
Sadly, they remained stubbornly corporeal and, you know, there. He resisted the urge to sigh (and/or run away) as he turned his stiff neck to look at Ikutsuki, standing next to him in solidarity. (He wasn't sure how to feel about that - wait, yes he was, he hated it.) Ikutsuki gave him an encouraging nod, and Minato looked back to the crowd in front of him.
"So, we brought you together again for a reason," Minato started. Trying to ignore the 'No, duh' that radiated from the crowd, Minato forged onwards. "Ikutsuki-san and I talked the other night, and we… realized something. Something important that you all need to know."
Minato fidgeted. Yes, he actually fidgeted - noticeably so - and no, he couldn't believe it either. Several members of S.E.E.S. looked somewhat taken aback, and Hamuko actually sat upright, concern washing over her face.
Seeing that, Minato fidgeted more.
Damn. This was the worst.
In the face of what he had to say, Minato found himself tongue-tied and terrified. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything all day at school, only thinking about this damn conversation he had to have, and the impacts he knew it would have. Finding that the faces of all his companions were too much, he looked above their heads, on the wall behind them, and found that only slightly less terrifying.
"Um…"
He tried to speak again, but to no avail. He had prepared a damn speech for this, and the words had been right there a moment ago, but now: poof. Totally gone.
More shuffling from his audience caught his attention, and the suffocating fear began to turn to annoyance. For god's sake, he could fight Shadows, he could hold back freaking Erebus, so you'd better believe he could make a speech.
And so, he began to speak. But with the adrenaline running through his veins, and his heart beating at the pace of a jackrabbit, all thoughts of preparation and speech were still nowhere to be seen.
However, Minato did remember one line.
One lone line from the speech that he and Ikutsuki had developed. The one line he considered the most important, the one that came from the single modification that Minato had requested to the deal.
The one sentence that, more than anything else, had the ability to radically change everything. The one sentence that would change everything. The one sentence that he had been running from since he arrived, and yet the one line that - if he was being honest - he knew was the most important to say.
Arisato Minato opened his mouth, and said:
.
.
.
"W-would you believe me if I said I came from the future?"
.
.
.
The entire room was nonplussed following that statement. Teenagers glanced at each other, brows furrowed. Hamuko's eyes squinted and she leaned forwards, her expression concerned and confused.
However, there was one person who didn't act quite as Minato expected.
Kirijo Mitsuru sat in the armchair of the Command Room, and upon hearing Minato's words, her eyes widened. Yet after a moment, she leaned back and looked down, huffing out a quiet breath. Minato did not see any of the signs of shock, confusion, or bewilderment that he expected. He quickly glanced over to Ikutsuki, who similarly had brows beginning to furrow in mild confusion as he looked at Mitsuru. Ikutsuki also glanced to the side at Minato, before the duo looked back at Mitsuru, all their machinations and plans totally forgotten.
In the midst of the confusion spreading across the room, the Kirijo Heir looked up, and then stood up, her posture as regal as ever, with her brilliant crimson hair cascading down her shoulders, and her head held high.
All eyes turned to her. And with her red lips parted in a small, confident smile, she spoke.
.
.
.
"...Would you believe that I do?"
.
.
.
And with that… Lateral season 3 comes to a close.
Before anything else, some final shout outs.
Shout outs to:
axeoqgamez9, cezzoro, and Raider301 for fav'ing;
axeoqgamez9, The Anime Reader, foodmonger, and UnkownOwl for following;
0lcra, CereysKerrigan, and Da Etan for reviewing;
And - one last time (for now) - thank you so much to my genuinely, truly amazing beta Disasternoj for beta'ing.
Now - since I've been depriving all of you of AN commentary for the rest of the season - I present, ALL of my AN thoughts in one batch! To be honest with y'all, even with all of these chapters written and edited before I began publishing, it was still a struggle to get all the chapters out on time on a weekly cadence. See, before I publish, I always do two last rounds of editing - one in my text editor, one on FF dot net's document manager. Doing that while also working a full time job sometimes got hectic! So as a result, I didn't try to throw an AN into the end of most of the chapters, since I didn't want to rush any thoughts. So, instead, here are all of my miscellaneous thoughts about this season now! This is all very stream of consciousness, so apologies in advance for the scatter-brainedness of this section.
(If you happen to be reading this chapter before reading the rest of the season - spoilers for all preceding chapters of Lateral are ahead!)
Now, where else to start but at the beginning of the season?
When I think of the first part of this season, I think of Yukari and Hamuko. I had a pretty solid idea of Yukari's thoughts and feelings from the get-go, but Hamuko? I really had to think about her. It took me a while to settle on how Hamuko would react to the end of last season, and how to tie all her chapters together. And part of this was because I really wanted Hamuko to come to the realization she had in chapter 35: in particular, the realization that she should not get so lost in her mistakes that she forgets who she is. I don't want to get TMI with y'all, but this is something that I struggle with at times, and especially when I was writing this, it was something that I wanted to put out into Lateral. And overall, I'm very proud of how I was able to tie everything together for Hamuko - and Yukari too!
Before moving on from the first part of the season, I have to mention Koromaru! Despite him being introduced very early on in season 3, I feel like there was not a huge focus on him here - though boy did he come in clutch several times throughout the season. It's incredible what having a party member who can move way faster than any human, and who has an enormous Persona, will do for you!
We also finally got Fuuka in the Dark Hour! Writing chapter 37 was a blast - I was really going for a horror movie feel, and hopefully those vibes came through. I also have to apologize again to my beta, who was subjected to the Emetophobia section without any trigger warning, since I hadn't thought of it when I sent it over. (Sorry again!)
Now, for better and worse, Lateral's cast of characters is long enough (or I'm just spending so much time focusing on a few characters) that some characters don't get as much screentime as others. That is relevant to characters like Koromaru and Junpei for this season, but I'm looking in particular at Rio here. (At least the Persona users who don't get character focus have fight scenes!) I just want to mention for you Rio fans out there (and I am one too) that we have far from seen the last of her in this story, and the fact that she was (mostly) absent from season 3 is not an indication that she will be this absent from future seasons.
I'm sure it may be noticeable to many that I've started to pull in more details from past seasons in season 3. Perhaps the most obvious example is Ikutsuki's rationale for believing Minato came from the future, but also things like Yukari being scared of being seen with Junpei, and Mitsuru's helmet that she lost in the Priestess fight. Those latter two things were planted in earlier seasons with the intent of being used later - and with the example of Mitsuru flinging her helmet away in the Priestess fight, that was very specifically done with the idea that it would be discovered behind some dumpsters near Shirakawa right before the Hierophant and Lovers fight, just as shown here! (The initial idea for what would happen after the reveal was different, but I shall leave out any further specifics.) This is something that I love doing - callbacks to earlier chapters/seasons, that is - and I certainly intend to keep doing that as the story continues.
Speaking of the Hierophant and Lovers fight - As always in a Lateral season, I tried to go big with the Full Moon battle. This one was not quite as immediately catastrophic as the Emperor and Empress fight, but I hope it was still enjoyably tense! I'm also hoping that it was a bit easier to follow than past Full Moon battles have been, though that's something I still feel I need some work on.
Now. In the final part of the season, I feel like I took some pretty big swings, starting with chapter 43. To be honest, I was a bit worried about how people would react to that chapter - despite me writing a P3 fanfiction, I am not the most well-versed in Persona lore, so I was hoping that I wasn't accidentally contradicting anything lore-wise! I did do some fact-checking beforehand, but I'm still glad that - from the feedback I've received so far - people seem to think it's an interesting idea, and I've seen no one yet mention that I've totally busted Persona canon with these ideas. So that's great!
Another big swing I took was how time travel works in this setting... which is, as revealed at the top of this chapter, it doesn't! A bit like the twist of chapter 43, I feel like this is a twist that doesn't change much on the surface, but it does change a few background details that might become more relevant later on. (Will neither confirm nor deny that!) But just because these twists don't immediately change the trajectory of the plot, I understand that they can still affect people's enjoyment of things. And I hope that people at the very least find them both interesting.
And last but not least for my "big swings", of course - Ikutsuki's plan and Minato revealing his "future" knowledge. Yes, it's probably about time that either (a) someone figured out Minato was from the future, or (b) Minato himself admitted he was from the future - and both happened! (Well, sort of, since Minato isn't directly from this timeline's future... but, still!) Obviously, not a whole lot has been revealed about what Minato's going to tell everyone, but Ikutsuki sure mentioned a lot about his plan! I'm curious for people's thoughts on what he had to say... but, I will also say, I can't comment much on people's thoughts because I'm trying to make Ikutsuki very sneaky, and I don't want to say anything that would give away what he's thinking.
All in all - I'm quite pleased with how season 3 turned out. My long long time writing it really let me get the emotional beats that were the most important to me (mostly for Hamuko and Yukari) into a state where I'm really proud of them, and the rest of the season I feel was, at the very least, good if not great. And I'm pleased that I've set up some really interesting things to play with next season - especially with the revelations of the last few chapters! I won't be giving an estimate for when the next season will be ready, but it is something I'm excited to get started on. (And I'm hoping it won't take me as long as season 3 did!)
Now - at the very start of publishing, I mentioned that I'll be posting Lateral on AO3. That's still true! Starting either next week or the week after, I'll be doing weekly updates on AO3, posting Lateral chapter-by-chapter until we're all caught up with where we are here on FF dot net. The content of Lateral will be mostly the same - just a couple of edits done for readability and such - but if you would like to join me on my weekly re-publishing of Lateral, I'd be happy to see you over on AO3. My name there is the same as here, just with capitalization - AfterAdos.
But regardless of if you'd like to join me there - I want to say, one more time for now, thank you so, so much for reading Lateral. I'm glad that, even after ten years, people are still coming to read new chapters, and that people are enjoying them. No matter if you follow, favorite, review, or if you just read without doing any of those things - it really does make me happy to know that people are enjoying my writing and my story. And I hope to keep it up and continuing telling a tale that is just as fun to read as it is meaningful for me to write.
And so, I'm signing off for now… on FF dot net! Since I'm about to be posting 45 (!) weekly updates on AO3, this is less of a grand goodbye as usual. But I likely won't be posting anything new on FF dot net for a while, so for those who are only here - thank you once more for reading Lateral. And I'll see you in the next update… whenever that is!