Forgotten Memories Ch. 1

~Dojima Residence, Morning~

"Today, it is expected to rain from morning till late afternoon. The skies will gradually clear up towards the evening. For those that are expecting to travel by train, expect the train departure and arrival times to be slightly delayed." The weather reporter stated on the TV.

Nanako ran to the kitchen, where her father, Ryotaro Dojima, was making coffee.

"Dad, is Big Bro going to be fine? The weather reporter said that the trains might be delayed…" Nanako looked worried. Dojima patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, Nanako, Souji is will be alright…I'm certain of it."

That cheered her up a little. "I can't wait to see him…it's been 4 months since he's left…"

Dojima smiled. "Yeah…" He looked at his watch. "Hmm…since the train arrival times will be delayed, we should get there a little early to be on the safe side."

"Yay! Can we leave now? And we have to tell Big Bro's friends, too!" Nanako cheered.

"Hahaha, okay…Nanako, call the others to let them know that we'll pick them up. We can head to the train station together." Dojima laughed.

Nanako nodded and began dialing a bunch of numbers in the phone. Dojima sat down and began drinking his coffee.

Meanwhile…

~?, Morning~

A train was headed to Yasoinaba Station from the big city. It was raining heavily nonstop.

"Due to the heavy rainfall, we are taking safetly precautions. The time of arrival will be slightly delayed…" The announcement said.

A young man with silver-gray hair sighed as he looked out the window.

'I guess I'm going to be late…'

As he continued to look out the window, he noticed someone's reflection staring at him. He turned around to see who it was: It was a young woman. She had blonde hair, wearing a light blue dress and wore a headband of sorts. She just continued to stare at him.

"…Can I help you…?" The teenager asked.

"…Are you by any chance, Souji Seta-san…?" The young woman asked back.

The teenager stared at her. 'How did she know…?'

"…Yes, and you are?"

"My name is Aigis. I have been looking for you…" The woman named Aigis said.

"Why were you looking for me? I don't even know you." Souji looked at her suspiciously.

"You are currently on your way to Inaba, correct? To see your friends?"

Souji didn't reply. 'Who the hell is she?'

"Ah…you must be confused, correct? I comprehend…"

'…Ok, better question would be "WHAT is she…?" She doesn't talk like a normal human being…'

Aigis looked in his eyes. "Would I be safe to assume that, about a year ago, you awakened as the wild card?"

"!" Souji stood up from his seat. "How do you know about that?"

"I have a mission that I must accomplish, and I require the power of the next wild card to do so…I will explain everything to you once you reunite with your friends. I may require their assistance, as well." Aigis stated. Souji still looked confused, but before he could answer, the train began to slow down.

"We have arrived at Yasoinaba." The announcement said.

Souji looked at Aigis. "…Fine. Come with me so you can meet my friends." Souji grabbed Aigis's hand and pulled her off the train. Her hand was cold, like metal. This caught Souji off guard.

"…So this is Yasoinaba…a dear friend of mine told me about this place…she said that it was a peaceful place famous for its hotsprings. She came here for a tennis fellowship with her teammates…" Aigis was looking around.

"Yeah…a friend of mine runs the Amagi Inn. That's probably where your friend went to the hotsprings." Souji stated.

"Big Bro!" A high voice yelled.

Souji turned his head to the source of the voice. He saw his cousin run up to him and put her arms around her.

"Nanako, I've missed you!" Souji yelled.

"I missed you too, Big Bro…" Nanako began crying.

"Nanako…you always promise that you're not going to cry…yet you do anyway…" Dojima walked up to Souji. "It's great to see you again."

Souji smiled.

"Heeey, don't forget about us!" A voice yelled.

Souji looked up, and saw all his friends: Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa, Naoto Shirogane, and Teddie.

"Hey!" Souji yelled. They all ran up to him.

"Missed ya, man! You've missed a lot since – " However, as Yosuke was about to finish his sentence, Rise pushed him out of the way.

"I…missed you so much…senpai…WAAAAAAH!" Rise began to cry.

"Ugh…there she goes again…" Chie frowned.

"Glad you're back, senpai." Kanji said.

"How have you been since you left?" Yukiko asked.

"I'm glad to see you again, senpai…" Naoto smirked, a slight blush appearing on her face.

Souji smiled at them. "I'm glad to be back…and I'm fine. I sure am tired, though…"

"…Are these your friends, Souji-san?" Aigis asked. She was standing farther away from the commotion. Souji looked at her. He must have forgotten that she was there.

"…Yeah, these are my friends." Souji smiled. Everyone else had confused looks on their faces.

"…Who's that, Souji? You're girlfriend?" Yosuke nudged his shoulder.

"No, we just met on the train." Souji said.

"That's it? It seems like she knows you, though." Kanji said.

Aigis stepped forward. "I will explain everything…is there someplace we can go so I can talk to you all in private?"

"We can go to Junes…you haven't been there in a while, huh, Senpai?" Naoto suggested.

Souji nodded. "I'm gonna go with my friends now…I'll meet you guys back at your house, okay?" He asked his uncle.

"Alright, you guys go catch up. We'll have dinner ready when you arrive…it will be take-out of course." Dojima smiled. He then took Nanako, got into the car, and drove off.

~Junes Food Court, Afternoon~

Everyone sat around the table that they used to sit at back when they were an investigation team.

"…So? What did you want to talk to us about?" Souji asked Aigis.

"…And who are you, first of all." Naoto asked.

Aigis looked at her. "My name is Aigis…I am a weapon created to destroy shadows."

Everyone gasped.

"Sh-Shadows? You mean those things that we had to fight in the TV world?" Rise's eyes widened.

"Hey, don't forget, I'm a shadow, too!" Teddie sounded hurt.

"You are a shadow? Yet you do not act hostile…are you a good shadow, or a bad shadow?" Aigis asked.

"Hmph, how rude! I am a beary good shadow…my name is Teddie!" Teddie yelled.

"…Beary…? I am afraid that I do not understand…" Aigis looked confused.

"Ah, don't worry about that…he enjoys saying bear puns, no matter how terrible they are." Yosuke grimaced.

"Anyways, please continue your story, Aigis." Naoto said.

Aigis nodded and continued. "Because I was created to destroy shadows, I was given a personality, and a persona. I was given the persona, Palladion, which later evolved into Athena. About two years ago, I was also a wild card, and Athena morphed into Orpheus."

Everyone had confused looks on their faces.

"Wait, so why are you here, then…? And what happened two years ago that they need anti-shadow weapons?" Yukiko asked.

"I will begin at the beginning…" Aigis said. "In 1999, experiments were being held on where I come from…Tatsumi Port Island."

"Tatsumi Port Island? We've been there before…we went there for a class trip. We even visited the school there…" Chie explained.

Aigis looked at her. "I will continue my story, then I will get back to your statement."

Chie's eyes widened. Aigis continued.

"As I was saying, experiments were being run by the Kirijo Group. They tried to control shadows. But…something went horribly wrong. The laboratory exploded, and the shadows got loose…that incident will forever distort the way the world worked…and thus, the Dark Hour was created."

Everyone was still confused. "The Dark Hour?"

"Yes…it happened every night at midnight. Electronic equipment would no longer work, the moon would turn yellow, the skies had a green hue. Normal people wouldn't know about it, for they would be transmogrified into coffins…however, Persona-users were well aware of the Dark Hour."

"Hmm…so there were Persona-users back then, as well?" Naoto asked. Aigis nodded.

"…I was created to destroy any shadows that were a threat to humans. I ran into an incomplete shadow, whose name…was Death…unable to fully defeat him, I had no choice but to seal him inside of a vessel…a young girl…who happened to be nearby…" Aigis looked down. "Then, in 2009, that same girl came back to the island as a transfer student. Once I saw her, I immediately knew that my priority was to protect her. I had joined the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad…SEES."

"…SEES…?" Yosuke asked.

"SEES was a group of Persona-users who made it their mission to get rid of the Dark Hour, and to protect mankind from shadows." Aigis explained. "Once the Dark Hour disappeared, SEES was dissolved. However, we all still remained friends, and are still in contact with each other."

Everyone nodded.

"Anyways…" Aigis began. "After a series of hardships and battles…after a lot of hearbreaks…we learned that the world would soon end. We learned that The Fall was approaching, and Nyx was bringing it. Nyx is a goddess who brings death to this world. If Nyx were to succeed, then all life would have vanished."

Everyone gasped.

"…However, we still continued to train…getting ready to face the so-called undefeatable goddess. After all hope seemed lost…the girl whom I vowed to protect…Minako Arisato…floated towards Nyx, and defeated her with one move: The Great Seal, which sealed Nyx for all eternity."

"Wow…that girl was very brave…" Yukiko said.

"Yes…but it came with a price…she sacrificed her life to use her body as the seal. But, she managed to live until our school's graduation day in order to keep her promise to the rest of us. Soon after that…she died."

Yukiko, Chie, and Rise looked downwards. Yosuke frowned.

"…She sacrificed her life in order to save the world…" Souji frowned.

Aigis nodded. "We were depressed for a long time…but then we learned that she had to do what she did, no matter what, and that she didn't regret it. Thanks to that, most of us managed to move on."

"…Most….?" Souji asked.

"Well, I can tell that some of us are still suffering. But they are trying to put on a brave face so that Minako-san won't worry about them." Aigis frowned.

"Ok…but what does that have to do with us?" Chie asked.

Aigis stared at Souji. "…I have learned from Igor that because you defeated Izanami-no-Okami, Minako-san will be released from the seal…"

Souji's eyes widened. "You know about the Velvet Room?"

"Yes…I told you, I used to be a wild card." Aigis stated. "…Igor also told me that in order for Minako-san to regain her memories of us and what she did, we need to retrieve her memories. However, in order for me to accomplish this task, I require a number of things…one in which is the current wild card: You, Souji-san."

"Me…?" Souji looked confused.

"Yes…he said that once I retrieve you and your friends, and retrieve my friends, that he will explain everything in the Velvet Room…" Aigis said.

Souji nodded.

"Well, I'm still confused with what's going on…but if Souji is going, then I'm definitely in!" Yosuke said, smiling.

"Me too, you're not leaving me out of the fun!" Chie yelled. Yukiko agreed with Chie.

"I'm gonna stay by Senpai no matter what!" Rise said.

"I too, will go if Senpai is going…" Naoto said.

"What about you, Kanji?" Yosuke asked. Kanji looked at him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm gonna stick by Senpai too!" Kanji yelled.

"…You have no idea what's going on, huh?" Yosuke glared at him.

Kanji had a confused look on his face. "Not a clue."

"Damn, no wonder you fail in school…" Yosuke frowned.

"Shut the hell up, damn it!" Kanji yelled.

Aigis just stared at them. "…If you are done…I want to hurry. We may not have a lot of time to regain Minako-san's memories."

Souji looked at her. "Right. So, now we have to get your friends, right?"

Aigis nodded. "I would like you all to accompany me to Tatsumi Port Island. I will call all my friends to meet at Paulownia Mall, and you all can meet them. I'm sure that you will like all of them…"

"I hope we like them…I wouldn't want to work together with people that I hate or scare the crap outta me." Yosuke smiled.

"But weren't you scared of Kanji-kun when he joined?" Chie snickered. Yosuke looked annoyed.

"Hey, after that Steam Bathhouse incident, I was uncomfortable being around him…I'm fine now!"

Kanji grimaced. "Can we…not bring that up…"

Aigis cut in. "So, if you are all ready, I'd like to leave as soon as possible."

"Hold on, Aigis…first I need to confirm the situation with my uncle, then we can go." Souji stated.

"I understand…then you should go to see your uncle. If the rest of you are ready, come with me to wait at Yasoinaba Station." Aigis said. Everyone else nodded. Souji ran in the direction of Dojima's house.

~Dojima Residence, Late Afternoon~

"I'm back." Souji said. He looked exhausted.

"Ah, welcome back!" Dojima said. "Sorry…dinner's not here yet. Nanako fell asleep."

Souji smiled. "I see…umm, listen…uh…"

Dojima looked at him. "What is it?"

"Umm, you know that blonde girl that was with me at the station? Well, she said that she wants me and my friends to meet her friends at Tatsumi Port Island…" Souji explained.

Dojima's eyes widened. "Now? But you just returned…this is all too suspicious. Maybe I should take her to the station…"

"No, I trust her…" Souji said. He didn't want his uncle interrogate her regarding why she was here…it's not like he would believe her anyways. "She said that she was in a hurry and that she needs me and my friends' help to help a friend of hers…"

"And why you guys, of all people?" Dojima questioned.

Souji began to panic. 'Cause we can summon personas and she needs the help of the wild card in order to save a girl from awakening without her memories…yeah right, like he'd believe that.'

Dojima sighed. "Same old Souji…alright, I'll drive you to the station."

Souji was surprised.

"Just don't get hurt…I wouldn't want your parents to worry about you…your mom would freak." Dojima smiled sadly.

Souji smiled. "Thanks…"

"Mmhmm…" Dojima and Souji got into the car, and drove to the station.

~Yasoinaba Station~

When Souji arrived at the station, his friends and Aigis were waiting for him.

"I guess I'll see you when you get back, then…" Dojima said.

Souji nodded. "Tell Nanako that I'll be fine, and to not worry about me."

Dojima nodded and let Souji out. He then drove off.

"Souji, are you ready?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah." Souji said.

"Then…if we are all here, let us go to Tatsumi Port Island…" Aigis said. They bought their tickets, and got on the train headed to Port Island Station.