2026-02-05: Agents of (Mis)fortune (Side A)
- Log: Agents of (Mis)fortune (Side A)
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Yukari Takeba, Aigis
- Where: Lost in Mementos
- OOC Date: February 05, 2026
- IC Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012
- Summary: A group of SEES members was exploring MemeMementos, only to be caught off guard by the Grim Reaper and split up. Yukari, Aigis, and Ririka ended up together, and must deal with their individual fears, worries, and feelings of personal failure as they try to pick themselves back up and come up with a plan of action.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
SEES' first (well, first for most) encounter with the Grim Reaper in Mementos had gone... poorly. It had proven to be an overwhelming force, one difficult to escape from.
And a final, overwhelmingly powerful spell had cracked the ground beneath their feat. Fuuka had summoned Lucia to protect her and Minako, a concreete slab containing Shizuka, Shinjiro, and Koh had slid off into the darkness...
And Ririka had, in a last ditch effort, tried to protect herself, Aigis, and Yukari as they fell into the darkness together.
Ririka, for her part, is laying still and motionless where she landed. Her breathing is a little shallow but it is steady. Her hair is missing a lock, and her SEES uniform is definitely disheveled. The worst injury seems to be her knee, which got pretty scraped up when she fell in surprise from the Grim Reaper's shot whizzing by her head.
She suffered a Persona Break in the moments before the fall--she might need an extra moment to come to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
You know, falling into primordial darkness is rather comforting actually. It's just - dreamless nothing.
Of course, that happens after the impact. Fortunately the pain of that isn't something you really remember in the moment.
Your brain goes 'nuh-uh' and tamps down on your spinal cord transmitting the scream that pain is indeed happening.
No, that'll come later-
And Oh look later is now. Her eyelids twitch, then open a crack in that half-staring way in the un-happy medium between in-sensate and sensate.
"Nnngh..." And there's the long delayed ache of pain that causes her teeth to clench. The throb of inflammation that lets you know that you're both alive, and making you wish that maybe you weren't.
"...what's going on..." She mumbles, as it sure doesn't feel like she's under some covers of a comfortable bed. Nah it's more like something rock hard and when she turns over, she bonks her head against the metal of a rail, with a hiss of breath.
"AH!" Putting both hands to her forehead at the sharper sensation, she makes a small sound of surprise, before she looks shocked, "What- did I!?" She looks over to the side and- the wall is festooned with organic matter that tells her no.
No she didn't just get pushed off a train platform, unless one considers Megidolaon a push. Sitting up quickly... she first looks for-
Her eyes land on Ririka first, rather than whatever or whoever she was looking for. "Ririka!" Without an Evoker, she crawls a few paces, before pulling herself up into a limping stagger towards her, and searching for her own.
Then once it's in her hand. You put it to your head and... pull the trigger.
"Io!"
As her Persona appears, and casts Recarm for starters. She doesn't check for signs of life first as she's afraid of what she'll find.
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
The physical impact which Aigis suffered at precisely the wrong moment earlier had caused a software error, necessitating a systems reboot. She is entirely immobile during and even after her landing. The process takes roughly a full minute to complete, but ...
In her case, there's no biology to it. Without the software layer doing its job, she isn't herself, she is simply inert hardware. Breathless, bloodless, lifeless hardware.
It's just like clockwork. Once the startup sequence completes, her eyes flicker several times, then fully light up again. Sensors, servos, systems all come back online as the flows of current and data circulate within her again.
She does feel pain, but only in the particular moment of receiving it. It comes as pulses of information which indicate she has taken damage, serving as guidance to ward her away from whatever action led to that consequence, her decisions now abjured by negative weights to coefficients in whatever reward mechanism her algorithms utilize.
She felt pain then, but not now -- now it merely registers as a percentage of her maximum capacity. Thankfully, Amphion's barrier seems to have blunted any major damage ...
Aigis rises to her (stubby) feet, then pans her head from one side to the other as she assesses her current situation. Ririka, still unconscious, and Yukari in the process of applying aid.
No one else is around. It's just them. (It's just them, and no sign of Minako.)
Hiding the growing sense of alarm in her mind from their separation from the others, she walks over to Yukari and calmly requests, "Takeba-san. Allow me to assist you."
For good measure, Aigis summons Palladion -- successfully, this time. "Initiate Diarama." If Yukari and Io had managed to rouse Ririka to consciousness again, Aigis determines that she can help with a further measure of healing, spreading the burden between the two of them.
It's better that they expend her own resources first, right?
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Blessedly, the worst outcome has not occured. Io's Recarm can still reach Ririka... who now gets to suffer her own transition from insensate to sensate. "Nngghh..." she groans as the awful ache of the living floods her senses.
Her head is ringing. Why is her head ringing? It's such an unpleasant frequency that fills up everything. Ririka curls up tighter for a moment, letting out a high-pitched whining noise... she's actually humming, trying to meet the pitch of the ringing to process that sensation.
An application of Diarama will at least help settle her somewhat, and get her to uncurl a moment later. Everything still aches, though, as she slowly pushes herself upright to a seated position against a very creepyu wall that she is choosing to ignore for the moment.
She looks up. "Aigis-chan... Takeba-san... you both made it." She lets out a small sigh of relief. "Good.
... At least she didn't mess that up.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Just the two of them. Which then becomes free as Aigis comes up beside her, "Oh! Aigis! You're alright!" Before she gives her a full onceover, "You are alright, right?" She asks, out of sincere concern.
"It's a little hard to tell sometimes." She admits, abashed at the idea that she can't just check Aigis over and know she's good.
She's not yet letting herself process the idea that the others aren't around yet. She has to focus on what's in front of her, otherwise she'll start tying herself into knots on their fate.
Ririka thankfully wakes up, and starts talking, and she breathes easier, "... Yeah. Though..." She looks around to the 'debris field' so to speak, "... that's about the only upside of our situation right now. There doesn't seem to be any Shadows nearby at least..."
Placing the Evoker to her head, presses the trigger anew as invokes Io to cast a Mediarama to try and shore them all up together, with that freshwater scent lingering a few seconds in the air.
She then hands the Evoker back Ririka's way, grip first, the barrel pointed down, even if it's not a real gun.
"This is yours... I kinda couldn't find mine..."
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
At the present moment, Aigis' thoughts turn to the practical. They are separated from the others. Her goal is to have herself, Ririka, and Yukari make their way to rejoin the others.
They couldn't stand up to the Reaper even when united. If it catches them now ...
Yukari catches Aigis in the middle of these thoughts, and she averts her gaze and hesitates with her answer. Rather than blurt out the full extent of the dire stakes should the Reaper catch someone on their own, it takes a significant amout of effort to instead muster, "Yes, I am alright. I only experienced a temporary software malfunction. Perhaps we could later determine some way for you to assess how I am doing without you needing to ask, but for now, asking may be your only option."
She nods in Ririka's direction. "Thank you for preventing any major damage on the way down. It could have been much worse. How are you both faring?"
Hearing what Yukari said causes Aigis to pay more attention to her sensors. "Would you like me to help you find your Evoker, Takeba-san? We should recover it before we move on from here."
After a few moments have passed, she quietly asks the other two, "... Do you think the others are alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Yukari speaks of the upside, and Ririka closes her eyes for a moment. "... yeah." She keeps her eyes closed, though, and though she winces a bit she's concentrating. "There's nothing close to us," she says, after a moment. "... I think."
She opens her eyes again, lifting a hand to her head. "Ugh.. I've got a splitting headache..."
"I can't... I need a moment." She doesn't clarify, but what she means is she needs a moment to summon her Persona.
Ririka blinks as she accepts the Evoker. "Oh. Thanks." She starts to pat herself down. "... gonna have to find my katana, too..." she murmurs.
"Yeah... welcome," she says to Aigis, for the thanks. "At least I was able to do that much..." she says while her gaze shifts downwards. "I'm alive," she answers Aigis' question in turn. "Splitting headache. Everything aches. I don't think anything is broken."
She lets out a long sigh as Aigis asks about the others, closing her eyes again and leaning her head against the wall to play back the events. "I don't know. I..." She cringes a little. "When I summon Amphion I'll check."
She's quiet for a moment, humming a little to herself as she taps a litle rhythm on her thigh. "... Aragaki-senpai, Kuroki-senpai, and Katsuhiro-san were together..." she reports after a moment. "... Arisato-san was facing that blast..." This might give Aigis some concern, but Ririka continues. "... but Yamagishi-san summoned Lucia to protect both of them."
There's a light flush on her cheeks as she opens her eyes again. "Amphion got caught in the blast, I... kind of blacked out. I couldn't track everyone after that." She looks up at the ruined ceiling of the tunnel. "... and a place like this... they might not be very close, even if we started that way."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Oh-uh sure? That'd be helpful. Your armor doesn't damage often so it's kinda hard to tell."
Like right now, she doesn't know if Aigis 'put her Oxygen Mask first' so to speak. Then again, neither did she, hypocrite that she is.
Though Aigis calls attention to Ririka's contributions, something she didn't notice on account of falling. "Oh- uh! You did that? Well- thanks!"
As Ririka indicates her state, she gives her an apologetic look, "Sorry, healing magic doesn't do much for aches and pains like this." It's more spiritual in a sense, towards one's Persona.
However, that's of great use in this place where your Persona does so much to prevent major injury or death.
Aigis offers to help her, and Yukari almost says 'I lost it so I should find it myself' but - it's a dangerous place, and she's not sure she could even lift a lot of the debris it could be under.
"Sure, I'd appreciate it. We'd be in real trouble if Kawase-san and I had to share one."
She then looks herself over to answer the other question, wiping some dust off her skirt and jacket, checking herself.
"A few bruises, but I can move around... prefer not to run though if we can help it."
As they move to look though, Aigis asks the question, and Ririka tries to answer. Yukari doesn't say anything for a time, just trying to pick through some of the smaller rocks.
"I didn't really see all that much of where anyone went." She admits, finally after Ririka finishes answering, "But, we're going to find out."
Yukari doesn't answer it straight though on whether she thinks they're alright. After all, she's cynical at best. Her answer given what they experienced would be pretty grim.
"Guess this just changed to a search and rescue mission." She says to Aigis as if to clarify what the mission is, rather than - well, they all know what Aigis said when they went to Tartarus to search for Beniho.
Not that she thinks Aigis would DO anything to their lost party but it's always better to clear these things up.
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
"Generally speaking, if my core is intact, I am ultimately fine. Yamagishi-san may also be able to instruct you about what else to observe."
"There is nothing close to us ... right now," Aigis urges, the sense of alarm now audible in her voice. "We should begin moving as soon as possible."
Unfortunately, 'as soon as possible' may not be very soon, given Ririka's physical condition and Yukari's missing Evoker. Aigis has no idea how much time they have, and while she is personally fine, she must balance her concerns about her own mission and the ramifications of potentially failing it with the weight that would be placed on her conscience if she left them both behind -- not to mention her dwindling chances of success in the event she would abandon them.
She doesn't have anywhere enough information to determine what path would be optimal. Every course of action seemingly brings her nowhere closer to her objective, no matter how many CPU cycles she burns on discerning the optimal course of action.
It's the computational equivalent of nervous hyperventilation. Her mind reels from the sheer magnitude of the worst of what could happen.
"No -- !!" Aigis cries out when Ririka mentions that Minako was in the path of the Reaper's spell, her panic now made exceedingly clear in her tone and on her face. Her clarification about Fuuka and Lucia causes Aigis to pause and try to re-assess the likelihood of her survival. Their survival. She clutches both of her hands to her chest and her eyes dart around slightly as the prospect of hope starts to settle her back down.
Search and rescue. The 'destroy' part from that night was in reference to the Shadows, but, "... I had already considered it as such when we had become separated from Arisato-chan." After a beat, she adds, "And the others."
With that, Aigis begins to search through the rubble in earnest, scanning in whatever capacity she has to locate Yukari's Evoker, even going as far as to look at the walls and higher platforms to see if it may have landed on a higher level than where they are right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka nods tiredly to Yukari. "Yeah. It was the least... the least I could do, you know? You're welcome."
Yukari apologizes, and Ririka shakes her head and manages a little smile. "I know. But I appreciate it." She's got a couple of healing spells on Amphion, she knows the score.
"I can keep Amphion going longer," Ririka points out. "So I'd be find letting you hang onto it if it came to it."
She starts trying to get to her feet, braced against the wall, and she hisses as she puts weight on her injured knee. "Hsss... yeah. No running for me, either. If I can help it. But I'm glad you're good other than that, Takeba-san."
Aigis points out there's nothing nearby right now, and Ririka nods from where she's still leaning agianst the wall. "I'm listening for threats. But I'll have a better idea in a moment."
Ririka may not have a CPU core, but she has similar thoughts to Aigis' running through her head, tinged by a distinct sense of failure on her part. It's too easy to let those thoughts loop, no matter how hard she tries to shake them free.
She winces, as she sees Aigis' panic. "Sorry, Aigis-chan. I... I should've said that differently."
"Search and rescue... right." That's her cue, isn't it? She's the (a) Navigator here, after all.
She brings her Evoker up to her head. Her hand trembles a little, and she has to grit her teeth to force herself to pull the trigger. Blue flames and broken glass summon forth Amphion, and the tall stone Persona puts a pair of headphones on Ririka's head.
Keys made of light appear at Ririka's fingertips as she starts to play a quiet piano medley, eyes closed. She's humming along with it, something she almost never does... and the playing grows faster and more frantic until she slams her fingers down for one last discordant chord.
She slumps back against the wall, slamming a fist against it. "Dammit!" She shouts. Then, quieter. "Dammit dammit dammit..."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Well... it really came through for us." She notes of Ririka's actions after, because well, she does try to be actually fair of her praise and criticism.
Even if she knows she isn't always.
Aigis' distress is evident. And well, Yukari is distressed, even if she's not verbalizing it too. Since she thinks that it's probably not good.
Closing her eyes, she takes a moment to compose herself fully, then stands up straighter, opening her eyes and looking Aigis' way as Ririka apologizes.
"I know it sounds bad Aigis, but we don't know until we know. When Arisato-kun was in real danger- something..."
She remembers what happened, what burst out of Orpheus to crush the Magician Shadow. Something they still can't explain, "...happened that saved us both. It's possible that Arisato-chan has a similar talent."
It's maybe not her real thoughts, but she can't let herself think about that yet. In trying to comfort Aigis with a possibility that's a stretch, she comforts herself too with denial The first stage...
But some part of her thinks that she'll be telling Minato his sister is dead before the day is out.
She wishes, that side of her didn't exist, that she could just be optimistic in a straightforward way.
Aigis finds her Evoker after moving enough of the rubble. It is thankfully not crushed, for a variety of reasons best not even thought about.
However, first Ririka, who'd been listening, begins slamming her fist against the wall. And taking a breath, she looks away, "No sign of them, huh?" She says quietly.
Something does occur to her though, "Can you search 'below' us? One of the times I was here last... the floor kinda swallowed us up - taking us lower than we wanted. If that happened to them when they fell..."
She leaves off the lingering implication. It's another faint hope, a grasping of straws, but morale is important.
Denial. Keep everyone in the first stage...
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
"It is -- it is alright. I apologize for my outburst." Aigis steadies herself and places her arms back at her sides. "I am simply grateful for the possibility that they may be safe."
Yukari mentions some 'special talent' once demonstrated by Minako's brother. What would that even be? Is that ... is that going to be enough? Not to defeat the Reaper, but to at least escape it, to buy a little bit more time?
She's too afraid of what she'd find out to ask Yukari what that was. There are immediate goals she can put her efforts toward, such as finding Yukari's Evoker. Wordlessly, she holds it out for Yukari to take -- her arm swings out with as much alacrity as she can muster, with nowhere near as much concern for trigger discipline that Yukari had demonstrated earlier.
She looks clearly agitated and impatient -- not with Yukari and Ririka themselves, just with the situation -- but they may be forgiven for mistaking why she seems so upset. Evidently, Ririka seems to feel a similar way, and this doesn't help Aigis' own disposition ...
... but Yukari's suggestion does. Aigis nods and say, "This is my first time here. Your knowledge on how this place works is appreciated. Shall I take point?"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka doesn't mind getting along with Yukari. "Thanks. I'm glad."
Yukari points out they just doin't know, and Ririka echoes that sentiment. "Everything I know got cut off. I can't say.. anything for certain, until.." She looks down.
She morbidly wonders if her senses can identify the dead, for the second time in a week.
Yukari asks, and Ririka also looks away for a moment. "... not yet." That is her attempt to cling to optimism. Not 'no', but merely 'not yet.' "But we could just... be out of range, I still have a headache, there could be interference, maybe the layout changed..."
These are only partly her trying desperately not to make the situation seem as bad as it seems. It's also partly trying to make excuses to herself for her failure.
She falls silent for a moment, humming to herself with her eyes shut to try and soothe her nerves. Yukari brings up a possibility, and Ririka nods tiredly. "... yeah. Right. Like... the trap door, pit trap thing. I'll try."
She shakes her head to Aigis. "It's... it's okay. I bet we're all... a bit stressed." Do robots get stressed? Ririka is too tired to do the verbal gymnastics for that right now.
Should she be trying harder to keep her own disposition up? Maybe. That's what she would do if this was happening with her band, right? She skips her gloves off and rubs at her face for a moment, taking a deep breath. "That'd be great," she says of Aigis' offer to take point.
"Here--" Ririka straightens up again. "Amphion, if you would?" Amphion strums his lyre, playing a bright song that maybe feels a bit too bright for the moment. Strains of melody waft out and encircle the three of them, trying to restore some energy.
"Let me scan for Shadows first," she says. "I'll try to plot a route that avoids as many encounters as possible."
She starts to play again, and her playing stays steadier this time. She shares what she finds via the Navigator Link, and then takes a deep breath. "I'll start scanning below as we go... and I'll try to scan above, too. If I can connect our surroundings with the info I had... maybe that'll help us retrace our steps?"
That's... at least an actionable idea, right? It's something concrete she can cling to.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Don't worry about it Aigis." Yukari replies to her apology, "You care about Arisato-chan a lot. It's the most understandable thing for you to be upset."
Yukari can't handle death well either, but Aigis - who knows if Aigis has ever experienced death, grief - any of that.
Maybe she has, and that's why she's so panicked. Yukari doesn't know. All she knows is, she'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world if she was upset at someone for not handling the death of someone they cared about well.
The Evoker is found by Aigis and held out to her, and Yukari seems a little startled at first by the way it's handled, but then nods, and takes it.
"Such a relief that you found it..." She examines it over, "... doesn't look damaged either. Alright." She stuffs it into her holster on her hip, and picks up her Bow now that the item of greater importance is found, fiddling with the strings to make sure they're taut.
Her quiver is shockingly still full, for reasons she still doesn't entirely understand. "We have something resembling a workable squad now." She's definitely not the leadership type, but... in moments like this, someone has to step up.
"Don't overdo it then. It's better we not push you when so much is working against you. It'll just give you a worse headache..." She says, after Ririka explains the problems with trying to find the party. "... Yeah exactly, focus on doing that." She agrees with trying to avoid Shadows, "If we get in worse trouble, we're no good to anyone, right? So better we take it slow - methodical. Let's keep an escape route in mind too at all times, just in case that thing comes back."
She then nods Aigis' way, "Yeah. I'll tell you more of what I know of this place on the way but- to be honest we'll be counting on you most of all. There's no beating around the bush, you're gonna be bearing the brunt here. But it's the best shot we have of finding them and getting us all out of here alive."
Appear calm. Minato at least is always calm looking.
"We've really been through it huh? First the Dorm being invaded... and now this." She doesn't clarify it beyond 'this' for the same reason she won't let those cynical thoughts out, "But, we're still here. Still alive. That's what's important. Let's keep it that way."
It's not exactly the most inspiring or optimistic speech but... it's very her.
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
"I care for her as much as I care for anyone else. Just ..." There are grave consequences that come with her or her brother's death. "... I have to ensure their safety first. That is my duty."
She hasn't experienced grief -- or rather, more accurately, her memory contains no record of such.
Most robots don't get emotionally stressed, no. This one, however, is perfectly capable of anxiety! Her mindset improves when the other two have recovered to the extent that they can.
The problems of Ririka's body, Yukari's weaponry, and Aigis' mental state have all been addressed. At least at this current point in time, Aigis is more of a follower than a leader, but it's a workable squad, indeed. "Understood, Takeba-san."
Aigis gives Yukari a determined nod as her hand makes a clicking sound and she holds it in front of her. "Should any Shadow unavoidably show up in our path, I will respond with force immediately -- if only to buy the both of you some time to escape."
She turns her head to Ririka and gives her a nod as well. "Following your lead. Please indicate where you would like me to approach."
"Do not forget the strange Shadow which appeared in Tartarus. We managed to rescue the artist, but Kumamoto-chan was hurt," Aigis adds. "But you two are ... we are still alive, yes."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka has had one particular death on her mind, lately... and she hasn't really been handling it that well, either. Especially not after the fight with Shadow Eiji. But Aigis speaks of her duty to protect the Arisatos... even as she protects everyone else. "I think I get it. There's... some specific people I'm trying to look out for, too, who are really important to me."
"That's a relief," Ririka says as Yukari gets her Evoker back. "I was ready to share, but..." Well, that could've been awkward.
"Right," Ririka says of the squad. If Yukari wants to step up... Ririka will let her.
She's a musician--she knows how to follow someoe else's lead.
"Thanks, but... I can put up with it, for a little bit," Ririka says of the headache. "We... we have to find the others, right?" There might be a tiny part of her thinking she has to find them, but she doesn't voice that. "... Right." But Yukari agrees with her plan. That helps Ririka feel a bit more settled about her course of action.
She pauses, thugh, when Yukari brings up escape routes. She tenses. "... r-right. I'll... I'll make sure to scan for that signature." She won't be forgetting that anytime soon, that's for sure.
"... I'll nte escape routes as we go."
Yukari lays it out for Aigis, and Ririka chimes in after. "But we're both supporting you, Aigis-chan." But Aigis will make time for them to escape, and Ririka looks conflicted at that, glancing to Yukari, trying to silently gauge her reaction. "... We shouldn't leave anybody behind," she finally says, looking to Aigis.
But they've been through it a lot lately... the attack, a certain annivessary for her, this... Ririka stops playing fr a moment, as something threatens to overwhelm her. "... yeah," she says with a quiet, trembling voice.
She closes her eyes and forces herself to take a deep breath. "... but we have to keep moving forward, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Let's just be glad we don't have to worry about that." She agrees with Ririka on the matter of handing out Evokers, "It's the kind of thing that could really slow us down at a bad moment."
"..."
Aigis' mysterious duty. Part of her wants to know. Part of her absolutely doesn't. If she mentions it, will she break some spell?
A spell that her father cast that night...
"... Yeah of course." She says, mildly, whereas when Aigis eventually speaks of her plan should a Shadow show up. Ririka says - well, it's not dissimilar to her own question, "Thanks but - you'll be right behind us, right?" She says with a wan smile, "You're so fast that I can't imagine you not catching up immediately."
'Don't sacrifice yourself' she might have said, but she doesn't say it outright.
"Always." She says to Ririka's comment of continuing to move forward. What else can they do? Even when you don't know how to live - you have to keep going.
You have to survive, so you can figure it out.
"Hmmm." She looks Aigis' way in consideration of the strange Shadow, "... Well, this is Mementos at least." She hedges, best not to think of any other snags.
"Shame we can't rest first - but in this place it wouldn't do us any good." Yay supernatural realms for constant stamina drain. "Anyhow, let's move out..."
And so begins their slow, methodical trek to try and let Ririka figure out the layout of this floor, while avoiding whatever fights they can.
"... Sure would be convenient if that kid made an appearance..." Yukari mumbles, meaning Jose. "Maybe he'd even be willing to lend a hand."
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
Aigis stares blankly at Ririka's description of how she has people she's looking out for. She has the feeling that they aren't quite speaking on the same wavelength, but lacks the knowledge of how to communicate that -- not without revealing her own shame in having failed her duties before.
Ririka advises that they shouldn't leave anyone behind, and Yukari asks more plainly. In turn, Aigis matter-of-factly states, "Of course. You two will retreat first, and I will follow. Rest assured that I will waste no time in following after you both." It is perhaps only her robotic nature which spares them any hint of exasperation in her tone at the implication she would do otherwise.
Hm. Maybe she should be more clear about that in the future. For now ... "If I ever have any intention of staying behind in such a moment, I will not deceive you. Does that help put your minds at ease?"
Yukari mentions 'that kid' and wishes for some convenience. "Well ... if you spot a weak spot in the ground or the ceiling, Ririka, please let me know. I may be able to break through, and we can descend or ascend on Palladion or Amphion's boulders."
Aigis' reply to Ririka is simple: "Yes. We must."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
The fate of the world does not hinge on Ririka's loved ones, no. But maybe the fate of her world does, at least. (Nobody has told them what the stakes are if the Arisatos die.)
There are a lot of questions about the events of 10 years ago left to answer...
Yukari puts her own concern in a different, perhaps more concrete way, and Ririka nods along to how she says it. Aigis will catch up, right? She's so fast... Aigis will catch up. "Good."
And she will tell them plainly if she intends to sacrifice t herself. That... logically makes sense, but that still leaves an implication open. Ririka hesitates. "Ah... that's... good to know." (It is in fact distressing to know.)
'Always.' 'Yes. We must.' Ririka sits with that for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Yeah... we can keep an eye out for flowers. It'll be a chance to stock up." They can explain to Aigis about Jose as they move. Well, as much as they can explain, at least.
Aigis makes a suggestion. "Will do. Hope this place doens't get mad at us for doing it on purpose." Deep breath. "Let's head... that way," she points, and starts to limp in that direction.