Chapter Text
January 1st, 2017
When she woke up this morning, the first thing Aigis did was yawn. It was a tired yawn, indicating that her body is still barely out of sleep mode. It was only afterwards that Aigis immediately sat up. That was strange. She just yawned. Aigis never yawns. Sure, her body does get “tired” from time to time and needs rest to recover but not like the way a human’s body gets tired. So why did Aigis yawn? Probably not a big deal. Shrugging the oddity aside, Aigis rolls out of bed and stretches her limbs outward. It only takes a few seconds for Aigis to realize what she’s doing. Since when did she ever need to stretch? Her body’s mechanical, not flesh and muscle.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” Aigis mutters to herself, shaking her head. She knows something’s wrong, but she can’t put her finger on it. Maybe her sister can help her figure it out. Deciding to check up on Labrys, Aigis walks past her bedroom mirror towards the door. In an instant, Aigis runs back to her mirrors and stares at her reflection as she gasps in shock. At first, her face is the same as always, but her body is an entirely different story. Aigis looks at her neck and arms. Instead of the usual hard metal platings, they are now covered with soft human flesh. Aigis stares at her hands. They used to have gun barrels at the end of each finger tip, but now they’re replaced with fingernails instead.
Aigis doesn’t believe this is real. How could it be real? She was an android the previous night, but now wakes up this morning a human. Could this still be a dream? It doesn’t seem like it. Aigis looks back at her reflection. Unsure how to comprehend the situation, Aigis raises her hands up towards her face, but the (former) android hesitates to touch it. She’s scared that if she does touch her face, then there’s no going back. Unfortunately, she needs her confirmation. It’s the only way for her to make sense of this. Swallowing her fear, Aigis brings her hands closer and touches her face.
“This shouldn’t be possible.” Aigis mutters to herself in disbelief, finally able to feel herself. Gone is the synthetic skin now, replaced by real human flesh. If this had been years back, Aigis would’ve been delighted to have a real human body. But now? Aigis doesn’t know what to feel. She had long since accepted both her robot body and human emotions as parts of her. Should she smile? Should she cry? Scream? So many emotions are bubbling within her heart that it’s overwhelming. Before Aigis could get a chance to think, someone knocks on her bedroom door.
“Aigis, are ya awake yet?” Labrys calls from outside the bedroom, and Aigis widens her eyes. She forgot her sister was staying over because of the joint New Years celebration the Investigation Team and the Shadow Operatives had the night prior. How does she explain this transformation to Labrys? How will Labrys even react?
“I’m awake, Big Sis.” Aigis replies, unsure how to continue the conversation next.
“Is somethin’ wrong, sis? You soundin’ nervous.” Labrys says as Aigis sees the door knob beginning to turn. “Can I come in?”
“Wait, Labrys! Before you do, I just want to warn you. You might see something… different about me.” Aigis responds right as her bedroom door opens.
“Different how?” Labrys asks as she steps into the room, and Aigis’ mouth gapes in shock. Standing before Aigis is indeed her sister. But just like her, Labrys is also no longer an android. She’s human too. “Uh, Aigis? Why you lookin’ at me funny? Do I got somethin’ on my face?”
“You’re human.” Aigis says, completely shocked by what she’s seeing. Honestly, she should’ve seen this coming. If she had somehow turned human, then it makes sense for the same thing to happen to Labrys. Still, it doesn’t explain why they’re suddenly human. Labrys looks down and examines herself.
“Yeah, I guess it’s still somethin’ to get used to. Honestly, I think I’m gettin’ the hang of this human body though. Like, yeah it feels weird to have feet, but at least I get to enjoy all the good food this planet has to offer.” Labrys states as she looks up at Aigis, who’s confused by how nonchalant her sister is acting.
“You’re taking this change surprisingly well.” Aigis tells her sister. Labrys tilts her head at the blonde.
“I mean, the change was freaky at first. It was quite a surprise to all of us, but thankfully we had months to get used to it.” Labrys responds, and Aigis stares at her sister and does a double take. Did she just hear her right?
“M-Months? What do you mean months? We were still androids last night!” Aigis questions her sister, still in disbelief. She has to be going crazy right? There’s no way the two of them were humans until just this morning. Labrys gives her sister a concerned look.
“Are you okay, Aigis? Did ya hit yer head or somethin’? Maybe you should go back to bed and rest up.” Labrys suggests, but Aigis furiously shakes her head.
“I’m not going crazy! Something is seriously wrong! We were androids our entire lives, and now this morning I wake up as a human with no possible explanation! This is not normal, Labrys!” Aigis rants as she heads over to her closet and begins grabbing clothes to change into. A look of concern still remains on Labrys’ face.
“Okay, I can tell ya really serious about this. Let’s just say ya right about this, and we were still androids until this morning. How are we gonna find what caused this?” Labrys asks, unsure what to believe. While Labrys does have memories of her transformation into a human months ago, Aigis is telling her otherwise. That those memories never happened. Aigis steps out of the closet now fully dressed.
“First, we’ll meet up with Mitsuru and the rest of the Shadow Operatives and explain to them the situation. It’s possible that their memories have been altered to match yours.” Aigis explains as she grabs her phone. “Better call them now.”
Before Aigis could dial Mitsuru’s number, the sound of her house’s doorbell rings. Aigis tilts her head, wondering who could be visiting this early in the morning. Aigis looks at Labrys, who shrugs at her response as she’s just as confused as well. The doorbell rings again, and Aigis heads downstairs to answer the unknown visitor. Aigis wonders if there’s any changes that she should be aware of. After all, her and Labrys becoming human overnight can’t be the only thing that’s wrong. If so, then it’s really urgent that she speak with Mitsuru immediately.
“Hel…lo…” Aigis greets as she opens the door only to suddenly pause when she sees the person waiting outside. Standing in front of Aigis is someone she hasn’t seen in almost seven years. Someone she thought she’d never get to see again. Aigis’ breath hitches as her eyes begin to water. She was with him in his final moments, promising that she’ll always protect him. It was thanks to him that Aigis learned how to live. She wanted to be at his side. Aigis loved him. “It… It can’t be.”
Standing before Aigis is Makoto Yuki, alive and well. Even though it’s been several years since his death, Makoto’s appearance is still the same as it was before. It’s as if he hadn’t aged a day. How is this possible? Aigis had watched him die, yet here he is right in front of her. This has to be some cruel joke, right? Aigis doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Aigis?” Makoto spoke, breaking the silence between them. Hearing his voice was all Aigis needed to confirm that this is real. This isn’t a dream or hallucination. Makoto Yuki is back. Aigis doesn’t know how or why, but she doesn’t care. Makoto is here, and that’s all that matters to her.
“Makoto-san!” Aigis cries out as tears stream down her face. Before Makoto could react, Aigis immediately wraps her arms around him in a tight hug. She finds herself sobbing on his chest. When Makoto died, Aigis fell into a deep depression and isolated herself from everyone. The pain of losing Makoto was too much for her, so she wished herself to be a simple machine again and threw aside her human emotions. She had to undergo a tremendous journey to find out the truth of Makoto’s sacrifice as well as the answer to life, regaining her human emotions in the process.
“It’s okay, Aigis. Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here now.” Makoto whispers softly as he holds Aigis in his arms. He doesn’t question why she’s a human now. He doesn’t give an explanation as to why he’s alive again or how he found her house. All Makoto does is comfort the girl who helped him learn how to live again. The girl whom he fell in love with. His Aeon.
Slowly but surely, Aigis wipes away her tears and looks up at Makoto with a smile. Even though Aigis had moved past Makoto’s death, that didn’t mean she stopped missing him. She never stopped loving him. Her tears are proof of that. Aigis gently cups Makoto’s face and lets out a tiny gasp. She can feel him! Aigis can actually feel Makoto! It looks like there’s one benefit to being human. Back when she was an android, Aigis didn’t possess a sense of touch. Every time she held hands with Makoto or touched his face, she could never feel him. But now with a human body, that all changes. His skin feels soft and smooth.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m happy to see you again, Makoto-san. I missed you.” Aigis confesses as she stares straight into his blue eyes. She needs to get to the bottom of this. Her being human, Labry’s inconsistent memories, and Makoto suddenly being alive again. They all must be connected somehow. Aigis will investigate later but for now, she wants to enjoy this moment with Makoto. Makoto smiles softly at Aigis and caresses her hair.
“I missed you too.” Makoto says as the two lean closer towards each other. After years of being apart, the young couple find themselves wanting nothing more than to be closer than ever. As their lips are about to connect, the sound of a throat being cleared interrupts the two Wildcards. Aigis moves back as stepping into view from behind Makoto is the former Velvet Room attendant Elizabeth, whom Aigis hasn’t seen in a while. Elizabeth sports a serious look on her face as she addresses Makoto and Aigis.
“Ahem. As much as I hate to interrupt this touching reunion, I’m afraid we have important matters to discuss.” Elizabeth states as Aigis possesses the feeling she’s about to receive the answers she’s been looking for. Unfortunately, she also possesses the feeling that she’s not going to like those answers.