The World Within And Without


Disclaimer: Sheo Darren does not own Guilty Gear or any of the games, anime, movies, books and the like that are the property of other people. All original characters in this story are his creations and property. All insert characters are copyright/ owned by their respective represented real-life entities.


Justice Arc

Second Of Three Parts


Goddess Pallas Athena Asamiya


Pallas Athena. The Greek goddess of war and wisdom. Sprang from the forehead of her father Zeus fully grown and armed. Holder of the terrible thunderbolts that were her father's weapons. Bearer of the aegis shield upon which rested Medusa's deadly visage. Patron of Odysseus. Protector of Athens. Immortal. Beautiful. Powerful.

And now, nothing but a flight of fancy, a myth relegated to the annals of history.

Until today…

Ever since she was young, Asamiya Athena had known that she was meant for something extraordinary. Everything she had undertaken and accomplished were mere preludes in preparation for her true, big performance. Her singing career, her Psyco powers, her battles for peace and justice, and her hopeless love life: all these were just minor sideshows to entertain her fancies. But they were not her lot.

But now she had found it. More to the point, it had found her at last.

Now she walked to embrace the destiny that was hers from the very beginning of time. At last, she would truly be what she was meant to be.

Athena would finally become her true self.

Or so she believed.


"My name is Rheo Farren," he said. "I'm Yuuki Darren's son."

An astonished Justine could only stare. Stare at the smiling young man before her. Stare in silent disbelief, totally agog.

"You're– you're– you're That Girl's son?"

Justine stared.

Rheo beamed back.

She blushed. Quite hotly, too. Justine didn't know why. Despite her human appearance, she was a Gear. The Command Gear, to be specific, Type Zero One: Justice. She wasn't a 'Terminator' unit that could perfectly mimic human behavior. Blushing was theoretically possible with her human self but always disproved.

But she was blushing.

He really looked and acted like Sheo Darren. But there were some differences. First and easiest was that Rheo was a Gear. Hence, he was easily identifiable by other Gears. He also looked and acted differently. Taller by a few inches, more well-built, and his hair was straighter and cut differently. He was unflappably polite. And his perpetual smile showed off his nice even teeth. It made him– cute.

Sheo was passing handsome, and only when he tried his best. He wasn't cute. But his doppelganger was cute.

"By the way," Rheo continued, "Mother sends her greetings."

"Ah? Really?"

"Yes. She is unable to accompany me as she is currently attending to business."

"That's too bad, I guess."

"I know. Mother just loves beaches. She is rather disappointed that she can't wear her brand-new swimsuit at the beach. It's the kind of bathing suit that everyone except Grandfather would heartily approve her wearing in public."

That merited a chuckle from Justine. Sheo Darren's ultra-conservative tendencies were the stuff of legend. Yuuki loved to tease her father on that regard.

"Nevertheless, she is happy with the way you've matured. She is very proud of you. And so, I must say," Rheo added with straightforward honesty that mattered far more than any flourish, "am I."

Justine blushed again. Not at the praise, but because of the messenger.

"Thank you."

She was rewarded with a brighter smile. Rheo gestured to the ice cream stand.

"Ice cream? My treat."

She grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."

All the while, Rei happily ate her vanilla ice cream.


The bathing room was small. Its stone floor and walls was cool to the touch. So were the air and the water.

In her wake was her discarded clothing. They were succeeded by ripples as she stepped into the pool itself. Slowly, she marched into the deepest portion of the crystalline waters. It seemed to welcome her into its liquid embrace. She needed that welcome, alone as she was, and so thanked the pool for its act of kindness.

Ablution was a key step in the ritual. She needed to be purified both physically and spiritually. Once cleansed, she could then be properly garbed and presented before her people.

Water was the traditional, logical and best choice. It was perhaps the most familiar, obvious and abundant substance on the planet. The Earth was a water world, with seventy percent of its surface covered by water. It was present in solid, liquid and gaseous form, in the air and the soil, and in almost all living things. Most importantly, water was life-giving. It sustained life. It could be said to be life.

Thrice she submerged herself into the pool. Each time, she held her breath and stayed just beneath the surface. There was serenity in the liquid depths. She watched air bubbles escape from her mouth and strands of hair drift around her face. All the while, she was at peace.

Reluctantly she rose for the third and final time. The water spilled from her like so many waterfalls, then diminished into rivulets and streams and into nothing. She dried herself with a large towel, wrapped it around her and walked out of the bathing area– but not without a fond last glance.


"Well?"

Everyone knew when Yuuki was annoyed. She showed it openly. She told everyone about it. And she took it out on any and all enemies she found.

That Girl had been in this on-off funk for almost two years now. First, she had died. Her father had resurrected her, only to disappear afterwards. Next, the Empire of Nibbles attacked. The PWAB followed suit. And did so again. And again. And they still were not done. Then there were the usual nuptials held in the disastrous wedding capital of the fan fiction world. There were joyful births, tragic deaths, new couples and the Wanderer of the Present. Not to mention erratic appearances by the mysterious troublemaker known as Four Murasame.

There was also Alex to worry about. The Lone Wolf of Holy Orders was waging a one-man war against mysterious foes. Everything seemed to be in hand. Still, Yuuki was sending whatever help she could spare. Not that she had a lot to spare. Her cupboard was quite bare, the SDDF being spread thin by the PWAB's continuing predations and various new crises.

And forget Sho Tsuzuku. Everyone knew better than to mention him. Naming the man was akin to playing in the middle of rush hour or playing Russian roulette with an Uzi set on full auto. Whatever, it meant suffering for all who named him.

To summarize, Yuuki had more work to do. And where there was more work, then would be was more paperwork.

And Yuuki hated paperwork.

Thankfully, she had been a good girl this year. And so Santa (actually, it was Nik Hasta who sent it) had delivered his end of the bargain: A most efficient paper shredder that minced paper at Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu speed. Yuuki would have kissed Nik in happiness had not that stupid Dark Nik appeared to mess things up.

But that was another story.

Beside the toiling Author Assistant was Loki. The Norse God was temporarily filling in for his fiancée's absent son, the latter currently on vacation. He was doing a swell job of it, too. Loki was dictating summarized reports, offering advice, brewing coffee and keeping Yuuki sane despite the madness of The World Within And Without.

The latest flashpoint was Greece. A cult glorifying Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of war, had recently surfaced. Despite vigorous suppression efforts by Section Thirteen, it had quickly grown in size and strength, especially in the recent months after Asamiya Athena's retirement. In a stunning series of events, the cult took over Athens and its immediate surroundings. An energy shield of still-indefinable nature had been erected over the city, protecting it from outside attack.

The A Country was the first to respond to the Greek government's pleas for help. A sizable battle group situated upon and above the Mediterranean Sea quickly geared up for deployment. Ground troops quickly surrounded Athens. Mithril was not far behind. Tuatha de Danaan and its attachments were en route. Tessa Testarossa personally commanded them. Along for the ride was her fellow Italian and SDDF special operative Fiolina 'Fio' Germi.

As for the SDDF? Yuuki was still trying to decide who to send. It would not take long.

"Oh, by the way," Loki noted. "Negi's gone missing on us."

And Yuuki growled.

Negi Springfield –a.k.a. Negi the Perv, Harem Potter and That Lucky Little Bastard– was officially a ten-year old Welsh-Japanese English teacher at Mahora Gakuen. Unofficially, he was a Western wizard, one of the most talented and powerful of his batch. He was also on Sheo Darren's Top Ten "I Want These People Dead, No Questions Asked" List along with the likes of Morisato Keiichi, Motusawa Hideki, Kamui and –occupying the No. 1 Spot, of course– Sho Tsuzuku. Among Negi's unforgivable sins was living in the same dorm that housed all of his students, being ground zero for "panty flash action", and all but hitting on the local Maehara Shinobu clone, Miyazaki Nodoka. His file was marked 'Time Critical'. According to protocol, Negi had to be eliminated before he hit puberty. Failure to do so would result in the largest harem ever known. The universe would implode at the sheer unfairness of it all.

Or so claimed Sheo.

Personally, Yuuki had nothing against Negi. They did not get along well with each other, though. Their first meeting was a disaster. True to form, a bumbling Negi had accidentally gotten tangled up with Yuuki in a most sexually suggestive position. And he got a good peek of her panties while at it. A merry chase promptly ensued. It involved half a dozen anvils, a big wooden mallet, the Woody, Power and Fight Cards, and several pro wrestling submission moves. Negi was wailing "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" while Yuuki was screaming bloody murder. It took Loki, Negi's students Kagurazaki Asuna, Miyazaki Nodoka and Evangeline A.K. McDowell, and Eva's robot assistant Chachamaru to pull the livid girl off her weaker fellow redhead.

Traumatized by their one-sided brawl, Negi had studiously avoided Yuuki ever since. The latter could live with that. It showed in her reply.

"Is it a great loss to the world if he just curled up in a corner and died?"

"Yuuki…"

She sighed. "It's not like we can do anything about it."

"Still–"

"Yes, yes, I know." With an air of patient suffering, That Girl made the proper allocations for a search. "Any other punishment you wish to inflict upon me?"

Loki's brows furrowed a bit as he concentrated. Yuuki smiled. He looked cute when he did that.

"Oh, there is one thing."

"What?"

"Four has reportedly been spotted in Athens."

Yuuki's reaction was surprising.


The dressing room was sparsely furnished, more Spartan than Athenian. Still, it served its purpose quite well. Upon the table lay her clothing. Dropping the towel, she dressed herself. A white chemise went over her red underthings. She happened to glance aside at the last addition to her attire and found herself wondering.

It was a set of burnished bronze armor in the classical Greek style, made for her personal use. Shield, sword and spear lay beside it. Her shield had a cloth covering it. She reached for it with the intent of pulling it of. Instead, she pulled her hand back at the last moment. She remembered what lay beneath the cover. It was a sight reserved for her foes, one she'd rather not see.

Slowly, she put her armor on. It was light as a feather, sturdy as granite and a perfect fit. She strapped her sword to her side. The spear and shield was left for later.

Finally, all that was left was the tight-fitting helm. She held it before her and mused upon its implication. The moment she wore it would signal the end of what she had been– and the beginning of her new identity.

A memory so long ago, of a friend also clad in armor, clamored to her. Athena! Don't put it on! Don't put it on, Athena!

Athena!

But she was Athena. And so, closing her eyes, she placed the helmet upon her head.

And everything ended.


They were enjoying ice cream and each other's company. Rheo dined on chocolate. Justine munched at cherry. Rei had another vanilla. The sun shone bright upon sapphire seas and blue skies. The subdued rushing of waves mingled with the happy clamor of bathers and swimmers. Above all the noise and sound, a discussion took place.

"What's with this 'cousin' business, anyway?"

"Well, we are related. We were both created by That Girl. We might be very different models, but we share the same mother."

"If we have the same mother, then isn't our relationship more that of siblings?" posed Justine.

Rheo blinked. His following grin was sheepish.

"I believe you are right."

"Good." She wagged a knowledgeable finger at him. "Now be a good boy and call me Justine-onee-san."

"Haii Justine-onee-san."

"On second though," she considered, "Make it Justine-nee-chan instead."

He was about to do it, but her laughter cut him off.

"Never mind that. Justine will do."

"Yes, Justine," he said most obediently.

The Gear girl laughed. "You are such a delightful boy, Rheo, you know that?"

"I am the pride and happiness of my mother's waning years."

That doubled her over. Her 'sibling' smiled at her antics.

And Justine knew bliss.

She was having fun. She was as happy as she had ever been in her life. Like the time she and Sol Badguy were still a couple, that kind of happiness. But this was different. While her liaison with Sol was romantic in nature, this relationship was purely platonic. Rheo was a great guy. He was smart, witty and cute. He got along grandly with anyone he met. And he made Justine feel nice about him and herself. He was a wonderful friend.

Or was he just a friend? Maybe he was something more to her than she allowed.

Justine bonked herself. Not that she was a prude or an innocent. She was a hundred and fifty years old– and "a fully functional and more-than-adequately equipped female humanoid", to coin one of That Girl's drier technical jokes. No way was she ignorant about the birds and the bees. Hell, if Sol had even let out the slightest hint that he wanted to do it with her, she would have beaten him to the figurative punch. (Which was why the Guilty Gear had kept himself generally well behaved while around her; Justine had always been too literal and obliging. That means no F-words for him– or else…)

But Rheo was her brother. Sure, the idea of incest technically didn't apply to Gears, the latter lacking morality– and humanity. Thing was, Justine had been hanging around humans for a while now and had absorbed a lot of philosophies and mannerisms. Among them were a modicum of modesty and a loose but practical code of ethics. She had a conscience to live with now. And that conscience condoned the very fantasy that the human side of her was conceiving.

Besides, Yuuki would kill her if she so much as laid a finger on Rheo.

He was staring at her. His objective gaze and the thought that he might be able to read her mind embarrassed her.

"Justine? Why did you hit yourself on the head?"

"Huh? Ah, it was nothing."

"If you say so. By the way, Justine," Rheo suddenly interjected, "Where is Miss Athena?"

Justine was aghast. She had totally forgotten about her friend. It had been an hour and a half already. Athena was usually patient, but she wasn't her usual self lately? What if she took this opportunity to run away?

As if he read her mind, Rheo nodded. "We'd better check on her."

"Right–"

"Rheo!"

Both Justine and Rheo exploded onto their feet. Yuuki's voice was booming, a cannon shot. Strangely, no one else on the crowded beach noticed or heard her.

"Yuuki-san?"

"Justine?" That Girl's tone changed from urgent to surprised– and uncertain. "Is that you?"

"Yes! How does she do it?" she asked Rheo.

"Mother can communicate with any and all Gears except the prototype, Type Zero."

She'd forgotten about that. She'd forgotten about a number of others things as well. Like a watchful Rei, standing at their side and quiet as the grave. And how the world can seem perfect one moment and then go to hell in the next. And Athena.

Idiot! If 'Thena ran off because she thought you left her–

"We've got trouble." As usual, Yuuki was grim. "It's about Athena."


The gathered members of the Athena cult eagerly waited outside the Parthenon. They were a throng of mismatched folk from all walks of life. Some were as old as Methuselah. Others were barely out of their teens. There were singles, couples and families. Rich and poor, fanatics and devout, all shared the faith. All awaited their deity.

The old man came out. He was garbed in white and wore a flowing beard. A brown staff was held firmly in his right hand. His eyes shone with a strange light. He was their leader, the founder of their cult.

"My children!" His voice was old but like thunder. "The time of waiting had ended! Our time has come! Our Goddess is come!"

So saying, he stepped aside for the immaculate entity behind him.

All the cult members fell to their feet in genuflection and adoration. The old man smiled in triumph, his smirk aimed at Heaven and at the

"Athena!" he crowed. "Athena!"

"Athena!" echoed the crowd. "Athena! Athena!"

Asamiya Athena was no more.

Before them was the Goddess Herself.

Pallas Athena.