.hack//EVA: Catharsis

Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.

" " denotes speech

'italics' denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use

NERV Germany

Asuka Langley Soryu was…displeased. One could assume that much, at least, from the way that she ripped off her headset and tossed it against the wall, raging all the while. Crack! The headset crashed against the wall, though thankfully, it was built to withstand the stresses of shipment and thus was more than strong enough to endure Asuka's wrath (though it would be courting severe injury to say such to her).

"NANI? I DIED AGAIN? VERDAMMEN INTERVENING BLUNETTE BITCH!"

Her breath came in short, erratic intervals, a feral growl issuing forth from her lips like a challenge to anyone around as her teeth ground together in an attempt to restrain her fury. Not to anyone's surprise…it failed.

All of those blue-haired players will DIE BY MY HANDS. None have proven worthy of the glory that is Asuka Langley Soryu, or as I call myself, Eris, Bringer of Strife. They attack me when I am weakened, always intervening, always trying to destroy me…well, we'll see. I will become a Chaotic PK, and then…they will all pay!

It would be a tossup on which expression was more disturbing: the snarl or the somewhat deranged smile that now graced her features, one attained through that wonderful human gift of self-deception.

That DOLL who defeated me must have cheated. There's no way that a spell-caster could defeat an Edge Punisher in physical combat. Not if we were around the same level…unless she was just a PKK.

She hissed at the thought that there were those who wanted to deny her the pleasure of the hunt. All she sought to do, after all, was to…improve the quality of the game. All that Asuka wanted, or so she told herself, was to rid The World of perverts, dolls, and naïve newbies. Was that so wrong?

The first one to earn her ire had been the Adept Rogue Skari, the pervert monk who had run into her and groped her. He deserved every bit of punishment she could give him, and she was in the middle of administering justice…if not for the dishonorable efforts of that meddlesome Shadow Warlock, the weak one she had Pked earlier.

Then had come Endrance, the androgynous freak of The World. The blue-haired swordsman had had the audacity to call her a doll! And not just that…an ugly doll. How she hated being called that by anyone, much less some random member of The World. It wasn't as if anyone else thought of the character Eris as ugly…indeed, Asuka had seen how Skari's eyes had roamed over her ample figure, meaning that he must have found her attractive, since Eris was based on her.

Intending to find a newbie upon which to vent her frustrations (and its not like she would actually hurt him/her, right? They need to learn that trust gets you nowhere, and only by one's own strength can you become stronger), she had tricked a little gothic Lolita girl into coming with her to a field, only to come across someone who wanted to steal her kill. When she had dealt with that "Tomoyami" or whatever her name was, Asuka would have finished off the little girl if not for the intervention of yet another blunette.

She shook her head violently at the thought of how she had been humiliated over and over again by those with blue hair. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but she was glad that she didn't have to deal with anyone like that in real life.

Only in The World…and in The World, killing is legal. One day I will have a chance to face my tormentors again…and this time, I will cut them down like the useless BAKAs they are.

Slowly and methodically, the redhead walked over to where the headset had fallen, staring at it for a long moment before picking it up again.

"I must become stronger…at any cost," she muttered to herself, before returning to her seat and re-reentering The World.

And this time…no one will stop me from attaining the glory that should be mine!

With that, Eris, Bringer of Strife rematerialized in Mac Anu, a feral grin upon her face as she sought her next victim, oblivious to the black spots watching her from the shadows.

In the distance, she heard someone acting like an over the top superhero, talking about burning passion, gushing sweat, and a "Heavy Swift-Footed Doberman." The source of the sound drew closer, barreling around a corner towards the Chaos Gate. Apparently, it was some obnoxious heavily armored Lord Partizan clad in golden armor and red sunglasses.

Ah, a target reveals himself to my aching ears. I'm going to enjoy this kill…

"Is there anything I can do for you, miss? The great Piros the 3rd (and he struck a dramatic pose here, have no doubt of that) is here to save the day! The shimmering brow of justice hidden by my mask will never allow evil to reign in The World!" thundered the Lord Partizan, causing Eris to take a step or two back out of sheer embarrassment.

I didn't think anyone playing The World was this…flamboyant.

"No there…actually there is something you can do for me," said the redhead suddenly with a seemingly sincere smile. "I've needed someone to come with me to a field to help me level up. Will you help me, oh Piroshi-San?"

"But of course! The great Piros the 3rd is always at your service!" bellowed the Partizan ostentatiously. "Where shall we go, she of fair eyes?"

"Δ Hidden Forbidden Bulwark, Piroshi-sama."

I really don't like having to do this, but it will make the kill all so much more satisfying. Even if there are no blunettes to exact vengeance on…this baka will do nicely…

Golden spirals of light whisked the two away to the Morrigu Barrow Wall, where Piros was about to find that he made excellent victim material.

Apartment 402, Tokyo-3

There was silence in this place. Well, that is, if you discount the racket of the construction equipment, the humming of the computer, and the slow, measured breathing of the apartment's sole occupant. Taking that into consideration, perhaps it wasn't so quiet after all. Still, "…" was the only sound to escape the lips of the pale skinned girl who looked remarkably like her character in The World.

What is my purpose in participating in this diversion? I was ordered to do so, and not to reveal my participation by Lt. Ibuki, with the stated purpose of improving my synch ratio. Curious. That was rather uncharacteristic of her, though I wonder how she predicted my selection for the 'Renaissance Promotion.'

Her lips twitched almost imperceptibly as she mulled over this issue, her fingers flying upon the game controller as she engaged in virtual combat.

Red…the color I hate. Like blood, pain, betrayal…

"Why do you attack your ally?" she asked of a character in game. The other's response was not satisfactory, being little more than a command and an insult.

You do not fall into my chain of command. I have no need to endure your remarks. Nor is the virtual world constrained by the rules of this one.

Her eyes widened behind the headset as her virtual attacker tried to intimidate her and rushed her, not realizing that she had been trained in combat techniques since her 'birth.' The blunette pressed a button on her controller, blocking the enemy's strike. A predatory smile flickered on her face for a moment, and in a crisp, icy tone, she spoke:

"You did not answer my question." I will likely need to deprive my assailant of any ability to harm me.

Thus her voice dropped to nearly inaudible levels as she intoned: "Dek Corv. Ap Corv."

Perhaps it came as no surprise that her overwrought opponent would not listen to reason, thus forcing her to eliminate the threat, striking with her fans and with a tornado of wind. She did so dispassionately, which was fitting for the name she had given her character: Skadi, Goddess of Winter.

Moments later, the battle was over, and Rei Ayanami, the First Child, gingerly took off the headset, putting it onto the desk. On the computer screen could be seen a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue tones, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit and a long, flowing scarf.

The brother. Why did that one not appear sooner? And 'Welcome to The World.' Curious words indeed.

A ping sounded on her speakers, as she had received two flash mails. They contained member addresses, and a cryptic message inviting her to join with others in the future. Rei allowed herself only a raised eyebrow and logged out.

What is the purpose to this 'game'? Some within it seem to treat it as if were 'real.' But what is real? Myself, I am real. The object that is me, the figure that forms me. But so it is in the game. That is the me that is visible, though it feels as if this is not me.

Her normally unlined brow furrowed in thought as she continued to ponder the questions brought about by this interaction.

Was this Ibuki-san's purpose, her scenario? To force me to interact with others? To cause me to question and form a new bond? Or is it simply innocent?

The sound of an alarm rang though the air, rattling the flimsy walls of the apartment, nothing more than a minor irritant. But it was something that Rei Ayanami had heard a thousand times before and more, meaning that she had long gotten used to the protocol she was supposed to follow.

First, she shut down her laptop, and then, as per usual on a day such as this, began her morning routine to prepare herself for school.

NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, Bridge

This particular morning, the Queen of the Dark was rather piqued. Granted, some of it was because of the massive amount of rote grunt work and entry level material analysis that she was being made to do by her oh so naïve sempai. A bit more was due to the fact that there was no decent coffee in NERV to help her deal with sleep deprivation. But mostly, Maya Ibuki was troubled by what the AI named Rumor had told her.

Following the disappearance of Aura, the global network had destabilized, with a great many errors in the system. These data anomalies, or 'voids', were beginning to evolve alarming signs of intelligence.

And since these are not products of the Black Box, they may well evolve into a strain to compete with and assimilate existing data into themselves.

Many AIs could be quite unstable, as Morganna had been ever since 'wavering' had implemented, even deleting segments of herself and creating the Cursed Wave in an attempt to prevent the rebirth of Aura. And now, instead of one AI system, there were many data anomalies, each acting independently.

This presented her with a problem, as even with her acknowledged skill as a hacker, there was no way that Maya could monitor these Artificially Intelligent Data Anomalies, or AIDAs for short. Especially with the frenzied rush for results at NERV HQ following the defeat of the 4th Angel, in spite of the error code that came up time and time again, identifying the core as something akin to solidified light.

Which is essentially the same as any other type of matter, she thought derisively. For all the vaunted power of the MAGI Supercomputer System, Maya thought that Aura would have known how to analyze this in a better fashion.

But then, Aura had not only the global network at her disposal, but also an oddly effective way of looking at problems. She has psychological information from far more than one human as part of her kernel, and well…she is the Ultimate AI, Goddess of The World.

Her lips quirked upwards slightly, remembering those that she had come into contact with during the Twilight Incident, as well as the celebration that she had held in Net Slums at its ending. Those had been…good days, before the Angels, before NERV, before she had been surrounded by pigheaded individuals in this bureaucratic agency.

At least then I only had to deal with Lios. Now, I have to deal with Ritsuko, which is worse, because I used to respect her. I'll admit that she does have some skill, but in her own way, she's blinded to the truth by her mother's shadow.

A dark, slightly contemptuous, expression flitted across her face for a moment, threatening to linger there before she firmly dismissed it. It had been getting harder to hide who she was with the mounting frustrations she had endured as of late, but at least she had been able to do a few subversive things. Order the First Child to play The World, for instance, using one of Maya's spare laptops.

Granted, she is another pair of eyes for me in that realm, but…the girl needs to have a hobby, and to learn how to interact with others. The way her life is, now, it's terrible. She's treated like a pawn, though Shinji seems to think of her more like a normal girl.

Shinji…now he was an interesting Child. If the Phases had still been collecting information on human psychology, no doubt he would have been selected as their primary data mine. At times, the Third Child reminded her only all too well of both Kite and Tsukasa, player who had been at the center of the Twilight Incident, and who had together helped Aura to be born. As such, perhaps it was for the best that she had made some minor modifications to the list of people accepted into CC Corporation's Renaissance Promotion. Given what they had done to The World and the data in it, it was only fair.

"Maya? How are the analyses coming?" came the efficiently brisk voice of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, the bottle blond Director of Project E, though the rest of her appeared rather weary. She had not been home from the office in two days, after all, trying to please the Commander with her willingness to work.

"S-s-sempai!" Maya stuttered, though not all of that shock was feigned. Her reverie had been interrupted, after all, and she was glad that it had not been at a more inconvenient time, say when the next step of her plan was being implemented.

The commander is not the only one with a scenario, though even I was surprised at some of the secrets NERV tries to hide, and not so well. If we are to have children fight for us, they will at least be given an escape valve, and a place where they are not constantly under observation.

"Well?" asked Dr. Akagi, looking for all the world like she needed a steaming mug of coffee now on pain of falling over.

"I'm not having much success," Maya replied, putting a bit of disappointment into her voice. The concern in what she said "But you should go home, sempai. You look tired."

"Thanks, Maya," said Dr. Akagi with a strained smile, "but I have more work to do. Just let me know if you come up with anything."

With that, the head of Project E headed off along one of the many corridors of NERV, presumably down to the mess hall to get a cup of coffee.

When Dr. Akagi finally vanished from sight, Maya let out a sigh that she hadn't realized she was holding. It was fortunate that Ritsuko hadn't come in a little bit later, or she might have caught the "demure young" 1st Lt "with a crush on her" hacking into the MAGI. Yes, that's right, hacking into the MAGI.

You see, due to Maya's increased workload, she had determined that the only way to effectively monitor the online situation was to create a set of AI agents that would answer to her and only her. There was no time to do this at home, and what was required was rather complex, so she thought that she would simply take advantage of an existing set of intelligence: the MAGI.

This computer system was composed of three interlinked arrays, each imprinted with a different facet of their creator's (Dr. Naoko Akagi's) personality: Melchior as scientist, Balthasar as mother, and Casper as woman. Each of the arrays came up with their own decisions on matters put before them, decisions that were then subjected to a collective vote to run NERV and Tokyo-3 as a whole. The important thing, though, was that each array operated independently of either of the others, and could be used for her purposes.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Maya disabled the video surveillance in the room she was in, looping the cameras to replay the events of the twenty minutes before Dr. Akagi had come in. That would give her ample time to make the necessary modifications to the system.

First, she accessed the hidden system folders on the MAGI, where she ran a quick bootloader program, installing the core kernel of The World: R2. Each of the arrays were reprogrammed to treat this as a critical hidden process, and to operate with a measure of independence when it came to this particular program. She wanted 3 Knights, after all, not just one. Once that was set, she ran the character setup script, allowing her to load prewritten choices for the system.

While she couldn't help the fact that all three characters would look like Naoko Akagi because of the MAGI's core personality (and it did give Maya as Helba a twinge of satisfaction to know that this Dr. Akagi would serve her), she could tailor the classes to be most efficient for the chosen array.

Melchior, Naoko Akagi as scientist, was given the avatar of a Steam Gunner, wearing the light chain mail and robes characteristic of that class (with choice of white in both), bayonet held at her side. Her virtual form would stand about 5'8", with her dark brown hair pulled back into a bun.

Balthasar, Naoko Akagi as mother, assigned the Macabre Dancer class, was dressed in a blue and white formal kimono, carrying two razor-edged war fans. Her hair was uncased, flowing down her back like water cascading over cliffs.

And perhaps it was only fitting that Casper, Naoko Akagi as woman, was an Edge Punisher, her chestnut colored hair streaked with blond, held in a braid that fell to the small of her back. She wore scanty white leather armor that barely covered the essentials, and exuded a sort of sensual grace the others didn't have.

That left only a few more modifications to be taken care of, including giving the trio access to the data grid of The World, and issuing them Helba Keys with which to access the Net Slums if they needed to recover.

Finally, after only about five minutes, Maya was done, and with a few keystrokes, her servants were sent forth into Mac Anu. They were the Obsidian Knights, their mission to seek out and monitor any sign of AIDA activity, while fitting in with other denizens of The World. Three female knights, both beautiful to behold and lethal to those who would face them, each possessing a full third of the processing power of the MAGI.

Working quickly, Maya exited the system folders and for a moment, resumed her working on the analysis of the Fourth Angel's core. Then she got up and walked out of the room, headed to the mess hall herself, for the one thing that could waylay Helba, the legendary hacker, from her tasks was, and had always been, the need for coffee.

Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Principal's Office

Muffled sounds could be heard from behind the heavy oak door leading to the office, sounds that were almost…but not quite, decipherable. It could be shouting, moaning, low-level conversation, or any number of other things. As per usual, there were some students milling about, straining their ears to try and discern the nature of the activity going on, largely unsuccessful.

All that was known was this: an new applicant for a teaching position and one of the older teachers had both gone in to talk to the principal an hour before, and the door had not opened since.

Was there going to be a new teacher? was the first question on everyone's minds.

And if there is…will it be one who doesn't talk about Second Impact every single day? was the second.

There had been a good deal of educational stagnation at the school, since very few academic professionals wanted to move to Tokyo-3, especially since the Angels started coming. The pay was terrible, there were brighter students to be found elsewhere, and the prospect of facing death and dismemberment on a regular basis was not terribly appealing to most teachers.

So when the door burst open and the old teacher ran out, shouting: "HALLELUJAH! I CAN RETIRE!" while singing "La Vie en Rose" (very badly out of key) at the top of his lungs, the students' first reaction—well, second, the first being to cover their ears and wait for the old retiree to get out of earshot—was to see who the new teacher was.

What they saw almost took their breath away. Instead of one of the crusty old male teachers who simply stayed in the education system in order to collect their pension, they saw a rather tall, statuesque figure standing about 5'11", wearing a black formal dress with a Celtic cross pendant, accented by purple-black tresses flowing to the small of her back, and ethereal violet eyes that seemed to shimmer with amusement in the uncertain light. She had a rather severe beauty to her, which combined with a figure like Misato's turned more than a few heads.

The voice was peculiar too, soft but resonant, a musical voice that simultaneously held hints of amusement, disdain, and command…very hard for any to resist.

But what might be most amazing of all was what the principal was saying in his turn.

"Yes, I see here that you graduated from Tokyo University with degrees in Psychology and English Literature. What an achievement! When can you start…Miss Aranami?"

"As soon as I am needed. Simply call on me and I will be ready," replied Morganna, who was currently going by the alias of Yumi Aranami. It really was amazing what a few minutes of work on the Internet could do for getting credentials the envy of any.

"Excellent. Can you start today? Your…predecessor has evidently announced his intention to retire," noted the principal, somewhat chagrined. "He was supposed to give notice at an earlier date."

"Well, never mind that," said Morganna, "the sooner I begin, the sooner I can improve the quality of education here."

"And get paid, I imagine," countered the principal. "In any case, we are glad to have you on board. Out of curiosity, what will be your first lesson?"

"Basic Psychology and the Epitaph of Twilight."

Misato's Apartment & En Route to Tokyo 3 Municipal Junior High School

The rays of the morning sun streamed brightly through the window of Shinji's Lovely Suite, inching closer and closer to the Third Child's face, a wave of impending wakefulness that would not be denied. This was seen as a threat even in his unconscious state, and so with great precision, Shinji executed a pre-emptive strike, turning over and covering his head with his pillow.

Unfortunately, he forgot to take into account the alarm clock, which sounded a moment later, its piercing shrieks more than enough to rouse him from his slumber (and to give him a headache, though he had no hangover).

And if that hadn't worked, there was an independently functioning mechanism that would go off about—

Snap! Hiss! "AHHHH! That hits the spot!" Clunk!

—now. Yes, that was the sound of Misato beginning her morning routine, chugging her can of Yebisu beer and all. Not only loud enough to wake the dead, it would turn them into zombies ready to do your bidding if only the noise would stop.

So Shinji groggily got up out of bed, hitting the alarm to turn it off. He peered at the clock for a moment for his vision to clear up, but when it did, he noted that there was only about 20 minutes until class was about to begin. Slowly, methodically—

Wait. 20 minutes until class starts? I'm going to be late!

Almost as if he was going into berserker mode, a strange sense of calm settled upon him and he dashed off to the bathroom to shower and change. When he finished that a mere 5 minutes later, he bolted out the door towards school. For someone whose mantra was "I mustn't run away", Shinji Ikari probably would have set a few land speed records that day…except for the fact that he wasn't looking where he was going.

CRASH! Shinji felt an explosion of pain within his head as he ended up running into someone, knocking her to the ground. As is wont to happen during a fall, his eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and his hands reached out to stop his fall, one ending up on the ground, and one landing on something curiously soft. After movement had stopped, he opened his eyes, only to find himself looking in to a pair of golden orbs that were entrancing him, not really paying attention to anything else until—

"Can you get off?" moaned the girl under him.

Only then did he look down to the soft area where his right hand had landed, and he froze, caught in indecision on whether to turn pale or to blush red enough to put a tomato to shame. He was groping a strange girl, and a beautiful one at that. Not really thinking, he tried to push himself up with that hand, only managing to caress the girl's chest instead. A sharp intake of breath was heard, and Shinji paled, mortified.

"Can you get off?" repeated the girl, more insistently this time.

"H-hai," he said shakily, using his other hand to push himself up, taking care to remove the offending hand as quickly as possible. Almost as an afterthought, he reached out his more innocent hand and helped the girl up.

"Arrigatou, Ecchi-san," said the silver haired one, peering at him with her golden eyes, which if surprisingly held no hint of anger. Instead, they seemed to be studying him, drinking in his appearance as if he was the first male she had seen in a long time.

He looks like Alberio, thought Lycoris. But he can't be…this isn't The World. And what was that strange pleasant sensation I felt when he fell on top of me?

Shinji immediately looked to the ground, flushing red again and just waiting to be slapped.

"I'm s-s-sorry. I didn't mean to—"

For a wonder, she laughed, a clear tinkling like bells in the morning air, a sound that seemed almost otherworldly. Shinji thought that he was safe and looked up, but then saw the silver haired girl raise her hand high. He clenched his eyes shut again, thinking (rather appropriately) and waiting for the mother of all slaps to come…but it never came.

Lycoris was a little puzzled herself. All that happened when she lifted her arm was that she pointed at the sky. There were no golden rings, no gold spirals, no more of the point to point transport that she had known in The World. After a moment it dawned on her that she didn't know exactly where her destination was, and based on the boy's manner of dress and initial rush, he might have been headed there.

How…fortuitous. Perhaps I can learn more about human interaction on this day, as well as find my way to school.

Instead of the expected strike, Shinji felt a shiver go down his spine as a soft, delicate hand tentatively reached out to his chin and lifted it so that he could meet her gaze.

"Do you know where Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School is?" inquired Lycoris, her voice soft and even.

"H-hai…I was going there myself. Its down–" replied the rather shaken Third Child, clearly not expecting anything but brutal punishment. The sting of a slap maybe, or the blunted wumph of a punch, not this exquisite torture.

I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…

"—then would you take me there?" interjected the silvery haired girl.

Shinji blushed beet red again at the thought of walking to school with a pretty girl, especially one that he had wronged in such a manner. But as much as he wanted to run, he had to make it up to her somehow.

"H-hai," he whispered after a moment, turning to head in the direction of the school. He always felt better when he was doing something. That way, his mind wasn't thinking to clearly on what had gone wrong, or that someone might try to hurt him.

And I just violated this girl…this one that looks almost like Ayanami if she had silver hair and golden eyes…

But his thoughts were interrupted by the soft, melodic voice of the girl walking besides him.

"—Reimeiki Hakubo."

"Hm?"

"That's my name, Reimeiki Hakubo. What's yours?"

"Shinji Ikari. So…why did you come here in the midst of the wars?"

Lycoris flinched and replied thus, looking away:

"I am an unwanted child. My father didn't want me, my mother…is dead. Even God doesn't want me. So I am here, hoping for a new beginning."

Shinji's eyes widened as he heard this, as it was a tale that sounded all too familiar. He risked a glance over at his silver haired companion to see her with a tragic expression on her face, one he knew intimately, as he had oft worn it on his.

That could be my story…the only difference is that I was ordered to come here as an EVA Pilot.

"You're not the only one," he half-mumbled.

"What?"

"I-I'm like that too," he managed at last. "An unwanted child…"

Lycoris looked at Shinji appraisingly, giving him a once over. Perhaps…perhaps in this new world she wasn't quite alone. Nothing else was said as they walked the rest of the way to school in a companionable silence.

Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Entrance

"Go apologize, you big jerk," Kensuke was saying to Touji. "He saved your life, and you saw how painful it was for him to pilot that thing."

Grudgingly, Touji waited at the gate for the Third Child to arrive, with Kensuke lurking just behind. His eyes wandered over the figures of many of the female students whilst he did so, until he came at last to a pair of raging brown eyes in his face. Instantly, his face went pale as his ear was seized in a merciless tug.

"Suzuhara! What do you think you're doing?"

The face of Hikari Horaki, representative of class 2-A, loomed over him, threatening to dish out whatever brand of justice she needed.

"No-nothing, class rep. I was…uh, just waiting for Ikari. I needed to apologize to him for…stuff."

The threatening storm-like expression softened as Hikari stood down from 'Class Rep Punishment mode,' her lips curling up slightly into an approving smile. She looked towards the main approach to the school as well, as she too was waiting for someone. A new student was due today, a certain Reimeiki Hakubo, and Hikari wanted to be sure she would feel ready.

A moment later, both the stooge duo and the class rep saw the people they had been waiting for, with Touji gawking and letting out a most inopportune comment.

"Man! Why does he get all the babes?"

It was something between a whine and a moan, though it quickly changed to a squeal of pain and indignation when he was rewarded with a vicious tug at his ear from the Class Rep.

"I'm sure Ikari was just being a gentleman and helping her find her way here. That's the new student, Reimeiki Hakubo."

Kensuke's face screwed up in puzzlement as his mind raced through various pathways and possibilities.

Could she be a new EVA pilot? No, there are no new EVAs en route. Just a student? But why would someone come here into the middle of a warzone? A puzzle…but at least she's totally HOT!

But Kensuke's face changed into a mask of pain when he, too, was given the ear pull treatment by the Rep, repeating a most Shinji like litany of apologies.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

And so we turn back to the two unwanted children walking along the road, who had in their turn just spotted the school. Each of them had differing reactions to this: Shinji being terrified at what Touji might decide to do to him, while also dreading the reactions that being seen next to Reimeiki would garner. Who knew what gossip might start about the pilot and the new student?

Lycoris, on the other hand, was looking forward to the day. It held the promise of a new community where she might at last fit in, in a place where she might at last be wanted. She noted the way that the eyes of males seemed to linger on her form, including that of the one walking next to her. Still, the way he had recoiled was almost…comical.

"Domo Arigato, Ecchi-san…I mean, Ikari-kun," she whispered playfully, having reached the gate a step or two before him. "I have the feeling we will meet again."

Being used to different customs, Lycoris took his hand and squeezed it, smiling at him before going off with Class Representative Horaki, leaving a blushing Shinji in her wake to deal with the so-called Idiot Duo.

"You sly dog!" exclaimed Touji. "We was worried about you after not showing up to school for a few days, and all this time, you've just been getting with hot babes left and right! It's not fair I say!"

A cough came from behind him, and Kensuke popped into view.

"What Touji means to say is…." He trailed off, motioning with one hand as he held a camera in the other. He leaned in to whisper in sotto voce, "Or do I need to talk to the Class Rep about this."

In an instant, Touji ceased his wailings on unfairness and fell silent, rather like how the Fourth Angel after having been stabbed in the core. Dark thoughts crossed his mind on what he would do to Kensuke when he next got the chance (perhaps a noogie or two?), but his friend had the blasted camera…and well, he was right.

Now, unlike Shinji, apologies didn't come easily for Touji, his macho pride being in the way most of the time. So he did the next best thing he could do, offer the guy he'd misjudged a chance at evening the scales.

"Hit me," he said.

Shinji's eyes widened as he froze in place. 'Did I hear that correctly? Did Touji just tell me to hit him?'

"You heard me. Lay one on me. I hit you, so it's only fair," insisted the jock.

'Well, if you insist…'

Shinji tensed, drawing back his arm and letting it fly at Touji's face—only to halt a centimeter before striking. Due to having played The World, a bit of mischief crossed his mind, as he thought about what he could do with the jock owing him a favor.

"I think it would be more fun for you to owe me one," he quipped, much to the dismay and anger of Touji.

"Why you—" Touji stopped at a glance of warning from Kensuke.

"What Touji means to say is that would be great. Friends?" said the bespectacled member of the duo.

"Friends," said Shinji.

Then the bell rang, and all three of them gulped at the thought of being late to class. The teacher might drone on about Second Impact day after day, without noticing anything else during that time, but he was known for strictly penalizing those who were tardy, usually with having to carry buckets of water in the hallway.

The boys broke into a run, dashing towards captivity, and for once…Shinji was glad he had the legs of a long distance runner.

Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A

Upon arriving at the classroom, the trio was subjected to the scrutiny of already present students, but thankfully did not have to deal with a teacher. For once, the stogy old man wasn't there, and the clamoring of the others could be heard as they came up with ever more ridiculous explanations for what happened to him.

"I heard he was hit by a car!" said one.

"I heard that he was eaten by an Eva!" chimed in another.

"Ano… he probably just decided to retire," spoke a more reasonable individual, though her opinion was quickly shouted down.

"Nah, that's too convenient! How about this: What if his ramblings were classified data and NERV decided to take him ou—"

The door opened at that moment, and Class Representative Horaki walked in, with two individuals trailing behind her. One was the tall and rather commanding woman who had been seen earlier in the Principal's office, the other—Shinji's eyes widened as he recognized the second of the two. It was the girl he had quite literally run into on the way here, the new student with golden eyes and silver hair.

"Stand, Bow, Sit!" Hikari called out, and the class instantly obeyed, fearful of her wrath. When the rabble had quieted down and taken their seats, she turned to the taller of the two following her. "Aranami-sensei, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Yumi Aranami, formerly known as Morganna, nodded and waved Hikari off towards her seat as she headed towards the front of the room. Not surprisingly, with her figure and her sense of presence, she commanded total attention.

"Thank you, Miss Horaki. My name, as some of you may have heard, is Yumi Aranami, and I am to be your new teacher. To quell any rumors that may have started: No, your old teacher has not been hit by a car, fallen in a coma, fled the country, arrested, or any other nonsense. Instead, he has chosen to retire, giving me the pleasure of teaching you. Don't worry…I know all about Second Impact—"

A collective groan went up from practically all the students, save for Rei Ayanami, who merely looked on impassively.

"—just kidding. My specialty is actually psychology, but before I get into that, why don't we have our new student introduce herself."

Morganna waved for Lycoris to approach the front, to her credit, she did so with only a hint of hesitation.

"My name is Reimeiki Hakubo, and I have just recently transferred here from...Germany" her voice caught for a moment as she sought to remember where she was supposed to be from. "I like the twilight, manga, spider lilies, and The World."

That last item brought about another round of muttering from the students. Someone from Germany, where The World was born…maybe she knew something about it? Well, they were more right than they would ever know.

"Thank you, L- Hakubo-san. Does anyone have any questions for our new student? None for now? Good. Hakubo-san, please take a seat over by the young man over there."

Morganna pointed to the empty seat over by Shinji, and Lycoris looked in surprise to see who it was, almost doing a slow rendition of a double take.

"Hello, Ikari-kun. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

She smiled brightly at him before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, leaving the poor Third Child doing a wonderful imitation of a cherry tomato as he tried to hide unsuccessfully once more. An IM popped up on Shinji's terminal not a moment later, followed by another which caused the first sender to stiffen in attention.

(TSJock): Dude! WHY DO YOU GET ALL THE HOT BABES?

(ClassRepHH): Suzuhara…I'm warning you.

A small "eep" escaped the big jock's lips as he sat there, stock still as if he had always been paying perfect attention to the teacher. Unbeknownst to them, Morganna had seen the entire exchange, and would have chuckled, save that it might have ruined her image. For now, she settled for flashing Lycoris a look that said plainly: "we'll talk later."

Morganna cleared her throat then, drawing the class' attention back to her.

"Now then, in two weeks, I will be assigning a project based on The World: R2. Some of you," she said, nodding to Lycoris, "may be familiar with this program. For those of you that aren't, it is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, a MMORPG for short. I know that this might seem contrary to your interests as a student, but it is extremely effective for getting certain…lessons across in terms of how we see the world. And it can be quite addictive too, when one seeks an escape from this ludicrous world. Don't worry if you lack the equipment or the software…I will let you download and play in class during that time. Until then, think about who you might want to partner with and let me know on the day I give out the assignment."

The murmuring of the class now held distinct flavors of approval and incredulity. A teacher was actually assigning them to play a game? This was unheard of in school history! Or so at least, went the collective thoughts of the classroom. The rasping of chalk on the blackboard brought their attention back to the front, as the teacher began to talk about some core concepts of psychology.

"The history of psychology is littered with the theories of disagreeing individuals. Freud wrote of mind as conflict between libido and destrudo, cathexis and mortido, eros and thanatos. Others write of the need for catharsis to prevent damage from repression and other coping mechanisms. As for me…rather than burden you with these and using an overly technical textbook, we will be discussing this in terms of literature."

Shinji and the rest of the class were hard-pressed to keep up. This was, if anything, worse than the old teacher. At least Boring-sensei was predictable in what he taught. What was this class going to involve now, with an analysis of psychology through games and literature? Well…perhaps the project involving The World wouldn't be too bad, but psychology through literature?

Continuing, Morganna held up a book, with the words "Epitaph of Twilight" written on the cover in gold letters.

"Specifically, we will be using this work by Emma Wielant, one of the most forward-thinking theorists on the nature of consciousness. This will be handed out at the end of the day, but to prepare you for it, I'll begin with a short introduction, naming certain of the aspects of the mind."

Morganna's lips curled up into a thin smirk as she remembered how exactly she knew of this work, and what her study programs had once become.

"According to the Epitaph, there are eight aspects of consciousness, which are as follows: The Terror of Death. The Mirage of Deceit. The Propagation. The Prophet. The Machinator. The Temptress. The Avenger. The Rebirth."

Her voice took on a more resonant quality, as if invoking the power of old beings when she spoke these names. Imperceptibly, Lycoris stiffened, as she knew all too well the roles those fragments of Morganna had once played in The World. Around her, the other students frantically scribbled down notes, and upon all the screens flashed the first lines of the Epitaph:

"Yet to return, the shadowed one. Who quests for the Twilight Dragon…."