.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Abrupt Invisible Damnation Alastor
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
Undisclosed Location
He awoke within a sea of white, his body broken, wracked with pain. Around him was spread a vast plain of nothingness, an infinite expanse of white unbounded even by the sky—a place of endings and beginnings, the place within where legends birth themselves: the throne of souls. The air was still and heavy, filled to the brim with the same brooding silence that he was so familiar with, as here and there possibilities flickered in and out of existence with the ease of thought. Where winds had howled promises of woe, the world was mute, soundless, boundless, timeless, and eternal.
'Where am I?' he asked himself, staring up at what seemed to be yet another unfamiliar ceiling. 'What happened—'
And then he remembered everything. The battle against the God Eater, Eris' deeds and angry words, Lycoris falling to the Bringer of Strife's blade, a book of twilight and a shadowed orb. A pillar of azure fire, and then…he found himself here, in this great expanse.
'I was in a place like this before…and to be here again…I've failed,' he mused, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. 'I guess it was all a waste after all—ouch!'
A sharp pain shot through his side as someone prodded him-none too gently-with an armored boot.
"Get up. You don't have time to be depressed," a voice commented from above, as he felt another kick in his wounded side. "Didn't you say you'd see things through? Then get up, unless you're too afraid. I can understand if you don't since you're weak and self-deceiving, but didn't you say you wouldn't run away anymore?"
At the sound of the all-too-familiar voice, the Third Child gritted his teeth and strained his wounded body, putting power into his arms and legs to force his unresponsive muscles to bring him to a standing position. Nothing at first, but then with a metallic creak, it began to react, letting him get up onto one knee, though the pain nearly made him collapse again. Wincing, he forced everything from his mind and continued, focusing every ounce of strength left in him into his legs, knowing that as long as his heart still beat, he could keep on fighting—and with a last groan of effort, he rose to his feet, facing his critic head on.
"Well done," the other said scornfully, that other being an Adept Rogue with long silver-blue hair, crimson eyes, pale skin, and charcoal-gray robes draped over a coat of dark chain mail. "I'm surprised. You actually managed to get up. So now what? What can you do now, in this place?"
Compared to this undamaged alter-ego, Shinji's clothes and body were tattered, torn, and seared, but still he stood, unwilling to run from himself.
"The self within the self," he murmured in recognition, the dream-like conversation he had had with this particular individual on the shore of a post-apocalyptic wasteland coming to mind. "So what is this place?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the other asked sarcastically. "We're inside your mind. I'd comment on the fact that it's an unfamiliar ceiling, but that's your line. Shinji Ikari, the Slayer of Angels, the mighty Third Child, once again you are on the verge of losing yourself, of running away from your problems-and by dying, no less. Really, that's pathetic. Where's the great Third Child who stood up to me when we were last here, who kept me from leaving? I warned you that you would regret this."
"I-I…" Shinji trailed off, not sure how to respond to the accusations of the self within.
"I warned you, but you ignored me, choosing to go down the path of companionship—a road that leads only to loss in the end," Skari whispered menacingly, taking a threatening step towards the still Third Child. "A road that ends in heartbreak and despair, with you alone left to die, broken and ashamed. People counted on you, and let them down. You caused them pain because they knew you…but do you really care? You're just a selfish human being, I suppose."
"Shut up!" barked the Third Child, eyes blazing with defiance as he glared at his counterpart. "Why are you saying this?"
"Because I'm you," the other answered, regarding the brown-haired boy critically. "Because I am the self that watches, the self that you told not to run away. And yet, here you are in this place, ready to give up, to run into the arms of oblivion, because you can't bear any more pain, because you lost someone you care about. Isn't that just hypocrisy?"
His voice echoed through the space, cutting, biting, as if he knew of all of Shinji's dark secrets and would not let him pass without a reckoning.
"No—you're wrong," Shinji said to his double. "Yes, it hurts—it hurts so badly I could die, but I won't give up. Not now, not when I've come so far and even faced my father. I'll become strong enough to overturn even fate itself, take on the world if I have to, if it will bring back the Lost Ones!"
"The Lost Ones," Skari repeated thoughtfully, eyes accusing the counterpart of a nameless crime. "So you say, but you really just mean Reimeiki-chan, don't you?"
The verbal strike stopped the Third Child cold as the Adept Rogue continued.
"You probably don't care if anyone else is hurt, as long as you get her back, right?" the other questioned. "Trying to save everyone…you can't. You can only save the people you choose to—there will always be someone your voice cannot reach, someone who won't you can't save."
"There is no such thing," Shinji objected. "No such thing as a voice that cannot reach someone."
"Oh, really? What about your father? No, better yet, what about the designated pilot of Unit-02, Asuka Langley Soryu?" Skari inquired skeptically, a grim expression on his face as he hammered home his point. "She's a lot like us, you know? Someone who has been hurt greatly in the past, but tries to hide her pain with a façade of strength, lashing out at others because she thinks it will keep her from being hurt. Attacking you just because you have blue hair, turning Reimeiki and Ayanami into Lost Ones, swearing to destroy you, do you think even she can be saved? Do you even want to save her? You hate her for what she's done, don't you, Dark Evangel?"
"I—"
But the Adept Rogue cut off the Third Child before he could reply.
"What if I were to tell you that only by saving her could you bring back the Lost Ones?" he pressed, idly withdrawing two dual swords from his inventory, the mighty serrated daggers aptly named Wrath Bringers.
"And how would I do that?" Shinji asked quietly, sighing to himself.
"It's simple really—just listen to Father's words, take fate into your hands and forge a miracle," Skari said flatly, without emotion. "You just need to shatter her, to destroy her utterly, ripping away the AIDA inside her so she may come face to face with her crimes, with all that she hides from. You need to fight her within The World, and beat her, ripping away every shred of self-worth she has by showing her the truth she has denied."
"Destroy…?" the Third Child whispered, mind reeling from the thought.
"Yes, destroy, for in her case, destruction is the only way to bring about salvation," the Adept Rogue noted dispassionately. "You've seen with your own eyes what she has become, a demon twisted by the need for vengeance, given great power by her fate—do you really think that you can match her alone? What power can you call upon to defeat her? Your rage? You saw how easily she brushed that off, didn't you? The power of the Book of Twilight? If you cannot protect break her, you can't manage a data drain. So tell me, Third Child, how will you match her?"
"I'll find a way…because won't lose anyone else," the brown haired boy resolved, clenching his fists as he drew forth the dual swords Lit Honeysuckle. "I have bonds to them all…Reimeiki taught me that, so that I don't have to fight alone."
"Is that so? You think you can defeat her then, when everything says otherwise?" Skari taunted, turning as if to walk away and leave the Third alone. "Well then, I'm leaving, because you're chasing the impossible."
"No, stop!" These words broke Shinji from his paralysis, as he stumbled forward to stop his counterpart, only to be met with a backhand to the face, sending him sprawling. "I need you."
"And what do you hope to accomplish here? You can't stop me," the Adept Rogue said dismissively, but getting into a defensive stance regardless. "You can't even land a hit on me, can you, 'Dark Evangel?' I don't believe you can, so I'll tell you what…if you manage to strike me even once, I will return with you to the world as you wish. Come, Third Child, try to surpass me, if you dare!"
'He's right…I don't stand a chance against him, not injured as I am,' thought the brown-haired boy. 'But if I don't stop him, I will lose a part of myself, and I can't lose anything else. In my life, I've lost more than I've gained…and that's why I can't withdraw, for the sake of what I've lost.'
He took a step towards his greatest enemy, the dual swords Lit Honeysuckle in hand. One breath and then-suppressing his weakness, Shinji sprang forward!
Crash! Clang!
The other countered with ease, their blades striking and rebounding from one another, clashing again and again as they scythed the air, light against darkness. In the boundless chamber of beginning, metallic clanks and bangs ring out, mixed with the pitter-pat of a footstep forward or back as the battle raged on, to the accompaniment of ragged breathing and laughter in a syncopated staccato.
They were different, the two opponents, and yet…they were the same, carrying themselves identically as their blades matched one another. But one was already badly wounded—
"Gah!"
Falling victim to a vicious kick to the knee, Shinji stumbled after exchanging but a few blows, hands fumbling as a dual sword swung for his neck-
Whoosh!
-only to miss, as he turned the stumble into a forward roll, evading it and bringing up Lit Honeysuckle to slash at his angry double's face!
Clang!
"What? Impressive maneuver, but then again…you are me," Skari complimented, getting back in stance while watching Shinji warily, knowing that the boy could not possibly last much longer.
With a wordless cry, the Third Child charged, swinging his weapons with all his might—but Skari repelled the attack without even flinching, the counter pushing the brown-haired boy off balance. And then the Adept Rogue struck back, bringing to bear superior strength, speed, skill as he slashes, bringing the Shinji to one knee, unable to stand against the storm of blades. Down swings the Wrath Bringers as if to finish him off—
Only to be blocked by crossed swords raised in the air, a determined young boy holding his ground despite the disadvantage.
"Will you give up, Shinji? It's hopeless to face your own shadow," the Adept Rogue commented, pulling back his blades. "You cannot hope to win."
Using that opening, the Third Child lashes out with his foot, hoping to land a blow and settle the match—but Skari, anticipating a desperation attack, deflected that as well, and backed away, wary calculation in his eyes.
"Maybe," Shinji allowed, wincing with the effort it was taking merely to move. "But I won't run away!"
A broken rush this time, as identical techniques collided opposing one another. Both attacks, both defenses were exactly the same, but one was already staggering, growing weaker as the fight went on, while the other was not even breathing hard.
'What clings to you?'
Their conditions were unequal: one was truly not a match for the other, with the Third Child's vision filling with red, half-blinded every time he exchanged blows with his opponent. But he didn't care…he had already lost so much, been hurt so many times, he couldn't afford to lose another piece of himself. The pain in his arms was nothing compared to that in his heart and mind…
'Bear it—you cannot.'
"My my, so you have great force of will after all, just like Father," the other noted scornfully, but with some disappointment. "It's too bad you're already at a disadvantage, since you don't know me as I know you. For I have always been watching!"
With full force, dual swords were swung once more in a cross, only to be parried.
'Accept it—you cannot.'
Shoulders heaving, Shinji blocked the oncoming strike as his split nerves screamed. Howling in pain, he slasheed desperately, planning on attacking until his strength runs out, in the hopes that he might somehow break through his shadow's defense.
"I might…be chasing the impossible," he conceded with ragged breath. "But if so, then I'll stop…when I run out of energy."
"Heh" was the only reply, sparks flying as dual swords met and deflected one another, blades whirling and circling like vultures over fresh carrion.
'But hidden—it is from you.'
To Shinj's surprise, Skari growled and leapt backwards, disengaging his blades from his foe.
"I told you to surpass your limits, so why do you stay within them?" the Adept Rogue demanded, crimson eyes narrowing at the wounded boy. "The difference between our powers is obvious…you cannot hope to win with pure strength in this situation. Let me ask you, Shinji Ikari, where are we?"
The Third Child regarded his counterpart suspiciously for a moment before the answer came to him, with him feeling like he had just been hit by a motor vehicle.
"We are…in my mind," he breathed, looking down at himself. 'And that mean that…'
"I see you finally understand," his double replied. "I thought you had a vague idea, but you faced me as you would any other opponent. Sun Tzu, the great strategist, once wrote that in order to achieve victory, one needed to know oneself as well as one's opponent. Well, Shinji Ikari, this is your mind, and I am your shadow, the part of you that you cannot accept or approve of—that part that has always been watching. You have always suppressed me with your mantra, preferring to deny that you were at heart, a coward, one who was weak and who relied only on the approval of others. That is why you piloted EVA the first time…not to save Ayanami—for your father's approval. And that's all you really care about, isn't it? Yourself."
"St—Stop it!" Shinji barked, gritting his teeth as his thoughts raced, trying to deny, trying to resist the pressure to just cave before this part of himself.
"Don't make me laugh, Shinji Ikari, I know you," Skari replied. "I know you as no one else has. I know your deepest secrets, your darkest shames. Over and over, you said you wanted to protect people, that they counted on you…but only ever wanted their praise, didn't you? You are the worst kind of liar, the one who self-deceives! Don't you regret the hollow life you've led?"
The Adept Rogue attacked with his wickedly sharp blades, the swords arcing through the air with all the weight and power of self-loathing and contempt. There was no elegance in that, only a clean efficiency born of infinite sorrow and regret as the blow came smashing down—only to crash against the surface of the floor.
'What? How did he?'
'This is my mind, and to face myself is not a test of arms, but of will. He may be me, but only a part of me—I can't give into his words, not now, not when I have a task yet to accomplish. His words hurt me, but mine…hurt him.'
"Maybe I am a coward," admitted Shinji, having evaded the blow, now standing taller than ever. He looked at how badly battered he was, at how his opponent was unscathed, and then dismissed the thoughts of inequality from his mind. "Maybe I was those things, but not anymore. I've found hope, friends, love, companionship—a reason to go on. Even if what I want is thought to be impossible, even if it goes against unyielding fate, I can do it if I only keep on going, until my dying breath!"
At the Third Child's words, determination and new strength flooded into his body, the pain of his wounds fading, as he attacked with unimaginable speed!
This time, Skari was barely able to avoid the blow, arrogance melting away as he was forced to frantically block, parry, riposte, deflect as the other pressed on. To keep the balance, he counters hard, their blades meeting, pressing against one another at full force as their eyes met.
"I won't lose to you!" Shinji declared, as his blades sliced air, ringing against his opponent's swords. "I may lose against someone else one day, but I can't lose against myself. Self-who-watches, I have no regrets…this is the only path!"
The barrage of near-fatal strikes was relentless, the enemy strong, opposing not someone else, but himself. Though earlier, the Third seemed on the verge of giving up, now he was recovered, an unholy terror of the battlefield, who assaulted his foe with all his might, swinging his Lit Honeysuckles in his attempt to defeat the self that was hindering him.
'And Shinji Ikari has always used himself hard,' Skari recalled, beginning to become annoyed. 'Such strength, and yet I wonder if he will survive his choice…'
Seeing an opening in the brown-haired boy's defense, the Adept Rogue leapt in to end this farce, only to wince and turn away as Shinji ducks low and raked his dual swords against the blue-haired boy's side.
He felt, rather than saw, the blades strike him, and so lowered his weapons, bowing his head.
"So, you have struck me. You have won, Shinji Ikari."
But studying the face of the victor, Skari saw no trace of anger or resentment, only a strange curiosity.
"Why? Why did you help me by asking me about my limits?" the Third asked of his opponent, his voice soft and inquiring. "You could have just finished me, but you gave the clue I needed to win."
"Help you? Who knows…maybe you were the one helping me," he replied with a trace of a smile. "After all, the self can be friend, foe, or merely a meddler with a warning. And since you have defeated me, I will lend you my strength—you will need it to save the one you love, among others. Take the power of the Shadow alongside the power of light, and with those in your hands, forge the miracle you seek. After all, Lycoris entrusted you alone with her fate."
The room dimmed suddenly, fading into darkness, as the two figures came together in a radiant flash of light.
'Her…fate. Fate…spelled backwards is "etaf"…is that the meaning of the item "etaf . cyl"?'
Net Slum Tartarga
Hours earlier, the great battle against Iruel had been concluded, with Morganna heading from the now-deleted field of Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel to the operations folder of The World, from which she might reverse the effects of Iruel's time in the network. Having once been a goddess of the network, she knew the codes and commands to operate The World almost instinctively, so it was a simple enough task to transfer the minds of the players back to the main grid.
In the sky had appeared a vast magic circle of loops and whorls, as a giant data grid enveloped all within the game, a wave of light washing out to the boundary of the Morrigu Barrow Wall and rebounding, warping all the players back to the normal servers. Understandably, moments after logging out became possible once again, the forums had been filled with strange comments and topics from panicked players—as well as C.C. Corp dismissing this as a hoax and trying to close the threads as quickly as ever.
'Even if everything else changes, CyberConnect Corporation remains the same.'
Morganna herself had returned to Net Slum Tartarga, where she discovered that Siarl had also made an appearance in the illegal root town, setting one of his AIDA Mirages to deal with Helba.
"Tartarga, you said that Helba and her opponent fell from Net Slum onto a field of The World, is that correct?" she asked for confirmation.
"Yes, to the Lost Ground Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat, from which a massive data flare erupted shortly thereafter," the tortoise rumbled gravely, as the gargantuan creature was rather concerned about his old friend, the Mistress of Net Slum. "She would appear to still be on the field, although her signal is weakening."
"Very well…I will head to the field and analyze the situation," the former goddess responded. "Please recall the other dothackers, and have them assemble in the heart of Net Slum for a post action report. This battle was at least as serious as any of those against the Phases in the first iteration of The World, and I suspect that not everything went according to plan."
"Understood," the city-carrying tortoise acknowledged, as with a nod, Morganna vanished into a spiral of light.
Several minutes later, a massive tide of gold washed out the graphics for a brief while, as the entire remaining force of the dothackers gated into central control room of Net Slum, rather tired from their battles against both AIDA-Angel Iruel's minions and the Outer Bugs in the dungeon that they had escaped to shortly before the destruction of Θ Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel. Or at least the team of Arano, Aruna, and Tomoyami were tired…Zelkova, the heir to Net Slum, and the Obsidian Knights Balthasar and Casper, were simply concerned.
"Man, at least I got some decent experience points for this," muttered Aruna, tiredly rubbing the back of his neck. "This place again…I never thought I'd see a town on the back of a turtle."
"Not just a town," a certain jester-like Arano quipped. "The town of towns, Net Slum, home of Vagrant AIs and junk data…the place where the best hackers in the world reside."
This left Tomoyami to carry Adept Rogue Skari's broken body, as the azure-haired boy had been critically wounded during the assault on Iruel's base and rendered unconscious, his data shifting with hints of instability. His partner Lycoris, the silver-haired child of Twilight, had been nowhere to be seen, and it was assumed that the worst had happened.
With a grunt of effort, she lowered Dark Evangel's unconscious form onto the floor of the room of white, before looking around at all the displays in this central chamber.
"This place…this really isn't a town at all…" she murmured, looking over at Zelkova for further instructions and information. "Do you have any further information on Skari and Lycoris?"
The room grew silent as conversation stopped, everyone focusing around the heir to Net Slum as Zelkova made his way to Skari's side and put him through a full character scan, with the results showing up as a hologram floating above the Adept Rogue.
"His character data is very unstable at the moment, as it seems to be rewriting itself," the Flick Reaper noted, raising an eyebrow. "It seems that he used an item that heavily damaged his character and his consciousness…I suspect that he is on the verge of losing himself. He may be within his mind, finding out who Skari really is."
"Losing…himself?" Tomoyami whispered tonelessly. "No…not another Lost One?"
"This guy—what about Lycois? What happened to her?" added Arano, as Aruna looked on sadly.
"He may still wake up," Zelkova replied, "depending on how strong of a will he has to live. As for Lycoris…I'm afraid the Child of Twilight is once again a Lost One…"
"Again?" asked Arano, furrowing his brow. "You mean, this has happened to her before?"
"Five years ago," answered Tomoyami. "During the Second Network Crisis…she's Aura's sister, after all."
Cue the pole axed expression of wide-eyed shock on a certain Shadow Warlock.
"The sister to…the Goddess of The World? Whoa…"
Aruna, however, merely padded over to where the stricken Skari was laying and put a hand on the Adept Rogue's shoulder.
"Wake up, man…we're all waiting for you," he said, shaking the fallen one. "Don't just keep sleeping. Get up, aren't you a dothacker? Get up!"
But Skari did not move, except for the shifting of his data as two elements warred for dominance within his soul.
Another spiral of golden light erupted in the room, revealing the Sorceress in Black Morganna cradling in her arms the broken Queen of the Dark. Without a word, the former goddess laid Helba down next to Skari and began to do what data manipulation she could to stop the damage from spreading. It was a wonder that Helba's character had lasted so long under these conditions, with the special protections broken and data evaporating, but even so, it would not last for much longer.
"I'm going to have to move her consciousness to another character," Morganna announced, shaking her head. "Zelkova, I believe you are familiar with the procedure that I am about to perform, since the current iteration of yourself was created from a data graft, correct?"
"Yes, I understand," the heir to Net Slum acknowledged, bringing up a new character on which to graft the data to: a tall, dark-haired woman, with a noble appearance and a small red tattoo on her forehead, wearing formal red Japanese clothing. This character was named "Kaede", meaning "Maple", symbolizing balance, promise, and practicality—exactly what the dothackers needed at the moment.
"Then let us begin," Morganna intoned, with her and Zelkova setting busily to work while the others looked on.
Asuka Langley Soryu's Residence, NERV HQ
"That BITCH!" Asuka Langley Soryu screamed at the top of her lungs, snarling after her small adventure in the strange field of The World. Once again, she had received a tip from a certain Macabre Dancer as to where her hated blunette foes would be, only to find that her only friend had stepped in to protect the baka. "DAMN YOU REMEIKI HAKUBO, YOU TRAITOR! You…choosing that damn invincible Shinji baka over me. That Shinji who steals everything from me…my friends, my pride, my praise, my skill. Both of them betraying me, hurting me, taking what is mine!"
She raged on, throwing books, operations manuals, and various other assorted items against the wall of her room—though not the M2D goggles, as the redhead did not want to have break another set, lest she either have to spend another $500 or owe Kaworu yet another "not-a-date." Though she found he wasn't bad company, as at least he appreciated her genius and talent, appreciated her for who she was.
'Heh…not that I like the baka or anything…'
Her mind shifted back to the confrontation in The World, as she recalled the sensation of her mind and body almost shattering when the silver-haired Lycoris used some kind of special energy blast on her.
'I felt like I was going to die, and my character had so much damage done to it—what the hell was that skill? Was she some kind of hacker or something, trying to destroy my mind with her virus? She should have known better—my mind is invulnerable, like the rest of the great Asuka Langley Soryu. Maybe I should just report her to the World Network Council and see how they react…since they absolutely hate hackers…'
"Verdammen traitor," she muttered, still twitching from earlier. "I thought you were my friend, and you try to kill me? All I was going to do is PK your precious little boyfriend, so why were you getting so worked up over it? Were you scared of the power of Al Fadel, the power that has made me one of the strongest characters in all The World? Well, I'll show you…I'll make him suffer every day, whether at NERV, at school, or in any other way I can. That baka hentai deserves to die…"
The redhead snickered, smirking as she thought of the many ways in which she would break the Third Child to her will, of the many ways that she would use to prove to others how weak the Third really was.
'Maybe I'll just find a way to keep him from visiting his precious blunette Wondergirl, since he seems to be such a pervert with her comatose body too. And I haven't gotten back at him for stealing my first kiss back then—I'll definitely have to humiliate him. Maybe I'll get the Fourth to help me spread nasty rumors about the baka, or just utterly thrash him in the Arena, now that his little metallic blob of his gone too. Heh…even his monster was perverted, like one of those tentacle aliens in those hentai doujinshi…'
"Yes…" the scarlet witch cackled, maniacal glee dancing in her eyes. "I'll find a way to get at you, Third Child, and your little harem too. Hehehe…and you will know the price for getting on my bad side and trying to make light of the great Asuka. You're a fool, baka Shinji. Wha—"
A quiet footstep sounded behind her, and the Second Child stiffened, as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, with a silky voice whispering sensually into her ear.
"Yes, Shinji Ikari is most certainly a fool for not recognizing your talent, and even more of one for trying to steal the spotlight," he purred in his honeyed tones. "He deserves any punishment you give to him, as do any of those who use you or betray you, dear Asuka."
"Mmm…Kaworu," she moaned, before realizing the state she was in. "W-wait...wh-what are you doing, Fourth? I'm not even dressed presentably…"
"Just showing you that I'd never betray you, Asuka," the grey-haired boy murmured in response, his hot breath in her ear making her knees feel weak and shaky. "I was outside taking a walk, when I heard a loud shouting from your room. Your door was open, so I came in, as I was worried something might have happened to you, my love."
Asuka smiled despite herself, though she noticed in horror how she was only dressed in her pajamas, as she had not been expecting company.
"Baka!" she protested weakly, her strength largely spent after her earlier temper tantrum. "And what if I'd been changing or taking a shower, or just indecent?"
"I wouldn't mind…you would never be indecent in my eyes," he whispered, earning him a dig in the ribs from Asuka's elbow. "Besides, have I not already seen your naked form during the special sync test?"
The Second Child turned about to slap the Fourth, forgetting of course, that he would usually misinterpret her actions and kiss her instead—as turned out to be the case here.
"Why are you embarrassed?" he asked, almost (but not quite) managing to seem innocent. "Have you not seen mine as well?"
The redhead flushed rather violently at the embarrassment of the event that had transpired much earlier in the day. Then she frowned, remembering how Kaworu had hung back with Shinji, and generally being much too close to the Third.
"Fourth, what were you talking to the Third about?" she asked, her voice taking on one of its dangerous overtones once again. "It better not have been about me and my body or I'll hurt you, you hentai."
"Of course not," the grey-haired boy replied smoothly, crimson eyes meeting those of azure. "The Third was telling me of his bond with the First, and I, in turn, was telling him of some suspicions I have about the suspiciously inhuman way she acted. In fact, some of those back at NERV Germany do not believe her to be one of the Lilim."
"Oh?" Asuka asked, her interest piqued by this bit of information. "And what is she then, if not human?"
"Come now, Asuka, you are a genius…if she is not human, what type of being might she be?" Kaworu answered, a question for a question. "Besides, I cannot tell you everything, even if I am…what would the Lilim term be…your boyfriend?"
"Baka!" she snapped instinctively, but without too much real force. "You're not my boyfriend."
"Am I not a boy and your friend? Thus, do I not qualify as a boyfriend?" questioned the amused Fourth Child, which the Second answered by clapping her palm to her face. "Ah, the infamous face palm gesture…I will take that as a negative."
"You are really strange sometimes, Fourth," the Second sighed, shaking her head.
"It is my nature to be as I am, as one bound up by the chains of fate," he replied enigmatically, before giving her a charming smile. "Now, shall we have a walk around the Geofront, as was previously denied us due to the power failure?"
"Baka…I'm not dressed for going out," the redhead pointed out. "H-hey, don't ogle me!"
"I do not think appreciating the aesthetic beauty of your form would count as ogling," the Fourth countered gently. "But very well, since you do not want to go out, why don't we stay like this for a while, to help you forget about your worries."
"No, that's ok, I—mmph! Mmmm…"
Surprised by his kiss, Asuka never did realize that she hadn't left the door open.
Net Slum Tartarga
Something was…wet and warm and moving on his chest, the sound of weeping reaching his ears as rather groggy, and feeling rather like Misato with a massive hangover, Skari opened his eyes to yet another room of white. 'Another unfamiliar ceiling? Where am I this time… back in my mind?'
Swiveling his eyes in his sockets, he could make out what seemed to be a massive control room, with some of his friends from The World gathered around him—Arano and Aruna standing next to him, and Tomoyami of the Shadow weeping over his fallen form, face buried in his chest.
He blinked, once-twice-three times to see if this was some illusion, dream, or trick of the light, but the situation remained the same.
"Where…?" he managed to croak out, as Tomoyami looked up at him with tear-stained eyes, hugging him fiercely, and repeating "thank goodness you're awake" as she sobbed, head now buried instead in the crook of his neck.
Awkwardly, he returned the embrace, comforting the Chaotic PK by gently holding her and stroking her back.
"We were so worried about you," the Flick Reaper moaned through muffled sobs. "After finding you passed out in the field like that, and Lycoris gone, we were afraid…you'd become a Lost One too…you really scared us, Ikari-kun…"
Aruna and Arano also drew near, placing a comforting hand on each of his shoulders.
"Man, you sure know how to unsettle everyone and still get the attention of the ladies," sighed the bulky Aruna with a snort. "We thought you were a goner for sure, since you didn't wake up…"
"It's real, isn't it?" asked Arano, seemingly in shock as seriousness of the situation finally sank in, long after the mere surprise and excitement of finding out about the dothackers, and AIDA. "The Lost Ones, Doll Syndrome, all of it…its actually real…"
'Reimeiki…I will get you back. I'll save everyone, and bring back the Lost Ones, no matter what it takes. Even if I stumble, even if I fall, I'll keep going until my very last breath.'
"Yeah, it's real, Kensuke," he replied tiredly, completely drained of emotion by his struggle against himself. "All of it is real…and Reimeiki…she's…she saved me from the AIDA-PC Eris, and I failed her. But I'm not giving up, and I'm going to stop playing The World, because I have to stop AIDA, and bring back the Lost Ones."
"So you are awake at last, Skari," noted a strangely solemn Zelkova. Skari was usually used to the former Rumor as a cheerful if mysterious person, so this was a change. "Your character seems different than before…I hope you use your power well. We are now waiting for the Mistress of Net Slum to awaken from her own trial, as she suffered serious damage in the last battle as well."
The little boy with golden eyes gave him a weak smile, and then looked back over to the area beside him, where lay an unfamiliar noble-looking dark-haired woman clad in formal red Japanese clothing, with Morganna standing by her side.
"Who's that?" the Adept Rogue asked, as the woman stirred at last. "Is that…Helba?"
Hearing the name of her alter-ego, the consciousness residing in the new avatar began to awaken. Blurred impressions of past and present sped past him, as if a soul was finding its way to a new container, until the new Blade Brandier named Kaede opened her eyes.
"Zelkova…and Morganna," she whispered, sitting up slowly and looking around the room. "I take it we won, despite complications. I am pleased to see nothing happened to either of you…but I would like to know the whereabouts of the Child of Twilight, as well as Skari's condition, as his avatar seems changed. I do not remember his character with red wave markings on his face, nor do I remember him wearing robes of silver etched with red."
"Lycoris is…she has become a Lost One, it seems from Skari's recollection. As for the Dark Evangel, he now bears the Twilight Bracelet, along with some other data the install book has altered and stabilized in his system" intoned Morganna, giving Skari a rather strange look as if seeing some other Bracelet Bearer in his place. "But my dear Helba, why don't you examine yourself first?"
"Hm?" asked the no-longer-sorceress who was no longer wearing white, raising a curious eyebrow upon seeing her new character's appearance. "A data graft technique? I take it that in my struggle against the AIDA Mirage of Melchior, the form of Tsukinoki was irretrievably damaged by both my data flare techniques and hers. I believe I managed to destroy her, but there exists a slim possibility that the rogue Knight survived and is regenerating with the aid of AIDA."
"Most likely you were successful in neutralizing your opponent," Morganna said gravely, remembering the damage done to the field where the characters had fought. "Among other things, you destroyed the bridge leading into Sugar Mansion Sif Berg. I take it that that was a variant of the vaccine you deployed many years ago, Kaede?"
"Kaede, is it?" the newly named Blade Brandier inquired, looking around at her allies. "Very well then, as it fits into the tree theme I wish to continue. Thank you for your aid, Morganna, without which my consciousness might very well have joined the Lost."
"Hm…I have no intention of allowing you to fall so easily, my old enemy," the Sorceress in Black sniffed, looking away. "I am the only one allowed to defeat you, after all. But perhaps you should thank Zelkova, as it was him that I looked to for a model of how to perform this procedure."
"Then thank you as well, Lord Zelkova," the Mistress of Net Slum replied, with a nod to her heir. "Now onto other business, dothackers—I require a summary of your actions during the last battle, after which we need to discuss plans for dealing with the AIDA-PCs known as Eris, Bringer of Strife, and Siarl of the Seven Eyes, both of which destructively interfered with the plan, leading to our heightened casualty count. It is time to take the offensive against the AIDA threat."
'And time to involve some others, such as Wiseman…'