.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Errant Residuals

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 (or of course, any other GAINAX series I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'italics' denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use

Human Instrumentality Committee, Emergency Meeting

It wasn't easy being the Third Child. Granted, there were plenty of people (well, ok, Kensuke) who would kill to be in his position, as they considered piloting a giant mecha to be the be all and end all of life of teenage achievement, and the perks weren't too bad (as working for an international organization whose raison d'être was saving the world would definitely net good references for future employment opportunities), but on the other hand…

There was the risk of death and dismemberment every time one so much as looked at an Evangelion unit, the nigh constant rounds of sync/harmonics tests, the rather hostile work environment (fostered by the Commander, the brusque Doctor Akagi, and the other pilots…well, pilot now…since the First and Second Children were in comas), and worst of all, little to no pay. While this certainly avoided any quibbling about whether or not this violated the school prohibition on part-time jobs, it didn't make for the best job in the world either.

Today, just to add insult to the near-death experience incurred in the 12th Angel Incident, the Third Child stood in the middle of a column of light, an isolated spot of brightness in an otherwise dark room, dressed in his usual ensemble of shirt and slacks (one had to wonder if Shinji ever went shopping for new clothes?), as he stared out into the void. Having enough on his mind already ever since facing down Eris in the Arena, being interrogated by the Human Instrumentality Committee was not something he especially looked forward to, especially as he was the last of the original Children not to have fallen into a coma.

"In this incident, is it true that the Angel tried to make contact with a human?" rang a voice out of darkness.

"No, sir, not that I recall," the brown-haired boy replied honestly. And it was true, as the contact he remembered was with his self-who-watched, who he had encountered before now, so the likelihood of that being an Angelic encounter was small. "I have already recounted the details in my debriefing, which should be on record."

"That is, if you remember correctly," another voice interjected, smug and condescending as if he were some strange transhuman monolith plotting the destruction (or at least humiliation) of man. "As Evangelion Unit-01's AC recorder was not operating, there is no way to confirm that there has been no external tampering to your memory."

At those words, the Third Child was careful to keep his flash of irritation from showing on his face. Fortunately, this was becoming easier over time, as this was technically only a minor slight, even if it was a patent waste of his time.

'If they don't think my memory is accurate, and they don't have any evidence either way, then was the point of calling me in front of this Committee? I have other things to do…make my hospital round for the day, see how Hikari is holding up after last night, talk to Kaji, and then go to Zefie, who is waiting for me back at Net Slum…'

For during the strange cloudburst at Hy Brasail, the brown-haired boy had met someone whose appearance had utterly unnerved him: a girl in white with saffron-colored hair and reddish-purple eyes, who on some fundamental level reminded him of Lycoris.

'From her voice to the way she looks, from her nature to the spider lily in her hands…the two are eerily similar. Of course, that Zefie is the child of Aura explains some things, such as why she is able to change the weather, but it doesn't explain why I apparently smell like her, when I've never met her before in my life. Most likely it was the Bracelet that she sensed…but it was Lycoris who gave me that…'

Seeing that the Third Child remained silently stoic, the Committee decided to move on to the next question on their list, since they would get nothing else from him by ribbing him.

"Was the Angel interested in the human mind?" a more solicitous voice inquired of the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01.

"To answer that question, wouldn't one have to know if Angels have an understanding of the mind?" countered Shinji, puzzled at why they were asking him these questions. "Do they understand human thoughts? This much is unknown, though perhaps you'd be better off asking the Fourth…he seems to know more about Angels, since he talks about them fairly often, saying one person or another is an Angel."

"Silence," thundered yet another voice from the shadows. Just how many of them were there, and why did they insist on hiding their faces? Really…just what did they want from him? "You were not called before this Committee to make idle speculation concerning the status of the Fourth Child."

"However, since you have mentioned the other Children," one of the more reasonable voices added, "as the only remaining member of the original three Children, are you aware of any possible explanation for the comatose conditions of the others?"

Having willingly faced the prospect of death only last night in an attempt to bring back the Lost Ones, the brown-haired boy most certainly had an idea, but since he was also a dothacker, having known both Morganna and Helba, he had an idea of what the Committee might order if he disclosed this truth. If they learned of AIDA's existence, they would likely shut down the global network and order a complete reset of its contents to prevent the threat from further spreading—and he couldn't allow that to happen, since that would also mean the death of all the Lost Ones.

'After everything I've been through, I'm not going to just let them die…Rei, Reimeiki, Kensuke, and everyone else…that would be a terrible betrayal, just running away to let someone else deal with the problem. Besides, if this outcome were to happen…then Siarl will have his victory, and I won't let that bastard win!'

No, he would listen to the words of the father he had fought, the one who forced him to stand on his own two feet, to stop chasing after his father's back. He would not run from this and leave the fates of the Lost in the Committee's hands…he would keep it in his own.

Thus his response…

"Unfortunately, I am not aware of the circumstances surrounding those tragic events," the Third Child replied simply, which was not a complete lie. "It is rumored that there have been hackers spreading viruses as of late, perhaps that could be the explanation."

'Twas a safe enough story, since it was also the official line of both CyberConnect Corporation and the World Network Council, but unfortunately, SEELE was familiar with cover stories, and didn't buy it.

"You should watch your speech with care, Third Child," a deep, sepulchral voice intoned. "A perjurer before this committee shall die. Are you aware that before the Second Child fell into a coma, she submitted a report to the World Network Council claiming that you were the hacker inducing nocebo comas in others by simulating mind death, further claiming that that you were the culprit behind the First's collapse."

"I am aware," the boy said neutrally, "as that is what she had threatened to do several times over after I angered her during an incident in the First Child's hospital room, and the Fourth notified me of this at the school. As I stand before you today, I assume that the results of the investigation have acquitted me?"

"You are not permitted to question!" warned the rumbling voice that had thundered earlier. "But will you not admit that it is highly suspicious how after accusing you of causing the coma incidents, the Second Child herself fell into a coma?"

"I will admit no such thing," the Third responded, revealing a slight irritation at being asked this series of questions. "If she indeed filed the report to the World Network Council, and another was aware of it, they may have acted on it to implicate me. I do not see the purpose in this line of inquiry."

"Oh? So are you saying that you will defy the will of the Committee?" the sepulchral voice asked in a gravelly tone. "And who do you think you are to do so?"

This challenge, Shinji Ikari would reply to, head held high as he glared out into the darkness around him, eyes blazing with self-knowledge.

"I have responded to the best of my ability to the questions this Committee has asked of me in as far as it pertains to my role in NERV. Since coming to Tokyo-3, I have defeated every Angel I have faced, done as I have been asked by staff and Committee alike. And yet today you question not only my actions, but my competence and my intelligence with baseless accusations," he answered, briefly stating his grievances with the Committee as a whole. "As for who I am, I am the Third Child Shinji Ikari, the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, whose purpose is to defeat the Angels."

"…That will be enough, Third Child. Leave."

Without another word, Shinji Ikari walked out of the room, glad to leave this place behind.

When he had gone, another light snapped on in the room of dark, revealing the presence of Gendo Ikari.

"The Third Child is more assertive than was predicted, Ikari," rumbled SEELE-01, half-measures of amusement and irritation in his tone. "He is certainly his father's son. But with regards to the situation, what are your thoughts?"

"The Angels are getting more and more intelligent. The time left is…"

"Very short."

Tokyo-3 General Hospital

Hikari Horaki walked along the sterile corridors of the largest hospital in Tokyo-3, having becoming nearly as familiar with the building as Shinji was with NERV Medical, the events of the last few days cycling through her mind as she plodded along. After the conversation with Gendor at Hy Brasail, she was startled by the sudden downpour, and had gone to look for Shinji, but was unable to locate him, as he had seemingly vanished from the field.

(begin flashback)

The pigtailed girl had come out of her synchronization trance to find Aranami-sensei looking at the still entranced Third Child with an expression that was almost pitying, as if she had seen the road he would have to walk, and envied him not at all.

'I wonder what Sensei knows that she's not telling us…although she and Reimeiki both seem to live normal lives upon first glance, they undoubtedly have many secrets. I wonder who she was before she came to Tokyo-3, and how she came to know the hacker queen Helba.'

"Aranami-sensei?" she had muttered weakly, upon her mind returning to her body after an evening of being linked with The World. "Is something wrong? Ikari-kun hasn't logged out from The World yet?"

"Nothing is wrong, save for the usual," the fallen Goddess replied softly, turned to regard the Class Representative with the same strange, knowing expression with which she had looked at the Third Child. "And no, Skari has not returned to this world as of yet—he has gone to Net Slum with my…with Aura's daughter."

'Ah, I see, he's gone to Net Slum with…wait Aura's daughter? How can someone younger than Reimeiki-chan have a daughter already? And didn't she die…?'

Hikari did a fast double take as those words sank in, unable to picture someone who should be Lycoris' younger sister (by everything she had been told) as a mother.

"Aura's daughter? But didn't Aura die at the end of the Second Network Crisis?" she noted skeptically, face screwed up in puzzlement as she considered the strange web of connections and misdirection that enveloped this particular family. "So how can she have a daughter…?"

While most people would be hard pressed to answer something like this, Morganna, by her nature as a former goddess, already had an idea of what would be believable, and what would not. And in this situation, revealing part of the truth was probably for the best…

"Do you remember my lecture on AIs and artificial consciousness several weeks ago?" the dark-haired woman asked, looking down at the headset in her hands. "After Aura died to stop the Cursed Wave, giving up her individuality, she was reborn in the sea of data as the Goddess of the Network…the Ultimate AI, one might say. Her daughter Zefie is also of that nature, formed from a last lingering portion of the one you know as Reimeiki, since although she was saved, a part of her remained within The World, out of a desire not to let her sister suffer her fate."

"So then…this Zefie is also an AI?" Hikari asked in confirmation. "One that is based on a memory of Reimeiki?"

"Yes, indeed…and except for the fact that she does not have a body in this world, she is as real as you or I," Morganna replied, nodding. "As is the one you knew as Rumor, actually, as he too is a shadowless one, wandering The World."

The fallen goddess could not resist a light chuckle in response to the look on the pigtailed girl's face, almost as if she had never considered the fact that Rumor (Zelkova now) might not be human.

"Rumor is…?"

"Ah, you didn't realize, did you, that the one who told you to become a dothacker was himself an AI?" asked Aranami-sensei, eyes deep and penetrating. "It is not as uncommon as you think, as the old version of The World was originally designed by Harald Hoerwick to facilitate the evolution and development of artificial intelligence as a way to immortalize his love for Emma Wielant."

'The World wasn't designed as a game…but as a system to promote the evolution of AIs?'

"…and how do you know about this, Aranami-sensei?" Hikari countered in turn. "I know you used to work at CyberConnect Corporation, but the way you speak of it, it is almost as if you have a personal connection to the topic."

The fallen goddess sighed in response, knowing that she would need to describe things in more detail.

"Very well then, fifth child, since you ask…I will tell you the story of The World, and of the times of Twilight," she said at last. "And perhaps I shall fill you in on the role you must play as well…"

From there, the conversation had continued onto other matters, discussing things such as Angels, AIs, AIDA, miracles, and the power of emotions to overcome the binds of certainty.

(end flashback)

'It is strange, really, how much Aranami-sensei knows…and also that she seems to be an old associate of Helba, or at least knew her. I wonder what the exact relationship between them is, since neither really defers to the other…and Helba is legendary as the greatest of hackers.'

So Hikari Horaki mused, as she continued to walk towards the room where her friend Reimeiki Hakubo lay in her unchanging state, frowning as she thought she recognized a familiar voice coming from inside. She opened the door, discovering, much to her surprise, the one named Kaworu Nagisa sitting by the silver-haired girl's side, singing as he studied the sleeping form of the young forerunner to the goddess.

"Dies irae, dies illa calamitatis et miseriae; dies magna et amara valde…", the Fourth Child chanted quietly, "Requiem aeternam, dona eis…."

Twas not an ode, but a requiem, a prayer for the salvation of the soul of the departed, which essentially translated to "The day of wrath, that day of calamity and misery; a great and bitter day, indeed…Grant them eternal rest."

Sensing another visitor, the Angel ceased his singing and looked up at the pigtailed girl curiously, turning to her and spreading her arms in the universal gesture of welcome and acceptance.

"Greetings to you, Class Representative Horaki," Kaworu murmured, his expression open and guileless as ever. "I see you have come to visit your fallen friend, though I doubt that she can hear your voice."

"So I am," Hikari Horaki said simply. "And what of yourself, Nagisa-san? You did not know Reimeiki-san, did you, so why are you here?"

"I have simply come to pay my respects to a being born of Twilight," the other replied with a distant expression. "A blessed body most fascinating, who would be a most interesting and worthy Lilim, were she actually of the Lilim, rather than a shadowless one who gained a shadow by means unknown."

"Is that so?" the pigtailed girl rebutted, a hint of skepticism underlying her tone. "That reminds me, you called me a Lilim when we first met some time ago…what exactly is a Lilim?"

A cool, breathy laugh issues from the lips of Nagisa as he stood and walked over to the window, where he looked down upon the people on the street outside.

"The Lilim, of course, are the children of Lilith, who in myth is the first wife of Adam—"

"…are you saying I am a demon of some sort?" Hikari countered, voice low and dangerous. "Because from what myth I know, the children of Lilith are succubae or other creatures of the dark."

"Hmph, a creature of the dark? Well, I suppose that description would indeed suit a shadowed one, would it not?" the grey-haired boy asked of her. "One who has eaten of the Fruit of Knowledge, and knows not only of good, but evil…what most would call humans."

The Class Representative reviewed Nagisa's words in her head and frowned, catching onto an inconsistency with what he was saying.

'He says "what most would call humans" and "Lilim"…speaking as if he himself is not human. And he has a very strange knowledge of the Epitaph, which outside of Class 2-A and several online communities, is not common knowledge.'

"Are you saying that you are not human then, with your way of speaking?" she questioned, wanting at least that much information from the enigmatic boy. "Is that why Soryu was able to put up with you while she hated everyone else as a rival?"

But once again, the grey-haired boy was almost completely unfazed, appearing mildly amused at best.

"Perhaps it is because of the pain that Asuka Langley Soryu bore within her heart that she rejected the company of others, fearing they would hurt her," Kaworu explained eloquently. "For she feared, above all, the portrayal of the self in her mind and in the minds of others, feared that they would shun her, reject her. To suffer and to be alone…that is what it means to be human, to be an individual isolated from the greater whole."

The Fourth Child bore a neutral expression as he turned to face the Class Representative and walked past her, making for the door.

"And as for whether or not I am human, by what measure is a human a human? Biologically, I am as human as the girl who lies sleeping in this room or the First Child," he said at last, his words throwing a curve into the conversation. "Whether or not I am as human as you…would depend on your definition of human, wouldn't it?"

A quiet click and the door closed, leaving Hikari Horaki alone with the silent form of her friend, amidst the whirr, clicks, and hisses of life support equipment all around.

Commander Ikari's Office, NERV HQ

Having lost both the First and Second Children, Commander Ikari had not been especially pleased with the way things were strongly deviating from his scenario. Not only had the Dummy Plug system been left incomplete in such a state that an EVA would not move, but the First Child, his great trump card, would not wake from his coma. Even killing off the current Rei and attempting to activate a new clone did not work, as it seemed that the soul of Lilith had vanished from the room of Gauf, something that had caused him no end of headaches. The Fourth had proven to be somewhat unpredictable, though given his sync ratio, he did seem to be a useful candidate, even if he had been sent directly from the Committee. And the Third…

'The Third Child is more assertive than was predicted at this point, as noted in his interrogation with the Committee. However, he is also the most reliable of the Evangelion Pilots to date, and the only remaining original Child. Thus, nothing can be done about him at this point, as he is necessary counter to the Fourth's possible influences.'

Considering his possible moves, the spider of NERV sat crouched within his lair, a shadow hidden within the Tree of Sephiroth peering callously down upon any who dared intrude against his bidding. Like a statue he was, his face like an impassive stone slate as he sat in the darkness, eyes hidden behind orange lenses, as he sat in the darkness and discussed the situation with Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, who was even now telling him that another of the present candidates would need to be—

"…appointed as the Fifth," the bearded man noted dispassionately.

"Indeed," the good doctor acknowledged. "There is one child whose core will be ready immediately."

"Then I leave all of this to you. That will be all—please send the Special Investigator in on your way out."

With a nod, the bottle blond Director of Project E left, as moments later, the perpetually unshaven spy Ryoji Kaji entered.

"I have come as you requested," the Special Investigator reported in, only to see the face of what might as well be a stone monolith.

'At least I do not have to take on your visage any longer…this has been a vaguely distasteful exercise in the game of spies.'

"Excellent," the Commander murmured, sunglasses flashing in the dim light of the room. "What is the progress of your investigation of the Fourth as well as Yumi Aranami?"

"The Fourth Child seems to have been involved with the Second Child's online incident," the rogue spy related, "and given his close relationship to her, it is likely that he has been manipulating her through her history. As for Aranami, the woman seems to have a great many varied interests, but is ultimately a harmless eccentric."

NERV Medical

After his debriefing by the Commander, Special Investigator Ryoji Kaji was now meeting with another contact of his—or perhaps, one should say, was being forced into a meeting by the one person his heart still had a weakness to (a liability in the espionage field): Misato Katsuragi. In order to avoid the prying eyes of NERV staff or any other walls that might have eyes, they had elected to meet at the First Child's hospital room, as the Operations Director checking on the health of her pilots was understandable.

Looking around, the spy noted the details of the room: sterile and metallic, with the fallen form of the first laying on the sole bed, chest rising and falling as she slept on, medical equipment scattered around her, monitoring things like her heartbeat and her brain waves. In short, it was one as dark and bereft of warmth as any of the others, except for a vase with blue roses and honeysuckle on the small table by the bed.

'And that must be the Third Child's doing, as he visits this place fairly regularly…'

The spy waited in darkness, watching both the door and the First Child. According to what he had heard from Helba, the First had become a Lost One through The World, not by natural causes, but because of the influence of a certain threat called AIDA, a threat indirectly spawned and exacerbated by the Second Child's actions. As for why the Second Child was now in a coma, the other party had suggested that perhaps she had outlived her usefulness to whoever had infected her, which was a possibility…though he didn't think it was the Third Child, even if he was the only remaining member of the original pilots.

Hearing the sound of the door clicking open and closed, with the familiar footfalls of a certain purple-haired Director of Operations, he broke his silence.

"How peaceful the First Child seems, in her endless sleep," he commented, as Major Katsuragi, his now on-again, off-again love interest came into view.

"More like how vulnerable, without her brittle strength," Misato replied, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"

"It's not like you to ask for help from someone," Kaji noted, remembering at least that trait from the years they had been together. "Least of all me."

"I don't care at all what people say about me," the Major spoke softly, purposefully. "I'm not feeling very reserved at the moment, since I found out about the Fifth Child. I was already suspicious with the coming of the Fourth, but after the too-convenient selection of the Fifth…"

'Ah, suspicion, the same thing that drove me to betray my masters in my personal quest for the truth.'

"I will tell you one thing," the unshaven spy allowed, bending over to whisper into her ear. "The Marduk Institute does not exist…NERV alone is pulling the strings."

"NERV alone?" Misato whispered tonelessly, her body stiffening at Kaji's too-familiar touch. "Commander Ikari?"

"All I will say is this: Code Seven Zero Seven," he murmured to her. "Investigate it."

"Seven Zero Seven?" the Major repeated silently to herself, as the knowledge of it clicked in her head. "Shinji-kun's school?"

A short nod was all the reply Kaji returned, and all the reply she needed.

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

The rumor mill of Class 2-A was already quite a fairly well-developed organism in its own right, a hive-minded creature that observed the going-ons of the city and speculated about them, turning the might of parallel processing into possible explanations for why things were the way they had turned out. To them, sometimes malicious, sometimes simply curious, but always wanting to recreate what they saw and experienced (much like AIDA, really), the latest events to be seen had inspired a great deal of controversy.

To their knowledge, as of this morning, both the First and Second Children of NERV, along with the mysterious Reimeiki Hakubo and the resident technowizard/military otaku Kensuke Aida, were all absent, with at least two hospitalized, and the state of the others unknown.

Touji Suzuhara, the class jock and clown, was much more sullen than usual, seeming almost like one of the walking dead in how he moved silently and said nothing, only doing what was required. It was strange how much he resembled a living doll in this condition.

Kaworu Nagisa, the mysterious transfer student and rumored boyfriend to Asuka Langley Soryu, had a sad smile on his face, but other than that seemed as calm and collected as usual, observing everyone as they observed him. Who got the better end of that exchange was unknown.

Shinji Ikari was once again absent, presumably on duty at NERV for one thing or another. It was at this time that Kensuke's presence was most missed, since he would have provided a very reasonable explanation for what was happening.

But perhaps the biggest change was that observed in Hikari Horaki, Class 2-A's very own tyrannical keeper of order, who was not intervening to stop the activities of the gossips and rumormongers who so thoroughly infested said class this morning. Indeed, though she wore the usual iron mask around her emotions, she seemed more tightly wound than usual, and almost distracted, which was most unlike her.

Given that the mutual crush between Touji and Hikari was fairly obvious, the reactions of those two most speculated that it was due to a fight or breakup the two had had, although this didn't quite explain the reasons behind Aida's absence. Of course, knowing him, most of the class assumed that this was because he was following the battleships, as the Myoukou or some other ship of the line was in port.

And so the gossips had turned to their favorite topic: The World, with a focus on the Holy Palace Tournament final of the night before.

"Yes! Did any of you see that epic showdown?" one of the students asked excitedly, jabbering on in the early morn. "Those final attacks…skills like I've never seen before, and that job extend…wow."

"Yeah, seriously…when that what would you call it, Beast form or something, unsealed a field of blades…it was like he himself was the bone of his sword," commented one member of the Skari fan club. "Rising again and again against the PK and ultimately destroying her."

"But…what about those twins who were fighting one another…Casper and Melchior, was it?" someone asked quietly, noting an oddity in the match. "I didn't see what happened to them, after smoke covered the field."

"Ah, who cares?" asked the first to have spoken. "All hail the Emperor, Skari the Dark Evangel! And his teammate Tomoyami the Unyielding Shadow!"

At that moment, the door opened, and Morganna walked in to face her assembled students, with her arrival accompanied both by the Class Representative's ritual of "Stand, bow, sit", along with a few seconds of John Williams' "Imperial March" over the PA system, cutting off abruptly as it had begun.

"Today, we will be continuing our exploration assignments in The World," she told the class, quickly getting down to business. "In other words, this is essentially a chance to catch up on any of the past work for this project you have not done. Let us begin…"

'As I have something I need to accomplish myself…'

Net Slum Tartarga

Perhaps it was inevitable that Zefie, the girl who embodied the west wind, would find her way to the great overlook of Net Slum Tartarga, where rested the helm for manual steering of the great aerial citadel. With her eyes closed, the saffron-haired daughter of Aura sat upon the very edge of the overlook, feeling the motion-induced breeze as the tortoise Tartarga bore the Slums on through the skies above The World.

She sang a sweet melody born of an age out of time, a slow refrain that suggested the sadness and majesty of the mountains of the Dragonbein Range, a majesty that travelers and riddlers had often seen in the past, as they came across roads upon which they'd not walked, and upon which they would never walk again. A voice filled with indescribable longing for a place of memory…such was the other meaning of the lycoris blossom she carried, poignant memories…

As she sang, the Mistress of the Net Slums noticed, regarding the young girl as fondly as she did anything.

"Well well, the daughter of Aura," came the perpetually amused voice of the Queen of the Dark, her red robes rustling as she drew near. "You've returned to this world far earlier than I had expected. How things have changed since you were here last…"

"Helba," the little girl acknowledged with a single word. "I returned to the wind when my purpose was done, to watch the world as mother did…but now I wander on, wondering."

"Wondering what, dear Zefie?" the hacker queen asked, moving to stand beside the girl.

"Wondering why Skari smells so much like me, why his bracelet bears my scent, and why I am so drawn to him, even though we've never met before…" whispered the west wind, as she turned to look at the hacker queen with her reddish-purple eyes. Then her tone grew teasing. "So, you decided to put Net Slum on the back of a turtle? And you decided to change from the sorceress' outfit, ojou-sama? Did you not enjoy the staff and robes of office you wore before?"

Kaede only rolled her eyes, remembering how playful Zefie could be, and how much mischief she could accomplish.

"It was…out of necessity, given recent circumstances," the Blade Brandier noted, wagging her finger preemptively. "And no, I don't think Tartarga would appreciate a pink afro. Neither would I, at that, though if you ever run across a character named Siarl…feel free."

"Hmph…oh well…" Then the little girl smiled at Kaede, looking up to her with a warm, though still somewhat distant expression. "I am glad that you have found a new purpose in this world that we both so dearly love."

Just then, azure rings of light shimmered into existence, as the silver-robed form of Adept Rogue Skari gated into Net Slum, looking around and finally catching sight of the daughter of Aura. Wordlessly, their eyes met, and as if drawn in by an unseen cold hand, he approached her, step-step-stepping until he came at to stand before her, wonder in his eyes.

"Why?" asked the daughter of Aura, standing and putting a hand to the Adept Rogue's cheek. "Why does it feel as if I know you? That you are so very familiar to me?"

The Adept Rogue gently placed his hand over that of the saffron-haired girl as they continued to look at each other, as if there was something they recognized there.

"Why do I feel that I have been waiting for you for such a long time…"

Another warble sounded, as with a flurry of golden rings, a Shadow Warlock clad in black, with flowing purple-black tresses, dark violet eyes, and a silver infinity brooch arrived, looking nothing so much as a gothic version of Aura.

"Isn't that my line?" Morganna broke in, something of both anticipation and regret in her expression.

Hearing a voice which she knew only from memories, Zefie slowly turned her head to face the new arrival, murmuring a word in recognition.

"…Grandmother."