.hack/EVA: Catharsis: Mythos

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 copyrighted works I might reference here).

" " denotes speech

'italics' denotes thought

'bold' denotes location names

'bold italics' denotes skill use

Roof, Morganna's Apartment Building

Upon the roof of the sanctum of the Phantom Queen stood two Children, gazing quietly out upon the lights of the city as they flickered on, one after another, a rolling cascade of illumination that banished darkness from small enclosures and oft-used streets. It was darker than it had been when the Third had last looked upon the Fortress City of humanity after his battle with Matarael, but this was understandable, as in the wake of the last two Angel incidents, people had slowly been trickling away from Tokyo-3, headed to spots in the countryside that weren't first on the kaiju hit list.

Then again, night in Tokyo-3 had always been a time of silence, and neither of the two Children as inclined to break that trend, as they were relatively meek in the real world. That is, until Shinji Ikari, who had been stealing glances at the First Child, found himself looking into a pair of crimson eyes, having been caught at last.

"Ikari-kun…we can't keep meeting like this," the blue-haired girl murmured quietly, looking into the brown-haired boy's eyes. "I know…you have feelings for me, but…"

She trailed off, not too surprisingly, as Rei Ayanami was not exactly the most vociferous person in the world, and Zefie was trying to play the role, as well as sort out her own feelings about the rather passionate kiss she had been surprised with after finally leaving the inner world of EVA-01.

"But what?" Shinji asked softly, tilting his head questioningly as he reached out and took her hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "Am I a nuisance to you, Rei-chan?"

"Not at all," Zefie replied, sighing as she looked down at her feed. "You are the opposite of nuisance, and your hands are…warm. But…"

"I hated myself for not being able to protect you, you know," the brown-haired boy spoke once again, more determined "I hated that I wasn't there to keep you from going into a coma, and when you were absorbed into Unit-01…I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again. That's why I…I wanted to see you so much. And yet when I see you, I can't express myself, blather on about things, losing control. I just…"

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he saw how the blue-haired girl before him was blushing, with a tinge of pink just visible on her alabaster cheeks.

"Skari-kun," Zefie whispered seriously, bringing up her free hand to trace the lines of Shinji's face. "Listen, I—I'm not who you think I am. There are things about me that you don't know, secrets bound up in both worlds…"

"That doesn't matter to me," the Third Child broke in, placing a hand over the blue-haired girl's, in an intimate moment together in the moonlight. "You do, and nothing in the world—either world—could change that. I lost you once, just as everything came crashing down—I don't want to lose you again. That's why I…"

Unable to bear it anymore, he leaned forward to as to capture the vulnerable First Child's lips with his own, only for Zefie to turn her head so that his lips but grazed her cheek.

"Don't," she said with a sad smile, stiffening slightly at his kiss. "Doing that now…"

"Do you hate it?" Shinji asked, pulling away slightly in accordance to her wishes.

"No, that's not why…" the blue haired girl breathed, looking up at the moon. "It's because—it's because it would be a lie, Ikari-kun, because you have someone else in your heart."

"That's right," Shinji said ruefully, thinking of the last person he had watched the moon with, the silver-haired girl called Reimeiki Hakubo in this world. "But I…it's just that I was so happy to see you…"

"I know, Ikari-kun," Zefie sighed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze and flashing him a beautiful smile that made his heart almost forget to beat. "That's why…I will wait until she returns, because she is like me. I think that to love someone is to walk together, and in walking together to seek the best path…so be patient with me please, Ikari-kun."

There were no tears on the face of the blue-haired girl as she said this, only a poignant melancholy as she thought back into ancient, poignant memories.

"Ikari-kun…when I was trapped inside EVA, I met your mother," the Child of Dawn murmured, changing the subject to one Shinji would likely want to hear about.

"My mother?" he repeated, blinking as something hot welled up inside him, salty tears pushed past the ego border by these last words. "What…what did she say?"

"She was glad she could protect you, Ikari-kun," the blue-haired girl replied with a soft half-smile. "And she said that she loved you, even now."

"She…"

But the Third Child could speak no more, overcome with emotion, sobs breaking out from behind the mask he wore, as Zefie stepped forward and embraced him, whispering the words of Yui into his ears.

"Let me tell you of my journey, Ikari-kun…and of the worlds of mind..."

Net Slum Tartarga

The Mistress of Net Slum stood alone on the grand bridge in the center of her domain, her brown eyes gazing out over The World she had sworn to protect, surveying the damage remaining from the grand battle that had taken place in her city. With the help of her elite AIs, she had repaired most of the data corruption that had occurred, but some inevitably remained, as AIDA's power had not been completely broken, and AIDA-Angel Tabris remained within The World, a being with a vast and inhuman mind who wished to destroy her and everything she represented.

'It is a great irony that the Angel of Free Will would become a slave to such a role, taking in all the evils of the world for power. Such an exchange is not becoming of a divine messenger, and is instead far more human that I would like to admit. Of course, it is said that the Angels are evolutionary pathways that were rejected by humanity, thus being humanity's shadow, so in that way it is appropriate. Now, if only the Committee of Old Men could be eliminated, then I would not have to worry about the impending danger of the EVA series, but…for now, that faction must remain to counterbalance NERV.'

As a rule, Helba did not enjoy violence in the "real" world, or at least did not enjoy the sight of blood, which is part of why the Angel battles disgusted her. Unfortunately, she had a weak stomach for gore, something that had been true since early in her youth. This was part of the reason she had been drawn to The World and the hacking profession in the first place, as it was clean, efficient, and almost entirely bloodless.

Once, it had been a way to interact with others without having to worry about consequences…but now, now it was her home in more ways than one, though slowly, she had found that her two lives were blending into one, as most did over time.

'One day soon, this all will end…as I know full well. I have made arrangements for that day, but for now, all I can say is this: that is shall not come so long as the threat of the Angels and those other factions are still among us. As a Queen, it is my duty to protect my people, to act as the force of Chaos to counter Order, providing sanctuary and refuge to those who truly need it.'

As one of the great powers of The World, the Queen of the Dark approached the level of divinity, though she was wise enough not to class herself among them—even if she had helped to defeat the Goddess of Dusk long ago.

'There will one day be an end…but I will not be the one to hasten it. I am a force of preservation to AIDA's ruin, the two sides of the unacknowledged shadow, part of the unseen struggle that takes place beneath the surface of The World. Most people think of this place as nothing but a game, but it is something more than that, for it was here that a Goddess was born, a goddess created by humanity, as humanity was supposedly created in the image of a God. And perhaps it will be here that the cycle of destruction and rebirth will at last be broken…'

So she had thought, fighting on the parapets and bridges of the Slums against the threat of AIDA, a power similarly born of humanity, like its collective unconscious rising up against it, as if the World was a manifestation of the mind of Gaia, and each human a mere neuron within it. Helba smiled at the thought, shaking her head wistfully as she considered the world below.

Behind her sounded slow, methodical footsteps, and the Mistress of net Slum turned about in curiosity—coming face to face with a tall steam gunner dressed in mostly in blue and white, with traces of leather scattered through his outfit, a long, flowing scarf, orange sunglasses—and a huge metal cylinder around his left arm.

'Ovan, Epitaph Wielder of Corbenik, otherwise known as Tri-Edge, first of the AIDA-PCs.'

"Greetings, old friend," the red-clad blademistress spoke with a hint of warmth, relaxing slightly. While in one sense Ovan might be considered an enemy, at the moment, he was more of an enigma pursuing his own agenda (as well as a skilled hacker in his own right, something Helba had the utmost respect for). "Have you come at last to pledge undying loyalty?"

Ovan's lips twitched once with amusement as he took in the greeting.

"I'm afraid the answer is no," the enigmatic one spoke, shrugging his shoulders. "I have merely come to give my compliments to a player of a most intriguing and dangerous game. You did well in protecting Net Slum."

"It would have been helpful if you had lent a hand, or a claw, is it may be," the Queen of the Dark said pointedly. "Though I understand you may have a slight conflict of interest, as a powerful AIDA-PC as well as an Epitaph User."

"Oh yes, but even among AIDA, factions exists…the one under sway of Tri-Edge, opposed to the one controlled by Siarl," the Steam Gunner replied, moonlight glinting off his orange sunglasses. "It is the difference between a plague and a cancer."

"One interested in humanity and so melding with a host to study emotion, while the other merely wishes to destroy," intoned the Mistress of Net Slum, stating her observations plainly. "Arising from the void, its paths have diverged, much like those of its inadvertent creators and teachers."

"When AIDA first awakened, I suspect that the first thing it saw was a player killer," the man mused aloud, his thoughts turning to another avenue. "And so it has evolved to infect players and awaken their shadows…but I wonder about Bearer of the Bracelet, he who is also an AIDA-PC. I wonder as how to the AIDA I bestowed onto him is evolving, and how it has interacted with the power of the Twilight."

"Indeed…you restrain the aberrant key with Corbenik's power, sealing it away from your consciousness, but the Dark Evangel's situation is somewhat different," Helba acknowledged with a nod. "Though I wonder how long either of your protections will last with Siarl's machinations wearing at them. In a sense, you are living on borrowed time, aren't you…Tri-Edge."

"Are not all of us who play the great game?" Ovan rejoined rather expansively. "In time, all of us shall fade into the Twilight, much as I seek the Twilight Key."

"The power of salvation or destruction at the user's whim," voiced the cool musical tones of the Queen. "I wonder, Ovan…which choice will be yours? Succumbing to the Terror of Death, becoming the power of Rebirth…or both?"

"Heh…that path has yet to be written, whether by faith or betrayal."

"How interesting that you should mention betrayal…as it was that of a Goddess which awoke Skeith in the world before."

Δ Hidden Forbidden Radiation – Lost Ground Arche Kloen Falls

He stood alone upon a rocky outcrop, surrounded on three sides by torrents of water, like power all to droplets turned, cascading down an ancient temple's walls. A small blue-silver haired boy with golden eyes, he was the Flick Reaper Zelkova, leader of Moon Tree and heir to Net Slum, dressed in white Japanese-styled clothing with an oversized fan on his back, concealing his true nature as a warrior. As for why he was here, the little boy had found that this place was ideal for contemplation, with the white noise of falling water washing away distractions and outer thoughts.

'Net Slum barely survived against the incursion of AIDA-Angel Bardiel and the AIDA Mirages he summoned…and though he was defeated in the end, Siarl is still within The World. Because of what was done to my previous incarnation by him, I can feel AIDA's presence. A tingling on the edge of consciousness, an irregularity in the flow of data…the Wave builds and draws back.'

Truly, Zelkova was worried, for he had seen the devastation wrought upon Net Slum by the power of the horde—and how much victory had cost. The defenders had held against the might of the storm, but it was not as if they had emerged unscathed, either.

'Shadows born of void return others to the void from which all things began…'

But his thoughts were interrupted by a warbling sound, as golden rings of light rippled into existence once again, lingering in the air just long enough to herald the arrival of Tomoyami of the Shadow, Chaotic PK, dothacker, and comrade in arms. She seemed…more pensive than usual, her pale face drawn and weary as she clutched her scythe tightly, as if seeking an enemy.

"You may put away your weapon, Tomoyami," the small boy murmured softly, his voice somehow cutting through the background noise. "I defeated the AIDA-Monster here before you arrived, though it does seem that Siarl is beginning to act directly, instead of through his pawns."

"You would know, I suppose," responded the Unyielding Shadow, walking forward to join her fellow Flick Reaper on his perch. "Since you effectively died once at his hands already…but apparently while I was indisposed, there was an attack on Net Slum?"

For the first time in her memory, Zelkova's lips twitched into a frown as the heir to Net Slum shook his head.

"Yes, by AIDA Mirages under the sway of Bardiel, the AIDA-Angel who possessed Aruna," he replied. "With the help of the fallen goddess and the Child of Dawn, it was repulsed, but…"

"…with great loss," Tomoyami filled in, eyes distant and clouded. "I know of loss on the road I have chosen. The p-player behind Aruna is dead, Zelkova—he will never return to The World. Or to me."

"The true death…" the heir to Net Slum whispered, thinking back to the time of Twilight. "Yes…I know death well on the path we both walk. And even if one avenges oneself, the feeling is but that of void…there is no satisfaction in it."

"Do you know…rumor has it that this too was a place of death, where a sacrifice was made to push back Shadow?"

"Of course I know the rumor…you are forgetting who I used to be, I think. Though we change and are not who we were in the past, we carry those memories with us, shaping who we are now."

"Who you are now indeed. Well then, Lord Zelkova, would you grant me the honor of a duel?" Tomoyami asked at last, the barest of smiles on her face. "I find that I think most clearly when in the moment's flow, and I have been idle long enough these last few weeks."

The blue-silver haired boy raised an eyebrow, but nodded, unsealing the mighty Goddess Scythe and raising it in salute.

"If it will satisfy you, then by all means."

Mirroring his movements, the Unyielding Shadow withdrew her own demonic scythe—then leapt forward to attack, the two weapons crashing together bringing cacophony to the once-peaceful space, a familiar battle requiem in which at least one of the two found a momentary peace.