Author Notes:

Part 1 - the events of this part take place during the events of the Origami Arc (Volumes 10-11).

Part 2 - the events of this part take place during the events of Rinne Utopia, from the Post-Origami Changed Timeline.

Part 3 - ?

Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 23

OP Insert Song:

STEINS;GATE 0 - Amadeus

Start:

PART 1

Flashback

There were some moments in time that made a deep impression on Mio Takamiya. There was one meeting that happened a few years prior from her perspective. She—as Phantom—had succeeded in turning Kotori Itsuka into a Spirit.

"Hey!"

What surprised her was the person that was standing in front of her. Dark blue hair and brown determined eyes, wearing a high school uniform. He called out to her, drawing her attention. She would recognize the young man that was standing right in front of her. Memories were now circulating in her mind, and along with it, both happiness and sorrow.

How? Why? How was he here? Why was he here?

"Hey, I wanted to meet you, Phantom," the young man said, glaring at her and after holding a thin breath.

"It can't be...You were...Why are you..." she muttered.

From what she can sense, this was...someone that she left behind. It was her son. This familiar presence was something that she would recognize anywhere, even when it was somewhat different due to sensing the fact that this young man clearly did not belong here, not to this current relative time. The first time she held him was now being brought to the forefront of her mind. The joy and sorrow, the happy smile of a mother, and the gentle touch she allowed her fingers to do when it feels the light skin. The baby was not crying like most newborn babies. He was more quiet, and with the sound of cooing, was lightly raising her little hands, trying to reach her face.

It took everything that she had not to cry at this moment.

The young man—Shidou Itsuka was sporting a puzzled expression, though he was still cautious. Because this was not the kind of reaction that he had anticipated. "You...Do you know, about me?"

That question struck her. She did not wish to answer. Whatever she does at this point needs to be handled with care because she would risk not only the jeopardization of her plan, but also her identity may be at stake. She cannot allow this young man, her son's future self, to know her at this time. Judging by his response, he doesn't know who she is yet. This was a good thing for her, at least that's what she thought.

Then, she decided to slightly move its body, one covered with static noise, and run away while sliding on the ground. She thought that this place was quite risky for her and her son to talk. Her son being here is already a risk to the timeline. She as the First Spirit would have intimate knowledge of how temporal mechanics work and knew that the world itself would not tolerate any kind of paradox. She needed to keep her son away for fear of accidentally creating such inconsistencies.

She would see her son follow her, but not before looking back at a younger Kotori with a grimaced expression. No...It was not just that. Something must have happened in the future, based on the meaningful look that Shidou was sporting. Nevertheless, fixing his expression, with eyes closed and then opening with a sense of resolve, Shidou sprints off after her.

One problem is out of the way. Now to deal with another.

"["Shidou-san, this was quite an unexpected reaction. Are you perhaps acquainted with this person?"]"

Phantom noticed the voice that came from Shidou. No, not Shidou, somewhere else, leading beyond, leading to a future unknown. And this voice was very familiar to her too.

"("Ah...so that explains why...")" She thought.

It would explain why her son was here. It would seem that at some point in the future, her son would be acquainted with Kurumi Tokisaki. She wondered if the latter still hated her at this point. One out of many points which in turn struck through the cord of her guilt that still continues to haunt her even after the many years that had passed by. But...it was a part of her plan, right?

She did not do anything out of hatred or malice. She only wanted one thing. To bring the man she loved the most back from the dead. But does that justify anything? Does she not already figured out that her plan was ultimately futile? She does know, but she does not want to think about it.

"...I'm not entirely sure," She heard Shidou muttering, looking troubled.

As for Shidou, he was clearly thinking about what to make of this situation. His memory of Phantom was a bit unreliable, only knowing that he once encountered her five years ago...which would be right now. However, it clearly seems to be the case that Phantom knew about him judging by the little reaction he could gauge. Maybe it was either him...or it was someone else that looked like him.

Is there a possibility then that he time-travelled at some point where Phantom met him? It could be one such possibility, especially when taking into account that a future version of him had earlier talked to Kurumi about the issue with Origami. But that is merely one, and only hypothetical at this point.

And now, his thought turns to something else, something more concrete in relation to something of his past. DEM Industries' Managing Director, Sir Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott. He recalled the one time when he was infiltrating the Japan HQ of DEM in order to rescue Tohka Yatogami. He recalled that man, whose eyes send a chill down his spine, laughed in a really strange way, especially when he called Shidou by this one word.

Takamiya.

That troubled him. It was the same surname as Mana Takamiya, his self-proclaimed real sister.

So many questions, but so few answers.

As soon as both stopped, Phantom having stopped for some reason, was now turning to him, at least that's what Shidou can tell because there was hardly any facial expression to verify what Phantom is thinking.

"...Now that we have a moment to ourselves," Shidou said after holding his breath due to running a few blocks away. "...I want to ask you something. What do you know about me, Phantom?"

"("Odd...So my son had given a name to call me?")" She thought.

"...Phantom, huh. So you gave such a name to me," she murmured and sighed. Then she smiled underneath her disguise, with her eyes softly looking at her baby boy all grown up. "...I'm sorry. I suddenly run away...I thought it would have been better if we weren't in front of her."

Shidou knew that Phantom was talking about Kotori. While he has no context of Phantom's actual goals, it was smart of a move for her to move away and lead Shidou out as well. If they stayed there too long, his younger past self would notice and that's another headache of a problem to deal with in this time travelling escapade. There was the main problem of Origami Tobiichi. He still needed to time this right and find a way to deal with her. This was a second chance that he would not waste.

A few moments had passed by. Phantom stood still without saying anything. Her thoughts were unknown to Shidou. But unbeknownst to him, Phantom was taking a very good look at him. It was taking every bit of her to not cry. She was thinking of a way to try to appear to him without making her true identity known. It was not the time for her to do so. Not only because of a temporal paradox, but because of her plan...and she was secretly afraid of how her son would react to her.

...And as she thought, she detected a kind of mental image that was present within Shidou's layers of thought. Yes, she thought, maybe this would do. It was an image that seems strange to say the least, like it was artificially cut off from the normal flow of reality. Strange, she thought, because she detected a hint of her own work. Perhaps...

"...Ah, is that it? So it was really, you are..."

Right now, the noise covering Phantom's body dissolved like a fog.

...And then.

"...Ah!" Shidou would slowly widen his eyes.

His heart suddenly ached. No, more than that, it felt like it was slowly being crushed by an opposing force. His eyes were bearing witness to a person that appeared from the fog.

A young woman with braided hair and an expression that was gentle like that of...a mother...

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!

She was wearing the summer uniform of Raizen High School, a white short sleeve shirt, with a sweater that has the logo of the school. With skin so soft, one that carried a natural white complexion, reminding one of alabaster, not too obstructive, and just perfectly balanced just as her figure was. And what was likened to an unforgettable trait was her light brown eyes.

What Shidou felt like was likened to the setting of the sun. It made his head felt like...

KKKKKKKKKSSsssssssssssssssssssssSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

...It felt aching. His head felt dizzy and spinning around. Something troubled his heart. It was screaming, trying to come up with a name for this face...but unfortunately found none.

He felt like screaming this very instant. He felt so cold. The warmth that was familiar to him felt like it was making him burn. His vision felt like it was turning red. He felt like cursing everything. He felt like cursing this...this whoever it was from taking this form...but he did not know why. But still, he refused to see this thing take the form of that woman, that form that felt so very important to him. He felt like cursing himself as static filled his mind. It was driving him crazy.

Damn her! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her!

"You can't see me yet, that's why excuse my impoliteness of using another shape...I could-Ah?!"

As Phantom was trying to speak with a courteous tone, she would...slowly notice something. It was quite quick and straight to the point. Shidou's expression...was subtly turning into a very cold look. And his eyes, while leaking tears of genuine sorrow, were glaring at her...surprisingly not just in anger, but with a subtle rage...

It was very quick. Shidou's movements were quick. He was walking fast, a few meters away. Phantom was surprised as her mouth just stopped talking. And as quick as a flash, Shidou was now grabbing hold of her collar. She felt pressure on her neck while being pulled this way.

...What?

Shidou's face, one now crying in tears and at the same time showing subtle anger, was near to her face.

"...You...Why," Shidou growled, making Phantom widen her eyes and feel the pressure from the collar being pulled. "...Why?...Why...?...Why...?...Why that face...?...Why did you choose that face?!" He screamed the last part with a mixture of distraught, his eyes turning a little hint of gold.

"...Sh...Sh..." Phantom sported a distraught, horrified, and confused expression. Just a few more syllables and she almost gave herself out.

"...Shidou...san..."

Somewhere in the future, Kurumi Tokisaki was listening to the conversation using her Ninth Bullet Tet. With this bullet, she can be allowed to share the thoughts and senses of a person in a different time axis, but this takes a bit of effort on her part to do so because of her lack of experience.

There was a general sense of coldness that permeated throughout her entire being. She can just feel the subtle but burning rage that cannot be ignored. And his thoughts seem all jumbled up and confused, like the man was trying to recall something.

What was with this reaction?

And...what did that have to do with the image that Phantom had now taken the form of?

Nevertheless, if this continues, this encounter may turn sour and it would not help anyone in the long run, especially when they are on a deadline.

"...Wait, this is...?"

That's right. Kurumi had been warned about this before. At some point before contacting Shidou again, she was approached by Shidou's future self.

"Kurumi, listen to everything I have to say, exactly."

She remembers clearly. Standing right before her was Shidou Itsuka...though he seems a bit older, estimating about college years in height, due to not only the little traces of white around the edges of his hair but also of his eyes, ones that seemingly lost that spark of light that she knew that her Shidou Itsuka possessed. He was wearing a very worn-out and modified Raizen High School male uniform, along with a bandolier, a belt, and military equipment. There was also a red helix symbol found on both sides of his modified blazer. And he even has a kind of advanced rifle strapped to his person, and two advanced pistols that were found near the holsters of his belt.

This Shidou told her everything that she needed to know. He also warned her not to ask anything relating to the future or what future he came from.

"...I see," While Kurumi smiled in amusement, it was veiling and overlaying a sense of caution and concern when she was talking to this Shidou. It was his eyes. They were hollow and serious, lacking the innocence that he is known for. A Shidou forced to grow up and fight. "Alright, I will relay what you told me to my Shidou-san."

"...Thank you, Kurumi," Future Shidou answered with a serious nod.

Then as Shidou would turn around and walk, Kurumi would call out to him in a joking manner.

"Ara, is Shidou-san not going to stay around truly?" Kurumi asked.

Then Shidou stopped. And he simply side glances Kurumi and gave her a very impressionable, bitter smile.

"I know how this story is going to end, Kurumi. No need for me to be here," he simply said.

But before he left, he simply gave a heads-up, with a grim tone on his voice.

"...And, take care of my past self, Kurumi. Right now, you may need to stop him from doing something stupid."

Then he continued walking to parts unknown.

And that's when it dawned on Kurumi. Shidou's future self knew what was going to happen right now. This was the moment that she needed to intervene.

"...You...What do you know...What do you know about that face, answer me?!"

Shidou was shaking Phantom through the use of her collar, the temptation to choke her further was just easily so alluring. He did now know why he was reacting this way. He felt like an entire missing part of him was taken out of him and brought back. But why...? Why could he no longer recall such a thing?

"Why do you have that face?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Who is she?! What is she?! Who is she to me?! What is her name?! Tell me her name?!"

"...Sh...Ah..."

Phantom...no, Mio Takamiya did not know what to do as the list of demands was hurling into her while being shaken by the collar. For the very first time, she felt a kind of fear that she never thought she would experience. She felt terrified. But it was less to do with her safety and more with that look of absolute hatred in her son's eyes. Why? Was the woman she took one's form with really so very important to him? If so, why does he not know about this face? It felt like something was blocking him from fully remembering. And yet, that did not stop his heart from remembering.

All he was ever seeing right now is red. His heart felt like exploding. Why? Why can't she recall her? Why? Who was she? Who was she to him? Why can't he recall how she talks to him? Why can't he remember? Why?!

"("Shidou-san!")"

And then...Kurumi's voice made contact with Shidou. But Shidou did not want to pay attention. He demanded answers, here and now.

"("Shidou-san, stop! I do not know what is happening, but time is of the essence! Remember Origami-san!")"

And that...would somewhat bring Shidou back to his senses, although that did not dissipate his anger. His teeth were clearly gnashing. His eyes' golden color did not dissipate but they were lowering.

...Wait, Shidou instinctively thought. Now was...Now was...not the time... No matter how painful things might be, even when he has no idea of what he's doing or what he's reacting to...but this face...the warmth that lay dormant...was coming back...and it hurts...

But he needed...he needed to focus...

But it hurts...But it hurts...

"...Tck," Shidou clicked his tongue out, gritted his teeth, and... letting go of Phantom, letting her fall down to the floor.

Phantom was...hurt...But it was not a physical kind of hurt. It would take more for her to be hurt than just that. But this was a different kind of hurt. The way Shidou...The way he was glaring at her was making her heart feel like it stopped. She can see Shidou lowering his hands slowly, his glare never leaving her. Why? Why was he looking at her with that kind of look? And why did had to be that face of all faces that would look at her with such a face? She felt one of her hands instinctively on her neck while slightly moving back a bit.

"...Leave..." Shidou muttered with a growling tone.

"...Eh?" Phantom muttered, still in shock by what had just happened. Her expression was terrible, as if she witnessed something she never wanted nor expected to see.

"LEAVE!" Shidou exclaimed with a clear voice, sending a shivering arrow down Phantom's spine. He was not repeating himself. This sharp word would form a kind of sword that would strike near her heart. Then his tone took a darker tone. "...Leave...Get as far away from here as you possibly can...and hide. I don't give a damn where you hide, just go. I won't tell you the reason why I'm asking you about this, just know that it's important to the timeline I'm from, but before you leave, here's my warning to you, so that you would remember when we somehow cross paths in the future."

Shidou would walk slowly towards Phantom who was trembling, the urge to back away was strong.

"If I ever see you using that face so casually again, I may as well continue where I left off right now...Now leave...before I changed my mind..."

At that moment, Phantom, with a heavy heart and not knowing what else to do, silently left with a static noise trailing behind her. And hidden behind the static, there were tears shed behind her eyes.

It hurts. It hurts so very much. For the very first time...she felt rejected...by the one she loved...

Shidou, after making sure that Phantom is gone, clenched his fists, still with tears flowing down his cheeks, and lowered his knees down.

"("...Shidou-san.")"

Even Kurumi's voice, one tainted with concern for his well-being, did not comfort nor surprise him. His heart felt like crumbling but his mind was drawing a blank. His hands were shaking. And then...

"...Grk...GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He punched the ground while screaming before eventually gritting his teeth and letting his tears out. But why was he screaming? Hundreds and hundreds of negative tons were felt throughout his being. His tears continued to flow. He felt an entire portion of his life, a treasure more valuable than the greatest of gold, had been taken away from him. Ever since Phantom had taken that form, he could not help but have his heart drawn to the face that Phantom took. But it also made him angry...because he had realized one thing...

This woman, so very important to him, had been lost to him, forever. And he can never get her back. And he cannot even remember her name.

However...

Shidou begins to immediately notice something, feeling something off as he looks at the sky.

"...Ah!"

There was a line of light from the eastern sky, and it was aiming at Phantom who was evading. His shoulders shook and looked at where the line of light was launched from and he was frozen to the core. Who stood there was a young woman with a dazzlingly pure white dress, and several of her feathers turn towards Phantom, her nemesis by the personification of a murderous intent. The Spirit of Ruin had stood there.

"No..." He muttered, widening his tear-filled eyes.

Origami Tobiichi. She had arrived, just as scheduled.

He gritted his teeth. No, he thought with an exclamation point. Not now. Why now? It was happening all over again. He sees Origami looking straight at Phanotm and released several lines of light, one that familiarized the pattern of the rain, from the tip of her feather-shaped Angel. And of course, Phantom dodged all of them nimbly with unbelievable movement as she slid through the skies.

But Origami of course did not give up. With a burning hatred in her eyes, she pursued Phantom and launched lines of air without resting.

"...No," He muttered with a growling tone.

Frustrated, angered, confused, wanting to punch something, and all of the feelings come crashing down, burning his resolve. He would stand up, gritting his teeth, and wiping his tears with his right hand.

He cannot let what happened the first time happen again. He needed to move. He needed to break the cycle. To hell with this world! To hell with the original timeline! He'll reach out his hand and give a happy ending. But where would he go in order to accomplish that?

He kicked his feet off and decided to run. And he started running and sprinting like there was no concept of tomorrow, with a resolve to stop whatever is about to happen.

He knew that screaming to the heavens won't do any good, and neither can he follow Origami and Phantom as both have a tremendous level of high speed air flight by simply running on the ground. That was not his aim. He continued to run to the town, the same town that was now being covered with flames without any burst of hesitation. There was one particular aim that was in his mind.

And he found them after seeing what he was looking for. Origami's parents, were those two people that were about to suffer the same fate once again. That was the only way that can prevent the tragedy of the future. He needed to change this event.

Meanwhile, as Phantom continued to dodge multiple beams of light from Origami, she was having other thoughts in mind. At some point, she noticed that her son was running toward something. Somehow, by natural instinct, she could not help but be curious, even with all of the hurt. She was his mother, a thought propped into her mind. No matter how much hurt she felt, she still needed to see her son.

But the recent memory, that terrible face, all of that would still continuously haunt Phantom as she continued to leak tears. Her heart was feeling like it was being torned apart.

And she noticed...her son running towards a young couple...and pushes them away...and there was a child nearby...one that resembled the young woman that was attacking her...

But she noted the beam of light that would come towards her son...the same beam that she had dodged not a moment ago...

"...Ah!"

Phantom's eyes widened.

And the last thing she saw was her son...being engulfed by the white light...

"...Ah!"

...Afterwards...there was nothing...just a gaping hole in the ground that came from the white light...but the couple and the child were still alive...

And then, Phantom noticed something. The attacks have stopped. She turns around to find...nobody there. Her eyes widened. At that moment, she instantly realized what had just happened. Something changed. Whatever her son had done...it changed his future...but...at what cost...

"...No...No...No..."

But that didn't make anything better. It only made her feel worst. It only made her cry profusely as she disappeared into the void.

"...Ahh..Ahh...Ahh..."

And she cried, like never before. The First Spirit, mulling over her thoughts, was for the first time letting out her feelings of guilt that drew out like a sea of tidal waves, but with the image of her baby boy hating her, his mother, perhaps unknowingly, but nevertheless hurts.

How long did she cry? Who can say, as time here was not the same as the normal flow of reality?

This would be a moment, right here, right now, that would eventually become a one-of-a-kind revelation. An unforgettable moment that she would take as she lives on to the future and catches up with her son. A contributing incident that would eventually ensure the creation of a SPirit that would, by design, become her son's perfect soulmate, his wholy other, his ideal wife.

But before that point, Phantom—Mio Takamiya, had to ponder the question that related to this important figure, an irreplacable woman.

Who are you? And what are you to my son?

PART 2

Not until years later did she know.

Rinne Sonogami.

That was the name of the woman who was so very important to her little Shin. A Spirit born from the accumulating Reiryoku that had taken a life of its own. A woman that was now about to disappear in the void, forgotten by all, even by the boy that she cared for the most.

"Good work. You fulfilled your role splendidly."

Phantom—Mio Takamiya was offering a tone of gratitude. This was something that she had been anticipating for a very long time. Now that it finally caught up to her, she thanks Rinne, but not just for the plan which is of a secondary sort.

"...But most of all...thank you for being there...for my son..."

"..."

Rinne only smiled, never saying a word.

"At last, sleep well."

And then, Rinne Sonogami would disappear, into nothing.

PART 3

But one must wonder. What was the role of the future Shidou Itsuka in all of this? From what point in time did this version of Shidou Itsuka came from?

Unbeknownst to all, there was a terrible War, one of cosmic proportions, that was happening everywhere and everywhen. This Shidou was a Shidou relatively far into his own personal future, a spectator merely performing a kind of side role to ensure that some things do not change.

He was walking towards a blue London police box nearby, one that had rusty scorched marks. But this was no ordinary police box. This was something else entirely. With one last look at the devastation that he sees from afar, knowing how the story ends, and ensuring that this story does not change, would open the door and walk inside.

Vworp Vworp Vworp

And the box would slowly but surely disappear from sight. Off to other places and time zones. For there was a War that is happening. And he needed to get back to the fight.

End:

ED Song:

STEINS GATE 0 Ending 2 Full『Asami Imai - World-Line』