Grimoire of Evangelion

by Traitor of All Traitors

Five years before the rise of the first Wizard King, there existed a royal family of the most unlikely sort. A family of nobles that believed all were capable of greatness, no matter who they were. They were hunted down and driven away from the kingdom, forced to await the day when they could return. That day...is now. The noble House of Ikari...rises once more.

40. Hard Choices

Creation began on 11-23-21

Creation ended on 12-13-21

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Grimoire of Evangelion: Hard Choices

Rika sighed when Tenshi finished informing her of his reason to why he, Mereoleona Vermilion and Zora Ideale were here in the Ikari home, and then his replayed memory of the elder that was trying to tell him something that appeared to be something that Gendo, who had shot Tenshi, didn't want him to know about. It was one thing to hear an accusation about one's own relative, but it was another to hear about it, be attacked by the creature responsible for a nation-wide massacre, and be harmed by the spouse of the accused relative. Add those up, it didn't seem like coincidences…but inevitable ends to wanting the truth from the accused.

"How's your injury?" She asked Tenshi.

"I'll live," he responded.

"Any guess on where Yui is?"

"If she's not at the Golden Dawn HQ, she could be anywhere," he admitted.

"Have you been keeping tabs on her?"

"Do you really think I'd spy on my own sisters when they're out and about?"

Rika sighs again and expresses, "You only have two left alive, and one of them is currently younger than the youngest sister due to being restored of her youth like you and I were when we returned last year. And as for spying, that would imply you are willing and able to violate one's privacy rights to see if they're up to something. Do you follow Yui anywhere?"

"No. I put a bug in her room, but only listen in on what she says, not what she does. She constantly keeps to herself. Every mission she takes is solo."

"And nobody to confide in? For anything?"

"If she has a friend, it's not anyone from the Golden Dawn, capital city or any of the villages I've been to. Does this remind you of anything she's done before?"

"I'm old, Tenshi, but my mind's not a dumpster. Every time I try to suggest she do something to make friends, she does the very opposite and ends up alienating herself further from people. She couldn't even stick with an archery club without being statistical or making suggestions that stray away from the traditional."

"Sounds like your youngest daughter doesn't have a semblance of whatever it is the rest of you have," Mereoleona suggested.

"Yui isn't…traditional like we are," Tenshi admitted. "When I say 'traditional', I mean that we keep one eye on the past and the other on the future, but our feet rooted firmly in the present, keeping balance."

"Doesn't seem like a terrible thing to have in any culture," said Zora.

"Yeah, but when you're dealing with someone that doesn't understand the need for balance…or has both eyes looking too far into the future, I honestly don't know what kind of person that you're dealing with. What exactly did you see when Tenshi finally mastered the spell that enabled him to move through space and time?"

"A different world. A world without magic, with buildings of metal and glass that reach into the air, an underground village of some sort with a large, metal triangle…but…there was something wrong with it all. Your son-in-law, he…he was the only one in that room we saw these people in that…was unsettling."

"Unsettling? What about you, Ms. Vermillion? What did you feel upon meeting Gendo?"

"Honestly, I was disgusted that he married into your family," Mereoleona expressed her opinion about Gendo. "He exhibited no respect, no understanding of why we were there, made demands without expressing why he wanted what we couldn't or wouldn't give him, and then he just hits a man older than he is who was for trying to give us information about your daughter who may be up to something unpleasant. Not only that, he shoots your only son. The guy had absolutely no remorse about doing that, either. If we're being honest…I'd probably kill him if given the chance to, regardless of what anyone thinks or believes."

Rika, finishing the contents of her cup, sighs and looks down at it, seeing it breaking under the strain of her right hand…until it shatters.

"No offense, though," Mereoleona expressed.

"None taken," she responded. "I was just imagining holding his heart in my possession, only to crush it into pulp in front of him. If I didn't have the restraint that I currently possess, I would do the exact same because he shot one of my children. But then I'd have a terrible time facing Shinji every now and then, having to live with that act for the rest of my days. It's not a secret to Shinji that we don't like his father, but we don't talk about him; you can't express a dislike of a particular individual if nothing you speak is actually directed towards them. I wouldn't wish any ill will on anyone unless they deserved it. It's really a good thing that Gendo's not here. He'd have no power or authority, no respect for others and most certainly no support from the people around him. But then, there's Yui. I kept thinking that once she found out about the Clover Kingdom and met the people here, she would change her perception of things."

"You wanted her to know of her heritage. There's nothing wrong with wanting that."

"Except there is one thing wrong with teaching people about a part of their heritage," Tenshi states, "and it's how the learner may choose to respond or react to knowing what their ancestors have been able to do…and what they may choose to do."

"You can't control what anyone does," said Zora. "Controlling people is enforcing your will over their own, taking away their right to do as they may want to do, to say what they may want to say, reducing them to nothing more than puppets."

"And nobody should ever have to have their free will, their ability to make their own choices, taken from them by someone that doesn't agree with their preferences," Rika uttered. "You take away that from anyone…and you may as well take everything else from them until there's nothing left. That's no different from committing a murder."

"Question?" Mereoleona asked.

"Yes?"

"We don't have any proof to either confirm or deny that Yui Ikari is in league with this Harbinger, and if it turns out that she is…how will you deal with her?"

That was the question of all the questions that needed an answer. If they were able to confirm the worst, Yui would have to face the consequences for what she did; her connection with Harbinger would label her as an enemy of the nation, of the people and of the world itself. The Magic Parliament would demand an execution to try and save face and avoid answering questions they didn't have any answers to about why she did what she did if they didn't want to be bothered with trying to obtain the reasons, but one more death wouldn't resolve the issue. And Rika and Tenshi would be against an execution for both moral and familial reasons.

"I'll let Shinji know," they heard Tenshi speak, "and he'll decide what to do about her."

"Your nephew?" Zora asked him. "Why him?"

"The day we tried out for the Magic Knights was the day we had our own doubts about Yui's reasons for joining the organization. Her past actions and reasons left little faith in her ability or desire to wipe her slate clean and start over. If I ever found out that she was up to no good again, I'd inform him…and he'd deal with her himself."

"Any guess on what he meant by that?"

"I dare not guess what, only that he'd be dead serious about dealing with her. His father being a horrible person was enough to cast doubts on his own mother, but if she's just as horrible…"

It wasn't something that any child could handle, if it was learned that both their parents were in the wrong and up to no good. Such a revelation could break their heart, their faith, or make them do something more or less than what others have done.

"We need to find out if it's true first," Rika told them. "We need to find Yui…and then question her recent activities."

-x-

"…It doesn't look like they're getting deterred by what you tried to do, Ikari," Fuyutsuki told Gendo, pointing to the photo of Tenshi and Rika with the other two people they had seen.

After turning the page in the album, all they had witnessed was how Gendo's attempt on Tenshi had affected the Ikari matriarch and patriarch, as they now had something new to do.

Rei looked at the picture on the bottom of the right page, seeing Shinji laying in his room in the Black Bull HQ, looking like he couldn't sleep. She touched the photo and had a single thought run through her mind.

How would Ikari-Kun react if he found out that his father shot his uncle? She wondered.

-x-

Shinji, deprived of sleep, rose up from his bed, thinking he heard a voice just a second ago, looking around his room, seeing only Guardian resting in the corner. It was only for a moment, but it felt like…he had heard Rei's voice, saying something that was meant to be a question. But he didn't hear what was being said.

Knock-knock. A knock came at his door.

"Shinji," he heard Suki outside, "are you awake?"

"Yeah," he responded, getting up and going to the door to open it. "Yes?"

"I…I had the craziest feeling a while back tonight. Did you…hear someone talking?"

"No, why? Did you?"

"I thought I did. A girl's voice. A little empty and quiet, like they didn't know how to be cheerful or anything."

"That's a disturbing thing to hear in a girl's voice."

"I've heard worse."

"Did they say something that was odd?"

"Yeah, it sounded like they were trying to tell someone else to stop hurting them."

Shinji had looked down and noticed his aunt had her grimoire with her in her left hand.

"You're really attached to your grimoire, aren't you?" He asked her; it was rare now that he'd see her without it every now and then at night when they couldn't sleep.

"Are you kidding me?" She responded, bringing it up to her head. "I sleep with this under my pillow. It's like what guy said in the alien film about keeping his weapon handy. I like having it close by…just in case I need it."

Shinji turned back to look at the desk in his room where he kept his grimoire. It wasn't the same as Suki's, but having it nearby meant he could get to it in case he needed it.

"You…two…are…restless," they both turned to Suki's right and saw Henry standing in the hall.

"Sorry, did we wake you?" Suki asked him.

"No," he replied in his normal manner; he would sometimes speak slow as a habit, which would normally upset Gauche. "There is strange mana in the night air."

-x-

The thing about having the power that he now had in his possession…was that he now had other means to affect his priorities. The three devils that were contracted by the Dark Triad, along with the Dark Triad members themselves, had been a bountiful feast for Harbinger, and he had reaped the rewards after being cut off from this world that was just the next on his list of worlds to correct. And with their magic combined with his own, he could ascend to the next level, to better harness the power coursing through him. As he walked through the forest, the scarlet-feathered boa that had been wrapped around his neck fell apart and off like a glass cup shattering against a wall, followed by his flesh shedding off and exposing his muscles, nerves and bones to the cold air…only to be covered by a new layer of an external epidermis, a combination of healthy fur and reptilian scales. And then, just as his hoofed feet generated three talons for toes, the ends of his horns split a few inches and were glossy.

"Ahh," he exhaled a breath of dark energy from his mouth; he could feel his old teeth falling out and new teeth growing to replace them. "Guardian…come out, come out, wherever you are."

-x-

Ring! Guardian opened his eyes and felt the presence of his foe nearby.

Like a small sound reverberating across the Black Bull hideout, everyone that wasn't awake within Henry's house awoke, feeling like a bad presence was closing in.

"Ugh!" Charmy shuddered, dropping her plate carrying her late night snack.

"What's this awful ki?" Asta questioned as he came into the common room, his arms trembling from being tense.

"Uh, everyone?" Grey went, shaking with fright. "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but it feels like there's a monster outside."

"You wouldn't be wrong, Ms. Grey," said Guardian as he came into the room. "There is a monster outside."

"I take it that you know what is out there?" Yami asked him.

"Harbinger."

"Harbinger? You mean, he's here? Right now?" Suki reacted.

"GUARDIAN!" A voice of complete and utter hatred roared, causing the ground to shake. "COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

"Eeek!" Charmy gasped, followed by Vanessa's hair puffing like an Afro due to the mana around them being full of unease.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THIS WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH HOUSE! I GOT NO PROBLEM WITH TEARING IT DOWN AND BURYING EVERYONE INSIDE! WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE!"

Shinji, holding his sword, looked out one of the windows and saw a body of darkness standing out front.

"Oh, man," he shuddered, gripping the sword hilt in his right hand. "I get a chill going down my spine just from looking out there right now."

Guardian went over to the front door and placed his left claw on the handle.

You got this, Guardian, he thought to himself, steeling his resolve to deal with his foe, and then he opened the door, letting in a cold draft as he stepped out. "I don't know what's worse: The fact that you're out and about outside the Void…or the fact that you came here?"

The darkness lifted from Harbinger's body and revealed his new form to the ancient protector of the Void.

"Oh, you have no idea how much I hate you right now," he told Guardian, now sporting a green and red kilt around his waist.

Guardian's eyes widened as he took in Harbinger's new look. Even back when they met for the first time, the foe didn't look anything like this right now. And time in the Void would've continued to restrict the physical limitations on any creature that demonstrated even the tiniest shred of immorality or amorality to keep them in check, regardless of how strong they were in the past or present. But now…it looked like Harbinger had taken a cocktail of his own creation and indulged himself with the results.

"What the… Have you been beefing up? Or…or juicing?" He asked Harbinger.

"Aw, jeez," Suki gasped.

"That's Harbinger?" Asta went. "He's humongous!"

"He didn't look like that when I last saw him!" Shinji responded. "He must've leveled up."

"I guess defeating three devils will do that," said Nacht, but even he was unsure.

"I will never understand what it is you see in these wretched creatures of this world," Harbinger expressed to Guardian, "but since their days are numbered, I don't really need to know. I just need to lay waste to them and restore the order."

"Your brand of order isn't true order. You despise any form of life that has free will and the ability to make choices," Guardian stated, "and whoever entered into a pact with you is just as soulless as you are for allowing you to decimate an entire country. It's as unforgivable as the time you decimated that village."

"Or the time I decimated your home?"

Guardian became silent. It was clear that there was something else between these two that spanned countless generations.

"Always trying to keep me from echoing what befell you before you became what you currently are," Harbinger stated, "which is always why I'll be the one thing you can't ever overcome."

"And you're still the same, no matter how much you've changed," Guardian responded. "A vicious fiend that will never belong anywhere. Who have you entered into a pact with this time?"

"Oh-ho-ho…that would be telling."

Then, Harbinger raised his right arm up, just as a light green cube formed in it…and he threw it at Guardian!

Guardian brought his arms up and projected his Anti Magic to negate the spell that was being used by Harbinger. The cube hit him and pushed him back two feet, almost up against the door, and was then negated.

What?! He mentally gasped; he was expecting the cube to be comprised of Harbinger's Eradication Magic, but it felt less like that…and more like what was all around them, only amplified and full of malice. "Harbinger…what did you do?"

"Consuming three devils had an unexpected side-effect on me. I absorbed their immense power into myself, and now their magic is no different from my own. I think it's similar to what those Ikaris you committed yourself to have."

"Don't compare yourself to the likes of them! The second you try to compare the likes of yourself with people with a power that enables them to do things that others can't and have noble intentions, you disgrace them and yourself!"

"Oh, if only you knew."

Then, Harbinger protruded a spear of bone from within his left arm, causing him a measure of discomfort in the process, and he ran towards Guardian.

Guardian charged towards him and grabbed his bone spear, impeding his assault, but was surprised by a new feat that Harbinger was displaying. While the bone spear was durable enough to combat weapons made of wood and metal, Harbinger was physically stronger than the last time they fought, able to make Guardian step up his own strength.

"You're stronger," Guardian expressed.

"And you're constantly holding back," he replied, baring his teeth. "But what happens when you go up against someone that has an edge to them?"

The bone spear in between them suddenly burst into splinters, obscuring Guardian's eyes momentarily, just enough for Harbinger to conjure another spear of bone…and pierce Guardian in his chest, just under his mane.

"Rrrrraaurgh!" Guardian howled in pain as he was slammed against the side of the house, grabbing the spear to keep Harbinger from digging it in further. "Aaaaurgh!"

"Ah-ha-ha!" Harbinger cackled. "You have no idea how much I have longed to do this to you! To drive a spear through your old heart!"

Slash! Harbinger felt a blade of Anti Magic cut through his back!

"Aaaurgh!" He groaned as he let go of his bone spear, turning to see the culprit responsible for harming him…and seeing that young man who was paired with Guardian since his return, wielding a sword with Anti Magic emanating from the blade.

"Get away from him, you ugly turd!" He told Harbinger, and swung the sword again, aiming for his right leg.

"Aaaauurgh!" Harbinger reacted as he felt the blade cut through his new hide again, and he released Guardian to turn his attention onto Shinji. "The only thing I hate just as much as Guardian is some lowly primate that thinks they can escape the fate they've been dealt with since before they took their first breath!"

Shinji backed away when he saw that Harbinger seemed much larger than when they first met, almost eight feet tall, and more ruthless in his tone and appearance.

"Shinji!" Harbinger heard a female voice yell. "Duck!"

The boy did as he was told…and Harbinger received an arrow up his left eye!

"Aaaaurgh!" He roared as he staggered backwards, grabbed the arrow and pulled it from his eye socket, allowing for the damaged organ to regenerate. "Anti Magic arrows?!"

-x-

Suki, having developed her own Anti Magic spells because of Tenshi and Shinji's tutelage, became very proficient in using Anti Magic for long-range attacks due to her archery skills that she honed, had fired an arrow at Harbinger's head once Shinji got him away from Guardian, just as they both hoped he would. She then generated another arrow and fired at Harbinger, this time aiming for his neck.

Harbinger conjured another green cube and expanded it to the size of himself, allowing the arrow to go into it and disappear.

"Did you really think I'd fall for the same attack twice?" He asked, his left eye fully recovered now. "Stay out of this, hag witch! I promise only two things from any encounter with me! One is an agonizing defeat…and the other is a horrible death!"

Suki fired another arrow at Harbinger, but didn't hit him. Instead, she shot the ground in front of him, making it seem like she was marking her territory.

"You have diminished precision," he told her.

"No," she corrected him, "I fired at the ground in front of you to let you know that the next shot I take will go to your head."

Shinji got up and brandished his katana in front of Harbinger. As strong as he was now, the beast was still vulnerable to Anti Magic, and there were at least four residents of the Black Bull hideout that were able to use Anti Magic against him.

"You can either return to the Void, Harbinger," Shinji threatened him, "or we can bury you."

Guardian removed the bone spear from his body and stood back up, walking over to cut off Harbinger's potential escape route if he dared to flee. He had seen the possibilities of their encounter with Harbinger, but they didn't include this, meaning the possibilities had refined themselves since before they encountered that devil responsible for the Elf Tribe's suffering. Or maybe…he just hadn't seen every possibility that was within his perception. It wouldn't have been the first time…and certainly wouldn't be the last time, either.

"Unlike me," Harbinger spoke, "your precious Guardian of the Void is as pathetic right now as the rest of you lowly fools. Sure, he may help in getting you further in your progressions, but so long as one of you, whoever it is that he's bound to, that is, is at a crossroads, a rut, if you will, he can't progress any further himself. That form of his is such a disgrace."

Suki fired another Anti Magic arrow at Harbinger, just hitting him in the waist above where a belt might've been.

"Aaurgh!" He groaned. "What the Hell was that for?!"

"Because you called the Guardian of the Void pathetic!" She revealed her reason for hitting him.

"Well, he is!"

"That's your opinion," said Shinji.

"It's actually the opinion of over a million or so disgraces that he helped trap within the Void over the generations he's been in and out of history."

Shinji looked around him at Guardian and saw nothing really wrong with his aesthetics or his periodic gaps of absence in history; he would more or less appear to help someone from House Ikari that was plagued with a cruel destiny and break them free from it to pursue their own destiny and then disappear for a time until he was needed again. Then, he turned to face Harbinger, who looked at him.

"You're a seriously messed-up creature," he stated his own opinion.

"And yet, I am the one creature that can't be defeated by any of you," Harbinger responded. "You believe in mercy, in making compromises, letting your adversaries live to see the next day of what is to be a wretched existence upon defeat. I don't deal in mercy. I don't believe in compromises. It's either kill…or risk being killed. Everything that I do…is to ensure order, and those that don't fit in the order must be purged from it."

Shinji and Suki found his beliefs to be not only grotesque…but outright wretchedness in his way of thinking. His perception of order or balance was so twisted that he couldn't see any other way to exist in a world full of life. If they had heard about him from the very start, they would've likely developed an even worse opinion of him. What Guardian had revealed about Harbinger was as solid as stone and steel; the creature saw itself as a servant of a greater authority and its brand of order was to destroy everything that existed, either unaware of…or simply uncaring that the order it claimed to be protecting was the same order it was destroying.

Harbinger looked at the two humans, at Guardian, and then at the ugly house where the Magic Knights of this mediocre squad was said to reside in, and decided that, while he wanted to defeat and humiliate Guardian of the Void and his new partner in defying him, he had seen enough of what he could do and needed to develop further. The power of the three devils belonging to the highest tier in the underworld was intoxicating, but he still needed to cultivate his control over the different magic attributes and the magic he had taken from the three humans they had entered into pacts with. Why he decided to ingest magic that was clearly tied to the body was not fully understood by him, but Harbinger didn't let any form of magic that could revitalize his diminished body go to waste after escaping from the Void. Body, Bone and Blood Magic would serve a purpose once he managed to get a better grip on them in addition to the Gravity, Spatial and Curse-Warding Magic he took from the devils.

"You're thinking about escaping now," Shinji uttered, which surprised Harbinger.

Suki prepared another arrow to fire at Harbinger in case he tried to make a move.

"I can get away if I choose to," he told the boy. "I've evaluated all that I needed to this evening…and I am frankly disappointed in humans."

"Did everyone catch that?" Suki spoke out loud. "The Harbinger of Death and Destruction is disappointed in humans!"

"He's disappointed by many creatures," went Guardian, finally recovered and spreading his feet apart while baring his teeth at Harbinger as his mane flared. "Say, Shinji, why not show him your new weapon? Pretty please?"

Shinji's grimoire floated over and he pulled out his pole arm, replacing his sword.

"I can drive Anti Magic through you with this," he threatened. "No matter where I strike you."

"Just enough to give you a severe case of the runs," added Suki, smirking, "and I'll run an arrow where the light don't shine to give you just as much difficulty squatting."

Harbinger had seen that pole arm before, remembering the sting it gave him when it was last used, and turned to face Guardian.

"You still disappointed?" He asked him.

They might've had him surrounded, but he was not cornered yet. He forced a portal open beneath his body and slipped through it.

"Resurgence!" He howled as the portal closed behind him.

Once he had left, the dreaded feeling he emanated across the place went with him.

Shinji dropped to his knees and shuddered once more.

"I can't believe we just tussled with that…that thing," he uttered.

Guardian fell to his bottom and collapsed onto his back.

"I didn't see the possibility of him being capable of different forms of magic besides his own," he told Shinji. "He has adapted in the time he's been let loose upon the world."

"I kept thinking about wanting to run," Suki confessed, "but I couldn't. I can't believe that was him. That was Harbinger. Even after he escaped, I'm still tense inside."

"It'll pass after a while," Guardian told her.

"And we're still no closer to finding whoever it is that's responsible for releasing Harbinger from his prison," sighed Shinji.

"Are y'all alright?!" They heard Asta ask them as he came over with Charmy and Rades.

"We'll live," Guardian responded as he sat up, just in time to see Charmy raising up a large meat shank in his face. "Uh…why are you brandishing a meat shank in front of me?"

"Eating will help speed up your recovery," she told him, trying to shove the shank into his mouth. "I was lucky I was able to make anything with that thing out here facing you! It felt like every muscle in my body was paralyzed with fear!"

Guardian sighed and submitted to the meat shank, opening his mouth so she could shove it in.

"You took a bone spear right through the chest," Asta pointed at Guardian. "How are you not dying or…or bleeding, even?"

"There's not much harm that can be done to me that hasn't been done before, Asta of the Black Clover. Stabbed, impaled, burned, buried, poisoned, drowned, electrocuted, turned into a statue, almost devoured, almost disemboweled, you name it, you think it, I might've experienced it in one form or another. It's basically how I got one of my many names that I don't use."

"Which would be?"

"That Which Death Cannot Claim."

"So…you're immortal?" Shinji asked him.

"Only the divine are immortal, Shinji. The blessed and the infinite, those that reach the unreachable and still go further. To reach divinity, you must first be blessed, and to be blessed, you must have achieved something of great significance. Not many can achieve such a feat. One of the more recent members of mortality that has achieved such a feat, however, was the original Wizard King himself when he had to face his brother-in-law to save their home in order to stop a devil from entering this world completely and unleashing unspeakable agony. True, he's not dead, but he became a legend, so once his time passes in this world, he will have reached that divine state."

"But…you've been alive for a long time, Guardian. That must be a great significance."

"Living longer isn't considered a great significance unless you're human or from a known species that has fascinated people for generations."

Charmy handed Shinji and Suki a bowl of soup each and watched as they sipped them.

"Just what the Hell was that all about?" Rades asked Guardian. "He shows up, he fights you, he injures you…but he doesn't kill you yet. It was like…he was playing with you."

"Why does anyone with a dark agenda do anything that mirrors playing with others in a bad way?" He responded. "If he had found a way to take the magic powers of three devils and the humans they were contracted with, he's made himself more dangerous than we can expect him to be right now. But he's probably still adjusting. He doesn't have a complete hold on all those different attributes at the same time."

-x-

"…That was the first time I ever heard Wonder Girl say 'no' to his father," said Asuka to Misato as they sat outside in the trauma ward while Fuyutsuki was getting his bloody face looked at by Ritsuko; when a drop of blood fell from his face, the faux-blond decided that he needed medical attention to alleviate whatever pain Gendo had inflicted on him to keep him from telling Yui's brother that she was the culprit behind the Spade Kingdom massacre.

"Yeah, she rarely…ever tells him 'no'," Misato agreed with her, looking down at the photo album on her lap she took from Gendo's office; even if he had married into the family, the fact that it belonged to them didn't give Gendo any right to try and hide it or dispose of it, as it was their only source of keeping track of Shinji.

A door slid open beside them and Fuyutsuki came out of a room with his face sporting five bandages and his nose slightly swollen.

"Ouch," Asuka winced.

"He's fortunate that his face didn't get fractured," went Ritsuko.

"What are the chances that Shinji knows by now that his mother's the one responsible for the attack on the Spade Kingdom?" Fuyutsuki asks them.

Misato opened the album to where they had left off, seeing Shinji swing a sword against the horned Harbinger to protect an impaled Guardian…and turned to the next page, seeing a picture of the Clover Kingdom's capital city in the morning sunlight. Under it was a picture of Tenshi, Rika, Shinji and the other individuals that had been attacked by Harbinger and survived.

"I'm guessing that he knows now," she told Fuyutsuki.

-x-

Shinji didn't want to believe it, but there was no denying his uncle's memories from last night's recent events. Or his own awareness of what went down last night, either. As Tenshi had replayed his memories of his successful feat to master space and time travel between the two dimensions, he winced at the sight of his father hitting the sub-commander in his face with a gun…and then shooting Tenshi in his shoulder before driving the three mages back here to avoid further irritability caused by his father. Even after all of this time, he couldn't expect Gendo to show any actual concern for him or risk trying to come here if he wasn't willing to be civil to others around him.

"So, that was your son-in-law?" Julius asked Rika, who sighs and nods her head. "He doesn't… How could he just…make such a demand and behave that way when someone else tries to tell something like that?"

"The blessing and curse of people is that everyone's behavior is different from each other," she stated. "He's just fortunate that a very moral line wasn't crossed."

"I feel like your family has been met with issues that are slightly problematic and full of difficulty," said Zora to the matriarch.

"Yeah, my father's a loser and if what Tenshi found out last night is true, my mother is no better," Shinji expressed; he didn't want to believe that his mother was up to no good again after being here for more than a year now, but as of this moment, it seemed like she was the primary culprit until they could know for sure.

"But even if she did have something to do with the Spade massacre," Mereoleona stated, "just why would she want anything to do with that creature from last night?"

"Nobody that enters into a pact with Harbinger is complicated," said Guardian. "They just have to be dead set on doing whatever it is that they're doing and have the drive to pursue it, no matter what opposition they may face, for better or for worse."

"Right, but when you say that they have to be dead set on whatever it is that they aim to do," Tenshi spoke, "does that include…murder? Genocide? End-of-the-world-type motives?"

"Yes, yes…and yes. That's what draws out Harbinger to them. It's what drew him to the original person that brought him into this world thousands of years ago."

That's when Shinji had to say something that he felt needed to be said for him to understand a little more about Harbinger.

"Guardian," he started, "who was responsible for summoning Harbinger initially before you trapped him in the Void?"

Guardian then reacted in the most human of ways after being asked such a question: He hesitated. It was clearly a question he wasn't expecting from anyone.

"I mean, you were around when he was summoned, so you must know who the culprit back then was, right?" Shinji continued.

"Yes, but when he was trapped in the Void, the pact between them was nullified."

"But…whoever summoned him was the one responsible for making it so that he ended up here, regardless, right? Even after all this time, being locked away doesn't change the fact that someone from this world brought him here. Who was it?"

Guardian sighs as he takes notice of everyone's expressions in wanting to know who was responsible for Harbinger's initial summoning. He knew the identity, even after over a hundred generations of men and women that came and went with the sands of time, but didn't speak of them due to it not really mattering because it was in the past. But the past could still be felt by the present…and carried into the future.

"The one responsible for summoning Harbinger initially," he revealed to them, "was Alexander Silva IV, driven by a senseless vendetta that was one-sided against the members of House Ikari back then."

"Alexander Silva? As in House Silva?" Julius questioned.

"One and the same."

"You mean to say that…one of House Silva's ancestors hated our ancestors so much that they dabbled in some forbidden spells and brought forth a monster that's strong enough to defeat a devil?" Tenshi asked. "Look, I got nothing against House Silva's current members for what happened to our family over fifteen-hundred years ago, but what did we ever do at the time back then to make them hate us that much?"

"The vendetta was one-sided. There was no rationale behind the hatred that could suffice an excuse to summon a world-ender like Harbinger. But once Harbinger was locked away, House Silva was protected from paying a high price for summoning him, and House Ikari left them alone after that. The chances of House Silva repeating their actions a second time are slim, as we have learned that it's not the case this time."

"Any idea where Yui is now?" Rika asks. "If Harbinger is now in league with her, he'll be in her grimoire. He can't hide, even with her help."

"The second she returns to the Golden Dawn HQ, William Vangeance will have her report here for questioning," Julius informed them. "But something tells me we're not getting the entire story here. We're not seeing the whole picture."

"From who, sir?" Shinji asked him.

"From whoever has the remaining puzzle pieces."

But deep down, Shinji didn't want to believe that his mother was the one responsible for the decimation of the Spade Kingdom. It was one thing to act without authorization from either your squad captain or the Wizard King, but it was another altogether to perform an unprovoked assault that had severe repercussions for those that had to try and move on from what was done to them. Even if attacking and defeating the Dark Triad and their devils had the benefit of releasing the current ruler of the Heart Kingdom from a curse placed on her by one of them, the cost of murdering all of those people that had nothing to do with any conflict between the kingdoms was still inexcusable. And if she was responsible…then she had to answer for her each and every one of her actions.

If you had something to do with this, Mother, he thought as he balled his left hand at his side, why? Why would you do something like this? It's worse than you can possibly imagine.

-x-

"Hmm?" Yui went, waking up from her slumber as she looked around her workspace, thinking she heard someone calling out to her. "Oh, what time is it?"

She checked her watch and confirmed it was nearing the afternoon.

SLAM! Something from across the expanded workspace made a loud ruckus, and she went to investigate, seeing Harbinger, bigger and better-looking, laying on the floor.

"What happened to you?" She asked him.

"I leveled up," he responded, seeing that she looked like she just got up. "Your siblings and son are evasive and may not be as clueless as we had expected them to be."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your brother managed to transcend time and space last night with two other mages, disappearing for a brief time before returning to where I encountered them. I was about to dispose of them when they disappeared again. Then, I located where your sister and son were with their squad of mages and engaged Guardian with my new power, and despite the fear I invoked in the majority of them, neither your son, sister or Guardian backed down. And Anti Magic, they were able to use it in ways I didn't expect them to, which hurt just like I recall the last time it was used against me."

But because of Yui's lack of understanding of Anti Magic, she showed no interest in developing her own skill set regarding the form that it seemed others in her family were capable of. While it was likely this form of magic could cancel out other forms, it was likely useless against greater feats or non-magical substances or beings, similar to how positive and negative forms canceled each other out when engaged against each other, like two AT-Fields canceled each other out due to being similar and unable to coexist. Even though her work was derived through magic, she was neutralizing them to work without magic now that she had harvested the magic necessary to implement the next stage in her goal. If she didn't change the current state of the world, who else would change it?

"Would you care to see what I've finished?" She asked him as she stretched her arms out.

"If it's another one of those humanoids of yours, I'm not interested," he told her; he'd seen the humanoids enough times to lose interest, as they were just a perverse form of life that served no other purpose than to end life.

"I think you'll like this one, though," she claimed. "It's based off my work, but more suited to your build."

Harbinger tilted his head to the left in curiosity. Had this woman made him something?

"Okay, show me," he told her, and she led him down a hall.

-x-

It turned out that Yui was very good at maintaining a social distance from others. Worse than good, in fact. In every sense of the term, she was the perfect loner, reclusive and hardly a soul that knew anything about her. It seemed that, with the sole, partial exception of Tenshi, nobody in the Golden Dawn had seen much of or heard from Yui.

"Now, I don't know what's worse," said Shinji to his uncle as he and Suki were with him to try and see if anyone had any clue to where his mother was. "I honestly don't know what is worse."

"I do," Suki expressed her opinion. "People that have nothing to hide shouldn't be afraid to step out into the light where all can see them, but Yui acts like she has something to hide all the time. Yeah, I can respect how people have the need for privacy for some things, but when you're the one being suspected of foul play, nobody is entitled to their privacy until they've been cleared."

"How many squads have been cleared of suspected foul play?"

"After the issue with the devil was resolved, the Magic Parliament resumed their investigation of the Magic Knights," Tenshi explained. "The Green Praying Mantis were cleared, followed by the Coral Peacock and the Silver Eagle."

"All of them were cleared?" Shinji questioned. "Captains and vice-captains, included?"

"Their grimoires were all looked through. Not a single page had Harbinger on it. And just about every other mage vouched for every other mage."

"That takes them off the list of suspects. How did Jack the Ripper take having his grimoire looked at?" Suki wanted to know.

"Actually, he took it quite well, according to Klaus. He was just upset that he couldn't cut anyone up."

"He, uh…really likes to cut people?"

"As a mage that uses Slash Magic, it's pretty much part of his behavior."

"Has he, uh…tried to challenge you?" Shinji asked, concerned for his uncle.

"I break no bones about it, but I'm willing to face anyone that thinks I'm a pushover or powerhouse," he answered his nephew. "What is strength when it's not explored and you're able to see how far you can go and not know your limits so you can overcome them?"

"You sound like you should train our captain," Suki suggested. "He'd probably consider you his equal in the art of swordsmanship."

Before Tenshi could say anything about that, one of the veteran members of the Golden Dawn, Siren Tium walked by.

"Uh, maybe we should go now," Shinji expressed.

"Actually," went Siren to them, "I just wanted to ask you something."

The three faced him and wondered what he wanted to ask them.

"Have any of you see Ms. Vermillion?" He asked them.

"Miss Vermillion?" Shinji responded.

"Mimosa Vermillion?" Tenshi questioned. "I haven't seen her in a while, why?"

"Her brother from the Coral Peacock contacted me, thinking I'd know where she was because she didn't contact him like she was supposed to. Apparently, nobody from her family's heard from her."

"Nobody, sir?" Suki asked him.

"Not a soul."

"And you asked everyone here?"

"Everyone except your siblings and the Wind Magic boy from Hage."

"Yuno," Tenshi corrected him; if members of the nobility were unable or unwilling to address or refer to people by their names, then what was the point of them socializing with other parts of society that weren't like them? "I believe he's an Intermediate Magic Knight and the one chosen by the wind spirit, Sylph."

"Right."

"So," they heard the voice of the boy from Hage behind them on the other end of the hall, "you haven't seen Mimosa Vermillion, either?"

"No," Shinji responded. "You wouldn't have by any chance seen or heard from my mother…have you?"

"No," he replied, "and…your mother is…creepy, and I use that word sparingly."

"Could you define 'creepy', please?"

"She scared the vice-captain by saying something that was defined as being…taboo."

"What did she say that was taboo?" Suki wanted to know.

"Something about all things returning to nothing."

"Sounds like something my father would say," Shinji uttered. "She creeped the vice-captain out by saying that?"

Yuno nodded.

"As much as I would actually enjoy seeing Yui receive a verbal putdown, I gotta say this because it's how I feel right now. Yui seems smarter than she lets on most of the time…but I don't think she's smart enough to realize that the path she's on only leads to one place if she intends to go down it." Suki stated her belief on her sister.

"How are you the older sister…when Yui Ikari looks older than you?" Yuno questions.

"My aunt was, physically, in her fifties by the time she returned for the first time in a long time," Shinji explains. "Grandmother used a spell and it made all three of them young when mana was channeled into them. So, technically, while my mother is older than Suki is in appearance, Suki is chronologically older by over fifteen-hundred years, so she is the big sister."

But Suki didn't feel like the big sister. Not when the primary role of the big sister was to set an example for the younger sister, which didn't exist between herself and Yui. More than half the time, their relationship was practically one of mutual disinterest in each other's preferences; while Yui pursued science more than necessary, Suki only developed one interest in one branch of science that was…in a word…subtle. If she had to describe their views on life, Suki would've claimed that she was a blank canvas that some child was painting with their palms instead of brushes…while Yui was a scalpel being used to dissect one frog after another.

"The four of you are different," said Yuno to Shinji. "You, your aunt and uncle have this…light that shines bright in the darkness or something…but your mother…is like fire. A cold fire."

"A cold fire, huh?" Tenshi replied. "I'm guessing that means Yui burns you in a way that chills instead of sears?"

Yuno simply nodded his head; despite having worked with Tenshi a few times on a few missions, the Ikari patriarch was unusual when it came to his way of speech.

"We should probably be going now," Shinji suggested.

"Wait," Yuno stopped them from turning away. "There's one other thing I need to know."

Shinji turned back to face the older boy.

"How is Asta, by the way?"

"Asta? He's doing fine. Better, actually. He's almost able to perform Anti Magic without his grimoire, and those two swords of his are able to do greater feats of canceling out other forms of magic. It still takes him a while to be able to do other feats, such as being able to walk on water without sinking in, but he doesn't give up. He has his goal set on becoming the next Wizard King. He wants to wear that crown and change the world."

Yuno smirked; if his rival was getting better because of this young man, it was a sign that he wasn't going to have to go easy on Asta at all if he was getting stronger, and this was the Ikari that faced the elf that used to be his squad's captain…without crossing the line.

"Let him know that he won't be the Wizard King," he told Shinji. "Because I'm going to be the Wizard King."

-x-

Harbinger had to admit that he was starting to like Yui more so than the Silva that initially summoned him to this world. While the guy was driven by revenge against the Ikaris, this woman was driven by a different form of vengeance that was targeting a much larger opponent, and she was pursuing it in a larger form and on a larger course. But what set them apart was how observant Yui was; the woman had taken the time to fashion him a set of armor tailored to his form, something that Alexander Silva hadn't been able to do at the time because of his arrogance in trying to eradicate House Ikari. It was light, but durable, a dark blue color, covering his wrists, shins, torso and head.

"You've outdone yourself," he told her. "Well done."

"Thank you," she replied, looking away from him and at something further down the hall of her personal space. I just need another month now. Thirty days before the next step can be implemented. If I can stay unimpeded for that long, everything will be flawless.

She walked over to an observation window and looked out at something large and impaled to a red metal cross. It was humanoid, crucified, legless, and wore a purple mask with seven eyes.

-x-

"…What in the name of Gott is that?" Asuka questioned, seeing a picture of Yui looking at some crucified creature on a large cross.

Misato's eyes widened at the sight of the creature, wondering if it was even possible. She had seen this creature because of Kaji, and he identified it as the First Angel, but from the way the photo was displaying it, it seemed as though Yui was looking at it from within Terminal Dogma from an elevated position, similar to how she could look at the Evas or the pilots in their plugs from an elevated position.

"No way," went Kaji, looking at the picture and wanting to disbelieve it due to how impossible it was. "Please, tell me she didn't make that thing?"

"If she did," went Fuyutsuki, "and she shows it off, a lot of people are going to be upset with her for doing so."

"The more I look at what's going on over there, the more it feels like we're looking at a story…and the more it looks like Shinji's mother is willingly becoming the antagonist," Misato expressed her discomfort over this.

"Oh, I think she's past the point of no return," went Asuka, pointing to a new picture of Yui after she turned the album to the next page. "She's a suspect, and everyone's going to be looking for her to question of her activity. She can't talk her way out of the hole she's dug for herself."

The next photo showed Yui looking down at a young woman on gurney, strapped and gagged, holding a book in front of her face with a look of irritability.

Yui, thought Fuyutsuki as he couldn't believe his eyes at the seriousness of the line the woman had crossed, what have you done?

-x-

Another week had gone by, and Shinji was looking down at the Clover Kingdom from up high in the sky, trying to clear his head of his negative thoughts. A week since Harbinger was encountered by the Black Bull for the first time and had changed in form and displayed new abilities as a result of his attack on the Spade Kingdom, several Magic Knights from other squads being investigated and cleared of foul play, including himself, Suki and the rest of the Black Bulls, and lack of communication between himself and his mother, further making it seem like she was the one responsible for the attack. The sight of the country from up high made him a little better, but not knowing what his mother was up to made him worry that she really was up to something unpleasant.

"Shinji?" He turned around and saw Suki, sporting wings on her back similar to the ones on his, only more cartoonish and less like actual wings of an angel or avian creature. "You've been up here for almost two hours. What are you thinking about that requires you to be high in the sky and looking down at everything?"

"Besides my mother probably up to no good like before? Nothing, really."

"Well, most of the Magic Knights have all been cleared. The only ones they can't clear yet are Yui and Mimosa Vermillion…but everyone seems to think that it is your mother."

"If it is, I want to know why she did it. What possessed her to do what she did, letting that…that thing out of its cage? What could she want that is so much that she's willing to go to these lengths to achieve it?"

Suki hated seeing Shinji like this. It was always saddening to see him bothered by something that weighed heavily on his mind. If it wasn't his lack of social bonds, it was his lack of parental supervision that was compensated by the periodic times he spent with her, Tenshi and Rika. Even after having his mother back in his life, Yui was, more or less, a complete stranger to her own son because they spent very little time together. Crazy as it was for her to think it at a time like this, but she really had to blame Tenshi and his addiction to anime and manga for being insightful for some of the issues that still persisted in life, namely the dynamics of family bonds.

Or rather, the lack of specific family bonds.

"What do you think she's trying to achieve?" She chose to ask him.

"Me?" He replied, and drifted away from her a little bit. "I… What I fear she might be up to…is trying to pick up where she left off. There's not a day that has gone by that I don't find myself worrying about that happening, that someone out there…wants something like that to happen."

"But Shinji… I don't think she can pick up where she left off again. I mean…not without doing things that were beyond unforgivable. I mean, beyond beyond. And…based on what we learned from her memories last year, her scheme involved you…and you're against it for moral reasons, the same as the rest of us. So, it's gotta be a stalemate; she can't achieve her goal without you…and you won't help her achieve her goal because it has consequences you don't wish on anyone. So…so long as you stay true to your intentions and focus on what it is that you want, she can't carry out her ambitions that involve having you do things that go against your conscience. Therefore, stalemate. Even if she gets close enough to her goal…"

"She can't win without me, no matter what she does," Shinji realized.

"And the Eva, that artificial monster she helped create, got sucked into your grimoire. It might be a relic from our family's past, but it came to you, making it your grimoire. It's practically your property, no matter what anyone else says. Every spell within its pages is one that only you can perform. It bends to your will, your emotions, your intentions, instincts, whatever it is that drives you to do what you do. You can't bring the monster out unless you actually want it to come out."

Shinji smiled at her; as always, his aunt, uncle and grandmother always knew what to say that made him think less negatively and more positively. Even when things got bad, all he had to do was think about these three, and whatever trouble he was in seemed to hurt less.

"Why can't other people be like you, Grandmother and Tenshi?" He wondered.

"We're not perfect," she told him. "We're far from it. We just…we love you, Shinji. You're among the best of things to have ever happened to us since we ended up in Japan in the middle of the Twentieth Century and lived there for over five decades."

"I might be prying by asking this question, but…was there anyone back when you were taller that had your attention?"

The only personal and direct question that Shinji could ask Suki, and one that deserved a direct response in return.

"Me? No. Unlike Tenshi, who had someone he fancied long before I was even born, I just…never connected with anyone like that. I had a few friends, and they had people like that, but I…I don't know why I never made such a connection with anyone in my previous youth. I'm probably like Yui in that sense, waiting to meet the right person."

"No," Shinji told her. "You're not like my mother in that sense at all. You're just old-fashioned. Yes, you're waiting for the right person, but you have standards that are different from other people's. You want the right person to meet your requirements, but you want to be able to match and exceed their own."

"Well, look at you. You're keen on what people are looking for."

"Not too much so. I'm not the brightest bulb or the sharpest tool."

"But you're close enough…and that's fine."

For some reason, Shinji drifted over to her. It was probably his subconscious desire for reassurance or his need to be comforted by at least one of his relatives that cared about his emotional state rather than caring about whether or not he could do something that was expected of him because of some personal agenda. Either way, the gap between them was rather thin, something Suki noticed as she looked down at the land over a hundred feet below them. It was almost entrancing in a way.

"What about you?" She asked him. "Is there anyone in your past that you wanted to be with…in that way?"

Shinji looked away from and responded, "No. I mean, it's hard to find someone that likes you for you and not because of some other reason or excuse. Let's face it, when people see me, they think about who two of my relatives are and don't see me with much acceptance."

"That's just terrible. If this is some sort of game the parental universe made generations ago, it's a lousy one, it is. It's worse than what some people refer to as the sins of the parents being carried by their children. You're bound to meet someone that likes you for you and could care less about who your relatives are."

"Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, too. You and Tenshi explained to me once that some people like to be the chasers or the ones being chased by the chasers."

"We did? I must've been forty-nine at the time."

"You were fifty-one, and yes, you did tell me. Anything I couldn't understand from that man my father left me with, I could understand from you three. It's actually odd when I think about it; my parents are supposed to be these smart people…and yet, I don't pick up anything from either one of them…and whatever I do pick up, I tend to get from you three every chance I get. Is that common? Children of intellectuals not demonstrating the same intellect they possess?"

"I've never met any children that demonstrated similar intelligence as their parents did. I only knew that some people that were smarter than most have a harder time trying not to boast when around regular people. Pride is the most dangerous sin when taken to the extreme; those that boast about themselves pay a high price. It's better to be humble than boastful."

"And what is your sin, Suki? What is your darkest desire?"

"What is yours, Shinji? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?"

"Mine? It's…more than likely greed."

"You don't strike me as the avaricious type, Shinji."

"What if greed didn't necessarily mean whatever it is that people desire in the material sense? Like money or fame? I mean, I don't want money, status or power. I don't even want a harem of beautiful women."

"That's a strange type of greed, Shinji; you want something you feel you don't have…but it's not something other people want that they feel they don't have enough of in their lives. But I've only met a strange bunch of people in my life at different times. My sin…is most likely envy."

"Why envy? You don't strike me as the jealous type."

"I wanted a dog because a lot of people have dogs. When I got mine, I felt no further envy of others that had dogs because I had one, too. It didn't have to be a big dog or even a beautiful one. But then, it just goes missing one day…and I never saw it again. I only had him for about a year. I couldn't understand why anyone would want my dog. I didn't brag about him or anything."

Shinji thought about it…and all he could suggest was, "Maybe the person or persons responsible didn't need a reason to do anything of that sort of blight against you. Maybe…they just wanted to commit a selfish thrill and thought nothing of the repercussions. People can do that sometimes. Worse, they probably do it all the time."

"I'll tell you this, though. If I ever found the punk responsible, nobody they knew, not their parents, not their friends, not even a jury comprised of the most powerful politicians in history…would be able to save them from me. I'd lock 'em up in a black hole and then throw away the hole in a cave somewhere and let them fade from all memory as they succumbed to natural causes."

-x-

Even from a great distance, Yui committing a despicable act of spying on her son and big sister was something she felt she needed to do. And since she was with Harbinger for the moment, floating at a higher altitude where the oxygen was practically nonexistent, she was protected against any type of surveillance by the Magic Knights. None of them thought to travel so high up or even attempt to reach the moon, so she took advantage of their lack of real success. As she looked down at them, Yui found herself disliking the fact that Shinji was spending more time with her sister; it was just disgusting due to the fact that she and Suki never got along.

"You do realize that this is a waste of time, don't you?" Harbinger asked her; as much as he could've enjoyed spying on her son and sister, it didn't really feel like they were gathering any new information that would help them in the long run. "Their emotional states and thinning boundaries are a common factor that I see in all humans that are ruled by their lowly desires and dreams of having whatever it is that they feel they must have to feel fulfilled. Even from up here, I can see clearly that these two relatives of yours walk through a forest of emotional need. In fact, all four of them walk through a forest of emotional need. They don't mind the fact that they live in a world where magic is everything or that there are forces beyond themselves that work in mysterious ways. What they mind…is being deprived of some relationships that didn't progress any further or never progressed at all."

"They can get all of that and more when I fulfill my goal."

"If they'll let you. You're right about them being willing to stop you because they believe it's wrong. That it's inhumane. Humans. Always trying to put limits on things they don't understand. Guardian is similar to them in more ways than I care to admit out loud."

"Those that can't understand fail to see the significance of such a need for it to happen."

As Yui continued to spy on Shinji and Suki, she noticed how her sister circled her son in the air with her magic wings. She didn't hear what they were saying, but from the way they were moving in the air, it seemed to indicate that there was something personal between the two.

He doesn't even look at me the way he looks at her, she thought as she saw Shinji's expression exhibit that emotion she had only seen while she was within the Eva, that emotion that was longing. What is it about my sister that pushes him toward her and not towards someone else?

As a scientist, Yui prided herself on being a fearless person. However, as a scientist, she focused so much on the pursuit of her passion and didn't think to reevaluate the emotional factor of all that she did. At least not in the regular sense. Emotion served no purpose for now.

Then, out of nowhere, Suki flew off, leaving Shinji in the air.

Good riddance, thought Yui, but then saw Shinji fly after her. Oh, come on!

Harbinger saw this and could barely comprehend the unusual dynamics of relationships that served no purpose to him beyond the complete elimination of all tangible forms of life.

All of these are meaningless in the face of balance, he thought as he moved their sphere that kept them protected from the airless environment around them, following Yui's son. Families, friends, love, friendship, respect, devotion, honor, royalty, nobility, commoners, the mountains, the forests, the oceans, none of them really matter when all physical forms of life must be purged to ensure that balance is maintained. In the end, when all that threatens the balance is removed from existence, that is when true peace is obtained. Relinquish the sense of physical existence and all that comes with it…and you will know peace for eternity. Living is the greatest of penalties, remedied only by death and release from the shackles of mortality. Fight to live…or die and be free. Those are the hardest choices that everyone must make, sooner or later.

-x-

Gendo wanted to threaten them, but he was beaten by the sense of morale the others had after his unjust attack on his brother-in-law. The Ikari family photo album would be in Misato's care until further notice when they weren't at the base. She would keep track of where they were in following the future unfold with the Clover Kingdom until something happened that brought Shinji and the others back; from the logic of Fuyutsuki, she was best qualified to safeguard the album that Gendo tried to dispose of but couldn't, and wouldn't think to hide it from the rest of them and keep them in the dark about where the Ikaris were progressing.

"You do realize that there's no chance of any possibility where the Third Child learning of his mother's alleged association with some animal will result in them returning to this world," Gendo told Fuyutsuki later that day.

"Coming from the guy that shot his own brother-in-law and assaulted me from telling him the truth that he had a right to know," Fuyutsuki responded, keeping his distance from the man, "there's no guarantee of anything at this moment. Not Shinji returning to this world, not using the Eva sucked into his grimoire, not even Yui talking her way out of her crimes against the people of that world of magic. Whatever happens over there is whatever happens over there. If they have a death penalty for what people like Yui did, it's anyone's guess that they'll execute her for attempted genocide or for inciting a massacre."

"And do you honestly believe that boy will just let these people kill her?"

"He'll probably ask for clemency, but whether they accept or not is up to whatever happens later on. For the time being, he has no say in what becomes of her."

Meanwhile, Misato and Asuka were on their way back to her apartment when the redhead looked at a page in the album, seeing a photo of a younger Shinji with his grandmother and aunt in front of a strange dish. It was in between four other photos, each one depicting the other four members of House Ikari wherever they were in the Clover Kingdom. The top photo was of Rika engaged in another conversation with the Wizard King, the photo under it was of Suki in a kitchen preparing a dish full of strange food, the top photo under the past picture had Tenshi meeting once more with Mereoleona, accompanied by a man with red hair and a stern expression and a diamond-like mark on his forehead, and the bottom picture depicted Shinji engaged in sword training with the ash-haired boy with the big, black sword.

"I wonder if his aunt was where he got his interest in cooking different meals every once in a while," she spoke up.

Misato, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to look at the page and photos, uttered, "Probably all of the above. If that's a strange dish, there's only one name for it."

-x-

"…Mo…moo…molecular…goop…gas…gasty…gastronomy?" Charmy asked Suki, seeing her using food in a different manner to cook something that looked unlike what she was used to cooking. "What is that?"

"It's a… It's a form of cooking that practices on a scientific level that turns a dish into a form of art that is edible," Suki explained to the older woman that appeared child-like. "Because I couldn't do magic where I lived for most of my life, this became one of my interests that I viewed as a hobby. People that practice it usually end up making dishes that look unlike any other dish ever made in history."

"Like what you're doing right now?"

"Well, yeah. Earlier this afternoon, a new spell appeared in my grimoire and I decided to give it a try. I'm probably the only one in my family right now that has a spell relating to a scientific form that was developed over the decades: Molecular Magic: Recreation."

All around Suki were these pink and blue tendrils of mana holding food ingredients in the air over bowls and saucer plates, taking them apart and putting them together in new forms.

"It's quite impressive," said Grey to her as she sat in front of a finished dish that looked like a small log with red worms on it. "I know this was a meat shank and the strings are spaghetti pasta and tomato sauce, but it…actually looks like something that should be in a gallery somewhere. It's…it's beautiful."

Charmy couldn't fault Grey on that claim; right now, five of the dishes Suki had made with this new spell had been quite spectacular to look at. Even more so to eat them after discovering that they tasted just as good as they looked. The girl had even made a bowl of salad into a green sphere of gelatin that retained its flavor. If this was how she was passing the time until her sister turned up from wherever she was hiding or whatever it was that she did away from the Golden Dawn, it seemed like Suki was able to put aside her personal feelings toward Yui by pursuing her other interests.

"No offense, Suki," went Vanessa to the girl, "but this seems almost like something that doesn't really involve magic, but that other thing that takes the passion out of magic."

"Science. Yes, it does seem that way, but it's science taken too far and too serious by whoever it is that distorts magic. You tell a kid that Santa Claus doesn't really exist and travels around the world with flying reindeer and a big, red sleigh or that the Tooth Fairy is just a falsehood tale, that's taking the magic and once it's gone, there's no getting it back easily. But I like molecular gastronomy because the only thing that it takes seriously is cooking. It can't ruin someone's creative mind or hurt anyone. Milkshake?"

One of the magic tendrils came near Vanessa and offered a cup of white beverage that was topped with a cherry.

"Thank you," she praised and drank the beverage; it wasn't liquor, but its taste was delicious. "What the… Gingerbread?"

"Yeah. It's because my spell does what it does to create whatever dish it can if there are ingredients available," Suki explained, and then she offered Charmy and Grey cups of the same beverage.

"Watch out, Charmy, it looks like you have a rival in the kitchen," went Grey.

"Please, I'm no match for the power of the Sheep Cooks. And who's trying to compete against who around here? We're all good and can do better if we wanted to."

Thud! Something nearby caused the room to shake, alerting the mages to whatever it was.

Luck came into the kitchen, covered in Lightning Magic used to form his claws and boots and his face looking dazed.

"Luck?" Grey asked him. "What happened to you?"

"I…I…I…" He spoke, but then dropped to the floor and passed out.

Shinji came in from behind the fallen boy and had his pole arm and grimoire beside himself.

"Shinji, did you and Luck have a brawl out there?" Suki asked her nephew.

"Un-uh," he replied. "We fought with Asta and Magna…and Magna had a new spell up his sleeve. While Asta…finally surpassed his previous limits and reached the level necessary for him to use Anti Magic at will. I'm, uh… I need to sit down now."

Then, he dropped to his knees and used his pole arm to support himself.

"Asta and Magna…bested both of you?" Vanessa questioned, unsure of how to react to this.

"I was the witness," said Guardian as he came into the kitchen. "Asta was nearing his next level, but wasn't over the edge yet, so Shinji tried to provoke him, as anger overpowers restraint sometimes. His provocation worked a little too well, as Asta drew out his Demon-Dweller Sword in tandem with his Demon-Slayer Sword and fired a sphere of Anti Magic that blew both of these two out of the sky. They had just six seconds to slow down or break their fall to the ground before hitting the trees. Shinji here had a panic attack and used the first spell that came to mind from his grimoire."

"Cotton Magic: Cradle the Fallen," Shinji revealed. "Not very effective, I'm afraid."

Suddenly, Asta and Magna came into the kitchen. Or rather, they floated into the kitchen, glowing bright red and yellow.

"Uh, are you two alright?" Grey asked them.

"Anti Magic surges through me!" Asta uttered, sounding like he just experienced the most intense euphoria in his young life.

"I can't believe I was able to beat Luck…for the sixth time," Magna expressed, sounding elated…and relieved.

"You two…sound like you had reached several levels more than we could expect," said Suki to them, having to cover her eyes due to the brightness of their auras.

"You have no idea how right you may be," Magna replied. "My mind is elevated and my spirit and mana reserves deepened. You and Shinji are impressive, and we can only aim higher."

"Anti Magic surges through me!" Asta repeated.

-x-

"Fuegoleon Vermillion," Tenshi greeted the brother of Mereoleona Vermillion and the captain of the Crimson Lion squad, standing in the courtyard of the Crimson Lion HQ. "What do I owe this reason for my invitation here?"

"My sister has mentioned that you taught her a form of magic that has elevated her Fire Magic to a higher level," Fuegoleon explained to the Ikari patriarch. "I was hoping you could help me address something that occurred recently."

"I'll try to comprehend the issue, whatever it is. What is the matter that needs to be addressed?"

Fuegoleon then opened his grimoire and revealed a spell that Tenshi recognized to a degree.

"Are you familiar with the entity known as Salamander?" He asked.

"Sparingly," Tenshi answered. "It's one of the spirits associated with Fire Magic. Its rival within Fire Magic is the Phoenix, said to be its equal. Depending upon the mana and experience of the mage it chooses to align with, Salamander grows over time from the small, petite form it assumes when at its weakest state…to the great dragon that is its strongest state. It was believed that so long as the chosen mage was incorruptible, Salamander could grow to the height of a mountain and fly faster than a falling star. Salamander had been, apparently, aligned with Ms. Fana of the revived Elf Tribe and disbanded Eye of the Midnight Sun."

"Used to," Fuegoleon explained. "It has appeared to have taken a place in my grimoire now. I would like your help in controlling Salamander."

"To be chosen by a magical spirit is a sign that they have deemed you worthy of their protection and that you're capable of protecting others."

"We mature with the worthy," went Arachne as she appeared on Tenshi's left.

"And we gain greater strength as they do," added Excalibur as he appeared on his right.

"How impressive," Fuegoleon expressed as he saw the two spirits. "I've heard of there being other types of magical spirits, but the only ones that were spoken about were the ones associated with the four elements."

"We are not bound by the four elements of the vast existence," Excalibur stated. "While it is true that the four elements are a host to spirits representing them, it's only because of their existence that other attributes make it possible for a host of other spirits, even for ones that were before the very existence of the four elements."

"Light, dark, time, space, steel, poison, beasts," Arachne added. "Every form of magic has a spirit or more to accommodate them. All one has to be is worthy of a spirit's attention and deserving of their protection and guidance."

"How long have you two been with the patriarch?" Fuegoleon asked them.

"A long time," they both answered; when you took into consideration the time they spent out of history due to his absence, Arachne and Excalibur hadn't taken new masters after Tenshi's exile and merely waited in the abyss of silence for his eventual return, and they were relieved when he did return.

"Are there others like you two?" He asked another question. "Spirits that are associated with Sword and Thread Magic, I mean?"

"There are," Excalibur stated, "but not like us. As there are no two dragons or phoenixes that are alike, there are no two magic spirits that are alike, either."

"Some spirits can be far more different from what you expect of them," Arachne explained, performing a small dance on the ground. "There are modest ones and aggressive ones. Some are often too gentle to be capable of violence, and others so violent that they are incapable of being gentle, even when there is no need for conflict."

"And is Salamander a violent spirit?" Mereoleona asked them.

"Yes," Excalibur answered her, "and no. Salamander does possess a temperament, but it can be quelled by the humility and restraint of whoever is chosen by it."

"If you have self-control over the gift that is fire," said Tenshi, "then Salamander will be among your greatest of allies."

"I take it that you've dealt with similar creatures where you lived during your exile?" Fuegoleon asked him.

"No, and as I learned over there as I did over here, what may be true in one country isn't so true in another, especially when they're on different hemispheres. In the west, dragons were viewed as enemies and needed to be slain. However, in the east, they're viewed with divinity and are worshipped by the masses. They symbolized many things, ranging from strength, courage, even redemption from the darkness."

"Incredible."

-x-

"…With the remaining Magic Knights all interviewed, vouched and accounted for," said Julius to Rika, "and because Ms. Vermillion comes from a respected family of nobility and has only been with the Magic Knights for a year, there's no other way to view this issue regarding the prophecy, Mrs. Ikari."

"Yeah," she agreed with him. "I don't believe Ms. Vermillion would do something like this, either, not if she knew the repercussions it would bring. And with no other mages taking credit for the Spade Kingdom decimation, it all points to Yui. The question still remains, though: Why? Why would she enter into a pact with Harbinger? Why would she unleash him on the Spade Kingdom and kill those people? While defeating the Dark Triad there resulted in the ruler of the Heart Kingdom being freed from a curse placed upon her by one of the devils there, everything else was unnecessary. Complete and utter overkill."

"We'll find out when she turns up and is brought in for questioning. Although…"

"Whether or not she can be brought in with discretion…will be up to her. I am aware of this."

"As her mother, I understand how difficult this must be for you."

Rika looked at the Wizard King with an expression that was half sad and half enraged. Yes, she was feeling like this was a difficult time, and yes, she was upset about all of this. But she kept her anger in check; it was neither the time or the place for her to express her contempt towards her youngest child's recent actions.

"If I knew she was going to do something like this, I would've dealt with her in the swiftest and most moral sense possible," she told him. "Still, this will fall on me."

"And…if she is responsible for the disappearance of Ms. Vermillion?" He asked her.

"Someone has to be held accountable if she has been harmed in the most unforgivable sense."

But Julius had to suspect that Rika, being a mother, didn't want to see her daughter executed, even if she had committed unforgivable acts against the people. She would've looked for the lesser of acceptable penalties and be content with that. In that fashion, the only two penalties that were without the threat of execution…were imprisonment without the possibility of freedom…or banishment from the Clover Kingdom without the possibility of return. Either of these fates would've been a fate worse than death, as they forced the culprit to relinquish their freedom, their dignity and their place in the kingdom.

"You're taking this calmer than I expected you to," he informed her of his belief.

"If you take away the fifteen-hundred years that came and went, you'll find that I'm only over one-hundred-forty-seven years old," she explained; she didn't give her exact age because she didn't want people to ever think her age made her mind less than capable of making decisions. "One of the reasons I'm able to be calm about this is because I have self-control. You can train your body till you're unable to feel pain most of the time, but if you don't take the time to elevate your mind, then you won't have the requirements for being able to think outside the box and see things beyond what is in front of yourself."

"Control your emotions to avoid making poor choices?"

"Exactly."

"That's a hard thing to do, controlling your emotions."

"Hard choices require the strongest will to be able to make them. But the hardest of choices are the ones made to deal with those that make unethical decisions that require the relinquishment of victory from the one that wants it for all the wrong reasons."

"Is there a victory to be had for something like this?"

"We'll know when Yui answers for her actions."

-x-

Mimosa opened her eyes to find herself in a large room that was different from any she had seen before. It was white and metallic, with a strange smell that didn't feel welcoming at all, and all around her were these…human-sized humanoids that were similar to the one they encountered in Hage months ago when House Ikari had returned from their exile, only they were more disturbing and looked like they didn't emanate any measure of magic, whatsoever.

"Don't bother trying to get away," she heard a voice say to her. "You're restrained and your grimoire has been taken from you."

She turned her head to her right and saw…Yui, sitting across a table from…a creature with horns on its head, playing chess.

"Yui?" She spoke, confused. "Why are you doing this? What is the meaning of this?"

"Why, indeed?" Yui responded, taking another chess piece off the board in front of the creature. "I guess you could say that the reason I'm doing this is to save everyone from their stale present. All of you are just so… It's really bothersome when all you really hear is people talking about magic and not saying what it should be called. All this hocus-pocus nonsense has to end, otherwise there will be no hope for anyone in the long run."

"What are you talking about? You make it sound like…like you hate magic or something."

Yui turned to face her and uttered, "Magic is playing pretend, and playing pretend is for children. People need to grow up and get with the times, and the times are present and these insensible beliefs need to be disposed of."

"You can't question people's beliefs like this, and what's with the monster?"

"Oh, that's right, you haven't been formerly introduced. Harbinger, this is Mimosa Vermillion of the House of Vermillion. Mimosa Vermillion, this is Harbinger. The Harbinger of Death and Destruction. My ally."

Mimosa widened her eyes in horror at this revelation.

"Harbinger? You…you two are working together?" She questioned.

"I can't do what I must without a human to enter into a pact with," Harbinger spoke. "I see victory within my reach."

"Then…then it was you that attacked the Spade Kingdom, Yui Ikari! It was you that killed all those people!"

"Oh, you misunderstand," Yui told her. "We're saving the people. In the end, my actions will be justifiable in saving each and every one of you."

"No, you caused an entire nation to go up in flames and murdered over fifty-million lives. When the Magic Parliament hears of this and you are face-to-face with them, there will be consequences. Not even your family will be able to protect you."

Yui sighed as Harbinger was right about victory in the chess game being his.

"Unfortunately, by the time the Magic Parliament and the Magic Knights are able to do anything, Harbinger and I will have achieved what we sought out to do here," she told Mimosa.

"How can you be so calm about all of this? You're evil and insane. What you've done is insane! What will your own son think when he finds out about this?"

That's when Mimosa saw Yui's expression shift, only for a second, between her usual demeanor…to one of rage…and then back again.

"Shinji," she utters. "By the time he even finds out about what we're doing, he'll have no choice but to see that what I'm doing is for everyone's good, including his own. He'll see that I am right. That I am always right."

"That you're always right? Right about what? You can't justify any of what you've done."

"You'll see. You will all see. Soon. Soon."

Mimosa tried to move, but she was strapped to some metal table of some sort.

Tenshi said that he didn't want to say anything cruel about people unless he actually had to, she thought as Yui and Harbinger left out of the room, but what would he say about his sister right now? What would he say about you, Yui? Would he say that you're acting out of line…or that you're being cruel?

Yui didn't see herself doing this, but now that Mimosa was involved, she couldn't risk letting her go. The girl would likely be useful to her agenda; because she was a member of one of the three royal families, she was invaluable and would be wanted back alive and unharmed. And she couldn't stop what she was doing, not when she was already so close to her objective. All she needed to do now was get Shinji to help finish the goal…and then everyone would benefit from her future ambition.

Everything happens as it must, she thought to herself. Everything that needs to happen will happen because it has to happen. These deviations will no longer impede the progress of mankind's evolution. If we don't give in to the need to move forward, we will never be free.

To be continued…

A/N: And now Yui has gone into full-fledged villain mode. She has committed just about everything a villain has done, from murder to kidnapping. And worse, she's aiming to drag her son into her ambitions, despite being aware that he has moved on…because she can't accept what is the way of life in another world that is part of her heritage and legacy; people that can't accept what is will often try to rewrite it than own up to it. What do you think will happen next?