The field lay almost entirely in ruins. Several fighters left, and the bodies of the white Evas and the mysterious girl (see Crossroads Another Story Ep. 25a) lay dead on the ground. Shinji clutched at his sides, out of breath, and Cless did his best to not pant. Luigi sat down, but Zero stood upright listening to his surroundings, expecting something else to show up. Mario and Link looked at the girl's body, feeling ashamed of what they had done.

Link:  ... I mean, yeah, she was fighting us, but I don't think we had to take it THAT far...

Mario removed his hat and placed it against his chest. The body of the girl began to change color to a pitch black all over.

Link:  What the?

A series of horrible noises, like bones crunching, were emitted from the body, which stood back up and regained its former color. The girl opened her eyes, again, and her body appeared just as she had when they first saw her. In other words, all traces of damage were gone.

Link:  H-how did you...?!?

Girl(?):  Thank you for the challenge.

Mario:  What is your name?

Chizuru:  My name is Chizuru. You can call me Chi-san for short.

Link:  Wouldn't that be Chi-chan? You're a kid, you know.

Her eyes, which appeared like those of a snake's, narrowed, and the expression she gave them chills as she yelled back.

Chizuru:  Don't EVER call me a kid! You are in NO position to be talking to me like that!

Link:  Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Geeze. Just one more question.

Chizuru:  What would THAT be?

Link:  Are you associated with any of the other people that were fighting here, just now?

Chizuru yelled, again.

Chizuru:  Don't EVER associate me with such horrible people! Grrr, I can't believe you guys...

With that, she got into what seemed like the start of a sprinting motion, but subsequently vanished from view.

Link felt even worse than he did a few seconds ago. ( :/ )

-----

Jin felt himself thrust back as his opponent exploded, and found himself standing in the fields he had been walking through just before he blacked out. With the exception that, now, much of the environment had been laid to waste. He looked around and saw Shinji and Cless. Cless noticed him and motioned to Shinji to follow.

Cless:  Jin, you're okay. That's a relief.

Jin:  What happened here?

Shinji:  Well, you see...

Cless:  You got into a fight with a girl named Mary and passed out. After that, Death showed up with some other guy and they tried to take you through a portal, but I guess Mary went in after them to try to save you.

Jin:  Fighting? Why? I don't remember any fight.

Cless:  You don't?

Shinji:  It was like... It was like you weren't even you. You didn't even look like yourself. You were acting like some kind of monster.

Jin:  ... That doesn't sound like me...

Cless:  In either case, Death tried to take you and the person you nearly killed went after you.

Cless looked around.

Cless:  ... But... it doesn't look like she's back, yet...

Jin:  I was awake just a moment ago, and I didn't see any girl.

Jin, himself, looked around and saw another four people besides them. He immediately recognized them and began to walk up to them.

----

Link noticed the person named Jin walking towards them.

Link:  How can -he- walk around like nothing happened?!?

Zero kept his gaze on him, watching his movements carefully.

Jin:  What just happened here?

A faint sound of grass rustling came from behind the four heroes, and everyone looked back to find Mary on the ground, bleeding, and obviously very injured. Zero dashed up to her and picked her up, walking back to Mario, Link and Luigi.

Jin:  Is she still alive?

Zero:  She's still breathing, has a slight pulse...

Link:  No thanks to you!

Mario:  Link, cut it out.

Jin:  What did -I- do?

Link:  YOU TRIED TO KILL HER!!

Zero:  You attempted to choke her to death, but you were thrown off and out of the hold. Then, you tried to do a combination of pummeling her with your fists and cutting her apart with that robot that's next to you.

Jin blinked.

Jin:  ... Why did I do this, exactly?

Link opened his mouth to say something, but had to pause for a moment.

Link:  YOU tell us!

Jin:  I don't remember. All I remember is that we stopped walking for something, and the next thing I can remember is fighting a guy that looked...

He stopped and looked at Zero.

Jin:  ... very similar to him.

Zero already had an idea over who -- or what -- that could have been. Jin held his head. It was the first time in a while since he had experienced a headache. Shinji and Cless began to walk up.

Cless:  What's with all the yelling?

A voice called out, seeming to come from everywhere. It sounded as if the person was hidden behind something.

???:  It'll only get worse from here on.

Just then, everyone noticed a person standing a few dozen yards away from them. He was relatively tall, wore a blue coat that seemed to have two 'tails' dangling behind, and his hair was a royal purple. He walked forward, and, as he did so, they noticed his piercing green eyes, which seemed to have a glow about them.

Link would have asked who he was, but he felt that he had gotten enough people angry, today.

???:  The Cult's activities have not finished, yet. And, once they have, even they won't be able to control what they have started. As for Adam and Eve, the coming troubles will only provide more opportunity for them to gain power.

Jin:  Who are you, and just what are you talking about?

The person paused, closing his eyes and folding his arms.

???:  ... I cannot tell you who I am just yet. If I did, things would get much more difficult for you in the future and, I believe, you will eventually fall to the power that aches to feel whole, again.

Jin:  What are you talking about?

The person opened his eyes, again.

???:  Have you ever wondered... just why you've been so successful thus far?

Finishing this last sentence, his eyes assumed the shape of a serpent's eyes; just like Jin's and Chizuru's. Jin grimaced.

???:  It is because you bear something that cannot be destroyed by any conventional means. In fact, it is effectively immortal. Not even Death could control it if he wanted.

For the first time in his life, Jin felt a horrific sense of dread.

???:  You... are a reincarnation... a reincarnation...

???:  ... of the demon, Elque.

Zero flinched upon hearing the name. Jin was left dumbfounded. Luigi decided he would ask.

Luigi:  What's Elque?

The man's eyes reverted back, and he let out a long sigh.

???:  Elque... Elque was... Elque -is- the most powerful being known to exist.

The man began to tell them as much as he could about Elque. As he did, they all began to feel as if they had just lost a decisivie battle. As if the end of the world was going to happen sometime very soon. He finally sighed, again.

???:  I must get going.

He turned around and muttered under his breath, "They'll notice if I'm gone for too long." He started to walk away.

Zero:  ... Wait.

The man stopped.

Zero:  Who is this 'David N. Aura', and will he be of any help to us?

There was a silence. No one could see the person's face, but a weak smile had formed. A small, almost inaudible chuckle came from him. To most, it sounded eery. To a few, however, it sounded... rather sad.

???:  That man... won't be of any help to you.

With these last words, he flickered and vanished from sight.