Green Eyes: Redux
A parasite EVE fanfic
By Kristin Renee Taylor (gelles@yahoo.com)

The night was cool: rain had washed away the smells of people and gas and pollution, leaving behind the scent of spring and early morning. She breathed deeply of the air, using its coolness to help clear her mind, to help rid herself of the nightmare that had been plaguing her for the past several weeks.

"It's not that easy to get rid of me."

She leaned against the railing, gazing out over the city. She stood on the rooftop of her apartment building. This high up, with no one but a few sleeping pigeons for company, it was easy to believe that she was the only one in the city, the only person in the world. The thought was comforting, and it eased a part of her chaotic mind.

"Just the two of us? How quaint. I never thought you were the romantic type."

Gripping the railing between her hands, she closed her eyes and finally acknowledged the voice by growling, "Go away."

The soft, musical laughter that answered her came from behind her, just past her right shoulder. "Oh, Aya, I'm hurt. And here I thought you liked me." The voice was soft and deep, feminine, and full of scorn. "Don't you like having me around?"

The muscles of her shoulder and back were stiff as steel. Her jaw ached, she was clenching her teeth so hard. She said flatly, "You don't exist."

Hands explored her back, smoothing away knots of muscle. "Ah…" The voice dropped to a sultry whisper. "But, I do exist. In fact…" Fingers trailed down her back, encircled her waist. Warm breath brushed against her ear. "I'm very, very real."

Aya shoved away from the railing so hard that she tripped, spun, and fail gracelessly to the rooftop, skinning her hands on the concrete as she caught herself.

Nobody was there.

"Naturally," she muttered, and stood.

"Very dignified, Aya."

She turned.

A woman leaned against the railing. Dark hair framed a pale face and tumbled down her back. Green eyes, cold and hard, glowed, giving off a light all their own. She smiled.

Aya glared at her. "Stop haunting me!"

Melissa Pearce, EVE, arched an eyebrow in amusement. "I can't. You and I are bound to each to other. I’m a part of you. Haven't you realized that, yet?"

Aya stalked away, headed for the service door.

Melissa spoke to her back. "You can't run from your destiny forever, Aya."

Aya stopped. Hoarsely, "I killed you."

"Yes, I know. I was there. But, that doesn't change the fact that I'm here, now, with you. And that doesn't change the fact that I'm always going to be here, with you, until you stop denying yourself and accept your fate."

That made her turn. She said angrily, "My fate? What the Hell do you know about my fate?"

"I know that it involves you giving up this petty desire 'to belong.' Humanity will never accept what you are."

"I don't need humanity's approval," Aya growled.

"Really? Is that what you believe, Aya Brea?" She sneered. "Then why do you risk your life, even your sanity, trying to help them? They don't respect you; even your so-called 'friends' have more fear of what you'll do to them than what you'll do for them. And nothing you do is going to change their minds. It doesn't matter how many NMCs you kill or how many conspiracies you stop.

"To them, you're just another EVE."

"I'm not like you!" Aya shouted, advancing on her. "You murdered people and called it 'destiny.' I would never do that or any of the things you did!"

Melissa leaned on the railing behind her, smirking. "Hypocrite. You've already started to."

"Shut up," Aya hissed.

"He wasn't surprised. Actually, he had been anticipating it from the moment he met you. And, I must say, you confirmed his suspicions nicely."

She glared at the other woman. "He had a gun pointed at my head! What was I supposed to do?"

Green eyes glittered, amused.

Disturbed, Aya looked away, disgust and fear warring in her. "I'm not like you," she said softly. "I'm not…"

Melissa's voice altered. "Would this make it easier to accept?"

Aya's head snapped up. She stumbled backwards, away from the impossibility before her. "No." Her heart bled. "Not her. Anyone else but her."

She was staring into a mirror: hair a shade darker, skin a bit paler. They were the same height. The same build. Nearly the same face. They could have been twins. Many people thought they had been twins. But, now, the eyes clearly told them apart.

Out of Maya's face burned green eyes, hard, cold, and uncaring. She smirked at the expression on Aya's face. "Something wrong?"

"No! Don't you dare-" Her voice threatened to break. She forced panic away and took refuge in the safety of anger. "Change. Now!"

"Change what?" The monster asked sweetly, in the exact same tone Maya had used when teasing her little sister.

"That face! Don't you dare wear her face, you monster! She wasn't like you. She was never like you. She was-"

"She was very much like me, Aya. We're the same person. Remember, she was the original EVE."

"Shut up!" Before she knew what she was doing, Aya had slammed her to the ground. Crouched over her, pinning her down, she grabbed Maya's throat. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You're not Maya! You were never Maya! You're just a conceited, self-righteous killer with no soul and I'm going to-"

Maya's hands came up, scrabbled wildly at the iron grip around her neck. She gurgled. Her eyes rolled up into her head.

Aya ignored the flashes of pain as Maya's nails dug into the backs of her hands. "I figured it out!" Distantly, she wondered about what she was doing. "All of your self-righteous 'chosen by God' crap." She was crying, and she couldn't stop herself. "All that shit about the Perfect Being." Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip. "It's over once you're dead. It'll be over! I'll be free!"

Horribly, Maya tried to smile. <There is no freedom for you.>

Snarling fury, Aya threw her weight onto her arms. The hands dropped away as the body beneath her stilled.

Maya's pulse fluttered, beat twice, and died.

Aya huddled on the ground, staring at her empty hands. Tears ran unheeded down her face. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was a hoarse whisper.

"Why?"

<Because you never had a choice in the matter. Because it won't end, even if I am dead. And, because->

"Aya?"

She lifted her head as the footsteps approached her back. She wiped the tears off her face. "Yes?"

"I heard you leave, but you never came back." A brief pause, then, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Standing, Aya turned to face the young woman. "I had a bad dream and needed to clear my head. But, I'm fine, now. You can go back to bed."

"Oh…" She looked away, but not before Aya caught a glimpse of her eyes.

It might've been just a trick of the light, but, for a fraction of an instant, Eve's eyes had burned with green fire. Then she was walking away.

"No," Aya murmured. "I'm not."

Her hands twitched in reply.

Author's Note:

First, before anybody asks, no I don't think Aya and Maya were twins. Why? Most of it involves a discontinuity error I found between the two games. The rest is because I haven't found anything so far that said that they were twins. And the rest of the rest is poetic license. *grin*

Second, I like to put Aya through as much psychological torment as possible. She's fun to mess with. She has so much angst potential it's ridiculous.

Legal Stuff:

I don't own Aya, Maya, Eve, EVE, or Melissa. SquareEnix does, so complain to them if this story sucks. I was just working with what I had.

This has been a production of Blueberry Enterprises.
www.geocities.com/sailorfalcon/
27 July, 2003