The second tier of the Hero's Journey. It includes the road of trials, meeting with the goddess, woman as a temptress, and atonement with father, apotheosis, and the ultimate boon. This is where Aya's journey gets a little tricky as some of the stages are specifically geared towards men being the hero. As Aya is female, we see a certain discrepancy in the monomyth.
Initiation
The road of trials is comprised of any parts of the journey. The hero succeeds and fails, wins and loses, accomplishes and doubts (Kemp 2011). The Road of Trials constitutes a large portion of the journey, as such it is very difficult to break it up. In Parasite Eve I, this is finding information in the museum, being led back to the police department, going to the concert. In particular the concert where Daniel's family is a big point for Aya. She is unable to save anyone. As she progresses through the game she notes that although she did not save anyone at the concert she is the only one who can stop Melissa, who they refer to as Eve. By the end of the incident Aya is the only one who has come out unscathed (Tokita 1998). In Parasite Eve II Aya is the only available MIST agent that is able to follow the trail of the Artificial Neo–Mitochondria Creatures to the Mojave Desert. There she is able to clear out town and help Mr. Douglas, as well as save his dog Flint which later leads to the saving of Pierce. Aya solidifies herself as a capable woman, quite honestly, the only person who can do anything about Eve (Hirata 1999). In 3rd Birthday, she is the only one who can overdrive into the past and stop the twisted. She succeeds quite often in changing the past and lessening the Twisted. This counts as her victory but in doing so erases people (like Gabrielle) from the future (or present) (Toriyama 2010).
This is where it gets a little tricky. The meeting with the Goddess represents the hero's desire for love and to be connected with someone . Usually someone that they cannot be with (Kemp 2011). In case of men, it is a woman who can stand in as a mother figure. As Aya is a woman, the comparison is disjointed. Although, we could stretch it a little, it just wouldn't work. In Parasite Eve II she meets (and feels strongly for) Kyle. For the most part, Aya's Meeting with the Goddess could be classified as her meeting with Kyle. Both are searching for clues in the desert but Kyle tends to know more about what is going on that not. Unfortunately, Kyle does not behave as a sort of father figure. He is, straight up, a valid love interest. The only reason they cannot be together is because he has a tendency to disappear, excluding 3rd Birthday of course (Hirata 1999). In 3rd Birthday the couple cannot be together because one of them dies (Toriyama 2010). As far as the meeting with the god/goddess goes, Aya lacks this representation of the monomyth.
Woman as the Temptress is usually a woman who tries to lead the hero astray (Kemp 2011), again, for Aya this is disjointed and awkward. I have Melissa Pearce, the first Eve, listed as Aya's temptress for one reason. Eve is constantly trying to figure out why Aya refuses to join her. Both women note the superior mitochondria abilities that lead them to battle, but Eve cannot fathom why Aya chooses to fight for humans. Eve persists in reminding Aya that humanity is doomed and eventually that she will be defeated. But Aya continues her journey to stop her. I believe this is the only time Aya faces any sort of temptation off of her path to help people (Tokita 1998). As such, it is the only instance I have listed for her woman as the temptress. In another stretch, during 3rd Birthday, Kyle does try to brush Aya towards the truth but is unable to deter her from moving forward even though he wants her to stop and reflect (Toriyama 2010). Unfortunately, this is missing solid definition too.
The Atonement with the father usually features a moment in which the hero faces the ultimate power. It represents where the hero started not where they are going (Kemp 2011). For Aya, it is more of the atonement with the sister and is represented by Maya's accident. Both girls spent time in the hospital. It was then that Maya died and her kidney later got placed into Melissa. It was then that Aya received the eye transplant from her sister, thus giving her mitochondrial abilities. When Aya realizes that hers and Melissa's powers stem from the previous Eve, her sister, she is more determined to stop what is going on (Tokita 1998). It is, after all, personal. If Maya had survived she might have tried to destroy humanity. Aya becomes stronger than Eve in the idea that she strives to help save everyone. In a second play through of Parasite Eve the player can also venture into the Chrysler Building and fight the optional super boss Maya. It is then noted that Aya's abilities have surpassed her sister's (Tokita 1998).
When the hero becomes the being and protector that we all want, it is referred to as the Apotheosis (Kemp 2011). Considering the three games, we can see three different instances of this for Aya. In one, it was when she defeated the ultimate being and raced out of the sinking ship (Tokita 1998). In two she saves Eve and gets to live happily ever after (Hirata 1999). In 3rd Birthday, it is when the twisted are defeated, Hyde is dead, and everything has returned to normal. It is only for a brief moment that we actually get to see Aya as strong and determined as she ever was. She is indomitable, and in her bloody wedding dress she continues to awe and inspire (Toriyama 2010). Aya's apotheosis is the moment she stands up and defends her groom and sister, when she pulls herself up and smiles.
The ultimate boon achieves the hero's goal (Kemp 2011). For Aya it is putting an end to the twisted and living normally. Aya Brea's Ultimate Boon actually comes in the form of her death when Eve has reached ground zero. Aya shoots Hyde and then requests that Eve (in her body) kills her (Toriyama 2010). Aya had wanted to live a normal life but was unable to due to her mitochondria. She barely aged and her life span increased exponentially. Aya mentions the only thing she regretted was that she could not finish her vows to Kyle (Toriyama 2010). Her death also results in the idea that the twisted are never created. With this, humanity is saved again which still lends to Aya's desire to save and protect everyone.
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