I-No

Megumi aka I-No is a major antagonist in the Guilty Gear series. She is Axl Low's girlfriend and a goddess whom at birth half of her powers were stolen by The Original.
==Personality==
Wicked and cruel, I-No is a manipulative woman who seems to have no qualms about hurting other people, and for whom people have no meaning beyond their ability to amuse her. She has no problem acting personable if she wants to, but she considers all of humanity to be beneath her—That Man included—, and has a vicious nature that quickly rises to the surface whenever someone challenges her. I-No also has no problem using her feminine features to manipulate and deceive men; her every word and action bursts with sexuality, usually using musical references as double entendres.
Fully aware of her own eccentricities, she claims to be dedicated to That Man's goals and ideals, and is intrigued by his scheme, but in truth, she only works for her own agenda. Self-reliant to a fault, and unwilling to throw away her own will no matter what, I-No is motivated by a fixation with what she calls "tomorrow" due to her origins.
Despite her selfish demeanor, I-No has shown some flashes of remorse at her impulsive reactions, specifically with Axl (perhaps due to being fellow "vagabonds") and, to a lesser extent, with Raven. Her apathy—not unlike Raven's—seems to be a result of reality becoming akin to a piece of fiction to her, her time manipulation powers making her lose all sense of value.
==Story==
===Background===
Born sometime in the 20th century, Megumi lived in London, England, where she met a man in the slums, Axl Low, who was the son of a wealthy man and his wife, and who took it upon himself to end gang assault on his neighborhood through fighting. Although Megumi believed him to be weird, everyone always ended up on his side in the end, including herself. Whatever the reason, they fell in love, and swore their futures to one another, throwing away their old lives and names.
Although Megumi believed they were happy, Axl suddenly disappeared on May 14, 1998, without saying a word to anyone. He never came back, and no cop or journalist could ever tell her why, but Megumi made herself a promise that she would never forget his memories with Axl.
Unbeknownst to Megumi, his disappearance (and presumably, the timeline divergence) was caused by her being chosen as an "irregularity" by the Backyard. Humanity's desire for a brighter tomorrow during the Crusades resulted in the Backyard becoming a Magical Foci; the Backyard interpreted this as an error that would destroy the world and sealed that conscious away in Megumi. Even so the world was being torn from its origin, and on verge of ascending to godhood, The Original took away half of her power, which resulted in Megumi becoming I-No.
===Guilty Gear XX===
Taking it upon herself to eliminate anyone or anything that stands in That Man's way, I-No decides to lay a trap for Sol. She does so by wrecking the May Ship, and pushing Dizzy off the ship despite May's attempts to stop her; I-No meets Axl Low and tells him to let Sol know that she is looking for him; she convinces Eddie that his new host cannot be human, and gives fake bounty contracts to Bridget and Jam Kuradoberi.
In one ending, Sol comes to confront her, but I-No defeats and almost kills him; Raven intervenes and orders her to stand down, and That Man is forced to punish I-No for her rampage while pleading Sol to live on. In her second ending, Dizzy questions I-No's cruelty and unleashes her hidden power to protect her friends, overwhelming I-No completely. In her third ending, I-No defeats Dizzy and May comes to her rescue; seeing for herself the power of the Japanese, I-No decides to take May as research material for That Man.
For disobeying That Man's orders, I-No is detained, but she refuses to meet her end in such a way. In order to kill Sol and regain her honor, she escapes and, thinking she is doing what That Man wants, attacks Sol but realizes that she can't take him head on, and begins building energy up to transport Sol to an unknown location and makes him fight his past self. Despite her trick, Sol survives, and I-No is instead frozen in time by That Man with Anji Mito's help. In her other ending, I-No is defeated at the hands of a bloodlusted Baiken and is stabbed repeatedly, thus leading to her death.
===Guilty Gear Xrd===
In October 17, 2187, at Cappadocia, I-No reflects that no matter how many times she has already killed Ramlethal Valentine, their dull gray future remains unchanged, although now I-No has led That Man into the cycle. I-No then calls Sol to Babylon in 2192 and tries to kill him, but Sol is stronger than last time, and so I-No returns him back as he may now have a chance. She then decides to confront Ramlethal once again, but for a change, I-No is unable to kill Ramlethal this time.
She then returns to 2192 and is thinking about the changes when Axl Low is caught in her net, saved in the nick of time from Bedman. She knows that Axl spoke to the Original and attacks him because of it, but Axl says he was just told to deliver a message to That Man, and I-No thinks it may save them all. Axl then realizes she could send him back to his timeline, but I-No sends him to the Integration Point instead. There, she introduces Axl to That Man. He receives the message that only he understands, and That Man tells I-No he now knows what the Conclave is planning.
Even though That Man is imprisoned by Bedman during the ambush on the Cradle, after so many tries, the closed worlds are slowly but finally beginning to show signs of change, pointing to the "tomorrow" I-No wants. Per That Man's orders, I-No wakes up Jack-O' Valentine from her slumber on November 6, but Jack-O' immediately leaves to get some fresh air. I-No calls Raven to back her up and then proceeds to chase her.
On November 15, while tracking Jack-O', I-No encounters Axl again at Heaven's Edge. He begs to be sent back to 1998. I-No finally relents and tells Axl that she can't do it: he cannot return because his timeline is a "possibility". Jack-O' soon appears before them, and reveals to I-No and Axl the truth about themselves. I-No is shocked, and realizes That Man never needed her and was just keeping an eye on her all along, but Jack-O' affirms that he wants to save her and Raven. Privately, I-No parts ways with Axl, but says he is free to join her if he decides to lead a dishonest life. I-No watches over Jack-O' until Raven arrives with Sol, Sin Kiske and Ramlethal to make Jack-O' return. I-No attacks Sol, interested in the "seed" within him but quickly leaves.
The day after, Raven comes looking for her, but I-No—still upset by the revelation—refuses to return to the Sanctuary, promising not to interfere in what is to come. Though Raven shares her pain, I-No says that he is now on the "other side", but that she will not throw her own will away. As they are to part ways, I-No says it is not like they ever were friends, which bothers Raven, so she adds that they might see each other from time to time as she leaves through a portal.
Sometime later, I-No and Axl meet up at the Integration Point per his request, and she asks if he has decided how he will use his power. However, Axl admits to being afraid of destroying everything with his powers. Pitying him, I-No tells Axl to find his own perspective, as being afraid of his own power is useless. After the Universal Will crisis is over, I-No officially no longer works for That Man.
===Guilty Gear Strive===
I-No arrives to the Illyrian castle and kills the Illyrian soldiers who tried to stop her, later on, she enters Ariels' cell and takes Happy Chaos from inside her, heavily weakening the Universal Will. Later, Happy Chaos introduced himself to I-No and speaks about their next move.
After Axl saves the civilians from the apartment complex that Happy Chaos destroys to retrieve Nagoriyuki, I-No meets with Axl to discuss his abilities and the fate of his lost love. Axl describes that he and Megumi are "the axes of time" and that if he so chooses Axl could trade places with Megumi, however it would erase him from the current timeline. After this discussion I-No allows herself to become captured by the Illyrian government.
During I-No's interrogation by Jack-O', I-No tells her a story of a past memory during the 20th Century, where she knew a man named Will, with beautiful long blonde hair, like a woman's, who always got into fights, and was always crying because of it, and they were both lovers. They swore their futures to each other, throwing away their old lives and names. Until one day, Will suddenly disappeared without a trace. Though I-No believes this memory to be fake.
During the final battle, I-no realizes that Axl is Will, and she was Megumi from an alternate timeline. Before her final moments and likely with the last of her power, I-No trades places with her past self, just as Axl said he could have done prior. At a park, Megumi appears behind Axl and repeats what I-No told her to say, "I'm giving you my unfair way of life. You asked for this." Megumi then asks if he truly is Axl. He then turns to face Megumi, smiling tearfully as he recognizes her.
==Game Appearances==
===Guilty Gear vs BlazBlue: Multiversal Cross Assault===
I-No appears as the main antagonist of the story mode alongside Hazama.
==Gallery==
File:I-No.png|Guilty Gear Xrd artwork.
==Trivia==
Category:Arc System Works
Category:Females
Category:Guilty Gear (series)
Category:Guilty Gear Characters
Category:Villains
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Bosses
Category:Non-fanon
Category:Non-fanon characters
Category:Non-playable Characters
Category:Chaotic Evil
Category:Deceased Characters
Category:Redeemed villains