Predestined Apocalypse
This is a sequel, but it can work well enough alone.
Warning: there are spoilers in this fic. Also, this #FanFiction is meant to make you angry, to think, and to contemplate the series.
Yours,
Kevin Shiue
shiue@andrew.cmu.edu
7/27/97
Predestined Apocalypse
Sequel to Two Hearts of One Mind
By Kevin Shiue
Original concept by: Scriviner
Ikari Shinji, the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01, awoke, with the pilot of Evangelion Unit 00, Ayanami Rei, next to him, on the couch. Rei was still sleeping, though that was expected. He had not been kind to her the previous night. Shinji sat up, and noticed Misato walking into the room. That was what had woken him up.
Shinji looked into Misato's eyes, as her glance went from Shinji to Rei, and back again. Shinji looked back, and before Misato said a word, Shinji began to talk about what happened, as tears welled up in his eyes. He stifled them. At first, Misato thought of comforting him, but then realized what he had done. This was dirtier than what she and Kaji had done, as both had consented. It was almost comical, the way that Misato was now yelling at the two, her hands talking as fast as her mouth, her voice shrill with indignity. She had tried to control her anger, as she normally always did, since, after all, they were children; but, considering that the previous night had seen some relatively adult behavior, she was not about to forgive Shinji for his transgressions.
She was not about to forgive Rei, either, for providing the "lock" on the door that Asuka had so complained about not having, but that was trivial, comparitively.
Shinji heard not a word as Misato stormed across the room to the telephone to report to Ikari Gendou the events of the previous night. There were serious implications, and there were serious repercussions, that would face them all. Especially, that Rei would need to see a doctor, as morning after pills would interfere with the many medications Rei already took. Anything other forms of prevention were out of the question, as they would prevent her from piloting. Some type of action would need to be taken, as Misato was not about to allow a pilot of Evangelion to become incapacitated in any form.
"Che!" cursed Misato as she slammed down the phone. "Phone service has not yet been restored. I guess I'll just have to drag you down to headquarters myself, even if it IS Sunday, and most of the staff is gone. Now MARCH!"
Shinji groggily glanced at Misato, as he realized what he had just told her. It had been tempting, and he had succumbed to temptation, and eaten the forbidden fruit. He had allowed his hormones to control him, last night, as Rei's scents enveloped him, absorbed him, and drawn him close. He now wondered how Rei would act around him now.
Last night had seen some rather forceful behavior on Shinji's part, and in fact, looking back, he was surprised that he had actually gone that far. Rei had protested, albeit whimpering for him to stop, as he had forced himself on her, as her frail body writhed in anguish, her arms pinned to the couch. When Shinji had exhausted himself, he looked deep into Rei's eyes, and saw nothing but sadness and pain. He cried himself to sleep.
Rei was awake from Misato's shouting, and was now got dressed in her normal, slow, way. When Shinji looked into her eyes, he saw nothing. Indeed, Rei looked back at Shinji with the the same eyes of nonrecognizance, that was always the core of her personality. Her eyes were neutral, and said not a word. Asuka's eyes, on the other hand, said quite a lot. They burned with anger and shock. The ever-so-great Shinji, doing _that_ with the doll Rei? Unforgivable. Instead of her usual taunts, she gave him a death stare. In normal circumstances, with any other transgression, she would have chewed him out severly, but this action exceeded words. No words.
Realizing he was the center of unwanted attention, Shinji quickly ran to his room, and pulled on his school uniform. Despite the fact that he had other clothing, for some reason this uniform gave him a sense of protection, of stability. Despite all that happened last night, he would try to grasp at whatever gave him a sense of well-being... it was desperately needed.
The trip to headquarters, with Misato, Asuka, Shinji, and Rei, was remarkably quiet, with the exception of Asuka's muttering "baka Shinji, baka hentai Shinji." The four sat in the car, meditating upon the lecherous events of the previous night.
Misato didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she recognized that Shinji was growing up, and, perhaps had feelings that he couldn't control. Rei being right beside him didn't help at all. On the other hand, his behavior was completely unacceptable. He had taken advantage of another human being, to satisfy his own primal urges. How Rei got involved, now, that was a mystery. No matter, Commander would not be happy..
Asuka was angry. That idiot Shinji had actually done that with Rei. The boy was more of a pervert than she had ever insulted him as being. Unforgivable, certainly unforgivable. Though, this wasn't surprising, considering he had already seen her naked before. Asuka knew that she would have to give Rei a lecture about boys one of these days, but, it was already too late.
Shinji was ashamed. He knew he had taken advantage of Rei, of her trust. He was also afraid, since he knew that there would be consequences waiting for him. There would be punishments, meted out, in due time. He may even be prevented from piloting Unit 01 again, though, that was the least of his worries. He simply didn't know what would happen. His greatest worry, though, was what his father might say.
Rei had feelings, feelings of uncharacteristic hatred. No, but those feelings were swept away, as inside her mind, turmoil ensued, and the parts that made up her soul fought for control. She was Yui, but she was also Lilith, and the fragments fought for superiority.
--
Gendou, up to this point, had listened to Misato's explanation without a trace of emotion. He had listened to Shinji's apology without a trace of emotion. He had listened to Asuka's demands without a trace of emotion. He had listened to Fuyutsuki's explanation of NERV sexual harassment policy without a trace of emotion. There was nothing in the books, though, pertaining to what Shinji had done, though there were punishments in civilian law.
Gendou always prided himself in behaving the same way in public and in private, but, this time, he broke down. He laid his head on his desk, and thought. Thought about his relationship with Shinji, thought about his relationship with Yui... no, Rei... thought about his feelings, as the two would be severely punished if this were to leak out. Deep in his heart, he knew his emotions. He knew what sorrow he would feel if his only son, Shinji, was sent to the juvenile detention center, expelled from NERV, stigmatized for the rest of his life. Gendou knew that, no matter what happened, he didn't care. No. He knew he had to amend that statement. He did care about Rei. He cared an awful lot about Rei. However, nothing that happened to Shinji mattered, as long as the goals of the project were met.
But what had happened to Rei _did_ matter, and Gendou had every intent on doing whatever was in his power to avenge this problem.
--
Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Misato waited. They had already waited two hours, on the Commander's orders, and would continue to wait, until he had reached a decision on what would be done.
At last, the phone rang. "A sound only transmission on a secured line," thought Misato, as she pressed the button to initiate the call.
"I have reached a decision," said Gendou. "The four of you, Fuyutsuki, and I are the only ones who know of this incident. It will remain as such."
"I understand," sighed Misato, who quickly amended it, "um, we understand."
"Good. And Ikari Shinji, you are to report to my office at 1300 precisely."
Click. The transmission was broken.
As the other three left, Shinji remained, contemplating. At least he would not have to face Asuka's taunts about any punishment. However, meeting his Father, again... that was a different matter. His father rarely spoke only to him. As he was thinking to himself, augmenting his dread, he felt another strange emotion. He felt as if he were split in two, as if another soul had invaded him. His stomach twisted, and his brain exploded into a million bright burning stars, his limbs felt numb with the flaming heat and cold and that bizarre, strange feeling promptly ended.
"What's happening to me?" Shinji asked to himself, and then noticed his watch already read 1258. He started walking, his feet guiding him to his assured doom. To compound his problems, he knew he was already late.
The office in which Gendou spent most of his time did not have much furniture. Sparsely decorated, it had the severeness that fit exactly with his personality. There was one sad looking plant in the corner, next to the bookcase, which had a large panel for phone transmissions. The ceiling was tall, and the room was dimly lighted by one lamp hanging by a thin wire from the ceiling. Gendou liked his accommodations.
The digital clock embedded in his desk read 13:09:00 exactly, as Shinji walked in, and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry I am late. I... (gulp)..."
He left the sentence unfinished as he looked up again. Gendou looked back at his son, face expressionless. Shinji looked back at his Father, face expressionless. They stared at each other's faces, both bland, expressionless and emotionless, for a good five minutes before anyone spoke up.
"You have sinned," said Gendou, matter-of-factly.
"Sorry, Father," said Shinji quietly. Then, getting defensive, "I can explain! Rei..."
"You are not to speak unless spoken to, is that understood?"
"Yes"
"I believe there are things that you should know, that is why I called you here. I cannot punish you without damaging NERV's reputation, which is more important than you are. What you did to Rei is unforgivable, understood?"
Pause.
More time passed.
"Understood?" asked Gendou, a second time.
"Yes"
"There is more to that, though. The information I am about to tell you... if you communicate this to anyone else, you are eligible for execution. Understood?"
(Execution? Why would Father do anything like that to me?) thought Shinji.
"Yes"
"The reason I am so upset is because Rei is also your mother."
Shinji's eyes slammed open, as he realized multiple things. His bewilderment increased as he realized that his Father did not seem any more upset than usual, that Rei's attraction toward him was anything _but_ sexual, that all along, his strong connection toward her was not what he thought of it at all.
"My m-m-mother?"
"Yes"
"B-B-But... how?"
"Rei was born from the genetic material of my wife, and also genetic material from other sources."
"What sources?"
"That I cannot tell you at this time. You shall go. This meeting never took place. You disobeyed orders by not showing up at the appointed time, and I have already punished you for it. Understood?"
Shinji stared back at his father in shock, realizing what he was ordered to do. Forget the entire meeting. What was this, some cruel joke?
Little did Shinji know how accurate he was. It was no joke, but certainly cruel. Gendou chuckled to himself as the door closed behind Shinji. He had not chuckled in quite a while, and despite the fact that Shinji was family, he could not help grin a bit in satisfaction at Shinji's emotional trauma he would face. "It'll make him stronger, a better Eva pilot," Gendou rationalized to himself.
--
His watch read 1402, as Shinji sat down in the waiting area just outside the main NERV entrance. The escalator hummed in the background, but the elevators were silent. No, not silent. A solitary elevator operated.
Click. Click. Click.
Click. Click. Click.
Click. Click.
Ding!
Misato stepped out of the elevator, accompanied by Rei and Asuka. Misato was still fuming. "Young man, when you are summoned to see the Commander, you go see the Commander, no matter how much you dislike him. I'd punish you, but he says he's already taken care of that, and I trust he has."
"Baka Hentai Shinji" whispered Asuka disgustedly, as she whipped her head away so that she would not have to see that monster.
Rei looked right through Shinji.
"Well, we better be getting back" said Misato, sighing, calming from her anger. Inside, she was still upset, but, at least she had calmed enough to form the veneer of pleasantness that she always strived to maintain. Though, she admitted to herself she was a bit confused. Why would Rei come over? And why would she get into the couch with Shinji as he was sleeping? Anyhow, that was the explanation that Shinji had given her and Rei confirmed. What would she do with these children? She had agreed to take care of Shinji, and she had agreed to take care of Asuka, but now what?
"Um... Misato-san, we've arrived," said Shinji, gesturing toward Rei as she walked into her apartment. "So we have," replied Misato, snapping out of the trance she was in, imposed by her own meditation and thoughts. "Rei?"
"Yes"
"I'll talk to you again tomorrow morning... you'll need to miss another day of school, I'm afraid."
"Yes, ma'am."
As Misato and company left Rei's apartment, Rei smiled to herself privately. The side of her that was once Yui was mostly gone, as her mind had already been invaded. She now had a higher purpose, and a true soul. Little did those at NERV know, but she had already created the next Angel. SEELE would be pleased, as the timeline toward the completion of the prophesied Dead Sea Scrolls would be fulfilled, and the Human Complementation Project would be completed. Of course, if the Angel destroyed humankind, the HCP would be a moot point. At this thought, Rei snickered. Her species was created, but they would eventually take over where humans had failed.
Misato, Asuka, and Shinji walked back to the apartment in silence, with Asuka occasionally turning back to glare at Shinji. They arrived at the apartment in due time, with Asuka occasionally whispering to Misato something obviously not meant for Shinji to hear. Misato would glare back at Asuka, and the attempt at conversation would stop.
Today was Shinji's turn to cook.
As Misato went to the fridge to get a beer, Asuka spat in her food, slammed her chopsticks down, and left in a huff, refusing to acknowledge Shinji at all.
--
That night, Shinji slept in his own room, alone, again. Misato had insisted that he slept alone after the incident the previous night. He tried, but he couldn't sleep. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, with the tape player again playing some random song... he heard it, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy listening to his own thoughts.
Rei is my mother, in a sense. No! Impossible. I can't even understand it. I have sinned. Father is angry at me. No, Father didn't seem angry. I feel as if my world is shattered. What is to happen now? What of Rei? Why did I do that? Why can't I control myself? WHY? You are sick, Shinji, you are sick to the mind. You are only a child, Shinji, you are only a child, you are only a child, you are only a child, you are only a child...
Shinji did eventually fall asleep.
... I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away! Shinji woke to the chanting of his mantra, early in the morning, before he was supposed to get up to prepare for school. Though it was early, Shinji got up, and walked toward the bathroom, to brush his teeth and wash up, for school. No reason for laying there doing nothing. He got up, walked through the door to the sitting room, and started crossing it to head toward the bathroom. This brought him to the foot of Asuka's sleeping area, when he suddenly felt the strange sensation he had felt earlier that day, as if something foreign were trying to take over. His head felt dizzy, and his stomach tensed, as he struggled to keep his balance. The world turned, and suddenly his aching side turned over, as he continued to roll up against the wall by some unknown force.
It was Asuka kicking him.
"Baka Shinji, Baka hentai Shinji!" shouted Asuka, kicking him repeatedly, "Don't you dare try that on ME!"
"Ow, Asuka, I didn't mean to fall on you..." said Shinji, as his head became incredibly clear, as the confusion from before was replaced by pain. The kicks seemed spread apart, despite the fact that they were in actuality occurring once per second.
Kick.
Shinji's head blazed with pain, as his back and head hit the wall, where it met the floor. "I really didn't mean it!" exclaimed Shinji, as his left arm flew up and hit the wall. He saw red, and yellow, and slats of bright white light that flashed before his eyes as the pain registered in his head.
"I hate you!" shouted Asuka.
Kick.
Shinji instantly curled up into the fetal position as his stomach threatened to empty itself in pain. He brought his knees up to his chest, as he struggled to breath. He had the air knocked out of him. Tears welled up in his eyes as the agony in his chest spread up his ribs and up and down his spine.
"I hate you!" shouted Asuka again.
Kick.
Shinji saw a vision of his mother, as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Jeez, Asuka was being particularly vicious. But his mother, when he saw more clearly, was Rei. His mind became foggy, his surroundings ephemeral, as he drifted out of consciousness.
"I hate you!" shouted Gendou.
Kick.
"Father?" whimpered Shinji as he slowly lost touch with the real world. He was hanging by a thread, and would go any minute.
"No! You idiot! Baka! I hate you!" shouted Asuka, for the last time that Shinji could hear...
Kick.
Kick.
Kick.
Kick.
--
"Shinji! Wake up! There's an Angel!" Misato's voice was sharp and clear. Shinji awoke from his nightmare, and immediately bolted up, and ran toward to get his cloths. "What? Now?" asked Shinji.
"Yes, and we have to get to HQ as soon as possible. Asuka's already up. You'll have to eat breakfast on the car. I've already popped in something instant."
As Shinji dressed, he noticed many black and blue tender spots on his side and on his stomach, extending to his back. It hurt significantly when he touched it. As he rinsed out his mouth, he noticed it tasted of blood.
--
NERV HQ was already bustling with activity as the entire staff had been roused up early to deal with this Angel. The minimal staff required to maintain the facility had already ended its shift, so that meant that the halls of Central Dogma were filled with people.
Rei, Asuka, and Shinji stood, already dressed in their plug suits, in front of a projection screen, which depicted the battle plan.
"As you can see, the Angel is right above Tokyo-3, and rapidly descending. It is 1 kilometer in width, circular, but we haven't been able to determine its height. We do not know how it intends on attacking the Geo-front, but all precautions must be made. Asuka, you will sortie first, and position yourself directly below the Angel. Rei, you will provide assistance with the A.T. Field, though it seems it may or may not be necessary. Shinji, you will provide backup." As Misato finished speaking, Shinji suddenly collapsed. "Shinji, are you all right? Will you be able to pilot?"
"He's just being an idiot again... there's no reason to care for him at all," said Asuka, half shouting, as she stomped off when she realized she was looking at him.
Shinji felt very strange almost woozy, and he stood up. He saw himself saying, "Yes, nothing happened." Shinji saw himself. Saw himself in the plug suit. When he pinched his arm with his hand, he saw his reflection do so, also.
Suddenly, his reflection disappeared, and his view changed a complete 180 degrees. He was himself again, walking toward the entry plug. All around, the noises of start up permeated the complex.
"discharging the Termination Plug"
"standing by to insert the Entry Plug"
"inserting the Entry Plug"
"entry plug in place!"
"commencing LCL injection."
"connecting to the main power supply... All circuits"
"starting the second connection."
"A10 nerve is operational."
"configuring the language to Japanese."
Shinji stepped into his Eva, and prepared for the nauseating moment as the LCL filled the plug. He was sure Rei and Asuka did the same.
"LCL pressure?"
"it's okay."
"synchro ratio for Unit 00?"
"78.7%, seems abnormally high, what should we do?"
Gendou's voice had an unmistakable sense of worry in it, as he said, "Perhaps we should move Rei to back up, Captain Katsuragi?"
"Yes, Commander, of course," replied Misato. "Rei, you will be back up. Shinji, you will provide assistance to Asuka."
"synchro ratio for Unit 01?"
"64.3%, normal levels for Shinji, but," Maya paused to look closer, "it seems a bit different, like the harmonics aren't the same. The frequency seems to be shifted upward, also. It seems as if both the Eva and its pilot are reacting differently toward each other."
"synchro ratio for Unit 02?"
"55.4%, completely normal."
"Hm... it's interesting that two of three of the pilots are showing different synchro levels today," wondered Fuyutsuki, aloud.
"I'm not surprised," stated Gendou, indifferently.
"All systems check! Ready to go!" Misato's voice was clear and decisive, as she yelled, "LAUNCH!"
The Evangelions launched, and shot out of the ground like Bullet Trains, as the vertical rail system supported the Evas by extending out of the ground. Unit 01 and Unit 02 came out at ground zero, directly below the Angel. Unit 00 waited in the outskirts of Tokyo-3. They had fought a dropping Angel before, so this didn't seem like it'd be any different.
"100 seconds until impact!"
"90 seconds until impact!"
"80 seconds until impact!"
"70... 60... 50... 40... wait! Unit 01 and Unit 02... move out of the way... we're detecting some atmospheric changes around the Angel... it's almost as if the matter around the Angel changes form. We're reading pattern blue on the Angel itself, but the air around it is reading pattern green. It's not supposed to have a pattern reading!" Maya hyperventilated as she shouted out the information as fast as she could. Shinji and Asuka's lives were in grave danger, like usual, but this time they didn't know how to fight it.
Makoto, too, began shouting, almost before Maya could finish, "We're seeing structural instability in the buildings that remain above ground..."
"But there is no visual confirmation!" interjected Shigeru.
"What's the status of the Evas?" shouted Misato, as she quickly moved closer to the main status window to get a look.
"We're moving out!" shouted Shinji, as he and Asuka moved away from underneath the Angel. The Angel's descent slowed, and stopped at the Evas' eye level, and it disappeared. The Angel passed right through the buildings that were taller than it, and they shimmered, as if they didn't exist where the Angel did. The air around the Angel also seemed different, as the air seemed to be blue-shifted, as if the light that entered that region was compressed. That was the only way to know where the Angel was, as it seemed to have become invisible.
"Where's the Angel?" asked Asuka.
"It's two dimensional. That's why you can't see it from your vantage point! What's the status of the Angel's A.T. field?" asked Misato, turning her head to Maya.
"It doesn't seem to have one?" questioned Maya with incredulity. She returned to the console, and checked again. "Yes, we're not reading an A.T. Field."
"Move in, and spread your A.T. Field, use it to contain the Angel!" shouted Misato, again, toward the projection screen.
"Understood!" shouted Shinji and Asuka simultaneously, as he stepped toward the Angel, the Eva unit's arms raised, and A.T. Field extending about two meters out from the fingertips. Asuka stood on the other side, doing the same. They walked toward each other slowly, A.T. Field extended, and the fields touched the Angel... and passed right through it. Shinji's arms, via the Angel, passed right though it. All he felt was a tingling sensation in his arms.
"Is this all right?" Shinji asked the control room.
"This is stupid..." said Asuka, wondering how they were going to attack this Angel by just standing there. She stopped her A.T. Field, and stepped outside the range of the Angel, again, to grab a rifle stored in a building behind her.
"Everything seems nominal... life support signs, harmonics, everything seems all right... except..." Maya was trying to read the console, and one of the graphs seemed wrong, but she couldn't point her finger on it.
"Asuka? What are you doing? You're disobeying orders!" shouted Misato, now becoming upset. On her face sweat beaded, and started dripping down her cheek. Despite the fact the entire complex was air-conditioned, she felt hot.
The Angel suddenly expanded, and became a sphere. The arms of Unit 01 were instantly chopped off.
"AAAAAaaahhh!!!" shouted Shinji in agony.
"The Angel seems to begun rotating, with its axis at roughly 36 degrees clockwise from North, 40% from horizontal. So that's how it attacks! It rotates, and nothing can touch it!" Maya exclaimed.
"Cut all nerve bindings from the shoulder down!" shouted Misato. As it was done, Shinji's cry of pain turned into a whimper.
"We're also reading an increasing electro-magnetic field on the Angel. It seems to be drawing Unit 01 closer, though that can't be right, because there isn't enough metal in Eva for the strength of the field! Unit 02 is still too far away for it to affect it," said Shigeru, checking status.
"This is very strange. The Angel is passing right through the buildings of Tokyo-3 as if they do not exist. Yet, it sliced off the arm to the elbow of Unit 01," Makoto exclaimed.
The rifle was set up, and Asuka fired. A bright beam of light emanated from the tip of the gun, and followed a straight line, through the sphere which was the Angel, and went right out the other side, with no effect.
"Nothing!" shouted Asuka, who now charged at the Angel with her progressive knife.
"That's useless! If the rifle can't hurt the Angel, and an A.T. Field has no effect, then the knife is USELESS!!" shouted Misato, who was ignored, as Asuka leapt forward...
"AAAAAAAaaaaahhhhh!" shouted Asuka, as she was thrown back.
"What's the status on the Eva?" asked Misato.
"Minimal damage," reported Maya, "though the pilot seems to be now suffering some trauma. Her life signs are completely out of range. We're not getting any response from the eject command!"
"Rei, go in and take Asuka out, and Shinji, withdraw also... we're going to have to abort this mission for now and re-evaluate," cried Misato, as her face paled. Rei didn't move at all. Shinji started to scream out, again.
"What's going on?" shouted Misato to the technicians.
"Pattern Blue! We have a Pattern Blue! And it's coming from inside Unit 01!" shouted Maya. "For some reason, Shinji's showing up as an Angel!"
"And what about Rei?"
"Her life signs are normal... Oh my God! We're reading Pattern Blue from her also!"
Misato slumped into a random chair. "We're doomed... it seems."
Gendou only nodded to Fuyutsuki, who picked up a red phone, and spoke, "This is a scrambled line? Yes, this is an emergency... I.D. 14432 confirmed. Hikari and Touji are to report to NERV HQ... Yes, yes... we'll handle the information control... yes, according to the Report, they are the next two children... why, of course we have the Evas, they've just never been tested before. Under Protocol 35.98.2m. Yes. We'll take full responsibility."
The Angel continued to spin, and seemed almost semi-translucent, as it faded in and out of existence.
Gendou spoke to Misato, "Get the psionics expert here. The last time we saw activity deviating this much, Yui disappeared. That is not going to happen again." His calm voice hid the worry he had for Rei. He shook away the strange feeling of anxiousness for Shinji. That feeling did not belong.
--
Precious minutes and seconds flashed on the screen, as the Angel continued to spin, giving off an eerie yellow light. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Shinji, in Evangelion Unit 01 was drawn closer to the Angel. The life support systems in Unit 02 were barely functioning, and Makoto continued to shout for a response from Asuka. Misato continued to shout at Rei, in Unit 00, silent, and unresponsive. Suddenly, all the status windows for the Prototype Evangelion returned static. The connection was broken.
Time seemed to move slower, as Fuyutsuki slammed down the phone, Misato shouted at Shinji to retreat. "Dammit, reply! What is going on there?" Maya quickly replied, "The normal communications seem to have been severed."
"Life support indicates that the pilot is unconscious!" shouted Maya, "The power has shut itself down. We don't know what's happening!"
The Angel continued to maintain its position, slowly pulling Unit 01 in. Unit 02 and Unit 00 continued to just sit in their current positions, unmoving. Time had seemingly stopped.
00:00:00
The view inside the cockpit was completely different. Shinji felt as if he were in a black void, and a voice inside his head was outside of it... and spoke to him. "You have fought us long enough."
00:00:56
"Who are you?" asked Shinji, looking around. He saw nothing. Only a lightless blackness, a thick, heavy soup that blocked his vision. He saw nothing, except himself. He saw, that he was standing four feet from himself, his reflection, except that it seemed to Shinji that he was the reflection, and the other, was the real one.
00:01:07
"Who are you? Are you me?" asked Shinji again, looking at himself.
00:01:13
The other sneered. "You created us, to seek some higher being. We would like to survive, but we need Adam to do so. However, the time comes nigh, as the apocalypse to come will destroy all sin."
00:01:31
"But what are you?" asked Shinji.
00:01:35
"I am you," said the reflection.
00:02:28
"But, you can't be... I'm not... you... me..."
00:02:33
"I am you, but you are no longer yourself. Your sin created me. Your sin against the Blessed One."
00:02:44
"Wait, you mean, Rei? The Blessed One? Why is she that? I know what I did... and I deserve to die, but what about her?"
00:02:56
"She will be cared for. She is our mother, after all."
00:03:09
"Why do you tell me this? If I am to die, it would be better if sooner..."
00:03:16
"NO. You are now us."
00:03:18
"NO! I have to fight that... I can't let the Angels win... I can't (I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away...) I CAN'T!"
00:03:34
"If you fight, you shall truly perish."
A pain shot up Shinji's head, like a stake driven through. A pain shot through his neck, his arms, his torso, his legs, and suddenly, he was back in the cockpit of Evangelion Unit 01. But he wasn't. He peered down, and saw an image of himself sitting in the entry plug. On the opposite side, was a bright white light. It drew him near, with promises of no pain, of pleasure. Shinji knew he did not deserve that, so fought it with all his might. "Mother!!" he shouted, in anguish.
00:03:35
Yui snapped awake, and took a look at her surroundings. The darkness still held sway, but slowly, Yui fought it. Her son was in danger, and no matter what had happened, she was still his mother. Yui felt compressed. In a burst of anger, Yui regained control of herself, and was shocked to discover that she was actually Rei. "So that's why I had those feelings," she thought to herself. Yet, something was missing, a vital part of her soul, as if it had been spliced off. She felt for it in her mind, and discovered with awe the power that it had been fused with. It was Evangelion Unit 01. But the darkness tried again, tried again to return, and Yui/Rei faced her own reflection.
00:03:37
"Who are you?" asked Yui, looking around. She saw nothing. Only a lightless blackness, a thick, heavy soup that blocked her vision. She saw nothing, except herself. She saw, that she was standing four feet from herself, her reflection, except that it seemed to Yui that she was the reflection, and the other, was the real one.
00:03:48
"Who are you? Are you me?" asked Yui again, looking at herself.
00:03:52
The other only smiled. "You created us, to seek some higher being. We would like to survive, but we need Adam to do so. However, the time comes nigh, as the apocalypse to come will destroy all sin. You are the Blessed One."
00:04:00
"What do you mean, the Blessed One?" asked Yui.
00:04:53
"You have been chosen to fuse with us."
00:05:01
"But, why am I still here?"
00:05:04
"Because of Ikari Gendou, you are still here. Because of us, you are blessed."
00:05:20
"No. What of my son?"
00:05:22
"He will choose to join us."
00:05:30
"But this is not what SEELE intended at all! What happened?" asked Yui, as she began to remember all of the meetings in which SEELE outlined the plan. They were being warped. This was wrong.
00:05:42
"The time will come when you learn."
00:05:46
"But, what happens until then?"
00:05:49
"You will be cared for. You are our mother, after all."
00:05:52
"Why do you tell me this? It isn't right! I didn't create the monsters," shouted Yui, her mind swirling with turmoil.
00:05:56
"NO. You are now us."
00:05:58
"NO! I have to fight that... I can't let the Angels win... I can't (I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away...) I CAN'T!" Yui blinked in surprise. The thought... it didn't originate from her. She did not create that thought. Then, where did it come from?
00:06:14
"If you fight, you shall truly perish."
But Yui did not perish. As her mind drifted away from the reflection, she realized she was being pulled into another being. Another mind that was so similar...
00:06:17
"Rei?" asked Shinji, as out of the void, out of the blackness, Shinji appeared.
00:06:20
"No, I am not Rei." said Yui, who looked at her son, now all grown... she was happy to see him healthy like this, yet, sad to see that he had a look about him, a look of a sad, sad fate.
00:06:25
"But... who are you?"
00:06:28
"I am your mother," said Yui.
Shinji looked across the void, and only saw the image of Rei. This was what his father had told him, it was now confirmed.
00:06:30
"My son, you must continue to fight, not end up like this," said Yui softly, as Yui-in-the-image-of-Rei drew close to Shinji, and began to stroke his hair. "The plans we had... they were destroyed, the perverse has happened."
00:06:49
"No!" shouted Shinji, backing away. "I will fight! I will fight! Just don't allow me to hurt you again!"
00:06:53
Yui smiled sadly, and retreated out of the void. Her mind was pulled strongly, and pulled into the mind of the Evangelion Unit 01. Surprisingly, she found the rest of herself here... this is why the emptiness was so strong... this was the reason.
Tears welled up in Shinji's eyes. What he had done was so wrong. Was so wrong. Determined, he fought the blackness, the darkness that covered his soul, the dark pall that tainted his mind, the sin that twisted his heart. And on the seventh minute, he rested.
--
Gendou raised an eyebrow. "Order Unit 00 to defeat Unit 01."
"But, we haven't resumed communicatio..." said Misato as Unit 00 began to move toward Unit 01.
"Pattern Blue is retreating from Unit 01, for some reason, but Unit 00 is still returning Blue!" shouted Maya, who looked questioningly at Misato.
"Do it," said Gendou, who only stared at the screen, hands folded, elbows splayed upon the desk, "Unit 02, 05, and 06 will deal with the larger Angel first."
"We're not reading Pattern Blue from Unit 01, at all, anymore!" shouted Maya, again, looking up at Gendou for change in orders. Gendou only continued to stare at the screen. Misato only looked at Gendou, and then she understood. Gendou was not going to forgive his son. Mercy was not him.
--
Shinji regained consciousness, and saw that he was being drawn closer to the Angel. Opposite him, it seemed that Asuka was regaining control of her Eva... she now purposefully moved back away from the Angel. Shinji did so, with difficulty. It felt strange, as if his mind were being drawn toward some wondrous place, though, he knew for certain, inside, lay death. Rei advanced toward him in Unit 00. There were two other Evas, colored black and gray, and looked exactly like Asuka's Unit 02.
They seemed to be involved in some sort of dance, no, it perhaps looked more like meditation, as the three held hands, and kneeled, and did absolutely nothing. He could feel powerful minds at work, though, as the weave of the threads of thought twirled, and twisted. He watched, as the Angel was suddenly a two dimensional disk, again, and the rotation slowed. Pieces of the angel suddenly winked out of existence, adding holes in the Angel like a caterpillar-infested leaf. The holes grew bigger, and consumed the entire Angel. Shinji knew that he would have to ask what happened...
But that was quickly pushed out of his mind as Unit 00 came rushing toward him. He put his arms out in front of himself to block, but then discovered that his entry-plug had ejected, by an outside command.
"Entry-plug ejected, sir." said Maya, quietly, wondering why Gendou was ordering what he was. It didn't make sense. All indications were that Shinji's Angel status was downgraded. He was no longer a threat. On the other hand, Rei was still registered as an Angel, and yet he ordered _her_ to kill _him_. It didn't make sense. She couldn't bear to watch the action on the screen, and turned her head away, and sobbed.
"What's going on?" cried Shinji, as he suddenly felt claustrophobic. Suddenly, for the last split second of his life, he realized why this was happening. The Angel had won. It had finally won, he realized, as the metal enclosure that was once an entry-plug suddenly became a lot smaller in volume.
Misato looked at Gendou, who still sat there, unemotionally, and then back at the screen. The circular Angel was almost completely defeated, but it was too late to do anything about Shinji. Despite all of his sins, Misato felt deep sorrow, at the loss of one that she truly cared for.
The entire NERV staff remained deadly silent.
Evangelion Unit 01 began to move, again.
"We're reading interference from Unit 01 comm-link!" shouted Makoto, who swiveled around to look at Misato for further orders.
"Wait, and see what happens..."
Evangelion Unit 01, with its entry plug missing, reared up, and jumped upon Unit 00 with fury. It ripped at the entry plug with its mouth, and chewed at it, destroying the Angel inside. It then fell silent, as Yui smiled to herself, and thought "We will always win."
Gendou stood, and quickly walked out of the control room, with Fuyutsuki following close behind. "Leave me," said Gendou. "I have much to do."
--
It was again an unfamiliar ceiling. Shinji awoke, wondering if that nightmare had ended. He looked down at himself, and noticed that all of his bruises were gone. He sat up, and looked across, to the shadow on the curtain. It was most definitely Rei. The shadow turned, and looked at him. "I am glad you are all right, my son," it said.
"Mother?" asked Shinji.
"No, I am not your mother," said Rei, "you are like me, now. You live and die, and are needed, but you will know that you will never own your life again."
End
End Notes
Thanks go to Scriviner, who blessed this endeavor, and Tom and Howard for C+C previous versions, and to everyone else who contributed.
I want to explain myself a bit here... I don't like the idea of Shinji raping Rei... this is NOT doujinshi. I actually find that entire idea repulsive. Thus, there should be a feeling of unpleasentness about that whole section.
In addition, many of the ideas I used clearly diverge from Evangelion T.V. series. This is intentional, since it is not meant to _fit_ anywhere in the series... it is meant to be a remake of sorts of the episodes.
Yours,
Kevin Shiue
