Disclaimer: I have no official ownership of NGE.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Advent of the Demons

Recorded by The Shadow Walker

Chapter 01: "Pencils on your desk! Testing is over!"

January 02, 2016 (Day 0)

Somewhere on the coast of Japan

Shinji didn't know what to do. Everything that he had known, everything that he had; every he had believed in or cared for was gone. Everything except this girl, this girl that had just called him pathetic. This girl that, for some irrational reason, he cared for. This girl that he had, only a moment ago, attempted to kill; to send along with every other human soul from the planet.

Shinji started to wept. He just wanted to do nothing; to cease existing. After all, he had failed. He had failed everyone. Everything around him was a reminder of that: The sea of LCL, the air that was heavily scented with blood, the crimson-stained beach they were on, the broken buildings around them. He was a failure. The only thing he could hope for was for this reality to roll back and reveal something other than the red waves that spanned the horizon, and the remains of Lilith. He had failed in his mission. All that he could really do now was to lay there and wait to join everyone.

"Are you going to lay on me all day or what?" Asuka Langley Soryu, the tattered pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, demanded. Now fully conscious, she was severely pissed and even if she was in no condition to do anything, Shinji felt the involuntary urge to comply. It was something that had become ingrained in his been. 'Serve and be accepted. Do as you are told and you will be rewarded.'

Shinji hauled himself off of Asuka, only to collapse next to her in a heap as the events that had just transpired continued revolving through his head. He shivered uncontrollably as tears sprang from his eyes.

"What's your problem?" Asuka snarled, "Are you so path−" She stopped abruptly as Shinji bolted upright, snarling menacingly and seemingly ready to rip her head off.

"You have no idea what I've been through!" he screamed, "You have no clue!"

Asuka was taken aback. Shinji had displayed some backbone on occasion, but never like this. He had certainly never snapped at anyone like that, let alone her.

He was trembling again, whether from rage, fear, or exhaustion she couldn't tell. And to make matters worse, he was crying again, "Don't you get it? I failed, I failed…"

"Oh come on!" Asuka said loudly, though a quiver could be heard in her voice, "What's so bad…"

"Everybody's dead!" Shinji yelled, "Don't you get it? We're the only people left alive!"

Asuka stared at him with her good eye. Everybody? Was that possible?

"But…but we stopped the Third Impact! We stopped all of the Angels!" she argued as she turned her head to gaze the landscape around them.

"It doesn't matter," he wailed, "It doesn't matter anymore, because everybody's dead! Everything we did was meaningless!"

Asuka managed to force herself up and stared out across the rolling crimson at the floating head of Lilith. Everyone was dead? Misato? Hikari? The two stooges? As she glanced over at Shinji, who was still trembling where he stood as he couldn't seem to decide whether to scream in rage or cry in despair, it all hit her.

"Es dammen!" she cursed. Everything they had gone through, all of their time and effort, all of the pain and suffering, her pain and suffering, had all been for nothing!

Shinji seemed to share her sentiment as he turned and shouted out at the red sea, "So what was it all for? Huh? Well? Why did you put us through all of that, just to have us kill ourselves!"

Asuka joined him, unable to contain her building rage, "Why did we have to suffer for so long if you were just going to kills us off in the end? Well, why!"

Suddenly, the oceans boomed with an answer, "Your questions are just and they shall be answered." The LCL a few meters from shore shimmered with a heavenly light as something immense was thrust out.

"What in the name of…" Asuka never got the chance to finish as the light fully emerged for the LCL generating a thunderous blast that knocked Shinji down. What they beheld was straight of their nightmares.

"It's not…it's not possible…" Shinji mumbled.

The Giant of Light seemed to smile as its radiance became more collected. Its features morphed to resemble a tall man with a long, beaming face and long hair that was clasped at the base of its neck and three pair of luminous wings, "Greetings to you, children of the Lilin."

"You…" Asuka stammered, "You're a…an Angel…aren't you?"

"Correct, Second Child. I am known as Adam." Shinji and Asuka glanced at each other, their rage momentarily forgotten as they tried to grasp their current situation.

"Adam…" Shinji started.

"The first Angel?" Asuka inquired.

"Yes," the being nodded, "I am the first, father to all the Angels that you have battled."

"But…but…" Shinji stammered, but Asuka interrupted.

"What in blazes is going on!" her fury returned anew.

"I understand that you are confused as to why these events have transpired…"

"Oh shut up and tell us why you killed off half the population and then tried to kill the second half…" Asuka's angry voice trailed off as she stared as her surroundings.

"In order to understand that, you must grasp the situation…"

"Shut up!" Shinji interrupted, "Just shut up and tell us why!" Asuka blinked in astonishment at his outburst.

Adam seemed to sigh in resignation, "I see. Very well. To put it in the simplest of terms: Humanity, the Children of Lilin, and you specifically, the pilots of the Evangelion, were being tested."

"A test," Asuka and Shinji responded dully.

"Yes," Adam said.

"So…the death of everyone on the planet minus two was all for a test?" Shinji asked in a seemingly casual tone.

"And all of the pain, suffering and trauma that we endured over the course of our stint as Eva pilots, was all because of this test?" Asuka added quickly.

"Yes," Adam said simply.

"What in the blazes for!" they screamed in unison, no longer caring that they were dealing with the entity that had whipped out around 3 billion people.

Adam blinked at their vehemence, "Why, to see of you could survive and win."

Asuka seemed ready to leap up and rip Adam's arms off and beat him to death with them, when Shinji spoke coldly, "That's it? That's the entire reason? To see if we could? What kind of…"

"You misunderstand," another voice echoed from across the crimson. In the distance, a pillar of light shot out of the LCL, revealing a being that Shinji recognized.

"Lilith," he murmured.

"But," Asuka protested, "but that can't be her! She's all over the place; in pieces!"

"My old body, yes," Lilith smiled warmly, "I shed it, for now I no longer need it. What's done is done. You have become humanity, and humanity you shall remain."

"But…what do you mean?" Shinji asked cautiously.

Adam smiled slightly, "We mean that you that were once Lilin are now humanity. You have separated yourselves into individuals. We had to ensure that you were still strong enough to protect yourselves."

"We also wanted you to have the chance to regain what you once were," Lilith smiled, somewhat sadly, "We are sorry if you have suffered unduly."

"Sorry? Sorry?" Asuka growled, "You're…sorry…if we suffered unduly?"

Lilith started to speak, but Asuka cut her off, "Do you have any idea what I, we have gone through during your little test?"

"It was necessary," Adam assured her.

"Why? Why was it necessary?" Asuka demanded harshly.

"We needed to know that you could save yourselves from them."

Asuka felt her heart stop momentarily at those words. Shinji looked like he was about to faint.

"Them?" Shinji managed to choke out after a few seconds.

Adam seemed to sigh, "If you call us Angels…than they could only be called Demons."

"Demons?" Asuka gaped, "You mean that…wait. Call you Angels?"

"We are not exactly the Angels of God that you may think we are. We are creations of God, same as you. We are not so divine in nature as His true Angels," Lilith explained.

"But what are…never mind," Shinji sighed, "Why are they coming here?"

"They are coming to see if you are ready for enslavement. They last time they were here, you were far too primitive to be of any use to them other than labor, and they have slaves that are much stronger than you," Adam told them.

"But if you're so concerned," Asuka snorted, "Why can't you…"

"It would be disastrous," Lilith explained, "If we or our influence were to be discovered, than they would slaughter this world. We had to wait until they left the first time in order to begun the staging of the test, so Adam would not be detected. And we had to exert some influence in you society in order to assure that you would be ready in time."

"But what if…"Shinji said haltingly, "If we…if Third Impact had occurred?"

"Than you and Asuka would be the new Adam and Eve," Adam stated simply.

"WHAT!" the two pilots cried.

"However, you were strong enough, just as we hoped," Lilith said proudly, "I was concerned at times…"

"My dear, our time is short," Adam said gently, "We need to speak of other things."

"Yes, of course," Lilith nodded, "If you'll follow us." They began to fly down the coast.

"Hey!" Asuka called, "I'm still too injured to move!"

Shinji glanced at her hesitantly, "I, um…I could carry you…"

Asuka stared at him, "You aren't in any condition to carry me you idiot. We'd both end up on the ground."

Shinji was about respond when Lilith came back, "Oh, I apologize. I tend to forget the humans can't regenerate as fast as us." With a wave of her hand, a tidewave of LCL crashed down on them.

As the liquid receded, Asuka snapped at the angel, "What as that for?"

"You are healed," Lilith said, "Come quickly."

"Oh…" Asuka glanced at herself, than stood slowly, "Well come on Third…" She glanced at Shinji, who was standing stoically as he held all of the clothes that were formerly on his body, staring at them in a betrayed matter.

"Where did you get a plug suit?" Asuka blinked at his new attire.

"That…wave…" he managed.

"Ah. Anyways, come on!" She grabbed his arm and started off after the angels.

They walked for about ten minutes when the angels stopped.

Adam turned to them, "You must understand, that from now on it is your responsibility to defend this planet. No matter what happens, in battle or out, you four are the sole defenders until you can add more."

"Huh?" Shinji and Asuka stared at Adam, "Four?"

"Quickly," Lilith pointed to the shore. Laying there like a limp doll was body.

"Rei!" Shinji shouted as he ran over to her.

"But…but…" Asuka blinked as she went from Rei to Lilith and back.

"Rei was a creation of the combining of DNA from myself and Yui Ikari in Eva-01. In a way, she is a daughter of Yui, but my essence also existed in her. She was a missing part of me that has been returned. Now she is wholly human," Lilith explained.

Shinji was shaking Rei now, "Rei, can you hear me? Are you still alive?"

Rei's eyes twitched, than opened, "I…Ikari?"

"Hi Rei," Shinji smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"I…" Rei suddenly sat up, "What's happened to me?"

"You have separated yourself from me," Lilith told her, "You are now fully human."

"Wait a second," Asuka said suddenly, "You said us four are the sole defenders, but there are only three Eva pilots!"

"No, there are four," Adam protested.

"No there…" Shinji frowned, than suddenly paled, "you can't mean…Kaworu? But he…"

"No, Tabris is not the fourth," Adam frowned, "You don't remember the fourth? The one that battled with Bardiel?"

"Bardiel…?" Asuka blinked.

"Bardiel the Angel of Hail," Lilith explained, "The thirteenth…"

"What!" Shinji cried, "You mean…"

"Hey Shinji! Are we alive?" a voice called from down the shore. Toji Suzuhara.