Because we all know that they need some love. Angel mode activate! *program malfunctions* What? Oh hi Iruel! *the glitch says hi* Kewl!

Disclaimer Activate!

I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. I own you.

Sachiel: Paradise Lost

It was an ordinary morning, trees swaying, fish jumping, and-BIRDS!

Sachiel proceeded to reach down and stroke the birds lovingly. He accidentally crushed the entire tree it was in, but the birds escaped just before he touched the tree they had perched in. Sachiel then wept, invisible tears dripping down his… Cheek thingy…?

It wasn't that he couldn't control his own strength, he was just very excitable around birds because he favored them above all other life forms made by The Father.

They were just so pretty!

He didn't think he himself was pretty though, his gangly limbs and sickly green body hideous to look upon. He knew it was something of a heresy to think that anything made by his Father could be hideous, but in the privacy of his own mind he allowed himself this simple bit of deviance. The only redeeming quality he could find in his appearance was that whenever he looked at his reflection in the water, he could giggle at the reflection. He had a face like a bird mask, and it was simply lovely to him.

The Father definitely had his like of birds in mind when he was born.

So as the jolly green giant paced through the uninhabited countryside, careful not to step on anything larger than a pebble, he mused at the beauty of his island sized Garden.

It was a land he had shaped and guarded, just for the little creatures and himself, just because he loved them so. All these things were crafted and nurtured by The Father in the beginning, and now he tended the Garden in his stead.

Sachiel himself had not bourn witness to the beginning, but his elder brother 'Zeru-san' remembered things clearly. What wonders he heard of The Father's power through his brother's stories! From the shaping of the mountains, to the seeding of the earth, to the birth of all the creatures that crawl the earth, there was a sort of passion that swelled up in him as he heard these things.

Absent mindedly Sachiel picked up a little red fruit that had dropped off of one of his favorite trees. It was so small to him, but to a bird it would be relatively well sized. He could probably give it to the bird who he had scared as an apology present. He had done this on occasion before, and they always forgave him. The birds liked him too, they just didn't like nearly being squashed.

Then The Usurper came, bearing down upon the planet that rightfully belonged to The Father. He was loathe to tolerate her presence, but he nonetheless offered her a place at his side, lower than he but higher than all others.

She refused.

The usurper had no intent of sharing the world, and she SUCKER PUNCHED THE FATHER!

Pop! Sachiel looked down at the crushed remains of the apple between his fingers, realizing he had gotten too angry and lost his incredibly high control over his strength. He felt sad, and began looking for another apple, not wanting to present his offering of apology in a mashed form. He bent down and held the apple's remains out for a small squirrel to eat, the creature happily obliging to its large friend's random gift.

Where was he? Ah yes.

Taking a moment to cool down, he recalled with suppressed anger how The Usurper had taken The Father down before he had a chance to unleash his full wrath on her. The vile creature probably knew his beloved father would have bested her if he had been able to strike back. So it followed that after she had struck the initial—

Sachiel started, bolting upright while still keeping from hurting anything with his immense size. The Usurper's spawn were approaching again. His 'eyes' blinked owlishly in his surprise. They shouldn't have come back here. He had to kill them if they came any closer. While they were definitely wretched in their lineage, he did not subscribe to the same program as Zeru-san, in which "The sins of their ancestor is passed down to the descendant." He just didn't have it in him to judge like that. Zeru-san did.

He was always the most like Father, he held such authority amongst them all and he always knew what to do when disaster struck. It was Zeru-san who had banded them all together and decided how to deal with the loss of Father. Sachiel loved his brother to death, and looked up to him above all others, but he wasn't like him. He couldn't bring himself to believe the Lillim were evil, to follow in the footsteps of his older brother.

He was filled with shame at his shortcomings. He felt somehow that because his beliefs didn't match up with everyone else's that he was somehow sinful to his Father.

Sachiel had on numerous occasions tried to influence the Lillim without his brothers knowing, for it might cause them to shun him or do worse. He knew the Lillim were capable of great savagery against themselves, but to call them monstrous? No. He was just as capable of hurting himself as they; he merely heaped blame on himself instead, while they used sticks and rocks. It may not seem equal, but he was his own entire race, and the Lillim race was like tiny shards of a being like him. He sighed at this, for how lonely must they all be? He could not imagine himself being split like that, it was a painful thought.

When the Lillim invented war he saw potential, perhaps they would all unite under a single banner and their sacrifices would be cut in the end. He was wrong, and they still found ways to hurt each other, more so than before.

He thought at several points that he had seen some of his other brethren trying to guide them to peace and unity, but when he subtly inquired as to their opinions and actions regarding the Lillim… They clammed up. He honestly should have expected it if they really were doing such things, as he would do the same in their place. If Zeru-san asked if he was interacting with Lillim, he'd lie his ass off and hope his brother would still love him if he got caught in his lies.

Zeru-san had demanded that in the absence of The Father or The Usurper, they take the opportunity to strike down the Lillim unopposed, and avenge their Father through his enemies children while he slumbered to recover. While at the time of the suggestion most of their kind seemed to be all for the action, Sachiel had tentatively put forth the question whether vengeance was truly Father's will at that point. Zeruel and most of their congregation hushed and looked upon him. He felt Zeru-san's gaze burning into him, unable to read his emotion. Had he overstepped his imaginary line and let his true, less pure, thoughts slip in?

He wasn't sure if he was the only one who had these tiny chinks in their faith or whatever it may be, but he certainly knew that Zeru-san was a bastion of faith, and likely the most powerful in Father's absence. Luckily Sachiel ended up coming off as wise and cool headed, though he was a nervous wreck inside. Zeruel nodded and the conversation proceeded normally, albeit less heated than before. Sachiel felt great relief and noted an odd mixture of irritation and pride directed at him from Zeru-san. After much deliberation, they finally reached the conclusion that unless there was ample reason to get involved, they would exist separately from the Lillim and wait for the reawakening of Father.

They would continue to perform the tasks given by Father as their main priorities, and then mandates that Zeruel had assigned in his knowledge of The Father's Ways. They agreed to the guidance and leadership of Zeru-san in the absence of Their Father, who they knew would return eventually.

Setting aside his memories and musings, Sachiel peered out into the endless sea where his brother Gaghiel slept. He stood shoulder high in the water a little ways out from his Garden island, his huge frame not high enough to be noticeable from a distance. He had sensed the light of their souls long before they came within the range of his sight. It was his solitary existence on the island that allowed him to have such excellent perception, any changes being noticeable immediately because he was so used to the feeling of the place.

There was no mistaking it; they were on a course for the island.

Numerous times in the past, before he and his brothers felt The Great Stirring Of The Father, the Lillim had attempted to come to this island. Certainly he had made sure they never came close enough to see it, but still they approached far too close and often for his comfort. He was certain that some of it was his fault, the disappearance of their ships and planes drawing curiosity, but if he did nothing then they would find it all the same. Heck, from his understanding, they had even given a name to his domain.

They called it the Bermuda Triangle.

Sachiel had been growing worried as of late, alarm and dread filling him as their kind came closer and closer to discovering him and living to tell the tale of his island. He knew that it would happen eventually, and had brought his issue before his brethren.

They too shared his concern, and Iruel had mentioned that while before The Great Stirring Of The Father the population and chances of coming within range of sight were higher, the actual percentage had been exponentially increasing. The only explanation for it was that on some level they were aware of his existance, and had been watching him with their Sah-tuh-lights or whatever the term was. In short they would definitely take strong action soon, and his duty to protect his Garden from them would come into conflict with Zeruel's mandate of neutrality.

When his inner conflict between his duty to Father and his brother's command, Father always came first. Zeruel himself made a point of encouraging Sachiel to follow the Higher Mandate until no longer possible, and began deliberating on the issue of how to deal with the coming situation.

Sachiel suggested they attempt to reach a negotiated peace. Ramiel suggested that he simply continue defending it until they realized his power too great and gave up. Gaghiel laid down an offer to take the offensive for Sachiel, and ravage their fleets until they could not reach him any longer. Zeruel, while favoring Gaghiel's idea due to his intense dislike of the Lillim, and Ramiel's idea being very tactically sound, allowed his dear little brother Sachiel a chance to negotiate with the Lillim before he adopted a better strategy.

And while Sachiel could not bring himself to hate the Lillim… He'd be damned if they came near his birdies!

So he attempted to contact the Lillim, his brother Ramiel temporarily acting as the Garden's defender in his absence. He swam through the deep, guided by Gaghiel to the location Iruel's intel had placed as the most likely to hold success. It was a place of great population, and in the days before the The Father's Great Stirring it was the center of peaceful gatherings between nations.

Sachiel was on a whirlwind adventure to New York-2.

As he approached the metropolis's shoreline, he stretched out the light of his soul. He quickly drew it back in shock. How many Lillim there were concentrated in this monument to a dead city! Their light was bright, and numerous to be sure. Looking back at his brother, Gaghiel nodded to him and broke away, returning to the ocean's depths far faster than the crawl he had adopted for Sachiel to keep pace with. Sachiel had to do this on his own, Zeru-san had said. It was Sachiel's idea and he would be the most sincere in his efforts for peace.

Predictably enough, Sachiel did not realize that a giant green being, foreign and unknown to the Lillim, would only cause panic when it rose from the sea. He made no hostile motions, attempting to dissuade their fears and show his intent for peace. It didn't work, and he suddenly found himself deflecting missile fire and tank rounds. Honestly, was violence always their first option?

Oh yeah, he'd been watching over them for Father knows how long. Of course it was.

Realizing his tactical blunder, Sachiel attempted to communicate with the Lillim. The sound that his voice made was more frightening than peaceful to them. They then proceeded to bring in even more weapons, all useless against him. Finally growing annoyed, he batted the tanks closest to him onto their sides with his feet. He accidentally overestimated their weight and sent them crashing away, rolling flames and debrie in their wake.

His action caused a panic in their ranks, and the vast majority of them began to fall back, a few remaining to provide an ineffective version of cover fire. Sachiel did not want this, he wanted peace!

Reaching out he plucked one of the tanks up, taking care to aim the barrel away from himself. He attempted then to reach into the mind of it's operator, and spoke of it's mission. He was met with disbelief and distrust, but he set the tank on top of a building as a gesture of sincerity. Unfortunately before he could insist upon the truth of his purpose, the Lillim launched a large number of bombs from the sky. So focused on his current task, he did not anticipate more than the shells and missiles he had been getting hit with thus far.

The Lillim had collaterally destroyed the one he was speaking with in a vain attempt to destroy him.

It was then he realized that his current attempt at peace was futile, and with a sad mental sigh he elected to return to the island and submit to the wisdom of his brothers. Were he allowed to have a few more chances he was certain he could show them his true intent, but Zeru-san had only given him one. He would not dispute the matter further.

He retreated slowly into the waters from which he came, diving so deep they had no chance of following him. There in the darkness he swam, brooding over his shortsighted planning, and his failure. He should have known better than to think a being as hideous as he believed himself to be could be seen as anything but evil.

Shaking his head as he snaps out of his memories, he refocuses on the task at hand. He had to defend the Garden again.

The ship floats into view, a leaf insignia tattooed on its side and a motto inscribed in a circle around it. Drawing himself further underneath the water, Sachiel waits for them to come in range, drawing the light of his soul around him in case they have some type of weaponry. Strangely enough, the boat stops when he does this, and within a few seconds he realizes something is wrong. He feels the water stir slightly as a wave of sound pings off of him.

Ray-Dar, he thinks to himself, realizing he has been found. These Lillim were not normal run of the day Lillim, they were smart and had some level of caution. Although the fact that they stopped when he deployed the light of his soul gave him pause. Did they know he was here before they arrived? How did they sense him? He could not allow them to leave now, and time was of the essence if he wanted to prevent them from revealing his location. His two eyes shine brightly underwater, and the next thing that occurs is the absolute destruction of the ship.

He looks grimly at the fading light of his "Crossplosion" as he called it. Regret for killing them tinged with worry. Right before he destroyed the ship, he felt something in the air. Not radar, but…

Something in the air..?

Sound…

Image…

Transmission…

The Lillim had created a way of sending their experiences to one another through the sky?

Sonova..! Radio! That was what Iruel had warned him about Lillim using a long time ago. They were on the hunt for him ever since his failed attempt at peace, and they must have sent this ship with the specific intent of locating him. He had been found, and the Garden of The Father was no longer secret.

It appeared to Sachiel that his solitary lifestyle had finally ended, and the mandate of neutrality was going to be shattered by him whether he wanted to or not. Brooding and attempting to slow his racing thoughts, he returned to the island and sat on its shores. True he was not to interfere with the Lillim any more than he already had, but if they interfered with his sacred task of protecting the Garden, then he had to do what he could. Surely now that they knew of his existence something was going to happen, and they would return.

He knows not how long he sat there attempting to rationalize and plan his next action, however by the time he reached a conclusion it was too late, and all plans went out the window. They had returned in numbers. This time it was from the sky, and it was larger than any of the other planes he'd seen before. Unnerved, he waited for it to come closer so he could strike, as the plane itself too high to aim at, at least with any accuracy.

He would regret his decision forever, as the plane unloaded an N2 mine directly on him and his Garden.

Pain. The light of his soul had mostly protected him; however, he was the only thing it had protected. His island was devastated, the Garden in flames. His mask like face seared in agony as he blinked owlishly at the burning ruins of his home.

Horror. Trees were all but piles of ash, ponds evaporated and wrecked, animals' smoldering corpses lying on the blackened earth.

Sorrow. Invisible tears poured down his face, burning as his flesh knit back together rapidly. He had never even gotten to apologize to the bird he had frightened.

Anger. They had destroyed it, the place he had spent so much time preserving and they had destroyed it all. Adam's Garden, the one he had charged Sachiel with maintaining all the way back from before The Usurper came, was destroyed.

Despair. Eden was lost.

He raged and thrashed, firing wildly at the destroyer of paradise high above. An immense Crossplosion in the sky was his reward, but he still felt empty. True, it wasn't as devastating as the loss of Father, but it still hurt. And this time it was the Lillim themselves who did it, so any vengeance he might take would be justified. But the logical part of him told him not to, that he had to consider all of the different factors, and he grudgingly listened to it. He still didn't believe they were truly evil like The Usurper, but they nonetheless shared her blood.

He stood in conflict for a moment, before deciding that no matter what, he had to leave the island. Whether to tell his brothers what happened, to seek personal vengeance, or to simply move on and hide out in some remote place- he knew not. But he had to leave.

Silently, in his grief, he swam away, seeking out his brother Gaghiel in the deepest places of the world. He succeeded after a time, and relayed his sorrowful tale. However what he heard then bent his bent his heart toward that which he had been resisting by his care and respect for The Usurper's spawn. Through the wanderings of Bardiel, and the investigation of Iruel, they had found Father once more.

THE LILLIM HAD STOLEN FATHER ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!

It had been a source of confusion and trepidation when The Father had briefly stirred and disappeared over a decade and a half ago. Zeruel, normally the most capable of them, nearly went out of his head upon initially hearing the news, and had to be restrained from crushing the Lillim survivors then and there in his suspicion.

True, it could have been them, or maybe it could have been some working of The Usurper herself. But the one thing that truly scared them, the one thing that burrowed its way into the back of their minds and lurked ominously on the edges of their hearts, was actually quite possible too.

They were afraid The Father had abandoned them for a new world.

His presence, while merely dimmed in his slumber, was now all but gone. Not even Sahaquiel's all seeing eyes could locate him at that point. The last few years they had been on edge, attempting to solve the mystery and find Father. And to find out that the culprit was the spawn of The Father's Enemy? The Lillim were hardly capable of being called innocent at that point.

Zeruel was visibly enraged, and the only thing preventing them all from slaying the thieves on the spot and taking The Father was, ironically enough, Zeruel's command and leaderrship. He breathed slowly and attempted to bring himself and his brothers down from their blood lust. Explaining his reasoning, he told how they could not risk commiting genocide against the Lillim while they held the greatly weakened Father in their clutches. To risk losing The Father would be unacceptable, so the plan was worked out that they would send the only one of their kind who had been seen by them to attack. They would target the most likely location that Their Beloved Father was being held at through Iruel's intel, and Sachiel would eliminate those who had taken stolen their sleeping Father without mercy.

Sachiel was angry beyond words at the Lillim, and was finding himself struggling not to hate. He knew they were a curious race at times, and might have found The Father by chance. It could have been an accident. But as angry as he and his brethren were, they simply did not care. He quickly began his new task of searching for Father and destroying anything in his path, as his old task of love was gone.

Due to his difficulty with directions, he was once more escorted by his brother Gaghiel. Finally reaching the destination, he travelled on alone through the half sunken ruins of a city, just barely swimming beneath the surface. They hadn't noticed his brother before, but they definitely knew Sachiel was on his way. They were far more prepared this time, and this time Sachiel wasn't going to hold back. He would regrettably have to slaughter them all it seemed. Expanding the light of his soul, Sachiel finally set foot on the solid earth of the place.

Sachiel had finally arrived in Japan.

Tokyo-3 was marked for destruction for its sins against The Father.

Yay, finally got it done! Not sure if I wanna keep this as a one shot on Sachiel's view of events or try my hand at something bigger. Doubt I'll get around to anything more though. The angels don't get enough character development in the cannon, this is how I say "LOL I'm an angel, look at meh! I haz depth!".

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