Prologue – It Is Beginning Again…

Anger. Rage. Hate. Those emotions engulfed her, drowning out everything else. She could hear it, screaming, crying, shouting. She could feel the terror of others swirling around her, and she reveled in it. It fed her, like gasoline feeding a flame. Anger. Rage. Hate. How dare they try to contain him. How dare they try to use him. How dare they! They deserved to die. They made him suffer so much. They had to pay.

They were killed.

But they didn't learn. They were doing it again. They weren't just hurting him anymore. They were hurting his love, too. They were hurting them so much. Why? Why were they doing this! It didn't matter. They had to be stopped. This had to end. It had to end soon…

---

"Hey! Earth to Haru! You still alive?" a voice yelled, ripping Haru from her dream and thrusting her roughly back into reality.

"Huh?" she said, jerking her head up from her desk, looking from side to side in search of the voice's owner. Her gaze landed on a boy seated beside her, Ichiro Fukusaku. He stared back at her through his over-grown bangs, what could be seen of his eyes shining with a mischievous glint that matched his smirk.

"Algebra homework really that boring?" he asked, poking the book she had been using as a pillow. Haru slapped his hand away and shot him a mock-glare. "Seriously, what were you dreaming about? You looked really freaked out." Haru faltered, averting her gaze to the page she had opened to in her math book. Unfortunately, this only spurred Ichiro's curiosity. "Come on, tell me!" he goaded, leaning to the side until he was once again in Haru's view. She met his eyes with a sharp glare, far from the playful look she had given him moments before. This look had a rather unmistakable message: Leave me alone and don't ask again.

Haru's sudden hostility startled Ichiro. It wasn't like her to act like that. He tapped his pencil on his desk in an anxious manner, muttering something about getting all mad over nothing. Mad? Mad! How could she not be mad? Her dream, her innermost feelings and visions, had been filled with nothing but hatred and rage. And what made it all so much worse was that it wasn't just a simple dream. She couldn't wave it off as some tangent of her imagination. No, everything from her 'dream' had been completely real.

Adam… what happened to you? What made you so angry? she thought. That had been his name. Adam. Amidst all those thoughts of revenge and hate, she had heard his name. It had been years since she had first found out his name, since that first dream, but she remembered the name, and knew it as well as her own. And now… Lilith… why are they hurting you? she wondered. Yes, that had been Adam's lover. Lilith. I wish… I wish I could help you…

Haru paused. She could hear something; it was a very low, quiet noise, but it was there. A barely audible, but consistent thumping sound. A few seconds passed, and the sound grew louder. More distinct. For a moment, Haru thought it was the sound of her own heart, but the pulse was different. It had started slow, but was growing in speed. There were other noises now. A voice she didn't recognize, yet it seemed strangely familiar. Fragments of what the voice was saying became clear.

Find him… destroy those who stop me… Not long now… Must reach…

All at once, everything came together. Haru waited a moment longer. She closed her eyes, listening to the voice until she had found it. Yes, there it was; a name. After another few seconds she stood and walked over to the window. She couldn't see past the towering buildings in front of her, but she could feel him. He was close. The voice was becoming clearer, and the heartbeat was becoming louder. She had waited so long for this, unsure if it would ever really happen. Now, he was here.

Ichiro rose from his desk and walked over to her, raising a confused eyebrow. "Haru…? Are you okay?" he ventured, stopping when he was a few steps behind her. She paused for a moment, and then turned.

"It's finally begun again. He's awake now. He's here." Her tone was almost indistinguishable, both excited and calm, happy and anxious, all at once.

"Who?" Ichiro asked, both eyebrows raised now. He didn't have a clue what she was talking about, and he was beginning to wonder about her mental state. Haru returned her gaze to the window.

"Sachiel…Angel of Water. He's coming…"

---

Sirens rang, echoing through New Tokyo-3. It was strange how much the noise sirens made was like screaming. The loudspeakers that accompanied the sirens buzzed to life, and moments later the recorded emergency message began to play.

"Alert! Alert! Everyone, please report to your designated shelter! An Angel is attacking! This is not a drill! Alert! Alert!"

---

Author's Note (dated 06-10-05): I hope you enjoyed the prolog to my Evangelion fanfiction! I put a decent chunk of effort into this, and I hope it has paid off. I have been having some problem actually getting around to working on one of my fanfictions, and I hope that Cruel Angel doesn't end up with the same problem. I'll probably go back over each chapter a few times for editing purposes, but large changes will be unlikely to occur.

Most of the changes will involve how I describe Haru. I have had a few struggles just in this chapter with how to portray Haru, and how to have her connection with the Angels make her seem like one of "oh-look-at-me-I'm-really-special" characters that are created for fanfiction purposes. I really hate that, and I hope I've avoided making Haru into one of those characters. Please forgive me if she comes off that way, and don't hesitate to make me aware of! Like I said, there will be much editing.

Oh, right, and another thing: I realize that most of the Angels were never designated a specific gender, but I felt that it would add to the depth of Haru's connection if she didn't always refer to the Angels as 'it'. So, yes, each Angel does have a gender in my fanfiction. I would also like to address that in this particular fanfiction, for purposes later to be revealed (but possibly easy to guess), Tabris (otherwise known as Kaworu Nagisa) will be heterosexual.

Thank you for reading! Please review!

(if you review, I will place my reply to it on my Profile Page within 48 to 72 hours)