A/N; Hi! This crossover might develop into something, I dare hope. Probably not the best ever, but hey! I'm no professional writer. So… Ideas might come in handy. And constructive criticism. Even some flames, if necessary. But enough of this ranting… let the tale be told. Or written. Or downloaded and viewed on a silicon based electronic information processing unit/terminal/in extreme cases Macintosh computer (Hitchcock psycho theme) which keeps crashing every now and then.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, names and dates as well as plotlines and most certainly not the vectors and EVAs used in this fic. This is a fanfiction, for heaven's sake! Why would I publish this kind of thing here if I was planning on making money of this kind of thing?...ahem. Anyway….
Of Lilim and Lilium
Chapter 1; Personality
Rei sat in her entry plug as they prepared her unit for the experiment. She was slightly nervous, knowing what lay ahead. She tried to clear her mind as she had been instructed to do for so many years now that it seemed forever. Then they began to initiate contact. Everything seemed to go well. Rei inwardly sighed in relief, and continued going through the list as per instructions. "Absolute borderline reached!" came the voice of Maya Ibuki, looking into the eyes of her sempai. Akagi nodded, turning to face the Evangelion as the critical stage approached.
I hope you take this well, Lilith she thought.
Rei heard the call, and instantly felt the borders of her consciousness dissolve. Then she concentrated on finding the mind of the Evangelion. Several moments passed without result, and she began to think that something must have failed to happen.
Had she done something incorrectly?
Had she ... failed?
Lucy stood in front of the soldiers, softly humming her requiem. She felt hollow, numb. The sooner she ended this, the better. She had shed her tears, and then some, as she had fled from the warm, strong arms of Kohta, a few hours ago.
He wanted her to stay, to stop the bloodshed. Lucy was too shocked to react with her vectors, and had collapsed into his arms, the sadness overwhelming her completely. She somehow managed to turn around and face him. She looked into his face and saw something she had never seen in anyone's face before, ever.
She saw love.
Even though he knew that she had taken his sister.
Even though he knew she had taken his father.
Even though he knew her destiny, her nature and her secrets.
He loved her.
She remembered the few days of happiness that he had given her, so long ago. The tiny flash of light in a lifetime of darkness and despair, fear, hate, blood and death.
He had given her kindness, and she had given him her heart.
"Oh, Kohta..." her voice broke, and she began to cry, tears sliding down her cheeks, unable to hold them back any longer. Kohta took her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her body. She slowly leaned her face into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around her love. She let the feeling wash over her as they stood, on the steps leading to her death, in perfect blissful peace.
The Squad stood readying their weapons as the girl advanced towards her impending doom. Their guns were cocked, their aim was true. All they waited for was one word. The girl had come towards them slowly, almost casually strolling over to the squad intended to destroy her. She stopped, twenty meters away.
Even though he does not forgive me, even though I will never be able to touch him ever again, I know the truth.
She felt the warmth from his heart, beating in time with hers as the soft breeze blew a cherry blossom petal in between their heads. It rested on his nose, held there, just barely, by the wind. Lucy gazed at it, watching it blow off into the distance as a fresh gust knocked it off his nose. Why does this have to be this way? She asked the same thin question over and over, without getting any answer at all. Kohta! I'm so sorry….
Rei felt the overwhelming sense of loss, as the Evangelion began to move. "The synapsys breakers are reversing!" the shout rooted everyone to the spot as they watched in horror as unit 00 began to break from it's restraints…
Rei blinked, taking in her surroundings. There was a bridge, in the dark night it stood illuminated by the soft orange streetlights. On it, there was a squad of jssdf- soldiers, aiming their guns straight at her. She blinked again, surprised at this unnerving turn of events. She was mesmerized at the sight until a girl walked past her without even noticing her. She had red eyes, like Rei. But instead of blue hair she had pink, almost blood red hair to match the eyes. They seemed to convey sadness, pain, hopelessness. Then the thoughts hit her.
If only there was a world where we could be together, where we could set aside our past…
The images of the girl's memories of the day spent with Kohta flashed up in Rei's head. She actually felt the happiness, something she had never felt before.
Then she saw the bloodshed Lucy had unleashed soon after finding out that he had lied to her. The pain in his voice, the fear in his eyes. Sadness, horror and pain. The feelings flooded Rei's mind as she followed the Diclonious to her intended doom. Then the feeling of safety, hope and warmth flooded her as the memories, still fresh in Lucy's mind, played back the last few minutes she had been able to share with Kohta.
Her apology, his confession, their kiss...
Sadness and regret grasped her heart, threatening to plunge her into an abyss of darkness. Her anchor to reality seemed to break as the last flashed before her eyes. Love. What a beautiful thing. Rei mused, reveling in the feeling she had experienced so shortly. Something she hoped to feel for someone else herself, someday. But she still did not possess sufficient data to be satisfied.
Lucy felt some kind of light breeze as she approached the soldiers.
I promised him not top kill anyone anymore. I promised. Now I will find out if I would do it, or not. Kohta…
Ttears formed at the corner of her eyes, slowly running down her cheeks and meeting under her chin. There was so much she wanted to do with him, so much she wanted do do for him. But her mere existence was a danger to his life. Something she could not, would not allow any longer. Then she stopped.
If I am born again, somewhere, someday, and he is in that world, I swear to be a good girl!
Her face drifted upwards, looking at the brilliant night sky. Even with the street lights, she could see quite a few stars. Then she saw a streak of light.
Rei followed, curious as she watched the girl walk seemingly fearlessly towards the soldiers. She had finally come to a stop forty metres awayof the armed men, gazing up into the night sky. Finally she whispered one word… "Kohta…" the face of a boy flashed in Rei's mind, and she felt the sadness tear at her heart. She felt the same way as before, just before synchronizing with the Eva. She wondered if this had any meaning… and promptly began going through the steps of synching. After all, what harm could that do?
Lucy looked at the squad assembled before her, and sighed, closing her eyes.
Am I afraid? Yes, I am. Any regrets? Loads. Having done what I've done doesn't make a good conscience, kinda thing. And will you keep that promise you made? The promise you made to a human, of all beings? Are you going to betray us, Lucy
This made her even surer, even more anxious to end it all. Her personality was split, she knew that, but she had only been aware of one entity. This third entity had sprung up yust now, and this proved her insanity. The urge to lash out built up, but she fought the rising rush.
Who are you? she thought, clenching her fists. Then she felt the anger burn her, slowly robbing her of all reason.
I am your deepest desire, your instincts, your destiny. But you can call me Kaeda. Now, I think I will take over..
This was abruptly interrupted as something weird happened to her mind, like having a door opened to the ice cold air of Antarctica.
Who are you? came a new voice, but this time soft, monotone, inquisitive.
How many personalities do I have to come up with?
She looked surprised, and didn't hear the order barked by the commanding officer in front of her.
You seem distressed, why is that?
She felt the coldness give way to warmth, and thought, What the hell, I'm going to die. So what if I have a hundred inside my head. I wont do any harm anymore.
Then she began going through the memories, sharing the thoughts with the new entity's.
Rei gasped at the horrors that this girl had gone through, the things she had done to others, and finally the future she had been designed for. Not much unlike her, she had no choice as to how she affected the world, and so had lapsed into the brutal life that lay in store of her. And then the memories of her brief contact with Kohta sweeped over her, washing away all the horror, all the fear, the pain and sorrow. A light in the dark, a safe harbor in a mad stormy sea. Then darkness, death and despair. Anger, blood, death, capture, screams, pain, pain, PAIN!
Then finally the release, the chance she had been waiting for so long, a chance to redeem herself. The sole reason for her existence, and the only reason for her to go on. The light at the end of the tunnel. And, brief as it was, the truth hit her as the words had left his mouth. The anguish of rejection, and the softness of love, mingling in to a whirling tornado of anguish, with peace at it's very center.
Lucy pushed all these thoughts through her mind, and kept pushing, as if this would somehow bring her the end. And then she heard the guns being loaded, cocked and aimed. Well, her goes. The truth wil manifest itself to me, here, now. And so ends the nightmare.
"Goodbye, Kohta.." she whispered.
Rei felt unsure how to react. This girl was going to get shot. And even her vectors couldn't protect her from this kind of onslaught. So she did the only thing she could. She reached out for the girl and pulled….
Lucy felt the bullets smash into her body, tearing her up and throwing her backwards. The bullets shredded her left arm, and blew off her right hand, spraying blood over the tarmac, and she fell. As she fell, her thoughts turned to slowly moving clouds of understanding
I kept my promise, Kohta. I could have killed them, but I didn't! I kept… my… pro…
She drifted into darkness, but just before the end, she felt like someone was pulling at her shoulder…
Rei fell back, having been flung away from the girl. Then they began to shoot, shredding the body of the girl. Rei reached out and grabbed at her shoulder once again, this time without the recoil. And pulled. As she fell back, she fainted, but not without hearing a voice saying …mise.
Darkness pulled her under before she could register this last bit of information.
And then she dreamed.
Rei opened her eyes again, feeling the weightlessness of floating in LCL drawing the energy from her. There was a shape in front of her, curled up in a fetal position, completely naked, it's back turned to her. Red hair was the only recognizable feature on this person, and this seemed to remind her of something she knew. Or rather, someone.
She floated aimlessly, her body stretched in a standing position. It was something she did, like lying in her bed. Efficient, no waste of space, and tidy. She remained inert for a few moments before finally being able to place her nagging recognition. The girl in the… vision… dream? No.. vision. The girl called Lucy. Or Nyu, by the people who had been taking care of her. Or the third name, Kaede, the name that had manifested itself in her last minutes on the bridge.
Having seen all the things she had seen, she could not help but shudder inwardly at the thoughts in this girl's head. Ever so slightly, she drifted forwards, to the red headed girl in front of her. Finally reaching her, she laid a hand on her shoulder, and turned her around. The girl was unconscious, her eyes closed. Her brow was knitted and her face was a mask of sorrow. Tentively, she brushed the stray hair out of the girl's face, then felt for a pulse. The steady rhythm of a heartbeat pulsated strongly in the jugular under Rei's finger, so, satisfied, she gave her the quick once over, looking for any wounds that may be obvious. Finding none, she let the figure drift infront of her, while silently contemplating her options. Knowing what this creature was capable of, it seemed rather inconvenient that she transported her back to her world. Coming to think of it, why had she even grasped the girl's shoulder in the first place? She silently contemplated this, her possibilities scarce, and dwindling fast.
"Unit 00 has thirty seconds of power! Emergency override isn't responding! Synchronization… 400 percent!" the unbelieving voice of Maya Ibuki called the updates to her sempai, knowing full well what this could mean. She frantically tried to buffer the rise, albeit without success. Having no other available options, she had cut the power to unit zero with the Commander's permission. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the power to the terminals were cut for just enough time to reset the small terminals system. Seconds after, the whole team watched in horror as the entry plug holding Rei was auto-ejected inside the relatively small confines of the test cage.
"NOO!"
Gendo Ikari leapt to his feet as the flash of rocket exhaust began the short journey across the cage's roof. He ran out of the command centre and rushed down the stairway to the cage entrance as the Evangelion smashed its head into the wall, repeatedly. He reached the overheated Entry Plug and tried to open the emergency hatch with his bare hands grunting in pain as the searing hot metal burnt his hands.
Dr. Akagi leaned forwards as she saw the figure of her Commander run to the plug. She gasped, and looked frantically for a microphone. "Maya! Give me an audio link to the cage, now!"
"I… c… can't… the system is still booting…" the apologetic voice of her technical assistant drifted across the room, and the shock hit the computer technician's mind as the Commander inadvertently spelled Rei's doom. She rushed to the cracked pane of glass and pressed both palms against the glass. "DON' OPEN THE HATCH!" she screamed, oblivious to the fact that 36 centimeters of glass tend to isolate sound extremely well.
He gripped it with all his might and heaved, pulling the plug's hatch open and releasing the hot lcl within. Then it hit him…
Oh, fuck, what have I done? The lcl…
He staggered backwards as the realization dawned on him like a N2 mine on the morning sky.
Oh god, what have I done?
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A/N: righty ho! Cliffhanger…. *smirks evilly* but seriously you have to help me here… and maybe, if you have the time, and if you have the guts, and if you have the heartfelt generosity to leave a review, I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Ohoh, who is this?
Lucy: what the heck am I doing here?
Rei: (deadpan voice) we seem to have traveled into an alternate universe. This might be the result of a widespread accumulation of random mental frequencies alternately creating and disbanding the imaginary vortex of 2 dimensional space-time with unforeseeable consequential results.
Lucy: so basically, you have no idea?
Rei: (looks down to her feet, contemplates, then looks back up with confident eyes) Yes
Lucy: thought so. Hey, who the heck are you?
Henry; and now, for something completely different…
A/N 2; Fixed some typos, as well as the spacing problems.