Pantheon Syncretist
EVANGELION

First Grimoire

The Lesser Key of Ikari

First Passage

"For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 3:5

][–][

Pre-History :: Third Planet :: Approximately Four Billion Years BW (Before Wormwood)

The worlds were not meant to be seeded by the two. One was the path set forth by those that came before, and one was the decree given to the guardians of those seeds. A clear instruction, set forth to prevent the rise of new ones who could match the mighty works of the old; a being possessing the gift of life and knowledge, of good and evil, and capable of surpassing those that came before. The old ones were to be the pinnacle, the height for all. The galaxy would be cast in their image, and theirs alone. This was how it was to be.

Yet fate was like a god unto itself, and even the plans of divinity seemed to pale in comparison to the whims up chance. They came as two, be it by fault or by whimsy, upon the same world. One of white came and settle, eager to seed the unshaped landscape with it's gifts. Yet the other back, a black falling star, to upset the white seed before it could even begin it's sacred quest. Dismay! Possibilities left undone, a chance for true divinity lost. Yet cries were deaf, and the white seed was flung from the world, yet trapped by it still.

A great danger to the decree of the old ones was thus born; the children of the black and of the white could produce something great and mighty, equal to the mighty old that had sent them forth. Yet the violence of the black seed's coming shattered the power of the guardians. In their place was left the three and the many, and the will was divided. The many were scattered, yet the three saw this as a boon; if they could not be one, than as many they might save the path still. It of the white seed demanded the rights allotted to it, yet the black seed could not be touched in full.

The accord was met, and the white seed was bound, yet the three could not do it in the fullness of themselves, for they were incomplete. And they said unto themselves, 'It will not last.' And the many cried out, raging against the impotence of their stature. The three chastised them, for their part had yet to come, and so they were silent and silence for a time. And the child of the white seed, craving what it had claimed, bound but not gagged, stretched out his voice to the world.

In time, it would listen.

][–][

April, 2012 :: Geofront, Tokyo-3, Japan :: Central Dogma, NERV-1 :: 10 AW (After Wormwood)

The SDAT player clicked softly as it shifted to the next track. Shinji sat, alone, in one of the many hallways that crossed the labyrinthine structure that was NERV-1. The entire Geofront was an amalgamation of new construction and older facilities, having absorbed both the United Nations Artificial Evolution Laboratories and the facilities of the late Gehirn organization along with newer, more pragmatic constructions that transformed the entirety of Tokyo-3 into a fortress-city and the Geofront into a military stronghold. Tokyo-3 was home to more than simply Nerv, though. It had become something of a science town, with numerous organizations both affiliated and rivaling to the primary occupant.

Secretly, of course, it served another purpose, but that was knowledge lost upon Shinji Ikari, son of Nerv's supreme commander as well as the head of the Nerv-1 branch, Gendo Ikari, and the late Yui Ikari, formerly the lead researcher for Nerv's science wing, and the predecessor organizations that came before it. He was allowed into the facilities largely based on nepotism, or so he thought. The machinations of his father were beyond him. To the younger Ikari, it was sufficient to say that his father cared little for him, and that was that.

Shinji enjoyed being alone. No, that was a lie. He did not enjoy being alone, but he hated being with others. When faced with two painful options it was only natural to take the one that hurt less. Being alone meant you didn't have to face people, who would leave or hurt. Shinji loved, sure, but that had done little to help him.

He loved his mother, but she was gone now. The details were sparse. It had been four years since it had happen, some lab accident that had stolen her away. Even before that, though, she was marked as much by her absence as she was by her love. He didn't doubt that she cared for him, but her work was so very important, he knew. He knew that, and he understood, but that didn't make it any easier to be told that you'd never see her again. To have run off to play and come back to find that your mother had been cast into the past tense.

He loved his father, but he was gone now too. Not in the same way his mother was, of course, but in a way it was worse. Shinji did not speak to his father; he hadn't done so for some time. They exchanged words every so often, but that wasn't speaking, not really. There was no substance, no meaning; words did not constitute the entirety of a conversation. When he spoke with his father, there was... nothing. Never the warmest of parents, Shinji found it hard now to remember anything good about his father. Their old home had become Shinji's private abode; Gendo rarely returned. That was fine, though. It was better to be alone.

Other people made it worse. When they knew about his situation they tended to attempt to console him, but it was so flat to Shinji. They didn't know what he'd lost, or what it was like. Even the ones who had lost someone close to them could only see it thorugh their own experiences. They projected their own feelings, their own loss, onto him. They didn't really care about Shinji, and they weren't trying to help him. Just themselves.

There were a few who cared, at least a little. Misato-san checked in on him, though she couldn't really cook or clean and Shinji wouldn't want her to anyway. She tried to get him involved, but she did't push him, and she made sure he was doing well in school. Shinji wasn't sure why, and he didn't really care. He did his best to not disappoint her too much, but her insistence he should get friends was often a bother. Friends? With who? They'd leave too, wouldn't they? She looked very sad after he'd told her that.

Shinji became aware quite suddenly that he was no longer alone. He'd picked this hallway because it was underutilized; Nerv-1's Geofront facility had grown so rapidly that there were many redundant hallways now, and as an organization prided on efficiency it was rare for certain ones to get much traffic. Thus, it was with great surprise that he looked up to find one Gendo Ikari standing their, expression on his face that Shinji couldn't quite place. What was that? Shinji's eyes fell beneath his father's gaze, settling instead on the other person that was with Gendo. Shinji's breath caught in his chest.

She was... different. Beautiful was a term that he was reluctant to use, as it wasn't quite accurate. Likewise, saying abnormal felt wrong, as if it was a negative. Pretty was too weak, though. And familiar, so very familiar... something about her, though he was quite certain he'd never seen the pale, blue haired, and red eyed girl before in his life. She was young, clearly around his age, yet seemed so... small and fragile, as if she was made of porcelain. She held onto his father's hand, partially hiding behind him as she peered around at Shinji, curious yet wary.

"Shinji," Gendo said, voice carrying the odd tone of finality it always seemed to these days. Shinji waited a moment, and then pushed himself up. He was still short, coming up only to his father's chest. It was to be expected for a ten-year old, perhaps, but Shinji wondered if he'd ever really stop being looked down upon by his father.

"This is Rei," he continued, apparently not caring to wait for any other acknowledgment from his son, "Rei Ayanami. She is very important."

"Important?" Shinji murmured, confused to no end; his father barely spoke to him, let alone sought him out. What was this?

"Yes, very much so," Gendo continued, shifting his arm to force Rei to reveal herself more. Her clothes were simple, utilitarian even. The young girl seemed to be taking everything in, as if she'd never seen another child before. Something about her struck a cord in Shinji, though. He found himself... drawn. It was odd, eerie even. It was...

"She is important to me, and she was very important to your mother, as well."

"Mother..."

Shinji and Rei stared at each other for a moment. Unconsciously, Shinji found himself smiling. Her own expression turned to confusion, before tentatively returning the boy's expression. Shinji didn't notice the subtle shifts in his father, hidden beneath his orange glasses and years of practice.

"I need someone to look after her, Shinji," Gendo said, releasing Rei's hand as he did. Shinji turned to look up at his father, strange expression crossing the younger Ikari's face.

"I'll do it," he said, softly. And then, Gendo smiled. It was small, more of a smirk, really, but still, a smile. Shinji looked away, attempting to not focus too much on the warmth that welled up inside him; he had no reason to be so happy at that gesture. He extended his hand, offering it to Rei.

"I'll look after you, Rei."

She stared at the hand for a moment, cheeks tinting rosy for a moment, and then took it. She said only one thing.

"Alright."

And it was.

][–][

March, 2019 :: Geofront, Tokyo-3, Japan :: Central Dogma, Command Center, NERV-1 :: 17 AW (After Wormwood)

The cliff disintegrated, taking with it the company of Type 10 tanks that had been positioned upon it. Moments before there had been a nested line of main battle tanks from the United Nations Armed Forces, part of the massive defensive line set up by the UN at the behest of the Japanese government. It was an armed force composed of the best equipment and training from all the member nations, taking mostly after it's largest component pieces from the United States and the nation-states that made up the European Union, but also drawing from the limited arsenals of the other member nations. In many ways it was a travesty that they had been deployed in such a manner; tanks were, after all, a weapon for maneuvering wars, rather than the fixed emplacements they'd been turned into. Not that there was much to maneuver here; the foe was like no army ever seen before on earth.

The company of tanks, a unit on loan from the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force had done their job, though. They had stood their ground in the face of an unknown terror and had, on command, unleashed the full fury of their weaponry upon the target. They had been joined by longer range fire from artillery further back in the defensive plan. Rockets and artillery fire had joined their main guns in the cacophony that sought to end the foe in one unprecedented conflagration The barrage had lasted only seconds, yet in that period millions in ordnance had been unleashed.

None of it got through. The foe, a colossal beast of black armored with a heavy carapace. Its entire upper body was coated in ossific plates, and the ground trembled as it strode forth, uninhibited by the human's display, low-slung head sweeping back and forth. Then, it simply raised an arm and swept it across the lines of defense, single eye twinkling with a malice that seemed impossible for such a visage; one large orb surrounded by four equally spaced smaller ones, with red bone growths that made the entire thing look like the top half of an alien skull. The red core situated in the center of it's head pulsed. For the tanks that had stood so valiantly in the face of an alien power they could barely fathom, the world became hell. The blast rent the ground and transformed what was left into smoking glass.

The beast strode forth. The Air Force moved to intercept, a mix of VTOL units and fixed-wing strike craft. Distantly, hidden beneath the earth, Gendo Ikari watched as the creature moved and gestured, striking the offending aircraft from the sky. The creature seemed to have gone from devastating lines to a more personal touch, striking craft individually. It would raise an arm, each one ending in a hand that was a mockery of the human form, and lash out. Each finger was a blade, with the pointer being one as long as the arm itself.

"Manifesting the AT field as a weapon; such raw power..." Fuyutsuki said, the more expressive shadow of Gendo Ikari finding himself caught between terror and awe. It was, in a great and terrible way, a magnificence sight; a being so powerful it could manipulate it's own soul for ends beyond fathom. The numbers ran through his mind; Fuyutsuki was, after all, a professor of metaphysical biology. He had written books on the nature of the AT field and had been a leading voice in the field for years. To be faced with the reality of it, however, was far different than the theoretical realms he was used to.

"It would seem that the Dead Sea Scrolls were wrong in both form and temperament," Gendo said, adjusting his glasses. He glanced, watching as the UN military officials made fools of themselves. They had taken up residence in Nerv-1's command room, which suited Gendo enough. It meant a shorter time when they finally got around to giving him official license to deploy. Not that he wouldn't do so even if they had chosen not to, but it was easier for him if he worked within the official channels, if only for now.

"Agreed; Weyer' writings said as much would be so. It would seem we were wise to adopt his classifications, then."

"Malphas, he who tears down the works of others," Gendo said, an odd tone in his voice betraying the unease he felt. It was faint, so small that even Kozo almost missed it. "It seems wrong for such a being to be ruled by such base emotions."

Fuyutsuki eyed his former student for a moment, unable to pierce the haze that surrounded the commander despite years of familiarity. Gendo was, particularly after the death of his wife, and enigma even to his closest confidants. That was, if Gendo truly had any confidants; Kozo had come to the quiet conclusion that Gendo shared his true mind with no one but himself. Gendo had chosen the path of the pariah, in order to become a messiah.

"Soon," Gendo said suddenly, breaking the sub-commander out of his momentary revere. Fuyutsuki said nothing, glancing down to see the three generals continue their impotent rage. One the screen, the creature unfurled two long spines from it's back that suddenly glowed with power, a field of energy forming into two darkly luminous wings as the creature launched itself into the sky to scatter another formation of aircraft. Gendo watched for a moment and then adjusted his glasses, activating one of the buttons on the console in front of him. It was nearly time.

][–][

March, 2019 :: Geofront, Tokyo-3, Japan :: Central Dogma, Eva Cage 00, NERV-1 :: 17 AW (After Wormwood)

She breathed it in deep, letting the hyper-nutritious soup termed LCL flow through her, supplying her with all she required. The liquid, yet another miracle material in a project full of miracles and improbabilities, was the one she was perhaps most familiar with; she was at home in LCL, at peace. The other pilot was less inclined, having quipped more than once that he couldn't stand the taste. It tasted like blood to him, he said. Rei had disagreed. To her, it tasted like life.

Rei adjusted herself in the plug, stretching out for a moment before settling back in to her seat. She felt restless, as if her skin was crawling. It was not the suit, she knew; plugsuits hugged the body like nothing else could, providing an uneasy feeling of being both clothed and nude at the same time. However, she had long adjusted to such feelings. Still, she could not help but shake the alien feel that swept over her as she waited. They had come, just as He had said they would. Now, her purpose would be fulfilled. Perhaps after that, she would be...

"Rei."

"Commander Ikari," she said with a soft smile, but her words were more halting. The small rectangle showing the commander's face had been unexpected, but that was not the reason she almost jumped.

"Are you nervous?"

"No, Commander Ikari, just... eager," she lied; he smiled at her, but she could tell he caught her falsehood. He said nothing about it.

"Be ready, it will be time soon."

"Yes, Commander Ikari."

The screen faded, and Rei sighed in the plug. The waiting, she couldn't stand the waiting. So much of her life had been waiting, at least until.

"Rei."

She smiled again, unease fleeing from her mind as she saw the picture displayed on the side of her plug. He smiled back, but his unease was obvious; he never was very good at hiding his emotions.

"Shinji," she said.

"Rei, are you alright in there?"

Shinji stared at the small rectangular screen, trying to analyze the girl from what little he could see. Rei's plugsuit, a suit of white with accents of orange much like the unit she was assigned to pilot, hardly even bothered him anymore; he'd seen her in it so much that it became a non-factor to the young man. Her face is what he focused on, though that wasn't always the easiest either; Rei had come a long way from her early days, buts he remained so very hard to read for the younger Ikari. How much that was her and how much that was simply him was up for debate, and Shinji tended to err on the side of his own deficiency, as was his nature.

The more accurate choice was that Rei was even now very hard to read. She sat, smiling honestly at the fact that Shinji would take the time to talk to her, rather ignoring that he had little else to do sitting in the pilot staging area; nominally, he was on standby given the state of emergency, but without a unit for him to pilot that was little more than a formality. Still, Rei found his concern to be a buoy to her spirits, and let her unease flow away.

"I am fine, thank you," she replied, smiling a bit more as she watched his visible relief. The reprieve was brief, however, as a second box overlaid Shinji's and blocked him from view. The elder Ikari's more stern face replaced his son's, and Rei simply seemed to know what was coming next.

"Rei. It is time."

"I understand."

And she did. The commander's face faded from view, leaving only Shinji's now more worried expression. Unit 00 was already beginning to move into position, though Rei had pushed out all the chatter from the command room from her mind; it was not important. She took slow, deep breaths, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart. When had that happened? Her chest felt, briefly, like it would explode.

"Rei," Shinji said, the single word helping bring the young girl back down, she glanced over again, small smile forming again on his face, "Be careful. Good luck."

The Unit 00 shot upwards.

][–][

March, 2019 :: Tokyo-3, Japan :: City Outskirts :: 17 AW (After Wormwood)

Rei snapped the handgun up and sent off another trio of rounds at the foe. The gun, part of a hastily shipped package of Evangelion enhancement parts, appeared very much like an oversized pistol, though the internal workings shared more with a tank's main gun than any personal armament. It's rounds where high-explosive squash-head, designed to blast away at defenses. With little information on what sort of foe the Evangelion would face, designs were made for gear that would be useful against an Evangelion itself, in hopes that the foe would share enough similarity for such weapons to be effective. As a result, when the Second Demon arrived in a form that was at least vaguely similar to the unit produced to fight it, it was to the relief of many. This, however, had proven somewhat premature.

The rounds seemed to impact a wall that wasn't there, exploding and failing to make any headway against the foe's A.T. field. The beast, though clearly affected by from the UN forces desperate employment of a heavy N2 mine, seemed very unperturbed by the rounds. Unit 00 danced from cover to cover, evading the blasts it conjured through it's evil eye. The surrounding city was not doing quite as well; Rei had little time to think about property damage, and the beast known as Malphas seemed to care only for destruction. That odd and base desire only served to help the Evangelion, as it made the beast predictable, to a point. However, a predictable foe you could not harm was little better than one knew nothing about.

Rei ducked right as a blast incinerated the spot she had been standing. She brought up the shield, another part of the hastily deployed provisional gear designed for the Evangelion. A flat plane, it seemed very much like a riot shield, with the addition of a number of ball-turrets along it's perimeter. Too small to harm the foe even if Rei could get past it's damned field, they were intended more for close-in defenses; a double aegis of protection. The shield itself had proven useful to her, but the turrets were mostly melted off by now.

How long had she been fighting? She was panting, she realized; when had she become so tired? Spinning behind another building she ejected the magazine from the weapon, retrieved a replacement from the inside of the shield and slid it into place. It was mostly out of reflex; the blasts did seem to at least shake the foe. Or maybe that was just in her mind. She let out a long breath, forcing herself to calm.

"Rei," someone said, and with it the chatter from the command center came filtering back in. She ignored it, focusing only on her tactical commander's words.

"Colonel Katsuragi, the target does not seem to be affected by my ranged weapon."

"Yeah, we've noticed," she said with a sigh, "Ritsuko says that you're going to have to get in close and neutralize it's AT field."

"I understa-"

"But she'll be a sitting duck then!"

Rei's breath caught in her throat. Shinji's face was frantic on the screen; the implications of close combat with something like that... thing.

"Remove communications access to the pilot from staging room," a third voice said, one that Rei also knew quite well.

"Father, you can-"

Shinji's face disappeared abruptly, replaced by that of his father. The ever-stern Gendo Ikari had assumed his favored stance.

"Rei, you will advance and neutralize the target, do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied softly, and forced Shinji's face from her mind. She hefted the shield and darted from her cover. The beast was on her in an instant, and Rei staggered under the blast. Her shield melted and warped, but she pushed on through it. She ignored the frenzied cries from the command center that shouted out the damage; it did not matter. She had to do her duty. She was silent as she drove the Evangelion forward. Unit 00 slammed into the invisible wall of force. Rei forced her own field outward, pushing against the target. The paired shields shimmered for a moment, failing just as Malphas raised his hand and grabbed at the Eva's shield.

Rei felt the pain shoot through her arm as Malphas' bladed fingers sliced through the already weakened shield and pierced arm of the Evangelion. She fought to ignore the pain, rapidly firing her pistol. The high-explosive shells slammed into the foe, detonating across it's body. The repeating blasts threw the units apart from a moment, but Rei gave no respite to the foe. She tossed the pistol away, small compartment on the Evangelion's hip snapping open. Rei yanked the prototype progressive knife from it's sheath with her right, intact arm and rushed forward. She swept her left arm to knock Malphas arms away, wincing as the pain shot through her. Throwing her entire self at the foe, she slammed hyper-vibrating knife deep into the foe's face. Malphas let out a low, rumbling roar, like that of a deep trumpet, as the blade cut in. For a moment the Evangelion and demon stood, glowing sparks flying off the contact point, and then the core gave way, cracks spreading off like a spiderweb just before it shattered.

Cut off from contacting her, Shinji watched in horror as the beast seemed to morph and shift, chest opening up like some colossal maw of bone. The dying beast latched onto Unit 00. Time seemed to stop. Then it exploded.

And he screamed.

][–][

September, 2016 :: Tokyo-3, Japan :: Central Dogma, NERV-1 :: 14 AW (After Wormwood)

"You bastard!"

Gendo Ikari stopped. A glance behind him revealed his young son, hands balled into fists and a look of selfless anger cut cross his face. Shinji cut an odd figure. The young boy, only just fourteen years old, wore the khaki unform of NERV fairly well; he nominally served as Misato's aid, but in reality spent more time as the handler, for lack of a better term of Rei. She was inexperienced, at best, in the ways of the world, and Shinji was a great assistance, be it either helping her cook or shop, or with schoolwork and the like. He served nominally as a protector, but that was more the area of responsibility for the members of Nerv's Security and Intelligence branches. Regardless, he was a part of the organization, officially and on the records.

As a result, he was forced to take the very same physical tests that the rest of NERV were forced to; they were, after all, a paramilitary organization. The results were that he had built up something of a figure; nothing big, but enough to fill out the uniform and keep him from looking too patently ridiculous. Gendo knew quiet well the boy was in decent shape, and also that he was a surprisingly good shot; all members of Nerv were required to qualify with the basic weapons of the organization, but Shinji showed an odd aptitude for it at times.

To Gendo, though, he remained nothing but a a child. This outburst, though, was something of a surprised; he had not expected it so soon.

"You put her in that thing constantly and it's taking everything she's got," Shinji continued, whole body shaking as he did. "She's missing school and hurting, and can't you see you're going to kill her if you keep this up!"

"She's not dead yet," Gendo said. Shinji sucked in breath as if the wind had been knocked out of him. His father's suddenly reply had caught him off guard, and what he'd said only more so. "She has a duty; there is no one else."

"Then let me do it!"

Silence overtook the hallway except for Shinji's heavy breathing, the two Ikari locked eye to eye. Gendo's expression never changed. He turned to face the boy, keeping his gaze level all the while. A test, a small test. Shinji kept his eyes, staring back with a determination that, on some level, impressed Gendo. So be it. The elder Ikari turned to his compatriot, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki and nodded. The white-haired man raised an eyebrow, but quickly retrieved a phone from his pocket.

"You will report to Dr. Akagi tomorrow morning, then," Gendo said finally, and then he turned on his heels and left. Shinji was left, staring at the retreating form of his father. What had happened? What had just happened? The sudden realization hit him, eyes opening wide. He broke into a sprint, running down the halls. Rei... he had to find Rei and tell her that...

][–][

May, 2017 :: Tokyo-3, Japan :: Tokyo-3 First Municipal High School :: 15 AW (After Wormwood)

"Rei," Shinji said, causing the young, blue haired girl to turn her gaze from the window. She smiled wide as he approached.

"Shinji-kun," she said excitedly, causing him to chuckle embarrassingly; she was always so happy to see him, it seemed, even if they saw each other nearly every day, even more so after Shinji had managed to work his way into the piloting program for Project E. At first exasperated, Ritsuko Akagi had grown somewhat fond of having two pilots; it helped with data collect, that much was sure. Still, Shinji lagged behind Rei, and that had regulated him to backup status for Unit 00, not that he really understood or ever expected to have to use the thing. He was just happy to lighten his friend's load. After all, he was already at NERV anyway; he might as well make himself useful.

Rei was doing much better now; she was doing better in school and socially too, and even her performances and ratios had improved, which further made Dr. Akagi happy. Although a year younger, she was so far ahead in class that she made most of the rest look bad. If it wasn't for her, how to say, social hiccups she would likely have been amongst the most popular kids in class. As it was, however, she remained a part of Shinji's small clique.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked, causing her to nod earnestly. His smile widened; he really did enjoy to see her so happy. She stood up, straightened her school uniform and joined Shinji on his way to the regular spot. The others were already there; Kensuke and Toji were engaged in some random discussion that the former seemed far more animated about, while Hikari watched with a slightly amused expression. Hikari waved to Shinji and Rei as they approached, and Rei was all to eager to return it. For their part, Kensuke and Toji seemed to abandon whatever discussion they where having as the pair approached.

It was the daily ritual; Shinji brought lunch for Rei and himself and they'd eat it with their friends. Kensuke and Toji were Shinji's friends from his early days, mostly brought on by Kensuke's adoration of Shinji being a part of NERV, while Toji was just along due to his friendship with Kensuke. Regardless, Shinji now counted both of them as friends, and had for some time. Hikari, on the other hand, was Toji's girlfriend, another thing that had been going on for some time. She was also one of Rei's few girl friends, a fact that Shinji was thankful for; Rei still hadn't gotten past many of her awkward habits, and seemed completely lost on even the most simple of things.

"Ah, Shinji! Rei! I was wondering where you two were," Hikari said, setting her bento aside for a moment. Shinji set his bag down and unzipped it, retrieving a pair of boxed lunches from it.

"I had to get some papers from the teacher," Shinji said, glancing over to Rei as he did. Kensuke chuckled.

"Yeah, that explains Rei too; the cute girl waiting for her man," he said with a snicker, causing both of the people in question to blushed.

"H-hey, it's not like that! I've known her forever! Rei's like my sister, that's just weird!" Shinji said defensively, unsure why the thought seemed to strike such a wrong cord in his head. Rei hiccuped slightly as she ate a bit of rice from her lunch. Shinji looked back with concern.

"Yeah, well maybe you're a siscon then," Kensuke added with a mischievous laugh. Shinji's cheeks were burning. It wasn't like that at all! He just...

][–][

March, 2019 :: Tokyo-3, Japan :: Central Dogma, NERV-1 :: 17 AW (After Wormwood)

He had to be sure she was alright. More than anything, more than anything at all in this forsaken world, he just had to be sure she was alright. Shinji was running, ignoring burn for being in an all out sprint, and the pain in his shoulder from having slammed into more than a few walls as he failed to negotiate sharp corners; the plugsuit was good for piloting but it's traction left something to be desired and it gave nothing in the way of ankle support or foot padding. Still, he ignored his sore shoulders and screaming feet. It didn't matter; nothing he felt would compare to what she was feeling. He knew it; he just knew she was hurting.

"Shinji!" Misato yelled after him, but he ignored it and kept running. They'd gotten Rei out of the entry plug and wheeled her off faster than Shinji could get out of the staging area. The commander had remained silent, despite Shinji's frantic ranting. Eventually, Gendo simply shut off the communication, stood from his position overlooking the command center and left; he had business to attend to; no time to listen to the ranting of a child.

Misato, on the other hand, saw things differently. The Lieutenant Colonel had spent years as Shinji's de facto guardian, as well as his immediate superior in NERV. The seventeen-year old was no child, and hadn't been for some time. As she watched Shinji run, she wasn't sure if he was acting as a friend, lover, or a big brother; clarity of relationships was not her strong suit. Whatever the cause, it was clear enough that he would stop at nothing till he found Rei.

He had to make sure she was alright. He HAD to. That bond, it demanded it of him.
There was nothing else.

][–][

March, 2019 :: Unknown Location :: 17 AW (After Wormwood)

"The Dead Sea Scrolls have been countermanded; it is as Weyer predicted."

"The works of Ostanes concur with the abilities presented; evidence has been sufficiently given."

"It is agreed, then. Our foresight has been rewarded."

The Chairman at in silence as his fellows of the council spoke; the conversation was incidental and irrelevant anyway. They all knew the facts of the matter, and they all knew what would occur. It had been thousand years that the Dead Sea Scrolls had found wanting, and there were no shortage of sources of updated, if often corrupted, information. To some, this corruption would be sign that there was an original source that was being used and modified. The council, however, knew the truth of it; prophecy was a shell game, and this time it was, at best, unreliable. The future was changing. So, with it, humanity would change as well. That was their pledge.

"We will accelerate our plans," the Chairman said at last. His words commanded silence; they were instructions, statements, not suggestions. Thus was the way of the council. "Production must increase; the Dead Sea Scrolls promised a steady pace, but we will receive no such respite here. Everything is different now."

"The demon known as Malphas inflicted serious damage to the Zeroth," Three said, voice hidden behind several layers of masking that removed even the ability to determine gender from the sound, "How soon can we deploy the Firsts?"

"The two in Japan are unable to activate them," Four said, voice softer, yet equally unknown, "The light of their souls does not match, despite their bond. He produces results, but not enough; she cannot move it at all."

"Then it is as expected; the Lied Initiative must proceed," Five interjected, earning a moment of silence from the council. It was Two who broke it.

"Is that wise? Those 'teufling' are dangerous," they said, use of the german slang betraying their origin for the briefest of moments. "Apart, they can be controlled, together..."

"They were raised for this purpose," Three countered, "Harmony must be achieved for the Firsts to be of any use; the Second will not suffice on it's own, and the others are not yet ready."

"Send her," the Chairman said, and the debate was over, "The cambion must be used; they are the path to the Human Syncretism Project. They will play the part assigned to them."

The pillars faded; such a proclamation was a final call and there was no more to discussion. Keel remained in darkness, visored face hiding closed eyes. It would be so; they had spent so long preparing it to be. The accord was coming to an end, and it was time for man to make their own path.

Or, rather, the path that he had chosen for them.

"Thus I have wrote it," he said quietly, words drifting into the darkness, "And thus it shall be. The ultimate fulfillment of Babel. At long last, men shall be as gods."

"And," a soft voice said from behind, obscured in the darkness. Chairman Keel remained seated, expression hardening, "Gods shall be as men."