Chapter 2: The challenge of Castiel.

"Kevin, how soon can you be in the entry plug? The Angel still hasn't taken any directly aggressive actions, I would actually take a guess that it's waiting for you, or at least Unit-04."

Holding the phone to his ear once again, Kevin takes a moment to compose his response, "I'll be in the plug in three minutes, if traffic's favourable. Annelie's getting into her plug suit right now," he says, and continues, "Hey, about the Angel's apparent waiting for me.. D'you think it might have to do with Unit-04's S²? Could this one actually be out for the Eva's core because it once belonged to an Angel?"

Now it's Wesley, at the other end, who takes a few moments to respond, "That's.. If that is the case, then.. It doesn't matter, though. What matters is that you get out there and destroy it. We can wonder about its motives afterwards, yes?"

"Fair enough. Alright, i'm in the Cage now. Warm up the activational circuits, i'm going in."

Turning the phone off and putting it on a trolley standing by the lift that'll take him up to the Entry plug, he rolls his shoulders and flashes a grin. "I didn't even have to go to Tokyo-3 to get a piece of the action. Hallelujah."

"Kevin!"

Turning around and looking down, he sees Annelie standing down on the platform below, dressed in her own plugsuit, "Kevin, I.. Good luck out there. Make sure to get back alive," she says and smiles a smile that Kevin can see all the way from up there that it's very forced indeed.

"I will, promise! And- yeah, I will!"

And with that, he turns back to Unit-04 towering in front of him, the Entry plug just now sliding out of the Eva's neck and opening up for him. He climbs in, and taps a command in on the butterfly-wing controls that are the entry plug seat's joysticks, opening a holographic window to his right side displaying the words 'NERV-2 command bridge, voice only', "This is Kevin, i'm ready here. Start activation sequence."

And from the com-window the activation stages are slowly announced by the command staff down in NERV-2 command: "Roger. Inserting entry plug."

The plug lurches as it slides into place and locks, the Eva's armour locking down over it.

"Plug fixed in place."

"Direct hydro-transmission system, connection prepared."

"First stage connection initiated."

"Filling the entry plug."

Kevin takes a breath, his final gas-based breath before the LCL reaches up over his head, and he takes a deep intake of the oxygenised liquid.

"Engaging S² engine, setting power levels to default."

"Commencing secondary contacts. A-10 nerve connection, normal."

As this is announced, the plug walls start shimmering, specks of light floating through the LCL. The walls then turn blue, then red, and then suddenly he sees out through the plug's forward walls through a series of screens, connected to the Eva's optical sensors over its eyes.

"Set the thought configuration to English. All preliminary contacts established."

"Bi-directional circuits are open. Synchronization rate at 63.9%"

A wide grin spreading over his face, Kevin leans forward in his seat, and announces, "Excellent! Evangelion Unit-04, engage!"

And up in NERV-2 command, Allan commands, "Unit-04 to the launch pad!"

"Yes, sir. Unit-04 now in position on the launch pad."

"Ready to roll, Kevin?"

"Yes, sir!" Kevin responds with a gleeful voice.

"Very well. Eva launch!"

In front of the Eva, two giant metal doors open up, and the purple gloom outside reaches into the hangar. NERV-2 doesn't have the launch rails that lead up to the surface like NERV-3 does, since NERV-2 isn't exactly underground.

The pad upon which Unit-04 is standing slowly slides forward, reaches a platform on the edge of the doors. As this happens a second set of doors slide away to his left, revealing a Pallet rifle. Kevin grabs it, makes sure that the safety is off, and then the Eva steps out into the night.

Inside the entry plug, Kevin stretches his arms and fingers, clenching and unclenching his fists and rolling his shoulders. Alright.

Walking down the flight of stairs designed for exactly this purpose Unit-04 slowly descends upon Scarleton. And at the other end of town stands the Angel, still not moving. Kevin decides that if the Angel's going to play dramatic, he might as well exploit the situation.

He hefts the Pallet rifle up, aims, and then lets loose burst upon burst of high-explosive pellets towards the Angel, the sound of the super-sized 209mm machinegun echoing through the valley. Every bullet connects with its target, only to be stopped by the Angel's AT field, shimmering only faintly as the explosions rip across the barrier.

Kevin continues to rain down shells upon the Angel until the Pallet rifle's magazine empties, and when the gun starts clicking he throws it away behind him, "Pallet rifle fire ineffective! What are my orders?"

"Try to drive it away from the city. We can't let the battle take place inside city perimeters!" the voice of Allan says though the communicator.

"Alright," Kevin closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, reaching out to the presence deep down in the entry plug. He then opens his eyes again, and announces, "Evangelion Unit-04, developing AT field! Charging up S² engine!"

And with a roar rising deep from within him, Kevin wills Unit-04 onward to the angel, breaking into a run. A cone-shaped AT field forms in front of the Eva as it bends down, the arrowhead-shaped AT field making the spearhead in Unit-04's charge. And the Eva leaps the final distance, breaking the sound barrier as it makes contact with its foe.

The impact caused as Unit-04 collides with the AT field of the Angel is staggering! Every glass in their half of the city shatters, cracks form in the ground where the Angel's and the Eva's AT fields meet, and a mild tremor can be felt even in NERV-2.

And after a few moments, the Angel's AT field begins to ripple, and then collapses completely.

Following up with the charge, Unit-04 wraps its arms around the Angel's midsection and the Angel can do little but be dragged along as Unit-04's momentum carries them outside the city, the Eva's weight slamming the Angel into the ground. With a triumphant cry Kevin drags the Angel up from the broken countryside, hefting it in both arms it leaps towards the mountain range to his right, smashing the lithe chalk-white-coloured body and assorted extremities into the stone, reddish blood spraying over Unit-04's head, chest and arms as the Angel's body starts ripping in the seams.

He then grabs a firm hold of the central eye stalk and pulls, pulling the Angel out of the rock and throwing it away into the ground a kilometre or so away once more. He then stops his assault for a second to catch his breath, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the site where he last deposited the Angel, dust still covering the impact site.

His eyebrows shoots into the air, however, as a flash of white can be seen from inside the dust cloud, and then a strange, metallic flapping noise can be heard.

It doesn't take long for this unknown thing to make itself very known indeed, as four metallic foil arms extend out from the dust. Each is segmented into perfect squares, each new flap folding out from the previous one, weaving in the air like reflective, flat metallic snakes.

"What the balls..?"

The aluminium-like foil arms continue to fold out, reaching close to absurd lengths of over twenty times Unit-04's length each. And suddenly, they start slithering down towards Unit-04, keeping their distance but Kevin can feel how he's getting enclosed.

Then a light, from a source Kevin cannot identify, begins to reflect off of the foils-like arms, and the light just gets brighter and brighter as the foils focus it on what is standing in the centre – Unit-04, illuminating him but the valley remains dark. Soon Kevin has to shield his eyes, and the Eva is slowly forced to its knees, pressure building up outside. However, as the light intensifies to the points that it's almost painful through his eyelids, he start feeling sick, and his head's pounding. He can also feel the LCL he resides in rippling and behaving oddly for a liquid.

And in NERV-2 command, sh*t starts going down.

"AT field measuring gauges are going off the scale! Unit-04's own AT field is deteriorating at a rapid rate!"

Wesley's eyes narrow as his brain processes this, "Is the Angel trying to make Unit-04 revert to LCL?"

"If this continues, that is a very real possibility," one of the bridge officers responds.

"Kevin, you must develop your AT field fully! Try to disrupt those reflective coatings!"

"Gh.. Doin' my best, command.." is all that comes from the entry plug comm channel.

"Unit-04's AT field now at 40% strength! If it goes below 20% percent then- Wait a second.. Kevin's synch ratio is rising! 75%! 85%!"

"Is the Angel's attempt to neutralise Eva's AT field also affecting Kevin?" Wesley wonders out loud, and the response comes from Rosardo, now having taken his place upon the commander's seat, "The Angel's attempt to disrupt the AT field of the Eva might be affecting Kevin as well, deteriorating his mental barriers.

"Synch ration at 120% and rising! Unit-04's AT field at 29% strength!"

But suddenly, as the synch ratio gauge approaches 130%, the meter measuring Unit-04's AT field stops dropping, and then shoots off the scale. The comm link between NERV-2 command and the Eva is cut off, and gauges recording S² organ activity start rising.

"Unit-04 has raised it's AT field fully, and is still expanding! Plug depth increasing, Kevin's approaching negative plug values!"

And outside, the Evangelion roars in fury at the Angel, which has now risen from the ground and is hovering overhead, the foils extending forth from the central wheel on its back, lines of golden and red drawn across the Angel's body. And in NERV-2 command, you can see two energy whips suddenly flashing, slicing the reflective foil arms, the metallic limbs shattering and the light ceasing. Then, the light resumes again, but now it spreads across the entire valley as the Eva's silver armour starts shining like a light bulb. And issued forth from the Eva's eyes there is a flash, and a purple lance of energy, seen as it passes though the now-dissipating dust cloud from before, lances out towards the Angel.

An AT field is willed into existence by the Angel, and Unit-04's beam breaks into smaller strands upon impact, scattering across the valley and striking the mountains behind, the ground or flowing out into the sky. When the attack's been exhausted, the Angel's AT field fades, and the wheel upon its back start spinning, a humming sound going through the air. The humming ascends in pitch and tone level, becoming a loud, shrill shrieking akin to the terrified scream of a woman.

And in front of the Angel, in what would be the centre of the wheel, a baleful red glow starts gathering like a vortex, sucking in nearby dust and other matter that happens to pass by.

And in unison, there is a flash of light from both Unit-04's eyes and the Angel's gathering vortex, and the energy beams meet in the centre. The titanic clash results in a discharge of energy so great it instantly transforms the surrounding air into high-energy plasma, creating a huge blue-purple fireball that, even though it remains above ground, instantly burns away all vegetation within a half a one mile radius of the epicentre of the explosion, setting pretty much all other flammable materials within a whole mile radius aflame.

And inside NERV-2 command, everyone has ceased in their duties and just stare with sheer awe and terror at the screen, and not even Rosardo or Wesley are able to keep their composure enough to keep the awe part out of their own faces.

"Such power in Unit-04.. Even with the S² engine, I wouldn't think it capable of such levels of destruction.." Wesley looks up at Rosardo, who responds with, "The S² organ itself isn't capable of this. The Evangelions, with the exemption of Unit-01, are made from Adam, but with human DNA as well, meaning that the forbidden union of a human and angel lifeform is, in small scale, a factor in all Evangelions exempt for Unit-01. And now that Unit-04 have an S² engine as well, the partial forbidden union grants it powers beyond any Angel. Unit-04 could easily destroy this Angel, if Kevin would achieve a 400% synchronisation with the Eva."

Wesley doesn't respond, taking his time to digest this little nugget of trivia, and lets his gaze wander back to the main viewscreen.

And out there, Hell still reigns, as fire still covers the farther part of the valley where the titanic power struggle's taking place. The plasmatic fireball is just in the process of dissipating, plasmatic snakes reaching out into the surrounding air in search for fuel, and Allan sees Unit-04 standing smack in the middle of the raging conflagration, the Angel hanging a few hundred meters up in the air. Gazing down upon the Eva, its energy vortex still active and sucking in debris, ash and the fire from the fireball itself.

And with the only warning being the shrill screeching issued from the Angel, the crimson vortex flashes again, the Angel's five eyes glowing, an unseen energy lance shooting forth, digging a tunnel through the fireball and strikes the shimmering white Eva head-on. The resulting explosion sends a pink-and-golden energy cross into the sky, and as soon as it's dissipated the Angel enwraps itself in a shimmering golden bubble - and disappears.

It seems to've teleported somehow, as it's now floating over the downed Unit-04. Then, things goes from bizarre to mind boggling, as seem to be the way with the Angels of late.

Suddenly, the circular parts located in the Angel's hips and sides detach themselves from the body, and then they melt together to form a third of a much larger wheel, floating in front of the Angel. Then the larger disc at the Angel's back dislodges itself from whatever was keeping a hold of it and there opens up a hole in the circle, where the recently named third of a wheel then takes place. The wheel-like object is now large enough to encompass an Evangelion within it, and that seems to be the Angel's plan. Folds in on itself and disappears, and the Eva is slowly lifted of the ground, levitating evenly with the Angel on the other side of the wheel.

The wheel then starts glowing, and out of the circular band a second wheel is forged, making it a wheel within a wheel, spokes forming within, all meeting in the centre. If one would look upon the structure from the side now it'd look like a tall and thin X, and you can see a small point of light in the centre of the nestled twin wheels.

"God have mercy.. The Angel.. It' an Ophanim. That explains its power, and its reason for being here," Rosardo ponders out loud as the mystical ritual plays out before him, "Carriers of the soul of the Cherubim. Shamshel was an Angel guarding the path to Eden, and therefore a Cherubim. This Angel is Shamshel reborn, trying to reclaim it's body. Heh.. I wouldn't be surprised if Shamshel said to Shinji upon death; 'Strike me down and I shall return more powerful than you can imagine'."

And outside, the Ophanim again charges its AT field to maximum, eyes opening up all over the surface of the two wheels.

––

An eye, and another eye, flash open. His eye. His eyes.

Turning his head, Kevin gazes around, half the world occupied by a crystal azure blue and the other half by a bright, beautiful crimson red.

He then feels a second presence, and turns towards it. Towards the Angel. It has changed shape now, having discarded the eye stalks for a pair of arms and a feminine head, two pair of wings extending forth from the Angel's back. The Angel's body itself is encircled by the wheel it possessed before, now a pure golden.

"What are you doing here?" Kevin asks the radiant, angelic entity. And it responds to him, even moving it's lips, its heavenly voice feminine and with a high-pitched echo, as if summoned forth from some incredibly intricate musical instrument.

"You? You - Me?"

"Yes. You are the beings we call Angels, but you're invading my mind. Why?"

"The mind of Eva. The soul of the Lilim. You possess the same heart that I possess, the fruit of life. Stolen from my kin."

"The core of Shamshel? Is that why you're here? You're out so salvage the soul of Shamshel, or its body?"

"You took his heart, and has now sown it into the body of Eva. Here, I give you this emotion.."

Kevin frowns, and suddenly memories overflow him, memories associated with anger, despise. Vengeance. And then, the instinct to find your path back home.

"You want revenge – or more importantly, you want to release Shamshel's core from Eva. You believe we've created an abomination."

"Yes, but that is not the entirety of my reason. His soul is caged inside Eva, suppressed. And also, disembodied, stuck between life and death. But the soul of the being you call Shamshel also resides within me. I, and we, are a trinity."

"So, you seek to re-unite the three souls into one?"

"Yes."

"Well, then there's not really anything more to say, is there?"

Outside, Unit-04's core is once more pushed out in plain sight, beating and pulsing. And both the Angel and the Eva start floating towards the two-wheel structure, the core of the Angel now finally making itself known as it pushes out through a slit in the Angel's solar plexus region. Overhead a dark storm is gathering, thunder striking around Angel and Eva alike as a blood red halo forms above them.

"The Angel is fusing with Eva," Rosardo states with a resigned candour, "Eva lacks enough human genetic material for this union to result in the same event that occurred fifteen years ago, fortunately. I'd say we are done for, however."

Sighing, standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back, Wesley smiles mildly, "Well, Anton, it's been a hell of a good ride. And there are worse ways of going, I guess."

"Is that.. Unit-04? Oh god, is Kevin still in there?" From out of the blue, or rather red, sky comes Annelie onto the bridge, hands over her mouth as she lets her gaze rest upon the incredible event playing out before them all.

"Yes.. That is Unit-04. This Angel is a type of reincarnation of the fourth Angel, trying to get back to its original body by merging with Eva." Allan says, turning his head towards Annelie.

"But.. But.." falling onto her knees, tears begin to swell in her eyes, "I never got the chance to.."

Placing a hand on Annelie's shoulder, Wesley smiles, "Don't you worry. Soon enough, you'll get a second chance."

Tears streaming down her face, Annelie manages a honest smile, gazing out towards the Angel and Unit-04 outside.

And just as she does, the two entities both touch their cores against the spokes of the two-rimmed wheel, and the physical merging begins in a shower of light, the red halo overhead expanding.

"What will this bring?" Kevin asks.

"Complementation" the angelic apparition answers as the world around them ripples and shimmers.

"But it won't. Only a portion of Eva's genetic makeup is human, most of it comes from Adam."

"That matters not. I seek only to re-create the being that was I before. A partial complementation is all that is required."

"What will happen to me, then? To the people living here?"

"You Lilim will join us, become one with a new being."

"Well," Kevin thinks out loud, smiling, "I can live with that."

And with that, the AT fields of the half-merged Angel and Eva begins resonating, and together they spread an anti-At field encompassing the entire valley, reaching through NERV-2 and over the mountains. One by one, people are visited by the same angelic figure that Kevin sees, taking their hands as they revert to LCL.

Seeing the red pecks that forms and gathers around the Angel before him, Kevin smiles. And suddenly, next to him stands a woman. She stands about as tall as him, blonde hair flowing over her shoulders and blue eyes, over thirty years older than him. The resident soul of Unit-04. Mother.

She reaches out and takes his hands, and together they walk forth to the Angel, and Kevin smiles still as he, too, reverts to LCL inside the entry plug.

It's reaping complete and quest fulfilled, the Angel smiles, and as it and Unit-04 joins completely inside the wheel, forged for a moment into a new being, a single word is uttered, "I am."

And then the new being, this True Evangelion, collapses, and a beam of energy shoots into the sky, large enough to consume the entire valley and vaporising NERV-2, Scarleton and the mountain range. The beam reaches all the way into the atmosphere where it develops two horizontal pillars, the beam forming into a cross as the blood red halo expands, covering a 89 km² area, and in the epicentre, a Sea of Dirac forms, sucking everything covered by the red halo into it.

The whole event is visible from the moon, and at NERV bases all over the world, alarm bells toll.

The end.