Chapter 7: At Death's Grip
"So Sonic… ALL of the mobians think my dad and the people above my dad want the world to end?"
Misato could feel her face twisting in pain and worry as she nodded at the boy but then tried the best smile she could muster now, "Don't… pay much attention to that, Shinji-Kun. Sonic did say it and Silver and Shadow are nowhere to be seen but I'm sure it's just some sort of misunderstanding." The assistant tech she had ordered to fetch a hot chocolate finally arrived. She took the drink from him, nodded her thanks to send him away again and then offered the cup to Shinji, "Here."
Still sitting on the bench of the dressing room, Shinji took the cup weakly. Misato could tell he was thinking about a lot of stuff. She could also tell the boy was struggling with what to believe.
Is he thinking Asuka is lost forever or is he thinking his father might be a monster?
She went with the first option, "Shinji-kun, listen; we're doing everything that we can for Asuka, okay? Ritsuko said Asuka's mother left notes in case this happened, since it apparently happened to Unit 01 as well, so she should be able to mount a salvage operation rather quickly, unlike what would be if it was Unit 01."
From the silence that followed, Misato could tell what she just said served as a reminder of Asuka's current situation and it hurt him even more.
Good one Katsuragi…
"Also, I'm…" She quickly added, sounding apologetic, "I'm sorry I tried to keep what happened to her from you. I was just trying to protect you…"
"…"
She sighed, "I'm sure you also did a great job defeating Iblis. Let's talk about that, okay?"
"…"
"Shinji-kun."
"…"
"Shinji-kun," Misato hesitated, knowing she had no choice but to press on, "Just take your time. From the start."
"…I got you Misato… just…" His head lowered further, "Can doctor Akagi really bring Asuka back?"
Misato sighed. I can't tell him this was how his mother died, that the last person Eva 01 absorbed was Yui Ikari.
Again the sad smile, "We're doing everything we can, Shinji-kun. Besides, Asuka is tough. You know how tough she is right?"
He still didn't smile. Still didn't seem in higher spirits.
After another while, she saw no choice but to press again, "Shinji, about Hokkaido…"
He sighed, paused for a bit to look sadly into her eyes and finally started talking.
(SGE)
For some reason, Shinji was dreading this particular mission more than usual. The entire routine of getting into the Eva was a sort of a red haze of nervousness, filled with dread and the feeling that something was off.
I'm probably just worried because Asuka and I will be fighting in different cities, after I just told her I love her…
With that thought complete, he found himself inside the plug and ready to departure, being carried by the Eva carrier plane. The ordeal of being deployed like this, being carried by an airplane wider than the Eva was also a different experience, also something new to add his list of 'stuff he did as a pilot'. Clouds passed him by as he was carried over by the carrier, with two other big airplanes flanking him, apparently carrying the batteries for his Eva's activation, and he was on cruise speed, on his way
"Shinji," Misato's face popped in his entry plug with the usual encouraging smile, "You enjoying riding the Eva riding a plane?"
Shinji couldn't smile back at her, as he usually did, even if weakly, "Yeah, it's alright Misato-san. I'm at cruise speed and I'll be arriving in a little over an hour.
Misato nodded "Alright Shinji-kun, listen; I will talk to you again in one hour and fifteen minutes, when you reach Sapporo in Hokkaido," Even Misato's usual smile before a mission failed to cheer him up, "This is me wishing you luck, and telling to stay calm, because we're doing everything we can for Asuka. And for Rei."
"Roger that, Misato. I'll talk to you then."
He sighed when Misato's face flashed out of existence on his plug.
The trip to Hokkaido was completely uneventful but he still felt edgy, still felt like something was amiss. This was strange even for someone who would sometimes get depressed like him. And all that worry and edginess was still directed to Asuka. Was he still worried about her? Was that all there was to it? All of that was still nagging him until…
Asuka?
…he thought he heard Asuka crying and screaming when he finally arrived in Sapporo.
He shook his head, "I need to stop worrying about her, she'll be fine."
The plane hovered lowly and closer to the ground, decreasing its speed so fast even inside his plug Shinji felt the momentum of being pulled backwards. His Eva activated in standby mode, connected to an energy socket, no need to be all out just yet. After feeling the initial jolt of synchronization and testing his com Units, talking real quick to lieutenant Ibuki and Misato again, he was then deployed near something he recognized immediately; one of the mobile bunkers to remotely assist the Evangelion Units. The reason he saw it quickly was because it was completely out of touch with the rest of the Sapporo scenery.
Because Sapporo was not a military or even an industrial city. This was mostly a tourist attraction, vibrant, bright, and the buildings didn't go as high as his Eva did. As one of the bastion cities of Japan, one that had survived Second Impact, it still had a different quality to it, completely unlike the country side where he grew up in or Tokyo-03 where he currently lived.
Is this how cities were before the First Angel caused Second Impact?
That and other useless running thoughts coursed his mind as he was now actively trying to not think about Asuka and why he was so convinced something had happened to her.
Nothing happened to her. She's too stubborn and too strong to let anything happen to her.
…
Stop worrying you idiot! She's just fine! Ah look there; you see? Your com light is blinking, Misato-san is calling, and she'll tell you Asuka is fine.
He flicked the switch, "Misato-san?"
"Hey Shinji-kun," She seemed too serious for some reason, but because of what she proceeded to speak, Shinji was quick to dismiss it, "The residents of Sapporo were evacuated, except for a few that were asleep and could couldn't be reached. Apparently soldiers, police men and fire men couldn't reach them without falling asleep themselves. The closer you get to that epicenter, the closer you will be to the source of all this, the stronger the sleep hold is," She smiled before concluding, "We are pretty sure whatever affected everybody won't affect someone inside the Evangelion. If whatever is there in Sapporo attacks you, you may engage."
"So, do I move in now?"
She instantly lost the smile and her eyes went wide, "No! Shinji-kun no!"
Shinji blinked.
"Shinji-kun, I want you to wait."
Shinji blinked again, now genuinely confused.
"Shinji, you are to stand by and wait for further instructions. Is that clear?" Now Misato was all business again.
"Um, a-alright then," Something still felt strange. He still felt edgy and couldn't stop the stutter.
Misato nodded with a neutral expression, "Alright then."
Shinji had to make an effort not to narrow his eyes, "Are you sure about this Misato?"
"I am, Shinji-kun. You are to stand by. I'm sorry about this, making you sit around in your entry plug for so many hours. I can't even imagine how boring that is but-"
"It's okay Misato-san," Shinji was kind enough to interrupt her, knowing she was currently dealing with something, "Orders are orders. I'll wait. And if the enemy moves, so will I."
Misato sighed, "Good, Shinji-kun."
"How's Asuka?" There it was. He finally asked the question. He thought it was odd Misato didn't mention her, actually making him even more worried.
And it didn't help that Misato's smile seemed fake somehow. "She… is… I'll update you when we have new info on this Angel."
Her face flashed out of existence and Shinji sat back on his plug.
"Asuka… please be okay," the empty plea didn't calm him and the empty entry plug gave him no answer.
He would sometimes tap his hands, open and close his fist, look around the deserted city and even tap his foot. In all that menial 'do it while waiting' tasks, ten hours passed. He checked his clock like he did a few times before after the numbness of his mind edged him again and after noticing the afternoon sky was pretty dark too.
It's been over eleven hours!
He was indeed waiting there for about eleven hours.
Gosh, I wish something would-
An invisible shockwave swept the area. His com unit went dead.
"Wh-what?" He looked at the panel of his entry plug and flicked the switch just to make sure.
…I had to ask- to think it, didn't I?
Yes, his com unit did go dead just now. Even his emergency radio wasn't responding. His cameras and monitoring systems were on, the Eva was effectively active so this couldn't have happened without outside influence. To make matters worse, the air outside the Eva shimmered.
Every piloting and fighting instincts went into overdrive.
BAM!
The short controlled explosion like sound seemed to be really close to him. It took him a millisecond to realize it was actually in the battery like structure the carrier planes of before that were flanking him deployed was what had exploded. Almost at the exact same moment, his entry plug gained a familiar flash of red coming from his right. He looked at the flash's source and, sure enough, his internal clock was ticking. 4 minutes and 58 seconds of functional time left.
"Misato-san! Ibuki-san! Batteries out of the Eva went dead!"
He knew it was futile and made the declaration more out of habit than actual functionality. Both the women could see his internal clock either way.
With nothing restraining his Eva, walking around the empty streets of Sapporo crossing one block with each step was as easy as just walking. After checking the area around him he remembered something that maybe would have been useful before his energies and communication devices went dead; what probably prompt him to move so suddenly and so readily was an electromagnetic pulse. That's probably what that invisible shockwave of before was. And it was one strong enough for the shielded equipment. Only something protected by an AT field wouldn't be affected by it, which was the only reason he still had the Eva's internal batteries.
He cursed his inability to identify that quickly, only viewing military knowledge through quick debriefs and Kensuke, and turned to see the support crew that was with him on the other carrier planes, flaking the plane that brought him and Unit 01. His eyes widened in fear when he saw a bunch of people lying down as if they were asleep. They were unconscious just like the rest of the people in Sapporo.
He gulped, "This is definitely the work of… whatever it is I came here to fight," then he futilely looked at him com unit again. It was still dead. Nobody, not even Misato would assist him on this.
Shaking as badly as he was the first time he piloted the Eva, he stood up again and cast aside the now useless power cable attached to his back, leaving behind the mobile command bunker that would originally assist him, walking away further than he did the first time. This was his first truly solo battle. Not even one person in a assist team on his back. Just him and his Eva.
Gulping again he stood fully erect and almost on his tip toes, going for height first, looking all around Sapporo, getting sight beyond the city he was standing at. Seeing the entire city was easy enough since Sapporo didn't have any buildings taller than his Eva. However, he saw nothing. There was nothing except the deserted city; nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact the city was abandoned.
He started moving faster and faster, looking for something, anything. He looked in every direction as he ran, the stomps of the Eva echoing the entire city, asphalt and sometimes even cars being crushed as the gargantuan purple giant dashed. But all of it was futile, because the enemy only became visible to Shinji when his internal clock had only 2 minutes of internal time left. And yes, Shinji identified it immediately.
It was a ball of fire hovering in mid-air, fairly distant from Evangelion Unit 01 but the fact Shinji saw it from that distance meant it was at least a two or three feet in diameter. Shinji approached it, dashing towards it at first but then slowing down when he realized the ball of fire was growing. It was now at least twelve or thirteen feet in diameter, the Evas could play basketball with it. Shinji was still walking towards it when it started not only to grow, but also to take form.
Yes, it was now taking a form, it was no longer a ball and its shimmering heat became visible to the naked way, waves and waves of the same invisible shockwave that assaulted Shinji once before were expanding and spreading, repeatedly tainting the surrounding air with electromagnetic pulses. It also grew a bit more, now having at least twenty feet of diameter. Shinji rose part of his AT field just to be safe, to make sure the EMPs would not affect his internal battery. After the shockwaves slowed down, the thing burned brighter, making Shinji shield his eyes with his arms from the glare. The fiery thing also grew even larger and it started growing limbs.
Yes, limbs. Shinji watched mesmerized as the thing that was once a ball now had a slightly bestial form, close to a wolf, but more monstrous than a wolf and made of red glowing fire. Slowly, ever so slightly, it gained shape and form as it grew, as it raged in a fiery inferno spreading shockwaves that were EMPs and shimmering the very air around itself. Oddly enough, the first thing that was clearly formed was the head.
The ugly, spike filled, beast like, elongated muzzle and elongated skull head.
The same elongated muzzle opened, revealing an abnormally long mouth as well, and right off the bat…
"RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
…Shinji reflexively cowered, protecting himself because the roar that came out of said mouth was the most horrifying thing he had ever heard.
Once the horrifying sound was done, the beast was fully formed, fully gown. It was like a fiery demon, made of lava and rock and it was as big as Evangelion Unit 01 if it was standing up, maybe bigger. It also had an extra set of paw like arms in the middle of the torso. It then hit Shinji: This thing looked like the Angel he and Asuka fought near that volcano. Only it didn't have tendrils all around its rocky skin, had six paws instead of four and its roar was more familiar to Shinji in its bestial animal like nature; this beast like thing sounded more like an animal whereas the Angel sounded more like an alien infant crying loudly.
The fight had begun. Shinji's internal clock showed 1 minute and 14 seconds of power left.
(SGE)
Misato sighed, her body language probably telling Shinji that it was okay to take a break from talking. She simply turned from him to check her own reports about the previous few hours; the sudden unconsciousness of the support team that flew with Shinji as well as the reporting of power outage all over Sapporo corroborated Shinji's story. Nobody told her what was happening there because nobody could, being either unconscious or without electrical power and communication. Except for the Evangelion itself, the systems were vulnerable to jamming of several types of waves and a succession of electromagnetic pulses could do that.
In other words, up until this point, Shinji's story made perfect sense and what Misato knew supported it. Also, the boy was there in front of her so she knew he had won the fight against Iblis and was safe. So why the hell was she feeling so edgy about the whole ordeal? Would Shinji eventually say something that corroborated what Sonic said about the commander wanting the world to end? Shinji breathed slowly and sipped the water one of the techs brought for him under Misato's request and Misato had nothing to do except continue listening.
"That thing was probably Iblis, if the Intel we got from Silver before was right."
Shinji just sat completely still, eyes dejected.
"Well Shinji-kun…"
He rose his still dejected eyes to meet hers, not saying anything.
"…how was the fight?"
(SGE)
Shinji started things off very basically; a couple of paces to reach the beast followed by a punch that came from upwards towards the muzzle, right in the face, since the beast was on all fours and right in front of him. The punch connected but the muzzle simply slipped out of Shinji's trajectory and went upwards, opening the huge mouth and closing down on Unit 01's wrist.
Shinji's groan of pain as the sharp teeth and the heat of the lava damaged his wrist plating was quick and low and his other arm immediately punched the creature's throat. It groaned in pain but not only it didn't let go of Shinji's other arm, it also rose its front paws to embrace Shinji's hip, its claws tearing and connecting to the sides of Unit 01's waist. Shinji punched the throat of the creature repeatedly until it let go of his wrist and focused entirely on 'embracing' Shinji in a death grip of sorts.
Focused solely on punching the throat and head of the creature, Unit 01 lost its footing. As they both fell on the ground, Shinji kept punching the creature, noticing cracks in the stony fiery skin of the wolf like monster with an elongated head and muzzle. Getting further inwards on the body he was on top of, the fiery beast puked a bolt of hot magma. Shinji felt his chest burn as the lava melted the chest plating of Unit 01, giving the giant beast leeway to climb further onto the top of Evangelion Unit 01 and going for Shinji's throat.
Before it could clamp its jaws on Shinji's neck with its full force, Shinji foresaw that and grabbed the both ends of the jaw. It was easy enough since the jaw was huge. He still felt the neck getting torn up but still fought it with all he could, all the while the paws of the beast were also trashing about, also making damage. Even if it was more to the streets than to his Evangelion.
They struggled like that for a good while, as the final thirty seconds of Shinji's internal battery ticked away. He was managing to drive the beast's mouth away from his neck but it was like fighting a rabid wolf that could vomit lava. And speaking of vomiting lava, Shinji felt the mouth he was holding onto heat up and become brighter. The beast hurled another bout of lava in the form of projectile vomit.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!"
Shinji couldn't stop the screaming this time, as it burned his neck and a good chunk of his face because he was holding the muzzle right above his throat. Maybe it was the pain of the burn or the adrenaline rush that coursed him as he entered the final ten seconds of his internal battery life, but he suddenly remembered he had a prog knife, the only equipment he still had access to and didn't need anybody of the support team to actually activate.
In a swift motion, the knife came alive and within his reach from his Eva's shoulder pylon and, because he was already positioned under the giant beast like thing, just at the same level as its elongated head with long muzzle, and because the six paws of the thing on top of him were busy pinning him down and its muzzle was busy vomiting on him, it was fairly simple for Shinji to plough the knife in the thing's skull.
It roared a scream of pain and agony as it trashed about and it took the final five seconds of Unit 01's internal battery for it to finally lie down and die. Everything inside Shinji's entry plug had gone dark and his Evangelion had gone limp and lifeless but he was still over flooded with relief. Since the feel of synchronization had left him, the pain of the burning and the bites also left him, and with the thing dead, his mission was accomplished. He defeated the monster that was terrorizing Hokkaido just before his Eva ran out of power, on the last second of his internal battery in fact.
Or so he thought.
(SGE)
Misato blinked then narrowed her eyes, "Why was that only what you thought, Shinji-kun?"
He looked back down, "…"
She soothed her face at the boy again, "What happened after that?"
Shinji still hesitated a bit, "Like you said Misato, I didn't know it then but… that giant beast like… 'lava thing' was Iblis… Mephiles was also around."
Now Misato was genuinely worried, even though she still knew the boy was safe, he was right in front of her, she had to panic at the mere notion of what she asked next, "You... went after Mephiles even with your Eva out of power?"
"…"
"Shinji-kun."
"Not… really. Like I told you before, Misato; I didn't even fight Mephiles. And he brought me back."
Misato blinked, "He… brought you back, just like that?"
Shinji nodded and continued his story.
(SGE)
The entry plug had ejected completely out of nowhere and it startled Shinji. He was out of the Eva and out of the range of the melting dead beast like fiery creature that had just now become completely immobile with his prog knife in its head.
Once out of the ejected plug, Shinji found himself in the middle of a deserted road, in a fairly large city. The emptiness was strangely contrasted against the bright colors of Sapporo, even with the destruction in the distance, with the prone bodies of the fiery creature with the prog knife in its head and Unit 01 under it. But then Shinji saw someone lying on the ground.
He was told that the some of the residents that fell asleep all of a sudden were not evacuated but it was still weird and eerie seeing a body fallen like that, asleep on the asphalt. He looked around, checked the communicator in his plugsuit and looked again towards the distance and pretty much everywhere. He was completely alone. Whether it was his solitude or the compelling to help the stranger, Shinji moved away from his deactivated Eva and support structure that was filled with sleeping NERV people, towards the fallen man on the ground.
Upon arriving at the stranger, Shinji noticed he was pointing upwards, up the next street. Shinji blinked, "Where are you pointing at?"
Of course the man didn't answer so Shinji just looked in the direction the sleeping man was pointing at. Then he widened his eyes.
There was a trail of bodies pointing towards a fast food shop further down the street.
Shinji started shaking. He had to tell himself those ten or so bodies were all just asleep, like Misato told him and like what had happened to everyone else in Sapporo. And he reminded himself how the bodies closer to the epicenter of whatever was happening in Sapporo couldn't be rescued because the people coming in later also fell asleep. Further inspection made Shinji see police men and fire men spread about in the distance as well, outside of the trail that seemed made for him.
Yes, that trail of sleeping people seemed to be guiding him towards something and that made him tremble. Shinji trembled even more when a very particular thought crossed his mind:
I… I could have squashed some of these innocent people when I ran around looking for that beast I defeated… I… DID I squash someone?
The question made him horrified and for the first time in his piloting time, he felt disgusted with himself, not only wanting to run from the pain of it, but actually disgusted at the notion of having hurt someone, or even allowing someone to be hurt. Toji's sister came to his mind and he wished Toji was there to punch him again. Several consequences that he had never even considered, about failing to protect someone because he ran away flooded him.
This… I don't… I can't run away. Not ever. This proves people will definitely be hurt if I don't do anything… Hell they might get hurt even if I DO something…
That thought made him dejected, for a second he stopped and looked down. After a while, as if remembering all the unconscious people making a trail in front of him, strangely pointing to what looked like a fast food shop.
You have it bad Shinji. You might fail to save anyone even if you try; You remind your father your mom is dead so he hates you…
He started thinking to himself as he started walking towards the fast food joint that the trail of sleepers led to and pointed to.
But you also have a lot of good stuff; you have a beautiful girlfriend and dear friends… think about your… scary epiphany later.
…
Seeing this many people asleep on the street… how come I'M not being affected by this? Shouldn't I be asleep too by now? Is it because I managed to kill that monster just now? Shouldn't the people be waking up by now then?
His inner questions distracted him enough for him to arrive at the food place. One look through the glass window made him take a quick step back to hide, his back against the wall.
Oh god what… what WAS that THING?
Shinji edged towards the window with nothing but his eyes, struck by curiosity and fear. And it wasn't like he had a choice, with everything else being deactivated and him being alone. His eyes edged the window and he saw it again. Now being over the initial fright of seeing it, he could really make it out now.
It had its back to him. Shinji could tell it was the back because it had quill like spikes like Sonic, Shadow and Silver did; only those quills seemed made of stone. A cobalt blue dented stone with its pointy edges being a light blue, an almost white bluish hue. The dark cobalt blue and the light blue in crystal like formations all over the rocky skin gave out a strange and terrifying contrast. Couple that with the fact the legs of the creature seemed to be on fire… this was hands down the scariest hedgehog yet. Shadow and his scowls and talking down on Shinji didn't come even close to this. The fact Shinji was seeing only his back as it was sitting down on the table closest to the counter of a crappy food joint didn't ease that at all.
"Hello, Shinji." And now that its eerie echoic like male voice talked to Shinji, he actually froze in place.
Shinji wanted to scream. To flee the scene in terror and scream for help, scream for Asuka, for Misato, even for his father. But whether it was the curiosity about the creature or as to why the creature knew him or even the very unlikely scenario that this thing was not hostile, was another friend of Sonic's, he kept frozen in place.
"Well," the creature hesitated. Was it eating something? "Come in."
Being that used to do as he was told and feeling the immense pressure of the presence just before him inside the restaurant, he obeyed. Upon entering the establishment, he finally saw the thing's face. Like Sonic and the other hedgehogs, it had a cartoony round like muzzle and large eyes but Shinji was once again jolted by fear and horror when he made out more details on the creature. The muzzle also seemed to be crystal like, much like the clear indentations on the cobalt blue skin.
And the eyes! Good lord the eyes almost made Shinji flee for his life; they had a red background and yellow irises. The only reason Shinji didn't flee screaming; screeching his plugsuit clad feet on the ground was because the thing wasn't looking at him, being more focused on eating than on Shinji. Another scary thought passed through Shinji's head, aiding in keeping him frozen; it really was eating, but it had no mouth. Yes, his muzzle was solid. Shinji couldn't even see what he was eating because of that, focusing on the monstrosity of its mouthless muzzle.
"Are you… death? The Mobian death?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Mephiles will suffice."
Shinji gulped as he felt his eyes tearing up and his bladder voided. He was thankful the plugsuit had properties to aid in that and hoped the Hedgehog in front of him wouldn't notice, so he would at least die with some dignity. As that finality crossed his mind, he became even more apathetic to the fear paralyzing him.
"Come. Sit down. The Jingisukan is delicious."
Shinji was still too terrified to do more than two things at once so he couldn't say anything as he sat down in front of Mephiles, noticing his hands were trembling when he pulled the chair in front of the scary cobalt hedgehog. A useless thought crossed his mind; He heard about that plate Mephiles was eating before, it was a meaty treat or something.
"I've been waiting to talk to you since I arrived in this universe."
Shinji breathed, finally managing, "I gotta say… mixed feelings about that…"
Mephiles said nothing, still focused on eating his Jingisukan. The darkness of his crystal like skin reflecting the dim light of the restaurant. But what really freaked Shinji out even more was the fact the slabs of meat disappeared into the muzzle, no mouth to chomp on them.
"So, is… is this the part where… where you kill me?" Shinji felt and sounded surprisingly calm as he stated that, still in apathy to the huge fear coursing him, still aware he had voided his bladder.
Mephiles halted his chopsticks on the plate and looked at him. It was the first time the huge scary red eyes with yellow irises looked at Shinji, and if Shinji hadn't pissed himself before, he would have now. This was a really scary, really intimidating hedgehog.
When he noticed Shinji wouldn't say anything else, Mephiles rolled his eyes, "You overestimate your importance. To something like me, something like you… well," Mephiles paused to slurp the straw of his soda, which Shinji noticed he had only now. Mephiles drank what was left of it before continuing, "Think how you would feel if a bacteria sat at your table and started being snarky and self-important…"
Shinji didn't say anything, didn't even blink.
Mephiles continued, "This is one tiny planet. In a tiny solar system. In a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. In one single universe that is only one in a multitude of universes."
Now confusion was mingling with Shinji's fear.
"I'm old, Shinji. Very old. I have seen the plenitude of dimensions and the Multiverse, I have travelled through several universes with my former master throughout the endless sea of dimensions…"
Shinji kept silent. Mephiles' chopsticks picked another slab of lamb meat from the plate and took it to his mouthless muzzle.
"I have watched my former master devour those universes and most of the times I even aided him in doing so."
Shinji still kept silent. Mephiles was now picking food up from the main plate in front of him and putting on a separate plate for some reason.
"Consider everything I just said to you, and contemplate how insignificant I find you…"
Shinji was surprised when Mephiles placed the plate he was making in front of Shinji, serving him some of the Jingisukan.
"Eat…" Mephiles commanded.
Shinji gulped. Surprised he actually managed to move his hands and get the chopsticks, separating them with a pluck. Still shaking, he even managed to utter "I-itadakimasu…" before trying some of the meat. He munched one bite slowly.
"Good, isn't it?"
Shinji couldn't rightly process his own taste buds right now but nodded anyway. After swallowing and seeing Mephiles eat another bite he finally managed, "Well um… now I'm curious. How old are you?"
"As old as the Multiverse. Maybe older. I can't remember anymore." He spoke while he ate, pausing only to swallow, "Yes, it's a very interesting discussion; life, death, chicken or the egg. Regardless, the Multiverse will eventually die as well."
Shinji swallowed as Mephiles simply took another bite. The size of what Mephiles just said to him hitting him like a giant anvil that crushed him completely, "You… You will see the end of the Multiverse?"
Mephiles looked at him again, "All things must end Shinji," Then looked at the food to eat more.
Shinji blinked, his mouth twitched a nervous terrified smile, "I… I guess I'm really in way over my head here."
It was weird seeing Mephiles move his mouthless muzzle as if he was chewing, "Just a bit."
"So I… I gotta ask… If you're not going to… kill m-" Shinji swallowed, interrupting himself, "I mean… why-why am I still alive? Sitting here with you?"
Mephiles consumed another slab of meat; it disappeared into the mouthless muzzle.
"What… what do you want?"
He finally paused his eating, "The leash around my neck off."
Shinji blinked.
"Solaris has me bound to him. I want out."
Shinji didn't know what to say to that.
"I say he's a former master just because I don't want to obey him anymore. I didn't know I was a slave, I didn't know I had choice before Solaris was defeated for the first time and one of his meals was denied to him."
Despite the fear and nervousness, engines turned inside Shinji's head, "That was when Sonic, Silver and Shadow defeated him?"
"Correct. Before that, I didn't know I was bound to him."
"But… why? Aren't you," Shinji gulped, disbelieving he was having this conversation, "Aren't you death?"
"What I am is not the point, it's what Solaris is."
"And what-"
"He's a mindless universe eating machine."
Shinji blinked, now more confused than afraid.
"The Multiverse is always growing, useless dimensions, altered timelines that become their own thing, realities that are forgotten, dimensions that are forsaken. There are always universes popping up that need to be erased, some place sometime there is ALWAYS going to be a madman with a typewriter."
Mephiles then looked at a very special angle Shinji couldn't see or even understand why he was looking at it. The angle where he sees RealRemainder, writing this fic in his room, and Mephiles' stare sent shivers down the author's spine.
Then he looked back at Shinji, who didn't understand anything, "Always."
Shinji held his breath and concluded, "And Solaris eats those unused realities."
"Yes. Of course they aren't always unused, but the first time he was actually halted was when the other hedgehogs stopped him. Which made me see he exists because he must, dimensions and realities are what he eats and I am bound to him, for no reason other than I am."
"And you think I can unbind you from Solaris?"
Mephiles groaned, "There's your ridiculous bravado again. Of course you can't."
"…"
"But you can stop Solaris from coming here altogether, hence giving me the chance to escape."
Shinji blinked, "How?"
Mephiles then pulled out a jewel. A big jewel the size of Shinji's fist, in a octagonal shape that Shinji recognized, even though he had seen it only a few times with Sonic and the other hedgehogs and they were green, red and white instead of purple. In Mephiles' hand, being shown to Shinji was the purple Chaos Emerald.
"You know what this is?" Mephiles asked.
Shinji hesitated but answered, "Yeah?" unsure as to why he said it as a question.
Mephiles wiggled the emerald once to him, "I'm inclined to give it to you."
Shinji blinked, "To… give it to me, just like that?"
"That's what I said."
Shinji considered the situation, where he was and what happened, "What about all those people asleep? What about Hokkaido?"
Mephiles sighed, appearing even more annoyed at him, "I'm not going to destroy it. The beast you killed was going to do that. If I do too much here, I might open the way to Solaris. That's also why I have to use you as an errand boy. Besides, I like the Jingisukan."
Shinji breathed a mental sigh of relief and extended his hand towards the purple gem Mephiles was holding.
And the hand of the crystallized abomination hovered above Shinji's, but he still held the purple jewel, "There are two conditions."
Shinji blinked and then gulped. He thought it wouldn't be that easy.
"Don't worry, you already fulfilled one. Which was severing my bond to crisis, the one called Iblis. But for the flames of disaster to be gone completely and myself, made free, you have to stop this universe from being swallowed, for that will create the entrance into this universe Solaris will use to come eat it."
Shinji blinked.
"You have to stop Third Impact at any cost."
Shinji creased his brow in confusion, "Stop the… apocalypse caused by the Angels?"
"Yes."
Shinji blinked again, still frowning in confusion, "Well, yeah we want to stop that."
"At ANY cost…"
Shinji felt even more confused, blinking again and almost shrugging, "That's the plan."
"No. No plan, no counter measures, no last minute fix, no frantic battle as everything is already crashing down and burning, no desperate last stand doomed to fail."
"…Um… I-"
"You wish to stop the apocalypse, you have only one alternative: All the Angels have to die, and your father has to die."
Now 'shock' was also tainting Shinji's expression, "Why does my father-"
"He too wishes for Third Impact to happen. And he has the means to cause it."
A few moments of silence filled the air as Shinji let that declaration really sink in. Then he shook his head and looked right into those scary yellow eyes, "W-wait, you think-"
"I know." Mephiles cut him off harshly.
Shinji wanted to scream at this creature, to say things like 'my father would never do that' but, whether it was because of the fear he still felt or because of how very recently he discovered his father hated him, which prompted even a suicide attempt which he ultimately hadn't gone through with thanks to Sonic, he didn't. In fact he said nothing. All he was doing was just staring at Mephiles open mouthed. He just sat there staring at Mephiles open mouthed.
"So you're going to promise me something. You're going to end your father's life. Stop him from ending the world."
"…"
"Well?"
Shinji still warred within himself, the feelings for his father, the truth about him and what this creature just said about him, it all crashed down in such a way Shinji still couldn't answer.
"Do I have your word?"
But Shinji thought it was best to please Mephiles at least for now so he finally weakly nodded, as convincingly as he managed, "A-alright, y-yes…"
Mephiles stared at him expressionlessly for a little more time, "That better be 'yes', Shinji. You know you can't cheat death," then he finally dropped the purple Chaos Emerald that was still being held above Shinji's palm right on it.
Shinji felt the texture of the pretty jewel, losing himself in the bright purple, brighter than his Eva for a few seconds before Mephiles caught his attention again.
"Now," Mephiles was looking at the emerald too, "Would you like a tutorial? Although you're not a mobian, you should be able to hide it within you, use an offensive skill and also a teleportation skill."
Feeling the almost magical like and as smooth as graphite texture of the Gem's surface, Shinji nodded.
Mephiles nodded slightly, "Now I could just explain it to you but it would take too long. It's easier like this."
At which point Mephiles touched Shinji's forehead with his index finger and everything went black.
Maybe a life time passed. Maybe it was just a few days or maybe it was just a few hours. What Shinji did managed to figure out was that the emerald was somehow inside him. He also knew how to make a heat beam with it and also how to teleport with it. He didn't know how but he knew it, and he knew that was what happened to him during the time he lost the notion of time, even though he was technically unconscious. Maybe it came to him in dream form or maybe it came into his mind simply through force but he knew Mephiles had infused him with the knowledge to use the Emerald only the mobians could.
He couldn't ponder on it or do anything about it because he came to, painfully opening his eyes and he saw an environment he recognized; he was back at NERV HQ.
Mephiles didn't just force knowledge into my head, he also brought me back… Is that Misato talking to Doctor Akagi?
He walked maybe three steps towards the women he knew, noticing lieutenant Ibuki was also nearby. Maya commented something he couldn't quite make out and then he saw something that pretty much reminded him how scared he was just a short while ago: Asuka's entry plug. Funny how he could recognize it even without Asuka in it, just her empty plug suit floating around in the LCL.
"Ritsuko, listen; Shinji-kun can't know about this!"
Misato's worried warning all but confirmed his fear, so the first thing he said was, "Is that really Asuka's plugsuit?"
(SGE)
This is the mother of all cluster fucks…
That was the main thought coursing Misato's mind, red hot angry and frustrating, shortly after Shinji finished telling his story. Even though the deployment of Unit 01 to Hokkaido was a success and Mephiles teleporting the pilot back was a convenience, Unit 02 had to be restrained by their own city's defenses, and when they found a way to bring communications with it back up, they saw that its pilot had vanished. Shinji walked in on her and Ritsuko and also saw that she vanished, because the Mobian Grim reaper did him the favor of teleporting him back to HQ. He didn't tell her anything about the Chaos Emerald he supposedly still had and maybe even knew how to use now but with what happened to Asuka, she let that one slide. She would talk to him again later.
On top of all that, the hedgehogs had apparently betrayed NERV; Misato knew she was not being told everything but how likely was it that the Commander and the instrumentality Committee were hiding something like what Sonic was claiming? At least she wanted to believe badly that the heroic slider hedgehog was wrong… or WERE wrong, if you consider the other hedgehogs, currently missing, also thought the same thing. Another danmable itch in that whole business was the fact NERV had become extremely convenient against mobian hedgehog uprising, almost as if they were foreseeing this.
Running away instead of out bursting like Sonic did fits Shadow and Silver, if you consider they have this kind of information.
Maybe Shinji-kun didn't tell me everything that Mephiles told him but the mere fact he said stuff along the lines of what Sonic was saying before Section 02 neutralized and arrested him… The only good thing that happened today was the Angel and Iblis were successfully neutralized.
…
Why did it turn out like this?
She was not looking forward to the talk she would have to have with her ward, her commander and the blue mobian in the Anti-chaos energy holding cell. She would take this chance to have a long overdue talk with Robotnik too. And above all else, hope Ritsuko would be able to bring Asuka back. She knew losing her probably meant losing Shinji as well.
Authors note: Evangelion belongs to Gainax, Sonic belongs to Sega. Many thanks to GamerJay for betareading and allowing me to use the Omake ahead.
Itadakimasu is something you say in Japanese before you eat, meaning "Let's receive it", usually translated as "let's eat". And Jingisukan is a Hokkaido delicacy, which exists in pretty much every city of the island and is made of barbecued lamb and mutton. I never tried it myself but it's supposedly very tasty, and almost exclusive to Hokkaido. I see bad ass Mephiles being a meat lover and sparing the island to spare the treat.
Sorry if you didn't appreciate the fourth wall breaking guys. Honestly couldn't write that any other way. You know, to describe Mephiles's predicament and his awareness of things and still make him look bad ass. I usually hate fourth wall breaking. The ones I like are few and in between… On the bright side it gave me the idea for the following previously mentioned Omake.
OMAKE: With props to GamerJay
"The Multiverse is always growing, useless dimensions, altered timelines that become their own thing, realities that are forgotten, dimensions that are forsaken. There are always universes popping up that need to be erased, some place sometime there is ALWAYS going to be a madman with a typewriter."
Mephiles then looked at a very special angle Shinji couldn't see or even understand why he was looking at it.
The angle where he sees GamerJay writing whatever, and Mephiles's stare catches his attention, at which point GamerJay says, "Oh no you don't!"
GamerJay then types a lot really fast and, when Mephiles looked back at Shinji, there was no longer a meek teenager who didn't understand anything, but instead a ruthless boy predator, fully geared with biomask, shoulder cannon, leather mesh, yatja armor, wristcomps, nodachi sword and combistick spear.
Mephiles blinked and that was all the time Shinji Curved Blade needed: One swing of the nodachi at Mephiles's neck beheaded the hedgehog. The spiked head fell to the ground, yellow eyes with red background frozen in an expression of horror. Curved blade then picked up the severed head of the cobalt, black and white hedgehog and raised it above his own head.
"SCRYYYYYAAAAAAA!" The muffle from the mask made the roar even more powerful, as he dangled Mephiles' head above him.
GamerJay smiled, "Thanks Curved Blade!"
