Creation began on 04-03-18
Creation ended on 04-20-18
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Immortal Ikari: Back to the Game
NERV was dealing with an issue that stemmed from the event that occurred last night in the city. With the fall of the last Angel (which Shinji didn't kill), the paramilitary agency was officially done with the reason it existed for.
"Where is the Third Child right now?" The replacement commander asked Misato in Central Dogma.
"He's currently at his residence," she revealed. "The Fifth Child returned to the base and hasn't left his quarters since last night."
"Just until further notice, keep an eye on them. More so on the Fifth Child than the Third Child."
"And should another Angel appear?" Ritsuko asked him.
"We'll let the Third Child deal with it…should it ever come to that."
-x-
With the school closed again, Toji, Hikari and Kensuke rushed over to Shinji, who would most likely be asleep to recover from the latest Quickening.
"Good morning, you three," greeted Takuya to them when they rang the bell.
"Is Shinji still asleep?" Toji asked him.
"Yep. But now it's weird. He's…doing a Ghostbusters."
"What?!" Kensuke questioned.
"Come and see."
They came inside and he led them to Shinji's room, where said boy was not asleep on his futon.
Shinji…was asleep…floating five feet above his futon with his blanket.
"Creepy," went Hikari.
"Yes, it is," agreed Akira, who was bothered by this new development. "Probably a new power he's subconsciously tapping into."
"Maybe it's from the Angel of the Sky," Kensuke suggested. "Each Angel had a different designation that mattered more than their numerical designation."
"Maybe," stated Takuya, "but it could also be due to the Angels' levitation abilities. Most had the power to float around."
Suddenly, Shinji floated back down onto his bed and stirred from his slumber. His eyes were half-open as he set his feet on the floor and walked around Akira and Hikari…down the hall and into the bathroom before closing the door.
"Sleepwalking to the bathroom," said Toji. "That's gotta be a world record."
"I wish it was a world record," Akira joked sarcastically as they heard water running.
With the sound of the toilet flushing indicating that he was done, they saw Shinji vacate the bathroom and return to his room where he fell back onto his futon.
"Ahh…" He groaned as he awoke, eight seconds later, and saw them looking down at him. "Okay. All of you being in my room…is a little bothersome. Just how long was I asleep this time?"
"It's only been since last night," answered Akira.
"Oh? And…what of Kaworu?"
"After the Quickening, he returned to NERV HQ," explained Takuya.
"And The Demoness?"
"She took off after the Quickening ended. She didn't disclose any hidden secrets last night, but she's not going to stop. It'd be a fortunate stopgap if the only thing keeping her at bay now was her wanting your father to return her choker."
"He fails to understand that he's condemning a lot of people to suffering by messing with her. He still only has two days to rectify his actions before she decides to take lethal action against him. And I'm conflicted about it; while I believe she has every right to want to make him pay for his crimes, she shouldn't be allowed to kill him."
"Someone's gonna try and kill him, regardless," said Toji to him, merely stating the truth.
"True…but it'd be better if it was later than sooner."
"Most don't agree with you, Shinji," Hikari stated; her family was mostly disgusted and angry with his father for messing with this woman that put over sixty people into comas with just her hidden actions alone. "And I stress 'most'."
"Hey, if I could undo what The Demoness did to those people by kicking my old man's ass until he's the one in a coma, I'd do it."
-x-
Those that bothered to come to NERV that morning were surprised to find out who was added to the list of coma victims of The Demoness. It was almost poetic tragedy to know that Ritsuko Akagi and Yui Ikari were the latest victims and Gendo, who was also informed of this update, was enraged that the immortal woman chose to attack his wife.
"It's actually your fault, Ikari," his replacement told him. "You stole from her and you won't return her property. So, in a way, she takes something from you."
"I'll kill her," he responded. "I'll kill her!"
I'd like to see you try, Gendo, The Demoness uttered in his mind. Your threat to my very life…is as empty as a corpse that has been embalmed and harvested of their organs…or a house that has been cleared of all traces of its previous occupants. Anyway, your replacement is right. This is your fault. You continue to withhold my choker from me, you continue to lose what your dark heart desires out of your greed and lust.
"You bitch."
All the more reason to smear your life until there's nothing about you that the world doesn't know about. Or maybe I should smear your wife and mistress? Should I bring up your less-than-professional relationship with Naoko Akagi? No, I think it's better to see who will be the lesser of extremes against you, Gendo. I wouldn't mind knowing what happens to you.
"I take it The Demoness had a personal conversation with you?" The replacement commander questioned. "If she spoke to me and told me where you hid the choker, I'd return it to her myself personally and apologize on NERV's behalf, that we don't condone these heinous acts."
"I dare her to tell you anything!"
-x-
Rather than put them in a regular hospital, Yui and Ritsuko were admitted to the trauma ward in NERV HQ. Just to show his conscience of crisis, Shinji went to see his mother.
"Somehow, I don't believe your visit here is based on your would-be personal problems with your parents," he heard a woman say to him, and he turned to face Maya Ibuki.
"You'd be right," he answered her, "but as much as I hate them only for what they tried to do, I would never wish this upon them or anyone else. If you hate someone too much, the hate consumes you…until all you know is hate. Why are you here?"
"I felt betrayed by Akagi-Sempai's affair with your father, but like you, I would never wish this on her or anyone."
"You felt betrayed by her? How could she betray you? Yeah, I'm disgusted by the fact that she was with that jerk, that any woman would disgrace herself by being involved with a man as irredeemable as him, but what is it about their affair that makes you feel betrayed by her?"
"I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"I tend to hear that a lot, mainly due to my age or detachment from people. You don't expect me to understand? Try me, then. I want to know why you feel that Dr. Akagi betrayed you."
Maya sighed and stated, "She was with him. Him! Of all people! I looked up to her. I admired her. She taught me everything I know. It's…it's infuriating and disgracing to know what she did. And…now I can't even face her over this."
It was the way she said it all that caught Shinji's attention, the way her eyes seemed with each word spoken. If he jumped to a conclusion he shouldn't have, he'd be embarrassing them both, so all he could do was ask her for the explanation.
"Tell me," he started, "what disgusts you more about this? The fact that your mentor was being used by that man…or that she let her herself be used by him?"
"She let herself be used by him."
"Now tell me if I'm wrong when I ask this simply out of curiosity, because I've read about it in books and seen it in films and televised programs…but do you…have a crush on her?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"A direct question…based simply on my curiosity. I don't judge or discriminate."
-x-
Although it was unnecessary for her to do so, Rei returned to NERV HQ, just to see how the personnel was coping with the revelation that any one of them could be another victim of The Demoness at any time because of Gendo's arrogance…and to look at Unit-00.
"Rei?" She heard her name being uttered, and turned to see Captain Katsuragi on her left in the Unit-00 cage. "You're here."
"Captain Katsuragi," she responded.
"I heard that…you defected from NERV in favor of this woman that has been putting people in comas. The Demoness."
"I did. Why does it matter to you? All I did since then was punch the Fourth Child once. It's not as though I've become a criminal or a traitor. All of the Angels are now defeated, NERV is no longer needed, and the Evas are of no further use, anymore."
Misato was put off by the way Rei was speaking. It wasn't the way she usually spoke; in fact, she hardly ever spoke more than a few words. It was as though she were a completely different person now, reborn or something, acting out in ways that weren't how she used to be.
"It bothers you, doesn't it?" Rei asked her. "It bothers you that I'm not the girl you thought you once knew. It's true, I am not the same as before. Nothing is like before. But I will be honest, I am much better this way. I feel better because of The Demoness and her influence, opening my eyes to the delusion that Commander… That Gendo Ikari had me under for so long. It's because of her that I am changed, that I've been remade, a whole new person, so to speak. Like herself, like the Third Child, his relatives and friends, even you yourself, apparently, I once had strings, but now I'm free."
"Is that how you feel? You feel like you're free? Well, then, I guess congratulations are in order for you. Congratulations, Rei Ayanami."
"Thank you, Captain Katsuragi."
The albino girl then turned to walk away, but stopped at the sight of the Third Child, whose presence was quite the unexpected surprise.
"I wish I was surprised by your presence, but that would be unreasonably hollow of me," he uttered, "but the lyrics of Pinocchio actually come to mind on account of what you just said. I got no strings to hold me down, make me fret or make me frown. I had strings, but now I'm free. You can see there are no strings on me."
"I've got no strings," Rei responded, knowing the lyrics herself, courtesy of The Demoness, "so I have fun. I'm not tied up to anyone."
"Except to The Demoness. My failure of an old man exploited you as his pawn…"
"Until you changed everything with your presence…and I was given alternatives to the fate that disgrace dealt me."
Shinji lowered his head and said, "Not every choice he made was for the good of everyone. In fact, none of the choices he made were for the good of anyone except himself. A man that blames his every imagined slight on a divine force that can't be fully comprehended by anyone, no matter what. All that anyone can truly know is that from one perspective, this divine force has a plan for us, a plan that he no longer wanted to be a part of."
"I was not part of this divine plan. I was part of his plan. I was… I WAS NOTHING BUT WHAT YOUR FATHER MADE ME! But now, thanks to The Demoness, I have the capacity to reject him…and the capacity to evolve, and it's only because you both changed everything."
Rei then proceeded to walk past Shinji, clearly expressing her rage towards her mistreatment by Gendo.
"You think she's going to win?" He asked her, referring to The Demoness and the Game.
"I hope she does win," she explained. "I hope that she kills you. I hope that your parents learn exactly how it feels to lose an only child they were going to sacrifice, anyway."
Shinji sighed heavily and told her, "I think they did lose me, Ayanami…because I lost them a long time ago. I hate them because of their past choices, not because of them. But if they can atone for their crimes, if they can let go of their original desires and accept the way things are now… I could forgive them. I could let go of that hatred. Do you feel hatred?"
"I'm learning to feel a lotta things."
"Then, as Ms. Katsuragi said, congratulations."
"Thank you."
Rei then left, leaving Shinji and Misato alone in front of Unit-00.
"I take it you've heard about your mother?" Misato asked him.
"Yeah," he answered her. "The Demoness didn't attack her to get at me. She did it to get at him."
"But how do you feel about her doing this?"
"Well, that's the thing about right now; I don't really know how I should feel about what she did. Should I feel angry about this because she's my mother? Am I supposed to react negatively because she's my mother, despite her errors in judgment? Should I desire revenge, justice, an explanation to why? You tell me how I'm supposed to feel, please. You tell me."
"Well, you should feel angry about this, like you want payback against this woman."
"Except I don't feel that way. If The Demoness decides to come after me, now that the Angels are all dealt with, I hope it's after she gets her choker back…and I can only hope she doesn't off my disgrace of an old man as punishment for his arrogance."
"You sure you can't just talk to him about the way things are?"
"No. He actually expects me to be present to face her in the likely event that she does decide to come down here to take it back. I'm not his personal protector against her if she decides to make him pay. His fate is in his own hands regarding her."
"You don't fear for your father's safety?"
"Would you?"
In all honesty, Misato wouldn't have been concerned for Gendo's safety; she didn't really like the guy…and saw no comparison between father and son.
-x-
She wasn't the least bit disappointed in his unwillingness to dispose of the Angel and claim his power through the traditional she refused to use against her enemies, but the fact that he was a child immortal that suffered periodic bouts of fatigue with each Quickening he experienced. This was something that made The Demoness see facing the boy a little challenging and complex.
Child immortals and their lack of development, she thought as she rode her bike across the city to pass the time. Of course, it's not their fault; they didn't realize they were in possession of such a power until after they were killed prematurely and it takes great extremes just to teach them how to survive in the Game. Shinji, however, gets off easy on account of his young life being fourteen years after an artificial apocalypse and the Gathering. Four years of immortality and being taught about the Rules. I kept away from him because of his obligation regarding these Angels…but now I'm keeping away until I get my choker back. Sentimentality before the path to destiny and defiance.
Of course, her degree of sentimentality stemmed from her goal to reclaim her choker, all she had left of her boyfriend…and punishing Gendo Rokubungi-Ikari to the fullest extent of her brutality for disgracing her by stealing it from her. She would take everything he held most dear to his twisted heart if she had to.
I need to get a nice view of Mt. Fuji, she decided to do with the time of the day now, among other things that should be done.
-x-
"…I didn't think I'd find you here, Quentin," Akira greeted the Highlander as she and Takuya found him in the park that afternoon, sitting on a bench in front of his sister and dog as they ran around. "What brings you here?"
"Just Clyde and Gaul needing to be themselves," Quentin explained, pointing to Clyde throwing a ball for Gaul to chase and bring back to her. "How are you two doing?"
"Family drama with members that cause deliberate angst toward others," answered Takuya.
"Your black sheep Gendo still refuses to return The Demoness' choker to her?"
"You know it," Akira expressed. "He actually wanted Shinji to fight her if she comes down to the Geo-Front to take back her choker by force, but Shinji won't go down that path. Gendo can't manipulate the Game to suit his needs, and he'll pay a price for his arrogance."
"But hasn't he paid a price already? I mean, I only heard a small rumor, but isn't his wife in a coma now because The Demoness got to her?"
"It's not a rumor. She did put Yui into a coma; Shinji called and informed us, but this was to make Gendo understand that nobody he cares for or even manipulates to suit his own purposes is safe from her. She can strike at those not protected from her power at any given moment she chooses. I've never encountered an immortal like this woman before."
"The Demoness isn't like any of the other immortals at all. She takes everything I thought I knew about the potential power harnessed by Quickenings…and turns it up to one-thousand…and turns it up even higher. The worst part about her is that we know nothing about who she truly is."
"We need a way to find out about her," said Takuya. "We need to know who The Demoness is."
Bang. A sound, like a gunshot, came, and Clyde and Gaul ran over to be with Quentin.
"What was that?" Clyde questioned, holding Quentin's legs.
"It sounded like a gunshot," Akira suspected, "but who would risk shooting?"
"Believe it or not, after the Angels started showing up, all the street gangs in the city fled and haven't been back since," Takuya explained, so it couldn't have been gangs trying to claim territory or install fear on the streets.
Ring-ring! Akira's cell phone rang, and she picked up.
"Shinji?" She spoke. "What? Shinji, calm yourself. Breathe, man. Now, what is it that they discovered? Oh, Kami. That's not possible."
She lowered her phone and looked at her husband and the MacLeods.
"What is it?" Quentin asked.
"Mount Fuji," she revealed. "It's…gone."
-x-
An entire volcanic landmark, historical in its beauty and age, feared for its potential to erupt once again and spew chaotic energy into the natural world, stripped from the very ground, leaving only a massive crater where it once resided. The fabled and worshipped Mt. Fuji was gone…and nobody knew where.
People from as far as Yokohama and Sapporo were receiving word of the site's disappearance and were outraged by what was viewed as a great degree of both retribution from the gods and disrespect towards the very soul of Japan.
But none of them were the wiser as to The Demoness as she sat on a nearby hill, overlooking the depressing crater that Mt. Fuji once occupied. She sat there with a small smile, not proud of the site, but proud of the impossible act she committed.
If you have the means to take what you want without difficulty, it's yours already, she thought, looking away at her small, purple pouch at her right side. Everyone has a right to everything they desire…if they have the means to go along with their will to take it. I took Mt. Fuji…because it impressed me, because I felt I had to have it for my own. It's no longer theirs to have and behold. It's mine now. It's all mine…and I'm not giving it back.
She slowly reached up to her neck, reminded that her choker wasn't there…and it was starting to get to her. There was a moment where she doubted that if she could've taken Tokyo Tower if it were still standing would ease her hurting heart and soul for even a minute. Her good mood only lasted for a few minutes…and her anger, her pride, her very drive to reclaim what was given to her long ago returned.
Gendo…
-x-
Ten seconds. That was how long it took to realize how a volcanic site as Mt. Fuji was no longer around. And for NERV, it was something beyond rationale due to the impossibility of it all.
"How is this possible?" Misato questioned.
"If I knew," Shinji responded, "I'd be able to explain the impossible."
"There's no geological indication of an earthquake," said Shigeru, going over the geographical survey data they had.
"It's not an optical illusion," added Hyuga.
"So, ten seconds ago, it was there, and ten seconds later, it's just gone?" The replacement commander asked. "Is this Angel-related?"
"I doubt it," went Shinji; his reason for such being that he defeated the last Angel and there was no indication that there were no Angels beyond the ones encountered. "This is something else entirely."
"Care to share what you think it is?"
"I have no idea what this is."
-x-
"…Could it be a sign of the world coming to an end?" Hikari asked Shinji, as they, Toji and Kensuke met up at the child immortal's apartment later that evening, just under half an hour before The Demoness began her daily telepathic broadcast to the world disclosing secrets.
"It's not the end of the world," Shinji assured her. "There are no more Angels left to fight. No other threats to mankind that seek to invade cities or towns. There's no Judgment Day yet."
"If The Demoness claims your head, then it will be Judgment Day," expressed Toji.
"Even so, the world will not end, just the way societies operate in the world…but yes. Yes, that could happen if she wins the Game."
"But she's so focus on getting her choker back, she's ignoring you now," Kensuke reminded them.
"It doesn't change the fact that the Game is still in play."
Good evening again, people of the world, they all heard The Demoness now. Quite the day we had out in the world, huh? Since I saw something quite spectacular last night, I decided to spare you the secrets of others, but now I'll divulge you on many things. But before I do, I'll rat on something I did today to make myself feel better for a short while. As some of you are aware, Mt. Fuji has disappeared off the face of the country of Japan. I did that. I took Mt. Fuji because I felt I had to have it for my collection. Over the years of my nomadic life, I had developed a…compulsive hoarding disorder and kleptomania. What can I say? I have been…left unfulfilled for a very long time, and material things can only do so much to substitute what is truly desired. Oh, how I wish I had Tokyo Tower for my collection. You Japanese have such remarkable constructions that took a lot of bravado and imagination to build. Unlike NERV.
So, she took Mt. Fuji, thought Shinji, bewildered at how someone like this woman was capable of taking an entire landmark.
However, if I told you how I did such an act, that would be telling, she continued. But don't fret about it. Surely, one way or another, things will work out, even in a country as ravaged as Japan and struggling with its population issues. I know that there are dozens of scientists out there that could do great good for the world if they had the means and resources to do so. You could have cleaner air, cultivate desert wastelands and live underground. The future has so much potential, but only in the proper hands…with the proper guidance…even a handful of you foolish, careless men and women believe that sometimes to take a step forward requires taking a step backwards. Not exactly why I chose to punish Gendo Rokubungi-Ikari by putting his wife and his former second mistress into comas, but he's getting under my skin with his stupidity and arrogance. Who's up for knowing who's fooling around with who…and who's stealing money from those that have blood on their hands? I'm definitely interested in exposing criminals like the Yakuza and Triads.
She went on like this for two hours, an hour longer than normal, revealing names, addresses, underlings, getaway routes and hidden safe houses, bank accounts, credit card numbers. The Demoness exposed various members of the two criminal organizations of all they were, without any degree of fear or hesitation. There was no stopping her from spilling the beans or selling anyone out.
"I'll say this about her," said Takuya to them. "She's got balls."
"Balls of steel," Kensuke agreed with him.
"I think she could turn the entire planet inside-out, and all she'd really care about is getting her choker back from my father," Shinji expressed.
"One more day," Akira stated. "All he has is one more day before the consequences become severe."
…Of course, none of this matters to you at all, does it, Gendo? The Demoness asked. In your mind, everyone with the sole exception of your wife is nothing more than a blight upon your world. Though, you've been this way since before your daddy, due to his own fears of putting his family, including your disgraceful hide, in immense danger, walked out on you to protect you from the world he was forced into against his will without any warning. Of course, nobody knew about this because you're a man that believes talking about oneself makes you weak and dependent upon others, like a child that needs their parents around to help them navigate the ups and downs of the world. That didn't stop you from trying to invade the personal lives of people that, despite not even having it all, had it all in your perception. You felt only contempt towards others that chose to smile, to laugh, to express themselves without any reason to do so, whether they knew you or not. Why, you even violated the privacy of your own son to see what made him happy, just so you could try and end it and make him feel as miserable as you often do. Hours and days worth of emails, pictures, chitchat over the mediocre things that people take for granted. Until you decided you no longer needed much of a reason to feel contempt towards them, towards the unseen force you call God…except for being excluded from their lives…simply because you chose to be. Why? Because the world you feel you thrive in is no different from a blank canvas or an empty room, deprived of what they have, what you want. Yet, you blame them all for your imagined slights, and the majority of them don't even give a damn about you or most others they don't know. Everyday, even after Second Impact, you grew to hate them…simply for laughing, smiling, trying to have fun, trying to express their feelings, to understand their friends and families, to be caring and humane, unlike yourself. Yes, you blame them. Yes, you hate them. How dare they exclude you from their happy world without even trying to, without even meaning to? How dare they infuriate you by announcing to the world, in all their collective silence, in all their unseen smiles and unheard laughter, that you weren't even part of it? You see, people, this man that hates you as a whole, including his only son, couldn't allow any of you, regardless of your distance, regardless of your race, profession, age or language, despite the fact that many of you didn't even have so much as a simple conversation with him, to get away with your simple lives, your days of content, not even your absent moments of joy, so, as Second Impact, a disastrous phenomenon that he helped to cause, began, he viewed it as a great fire being set to the world that didn't want him, people and all, and smiled as it all burned down to the very foundations, leaving you to struggle over your attempts to rebuild and adapt. Now, I wonder, are Gendo's unseen tears for the fact that I've exposed him for the monster, coward and failure of a person that he is? Or are they just for the twisted god complex that he has to fill his own sad, empty and worthless life with?
It was unlike anything she had ever said about Gendo before, but everyone hung on each word uttered.
Shinji, having to retire to his bedroom, claiming that he was tired, felt like his eyes were yanked open by this discovery being retold from a grander perspective. To know that his old man hated the world and everyone in it, with the sole exception of his own wife, even when it was his choice to be exempt from that world, was a heavy blow he had to get around. Especially after the fact that everyone across the planet heard it.
Do you have anything to say in your defense, Gendo? He heard The Demoness ask his father, and soon realized what was to be expected. Anything you wish to share with me?
You old bitch! You pathetic, stupid, old bitch! He heard his father yell, infuriated by her. I hope you do come after me! I hope to see your face contort because I'll never return your piece of shit choker you obsess over! You'd have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!
Is that really what you want? You want me to kill you? You want me to end the only life you have to either ruin your future or absolve it of its list of crimes you committed? It's a simple turnabout you know can be within reach: Return it to me…and you get to enjoy what little life you have left to live…or I will not hesitate to throw you to the wolves and watch them pick the meat right off your carcass.
Then that's something you'll have to do, because I will never return your stupid, worthless choker that I could sell on the black market for a mediocre yen! Screw your mercy! Screw you!
Oh, you did, Gendo. Believe me, you did. And believe me when I say that I will show you the god you blame for your imagined slights. Not only that, I will send you to the god you blame…just so you can ask them why they punish people the way it's written in that overused book. The way I've been able to understand it over the years I've endured, in your world, people just like you believe that this being of absolute power and perfection, a man of divinity, has the first, last and only say in whatever happens, that he is the one that gives and takes. Heh. God giveth and God taketh away. That's the world you live in, but you see, in the world I once resided in, there was no such thing as a vengeful deity…and the only demons that existed…were the very people that used to be equal to the gods until they decided to play with life itself in unforgivable ways that led to despair. And the very woman that gave me life…lacked the balls to ask for my forgiveness before I condemned her to her fate.
Now, this was something Shinji found disturbing. The Demoness proclaiming in her own way that she didn't believe in deities representing vengeance and that people back in her past were demons where they used to be incarnate gods. To him, it was almost as though she viewed people as the ones that were the creators of every evil that existed, not any demons or devils known throughout history.
People who believe they can change the world for the better, but mainly do so for the pursuit of pleasure and profit, are ill-suited and inadequate to be viewed as even deities of a lesser extent, Gendo, she told him and the world. You…are unworthy of any divine status…because you are a lowly worm. Your son, however, may his soul soar high into the unknown, despite his own faults, none of which are even his fault, is a worthy example of one that could grasp godhood…but doesn't want it at all, accepting his place in the world. He's more of an honorable man than you will never be. And what will likely be another great regret…is his head falling after yours.
-x-
In his cell, Gendo didn't think twice about The Demoness' threat to behead both he and Shinji. He doubted that she could lay a finger upon him. However, knowing that she attacked his wife to spite him was the last straw, not revealing his contempt to the world and everyone in it. If she came fore him, he had every intention to do away with her and make sure she stayed dead.
"Go ahead, you old hag," he uttered in the darkness. "Come and get me."
-x-
The next morning was the most quiet that Shinji had woken up to. Somehow, he had found himself walking the empty streets of the city, not seeing anyone present.
"Hello?" He called out, but all he got was an echo. "Where is everybody?"
"Gone," he heard her voice answer him, and he turned around, seeing her sword at the ready, prepped to decapitate. "You and I are all that's left."
SLASH! The Demoness swung her blade…and off came Shinji's head, rolling at her feet.
GASP! Shinji awoke, reaching for his neck, feeling his head still attached, and finding himself in his room, panting from the surrealism of his nightmare.
He grabbed his tanto beside him and held it to his chest.
She terrifies me, he thought, admitting it to himself his fear of The Demoness. And that bastard has officially provoked her to the ultimate extreme. Must I really go against my own conscience and protect that man from her?
He got up and walked into the kitchen, seeing Akira standing with the house phone in her left hand. There was a look of concern on her face that he didn't like.
"I don't like that look on your face," he told her, getting her attention.
"That was Takeru," she explained. "He's really upset about what was found out about last night. He was asking me what I think might happen if she fully intends to go through with her threat on his black sheep son's life."
"And as I woke up this morning, I was pondering whether or not I should leave him to his fate. I hate my father, there's no denying that…but not enough to want him dead. Yet if he gets killed because of some other person due to some trouble he caused, will it be a weight upon my conscience?"
"Everything will eventually become a weight on someone's conscience, Shinji, for better or worse. You have to decide how much you'll be weighed down by it all, whether it's the weight of a dime…or the weight of a brick."
"I'd like for the guy to just pass away from natural causes instead of murder, yet nothing goes the way you wish it would."
"Nothing ever does."
"Damn it all, sometimes, just sometimes, I hate my moral compass swinging north when it should swing east or west or even south. I feel like I'm constantly the good guy here."
"Heh-heh. Yeah, you are sometimes. But you're not perfect, you know. You can't save everyone."
"Nobody can. That's impossible. Still, you can't balance out the world without the fatalities of life and death. All one can do is try to save the people they care about the most."
"It's one of the many things I love about you, Shinji. You have such a caring heart. You don't hide your feelings or anything."
"You remember when I told you that Ms. Katsuragi tried to compare me to my father? I felt pushed by her to snap when she kept trying to do so, and I ripped the bolted table up and threw it aside, venting."
"Nobody should ever be compared to the people that aren't them. You're your father's son, but I see no traits you could've gotten from either your parents."
"Thank you."
-x-
This time, The Demoness only attacked a handful of people that wind up in comas. The rest were victims of a much worse fate. And she made sure that the police and other service agencies knew that it was her and why she did so.
Gendo had clearly forced her to cross a line that resulted in the murders of the leaders of the SEELE organization after he made it clear that he wouldn't return her choker. But the way they died was freaky; there wasn't a clean method of murder in the world that caused the back of any person's head to bust open like a bomb going off. Even his replacement was appalled at this discovery.
People are going to be after this bastard's head if she doesn't get to him first, he thought, opening the door to Gendo's cell. "You clearly have a knack for pissing off people. The Demoness murdered the Committee and just so that you're kept in the loop, eight different people this morning tried to kill your wife just for being married to you. Their only excuse being that this Lady Devil will probably take compensation for her stolen choker in the form of your wife being slaughtered. So far, nobody's made any intention on going after your son."
Gendo looked at him and said nothing.
"Fortunately, however, I refuse to let NERV get involved with this unnecessary madness you created, so right now, you're being removed from this facility and returned to your apartment. After that, you're fair game."
"Fair game?"
"That's right. Whoever wants a piece of you is within their right to do so."
"So, just because the old men are dead, you're throwing me to the wolves?"
"No, you threw yourself to the wolves when you decided to mess with this woman who is clearly not one to mess with. I've seen the footage of her taking out one of the Angels, and she's a force to be reckoned with if she's able to attack people without laying so much as a finger on them. She clearly lives up to her name, something you could stand to do for your wife's family, since it seems like your son's not going to. The whole 'sins of the father' thing shouldn't be reflected upon the son."
Then three guards came inside and grabbed Gendo, dragging him out of the cell.
"You really think that getting rid of me will keep her from coming down here?" He asked them. "She knows where her choker is down here, and she will come down here for it! She will do whatever she has to in order to get it back!"
And if she does, anyone she harms, their blood will be on your hands because it was you that stole it and hid it, his replacement thought. I'll have to keep the personnel safe from The Demoness, if my name isn't Henka Suru.
-x-
The streets were empty, just like in his dream, only more depressing for Shinji as he rode his bike down the road. While he could've let Akira or Takuya drive him around, the boy felt it might've been better for him to just take his bike and clear his mind.
"This feels worse than the life I never lived," he told himself, looking at how even the small convenience stores were closed. "Only the world hasn't ended."
"Maybe it won't end," his spine felt the shiver that only that voice could cause. "At least not the way you saw and prevented."
He turned to the other side of the street…and saw The Demoness on a bike of her own, looking at him.
"Oh, don't worry," she told him, "I'm not going to do something stupid, like chase you down the road or behead you. I'm getting things in order for when I meet your father. This is his final day…and we both know he brought what's going to happen on himself."
"How can you be so calm about this after all you've done?"
"An eternity can do that to you. Besides, I had to remove all other obstacles that stand between me and the future I have planned for the one. And once I regain my choker, all that will be left standing in my way…is you, Immortal Ikari."
"Those people you didn't put into comas… They were people that could influence the world…and you killed them to ensure that you wouldn't be hindered."
"They weren't even innocent. I've been in their minds, and their intentions were just to become gods by annihilating the rest of the world. That bull's been done before, many times over, and it's never permanent. It's just something repeated over and over again, with different generations."
"And you couldn't leave them to the police?"
"They own the police. People with power like them, they use the police like hired hit men. They can start wars for petty reasons. They were the reason men like Caesar and Hitler fell from grace when they became corrupted. To them, people's lives were like nothing but a game…and they created corruption just to see how manipulable people are. It was nothing but a game to them, and they just became the latest losers in their own game."
"And you can't simply focus on the Game we're involved in?"
"The Game is ever shifting, despite the Rules remaining the same. It only applies to us when we face one another, but we're not bound by the rules of any society or government. As immortals, we may do as we please, depending on our own sense of judgment and what have you. Of course, you have a natural curiosity to question everything, which is one of the good things about you that hasn't been tarnished yet. All I want to know from you right now is…are you going to stand in my way of taking back what your bastard of a father took from me? I can tell you're rather conflicted about the upcoming situation's climax."
"As much as I hate him, I can't have his death on my conscience."
"You mean, you don't want to be held responsible for his death. Except you wouldn't be held responsible for his death. Not in any way one can be held accountable for anything that goes wrong that they took no direct involvement in, biblically, figuratively, metaphorically…or literally. If one buys into that nonsense about the sins of the parents being carried by the children, it is never true. Most children are simply…are simply the byproduct of their parents' sins, meant to correct their mistakes instead of doing it themselves. I kept looking into your parents' minds, seeing all that they intended, how far they were willing to go, and neither one is able to be absolved of their sins…and you can't save them from the greatest of damnations awaiting them, even if you wanted to."
"If they're going to be pariahs for the rest of their lives, then that's their problem, but it's easier to let them live until sickness and old age takes them out, not murder and hatred."
"People are already gunning for your daddy's life. You can't protect him from everyone."
Shinji was about to say something else when he stopped himself to consider a different possibility. So, as he inhaled a new breath, he calmed himself and pointed to her.
"If you got back your choker," he started, "if I bargained for that idiot's life to be spared…would you consider it?"
The Demoness leaned forward on her bike as she gazed on Shinji.
"I would think about it," she responded, "but it would be up to fate, and your old man has written most of his down."
Shinji then turned his bike to his left, intending to end this conversation with the woman, as there was no point to carry on.
"One way or another, we're both victims of the Game because of our more disgraceful relatives, Immortal Ikari. Unlike you, however, I dispose of the ones that dealt me wrong, whereas you simply renounce them for their sins. Because of your unique situation, you try to find the path of least resistance and conflict. You're not bitter or cynical from living so long. But sooner…or later…one of us must kill the other to resolve the biggest issue that exists between us. I could easily take control of the world and decide how things will be…but without the Prize, the control wouldn't be absolute. I have plans for everyone, but until the Game is won, none of those plans will be realized. But I have time. I have all the time in the world…just like you do."
The boy then took off and left the woman alone, trying to escape the brutal weight of her words. He feared that even with the power of the majority of the Angels inside him, The Demoness was still too powerful…and only getting stronger…and more dangerous. The only logical explanation for this was the power behind the Game; it was influencing the both of them, either subtly or immensely, pushing them to finish what was started long ago. The more they either tried to disregard or ignore it in the pursuit of other interests, the harder it pushed them to finish it.
If the Game were a person, a face, an enemy, not just an obstacle for both of them, it was probably the greatest one of them all.
-x-
Thrown out of NERV like garbage, Gendo frowned as he got up off the ground and walked away. Everything he sacrificed for, everything he worked for, taken away, just like that, and all because of his son that prevented any hope for a Third Impact and this would-be demon woman that exposed all of his secrets and hurt his wife. At least NERV permitted him the right to visit his incapacitated wife for two hours a day.
The people that bothered to step outside of their homes looked at him, all angry, disgusted and viewing him as a complete monster, not the woman that exposed him.
"You're a bad man!" A little girl yelled him. "That lady's going to get you!"
"You disgrace!" An elderly man with a can added.
A police officer walked up to him and uttered, "You have no idea how much satisfaction I'd get from arresting you…but why deny The Demoness the right to get rid of your worthless life? I'd like to get a front row view of your death."
He looked at them, and they all had that same look that invoked rage and hatred towards him for his crimes, his arrogance.
"A man who has no love for his own child is a man doomed to hatred by his child," an elderly woman informed him. "Everything and everyone you touch suffers from your cruelty and contempt towards the world. Everyone you hurt will be rewarded with the promise of you getting hurt, many times worse than they were."
Gendo walked away down the street.
"You can run, but you can't hide from her!" A little girl yelled at him. "There's no country, no city, no closet where she won't find you!"
And the sad thing about it was that the kid was right. The Demoness was unlike any person he had seen before, and she could strike at him at any time…and he'd be completely defenseless.
-x-
The city might've been saved from the Angels, but it might as well have been wiped away from existence. As Shinji look out at the city from atop a hill used as a recreational area, he sighed over how things seemed to be spiraling out of his sense of control because of his father's arrogance. Right now, for him, the only thing worse than the Angels, Third Impact or even the possibility of an army invading the Geo-Front and murdering everyone was The Demoness being the one pulling the strings and deciding everyone's fate.
"What am I going to do?" He wondered aloud.
"Your old man got kicked out of the base after what was heard last night," he heard Misato's voice behind him, and he turned to face the woman, whom he didn't even hear approaching in her car.
"It looks like my current predicament has dulled my sense of hearing to the point where I didn't hear your car engine."
"This woman has half the world wanting him dead and the other half wanting her to be the one to off him. I'm part of the half that wants him dead now. What of you?"
"As much I would like for him to pay the ultimate price, he should be allowed to die a natural death."
"So, you're going to defend him? After all that he's done, all that he's allowed to happen?"
"What do you want me to say? I have morality issues; everyone wants you to do something you're not comfortable with doing, but you want only to do the right thing, and it creates friction."
"And what is the right thing to you?"
"That he dies from natural causes, old age and sickness. Maybe alongside his wife, maybe alone somewhere, but at least knowing that the world will be better off without people like him. Or maybe have him take his own life when he reaches his breaking point. At least his death won't be on anyone's conscience, knowing that he was more of a monster than the monsters we want to believe are the worst ones we see."
Misato could now see that this kid would rather not have any personal deaths caused by others on his conscience, maybe because he didn't want them to feel like they were his fault or because he probably could have done more. Whichever reason it was, this was a kid that could do without the stress of the situation getting to him.
"If it's any consolation to your previous obligation, your father's replacement thinks you should be thoroughly compensated for defeating the Angels," she decided to tell him.
"I'll accept compensation from the issues with the Angels after I deal with The Demoness," he responded. "One thing at a time."
-x-
NERV HQ was being torn up inside-out to find that accursed choker Gendo took from The Demoness, but finding it was easier said than done. It seemed that wherever he hid it, it was so out of sight that it might as well have been out of mind, which meant that the chances of The Demoness creating havoc for the people down in the Geo-Front was an absolute that the agency couldn't ignore.
"Damn it!" Henka Suru shouted, standing over the scattered papers of old research in Gendo's office. "Where did you hide it, you depraved bastard?"
Everyplace from offices to the MAGI themselves were either checked, stripped bare or cleaned out, but no one could find the hidden choker. They were beginning to grow more concerned over the situation Gendo got them in when he decided to mess with the woman. Even if they had anyone questioned on the whereabouts of the trinket that clearly meant a lot to the deadliest immortal, it wouldn't change the fact that their former boss had condemned them to an inevitable fate.
"I should've capped his legs so he'd have to crawl out of here," uttered Shigeru to his fellow Bridge Bunnies during their lunch break.
"You and me both," added Hyuga. "What the Hell was he thinking…if he even thinks at all? He was crazy to try and screw with that woman."
"I'm gonna kill him," went Maya, which surprised them to hear her say. "He's meddled in the lives of enough people."
"We should really let The Demoness kill him," Shigeru suggested. "Why deprive her of the right to play the executioner?"
"I'm with Shigeru," said Hyuga in agreement with him. "Let her kill that asshole."
"At least let me cut off his testicles," Maya expressed; she wanted to make Gendo scream before he died because of his arrogance.
-x-
Making mental notes on the size of the city and the size of the Geo-Front, The Demoness, sizing up the situation, decided to broadcast that afternoon to the city to inform them of what she aimed to do.
Good afternoon, people of Tokyo-3, she started. As I'm sure many of you are aware, Gendo Rokubingi-Ikari has made his choice, and I will deal with him, but I need all of you to know something that won't hurt you, but will maim the streets. People can sometimes be such flares for the dramatic. You probably don't know much about NERV, except that its primary base is under your feet…and now I'm going to raise it above ground, Geo-Front and all. All I ask of you…is that you hold on tight to something bolted to the walls of floor for at least a minute or two. I have a femme fatale side to me, but I don't want you to die because of what I'm about to do…and not you, Gendo. Not yet.
She could tell through her power that people were tense over what was to happen. She didn't blame them; she had been tense herself at an early age…a long time ago. But this was something that had to happen, not because of the beliefs of any ancient prophecies or talks of destiny…but because she was angry, and needed to resolve this matter in the most extreme way imaginable.
Better to be ruled than to be reduced to meaningless energy, she thought, truly grateful to Shinji for destroying all possible routes to achieve the Human Instrumentality Project that would've just left all but the immortals alive on the planet with all the remaining animal and plant life destroyed. That's not a life for anyone, just an inescapable prison that lasts for a few centuries. Time to raise the underground facility that is the Black Moon of Lilith to the surface.
She raised her arms up, concentrating on the underground cavern that was much larger than the whole region due to its massiveness. Over the millennia, in addition to the numerous Quickenings she had amassed, she found ways to augment and concentrate the energy increase of each one that was added to hers, intensifying the power she possessed and accessing other abilities that humans could only dream of having…only greater than what they could possibly imagine.
The ground began to rumble, indicating an earthquake, but one that would be as efficient as possible.
"The Earth moved…to set free from its body an unwanted cancer," she uttered.
Crack! The ground in front of her cracked open cleanly, leading towards the city, splitting with each block like a series of grids.
-x-
The alarms in NERV rang like crazy as the artificial roof of the Geo-Front fractured into grids and the ground shook.
"How is this possible?!" Shigeru yelled, holding onto a safety bar on the wall.
"This is crazy!" Maya shouted, on the floor.
-x-
"No way," Shinji expressed as he and Misato saw huge sections of the city blocks rise into the air. "This…isn't…happening."
Not even Misato wanted to believe that someone, especially a woman unlike any other that has been known throughout history, was actually capable of such an extreme phenomenon. But she was witnessing this with her own eyes.
As more city blocks levitated into the air, more of the natural terrain shifted, as if being forced away in an expanding ring of dirt. Nobody could do anything for anyone as something big and black began to emerge from the ground.
I reveal to the world one of its greatest and most dangerous secrets that is no longer necessary to the fools that dare to exploit it, they all heard The Demoness' voice again. The Black Moon of Lilith, the so-called primordial source of all known life, including us humans. Now, it's just an eyesore. This was never meant to be part of the Earth…and now you know the depravity of the people responsible for luring the so-called messengers of God to your city and everything. But fear not. The world isn't ending, anymore, so you need not fear returning to this cold, dark place against your will.
As the Black Moon emerged ever so steadily out of the ground, proving that it was as massive as the entire region itself, Shinji began to experience further memories belonging to his original self in the life he himself never lived. In his mind, the Black Moon was part of the reason there wasn't much of a Tokyo-3 or Japan, just a large crater where it once resided for hundreds of millions of years due to the shifting in geography and tectonic plates. He could remember how countless lives left on the planet either surrendered or were forced to return to the metaphorical egg as he was being manipulated on all sides of the line, either smiling in deceived revelation of the ones they loved the most or screaming from the intrusion of a strange girl they knew nothing about. Even his original self had been deceived, but he himself was not that young man that was abandoned by the people that were supposed to matter, so he wouldn't be deceived by anyone masquerading as someone he loved the most…because there wasn't a single person he loved more than others; by keeping his relationships equal, he had zero chance of being manipulated into surrendering his life to an empty promise of unity and peace.
"Just how big is this thing?!" Misato questioned.
"Big," he told her, "and terrifying."
Only one minute had gone by, but it felt like an eternity as the Black Moon was now halfway out of the ground, surrounded by the floating city blocks. Eight seconds later, the blocks farthest from the dark sphere began to fall in place where they were ripped from the ground, but were forced to fill in the empty space that was made by its removal, becoming slanted. Twenty seconds following this, occupying much of the sky above, the sphere seemed to have its own degree of gravity, keeping it afloat as the rest of the city blocks returned to the ground. After the second minute passed, Tokyo-3 had been maimed and sunken in by The Demoness.
-x-
Taking a minute to catch her breath from the exhilaration, The Demoness, on her palms and knees, her wings spread out in the air, chuckled at how much exertion it took her to raise the transport vessel of Lilith.
"But do I want it for myself?" She wondered aloud as she got back up, her wings disappearing. "Having it would make my collection even more immense and invaluable, but that would also make it somewhat depressing. And it'd be an incomplete addition without the White Moon of Adam. People these generations, never appreciating what isn't replaceable until it's gone forever."
With the Black Moon now situated in the air over the country, the world would know. They would see, hear and read about it until they couldn't forget its existence…unless a force greater than herself could force them to.
"There's no news like new news," she spoke, walking back towards the reconfigured city.
To be continued…
A/N: I meant to have Gendo and The Demoness engage in another verbal battle, but I guess that'll have to be in a later chapter. Were any of you surprised that The Demoness did that? I'm actually surprised that she could and would if necessary.