The room was truly massive- Shinji could barely see the end of it. It just stretched on and on…
Though what he could see was very, very curious.
Running down the middle was a pathway of shiny, dark red stone, rising out of a sea of… LCL? Crystalline pillars of salt rose out of the fluid's surface, frosting over chunks of the orange liquid into LCLbergs.
Ka-Shunk!
Shinji tensed at the sound of metal crashing into metal, turning around. His father let go of the now closed door's handle, shoving his hand into his pocket. The boy turned away, shivering slightly. To his surprise, he could actually make out the vaporous wisps of his breath, curling through the air.
~Why's this place so cold?~ he thought, slowly making his way down the path.
.
"Come," said Rei, far ahead of them. "We have to go on."
Neon Genesis Evangelion:
(Not) the End
Chapter 021: It is (Not) Most Fearsome
Deeper, deeper, deeper into the space they went. Terminal Dogma seemed to stretch on forever, an expanse of LCL, salty floes, and cold. The road behind them was masked with fog, as was the road ahead. Rei led the way, just at the edge of his view. Before him, the twin figures of the Fifth and Second Children strode side by side, while his father took up the back. Misato walked beside him, her presence offering the boy some sense of security in this alien place.
.
"Huh?"
Shinji blinked, turning towards Misato, who stared out into the LCL sea. The woman squinted.
"What's that out there?" she muttered.
"What's what?" Shinji asked, following her gaze. Misato pointed.
"That."
Shinji's eyes narrowed, the boy leaning forwards slightly to see what she was referring to.
He found it.
.
The fog cleared for a moment, revealing something lying in the sanguine orange fluid.
A body.
Stained with orange, the corpse lay half-sunken into the liquid, its upper half frosted over lightly. It was vaguely humanoid, albeit with grotesquely stretched proportions. Any hints of its original colour were near the top, where the skin turned a light greying brown.
Clearly, it had been a long time since whatever this thing was had died; its papery was stretched tight across its ribs, an orange-brown stain dripping down from where its head should have been.
The boy swallowed.
"A Failure," came the voice from his other side. Shinji glanced to his right, to find his father standing there.
"This is the Grave," Gendo said quietly. "What you see is one of NERV's countless Failures to create a functioning Evangelion, cast off to lie in this place for eternity."
"It's… dead," Misato muttered. "I never knew NERV had-"
"It was never alive in the first place," the man stated with finality, before turning away. "Come, Captain, Shinji."
The two slowly slunk back from the edge, letting the fog consume the body once more. The three others were barely visible at this point, leaving Gendo the only one still clear to them.
Neither Misato nor Shinji said anything else.
It was time to keep moving.
It didn't take long for Shinji and Misato to catch up to the others. The failed Eva prototype wasn't mentioned… though that didn't stop others from showing up. And this time, it wasn't just Shinji and Misato who noticed them.
If anything, the Failures got worse with each one they saw. The first, even if it was missing its head and lower body, at least still looked somewhat like an Eva- or a person. The older bodies… didn't. They were twisted, malformed monstrosities in various states of decay. Some had too many arms or legs, twined together like branches; some had awful heads, with split jaws, missing eyes, or sealed-off orifices; some lacked limbs altogether, giving them the look of poorly developed serpents. Whatever the case, each was less and less humanoid than the one before it, and more and more disturbing.
At the very least, they were all dead.
.
After many minutes, they reached a wall, with two more doors; a massive double-set, and a smaller one, nearly identical to the first set they'd gone through.
.
"This is the second chamber of Dogma," the Commander said, looking at the others. "Past here, there are things just as disturbing as the Angels you've fought, if not more so. I would advise you not to look at them."
"Can't be worse than this freaky shit," Mari muttered under her breath.
And yet, it was- despite the fact that nobody could actually see the things.
The entire room was swathed in shadow, the only lights present lining the edge of the pathway to prevent any missteps. They cast a dim glow across the path, barely enough to let the six see anything else.
~At least it's not quite as chilly,Mari thought to herself. No, instead, the air was heavy, and stuffy, and warm. Why the hell was this chamber so warm, when the last one was so cold?
Mari wasn't one who tended to be labelled as 'scared of the dark.' That said, this place made her feel… uneasy. The last chamber, while certainly freaky, at least let her see what was going on there. Here, there was no such relief.
Almost instinctively, Mari's fingers closed around her partner's, seeking out the comfort that came from her touch.
It helped. Somewhat.
.
~This Deus ex Machina that the Blue Wonder's got had better be something really impressive,~ Mari thought.
Iruel slammed another fist into the wall, reaching lower.
The Angel had finally broken through the testing chamber completely, and was crawling down the main shaft. The fused triple-torso that served as its main body was tethered to the rest of its mass, long ropes of oily matter stretching from its waist, up towards the chamber.
The arm punched into the wall's plate, tearing a hole into it. The third arm swung down, punching another handhold.
The Angel paused. Micro-circuitry fired across the entire surface of its 'body', computing complex arrangements of information and decisions. With the amount of volume it had, a conclusion was reached in no time.
It had encountered no opposition with its primary body so far. So either the weapons that had felled its predecessors were unavailable to its foes… or it was moving into a trap.
.
Iruel lurched, dropping down another few meters. Its first arm pulled free, and moved lower. If it was a trap, then so be it.
After all, the Angel could not be successful by simply not reaching its true destination.
"Here it is."
After far too many minutes of pitch black darkness, and a feeling of being watched, they'd made it too the other side. The 'Grave' was behind them, and the 'Hold'- as the Commander had called this one- finished. Now all that was left was this one last door. "The final chamber of Dogma. The reason why you're all here," the man said. "Rei."
"Yes?" The girl asked.
"You're prepared?"
"Yes."
.
One last time, Gendo swiped his card.
Shunk!
.
.
Click.
If the cold metal of a gun barrel against the back of his head caused any distress, Gendo didn't show it. Misato bared her teeth,
"...Captain Katsuragi," a soft voice whispered from the side. "I would suggest you put down your gun. Otherwise, I will be forced to retaliate."
"It's alright, Rei. I believe the Captain wants some answers," he said calmly. "Captain?"
"What the hell is that thing doing here?!" Misato snapped, nodding towards the contents of the room. Hanging by its pierced wrists from a massive cross in the centre, a massive figure, twice as big as an Eva, stared down. Its skin was clammy and pale, its body claylike and waterlogged with orange fluid. A bramble of comically small legs exploded from its waist, twitching occasionally. But odder than that was the crimson bident driven through its chest, and the seven-eyed mask affixed to its face.
"The First Angel's supposed to be dead- so explain to me why you've got it locked up in your basement!"
Gendo turned, barely looking behind himself at the woman.
"Simple. This is not the First Angel," the man said.
Misato's grip loosened slightly.
"...Wait, what?"
"You are correct. Adam, the First Angel, perished during the Second Impact. What you see here is the Second Angel."
"We call her Lilith."
"...Lil…lith?" the boy murmured, eyes wide with shock. The First Angel? Involved with the Second Impact? The Second Angel? Here? In NERV?
~So… so this is what my father's been working on,~ he thought. ~He's had this lying around all this time… right under our feet. What does he even need this… this thing for? He's promised answers, but… this just…~
.
"Father!" Shinji snapped. Five pairs of eyes swung round, caught off-guard by the outburst.
"...Just… just what the hell is going on here?!"
"You never tell me anything- you never explain anything! Tell me!" Shinji's fists quivered, clamped against at his side. Gendo's brow furrowed in irritation.
"...I don't have time for this."
"You never do!" The boy yelled back. The older man paused, eyes opening slightly. His glower darkened, nostrils flaring out.
"Stop acting so childish. You are a pilot," his father spat. Rising to the challenge, Shinji took a step forward.
"Maybe when I get some damn answers for once, instead of just 'it's nothing of consequence for you', or 'I will explain later'! Why shouldn't it matter?! I'd say that something like this matters a lot!"
"You will cease this attitude at once, pilot, or you will be suspended from your piloting duties!"
"Oh, pilot? You can't even be bothered to call me your son any longer, father?" The younger Ikari isn't annoyed anymore- he's just angry. "Can't even keep up the pretence of caring about me?! Well fine, I don't care about being a pilot! I never wanted to, anyways!"
"If you care so little, than leave!" Pushed to the limit of his patience, the man roared back his reply. "You can just as easily be replaced!"
"Then why the hell did you even bring me here?!"
"I-"
"Mein Gott, can you two just shut up!?" Asuka snarled, cutting off Gendo's retort.
The duo's attention broke, as the fiery young woman stared them both down.
"Gott verdammt. It was infuriating enough when I always ended up arguing with my arschloch of a father, but seeing this?! Bah, you two are even worse! So you-" Asuka rounded on Shinji, and jabbed a finger at him. "Rein in your Scheiß- attitude, because there's an Angel bearing down on us! And you-" the finger moved, its new target the Commander. "Stop pissing off your son. It's not going to get you anywhere."
The Second Child slammed her hands down on her hips, her fury almost palpable.
"Do I make myself clear?!"
.
Stunned by the angry chewing out he's just had, it took a while for Shinji to recover. Slowly, the boy gave a nod, the action stilted and uncertain. He'd gotten the point.
Gendo was next to recover, but said nothing. Huffing, the elder Ikari simply turned away, and walked down the pathway towards Lilith, hands shoved in his pockets.
The boy sighed, and sat down at the side of the path, staring into the LCL lake a few meters below.
.
"Wonderful."
Thoom.
It was here.
Iruel crashed down on the ground of the shaft, strings of Angelic matter thrashing like whips. The viral Angel extended all three arms, pushing itself up off the ground. A tangle of wires and flesh at the base of its body thickened, twisting together like roots or tentacles.
The red Core at the top of its body 'looked' forwards, taking in the double doors before it. An easy task to deal with, now that it had managed to cut off all possibilities of interference.
Surging forwards, the Angel slammed a fist into the wall, sending a shockwave rippling through the support structure. But when Iruel pulled its arm back, neither hand nor door had given in.
The Angel shoved its hand against the door, planning to consume it as it had so many other obstacles before. The viral slime that made up its true form flowed out of the outstretched phalanges, working their way across the door…
… Only to find that- much to the Angel's surprise- the door resisted. The virus simply couldn't penetrate it.
.
NO.
.
The Angel reared back and twisted, sending all three of its fists into the door one after the other. Impacts rang out, as Iruel became intent on simply beating its way through the troublesome barrier. Fist after fist slammed into the metal, ringing like gongs until…
Crunch.
The door broke, one of the Angel's fists plunging through the centre. The hand unfurled, latching onto the inner surface. Now with a pathway, the virus surged through, surrounding the barrier and overriding its control. The doors to Dogma slid open, and the Angel crawled inside.
One hand broke through a berg of frozen LCL, plunging noisily into the fluid. Had it possessed anything akin to conventional sensory organs, the Angel might have blinked. But this liquid… it was familiar. And this place… to Iruel, this place 'smelled' of- well, the nearest translation would likely be 'hosts'; a source of sustenance, stability, and materials. To the virus, it was a banquet.
Hungrily, the Angel stepped in.
Almost there.
A pair of red eyes widened, a flicker of gold shimmering over the irises.
.
"It's broken through," Rei whispered softly, glancing towards the door. The First Child turned.
"Captain," she said louder, getting Misato's attention. "The Eighth Angel has penetrated Terminal Dogma's defenses."
"Dammit," the woman cursed under her breath, before looking over at the others.
"Everyone, let's move! The Angel's coming!"
"Move?" Asuka asked. "Move where? There's only one exit to this place, and the Angel's probably taking that route."
"Good question," Misato replied. "Rei?"
"The end of the platform. Close to Lilith," the girl stated without a second thought. "I'll deal with the Angel."
The other three Children stared.
"You... will deal with... the Angel?" the question was slow, its owner not quite believing what she'd just heard. Rei's eyes twitched to the side.
"That is correct, Pilot Illustrious. I will engage it in solo combat, and destroy it."
"...Bull."
"This is not for you to argue with," the girl said. "Move."
As the group began to head down the pathway, Misato pulled back, and leaned down to Rei's ear.
"Rei, you can't be serious about this! Even for my plans, this is insane!" the Captain hissed. Rei sighed.
"I am completely serious," she replied. "This was always the plan, should the Evas be unable to deal with an Angel."
"But it's crazy!"
.
"Then so be it."
The path widened into a T-bar shape, stretching out before Lilith. The pale girl stopped, just at the junction, and turned towards the doors. Behind her, she could hear the others muttering.
"No, seriously, Miso. What's she going to do against an entire fucking Angel?!"
"I don't know, she didn't explain anything to me, Mari. My guess is as good as yours."
"Well, it'd better be good," the Second Child chimed in. "I don't want to die just yet."
Rei frowned.
"You wish to know how I propose to defeat the Angel?" she asked, loud enough to draw their attention. "It is simple."
"Rei," she heard the Commander say. "This information is highly classified."
"Its classification is comparable to that of Dogma; something that has already been revealed to them."
"Rei, you-"
"I can defeat the Angel," she said. "Because I-"
Crunch.
An oily black fist punched through the centre of the door, sending metal fragments splashing into the sea. Another limb broke through, and another. The fists opened, grabbed the sides of the doors, and yanked.
.
Iruel, Terror of God, had come at last.
The Angel was massive, barely fitting within the door frame. The upper half was identical to before; a messy triple torso fused together, with three arms and a gleaming Core where a head would be. The lower body, however, was far worse. A squirming array of tendrils, arms, and legs sprouted out from a bulbous chunk of half-decaying biomass, grasping at the frame, at the ground, at the path. Strings of matter trailed arbitrarily between points on its body, as if tying together the patchwork chaos that the Angel was made of.
The Angel swayed slightly, before hunching forwards. Its limbs worked, the viral being lurching forwards, its lower third submerged in the LCL.
Not twenty meters from the blue-haired girl, Iruel paused.
Its body tilted, the mass of tendrils that made up its neck shifting to bring the Core to face the girl directly.
.
YOU.
The word came almost from nowhere, echoing over itself over and over soundlessly. Rei blinked.
~Me.~
DIFFERENT. EXPLAIN. CURRENT.
~I am not like them. I am more.~
OBVIOUS, the Angel boomed, the lines on its body flaring up. Rei frowned, concentrating.
~What is your goal? Why are you here?~
The Angel pulsed, a shudder running down its body.
GOAL: COMPLEMENTATION. COLLOQUIAL; IMPACT.
~Unacceptable,~ the girl stated back. ~This goal will be abandoned.~
NO.
Rei glared at the Angel.
~I will stop you.~
Iruel tilted its Core, before another shudder ran through it.
FALSE, it stated.
YOU WILL DIE.
.
So engrossed in conversation, Rei hadn't noticed the way that Iruel had compressed itself. The Angel pounced, its limbs stretching out fingers and claws.
The AT Field exploded into being, the almost opaque octagon of light bringing the Angel to an instant halt. Flesh compressed inwards, cracks and pops ripping along Iruel's body as it slammed into the barrier.
Rei's breathing heaved, the girl shifting back slightly. Just raising the barrier was far more draining than the girl had expected.
The Angel slunk back, lines blazing across its body as its biomass knit back together.
I REJECT YOU, the being thundered, rising up onto its hindquarters. The alien presence of the Angel imposed itself, attempting to shred apart the barrier.
Unfortunately, it was working.
Fingers and talons cut into the fabric of the shield, and pulled. The AT Field tore, before completely blowing out, fading away into the air. The First Child gasped involuntarily, taking a few steps back. The Angel pulled itself forwards, and stretched. Where its sternum would be, the flesh split, a slavering maw opening up in the Angel's body.
I AM IRUEL, it rumbled, throughout every mind in the room. COLLOQUIAL; TERROR OF GOD. I WILL NOT FAIL.
The girl thrust out a hand, and another AT Field interposed itself between them.
~That confirms it, then,~ Rei thought, wincing as the Angel's own field battered away at her defense.
"Screw this, I'm not gonna let her fight alone! Hey asshole!"
The clatter of a submachine gun barked behind her.
~The captain?~ Rei thought in confusion. With both fields ripping each other apart, there was little in the way but the Angel's own natural armour. The spray of bullets ricocheted off its skin, a few sticking in the ooze that covered the Angel- but most just irritating it.
Iruel's Core flared, shredding the worn-out barrier again. As the gunfire cut off, the Angel stepped forwards…
"Iruel."
The word carried out, over the humming of the Fields, over the splashing and the squelching. The being paused.
WHAT.
Rei was breathing heavily, a sheen of sweat over her exposed skin. While she was still able to deploy her Field, doing so- and the constant neutralization- was rapidly weakening her. She had one shot left.
"I know what you are… but you don't… know who I am."
UNIMPORTANT.
"False," Rei replied. "It is important." The Angel leaned forwards, Core burning like molten lava.
THEN SPEAK.
Rei inhaled. Her eyes opened, gleaming gold.
.
"I am Rei Ayanami. I am Lilith."
If Iruel had eyes, they would have widened in shock.
LIL-
Rei thrust out her hand. A solid AT spike punched through the Angel's Core, cutting it off.
The sphere dulled, every one of its limbs falling limply to its sides. The Core cracked.
Rei dropped her hand back down, dispelling the spike, letting the Angel's corpse crash into the lake, orange fluid splashing.
.
Thoroughly drained, Rei crumpled to her knees.
- Berlin, Germany.
.
The boy waited, floating in the tank of crimson fluid. The sound of metal on ceramic softly clinked, out in the darkness. He knew who it was. Only one man sounded like that.
.
"Nagisa."
The voice was synthetic, an artificial replica of his old, now useless, vocal chords.
"Chairman," Kaworu replied calmly. The man stepped out of the shadows. His hair was grey and receding, his body decrepit and sagging. His face was consumed by metal; a dimly glowing visor covered his eyes and temples, a vented mask concealed his mouth and chin.
"There has been another attack," the man stated. "What have you learned?"
Kaworu sighed breathily, twisting around in the tank.
"You overestimate my connection, Chairman. I cannot simply tell you what they think. Perhaps if I had access to my chariot more often?..."
"No." The man's visor twinkled. "The Mark.02 is not necessary."
.
"...Very well then," the boy smiled lazily. "I will tell you."
"They are in turmoil. Most are angry, roused to fury by the deaths of their brethren. Some are calm. Some have closed themselves off from me and the others completely."
"And this one?"
"This one?" Kaworu parroted. "Oh, it wasn't much different. The Eighth may have been clever, but it too was bound by impulse- the drive that consumes everyone." Kaworu blinked, the gold flecks in his eyes seeming to glow for a millisecond.
"Right at the end, it knew fear."
"Ironic," the Chairman noted, a trace of humour in his artificial voice. The Provisional Second's smile dimmed a fraction.
"It was… something else that caused this. Not the Evas- something older, something stronger than them."
Both could swear that the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees.
.
"...Troubling," the cybernetic man muttered. "Thank you, Nagisa. That will be all." He turned, slowly walking back into the darkness. "Until next time."
"Until next time, Chairman," the boy parroted back.
.
Kaworu spun in the fluid, pushing off the fibreglass wall. His good-natured smile had disappeared completely.
~What was that presence? It was… familiar, but not. Something I hate and love at the same time. What is it?~
~What slew you, my brother?~