Neon Genesis Evangelion:
The Darkness Emerges
By Doffman
Chapter 34
Allen's Ending
or
An Unnecessary Evil
Jake lifted the rifle and placed it on the tripod, aiming it with precision, he scope giving him a great view of the open window. It wasn't his to question why, but he was to shoot Dracan Omoni, one of their own operatives. Jake could care less. He was meant to aim and fire, not debate right and wrong.
One shot echoed from the apartment, drawing Jake to awareness, his sweat coating his forehead. Jake could hear someone emptying a whole clip at something, hearing a boy's scream echo throughout the city.
"DIE!!" Jake recognized the voice to be Drac's. Drac appeared in the window, and before Jake could fire, Allen got in the way. There was a blur of motion before the way was clear again, a small, centimeter gap over Allen's shoulder to Drac's head. Jake took the shot. The bullet struck clean. Allen spun around quickly, noticing the sniper he had not before.
That's when Jake realized it.
Allen had wings.
Allen swooped out of the window before Jake could pull off a shot at him, and was now standing in front of the rifle.
"Shoot." Allen ordered emotionlessly. "Shoot me."
Jake shook his head. He wasn't stupid. Drac walked in there with a gun, shot, and it did him not an ounce of good. Why fight Shinigami when he comes for you?
"It would be pointless to do so." Jake replied with an equal lack of emotion. "If you're going to kill me, be quick about it. Otherwise, don't. You are the one in the position of choice here, not I."
"Correction, my friend." Allen said with a smirk. "You were in the position of choice. And you made the right one. I will spare your life for now..." Then, as an afterthought, "Actually, I have a job for you, if you are willing. If not, you could always choose death."
"Better the right hand of the devil than to be in his path..." Jake quoted a well used phrase. Allen obviously found something extremely funny, as he burst into uncontrollable, insane laughter at that moment...
***
"It's done." Harper said, backing away from his rifle. As he was about to put away the rifle, a small pistol poked into his back.
"Damn you, Harper." Greg said coldly, throwing him to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing, Greg!?" Harper shouted.
"I thought you liked the girl, Harper. I thought she was like a daughter to you." Greg said, spite hanging of every word. "So why did you kill her boyfriend?"
"This needed to be done, Greg! Shinji couldn't have won!" Harper said, crawling away from Greg slowly.
"So you killed him. Death for anyone who doesn't fit the plan, right?" Greg asked with a smile.
"Don't do it, Greg. We need seven! Remember! Without the seven, it all ends." Harper warned, panicked.
"The World of the Damned will be Damned, eh?" Greg spat. "Well, I don't give a Damn." He said before pulling the trigger. At that moment, a throwing knife entered the path of the firearm, deflecting the would-be killing shot into Harper's shoulder. Greg span around and, much to his surprise, Jake had thrown the knife. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Removing the only unnecessary piece of the puzzle, sir." Jake said, letting yet another throwing knife dance from his fingers, piercing Greg's throat in the very center. Greg would have cried out in pain, had a hole not just been made through his voice box. "We need Harper yet. You are expendable."
Greg mouthed the words, "Damn you" before Jake took his last remaining knife off of his belt and, after obtaining a close enough proximity, stabbed Greg in the head. Jake smiled slightly as the blood fled the wound in Jake's head and splattered itself on his face. Jake licked his lips clean of the blood before offering a hand to Harper.
"We have to go for a walk." Jake said. "To talk..." He whispered something incoherent, yet unimportant. Harper cared not of which side he was on anymore, so long as that side was the winning team...
***
"Where the HELL are we going, Omni!? I thought we were going to save Rei!" Drac screamed at his winged companion as he flew them further and further from Tokyo 3.
"To the beginning. Where this all began. Where man sought to defy God by inhibiting his Word, and eliminating God's Revelation of things to come by attacking Lilith." Omni said in a foreboding voice. Dracan nodded slowly, finally understanding.
"And where came the beginning shall come the end... the Alpha and the Omega. Why not? Everything else seems to revolve around those words." Dracan muttered bitterly. "Spoken by Jesus Christ on numerous occasions in the Bible. Does Allen think himself to be the Son of God?" Dracan shook his head, then answered his own question. "No. That wouldn't make sense. Adam... The beginning of Man, the end of existence..."
"Not if I can help it." Omni whispered quietly, a look of hate showing on his face.
"What does that make you, Omni?" Dracan asked. "If he is that, what are you?" Omni sighed, shaking his head.
"The end of this world, the beginning of another."
"So in essence, you would destroy all the evil souls and have the chosen live their lives out happily." Dracan said cynically.
"If the evil wish to be that way, there's no point in converting them. Everyone needs to take care of themselves.*"
{*All you FF8 fanatics will appreciate that line...}
"And let millions of people die in some form of inescapable purgatory?"
"If it will ease the suffering of the good, yes. It is not the responsibility of the good to suffer for those less deserving."
"True, but we cannot just watch other people suffer, as that would be a contradiction to what we are."
"You wouldn't have to watch them suffer. It would be over and done with in a fraction of a second. Just BOOM! And everything is destroyed."
"This isn't funny."
"We angels have debated this long and hard, Dracan. Do you know what our conclusion was?" Omni asked, irritated. "73% of all angels didn't give a damn. The others said to destroy the place to save the other pure souls still on this 'World of the Damned'. These angels are those who proved themselves to be 'good souls', Dracan. Good enough to be God's select. I think they would know a little more than you with your pitiful 5 dimensional thinking."
"Last I counted, I was at 32. Or was it 59... Oh wait... That's senses*... The point I'm trying to make is this. You could easily save those evil souls and THEN destroy the planet."
"We tried that with Shinji. And your people killed him. Not Adam. Your 'Good Souls'."
"Shinji? What has he got to do with anything?"
"Haven't you figured it out by now?"
"Humor me."
"If you don't know, I won't tell you."
"Omni, tell me about Shinji."
"Drop it."
"Tell me NOW."
"Do you want to be dropped off on a glacier somewhere? There's one right there. But I'm sure you'd find it unbearably cold. Unless you'd like that very much, I suggest you drop it, before I drop you."
Dracan immediately shut up, sighing heavily.
"Are we there yet?" Dracan asked several moments later.
"No." Omni said simply.
After about a minute, Dracan asked, "How about now?"
"No." Omni said bluntly as he began to beat his wing faster.
***
"But you have to go back."
"I won't make any difference, my love. I would only be there for moral support. Dracorian has everything he needs in his hand, and I have already folded. He needs to play his hand correctly, and I would be but a hindrance."
"What are you talking about? I'm talking about the fate of existence, and it seems to me like you're playing a game of cards."
"It's called a METAPHOR, for Christ sake! Read a book!"
"I wonder what happens if you take your OWN name in vain."
"Asuka, it's not going to help anything! I'll just end up complicating matters!"
"That is precisely why Drac was revived. To complicate matters for Allen."
"Yeah. To make him think that there are things that you shouldn't hate in this world. Someone who cares. I am someone he hates. Remember when I punched him in the face?"
"God, please make him talk sense!"
"Leave Him out of this! He has nothing to do with this!"
{Crash of Thunder}
"Um... Well... Less so than usual... He has everything to do with everything, but... Ah..."
"Shinji, stop being a spineless wimp and save the world already!"
"And I'm saying that's Omni's job! Maybe it was mine! Once! But man played God! He took the very essence of what I was, and copied it into Drac! They don't need me! And they made it perfectly clear that they don't want me, either!"
"But... What if Adam wins? WE won't be here to feel any pain, but... What about poor Allen? What will happen to HIM?"
"He deserves it for straying from the path of God."
"You don't believe that, do you, Shinji? Please say you don't..."
"...I can't do anything to help, Asuka... I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, Shinji-kun. I know that, if you could, you would help... I just... I wish... Hikari, and Kaji... Rei, Drac... HELL! Even Touji and Kensuke! They're down there. They're in pain.... Shinji, you never did see what Allen was like on the inside. I did. I realized that the night of that party. He's a scared little boy, Drac. He's terrified of what's happening to him. He can't stop it no matter how hard he tries... Two overwhelmingly powerful forces are attacking his soul... And he can't help but follow them. He doesn't understand what he's doing. We have to make him. You're the only one who can..."
"Asuka... Don't cry... I... No. Stop... I... Asuka, I can't help them..."
"Shinji... Just stay here with me... I don't... I want to spend my last moments with you..."
"Asuka..."
***
"World of the Damned." Dracan muttered bitterly. "Was I the one who coined that phrase?"
"I believe it was you who put it into those words, Drac. Words to Misato, advising her against calling to God for help." Omni said quietly.
"I was right, though, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you were. You knew that from the beginning."
"That is not what I meant, and you know it."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hell. That's what I am talking about. Better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven. Better to be free in Hardship, than to be subordinate in Paradise. Ring any bells?"
"A few. Your point being?"
"Allen IS Adam, isn't he?"
"No. He isn't. Adam is in him. He is fighting Adam."
"Then why hasn't Adam appeared before?"
"Because Allen is..." Omni cut himself off and grew silent.
"Genetically identical to Adam, and therefore opening the gateway to his soul." Dracan finished. "So Allen is Adam."
"Adam is no more Allen than Yui is Rei. Perhaps less so." Dracorian snapped.
"I know. The difference is that Yui's soul was a blueprint, and Allen just happened..." Drac shook his head. "But that doesn't matter. Because Adam is Satan."
"And how did you come up with this hypothesis." Omni asked, a little too quickly.
"It all makes sense now..."
"How do you explain the serpent's presence in the Garden of Eden, then?"
"But wasn't Lucifer sent to Hell? If so, why was he on Earth?"
"Uh..." Omni stumbles on his words.
"The serpent's presence is easy. Adam made Eve eat the apple, then made him suffer the consequences. Which brings me to another point. Yumi is Eve."
"How are you coming up with all of this?"
"Shut up and don't talk. I'm bouncing Ideas off you right now."
"I'll bounce you off the rocks if you tell me to shut up again!"
"Bah!" Drac waved him off, continuing. "Had I thought to bring Yumi with us... But I didn't..."
"Hey! Aren't I supposed to be the one doing the saving?!"
"You were always hardheaded, Dracorian. That will be your downfall." A voice said as a shape appeared before them, a shimmering light spreading out like a blanket of incandescence.
"John...?" Omni whispered.
"This is the Last Battle. You are Man's Warrior of Light. You were made from Christ to defeat Lucifer in the final days. However, you are but a copy. You only have a fifty percent chance for triumph. EXACTLY fifty percent. Believe me. Einstein is up there checking." John said the last part with a slight comical edge. Dracorian smiled slightly, nodding.
"I'm sorry we didn't get to finish our talk, old friend. It's been great knowing you. It really has." Omni said to him as he attempted to fly passed him, but John flew in front of him to prevent it.
"Answer, Dracorian. What does love mean to you?" John asked.
"It doesn't matter."
"It is ALL that matters. Why are you attacking Allen if not for Ayanami Rei? Because the boy asked you to?"
"No. I am going to save Rei."
"And if it were someone else, you would call it. . . What was your term? 'A necessary casualty of War?' Come now, Omni. I know you better than that."
"What do you want me to say, John? What does it matter, even if I do? It won't change anything."
"It will give you a purpose. That is all you need. That is all you needed then, too. Even if you WERE on the wrong side."
"Would you stop bringing up that whole Germany thing? I thought the guy was talking world peace! I didn't know he was going to commit Genocide!"
"But it was a purpose. And no one could sway you from that until you saw the truth for yourself."
"So? What does it matter? I'm going to stop Allen. He's committing an even worse act of Genocide than Hitler. Isn't that enough of a purpose."
"But it's not YOUR purpose."
"It's A purpose. And it's good enough."
"Then why not wait until you're powerful enough to defeat him?"
"Because then Rei will be. . ." Omni cut himself off.
"What is love, Omni? Tell me."
"Again, John, I cannot give an unbiased opinion. This time for the exact opposite reasons of the first." Omni said after a long sigh. John merely nodded and grew transparent as he faded away.
"Tell me when it's over, Dracorian. Give me your unbiased opinion. For you WILL win. You must." And with that, the apostle was gone.
***
She shivered with cold as a biting wind blew against her, but she could only assume she was inside due to the lack of light. "W-what do you want with me. . .?" Rei asked quietly. The darkness made it impossible to see where she was, and the only reason she knew someone was there was because there was a quiet sound of footsteps pacing around her, reminding her of the futility of an escape attempt.
"I need you. You are my gateway." Allen said, and Rei could almost seen the grin on his face.
"Gateway? What gateway? What are you talking about?" Rei asked, panicked.
"I have my Seven, and I have my lamb. My Seven will play their trumpets, each bringing with them death. You will break the seals, my lamb."
"I don't know what you're talking about! Leave me alone!" Rei screamed in terror.
"Come now, Yui. I know it's you. You can stop hiding."
"Yui. . .? Ikari-san's wife? No! I'm Rei!" Rei said, baffled.
"Sure you are Rei, Yui. And you will open the seals because the Real lamb was destroyed by SEELE."
"What lamb? What do sheep have to do with this?!"
Allen tsked. "No need to play dumb, Yui. It won't help things. Gendo has already set himself up as a martyr. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Had Shinji been alive, I might not have been able, but now that he's gone, nothing stands in my way. Drac is nothing to me, nor is Omni."
"Shinji. . . Dead. . .?" Rei gasped, unable to grasp the concept. 'Ikari-kun. . . When. . .? Why. . .?"
"If you must know, Mr. Harper planted the bullet in the back of his kneck himself. You know him from the party."
"Oh my God. . ." And Rei began to weep.
"Hmm. . . Maybe you aren't Yui. Oh well. You are expendable. Omni will be here momentarily. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I was hoping for a clean cut. Omni has forced my hand, however. Existence will die slowly and painfully."
"Not existence. Just this world." Omni said quietly. The scenery illuminated with a flash as a small flame appeared in Omni's hand.
"'Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.'" Dracan murmured quietly, gazing up into the heavens. Rei looked up as well, noting that they were, in fact, outside, but the sky was devoid of all. Not even stars shone to permeate the foreboding darkness.
"Brother! It is good to see you again!" Allen said sarcastically through his typical grin.
"Shut up, Adam. I'm sick of your voice. What would you use Rei for? Why do you want her if not to torment me in some way?" Dracan glared at Allen with hate.
". . .Adam. . .?" Rei whispered, not knowing what was going on."
"Now, now, Drac. I merely thought she as someone she wasn't." Allen said in his defense.
'Or is I Adam. . .?' Rei thought, looking at the grin on the boy's face. Then Rei did a double-take. This was no boy. Though it had all the appearances of Allen, it appeared to be someone ten years his senior.
"Now that I know that she is not Yui, I will be happy to return her to you." Allen said. With this, he grabbed Rei by the back of the head and yanked her up off the ground with much force. His arm level to ground, he looked Rei in the face and said, "Goodbye, Ms. Ayanami."
Rei felt her body below her neck grow numb as he heard Drac scream out in horror. Rei wanted to scream out as well, for the pain was excruciating, but she couldn't breathe in to muster enough of a howl. She felt herself flying through the air until she hit Drac's chest.
Drac merely stared at her as he let her fall to the ground. Rei knew she was going to die. She felt herself fading swiftly. All of this seemed to go so slowly, though it was so short a period of time. . .
She remembered that her second to last thoughts were of why Drac had not taken her in his arms, to hold her as she died, why he had not told her that he loved her. . .
She remembered her last thoughts being ones of shock as she looked over at Allen to see her body lying at his feet.
***
Drac stood there in total shock. Nothing was registering in his brain.
'That didn't just happen. . . No. . .' Dracan stared at Rei's decapitated body, then shifted his gaze to the head that lay at his feet. 'Why. . . Rei. . .' Dracan turned his head, tears rolling from his eyes, his very being threatening to fall apart like so much broken glass.
". . .why. . ." Dracan muttered quietly, accusingly at Adam and, even though it was scarcely above a whisper, it echoed throughout the plain of Ice and bitter cold.
"Honestly, Dear Brother, you needn't lie to me. You don't really care why I did it, do you?" Adam asked, completely unaffected by what had happened.
"I don't." Omni growled. "I just want you to die for it. And you will. I will kill you." A long staff appeared in his hand, seemingly created out of light. And yet, the black wings of the man seemed to suck the life out of the staff until it too was a dark, foreboding color of hatred and revenge. Two long blades emerged from the staff, one from each edge.
"The staff. . . A weapon of defense, not of death. . ." Dracan whispered quietly.
"Well, well. What have we here? Does Dracorian actually think that he can WIN?" Adam scoffed. "And against Lucifer, the one who once was the right hand of GOD! The one who was cast out because God feared his power!" Adam developed a look of insanity, his eyes glowing a dark red.
"You weren't cast out of heaven because of your power, Lucifer. You were cast out because of pride. Better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven. . . Adam. . . Better to rule in poverty than to serve in paradise. When DID you merge, Adam? Or were you Satan all along?"
With that, Adam lunged himself at Omni with a quick movement, forming a sword in his hand, that of an equal color of blackness. Omni parried the slash with the top of his staff, then slashed at his feet with the bottom. Allen jumped into the air and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him flying into a near wall of ice.
"You cannot beat the devil with hate and revenge. . . The Father of Lies sees through that of his own making, and cannot be harmed by such petty means. . ." Drac muttered, curled into a ball by Rei's head, gazing into those vacant eyes. Those eyes that were so full of life were now absent of all. Rei had left him and, as she was killed by Adam, she could not be revived. Her soul belonged to him now. . .
All the hatred. . . All the loathing. . . All the jealousy emerged from Omni's being at that moment. It was he who received Eden. It was he who killed Rei. It was he who was about to destroy all existence. And It was Omni who would destroy him.
Omni burst from the wreckage of the wall, taking flight and flying high into the sky, launching a myriad of fireballs down on Adam, all for naught. Adam smiled, launching himself into the air with haste, dodging all of the blasts from Omni.
Drac looked up at the fiery rain that was to fall upon him, and cared not. He welcomed it. Welcomed the exit to this final chapter in his life. . .
Each of the fireballs bounced off a dark black shield like tennis balls.
Jake, the one who saved Omni's soul and immediately thereafter sided with Satan, stood there, palm raised to deflect the balls of heat.
"You have to ask yourself, Dracan. Who would you want to win?" Jake said in a clear monotonous voice.
"What do you mean?! Omni is on the side of good here!" Dracan spat at Jake's feet, as though he had just blasphemed. Jake shook his head and pointed at the battle above.
"Tell me, Dracan. Which one is Omni? Which one is on the side of good?" Jake asked. Dracan looked up with an angry glare and noticed the undeniable truth.
All he could see was two sets of black wings, with two sets of weapons, both emitting the desire for death. Dracan shook is head, awe-struck, before he realized his role.
"Both of their paths lead to destruction. There is no way in which we can escape. All will die either way. Allen has won, even if he loses the battle." Dracan nodded to this.
"Omni was chosen by God as the Judge. He would look from the outside, neither loving nor hating, looking at the world objectively."
"I, obviously, recognized that before you did. I did what was required of me. Sometimes, God requires a little brutality. It could not be helped. All I ask of you, Dracan, is that you look at this, without any pretenses. Look as Omni was meant to look. See in this what Omni was meant to see. Then you will know what to do."
Drac nodded, looking up at the fray and stepping out of the shield.
***
"Bastard!" Omni screamed, slashing violently at Adam, which was deflected instantly.
"Guilty, as charged. Both my parents were killed. Both, where directly or indirectly, were your fault." Allen said, smiling evilly as he kicked Omni at the ground, charging a him. Dracan rolled away, just as a downward thrust of Adam's sword embedded itself in the ice.
"Yes! I killed your father! And I loved it! It felt good to pull the trigger and blow his fucking head off!" Omni screamed, foaming at the mouth slightly as he leaped to his feet. "But not nearly as good as it will feel when I split you in two!"
"Alright, Omni." Allen said, making the blade in his hand disappear. "Kill me. Kill the monster within me. Now is your chance. Slay the evil within me."
"Fine!" He screamed, stabbing violently out at the man.
Dracan cried out in pain as the staff sailed strait through his body, causing it to fall just short of Allen. Allen looked at Dracan with wonder, not sure what to make of this.
"You are what the world made you, brother. . ." Dracan whispered. "But you have the power to re-forge yourself in the shape that you see best. . ." Dracan slid off the staff as he joined the majority of his blood on the now red ground.
"And it begins, and ends. Two innocents' blood are spilled." Jake said, fading out of the world, so as not to see what was to become next.
"Drac. . ." Allen whispered. "He called me. . . Brother. . .?" Allen felt as though his head were aflame, he couldn't think strait. His mind hurt immensely. . .
Adam looked up at Omni with a smile, and Omni had the exact same smile on HIS face.
***
Where am I. . .?
You are nowhere.
Am I. . . Dead?
Far from it, boy. You and I are the only things alive.
Who are you. . .?
Surely you know me?
Adam. . .
Correct.
So the world is gone now. . . All evil is gone. . .
Yes. . . Of course.
But. . . Where is everybody.
They were all evil. They are all gone. I am the only one left.
But if there is nothing. . .
Oh, but we can create, Allen. We can create a new world. A PERFECT world! One where we will rule over all! One where evil will not exist!
Really. . .?
Yes! Of course. Merely do what I tell you, and the world will be perfect.
But. . . I thought. . .
Yes! You do have the power, as promised! But you don't know how to use it. Just let me into your mind again and. . .
No! Don't touch my mind! No more! I won't let you do bad things anymore!
What do you mean, Allen? Have I not been your friend?
You killed! You killed through me!
Only what was necessary! They needed to die!
You are evil too! All existence needs to die before there is a clean slate!
Allen, you know not what you are doing! You. . .
The world. . . Is purged. Brother. . .? Where are you. . .? Mom? Dad? Yumi? Come back. . .
. . .
Why won't you come?
. . .
I'm scared. . . please. . . Don't leave me alone. . .
The End
There we go. That's the end. No more. That's all folks. Great way to end it, no? There's no more. Just. . . Death. Allen floats in nonexistence for all eternity. You guys told me to finish it. I'm done. . .
What? I never said anything about multiple endings. Never once. Nope. This is the only ending. They're all dead. Sadly ever after. And all that Jazz.
No, I'm absolutely SURE the multiple endings thing was only a rumor. Why would I say something like that?
When did I promise that? I don't recall saying that I would have a separate ending.
Listen, if you're going to quote me on things, then I am just going to have to not write anymore.
So what if I wasn't going to anyway?
No, I don't care what Tiny does with that lead pipe.
Yes, I'm sure it would be very unpleasant to have that shoved lengthwise up my nether regions. . .
Um. . . Maybe I might write something later. . . I have an English paper to write, I have all this other stuff to study for. . .
What? {Pant, Pant} I'm not running! {Pant, Pant} Just. . . Oh, God! Damn the computers that make me fat and out of shape. . .
{Noises of violet rending of flesh}
Anyway, I'll eventually get to writing Shinji and Drac's endings. Probably after I get out of high school in a week or so. The thing is, while I'm in school, I can't write a page a day like I used to. And Shinji's Ending branches off from when he died way back when.
But let me congratulate all the people out there that helped make this fic possible. Chemiclord, I thank you for your brotherly insight, as well as the protection of a big brother from less constructive reviewers {Cough cough, Red Horseman, cough cough!}. I thank Rune Carver for being himself, that is, similar to Marvin in Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Your moodiness and depression helped me realize that there were people with much worse social problems than I, and also that there IS a PMS for guys. {JK}
And I'd also like to thank a few readers out there for their help in everything, though they did nothing when they'd say they'd help or something like that. And Mr. Wu-Fei, you still scare me. Really. I have a pistol by my bed now. Thanks be to the one who declared that Carnies are not pleasant company, and in fact, are devilishly frightening.
Is their anyone I forgot? If there is, E-mail me and harass me about it. Even if you didn't do anything, you can just say you did. Oh, yeah. I'd also like to thank the guy who keyed my car. It gave me an excuse to throw it out and get a new one.
Quiet Chemi. . . I do SO have a car!
Shut up! I LIKE my matchbox collection!
~The Ayanami Card, the Kay-Nap-Daddy, or, if you prefer. . .
~Doffman the Great
Ahahahahahahahahaha, Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
{Lucca Ashtear is my Idol. . .}
The Darkness Emerges
By Doffman
Chapter 34
Allen's Ending
or
An Unnecessary Evil
Jake lifted the rifle and placed it on the tripod, aiming it with precision, he scope giving him a great view of the open window. It wasn't his to question why, but he was to shoot Dracan Omoni, one of their own operatives. Jake could care less. He was meant to aim and fire, not debate right and wrong.
One shot echoed from the apartment, drawing Jake to awareness, his sweat coating his forehead. Jake could hear someone emptying a whole clip at something, hearing a boy's scream echo throughout the city.
"DIE!!" Jake recognized the voice to be Drac's. Drac appeared in the window, and before Jake could fire, Allen got in the way. There was a blur of motion before the way was clear again, a small, centimeter gap over Allen's shoulder to Drac's head. Jake took the shot. The bullet struck clean. Allen spun around quickly, noticing the sniper he had not before.
That's when Jake realized it.
Allen had wings.
Allen swooped out of the window before Jake could pull off a shot at him, and was now standing in front of the rifle.
"Shoot." Allen ordered emotionlessly. "Shoot me."
Jake shook his head. He wasn't stupid. Drac walked in there with a gun, shot, and it did him not an ounce of good. Why fight Shinigami when he comes for you?
"It would be pointless to do so." Jake replied with an equal lack of emotion. "If you're going to kill me, be quick about it. Otherwise, don't. You are the one in the position of choice here, not I."
"Correction, my friend." Allen said with a smirk. "You were in the position of choice. And you made the right one. I will spare your life for now..." Then, as an afterthought, "Actually, I have a job for you, if you are willing. If not, you could always choose death."
"Better the right hand of the devil than to be in his path..." Jake quoted a well used phrase. Allen obviously found something extremely funny, as he burst into uncontrollable, insane laughter at that moment...
***
"It's done." Harper said, backing away from his rifle. As he was about to put away the rifle, a small pistol poked into his back.
"Damn you, Harper." Greg said coldly, throwing him to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing, Greg!?" Harper shouted.
"I thought you liked the girl, Harper. I thought she was like a daughter to you." Greg said, spite hanging of every word. "So why did you kill her boyfriend?"
"This needed to be done, Greg! Shinji couldn't have won!" Harper said, crawling away from Greg slowly.
"So you killed him. Death for anyone who doesn't fit the plan, right?" Greg asked with a smile.
"Don't do it, Greg. We need seven! Remember! Without the seven, it all ends." Harper warned, panicked.
"The World of the Damned will be Damned, eh?" Greg spat. "Well, I don't give a Damn." He said before pulling the trigger. At that moment, a throwing knife entered the path of the firearm, deflecting the would-be killing shot into Harper's shoulder. Greg span around and, much to his surprise, Jake had thrown the knife. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Removing the only unnecessary piece of the puzzle, sir." Jake said, letting yet another throwing knife dance from his fingers, piercing Greg's throat in the very center. Greg would have cried out in pain, had a hole not just been made through his voice box. "We need Harper yet. You are expendable."
Greg mouthed the words, "Damn you" before Jake took his last remaining knife off of his belt and, after obtaining a close enough proximity, stabbed Greg in the head. Jake smiled slightly as the blood fled the wound in Jake's head and splattered itself on his face. Jake licked his lips clean of the blood before offering a hand to Harper.
"We have to go for a walk." Jake said. "To talk..." He whispered something incoherent, yet unimportant. Harper cared not of which side he was on anymore, so long as that side was the winning team...
***
"Where the HELL are we going, Omni!? I thought we were going to save Rei!" Drac screamed at his winged companion as he flew them further and further from Tokyo 3.
"To the beginning. Where this all began. Where man sought to defy God by inhibiting his Word, and eliminating God's Revelation of things to come by attacking Lilith." Omni said in a foreboding voice. Dracan nodded slowly, finally understanding.
"And where came the beginning shall come the end... the Alpha and the Omega. Why not? Everything else seems to revolve around those words." Dracan muttered bitterly. "Spoken by Jesus Christ on numerous occasions in the Bible. Does Allen think himself to be the Son of God?" Dracan shook his head, then answered his own question. "No. That wouldn't make sense. Adam... The beginning of Man, the end of existence..."
"Not if I can help it." Omni whispered quietly, a look of hate showing on his face.
"What does that make you, Omni?" Dracan asked. "If he is that, what are you?" Omni sighed, shaking his head.
"The end of this world, the beginning of another."
"So in essence, you would destroy all the evil souls and have the chosen live their lives out happily." Dracan said cynically.
"If the evil wish to be that way, there's no point in converting them. Everyone needs to take care of themselves.*"
{*All you FF8 fanatics will appreciate that line...}
"And let millions of people die in some form of inescapable purgatory?"
"If it will ease the suffering of the good, yes. It is not the responsibility of the good to suffer for those less deserving."
"True, but we cannot just watch other people suffer, as that would be a contradiction to what we are."
"You wouldn't have to watch them suffer. It would be over and done with in a fraction of a second. Just BOOM! And everything is destroyed."
"This isn't funny."
"We angels have debated this long and hard, Dracan. Do you know what our conclusion was?" Omni asked, irritated. "73% of all angels didn't give a damn. The others said to destroy the place to save the other pure souls still on this 'World of the Damned'. These angels are those who proved themselves to be 'good souls', Dracan. Good enough to be God's select. I think they would know a little more than you with your pitiful 5 dimensional thinking."
"Last I counted, I was at 32. Or was it 59... Oh wait... That's senses*... The point I'm trying to make is this. You could easily save those evil souls and THEN destroy the planet."
"We tried that with Shinji. And your people killed him. Not Adam. Your 'Good Souls'."
"Shinji? What has he got to do with anything?"
"Haven't you figured it out by now?"
"Humor me."
"If you don't know, I won't tell you."
"Omni, tell me about Shinji."
"Drop it."
"Tell me NOW."
"Do you want to be dropped off on a glacier somewhere? There's one right there. But I'm sure you'd find it unbearably cold. Unless you'd like that very much, I suggest you drop it, before I drop you."
Dracan immediately shut up, sighing heavily.
"Are we there yet?" Dracan asked several moments later.
"No." Omni said simply.
After about a minute, Dracan asked, "How about now?"
"No." Omni said bluntly as he began to beat his wing faster.
***
"But you have to go back."
"I won't make any difference, my love. I would only be there for moral support. Dracorian has everything he needs in his hand, and I have already folded. He needs to play his hand correctly, and I would be but a hindrance."
"What are you talking about? I'm talking about the fate of existence, and it seems to me like you're playing a game of cards."
"It's called a METAPHOR, for Christ sake! Read a book!"
"I wonder what happens if you take your OWN name in vain."
"Asuka, it's not going to help anything! I'll just end up complicating matters!"
"That is precisely why Drac was revived. To complicate matters for Allen."
"Yeah. To make him think that there are things that you shouldn't hate in this world. Someone who cares. I am someone he hates. Remember when I punched him in the face?"
"God, please make him talk sense!"
"Leave Him out of this! He has nothing to do with this!"
{Crash of Thunder}
"Um... Well... Less so than usual... He has everything to do with everything, but... Ah..."
"Shinji, stop being a spineless wimp and save the world already!"
"And I'm saying that's Omni's job! Maybe it was mine! Once! But man played God! He took the very essence of what I was, and copied it into Drac! They don't need me! And they made it perfectly clear that they don't want me, either!"
"But... What if Adam wins? WE won't be here to feel any pain, but... What about poor Allen? What will happen to HIM?"
"He deserves it for straying from the path of God."
"You don't believe that, do you, Shinji? Please say you don't..."
"...I can't do anything to help, Asuka... I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, Shinji-kun. I know that, if you could, you would help... I just... I wish... Hikari, and Kaji... Rei, Drac... HELL! Even Touji and Kensuke! They're down there. They're in pain.... Shinji, you never did see what Allen was like on the inside. I did. I realized that the night of that party. He's a scared little boy, Drac. He's terrified of what's happening to him. He can't stop it no matter how hard he tries... Two overwhelmingly powerful forces are attacking his soul... And he can't help but follow them. He doesn't understand what he's doing. We have to make him. You're the only one who can..."
"Asuka... Don't cry... I... No. Stop... I... Asuka, I can't help them..."
"Shinji... Just stay here with me... I don't... I want to spend my last moments with you..."
"Asuka..."
***
"World of the Damned." Dracan muttered bitterly. "Was I the one who coined that phrase?"
"I believe it was you who put it into those words, Drac. Words to Misato, advising her against calling to God for help." Omni said quietly.
"I was right, though, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you were. You knew that from the beginning."
"That is not what I meant, and you know it."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hell. That's what I am talking about. Better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven. Better to be free in Hardship, than to be subordinate in Paradise. Ring any bells?"
"A few. Your point being?"
"Allen IS Adam, isn't he?"
"No. He isn't. Adam is in him. He is fighting Adam."
"Then why hasn't Adam appeared before?"
"Because Allen is..." Omni cut himself off and grew silent.
"Genetically identical to Adam, and therefore opening the gateway to his soul." Dracan finished. "So Allen is Adam."
"Adam is no more Allen than Yui is Rei. Perhaps less so." Dracorian snapped.
"I know. The difference is that Yui's soul was a blueprint, and Allen just happened..." Drac shook his head. "But that doesn't matter. Because Adam is Satan."
"And how did you come up with this hypothesis." Omni asked, a little too quickly.
"It all makes sense now..."
"How do you explain the serpent's presence in the Garden of Eden, then?"
"But wasn't Lucifer sent to Hell? If so, why was he on Earth?"
"Uh..." Omni stumbles on his words.
"The serpent's presence is easy. Adam made Eve eat the apple, then made him suffer the consequences. Which brings me to another point. Yumi is Eve."
"How are you coming up with all of this?"
"Shut up and don't talk. I'm bouncing Ideas off you right now."
"I'll bounce you off the rocks if you tell me to shut up again!"
"Bah!" Drac waved him off, continuing. "Had I thought to bring Yumi with us... But I didn't..."
"Hey! Aren't I supposed to be the one doing the saving?!"
"You were always hardheaded, Dracorian. That will be your downfall." A voice said as a shape appeared before them, a shimmering light spreading out like a blanket of incandescence.
"John...?" Omni whispered.
"This is the Last Battle. You are Man's Warrior of Light. You were made from Christ to defeat Lucifer in the final days. However, you are but a copy. You only have a fifty percent chance for triumph. EXACTLY fifty percent. Believe me. Einstein is up there checking." John said the last part with a slight comical edge. Dracorian smiled slightly, nodding.
"I'm sorry we didn't get to finish our talk, old friend. It's been great knowing you. It really has." Omni said to him as he attempted to fly passed him, but John flew in front of him to prevent it.
"Answer, Dracorian. What does love mean to you?" John asked.
"It doesn't matter."
"It is ALL that matters. Why are you attacking Allen if not for Ayanami Rei? Because the boy asked you to?"
"No. I am going to save Rei."
"And if it were someone else, you would call it. . . What was your term? 'A necessary casualty of War?' Come now, Omni. I know you better than that."
"What do you want me to say, John? What does it matter, even if I do? It won't change anything."
"It will give you a purpose. That is all you need. That is all you needed then, too. Even if you WERE on the wrong side."
"Would you stop bringing up that whole Germany thing? I thought the guy was talking world peace! I didn't know he was going to commit Genocide!"
"But it was a purpose. And no one could sway you from that until you saw the truth for yourself."
"So? What does it matter? I'm going to stop Allen. He's committing an even worse act of Genocide than Hitler. Isn't that enough of a purpose."
"But it's not YOUR purpose."
"It's A purpose. And it's good enough."
"Then why not wait until you're powerful enough to defeat him?"
"Because then Rei will be. . ." Omni cut himself off.
"What is love, Omni? Tell me."
"Again, John, I cannot give an unbiased opinion. This time for the exact opposite reasons of the first." Omni said after a long sigh. John merely nodded and grew transparent as he faded away.
"Tell me when it's over, Dracorian. Give me your unbiased opinion. For you WILL win. You must." And with that, the apostle was gone.
***
She shivered with cold as a biting wind blew against her, but she could only assume she was inside due to the lack of light. "W-what do you want with me. . .?" Rei asked quietly. The darkness made it impossible to see where she was, and the only reason she knew someone was there was because there was a quiet sound of footsteps pacing around her, reminding her of the futility of an escape attempt.
"I need you. You are my gateway." Allen said, and Rei could almost seen the grin on his face.
"Gateway? What gateway? What are you talking about?" Rei asked, panicked.
"I have my Seven, and I have my lamb. My Seven will play their trumpets, each bringing with them death. You will break the seals, my lamb."
"I don't know what you're talking about! Leave me alone!" Rei screamed in terror.
"Come now, Yui. I know it's you. You can stop hiding."
"Yui. . .? Ikari-san's wife? No! I'm Rei!" Rei said, baffled.
"Sure you are Rei, Yui. And you will open the seals because the Real lamb was destroyed by SEELE."
"What lamb? What do sheep have to do with this?!"
Allen tsked. "No need to play dumb, Yui. It won't help things. Gendo has already set himself up as a martyr. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Had Shinji been alive, I might not have been able, but now that he's gone, nothing stands in my way. Drac is nothing to me, nor is Omni."
"Shinji. . . Dead. . .?" Rei gasped, unable to grasp the concept. 'Ikari-kun. . . When. . .? Why. . .?"
"If you must know, Mr. Harper planted the bullet in the back of his kneck himself. You know him from the party."
"Oh my God. . ." And Rei began to weep.
"Hmm. . . Maybe you aren't Yui. Oh well. You are expendable. Omni will be here momentarily. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I was hoping for a clean cut. Omni has forced my hand, however. Existence will die slowly and painfully."
"Not existence. Just this world." Omni said quietly. The scenery illuminated with a flash as a small flame appeared in Omni's hand.
"'Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.'" Dracan murmured quietly, gazing up into the heavens. Rei looked up as well, noting that they were, in fact, outside, but the sky was devoid of all. Not even stars shone to permeate the foreboding darkness.
"Brother! It is good to see you again!" Allen said sarcastically through his typical grin.
"Shut up, Adam. I'm sick of your voice. What would you use Rei for? Why do you want her if not to torment me in some way?" Dracan glared at Allen with hate.
". . .Adam. . .?" Rei whispered, not knowing what was going on."
"Now, now, Drac. I merely thought she as someone she wasn't." Allen said in his defense.
'Or is I Adam. . .?' Rei thought, looking at the grin on the boy's face. Then Rei did a double-take. This was no boy. Though it had all the appearances of Allen, it appeared to be someone ten years his senior.
"Now that I know that she is not Yui, I will be happy to return her to you." Allen said. With this, he grabbed Rei by the back of the head and yanked her up off the ground with much force. His arm level to ground, he looked Rei in the face and said, "Goodbye, Ms. Ayanami."
Rei felt her body below her neck grow numb as he heard Drac scream out in horror. Rei wanted to scream out as well, for the pain was excruciating, but she couldn't breathe in to muster enough of a howl. She felt herself flying through the air until she hit Drac's chest.
Drac merely stared at her as he let her fall to the ground. Rei knew she was going to die. She felt herself fading swiftly. All of this seemed to go so slowly, though it was so short a period of time. . .
She remembered that her second to last thoughts were of why Drac had not taken her in his arms, to hold her as she died, why he had not told her that he loved her. . .
She remembered her last thoughts being ones of shock as she looked over at Allen to see her body lying at his feet.
***
Drac stood there in total shock. Nothing was registering in his brain.
'That didn't just happen. . . No. . .' Dracan stared at Rei's decapitated body, then shifted his gaze to the head that lay at his feet. 'Why. . . Rei. . .' Dracan turned his head, tears rolling from his eyes, his very being threatening to fall apart like so much broken glass.
". . .why. . ." Dracan muttered quietly, accusingly at Adam and, even though it was scarcely above a whisper, it echoed throughout the plain of Ice and bitter cold.
"Honestly, Dear Brother, you needn't lie to me. You don't really care why I did it, do you?" Adam asked, completely unaffected by what had happened.
"I don't." Omni growled. "I just want you to die for it. And you will. I will kill you." A long staff appeared in his hand, seemingly created out of light. And yet, the black wings of the man seemed to suck the life out of the staff until it too was a dark, foreboding color of hatred and revenge. Two long blades emerged from the staff, one from each edge.
"The staff. . . A weapon of defense, not of death. . ." Dracan whispered quietly.
"Well, well. What have we here? Does Dracorian actually think that he can WIN?" Adam scoffed. "And against Lucifer, the one who once was the right hand of GOD! The one who was cast out because God feared his power!" Adam developed a look of insanity, his eyes glowing a dark red.
"You weren't cast out of heaven because of your power, Lucifer. You were cast out because of pride. Better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven. . . Adam. . . Better to rule in poverty than to serve in paradise. When DID you merge, Adam? Or were you Satan all along?"
With that, Adam lunged himself at Omni with a quick movement, forming a sword in his hand, that of an equal color of blackness. Omni parried the slash with the top of his staff, then slashed at his feet with the bottom. Allen jumped into the air and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him flying into a near wall of ice.
"You cannot beat the devil with hate and revenge. . . The Father of Lies sees through that of his own making, and cannot be harmed by such petty means. . ." Drac muttered, curled into a ball by Rei's head, gazing into those vacant eyes. Those eyes that were so full of life were now absent of all. Rei had left him and, as she was killed by Adam, she could not be revived. Her soul belonged to him now. . .
All the hatred. . . All the loathing. . . All the jealousy emerged from Omni's being at that moment. It was he who received Eden. It was he who killed Rei. It was he who was about to destroy all existence. And It was Omni who would destroy him.
Omni burst from the wreckage of the wall, taking flight and flying high into the sky, launching a myriad of fireballs down on Adam, all for naught. Adam smiled, launching himself into the air with haste, dodging all of the blasts from Omni.
Drac looked up at the fiery rain that was to fall upon him, and cared not. He welcomed it. Welcomed the exit to this final chapter in his life. . .
Each of the fireballs bounced off a dark black shield like tennis balls.
Jake, the one who saved Omni's soul and immediately thereafter sided with Satan, stood there, palm raised to deflect the balls of heat.
"You have to ask yourself, Dracan. Who would you want to win?" Jake said in a clear monotonous voice.
"What do you mean?! Omni is on the side of good here!" Dracan spat at Jake's feet, as though he had just blasphemed. Jake shook his head and pointed at the battle above.
"Tell me, Dracan. Which one is Omni? Which one is on the side of good?" Jake asked. Dracan looked up with an angry glare and noticed the undeniable truth.
All he could see was two sets of black wings, with two sets of weapons, both emitting the desire for death. Dracan shook is head, awe-struck, before he realized his role.
"Both of their paths lead to destruction. There is no way in which we can escape. All will die either way. Allen has won, even if he loses the battle." Dracan nodded to this.
"Omni was chosen by God as the Judge. He would look from the outside, neither loving nor hating, looking at the world objectively."
"I, obviously, recognized that before you did. I did what was required of me. Sometimes, God requires a little brutality. It could not be helped. All I ask of you, Dracan, is that you look at this, without any pretenses. Look as Omni was meant to look. See in this what Omni was meant to see. Then you will know what to do."
Drac nodded, looking up at the fray and stepping out of the shield.
***
"Bastard!" Omni screamed, slashing violently at Adam, which was deflected instantly.
"Guilty, as charged. Both my parents were killed. Both, where directly or indirectly, were your fault." Allen said, smiling evilly as he kicked Omni at the ground, charging a him. Dracan rolled away, just as a downward thrust of Adam's sword embedded itself in the ice.
"Yes! I killed your father! And I loved it! It felt good to pull the trigger and blow his fucking head off!" Omni screamed, foaming at the mouth slightly as he leaped to his feet. "But not nearly as good as it will feel when I split you in two!"
"Alright, Omni." Allen said, making the blade in his hand disappear. "Kill me. Kill the monster within me. Now is your chance. Slay the evil within me."
"Fine!" He screamed, stabbing violently out at the man.
Dracan cried out in pain as the staff sailed strait through his body, causing it to fall just short of Allen. Allen looked at Dracan with wonder, not sure what to make of this.
"You are what the world made you, brother. . ." Dracan whispered. "But you have the power to re-forge yourself in the shape that you see best. . ." Dracan slid off the staff as he joined the majority of his blood on the now red ground.
"And it begins, and ends. Two innocents' blood are spilled." Jake said, fading out of the world, so as not to see what was to become next.
"Drac. . ." Allen whispered. "He called me. . . Brother. . .?" Allen felt as though his head were aflame, he couldn't think strait. His mind hurt immensely. . .
Adam looked up at Omni with a smile, and Omni had the exact same smile on HIS face.
***
Where am I. . .?
You are nowhere.
Am I. . . Dead?
Far from it, boy. You and I are the only things alive.
Who are you. . .?
Surely you know me?
Adam. . .
Correct.
So the world is gone now. . . All evil is gone. . .
Yes. . . Of course.
But. . . Where is everybody.
They were all evil. They are all gone. I am the only one left.
But if there is nothing. . .
Oh, but we can create, Allen. We can create a new world. A PERFECT world! One where we will rule over all! One where evil will not exist!
Really. . .?
Yes! Of course. Merely do what I tell you, and the world will be perfect.
But. . . I thought. . .
Yes! You do have the power, as promised! But you don't know how to use it. Just let me into your mind again and. . .
No! Don't touch my mind! No more! I won't let you do bad things anymore!
What do you mean, Allen? Have I not been your friend?
You killed! You killed through me!
Only what was necessary! They needed to die!
You are evil too! All existence needs to die before there is a clean slate!
Allen, you know not what you are doing! You. . .
The world. . . Is purged. Brother. . .? Where are you. . .? Mom? Dad? Yumi? Come back. . .
. . .
Why won't you come?
. . .
I'm scared. . . please. . . Don't leave me alone. . .
The End
There we go. That's the end. No more. That's all folks. Great way to end it, no? There's no more. Just. . . Death. Allen floats in nonexistence for all eternity. You guys told me to finish it. I'm done. . .
What? I never said anything about multiple endings. Never once. Nope. This is the only ending. They're all dead. Sadly ever after. And all that Jazz.
No, I'm absolutely SURE the multiple endings thing was only a rumor. Why would I say something like that?
When did I promise that? I don't recall saying that I would have a separate ending.
Listen, if you're going to quote me on things, then I am just going to have to not write anymore.
So what if I wasn't going to anyway?
No, I don't care what Tiny does with that lead pipe.
Yes, I'm sure it would be very unpleasant to have that shoved lengthwise up my nether regions. . .
Um. . . Maybe I might write something later. . . I have an English paper to write, I have all this other stuff to study for. . .
What? {Pant, Pant} I'm not running! {Pant, Pant} Just. . . Oh, God! Damn the computers that make me fat and out of shape. . .
{Noises of violet rending of flesh}
Anyway, I'll eventually get to writing Shinji and Drac's endings. Probably after I get out of high school in a week or so. The thing is, while I'm in school, I can't write a page a day like I used to. And Shinji's Ending branches off from when he died way back when.
But let me congratulate all the people out there that helped make this fic possible. Chemiclord, I thank you for your brotherly insight, as well as the protection of a big brother from less constructive reviewers {Cough cough, Red Horseman, cough cough!}. I thank Rune Carver for being himself, that is, similar to Marvin in Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Your moodiness and depression helped me realize that there were people with much worse social problems than I, and also that there IS a PMS for guys. {JK}
And I'd also like to thank a few readers out there for their help in everything, though they did nothing when they'd say they'd help or something like that. And Mr. Wu-Fei, you still scare me. Really. I have a pistol by my bed now. Thanks be to the one who declared that Carnies are not pleasant company, and in fact, are devilishly frightening.
Is their anyone I forgot? If there is, E-mail me and harass me about it. Even if you didn't do anything, you can just say you did. Oh, yeah. I'd also like to thank the guy who keyed my car. It gave me an excuse to throw it out and get a new one.
Quiet Chemi. . . I do SO have a car!
Shut up! I LIKE my matchbox collection!
~The Ayanami Card, the Kay-Nap-Daddy, or, if you prefer. . .
~Doffman the Great
Ahahahahahahahahaha, Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
{Lucca Ashtear is my Idol. . .}