Shinji and Warhammer40k

by Charles Bhepin

Shinji Ikari finds a boxful of insanity and becomes even more unhinged than before. Somehow, this is A Good Thing. As the grim dark future melts into stark bleak present, upon a throne of tropes humanity might find the savior it so requires. [story RESUMING]

35. Chapter 34: Uncertain Space part4

Uncertain Space part four

-o-

-o-

-o-

'Misato-san is crying... why?' Shinji thought. He felt so weak. He wanted to tell her
it was all right. He had never doubted she would be able to take him back from the
brink. He tried to smile, but his vision was starting to turn black.

Shinji Ikari woke up and blinked. It was an unfamiliar ceiling. He supposed they had
gotten around to fixing the scorch mark from the last time all three pilots were
confined in one room. He felt weak and cold... he could hear a faint whistling along
with every breath. The song of cicadas and soft morning lift wafted through the
windows.

He heard a small gasp. He turned to see a familiar face. "Ayanami." he said with a
slight smile.

The girl merely nodded, and stood up from the chair set beside his hospital bed.
She was in school uniform, and the light from outside was starting take a sunset
tinge.

"How long hav... no. " Shinji set that aside as a useless question. He knew Rei
would only answer, as long as it takes, she would be waiting for him to wake up.
That pure faith sustained him, and made it hard to resist an impulse to just hug the
hell out of the girl. "There's no reason to leave just now, if you've been waiting
here all this time."

Rei shook her head slightly. "You are well. Stay in bed today." Shinji could detect
the relieved note in her voice. "We will take of the rest." She took her bookbag
and left without looking back.

However, as the door opened, it only showed a surprised Asuka. She leapt back to
hide from view. Rei made no reaction to her presence.

Shinji chuckled lightly. "Asuka, are you..." He heard the hurried stomps of her
leaving. He sighed and lay back on the bed. "I guess she must still be mad at me."

He sat back up, suddenly. 'How did I get...' It was such a peaceful afternoon, it was
almost a waste to spend the such a fleeting serenity on such th... "Ungh. My head.
I remember... the Angel's attack." He smelled blood, the intensity of that memory
firing up his nerve endings. "More than physical... more than mental..."

He felt dizzy. He lay back down and closed his eyes. Ah, another dream. He could
tell by the silence inside his mind. He decided to just rest and wait for the points to
present themselves.

Time passed. Not even the techniques taught to him at Javaal could contain his
irritation. Dreams were out of context problems; so should it even be possible to
feel bored inside one? The experience was far too authentic. Even the nurse that
finally came along to check up on his behaved in the expected crisp, professional
manner.

He sighed and waited some more. He supposed that being treated like any normal
patient was what his subconscious wanted. As far as any Evangelion pilot could
be 'normal', in any case. He sensed she was even afraid of him, a bit. Though not
as bad as rampant hero worship, it was still... unpleasant.

Shinji stood up and began to walk around again, stretching his muscles. Strange.
His body was weaker, his flexibility and muscle tone less than what he considered
normal. The view outside faced the mountains, pleasant enough but he wanted
to see the city. His city.

He went back to the bed and sat cross-legged on it. 'Okay, so is that the metaphor?'
Looking upon Tokyo-3 was always all he needed to refill his purpose. What was
there for him doubt?

He stared down at his hands, so thin and weak, then clenched them into fists.
There was still power there, if he cared to look for it. Until something appeared to
face his wrath, though... he had to battle with symbolism.

"Shinji!"

Misato hesitated by the door. She should not have; there was fear there too.
Shinji looked back, puzzled. When did he ever give her cause to fear him in any
way? He could see the change pass over her face, the artificial cheerfulness she
put on everyday. "Meditating now, Shin-chan? Good habit."

She sat on the bed's edge, giving him sufficient personal space. Her look was...
as yearning as the one in his own face, Shinji assumed. He was wondering why
she was not mashing his face into her breasts in one of her trademark hugs.

"Are you feeling all right?" Misato asked. Shinji stood stiff, his posture so straight
and... unnatural. He looked serene, as if he had nothing in the world to fear. She
saw the same expression on the battlefield, among those who decided to go down
fighting the next time out. "I've already arranged for your release, you don't have
to stay here any longer than necessary... I know you hate hospitals."

Shinji just nodded. "Thank you, Misato-san. Um... are Ayanami and Asuka all right?"

"They're fine. We were more worried about you, Shinji. How do you feel?"

"I... don't really remember what happened. Doctor first, then debriefing?"

She smiled widely and waved that aside. "Nah, home first. Misato Katsuragi is not
without her own strings to pull, you know!"

He had noticed the bars on her shoulder. Major Katsuragi, not Colonel. He also
noticed she had avoided answering his question. Likely scenarios flashed in his
mind. She was the sort of person to take great risks just to prove a point. If he was
brought out from within Leliel, then someone should have raised the chance of
contamination. She would have denied any chance of that, and just to stick it them
would try to get him home as soon as she could. That was her show of trust, and
her form of caring.

But she should have known he would have no problem at all with being tested over
and over again just to make sure. This... was not the Misato Katsuragi he knew?

He reached out to touch her face. She did not flich, but for a moment her eyes
clouded over with wariness. Shinji poked at her nose. "Well... I'm still trying to get
the hang of this hand and eye coordination thing, but okay." he said with a weak
grin. "Uh... you're not driving, are you?"

She laughed, grabbed his head, and gave him a noogie. "So you think you get to
make jokes now? Not about my driving you don't!" Shinji made his usual feeble
complaints and fake grunts of pain and it seemed as if all was back to normal again.

Meanwhile, something inside Shinji was screaming that things had gone horribly,
horribly wrong.

-o-
-o-

The Tritonis hydrosuits were well-designed, extensions of technologies already well
developed for civilian . It was that no one had any reason to put all these separate
elements together. The most critical improvement lay within power supply and
distribution. The crystal capacitors allowed the suits to filter oxygen and other dissolved
gases right out from seawater, plus drove hydrojet engines, vastly extending a diver's
operational range.

Things could not be bleaker. Scavenging power packs from the other suits only gave
them a few more hours to savor their cold demise.

There were no other return echoes for search sonar... either whatever was holding the
water in was made of sufficiently sound-absorbing material, or it the place was just
that huge. They had already begun to call it Inner Space. There was no light, no
sound. Were it not for the sound of their own breathing, they could believe they
were already dead and just failed to notice it.

Then there was immense pressure through the waters. It was as if something
screamed. It felt like being punched in the gut while having your head bashed in by
a block of ice.

That was soon joined in with the all-too-real screaming through their comm
channels. They had to wrestle the chaplain to stop his flailing about, difficult enough
to do without leverage. Then, inexplicably, he started laughing.

"Can't you feel that? It's here!" Fr. Ortigas shouted eagerly. His faceplate was
spattered with his own blood. "... evangelion."

"That's... not exactly good news." Sgt. De Leon had to say.

"Hell, I'd even say that's pretty bad!" Katagiri chimed in. If their squad sometimes felt
more like a dysfunctional family (with Takahashi as the bratty youngest) then the ex-
baker was like the sensible elder brother. "You know what we gotta do now, right?"

"... you can't seriously be expecting us to RESCUE an EVANGELION?" Morino replied.
The man fit every stereotype of what a Marine should look like, big and bulky and
with drooping eyes... except that before impact happened, he was actually trying to
become a dentist.

Strangely enough, that was... comforting. Their situation was no less dire, but the
thought that they were not alone seemed to light up the void. They may be there by
accident, but their presence was not without meaning.

The sergeant just sighed. "It's not like we can just float here and wait for our own
rescue. Let's face it, that thing... and Shinji Ikari... is a lot more important for the
brass than recovering a few grunts. It may be our only way out of here..."

That was hours ago.

Hand over hand, jagged-teeth boots trying to dig into eerie rock; though underwater,
they climbed. The structure was massive, like a city growing out in three dimensions,
and if they tried to use their jets to cross it they would only drain their reserve to no
useful purpose.

The Tritonis hydrosuits were capable of operating for fifteen hours, but they already
used up some juice from the earlier fighting. Sgt. Angelo looked at his own power
meter... he had less than an hour left. He shivered a bit, as they all had to dial
down their environment controls to save power.

They were cold, they were hungry. Their muscles burned from the exertion.

-o-

Everyone had looked to Sgt. De Leon. The same thought was in all their minds:
Leave behind one person and that extra power pack could make two people go
further. Leave behind two people and four had a better chance. Their suits filtered
seawater. One person could go on until he actually starves to death.

"WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?" he shouted suddenly. "We've got a mission. Katagiri,
Takahashi, run the numbers. Ohta, Morino, distribute the extra power packs. We're
getting out of this together..."

"But sir..."

"THAT IS AN ORDER, SOLDIER!" De Leon shouted into the comms, pushing his
microphone volume to full. "NOW, MOVE!"

-o-o-

Like gnats on the back of an elephant, little pinpricks of light slowly moved up
(down?) the morass. Then, through numbed limbs they felt the city-like structure
start to shiver. It was not enough to dislodge them, but all of a sudden there was
this great sweltering boom; and out from holes all over the structure poured forth
swarms of silvery things. They swam out in elegant arcs, then swooping back down
into the valley-like recesess.

The Marine clung to the walls, and hastily turned off their lights, trying to hide from
attention. Since there was absolute darkness within, even pinging to see if there
were other creatures about was a risk. Every moment they waited wasted power.

After a while, they kept going. Soon enough they found the Evangelion, enconsced
within a strange throne-like promontory. Kicking off from the side walls and bouncing
from pillar to pillar, they reached the stricken god-machine.

Thrown chemical glow-lamps dimly lit up the issue. "Disgusting." said Takahashi.
"Are those... tentacles? Is that a headcrab?"

"Sergeant!" the chaplain shouted suddenly.

"Yes? What now?"

"Can't you feel it? There is power here, ambient and ancient. I have always wondered
what it was to touch an AT-field... do any of you feel different?"

"Not really." was the consensus.

"Well... suffice it to say, that our crytalline capacitors store and convert energy. Look
at your readout." There were several cries of pleasant surprise as they saw the
reserve levels rise. "I believe this is both good and bad. Power is leaking out, enough
to fulfill our needs. But that power has to come from somewhere else..."

"The Evangelion." Sgt. De Leon replied flatly. "Right. We can't stay here forever. Let's
get to work." His drill spun. "If we break through, it's our victory!"

-o-

The short ride back to the apartment only heightened the weirdness. The streets
were clean and the damage from the recent Angel attack not as extensive as he
had feared. At the same time however, the city lacked the warning towers, the
reinforced building facades, the tunnel entrances, and the pop-up heavy Bolter
turrets at the end of every avenue. There were fewer people, fewer lights.

It was a peaceful night, and the scene was strangely innocent. 'And so vulnerable.'
he thought with dismay. The city he knew was practically impregnable to any
form of conventional assault.

Then again, they needed such defenses. So why then did this city less under threat
taste of so much -fear-?

The apartment was the same as he had expected. And... Asuka. "Ow." Shinji winced
as soon as he stepped into the door and saw her smugly grinning face. His head
hurt suddenly.

"So... you're back. Did you have a nice nap, baka?" Asuka said haughtily. The
flicker of hesitation in her eyes showed she had been practicing what to say. Clearly
it was supposed to be less hostile than what she found herself speaking. Too late for
regrets, she decided to just bull through. "It must be nice to have people caving in
to your every whim every time you do something stupid."

Shinji rubbed at his head. "Well... I'm not going to deny that I've done some stupid
things. I'm grateful that there are those that care enough to pull me out of them."

And that, apparently was a very big insult. He could see a little tic appear on the
left side of her face. Asuka let off a small growl, stomped over, and poked him in
the chest. "Trying to be gracious now? Well it won't work! You see what happens
when some damn fool thinks he can actually PRETEND to be competent just
because he got a better sync ratio for some freak reason?" Her voice broke a bit.
"... you're just make everything worse!"

That fear she felt, to be alone again... he was making her vulnerable. That was real.
His actions could make her hurt, even when it affected only himself. She hated
being made to feel that.

She made as if she wanted to punch him in the face, then just turned around. Her
right hand lifted, as if to rub at her eyes, but then she just slapped angrily it to her
hip. Asuka ran for her room and slammed it shut.

Shinji looked up questioningly at Misato. The woman shrugged. Not even what she
remembered of her own adolescence could give any hints as to Asuka's thought
processes.

-o-

Dinner was tense. Since he had yet to be debriefed, Shinji had no way of knowing
what actually happened. He chewed carefully. The dream seemed authentic
enough. 'It's a good metaphor, come to (heh) think of it.' Even the pyramids were
built piece by piece. Working backwards from the assumption he would be rescued,
perhaps he could work out just how his people intended to do that.

"Yes, I agree you could have done better, Asuka." he said with a sigh. "It's true that
getting an Evangelion stuck inside it just made the idea of bombing the heck out of it
... more complicated than it should have been."

The silence seemed to deepen. Even Pen-pen was staring keenly up at him. 'Oops.'
Belatedly he realized he had answered a statement Asuka was only just about to say.

Misato very carefully turned back to her meal. Asuka frowned a bit, then batted that
issue aside as just coincidence. "What are you implying?" she asked with a wave of
her fork (she refused to eat German cuisine with chopsticks).

"Um... nothing! I'm not implying anything!" 'This... shouldn't be possible!' Asuka
seemed to be moving in slow motion. The words on her lips were full of hurt and
desperation, sheathed with defiance.

"... whatever your Evangelion can do, mine can do better!"

"Um... of course it can. It's the production model, after all."

Asuka pointed out in objection. "Okay, now you're just mocking me, aren't you?"
There was nothing she coud readily indentify, but Shinji was just... different
somehow.

"No, no.. I mean it! There might not be much difference between Unit Zero and
One, but Unit Two definitely has systems more optimized for comba.. oh crap."
Shinji could see Asuka's expression switch from guarded interest to pure disdain.

'I shouldn't have brought Ayanami into this discussion. Asuka hates her for some
reason... why? I -shouldn't- even be able to -predict- Asuka...!'

"There's something wrong with you, you know that?" Asuka shot back, her every
word tinged with hidden meaning.

Shinji just sighed. He could feel Misato's inquisitive gaze.

'Or... something just may finally have gone right.' was her thought.

-o-
-o-

Thirteen hours ticked by torturously slowly. Misato Katsuragi repressed a yawn, as
she stared up at the main screen. Her eyes were as burning inside their sockets. She
still had no idea what to feel... fear had become too familiar, hate a blanket over her
nights. It surprised her in the end, that she saw the Angel as nothing more than a
nuisance.

Just one more kill, a stepping stone into the greater battle. She tried to speak, but
her throat felt dry and gritty. Misato turned to look up at the command center, but
neither of the NERV commanders were there.

It was still her show. Her responsibility. Her burden.

The Dirac Sea opened up, like a pupil dilating in surprise. Unit Four emerged, clawing
and trashing. It stumbled as it walked, and grabbed for support against one of the
toppled buildings. Then, for some reason, it started to bash the building in with its
own face.

"What the... is there something wrong with it?" Misato tapped the side of her own
head. "Better for us, anyway."

-o-

Meanwhile, -Magnos Tancred- was already up and about. It rolled somewhat stealthily
using the treads fitted to its feet. These simple modules, among many, that increased its
speed without ripping up the road as it runs.

Its left shoulder was hastily patched up, the flamers there removed and replaced
with quick-hardening glop shooters. Ironically the right shoulder flamers were also
replaced... with water cannons, to make the glop hardening process even faster.

-Magnos Tancred- was still in Brawler configuration, since the cramped conditions of
city fighting was ill-suited to the dual Positron Cannons of the Hellfire modules. The
Trident oddly wielded the Evangelion's Gatling Megabolter, its stubby arms forcing it
to clutch the weapon close to its chest and aimed to the right. Nobody expected any
accuracy out of the arrangement, but the longer barrels and larger ammo box of the
weapon gave it better medium-range performance than the even Trident's own
Megabolter shoulder module.

Basilisk Artillery and the Gatling Megabolter were chambered similarly. One simply
had a longer rifled barrel and the other was designed for sustained automatic fire.
The greater difference rested in the ammunition they were assigned.

The Trident Megabolter used the two-stage Bolt round, for greater initial 'kick' that
meant it had to eject casings. The Basilisk artillery shells were gyrojets with limited
guidance capabilities. Consequently, though similar in appearance, the former type
of ordnance had greater penetrative potential while the latter could contain a
respectable payload.

Mana was uneasy about loading acid-tipped bolts, but Evangelion-class armor was
too resilient for normal attacks. She was told that perhaps there was some form of
passive AT-field protection going on, dispersing the force of kinetic impacts. Metal
was metal, and yet the Angel in its command over Evangelion Unit Four could heal
even that.

Ritsuko Akagi's replies could basically be summed up as "Shut the hell up all you noisy
bastards and let me think! Gah! (this angel this angel this angel...! It is an eyesore!)"

Another of Magnos Tancred's weapons was the hardmounted positron cannon.
Positrons were after all, the antiparticle of electrons... positron annihilation events
proved capable of slagging a mountain. It was the only reason she could accept for
why the Evangelions could now take repeated blasts to the face and keep on going.

She let out a sigh and looked to her gunner. Of course, back then the positron guns
were severely underpowered by comparison. One year was enough to change so
many things.

It was as if the young noncom felt her gaze. He turned up and asked "Orders,
Kirishima-san?"

Mana flexed her gloved hand. Remote cameras showed the white Evangelion's
frenzied flailing about. It was like an animal, feral and in pain. They had no better
chance.

"Ready the chaff and flamers. Remember, we're bait." She put her arms into the
control frame and lightly touched the trigger. The enemy would likely not be able
to control the Trident the same way it could command an Eva.

She took a deep breath. It was her time. If the Trident could not stop an Eva
there, even for a while, then there was no hope for the rest of the nations of the
world. They would be held hostage by xenotechnology, and whoever controls the
Eva controls all the human race.

Finally, the word came. "Begin the operation." said Misato. She looked to a small
window on the main screen, ticking down from 02:00:00.

If they failed to stop the enemy within that timeframe, then it was likely that nothing
else in their arsenal would ever really do it. The UN Air divisions were standing by with
N2 bombs. The submarine-launched missiles could then arrive within fifteen minutes. If
even that fails, then a massed strategic launch from China and Russia would wipe all
of Hakone from the map.

It was better for no one to have the power of the Eva, than for one tyrant to have
absolute control. Let whatever the Angels were seeking be destroyed as well. Deep
within the Cerberus bunker, Yang had said "Our hand is still caught inside Pandora's
Box. If we cut if off, we may perhaps be able to close the lid."

Units Zero and Two were ready, silent, and fully cognizant of that fact.

The white Evangelion lifted its face and roared.

Cameras were running. It was not something NERV could hide. The whole world held
its breath as the red and black shape of -Magnos Tancred- rolled into the open
avenue.

'Now what would you say at this point, Musashi-kun?' Mana thought. She felt an
unfamiliar smirk cross her lips. "Hey, spacemonkey! Rise and SHIIINE!" In the end
perhaps there was no better choice than maniacal laughter.

She felt that her other best friend, Keita Asari, would only have pushed up his glasses
and muttered something about how... phallic... the big gun was, and how...
Freudian... it was to enjoy so much shooting it off. Then blush terribly in realizing
that since it was -Mana- holding it, that changed things considerably.

So she laughed, even as the cannon bucked in her hands, its metal-eating shells
ripping through the air. The enemy screamed.

Evangelion armor was formed of many different metallic compounds with ceramic
and silicate layers, quite simply the strongest material that humanity had ever built
to date. The problem was that it was also incredibly heavy. The Trident Land
Dreadnought had no emphasis on mobility. Evangelions however, with their more
humanoid frames and higher center of gravity, needed that. Unit Four, with its
functional S2 Engine, had less conventional Eva armor than previous models. It
was thought that relying on the AT-field, speed, and regeneration would be far more
effective than the costly protection of mere armor.

In theory, it was practical. In practice, it did manage to fight off three other
Evangelions. However, as Yang had raised in the quick conference "What is the
Evangelion? Is it a weapon? So what is it without a will to direct it? Is it a
monster? So what is it without a mind to look beyond its instincts?"

Gendo Ikari seemed a bit amused at such obvious fishing for information. Misato
Katsuragi's response however, was quick and uncompromising. "If it bleeds, we can
kill it!"

Unit Four did not bleed. Stinking smoke wafted out from gaping wounds. There was
something pathetic about it, it felt like cheating, but Mana had no pity. She was not
there for her own pride, but to accomplish her mission. -Magnos Tancred- would
never fail in its mission...!

Unit Four roared and sprang away, like a white tiger facing a sacrificial goat that
fought back. "OH FUCK!" all three inside the Trident yelled at once. What happened
to the frightening, relentless and unfeeling puppet from before? -Magnos Tancred-
was simply not designed to chase down... well, anything, really.

As before, NERV's command center reported that there was no one inside the entry
plug. Theoretically, it should not even be able to activate. And if it was berserker,
when apparently all logical rules fled, then... it should be acting far more aggressive.
Instead, it acted like a wounded animal. It was... afraid.

But like hell that meant Asuka was going to hold back any. She kicked out of a
disguised elevator block and gave chase. If she was asked, then her answer would be
simple too. The Evangelion was a tool. It was no weapon, but power manifest. She
felt the shockwaves pass as her Unit Two plowed through the streets, so fast that
the air in front was like a brick wall. 'Hah!'

Nothing so simple as air resistance could stand up to the might she felt crawling
across her veins. Nothing so mundane as momentum could dare prevent the fury
she had to express.

She pivoted on one heel and leap sideways to surprise the enemy. The white Eva
turned and seemed to cringe.

"HALT!" Asuka shouted. WHAM! Eva Unit Four reeled from a G-Impact Stake to the
face. "... hammerzeit." And then Asuka smashed it again.

The white Eva's head had a noticeable dent inwards. It stumbled back unsteadily,
clutching at its head and bellowing in pain.

Asuka grinned. The big red warhammer in her hands was one of last relics of NERV
German Branch. Technically the Ernster Einschläg, it multiplied the momentum in
every swing to drive either a blunted or pointed spike imbedded into the hammer-
head. The handle was the same way, but fed by oversized shotgun shells.

In many ways, really, Asuka would have found it laughable if only she had more to
remind her of old home. It was like they expected her to go hunting vampires or
something.

WHAM!

The white Evangelion let out a frantic 'Skreee-" but that got cut off as Asuka hit it
again. WHAM! 'Prog knives and spear may damage the enemy, but it takes time to
get through armor. It's not like the enemy can be stopped just by cutting bits off.
Get to the core!' WHAM!

She gave the enemy no time to do anything. That was their mistake the last time.
Three Evangelions and the goddamn Angel played them like a drum! Thinking too
much, holding back too much, that cost them too much...! Now there was nothing
but action! WHAM! No hesitation, no doubt. She burned anger as fuel. WHAM! WHAM!
Faster, if only she had been faster. Once more, WHAM! She knocked the enemy Eva
aside the head, flipped her grip, and hit it again. Unit Four spun into the ground.

Asuka paused and took deep breaths. The enemy was unmoving. The last time, she
cut off its whole arm and the thing just stuck it back on. It seemed that healing
blunt trauma took longer... the damage may simply not register as severe enough
to require that special trick, but at the same time still sufficient to stop the Eva
cold. 'If I keep on going, maybe concussion alone could crack the core...'

Absently she hoped it might actually be that simple, but...

The Eva got its head out of the concrete and roared. Asuka hefted her great maul to
hit it some more, but was blown back by the force of a fully-active AT-field.

-o-

Back at the command center, Maya gasped. "... shouldn't that be impossible without
someone in the entry plug? The chance of independent activation is incredibly low,
but still there. The AT-field... there are too many missing blocks..."

"You're proceeding through the assumption that we're fighting an Evangelion."
Ritsuko replied blandly. "This is an Angel."

-o-

'At least I don't have to worry about hurting anyone inside.' Asuka thought with
relief. Even through all the armor, the shock from her warhammer might even kill
the pilot. That was perhaps the whole point of the weapon... striking at an Eva's
only true vulnerability. Already there were measures and countermeasures... could
the Eva even hope to exist as a deterrent similar to the old cold stalemates? That
future was meaningless to her.

She flared her own AT-field and stood up. 'Gah, this thing is -strong-!' So that was
the power of an S2 Engine. She could still fight, but would have to split her focus.
The enemy had no need to hobble itself like that.

Her red Evangelion waded through the almost viscous expression of the enemy's
power. It just stood there, arrogantly waiting. She snarled at it, but kept her focus
intent on that single moment she needed. The enemy was waiting for it.

Which was why it just barely managed to dodge a contained plasma beam that could
have decapitated it. The gigawatt-range laser that cleared the way boiled off armor
and exposed components, while aptly-named hellbore beam carved away at its
shoulder.

An orange Evangelion emerged from behind a wall of obscuring smoke. 'Hello, my
name is Ayanami Rei.' its pilot sent out gently. 'You took my Shinji. Prepare to die.'

Positron beams relied on particle annihilation to inflict damage. Unit Zero's "Gargant
Wot da'Ellbore" used its own AT-field to focus, compress and direct a fusion reaction
along a perfect line. While it was true that they could now 'wrap' an AT-field around
positron beams to give them a limited homing property, such beams were known to
just melt through mountains. Hellbores, though vastly more powerful still, actually
had more manageable thermal blooming. The same AT-field that kept the beam tight
also burrowed through enemy barriers and sheathed all that firepower into a cleanly-
defined radius.

Of course, using it within the confines of a city was only reducing the magnitude of
destruction from 'vaporize entire city blocks' to 'make big holes in buildings, the
buildings behind them, the mountains behind those, and then out into space'.

The white Eva clutched at its hollowed-out shoulder, the burnt flesh there already
starting to knit. It roared and leapt away.

"I see. Its healing factor is proportional to the damage it receives." Rei said, while
folding the Hellbore barrels back. The sniper weapon was longer than her Eva was
tall, never meant to be fired without support. "If I can touch the core, that one hit is
enough."

"You just wasted our element of surprise! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I am not prepared to let you grapple it and shoot through the both of you, Sohryu.
We still require it as a key, to open the Dirac Sea." Rei's tone was oddly tight, as if
she was on the verge of expressing some emotion she knew she had no right to
express. "I cannot be the one to inflict the killing blow here, as much as I wish it.
My heart is filled with chaos... it is... distressing."

UN delta-wings flew overhead and began dropping their bombs.

-o-
-o-

Shinji Ikari had bumped into an immutable law of labor. When there are a lot of people
willing and able to do a job, that job generally doesn't pay well. That was one of four
meaningful factors that determine a wage. The others were the specialized skills a job
required, the unpleasantness of a job, and the demand for services that the job
fulfilled.

Theoretically, being an Evangelion pilot required immense specialization in skills (the
synch ratio) and the incredible scarcity of the labor pool (officially a handful of people
out of the billions of humanity). The 'glory' of the task were countered by the rather
extreme unpleasant nature of that duty (there were already talks of using pilots for...
breeding purposes, to ensure that Evangelion activation could be 'on-demand', as it
were; in addition to the clear prospect of being killed) and the even more extreme
DEMAND for that service. A pilot was a pilot, the human component to a greater
machine. They were tools to be used as nothing else in history... the risk was too
great to allow Evangelions to run out of control.

What made him different was that from the moment he started to weild the Eva, he
had accepted that the world would never view him in the same light as any other
human being. He had no natural rights, the laws of man can be revoked by man. He
had to fix himself into the everpresent fear in their hearts, to get himself and his
fellow pilots treated as more-than-human instead of sub-human. To be thought of
as essential PARTS of the Evangelion and thus sharing in its power.

What did NERV pay its pilots? Whatever value they could give would only ever be
summed up as: Not enough. While money was nice, from the start the boy learned
to appreciate the more abstract advantages his job provided.

Actually, piloting an Eva had many similarities to the stresses of commanding NERV.
From its inception Gendo held the post, with an apparent disdain to the chances of
being assassinated. He and NERV were perfectly fit for each other, that for anyone
else to even -attempt- to force them into compliance would soon find themselves
buried under a host of complications. Conniving bastard he may be, but at least
Gendo Ikari knew how to keep secrets. Occasionally anachronistic as it may be, at
least NERV kept to its own business. If other nations (including Japan!) tended to
over-react to the threat they represented, that was... not their fault. It could be
blamed on Gendo Ikari though (and more recently, Shinji Ikari) as long as it served his
purposes.

He was very much his father's son. The common multitude did not know Gendo Ikari,
but for those in the places of power... that name brought dread. It was odd, since
the man did not look all that threatening, but for fifteen years he had juggled world
politics like tenpins, playing each against the other, the right hand of SEELE and the
one who baptized mankind with WATER in preparation for Instrumentality.

Facts, bluffs and counter-threats, soft words and spite... dancing here and there,
shoving alliances off-balance. Shinji Ikari may dislike his father, but had to respect
the man's sheer nerve. At least he had the advantage of applied precognition, the
elder Ikari wrestled the world with his determination to succeed.. his own form of
faith, his own brand of miracle-working.

The boy's soft-spoken manners did not lull any of them into a false sense of security.
All he had to do was ask, and they would concoct on their own the nefarious plots
necessary to force themselves into compliance; then to gleefully take the offers of
compromise.

'This is a manufactured myth, the monstrous messiah.' Through it, Shinji Ikari was
able to gather support well out of proportion to what his limited assets should bring.
He rode the back of a tiger, unable to jump or control the beast. The nations of the
world NEEDED that hope, they hungered for the feeling of being back in control. His
influence worked as the buffer between many, many conflicting interests. They would
much rather see someone else prosper than have a rival take advantage.

He wondered if his father felt the same way; one moment on top of the world, and
in the next left with nothing to do but to stare at a hole in the wall. His father had a
contingency plan even for that. Shinji had no such fallback option; death was the
only release.

'This is a nightmare!' he screamed inside his mind, as he sat through the debriefing.
His face was appropriately horrified as he watched Unit One tear out of Leliel's
shadow, showering the city in gore. He could honestly say he had no idea how he did
it.

Asuka seemed pissed about her recorded reaction to what happened. Rei seemed to
be avoiding looking into his eyes. Shinji got up and excused himself.

Misato later found him thumping his head upon the metal walls of a corridor.

"Shinji-kun? Are you... okay?"

The boy gave her a weak laugh. "Oh, sure, I'm fine. I just realized that half the time
we win against the Angels because of half-assed strokes of luck than actual military
preparation, but... that's good, isn't it? Being alive is good, isn't it?"

"...oookay. Calm down. It's all right, Shinji... don't... um... try not to make any sudden
moves?" As a soldier Misato had some experience with recruits breaking under the
pressure, but her Children supposedly had the buffering influence of a normal civilian
life. "I'm here to help you. If you want, I'm always ready to listen."

Shinji smiled, uncharacteristically wide. "Of course, Misato-san. I never had any doubt
about that."

Misato's heart skipped a beat. Her Shinji was behaving very oddly, and she should
report it. Even if she had raised such a stink about contamination. Her pride should
not be worth an Eva pilot's safety. And yet...

She walked over and sat next to him, as he sat down with his back to a wall. "What's
wrong, Shin-chan?"

Shinji thumped his head on the wall one last time. "I don't understand...!" he sighed.
"Everything? By the Emperor, I even forgot just how bitchy Asuka could be."

'Ah. Asuka.' Oddly just that seemed to explain -everything-. She looked over Shinji,
and for some reason his expression of pure frustration reminded her of... Gendo. There
was such anger there, barely kept in check. 'Well, he IS a teenager. I was wondering
when he'd go into a full-blown emo phase, but I didn't expect him to actually be
talkative.'

"Well... just don't take it too hard? I'm sure she doesn't actually mean half of what
she says." Misato chuckled a bit. "I used to be her guardian for a while, before, so I
know. None of us are really all that sure of what we're asking for with our words..."

Shinji nodded. "I don't actually dislike Asuka, you know. Still.. Asuka seems more
bitchy than I've ever known her, Rei might as well be a robot, and Misato-san... if
losing Tokyo Three means the extinction of the human race then why the hells aren't
you at least a colonel by now?" He rubbed at his face. "Gods, this is so messed up."

"A colonel? You do dream big, aren't you?" She ruffled his hair. "Authority doesn't
automatically equal asskicking, you know. It's mostly thanks to you we're doing so
well."

Shinji looked up at her; the face was the same, but the qualities were different. This
Misato was less certain, less hardened by necessity... she was softer, yes, the
difference a mere year makes. At the same time, also more open and caring. He had
a feeling the months he had spent away from Tokyo-3 caused a slight alienation in
the relationship with his guardian... they had changed, and the pieces of their
personality no longer quite fit so snugly.

None of that here. For some reason, he felt weak. He felt his eyes tearing up.

"We're in a war, aren't we, Misato-san? You're a soldier, aren't you, Misato-san?"

"Well, yeah. But you don't have to worry about that."

"You're a soldier. Soldiers die in war. I don't want you to die, Misato-san!" Not
caring anymore about how pathetic it may be, of how could he lose control of his
emotions so easily; his puny body untempered by a pilgrimage. "When I fight I know
that if I fail, people will die! I need you with me Misato-san, so don't do anything that
might make you die!"

He shivered. It was something he had never really said to his own Misato Katsuragi.
Their respective unspoken duties required that they give up their own lives if
necessary. They had never really raised the issue... they knew the stakes. The whole
world was at risk; a bite was taken out of China, Germany's heartland was a blasted
sinkhole, and the Earth's Cradle was still at large. It would have shamed both of them
to have to ask either to hold back.

So warm. He had forgotten the feeling of peace, of softness, of the depth of caring in
a maternal hug. Of course, his face was still too uncomfortably close to Misato
Katsuragi's magnificent mammaries, but Shinji felt he had developed a tolerance for
that. (Maya and Rei helped.)

"Mein Gott! You perverts!" Asuka arrived just in time, and took on a pose of mixed
disgust and outrage. "If you really had to, then couldn't you have found a side room
and... ew! No! Shinji you pervert! Misato, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"It's just a... it's not what you... there's nothing wrong with..." Misato had to consider
if revealing the boy's moment of vulnerability would only open up further attacks from
the girl. Shinji was still fourteen, and while the woman might find that cute, it gave
only serene protective feelings that she thought she'd never feel again. "Hey!
Whatever perversion here is only in your own mind!"

Too many people had tried to 'protect' her in their own way. Strangely, it seems Shinji
respected her own strength.

Asuka sniffed. "... riight. I'm not the pedophile here."

Shinji groaned. "Please take your Electra complex somewhere else for a while, please,
Asuka?" Then in a lower voice "... and you wonder why Kaji-sempai would rather flee
in terror whenever you approach."

The red-haired pilot did not quite catch that last bit, but from the tone gathered it
was supposed to be even more insulting. "What did you say, Shinji? WHAT?"

He merely cowered further into Misato's hug. "... you know, if you were full colonel
your scolding might be more effective." he murmured. Unfortunately, to Asuka's
perspective this only looked like he was snuggling his head deeper into the woman's
breasts.

"Ack, you filthy little hentai! You have an older woman complex or something? Ew,
she's too old! Ew, the both of you!"

"ASUKA!" Misato yelled, outraged as well.

"What?"

Misato sighed and stood up. "There is nothing going on and I don't have to explain
myself to you. Now, is there something you needed?"

As it turned out, not really. Asuka would not admit to any passive-agressive concern.
All three of them walked in silence back to the command center, leaving Shinji again
to his thoughts.

'It's still the same.' he grumbled inside. There was a hole in his consciousness he
could not ignore. And the air itself tasted of so much fear. 'It would be a mistake... I
shouldn't even care. This can only be a trap. I don't belong here!"

At the edge of his hearing there was light, feminine laughter.

-o-
-o-

"FUCK YOU, YANG! FUCK YOU!" Takahashi screamed as he batted away one of the
Angel's many ten... limbs, dammit! It was bad enough, seeing what it was doing to
the Eva. It would be disastrous to puke inside his own helmet. "FUCKING SHRIMPS!
THIS WAS NEVER PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION!"

"Deal with it, marine!" Sgt. De Leon shouted. Although whining probably was the
young soldier's way of dealing with it. None of them stopped drilling, a few to sever
the grip the Angel... they were probably lucky that they could not see most of it...
while the others tried to keep the shrimplike drones away.

"Scatter!" Morino shouted. He, Takahashi, Ota and someone from second second
squad, dived away as a literal stream of silver-skinned and lance-nosed things
crashed into Evangelion Unit One's wrist. The angelspawn crumpled against the
armored shell, but they knew their own hydrosuits were hardly so resilient.

"I AM PISSED OFF!" Takahashi shouted some more, his voice pitching up. "I should
be fighting predatory aliens in deep jungles, not some eldritch horror from the deep!
This is the bullshit they palm off to the SEALs!"

"Ah, but does it count when the eldritch horror is ALSO a predatory alien?" Ota
rumbled in helpfully.

"I'm a MARINE! This makes me ANGRY!" Mentioned marine then began to try and
stomp upon doomprawn shells as far as being in a weightless environment allowed.
"IF I LIVE THROUGH THIS I AM GOING TO FUCKING EAT GAMBAS EVERY FUCKING DAY,
YOU FUCKTARRDS!"

'Sure, Takahashi-san, I'll look after your boy. It's the least I can do for taking in a
peniless migrant worker in these times.' Sgt. De Leon sighed. 'Go ahead and die of
tuberculosis. I think I'll be able to give a good example to the boy just fine.'

"At least they're not lobsters." Ota murmured into the channel.

"Incoming!" someone yelled. The expletives grew louder and from different people as
the Tritonis teams had barely a few seconds worth of warning from their shared-link
sonar.

It was like being attacked by whips; slow and thick and with bone-crushing mass or
silvery and quick with impaling tips.

Father Ortigas had to say again, amidst shouts to DO SOMETHING, was that Javaal
trained its psykers in mental combat disciplines. He was from the Filhos De Santo
Cristo. They were more on the subtler arts, and most of their time was actually spent
archiving and protecting THE INTERNET.

A more worthy toil; Katagiri had to comment.

The reason they had him instead of the monks was that the Himalayans were...
arrogant asses that wouldn't work with freaking anybody; the priest shouted back,
though in somewhat politer terms. He served also served in medical duty, such as was
possible with hard diving suits. That was why instead of an arm-encasing drill he was
weilding two electric bonesaws.

So far they had managed to free one of Unit 01's arms, working their way up to the
entry plug. Everyone's batteries were at alarm settings, with barely more than fifteen
minutes of life left. To slow down would mean death anyway. Not even the energy
conversion from the Evangelion's frantic AT-field somehow imparting a trickle charge
into their capacitors would make any difference.

And then...

There was a bright light at the distance, approaching very very fast in a curving
trajectory. It was bright enough to illuminate a tendril of doomprawns swooping out
to intercept.

There was a bright flash and the angelspawns broke off like raindrops on a windshield.

"Look, out there...! It's a bird... no, it's a submarine...!" someone said. So bright. As it
got closer the light began to overcome even the chemical lamps they had thrown
around for visibility. "No, wait... it is a bird."

"Ookay... I am Confused Marine." Takahashi intoned.

Ota thwapped him.

"Now I'm Somewhat Irritated, But Still Confused Marine."

-o-

Penguins were native to Antarctica. Adam was found buried under Antartica. The two
facts may simply be coincidental. Pen-pen however, was not.

The penguins were devastated by the moment of Adam's reawakening, brought close
to extinction that only the few held in zoos and marine parks could be relied upon to
repopulate the species. Drastic measures were needed to save them from extinction.

The change in the Earth's tilt also melted most of the northern ice caps (even to the
extent of thawing Siberia). It was deemed 'simpler' to just gene-engineer penguins to
like warm waters. It had the disaster potential of being just under the idea of
introducing rabbits to Australia for sporting purposes.

Development was hampered by apparently low reproduction rates. Penguins used to
breed well in captivity, but like all birds went through a period of craziness (oddly
mimimicking humanity) after Impact, perhaps due to the changes in the magnetic field
and solar conditions messing with their instincts.

Although there were many varieties of penguins, they all shared the same breeding
behaviors. Temperatures that would seem mild to one penguin species would outright
kill another. Zoos and aquariums attempting to breed penguins needed to mimic the
wild as closely as possible to encourage mating instincts. The so-called 'hot springs'
penguin showed too much liking for warm waters, hence said hot springs, and their
breeding colonies which used to be protected by the killing cold were now exposed
to other predatory species.

Pen-pen was born from a captivity. He was born unnaturally weak, experimented on
with gene therapy and outright organ replacement. He was a penguin that could not
swim without flotation assistance from the pack on his back, which looked and
functioned similar to life-support systems on a plugsuit. He became unnaturally hardy
for a penguin, comfortable with temperatures below freezing and near boiling.

He was listed to be terminated until Misato Katsuragi rescued him. This was because
his internal organs were much the same as those used in an Eva. That allowed him to
tolerate usually fatal alcohol levels measured in fractions of his body weight.

Misato Katsuragi was relatively new to Tokyo-3. Her familiarity with Pen-pen's
behavior and his liking for beer, to the extent of modifying a fridge for his use,
indicated that she had the penguin for some time. How and where they met was not
so important, only that Pen-pen was capable of understanding a debt of honor.

The researchers were uncomfortable enough with a penguin whose sapience was, at
worst, actually in doubt. They would have pushed for his termination even further if
they knew the bird referred to humans in the emotionally-laded primordial language as
'protectors' in his mind and the Angels as... 'cousins'.

-o-

Joy. It was the closest Pen-pen would ever get to flight. In fact, it was the first time
he could really swim all-out... being a City Penguin and someone's pet, he had never
really been allowed to frolic in an ocean.

Swim was a relative term however, since he was shooting through the waters in a
speed far above what flying birds could achieve. He left a bubbly wake as he
passed, an avian torpedo. As Shinji Ikari could make use of someone else's AT-field
with her permission, so was Pen-pen able to sieze the power within the Dirac Sea to
augment his own region of altered space; Leliel was still too... confused... to offer
any resistance to anything. Water in the way was annihilated into its component
hydrogen and oxygen atoms; making both speed and breathing effortless.

His shining light was bright enough that he could see the silvery threads, like spiny
tentacles, curving up to meet him. The bird closed his eyes and put his flippers
together. The light around him intensified, extended into a shell.

The spiny-nosed things that struck it became nothing more than shredded clumps of
grey-white meat and chitin. Mindless things. Pen-pen let out a derisive warble. Their
existence served no purpose but death for their kind. The penguins, and indeed most
animals, valued their own survival. Only a few could understand, to extend this worth
beyond the self and into the pack... to the species.

It was the greatest irony that science could prove the existence of soul, only that it
was hardly so immortal and eternal. Given Pen-pen then accelerated again.

He remembered that moment, and that white-haired human boy who with such
contemptous ease disabled him. He was no guard dog, but the penguin had his loyalty
to his home and his humans. He wondered how the other human, who stank of
cigarettes and cheap cologne, could fail to sense the... wrongness... in that which
wore a human form. It seemed so obvious to Pen-pen.

He was a penguin, his blood reaching back to the place that imprisoned an ancient
god-thing. He was a bird, the last echo of the mighty dinosaurs.

Even a penguin had his pride. Shinji Ikari was not the only one to hone his abilities in
the months that passed.

-o-

The Tritonis Teams were at a loss at how to accept this new development. The
glowing bird braked to a smooth halt before them, his shell melting into the semi-
permeable field the Evangelion was emitting.

The Marines' sergeant checked his capacitor levels, a paltry seven percent, and
kept a loose thumb on his arm-drill's trigger. "Is it an Angel?" he hissed aside to the
chaplain.

Unit-01's pained writhing intensified, and the parasite-creature's constricting grip
tightened. Pen-pen looked up at it. From the crab-like thing sucking on the Eva's
head and the many tentacular arms restraining the Eva as if it was crucified, it was
even more repulsive in the light.

The penguin turned back to the the men and raised a flipper in what he hoped was
a friendly gesture. He let off a series of warks and warbles, in his tone trying to
convey that he was thankful for their efforts and together they might be able to
do something.

"Wark wark, chuk rawk. " Point up. "Wark nuwak, erk."

"Ah..." Fr. Ortigas nodded. "Hmm? Is that so?"

"Well?" Sgt. Angelo asked.

"I'm a psychic. That doesn't mean I speak penguin." the chaplain responded glibly.
That they were all still underwater prevented facefaults. "Seriously, people. What
were you thinking?"

"Why did you pretend to understand it, then?"

"I was trying to be polite. It would be best not to antagonize the bird who can
protect us with a shield while we work."

One of the second squad marines raised his hand, as all the suits looked the same.
"Can this animal even understand what we're saying? Sir, I'm still suspicious."

Pen-pen raised one of the retractable claws at the tip of his flippers.

"Haha, the bird just flipped you the bird..." Takahashi had to crow.

Sgt. De Leon looked at his power reserves again. 'I don't think I can take much more
of this weirdness.' The number changed from seven to eight percent. 'Dammit.'

-o-
-o-

There was a monstrous shriek, and a red giant flew. It smashed into one of the few
still-intact buildings in Tokyo 3 and collapsed it in a cloud of dust and concrete
shards. Asuka rubbed the side of her face and grinned. "That's more like it!" she
shouted.

"Sohryu, I do not think you should be happy about being kicked around." Rei said into
the comms. "The enemy is berserking. It is... unpredictable, and that inhibits my
accuracy."

"Let's just stick to the game plan. No need to complicate things - I'll just beat it into
a pulp, and then you can shoot it in the fucking head!"

UN AIR had 'helpfully' leveled a good section of Tokyo-3 to provide a killing ground
that gave the enemy Eva no place to hide. All possible routes of escape were covered
by overlapping Basilisk artillery batteries, has the Asahino Lance Cannon pointed right
down that straightway, or the beached guns of the Kringolith.

Misato's voice broke through. "We have less than thirty minutes left before the UN
starts dropping N2 bombs! If the Evangelions can't stop another Eva... it's too
dangerous, nothing else will work! It's the Angel's only real way of getting into the
geofront! Stop playing around and subdue that thing!"

"Hai, hai..." Asuka mumbled as she swung back into action. All they had to do now
was to drive Unit Four to a place it could be bombed with impunity. The two NERV
Evas could use their AT-fields to focus the blast.

The white Evangelion roared in challenge as she approached. WHAM. "Fuck you."
said Asuka. Berkerser Evangelions tended to lead a punch with their chin. "Should be
I be afraid, you stupid shit?" WHAM! "Fight me, you monster! "

The white Evangelion began to run away. Unit Two followed as it tried to duck behind
a row of slumped buildings, and then... ran into a clothesline block. Unit Four
grabbed at its wrist, and then in a texbook throw, made it eat dirt. The white Eva
then continued to flee, leaving Asuka staring up at the sky.

"What the fuck was that...?" she whispered. "Something's seriously wrong with that
damn thing. It leads me with acting like a total idiot, then suddenly it's like fighting
Shinji. But I KNOW I can beat Shinji...!"

She had instincts for battle. She was being suckered in looking for weaknesses that
were not there? "We don't have time for this!" Asuka growled as she got back up.
"Ayanami, Kirishima, point three intercept."

It was basically 'corner the thing, pile on, and beat the shit out it'.

Unit Four rounded a corner in trying to get deeper into cover, and stopped. It stood
half-crouched and seemingly puzzled at the squat shape that dared block its way. It
roared its bestial warning.

-Magnos Tancred- had no mouth, but it could make metal scream. It was this sound
that Mana Kirishima sent out in defiance.

Unit Four pounced, and began pounding away at the Trident. The shock from its fists
seemed to transmit directly into the bones of those inside. Hard echoes rang within
the war-hull. The assault seemed endless and soul-shaking. And then it stopped.

Mana tasted blood in her mouth. Her lips were swolled and stuck to her teeth. Then
she started to laugh, her voice amplified to the outside. "Was that supposed to
-hurt-?" she asked the enemy. Ever had the Trident's saving grace been its brute
construction. "TANCRED ENDURES!"

Glacis armor twice as thick as Evangelion chest plate, thrice in some places. The
enemy had broken its fingers upon it.

-Magnos Tancred- lurched forward and shot at the enemy with a full-power positron
blast right at the groin. Then as the white Evangelion slumped to its knees, the
Trident brought its fists together to slam the enemy's head between them. The
metallic boom was satisfying. Already abused by Unit Two's hammers to the face,
Eva-grade armor finally bent inwards... the white Evangelion fell sideways as if dead.

Mana flicked a radio channel. "Sohryu, as expected the thing only really knows how
to fight another Evangelion. This arrogance can't go unpunished. Weapons aren't
meant to think for themselves."

"It's inefficient." Asuka mused back.

Unit Four's eyes glowed. It roared. Air broke apart from the snap of an AT-field. The
Trident tried to futilely shield itself with its stubby arms, in reflex of its operator. Its
lower center of gravity helped keep it in place.

"Well, that wasn't so-..." Trident Vince Nagato, Trident gunner started to say.
CLANG! "What was that?"

The Trident could not 'feel' anything, but the attack was as rain upon a windshield.
"I can't believe... it's throwing rocks at us?" Mana gasped. Pieces of broken
buildings, to be precise. Large ones, but in comparison to the Eva just about fist-
sized. It looked like panic. "That's pathetic...!"

The pitiful little bumps continued, until the hiss of static broke their indreculous
silence. "We... we just lost camera array four!" Jiro Takeda shouted suddenly as his
primary screen fizzled out. Backups regained the view, only to be cut or covered by
debris. The three large main screens had mismatched videos, and with some parts
clearer then others.

"Retract the cameras! Go to passive sensors!" The many screens seemed to turn
inside out, as visual ports closed and scattering lidar/radar/aural switched to high-
intensity emergency world was composed of rough silhouettes until the
systems could reinitialize to compensate.

Too late, there was a shape again hurling itself at the man's war marchine. The
impact was loud, horrendous, as Unit Four slammed into -Magnos Tancred-'s top.
The Trident's legs strained to hold weight in multiples to what they were rated for.

Clinging to the red-and-black war machine, the Evangelion had changed its center of
gravity. The Trident Land Cruiser tilted back, little by little, until it slammed flat on
the ground. Those inside felt as if their hearts would leap out their chests.

There was a scraping sound. "This... this isn't a berserker." Mana hissed, amid pain.
"That's... that's a prog knife. It's finally fighting competently." On a good day, she
and her crew could win one simulation in three over an Eva. In battle... had she
really expected the flame of her anger and willpower to prevail over the limitations
of metal?

"Acid throwers, fire!" Mana shouted suddenly. To his credit, her gunner did not even
raise the slightest objection that the hungry liquids would mostly just drip down.
Armor and faith. Death and duty.

Unit Four howled again, its knife slipping from its grasp. It was an animal sound,
lacking the silent, eerie purpose that suddenly flicked into being within it. That
pained cry cut off abruptly, as that inhuman clarity returned. It just barely dodged
a stream of plasma traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light. No armor
made by man or xeno could resist that.

"Pilot Kirishima. Takeda. Nagato. Are you injured?"

"...tancred endures." was the whispered response.

Rei nodded. "I will attempt to draw the enemy away. My Eva is at a disadvantage
with close combat. I require support."

There was a raptor quality in the white Evangelion's hunched, motionless stance.
Patient. Merciless. And familiar.

-o-

The Angel screamed. The Evangelion screamed. Unsurprisingly, the men began
screaming too; though more from frustration than anything.

"Back into the shield!" was the command. Fifteen men had to crowd into a sphere
they could not really see, and armored men like plastic toys glued together in a ball.

An immense tentacle slapped at the glowing sphere, sending it tumbling off only to
rebound against a larger, harder spherical barrier. The spinning, the impacts, the
dizzying changes in direction; they were helpless against it. The small avian at the
center of the crushed mass fought to control the shell and minimize the effects to
those inside.

Nonetheless, the only thing all in there could do was to endure until the parasite
beast grew tired from focusing its thoughts back into the material.

"Damn lunacy." Takahashi's unnecessary comments sounded wistful. "Damaged
idiocy? Dama-...gyack!"

Sgt. De Leon kicked him in the face, more to distract himself from the need to puke.
"... out... OUT!" he yelled out hoarsely. "We're hurting it. Spin on, you bastards!
We've almost cut this Evangelion free!"

There was some primordial need there, and he felt pity for the great mechanical
monster. It was as if its very field was screaming 'I want to be free!'

'We all do, beast...' he whispered back, as the Tritonis dived up in drunken paths
to the thing clamped around Unit 01's head. It tried to move its whip-tendrils
tentacles upon large tentacles still, but faltered weakly. They tried to break off
another of the crab-like legs attatching the sucking thing into the back of the
Eva's skull. 'We're hurting it!' the sargeant exulted silently. There was another fight
happening, and every bit that drained from the thing's attentions helped.

Then, bitter silence. Even the penguin seemed to stumble, its guarding light
flickering for a moment.

"The field is gone!" Chaplain Ortigas' voice announced through the commlinks.

The Evangelion writhed, its arms pulling free from the restraints. Whatever poison or
trickery the parasite-creature was using, it was starting to wear off. On one hand,
there was relief in finally seeing their efforts were paying off. Another... that the
strange qualities replenishing their capacitors were no longer in effect.

A little more than five minutes, that was all they had left. He did not dare ramp down
the spin of his drill, though he did turn off the temperature controls. "Plenty of
time...!" he snarled.

-o-

-o-

Misato Katsuragi had to step back as Shinji Ikari screamed and trashed and gnashed
his teeth. Blood was starting to darken the sheets. She had to fight herself, to keep
from unbuckling him from the belts tying him down to the bed. He was not cutting
himself on the straps. The wounds appeared out of nowhere, he had collapsed bloody
in her arms in the cafeteria.

One of the doctors finished mixing sedatives to the boy's IV. Misato grabbed his arm
as he tried to move away. "What's happening to him?" she demanded.

His eyes, behind thick glasses, looked lost. "I... we don't know. Whatever it is, he's
burning off the sedatives almost as fast as we can pump it in. He won't stay calm for
much longer... I'm afraid we're going to have to cross fatal dosages soon." He sighed.
"It would..." The doctor shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"It would almost be like a miracle. If only it wasn't so horrible. There's no logical
reason this should be happening."

Wounds would appear at the blink of an eye, and just as suddenly heal. Only the
blood and the memory of pained cries remained. It was not natural, otherwise they
would already have confined Shinji in fear of some airborne agent.

Misato was left there, to watch in silence as her charge sufferred. She hated feeling
powerless and ignorant. Her instincts were yelling it could be nothing less than an
attack, and yet... 'Who would want to harm someone as harmless as my Shinji?'

The answer was likewise painfully obvious. The boy may be harmless, but not the
Evangelion he piloted. Once more she felt clear hatred for the Angels, and those
grown from their flesh. They caused nothing but pain.

Elsewhere, Ritsuko Akagi held the same view. It was one of NERV's many function
rooms and darkened appropriately. A large screen showed feed from the geofront's
own hospital. "Stigmata." she reported, looking away from the screen. "In combat,
a pilot synchronizing too high with the Evangelion may show signs similar to the
injuries the Eva recieves. "

"But he is neither in combat or in synchronization with an Eva." Fuyutsuki noted.

"How is the status of Unit One?" asked Gendo.

"No change. It is also being monitored, but so far shows no signs of activity. It
remains in suspension." the scientist replied. "There is no other explanation for
pilot Ikari's injuries."

Gendo let a few moments pass in silence. "This is not part of the scenario."

"Of course not. So many believe that prophecies imply a surrendering of choice,
when the only way they can ever come to pass is by action. Only those with purpose
have the luxury of choice. Those who do nothing are not free, but trapped by their
own indecision."

Gendo blinked. Ritsuko gasped. Kozo Fuyutsuki frowned. "I... remember that." he
whispered. He even recalled the context where it was first said. She was smiling,
back then, even though her words held bitter flavor.

Gendo clenched his fists and stood up. "This video. Is it live?"

"It... it should be." Ritsuko replied, watching Misato frantically asking Shinji if he was
really awake.

-o-
-o-

Incidentally, the pilots did know martial arts. Asuka was schooled in a functional mix
of unarmed and weapon styles suited for her Evangelion. Rei had sufficient instruction
but little practice. Mana of course had the requisite military training. It was only Shinji
Ikari that lacked any close-combat training at all when he got shoved into combat.

Over time, that training gap disappeared. It felt like those early days in the Battle
Simulation though; because they were fighting an Eva that was (in Asuka's angry
litanities) a -dodgy little fuckwad-.

"Dammit, Ayanami, you almost hit me!" Asuka could feel the edge of her scalp tingling
from the hellbolt that boiled off the outermost layer of Unit-02's head armor. "Watch
where you're aiming!"

"Rest assured, Sohryu, I was aiming at you." After counting down the seconds, Rei
shot at Unit-02's head again.

Again, just Asuka just barely managed to avoid getting decapitated. Unit Four
screeched in pain as its shoulder blew off.

"Oh." said the red-haired girl. "So the thing doesn't read ahead moves that aren't
deliberately aimed at it. That's... interesting." She leapt aside. "WHAT THE FU-
Kirishima!"

"What? It works."

"... oh you bitches are just enjoying this, aren't you?" she retorted half-jokingly.

From then on, despite occasional flashes of strange competence, the enemy
Evangelion started to be pushed back without fail. It was the sort of 'murder
everything and everyone' sort of fighting that the Battle Sim seemed to encourage
and was disturbing to those watching it. In a final push through an office tower, the
white Eva tumbled head over hells into the clearing.

"Fields up!" Asuka yelled. "Drop them!"

Circling UN bombers dropped enough N2 bombs sufficient to slag Tokyo-3 several
times over. The screens fizzled, and a miniature quake was felt even deep within
the geofront.

Unit 04 roared weakly, its armor smoking and charred.

"Blue pattern alert!" Makoto yelled. "The Dirac Sea is opening up."

Misato Katsuragi slammed her palms down on her armrests. "Finally! We damaged
the damn thing enough that the Angel has to rescue its tool." She looked at the timer
(00:04:32) and then to Ritsuko. "Do we really have enough power to keep the hole
open?"

"The Dirac Sea is not a 'hole' per se, Misato. Think of it as a mirror. We only need to
keep the lens from constricting." The scientist watched heavy industrial trucks
hurriedly deliver power cables to the Evangelion. Leliel's shadow expanded and
approached.

Water began to pour out of the void. Bomb scarabs rushed out in a stream, then
inexplicably began to fall a relatively distance away. They exploded upon hitting
anything, of course, but there seemed to be no reason for their creashes.

-o-

Pen-pen made a rapid series of warbling noises, and pointed upwards.

"Well put, my feathered friend!" Fr. Ortigas replied. "But I still have no idea what it is
that you say!"

The bird made a squawk of clear frustration.

-o-
-o-

"We're getting a signal!" Maya reported.

Misato whirled around. "What?"

A window appeared on the main screen. "Unit-01 Evangelion's external comm system
just turned on!"

The feed was grainy, but it whoever it was on the other end was clearly human.
"It's... who are you?" Misato gasped.

"Hello? Hello! How are we supposed to work this thing? Gentlemen, we're in
cont*kzzt*o shut the fuc*eeeeepp*... This is Tritonis... "

"The imbedded IFF checks out, Katsuragi-san." Shigeru noted. "It's real. They're
really still alive after thirteen hours inside the Angel!"

Misato looked ecstatic. "And if they can survive that, then an Eva...!"

"We're receving status reports from the Eva, sempai. Shinji-kun's alive, but
unconscious."

"Tritonis team, this is NERV. Tritonis, this is NERV. Do you receive?" Makoto
sighed. "I don't think they're actually receving our return transmissions."

"Maybe Cerberus Base has better luck. Bounce this signal along. All those men belong
to them."

"we have*breep* no... chance to survive... *kzz* make your *bzzt* it's time."

-o-

"All right, this is it!" Asuka shouted. She slid on fresh capacitors for her modules.
-Magnos Tancred-'s onboard fusion reactor could actually recharge Evas on the
fly, but they needed maximum power.

"Pilot Sohryu, I will concentrate on 'cracking' the enemy's field. Your task is to keep
the region of altered space open. If necessary, you might have to maintain the
cohesion of the Dirac Sea in much he same way the Angel supports its existence."

"I know, I know, that's why I have the Trident linked to me for backup power."

"I am merely concerned. It is also a possibility that the enemy might utilize some form
of mental attack." That was pretty much how AT-field 'telepathy' worked. On low
enough levels, it was benign. Intensified, it was a weapon.

Fortunately, not even Ritsuko Akagi had a hint it was possible. It was... too
unscientific.

-o-

"Katsuragi."

Misato looked up to the commander's desk with a frown.

"The Angel is on its way to destruction. It would be unwise to try and stop that."

"I know we might not have a better chance, but retrival of the Eva is our first
priority. I have a feeling those men did something to allow this to happen, and I
won't waste their efforts. We have to rescue them." She turned back to the screen.
He throat felt as if full of grit. "The least we can owe them is the chance to die
standing."

Rei stood with her arms outstretched and the light of her soul focused into a cone.
Unit Zero's capacitors were draining at a rate of about one percent per two seconds,
Though not to the level of an onboard nuclear reactor, the Eva was still throwing
away enough power to light up a large city.

It was easiest to visualize a drill boring down into the seabed. Leliel's AT-field
intensified downwards at a gradient, and it was part of why NERV had mistaken its
'flight' as merely pushing against the ground.

Rei knew of the Lance of Longinius, which Gendo had retrieved that months ago. It
would have gone through Leliel's trick as a sword through rice paper, but also an
advantage NERV was not willing to let slip just yet. 'Doctor Akagi should be
commended on creating a viable countermeasure to a concept she neither fully
understands or tolerates.'

All the power in the world would not have let herself from a year ago, Rei II, to do
what she was doing. Strangely, it would be sinced she lacked... philosophy.

-o-

A madboy wuz runnin' down da street shoutin' "Powa, greed, en korrupshun! Powa,
greed, en korrupshun!"

Wun day a brave en stupid gretch asked, "Ey, whyz you doin'? Can'tyuz tell nobby's
listenin'?"

"Course I do, ya dumb grot. I ent dat deep into da Warp."

"Den whys ya shoutin?'" the gretchin asks some more, while shakin' in fear. "Iffen
nothing changes?"

"Ya don'z get it!" da madboy sez on. "I ent shoutin' ta change DEM, I'm doin' dis so
dey don't change ME!"

-o-

She was not neutralizing a field, as the usual tactic. The inverse of an inverted AT-
field was just repellant force. All she had was the sheer determination to batter the
enemy's will to survive with her own comparative will to prevail. She held value. She
would not fail! Not him! Not anymore!

"I am Ayanami Rei." the blue-haired girl breathed. "And if he should will it. I shall
pierce the Hells with my drill."

Red light spewed out of the Dirac Sea, in viscous ribbons like blood. The dark void
cracked and seemed to splinter; water hissed out, expelled under pressure. The air
rang with a high-pitched wail.

The edges of the Dirac Sea began to constrict. Unit Two slapped its palms together
and amidst a deep humming tone the air grew thick and heavy. The jagged bumps
on the surface started to splinter further, flecks rising into the air.

A gout of seawater fountained up, and lit by the red seams of light around it seemed
even more violent.

Aside, Unit four began to stir. It crawled towards the boiling black sea.

"Ayanami! The enemy...!"

"I am almost through, Sohryu." One of the capacitor packs on Unit Zero's shoulders
exploded. "I can sense... "

Leliel's shadow broke apart. Explosions rippled along the heavy capacitor banks that
gave her orange Eva such a distinctive hunched look in Titan configuration. Rei
screamed, and for moment her eyes seemed to turn inside out; the white in her eyes
turning black.

Unit Four managed to touch the barest edge of the Dirac Sea. Its flesh began to
bulge out in cancerous growth. It flailed about in pain.

-o-

-o-

Shinji groaned. Weak. So pathetically weak. He knew that physically he was nothing
special, but... never had he felt so powerless. What happened to the certainty that
had always seemed to bring strength into his every act?

"The universe does not operate on moral principles." he found himself whispering. "In
this uncaring universe, we are terrifyingly alone. Who cares for us? Who looks at us?
Each time we look into the abyss, or try to plumb its depths, we find only a lens to
darkness of the self."

"Shinji -kun!"

The boy gasped for breath and opened his eyes. "Hello, Misato-san."

"Shinji-kun! Are you all right? What were you..." Misato wiped at her eyes. "No, it's
not important right now. I'm glad you're not hurt..."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's okay." and her voice took on a steely quality. "I'm not going
to let anything hurt you anymore."

Shinji flinched. 'I should be saying that, but...'

The door slid open. It was not a doctor as everyone, even those watching remotely,
expected.

"Rei?"

"Major Katsuragi." the blue-haired girl greeted with a slight nod. "Pilot Ikari." She
stared at him for a few moments, the beginnings of a frown appearing on her
features. "You are diminished."

Shinji could only nod.

"Your wealth is gone. Your army is away. Your knowledge is useless here." Rei said
curtly. "What is the source of your power?"

Even Gendo, hearing that from afar, felt a chill run down his spine. Shinji sat up in
shock, uncaring that the bonds keeping him tied to the bed just snapped. "Who are
you?" he asked.

"I am as I have always been." Rei replied. "It is you who must answer. What are you
now?"

"I'm..." Briefly Shinji looked aside to Misato, the confusion in her eyes giving way to
suspicion. And betrayal. "I am Shinji Ikari!" he shouted hurriedly. "I'm sorry. That's
all that I am. But... I have to do what needs to be done."

He growled. His own flesh was so weak. He raged at the inadequacy. But his works
would not be undone so quickly...! "And my -might- is -mankind-!"

Rei nodded. "I am satisfied. You are him." Something flickered in her eyes. "You were
hard to find, mortal."

Shinji clenched his fists and hissed "Lillith."

And Rei smiled. "Our bargain is unfulfilled. Return to me."

-o-

-o-

Pen-pen did not dive into the Dirac Sea with the intention of being a hero. His
intelligence and self-awareness (and desire for self-improvement) may be well above
other birds, but his intentions were still colored by instinct.

This was also somewhat to his benefit, since he had no way of knowing that pulling
an Eva should be impossible to a bird of his apparent body mass (or even AT-field
abilities). Normally, there would be something amusing in seeing a penguin flap its
flippers like mad. Those clinging to Unit-01's fingers however, could only keep in
mind that it was the least form of madness they could take from the depths. Pseudo-
flight pulled them away from the eldritch gloom and its hostile macabre seafood.

For that, in the end was what they were. The prawns of doom? The lobsters of
menace? Even the crablike parasite creature sucking on the Evangelion's head did
not match up to that hunger. Something in the hard had starved for a long, long
time.

"It's not a city." the chaplain whispered. "It's a heart."

It was a self-contained ecosystem inside the Dirac Sea. As much as the Earth
required the warmth of the sun, the place needed the light of something else.

Something screamed.

-o-
-o-

The surf brought Shinji Ikari back, washing him facedown on the beach. He choked
and gasped, his throat burning from seawater. He coughed and vomited, drawing in
painful lungfuls of air. He felt a hand upon his back and warmth returning to his
insides.

"My young king, I was worried." spoke the Farseer, the concern in her voice
unmuffled by her helmet. "You simply vanished from our midst. We have sadly
underestimated the depth of the enemy's trickery."

"My mother..."

The Farseer looked behind her. "She is gone as well, to a place we cannot follow. I
feel that she is not in any danger."

The young teen tried to stand. He felt drained of all strength, and stumbled back to
his knees.

"A most cunning trap. It gave you what you wanted, a life without the great powers
you so foolishly seek to throw away. It pulled upon your overblown and really quite
silly sense of responsibility to keep you restrained."

"How would you know? You weren't there..." Shinji replied coarsely. "It shouldn't be
possible for you to hide from me."

"No, but it is the very lure I would have used." The Farseer unsealed her helmet and
stowed it off... somewhere. She actually looked happy. "The only way to get yourself
free would be to reject the illusions you cast upon yourself. Trust me when I say,
that is a very difficult thing to endure... as surely you must now know."

"They needed me." Shinji whispered hoarsely. "It... was it real?"

He had, unfortunately, all but torn right through NERV just to get back to Eva Unit
One, through all impediments in the way. They treated him as an Angel, shooting to
kill - and he had to run, to blow right through bulkheads, lighting sparking from his
fingertips. He wanted to escape that look of utter betrayal from Misato, the eerie
sneer on Rei's face, and he may have accidentally run over Asuka while trying to
escape.

Was it worth all that; leaving that world in chaos, if not with their defenses
vastly reduced? What had he done to the self that used to occupy that body?

The Farseer made a dismissive gesture. "You might as well ask if I am real. Will it
make you feel any better to know definitively? That you may have condemned an
entire world to a faithless death?" she scoffed. "You cannot save everyone,
everywhere. It is monumental egotism to even try. My young king, you have to be
purged of this stupid arrogance."

The boy looked up and glared. "... my word is my power. My power is mind. I feel
like I betrayed my own principles anyway. I should have expected that you would
have no sympathy for the mon-keigh."

The Eldar merely smiled. "Do you fancy yourself a Lord of Nightmares now? I know
why you are angry, dear child. For a moment, you accepted the fact that you are
NOT HUMAN."

Shinji Ikari shivered again. He had cut loose, and the fear in their hearts... they
feared him. And he had liked it, that power. Walls of steel, meters thick and the
will of mankind to resist... as nothing, utterly pliable under his grasp.

"NO!" he shouted, clutching his head. "That's what YOU want. I'm not like you... "

She did not need to respond, her lips merely twitching higher. Of course, since she
was indeed a part of his consciousness...

"I'm human. They're MY people. I love. I bleed. I cry. I can die."

Her laughter was melodious, music in itself, and precise as surgical steel. "Humanity
is but a word, a title you cling to as the darkness falls around you. Are you defined
by your flesh, my lovely child? Or your soul?

Even "Eldar" is a title, yes, but like you, the title is not who I am. The Eldar are a
purpose. We were made for war. Our lives are devoted to the utmost of our calling.
To be Eldar is more than just a state of biology, or of mind. It is to be attuned with
the universe all around us. We were created, remember this. Before the Eldar knew
what they were, what was there? I do not believe in the Eldar in much the same
way a sun needs the belief of little furry creatures to continue nourishing their
existence.

I find it PATHETIC, that you have to believe in humanity. What have they done, but
to open the gates to their own annihilation?"

"Slaanesh." Shinji said.

The Farseer did not flinch. "Guidance and a firm hand. You sacrifice yourself for
them? A futile exercise. This is a path that is closed to you." She smirked again.
"Besides, I have no tolerance for any more masochists. It is... undignified."

'... any -more-?' Shinji Ikari clutched at his head. "You know what, I think I've had
my fill of pseudointellectual bullcrap for today. Let's talk about the Angel."

"Let us talk about your mother."

"What are you, my therap-... huh. Now that I think about it, the only other people
here are a dogmatic crusader, a violence-happy brute, and a power-hungry maniac.
You're probably what's keeping me sane."

"I am delighted, and as such will not discuss the inherent irony in that statement.
You have gone to a place I cannot follow... so I must know the naked truth about Yui
Ikari."

"I don't have an Oedipal Complex!" Shinji shouted suddenly.

"Do not be defensive." the Farseer mused impishly.

"Ohh, no. I -know- you. You don't misspeak. When you make an innuendo, you
-mean- it. Do you spend your... my... idle moments thinking up ways to disturb me
further?"

"Yes." the Eldar replied, looking hurt at the implication that for him she would ever
by anything than brutally honest. "I like being around your mother. It feels so...
refreshing... to sense a mind I can truly respect."

"I'm hearing the sounds of battle. If I turn my head to the side, I'm going to see the
others having fun beating the snot out of an Angel and each other. A fine distraction,
I think. Should I really be talking when I could be out killing things?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her left eyebrow.

"Oh, come on! People are DYING at this very moment and you want me to talk about
my FEELINGS?"

She then lifted her right eyebrow to give a wide-eyed glare down upon him.

"I'm being bullied by my own metaphorical representations. I guess I really am
pathetic." the boy muttered. "Fine. You want to know? My mother isn't like you.

...my mother is a _monster_." the boy hissed out, while clenching his fist over his
chest. She was caring, she doted on him, his childhood was shaped by the indistinct
memories of a comforting presence. Yet he felt betrayed.

At the edge of their hearing was the hollow laughter of an ageless creature.

"I -see-." The Farseer considered her words, and looked left to the men in the mind
still exulting in their violent actions. "Shinji, listen to me. You must listen." she
whispered. "Your life has not been chosen for you. More than anyone else in the world,
your existence was wanted. You live. In this uncaring universe, you were chosen to
bear the proof of your entire species' existence."

"She was there! She brought Lilith's awareness back! She knew! Of course she did!
The foremost geneticist of her generation!" Shinji screamed. "Three billion people!
With their own hopes, their own families, those that they loved. I can't forgive
that...! The Eva's power is not worth that...!"

"Nevertheless." the Farseer replied curtly. "What have you seen?"

Shinji shivered. "Have you... do you know anyone who seemed to have so much
potential that the he can only be mediocre? Have you seen someone who could be so
many things, that he ended up none of them? To someone like that, to finally have
purpose to blind all other options... to surrender the right to decide, is much more
desirable than the terror of absolute freedom."

The Farseer frowned. "Do you mean your father?"

The boy took a fistful of golden sand and let it trickle down. "Rei... she... is not a
replacement for my mother. As if the situation wasn't disturbing enough... what he
sees in her obedient shell... is himself."

Something whispered at the edge of his mind '... the shell serves. This is the purpose
of the little creatures.'

"That place... it was too coherent to be any mere dream. In the soon-to-be immortal
words of Dr. Ritsuko Akagi: WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT? I AM GOING TO GO
-QUANTUM- ON ALL YOUR ASSES!"

"Doctor Akagi. Hm... A lovely woman too." the Farseer commented idly.

"Are you my mother's voice? Or are you mine? You're manipulating me too." the
boy snarled.

'Manipulation is done through propelling events... or selected ones into motion. It is
done through teaching, through example, and through conviction.' a distant voice
murmured, along with a sense of warm comfort. The boy felt as if swaying from side
to side, a breeze upon his face.

'And the greatest of victories are not manipulations at all but simply awakening
others... to the truth of what you believe. Of hearing it echoed around you, in life.'

"The world I know mirrors my mother's beliefs. I have sentenced SEELE to death. If
my mother lived, I would have no choice but make the same judgement...' Shinji
said, in pain. "I trusted you!" he shouted to his Farseer. "More than the others, I felt
I could rest my objectivity on you. Now... who can I trust? What -are- you?"

The Farseer looked saddened. "To make you doubt yourself... clearly, the enemy's
assault cut deeper than I thought."

'... mankind is an animal, my little Shinji. A filthy creature of endless wants. That is
the reality of man. Intelligence only allows us the illusion of immaterial needs to
obscure our everpresent natural desires. At the end, every man can be controlled
through his animal nature.' A giggle. "What can change the nature of a man?"

"Pain is an illusion of being." Shinji said tonelessly. "To prove one exists, then one
must kill. Only when one can move into the space in the universe occupied by
another, can you know if you or the other was ever really real. Is this not the
predatory cycle? This is the natural state of being. The universe we can interact
with is not infinite.

All of life is competition for limited resources. All of morality is but the way of
ensuring survival of the group. And sometimes to cull the weak and useless."

'Know this, and be strong. You have not been created out of nothing. You will then
make something out of everything else.'

The Farseer saw no problem with a mother whispering this to a child as he nodded
off into a nap.

"Just as I was with Ayanami, when my mother met my father their capabilities
expanded exponentially. Seriously, I was raised by -sociopaths-. I can't believe I'm
-not- thoroughly messed up."

There were three heavy thumps, and sand sprayed out from a large crater appearing
nearby. The Warboss clawed his way out of the hole and shook his head roughly. He
laughed as he saw Shinji standing there. "Oi! Yoz' back den? We saved ya some bitz
to stomp, har har!"

'Oh. Yeah. They're _all_ sociopaths.' "My head hurts. I need to kill something."

A great dark shape loomed, casting a long shadow over the beach. Leliel's Angelic
form looked similar to a gigantic fusion of centipede and praying mantis, with a
disturbingly humanlike head. It had no face, though gaping insect jaws clicked right
beneath.

Though it had hundreds, if not thousands of sickle-like legs and two massive scythe
arms, Leliel had trouble dealing with the single red-armored Marine scaling its back.
The Astartes had long since lost his bolter, and stabbed his way up the sinuous back
with a combat knife on each hand. The Angel had two spiked tails. The Chaos Marine
was trying to do the same from the other angle, but was unwilling to let go of his
single daemonblade.

WHAP.

Leliel's Angelic form brought that tail down and wiped the Chaos Marine off into the
sand. He pushed off from the ground, sand and grit still sticking to his face. "I KNOW
that the Enemy's vile connections have ceased. So why is it STILL HERE?" The
daemon sword crawled on bony legs back to him. "Come then, let us teach you
of FEAR!"

The fleshy nub of Leliel's head began to bubble up. Humanoid shapes with beak
mouth and glowing eyes seemed claw their way out. At the center of the horrors,
one of them had its face start to dissolve. The eerie light from within began to fade.
Black flesh dripped away to reveal the more pinkish human tone. Hair began to grow
out, and eyeballs appeared.

Shinji Ikari's face looked down upon the scene and grinned fiercely. The eyes were
reversed, white on black, as if hollow inside.

"It knows fear. Do you know what it is to have such pain that it is meaningless?" The
voice was the same, but echoing oddly. "This one knows the hunger."

Shinji Ikari still had to actually turn around. The replica up high was pulled under
into the Angel and replaced by another with the horrific visage.

Three voices spoke; one loud and bestial, a boy's soft yet emotionless tone, and
a gentle womanly whisper just at the edge of hearing. "All -life- is the effort to
become strong. We take in sustenance to add the power of our prey to our own. All
life is a matter of -decaying energy states-, that must continually be replenished. The
universe itself is dying. No one can fight this simple basic law! Survival can only
come at the expense of something else."

Leliel lunged at the boy, its mouth wide open and dripping with acid. Shinji made a
backhand slap at the air. The Angel topped, as if struck down with all the force of
an Evangelion.

"This is MY MIND, beast. My guardians can't kill you any more than they can destroy
themselves. I wonder how you managed to really get inside my head." The boy bared
his teeth. "That world... was far too coherent to be mere fantasy."

The Angel writhed on the ground, toppling trees and carving into a shallow hillside. It
brought its head back to face the boy and hissed.

"It cannot perish." it gurgled out. "It has no body."

"My Bright LORD, we must get back to the WORLD." spoke the Chaos Marine, his
sword shrinking to a cursed dagger (and a to whimsical look by the Farseer). "This
creature does not understand SIN. Imagine a pitcher with no lid, to receive and
never give. I can feel its MADNESS licking at our senses."

The Angel gat back up and bared its ranks of teeth. Shinji snarled back at it.

"You who were freed from your prison! The only thing you can do is to try and prove
your existence by replacing our supremacy on this world!" The same world that
suffered under even lesser creatures. Shinji screamed "Where is the shepherd? The
waters are all foul and in turmoil! Whose hand calms the fearful? Who hears the
cries of the dying?

Do you understand what they've done, beast? I do not fear you. My own kind fills
me with horror."

"I found a god, my little Shinji. Even it has to follow this basic rule. One cannot
create something out of nothing, everything requires the consumption of resources.
Everything must function to equivalent exchange. The notion of a deity that is the
source of everything... I find it silly. A lawmaker should not be exempt from the very
rules he makes.

I love the universe, Shinji. It's logical. Humanity in all our hubris... we need to
become stronger if we're to truly appreciate its reality. We look at the cosmos and
see only ourselves. Our souls are caught here in the well of gravity.

"I kill and kill and WHY DO I HEAR THEM?" The boy heaved for breath, and felt like
crying again. "It's not fair... why should I benefit from their pain...? I never asked for
their sacrifice... At least you beasts can only blame your genetic imperative."

"There is no one else, commander." the Space Marine said, as he approached. He
stood over the teen, and offered no comfort. "Humanity needs a guide. We are
worthy of existing. This at the very heart of the Imperial Truth."

"Why... do I have to slavishy follow the opinions of the group?" Shinji said numbly.
"Humanity is what I define it to be...!"

The Farseer looked pleased.

Shinji Ikari looked up at Leliel's Angelic form. It grinned at him, with its multitude of
mouths and many-toothed jaws. "Unite with this one. You can only be more of
-yourself-. This one's power, yours. This one's immortality, yours. Your purpose,
become this one's purpose. The pain will end.

... it doesn't want to be alone anymore. It has waited for too long."

"Angels are their own gods, beings of supreme ego." Shinji whispered. "You devour
each other."

"You live. So do you. You kill it. You waste its power. Occupy this one's absolute
territory or it will have yours!"

"Yaknowz, wen something ASKS ya ta stomp it, it kinda takes all da fun out of it,
yaz..." the Warboss grumbled. "Everyfin's an enemy nowadayz..."

Something laughed in the distance.

Little flesh creature. You are mine.

"Enemy! Enemy!" the Angel began to shout out in many incoherent voices. "The
Purpose... only now that it has tongues can it speak of the purpose. Here this one
was given eyes! Here this one was fed knowledge it had no way to know! Unite with
it! Fight the enemy! BE STRONG! WE MUST KILL! Do not give the Enemy your
strength!"

'He will be greater than either of us, Gendo. Of course he will.' Shinjii heard along
with sound of summer wind chimes. "He will occupy the space we will leave for him."

And for some reason, the tune to MC Hammer's "...Can't Touch This" began to sound.
Everyone else blinked. "Wot da zog?"

Na na na...! NANANANA.

The Farseer opened and palm and whispered "... can't dodge this."

Leliel lunged again. This time, Shinji Ikari made no move to stop it. Darkness closed
over him.

BOOM.

-o-

-o-

Evangelion Unit One's eyes flashed. It twitched its fingers, nearly dislodging the
hapless Tritonis clinging to them. It looked down, and it was... aware.

It gave a low growl and gathered up the men. The penguin gave an indignant
squawk as the Marines were again shoved into its domain of protection. The Eva
held the glowing sphere like a baseball - and threw!

-o-
-o-

Unit Four tackled Unit Zero, which could only give feeble resistance. The garishly-
painted orange Eva had spent almost all of its energy. The Trident Land Dreadnought
bullrushed forward, the power cables linking it to Unit Two snapping.

Asuka merely grit her teeth, as her power reserves began to drop at an alarming
rate. She could feel the surface of the Dirac Sea. Waves and eddies were rippling
across the lightless expanse, and jagged buildings pieces poking out were as islands.

"Take this! DYNAMIC -OFFENSIVE SUPPORT-!" Wham! -Magnos Tancred- tackled Unit
Four, and pinned it to the ground. Sitting on its chest, Mana then began pounding away
at the enemy Eva's head.

Charged capacitors popped out of the Trident's back like bread from a toaster.

Rei popped the capacitors on her shoulder pylons and placed in fresh power packs.
Two packs, each worth one and half minutes of normal operation. It would have to
be enough.

The Dirac Sea spat out something.

-o-

"Transponder signal!" Shigeru shouted suddenly. "The Tritonis Teams are outside the
Dirac Sea!"

Misato whirled around "REALLY? Are they alive? Get me an open channel!"

The feed was still scratchy, but easier to understand. It was now possible to identify
voices. "... one, two... uh... ten. I have ten fingers. All digits still attached, what about
you bastards?" Sgt. De Leon asked through a splitting headache.

"What happened to the bird?" Takahashi asked dizzily.

"Bird? What bird?" Chaplain Ortigas replied very carefully. "Unless you're being
colloquial, I believe that's Colonel Katsuragi we're hearing."

"Aaa..."

"Tritonis, this is NERV. REPORT!"

The hapless Marines outside winced. "Ugh. Tritonis Command Squad and Alpha,
reporting for duty. Situation is... OHSHIT EVANGELION!"

There was a loud, snapping sound and of frantic screaming. "IT'S NOT DEAD YET?"
someone yelled. "I ALMOST PREFER THE SHRIMPS AGAIN!"

By the sounds, it was clear they had landed somewhere close to where Unit Four was
rampaging. Away from the Dirac Sea, but hardly from danger. How they survived the
fall in getting there, was something that no one wanted to examine at the moment.

"RUN YOU FOOLS!"

"Seventy seconds! I've got seventy seconds of power left!"

"FUCK YOU YAAAANG!"

Whomp. Crunch. Boink.

-o-

Unit Four roared and grabbed at the Trident's left elbow joint. It braced its feet
against the hard angle of the war machine's body and began to pull. Mana Kirishima
winced in pain, though mostly from the high-pitched sounds of stressed metal.

There was pain, of a sort, when the Evangelion broke the arm right off. -Magnos
Tancred- used the change in its center of gravity to whirl its torso around and give
back a defiant punch. Then both metal giants fell away on their respective asses.

Unit Zero moved to help, but Asuka shouted out "Ayanami! The field...! It's starting
to intensify...! I can't hold it shut!"

"What did you say?" There was a click, as the central command channel engaged.
"Its fine! You know what you're doing!" Misato said to the pilots. "Just keep at it, we're
launching all the zig-zag retrival lines."

The two NERV Evangelions combined their fields, while the enemy Eva got up
groggily. The jack mechanisms for the Trident strained to lift the machine.

Trucks hauling bundled lines connected to hard ladders rumbled past. The cables
would extend out to thirty kilometers of a sheer drop, while the metal supports would
provide rigidity, handholds, and locator lights.

"Where are those spotters?" Misato shouted. "Paint the thing! The submarines
already launched their conventional missiles! Artillery, fire for effect! And GET ME
THOSE MARINES!"

A bright lance flashed between the buildings, and knocked the white Eva back into
the ground.

Several kilometers away, sailors frantically pumped out water. The temperatures
from that single blast warmed the whole ship up to nearly searing heat. The crew of
the Kringolith cannibalized one Heavy Positron Cannon turret to get the other one
somewhat functional. The ship was pock-marked with holes, it was a miracle that it
could even still float. Engineers had pumped in foam as they took out water from
behind bulkheads.

'Humans are spiteful creatures, weak, and yet... resilient as well. Stubborn in their
purpose; when they finally choose one.' Misato thought, as she watched the remote
view. Streaks of smoke approached from the east and west. 'These children won't die
here, I'll make sure of it!'

-Magnos Tancred- managed to roll aside as the white Evangelion and much of the
surrounding area was consumed in flame.

-o-

"...we couldn't make contact with Shinji Ikari. Since the Evangelion tossed us out...
I think he's conscious now."

Back at NERV, Maya Ibuki shook her head. Still no communications with the Eva.
Then she gasped.

"It can't be!" the NERV lieutenant screamed. "There's a presure buildup inside the
entry plug and power levels for the Evangelion is rising!"

Misato looked over to Ritsuko's direction.

"I'm veryifing it right now. Unit One doesn't seem to be expressing an AT-field. We're
still only getting systems report broadcast, so we have no way of sending diagnostic
checks." The scientist sighed. "Yes, yes. This shouldn't be possible." 'As usual.'

"Life support systems in the Eva are rapidly failing! Shinji's... having a ha... heart
attack?"

Misato pushed out of her control chair and rushed over to Maya's console. "Do
something!"

The young woman was already frantically pushing down on buttons. "No response!"
she shrieked. She stabbed on the remote life-support controls hard enough to crack
the panels. "It's refusing me! The signals aren't getting through!"

A harsh level beeping seemed to fill the command center.

"Colonel!"

Outside, the battle still raged. Unit Four emerged from a smoking crater, its eyes
flashing an apparently pissed off to high heaven. The NERV Evangelions were
alternating their fields, and the Trident tried to look threatening while missing an
arm. It held the broken appendage with the other, as if going to beat the enemy
to death with its own amputated limb.

"What should we do?" she was asked. NERV's Operations Director did not react. All
others in the command center expected rage, tears, anything other then sullen
silence. The flat electronic noise continued.

The earth quaked. The Dirac Sea broke apart. Golden light issued forth from the
dark, and an otherwordly scream filled the air. Everyone out on the surface were
knocked off their feet, even the Evangelions.

The light burned at the blood-like streams of energy, and then expanded into an all-
consuming explosion. The light passed through rock, though hollows, and into the
command center. For a moment, there was a feeling of euphoria.

Then nothing. The darkness was gone. The heart monitor's sound was gone. The
white Evangelion remained standing, confused.

Misato Katsuragi had no need to say anything. They all knew.

Asuka Lanley-Sohryu screamed. "NO! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE
THIS WAY!"

"You're joking, right...?" Mana Kirishima mumbled. "The Angel isn't dead, right? He...
we can still get im back, right...? You've got the Evangelions, you have to be able to
do something!"

Rei Ayanami frowned. 'Hello, sister.' she heard in her mind.

Emergency sounds rang. "Evangelion Unit Two is... berserking." Maya Ibuki said
flatly.

The red Evangelion screamed and leapt at the white Evangelion. The enemy Eva was
still active for some reason, but its attempts to defend itself were pitiful and futile.
Roars rang, anger and pain and fear. Armor cracked and was peeled off. Coolant and
biomechanical blood spurted out.

Unit Two kicked and tore, and began to pull at the white Eva's arms. There was the
snap of dislocating joints, but the red monster did not stop. With a great roar and a
final burst of effort it tore both arms right off.

Cancerous regeneration bubbled. Streams of material seemed to float through open
air linking the two wounds.

Unit Two's eyes flashed and a rumble issued forth. It needed to keep the prey from
healing. Where could it put the enemy's flesh so it could not rebuild itself.

It roared, opened its jaws wide, and bit down. It stripped flesh and components off
the skeletal supports and began to feed. Even the enemy Evangelion look horrified.
Unit Two roared again in delight.

It began to lash away at the enemy's chest. The enemy started screaming.

Armor was pulled off, organs and organic machinery. Rip and tear. The Evangelion
had huge guts. Blood splattered the ground, the walls, everything nearby. The
chewing sounds seemed to echo inside the command center.

"It's taking in the S2 Engine..." Gendo muttered. This was definitely NOT in the scenario.
Not SEELE's, or his, in any case. Could someone else...?

Unit Four's upper torso separated from its legs. The red Eva threw away the lower
half and dug around inside the enemy's chest. The white Eva had yet to stop
screaming. It was still conscious, the incredible capacity for survival working against
it. Only when Unit Two pulled out a large red-orange sphere did it finally fall silent.

"The Evangelion's core..." Ritsuko whispered with a sigh. "The other parts of the
Evangelion are just a matter of growth and construction. But the core is the
fundamental limit to mass production. Without it, the new model Eva is just spare
parts."

"Asuka... " Misato sighed and shook her head. "No, I won't stop her."

The red Eva looked at the thing in its hands, as if curious. Then it closed its fist. The
core shattered. There was no great outpouring of energy, no dramatic noise. Just a
thin, almost forlorn sigh... and the crystal collapsed into fine dust.

"It's not fair..." Asuka sobbed. "I supposed to be a hero, nein? I should have been
stronger..." Her AT-field began to expand, and thickening the air. Dust and smoke
started to press down upon the ground.

Vigor seemed to flow through her limbs. She felt as if weightless. 'So this is the
power of the S2 Engine? My power?

"Energy levels buildup inside the Evangelion...!" Maya reported. "It's... the same as
before. Asuka! It's not safe!"

"To have integrated the S2 engine so quickly..." Fuyutsuki commented in a disgusted
tone. "Or did it simply allow the Eva to grow its own?"

Unit Two roared and beat at the ground with its fists. It clawed at the ground, tearing
up even the armored foundations for the geofront roof.

"It's not going to do anything, Asuka..." Misato said sadly. "He's not underground..."

The girl was crying. The Evangelion roared in desperation. Its motions were swift and
powerful, but in mindless purpose. Power bled out in wasteful torrents.

-o-

Then there was a ripping noise.

"OH COME ON!" Dr. Ritsuko Akagi shouted suddenly. "You cannot expect me to
accept she just ripped and tore right through spacetime!"

And, indeed, there was a black sliver in the open air.

"Machined gods. Oh yes indeed. I should have expected this." Fortunately her
comments seemed to have been deleted from the situation record due to a freak
energy spike. No one else was paying any attention at the time. She stood up and
shook her fist at the scene that brought others into stunned awe. "WHAT THE FUCK
IS THIS SHIT? I AM GOING TO GO -QUANTUM- ON ALL YOUR ASSES!"

-o-

Asuka pulled at the edges of the strange artifact in spacetime. The cracking sounds
were from small consecutive sonic booms, even from the slightest movement in
opening it further.

It was a totally lightless void, a piece of an infinite ocean. The red Evangelion peered
closely at the object, on its knees like a wolf about to drink from a stream.

It was a darkness beyond twilight. Then the little slice out of spacetime bulged out.
Asuka let out a suprised "Gyah!" as her Eva fell back on its butt. It just narrowly
avoided getting its head bit right off by a spiny maw.

The creature was immense, its grotesque head and gaping mouth able to swallow an
Evangelion whole. It had no eyes, though had beetled brows and a bump where the
nose should be. The avian mask of an Angel was set at the center of its forehead,
but it only had a single cylopean eyehole. Long tendril-like hairs poked out of its
matte black carapace. The front looked like a crab, with feeder legs around clacking
barbed jaws. It should have looked ridiculous, Asuka almost expected to find bits of
rubber or a zipper.

It was all so horribly real. There was a faintly rotting, sickly-sweet stench to it.

It let off a feral "SKREEEEEEEEEEE!" and snapped out at the Evangelion.

Ichor blasted out the other side as a positron beam punched right through its head.
Steam rose from the ground as acid blood dripped. Still the thing continued to
screech and writhe. Its innards hardened, and soon enough the shell formed back
on itself, leaving a tough purplish scar.

"What is that thing?" Asuka gasped as she scrambled back. "Is... is it the Angel's
true form? It's huge!"

The creature had an arthropodal segmented body, with many legs ending in sharp
points. Praying mantis arms upon a bloated torso had already emerged, and the
beast stabbed at the ground repeatedly. It was a monster, a giant even among
Evangelions.

Misato loved her command console. It gave her on-the-spot data about the Eva and
the battlefield. She could tap into any comm channel, though she had to rely upon
Shigeru's station for greater strategic awareness. The information was incredibly
useful for her decision-making process; she wondered why the command center
was not laid out like a ship's bridge much earlier. Certainly it looked the part.

Now she had to fight the temptation to micromanage and turn into an REMF. The
readouts were clear; the Evangelions were in no shape to fight. Unit Zero was
almost out of power, while the spastic limb motions of Unit Two showed it had almost
no control over its power.

"Retreat!" Misato commanded. "We're going to have to bomb this thing. Fall back
and recover!" She switched channels. "This is NERV Command. I am releasing N2
weapons authorization to the UN IG. Get all assets clear, including those Marines
if they're still alive. Once the Evangelions and the Trident are out of immidiate
area, drop at your discretion."

The Dirac Sea Monster reared up and let out another ear-splitting screech. It towered
over all buildings and the Evas.

And then it fell. The Sea closed up, cutting away at it with the universe's sharpest
possible edge. Unit Two rolled away just in time to keep from being crushed. It gave
one last grumbling sigh, and became still.

"Remember that Angels recover quickly. Get out of there." Misato said, not letting
anyone lay down their guard. She clenched her fists. 'Shinji...'

"But this thing...!"

"I know! Revenge won't bring him... won't being anyone back... but we need your
Evangelions NOW. We don't know what other tricks this thing may pull!"

"Fine." Unit Two tied to get up, but stumbled. "Ah! I can't... I can't control it! There's
too much power... I feel like I'm on fire!" Its limbs spasmed uncontrollably. To grow
and connect to an S2 Engine at such a rate... the Evangelion had to consume other
organs and organic material.

The Angel started to move again, steamy jets hissing out from holes around its
head-shell. It suddenly twitched as if electrocuted, and slammed back down with its
jaws pointed straight at Unit Two. Asuka eep!-ed nervously.

"The enemy's own bulk prevents me from providing support." Rei noted.

Misato slammed her hands down on her armrest. She could only look with gritted
teeth, helpless as another of her Children died. 'This... this isn't right!' she shouted
inside. "This Angel's had us dancing like puppets all this time. It always has another
counter... does it have a plan or is it just that damn lucky? This is a war!" the
NERV Colonel spat out. "If we don't have any intelligence on the enemy, then we
should have some meddler to ruin theirs...!"

"Shinji Ikari was said meddler." Ritsuko had to say softly. "All the plans, all the
many sacrifices to get this far, hell... the untouchable links of physics..."

When all things are bleak and there was nothing in the future but fear and despair,
who is there to make the certainties awry, the great undoer?

There was a very familiar, very distinctive roar.

In the ancient Persian God of eternity, Zuvan, was the father of Ahurah-Mazda and
Ahriman in Indo-Iranian mythology. He was the chief Persian deity before the advent
of Zoroastrianism. A god of time and space, Zurvan was depicted as a winged, lion
headed deity encircled by a serpent representing the motion of the sun.

In the untouched Americas, 'Zuvas' meant to 'be warmed by the sun'.

'Zuv' also meant 'life' in certain Indus-derived languages.

Golden light and crackling booms began to flood out of the Dirac Sea Monster's
mouth. Its teeth were punched out from the inside. Overlapping jaws were torn free
and thrown away.

Sin, incidentally, was the Semitic form of the Sumerian 'Enzu', the lord of knowing.

Something broke free. Its armor was pock-marked and steaming from acid. It was
nearly unrecognizable other than as a great humanoid shape. The Angel form began
to twitch again, electric currents searing through its flesh and firing dead nerves in
the semblance of life.

The being stepped out back into the light. Born of sin. It roared again, defiant to the
last. Child of the anchor. To go beyond the impossible, one must break the limits of
what was possible.

What was once may or might not be again. It did not matter. The past was undone.

Sinn? Dje?

No explanation necessary.

Maya Ibuki's console lit up. She gave a 'squee' of delight. "Shinji-kun!"

"Ow." a weary but easily recognizable voice was heard to say. "Sorry. I'm back. It's...
oh! Asuka."

The red-haired girl began to laugh. Synapses began to snap.

"I'm so glad you're all ri-... !"

Maya shouted, back at the command center "Unit Two has gone berserker again!"

The red Evangelion screamed and leapt, driving the wounded Evangelion into the
ground. It roared as it pummeled away at Unit One.

Given what the berserker Eva had done to a more advanced production model
earlier, Misato was in near panic at what it could to a damaged test type. "Asuka!
STOP! Rei, make her stop!"

"That will not be necessary, colonel Katsuragi." the pilot replied evenly. "I believe
pilot Ikari is in no danger, we must simply wait until Unit Two's AT-mode disengages."

"No danger? Why?" Misato blinked. "AT-mode? Don't you mean AT-field?"

"Auto-Tsundere."

The main screen showed Unit Two holding Unit One by the back of the head and
mashing its face repeatedly into the ground. "Ah." That explained -everything-.

Backed by the power of an S2 Engine, it took quite some time for the red Eva's
roaring Raaage to subside.

-o-
-o-

It was the costliest battle thus far. Whole blocks were wiped out, buildings gone,
properties and livelihoods up in smoke. There should have been outrage and despair.
Instead... a curious sort of euphoria. There were zero civilian deaths. Military
casualties were at an all-time high, but there was the feeling that ever single one of
those sacrifices meant something. They were heroes all.

Through tricks and traps and even using the Evangelion's power against itself - they
managed to survive. It was as if the darkest phase before dawn had passed, and
after that there could only be the brilliance of knowing what must be done.

That powerful confidence lasted only a few days, until the Earth's Cradle fell back to
the ground.

-o-

-o-

-o-

-o-

---

Author's notes:

Agh. Much apologies for the long wait. This has been the longest delay in updates so far. Aside from the holidays, there are several other real-life projects crowding my time. However, I now have settled most of them. Is it a grim hint that chapters for now will have to be bloated four-parters? Even I'm not sure. I actually feel this was over too quickly. Perhaps I've packed in too many references and gone unsubtle. Hm...

I hope you find this was worth the wait.

---

-o-

-o-

NERV Geofront Hospital

One day before the above
mentioned new event, and
two days after Leliel

Shinji Ikari stared up at the hospital ceiling. He gave no reaction as the door to his
room opened and his father stepped in.

The boy had burns and muscle damage, as if having spent weeks in low-gravity then
was set on fire. There was a bandage around his forehead, looking somewhat like a
bandana. He looked blandly at his visitor.

"Have you been informed?" Gendo asked tonelessly. "The S2 Engine."

Shinji nodded. "Yes. Asuka. I was not expecting it so soon..."

"It was your intention to give it her from the beginning. Why not yourself? This is a
form of power beyond politics."

"With Rei's... nature... there's too much of a risk in giving Unit Zero an unlimited
power source (and arguably, she's much more dangerous outside of the Eva than
in it). As for me... there are many reasons, material and ethical, why I shouldn't
gather so much power to myself so suddenly." Shinji smiled. "But Asuka... her
purpose IS the Evangelion. She can use its power to fullest effect, and there are no
doubts to what aims she wants it. To kill Angels. Nothing else."

Gendo pushed up his glasses, acknowledging that. He had already figured as much.
"Sohryu is predictable. A familiar tool."

"Maybe so." Shinji sighed. "At least, others feel that in her hands the Evangelion is a
weapon, not a monster." Awe and fear were shades of the same thing. The world
may yet love Langley-Sohryu. He and Rei had other aims.

The elder Ikari understood, in that altruism could be more destructive than merely
acting in enlightened (or even unashamed) self-interest. He still felt like punching his
own son in the face. The look in his eyes... that weariness. There was a vast and
potent difference between ambition and purpose.

Shinji looked away. "I am my mother's son." he said softly. "But... we really are too
much alike, father. Does that please you?"

"No." Gendo replied. "I find that disappointing."

"Mother's not of this world anymore, father. You won't find her anywhere." the boy
sighed. "My mother was a monster."

Gendo clenched his fists, and otherwise did not react. "She was intelligent and ruthless.
An excellent human being."

The boy gave up a dry chuckle. "Heroism. Sainthood. Brilliance. Majesty. Qualities in
extremis." He touched his forehead and sighed. "... why is the worth of humanity so
cursedly hard to define?"

"We are neither good nor evil. We are a delusion, nothing more." Gendo looked out
into the sunset. "If we have the chance to take perfection in our grasp, and fail to
take it, our eventual extinction is well-deserved."

"Is that all? The purpose of man is become more than man? The new should replace
the old?"

"The child must move into the space left by its parent." Gendo replied tonelessly. "I
will say this, you are not as weak as I expected you to be."

"I don't know if I should thank... or blame... you for it."

Gendo smiled thinly. "You were shaped. You must go where I cannot follow... or die
in the attempt. Those who cannot adapt to changing circumstances have no one
to blame but themselves."

"Yes. I think... mother knew that. No matter how what you do, mother may simply
have understood. She can never hate you. She can only be... disappointed." Shinji
took several deep breaths to calm himself. If the world had even the slightest idea of
how much, even if indirectly, it was his fault that the world was such a total mess...
they would crucify him as quickly as they had lauded him earlier.

He was -too much- like his father, which was what disturbed him most. In his own
way, Gendo Ikari was a deeply ethical sort of person.

"I don't really know all that much of SEELE. They will have to move now, we are
severely weakened."

"This is true."

Shinji looked to his father's eyes, and for a moment, something deeply amused
flickered behind his own gaze. "Then it is time. Show me your power, father."

Gendo smirked and pushed up his glasses, completely confident. Shinji was left
feeling as if he had tickled a sleeping dragon.

-o-

-o-

-o-

-o-

Omake:

WHAT IF SHINJI IKARI HAD STAYED?

In a world full of fear, a place hurtling inescapably towards self-destruction... none
of the fame, the wealth, the ready armies... with nothing but his own wits to rely on,
what could he have done? How unkind is fate to the child of villains; are they left
with no choice but to follow in the footsteps of their parents?

-o-

It was the day before the school festival. They should be planning on what to
present, yet the everyone in the room was tense and silent. The students, including
Asuka, were keeping well away from a certain table near the window. That was
Rei Ayanami's place. Shinji sat backwards on the chair ahead of her. The two stared
deeply into each other's eyes, in some form of staring contest. There was no lovey-
dovey meaning in meeting of their eyes , but the stares were no less intense.

Shinji tilted his head slighly to the left and said "Nya?"

Rei tilted her head slightly to the right and said softly "... nya?"

Shinji smiled and tilted his head to the right. "Nyao?"

Rei mirrored the motion and replied "... nyao?"

Shinji's smile quirked up. "Neh?" He reached out and lightly touched Rei's nose with
his index finger.

She looked faintly surprised. Then she turned her head up a bit and gave the finger a
small lick.

Kensuke had to be wrestled and dogpiled into to ground before he could leap and
strangle Shinji. "GODDAMN YOU, IKARI!" he screamed. "AAAGH! THAT WAS JUST
TOO DAMN CUTE! HOW DARE YOU? IT'S NOT ENOUGH THAT... RAARGH! DIE! JUST
FUCKING -DIE-!"

Rei looked at everyone else's strange activities and blinked. She tilted her head
aside again, and commented softly ".. nyu?"

Asuka fled from the room, clutching her nose.

Shinji raised a thumbs-up gesture, and grinned at Rei. "Perfect score." he said. She
looked happy.