Chapter 39: Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani
The GeoFront was bathed in divine white light.
She towered over the blasted battlefield, a god made manifest on Earth. Adam, the White Mother, from whose womb all Angels had sprung. A massive humanoid, Her body composed of unbearably brilliant light save for Her green eyes and the red crystal Core in Her chest, with four wings that blotted out the sky from horizon to horizon. A being whose infinite magical energy could be sensed by every living thing on Earth. All across the planet, people turned towards the unnaturally lit horizon and fell to their knees in awe.
However, mighty as She was, Adam was not a perfect being. She was incomplete. There was something She wanted, something She desperately needed, an obsession that filled Her vast and incomprehensible mind. She sought physical incarnation, a body of living flesh that could experience the world in a way that Her current form constructed of malleable an impermanent energy could not. The foolish human Precia Testarossa had sought to subjugate Adam, to bind Her within her frail mortal form, but such a thing was impossible. A Progenitor was a being on entirely different scale from humans; the Commander could no more contain Adam's Core within her than an amoeba could swallow an elephant. To achieve the Forbidden Union she so desperately desired, Adam would need to fuse with another Progenitor; a being equal and opposite to Herself. And, by sheer cosmic chance, such a being had landed on this world. For all the damage caused by the First Impact four and a half billion years ago — Adam being reduced to embryonic form, Her Angelic children being ripped prematurely from her womb, the usurpation of the planet by a terrestrial ecosystem — was worth it for the chance to achieve completion.
Adam slowly turned Her head down to look at the greater crater of the exposed GeoFront. At the Magical Girls who floated in the air within it. At the thing Fate Testarossa held in trembling hands — the embryonic Lilith. Black Progenitor, Mother of Lilim, object of Her desire. There was nothing standing against Her save a few Magical Girls — and to a being of Her power, they were nothing at all.
Adam began to extend one of Her hands, reaching for Lilith and the consummation of their Forbidden Union.
For the Magical Girls, it was as though the sky was falling. Adam's outstretched hand was a wall of solid magical energy, descending towards them. Their first reaction was to flee; but where was there to go? Though the roof of the GeoFront had been blown open, Adam's massive body now blocked that path. The Magical Girls were trapped in the remains of the dome like insects in an overturned cup. The girls regrouped at ground level, the outstretched hand of Adam slowly but unstoppable closing in on them.
"Should we fly down the pit?" Fate asked, a trace of panic in her voice. "Terminal Dogma is another two kilometers down."
"But where could we go from there?" Vita asked. "We'd just be bottled in even more tightly than we already are."
"If we are going to fight, we should make our stand here." Signum said. "Where we can all bring our maximum force to bear."
"We are going to fight." Nanoha affirmed. "Don't give up, Fate. No matter how hopeless things may seem, we'll find a way to save the world. We're Magical Girls; it's what we do."
Fate closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded.
"I believe in you." she said. "Even though I know this battle is hopeless, my heart is telling me to fight by your side until the very end."
Fate handed the embryonic Lilith to Hayate, then grasped Bardiche with both hands.
"No matter what happens, Nanoha, I just want you to know... that I..." Fate wavered for a moment, then gathered her courage and shouted: "I love you! I'm in love with you, Nanoha! I LOVE YOU!"
Nanoha smiled and placed one hand on Fate's cheek.
"I love you too, Fate." she said.
With the hand of Adam falling from heaven as though to crush the Magical Girls like insignificant bugs, Nanoha and Fate shared a long, deep kiss. After it ended, Nanoha turned to the other Magical Girls.
"Let's show Adam just how we Magical Girls welcome the arrival of an Angel!" Nanoha shouted. "Hit Her with everything you've got!"
Bright auras flared about the girls as they summoned all the magic they had left available to them. Nanoha, Fate, Signum, Shamal, Hayate, and Vita. Six girls, wielding the harnessed magic of six Angels: Abaddon, Baraqiel, Kerub, Mbriel, Bardiel, and Adririon. It was an impossible fight. Humans and Angels: both were lesser beings, incapable of opposing a Progenitor. But even so, for the sake of all the world, they had to try. That was their duty as Magical Girls.
"Barrel Shot!" Nanoha shouted.
An enormous pink magic circle inscribed itself in the air, then contracted around the wrist of Adam's outstretched hand like a manacle. Nanoha focused all her strength into the magic circle, trying to bind Adam's hand in place and prevent it from drawing any closer to them. However, she may as well have been trying to restrain the White Mother with tissue paper. Adam's movement never faltered for a moment, and Nanoha's magic circle almost immediately shattered into glittering fragments in the face of the Giant of Light's inexorable forward motion.
"Diabolic Emission!" Hayate shouted.
A sphere of dark and seething energy began expanding in front of Adam's hand. Anything that entered that violent maelstrom of churning destructive magic would surely be annihilated. It was one of Hayate's most feared spells, and would give any other opponent pause. But Adam didn't even seem to notice it. Her hand continued to press forwards, and Hayate's dark magic seemed to shrink before the brilliant light radiating from Adam's palm. When Adam's hand actually touched it, the whirling ball of energy broke apart and disintegrated like a cloud in high wind. And Adam continued reaching down towards them, as though they were nothing more than annoying insects to be crushed with a simple swat of Her hand.
"Don't forget your training." Signum said. "If you want to destroy an Angel, you have to hit its weak point! Sturm Falche!"
A blazing red arrow of energy sprung forth from Laevatein's bow form and streaked through the air. It flew past Adam's outstretched arm, instead following an arcing trajectory towards Her chest. The flaming projectile struck the center of Adam's Core and exploded, unleashing an inferno of magic that swept across Adam's chest. After only a few moments, however, the flames died down, and the unmarred surface of Adam's Core came into view once more.
"No good." Signum said. "I'm exhausted. I just don't have enough power left to damage it."
"Leave it to me." Nanoha said. "Maximum Power — Absolute Destruction!"
A crackling aura of magic energy built around Nanoha, and a magic circle inscribed itself under her feet as she summoned all of her strength. Raising Heart vibrated with pent-up power as Nanoha pointed it at Adam's Core.
"Starlight Breaker!"
A massive beam of rainbow-colored energy blazed forth from the tip of Nanoha's staff. He torrent of offensive magic pounded against the hard crystal surface of Adam's Core, and the glowing crystal refused to yield. Nanoha's power broke against the White Mother's Core like waves against a stone; beams of errant magic reflected off the Core and sprayed outwards in a beautiful but ineffectual kaleidoscopic display.
"Can you narrow your beam?" Signum asked. "If you could focus it on a single point, it might be enough."
"Trying..." Nanoha said through gritted teeth. "But this much power... is hard to control..."
The beam of Starlight Breaker narrowed slightly, but it was still nearly as wide across as Adam's Core. The energy was being spread out across the entire surface of the Core; and thus diluted, it wasn't able to penetrate. The beam wavered as Nanoha's strength faltered, then broke apart into a cloud of multicolored sparks.
"Adam's Core is way tougher than a normal Angel's." Nanoha said. "I don't think our ordinary attacks are going to do anything to it unless we can create some kind of weak point."
"Leave it to me." Fate said. "Riot Blade!"
Bardiche transformed from a scythe to a sword, generating a blade of brilliant yellow light. Fate activated her flight spell, accelerating at high speed to pass through the fingers of Adam's descending hand and ascend to the height of Her Core. Gripping Bardiche with both hands, she swung the sword down with all her strength. The buzzing blade of energy raised a fantastic spray of sparks as it ground against the red crystal, but failed to cut through the surface. Adam's Core did indeed seem to be made of far sterner material than those of Her Angelic children. But even so, Fate refused to give up. She couldn't fail; not when Nanoha was counting on her. Having already put all her physical strength into the attack, she began pouring in more of her magic, causing the blade of energy to grow larger and shine brighter. Bolts of lightning crackled from the point where the edge of the sword was driven against the hard crystal. And slowly, so slowly, the crystal began to give away before Fate's unrelenting assault. The flashing, vibrating blade began to sink down into Adam's Core, slicing a gouge into the formerly perfectly smooth surface.
With this minor success in the attack on Her Core, Adam seemed to finally take notice of Fate. Based on the slow, almost glacial speed at which the Giant of Light was lowering Her hand towards Lilith, Fate figured it would be an easy matter to dodge any physical attack that might be made against her. Her true concern was a magical attack; the energy available to the White Mother clearly far surpassed any of the Magical Girls, and Fate couldn't even imagine what kind of destructive energy She might unleash against them. To her surprise, however, Adam's reaction was defensive. Adam's Core abruptly sank into her body, disappearing as seamlessly into the white energy composing Her chest as a ship sinking beneath the surface of the sea. The crystal sphere passed entirely through Adam's chest and re-emerged from Her back, at the center of Her four sky-spanning wings, where none of the Magical Girls' attacks would be able to reach it. Other than that, Adam didn't so much as lift a finger or send a spark of magic Fate's way. It seemed the White Mother didn't even consider the Magical Girls worth the time or energy it would to take to fight them; not when Lilith was so nearly within Her grasp.
"It's no good!" Fate called down to the other Magical Girls. "She's moved Her Core; I can't reach it anymore!"
"We can't give up yet!" Vita said. "Maybe She has other weak points. Destruction Hammer!"
Vita's hammer Graf Eisen flared with orange magic. The head grew to enormous size, then the handle began to rapidly extend. The head shot upwards like a rocket, between Adam's fingers, past Fate hovering in front of Adam's chest, aiming towards the one feature Vita could see that looked more vulnerable than the impervious mass of white magic composing Adam's body: the two great green eyes staring down at them. The hammer plowed directly into Adam's left eye, smashing into it with unspeakable force. The eye was pulverized in an instant, sending a torrent of blue blood spraying from the socket; it fell down like rain upon the Magical Girls far below. However, despite the apparently horrific damage that had been inflicted on Her face, Adam showed no sign of pain or hesitation. Her eyes might not be indestructible, but only damage to Her Core could truly kill Her; anything else could simply be regenerated at Her leisure. Furthermore, not even blinding Her would prevent Her from finding Lilith; She could feel Lilith's heartbeat as clearly as the pulsing of Her own Core. The two Progenitors were drawn to each other like magnets, and they were much too close now for anything to come between them. Vita's attack, though visually impressive, was as futile as anything else the Magical Girls had attempted. Nothing would prevent Adam and Lilith's Forbidden Union.
Adam's fingers struck the ground, forming a cage around the Magical Girls, and She began to slowly close Her hand. Some of the Magical Girls could still have used their flight spells to escape between Her closing fingers; however, Signum's magic was exhausted and Hayate didn't seem capable of flying without control of her legs. Rather than abandon their friends, the other Magical Girls chose to stand beside them as Adam's hand closed around them. Even Fate, who had flown clear of Adam's grasp in order to attack Her Core, now flew back through the rapidly closing gaps between Her fingers in order to rejoin the others. Whatever Nanoha's fate, she would share it.
"Panzer Schild." Shamal intoned.
A magic circle inscribed itself beneath the embryonic Lilith, and a dome of green light enclosed it. The feeble glow was nothing against the terrible brilliance cast by Adam, and Shamal understood that her shield would be crushed by the White Mother's hand as easily as a Styrofoam cup beneath a descending boot; but with her portal powers blocked, that simple spell was all she could do. It was her last act of defiance in the face of the end of the world.
The Magical Girls huddled tight and awaited the end.
"What is the status of the Arc-En-Ciel!?" SEELE 02 demanded.
"The damage is too extensive." Keel said. "It will not be able to fire again."
"We have to stop the White Mother!" SEELE 06 said. "Instrumentality requires that both Progenitors be in their fully developed states when the Forbidden Union is initiated. An incomplete fusion will not be capable of satisfying our desires."
"Indeed!" SEELE 05 said. "There can be no compromise! We have labored on this project for far too long to settle for anything less than perfection!"
"It's too late." SEELE 04 said. "Lilith is already within Adam's grasp. All hope is lost."
"One option still remains to us." Keel said. "I hereby move to initiate the Samael Protocol."
"Agreed." SEELE 05 said immediately. "We can always create another Arc-En-Ciel... but there is only one White Mother."
"Agreed." SEELE 03 said a moment later. "We will show the White Mother that even She must bow before the might of our fury.
"Agreed." SEELE 04 said. "If we are fortunate, the execution of the Protocol will reduce both Progenitors back to their fetal forms. We will then have plenty of time to arrange new methods of controlling them while waiting for them to grow back into their true forms. And this time, without Precia getting in our way, there will be nothing to prevent us from achieving the Instrumentality we desire."
"But what about the Magical Girls?" SEELE 02 asked. "If we defeat Adam for them, both Progenitors will fall into their hands!"
"And what do you expect them to do about it?" Keel asked. "They're only children. Little girls. They can run to the ends of the Earth if they want; there's nowhere they can go that we won't be able to find them. I'm sure Dr. Scaglietti will be able to provide us with the means to defeat them — once we've properly disciplined him for his betrayal, of course. The Progenitors will return to us in the end. And then we will become like unto gods."
"...But what if they decide to destroy the Progenitors?" SEELE 02 asked.
"Absurd!" SEELE 07 said. "There is no one who does not lust to have dominion over gods! No one who has had the embryonic Progenitors within their sight would cast them away."
"Impossible!" SEELE 06 said. "There is no one who does hunger for the infinite power and infinite knowledge of Adam and Lilith. No one who knows the true nature of the Progenitors would give them up.
"Inconceivable!" SEELE 05 said. "There is no one who does not desire the eternal life that may be gained from the completion of Instrumentality. No one who understands what is to be gained from the Adonai would prevent its advent."
"Doubtful." SEELE 04 said. "I don't think those children have the fortitude to resolve themselves to destroy such divine beings."
"Outrageous!" SEELE 03 said. "There is no one would have the insolence to destroy the very seeds of all life on this world! They would face the wrath of all creation!"
"The motion passes." Keel said. "By this Council's authority, the Samael Protocol is hereby initiated. We, who have harnessed the secret of life, technology, and magic; we, who have clutched all the world's nations in the palm of our hand; we, who have placed swords in the sky and imprisoned Angels within human flesh, command a power that surpasses even God! Let the world bear witness! This is the moment of our triumph! Fall, Samael!"
A falling star streaked through the sky.
At first, its light was negligible compared to the brilliant white radiance that shone from Adam's skin. However, with each passing second, it grew closer and its fiery light became brighter. And it soon became clear that the blazing aura surrounding it was not merely flames from the friction of entry into the atmosphere. It was wreathed in all the colors of the rainbow, an aura of pulsing magic that grew larger with each passing second. And it was then that the Magical Girls realized what they were witnessing.
They beheld the Arc-En-Ciel as it fell from heaven like lightning.
Weapons Platform Asura plummeted through the atmosphere, becoming a flaming spear aimed at Adam's back. And in the machine's core, the Intelligent Device created from the Angel Samael summoned unfathomable magic power. It was far more energy than the wrecked systems of the Arc-En-Ciel could hope to safely contain — but containment was no longer the desired goal. The Arc-En-Ciel had become a magical warhead of incalculable yield, dropped from orbit onto the White Mother. It struck Adam between the wings, and exploded.
The area was engulfed by a light brighter than the sun. It was a destroying light that not even Adam, Mother of Angels, could fully withstand. Caught in the center of the magical conflagration, Her body began to slowly crumble. First were Her four enormous wings, which began to flake away, as though being plucked feather by feather. Then Her flesh began to liquify, Her radiant white skin melting into a blue ooze. Her massive form sagged and lost definition, coming to resemble a half-melted snowman. Then She broke apart entirely, dissolving into countless chunks of bloody meat that burned in the inferno of the Arc-En-Ciel's detonation. By the time the cataclysmic light had faded, only Adam's Core remained; a shining red sphere floating above the ravaged landscape.
But not even this would be enough to stop the White Mother. Her body was merely a projection of Her magic; she could easily conjure another one. Already, streams of white light were beginning to grow from Her Core; soon they would once again form into Adam's impervious skin and shield her Core from all harm. The Magical Girls had only one chance to make a final attempt at striking down the White Mother.
"Barrel Shot!"
"Lightning Bind!"
Nanoha and Fate shouted out their binding spells, and two large magic circles composed of pink and yellow energy appeared around the floating Core. They pushed back the building white energy, keeping the surface of the crystal exposed. However, it was clear from the way the brilliant magic strained at its bonds that they wouldn't be able to hold it back for long. There was only time for a single attack; then Adam would break free, and nothing would be able to oppose Her ever again.
"RAGNAROK!" Hayate shouted.
The book in her lap, the Device Reinforce, blazed with unearthly light as Hayate drew on all her power. Remembering the power that had seemed to overflow from her body when the Angel Bardiel had awakened, Hayate pushed herself to the very limit. Power exploded from her frail body like a hurricane. There beams of magical energy, each as strong as a Starlight Breaker, fired at Adam's Core. They all converged towards one point: the gouge in the surface created by Fate's Riot Blade.
Hayate's magic pounded at that imperfection, that one flaw in the seemingly indestructible red crystal, and began to slowly eat into the interior of Adam's Core. Bands of darkness spread like ink beneath the shining surface as the spell broke through Adam's defenses. Brilliant flashes of light illuminated the sphere from within as Adam tried to neutralize Hayate's magic. And perhaps, had Adam been at full strength, Hayate would have failed. But Adam had been weakened — She had been cut into by Dr. Akagi in an attempt to make Her more controllable, consumed by Commander Testrarossa in an attempt to steal Her power, and struck by the Arc-En-Ciel in an attempt to reduce Her back to a more manageable form — and as a result, Hayate's darkness overwhelmed Her light.
Cracks expanded from the beams' impact point and spread through the entirety of Adam's Core. The smooth crystalline surface lost its shine, fading from brilliant crimson to a dull, dead grayish-red. Adam's white energy, which had built to the point of bursting free from Nanoha and Fate's binding circles, wavered and faded. Then, slowly, the crystal began to crumble. Great chunks sloughed off and fell to the ground, then disintegrated into a fine dark ash. Finally, the central portion of the Core broke apart, and the body of Precia Testarossa fell tumbling to the ground. She lay sprawled amongst the ashen remains of Adam's Core.
Unsure whether the Commander was dead or alive, the Magical Girls slowly approached her prone form. As they gathered around her, Precia's body shuddered. Her ribs creaked as something pounded against the inside of her chest. Then there was a loud crack as her sternum broke, and the embryo of Adam tore itself free from her body.
The White Mother, who only moments ago had seemed a force more powerful than any other in the world, was now a small and wretched thing. As Precia died, it was able to separate itself from her and regain its independence; but the trauma it had endured had reduced it to its embryonic form. It resembled a half-formed fetus as it dragged itself from the Commander's body, trailing blood as it slowly crawled across the ground. The Mother of Angels had gone from a Giant of Light that towered over the world to something that looked like it might die of exposure at any moment. But still, pitiful as it was, it still had not lost sight of its goal. It dragged itself, inch by painful inch, towards the embryonic Lilith being held by Hayate.
"We all know it." Shamal said wearily. "What we have to do. As long as Adam and Lilith exist, SEELE will try to use them to achieve Instrumentality."
Signum nodded grimly.
"We have to end it, while we can." Signum said. "While they're both vulnerable."
There were a few moments of silence as the Magical Girls watched Adam crawl feebly across the ground, its stubby arms futilely reaching out towards the object of its desire.
"I'll do it." Signum finally said.
She placed one hand on the hilt of her sword and stepped forwards, but Nanoha stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"I'm tired of using my magic this way." Nanoha said. "Tired of doing nothing but hurt and harm. This wonderful power... wasn't meant to be used to kill."
Signum said nothing, but let go of her sword.
"The Instrumentality that SEELE wanted... required both Progenitors being in their true forms when they joined." Nanoha continued. "Once the Forbidden Union is carried out, it can never be undone. So if we let them join when they're like this, they'll be useless for the Council's plan. So let's just give them what they want. And then it'll be over, for good."
Fate took the fetal Lilith from Hayate and placed it on the ground in front of the fetal Adam. The two embryonic Progenitors crawled towards each other, then embraced and began to fuse. The magic of Adam and the flesh of Lilith, joining together to create a complete being. Had they both been in their true forms, it would have been the birth of a new god, Adonai. But with both in such reduced states, the final product of their merge was no larger than an infant. The long-awaited Forbidden Union had come to nothing, and all SEELE's millennia-long machinations were ruined.
A chocking sound drew the Magical Girls' attention. When Adam had separated itself from Precia and broken free from her body, they had assumed the Commander dead. But now her form was weakly stirring, suggesting there was still some life in her after all. However, it was clear that she wouldn't last much longer. Her limbs had been broken by her fall from the air, her chest had been ruptured by Adam's violent escape, and blood bubbled from her mouth with each breath. Commander Precia Testarossa was dying.
"Alicia..." Precia's voice was a hoarse whisper. "Where are you... Alicia..."
The Magical Girls looked at the dying Commander with varying degrees of contempt and pity.
"Alicia... Where are you... I can't see you..." Precia said. "Come back to me, Alicia... I'm sorry... Please forgive me... Don't leave me all alone... I can't live without you, Alicia..."
Fate walked over to Precia's side. The Commander's eyes looked cloudy and were unable to focus on her, so Fate knelt down beside her and clasped one of her hands.
"I'm here, mama." Fate said.
"Alicia... I thought I'd lost you..." Precia said. "But I did it... I brought you back..."
"That's right, mama." Fate said. "I've come back. We're together again."
"Yes..." Precia said. "Together again... I promise... I'll never lose sight of you... again... Dearest Alicia... My daughter..."
Precia's hand slackened in Fate's grasp. The Commander exhaled, and did not breathe again. Fate placed one hand over Precia's face and closed her eyelids.
"Goodbye... mother." she said.
Nanoha walked over to Fate and placed a hand on her shoulder. Fate turned around, and Nanoha saw that there were tears in her eyes. Fate embraced Nanoha, clinging to her like a life raft, and Nanoha patted her on the back.
"Everything's going to be okay." Nanoha assured her. "It's over now. We've won. Everything is going to be okay."
"...You think's it's really over?" Hayate asked.
"There will be no further Angels." Signum said. "NERV has been destroyed. SEELE still exists, but they have lost their Evangels and the Arc-En-Ciel — and Instrumentality is now impossible. I think... it really is over."
"Then what's going to happen now?" Hayate asked.
"I don't know." Signum admitted.
"We'll be alright." Shamal assured her.
"Don't worry about a thing." Vita told Hayate. "I'll stick by your side no matter what."
"That's right." Shamal said. "The six of us are practically family now. No matter what's to come, we can get through it together."
"Things will probably be bad for a time." Signum warned. "Humanity united in the face of the common threat posed by the Angels. Now that they're all gone, there will likely be infighting amongst nations seeking to regain power and sovereignty. The UN may dissolve. There may even be another world war."
"We won't let that happen." Hayate said firmly.
"It won't be a problem." Vita said. "Whatever we wanna do, there'll be nobody who can stop us. After all... we're Magical Girls. There's no longer any power in the world greater than ours."