Creation began on 05-27-20

Creation ended on 05-29-20

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I Dream of Evangelion: Solace

Opening his eyes, Gendo found himself inside a detention cell; he had no memory of how he got there.

"What the Hell?" He questioned as he got up off the floor.

"Oh, you're finally awake," went a man outside the cell. "Gendo Ikari. Driving your car into the museum, reckless endangerment, attempted murder, destruction of private and public property. You've certainly racked up some felonies, and for what? For what?"

"And where are they?" He asked the man in the police uniform. "Where are the boy and that freak he was with?"

"If I knew where they were, and I gave a damn where they were, I'd go ask them why you caused several thousand yen in property damage and traumatized several young people with your callous behavior."

He was starting to recall what had happened: The creature that the girl turned into had used its energy whips to entrap his legs and then lifted him up into the air, suspending him from a streetlight. After which, it proceeded to burn his facial cheeks with its claws, followed by burning his back, arms, stomach and a small spot on his nose. When it was done with burning him, he saw that Shinji was several feet away from them as the creature proceeded to manipulate water from a nearby fire hydrant with its claws to surround him in a ball of water. Any people on the street made no attempt to stop the monster or question the boy.

"How does it feel to have no control over what is happening to you?" The creature had asked as it surrounded his head with water, cutting off his air. "It feels like trying to escape a predator that has marked you as prey, doesn't it? You want to run for dear life, to escape your presumed fate, but you can only run for so long, can't you? You can only wander around aimlessly in the darkness that surrounds you. It frightens you, doesn't it? To feel like your time has come, even though you wish it wasn't so."

Then it removed the water from his head so he could breathe again. This was torture of the mundane variety, but this creature made no efforts in being subtle, as it surrounded his head in water once more, and he only had a few precious seconds to refill his lungs with air.

"You're a terrible person, attacking these three when they weren't bothering anyone," it continued. "You can't stand being refused, rejected, and walked away from because people with morals and beliefs that don't suit your twisted needs. You'll go to extremes to make them bend to your will, and if they continue to push back because they don't give in, you will take much greater lengths to force them to serve you, even if it means you have to cross the unforgivable line. You nearly did it once. You won't hesitate to do it as many times as you have to if it means getting your way. How twisted are you?"

He was permitted to breathe again after he felt his limited oxygen run out…but then the creature grabbed him by his neck, cutting off his oxygen again.

"I could do it, you know," it told him, looking him in the eyes. "If I had permission to, that is, I'd end you right here and now. You wouldn't be missed, would you? Is there anyone you'd have last words with? Anyone you'd want to say goodbye to if you did go? Oh, there are many ways I'd have you disposed of, Gendo. There wouldn't be any mercy from me. I…would gouge your eyes out of your head. I'd rip out your lungs, crush your heart to pulp, just tear your very life to shreds. Oh, I'd do it. I would do it. But you're lucky."

He felt its grip around his neck loosen, allowing him to breathe once more.

"I don't have the authority to take your life. But know this: You only have one life to live, and after that, there's no second chance. There's no do-over. There's either paradise…or the netherworld that awaits you. Where you go depends upon your very behavior around others…and your behavior has been anything but good. Here's a little reminder that everything you do has a consequence behind it."

And then he felt the bruise on his chest, right where it jump-kicked him, knocking him out.

"Did anyone see a boy with that creature?" Gendo asked the cop.

"If they did, they're not talking about any kid being with a monster that beat you half to death," he told him. "And again, nobody's looking for a kid with a monster. They left right after you got your lights knocked out."

"They're probably back at that derelict temple near Tokyo-3."

"Oh, really? What's so important about a boy, a monster and a dog living at an abandoned temple near Tokyo-3?"

"That boy is my son."

-x-

What was Pema supposed to say to Shinji about the Servant Beast of the Djinn? What could she say to him about it? She didn't have any control over its actions against Gendo, but it was bound by the same restrictions she was cursed to follow; it couldn't do anything to decide a person's fate negatively, such as killing them. The only reason she was able to save a person's life was because it was part of a loophole; if a life can't be ended, it can be preserved.

As they sat in the temple by the fire, neither one said anything after Shinji wanted to check Pema's gunshot wound to her shoulder, seeing that there was barely so much as a scar on her after a while. Even as the sun had gone down and it was already past the time they usually ate, neither had said anything to one another. Not even Otomo did anything to make her presence known to the two. It was as if…they were just waiting for something to happen.

Whether or not it was good or bad or just indifferent to what had happened earlier, they were uncertain of. Nothing was worse…than the thought of being separated from one another.

"Pema," she heard Shinji finally say to her as she raised her head from her knees to look at him, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Shinji," she answered him. "How are you?"

"I'll live," he responded.

"Back there…with your father, I mean… I…I wasn't really…myself back there."

"I wasn't worried about him," she heard him say to her. "The whole time he was getting tortured…I was worried about you. He hit you with a car…and then he shot you. This makes two times you've been harmed by someone that was trying to kill you. Two times where I thought…someone I was glad to be with, that was happy to be around me…was going to up and leave like they were never there."

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way."

"It wasn't your fault. I can't blame you, Pema. My father and anyone that works for him, they're the ones at fault. But my father…he'll never stop."

Pema wanted to suggest that they could just leave someplace where they couldn't be found, but she decided against it. If they left, it would only be because they were forced to run away from someone that was hounding them relentlessly. And it would show cowardice if they just left. What was more…was that Pema liked the temple; people had come a long way from living in stone structures to ones made of wood, metal and glass.

"Pema?" She heard Shinji say to her again.

"Yes?" She responded.

"Maybe…we should turn in early," he suggested, sounding slightly bothered by what was on his mind. "I'm not tired, but…"

"But what, Shinji?"

"Today was a turning point."

She looked over at him, wondering what was on his mind. Other than what happened to them earlier in the rural town.

"Shinji…are you sure you're alright?" She asked him.

"I…I don't want to wait, anymore, Pema," he admitted. "After what happened… I don't ever want to be without you."

Pema sighed at what he was getting at; the fact that his father tried to kill her today made him think that any day they were together could be their last one. They were both in love…and neither wanted to be without the other.

"Only if it's what you want, Shinji," she told him.

"I want you, Pema," he responded.

-x-

Gendo was at a loss for what was found. He had suggested that the police look at the footage of the museum to see that the girl turned into a monster and left with his son, but when they showed him the film, there was static after he shot the girl, which didn't end until after the car was removed, showing Shinji with the Hokkaido dog in his arms getting out of the museum, just after the girl had turned into a monster and retaliated against him. When he asked about the witnesses, because there were people that saw what happened, the police told him that they were more afraid of him after he shot someone, not some monster that didn't so much as look at them.

"They saw the girl turn into something inhuman," Gendo still insisted.

"All we found were the two bullets you fired," the policeman told him. "One had blood on it, indicating that it was removed from the girl you shot at in the museum. We can't find her or your son. They just left and nobody that saw them is saying anything."

"They live in a derelict temple. How many derelict temples are there in between here and Tokyo-3? Last I checked, there was only one, and it's being used by them because nobody else wanted the old place."

"I'll send someone over to investigate, but if there's nothing to investigate, you better pray you have a good attorney."

-x-

The fire had long since burnt out, but the embers leftover from the used logs left some light in the temple. They had been embarrassed in the beginning, but only for a few minutes, and for different reasons.

Pema was tens of thousands of years old and once been engaged to a man she didn't want to marry because she didn't love him. And now, in the presence of Shinji, someone she did love, she could give her all to him without any fear of rejection or coercion.

Shinji, who had never been this close to any woman ever since he was a little boy, didn't think anyone would ever want to be with him. But here he was with Pema, who didn't think less of him at all.

Time had either frozen in place or flew by as they lay on the floor, caressing one another, holding each other in an embrace, just letting each other know that they were there and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, except where they needed to be in the moment. When she came up for air, Pema looked up at the wooden ceiling, her head resting upon Shinji's chest, thinking back to what she had experienced earlier because of Shinji. The way she felt during his slight fear of harming her, followed by his intrusion into herself. She hadn't expected there to be some pain, but it only lasted for a few seconds, letting her body adjust to the intrusion that she permitted, and then she felt his left hand massaging her right breast as he kissed her neck.

"Pema," she heard him say to her as she was under him, "I love you very much."

We can't go back to the way things were before, she thought, raising her head up to look down at him as he slept. But…that's not a bad thing. I mean…I can't believe that it's a bad thing.

She lowered down and kissed him on his lips again.

Shinji opened his eyes from his slight slumber and smiled at her. He raised his right hand up to caress her face.

She smiled back and then laid her head back on his chest.

-x-

"…So, the creature that manipulates the Eva to face the Angels attacked Ikari and took the First Angel from him," went Fuyutsuki to Ritsuko, "and may have came back and took Lilith from within Terminal Dogma?"

"That's the going theory, but we don't know for sure," Ritsuko explained. "What's more is that Ikari thinks the girl that lives with the Third Child is the creature, but that seems unlikely. What would be her reason for doing so? Is she out to destroy the world? Ever since I saw her with the boy and his affection towards her, I doubt there's a genocidal agenda on her mind. The only thing she seems to have on her mind…is the Third Child."

"While Ikari seems to view her as a threat because his son spends his time with her, I don't see her as a threat because she doesn't seem to be…out to actually get anyone. But the fact that Ikari tries to get rid of her, she may see him as an enemy that won't stop unless dealt with severely."

"It's not like what we think or do even matter. If those two have been dealt with, it's unlikely the remaining Angels will come. We're more or less living on few threads before the UN decides to shut us down."

Fuyutsuki then thought back to the day he went to the temple and told Shinji what he knew about NERV, the Angels and his father's agenda. He didn't regret letting the boy know the truth from his point of view…but he did regret causing him pain that nobody should have to feel because of the harshness of the truth. And yet…even if Shinji knew, nothing would change the fact that he probably resented both his parents for their decisions regarding the Eva, himself and the future of the human race.

"The human race is too big for any one person to concern themselves with," Shinji had told him. "We can't concern ourselves with everyone. We shouldn't concern ourselves with everyone. We should only be concerned with who we know personally. Friends, families, even pets. The small things that should matter more than the big things. Who's really going to care about the human race after we're all gone? Who's going to care about Pema and Otomo after they're gone? Nothing is set in stone. We choose what is important to ourselves…and what's important to me…is right here in the temple."

It was only Shinji's belief, but he was right about there being too many people to concern oneself over. If we focus on everyone, there's no guarantee that everyone will be saved from the end of the world…and there was no guarantee that everyone would be saved, not even for those that worked for NERV.

"What do you suppose are the chances of the Angels ever stopping?" Fuyutsuki asked Ritsuko.

"Professionally, the chances are fifty/fifty," she explained, "but personally, it's anyone's guess as to whether or not they will stop attacking. If both primaries are gone, then they should cease, but if they still continue to persist, it's unlikely that this situation with them will ever cease."

"And…if the so-called 'end of the world' were just a war of attrition taking over several years to accomplish instead of instant destruction the moment something happened?"

"Then I'd have nothing else to say about it."

-x-

"…Ah…" Shinji yawned as he awoke to the new day, looking around the temple, but seeing no sight of Pema or Otomo. "Pema?"

He quickly got dressed in his clothes from the previous day and went to the hot spring shed, but neither was there, either. He began to worry that what happened last night and ever since he met her was nothing more than a dream…and Pema had faded from existence because of what they did. Returning to the temple, he looked out the front door and saw someone sitting on the porch and steps.

"Pema?" He spoke, afraid to see if it was just a stranger.

They turned around and revealed themselves to be none other than Pema, dressed in a purple nightie with Otomo sleeping on her lap.

"Good morning, Shinji," she greeted quietly, gesturing with her right hand for him to come over and sit with her. "She just fell asleep when she came to rest on my lap."

He came over and sat beside her on her left and looked at her with relief.

"When I woke up, I thought you were gone," he revealed.

"I just had to let Otomo out to go relieve herself when I got up. I'm not going anywhere, Shinji."

-x-

From a distance, the temple did seem derelict, but with the sight of the two people sitting on the steps, the police watching from a distance suspected that the place was serving as a home of sorts.

"What do you think?" One of them asked the guy in charge.

"I think we're wasting our time here," he told her. "I mean, the guy we arrested said he shot the girl in her arm, and that girl doesn't look injured. The boy, though, he seems to be the indication that something happened the day before. I'll go over there and question them, though. I'll be brief, with only the important questions to ask them."

"That girl, though," another officer expressed, looking at the pair with his binoculars. "She may not be Japanese, but the boy really seems to like her… Oh, Kami… The boy just kissed her."

"So?"

"He kissed her on the lips."

"Did he seem coerced?"

"It didn't look like it, but it didn't look like the older girl resisted, either. What do you think?"

"All the more reason to ask them what happened the previous day."

To be continued…

A/N: Well, there you have it. Shinji and Pema have crossed the line. Gendo is still trying to trouble Shinji and Pema, despite being arrested for his role in the museum incident. The next Angel will show up later.