"So...mankind..a species of individually flawed beings will be eliminated to make way for a more perfect recreation of mankind."Misato commented under her breath as she watched the still lake formed from the sacrifice of one of her pilots.
"That is...Human instrumentality."She said. "That is..the plan I've inadvertently been pushing forward for all this time,isn't it?"
"Katsuragi-san..please help us fix the mistake of second impact...help us heal this destroyed world and destroy the curse of Eva!"
"Heal this world...i wonder if..that really is possible."
The sun began to set in the horizon, Shinji Ikari stood atop that same runway he had been in all those months ago, this time there were two empty graves. Both were unmarked, but there was no need to mark them, he knew their names, he would never forget them.
Ichijo Rei
Ayanami Rei
His sisters,the two people he'd lost in the voyage that would lead to third impact, now...now things would change, he wouldn't see Ikari Rei be hurt, he wouldn't see Asuka be hurt, anyone. His father's plans be damned, he wouldn't let them die, he wouldn't or rather he couldn't.
"tomorrow is the thirty first...there's no way even Seele can miss this opportunity..yes, tommorrow is bound to be the day." Shinji said,eyes turning toward the graves. "I'll avenge you both, I'll make your deaths...I'll make them have meant something,I'm sure I will."
Silence, silence and the overwhelming feeling of the weight of the world on his shoulders..he would save them,not their bodies nor their souls,but their sacrifice, he would make sure their sacrifice was saved, that it wasn't for nothing. He wouldn't, couldn't allow them to be for nothing, there had to be a meaning, a meaning to their suffering, to his own,to the whole world's.
"There must be...or I will make there be one."
Tashiro looked out toward the ruined city of Tokyo-3,remembering the days when the city had merely been in it's humble beginnings,and the day in which it was finished. Both of those days, paradoxically enough, felt equally distant now.
Now all that remained of those days were memories,memories and ruins that littered yet another lake in the Japanese country-side,an ugly scar that would soon be erased. If their plans were successful,that was. If not they would stand there for millennia, a monument to their failure.
"Sir." A man at his side said. "The forces of Yamato are ready for the armed intervention, so are the ones of Shinano."
He nodded. This,this was a crucial part within the society's plans, the coup d'etat that would see the Japanese government overthrown,all the while the JSSDF's most elite units would be busy with their armed intervention against Nerv.
"Good,inform them that they are to standby until the assault on Nerv is authorized, Yamato's forces will attack the Gotenba units from the back while Shinano's will make move to ensure Kyoto remains under our control." Tashiro said.
"And our own forces sir?"The man asked.
"We are the spear that will stab into the heart of Japan itself, our goal is Tokyo-2." The man nodded at this response,saluting before walking away.
"Two days from now...I'm sure that we will be successful."
The dead of night had struck and Gendo Ikari was within the deepest layer that stood even below where Lilith resided, the one where the guide stone of the Lilim was located. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the titanic structure, the one thing that had allowed him, nearly 15 years ago,to foresee the coming destruction.
The reaping of souls that had come with the second impact, the first time the world was ended. And in two days, or perhaps even less, the world would end yet again, but unlike before this time it would be rebuilt, renewed into something different,better.
But not perfect, not yet at least, even Nerv's own temporary allies already planned to move the world from the grip of Seele and into their own, a tyrant for another, even if the society was certainly less of a threat to human existence than Seele was.
"Even so...the society is too volatile,if their plans come to be their focus on the matters of this world will blind them to the coming storm, they see the matters of the far ancestral race, our true progenitors, as nothing more than lies."Gendo commented. "Yes..it is only under the guidance of those who know the truth that mankind can advance, I will gladly become the monster if that is what it takes...that..that was your choice,wasn't it Yui?."
Five in the morning, NERV's commander stood before SEELE,their final plan would soon come to be.
"Ikari Gendo...the time has come." The first said.
"The day of our reclamation,the day in which mankind shall be rid of it's ultimate sin,is today." The second added.
"Throught the utilization of the ascended unit one,the true descant of Lilith that remains under our control..." The third.
"And the spear of Longinus which will allow us to fulfill such a great task."The fourth added on.
"Mankind will be cleansed of the sin of genesis, the sin of life itself."The first spoke once more.
"And in unity under the ascended unit-01 and with her the tree of life we will become truly perfect." The 7th said.
"The foolishness of war,conflict, prejudice and all other things will be cleansed from this world."The fifth continued.
"That is our plan, the plan of human instrumentality which we have built up for over 15 years, the plan which started with the discovery of the white titan dubbed Adam in the white moon."
"Your plan..is nothing but genocide on a global scale."Gendo said,his voice lacking any of the authority it normally did.
"Yes,Humanity deserves death,and since you will deny it what it truly deserves." The second spoke.
"We will have to take it by force." The first said.
"The power of Eva will be shown before you."Gendo said, absolute certainty in his voice. "Your doom is now,old men."
An alarm suddenly cut through the morning, the peircing sound which was meant to warn against an Angel's attack, both Shinji and Asuka were unpleaseantly awoken by such a sound,yet it was Shinji who first moved to get up.
As he rose from the bed, his eyes narrowed.
"Shinji...what the hell's going on?"Asuka asked, Shinji looked at her.
"Human instrumentality..it's begun."
Nerv's bridge was suddenly alight with warning signals as it's crew rushed into it in a hurry.
"External data dumps coming into the magi, our outgoing communication lines are also being shut off!"Hyuga reported in a hurry.
"So soon?!"Fuyutsuki asked. "Those old men are using us to advance their own plans after all..."
"I'll be installing a new firewall,just give me a minute."Ritsuko said,rushing down the access hatch that lead down to the three magi.
"Put all forces into immediate level one alert."Gendo ordered.
"Level one alert?"Maya asked hesitantly. "But all the angels have been defeated.."
"Well...i have a feeling we're not preparing to fight an Angel right now."Hyuga said somewhat downcast.
"Should we also tell section two to prepare for the worse sir?"Aoba asked, Gendo nodded.
"Do so. Tell them to shot any unauthorized personnel on sight, the defense of this headquarters is now our largest priority."Gendo said, pushing up his glasses. "Where is the major?"
"Major Katsuragi was in her apartment and will be arriving soon through the third underground emergency tunnel."Hyuga said.
"Good."Gendo said. "Operational command is to be given to her once she arrives, close all access to the outside once we're assured no critical personnel are missing."
"Sir...we're locking ourselves in?"Hyuga asked.
"Yes."Gendo replied with a tone that left little room for arguing.
"Major Katsuragi's ETA is 3 minutes at most."Aoba reported.
"Dr Akagi has managed to set up a new fire-wall,we're secure for the next 48 hours against the other 7 magi!" Maya reported.
"A headcount!"The sub-commander said. "I want a headcount on our available forces."
"There are currently 1,700 Section two personnel in the base, and a further 7,000 other assets spread out over the Tokyo-3 district." Aoba reported.
"Tell them to defend the main passages into the geofront,that is the primary objective from this point onward, unlock all access to terminal dogma as well." Gendo said.
"Understood sir!"The long haired male tech replied,typing away at his station as he did.
"It's really begun."Gendo commented under his breath.
"Now is no time to be second guessing your own plans Ikari."Fuyutsuki told him, the man nodded.
"I am aware, from this point onward,the scenario is in it's final stage."
"It seems that our plans to take the Magi by force were fruitless." The first said.
"And so quickly as well..." The fifth added in a sorrowful tone. "It appears we underestimated Nerv's readiness."
"Even so,if nothing else...we have assured that they will fall." The third spoke up. "We merely need to deploy plan B"
"Indeed.." The first agreed. "Deploy the invasion force."
In the thick canopy that surrounded the city of Tokyo-3,the military forces of the JSSDF's most elite units received a go ahead order. One of the men in the canopy,a major, smiled.
"We've been given the go ahead." He said.
Meanwhile,a column of tanks advanced through the hilly roads of Tokyo-3,toward the defensive line at Gotenba,that was,of course,until they were suddenly assaulted by an onslaught of missiles.
The front-most vehicle was struck,exploding in a shower of smoke and fire, then the next one to fall was the one at the very back, the hurried cries of the operators of the tanks between could be heard,unable to move without plunging their vehicles into the depths of the lake.
Then,those in the middle too were consumed by a wave of missiles, the slowly rising form of a squadron of VTOLS in the colors of the JSSDF making themselves shown.
Not to far away,in a tent that served as his temporary command center, a shorter man with piercing brown eyes picked up the phone. "Yes..we're prooceding with phase one of the plan,the forces of Gotenba will be held off by us."
"I Must thank you once more for your aid, general Yamato." The voice of Tashiro could be heard on the other end, the shorter man,general Yamato, shook his head.
"There is little need to thank me,this is for the great good of Japan after all. For Nihon!"He said.
"For Nihon!" Was the other General's reply before he hung up the call, Yamato nodding as he put down the phone.
Elsewhere,in one of Nerv's outer access gates fire was shared between section two agents and the JSSDF. The latter not having expected Nerv's preparation.
The forces of Nerv,though certainly not as well trained as those of the military, held their own,hidden behind barricades made out of whatever they could find. Be such things road blocks, their overturned vehicles or even vending machines.
"What the hell are we fighting the JSSDF for?!"One of the section two personnel bellowed as he peeked out of cover, shooting his machine gun and causing one man to meet an untimely death.
"Hell if I know! But they're the ones attacking,so just keep fucking firing and hope for the best!"Another said,lobbing a grenade over the vending machine he used for cover, it exploded moments later,shrapnel killing another two of the JSSDF's soldiers.
And yet it seemed as if the forces of the Japanese military were unending,where section two killed one three more took his place.
One of the section two agents peeked over the cover once again, opening fire until he ran out of ammunition, at which point a swiftly delivered bullet to the chest made him meet his doom. Yet despite the slow trickle of deaths that overcame the section two forces, they held their own.
That was,until the JSSDF made way for the explosives.
A missile struck the access gate, consuming not only it but everything around it in an ungodly orange flame, smoke flowed from the now blown open door as the JSSDF soldiers rushed in, one of them taking the time to put a bullet in the skull of an already injured survivor of the explosion.
"Multiple sub-section gates are now down!"One of the operators at the very bottom of the headquarter's bridge declared.
"The enemy have gained access to the geofront in at least 12 different points!"Another added. This was when Misato arrived, seeming out of breath from having ran there.
"What's...what's the status report?"She demanded, Hyuga being the first to respond.
"As of an hour ago the Japanese government signed executive order A-801,removing Nerv's jurisdiction and special protections, since then they've tried and failed to take the Magi, as well as having launched an all out attack with the brunt of the JSSDF's forces."
"They really aren't holding back their punches are they?"Misato asked, mostly so to herself. "Get the pilots into their units, they're most likely the main targets, Shinji and Unit-01 will probably be highest in their priority list."
"Got it ma'am, informing the pilots that they are all to report to their unit's cages!"Aoba said.
"Evangelion pilots,report to the cages,we repeat,all pilots report to the cages." The automated emergency alert could be heard ringing even inside the pilot's quarters. Shinji turned toward Asuka, who was now sitting down in her bed instead of laying nigh motionless on it.
"We need to go."He said. She looked at him with a glare.
"You need to go."She said with bitter sadness. "I'm not a pilot anymore remember?"
"Asuka."Shinji said,grabbing her by the wrist and looking at her in the eyes. "There's no time for that right now...we need to go,i'm not leaving you behind,got it?"
She sighed,looking away before relenting. "Fine,lead the way."
The way to the headquarters had,essentially,been left completely undefended, a fact that the JSSDF was most certainly grateful for, it seemed like the west wing, without the presence of the Evangelions to defend, had been utterly abandoned.
Or,at least, that was what the JSSDF's forces had believed until they came face to face with the gate. Not that they had much time to believe anything else, the nearly 50 armed men that stood in the heavily barricaded entrance immediately opened fire, wiping out an entire armed squad in a single second and forcing the others to retreat to the safety of the less defended hallway leading into the door.
"We need reinforcements,they're heavily defending the door!"One of the JSSDF's lieutenants shouted into his radio, awaiting for a response.
"This is the west wing section here, you're on your own for the time being."
The lieutenant scoffed,preparing to move away only for a grenade to roll by his feet.. "Well,shit."
It needed to be said that those were not exactly the best last words.
"The JSSDF forces in the west wing access-way have been pushed back!"Hyuga reported.
"They're pushing through in the east wing and headed directly for the pilot's quarters!" Aoba shouted over the other's report.
"Damn it,get whatever forces we can spare between them and the pilots,we can't let them be injured!" Misato ordered.
"Cease the defense of terminal dogma,that is no longer a priority."The commander could be heard saying from above, Misato's head snapped up to meet his gaze.
"Sir.."She began. "are you sure of this?"
"Yes...their only goal is unit-01."Gendo assured.
"Understood."Misato said,turning toward Aoba once again. "Retreat the forces defending the acess way into terminal dogma,get them in between the JSSDF and the pilots,quick!"
"Understood."He said.
"Good,status on our radar arrays?"Misato asked.
"Unaffected,it seems that the Gotenba sector has not been affected by these attacks!"Maya reported.
"It seems our allies have proved themselves useful."Fuyutsuki commented under his breath, Gendo nodded.
"Indeed."
The prime minister picked up the phone. "This early?"
"Yes sir,one of our assault forces was defeated by unexpected methods,we're going to require authorization for the weapon sooner than expected." The general on the other end informed him.
"Find out what took down the assault force."The prime minister said. "And you're clear to launch the N2 mine in your possession,be weary of the Evangelions."
"Understood sir." The general answered.
Another call,the prime minister grumbled. "Yes?"
"Sir, this is the Tokyo-2 defense force, Tashiro's forces they've- we're under att-AGHHH-" The line went dead as an explosion was heard.
"What?...report!report!"After a few seconds of silence he slammed his phone back down on the table and looked out of his window, much to his surprise, distant explosions could be seen in the edges of the city, his eyes widened. "This...no,it's impossible..."
"This is insane."Hyuga complained as he opened a drawer and brought out a gun. "This center wasn't made to withstand invading armies."
"We're barely armed to take down terrorists."Aoba commented as he took out a sub-machinegun from the hidden compartment below his desk.
"At least we have the defender's advantage."Hyuga said.
"And the JSSDF's getting cocky,they were thinking this would be easy just because we've been having out defense budget cut for the last few months."Aoba added. "Idiots."
"The JSSDF has broken through the west wing main entrance door,they're in the headquarters!"One of the operators below declared, Hyuga gave a tired sigh as Misato walked up to see the situation.
"From now on we're going to be looking rather bad if they get into level 2,flood level one's access ways with bakelite."Misato ordered
"With the amount of explosives they're bringing with them that won't buy us much time."Aoba informed her, she nodded.
"I know,but a little time is all we need, at least for now."Misato said.
Shinji, Asuka in hand quickly moved through the headquarters, the ever approaching sound of gunfire doing little to ease their worries.
Eventually they did find their way to the cage of unit-02, it's red frame utterly still as it stood bound by it's restraints.
Shinji looked at his girlfriend, his hold tightening around her hand. "We're here."
Her eyes moved,settling in on the red titan that was her unit, her grip on Shinji grew stronger, she didn't know what to do,the fear was something she wasn't used to. "Shinji..i don't think I can do this."
Shinji turned toward her,giving her the largest smile he could. "Of course you can,you're Asuka Langley Sohryu,the best Evangelion pilot in the entire planet."
She looked away. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."Shinji assured. "I might have the highest synchronization ratio,maybe even the most powerful unit as well but you..you're the best pilot."
Asuka's eyes turned toward her unit once more, she inhaled. "I'll trust you then."
"Enemy forces are breaking into the fourth malebolgie,they've bypassed multiple of our defensive measures!"Hyuga reported.
"The west wing's gates have been breached as well!"Aoba added. "Enemy forces have overwhelmed levels one and two, level three is at 3% of maximum combat strength as well,about to be overrun!"
"Damn it..."Misato cursed under he breath. "Our pilots,report,quickly."
"The first and third children have both reached their units,the second is missing!"Hyuga said.
"Missing?"Misato asked. "Damn it,she'll get herself killed..."
"Ma'am, enemies are about to enter the Eva cages!"Maya reported.
"Got it."Misato said. "Deploy Unit-02 to the bottom of the Geofront's lake, Asuka will be safer there,deploy unit-01 to the surface!"
"Negative ma'am, Unit-01 is already activated, it's heading toward the main access shaft!"Maya said.
"What the hell is Shinji doing?!"Misato asked,leaning in. "Get me in contact with him!"
"He's cut off his communications with us!"Aoba added from his own desk.
"That is irrelevant."The commander's voice could be heard from above. "Shinji's status is not important as of this moment, focus simply on ensuring the third child's safety."
Misato's eyes narrowed. Just what are you planning?
"Yes sir."She said nonetheless.
Rei stood before Lilith, the primordial mother of all mankind, the being with which she had once shared a soul..yes,once but no longer. The being that stood there was devoid of life,or soul, Lilith was dead, her body no longer had life.
The blue haired girl that stood looking at the dead titan did not know why or how it had died,only that she had felt it do so, only that when it had happened she had felt a surge of energy within herself and then nothing.
She had not come to check on Lilith then,but she was sure that the moment she had felt that was the moment the god's body had given in.
Yes,Lilith was no more, which meant that one had to take the place of the body of the seed of the Lilim, Rei looked up, the familiar feeling of the partially ascended unit-01 was approaching. "Hurry brother."
"Enemies have breached into the fourth level!"One of the bridge operators declared.
"All sub-sectors are falling quickly, section two is retreating!"Aoba added.
A moment later,in the lower levels of the bridge,a wall was blown away by an explosive charge,revealing a squad of armed JSSDF personnel, the front row of which carried riot shields. They immediately began opening fire, being answered in kind by both Misato and Hyuga,who both began shooting downward at the invading forces. Gendo gave an annoyed huff as he took cover beneath the panneling that lead to his level of the bridge.
"It appears as if they are overdoing it.."Gendo said, Fuyutuski nodded,leaning down against the paneling as well.
"They're growing desperate."
Unit-01 in all of it's colossal might slowly lowered itself toward terminal dogma, the sounds of battle that came from above fading away as it descended deeper and deeper into the terminal's lowest levels.
Shinji inhaled, surprised that nothing had been done to stop him going this far, no overwrite of his communications,no attempt to lock the gates leading down to terminal dogma, nothing,almost as if...almost as if they had intended this, in fact, everything was perfectly set up for him to have pretty much free entry into Lilith's chamber.
Almost like..Almost like it was planned...Could it have been? Things were a bit too perfect,the spear of Cassius had been near the holding cage rather than locked away like the nail of the true Longinus and,again, nothing had been done to stop him.
He reached the very bottom of terminal dogma, his feet settling down on the very last of the many dogmas of Nerv, and heaven's gates were open, yet another piece of evidence that his father had planned something.
Shinji moved forward, his unit going waist-deep into the sea of LCL that came from Lilith as he advanced,the spear of Cassius firmly placed in his hand. He approached the form of Lilith, the red spear of Longinus piercing her body with it's forked form.
Standing in the platform leading up to white giant stood Rei,looking up at both Lilith and now his unit, his eyes or rather those of his unit,focused on her.
She smiled and nodded, almost as if she could understand what it was he was about to do.
"Thank you."He said, the unit's external speakers turning on to inform her of his message of gratitude.
Shinji reached for the spear of Longinus,terminal dogma began to shake like it had been struck by an earthquake,the room being filled with a soft glow as a halo began to form over unit-01's head.
And then,the lance was pulled out.
Above the ground a projectile could suddenly be seen,soaring through the heavens as it struck the ruined city of Tokyo-3, a moment later what little remained of it was consumed in a ball of ever growing plasma.
The explosion encompassed everything, eating through every layer of armor that still remained to the geofront and the expanding ball of plasma being enough to even mildly damage the pyramid one kilometer below where the explosion had started.
In the bridge everything suddenly began to shake as their external feed showed them exactly what was happening.
Misato,kneeling to protect herself from incoming fire,cursed underneath her breath. "Damned bastards,they've even gone and used an n2 mine!"
Hyuga peeked over his cover and shoot down at the invading army. "What the hell is their problem?!"
Then the entire base was once more shook, this time by a barrage of over a thousand missiles striking it's now exposed surface, Maya held onto to her head, tears streaming down her face. "Why the hell do they want to kill us so badly?!"
Back in the city of Tokyo-2, the once peaceful metropolitan area had suddenly become a battlefield,made apparent from the rising spires of smoke and fire that came from the destroyed vehicles of the JSSDF's attempt at defending the city from their own brethren.
The prime minister watched as a helicopter was shot down by a ground to air missile,causing to spin out of control and into a nearby building,shattering it's windows as it continued to fall downward. Elsewhere an armored division occupied Tokyo-2's main military base,the head of the generality's command.
"By god..."The prime minister said,his voice a mere whisper. "Why..why would they do this?"
His assistant moved closer to him,handing him a phone.
"Sir...it's Tashiro,he wishes to speak to you." She said, her voice seeming to tremble at the sight of the conflict outside. The prime minister roughly removed the phone from her hand.
"Tashiro!"He bellowed, his voice not hiding any of the anger which was not normally present in it. "What is the meaning of this?!"
"The meaning of this?"The man asked from the other end. "That much is simple sir. My goal is to save Japan."
"Saving japan?!What kind of moronic notion of saving Japan is this?!" The prime minister bellowed,pointing toward the city turned battlefield in spite of the fact that the general on the other end could not see him.
"It is the only way Japan can be saved..by ridding itself of the scourge of the UN's influence." Tashiro said. "And for being complicit in spreading this scourge you deserve only one thing."
A VTOL suddenly appeared before the prime minister's office, the man became frozen in fear.
"To be...removed from your position." The general said.
A moment later,the prime minister's office was consumed in flames.
Cold, Asuka's unit felt cold, it had never felt warm, not like Shinji's, but it had never felt this cold, this soul-crushingly empty. She didn't even know if she was alive, if she was then why didn't she feel anything? anything beside cold.
What brought her back to reality was pain, pain as her unit was suddenly assaulted with explosives, underwater depth charges exploding in a pink glow and causing her to be wracked with pain. Asuka began to mumble something,at first imperceptible before it became apparent.
"come with me,you need to come with me"
"i don't wanna die,i don't wanna die,i don't wanna die." She repeated these words over and over,her vision was starting to grow cloudy,images flashing before her eyes. "I don't wanna die!I don't die.."
"Die with me,why wont you die with me?"
"no,no,you mustn't die,i won't allow you to die."
The images became more gruesome,they become those of her body,mutilated and broken,destroyed and rotting. "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
"Asuka,Asuka,live with me..Asuka,live!"
Suddenly Asuka was no longer alone, she was once more a child,she was once more holding on to the doll she had once loved, but this time it was different, her mother's face looked at her, at her and not at the doll, and it had a smile in it.
"Come on Asuka, you can do this,you're a strong girl,aren't you?"She asked.
"Of course I am Mama!"Asuka replied with unbound joy. "I'm a strong girl and you're here with me mama,mama!"
Suddenly,to those who watched from the outside,a cross of red energy rose from the water,followed shortly afterword by Evangelion unit-02 raising itself out of the water and pushing up the entire frigate which had stood above it. It cracked in two pieces, a barrage of missiles aimed at the Evangelion being stopped by the frigate's now broken form.
And then, the Evangelion threw the entire vessel of war,causing one half to crash against the water and send a wave that consumed most of the military equipment and the other half to crush said equipment before exploding as it's ammunition was lit aflame.
"I see it now mama!"Asuka declared as she took a leap into the air. "I understand now!"
A barrage of missiles consumed the unit,only for it to emerge from the smoke and ash that came from them unharmed. "I understand the meaning of the AT field!"
Her unit came to a landing, crushing a tank underfoot as it did. "You've always been with me mama!"
Vtols flew all around the unit,shooting their missiles only to have no effect on the red behemoth that was the Evangelion. The unit reached out,crushing the VTOL between it's fingers with effortless ease,the Vtols began to retreat,only to be consumed by a red cross from the unit.
"You can't hurt me,for as long as I have my unit with me my mama will help me!" Asuka declared, the overflying VTOLS aiming instead at the umbilical power cord. It was shot off, the power supply to the unit being cut off as the timer started counting down to five minutes.
Another wave of VTOLS approached. "Even if you take down my umbilical cable it won't matter!"
Missiles flied,stopped by a wall of hard orange light. "Because I still have my AT field!"
Another wave of missiles,these ones found their mark,but no damage was seen. "As well as 12,000 plates of armor!"
She reached out, grabbing hold of one VTOL and throwing it at another before rising her feet and kicking down the last of the VTOLS.
Seele looked at the image of the Evangelion unit,consumed in flames yet unharmed by them.
"That loathesome Evangelion." The third Seele said.
"It seems our plans will go unrealized...we must fight fire with fire.." The first said.
9 flying transports,much like those used by Nerv to transport their own Evangelions, overflew the battle,safe in the distance. Within them,the sound of dummy plugs locking into place could be heard as the mass production Evangelions with their grotesque appearance and large wings deployed.
The nine mass produced beasts overflew the hole in the geofront with a harrowing cry, flying in a circle around Evangelion unit-02 much like vultures would around a carcass. Asuka looked up,a look of confusion in her face.
"The mass production series...it's been completed?"Asuka asked herself. The vultures that were the mass production Evangelions landed all around her, their horrifying forms making themselves clear.
"Asuka..do you hear me?"Misato's worried voice could be heard, She nodded.
"Yeah,I'm hearing you."Asuka said, hearing a noticeable sigh of relief coming from the other end of the line.
"You need to defeat the mass production Evas, Shinji will join you soon enough." She said, Asuka looked around herself.
"Geez,the first time I'm piloting in over a month and she's asking me to take down 9 Evas,not to say...where's Baka-Shinji anyway?"
The lance was pulled back,it's red form shifting to fit Evangelion unit-01's hand. The room was suddenly cast in Orange light,a pair of translucent wings sprouting from the back of the unit as it's mouth guard was broken open with a roar.
Shinji clutched his hands at the pain that came with this action,his own eyes starting to glow a pure purple, matching the eyes of the unit. "Come on...just a little...a little longer."
Asuka took a mental checklist of her targets, the mass production Evangelions, nine in total,and she only had five,no, four and half minutes of power left, she had to do something,if only to delay until Shinji could arrive.
"Well,what are you waiting for,come and get some!"She bellowed,removing the knife from her shoulder pylon as she charged at the first of the mass production Evangelions.
The gigantic sword in it's hand was swung but Asuka managed to duck her head underneath the strike, tackling the unit to the ground a moment later. As it fell, the ground breaking away under the joined weight of both units, Asuka rose her knife and crashed it down, blood pouring from the now broken head of the mass production unit.
She rose,blood dripping from her unit's hands as the next of the Evas advanced, this time she reached for the weapon that was now on the ground, the gray swords of both Evas crashing with a sound that was akin to that of thunder.
"JUST DIE!"Asuka commanded, the next swing of the sword she had appropriated from her previous enemy cutting through the arm of the MP eva, blood flowing as the arm was launched into the air a hundred meters before falling down, the white Eva giving a cry before it's waist was like wise cut,splitting it in two.
Asuka ditched the sword, rushing at the next unit with nothing but her own two fists,three and a half minutes remained. As she reached the next of the Evas she swung her fist, it's sheer mass crashing into the side of the Eva's faceless head and crushing it bone and all, but the unit had not yet ceased movement,only when Asuka stomped on it's chest with enough strength to break it's spine, did it stop moving. Three minutes remained.
The next of her targets approached her by itself,reaching out with it's hands and attempting to grab her in a choke-hold,the red Evangelion's hands reached behind itself as the mass production Eva choked the life of it, grabbing a hold of the back of the white Eva's neck and pressing on it, at first it's armor seemed as if it would hold but a mere moment later it's neck snapped like a twig, the hold it held on the red Eva fading as it fell dead. She threw the now dead white Eva over her shoulder, throwing it's body at the incoming form of another one of the mass production series, Two and a half minutes remained.
The mass production Eva that had been hit with it's sister-unit's body pushed it off, but by then the red beast that was the second Evangelion unit was already upon it,pulling back it's fist and striking it through the stomach, blood and guts flew out of the mass production Eva's wound as the red Evangelion's fist was driven through it. Two minutes remained.
Asuka's eyes snapped toward her next foe, yet another one of the mass production Evas with it's sword in hand, her unit's feet crashed against the ground below,forcing her into a leap. As she landed she did so ontop of the unit,both of her hands crushing the skull of the mass production Eva below her.
"Next!"Asuka declared, grabbing hold of the gray sword on the ground as she did so. One and a half minutes remained.
The next Eva stood at a further distance than the others had been,as if preparing to do something ,she wouldn't allow it to do whatever that might be, forcing her unit into a sprint. As she reached the white Evangelion she slashed at the mass produced unit, the two blades of the Evangelions crashed against each other,sparks flying every which way. One minute remained.
"I don't have time for this!"Asuka shouted as put the full weight of the unit behind her next attack,causing the MP Eva to loose the sword in it's hand,it being thrown three hundred meters away in a single second. The mass produced unit then tackled the red Evangelion in desperation, Asuka cursed as the weight of her opponent threatened to crush her. She pointed her shoulder pylon at it's face and shoot the needle-gun within it, the five spikes penetrating into it's the MP eva's head as she did. With a kick she pushed it's dead body off her unit. Thirty seconds remained.
She turned toward the second last of the mass production models, rushing at it with unrestrained ferocity as both she and her Evangelion let out a roar of righteous anger. The mass production unit she faced moved it's blade,using it's flat portion as a shield, the red Eva however, would put the full weight of it's body into pushing against the blade,striking it with it's shoulder and causing both of the units to topple over. 20 seconds remained.
She punched the face-less head of the mass production Eva,blood pouring out of it and staining her already red hands an even deeper shade of the color.
Then,a projectile was shot at her, one of their swords,Asuka pushed out the AT field of her eva,blocking the incoming projectile,that was until it shifted into the form of a forked spear-like weapon. "Spear of Longinus?!"
The weapon broke through her AT field,piercing into it and then her eye, the pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before, blood poured out of her eye as she cried in pain,her unit was hoisted into the air as the spear, still run through her head, struck the ground. 5 seconds remained
"Agh..ugh!"Asuka cried in pain as she reached for the spear that was struck to her,attempt desperately to pull it out, but it was far too late, the unit went dead around her, 0 seconds remained, the batteries were dead.
Maya looked at her laptop,the status of Asuka's unit appearing it as she was pierced through the head. "Asuka!"
"Where the hell is Shinji?!"Misato bellowed,shooting at the now retreating JSSDF soldiers.
"Unit-01's status is unknown,we have no way of getting in contact with it!"Ritsuko reported.
"Damn it!"Misato cursed, looking at the commander above. "Is there nothing you can do, Asuka will die!"
"Very well."Gendo acquiesced. " Communication over-write code is X-09120,put me in direct contact with him."
"Understood sir!"Maya said from below. "It's done."
"Shinji...the third child will die in 15 seconds if you do nothing..that is all." Gendo said,his voice carrying the same nonchalant tone it always did.
Almost as if on cue,an ultra-thin wing of orange light broke through the front of the headquarters,blowing away the main tactical display in much similar fashion to what had happened when the 15th angel,otherwise known as the first Seraph, had arrived.
"Those wings..."Misato said in a horrified tone, those wings even more so than the ones she had seen in the aforementioned proto-impact,resembled those of the white giant of 15 years ago, yes,more so than even before she was reminded of what had happened on that day,the day of second impact.
Outside, as the now healed mass production units prepared to dive down on the red and defenseless Evangelion,the ground under their feet started to give in, one wing as orange as the sun's rays could be seen,then another,and another until there were a total of four,all breaking through the ground and causing the ground to give way beneath them.
As the ground gave a way,a tornado like vortex of black could be seen,and then the four thin wings became two large ones, around the back of what could only be called the scariest of all things, a beast whose eyes glowed a pure purple color and whose wings cast on it an eerie orange hue.
From a distance,as military men watched on,they were struck with awe. "Evangelion unit-01?!"
"Is it the devil himself?!" Another shouted in despair.
The mass production Evas took flight,avoiding the collapsing ground, they once more began to circle around the outer rim of the geofront like vultures, this time with their attention turned toward the new ascended unit-01.
After a few moments they let the replica spears in their hands loose, only for them to impact the rainbow-colored surface of Evangelion Unit-01's AT field,stopping dead in their tracks, both Eva and pilot looked up. The spears in the Evangelion's hands were raised into the heavens,the halo that was once faint now made clearly visible as the sky turned into a rainbow,a vortex beginning to build around Unit-01.
It's mouth let out a roar,no,a screech,a screech like the ones that had, nearly 16 years ago,marked the beginning of the end of the world, both spears in it's hand began to glow, the fake repliclas flew in sync around the purple unit,the mass production units to which they belonged likewise did the same, as if compelled to listen to the commands of the Evangelion.
Misato and the rest of the bridge crew rushed out, much like they had done all those weeks ago when the first seraph had arrived, by now the JSSDF forces were so far broken in their morale that not even a single soldier could be seen in the hallways that lead up to the now exposed geofront.
"What's going on!?"The major demanded to know.
"The unit...the unit's apotheosis is reaching unheard of levels!"Maya reported.
Above them the quickly rising Evangelion unit crossed one spear over the over,making an X with the both of them as the area around it began to glow a dark purple.
"Local reality is being over-written!"Maya said, eyes wide with shock and surprise. Ritsuko looked up, her eyes narrowing.
"This is...it's doing it, it really is."Ritsuko said, the unit letting out a roar as it's wings began to spread,covering everything from horizon to horizon with their glow. Misato looked at Ritsuko with a confused look.
"What's going on?!"She asked.
"Evangelion unit-01 is finishing what it started in the proto-impact against the 15th angel,it's ascending past the limits of the physical reality around itself and re-writing them toward it's own will."Ritsuko said. "And with both the spear of creation and the lance of destruction it will soon replace the logos of the entire world with that of it's own will."
"It's own will.."Misato said in complete awe.
"Evangelion unit-01 is becoming a god..it's replacing Lilith and undergoing Auto-evolution into it's next state of existance, utilizing a power that should be available to no living being, by it's own volition it's becoming a seed of life!"
"Unit-01 has left visual range!"Maya said, the Evangelion in question could truly no longer be seen,only it's wings,now four of them that spread in the four cardinal directions,could be seen.
"It's doing what Adam could not 16 years ago..."Ritsuko said.
"You don't mean..."Misato began,only for the doctor to look at her and nod.
"Exactly...this is the final conclusion to the failed second impact of 16 years ago...this is the third impact."
"It seems we've won.."Fuyutsuki commented to Gendo with some awe to his voice.
"Yes.."Gendo agreed. "Third impact...the proclamation of humanity's victory in it's war against the Angels,the end of this destroyed world...has begun."
High above the clouds, Unit-01's winged form was surrounded by all nine of the mass production units, the sky above it switched it's color,from that of a rainbow to a pure and dark blue.
"It's time..."Ikari Shinji said from within the purple beast. "For this world to change."
"Your will shall be done."The soul within the Eva spoke, the machine raising one hand into the sky,spear of Cassius held firmly within it.
The mass production Evas all stabbed their lances into their chests, their forms morphing to grotesquely match unit-01's own. As they did so the waves of complimentarity that consumed the Japanese mainland began to grow progressively outward.
As the waves of recreation came to reach the entire world,casting it in blue light, the nine mass production unit's began to glow,their physical forms beginning to disappear as they became giants of light, casting away their armor and their cores becoming the very center of their being.
Their cores and with them the beings of light that had become the mass produced units,began to circle around Unit-01, coalescing into one singular gigantic core that seemed to grow until it was the size of a small, pure white, moon.
"this..." Seele 1 said. "this shouldn't be impossible."
"Unit-01 has become god and defied all of our expectations..." Seele 3 said. "our plans...a decade and a half of them and much more..nullified in an instant."
"It was expected..this council was always bound to failure." Seele 7 said, his monolith fading away, a betrayal.
"I am forced to agree, the matters of instrumentality were always your own personal plan Keel Lorenz. Not all in this council were so prone to it." Seele 11 said. "In fact...your friends from 2007 greet you, traitor of man."
The 11th monolith faded.
"How dare they?!" The third bellowed. "Now that things turn sour they quickly abandon us!"
"You truly are blinded by dogma..it was only because we were aware that Seele's plans could not be contested that we played along with them." The fifth added. "Now that they are broken...farewell, we shall see each other in hell."
The fifth faded off.
"My whole life...my whole life spent planning...and this..this is what it has come to.." Keel said.
"I must admit,your plans were appealing Lorenz." The sixth said. "But it appears that I will have to prioritize myself in this situation."
The sixth likewise was gone,and thus the others remained.
Misato and the rest of the crew watched as the gigantic moon-like object that had formed over the earth was pierced by the spear of Longinus, beginning to glow even further for a few seconds before it finally exploded outward.
The entire planet was filled with blindingly white light, Misato and Ritsuko both moved to cover their eyes, the next time they opened them the sky was no longer blue, having returned to how it once was..no,not quite, right now there were dark clouds in the sky.
Said black clouds dispersed in a spot,the titanic form of unit-01 could be seen falling from heaven, crashing into the broken remains of the Geofront with a sound that could be heard for kilometers all around.
"Get me a status on him,quickly!"Ritsuko ordered,turning toward Maya.
"Shinji's stable,he's unconscious but otherwise alright!"Maya said. "Asuka however isn't doing so good,she needs medical attention and quickly!"
"Damn it...where the hell are we going to get that?!"Misato asked herself.
Almost as if answering her question a dozen VTOLS flew into the hole within the once underground geofront, the crew of Nerv preparing to be shoot dead only for it to land safely before them, out of it came general Tashiro.
"The capital has been taken,the plan was sucessful"Tashiro said, Gendo moved past the crowd of Nerv personell and toward the general.
"I see..our pilots are in need of medical help."Gendo informed the general who turned to his men.
"Get medical help for both of the pilots in the red and the purple unit,quickly!" Tashiro bellowed.
Misato looked on in awe as JSSDF medical crews moved toward the units with a hurried pace, she looked at the commander of Nerv, his clear glasses having become somewhat broken during the commotion. "Is it...is this..over?"
"Soon..."Gendo said,looking back at the crowd and awaiting for a particular person, said person did arrive, a blue haired girl with a disc in her hand.
"What you requested sir."Ikari Rei said, Gendo gave her a nod in response.
"Thank you,Rei." Gendo said.
"What is that sir?"Misato asked.
"The truth."Gendo answered. "Or at least as much of it as the public needs to know,the truth behind Seele's manipulation of the UN,their attempts at ending the world,all of it to be released to the media. Once this is done there's nothing even Seele can do to stop it. Now it is over."
"I see.."Misato said, a smile spreading itself across her face. "it's over...all of this...is over."
An officer moved up to Tashiro "Sir,both pilots have been secured, the red one's badly injured but we think she'll live, the purple one's all right,just knocked out it seems."
"Good...now that this worry has been lifted we may leave, there is something I wish to show you."Tashiro said as he stepped into his VTOL.
The Nerv personnel acquiesced and the VTOL took flight.
As they reached the peak of their ascent Misato's eyes widened as she looked at a particular location,the ruins of old Tokyo. "Is that...is that what I think it is?"
"Yes.."Ritsuko confirmed. "The old Japanese coastline has been reformed and not just here but all over the world...the sin of the second impact has been cleansed from this world...we've won."
And as she said that and for the first time in 16 years. It snowed.
END