Chapter 3: Shattering Mirror
There were many different things that I found in the brief moment that I searched the Animist Aaminata's soul in the aftermath of the attack on Christmas Eve. Many of those things would help lead us to drive off the Scions. Many were… private, and I have made an effort to forget them. Such is the nature of the sin of searching so deeply into one's soul.
There were also things there that left more questions than answers. Mention, more than once, of 'a fallback position', beyond this Echo. Its location was vague, but I have at least decent reason to believe that it is across the Divide. We are close to it, after all. The designs of the Evangelions, as well as some of the things that Kaji told me about the code name SEELE had given Adam, 'The Key of Nebuchadnezzar', give much away in that regard.
I cannot help when I am alone but sometimes wonder what is happening to them. What they plan to do over in a world so similar, yet so different, from this one.
- Personal journal of Daniel Theisman
Geofront, Tokyo-3, Another World, December 2015
The Geofront shook as the Main Access Shaft exploded above their heads. Colonel Misato Katsuragi watched on a screen in the elevator that she had taken down, the shaft now red as the alarms went off. She marveled at the power of the 10th Angel, who had pierced through all the armor layers that had protected the Geofront with contemptuous ease.
Everything that they had thrown at it so far was useless. They needed the Evangelions.
A flash of annoyance ran through her mind. 'Damn it, Shinji. Of all the times to quit…'
She couldn't quite blame him, though. She had seen the records of the 9th Angel's attack. What Shinji had done. Or, more accurately, what he hadn't been able to do.
An ember of anger flared within her chest, its heat directed towards one Commander Gendo Ikari. 'There had to be a better way…'
Misato shook her head as she picked up an old-school corded phone from the wall mount it sat on, connected directly to Central Dogma. "What's the status of the internal defenses?" she said, all business.
"Coming online right now, ma'am." First Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga said as a conveyor belt of massive rounds began to travel the opposite direction from Misato.
"Well, get them up quickly! We need every weapon we have firing at this thing!" Misato snapped.
"Yes, ma'am!" Hyuga said, and Misato nodded.
Then, she felt the rumble of something massive going up the tracks opposite of her. As she turned, she caught the giant red form of Unit-02 going past her and became confused.
Her confusion only deepened as she put the phone back to her ear. "They're launching Unit-02?" she said incredulously.
"Operations hasn't authorized its launch, ma'am!" Hyuga said, and Misato's mind began to whirl.
Rei wouldn't be on the surface just yet with the damage to Unit-00, and Shinji was gone. That left… the new Child.
. . .
Deep within the Geofront's reinforced safe rooms, Tavis Farhaven wiped the sweat from his brow, intent grey eyes straining slightly to find the others of the Revival that were with him in the dark, red lights.
He sighed quietly. This universe was a tumultuous one, wasn't it? There were many surprises here in this new Echo that he really should have taken into account. New Angels. A different NERV. Other powers in the world, and beyond it, so it seemed.
It made getting into NERV itself an interesting task. Now, however, they were within the organization that they had tried to sneak into what felt like so long ago. 'And no meddling heretic to stop us this time.' he thought, and, as he often did when he thought such a thing, a slight smile came to his face.
After a moment, he found Ymris, looking calm and composed compared to those technicians that surrounded her at the corner of the room. He made his way over to her sitting form and sat beside her. "So," Tavis said in a whisper, as Ymris glanced over at him, "care to hook me in?"
Ymris, or as her tag said, Esmeralda, nodded silently, and Tavis's vision blurred, then cleared, as he saw the Geofront, bright and clear, as the buildings that hung from its ceiling began to fall. He hoped that they wouldn't land on some of the other Seer Marbles, as Ymris called them, that were scattered about.
He felt the rumble as they impacted, seemingly heard in the distance the murmurs of the people he shared the room with. He saw Unit-02 emerge to the surface, clenching and unclenching his fists. It felt… somewhat strange, watching through these lenses as the 10th Angel descended like a fluttering pile of rags from the hole it had created. Like watching a muted Receptor archive.
That feeling became dispelled as he felt the buzzing rumble of the twin Pallet Rifles in Unit-02's hands begin to fire even deep in the earth as he was, the shells exploding harmlessly off the Angel's AT Field.
As the Angel descended towards Unit-02, the flickering shield of its AT Field extended towards the Evangelion, looking like a soundwave as it pressed in on the red Unit.
After a moment, the Evangelion threw its weapons aside, and a weapons crate next to it opened, the Unit stamping on one end to throw what seemed like another rifle into the air, catching it as the stock extended.
It charged at the Angel, and Tavis and Ymris's perspective shifted as they watched the charge from a side view. The weapon in the Evangelion's hands surprised Tavis slightly by extending a blade that glowed with a hot purple light, as the Unit jumped into the air, coming down on the Angel with a mighty crash as the Angel's AT Field once again flared to life around it.
As Unit-02 balanced precariously on top of the Angel's field, it flashed like a dying lightbulb, and Unit-02 was thrown to the side, propelled by the Angel's AT Field pushing it along. After a moment, the Unit stood, jumping out of the way as the Angle used its AT Field to crush the area it had occupied only seconds before.
As the 10th Angel unfurled the rest of the cloth-like appendages surrounding its skeletal, crustacean-like body, the crimson Evangelion stood silent for a moment.
Tavis could not help his brows shooting up as he watched the Unit twitch slightly, its pylons shattering as tubular pylons began to emerge from the body. "I didn't know it could do that." he said to Ymris through their soul-link, as the Evangelion went down on all fours like a beast, physically warping and stretching, spasming in pain as it did so.
"Neither did I." Ymris said as they both watched a jaw filled with needle-like teeth gape open in a guttural roar, and charged at the Angel as its umbilical cable ejected with a bang, flipping through the air in stark defiance of the laws of physics.
"The pilot must have connected her soul completely with both the souls held within." Ymris said. "A dangerous task, considering the inhuman nature of one of those souls."
Tavis stifled a nod that would have looked odd to anyone observing them. The attack of the 9th Angel had affected far more than just the Unit that it had possessed, and its pilot. After Unit-01's spectacular dismemberment of Unit-03, the part of the soul of the Angel that had taken it had wandered. Apparently, it had found another home.
These thoughts coursed through Tavis's mind as he watched the bestial Unit-02 shatter the AT Fields the 10th Angel threw between them like glass, the Unit tearing and pounding at them as it continued to roar and growl.
The Angel then apparently decided that enough was enough, as two of the cloth-like arms rolled up, forming two thick cylinders which it aimed at Unit-02, and fired, the lances it had created shooting forward like released springs as they impaled the Evangelion in its torso and shoulder.
As Unit-02 went flying backward, its left arm flew off, splashing into the lake and sending up a massive plume of water.
It stood back up as the Angel's arms retracted to a ready position once again, and charged at it again with another roar.
Unit-02 did not even make it halfway to the Angel before its arm springs fired again, sending the Evangelion flying back again. This time, it did not rise again from the plume of dust that its impact had made.
"A shame, really." Ymris said, sympathy echoing through her soul. "Whoever was piloting Unit-02 had to be quite impressive to keep all their souls from clashing. To tame an Angel…"
"Was apparently not enough." Tavis said. "And if that was not enough…" he continued as Unit-00, orange and white armor stripped away in some places and replaced by bandages, emerged onto the surface of the Geofront, carrying a massive N2 missile in its arms. "Then that will not be enough either."
Unit-00 charged with heavy footfalls that shuddered any Seer Marbles it passed by, slamming the missile into the 10th Angel's AT Field like a massive spear as it turned to face her, the missile's engines kicking on and going to full burn as Unit-00's AT Field blossomed into existence, forming a cone around the tip of the missile.
New layers to the Angel's AT Field sprang into existence as Unit-00 struggled to push the missile through, its tip crumpling under the pressure. It wouldn't get through. Not alone.
Luckily for it, it wasn't alone, as Unit-02, having crawled forward unseen until now, tore away at the AT Field with its mouth, a layer or two succumbing to each great bite it took.
It caught the last AT Field between the N2 missile and the Angel itself, its head whipping back and forth like a dog's as it tugged at it. Finally, the barrier came down, and the missile surged forward unimpeded.
But just before it hit, the Angel's rib-like cage that surrounded its core snapped shut, the missile slamming uselessly against it.
A blinding flash of light caused Tavis to tear away from the connection to the Seer Marble, as the room around him shook and rumbled with the explosion, the people with them shouting and covering their heads as dust and tiny bits of debris began to rain down from the ceiling.
After a moment, the rumbling stopped. "Is everyone alright?" the deep, loud voice of Kauri, their resident Stone Interfacer and engineer, boomed over the aftershocks. A chorus of affirmatives answered back, Tavis and Yrmis's among them.
After a moment, Tavis looked back over at Ymris. "How many of your Seer Marbles are left?"
"More than you might expect." Ymris replied, and Tavis almost missed the slight smile that Ymris gave him.
That smile died as she apparently reconnected to one of the Marbles. "Oh…" she said, a somber note permeating her end of the link.
"What is it?" Tavis said, and Ymris showed him.
It was a dark wasteland now, the mirrors that reflected sunlight into the Geofront shattered by the blast. Dust filled the air, leaving many of the buildings in the distance in shadow. The silence now seemed oppressive. Dead, save for the smoldering form of Unit-00 and the massive 10th Angel that seemed to emerge from the dust like it was parting a great veil. Unit-02 was nowhere to be found, having apparently been flung away by the blast.
"By the Guides…" Tavis said as the 10th Angel opened the jaw of its mask-like face, and a massive mouth slowly emerged from somewhere within the Angel's body. It engulfed the charred Unit-00, and its mouth retracted back into its body, leaving the lower legs of the Evangelion to spout a bit of blood into the air as it chewed, then spat the empty helmet out.
Then, they watched with mounting horror as the bottom of the Angel began to bloat and expand, a pair of cloth-like limbs becoming human-like arms as the rapidly expanding bottom became a torso, legs, and breasts. It fell to the ground on its newfound hands and knees and stayed there for a moment.
"Tavis…" Ymris said as it stood on its legs. "I think this world is done for." she said, her words quiet and somber.
"No." Tavis said. "Find Shinji Ikari. If there's anyone who will solve this, it's him."
The view switched after a moment to the image of a slight, white-shirted young boy, running through the desolation. He seemed so small compared to the giants that he had to conquer.
A flash of purple light drew their attention, and their view switched again as they saw the beam attack of the 10th Angel flay apart the NERV Pyramid, feeling the rumble above their heads as they saw the wreckage cool. Hundreds had likely died in an instant as the Angel now moved to the final shaft. Towards Lilith. Towards them.
A Marble began to track the Angel as it descended, and Tavis began to hear the alarms as they called for an evacuation of all non-combatants.
He heard the shouts around them. "We gotta go!" one technician shouted. "Where?" another asked incredulously. "If the Angel is this close, then there's no use running."
Tavis and Ymris stayed silent, Tavis reaching out towards Aaminata, their resident Animist, who was secured in a level higher than they were. "Aaminata," he said as he watched the Angel crash through the screen of Central Dogma, "how are you holding up?"
"We're doing just fine, all things considered." Aaminata answered. "I have a few of my children working invisibly to keep things calm."
Tavis suppressed another nod. Aaminata's Spirits would be useful here, as the argument continued to escalate. They could hear the Angel's deep growl now, even as far from Terminal Dogma as they were.
Then, the wall opposite of the Seer Marble burst apart, and the purple form of Unit-01 crashed into the Angel, a punch smashing across its face.
The world around them began to shake more and more as the Evangelion and the Angel fought, as Tavis watched them crash through walls, a stray beam taking off Unit-01's left arm as they eventually came to the launch platforms. Unit-01 slammed the Angel against the rails of the launcher, then slammed a button next to it, the two combatants disappearing in a flash.
Tavis's view changed to another Marble the instant that Unit-01 and the Angel flew up into the air of the surface of the Geofront, crashing down and throwing up a massive plume of dust and ash as Unit-01 punched and tore at the Angel, gripping the flap that covered the core of the Angel as its AT Field flashed and flickered.
Then, Unit-01 slumped, seemingly out of power, and the Angel took its chance, stretching out its pale arms as they became ribbons that flowed back into a familiar cylinder pattern.
Unit-01 launched into the air, propelled by the impalement it had been given by the Angel.
They watched in stunned silence as the Angel threw the Evangelion into the remains of the pyramid, then turned over and stood, its pale arms reappearing.
Unit-01 lay silent for a moment. Then, it slowly began to rise, and Tavis and Ymris suppressed a shudder at the red, nearly demonic glow in its eyes as the lime green parts of its armor became a deep, glowing crimson. "Ymris…" Tavis said, his worry evident in his words as they watched Unit-01 open its mouth and roar. "I think it's time to get out of here."
"Agreed." Ymris said, only slightly taken aback by Tavis's sudden fear and want to leave.
Tavis broke the connection and stood. "Kauri." he said, nearly having to shout over the noise of the now dying argument, striding over to the man. "We need to get out of here."
Other words, unspoken, passed in an instant between the two of them. "Let Aaminata know to get her people moving. We'll meet up outside, away from all this."
Kauri nodded. "Alright." he rumbled. Then he turned to sweep his gaze across the room. "Everyone, follow us. We can guarantee you'll live."
"And how can you do that, when the world is falling apart around us?" one of the technicians, a woman with the name 'Tomomi Takeshi' above her breast asked incredulously.
As she finished her question, the room shuddered violently, throwing many, including Takeshi, to the floor. Cracks began to spread across the concrete ceiling, and a massive piece became dislodged and began to fall, right where Takeshi had landed.
In an instant, she screamed, then the scream died as wisps of mist shot out, spreading across the surface of the falling rubble across the room, slowing and stopping the falling ceiling.
Takeshi, along with many others, looked up in amazement, muttering to each other as they looked around at the sight, then at Tavis, his hand outstretched, mist pouring from it like water from a fountain. His forehead glowed with a sigil that lit the dim, darkening space. A sigil that showed two hands held together, cupping the air below three lines that twisted together. "Like that." he said.
"Now," he continued, lifting the rocks with the mist and depositing them in an empty space, "follow us."
. . .
NERV HQ continued to shudder as the Angel and the awoken Evangelion battled. Tavis held Ymris's hand, guiding her somewhat as she kept an eye on things outside. Her eyes were wide as they got to a functioning elevator, and began to go up. "Tavis…" Ymris said through their soul-link, right as they felt a wave of… something wash over all of them. It felt… cold, and Tavis could swear that his heart had actually skipped a beat.
"Yes, Ymris?" Tavis said, startled at the sheer terror that he found on her end of the soul-link.
She said nothing, simply linking him into her view from the Seer Marble outside.
Tavis could not help but share in Ymris's terror as he saw what he did. The Angel was… transformed, its shattered remains becoming a crimson giant bearing the image of Rei Ayanami. Unit-01 took the visage in an almost tender embrace, as red rings swirled in the sky around the pair, pieces of rubble swirling around them as the Geofront peeled apart, the rings spreading into the sky above, into Tokyo-3… over Japan… as Unit-01 absorbed the crimson giant, trails of light spreading from its now exposed core to form… wings.
"Tavis…" Ymris whispered through their link. "The world is ending."
The elevator dinged as it opened, and Tavis tore himself from the sight as his Sight caught the flickers of souls flying past them, up out of the Geofront. Up out of Terminal Dogma.
He followed their path as he shepherded the other groups past him, and saw that they led towards a brilliant point of light, swirling around it. 'Is it taking souls from Lilith? How?'
That didn't matter right now, as Aaminata and her group of people met up with them. "What's going on?" She said, her words amplified by a slight connection to Tavis's soul. "I've had to recall my children to ensure that they don't get sucked up into that… thing up there."
"Aami…" Tavis said. "The world is ending. Third Impact is happening."
Aaminata's eyes widened. "By the Firelight…"
Tavis nodded. "Exactly." he said, jerking his head towards the very clearly marked exit to the surface. "We need to go. Now."
Aaminata nodded, motioning to those that followed. "Alright, come on! The exit is this way!"
As the technicians, scientists and engineers streamed into the exit tunnel, Kauri at their head to clear the way of any blockages, Tavis looked down, then back up.
Lilith had lit up like one of the estates in the mist from his old life, as thousands, millions of soul cores flew away from her towards what could only be Unit-01.
This was madness. He knew the world could end. Any one of them that he visited held that potential. But this…
As the last NERV employees made their way past him into the exit tunnel, he blinked as the flow of souls… stopped.
He looked back up at Unit-01 with his Sight, and the bright, brilliant beacon was extinguished.
He looked at Ymris, who looked back at him incredulously, with no small amount of relief in her eyes.
Tavis didn't even need to ask as Ymris linked him in with her view from the Seer Marble. Now, Unit-01's glow began to dim as it slowly fell, its spectral arm fading out of existence, a massive spear impaled in its chest as another Evangelion floated down from the sky, a pale pink halo above its head.
It was over. The end of the world had been averted. And yet…
Tavis's mind whirled as he considered what had happened. What would happen now. The world would likely collapse, even with something as massive as Instrumentality averted. The world would need to be rebuilt. The world would need leaders. He would lead those that followed the Guides. And there would be many that would follow him and the rest of the Revival, that was now certain. As for those that didn't…
He looked over at Ymris. "I'm about to ask something big of you." he stated with little in the way of preamble.
Ymris's eyebrow rose slightly. "And what would that be?"
Tavis sighed quietly after a moment of silence. "Follow Colonel Katsuragi. If there's anyone who's going to try and make something out of this mess, it's her. I and the others will keep an eye on the… well, the now-former NERV employees we've rescued. We'll probably have more than a few Initiates by the time the day is out, and they'll need someone to guide them."
It was silent again for a moment. Not even the alarms broke that silence, their power gone now.
Ymris nodded. "Alright, then." she nearly whispered. Then, Ymris chuckled quietly. "Then you better stay out of trouble as best you can. I won't be around to pull you out."
Tavis snorted softly. "That you won't. Thank you. We'll keep in touch."
"Good." Ymris said with a ghost of a smile. "I'd hate to not hear about your successes. Or tell you mine. I think… we'll both need that for a while."
"We've needed that for a while anyways." Tavis said.
After a moment of silence, they embraced each other for a quick moment. "Thank you, Ymris." Tavis said. "I'll see you around."
"And I'll see you." Ymris said.
They parted from the embrace, and Ymris began to walk back towards the elevator. "Good luck, Travis." she said, calling him by the name on his uniform jacket.
"You too, Esmeralda." Tavis said, and could not help but smile slightly as she rolled her eyes.
"Still think there were better names than that." She said through their soul-link. Then, it was severed, and Ymris disappeared from sight.
. . .
Tavis exited the evacuation tunnel into a blasted hellscape. Ash fell from the sky, a sight that took him back to before his time as a Scion, and buildings everywhere were in various states of ruin. The sky was dark, a full moon the only real source of light in the skyline.
The group before him was huddled and scared, emergency flashlights and blankets scattered throughout the huddled mass as they whispered amongst one another. Kauri and Aaminata walked amongst them, crouching down at one point or another to speak quietly to someone, reassuring them or asking questions about them.
As he came to a stop before them, they all turned to look at him, the whispers and mutterings slowly stopping.
"I'm sure all of you are wondering what just happened. How I, and others, were able to do what we did." he said clearly.
He paused for a moment, then the sigil floating over his brow glowed again. "We are…" he sighed quietly. "As ridiculous as it sounds, we are not from this universe."
He paused, and even in the moonlight, he could see the wonder, the incredulity, and shock in all of their eyes.
"I know that sounds ridiculous," he continued, "but after what happened today, could it really be?"
Whispers in the group picked up again for a moment, then a man shouted from the back. "Alright then," he said, standing up, and Tavis enhanced his senses enough to pick up the name on his tag, 'Kaito Wada', as he continued.
"So if you aren't from around here, where are you from then?" Wada continued, the tone in his voice clearly showing his skepticism.
"We are from a place called the Worldsea." Tavis replied. "A place of infinite worlds. Of power like ours. A power that can be used to mend this world."
Wada's brow rose fractionally. "Fix this world?" he said, a hint of incredulity in his voice. "How could your powers fix…" he swept his arm across the scene that lay before them. "This?"
Tavis shook his head. "Obviously, I cannot fix this alone." he said. "I will need help. Your help. Others help. But this world can be restored. The people who died needlessly brought back. The environment made clean and beautiful again. This much I promise."
"And…" a scientist said, not bothering to stand as she asked her question. "What about NERV?"
Tavis sighed. "NERV is broken. They were meant to keep the world safe. From the Angels. From another Impact. And… they failed. We cannot rely on them anymore."
More whispers and mutters rose up in the group for a moment before Tavis raised a hand to quiet them. "And even if NERV were not broken, their mission, our mission, would have failed. Not by any fault of our own, but due to forces who wish for something like this to occur."
The whispers became murmurs, and the murmurs intensified. "And how do you know all this? How can we be sure that you're even telling the truth, and not just conning us?" Wada said as he scoffed.
Tavis waited patiently for the murmurs to quiet before he continued. "Because I, and others, have seen these events before, as they have played out on other worlds like this one."
Tavis shook his head after a moment. "Look, I understand that you are confused, scared, and wondering what all is going on. We will explain in time, I promise. But right now, we need to get to someplace that is safe, find others who have been displaced so that they get the help that they need."
Nods of agreement followed the murmurs this time, and even Wada seemed like he was becoming more convinced.
"Alright. I promise, by the Guides that give me my power, that will give you such power as well, that we will keep you safe. That you will learn and grow from this." he proclaimed. "One of the first lessons that I learned is that suffering is the first part of growth. And we have all suffered greatly. So let's not waste it. Let us take that suffering and let it make us greater than we were before. Let it make us great enough to return this world to what it should be."
He paused as he finished his proclamation. The faces of those that watched him were… tired. Weary. But there was hope beginning to flicker in some of those eyes now.
Tavis sighed quietly and nodded as he stepped forward. "Is there anywhere that anyone knows will be… maybe not untouched, but at least somewhat intact after all this?"
"Well…" Takeshi said, uncertainty in her voice clashing with the rising hope in her eyes. "We could try Matsushiro. They have backup facilities that should have everything we need." she paused, and the light in her eyes dimmed. "It's a long drive though, let alone walking to it."
Tavis nodded. "We can find some vehicles to requisition, I'm sure."
Takeshi nodded, then another technician spoke up. "What about everyone else in the Geofront? Like the command staff?"
Tavis closed his eyes for a moment. "Depending on who survived, they should be able to pull something together for the rest of those we couldn't get to."
He opened his eyes as he scanned the small crowd. "For right now, though, let's make sure we're safe, and that you all are up to speed."
He looked over at Kauri. "Take a few people and spread out, find some vehicles and fuel. Aaminata, take another group and search for food and water. I and the rest of the group will find a place to stay for the night until we head to Matsushiro."
Kauri and Aaminata nodded and swept their gazes across the group, pointing out a person and calling them out.
After organizing themselves for a moment, the two groups left, leaving Tavis with about two dozen people. "Alright." he said, trying to project reassurance. "Let's go ahead and get to looking for a good place to sleep."
The group nodded, and they headed into the deathly quiet night.
As they walked, staying close as people began to slowly gather into groups to discuss things as they searched, Tavis was surprised to find himself with Takeshi next to him, and there was an almost eager light in her eyes. "So," she said, "Tell me more about where you come from. You mentioned the Guides. What are they?"
Tavis, taken aback for only a moment, rejoiced internally. "Well, that takes a little explaining, as I said." Tavis began slowly. "But, I can give you the basics on the Guides."
Takeshi shrugged. "Alright. Who are they?"
"Well…" Tavis began. "The Guides are… well, they aren't gods, for one, even as much as we venerate them." he paused for a moment. "They are powerful, however. They exist beyond what we can regularly perceive. And they offer power. Power like mine, and Kauri's and Aaminata's. The power to access the soul, and do wonders with it."
Takeshi's eyes widened. "Really? I can learn to do… what you do? Magic?" she whispered in wonder.
Tavis nodded. "That's right. Though it isn't magic, per se. We call it Interfacing. The power to manifest the soul of a thing in the physical world. And they help, well, guide us to getting and mastering that power." he replied. "All they ask is that we try to unify those around us. Become perfected as we unify our bodies, minds, and souls. To do the things that will save this world and its people."
'And when this world and its people are saved and perfected,' Tavis thought silently as Takeshi nodded, her eyes wide, 'you will serve them without question. But really, that's getting ahead of things.'