Chapter 49: The Now On Which the Shadow Stands
An interesting quandary has arisen concerning the Evangelions.
It seems that, beyond simply continuing to exist beyond the realm of the Square-Cube Law, more power than that of a single soul ensconced within the crystalline core, or the fragment that is now within Unit-00, is required.
However, NERV, the reorganized GEHIRN, has proposed a solution. The Marduk Institute, formulated by one Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, will search for another soul, compatible with the one inside the core. I have been told that it will take a very close relation, that of a deep friendship or family, in order to fully synchronize with the coreward soul.
It is of little matter how they approach the solution. Only that the Evangelion is ready to stand against the Angels as they attempt to upset our plans. Soon. It will be very soon, I feel.
- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, November 2014
HERZ-Matsushiro, December 28th, 2016
Daniel blocked the incoming blasts that the crowd of Sachiel[A]-types threw at him as best he could, slamming Unit-00's swordspear home into the chest of one in front of him, a black hole flashing into existence within it causing the Angel to collapse into itself, its legs falling to the ground as he slashed out at the others, the now utterly dark blade catching torsos, arms, and cores.
As the Sachiel[A]s tumbled to the ground, the blade of Daniel's weapon became crystal again as he slammed the butt of the weapon into the leaping Bardiel[A] that descended upon him, sending it sprawling onto the ground as he summoned a star over its chest, slamming it down into the Angel.
As it disappeared under the fury of the star, Daniel swept his swordspear around, a coronal ejection bursting out from the star and surrounding him, barring the progress of the Angels that sought to press in on him.
Finally, he thought as he took a deep breath, he had a moment to take stock of the situation.
It had been a hellish two hours since this latest training simulation had started. The munitions drop that the Cataphract had provided had cracked the Ramiel[A]s after Lilith had stripped away nearly everything's AT Fields, and the Ptahiel[A]s had proven tricky, but manageable with more than a few Evas.
There, though, was their problem. Their numbers were dwindling far too quickly. Orien and Howard, Thunderhead and Neptune, lay at his feet, disabled but not destroyed thanks to all of their efforts. Godzilla, though a powerful asset, had perished 45 minutes ago atop a pile of broken bodies, Mothra and Battra not much earlier.
As for the others, Asuka, Marie, and Shinji were a thorny trio, laying waste to anyone that approached them, while Mari, Mana, and Mayumi bounced around the battlefield, a ball of destructive energy. Toji, Rei, and Hikari were avenging Kaworu's untimely death, while the other remaining national pilots stuck together as best they could. Where once there were 30 pilots, now there were only somewhat over half their number.
Before he could try and link up with any of the others, a Baraquiel[A], one which he had sworn he'd put down several minutes ago, hit him with a blast of electricity, striking Unit-00 in the shoulder and crackling through its arm, Daniel clenching his jaw in pain as his focus faltered for the briefest of moments.
That moment was all the other Angels needed, however, and before Daniel could react, they had burst through the barrier, falling upon him and beginning to savagely tear him apart.
The last thing he felt from Unit-00 was a stabbing pain from his right side going straight into his core, then the pain ceased as he found himself declared KIA.
He relaxed into his seat with a deep breath as he looked at the numbers scrolling by, deciding to become an observer and floating up as he processed the summation of his work. 95 kills, 4 of which were Zeruels, and 162 assists.
'But it's still not enough.' Daniel thought wearily as he floated over to observe Lilith, guarded by the Arabic States pilots and the Nordic Confederation pilots, their efforts against the now rapidly encroaching Angels led by Galina Ivanov.
"I wish I could assist here," Nynrya said, briefly startling Daniel. "Perhaps I could help allay your fears with how my presence changes things."
"I would hope that you'd be able to help in a way that fundamentally changes things,"
Daniel replied. "Unfortunately, I don't think they've figured out a way to include you in the simulations yet."
He could sense, now, the discontent that Nynrya felt. "Itching to prove yourself again?" he asked in slight amusement.
He heard a grumble from Nynrya. "As satisfying as it is to simply be able to manifest my blades again, I do miss the… physicality of it all. The focus it granted me."
Daniel settled in as he watched Asuka hurl the Lance of Longinus, the crimson spear cutting swathes through the Angels around them as she used her control of metal to direct the Lance. "Was that part of why you decided to do what you do? Or did, I guess."
"A small part," Nynrya admitted. "I placed far more focus on the spiritual aspect of it all. I would serve my people, and through them, the ancestors who tended our homes beyond."
"I see," Daniel said, his words quiet as he watched a pocket of Evas, the remaining AU and EU ones, finally collapse under the weight of the Angel's assault. "Was it just…" he shook his head slightly. "Something like police work? Or was there something greater that you stood against?"
Nynrya was silent for a moment. "There were various incursions from other worlds. We often stood against those. Developed ships and weaponry of our own to combat the threats. But… we never had Interfacing before the Scions came."
Daniel gulped silently. "Why did they choose you?" he asked, his words quiet.
"I was the last one standing." Daniel could feel Nynrya considering memories he could not see. "Even after my home, my friends, had fallen, I still held out, aided by our ancestors. The Scions seemed to like my tenacity."
Daniel nodded as Mari, Mana and Mayumi got stuck in place by a pair of Azariel[A]s, the Evas mercilessly worn down by a flight of Zeruels. "And that's how you met me."
"Yes. The ancestors, before they left, told me to be a monument. Silent, yet lasting. I… took that to heart."
It was silent between them as Daniel watched Shinji go down, Asuka going wild until she too shared in his fate. Marie's final act was to create an utterly massive explosion, the conflagration sending Angels flying away from her before she went to one knee and resigned herself to her doom.
"And even though I was silent… I appreciated that you spoke to me, even after all others gave up." Nynrya finally continued as the Angels pushed past Galina and her contingent, reaching Lilith at last. "Thank you."
Daniel smiled slightly even as the harsh, familiar buzzer that signaled mission failure sounded, the scene fading away as the screens of the other pilots flashed into existence.
Asuka, immediately, heaved a mighty sigh. "Verdammt!" she shouted. "Every time, every time, we get swamped. There's just too many of the bastards!"
"There has to be a better way to whittle down their numbers." Arantxa sighed quietly. "Mari and her trio were particularly effective. At least for a group that didn't have the Lance with them."
Asuka smiled slightly even as Mari sighed quietly. "Mind you, miss, we still got bogged down. If we're not moving, it looks like we're dying, however long that takes."
It was silent for a moment as a gloom began to hang over them all, the sheer number of Angels almost physically weighing them down.
"Chin up, pilots." Misato's voice came through, steadfast in its tone. "You've made it leagues further than the first time you encountered this force. You're up nearly 500 kills altogether from your last run. That's nearly 2,000 Angels out of the fight."
"Even still," Mavuto said pointedly, "that's only about a third of the enemy force. We'll need to do that many times over to even get close to trying at taking out Azazel."
"What I think we need," Shinji began, drawing the attention of all to him, "is a rethink of our strategy."
"I believe that anything that can positively change how we approach this battle should be considered seriously at this point," Rei said, a slightly weary tone to her voice. "What do you suggest?"
"We need a way to break up the force that we'll be engaging into smaller pieces." Shinji began. "All we're accomplishing is throwing ourselves into engagements where we are completely outnumbered."
"And how will we do that when they can break through or go over every barrier we can create?" Marie asked. "I mean, not to be too blunt, but there's nothing that they can't seem to get through, given enough bodies and time."
"Maybe…" Shinji trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Daniel," he finally said, "you can bend space, right?"
Daniel's head tilted slightly before nodding. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Do you think you could… break it, somehow?" Shinji said slowly.
Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it. "Well, I mean, it's possible, certainly. But the further up the scale of concept you go when it comes to an Aspect, the trickier it is to tap into it and fully control it. Something as specific as a gemstone, a star, or even a black hole is limited in its scale, able to be contained and set within boundaries the Interfacer dictates. Something as fundamental and far-spanning as physical space takes a lot of focus and effort to put boundaries on, to bend, let alone create or destroy. And it can just as easily slip out of conscious control." he finished with a warning tone.
"But it can be done?" Kaworu asked softly.
Daniel took a deep breath. "Yes. It can be done. We'll need to trace where the breaks will be ahead of time, as I only have so much experience doing this, and I'm going to need some Interfacers assisting me in making the break if we're thinking about as big a scale as I think we are, but if it manages to split up the force that we'll be facing…"
"Then we can just practice defeat in detail," Galina said with a small, hungry smile.
"That we can," Daniel said with a nod. "Alright, 30 minute break, then we'll test out this tactic."
. . .
Misato waited and watched intently, Ritsuko and Makoto with her, as the pilots tried out the new tactic.
Once again, the army of Angels loomed large, the Cataphract having done its work on the Ramiel[A]s, taking out a few dozen Angels in the process.
Now, though, instead of being spread out in small clusters, most of the Evas were gathered around Daniel, Mavuto and Mayumi standing at his sides as he held his swordspear out like a wizard's staff. The camera that showed his Plug's interior showed a face strained with concentration, his brow furrowed as the ever familiar sword blade mark began to glow on his forehead.
The air above the tip of the swordspear began to ripple, then crack like glass, the cracks flowing and rippling like strings in a whirlwind.
In turn, on the ground that the Angels now trampled over, the space in a specific pattern shaped like a grotesque, hooked ribcage, stretching into the sky, began to waver and crack as well, the air rippling and giving the Angels pause right in the middle of it, the image of those Angels caught in the broad lines rippling as well.
Finally, the sphere that floated above Daniel's swordspear shattered, and the space before him shattered with it, the pieces floating in the air connected even as they tumbled, distorting the view like a maddening circus mirror. Those Angels caught within it shattered as well, the seeming force of space separating tearing them apart and sending some of the pieces floating away, most trailing crimson LCL behind them like gory comets. One particularly unlucky Ptahiel[A] found itself torn in half, its component pieces beginning to tumble to the ground before reestablishing themselves as separate entities.
"Oh, come on," Mari said as they watched her begin to pout. "That's not fair."
"No," Asuka replied, a hungry look on her face, "it's just a possibility. But right now… we have a smaller group of targets to attend to."
As the pilots, at least those who weren't assigned to guard Lilith, descended upon the far more manageable group of Angels, Misato hummed quietly.
"What's on your mind?" Ritsuko asked quietly.
"I just wish that there was a way to take them out of time like the Infinity Box can," Misato replied with a quiet sigh. "Then they'd have all the time they'd need to iron their strategy out to their liking."
Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, the funny part is that getting that sort of work done takes a ridiculous amount of… well, time."
"Time we don't have." Makoto finished grimly.
It was a somewhat tense air that settled over them as they contemplated for a moment the looming threat of Azazel, its digital double watching its forces get whittled down bit by bit. Then, Misato snorted softly, a slight smirk tugging at a corner of her mouth.
"What is it?" Ritsuko asked, her gaze taken from the sight of Unit-02 dramatically throwing one of the Sachiel[A]s into a broken piece of space as she tilted her head slightly.
"Well, I just have to admit…" Misato trailed off for a moment as she shook her head. "Now that we have the Frame Titans… I wonder what it's like to pilot one. Hell, if I weren't commander, there's actually a pretty solid chance I'd want to be in Daniel's position."
Ritsuko's eyebrow arched slightly. "Really? I'm not fully surprised, but…" her lips pursed slightly. "You and I both know what the pilots go through when they go out."
"Maybe. But come on, Ritsky." Misato prodded with a somewhat lopsided smile. "Even you have to be a little bit interested about what it's like. Right?"
Ritsuko's mouth opened, then closed. "I'll admit to some curiosity," she said, seeming somewhat hesitant. "I mean…"
An old wonder began to gleam in her eyes. "To experience the sensations we do on that sort of scale, be able to almost instinctively put up a field of Absolute Territory… there's a tiny part of me that still doesn't fully believe it, even before everything else that we can do."
It was silent again, the tense atmosphere driven out, at least for the moment, by a thoughtful one.
"At least it looks like Daniel's space… breaker… thing is working out nicely," Makoto said as he focused back on the simulated battle at hand, the Evas splitting up as they moved towards several trickles of Angels that had escaped the spatial cages that they'd been trapped in. "They've already surpassed their best count by more than 150."
"It's promising, if nothing else," Misato said with a quiet breath. "Now, we just hope that everything else shows that same promise."
. . .
Geofront Surface, Tokyo-3
Maya looked up at the massive dome of Corite, shoved up against the far wall of the Geofront, that contained not only the huddled form of Lilith, but also the almost piled together forms of the Mass-Production Evangelions and their remaining Lance copies.
On the ground where she, along with the rest of the seniors of the Science Division, Eleanor, Kensuke, and Suriel and Kadmonel stood, a man-sized tunnel led to the shadowed tomb of Lilith, cutting through the thick walls of glittering crystal.
She took a deep breath as she turned to regard the group, and the many scientists and technicians who were standing with them.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," she said, tuning her voice with Interfacing slightly to ensure that she was heard. "We've only got so much time before this Angel falls on our heads. Kadmonel and Suriel will be guiding us as we get Lilith up and running again as quickly as possible. Kadmonel, I'd like you to take myself, the Ikari's, Kensuke, and those technicians that I designate and help us get this vessel up and running."
"Suriel, I want you to take Mrs. Akagi, Professor Fuyutsuki, Eleanor, and the other technicians with you to start working on harnessing the power of the souls currently within Lilith. Wake them up, make them cognizant, whatever, we just need to be able to use their AT Fields."
"Alright," she said decisively as she turned to the entrance of the tunnel, "let's stop wasting time and start saving the world."
With that, she led the rather large group into the (thankfully deactivated) Corite tunnel. As the light began to grow dim, Maya raised a hand, a rotating sphere of lines of code emitting a lantern's glow that proved to be only somewhat effective as they emerged from the tunnel.
The space between Lilith and the inner wall was comparatively small, but to their relatively tiny bodies, the distance was almost vast, many minutes passing before they came to a stop before Lilith's arm.
Maya turned to Eleanor. "So, a few people in at a time, or all at once?" she asked quietly.
She only saw Eleanor's mouth twitch for the briefest of seconds before she felt a blush come on. "I can fit in everyone, I'm sure," Eleanor replied, the barest hint of a wry tone in her voice.
It disappeared as she raised her voice. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, get in contact with the person in front of you! Hands on shoulders, arms, doesn't matter just as long as you're touching."
As they all did so, Eleanor, feeling Gendo and Maya's hands on her shoulders, laid a palm on the arm of Lilith. "For those of you who haven't already done this, I recommend taking a deep breath now. It'll be the last one you need while we're in here."
Maya heard more than a few people taking such deep breaths, herself included, as she watched Eleanor's hand turn to water, the rest of her quickly following.
And as the water touched her hand, a not too cold, tingly feeling traveling with it up her arm, she wondered, with some small amount of anxiety, what it would look like when it reached her eyes.
She didn't need to wonder for very long, as she felt her mouth, then her nose, and everything behind them, turning into water. Then, it was like she had gone into vast depths, the sight of a massive, dark ocean surrounding her filling her with panic for a moment.
Then a light in the distance, little more than a pinhole, appeared, steadily growing larger and larger until she emerged… into yet another ocean. Now, instead of seemingly floating in an infinite depth, she stood on white sand, the waving water above her pierced by an indeterminable light source.
"Alright," Maya said with a nod as she looked back at the others, some still getting adjusted to the sensations they felt. "Let's get to work."
. . .
As Suriel slowly approached the ever familiar pillar, she felt a creeping sensation of dread that seemed to creep out from the pit of her stomach, crawling up past her lungs and seeming to reach for her throat as her vision began to tunnel, Kadmonel and the others disappearing in flashes of light fading from view, leaving only her prison…
Then, she felt a hand on her arm, blinking as she looked down at Eleanor. "Is it hard seeing this again?" she asked softly.
Suriel opened her mouth, almost asked why she hadn't simply gleaned the answer from her emotions, her soul. Then, she realized why, closing her mouth and nodding slightly. "Yes," she said quietly. "I just… I don't want to harm anyone with this power again. I've already done it once."
"And you won't," Eleanor said reassuringly. "We're here. And besides… I trust you. We all do."
Suriel nodded uncertainly as she stepped forward, putting a hand on the massive crystalline trunk. Touching it, she felt the souls of untold billions, their power almost physically pushing against her hand. She also felt, and could almost see if she focused, the other technicians with Kadmonel.
Taking a deep, uncertain breath, Suriel pressed forward, the Corite under her hand rippling like the water above them as her hand began to sink in, the rest of her body following after until she was, as she had been for so long before she had been freed, up to her chest in the Corite, her head the only other thing poking out.
"I am in command," she said, somewhat unsteadily.
As she continued to become connected with Lilith again, she looked within herself, and saw a view, somewhat fuzzy around the edges, of the dozens of technicians and scientists working, a small cluster of who Lilith identified as Ms. Ibuki, Gendo and Yui Ikari surrounded Kadmonel, conductor of a symphony of carefully controlled chaos as he began to bring the full power of Liltih's systems back online.
She focused, and the view grew closer and closer, until she was standing behind Kadmonel. Then she blinked, the fuzz disappearing,
and she felt far more… present.
She seemed to the others to be so as well, Gendo Ikari glancing over at her and dragging the attention of the others with him.
"Well, hello, Suriel," Kadomonel said. "I see you've found internal communications."
Suriel nodded. "Indeed it seems I have."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "Seeing as I am, ostensibly, the master of this vessel, I would appreciate a status report. How goes your preparation?"
"We've made significant progress in activating all the systems due to the repairs that were made in the aftermath of Near-Third Impact." Yui Ikari said, stepping forward. "This is a remarkably multi-purpose vessel, which contains… hundreds of different systems, as I'm sure you remember."
Suriel opened her mouth, then closed it silently after a moment. "I will admit to not having the greatest memory of this vessel's functions. If you could remind me?"
Kadmonel stepped forward as Yui blushed slightly in embarrassment. "All of the sections you remember from when we repaired this Geofront are working at their full functionality. Several others are in the process of activating. The most important one, though, would be the defense systems."
"Defense systems?" Maya said, only narrowly beating Suriel to the punch.
"Of course." Kadmonel nodded. "Though what we'd seen of space was quite empty, we wanted to be sure that, wherever we went, we could protect ourselves and our mission should the need be dire enough."
"I see," Suriel said slowly. Then she nodded once. "I have other matters to attend to. I'm sure that you can contact me should the need arise."
Before she began to disappear, Kadmonel grabbed her hand. "Suriel." he paused for a moment. "Whatever happens, we are here. Turn to us should you need it."
Suriel nodded silently, her vision fuzzing slightly again as she retreated from the mind-space of the ship's interior.
Soon enough, her view of the "outside" world returned, Eleanor, Kozo Fuyutsuki, and Naoko Akagi looking at her expectantly.
"We shall need to get started at the task of making these souls in Lilith's care cognizant of the situation." Suriel began.
"We'll most likely have to do so gently," Fuyutsuki said with no small amount of caution. "With how new this environment is to me, I'm unsure how the souls we stir will react if we shock them. We may well face an evacuation of sorts should they become too agitated."
"We'll still need to reach as many of them as quickly as possible, Kozo," Naoko replied, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps if we wake them up in sections. That way we could minimize the risk you're worried about."
"Maybe so." Fuyutsuki looked up as he sighed quietly. "But even still, the smallest sections we would be worrying about would consist of hundreds of millions, if not billions of souls. That's going to take time. Time we may not have."
"Maybe we can appear to them in their fantasies?" Kensuke interjected. "It would ease them out of things slowly, and however embarrassing it might be, it would at least keep them from panicking for the most part."
"That could work," Fuyutsuki said slowly before looking back to Suriel. "Would you be able to project us into that many fantasies? And can they be made aware that we are not simply figments of their imagination?"
"It can be done, I assume," Suriel replied, her slowness a sign of her uncertainty. "One moment."
She reached out Pneumaically, connecting her soul to Kadmonel's. "I would appreciate some assistance, darling," she said, relaying the information and abilities that she needed to call upon.
After a flash of surprise at the term of endearment, Kadmonel began to feed her the information as she looked up at the sky, her Sight showing the billions of souls that they needed to reach.
She began to partition them, branches growing from the height of her Pillar and snarling souls by the score as they began to glow from within, focusing on one branch after another and slowly lifting the souls to a more acute state of consciousness.
"I believe the first branch of several million souls is ready," Suriel said after a moment. "Other branches will be ready in short order."
Eleanor nodded as she turned to Naoko, Kozo, Kensuke, and the half dozen other technicians that accompanied them. "Alright. Let's keep this as simple and clear as we can. All they need to know is that we need their willpower in order to help us protect the world."
"Easier said than done, I'd imagine." one of the technicians said, the others nodding in agreement.
"Maybe so. But for right now, just follow my lead. I'll start with this first batch, and you all can follow my example." Eleanor replied.
With that, she turned back to Suriel. "Alright. Hook me in."
Suriel nodded. "You have 5 seconds to prepare."
Eleanor nodded in turn, closing her eyes as she waited for the moment.
Then, like that, she felt… it was almost too many for her to fully comprehend. The mass of souls pressed on her mind gently, and she somehow knew that anyone and everyone, regardless of their current situation, could see her. After a small, quiet breath, she began.
"Ladies and gentlemen. I know this seems… odd, now. You're probably wondering where you are. If I'm real. Who else I may be speaking to. I understand, and there's a lot to explain. Right now, all you really need to know is that the world you know has changed. A lot. But even still, it is in danger. We're not asking you to do much. I can tell that some of you have already given your all in noble causes. All we ask is that you lend your focus and willpower when we have need of it. The world depends on it."
"Alright, Suriel. I've spoken my piece," she said through a soul-link, and the weight slowly faded from her mind. "Maybe you should give them something just in case they ask. After all, it's been a while for some of them, I'm sure."
"I can make sure that is on hand for them," Suriel replied, and Eleanor nodded as she looked at the others in the group.
"See? Easy. No need to be too long-winded. Now… let's get to work."
. . .
From within the mindscape's control center, Kadmonel looked upon a floating image of the world outside, slivers of glittering red obscured by the pale flesh of Lilith's arms in front of its head.
"Suriel," he asked through his link, "how is the plan progressing on your end? I'm seeing a lot of requests for access to the historical database."
"That's not unexpected," Suriel replied. "We have just woken up several hundred million souls from their sleep. They won't be the last."
She paused for a moment. "How are you progressing?" she asked, an obvious wondering in her tone.
"Motor functions are ready, Environmental Manipulation is now fully online, and we are prepared to transform Lilith into its warform," Kadmonel replied, a calm, almost clinical tone to his words tinged by warmth towards the person he spoke to.
"Warform?" Suriel asked, puzzlement evident in her tone.
"As I said, the vessels are all able to defend themselves. Adam's defenses caused the Second Impact on this world in the first place. That is the sort of power we command." he paused for a moment. "Do you think you're ready to move out?"
"We can prepare more in the time before our battle. Can we contact the outside world from within Lilith?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then we will tell them we are ready to move out now."
Suriel paused for a moment. "Go ahead and extract us."
"Very well."
With that, the connection faded into the background, and Kadmonel looked around him at the Ikari's and Maya. "If you would all connect to my soul? Mrs. Ikari, begin directing Environmental Manipulation to clear the Corite away. Mr. Ikari, prepare to open a limited Dirac Sea to HERZ-Matsushiro. No need to take a chunk out of the Geofront if we can help it. And Ms. Ibuki…"
He paused as she looked back at him, and he smiled slightly as the dome began to part like a massive curtain, Lilith standing. "You'll be in charge of the weapons," he said softly.
Maya nodded as she took a deep breath, looking towards a view he could not see as she absorbed the full capabilities of Lilith, never seen on this world or on any other, as he focused on standing Lilith on its feet.
As he slaved many of the systems to his soul, directing the technicians to stand by in case they needed to make any repairs, he felt a sense of… purpose. A sense he had not felt since he'd prepared to leave his homeworld. Far beyond simply protecting this planet that was now his home, protecting his comrades, he was protecting… his children. The children that would be.
'Children,' he thought with a slight smile. 'I never knew how literal that might become.'
He felt Suriel's support. Her willingness to carry through with what was, by all rights, utterly terrifying to him before this point. What was still quite anxiety-inducing.
'How did I manage to miss her before now?' he wondered in bemusement as he wondered at her patience, her cheer. Her hope even still inspired him.
It was a passing matter for now, though, as he began the transformation.
Outside, HERZ technicians flocked to the windows as they saw the cocoon peel apart, Lilith standing up in a familiar feminine form. Then, its pale skin began to be covered with flowing bands, wrapping around the massive form like bandages, hardening and beginning to gleam like metal into an armor that seemed to ripple like the waves of the ocean, still white like the tops of a wild breaker.
Its hair grew longer and longer, seeming to write with a life of its own as it wrapped around Lilith's head, forming a smooth helmet with a featureless face, a set of wings, white fingers and and a pale purple membrane, spreading out to create a crest on its head, five wings to a side.
The collected members of HERZ pressed around the windows, many taking out phones or clear-pads to record the breathtaking sight before them, at least two and a half, three times the height of any Evangelion. It looked down to its side, toward the pile of copies of the Lance of Longinus. Slowly, its hand reached out towards the pile, and the air began to shimmer in a line between its outstretched hand and the Lances, the rippling enveloping them.
The Lances began to shudder, losing their form in the rippling as they began to rise off the ground and glow with a red, then white heat, fusing together into a long lump of Lancium.
The rippling grew stronger, and those within the pyramid began to feel it against the glass as the field that Lilith created began to take a new shape, the metal shaping with it into the form of a massive, new Lance, the broad blade that sat on its top bisected at the base as the old Lances, then joined at the tip.
The new Lance began to cool as it floated towards Lilith's hand, and it was as if it had never been heated as Lilith took it in its grip, standing it on its end as it looked back towards the pyramid.
It nodded slightly, then a brilliant flash of light forced those looking to turn away. When their sight recovered and they looked back out, it was gone.
. . .
Misato, Ritsuko, and Daniel walked into the command center of HERZ-Matsushiro, the blaring alarms falling silent as they entered.
"Alright, people," Misato said as she looked up at the screen, "what are we… dealing with…"
The rest of her words were lost as she and all the others who were in the room looked at the sight of the pale titan, spear in hand, that loomed over their base and cut an imposing figure against the setting sun.
"What is that?" Daniel said, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock.
"I think…" Ritsuko began.
Before she could get any farther, they felt an invisible force ripple through the room, seeming to cling to them for a moment before the sensation faded.
"Commander Katsuragi, pilots," they all heard the voice of Kadmonel say, "Lilith now stands ready to fight."
. . .
December 29th, 0830 Hours
Marie Vincennes watched in utter awe as the newly updated Lilith swept its massive weapon through a group of Sachiel[A]s, cutting down dozens as they tried to rail against it with flashing eyes to no avail, their blasts blooming off of an impossibly thick AT Field.
And those were the lucky ones that managed to get through the grinder that was the other Evas. Dozens, hundreds more were now behind them as they all pressed forward.
And now, finally, as the army of Angels began to thin down from the thousands to the hundreds, Azazel itself deigned to engage them in open combat. Only once they had updated Lilith to Kadmonel's specifications had this happened with any regularity.
It began its attack by opening up with what Asuka had termed 'Duotron Cannons', two thrumming, powerful blasts slicing through the air and slamming into Lilith's AT Fields, tearing through one after the other as Marie, in the retinue that had become Lilith's personal guard, lent her own AT Field to the defense, however much or little that counted for.
Lilith responded in kind, its faceplate glowing for the briefest of moments before a beam burst forth, Slashing through Azazel's AT Field. The beast slid to the side, yet it was just too slow, the Lance of eldritch energies slicing through the skin between the cannon and the wings.
Even still, Marie couldn't help but pump her fist. It was the first time they'd wounded the beast itself, even with the new, improved version of Lilith giving its all.
The sight of the Angel bleeding even for only a moment spurred her on as they finally began to put the next part of their plan into motion.
She and the others charged forward, driving through the center of the remaining Angels as they continued to cut them down. Finally, they opened a corridor, the gap widening further and further as one Evangelion, waiting for her moment, dashed forward. Marie didn't need to see Asuka's face to know the joy, the near ecstasy, she would be feeling as she did what she did best.
She could feel at the edge of her senses as Lilith set itself to fully breaching Azazel's AT Fields, the barriers visibly flickering as they were torn apart.
Less than a kilometer away from the beast, Unit-02 slid to a stop, taking one massive step forward as it hurled the Lance of Longinus at Azazel.
She waited with bated breath as the crimson Lance flew in a straight line towards the Angel's stomach. What AT Fields were left were pierced with an almost contemptuous ease.
She could hear the cheers from the other Sim Plugs as hers joined them at the sight of the Lance slamming home, sending Azazel toppling over as the words 'Simulation Complete' flashed across the screen in green.
As she got out of her seat, the screens fading to black, her excitement dimmed somewhat but did not disappear. Now, hopefully, she had time for what she had prepared.
As she exited the Sim Plug, congratulating Falkenrath for an impressive simultaneous kill of 7 Angels, she found Daniel talking with Asuka. 'Now's my chance.' she thought with a deep breath as she approached them.
They noticed her, pausing their conversation as she came to a stop before them. "Marie," Asuka said with a smile. "I saw that intercept of one of the Ptahiels. That was crazy! I can only imagine being in your shoes as that thing bounced off just your AT Field."
"Thanks," Marie replied with a quiet, weary breath. "It certainly took some doing."
"Daniel," she continued," I have a question."
Daniel arched his brow. "Go on."
"I've been planning to do something with the people of faith among our ranks before we deploy. Do a little… I don't entirely know what to call it. Prayer meeting? Multi-faith sermon? Something like that. Do you think you could help me by letting the Arabic States pilots know so they can come?"
Daniel shrugged after a moment. "Sure. When were you planning on it?"
"I was thinking after lunch. 1230 or so."
Daniel nodded slightly. "I'll make a point of being there. Anyone else you want me to tell?"
"I mean… anyone who wants to can come. It's not like we're trying to keep a secret."
"In fact," Marie continued as her gaze drifted back to Asuka, "I wanted to make a point of asking you myself, Asuka. I know you don't really share my beliefs, but… it would mean a lot to me to see you there."
It was quiet for a moment, the excitement gleaming in Asuka's eyes dulling to thoughtfulness. "For you… I mean, it's not like I'm not deathly opposed to hearing the good word. I'll be there," she said with a slight smile.
Marie sighed quietly in relief. "I'll see you at the first rec room I can find available."
"Let us know which one," Daniel interjected.
. . .
Rec Room #9, 1230 Hours
Marie took a deep breath as she watched the few people she was waiting for streaming in. Of the nearly three dozen pilots, there were only 9 of them that had any great connection to a faith of any kind.
A part of her felt… saddened by the fact. The world seemed so bereft of faith nowadays. After the horrors of Second Impact and the Impact Wars, with places like Jerusalem and Mecca and Salt Lake City left as so much rubble, the Vatican narrowly escaping a similar fate, it wasn't hard to believe God or Allah had left the world in those days. And with the opening of the Worldsea, with the revelations of how souls scientifically worked and the coming of aliens and demigods and magic, that faith became still more scarce, more and more tested by Reality.
It seemed more and more, on the outset, like religion could be simply… abandoned. But many still held on. Though the cities she had thought of were still rubble, the faiths that held claim to them still reached out. Now, they were beginning to be rebuilt. That there were this many people of faith here at HERZ could almost be considered a miracle in itself.
But there was hope still left, she thought, as she saw Daniel and Asuka coming through the door. Her brow raised as she saw Commander Katsuragi behind them, a small cross evident on her breast as it hung by a simple cord. It was the first time she'd seen her wear the necklace with her uniform.
As they took a seat, the small group settling in and looking intently at her, Marie took a deep breath and began.
"Ladies and gentlemen… First off, thank you for coming. I know there's a lot to be getting ready for. We do, after all, deploy tomorrow to ensure the future of this world. But we do not do so alone. Not only are we accompanied by our comrades, but we in this room are also bound together by something else: our faith in a greater power, and his grace and mercy."
"We all come from different faiths, different walks of life. From what I know, we have within these walls Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Latter-Day Saints, and Muslims being represented from all across the Earth. But what we lack in a common background, we share in our trust in God. We, as the Quran states, fight in the cause of Allah, of God, those that fight us."
"I will not lie, it is… difficult to be faithful in the face of the challenges we have met, that we are about to meet. Those that fight us are almost beyond reckoning. Even though we are ordained to fight, it seems that they are without number."
"But, as the prophet Elisha said to his fearful servant, they that be with us are more than they that be with them. We are surrounded by angels in our work, angels of God, and if we yet open our eyes to see them, we will accomplish miracles. Whatever the outcome, whatever the fight may be, we must finish our course, and keep the faith, as the apostle Paul did. If we do so, I am more than confident that we can win the day."
"I cannot tell the state of your faith by simply looking at you. I cannot tell if you are wavering. If you are ready to put it away to focus on other things. If you have heard such things before, just before you went into senseless battles. But you are here. You had the faith to come and listen to a fellow pilot. And that, for the Lord, is enough."
She paused for a moment. "If you'll allow me, I would like to lead us in prayer."
Those in the room with her nodded silently before bowing their heads, and Marie took a quiet breath before she closed her eyes.
"Father, in all your names we call upon you. We face a great foe, one that seeks to lay waste to the world and take your children for itself. We ask that you strengthen our hands, make our hearts pure, and give us aid to fight against this pretender Angel. We ask for our compatriots to be strengthened in turn, that their hands and weapons might be guided so that they may strike true. We pray for those that command us, that their minds may be clear and that they may be guided in what they must ask of us to win the day. We put our faith in this endeavor, and thus, in you. We turn to you not in weakness, but in strength, that our victory may be sure, and that our homes, our families, and friends, may see us again. We say these things in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
A quiet "Amen" rippled through the room as Marie opened her eyes, filled with determination.
As the rest stood, offering their thanks, Marie soon made her way over to Commander Katsuragi. "I have to admit, Commander, I was somewhat surprised you came. I didn't know you had a belief in a faith."
"Well," Katsuragi replied with a shrug, "I don't, really. But I think, in his last days, my father did. I never saw him with this cross before he invited me on the Antarctic expedition. And… I don't know what inspired me to go after all that had happened between us. Maybe… it was God, or someone, giving me one last chance to be with him before he died for me. I still don't know."
"Well, then," Marie said quietly, nodding slightly. "With how we know Lilith works… perhaps you may get to ask him at some point."
"Maybe," Katsuragi whispered, holding the necklace in her hand as she looked at it with an unreadable expression.
. . .
Tokyo-3 Overlook, 2030 Hours
It had been too long since he'd been able to do this. Shinji had come to miss Misato's meditative getaways, looking down on the city and seeing what he defended as the sun began to set behind it, casting it into stark contrast.
Now though, he and Misato weren't alone. Along with Asuka, Rei, Kaworu, Toji and Hikari, Daniel and Eleanor, who had emerged from Lilith, had come along as well, a blanket with a now-empty picnic basket behind them. It wasn't as normal as it once was. But it was still as normal as they could make it. One more rite of normalcy, looking into a city that was once again alive. Bustling and lit up with the lights of buildings and cars and people.
"Man…" Asuka said, finally breaking the silence. "Remember when all we had to do was defend this city?"
Toji chuckled softly. "Yeah. Those were the days, weren't they?" he replied, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
"I mean…" Shinji began before sighing quietly. "It was certainly a much smaller world then. Just Tokyo-3 and the Angels."
"And SEELE," Rei interjected.
"And the Numberless Children," Kaworu added.
"And Commander Ikari." Daniel joined in. "Well, at least before Yui gave him a psychic slap across the face."
The group chuckled for a moment. Then, Misato sighed. "You know, it's a little hard to focus on all this. What with Operation Yashiyori coming up and all. But… this is nice."
It was silent again as everyone nodded slowly, only a few remembering the mythological context of the name. Then, Daniel began to chuckle.
Misato looked over at him. "What's so funny?" she asked slowly, her brows rising slowly.
"The fact that I didn't even have to suggest that name to you. Yashiori." Daniel replied, shaking his head slightly. "I've just heard it before, is all."
"Where?" Asuka asked slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she leaned against the rail to look over at Daniel.
"Shin Godzilla, actually. The plot to stop Godzilla by putting him to sleep using coagulants is named the same thing." Daniel had an unmistakable glitter of amusement in his eyes as he said this.
Asuka rolled her eyes, the others rolling theirs with her. "Of course, Mr. Anno's penchant for the dramatic carries over to the rest of his work," she said with no small amount of derision.
"We should watch it after the operation sometime," Daniel said. "It's… not bad, actually. It's much like the original Godzilla, in fact."
Daniel blinked after a moment of silence. "Come to think of it, you wouldn't have anything from the Millennium series, wouldn't you? Or anything afterward from America. It all came to be in my world after Second Impact."
Daniel sighed quietly even as he chuckled. "Chalk all that up for the next few movie nights after the operation too, then."
It was silent again for a moment before Daniel leaned over slightly to look at Shinji, a questioning look on his face. "Speaking of the operation, Shinji…"
Shinji leaned over to look at Daniel. "What is it?"
"Asuka, Misato, and I have been talking." Daniel began." I know she's been doing most of the handling of the Lance of Longinus for this plan during the simulations. But… I want to let you do the honors of putting Azazel to sleep."
Shinji's eyes widened, a shocked and somewhat fearful look growing on his face. "Are… are you really sure?"
"I'm sure, Shinji." Asuka cut in as she put a hand on his shoulder, Shinji turning to look at her. "I know you know your way around a spear and a Lance copy. And you already used the Lance to knock out Arael. I trust you, Shinji. We all do. You know that already."
Shinji was silent for a moment as he considered this, Daniel beginning again. "This all started, for me at least, when you got into Unit-01 and went against Sachiel. Now, it could end with you. But I want it to be your choice. Asuka or anyone else could carry it out if you don't want to and it won't be any skin off my bones."
It was silent again. Then, Shinji nodded, a determined look flickering to life in his eyes. "I'll do it." he said firmly.
Daniel smiled slightly. "Good to hear."
He took a deep breath as he looked back out at Tokyo-3. Their city. "Well, we've only got so much time to take this in before we deploy in the morning. So let's keep making the most of it."
. . .
December 30th, 0500 Hours
Rei and Kaworu, along with all the other pilots, fuzzed into existence, their Plugs with them, into a vast plain, stripped of any life taller than scrub brush and extending out into the distance on both sides. They were about 2 kilometers out from where they planned to engage, but with the Evangelions, such a distance was trifling at most.
Mari, beside them both, yawned as she stretched. "I get being here early. But did it have to be so bloody early in the morning?" she grumbled.
"I believe the thought process behind that decision started with 'better safe than sorry'." Kaworu replied with a slight smile.
Mari bobbed her head from side to side as the click and hiss of activating Plugsuits began to fill the air. "Well, that's command for you, my dear Pinocchio," she said with a shrug. "At least we get a decent night's sleep before we go and kick this thing's butt."
Rei nodded as her Plugsuit finished clinging to her body, turning to see Lilith fuzz into existence, looming over them. "We certainly have at least that much," she said levelly, a slight smile on her face.
Mari nodded once as she looked around, finding the field tents, graciously provided by the Korean army. "Would you look at that? I'm going to go help set up our tents. See you two lovelies later."
She walked away, leaving the two to their own devices as they simply took in the sights, the smell of crisp, dry winter air, and the rather ominous feeling that their Angelic natures allowed them to sense.
"You can feel it too, can't you?" Kaworu said quietly, any sense of levity from Maria's presence now gone with her.
Rei nodded, an almost grim look on her face. "Yes. I feel both Lilith and Adam within it, even from this far away. It feels… utterly wrong."
She glanced over at Kaworu for a moment before blushing slightly in embarrassment. "Not that you feel like that, as you are," she said quietly.
Kaworu shook his head. "It is no problem to me, Rei. I am, after all, a soul of Adam within a human, and thus Lilithian body. In a sense, I am the most recognizable of the Angels, those humans in their other forms. This… thing, however… is some fusion of both our flesh and our souls. Something that cannot naturally exist."
"Our souls?" Rei asked with an arched brow. "You mean… the original soul of the Angel is held within?"
Kaworu nodded. "Yes. I cannot hear her clearly, but if I listen hard enough, through all the chatter and cacophony, I can find her soul. Struggling to be heard. Whoever she was, she was not originally Azazel."
It was silent again as they pondered the implications. "Then, perhaps…" Rei began, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "You might be able to reach out to whoever is in there. Failing that, I'm sure Kadmonel might have the ability to."
"A distinct possibility," Kaworu said, nodding slightly. "We shall have to bring it up at some point today. Perhaps over lunch."
As Rei nodded silently, the vambrace on her left arm buzzed slightly to signal an incoming call. As she answered it, Asuka's face appeared on a wide, somewhat thin screen.
"Hey, Wondergirl." Asuka began. "I wanted to get your input on something to do with your Plug before we move out and help Daniel set up the battlefield."
Rei nodded. There was undoubtedly a part of her that was ready to see how her, Asuka, and Mari's 'blinder mines' might work in real-world conditions. "I'm on my way," she said surely.
Asuka simply nodded before the screen disappeared.
With that, Rei sighed quietly before looking over at Kaworu. "Well, dear. Duty calls," she said with a slight smile.
Kaworu smiled in return. "Go. Have fun, as it were. I'll see you at lunch after I get done with my setup."
. . .
As the sun set, and the pilots rested from their work in the rather spacious tents, Kaworu and Rei, alone in theirs as most of the others who were couples were as well, had resorted to taking the mattress pads from their cots and laying them in the middle of the floor to be together.
Even wrapped up in each other's embrace as they were, sleep proved to be elusive to the both of them.
Rei didn't know what time of night it was when she next opened her eyes, sighing quietly as the weight of what they were to do, what could happen even beyond the grand scale failure of not saving the world, pressed on her mind.
She turned her head to look over at Kaworu, his eyes still shut and his breathing still even as he gently pulled her just a little closer.
Linking her soul to his, however, betrayed an anxiety that matched her own.
Kaworu opened his eyes after a moment, some small part of embarrassment glimmering in what little light there was in the tent. "I should have known you'd see through that," he said with a quiet sigh of resignation.
"Tomorrow worries you as much as it does me," Rei said matter-of-factly.
Kaworu nodded. "I fear for our friends. Our family. Not necessarily that they might die. We know how much effort we have put into ensuring that has no impact. No… I worry about what scars they might receive. What injuries even Eleanor's Mending might only lessen. It is one thing to experience the release of death after such pain. It is another entirely to live with it, even if only for a little while."
Rei nodded slightly. "I understand. But that is the risk we accept, that we have accepted since the Angels first began to arrive. That is the risk all of our friends have accepted in standing with us here. We face such a fate to ensure no others would feel what we will."
Kaworu nodded after a moment. "Of course. Even still." he left the rest of his fear unsaid.
"Even still." Rei echoed. Then, she smiled. "But…"
As she continued, she switched to English, affecting an accent. "In defense of Earth… we're gonna fight to the last man, baby."
A burst of quiet laughter rippled through the tent, the tension that pressed down on them beaten back for a moment.
"Alright, Glenn," Kaworu said as his laughter began to die down. "Leave it to Godzilla to lift our spirits."
They settled back into silence for a moment. "Speaking of Godzilla…" Rei said, trailing off thoughtfully. "Do you think he'll make an appearance?"
"I can feel his presence even without him being an Angel," Kaworu replied. "I would be more surprised if he stayed away. As for Mothra and Battra… I cannot say."
"With a threat to the earth as great as this? I think we will see their capabilities firsthand soon enough." Rei said.
Kaworu chuckled softly." Even those not of our world stand with us to defend it. What can Azazel do against such might?"
"Well," Rei said, a hint of amusement in her eyes, "such might, for one, is likely ensuring that it is well-rested before the fight. An example we should be following."
Kaworu nodded. "Of course. I will see you tomorrow."
Rei nodded, kissing Kaworu softly. "Good night," she said softly.
With that, they drifted back to sleep.
. . .
December 31st, 2016, 0900 Hours
The day had come at last.
Daniel took a deep breath as he settled into the seat of Unit-00, the other Evangelions arrayed around him and standing before the frankly massive Lilith.
He glanced over at Unit-06, Kaworu standing with Rei over by the American and Russian Evas. He'd had a rather… interesting hypothesis concerning Azazel. If they could somehow contact the Angel's soul, there was a chance that they could turn things around drastically.
The bulk of the problem, however, soon came into view in the distance, a wave of Corite sweeping over the ground before the advancing army and glittering in the light of the rising sun.
"So it begins." Nynrya said, her voice echoing into his mind.
"So it does." Daniel replied.
A screen in front of him and the others flashed into existence, Misato's face within its bounds the picture of professionalism. "Pilots, Operation Yashiori has now commenced. The Cataphract is in position, and Godzilla will be making landfall in the next 15 minutes."
She paused for a moment. "The world is in your hands, pilots. Godspeed."
With that, her face disappeared. Daniel breathed deeply before he opened a general channel as well.
"Take a good long look, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "We're out of the simulations. We're in the real world, facing real Angels. But now, we're prepared. Not only are most of their faces familiar, not only are our responses to their methods now honed down to a science, but we have the most powerful advantage in the world on them. They aren't ready for us to cancel their apocalypse."
"SEELE means to swagger over us like we're a bunch of privates, greener than plants. They think that even though we are in some of the most powerful war machines in the world, their abilities will daze and confuse us, their resilience frighten us, their weight of numbers crush us."
Daniel smiled slightly. "But it's terribly hard to crush a diamond. I am sure that you are all the best of the best. I've seen it time and time again. They may have the numbers. But we have the quality to make that far more trivial than they might think."
He paused for the briefest of seconds. "It certainly doesn't hurt that we have our own giant monster behind us," he said wryly, feeling the amusement around him through the various links he had.
"Comrades, we know the plan. Now, all that's left is to execute that to the best of our abilities. My friends… let's go make sure there's a history to go down in."