Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. All characters and other related material is the property of Gainax.
But I don't understand…
Your understanding is not necessary. All you need to know is that the first died for all, and the second will die for you.
-Neon Testament: Exodus 3:17
Shinji Ikari opened his eyes to the darkness of his hotel room. He could hear Asuka's soft breathing next to him, and breathed a slight side of relief knowing she was beside him.
It had been three days since the Wraith had attacked, and Asuka had just been released from the San Francisco II central hospital. She was fine.
"Thank God," Shinji thought.
The third child found himself in a state of nervous anxiety. The official ceremony to create the Pacific States of America was tomorrow. It was to be held in Sacramento, Ground Zero. Shinji was supposed to deliver a speech. It was a great honor, to be sure but…but the thought of all of those people watching him; the thought of all those people looking up to him for strength…
Shinji sighed.
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Rei Ayanami watched Damon Robinson solemnly. He thought she was sleeping, but in fact she was quite awake. The seventh child sat in a chair overlooking the balcony and the rest of the city. He had not changed out of the clothes he had worn that day, and held his face in his hands. Damon hadn't spoken much since the Wraith had been defeated, and as far as Rei could tell, he hadn't slept at all either. "I should talk to him," Rei thought to herself, "but…"
In truth Rei still found it difficult to talk about emotions, even now that she was married. For some reason she feared what she had once been; she feared that perhaps she would hurt him if she said the wrong thing on accident. Rei sighed.
"Damon?"
There was silence for a long time after Rei spoke.
"Yes."
"Is something wrong?"
Another long silence followed.
"Rei, everyone in Sacramento is dead. Every single person was killed by that weapon."
"Yes," Rei said cautiously, "I know."
"My dad, Rei, my father; my only living relative, lived in Sacramento."
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Cain awoke slowly as the slight rain finally got wet enough to peak his attention. It was still late, or perhaps, very early. It did not matter much. He stood and stretched, surveying the surrounding city as he did so. There was so much to be done, and none of it could be accomplished here in this place.
"Nevada."
Yes that was where he was headed. The dessert. He could feel it, it was still there. It would undoubtedly become a useful tool, at least until a more powerful weapon could be retrieved from space. But that would have to wait. It would not return until the black moon faltered. And then…
"The battle."
That was when he would face Ikari; then and only then. And until that day came he felt very much inclined to insure the survival of the boy.
"He must live to see the end or else all is lost."
This was what made Cain nervous about leaving town.
"Who knows what could happen? But on the other hand, Ikari is a big boy, he can take care of himself," He thought. And then after business in Nevada…well then it would be off to Washington; off to see father.
And then he felt it. Cain had known this rooftop in particular to be a wise choice. One of the three slept in this place. Kowaru Nagisa slept here. The white floated down swiftly; elegantly.
"Hello," Cain said.
The man in white was visibly startled, no doubt expecting little to no resistance, or, at least, no company.
"Who are Y" The Wraith stopped itself mid-sentence before slowly continuing.
"I have felt you. You hold much power. It was you correct? The one who dropped my brother's defences?"
Cain smiled, giving a nod as he did so.
"Indeed it was."
The Wraith seemed to show no visible anger at this acknowledgement. In fact the white man felt no rage, he sensed opportunity. This man was unknown to him and his brothers; his arrival had not been prophesized.
"Are you our champion?"
Cain smiled again.
"Ah yes, you wish to bring about instrumentality do you not? And in order to do that, you must kill the three. Ikari, Nagisa, Kaji. The man, the angel, and the boy who is neither and both."
"Yes," The Wraith agreed, "Perfection returned."
"I'm sorry," Cain said, "But I cannot agree with you. Ikari is right you know. Perfection is impossible. It is fake, false. Unattainable, and flawed."
Cain watched the expression of the white man's face change as he began to continue.
"However Ikari is only half right, you see. Perfection is false, but so is life. Reality itself is fundamentally pointless and wrong. He will see that before the end, and it is my job to make sure he does. And until that time, it is my job to protect those interests."
The Wraith drew a blade as Cain continued.
"You see the real answer is not perfection, it is not life, but death. Only when death comes to all will there be peace. Death is the only true freedom there ever was."
The Wraith suddenly swung left, letting its sword fly at Cain's neck; the man in white slashing at the man in black. But the effort was futile. Cain stepped to the right, letting the force of the swing carry the attacker off balance. By the time the Wraith found the ability to turn around again it was too late. He felt a horrible burning sensation as a several floating AT fields found their way down his throat. And then he felt his body being lifted from the ground by hundreds more, shoved up into a nearby brick wall, and then the fields holding him were gone as fast as they had come, and he hit the ground.
"I can't say I'm sorry about this, but it was a pleasure meeting you," Cain said as he made a backward pulling motion with his arm. The Wraith watched in horror as the AT fields he had swallowed were ripped by invisible forces through the front of his stomach and chest cavity, spewing his ghostly white intestines upon the rooftops.
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"Kensuke…I wish you weren't so enthusiastic about all of this, I mean you could die."
"Such would be the honor of a soldiers life my dear," Kensuke Aida said as he finished his perusal of the refrigerator.
"I'm sorry if you don't get it Nishka, but this is something I have wanted for my entire life, and now its mine."
The Russian girl sighed.
"Kensuke, your green. I don't think you're going to be this happy after your first real battle."
The Japanese boy shrugged at this, and then decided to change the subject.
"Did you call Asuka and Shinji yet?"
"No. It's tough with the time difference. It's still pretty late over there."
"Oh, yah that's right. Hey, are Toji and Hikari up yet?" Kensuke asked.
"No, I don't think so. All the activation testing had them pretty wiped out. Toji is scared as hell of unit-3, I can see it in his eyes, and who can blame him? And Hikari just seems to lack your energy."
"Yah, that and my overpowering sex appeal."
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"Hikari? Are you awake?"
"…Yes."
Silence passed for several moments before the fourth child spoke again.
"How are you feeling?"
"Alright I suppose. Exhausted, but alright."
"Well you can go back to bed if you want to. We get the day off today."
"Yah, I know."
Toji Suzahara frowned. He hated this sort of idle banter. None of it meant anything. In truth he still felt somewhat awkward around the brown haired girl. It was hard for him to open up; hard for him to show how much he cared. It made him somewhat jealous of Shinji. He made it seem so easy. And Kensuke too, always so easygoing and collected. Since the moment he had known Hikari she had been showing him what to do, what steps to take, what was right and what was wrong. And now that they were together it was his turn to take some initiative. He had to decide what was right and what was wrong in the relationship if he ever hoped to really become an adult. And he couldn't screw up anymore. If she was ever going to respect him he knew he had to start doing things right.
"Hikari…yesterday…I was really scared."
"Because of getting back into Unit-03?" Hikari asked.
"Yes."
"I can only imagine what that must have been like for you. I'm sorry you had to that again."
"No, it's alright. Because this time it was different. I had you there with me this time."
Hikari rolled on the bed so that she could see his face, smiling slightly as she did so.
"Th-thank you Toji."
Toji could feel his mind fighting with itself. "Come on Toji," he thought, "Just say it."
"Hikari…I…I Love you."
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Rei Ayanami did her best to comfort her husband as they sat together on the end of the hotel bed. She could hear him sobbing slightly, and in turn she noticed that she too felt sad. Rei immediately decided she did not like this feeling, and in turn she did not like it when others experienced this feeling.
"I…Rei…My father, I wanted you to meet him before we were married, or at least before we have a real ceremony. I wanted his blessing. It was important to him…it was important to me. That's how he would have wanted it. We…we could have had the ceremony at his church."
Rei pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"I am so sorry Damon. I never had a real father, or a mother either, but I can imagine how painful a loss like that must be."
"Mother. Dad never quite got over her death. It was so sudden. I don't even know what happened really. It was the government…they…they told us that she was very sick. I never really believed them. But I have no other explanation. And now…now I have no one left, no one left but you, Rei."
"Damon, you are the only one I have ever had. You are my husband, and I love you."
Damon could feel her words; he could feel them in the emptiness left by the loss of his family.
"Oh God…Rei."
Damon turned around and embraced the blue haired girl fully, tears running down his cheeks as he did so.
"Rei…thank you so much. I thank God every day that I have you. I…I would be lost without you."
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Asuka Langley Soryu awoke in warmth and comfort. The German girl turned to her right to look at the clock radio.
"Hmm…7:13."
With this done, Asuka rolled to her left until her cheek pressed up against that of Shinji Ikari.
"Shhhinnnnnjiiiii…Time to wake uuuuupppppp."
"Mmph."
"Shhinnnnjjiiiiii…"
"Grglmmph."
Asuka moved her left hand up to his back, slowly tracing her nails down the spine of the third child until the desired affect was achieved: Laughter.
"Asuka…" Shinji said with a yawn, "I was sleeping."
"Yah, baka, I know that."
Suddenly Shinji rolled over, startling the red head, and landing himself above her, his face mere inches from her own.
"Good morning, Asuka," he said, kissing her softly as he did so.
Asuka could feel his lips, as well as the tight grip in which he held her down. Years ago when they were still children she could have easily escaped his grasp, but now…he was quite a bit stronger now. She slowly opened her eyes as the kiss came to an end.
"Well, Shinji, you sure seem to be on top of things."
The third child laughed at this, and then rolled back off of Asuka, in fact he rolled off of the bed entirely, resulting in a great length of laughter from the German girl.
"Well then," Shinji began, "I have a big day today and think it is time for me to take a shower."
Shinji stood from where he had fallen on the floor and headed in the direction of the bathroom. Asuka stood as well, only now recovering from her giggle tirade.
"Not without me your not."
Shinji shrugged as Asuka began to remove her clothes.
"Asuka I don't think…Ya know what? You're so much harder to argue with when you're naked."
Asuka smiled.
"Yah, I know."
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Damon Robinson emerged from the hotel restaurant with his stomach full and his spirits, at least for the moment, somewhat lightened. Though he knew that it was not the food that he had to thank for this. The seventh child glanced at his watch.
"It's almost time to go, Rei."
Rei Ayanami nodded, and they made their way towards the lobby exit. Moments later they encountered Shinji and Asuka.
"Shinji!"
"Damon! Hey, how's it going?"
"Alright I guess," Damon said. He didn't feel like bringing up his father at a time like this.
"Damon, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Yah?"
"Yah. My speech today, I would be honored to have you translate it. I think that would be better than people having to read it off of the screen."
"Oh," Damon said as he glanced backwards at Rei hoping for an expression to be shown. He should have known better though he knew, Rei rarely had an expression on her face.
"Yah, sure I'll do it."
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Damon Robinson watched the buildings slide quickly past as the limousine entered the city limits of the now deserted Sacramento area. It was frightening; scary in how fragile life really was, how precious it really was. His mother had been taken from him so easily, his father as well.
"Rei…" he said quietly to himself, "how do I know you won't be taken from me as well?"
This thought stayed with the seventh child for the rest of car trip until they arrived at the ceremony grounds. It was quite stunning really. He found himself amazed that they had been able to erect it in only three days, but so it was. He watched where Shinji was going and followed him to his seat.
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The ceremony proceeded uneventfully, and rather lengthily as well. To Shinji Ikari, however, it seemed to go all too fast, and now it was his turn to speak. He stood up slowly, motioning with his hand for Damon to follow him as he did so. Moments later Shinji stood at the podium, stood facing the massive crowd of easily ten thousand people, as well as the rest of the world via satellite. Shinji took a deep breath, and then began, the words of the seventh child following slightly behind his own.
"What happened here three days ago was truly a horrible thing. It was something that could easily have been avoided as well. However, peace is usually the harder thing to see; the field beyond the flame. But that is why this country, here, today, is being founded. This war, this death…this does not have to be the way it is for the rest of time. If war can be avoided, then that is best, however war is upon us, and there is nothing we can do to change that now. What we can do is fight this war. We can fight this war not for conquest or gain, not for false perfection, but for peace. Once in this country long ago another war was fought. It was called the War to end War, and it was such. Where it fell short from its task was not during the fighting, but during the aftermath. Greed and squabbling drowned peace, instead only creating more anger and restlessness among the defeated. This would serve to be the worlds great folly as another great war soon erupted. And now a third great war has come to claim the world. Perhaps some of you have lost faith in humanity, believing that we are weak; believing that we are doomed. But you cannot give up hope. Running is never the answer. You must have faith. Many of you hold faith in God, some of you hold faith in me, and for those of you who don't, I hope that you can perhaps find hope in each other. There is light at the end of the dark passage to which we now face, and we must never lose sight of what lies on the other side. Thankyou."
Shaking slightly, Shinji Ikari stepped down from the speech podium amidst thunderous applause.
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Cain suddenly turned around to face the opposite direction, his mind racing.
"They're coming."
The man dressed in black began to shove his way through the crowd, desperately trying to reach the stage.
"Those fools. Killing the girl will solve nothing. Ikari is unstable enough as it is, but without the girl there is not telling what he might do. That girl isn't his weakness, she's the only thing keeping that boy sane."
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Shinji noticed what was happening slightly before Damon did. The white. They were descending from the buildings. Asuka. They were heading towards Asuka.
"Asuka look out!"
Shinji Ikari realized that he had never been so frightened in his entire life as he broke out into a sprint towards the second child. He watched terrified as the man with long white hair swung his sword backwards preparing for a forward thrust.
"No," was all Shinji managed to say before the blade found its way through his lower abdomen. The pain was surreal; the events taking place around the third child felt to him as if they were in slow motion; black and white like an old movie. He could see Asuka in front of him. She was screaming, but he could not make out her words. He could see a man dressed all in black with a sword drawn; he was trying his best to keep the six white Wraiths at bay. Everything seemed very far away. Everything was cold. It felt like a stranger's icy grip was clawing at his chest.
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Cain swung left, and then dodged right. He had not counted on six attackers and things were proving difficult. He managed to shove the nearest Wraith away and looked over his soldier to the red haired girl.
"Run!"
It was at this moment that he noticed Ikari. He had been stabbed; the blade had gone completely through him and even now still rested inside of his body.
"This isn't supposed to happen yet," he told himself. But he knew that it would have to do. There was no way around it now.
Cain dropped his sword and focused, pulling the souls of the dead to his side. He pushed outward, throwing his ivory attackers away, shaping the glowing souls to the proper shape; the shape of the cross. With one last final push the man in black sent the cross of souls to the fallen third child, and moments later the boy was bound to it. Cain watched as the stigmata began to appear; he watched as the cross began to float upward towards the sky. The people around him were screaming and pointing hysterically, and Cain found that he did not blame them. However it was not yet their time to die either. He knew that he had failed, but perhaps all was not lost.
"I am sorry Iesous. It was not supposed to be this way."