***************
"By Primus, what demon is this?" Optimus Prime asked as he watched the newly awakened Dark Eva decimate the Angel
"Ritsuko, is this some kind of ultimate failsafe?" Misato asked
"No, the Eva was never meant to be this powerful. I do not know this beast" she answered
Nerv (or what was left of it after the mass sackings following the Eva theft) were also in awe. Gendo narrowed his eyes at the Evangelion's image. This was in theory where it should all start; his plans and his scenarios that he had scheduled to the minute were being figuratively crapped upon by these interfering Transformers; and now it seemed they had empowered Eva Unit 01 beyond what anyone could ever hope for. But that power was not under his command; nor the pilot at his whim. He slammed his fist on his desk.
"Curse them, curse them all" he snarled and ordered the city defence systems to fire on both targets
******************
As missiles, bullets and other ordinance were thrown at the combatants; Dark Eva had stood on Zeruel's core and was cutting him up like a turkey dinner. He sensed the ammunition coming his way and only growled his response.
"Do not presume to hurt me mortal" he stopped all the weaponry cold in the air
"What are you, Unicron promised me the power to crush your kind" Zeruel groaned
"Unicron? WHY DO YOU SPEAK OF UNICRON?" Dark Eva picked Zeruel up by the bloody stump of one arm
"He bestowed upon me my stronger powers" Zeruel knew he would die, why lie about this now
"I have a message for you Unicron: the pieces are in place and we have all but one of the required objects for your defeat at our hands" he snarled this in Zeruel's face knowing it would reach Unicron
Before Zeruel could do anything more; he was thrown up and impaled on Dark Eva's sword, sliding down the blade slowly and painfully. Then with a mighty throw; Dark Eva threw Zeruel into the air and held his sword in such a way that he seemed to be preparing a massive horizontal slash. The blade began glowing black and red and eventually a flame like aura surrounded the blade. With a ferocious slash towards Zeruel, the energy flung from the sword blade like ammo from a catapult towards his enemy. Zeruel screamed as the energy cut right through him. A second and third strike was the end of him and he exploded
"Now for my next target: Gendo Ikari" he declared and flew towards the Nerv building
"Oh hell! We need to stop him!" Superion cried and ran to try and catch Dark Eva
Gendo Ikari was retreating to the lower levels of Nerv: if the Dark Eva was running on what he thought it was, then like Unit 00 it would try and kill him. His face remained stone-like as he reached Heaven's Gate: the passage way to Terminal Dogma. Swiping his card he entered and closed the door: hoping it would at least delay the creature.
[If only I had one more Evangelion] he thought
Dark Eva however was a creature of many powers: most of which he gained from Dark Prime: the favourite appeared to be the phasing ability that was allowing him to just flow through the levels of Nerv. Anyone whom he passed through instantly screamed from being touched by such power. He approached Terminal Dogma's roof and a malicious grin spread across his head and he went around the section so he was instead underneath the area. Gendo was on a chair in a control room in Terminal Dogma when he felt a presence behind him. He shuddered despite himself and turned around and finally came face to face with Dark Eva
"So at last vengeance will be had for your son, your wife and the dozens of innocent people you have murdered" he spoke softly with edge, his skin gleaming black and flowing like a liquid
"If you kill me, what is gained other than my release from this life?" Gendo asked
"I didn't say I was going to kill you" Dark Eva hissed; his eyes now glowed bright
"I will give you the ultimate punishment, your mind will be opened to me and your secrets revealed" he crowed and a beam of light shone from his eyes, engulfing Gendo
Gendo felt his mind being torn apart and its information taken from him. Everything he knew: Second Impact, Seele, Marduk, and The Lance of Longinus. A mere morsel of this information could cause the death of thousands and the toppling of governments. All of it would give the holder a power equal to God himself. Dark Eva however cared not for power or conquest so he simply took it and stored it. When he finished, he made one more stop before he left: Gendo Ikari was a quivering wreck on the ground of his base.
Dark Eva examined the Angel on the cross and even more closely he examined the weapon in its chest. He reached out and touched the weapon: its composition was as mysterious as his own and its power almost as deadly and legendary. The Lance of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny as it was also known, was a weapon that if united with the right bearer would have untold powers. With determination he grabbed the Spear firmly and yanked it out of the Angel. He noticed that the previously legless Angel had now regenerated its legs. He heard a voice in his head, which he presumed came from the Angel
[They will come for you] it hissed, Dark Eva responded by cutting the Angel's head off
"Let them come: I am ready" he said and walked out of Terminal Dogma, leaving behind a mentally shattered Gendo and a disintegrating Angel
***************
The Transformers and Unit 00 awaited the resurfacing of Dark Eva from Nerv's remains. They were nervous and twitchy due to the uncertainty of whom exactly Dark Eva would side with. Rei was especially nervous: she knew that Shinji wanted nothing more than to cause his father pain like he'd caused him. She knew also that Dark Prime was, despite what the other Transformers said, fiercely loyal and cared for Shinji. Rei also knew the dark secret housed inside Evangelion Unit 01: the soul of Yui Ikari resided in it and she would now use the power she had to get back at those who wronged her son.
[I should warn Starscream that Soryu is in danger] Rei thought and radioed the Stronghold
"Yeah, what is it?" Blaster asked
"Tell Starscream to move Pilot Soryu, she will be in danger if Dark Eva proceeds on the course I expect him too" Rei explained
"Okay, I'll pass that tune along" Blaster replied and disconnected
Rei looked up in time to see Dark Eva appear from the ground while his eyes glowed with fire and rage. The giant spectre looked around at his welcoming committee: he smiled knowing they were here to stop him should he go nuts. Dark Eva could feel his energy slipping away: using so much power at one time drained him badly. The tension was thick and no one breathed. Then Dark Eva fell to the ground with a thundering crash. The Transformers and Eva ran to help their comrade.
"Come on, we need to get him to the base" Superion said as he helped Predaking pick him up
"Defensor, activate Transport Gate" Bruticus said
"Gotcha" Defensor opened up a Transport Gate that would allow them to return to the Stronghold
[I hope we aren't to late to save him] Rei thought as she stepped through the swirling vortex
**********************
Ritsuko was supervising the project to try and retrieve Shinji from inside Dark Eva. If she had been nervous about Eva 1 before, she was downright terrified now. But she swallowed that fear and continued to instruct her associates on what to do: although they learned at a geometric rate and soon were anticipating her orders but they continued to obey because as Megatron is fond of saying: there is no substitute for experience and Ritsuko had a lot of that and they did not.
"Are the magnetic rods in place?" she spoke through a comm-headset
"Yeah, what about these scanning rings?" Pipes asked
"I'll get Perceptor to deal with them later; you just worry about those rods" Ritsuko answered
So the work went on; Misato was wandering around in a bad mood and Rei spent as much time as she could with the Dinobots; who like Shinji had the unique ability to lift her spirits. She was surprisingly fond of sliding down Sludge's back. Rei grinned: Sludge was more like a puppy than a dinosaur; albeit a large metal puppy, but he had that same affection for her that was unmatched among the other Dinobots. Although she did find it odd that the Dinobots had sworn a blood oath to kill Commander Ikari. Rei was thinking all this while sitting on top of Grimlock's head as they walked around the base as the Dinobots tried to remember where their room was. Eventually they found it and in they went.
"This is an interesting place" Rei observed as the other Dinobots all jumped onto large couches and turned on a TV
A movie began playing on the screen. Only Slag and Swoop watched it though. Snarl went to brood in his room and Grimlock put Rei on a table before going to his room to play his guitar. Sludge however picked Rei straight back up and plodded into his room. Rei's eyes widened when she saw all the artwork that decorated Sludge's room: mainly it was pictures scored into metal plates with some kind of heat gun. Sludge put Rei on his large worktable and put a small set of the same materials as his own in front of her.
"Here. You try make picture. It fun" Sludge said with a smile and began scoring his latest work.
Rei tentatively picked up the heat pen and looked at the sheet of metal in front of her: she was now at a crossroad: Rei was able to do difficult mathematics, pilot an Evangelion but she was stopped cold by being asked to draw a simple picture. She'd never show any interest in the arts: mainly because she saw them as a frivolous and pointless activity that achieved nothing practical or constructive. Sludge noticed her apprehension and spoke again
"Listen to your heart" Sludge said possibly the most profound thing he would ever say
"Okay" Rei answered
Closing her eyes and taking Sludge's advice; Rei began to draw on the metal, letting her hand go where it will on the sheet. Rei wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally opened her eyes and looked at the sheet metal. Rei stared at what she had drawn: it was Shinji and herself when they had been at Yoko Beach on that Ferris Wheel, just as they kissed. That day seemed a world away now. Sludge looked at the picture approvingly and even clapped his hands
"It look nice; you really love Shinji" Sludge said
"Yes, I do" Rei replied then looked up
"Sludge, I want you to take me to the Evangelion gantry" Rei said
"Okay; why" he asked
"I have something to say" she replied and stepped on his hand.
*****************
Nerv psychiatric ward: a place where Nerv sent those who broke while in its service, and now even Gendo Ikari was there: Dark Eva had reduced him to a muttering wreck. Fuyutski looked at his old student and although he felt pity for him; he knew that it was probably less than Gendo deserved for all he was going to do and had already done. Sighing in resignation, Fuyutski left the ward and went to the Seele Council chambers where he would stand in for Gendo.
"Fuyutski; I understand that a great power has emerged on the side of the Eva pilots" Seele 3 said
"Yes, a being identifying itself as Dark Eva, I know that Unit 1 is a part of this being; another part is the pilot of the Eva in question" he told them what he knew
"And what is the last part?" Seele 5 asked
"I don't know: obviously something of great power" he answered
"This kind of mistake is inexcusable sub commander; I hope that you will be able to rectify the situation in place of your superior" Seele 1 boomed
"I will do what I can; but I have no Evas, what if during the next attack the pilots forsake us and leave us to our doom?" he asked
"That problem is being taken care of at the highest speed, you will just have to wait" Seele 8 flippantly threw the sub commander off
That was the end of the meeting and Fuyutski was left in the darkness to ponder the problems at hand. He thought about it for a few hours and he came to a single conclusion: he had to ally Nerv with these Transformers so that the city would be safe from the Angels. With a weary mind and body, Fuyutski left the council chamber and entered the main control room.
"Sub Commander, what can I do for you?" Maya asked
"I want you to send a message on all radio bands and frequencies" he said
"What message to do want me to send?" Maya prepared to send the message
"This is Nerv to the Transformers. We wish to ally ourselves with you to defeat the Angels" he answered and asked Maya to record and transmit that message at 10 minute intervals.
"How long should I send the message?" Maya asked a last question
"Until you get a reply: call me when you do" Fuyutski replied
***********************
Sludge watched Rei intently as he carried her to the gantry in which Dark Eva stood. Ritsuko was slumped over at her desk asleep. Rumble had draped a blanket over her and was sitting on the ground by the desk, also asleep. Rei wasn't sure why Rumble seemed so close to Ritsuko but from what she knew about the older woman, she was glad that someone, anyone, cared for her. Turning to the jet-black super Eva; Rei saw its skin was still shimmering and moving like thick oil. Rei placed her picture at the foot of the Eva
"Shinji; if you can hear me, come back to me. I need you and I know you need me, please: return to us" she said and stepped away from the Eva
"That was nice of you" Sludge said as he led Rei back to her quarters
[Indeed it was] Optimus Prime watched from the sidelines with a smile
He walked over to the picture that Rei had put on the ground and his eyes softened: this girl was really in love with that young man. Optimus looked up at the new incarnation of his friend and confidant. His presence was looming beforehand and now it was downright ominous. Prime took a small risk and touched the surface of Dark Eva: it was warm and somehow soft.
"I can't imagine what's going on in there" he whispered and went back to his office
***********************
Shinji opened his eyes: he was in a pure white place with no visible walls or doors. It just seemed to go on forever in all directions, Shinji wasn't even sure if he was standing or floating in mid air. He began calling out names: mainly Rei, Misato and Dark Prime. Eventually he just couldn't call anymore and went into a sitting position to contemplate what exactly was going on. As Shinji sat in contemplation, another figure appeared behind him; a woman with soft brown hair and gentle green eyes. She let out a chuckle when she saw Shinji in his thoughtful pose
"AAAAGGGGHHHHH" Shinji screamed at the noise, the silence made anything sound loud
"Is that anyway to greet your mother?" Yui asked in mock hurt
"M, mother?" Shinji stuttered, taking in the face of the woman
"Yes, Shinji it's me, mum" she said
Shinji then performed the only logical course of action for a person in his somewhat peculiar position: he fainted, dropped like a dead deer. Yui sighed and knelt beside the boy and brushed a strand of his hair out of his face. Yui felt something behind her and she looked up: Dark Prime was looming over her.
"You gonna help me?" she asked
"Keep ya shirt on, I'll get him" Dark Prime grumbled and easily hefted the boy in his powerful arms
"Show off" Yui muttered as she followed him.
Shinji opened his eyes once again and looked around: this time he was in a field with flowers and, Rei. But Rei seemed much older than he knew her to be; she looked almost 20 and wasn't in her usual clothes but was wearing a pair of jeans and sleeveless shirt. Shinji blinked a couple of times and then managed to see himself in the lake that was sitting a few feet away: Shinji had lost his stringy figure and was now muscular and lean. He looked at his belt and saw that it was a Jujitsu ranking belt: it was black with three green stripes.
"What in the hell?" he muttered.
The scene then fell away like sand and was replaced with a bleak and miserable place. It looked like a back ally with all the strewn newspaper and other garbage. As he walked around he saw something that truly horrified him: humans and transformers alike, being forced to be slaves under the watch of some grotesque beast with five faces and what looked like a whip.
"What happened here?" he wondered
Then again the scene disappeared from view and he saw Dark Prime: the black Transformer was his usual bleak and serious self when he looked Shinji straight in they eyes.
"I know what it is you saw, for it is also in my mind" Dark Prime said: quoting from a well known book and film
"What was all that?" he asked
"They are what could come to pass depending on the outcome of the battles ahead; there are more dangerous things than Angels in the deep of space" Dark Prime warned him
"Like what?" Shinji couldn't comprehend something more dangerous than an Angel
"Like the being who gave the 14th Angel his increased powers: his name is Unicron" Dark Prime answered
"Unicron, what in gods name is that?" Shinji asked
"A planet that transforms into a robot. His power is nearly infinite and he fears one thing" Dark Prime told Shinji of Unicron
"What does he fear?" Shinji imagined a giant robot of great power
"Technically speaking, he fears you" Dark Prime wished he had a camera to record the look on Shinji's face at that moment
"ME?" Shinji squeaked
"Yes, or what you will become anyway" Dark Prime elaborated
"What will I become?" Shinji asked, fearfully
"That, is up to you" Dark Prime then faded away
"What?" Shinji started calling out for Dark Prime to give him an explanation.
Then a light appeared and Shinji could see the outside world; Misato, Rei, his friends, the other Transformers all trying to save him. Shinji began running towards the light to get out of his mad place. All the while Yui was trying not to yell out and stop him from leaving. Dark Prime was holding her back from going to Shinji.
"He does not remember seeing you before; let him leave this place" he said
"Why should he, there is much pain in that world" Yui said with a sob
"But there is his shining light, his once last strand of hope and sanity: Rei" Dark Prime then showed Yui the times these two had
"He will be fine, and besides, I have bestowed upon him some powers to help him along the way" he assured her
"What powers?" Yui asked
"Prophecy, Second Sight, and Telepathy" Dark Prime smiled as he saw Shinji vanish from this plane
***********************
Unicron floated silently, ominously in space and he mused upon the defeat of Zeruel at the hands of the 'Dark Eva'. This creature was what he had hoped to avoid the emergence of, but it seemed he under estimated the will of Dark Prime and Evangelion Unit 01's pilot. A mistake he would not make again and to be sure of it, he made sure that the next Angel that passed him, Arael, would suitable told and empowered for the take ahead.
"Who are you to offer me power?" she spat at Unicron
"I am UNICRON, the Chaos Bringer" his voice was soulless and empty, Arael was paralysed with fear at this being, so she used her power against him
"Foolish being of flesh, my mind is not like that of a simple human" Unicron proved his words by sending a pulse of energy along Arael's own beam.
"AAAAGGGGHHHHH" it nearly fried her mind.
"Arael, I am here to help you: I shall give you powers with which you will destroy the Evas and all life on earth" Unicron then gave her, the same boost in power as he gave to Zeruel
"Now go, destroy the humans" he said and used his power to propel Arael to her targer.
[It will not be long now; despair Dark Prime for I am coming and not even the Matrix can stop me this time] Unicron silently crowed as he floated towards Earth also