********************************8
Shinji's eyes creaked open like old doors with rusty hinges and he found himself in a white room. At first he thought he was still, wherever it was he was when last he saw a pure white room. Groggily sitting up in his bed, Shinji ascertained that he was in a hospital room, but it was unlike any that he'd seen before. There were usually 4 or 5 pieces of equipment around him: in here there was only 1, and it was connected via an electrode to his temple.
"Oh do I have a headache like no other" he grumbled as he got out of the bed, removing the electrode as he did so.
Shinji walked over to what he assumed was a bathroom and went inside. He washed his face in the dim room and reached for a light switch. Lights came on and Shinji grabbed a towel to dry his face with. When he removed the towel from his face he saw something he didn't expect; so his surprised yelp was not unexpected. On his forehead was a symbol that looked like a third eye. It was there only for a second and then it disappeared. Shinji then began to scrutinise his body: he found two other symbols: one on his arm that looked like a large Celtic knot and a large one on his back that looked like a pair of folded dragon wings.
"What in the hell is going on here?" he wondered and ran out of the room just as three people ran in
Rei, Misato and Rewind came into see Shinji as he came barrelling out of the bathroom and fell down on to the floor. Rei went to help him up. When their hands touched: Shinji felt a surge go through his head like a bolt of lightning and in his mind's eye he saw a vision. Rei was in her Eva and something was fusing with her Eva and Rei herself: it was causing her great pain. He saw himself trying to save her but Rei pushed him away and then her Eva exploded.
"Shinji, are you alright?" Rei asked
"You, you died. I saw your Eva explode" Shinji stuttered
"What?" Rei's blood froze
Shinji extended a trembling hand to Rei's face and brushed her cheek with his hand. Then he ran his hand over her face as if to make sure Rei was real and not some tricky apparition of light and shadow. Once convinced that his lover was indeed standing in front of him with a stricken look on her face, Shinji hugged her tightly; crying as he did.
"What in the world, how did he know that?" Ritsuko whispered
"Know what?" Frenzy asked
"What do you mean by that?" Misato hissed, grabbing Ritsuko by the collar
"I think it is time you knew everything about Second Impact and why Nerv really exists" Ritsuko said.
*******************
Human and Transformer alike stared at Ritsuko once her explanation as to the existence of Nerv; the Evangelions and even Rei herself. Ritsuko told them of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the ancient and sacred documents held by Seele; they were the timetable that everything was set to and any deviation, however small was going to cause Seele severe problems.
"The worst thing is, you guys have put yourselves in the crossfire: Gendo and Seele are working towards the same goal, but with different methods and reasons" she said and lit her cigarette.
"On another note, have we discovered what is wrong with Shinji?" Misato asked
"His brain has been altered: how it was done I'm not sure but I think our big dark friend in the hanger can tell us. Shinji is now a telepath as well as a seer" Perceptor said
"A what?" Ritsuko dropped her cancer stick
"Shinji can now read minds if he chooses, and he can see 'spirits' if you will. Really all he can do is see across different planes of reality" Pipes explained
"How did that happen?" Kaji asked
"Well as far as we can tell, it happened while he was trapped in Dark Eva. It is my belief that Dark Prime gave these powers to Shinji, and for a very good reason" Optimus said and looked at Rei
"I was told that Shinji saw you dying in the next engagement with the Angels; if this is true then we have an advantage over them" Optimus added
"I see" was all Rei said
Soundwave entered and then spoke to Megatron who got a very devious smile on his face. He thanked and dismissed Soundwave before addressing the group. He explained that Nerv had contacted them and was proposing a partnership effort. He took great delight in explaining what Dark Eva did to Commander Ikari and what the man's current state was.
"So, shall we join with Nerv now that it is under the command of a more sane and trustworthy individual?" Ultra Magnus asked
"I think it would be worthwhile to enter into a partnership with them: but the children are to be guarded at all times" Cyclonus added
"Agreed, Ikari may still have elements in Nerv working for him" Hot Rod said
"What do you think Major Katsuragi?" Megatron asked
"Sub Commander Fuyutski is a good man. We can safely deal with him" Ritsuko said
Rumble looked at Ritsuko as she said that; her eyes went slightly teary and his sensors showed her heart beat increased and more of her brain's pleasure zones were active. A slow smile crept over the small robot's face as he managed to work out who the good doctor actually had feelings for.
[I think I can help them; hell, if Dark Prime can do it so can I] Rumble thought and crept off to begin plotting his own match maker game
"So, Major Katsuragi, can Magnus go with you and be the liaison officer between us and Nerv?" Optimus asked
"I don't see why not" Misato said and gave a curt nod to Ultra Magnus
"I'm sure the Sub Commander and I will get along" Magnus said in a respectful tone
********************
Shinji was in an atrium housed within Trypticon with his friends, they were all giving him updates about how they were and what happened while he was 'away'. So far all Shinji had managed to gather was that in the battle after he passed out, Dark Prime fused with Evangelion 1 which then undertook a transformation to Dark Eva. Shinji was also surprised to know that he had also been fused with Dark Eva, for a month.
[That would explain my vision] Shinji thought
"Yeah so, what was it like in there man?" Kensuke asked
"I can't remember" Shinji answered
[Shinji's not himself/I wonder if Hikari likes to be/I miss Starscream] Shinji heard a heap of voices in his head
Before Shinji could even say anything to describe his shock at what just happened; Soundwave came and asked Shinji to follow him. Shrugging, Shinji got up and followed Soundwave to a room inside Scorpinok. Once there, Soundwave explained why he wanted to speak to Shinji
"It has come to my attention that you are a telepath" Soundwave said
"A telepath?" Shinji was at first surprised but then remembered hearing those voices before
"Yes. I am also a telepath and I can teach you how to control that, and the other mental powers that Dark Prime seems to have given you" Soundwave then began to explain how to block thoughts from invading a person's head
Shinji was told to visualise a brick wall around his mind, this would keep out every single kind of thought impulse that wasn't his own unless he permitted it. Over the course of several hours they tested Shinji's ability by going to places with few people, the working their way upwards in population density till Shinji could hear anything. They got to a mess hall and Shinji passed out from a migraine due to the crushing force of all the thought-waves around him. Soundwave blocked as many as he could and took Shinji back to his quarters.
"You did well Shinji; telepathy is rare in humans" Soundwave said as he left, Shinji was now sharing his room with Rei so the Dinobots were watching him as well as Rei
"Shinji, are you okay?" a voice from the bed asked
"Rei, I'm, okay. Thanks" Shinji smiled at his lover, but he still couldn't shake that horrible vision of her he had
"You look tired; you should get into bed and rest" Rei shifted from the middle of the double bed to one side
"Thanks" Shinji changed into his boxers and lay down, he felt terribly tired
A slender arm snaked its way across Shinji's chest and hugged him. He rolled over and kissed Rei tenderly on the eyebrow. Then as he lay down, Shinji was struck with inspiration and sat up cross legged. Rei did the in concern for her loved one's sudden move. Shinji turned and faced Rei with a soft smile
"Rei, do you remember when we were in each other's Eva and we saw the other's memories?" he asked
"Yes I do, why?" Rei asked in turn
Shinji said nothing and gently placed her hand on the left side of his head and put one of his on her right temple and Rei felt a flash: and she was again sharing Shinji's memories, all of them. Shinji could feel hers too, all of them, even the one's Dark Prime had blanked out and in that brief second, Shinji and Rei became to the most unified beings on the face of the earth.
********************
Misato and Kaji were walking to their room when the passed Shinji and Rei's room. She had by now accepted that there was nothing she was able to do that would stop them being together; she only hoped they were happy. Before she left again, Misato saw a slight glow coming from the room. Curious she opened the door and the sight before here was so moving that there are no words in any language she could think of to describe it.
"Oh my God" she uttered
Shinji's forehead was glowing, more accurately a symbol on it that looked like a third eye. And Rei was glowing all around: her body was now the purest white Misato had ever seen and just flowed with life and beauty. An aura of white surrounded them and they paid their visitors no heed, if they were even aware of their existence at all at this moment. Misato closed the door with silence and grace.
"What was that?" Kaji asked
"Two people, connecting on a level so deep it would be impossible to describe with words alone" Misato said and kept walking; that image would stay with her the rest of her life.
**********************
A golden dawn broke on the first day of the new Alliance between the Transformers and Nerv. Misato was dressed in her Nerv uniform with one small difference: on her left shoulder she now carried the symbol of the ADA: The Matrix with a Cybertronian character that stood for unity as the background. This showed her allegiance to them as well as Nerv. With a nervous sigh, she sat in Tracks and waited for Ultra Magnus to arrive. The large general showed up in good time and transformed to roll out, with Ritsuko and Rumble in his cap
"Are we ready Magnus?" Misato asked
"When you are" he replied
"Okay Tracks, lets go" Misato said
"Activate transport gate" Tracks radioed Blaster
The large gate formed in front of them and the drove through, coming out on a highway a few miles out of town. The drive was mainly silent for Misato was in contemplation: she hadn't been in the city since the attack on the school and she wasn't sure how Nerv personnel were going to react to seeing the Transformers again. Tracks gave her a small jolt when they got near Nerv. Straightening her jacket and taking a deep breath, she exited Tracks and saluted Fuyutski who was waiting for them at the main gate
"Sir, Major Misato Katsuragi reporting sir" she said, feeling a bit sheepish
"Major, where's the liaison officer from ADA?" he asked
"Right here" Ultra Magnus said and transformed, once his passengers got out
"Amazing" Fuyutski muttered
"Liaison officer, Ultra Magnus, rank: General" Magnus knelt down and offered his hand to Fuyutski
"Welcome to Nerv, Ultra Magnus" Fuyutski shook the giant hand as best he could
Fuyutski lead them to Nerv central command deck and introduced them to the crew. Most of them couldn't stop staring at Magnus and Tracks; they were just so amazing to behold. While Fuyutski was giving his explanation as to what was going on here, Ritsuko kept steeling glances at the older man; he may be old but he was so distinguished and handsome, in a Sean Connery kind of way. Rumble of course saw all this and only made him smirk.
[Oh this will be such fun] he thought as he plotted
Before Fuyutski finished, the alarms sounded and Magnus and Fuyutski looked at each other. They both knew it was trial by fire now so all the 'get to know you' needed to be put aside; this was probably a better way to assess one another anyway in their concurrent opinions. Fuyutski concentrated in providing back up and extra weapons for the fight while Magnus dealt with the Eva deployment.
"This Angel is currently in orbit above Japan; so bring some extra curricular hardware guys" Magnus paused and changed links
"Cloud Raker, Astrotrain: get off your asses and check that Angel out, get as close as you dare and send me every kind of data you can" he barked and watched on the screen as the Evas deployed themselves and set up a cannon of epic proportions
"Well, looks like we'll cut our teeth together" Fuyutski said
"That we will" Magnus said and smiled
*************************
Shinji was sitting in the gentry, unsure about what was going on with his Eva now: it had no visible point of entry or other external device. In a perverse way it was perfect; a seamless device with no visible joins or bends as if it were carved from a single piece of stone. Shinji reached out to touch it. Upon contact with its surface, a small platform emerged from the side of the foot
[Get on] Shinji heard a voice in his head
With little else to do, Shinji complied and stood on the platform and to his surprise it started to move upwards until it reached the back of the neck. A swirling portal opened in the neck, revealing what Shinji thought was the plug, but it looked so different. All he could see was a place to sit and nothing more.
[Get in] the same voice prompted him to enter the Eva
Shinji gulped and slid into the pilot seat. As he sat down the vortex door shut behind him and Shinji felt a presence with him inside the plug. A white shape appeared in front of Shinji and eventually took the form of Dark Prime.
"Dark Prime, good to see you again" Shinji said
"Time to get to work Shinji; as you can see I've taken the liberty of redesigning the piloting mechanism so you are in total immersion" Dark Prime explained
"What?" Shinji was confused
"You no longer connect via a nerve connection, but by telepathic link: what the Eva's eyes see, you will see etc" Dark Prime elaborated
"How do I link to the Eva?" Shinji asked
Shinji suddenly felt a jolt through his mind and his eyes closed. When he opened them again, instead of a wall he could see the hanger bay, the various restraints that held him in place and everything else. Shinji looked around, it was then that he realised that a camera wasn't panning to give him this view; the Eva's neck was moving.
[Incredible isn't it] Dark Prime said
"Yeah" Shinji spoke
Shinji realised too late that when he spoke, he spoke; the Eva's mouth and tongue worked and a loud booming voice echoed in the gantry. Several Transformers jumped at the loud noise. Once Shinji got his head around that surprise he spoke again. He asked to be launched and placed in combat. Before he could be launched though; a scream pierced through the base: it was Asuka's.
"What the hell was that?" Shinji asked
"The Angel has initiated a psychic attack on Asuka. We're trying to save her but the carrier wave is an unknown type and we're having trouble breaking it" Perceptor said
[Get me up there, we have the Spear of Longinus. It can defeat the Angel] Dark Prime whispered
"Launch me; I have a weapon that can help" Shinji cried
"Launch him" Optimus Prime ordered
********************
Asuka felt as if her mind was being torn to pieces by this beam, whatever it was. In her mind's eye Asuka saw her mother's suicide, her step-mother and father trying but failing to reach her. And she saw the way she used to treat Shinji, Rei and a most other people she knew. The Angel however somehow brought good memories to her, some new and other buried beneath old fears.
"Starscream, mother" she sobbed as her head was racked with pain again
"AAAAGGHHHHH" she was screaming
Shinji finally got to the battle ground and gave the Lance of Longinus to Rei, she was better at throwing than he was. Shinji (under Dark Prime's direction) tried to use his telepathic abilities to create a wall so as to allow Asuka a chance to escape. Rei was lining up her throw when she saw a pulse come down the light and fling Shinji away from Asuka's defence; this early on with his powers he was unable to block it. Rei was about to move and help when Shinji shouted
"Forget me, help Asuka" he cried
Containing her shock at seeing and hearing an Eva speak to her directly, Rei again lined up her shot while the gestalts tried to shoot it down: when ever one of them got in the path of the beam their circuits went absolutely haywire and they stopped working for a few minutes as demonstrated by Menasaw lying prone on the ground. Just as Rei let the spear go with all her strength, she saw another pulse approach Asuka at high speed.
"NO!" a voice and a sonic boom ripped through the sky
Starscream had knocked out several of the Transformers that tried to restrain him from going out there and had poured the speed on to get there: as he approached the beam, he transformed and used his momentum to get in the beam's line of fire. Asuka saw Starscream floating there and his words from when the first met came back to her 'My function: to protect Evangelion pilot Asuka Langley Soryu: with my life if necessary'. The pulse hit Starscream like no other beam weapon had in his millions of years of life.
"AAAGGGGHHH" Starscream bellowed as the energy practically roasted him inside out
"Starscream! NOOO!" Asuka screamed
In space, the Angel saw all too late that the Spear of Longinus was coming. It tried to evade but the mysterious weapon hit it dead on. The AT Field stopped it, for all of 3 seconds and like a drill, it bit in and twisted through and killed the Angel by pulling it with it but sending the Angel into another dimension; never to attack the earth again. Ultra Magnus lowered his head and communicated with the HQ on the moon; their orders were to retrieve the Lance.
"Recovery teams to the battlefield; First Aid and Ratchet, your priority is Starscream; he's sustained heavy injury" Magnus called the others to Starscream's plight
"I know a thousand soldiers without the bravery and loyalty to do that" Fuyutski said as he saw Starscream's body on the viewer
***************************
Asuka was practically hysterical when they got her back to the Stronghold: she was demanded into to see Starscream. Skywarp and Thundercracker were also demanded to see him; in fact Starscream's younger brothers had taken it upon themselves to replace Starscream as Asuka's guardian till he was functional again. Ratchet was trying to placate them with word of his condition but the brothers and Asuka were intent on seeing him. Eventually Ratchet relented and let them in.
"Be warned, it isn't pretty" he said sternly and opened the door.
"Oh god, no" Asuka's voice caught in her throat
Starscream's usually red body was charred black, to say nothing of his internals. His head had a large split in the middle and his left arm and leg were almost mangled beyond recognition or repair. The various machines around him were the only things keeping Starscream alive.
"I'm sorry guys" Asuka sobbed
"Its okay, come on, let's go and let First Aid and the others do their jobs" Skywarp said
"Yeah, let's go" Thundercracker concurred and led Skywarp and Asuka out
****Later that night******
"Ratchet, what are his chances of survival?" Optimus asked
"Not good; if he weren't such a stubborn bastard to begin with he'd of carked out on the battlefield"
"What about the other project you and Wheeljack were working on: Metamorphosis?" Optimus asked
"Well, that would kill him, however if we had a human body, or even a synthetic body; we'd be in business" Ratchet said
"Then make one" the pair turned to see Megatron in the doorway
"Survival is survival, whether Starscream survives in a human body or a Transformer one is irrelevant" Megatron continued as he looked at his broken his Aerial Commander
"Wheeljack, get Ratchet down here. Prepare for mind transfusion" Optimus said
"One more thing: make his body the same age as his ward" Megatron said, a sly grin on his face as he left
"Starscream, if you can hear me; you sacrifice was not in vain. Asuka is safe and your brothers are looking after her. You did well and performed your duty with honour" Optimus then stood back and saluted Starscream, as did Megatron from the doorway
[One more, and then we must prepare for a full attack against Unicron] Optimus thought as he also left the medical bay