Evangelion Fan Fiction
The Once and Future Angel of Humanity
By Kraven
Chapter Five
Shinji was growing weary of the hunt. They had gone to Canada after they had been found in Australia. Once there, it had taken less than 12 hours for them to be found.
Shinji then took Rei to a remote island in the oceanic area. Remote, isolated, and for the most part, uninhabitable, for its lack of natural resources.
It was there that Shinji discovered a new aspect of his power.
"You can grow vegetation?" Rei asked, watching Shinji stretch his AT field out over the sand. Instantly, trees and plants began to grow, and fruit grew from the branches. Bananas, citrus fruits, coconuts, berries, edible flowers, anything that might grow in that climate to support human life. By the time he was done, they had enough food for weeks, if not, months, since Shinji didn't need to eat.
"Yep," Shinji smiled at his work. "Best of all, I can give you some shade. The sun has got to be murder on your skin."
Rei stared in awe. "You did all this for me."
Shinji blushed. "Well…for both of us."
Rei shook her head. "You're not fooling me, Shinji. You don't need to eat, and the sun can't possibly bother you."
Shinji shrugged it off. "Well, I'm going to go see if I can use some of those vines and timber to make a hammock. You just enjoy yourself. Don't go off too far and if you see anything like a plane coming by, get into the trees and wait for me. I'll have sensed the danger by then."
Rei nodded. "I'll be careful."
Shinji went to work as Rei began to walk the rim of the island, admiring the coastal sea. She began to think about her new life. Since she had woken, she and Shinji had been on the run. She remembered nothing of her past life, and knew only what Shinji had told her. For all she knew, he could be duping her about this whole thing, but she did not believe that to be so. She trusted Shinji. She was even starting to think that she was falling in love with the boy.
When Rei returned, Shinji was all finished with the hammock, and sitting by the water. Rei went to him and sat next to him.
"Rei?" Shinji asked. "Are you…I mean…are you ok living like this? Constantly on the run, moving from place to place?"
Rei turned her gaze to him. "I have no qualms with it."
Shinji blinked. "Are you sure? Is there nothing more I can do? I can't but think that there's a way to make your life easier."
Rei took his hand in hers. "Shinji…that doesn't matter to me. It's you, Shinji, which matters. This life or any life is just fine for me, so long as you're in it with me."
Shinji smiled, a tear trickling down his cheek. "I've felt the same way about you. I felt like I could put with whatever hardships the world could offer…if only you would be there in the end."
He suddenly became aware of how they were together. Shinji felt her hand in his, felt their bodies touching, watched her lips move as she spoke.
"I wish we could always be like this," she said, stroking his face with her hands.
Shinji could see it in her eyes, could see what she wanted. He knew, in his heart, that he wanted it too.
"Rei…I…I don't know what to say…" he muttered, as their face drew ever closer.
Rei let on a hint of a smile, as she titled her face to come in contact with his. "Don't…say…anything…"
And then their lips met. For the first time. It was like nothing either had experienced, that neither wanted to let go of. They were fully immersed in each other, their souls connected, dancing and twirling in each other's delight. It was the moment they had each lived for.
They carried on into the night and awoke the next morning and immersed once more. Time became meaningless, measured only in the amount of clothing that separated them. At times, they wouldn't even wear clothing; it was just the two of them on the island, after all. They would simply lay together, hidden in the shade, a mixture of love and lust in their skin.
It was a life that they could have lived forever.
It was mid morning one day when the sound of a helicopter woke the two of them from a peaceful repose.
Shinji had sensed it long before he'd heard it, but he still couldn't tell if they were enemies or not. Odds were they were, but there was small way to be sure.
"Rei…" he whispered, waking her from her sleeping position on top of him. "You hear that?"
Rei groaned lightly in her sleep. "What is it?"
Shinji sighed. "I think it might be time for us to go."
Rei looked up at him with pleading eyes. "So soon? I was enjoying our time here."
Shinji smiled. "I was as well, Rei. Look, they may not be from the UN, but we should still be ready to leave. Come on, let's…umm…get our clothes on."
The two of them reluctantly dressed and his in watch of the chopper. When it was apparent that they were sending shock troops down onto the island, it became clear.
"Oh well, let's go," Shinji said, shedding his shirt and wrapping his arm around Rei. White feathers erupted from his back, and white wings surrounded them both.
"Wait," Rei said, as Shinji prepared to take off. "You never leave your wings open long enough for me to see them."
Shinji smiled and spread them out wide for Rei to admire. She acknowledged with a smile, and Shinji wrapped his wings around her body. Rei breathed in deeply, holding the plumy feathers close like a blanket. Beneath the feathery blanket, Shinji wrapped his arms around her from behind, and kissed her neck.
"Rei…we really don't have time…" he cautioned.
"Very well," She ceded. "Take us up."
Shinji opened his wings, gave a powerful leap into the air, and took off faster than the speed of light.
xxxxx
"This is stupid," Asuka muttered to herself, as she stared at her Eva. "The angel keeps disappearing and reappearing all over the world. And even if we could intercept it, I wouldn't be able to fight it, because this hunk of junk-" she delivered a kick to the red bio-mech floating in the liquid before her, "-won't start for me."
Asuka was standing before her Eva on the UN carrier. Elsewhere, on the bridge, Misato brooded, pensively. She had deduced in her head the meaning behind Ritsuko's words. She ran over every possible interpretation, until she was left with only one: that Shinji had somehow become an Angel.
She still had not figured out a way to tell Asuka. She would find out eventually, if they ever found Shinji. Misato bit her lips, when she imagined the consequences of that. Both from Asuka and the rest of NERV.
Of course, the commander would want him executed. She had no doubt of that. Had she considered this possibility a year ago, the thought would not have crossed her mind, but she had learned differently since then. She knew how ruthless he could be.
"The Target has reappeared, ma'am, same location as prior," Hyuga reported, operating the jury-rigged computer system of the ship. "It has begun moving again. GPS is tracking it's movements…it's…it's heading towards Antarctica!"
"Antarctica?" Misato said out loud. What would Shinji want to do there?
"The target has landed on the south pole," Shigeru reported. "Um…it's…um, ma'am?"
Misato turned her attention to the bridge bunny. "Yes?"
Shigeru removed the headphones from his ears. "It's landed directly at the site of second impact."
There was a long pause, as the NERV associates exchanged looks. This did not sound good to any of them.
Misato sighed. "Captain?" she directed her question to the captain of the ship. "Set a new course. We're bound for Antarctica."
The captain saluted reluctantly (Yes, it was the same captain from episode 8; same ship even), and gave the order.
"Report this information to the commander," Misato ordered. In her heart, deep down inside, she expected the worst.
xxxxx
Shinji landed in the snowy wreckage of the Gehirn base before Second Impact. The temperature was bellow freezing, but Shinji's AT field generated enough heat that he and Rei hardly felt it. As he landed, the snow melted beneath his field, dispearsing in a dome shaped depression.
Rei looked around, realizing where they were. "Why did you come here, Shinji?"
Shinji blinked his eyes, and looked around. "I…I don't know. Wait a minute…where is…that voice…?"
Rei looked concerned. "What? What voice?"
Shinji looked around, dumbfounded. "There was this voice…it was calling me to it…I sort of drifted…"
Shinji realized where they were. "This is…the site of second impact?"
Rei nodded. "Second Impact?"
Shinji shook her head. "Remember, I told you about it? The catastrophe that rocked the world, and brought about the angels?"
Rei nodded. "Oh…then…does that mean that…the side of you that was Angel was drawn to the place of your origin?"
Shinji looked around. "Something like that. But I think there's something else…"
"What?"
Shinji shook his head. "I'm not sure. But I think I'm supposed to find out somehow…from something left behind…"
Rei watched as Shinji stepped forward, as though in a trance. She followed, silently, staying inside his AT field for warmth. She did not interrupt his passage. Whatever he sensed, she could tell it was important. She wanted Shinji to find out the answers.
Finally, Shinji stopped, in the middle of a snow field that was, evidently, once some kind of room, much like any of the others. But it was here that was the crucial component of Second Impact took place.
"What is it…?" Shinji asked into the nothingness. "What are you trying to show me?"
Rei did not respond; didn't have to. Shinji received his answer.
He suddenly shook, convulsing heavily, shaking from hand to foot. He rose slightly above the ground, twisting and turning in the air.
"Shinji!" Rei started, trying to figure out some way to help him.
Shinji was suddenly plagued with nightmarish images, haunting visions that appeared in no discernable order, nor with any particular meaning.
Then he saw her. She was the last person she would have expected to see.
It was Misato. But she was Shinji's age. And she was sitting inside an escape capsule, looking on as six pairs of spindly wings emerged from the wreckage that he was standing in.
He saw in an instant.
Adam! Lillith! S2! Eva!
A great evil; an unforgivable crime.
Shinji dropped to the ground
"So that's why they hate us…" he muttered, looking up in sorrow.
"Shinji?" Rei asked. "What was that?"
Shinji shook his head. "Adam. The father of the Angels…he was once…right here…and my father tried to capture him, try to make him his. Tried to…use him…just like he used everyone else."
Rei could only watch, as Shinji looked up at t he snowy sky. "Humanity tried to steal the power of God. And now, God is angry. So he sent his army of Angels to start Third Impact. Once that happens, humanity will die, and anew world will begin, once that, hopefully, won't breed a race of ungrateful traitors.
"But then something happened that God had not foreseen. Man happened upon Lillith, the second Angel. From her, Eva was made. And with Eva, humanity duels with God. We became to smart, too resourceful, too capable for our own good. And now, humanity has decided to rebel."
Shinji looked back at Rei. "All those battle, fighting the Angels. I thought we were fighting for the right reasons. I was wrong. The Angel's have every right to hate us. We captured, encapsulated, experimented with, and tortured sacred beings. How can we be forgiven?"
Rei looked sadly at him. "Shinji…what are you saying? That humanity is doomed?"
Shinji shook his head. "All of humanity should not be blamed for the crimes of a few. My father is one of these criminals. But another of them…is the man who has been wandering this Earth since the dawn of time."
Rei gasped. "You refer to…?"
Shinji nodded. "Lorenz Keel. The Wandering Jew."
xxxxx
"Ma'am, the signal is moving," Hyuga reported. "It's…it's coming right at us!"
Misato started. "…No…no, it's too soon…"
"Shall we prepare Unit-02?" Maya offered.
Misato sighed and nodded. "Yes…let's see if Asuka has one last fight in her."
Shigeru shook his head. "I don't like this, Major. Asuka's never really gone solo before."
Misato nodded. "There's a first time for everything."
The aircraft carrier that carried Unit-02 went to work preparing the Eva for action. By now, the fleet was near land. And on the coast, two figured were barely visible.
"Shall we get a close-up?" Hyuga offered.
Misato trembled. Even without the visual, she knew who it was. And she knew who was with him.
Oh God, how could she live with herself? How could she, after she ordered Asuka to kill him?
"Ma'am?" Hyuga pressed.
"Y-Yes…get a visual," she stammered. Heaven forgive me.
The image became perfectly clear. There was a moment of silence, a long pause in which nobody said anything.
It was Maya who broke silence. "Is that…Shinji?"
Misato cast a pained look at Ritsuko, who refused to acknowledge her at all.
"It is," Misato said. "And that's Rei standing next to him. Send…send a readout of this to Unit-02."
Asuka had to know. She had to.
A moment later…
"Shinji!" Asuka screeched. "What the hell is going on!? You mean to tell me Shinji is the Angel!?" Asuka's screams echoed loud enough for the entire fleet to hear. "Shinji no baka! Baka! You freaking idiot!! Why!? Why!? Why does it have to be you!?"
Misato turned her back on her station as tears began flooding her eyes. She would regret what she had to do for the rest of her life.
"Asuka…that may have once been Shinji…" she forced herself to say. "But he is the Angel. You don't have a choice. You must destroy him."
"You mean kill him!?" Asuka blared. "Is that what you don't want to say, Misato? You want me to kill him? Oh, so now he just means nothing to you all the sudden? Too bad you can't pilot Eva, cause then you wouldn't have a problem doing the job!"
"Asuka, shut up!" Misato screamed, turning her tear-riddled face to the camera. "Do you think I'm any happier with this!? Do you think it's so easy for me to order you to do something like this!?"
Asuka stood her ground. "Sure as hell easier than actually doing the job!"
"Quiet," Misato said. "Neither of us has a choice in this matter."
Asuka shook her head. "You may not have a choice, but I certainly do. No dummy plug yet works for my Eva. I'm the only one who can pilot it. And guess what? I can't even get my synch rate past 10!"
That's when her Eva lifted off the carrier's surface, rising into the air.
"Wh-what!?" Asuka screamed, suddenly. "What the hell!? What's going on!?"
The NERV techs were just as puzzled. But the Eva simply lifted itself off the ground, still inactive, it's brown cape over top of it.
It slowly drifted away from the fleet, and towards the pair hovering figures standing over the ice.
Eventually, the Eva landed, its back lying flat on the ice.
Asuka saw the two figured descend, and got a close look. "Wonder girl? What is she doing with Shinji?"
Asuka stepped out of her Eva. It was freezing, but she didn't care. She had a bone to pick with Shinji.
"Asuka…" Shinji said, landing, placing Rei on her feet, retracting his wings, and returning his shirt over his shoulders without buttoning it. "I knew they'd send you after me. Don't you think we've fought long enough?"
Asuka just glared. "Shinji…what…why…what are you doing here? What the hell is going on!? And why is she here!?"
Shinji sighed. "Asuka…I don't know how or why…but…I've somehow managed to tap into my AT field."
Asuka looked at him, incredulously. "AT field? You? What are you talking about?"
Shinji shook his head. "What Misato said is not true. I am not an Angel…at least, not like the one's we've been fighting. I'm still human. But I've developed somehow. All human's have an AT field. Some of them find ways to tap into slightly; people with psychic abilities; with a sixth-sense; with ESP… I've just managed to access it fully. Watch this."
Shinji removed his shirt, and brought out his wings, elegant and celestial things that caught the sunlight. As angry as Asuka was, she could not deny their beauty.
"That's not all," Shinji said, excitedly. "I can do a lot more. Like, right now, notice how you're not feeling cold?"
Asuka blinked. "Um…oh…wow…that's weird…"
Shinji nodded. "Your within the presence of my AT field. But that's not what's important, Asuka. The reason I came here, to this place where Second Impact initiated…is to learn something…and I think I learned a part of it. The reason why the Angels are attacking the humans."
Shinji shook his head. "I'll explain all this later. Right now, call Misato, and tell her that I'm still…me…and that as long as the commander assures us safe passage, then we'll go with her willingly."
Asuka blinked. "Wait a minute…you can't just brush me off like this-"
"I'm sorry, Asuka, I truly am," Shinji said, taking her hand. Asuka blushed suddenly; never had Shinji been so forward. "But it's urgent that I get back to NERV. I've been witness to the crimes that have taken place by humanity on this white moon. What lies in NERV are secrets all the more calamitous…taking place inside the black moon."
Asuka glared at him. "Fine then. But before I do…explain to me why the first child is here."
Shinji looked back at Rei, who had remained silent during that entire debate. "I'm sorry, I…forgot to introduce you."
Asuka blinked. "Introduce us?"
Shinji nodded. "Rei lost her memory after the accident. She doesn't remember anything of what's happened before all this began. So, uh…yeah, Rei, this is Asuka. She's a pilot, like us. She was one of our coworkers. She's a friend."
Rei bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Asuka."
Asuka blinked. "Say what? Wonder girl actually acting normal?"
Rei blinked, then looked at Shinji. "You're sure she is a friend?"
Asuka twitched. "Wh…what?"
Shinji sighed. "Still as tense as ever. Asuka…I need you to trust me. Now, will you please call Misato?"
Asuka gave Shinji a look that would have melted ice, had it not already been liquidating beneath Shinji's AT field. "Right. I'll call her."