Evangelion Fan Fiction
The Once and Future Angel of Humanity
By Kraven Ergeist
Chapter Seven
As the sun lowered in the evening sky, so did the sleepy eyes of Ayanami Rei. Kaworu and Shinji both looked upon her with knowing eyes and bid the other goodnight. After that, Rei followed Shinji back into the confines of NERV.
"Were you serious?" Rei asked, after a long silence. "About killing the commander? He's your father."
Shinji shook his head. "I'm very serious. And no…that…selfish, cold hearted, inhuman…he is not my father, Rei. Not now, not ever."
"But to kill him?"
"Better him than the entire human race," Shinji sighed. "I have glimpsed into God's plan. The magistrate that dictates the actions of the angels. As long as circumstances remain as they are, the Angels are to continue attacking Tokyo-3 until Third Impact initiates. However…if a human who has found their AT field…proves humanity's worthiness…usually, by doing a favor to God's plan…in this case, removing the scourge that trespassed into God's realm…then the angels will be withdrawn. Furthermore…" Shinji locked eyes with Rei, "Kaworu Nagisa, the Seventeenth Angel, is the angel of free will. Though he is bound to fate, he is free to choose when he follows it. And if he chooses to abstain until the necessity for his action is no longer present…well, there's nothing God can do about that."
Rei sighed. "So you have no choice…"
Shinji nodded. "I could always choose to let humanity die…to let my father and Keel have their way…and lose you…as well as everyone else I care about. Is that something you want me to do, Rei?"
Rei shook her head. "No."
Shinji sighed. "It's late. We should get to sleep."
Rei nodded. "Where? After your visit to the commander, I doubt that NERV will be wanting to do us any favors."
Shinji smiled. "Don't worry. Misato will take us in. I know she will. You can stay in my room; I'll take the couch."
Rei blinked. "Why should we stay in separate rooms?"
Shinji sighed. "Etiquette, mostly. For Misato and Asuka's sake."
Especially, Shinji thought, For Asuka's sake.
xxxxx
"WHAT!?" said redhead screamed. "MISATO, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
Misato and Shinji recovered from their rather blown-back conditions after this outburst (Rei was fine), and tried to reason with her.
"Asuka, they'll be sleeping in separate rooms," Misato said.
"And have you ever been to Rei's old apartment? It's a trash heap! We can't ask her to sleep there."
Also,he thought, because I just know my father will be monitoring her there, and God knows what else!
Asuka still was not ok with the matter, but Misato, being the reining adult, had final say, and it was decided.
"Sure, they'll start off in different rooms. Doesn't mean it's gonna end that way!"
Rei, for the most part, ignored the cranky German girl. After eating a late meal (Shinji cooked, but did not eat), the four sat down in front of the TV and tried to agree on a program to watch. The bickering was mostly between Asuka and Misato. Rei and Shinji were more focused on each other for the majority of the evening.
It was past midnight by the time Misato had drunken herself into stoicism, and Asuka had isolated herself in her room. Rei didn't want to leave Shinji just yet, but the constant fluttering in her eyes said different.
"You haven't slept well, lately," Shinji pointed out.
"Neither have you."
"Yeah, but I don't need sleep."
"True."
They parted with a long, deep kiss that lasted, as Asuka would point out in the morning, a lot longer than it needed to.
xxxxx
An hour later, Shinji entered his room where Rei was sleeping. He planted a tender kiss on her ear.
"I'm sorry. There's something I must do. I'll see you in the morning."
With that, he left.
Within minutes, he was breaking and entering into the First division NERV in Germany. The birthplace of Gehirn, Doctor Soryu's Daughter, and the Eva she piloted.
The residence of Lorenz Keel.
Keel was awake and waiting for him before he arrived. In his dark reception room, with alarms alerting everyone of his presence blaring in the background.
"So…you are the one…" Keel said to Shinji, darkly, as he entered.
"Lorenz Keel…the 'Wandering Jew'…said to have walked this Earth since the creation of the holy land…never to eat…never to sleep…never to rest…."
"You cannot begin to comprehend the torture that I go through because of this curse."
"Is Third Impact really the only answer?"
"Don't you think I would have found a way? Don't you think, after over 2000 years of this cursed life that I would have found a way to finally rest!?"
Shinji sighed, lowering his head. "You would sacrifice the lives of every human being…to end humanity…do you even comprehend the gravity of that? Do you think that your suffering truly warrants the end of the entire human race?"
Keel sneered. "I need not answer the rhetorical questions of a petulant child."
Shinji glared back. "Well…this petulant child may just very well have the answer you've been waiting for…"
Shinji extended his wings and expanded his AT field. Using his AT field to literally lift Keel from his wheel chair, tugging at the very light of his soul.
"Come now, Keel. Unleash your AT field. It is this field that preserves you like this. It is this field that tethers you to life!"
Keel's mask fell from his face to reveal glowing red eyes. His shirt ripped open as he extended a pair of wings of his own, torn and ratty, never used, never cared for.
Shinji neutralized the old man's field with his own. Having removed his defenses, he rushed the poor old soul, gripped him by the neck, and…
From there, it only took seconds.
Keel crumpled to the ground. Though in life, he had never smiled, now in death, he never looked happier.
"May you rest in peace…" Shinji muttered, releasing him.
It was then that the guards finally broke into the room. They opened fire, but Shinji had already spread his AT field to defend himself.
"There is no more for me here…" he said to no one.
With a flash of light, he took off into the night
xxxxx
Shinji returned home only to have his greatest fears realized.
Rei was gone.
Without waking Asuka or Misato, the wee bits of sunlight flickering above the horizons, Shinji knew.
He knew exactly what was going on.
And as the pieces fell into place in his head, his fate became ever the more clear.
He had already lost.
xxxxx
"We've hyper sensitized our AT field tracking systems to pick up as much as a flicker," the commander boasted. "We detect anything, even if it's not from you…and she dies."
Shinji was standing across from his father's desk, glaring angrily. They had detected that Shinji had left for Germany. In his foolishness, Shinji left in the night, when no one would have expected him to move. He'd planned it so, but he'd overlooked the fact that his father had constant watch over him, and was just waiting for the perfect chance.
First thing, try to call the bluff.
"You can't kill Rei. She's too important to you plans."
"I can always create a replacement for Ayanami. Why do you think she had no memory?"
Shinji gasped. No…it can't be…
"Rei died in that accident, Shinji…how couldn't she? What you've been carting around for the past week is a carbon copy after a failed memory transfer."
Shinji gritted his teeth. "You monster… How many? How many times have you killed her and brought her back!?"
Gendo smiled. "Why don't you ask her that? Perhaps she knows. Or did she fail to tell you? Oh, that's right, she had no memory. A pity."
Shinji was verging on tears now. How could this monster…?
He sniffed. No time for that now.
"Show me. Show her to me. Give me proof that she's still alive, otherwise you get nothing from me."
Gendo smiled. "Very well."
A screen appeared on the window lining the left side, depicting Rei, bound up with a gun pressed against her temple.
Shinji's blood boiled, but he kept his cool.
"That's probably just one of your "carbon copy's." Let me talk with her."
Gendo sighed. "Impertinent child."
"…Otherwise, I'm going to assume she's already dead, and kill you now."
Gendo sighed. "Very well. Ritsuko…open up a two way communication."
There was a pause, and then a static noise.
"Rei? Rei, are you there?" Shinji said, desperately to the screen at his right.
"Shinji!? Shinji, is that you!?" Rei said. "Shinji, please! Help me!"
"I will, Rei…don't worry…I will…"
Shinji turned his face back to his father. "Alright, commander…you've got me. What do you want?"
xxxxx
Gendo led Shinji into Terminal Dogma, where Lillith was housed.
"This device measures AT field activity," Gendo said, holding up a device in his hand for Shinji to see. "I detect anything, I press this button," he held up the switch in his other hand, "And the order will be give to execute Rei."
Shinji just glared.
The doors opened, and Shinji stood before the massive giant that was Lillith, suspended on the Red Cross.
"Why exactly are we here…?" Shinji asked.
"You'll see momentarily. Our space mission should have been completed while you were away."
Shinji blinked. "Space mission?"
Gendo nodded. "To retrieve…that."
Shinji turned his head toward where his father was pointing…only to see Eva Unit 00 holding the lance of Longinus over Shinji's head, prepared to strike.
"R…Rei?" Shinji stammered.
"No…" came a voice. "Dummy Plug. Our most advanced one yet."
Shinji turned to see Ritsuko Akagi walk in.
"Dr. Akagi? You're in on this too?"
She smiled, knowingly. "This new Dummy plug has proven successful with Eva 00, and takes direct orders. Better than any previous rendition or pilot could do. Observe."
Unit 00 drove the lance downward towards Shinji, until it was literally millimeters from his forehead.
"Go ahead and use your AT field now," Gendo said, pocketing his sensor readout. "That lance can penetrate the light of the soul. Nothing you do can stop it. You are now, once again, at our mercy."
Shinji glared back, a twinge of fear welling up inside him. "So what do you want from me?"
"We still need a pilot for Unit 01."
Shinji drew in his breath. "You mean to tell me that after all this…you still want me to pilot it?"
Gendo said nothing.
Shinji was about to lose control of himself, when a loud explosion that carried throughout the entire cavern. Shinji felt, rather than saw, the wall around them caved in.
Then, he sensed it. No…it couldn't be…
Not trusting his senses, Shinji looked up. But he still refused to believe it.
Refused to hope.
Maybe, just maybe, they'd get out of this alive.
Kaworu Nagisa lowered into Terminal Dogma. In his arms was Rei Ayanami.
"So nice of you to disregard that AT field reading," Kaworu said, smugly. "Otherwise the one Shinji loves most would have been killed. I wouldn't want that."
"Shinji!" Rei shouted.
Shinji could only sigh with relief.
Rei was safe.
Gendo sneered at the intruder. "Clever, but too little too late. I'll ask you both to stop right there. Or I'll have the Third Child eliminated."
Only then did Kaworu notice the lance.
"You can't kill me," Shinji stated. "You need me to pilot Unit 01."
"We have the first child, as well as the dummy plug to rely on."
"Having had such great results trying to use them to pilot my Eva."
Gendo smiled. "Whatever the outcome, you wouldn't live to see it."
There was a long pause, before Shinji could feel Kaworu's presence in his mind.
Shinji…spread your AT field and use it against Unit 00 on my mark.Shinji tensed. Kaworu was planning a two-pronged attack, hoping to catch Unit 00 off guard.
Shinji tensed all over again. This would be a close one.
Now!
Kaworu neutralized Unit 00's AT field, just as Shinji lashed out with his. Unit 00 staggered, but did not fall back. Instead, it reached out with its free hand and grabbed Kaworu out of the air.
Shinji cringed, but saw his chance.
He spread his wings and dashed towards where Kaworu had left Rei. He flew with all his speed. It would be close. Could he make it?
The lance came down before him. Unit 00's reflexes with the dummy plug were ten times that of unit 03's.
Shinji stopped right before smashing into it's serrated prongs.
"Well, it seems that I once again have you cornered," Gendo said, triumphantly. "Now, how about we stop behaving like children and get down to business?"
Shinji lowered his head.
No…it wasn't fair. This couldn't be how things wound up. His father got everything his way. Everyone wrapped around his finger like…like…
Like mindless dolls.
"She's your Eva…" he muttered between tears and gasping breaths.
"I'm sorry?" Gendo called, not quite hearing.
"She's…she's your Eva…and she must obey you…"
Gendo frowned. "What are you talking about, Third Child?"
Shinji raised his head and locked eyes with Rei. "She's your Eva! And she must obey you!"
"That's enough!" Gendo growled. "Akagi! Enter the final command into the dummy plug!"
Ritsuko gasped at this. "Commander are you-?"
"Now!" he blared.
The lance raised itself upwards to drop onto the Third Child.
Time seemed to slow down. Kaworu was trapped, his AT field neutralizing Unit 00's. Shinji still had his field up, but was at the mercy of the lance.
No…
She had to do something.
She's your Eva! And she must obey you!And that's when Rei felt the change happen.
xxxxx
She didn't notice it at first, couldn't stop it. But something snapped. She felt the Earth shake, so slightly, it would pass as a tremor, but the LCL in Terminal Dogma began to vibrate and hum.
Rei suddenly felt aware of everything around her. It was like she could see in all directions at once. But it was more than that; Rei could sense everything that was happening around her: The people, angels, Eva's, and all in between in the room around her– all of NERV, she realized.
Then she heard a ripping sound, the sound that cloth makes when it's torn apart by an outstanding force. At the same time, a sharp pain stung her in her back, between her shoulder blades.
Before she could cry out in pain, it was over. Her shirt, she soon realized, had been torn apart from the back. She turned around to inspect what had happened, and froze.
Right where the pain had struck her directly between her shoulder blades was a pair of pure white wings.
The wings of an angel.