Disclaimer: See previous chapters
AN: Sorry I took so long to update. I lost my focus for a while there.
Chap. 37
Flashback, ten minutes ago…The emerald lightsaber came down and clashed with Maul crimson saber. Maul pushed up again and in a swift action, he hit Qui-Gon's chin with the metal end. Qui-Gon blinked dazedly, but the Force was alerting him strongly, warning him of something.
'Death…'And that was when Maul, in that split second, whirled around and set his lightsaber in to impale…
'No!'Without thought or even the beginnings of a thought, Qui-Gon whirled around the finishing stab of Maul's lightsaber, missing his body totally. However, the energy blade nicked him just on the forearm, singeing it. Qui-Gon moved away while Maul whirled his weapon, reading for the next attack. Qui-Gon grimaced in pain. The blade had come in deep on his right arm, which prevented him from using his lightsaber. Switching hands, he readied his blade with his left hand and awaited Maul's assault. Maul growled, seeing that his attack had failed to finish of the Jedi and he spun his body around for a forcing blow. Qui-Gon lifted his blade to block and then he countered with a diagonal slash downward. Maul evaded the slash, but Qui-Gon spun around and slashed out again with a horizontal slash. Maul blocked this time while Qui-Gon pressed further, whirling his lightsaber out of lock and slashing upward.
Qui-Gon wasn't as good fighting with his left hand than he was with his right, so he had to rely solely on the Force to guide him through the fight now. He tuned out the battle, focusing solely on the Force and letting it guide him though it. Maul came at him with increased fervor, but Qui-Gon was able to keep in tandem with him, despite the blinding effects of the Dark Side that was emanating from the Sith lord. Enraged, Maul pressed harder, whirling in a deadly cartwheel combined with his lance. Qui-Gon was forced to step back, but in a change of movement, Qui-Gon sidestepped and lashed out. The slash flew outward and when Maul came out of his cartwheel and saw the green blade come at him, he reactively lifted his saber to defend. But Qui-Gon's slash came in lower than he anticipated and the saber cut the lance in half. Maul wheeled away, now holding a single blade saber, as Qui-Gon came at him again, striking high and locking on. The two warriors struggled with each other for a long while before Maul pushed up and kicked forward. Qui-Gon staggered backward and Maul press with a spinning roundhouse kick. Qui-Gon was smacked backward against the railing, almost falling over the side of the pyramid. The Jedi Knight groaned and arose sluggishly. His body was long past fatigued and his arm wound wasn't getting any better. Darth Maul circled slowly, as if stalking a wounded prey. Qui-Gon held himself upright and leveled his emerald saber upright.
If it is to end, it will be now.
Time seemed to slow upon this realization. Maul's face etched into a sneer and he spun in, bringing his saber around. Qui-Gon was unable to see where the blade was coming in. He had to rely on the Force solely to tell him. The two sides of the Force clashed one final time, determining who would live through this and who wouldn't. Qui-Gon felt his body charge with the pure living Force all the while; Maul felt the same flaming surge of the Dark Side through his body. His blade emerged around his body. Qui-Gon moved his arm to lower the lightsaber downward. He still couldn't see what kind of strike it would be. The Force was guiding him as best as possible within the onslaught of conflicting forces. Maul's body came in close and turned in fully, bring the crimson blade in low. At the same time, Qui-Gon motioned his saber upward, coming in low. He knew what was at risk here. He would be unable to avoid the Sith's cutting blow and his body would be slashed in half.
Unless he reached him first…Skkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!! Psssshhhhh!!!!!
The slice of the lightsabers was soon followed by a searing hiss. The Sith lord was in a stunned silence as the full realization of what happened hit him. His attack was perfect. There was no way the Jedi could have dodged or blocked it. The kill should have been his. The Jedi should have been slain. But he wasn't. He was alive.
With his lightsaber slashed across him…
Qui-Gon had slashed upward and across Maul's abdomen a second before Maul lightsaber could even reach him. Now only that, but Qui-Gon had positioned himself extremely close so that the crimson lightsaber had just missed by a hair.
"Not in this lifetime." Qui-Gon muttered softly. Maul didn't hear him though as his body fell back across the railing and down the sapphire pyramid. Qui-Gon didn't even bother to look as he struggled to regain his strength, knowing that it wasn't over yet…
Present…Qui-Gon stood before the NERV commander who was currently about to lift up Rei when he sensed his presence. His face scowled with annoyance at being intruded upon again and he lifted his head up to face the intruder. Qui-Gon gave a quick glance at Rei. She was fallen and hurt badly, but alive. Her life-Force was still present in her, which is more than he could say about his current opposition. He could just barely sense an alien presence inside Gendo, spread through him like a virus. But beyond that, he still couldn't sense Gendo himself. It was just like before; as though Gendo…wasn't even there.
'A void…'The word rang a bell in him. Voids, though not common, did exist. Living beings in which the Force was literally void of, or nonexistent. It was something Qui-Gon never fully understood, since he believed that the Force flowed through all living beings. Still, the facts were undeniable as it was standing right in front of him.
"I can not allow you to go through with Third Impact, Ikari."
Adam shook his head, "Why do you lillim persist in saying that? Why can't you realize that you can not stop fate?"
"I do not believe in either fate or destiny." the Jedi replied defiantly. Time, like the Force, is fluid and always changing.
"Yet, you believe that the Force led you to Shinji for a purpose, yes?" Adam questioned back. "Does that not consist as fate?"
Qui-Gon frowned inwardly. He had somehow expected such a response from him, but he knew better. The Force draws sensitive ones together so even though he was guided by it, that didn't mean it was predetermined.
"No."
Adam blinked and cocked his head to the side in a un-Gendo like manner. "Such a paradox you are, Qui-Gon Jinn. Regardless of what you say, this can not be stopped." He then waved his arm back and opened his palm. His AT field flickered brightly for a moment and then disappeared, save for around his hand, which soon formed into a bright red saber.
"Not by you or by anyone else."
Geofront lake
"Ha!"
With that cry, Asuka tackled the MP Eva to the water. Then before she could fall fully herself, she arched 02's, turning her fall into a low backflip and splashing down over the white Eva's head. The crimson Eva then shot its clawed hand down full-force, striking deep into the chest and shattering the core. The Eva wriggled and struggled, but eventually became silent in her death grip.
"Asuka." Karou warned.
"I see them! I see them!" she shot back, looking up to see one of the pale Eva's dive in on her from the sky. Pulling back, Asuka jerked her Eva back and in a surprise twist, she jumped up toward the MP Eva. If there was a pilot, they would certainly been surprised as 02 came at it in the air and strike it with its knee. The MP Eva's snapped back and it hit the water with a splash and a slight crunch. But Asuka's attention was already on the next target, the Eva holding the Spear of Longinus. Before her Eva started to descend, Asuka pushed the controls forward. By doing so, she caused her Eva to lean forward and when it descended, it went into a forward roll and allowed her to smash the Eva's heel down to the targeted Eva. The crunch that resounded verified this as the MP Eva was floored, dropping the spear in the process. Asuka landed heavily in the water, but she didn't let it stop her from charging in on the punching down, aiming for the chest. But the MP Eva caught her arm just before it hit and held her in place.
"Dodge left and elbow back."
Asuka thinking even think about the instruction Karou issued to her as she followed it. 02 dodged off to the left and struck back with her elbow. What resulted was that she dodged one of the MP Evas attacking her from behind. The MP Eva had struck its own counterpart, impaling it with its blade arm and hitting the core. At the same time, Asuka had shot the elbow back, knocking it away. She couldn't believe it.
"How did you…?"
Karou gave her another one of his light smiles before his glowing body flickered and he grimaced in seeming pain. At the same time, Asuka felt a drop in…power and 02 froze for a moment.
"What's going on?"
Karou straightened out his face, "The Evas…Each time one is destroyed, my connection is disrupted. You have to move quickly."
What he didn't tell her was the reason why. Each one of the MP Evas was being piloted by a dummy plug of himself. Whenever one is destroyed, it is as though he was dying again and that rippled through the Force in a disruptive manner, affecting him as well. That was also how he knew what moves to tell Asuka to make before they made them. Luckily for him, Asuka didn't have time to ask as the Eva she hit came barreling right at her. Thinking quickly, Asuka grabbed the fallen lance and swung back. The MP Eva ducked the swipe and stabbed upward with its blade arm, slashing across 02. Asuka grit her teeth in pain from the attack and she kicked back. But her attack was again dodged and the pale Eva skipped aside. Bringing it blade in forward again, it made ready to stab her this time, right in the chest.
"Spin left and slash out."
Again the mysterious command and again, Asuka followed it instantly without thinking about it. She spun around, barely dodging the stabbing blow and with the lance, she slashed out. Her counterattack severed the Eva's head, sending it flying off into the water. Seeing the pale machine still moving, Asuka reversed direction, stabbing the back end of the lance into its core, finishing it off.
"Get…away…"
Asuka blinked at his new suggestion as it came out garbled, but she stepped back just before another blade slashed out at her. Her hesitation though, cost her and the blade severed the hand that held the lance, causing it to splash in the water again. Stifling a cry, she pulled her Eva back more fully to see the two remaining MP Eva's coming in at her at the same time. Meanwhile, Kaoru flickered rapidly before her, his face strained. The controls and lights in the 02 flickered as well and the red machine began to slow down.
"Kaoru!"
"I…can't hold…it much…longer." he forced out. Asuka frowned. 'Oh man! Not now.' The two remaining Evas were bearing down on her and she was having trouble making the Eva walk simple steps. Her hands gripped the controls tightly in an effort to get her Eva to go, but to no avail.
"Asuka…" Kaoru muttered, his figure beginning to fade. "You have to…do it…without me." He looked over at Asuka and smiled one final time.
"Tell Shinji…I am glad…to be his friend."
Kaoru soon faded away completely and the 02 Eva stopped dead. Asuka continued to struggle with the controls in near panic, vainly trying to get her Evangelion to move.
"No! Now what." She thought back to Kaoru's words. "I can't power this up. It's a machine for goodness sake!"
-"You can do it, Asuka."-
The softened voice caused Asuka to blink. "Mother? You're back."
-"You can do it. I will help you, but you have to focus."-
The rumbling of from outside grew louder and was shortly accompanied by the Eva 02 falling to the ground as a result of a blow from one of the MP Eva's. Luckily, it wasn't with a blade so Asuka only moaned at the blow. The two stood over it and the latter one jumped backward to retrieve the fallen Lance.
-"Don't worry about that. Keep your focus on the here and now."- Her voice was now starting to interchange, sounding like Qui-Gon's. Asuka allowed herself to relax and closed her eyes.
-"Calm and centered. Size doesn't matter. Feel the Force. Feel me."-
Asuka breathed slowly, seeming to be unconscious when in fact her awareness was beginning to expand and grow. She picture herself looking outside of her Eva, seeing the red machine lying on the water, feeling the warm aura of her mother from within. She just had…to reach for it. Outside, the Eva stalked up to the 02 and raised the Lance over its head, preparing to strike down.
'I…I feel…it…I…can…do this!'The Lance came down with a swoop just as the 02's eyes shimmered to life. In one swift move, 02 shot its head up, allowing the lance to pass just over head. Then with a clenched fist, Asuka drove a powerful fist into the Eva, sending it sprawling across the water. The second Eva grabbed Asuka from behind before she could rise, but the crimson Evangelion reared its arms back and heaved the pale Eva overhead, sending that one flying into its counterpart with a crash. The two MP Eva's arose and came in to attack and Asuka charged in as well and with lightning speed, she dashed across the charging Eva on the right. The pale Eva turned around to attack again, but it suddenly exploded and fell apart in half. As Asuka turned to face the final Eva, a bright glow was emitting from the 02's hand.
A lightsaber…
Terminal Dogma
A new battle emerged near the LCL lake as Adam and Qui-Gon squared off and fought each other. However, Qui-Gon was vastly weakened and fatigued from his horrific battle with Darth Maul and he was still limited to using his left arm. Because of this, he was left staying on the defensive, blocking Adam's attacks just barely. Yet, judging by the way that Adam fought, he knew that he was too powerful to simply tire out.
"Stand down." Adam taunted. "You can't defeat me. You can't even stand up to me."
Qui-Gon tried to ignore him, but he knew he stoke the truth. His body was far too strained to fight. And when he lifted his arm to deflect a blow, Adam's lightsaber snapped across hard, causing Qui-Gon's to leave his hand and skitter across the ground. The force of the strike was also enough to push the Qui-Gon off his feet and onto the ground. Adam then swiftly brought his energy blade to the Jedi's throat, freezing him in place.
"You are different, Qui-Gon. Unlike the other lillim, you know who I am." His eyes narrowed slightly, "Or at the very least, who I am not."
Qui-Gon looked into the blood-red eyes of the creature before him. He then also noticed that the forearm that held the lightsaber was covered with distorted ugly veins that reached up to his elbow over the jacket he wore. Qui-Gon used his senses to probe the energy felt from him and soon put two and two together.
"You're an Angel."
Adam smiled, "I am Adam, the First Angel. And I will complete what I am destined to do."
Adam move away from Qui-Gon, leaving him grounded while he moved back over to Rei, who lay still on the floor. Yet both the Jedi and the Angel could sense that she was still alive and Adam knew that she could still be used. Qui-Gon struggled to rise, but he was too exhausted and hurt to move much and only wound up sitting up. Even if he could rise, he wouldn't have the strength to help Rei or fight Adam.
'Shinji!'The thought came into his mind before he realized it. But he knew that if anyone could save them now, it would be his Padawan.
'Master? I'm coming!'The reply camealmost immediatelyand strongly, indicating to Qui-Gon that Shinji was close. And true to that thought, a massive stomping sound came up from behind, shaking the ground. Adam stopped once again, turning around and witnessing the arrival of a giant, purple behemoth with several glowing wings shimmering behind.
Evangelion 01…The machine stepped up just behind of Qui-Gon and bent down. The wings disappeared and the hissing noise of the entry plug resounded. Shinji emerged from the plug and jumped over to the shoulder and then onto the knee and finally on the ground. Adam looked at him duly and shook his head.
"Third Child…"