Reign of the Tabri
Chapter 18: ReVenge
Fortunately the supersonic VTOL was fueled up and ready to go. All they had to do was power it up, activate the auto-pilot and set the coordinates. Everyone strapped in as Logani entered the coordinated of the former Tabri base.
Shinji grasped his restraints with just a little bit of fear. He'd never flown in a VTOL before. The first time he had seen one it had been destroyed by Sachiel. And now Sachiel was back… This made him really look forward to flying in one of them.
Asuka plopped down in the copilot seat and let out a yawn. She'd flown circles in these things before. Why should this time be any different?
Rei sat calmly. She turned to her left and starred into the empty seat. 'I wish I'd never wished for freedom from him,' she thought. She continued to stare at the seat throughout the journey.
Touji sat in back next to Shinji. He took the window seat and starred out into the now deserted hanger. The giant letter 18 was painted on one of the walls. He starred into it blankly. 'How many hangers must they have here?' he thought.
Logani sat in the pilot seat as he powered everything up. Once everything was ready to go he turned to look at the children. 'Interesting,' he thought, 'All of us piling into a plane like this. And none of us even look over sixteen.' He entered the final coordinates and set the autopilot for takeoff.
The ship took off in the regular VTOL fashion. Straight up into the sky, a slow stop while the engines turned, then a rapid boost forward. 'This ship is fast,' thought Logani, 'but father will be going much faster then this in Michel's body. Plus he has a head start.' He bit his lip and thought of what lay ahead of the VTOL. Stopping Tabris would be no easy task, especially if he had already taken his old body back. Logani shivered at the thought of father's old body.
Asuka looked at him cross-ways. "What are you shivering for?" she demanded.
Logani turned to look at her. He just shook his head. "Nothing," he said forcefully.
Asuka snorted. "Sure," she said as she turned back to looking out the window, "nothing." She made an exasperated snort and left it at that.
Robertus watched them take off from the outskirts of Tokyo-3. He made a smile only an Evangelion could make and turned towards the JSSDF base.
The base had been roughly destroyed by the Tabri after the UN attempt to retake Tokyo-3. Buildings had been pulled down, walls destroyed, and airstrips turned into small mountains. The Tabri had done a very thorough job of making sure the base would never be used again.
They'd even infiltrated all the levels of the base. While the JSSDF did not have nearly as large an underground fort as NERV it was still impressive. Around thirty stories of secret labs and command centers had been built, and then destroyed by the Tabri.
As Robertus walked he couldn't help but wonder were everyone was. 'Although,' he thought, 'if a human heard an Evangelion coming wouldn't they hide?'
The JSSDF base was around a hundred miles from Tokyo-3. Robertus made the trip in around twenty minutes. He didn't want to rush himself at all.
'Let's see if it can be salvaged,' he thought. He sincerely doubted and hoped it at the same time. The Tabri wouldn't have left it alone. They'd have been too efficient for that.
He spread out his AT-field and began shifting through the rubble. It was amazing how much stronger his AT-field became when used through the Evas core. It amplified it at least tenfold.
They needed the Custom Positron Rifle the JSSDF had badly. A sneak attack without a powerful sniper would be practically suicide. None of the Positron Rifles at NERV would be nearly strong enough. If they couldn't break through Ramiel's AT-field they would be little use on say, Adam.
'Why couldn't they just have left it at NERV?' Robertus thought, 'Wouldn't it have made sense to have it on hand? At least they could've kept it for safe keeping.'
He found it, or at least the core of it. The barrel was twisted uselessly, the sighting was missing completely, and the stock was broken off. But what was important was the actual firing mechanism. If it continued to work then the other pieces could be replaced from normal Positron Rifles.
Robertus looked over the firing mechanism with a trained eye. It looked salvageable to him. 'Maybe a test firing is in order,' he thought. He pulled the twisted barrel off. The Positron Rifle now more closely resembled a Positron squirt gun. Nevertheless the handle still fit into Robertus' hand. He took aim for a distant mountain. He squeezed the trigger and nothing happened.
Robertus scowled. 'Logani's not going to enjoy learning this,' he thought, 'I might as well bring it anyway though, I guess.'
He carried the broken rifle back to NERV. He lowered himself back into Central Dogma and looked Unit 01 and Unit 02 over. They seemed fine to him. He sat down and began looking over the broken rifle.
Logani ordered the autopilot to put them down on the outskirts of the enclave. He figured there was no point in alerting his father. As far as Tabris knew there would be no team to go stop him.
Logani turned to look at his crack team. Rei would be useful. Asuka and Shinji might react in an emergency. Touji…
"Touji," Logani said. Touji turned to look at him, preparedness written in his face. "Guard the ship," he ordered.
Touji's jaw dropped. "What do ya' mean guard the ship!" he shouted.
"You don't know how to use an AT-field stupid," Asuka smirked.
Touji jerked up and pointed his finger at Asuka angrily, "And you do!" he shouted.
Asuka smirked and was about to give Touji a demonstration when Logani intervened. "You could," he said to Touji, "but we don't have time to explain it to you. Any moment now my father's going to get his original body back and come up here. Then we'll become dead, got it?"
Touji and Asuka froze for a moment before nodding. "Good," Logani continued, "Rei, take the back. Shinji, Asuka, stay close to me."
The three children nodded and waited for Logani to crack the door of the ship. When he finally did they were all taken aback. "An open prairie?" demanded Asuka, "That's your secret base!"
Logani shook his head and pointed to a small hole in the ground about twenty feet from the ship. "Underground," he said coolly. The others all nodded slowly.
"Isn't it always?" asked Shinji with a sigh.
"Deal with it Third Child," Asuka said. She followed Logani out of the ship. Shinji made a small scowl and set out after them. Rei followed Ikari obediently.
Logani walked up to the hole and pointed his finger at it. His AT-field shot out and expanded the hole twofold. Peering into the darkness Asuka thought that they could probable fit two across if they had too. She hoped they didn't.
Logani started down the tunnel, expanding his AT-field in front of him in order to give himself a dim light. Shinji waited for Asuka to follow him. He waited in vain.
Asuka shoved him into the tunnel. Shinji tripped and fell on his head. He rolled over and massaged his head. "Hey!" he shouted.
"Shut up Third Child!" Asuka shouted at him, "I'm not going to let you stare at my ass the whole time! Now get moving!" Shinji couldn't help but start going. He rubbed his new bruise on his head and felt a little annoyed. He'd been looking forward to the view.
Asuka began following him down into the darkness. She began concentrating, trying to get her AT-field to expand in front of her. Her efforts were rewarded with a small glow forming on her hands. 'Not bad,' she thought, 'it won't expand much but I bet its better then what Shinji could do,' she comforted herself.
Rei became slightly distressed when she realized she wouldn't be following Ikari directly. Disappointment was imminent in her head. She began following Pilot Soryu, projecting her AT-field behind her to guard from any sort of back attack Logani seemed to anticipate.
They followed the trail Logani blazed for over an hour. It looped downwards and around all sorts of things. Asuka played with her AT-field and Shinji thought of what he would say to Kowaru when he met him. 'Do I hate him?' Shinji asked himself, "Do I want to be his friend?" Rei followed, keeping a wary eye over her shoulder. Logani continued like there was no threat in the world down here. He walked like he'd done it a thousand times before. It was actually two-thousand but who was counting?
Finally the tunnel opened up. Logani stopped on a landing looking out on a large cavern. The others grouped up around him to look at the city below. Logani smiled and stretched his arm out. "All of this was ours," he said triumphantly.
No one said anything as they looked across the deserted city. The dim light coming from above made the city look all the more ghost like. Logani started down a stair way to their right. It led down into the city.
Asuka followed without a second thought. Shinji hesitated just for a moment before starting down. Rei waited for Shinji to get a little ahead before following. Now Shinji could enjoy the view.
The stairway led to the main street of the city. Logani turned around to face the others, continuing to walk. "We called it Domus," he told them. Asuka and Shinji made confused expressions and Logani elaborated, "It means home in Latin."
"Oh," Shinji said.
Asuka just looked more confused. "Isn't Latin a dead language?" she asked.
"Not to us," Logani said, "A lot of our language and even names are Latin. Believe it or not, a lot of us were born when Rome was still in power."
Asuka blinked in surprise. She almost stopped walking. "I knew you were old, but not that old!" she said.
Logani made a small laugh, "I don't look it, I know," he said smiling. He turned around to face forward once more.
Asuka felt a little confused by the strange conversation. Shinji felt a little estranged. Rei almost felt.
They continued along the main road until it ended. Logani pointed ahead of him and, without even slowing, shot his AT-field out to hit the wall. A seemingly invisible door slid out of the way. Logani had to duck slightly to fit through the entrance but he managed. From the other side he gestured for the others to come.
They walked up and Asuka and Shinji crouched. Rei faced away from the doorway, eyes sweeping for any signs of movement. Logani began speaking quietly, "Father's body isn't far from here. Be on your guard, he may not have his new body yet but he'll still be very powerful. Michel's body with fathers' AT-field will be stronger then the Tabris you fought before Shinji."
Asuka nodded calmly, already prepared to summon her AT-field in an instant. Shinji gave a slower nod. He was not as prepared to fight as Asuka was. He hadn't even thought about the dream he'd had beyond a second glance. It hadn't made sense so he'd ignored it. Rei was always ready.
Logani moved out of the doorway and the three children entered the room. Inside was a dark hallway. Logani did not use his AT-field to light the way and the others followed his example.
The hallway was short, only a few yards to another wall. Logani placed his hand on it and shoved it in. The doorway swung open to reveal a much better lit room. It seemed to Shinji that the light was red. It came from above, seeming to drift down lazily. Logani entered the room. Asuka, Shinji, and Rei followed close on his heels.
After entering the room it became immediately apparent that it was ovular. To the right lay nothing. Straight ahead lay nothing. To the left…
To the left was a pair of steps leading up to were Tabris sat cross-legged. His eyes were closed as if he were about to take a deep plunge. Stretching out beneath and behind him was inky blackness falling into nothingness. Above him lay his body.
Asuka recognized it as an embryonic form, like Sandalphon had been found in. Through the yellow shell surrounding the body Shinji could see wings and lots of teeth and claws. He could clearly see three eyes on just the side of the head. Three more must have been on the other side. A tail ridged with spikes looped around under the hind legs. Another pair of legs or arms, Shinji couldn't tell, extended in front of the face as if reaching for something.
Shinji let out a soft whistle in awe. Logani cringed visibly.
Tabris opened his eyes a fraction of an inch. Then they widened fully. He looked them over calmly. "I must say I'm impressed," he said calmly, "I thought for sure that blow would have killed you Logani. And Shinji, it is good to see you again. Even now."
"Kowaru!" Shinji shouted. Tabris shook his head and stood.
"Kowaru was just a name given to me Shinji," his voice was as quiet and soothing as always, "I am truly Tabris."
Shinji clenched his teeth together angrily and prepared to say something. Logani cut him off. "We've come to stop you father," he said.
Tabris looked skeptical. "Stop me?" he asked, "You do know I'm not resurrecting Adam here right?" Logani nodded. "Then why, dear son, are you here?"
Logani nodded to the embryo behind Tabris. Tabris turned to look at it and broke out in a soft smile. He turned back to looking at his son. "My body?" he said.
"Yes," Logani said, "to use it against the other angels."
Tabris thought it over for a few moments. "I suppose that makes sense," he said. He looked at Asuka and Rei for a moment. "Ah, hello ladies, I didn't see you there," he said calmly.
Asuka blinked. She wasn't used to her enemies being so …polite. She scowled. "If you think you can butter-talk us Tabris you're wrong," she said, "dead wrong."
Tabris smiled weakly. "Forgive me," he said, "I had no intention of angering you."
That just pissed Asuka off more.
Tabris turned to Rei. "Hello, have you thought about what I told you last time we met?" he said.
Rei gave a small nod. Thought of similarities ran through her head. 'Aren't I more similar to a Tabri then him?' she thought.
Tabris turned back to Logani and Shinji. "What did you plan to do? Assault me with just the four of you?" he said calmly.
Shinji nodded. Logani shook his head. Shinji blinked and turned to look at Logani. "I plan to take you down one-on-one," Logani said.
Tabris nodded. "Noble," he said, "and as ever true to your honor. I suppose you promised yourself not to let Shinji here die?"
Logani took a step forward and nodded. "Exactly," he said, "and besides, at this point their all more important then I am. Without me they can still beat the Messengers. Without any one of them I'd halve their chances."
Tabris thought it over for a moment. He nodded. "I guess so," he said, "Logani? When was the last time I told you I loved you?"
Logani took another step forward, "You're not going to trick me out of this!" he shouted.
Tabris shook his head. "I wasn't going to even try," he said, "But a father must look out for his children whenever possible."
Logani said, "Like you did to all the others? The ones you let your siblings kill!" he was yelling now, "You let your siblings kill mine! I will not stand for this!"
Tabris nodded tiredly, "I regret nothing more in my whole existence then that. Not even letting Shinji kill me. I really should have put a stop to it."
Logani shook his head. "That's not good enough! You should have died to protect them! As they were all willing to do for you!" he shouted.
Tabris froze as if shot. He looked deep into Logani's eyes, only a few feet away by now. He moved.
Logani barely managed to react in time. Tabris faked to Logani's left and then moved to the right. Logani managed only a simple block before the impact wrenched him around in a 180 degree turn. Logani swung his foot around hoping to catch Tabris in a foot sweep but he was already gone.
Tabris then struck at Logani's right side, now the opposite side, once more. Logani ducked one attack and then felt a kick connect in his midsection. He found himself driven upwards into the embryo. But rather then being caught on it, or even entering it, he found himself smashing into it. Apparently Angel embryos aren't as thin as chicken eggs.
Logani began falling into the seeming emptiness beneath him. He was only about twenty feet down when Tabris materialized in front of him. He drove a fist into Logani's stomach and flew upwards. Logani found himself balanced on the fist and being hurled upwards at high speeds.
They broke the ridge and Logani was thrown off of Tabris by a knee/elbow combo to the head. He landed only a few feet in front of Shinji. Shinji's eyes widened and he took a step back in confusion.
Tabris landed back on the top of the stairs as he had been before. He watched Shinji take the step back. He barely noticed Asuka and Rei rush to Logani's side. Asuka began looking Logani over. Rei had other plans. She turned and began a barreling charge at Tabris.
He activated his AT-field and Rei smashed into it headlong. She fell onto the ground, several vertebrae nearly broken. She was down.
Shinji looked at Rei's broken body with horrified eyes. Slowly his eyes turned back to looking at Tabris. Asuka was ten steps ahead of him. "You bastard!" she shouted. She took a step forward to charge like Rei had.
She found herself stopped. She struggled to break free only to realize that it was no act of Tabris that had stopped her.
She turned to look at Shinji, grabbing her forearm in a death grip, head turned away with his hair covering his eyes. "Asuka, please. No," he pleaded.
"Shinji…" she said in surprise.
Shinji turned to look into her eyes and Asuka saw tears brimming. "You're all I have left now that Misato's gone," he whispered, "Don't leave me."
"But… Shinji someone has to stop him," she said, still thoroughly astonished.
Shinji nodded and pulled her back, away from Tabris, and behind him. He released her arm and began walking up the stairway. His head was lowered once more, hair blocking his eyes from Tabris. Tabris waited on the top of the stairway, waiting for Shinji to reach him.
Shinji stopped two feet from Tabris and brought his head up. Tears were still there, but had stopped coming. Shinji's face was pure serenity now. He was ready to do what he had to do.
Tabris did not have to wait much longer.
"You know," Shinji began, "when I first met you I was surprised. Later, after spending some time with you I began to love you. Just like you said you loved me. But now," Shinji threw his arm to one side and pointed behind him at Logani, "after seeing you do that to your own son," Shinji turned to point at Rei, "and doing that to Rei," his arms returned to his sides, "But now I can't help but despise you."
Tabris acted as if he had been slapped.
"You act all polite and nice," Shinji said, "But on the inside you're just another one of them. You're here to kill humanity. Saying you don't want to just gives you a less guilty conscience. You like saying you don't want to. It makes you feel good. Doesn't it, Kowaru?"
Tabris choked in silence.
"Doesn't it Kowaru!" Shinji yelled.
Tabris took a step back, thoughts reeling.
Shinji raised his hand in an accusing gesture. Unknown to him orange hexagons began sprouting from his finger. "You have allowed the deaths of thousands of your own children! And for what? Acceptance from your siblings! Do they really matter that much to you! After I beat all of them did you just want to die so you could join them!" Shinji shouted.
Shinji was walking forward, finger still pointed at Tabris. Tabris stumbled backwards and fell. "Shinji," he begged, "I didn't mean-" he cut off as his body crumpled into emptiness.
Asuka stood up wondering if Shinji had accidentally killed Tabris. Or worse, not on accident.
Shinji didn't even waste another breath on Michel's empty body. He turned to look at the sleeping behemoth above him. "I'm not done with you yet!" he shouted.
Tabris opened his eyes. They riveted onto Shinji, wanting his blood. Tabris began to shed its embryonic shell in order to attack Shinji. It didn't come off.
Tabris' eyes widened as it realized what was going on. The entire embryo was surrounded by orange hexagons holding it in. To counter, Tabris extended his own AT-field.
Shinji was not going to let that happen. Now he really began concentrating. Slowly, he gained ground on Tabris. Slowly Shinji pushed Tabris' field further and further in.
Tabris' eyes searched around it in a frenzy. They searched for any weakness in Shinji's trap. They found none. Finally they turned back to Shinji.
Shinji stood with his arms at his side. He returned the eyes' gaze with absolute serenity. "I loved you Kowaru," he said, "but you have proven yourself irredeemable."
Shinji closed his eyes and felt Tabris' soul collapse in his AT-field's grip. Tabris' soul was gone once more.
Once more.
Now Shinji turned his AT-field on Rei. The damaged vertebrae in her back knitted themselves back together and she awoke painfully disoriented. Next Shinji turned his field on Logani. He studied the Tabri's unique physique for a moment before setting about the healing. Soon Logani was clenching his fists to make sure he was living.
Finally, Shinji returned his AT-field to its rightful place protecting his soul. He began walking down the stairway. As he passed Logani he stopped and whispered, "Do what you have to do."
Logani nodded and walked up to the still trapped body of Tabris. He began his work.
There you go, the fall of Tabris. Two down, fourteen left, and one to be resurrected(?)
19 and 20 are going to be more of getting ready. Look for the big fight in 21 and the clincher in 22.
Special thanks to AnimeFan64 and Asarganth for leaving three reviews each now! Between the two of you thats over half. Keep it up guys!
To everyone else why no reviews? Does it suck to bad? You just lazy? Not care enough?
I'd say I'd update faster with more reviews but who am I kidding? r&R