Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1.
Chapter 37: John III
Gendo stared at Kaworu in disbelief, his pistol still trained on the pale boy.
...He should be dead now-- what is he doing here?
"You..." He muttered angrily under his breath. "You were supposed to be the last Angel! It was in the scenario-- both mine and SEELE's!" Kaworu only regarded the Commander with an expression of mild interest while his face remained neutral.
"Yes, I was. However... changes in events beyond SEELE's control forced me to make drastic changes. She will die, thus killing the final Angel and leaving the lilim to initiate their own destruction. But it has been determined that you are not worthy of being entrusted with the initiation of the Rapture." Gendo smirked wickedly at Kaworu.
"And what power 'determined' this? Those old fools at SEELE?"
"No. I have," Kaworu said calmly as his eyes fell onto Gendo's right hand. "...So it is my duty to relieve you of Adam."
The Commander of NERV nearly dropped his gun in shock at that moment. He tried to conceal his astonishment, but Kaworu had already noticed, and was gazing at the aged Ikari determinedly.
"...What nonsense is this?" Gendo said with as much feigned outrage as he could muster.
"It is not wise to lie to me, Commander Ikari," Kaworu said coldly. "I'm already aware of where you've been hiding it." Gendo could hardly believe his ears.
I took every precaution...I showed it to no one... How could he possibly know about it?
In his rage, Gendo aimed the pistol straight at Kaworu's head and fired.
As Unit-01 and 02 continued to clash blades in midair, Rei watched them with a satisfied expression.
The emotions of the lilim cause them to act in such amusing ways...yet I grow tired of them easily. Once I have achieved my goal, all of them shall be freed from such troublesome things.
Suddenly the shaft came to an end, opening up into a massive domed room with a red floor. Unit-02 pushed Unit-01 back so that it could break the fall, but Shinji, moving on pure instinct, pulled the red Eva in the same direction so that their positions were flipped. Unit-02 was the first to crash through the crimson surface, revealing that the floor was in fact a deep pool of LCL. Shinji groaned from the force of the landing, but righted himself as he turned his head around just in time to see a blue-haired girl floating in midair, paused before a massive steel door. Within seconds, Shinji recognized it. This door lead straight to...
"REI! DON'T DO IT, REI!" The Angel turned its head to calmly stare at him, a cold smile on her face.
Why? ...Will you kill me, Shinji?
The boy froze in his Entry Plug, unable to answer or perhaps afraid to. Sensing his hesitation, the Angel lost interest in Shinji, then turned to move back to the gate as if nothing had been said. Shinji started to run towards her, but without warning, the Eva stopped moving as something clung onto its leg. He turned his head to see Unit-02's four eyes burning up at him from just above the surface of the LCL that reached up to the Eva's thighs, the beast's right hand grappled onto Unit-01's leg.
"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET, THIRD CHILD!" Asuka screamed from the cockpit of Unit-02, her voice full of bloodlust and anger.
Rei stared at the door, her eyes full of anticipation and longing.
And thus vengeance shall be brought unto all mankind.
With that thought, the Angel opened the steel gate before her using only its thoughts.
"That's it. 'Heaven's Door' is open," Hyuga said as the dot onscreen indicated the Angel entering the main chamber of Terminal Dogma. Misato clenched her fist, praying quietly for strength and the resolve to follow through.
"...So the Angel has finally reached its goal," the Major said significantly. She swallowed as she felt her death approach with every inch the Angel moved closer to the sleeping giant beneath their feet. But weighed against the life of every other person on earth, the sacrifice of NERV was a small one to make. "...Get ready," she whispered to Hyuga. He said nothing, he only nodded to indicate he had understood.
Shinji brandished his Prog knife as Unit-02 rushed him, aiming straight for Unit-01's neck but being sidestepped in the process. Shinji still didn't want to hurt Asuka, but if there was any hope of stopping Rei at this point, he'd have to get off the defensive. He swung the blade at Unit-02's back, but Asuka managed to twist the Eva around, catching Unit-01's vibrating blade with her own. The two armored monsters strained against each other, their titanic strength practically equal. Without warning, however, Asuka pulled her knife back, causing Unit-01 to lose its balance for about a second. That was all the girl needed.
The pale girl could sense that the personnel of NERV were rapidly making preparations for a desperate final attack. While such an explosion would only cause moderate damage to her, it would be an inconvenience to have Adam destroyed.
Your eavesdropping has come to an end.
"Major, the Angel's expanding it's AT Field!" Misato furrowed her brow in worry.
"WHAT?"
"The AT Field's shutting out all electrical signals-- we've lost all contact with Terminal Dogma!" She ran to Hyuga, who was busy typing rapidly into his console.
"What about the self-destruct?" Hyuga swallowed hard, his worry evident.
"Major...the radio signal for activation's been cut off, too. We're completely defenseless."
Misato froze as she stared blankly into space, then put her hand unconsciously on the simple metal cross around her neck.
Well, I guess I'll be seeing you soon...Dad.
Rei stared at the epicenter of the vast circular room that she had entered. There stood the father of the Angels as well as the Evangelions, the weapon that man had ironically enlisted to fight them. A massive, almost humanoid-looking thing pinned to an equally large red crucifix. Its face was hidden by a metal faceplate bearing the sigil of SEELE. She stared passively at the being as she floated upward, to where she knew she would need to make contact.
Oh, Adam...How the lilim have defiled you, shamed you for nothing. But they shall suffer for taking action against the messengers of God. For what they have done to all our brothers and sisters.
Rei brought her hand to the blinding white monstrosity, but all it did was touch the surface, not reacting.
What? How can this be? As his children should we not be able to--Wait...
Suddenly a thought occured to the Angel and it looked closer at the being as if it had missed something before.
This is...Lilith!
Asuka thrust the humming blade into Unit-01's chest, just barely missing the core. Shinji let out a scream of pain, clutching at himself where the knife had stabbed the Eva. Asuka pushed the knife in further, scattering sparks that smoked as they hit the red liquid splashing around them while they struggled. The pilot of Unit-02 was so focused on the damage she was doing to the purple Eva that she didn't see it swing its knife around and into Unit-02's eye.
At once Asuka let the knife go as she clutched her own eye, screaming in unbearable agony while the Eva mimicked her movements around her. Shinji saw the opportunity he needed, and reached around Unit-02, ripping off the cover of the Entry Plug socket. Asuka tried to struggle but the intensity of the pain in her face distracted her, and soon Unit-01 had pulled the Entry Plug out.
"No...no...no...no...NO!" the half-German cried in fury as she pushed helplessly against the controls. "Please...please..." Shinji noticed an island in the blood-red lake, and carefully placed the Entry Plug on it.
Asuka, I'm sorry...!
Satisfied that she was safe, Shinji turned away from the powerless Eva as it fell into the LCL with a gigantic splash, wading slowly toward the open door. Meanwhile, Asuka had huddled into the fetal position inside the Plug, her head buried into her knees.
"...Goddamnit..." She whispered as bitter tears fell from her eyes.
"...Too slow," Kaworu uttered with pity in his voice. Gendo could only stare in shock-- Kaworu had not only managed to avoid three bullets at near point-blank range, but he had grabbed the Commander's gun hand and pushed it up with what seemed to be little effort. "I told you, Commander...Your are unworthy to possess Adam in the way you are."
Before Gendo could fire again, Kaworu twisted his hand around in a single fluid motion that snapped the wrist, making him drop the gun to the floor with a clatter. Gendo grit his teeth as a few drops of sweat streaked down his face, but he made no verbal protestation. He could only watch helplessly as Kaworu slid the glove off the immobile right hand to reveal Adam's larval form, fused into the man's palm. The red-eyed boy narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"Hmm... just as I thought. You were too protective to avoid suspicion, Commander. Still, how blasphemous of you." Without another word, Kaworu forced the hand to his chest, which seemed to melt away, shirt and all, where Adam had made contact, but sealed up around Gendo's wrist. "...Only those intended to grasp the Divine should be allowed to do so...Commander Ikari." Suddenly Gendo could feel his hand being torn to shreds by some invisible force inside Kaworu. Unable to ignore the pain, Gendo Ikari let out a howl of pain as Adam was forcibly ripped away, echoing throughout the halls but unheard by all.
Rei stared at Lilith before her, an unspeakable anger burning within the Angel.
All the others... they died in a vain attempt to reach HER?
Suddenly she felt a wave of energy from above her, as well as two presences. One she instantly identified as Adam, and the other was undoubtedly...
Kaworu!
The Angel narrowed Rei's eyes angrily as she felt the two beings fuse together.
How could he have hidden this knowledge from me? The traitor...
The rumble of massive footsteps mixed with the sound of liquid sloshing around got closer, making Rei turn her head to see Unit-01 standing there, the Progressive knife still wedged in its breastplate and looking rather battle-worn. She glared at the mockery of Adam that now faced her.
Now you shall die...son of Ikari.