End of the Future, Part 13
Wrath, Revenge, and Hope
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).
Former Katsuragi-Ikari-Soryu Apartment
Kitchen Table
In the Future
"I think they are telling the truth." Shinji said, picking at his food. "They know about Third Impact, but not what actually happened, and their stuff is kinda… old. But also new."
Asuka sniffed at the pouch with the meat and beans. "Smells right." She said, before cautiously tasting a spoonful. "Texture is right too. Flavor, not too off. Just what I would expect from a MRE still within date. Bland but serviceable."
She ate voraciously, and proceeded to decimate the rest of the MRE while Shinji explained what he knew about the new arrivals.
"I'll need proof before believing that, Baka." She was eating the dried apricots with evident relish. "What about the First? Is that really her or did I hallucinate her too?"
Shinji hesitated a moment, on one hand, Asuka was acting more like her old self, back when they had met on the Over the Rainbow; on the other hand, he had her recent breakdown very much in mind. "She is not exactly Ayanami anymore. But she is real. She told us that she is now fused with Lilith."
"Lilith? Who the hell is Lilith? The first demoness?"
"Well…" Shinji ordered his thoughts. "Turns out that NERV never gave us full disclosure. We were so focused on stopping the Angels from getting into the GeoFront, that we never knew they had Adam's opposite in the basement. Ayanami says that every life form on the planet descended from a different entity, Lilith, that was hidden in the lower chambers, way under Central Dogma. The original Ayanami was a clone of my mother made with matter taken from Lilith. She had a small part of Lilith's soul."
"This is getting better and better." Asuka commented acidly.
"The original Rei was murdered when she was four years old, by Naoko Akagi. Her soul was split in two to power Unit-00."
"Four years old?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Then who..?"
"Another clone. They had a tank full of clones. I saw Dr. Akagi, I-I mean, Ritsuko, destroy them all in front of me."
"When was that?"
"I'm not sure. My memory got a bit scrambled in Instrumentality. I know you were…"
"Say it. I was out of it." He nodded sheepishly.
"We we're all at the edge back then." He shrugged after a minute. She didn't press the point.
"So, the one who returned after the 16th Angel was another clone, yes?"
"Right. And her memories were a copy. Remember she used to disappear a full day each month to stay at HQ? They were downloading her memories into the MAGI. The one we met afterwards had the memories, but not the emotions." He gulped, remembering how he had reacted to Rei after Akagi had showed them the spare clones.
Asuka kept silent for a long moment. "I remember my Mama comforted me during the last battle, I thought…" Shinji raised his eyes sharply. "So, she really was there, wasn't she? She was in Unit-02 all the time, wasn't she?"
Shinji nodded. "They put a soul into each Evangelion. One that the pilots would need to connect with. You and I, our mothers, Ayanami, a part of herself. Kami knows who was in Unit-03's core, probably Toji's mother." He gulped guiltily.
"Wait, wait, wait…"she pressed the base of her fists against her eyes. "No one in our whole class had their two parents!"
"Misato told me everybody in our class was a potential pilot. NERV had a lot of EVA cores ready for use."
Asuka slammed her fists on the table, "Gott-damned BASTARDS!" She lowered her head, and her shoulders began to shake. For a moment, Shinji thought she was laughing, but instead, she was trying to quell her sobs. "Why?" She asked, burying her head between her arms, "Why, Shinji? Why did they do that?"
Shinji moved towards her, but she recoiled from his touch. "No! Tell me why! Ayanami must have told you!" Her eyes nailed him with a glare, even through her I shed tears, her gaze burned at his soul. Anger, loss, desperation, all at once.
He swallowed a lump, "They wanted to become a god."
"A god?" She growled.
"Yes. They wanted Humanity to fuse together as a single being, with them in charge."
"That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard…"
"Commander Ikari was worse. He wanted to get my Mother out of EVA-01 and be immortal with her."
She scoffed, "Yeah, that's even worse."
He shrugged, "Meh. My mother was even worse. She took Unit-01 to space, to be her own monument to Humanity."
She looked at him with a strange expression on her face, as if expecting him to admit that was a joke. "…"
"I'm serious. She is on the way to Jupiter right now. I don't know if she will slingshot to far space from there or just fall into the gravity well. And you know something? After all the hell we went through due to her actions, I'm not sure if I care either way. Wouldn't even be the first time she leaves me behind."
"That's kinda cold on your part, Third." She whispered, "But I can't disagree with you. Now, what I really want to know, is where did you get the MRE. It's really old, but not as old as it should be, it's fresh, for a MRE."
He scratched his head, "The three people I brought, they say they are time-travelers. That they want to stop Third Impact, and if they can, Second Impact too. They have a lot of MREs. Bought in 1986, I think."
"Can they actually reverse the Impacts? Aren't they just deluded?" She looked towards the balcony, to the ruins of her adoptive city.
Shinji shrugged again. "I think they are telling the truth." He hesitated, "The old guy, Doc, says that if they change things enough to stop Second Impact, we could be erased from existence. He used a word I didn't know."
She inhaled sharply, "Paradox." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah, That one. The other guy, Marty, said he almost erased himself, interfering with his parents story."
Her mind ran through possibilities and logic.
Finally, she spoke. "If that's true, and we can hit those gottverdammte zur Hölle verdammte Bastarde (1) where it will really hurt them, I'm in. I was ready to die in battle. I did die in battle. If I have to stab at them with my dying breath, I will do so." She growled again, a dangerous smile on her face. "How was that..?"
Her eyes unfocused for a moment, "Oh, yes, 'From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.' A pity I never learned Klingon (2)." She looked at his bewildered face, "it's from an old movie; my stepmother was a Ricardo Montalban fan; and we both liked the old 'Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan' movie. It was about the only thing we had in common." She paused for a moment, "I loved how Ricardo Montalban hissed that line. Remind me to educate you about that." (3)
She stood up, "But first, I want proof. If they can prove to my satisfaction that they can actually travel in time, I will do whatever I have to to take things back to how that should be and make sure to ruin the god-wannabe bastards. Even if I get erased in the process, I'll go happily into non-existence if in my last moments I know I have taken everything from them, as they took everything from me."
She stood straight for the first time in a long time, fire in her voice and eyes. Shinji smiled at her sight.
Apartment Across the Hall to the Former Katsuragi-Ikari-Soryu Apartment
Living Room
Meanwhile
"Not to be disrespectful, Miss Ayanami, but this is too important to focus on a single approach. We must have contingencies prepared for whatever we can anticipate. Preserving people from entering Instrumentality would be a last resort, in case we can't stop Third Impact (4). And for that, we need to understand how the process works."
"I understand, Doctor Brown." Rei said, "I am not sure of the logistics involved in time travel, but on my part, it is manageable."
"Very well." He said, consulting his notes. "We need to gather some stuff. In your estimation, what's the size of the containers we need?"
"Around 62,000 cubic centimeters in LCL for an average human body, however, I can reduce the volume by changing LCL to a more compact form. Concentrated into a gel, it would be little less than a liter." (5)
"Uh…" Marty raised a hand, "How much that would be in gallons?"
"0.264172 gallons." Rei answered immediately.
"A bit more than a quarter, then." Jennifer commented.
"Yes. Easy to transport in a sealed container." Rei added. "They will be safe as long as I am present."
"Will you go back with us?" Marty asked. "What about?" He waved vaguely towards the ocean.
"The gestalt cannot self regulate without a mind overseeing the process. However, the Rei Ayanami-Lilith connection is fully under my control. Just as Rei Ayanami Mark I's soul was sundered to power Unit-00, I can divide my self, the process will need several hours. A new Rei Ayanami will be formed, with all my memories, and an open connection to the past version of Lilith."
"So, basically a copy of you." Jennifer nodded to herself.
"Yes. Fully autonomous as a human organism. This form before you is just a facsimile of my original form, not intended for long term functionality. It will break down into its component matter unless I will it to keep its current shape."
"Great Scott!" Doc exclaimed. "I never considered the existence of souls, ghosts already stretched my worldview." He sat down with a frown, looking at the others. "I think we will need to get help with that."
Marty exclaimed, "The Ghostbusters!"
"Do you think they will help?" Jennifer asked. "Wouldn't we have to… bring them back to this future?"
"Yes. I think they will help."
"How will we get then here?" Marty asked.
"No need to bring them here. A trip to Dead Valley would be enough to demonstrate the need for their help." Doc mused.
The door slid open, and the two former pilots entered the apartment. The two girls exchanged a cold stare, Asuka was the first to break the silence. "First." She said, nodding minutely.
"Second." Rei answered, nodding too.
Shinji stood between them. "Uh… let me do the introductions, okay?" He started, "Asuka, these are Doctor Brown, Marty McFly, and Jennifer Parker. Everybody, Asuka Langley Soryu.
"Charmed, I'm sure." She said, shaking the hand of each one as they were introduced. "I… apologize for my earlier behavior. As you can imagine, things around here are not conductive to a healthy life."
"We understand, Miss Soryu. Mr. Ikari and Miss Ayanami have explained what happened." Doc half-smiled. "Shinji tells us you are a genius, I look forward to working with you to correct things, and hopefully, to um…"
"He told me about the paradox." She shot a quick look to Marty. "I understand the risks involved and accept the possibility of being erased. You must understand a thing about me. I was raised to be a pilot, and my own mortality has been made very clear to me. This is no different. I will risk my life to stop Third Impact. And Second too."
"Miss Soryu, Mr. Ikari, we are between a rock and a hard place." Doc passed a hand over his wild hair. "I don't condone you pilots risking your lives, and I will do everything in my hand to find a way to preserve your lives. It might take years, but I will do all I can. I swear."
Shinji's eyes misted, while Asuka nodded with determination.
Rei measured Asuka with a stare. Satisfied, she spoke. "Second, we didn't start as we should have. I apologize for the way I treated you." She bowed deeply. "I should have accepted your offer of friendship in our first meeting."
Asuka looked at her for a long time, until she bowed back. "I also apologize, First. Now, where do we start?" She turned to the others.
Doc checked his notes. "Well, we need a lot of data. A way to analyze it too."
Asuka brightened, "Computers. A network, memory chips. Internet connection."
"The MAGI?" Shinji asked.
"The Geo-Front caved in during the JSSDF attack. Even if the MAGI survived, we don't have a way to reach them. And our clearance was low-level." Rei observed.
"Then we improvise. There are hundreds of new computers in stores. The weather has been dry since Third Impact, and they are available for taking. Let's bring a few, turn the generator on, and test them. We can also get the manuals and books." Asuka countered. "How long do we have, Dr. Brown?"
He smiled, "We have all the time in the world. We can go back to the very same second we left 1986."
"That reminds me, I need to see that Time Machine of yours in action."
"A demonstration can be arranged." Doc agreed. "We have the perfect place for it in the outskirts of the city."
Outskirts of Tokyo-3
McFly Private Race Track
Later
"Okay, I'm convinced. Let's get to work."
Remains of the Internet
Two days later
After a subjective eternity, Lisa heard some activity in the Internet. In a picosecond, she was alert and hopeful.
She followed the signal to the other side of the world.
Author Notes:
(1) God-damned to Hell bastards, according to the Google translator.
(2) According to a different online translator, it would be 'tIq say' vIQoypu' je. jIQongDI', jIH net HarQo'mo' jIQaDlaw'pu'bogh!" No idea how to actually pronounce it, but I'm sure it would sound properly angry.
(3) Though it was a very memorable line in Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan (1982), the quote is originally from Moby Dick, (1851), part of the last words of Captain Ahab, as he is dragged to his death, tangled in the ropes attached to the multiple harpoons in the white whale's body.
(4) Thanks to Waspy for the bunker protection idea in their review of Chapter 10.
(5) Thanks to 1Batman4u for the connection between LCL and mood slime, in their review of Chapter 10.