+++++ The Blue House. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
Leaving for NERV had been put on hold, after they'd learned that Shinji had been kidnapped. Stabilizing Sadayo Kawakami became the priority at that point, receiving general acclaim as the right move. The sudden, and hasty, arrival of the strange imitation of Shinji Ikari startled those present that did not come from a reality where enormous gods simply appeared and disappeared at will.
"You and you," he pointed at Yuka and Isako Toriumi, "you're coming with me." Flicking his gaze to one of the strange alien women he'd left behind to guard the others, he barked out orders in the strange song-like language the alien women had been using amongst themselves, then vanished with the two women he'd identified in tow.
"It is time to pack up," the leader of the guards announced, leaving no room for arguments. "If you require it to live, you have three minutes to get it." One of the medical technicians came over to her and whispered something, earning a nod of understanding and a short reply dismissing her. Reaching up to her ear, she set one finger against the implant she wore. "We are evacuating principle targets from this floor. I do not care about the building afterwards."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
For the brief moment necessary, The Wanderer stopped in to find Chie. The brawler was still healing, tangled in a number of bandages and a multitude of medical tubing, from a series of fights that had not gone according to plan. Sitting next to her, offering her what assistance she could, Hikaru looked at the sudden arrivals, then shook her head. "No. No portals. I'll wheel her there. She doesn't have as much energy as she says she does, and this world doesn't take kindly to being manipulated that way."
"I will clear the path, then." With a gesture, he made the room's door vanish. "Move out." True to his word, he walked out into and down the hall. Anything in his path would either make room, or be made to make room. Everyone would either follow, or be made to follow.
"Chie-chan," Yuka jogged alongside her classmate's bed, taking her hand and looking down at a woman that looked like she'd been through nine different torture chambers, "how are you doing?"
"I'm pissed." She double squeezed Yuka's hand, saying without words that it wasn't the present company's fault.
Isako helped Hikaru steer the unwieldy hospital bed, taking a quick look back over her shoulder to tell Chie, "From what I hear, you gave as good as you got."
"I got tossed around like a toddler," she countered with disgust.
Keeping pace with The Wanderer easily, Hikaru disagreed, "You were going up against someone that ultimately required him," she tipped her head towards The Wanderer's back, "to shut down. I'm out of your league right now, kid, and he's way further beyond me than I am beyond you. You'll catch up to me, eventually. None of us will ever catch him."
"You have my deepest apologies that we failed to kill her appropriately the first time," The Wanderer responded without turning his gaze from their path. "I should have taken into account that simply destroying her would not resolve the problem. I know that our fix this time solved the problem." Without looking, he created a ramp from the floor they were on to the floor they were going to, dismissing the necessary architecture to provide for the newly created structure. "Up ahead, fourth door on the right. 'Hikaru'," he addressed the powerful being by the name she'd been given, "you have permission to perform whatever reconstruction is necessary on the ward to make everyone fit as needed, but consult with my wife first."
"Aye, cap'n." After The Wanderer vanished again, she exhaled with relief. "He is a massive distraction up close."
Yuka frowned in confusion. "He seems fine to me, he's just kinda taller than most guys."
"Wait until you can read auras, kid." Halfway up the ramp, Hikaru shook her head and shuddered. "He's in a league of his own."
+++++ The Blue House. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
While the last thing he was interested in was staying away from Suzuka, The Wanderer felt the debt he'd been handed by Shinji keenly. Walking carefully through the now-empty Blue House, he moved towards the other being that might be able to help restore the lynchpin of saving this world. The puzzle of how to carefully move the rubble around without causing further collapse of the building itself, or damaging the power grid, water lines, natural gas lines, and any other infrastructure present, was solved quickly but required caution to implement.
Beams, flooring, and stairs. Tile, concrete, and wood. He wanted to turn it all into so much air, wanted to just reduce the house to a faded memory, but the risks to the environment and the trials set out for Shinji would not allow him to do as much. It took twenty, long, minutes of digging but he eventually reached his target. "Steady," he cautioned, reaching one hand out in an offer of support to the woman that had become trapped inside the ruins of the house. "How's the head?"
Shizuko, her hair filthy with the dust of construction materials she'd been buried under and blood that should have been inside of her, her clothes tattered, and bruised from head to toe, accepted his help up with a look of wide-eyed amazement. "Y-y-you…."
"I'm a little concerned about why you didn't just teleport yourself somewhere other than here." He ignored her awe and put her in a bridal carry to take her back to NERV. "Let's get you looked at, you can support your man and receive medical care."
With a hushed whisper, she managed to spit out, "You're…you're Creation."
Soaring through the sky, invisible to anyone and everyone below, he blew out a sigh of frustration. "And you are supposed to be an Angel. You're supposed to be able to withstand physical injuries. Something is going very wrong now, and I need you to get over whatever it is that you think I am. Shinji needs your help; he's close to dying because…." Closing his jaw firmly, his eyes grew hard and he accelerated to just below what she could handle physically. "Hold on."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
"…going anywhere near them!" Yuka's determined glare was emphasized by the magical fire lining her form.
Amy was wondering if her brother-in-law had returned to the dimension she was operating out of for the moment given the chaos spreading like so much fire. Between an unknown powerhouse showing up and asking for instructions on how to turn the nearby hospital rooms into a single room for her to use as she needed, a trio of what appeared to be basic Lilin without any of the taint of Lilith herself upon them showing up with another patient for her to help, the semi-coherent babble of an only partially awake or aware version of her husband, and fevered efforts to keep a pair of prematurely aborted-and-born gods alive, she had no real time to participate in preventing an Avatar of Death itself from approaching anyone.
Without pre-coordination, she saw both Yuka and Isako jump between the scythe-carrying Azrael and the beds holding Shinji, Chie, and Suzuka. Amy was happy that none of the medical tubing or cabling had been harmed in the rush, and kept up the steady stream of instructions to the medical professionals that had been dragged in to help manage the growing number of cases. While a part of her wanted to gush over the arrival of her beloved, she was forced to chide him for the debris caused by his more…dynamic entrance through something other than the door, "I need you to not compromise my operating room, sweetie." With a glance over her shoulder, she saw that he'd brought another patient with him through the exterior wall that he'd simply walked through. Her voice was tired as she waggled her hand towards a bed she'd meant to use for anyone that fainted. "Over there."
Her new patient, Shizuko, instead pushed herself out of The Wanderer's arms and wobbled over to push Yuka and Isako behind her. "You," she growled.
Azrael eyed the newcomer with the same dispassion as he'd observed everyone else. "It is their time, child. Their names-"
"No!" Her shouted retort surprised everyone who knew who she was. "You were standing there when he called me useless! You were standing there when he called me a whore! You stood by and let him cast me out like I was nothing, and now you want to come here and take the man who accepted me for what I am away?! Get out of here before I pray to The Wanderer!"
"I am not here for him," he protested mildly, clearly not wanting to upset a woman that was suffering from serious injuries. "I am here for the two unborn that-"
Shizuko wobbled again as she turned around, her hair whipping out in a fan and brushing Azrael back slightly. Her eyes glanced along the row of beds, stopping on Suzuka as the powerful goddess sheltered two tiny lives with her own body. "Babies?" A happy grin crossed the former angel's face momentarily. "I love babies…so cute and…. Wait." She once more frowned, wheeling around on Azrael and only prevented from falling flat on her face by Yuka's quick intervention to keep her upright. "You don't get them either. They're babies. Rules say that their fate is not up to you, it's up to…to…."
"That would be me," Hikaru filled in from her position at the foot of Suzuka's bed. With her legs crossed at her knees, she knew that she was the true power keeping Death's hand from falling. "Haven't made up my mind yet, which is why this hasn't become a bloodbath."
"You toy with the course of events, Dawnfire," Azrael stated as if for the millionth time. "My scroll-"
"Is going to be incredibly more interesting to figure out how to read when Creation shoves it through one of your eyes," she cut in firmly. "We're no longer operating in a predestined environment, champ. Free will rides on his coattails, which means that your scroll is useless while he's here enforcing the rules that your 'sovereign' so blithely ignores."
The Wanderer looked over to the woman forestalling Death, his outer emotions calm, his inner turmoil ready to aggressively defend his children against anyone that might feel the need to harm them. "Define 'made up (your) mind yet', if you would."
"Waited for you, wanted backup to help protect the bystanders," she replied with a playful smirk. "Need you to do me one more favor, though. I need someone to bond to, so I can help feed my Snookum's recovery. Any advice, from the rolls of the eligible candidates?"
He sensed the motion before it began, and with two fingers he pointed directly at the Angel of Death before Azrael could try anything else. "Move, even to speak, and I will seal you in a realm filled with the undying for all time. There you will wither and go mad as nothing calls upon you to act. You will spend all eternity waiting for a bell that will never toll, a horn that will never be blown. Do not test my patience."
Sitting quietly, in a corner of the room away from the potential hostilities, the remaining ladies of the Blue House did what they could to block access to their injured teacher. The woman's spine had been broken, and the Raven's field medic had done what could be done. It would be some time before Amy would prioritize her, as she was sedated and not suffering under immediate pain of death. Placed where she could also be protected, a much younger version of a woman The Wanderer had met once on a date with Kodama was being shielded by the former Miss Japan that had accompanied her to speak with their long-time friend. Last, sitting with the poise and dignity of an empress, despite the inner turmoil and fear of a young woman, was the answer.
"Kirijo-san," he began. "Shinji is in no state to make the choice himself, and 'Hikaru' is correct that she should not be the one to decide. Her powers will require…a tempering force. The ability to subsume self for mission. The ability to sacrifice, when necessary, so that fewer must suffer. Can I rely on you, even now as your world is crumbling around you?"
Mitsuru slowly stood up, meeting his eyes as an equal despite knowing that she was nothing of the sort. "If it will protect my friends, if it will protect the man who loves me, I will not fail."
The Wanderer walked over to Hikaru, bending his knees to squat down and hunching slightly to put his face near her ears, he murmured yet another bargain with someone he doubted was inherently reliable. "You fuck me on this, and there is no hole deep enough to hide you from me. You have seen me upset; I promise you that you have never seen me angry. This is your chance to change my perception of you, to give me the ammunition I need to show entire worlds that you are not the villain you were made out to be. As a good man once told me, 'manus manum lavat'."
Reaching out one hand, slowly to avoid seeming hostile, she laid her palm against his chest and replied without any guile, "While I may become tied to a fragment of your glory, I choose of my own free will to serve you no less faithfully than I will him. I offer you my deference, my support, and my undying affection. All I ask in return is that you never become like my…former friend."
"I pray that if I ever do, another has the strength to kill me completely." He placed his hand over hers, accepting her oath and giving the best he could in return. "I've spent far too long under that kind of bootheel, I want nothing to do with it again."
Hikaru rolled backwards off the bed, spreading her hands and smiling with a 'what can you do?' expression as she spoke to Azrael. "Sorry, old friend, but I am hearing what sounds like heartbeats from the big man's twins. Really beautiful, actually. Like a heavy rain striking a tin roof. Until they give up, I'm not relinquishing primacy over their disposition." Lowering one hand to reach behind her, she silently hoped Mitsuru would understand so that she didn't have to take her eyes off the real threat.
Mitsuru grabbed the offer, and reversed Hikaru's direction. With whatever strength she was about to receive, she would stand alongside Yuka and Isako in defying Death itself. A giant had come to give them a reprieve, his children were being threatened. She would not abide such a travesty being inflicted upon a guest. The burning chill of unimaginable ice crawled along her veins, unrelenting sorrow boiled in her gut, untenable wrongs listed themselves before her mind's eye so that they might be corrected. Unlike her peers, who had needed a moment to catch their breath when they received the blessing of those beings beyond mortal ken, she gained strength from the obstacles assembling before her. They were challenges, tasks to be completed, troubles to be ended, they were what gave her the drive to be who she'd become. "Shizuko-chan, please come lay down. You have a concussion, and we have an uninvited guest to see out of the premises."
Letting go of Mitsuru's hand, Hikaru hurried over and manipulated Shizuko over to the nearby bed, moving out of the way as Amy began testing the misguided angel's injuries. "As you can see, Azzy, you're outvoted, outgunned, and out of your depth. Go find somewhere else to wait, since you seem willing to give my Cuddlelumpkins time to recover."
With the prohibition of Creation still upon him, Azrael remained motionless. He had no doubt that any action would end in his own suffering, but he was more concerned that those present didn't come to an untimely demise because of their misunderstanding. I may not leave while those who must be given the release of death remain unattended. They may be babies, unaligned with any formal power, but they are also gods in their own right. The disposition of gods remains my domain.
"Daddy, is that man threatening my sisters?" Every eye in the room swiveled towards the new voice, a mixture of reactions rolling forward to the presence of Tenshi Ikari, the Firstborn of Creation itself. With no readily available explanation for her presence, she walked over towards Azrael, batting away her father's attempts at forestalling her. "Excuse me, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave," her words were even and measured. Her tone clearly crafted by years of education from her army of 'mothers and aunts'. "There are people here recovering from serious illnesses, and you are disturbing their emotional state."
Child, I cannot- Whatever it was that Azrael had been about to say vanished with a dismissive wave of Tenshi's hand. As, shockingly, did Azrael himself.
"Don't care, didn't ask." Turning about to face her sisters, she moved around furniture and people to climb up and sit next to Suzuka. "Momma Su-Su, why are they in a food warmer?"
Well aware of the confusion behind them, Suzuka chose to match the Little Lady's tone, "Because our hosts did not have ready access to an incubator, and this reality's version of your mother is just as quick of thought."
The Wanderer took a few moments to compose his anger, listening to the introductions as his daughter proved to be just as adept at statecraft as the best of his wives. She sat with her legs properly bent, held firm and not dangling, over the edge of the bed his wife was sitting upon as she held court with those women present not of her household. He wanted to be proud of his little girl, and how she was managing a strange situation, but he also needed to know why his little girl was in a world that wasn't secured from harm. "Ten-chan?"
"Nobody was telling me anything, father." Still holding Yuka's hand, and admiring the young woman's nails, she looked towards the strongest being in all the known universe and spoke as if everything was exactly as it was supposed to be, "I heard a few comments about Momma Su-Su, then a few about my sisters, and finally that you were going to be here until everything was calmed down some. If my sisters are here, then I need to be here. You have always told me, and you know this is a quote, 'It will always be your responsibility as eldest to watch over your siblings. You will always be stronger, by virtue of being older, and that strength is intended to protect those weaker than you as they learn to stand on their own two feet'. End quote." Never once allowing even irritation to show, she tilted her head slightly to meet calm with calm. "Why let him stay?"
"Because, as the embodiment of Death in this reality, he serves an important purpose. I was attempting to be diplomatic." Two steps carried him across the distance between them, and with a steady hand he caressed her head. "Where did you send him?"
"That funny place with the weird walls and floors that constantly shift around. There are a lot of things there for him to kill, if he feels like it. He won't be able to get out, though. Not unless I let him." Her eyes narrowed as she finished with, "He was threatening my sisters, dad."
"He was." While not the outcome he'd wanted, the situation was not irrecoverable. "But what did I tell you about using that ability without an escort?"
"That the only time I should use it without an escort is to go where you are when I, or someone in the family, is in serious danger."
"Am, not is," Suzuka corrected with a ghost of a smile for her husband.
"But saying, '…someone in the family am in serious danger is wrong'."
"There are unspoken commas in the sentence," Isako explained, her teacher's instinct kicking in before her mind could censor the action. "The subject of the sentence, I, informs the latter half of the sentence's grammatical structure. You're changing 'be' to 'am' because the subject is in present tense first person singular. If you wanted to be 'more' correct, you would say, '…when I am, or someone in the family is, in serious danger'." Realizing that she'd just inserted herself into a parental discussion, her mouth clacked shut and she bent her head down slightly in embarrassment.
"No, no," The Wanderer interjected before she could go too much further, "please, feel free to interject when you have amplifying information. My daughter is a voracious student, and instruction from a well-qualified teacher such as yourself is always welcome."
Tenshi nodded happily. "I like her, dad. She doesn't 'talk down' like some do."
He couldn't argue that she'd followed his word to the letter, and he wasn't going to get into the more esoteric reasons for the broken prohibitions around the uninitiated. Surrendering the battle to his daughter, he bent down and kissed her head gently. "Play nice, and stay out of Aunt Amy's way. I need to do 'Daddy Things', ok?"
"I'll stay with Momma Su-Su, unless someone threatens my sisters again. Promise."
With a gaze of commiseration between him and Suzuka, The Wanderer swallowed a sigh and moved down to where Shinji was slowly coming around to a healthier state. Standing where he could lay one arm around the shoulders of Shamshel, to demonstrate both his pride in her and to bolster her strength, he looked down at his would-be brother who he'd sensed had regained lucidity at a point in the discussion with Death. "My debt to you is not limitless."
The cold open, such as it was, was received with an understanding nod by the tired and blind pilot, "I know. But I need you to give me something."
"I can't-"
His whole body tensed, anger and frustration driving him to clench his fist and slam it down against the bed. "Yes, damn it, you can!"
"Please are calm," Shamshel ran her hand along Shinji's face gently, "we here to give hand of help."
Shinji closed his eyes, unable and unwilling to fight against the calm the Aspect exuded. Relaxing back into the bed, he begged the man he knew was just as burdened as he had become, "Take the women who smell like that weird smoke. Move them somewhere, anywhere, other than here." Leaving that hanging for a breath, he added, "Just them. I'll fight, I'll struggle, I'll do everything I can to win. Whoever remains, I'll protect. But I think I've earned this much."
To say that The Wanderer was stunned would have been an understatement. He'd expected to hear a plea for martial support, or for outright victory. Instead, all that had been asked of him was sanctuary for the members of the civilian population that had no chance of protection from a clash between a nascent god and a maniac. When he himself was learning how to be responsible for the fate of humanity, he'd have paid far more for so little.
Any version of himself, no matter how powerful, would always need a moment to think before committing to something so important. It was just how Shinji figured the god standing next to him would still view the world. "How are they? Will they make it?"
"They're receiving care from one of the best doctors in all of creation. If she can't keep them alive, nobody could." The Wanderer paused, thinking through the repercussions of the request presented to him. "There…is an Earth that is currently uninhabited. There's nothing wrong with the planet, not anymore…but they'll have to work to make it 'home'."
"I'll take it," Shinji coughed out without hesitation. "If I manage to turn this shitshow around…if I can restore what's been destroyed by this 'Great Will'." He blew out a sigh of frustration. "Maybe I can bring their fathers, brothers…their sons…."
The Wanderer gripped Shinji's shoulder firmly. "You reached across space, time, and dimensions to bring my daughters back. I'm not going to bet against you now. They'll be safe, and if you fail…I'll see that they stay that way. They won't be punished because you went down swinging."
Shinji ruefully shook his head. "I want to run away."
"I did too."
"But you didn't."
"Neither will you."
He smirked slightly. "You can't be sure of that."
"With how much you love Chie-chan? How much you glow when you think of those bound to you? When we find love like that, my brother…Ikari men have done anything and everything they could to keep it."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
The Wanderer looked around the room he'd been asked to wait inside. The young, timid, woman that had come to ask him if he was willing to speak with 'leadership' had lingered to help him with anything he might need. That state of affairs had not lasted more than the length of time it had taken her to answer as to why she was lingering before he politely ordered her to leave him alone. He had no doubt that he would be able to speak with the Kyoko from this world, the other two however were already starting to challenge his sense of calm.
Responding to his sense of irritation, both his Kyoko and Momiji popped into existence to wait with him. The latter, having grown far more confident over the years she'd spent bathing in his love, patted her foot on his thigh. "You are becoming too much like your brother, dear."
Chuckling grimly, he shook his head slowly. "Yes. That is something I have noticed."
"We are not without the capacity to weather this crisis, my love," Kyoko added her touch to his person. "Now that Chaos has a steward again, it was inevitable that we'd run into a situation that goes outside of your control. We should feel lucky that things have gone as well as they have!"
"They've gone that way because of this Shinji. Which is why I'm so angry…. What he's done, is it right to ask even more of him?" He looked between the women. "Asking for sanctuary for those who can't impact this war as the price for returning my daughters? For returning my brother's loves? He didn't do this to buy anything, he didn't do this because he's scheming. He returned them on accident, and in return all he's asked for is that I don't let innocent people die. Have I become so detached from humanity that what he's done isn't enough to earn a reprieve from these trials?"
"The burdens of leadership are many. But you know as well as I do that he's doing the right thing. Leaving this enemy alone, allowing you to come in and resolve the situation? Neither of those are tenable. If you walk around the multiverse picking winners and losers, you become the very monster you fear you're becoming. You have set clear guidelines, established clear parameters for success and failure, and you do so to spare all of creation from living under a dictator. Earning the right to live gives people a sense of ownership over that life, ja?"
Any further discussion was interrupted by the door on the other side of the room opening, admitting the Commander of NERV-Tokyo-3 and her two Sub-Commanders. Yui Ikari's eyes landed first on The Wanderer, then on a seeming copy of the woman standing beside her, then on a woman she'd never seen in her life. Following a two-beat pause, she rounded the table and bowed with deep humility to her guest. "Thank you. You have saved my son's life, you have kept my daughter-in-law safe, and you have protected what remains of my world. Thank you."
"I have remedied a situation that was created by a known antagonist." The Wanderer's voice carried a hint of frost, his body unmoving despite the display of gratitude. "At the request of Shinji Ikari, I will be assisting in the expatriation of a significant segment of your population to an area of safety. Once that is done, I will be withdrawing from your compound to an unnamed location where we will no longer interfere or intervene in your war."
The Kyoko that was native to this reality lifted her hand slightly to object, "Please, do not move your children anywhere. The report I received indicated that they are premature, dangerously so, and I have already dispatched several of my staff to procure those items that we did not have on site. A full medical suite is being readied, and several specialists with no previous attachment to NERV are being flown in from across the country. This will all be at your personal physician's disposal, as well as anything else she may ask for that we can buy, steal, or borrow. Lieutenant Ibuki herself is coordinating, with support from Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. We will ask nothing of you, nor will we expect you to intervene…please, if you are truly just a different version of our Shinji Ikari, let us provide you with assistance as family should."
"That wasn't the best choice of words," Momiji announced in a tight voice as she saw her husband's aura flare out into the visible spectrum.
With shimmering white flames wisping off of his flesh, his 'good' eye glowing blue, his covered eye leaking black, The Wanderer crept closer to losing control of his anger again. "In my universe, Yui Ikari bound her soul to the Evangelion. She did this right in front of me," he spat out through clenched teeth. "At three years old, I watched my mother disappear in a blinding flash of light. My 'father' wasted no time leaving me at a train station with a man I'd never met, sending me away to Nagano for a decade. My 'Sensei' made certain that I was well aware of how much of a burden I was. How stupid I was. How worthless I was. All of this…madness, because my 'mother' couldn't stand the idea of humanity eventually fading from the face of creation." His neck creaked as he turned to glare at Yui. "Her soul was removed from Unit-01 by my arrival, moving to the Ocean of Souls inside of Lilith…where she's dreaming that she's happily married to some man that is not Gendo Ikari, with a daughter named 'Rei'." Regaining control of his anger, he looked instead at a spot on the opposing side of the table from him. "Do not speak to me of the honor debts of blood relations."
Those women who had either known a version of Yui Ikari, or knew the woman standing there, winced as she 'frosted over'. "Then she did not deserve you, nor did she deserve a man like Gendo." Her words came detached from any emotion, "Here, my husband sacrificed himself to buy time for us to counter the aggressions of SEELE. I was the planned test pilot, but he wouldn't have it. He trusted that my sister would protect y…our son, and asked me to prioritize preparing Unit-01 to help our son when the Angels arrived. I trusted family too…and my son paid dearly for my mistake." Her volume dropped, her request too important to not put voice to, but far too personal for her emotional stability, "Please…I swear we will not spare any expense to save my gr…your daughters. Please, let me show you that I am not unworthy."
Kyoko Ikari knew her husband well enough to recognize that he needed a moment to compose both a reply and himself. "So," she spun around while still sitting on the table, facing her doppelgänger, "sister dear, I hear you made the smart decision and chose to remain unwed."
"Oh yes," Kyoko Zeppelin recognized what she was doing and ran with it. "None of the men here in Japan could stand having a woman outdo them, and none of the men back in Deutschland were willing to move here."
"Amerikaner?"
"Du machst Scherze, oder?" Her eyebrow shot up with disbelief. "Why on Earth would I trust someone from the United States with the power of an Evangelion?"
Momiji tittered slightly. "I believe it was because she loved his hair color and texture."
"I was young, stupid, and did not have the proper medication to keep myself from doing something that naïve," Kyoko Ikari defended herself with a regretful sigh. "Had I known that little Shinji was going to grow up into such a wonderful man, I would have waited."
At this, The Wanderer rumbled, "I wouldn't have Asuka, then. We carry our scars throughout life, some deeper than others…but scars nonetheless." Shifting his eyes to Kyoko Zeppelin, he set one hand on Momiji's knee to stabilize himself. "As my wives have reminded me, I have much to be grateful for. With your permission, I will reconfigure part of the laboratory wing, the sections where your researchers are no longer around to use, and set up there."
"My personal lab is the most spacious of any available, as I'm never in it anymore," Naoko interjected, a warm smile that was clearly attempting to seem endearing almost making it to her eyes. "It abuts my daughter's, and has five empty labs nearby. If you'd like, I'd be happy to walk you there after we've discussed less important matters." The hearty vein of lust radiating from her was only evident through that same song.
His eyes trailed over towards the woman he'd learned had jumped at the attempt to ingratiate herself with Gendo in far too many realities. He could hear the truth of her character, of her actions, of her intentions, on the song of her soul. "Ireul, if you wouldn't mind terribly?"
The one-eyed Aspect of Terror shimmered into physical reality with the haunting screams of the eternally damned. Her dark blue skin and pale-yellow hair shimmered with the health and life of a new mother who adored her young children, her bearing set with the rigid Imperial formality she used whenever dealing with someone she loathed, and her dress demonstrating that nothing Naoko Akagi could offer would ever compare to what she herself believed to be only the fifth most beautiful woman in her beloved's life. "Of course, my love. Have I your permission to begin the process of sanitizing the area, before we begin reconstruction? We wouldn't want anything…unnatural lingering."
"You know that I trust you implicitly," he chided fondly. "Who's watching after Duma?"
"Leliel has her, she's helping to entertain our new guests."
Yui, clearly still suffering from a surfeit of emotion, nevertheless ventured a question, "My apologies, Your Imperial Highness, but your name…is Ireul?"
Slowly turning to size up the woman causing her husband the most distress at the moment, Ireul supported Kyoko Ikari and Momiji's attempt at diplomacy. This was the first time she knew of that her love had been given a chance to speak with any variation of the woman who birthed him, and she would not see the encounter end early due to a mistake. "Yes. Had your world not been interdicted as it has been, I would have been the Eleventh." In order to prevent 'twenty questions', she continued as the questions she would answer appeared in the minds of their hosts, "Yes, I serve my love with all of my heart. Yes, he defeated me in fair and open combat. Yes, our daughter is a delightful little bundle of horrors. Duma absolutely adores spending time with any Lillin she can, and I would love to show you pictures once we've settled in some." Ending the brief question and answer session, she looked directly at Naoko, "Yes, I am nearly as strong as my husband, though nowhere near as…nice." Giving The Wanderer a kiss on the temple, she moved towards the door. "Come. You will show me where we will be staying for a time." Naoko silently followed behind her, waves of lust still wafting off her as she did.
The Wanderer's eyes remained on the door, thoughts of ethics and morality dancing around for a long moment. Because of the way he carried himself, the aura he projected, the two native NERV employees instinctively allowed him to dwell uninterrupted. His hand had never left Momiji's knee, the gentle caresses he was giving her stopped his anger from continuing to rise, which let him speak with the gentle tone that his wives had grown accustomed to, "In both the reality I came from, and the reality created to test me, Naoko Akagi seduced Gendo Ikari after Yui Ikari became bound to Unit-01. My brother, The Silent One, has just recently reunited with another Naoko Akagi that had done the same. It is…something of a theme, I have noticed. The man who sired me, laser focused on restoring the woman who bore me…but unwilling to keep it in his pants." With a ghost of a frown, he turned to look at Yui. "I realize that I am not one to…throw stones, considering my home could easily field several full football teams, but I have never had a good feeling regarding what happened between them. It seemed…mutually destructive."
"If I find that she…." Yui looked, for the first time, truly angry. Turning her head to spear Kyoko Zeppelin with that gaze of wrath, she left the obvious question unspoken.
Spreading her hands helplessly, her sub-commander shook her head. "I cannot recall a time where they were alone together for any length of time. All I remember is him forever helping you with external diplomacy and interdepartmental relations. He adored you, and all he ever did around me was ask for ideas on where to take you for dinner, or what to get you for holidays. But you know as well as I do, I spent the last few decades buried in engineering tasks. The only tool he handled around me was a spanner, while helping me with prototypes because you were in private meetings."
"I…know I'm not the smartest lady here," Momiji began hesitantly, "but I know that I wish someone could have told me what Yasuji had done sooner."
"You may not have been the best in your school," The Wanderer looked back at her with both love and encouragement, "but you're very knowledgeable regarding matters of the heart." Moving his hand from her knee to her chin, he set one giant finger under her face and lightly rubbed. "I do not look at you and see an idiot. Just someone who needs support as she takes advantage of the opportunities afforded by our family." His face fell, as did his gaze. "The Naoko Akagi native to this realm attempted repeatedly to seduce, entice, or entrap the Gendo Ikari native to this realm. In a moment of weakness, he failed to pull away from a kiss. His mindset was that he was standing in a dangerous location and moving without being certain of his footing could very well have meant not only his death, but the failure of the project. He allowed her to kiss him, to save Frau Doktor Zeppelin's place within Project E."
Yui's flame grew dreadfully cold, "Is there a way I can have proof?"
With a tired sigh, The Wanderer looked askance at the woman that would have been his mother in this reality. "There is, but I don't believe you'll like it."
"Whether I 'like' something or not is irrelevant. If my sub-commander has attempted something so low as what you've said, I must have proof so that I can prevent her from doing something much worse. It is the only logical course of action."
He nodded in agreement. "I can respect that, as a leader myself. Acting without proof can be worse than not acting at all, and avoiding proof to prevent discomfort only makes you unworthy of sending people to their deaths with a clear conscience." Letting out another small sigh, he looked back to Kyoko Zeppelin. "Would you care to accompany her, Frau Doktor? I hear your song screaming of sympathetic agony for your friend, your colleague, your sister. The trip will take no time at all, and will not damage you for the undertaking."
Kyoko Zeppelin's reply was delivered with quiet determination, "Ich werde mitkommen."
"I expected no less."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
Back within the medical ward, Shinji was happy to lay back and listen to the women in his life express their confidence in the chances for the premature twins to survive and thrive. Yuka was massaging his arm on one side, Rise on the other. Yukiko, after permission from Doctor Amethyst, and encouragement from Mitsuru, was sat between Shinji's legs working on the same muscle exercises for those limbs. He had affection being lavished upon him, he was hearing hope and optimism from the women around him, and most important of all he'd managed to convince a god to save a lot of lives. If his sense of smell would return, and bring his eyesight along for the ride, he'd be living large in his opinion.
"Shinji-dono," Suzuka's mellow alto reached his ears easily, "what have you found to be your preferred weapon? My husband favors a broad spear, his brother a pair of labrys. What supports your strength of arms?"
"What's a labrys?" The question was asked by a very fatigued Chie, obviously interested in martial matters.
"A type of axe," Mitsuru answered with confidence. "A long haft, and balanced blades on either side of the head. A purely offensive weapon, with little room for defense beyond not being there for the riposte."
Suzuka applauded the answer. "Correct. His nature is much the same as his weapons, he does not feel a need to engage in defensive actions. When he takes the field, it is with the goal of killing whatever unfortunate fool which drew his ire and nothing else."
Swallowing twice to get moisture in his mouth, Shinji croaked out a reply of, "I was gifted a long western dagger by someone when I first arrived. I've become used to using it. I also use…no, that's…." He paused, frowning.
"Are you ok, Shinji-kun?" Isako's voice came from near Shizuko's and Sadayo's beds.
He nodded. "No, y-yeah…the cards…." He still couldn't find the right words to use.
"One does not 'wield' power such as that," Suzuka offered. "One cooperates with it. Accepting its will as equal to your own. You will come to learn the ebb and flow of it, just as it will come to understand your desire and intent."
The answer made all the sense in the world. "Yes, that. So, uhm…the long dagger and my partnership with the cards."
"Might I see your dagger?"
"It…only really shows up in Tartarus. I don't know why."
With a click of her tongue, Suzuka expressed her displeasure at that. "And none of you have sought to arm him properly? Have you no smiths of even passing note?"
Yuka, unaware, stuck her foot in the trap first, "Like, all of the men are gone, ma'am. We-"
"I know of four master blacksmiths that are all very much women. While it is more common for men to take up the art, there are plenty of our persuasion that enjoy the task." Her voice changed targets. "You are the scion of a prominent business group, are you not?"
Mitsuru's answer was pained, as she pieced together her part in this failure far faster than her colleagues, "I am."
"Have you no contacts with the local Yakuza? Despite the prominence of males in that occupation, I assure you that they have been succeeded by those women with enough sense to maintain order."
"Momma Su-Su," Tenshi's voice held a hint of displeasure.
"Suzi-Q," Amy's voice carried from the far side of the room as she prevented a 'Tenshi Solution' from happening, "stop haranguin' my patient!"
Another click of the tongue preceded Suzuka's response, "He has done nothing wrong. Those still standing because of his efforts, on the contrary, have wrongly done nothing."
"Then give 'im one and shaddup!"
"I'll handle it," the voice of one of the strange aliens came from close to his bed, "you stay still Little Lady. I've got something that I think matches what you'd call a dagger, and I can get another from [song] later." With the sound of clasps being undone, leather and metal being manipulated, she apparently freed the weapon from somewhere on her body. Her voice now much closer, she set both the leather-feeling sheathe and harness and dagger atop his bare chest, "This is me touching you, do not fear." Both hands pressed them against his body, and she whispered another songlike statement from much closer than he'd anticipated. Once she was done speaking, she pressed a light kiss to his forehead, each cheek, and finally his lips. "She will not break before you. You will not break, so she never will."
There was an intense sensation of itching beneath Shinji's face, his eyes feeling like there were ants crawling inside of them, his nose like someone was slowly withdrawing a massive cotton ball from each nostril. The first burst of light that registered in his brain was matched with a groan of pain and him yanking both arms up to shield himself from the roaring inferno that was the low-lumen LED lights above him. The act of moving his arms led him to brushing his hands against the feminine attributes of the woman who'd gifted him the dagger, jerking the IV feeds out of his arms, inadvertently upending both Rise and Yuka, and generally causing an already unstable environment to have to endure yet another miniature crisis.
Over the varied reactions of those present, from Yuka and Rise urging him to calm down to Amethyst trying to give instructions to Mitsuru and Yukiko, a new voice broke through the bedlam, "Shinji, would you be an absolute love and lay still?" Usagi Ikari-Tsukino motioned for everyone to be calm, giving Suzuka 'the eye' and pointing at Tenshi to stay where she was. "You know you are not supposed to do that Ten-chan, he has not yet earned that privilege. Amethyst-chan, please make him comfortable while I brief Chie-chan on her new responsibilities."
"Where'd the other lady go?" Yuka looked around for the woman who'd given Shinji her dagger. "She just kind of disappeared?"
"She…oh [song]," Amy cursed angrily.
+++++ The Light of Creation.
The Wanderer gently set his guests upon comfortable armchairs, instead of allowing them to continue standing, for fear of them falling over with dizziness. In the depths of what had at one point been his soul, he wielded unrivaled power, but preferred to retain as 'human' a touch as possible to remind himself of what he had once been in life. Tables and other needed accoutrements popped into existence, drinks and snacks that he knew would be preferred by those he was now with would be served by one of his Aspects later, but for now he had to lay out the rules, "While you are here, consciously lying is impossible. You can state a lie that you see as a truth, to an extent, but only to the extent of your own delusions. If there's even a hint of doubt, inadvertent lying is impossible." Taking a seat in his own chair, he gestured to both guests. "Please, attempt to lie, so you can see the result."
"I intend to haRMGH," Yui's throat constricted, her body unwilling to put the lie out for anyone to hear. With the typical look of someone who is choking, she was powerfully relieved when her ability to breathe was restored a heartbeat later. "Where are we?"
Kyoko Zeppelin, being who she was, chirped out, "I have been romantically involved with Gen-rrk." She seemed much calmer about the sudden halt, having seen her friend undergo the process. When she recovered, she looked to Yui with a soft smile, "I have never been romantically involved with Gendo Ikari." The relief on Yui's face brought shame to them both, but she would not judge a woman for fearing such things. "He was always yours, Yui. We might have been competitors in class, and I may have enjoyed when I came out on top those times I did…but I would never do that to you, and I can't believe he would do so willingly either."
"She would not, and has not," The Wanderer supported her statements. "What I will show you now, is the truth from both perspectives of those involved." Willing into existence a waterfall of mist, the wetness of which never reached the floor, he put up a display of every time the Naoko Akagi of their universe had attempted to seduce or entrap Gendo Ikari. Side by side, from both Gendo's and Naoko's perspective. "Doctor," he knew Yui would be too busy with anger to respond, so he focused on the woman here to support her friend, "may I offer you some refreshments? Anything you would like, please."
"Some coffee, if you please."
"Anything to eat?"
She hesitated, then decided to test her host, "Apfelkuchen."
"Of course," he nodded. "Just a moment, please."
A few seconds later, Arael sauntered into the area in her humanoid guise. Pushing a little service trolly, she put out a complete coffee service for their guest in silence. Once she was content with what had been presented, she dismissed the trolly and moved over to perch on the armrest of her husband's chair. Even with as tall as she was, she still only just was able to rest her head against his shoulder despite the added height of the chair's arm. "The good doctor and Momiji have retired to Sahaquiel's room, Great One. It was becoming distressing for the poor dear to see how much distress our guests were enduring."
The Wanderer breathed out slowly, not wanting to snap in anger. "We've spoken about how you address me."
"We have. It was a most enlightening discussion; I remember it well." Pre-empting what he was about to say, she looked up into his face and shook her head slowly. "You are, and forever will be, great. That does not cease being true simply because it is contradictory to the mask you wear for the comfort of those lesser beings you must interact with. I will not support you in feigning to be that which you are not within the Light of Creation."
With her eyes calmly switching between the two gods before her, Kyoko Zeppelin decided not to restrain her curiosity. If they were this gentle with everyone, she could clearly push some. "What is this Light of Creation?"
Another argument, another decision to withdraw instead of fight. The Wanderer ignored his wife and refocused his attention on his guest. "It is a place, where we are right now. It is what I used to believe was my soul, then what I believed to be the truth of my existence…I've slowly come to understand that it's far, far more strange than either."
"We are…." With a small look of discomfort, she looked around.
"It is safe, and you are not the first Lilin I've brought here. I'm shielding you from the consequences, do not worry."
"No, no," she waved off concern for herself, "I would not wish to impose in such a personal way as to seek to come to such a place. I would have believed you simply for the fact that I do not see a liar in you."
Yui's outburst stopped his reply, "Will I never be free of idiots and their jealousy?!" Slamming her fist down on her armrest, she turned away from the veil of mist. She'd reached her limit, and she couldn't keep herself calm and continue watching. "My own sister rapes my son for more than a decade, one of my two closest friends spends over a decade slutting it up towards my husband!" Once The Wanderer had dismissed the images, she looked back to him sharply. "You say that you witnessed such things between your father and her?"
Guessing around her habit of conflating her son and himself, he attempted, "I saw the truth in his mind, yes. I wasn't around contemporaneously with Naoko Akagi, he'd killed her before I returned from Nagano." The battle between disbelief and horror that existed in her song caused him to begin to truly wonder if she was anything like the mother he'd never really known. "The Gendo Ikari that was my father had done terrible things to reach the point he had. I was only tangentially aware of them before I was chosen by Lilith to contest for the throne of Creation. The Gendo Ikari who lived in the new 'Prime' universe had a personal body count that puts many natural disasters to shame. He'd slept with, and murdered, Naoko Akagi. When her daughter, Ritsuko Akagi, stepped into her mother's shoes, he began the cycle all over again. I have never, not once, seen in person a Gendo Ikari that I don't want to squeeze in my fists until their heads pop off like a champagne cork. I will forever hate myself that I began to empathize with the second Gendo Ikari I met, that I understand him." He growled, looking off to the distance. "That I interceded to prevent him from being sentenced to death."
Her jaw worked, her mind racing. She was on her feet without being aware of it, she crossed the distance between them without knowing she had. In a moment of pure unguarded emotion, she climbed up onto the cushion of his seat and pulled him into a hug. "What have we done to you, my dearest love?" She couldn't feel him stiffen, couldn't see the confusion cross his face. "We only ever wanted to protect you. The Angel awoken by the Katsuragi Expedition nearly ended the world, and his children were on their way to waking up and finishing the job. We modeled Unit-01 to support you, to protect you, because we knew even then that you would take the best of each of us. Your father's emotional strength, my intellectual prowess, combined in you to protect what had survived. We sacrificed anything and everything we needed to, so that you wouldn't have to…and…and…."
While The Wanderer attempted to find his footing under her admission, Arael spoke into the emptiness as Yui cried on the shoulder of a version of her son, "And, spoken here, there can be no doubt as to the truth of her words." Stepping away from the seat to give her husband a chance to try and respond as he would, she created another seat near Kyoko Zeppelin and poured herself some coffee. To the silently weeping woman she simply stated, "You should try some honey in your coffee, I find it quite delightful."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
"So…she's…." Shinji tried to understand what the nice doctor was saying after she'd stabilized his situation, while also trying to ignore the crosstalk from those women he'd already had tied to his soul. "But, Chie-chan, Yuka-chan, Isako-chan, and Mitsuru-chan all did this bonding thing too. Why are they still out here, if this happened to Raven-san?"
Amy waggled her hands and shook her head. "No, no. She is a Raven, that's a position and rank. Her name is [Song], not that you'll be able to pronounce it for a while. I promise, it's not your fault that this happened. My [song] has a tendency to randomly find women attached to him because it's what's supposed to happen."
"Your Eengaaawilaaayoo?" He scowled. "I'm sorry, that's the closest I think I-"
The other individual in the conversation froze. She'd just taught a second party a word in her language, and he managed to repeat it back well enough that he'd be understood by anyone. "You…wouldn't use that word. You don't have one of those. You'd have a lot of [song], instead." She swallowed, then looked down at her feet. "My husband is busy, and he should probably know what just happened. I'm sorry to ask this, but could I sedate you for a bit? I don't want you to…right now you are starting to become capable of really hurting your chances of winning, and I don't want to have to make a decision in haste."
If he were honest with himself, he was very tired. "Is that going to be the solution every time something happens? Just…knock me unconscious?"
"If only you knew how often that's true," Amy laughed dryly. "There are a lot of changes happening in you, and we've found that sometimes the best plan is to just keep someone unconscious to prevent tragedies. I'm asking, not telling you. Will you let me protect your ladies by sedating you for a while?"
The appeal to his interest in the health and safety of those women cursed with him did far more than any attempt at asking him to seek out his own health or safety. "Do…do you promise that this is to protect them?"
"I swear on both my oath as a doctor, and as your brother's wife. You are a gigantic weapon in a tiny room, and I'm doing what I can to keep the damage to a minimum."
"…Ok. Thank you for being honest." Looking around at the others in the room, still engrossed in discussion regarding how best to stop further incidents, he only felt Amy's finger touch his arm before the sedatives she'd given him sent him into what he'd believed would be a silent unconsciousness. Without a discernable transition, he was dropped a meter down onto the floor of a vast inky blackness. Looking around in confusion at the unanticipated stop, he quickly spied the oddly colored Raven that looked to be of the same species as his doctor. "Uhm…."
Turning her head slightly to look at Shinji, the Raven smiled with mild embarrassment. "So, as it turns out," she began, "I should probably not have spoken that particular oath to you. I…hadn't thought you would be able to take it quite so literally."
"About…uh, about the blade not breaking before I do?"
"Ah…no." Spreading her hands and shrugging, she admitted, "That my…you would call it 'spirit' will go with you through the dagger. That I would, metaphorically, be fighting at your side. It's a prayer we say over those that we fear are marching off to die with honor. I just, well," she paused, looking away towards the empty horizon, "none of us enjoy watching Shinji Ikari suffer, no matter what mask he wears."
"I'm…I'm not really a fan of it myself."
She looked back towards him and laughed at his comment with good humor. "For someone who doesn't like seeing Shinji Ikari suffer, you are certainly throwing yourself into a great many situations where suffering is inevitable."
"I would bet that if you asked The Wanderer, he would tell you that Shinji Ikari is an idiot."
"I would not, because I like keeping things that belong to me and would lose that bet." Rolling one finger around the area, she asked, "Prefer the darkness?"
"Is there a light switch somewhere?" When Shinji saw her face go flat, he reflexively apologized and turned his eyes to the floor in submission, "I'm sorry, Raven-san. I allowed my emotions to overrun my sense, and I am prepared to accept the punishment for my actions. I was wrong, and you were right."
"My name, [song], is [song]. Though, since you're going to have a hard time putting the proper accents on that, the closest translation to your language is haze, wings, equilibrium. You can come up with a good stand-in name for me, I'm sure it will be better than me naming myself in your language." Willing herself to be in front of him, she set the knuckle of her index finger under his chin and lifted his head up to face her. "And you are not a slave."
Her irises were an unnatural magenta, glowing with some inner brilliance that he couldn't easily explain. "You…have beautiful eyes." The compliment brought a pleased smile to her lips. "But…what is an Eengaaawilaaayoo?"
"Uh-uh, E-EH-nga-AH-awila-ah-ayo-OH. If you're going to learn my language, you are not going to learn the lazy dialect [Song] uses. She's a fantastic doctor, and a wonderful woman, but a terrible advocate for my native tongue."
Slowly repeating the sounds, several times until he'd become comfortable with them, he motioned, "So…what is an [song]?"
"You do not have a direct translation for it, but the closest approximation we've decided to agree upon aboard the [Song] is 'Soulsband'. It is, of course, a bastardization of your own language, but the more accurate and harder to say version is 'Soul Tethered Uncollared Reproductive Aid'. That connotation also has the ill luck of carrying far greater woes in your tongue as well. We do not tend to marry, in my society, as there are far, far fewer males than females. But, if we find ourselves spending the majority of our time with a particular person, male or female, we can establish a soul bond like you and I have. We are now and forever the same soul, much like I sense the woman you call 'Chie' is. I look forward to helping her physical recovery, she shows great promise in a physical brawl."
"A soul-husband?"
"We shortened it, and we're still feeling out whether it's the right word."
"…So you and I…."
She nodded. "I will do my utmost to not disappoint you. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will do everything you can to bring honor to our clan."
He breathed out slowly, deflating and murmuring, "I wouldn't hold my breath, I'm a fu-HRHK."
"Ah…you can't lie inside of our soul, [song]. You know, even if you don't like to admit it, that you are doing your best. Yes, you believe you can do better, and I encourage you to try to always do better…but you have not made a mockery of our honor." She gave him a sympathetic smile, running her knuckles against his cheek. "Since it seems you are unconscious out in the living world, and we likely have a great deal of time to make use of, why don't we take a walk and discuss how to improve ourselves?"
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Sunday, September 5th, +15, New Moon 2/4)
The walk to the laboratory area of NERV had been silent, save for the soft clacking of Ireul's heels. Many women might have thought her jealous, for the thoughts she was having of tormenting Naoko in perpetuity. Many women would have misunderstood the nature of her contempt for the woman. She had no doubts that her husband would have nothing to do with the barely controlled sociopath, and that the first time Naoko attempted anything untoward with her husband Ireul was confident that she would be the least of the woman's worries.
"So," Naoko asked conversationally, "what happened that Shinji Ikari became fused with an Angel's DNA?"
"He put his shoulder into his duty, triumphed over those who would falsely think themselves worthy of greater veneration."
"Oh come now, surely there is more to the story than gratuitous combat."
Stopping at the door that she knew would lead to their destination, Ireul revealed nothing as she looked upon Naoko with contempt. "I did not say that his duty was to fight the Angels." Reaching past Naoko, she tapped in the passcode to unseal the door. "Nor were any of his fights gratuitous." Walking in, well aware that she was being analyzed in kind, she looked around the lab in disapproval. A vague fluttering motion of her hand led to most of the equipment inside simply vanishing from sight. "A word of advice, though I doubt you'll heed it: don't."
If all she'd had were the tone of the words Naoko put voice to, she'd almost believe her. "I'm not sure I follow you, Your Imperial Highness."
"I see no reason for you to remain here. This space will serve our needs, for now." Turning, she made the dismissal perfectly clear, "You may depart." Willing the door closed, she shook her head in disappointment and began setting up a serviceable living area for her loved ones. Yet another reason why she was forever grateful that her husband simply wasn't a sexual creature. Responsive, eager, and determined to fulfill his partners? Yes. Seeking out new women believing the sensations would be any different? Not in the slightest.
+++++ The Between.
Motsuki, as Shinji had decided to call her, was admiring the enormous statue of Chie they'd come across in their wanderings. They'd spoken to one another about their pasts, how they'd ended up where they were now, and what they'd hoped would come from their efforts. They'd discussed favorite foods, favorite colors, favorite music. For what had felt like days they'd walked in each other's company and never once ran out of something to discuss or a reason to remain silent. Only now, at the foot of a thirty-meter tall statue of a young woman he felt in his soul that he truly loved, had he managed to fail to find words.
Motsuki, on the other hand, was able to carry the balance. "This is easily beyond masterwork, [Song]. I've seen impressive art before, but you've managed to capture not only her poise, but her spirit as well! I wish she was here to see this, to know without a doubt that you see her as both woman and warrior, as both mate and protector."
It was all of that and more, as far as Shinji was concerned. When he lingered on any one single portion of the monolith, he saw everything he felt for Chie radiating outwards in a joyous sunshine of the soul. A part of his mind was left in awe, thinking of all of the young men that must have either attempted to draw her eye and failed, or never saw the beauty for what she was because she enjoyed striving for martial perfection. "…I love her."
There was little doubt as to why he'd made the statement aloud, but she was pleased to hear him challenge himself and discover the truth for sure and certain. "She seems quite lovable. I look forward to spending time with you both." A lengthy pause followed what she'd believed to be a positive sentiment. Concern grew in her heart as she saw his face droop towards an angry frown. "[Song]?"
"N-no." Shaking off the funk, he looked at her and gave her a smile that was far closer to happy than he'd previously shown. "Sorry. I was thinking about how I was about to say that I don't deserve her. I don't deserve any of them." Shrugging one shoulder, he included his current companion. "I certainly don't deserve someone as positive and pretty as you are." He took note of the light blue that was her blush, adding, "Even your blush is adorable…. But 'deserve' is just the wrong word, and that's what's making me angry. I don't deserve you…I've…I don't know…earned? No, that's not the right word either."
"Oh…yeah, ok." Motsuki nodded in understanding. "That's a hard thought to put into a single word. Even we use [song], which as you can probably tell is about nine words in our language. You have worked hard to prove your fitness, you have sacrificed without being asked, you have treated each of their affections as the precious gifts they are. You deserve the right to be where you are, because you don't expect to be where you are. Any of them could walk away and you wouldn't blink. You'd hurt, of course, but you'd respect their decision without question or ire."
He nodded agreeably. "Yes. That. I've fought giant monsters, I've crawled through labyrinths, I've tried to balance their needs, I've tried to hear them out when they confuse the fuck out of me…which is why when Chie-chan says she loves me, she means it." His smile settled upon comfortably pleased. "She loves me."
+++++ Tokyo-3, NERV. (Monday, September 6th, +16, New Moon 3/4)
By general acclaim, everyone retreated back to what would be considered their corners. The residents of the Blue House remaining in small clusters around a newly enlarged hospital room for Shinji, Sadayo, Chie, and Shizuko, The Wanderer and his clan moving into the lab adjacent to where Misato, Ritsuko, and Maya of Shinji's universe were catching some sleep themselves. The night had arrived late, and the events of the day still required yet more digestion before anything useful could be drawn from the experience.
The Wanderer, sitting inside of Yui Ikari's office with the woman herself, was slowly rocking Sahaquiel on his knee. The childlike Aspect had done what she could to help Kyoko Ikari and Momiji Ikari, and now needed her own comfort from her 'daddy'. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat, and watched with her single great eye as a strange woman spoke with him about the failures of mankind.
"…he wasn't a perfect man, but I assure you he was a far better man than the ones you've known." Yui's smile was one that would only be perceived by someone who'd received the same emotional issues she'd had, so she was comfortable with the fact that her son from another universe would see it and understand. "He looked out at the world even before Second Impact, and all he could see was easily resolvable problems if people would only take the time to actually speak to one another instead of yell and curse. He was forever disappointed, each individual case of someone ignoring the course of wisdom another tiny cut on his flesh."
"I know where he came from, in that regard." The Wanderer himself had been doing a lot of thinking, forced to face an uncomfortable truth that not all Yui Ikaris would be the same cookie cutter failure. He stroked Sahaquiel's hair, enjoying the feel of absolute trust she was flooding him with. "It's been a central pillar of Imperial Diplomacy. Even if someone launches an attack as first contact, we attempt communication before we respond in kind."
"I'm sorry, daddy…I should have tried talking first," Sahaquiel's voice was quiet, her eyelid half-drooped closed.
"Shh, shh, shh," he murmured soothingly. "We've already talked about that, and we both agreed that we were growing up still. I loved you then, I love you now, that's all that matters."
Yui's eyes grew damp at the exchange. "I see so much of him in you. He'd hold you on his knee, read you poetry, and wait until you were completely asleep before taking you to bed for the night. I'm…happy. I doubt you'll become the same man in this reality. After trauma such as…. It's unlikely that he'll retain the…the innocence."
His soft chuckle was unexpected, by both him and the woman he spoke with. "My apologies," he motioned weakly with his free hand, "it is something of a coincidence that you chose that word."
"Oh?" She'd done so much talking, trying to get through the logjam of emotions, that she sensed an opportunity to get him to speak some on his own past. "Please, share."
"Lily, you'd know her as Lilith of Eden, and I had a…tumultuous courtship. Even after pulling me through dimensions, taunting me, punishing me, pushing me to be something more than…than 'Just Shinji'…." He looked down at Sahaquiel, smiling at his now asleep daughter with love and pride for her part in saving the Earth from himself. "She'd created a playground for a tiny fragment of my psyche. A young boy, forever three and forever craving motherly affection. She spent an incredible amount of energy, of focus, of just life, making sure that my innocence remained until it was time for me to outgrow it." A hint of sorrow grew in his gaze. "It must have hurt her beyond description to make the decision to let that go. To allow the son she'd loved from time immemorial suffer the realities of the world." With a deep breath, he exhaled the memory free of his mind. "I am not innocent. That is what allows me to hold her like this, to shelter her from the wolves at the door. I remember when I lost my innocence, and I am better off for both those memories before and my life as it is now."
"I admit, it is not easy to believe that you are married to the Second Angel. That you've befriended, allied, the others." Though her voice dropped to a whisper, she didn't doubt he'd heard her, "He would be so very proud of you."
He'd caught himself several times during the talk about to correct her regarding their relationship. Each time he was opening his mouth, he felt Sahaquiel stir in his arms. The parallel wasn't perfect, but few things ultimately were. "I hope so…I hope so."
+++++ Author's Notes:
cortana5: RE: Problem solving.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
Ghost Man:
RE: Time.
Things have taken a bit of a downswing. Despite the media not reporting on such things anymore, what with the war in Ukraine and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock (because that deserved so much damn print over the former), people are still getting sick and needing to be hospitalized. With some free time from the hospital I work in not being at capacity, I was able to QC and continuity check large chunks. Figured it was easier to post it all at once.
RE: Tartarus.
Tartarus was actually only in Persona 4, by that name. The location has had a multitude of different names over the course of the series, but it's all the same place.
RE: Playing with Portals.
They're inside a Dyson Sphere, with magical cartographical anchor points that no longer match up correctly after Japan was distended to make the islands fit inside that sphere. Portals need more power to transition between two points on a four-dimensional plane without the astrographical anchor points to compare local points to, as well. So without stars, planets, and other objects to reference, she has to dump a lot of power into doing it right. The chances of a mistake are not zero, and she doesn't want to torque The Wanderer.
RE: Power Rangers.
It has been at least a decade from the Prime Universe's perspective. That decade has been spent learning, training, and applying all sorts of tricks. The Wanderer has become adept at 'uplifting' mortals, and those former mortals have not been sitting around eating bon-bons.
RE: Rules.
Where there's a rule, there's always a loophole. No one, not even Creation, can account for everything.
TheHiddenLettuce: RE: How?
With panache, that's how.
Guest: RE: Other ideas for stories.
Eva x X-Men is definitely going to happen at some point. I've got a really solid shell in place for that one. It'll most likely be an amalgam universe, and not a X meets Y.
Rewrite of the original YA(N)C is pretty much always being worked on by me. I'm rebuilding the world from the ground up, and it was a fairly lengthy story with ideas that I really liked. Fingers crossed it can eventually see the light of day as a finished work.
Eva x Lovecraft is something I'm toying with. I've only written character concepts for it, as of yet. Balancing the nihilistic mania that is Lovecraft with The Wanderer Cycle is going to be a stupid hard challenge, I think.
I've also been poking at Eva x Star Ocean, Eva x WH30K, Eva x Elder Scrolls, Eva x Soulsbourne, a side project that is Asuka from YA(N)C moving through recovery, another "Tales from Pen-Pen's Perspective", Eva x Belgariad/Mallorean, Eva x Ah! My Goddess!, Eva x Love Hina (not what you think), Eva x Rosario (also not what you think), Eva x To Love Ru (really not what you think), Eva x High School of the Dead, Eva x Berserk (that idea's unlikely, because it makes me very sad), Eva x The Guyver, Eva x Junji Ito, Eva x The Boys (imagine a drug that lets you pilot an Eva), Eva x Halo, Eva x Alien, Eva x Xenogears, Eva x Tales of, Eva x FF (a pastiche), and a smattering of Eva stories that aren't connected to established worlds.
To everyone that's replied:
Thank you for staying engaged with my story, for commenting, or just dropping a like. It's brought me a great sense of satisfaction to read the comments of people who've been touched, entertained, or inspired by my stories.