A Frozen Hell

The chilling blasted landscape of Tokyo-3 had most of its buildings retracted underground as the winter storm raged on. Hail pelted the earth above as microbursts pushed and scattered thousands of freezing tornadoes in every direction. Some animals that roamed the landscape were all but forced to wander aimlessly through a blinding snowstorm that buried Japan under endless chilling fields cold white. Short bursts of high speed gusts had covered the country in chaotic squalls of ice that in these conditions could flay skin from bone and freeze wildlife midstep. For those stuck in the buildings underground, supplies were few and far between. Rationing food became a necessity, and those who didn't would soon succumb to death by starvation. Conditions were bleak and people were dying.

However, the streets were not empty.

A colossal beast roamed these now frozen wastes. Large thundering footsteps were drowned out by the wailing wind. Any who heard the sound could just as easily mistake the sound for falling ice or an overactive mind conjuring bestial images of a terrible titan hiding in the blizzard. Yet none who heard could begin to imagine the true form of the lone god, the vile and malicious entity which trudged inexorably forward as stringy fur billowed behind it. At once both towering beast and wind-borne frozen snow, it's mind was fixed upon its goals...terrible goals and aspirations. Despite being gaunt to the point of emaciation, the beast stood strong as its intent infected the starving masses. The people who found themselves shivering in the cold and dark for the past three weeks felt pangs of hunger. For those unlucky enough to be around those who succumbed to the elements, they heard fae whispers that came to haunt them. Sitting next to the dead, they were on the precipice of life and death, ready to tumble and fall either which way. Most however were of strong wills… but all it took was a little push.

'Where there is death, there is food.' Whistled the wind.

Some jerked upwards, wondering if they heard the voice or if their mind was playing tricks on them. Others covered their ears and did their best to drown out the noise. Yet, even underground, the wind continued to blow, despite all logic dictating that such things should be impossible. The cool winds howled like wolves, whipping around buildings and whistling constantly. Dismal snow and hail pelted the streets above. All the while the ice and cold spoke through the cacophony of the rattling hail and billowing winds above and below.

'The wracking pain and misery of your cravings can be satiated. Do you feel that unfaltering emptiness that grows larger in your gut. It can be filled.'

More whispers on the wind scratched at their mind as they looked to the dead bodies near them. Honeyed words of 'Just one Bite' and 'You'll die if you don't eat' echoed in their minds. Most held out preferring to eventually succumb to the elements, those who listened however were the benefactors of a terrible feast of grotesque morsels, and could only sob and cry as they tore into the meat and muscles of friends, family, acquaintances… and people. So many people were ripped open as starvation gave way to madness. Entrails shoved down waiting gullets to fulfil the most primal needs of mankind… the need to eat and the desire to survive.

With each who had chosen to satiate their hunger, Ithaqua grew stronger, and his cold reached further.

Within the Geofront however, supplies, while diminished, were in anything but short supply. It was here Ritsuko could only listen to the madness that the Vice-Commander was speaking.

"You want to what?" she said blankly.

"You heard me Miss Akagi. The cold is too dangerous for mundane scouts. There is something out there, and it's causing this cold. If we don't stop it, we are going to die."

"The Evangelion is NOT a scout!?"

"B-Type Equipment was designed to function in extreme conditions. It already possesses many functions to allow it to work in a blizzard, only minor modifications will be needed."

"That is besides the point. Rei is damaged, the only Pilot we have on duty is… him."

Fuyutsuki raised his brow at RItsuko as she looked around, almost afraid as if someone was listening to their conversation.

"And?"

Ritsuko barked out a bitter laugh.

"He reached 400% synchronization in a plug, not even inserted into an Evangelion. Do you really want to know what will happen if we do put him in one?"

"I understand you concern, believe me I do... but we've been getting… reports of something out there. I believe it to be another beast like Bokrug."

Ritsuko rubbed her arms shivering slightly.

"Gods… What is happening." she said mostly to herself.

"That… is a very good question." said Fuyutsuki, causing Ritsuko to snap in his direction.

"You're talking about using the Eva to scout the surface for some creature that might not even exist, that assuming it is there, we know nothing about, and can casually plunge all of Japan into its own personal ice age."

Put like that Kozo Fuyutsuki could see where Ritsuko was coming from… but…

"So you suggest we do nothing? Scouts, the ones that actually came back that is, feelings of being watched and stalked through the snow. Traditional methods to corroborate their stories have been exhausted. Most vehicles cannot properly function in these conditions. A full spectrum EM field analyzer picks up nothing, visibility is near zero, and as far as even the MAGI could tell nothing should be causing this snowstorm… in fact the MAGI told us there can't be a blizzard like that... but despite all that an apocalyptic blizzard persists and there have been reports of something up there.. It's immaterial evidence, barely circumstantial… but it is all we have."

"It's… not enough."

"Let's back up a bit. Imagine for a moment if Bokrug did not trudge out of the waters and instead hid there. Imagine if for no discernible reason parts of Tokyo-3 flooded and we were plagued with a swarm of aquatic lizards that against all self preservation instincts, surrounded an Angel with no hint of instinctual fear. Lizards that by all accounts are normal marine reptiles. Imagine if that happened, what would we do?"

Ritsuko shrugged.

"Probably took samples of the lizards and speculate on the cause of the flood by looking at seismic activity."

"Indeed, and where would that have got us? The Lizards were normal, the only anomaly about them being behavioral rather than biological, and no seismic activity was detected that day that could cause a tsunami like the one we experienced. It is to our fortuitous advantage that Bokrug actually came on land allowing us to see that he did in fact exist, but if Bokrug did not show up, we would have no idea. Now another calamity hits us. A blizzard of apocalyptic proportions that every meteorological tool we have at our disposal is saying can't happen, is happening... and thanks to Bokrug, we know that there are creatures out there we were unaware even existed, and I am inclined to believe another of these things is responsible for the anomalous blizzard… a blizzard that is getting bigger." said Fuyutsuki with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"Listen Dr. Akagi, I'm going to be frank with you. Whatever is happening since that Bokrug entity showed up… we're woefully unprepared and hilariously ignorant. Years of preparation has come to only months of execution, and right when the time came to start a carefully constructed scenario… we get blindsided by something we couldn't anticipate that throws everything we thought we knew into question. These forces are unknown to us, we don't know what they are, what they want, or where they came from. All we know is that an unknown is here now. One whose scope and nature is fiercely enigmatic. This is nothing we prepared or trained for. We not only didn't see them coming, but we couldn't see them coming."

Fuyutsuki shook his head and sighed.

"We thought we prepared for everything, but we were wrong, so very wrong. SEELE is acting as if their plans are still on track, but I know they are just as stumped as we are… We have to do something, SEELE is used to being in control or at least are accustomed to having the illusion of control. With these things here they will soon find out they are powerless… that feeling of powerlessness can make monsters of men, what do you think that feeling will do to SEELE, who are already monsters?"

Ritsuko remained silent for what seemed to be hours, but could only be seconds… before she relented.

"Putting the Third Child in an Evangelion without a clue as to how he reaches a 400% Sync ratio is unwise to the point of foolishness. By every metric, he should not be able to come back from that quite so easily. He… he dissolved his AT Field, his very soul... and melted into undifferentiated LCL. Then he just regained his sense of self as soon as power was cut."

Fuyutsuki nodded.

"It is unprecedented, and goes against years of research, but Rei is still in no condition to pilot. We only have one option."

Ritsuko thought on it long and hard, hoping to find some way to prevent this from happening… to keep that… thing out of a functioning Eva… and she found it.

"You know who is inside of Unit 01… If the Third Child reaches 400% he will become the Evangelion… and he won't be alone inside it."

The look on Fuyutsuki's face caused minor pangs of guilt to flow through Ritsuko's mind as she shivered in the cold, but se pushed those thoughts away, hoping against hope that Shinji would not be put into the greatest weapon ever built by man. However, once the look of hurt lifted from the old man's face he steeled his gaze.

"If he discovers the truth, then so be it. The only other option is to do nothing, and doing that will only spell our doom."

Shinji smiled as he sat contentedly with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath as a presence intruded into his reality. Looking to his side he watched as the flickering shadows crept along the walls. Shadows not cast by any light, just a material darkness from the beyond that stained reality itself. A wounded necrotic shadow cast from nothing that clung to the wall. It squirmed and writhed in inhuman ways as it moved. Then it burst forth like smoke. Formless darkness of the blackest pitch with creeping things hiding deep within it. Only a single burning three-lobed eye staring back at Shinji as it wafted around him.

"You spoke to the First Child." said Nyarlathotep with an audible tone indicating he was pleased.

The dark color of the… figure was so black as to be blinding. It reflected no light, and indeed seemed to be devouring it, if the lights above flickering and dimming were any indication.

"I know how this story ended before you showed up. I know the role she plays in it… She handed another me the keys to godhood… The other me rejected it in the end…I believe I can put it to much better use. The world has turned upside down, and everything we thought we know has been ripped away." said Shinji as he leaned back.

He stared upwards at the ceiling as the last light died.

"In the face of an unknown reality and a multitude of truths… we must embrace it and open ourselves to the unknown. Not the end, but a new beginning."

"I see… You know Young one, the Great Old Ones are awakening, and will continue to do so with my blessing. It is inevitable as the tides or the rising sun. None may stop their coming… but… using the Evangelions as a proxy, your kind has become as close to the Great Old Ones as can get. For a time before the last second ticks, you touch a blasphemous divinity."

"What do you mean?"

"Make no mistake, even the Great Old Ones mean so very little in the grand scheme of things. We are all doomed, when the gibbering madness at the center of creation awakens, without exception, all that is... will cease to be."

"Even you?"

"It is as I said, without exception."

"I see."

"That is the essence of our reality. The irrelevance of man extends to the Gods themselves. Our importance over you is merely a happenstance, caused by our connection to the slumbering nuclear chaos, and it will exist only as long as that chaos remains sleeping."

"It does make one feel small when even the Gods are helpless."

"We are all small, you are simply much smaller. For beings such as I your kind may as well be individual atoms. Most of us have no preference of one atom over another, I am rather unique among my kind simply for the fact that I see you as a useful distraction until the Daemon Sultan awakens."

"And when would that be?"

"From my perspective any moment now, from yours... This Nuclear Chaos is not bound by the passage of time. When he awakens all will end… The past, present, and future… all the same despite what human sensibilities might tell you. Mindless chaos will exist simultaneously among everything you call a second and everything you call a moment. All that is will not just cease to be, it would be more accurate to say that it simply never would have been."

"That… is a lot to throw onto someone."

"You did ask."

Shinji nodded.

"Makes my own plans fell so… pitiful and irrelevant now."

"That is simply because they are. Doesn't mean you should stop however. Every breath you take is irrelevant, and it would be equally irrelevant if you stopped breathing. Doing either is pointless, might as well choose to live. It allows for more choices to be made, choosing to die is the final choice. Choice, as I said is as close to meaning your kind can get."

"How exactly… what is it about choice that gives us meaning?"

"By making choices, you spit in the face of your own insignificance and continue forward not caring at all that your existence is meaningless. To choose is to continue forward, you may slip, but you can choose to pick yourself back up or you can choose to lie down and die. At the very least you will have died on your own terms. In the end they may be irrelevant choices that meant nothing but your choices indicate to the universe that you don't care if you are unimportant, because despite that, you are still here."

"I think that's supposed to be uplifting, but I don't feel uplifted."

"That's just because you're still insignificant in the end. No need to cry about it."

Shinji furrowed his brow as his transparent eyelids blinked unconsciously. Through the eyelids, he saw more of Nyarlathotep than he should, a deeper intrinsic part of the Outer God. No longer just an animate shadow but the very essence of darkness itself. There was absolute nothing within it, nothing that churned and boiled. Infinite blackness of a sunless night sky after the last star died. Yet this vast thing of black and shadow was merely a guise or glamour. A mask, one that could be worn and cast away with the same ease a man can blink. Shinji pushed it from his mind. Best not to dwell on these things.

"Fair enough, any other existential crisis you want to hit me with before morning?"

"Maybe later. Your progress is amusing to say the least, you're still being molded, but I can already tell I will be very pleased with the results."

"I really hope that a second pair of eyelids is as noticeable as it gets."

"Define noticeable."

"That is not reassuring." said Shinji blankly.

The void chuckled.

"Wasn't supposed to be. You should go, I believe you're about to finally be placed into the Evangelion. The results should be… interesting."

The shadows faded and Shinji sighed as he placed his hands in his pocket. He perked up as the intercom came on and requested his presence in the Eva cage. He stood up and idly walked in that direction without really thinking about it. His mind on autopilot as he wondered what he would do as he merged with the God Machine… and the maternal soul within.

Shinji smiled as he grabbed the handles before him. He was once more inserted into the entry plug. He ignored the voices as he took in his first breath of LCL and found it to be quite calming. His mind opened, ready for the God Machine to come to life once more.

Ritsuko watched as she held off on the activation as far as she could. Maya and Aoba continued their tasks, pausing only as they reached the end. It was with a heavy heart that Ritsuko gave them the authorization to proceed. They did so, and she watched the screens as a smiling Shinji dissolved before her eyes.

All went dark and Shinji found himself in a formless abyss. Yet he was not alone, and a presence could be felt within this subconscious realm.

'Hello Shinji.'

…

'Mother.' Greeted Shinji with a level tone.

'Yes Shinji. It is good to see you.'

Shinji expanded his awareness outward as his mind touched another. He felt feelings of unconditional love radiate outwards and engulf him under a sea of maternal comfort. Yet… that was not what the boy desired right now, a fact that when his mother's mind touched his… gave her pause.

…

'Shinji?'

'Why can't I control the Evangelion?'

…

'I don't know. Are you… what happened to you? Shinji… I'm worried."

' I cannot will it to move… is it interference?'

'Shinji… please… look at me.'

'Perhaps the process did not go through correctly. I can tell power is being supplied, I should be controlling it… in theory… but I am not… curious.'

'Shinji… please… don't ignore me. I am here, I will always be here.'

'Here entombed within the carcass of a God Slave… it matters little, your presence is irrelevant to my current needs. I believe I have found the issue. Your mind is at the forefront of this machine's soul… you are a blockade preventing me from control. Submit the Eva to me please.'

'...'

The feelings of love were replaced by fear. Fear directed and aimed at Shinji's very awareness. Fears of a mother who could not recognize her own child. Indeed there was an alien vastness to the inner light of Shinji's soul. Vast, but not in the sense of being massive, but in its density and scope.

'What is this within your memory? Ah, so that is why you are here… eternal proof that humankind has existed… by turning the Evangelion into a monument to human existence… how… boring.'

Spiritual limbs and tendrils crept through this formless realm as Shinji extended himself across it. Yui found herself occupying less and less space as the vast spiritual entity that was Shinji's Eldritch Soul grew.

'An imitation of a God and you want to turn it into a monument to human existence? Endless possibility at your fingertips, and this is your choice. What is so important about humanity that it requires a monument for something as mundane as simple BEING. Do the ants require a monument? The worms? Perhaps the maggots. They exist as well.'

Yui grew smaller and smaller. Bits and pieces of her essence stripped away and devoured by something that both was and was not her son.

'Who would appreciate such a monument? Alien entities with equally alien sensibilities? What would give them cause to care? Monuments exist to remind, to advise, or to warn. To be reminded requires context, to advise requires insight, to warn required possible or impending danger… Would an alien ever have the context to know what a human is? Should they care? Do you care for the billions of extinct species that predates you? What are you advising them on? What danger are you warning them of? Does this monument to human existence exists for its own sake? Why? What is its function?'

…

…

'I see… it was to exist for its own sake then. The last dying breath of a mundane species born on a mundane planet. Pitiful… Alas your goals are not in line with mine. You are blocking me from ascending. It's nothing personal mother, but your presence is a hindrance… goodbye.'

And like that the light of Yui's soul was all but extinguished, only a small lobotomized fragment needed to keep the Evangelion functional, but one with no will or mind of its own… then a new terrible awareness took over.

Eva Unit 01 shot its head upward as it ascended to the streets above. Then it entered into the Frozen Hell. Icicles had formed horizontally across street signs and traffic signals from the bitter winter wind. Winds that moaned, whistled, howled, and screamed. As the anchors were disengaged, the Evangelion almost lost its footing from the intense blowing that did not relent, yet he remained upright.

Snow had built up to the Evas ankles, and even through the armor Shinji felt like thousands of icy needles were piercing at his… or rather his Eva's skin. The B-Equipment did little to prevent the uncomfortable sensation of what felt like a coming frostbite. He took his first steps… and the winds ceased for but a moment, barely a heartbeat before it continued much stronger than before. Shinji trekked forward in inhospitable arctic conditions. The chaotic falling of snow and hail blinded Shinji from anything that would only be a few dozen meters in front of him. Even the Eva's hand in front of his face was little more than a silhouette in the storm. The wind and snow drowned out all other sounds, Shinji couldn't even hear his own footsteps, which was impressive considering that he was currently wearing a 40 Meter tall God as armor.

Technically it was midday afternoon, yet the city was plunged into an eternal night underneath black clouds. No stray rays of sunlight pierced the clouds above and Shinji's only method of visibility was the inbuilt scanners in his Eva's eyes, which only extended his visual range by a few extra meters. Every step silently shook the ground, with icicles cracking and breaking from the infrastructure that could not retract underground.

"Visibility is zero out here. I can barely tell where I'm going." said Shinji.

The group underground listened, Ritsuko still felt her skin crawl as the LCL filled plug somehow 'spoke' to them despite there seeming to be no pilot inside. Synchronization hovered at 400%. Even the other technicians felt unsettled to such a degree that the video was immediately shut to stick with an audio only format. It did little considering the reverberating 'voice' of Shinji as he spoke through the LCL.

"Just keep moving Shinji…" said Misato as level as she could. "... You have five kilometers of cable to work with."

Misato turned to Ritsuko.

"So… how is he talking right now?" she asked confused.

"We don't know." said Rtsuko in a tone that made it clear she didn't want to continue this conversation.

Misato just shrugged.

The Eva nodded as it braved the fierce winds stronger than any hurricane. The bridge watched as the screens displayed what the Eva itself was seeing, and no one could make out what was happening through the falling flakes of white. The Eva trudged forward, holding its arms up like a shield as it continued forward surveying it's environment… and then… they caught something.

"Shinji… turn to your left, we just saw.. something." said Misato calmly.

Shinji did so, and immediately froze when he saw what was on the ground. At first it looked like dozens of statues, but closer examination revealed what it truly was being observed. The Bridge fell silent as everyone stared wide eyed at the frozen, still standing corpses of people caught in the blizzard.

Maya's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes widened to an almost manic degree. Aoba just stared blankly, almost as if he could not truly believe what he was seeing… Ritsuko however just closed her own eyes trying her best to calm her nerves.

"They… they froze standing up…" said Maya to herself.

"How are they still standing… the winds are at 250 Kilometers per hour." said Aoba.

"That's… not possible… How cold would it have to be to freeze someone that fast?" asked Misato to no one.

Ritsuko ignored their reactions and speculating… she only looked at the corpses and the mask of pure fear and desperation forever frozen on their blistered and frostbitten faces. The exposed skin was discolored, colorless really, with crystalline icy needles coating much of their flesh. The clothing had become solid, no longer flapping in the gale. Statutes left as monuments to the power of the uncaring cold. Fuyutsuki looked at the screens from above with a chill running up his spine, a chill independent from the cold conditions.

"Continue moving." said Fuyutsuki.

The Eva looked away and continued moving. A layer of frost and rime Ice having formed across his armor from remaining still for so long. Shinji walked forward. Those on the Bridge within the Geofront remained quiet as they did their best to keep the anxiety at bay.

Then… the sound of a freight train echoed all around Shinji, who looked upwards… and froze at what he saw. While the conditions left visibility at a minimum, occasional spears of lightning illuminated the sky, and it was in the sky that Shinji saw dozens… if not hundreds of twisters above. Each swirling vortex did not touch the ground, but hung from the sky like flailing ropes. Each flash of electricity revealed more and more of these squirming columns of wind that made the clouds above look less like the product of nature and more like some living terrible beast that raged in the skies above.

"You're seeing this right?" Asked Shinji.

It was silent for a long moment, before Misato spoke.

"We can see it Shinji… umm… Ritsuko says they're called rope tornadoes. They're tornadoes in the dissipating stage so you should be alright."

"There are… so many of them… they can't all be fading away."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it… just… be careful out there." Said Misato.

"Wark!"

…

…

It was at this point Shinji looked down to see another oddity. Not as terrifying but just as strange.

…

"Is that a penguin?" Asked Aoba.

"Misato… I found PenPen."

"PENPEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT IN THE COLD… oh… right… WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT IN THE… WIND!"

…

"Does… does that penguin have claws?" Asked Aoba.

"Wark!"

"Well… at least he's alright." Said Misato.

…

"Is the penguin drinking beer?"

"SHUT UP AOBA!"

"But… penguin."

Shinji sighted.

"Do I have permission to put PenPen in the entry plug? There is plenty of room in here." Said Shinji.

Misato turned to Ritsuko with a pleading look on her face.

"Umm… I...You know what… go ahead."

Misato smiled.

"Permission granted."

"You do know kid, you're technically risking becoming part penguin when you turn back into a real boy right." Said Aoba.

"That is NOT how it works!" Screamed Ritsuko.

"I've seen the Fly… I know what's up, but far be it from me to prevent the rise of Penguin Man."

"Shut up Aoba." Said Maya.

"You're right… it would be Penguin Boy."

Shinji ignored them as he knelt down and extended the entry plug. PenPen took a look at it… guzzled down the rest of his beer… crushed the can against his head… discarded it… and waddled right on in as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

…

"That penguin ain't right." Said Aoba.

"Aoba I swear to God I will end you if you don't shut up." Said Misato.

"Yes Ma'am."

Ritsuko could not fathom how everyone else was taking this so well. The Third Child all but demolished his own Ego Border and wore the Evangelion like it was a new suit… how could they make jokes about something so unprecedented… dangerous even.

"PenPen secured. Do I continue scouting or return to base?"

"Continue scouting Shinji. Just be careful."

"Affirmative." Said Shinji as he continued forward… feeling a bit odd at the penguin currently swimming INSIDE of him.

He took one last look at the rope tornadoes in the sky before lifting his arms to block the flurry of snow. As he took his first step however, alarms started going off. Shinji looked above to see a strange shape squirming in the clouds above. Then his intercom activated.

"Blood Patern Blue. Its the 4th Angel!"