Koros45 doesn't own Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser, or Neon Genesis Evangelion
Stage 26: [Komm, Susser Tod – Come, Sweet Death]
The AT Field was breached, Tetsuya's allies having passed through it. The pilot of Great Mazinger felt a tinge of jealousy as he would be unable to assist further in retrieving Shinji from Lilith's grasp. Still, Great Mazinger's appearance had turned the tide of the earlier battle and Tetsuya was still ready to go. And he was not about to let a damn barrier get the better of him.
"Tetsuya."
Then he paused and heard the voices of Jun and his father. From within Brain Condor?
It was impossible – the logical part of him knew his father was dead and Jun was elsewhere. There was no way they could all be in the cramped Pilder with him. Yet here they were with him.
He felt an overwhelming since of completeness as they both embraced him.
The controls to Great Mazinger stalled as Tetsuya Tsurugi's form was reduced to a puddle of LCL, the foot on the petal of the Scramble Dash no longer applying pressure to keep Great afloat. The photonic robot stopped hovering as it began to fall towards the sea.
/
In that moment everything stopped. It was a moment of triumph for SEELE as they stopped existing, their plan entering its final conclusion.
It was a moment of confusion for Ritsuko as Maya clutched her head in her lap, the two exploding into LCL almost instantly.
It was a moment of peace for Sayaka Yumi, as the Rei that embraced her turned into Kouji, then they were gone.
It was a moment of irony for Ryoma Nagare, the words the Rei in his lap spoke to him making him laugh. "Go – it's up to you now. Getter's calling to me." He said.
And for Shinji Ikari . . . it was a moment of choice.
"What do you wish for?"
Suspended in the sky. Inside of the Unit 01. Shinji saw Rei's face. Huge and overwhelming. But then it was Kaworu's, somehow. The boy's soft features calmed him down enough to get a grip .
A grip. He felt his ankle being squeezed. He glanced down to see Unit 02 keeping a stubborn grip on Unit 01's.
/
"Great Mazinger's fallen! Tetsuya! He's – he's been absorbed into Instrumentality!" Go yelled as Shin Getter began to glow, the cool green parts of the Super Robot blazing neon.
Then Ryoma exploded ahead of Go and the man grit his teeth, leaning forward to take over the controls, his own connection to Shin Getter making him react faster than otherwise. If what Ryoma said was true, he was one with the Getter now. Meaning Go could worry about his leader later.
He reached out to his closest ally and had an idea.
"Kouji – it's absorbing the Getter Team so – this should keep you corporeal!"
"GETTER BEAM!" Go yelled as the blast of pink shot from Shin Getter's abdomen and struck Mazinkaiser's back, zigzagging lines of neon green surging from its black back to the rest of its body briefly.
"It got Tetsuya AND Ryoma?!" Kouji yelled, flying close to Unit 01 and growling as one of the MP EVAs snarled at him. Mazinkaiser retorted with a savage punch, breaking the MP EVA's neck. Cracking noises were heard as the head snapped back into place with a grin and bit Mazinkaiser's arm, the teeth unable to pierce the armor.
"Dammit! Die, you abomination! I don't have time to waste fighting you!" Kouji responded as Photon Beam flared into the creature's head, it opening its mouth in pain. Kaiser's answer was to shove his fist down the MP's throat and rip the entire head off.
"The original Getter Team is gone! Sho and Gai are still here! I increased the Getter Ray output to 100%. Still - we're running low on fumes – it should only last a few minutes, but it gives us a chance! Shinji - ! Can you stop it!?" Go yelled.
/
Stop it?
He couldn't do anything worthwhile
Stuck like this
He had nothing
Was nothing
And nobody cared -
"Listen up, idiot! I'm not letting go! So if you're going to run away you'll have to drag me along with you!"
Asuka-!
She was alright
Then that meant that his launch in Unit 01 had mattered
And it meant that his choice now did too.
As he sank into Instrumentality, Shinji Ikari made up his mind.
/
Unit 01 glanced down, far enough to see her grabbing on desperately.
Asuka heard Kouji yell as he grappled with some of the Reis that appeared in his Pilder. Asuka found that she was not alone either. A Rei had grabbed her from behind in a hug.
"Asuka. Come on, Shinji is going to be alright." It was Kaji's voice, having formed his body and clothes, even mimicking the stubble on the man's face as she glanced behind her to see him.
"I've got you now. Just relax. It's OK to let go."
"I – I can't! Not yet!" She thought, straining to keep her focus on Unit 02's grip.
/
"There's a bunch of Reis forming inside of Shin Bear! Benkei's gone!" Gai yelled frantically as he couldn't see anymore.
"Same in Jaguar! Commander Hayato's - " Sho seconded, pushing one out of the way to see in the cramped cockpit. - He's not here - !"
"Ignore that. There are still three of us here. Focus on Lilith. If we can just have a dialogue with her – we can stop this." Go said.
Shin Getter pivoted and flew above Unit 01, looking down at Lilith herself, the large body of Rei Ayanami having sprouted Kaworu Nagisa's upper body at the waist, her own feminine upper body leaning back as the Kaworu section of the body held Shinji and Unit 01.
"How do you know that?! She seems more interested with turning us all into LCL!" Sho yelled.
"Because she's the same as Rei Ayanami. And I believe in her." Go said, looking to Kouji.
"Kouji! Can you grab Unit 01? Breaking their connection could stop this."
"Oh, you don't need to give me any reasons to knock around Yui Ikari!" Kouji yelled, Kaiser's thrusters igniting.
Lilith didn't seem to notice him, but a few of the MP EVAs turned their heads to look his way. Lilith's body changed again, the part that had become Kaworu had vanished as she carefully raised the crucified Unit 01 to her forehead, a hole opening inside of it that the EVA was being moved towards. Kouji didn't know why, but he felt he had to stop it. Mazinkaiser was close enough, Kouji figured as he prepared the robot for combat.
Kouji approached Shinji's EVA again and this time more MP EVAs grabbed at him, roaring and snapping. He didn't have the raw power at his disposal Mazinkaiser had demonstrated earlier with the Kaiser Blade and Kaiser Nova. The reserve power in the Scrander was almost gone as well. At this point that and the healthy dose of Getter Rays were the only thing keeping him together.
It would be difficult enough just dealing with the MP EVAs and Lilith herself but in this case there was also the copies of Rei in the Pilder, taking the forms of Sayaka and his father. He swatted at them, his touch dissolving them into puddles of LCL that soaked his uniform. Seeing his loved ones grab him and then disperse into the liquid was never going to be easy to process and he closed his eyes and yelled to try and drown it out.. Another one grabbed him and he paused for a moment, opening his eyes at its voice. Shiro Kabuto looked at him sternly before scattering into more LCL.
Kouji gasped and tensed at the shock the experience had caused. Something struck Mazinkaiser, Kouji reacting in instinct as Kaiser's fists responded in kind, smashing the MP EVA's body backwards. The strike was enough for Kouji to gather his senses and take account of what he was doing.
Now Lilith had risen beyond the atmosphere. They were in space. And to make matters worse – Unit 01 had just been absorbed by Lilith. The grip that Unit 02 had on Unit 01 was gone and the red EVA floated in space. The comm to Shinji's EVA cut as soon as Unit 01 vanished into Lilith's head. Hails to Unit 02 were also met with static.
Kouji grit his teeth. If people as strong as Tetsuya, Ryoma, and Asuka all had been beaten by the Human Instrumentality Project, it wouldn't be long until he turned into LCL as well. The Getter Rays were the only thing keeping him tangible and even then, they seemed to be waning as the cries of Shiro, his father, and Sayaka all grew ever louder.
/
Go screamed as the Reis became all of his friends. Even Michiru Saotome, smiling at him and offering him the chance to merge with her and stop being a mere vessel of her memories. It was almost too much to bear.
"Go! Snap out of it! You've still got a ways to go!" One of the Reis smirked and Go blinked. It was Ryoma, the man who he'd seen explode earlier into LCL giving him a big grin. "Remember, we're all one with the Getter!"
Then she dissolved into liquid and Go's eyes widened. Was it his imagination? Or was either the Getter or Ryoma using Lilith as a way to communicate with him?
What do you wish for?
Lilith had asked Shinji that question and the boy had not responded.
Go stirred as he found his own answer. He focused the remaining Getter Rays and felt a fire in him grow until it was one with Shin Getter.
"Go!" Sho and Gai both yelled as they felt the same fire. The Getter Rays swelled and for a brief moment Go felt uncertain whether Shin Getter could hold it together.
Then they were one. Merged with the machine. One with the Getter Rays, they could feel the presence of Ryoma, Hayato, and Benkei. The pilots may have vanished but – the amount of willpower they left behind was tremendous.
Go felt the energy build and expand. Far too much to control in Shin Getter's present state. His eyes widened as a massive Getter Beam surged from his machine, the pillar of light surrounding Shin Getter as it bathed in the radiance.
"CHANGE! -
SHIN! -
GOD! -
GETTER!"
Go roared as the Shin Getter Robo emerged from the light, its body expanding as it turned the raw energy into more physical mass.
Dark blue and bulky, its yellow pupils locked onto Lilith, the final Getter expanded the Getter Wing – now a deep red. The Getter had grown in size and Go could feel Sho and Gai with him as they moved at a breakneck speed and in a zig-zag pattern.
"We are one with the Getter - !" Gai began.
"And so - " Sho continued.
"Your Human Instrumentality Project won't touch us now - !" Go finished as Shin Getter flew away in a millisecond, the speed leaving behind a lime green zigzag of energy. Then the Getter struck, a fist slamming into Lilith's chest as Go screamed.
"GETTER PUNCH!"
Go answered her question as the Getter's fist plunged deep into Lilith's chest.
"I wish for only one thing. Rei Ayanami. Give her back to us, Lilith!
/
The events following are vast and complex. Many things happened as the merging of humanity broke them down and combined their souls into a collective consciousness.
Things being as they are the following narrative will describe the immediate actions surrounding a few individuals.
/
THE CASE OF RYOMA NAGARE:
The face was big. A massive red mechanical visage with yellow slits for eyes looked upon him. The size absolute as it gazed down on him.
"Hmph. So you sent me here, huh? The form of the Getter that I feared so much?" Ryoma asked, exhaling with a smirk as the thing's emerald marked face began to shine in the 'mouth' area.
"Not gonna give me a solid answer then? Well - that suits me just fine. I guess that means I'm just forced to be along for the ride." he chuckled. "After all - it seems I can never be rid of you."
He saw himself leaving the Getter Team in desperation to live as the instructor in the Karate dojo. It became a quick escape from the Getter. But – it had not brought him much other than a more finely honed body. The strength had been useful recently against the Dinosaur Empire, but – it brought less peace than Ryoma would have liked. Then the vision ended.
And then – he was in front of the massive Getter's red face again. It seemed less a machine and more a God as it looked back.
"So – this is my destiny, no matter which way I may wander? I'll be destined to pilot you some day?" Ryoma asked.
Silence.
"Hmph! Well – you at least could give me company. I really don't want to stare that that mug of yours' for too much longer.
The face responded with another huge Getter Beam – and the man known as Ryoma Nagare vanished.
/
AT THE EPICENTER OF THE HUMAN INSTRUMENTALITY PROJECT:
THE CASES OF SHINJI IKARI AND ASUKA LANGLY SORYU
A room of metal chairs.
A world of multiple points of view.
The personification of Shinji in her heart.
The personification of Asuka in his heart.
Misato, Rei and Ritsuko were there too. They saw inner depths, true and hidden selves of one another and it was enough to drive them all ragged. No one was there without vice.
Then – emptiness. Shinji created a world. An alternate reality.
And then – they awoke.
In another place, in another time, Asuka would want nothing to do with him. The Shinji that didn't know how to react to her. And the Shinji that latched on to any kind of person that presented itself before him.
In another place, she might drag him behind her in frustration. Or say he was disgusting. He might snap, breaking their table before his hands found her throat. It wouldn't be the first time.
They might go to the same high school, living in peace. Or they might never meet. Perhaps they would still be EVA pilots in different circumstances. Or they would be something else entirely.
It began the same. She and Shinji had shared a space. Now it was all a blur but the sheer intensity of it was overpowering. Asuka recalled so much information from his mind, his private thoughts, and his memories. And she knew Shinji now saw the same of her.
The two were seated across from each other in Misato's apartment, the light of the room a dull red. The atmosphere extremely tense. The mental scars were still fresh – the emotions registering as violation. And rejection. They both were already worn out. There had been the train ride sometime earlier and they had to face their own problems on top of everyone else s'.
And now they were here. In a confined space that neither could escape.
"Asuka . . . I'm a wreck." Shinji said, looking down. "I turn to just about anyone when I'm at a low point and - I don't stand up for myself. Even now – I'm reaching out to you when – when this is my problem!"
He hadn't said anything else to her in the shared space. He simply stared at the table as he sat across from her and clenched a fist, eyes narrowing in a wild, thoughtless anger.
"Pathetic." He whispered with finality, the anger he'd felt at his father, at the whole world a sharp utterance.
She thought he would destroy it and lash out at her. But then again, she had held her tongue. He had shown her affection, after all. As much as Asuka hated to admit it and for Shinji to know it to be the truth – she really cared about him. Her angry bluster was a front for that. Pushing away a connection was always her way of doing things.
Instead, she grabbed his wrist and they shared a glance. In the dim light the gesture was simple. Yet in such an intimate space it was like lighting. He had looked up and she couldn't help but chuckle. Got you, Ikari.
"I told you I wasn't going to let go."
Then the vision collapsed.
She found Shinji, naked in the LCL and was glad that she had her plug suit still on. Had the earlier scene been a vision? A dream? She didn't know. It had felt real to her. The image ahead of her was strange, the nudity being the least strange aspect about it.
Shinji was beneath a nude Rei, the two joined at the waist in a rather intimate position. At first Asuka thought it was exactly what it looked like, as she had mounted him. Further inspection revealed that they were – merged. Their waists were literally merged together, Rei's kneeling legs jutting out of Shinji's waist as she hovered above him.
And her hands were not visible, her arms going into his chest.
The girl looked up at Asuka with the same vacant expression, a slight smile on her face. Rei was also nude. They were in a wide space, void of anything else other than a huge pool of LCL.
"Why are you here?" Rei asked and Asuka was taken aback. It wasn't Rei. Something about the way the question was phrased gave that away.
"Lilith. Then Rei was right." Asuka said aloud, looking from Lilith to Shinji, who had grabbed one of her arms and pulled it from his chest, holding the hand tenderly as he reached for the other as well.
"You willingly sought him out. Second Child. You are an outlier here." Rei said, closing her eyes.
Shinji sat up, relishing the Independence as Lilith got off of him and sat next to him. As though she was in the presence of the Angels spoke of not in NERV's division, but in holy texts.. Asuka saw his uncertain face and decided to bridge the gap between the three. Better if she do it, she figured. Rei – Lilith was too apathetic and Shinji too passive. But he might take the gesture well.
Asuka sat by the two of them and swallowed her pride. She grabbed a free hand of his and one of Lilith's.
"So Rei played along with Gendo's plan. But where does that put us?" Asuka asked, looking down to Shinji.
"Well – We're better off than we'd be in some of the other timelines. Not all of them but – this one isn't bad. Though I'm not sure."
Shinji said.
"You are correct. Since I was merged with Rei Ayanami, I can speak on her behalf." The blue haired woman stated, looking to the three pairs of clasped hands.
"I did not expect this. After re-uniting with Adam, I want to leave and go far away – but I am not sure of her answer. I am being directly asked to 'give her back.'" Lilith explained, staring out in melancholy.
"Someone's asking you?" Shinji wondered.
"Yes. It is – the Getter."
She shifted in the pool of LCL, slowly sitting up, her skin shimmering as Rei's white plug suit formed around her.
"However – there is still a task we must perform before we all leave this place." Lilith said, standing up as she twitched and then looked surprised, glancing around the space and nodding after a moment.
"Then . . . I see my plan paid off. We are at the key point now."
She spoke again, this time slightly differently.
"Rei, that's you?" Asuka questioned.
"Yes. I am here now. Lilith is letting me speak through her before I leave her form. Still – the only solid image I have of myself other than NERV's tool is a pilot. Being why I chose this appearance."
Rei said, looking down at the plugsuit.
"That's something we all have in common." Shinji mused, his blue and white plugsuit appearing as he also sat up.
"Well it's a good thing too. I don't want to hang around two people that have nothing to do with me. It's a good thing we all wounded up having that in common." Asuka said, sighing as she knew how transparent she was now.
The Instrumentality had taken care of that.
"In any case – this is the world that you wished for." Rei said, squeezing Shinji's hand as the boy looked to her.
"I – wished for this?" He asked, recalling a faint time he did just that. But it hadn't been a literal wish. Or at least he hadn't thought so at the time.
"Yes. Now everyone is connected. No more room for AT fields. No more fear of getting hurt."
"Then – in the end this is just what father and SEELE wanted." Shinji clipped, sounding repulsed.
"Not entirely. This was also part of my plan." Rei said, staring off into the distance.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked her.
"To put it bluntly, I have given the control they thought they would gain to you, Shinji Ikari. Simply put - you have the power of God at the moment."
"Control?"
"Yes. The means to control the outcome of the Human Instrumentality Project. I had to give you that choice as it was what Commander Ikari and SEELE wanted. You were presented as a sacrifice – hiding Lilith's true intentions to give you this choice in the end. It is yours to use as you see fit."
Rei stated.
"What?! You mean - ! He's had the ability to do whatever he wants?!" Asuka said, stunned.
"Not entirely. But – this place of LCL – it is one form all of humanity can take. All one being. With no more AT Fields. No more ways to get hurt. It was a world that he wished for in the past. But – I wish to see just what his choice will be now."
"Please. You can't just choose to leave things like that. That's not progress or evolution. That's – just another way to run away." Asuka stated, kicking the LCL with her right foot and watching the ripples it created.
"Can SEELE feel that? Because if I had the power of God, I would want to make them reap what they sowed."
"I don't feel like I can do that. I mean – I don't feel any different. Just like how I couldn't get Mother to move to try and help you, Asuka." Shinji said simply, staring off into the same point as Rei.
"Huh. I guess you're still processing all of this then. Then again I can't blame you. Fighting to the death for the fate of the world would be bad enough. Then you get used to trigger this project. That's tough." Asuka said.
"Still. The power of a God?" Shinji asked, staring at his open palm. "Rei, You're sure Lilith chose me? Not Ryoma or Kouji? Kabuto's going on about that 'God or Devil' thing all the time. But this is my choice?"
"Yes. You choose the future of humanity. The Photon Power and the Getter Rays merely help humanity evolve and illuminate its future. But this choice determines the shape of humanity."
"A choice that belongs to the Invaders!" A voice rang out in the din.
Stinger and Cohen grinned as they both stood in the red sea, grinning as a white portal behind them sealed shut.
"Impressive, intruding in this space. You are as your name states. Invaders. You must have used my copy's genetic code to hack into Lilith." Rei stated, standing up and spreading out her arms in front of Shinji and Asuka.
It was a good thing too as Stinger's body stretched and launched forwards, slamming into a gigantic AT Field that shoved him back.
"You're right! There was enough of her left for us to absorb for this to be possible!" Stinger explained as he landed in the LCL and recovered.
"Then I will face you as Lilith. You are intruding and must be eliminated."
"Basic defensive measures! Nothing we can't handle!" Stinger bragged.
"That's right! We're a higher evolutionary path than you, human hybrid!" Cohen echoed, running at them with in inhuman pace.
"Then – we'll fight too!" Shinji yelled, thinking of something – anything to help. He remember an image of Asuka fighting alongside Great Mazinger and suddenly something changed.
Asuka blinked as she held a replica of Longinus in her hands, now with added armor to her plugsuit reminiscent of Unit 02. A pair of red pylons just like her mother's decorated her shoulders.
"You're serious, Ikari?" She asked, going with it as she thrust the spear at Cohen, who yelped as it grazed him. The Invader leapt back and snarled at them.
"Still – now I can kick their asses!" Asuka said, charging and keeping him at bay with a thrust.
"Too simple! In a space like this, brute strength only gets you so far!" Cohen shot back, his body breaking apart into a swarm of smaller Invaders that shot towards Shinji.
"If you harm him - " Another voice stated calmly.
"-then you face Tabris' judgment."
A figure appeared, a boy clad in a simple school uniform, with white hair and red eyes.
"Kaworu!?" Shinji said. It was unbelievable as the boy's AT Field kept Cohen at bay.
"Lilith - let's trap them between our AT Fields." Kaworu said, focusing his and sending Cohen's fragments flying back.
"How irritating - ! But! This is not the only kind of battle we've fought before!" Stinger warned, his body flowing into Cohen's' and using a large amount of the LCL to form a much larger form.
"As LCL is made of Humans, it is matter we can posses and manipulate – !"
Getter Dragon rose from the water, looking down at the four as Stinger laughed.
"This was the Getter you used, yes? And now it will be the one to crush you all! All we have to do is so much as touch Ikari to get this 'Power of God' for ourselves! The power to re-shape the human race as we see fit! Into perfect hosts for every Invader!" The two said in unison.
"That's just a shell. Shinji, don't let it intimidate you." Kaworu said.
"Right! It's just a big ugly wannabe to the real Getter Dragon!" Asuka seconded. "And last time I checked, Shin Dragon was way bigger and we all still were able to beat it!"
"Then – we'll fight something like that with something else!" Shinji declared as the LCL in front of them began to churn as something beneath it stirred.
A shadowy giant rose from the pool, the lanky and naked body of Unit 01 staring at the Invaders with a curious grin and wide eyes. Purple buds along its body expanded into the familiar horn and armor as it hunched over and bared its' teeth.
"Give it a weapon! Something that can end this now!" Asuka said, grabbing his hand and focusing as the spear vanished, re-appearing in Unit 01's hand. She then grabbed his right hand as well and they focused, the united mental bond forced on them from Instrumentality now serving as a way to unite their thoughts as they prepared to face the Invaders.
"Now we've got you bastards! Rip them apart!" Asuka urged as the giant stepped into the LCL pool to trade blows with the Invaders' creation.
"We'll handle the AT Field. Since this is a projection of Unit 01, you should have total control." Kaworu said.
"Thank you Kaworu. Rei. Asuka." Shinji said as the spear pierced through the false Double Tomahawk and caught the fake Getter off guard.
"With only two pilots, that's not a real Getter! And we've handled the real Dragon before ourselves!" Asuka taunted.
"Now Lilith and Adam are united. In this space, Invaders should be exterminated." Rei said, slamming her AT Field into Kaworu's and trapping the opponent between them.
"No - ! He was supposed to be alone! How did he – make so many connections?" The Invaders asked.
The question was not answered as the red spear pierced through the hull of the Getter, scattering both Invaders as their screams left the area.
Then Shinji Ikari made his final choice.
/
/
/
/
To be honest rewriting Instrumentality was a pain but I'm not sure I got across the unnerving feeling that EoE evoked either time I've wrote for it now. That said it's written and it works for the purposes of this fic.
I wanted things to be a bit happier for Shinji and co. here. I know some people might be sore about Ryoma and the other hot blooded pilots getting tanged as they avoid it in SRW due to plot convenience. However I thought it would be more interesting having them become part of that plot line as it's one of EVA's most interesting things. Having Shinji just reject it is a bit anticlimactic for the messages that EVA tells the viewer in my opinion.
I'm happy that people are reading this fic and it's getting pretty long. Thanks for bothering to click here and leave a review if you feel so inclined.