Neon Genesis Evangelion, the End of Evangelion, and the Rebuild of Evangelion are owned by Hideaki Anno and written by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. I own no elements from the original Manga, TV show, or Rebuild and EOE films but my OC's.
That said, Please Enjoy The Show!
Talking-"Hello"
Radio/EVA Voice-"Hello"
Thoughts-Hello
VEELE/VEELE Clones-"Hello"
A.I-"Hello"
Chapter 6: The Truth and All It Implies
"Shinji….. I know you're here… I swear I'll find and save you….. For Rei and…." A pair of lone blue eyes pulsed in the dark with a robotic like growl which echoed across the abyss of dark. "For mother…" Shinji awoke with a gasp as he clutched his bed sheets tightly. His eyes darted left to right with fear, looking for the origin of the voice. He found nothing, only himself and his empty room with his broken S-DAT. The Third Child sighed, falling back onto the bed. "It's that voice again, the one I heard back on the Wille ship and when I showed up…." He murmured to himself, pulling his eyes up to stare at the ceiling. "It sounds so damn familiar… Just who is that….?" Old Unit-01 Cage, New NERV Headquarters
"Oh, good morning Shinji!" Kaworu was honestly surprise to see the Third Child at his piano stage so much earlier than he, yet it brought him joy to see his new friend look to him with happiness; true happiness. "Your here rather early."
"Yeah I don't have much too right now as Nerv TV isn't exactly working." The Third joked, getting a slight raise out of himself as the Fifth before the duo hit it again with the piano. Shinji felt relief come up once again, the feel and gentle caressing of the piano gave such a soothing vibe that made his hear beat ever so calmly.
He pondered for a moment as to why Rei hadn't looked into reading the books he'd brought her, only barely so touching one of them. It must have been because of her absence, or maybe something entirely different? He simply shrugged it off, humming to the sound of the piano.
A few hours had passed since then, and the pair found themselves staring up into the starry night. "So you like looking above to the stars?" Kaworu asked softly, gazing up into the dark and bright night.
"Yeah, it always kept me going in a sense you know? Motivating me to go far just like Shiro encouraged me back then…." Shinji trailed, frowning at the memory of Misato and Asuka's words.
"Oh? Who is Shiro?"
"Shiro is my older brother, he used to pilot EVA too just like me and a few others!" Shinji explained, smiling at the distant memory of himself and Shiro laughing or conversing with true emotions and strong family bonds. "He used to always tell me that I meant the world to him, and I always believed him. He put his life at risk always for the greater good and my safety, so in a sense he was the perfect brother…."
"You would have like him," he continued, not noticing Kaworu watching him with interest and a small grin. "He tried to always make jokes and make light of dire situations, and we always tried to raise a smile out of someone, probably everyone…. Yeah, he was great, still is…."
Kaworu took in the words calmly, staring up with newfound interest. He'd never knew of a Shiro Ikari up till now, though he'd heard of there being a rogue Evangelion Unit-Null which had moved to support NERV Headquarters during the Angel War. Hm, I wonder if he is another like myself and the Ayanami girl. He thought to himself. Perhaps he is the later on after my dissension or ascension… Or perhaps one like that of…. Him…..
The next day
"Here you are." Kaworu held out Shinji's S-DAT, headphones wrapped softly around its casing. Earlier Shinji has asked if Kaworu could repair it, to which the boy replied with acknowledgement. It had taken an hour or so but the Fifth was easily able to repurpose the device to its original function; to play simple music. And to Kaworu's surprise, he'd found Shinji's music quite nice, the songs acted as sorts of emotions the young Third had collected and still held onto. "It should play perfectly now."
"Thanks Kaworu! Man, you are the best you know?" Shinji thanked his friend, placing his S-DAT into his back pocket. "I swear you could do anything with the knowledge you possess!"
"Oh it's nothing, just knowledge I've picked up in my years of being on this world." Kaworu blushed slightly at the recognition of his knowledge, happy to see his friend smiling. But something felt off in his smile; it seemed almost deterred and saddened by another situation. "You seem somewhat deterred by something; what's the matter?"
"Well…" Shinji sighed somewhat feeling pang as his emotions spiraled indifferently once more. "I'm just thinking out my old friends…."
"Your old friends?" Kaworu inquired.
"Yeah, you see there used to be a city above NERV HQ and the Geo-Front, uh Tokyo-03 as it was labeled." Shinji explained, looking up and almost half expecting to see the ceiling city there at the dome top. "A lot of people used to live there: me, Shiro, Misato, Asuka, Rei, Toji and Kensuke, my classmates… I didn't know it but I was honestly asleep in Unit-01 for close to 15 years and since then…. Everything's changed since then, you know!"
To be honest, Shinji hadn't recalled his friends until earlier when he was given a spare white shirt to wear. The problem was, it was someone else' button up shirt; someone he knew especially. It hurt him to see that is was one of his old friends rather than a new one, which led him to fear the possible inevitable.
"And those changes scare you as they are too much for you to handle; you're in pain." Kaworu recognized, his smile no longer across and replaced with a somewhat emotionless look. Yet his eyes held a firm grip on a small spark of anger to the past and the Lilim that hurt his dear friend than…. To treat the Lilim Catalyst User this way as it was now, even if he was one of them, if felt so inhuman and cruel… so wrong!
"Yes, I…. I'm just so worried about them, Tokyo-03's people, everyone who was here then and…. And…." Shinji felt his eyes water slightly, before he finally cried out in fear. "The knowledge of not knowing and the fear it brings me it…. I don't know, it-it scares me so goddamn much!"
Shinji, for the first time since he was merely a child, felt so helpless. He'd always promised himself never to revert back that way, to the crying child who was too pathetic to realize what happened before him after their mother's death and to stay strong for his friends and family…. And yet now that persona was slowly coming back up, pushing away his once teenage and mature like behavior in favor of this one as the whole world was completely different now!
Kaworu didn't respond, yet his eyes and facial expression showed one or remorse and dread; as if fearing for such a moment like this. He frowned and stood up, looking to Shinji who turned with hidden fear. "Do you wish to know?" He asked, internally dreading Shinji's nod more and more.
Geo-Front outer layers
Shinji clutched the chain tightly, yet head feared it would fall off before himself. He'd taken as bio-suit as per Kaworu's instructions as his body wasn't used to the toxins that apparently filled the air outside the Geo-Front. He walked somewhat quickly, moving to stay behind Kaworu as the Fifth walked of so casually. And they arrived at an apparent observation platform. "Here we are," Kaworu stated, glaring forward as Shinji regained his breath. "There will be a break in the clouds; there you will see your answer…."
The dark clouds quickly rolled past or through them, giving way to reveal to Shinji just what the world truly looked like now. "Oh my god…." He gasped in horror, eyes widening more and more than ever. "What is this….?"
The once far moon was now closer to the Earth or vise-versa, with large red linings forming square patterns with noticeable ginormous blood splatters and clouds across its fast spinning dull grey form. It sat there, alien to Shinji for the first time, which only helped build up dread and fear as he looked to the surface.
Or rather, looked down to it.
No longer was NERV Headquarters in the ground-no, Shinji was they were seemingly high in the air with a single metal shaft like pipe that connected the smoothed out inverted pyramid to the cracked apart, blood red surface. Hundreds of Angel energy crosses hung in the air like twisted omens or reminders of the surface horror, with what could only be described the side of a giant red jaw opened on the surface with thousands of explosion craters all across and around it. In the craters he could barely make out puddles or blood or orange glowing liquid, with small inhuman cries or roars echoing all around.
"This is the real result of your ascension with EVA Unit-01, the aftermath of Third Impact." Kaworu described, looking forward with hidden guilt.
"You mean that…. Everyone I know, they're all….?" Shinji couldn't even finish the sentence, as Kaworu continued for him. "How did this…. How….?"
"You know Shinji this planet, Earth is no stranger to world-wide extinction level events such as this one. They help to continue evolution; after all, most creature adapt to the world via evolution and natural transformation. The human, or Lilim as called, are different in viewing this natural alteration as they seek to alter the world around them instead. They did so by creating an artificial program which could artificially be used to evolve them."
"One which was said to sacrifice old life in exchange for a new life to grow; an extinction level program device used since ancient times by the ones called the Council of SEELE." Kaworu continued, his hair wavering as he finished. "It is known by many names, but none so more as the Human Instrumentality Project as NERV has labeled this extinction ritual to be."
"SEELE…. You mean, they had NERV do…. Oh dear God, what is Rokobungi planning?!" The Third Child whispered with horror, unsure of how to truly feel about this. A whole scenario, a whole insane plan to destroy all the human race, built for the sake of controlling the evolution of humanity? That's insane, he thought to himself. Impossible even! And if NERV saw this, then why didn't they try and stop it?! "Wait, what about the… the Akrid, what are they?"
"Listen to me Shinji," Kaworu started once more. "When Evangelion Unit-01 awoke into its Pseudo-Evolved State, it opened the Gates of Guf; a black void of multiple colored rings made by Angels as seen in Second Impact. Through this, Unit-01 became a sort of catalyst for Third Impact or Near-Third Impact as the Lilim call it. Through this the Akrid, demonic creatures born through the remains of past animals and powerful heat sources rose from the inner form of Earth, devouring all heat and energy and reducing the population below horrific numbers. And there is simply one person to blame for this: You."
Shinji felt his heart die at the word. He did this, he'd caused all these deaths. It was his fault…. "No, no….. No, I-I didn't mean to!" He choked out with a sob, clutching the sides of his helmet tightly. "All I wanted was to save Rei! I couldn't have known all this would happen!"
"Perhaps, yet you still were the acting trigger of this."
"No th-this can't be true…." He choked out, realizing how perfectly clear his awakening and reunion with his 'friends' was. Misato didn't threaten him for no reason, nor did Asuka or anyone else with WILLE view him as evil; because in truth, this was his doing. "Y-You can't truly blame me for this! Had I known this would have happened I would have stopped it….! I-I would have….!"
"I understand your feel that you cannot change what has occurred and this is indeed true; you cannot change history and yet this is the truth you wanted. And as consequence, Lilim now force you to carry that evil sin with that choker bomb on your neck. Isn't that what it's for?"
"My… This choker is mean to kill me for my sins? How the hell was I supposed to know this would happen?! This can't be true!" Shinji cried, his emotions collapsing as he felt tears slid down his cheeks. "What have I done….? W-What have I done….?"
"I fear the other Lilim do not see it in that way." Kaworu stated, glaring forward before he spoke once more with determination. "However, all sins can be fixed and atoned for Shinji Ikari. There is still hope to change this Shinji, there will always be hope."
Shinji didn't respond, yet he mentally acknowledged this. Everything seemed to point now in his direction because of his fear of losing someone again. How could he have so blind as to not have realized it yet?
Command Office, New NERV HQ
Gendo and Fuyutsuki watched as Kaworu had explained to Shinji Near-Third Impact, and how Shinji had been reduced to a sobbing form of himself. It was saddening to the older professor to see this, to see his brightest student's sons being tortured in such cruel ways. Gendo saw it simply as a sign that Shinji was not as strong and full of rage as he believed, something he would look into using in his favor.
"It would seem that SEELE's boy has spoken with the Third Child, going such great lengths to reveal the surface to him as well." Professor Fuyutsuki looked to his old companion with, saddened to see he didn't view Shinji or Shiro as his sons even now.
"I can only fear how he is handling this, and with the unknowing fear of Shiro's death and disappearance." The older man stated, frowning as he saw his younger 'friend' staring at the case which housed the Key to Nebuchadnezzar; the key to the Human Recalibration Venture. "And you are okay with this Ikari?"
"It matters not; we shall rewrite SEELE's scenario with the whole of our existence as our tool to that means." Gendo stated, eyes fixed to the metal caution case under his visor.
"And you feel than keeping your life's work hidden from your son as well as the knowledge of your elder son from him is the best?"
"I cannot say I truly believe that…." There was a time in truth that Gendo felt he should explain the HRV to his younger, to hope he'd see reason with his desire to control God and the evolution of humanity as he saw fit. But after the other incident, he could not trust even that of his own blood still. Shinji will discover the truth, soon at best he thought to himself, yet he still kept his doubts. If it gets to that point, I'll simply have the clone kill him. Then I'll simple forge another and another MP so I won't have as much to deal with then…
Shinji's Room, New NERV HQ
Shinji felt so different now. He couldn't walk the same anymore, couldn't eat the same either, hell he couldn't breathe the same anymore that's how much the image of Tokyo-3's remains fucked up his mind. "Goddamnit I should have known something would happen," he murmured to himself in his self loathing pain , staring sadly to his S-DAT. "But it can't have been all in vain…. I mean I saved Rei, right? She's here, unless she really is a humanoid Dummy Plug System…."
He honestly felt like that was it; he'd fucked the Earth, everyone he once loved and cared about now absolutely loathed him, Rei was amnesiac for a long while, and God knows what Gendo was planning to achieve by using him as a tool. What was the point then anymore, living on? WILLE wanted him dead, God only knows what NEVEC wanted with him if they even did, and Gendo had possibly some sick plan with him as the major piece to it! There was literally nothing else to-
The sound of flesh slapping itself filled the room walls before returning to silence. Shinji found himself looking down to his hand, now stinging with a red glow to it. He'd... His hand made the move to slap him? Or was this a clear sign; a sign he was going insane and his own body was trying to snap him out of it.
Was that even possible, now that he thought of it more?
"Your…Your right..." He murmured to his stinging palm with a now stern glare, slowly repeating the word before he sat up fully with a look of seemingly new found determination. "If Shiro were here he'd slap the hell out of me as well, then scold me about losing my mind at such a young age... I can't let this hold me down, if anything now I have to find Rei; she's the key to understanding just what the hell's been going on and where Shiro might be. If she's going through amnesia something should have triggered those memories to return…. Maybe those books I gave her might have brought something back to her!"
Ayanami LCL Tank Complex, New NERV HQ
Rei Q felt her mind was open and at ease after Shinji Ikari's arrival. It was clear that it hadn't clicked on that she wasn't the same Rei Ayanami from before the 10th Angel incident.
Though it was clear the boy could very much understand things, he was still sadly naïve at times like this. It was rather pathetic to see, how such a might fighter of the past could easily fall to a simple sight. Rei Q suddenly felt something, something different. It wasn't the LCL as it was never replenished or alternated with any unknown chemical mixtures and such, nor was it where her LCL tank was placed at. No, this felt oddly familiar.
Oddly….. Wrong. She felt her eyes slowly open, and she found herself staring at a slightly younger Commander Ikari and another woman, a blonde with a lad coat with a red and black Entry Plug labeled "EVA DUMMY SYSTEM REI"
What is….? Where am I? She thought to herself as the pair spoke to one another. Commander…?
"It is simply a fake Rei; nothing more than an imitation of the original. A machine like this, able to mimic humans is powerful, and the completion of the US Devil System will create a machine unlink another." Cmdr. Ikari stated, staring to the Dummy Plug. Soon it would be only a matter of time before this would be fully developed and battle ready, which meant he had to quicken his scenario tenfold. "Have the signal pattern transferred to Unit-00 and 01. All we required is the EVA to think it carries a pilot, and sync with little to no problems."
"We'll have the data input into all EVAs, excluding the Unit-04 variation." The scientist stated. "But there is still the problem that we observe in the tests-"
"It does not matter." The Commander replied sharply. "As long as the EVA fights, nothing else matters."
"….Yes sir…..We've left transfer of Unit-03 to the UN, so it shall arrive within the next few weeks. We'll have Matsushiro Base prepped for the startup and tests."
Rei felt her mind burn more and more with confusion as to what the commander as stating, before she noticed it. She hadn't before, but now that she did her eyes slightly widened because floating in LCL next to her….
Was herself, another Rei Ayanami? The other Rei opened her eyes, looking to Rei Q and spoke with a saddened tone. "You must tell him soon….." She stated, before Rei Q's vision was clouded by the bubbled which rose all around her figure.
Rei Q gasped air as she felt her hands grip the metal grindings tightly, vomiting out LCL with a new found feeling of disgust and dread. Her mind now raced faster than before, with new found questions and concerns in the Commander and SEELE's scenario rising from the deeper parts of her mind. "That was…." She murmured, placing a hand to her head with confusion and fear. "That is not….. How…?"
Meanwhile
The Rei here at HQ wasn't there, Shinji thought with narrow eyes. That means Gendo must have her somewhere else…. At least she read one book. But now I have to find where she is, real Rey Ayanami or not!
Shinji walked silently through the lit hallway of NERV HQ, thinking deeply on the situation he now faced. It was clear Rei was saved somehow, Near-Third Impact made that painfully recognizable; the problem now was where she was at if this Rei wasn't the real one. He'd thought for a while that she might have being held captive by WILLE at first, but the more he thought about it the more it fell apart.
WILLE clearly knew of the Dummy Plug and US Devil System's original design model were Rei and the A.I's the US built at NERV 2nd, so in truth there was no real reason to keep her. Which meant that she was kept hidden deeper in New NERV by Gendo, which was a major possibility or still trapped in Unit-01 which was more than likely the unfortunate case.
Then there was the mystery regarding Shiro's disappearance; he couldn't find it in him to believe Misato or Asuka, even if it were true. There had to be more to it than just that. He pondered on if his older sibling was in a similar predicament, being held captive by either WILLE, NERV or this NEVEC group. The case sadly ran cold as there was nothing to look into through the old MAGI system files, and he doubted this second group NEVEC would willing speak to him about his sibling with all his previous action, if they were even remotely in Japan that is.
"Hm…." Shinji hummed silently as he walked, though he didn't seem to notice Professor Fuyutsuki sitting at one of the benches. When he finally did, he stopped to give a bow of respect before starting to continue on.
"...Tell me Third Child." Shinji turned back to the old professor, a look of recognition in the old man's eyes as he spoke. "Have you ever played Shogi before?"
"Um, only once Sub-Commander, and even then I only got the rules down." Shinji admitted, turning completely to the Sub-Commander. Just what is he playing? The younger thought as he tried to look through the old man.
He found nothing, aside from an old man with a look in his eyes that told Shinji he'd seen things no man should, for better or worse. "That's good enough," Fuyutsuki responded, standing up. "Come lets us play a game."
Operations Projector Room
"Here, I shall start without my rook, bishop and gold generals." Prof. Fuyutsuki started, gently pulling his pieces back as Shinji watched steadily. Once his opposite was done, Shinji pulled his fist up, opening it to move his piece. He felt tense and concerned and cornered, as if someone else watched not far from behind. The Sub-Commander seemed to notice this, and gave little advice to the Third Child. "Please, clear your mind; it is key to winning this game."
"You'll lose in 31 moves." Shinji winced in surprise at the notion, before giving a slight nod. He felt his heartbeat lower gently, his fist slowly opened into calm hands, and for once in a good while…..
Shinji felt truly at peace. "Alright," he answered softly, looking up to Prof. Fuyutsuki. "I am calm."
The Sub-Commander nodded, before he continued. "I should take a moment to thank you for accompanying this old man to a hobby of his."
"It is nothing, Sub-Comm-"
Fuyutsuki held up a hand, silencing the boy. "Please, here we are simple friends not commanders or fighters. I ask you call me simply by Professor or Fuyutsuki, which you desire." He stated, opening a box at the side of the shoji set to reveal a large portion of pieces.
"Very well… Professor." Shinji repeated, brushing a strand of hair to the side as he pulled his hand back to the set. "As I said before its nothing, in truth I now feel slightly more relieved with all the current stress now that I've cleared my mind."
"I see, that's good to hear. I admit I am rather timid myself," Fuyutsuki stated as the pair moved more pieces into place. "I needed this game as an excuse to speak with you."
"Speak with me?" Shinji looked up at this. This was surprising, he never took the Sub-Commander as open speakers to others about anything as he was mostly close to the Commander, especially not children like he or Kaworu and the others before NERV went to hell. "Um, what for, if you don't mind me asking?"
Fuyutsuki sighed, looking up to the boy. "Tell me Shinji, do you…. Remember your mother?" He asked hesitant, unsure if this would worked as he planned.
"Mother?" Shinji felt his heart freeze for a moment at that. That was something very much unexpected to him. He hadn't recalled his mother's face or name for a long time, possibly since the incident, and even then it was only small things like her hair color or… scent...
Yeah, ever so small weird stuff…..
"Not as much as I used to, no. I was too young then to remember her face during her passing, and Gendo went out of his way to make sure all of her belongings couldn't be touched by the outside world." Shinji admitted, looking slightly saddened by the memory of his mother passing. "Shiro probably knew of how she looked and how she was as a mother, but you'd have to ask him yourself which is, sorry to say, impossible right now."
"I figured as much; Gendo was never one to dwell in the past or recall things he feared would mentally harm him." Fuyutsuki stated, before he put forward the first piece of the truth he'd long to reveal to Shinji. The Third Child looked to see was it was; it was a photo. A photo specifically of several people surrounding a mother and her child.
Taking the photo, Shinji looked more into detail at the people in the photograph. He pointed out almost immediately the woman on the right looked eerily similar to Mari from WILLE's EVA Force, though it seemed nearly impossible. In the far back was a man, oddly similar to his father only with a barely starting beard and no glasses. Looking to the center he was a brown haired mother with another child, roughly 5 or 6 as he stared at his mother and the younger child with a smile.
"Is…. Is that…. Shiro and me?" Shinji asked, before his eyes settled on the image of the mother. That face, that smile, her hairstyle…. It couldn't be! "It can be…. R-Rei….?"
"No, that is your mother, with your older brother Shiro under you and her. Her name was Yui Ayanami." Fuyutsuki explained, a pang of mixed emotions running through his eyes. "She was student who I taught at our university before Second Impact…. And now is the control system of Evangelion Unit-01."
"W-What?!" Shinji found that absurd, no he found that impossible! A person, another person aside from himself and Rei, already inside Unit-01 before either them? How?! There would have been a Near-Second Impact for that to occur! Unless…. "H…..H-How, Professor? How could mother be in-?"
A moment of darkness flashed as the whirling sound of faraway generators came to life. "Ah, it would seem the power is restored again. Here allow me to explain more in depth." Fuyutsuki continued, before the old projector came to life. Shinji looked to see a picture of what could only be described as a large red cross shaped carving laying like a surgical bed, the outline of Unit-01's frame in its form. "That, Shinji is the very first early prototype version of the Evangelion Control System. And it was also here that Yui proposed the idea to made direct entry and contact with cores…. Testing it herself."
"You were indeed there, though your memories have been shut out by the trauma it caused on your mental state." Shinji felt his eyes widen more than ever as the image snapped to another, now of his mother being suspended in the air by pulsing white tethers and wires, arms over her chest like a mummy.
Under her sat a pink-redish Angel like core which pulsed as she unknowingly descended into her permanent tomb, which all but confirmed it. Fuyutsuki was right. About every single damning event and motion added the nails to Shinji's coffin: the scent, the warming feeling in Unit-01, hell even the Berserk moments made sense to him now! "What happened…?" Shinji asked hesitantly, looking to Fuyutsuki.
"In the end, Yui have vanished then and there into the system, leaving only her data to be used for the future Rei Ayanami clone series." Another image came up, this time behind the old professor, revealing several heads of Rei in hexagon like openings lit up by a red light. "Both Rei Ayanami and Rei Q, the one you now know, are two of Yui Ikari's clones."
"She, Rei II, just like your mother" Fuyutsuki continued. "Is being preserved in Unit-01, and all the while a part of Gendo's sick scenario."
"Dear God, all this…. Just to see mother again….?" Shinji now realized in full just how insane his father truly was, he was willing to toss humanity to the side without a single care just to find a way to bring her back….?
"Yes, it is horrifying to see how simple the world we live in can be torn apart by our greed and lustful desires." Fuyutsuki stated, placing his pieces down till he was in a comfortable stance on the set. "Yet rebuilding it is no easy task; like time, Earth's course has already been permanently set, there is no way to alter it. Which is why Ikari is willing to make a bounty of sacrifices to see Yui once more, even if it means giving up his own soul."
"I felt it was only right for you to know part of the truth, and to understand the monster that now it your father." He finished, looking to Shinji.
"A-And Shiro?!" Shinji finally asked frantically, though he feared he knew the answer deep down. "W-What of Shiro, what happened to him?!"
"Your brother attempted a stealth operation to pull you and Rei out of Unit-01 via the Anti A.T Field we humans/Lilim and EVA can create on a solo NEVEC mission." Another image came up, this time showing an oddly built EVA trying to claw into Unit-01's opened core. The EVA had the old inner wing like shoulder pylons of Null Unit as well as a repaired head, but with dark grey repaired arms and legs.
The image flashed once more, this time revealing a large explosion which surrounded NERV HQ's pyramid top. "Though his attempt was impossible once WILLE forces attacked and destroyed the reactor of Old NERV, destroying him and his original Null Unit. Your father saw his opportunity slip once more, and so he sent Unit-01 high out of WILLE's grasp to keep them at bay."
Shinji felt his old hatred for Gendo Ikari burn-no, it was exploding inside him waiting of burst. "Gendo….." He growled, his eyes now pure of hatred as he looked back to Fuyutsuki. Then he looked back to the picture, and the memory of Mari flash in his mind. "Wait, if my mother and Rei are in Unit-01 is it possible others were able to make direct contact with EVA cores as well?"
"Yes, Unit-05 did have a person who was trapped for several years before being released out, a year or so before the Third Angel's escape attempt from the Antarctic base." Fuyutsuki admitted, pointing to the picture of the woman with glasses. "Mari Illustrious Makinami was Unit-05's soul before she was purged out, stuck in a young amnesiac form of herself before continuing to fight with NERV and later on WILLE."
"Is she… by any chance….?"
"Related to you or your parents?" Fuyutsuki finished, making Shinji nod in confirmation. "No, though she and Yui were close friends before Yui fell in love with Gendo. As such, Mari was considered Yui's sister and in turn became a sort of aunt to you and Shiro's."
That explains why she called me little Shiro when we met! Shinji realized, before he stood up. Wait a sec…. this starting to all make sense! "Um if it's alright with you Professor, may I borrow a pen and a notebook by any chance?" he asked, though he left before Fuyutsuki could answer. "I think I understand it now!"
Fuyutsuki felt surprise enter his old body for the first while in so long, smiling slightly at the footsteps of Shinji. "Such a painfully horrible role I play in this act, dear Yui." The professor whispered, looking above as if for a sign that she understood his guilt and regrets. "I'm truly glad to see your sons push to discover the truth, even if close to impossible. I only hope this is what you wanted….."
"The final covenant's time slowly draws closer," Gendo stated, looking forward to the decapitated head of Lilith, sitting on a mountain of failures and corpses, an eerie smile under its eyeless sockets. "Yui, we shall meet again soon."
He brought the metal caution case up, placing atop his old observation desk and opening to see the Key. Still in perfect condition as ever; all it now took was someone to truly activate it. "Such a dark reminder of our past as a species, you are..." Gendo uttered with a twisted smile of lust and oh so growing desire as he pulled it out and held it into the light, the yellow glass shimmering with the human system inside. "Nevertheless you shall be my key to the Chamber of Guf, and the power it holds."
