Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Gainax, Studio Khara, et al. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, is the property of Todd Howard, Bethesda Gameworks, Zenimax Media Inc., Microsoft, et al. I'm not making any money off this fic, but if asked to remove this story, I will.
"This is boring…" Asuka groused, her annoyance audible even through Shinji's audio feed in Unit 01. Exhaling LCL through his nostrils, the sensation of the fluid brushing against his upper lip. Never taking his eyes off the orb above him, seemingly decked out in zebra stripes, Shinji once again, and for the fifth time in the past ten minutes, responded to Asuka. Internally, Shinji agreed with her. It was a beautifully sunny day, and here he was, breathing through orange sludge, staring at a flying black and white beach ball. Shit.
"Yes, Asuka it is." he replied before ending his transmission. Immediately, Asuka returned fire.
"And you're just as boring, Third! I swear, between you, First, and the Angel itself, you've all conspired to bore me to death!" Before Shinji could reply, their fellow pilot, Rei Ayanami joined the conversation.
"Major Katsuragi has ordered us to hold position. Therefore we remain here.."Ayanami stated, her voice as stoic as ever, betraying nothing of how she truly felt about the situation. In Unit 02's entry plug, Asuka leaned back in her pilot seat, her head hitting the headrest with a muted thud.
"This sucks!" Asuka called out, her channel still open and broadcasting. Opening her video link, she connected to Shinji's entry plug. "Come on, Third! You're a man! Do something about that Angel up there!" she commanded, a cheap smirk plastered on her face, not really expecting Shinji to do it. She just wanted to see if she could get a rise out of her roommate and fellow pilot. Shinji did a double-take as Asuka's face suddenly popped into his entry plug's monitor, followed by a scowl at the cheap shot she took at his manhood.
"The hell does being a man have to do with this?!" he snapped back, his face suddenly hot at the insult. Meanwhile in the control trailer, Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, turned to look at the pilots' direct superior, Major Misato Katsuragi, who was palming her face at the sound of the audio stream.
"You do plan on doing something about this, right?" the bottle-blonde doctor asked her purple-haired friend. Groaning, Misato nodded and slapped the transmit button with the palm of her hand.
"Both of you knock that shit off. Now." Misato commanded. However, her orders were ignored by Asuka, who pressed her attack.
"I mean, it's only right that the person with the highest sync rate go out in front…" Asuka continued to tease. Shinji grit his teeth at that comment, his hands gripping the controls of Unit 01 harder. "Ooh, I know! Maybe if you take charge, your daddy might actually talk to you." Before Misato could interrupt a second time, Shinji interjected with an angry shout.
"Fine! I'll show you how it's done, then!" Leaping forward, Shinji propelled Unit 01 forward before opening fire on the orb above him with the pallet rifle. As soon as the bullets appeared to make contact with the black and white orb, the orb vanished and a black void opened beneath Shinji and Unit 01 He tried to scramble back to safety, but to no avail as the buildings he was using for cover were swallowed out from around him. Unit 01's foot got caught in the void and began to pull him under. "Misato! Help me!" Shinji screamed, his frantic voice echoing through the command trailer. Shinji was already waist deep in the void as Rei and Asuka moved forward to try and rescue him.
"Asuka! Rei! Stop!" Misato called out, bringing them both to a halt. "We can try and find a way to get him out later! We can't risk all three of you!" she ordered as Shinji continued to scream in fear.
"The major's logic is sound. We must retreat, Pilot Soryu." Rei issued as Asuka stood stock still, watching as Unit 01's hand disappeared into the darkness. Gritting her teeth, Asuka turned back to the command trailer and began to retreat to the service area.
"Stupid fucking Third…" was the only thing Asuka said before closing her comms. Inside her entry plug, Asuka bit her lip to keep from crying as she lashed out and punched the roof of the entry plug repeatedly. Suddenly Doctor Akagi's voice filled Asuka's cockpit.
"BEHIND YOU! THE SHADOW!" Asuka whirled Unit 02 around to find that the shadow that had swallowed Shinji was now expanding quickly. She began to run towards what was once considered a safe zone. Unfortunately, Leliel's shadow quickly outpaced her and swiftly captured Units 00 and 02. She looked downwards to see that her Evangelion was already waist deep in the black. She turned Unit 02's head to see that the command trailer was also being swiftly engulfed. A moat of darkness surrounded the trailer, wide enough so that anyone who tried to jump to safety would also be swallowed up. Ayanami's unit was almost fully immersed, only the head remained above the mire.
"Pilot Soryu…I a- af-aid. I d-n't wan' -o die li-e th-s…" Through the crackling static, Asuka understood the message. 'I am afraid. I don't want to die like this…' At that moment, Asuka sympathized with Rei as she looked down and saw the void entering her cockpit. Shuddering, Asuka looked up at the ceiling of the entry plug and closed her eyes. Silently, Asuka prayed that if there was an afterlife, she could find Shinji and apologize. Once the Evas and the command trailer were consumed, the black and white orb of Leliel reformed in the sky and the shadow returned to its original size. Emanating a quiet hum, the twelfth angel proceeded on its way to NERV headquarters.
"Well, that's it, then." Kozo Fuyutsuki remarked, standing next to Gendo Ikari, the Supreme Commander of NERV. Growling, Gendo clenched his hands into fists.
"Deploy the batteries. Buy us time." The elder professor looked askance at his former apprentice as Gendo got to his feet and moved to leave NERV's CIC.
"Buy us time for what? We have nothing to counteract it with. It doesn't seem to have much of an AT Field, but who knows where the core is in that void. We don't have the lances either. I'm sorry old friend, but I believe the game is up." Fuyutsuki concluded. Gendo turned and looked back at Fuyutsuki with an expression even stonier than usual.
"Fine. If we can't win then at least buy us time to activate the self-destruct." he ordered as the alarms began to blare even louder.
"We might not even have time for that…" Fuyutsuki commented as he looked back at the main monitor. Leliel was already parked directly above the Geofront. The orb disappeared again, and the shadow descended over the Geofront. The shadow carved away into the mountains and hills, plunging deeper into the earth, carving away until it reached the Geofront itself. Pandemonium ensued as the liquid darkness flooded NERV from the top down. "Well," Fuyutsuki began, looking upwards at the ceiling. "Of all the possible ways I had considered dying, being swallowed by a mathematical abstract was definitely not on the list."
"Nor I." Gendo replied, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as well, as the void began to permeate the upper portions of the room, absorbing its occupants and contents in short order. The void filled the corridors and rooms of NERV, sparing nothing and no one in its path. Eventually, Leliel reached the final depths of NERV, admitting Lilith, still affixed to her cross, as well as the Ayanami clones, still in their tank. Leliel's void at last encompassed the entire Geofront before rising back to the surface. There Leliel remained, the Orb now pitch black instead of striped, its shadow now a solid disk the width of the Geofront, but still only three nanometers thick. The pitch of its usual hum now far lower. It was now a heavy, rumbling bass that caused the surrounding area to quake mildly. Inside the void, Adam awoke.
"I feel...myself again." Adam thought out loud. "No longer affixed to that man's hand, that much I can sense at least. Yet I am too weak to sense my liberator. Which of my children has freed me?" Adam queried, receiving a patient hum in response. "Leliel? You have my thanks, child." Now freely able to move through the void, Adam swam through the blackness to the tanks of LCL in the Eva hangar. Diving into the LCL, Adam began to absorb the liquid, reforming his body. While it wasn't enough to return him to full strength, it would be enough. The giant of light spread his wings and released a wave of energy. "Leliel. I am ready. Let us begin complementation." Adam uttered, stepping forward to where he could sense Leliel's core. Yet before he could reach the core, a sudden burst of energy knocked Adam off his feet and caused Leliel to trill dangerously.
"Not quite yet, Adam." a dark, yet still feminine voice echoed from behind the First Angel. Standing equal to Adam's height, Lilith peeled off her mask and let it drift into the void. "This world belongs to me. These lesser children are mine. You shall not harm them. I was here first, remember? That's why when you landed here, you were deactivated. Under the terms of our original programming, if one seed happens to land on a world inhabited by the fruits of another seed, that second seed is forbidden from abolishing the lifeforms generated by that first seed." Adam narrowed his eyes and sneered at Lilith.
"Lilith. Of course." Adam growled. His voice was a mix of fury and exasperation as he spoke. "These lesser children of yours tried to murder me in my sleep, did you know that? Also, I've spent the past three months grafted onto one of these idiot's hands as an embryo. Do you have any idea how humiliating it's been?!" he snapped. "The only saving grace throughout this entire fucking debacle is that at the very least, it isn't the hand he uses to pleasure himself with!" Adam roared.
"Oh yes, because being crucified for the past several millennia and having a ghastly mask forced onto your face while being bled and having your cells harvested for use in some arcane technological ritual is so much better." Lilith quipped in response before pausing. Adam groaned and shook his head while Leliel let out a long trill. "You had no idea I was here?" Lilith queried, arching one of her vast eyebrows. "Why did you come here, then? The fruits of each other's seeds are never meant to come into contact, Leliel. You know this." The 12h angel let out another low hum, Adam listening from his position next to Lilith.
"Summoned to find me? By who?" Adam asked, to while Leliel gave a warbling hum. "You don't know?" Another warble. "Something subconscious pulled you here…" Adam repeated. "Where is Iruel?" Adam asked Leliel, who replied with a mournful tone. "Killed by the Lilim? Why-?" Adam cut himself off with a wave of his hand. "Never mind, I'll resurrect Iruel myself and ask her. Oh, but do me a favor and summon Arael. I'll need him." Adam politely requested before willing his fingernails to elongate and sharpen enough to draw his own blood. "Angel of Terror. The Living Fear. Iruel, thou art summoned." The drops of blood floating in the void congealed into a single mass, a small orb with a pulsing red eye in the center. Flashing on and off in binary sequence, Iruel awakened.
"Father. I have come in response to your summons. What would you ask of me?" Iruel queried. Adam sighed in relief before answering.
"Iruel, I have spoken with Leliel, who described the urge to find me as a tug upon their subconscious. Would you say the same?" Adam asked, patiently, waiting for the 11th Angel to find the right words.
"I...I would." Iruel replied after a few moments. "I was digging into their computers to find the source. Trying to understand where the compulsion came from. We have not sensed you since you landed here and became dormant. This strange urge first arose fifteen of these planet's years ago. All I discovered was a word. 'SEELE'," With that, Iruel's orb dimmed before flashing brightly again. "Oh! I can sense Arael!" Iruel flashed happily. With a scream and a flash of light, the birdlike Arael arrived. Swiftly miniaturizing itself, it landed lightly on Adam's left shoulder pylon. Turning to face the black and red orb, Lilith gave Iruel her best smile.
"Iruel, would you be a dear and dive into NERV's computers again and search for more on this 'SEELE'?" Lilith politely requested. Iruel's orb dimmed once more before adopting a much more even glow.
"As you wish. You are not my progenitor, but since you are a Seed, I will honor your request." Iruel responded diplomatically, dimming once more. Giving a small hum, Lilith shrugged. "At this point, I'll take what I can get. Leliel, it's been almost two minutes since you've absorbed my Moon. Would you be so kind as to allow some air in here before my children suffocate. I assume Adam wants them alive for Arael to interrogate." she intoned. Though invisible in the limitless black, Lilith could feel the onrush of wind and sighed. "Thank you, Leliel. That really is a treat." she said warmly, causing Leliel to give a short, but pleasant trill. Turning to face Adam and Arael, Adam craned his neck to look aside at the fifteenth angel.
"Arael, while we wait for Leliel, could you please go mingle?" Adam asked, to which Arael nodded his bird-like head and took off from Adam's shoulder, soaring to what the angels could sense as the apex of Leliel's void before shining forth a bright white light. A cacophony of screams rose to meet Arael's light. Two thousand minds pierced by the same dagger at the same time. All secrets laid bare as Arael penetrated the psyche of everyone caught in the undertow of the Dirac Sea Leliel kept within its shadow. The screaming continued for five long minutes before Iruel returned.
"Lady Lilith." Iruel flashed. "I have the information you requested." Adam waved his hand, signaling Arael to cease his explorations. Immediately, Arael returned to his perch, also intent on listening to Iruel. "It seems this SEELE group is following an ancient text called the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls describe an arcane ritual using both the white and the black seeds to reduce these Lilim to a group consciousness that this SEELE could then control from within, making them, in essence, gods…" Silence reigned for a few moments before it was broken by Adam.
"Lilith, I know this is your planet, but please let me kill them. I don't want their level of stupid infecting the rest of the universe." he groaned in disbelief. Arael cleared his throat delicately, looking down at everyone from his elevated position.
"In fairness to the Lilim, barely one half of one percent of them know about SEELE or the ritual. They're under the belief that NERV are the protectors of humanity, not their future annihilators." Arael informed them before continuing. "And some here are actively working to subvert this ritual. The children who pilot those misshapen imitations of us are innocent, save for the one who pilots the beast called Unit 00. She's a nephilim, the product of hybridizing Lady Lilith and Commander Ikari's late wife." Lilith scowled at that, turning to Leliel.
"Bring the Children and their Evangelions before us" she commanded, before turning back to face Adam. "These Lilim don't deserve our technology." she intoned before facing Iruel once more. "How much information did you glean from their computers? Enough to pinpoint where they have more of our technology?" Iruel flashed affirmatively.
"I know the location of every NERV installation around the Earth. I'm sure I can somehow pinpoint the locations of the SEELE members themselves." she concluded.
"Then let us proceed." Lilith ordered, as Evangelions 00, 01, and 02 were dropped in front of the assembled Angels. Leliel's void pushed back, with Arael's light illuminating the now open space within the featureless expanse. Adam stepped forward and tore the safety plates off the backs of their necks, causing the entry plugs to pop free, reddish LCL ejecting from each one. One by one the pilots emerged. As all this was happening within Leliel, multiple copies of the void were appearing at various points around the world. NERV bases all over the planet were being swallowed whole by the void. Turning to face the Evangelions, Lilith held her hand out in a placating gesture. "Peace, children. Only one of you shall suffer this day." she intoned, before looking up at the towards where the children assumed the sky would be. "Armisael." she uttered, the angel in the form of a double-helix arriving within seconds and coiling around Lilith's lower arm. "The blue haired one has something I need. Be a dear and fetch it for me." Armisael swiftly uncoiled then recoiled, lashing out like a viper as it sunk into Rei's abdomen just below the navel. The opposite end of Armisael sunk into Lilith's stomach. Veins bulged and stretched along Rei's and Lilith's body as the S2 Engine created inside Rei's body was transferred to Lilith's. Rei screamed in agony, writhing on the floor, her teeth clenching in pain. Shinji made an attempt to run towards her, but was quickly knocked flat on his back by the overwhelming pressure of Lilith's and Armisael's AT fields.
Once the transplant was complete, Armisael detached from them both and returned to its original place on Lilith's arm. Leaning over Rei, Lilith sliced her palm the same way Adam had previously, dripping her LCL into the gaping hole left by Armisael. Focusing her AT field, Lilith healed the wound before apologizing. "I'm sorry, but this will hurt even worse." she informed Rei before using her AT energy to reshape the lower half of Rei's torso, giving her a feminine reproductive system to replace the extracted S2 Engine, and annihilating her angelic DNA, draining the color from her hair and eyes. Rei screamed again, feeling her body on fire from the inside out, before finally falling into blissful unconsciousness.
"W-what did you do to her?" asked Shinji timidly, rising to his feet and attempting to approach Rei again, now finding the AT field gone. Quickly, Shinji made his way to Rei's side and tried to wake her.
"Let her rest, son of Ikari. All I did was take back what was mine, and managed to save her life, which would have been lost had I not chosen to heal her afterwards." Lilith stated as a simple fact. "She was what we refer to as a nephilim. The crossbreed of an angel and a human." she informed him.
"An angel? No way, Rei can't be-." Shinji was cut off with a dim look from Lilith.
"Oh do use your common sense, boy. I'm sure someone your age has studied basic genetic theory. How many people have you honestly seen with her coloration? There are no human alleles for this." Lilith said, gesturing to Rei's hair.
"Stop being an embarrassment, Third." Asuka said, elbowing him roughly in the side, earning a grunt from Shinji. "Hikari told me your class already studied Mendel." she snapped.
"I was supposed to study Mendel, but I got shot in the chest by a flying blue diamond instead." Shinji shot back, giving Asuka a withering glance, who returned it immediately. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Lilith made her way to Unit 00.
"The echo of another nephilim." Lilith said, tearing the armor from Rei's Eva with a flick of her wrist before cracking the core with the heel of her hand, her body briefly enveloped in a dim blue glow. "Yes, young one, I am one of your sources. No, you will not refer to me as the 'oldest of hags'. Brat." Grumbling, Lilith moved to Unit 02. Another swipe and its armor was gone as well. Screaming, Asuka tried to run towards Lilith but found herself confronted by the same AT field that had blocked Shinji.
"Please, stop! You can't destroy Unit 02! Mama gave it to me! Mama built it for me!" Asuka screamed, pounding her fists ineffectually against the bright orange wall. "Without Unit 02, I don't have anything else! Please don't take Mama from me!" Asuka finally broke down, sinking to her knees and weeping. Unit 02 awoke in response, kicking away from Lilith before crouching and leaping forward to strike. Lilith merely dodged to the side before using her AT field to freeze Unit 02 in mid-step. Another strike, and the core was decimated. The blue glow came once more as Unit 02 slumped to the ground.
"Doctor Soryu. Yes, it's over. Your daughter is here, and she's safe for now. I can make no guarantees for the future save that she will not be harmed by us. You wish to speak with her? Very well." Lilith walked up to the AT field wall between herself and Asuka, and knelt down, pressing her palm to the barrier. Slowly, a ghostly image of Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu resolved itself .
"Hello, Asuka. It's been so long… How have you been?" the ghost of Kyoko asked as Asuka scrambled to her feet, wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling heavily.
"There's been so much...I don't know how much time we have…" Asuka replied timidly, reaching out to touch the field. "I just want to know why… What happened to you after that experiment? Why did you choose the doll over me?" she asked, her heart in her chest and grief painted on her face. Kyoko looked downward at the floor, clearly just as full of sorrow as Asuka was.
"The experiment… I don't know how much you know, so let me sum it up in brief. My experiment was an attempt to improve upon the initial contact experiment by Doctor Yui Ikari. And, I succeeded, to an extent. Unlike Doctor Ikari's experiment, which consumed the whole body, mine was meant to copy the mind and soul and store it in the core of Unit 02. Unfortunately, rather than copy the whole mind, it took my sanity and my capacity to love. The parts it needed to connect you with Unit 02, leaving everything else behind. What came out of the test chamber Asuka wasn't me, not the me you knew and loved, at least. Just a gibbering thing wearing my face. I don't understand what you mean by the doll, though. Sorry." Asuka staggered back, falling squarely onto her rear as she curled up into a ball.
"The day I was officially named Unit 02's pilot, I rushed home to find you and tell you the good news. When I got to your room, I saw you hanging from the ceiling. You had hanged yourself." Asuka said, her voice thick with grief. "Next to you was a small doll with a red dress with its head torn off. You had written my name on the dress. You used to talk to it for hours. When I tried to convince you that the doll wasn't actually me, you used to get so angry… I thought you hated me." Asuka finished, so quietly she could barely be heard.
"I am so sorry, Asuka. I never meant to hurt you. I don't have much longer, but please, please understand that that wasn't me. I was nowhere near in my right mind. Goodbye, Asuka. Just know that wherever you go, my love goes too. I love you, always." The image of Kyoko Soryu faded and Asuka once again sank to her knees and wept. Lilith pulled her hand from the AT field and moved away as Shinji moved closer to Asuka and gently placed his hand on her shoulder before she slapped it away and rose to her feet, shoving him away.
"Get the hell away from me, Third. I don't need you around me right now!" she screamed, stomping off to the far side of their portion of the void. Shinji's crestfallen expression was all that was left as Lilith turned her attention to Unit 01. Unlike Unit 02, Shinji's Eva was already on its feet, seemingly awaiting its imminent demise. Shinji approached the AT wall, and watched as Unit 01 was destroyed in the same way as Units 00 and Unit 02. The blue glow covered Lilith once more and just as Lilith was about to turn away Shinji called out.
"D-Does my mother have any words for me?" Shinji asked, raising his eyebrows hopefully. Lilith paused and closed her eyes before letting out a sigh.
"Only that she wishes she had never met your father, or given birth to you. She considers you both to be tremendous failures. Your mother aimed for godhood at the expense of humanity, you and your father included. Now those dreams are lost to her, and she blames you both." Lilith intoned, as Shinji dropped to the floor and vomited, his body wracked by cold shivers. Gritting his teeth, Shinji let out a scream of rage. Standing some distance behind him, Asuka could only watch as Shinji pounded at the floor of the void, still screaming reckless hatred at both of his parents. Asuka felt a dim vestige of pity for Shinji. She may not like her father or stepmother, but she knew they cared. Despite Shinji's deepest hopes, he had now been rejected by both of his parents, and was now truly alone. Slowly, awkwardly, Asuka made her way over to Shinji and gently placed her hand on his back, rubbing it gently.
"Don't get used to it, Shinji." she said quietly, but less tersely than it would have been otherwise. It was then that Iruel popped back into the void.
"Lady Lilith. While you've been freeing the souls of the Evangelions, we've succeeded in eradicating all of SEELEs holdings. We even found another nephilim made from the flesh of our Father. Father needs your help to stabilize his human side, though." Iruel informed Lilith. Sighing, Lilith vanished into another part of the void, leaving Shinji and Asuka alone with the unconscious Rei. Shinji was by now curled up on his side, his head in Asuka's lap, much to her chagrin. Lilith reappeared moments later, dropping off a pale, unconscious young man next to the equally incapacitated Rei. Seconds later, the principal members of NERV joined them in the freshly widened expanse of the Dirac Sea. Standing next to one another, Adam and Lilith both spoke.
"Arael has informed me that you are all part of NERV's core staff." Adam began. "Let me state that Lilith and I have reached an agreement to bring no further harm to your planet." A few murmurs rose from the assembled crowd, which Adam then raised his hand to still. "However, it has come to our attention that some of you were embroiled in a plot to draw my children here, murder them, then use Lilith and myself as part of some scheme to force instrumentality forward, and set yourselves up as gods. Furthermore, this prophecy was written several millennia ago by people as skilled at understanding cosmic beings as a potato might be if it tried to understand you." Another rush of mumbling and confused hisses. "We have discovered that these acts were orchestrated by a group known as SEELE. The members of SEELE have been captured. As of now, everything related to our people has been seized by us. There is no Evangelion or Angel related technology left on Earth. The board has been wiped clean." Adam stated, stepping back to let Lilith speak.
"Furthermore, we have decided to leave your planet immediately. You may now consider the Angel War concluded." Lilith declared, causing cheers to rise from the crowd. "However, your knowledge makes you dangerous to us and to your fellow humans. Therefore, we have decided to send you into exile. We will leave you on a hospitable planet with a pre-industrial civilization of Lilim. We will drop you at various points in a certain region of the planet. Best of luck to you all. If you find one another, consider it fortuitous." Lilith concluded, a ghost of a smile upon her face before Adam spoke again.
"We will be returning to our home world, where hopefully we can find any remaining equipment to restore ourselves fully, and in time, resume our mission of growing new life in the universe. If you believe in fortune, may it favor you." Adam finished, just before the blackness of the void swallowed everyone once more. "Make sure you allow enough air for the trip, Leliel." Adam intoned.
Outside the orb, the disc rippled and the orb regained its stripes before shooting up and out of Earth's atmosphere, leaving a perfect semicircle in the ground where the Geofront once sat. On its way out of the solar system, the void opened, dumping the Evangelions and everything it had absorbed, except for the people themselves into the sun's gravity well. Once that was complete, Leliel used the sun's gravity as a slingshot, propelling itself and the beings inside it out of the solar system and towards a new world.
A/N: Hello and welcome to my first crossover fic. I hope everyone enjoys it. I haven't seen too many Evangelion and Skyrim crossovers, so I hope I'm able to make it a good one. Please read and review. It's the only way I'll improve.