So this chapter and the next was supposed to be as one, but in the long run I realized that it would been way to big. So this is probably the shortest chapter that you'll see before this story ends
In the far East of the Geofront, an elevator door opened and a boy stepped out.
In front of him, another boy stood blocking his way.
Shinji stood still inside the elevator for an undetermined amount of time. He had not expected seeing Kaoru this soon. However, before the elevator doors were able to close, Shinji took several steps out onto the paved path inside the Geofront.
While the Geofront was man made, to anybody from a western country, it would have seemed natural. The Geofront was designed like an octagon, in that it had eight corners and at each corner, an elevator taking you to the surface could be found. Each of these had a single path from there respected elevators, that eventually converged at Central Dogma.
In the center of the Geofront was the man made lake, though not everybody knew that the entire thing was really just a sunken in steel bowl. Along the shore line was of course sand, but if you dug down several feet you would hit a steel plate. The steel plate wrapped all around the shore line, though if you were to wade out into the water, before long you would meet a large drop off. At the bottom of the lake was a ventilation system which constantly filtered the water. At many times, the ecologists of Nerv tried to breed fish inside this soulless steel bowl, but they found that the fish could not properly adapt to the environment.
The Geofront and Central Dogma were of course built upon the Black Moon, Lilith's resting place, so in order to conceal this dark kept secret, Tokyo-3 had to be essentially built on top of it. Every piece of dirt inside the Geofront had been brought from an outside source during the building of Tokyo-3, while the trees, plants, and grass had been grown from another outside source.
Essentially, everything inside the Geofront had been grown by nature, but the landscape had been shaped by the humans.
The paved path that Shinji was walking down, was currently blocked by Kaoru, but it didn't seem like he wanted to fight. His hands were held up next to his shoulder, giving an impression that he was surrendering, and even though he was smiling, it didn't seem like his usual cynical one. Shinji wasn't going to take any chances though.
Pausing several feet away from him, though still adequately able to attack or defend himself if need be, Shinji opened his mouth and asked, "How come you're out here so late?"
Kaoru's hands dropped from the air as he replied, "You should already know that Shinji-kun..."
Shinji narrowed his eyes slightly as he murmured, "You were waiting for me..."
"Of course Shinji-kun," replied Kaoru as he spread his arms wide as though expecting a hug. "Though I just want to talk with you."
"Talk? Isn't it too late for that?" retorted Shinji. "I already...I mean-"
"Yes, you know that I am the final angel," said Kaoru was though he was talking about the weather. "And that we shall eventually have to fight, but I simply want to talk right now."
Shinji hesitated slightly. He didn't trust Kaoru, nor did he think he ever could. But he honestly didn't want to fight him, because in a way, he saw himself in him.
Sighing, Shinji folded his arms and asked, "Why do you want to talk?"
"Why not? It seems that you have been avoiding me ever since we first met, so I never got to know you very well."
'I wonder why,' thought Shinji sarcastically.
"And aren't you curious about myself, since you and I are alike," finished Kaoru.
Shinji whipped his head around and starred at Kaoru. He knew that they were similar, and that Kaoru possibly knew something about him. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to know about himself anymore.
"What...do you mean?" said Shinji slowly.
Smiling slightly, Kaoru looked over to Central Dogma and said, "You know about Lilith...and now about the first child..."
Shinji looked back at him, shocked that he knew about how he had found out about Rei.
"I've known about Lilith for a while now...as for Ayanami..." Shinji trailed off here, still unsure whether he should confront Rei or not.
"But you know, since Dr. Akagi showed you earlier."
"How do you know that?" asked a startled Shinji.
Shaking his head, Kaoru said, "It is enough that you know. Then what about me? Yes, I am the final angel, though that it only part of it. You could say, that the first child, Ayanami Rei to you, is the embodiment of Lilith on this planet, as I am the embodiment of Adam, the first angel."
Shinji blinked several times, unable to believe what he had just heard.
"Though that does not mean I am Adam. Each of my brothers and sisters is unique in there own way, as I am also. My angelic name is Tabris, created from Adam as the other angels were, but my soul is that of Adam's. You could say that this is a chance meeting of sorts."
"Then...you and Ayanami are alike?"
"Correct, just as you and I are alike."
"I'm nothing like you," said Shinji suddenly feeling bitter.
"Oh? How so? You are able to create a powerful AT-field, you can regenerate damaged tissue, and your eyes turn blood red if your angel self takes over. For all intended purposes, you may as well be labeled an angel yourself."
"I'm still human!"
"But far how long?" asked Kaoru with a slight smirk.
Shinji froze momentarily when he heard what Kaoru said, and next moment bit down hard on his bottom lip, drawing blood. He didn't know, and was always in fear of one day waking up and finding out that he had killed half of Nerv's personal.
"I can stay myself," Shinji said stubbornly.
"Maybe you can, maybe not," said Kaoru in a bored voice. "While Seele told me to kill both you and Gendo Ikari, I have found that it is more satisfying to watch and wait, because even after all this time, it is still hard to discern what you are, even with Adam's soul resting in me. Though I begin to understand it better."
Whiteness suddenly flashed in Shinji's mind then, as though the words Kaoru just said were similar to something he had heard before.
"Ritsuko said that you were sent from Seele...is that true?"
"Yes, but I have not kept strictly to the plan for Seele's version of Instrumentality. Seele desires to become the gods of the new earth. But there is a separate plan that Seele does not know about, that which us angels adhere to...and the Tree of Life."
"...I've heard that used before...the Tree of Life. What is it?"
Kaoru was silent for a minute, as though pondering something deep inside him. Seeming to come to a conclusion though, he smiled widely and said, "I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to tell you the story of Adam, Lilith, and the Tree of Life, for it involves yourself closely, all of humanity for that matter, and how you came to become drawn up in all this."
Taking a deep breath, Kaoru started.
"First and foremost, you have to understand human religion. Humans always want to believe that they originated from somewhere, they want to be able to believe in a higher existence then their own that watches over them. So, they created gods, an abstract entity that only exists in the believers mind. But humans were not created out of nothingness, nor did it take billions of years for single celled organisms to eventually develop into humans."
"I already know that," said Shinji hurriedly. "Adam and Lilith created the first humans."
"While true on that simplistic level, that intertwining story that revolves around Adam, Lilith, and all of humanity is much bigger than that."
"Adam and Lilith did not create the universe, nor do they know how it was created. Either it has always existed in infinite time, or it was created by an even higher being than themselves. Maybe it was created by one of your gods...maybe the Christian God. Adam and Lilith don't know, so I don't know. Us angels are able to share each others thoughts and knowledge if we so desire. But Adam and Lilith existed in this wide expanse of space, and after an untold amount of time, it came into their minds that they desired a place to settle down and live."
Sighing slightly, Kaoru stuck his hands in his pockets and said, "The White Moon and Black Moon, that which corresponds to Adam and Lilith. In the beginning, they were something of a separate plane, sectioned off from the rest of space. Adam and Lilith used them as a means of rest, hibernation I suppose. What you have to understand, is that how you humans view us angels, is not how we truly are. When we descend to earth, we give ourselves form, a body I suppose, for we our nothing more than energy beings, formless masses of energy that would seem like white static to humans. Adam and Lilith were no different, and existed without a body throughout there travels in the universe. The Moons though were a means of travel from one solar system to another, for even Adam and Lilith would become weary of moving through space without any means. However, they kept in contact with each through their thoughts, and even feelings for each other."
Here Kaoru paused though and a strange expression, almost one of confusion seemed to pass over his face.
"I don't know the entire details behind there travels, because I am the last of the angels brought about by the White Moon, but they eventually came to a small planet, which of course you humans know as earth."
Shinji was surprised at the tone of Kaoru's voice. It was much deeper and more methodical than his usual carefree voice.
"The Moons collided against earth, and while the Black Moon of Lilith crashed in what would later become Japan, the White Moon has never been found. Some personal from Nerv claim that the White Moon was found during the contact experiment with Adam in Antarctica, but it is unsubstantiated, and my knowledge does not support this hypothesis. It is likely that Adam moved it far away after the Lilim were created, fearing that they would learn its secrets.
Earth was young then, and is still young according to Adam and Lilith, but they were patient, and slowly, it seemed that the same force that gave birth to the universe created life on earth. Trees grew, plants grew, and Adam and Lilith grew along with them, for they had never seen such things on any other planet they had ever visited. And as there knowledge of living planets grew, so did their love for each other. Adam and Lilith loved each other, as a husband and wife do, but it was different than that, because they had been with each since as far back as they could remember. But they each had a different love that was unique to them. Adam gave the love not of Lilith to the stars and the sky, the feel of water and smell of the air. But Lilith gave her love not of Adam to all the plants she encountered, and delighted in naming them."
Sadness seemed to pass over Kaoru's face briefly, as thought he was remembering a particularly painful memory.
"As time passed though, they became estranged from each other, and no longer sought each other out and wandered the valleys in which the things of which they loved existed. But as it chanced, Adam wandered more than Lilith did, because he was able to view the stars from every place he pleased, desiring to see the stars in different locations. And he met Lilith among the trees and plants in a long forgotten location, and he was dumbfounded, for he had forgotten about her, which he had once loved, and desiring a body that would seem fair to himself, he created something akin to the bodily shape of a human, and caught her in the woods."
Shaking his head slowly, Kaoru said, "The long story of Adam and Lilith continues on for a while after this meeting, during which there is not much to say, besides the fact that Lilith desired a body similar to Adam and created one. The image of woman was born out of this. It is one of the reasons myself, and Ayanami Rei are as we are. We alone out of the angels appear in a human body, because we house the souls of Adam and Lilith respectively. However, the soul of Lilith..." Kaoru seemed to trail off, and didn't finished his sentence.
"Now though, we enter a new phase in the interaction between Adam and Lilith, that being the Tree of Life, and the coming of the Lilim.
After a time, Adam pondered the possibility of creating another being similar to himself, though with less power. He came to Lilith with this, and they collaborated with each other, both desiring children of sorts. That is how us beings known as angels were born, for though Adam and Lilith are counted among the angels, they are merely the forerunners. They are entirely different beings that are on a different level than us angels. But Lilith was not happy with this, having little to do with the creation of the angels. She kept her silence though, and feigned happiness.
After five millenniums though, she grew tired of the angelic beings akin to Adam more so than she was, and wandered far on the planet earth, no longer desiring to be with Adam. She went as a young woman, still loving the shape that she had molded for herself. But Adam had gone back to being a formless shape of energy, because the angels could not assume a human form as Adam and Lilith could. So his love grew for them, while all the while, Lilith slowly disappeared from his mind. But after a time she returned, and told him what she desired, and Adam took pity on her. Though she hated the pity he gave her, her desire for children of her own outgrew the scorn she now showed towards him, and eventually they worked together."
Sighing heavily, Kaoru said in a heavy tone, "Never was a graver mistake made in all the confines of the universe than the creation of the Lilim, for while Adam had created the angels, he had given them a certain level of power. But the Lilim where unique, because even though they lacked power, they were still able to seize it, and change there destiny's according to what they desired.
And so, Adam tore off a piece of his own body and molded it into a shape of his choice, and so man was formed. But Lilith tore upon her chest cavity, and from the fluid that leaked out, she created the soul of the man, and give him a self...the AT-field. Lilith wanted more though, and begged Adam to make a being in likeness to herself, and Adam tore off another piece of himself and formed it into woman. Lilith then gave woman a soul, and an AT-field to define her. Thus, the Lilim were created.
Now Adam saw the change in Lilith's demeanor, and was displeased by it, sensing the greed and hatred she now had for him, and in response, he created the Tree of Life."
"And what is the Tree of Life exactly?" asked Shinji, trying to wrap his head around this convoluted story.
"The Tree of Life...is essentially that which governs everything. The changing of the seasons, the rotation of the earth, the continued growth of all living things, but more so, it is the life force of earth. Adam created the Tree of Life so that earth would continue growing without needed assistance from himself, for after the many millenniums that passed, he grew tired of earth. But he still loved it nonetheless. But the Tree of Life had a secondary purpose, for in Lilith's thoughts which they still shared, he saw an unbidden desire blossom in her, and was afraid by it.
Now the Lilim grew and slowly populated the earth, having the power to create there own offspring, but in one thing did Adam expressly forbid Lilith to do, and that was to expose her knowledge to them. Lilith however, disobeyed him, loathing the way he was able to mingle with his own children, the angels, while she was forbade to. And so Lilith taught the Lilim much of her knowledge. They learned the names of the planets, living plants and the stars, and soon grew to be able to wield primitive tools. But in no worse thing did she do than envelop them within the Black Moon of Lilith."
Here, Kaoru paused for a minute and said something else, "You of course know the story in the Christian Bible how Eve was enticed by the serpent to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thus discovered right from wrong. This is the truth behind that story.
The humans that followed Lilith into the Black Moon learned much about far away planets, mystical arts, and the like, but they also gained something unique that the angels did not possess, and that was the understanding of good and evil. The angels do not understand good and evil. Something either is, or it isn't. That is the way we define things. But Adam and Lilith understood the concept of good and evil, and Lilith immediately knew that what she had done was evil, but Adam also recognized this, reading Lilith's thoughts even though they were on separate sides of the planet.
Adam confronted Lilith about her decision to let humans learn the secrets of the Black Moon and at the same time removed the White Moon from the planet, fearing that humans would seek for it. Adam then told Lilith about the Tree of Life, prophesying that after many years of continued growth from the Lilim, they would eventually bring about the destruction of the Tree of Life, meaning the planet earth. Lilith rebuked him however, saying that she did not care about his own agendas, and only wished to be with her own children. Adam said that Lilith was a fool, and that every living thing was wrapped up within the Tree of Life."
Sighing heavily, Kaoru said, "The Tree of Life, the sustenance of earth, and that which us angels adhere to, for Adam gave us a purpose after the designs of Lilith were full wrought, and told us that after a time, we were to protect the Tree of Life, even if it meant the destruction of the Lilim.
Each branch of the Tree of Life governs something on earth, except for the Lilim which the Tree of Life is unable to interfere with, but the Lilim can interfere with it. As each branch of the Tree of Life governs something, so does each angel govern a branch of the Tree of Life. Each angel is set higher than the next on the branches, and each increasing branch upon which the angel rests on, he can read the thought of the angels below him, but not above him, if there is such a thing. Myself as being the last angel, I knew before hand what would transpire and while the death of my brothers and sisters saddens me, I still accept it. But I do not know what happens after this, only Adam and possibly Lilith know.
As you have now guessed, the time has come which Adam had prophesied long ago, that the Tree of Life would die out as humans consumed the life force of the earth, and that the angels would be sent to destroy them for the greed that they inherited from Lilith."
"But that was several thousand years ago!" complained Shinji.
"Yes," replied Kaoru, "and humans have not learned of their mistakes from the past. At first, us angels took pity on you, not desiring to destroy you, since we all originated from one being. But as time wore on, we learned of the cruelty that you showed to other living things and beings like yourselves. And we grew to hate you, being so wrapped up in the Tree of Life."
"So you hate me yourself!" yelled Shinji.
"I did not say that, nor will I ever say that," replied Kaoru. "You are different, because you are like myself. And you are unique as a human even with the angel half of you."
"So what! I don't want to be unique!"
"But you are, and you have to realize your importance in all this. But I am not done yet with my story."
"Now Lilith pondered everything that Adam had said and grew displeased by it, seeing the eventual destruction of her children. But her desire she still saw as a possibility."
"And what was that!" spat out Shinji.
Smiling slightly, Kaoru said, "I don't know, because it was never revealed to us by Adam. Only he knew what she wished for. But I have a guess, and that was that she wished to recreate the earth in a way she saw fit for humans."
"How though? The earth existed before Adam and Lilith I thought?"
"It did, and while I said recreate, I meant it in a way which removes the angels, Adam, and now also the Tree of Life from the equation. She would set herself as the heart of earth, creating and destroying things as she pleases."
Shinji frowned slightly, not thinking that this was a particularly bad idea.
"As it stand though, it seems that her plan is coming to fruition, since I am now the last angel."
"You guys attacked us first though," mumbled Shinji almost inaudibly.
"Yes, but it was to insure that we had a future, to insure that we would continue surviving, and if the Tree of Life dies, than so do you and all other humans. The Tree has long since been bereft of fruit and is now decaying rapidly. It will only be a matter of time before the planet starts dying."
"But killing us just because we made a mistake-"
"Which you continue to make," said Kaoru harshly.
Shinji bit down on his lips, unsure how he should take all this. If Kaoru was telling the truth about everything he said...then how exactly was Shinji supposed to react to all this.
"You haven't told me how I fit into all this," said Shinji suddenly.
Kaoru, who had been looking down at his own feet looked up and smiled while saying, "Well as for that, you hold a special place in both ours, and Lilith's plans."
"Why is that?"
"You are both simultaneously angel and human, meaning you can either rebuild the Tree of Life as an angel, or cast it down as a human. You could even chose your own path completely irrelevant to the others, but you can decide that when the time comes. And besides, it seems we will have guests soon."
As he said this, Kaoru seemed to disappear and reappear directly in front of Shinji. Stretching his index finger out, he pressed it against Shinji's forehead. The moment Kaoru's finger pressed against his forehead, a bright light seemed to enter Shinji's mind. All at once, a surge of memories hit him. A blue sky, white sand, a formless shape talking to him, everything from his previous encounter with the angel known as Tabris rushed back to him.
"You...you," said Shinji meekly. "Before...the test with Unit 01...and I met you."
"Correct," said Kaoru as he took several steps back. "That was me back then, the true me I suppose."
"That was...you told me that was earth."
"I did. It is the same earth as this, but it is altogether different, because of the choices you made. It was one of the many alternative choices you could make. One that is similar to letting the Tree of Life die, but also different at the same time."
"But then...was that reality?"
"Yes and no. It is the reality of the Shinji Ikari that chose that possibility, but you no longer have that possibility."
"But how...did I get...there in the first place, and why were you there?"
Kaoru paused for a minute in confusion, as though he didn't really know.
"I'm not sure why I was there, but I believe it was to find your wandering mind. As for you being there...it was likely the influence of Lilith."
"...Influence of...Lilith. What do you-"
Something whizzed through the tree around them and-
-Next moment, something orange flashed in front of him.
"What the-"
"Looks like they finally set up," murmured Kaoru as he tilted his head towards the North.
Shinji turned his head along with Kaoru, and next second caught what he had missed the first time.
From far away, Shinji was just barely able to see the glimmer of something like a scope before it exploded. The muzzle of the gun erupted as the armor piercing bullet came ripping through the air, aimed at Kaoru. Kaoru without hesitating, deployed his AT-field, and the velocity of the bullet was cut to zero as it came into contact with Kaoru's AT-field. The bullet immediately stopped, and fell to the ground without incident.
"I guess this is Gendo Ikari's message to the men of Seele," sighed Kaoru as he looked in the direction of the sniper. It was then that Shinji noticed Kaoru's feet seemed to have left the ground, and that he was hovering several inches above the paved path.
"Kaoru...what are you-" Shinji asked.
Kaoru had raised his right arm high above his head, and turned his entire body towards the position where the sniper was concealed. Without hesitating, he swung his arm down.
Shinji had known that his AT-field was powerful, but he never would have guessed something like this.
His AT-field streaked like a thing piece of wire almost touching the ground through the air, flying towards its target. The edge of blades of grass where severed off, while trees were decapitated at there base. It looked as though the place had just been deforested in a matter of seconds. And yet...
Shinji could hear the brief yell before it was brutally cut off as Kaoru's AT-field spliced the snipers body apart, cutting into the bridge of his noes, and continuing down until he looked like a hot dog. He had been laying down while sniping.
"...Kaoru...you," said Shinji, taking a few seconds to get his voice back.
"Hmmm? I did nothing but defend myself. You would have done the same thing Shinji-kun."
"No I wouldn't! Taking a persons life without a seconds thought. Its-"
"But he was prepared to take mine, and while he had been acting on orders, it was still ultimately his decision to fire."
"Kaoru!" yelled Shinji.
Kaoru smiled lightly as he started rising further in the air, his gaze now shifting towards Central Dogma.
"I'll await you in Lilith's chamber. There is one last thing that I haven't told you, but as for that, I am not sure myself."
Kaoru then turned, and glided through the air as he made his way towards Central Dogma.
Shinji meanwhile stood stock still with his eyes wide open as everything Kaoru had said coursed through his mind. Simply put, he didn't know what to do. Kaoru...was not a bad person, that was what Shinji thought, and so he didn't want to fight him. But if all of humanity was to be destroyed...then...
Shinji shook his head, unfortunately knowing what he'd most likely have to do at the end of it all. Starring in the direction of the giant pyramid shaped building inside the Geofront, Shinji mumbled, "Adam and Lilith...and I fit somewhere in between."
Making a decision, he started sprinting towards Central Dogma.
"What did you say!" yelled Misato as she sat bolt upright in her makeshift bed.
She had no idea how late it was, only that she had gone to bed heavily drunk, and at Ritsuko's words, she felt wide awake now.
"'Nagisa Kaoru has been classified as the last angel, and has been ordered to be killed on sight' is what the commander Ikari said a little while ago. Just thought I should let you know," said Ritsuko over the phone.
"So it is true," mumbled Misato. "Anyway, I'll be down there in a few minutes."
"Hang on Misato, thats not all. It was sometime ago, but Kaoru was seen talking to Shinji over at the eastern most gate. We sent a sniper to take Kaoru out, but we haven't heard from him so its assumed that he..." Ritsuko trailed off here, though Misato understood the meaning behind the brief silence.
"What did Kaoru talk to Shinji about?" asked Misato as she started looking for clothes that were acceptable.
"I've no idea, but it seems that Kaoru is heading to Central Dogma now."
"I'll be there in ten minutes," said Misato as she hung up the phone.
Walking to her door, she slid it open, only to come face to face with Asuka.
Misato opened her mouth in surprise, but Asuka cut her off quickly by saying, "Whats wrong? Has another angel appeared?"
Misato closed her mouth, and accidentally bit down on her tongue. She hadn't thought about having a confrontation with Asuka right now.
"Oh...um, no. I just...forgot to do something, and Ritsuko just reminded me about it," said Misato, not believable in the least.
"Hmmm...really?" asked Asuka with a raised eyebrow, not believing her for a minute.
"Ah, yeah, so I should really get-"
"Does that idiot have anything to do with why your going in?" asked Asuka in one breath.
The sudden jerk of Misato's head was really all the answer that Asuka needed, however, Misato tried to feign her ignorance as she said, "Huh? Idiot? What are you talking about?"
Asuka crossed her arms in front of her chest and said with a slight sneer, "Who else but...that idiot that was here earlier." Apparently, she had gone back to refusing to use Shinji's name.
"Oh...him," muttered Misato as her shoulders seemed to sag. She couldn't possibly brush of Asuka's question now with a simple lie.
Asuka then started tapping her index finger against her right arm, waiting for Misato to say something truthful, all the while becoming more annoyed as the seconds ticked by.
"He...most likely has something to do with this," said Misato only halfway telling the truth. "As you already guessed...an angel has appeared, the final one actually. Its Kaoru...the fourth child, he's an angel. A sniper was sent to kill him...but we haven't heard back from him...so most likely he's dead. But the last transmission we received from him, was saying that the third, and fourth children were talking to each other. It seems the fourth, now classified as the final angel, is descending on Central Dogma. Its likely that...Shinji will pursue him."
"In which case I can help out."
"Wha...Asuka?"
"I'll launch in Unit 02...we don't have the first anymore..."
Misato bit her tongue to hold her silence, but she had heard a strange rumor that Rei had somehow survived the explosion of Unit 00, if that was at all possible. However-
"I can't let you pilot yet Asuka."
"That again!" said Asuka suddenly firing up. "How many times do I have to tell you Misato. I. Am. Fine!"
"That remains to be seen," said Misato, "we still haven't been able to have any tests done on your synchronization with Unit 02."
"Then this can serve as a test, and actual combat," replied Asuka stubbornly.
"Absolutely not!" yelled Misato as she planted her foot firmly down on the hardwood floor.
Asuka seemed rather taken aback at Misato's sudden assertiveness, but stood her ground nonetheless.
"I'm piloting!"
"No you are no-"
However, a loud ringing could be heard from behind Misato. Turning back into her room, she grabbed the phone off the ground next to her futon and listened intently to the person on the other line. Asuka meanwhile, had propped her back against the door frame of Misato's room, and was frowning intently as Misato continued talking away into the phone.
After a few minutes, Misato slowly put the cordless phone back on the receiver and looked down at it for a few seconds. She seemed worried.
"Whats up?" asked Asuka from the doorway suddenly.
Misato turned towards her and said, "Ritsuko just called back. They found the sniper...but the description..." Misato shook her head, as she recalled what Ritsuko had told her on how he had likely died.
"Is that it?" asked Asuka.
"No, Kaor...the angel it seems has entered Central Dogma."
Asuka continued starring at Misato for a few seconds before the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since Misato picked up the phone sprung forward.
"Did anyone...I mean...about that idiot..."
Misato was rather surprised at the tone in Asuka's voice.
'Did I just hear that right? Did she sound worried?' she wondered.
"No, nobody has seen Shinji since last at the East gate."
"I see," mumbled Asuka dejectedly.
Misato blinked openly at Asuka for a few seconds before she sighed and said, "Hurry and change. I'll take you to Nerv along with me, since something seems to be bothering you."
"Huh? What gave you that idea?"
"No...never mind then," mumbled Misato as she turned away from Asuka. "Just change into something quickly."
"Okay," said Asuka as she turned away from Misato, her fiery hair swinging behind her.
As Misato watched her leave, she briefly thought, 'I hope I don't regret this...'
The entirety of Central Dogma filled Shinji's vision as he looked up at it. He knew that Kaoru had entered it earlier, had felt his AT-field ripping apart one of the many entrances leading in. Shinji didn't know why though, but he didn't want anybody to see him. He had already hidden from several Nerv operatives as he made his way along the paved path from the East gate to Central Dogma. But he supposed that the second he entered Central Dogma, his position would be pegged.
Checking around carefully, he ran towards the concealed exit that was used for emergency access only. Normally, it was something only the workers that maintained the Geofront used, but Shinji thought they could make an exception to him. However, as he pushed against the bar that would open the door, he swore lightly.
"Damn it...locked."
Shinji bit down on his lip and thought about his options. He could go to one of the main entrances of course and get spotted immediately. Or he could...
Looking down at his right hand that hung at his side, he clenched it suddenly and thought, "They'll find out eventually anyway."
Thrusting his right hand forward while still clenched in a fist, he produced a cone like AT-field that smashed against the emergency door, forcing it inward, until the hinges holding it in place could no longer support the odd direction that door was being forced into. With a loud snap, and the sound of two large pieces of metal coming in contact with each other, Shinji pushed the door inward, until it looked like nothing but a crumpled piece of paper.
Ignoring what he had done, he ran past the crumbled door, and flew down the corridor until he reached a flight of stairs used for emergency purposes. Jumping them two at a time, he passed five flights of stairs before he reached a landing where a door with a push bar stood. Not dropping his pace for even an instance, he ran against the door, forcing it open. Though admittedly, he didn't think it would have swung open so suddenly.
Shinji seemed to fly out from this door and into a long corridor lined with many doors and rooms that had safety glass along the walls. It seemed he had crashed directly into the science department.
'At least I know where I am,' thought Shinji suddenly as he picked himself off from the floor. But behind him he heard an audible scream.
Spinning around, he saw a woman in a white lab coat running in the opposite direction, and papers spilling from her arms.
Frowning quizzically, Shinji walked over to one of the rooms with the safety glass along one of its walls, and examined his reflection.
"Ah, she must have thought I was Kaoru," mumbled Shinji as he looked back at his own reflection. His eyes must have changed blood red when he used his AT-field. But even so, he would have figured most people at Nerv, especially in the science department, knew now about his...condition.
Shaking his head, he thought, 'From here, the Evangelion chambers or still several floors down, so I should probably try to find an eleva-'
Something rocked the very depths of Nerv suddenly, and Shinji for a moment felt he was going to lose his balance. But without a doubt, it had to be-
"Kaoru," muttered Shinji softly. He had felt his AT-field then, and it was more powerful than anything he had felt before. He wasn't sure if he could beat him...
Scrunching up his face, he ignored the worrying feeling in his chest and sprinted down the hallway, where he remembered there should be an elevator. As he continued sprinting though, he said without caring whether someone heard him or not, "I hope to God Misato doesn't come here."
Unfortunately, that only made him even more worried, as the prospect of somebody else coming also entered his mind.
Kaoru had forced his way into the Evangelions chamber, and was currently standing in front of Unit 02 on the walkway. Smiling up at it, he said, "Shall we pave a path of destruction, Unit 02?"
Rising up in the air he hovered just in front of Unit 02's eyes and seemed to beckon to it. Unit 02's eyes suddenly opened as it shuddered against the bracers holding it in place. The walkway that Kaoru had been standing on split in half, as Unit 02 floating seamlessly upward, just as Kaoru had done earlier.
Smiling slightly, Kaoru looked down at the wide bottom of the Evangelions chamber where he could force his way into Terminal Dogma. Swinging his right arm down in an arc, the metal flooring was split in two, opening up a wide chasm so that Unit 02 could fit through.
Slowly descending now, with Unit 02 directly behind him, Kaoru started lowering himself into Terminal Dogma. However, out from the depths where the light of the sun could not pierce, a voice that was harsh one second, and yet pleasant the next seemed to vibrate around him.
Laughing lightly as the soul of Adam engulfed him and filled him with the knowledge of this voice, he said, "I suppose Lilith is expecting me."
Ayanami Rei stood alone in the chamber of Lilith.
No...not alone.
For the soul of Lilith was present also.