Disclaimer: Evangelion and all related characters are owned by their respective studio and their affiliates. I own nothing Except original characters. This story was written for entertainment purposes only! I make no income from it! Please don't sue! Now that that is out of the way, onto "Celestial Smack-Down, The True Gods Awaken!"
Author's Notes: Here's a surprise guys! This chapter will be in three parts! This is part one, "Terrible Secrets on The Heavenly Road".
Rei Ayanami was in a surprisingly jovial mood. She had been rescued from the trash can by very concerned NERV employees who promised to keep quiet about her predicament if she so wished. They also seemed to have experienced a great deal of genuine empathy for her because they had mentioned her state of dishevelment and lack of clothing. While Rei remembered falling into the trash bin due to Pilot Ikari's unintentional (but horrid) blunder, she did not remember disrobing. The male officer seemed rather uncomfortable about something, but the female officer elaborated: "That's an...interesting tattoo, Pilot Ayanami".
Rei was about to correct the woman, as she had no tattoo's - as well as never really understanding them or why people enjoyed having ink injected into their skin by a pulsating needle – but noticed that her lower abdomen was sore and looked down and realized that, in fact, she did have a tattoo. It was two words written in Kanji with an arrow pointing toward her groin. Those two words were "Really Easy".
Rei Ayanami had never been more confused in her entire engineered life.
She had no idea where or when she had gotten the tattoo. She knew for a fact that Pilot Ikari had not done this; despite his brash attitude and serious lack of discipline as a pilot, Ikari was not cruel in his jokes. She had heard him once say "If everybody can't laugh at a joke, then it's not a joke".
She found the tattoo to be quite uncomfortable, but remembered hearing that having them removed was also quite uncomfortable, as well as costly and time consuming; she would not bother the Commander with this until an opportunity arose to have it dealt with in a timely fashion. She decided to head to the showers to wash herself and then she would find replacement garment.
The male officer handed her a trench coat and explained, "It's mine. You can borrow it so nobody sees the tattoo and bothers you about it". While Ayanami had no trouble with her own nudity, she realized he was right and that undue attention toward the tattoo would only see to make an uncomfortable situation even more so. She thanked the officer for the coat and put it on and tied the belt at the waist. It was several sizes to big for Ayanami but she did not complain. She nodded thanks to the two officers and walked away like nothing had happened.
Had she been looking back at her "rescuers, she would have noticed both of them had glowing red eyes which suddenly turned back to normal. Another feature that would have greatly disturbed her was their eerie, knowing grins. The male snickered to himself as the woman whispered, "Mother and Uncle have plans for you, little construct. We need you in one piece for that".
The male whispered, "In good health? Maybe". The two began walking away. When they turned a corner, the female officer snickered, "Maybe not".
It was almost an hour later when Commander Ikari called a meeting in the war room. Shinji and Rei had been discussing what had happened earlier. He was angry at himself for not taking better care of Rei during his mad rush to his Evangelion and was apologizing to Rei about it. While Rei held no animosity for Ikari regarding the accident, she requested he take better care, and asked that he drop the subject. He quickly (and wisely) agreed.
As they both sat down and regarded the Commander, who was flanked by both the Deputy-Commander and the transformed Dr. Gannon, They both noticed the huge screen in the back of the room was on, the computer-enhanced image of the massive custom-built space craft they would use to transport the Eva's to the moon to deal with the Angels that had camped out in the Ptolemaeus Crater. Rei had never trained for dealing with two Angels simultaneously, but ever since She had examined the upgrades and new equipment for Unit-00, she had been less apprehensive than she had been, but still was quite concerned.
The moon was, quite literally, an alien environment. She had no Zero-G training because she had always reasonably believed she would be fighting on Earth, not on its closest celestial neighbour. She wondered what both Ikari men were thinking.
"If this is a long flight, I'd better pack a few copies of Hustler", Shinji thought as he propped his feet up on the conference table.
"I hope Shinji takes this operation seriously. I know he tries to take things seriously, but he has a knack for being rather laid back in combat situations; Well, that or he flies off the handle! I think I need to get the boy a steady girl friend!" Commander Ikari thought wearily as he eyed his son with his feet propped up on the conference table.
Ayanami was sure that they were thinking about the finer specifics of the mission. She was roused from her musings when Commander Ikari called the meeting to order. He was standing behind a podium like an old time preacher, but Ayanami knew that this particular "sermon" would be rather apostate. She was curious as to what the mission would entail.
"All right, ladies and gentlemen, as you have all either discovered by now or have been briefed on, we have detected a blue pattern on the Moon. The consensus regarding the sheer lunacy of where the Angel and its unidentified cohort have appeared – and yes, we're still not sure what the Fifth Angel's companion is – is that the Angels have begun to adapt their tactics. This, for one thing, is an example. They are trying to stack the deck more in their favour. Here, they have chosen such a radically foreign environment for the Eva's to operate in, and for which our current roster of pilots have no practical training..."
"Beg pardon, Sir".
Shinji had put his feet back on the floor and, with his back straight and eyes aimed at the Commander, he raised his hand like a student in a classroom asking the teacher for permission to speak. He was pleased that, at least at this moment, Shinji had remembered professional decorum. He addressed the pilot directly.
"Yes, Pilot Ikari?"
"I actually have practical zero-g combat training"
"You do?" To say that the Commander was somewhat surprised was a potent understatement. He had no idea why Shinji would have actual training for zero-g environments, but right now he wasn't going to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
He looked back to Shinji and asked, "Please elaborate".
"Well, Dr. Gannon and one of the research teams that had been in charge of developing our new heavy transport ship had been trained to work and operate in zero-g. As the ship was meant for transporting Evangelions, it was decided that all pilots should receive zero-g training. This way, if work required Eva's to operate in outer space, all fully trained pilots would be used to operating in zero-g".
"Well then", Commander Ikari continued, "You, Pilot Ikari, will be in charge of providing Pilot Ayanami with her zero-g training since you have already completed yours. If Dr. Gannon approves, I will have him overseeing Pilot Ayanami's training as well".
The transformed Scotsman nodded and added, "I would be pleased, Sir, to help Pilot Ayanami prepare herself for this unique challenge and to help Pilot Ikari as well by refreshing his skills. We'll have them both ready for operations in approximately two days. The necessary training gear is actually on-board our new ship already".
"Excellent. We will commence loading the Eva's and any and all required equipment not already on-board immediately. When loading is complete, we will begin our long trek to the Moon. While I'm certain that the ship could get us there much sooner, we will take the time to adapt to the ship and all it avails to us. We will use the resources it provides to harass and possibly even damage the Angels while the Eva's and their pilots are preparing to engage them directly. Doctors Gannon and Carmine", The Commander now addressed his newest resident super-geniuses, "You will provide us with a full debriefing on the capabilities of this ship; defensive and offensive options, propulsion capabilities, stealth, every single feature you can recall".
"Captain Katsuragi", he now addressed Misato, "You will go over the security protocols and procedures with a fine toothed comb; if there is something that needs changing, identify it immediately and inform me so those changes can be made quickly. If something is functional as is, leave it".
"Dr. Akagi", he now addressed the bottle-blonde scientist, "You will consult with Doctors Gannon and Carmine on any and all scientific innovations you acquaint yourself with, no discussion allowed in this matter. Study every single minutia of that ship that you possibly can; if you have questions, ask them but be concise, and if you have suggestions, any at all, put them forward and consult with Gannon and Carmine. This is not about who's smarter or more talented, this is not about ego; put such things aside for the sake of the mission. Agreed?"
"Yes, Sir", Ritsuko replied, a bit too quickly for Gendo's liking. Ever since he got Agent Forbes report, he had been wary indeed of the faux blonde scientist. He also heard about what happened to Ayanami and had her describe her two rescuers; the two people she mentioned were on NERV's current personnel roster, but Gendo had no recollection of ever interviewing either of them, nor vetting them. It was like their names and pictures had just magically appeared in the database. He knew of only a handful of people who could do it, himself included. Doctor Gannon and Doctor Carmine didn't know them, and swore they never hired any new staff with those names and faces. They could be SEELE spies, but it was doubtful. His psychic staff members would have already found them out. No, these two were something else entirely. They had seamlessly integrated themselves into the standing NERV staff.
They had also made Shinji's "Beat-To-Death-With-A-Morning-Star" list, as well, for the stunt with Ayanami.
Gendo suspected more interference of the Angelic kind. He wouldn't be surprised if they all found out the mystery duo were human-sized Angels in disguise. He was certain that Akagi had been compromised, but like the old adage went, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer still".
Agent Forbes had picked up "The Scent" as he phrased it, and was working to track it down. NERV would not be tampered with from within this time. It would be NERV that did the tampering!
Shamshel's two children, who had taken on their host names of "Mizaki" and "Ayame" - for they had no names of their own – were softly chatting away as they walked down toward the cafeteria for lunch. They had added their host identities to the NERV database using a combination of newly acquired computer hacking skills, psychic manipulation, and carefully constructed lies. Human Resource staff had certain memories either altered slightly so they would remember Mizaki and Ayame with great recollection were they older staff members, or completely new memories added if they had only been on-staff for a short period of time.
They had to resort to computer hacking because they could not outright control people into adding them to the personnel roster. Having access to sixty-five percent potential brain capacity in human form made it rather easy, though certainly a boring and annoying chore. They would have to speak with Mother about their future moves before the Lilim vessel left to engage Her siblings on the Moon.
Well, that's what they had planned to do.
"My Children".
Shamshel herself had been heading toward the cafeteria herself when she had bumped into her two offspring. They almost jumped out of their new skin, they were so surprised. They almost prostrated themselves in front of their Mother, but she held up a hand to stop them; While she appreciated the gesture, they were not some vassals to command but her children whom she loved. She was quickly beginning to see the difference between devotion a child shows to their parents and the devotion a vassal shows to his or her masters. One was freely given unconditionally, the other was conditional and had to be earned.
"Heading off to lunch? I hope the cafeteria staff have made those lovely cinnamon buns. Who knew such a mixture of spices, sugar, and other confectionery ingredients would make such a palatable treat!" Shamshel seemed a little too excited about a simple pastry, but her children did not question Her on it, though they were somewhat...unnerved.
"Yes, Mother", they both replied in unison. Mizaki stepped forward and asked, "Mother, how are we to proceed? More Sabotage against the Lilim?" He was not troubled by the Lilim having the means to attack Mother's Siblings and were confident in his Uncle, Mighty Zereul, but he didn't want to take chances; the Lilim had, in fact, defeated Mother and Uncle Sachiel already, forcing them to...lessen themselves, at least in terms of their manifest forms.
Shamshel knew what her Children were thinking, as did her siblings. She was not offended, nor her siblings; they were, in fact, pleased that the Children were showing concern for not only direct blood kin, but for close relatives as well. Zereul appreciated the foresight, and Ramiel thought her niece and nephew most wonderful for their concern for their Aunt and Uncle, even though they were confident in them.
Shamshel stopped her happy train of thought to ask Mizaki how Agent Forbes children were doing. Her two children had teleported to America several days ago and found Forbes' errant mate and offspring. What they found sickened them; the woman locked the children in their rooms even when they were well behaved, would not let them cleanse themselves or even attend to the most basic of grooming and hygiene, beat them horribly seemingly on whims, and screamed either obscenities and scripture at them in equal parts. Their blood boiled at their hosts memories of similar abuse, and wasted no time in putting a stop to it. Ayame had drawn the childrens attention with lovely songs that were an audible expression of her very soul while Mizaki turned the woman into chunks of meat and splattered gore. After quickly disintegrating the vile womans' remains, the children were gently made to undressed so they could be thoroughly cleaned; as awkward and disgusting as Mizaki found the chore, Ayame smiled and even joked to the children as she worked.
The poor little ones had not even been allowed to...relieve themselves properly!
Mizaki told Shamshel all this and also that they were in better spirits than when they were still in America, but still they seemed rather despondent. Shamshel reasoned they needed their Father to reassure them and comfort them in this trying time...
"Your damn right, they want their Daddy!"
Section-2 Agent Michael Forbes was standing near the end of the hall, holding the hands of his two children, and he did not look at all happy. Not one little bit.
Mizaki and Ayame readied themselves for a fight, but Shamshel raised her stolen arms and bade them to halt. Forbes raised a snowy white brow at that and asked simply, "Why did you do that?"
Shamshel had an idea that Forbes had meant why had she retrieved his children and was, in fact, not referring to holding back her own children. She smiled warmly at the irate Nephilim and could guess why he was so upset; he knew she meant to use the children as a bargaining chip to elicit his silence. She calmly walked toward the angry super human, making sure she had her arms to the side and made no sudden gestures that could be misconstrued as belligerent. Forbes gestured for his children to get behind him, but Shamshel was right in front of him before he even registered it.
"Your children have done me no wrong, and that foul woman you originally took as your mate was punishing them for imagined wrongs, real only in that brainless woman's head. I have no doubt you saw into their memories?" She explained in a soothing tone of voice, the question asked even more softly. Forbes nodded slightly, almost too slightly to notice. Shamshel was glad for that. Even if Forbes decided to be less than...thankful, she would be content with that.
"You got them out of a horrible situation, away from someone I tried to love, but it was a false love, engineered by Melanie's lunatic preacher father. I am truly grateful, I am, but I'm also very sorry. You rescued my kids, cleaned them up, been more of a mom to them in a single day then their birth mom was to them for their entire lives".
Shamshel felt quite honoured by what Forbes was saying, but what did he mean he was sorry?
"The Commander already knows you took over Dr. Akagi, not to mention the fact..."
"That he's standing right here", a new voice spoke up. Shamshel and her children whipped around and saw Commander Gendo Ikari staring at them, a smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets. He pulled a hand out of a pocket and tapped in against his temple. Shamshel realized that Forbes had been psychically shielding the Commander's presence from her or she would have detected him instantly. She also could not enter his mind; When she tried, she was greatly rebuffed, and not because of Agent Forbes' intervention. No, it felt like more than one person was blocking her.
"Three other people!" She realized.
She looked for the other three, but quickly realized that they were in different parts of the base, but very much aware of her.
"I personally vet each and every new employee here at NERV. How in the world could a powerful psychic have missed that one?" The Commander answered Shamshel's unspoken question with a chuckle. He took of his glasses and wiped them off with the handkerchief in his jacket breast pocket. He replaced the handkerchief and put his glasses back on. He addressed Agent Forbes directly.
"Take your children home, Agent Forbes. Take the day off tomorrow. We'll be launching the day after tomorrow anyway. Show them around Tokyo-3, on me".
Forbes was about to question the Commander's decision when he added, "Yes, I'm sure. I'll expect to see you bright and early in two days time".
Forbes saluted and replied, "Thank you sir! I'll see you in two days time", and then took both his children's hands in his. He was about to teleport when his little daughter asked him to wait a minute and walked up to Ayame and the possessed Dr. Akagi.
"I'm really sorry me and Tommy got you into trouble". It warmed Shamshel's soul that the little ones were more concerned about others than themselves.
"It is alright, little one", Shamshel spoke softly as she knelt down to the girls eye level, "The trouble we are in, we made ourselves. You and your darling little brother have done us no wrong".
The girl was somewhat satisfied by that, but was still somewhat upset that these nice people were in so much trouble. Forbes walked up to her and gently took her small hand in his. He nodded thanks to Shamshel and vanished in a small burst of light. Commander Ikari smirked at the display and walked toward the Shamshel-possessed Dr. Akagi and said, "You know something? I was a spectacular fool. I had an opportunity to be a father to my son, but threw it all away. He reminded me too much of his mother who just passed so I passed him off to relatives and then a teacher whose name I quite frankly can't remember, nor do I care to. I wanted my son an emotional wreck so he could be a better Evangelion pilot".
Shamshel stared wide-eyed at Gendo Ikari and scanned her hosts memories. What she saw made her new stomach wretch. He had ruined the poor woman's mother, using her to ruin the life of another child. She knew the whys and the whats, the who's and the whens. She vowed then and there to end the sickening little man. He kept talking, so Shamshel decided to let him finish. If he wanted let Shamshel hang him, let him give Shamshel all the more rope to do it with, She reasoned.
"Naoko Akagi was a part of the team that worked under a Doctor Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. Dr. Soryu had discovered an incredible method for empowering an Evangelion", he softly spoke but paused for a moment, as though to emphasize what he said next.
"She had found a way to clone the very soul".
Shamshel's borrowed eyes widened considerably and she whirled to face Commander Ikari. He smiled and continued with this unexpected series of startling revelations.
"My wife convinced me to seduce Naoko Akagi and use the woman to tamper with Dr. Soryu's work. The tampering was successful. Most of Kyoko's mind was bonded and lost to Unit-02, the production model Evangelion. What was left was irreparably broken, ruined, a shattered soul. What was left of Kyoko went perfectly insane and killed herself, and from the looks of it, had thought to take her young daughter with her in death. Thankfully she was so far gone, Kyoko hung a little doll beside her instead of her actual child. Could you imagine the sheer horror that child went through when she found her mother? The overwhelming sense of betrayal by someone she loved, the paranoid fear of herself losing her mind the way her mother did?"
The Commander kept speaking.
"Shinji's mother didn't really pass, you know. She was absorbed, mind, body, and soul into Unit-01, an Evangelion your very familiar with". Shamshel snarled openly at that little memory. The Commander continued, never even registering how even more angry his previous statement had made the human-form Fourth Angel. What he told her next, he was certain would spell his doom.
"My wife used powerful political and familial connections to get me onto the Katsuragi Expedition. The Expedition was studying an enormous, ancient being discovered in Antarctica. That being, dear Shamshel, was code-named 'Adam'. He was the first of your kind".
Shamshel's blood seemed to freeze in her stolen veins.
"That being was - without a doubt – your 'Father'".
The hideous banshee wail of hate that exploded from Shamshel's borrowed mouth was so singularly painful that Ikari's ears started to bleed and he was driven to his knees in furious agony. He felt more than saw Shamshel's two children right next to him, their hands transformed into huge talon-tipped appendages, swept back in preparation to tear him apart.
"No, Sister. Leave him be".
Zereul, the Angel of Might had spoken suddenly in Shamshel's mind, and with such power that she joined Commander Ikari on the floor, grabbing at her head as though shut out the overwhelming power of Zereul's voice and gasping in pain.
"His life is for Father to take when he is restored to us. For now, let his servants meet us in battle and fall likewise. Let us slay the horrid wench that helped him break this dying world and we shall then end his belligerent spawn and the hideous constructs that were built with Father's blood. A quick death is far too merciful, even if it was to be pleasantly horrible".
Just like that, Zereul's presence was gone, leaving Shamshel gasping on the floor, her children wide-eyed but completely comatose.
She realized their Uncle's power had greatly damaged their minds which would take quite a substantial portion of time to mend. She forced herself to her feet and picked up her two offspring under each arm like they weighed nothing at all. She wobbled a bit as she walked away down the corridor, glaring perfect hate at the back of the retreating Gendo Ikari.
"When Father stands before you in Judgment, your diseased little cretin, I hope I am close enough to watch your soul shatter like glass before the hammer!"
Author's Notes: I hope everybody enjoyed part one of "Celestial Smack-Down". Coming up is part two, "Travels of The Black Ship". I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Sayonara!