Relapse:∣▍
Chapter 35: "…I'm Nuclear, I'm Wild…"
A hand reached out to the blue orb in the black sky. Its owner clicked the buttons on his wrist, causing his plugsuit to seal firmly against his pale skin.
"The Third again hmm?" He mumbled with a smile, no one would hear his voice, not in the vacuum of space, yet he stood there, with no protection against the adverse conditions.
"You haven't changed a bit." He chuckled.
Looking down at the dark blue Eva he was standing on, the pale boy sighed, beginning his climb down, eyeing the massive red spear next to his EVA. Perhaps that pilot could never change. The thought of the Third Child caused the edges of his lips to curl even more.
Kaworu Nagisa knew one thing, they would always meet again, it was only a matter of time.
ʡʘʘʢ
Beneath hundreds of feet of dirt, stone, and armor plating, civilians huddled in darkened shelters, illuminated only by the faint glow of red emergency lighting.
With each shockwave, bits of dust and debris from the domed ceilings, sprinkling down on the increasingly worried crowd and eliciting more than one sneeze.
None could truly know how damaged their city was. Not even one pilot's closest friends, who had witnessed the Angel just before entering the shelters could comprehend the destruction that awaited them above ground.
Toji's younger sister had asked to see the boy who had fought the Fourth Angel and while her older brother had initially protested, Kensuke had also wanted to go to his apartment due to the uncharacteristically long absence of all pilots.
They had found the apartment door wide open, the NERV colonel seemingly gone in a hurry. One very confused penguin later and the sirens started to blare, alerting them to seek out the nearest shelters.
Pen Pen, to his credit, did quite well being whisked away, probably due to the treats the children had bribed him with and had surprisingly not been at all worried about the constant shaking of the shelter, while also being a great distraction for younger children. Keeping their minds occupied from the very real danger that surrounded them.
For a little while, the shockwaves had stopped, and relief had settled over the masses packed tightly into the bunker complex. It had seemed that the Angel had finally been stopped, and the common belief was that soon they'd be allowed to return to their homes.
The idea that there might not be a city to return to never crossed any of their minds.
And as the walls around them began to shake again, unbeknownst to them, an ageless boy held their fates in his hands.
ʡʘʘʢ
The problem with fighting the same opponent life after life is you know all their tricks, all their strategies, or at least you believe you do. It makes you blind to anything new.
"Idiot!" the invisible redhead shouted at him, alerting him to the AT field crashing down from overhead.
Shinji jumped out of the way, as Zeruel produced another AT field right above where Unit-01 just landed.
The boy's eyes widened at the ground he had just stood on, now compacted down through immeasurable force. Over and over again, he was forced to dodge a seemingly endless strain of attacks, each closer than the last, before finally…
Unit-01 was sent flying backward, an arm from the Angel hitting it square in the chest. The Third Children had been so busy focusing on the novel strikes from above he hadn't kept track of Zeruel's other strikes.
Skipping once over the GeoFront's earth, Unit-01 came to land face-down, the pilot inside taking a moment to orient himself.
He couldn't save Asuka… he couldn't save Rei… why the hell did he think he could do this?
"Get up Third!" she barked at him "You killed this thing with almost no training, so finish it!"
She was right about that… she was right about a lot of things.
Pushing Unit-01 up, Shinji spotted Zeruel through the still hazy GeoFront. Walking away from him, its stride seemingly carefree with the lack of resistance. The 'eyes' seemed to pulse with light as the pyramid that had been nearly unaffected by the N2 blast only minutes earlier, was decimated by the Angel's attack.
What was the point of fighting this thing anyways? He had lost Asuka in a coma, he'd be treated like a criminal when he got back, and Rei was gone, what was the point?
"Do it because I want you to!" he was sure she was trying in vain to hit him "Now get your ass up and move!"
"Do you think that thing isn't going to hurt her," she asked, referring to the comatose girl in the medical wing "what do you think happens to her if you don't stop Zeruel?"
She wanted him to fight, he was sure Shikinami would want him to fight…. fine.
Shinji willed the Evangelion forwards, dashing across the GeoFront with grace and speed that he hadn't even shown in the fight against this world's Sahaquiel. Zeruel had turned just in time, its AT Field shooting back up to protect itself, only it wouldn't be enough this time.
Unit-01 smashed into it, shattering layer after layer. Shinju pushed his own AT field forwards, using it to tear away, while his EVA's arms forced their way through. It was enough for him to actually grab the Angel's face, but it was all in vain.
A searing pain coursed through his arm as he watched Unit-01's forearm sliced through the center. The cut starting between Unit-01s fingers and ending at its elbow.
The lapse in concentration was all Zeruel needed as the AT field closed, cutting the arm clean off. The boy was used to pain by now, but it didn't make it any less excruciating, especially when the black tendrils of the Angel wrapped themselves around the EVA's remaining limbs.
Falling Unit-01 about, it was thrown back and forth against the ground, over and over again, till he was sent flying into one of the ruined structures that littered the GeoFront.
The Angel, clearly content with its job, proceeded to continue its path of destruction further into the earth.
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Misato couldn't comprehend it.
The Angel had absorbed Unit-00. It had eaten an EVA.
And now the defense system surrounding central dogma couldn't distinguish it from an EVA, from Unit-00. They would have to manually activate the self-destruct.
"Should we activate the self-destruct sequence?" Ritsuko mumbled, clearly at a loss for words.
They had thrown every EVA they had at this Angel and it still refused to go down, she had watched as it fought Unit-02, then taken a direct hit from an N2 blast.
Finally… it had all but manhandled Shinji in the Geofront…
Looking down at the console… was no other way.
"Start Sequence." She muttered, her head low, this would be it for them.
Everyone in the room had been briefed on this exact scenario, there was only a stillness that could not be replicated anywhere else.
"Activating self dest…" Makoto stopped, "The MAGI…"
"All of them?" she breathed, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Each of the AIs refused the command, a single unilateral decision.
But why?
There was no why not for her now, no answers, instead, the command center shook once again as the white arms then face of the 10th Angel broke through the far wall, made of reinforced concrete and armor like it was wet paper.
The massive creature drew closer to them, its eye shining and signaling its attack.
Silently, Misato thought back to all that had transpired. How could she have been so happy for her two wards less than a day ago and now both were gone.
She apologized, begging for their forgiveness in failing them, failing to be the one they could depend on, the one they needed.
She didn't even bother registering the curses thrown at the creature by others in the command center, she just relaxed, gripping the white pendant around her neck.
This would be it.
Until a violet hand grabbed the shoulder of the Angel.
Thousands of tons of armor plating and concreate screeched as they were shattered by the hulking mass of Unit-01, who violently whipped the Angel backward, causing its attack to be directed upwards and to the right of their group.
"SHINJI!" She couldn't help but yell in wild jubilation, he had come back.
Somehow… he always came back.
The dust cloud from the two combatants blew towards the group in the command center, the wild grappling of two enclosed fighters tore through wall after wall of hardened steel.
Just as Unit-01 had rushed in, she heard Shinji shout over comms, "Launch!" it was more an order than an ask, but she knew exactly what he wanted.
"Unit-01's Launch Pad!" she barked, an order that was immediately complied with, sending the two towering figured towards the surface.
Perhaps now the real fight would begin.
ʡʘʘʢ
If one were so unlucky enough as to find themselves failing to reach a shelter in time, yet be fortunate to survive the initial onslaught of the 10th Angel, they would be facing an impossible stillness of a city seemingly on the cusp of death, where not even the cicadas sang their familiar tune.
They would find themselves in the stretching shadows of ruins, cast long by the dipping sun and viewing an indeterminable vista of devastation. A city mutilated, with skyscrapers shredded like grass by the destructive force of the Angel.
Once the shaking ground would stop, there would be no sound of life, nothing to replace the thunder of the city, all that was left was a stillness, reminiscent of a catacomb, as one's footsteps might reverberate off the dead walls and shattered windows, a last rhythmic breath of the once-great city.
And in their ear, they might hear the faintest of words.
"And this is Tokyo-03." says a melancholy voice, only to be blown away by the rush of two towering figures, shooting up from the GeoFront deep below ground, entangled in a seemingly endless struggle.
"And this is Tokyo-03."
They would witness the end of a city.
ʡʘʘʢ
Separating from Zeruel mid-flight, Shinji willed Unit-01 into a roll, trying to lessen the shock of landing he touched down on what was left of central Tokyo-03.
He looked around; the devastation was second only to that of the carnage left by Unit-00s self-destruction in his first life. At least there were buildings still standing, there was nothing but a lake left behind after Rei had sacrificed herself to defeat Armisael.
"C'mon, you should have ended this by now!" Asuka bemoaned in his ear. As much as he hated a back-seat driver, she was right, this one was not the typical Zeruel he was accustomed to.
Jumping out of the way, the buildings behind him were reduced to clouds of dust by an AT field from said Angel. Shinji glanced up at the time left as he took cover being a still standing skyscraper. Taking a breath, he glanced up at his remaining time.
30 seconds.
That was all he had… it might as well be nothing.
That thought was cut short by the upper half of the building exploding, Shinji braced himself as it fell onto his EVA, trying to protect himself with his AT Field as his vision was reduced to blackness.
Well, now was as good a time as any.
"Yui…" he breathed, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing. He let go of the controls, allowing himself to slip back into the EVA.
His would-be mother was waiting for him, almost too eager to swirl up and encompass the boy who now reached out to her.
He held nothing back, just as he had done before leaving the entry plug hours before, and just as she had done before, Yui refused to leave him. She rushed forwards and surrounded him, the feeling was intoxicating, this little show of motherly love.
Shinji felt a sudden jolt of energy flow through him. Outside, the armor encompassing the EVA began to glow a red where green should be and his vision exploding into light as his AT field shot forwards, blowing the rubble and debris off of him.
Standing straight, the boy opened his eyes, not knowing that they were beginning to have a red hue.
"Let's end this…"
Launching Unit-01 upright and into the air, the Angel wasn't prepared for the sudden burst of energy from the Evangelion. It recoiled, hiding behind an AT field while shooting out two tendrils at the armored titan.
Dodging the first, Shinji grabbed the second one, using it to pulling Unit-01 down and towards the Angel with Unit-01s remaining arm.
Zeruel's AT field was still up, leaving the boy to collide feet first with it, luckily his plan wasn't to attack right that second. Instead, he brought down his own AT field, slicing off the tendril and jumping away.
Sliding down the street as Unit-01s feet slowed him, Shinji brought the piece up to the stump of Unit-01s arm, attaching it.
Much to his surprise, instead of grafting onto the EVA, it simply attached, and began to pulsate, not quite taking the form of a forearm, until a golden glow began to surround it, forcing it into the shape of a hand.
Flexing the fingers, it seemed to work, looking back just in time, he raised his barrier, blocking a set of four tendrils that slammed into the field with enough force to level adjacent buildings.
The retracted, only for Zeruel to lift an entire remaining skyscraper and launch it at the Evangelion.
Shinji gritted his teeth, weathering the blow as a dust plume from the disintegrating building, surrounded Unit-01.
Rushing forwards, Zeruel was again taken by surprise, unable to raise any protection in time. Unit-01's arms grabbed its face and launched it towards the massive hole it had punched through the earth and into the GeoFront.
Following it, the Third Children latched onto it in the air, grappling it, and sending them both down deep into the underground dome below.
They would end this where it began.
ʡʘʘʢ
Misato could only stare at the two colossal figures as they fell from the top of the dome, like falling stars.
Unit-01's violet body was now accented by glowing red lines where green should be. It clawed at the body of the Angel as they fell, their limbs intertwined with Unit-01 tearing chunks out of the angel as they fell.
Their little group has evacuated the command bridge, finding their way through rubble-filled halls and dark corridors, they had found an exit to the GeoFront just in time to witness the sight.
"It's impossible…" Ritsuko mumbled. The scientist was monitoring Unit-01 through a portable laptop.
"What's happening to Unit-01?" The colonel barked at the blonde, who simply shook her head.
"I have no idea." The woman breathed, looking up at the falling titans.
The ground shook at the force of their impact, while everyone braced themselves for the shockwave that hit them moments later. From the dust cloud, Misato could make out the two of them, still battering away at each other.
Misato watched as the Angel was hit back and forth… was that?
"Two AT Fields?" the words were barely a whisper.
"I'm not sure," the scientist looked down at her readings "that shouldn't be possible!"
The Angel was slowly pushing itself up, falling back down over and over while Unit-01 lumbered forwards, the red lines on its body pulsating with each step. Misato watched as the muscles, typically hidden by pieces of armor, flexed as it passed them, so much of the armor had been sheered or blasted off in the fight, it looked like the EVA would be out of commission for months.
Her eyes widened as over its head; a halo began to form.
"The plug depth is exceeding 180!" Ritsuko exclaimed, the alarm in her voice perfectly clear to all those present. "He needs to stop! He won't be able to come back!"
But he promised.
Shinji had promised her, he had promised her he would always come back.
He never broke that promise.
"You can do it Shinji!" she shouted, her voice seemed so small and insignificant as the giant lumbered past, "Asuka would want you to do it, save everyone!"
As those words left her mouth, the world exploded in purple light.
ʡʘʘʢ
Could he hear them? Of course, he could, but what did they know?
Ritsuko shouting for him to stop was laughable at this point. She had no idea what was possible with an EVA, let alone what he could do with one.
He felt a tug from Yui, and just then his world exploded in violet light, as beams shot out eviscerating the hasty protection Zeruel had brought up to shield itself.
A bit of its own medicine.
As Unit-01 approached the smoldering figure of the Angel, Shinji knew what he was going to do, even if he didn't know exactly how he would do it.
"Go on, kill it!" Asuka grumbled, it had been a spectacular fight, but now it was finished, all that was left was clean up.
"No."
"What?"
"I need to get Rei." He said, leaning down, and tearing the boney spikes that protected the Angel's core.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she was yelling in his ear now, "She's expendable and you can't get her back!"
"She's not expendable…" he mumbled, "neither of you are."
"I won't lose both of you, not now… I have to try."
The view in the entry plug began to morph, bright colors began to flow from front to back, creating an oncoming shower of color.
Yui nudged him, guiding him as Unit-01's arm reached down into the Angel's core, trying to do something, anything. Shinji could pull himself from a core, hell, once he pulled Asuka out of Unit-02's core, but now? He was flying blind.
At least until he heard the voice.
"It's no use." Rei's voice floated into the entry plug "I cannot exist anywhere but here now."
"Besides," the red-eyed girl explained, "I am replaceable."
"NO!" he shouted "I can save you! I can save all of you!"
He found himself plunging into the core, just as he had a countless number of times, his sync ratio passing the threshold. Yui's essence guided him, all the while stopping, seeming to ask 'is this what you want?'.
"Shinji, I don't know if this is a good idea…" he heard Asuka call from behind him, but he ignored it.
Shinji pushed onwards like he was plunging deeper into the bottomless pool, diving deeper and deeper. He doubted he had ever pushed himself that far, there had been no reason to before, no need to delve so close to the heart of an EVA.
Finally, he could see Rei, he could see her deeper in the void he kept going deeper and deeper into.
Finally, he was forced to stop, a barrier causing him to bounce backward, invisible only decerable to his touch as he tried to force himself forwards.
"Not… both of you…. not… you… too!" He shouted as he forced his way through the barrier, tearing it to pieces and pushing past it.
Here the area around him hurt, it burned, it felt like he was submerged in acid as he reached out to the girl.
"Take my hand!" he shouted, as the pale girl began to lift her hand, reaching out and latching onto him. He couldn't see the SDAT player she was holding in her other hand.
"Why?"
He would explain to her later, he could tell both of them, after this stunt there was little chance of him explaining everything away, he just hoped they all could keep a secret, however unlikely.
Pulling back, he pushed himself towards the surface, Rei in tow, who knew exactly what would happen when they breached the 'surface'. Would she be in his entry plug? Would she just be another soul in Unit-01?
All Shinji knew was he had her, he had saved her. He failed to save Asuka and he would never forgive himself, but he was relieved he wouldn't have Rei's death on his mind this time too.
He wouldn't lose them both.
Passing through that barrier that had separated Rei, he felt a tug in his gut.
Before a familiar pain shot through him.
Letting go of Rei at the stab of pain, he screamed in agony at the familiar burn brought on by a spear of Longinus.
But why was he feeling that here? How was he feeling that here?
Looking back, Rei was gone, and that same pain was still there, pulsating in his gut. Pushing himself up towards the surface, the boy was exhausted, but he needed to get himself out, he needed to get back.
He rocketed forwards, determined to find himself in the entry plug once more. The 'surface' was just above him; he was almost there!
Before he slammed into something.
Confused, he tried again, pushing against whatever was blocking his way, an invisible barrier much like that which had kept him initially from Rei. He pounded against it, clawed at it, raged at it, did everything he could to force himself upwards and out of the core. He called out to Yui, whose presence had disappeared as soon as the pain had manifested itself in his gut.
But it was no use.
Shinji just stopped, he was spent, he had nothing left to throw at this invisible wall that was keeping him there, like someone trapped beneath the ice, desperately trying to get to the surface.
He began to understand.
His mind relaxed, as he just felt himself falling backward, sinking deeper and deeper into the core.
There was nothing to do now, Yui was gone, Rei was gone, he had stopped the Angel sure… but now he was stuck here.
Even his ghostly companion was silent.
He just relaxed, letting his mind slowly be consumed by the emptiness around him. There were worse deaths than this. He was certain.
Shinji Ikari, Third Children, Pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, had failed… again.
Alright, we made it, hope that was a satisfying conclusion for this first part. We also had a title change, well more like an addition. There's typically confusion when talking about this Relapse or deathbringer374's Relapse, so the titles been changed or i guess modified. Unfortunately, doesn't like special characters in the titles so it'll just be 'Relapse: End, Repeat' while in-chapter, it'll be Relapse:∣▍, just so you can specify which is which, the formatting is a bit janky but it works... kinda. Go check out deathbringer's Relapse, I've really enjoyed it so far.
SHOUTOUTS!
AK-103 – Hope you enjoyed it!
UltraSpink of Da USA – I actually wanted to get this out a week earlier, but here we are on the eve of 3.01.0s release.
Ikari01 – Do you trust me?
YodaMorpheus7 – Thanks! I hope this kept up that feeling.
Skyf0x – Thanks for the review! Cruelty? I'm not that cruel… maybe.
ghemstro - Shadowfang
JIM D. ZAS – Thanks! Here you go!
tomdj1701 – Thank you!
Dyinglittelstar – Thank you, hope this kept it up.
Guest – Yeah, just a little break.
EvaPilotFair – Thanks! Hopefully we can fix Mari to be a better character in general.
JDH1080 – I'm happy it helped, hope everything works out for you.
Guest(2) - *eyebrow wiggle*
Calborghete – Everything is good, 'it's 3.0 Jim but not as we know it'
nacichjuanmanuel – Here's the update!
So, there was some confusion about this being the 'end'. No, we have a ways to go, but I will be taking a 'break'. It's not a hiatus, that's for sure, I'm still writing, I just want to get most of the next section done before I post anything. I had about 60k words before posting and thought that was about 80% of this first part, turns out it was wrong. That's not a bad thing, stories evolve and change. I want to do the same with the next part, I'd say I'll be back to posting consistently between mid-September and early October. That being said I'm planning on having three or four 'interlude' chapters, just as a show I'm still here. And I could just say screw it and start posting sooner, who knows.
Until Next Time.