Apotheosis Echo: Re(verb - it)erations

by StriderInCosmos

The end has passed, and a storm looms over a broken world. At its edge, a Captain who cannot fully chart her course plunges in regardless. Within the lightning, a Priest sees his gods, and hopes to draw them to the dying Earth he wishes to gift to them. Against the rain, a Soldier and his family seek to dispel the tempest. The storm looms, and the End is nigh. But what End?

38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Parliament of Dreamers

The crew are almost amusing to watch sometimes as they process seeing two of every person on this world passing them from time to time. I'd have to say perhaps my favorite comment on the situation came from an American crewmember walking with his compatriots past me and my young double.

He turned to one of the others and said, 'I knew we were the Autonomous Assault Ark and all, but when did we turn into Noah's Ark?'. My wife was the first to chuckle. After she explained it to me, I followed her soon after. It was a nice little moment of levity before we have to go and save the world again.

- From the personal journal of Captain Shinji Ikari-Soryu

AAA Wunder, May 10th, 2028

It felt somewhat strange to be in the air again, Daniel mused as he awoke in the now far more cramped space of his bunk on the Wunder. But the feeling, he knew, was a passing one, the reaction to any major change. It was tempered by the sense of… duty that was becoming endemic aboard the ship.

"Hello, dear."

Daniel looked up, seeing Eleanor peeking over the edge of her top bunk at him, the smile he couldn't see evident in her eyes as he smiled back at her. "You know, we could easily go to the Val, continue actually sleeping in the same bed."

"There'll be time for that." Eleanor rolled her eyes. "I don't get to do this often enough anymore."

Daniel chuckled as he rolled off his bunk and began to get dressed for the day, Eleanor following suit soon enough.

"So," Daniel began, "it's back to Evangelion maintenance if I believe rightly."

"The crew here could use all the help we can give them." Eleanor shrugged. "Now, though, it's going to be a hell of a lot easier now that we don't need to conceal our powers. We'll be able to do an exponential amount of work in a lot less time."

"And here I was," Asuka interjected as she parted the curtain between them, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "perfectly ready to kick up my feet and rest up in order to kick some ass."

"Oh, don't worry," Daniel said with a slight grin. "There'll be plenty of time in the day after we finish getting the Evas ready."

"Even with our abilities," Rei said as she stepped forward, concern creasing her expression, "I would caution against being so cavalier, as it were. The Scion fleet may well take interest in assisting Tavis in his endeavor to suborn Instrumentality."

"You're not wrong." Shinji mused. "For as many good Evas as we have, not only do the Scions and NERV's forces outnumber us, but I'm guessing most ships carry a lot more guns than we do."

"So the question becomes then," Kaworu said, "of how we negate that advantage."

"Well…" Daniel began.

He was interrupted by a tapping on the door, one from what sounded like knee height, followed by a somewhat louder knock from above it.

"It's open," Eleanor said. "And we're decent," she added almost as an afterthought.

The door slid open, revealing Misato, their Misato, and a somewhat surprising companion who waddled in without waiting for her.

"Hey, Penpen," Asuka said, her brows raised ever so slightly. "When did you make it onto the ship?"

"Around while you all were yakking on the dock." the penguin replied somewhat smugly. "Misato here guided me to her quarters while most of the crew was still out doing their jobs and all that. It really was a stunning act of infiltration."

"Yeah, yeah." Misato chuckled. "Are you guys ready to do some sitting down and talking? Because if I'm right about the Captain, and I think I mostly am, I've probably got some ideas already."

"How astute," Daniel said with a wry grin. "We've probably got a few more things to be worrying about before then. Captain Katsuragi planned to release the gene and seed banks into orbit to keep them safe, just in case. More likely than not, we'll be planning things from orbit."

"Well, at least that's something that's going to look interesting," Penpen said, turning and beginning to waddle out of the bunk room. "I didn't catch the view coming in. Still getting used to really big heights, y'know?"

Daniel looked at the others as Misato followed her penguin out the door, an amused look on his face as he followed her out, the rest of the room following suit.

"So," he said with an air of exaggerated innocence, "have you tried the bridge yet? It's got plenty of windows, several at Penpen's height."

"Not yet," Misato admitted. "We've mostly been focused on settling in."

She shook her head slightly. "These are tight quarters. And I have to wonder why the partitions for the bathrooms look like the crew put them up as an afterthought. It feels so… slapdash, in some places."

"That's because it is, and they did," Eleanor said, pausing to look back at Rei as Misato regarded her for a moment.

"This ship was built to be crewed by hundreds of copies, possibly thousands, of the Ayanami line," Rei said simply.

Misato's eyes went wide. "That's… a lot of you, Rei."

"Yes, it is." Rei paused as they walked further. "I believe we're approaching the bridge now."

"If we get there soon," Daniel said, "we should be able to watch the transition from atmosphere to vacuum. That's a sight that never gets old."

It was silent for a moment before Daniel looked down at Penpen, a gleam in his eye beginning to twinkle. "Say, you haven't run into Captain Katsuragi yet, have you?"

"Nope," Penpen replied. "She's probably been busy corralling this crew, and I've been trying to avoid those big white monsters. Nasty-looking things, even with all that paint."

Daniel and Misato looked at each other with slowly growing conspiratorial grins. "Well, let's hope she's there," Misato said. "I'm sure she's missed having you around."

. . .

Ymris waited in her quarters expectantly, Eleanor's device set up and waiting for them as she prepared herself for what was to come.

Finally, the door opened, and Daniel and Eleanor walked in. As they took their seats, Ymris couldn't help but study their faces for a moment. Their eyes were rimmed with drying tears, and their lips twitched upward every few seconds.

"Hello," she said slowly. "Am I to expect that I… missed something?"

Daniel and Eleanor both grinned as they looked at each other, then looked at her. "Y'know what?" Daniel said. "We'll just show you."

Ymris blinked, and she was walking onto the bridge, watching through Daniel's eyes as he and several others, their world's Misato among them, entered the familiar space. She could feel from Daniel a sense of… expectation. Daniel glanced down, and she caught sight of a penguin, like the kind that now populated the warm waters of Village-3.

"Mr. Theisman." Captain Katsuragi said from above them. "I assume there's a reason for bringing so many people onto the bridge."

"Just looking to watch the view when we break through the atmosphere," Daniel replied. "Most of us toil down in the depths of the ship after all, and don't get to see such a sight, after all."

Katsuragi nodded slightly, her eyes, like the rest of the bridge, which included Commander Kaji, slowly coming to rest on the penguin that waddled up to the lowest window possible and watched the sky fade from blue to black. "I wasn't aware one of the penguins followed you onboard," Katsuragi said sternly. "We'll need to keep it out of the way so that we can work effectively."

Then, the moment of truth, as the penguin turned around and looked up at the Captain.

"Aw, come on now. You'd really do that to your old buddy? Life really has been tough on ya, huh?"

The look on the Captain's face, unique in its shock even as the rest of the bridge fell silent, was only compounded when Misato spoke up. "Oh, come on, Penpen. Be nice," she said with a slight smile. "It's been a while since she saw you specifically, I'm sure."

The memory faded, and Ymris saw Daniel and Eleanor chuckling again even as she smiled, the pair leaning up against each other almost drunkenly. "It's probably the funniest thing we've ever seen in this world," Eleanor said. "And with how depressing everything's been, we'll take what we can get."

It took the couple a few moments to get themselves under control again, Daniel breathing deeply as he wiped his eyes clean again. "So, now that we've shared that happy little memory with you, I can assume why you called us here."

Ymris nodded, her smile fading. "Yes. I managed to get in contact with Receptorist Jameson. He's ready to talk to us now."

Daniel looked over at the comms device. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road."

He stood, walked over to the machine, and activated it before stepping back and sitting down again. After a moment, the image of Receptorist Jameson, his head bald and his beard longer as his gray eyes swept over them in turn. "It is a pleasure to see you all again, outside of such trying circumstances as our last meeting."

"It's good to see you too," Ymris replied. "Have you given some thought to my questions?"

Jameson nodded. "I have. It's a part of my past I have little desire to relive. But if young Farhaven has truly decided to merge with the Guide of War… then I have little choice in the matter than to go ahead with our plans."

"Whatever you can give us, we'll take," Daniel said. "If you don't have much to divulge, I understand. That sort of memory weighs on you, regardless of when you think of it."

Jameson shook his head. "No. You must understand what I've kept secret all these centuries. What I've been trying to accomplish since the Unity War ended."

It was silent for a moment, then Jameson began. "I was there, at the founding of our first religion dedicated to the Guides. Though, they weren't the Guides then. They call themselves the Marasekari, the Composite in their language. It started largely peacefully. There were few of us at first, the lost looking for a path to follow. The Composite were willing to work with us to find a path, and perhaps find themselves in the process. They were a young race. Still finding themselves."

"In time, the Composite, who had become our guides, decided that their nature was a strength. A strength that could be shared to bind Reality together against something that the Composite were afraid of. What it might have been, they never divulged. We acted as their representatives, their prophets in a sense, being physical beings where they were Pneumaic. I don't even recall who decided to make our work a religious one. I followed it wholeheartedly, believing in the justness of our cause. That, I think, was our first mistake."

It was silent for a moment, then he continued. "The Guides, as we came to call them, took worship in stride. Some of them simply acted out the part for our benefit, fully aware that it was little more than a marketing strategy for some. But some… some seemed to take a distinct pleasure in the supplication."

"So, our beliefs, the idea that the Guides are gods…" Ymris began. "It's all a lie?"

"Not fully," Jameson said. "These beings are, in their realm, on par with most gods in other worlds. But they cannot manifest much more than a sliver of their power in the physical world. They need us to act on their behalf here. There is some truth to what we teach. The religion we wrapped around them was simply a means to an end."

"But the fact remains," Jameson continued after a moment, "most all of the Guides were decent beings, who wanted to leave a positive impact on the world. At least, until about 8 years ago."

Daniel's face fell, and he felt as though he knew exactly what Jameson was going to talk about.

"I was inducted, well before that time, into a group that called themselves the Literalists. They believed, as most inducted during the war did, that the unity of Reality that the Guides strove for was not simply metaphorical, but an actual gathering of all World Engines, all multiverses, into a single, cohesive Universe. Not only did we have a small, but dedicated cadre of people, we had a prominent Guide on our side. The one that would betray its own kind."

"Hamar'ramah," Daniel said quietly.

Jameson nodded. "When the time was right, the Guide that styled himself as the Guide of War, along with several dozen acolytes on both sides of Physicality, sealed the other Guides in a pocket of Pneumaity, channeling their power into himself. It is my greatest mistake that I did not walk away and warn others of what was to come from the sudden silence of their gods."

"So, if the other Composites, Guides, whatever they wish to call themselves, can be sealed in," Eleanor surmised, "then there's a way to break that seal, I would think."

"I've spent the years after the war in one Echo or another, gathering like-minded followers and information specifically to attempt it," Jameson said. "We've made some remarkable progress in Reality-based time, but there's always been one component missing; a way to reach Hamar'ramah and break the seal."

"I would assume he guards it in some capacity?" Ymris asked.

"In the ritual I participated in, we bound the seal deep within the Framework of the Guide's Spirit core." Jameson shook his head. "It's been the ultimate security, only ever challenged once before now."

"When I was freed at Tel," Daniel said, his expression distant.

Jameson nodded. "That was the first chance anyone had. Now that Hamar'ramah's inhabiting Tavis, we are likely as close as we're going to get."

"So, does that mean you're coming?" Eleanor said.

"I'm the only one who'd be willing to divulge the secret of how to unravel the seal." Jameson shrugged. "I can't promise a whole fleet, but I have a few friends in the area I can get here relatively soon, enough to tip the scales in our favor if you have enough people on your side, Ymris."

"You'll need to be ready to potentially contend with a whole Revival fleet." Ymris cautioned. "From what I can tell, there's a sizable amount of ships likely getting ready to descend on the Impact ritual about to happen soon."

"Unless you yourselves have a fleet in store, that's going to make things exceedingly difficult." Jameson mused.

"You might not need to worry about them."

All eyes turned to Daniel, a gleam in his eyes as he sat up a little straighter. "From what we can tell, the majority of the ritual is going to take place in an Interstitial Realm, at least of some sort. You could likely access it using a Dip Drive. Most of the ships are likely going to be focused on the battle occurring Physical-side. You might even be able to remain undetected while you work."

"It's as good an idea as any we've come up with." Jameson paused. "Indeed, it might even make the difference between victory and defeat."

Jameson nodded once firmly. "I'll go ahead and make my preparations with all due haste. With this chance that we have, we'll be at your Echo within your next two days, at the very least."

"You'll need to be not much slower than that," Eleanor warned. "More likely than not, the ritual we mentioned will be occurring within the next several days."

"We will make it work. The fate of Reality itself dictates that we must." Jameson swept his gaze around the trio once again. "Hopefully, when this ends well, you all can give me an old man's due and show me what you've worked so hard to defend. Good luck."

With that, his image blurred and then vanished. The trio looked at each other, an expectancy having filled the air of the room. "Of all the feelings I've ever had about facing Hamar'ramah," Daniel said quietly, "this is probably the most novel one."

. . .

Daniel looked at the comms transmitter, Ymris having left to go and attend to WILLE's Evas, and pondered the question he was about to ask.

It was a lot to ask, and he knew it. But it had been a fair amount of time since he'd last been updated on things back home. Who knew who'd be available for what was to come?

"All set, dear. Makoto should answer almost instantly." Eleanor said, finishing with her tuning of the transmitter and stepping back. "Whatever you've got to say… I'm hoping it's something good."

"It all hinges on the answer," Daniel said quietly as he began the call.

It was silent for a few moments, then the head and shoulders of Makoto Hyuga, commander of HERZ, blurred into focus. "Hello, Daniel," Makoto said, smiling slightly. "Good to hear from you after all this time."

"Feels good to be heard from." Daniel smiled in turn. "How are things at home?"

"Pretty calm, all things considered. Any Evas that aren't on Rift duty or Kaiju watch are transitioning to assisting in civilian work. Right now, most of them are off on Venus, Luna, or Mars helping to set up colonizing efforts, while the Security Division's been training with the League Outriders."

"But," Makoto said, his smile dimming slightly, "I doubt that you're just looking for an update."

"On that, you're right," Daniel admitted with a sigh. "I'm here to ask for help. A lot of it."

"What kind of help?" Makoto asked.

"The Hollow Saint is here, and looking to complete what the Scion Revival attempted on our Echo. Not only that but he's backed up by a fleet and this world's version of the MP-Evas. And that's after the small fleet and Evangelions that Commander Ikari here has waiting for us. With that sort of force, even 14 Evangelions seems like it'd be a little lacking."

"And with an Impact, even coming up a little short could be a recipe for disaster." Makoto grimaced. "How many are you going to need?"

"As many as you can give me," Daniel replied. "We need the biggest advantage we can get."

It was silent for a moment, a hand appearing to cup Makoto's chin thoughtfully. "I think Adira, Shigeru, and I can bend a few ears. Most of the pilots here are still quite fond of you, and I can at least get Captain Vincennes and her assigned cohort to you."

He paused for a moment. "If I can, I'll try and convince the Commonwealth System Military board to send you the pilots on the Abjurant."

"I didn't know the Commonwealth had a navy now. Whatever the ship, that's a quick turnaround time for a ship of any decent quality."

"The Commonwealth bought it from the Worldstriders Seabreaker Corps on the condition that no one nation be in control of the ship. So, the nations and the Commonwealth decided that the Commonwealth would be in charge of off-world development and space-based military while the nations would provide colonists, companies, and ground forces to inhabit those worlds."

"I'm familiar with the concept of the system," Daniel replied.

"Even still," Eleanor interjected, "depending on the Seabreaker's class, that's going to cost a pretty penny."

"We got a pretty good deal from Sovereign Chandra." Makoto's smile became somewhat wry. "She bemoaned the state of the Worldstriders most of the time, but she was happy to help us out."

"What class is it?" Eleanor asked. "Depending on how big it is, it might be worth not having every Eva on deck."

"It's a cruiser, from what Sovereign Chandra told us. About 650 meters long, with a trainer crew to get us up to speed. I believe it's part of the…"

Makoto paused, looking down at the clear pad he was calling from as his brow furrowed in concentration. "Saber Gale class."

Eleanor's brow furrowed in confusion. "They're getting rid of Saber Gales? They only introduced that class just before the war. That's as close to a brand new ship as Tel has in that class."

"That's part of what Chandra was complaining about," Makoto said. "As far as she can tell, the Worldstrider Corps is being gutted for the sake of maintaining peace. With what we've been dealing with, she figures it's a mistake."

"I'd agree with her," Daniel said. "I haven't exactly been kept in the loop with things back on Tel; frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if I'm a persona non grata. But what I've heard from her worries me, especially now."

It was silent for a moment before Makoto shook his head. "Either way, I think something like this impacts us enough to make it so the Abjurant will be there."

"It'll probably be about on par with most of what we're facing," Daniel replied. "We won't keep you from getting to what you need to do."

Makoto nodded. "We'll get you whoever we can. I promise. I'll send you the current makeup of our Piloting Division, and let you know who else I can get."

With that, Makoto fuzzed out of sight, and Daniel sighed as he stood. In a moment, his pocket buzzed, and he pulled out his clear pad to see Makoto's message.

'Since you all left, we've been pulling national pilots in a rotation. Right now, having permanently gotten Captain Vincennes, we currently have a team of six under her command, with N'kani Okamah-Mordi, Sauli Koskinen, Brynne Cavey, Yasir Sultan, Arantxa Etxebarria, and Floro Rodriguez. They'll be there if nothing else.'

They were familiar with most of the names on the list, though one stuck out to them in particular. "Is that who the Army Eva Corps chose to replace Marie with?" Eleanor mused as they focused on Mrs. Cavey's name.

"Maybe so." Daniel shrugged. "Whatever else, we'll take all the help we can get."

. . .

Vice-Captain Akagi, her double at her side, moved among the consoles of the massive, white room of one of the Ark Vaults with practiced ease, preparing each specimen for long-term storage and orbit above Village-3.

Ritsuko moved with her, somewhat slower due to both a relative inexperience with the systems before her and wonderment at the sight around her. "How did all these systems get installed under NERV's nose?" she said quietly, her voice echoing somewhat in the massive space. "And how did such a comprehensive catalog of plant seeds and animal DNA survive the decades?"

"As far as we can tell," Akagi replied as they finished preparations on the second to last Vault, "these started life as emergency stores constructed by the IPEA. It seems they had at least a scant idea of what Instrumentality might entail. After Near-Third Impact, I suspect Commander Nagisa found and repurposed them into these Vaults before shifting them to the Wunder."

"An impressive feat for all of two people," Ritsuko said as they rode the platform down to the door. "And they've just been ready to go into orbit all this time?"

"We put the AT Kite orbital attachments in place as a precaution, just in case we were to ever go into a situation where we absolutely could not guarantee the survival of the ship," Akagi replied as they began to walk. "We could flip and burn for orbit, prep the Vaults quickly, and eject them to keep them safe from whatever happened to us."

"Like turning the ship into a Spear to help stop the next Impact event." Ritsuko surmised.

"Just so."

They continued down the hall, slowing to a stop in front of the door as they found Commander Kaji standing there as well.

The man looked back at them. "It's never not going to be weird to see a mirror image of you, Ritsuko," he said with a slight grin. "How are preparations going?"

"This is the last Vault I wanted to prepare," Akagi replied. "I'm sure you've found out why."

Kaji nodded. "Well, I guess there's no helping it now." he stepped aside from the door. "After you, ladies."

Akagi wasted no time opening the door, taking a second to adjust to the sterile white glare before she called the platform down to them. Whether she was here or not, they'd need to set up

"What makes this room stand out?" Ritsuko said quietly, looking up at the descending platform, then past it, her eyes narrowing as she caught a glimpse of something above them. Someone.

They stepped onto the platform and ascended in relative silence, and the only sound that broke over the hum of the air conditioning was the whir of the platform leading them up, slowly rotating as it did.

Finally, they slowed to a stop, Ritsuko finally understanding as she saw the two women standing in front of a particular case. That of Citrullus lanatus. The watermelon.

Both Misatos looked back at the small group, Captain Katsuragi's eyes widening slightly as she saw Kaji with them before she deflated slightly with a sigh. "I wondered how long it was going to take for you to find me here."

"Hell of a place to get away from things. Barely anyone would disturb you here." Kaji said as he stepped into the large cubby that held the container, standing between both Misatos. "What were you talking about?"

Katsuragi looked at the container again. "The past. Mistakes. Making up for what you can. Moving on from what you can't. Everything else in between."

She paused for a moment, looking between Kaji and the container. "I never could have guessed I'd be able to actually talk with myself about it. At least, without feeling like I'm insane."

Misato smiled slightly. "Just getting it out regardless helps. Doesn't matter if you do it in front of a mirror at first."

Misato paused, looking back at the container. "It's strange, really. Almost all life on earth, the hope of rebuilding, contained in a little over two and a half thousand containers like this."

"I wish I could take a few seeds out of this one," Kaji said, looking over at Katsuragi. "Make a little promise to you that when this is over, we could go home to our son, plant a little patch, and grow old and happy together farming."

Katsuragi smiled slightly. "You're such a dreamer, Ryoji."

Kaji smiled. "I aim to please." he paused as his smile dropped. "But I think it's time to say goodbye to this little hiding spot before it goes into orbit."

Katsuragi nodded. "Here's hoping we can get them back."

"Aren't they at risk of getting intercepted by the Scion fleet?" Ritsuko asked. "I'd hate to see all this hard work just go up in so much smoke."

"I doubt it," Misato said quietly. "Village-3 is out of the way. Besides, all the action's going to be over Antarctica."

Katsuragi clenched her hand. "With what's going to happen, I can guarantee it."

They stepped onto the platform, Akagi beginning her preparations yet again as they began to ascend to the top of the massive Vault. "Well," she said with a wry smile, "I can't say 9 out of 10 Misato Katsuragis know when things are about to go crazy, but 2 for 2 is decent enough, I suppose."

"And I'm sure that 10 out of 10 Misatos approve of having a crazy Idea of how to win by the skin of our teeth." Kaji rejoined, the room echoing softly with the group's chuckling.

"What can I say?" Misato shrugged. "It's in our nature."

She paused, the chuckling dying down as she looked around the room as they slowly began to descend again. "All this space being freed up. I wonder what it was before."

"All four of these bays were to act as storage for Evangelions," Akagi replied. "The deployment doors underneath us were a natural fit for the Vaults."

"Oh, good," Misato said nonchalantly. "I have someplace to put my Frame Plug."

It took a second for Katsuragi, Akagi, and Kaji to fully process what Misato had just said, their eyes widening as they all turned to Misato. "You have… an Evangelion?" Katsuragi asked, her voice barely above a strangled whisper.

"You always wanted to know what Shinji and the others went through saving the world," Misato answered quietly. "Now, I have a way to keep them safe if they need me to. Seeing as I'm not Commander at NERV or HERZ anymore, I had one commissioned for me when I joined GEIST."

"But doesn't it require another soul in order to pilot?" Akagi asked. "Or…"

"Interfacing fixed that problem," Ritsuko replied. "Now, not only can anyone pilot it, we don't have to commit crimes against humanity to build one."

"Including yours, right Ritsky?" Misato said with a slight grin.

"Ritsuko nodded. "Indeed." she said as they made it to the floor of the Vault, "When we're likely going to be traveling as we have so far, and with what's out there in the rest of Reality, it never hurts to have a magical giant in your back pocket."

"Ritsuko…" Kaji said. "I thought you were a scientist, not a soldier."

"I'm a field scientist these days, Kaji," Ritsuko replied. "Like I said, a little protection goes a long way."

Akagi shook her head slightly as they finally reached the bottom. "Well, either way, the automated readiness process should start up as soon as we leave the room. We'll be ready to launch all of the Vaults within the hour."

. . .

Rei Ayanami was comfortable in the presence of her friends as they chatted with her and each other. She walked down the hallway with them, where to it did not matter particularly much, patiently replying and asking questions about Shinji and Asuka's time in Village-3.

It seemed like such a peaceful place, open and beautiful compared to the close, mechanical confines of the Wunder. It sounded almost like the beach in Borneo that Shinji had described to her all that time ago.

It was not the only conversation she was privy to, however. In the back of her mind, the ship itself hummed, speaking to her in a way only she could understand. It understood far more than most could recognize, see through the seemingly invisible eyes of the White Cells. It, like they were, was anxious for what was to come.

It felt at once strange and completely natural to have such an attunement to a vessel outside of the Eva. The feeling almost made her miss the pairs of Misatos, Ritsuko, and Commander Kaji passing them in the hallway, absorbed in a conversation of their own.

"The largest concern I still have is our lack of Plugsuits." Vice-Captain Akagi said with a sigh. "Forget what we were going into over Paris, the epicenter of Second Impact is still dangerous to people even decades on. If we lose our AT Field even for a moment, we might lose the entire crew, and whatever plan we might have will have been utterly kneecapped."

As the two groups passed each other in the hallway, Shinji looked over at Asuka as their group remained silent at the news. "Well, I hope we can keep the ship safe enough that the crew won't risk what Vice-Captain Akagi was talking about."

"The others should be able to keep that from happening," Asuka said as confidently as she could. "Our job is probably going to be stopping your father."

Rei was silent as she heard the ship whisper wordlessly to her, understanding filling her mind as she paused in the hallway, the others slowing to a stop around her. "Something up, bluebird?" Mari said, stating clearly the confusion that was on Shinji and Asuka's faces.

"Excuse me for a moment. I have to speak with the Vice-Captain."

With that, she turned and walked briskly down the hall after the woman in question. She could hear the others following her after a moment, murmuring between themselves as they tried to figure out what she already knew.

It took several moments, but the adults came back into sight, the other world's Katsuragi looking back and spotting them, making sure the others noticed her as she slowed to a stop in front of them. "What's up, Rei?" the other Misato asked.

"I overheard your problem when we passed you in the hallway. I may have a solution for you. Follow me."

With that, she followed the directions the ship gave her, doing her best to filter out the clearly confused, rather curious conversation behind her as she wove her way through the halls, slowly growing more cognizant of what, exactly, the ship was leading her to.

They entered the engineering section after a long ride on the spinal tramway, passing both Major Ibuki and Eleanor as they came to a stop in front of a door, one that had collected no small amount of dust.

"What part of the ship is this, Senpai?" Ibuki asked the Vice-Captain.

Akagi shook her head slightly. "I don't remember off the top of my head. But we've never really managed to get it working after all this time, so we sealed it off." she paused after a moment. "But I can hear something working in there. What is it?"

Rei stepped forward, opening the door with no small amount of effort, the door swinging open after a few moments. The muffled hum became an industrial noise, the group making their way in somewhat slowly down a long walkway as machines surrounded them, closed off for the most part, making their operation and their function a mystery to most.

Rei walked to the back of the room, to a massive cylinder that everything seemed to be flowing into at the top. Rei stepped to the controls, letting the ship guide her hands as the cylinder thrummed to life, and two doors to the sides of the console opened up.

The gathered group's eyes went wide as racks of hanging Plugsuits, simple gray things with thick orange bars on the shoulders and on the soles of the feet, scrolled past them. The Vice-Captain walked forward, picking up one of the suits and studying the clear red hemisphere on the chest before turning it over and seeing the print on the inside of the collar.

"Elise Jackson," she said quietly, her brow furrowing before her eyes went wide, handing the suit off absentmindedly to Ritsuko as she picked up another, then another. "They're all made for specific crewmembers. How…"

"I believe the ship has its ways of ascertaining our measurements and has been doing so since you acquired it." Rei paused as her brow furrowed. "I believe the suits are made through a process of LCL synthesis."

"Amazing," Ibuki said. "We actually have a uniform."

"And we're going to implement it quickly." Captain Katsuragi said. "With where we're going, an extra layer of protection is going to be vital."

. . .

The mess hall nearest to the bridge was full now, several tables, with the help of Interfacing and bending, brought together to form a long, nearly unbroken stream, along which sat as many people important to planning out what came next as could fit.

The adults at the table were numerous, the command staff of the Wunder joined by those of GEIST. They sat mostly around each other, Misato and Ryoji on one side and Ritsuko and Maya Akagi sitting next to Hideki and Sumire.

The children that were there, though smaller in number, were no less important. Shinji Ikari sat next to Captain Katsuragi, Asuka Shikinami-Langley and Bradley next to him. Across from them, Rei Ayanami, Mari Makinami, and Kaworu Nagisa sat with Vice-Captain Akagi. Even Penpen sat next to Misato, standing on his chair and just barely cresting the tabletop with his head.

The room, for the most part, had fallen silent, expectation filling the room. Finally, Daniel broke the silence, sweeping his gaze around the gathered group. "Well, here we are. A parliament of dreamers, one and all. Double the damn trouble." he smiled slightly for a moment. "And it looks like we're going to need all the trouble we can get."

"So it seems, Mr. Theisman," Kaji said. "So, first things first, what do you guys know about what comes next?"

Daniel and Eleanor looked at each other, looking at the other members of GEIST before Eleanor spoke. "I don't think whatever we have to say can cover what's about to come fully. We've deviated so far from the course of things as we've seen them that we can only give you shreds, pieces of events that might come to pass."

"To say nothing of the fact that we'll be facing far more than whatever media that depicts our situation might have us expect," Akagi said darkly.

"So, what can you tell us then?" Katsuragi said. "We've got 3 days to plan around whatever might happen at the rate the Black Moon is moving."

Daniel and Eleanor again looked at each other, silently mulling over what they should reveal. "For one," Daniel began, "we're already ahead in some aspects. For one, Shinji isn't locked up. Which is vitally important."

"And…" Ibuki said slowly. "Why is that?"

Daniel grimaced slightly. This was going to be… interesting. "Because in order to stop the final Impact, Shinji Ikari must pilot Unit-01 to stand against his father."

A gasp went up among most of the WILLE portion of the table, looks of shock, disbelief, and anger flashing across most of the table. Daniel hated most that he watched Shinji Ikari, a look of regret and defeat on his face, begin to hunch in on himself.

Even Sakura, who had stared down the others who had given the boy sideways glances, started to bow her head. "Surely, there's another way that doesn't involve as much risk?" she said dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, sis." Toji piped up with a shrug. "We're not exactly in the business of low-risk. We're going to have to trust Shinji on this one."

"He's nearly ended the world twice before," Akagi said with a hard gaze aimed at Daniel. "You have a cadre of trained pilots. Why not assign one of them to take on Commander Ikari?"

"Are you putting my training of young Shinji during our time in Village-3 into question, Vice-Captain?" Daniel said coolly, a brow arched. "If Unit-01 and Shinji Ikari are necessary to ensure the safety of the world, do you at least trust that I'm acting in my best judgment?"

It was silent for long moments, tense and heavy things that came and went with little fanfare, but much presence. Finally, Akagi shook her head. "This is hopeless," she muttered softly, likely to herself.

But Daniel caught it. "Hopeless, Ritsuko Akagi?" he said softly. His words were almost missed, but in moments, all eyes were on him as he decided to continue.

"That's an awfully strong word for our situation. I know what hopelessness looks like, and it is far and away from this."

Katsuragi arched her brow. "And what might that be to you, Mr. Theisman?" she asked quietly.

Daniel's jaw set for a moment. He always hated thinking about this, let alone describing it. But the members of WILLE needed his perspective.

"Hopelessness," Daniel began, cold fire in his eyes, "looks like emerging from the depths of hell by the skin of your teeth to find worlds, entire solar systems, penning their suicide notes, the words inked in the blood that would flow on those worlds and phrased with the resignation that whatever came in the days, weeks, months, or decades, their only major choice was on how to die."

Daniel continued on, even past the memories, past the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "Hopelessness is cursing whatever gods dictate reality that you're the last man alive on your squadron, because at least the lucky dead would not feel their flesh consumed or ripped from their bodies, their carcasses given in obeisance to laughing, inhuman gods."

A tear, singular in its sorrow, flowed down his cheek as he remembered the eyes that stared back at him from this world, questioning, accusing. "You can't know hopelessness until you've lost everything, buried yourselves under the broken, bleeding bodies of your comrades as you hear one of your soldiers whisper, as loudly as she dared, a prayer to a dying being that your very breathing won't give you away. You can never truly know death until it becomes your life, omnipotent, all-consuming, infinitely patient and creative in the ways it tries to take you."

It was silent as Daniel wiped his cheek. "That is hopelessness, Ritsuko. Here, there. Is. Hope. There is hope… in Shinji Ikari."
The silence remained for a moment before Daniel shook his head. "But I digress, heavily. In all frankness, Commander Ikari cannot be stopped by force of arms alone. He must stand before his son and realize the futility of his efforts. Not even himself, or another version of Shinji can make such a thing possible. Only this one can."

He looked at young Shinji, who sat straight in his chair now. The uncertainty hadn't left his eyes, but his expression was stoic, determined even. "That is the fate of Shinji Ikari in this world, it seems. To stand against the sins of his father and all those that came before him."

"But that's only one portion of it, right?" young Shinji asked quietly.

Daniel nodded. "Yes. Your assistance will be needed towards the end of this operation. Once your father has decided to try and take Unit-01 for his own."

"Does that mean that the Override Plug will fail?" Ibuki said, her eyes wide.

"From what we've seen, yes," Eleanor said. "As far as we can tell, Commander Ikari is going to consume Unit-02, and Bardiel with it, to fully open the gates to a realm known as the 'Minus Space', what we call an Interstitial Realm, between the physical and the mental. It's there that Instrumentality is decided or not. Our best shot is to have someone there who can wrest the levers of ending the world away from the commander at the right moment. That would be Shinji's task here."

"That's assuming we let him take Unit-01 in the first place," Kaji said. "After all, the ship kind of needs Unit-01 to function, right?"

Daniel was silent, turning his gaze to Kensuke, who seemed rather expectant now. "Would you illuminate for our WILLE compatriots what the Val has been picking up from Antarctica?"

Kensuke nodded, pulling out his clear pad and stretching it out somewhat. "From what we've been able to tell, after Second Impact here, there was a barrier of some kind instituted over the initial area, how we don't know. This is likely what led the area to become a High Metos Density area, with reality in the area becoming… malleable, so to speak. Interfacing will be markedly more effective, and AT Fields will be commensurately stronger, at least until the deployment of an Anti-AT Field."

"So," Hideki Tama said quietly, somewhat incredulously, "what you're saying is that if we wish hard enough for the ship to stay airborne…"

"Then it will do so, in a simple manner of understanding," Daniel said assuringly. "Our greatest focus, for the moment, should be on getting the right players into the right positions. Which means, in some fashion, giving Commander Ikari what he wants."

"Alright," Bradley interjected, leaning on the table. "So what's the catch? I've seen enough tactical and strategic sims to know there's always one of those in that."

Daniel smiled slightly. "As far as we can tell, Ms. Bradley, in the coming days you will be decanted from your current tube of LCL and called upon to pilot Unit-13. It's a dual-synch system, and with Commander Ikari piloting it somehow, you'll need to complete the circuit, as it were."

Daniel shifted his gaze to Shikinami Langley. "Which is where you come in. Bradley will be in a unique position to draw you into Unit-13, soul first, as Bardiel is consumed. Once Unit-13 has entered the Minus Space, one of us will be along to pull you out of the Eva."

"This raises an important consideration." Rei Ayanami said softly. "As far as Commander Ikari may be aware, I am still interred within Unit-01. I will likely need to return to Unit-01's core to maintain the illusion."

Daniel nodded. "We'll both return you to the core and get you out on the other side. At least, once we've dealt with the Hollow Saint and his forces."

"Which brings us to the elephant in the room," Misato said. "What are we looking at in terms of enemy strength?"

"The Hollow Saint is in possession of the 12 Herald Units of this world, roughly analogous to our world's Mass-Production Evas." Ymris began. "Alongside that, he's at least nominally in command of a Seabreaker fleet composed of around 35 vessels, likely of various classes and types. Likely it's composed mainly of military vessels, though it wouldn't surprise me to see converted cargo vessels or Q-ships that managed to go under the radar after the war."

"That's… a lot of ships to try and deal with," Kaji said, shaking his head slowly. "Somehow, I don't think we're going to get through all that and do whatever we're trying to do with this whole artificial Spear thing."

"Well," Penpen piped up, still managing to slightly startle the WILLE members, "why not just get more Evas, then? We've got plenty back at home."

Katsuragi regarded Misato, Eleanor, and Daniel in turn. "You didn't bring all of your Evangelions with you?" she asked incredulously. "What kind of problems are you dealing with at home?"

"That can be talked about later," Daniel replied. "As it stands, I've already talked with our commander at HERZ. At the very least, I can promise that we'll get one more Seabreaker, a damn fine one at that, and 7 more pilots and their Evas. I can't promise any more than that at the moment."

"Even still, that seems like so little…" Sumire said.

"If it can get the ship to where it needs to go," Akagi said, "then it will be enough."

"And what, exactly, does that mean?" Katsuragi asked.

"This vessel is built around an artificial Spear." Akagi began. "And as we've come to find out, the Spear is sentient, if not fully sapient. This means that, like the two Spears that were held within Terminal Dogma, it is capable of changing its properties."

"Interesting," Kaji said, cupping a chin with a trimmed beard in thought. "How extensive is the change? After all, it doesn't seem like the two Spears we've encountered before could do something much different than they already do."

"I don't know the full extent of it," Akagi admitted. "The fact of the matter is that while this Vessel's Spear is similar to what data we have on the Spears of Longinus and Cassius, there are enough differences in the makeup of the Spear we possess to allow us to enact a rather radical change."

"A Spear made by human hands." Katsuragi mused. "But how would we use it?"

"From what we've seen," Eleanor said after a moment of silence, "it would have to be delivered to Shinji, or whoever is within the Minus Space, to be at its most effective."

"Then we'll need to prepare the ship and be ready to evacuate it at the last possible moment," Kaji said. "As gung-ho as I'm sure we all are about stopping the end of the world, I don't think any of us are going to go so far as to sacrifice ourselves, right?"

The silence that came afterward, the glances that darted between Daniel and Eleanor, eventually aimed at Katsuragi, spoke volumes.

"We hope we don't need to get to that point, with the preparations that we're about to make," Daniel said. "Hopefully, barring anything coming at you from the Hollow Saint himself, you should be able to deliver the Spear to Minus Space without much trouble."

"How much should we be worried about this Hollow Saint's interference?" Akagi asked. "I've heard things here and there from our brief stay in Village-3, but little more than that."

Daniel's expression hardened. "He is, unequivocally at this point, a god. A nascent one still getting used to his physical shell, but that process is a quick one for the willing. Commander Ikari attempts to end the world as a desperate play to return his wife to him. The Hollow Saint succeeds in snuffing out whole universes as a matter of course."

It was a dreadful silence that fell over all of them as Daniel continued. "The only people who are going to engage him are myself, Eleanor, and those I pick to go with me. No one else will stand even a shadow of a chance against him. Not even we can for too long."

"Then how is he going to be stopped?" Ibuki said in obvious, growing alarm. "If you can't kill him, what will?"

"A plan that I hope will work," Daniel said, looking over at Ymris. "Care to explain?"

Ymris nodded, sweeping her gaze to the members of WILLE. "The being that has possessed a man by the name of Tavis Farhaven gains its power from a pocket dimension within which resides the rest of its race, feeding the power of their souls to him in order to amplify his might. My… contact has a plan to free these souls and rid the Guide of his powers. There's going to be at least one more ship coming. It may not be much, but it's a little more."

"That's part of why we're going up against him and everyone else is deploying to stop the fleet or the other Evas. I'm most confident that we can hold the Guide back long enough for Ymris and her compatriots to neutralize that threat." Daniel paused for a moment. "Let's hope we have enough advantages on our side."

It was silent again before Katsuagi nodded, sweeping her gaze across the table. "Alright. We've got the broad strokes of what we can expect."

She paused as her gaze landed on Misato. "So let's come up with some Ideas, shall we?"

. . .

Daniel sat in his bunk room, back against the wall of his bunk as he tried to relax. It had been somewhat hard to focus after his little… declaration. But what he caught made him confident that they'd at least give the people that were planning to end the world as everyone here knew it a real taste of hell. At least, as confident as he could make himself in the leadup to facing Hamar'ramah.

The bunk room was otherwise empty, Eleanor having taken the others to get some lunch in order for him to have a moment alone. He was grateful for her consideration, even if she didn't know the scale of what he grappled with yet.

The door in front of him slid open, and Mariah, of all people, walked in. What surprised him even more was the utterly serious look on her face. "Hey, Daniel," she said quietly. "You doing okay?"

Daniel opened his mouth, but nothing came to him for long moments. Mariah became somewhat anxious, taking a step back towards the door. "If it's not something you wanna talk about…"

"No. No. I really should. Thank you, Mariah."

Mariah nodded, walking over to one of the folding chairs and bringing it over to sit in front of him. "I had…" she began. "I had no idea you'd been that in it. I mean, I saw and talked to the Eldar diplomat that knew of you, but… I guess the reality of it hadn't sunk in yet."

Daniel sighed. "It's… different when what you first saw as pieces of plastic and metal on a tabletop become your men. Living, breathing people under a terrible system. It took ages for me to even get all of the Ashdrakes to a point of 'doing decent things'. And that was after finding myself promoted through the sudden death of every officer before me."

"But it worked out, right?" Mariah asked. "I mean, you had an Eldar talking to humans like they were equals. You're on good terms with a goddess. That… means something, right?"

Daniel nodded slightly. "Well, it certainly got a lot easier once I somehow managed to convince the returned Primarchs of the complete insolubility of the Imperium as a concept. Though I wasn't sure if I was going to be much more than paste on the deck of the battleship we were on by the end of it. I almost was, at the beginning of my little… debate. To say nothing about how ticked off the Ecclesiarchy got when they finally caught wind of it."

Mariah's eyes went wide. "You're kidding. The Primarchs? Coming back?"

Daniel nodded, and Mariah leaned back. "I didn't even know they could do that," she said quietly.

Daniel nodded again, and Mariah leaned forward. "So, who was there? What were they like?"

"Well, Robute Guilliman was skeptical at first, but I think he appreciated the logic of my arguments, to some extent. He was the first to return and see what things had become. Lion El'Johnson, he was terrifically angry, going down to mullish. He might have run me through if Roboute wasn't there to keep him in check. And Rogal Dorn…"

Daniel shook his head. "He was stoic. Silent. In the end, he simply nodded and said 'I see'. I wonder about him still, at times."

Mariah chuckled. "Well, if you managed to pull a universe like theirs out of the gutter, at least somewhat. That's a feat in and of itself. You want to know what I think here? This is going to be downright easy in comparison."

Daniel smiled slightly. "Thank you, Mariah. Though I can't exactly say I made that Echo all sunshine and roses. I left a galaxy that was still divided. There was hope, yes. A hope for, if not a perfect future, then at least a better one. Humanity was divided again, but with actual allies among the alien species, at least after a while, they had a chance."

Mariah leaned back again in her chair. "Well, I hope they're doing well, then. Cause that's still miles better than what we both know it usually is."

As Daniel stood, Mariah stood with him, a slight grin on her face. "Though you also sound like you have some pretty awesome war stories buried under all that."

Daniel smiled slightly as they made their way out to the rest of the ship. "Oh, I have at least a few that I can tell without making anyone in the vicinity violently sick. At least, I think I do."

. . .

Deputy-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki watched the Gebet slowly slide closer to the Black Moon through a piece of the wall that had made itself transparent after he'd idly wished to see the ship on approach, looming over him as he waited patiently in the now uniformly black halls of the megastructure he floated over the Pacific Ocean in.

A part of him was relieved to be put onto a vessel such as this, away from the commander. Even if it made it somewhat harder to collect information on what his next moves would be, the next stage of things was likely so obvious anyways as to make whatever other information he might have only somewhat useful at best. And there, at least, he could communicate more freely, even call Mari. It had been so long since he'd actually spoken to her, let alone face to face…

The Gebet finally extended a docking tube, Fuyutsuki standing in front of the opening whose seams appeared as the tube made contact. He waited for the door to open, then blinked as it remained closed. Why would it…

Then the door opened in front of him, revealing a sight that he was only slightly prepared to see. Looking passively back at him, dressed in a grey, featureless Plugsuit, was Rei Ayanami.

'I thought that the only Ayanami types that we activated were the pilots of the Vessel Masters.' he mused through his shock.

"Deputy-Commander," Ayanami said in a level, emotionless tone. "Please accompany me to the bridge."

The Ayanami unit turned and began to walk away, Fuyutsuki walking quickly after her a moment later. "When…" Fuyutsuki began. "When were you activated?"

The Ayanami unit was silent. "Do you have a… concept of time?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"Yes."

It was all he thought he'd get. 'Perhaps there's something of Ikari still left in that husk.' he wondered. 'He might have decided I needed an adjutant aboard the ship. If she's this quiet, however…'

The door to the ship proper opened, and Fuyutsuki and Ayanami stepped through to see a group of 4 other Ayanamis walking down the hall towards, then past them.

Fuyutsuki stood in shock, utter horror plastered across his face. 'I knew it could theoretically come to this. That we could use the Ayanami-type clones as a crew or an army. But to see it actually happen… to see the mirror of the woman Gendo loved replicated over and over, as little more than fodder…'

"Deputy-Commander, please follow me to the bridge."

Fuyutsuki followed more on instinct than anything else, watching the number of blue-haired, pale-skinned faces passing him, their red eyes empty of anything approaching emotion as they went about their tasks.

"How many are on this ship?" Fuyutsuki asked in a daze as they stepped onto the bridge, over half a dozen Ayanami units sitting silently at their stations working.

"The standard crew complement of the Heaven's Key-class Vessel is 1,582 for optimal operation, though the Vessel Master can assume remote control of the Vessel." the Ayanami unit he followed said.

"And it's like this for… every ship?"

"The standard crew complement of-"

"I'll take that as a yes," Fuyutsuki interjected, putting a hand on the shoulder of the Ayanami unit he'd followed as he tried to gather his reeling thoughts for a moment. "Where… where are the… captain's quarters?"

The Ayanami unit turned. "Please follow me."

Fuyutsuki turned and followed the Ayanami Unit, appearing in front of what he assumed were the captain's quarters. "I will be on the bridge, and can be called should I be needed." the Ayanami unit said.

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Fuyutsuki to enter the room alone. It felt almost… liberating.

It was a somewhat larger room than he'd expected, with what felt like a rather anachronistic plaque detailing the ship's keel-laying.

Fuyutsuki barely noticed any more of it as he walked over to the small twin bed, sat on it, and buried his head in his hands, weeping for all that he'd lost.