Warframe You Can (NOT) Absolve

by EvaShinobiKaiserKnight

In the ancient text stories told that when God grew angered with the sin of man he washed it all away in a great flood to cleanse the sin. Mankind then grew arrogant and thought themselves able to challenge and overthrow God and in turn God dyed the sea red with the blood of mankind. A mighty Empire fell when they felt able to command Gods power. But the Voids Wings shall spread.

19. Chapter 19 Final Day of Peace before War

Warframe You Can NOT Absolve

ESKK: Another day, another chapter, and another set of reviews. Just played Whispers in the Walls and let me just say I am hyped for Warframe 1999 and how I can use it with Evangelion. I'm honestly surprised there aren't many fanfics between Warframe, and Evangelion I mean look how similar they are. Anyway, my rant is done so don't mind me so we can begin. Be sure to enjoy this and leave a review at the end. Now let's begin.

(Start SEELE Base the Artic)

The attack came out of nowhere as all around the frozen wasteland in which SEELE had hidden their base of operations cannons and guns came forth and opened fire. The target seemed to come from above as it landed on the ground with a loud crash. The EVA had landed on the ground feet first before it began to make its way through the land as its image carried a striking resemblance to Evangelion Unit 01. From its person pods of some kind flew about as they deployed a form of pseudo-AT-Fields to block the oncoming shots. Moving through the land the massive EVA stomped through destroying the turrets and more of the bases defenses only to be stopped by a familiar form of the Mass Production Evangelion Units. The harpies with red grins looked upon the new arrival and went for the attack with their fake Lance of Longinus.

The Evangelion Unit 13 stood its ground stood its ground before going on the attack. It moved through the foes grabbing the arm of one of them before twisting it and tearing said arm off. It then grabbed the discarded weapon and sliced through the other one with ease. Making its way through the place it continued to tear through the hidden bases outer defenses making its way inward to where its prize waited. More defenses got in its way, but they had all proven themselves to be useless against a clearly more powerful EVA. By the looks of it Gendo had spent a great deal of time tinkering and improving upon the design of his (ex) wife.

Unit 13 continued its path tearing through the Mass Production Evangelions and the defenses protecting SEELE. Soon the pods moved and unfurled over a specific area forming a large circle. Unit-13 had its arm raised upward before bringing it down and in turn the AT-Field Tore through SEELE's defenses creating a large hole into the base, big enough for Unit-13 to enter. The EVA hovered down to the depths bellow before the entire scene seemed to pause.

(Present Day NERV)

The images of the battle was in fact a recording of events the Lotus had acquired. "As you can see here, it's clear that Gendo Ikari has acquired another EVA a formidable one at that." Lotus said as Misato found it strange. In the meeting room were the Tenno Shura, Asuna, Reiko, and Mari, the EVA pilots Asuka and Rei, the tech crew head Ritsuko, the Sub-Commander Misato, a holographic image of the Lotus, the Operation head Varzia, Shinji, and of course; Kaji.

"But the Evangelions are cloned from the Angels either Adam or Lilith, we know he doesn't have Adam, so where did the biological components come from?" Misato asked which Ritsuko agreed.

"Under normal circumstances yes but the past few Angels haven't been following the rules expected of them." Lotus said as she had a theory. "I have a working theory on this but that will have to wait." Lotus said before showing the base again on the holo screen which showed Unit-13 leaving the same way it arrived. "As it stands SEELE's base is not only exposed but its defenses are compromised." Lotus said revealing to the gathered group over what this was.

"And with the data I provided on their base." Kaji trailed off and thus Shura spoke up on the idea.

"Then while their defenses are down, we have a window of opportunity to strike." Shura said which Mari smirked to this.

"The perfect chance to really fuck up SEELE." Mari said with a grin showing she was ready to kick ass.

"Exactly." Lotus said before Rei raised her hand.

"But Commander Lotus, what of the Stolen Lance of Longinus, if their defenses are down, I doubt they will hide the Lance there." Rei said and to this the Lotus agreed.

"I have no doubt of that Rei, but the Lance will prove useless if they don't know how to use it." Lotus said which Kaji spoke up.

"If we can get the Dead Sea Scrolls then we can destroy them and delete every translation of them once and for all." Kaji said which Lotus nodded.

"Without the Scrolls and the research that was started because of them, then no future version of SEELE can form and continue the work." Ritsuko said seeing where this was going.

"But to do this, we'll have to delete, and destroy every copy and variation of it as well as those who know the translations of it." Reiko said meaning they had to take out everyone associated with SEELE just to be sure the job was thoroughly done.

"But we can't stop there can we." Asuka said as she knew another fact about this. "If we want this to be thorough, we need to destroy the Evangelion Units as soon as we have confirmation that the Angels are destroyed as with Gendo and his Black Lua." Asuka said which everyone agreed on the plan.

"No one is disputing that Asuka, which is why we need to approach this battle so that it leaves nothing to chance." Lotus said which meant one thing.

"Dante's The Divine Comedy." Ritsuko said which got everyone's attention. "For Dante travelled to the lowest and coldest pit of Hell to face with Satan himself." Ritsuko said and this had in turn caused Misato to smirk in response.

"Operation Dante's Inferno." Misato said assigning the name for this operation.

"For this Operation to work, we will need allies to aid us." Lotus said knowing the Tenno had friends in all the factions. "Ritsuko, can you create a tapeworm program or a virus that can destroy all of SEELE's data?" Lotus asked which Ritsuko nodded.

"I can try but I can't plan for the possibility of them moving the data to an offsite location." Ritsuko said but Lotus was ok with that.

"As long as it makes it difficult for them to regroup then it will do just fine." Lotus said before looking to Misato and Varzia. "Misato, Varzia I want you to device combat strategies I want to leave none of this to chance so plan for as many eventualities as you can." Lotus said which had Misato grinning.

"Don't worry we got it." Misato said before Lotus continued to speak.

"Coordinate with Kaji's data I will repeat that I don't want to leave anything to chance." Lotus said which caused Misato to grumble a bit in irritation. "Kaji I also want you to contact your network see if they can pull up any data that may be useful to us." Lotus added while she directed her attention over to Kaji.

"No problem." Kaji said to the woman with three souls.

"Mari; I want you to get into contact with Vay-Hek see if he will be willing to ally with us again." Lotus said and thus Mari shrugged to this.

"No problem but not sure we can, Mr. screamy may have other ideas." Mari said recalling how loud Vay-Hek can be.

"Try, we need their aid if we are to have vanguard and with the Wunder and Railjack leading the battle from the air we will have air support." Lotus said but she had more to say on this. "Reiko, I want you to get into contact with Nef Anyo, after the New War and Alad-V had conspired with SEELE, we can't trust him." Lotus said but then Shura argued on this.

"But we can trust Nef Anyo?" Shura said but Lotus had more.

"Nef is Plan B, we will try his father." Lotus said which Asuna knew well enough.

"Parvos Granum." Asuna said knowing of the Founder of the Corpus who had his new Corpus set up inside the Granum Void.

"After seeing his kid... I hate to see the dad." Misato said but Shura countered that.

"Surprisingly enough he's more open to dialogue then his son and is fair to his employees... for the most part." Shura said recalling The Sisters of Parvos.

"Shura, Asuna." Lotus began which had the pairs attention. "I want the two of you to send word out to the other Tenno, inform them that we need as many hands as they can offer." Lotus said revealing that this would be an invasion on their terms this time. "This will be our invasion on their stage we must ensure victory if we are to be ready to face Gendo and invade Black Lua." Lotus said which meant they all needed to be ready. "The invasion will begin tomorrow at dawn be ready on the Wundur." Lotus said before she ended the call.

"Well, you all heard what space mom said get ready for what may be one of the biggest battles of our lives." Misato said and thus they all knew what this meant. "When you're all done with your tasks take the day off and rest because come tomorrow it's going to be Hell." Misato said and they in turn all went their separate ways.

(Scene Break Black Lua Gendo)

Gendo was playing a game of Komi with the only person who could give him a challenge. Ballas was for his part playing via a makeshift form as Gendo and he sat across from each other. "So, it seems to me that you've been busy my friend." Ballas said as he put a stone down on the board.

"As have you making allies with the Sentient and manipulating them for your goals." Gendo said while putting down a stone of his own on the game board. Gendo knew that Ballas and him were very similar to each other in regard to how they reach their goals. But it also made Ballas dangerous if Gendo was not careful about his interactions with the man.

"Of course, and I hear that you yourself had made allies with the pinnacle of the Orokin society her royal majesty herself and as your granddaughter to boot." Ballas said before placing another piece down on the board. "I always suspected that she and the Empress were not all that they claim to be and yet here you are reveling in the knowledge of the truth." Ballas said praising Gendo for his cunning.

Gendo then placed a piece on the board and waited for Ballas to make his move while they spoke. "My pride and joy as some would say." Gendo said before Ballas put the piece down and captured his first stone.

"Though having the Tenno go against SEELE to remove them as an enemy well played." Ballas added just as Gendo placed down one of his own stones to the board. He knew that after what Gendo had Mana and Unit-13 do SEELE's defenses were compromised. "Oh, speak the devils name and he shall in turn appear." Ballas said and thus Gendo looked outside the window to see Mana completely naked sitting outside on Unit-13 with a smile on her face. "Her Imperial Majesty in the flesh." Ballas said knowing that if the Orokin still existed Mana would be on the throne right now. Though her actions of Patricide and regicide would not endear her to the masses.

"So, SEELE has a Lance, your former organization has Unit-01, and of course we have Unit-13 seems to me all parties now have a card in this war." Ballas said but paused for a moment. "Well save for one." Ballas added and while vague Gendo knew what he spoke of.

"The Lance of Cassius currently locked in the Void somewhere waiting to be acquired." Gendo said and then took one of Ballas stones. "But worry not... Shinji will bring it to us." Gendo added which Ballas had a good idea how.

"This is why I like you Ikari... not even your own son is allowed to stand in your way." Ballas said to which Gendo held back a smirk to the narcissist.

(Scene Break at NERV Ritsuko)

Ritsuko was currently looking over the video footage of the EVA that took the Lance of Longinus while SEELE had been under attack. The timing at the time had been too perfect for Ritsuko's tastes. On the screen was a dark blue EVA with a red visor and a horn similar to Unit-01 making its way through the Cambion Drift for the Lance. At the time, the Lance had been covered by the Infested, but it did not stop the EVA from what it was doing.

It was seen taking out the defenses that NERV and the Tenno had put in place proving conventional weapons were useless against an AT-Field. Wrapping its hands around the Lance the EVA pulled before freeing the Lance and then summoning a halo of energy flew off to the ship orbiting the Infested moon.

"How goes the program?" Misato asked as she walked in with two cups of Coffee.

"Look for yourself." Ritsuko said pointing her thumb over to the computer to show the Tapeworm Program was well into its creation.

"Well, you certainly don't waste time." Misato said with a chuckle offering one cup to Ritsuko.

"Unlike you." Ritsuko said as she took the cup and then took a sip from it. "Shouldn't you be with Varzia coming up with combat strategies?" Ritsuko asked with a skeptical look in her eyes.

"Taking a break to see how you're doing." Misato said as she needed this after she had spent a couple hours spit balling strategies. She then saw the screen and the EVA on it and figured what Ritsuko was doing.

"So that's the EVA that took the Lance." Misato said looking to the screen.

"Yeah." Ritsuko said as Misato put the drinks down and looked to said screen.

"Really grinds my gear they got the jump on us." Misato said while glaring at the screen. "But the timing was a bit too perfect." Misato said as she was suspicious about this.

"Our screening program can only work so far before SEELE finds holes in them, for all we know they might already have agents inside." Ritsuko said knowing SEELE had hands and eyes everywhere in the Origin System.

"So, you can understand why I'm worried." Misato said fearing they may be walking into a trap.

"That's why the Lotus is having you and Varzia make battle strategies for every possible outcome." Ritsuko said agreeing with Misato's fear. "If it's a trap then it leaves the question as to whose trap it is." Ritsuko added but she had another fear to share. "More so Zuriel is running late." Ritsuko added which Misato nodded to this.

"I know, we had a few days between the previous Angel and Zuriel when his attack happened." Misato said knowing that he should have made his move by now.

"I've checked every scene the Angels could have popped up, Volcanos, and the oceans both here and on other planets." Ritsuko said pulling up the data which showed inconclusive on it. "Nothing, it's like someone swooped in and took them out before they could wake up." Ritsuko said which brought forth another problem.

"Clockciel notwithstanding." Misato said knowing the Angel Asuka and Asuna had taken out was not one of the originals that attacked them.

"And that's what worries me as well, we know according to the Scrolls there are 18 Angels in all, humanity or Lilin being the 18th and Cain being something of a 19th Angel not spoken of in the Scrolls." Ritsuko said before scratching her head a bit. "It can be argued that it may be a mistranslation, but I theorized that the Scrolls may detail only a few possible scenarios." Ritsuko said but Misato got worried for a moment.

"Please tell me you're not planning to decipher them." Misato said knowing full well that those scrolls needed to be destroyed so they don't give anyone else any ideas like SEELE.

"Don't worry I agree that they need to be destroyed people are just foolish creatures with that sort of thing." Ritsuko said assuring Misato she had no intention of working on the Scrolls. No one needed those Scrolls the risk they posed was too great for them to risk their continued existence in the world.

"Let's just hope we can take out SEELE before Zuriel finally gets off his ass." Misato said knowing just how powerful Zuriel was.

"Hope... you know it's funny." Ritsuko began as she had a look in her eyes recounting the original Angel War. "I think that this is the first time that we've had any true hope in a very long time." Ritsuko said as the Tenno had proven to be a game changer in this war.

"Yeah, the Tenno are pretty amazing origins withheld." Misato said as the last bit had a sort of sad tone in her voice.

"Imagine if we had them back then maybe... just maybe we could have avoided it all." Ritsuko said knowing and seeing how powerful the Tenno were. If NERV had access to the Tenno in the past the Angel Wars would not have been a problem as they originally were. But unlike with the EVA the Tenno also ran the risk of turning on them when they eventually snapped from all the abuse they had to endure. Just ask the Orokin Empire how dangerous the Tenno were when pushed beyond their emotional and psychological limits.

"Honestly speaking." Misato began as she knew exactly what would happen. "It might have been better to let the Angels do what they wanted once the Tenno reached their limit." Misato said knowing full well that it wasn't a matter of if only when. "I should get back to work." Misato said and thus with coffee in hand she took her leave her mind deep with concern.

(Scene Break Reiko Granum Void)

Appearing in the Granum Void Reiko entered with her Ember Prime equipped with the Xoris just in case negotiations went south. Sneaking into the Corpus vessel and using a Granum Crown was a simple matter, but now for the hard part. Entering the place, she began to make her way up to the Pyramid in which Parvos Granum had been sighted during the Deadlock Protocol situation. She knew this was a risk trade as while Parvos was not exactly an enemy he was not an alley either.

"Granum!" Reiko called out looking for Parvos. "Parvos Granum I've here to talk." Reiko called out hoping to find the man who duped the Tenno into getting him out of this place allowing for him to come and go freely. With a few more steps she arrived at the structure but on her approach something happened. The entire scene shifted and in turn Reiko soon found herself standing in what looked to be a board room. At the head of the board was Parvos himself golden hand and all and around the table were the ones Parvos had called The Sisters of Granum. His enforcers and board members for his restructured Corpus after his freedom from the Void.

Many Tenno joked that the sisters were made because Parvos missed his waifu specter of Protea. Reiko was of course surprised a bit when she saw the form of Glara Varios herself. Reiko thought her killed when Shura had used the Temperstarii's forward artillery on her ship leading up to the New War.

"Tenno." Parvos began as he looked to Reiko. "What do I owe the pleasure of this unannounced visit." Parvos said his tone neutral acting every bit the businessman he was, more so than any of the modern-day Corpus Executives.

"I assume you are aware of what has been happening throughout the Origin System as of late?" Reiko asked as she approached Parvos making sure to avoid appearing as a threat. After all, with all of his enforcers all in one room Reiko would be hard pressed to escape even with the Xorris equipped. She needed to be careful with how she approached this conversation.

"I have heard stories yes... of titans roaming the planets of giants and creatures both of unknown origins." Parvos said as he sat in his seat observing the newly arrived Tenno. "But I fail to see why it requires you to come to me." Parvos said and thus Reiko made her point on this.

"Tell me does the term SEELE mean anything to you?" Reiko asked and then to her shock and surprise Parvos grew silent... no this wasn't silence this was... something else. Reiko knew the feeling this was one she had only seen on Shura and the Lotus, tranquil fury.

"SEELE that is a name I had not hear of for... a very long time." Parvos said as clearly, he and SEELE had a history.

"What exactly do you know of SEELE?" Parvos asked as his voice carried an edge to it. This edge showed Reiko she had spoken something that had something of a checkered history between Parvos and SEELE.

"That they are a secretive cult who controlled the system from the shadows during the Orokin Era." Reiko began as Parvos looked to the Tenno. "They even controlled the system long before that as well." Reiko added and thus Parvos sat back on his seat almost in contemplation.

Reiko waited for a response from him, her hands to her weapons all the same in case he attacked. "Long ago before the fateful incident that my beloved Protea saved me from." Parvos began which eased Reiko but not by much. "I was approached by one of them a Lorenz Keel over a business proposition." Parvos said revealing he had in fact met the head honcho of SEELE himself and never realized it.

'Lorenz Keel the head of SEELE.' Reiko thought as she knew what this meant. "Pardon me but are you implying that you had met to leader of SEELE himself?" Reiko asked trying to figure out how Keel can even be alive. For all intents and purposes, Lorenz Keel should be dead, according to Ritsuko he was using Cybernetics to prolong his life for as long as possible.

"At the time I had no idea what SEELE was, but my Corpus had attracted his attention." Parvos said as Reiko allowed him to continue speaking. "He offered me a place on the SEELE council itself promising me godhood but as I read through the contract, I knew it would be a Profit loss for myself and the Corpus of the time." Parvos spoke which Reiko was oddly glad that Parvos did not agree. "So, I turned him down and as he left, he spoke a threat to me that I would come to regret my decision." Parvos said which allowed for Reiko to connect the dots.

"One of SEELE's agents was inside the Corpus and orchestrated the explosion that trapped you in the voice." Reiko said which Parvos nodded.

"It had taken me a great long time to connect the dots but yes the coincidence was hardly plausible." Parvos said which got Reiko to make her case.

"We're gathering allies to organize a direct assault on what we assume to be the SEELE base." Reiko said making it clear that they needed Parvos on their side. "The objective is the destruction of SEELE down to its very seed a set of ancient documents that they're entire cult was founded upon." Reiko said which Parvos looked to the Tenno before him. "Aid us and we shall allow for you to salvage whatever equipment may lay there so long as it doesn't invoke SEELE's plans." Reiko said knowing the Tenno will destroy any genetic material for the Angels inside SEELE as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls and its copies.

"Why do you seem so invested in destroying SEELE?" Parvos asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Simply put it's either we take them out or they take out all sentient life in the Orokin System." Reiko said which surprised Parvos. "That means your Corpus, your profit, everything and everyone will die." Reiko said making it clear that this affected all of them.

"And how do they plan to do that?" Parvos asked and thus Reiko then showed the holographic images of the how.

"It's called the Human Instrumentality Project, Humans and Orokin all have something called an AT-Field it's what keeps all of us as individuals." Reiko said which had Parvos attention. "SEELE has a method to shut it down and force all sentient life to meld into one singular being." Reiko said before showing an image of the Dead Sea Scrolls. "Since I'm sure this would be bad for business even for your new Corpus SEELE has a translated instruction manual on the how and why if we remove it from the board and any copies of its translations Human Instrumentality will be nothing more than a bad dream." Reiko said before turning off the hologram.

"You make a compelling argument." Parvos said as he saw a pattern here. "And seeing as your seeking my aid then that means you have reason to believe that SEELE has agents in the current Corpus?" Parvos asked which Reiko nodded in response to this.

"Yes, we can't be sure as to who is our ally and who is our enemy hence why I came to you on behalf of the Tenno." Reiko said and in turn Parvos took a moment to consider her offer.

"I see..." Parvos said before he then looked over to Glara. "Inform our crews to prepare what they can." Parvos said and thus Glara nodded.

"Very well Tenno we agree to these terms... if for not for the danger SEELE and their plot poses then for the fact that I still owe you for my freedom." Parvos said which Reiko nodded to this.

"The Tenno is grateful for your agreement." Reiko said with a bow before she began to take her leave of the Corpus Founder.

As Reiko was leaving Glara approached Parvos in order to voice some concerns about his sudden decision. "Are you sure this is wise?" Glara asked as she had reasons to be concerned with this plan.

"No but SEELE had wronged me, it's only fair to show them how I had gained my fortune." Parvos said showing just how dangerous he can be.

(Scene Break Reiko's Orbiter)

After boarding her Landing Craft Reiko was in her Orbiter once more returning to base. "Lotus here is my report on negotiations with Granum Parvos." Reiko began as she spoke to the Tenno Coordinator. "Parvos has agreed to the alliance proposal." Reiko said as she flew towards Lua.

"That's good to hear." Lotus began while smiling a bit. "I had just received word from Mari Vay-Hek has agreed to our terms as well." Lotus said before Mari popped up on screen.

"Yeap old screamy agreed." Mari said as her image showed her cleaning out her ear. "I can see why you guys sent me out to talk to him." She said while flicking off something stuck to her finger. "Anyway, he's agreed to let us use his forces for the assault against SEELE." Mari said which was good news for them.

"Which means we now have forces on both the ground and the air." Lotus said which the Tenno agreed.

"If SEELE tries to pull a runner, we'll corner them before that happens." Mari said knowing the Corpus will provide.

"Alright, return to base we'll need you both rested and ready for the coming battle." Lotus said to which they understood.

"Right." Both Reiko and Mari responded before Mari and Lotus's images vanished from Reiko's screen. With that conversation done she continued her journey to Earth to prepare for the battle to come.

(Scene Break Earth NERV)

Shura was seen laying down in a scanner as Ritsuko was doing medical work on him. As he laid there Ritsuko observe images of Shura's body, brain, skeletal structure, body heat, and internals. So far, she found nothing to warrant Shura's concerns on the matter and she had even talked to Shinji involving his time in Unit-01. Shura had been receiving visions and images of Shinji and Yui's times with the EVA. For Yui it only went as far as the contact Experiment and for Shinji well no words were needed for that. It was cause for concern and as the overseer for the EVA Units it was her job to investigate it.

Asuna had not reported any issues of concern nor did Reiko, so it was clear that Shura and Unit-01 were cause for concern. Ritsuko was aware enough to know that Unit-01 was unique amongst the Evangelions Units and thus did not always follow the rules of what they as humans knew about the Evangelions.

(Later)

When the test came to an end Shura sat in front of Ritsuko to get the results. "Well, any ideas?" Shura asked and thus Ritsuko thought about it.

"I'm not entirely sure." She admitted to the Tenno before her. "So far all the scans show your clean and any possible Angelic Contamination seems to burn off from you." Ritsuko said showing the data. Shura was able to reach the 400% Synch Ratio without fail thanks to his Transference allowing for him to exit and enter the EVA at will.

"Any theories?" Shura asked hoping for something and thankfully Ritsuko had something on that standpoint.

"I do have one possible theory." Ritsuko said and when Shura got comfortable, she got down to it. "You said when you were trying to tame Umbra you experienced his memories, right?" Ritsuko asked and Shura nodded to her.

"Yeah, at the time it was the memory of him being forced to kill his own son Issah." Shura said with a calm tone in his voice.

"So that means we have something to work with." Ritsuko said seeing where this was going. "The Evangelion Units are basically ancient Warframes and the Warframes are basically advanced Evangelion Units." Ritsuko said starting with that comparison. "But unlike the EVA Units the Warframes used to be people infected with a strand of the Infestation." Ritsuko said recalling the appropriate data in her mind. "However, the Evangelions are not such people, they were originally clone bodies who had consumed the souls of their test pilots in order to function it's how Dr. Ikari and Dr. Soryu became part of Unit-01 and Unit-02 in the first place." Ritsuko said listing off where here theory was going.

"So clearly something had to happen, right?" Shura asked and Ritsuko nodded to this.

"Yes, Transference is the deciding factor." Ritsuko said which got Shura's attention. "When you use Transference, Shura you are opening yourself to the EVA but since Unit-01 was cloned from Lilith you also open yourself to side effects." Ritsuko said and Shura in response got the gist of it.

"Seeing as how Lilith spawned the human race this means that even her clones have to be unique in certain ways." Shura said which Ritsuko nodded to.

"Exactly, this means for us that if you continue to use Transference with Unit-01, Shura, then these visions these imprints may risk you being consumed by the EVA in a different sort of way." Ritsuko said which Shura had the gist of it.

"My mind may be destroyed." Shura said seeing where this was going.

"Possibly it's a worst-case scenario." Ritsuko clarified for the Tenno, so that Shura did not panic.

"I see, thank you." Shura said as he then got up and took his leave.

"Shura, wait." Ritsuko began getting the Tenno's attention. "We're not entirely sure of this, for all we know it may allow for you a deeper understanding of Shinji and Yui." Ritsuko said which Shura nodded.

"I'll be sure to note of that." Shura said before he took his leave of the Doctor. When he left Ritsuko sighed and took out a pipe and proceeded to light it at the end. Since Cigarettes did not exist anymore Ritsuko was forced to go old school and get herself a pipe. However, the faux blond had to confess that it was oddly relaxing when she did it like this.

(Meanwhile with Misato and Kaji)

Misato and Kaji were currently at Kaji's places of residence in the Geofront. With Rei, her Kavat Kiko, and Penpen staying at the apartment, and Shinji and Asuka out of the apartment. In the end this had left only Kaji's place as the current kid free zone. Ironic since Shinji and Asuka allegedly already had some kids in the form of Cain and Abel. But they were not there to discuss the Children of Eve, nor the EVAS, nor the secrets of Gendo Ikari, or even the children. At the moment the pair were picking up where they had left off thousands of years prior.

At the moment the two were laying in the bed together hands interlocked and clearly coming down from the previous passions. "If any of those kids saw me now, they'd probably think I'm disgusting." Misato voiced as they laid there together.

"Who's to say they aren't watching right now?" Kaji said while he laid there.

"Very funny." Misato responded with a flat tone in her voice. "But I'm being serious here those kids... they were all forced to grow up fast." Misato said as Kaji sighed to this.

"How is that any different from ours?" Kaji asked referring to the EVA Pilots.

"That was different." Misato argued but Kaji chuckled.

"Only in circumstances the Tenno had to grow up for their own survival the EVA Pilots had to grow up because the Adults couldn't be bothered to say no or ask the big questions." Kaji said not denying his role of what became of their era. "They were forced to fight a battle they didn't know anything about, Rei was literally made for this purpose knowing the truth, Asuka was manipulated into selling her childhood, and Shinji was prepared from the beginning to be his own father's pawn." Kaji said recalling everything involved with EVA, NERV, SEELE, and Gendo.

"Poor kids... the lot of them." Misato said knowing full well of her own role, she used Shinji for her revenge not once considering his feelings for it. The entire Angel War was simply Gendo's way to break Shinji down so he would act in accordance too his scenario. Unit-01 would not respond to anyone but Shinji himself, Shura was proof of that he had to tame the EVA to make it follow his commands.

"And tomorrow we deploy to stop SEELE before we can focus our attention solely on Gendo." Kaji said but then chuckled a bit.

"What is it?" Misato asked noting the chuckle.

"It's just... the Tenno Shura in particular it seems that he's preparing himself for an entirely different war." Kaji said which got Misato's attention. "Something beyond even Ikari and SEELE." Kaji said which made Misato worried.

"You think there's something worse out there?" Misato asked as she knew that look Kaji had.

"One of the Angel somehow acquired Void Power another one is literally a Tenno herself we can't chalk those up as a coincidence." Kaji said voicing his own concerns over secrets that have eluded them all for who knows how long. "According to SEELE's notes Adam and Lilith were never meant to land on the same planet was it truly a cosmic accident or was it intentional?" Kaji asked which Misato saw Kaji was going in deep.

"Kaji... what are you saying?" Misato asked and thus Kaji looked to Misato.

"Misato... where and how did the Tenno acquire their power?" Kaji asked as that was the part of the story that was never answered. This got Misato thinking for a moment now that Kaji mentioned it.

Misato knew they got it from the Zariman when it was trapped in the Void. Many people were lost to the Void but none of them came back like the children of the Zariman did. "Are you saying they might be enemies?" Misato suddenly asked her voice deep with concern.

"No... but whatever happened in the Void clearly left its mark, Albrecht Entrati saw it firsthand, and so did a Tenno by the name of Rell." Kaji said and thus went to the end. "The Void made its move at the End of the New War by bringing the Zariman back to real space." Kaji said before an ominous tone left his mouth.

"When mankind overcomes the challenge of God... then they will find themselves faced with the challenge of the Devil himself." Kaji said and he knew that the Tenno's own trials had only just begun.

"That sounds nuts." Misato said as she began to get up and reach for her beer. After all there was no promise that they will all walk away from what happens at the battle tomorrow.

"Maybe it is." Kaji said with a calm tone. "Or maybe we've only taken the first step into this war." Kaji said as he knew that something was coming and whatever it may be it was something beyond human comprehension.

(Scene Break Shinji and Asuka)

Asuka was wearing a sundress as they walked along the beach with Shinji. She had taken her shoes off and was now holding them in her hands. They were happy together it was a long time coming and the couple was soaking up every minute of it. "So, tomorrow is the day." Shinji said with a solemn tone.

"Yeah, tomorrow we finally stick it sideways to SEELE." Asuka said with a smirk on her face. "Those Illuminati mother fuckers won't know what hit them." Asuka added ready to finally put SEELE to rest and end this madness over the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Human Instrumentality Project. "After that we can finally go and take down Gendo and finally put this nightmare to bed." Asuka said but Shinji then stopped for a moment.

"This nightmare..." Shinji said his voice trailing off. "What about Mana?" Shinji asked with concern for the daughter he never even knew he had.

This caused Asuka to stop as well and with it a sad look to adorn her features. "She's an Angel just like the ones who attacked seeking out Adam, and just like the human race who were spawned from Lilith." Asuka said her voice neutral but carried with it an aura of sadness. "Adams kids came looking for him but were unknowingly coming to Lilith... and if Eve has the power to rival Adam and Lilith... any remaining Angels will come for me as well." Asuka said showing she didn't want to be a threat, but she made a horrible choice that she could barely recall. "She'll come looking for me too and when she does, we will I will." Asuka spoke and thus her voice began to crack with tears threatening to spill.

Shinji acted and hugged Asuka close as the two fell to their knees. The truth of their union clear and Asuka had done the thing she feared the most, she ruined her own flesh and blood. "It's ok Asuka it's not your fault." Shinji said hoping to take the full blame for it if it brought Asuka peace.

"Of course, it's my fault dammit!" Asuka snapped not realized how much she cared for Mana for Cain. "It's me she wants not you I'm the one who abandoned her I'm the one who betrayed her!" Asuka added as she just held her head to Shinji's chest as the Former Third Children just let her cry it out. "Dammit why can't I remember, why can't I remember how I ruined her life!" Asuka cried as Shinji stood there.

"I... I can't remember either." Shinji said which got Asuka's attention. "We both ruined her, and we can't even remember what we did or that she even existed." Shinji said and his words weren't exactly helping the matter. "But." He paused for a moment to get Asuka's attention. "We'll save her regardless of her feelings for us, and we'll try to make it better." Shinji said and thus Asuka smiled but the tears showed while she was still upset Shinji's words helped a bit.

"If you can't remember, why do you even want to help her?" Asuka asked wanting a straight answer from Shinji.

"Because I'm selfish. I want to be better than my own father was." Shinji admitted and thus Asuka looked to Shinji in shock.

"If caring about your kids and loving them makes you selfish then I guess I'm just as selfish." Asuka said as she wanted to break the cycle that they seem to be stuck in. The two then sat on the beach for a bit as they looked up to the sky together. "It's strange I still remember the red gash across the moon." Asuka said as she looked upon Lua.

"I guess the Orokin cleaned it up so they can make Lua their capital." Shinji said before the two shared a laugh with each other.

The couple sat there for a bit as they looked to the heavens above them. "You know... I think it's pretty noble." Asuka began which got Shinji's attention. "That you want to be a better parent than your father." Asuka added as Shinji blushed a bit. "I think it's the first step to being a better parent." Asuka finished which made Shinji smile to this.

"Yeah, when this is all over, we can try again, move to Cetus and just build a quiet life there." Shinji said before Asuka looked to him.

"You mean together?" Asuka asked which Shinji shrugged to her.

"I mean where else, Fortuna is constantly stuck in debt, and there are not many colonies that has the Unum Towers protection." Shinji said listing off the reasons why Cetus. "But yeah together." Shinji finished making Asuka look down but still smiling.

"If your proposing Shinji." Asuka began before looking to Shinji. "Then you better have a ring." She continued but then stopped when she saw Shinji holding a golden ring in his hand. Asuka of course blushed to this. There was even a gemstone on it no doubt gathered from Cetus via the miners out in the Plains of Eidolon.

"Marry me?" Shinji asked as Asuka was wide eyed before looking away.

"You idiot even after everything that's happened to us... you still choose me?" Asuka grumbled a bit while she looked away.

"Always." Shinji said smiling to Asuka without an ounce of hesitation.

"Idiot." She bemoaned but Shinji smiled a bit.

"That wasn't a no." Shinji said and in turn Asuka gave Shinji her hand.

"Just put the ring on the finger." Asuka said and thus Shinji proceeded to do so.

"Thank you." Shinji said truly grateful that Asuka picked him. Sliding the finger onto her finger Asuka looked very much bashful as she blushed over the implication of what was being done at this moment.

"How can you want to be stuck with me all over again." Asuka bemoaned but the smile on her face told that she was happy. "But if that is the case, I have a word of warning for you." Asuka began as she then got close to Shinji's face with her own. "From now on, you're mine from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet." Asuka began as she looked to Shinji. "If you cheat on me, I'll kill you. If you even touch another woman, I'll kill you." She said making it clear where she stood on this. "No come to think of it I'll kill you if you even talk to another woman." Asuka said and this Shinji smiled to her and put a hand on the side of her face.

"Of course." Shinji said and in turn Asuka made Shinji lower his hand.

"Idiot, don't make promises you can't keep." She said and in turn the pair shared a kiss not as lovers but as each other's intended. A chaste kiss to the love that would come as spouses.

About a good mile away Asuna saw the whole thing and smiled at the view she was seeing. Asuna then sighed as she recalled how she and Shura got together. Getting back up she began to take her leave so that she can also prepare for the big battle tomorrow.

(TBC)

ESKK: Finally got this chapter done and thankfully before Christmas. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it and will join us when we publish chapter 20 the assault on SEELE. Be sure to leave a review before leaving and until the next time we meet I will again say, ja-ne.