Creation began on 10-07-20
Creation ended on 10-11-20
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Evangelion Malevolence: No further action (necessary)
"…I take it your trip wasn't too stressful?" Isayama asked Shinji and Rumiko as they returned to the temple the next day in the afternoon, carrying a large crate up the steps and setting it down in front of the elderly man.
"No, sir," said Shinji to him, "not in the least."
Rumiko opened the top of the crate and revealed three rather-simple statues that all looked the same: Slender, almost-bowling pin-shaped, with arms and faces (A/N: These are the statues used in the GMK film).
"Thank you for retrieving them," Isayama praised the two teens.
"You're welcome," Shinji and Rumiko responded.
"Shinji Ikari," the three heard a male voice below on the steps, and Shinji turned around to see five men in black suits and glasses and Misato, who seemed upset about something. "We are here to escort you to NERV HQ, immediately. Please, come this way."
Shinji sighed and turned back to face Isayama, and bowed to him.
"Goodbye, Isayama-San," he spoke and turned away to leave with them.
"Shinji," Isayama stopped him for a moment. "It's most likely nothing serious, whatever their reason may be."
Shinji nodded in acceptance and left down the steps with Misato and the suits.
"Where would you like the statues, sir?" Rumiko asked him.
"I'll help you with them," he responded, reaching down to pick one of the statues up.
-x-
"…Nothing new with his sync ratio," went Maya to Ritsuko as they monitored Shinji's progress in the test plug. "Doctor Akagi, should we really be bothering with the commander's son? I mean, he seems to prefer spending time at the temple than here, even after being told of the necessity for him to be here."
"He was the third to be selected by the Marduk Institute capable of piloting the Eva," Ritsuko explained to her protégé. "Even if he dislikes what he's being told to do, it's not like he can leave, knowing what would happen if he did."
"But working at a temple half the week when he could be here training to pilot the Eva, it creates a conflict of interest that we can't resolve on account of NERV having no jurisdiction against a religious group…unless we tried to get him to quit."
"We can't manipulate him into doing that if he refuses to commit to one group over another."
"And what about that surveillance drone footage? What was it that destroyed the drone?"
"We won't know until we get an update of Sapporo's current state."
Meanwhile, Gendo was in a meeting to discuss the discovery of the Angel carcasses and what could've killed them.
"…And so, with the devastation caused to Tokyo in the aftermath of Second Impact, there was a considerable amount of radiation leftover," said one of the JSSDF's female officials during the meeting. "However, in the following months, the radiation levels have significantly dropped. There hasn't been any attempt made by any research group to go there and decontaminate it. Where did the missing radiation go?"
"Could some research group have decontaminated the area?" Gendo suggested.
"No, travel to and from Tokyo is heavily restricted, and anyone seen would be shot on sight," a male official enforced. "What's more, radiation decontamination takes heavy equipment and several years to achieve. This was done within a year. The radiation levels in Tokyo are so low, they're nonexistent."
"How does this relate to the Angels?" Gendo wanted to know.
Then, they were shown the footage that was the discovery of the Angel corpses again, followed by the glowing form that had retreated from the site of the nuclear submarine that went missing.
"We were reviewing our archives of animals with similar features," a general explained, sliding over a trio of pictures, "and we believe this was the creature that attacked the sub and left those corpses Private Ummi found."
Gendo looked at the photos and wasn't convinced. If this was what these military fools believed was responsible, then they were likely to believe in anything that was nothing more than a rumor. Even he didn't believe in such a creature due to never really knowing anything about it.
"The Godzilla myth?" He questioned. "It's nothing but a story."
"How else do you explain what happened?" The female official questioned him. "It could've killed those creatures you referred to as Angels, attacked the sub for its nuclear reserves because it was attracted to the radiation, and absorbed the radiation from Tokyo just by being near it. What else but Godzilla could be the culprit?"
"Because I don't have time for old wives tales. We have actual enemies that exist out there, not an old story meant to frighten children."
"You're wrong, Ikari," went Fuyutsuki to him, which was a surprise to hear him say. "Most people believe that it's just a story, but that's only because it hasn't been seen since its appearance in Nineteen-Fifty-Four. Those that have seen it or heard about it from those that survived its encounter know about it…and fear that something just like it could appear again."
"If something like it ever does appear, then…" Gendo was going to say, but was immediately cut off by the JSSDF officials.
"NERV can't deal with it if it is proven to be Godzilla," the woman told them.
"What?"
"NERV was tasked to face Angels if they appeared to invade Tokyo-3, not giant monsters that attack nuclear subs and powerplants. What's more, you have your own problems, from what we've conveyed from rumors."
"Rumors?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"It's pretty common knowledge that Gendo Ikari's son is among those tasked by NERV to operate these Evangelions you built to combat the Angels…and that when he's not at NERV, he spends his time working part-time at a temple, as if to gain some measure of independence from your agency. In fact, the rumors have indicated that the boy tends to spend as much of his time at the temple as possible rather than in your Geo-Front. Do you deny such rumors as these to be true, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki?"
Fuyutsuki sighed and responded, "I do not."
"Which brings into question the viability of the Evangelions being an affective weapon against Godzilla if it returns," the general added on. "You have three problems that you can't give a guarantee on."
"Which are?" Gendo wanted to know; whatever these factors were, he would make sure that they were corrected to ensure that NERV could deal with such a threat if it made itself known.
"A: You don't know if the Evas can even deal with a threat like Godzilla, as they were never intended to face anything for more than a few minutes. B: Your child soldiers haven't faced anything since they were either recruited or drafted into NERV's service to face the Angels that didn't show up because of this Godzilla. And C: You can't guarantee that your own son will even pilot the Eva to face Godzilla, even if you do get authority to deal with it."
All three problems were accurate, and neither Gendo nor Fuyutsuki could fault the JSSDF on them. There was no guarantee that an Evangelion could face Godzilla, who reduced Tokyo to ruins in the aftermath of World War Two and could've done the same to any other city in Japan, which seemed cursed because of it. And even if there was a slim chance that it could be taken down by an Eva, there was no guarantee that the pilots could survive due to the radiation this creature gave off; while the Evas were designed to deal with every conceivable situation, there was a limit to how much punishment they could take. And as for the pilots, it wasn't their job to face non-Angels, and Shinji was one of only three pilots NERV had that could pilot the Evas, with the Second Child still being stationed in Germany.
"If it attacks Tokyo-3, NERV will deal with it," Gendo tried to assure the JSSDF.
"There's doubt that you can, Ikari," the general reiterated. "Until further notice, NERV is on indefinite standby until such a time as the next Angel appears, which falls into NERV's jurisdiction, while the JSSDF will deal with Godzilla when it appears."
-x-
"…There's no mention of this ancient creature ever appearing and preventing the Angels from arriving," SEELE 06 informed his fellow council members in their meeting. "The Dead Sea Scrolls do not contain any details pertaining to such a creature interfering."
"Then are we to assume that the Dead Sea Scrolls have no sway over our scenario any further?" SEELE 10 had questioned.
"The Third Angel was prophesied to appear and be dealt with by one of NERV's Evas," SEELE 04 explained, "but it never appeared, and NERV has its corpse, along with four other corpses, all belonging to the other four Angels. If this…Godzilla creature is responsible, then our scenario is potentially destroyed by its own actions."
"An entire goal built to save the human race from extinction, blown to bits by an unidentified creature that may not be within our power to eliminate," went SEELE 01. "For once, we're stunted by a situation that wasn't caused by a human being."
"There's still a possibility that another Angel will appear to try and reach Lilith," suggested SEELE 07 to them.
"It's possible, but it's unlikely," responded SEELE 12. "Unless the Dead Sea Scrolls were faulty from the very beginning, the Human Instrumentality Project may be out of our reach…permanently."
The council was quiet for a while before SEELE 01 spoke up again.
"How much do we know about this Godzilla?" He asked them.
"It has some mythological connection to a primitive island that was destroyed in Second Impact, believed by its natives to be a sea dragon. It attacked and sank several ships before attacking Tokyo in Nineteen-Fifty-Four, causing mass destruction and leaving hundreds of thousands of lives either taken or maimed by its rampage. However, we don't have any concrete information about what its abilities were; such knowledge was lost when Second Impact occurred."
-x-
"…Shinji Ikari," Shinji heard his name being called by a Section Two agent as he closed his locker door after grabbing his copy of The Guardian Monsters. "Commander Ikari demands your presence in his office."
Shinji and looked at the guy and sighed. If his father was going to get on his case about his priorities, he had to hope that the guy would just fire him; even if the human race was at stake if he didn't pilot the Eva, Shinji didn't believe in it or his father, and would rather find something else to believe in. He followed the agent to Gendo's office and stood before the man that gave him no joy.
"It was brought to my attention that you left the city a day ago," Gendo told him, "just to pick up some statues at a temple in Myōkō."
"Yeah, I did," Shinji responded. "So what if I left the city?"
"You're to understand that as a member of NERV, it is vital that you're within Tokyo-3 should an Angel appear to threaten the safety of the people. Your part-time employment at this shrine is a distraction. If an Angel had appeared that day, we might've faced our doom because you weren't there to pilot the Eva."
Shinji sighed again and responded, "You have Ayanami to pilot the Eva for you, and last I checked, she doesn't have much of a social life, so she could face the Angel. If my job at the shrine requires me to go to another shrine to retrieve a series of stone statues, I must do so."
"Yet, it seems you took advantage of this requirement just to get out of the city."
"It's been two months, and there has been no Angel attack in that time since. In all honesty, I must confess that I don't believe in the slightest that there are any of these so-called Angels you keep saying want to destroy the world. And if that's true, then all you've done is waste my time that could be spent doing something constructive."
"And yet, it's only because of NERV that we have the time to better prepare for the Angels when they do appear."
"Or you're just looking for an excuse to exercise some measure of authority. If they haven't shown up, then there's doubt that they will ever show up."
"You don't know that."
"You're right, I don't know that…but I don't believe that some creature called an Angel will ever appear. I can't believe in something that makes no sense to me just because some people I don't have any faith in expect me to believe so."
Gendo wanted to threaten the boy, but knew he had no authority to pressure him into quitting his employment at the temple.
"The next time you're required to leave Tokyo-3, you're to inform NERV," he told him instead. "You're dismissed."
Shinji turned and left out of his office.
Gendo, for once since he had his son brought to Tokyo-3 to do this one requirement he had a use for him to do, had to consider the possibility that Shinji…against all other odds…would not do as he was told and pilot the Eva against something that wasn't an Angel, wasn't under NERV's authority, and of his own volition…simply because he believed it wasn't his responsibility to deal with something of this sort.
Ring! His phone rang, and he picked up.
"Ikari," he uttered.
"We finally got an update of Sapporo," someone else revealed to him. "It's a mess out here. A huge mess. There aren't any survivors. We found seven, but they died within minutes of being found, suffering from grievous injuries and heavy radiation leftover by whatever wrecked this city. They were able to reveal what they believed was the cause of the mayhem before they died, however."
"And?"
"They said it was a creature called Godzilla."
-x-
"…Tell me something, Shinji," Shinji heard Misato's voice as he stepped into the elevator to leave NERV HQ, and he turned to face her, seeing that she got into the elevator with him. "That book you're reading, The Guardian Monsters… Is it really worth reading?"
"Yes, it is," he answered her. "The three statues I helped to bring back from Myōkō, the locations they were from were from three of the places in the book."
"Mount Myōkō, Lake Ikeda, and Mt. Fuji?"
"That's right. Are you trying to read it?"
"Your, uh…boss at the temple is…quite persistent in the fact that he refuses to fire you when your father made the request, as NERV has no authority to make such demands to any religious groups. And what is the point of reading a book like this?"
"I don't question the reason behind it, but it makes interesting reading. These days, graphic manga can only teach you so much if the plot doesn't say much behind the motives of people. Some people do what they do because they want power, others do what they do because they want love, and there are those that do what they do because they're often told they have no other recourse but to do so. If life were a story and we're the characters, what are the motives behind each of us?"
"I joined NERV to stop the Angels from wiping out mankind," she stated her reason.
"I'll be honest, but I get real sick of people saying that. Every time I'm here, I hear nothing but Angels, Angels, Angels, and none of it really makes any sense. You call these monsters I've never seen Angels, and people with common sense know that angels are anything but monsters. They've always been seen as messengers or the stereotypical people with bird wings sent from Heaven by the gods themselves to guide regular people. It'd make more sense to refer to them as demons or monsters if they hate people and want them reduced to a memory. And what do they look like? Are they always the same…or is each one different from the next one, so they don't follow a pattern? You can't tell me what they really are…and I can't believe they exist unless I saw one. Show me one that's real, that's worth believing in, like a sea serpent or an eight-headed dragon like Orochi. I'd be convinced that something like that exists instead of some group of strange beings I've yet to encounter. Hell, I'm even willing to believe that Godzilla existed once upon a time and actually attacked Tokyo due to something that was done to it and people of today's generation have no understanding of it. In this story, I'm just the guy that wants to move on with his life without being bothered by people he doesn't know whether to believe in or detest."
That made Misato want to slap him in the face due to his sense of beliefs. Of all the people she had met, he was perhaps the only one that questioned what NERV did…and whether or not the Angels existed. He was also the only one to question why they were called Angels, which actually made sense when you stopped to think about it; it made no sense as to why they were called Angels, and since the only one she saw was nothing but a horrid memory, she had a questionable assumption that the rest of the Angels weren't going to come…and they had five corpses to study that were clearly caused by a creature they knew next to nothing about.
"You'd actually walk away from this?" She asked him.
"I see no reason to convince me to believe in something when there has been no evidence to confirm that this so-called enemy is even out there," he explained.
Ding! The elevator had stopped and reached the level he was heading for, and then he vacated the elevator, leaving the woman inside to ponder whether or not he should've been informed about the Angel corpses.
-x-
"…I take it you and young Ikari bonded during your time away from the city?" Isayama asked Rumiko after they had setup the statues in the temple.
"All we did was talk," the girl responded. "He's not all that different from anyone else that comes here. He's lost his faith in those that hurt him and is looking for something…or someone to believe in."
"Have you found someone to believe in yet?"
"Besides karma, acceptance and true love, it's hard to believe in someone when they don't say much about themselves. But it's easy to believe in deities when you have lost your faith in people. I pray to the ones associated with the elements, such as Suijin and Fūjin, but Shinji has yet to find even one deity to pray to. Would it be wrong to suggest one to him?"
"It is never wrong."
Isayama walked across the temple floor to the statue that was from the shrine in Lake Ikeda and placed prayer beads carved with a strange symbol that looked like a cross, but with wavy lines surrounding it.
"These friends of yours that these statues belong to," Rumiko spoke to him, "how long will it be before they arrive here?"
"Oh, they'll…be here in due time," he told her.
-x-
Bubbling. Awakening from a slumber for less than intended, the guardian of Lake Ikeda moved to prepare for its next appearance. Beneath the glassy surface of the calm lake, saturated with the spiritual energies of pure-hearted beings no longer among the living, the guardian sensed the impending darkness that was approaching from the far north.
-x-
Rumbling. Stirring up prematurely from its centuries-long slumber, the guardian of Mt. Myōkō sensed the dread of a legion of souls suffering from unfulfilled vengeance. It had to move now before it could progress any further.
-x-
It knew the danger was brewing, but it couldn't act just yet. As the mightiest of them all, it needed to be out there to ensure that there was a future left for the people in the end of this madness that was unleashed upon them.
-x-
Although most of the coastal areas of this once-proud nation were underwater, it still clung to existence with its land that had been devastated by the calamity that occurred fifteen years ago, and those were the places that could still pay for the sins that were committed decades ago, and it would carry out this vengeance with the power it obtained to punish the people. And it would resume its vendetta with this waste of space that still clung to life as it saw a boat travelling across its watery surface.
"Grr…" It growled.
To be continued…
A/N: Even if the Evas were made to face giant monsters, there was never a guarantee that they could face a creature like Godzilla, and this is a force of nature and vengeance driven by one purpose: To destroy Japan.