AN: Here it is! Won't bore you with a long AN. I'm excited for you all to read this one.
Let's get on with the show!
XXX
Asuka held her nose as she glared up at her assailant. Red pooled in her left hand, seeping through the gaps of her fingers and dripping to her thighs. She hadn't known Rei was capable of hitting anyone that hard.
"Get up. Our conversation is not yet complete." Spat Rei. Asuka got her legs under her again, all the while wondering who'd taught wonder girl how to talk shit in a fight. Flustered, she swung at Rei only for the other girl to take a step back. Asuka missed and her momentum carried her right into Rei's waiting fist. Asuka doubled over as the blow burrowed into her stomach. Her resulting cough turned into a wince as Rei grabbed her by her hair and yanked her head up so she could look the usually unemotive girl in the eyes.
"I cautioned you, Second child." Rei's arm cocked back for just a moment before exploding into Asuka's face again. She let go of the red head's hair and let her drop to the floor. The last thing Asuka saw before she blacked out was the girl's retreating back and Mari running over to her.
Shinji opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the light in the room. He recognized the usual white ceiling of the Nerv hospital ward. He imagined he was in his typical room. As his eyes adjusted, he opened them fully and sat up. He felt a little dizzy and his arms felt awfully weak. Before he could even look around someone wrapped their arms around him and squeezed.
"Shinji!" his mother wailed. Already he could feel a wetness on his hospital gown. He smiled and hugged her back.
"Hey, mom." He rasped.
"Could you go get Ritsuko, Wonder girl?" At the sound of her voice, Shinji looked over to see Nuriel and his sister sitting in two of the three chairs at his bedside. Rei gave a nod and stood, walking over to him for a brief one-arm hug on his unoccupied left side before heading towards the door. Nuriel's eye didn't leave his face the entire time.
"Pour him some water please, Nuriel?" his mother asked, her voice muffled.
"Sure thing," she replied. Shinji watched her get up and step over to the counter that was behind their chairs. A pitcher of water and some cups sat there. Nuriel poured some into a cup and brought it over to him. He took the offered cup and took a long gulp.
"Thanks." He said when he was finished, Nuriel nodded. They stared one another in the eyes for a bit longer and he wondered what was up with her.
"You're welcome."
"How long was I out for?" Shinji asked. His mother mumbled something as Nuriel walked back to her chair and took a seat, contenting herself with staring at them again. "What? I didn't catch that." He commented. Yui pulled away from him, her eyes were red and puffy, but she couldn't restrain the smile that pulled at her lips.
"Sorry… it's just… I'm so happy you're awake, son. You've been in a coma for six months. I was so worried!"
"Six months… what?" He spluttered. "I thought…" he mumbled.
"Yes," Yui nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. "There was a hole in your stomach. Leliel says your core was grazed by the attack. Your legs were broken. Probably from being thrown out of your Evangelion. And you had a severe concussion." Yui had begun to tear up again while relating his injuries.
"I'm fine now, mom. You don't need to work yourself up again. I'm alright. Okay?" said Shinji, patting his mother's hand as he gave her a smile. Yui just hugged him again. The next few minutes passed in silence as Yui composed herself. Just as she finally got herself together again Rei returned with Ritsuko. Leliel and Gendo had come with them.
Without saying anything to him, Ritsuko got to work looking him over. Shinji did as she asked, if only to get it over with and have her out of his room.
"It's good to see you awake, brother."
"Good to be awake, Leliel. Where is everyone else though? They must be around." Shinji heard Nuriel hum and looked her way to find her still staring. Her head was propped up in her palm now as she leaned on the arm of her chair.
"My mother, Asuka, and Mari should be returning from Germany in an hour or so. Toji and Kensuke are in the middle of a sync test," Nuriel responds.
"Why would they be in Germany?"
"You could call it a vacation, but honestly they just wanted to put some healthy distance between Asuka and Rei. What with Wonder girl breaking her nose six months ago and all." Nuriel drawled. Shinji's head jerked around and his eyes found the flushed visage of Rei. His sister wouldn't meet his eyes, her head turned off to the side. Next to her, Leliel couldn't quite suppress a small smile.
"You broke Asuka's nose…?" Shinji asked, mouth agape.
"I did not appreciate the things she said about you during your battle with Sahaquiel. I understand that there were things we needed to discuss… and that you lied to all of us, but she should have kept her temper." Rei replied.
"It was quite the spectacle." Leliel commented. Rei's cheeks reddened even further.
"Well Shinji, you're recovered nicely for the most part. Your muscle mass should return to you with a little exercise." Remarked Ritsuko. She stepped away from his bed as she typed some information into her tablet. "For now, would you like to get some fresh air? I can get a wheelchair for you."
"That would be nice." With a nod, Ritsuko walked out of the room to retrieve Shinji's wheelchair.
"Are you sure you're ready to be moving around, Shinji? You just woke up." Yui fretted. Shinji just smiled and gave her a nod.
"I'll be fine, mom. It's not like I'll be walking or anything. Why don't you get some rest? You look beat. I can only imagine how long you've been up looking after me."
"But—"
"He's right, mother. You have endured far more sleepless nights than restful ones these past six months. You should rest." Said Rei. Yui frowned and turned back to her son.
"But are you sure—"
"Mom. I'm alright. You'll see me when you wake up, I promise." Said Shinji.
"Well… alright." Yui sighed as she stood up. Gendo stepped over to her and she took his arm, allowing herself to be led towards the door. Shinji watched his father escort Yui out of the room, but not before the older man gave his son a nod. Shinji rose a brow.
How much had six months changed?
"I didn't think you'd be the one to drive me around."
"Yes, well… you don't do much of that regardless, Third. So I'm not surprised."
"I see your sharp tongue hasn't changed at all, Asuka."
The red head scoffed. "As if it ever would. And it's Nuriel now. There's already an Asuka here. No need to make things confusing. Besides, you killed 'Asuka.' I'm what's left." The two of them lapsed into silence. Shinji let his eyes roam over the slowly recovering city. All sorts of construction vehicles littered the freshly repaired roads. Metal skeletons of future buildings sat high in the sky while those few skyscrapers that were always kept safe beneath the surface of the city stood as a testament to how well they had all persevered.
Yet, for every familiar sight that met his eyes, Shinji saw an abnormality as Nuriel pushed him along the sidewalk. It was snowing. According to Nuriel, Sahaquiel's arrival had permanently altered the weather. It didn't snow every day, but snowfall had become a frequent sight for the residents of Tokyo-3 these past months. No one seemed to like it very much aside from the small children.
It seemed to be unanimously accepted that it was an everlasting reminder of how close they'd come to death. He supposed he understood even if he didn't quite agree. He quite liked the snow personally. Tokyo-3 always used to be blisteringly hot. Now it snowed. He felt as though the earth was healing. That sounded great to him.
As Nuriel guided him down another road he laid eyes on a change he didn't like as much. "Where's the school?" he asked.
"It was rebuilt on the other side of the city. You'd never be able to tell now, but this use to be a giant crater. It's where you nuked Sahaquiel after you synched too deeply with that thing you call an Eva."
"It's not like I meant to."
"There are a lot of things people don't mean to do, Third. Doesn't mean they shouldn't pay the consequences for them."
"I was comatose for half a year. I think I've paid my dues, Nuriel."
"As if I care what you think," Nuriel snapped. Shinji turned as far as he could in his wheelchair and frowned at her.
"If you hate me so much, why are you wheeling me around the city? You could have just let Rei do it like she offered," Shinji retorted. Nuriel just scowled down at him as he jerked in his seat from her abrupt stop. He watched her eyes narrow on him. He glared back in kind.
Nuriel clicked her tongue and started walking again. "Damn her."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're not making any sense." Shinji sighed. They sped up.
"I just hate it when Leliel is right," Nuriel huffed.
"What? Right about what?"
"None of your business, Third! Now stop asking and decide where you want to go eat. You're a fucking twig. My treat."
"You are a weird one, Asuka." Shinji sighed. "Ow!"
Nuriel had smacked him upside the head.
Rei turned a page in her book, waiting patiently for her brother and Nuriel to return. It had already been a couple of hours and she hoped the two of them would be back soon—if only so she would no longer be stuck in the situation she found herself in.
Mari and Asuka were back.
The two of them sat on the opposite side of the bed from her. She supposed she could just get up and leave the room, but Shinji was her brother. She wanted to spend some time with him now that he was awake. Besides, Rei didn't think Asuka deserved to be in the same room as Shinji right now. The only thing making her feel bad right now was the fact that Mari was clearly caught between the two of them.
"So… how've you been, Rei?" asked Mari. Rei looked up from her book to find Mari staring at her with a close-lipped smile. Next to her Asuka was staring off into a wall, a scowl set across her face. her arms were crossed, and Rei didn't think she'd seen her move from that position since she'd first taken her seat.
She closed her book and set it in her lap.
"I am well. More so now that I know my brother is going to make a full recovery. And yourself? How was Germany?"
"It was nice to go back home. Relaxing, you know? We got to walk around some old haunts. Meet up with friends. Typical stuff. Can't say we expected it to be snowing here too when we came back though. Hikari and Mayumi said it was, but… you know it's always been so hot here. We didn't quite believe them."
"A byproduct of Sahaquiel's ascension. Or of her defeat. Doctor Akagi is no surer than anyone else and she refuses to ask Leliel for the details." Rei responded.
"Speaking of Angels," Mari began as her eyes flicked briefly towards the empty bed between them and Rei, "have any more angels come since the frosty one?"
Rei was thankful that Mari did not ask about her brother. "Your aunt did not inform you?"
"Aunt Kyoko didn't want to talk about Nerv. In a way it was part of Asuka's punishment for…" Mari's eyes flicked to the bed again. Rei merely nodded and gestured for her to continue. "Right… so, yeah. We don't know a thing. Either way, we clearly weren't needed."
"There have been three Angels since Sahaquiel. Arael, Armisael, and Ireul. We thankfully did not have much trouble with them. Their attacks were not physically destructive in nature. Ireul and Armisael were reluctant to do battle with us, according to Nuriel and Leliel. Arael however… from what I was told, she was a depraved, vile, creature. Nuriel seemed to dislike her especially and took care of her personally. With prejudice." Rei replied. Mari nodded and began to look around the room. Rei knew this was her fourth or fifth time doing so.
Thanks to Mayumi she was aware that Mari must be feeling awkward. From the way her eyes were always drawn back to the bed, Rei could make a very decent guess as to why. Rei let an inaudible sigh pass through her nose. "You can ask about my brother. It is alright."
Mari blinked and then flushed. Sparing another glance at the bed, she looked at her lap. Next to her Asuka gripped the arm of her chair. "So… where is Shinji anyway?"
"Nuriel is showing him around the city," Rei responds.
Asuka's hair whipped about as her head jerked Rei's way. "Nuriel is?" The only response Asuka received for a long moment was Rei's sharp gaze.
"Yes."
"But why would she want anything to do with him?" asked Asuka, her lips dipping into a frown as she began to crumple her skirt with her fingers.
"I cannot answer that question, Second child. I would assume, however, that they have history we do not know about that is the cause," Rei responded. The frown on Asuka's face deepened and she would have said something else had the door to the room slid open.
"You ate too much, stupid."
"Well you said it was your treat. Did you think I wouldn't take advantage of it?" Shinji asked. Rei watched as Nuriel wheeled him in and closed the door behind them.
"You never did when Misato treated us!" Nuriel growled back.
"Misato was poor. And she treated me well… the same can't be said for you," he shrugged. He and Nuriel looked at one another, the eye-patched girl's mouth slightly agape.
"You spiteful little shit!"
"Call me what you will, Nuriel."
"I just wanted you to have a spine!"
"Shit way of going about it," Shinji snorted.
"Are the two of you quite done ignoring us!?" Asuka snapped, having finally had enough. She just couldn't take it anymore. This is not at all what she'd expected. How can she just banter with him so casually? I don't understand! He killed her!
"Our bad. We weren't trying to," Shinji replied. Asuka's mouth clicked shut and she glared at him. Rei merely rose a brow at the interaction. Nuriel didn't say anything, but she didn't look fazed at all. With a click of her tongue, Asuka stood and exited the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Sorry about her… I'm glad you're awake, Shinji. Talk to you later? I should go calm her down before she does something she regrets… again." With that Mari stood herself and hurried off after her cousin. Shinji, Nuriel, and Rei watched her go in silence and once the door slid shut behind her, Nuriel looked back to him.
"Alright you invalid, time for you to take your wittle nap. Do you need to potty before you go beddy-bye?"
"You just called me a crippled child." Shinji said. His face was expressionless. Nuriel merely grinned at him. "You're such a bitch, Asuk— ow!"
She'd hit him again.
"It's Nuriel. Figure it out already. Could you help him into bed, wonder girl? I'm gonna head out for the night."
Rei nodded and stepped over to Shinji, allowing him to lean upon her as she guided him into bed. "Thank you for guiding him around the city today, Nuriel."
Nuriel just waved the thanks off and headed for the door. "See ya."
Rei sat back in her chair once Shinji was comfortable and the two siblings spent the next few hours chatting. By the time Rei left Shinji's room he was fast asleep.
The doors of the elevator shaft to Terminal Dogma opened despite themselves. He stepped out, a smile on his face as he strolled towards the lone bridge over the lake of LCL that separated him from his prize. He didn't cross the bridge. Instead he looked upon her.
Lilith.
He felt her call thrum in his veins. He was not weak, however. No. he would not be drawn in by her. Even this close. He was stronger than her call. Stronger than her. He was an angel of the highest order, after all. A Seraph did not bow down to the likes of Lilith. Only the father could steer their actions with his almighty hand.
His smile widened, twisting upon his face as his eyes glowed baleful red. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. Planning for. It had taken some time, but he was finally here. Lilith was the key to everything. Without her the Lilin would not be able to pilot the cousins. Once he got rid of Lilith they would fall. The world would finally be theirs.
How he wanted to laugh! Everything had gone smoothly; not a single misstep. "The fools…" He took one step onto the bridge and his smile fell. "How did you know?"
The light in the room flickered for but a moment before it became so intense a lesser creature might have had to shield their eyes. But not him, no. He looked straight ahead as fire coalesced in front of him, growing and elongating until it formed into someone he had not wished to see. The wrench in his plan.
"Because you're not as smart as you'd like to think, Seraphiel."
Seraphiel hummed and slid a hand into the pocket of his pants. "How long have you known?" Nuriel crossed her arms over her chest as fire licked her skin.
"I've had my suspicions since your muscles started to atrophy in your 'coma.' Sure, it seemed like the natural thing for a coma patient, but Leliel and I knew better. Angels don't atrophy. We didn't write you off as an enemy right away because dear little Shinji has always been oh so special, but that was the beginning. No. I wasn't sure you'd taken over until you woke up."
"And why is that?" Seraphiel asked. Nuriel narrowed her eyes. She was getting a headache.
"I've known Shinji personally longer than anyone else in this world. The real Shinji wouldn't have even been able to look me in the eyes after what he'd done to me. Forget all the banter. He couldn't have stared Asuka down and spoken to her with such ease either… but nail in the coffin? We'd been together all day and not once did you ever say sorry." Nuriel replied.
Seraphiel threw his head back and laughed long and hard. "Oh! I underestimated you, Nuriel! And here I thought you were going to be just as stupid as all the other Lilin. So trusting. So naïve. So weak." He said, spitting the last word as if they tasted foul.
"Well, I'm not Lilin, am I? I'm just like you. A hybrid of human and Angel. And just as conniving. I'll let you in on a little secret. I wasn't joking around earlier when I told you Shinji had killed Asuka. She is dead. I am truly all that's left."
That puzzled him.
"How? And if so, why would you side with the filth that walks our once beautiful planet?"
Nuriel shrugged. "Shinji strangled her to death. But by then she'd already become an Angel. My will wasn't as strong as what yours became, but I still sought to preserve her life in the hopes of one day using her to rejoin with father. But even to her last, Asuka's ego was something to behold. Every last memory she held; every emotion and thought became mine. I ceased to simply be Nuriel right then. There was no ego border to separate us. The perfect blend of human and Angel was born from her death."
"You are Lilin!" he accused, "an abomination!"
"I am myself. Asuka's humanity was so powerful that it snuffed out my need for their end. I may not love them as much as she did, but I shall see them live, Seraphiel."
"Then you must die." Seraphiel snarled. The fire licking at Nuriel's skin grew taller and began to whip around her as if alive.
"Possibly," she said, uncrossing her arms, "but not by your hands."
Terminal Dogma exploded.
Unlasting ~ The Sound of Silence
Misato felt as if the world would end at any moment. Her knuckles turned white with how hard she gripped the railing she'd been standing near. She was on her knees and stayed that way until the ground stopped shaking.
"Can the Eva's still launch after that!?" she shouted.
"Yes!" Kyoko answered.
"Do it! All pilots sortie!"
Just as she called for their launch a voice rang true for everyone in the city. It was as if all sound had been replaced with this alone.
"Ye mere Lilin thought thine champion could contain me." Just as Kensuke in Unit 04 ascended above ground, a long gray arm burrowed itself into the Eva's face. along the length of it, parts of it seemed carved out in chunks. The only thing connecting parts of the arm together properly were taught strips of string. Near the string was another, much smaller arm that held something long and thin in small hands that seemed almost fused to what they held.
Unit 04 toppled over immediately while Mari in Unit 08 opened fire with a shout over the comms, asking if Kensuke was alright.
"Ye thought wrong. I cannot be contained." The bullets were meant to strike the core in Seraphiel's chiseled chest, but instead they seemed to just vanish in midair. No A.T. Field was risen. They were just gone. Mari stared upon the imposing figure of Seraphiel in horrified awe. The creature's legs were just like his arm. Long, with carved out sections of flesh connected by string, and extra appendages holding some long tool.
"The great Father has looked upon ye… and thine existence upon this base earth has been found wanting." Seraphiel had no stomach. Two more arms crossed over each other right below the ribcage. And where its stomach should have been were four more taught strings surrounded by flesh on either side. Seraphiel's head was startlingly, offensively similar to Shinji's. The only difference was the fact that his lips did not move when he spoke, as if the face was merely a mask. And on the left side of its head, nestled in its hair, was the ever familiar and hated birdlike angel mask.
"My presence engulfs all worlds linked across the Dirac Sea. A single breath shakes the earth." Serapihel exhaled and a building toppled in the distance. The Eva's shook. Central Dogma shook. Misato shook. E did not know what was happening. This didn't make sense. It didn't match Seraphiel's predicted abilities.
"This is supposed to be the power of silence!?" Misato shouted, looking to Leliel.
"No. This… I do not understand either."
"A snap of my fingers ends worlds." Toji in Unit 03 rushed towards Seraphiel, throwing out quick punches in the hopes of something. Anything. He was only met with an A.T. Field. Then suddenly his vision spun. He saw the clouds above before he grunted and his back hit the ground. Seraphiel lifted a single fist and drilled it into Toji four times so quickly he wouldn't have been able to follow the strikes if he hadn't felt them impact his stomach so hard he was coughing blood.
Before Seraphiel could do anything further fire engulfed him and he backed away from Toji's prone form. Floating before Seraphiel was Nuriel, still in her human form, an earpiece tucked securely into her ear.
"I had always wondered why Shinji seemed so weak when I first got here… but now I understand. Leliel, Shinji is a seraph. But not of your dimension. You told him what his distinction was as best you could, but you were inaccurate. It is not sound he controls…" grimaced Nuriel.
"I am every step you take. I am every word you speak, every breath you breathe." Seraphiel continued. The city shook more. Buildings, cars, and trees vanished on the spot.
Nuriel launched a volley of fireballs the did little more than irritate her kin. "It's vibration."
"I am the footfalls of war. The crossing of blades. I am the great war cry of heaven!" Leliel's sharp intake of breath was unneeded to confirm how disastrous that truly was.
"He could destroy the whole city! The entire world! We must relocate him to some other dimension! Somewhere he canno—"
"No!" Nuriel shouted, "No. he won't do any of that as long as we're here. He needs Adam. As long as we're here in this dimension, in this city, he has to hold back. We can't leave."
"Sing a song of sorrow. Cry out in despair. Give me strength and power, for I am the omnipotent force of the universe, the great unraveling of life!" The other pilots didn't need to hear anything else and threw themselves into battle.
"I am the seraph of praise. Of Worship!" They were brought to their knees by a wall of force that struck them from above. Asuka screamed within Unit 02 as parts of her Eva were crumpling visibly, unable to hold up under the might of Seraphiel's assault. Nuriel snarled and where once she floated, a raging fireball took her place until she stood before Seraphiel in all of her towering, burning glory.
"My kin cry out for your destruction." Seraphiel lunged. The two titans met in a clash of force and fire that tossed the Evas back, sending them tumbling into small stores and trees until they got their feet under them.
"I will deliver. For I am Seraphiel! And I. Am. Here…" One of the small appendages on Seraphiel's left arm moved, strumming the—what Nuriel now realized in dread—chord on its arm. With that single act it was as if there was never a struggle between the two of them to begin with. Nuriel was sent flying with a scream, becoming a burning meteor that crashed into the recovering form of Unit 00.
Seraphiel stood tall, unscratched and poised to strike at any moment.
"Now know thine place beneath mine feet."
XXX
And that's the chapter! So… what did you guys think? This chapter was pretty important to me. It's a big moment for the characters personally. I'm hoping the chapter title kind of gets the feel of the chapter across properly as I tried shaping a lot of the interaction and dialogue with that one word in mind.
Also, just as a side note, Seraphiel is waaaaay more busted than some of you might have originally thought. Lol.
Anyway, I hope you all will look forward to the next chapter as much as I'm excited to write it. Leave some reviews for me, yeah? I'd love to hear from you all.
Don't forget to come check out my other stuff on wattpad if you like how I write.
www dot wattpad dot com/user/ThinkK1ng