Hello everyone, Calborghete here, how are you all? Here's another chapter for you.
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So without further ado, read on.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
"Self-talk."
Responsibility note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, films and series mentioned in this fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 03
Shinji was still in shock, and Kaworu slowly removed him from the observatory and into a large dark hall.
"Where are we? I want to go back to my room."
"Calm down, everything has its time." Kaworu spoke as he stopped next to Shinji, he could see the lost look on Shinji's face, then a light went on in front of him, revealing the person he thought was in control.
Raising his head and looking at the person he hated most in the world, Shinji spoke calmly and grudgingly, but his psyche wouldn't allow him to do anything else.
"Dad?"
Gendo looked at his son with strong indifference, pressing a button on his back he allowed the lights to come on revealing the gigantic face of unit 13, Shinji's eyes widened when he saw that it was identical to unit 01.
"You will pilot this Evangelion alongside Nagisa, you will carry out my orders when the time comes."
"What?" Shinji said confused, he wanted more answers, but why would his father want him to pilot an evangelion after he had destroyed the world? Feeling his hands shaking at this, he quickly spoke hurriedly.
"Dad, I can't!"
"You go." Gendo didn't even mind his son's plea, turning and heading for his living room, he had his own scenario in mind.
"FATHER!" Shinji shouted as the lights went out, he wanted to run after his father, but his legs wouldn't allow it, angrily he fell to the ground as he thought about what was happening in this world.
"I'll never fly again!"
Kaworu looked at Shinji sadly, it hurt his heart to see him like this, all his other lives he had watched Shinji suffer, it really hurt his heart.
A FEW DAYS LATER
KNOCK ON THE DOOR
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shouted the man as he leaned against the wall of his room, all he did was stand there, doing nothing, just feeling the weight of his guilt killing him inside.
KNOCK ON THE DOOR
"Leave me alone." Shinji said as he clasped his head in his hands, he could only see all the people telling him how he had destroyed their lives, he wanted nothing more than to disappear.
"I didn't do it... I didn't do that."
Typing in the code and entering the room, Kaworu could see Shinji in the corner, he hadn't left his room for a few days, he wasn't doing anything else, a small musical keyboard in his hands.
Walking over to the bed, Kaworu slowly sat down and, with a smile, turned on the music. Shinji was so oblivious to his guilt that he didn't even notice the little tune that started up next to him. Lifting his head, he looked at Kaworu's back and saw how calm he was.
"Leave me alone." The man asked as he wanted to be alone, but he couldn't help saying that it was calming him down, the soft piano music was bringing him calm.
"Why are you here?"
Kaworu smiled as he heard this, still touching her gently.
"Music soothes the soul." Looking back discreetly, he noticed Shinji trembling less.
"Do you play anything?"
Shinji's eyes were still closed, but he remembered the day he had played his cello in Misato's apartment, he couldn't even remember how he had remembered the notes, but he answered Kaworu's question.
"Yes, I play a bit of cello."
"Cool, maybe we can do a duet when things get better." Said the man smiling as he planted a seed in Shinji's mind.
"It can't get better, it can only get worse." Shinji said depressed, Kaworu continued playing slowly.
"What if I told you it was possible to reverse it?"
Shinji raised his head when he heard this, a small thread of hope in his agitated mind, he only asked a little hastily.
"Co... how?"
Kaworu finally stopped playing, placing the musical instrument next to him, he spoke calmly.
"At the center of the third impact, we had to use the Cassio lance to stop unit 01, now the two lances rest at the epicenter of the third impact." Shinji looked at him calmly and patiently, he wanted to hear how he could fix this world. Kaworu understood.
"With the two of us together, we can solve this! But only with your help at my side piloting unit 13."
But... How can we fix it? Can we reverse it?" Shinji spoke in a pleading voice, and Kaworu explained with a smile.
"Yes, with the power of the two spears together, with the power of one impact we can become gods, we can do anything we want, including reversing the third impact."
Shinji felt a determination take over his body, but a fear was still there, Kaworu wanted an impact.
"But Kaworu, are you talking about making an impact?"
"Yes." The man replies, smiling, and then he speaks in a soft voice.
"An impact is only one key Shinji, when we have full control, we can do what our heart desires most, that power will be in our hands."
Shinji nodded, but then thought of something else.
"I see, but what's in it for you?"
Kaworu let out a laugh, and lying down on the bed, he quickly said what was on his mind, not quite telling Shinji the truth.
"I miss color, I miss life, I miss people's happiness."
"And why didn't you do it before?" Shinji asked as he thought about the future, but Kaworu's answer didn't convince him.
"Unit 13 needs two souls to function, I need you Shinji, you've become the key to the world."
"But I don't think my father is thinking of the world's good here," says Shinji as he thinks of Misato and everything he learned from her during their time together.
"Yes... your father doesn't have the best intentions to make an impact, but we'll be in charge." Kaworu replied seriously.
"You're manipulating him." Shinji said with disbelief, Kaworu shrugged as he heard this, and soon a fear took over his body, if he had manipulated his father, he could be manipulating him.
Seeming to realize this, Kaworu spoke calmly.
"Shinji, I know I don't know you to say that I'm completely worthy of your trust, but I've had enough of all this, I've had enough of being used by him and... I want to come back to life, that's all."
Shinji understood Kaworu's point, he didn't know what it was like to live in this world and Kaworu seemed to have been living in it for a long time, just like Asuka and Misato, what would it be like if they could go back to having a simple, normal life like before, that seemed to be a distant dream now.
"That's why I need your help, I can't do this alone." Kaworu added with a smile, he really needed Shinji and now seemed to be the right time to go ahead with his plan.
Sitting down on the floor, Shinji thought about the offer, it really was very good, but then something caught his eye, feeling the choker on his neck he slowly touched it sadly as he thought of Misato.
"Even if I wanted to, they could trigger it and kill me."
"I got it." Said Kaworu as he stood up, went towards Shinji and as if by magic removed it, Shinji was shocked by this, not imagining that it would be such a simple thing to do.
"How?"
"Let's just say I have a lot of free time here, we learn a lot." Kaworu says as he throws the choker into one of the corners of the room, turning back to Shinji and speaking confidently.
"Well? Are you going to help me fix the world?"
Shinji looked at Kaworu's hand, waiting for his answer. He didn't want to fly an EVA again, but he showed that he had confidence.
"Yes, I want to help you change the world."
"That's what I like to hear." Kaworu sat down again, pulling his keyboard up from his lap and looked at Shinji.
"We'll fix it, you don't have to worry anymore." Said the man as he began to lightly play the melodies he knew by heart.
"But... how are we going to fly unit 13 together? I've never seen anything like this before?" Shinji said doubtfully as he remembered what the unit built by his father looked like.
"Hahaha... that won't be difficult, when we start synchronizing we'll feel each other's need, somehow we'll manage." Kaworu had always liked the sound of the piano, it was like listening to the voice of God.
Shinji smiled when he heard this, somehow he felt calm around Kaworu, it was as if they had been friends for a long time, and he calmly listened to the music, leaving his guilt in the background.
They don't know how long they spent enjoying Kaworu's music, but soon hunger caught Shinji's attention.
"How do we get something to eat?"
Kaworu stopped playing and looked at Shinji, nodding as he realized that he hadn't yet told him how the power scheme at NERV worked.
"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."
Shinji watched him get up and gently place the music device on the bed, he looked at the time as he smiled.
"It looks like we're already allowed to take the portion."
"Permission?" Shinji was confused as he listened, but Kaworu soon tried to update him on how the food rotation worked.
"So, after the third the animal life dropped dramatically..." Said the man as he saw Shinji looking downcast and guilty, but he knew that at least some details he had to know.
"We're forced to follow a strict regime, we're allowed three meals a day, our food is basically cloned, so it takes a while to get a satisfactory amount."
"I'm sorry about that." Shinji spoke guiltily again, Kaworu gave him a sympathetic smile to show that he didn't blame him for anything.
"Stop it Shinji, unfortunately you have to know how it works, but it won't last long, we'll sort it out after all."
"I know, I just think... even if we fix the world, I'll still be thinking about how I blew it." Shinji spoke dejectedly as he headed for the door, then asked with slight apprehension.
"I know you want to help me, but when my father finds out what we're going to do, will he be able to stop us?"
Kaworu nodded slightly, he had thought about it before, but calmly he spoke to Shinji.
"Yes, your father has his own plans for an impact, his reasons are selfish, but at the moment leave him to me, I can deal with him, just focus on reversing the third impact."
Shinji nodded as he heard this, a fear taking over his body at the knowledge that he was going to be enemy number one in this world, his father and Misato wouldn't understand what he was going to do, but for everyone's sake he wouldn't fail.
"Let's eat, I bet it tastes better now." Kaworu spoke as he pulled Shinji by the shoulders, he used his power to block the security cameras that were scattered around the large complex, the two walked in silence, Shinji suspicious of not seeing other people in this place.
"Where is everyone?"
"It doesn't." Kaworu spoke naturally, Shinji looked at him doubtfully, guessing what the next question would be, then he began to speak.
"Practically everything here has been automated, there's no need for staff, so the corridors are empty."
"Where's my father?" Shinji asked with venom in his voice.
"He's always in his office, the teacher is probably in his room, we very rarely see them together, so the place is practically always empty.
"Wow, but if there are only three people here, why doesn't Misato intervene right away?" Shinji said doubtfully when he saw the small facility, there didn't seem to be any security anywhere.
"That's thanks to Professor Fuyutsuki's system, he made nests of small EVAS throughout the complex, the WILLE is powerful, but it doesn't have the war capacity to get through the defenses, so they stay away." Kaworu spoke as he entered a simple room, with only a few pipes sticking out of the walls.
"It must be bad to be alone for so long." Shinji said as he followed Kaworu's movements, feeling guilty about it.
Typing his code into the machine, Kaworu picked up his tray of food and waited for Shinji. After a quick explanation of how the machine worked, he sat down at an old table, but soon he was thinking about what he would say to Shinji on the subject of loneliness.
"I don't feel lonely, I don't know, I'm a strange guy, I have my ways of distracting myself."
Kaworu noticed Shinji's slumped posture, knew that he was now thinking about how he had destroyed everything around him, and calmly tried to improve the subject.
"What are you going to do when we've finished?" The albino asked as he ate a portion.
Shinji put down his cutlery, he thought about it in the short time he had known about Kaworu's plan, sadly he remembered Misato and Asuka, he knew they would never forgive him for doing all this.
"I wish I could disappear, I don't see the point in staying in the city."
"Leaving Tokyo 3?" Kaworu asked curiously. Shinji shrugged, deep down he hadn't given it much thought yet.
"I don't know where I would go, I would just stay away from everything, from NERV, from EVAS, from people."
"That doesn't sound very healthy." Kaworu said dejectedly, deep down he wanted Shinji to be happy, especially after so many failed timelines.
"Healthy? What good would I do by looking these people in the face again?" Shinji said with slight anger.
"I don't know, maybe we could sit down somewhere and talk? Sort out the problems, show them they were wrong." Kaworu spoke naturally as he ate his food.
Shinji thought about it, but deep down he knew it wouldn't work, people didn't want him around, and even with the world fixed, he had hurt many people for long periods of time, especially Misato and Asuka.
"It would be better for everyone." Shinji spoke calmly and dejectedly, Kaworu felt the mood cooling as he finished eating. Shinji looked at his new friend, thinking that he shouldn't ruin people's day with his depression.
"What about you? What are you going to do?"
Kaworu smiled at that, at least he could lie something.
"I don't know, maybe get to know the world, listen to the famous musical concerts out there, something like that."
"Good plans." Shinji said dejectedly as he ate, and soon the two of them fell silent, with only the sound of food being removed from the tray, but for Shinji every second that passed was torture, at least he had a glimmer of hope that he could fix it.
(*)
"No sign of the unit." Ritsuko spoke calmly as she looked at the map of the searched locations, feeling that this was just a waste of time, while Misato stood beside her with her arms crossed, looking at her crew working slowly.
"We already know where he is."
"But do you think we wouldn't have seen any movement if they were going to use Shinji as a weapon?" Ritsuko asked calmly, but deep down she knew the man was in NERV.
"They must be talking a lot of shit to convince him to join their cause." Misato said angrily to herself as she thought about her last meeting with Shinji.
"True, especially with his delicate mental state." The blonde said as she lit another cigarette, she didn't mind her daily quota, the stress was strong, but deep down she knew she had to talk.
"I should have detonated the choker."
"What?" Misato asked, slightly angrily. She had heard this last sentence from her colleague, but she only wanted to confirm it.
"You should have activated the choker, you put the world in danger because of your old feelings for him." Said the doctor as she let out a long cloud of smoke.
Misato looked ahead as she thought about it calmly, anyone would tell her to do that, but it was easier said than done, Shinji was like a son to her, even after so many years, seeing him as a grown and confused man had awakened old feelings inside her.
"It wasn't right, I'm sure Shinji won't help his father, he's smart enough to see that Gendo is a bigger threat than him."
"Is that what you really think? Or just an excuse to protect you?" Said the doctor as she leaned against the console behind her back.
"What do you mean?" Misato asked as she turned around, she could see her colleague's angry eyes.
"Misato, try to understand, Shinji still has the potential to be a catalyst for an impact and you let him be taken to NERV." Said the doctor as she stubbed out her cigarette.
"You put the world in danger because of your feelings for him... but now, the whole crew is doubting your ability to command."
"I should have killed him? Is that what you're saying?" Misato asked seriously. "Should I have killed him just to maintain the respect of the crew?"
"That's not what I said..." The doctor started to say, but then Misato spoke angrily, but her voice was restrained.
"The crew don't have to like my attitude, I'm not here to be their friend, my job is to stop them dying! Apart from that, they can think whatever they like about me, but when I give an order, they have to obey me, regardless of their position."
Ritsuko felt the hint against her, she knew that the subject could no longer be discussed, she slowly let out a sigh as she turned around, but not before turning and speaking to Misato for the last time.
"I hope Shinji is the person you expect him to be."
Misato watched Ritsuko return to her work, but a fear took hold of her, Shinji was a good person, wasn't he?
(*)
"You stupid brat!" Asuka growled in her chair, in front of her her portable game was charging, luckily it didn't have enough charge for her long hours of playing, so she would have to deal with her agitated mind.
"Brat!" Asuka growled again, she could only see him running away to be by his father's side, why couldn't he stand still for once? Asuka growled as she touched his face, because he only took action when the situation told him to do otherwise.
"Princess! I can feel you complaining from here!" Mari shouted from inside the small bathroom, Asuka looked over to where a small cloud of steam was coming out, at least they had the luxury of a heated bath.
"Mind your own business four eyes!" Asuka shouted as her anger returned, then glanced at her wristwatch to see that it hadn't even been half an hour since she'd loaded her game, slamming her hand on the table, she was agitated.
Turning off the water and grabbing her pink towel, Mari went out to dry her hair, she didn't even care about her naked state in front of Asuka, who was also annoyed to see the choker bomb around Mari's neck, a bad feeling overtook her body at the sight of that damned thing, it was like seeing a damned collar.
"Fucking four eyes! Have some decency in your life and cover up! No one has to see you naked!" Asuka growled as she looked at her roommate, Mari didn't even mind Asuka's little outburst, turning and looking at her calmly and reassuringly.
"We're among women and stop being such a prude, you walk around the room naked."
Asuka looked at Mari angrily, but she couldn't deny that she was right, she too had come out of the bathroom naked and she didn't care if it bothered Mari or not, she let out a long sigh as she covered her face, not because of Mari's condition, but because of her agitated mind.
Mari looked at Asuka's semi-miserable state, knowing she had to do something, she smiled knowing she could do what she liked best, she quickly teased her by starting to dry her legs.
"You know, princess, if leaving the shower naked makes you horny, I can change in there."
Asuka raised her head as she looked at Mari with a disconcerted look, she spoke angrily.
"How can you think of so much shit?"
Mari clucked her tongue at Asuka, and she quickly began to change as she spoke naturally. Her mind really was very dirty, but it came naturally to her why people had to make such a fuss over such a natural thing.
"I don't know, it just comes."
"God, you're so annoying!" Asuka grumbled as she slapped her hands against her leg, then Mari sat down on her bed with a questioning look on her face, she knew that Shinji was always on Asuka's mind.
"Isn't the puppy as predictable as you said it was?"
Asuka took a deeper breath when she heard this, she hated being so transparent like this to Mari, and knowing she couldn't escape it, she spoke calmly and with controlled anger.
"He doesn't think! He's an idiot brat!" Asuka finally exploded, thinking about Shinji irritated her, Mari remained calm on her bed, still thinking of words so as not to express herself badly.
"He annoys me so much!"
"Why?" Mari said as she held her legs, her face wore a shy smile, she felt like a teenager again.
Asuka looked at her roommate and wondered if she should talk about the old days, taking a deep breath she thought back to the time when she was happy, at least Mari knew that all conversation inside the room was restricted between them.
"Because I can't get him out of my head! That's what makes me so angry!"
Mari put her hand over her mouth as she spoke, smiling.
"Is that still love?"
Asuka blushed slightly, but keeping things under control, she spoke with false modesty.
"Love, we didn't even have love! Just a bad kiss and that's it! He's so useless he doesn't even know how to kiss!"
Mari laughed when she heard this, she knew the story where Asuka and Shinji had kissed in Misato's apartment, pulling her leg against her chest she said humorously.
"But you plugged his nose, who can kiss while being choked?" Mari said laughing.
"But there's a crazy person for everything, the puppy doesn't seem like the type to have a suffocation fetish."
"Mari! I'm serious here!" Asuka said angrily, she hated it when Mari irritated her in one of her rare moments of seriousness and venting.
Raising her hand, Mari laughed.
"Okay, okay, keep going!"
Asuka took a deep breath as she became calmer, somehow she wanted to continue venting, putting her hands behind her head she spoke as she looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't know, I just can't be at peace!"
Mari nodded, taking a deep breath as she spoke calmly.
"You know, Asuka, you have a lot going on in the past, what was he? Your first love?"
Asuka blushed when she heard that, she wanted to retort, but seeing Mari's seriousness she knew that this was no joke, and she was right, Shinji had been the first person she had identified with and been interested in, she had never felt that way before. Mari realized this and used it to continue.
"There's no shame in still having feelings for him, at least you still have something."
"I don't know, it seems so wrong to think like that after so many years." Asuka said dejectedly, but she quickly thought of Misato and Kaji, both of whom had always loved each other, no matter how much time had passed.
"Why are you fighting it?" Mari spoke calmly as she looked at her toenails, she had to find time to take care of them. Asuka looked at her doubtfully, especially after he had left Wunder.
"After all that?"
"I don't know, something tells me he's still going to come back into our lives." Mari said as she shrugged. Asuka looked at her suspiciously, her instincts were almost always right.
"Do you think so?" Asuka asked genuinely curious, Mari rocked on the bed, she looked at Asuka calmly and with her smile.
"I think so, even though the puppy has left, I feel that we'll meet up before too long."
"What do you think he's doing now?" Asuka asks with a curious but downcast look on her face.
"I don't know, he's probably in his room trying to understand what's going on." Mari says thoughtfully.
"She must be crying." Asuka says, slightly annoyed.
"That loser only knows how to cry."
Mari shook her head sideways at the thought of Asuka's behavior, and calmly spoke.
"Asuka, you know that's not nice." Said the brunette as she looked at the small blanket.
"He must be desperate, it can't be easy for the puppy."
Asuka slowly lost her angry spirit, with a long sigh she thought about Mari's words, Shinji really must be desperate, feeling a shiver run down her back as she imagined herself in his place, it must be frightening.
Mari seemed to realize this in Asuka, and with a long sigh she spoke, her voice cold but serious, she wanted the world to know what had really happened on that particular day.
"What would you do if you were Shinji?"
Asuka looked at her with slightly widened eyes, even though for only a second she had shown this small reaction, Mari really was scary when she wanted to be, her body wanted to reply that it would have done the same, but somehow she stopped in her tracks.
(*)
A few days had passed, Shinji looked at his bed where there was a black suit plug waiting for him, he wondered if he should put it on for the last time, if he was really doing the right thing, but Kaworu had never given him any reason to believe that he couldn't be trusted, so he calmly began to remove his clothes.
Finally finished, he looked naked at the clothes on the bed, this was the last moment before falling headlong into the journey that Kaworu had explained to him, closing his eyes he thought, thought of the world he had destroyed, thought of the people he had accidentally killed, thought of the cold, spiteful look in Misato and Asuka's eyes.
Releasing the air from his lungs, Shinji knew what he was going to do, with determination he put it on, with determination he pressed the button on his wrist and felt the plastic material crushing his body, he turned around and took a look at his appearance, Shinji looked at his own face, he could see that he was not yet determined, but when would he really be ready? That he didn't know.
KNOCK ON THE DOOR
Looking at the now closed door, Shinji knew that Kaworu would be waiting for him, and he listened eagerly to his co-pilot.
"All set, Shinji?"
Taking one last look at himself, he had to succeed for everyone's sake, the world would smile again, going to the door, the man slowly pressed the button, with the sound of wind revealed Kaworu not at all worried, he was wearing his suit plug just like Shinji, with a confident smile he asked.
"Ready to save the world?"
(*)
"Today we will free the prison that humanity finds itself in." Gendo said to the great monoliths of SEELE. Calmly, Fuyutsuki stopped next to the large power switches, the lifeblood of SEELE.
"We will evolve to be a superior being!" Said one of the monoliths happily, finally they would be free of this internal mortality.
"We won't have to wait any longer, now we can go on with our freedom." Another spoke calmly, then the first SEELE spoke.
"We can start the unification, teacher can start the disconnection."
With that order, Fuyutsuk slowly began to lower the heavy levers, and one by one the most powerful men in the world were released from their metallic and carnal prison.
Gendo watched one by one as all the great monoliths were turned off, with only an image of a nervous system remaining in its place, his eyes locked on number one, his greatest enemy.
"It won't be long now, soon we'll meet in the upper world."
"I hope so Ikari, your loyalty will be rewarded in instrumentality." Said SEELE 01 as it was switched off, Gendo looked to the side as he saw all of SEELE's monoliths now lifeless, once bright red, now just a piece of gray stone, Gendo turned as he began to walk out of the room.
"Who'd have thought it was just turning off a switch?" The old professor spoke with a bit of humor when he saw his former student passing by.
"It's always been like this." Gendo spoke in a cold voice, leaving the teacher behind with a dejected look on his face.
"So that's it?" The man concluded as he began to walk out of the room, and he could see Gendo's back moving away from the old conference room, he felt more distant with each passing day and his guilt grew even more.
(*)
Stopping a few meters from the entrance plug, Kaworu could see Gendo's silhouette on the upper landing. He calmly approached Shinji, keeping his friendly smile on his face as he spoke.
Shinji could see his father just above, a feeling of anger and fear taking over his body, Kaworu gave him a friendly look when he realized this, soon Shinji could be happy, just as he had planned.
"Don't think too much about him, let's make our plan and clean up this mess."
Shinji smiled at this, speaking with slight doubt.
"That's not what worries me, it's him." Said the man as he signaled to his father.
"Do you still think he might try to stop us after finding out what we want to do?"
Kaworu smiled when he heard this, and spoke calmly as he took a deep breath.
"That doesn't worry me, as I said before, he tries to manipulate me all the time, I'm already a few steps ahead of him... now all I can think about is sorting this out, nothing else." Said Kaworu as he took Shinji's hand in a military salute.
"We'll talk when the connection is ready." The man concluded as he began to turn around, Shinji watched him enter the input plug, with a long sigh he took one last look at his father, praying it would be the last time, with slow steps he began to enter his input plug, grabbing the control levers eagerly.
Gendo signaled Fuyutsuki to begin the process, with a few pushes of the button he started, both large cylinders began to be placed in position, feeling anxiety taking over his body, he felt closer and closer to his goal.
Shinji was in complete darkness, he could only feel the movement of the input plug, he wished he could put an end to it, feeling a connection in his brain, he soon began to concentrate on the process, it wasn't long before he could see Kaworu on the other side, still maintaining his friendly smile.
"Ready, dear Shinji?" The man asked, smiling; it was almost as if it was just another ordinary day.
"Yes, let's get it sorted." Shinji said, smiling as he felt his colleague's confidence, and with a final nod, they both spoke together.
"Activate Evangelion unit!"
(*)
Alarms flooded throughout the port, Misato clenched her hands as she feared that Shinji was involved, but she thought it might just be her paranoia, soon recovering as she ordered Wunder to take a course towards NERV.
"Damn!"
"Successful activation at the former NERV command center!" Hyuga reported calmly, but everyone could see that he was agitated.
"Sensors indicate only one Evangelion unit!" Shigeru looked at his monitor as he gave Misato the news.
"Our units can handle him." Misato said as she picked up her personal radio.
"Mari! Asuka! Be ready in your EVAS for immediate deployment!"
She felt anxiety taking over her body, the same she felt when Shinji fought the last angel before the third impact, feeling sweat dripping down her face, she quickly wiped it away. Next to her was Ritsuko, she could see Misato's anxiety, fearing that she was right about Shinji and his guilt about NERV.
(*)
Shinji could feel the strange sensation of piloting an EVA unit with someone else, he had other thoughts in his head, but he felt he was still himself, so he looked down to see the entrance to the central dogma.
"Don't be anxious Shinji, we know what we're going to do." Kaworu spoke calmly, soon he could see Shinji looking at the red marks on the walls, he felt the souls trapped in the LCL.
"Don't look at them Shinji, it'll be over soon." Shinji jumped when he heard this, thinking himself an idiot for thinking that his mind was no longer a place of privacy.
Shinji looked down as he saw the immensity that was the black abyss of the geofront, gripping his scythe tighter, he wanted this to be easier.
"I hope you don't have to use it."
Falling to the ground, they both felt a thud. Looking down, Shinji's eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of skulls scattered across the ground.
"My God!"
Even he didn't understand why those skulls had appeared, but that didn't seem to matter now, looking up he could see the two spears that would give him the power he needed.
"Look Shinji, the spears."
Shinji finally looked up to see the spears impaling a white monster.
"What do we have to do?"
"To begin with, we have to remove the spears, that way the ritual will begin and we'll raise the EVA to the divine, after that it's easy." Kaworu explained in a more serious voice. Shinji looked at him calmly, but felt that this would not be an easy process for anyone.
Walking with long strides to the large body, Shinji was confident that he could finish this thing in the quickest way in the world, but it proved to be the complete opposite.
A shot landed on the skull-covered ground, and Shinji looked up as he jumped away, recognizing a pink EVA standing just above, knowing that Misato must be close by to try to stop him.
"It took them a while to show up." Kaworu spoke seriously next to Shinji, and soon they both saw another giant falling in the background, and could recognize the red color in his armor. Shinji felt a long chill run through him as he learned that it was Asuka and he were now enemies in this little fight.
"Damn it Asuka!" Shinji growled as he felt a sadness in his body, he didn't want to fight with Asuka, but it seemed that he would have to, so sadly he clenched his scythe.
"Look at the shot!" Kaworu warned, but he quickly raised the AT field to protect unit 13.
Mari raised her eyebrows when she saw that her shot had no effect on the enemy, she had used penetration ammunition, this wasn't supposed to happen.
"Did the AT field withstand the blast?"
Kaworu smiled as he felt that this was not even close to breaking his AT field, mixing it with that of the unit itself.
"It looks like they can't hit us."
Shinji looked at Kaworu and then at Asuka, he could see her preparing to start the battle in front of him, he quickly prepared himself for the attack that was about to take place.
Asuka looked at Mari's shots having no effect against the enemy unit's strong AT field, she had never seen one like it before, it looked like she would have to kill this enemy the old-fashioned way, running as she raised her spear, waiting for the attack that never came, she shouted in anger.
"I'll end you coward!"
Shinji braced himself as he saw Asuka coming towards him; if he could make her understand, it would help his life a lot. Jumping up and using all the power her EVA could give her, Asuka plunged her spear in the hope of landing a clean blow.
Shinji raised his scythe as he defended himself, feeling the great impact of the blow coursing through his body, he could sense that Asuka was giving her all in this attack, he really felt sorry for his enemies. Pressing a few buttons on his controls, he tried to appeal to the external communication system.
"Asuka! Please stop!"
Asuka's eyes widened as she recognized Shinji's voice, she had no problem activating her communication system, she felt a sense of betrayal coursing through her body at the knowledge that Shinji was once again piloting an EVA, especially a NERV EVA.
"Brat! Are you flying for NERV?"
Shinji felt a pang of sadness at Asuka's tone and voice, then Kaworu spoke as he felt it in his mind.
"Don't be like that, we knew they wouldn't understand."
Shinji walked backwards to gain some distance between him and Asuka, but he still tried to appeal.
"Asuka please! I want to fix the world!"
Asuka glared at him, her mind wanting to believe Shinji, but he was in a NERV EVA and she couldn't trust that.
"Shinji! There's no turning back!"
Shinji lowered his head as he heard Asuka's cold voice, he felt his guilt screaming in his mind, but now he could no longer doubt his plan, looking over and seeing Kaworu looking at him with determination.
"Asuka please! We can change this!" Shinji appealed again, but judging by Asuka's posture, she wasn't going to change her mind.
Feeling the weight of betrayal in her heart, Shinji stood next to her father, she clenched her hands in great anger at having to stop him, her eyes burning with what she had to do.
"You stupid brat!" shouted the redhead as he launched himself straight at Shinji, raising his gun he tried a direct attack, Mari closed her eyes as she heard this, Shinji was in a NERV EVA, with sadness in her heart she tried one more shot, but like all the others the shot missed.
Shinji jumped back, he didn't want to attack Asuka, but he knew that to fix the world he would have to go through her.
"Asuka stop!"
"Shut up and give up brat!" Asuka shouted as she used all her strength to try and stop Shinji, her eyes clouded with emotion, using all her strength to stop Shinji and save what was left of the world.
"Can't you see they're manipulating you?"
"We can change that! Trust me!" Shinji shouted as he looked at Kaworu, he had a determined look on his face as he concentrated his AT field to withstand Mari's shots.
"Kaworu help me!" Shinji shouted as he dodged another blow from Asuka, not realizing that Kaworu was already helping.
Nodding slightly, Kaworu pressed a few buttons on his console, Shinji watched as small disks came out of his back and headed in Mari's direction.
Mari's eyes widened as she saw the small disks coming towards her, and she dropped her rifle and started to walk away.
"Damn!"
Opening her AT field, Mari felt sweat dripping down her face as she saw the little disks trying to break through her field, they looked like little animals.
"That's not fair!"
Shinji could see that the firing had stopped, seeing Mari struggling to keep the disks out of his reach, he could now concentrate solely on Asuka, he knew he couldn't stay on the defensive forever.
"Please Asuka!" Shinji shouted as he turned his spear and managed to strike the red giant, feeling his heart ache for having hurt her, then in the background he noticed the red giant rolling in the land of skulls.
Asuka felt her face sting from the small blow she had received, she looked back to see Shinji still waiting for her, his EVA was quite strong, but it would take a lot more to stop him.
"That idiot hit a girl."
Getting up and reaching for her gun, Asuka glared angrily at Shinji.
"Brat, you should have kept quiet! Maybe you could have gotten away with it!"
Shinji gasped as he heard this, he looked at Asuka sadly, how could he make her understand, he calmly explained.
"Asuka, I can change that! Give me a chance!"
"There's nothing to fix! This is our world now! I can't let you destroy what's left of it! Try to see what a foolish thing you're doing!" Asuka shouted as she ran towards Shinji, she tried to deliver a blow that could pierce Shinji's heavy defense, but before she could, everything went dark.
"What!?" Looking sideways, she growled when she saw the battery depleted message.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Shinji looked at Asuka's EVA stopping working, knowing full well what had happened he heard Kaworu talking next to him.
"This is the time Shinji, let's get the spears!"
Turning and heading towards the large white body, Shinji soon began to climb it, Asuka's eyes widened as she saw this through her main panel, opening her radio she spoke.
"Four eyes, send me an extra load!"
Not even waiting for Mari's reply, Asuka dragged herself as best she could to the external battery, angrily she began to load herself, turning as she saw Shinji approaching the spears, fearing for her life she spoke.
"Shinji, listen to me!"
Kaworu smiled as he stopped using his AT field, slowly one of the two longinus spears changed, Shinji noticed this, but let it go due to the adrenaline that had taken over his body.
(*)
"WHAT!?" Gendo shouted when he saw his plan was no longer as it had been, Kaworu had changed the spear, how had he done that? He felt fear for the first time in many years. Beside him, the old professor had a shy smile on his face, and a small laugh wanted to escape his mouth.
Turning his head to his former teacher, Gendo was wide-eyed as he saw his plan go to waste.
"What's so funny, professor?"
Fuyutsuki finally let himself laugh openly as he began to walk out of the large room, he felt he had nothing else to do now.
"It looks like you didn't see everything coming."
Gendo looked at the old professor leaving the Geofront command center, he looked at the briefcase in his hands, it was just a mere weight, feeling the failure hitting his body with full force, with a loud thud he sat down, for the first time in years he didn't know what to do.
(*)
Kaworu was smiling, he wished he could look at Gendo's face now and see that his manipulation had had no effect on him.
But that was no longer possible, Shinji was staring at the spears, step by step he approached, finally in front of the two, he looked at Kaworu to see any sign that they were doing the wrong thing, Kaworu gave him a friendly smile.
"Let's do this." Said the man as he opened his two new arms, slowly the two of them held the red spears.
"On three!"
Shinji looked back to see the red giant still standing there, he could feel Asuka's words, but they never reached him, calmly he thought of Misato, Asuka and all his friends, knowing what he wanted he began to feel the power of the spears in his body.
Kaworu spoke with determination.
"One... two... three!" With that they both pulled with all their strength, meter by meter the two spears came out of the great body, Kaworu felt the power coursing through his body, it was good to feel complete again, but it was still missing.
"Just a little longer!"
Shinji looked at his friend's face, feeling afraid as his eyes began to glow a brighter red; he wanted to ask what it was, but felt that this wasn't the time.
Finally they removed them both, Kaworu smiled as he felt the power coursing through his body, quickly the giant began to take on a white color.
"That's it, we're almost there." Kaworu spoke calmly, a tranquility that didn't suit the moment, Shinji looked at his friend with fear, a dread ran through his body at the feeling that he had made a mistake.
"Don't worry, dear Shinji, this is necessary." Said the boy when he sensed Shinji's fear.
"Just wait."
Asuka looked up at the white giant rising into the sky, she felt her heart racing at the impact that was being initiated.
"Brat, why did you do that?"
(*)
Misato looked at her crew, in front of her the great circles opening up over the ancient fortress city, she couldn't believe that Shinji had piloted an EVA again and was making an impact, sadly she ordered.
"Mu... High-penetration ammunition! Aim for the location of the entry plug."
Her orders were listened to, next to her Ritsuko had a downcast look on her face, she didn't want to go there and say that she had been right about Shinji's character, she knew how close the two of them had been in the past, this whole thing can't be easy for her.
Turning around and looking at the data, she could see that an imminent impact was about to happen, she could see Wunder's shots, but nothing was stopping the enemy.
(*)
Rising higher and higher into the sky, the giant EVA 13 didn't even seem to care about the shots it was receiving, it really was a God, Shinji looked at the horizon now receiving the large colored circles, he wanted to believe that this really was part of the process.
Kaworu gasped as he felt the power coursing through his body, he quickly thought of his goal as being Adam, he was supposed to purify the earth, not the other way around, he soon felt Shinji's soul at his side, he could feel his fear, his guilt and despair, he used this as fuel not to make a mistake.
With her arms outstretched, Asuka stopped her EVA next to Mari's. They both looked at the powerful Wunder, trying to shoot down the enemy, but failing.
"Why is he doing this?" Asuka said sadly.
"He was in a lot of trouble, we should have taken better care of him." Mari said dejectedly as she thought about how all this had happened.
"Really, we should..." Concluded the redhead as she focused on the sky in question.
Feeling the full power in his body, Shinji watched Kaworu open his arms, with a strong light he became light, as light as if he were underwater, standing in a place with nothing, Shinji looked in all directions, but he couldn't see anything, overwhelmed by the fear of having been manipulated he soon found Kaworu standing in a simple dressing gown.
"Kaworu." Shinji asked as he slowly approached, but he was afraid.
Turning and looking at Shinji, Kaworu gave a shy smile, he felt his soul wanting to purify the world, but his heart was asking for something else.
"We're ready Shinji, but first I think you want some answers."
Shinji wanted to answer, but he was too scared to ask, so Kaworu spoke calmly.
"I'm an angel Shinji."
Shinji's eyes widened as he touched his face, feeling that he had been tricked, but he listened to Kaworu anyway.
"You used me!"
"No... I really want to help you." Kaworu answered calmly, deep down he knew this was a difficult subject, so he explained simply.
"My goal was to end life on earth, but... after getting to know the world, people and life, I don't want that anymore, I ... I just want a beautiful world." Kaworu said as he sat down on the white floor, Shinji felt sad to hear this, he somehow felt that Kaworu wasn't lying.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Shinji asked, still feeling insecure, but Kaworu smiled.
"If I told you I was an angel, would you accept it?"
"Not really." Shinji laughed slightly, but then he thought of his main goal, and in fear he asked.
"Are we still trying to fix the world?"
Kaworu smiled and spoke without hesitation.
"Yes dear Shinji, we're still here to fix the world."
Shinji felt calm about this, but then he asked.
"So what are we going to do?"
Kaworu took Shinji's hands in his, he closed his eyes as he wanted to enter Shinji's mind, he could do it, but he knew that only then would he be able to help Shinji in his quest for redemption with humanity.
Shinji felt awkward at the touch, but he let himself be carried away by the moment and waited for Kaworu's words.
"Just open your mind to me and wish."
With that in mind, Shinji closed his eyes and wished, Kaworu could feel Shinji's thoughts, seeing how pure of heart they were, this Lilin really was a good person, different from all the rest.
(*)
Misato looked at the large circle that represented the impact, she could see that nothing could stop the enemy, she looked at Ritsuko who had her eyes focused on her personal console, with a strange expression on her face.
"What's going on?" Misato asks as she approaches.
"The impact, it's not like before... I don't understand, all the AT fields are separating and not unifying as they did in the third impact!" The doctor replied as she looked outside, all the crew members confused by what she was seeing in her mind.
Outside the Wunder, the great circle of the fourth impact exploded as it expanded its radius of action, like a camera rewinding everything went back to normal, square meter by square meter the terrain returned to normal.
"The sensors are detecting presence on the ground!" Midori said without understanding.
"EVAS units?" Misato shouted as she approached, her face showing complete confusion, but she quickly thought back to the conversation she overheard with Shinji in his little battle with Asuka.
"No... no, they're too small to be EVAS units, they seem to be the orange standard!" Midori.
"What's going on?" Misato asked as she looked outside and could see the green vegetation gaining ground deeper and deeper, this world was somehow regenerating.
Everyone inside Wunder looked at that with confusion, that didn't seem like something NERV would do.
Outside, Asuka quickly got out of the entry plug as did Mari, both had lost their power, both looked at the now brown and green earth, she stopped next to Mari as she looked up at the sky, her face showing that she was afraid.
"Mari!" Asuka screamed as she saw the world returning to its original colors, looking at the earth now with the color combinations that only nature could create, she was afraid, afraid because she didn't understand anything that was happening, Mari, on the other hand, started laughing and that annoyed Asuka.
"Ahahaha...My God, he really did." Mari spoke incredulously and feeling ridiculous, she put her hands together in front of her face as she smiled openly.
"Ahahahah he did!"
Asuka lost patience when she heard this, she quickly wanted to punch her colleague, but quickly stopped when she heard Mari shouting happily as she jumped to the now normal ground.
"The puppy wasn't lying! He reverted! He really did!"
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete people here, we finally have chapter 03, I hope everyone liked it, as always be sure to follow it and save it in your favorites so you don't miss any more future updates.
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