Creation began on 04-03-19
Creation ended on 04-29-19
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Infinity Redemption: An Ally
It was a crazy move on Shinji's part, but the Space Stone only did as he asked of it, which was to relocate himself, Rumiko, their children and the orphans away from the orphanage he just demolished into pieces to a safe place where they were unlikely to be found. He didn't expect to be relocated to a church…or in the presence of a woman dressed like a penguin (he hadn't been too familiar on the concept of a nun), let alone one that wielded another of the Infinity Stones on her prayer beads.
"I've been expecting you for some time now," she had greeted Shinji when they arrived inside the yard in the middle of the day; the fact that it was light out indicated they were far from Japan, possibly in the west.
The Space Stone, the Power Stone, and now the Soul Stone, Shinji thought as he sat with Rumiko at a small table in a kitchen. It's like an Infinity Stone convention or something.
Rumiko placed a comforting left hand on his shoulder, assuring him that he wasn't alone in what he was going to do.
"…I've peered into the hearts of the children that were with you two," the mother superior told them as she refilled their cups with tea, "and all they had in them was gratitude over being taken away from an awful place where people hurt them. Your own children, especially, were relieved to have you come for them."
"But…based on my perception of your profession, ma'am," went Rumiko to her, "what we've done is viewed by you as a sin, taking children that don't have any business being with us."
"You came here to this church seeking sanctuary against those that may come looking for you," she expressed. "I'd be betraying my oath to the Lord by turning you away. Sanctuary must be given to all that seek it, even to those that are viewed by others as unholy. I know you two have met with cruelty masked as everything but what they were truly supposed to be, but despite the pain you've endured, your hearts remain pure because of the people that matter to you being in your lives. I will not betray you to those that seek you. You have my word, and my word is my bond…till my final breath."
"Thank you," Shinji praised her. "Is it alright if I ask…how long (he slowly pointed to her prayer beads on her right hand)?"
"Twenty-three years," she answered. "I've carried the Soul Stone for twenty-three years, after the passing of my superior, who gave it to me as she lay dying. Out of the two of us, your stone is strong, but your will is passive, whereas mine is enduring. Will you seek the stone for your own intentions?"
"I don't want the Soul Stone," he informed her. "There's no need for wanting it or any thought of why it should be desired. I know there are six stones, but what would be the point of wanting more than one? I wouldn't unless it was to do something that could help the people like the orphaned children…or take them someplace that they can live and be happy."
"Wield one of the six, and you're powerful in your own right when they choose to work with you," the mother superior stated, "but wield all six, then anything you desire is possible."
"But…what if you didn't want or need all six to do something that could be possible with just less than the total sum of stones?" Rumiko asked her. "Is it possible to do something impossible with just a few of them?"
"Like what?"
"Like…anything."
"It would depend upon the thing that is impossible to do unless you had the stones."
Eight minutes later, the mother superior had treated them all to lunch in the kitchen; not many complained about chicken soup when it was better than eating expired, stale food prepared by people that could care less about them.
"…So, what are your plans for the future, Shinji?" She asked him. "How do you and…your lady friend…intend to handle looking after your children and the orphans you liberated when the world is going to be looking for you?"
"Try to find some place for us beyond the reach of the law," Shinji explained.
"You won't have that problem, as the Space Stone affords you access to countless worlds that exist within the confines of this universe. However, I don't have faith in there being worlds that all people can live on."
That's when Shinji realized that she was absolutely right about that. Even if he could use the Space Stone to find them all a new place to live, there was no guarantee that any other planet within the universe would be similar to this one…or as adaptable to suit human conditions.
"Human beings can only live on Earth," he recalled his mother saying when he was a toddler, now resenting her belief on how humans could only live on one planet while her abomination, the Eva, could live for eternity and would outlast everything from planets to suns when there was no such being that could outside of the realm of God.
"Mother superior," he spoke up as an idea came into creation, "is it possible to use the stones…to create a new planet that is like Earth…from scratch?"
"With the stones, anything is possible," she answered, "but you would need the right stones to do so…if not all six of them."
"Then…we'd have to find wherever or whoever has the Mind, Time and Reality Stones and just ask to borrow them to do one thing only."
The mother superior looked at the boy and wondered just how committed he was to wanting to do just this one thing with the Infinity Stones. It was one thing to have one stone choose you over countless others across the vastness of the universe, but it was another thing to slowly develop the negative qualities that would drive a person to desire the power of the stones for the sake of having power. It would be in fate's hands that this child didn't succumb to the darkness inherent within them all to possess them.
But I've seen his soul with mine, she thought, seeing a pure, pinkish glow emanating from Shinji's body thanks to the power of the Soul Stone, indicating his degree of innocence in his heart and soul; if it were tainted by red or a pure black, then she would've seen how either damaged or corrupted he became by desires of greed or envy. He doesn't seek the power of the stones for any delusions of divinity. If he seeks them to do something to help these children, then his heart must be pure and devoted to those that mean more to him than life itself.
-x-
"…Did you talk to the former head of the orphanage again?" Ritsuko asked Misato as they stood on the bridge in Central Dogma, overlooking the surveillance graphics that were displaying as much of the region as possible as NERV was looking for the Third Child.
"I did," Misato answered her. "Three days in the hospital hasn't changed his story or his mindset on what happened."
"His story…and confession hasn't changed?"
"Not a single deviation. But he's clearly hiding something about what happened that night. He says that the boy severed his hand, but didn't say how, not even how he set him on fire. Something clearly has him terrified of the boy more than the fact that he and the other people in charge of the place were using methods of abuse on the children under their care. If Shinji did do something that seemed impossible for anyone else to do, the man would have a reason to be afraid that he'd do something like it to him if he tried to expose him or something."
"That's illogical," Ritsuko stated. "Anyone that fears an unusual child because of something they're said to be capable of is a fool."
"And someone afraid of someone else out to reclaim their child?"
"They're an even bigger fool."
-x-
"I would suspect that a church serving as a refuge for orphans would be the last place any of the law expect to come find you here," the mother superior told Shinji and Rumiko as the day turned to night outside. "You should be safe to hide here before anyone decides to come asking questions to your whereabouts."
"You really don't have to shelter us for too long, ma'am," said Shinji to her, sitting beside his drowsy daughter as she laid down on the cot with her teddy among the other children.
"It would be a sin to turn you away just because you showed up and I didn't do my duty to bestow shelter to you. And…you need someone you can trust that will understand what it is you're hoping to achieve. I guess you could say that we both have a similar interest when it comes to wanting to protect those whose lives matter most to us. So count me as an ally to you."
"Thank you," went Rumiko to her as she put her son to sleep. "My greatest fear right now is my mother sending the police after me because I took my son back from people she handed him off to over a year ago."
The mother superior saw through the girl's soul and saw only discontent in her relationship with her mother, father and elder brother, a sinful stain upon her former childhood ignorance…exploited by the two men in her family that decided to take advantage of her that led to her premature entrance to motherhood. Of course, none of it was her fault if she didn't understand why it was a sin, and she couldn't be blamed for her role in it all if nobody bothered to tell her. Not only that, but it wasn't her fault that her mother had developed a vicious attitude that drove a great wedge between their hearts.
"You two should sleep, as well," she told them.
"Thank you," Shinji responded.
-x-
"The police are looking, but they're not getting their hopes up in looking for two teens and a large number of orphan children from an orphanage that got ripped to pieces, Ikari," Fuyutsuki told Gendo in his office. "Personally, I wouldn't expect to find them by the time of the next Angel attack."
"It is imperative that the Third Child be found before then," Gendo responded. "We don't have a working autopilot system yet, so he's a necessity."
Unfortunately, it seemed like the chances of finding Shinji just to make him pilot the Eva again were slim to nonexistent. As Fuyutsuki felt, it was likely more beneficial if NERV requisitioned the Second Child and Unit-02 from Germany instead of going after Shinji because he chose to leave. To go after him was a waste of time and resources…and for someone that wanted nothing to do with NERV's operation to begin with after being abandoned by his father over a decade ago and had no positive relationship with any of his family, all save his illegitimate daughter.
"Do you even suppose he'd come back if we promised him he could be with his daughter like before when your in-laws had them separated against their will?" He asked Gendo.
"We don't have the luxury of doing something as ridiculous as that," Gendo answered him, implying that there was no way he'd permit Shinji to be with the girl. "Unless we defeat the Angels, mankind has no future."
-x-
As he slept in a small room within the convent, Shinji found his dreams jumbled with his memories and fears. Walking away with Shado, Rumiko and Toya, his father shows up and shoots them. He and Rumiko try to walk down the street to a park, the police show up and arrest them. Their children try to go out and be children, and people in suits show up to take them away, all over again. The only time where something doesn't happen that's terrible is when Shinji saw them and the other orphans on some strange world that looked like a tropical jungle with a waterfall and a beautiful sunset.
"Shinji," Rumiko asked him in another dream he was having where he was back in Tokyo-3, "are your parents in bed with the Devil?"
Before he could answer her, the ground shook and cracked open to reveal Unit-01 rising over them, holding Rumiko in its left hand.
"Shinji," he heard his mother's voice from the Eva, "everything happens as it must, and your friend here…is a hindrance, so she must be dealt with."
Then, without warning, the Eva crushed the girl to death.
"No!" Shinji yelled, waking up and finding himself back in the room. "Shado…Rumiko…Toya…the stones…my parents… I have to find a future that is one worth having, not what they think has to happen."
You won't be alone, he heard the mother superior's voice in his mind.
"Thank you," he praised.
To be continued…
A/N: Now we have two known stonekeepers that are on the same side because they have people that matter to them; Shinji and his daughter, Rumiko and her son, and the mother superior and her duty to the children under her protection. Now we need to gather the remaining three stones and see what Shinji can pull off.
