Creation began on 08-06-15

Creation ended on 08-09-15

Neon Genesis Evangelion

A New Cause: Womb of Origins

A/N: This chapter shall revolve around the reason behind Mother Gaia and her association to the Four Horsemen of the Restorative. And from her point of view.

I really didn't need Conquest to be with me, but he insisted on being my bodyguard in case the new Horseman of the Restorative tried to harm me. And this wasn't something that I really wanted him to see me do, as it was an experience that I had performed countless times in the past. I was a deity, after all, blessed and cursed with immortality, which included what today's people referred to as a healing factor. And more than a deity, I was Mother Gaia, the Soul of the very Earth, incarnated in the body of a mortal that allowed me to interact with those around me.

Yes, my name is Mother Gaia. It has always been Mother Gaia, and I don't question it, for I've been around since before the time of the dinosaurs and their environment that allowed for only the strongest of them to thrive. I have been around since before the time of the man that would known throughout history as Jesus Christ. I was even there when he discovered to be the Messiah of his time. When I say that I'm a mother, I mean so…literally and metaphysically, as all life on the planet, not just human beings, are of my blood, my soil, my waters.

The four souls, including the latest soul and its companion soul that were to arrive soon, are among those that would help to undo the extensive damage that the Second Impact of the year Two-Thousand caused all over, ending many innocent lives and destroying much of the land we all survived on. They are bound to my soul…and…they are family to me, just as my children from the past…and my adopted daughter of whom I cherish as much as I cherish every other life that survived to the present day.

In the aftermath of the devastation, I was reached out to by three of my fellow deities, and they were as upset about the cruelty that had been inflicted upon the planet and life that existed by people with delusions of godhood and eternal life on their minds. We needed to do something about this insulting disrespect that couldn't be absolved outright, so they endowed me with the Four Horsemen of the Restorative, the lost souls of mankind that were denied entry into Heaven due to the circumstances of the way they either came to be in life or the way they died, resulting in their transition from life into a state of limbo. This was how I came to know each soul that would fill the position of each horseman that would help us undo the carnage…and in exchange for their services, they could live again with a clean slate, their sins, if they had any, that is, would be forgiven. And truth be told, this has happened more than once throughout the history of the planet, beyond the knowledge of mortals.

As I placed the black and red coat aside for the new horseman's arrival, I quickly climbed into the makeshift chair while I still had some time left to prepare for his arrival.

"Conquest, you can wait outside the room," I told the Poison Master, placing my legs into the stirrups. "This won't take long to finish. I'll call you back in."

He left me alone, and I quickly thought of the previous Horseman of Death that requested to stop being a Horseman of the Restorative. Of course, I let him stop, and the deities residing in Heaven informed me of a new lost soul that could fill in the position of Death, accompanied by a second soul that had spent over a decade in Heaven after only a few days of life, and this child had, initially, been predestined by his parents to help them decide the fate of everyone left on the planet. But what they explained to me that made him the best candidate for our cause was his unwillingness to listen those that harmed him, as well as his unwillingness to accept defeat or stop until he achieved his goal of vengeance against his targets, making him not only the best choice for the position…but the only one that could help us get closer to our future in the light of the planet's salvation. I went to the place that had been in Hell, which I found unusual, since the disgraced soul of Shinji Ikari should've transitioned into a place in limbo instead of there, and when I saw him in person for the first time, I knew that he and his elder twin, Mako, were the best chance we all had of surviving and seeing our hope returned.

"Ugh," I groaned…and felt a contraction start. "Okay, here we go."

I breathed and bore down, feeling the physical arrival of the new horseman. It was no different from the other times I shed my flesh and blood to provide a new individual a body for their own use, as I was the Earth herself, so even though my human form was expendable, it could house all of the elements needed to generate new bodies for the horsemen. A minute later, I felt the new body, like the other ones, fall out of my womb and onto the floor.

"Ah," I sighed, feeling like myself a second after. "Conquest. I'm finished."

He returned and picked up the new body that would soon develop into an exact duplicate of the late Shinji and placed it on the nearby cot. While it would resemble the young man on a physical level, it wouldn't be exactly like his original body, as, like the other horsemen, it would be in possession of enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, limited invulnerability, a healing factor, being ageless, senses that were beyond the norm of humans, and a link to the other three horsemen, as well as myself. As I regenerated from the delivery, the tiny form began to develop into a form appropriate for the fallen soul to inhabit for a time, generating new cells and no longer resembling a wet sack that looked like some kind of mass of misshapen and sickly-colored flesh.

Conquest, out of a sense of decency, threw a blanket over the cot to cover the new horseman as his head generated strands of ebony hair and a nose.

By his lifeless side, an intangible infant that resembled the preserved body of his twin appeared, looking as though he were asleep instead of lifeless.

-x-

When the new Death of the Restorative was rested enough to rise from off the cot, I handed him the gauntlet armor that was meant for his right arm. He was not the least bit surprised when told that the flesh and muscles of the limb were to be forfeit to ensure that his position as the Restorative Horseman of Death was clear to the eye. I had expected of him to show at least some measure of hesitation, of fear or refusal, but it was true, what I was informed by the other deities, that the former Shinji was emotionally detached from life due to the cruelty of his past. This was something that needed to be worked on later on as he matured through his service in the Restorative and his second chance for a new life.

As I fitted him with the armored gauntlet, he didn't seem to react, whatsoever, to the flesh and muscle tissue retracting from the bones of his arm. The gauntlet, which had been associated with the previous horsemen of his position, had seen many periods of service and had the scratches and dents to show for it all. And then, as he rose up from the cot again after being fitted, I handed him the other symbol of his position, the Scythe of Cronus, which was bequeathed to the Horsemen of Death after his mortal passing. It would grant him an edge against whoever he was pitted in conflict with.

He swung the scythe once, testing its weight, which would've adjusted to his grip, like it had with the previous horsemen.

"Feels like air," he had expressed.

-x-

Placing another bouquet of flowers in front of my daughter, Kyuukai's grave, I sat against the tree to reflect on my memories of all of my children, related to me by blood or some other relation. This included the Four Horsemen, who were like family. Each soul, tortured in one way or another by their past, offered the opportunities needed to cleanse themselves of their pain, their sins, their shame and be brought back into the shining light of new hope. So long as the planet, my body and my children's home, was degrading due to the crippling disease that was the cruelty of mankind and the dark desires of divinity, everyone, even those of whom I was fortunate enough to save from further devastation, were still at risk of a dark future unless the Four Horsemen, the Restorative and the Messengers of Heaven were able to heal the Earth and restore the innocent lives lost, just as they have before, many times in the past.

It must have been more than ten times that I've been through this difficult period that lasted several years at a time. The last period of spiritual unrest was more than eight-thousand years ago, and all memory of the unrest faded from all knowledge and history, to keep the people of the future from echoing the sins of the people of the past, yet, and despite our best efforts, history always seems to have a way of repeating itself…and those that fail to learn from it doom themselves to repeat it, over and over again. It's the worst aspect of all sentient beings I can't tolerate, no matter how hard we try to overcome this problem.

But I appreciate the tenacity of people that wish to overcome their character flaws and defeat their personal demons; it's the same way with the horsemen. Conquest wanting to face the unholy being that hurt his mother, siring him. War longing to be set free from the emotional scarring caused by the woman that betrayed him during his final day of mortality. Famine seeking a fresh start after being abandoned at birth by his mother of whom he never saw, never had even the slightest memory of. And Death and his twin brother, needing a rebirth to cleanse their souls of the stain of their parents that thought they could manipulate them into deciding the fate of everyone left in the world.

I don't know which of their former relatives disgusts me more than the rest of them. But it sickens my soul to know that parents would willingly commit these heinous crimes on their children and expect to get away without some form of retribution upon their souls. Should I ever reunite with my daughter, I would promise my children of the future not to commit any crimes against them or their children. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did.

"Kyuukai," I uttered to my daughter's grave, "I feel we're getting closer to healing the planet and salvaging the innocent lives taken fifteen years ago. The ache of the seasons taken from Japan race through my veins. The chill of winter, the breeze of autumn and the scent of spring over the warmth of summer. Heh-heh. I hope we'll all be able to stand to bask in the sun when this is over…and enjoy a long period of peace."

I closed my eyes and relaxed while time passed me by. Sometimes, this was one of my methods to reduce my stress levels and remind myself that I was doing a great risk with my life on the line and not just the lives of others.

The Four Horsemen of the Restorative, a female voice that wasn't Gaia's uttered in her mind. The Four Archangels of Humanity, tainted by the darkness that would've poisoned mankind with a sickness they would know no recovery from. Life, Health, Peace and Prosperity.

A master archer of the winds, a fiery warrior, a pauper of the soiled waters…and a reaper of the lands, united by a duty to protect mankind…but poisoned by the darkness they protected them from. Mother Gaia thought. To be free of the poison…is to be able to stand firmly on one's own feet and say, in a strong voice, "I fought not only for your future, but for the fate of my soul." It wasn't only for justice or vengeance, but for redemption from the darkness. Salvation from the Womb of Uncreated Night…and safety from the Womb of Origins.

To be continued…

A/N: And now we have a chapter devoted to Gaia's point of view.