Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Matthew Freese

“Gendo Ikari.”

Those words echoed through the chamber, sleek black walls stretching over a vast room. Surrounded by windows, a middle-aged man sat at a desk. Dressed in a three-piece suit with orange glasses, he bore short hair connected by sideburns to a chinstrap beard. He sat with his elbows on the desk, templing his fingers before his face.

Across from him floated a humanoid. Skin too shining and smooth to be human, gold shimmering in the window light as dark blue marks remained dim. Bulbous eyes glowed like light-bulbs, nestled in a pointed skull. He spoke once more, his slit-like mouth unmoving.

“This is the last time I will ask. Destroy the Evangelions.”

Gendo, despite the absurdity of the situation, seemed unphased as he pushed his glasses up. The light caught them, obscuring his eyes from view.

“And for the last time, I refuse.” He spoke evenly, calmly, almost emotionlessly. “What will we do about the Angels without them? You still have yet to provide a worthwhile answer, Zoffy.”

“I have. The Star of Light will send an emissary, and they will protect your world from the spawn of the Fruit of Life.”

Gendo wanted to pry at the terms he always used to describe these things, “Fruit of Life” for the Angels and “Fruit of Knowledge” for humanity. But he could not, the alien never budged. It meant Adam and Lilith respectively, he could tell, but why those terms?

“And we are to rely on another world’s help? Humans can barely trust each other, why should we trust another species?”

Zoffy’s fist clenched. Any other lifeform, that was a valid question, a concern based on truth and experience. But he knew full well that wasn’t the case with this one.

“I know that is not why you reject my offer!” The alien raised his voice. It did not carry the inflection of rage, but Gendo could tell it was coming from a wrathful place. “Cease your quest to merge the fruit of Life and Knowledge in order to create a divine lifeform! Cease your quest to break the laws of reality!”

“Why do you call Adam and Lilith that? Why do you care what one world does in your vast cosmos?” Gendo replied.

“That is not for you to learn.”

“Then how am I supposed to listen to your words? The Star of Light sends only someone speaking in riddles to demand I leave my kind defenseless!”

“You will do worse to them than that. We know fully well what you intend, Gendo Ikari. Third Impact, Human Instrumentality, the revival of-“

Gendo slammed a hand onto his desk. “Three times you have come into my office without announcement, three times you spout drivel about consequences and plans. You don’t scare me.”

“That’s the problem.” Zoffy replied. “I will be merciful to your people, for a friend of mine cherished them greatly. Had he met you, I don’t know if he would have. Only the Evangelions will be destroyed by force.”

Gendo smirked. “If you are so afraid of them, why do you think you can destroy them?”

Zoffy’s face remained unchanging. “I will not lay a hand on them.” A black capsule manifested in his hand, a mess of geometric shapes twisting through the air. “But this will.”

“They’ve dealt with these ‘spawns of the Fruit of Life’ perfectly fine so far. Why should I fear that?”

“This is the culmination of science beyond the scope your mind can physically comprehend. This is the ultimate weapon of the Star of Light. Nothing your people could possibly have created will be enough.”

Gendo remained silent.

Zoffy continued. “Your son will pilot the Evangelion Unit 01. Do you feel good about sending him to his demise? Zetton will not discriminate due to his youth.”

“And you claim yourself to be a hero.”

“Not a hero. An arbiter of universal balance. My comrade is a hero. I am no hero. I hold no regret condemning a boy of 14 to his death, if it means ensuring creation remains aligned properly. Do you?”

Silence. Yet more silence.

“Everything that is to occur, is your fault. Understand that well.”

Gendo blinked. He was alone in the room again. He pressed a button on his desk. “Gather the children. Get them ready to pilot the Evangelion units.”

And silence reigned over the office once more.

***

“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the–god this is boring!” The shrill voice of a teenage girl rang out, before the slamming of a book being closed violently did as well.

Asuka dropped the book, slouching over on the bed. Her elbows were propped up by her legs as she held her head in her hands, red hair dangling down.

“Read this book, it’s by an important German philosopher, it’s so intellectual and worthwhile,” she spoke in a mocking voice, degenerating into meaningless babbling before a knock on the wall outside her room caught her attention.

“Can I come in?” Another high-pitched voice, though not quite as much as Asuka’s.

“Yes.” The girl groaned. Talking to Shinji would be less of an endeavor than reading the book, at least.

The door slid open, revealing a thin, teenage boy, a short mop of dark hair on his head. He wore a nervous smile on his face as he stepped in. This was Shinji Ikari, Asuka’s roommate. Not by either’s choice, for they were the pilots of the Evangelion units, the colossal mecha that defended Tokyo-3 from the abominations that plagued it.

“What are you reading?” He asked.

“Boring-ass philosophy book. Some idiot at school told me to read it because I’m German and the guy who wrote it is German, and that clearly means I’d like it, goddamn moron.”

Shinji cautiously responded. “But, you still checked it out?” Even though he considered Asuka a friend, and liked to think she reciprocated in her own typically harsh way, he still navigated conversations with her like he was going through a minefield.

“I had nothing better to do.” She replied as she flopped over onto her back. “At least I thought, when clearly, bashing my head against a wall would have been a better use of my time.”

Shinji was silent, thinking of what to say next. He drew a blank.

“You don’t give a crap, do you?” Asuka questioned.

“No, I do, I…”

“Don’t lie, idiot.” She stood up, looking him in the eyes.

“I’ve never been one for philosophy…”

“You’re not one for anything, are you? God, you just sit around all day and listen to that Walkman, what kind of music is even playing on that thing?”

Shinji stammered a bit, even though it was not a difficult question nor would his answer of classical music be some great embarrassment, he was still hesitant to answer. His nervousness only grew as Asuka’s gaze got more intense.

“Just answer the damn–“

“Shinji, Asuka!” The voice of an older woman cut her off, one which both recognized as Misato, the actual owner of this apartment and their caretaker. “Get ready, you’re piloting the EVAs today! Gendo says it’s important.”

The young boy breathed a sigh of relief. That relief went away as Asuka kept looking at him.

“I’m not going until you answer me.”

“Classical music! I listen to classical music.” He rattled off.

“Ha! Nerd.” She slapped his shoulder then walked past him. “Come on.”

Shinji sighed. “At least I wasn’t reading a philosophy book.” He said under his breath. Asuka snorted, happy at the boy finally firing back.

***

After an uneventful trip to NERV’s headquarters, Shinji and Asuka found themselves sitting in a waiting room. With them was a girl the same age as them, with blue hair and a neutral expression on her face, red eyes unreadable. Rei Ayanami, or “Little Miss Perfect” as Asuka often called her in an attempt to provoke. It never worked, for Rei did not show much emotion. She was not emotionless, but whatever went on within her heart very rarely spilled to the surface, and schoolyard taunting would not be enough to fulfill that.

“Miss Misato,” Shinji questioned his caretaker, a purple-haired woman old enough to be his mother despite her still youthful appearance, “why are we here? I don’t remember anything about training today, and surely if an Angel has been spotted we’d already be suited up and in the Eva Units.”

Misato rested her chin on her fingers. “If I knew, I’d tell you. Gendo wanted you out here and to be ready.” It was odd, this entire situation. There was zero sign of any Angels approaching. Gendo was a man who was hard to read, and she knew he was not working towards everyone’s best interests, but this was outright incomprehensible.

“Rei, do you know anything?” Shinji asked her, knowing she was closer to Gendo than anyone.

“No, Shinji. I have not been informed of anything. I am as unaware as the rest of you as to Mr. Ikari’s reasoning.” The young girl spoke as though relaying the weather, such was her tone.

Asuka’s foot was tapping on the ground, impatience clear on her face. She did not know the first thing about Gendo Ikari except that he was Shinji’s father, and clearly not a good one, but it wasn’t her place to say anything. She just wanted to pilot the Evangelion and kill the Angels, to be revered as a hero. Where most people wanted the Angels to never appear again, she wanted one to show up right about now. The German girl opened her mouth to complain, only for sirens to blare.

Misato chuckled internally at the timing, thinking to herself that the siren was probably quieter than Asuka was going to be. “Alright, suit up kids!”

***

As the pilots followed her instruction, Misato made her way to the control room of NERV, a colossal chamber with numerous layers covered in technicians and scientists working rapidly. Massive monitors in the front of the room showed Tokyo-3 as a whole, which was shifting as buildings’ windows were closed over and the structures began to sink into the Earth.

In the wake of Second Impact and Angel attacks, the city was converted to be able to retreat into the vast chamber beneath the Earth known as the Geofront, ensuring the citizens were safe in the event of an attack. It was standard procedure.

But what was not standard was what greeted them on said monitors.

It was not an Angel, their sensors told them so, but they would not have believed it had they simply looked at it.

A black humanoid, forged of harsh shapes with clear edges. A yellow line rested between two spirals where a head would be, forming an approximation of an odd visage. Grey antennae floated next to the spirals. Yellow orbs of glass floated at its chest, from the distance NERV’s people were looking at it from, they couldn’t tell if they were even connected to anything. The abdomen was mostly hollow, looking skeletal. Gray arms and legs that looked like tubes were the final pieces, thin and lengthy.

It stood still as a corpse in the midst of Tokyo-3, waiting. But for what?

Misato looked back at Gendo, sitting at the very top layer of the chamber. His face was neutral as always, his eyes hidden. He had called the Evangelion pilots out before this, so he knew something abnormal was coming.

She turned her attention back to the screen, the soon-to-be battlefield, praying for the kids’ safety.

***

Three rectangular boxes erupted from the ground of Tokyo-3, one side open to reveal a colossal occupant. Each Evangelion unit was greatly similar in terms of appearance, a humanoid forged of metallic plates, with an oddly bestial cranium. What most did not know, but the people of NERV and especially these weapons’ pilots knew quite well, was that they were not actually machines. The metal was armor to coat an entity of flesh and blood. Each of them had a pylon protruding from each shoulder.

The first to step out, holding a colossal gatling gun in its hands, was coated in purple armor. Green lights adorned its form, contrasting with the yellow eyes affixed in an eternal stare. This was Evangelion Unit 01, piloted by Shinji Ikari.

The second bore golden-yellow metal upon its form, a single red eye nestled in its face. This was Evangelion Unit 00, piloted by Rei Ayanami. In its hands, it held what resembled an assault rifle.

And last was a bright red aside from several white stripes, four eyes of green in its rectangular face. Evangelion Unit 02, Asuka Shikinami Langley at the controls. It also held a Pallet Rifle.

***

“Stay sharp, kids.” Misato commanded as they made their way closer to the target. Zetton began to march towards them, methodically paced.

“Let’s just deal with this thing and be done. It’s not an Angel so it won’t be trouble in the slightest.” Asuka replied smugly.

As Misato silently worried internally, something else in the vast chamber watched. Hidden in a higher dimension, where human minds could not perceive, Zoffy watched carefully.

His attention was focused on the purple Evangelion. He felt something perplexing about that one, something hiding within it, so he found himself drawn to it. Not that it would matter, he held full confidence in Zetton’s abilities.

***

The trio met the anomaly in an open section of the city, the buildings retracted. Shinji’s Evangelion was in the center, his allies flanking him just before him, out of the way of his weapon. Without a second’s hesitation, Asuka yelled “Blast it!”, lifting her vessel’s Pallet Rifle. Rei followed with hers, Eva 01 hoisting up the gatling gun as well.

Fingers clicked triggers the size of buses, unleashing hails of bullets that were individually larger than cars.

They struck nothing, continuing into the distance.

Before the teenage pilots could grasp the transpiring event, they were aware of the ground before the 01 unit bursting upwards in showers of concrete dust.

Shinji screamed as he comprehended it first, Zetton was somehow now standing atop the barrel of the gatling gun, pushing the end into the earth.

“What the fu-“ Asuka questioned as she turned her Evangelion, only to have a colossal fist bash down into the crimson-plated face and cut her off. She shouted in shock, the Eva 02 crashing to the ground. She was vaguely aware through a similarly shrill screech that her fellow female pilot had also been sent to the dirt.

Zetton’s leg shot up, smashing into the 01 unit’s gut. Shinji coughed as he felt his body be shoved around by the impact, the construct of man stumbling back and dropping its weapon. The gatling gun clattered to the earth, Zetton standing perfectly upright.

“What the hell was that!” Shinji screamed as the pylon in the 01 Unit’s shoulder opened, revealing a large knife. The Progressive Knife vibrated at high frequencies, allowing it to cut through almost any material with ease.

Unfortunately, it needed to actually strike a target, as the boy quickly realized when Zetton lunged forward, grasping the Evangelion’s hand hard. Pulling it taught, the alien superweapon used its free hand to crash punches into its target’s face. Steel was crushed and cast aside as the piston-like blows descended, Shinji crying out with each hit.

Unit 00 got to a knee, firing its Pallet Rifle at Zetton’s back with ruthless efficiency. Rei did not say a word as the bullets sparked against the black metal frame of her foe, leaving small divots but doing little else. However, the blue-haired girl did gasp in shock when the sentient weapon turned its body, hurling Shinji’s vessel at Rei’s like a projectile with one movement. Dropping its weapon, the prototype construct put its arms out at its master’s command, catching its purple comrade. They slid across the concrete, carving trenches into it.

“Thanks, Rei.” Shinji responded through heavy breaths. She wordlessly nodded in reply, happy but not outwardly so. This moment of reprieve was cut short when they, still keeping an eye on Zetton, noticed it disappear. Neither had blinked, nor had it simply moved swiftly, it was like an illusion being broken.

But an illusion the destroyer was not, for a shift in movement drew their eye to Unit 02. Still on the ground, just now recovering, only for its pilot to notice a shadow fall over it.

Zetton reared a leg back, and sent it crashing into the crimson warrior’s gut. A shockwave rang out as the armored humanoid was sent hurtling through the sky, its pilot swearing as she flew nearly a mile away. As Unit 02 smashed into the ground, the alien superweapon turned to its other two targets, its face lighting up.

The two defenders of humankind ran in opposite directions as a fireball launched from Zetton’s face, leaving a crater in the concrete with its impact. Deciding to target Unit 00, the geometrical nightmare turned towards it, face still shining as a stream of smaller projectiles sprayed forth like a machine gun.

Melted tarmac and burning dirt flew like snow being disturbed as the trail of destruction approached the sprinting Evangelion, whose pilot was swift to communicate with her ally.

“Shinji, while he’s distracted, att-“

“On it!” He shouted as his Evangelion, knife in hand, leapt towards Zetton from behind. The automaton’s fist clenched as it rocketed its arm back, shoving its elbow into 01’s gut. Rei cringed as she heard the sudden yell of shock from Shinji, watching the Progressive Knife fall to the ground. Its blade sank into the cement which it pierced through without resistance, the hilt keeping it from falling any further.

The moment of distraction let the stream of fireballs catch up to Unit 00, sending it falling to the ground as its feet were caught in a small firestorm. Rei cried out as the barrage continued, moving up the Evangelion’s body to coat it in flames. Metal blackened and bent under the assault. Unit 01 landed back on its feet, clenching its fists at its pilot’s command before cracking a punch across the back of the ebon automaton’s head.

This actually made the machine stagger, giving Rei some reprieve as the attack on her ceased. Shinji lunged for his knife, grasping it and turning his commanded colossus to strike at Zetton with it. The stab rushed through open air, the young boy being soon made aware of his foe’s location as two limbs wrapped around the Evangelion’s midsection from behind.

Shinji screamed as Zetton delivered a crushing bear hug, threatening to snap 01’s spine as hellacious pressures were applied.

***

Gendo was silent as he watched. It chilled Misato’s spine as she noticed it while everyone else, her included, was in a frenzy trying to keep up with everything happening and to strategize.

“They’re getting massacred, what do we do?” She questioned the panels of technicians.

“Should we deploy N2 Weaponry? This entity has no AT Field, and seems to be mechanical.” Somebody questioned.

“Not in the city, even with the buildings retracted. Besides, we can’t get them out of there with that thing fighting them, we need to rely on them!” Replied Maya Ibuki, a lieutenant and technician.

The communications channel with the pilots buzzed. “Give me the Sonic Glaive, ASAP damnit!” Asuka demanded, prompting a flurry of button pressing. Vast mechanisms under the city began to move as a colossal weapon was shifted to be moved up.

The unknown presence in the room, that golden humanoid responsible for this attack, moved to observe the faces of everyone in the chamber. They still could not see him even as he shifted, for it was like a person looking at a drawing, an entire dimension separating the observer and the observed.

Zoffy noticed most of all Misato’s fear, even as another box-like structure emerged next to the now standing Unit 02, one side open to reveal a spear-like weapon which the crimson warrior grasped. She was worried for them, not like the others who were concerned on the simple level of caring for other humans and for their protectors, but on a deeper level. She loved the trio that he had sentenced to their demise, more than Gendo seemed to, the father of one of them.

He recognized this as a sad occurrence, on a technical level a tragedy, but only coldly so. It did not pierce into his own heart, did not introduce regret into his logical mind, it failed to move him. He was a stone staying steadfast in the winds.

He had sentenced entire worlds to death. Civilizations full of innocent lives, who never committed cruelty, all gone for their leaders’ actions, or even just for what could be. Few beings in existence could likely match the number of lives he had taken for the sake of the greater good. What were three more?

***

Asuka let loose a high-pitched war cry as Unit 02 barreled towards her target, hoisting the Sonic Glaive above her head. Each footstep shook the ground, jarring loose the pulverized dust of the shattered streets.

Zetton released 01, kicking it away swiftly. The purple-clad colossus slid across the ground, carving a trench into the city.

With the distance closed she swung, the blade crashing against Zetton’s now raised arm. It dug in, not nearly enough to sever the limb, but it was damaged nonetheless. She laughed as she went for another swing, only for the automaton of desolation to catch the shaft of the weapon with its hand.

“Fuck off!” Asuka shouted angrily as she swung a kick into the invader’s gut, making it let go of the weapon as it stumbled back, before swinging again. A gash was carved into the alien weapon’s abdomen, leaking no fluid like a stone.

A fireball raced out of Zetton’s face, Asuka quickly raising the Sonic Glaive to block. The blast tore her weapon in half, but lacked enough power to harm Unit 02. So, tossing aside the useless stick, the crimson warrior went in for another strike with the now shortened Sonic Glaive.

A flurry of red lasers began to shoot forth from in front of Zetton’s face, four red points appearing at the sides before coalescing before the center to spew the bolts of death. Unit 02’s assault was halted as it backed away, the beams burning and ripping apart its armor plating.

“Can I get some damn hel-“ Asuka began to shout, before a duo of explosions rippled upon Zetton’s back, making it stumble forward. Eva-00 stood behind it, dual-wielding miniature bazookas. “Oh. Thank you.” The German redhead added, genuinely taken aback.

Evangelion 00 dropped the rocket launchers, then pulled out a gigantic axe. It looked very primitive, but the Smash Hawk was anything but, as Rei intended to prove as she ran forwards.

Zetton teleported behind 00, to which its pilot swiftly responded by turning and swinging the axe in one fluid motion. Zetton’s arm shot up, blocking the strike, once more earning a chip in its ebon body.

The alien superweapon wrapped a hand around Unit 00’s throat, lifting it up high and crushing the windpipe. Rei struggled in the grasp, legs of her commanded vessel swinging as its arms tried to wrestle the pillar-like limb.

Evangelion 02 dashed towards the two, sliding across the ground to pass them by and jam the end of the Sonic Glaive into Zetton’s leg. This made the faceless destroyer stagger, letting 00 pull back and gain some breathing room.

“Thank you, Asuka.” Rei calmly said.

“That makes us even.” Asuka coyly replied, before changing subjects. “But where the hell is Shinji?!”

The communications suddenly buzzed with a third voice. “Here!”

It was Shinji Ikari, speaking with a surprising level of confidence. The answer to why came when a ball of plasma crashed against Zetton’s side, lifting the strange and dangerous entity off its feet with a gigantic explosion.

Tracking the path of the projectile, Asuka and Rei found their third now hoisting a gigantic gun over 01’s shoulders. It was a strangely shaped weapon, a holster designed to go over the shoulder which was far larger than the actual barrel of the white gun. But, the results of the Positron Rifle were not to be dismissed.

Shinji aimed it once more at the rising Zetton, a smirk creeping on his face as the display aligned the cursor and crosshair. He felt… good. Maybe it was finally being able to overwhelm a foe, especially one as troublesome as this, but traces of confidence were creeping into his heart.

“Take this!”

Eva 01 pulled the trigger, launching another blast. Zetton made no move to dodge as the projectile shot towards it, just placing its hands over its chest.

The Positron Rifle’s shot disappeared when it struck Zetton’s hands.

“Oh no…”

The automaton’s arms shot forth, unleashing a wave of power that resembled a line of white crescents. The beam raced towards Eva 01, shattering the Positron Rifle like glass. But that was not the end, as it continued into the purple-clad warrior, detonating powerful against the armored body. Shinji screamed as 01 was launched backwards, one arm mangled and swinging limply as the colossus crashed. It did not rise, and Shinji did not respond. Purple shards of metal rained down, smoke rising from them and from the wound on the humanoid’s side.

“Shinji!” Cried his two allies on the battlefield, but the girls could not dwell on this for long. Zetton manifested before 02, slamming both hands around its skull. Rei could tell that the Positron Rifle had damaged it, quite a bit, there were large cracks in its black armor and the white limbs. The floating objects around its neck and waist were gone, and cracks even began to appear on the yellow gems. But it was not enough to put it down, and whatever mind or programming functioned within it had deemed it to be enough to require a change in behavior.

Applying enough pressure to crack the steel around Unit 02’s skull, Zetton lifted and tossed the guardian towards its counterpart. The two girls cried out as they fell to the ground in a heap, their “mecha” in a tangled mess.

The automaton teleported again, into the sky where it stayed. It tilted itself to face the two, still struggling to separate, its yellow gems glowing brightly as a fireball formed. But where before it would fire it quickly, this time the fireball continued to expand. More energy continued to pour into it, until the infernal orb was as large as the automaton’s torso.

00 and 02 got to their feet, in time to look up and see the horror that was about to befall them. They ran in opposite directions, every ounce of strength the pilots could apply being put into fleeing.

Asuka was terrified for her life. Sweat poured down her brow, her hands twitched, her breath grew heavy, and her life’s events played on repeat in her mind. She did not want to admit it, but it was clear to her that she was outclassed horrifically, all three were. Had it been toying with them, or was it simply trying to conserve power until they pressured it to go all out? It had no face to convey emotion, no body language to communicate whatever went on inside its mind.

What even was it? It was no Angel, why had it shown up, why did it want to destroy them? What–

Her thoughts all flew out of the metaphorical window when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Zetton teleport just above Rei. Gargantuan fireball still at the ready to be released.

“Re-“ she cried out, voice shrill and horrified, but was cut off by a titanic flash of force and heat.

***

Down in the Geofront, they felt the shaking. Everyone was silent, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a knife. Misato’s eyes held no light, except for what glittered off of the tears streaming down her face.

Zoffy watched, still and stoic as before. Gendo was the same.

Because he knew something Zoffy did not. A power that was about to be unleashed, which would turn the tide.

***

Sunlight poured down into the Geofront. A gargantuan hole had been abruptly dug into the earth, smoke pouring from its edges. Rubble piled high at the floor of the underground chamber, atop it the body of Evangelion Unit 00.

The armorless, charred black body of Unit 00.

Its eye socket hollow, its limbs broken, it did not move. Not even a twitch.

02 stood at the lip of the crater, looking down into the cavern. Ash coated its body. Asuka was speechless. She and Rei had not exactly gotten along swimmingly, but to see such a horrid fate befall “Ms. Perfect” was too much. They had fought alongside each other, they were fellow soldiers of NERV…

“Wait… Shinji!” She cried out on the communications, realizing that Shinji was unconscious amidst that same explosion. She got no reply, not even from NERV below. “Where the fuck are you guys?! Hey, answer me!”

The explosion had interfered with communication systems briefly, and down below they raced to fix it. But in the time it was taking them, Asuka caught sight of the enemy, hovering in the sky once more.

She screamed as 02 leapt towards it, drawing the Progressive Knife. No hesitation, no complex thoughts, just a burning drive to eradicate the monster that was taking away her life.

Black feet crashed into the crimson knight’s back in mid-air, spiking it down. The berserker screaming continued as Asuka waved the knife wildly through the air, trying to catch her foe with its blade.

Something caught 02’s other hand, prompting the redheaded German to slice at it. The Progressive Knife cut gashes into Zetton’s weakened armor, just before the destructive automaton swung its foe into the side of the crater like a pendulum. Debris came loose at the impact, Asuka’s wrathful yell silenced briefly in shock.

She and her vessel fell alongside rocks the size of the latter’s torso, but the fall was not allowed to come to a halt as Zetton manifested suddenly below her, its foot coming up into 02’s back as the destroyer’s entire body spun in the air. This rocketed the Evangelion back up into the ceiling of the Geofront, dislodging more rubble.

Far more came loose as fireballs crashed into the underside of the ground, bringing down a massive chunk of earth and steel plating built into the foundation of the city to protect what laid below. It was as large as a skyscraper, falling just above 02’s helpless body.

The resulting impact rang out across the Geofront, as the floor of it and the gargantuan fragment sandwiched Evangelion 02. Blood sprayed out from underneath it, painting the earth.

Zetton landed on top of it, producing a muffled yet grotesque crunch. It simply stood there, still as a corpse as it looked up. As though it were waiting.

***

Zoffy was confused, for the first time. Zetton’s targets were vanquished, why was it not retreating into its capsule to be retrieved? Was one still alive?

He overheard “Ikari still has life signs!” Shouted by a hopeful technician.

That would explain it. Yet, more questions. Why had Zetton not simply teleported to Eva 01’s body and destroyed it? Even if Shinji was still alive, he was unconscious, it posed no threat to Zetton.

“Unit 01 is on the move!”

Had the explosion jarred him awake?

“It’s gone berserk!”

***

At the edge of the crater, Evangelion 01 arrived. Slouched like a primal beast, functioning hand on the ground as the ruined limb continued to flap about. What struck Zoffy was that its mouth was open, the armor over the maw looking like blocky teeth as it breathed in.

The beast screamed. A wheezing cry, like a human woman’s shout but warped into becoming almost unrecognizable. Eyes glowing white, the Evangelion looked down towards Zetton, letting that same cry loose once more. It bore rage, intense hatred in it that transcended words.

***

Zoffy’s eyes widened, one of the rarest events in the cosmos. The truth hit him like a bullet.

That was a woman’s voice in that monstrosity’s roar. But not just any woman’s. The immense hatred in it, such that made even him start to feel some fear, could only come from one place.

Love. Love turned into wrath was the most frightening thing in the universe, and the level of it in the screaming beast’s voice could only come from one source.

***

Zetton teleported behind 01, ready to strike, only for her leg to launch out and crash into the robot’s stomach. This forced it back several steps, which let the construct of flesh empowered by primal instincts turn and lunge like a lion.

The black destroyer tried to fight her off, only to receive a powerful punch across the face. The cracks in its spiraling head grew, but this was made almost paltry as the berserker Evangelion bit down on one of the antennae protruding from Zetton’s head, ripping it off with a swift jerking back.

Powerful jaws crushed the curved object into dust, another haunting cry leaving her maw before pouncing again.

***

Zoffy turned back towards Gendo. His fists clenched. He tried to remain utterly neutral in his thoughts, but found he could not.

He stepped out of his position outside of three dimensions with a shout, scaring everyone in Geofront except for the target of his rage half to death. Even Misato was briefly snapped from her horrified sorrow by the sudden and strange event.

“Do you know!?” He pointed towards the man with hidden eyes.

“Know what?” Gendo replied as cold as ice, only making the sudden anxiety in the room worse.

“That that is your wife and the mother of your child in that,” Zoffy stuttered over his words for a moment, an instant that held far more weight than anyone in that room could grasp, “abomination!?”

***

Zetton was ready this time, teleporting out of the way. The machine grasped its target’s feet, prompting a snarl from the purple-clad monster. Her fingers dug into the ground as she was lifted, but with only one working hand, it failed to stop her from being tossed.

Screaming as she plummeted into the gaping crater that had marred Tokyo-3, Eva-01 clawed and kicked at the air. Zetton appeared beneath her, swinging a kick into her back like it had done to the red warrior. However, this time, the Evangelion grasped the ebon destroyer.

Latching on with fingers that dug into steel plating, Unit 01 maneuvered herself to land on her foe’s back. Keeping a firm hold, she began to bite Zetton’s head, cracking the spiraling structure with her jaws.

***

Silence lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like it dragged for eternity. Until Gendo broke it with the same chilling tone he always spoke in.

“Yes, I did know that Yui was protecting us from the Angels.”

Murmurs broke out throughout the room, pure disbelief. The Evangelion had a soul, much less that of Gendo’s late wife?

“Don’t spin this, you rat.” Zoffy replied. “Don’t treat this like some noble sacrifice on her part.”

“What else would you call it?” The leader of NERV continued. “She is currently protecting us against your deployed destroyer.”

All eyes suddenly turned to the interloper, the strange alien. Eyes filled with hatred.

“Who are you, why are you doing this?!” Misato yelled at him, sorrow morphing into rage like water into steam.

“I am Zoffy. I come from the Star of Light, a civilization dedicated to keeping this universe in order.”

“You call this order!?” The violet-haired woman clenched her fists, as if she intended to beat the alien herself.

“Yes, if you would let me finish. Gendo Ikari, along with the organization hidden in the shadows known as SEELE, have led you all astray. I have released Zetton to put a stop–“

A loud bang! filled the room, making people rush to cover their ears. Smoke rose from the barrel of a gun in Misato’s hands, pointed at the gold and blue invader. If looks could kill, her gaze would have been like a second gunshot.

A bullet was flattened against Zoffy’s palm. He shifted his wrist to let it drop to the floor below. “-to his defilement of the natural order with the artificial creatures you call Evangelions.”

***

Zetton dropped its back towards the ground to crash to the floor of the underground chamber, the beast beneath it. The jolt forced her to relinquish her grip, allowing the automaton to get to its feet. Turning, its gems lit up to unleash a fireball.

The artificial god piloted by a mother’s soul grabbed her ruined arm, pulling it up to let it take the blazing projectile. Fire severed the limb, but did not cause pain due to the arm’s lack of feeling, so 01 was immediately on her feet. She swung her detached limb like a club, knocking Zetton off its feet. With another tortured cry, she was upon her prey, violently lashing the improvised weapon against Zetton like a demented whip. Blood and steel flew like confetti as the impacts ripped the appendage apart, Zetton’s body being further damaged and broken from the frenzied attacks.

One of the destroyer’s fists fell on one of the matriarchal abomination’s feet, crushing the shoe-like construct and skewering the foot within via the debris. This made the Evangelion fall over, allowing Zetton to rise up. Another kick to the stomach launched 01 upwards, then a fireball to the airborne monster rocketed her away.

The artificial god slammed into the pillar that crushed 02, making it shift as the other side fell to the ground. 01 got to her feet, growling, only for something beneath the debris to catch her attention.

Not the crushed, mangled body of her fellow Evangelion, but the knife grasped in its hands. As the beast pulled it out of the red warrior’s hand, she had no clue another soul belonging to a mother dwelled within the machine. Nor that she had not come out due to having a far darker, colder relationship with her child than Yui had with the young Shinji. It was Yui’s soul within the violet-clad monstrosity, but the complex mind of a scientist was gone. Only bestial willpower remained in that creature, as shown with how it grasped the Progressive Knife.

Rushing towards her target, Evangelion 01 swung the advanced weapon, a marvel of technological prowess, like a chimp with a sharpened rock. The whole blade sank into Zetton’s midsection.

***

“Please explain how I’m perverting the natural order, Zoffy.” Gendo said with a cold venom.

“The Evangelions by their very nature are abominations.”

Misato cut in. “And what else are we supposed to do about the Angels?”

Gendo was quick to add onto this, pouncing upon the opportunity. “I have communicated with this one already. He would have us be protected by another of his kind. And what great reason he has given us to trust him!”

“I do not represent every member of my kind!” Zoffy shouted once more. He wanted to protect these people for Lipiah’s sake, but if they would not cooperate he could not do so. “This man intends to commit a great blasphemy with the Evangelions. The birth of a god and a fundamental altering of humankind.”

“You barge into our home and make wild accusations. You assault us, then expect us to trust you?” Gendo’s face was unchanging, but if it truly reflected his internal state, it would be locked in a wide smile. He would not be in such a lofty position if it were not for a silver tongue lying in his mouth.

“Get out of here! Take your robot and be gone, we haven’t done anything to you!” Misato shouted at Zoffy. She did not blindly follow Gendo, the seeds of mistrust were planted effectively, but she would take Gendo and any plotting he had in the background over the current threat.

’Gendo’s a cruel man, but that can be sorted out later. This may have already taken lives.’ She thought.

“I hold no intent of destroying anything but the Evangelions. He will plunge you all into a hell that cannot be escaped!”

Gendo took a bold step. “Describe this hell. Explain how I’ll get us into it? You make no sense, alien.”

Zoffy paused for a moment. If he revealed the truth, laid it out plain as day, that would only spill the secrets he endeavored to keep locked away. Of the Seeds of Life, on Instrumentality and all else.

***

Zetton stumbled back as 01 ripped the knife out, swinging it almost immediately at the automaton’s head. The blade chipped upon connection, but the chunk of the spiraling “face” that fell free was greater. Zetton teleported into the air, preparing to rain down fireballs, only for the artificial god to scream as she hurled the knife at her foe like a dart.

It embedded itself into Zetton’s right chest gem, nearly shattering it. This made the automaton pause for a moment, the internal computer reassessing the situation. 01 leapt up, grasping its foot and pulling herself up to begin biting at its thigh, ripping away more black steel.

Suddenly, a barrier manifested around the extraterrestrial destroyer, shoving the Evangelion away and sending her plummeting to the ground. Zetton began to rise, machinery manifesting around it and slotting into place to form a larger body.

The purple-clad beast snapped her jaws at the rising entity, howling and snarling, only for cannons to form around Zetton as if out of thin air. Like machine guns, they released yellow projectiles, pounding 01 into the dirt with a series of explosions. The laser weapons ceased their onslaught as the automaton moved out of their range.

She was unmoving, but Zetton continued its ascent. Scanning its target, it found she was not destroyed. Calculating the situation, the destroyer continued its current trajectory, the computer deeming this to be necessary to accomplish its goal. The damage it had incurred was too significant to continue standard combat protocols. More machinery manifesting, the arms of the machine straightening out to the sides. The legs joined into one pointed limb.

Zoffy desired to save this world and its people, but Zetton held no such thing. It did as it was commanded. Eliminate the three synthetic spawn of the Fruit of Life, created and controlled by the spawn of the Fruit of Knowledge.

If it held regard for anything, it would remember incinerating a world that released moon-sized pods in all directions across the cosmos. White ones bearing the potential for immensely powerful beings, kaiju as most would identify them, and black ones, bringing the light of intellect and sapience to wherever they landed. A civilization that had grown too mighty for the Star of Light’s liking.

It was them and their original sin that led to the Earth being locked into this brutal game. Led to the genesis of the beast clad in purple, shouting at the heart of the world.

Zetton was in the sky now, far larger than it once was. So massive, that even from the ground, it was fully visible.

It did not care about the First Ancestral Race. It did not care of the history it had reduced to vapors. Nor would it care about the world it was about to incinerate. It carried out its tasks, without remorse, without any emotion. It was their final weapon for a reason, the ultimate tool of balance for the species that had deemed itself the arbiters of the universe. Zetton destroyed. And would do so until the end of time.

That was all there was.

Celestial Suppression Mode had been engaged.

***

“If I reveal the truth, I only allow the possibility this happens again with another twisted soul.” Zoffy settled on that response.

It was not enough for Misato. “Three children have to die for some vague sin? How can you call yourself anything but a monster!”

Gendo remained silent, letting the pieces fall into place.

Before the conversation could continue, a series of explosions caught everyone’s attention. All eyes fell back to the battlefield, Zetton floating away as Evangelion 01 lay on the earth.

“What is it doing?” Misato asked, her voice barely leaving her mouth.

Zoffy was silently horrified. Zetton had been pushed to the point where fulfilling the mission was deemed only possible by the destruction of the entire planet. A process he had hoped would not be triggered. For his brother-in-arms’ sake. But now, it seemed unavoidable.

The envoy of the Star of Light turned. “Your planet is doomed. Zetton will destroy it in its entirety, along with the solar system.” Someone tried to speak up, but he continued, voice booming across the makeshift auditorium. “I had wished it would not come to this. But alas. With your fates sealed, I will reveal the truth.”

He noticed Gendo leave, retreating through a door behind his desk high atop the control room. It made him want to vaporize the man before the rest of the world fell to oblivion.

“Gendo Ikari wished to combine the power of the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Knowledge. Or, as you know them, Angels and Humans. This would create a godlike being, one with unlimited potential, capable of molding reality like clay. The Evangelions were the centerpiece of this plot. He and SEELE’s ultimate goal was to combine all of humanity, living and dead, into one conscience. The rending asunder of the boundaries between life and death are a violation of the highest order in cosmic law, and the birth of a being with absolute power would be a threat to all things.” He paused for a moment.

“I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

With that, Zoffy disappeared, as if an illusion had been dispelled.

Everyone in the room was silent, aside from some breathing heavily. Whimpers of barely held back weeping were easily heard despite the size of the chamber. It felt as if blocks weighing a ton were placed on all their chests. A suffocating atmosphere that did not let thoughts properly form. The end of the world, betrayal, a cosmic order being kept at the cost of their lives, and so much more implied. It left their minds in a haze, a fog so thick no end was in sight.

Until a hand reached through the mist. And grasped their throats.

“What’s happening? Hello? Anyone…” It was Shinji’s voice, low and confused. Then, he gasped.

***

Shinji looked up, seeing the colossus loom in the heavens. The grandiose construct he sat within, now utterly useless before such a mighty force, gazed upon his fallen comrades.

The 02 Unit, crushed and broken. If Asuka was even alive, she wouldn’t awaken for weeks. 00, laying in a heap of burnt flesh. Was Rei even alive?

But the judgment of the gods drew his sight back up. It… didn’t matter. Whether his friends were alive or not was a meaningless question. Nobody would be alive soon. Nothing would survive.

His heartbeat blotted out everything, all noise was lost to that frantic thumping. He did not hear Misato panickedly trying to make him cease action, and promising that NERV had time to regroup and come up with a new plan. She stumbled over her rapidly spewed words, on the verge of breaking down. All he heard was his heart about to burst.

All he saw was the broken bodies of the other two Eva Units, the broken bodies of two people that he had come to see as friends. Until he looked up again, and all he saw through the cavern to the surface was the end times manifested into a physical body. Proof that his pain-filled, miserable life was pointless. The small achievements he had attained would be cosmic dust mixed in with the rest of humanity’s.

***

A monitor lit up, drawing everyone in NERV’s attention. It was the Sync Rate monitor for Shinji and Eva 01. Misato watched it in horror, everyone else simply stunned silent.

It was rising. Rising far beyond what it should have, spiking to a level of 400%. This territory was entirely theoretical, nobody knew exactly what was to happen at this point, but the hypotheses were unpleasant.

“Shinji, please, stop!” Misato pleaded with the young man, but earned no reply. This was the point where the body was expected to begin to corrode into the LCL of the Evangelion’s plug, the mind being disintegrated and subsumed. All she heard was his heavy breathing…

And then a hellacious scream.

***

In the darkness of the Evangelion Unit 01 cockpit, a red glow emanated. As his head lifted, so too did the new light, for the crimson shine was Shinji’s eyes taking on a new hue. The darkness was replaced by blue light, mixing with the orange of the plug’s LCL.

The creation of men trying to play god rose back to her feet, twitching as she looked up. The stump of the severed arm suddenly shined, a luminescence that sprouted a construct of the same brilliance. It was a replica of 01’s arm, which proved itself to hold the same flexibility. The green lights of the Evangelion shifted to red, matching her pilot’s eyes. Her eyes did the same, becoming like miniature stars.

A halo formed above the deity’s head. Her maw opened once more, revealing those horrid teeth, but this time it was not the spirit of Yui Ikari fully in control. It was Shinji, face locked into an expression of spiteful determination.

Feet leaving the ground, Evangelion Unit 01 flew out of the Geofront. Gravity no longer bound her. The world shuddered as she did so, the sky beginning to shift in color. It was subtle, but it looked a little less blue as she sailed upward, breaching the atmosphere.

Zetton awaited her, amidst a backdrop of pitch black. Only the sun’s light and the distant stars broke the dark apart. Them, and the shimmering glow radiating off both divine combatants. Shinji and his mother’s soul stared as one at their towering foe, dwarfing them so significant that the difference between themselves felt like nothing.

The young man remembered standing before the Evangelion for the first time, humbled and terrified by the colossus. Now, he stood before something that made the Evangelion seem as small as he had. But there was no fear.

Only a desire to destroy.

***

Gendo stood in what looked like an abyss, red light cast over him. Monoliths surrounded him, inscribed with crimson numbers to indicate the rank and position of the man they represented. Despite how small he looked, he spoke with a firmness that only someone in charge could demonstrate.

“What do you mean it’s not ready? What was the point of your idiotic idea for a moon base if you can’t do anything with it!”

One of the monoliths glowed. “Silence, Ikari. Evangelion Unit.06 is not ready for sortie, and that’s all there is to it. It is your fault if this results in our plans being derailed.”

“Can we not get one of the other useless Evangelion units scattered about the world onto the moon so they can use the Spear of Cassius? Otherwise, the evolution of Unit 01 could have disastrous consequences.”

“You speak as though it is so simple to get an object as large as an Evangelion to the moon in a matter of minutes.” Another SEELE member responded.

Gendo’s hand bunched itself into a fist, fingers digging uncomfortably into his palm even through his glove.

***

The final weapon of a higher power attacked first, its arms shining as red lights on the top and bottom of both limbs repeatedly manifested, converging and shooting out as pulsing bolts of power. Putting out her hand, the violet-clad divinity countered with an AT Field, a hexagonal shield of orange light. The awakened Evangelion pushed forwards through the attack, the shining shape holding firm as the laser streaks detonated against it.

Zetton’s attack stopped, chest diodes glowing brightly as a fireball manifested before them. Embers leaked out of the cracked one, still damaged in its gigantic state due to the damage dealt before. This was not the planet-exterminating blast, simply a weakened version designed to deal with singular targets quickly.

However, Shinji learned as the superheated projectile shot forth and crashed into their shield, it still packed a massive level of power. He and his vessel screamed as they were violently shoved back, the AT Field cracking under the strain. Evangelion 01 hurtled through the air head over heels briefly, before catching herself.

Another gigantic fireball, nearly as large as the god incarnate was tall, launched forth like a bullet. Shinji shouted as the glow of the Evangelion’s eyes increased, orange-red rays of power launching forth from them. They speared through the fireball, cutting it apart and sending the two halves soaring past her. The concentrated energy continued onwards, blazing into a shield surrounding Zetton. Parallel lines of dull beige racing around it, like a glitch on an old television.

The cosmic suppressor’s barrier held firm, prompting the awakened Evangelion to lunge forwards, bodily slamming into it. AT Field and higher dimensional technology collided as the two shields met in a hail of sparks, growls of effort erupting from both Shinji and his mother’s mouths.

***

Back in the Geofront, although the monitor displayed the cosmic battle happening just outside of Earth, the focus was on the readings that were being detected on the planet itself. The sky continued to dim and shift, blue slowly becoming red.

“The same energies that initiated Second Impact are occurring again!” Makota Hyuga shouted. “Only worse! Third Impact is inevitable if this doesn’t stop!”

“What the hell is Shinji doing? I didn’t know the Evangelions could do that!” Ritsuko Akagi replied. “It’s like, a god!” She was the lead scientist of NERV and thought she knew everything of the Evangelions, but this was surprising even for her.

“Third Impact, or complete annihilation. Neither exactly sounds good…” Shigeru Aoba grimly stated.

As the clamor of reacting to the ensuing apocalypse carried on, Misato observed the battle in space. She sighed, knowing that even if everything aligned to carry them to the best possible outcome, it would still be a day darker than any other. “Shinji… please, win. And then stop… whatever this is you’re doing.”

***

Semi-spherical objects manifested before Zetton, an opening which glowed yellow on each one. The cluster of cannons fired their payloads, a stream of golden projectiles like bullets.

“Damnit!” Shinji roared as the added force shoved him back once again, the AT Field cracking. Laser cannons were added to the onslaught, a fireball charging as well. “Go away, you bastard!” The young boy cried out, feeling his entire being violently shake under the strain of the attack.

The superheated fireball shot forth, swallowing the streams of bullets and lasers as it crashed against the Evangelion’s weakened barrier, shattering it. The flames rushed past, consuming the divine entity, blackening the purple armor. Mother and son screamed in anguish, more light being revealed from them as metal plating peeled away and became vapor.

Gravity took a hold of them. Earth began to reclaim their limp form, a cone of fire gracing their body.

Four spikes began to emerge from Zetton’s torso, a sphere of blazing heat forming in the midst of them. The time to finish this battle had come.

***

“Perhaps we can weather Third Impact and attempt Human Instrumentality–“

“Oh, shut it. If we’re all going to die, I’m not spending my last moments listening to you fools prattle on.” Gendo exclaimed, ending the call and once more returning to the light of his office.

He looked out of his window, seeing the crimson skies. Clouds converging into a dark maelstrom over the world, the signal of the end. Past them, he saw Zetton, looming like the grim reaper over the Earth.

Gendo Ikari sighed. The world was doomed, and it was all his fault. He knew that, and could not deny it. Right now, Shinji controlled the fate of the Earth. He was in an Evangelion that awakened to its true form, was merging Angels and Lillin into one godlike being. Reality was his to mold like clay, shape to whatever he desired. Shinji’s true wish would be fulfilled.

Shinji Ikari. The boy Gendo had isolated, neglected, and left a sorrowful mess. Even if he believed he wanted to save the world, deep down, he hated it. Because Gendo had hated it, and imparted that unto his child.

The one thing he ever truly gave his son.

He sat at his desk. And awaited the end that he started.

Hollow inside. Even more than he thought he already was after Yui’s passing.

***

Pain. Despair. It was all Shinji could feel. Powerless, as always.

He recalled his life. So wonderful until the fateful day his mother vanished. The warmest memories, vague due to his youth. All that was left was cold.

His father abandoned him, only contacting him years later to plunge him into a hellish situation where he found himself the only thing keeping the world safe from nightmares beyond human comprehension. The most tempestuous part of life, when a boy changed into a man, and he was forced into battles with things the bravest soldiers would cower before. Forced to bear a weight that would break a bodybuilder.

He found friends, but they often pushed him as well. Asuka’s temperament, Rei’s coldness, Misato’s antics, Toji and Kensuke’s oddities, they all aggravated him. He supposed it was better than isolation, but there was a conflict in his mind as to whether it truly was.

Sometimes, he just wanted the world to go away entirely.

But still, he pressed on. Because he needed to, because there was no other option.

***

From Evangelion 01’s back sprouted colossal wings, numerous thin limbs like a dragonfly’s. They shined a luminous white as they stretched outwards. As this happened, the halo’s light increased as well.

Her fall ceased.

She rose back up, breaching the atmosphere once more. Blackened shards of armor were draped over a body of luminescence, looking as if a star had been carved into a human.

Zetton continued to charge its One Trillion Degree Fireball, now larger than the Evangelion by a sizable margin. But that failed to deter the awakened beast of divinity as she lunged forwards at immense speeds, almost closing the distance between the two in an instant.

The only thing stopping her was Zoffy appearing before her, arm outstretched forward with the other hand on the base of his arm.

Perhaps, he thought, he could destroy the last Evangelion and end this before Zetton unleashed the fireball. Perhaps he could save this world, deactivate the final weapon at the last moment.

He did not know why he cared so much. Ever since Lipiah had broken through his orders so long ago, he noticed himself being more emotional. His frustration with Gendo had only spurned that change more.

However, this world now knew the secrets he had wished to hide, courtesy of himself. It needed to be destroyed. To ensure–

There was a flash of light. A colossal surge of energy that only lasted an instant, but had swallowed half of his vision for that moment.

The Evangelion’s eyes glowed brightly, as they had for her ocular lasers. Looking down, Zoffy realized that his arm had been severed, alongside the other hand grasping it. Only now did the numbness set in. His eyes continued, noticing something off behind him, his head turning…

To notice one of Zetton’s arms was also now severed, floating away with a shower of sparks and electrical bolts between it and the main body. The impact had also jarred the main body, tilting it. So when the destroyer unleashed its ultimate weapon, the fireball designed to purge star systems, it sailed past Zoffy. Were it not for the design keeping all of the heat contained in the sphere, the humanoid alien would have been vaporized.

He watched as it approached Shinji and Yui. He braced himself for his demise alongside theirs, only to be taken aback as the glowing god lifted one hand.

The AT Field returned, taking an indented shape. It was gargantuan, so much so that it caught the fireball the size of a skyscraper and swallowed it like a ping pong ball in a cup.

The power to incinerate an area of dozens of light years, halted completely. It was not fully charged, but even if the total power to erase everything in a two-hundred light years diameter was brought to bear, it would not have been enough.

For the Evangelion Unit, for Shinji and Yui Ikari, had attained a power beyond logic. The power that both the Star of Light and the First Ancestral Race had feared coming into being.

Zoffy was awestruck. To hear and imagine such might, and to see it firsthand, were two very different things.

The back of the AT Field cone broke apart into equal sections, the rest holding the fireball in place. Zetton was already trying to charge another one, but it was pointless. The segments of the barrier slammed together, catching part of the fireball in the impact, detonating it.

From the curved barrier forged of the soul erupted a torrent of horrendous flame and force. Zoffy was consumed by the blaze, reduced to ash which further dissolved into constituent particles as the wall of desolation continued onwards, leaving the solar system in short order as a cone of annihilation.

Zoffy in his final moments could only mentally apologize to all his comrades for his failure.

Zetton withstood the assault for a few seconds, but its barrier fell with a shattering like glass, and so too did its body shortly afterwards. It was designed to survive the explosion from a distance, only a fraction of the energy impacting it, but focused as it was, the black armor became even darker until breaking apart. Internal machinery disintegrated, its yellow, glass-like structures popping like bubbles.

Soon, nothing was left of either. The cataclysm ceased, Evangelion 01 standing still as her arm lowered back to her side. The Sun and Moon had been behind her, fortunately for Earth, but several planets in the Solar System had been erased in the attack. A great opening in both the asteroid belt and Oort Cloud had been made. It would take years to learn, but a handful of stars relatively close by no longer existed.

Silence reigned as eyes turned back towards the Earth. Until 01 let out another scream, the world below shuddering as the storm worsened and the red sky crackled. Shinji shouted as he realized that the planet was being destroyed regardless, the revelation only growing worse as the pain of Asuka and Rei’s likely deaths flowed back like a river through a broken dam.

Unbeknownst to him, that only made the problem worse. The catastrophe fed off his internal desires and emotion, creating a cascade effect as despair clawed through his chest and curled up within his heart.

***

Gendo looked out the window, but despite the hell going on outside, only saw into himself.

What kind of monster would do that to his wife? He loved her so much he was willing to tear the fabric of reality asunder just to be with her again, but he had never stopped to consider what pain she had to be going through in the meantime.

Would such a reunion be worth it? Especially with how he had treated their son.

No, Human Instrumentality would smooth those problems over. There would be no disagreements or strife, it would be like they never existed at all as humanity became one. No atrocity was too much when it would be as if it never happened.

He chuckled to himself, grimly and mirthlessly. “And look at where that attitude got me.”

***

On the moon, something raced over the surface. A white blur over a red-stained portion of the lunar body, dashing past a military base. It struck a strange, gigantic object obscured by a shroud, sending the shroud fluttering away as a crack in the rock was all that was left.

The humanoid figure moved away from the surface, grasping a spear. Down below, a young man with silver hair and red eyes watched with a smile on his face. His purpose had been taken from him, but he did not mind, for the same goal would be reached regardless.

Racing through space, the white and red bodied entity, eyes glowing like yellow bulbs over an unmoving mouth, clutched the double-helixed shaft of the weapon nearly as long as he was tall. His gaze was set firmly on his target, unmissable due to her luminous form as she screamed over a dying world.

Pulling his arm back, the dark-red spearhead affixed with a green gem in its center pointing forward, Lipiah threw the Spear of Cassius with every bit of his might. He knew not the specifics of how this would work, or if it even would, just that this was a weapon designed to stop exactly what stood before him. He prayed for it to succeed, for both the sake of the Earth and for the young boy trapped inside the prison of its destroyer.

His aim was true, the lance soaring straight until it reached Evangelion 01. Her AT Field shattered like pottery before it, allowing the blade to impale the radiant giant through the torso. The god incarnate seized, her scream turning into a wheeze as the glowing body faded away, turning into pale flesh once more.

Lipiah caught the limp body, and began to descend towards Earth.

He held no grudge for the death of Zoffy. The hero of humankind wished it had not come to this, but he did not blame the young man within for what had occurred.

He was here now. He would protect the Earth and everyone upon it, no more need for torment and sacrifice to save the world with these aberrations.

Looking down upon the ruined, broken world he had grown attached to, he felt deep pain in his soul. But he would not let it break him. The best solution was simple. Ensure that this never happened again, and let humanity rebuild to the point where it was like it never occurred in the first place.

He promised that to himself as he began to enter the atmosphere. For humanity, and for Zoffy.

***

“What is that? What happened, Third Impact’s stopped!?” Maya Ibuki questioned, in utter shock at both the readings displayed and the cause of the sudden shift.

A giant like the one that had brought Zetton upon them, only actually aiding them, gently carrying Shinji and Unit 01 down. It baffled them all, and without Gendo present, they lacked leadership.

Until Misato took charge. She put on a brave face, gritting her teeth. “I want people on Unit 00 and 02’s bodies now, if Rei and Asuka are alive, they won’t be for long if we don’t help them! Find out where he’s landing,” she pointed at the white and red giant, “and take me to him. I’m getting answers.”

“Yes ma’am!” Came multiple voices in reply.

Misato breathed a deep sigh, but not of relief. The world had not ended, but it had been deeply scarred. As well, the chance of two of Earth’s defenders being dead was high, extremely so. And potential enemies lurked in all corners, perhaps coming down now or already in the very Geofront.

Their struggle had just begun.

***

Gendo sat alone in his office, looking at the ravaged world. Deep gashes in the earth which bled, skies perpetually tinged in dark red, storm clouds raging all across the violent tapestry before him. It was not a pleasant sight in the least.

His mind raced with ideas of how to proceed. Restarting the plan of Human Instrumentality was at the forefront, but the more he thought on it, the more cracks showed up. Running away and hiding, dying in some pit alone, came up next, but it did not hold much appeal despite it being the easiest option.

Something began to break through, slowly but surely, like a flower growing out of concrete. He tried to tamp it down, ignore it, but it continued to pester him as it grew roots. It would be the hardest course of action, the most painful and stressful. Perhaps outright impossible, but it was in his mind now, and would not leave until it blossomed.

To form a proper bond with his son. To repent, for his sins towards him and to everyone.

He groaned, clutching his face in his palms. Part of him wished Zetton had won as he considered the course of the conversations that were soon to occur.

Winner: Evangelion Unit-01