From: "Dark Shadow" Subject: [Eva][Fanfic] The New Age Chapter 1 The following is the Eva fanfic I have been working on. I would appreciate comments and/or criticism. The homepage is at http://www.rpi.edu/~baughj/evana. Warning: Don't read this unless you've seen the Eva movies, mainly D&R and EoE. The events in New Age take place after Eoe, and 1) it contains spoilers and 2) you will be very, very confused. You have been warned. EVA is of course copyrighted by GAINAX/Project EVA/NAS. Neon Genesis Evangelion - The New Age Chapter One: Unification by Dark Shadow (baughj@rpi.edu) WARNING. This fic deals with life after End of Evangelion, the movie. If you haven't seen it, the fic might not make sense, and you will definitely spoil the movie. Trust me, see the movie first... Synopsis: This fic focuses on the events following the Third Impact. Did humanity evolve? What was the outcome of the Instrumentality Project? What happened to all of Shinji's friends and loved ones...and indeed, all of humanity? "I feel sick..." Shinji dropped his hands to his side. He still could not believe what he had almost done. For that one second, the only thing he could think about was... killing Asuka. *Killing Asuka.* The thought shocked him...but at the time, it had seemed so right...so natural, as if violence was normal for him. He was terrified by that prospect. For a long while, there was nothing but silence. A silence that chilled both of the Children to their bones. It was a deathly, penetrating silence - a silence that covered the entire Earth in its umbrage. Shinji sat back and watched Asuka sleep, mumbling something in German. He was still speechless. The events that had just occured were too much for him, and his mind was still trying to sort out the details... *Misato is dead.* The thought came to him suddenly, painfully, as he saw the events played over again...Misato kissing him and filling his mouth with her blood... *We'll finish when you get back, Shinji....* *Ritsuko is dead. Father is dead. Rei is dead. Misato is dead. They are all dead.* *Asuka, help me. Asuka, help me. Asuka, help me.* It surprised him that he actually cared that his father was dead. Tears started to flow as Shinji broke down and sobbed. Shinji's sobbing awoke Asuka, who reached up and touched Shinji's face, slowly reaching his chin. "Baka..." she said, softly, and hugged Shinji. Asuka slowly started to cry as well, and it wasn't long before they were both sobbing. "Asuka...." "Yes, Shinji-kun?" "Asuka...I..I love you." "I love you too, Shinji-kun..I always have.." Both of them started to cry again. Meanwhile, an emotionless Rei watched them from a nearby beach head. Gendo stood behind her, looking equally emotionless. "What do you think of me now, Gendo?" "I'm amazed...I didn't think you had it in you to defy me. But the end result was the same...the completion of the Instrumentality Project." "You never did tell me why." "Yui." "You destroyed the world for one woman?" "Is it destroyed, Rei? Mankind...will never be destroyed.Even in death, we live on." "Look around you, Gendo. This world is dead." Gendo did just that. He turned around and stared into the sky, which was alive with the souls of mankind. It glowed an eerie red, and a faint moaning could be heard in the distance. "This world may be dead, but we live on. We live on in the true being." "I don't like it there..too many voices. Everyone's always talking at once.." "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters to me...nothing but Yui." "Even when you were in the arms of another woman?" Gendo stared into the sky again. "I did what I had to do. I have no regrets." "I wonder if Yui would agree with you." Gendo sighed. Gendo knew that Yui in fact did not agree, did not agree at all, and had fierce anger for him in her heart. He knew this now that he was a part of her, a part of everyone.. "And...I will never understand how you could so easily cast away Shinji." "I..." Nothing Gendo could possibly say would explain. Even Gendo himself couldn't explain it. "Rei. I could never say that what I did was right. I did think that, once. I thought I was doing the right thing. After Yui died, the Project was all that mattered. She is the only woman I ever loved. Naoko, and later Ritsuko....were mere pawns." Rei blanched. Even though Gendo had been close to her before the Third Impact, he had never been this open with her. "It's a strange feeling...being able to hear everyone's thoughts and dreams.." Gendo knew what Rei meant. The first seconds of the transformation had been brutal, as literally billions upon billions of people began screaming, all at once. Millions alone had lost their sanity. Millions, in the first few seconds of Unification. But now, it was over. The cacophony of voices that had erupted from the Impact had now softened to a dull roar, and if one concentrated enough, it could be ignored. "Why did you choose Shinji?" "You only wanted to control the Impact because of the stupid legend you heard once." "What legend?" "Baka...the legend of ultimate power. Your reason was similar to Lorenz's..." "Lorenz? Lorenz wanted to become the new messiah. I would hardly call trying to become the second coming of Christ and wanting to be with my dead wife the same thing." "Gendo....In the end, your goals were the same. You started the Project with Yui in mind...but eventually, you and Lorenz were exactly alike." Rei smiled. "Boys with toys, I'm afraid." Gendo was silent for a long time, thinking as what Rei had said hit home. *She's right, you know. I never wanted to admit it to myself...* What Gendo did next shocked Rei. Gendo collapsed to his knees and started crying. Rei really didn't know what to do. In all of her years, she had never seen Gendo show any emotion, let alone sadness. "I am such a fool, Rei." Rei knelt next to Gendo. "I was wondering when you would figure it out." Gendo thought for a moment, and realized something was bothering him. "Rei, you've said more in the past five minutes than in the 10 years we knew each other." Rei smiled. "I think a part of me...has finally been laid to rest. I know who I am, where I am going...I now believe I am a real person. A person capable of emotion. A real human being, instead of the 'doll' Asuka always said I was. " Rei thought for a moment, wondering how Shinji and Asuka were doing. Gendo looked into Rei's now dark blue eyes, alive with the glow that they all had. The glow of all of humanity. The glow of millenia upon millenia of human evolution. And it scared him. "What have I done..." Rei thought about that for a second, and thought about how the true implications of the Project had started to reveal themselves. The implications of staying on Earth, instead of arising into Heaven as originally intended. Staying on Earth, for an eternity, being always able to hear voices inside your head. It was enough to make the normally unflappable Rei shiver. "It might not be too late. Remember, in this dimension, Shinji is the nexus. Whatever action he takes will shape the outcome of this universe." "How will we ever be able to go back living with AT fields around us? Even though Unification has brought immeasurable suffering...it has also brought joy. The unification with loved ones long gone, the joy of seeing former friends brought back to life..We have finally evolved into the supreme being. We are capable of great things, Rei." "At what cost, Gendo? Those souls who died before Unification were ripped from where they were during the Third Impact. There might as well be no heaven anymore, because even if there was it would be empty." "We will just have to wait and see what Shinji decides. He is the only one that can truly affect this world any longer." This was true, since Unification had reduced all living matter into free floating molecules. The collective's will had been apparent... *What proper physical representation can there be for billions upon billions of souls?* Rei looked up, remembered why the sky was red, and shuddered. "Gendo, we can't even affect the world around us anymore. The only thing that Unification can lead to is total stagnation. Apathy. We are powerless....ineffective in the physical world. Evolution indeed. The only thing we've evolved into is a big dead end." "Shinji can change it all...He has the power." "You expect him to care? Or even recognize the fact that you exist, after what you've done to him?" Gendo jumped to his feet. "DAMNIT REI!! I did everything for YUI. YUI!!! YUI IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS!!" Rei stood up and lanced Gendo with an icy stare. "She didn't seem to matter when you were rutting like a wild animal on the floor with Naoko. Or Ritsuko. Remember that I can see your memories as well." Gendo flinched. "How...how dare you, Rei..." His words trailed off into nothingness as tears formed at the corner of his eyes. "I think you're finally learning, Ikari Gendo....Finally learning that the ends do not justify the means. Did you ever think of how Yui would feel to know of your betrayal?" "It was the only way I could get Naoko to complete the Magi. She had forgotten about her real goal. She was distracted by what was going on around her...so I used her. I'll admit it, I used her. But...without the Magi...we would have been obliterated in the Destructive Third Impact. The Magi were the key to unravelling all the secrets of SEELE and Lorenz. I never suspected she would kill herself after their completion..." "Did you suspect she would kill me?" "Yes. Because of how I talked about her in your presence." "But you did nothing to stop it." "As you know, your body was once replaceable." "Ah yes...the old transfer process. Do you know what it's like, Gendo, to be ripped out of your body and thrown into another?" "Yes. Yui's memories are now mine, remember? I have lived her pain. As I have lived yours." Now it was Rei's turn to flinch. The accident involving Yui had been very violent, as Yui's very soul was wrenched from her body and literally sucked into Eva-01. And Yui's memories, memories of being stuck in Eva-01, not being able to speak, communicate, or escape, were enough to drive even the strongest men completely insane. How Yui had survived intact, neither Gendo or Rei knew. "You still haven't explained something to me." Gendo sighed, a weary, tired sigh. "What?" "Why did I carry a part of Yui inside of me?" "You mean her DNA." "Precisely." "It was decided, when your clones were made, that Yui's DNA be introduced into your cellular structure. It was my personal decision. At the time, I thought..." "You thought you'd just pop off into a lab and grow another Yui? Is that it?!" "NO, damnit! It was...it was...I don't know what it was. Part of me was grasping for straws. Trying anything, however remote, to bring her back. Like i said, she was the only thing that mattered." Rei thought about this for a second. "Come, Gendo. We have much to do, if we are to reverse this mess you've gotten us into." Gendo frowned, and began to retort, but Rei silenced him with a glare. And with that, they vanished. Meanwhile, Shinji and Asuka held each other in their arms, still crying. "Do you hear that, Asuka?" Asuka stared into the sky, and listened. She heard a low moaning in the distance. "Yes. Yes I do, Shinji-kun.." "It's the dead speaking, Asuka...The dead are speaking, and they want us to listen.." Asuka looked at Shinji as if he had grown a third leg. "What do you mean??" "I can hear them talking to me...they're in my head. Surely you can hear it? They are asking me why I am not with them..." "Shinji...are you feeling okay?" Asuka was very worried, because she had no idea what Shinji was talking about. She began to poke his head, to see if he had hit it on something. "Ow! You don't have to poke me that hard! I'm fine, I swear!" Out of nowhere, Misato suddenly appeared in front of them. "Misato!" Asuka and Shinji shouted in unison. Misato smiled, and vanished. Shinji jumped to his feet. "Misato! MISATO!! MIIIIIIISAAAATOOO!!!" He collapsed, and started to cry again. "Shinji...Why did Misato just appear and disappear like that? What happened to her?" "When...when I was still in..in the base...Misato..Misato...was shot...she...she.." Asuka cradled Shinji in her arms as he cried. "If she's dead, then why did we just see her before us?" "Don't you understand, Asuka? It's the Third Impact. They're all part of the one being...they have evolved.." "Evolved? Into what?" "One being. One mind. One destiny." Asuka shivered. The idea of everyone in the world being able to read her mind frightened her. "I can hear it talking...I hear their voices. Rei, my father, your mother, my mother..." Asuka turned deathy pale. "You...you can hear my mother?" Shinji opened his eyes and looked at Asuka, who was trembling. "Yes." "W...w..what does she say?" "She loves you, Asuka.." Asuka jumped up. "What? How can she say that...how can..how can she love me after she did what...how.." It was Shinji's turn to hold Asuka as she collapsed into his arms and started to sob violently. "Asuka...she didn't know what she was doing. The...The synchronization test...drove her insane. She didn't know what she was doing." "Mama...oh mama, please come back.." In the far distance, a harsh laughing could be heard... Keel Lorenz stood on a cliff, watching the events unfold under him. "Stupid fools....stupid emotional fools. They've ruined everything. All my dreams, all my waiting thoughout time eternal, all the years on this stupid, stupid planet, to have my dreams crushed. All because of that stupid god of theirs. That stupid, stupid god." "FOOLS!!" he screamed, at the top of his lungs. "TWO THOUSAND YEARS, FOR NOTHING!! TWO THOUSAND YEARS!! TWO....THOUSAND....YEAAAAAAAAAARS!!!" Lorenz was slowly learning that the Impact had not taken the proper course - the course that would have given him ultimate power. *All because of Gendo, and that stupid bitch Yui..* Yui had found out Lorenz's true desire, and had staged the accident with Eva-00 to force Gendo to beat Lorenz to the Third Impact. Once Lorenz had realized that Gendo was not the pawn he thought he was, it was too late. Even as the JSSDF infiltrated NERV and killed every living thing there...it was too late. Even as the Red Earth Ceremony was being held...it was too late. Fate had been altered, and Lorenz knew it. He knew it was over. After Unification, once it had become clear what Lorenz's true motives were, Lorenz had been forced out of the collective. Alone. Again. To walk the earth for eternity. Only this time, he had a real body, and not the steel and platinum body that was merely a conduit for his soul. He flexed his arms, so glad to be able to see real flesh and blood after all these years of bionic implants. He had to admit that for the first time in his life, he felt alive. But Lorenz's goals after roaming the planet for over two thousand years had not changed. He wanted everything to be dead. The only thing he wanted was total and complete oblivion, and he knew the only way he could accomplish this was ultimate power. *What army can defend against a god, after all?* He watched Asuka as she stroked Shinji's hair. *Fools.* "FOOLS!!", he screamed again. But then, a rare moment of lucidity descended on him. He knew something wasn't right. It came to him suddenly. "WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY DEAD?!" And with that, he climbed down the cliff, thinking about how to kill them best. ===========================================================End of Ch 1=