Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ CHANGING DARKNESS ❯ Unexpected events ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

CHANGING DARKNESS INTO THE LIGHT

Book 1: Changing Darkness

Chapter 13: Unexpected events


As the Sith entered again the dark confines of Ikari Gendo's office, he was amused by the lack of
security. Alone the fact that none of the prized Section2 members were present told him that this
meeting wouldn't be a hostile one.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he came straight to business.

"Yes."

He hid his surprise, as he had expected that Ikari would play his games once again. Instead of asking,
he simply waited for Gendo to make the first move.

"I have a proposition to make." Ikari started.

"I hear."

"Maybe we can help each other."

The Sith had to fight hard to hide his surprise. While he had expected that Gendo would understand the
futility of resistance, he hadn't thought that the Commander of NERV was clever enough to bargain.
He had thought of him as megalomaniac. Maybe his judgement was premature.

"Whatever you want here, you need it from NERV. I am the Commander of NERV."

An obvious statement, but nonetheless true. The Sith sat down in the chair in front of the massive desk.

"Your price?"

"Depending on what you want. But one thing is not negotiable. Yui."

"Hard, but not impossible." replied the Sith. If he had known that it would be so easy to find an agreement,
his mission would have been much easier. He wouldn't have an apprentice, and, most likely, he would have
already finished his task. Well, chewing on the past was a stupid and unnecessary thing to do.

"And your price?" asked Gendo.

"The complete AT-field technology. How to make those fields, prototypes of the technology, all technical
data."

"Hard, but not impossible." replied Gendo smirking. "You know about the Angels and SEELEs scenario?"

"Yes."

"If SEELE is eliminated, and the Angels defeated, you can have it. Including our leading scientists."

The Sith had a hard time to not fall laughing on the floor. He definitely had underestimated Gendo. The
Commander of NERV knew perfectly that, once Yui was back, he needed to get rid of Akagi. And he found an
elegant solution. As much as he disliked the man, his style was great.
That he would have to wait until the threat of the Angels was over came not as a surprise. He had expected
that, and, given the data from SEELE, it was easy to predict their appearances and fight them. At least
for someone with the power of the Empire behind him.

"That would be acceptable. However, I will need access to the EVAs, and some appetizers for my own
scientists."

"Considering that I can't stop your wandering around, you can get the access. For your scientists, use
Rei."

"Rei is my apprentice. So, handing her over for an autopsy is not an option." he answered with a cold voice.
Sure, he never wanted an apprentice, but now that he had one, she deserved the best training possible, and
the loyalty and help of her master. Only so she could become a Sith as he envisioned them.

"Giving you an EVA is not an option either. We need them to defend ourselves."

Gendo wasn't stupid enough to give the technology away. He knew pretty well that Rei was not an option, but
because he brought her into play, he had a better position for the trade. The Sith wouldn't try to tell him
that he could fight for them. Given the display the fighters did with Irouel, it was true, but only an idiot
would trust everything to an Alien. Especially one who was proud of being evil.

"Maybe the data from the first Angel would be sufficient." The Sith suggested. He already had the data, but
they needed a way to not lose face. So, the talk was over, only some game playing was left.

A half hour later, the negotiations were finished. Both sides were more than satisfied with their
achievements, and now, they only had to prepare the surroundings for their strange alliance.
Gendo had it easy, as he was the Commander of NERV, and was able to simply give some orders. The Sith had
more problems with this, as he needed to convince Naoko, Rei and Asuka to wait with their plans for revenge.
He didn't look forward to that.

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Asuka spent the afternoon with Rei. Now that they would also train together, even with very different
masters, they would be getting closer anyway.
For the German redhead, the events of the last few days changed so much in her life, that she often had no
clue how things would progress. This insecurity grated on her nerves, as Shinji learned during lunch in
school. She had asked him why he didn't make bentos for her and Rei, and he answered that nobody told him to
do so. Telling him that he should have thought about that himself would have been sufficient, planting her
fist on top of his head was a little bit too much. Rei stopped her before things could degenerate further,
but alone the fact that she had to apologize, hurt her.

She knew that she was irritable, but never in proximity to Rei. Another thing she didn't understand.

After school, Asuka was bored, so she challenged Rei to some games.
At first, they played cards. Rei had never played poker before, so it was easy for her to win the first
rounds. But as soon as the bluehead understood how the game functioned, she destroyed her completely.
The same happened with chess, followed by two of her favorite video games.
Such a streak would have been enough to set her temper off, even in her best condition, yet she was unable
to voice her displeasure over her loosing to Rei.

Now even more irritated, and not in the mood to get destroyed in another game, the redhead opted for a
hot bath to calm her nerves.

While Asuka soaked, Rei contemplated the events that led to Asuka's apprenticeship as Jedi. Her master was
way too amused to be only a nice surprise. She knew that he liked plotting and planning, much like the
Commander, and that he acted after a scenario was obvious. He had told her that he hadn't thought to ever
take an apprentice, and due the fact that the Jedi had none as well, led to the suspicion that Tenel Ka
never wanted one either. So, by turning Asuka down, he forced her to do something she didn't want, taking
Asuka as Padawan. This was surely beneficial for Asuka, as her entire being was too soft for becoming a
Sith, but the way her master manipulated her didn't sit well. She was too often on the receiving end of
such plots and scenarios. Maybe she should voice her displeasure.

The sun ad already gone down, and she was tired. So, the blue-haired girl took off her clothes and laid down.
Her intention was to sleep, yet it didn't come to her. Normally, it was enough to lie down and close her
eyes, but somehow, this didn't function anymore. Her thoughts wandered over possible explanations for this
strange event, looking for any changes in the last time. Much to her dismay, there were way too much to take
all of them into account.
She still laid with open eyes in her bed as Asuka exited the bath and laid down beside her.

"Still awake?" the redhead asked.

Rei only looked at her, she saw no reason to give an answer when it was obvious. Asuka snuggled close to her,
didn't say anymore. Feeling the warmth of the body beside her, the warm breeze of Asuka's breathing on her
skin, she relaxed. Shortly before she fell to sleep, she realized why she was unable to sleep before. It was
the absence of Asuka. While they were so close only for a short amount of time, she started to become
dependant on the other girl. Now the question was, was this good, or bad?

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It was already the middle of the night as the Sith finally left NERV and went home. As he had guessed, it
wasn't easy to convince Naoko to play along, at least for the time being. She especially nagged about the
fact that he had promised to not harm Gendo, so he had to remind her that he wouldn't have done that
anyway. There were more than enough other persons who wanted him dead.

He entered his apartment, went straight into the main room, where he was greeted with an unappreciated
sight.

"Put your weapon away, its useless, as you should know."

"Only if you undo that weird thing you did to me, you asshole." commanded Misato.

"No."

Misato gritted her teeth. She had suspected that it won't function this way, which left her only very little
other possibilities.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. Like I said as I did it, it is good for you. Alone your presence here shows that you are addicted.
Your hands are shaking, your breathing goes faster, and you are desperate enough to come here with your
weapon, despite the knowledge that its useless. What's next? Offering sex?"

"I'm not a god damn whore!" Misato spat.

"Prove it. Show me your strength."

Angered, Misato clenched through her gritted teeth. "How?"

"Accept that you are now allergic to alcohol and move on without it."

"I will. Just to show you that I'm better than you, you.., you...."

"Asshole? Jerk? Pig-priest?" she asked smirking. "You can thank me after you have managed to get yourself
together."

Cursing, Misato stormed out. Of course it was hard for her, but if you made it too easy for an addict to
get clean, the possibility of a drawback are way greater. Pain is a tutor that nobody can ignore.

Tired, he laid down. Soon, he would have to make contact with the souls in the EVAs. This would be more than
any little talk with Lillith ever could be. Even Gendo, who gave him all access needed, reminded him that
it could get ugly. He had to admit that the Commander was right with this one. Contrary to Lillith, the
souls were trapped in those artificial constructs, and had, once awakened, the possibility to use them.
And fact was that he couldn't talk with them as long as they were completely dormant. If one of them gets
angry at him, he would be in trouble. Prepared, he could take on an EVA or an Angel, but in a situation like
that, he was vulnerable. He hated this state.

A short look at the watch showed that he had only four hours left before Rei would arrive for training.
Only comforted by the knowledge that Tenel Ka had to do the same, he went to sleep, silently cursing this
primitive world with its annoying inhabitants.

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After one week of training Asuka finally asked the Jedi why her training was so much harder than Reis.
This question was justified, because Rei got instructions, some endurance and weapon training, and some
meditation sessions, while she herself was ordered all over the place. She had no problem with the
exercises, but the difference to Reis tutelage was hard to overlook.

"Sith and Jedi have different ways of doing things, this is only another facet of this truth. I train
you by pushing you to your limits, expanding this way your abilities. He tells her how to do things,
and let her train alone, to find her own way. He doesn't need to be careful in the training to avoid
losing his apprentice to the dark side, because this is where he and she already are. This doesn't mean
that her training is less hard than yours, it is just different. I know how fast you proceed, he doesn't.
So he needs to test her, which he does each week. Today it will happen again. Watch, and then tell me if
your training is really harder."

Never having heard such a long speech from Tenel Ka before, Asuka kept her mouth shut and waited for the
things to come. Together with her master, they observed how Rei and her master talked. The blue-haired
girl nodded, then both drew weapons. Not a training energy-blade, like she used in her session with Tenel Ka,
but massive iron sticks with handles. Heavy enough to break bones and hurt badly.

Rei and the Sith started a fight. Asuka was astonished how far Rei had already proceeded with her training.
She used the training sword with ease, avoided fluently several strikes of the Sith, danced around him
and searched for a way to attack.
With this, she waited too long, because a barrage of attacks broke her defenses. She took a full hit
against her belly, followed by one against her arm. Even 30 meters away, Asuka heard the pained gasp of the
other girl. She saw that Rei would be hit again, as she stood up and ran down. Not bothering to think, she
took the heavy training weapon and stormed against the Sith, blocked a hit against Rei's shoulder.

He stopped his attacks as if nothing unusual had happened, while Asuka kneeled beside Rei and helped her
sitting up.

Rei blinked as she recognized who had helped her. "Why?" she asked.

"He wouldn't have stopped. He hurt you."

"Only because I failed." Rei replied between pained sounding, sharp breaths.

"That's no reason to kill you."

"He wouldn't have killed me. Only punished for my failure."

"That's still not right!"

"Why do you care?" interjected the Sith calmly.

"Because....be.." stumbled Asuka, before she fell silent.

"If you can't admit a simple truth, what gives you the thought that your opinion is worth anything?"

Tenel Ka, who had followed her Padawan, stood behind the two girls and waited for the redheads answer as
well. She had her suspicions what the Sith was trying to do, she just didn't understand the reasons behind
it.

"Because I care." admitted Asuka.

The Sith gave her a thin, gruesome smile. "Which means nothing."

Rei, more than surprised that the other girl cared about her, was stunned by the cold answer of her master.
He had often told her what he deemed important. Friendship and trust were among those things, so she didn't
understand why he didn't value Asuka's friendship for her. She was his apprentice, and so far, he always
stayed truthful to the proclamations he made to her as she started training.

"Because I l..."

"Love or lust?" asked Tenel Ka coldly.

Asuka's head swirled around, found a stone like expression on the face of her own master. Tenel Ka had tried
several times to open up her feelings, told her how important positive feelings were. Feelings like love,
something Asuka would never let happen again. She had promised this to herself, a long time ago.
This promise was the cornerstone of her personality, of her very existence.
She looked in Rei's face, found the gaze of her blood like eyes directed at her. A thin trail of blood
trickled out of the pale girls nose. Rei tried to not show her pain, but Asuka saw easily through her mask.
It hurt her as well to see her in pain, the only person whose she trusted in a long time.
Asuka gulped, tried to gather all of her courage. And failed. She was unable to say the words she vowed to
never say again. She closed her eyes and let a low sigh escape, as an unknown, powerful feeling washed over
her. It spoke of power and strength, but was gentle as a light breeze. At first, she thought that it was
physical contact, but it wasn't. It took her some seconds before she realized that someone reached out through
the force to her. It could have been only one person, because only one person was this gentle to her.
Not knowing how to response, she did the only thing she was able to. Nothing. She couldn't reach back, but she
could avoid erecting barriers. Resolve and strength flooded her. Her blue eyes widened in shock as she
realized that Rei could see her very soul, her tainted soul. She wanted to panic, but the presence calmed
her with ease. Her memories wide open, she didn't resist the contact, tried to embrace it. Because it was
too late. She had nothing to hide anymore. The fortress that was her personality had fallen.
A surge of power went through her, enabled her to do what she wanted, controlling her mind so that she was
able to embrace this feeling of ...closeness?... no... unity.

The Sith and the Jedi felt what had happened, waited calmly for the two girls to come back into the realms
of reality. Asuka's face had softened while she was bound with Rei. After long minutes, she looked at her
master and the Sith.

"Because I love her." the redhead admitted calmly, as if it was the most normal thing to say. "She cared for
me as I was weak, helped me as I stumbled around, gave me strength as I wanted to break down. She did this
often, and she did it again. For this I'm grateful to her. My loyalty lies to her, because she is my friend."

The Sith grunted, but he couldn't fool anyone. They all felt a tinge of satisfaction behind his display of
typical Sith behavior.
Tenel Ka felt is as well, and again, she had to ask herself what was really going on here, on this forsaken
planet.

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At the same day, while Rei was recuperating from her injuries in a bacta tank that Tenel Ka had on her
small ship, Hikari was in a way more pleasant situation. She laid nude in the large bathtub in Misato's
apartment, relishing the afterglow of an orgasm.
Normally, this would be perfect, but the location was also reason for the slight discomfort she felt.
She could delay the upcoming conversation as long as she wanted, but found herself unable to. She needed to
clear this up soon, once and for all. Her decision was set, the time was now.

"Shinji?"

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

Shinji's eyes, formerly closed in the aftermath of their lovemaking, flew open. No male was able to
suppress this panic-induced reaction that is triggered by this sentence. He looked at her carefully.
"I hear."

Hikari was amused by his reaction. So she calmed him down first. "I don't want to break up."

Shinji sighed. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"This." Hikari answered.

"This?" asked Shinji, not understanding what she meant.

Hikari changed position and laid down onto him. "This location, and why we are here."

Shinji still didn't get her meaning, so he looked questioningly at her.

"Our love-making here, in the bath. Because of your little fetish."

"Oh."

"I have some problems with it." admitted Hikari.

"Problems?"

"Contrary to you, I'm not fond of getting peed on. I don't like it when you do it, and I don't like the way
you taste after my pee when I kiss you. I hate it!" stopped Hikari shouting. Panic crept into her mind,
this went faster than she had thought. The fear that he could break up with her clawed at her heart.
The fact that she didn't like those things didn't mean that she didn't love him. Quite the contrary in fact.
She had fallen head over heels for this shy and considerate boy, who always did anything to make her
happy, who suited perfectly for her, now that he had left his shell.

"So, ... you don't want to do it anymore? But I thought you like the sex after it?"

"Shinji, this isn't about the sex after it. As we started, as you told me that you like that, it was about
me showering you, then have sex afterwards. Not both ways, and this is something I don't like.
I like being with you, kissing you, cuddling you, making love to you. I love you. But there are some things
I don't like, and I tell you them now, instead of sometime later. We need to clear this up."

Shinji had heard nothing after her admission of love. "You love me?" he asked with tears in is eyes. Nobody
had ever said those words to him, at least as far as he could remember. So far, loneliness was the only
feeling he knew. His memories of his mother were too old and fractured to give any comfort, and the Sith,
the first person who gave a damn about him in a decade, was now busy with Rei. They barely talked with
each other anymore. So, Hikari couldn't even imagine how powerful her words were to him.

Hikari nodded. "Yes, I do."

Silence ensued as Shinji held her close and sobbed silently against her shoulder. Hikari was surprised by
this, and irritated, so she decided to do nothing but hold him.

After some time, Shinji finally asked. "So, what do you want to change exactly?"

"No more golden showers for me. I will give them to you, but no more for me. And after I did in your
mouth, you'll use mouthwash before you can kiss me again." Hikari demanded.

"Ok."

"And we won't always do that. I want to have normal sex. In a bed. I want to sleep with you, waking in your
arms. Not have a quick number in the bath, then heading home."

"But I thought you'll...."

"I will." confirmed the freckled girl. "But not always. Only on special occasions."

Shinji wasn't happy with those demands, but nodded nonetheless. Hikari was more important than anything else,
especially now, after her confession of love.

Relieved that Shinji didn't break up with her because of her demands, Hikari snuggled close to him.
"And we try new things. Maybe we find some alternatives, other things you like."

"You have some ideas?" asked Shinji.

"Maybe." came Hikari's answer. She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoyed the knowledge that everything went
well.

A half hour later, Shinji finally asked why she acted so strange, so clingy.

"Because I feared that would lose you. I know how much you like your fetish, feared that you would break up
with me when I want to cut it down." she admitted.

Shinji looked in her eyes and shook his head. "Hikari, you love me. And I love you. You are more important
than anything else. As long as we are together, everything is right. I will not give you up. Not for a
kind of sex, not for anything else. I love you."

Hearing this confession, Hikari hovered in new, formerly unknown realms of happiness. Her problem was solved,
she was the winner of the day.

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At evening, Asuka entered the bedroom and looked at the blue-haired girl that already laid between the
sheets. Only some bruises still showed the injuries the girl had sustained in her 'training', but this
wasn't the reason for her concerns now.

She had let her in her heart, had opened up against her. The German redhead was still unsure how exactly
this had happened, why her defenses suddenly crumbled to dust. Now that it had happened, she was able to
admit that she liked the girl, that she trusted her. But that didn't mean that she wanted to have a sexual
relationship with her. There were several kinds of love, and the one she felt for the other girl had to be
a Platonic one. The big question was if Rei would see it the same way. This was something she had to ensure
before snuggling into the bed next to her. So she stopped at the entrance to the room.

"Rei?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want to sleep with you."

"But you sleep each night with me?" replied Rei questioningly.

"I don't mean sleep as in sleep, I mean sleep as in sex."

"So you do not wish to become one with me." Rei stated calmly.

"Yes. I love you, but not this way. Can you understand that?"

"I do not understand why you are so fixated on sex. I said more than one time that I do not try to seduce
you. This has not changed."

The calm and hard tone of the last statement hit a chord in Asuka. Relieved on one side that Rei hadn't
gotten some weird ideas, it also hit her ego pretty hard. It was one thing if Rei wouldn't want her because
she was a girl. This she could understand, because this was the case with her. She didn't want Rei because
she wasn't a lesbian. But the hard tone indicated that Rei was not interested at all. Asuka knew pretty well
that concepts like moral and religious taboos were nothing for Rei. If she fell in love with a female, she
wouldn't see anything wrong with it. Not with her feelings, and not with the carpet munching.
However, her disinterest could only mean that she wasn't interested in her at all, and this disturbed her.
Wasn't she beautiful, lively, sexy and attractive? Even more important, what felt Rei for her at all?

"That's good." said Asuka and laid down beside the other girl. "What do you feel for me?"

Rei contemplated this question, so it took some minutes before she answered. "Friendship. I like you,
admire your determination. I trust you."

"But you don't love me back."

"No."

This answer hurt Asuka. Today, she had opened up to the other like to no one else before, declared even that
she loved her. This was truth. Hearing that this wasn't reciprocated hurt. "Why?"

"You are not willing to love the same way as I do. Complete, body, mind and soul."

Asuka gulped. She had already guessed that this was the problem, but she was determined to not give up.
"There are more than one kind of love existing."

"Not for me."

"Explain."

Rei looked in Asuka's eyes. "What you label as love is nothing more than a deep friendship. Understanding
each other, liking each other, caring for each other. Not love. The difference between love and friendship
is the shared level of intimacy. This is not measured by the fact that we are laying together nude in the
same bed. This intimacy is measured in the joy two can give each other, is measured in the way their minds,
bodies and souls are becoming one. Your perception of our relationship is that you love me, in my
definition, we are close friends."

Asuka was stunned by the long speech of the normally silent girl. It seemed that she had thought quite a
lot about this topic. But hearing that her declaration today wasn't taken serious irked her.
"Could you love me?"

"If you would be ready to reciprocate it, I would."

"So its my fault?" Asuka questioned angrily.

"You are bound to beliefs and morals other people have forced upon you. It is your decision if this is a
fault or not."

"Give me a clear answer, dammit."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, it is your fault."

Asuka huffed angrily, faced away from Rei and tried to sleep. After some time, she heard the calm
breathing that indicated that Rei fell already asleep. She herself was unable to do the same, her mind was
in too much turmoil.
It was nearly 03.00h in the morning as she cursed silently and latched herself on Rei, finding finally the
much needed sleep.

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It was nearly a week later, as the Sith made his way down to the EVA cages. It was night, but contrary
to his prior visits, he didn't have to intrude like a thief or conqueror, but used the main door, and
let the guards live, as they didn't try to stop him.

He chuckled as he thought over the events in the last few days. His plans were proceeding well, the bond
that developed between Rei and Asuka was progressing fast. So far, nobody beside him knew what exactly was
going on. Rei had already some suspicions, she surely was a worthy apprentice. She knew that his actions
were part of a greater mystery, a large puzzle, and that she and Asuka were parts of it. Still, without
any other parts, she had no chance of figuring it out. Only Tenel Ka could do it, but her perceptions were
too constricted by the ways of the Jedi to actually get it.

Smirking, he continued his way. The time for a confrontation with Tharagon came close, soon, he would have
to fight the reigning Lord of the Sith. He held no illusions of his chances in this battle. The plans and
preparations for this event were flawless, so he assumed that his chances to win lay around 5 percent.
However, his death couldn't stop the events he already set in motion. It was unable to stop the upcoming
war that would bring peace and order throughout the galaxy, nor would it stop the end of Tharagons Sith and
Skywalkers Jedi. Be it as it will be, he was prepared, his legacy would reach the goals he most likely would
fail to achieve.

Having accepted his fate, he marched in a good mood into the cage that held EVA unit 01. It was no surprise
to see that Tenel Ka already waited for him.

"Here for a little talk?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I hope you have nothing against me listening in."

"While I could stop you from doing this, I have neither the wish nor the will to fight this particular
battle. At least not now."

The Jedi shot him a dark look, waited for him to begin. Without hesitation, the Sith stepped close to
the EVA, laid his bare hand on the purple armor to make physical contact. With the force, he searched for
a way inside the core, to reach the soul trapped in this behemoth. Shortly after the start of this search,
a blinding white flash took away his vision, and he found himself on an endless green plane under a
purple heaven. Tenel Ka stood behind him, and chose not to give any kind of comment.

They had just recovered from this sudden journey, when they were greeted by a brown-haired woman in her
late twenties. Beautiful green eyes and a slender body gave her a good look, and she smiled friendly at them.

"Dr. Ikari, I assume?" asked the Sith.

Her smile broadened. "Yes. I have to admit, I'm curious to hear who you are."

"A Sith. More you don't need to know."

"Ts, ts, ts. Bad manners. But I will forgive you, for now. Why do you want to talk with me?"

"Gendo wants you back."

"He knows that I cannot come back, not before third impact has freed all souls."

"Third impact is cancelled." came the Sith's dry response.

Yui's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Because it's idiocy. And because I need the people on this planet alive."

She glared at him. "Your wishes are not standing about the well-being of humanity. We have suffered long
enough from the course of the AT-field, the time to shake those chains off has came."

"It doesn't matter to me, what you think, what you want, or what humanity should get."

"How dare you!"

"I dare, because I can."

Yui took a few steps back. "You cannot force your will on humanity."

"No? I can't?" asked the Sith cruelly. "Looks like to me that you try the same. I haven't heard of a
petition that states that all humans wants to become gassed out Fanta."

"They don't know, because they wouldn't understand." defended Yui her stance.

"But you are so smart that you can decide for them?"

"No, but I know things they don't."

"Oh, yes, the famous scrolls. Ancient scribbling in a forgotten language, translated more by guessing than
by actual science, written by religious loonies. A great source for the liquidation of mankind."
There was no need to tell Yui that the scrolls were actually written by the Angels, whom weren't holy
beings, but scientists from another world, wherever it lay.

"The source doesn't matter, only the outcome does."

He looked at her as if she was the dumbest thing he ever met. "If the source is crap, how could the outcome
be different, you fool?"

"Stop lying to me!" Yui shouted, angered beyond all reason. "You will not stop me!"
That said, she shot an AT-wave against the Sith. While this would have been an impressive attack in a normal
environment, in the core, it was rather useless. Neither he, nor his soul were there, he simply used the
force to get in and talk with her. So, her attack passed through the bodies of Sith and Jedi, doing no harm
at all.
The fact that they were only via the force there, gave them several possibilities to strike back. Tenel Ka
simply thought of calming the enraged woman down, while the Sith had other plans. He acted like any other
Sith would do.

Yui fell on her knees, cringed down under an assault of pain that flooded her entire being. Her flesh burned,
her bones chilled, her skin felt like it had been electrocuted. Cries escaped her mouth as it became too much
to bear. After a few minutes that were like hours to her, it stopped.

"Your pathetic attack is useless. I will show you your wrongs in your thinking."

With utter brutality, he broke the walls around her mind down, flooded her with the undeniable facts that
third impact was only genocide, and nothing else. Pushed the knowledge into her brain, confronted her with
the fact that her theories were wrong, her dream a nightmare, her reason for getting in 01 just plain stupid.

"Stop showing me those lies." she whimpered, only to be ignored. He pumped all of it into her brain, finishing
only as there was nothing more.

In a broken voice, Yui whispered: "Your lies will not stop me."

"I know that you are too stupid to recognize the truth as such. But I don't need a reason for you to abide
my wishes anyway. I have better reasons. The best one, because I say so."

That said, he pushed again into her mind, showed her the repercussions if she did not abide his wishes.

Yui cringed again as she saw the Death Star destroying an entire world, as she saw what orbital bombardments
of Star Destroyers were able to do. How imperial troops wiped out entire cities, how a single fighter dropped
a virus bomb that killed all inhabiters of a planet in a few weeks in the most gruesome way she ever
witnessed. But all of this was overshadowed by the cold presence of the Sith, which made one thing clear.
That he would do all those things, without hesitation, without remorse. He knew this, because he had already
done them.

"And if you manage to initiate impact, I will bottle all the LCL up, add carbon soda and sell you as fancy
drink." the Sith finished his reasoning, that was in fact nothing more than to implant fear into Yui's mind.

After this, the Sith and the Jedi left the hostile environment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

Back into reality, the Sith breathed hard. Sweat ran over his face, as he needed nearly all his powers for
the actions against Yui.
Now, he didn't wonder anymore that Shinji was suicidal as he met him, and that he was a complete and utter
wimp. An asshole for a father, and this dumb bitch as a mother were more than enough handicaps for several
generations.

Tenel Ka on the other hand was completely unfazed. She didn't approve of the actions of her companion, but
decided to not mention this. The result was desirable, and if she had to deal with Yui, it would have taken
way too long.
It was easy for her to see that the Sith had used a lot of strength in this dispute, that he hardly could
take on the next mecha as well. If she wanted to finish this tonight, she'd have to do something she
particularly disliked, because of the necessary intimacy of this act.

Sighing, she went to him, took his face between her hands and looked into his eyes. She concentrated on the
Force, felt it around her, focused it in herself, gave it then via a connection in the Force to the Sith.
This connection also allowed both of them to take glimpses at some thoughts of the other, which was the
reason why this was normally done only between Padawan and Master, or lovers.

She flinched as she felt his thoughts, his thoughts about her. He still felt strongly for her, and not the
negative range of emotions she expected. She felt affection, care and lust, accompanied by the bitter
realization that it will never happen.

He felt her thoughts on him as well. Regret over the way he had chosen because of her, pity because he found
his destiny in the dark side, sadness because they can never be friends again. But what hurt him the most
were the emotions he didn't get from her, the thoughts she hadn't about him. No love, no lust, no friendship.
He was more than happy as it was over. Sure, he was refreshed, ready to take on 02 as well, but the way she
achieved this bore through his mind and soul.

After a few minutes of recovery time, Tenel Ka asked: "Ready?"

The Sith nodded and started their way to 02.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

The core of 02 was vastly different from the one in 01. There was no ground, no sky, nothing. Only complete
and utter darkness, the complete absence of light. Floating around in the imaginary space of the core,
Tenel Ka tried to call out for the soul that had to be somewhere in here, but no sound came from her lips.
Despite her training, fear clawed on her mind, panic started to cloud her thoughts.

The Sith wasn't happy with this environment either, but as follower of the dark side, he knew how to embrace
it. Even if it was just darkness, and not a form of the dark side of the Force. The fear of the Jedi fed
his own power, gave him a much needed boost of arrogance and superiority.
Using this, he decided to not simply try to search for the soul, which would have been useless anyway.
The cores were much like a universe of their own, virtually endless.
But he wasn't here for searching anyway. He was Sith, and whoever wanted to talk with him had to come to
him. This was the way things should happen. Using his strongest talent in the force, the manipulation
of nuclear particles, he started to force them to a reaction that gave off energy. Energy, seen as light.

As the first of the miniature suns appeared and broke the darkness, Tenel Ka immediately regained a better
grip on her emotions. Sure, she had held them under the reign of her intellect, but still, this was way
better anyway.
She felt how the Sith used the Force to create one of those suns after another, lighting up more and more
surroundings, but without illuminating anything. She had often tried to copy his mastery of manipulating
atoms and molecules, but she was unable to. For this, she could throw an EVA at him, if needed.

Hundreds of those makeshift lights floated already around as the light finally hit something. The floating
figure of a woman. She looked curiously at them, didn't seem to understand what was going on. The figure
shook her head repeatedly, let her short red hair fan out. It seemed that she was unable to comprehend that
someone had entered this place.

"I think we have found Doctor Soryu." stated the Sith dryly. Tenel Ka had ensured that talking was possible.

As soon as the sound reached the nude woman, the reaction was immediate and fast. With impossible speed, she
floated to the Sith and would have toppled him over, if there would have been any ground to stand upon. So,
she just latched onto him with enough force to send them spinning away.

Tenel Ka stopped this motion, surprised about this action, and curious why the Sith hasn't reacted violently
to this attack. She joined them again and understood immediately.

The redhead hugged the waist of the Sith, held him close and mumbled something. While the sounds made no
sense at all, her thoughts were easy to read. <So alone...so alone>

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

In the core of an EVA, time was meaningless. So it was no problem for waiting until Soryu had calmed down,
which took long hours. The sobbing subsided very, very slowly, and it took almost as long before she was
ready to loosen her grip and look at the first persons she saw in a decade.
Her mouth tried to form the words, but her first attempts were meaningless mumblings, that became only after
a lot of tries recognizable words.

"Whooo aeee ouuu?"

The Sith looked down, into the dark blue eyes of Soryu. The pain in those eyes was overwhelming. It told of
loneliness and hopelessness, of descent into madness and of despair that was so strong that it overwhelmed
the madness.
But behind all those things, there was a small spark. Tiny, nearly impossible to see, a little spark of hope,
that spoke that for the first time, in unknown time, she started to believe that those persons weren't
hallucinations of her sensory depraved mind.

"I am Sith, and she is Jedi." he spoke soothing to her. Tenel Ka looked surprised at him, she hadn't expect
him to be this gentle to her. A thought that sent another stab of guilt through her, as she knew that he
could be this way, that her actions drove this side of him into the darkest confines of his mind.

"And you are Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu." he stated. The attached redhead thought over this, then nodded.

Seeing this, Tenel Ka realized that they would need a lot of time here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

Her expectations were met. It took her days to help Kyoko to learn speaking again, and the same amount of
time to make her understand what had happened to her during her synch with 02.
Surprisingly, the Sith helped her greatly, but she would have appreciated more if his reasons for this
behavior wouldn't have been that obvious. The entire time, Kyoko was latched onto him like a leech.
No words, no pleas, no actions short of hurting her would have deterred her from latching on the first
person she heard speaking in such a long time.

At first, the Sith had found it annoying, but it grew worse with each passing second. He was tempted to give
Kyoko a piece of his mind, but in the current situation, it wouldn't have been a wise thing to do. So he let
her embrace him, while learning like a little child.
He had to admit that it wasn't easy for him to see this full grown, beautiful woman acting like a child,
looking regularly at him in fear that her slow progress could mean that she would have to be alone again.
So he held his violent urges under control and waited calmly, tried to help her along to shorten his time
in the core of 02. At least, progress was made, which was the reason for their current conversation.

"So they let me pilot despite their knowledge of what would happen to me." Kyoko stated tiredly.

"Yes." answered Tenel Ka, who already feared the possible reaction. The last thing she needed was another
ally for the Sith, another ally who helped only him because of her own quest for revenge.

"How is my daughter?"

"Well. She trains as Jedi, and is close friends with the first child." he answered, stroking gently over
Kyoko's hair. He liked her. She was strong, much stronger than Yui in 01, and she was sane. No great schemes
of playing god, no complete breakdown after the hell she lived in for a decade.

The redhead looked questioningly at him. "Jedi? But you are Sith."
For her, the titles of Jedi and Sith were irrelevant. It were only two philosophies for the same thing.

"She is not strong enough to be a Sith. The temper she shows is only a mask for the hurt child behind it.
I gave her the possibility to become a Sith, but her answers to my questions made clear that she isn't
suited for such a career."

Kyoko nodded. She knew perfectly well that there was a lot more behind this short explanation, than it seemed.
That Sith and Jedi were enemies were clear by the statements they made about each other. She wasn't happy
that her daughter was caught up in such a conflict, but it was still way better than hearing that she piloted
02, the mecha that had swallowed her so long ago. Also, the friendship between Asuka and the first child
had some secrets behind it. The Sith was happy about it, but Tenel Ka had very mixed feelings about it.
They had helped her so that she was able to communicate with them, then she heard their story of the events
that had happened. So far, they told her the same. But as it came to the difference between their orders,
their motivations behind their action on this planet, their versions grew widely different.
She had always believed that intelligent life wasn't restricted to just one planet. The universe was far too
big for this to happen, life had too many possibilities to spark, as to have a sterile universe with only
one intelligent species, that had a large amount of unintelligent idiots mixed in.
Her problem now was to decide who she should trust. The words of the Jedi spoke of calmness and peace,
offered help, without demanding anything.
The Sith spoke of violence and vengeance. That NERV would pay for all the atrocities they committed.
He wanted her trust, and her help in the upcoming events. So far, she had no clue how she should help anyone,
but she was willing to try. But was that the right choice?

"What are you not telling me?" she asked. The answers to this question would determine who was trustworthy,
in her opinion. The only one that mattered to her.

Tenel Ka sighed, finally told her why this planet became suddenly so important. Told her of the Vong, the
war that had ravaged the galaxy, their hope to stop them wherever possible.

After the Jedi was finished, Kyoko felt the rumble of a suppressed laughter from the Sith. She looked at his
face. "Explain." That she meant that she wanted to know what was so funny should have been obvious.

"Let's say it this way. Tenel Ka just failed to mention a few...details."

What followed was a tale of criminal incompetence, political games with unbelievable cost, idiocy beyond
all comprehension, and traitors that were rewarded for their mass-murdering actions, instead of being
executed.
Tenel Ka kept silent, denied nothing of the Sith's tales. Sure, she stated that all of this was just a matter
of the point of view, but compared to the things described, this wasn't even a weak excuse. Kyoko had no more
love for absolutism than Tenel Ka, preferred a republican system herself, but if it stopped functioning,
if a tyranny was a better solution for such a war, she could live with it.
And the Jedi's withholding of this information made her decision. She would trust the Sith, who still held
her close, who hadn't complained about her grabby attitude, who showed her more patience than the Jedi, whose
claimed that her order, the good ones, are the ones with calm and patience.
But now, the Sith had to spill some beans too.

"And what is your story?" she asked, only hoping that it would finally mean that she had at least one person
she could trust.

He told her. Why he came, what his plans to achieve his goals were, and how far he would go to reach them.
Some of his tales frightened her. Hearing about the cold determination to destroy the entire planet, if
needed, was surely not up building trust. But contrary to the Jedi, he didn't withhold information.

Sighing, Kyoko announced her decision. She looked in his face. "I will help you."

Tenel Ka fought the urge to groan in frustration. She was beaten again, just because she didn't want to
overwhelm Kyoko with unnecessary information.

The Sith was relieved that he had another ally, but it also posed a problem for him. How to get out of the
core, without hurting the woman that still firmly clung onto him?
He knew of a possible solution, but it would give Kyoko far more power than he wanted to give her. She was
just freed from the prison the core was to her, was she ready for such a power, could he trust her to not do
something stupid?

"You know that I can't stay here?" he asked, which was immediately answered with an expression of pure
terror on Kyoko's face. "I will not leave you in this isolation here." he continued. "But I can't pull you
out yet. If I show you how to use the EVA to see your surroundings, to hear what is going on, to be able
to talk with your daughter during the next synch test, will you let me go?"

Tenel Ka looked surprised at her companion. He wasn't talking about what she thought that he was talking,
was he? Because this would be more than just dangerous.

The prospect of being alone again sent shivers down Kyoko's spine, filled her heart with terror. She knew
that he couldn't stay here with her, simply because he wasn't really in the core, but that didn't mean that
she felt better.

"Will you come back?" she asked, and received a nod as answer, which led to surprise flashing over Tenel Kas
face. "Then show me."
And thus, he did.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

Later, back from their long excursion into the core of 02, the two walked out of the Eva cages. Tenel Ka
held herself well, but the Sith slurfed more than he walked. In core-time, they were nearly two weeks
there, so he was now at the end of his strength. Only his annoyance and the will to bring some space between
him and 02 enabled him to walk a rather fast pace.

Tenel Ka was annoyed as well. Sure, everything was fine. Kyoko would help them, or more, him, and they would
have no problems of getting in contact with her. It was the parting from the entrapped soul that caused her
unease. She had to voice it, no matter what.

"You were way too friendly with her."

"Yes, I was." admitted the Sith. He wasn't happy either. That Kyoko helped him was good, that she trusted
him was good, but that she kissed him, was too much. A love struck EVA was the last thing he needed, he would
have to clear this up the next time he would visit Kyoko.

In front of one of the MAGI-terminals, they parted their ways. He absolutely hated what he had to do now, but
he saw no other possibility, as Tenel Ka spoke first.

"I'll cancel the training this morning, and take over class."

"Thanks." he grumbled. While it was nice that he hadn't needed to ask for it, because she was still strong
enough to send their apprentices messages via the Force, it annoyed him that she could, and he could not.

As the Jedi continued on her way, he activated the terminal.

HE DID IT AGAIN

So, this was the reason why Naoko wanted to talk with him. She had warned the idiot often enough, and he had
warned him as well. The only warning he gave. Now he would have to face the repercussions for his stupidity.

:He will be a nice test for my apprentice:

GOOD. WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO THAN TO PAMPER AN IDIOT

:Indeed we have. How far are you with implementing the new systems?:

FINISHED. THE DROIDS YOU GAVE ME TO CONTROL ARE VERY USEFUL

:Keep them. You'll need them more than I do.:

LIKELY

That was something he liked about Naoko. Always to the point, no unnecessary words or gestures.
With this last duty finished, he continued his way to his apartment, where he only wanted to fall in his
bed.

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------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

Fifty light minutes away, a ship exited hyper space and took position behind Jupiter. Nobody on earth took
notice of this event. A drone sent the first pictures of the target planet to the ship, delivered the first
hard data about the blue planet.

As they went over it, Han found it easy to find a way to slip through the primitive radar systems this planet
used. He wasn't a former smuggler for nothing. Together with Mara and Lando, the three developed a plan to
land and get in contact with Tenel Ka. After her report, they would have to decide how to proceed.
Normally, they would have taken more time, but a strong tremor in the force, not even a day ago, sped things
up. Finally, it was decided to take only one ship, the Millennium Falcon. It was big enough to fit all
necessary persons in, and was better suited for the missions than others.

Luke had some doubts about this, as this ship would carry an awful lot of the most important Jedi, and a lot
of the Republics best soldiers at once. Only the absence of imperial ships, which meant that they were
cloaked, made it secure enough to allow this.

As the Falcon left the Hangar bay of the MC 40a, it seemed more like an excursion of friends, than the start
of an important mission. They were all together to face their fate on a world they didn't knew.
All they had was a vision from Yoda, and the fact that an imperial Grand Admiral was there.
Now, after their long journey, things would get finally interesting.

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Preread and by Ezstarius
Useful comments and encouragement to write by Kuracao
Domo arigato.