Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ Saint Nephilim ❯ Prelude ( Prologue )

SAINT NEPHILIM

 

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

 

Notes: This is a crossover between Evangelion and Saint Seiya. Once again I'm using my favourite character of all the series: Rei Ayanami.

 

This scene is directly taken from the fight with the sixteenth Angel Armisael from Neon Genesis Evangelion episode 23.

 

 

 

Prelude

 

 

Misato Katsuragi felt nervous as she examined the new Angel which appeared within their defensive perimeter without warning. She glanced up to the command deck but refrained from asking again the permission to deploy Shinji. She knew that Gendo Ikari would refuse. Sighing inwardly, she redirected her attention to the only pilot currently on the field. “Rei! We watch the status for a while.”

 

Rei Ayanami blinked as she examined the sixteenth Angel through her sensors. It was still the same as before: A large glowing floating torus with a double helix structure. She blinked again as some sort of instinct whispered within her. “No. It's coming.”

 

As if it was sensing the presence of the Eva-00, the Angel changed its shape, assuming a single luminous thread form which raced to the flat-footed Eva.

 

Misato gasped: So fast! “Rei, accept battle!”

 

Makoto cringed as the Armour status of the Eva began to change too rapidly on his console. “NO! NO TIME.”

 

Armisael lashed through the battlefield and pierced Unit 00's AT field with deconcerting facility up to its undeveloped core and began to fuse with the Eva.

 

Shigeru snarled a curse as the MAGI system delivered its analysis. “Target physically contacted to Unit Zero.”

 

Misato leaned to better see the rapidly changing parameters of the war-machine. “Unit Zero's AT Field is?”

 

Maya shook her head. “Developing, but being penetrated.”

 

Ritsuko paled as she suddenly understood what was going on. “That Angel is positively trying the first level contact to Unit Zero?”

 

Aboard Eva-00, Rei whimpered as the bio-feedback through the A10 Nerve Clip made her own body reacting exactly like the artificial flesh of the unit. Already ridges began to grow where the Angel had penetrated her Eva. Pain flashed like a red-hot knife through her perception and she used her considerable experience to focus through it in order to continue her mission and her duty.

 

Maya's eyes widened as the status of the internal structure of the Eva flashed red on her console. “Danger! Unit Zero's Bio parts are being penetrated.”

 

Misato snarled. Dammit! It was like what happened when the thirteenth Angel tried to fuse with the arm of Eva-00. Unfortunately, they couldn't cut off the infected portion here since the bio-feedback would likely kill Rei. Only one thing to do! “Eva Unit Two, Sortie! Make her rescue Rei, and cover.”

 

Rei gripped the control-handle with white-knuckle strength, trying to focus outside the pain as the infection progressed within Eva-00 and within her own body through the bio-feedback.

 

Maya was keying commands at unbelievable rate, trying to help the pilot by jump-starting every procedures of protection she could remember and a few she made on the spot, but the fusing progress continued unhindered. “Progressing, and penetrating further.”

 

Ritsuko didn't intervene. At this stage, Maya was doing everything they could do on their level. Only an outside intervention by another unit could save Unit Zero. “Dangerous. 5 percent has already been bio-fused.”

 

The red silhouette of Eva-02 suddenly appeared in the nearer elevator on the battlefield.

 

Misato nodded. There was still time. “Asuka, approach 300 more, and develop A.T. field, fire the palette gun aiming at Target's back part. Alright? Eva Unit Two, Lift off!”

 

Misato blinked. Unit Two was still standing on the elevator. What was happening? “Sortie! Asuka! What's wrong?” She turned to Maya. There was, perhaps a hardware problem, like what happened to Unit One at the first sortie against the fifth Angel. “Unit two's status?”

 

Maya was speechless. She couldn't be reading those numbers on her console. “No way, Syncro ratio is under 10%.” The Eva was nothing more than a giant status at this ratio.

 

On the verge of panicking, Misato turned to the communication screen. “Asuka!”

 

Full of doubt about herself because of her physical trashing by the fourteenth Angel and still traumatized by her mental rape by the fifteenth Angel, Asuka was leaning prostrated on her control handles. She could only whisper hopelessly with a broken voice. “Does not move, Does not move!”

 

Misato gulped. Even with this ratio, Asuka could still be killed by a fatal bio-feedback. “This way, she will be a victim. Retrieve!” She made a peremptory gesture to the crew. “Immediately!”

 

Armisael would have smiled if it could have truly understood what is a smile. The fusing process was now sufficiently advanced to partially merge with and contact mentally the Children piloting the Eva.

 

Rei stilled despite the pain as she felt something touching or more exactly reaching through her connection with her Unit. “Who? Me? Me within Eva.” She could discern a silhouette like her on the mental plane full of symbolic she used when she pilot Unit Zero. “No, I feel someone else than me.” The other Rei-like humanoid was also currently floating outside the LCL which seemed to glue her. “Who are you? Angel? The being that we call Angel?”

 

Rei-Armisael looked through its dual perception of its celestial senses and the partial merging with Eva and the imperfect understanding of the abomination in front of it due to its own celestial nature which had great difficulty to fully understand the mortal plane. “Don't you be unified with me?”

 

Rei's eyes opened and she stared at her enemy. Revulsion churned within her as she began to truly understand the ordeal of her fellow pilot, Asuka Soryu Langley. Those…constructs acted without understanding all the consequences of their actions, just as her in the beginning. Angels were supposed to be friends of Mankind, but the premature Trial of Humanity was screwing everything. “No. I am I, not you.”

 

Rei-Armisael blinked and seemed to ponder on the words of the First Children. “Hmm, but you shall.” Despite its inherent nature, the Angel of the Womb had a duty and duty come first for the Messengers of God. “It's too late.” It could feel pity for the abomination. She was following her own duty to the end and it was something it could respect. In fact, it could help her to reach completion before her inevitable demise. “I give you part of my mind.” The celestial being focused on the partial merging between it and her. There was something that this stunted being couldn't understand on her own. “I give you this emotion. Pain, see, your mind has a pain.”

 

Rei frowned as she perceived her own perception of herself filtered through the mixing of the celestial senses of the Angel and her own Eva. “Pain? No, something different.” Emotions weren't a novelty for her, understanding of them was the true problem. “Loneliness. Yes. Lonely.”

 

Rei-Armisael experienced something novel for it. It couldn't sense how the abomination could have reached this point. “Lonely? I don't understand.”

 

Rei was focused on her connection with the Angel and what she could now understand, both about her and the celestial being. “You hate being alone? We are many, though you hate being alone. That's called loneliness.”

 

Rei-Armisael realised too late that it was now itself infected by the mortal point of view of the First Children. Like many of its brothers, it was trapped by the sheer intensity of the mortal emotions and could only acknowledge her victory. Although it will manage to destroy physically her, Rei was the winner of the mental contest. “That's your mind. Full of sadness. That's your own mind.”

 

Rei was suddenly yanked back on the physical plane as a physical manifestation of her understanding occurred. She could feel a liquid sliding along her cheeks. Bewildered, she put her hands on her face and could only acknowledge the evidence of her tears. “These are tears. It's I that is crying.” For the first time since her activation the second clone of Rei, vessel of the soul of Lilith had truly understood her emotions.

 

Only a few instants had passed for the command deck. Misato was furiously trying to find a solution as it appeared that a mental intrusion from the Angel was happening. She feared another and possibly worse catastrophe like what happened to Asuka with the last Angel. “Rei!”

 

Gendo frowned. If Rei was being contaminated to the point to develop genuine emotions, his entire precious scenario was in jeopardy. Well, he had still a trump in his sleeve. Two, in fact, if Shinji was unable to save Rei. “The freeze of Unit One is cancelled right now. Sortie as soon as possible.”

 

Misato sharply turned to the command level. “Eh?”

 

Gendo remained in his standard ominous pose. “Sortie!” It was perhaps a good thing. According to her new psychological profile, the actual Rei was considering discarding his direct orders in favour of his son's welfare. The next clone should reveal itself more malleable for the scenario.

 

Misato inwardly frowned. It was in complete contradiction with what she knew for now. “Yes sir!”

 

Aboard her retrieving Unit Two, Asuka snorted without strength as she heard the absurd order. “What's that? Last time, he did not use that for me.” What was her true value for NERV command and for Gendo if they acted like that when the `Doll' was in danger.

 

Misato activated the view-screen to Shinji as Eva-01 was rapidly unfrozen and taken to a catapult. “Develop AT Field, Rescue Rei! Immediately!”

 

Shinji almost calmly looked back to his guardian. He had invested too much in his two fellow pilots to not act. Failure was not an option. “Yes!”

 

Unit One emerged from an elevator and Shinji focused to deploy his AT Field. Armisael immediately detected the field and reacted instantly. The Angel maintained contact with Unit Zero and its other extremity lashed in direction of Eva-01.

 

Rei gasped as she perceived the attack through her own senses and the Angel's senses because of her partial merging with it. “Ikari-kun!”

 

Shinji managed to dodge the initial thrust but lose his palette rifle. He was forced to use his hand to block the reverse attack and Armisael take advantage of it and began to fusion with the material of the Unit's hand. “Ah!”

 

With horror, Rei understood that Armisael was using her own emotions as the reason behind the attack. Through her newly understood perception, she wanted to become one with Shinji. “This is my mind, which wishes to be unified with Ikari-kun.” The First Children had realized that she deeply cared more for the Third Children than she thought when Toji Suzuhara told him exactly that. “No!” Two Children and one Angel. Only one of them could walk away alive from this battle. There was no hesitation. Gendo Ikari had no longer the same weight in her heart as the young Ikari. She focused on the AT Field of her Unit.

 

Maya breathed sharply as the status of Unit Zero changed again suddenly. “AT Field Reversed. Being Penetrated at once!”

 

Ritsuko blinked. What was the intention of the First Children. “To hold Angel?”

 

Misato thought rapidly. If they managed to hold the Angel at the same place for Shinji to act decisively, like a little what happened with the fourth Angel. It would need the sacrifice of the Eva, but it was a good trade. “Rei! abandon the Unit and escape!”

 

Rei activated without hesitation a control on her Entry Plug, revealing a red handle. “No, If I escape, AT field will disappear. So, I don't escape.” She pulled up the handle: The still undeveloped core of the Unit began a feedback loop with the energy received from its Umbilical Cable and its internal batteries.

 

Misato could only look with horror as she realized what were the true intentions of the blue-haired girl. “Rei, going to die?”

 

Maya couldn't look at the screen, she could only stare at the numbers on her console. “The core is collapsing, breaking through the critical point.”

 

Still crying, Rei whirled around as she perceived something. A vision of a smiling Gendo Ikari looked back at her. Her tearing red eyes widened as the genetic memory of Yui Ikari within her suddenly understood the betrayal of the one person she thought she truly and fully understood. `NO! It can't end like this! He will destroy everyone for nothing! Even my replacement will be unable to counter him!'

 

`SO BE IT.'

 

Unit Zero and the Angel exploded on the main screen under the horrified eyes of the command crew. “WOW…!”

 

Shigeru could only stare at his console. “Target disappeared.”

 

Misato's eyes were obscured by her bangs. Her voice was completely neutral. “The operation finished right now. Move to the alert of the first kind.”

 

Makoto's voice matched his superior's. “Understood. Move to the Situation Yellow, immediately.”

 

Misato didn't turn to her, but the whisper of her voice reached Maya. “Unit Zero's status?”

 

Maya didn't want to answer, but… “Entry plug ejection not recognized.”

 

Misato didn't know how she did it, but she managed to control her voice. Her emotions were burning under the ice of her appearance. “Rescue the survivor.”

 

Ritsuko didn't look at her friend. She was oddly both happy and sad by the apparent death of the First Children. “You mean, if there is a survivor.” After all, she just had to activate another clone, should this one reveal itself to be destroyed.

 

Misato managed to NOT savagely punch the blonde. She could feel her nails piercing the skin of her palms. “Uggg.”

 

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Finally, after hours of work and searching, someone managed to locate what was left of the Entry Plug of Eva-00. It was surprisingly intact after the violent explosion which completely vaporized the Angel.

 

Fully suited in a biological suit, a member of the staff signalled to Ritsuko as he opened the rescue trap of the Plug. “Dr. Akagi.”

 

Ritsuko gasped, bewildered as she looked into the Entry Plug. Nothing remained. She could see the command chair, severely burned by the intense heat of the explosion, but there was nothing else. No remains of biological parts of the First Children, no LCL, not even a scrap of the Plug Suit, absolutely nothing! And it was impossible. Rei couldn't be alive and even if it was the case, she couldn't have extracted herself from the Plug. All the accesses had been flash-sealed by the explosion. What was going on?

 

Ritsuko managed to gather her wits. Gendo had already ordered her to activate the next clone and the procedure was currently progressing normally. In a few hours, they could announce the miracle survival of the First Children and everything would be on track for the scenario of Gendo Ikari. If Rei had survived, she couldn't have retrieved and transferred the soul of Lilith in the third vessel. Gendo couldn't support any flagrant deviation to his master plan. Revealing this anomaly could lead to her premature death.

 

Fortunately, SHE was in control of the scientific staff. She turned to the technician with her. “This is a top secret. Scavenge the plug. Flush and thoroughly wash the internal parts and dispose of any biological matter you could find.”

 

The technician wasn't an idiot. Idiots didn't survive for long in NERV. “Understood.” He turned to another technician. “Do it immediately.”

 

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Notes: What happened to Rei II?

 

Is she still alive?

 

If she was, how did Rei III could have been activated.

 

Stay with me for the next chapter.