Babylon 5 and its characters with the exception of Epsilon Squad were created by J. Michael Straczynski and copyrights are held by Warner Bros. And TNT. The characters of Epsilon Squad, as well as the characters of Rei Ayanami-Miranami and Danielle Asuka Langley are my own creation. Please ask for my permission to use them in your own fics. Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Project Eva and copyrights are held by Gainax in Japan and A.D. Vision in the U.S. Please let me know if there are any other copyright holders for either series I may have missed, as I'm not out to make any sort of material gain; I'm merely expressing my interest in both these series. In other words, please don't sue me. Author's Notes: This story takes place during Season 5 of Babylon 5, after #99 "Phoenix Rising" and before #103 "Darkness Ascending." To make this story work, I took the events in Evangelion and plopped them into the Babylon 5 universe at the same time as they actually occurred (2000-2015). The following events occurred in the B5 universe at the same time as in Eva: Episodes 1- 24, followed by the events of the Rebirth and End of Evangelion movies. This story takes place in 2262. For purposes of this story, episodes 25 and 26 never happened. Previously on Babylon 5: The Earthforce Special Ops Destroyer Perry came to Babylon 5 after discovering the Angels have resurfaced on a planet in Sector 999 known as M-235. Commander Rei Ayanami-Miranami, the Perry's captain, informed the command staff, President Sheridan, and Ambassador Delenn about the potential threat posed by the Angels and they agree to provide whatever assistance may be required. Afterwards, Rei downloaded all the data on the Angels into Babylon 5's computers. She was then confronted by Danielle Asuka Langley, a one-time Starfury pilot who was discharged after encountering the 17th Angel at the Battle at Proxima-3 last year. She told Rei about her true past as revealed by her hacking into the Magi system. The 15th Angel arrived and fighter squads were scrambled. Then the 11th Angel awakened and infected Babylon 5's computers. Outside the station, Jesa Marason was the first pilot to penetrate the 15th Angel's AT Field and was psychologically attacked by it. As an fyi, Part 7 also gets a bit on the dark side. Well, enough of the preliminaries, let's get on with it! Babylon 5: Angels A Babylon 5 / Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover by Mark Craig Part 7 - She Said, "Don't Make Others Suffer For Your Personal Hatred." When the light faded, Jesa was back in his Starfury facing the lightning-shaped Angel. Eva-02 was nearby once again and had just shattered the Angel's AT Field. His plan actually worked; everyone had been able to weaken the field enough for Danielle to break it. "Commander Marason, are you all right?" Danielle asked. "Jesa, are you okay?" Laura broke in, concern in her voice. "What happened?" "I'm okay, I think I just got too close," Jesa said, realizing for the first time he was breathing and sweating heavily. Then the realization hit him like a wall. "It was the Angel. It attacked me with something telepathic. It got in my head, twisted my memories to try and influence me." He suddenly glared at the Angel. "It was you all along, wasn't it, Angel!?" he thundered, his voice now sounding crazed, deranged, and not quite human. "You played roller derby in my head!" He powered up his plasma cannons. "Computer, deactivate all plasma cannon safety locks. Authorization Epsilon-2-0-0-5." "Confirmed," the Starfury's computer replied. "You manipulated my memories of my friends for your own purposes, Angel! How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!!!!" "Commander, no, Jesa, wait," Danielle said. With the yell of a man possessed, Jesa opened fire on the Angel with all four plasma cannons continuously blazing. I know the promises I made, Danielle, but you'll never realize what this thing did to me. Never! Nor will anyone else! Die, Angel! "Man," Rico said over the comm channel, "what the hell did that thing do to him?" "I don't know," Laura admitted, "and I don't really think I want to find out, either. The last time he was anything like this was after he was forced to kill Jenelle Andrews. The Charleston chose that moment to come out of a jumppoint and Jesa just blew it to hell." "This Angel messes with your mind," Danielle said. "It plays on your fears, your regrets, your memories. It's the same thing that happened to my ancestor and the last pilot of this Eva, Soryu Asuka Langley." "Laura, look at his plasma cannons," Rico advised. She did so, noting all four plasma cannons on Jesa's Starfury were glowing almost white-hot. To call them dangerously overheated would be a major understatement. Oh, no, she thought. He had to have overridden the safety locks on the plasmas. If he keeps this up for much longer, he'll be living permanently among these stars. His exploding 'Fury will see to that. "Danielle," Laura said urgently, "get rid of this Angel and I don't care how you do it. Rico, help her out. Concentrate fire to weaken the Angel at the target area for the longinus spear. Shanna, you're with me." "Right," Rico and Shanna said. Laura and Shanna angled their Starfuries towards Jesa's and approached him from behind. "Okay, Shanna, we're going to grapple him and pull him away. Hopefully getting it out of his line of view will be enough to get him to stop firing." "And if not?" Shanna asked. "We'll worry about it if it comes to that." If this doesn't work, we'll have to shear off his plasma cannons, and carefully at that. In their state, a ruptured weapons conduit would do the job of lighting him up like a Roman candle just as well. "Right," Shanna agreed. Laura and Shanna pulled to either side of Jesa's Starfury, Laura to the left, Shanna to the right. The plasma cannons now fully white- hot. They can't take much more of this. "You ready, Shanna?" "As I'll ever be," Shanna admitted. "Now!" Both Starfuries extended their grapples and grabbed the upper thrusters simultaneously. With their actions in complete sync, they turned Jesa's Starfury away from the Angel. Jesa felt the contact of the two grapples and saw they started pulling him away. "Hey!" he protested. "Epsilon 3 and 4, what the hell do you think you're doing?! That Angel's not dead yet." "Neither are you, Jesa," Laura shot back, "but you soon will be if you don't stop firing." "Let me go!" Jesa howled, trying to use his thrusters to break free. "Shanna, hold him," Laura said. "I'm on it. He's not going anywhere." "Let me go, damn you!" Jesa yelled. "That Angel has to be destroyed!" "Not while we're saving your life!" Laura said firmly, brooking no argument. "Jesa, do you realize how close you were to getting yourself killed?" "What are you talking about?" Jesa demanded. "Check the temps on your plasma cannons," Laura told him. "What the hell for?" "Just do it." Jesa finally heard the warning beeps in his cockpit. He was so single-minded he was completely oblivious to the fact. He checked the temperature reading on his weapons. The display flashed rapid reds and whites as the indicators for all four cannons showed temperatures well over 2700 degrees. He shuddered at that; Jesa and his Starfury would go up like torches if the plasmas exceeded 2800 degrees. A few more seconds of that and I would've been incinerated. With a deliberate motion he powered down the cannons, his rage quelled with this development. He nearly tore off his flight helmet, brought his gloved hands to his face, and started to cry. Within a few minutes of leaving C&C, Rei left the station in Thunderbolt Omega, aiming it directly for the Angel. She noted it had lost its AT Field according to her scanners and decided to take a closer look. After all, as she said to Lochley, there was nothing more she could do for Babylon 5; it was only a matter of getting the program from Melchior. The other Starfury squads were flying around the Angel allowing Eva-02 to do its job. Still others were escorting ambassadorial ships to areas of safety outside the station. Good move for the sake of the Interstellar Alliance, Rei thought. She could see Eva-02 had already struck the Angel with what looked like the longinus spear. A Starfury was flanking it, firing at the Angel while two others were pulling a red-and-gold one away from the Angel. By the look of it and given the nature of this particular Angel, Rei had an idea as to what happened to the pilot of the red Starfury. She wondered why other pilots weren't being affected the same way; the Angel seemed to just ignore them. The Angel's AT Field was down and it looked like Danielle Asuka Langley had things well in hand, so she angled her Thunderbolt towards the red Starfury. I hope he didn't suffer the way Danielle's ancestor Asuka did, she thought grimly. "Thunderbolt Omega to Perry," Rei said. "Looks like the Eva may have the 15th Angel beat, but it probably attacked one of the Starfury pilots. I'm going in to render assistance to them." "Roger that, Omega," Akagi replied. "What's the status of receiving the program from Nerv headquarters?" "They're accessing Melchior now and they report we'll have it in about thirty minutes." That's cutting it close. "Understood. Move the Perry a safe distance away from Babylon 5, just in case the 11th Angel's growth accelerates." "Will do, Commander." With that, Rei sped up towards the trio of linked Starfuries. Once Lt. D'Amico and Lt. Adams pulled Marason to safety, Danielle thrust in at the Angel, Rico on her left flank, and within seconds drove the longinus spear into the center of the Angel. Rico added to the Angel's problems by firing pinpoint controlled shots at that same spot, not the wild, uncontrolled rapid-fire shots Jesa was using. The Angel began to flicker; its power starting to wane. Danielle thrust the longinus spear deeper into the Angel. And a bluish glow began encompassing the Eva. It filtered into the entry plug, giving everything a bluish hue. What is this? she wondered. Is this what happened to Jesa? Is this what happened to Asuka, Angel? No, it can't be. The glow's starting to fade, this Angel's dying. So what the hell is it? She thrust the longinus spear deeper into the Angel. The Angel itself continued to fade bit by bit. The longinus spear itself also acquired the same bluish glow. Then in what had to be a last-ditch effort the Angel seemed to lash out at her psychically. She winced as she felt someone digging into her mind, then she suddenly felt her whole world go black. Danielle found herself floating in the Terminal Dogma above the LCL pool. She remembered this place from what Kaworu had showed her back at Proxima-3. A human figure stood knee-deep in the LCL pool looking down. Danielle could tell she had reddish-brown hair and the Eva-02 plug suit. It was then she noticed herself wearing her old Earthforce uniform. The person looked up at her and Danielle immediately recognized her as her ancestor, Soryu Asuka Langley, looking as she did before the 15th Angel got to her. "Hello, Danielle," Asuka said, her voice echoing in the Terminal Dogma. "You are Asuka, aren't you?" Danielle asked. "I'm the part of you known as Asuka," came the response. "The part of you which enabled you to understand the Angels for what they really were. The part of you which enabled you to pilot the Evangelion. And the part of you which felt as I did." "But why are you here?" "I wanted to thank you, Danielle," Asuka replied. "Thank you for avenging what Ariel did to me so long ago. Inner peace has finally come for me, and it was thanks to you." "I don't understand," Danielle said. Asuka shook her head. "Don't be concerned about that. You will Understand soon, I think." "Were you always with me?" Danielle asked. "Yes," Asuka replied, nodding. "I lay in the eternal sleep in the innermost corners of your mind. Your Terminal Dogma, if you will. Your encounter with Kaworu at Proxima-3 awakened me. He was also known as the Angel of free will. He felt regret over what Ariel did. So much so he awakened what was inside you because the time for retribution would soon be at hand. In essence, he awakened me. Your destiny was the same as mine from that time on, until now." "Why until now?" Danielle asked, confused. "You have defeated Ariel, thus you have fulfilled my destiny. Your purpose with Evangelion Unit 02 has been fulfilled. That is why you wear the Earth Alliance uniform. It is your destiny now, as it was before." "But you didn't answer my question. Why does it have to end?" "It must, for your sake. There is an even greater battle yet to come, Danielle. A great and terrible battle which could decide the fate of everything. The Evangelion is not for you anymore. For this battle it is meant for another. You have your own destiny to fulfill now." "What will happen to you?" Danielle asked with some concern. "I will leave you now," Asuka replied in reassurance. "You will become as you were before I was awakened." "But who will pilot Unit 02?" "I assure you, there is another." "But Earthforce thinks I'm insane. I've been psych-discharged, Babylon 5 Security's got alerts out for me. Without Unit 02, I don't have anything anymore." "Don't be so sure about that, Danielle. You still have a part to play in what is to come, and I believe it will be in what you do best. I believe those in Earthforce will have the wisdom to allow you to do what must be done. The Evangelion has a destiny the same as you, the same as the other who will pilot it. And it's all going to converge in one place." "What place?" "Where you found the Evangelion. Where the Angels underwent rebirth. Now the time has come for us to part forever. Remember me, Danielle. Remember the fight we shared, for we are forever connected yet apart. Farewell." As Asuka started to turn away, Danielle said. "Wait, Asuka." She turned around. "Yes?" "Thank you for helping me see what must be. And thank you for just being what you are." Asuka nodded and smiled. "And thank you again for everything you did. Now Shinji and I can be truly together in a better place where no shadows will ever fall upon us. Take care, Danielle, and remember." With that said, Asuka faded away, leaving Danielle all alone in the Terminal Dogma. She awoke back in Eva-02 to witness the end. The Angel shimmered for several long moments then slowly broke apart The longinus spear glowed a blinding blue and shattered, sending Eva-02 floating back. Shards of light from the Angel spread out in all directions, illuminating the immediate area before it all faded to nothingness. And so it ends, Angel! For all of us, it ends. She noticed she had no further control of the Eva after the Angel's demise. What the hell? Is this what Asuka was talking about? Synch rate now zero. Neural connections zero. Then what Asuka said came back to her mind. "It is meant for another." And Danielle understood, she finally understood. The part which appeared as Asuka was a separate part of her. A dual personality, and she was whole once again. The duality was what enabled her to pilot the Eva, and now there was only Danielle Asuka Langley. Her two sides merged into one once again. For this she felt tears begin to flow; tears of joy. Finally she could put all this behind her and get her life back. She looked around and saw a Thunderbolt assisting Lt. D'Amico and Lt. Adams in getting Jesa back to the station. From the Nerv insignia, she guessed it was being piloted by Commander Ayanami-Miranami. Wonder Girl's a little late this time, she mused. Now that the Angel was defeated, she had time to reflect. She could only imagine what Jesa had gone through, and her heart went out to him. No longer was Jesa Marason the enemy pilot in the red Starfury she had hated so ever since Proxima-3. Something else began to form there instead of hatred, though she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Still, there would be time to explore that, provided they lived through what was to come. Activating the manual thrusters, she turned the Eva to assist the others in bringing Jesa back to Babylon 5. Still, she couldn't help feeling a little mischievous and opened the comm channel. "What happened, Wonder Girl?" she asked. "You missed all the fun. We killed the Angel without help from Nerv." "So you did," Rei replied. "Congratulations. You did kill the one out there. But the question now is: Did they kill the one inside Babylon 5? This could turn out to be a very short celebration, Danielle Asuka Langley." Danielle was shocked. "What!? Another one of these things got on the station?" "The 11th Angel," Rei affirmed. "It's the same one which infected the three Magi supercomputers in Nerv headquarters in 2015, nearly succeeding in forcing them to agree to the self-destruct commands the Angel had issued. Lochley's essentially closed down the station except to allow the ambassadors to leave." "And that's in Babylon 5's computers?" D'Amico asked, alarmed. "Yes." "That means we can't go home yet," Rico said. "No, we can't," Rei said. "But there are 250,000 people on Babylon 5," D'Amico added. "It'd take up to five days to evacuate the whole damn station." "I don't think it's giving us five days," Rei said. "If we can't stop it with the same program used to kill it the last time, the station will explode in less than thirty minutes." "Oh, hell," Jesa broke in over the link. "Jesa?" Danielle said, trying to hide the surprise in her voice. "Are you all right?" "As well as can be expected," Jesa admitted, his voice sounding raw. "Is it dead?" "Yes, it's dead," Danielle assured him. She could hear him breath a sigh of relief. "Good. Laura, Shanna, thanks for getting me out of there. That Angel had me so screwed up I didn't realize how far gone I was." "Anytime, Jesa," D'Amico said amiably. "What are friends for?" "Now if you guys don't mind, I think I can fly myself home." D'Amico gave a small laugh. "Yeah, he's back to normal. Okay, Shanna, let him go." She and Adams released Jesa's Starfury and retracted their grapples. "Any other casualties?" Jesa asked. "Surprisingly, none," D'Amico said. "It just seemed to ignore everyone else. But why did it go after you." "Probably because I was the first to break through the AT Field," Jesa said. "Well, though you seem fine, I think Dr. Franklin should take a look at you when we get back to make sure the Angel didn't leave any nasty surprises." "Laura, since when did you become my mother?" Jesa asked. "Since she met us, Jesa," Rico said suddenly. "I thought you'd know that by now." "Very funny, Vazquez," Jesa said. He then seemed to notice the strange Thunderbolt nearby. "And may I ask who you might be?" "Commander Rei Ayanami-Miranami of the Earthforce Special Operations Frigate Perry," Rei replied. "A pleasure to meet you, Lt. Commander Marason." "You're a Nerv officer, right?" Jesa queried. "That's right." "Hmm. Never met anyone from Nerv before. Don't let this incident mislead you, Commander. You're not exactly catching me at my best." "Understandable, Commander. And I think Lt. D'Amico's right. You should report to Medlab once we're back on-station." "You might be right, but I feel fine. I'll probably never sleep well again after today, but other than that, I think I'm okay." "But you should check with Dr. Franklin anyway," Adams suggested. "Gee, I didn't know anyone cared," Jesa said sarcastically. "Okay, okay, I'll go pay the Doc a visit assuming we can get back." The situation in C&C was becoming critical. Systems began going down one by one due to the Angel's infection. Main power went down on Blue-10 through Blue-18, Red-6 through Red-18 and Red-34, and Green-2, Green-5, and Green-12. Also almost all of Brown Sector was without main power. Life support down in Green-8 and Blue-21. Lochley checked her status boards again. It became easier to list the functioning systems than the nonfunctioning ones. And the fusion reactor pressure was at 85% of maximum tolerance and was continuing to rise. Babylon 5 was a dying station in mere minutes unless the Perry got that Nerv program. Lochley hit upon an idea. "Lt. Corwin, initiate a shutdown of all Nonessential systems and the fusion reactor. Shut down everything infected first, then everything else." "The reactor? Captain, I-" "You don't have to shut it down cold, Lieutenant. Once the Angel is dealt with, a hot restart will only take about ten minutes. If we shut down the infected systems, it might slow the Angel down and buy us a little more time." "Yes, ma'am." "Conduct all shutdowns according to reduced-power protocols." "Aye, ma'am," Corwin said. "Computer, initiate complete shutdown of all nonessential systems, a hot shutdown of the fusion reactor, close down defense grid, and reduce life support to minimum levels." "Command authorization required." "Authorization Alpha-2-1-5-8-Tau-6," Lochley added, "passcode Two words: Zoe's dead." "Confirmed." The lighting in C&C dimmed to half-normal as systems began shutting down and the station went into reduced-power mode. Lochley saw the Angel's progress slowed by the shutdown and allowed herself a moment to breathe. It was to be short-lived, though. Moments after the procedure was completed the systems came back up until the station was back at full power. "Corwin, what the hell's going on?" Lochley demanded. "The Angel's overriding our commands, Captain," Corwin said. "Its growth is spiking exponentially." "Damn," Lochley swore. "I think we just made it mad. Okay, then. Lieutenant, contact Maintenance and get the reactor shut down manually. Pull the plug out of the wall if you have to, but get that reactor shut down." "I'm on it," Corwin said and got on the link. Lochley got on her link as well. "Babylon Control to Perry, status on that program." "The transfer from Melchior is almost complete, Captain," Akagi said. "Give us two more minutes." Several consoles in C&C blew out in showers of sparks. An acrid smoke floated on the command deck. "I'd say that's about all you've got," Lochley said. "Roger that, Babylon Control." "Captain, all fighter squads report the 15th Angel has been defeated," Asa reported. "Tell them to hold position until we get this Angel out of our systems," Lochley ordered. "At least someone will survive if we go." "The last of the ambassadorial ships has left," Corwin said. "Has President Sheridan boarded his shuttle?" Lochley asked. "Negative, Captain. They say they're staying with the civilians." Lochley shook her head. Of all the times to be bull-headed to the point of idiocy, why did he have to pick now? "Captain," Corwin broke in, "Commander Akagi's on the link." Lochley opened the channel. "This is Babylon Control. Go ahead, Perry." "Captain Lochley, the transfer from Melchior is complete. Sending to your console now. Just instruct your computers to activate program 'Akagi 3:16' and let it do the rest." "Will do, and thanks." "Just come out of this alive. That'll be thanks enough." "Transfer of data complete," the computer said a moment later. This is it. "Computer, activate program 'Akagi 3:16.'" "Commencing." Lochley turned her attention to the displays which showed the Approximate growth of the Angel. The Angel's growth accelerated even faster than it did before, becoming even more defined. Lochley first thought the program had only sped up their eventual demise, but then she realized the program's true intent: to accelerate the Angel's evolution beyond its capacity. In effect the program helped the Angel kill itself. Within moments it was over. Akagi 3:16 had done its job, eradicating the Angel from all of Babylon 5's systems. The computer's next message confirmed it. "Program execution complete. 11th Angel eliminated." "It's gone," Corwin said in relief. "All systems returning to normal. Reactor pressure and temperature dropping to normal. StellarCom system on-line. Defense grid normal. Power and life support returning to all affected areas." Lochley leaned back on the rail behind her station above the pit of C&C consoles below. She took a deep breath, relieved this fight was over. "Lieutenant, contact all the fighters and diplomats," Lochley said. "Bring them all home. Open blast doors and secure from station alert." "With pleasure, Captain," Corwin replied. The process of returning the fighters and diplomatic ships to the station took several hours. When their turn came, Jesa led Epsilon Squad back to the main docking bay. Following them were Rei in Thunderbolt Omega and Danielle in her transport carrying Eva-02. She had recovered the transport during the wait to return to the docking bay. When the Epsilon Wing Starfuries returned to the cobra bays Jesa Clambered out of his fighter and knelt down for his traditional moment of silent prayer and thanks after returning from a mission. He rose to see Rico, Laura, and Shanna waiting for him on the access platform, looks of concern crossing their faces. "Hey, guys," he said on meeting them. "What a hell of a mission that was." He led them out of the cobra bay to the Epsilon Squad Pilots' Ready Room. "You all right, Jesa?" Rico asked. "Of course I am," Jesa replied. "At least I am now." He then addressed his entire squad. "Good job out there, guys." "You sure as hell didn't sound fine when that Angel got to you," Laura said in an admonishing tone. "I know, I know," Jesa replied, removing the flight suit. "Look, Laura, Shanna, I apologize for snapping at you out there." "It's okay, Jesa," Laura assured him. "You've been through one hell of an ordeal," Shanna said. "I can't imagine what it must've been like. We understand." "Thanks. I appreciate that," Jesa nodded, putting on his more customary blue-and-gray pilots' uniform. Phil Castro happened by then. "Hey, Jesa, you all right, man?" "I'm okay," Jesa said. "I'm looking forward to taking your money tomorrow night, Phil." "Oh, listen to this hombre," Phil said. "Anyone want to help the gringo commander eat those words?" Several yelps came from the other pilots as there were several takers, the most vocal being the Jansen brothers, John and Will. Del Tarrant and Jaclyn Lopez also jumped in. Jesa waved his hands to quiet the noisy crowd of pilots. "All right, all right, since I know nothing else will shut you up. Castro, both Jansens, Tarrant, and Lopez. My quarters, 1900 hours tomorrow. And bring extra shirts so you won't get cold." "You got it, baby," Phil crowed to the cheers of fellow pilots. As soon as he walked out of the ready room, Jesa felt a splitting headache. He leaned back against a bulkhead, shutting his eyes against the pounding of his head. He didn't even notice Rico and Laura running to him. "Jesa, are you okay?" Rico asked, more concerned than Jesa had ever seen him. "I think so," he got out. "But my head's killing me. I feel like it's going to split open any moment." "That tears it, Jesa," Laura said in a tone which brooked no argument. "We're going to see Dr. Franklin right now, and I'm not taking no for an answer. Rico, help me get him to Medlab." "Okay," Rico said. "I wasn't planning on saying no," Jesa gritted. As he started to lead them down the corridor, he suddenly clutched his head. His ears pounded like someone was incessantly beating a drum in his skull. Before he could get any further, the pounding was too much for him and he collapsed on the deck. End Part 7 Comments can be directed via private e-mail to mcanime@swbell.net. Constructive comments are welcome and will be read. Non-constructive Flames will be used for PPG target practice.