Hi everyone,
Here's the Interlude from _Ascent._ I'll be taking a short hiatus (1
week) from posting to catch up on some work, so Part Seven won't come
out until 7/22. I hope this will be enough to keep you wondering... :)
Sparky
*********
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."--Isaac Asimov
For Evangelion fanfiction and links visit Heaven's Gate
http://members.tripod.com/Sage_Ohlmin/evafic.htm
A Dies Irae Production
______________________________________________
FREE Personalized Email at Mail.com
Sign up at http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: interlude.txt
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION:
ASCENT OF THE FALLEN
By Sparky Clarkson
Interlude:
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way
of the Lord,' makes straight in the desert a highway for our God..."
(Isaiah 40:3)
*******
Shinji awoke, or so he assumed. He had not opened his eyes, and in
most cases would have relied on signals from his body to tell him that
he had gained awareness of the world. The tensing of his muscles as he
breathed, the gentle friction of linen moving with the rise and fall
of his chest, the warmth accumulated between skin and cotton during
the night, and a thousand other tiny sensations would let him know
where he rested on the balance between sleep and consciousness. He
could not use that method now, however, because he couldn't feel
anything. It seemed like a barrier had been dropped between his mind
and his senses.
Shinji tried to open his eyes, but he could not feel whether his lids
had moved. As he reflected on this, he realized he could not even be
sure his eyes had been closed. He associated the grey darkness in his
field of vision with the interior of his eyelids, but as he
concentrated on his vision he seemed to see vague movements in the
shadows.
_A place where I don't feel anything... not even myself,_ Shinji
mused. _Not so long ago I would have thought of this as Heaven._ He
tried to stare into the swirling darkness, but could not tell whether
that had accomplished anything. _No pain..._ he thought, trying to
understand his situation.
<--
The giant archangel opened its mouth as Shinji began pressing the
knife against its throat. Shinji only heard the sound for a moment
before the pain began. For an instant, he felt his entire body
vibrating, and then his mind reeled in pain as he felt a thousand tiny
explosions, as if all his bones had snapped at the same time.
-->
_I should feel pain,_ Shinji decided, _After that battle..._ He paused
for a moment, as a kernel of an idea formed in his mind. _Am I dead?_
he finally wondered.
"No."
Shinji would have jumped, if his body had been reacting. That word
sounded like it had been chorused by everyone he knew, and the voices
had come from all around him. _What's going on?_ Shinji wondered.
"This is a message," the voices replied from the darkness.
<--
Shinji listened carefully as he made his Eva crouch behind the
boulder, in case Misato decided to change her tactics. No order came,
but in the background conversation of the command center, Shinji heard
his father say, "It is Gabriel the Messenger, second highest among the
archangels."
-->
_A message?_ Shinji thought, _From an angel? What message could it
have for me?_
Shinji lost track of his thoughts as he suddenly saw Vice-Commander
Fuyutsuki appear in front of him. The stark contrast to the shifting
darkness sent his mind reeling with shock.
"The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," Fuyutsuki said, then
evaporated back into the shifting fog as abruptly as he had appeared.
_What?_
"Hear and listen!" the voices commanded, and suddenly Shinji found
himself reliving a moment from his past.
<--
"My name is Kaoru, Nagisa Kaoru," the grey-haired boy said.
-->
_What is this?_ Shinji thought, _Am I hallucinating?_
"It is truth," the voices replied. "It is the only gift."
Suddenly, Kaji materialized in front of Shinji. "I saw and beheld a
white horse," he said, "and he that sat on him went forth conquering,
and to conquer."
<--
Shinji gasped, out of breath, and stared up angrily at his father. "It
is I," he shouted, "I am the pilot of Evangelion Unit One, Ikari
Shinji!"
-->
<--
Shinji cradled the nearly-unconscious, bandaged girl. He could sense
her frailty, and realized that getting into the purple monster would
certainly kill her. He squeezed his eyes shut and began to repeat, "I
mustn't run away, I mustn't run away..."
-->
<--
Shinji took a look at the monitor. _The cables holding Asuka have
snapped,_ he realized. Without a second more of thought, he dove into
the pit of lava.
-->
_I don't understand this,_ Shinji thought. _Why don't I have any
control over my own memories?_
Kaji's form shifted, and he became Misato. She said, "And there went
out another horse that was red, and power was given unto him that sat
thereon to take peace from the earth."
<--
Asuka slapped Shinji so hard he spun around and nearly hit a wall.
-->
<--
Asuka turned and fixed Shinji with a haughty smile, "Well, it's the
natural choice considering which one of us is better."
-->
<--
The emotionally-shattered girl screamed, "I hate everything, I hate
everyone! I hate you!"
-->
_Why... why must I relive only the pain with her?_
Misato transformed into Ritsuko. "And I beheld a black horse, and he
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand..."
<--
Gendo stared coldly at his estranged son. "I called you now because I
need you now."
-->
_Please, not this... this hurts worst of all..._ Shinji thought.
Ritsuko transformed into Rei and emotionlessly recited, "And I looked
and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and
Hell followed with him."
<--
As Unit One emerged from the city, the angel's particle beam slammed
into it. After a few brief moments of unspeakable pain, Shinji fell
unconscious as his heart stopped.
-->
<--
EVA-01, under the direction of the dummy plug, smashed Unit Three's
entry plug with Touji inside.
-->
<--
Rei's Eva self-destructed, unleashing a ravenous firestorm onto the
city of Tokyo-3.
-->
<--
Kaoru smiled in the fist of EVA-01, even as Shinji finally mustered up
enough strength to squeeze.
-->
_Stop, please stop!_ Shinji begged. _Why must you show me these things
again?_
Rei transformed into Kaoru, who smiled slightly and said, "And I saw
heaven opened, and beheld a white horse, and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and he was clothed in a vesture
dipped in blood."
_Is that you, Kaoru-kun? Are you the rider?_ Shinji wondered, but
Kaoru immediately evaporated.
"You seek the pattern," the voices stated. "That is the first step.
God does not let his children walk blindly into the night."
Touji and Kensuke appeared. Kensuke said, "And the earth shall be
wholly rent in sunder, And all that is upon the earth shall perish,
And there shall be a judgement upon all."
Touji nodded, adding, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets
of the great city."
_Will everyone die, then?_ Shinji wondered, but the boys disappeared,
to be replaced by Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru.
"And I saw a great dragon rise up out of the sea, having seven heads
and ten horns. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;
and his deadly wound was healed," Maya said.
"I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven," Makoto added, "and
he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth,
and cried with a loud voice."
"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as
blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth," Shigeru
concluded.
_I don't understand. Is the world going to end?_
The three disappeared to be replaced by Hikari. "The Son of man shall
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him; then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory," she said, then immediately vanished.
Shinji couldn't figure out what they were trying to communicate.
_There must be some crucial piece of information I'm missing,_ he
thought. _But they say there will be at least one final angel..._
A massive form appeared in front of him, one Shinji recognized as
Satchiel, the Third Angel. The monster spoke in a booming voice,
saying, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he
shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished."
The angel vanished, replaced by a reappearing Kaji. "For the great day
of His wrath is come," Kaji said, "and who shall be able to stand?"
Asuka replaced Kaji. "Some faces that Day will be bright, laughing,
rejoicing at good news. And other faces that Day will be dust-stained;
Darkness will cover them," she exclaimed, a broad smile on her face.
Asuka then transformed into a shape that awakened a terrible longing
in Shinji's heart. He felt like crying as he saw his mother standing
in front of him. She smiled gently and said, "They shall fight against
thee; but they shall not prevail against thee, for I am with thee."
_Mother, please don't go!_ Shinji thought, but she evaporated just as
quickly as the others had.
Shinji then heard the voices cry out, "And they shall know that I am
the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them!"
Then Gendo materialized. "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall
lose it," he announced, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "and
whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Then he was gone.
Shinji finally began to feel parts of his body again. At last aware of
his mouth and lungs, he shouted "What do you mean?" into the darkness.
"Why are you telling me these things?"
"You cannot be told; you must learn for yourself the lesson within the
words," the voices replied.
A dim, shadowy figure appeared in the mist, too shielded by the fog
for Shinji to make out any distinct features. The figure reached out
towards Shinji and said in a warm voice, "Love one another as I have
loved you."
<--
Kaoru smiled. "I mean, I love you."
-->
<--
A tear dropped from Shinji's chin onto the sheets of Asuka's bed. "I
l... love you."
-->
<--
Rei's arms gently held Shinji as she whispered in his ear, "I did it
because I wanted to. I think... I think I always have."
-->
"Love," Shinji whispered into the blackness. "Is that the key?"
"You must learn for yourself," the voices replied, and then Shinji
fell unconscious once more.
*******