Evangelion: The World Set Free

[Asclepion]

The air directly in front of them ... no, not in front, behind. Beside. Around. It can't be explained. The air just opened up. As if there were a door in nothingness. As if air were solid and ... there are no words for it. The air opened. A Core appeared, huge and alien.

It's just an illusion. It isn't really there. This was beyond insane. This was a dream. This couldn't even be real. Nikolai was imagining it all. An Angel was searching for their souls. He felt as if he had been turned inside out. As if he had exploded into a thousand sparkling pieces. He was overwhelmed. His Ego was breaking down.



Images from the Angel. The steel-and-glass canyons of Tokyo-3. Villages at the edges of jungle rivers where the air reeked of the heavy perfume of a million flowers. Watched a rock concert in Rio de Janeiro, and a political meeting in Seoul, and a soccer game in Durban with it's wild screaming crowd, and an open-air market in the Philippines.



Ohotorael's images once more seemed to grow from deep within the mind. It was a wild swirl of humanity.


Ohoterael said.
<YOU HAVE ONLY COME INTO BEING BY ACCIDENT.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO COME FOR OUR SEED. THE THING YOU CALL NERV WILL TRY TO STOP US, BUT IT WILL FAIL. SOON, YOUR CITIES WILL BE EMPTY AND THE ONLY TRACE OF YOU WILL BE IN LILITH.>

"So you did this just to tell us we're dead meat?"



It was unbelievable. This thing was some kind of environmentalist.



It's like Noah's ark. The flood is coming. Load up the boat.

No. It's a zoo. That's what the Angel has for us - human beings in a zoo.

Ohotorael was not interested in what is fair. It's giving a choice that is no choice at all and will pretend it was a human decision. Realizing that made Piggy want to resist.

And yet... everything would be over. We could be normal kids. No more Nerv. No more Evangelions. Save myself. Save my family. What would they say, if they had a vote? His mom? She would never risk the lives of her children. She would vote yes. And his father? If we were all magically transported to a safe place together, and he had to explain what I had done? That Piggy had voted to save all of us and give up the fight? What would he think of that decision?

With a shock, he pictured nature films he had seen. One that showed environmentalists attempting to capture some tigers. They were trying to move the tigers to a game preserve. Tigers are extinct, but back then the humans were trying to save a few. But the animals had resisted. They had growled and fought and avoided the capture nets. Was that us? Are we being brave saying no? Or are we just being foolish, resisting someone who is trying to save us?

The Angel had said we would be with some of the people we were close to. Who? Who would be saved? Isn't it better to save some humans, rather than losing everyone?

But he remembered Mikhael Rev on the beach, looking up at the huge Evangelion from child eyes on the ground. What he had fought for.

One life.

Piggy was terrified. He had been afraid for his own life and the lives of my friends. Now, he felt a deeper fear- that of people whose decision will change history. His head was still swimming, the barriers of his soul weakening. He turned to the other pilots.

Spoiler: OOC

An Angel contacts the Eva pilots with an offer: Let it into Nerv when it comes, sacrificing the majority of the human race to allow a fraction to colonize another planet. The pilots have to vote yes or no, and only have a short time to decide before they LCL or the Angel damages them psychologically.

 

[CJ1145]

Piggy's eyes caught Mikhael in their spanning sight. But he was not looking back at him. He was looking ahead, dead on into the images as they came.




His eyes were flickering as they took in everything that he saw. His skin began to flake. White, crystalline substances floating away from him. He was dissipating. His eyes opened in shock, and fear, as he felt himself begin to decompose.

Ohoterael said.
<YOU HAVE ONLY COME INTO BEING BY ACCIDENT.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO COME FOR OUR SEED. THE THING YOU CALL NERV WILL TRY TO STOP US, BUT IT WILL FAIL. SOON, YOUR CITIES WILL BE EMPTY AND THE ONLY TRACE OF YOU WILL BE IN LILITH.>

He began to float. Mikhael rose up into the air, no longer able to resist the fluctuations of the A.T. Field's effects.



A moment of dead silence. Piggy's eyes were on him. In that moment, all seemed still. Mikhael wondered, was it right? Was it worth giving up, just to save a few lives? Everything they had worked for would be for nothing, all of the people he knew would likely be dead. But a few would get away. A few would survive on another planet, under the care of the Angels.

And what kind of survival was that at all?

"Grr..." Rev began to shake. He reformed. The crystals were gone.

"YOU'RE THE ACCIDENT!"

Eyes turned to him, his face twisted into a wicked grin as he crouched, pointing straight up to the illusory Core above them. "YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF MONSTERS! YOU TELL US TO EXIST AS YOUR PETS, WHAT KIND OF LIFE IS THAT?! I WOULD SOONER DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS THAN EVER FALL UNDER YOUR DOMAIN!"

Even as he ranted, hints of Mikhael's advanced speech snuck through. The philospher and the hero were reconciled on this point: They would not falter.

"HUMANITY IS NO ACCIDENT! THE LILIM ARE NO ACCIDENT! WE'RE A THING OF BEAUTY! ANGELS ARE NOTHING BUT HUSKS, DEAD INSIDE!" Even as he began his speech, which would have made more sense in a calm manner, he couldn't keep himself from shouting at the top of his lungs. "LOOK AROUND AT US! WE HAVE BUILT CITIES, ENTIRE CIVILIZATIONS! WE HAVE ATTAINED A UNITY YOU WERE SELFISH ENOUGH TO THINK YOU COULD KEEP TO YOURSELF! AND WE'RE BETTER THAN YOU IN EVERY OTHER WAY, TOO! WE CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER, WE FEEL THE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS, THAT LEADS TO OUR RAGE WHEN THEY DIE, WHICH GIVES US THE COURAGE THE STAND UP TO YOU! OUR OWN MORTALITY DRIVES US TO REACH GREATER LEAPS AND BOUNDS OF PROGRESS WITH EVERY GENERATION! TWENTY YEARS AGO, YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED US WITH NO STRUGGLE, BUT NOW? NOW WE'RE KILLING YOU, AND YOU HAVE TO COME TO US FOR A FUCKING COMPROMISE!"

By now, Rev was hunched over, both fists clenched as he struggled to keep enough breath to maintain his steady roar of defiance. He thought for a moment he might be making a fool of himself. He didn't care.

"I DON'T JUST FIGHT FOR LILIM, OR HUMANITY, OR EVEN THE EARTH! I FIGHT FOR MY FRIENDS! I FIGHT FOR MYSELF! I FIGHT FOR THE FATHER LOOKING DOWN AT HIS NEWBORN CHILD, I FIGHT FOR THE DREAMER THAT GAZES AT THE STARS, I FIGHT FOR THE YOUNG LOVERS ON THE MOONLIT NIGHT! IT IS OUR WORTH AS INDIVIDUALS THAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE, AND I WILL NEVER SACRIFICE THAT! THE EARTH IS OUR HOME, NOT YOURS! AND ONE DAY WE'LL EVEN GROW GREATER, AND TAKE TO THE STARS SO THAT THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN FROM US!"

His eyes narrowed, his voice finally calming.

"So you keep coming. You keep throwing yourselves at us, and we'll keep striking you down where you stand. We won't just survive, we'll win! We'll kill each and every one of you until there's no Angels left! WE WILL DRIVE YOU INTO EXTINCTION!"

Spoiler: OOC

Mikhael nearly succumbs to LCL, but composes himself and tires to give a speech to inspire the others on the worth of humanity, and how they will never stop fighting, and beating, the Angels.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. The ethereal realm that Thirteen was in, wrecked havoc on her senses. She couldn't tell what was up or down, left or right, but one thing was still apparent. The Core.



She absorbed every aspect of what the Angel had to say. The sensations cut deep into Addison's psyche nearly overwhelming her in its presentation

The entire situation was ungodly. "Out of this world" can't even describe it. Then came Ohoterael's deal.

All Addison's life she has been brainwashed to her best ability to preserve humanity no matter the cost. Now came Othoterael's terms saying that in the long run humanity would be saved. She didn't know what to say, what to think. If they refused then the Angels would not stop, would not until they get what they want no matter the cost. It was near impossible odds. The scientists had always wanted the "best interests" forward and if that meant her death then so be it. Humanity had to survive, but at what cost?

Unity...

And Rev opened his big, fat mouth. Addison couldn't help but listen to it. A feeling inside grew warmer and warmer. His words grabbed the words in her head, and arranged them for her. What was left was her feeling of self-preservation never before felt. That was all it took. Addison wanted to smile, wanted to laugh with glee. Instead she yelled.

"NOOOOO!!! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" She yelled for the first time. She breathed in. Her answer was too vague. "Let us live. Give us the chance to fight you and kill you." There. That satisfied her.

 

[ZapperX]

A strange, unfamiliar boy appeared in Lisa's vision. She had barely opened her mouth to speak before doubling over in horrid pain. She kept her eyes wide open, but the world grew black around her. In a moment, the other Eva pilots appeared around her, all justly confused and scared.

Her senses were completely thrown off. She knew she still existed, but that was roughly about it. She felt memories vanish, emotions dull, even her physical form start to fade. An Angel was in front of her. An Angel? What was that? Was she going to heaven? Heaven is a good place. She wanted to go...

Mikhael brought her back from the brink. He rebelled against the Angel. Asserted the will of humanity. The very will she was trained to fight for. Lisa was named after a warrior king who gave his life protecting his brethren, and she planned to follow in his footsteps, hopefully without dying.

"I may not know the others here, but I fight for humanity. I will never give up, for that would damn a species, no, the whole world to extinction. If I have to fail, I'll accept it. But only if I did every single FUCKING THING IN MY POWER TO WIN!"

 

[Pappytech]

Come on, come on, come on, COME ON DAMMIT! David raced through the streets, panting as his feet slammed against the ground time and time again. Pain lanced through his muscles with every pounding footstep, the ache in his side completely purging any complex thoughts from David's mind. There was no time to worry about something as trivial as physical discomfort, however. There were much more important things to fret over.

Though his employment in PR ensured that David was never on the front lines of battle, never in a position to do anything meaningful when it mattered, it did come with a few, quite valuable perks. Namely, a small but dedicated network of "journalists" and "reporters." Though far from all knowing, David ensured that he was kept up to date on the movements and actions of those he considered important; a select few of the higher-ups at NERV, a handful of scientists working on interesting projects, and, naturally, the EVA pilots.

The fact that four of the pilots had seen fit to gather in one office, one temporarily assigned to Dr. Lawrence, another person of interest, was enough to attract David's personal attention. When important people grouped together, important things tended to happen. Things that David would be very interested in knowing. So, when notified of this development, he had deviated from his typical route home; swinging by Dr. Lawrence's office was easily worth a few more hours without sleep.

However, it was only a few minutes after being alerted to the gathering of pilots that David's cell began buzzing again, one of his little birds. It seemed that the pilots were experiencing some kind of mass seizure. Now, that was interesting.

Flashing his ID badge to the security officers, David raced through the heart of NERV; memorized hallways and passages flashed by as he rushed to his destination, ready for anything. Or so he thought.

[small]"...extinction!"[/small]

What?

[small]"NOOOOO!!! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Let us live. Give us the chance to fight you and kill you."[/small]

What were they saying?

"I may not know the others here, but I fight for humanity. I will never give up, for that would damn a species, no, the whole world to extinction. If I have to fail, I'll accept it. But only if I did every single FUCKING THING IN MY POWER TO WIN!"

His muscles burning, his breath ragged, his pulse pounding, David finally slowed to a stop, just outside the door. Screw protocol. Reaching out, David swept the door aside, slamming it open, gaping in shock at the sight before him. The pilots, spread out on the ground, writhing in some kind of fit, were screaming out defiantly, their words heavy with conviction.

Turning his gaze from the convulsing teens, David stared in bewilderment at the only other being in the room, Lawrence. "Wha... What the hell happened here?"

Spoiler: OOC

David learns about the pilots' shared seizure, and races to Lawrence's office. Upon seeing the pilots freaking out, he questions Lawrence as to what's going on.

 

[TheNaut131]

Alexander could hear his team yelling out, resisting whatever had trapped them here, but they were muffled, only a few feet about the surface. He knew he had to fight back, get away from whatever was in control of all this, not to let the angels win but...but he couldn't.

{"Wow, listen to those idiots scream out, as if that will do anything."} Castor chuckles to himself {"Though, you're smarter than that, aren't you? You're being a good little boy, aren't you?"}

He was submerged, being pulled down into deepest debts of the sea. He tried to fight against the currents, but didn't have the strength too. Meanwhile, his brother Castor simply stared down at him, the distance between the two growing.

"Who are you?"

{"Not your brother, Samuel, if that's what you're asking. Or should I go by his cute little nickname, Castor? Well, for a time I was, and at times I kinda am, but mostly I'm an angel. The angel. You know, the one you guys first really fought together. That flash that burst from beneath you was me placing a bit of...insurance. You know, in case things didn't go my way."}

"Wha-what did you mean when you said you're kinda my brother?"

{"You tell me. I don't know how you did it, and I don't really care, but somehow you brought him back. Not to life of course, but you brought him back as something. His energy occasionally pops in, he lives through me and I live through him. He keeps trying to resist me, tell you whats going on, but I manage to keep him tucked away in the back of your mind. Holding him back there appears to be causing some damage to you however, so that's a win-win for me."}

So, Alexander had an angel in his head, who has also trapped his brother there as well. Well, is this fantastic. Alexander tries to resist, harder this time, but he only sinks lower into the deep.

{"Would you give in already? Even if you were to defeat this current angel, I'd still be here. Defeat me? Hell, you'd still have my little farewell gift to deal with. You know, the hybrid. It'll be coming for Addison-15 soon enough, stronger this time, too."}

"You stay the fuck away from Addison!"

{"Oh, I'm not talking about your Addison. She'll be fine...unless Addison-15 dies at some point. Then it'll get a bit desperate and maybe go after her pretty little head. And your team will be destroyed, NERV will lose, and the world will be ours. You humans aren't worth our time, this is our world. Why don't you play nice and lie down so we can crush you quicker."}

Alexander pushed himself to fight back, trying to find the strength the others had, but in the end he was simply pushed to the deepest part of the sea. Lying down so the angels could crush him quicker. Second layer breached, Castor's voice said. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

"Alexander, please don't tell me you're giving up like that?"

Walking across the sea floor was his brother, his real brother. Not some angel in control, not some being trying to destroy him. But Samuel "Castor" Gemini himself, trying to do what all great brothers do, encourage and heal.

"I-I can't go on, I've given all I got."

"Really? I've been trapped back here, occasionally trying to fight against the angel, sadly hurting your mind each time, but mostly sifting through what you've got back here. Pollux, you haven't even scratched the surface on what you can do, especially inside an eva. No really, I'm amazed but not surprised. They're all back here waiting to be used, your subconscious waiting for you to utilize them. Don't stop now."

Alexander looked around and realized the bottom of the sea had a lot of interesting things. None of this was real, this was all in his mind. As he scanned his surroundings, he saw wondrous things, all floating, just waiting to be fished out. Castor was right, he couldn't stop here.

Castor rose his left arm, which was now Unit-31's left. Pollux rose his right, Unit-31's right. Pollux could feel himself rising, supported by something. He looked down and there they were, his grandparents looking up at him, smiling. They became Unit-31's legs Castor's angel could see all this happening. He realized Pollux was rising quickly.

{"So, he wants to resist then? Alright Alexander, I'll destroy you right here, right now you-"}

As the angel tried to charge at Pollux, a pair of hands held him back his left arm. A female.

~"Samuel Castor Gemini, I know we weren't around to raise you, but I figured you would've learned not to mess with your brother.~

{"Let go of me you *****! who the hell are you anyway?"}The angel tried to punch the woman, but a males arm stopped him.

~"Now Samuel, that's no way to talk to your mother. And can't you recognize your own folks?"~

Unit-31 was fully formed and charge at the angel. He howled in pain as Dioscuri ripped through him, rocketing towards the surface. Pollux wasn't gonna lose now.

~Don't worry boys, we took care of that mean imposter. Have fun playing with your brother. Oh and say hi to your grandparents for us!~

Pollux broke through the surface, next to the team who were all now in their evas.

"We're sending all you angels back to Heaven. And you're staying there."

Spoiler: OOC

Pollux resist the angel in his head and is ready to break free of this angel.

 

[hiei82]

[i/] My day just gets better and better [/i]

One moment, the powder keg that was his office was about to burst, with Fifteen readying to skewer Thirteen with her IV rack and the next, the entire room, save Owen, had simultaneously collapsed without even the slightest warning. Owen, in a panic, dropped to his knee and checked the nearest occupant's, Fifteen, pulse.

Her Heart was racing. Nearly 200 beats per minute. They all needed help. Owen knew the pilots would not appreciate what he was about to do but he had little choice. Reaching for his phone, he began to dial the emergency number to request medical aid. Then Rev began to shout

He screamed of freedom, of fighting, of the future of humanity. It was a rousing speech, especially for a person unconscious. Even Owen, with all his detachment and objectivity, felt his heart flutter for a moment at the speech. A true heroes speech if ever one had occurred.

He returned to his phone and the request was sent. He gave it a minute and a half before the beds arrived. That would delay the problem. It was evident that the worst case scenario was at hand: an angel had made direct contact with the pilots. and worse yet, It was winning

The angel was clever. Far too clever for the angels. judging by the various yells by the pilots it was clear the Angel had made some sort of offer, but the substance of the offer was both unknown and irrelevant. The longer the pilots were in contact with the angel, the more it would erode their ego's, their AT Fields. If they didn't escape soon, the trap would be sprung and NERV, not to mention all humanity, would die. This needed to end.

As Owen considered his options, The door swung open, and for a moment Owen was thrilled. The medics had arrived with greater haste than anticipated. His glance to the doorway revealed a different sight all together as David Ashford, Head of NERV Public Relations, entered. For a moment, Owen was disheartened, before he recognized not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Wha... What the hell happened here?" David half yelled, half inquired. Owen, in full business mode now, turned to him. "The pilots are under some form of mental attack by an angel.". Owen let the seriousness of the situation sink in before continuing. "The pilots are in danger. The medical teams are on-route but we need to find a way to break the angels attack before their minds breakdown. If you've got any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them"

Spoiler: OOC

Owen watches as the pilots collapse and calls for medical aid. David arrives and Owen explains the situation as quickly as possible

 

[Asclepion]

Rev seemed to be glowing, sending out waves in his A.T. Field. Nikolai realized he was no longer afraid. A deep confidence had welled up inside of him. Utter confidence. Utter fearlessness. It was his confidence Piggy felt. It was his total lack of fear. Until Ohotorael replied.

Images, almost too fast to process. A mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. Riots in the Middle East, men and women being tortured for disagreeing with their government. A refugee camp in Somalia. A girl, probably 12 or 13. She weighed fifty pounds. A man could make a circle with their thumb and forefinger and closed it around her upper arm. Her face was gaunt, her eyes large. She walked like an old woman. In tents were the other kids. Their arms were like sticks, bellies round. On the far side of the tent was a woman sitting beneath a tree. The woman was holding a baby to her breast, which was as flat and wrinkled as a crumpled paper bag. People were dying. Not rapidly, as they had in a war, but slowly. Very slowly. While elsewhere, food that could save these people's lives was being thrown in the garbage.



Ohotorael's communication was like a searing iron in Piggy's brain.



Piggy's view was that of the Angel's- filled with stars. It was talking to them from somewhere high in orbit. He had read of 'Space': at the back of his thinking for years had lurked the dismal fancy of the black, cold vacuum, the utter deadness, which was supposed to separate the worlds. But what he saw was an ocean of radiance in which they swam. He could not call it 'dead'; he felt life pouring into him from it every moment. How indeed should it be otherwise, since out of this the stars and worlds and all their life had come? He had thought it barren: he saw now that it was the womb of galaxies, whose blazing and innumerable offspring looked down nightly even upon the Earth with so many eyes. No- Space was the wrong name. Older thinkers had been wiser when they named it simply the heavens.

"You say the human race will lose to the Angels, but I don't think you can tell the future! Well Mr. Ohotorael, you have your answer!"



"Wait, what? What the hell are you talking about?"

There was a sense of pleasure in the Core.



Dawning comprehension.
At first Piggy believed that they would be free as soon as things quieted down. But it was plain to him now that they would never be free at all, that they were much more useful as names and stories than they would ever be as inconvenient flesh-and-blood people. In all the nations, the word "Evangelion" is one to conjure with. Men like gods, with life and death in their hands. Every petty tyrant-to-be would like to have an Eva pilot, to set him in front of an army and watch the world either flock to join or cower in fear. If Angels stopped coming, he'd want to rest, to salvage what he could of his childhood. But they'd never let him rest.

He would always be someone's pawn. But that is Earth. Nobody controls his own life. The best you can do is choose to be controlled by good people, by people who love you. We grow up and become tired and jaded with everything, and keep it secret from everybody else. While we war with extraterrestrials and synch with biomechanical beasts, they'll never guess that in the light of day we eat ice cream and ride mopeds.

Their worlds are empty, and ours is full. Their worlds have never known cities full of people who live private, individual lives, who love and hate each other for their own reasons. For a being with the Fruit Of Life, there is never more than a single story to be told; but the Fruit of Knowledge makes a world that will be full of stories, beginning and ending day by day.

 

[CJ1145]

Rev watched as the images came. An endless parade.

A mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. Riots in the Middle East, men and women being tortured for disagreeing with their government. A refugee camp in Somalia. A girl, probably 12 or 13. She weighed fifty pounds. A man could make a circle with their thumb and forefinger and closed it around her upper arm. Her face was gaunt, her eyes large. She walked like an old woman. In tents were the other kids. Their arms were like sticks, bellies round. On the far side of the tent was a woman sitting beneath a tree. The woman was holding a baby to her breast, which was as flat and wrinkled as a crumpled paper bag. People were dying. Not rapidly, as they had in a war, but slowly. Very slowly. While elsewhere, food that could save these people's lives was being thrown in the garbage.

He listened as the Angel spoke.




He watched, his eyes roaring in defiance. In the world of slumber and dreams they were pools. Golden dreams filled to the brim hope shining forth, dissipating the darkness of the Angels.

"We have our moments of weakness." Rev admitted, a humble smile on his face, his eyes were closed at the moment. His face was serene, almost gentle.

"Humans can be selfish bastards, only out for themselves. They can be manipulative, cheating, lying, hurtful creatures."

His eyes opened, two beams of light brighter than the sun. Blinding.

"But we're getting better."

A barrage of images were thrown up to the Core. A train of people marching through a village, handing out packets of food. A collapsed tower, thousands rushing inside to aid the injured. A fireman in a bright yellow uniform pulling a grime-covered girl from the wreckage. A flashback. The blow that his Eva took in defense of Addison.

"Humans are ever-changing! Ever evolving! With every hardship we take another step forward, progressing further along the ever-winding path! You are STAGNANT! You will never change, you never wish to change! You think you are perfect, but in your static perfection, you grow obsolete."

There was a harshness in his voice. The illusory Rev was gone. In his place stood Unit-27, the Midnight Beast. Its eyes were as bright and as golden as its pilots. It reached up to the core, and squeezed its fist to crush it.

"GET OUT OF OUR MINDS, GET OFF OF OUR PLANET! CAN'T YOU SEE YOU'RE NOT WANTED?!"

 

[ZapperX]

Lisa felt invigorated with ever word that flowed from Mikhael's mouth. The Angel that attempted to subdue them was being beaten back with a barrage of images more powerful than its own. With every cynical image that appeared, one of hope shattered it and took its place. She could only watch in awe as the boy became his Eva, and the behemoth reached out to the core, the enemy.

She knew that Mikhael was right. His powerful speech spoke the truth of humanity. This child had grasped a concept that took philosophers years to comprehend. She added to him, "and while humans may be capable of the greatest cruelty in the world... Humans always defeat the evil!" Picutres appeared behind Lisa. The climaxes of the American and French revolutions. Franklin Roosevelt shaking hands with Winston Churchill. Military dictators in the middle east being thrust from power. Police apprehending serial killers, rapists, and assassins.

"Humans are the only creature," she continued, "that can face the evil of itself while still surviving. That's what makes the human will worth fighting for worth dying for! That is who we... no, I... am! A guardian, a savior! And I WILL do my duty!"

Lisa, for an instant, felt the boundaries of her own A.T. Field. It was the most powerful that it had ever been, tightening almost up to her skin. A gold egg like shape shone around her. The power brought a smile to her face.

Then she vanished.

Unit 27's left leg suddenly became maroon... The same color as Unit 13.

 

[TheNaut131]

Hmm, this is the Mikhael Rev Pollux has been working along side? The man making the frontal assault against the angel, crushing this angel's core, the man who enjoys ice cream cones and dances around in his eva? That Rev? At that moment, Pollux realized he couldn't have even imagined having a better guy on his team. That the world had this man on his team. Miss Leonidas joined in Rev's speech, fighting against the angel, but then vanished. He noticed Unit-27's left leg became the same color of Unit-13. They were issuing a combined assault against this angel. But Pollux wasn't gonna let them carry the team on their own.

"You know OHOTERAEL, we should be thanking you. In fact, we should be thanking all the angels who try to ruin our days. It's because of you we're getting better as a species. The second impact showed us just how human we are, how vulnerable we are, and how dangerous the world around us truly is. We realized, 'why make things worse for each other when we already have to deal with so many other threats? Why not make things better?'"

Pollux could feel his A.T. Field swell and a thousand gateways opened for him. So many ways to exploit it. It was the most strength he'd ever felt coursing through him. There was a minor pulse and Unit-31 was gone. In his place was simply a final phrase.

"I intend to do just that."

Unit-27's right arm became a glossy blue color, as the Pollux side of the Gemini constellation lit up. Just like Unit-31's.

[hr]

Multiple medical crews were attempting to treat the convulsing pilots, but to no avail. Whatever was going on in their minds they would simply have to deal with, the doctors decided. Owen and David were being questioned about how they came across the pilots, mostly Owen. NERV still wasn't too sure about him. They'd located the angel, a swirling mass of an A.T field surrounding a core. It was a few feet away from the entrance to NERV. The entire area had been evacuated, to prevent further contamination. A small out post had been quickly set up and Johnson was heading the operation. There wasn't much they could do. Attacking the angel could harm the pilots, but the moment this angel moved they would have to act.

Johnson looked at the swirling mass and to monitors, displaying the pilots, mostly Alexander. Was this his fault? If Johnson had just payed better attention to him, would any of this be happening? He soon recognized Addison as the girl he'd seen on the window. Great, his actions may have just put two eva pilots out of commission. One pilot's eva was already severely damaged, and another pilot was M.I.A. If these pilots didn't return from the brink, the city would be utterly defenseless.

"C'mon kid, if you're not gonna do it for yourself, save your ass so you can save all of ours. If what that doc told me is right, you've got a rough future ahead of you anyway."

Spoiler: OOC

Pollux adds his own input to the fight and Johnson wait for a fucking miracle.

 

[hiei82]

The Medical teams were useless. He doubted they could treat a bruised knee much less a group of angel-infected kids. Not that he was one to talk. At least they, in all their ignorance and failings, could ease some of the physical symptoms. All he could do was sit and watch as the angel destroyed their bodies from the inside out.

The Pilots had been moved to a larger medical room. As they all seemed to be suffering from one common disease - if it could be called that - it was determined that close proximity would allow the doctors to share information more quickly. Not that it was helping; though the doctors would never admit it, they were stumped; Owen could see it in their eyes.

God it was frustrating!

There had to be something he could do. His questioning had ended some time ago and he was free to move about the facility, but he could not think of one tool in all NERV that could help them.

"But" Owen said aloud as the beginning of the last resort idea dawned on him. "There may not be any devices, but there are people who can stop this". He spat out the word people, they didn't deserve to be called that.

Owen shot from his chair, startling the doctors, and bolted from the room. He recalled, as best as he could remember, the offer Fifteen had given him. It had said the meeting room was deep within NERV; deeper than even he feared to go. as he rushed through the HQ, he could only mutter "The only way to stop an angel is to make a deal with the devil"

Spoiler: OOC

Owen, frustrated at his own uselessness, decides to act on the mysterious offer delivered by Fifteen

 

[Asclepion]

< I OFFER YOU LIFE.
BUT YOU HAVE ELECTED TO DIE.>


The Angel reverberated, the unspeakably large red sphere glowing with power. Before our eyes - or was it straight through our brains? - ran the image of the core high above the Earth, a thin band of glowing atmosphere and the darkness above, dotted with lights. The pilots stood on nothing, floated on nothing.

Piggy didn't know if the other pilots were berserking themselves, or had consciously planned to defy a being who could not only annihilate Mikhael, but could alter the laws of physics and nature, and hold spacetime in it's fist.

But it wasn't there. They were in that n-dimensional space, the space where inside and outside were meaningless terms, where they saw the back as easily as the front, the heart of things as easily as the surface, the core of planets as easily as the crust. The fabric of space-time: the "software", as a human would say, that runs the universe.

It was from this higher-energy state that the Angel, in that brief moment, had seen Alexander. Here that Pollux had made himself known to it.

What humans call the mind is really another part of the A.T. Field. Emotion and thought are the language of the soul, and they are energies, not physical things. The human brain is an object. It is a physical, biochemical mechanism with which the body translates, or converts, the A.T. Field into physical impulses. The brain is a transformer. So is the whole body, every cell. Human biochemists have often remarked at how individual cells- blood cells, antibodies, seem to have their own direction (and every male knows about a particular body part that seems to have a mind of its own.)

Lines of camouflage began to envelop the image of the Eva, slowly enshrouding the other colors of it's body in a pattern. I?m Nikolai Ark. I'm young, fat, and I?m here to kill you. You picked the wrong kid, *****.

The Core faded back and back, diminishing, washing out, growing distant... at last joining the low throbbing hum of the medical machinery.

[hr]

"Fuck!" Piggy cried
He had trouble breathing, and he couldn't move. A medical cot. He was naked, and didn't know whether he had pissed his pants during the contact. Or care. Personnel crowded around him.
"Asshole. Too bad Big Sis is a girl, or I'd use my 20-foot Eva cock to whack you across the fucking face."
Piggy often showed maturity well beyond his years. Now was not one of those times.


[hr]


Rev had taken a beating to his Ego Barrier. He held on to himself and didn't revert to LCL, but his physical body was wrecked. Veins covered his face and his eyes were bloodshot from burst capillaries. They hoped he would still be able to walk. Nerv personnel flowed in and out of the room, while guards worked on tablet computers and watched.

It was only later that night that he was awoken by a warm body climbing under the sheet. A woman's body, very young and very strong, her heart beating against his wired-up arm.

It's dark, but Addison-15 holds up a security keycard casually between her fingers. She sensed earlier the force of will against the Angel, something from him, extraordinary? like flying. She felt powerful: feels a sense of triumph in her blood, a kind of mental ecstasy. The A.T. Field. She puts her face against his neck to let him smell the conditioner the handlers clean her with.

"Show me how to fly," she says.

Spoiler: OOC

The pilots fight off the Angel, awaking in hospital beds. 15 uses a keycard to sneak into Mikhael's room.

 

[Pappytech]

Well, today was turning into an absolute nightmare. There was a reason the EVA pilots were so rarely featured in PR announcements and videos; people had enough problems to deal with, without knowing that the only things standing between them and utter destruction were a handful of hormonal, immature, and quite frankly insane teenagers. It was one thing to rest easy when protected by an army of expertly trained, battle ready soldiers, and quite another when being guarded by mere children.

And now it seemed that humanity's final defenders were being mentally assaulted by their angelic foes, without access to the weapons that gave them a fighting chance. Things were going to hell; if word of this got out, the public would not react well. Thus far, David had been lucky. A few well placed calls and e-mails ensured that the people knew that NERV was currently fighting off the newest attack, but had conveniently neglected to mention where, or how, the fight was taking place. A few half-truths and vague statements would convince the public that the threat was contained for now, that the city was in no danger for the foreseeable future. It was complete bullshit, but hopefully it would hold off the panic.

Sadly, there wasn't much more to do, considering the current situation. NERV was locked down, an Angel perched right on their doorstep. The pilots were still writhing about in their cots, medical equipment screaming out heart rates and brain activity. David had been questioned about his knowledge of the situation, then turned away when he was unable to offer anything of use. And now, he simply sat there, waiting, hoping, praying. This couldn't be the end, could it? This was mankind's great final stand, their last act of defiance?

This is the way the world ends:
This is the way the world ends:
This is the way the world ends:
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Or perhaps a buzz. David glanced at his cell, the vibrating device having received a message from one of his contacts within NERV. Hello, now what was Dr. Lawrence up to? There was no way he was heading back to his office, and none of the laboratories he frequented were on his route. Add in a rather, "interesting," choice of words, and one could say that his actions were downright suspicious.

Eh, not like I can do anything here...

Spoiler: OOC

David worries about the pilots, feels useless for a while, then decides to follow Owen to his mysterious destination. Presumably leaves the medical room just before the pilots awaken.

 

[CJ1145]

Mikhael had awoken late in the night. It was his first time conscious since the attack of the Angel. He could scarcely remember what had happened. But he remembered the feeling he had had. The feeling of hope. He didn't know if it was what he had truly felt, or if it was something that Rev had deluded him into. But whatever his motivation, it was real now. Even as he was laying there in his shattered body, he felt the need to fight.

And apparently it had paid off. Someone was there with him. His eyes could barely make her out, against the darkness of the room, but he recognized her as the girl from earlier. The bandaged girl, from the entry plug. A light shone outside for a brief moment, illuminating her face. She was beautiful.

It was ironic, he thought to himself. He was always ready to give a cheesy line to any pretty woman that entered the room. But now he was speechless. She put her face close to his. So close he could smell her. It was, for lack of a better term, sanitary. She smelled like the cleaning products they used in hospitals. Not exactly an alluring perfume. He began to wonder more and more just where this girl had come from. Who was she?

"Show me how to fly."

Huh?

He pondered that in his mind. What did she mean? He didn't know how to fly. His Eva could jump good. But flying was something else entirely. Then he remembered, from the dream. He was floating, when he spoke. When he fought back, against the Angel. The hope in his voice. Did she mean that? Show her... hope? It seemed too cheesy for Mikhael to consider. And yet, he began to wonder. He opened his mouth to try and speak to her, but all that came was raspy air, and a searing pain in his lungs. His heart monitor beeped faster for a brief moment, as the pain's first shock hit him. He couldn't speak. Not at the moment.

He decided to try something else. He lifted his left arm. It was painful, almost more painful than trying to talk; but he had to do something. He moved the arm coated in plugs and sensors up to the girl's chin, lifting it with as much force as he could muster. As it happened, it would have been gentle had the pain not made his arm shake so much. He made her face line up with his, he looked her straight in the eye. And he smiled. The warmest, kindest smile he could give. He hoped it gave the message he intended: "It will be alright."

Spoiler: OOC

Rev attempts to react to 15, but is unable to speak. All he can do is smile at her.

 

[TheNaut131]

"Asshole. Too bad Big Sis is a girl, or I'd use my 20-foot Eva cock to whack you across the fucking face."

Alexander's eyes popped open, his body violently shaking before he finally realized he was truly safe. Well, as safe as a guy naked, waking up pinned down to a cot with medical equipment could feel. He looked around, his team mates also waking up, Piggy's being perhaps the most volatile. They were all also strapped down, escaping the final clutches of a dying angel. Addison was out of view, but Rev could be seen lying next to Addison's sister. Alexander was too tired to question it. He laid his head back, relieved that another fight had been won.

"Wow, you guys cut it close there, but it looks like everything ended on a good note."

Castor was there, standing a few inches away from Alexander's cot. Alexander tried to edge away, but he was restricted. He wasn't gonna fall for it again. He knew who it really was. He wasn't gonna let the angel mess with him this ti-

"No, no! Don't worry, it's me. It's really me. We gave that asshole the boot, and he's gone for good...or at least I hope so. You thought it yourself, this guy is a wiley bastard."

Alexander looked into the eyes of his brother. Yep, it was him. Yes, it was a dead guy who shouldn't be there, but Alexander could tell this Castor didn't mean any harm. He was surprised he hadn't noticed the difference earlier. That Angel-Castor was an asshole.

"Nice to have you back, Samuel. Thank goodness that madness is over. Maybe things can finally get back to semi-normal."

Castor's smile faded from his face, and he bowed his head looking away from Alexander. Alexander simply looked at his brother's form, perplexed with this sudden changed in behavior.

"...that angel kept me confined in your head and though a futile effort, I kept trying to break free. I couldn't just manifest myself and neither could the angel, since I was also holding him back. Your brain had to compensate for our inner war, it had to develop an easier way for us to present ourselves. You have a disease, the name of which leaves me, but the doctors know what it looks like and thanks to our war we've made it worse. I've doomed you."

Alexander just sat in his cot. What the hell was he talking about? Samuel slowly dissipated and Alexander was left to his own thoughts, mainly everything that had lead up to the attack and their freedom. Suddenly, Alexander remembered something. While they were resisting, about to break free, the angel had given a final push but someone had pushed back...and it wasn't the pilots. They'd gotten outside help. Was it the doctors? No, how could they have really done anything. The final push had felt strangely familiar but distant, and it didn't really seem connected to an eva pilot. It wasn't Addison's sister, he'd sensed her slightly empowering Rev, for whatever reason. If it wasn't her, and it wasn't someone on the team, who the hell could've-and then it came to him.

"Where the hell is Owen?"

Spoiler: OOC

Alexander awakens, gains some strange info, and ponders about the whereabouts of Dr. Laurence.

 

[Asclepion]

Go and succeed in your grandeur! Let your hand perform awesome deeds!
- Psalm 45:4
[hr]


As he was waking, scientists and officers crowded around Nikolai. He told them of the show of will, and the Angel's offer.

"Did the Angel say anything else?"
It said that our enemies have been with us all along.
"No. It just projected pictures of space."


Battle training was one thing. Manipulation by the officers was another; but the most important message was this: the adults are not our ally. They do not tell us the truth.

They never tell you any more truth than they have to. But any kid with brains knows that there've been some changes in science since 2nd impact. Obviously we can make positron weapons, study Dirac Seas and A.T. Fields. But the UN doesn't know what they're doing. The Evangelions are winning, but they don't know why they're winning, except that the pilots have something to do with it. And we aren't magic geniuses who can win no matter what. The military doesn't know why anyone wins or loses. Nobody does. And all the time Nerv is watching us, studying us, deciding whether we're good enough or not. Constantly putting out reports, thousands of scientific articles and Angel data. Because as long as people are afraid of the Angels, Nerv can stay in power.

But Angels are real. The threat was real. Nerv controlled a lot of things, but it didn't control Gaghiel eating cruisers for breakfast. And Piggy knew that lies could not last long. So he believed. But the seed of doubt was there, and it changed everything. It made Piggy alert, and listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said. It made him wise.

Piggy smiled. "But I can't leave." He gazed at the metal container that held his plugsuit, which lay on the ground beside him. "Because I love this." Forget it, Nerv. I don't care if I'm your pawn, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can plot, then so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly- I'll beat you unfairly first.

He began writing on his tablet computer.


[hr]


Maybe this is what a zombie feels like. Rev's shoulder felt like pounded hamburger, and the head was even worse, brain floating somewhere a foot or two above and maybe ten inches back, trailing along. But it was all painless, the sensation wiped clear by the creature that was enveloping him. Her hands holding his down, helpless and lost and not knowing what to do or say. The brain's too full and the body's off on its own. The dark clouds outside turned to pouring rain, rain so heavy it seemed almost like a new atmosphere. The lightning and thunder, the energy.

I'm everything you'll ever need.


She could feel the berserker spirit emanating out of him along with his blood... all the drive, all the hope, confusion and fear. He was supposed to be barely alive but he felt... ah, God, he felt so lucid, so clear, like a window-pane which has been washed clean and now lets in all the gloriously frightening light of some unsuspected dawning; the light, that sunrise that clears the horizon somewhere in the world every second.

Black hair, bright red eyes, pouty lips and a body that's pure torture. She's so pale, like an albino. Her sleek muscles. The breath. The soul. She climbs on him and there's a little tilt to her lips, a little smile.

"Someone told me you were some kind of crazy idiot. Is that true?"

And then Addison-15 brushes her lips on his throat. It's just a chaste little kiss, a favor, a boon, nothing more. And then it becomes something more, lips tracing a route down the neck, into the hollow of his throat-

And then a computer flashed a message.

[hr]The message was:

//Piggy.Isaiah51:13-15(NIV)

Piggy was writing a program to make a message delete itself after thrity seconds. The message was to every pilot, and it was short and cryptic. What made it hard was figuring out how to disguise who it was from. Messages from the Nerv handheld computers always had their name automatically inserted. Piggy had no idea how to crack the worker security system, and if the Magi saw it he would be fucked royally, so he couldn't disguise it. But he was able to set up a file for a nonexistent employee.

He felt good. He had won something, against the system. Very minor by programming standards, but he no longer had the panicked feeling that he might be out of his depth, that rebellion was impossible. All he had to do was watch the game and understand how things worked, and then he
could use the system, and even excel.

Piggy could only hope that they figured out the message by the time they could meet back at the ice cream shop. We'll need everyone- 13's brains and agility, Rev's tenacity, the enigmatic English pilot, and Alexander to decipher what we find.

We're going to see what they're hiding from us.

[hr]

Naatiel was approaching. Ohotorael was wrapped in it's Sea of Dirac, creating for itself a shape with which to invade.

Spoiler: OOC

Piggy lies to Nerv about the Angel's communication. Addison-15 gets frisky but is interrupted by Nikolai, who sends a message coded in the Bible. He wants the others to hatch a plan to steal data from Owen and David. Ohotorael prepares to descend on Masau.

 

[hiei82]

Owen marched into the depths of NERV, his heart quickening with his increased pace. Down in the lowest levels of NERV, where few people had access, Owen continued his march. Some time ago, he heard news over the comm-system that the Pilots had begun to stabilize, allowing him to finally breath a sigh of relief; one fear abated.

Still, one concern remained: the Angel on NERV's door step. After so much mental contamination, and the damage to their bodies, it would be impossible to ask the pilots to embrace their Eva's and continue the fight.

This posed a rather difficult problem: how to kill an angel without an Eva.

It could be done, His counterpart in Japan, Dr. Akagi, had successfully thwarted a computer-virus like angel via evolution, and powerful, long distance weapons could pierce even the most powerful A.T. Field (as proved by the Eva Prototype some weeks before). There were even specialized weapons that had harmed the angels, the mythical Lance of Longinus being a rife example.

But all these solutions required complex equipment, and only one group had the knowledge, resources, and will to use them.

Seele.

"Bastards." he murmured as the door before him slid open, leading to a small room filled with black pillars. As he took a step within, the "All Clear" rang through the base, the angel had fled and the Pilots had awoken. [i/] I must have underestimated the pilots again [/i]

As if to abolish his silent conclusion, the first pillar began to speak, if that were an appropriate term. "Consider that a gift for accepting our... Invitation." it said. The second pillar chimed in thereafter. "After all, we would not want you to be pressured into such a decision". The pillars erupted into a slight laugh at the almost inside joke. After the laughter died, the first pillar took command once more "Now please Dr. Laurence: what do you think of our proposal."

[i/] Bastards, all of them. [/i] was all Owen could think as the door slid shut behind him and locked.

Spoiler: OOC

Owen made his way deep into NERV to seek the aid of Seele. Upon his arrival, Seele brought their power to bare and the angel fled. Owen silently fumes

 

[CJ1145]

Oh, god. Oh, god.

Mikhael had no idea how to react. He thought he was about to cry for a moment. Here he was, physically, literally in bed with the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and now that fat little bastard. Out of nowhere. He remembered the first time he received a message like that. The situation was similar. It lacked the pretty girl, though. And the hospital bed.

He wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand, whatever it was was likely urgent. End of the world urgent. On the other... was he really going to get this chance again? For all he knew he could die tomorrow fighting some angel. For all he knew, he could die just on the ride over there.

His mouth opened. First, it was nothing but a hiss. Then, a solitary word.

"...ffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuck..."

He coughed as he took in a new breath. A fleck of blood, spilled onto his lip. He still smiled at her though. Tried to look like it didn't hurt to talk.

"I'm sorry... really, really more sorry than you could ever know... but I probably need to respond to that. But..."

He flashed a grin that the biggest of shut-in nerds would call dorky.

"...I don't think I can walk just yet. Do... do you think you could carry me?"

Spoiler: OOC

Rev nearly bursts into tears over his own bad luck, and asks 15 if she could come with him/carry him to the ice cream shop.

 

[TheNaut131]

Alexander lay in his cot, the storm raging a few feet away from him, tucked safely away behind a window. He was simply searching the internet, not really looking for anything. He was simply indifferent to all that was happening around him, and as he sat there, contemplating what he was gonna do with his life, he became more and more angered. The pilots had been brought to the hospital a few hours ago, and he and all the pilots were pretty much in the same condition. Alexander hadn't felt the pain at first, but his body was finally catching up with the turmoil his brain had been through. He could only imagine the pain Rev was going through. About 20 minutes ago, Alexander had finally been explained what exactly was wrong with him. His brother was was leaning against the back wall, simply letting Alexander take in all he'd been told.

"This is all my fault. I'm sorry for all this."

"I don't care, you were actually trying to help me. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at them."

It came in the exact opposite way he'd expected it to be. There wasn't some doctor apologizing for the hassle and calmly explaining in detail what he was dealing with, but from one of the few people he'd truly met that knew what it was like to be human.

[hr]

Alexander had noticed one strange spike, someones A.T field, right behind his door, and then he appeared. The man quickly rushed into his room, hastily closing the door behind him. Alexander had barely noticed him enter, he was simply resting his body and enjoying the sound of rain. The man hadn't looked too stressed, but Alexander could tell he had a lot on his mind. When the man first entered the room in such a manner, Alexander nearly jumped out of his bed. The man had light brown, walnut colored skin similar to Alexander's, but brown hazel eyes that contrasted Alexander's green. But soon the man calmed him down, explaining that he didn't mean him any harm and that he worked for NERV, or at least use to.

"Hello Alexander, my name is Lucas Johnson. I'm a head guard for NERV, or was a head guard for NERV. It's funny really, I've been given military training, was around with NERV when they first started up, and was constantly deployed to defend against evil sentient beings, and yet they merely called me a guard? I know it's a bit matter-of-fact but really? I guess I was always a bit expendable, especially if they could assign me to defend a kid's hospital room."

Alexander just sorta looked at the man, slightly worried and ready to defend himself the best way a bed ridden teenager could. Not very well. Alexander thought he should be calling for help and start smashing the nurse button, NERV employee or not. But something about the aged man, covered in muscle that shaped civilian clothing, felt right with Alexander. He simply sat there and listened.

"Look, I was one of the guards assigned to watch over you, and probably was the only one actually watching you. I saw you open you window for your lady friend, and ignored you two. I figured I'd just let the kid enjoy some free time, whats he gonna do? Well, you snuck out, an angel attacked, and to make matters worse, it attacked you mentally. That's probably what did it. It's what got me fired a few hours ago."

Johnson sorta stood there for a few seconds, in deep thought. Was the man mad at him? Alexander was about to defend himself, but the look on the old man's face couldn't bring him to it. He looked only about 50, but he looked a lot older. Life had beaten the shit out of him. It was obvious he'd had some form of honest connection with this job, and not having it now was killing. Alexander decided he'd finally say something. "Sir, I'm really sorry about your job and all. If I'd known I wouldn't have-"

"No, don't apologize. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at NERV. At first I thought I was angry with the doctors, yelling and bitching at me for letting you slip away, but after a bit of thought I realized we were angry at the same people. Alexander, NERV didn't want them to tell you what exactly you were up against. Kid...can I tell you a story for a bit?"

"Sure." Alexander was honestly invested in what this man had to say.

"Well, after the impact, I had nothing. My son and his wife, who were only 25 at the time, had been wiped out by rising sea levels while staying on a chain of islands. They were with their kids, visiting her grandparents whose last name they'd also decided to go by. Johnson. Johnson is a good last name, not whatever star crap they had-eh, it doesn't matter now. I would've tagged along but I never did have much of a thing for the sea. When I had learned of their I was depressed, alone, worthless...but I was 41, I was still a grown man. I survived and I helped those I could. Particularly a young man in my neighborhood, Joey. He was only about 13, and had no family left. I took him in, and when NERV started developing, we both entered their training programs. Though he seemed like my son, he felt more like a brother. Everything was going great."

The man was smiling for a bit, but his smile quickly disappeared.

"Then he started to change, around the time I was 49 and he was 21. I'd noticed tiny things, and so did he actually. He'd feel confused at times, notice things that weren't there, and then things got really bad. He had problems speaking and his behavior would change wildly. I wanted to have him checked out, but he simply said training was getting to him. One day, he felt great. Completely normal, and we thought everything was back to normal. That day we engaged in a training exercise with other trainees. It was a mock combat scenario. Joey could get a bit intense with the scenarios, but mostly he was just having a good time. Today he was really stressed, but I figured it was nothing. He killed 8 people and injured 5 more that day. He thought it was a real combat situation and decided to load real ammo. Real guards were called in to deal with him. When they tried to stop him and question him, Joey realized he had only one bullet left and believed he'd be held hostage and interrogated. He decided to be a good little soldier and on his comm, told me he was sorry he hadn't been good enough of a soldier. He blew his own brains out."

Johnson simply stood there, leaning against the back wall. Alexander wasn't sure what to say. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"No need to apologize, schizophrenia does that to a guy." Johnson stood there looking at Alexander as the realization hit him.

"NERV didn't want you to know this. The only reason they wanted to test so much was because they wanted to make sure they were wrong. They weren't. It seems harmless right now, but whatever is wrong with your head is similar to schizophrenia and in a few years could cripple you. It typically takes happens to some unlucky guy during his 20 somethings. They figured that if you knew now, you'd drop the whole eva pilot thing. I'm sorry.

Johnson began to walk away but Alexander stopped him. "Look kid, I've done all I can do. If they find out I've told you this, they'll do worse things than simply fire me with a retirement package. Alright, so let me be-

"That's it? That's the big secret? Listen, when does it take hold again, when I'm like 20? I'm gonna make this simple: I honestly don't care. At some point, I probably won't even be able to synch with my eva, so I don't care. I just want to do some good for the world now, to hell with my mind! Thank you for actually having the fucking nerve to come out and tell me this."

Johnson smiled at him. "No, problem. Though, I honestly believe they simply wanted a good little eva pilot until he could finally be replaced. Look at me. Though, I alo don't believe you're gonna lie down and take it like a good little soldier. Good luck, Alexander."

Alexander stopped him as he opened the door. "Call me Pollux. All my friends do."

[hr]

And here Alexander was, fuming in bed. He was now thoroughly infuriated. Not because of finding out about his disease, but because NERV hadn't had the nerve to tell him and simply wanted a good little eva pilot, like a good little soldier, for the next few years. Johnson was right, Alexander wasn't gonna sit down and take this. He was gonna fight back, he was gonna get revenge, he was-

A message popped up, from Piggy.

It was traitorous.
It was criminal.
It was damning.

It was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He looked outside his window, the rain had finally stopped and someone from NERV had actually had the courtesy to leave his moped in a parking garage. His body's pain was subsiding and there wasn't much security this time around. NERV figured they were too injured to do anything. Imbeciles. Things were finally looking up.

"I could go for some ice cream right about now."

Spoiler: sorry for the long post guys. I just kinda kept going, and going...

Alexander's finds out hes developing a form of schizophrenia and agrees to Piggy's plan.