THE DEATH GOD CAST DOWN AND ENCASED IN A VESSEL OF FLESH AND BLOOD
Is this real? Am I really seeing this? It’s not a dream; it has to be real. I can see Asuka, though not in human form but in her were tiger one that is special to me which I saw inside the bridge of imagination when our unit’s tails connected. It can’t be a hologram, The fur looks far to real; it moves like a real solid being, not a projection and it’s not slightly see through.
I wish I knew what they were saying. I just can’t hear them, I can only see them, and it’s clear whatever they’re saying, it’s antagonizing Asuka. It’s strange, the video camera is letting out light from the lens, but Asuka can’t step beyond it.
Despite how horrible this is, I never get tired of seeing that form, with its slashing double tails. There is such power in it, and she wears it with such strength and emotion and without fear. it gives me such comfort to see it again. Seeing the Lance of Longinus hanging above gives me no comfort at all, but ever since they tried to drown her it has not become active again, and she won’t agree to whatever that crazy woman demands of her, I know it in my heart she won’t.
Rei put her fingers against the glass, her eyes not shifting from Asuka, who was frozen as she stared the older woman down, not saying anything.
Asuka felt a cold sneer form as she finally spoke, narrowing her gaze. “No, I refuse. Like I said to you before, I’m not a god and I don’t want to be this destroyer of worlds you talk about.”
Gabriella folded her arms, unable to keep the anger at bay. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way, but only because you made it so.” She watched as Christopher pulled up a spinning black and red veined disk, attaching it where the camera film normally went. “If you won’t give us your power willingly, we’ll take it by force!” She paused. “I’ll just strip your miserable tiger soul off you like paint on a wall and find the bringer of death underneath!”
She watched as he turned on the camera, which caused a strobe lighting effect, only for an AT field to fly up, surrounding Asuka. Her jaws formed a coy smile as parts of it were torn, but instantly repaired. “Please. I killed Bardiel. I ate him alive and consumed his soul, and though he ascended in death, a part of him remains forever in my mind. In a strange way, he taught me how to protect my inner soul. That’s why my AT field became even stronger. In human form, I would not be able to stop you, but in this one you have no power over me.”
She eased up her clawed hand towards the prison room, watching as it started to move downwards, much to their shock and horror. “After all, you give me this strength by opening my soul, and now I’m going to use it to set her free, because I will it and you will not stop me!”
Her next words were suddenly cut off as a dark sensation swept through her body. It was chilling, like being touched by ice. She looked up as the lance above suddenly ignited. She felt the heat in her left eye die instantly as the lightning shot out, going straight through the AT field like it was tissue paper, striking opposite her.
She felt her eyes dart in panic as it struck again, forcing her to step back as it suddenly channelled downwards. Another lightning bolt shot towards the prison room, smashing against its window. The lightning suddenly vanished as a form she recognised very clearly appeared once more, sending genuine chills down her spine.
The skeleton version of herself was standing there again, staring her down. It’s one good eye and its tongue could be seen. It walked towards her on its crippled leg as it spoke. “I’m part of your soul. I must return to you and we must fulfil our true destiny.” It paused, stepping closer. “You stripped me away when you let go of your pain and revenge and you threw my counterpart beyond the stars.”
Asuka backed up, going down slightly as she started to back herself closer to the room’s corner. “You are not me!”
The skeleton’s good eye moved as it raised its hand, putting a finger against the AT field, which instantly turned from gold and silver to a dark red and black. “I am you, and as much as you deny your will, you can never erase me, so surrender to your fate.”
Rei breathed in panic, seeing the young girl version of herself as she appeared once more, looking confused as she spoke in a shallow voice. “Where am I?” The fifteen year old naked version walked towards her, with its light blue hair and glowing red eyes.
Rei moved back, unable to stop herself from backing up against the wall, utterly frozen in terror. The young girl carried on moving towards her with no sense of vanity, which was utterly disturbing to her since at her age she’d done nothing but cover up for fear of others seeing her naked. It had been the most difficult time of her life, as she had felt that her body would never grow and that she wouldn’t fill out and become an adult.
The glazed, staring red eyes locked with her own. She felt her heart beat faster as the younger girl version of herself stopped in front of her, looking closer at her in a way that made her feel deeply uncomfortable as she spoke. “So this… this is what I look like as an adult? How curious.” The pale white hand moved upwards touching her neck then travelling down between her breasts and waist right down to the belt of her jeans, only to stop as she spoke, her tone suddenly changing. “Maybe she would accept me if I had your body.” The girl suddenly looked up. “Yes, I was part of your soul. I remember now. You set me free by choice because I pained you, now let me return to you.” The other hand rose slowly before she could stop it, moving towards her face, which caused her to scream in panic.
Gabriella looked up as the prison room filled with pure blue light. Its long surround window smashed apart as Rei’s screaming came from inside, hitting the air as the whole room came smashing down to the floor opposite them. She looked at Christopher and Achika. They were both as terrified as was she. None of this had been in their plans. They had not wanted the Lance of Longinus to behave this way, or planned for it. She could no longer see what was happening behind Asuka’s AT field either; the red and black was blocking it out. Why was the lance even touching Rei? It wasn’t meant to affect her; it was Asuka’s lance.
Asuka watched as the skeleton got closer, its hand suddenly shooting out. Grabbing her furry neck, locked her violently in place. “You’re so powerful. I can feel it flowing though you. I want to be as strong as you are and have the animalistic power you have!” The other hand moved, stroking the thick fur as the skeleton’s eye looked at her and the tongue came out, licking the bony teeth. “Oh I can feel it, you have a real adult’s body under there. I want that to be mine.” There was a chilling pause. “Clearly though. your privates have seen more action than an Amsterdam whore house and I find it really gross that you like both genders.”
Asuka struggled harder, only for the grip to tighten around her throat as she spoke through gritted teeth. “How dare you judge my sex life and sexuality and call me whore, you backwards little scheisse!”
The skeleton’s good eye moved, ignoring her comment as the bone teeth grinded together. “How utterly disgusting, and to top it off you have slept with that bitch Rei more than once; clearly there’s something wrong with you.” The undead eye met her own as she struggled even harder. “You’re meant to love Shinji! He was even your lover once in this cycle and you let him go, you stupid fucking bitch! Clearly, like a dog, you need fixing!”
Asuka narrowed her gaze. “You won’t take anything from me; I won’t let you!”
The skeleton looked up, licking its teeth again. “Who says I’m going to take away anything? After all, I only need your shell. Fight all you want, but I always get what I want.”
Asuka snarled, eyeing her. “We’ve met before, you and I. You came to me when I was infected by Bardiel. In my dreams, I thought we both had an understanding.”
The skeleton laughed coldly. “No, you misunderstand. I’m a fragment of her; she threw me away, the bitch, and now you and her are one again, fully merged and unbreakable That’s why their stupid little soul digging device has not worked on you!”
The cold blue eye moved sharply. “But you both forgot about me, thinking you could throw me away like trash! Me and the other part, we will not be denied!” The bone teeth ground together as the skeleton spoke again. “So no, I’m not taking anything, I’m just returning to where I deserve to be!” The skeleton slowly raised her skeleton hand, looking at the glowing black and red eye. “Your left eye, which is the window into your soul, has already opened to welcome me!”
Asuka watched in terror as the skeleton finger shot out, jamming into her left eye causing pure intense pain which was beyond horrible. She found herself screaming as the skeleton began to separate, turning into black smoke which forced its way into her left eye.
Gabriella turned, watching in terror as the AT field suddenly began to collapse, sending the video camera flying. The camera crashed down opposite her and her grandchildren, turning off instantly. She could see the weretiger’s shadow fading, only for a massive AT shockwave to fly outwards, knocking her over, followed by another directly behind her from the prison room. Everything plunged into darkness, only for the bellowing emergency submarine alarm to come on as the whole room shook violently.
The sensation of diving hit home, only it wasn’t diving and she knew it. They had just lost power somehow and the whole ship was sinking nose first into the dark depths. It was truly terrifying, clearly the ships special S2 Engine had just stopped working which was there to protected them from deep sea pressure and allowed them to fly and it had just been knocked out! That was not meant to happen! She heard the intense creaking as they sank deeper.
8
So this is Maya’s apartment. It’s so cosy and ultra-modern in every way, even more so than Misato’s, with space-saving storage. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who liked a luxury apartment; Maya liked them as well. Hers is much smaller though, and only one level as opposed to two. It even has glass windows that look out onto Tokyo Three, and is closer to Nerv central than my home.
I can see cute little trinkets and toys all over the place. The whole thing is a white and relaxing cream, with plush sofa and large flat screen television, and very modern kitchen with all kinds of appliances along with the small four seat dining table.
Mari could also see the large white double bed in the bedroom opposite, which had lots of fluffy toys, as well as family pictures and artworks all around her, along with a craft desk which had lots of craft projects in process. She carried on typing into the tablet. Maya had said she was just going to freshen up and that she should write as much as possible regarding her family and what had happened so she could show the document to Misato, Ritsuko and the commander tomorrow.
She turned sharply, seeing Maya appear wearing a semi-loose black logo t-shirt and jean shorts. She watched as the smaller woman pulled her hair free from the small ponytail, causing it to spill out as she walked towards her seating. She had no shoes or socks on. She sat on the kotatsu, which was in essence her coffee table, and it was clear that sometimes she crashed here, as her craft magazines were littered around along with pillows.
Mari breathed in sharply, wishing right now that she had not mocked Asuka for how she behaved around Rei sometimes, because she was having some difficulty focusing; her eyes kept on tracing those loose clothes. She snapped her eyes back as she adjusted her glasses. She was not here to mess around or play out her inward fantasy.
Maya had said friends, and she had to accept that. She slowly pulled her tie loose and opened her shirt, smoothing down her t-shirt as she tried to ignore the sweat on her palms. So many times, she’d been so confident in her hidden sexual exploits and always felt so in control of her own body, but right now she felt truly helpless.
Maybe when they’d both gone to bed, she could relieve herself and hope to the gods that the walls weren’t thin. She eyed her mail, which she had close by, which included her test plug suit that was for sexual purposes. Maybe it was just fate or bad luck that she was in this position, as she had been an asshole about this from the start, so now she had to do the right thing and be a good civil guest and not offend Maya in any way. She shifted her gaze back to typing, despite that this felt like such a draining effort.
Maya looked at Mari, who had remained quiet since she had come in, though she had now opened her shirt and pulled off her tie. “How is your piece coming along, Mari?”
Mari looked at her for a long moment as she passed her the tablet. “Okay, I’m not good at this. It doesn’t sound formal enough.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Maya took the tablet from her hand as she started to read it. “You know this doesn’t need to be formal, it just needs to be from your heart; that is all that counts.” She paused. “This is very good though, and no one will fault you for being honest.” She carefully handed it back. “Just keep going; you’re doing fine.” She watched as Mari looked down as she started typing again. She breathed in, unable to stop a feeling that was playing on her mind. She had ignored it deeply up until this moment, but now it was breaking though.
It was that feeling of attraction, yet it felt so alien to her as it had been so long since she had felt it and it was so confusing to her that of all the moments, she’d get this now at the most inappropriate time. Misato’s words just kept playing out in her mind, that she needed to have sex and all would be right with the world and that she liked her and was just lying about it. She breathed in, watching as Mari carried on typing. It wasn’t like Mari wasn’t attractive; she was very attractive to her.
Granted, she was the type of woman she had never gone for in her youth. She had loved high flying intellectuals that were always out of her reach. Yet was Mari any different? The fact was that she was very intelligent, and though she hated the UN Alpha test unit incident for the pain it had caused Asuka, Mari had hacked an Evangelion which was deeply impressive.
She wasn’t a science intellectual, but she was a programming intellectual and a very good hacker; that was very clear to her now. She breathed in deeply, feeling her eyes wander over the taller woman’s body before she pulled away sharply. Screw Misato, she hated how she was right about this.
She put her hands on the table. Her younger self, who pined after Ritsuko, would have given anything to be pursued by a woman like this. Someone who was genuinely interested in her and wanted to be around her. Wasn’t that what she really wanted? To be loved, desired by someone who actually cared about her and deep down had a good heart? The reality was, she had used Mari, acting and behaving immature by saying that that was why she wasn’t into her, when in reality she was just lying to herself, even about her wanting to be only friends, because Mari had hit the nail on the head from the very start. She was afraid, so she was doing the same thing that had been done to her by Ritsuko, and in doing so repeating history.
Also under that bravado and playful side, Mari was deadly serious. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be here right now filling out this document, even though once it was handed over it would reveal what had happened to her as a child; that she had been abused and almost brainwashed into doing something horrid, that her family tree on her real father’s side was messed up beyond belief, and that she still punished herself over what had happened, even though on that day she had been the truly brave one and saved Asuka from drowning. Wasn’t that the kind of behaviour she’d want from a girlfriend?
To have courage? That was why she had stopped dating, because she’d gotten tired of the shallowness of the women she’d brought home, and she wanted someone who cared about her job and work at Nerv and had a heart.
Mari lowered the tablet as she put her hand on her face. “Okay, this is everything I know. It’s not perfect, but I hope it’s enough.” She turned, eyeing Maya, who was looking at her so strangely she just couldn’t read the expression on her face as she pushed the tablet her way. “Does this read better?” She watched as Maya picked it up, looking at it, her brown eyes moving back and forth, only for her to stop as she lowered the tablet.
She met the smaller woman’s gaze as Maya spoke calmly. “You know, I never told you that that gift you gave me was really nice. I’m really sorry I didn’t say it sooner, as I really like that cat pillow. I keep it on my chair at work, and it’s much better than the one I used to own.”
Mari breathed in sharply, suddenly feeling deeply unsure as to where this was going. “Yeah well, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Maya put her hands together. “Yes, but how did you know I liked cat pillows? I never told you that personally, and I know it didn’t come from Asuka or Rei as they both keep my personal life private.”
Mari lowered her gaze. “Misato kind of messed up and I used it to bribe a favour out of her to tell me what your favourite thing was.”
Maya looked up, feeling a smile form as she raised her hand, putting it on Mari’s face. “So you bribed Misato. That is so impressive.”
Mari felt her eyes dart as she looked at the other woman, suddenly feeling very unsure of herself as a strange silence hung in the air. She felt utterly confused as she watched Maya lean towards her, only to be caught utterly off guard as the other woman gently kissed her lips. She could feel her heart starting to beat faster as she was kissed a second time, only with more force and passion as everything suddenly spun out of control.
She found herself kissing back, only for Maya to push her down on the floor, getting on top of her, straddling her. She kissed her deeper as she accidentally kicked the kotatsu.
What the fuck was happening? She grabbed the smaller woman by the shoulders, managing to force her back, though it took everything she had to do it, as her body was on fire and every part of her wanted to carry on so badly, more than she wanted to breathe. She felt her eyes dart as she spoke, knowing her voice was filled with confusion and frustration. “What are you fucking doing? You said you only wanted to be friends!”
Maya felt the grip, it was firm but not hard. It was keeping her back as she spoke, feeling like this was the first honest thing she had said to Mari in a long while. “I lied… You were right, I was pushing you away, the same way Ritsuko did to me, and I rejected you out of fear.”
Mari blinked only to shake her head. “But you don’t like me that way! You said I was childish, immature, that I wasn’t right for you because I couldn’t take responsibility!”
Maya breathed in deeply. “And I was wrong. I realize that now. I just didn’t want to see it before. I know now, you are much better than I ever realized.”
Mari tightened her grip, not to hurt, just to hold tighter, as Maya was now pushing harder forward to reach her. A dark thought suddenly crossed her mind, one which she couldn’t ignore as she spoke through gritted teeth. “If you’re doing this because you feel sorry for me after what happened in my childhood and you are giving me pity sex, I don’t want it! I deserve better than that and I don’t want your fucking pity.”
Maya eased up her hands, putting them on Mari’s as she spoke in a slightly more seductive tone. “Yes, you’re right. You do deserve better than that, so let me give you what you most desire.” She felt Mari’s grip loosen slightly, as a number of emotions played out in her turquoise eyes, the biggest being fear and uncertainty. She eased out her hand, gently touching her face as she felt a smile form. “You’re kind-hearted and noble, you’re what I always wanted in a lover, and I’m the foolish one for not seeing the best of you. I hope you’ll forgive me for that and for being petty and unkind and afraid of my own feelings.”
Mari’s grip slowly loosened as she pushed forward, not hesitating as she started kissing her again, only to receive the same in return as her hands went to her shirt and underneath. Both of their actions became more frantic and heated. If she was going to do one honest thing tonight, it was going to be making love to this woman.
She turned grabbing the black bag which she knew was Mari’s sexual entry plug suit as she spoke between kisses. “You should put this on, because I really want to have some fun with it tonight.”
Mari breathed in, trying desperately to catch her breath. “I don’t have the attachments… it’s only the suit.” Maya felt a sly smile form. “That’s good enough for me.” She felt Mari’s lips meet her again as they became even more passionate and demanding. As the other woman pulled her t-shirt off, she knew there was no turning back and she was fine with that. As she undid Mari’s jeans belt, she felt the last of her inhibitions vanish as pure sexual desire and need took over.
8
Vitor looked at Shinji’s skeleton hologram as he eyed the worm on it. It was deeply clear now that every pilot had one; they’d checked all of them. The only difference between them was they all had different markings on their white flesh. Both Kaworu’s and Rei’s had lines of red bands and were almost bone white in colour. Shinji’s and Asuka’s were more of a cream colour and Asuka’s had a long band of glowing blue from Bardiel going through it, whereas Shinji’s had purple stripes. Mari’s had green spots and Toji’s had black bands like stripes. His was much smaller than the others, like it was still growing.
He pulled his tool away, eyeing the six realistic bone holograms on their platforms, which all had the blood setting turned off. He slowly sat down on the floor. “How do you suppose these got into their bodies? I mean, if they were this large it would have been seen inside the entry plug.”
Chilam carried on adjusting her scanner, which she was altering just to pick up Asuka’s worm and which was giving her a very hard time right now. “What if it’s like a baby squid or coral, because those are tiny, and somehow goes in through the mouth, but tunnels out somehow before it hits the stomach?”
Vitor eyed the hologram of Mari, which was stripped to bone but unlike the others still had the guts in. “Well, there’s a spider tendril on all of them which is inside the lower oesophagus close to the stomach, but we missed it when we were stripping Asuka’s hologram because it made itself look like flesh. I think it uses that to get food directly from the pilot’s stomach. Like any worm on our planet, it’s stomach-acid-proof, but unlike a tapeworm on earth, it’s not taking more than need be and starving the host; it’s just taking enough to live and nourish itself.
Chilam looked up slightly. “Yeah, but this does explain why all pilots have heavy appetites. It’s been recorded in their files for years by Maya that they always eat slightly more compared to say, a jet fighter pilot, and Mari, Asuka and Toji have much more extreme appetites compared to the other three.”
Vitor raised a hand. “It’s even more interesting, since Rei is the vegetarian of the bunch, yet her appetite is listed as quite normal. So this symbiotic relationship does not demand what a pilot can’t eat; it’s like the worm just adjusts to it.”
Chilam carried on working. “I can’t wait to study this further, I mean what if this thing increases libido and sex drive? Also how does it react to same sex and heterosexual sex, and how does it work when a female pilot is pregnant?”
Vitor walked over to Kaworu’s hologram. “Well, one thing is clear from this one. It can’t or won’t fix walking dead syndrome, which this guy has as he has to take medication every day for it.” He paused, moving to Rei’s hologram. “Also, it has two sets of spider tentacles. One set flies out to protect the spine, but the others are in the oesophagus, and tapping every vein on the spinal cord as well as the cord itself. And it’s not just about having a tight lock, as the worm is bound in tight on the spinal cord. So it has to be something else, I just don’t know what.”
He paused as an idea suddenly hit him. “What if this is what creates the pilots’ glowing eyes and teeth? What if it releases something alien, like an enzyme, into the spinal cord, and in humans this allows for temporary metamorphosis?”
Chilam looked up sharply. “That would fit if you can prove it.”
Vitor felt a sly smile form. “Sure I can, I just need to have a pilot. They can lend me one. We still have four, it’s just the others that are missing.” He turned, eyeing Asuka’s hologram. “Plus, this would explain why Asuka gets super strength enough to pick up a hospital bed and throw it. I think this pumps into her to the max, turning her into a real hard-ass who is hard as hell to hurt unless you have a worm in you too. Like I think that big bastard had in the video footage.”
He walked up to her, watching as his budgie flew through small woven paper hoops which the mass Evangelion had made and were holding up in mid-air. “How is the scanner coming?”
Chilam looked up. “I’m so close. I have the DNA track, but it’s not strong enough, and I want to hand Ritsuko one that they can use to scan worldwide. This one won’t cut it; it’s no better than a hand scanner right now. I want to show a prototype that can scan the whole base.”
Vitor looked up slightly. “How much longer do you need?”
Chilam looked up. “Three more hours, then when they come in you can call a meeting.”
8
Maya breathed in deeply, staring at the ceiling in her bedroom as she lay naked on the covers. She turned, eyeing Mari, who was sleeping opposite her, her glasses on the opposite bedside table, her long dark brown hair splayed out, with a wide smile on her face as she snored lightly.
Clearly it wasn’t only Asuka who got glowing eyes and teeth during sex, as Mari’s had done the, same much to her surprise, though the eyes had only had a slight glow, and the other woman had been very careful with those long upper and lower canine teeth and had not nipped her or hurt her at any point, even when it had become even more heated.
She turned, realizing it was very early in the morning and yet she was having real difficulty going back to sleep. It wasn’t just the sex that had been so good, it was the pressing thought that she had just broken her own personal rule, which was that she didn’t sleep with people who she was meant to be their superior. She breathed in sharply.
She couldn’t let anyone find out about it. Ritsuko would drag the hell out of her for this, as she hated the idea of people sleeping with those under them or above them in the command structure, even though she was a massive hypocrite and had done the same.
She knew though, that the woman would drag her like there was no tomorrow if she found out, and she just couldn’t deal with that right now; she just wasn’t in the mood for her bullshit. Plus, she’d probably condemn her as some pervert or creep since Mari was younger than her.
She tensed. She didn’t even want to know how Asuka was going to react when they got her back; it was going to look like she had not taken her being away seriously and had just had sex with her step sister.
She turned over. She didn’t know whether to like or hate herself right now. She had started this. It was her own doing. She had wanted it because her feelings for Mari were as real as they could be; it wasn’t about casual sex or friends with benefits. She wanted a lover and partner and yet now she felt so bad because of the timing. She breathed in, closing her eyes. Maybe she was just tired; maybe her brain would make sense of this later.
She was just foggy right now due to lack of sleep, as she had not really slept since this whole thing with the auction house had happened. She had only gotten in five to six hours in the past two days, and she knew in reality she needed rest.
Maybe this was part of why this had happened; she was utterly sick and tired of just being the job, just slogging away and never giving herself any form of reward or fun, so maybe she felt she was entitled to this. Not to mention, she was so sick of the crushing loneliness that was sometimes part of her job, as her position meant long hours and a lot of juggling. Sumire coming in had been something of a blessing, as it had a least taken off some of the edge of the workload.
She was starting to see why Ritsuko had never been completely happy being in charge of the science division and maybe why she had started to sleep with Gendo, because other than the command and bridge crew you just weren’t close enough to anyone else. The reality was, she now wanted that same kind of contact with someone who she had feelings for. She took one last look at her kitty clock before closing her eyes, letting sleep take over fully. Frankly, she could worry about this another day. Right now, it was better to enjoy the moment and sleep.
End of part 30
Silvermoonlight