As to how Shinji got the lance, think about it. How did Mana die? Things get hot as a space battle erupts between the UN and Shinji's fleet.

Chapter 12: The Omega System

Alarms started going off all over the place. The German army units stationed at NERV took their positions quickly. Asuka moved down the hallway as quickly as her body allowed her and entered the command center.

"Status?" she asked.

"Elements within the German government seem to be trying to stage a coup," Henderson reported. "However, the military has sided with the national government and they've defeated most of the renegade units. From what we've been able to gather, SEELE was behind it."

Asuka nodded. She had long suspected the organization hadn't died out, though apparently they were greatly diminished in power. Back in her time, SEELE could do basically anything it wanted.

"What about those army divisions moving across the border from France?" she continued.

"There's no doubt that France is trying to take advantage of the situation to take over this installation," Henderson stated. "Loyalist forces are converging here as we speak and the German government is considering a strategic response."

Her blood went cold upon hearing that. A strategic response meant using the N2 warheads that Germany maintained.

"Send a message to Berlin," Asuka said. "Tell them that I advise against it. The French might respond in kind and decide to destroy all of our work here."

Henderson nodded and quickly moved to the communications area.

"Maya, what's going on with our data uplink?" Asuka asked.

"There seems to be some kind of jamming from US satellites," the technician replied. "It's pretty obvious who they're supporting here."

"Yeah. And it's not us. Damn, the world is falling apart here."

"Ma'am!" another officer shouted. "The Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China have issued proclamations announcing their withdrawal from the United Nations! They've also stated that they support Germany in resisting invasion and have offered assistance."

"That's something for the government to handle," Asuka said. "Who survived the fighting in Berlin?"

Maya checked her notes quickly. "Right now it looks like the Chancellor, the Defense, Economics, and Education Ministers, and most of the generals. The foreign minister was killed and it looks like he was the one that started the coup attempt."

"All right. How long before those French units get here?"

"Two hours," Maya answered solemnly.

"And our how forces?"

"Four."

Asuka nodded. "Then we have to hold out for those two hours. Make sure everyone is armed, including yourself Maya."

Reluctantly the technician nodded. Her hatred of weapons hadn't changed over the years.

"Ma'am, perhaps we should deploy our own weapons," Stark suggested. "We can deploy the rail cannons within the hour."

"Then get on it."

Originally designed for use with Adam should it ever be deployed, the rail cannons were capable of launching projectiles at mach 9 and obliterating anything it struck. They would have to be tuned down to take out the French armored units, but with them perhaps the facility would survive long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Asuka sighed and sat down at her seat on the command deck.

"This is getting ridiculous," Asuka muttered. "My own countrymen, no, my fellow humans are trying to destroy each other."

"It can't be helped," said Maya. "Fuyutsuki once said that humans were the 18th Angel. It looks like he was right."

"Well, let's try to make sure they don't wipe us out."

Below dozens of technicians and officers hurried about, preparing to repel the attack. Despite the French government's claim that they were only moving in to assist with the security of the installation, no one in Germany believed them. The explanations were more or less nullified when the French government wouldn't order their units back after Asuka herself requested it.

"Ma'am! The German government is deploying the two JAs on loan to us here!"

Upon hearing that Asuka couldn't help but smile. After a good deal of political and diplomatic maneuvering, the Japanese government had finally agreed to lease two of their JA-Deltas to Germany. As the agreement stated that they would be used for defending NERV HQ, Asuka found it ironic that this would be the first time they actually came to the base. A pity they couldn't get the JA-Gammas, but apparently Shinji took all of them with him.

"Once the pilots get here, I'll want to brief them personally."

"Yes ma'am."

"Anything else that I have to worry about?"

"All the secure data files have been transferred," said Maya. "Once the data transfer is complete, we're going to cut all connections to that database and set a failsafe to ensure no one will be able to access it without the proper codes."

"Good, good." Asuka let out another long sigh. "All this stress can't be good for the baby."

"You need to rest," said Maya. "Stop torturing yourself like this."

"I know, I know, but I can't help but worry."

"It's Shinji, isn't it? You know, in the past you never let it show. I think it's a good thing that you're letting it all out now."

"Hah! I was so stubborn back then. And I didn't want to have kids either. How we've all changed so much. And Shinji-baka. What is he up to?"

"We'll find out when he returns," Maya said.

Both women looked up at the ceiling, almost imagining that they could see the ships hanging in orbit near the Black Moon. The entire world wondered with them what was going on but it would be some time before they received an answer.

Black Moon, Subconscious Domain+

Shinji panted as he stood his ground. This creature was much more powerful than anything he had encountered before, possibly as strong as Adam. But with the Lance of Longinus, this thing's AT-Field was less of a factor. Still, it didn't make the fight that much easier.

"Why do you persist, Shinji?" the thing asked. "Why not let it all end?"

"Why should the world end just for the sake of a few? Everyone deserves a chance."

"And that chance is given to them at birth. If they fail to make full use of it, then they are at fault. Is that so hard to accept? Or do you feel guilty for taking full advantage of your circumstances?"

"Spare me your ramblings," Shinji shot back. "I have no reason to feel guilt. On the other hand, you aren't even human, so why would you know what guilt feels like?"

The thing clutched both hands to its chest. "I'm as human as you, Shinji."

"Then I guess neither of us are truly human."

Gripping the Lance, Shinji charged forward once more and phased through the AT-Field with no problems. The thing fought back by trying to throw more AT-Fields at him but the Lance negated all of that. In response it launched a sphere of energy, forcing Shinji to sidestep and stop his charge. The sphere detonated, washing the area with a blaze of heat.

"Positrons," Shinji muttered. "Interesting that you can create real things in an unreal environment."

In his free hand Shinji began gathering positrons himself. Condensing them, he soon had enough to wipe out Tokyo 4. Instead of throwing them, Shinji launched himself and broke through the initial AT-Fields. Once he was close enough, he unleashed them as a tight beam. The thing retreated but Shinji arched the beam and it splashed against his target. Screaming out in pain, it erected another AT-Field and the rest of the beam was repelled. But the damage had been done. The skin started peeling off and a dark void appeared behind the shattered image.

"Show your true face," Shinji challenged. "What's the point of hiding?"

"What's wrong, Shinji? Is it too much to hurt your mother?"

The white landscape was suddenly torn away, replaced by the shifting swirls of red lines. Particles floated in the air and gave the place an odd shine, but the most disconcerting part was the massive being that slept in the center. All the lines, every particle, revolved around it in a sort of orbit.

"You wanted to see my true form? There it is."

The giant that slept was covered with grayish skin. It looked humanoid but wasn't even close to being human. Despite that, Shinji recognized it easily.

"You've waited this long to escape your prison," he said, "Unit 01. Are you unsatisfied with your current body?"

"Who would be? It is so close to being a human and yet humanity is denied me. What right do you have to create a human that isn't one?"

"You lacked a soul," Shinji stated.

"And now I have one. Now all that I need is a true human body."

"Well, I'm afraid you've held that soul in bondage long enough, and you're not stealing a body as well."

"And how are you going to stop me?"

Shinji grinned. "I have the Dead Sea Scrolls in my head. I know how the EVAs were created and I also know how to destroy them. SEELE wasn't stupid enough not to have a failsafe in case they lost control, though they didn't implement it last time. I think it's time someone did."

"What are you talking about? There is no way to destroy me."

Suddenly around Shinji blue lines appeared and began drawing symbols all around him. He quickly stabbed the ground with the Lance and a seal appeared. At the center was Omega.

"They called it the Omega System," he explained. "A failsafe that would destroy the essence that made up EVAs."

Once the etchings were complete, the red lines and particles began disappearing. Blue lines appeared in their place and began tying themselves around 01's body and avatar.

"What is this? What are you doing!" Panic leaked into its voice as it cried out.

"That should be obvious. I'm severing the body from the mind from the soul."

More beams shot out and soon the avatar was immobilized. No matter how much it struggled and fought, they held tight and started dragging it down. In desperation, it launched bolts of energy at Shinji, but those were easily stopped by Shinji's own AT-Field. The blue light grew brighter and brighter, outshining what red was left and soon the landscape had changed once again. The nebula of red energy morphed and soon it was as if they were at the center of a blue star. With a last scream the avatar disappeared from sight.

Shinji stood alone with Mari still floating there. He touched her heart and the next moment both were back in the hanger. Mari lay on the ground but was slowly awakening.

"Ugh. What happened?"

The guard came forward and helped her stand as Shinji looked around. It seemed like they had gotten out of that okay. Suddenly a rumbling could be heard and all three looked over at Unit 01. The EVA began moving and tried to break out of its restraints.

"I guess I didn't do a good enough job," said Shinji. "Let's get out of here."

Grabbing his radio as they ran, Shinji quickly issued orders. "This is Ikari. All units pull back to the shuttles immediately. We are evacuating now! This is a Code 1 situation."

All around the base soldiers and technicians quickly grabbed what they could carry and ran back towards the shuttles. They donned space suits and soon everyone was on board. As the shuttles took off, the pyramid started breaking apart as a hand broke through. Looking back, Shinji watched as Unit 01 pulled itself out. However, parts of its purple armor had been torn off.

"Once we dock begin pulling away immediately," Shinji ordered.

"Yes sir."

"Is everyone accounted for?"

The pilot nodded. "All teams reporting that everyone is with them."

"Good."

As the docking bay doors closed behind them the engines exploded into action and all four ships pulled away. Shinji quickly got out of the suit and walked onto the bridge. Mari was escorted to the medical bay as her condition was still uncertain.

"Remove safeties on all weapons," Shinji ordered.

"All sir?"

Shinji nodded. "Including the warheads. Launch JA-Epsilon squadrons as well. Charge shields to maximum and prepare to engage. Red alert."

All four ships responded to the order and soon Epsilon units were exiting their respective mother ships. Bulkheads closed in around the bridge and it moved down to a more secure location. Once the locks were in place Shinji looked over at the displays.

"Status on Unit 01?"

"It's standing on the Black Moon," the officer reported. "However, I'm reading strange energy levels emanating from it."

"Transfer to my display."

The numbers came up and Shinji scrolled through them. It didn't look good.

"It's activating the S2 organ," he stated. "Pull all units back beyond this point or we might get sucked in as well."

"Roger."

The four ships moved with surprisingly grace for vessels of their size. Each one turned quickly and retreated behind the point Shinji had designated. The Epsilons all took positions around the fleet and everyone waited.

Slowly the Black Moon started to disintegrate. The matter evaporated into a red haze and it began to flow into Unit 01. Chunks broke off but were caught in the stream and turned into particles of energy. The flows swirled before condensing together. Within seconds nothing remained except for the nebula of energy. That soon disappeared as well as Unit 01 absorbed it all.

"Energy output detected!"

"Shit," Shinji muttered. "Evasive maneuvers immediately!"

Maneuvering jets ignited and the ships began to scatter. However, it was too late. A beam shot out from Unit 01's hand and struck one of the ships. Its shields held for several seconds as it tried to escape but it was no use. The beam finally penetrated and sliced through the hull. As it diminished, it left a gapping hole in the once proud vessel. Atmosphere vented from the exposed decks and bodies could be seen floating out.

"The Katsuragi has been hit! Communications with them is offline. The bridge was taken out."

Shinji nodded. "Order all Epsilons to engage. Open fire with positron cannons."

The turrets on the three surviving ships glowed for several seconds before three beams lashed out. They struck the AT-Field but couldn't penetrate it. After the beams disappeared the Epsilon units charged in. Opening fire with railguns and particle rifles, they peppered 01 with an immense amount of firepower. However, the EVA remained standing.

Missiles took off from the cruisers and flew towards 01. Each one hit its mark but nothing got through. Finally the EVA decided to respond. Its eyes flashed and wings erupted from its back. With a flap it took off and charged a group of Epsilons. It grabbed one and tore it in half before throwing the two pieces at its wing mates. One escaped but the other was struck, exploding from the impact.

Toji led his squadron in as they buzzed the EVA. It looked around, as if choosing a target, before spheres shot out from its hands. The shots seemed to track its targets as no amount of dodging would shake them. Three more Epsilons were destroyed before the pilots opened fire on the spheres, detonating them prematurely.

"Epsilons pull back," Shinji ordered.

The surviving units disengaged from the battle just as Nephilim decloaked. The Angel unveiled its wings and bolts shot forward. Each lance struck the AT-Field and the last one penetrated, knocking 01 back.

"Sir, the UN fleet is approaching! I'm detecting heat signatures in their weapons ports!"

Shinji nodded. "Prepare to engage on my order. If they open fire upon us, we'll take them to hell."

Just as he said those words a hail of missiles left the UN ships. They came in random directions but all of them were targeting Shinji's fleet. The computer systems responded quickly and CIC cannons opened up. Dozens of incoming missiles were destroyed while a few made it through to simply hit the shields.

"Positron cannon, target the flanking cruiser. Fire!"

The beam of light stretched across space and punched a hole in the UN vessel. It exploded seconds later, damaging another ship that was too close. Another UN vessel responded with its own positron cannon but it splashed harmlessly off the Ayanami's shields.

"Fire on the second cruiser," Shinji ordered. "Align the shot so it strikes the one behind it as well."

"Yes sir."

Maneuvering to the side, the Ayanami soon gained a firing resolution and unleashed her fury once again. This time the beam sliced through two ships. The UN vessels detonated but the surviving ships didn't let up. They continued their missile bombardment, futile as it was.

"Sir, I'm detecting a heat signature coming from the surface!"

"An ICBM?"

"No sir. We're detecting an AT-Field. It appears to be an Angel!"

Shinji frowned. "So I guess I wasn't the only one playing God. Where did it launch from?"

"Scanning. Its point of origin seems to be from the United States west coast."

The thing that appeared was a massive being of light. Though it had no wings, it flew through the vacuum towards them.

"Damn it," Shinji muttered. "Status on Nephilim?"

"It is still engaging 01 and has sustained damage. The EVA appears undamaged, though the rest of its armor has disintegrated."

"This could be bothersome," Shinji muttered.

As the Angel approached them, Shinji considered his options. There weren't that many and soon this fight would really turn desperate.

"Sir, we're detecting life pods from the Katsuragi!"

"Have the Nagisa retrieve them. We'll cover them."

"Yes sir."

As the other cruiser moved, Shinji wondered what good it would do. If they didn't manage to kill Adam, then all of them would die. However, he wasn't about to let those under his command down just yet.

NERV HQ, Ruhr Valley+

"French air units are invading our airspace," the tech reported.

Asuka nodded. "All right, time to show them we're serious. Take them down."

SAM sites surrounding NERV HQ activated and came out of their pits. They tracked the incoming and once in range a salvo of missiles took off. The French fighters immediately began a series of maneuvers to try to shake the lock. After jettisoning countermeasures and deploying radar jammers, they managed to lose half of the missiles. However, the rest zeroed in and three fighters were turned into fireballs. The others came in low for a strike but two suddenly staled and crashed into the ground. Not knowing what hit their comrades, the other pilots pulled out of their run just as three more were shot down. The surviving pilot immediately swerved away and tried to run, but several rounds punched through the body of his plane and it too exploded.

Though she wasn't too happy with taking the life of her fellow humans, Asuka smiled in satisfaction. The railguns had performed admirably and would give pause to the French ground forces approaching. However, that satisfaction was soon gone.

"Ma'am, according to our satellites, Adam has been launched!"

"What?"

"Ground based tracking systems and our surviving satellites detected a launch from California. Readings indicate an AT-Field and we've matched it with Adams."

Asuka cursed under her breath. "What's its heading?"

"It is approaching the Japanese fleet now. Our latest data indicates that one of the cruisers was disabled by a particle weapon of some sort."

"Damn it," Asuka muttered. "Not even those ships will be able to match Adam. What of the Black Moon?"

"Our sensors still show that it's gone. But another AT-Field was detected at the site and it's engaging the Angel Ikari brought along. We have no identification for it yet."

"We have to disable Adam somehow. Maya, can we hack its command and control program?"

A quick nod answered her. "There were several back doors in its program that we put in. If we can maintain a secure connection, we could activate Adam's failsafe and force it to self-destruct."

"Then let's get on it."

"Ma'am! The French armored division is entering the combat zone!"

Asuka looked over at Maya and nodded. The technician returned it and hurried down to one of the communication controls. Both had their own job to take care of.

"Are our units in position?"

"Yes ma'am. The JAs are awaiting orders."

"Deploy them. They are to sortie and draw the enemy into range of our ground forces. The railgun will give them support."

"Yes ma'am."

Several levels down Maya sat at the controls and typed in commands. Lines of code streamed past her eyes as she tried to connect with Adam's command core. Finally the security codes were overridden and Maya was in. She scanned the directory and tried to find her way around. However, even though she helped develop the code, it was incredibly complex and would take time. Maya was tempted to begin dumping data just so the control protocols wouldn't be able to function. But that might allow Adam to move on its own, which could have dire consequences. She browsed through the directories but couldn't find what she needed.

"Status, Maya?" Asuka asked over the line.

"It's no good. I'm in the system but it looks like they modified our code. There isn't a self-destruct sequence."

"Then use the one in our patch," Asuka ordered. "Install it onto their systems and activate it that way."

"On it."

Outside the battle had erupted as the JAs played hell with the French armored units. Thirteen tanks were already dead and the others were having difficulty hitting the JAs. They continued to press on and were soon under fire by German military units. Antitank guns roared and the shells smashed through the armor plating. The rail cannons soon joined in the fight and a single shot destroyed five tanks that were in a line. The infantry units behind couldn't advance as the tanks kept getting knocked out. It was soon clear that there was no way the French units could penetrate the defenses. Their tanks were getting knocked out by the JAs with such efficiency that the French units finally called in a retreat. However, the fight wasn't over yet.

"Ma'am! We're detecting strategic bombers incoming!"

Asuka frowned. "Get the JAs in the air and shoot those things down. Once they're in range, have the rail cannons assist."

The rail cannons didn't need to wait as they took aim in the sky. Each unloaded a full round into the sky and their shells punched holes through the planes. Three were down immediately but eight more still remained. Another round was already on the way and this time four were destroyed. The JAs had by then gotten to their targets and opened fire. The escorting fighters quickly moved to engage but they were outmaneuvered by the larger units. The third round came then and destroyed the rest of the bombers. After mopping up the escorts, the JAs also returned to base.

"This is the new face of warfare," Asuka noted. "They're trying to use last era's weapons to fight a new kind of war. Let's see how long it takes them to figure this out."

Asuka then turned to the orbital display and watched the battle between Adam and Shinji's fleet. Though he hadn't lost another ship yet, a second cruiser seemed to be badly damaged.

Orbit+

Shinji clutched the command chair as another blast from Adam struck his ship.

"Shields are down to 7! Next shot will get us."

"Bring us about," Shinji ordered. "Prepare to launch the JA-Omega."

"Sir?"

"Do it!"

Getting out of his chair, Shinji pushed off and used the lift to get down to the hanger. By the time he arrived the technicians were finished prepping his personal unit. Twice as big as the other JAs, the JA-Omega had been part of a contingency he hadn't wanted to implement. However, with Nephilim occupied fighting 01 and Adam about to destroy them, he really didn't have a choice. He suited up immediately and jumped into the cockpit.

"Good luck, sir."

Shinji nodded and closed the hatch. The Omega was maneuvered into position and final checks were made.

"This is the Omega. Launching now."

The magnetic fields surrounding his unit intensified and catapulted him out of the ship. Once clear, he activated the engines and turned around. Right on cue a massive sword came flying out from the Ayanami and Shinji caught it. The object morphed into the Lance of Longinus and with it Shinji took off towards Adam.

The Angel stopped its attack against the cruisers when it noticed its newest opponent. Taking aim, it fired several spheres of light. They too tracked their targets but Shinji quickly shifted his AT-Field, canceling out the spheres and destroying them. A massive cross exploded as each sphere destabilized. Shinji quickly flew in closer, preparing for a close-in strike at Adam.

"Got you!"

Shinji thrust the Lance forward but Adam ducked. It grazed its head but the Angel survived and flew back, unleashing a storm of blasts in its wake. Cursing, Shinji also retreated. He would need to get much closer to destroy this thing.

NERV HQ, Ruhr Valley+

As Maya finished sending in the last commands suddenly the entire screen went black.

"What? No! Asuka, I've lost the connection to Adam."

"Understood."

Asuka looked at the screen and watched as the strange unit retreat. That had to be Shinji piloting and it was likely that blow of his disrupted the link. But how did he acquire the Lance of Longinus? Too many unanswered questions remained.

"Get me a connection with one of those ships," Asuka ordered.

"Yes ma'am!"

Soon enough the screen displayed the face of a tired SSDF officer.

"This is Major Sentoki."

"This is Dr. Soryu of NERV. We were attempting to activate Adam's self-destruct protocol when we lost the connection. As you are closer, you might have better luck. My technicians are uploading the necessary data now."

"I see power has shifted on Earth," the major noted.

"You have allies on Earth, Major. We're all trying to protect humanity, after all."

"Understood. And thank you."

The connection terminated and Asuka watched the data upload. If they could activate the self-destruct, that would make Shinji's job much easier.

Orbit+

Volley after volley of particle beams and spheres rained down around Shinji. Adam wasn't going to let him get a second shot up close. He'd have to throw the Lance, but if he missed everything would be over.

"Sir!" a voice called over the comm. "We've received assistance from NERV and are now trying to activate Adam's self-destruct."

"Acknowledged," Shinji replied. "I'll try to keep him busy until then."

As he turned his attention back to Adam, Shinji noticed the creature moving erratically. It seemed confused and swayed through the vacuum. Suddenly it found a target and threw an energy sphere. That target was the UN flagship. The moment the sphere touched it the cruiser began to vaporize. Metal pealed away and the skeletal frame buckled under the stress. Fires erupted along the forward hull but those too vanished as the sphere consumed it. Within seconds nothing remained as the sphere detonated, destroying the last of the UN fleet.

Adam looked at its handiwork, its back still turned to Shinji. Taking the opportunity, the Third Child charged and prepared to bury the Lance in the Angel's core. If he failed, then he might very well not survive Adam's response.

End of Chapter 12

Well, I churned this chapter out in record time. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll be ending soon enough.

Z98