Written by Godsend777 All Eva characters owned by GAINAX Do not post without permission Started: 2/27/00 at 12:17 pm Finished: 2/27/00 at 2:55 pm ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Final Air ------------------------------------------------------------------- She feels the radio hum to life before her. Once, a long time ago, she would never have thought to use such crude technology. Now, this rusted hunk of metal and transistors is the only way to communicate; to spread the word that only she can speak. And after tonight, she will not be able to spread it any longer. Damn them. She takes a moment to tighten the bandage on her leg where the last bit of 'Cherubim' shot her. Then, she slowly reaches out with delicate fingers to tune the radio to the right frequency. Time slows down as she tries to think of what to say to them, how to assure them, and most importantly, how to keep the spirit of revolution burning in them. She sighs as she realizes that there is no way to do all three. Instead, she decides to throw one last log on the fire, so to speak. If the upsurge succeeds, then all will be right. If not, then the Church has won. Another tear slips down her face as she damns them again. She does not try to steady herself as she finishes tuning the radio and readies the large beaten and broken microphone. "Those of you who are listening know who I am." She knows that the words she speaks will be all the steadying she needs. "Those of you that feel the fire of revolution, gather around your radio." She can feel her listeners sitting back, their hands underneath their chin, supporting their heads. She would want it no other way. "Those of you that would hear the truth, open your ears to me." She takes a deep breath, letting the mic pick up the noise as she has done countless times over the past three years. She knows that her audience leans forward in anticipation at this moment. She smiles at this thought, but that quickly turns to a frown as she speaks. "This will be my final air. I am pinned down, and it is only a matter of time before the Church finds me." She takes another deep breath. "I am sorry that I am unable to run any longer. Please forgive me." She pauses. What she is about to say will, should her hopes be true, lead to the bloodiest chapter of this stupid war. Countless lives will be lost should she speak. "..." Very well. After all, if it is one she has learned through her experiences, it is better to go down fighting than to flicker and fade away. "You all know how this was started. You know that I was at the center of it. But tonight... tonight I will share with you what happened to the people who saved this world. You know they died, and you know who killed them." "But you don't know how they died." A piece of the decrepit building's ceiling falls away, and the woman immediately draws her gun to point at the sound. She knows the click of the hammer has been heard through the airwaves, but she does not care. Let them hear her fear. It only stokes the fire. A few minutes of nothing but breathing fills the air. The minutes take forever, stretching out into a seemingly infinite span of time despite their pre-set constance. Eventually, she sees that it was nothing, and turns back to the radio to continue. "I will waste no time with words." She cracks her knuckles, then gently uses her hands to shift her wounded leg in her seat. "The first ones to die in any war are always the ones who didn't deserve it. The first shot fired was against a hospital." She remembers the event clearly. She had been in debriefing when a young technician had interfered with the news. "A boy, who was an Ex-Eva pilot, was visiting his wounded sister with his girlfriend and a classmate." She closes her eyes as she pictures the horrified look on the face of one Shinji Ikari when he heard the news. "They knew he would be there. They didn't care. That day, they killed over 100 people just to get to one person." Shinji had to be restrained. "The explosion was heard up to 2 miles away." Misato had to be kept from personally executing the offenders. "This was the fate of Touji Suzuhara." She pauses. Time to think back again and gain the courage to speak the next part. "The second victim was, ironically, the Second Child." This is one of her most hated memories. "They stormed NERV. With the War of Angels over and the Eva series destroyed through either their attacks or sabotage, it was easy. They captured the Third Child and took him to the NERV hospital room where the Second was being kept." More tears start to pour down her face as she remembers the video feed from Control Room. "She had been in a coma due to an earlier Angel attack. When they brought the First in, they locked the door behind him and put three guards on him. He was struggling, but they held him and forced his eyes open." She can't stop the tears anymore as she breaks down into sobs and whispers out the last part. The whisper, however, carries more noise than even the greatest of explosions. "They forced him to watch as they raped and killed the only person he truly loved. She... she never knew what happened to her." She pauses again, and regains a little control over herself. "We're thankful that she never... woke up." "This was the fate of Asuka Sohryuu Langley." Another pause. "Before they could kill the Third, a group of NERV security, led by our Operations Director burst in and killed them all." The tears slow down as anger replaces sadness. "Is this the will of their God? To rape and kill innocent children? To force their loved ones to watch as they do so? A religion where sex and bodily pleasure is a sin?" "Is this what they want us to believe in? Hypocrisy?" "You know I hate these so-called Christians. You know that I can't stand them." "That's why I have always thought that what happened next was rightly deserved." She unconsciously clenches and unclenches her fist. "The Third didn't know where their base was. The Third didn't care. He heard the Operations Director and the Commander say that it was more than likely the Catholic Church." "He was livid with rage. He stormed to his Eva-Unit and climbed inside." "Then he used it to destroy Rome and half of Italy." "The Church rebelled by taking the UN by force. America was one of the places that had the strongest amounts of faith. And others who were not Catholic, but sympathized with their cause, joined in." "They gained control of the United States shortly afterward. The US was not well off after the events of the 2nd Impact, as everyone with nuclear capabilities targeted them. Over half of their population died in the years between 2000 and 2002. So it was surprisingly easy to overtake them. They were no more than UN puppets after all." She pauses again, then softly laughs. "I'm sorry. I rambled about unimportant things." "Anyways, they used the power of the UN and the US to launch a massive full-scale attack against Unit-01. They had five Eva-05 units at their disposal." "The battle was long, and lasted over three days. In the end, the Third was defeated, and the battle was over. His body was never found." "And that was the fate of Shinji Ikari, and the beginning of the Seraphim." She pauses again. There is so much to tell, but only a short time to do it in. "By now, everyone was panicking. Countries allied with others immediately, choosing their sides based on the greatest number of believers in their population." "In the end, it was Asia against the rest of the world." "The remaining staff of NERV all joined the military. Very few had religion to begin with, and for most others these atrocities were too much to bear." She shifts in her set in restlessness, remembering the man that had once met so much to her. "The Commander, who had led us during the War of Angels, led us again. He was cold and cunning, and rarely ever showed emotion. Even so, he had taken the death of his son very badly, and showed no remorse in his actions against the Church. Even though they had the Seraphim, we had him. And with him, we had many victories." Tears would come had this been ten years ago. But it is not. She has gotten over him, even though he had meant so much. "He was assassinated by the traitor, Aoba Shigeru." "This was the fate of Gendo Ikari, and the beginning of the end." She pauses. She hears footsteps walk outside the building and keeps quiet. After a few minutes, they disappear and she continues speaking. "The Seraphim attacked soon thereafter and forced us to retreat. The Church tthen received what is perhaps the greatest threat: The Cherubim. You've seen them. The soulless constructs that wander the streets in search of us. They have claimed the lives of many of our compatriots. They and the Seraphim keep us from preventing our goal." "But remember that our hope lies in the moon." She pauses for perhaps the last time, ready to go into the final stretch of her broadcast. She idly taps her fingers against the wooden desk and continues. "The Fifth Year was over. Myself and three others escaped to Western China where we continued the revolution. We were now lead by the former Operations Director, a woman who had lost so much from the war. She had lost the children she loved, the man she loved, and the place she had once called home. Now as cold and distant as the Commander was, she executed attacks and plans with extreme precision. We rallied behind her without hesitation as she tried to lead us back to glory." "You know how she died. She was defending children who had been caught in the crossfire." She wipes more tears from her eyes as she speaks this final part. "And that was the fate of Misato Katsuragi." There is no pause this time, as she hears the front door of this decrepit house open and the sound of boots clunk against the floor. "The revolution broke up. I started this radio at the request of someone who had become like a mother to me after the Commander died." "She died earlier tonight by the hands of the Cherubim." More tears wet her eyes. "Akagi-kaasan..." * The door to the basement opens. "The Cherubim are here now. I am sorry that I will no longer be able to do this any longer." Several soldiers are heard calmly walking down the steps. "Fight. Rise up." They line up in the room, and slowly raise their rifles to the young woman. "Don't die like me." All the rifles click in unison. "This Rei Ayanami, the Voice of Revolution." "This is my fate." She turns to them slowly, not bothering to raise the gun in her hand. Weakly, she raises from her seat. She looks at their shaven heads with their tatters of light blue hair strewn about their crude cybernetics, then finally into their deep red eyes with her own. "Shinji... I love you..." And the sounds of gunfire echo across the airwaves. -------------------------------------------------------------- In a room comprised of wires, computer terminals and various other electrical equipment, there is a clear plastic tank that holds one man. Though he is young, he is severely scarred. His left eye is missing, its socket ripped open and the flesh trailing listlessly in the yellowish fluid. His right arm is missing and both legs have been cleanly amputated below the knee. Several wires go into his body, and a headset is clamped into his left air. His dark brown hair floats in the liquid. One blue eye opens slowly at the sound of gunfire that resounds through his ear. And the man whispers the name of an old friend as he cries. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finis --------------------------------------------------------------- Author's notes: This was inspired by the movie 'Arcadia of My Youth.' In it, there is a young woman who does a radio show to inspire the revolution against the aliens that have overtaken the planet. Except this was a bit darker, and the movie left you with a note of hope. Also, I mean no slight against Christianity. So don't bitch to me. I'll get back to work on TDOO, now. Later. * = Akagi-Kaasan means 'Akagi-Mother.'