Agentomega wrote:General Data:
Name and Title: Amitiel, Angel of Truth
Size Measurements: Full-drawn Height: 35 meters (slightly larger than Eva), Full wingspan: 107 meters
Class Ranking: S
Type: Observer, Revealer, Absolute, Unyielding

Background History: After the Second Impact, it was not Sachiel whom awoke first. Rather, the true third Angel was Amitiel, Angel of Truth. The Lilim had made a grave mistake believing the Dead Sea Scrolls to the letter, for Amitiel was obscured from the very beginning, lurking in the shadows even to the minds of those who had foreseen the coming of the messengers. For the truth is not always in the open, but hidden in a veil of lies, deception, or ignorance. It is for that reason that not even the Magnificent Bastard Gendo Ikari or SEELE had known about the True Third, biding his time for the day when brethren would call upon the abilities he possessed, to bring understanding to the Lilim he visited. He would arise from his slumber once before he was needed, for he knew how things had been, how things were, and how things had to be. Before returning to his role of observer, he left behind naught but a sapphire-colored feather, one which would seal the course of fate.

Physical Description: Amitiel’s form varies slightly by person, as the truth is perceived differently by everyone, although the base of his appearance is similar to that of a barn owl or cloaked phantom depending upon the position of his ever-shifting wings, the mask of the Angels secure on his facial disk. His wings appear feathered, although these are tongues of flame that shift about like a tattered cloak, the tips licking out at the surroundings, separating and rejoining the central mass as it burns. The peculiar thing about his fiery wings is that the exterior shines a dull sapphire like the rest of his body, but the interior is an overwhelmingly pure white. When drawn around him, he appears like a phantom, perfectly shrouded.

Abilities: Amitiel is capable of unlocking the truths in the minds of all within his presence, and suppressing their ability to lie. He also possesses the ability to phase through barriers at will, as truth is ubiquitous. It can merge with any entity on the scale of an Angel, including an Evangelion Unit, as these beings have no taint of corruption and therefore are able to hold pure truth.

Defenses:

AT-Field Performance: Used only in supreme defense, for high-energy weapons like N2 mines or Positron rifles which could disrupt its energy signature if left unchecked.

Armor Type: Transmission Class Armor. Projectile weapons simply pass through.

Regenerative Abilities: None, for the truth cannot be damaged, save for a conflicting set of truths (and as such, the Lance of Longinus, for it is a truth in itself as well).

Offenses: Indirect. Its offense is only how the Lilim perceive the truth.

Other Weaknesses: Similar to a geis, Amitiel must follow through on anything he’s agreed to do, for his word is truth. If he doesn’t, he becomes a contradiction and disappears. Through careful manipulation, one may be able to make him accomplish a self-defeating task, much like Cú Chulainn was made to eat dog meat to break his geis.

Names of Designer and All Contributors: Agentomega, reference to GreggHL’s Nobody Dies-verse

Storyline:

SPOILER: Show

The azure skies above Nevada had faded to midnight, and the orange plateaus had since cooled, chilling to the touch. Although the moon watched over the sleepy desert, it observed a hotbed of activity in the core of a steel pyramid nested atop one such clay table. All the branches of Nerv operated around the clock, but key experiments were always run in synchronization with the first shift of Headquarters in Tokyo-3, when all the main staff were awake. This explained why the Second Branch was occupied by employees rushing to and fro with the same fury as a hive of wasps defending from an intruder; the activation of the Synthetic Humanoid Evangelion Unit 04 was that night.

Samuel Winchester, Director of Project E in Nerv Nevada, was absolutely overflowing with excitement. To say that a child in a candy store was more ecstatic than he had to be a falsehood, as tonight was the culmination of the research he had been pursuing for years. There were many new features being added to the Fourth Unit, but the most notable they were testing included the following: the S2 engine integration, and a prototype entry plug which would allow adults to synch with the biological machine.

It seemed like yesterday that Winchester had figured out the problem of adult synchronization. He had been reviewing the data from the initial contact experiment some years earlier, but was making absolutely no headway, becoming frustrated to no end. He decided that only insanity could grip him if he remained studying the same data repeatedly in his office much longer, and as such, took a break. He wandered the labyrinthine halls of the base before a potential difference in his mind finally became great enough, triggering the signal which crossed several synapses, commanding his body to exit the confines. He ambled out of the base into the brilliant cloudless day. The arid land tended to be hot and unforgiving, but it had rained earlier that morning, resulting in the bearable temperature of 84 degrees. He was pondering the data, releasing the previous focus he had, and allowed his mind to roam. An abnormal color caught his eye, directing his focus to the sapphire feather lying on the burnt sienna soil. It was hard to miss such a stark contrast, or such a beautiful sight. Curious, he picked up the feather. As he observed the seemingly shifting patterns in the rachis, an idea hit him like a Berserk Unit 01 wielding a twenty kiloton hammer.

Sam’s smile seemed to split his face in two when he presented the findings to headquarters, and one such Doctor Ritsuko Akagi was absolutely aghast when someone reached such a massive potential advancement before her. She’d calmed down later, brushing it off with the statement that she was working to improve what systems were already in place, not develop radically new supplements to the Evas, but that was beside the point. His face mirrored the one he wore on his presentation day as he donned the silver plugsuit that matched the Unit he was about to “pilot”. He simply had to survive the initial startup, and synchronize with the Eva past the border line. This was easier said than done given the current track record of people born before Second Impact attempting to initiate contact, but with his advances, he’d either be safe, or the world would see yet another case of Darwinism. He sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t be the latter.

He strode down the hallways confidently, with a purposeful swagger. There was no room for doubt in his appearance, as he needed to always appear a strong leader to his team. Furthermore, there was no doubt in his plan. At the very worst, he would go the way of the other contact pilots and be absorbed into the Evangelion. Nothing wrong with that, he reasoned. Sure, he’d be alone for some time, if not indefinitely, but he would still exist for certain. In the best case, he would become the world’s first adult pilot, relieving children from the horrors of the beast, and earning him a “sweet raise” as he would put it. Before him was the experimental plug, painted obsidian in stark contrast to the production form. A group of the technicians and the rest of his team gave a cheer from the observation box as he smoothly ascended into the opening of the cylinder, to which he replied with an acknowledging smile and a thumbs-up. The hatch closed as he situated himself in the somewhat comfortable seat, shrouding him in darkness. A gurgling noise could be heard as the Liquid Connection Link flooded into the plug. He exhaled as the LCL reached his head, and then took a deep breath of the thick fluid, nearly gagging on the concoction which would still provide oxygen to his lungs. The primary connection was initiated, the interior of the plug illuminating with a soft amber light, and several notifications, timers, graphs, and other data screens popping into existence around him as the external power connected. In his peripheral vision, he spotted the communications link with the control room, and turned to it.

“Last chance to turn back, Doctor Winchester. Are you sure you wish to continue,” Commander Amanda Dawson asked, her green eyes the only thing about her stiff visage which revealed the hint of worry in her expression.

“Relax Mandy,” he spoke teasingly. “I’ve run the numbers several times, and nothing should go wrong. Besides, with the safeguards built in, if things seem to be going even a little haywire, the experiment should terminate,” he added thoughtfully.

“Sam, I thought I told you not to call me that on base,” she chided somewhat playfully.

“Understood, Commander,” he emphasized with a chuckle.

She sighed mock-exasperatedly. “Sam, just… be careful, okay?”

He nodded, and prepared himself for what was to come. He mentally listed the steps to go through, and then started the sequence for second stage connection, interacting with the floating displays and narrating his actions.

“Opening circuits… Pulse and harmonics… normal,” he started hesitantly, observing a slight spike in his pulse. It was normal, for him. He was in the middle of a completely new experience, something he couldn’t have prepared for, and that made him both anxious and nervous. “Shape topology within normal range… All nerve links complete. Beginning waveform transformation,” he continued, observing as the list of stable connections grew towards the absolute borderline. He unknowingly held his breath as each box sharply turned from red to green, slowly approaching the borderline like a capacitor approaches its maximum charge (although the general hope in the building was that it would surpass such a function and connect). He released his breath as a wide grin was firmly plastered on his face. “Limit crossed and holding,” he whooped with excitement. Certainly, with his current synchronization ratio, he wouldn’t be able to do much more than stand there and flex the Unit’s fingers, but it was a commendable accomplishment.

As he crossed the borderline, less than a mile away a slumbering entity stirred once more.

I am.

Through license of He who is called “I Am” I have come.

Though my feet shall never touch the base Earth, I have come.

That which I reveal to the Lilim shall do nothing in itself.

Their minds accomplish my goals for me.

I am the Unyielding Knowledge of God.

Angel of Truth.

I am Amitiel.

I have come.

The sapphire and white owl rose its masked head, the black eyes that seemed to be infinite in depth taking a blink. It stood, wings draped around it like a cloak, before expanding them to full length and taking flight towards that which called him: an errant piece of Eden, known to the Lilim as the S2 Engine. A tendril of his yet-slumbering brother, Bardiel, reached for his mind.

“Brother, I am to remind you of your duty to Father. Will you accomplish the mission laid down for you,” the Angel of Hail questioned firmly.

“Yes, Brother, everything will be fine,” Amitiel replied resolutely. “Fine” had variable definitions, so he was telling the truth…

Alarms blared throughout the amalgam of elements which composed the manmade pyramid, alerting everyone to the catastrophe that was to unfold. The bridge was thrown into utter chaos, technicians spewing forth endless streams of data. Only the Commander appeared composed, as usual.

“Contact Headquarters at once,” she snapped at the nearest tech.

“No good,” he shouted in reply, “The Magi is refusing all external connections! We’re completely isolated!”

“S***,” she swore, and then recovered. “Submit a query as to the nature of the communications lockdown.”

“Yes ma’am.” The tech paused to read the Magi’s output. “It’s a number of statistics and graphs, Commander. Casualty rates, survival chances, outcomes of the battle…” He paled as he examined them further. “All the values indicate that no matter the number of reinforcements, survival possibility is 0%.”

The Commander’s calm façade dissolved into a look of horror. “Zero percent? Not even a fraction of one?”

“That’s right, ma’am. The Magi is accurate to thousands of decimal places, and it is reading zero,” he answered, nausea forcing its way into his expression.

“So that’s why we can’t connect,” she muttered under her breath.

What they didn’t know is that the Magi as a computer was more susceptible to this particular Angel, as a computer deals only in ones and zeroes, true and false, devoid of emotion, only possessing logic. The absolute truth being fed into its system was too much, and as such, the Magi believed the Angel was absolutely perfect. The best course of action was to do nothing, as the priority was to minimize casualties. If the humans attempted to contact more, they would only draw larger numbers of combatants into the fray to their ultimate doom. Therefore, it cut off connection.

Another tech yelled, “We have visual confirmation of the Angel!”

“Put it on screen,” the Commander ordered.

An unseen shadow crossed the sky, and upon reaching the zenith of its flight, blotted out the moon. Amitiel began his descent, keeping his billowing wings extended to reduce the acceleration, much like a parachute. He observed as tracer rounds approached his form. Fine, the great owl “smirked”, let them try. It is for naught. The projectiles struck against his wings, only they didn’t. They simply passed through his wings, the flames shifting around the slugs as if to accommodate them, then closing the gap again as they lapped at the air once more. At this point, flares of light erupted into existence below him, growing larger as they came, indicating the Lilim’s use of N2 missiles. The Light of Amitiel’s Soul grew into an absolute hexagonal barrier that not even the blast of the warheads could penetrate. When he was within range, the Angel of Truth drew his wings about him, the tips circling around his body until they seemed to consume themselves, and, much like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland, he vanished.

The Magi was overwhelmed at this point. The Angel was everywhere. It was nowhere, 1 and 0 at the same time. A value it simply couldn’t contend with. So, it just stopped, entering a sleep state until the source of the data was either there or gone.

Now, even the Lilim were feeling the effects of Amitiel’s presence…

The Commander watched on as a bridge tech called his girlfriend, a scientist in Project E. They were to be married in a few months, and he thought it would be best if they talked during their last minutes…

“Hi honey… This may be the last time we talk, so I just wanted to say that I love you… … Wait, you WHAT?!” The tech slammed down the phone in rage, and pulled out his service weapon, pointing it at a fellow crew member. “The H*** I’ll let you sleep with my fiancée and get away with it!” The truth was, the other man didn’t want to die himself, so he also drew his pistol, both guns unloading upon the other. While the Commander would have been completely unfazed by this sudden turn of events, Amanda Dawson was her true personality. She ran.

In the hallway to the cage she passed a hallway, wherein stood a pair of women, one a researcher, the other a member of Section 2. It was rare to see a female member of that division, so she paused behind the corner. She was embarrassed that she did.

“… So I was thinking that we could give it one last go, eh Maggie,” the doctor asked the stiff agent, whose face promptly sported a complete blush. The Woman in Black nodded just before the shorter one in the lab coat stood on the balls of her feet, capturing the taller woman’s lips with her own. Dawson observed the researcher removing the other’s suit jacket before she retreated around the wall, face beet red as she resumed her trek to the cage where Winchester was.

Throughout the base, a multitude of similar events were occurring, ranging from both extremes the Commander witnessed. Some folks were in heated debate, others making confessions to ones who once were friends, and some of the population were doing absolutely nothing. This was the effect the pure truth had on Lilim, or perhaps, how the change in what was known to be true affected them.

Amanda finally reached the cage where her mind froze. She watched as the unknown Angel simply phased through the wall, wings drawn about it like a flaming cloak. The “vengeful” wraith tilted its head slightly as it noticed her, acknowledging her presence, then turning to regard the S2 infused Unit. It stood like that for a few seconds that seemed to her like hours, then she gasped in horror as the Angel unfurled its magnificent appendages, floated forward, and wrapped them like a blanket around the still-active Eva. She grew hysterical, screaming for the man testing the biological construct.

Sam couldn’t hear her. He was preoccupied, watching as the flames licked at the armor of the bio-mechanical beast, not consuming it, but transforming it into something similar to the entity which assaulted it. It was then that he felt a presence, comforting like the feather he kept on his desk all this time, only far stronger. He opened to it as he’d acclimated to the beauty he’d achieved years ago. After all, it had helped him through so many things because he had found it easier to speak his thoughts honestly. He had always been a kind person, although he was afraid of hurting others with his truth. Since his fateful encounter with that magnificent feather, he found kind ways of speaking the truth. It bolstered his resolve, to the point that he was able to accomplish many nearly impossible tasks, like speaking frankly with the Commander about their relationship. The power this entity commanded was becoming irresistible. It was not only foolish to ignore the presence brushing against his mind, but fruitless as well.

“He whom the Lilim call Samuel, I am Truth,” the Angel boomed in the confines of his consciousness.

“Why?” The question was rather ambiguous, but Amitiel understood.

“My brothers seek the ‘purification’ of this world of you Lilim, and to begin complementation of their own volition. I, however, know that this is not how things shall come to pass. It is true that neither of us deserve to die, for all is precious. It is why you will ‘stop’ me,” he answered carefully.

“But there is no way to stop you.”

“That is not true. It is a belief you hold which prevents you from seeing truth. Come, think on it. Surely you know of the properties of the piece of Eden you possess,” the Knowledge of God countered.

“The S2 engine,” he trailed off, a look of realization dawning upon his face.

“Precisely. I cannot be left to continue with my task, as it would be a catastrophe the Universe shall lament for eons. It is simply not meant to be. Let us use these pieces of the Fruit of Life to pave the way to a utopia where Lilim and Nephilem may coexist, as opposed to the fiery inferno we would otherwise perish in. Then, shall we begin?”

Sam nodded, activating the S2 Engine, its frequency interacting with the Angel’s core. A beautiful harmony fluctuated in and out, a beat frequency produced by the misaligned resonance of the pieces of Eden. As he increased the core’s output and altered the driving force to synchronize with Amitiel’s core, he felt floodgates burst and knowledge of the truth erupted into his being as he and the Angel became one. It was then that he caught sight of his lover.

“SAM, DAMNIT, ANSWER ME.” Her voice had risen to a yell over the howling of the union.

“I’m unharmed Mandy,” he replied, amplified by the speakers in what was left of the Eva.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING,” she asked, wiping the tears from her face furiously.

“I’ve thrown the S2 Engine into a critical state… This interaction should be enough to stop the Angel, although it will open a Dirac Sea large enough to swallow a good portion of the desert. The Third Child made it out of one unharmed, so I’d say our chances of survival within it are pretty decent,” he said, trying to bring a note of humor into what could very well be his last conversation.

“Sam,” she whispered, looking up at the cameras in the Evangelion Unit, eyes conveying a message that words could not.

“Mandy… I love you too. Everything’s going to be,” he paused, searching for a truthful statement, “fine.”

At this, the true harmony was realized in a tremendous crescendo, and pure white light ushered forth from the place of the union, rapidly growing to consume everything.

At this, the Angel of Truth no longer existed on this plane, thus the Magi was restored to operational status with just enough time to send a general alert to headquarters, before it too was engulfed by the quickly expanding bubble.

Nerv Headquarters, Tokyo-3…

“It vanished? You’re sure the Second Branch just vanished?!”

“Yes sir, it’s been confirmed. It’s vanished.”

tl;dr:

SPOILER: Show

Director of Project E in Nerv-02, Samuel Winchester, discovers an implementation of the entry plug to allow an adult to pilot after coming in contact with the feather left behind by Amitiel. As it is a test, he volunteers himself to sit in the plug while they start it up and test the S2 engine. As they start up the Evangelion to test the synchronization with an adult, Amitiel appears. Nerv attempts to combat him, but without a completely active Eva or a Lance of Longinus, the Angel slips by, completely unharmed, and disappears off the scanners. At this, Nerv Nevada erupts into chaos, as the Angel has begun to expose the Lilim to truth. Some quarrel, some fight, some kill, while others strengthen relationships because of their newly unlocked understandings. One truth is shared amongst all of them in their limited state of knowledge, however: Amitiel cannot be stopped. It approaches the cage, and begins to merge with Eva Unit 04, Winchester inside. Amitiel whispers that if he is left to merge with the Eva as his duty compels him, the Angelic version of Third Impact will occur, wiping all Lilim away in a painful catastrophe. However, he suggests that by overloading the S2 Engine, there would be a resonance with his own core, creating a Sea of Dirac that would stop the Angel at the very least. Sam proceeds to do so, and Nerv Nevada as well as a large portion of its surroundings was consumed.

Chowwow wrote:@ Holy Diver: so, were the references to Omegagouki a coincidence or not?

NemZ wrote:I could do without the heavy-handed bold-type angel introduction speech crap though. Where in fandom did that trend start, I wonder?

AyrYntake wrote:UrsusArctos put it to me last year whether I could make a good anti-Ramiel. I have taken up the challenge with Phanuel

General Data:
Name, Title: Phanuel, Angel of the Dream
Size: For reference below

Class: B
Type: Mental infiltration

References/inspirations:
Chinese nested ivory ball
Gyroscope
Bacteriophage virus (note the icosahedral structure it forms on EVA-00's head)

Ezekiel's vision (Specifically Ezekiel 1:15-21, Ezekiel 10:9-13
Uh yeah, I did take a few hints from the film Inception (AMAZING MOVIE FTW!) but I try to keep that subtle...

Physical Appearance:
Phanuel takes the physical form of 192 reflective metallic spheres held together in a flexible structure by his AT Field, initially taking the form of a large double-layered sphere with lozenge-shaped eyelike openings, here modelled with a set of 192 magnetic beads.



More detail of an "eye" can be seen here, surrounded by four other such openings:


Characterization:
Phanuel's name means "the face of God" and he is considered to be the ruler of the Ophanim, a class of angels ranked among the Cherubim and Seraphim. Mentioned in the biblical Books of Ezekiel and Daniel, as well as in the deuterocanonical Book of Enoch, they are described as giant fiery wheels with eyes all around their rims. The Book of Ezekiel reads Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about." [url]www.seraphim.com[/url] gives the biblical references to Ophanim as to be found in the Book of Ezekiel Chapter 1, verses 15 through 21, and again in Daniel Chapter 7, verse 9. It quotes scripture as saying "there were four Ophanim around God's throne, and that these giant wheels are completely covered with eyes, which see all of God's truth." Ezekiel 10:10 says "As for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel", while the Second Book of Enoch calls them "the many-eyed ones".
A quick Google search reveals an interesting drawing of an Ophan that's quite close to the classic description:

Again from seraphim.com: "...these four Ophanim reside within the place of the cosmos where all of the material that forms the universe originates. Some Biblical scholars that are heavily influenced by contemporary science, have concluded that the Ophanim are actually some sort of physical structure within our universe, and that the prophet who first described them was actually shown something in the cosmos, and then described this in the only way that he could without scientific knowledge." Wikipedia states that "They mete out divine justice and maintain the cosmic harmony of all universal laws." From a basic level of physics there are four known fundamental forces that pervade the fabric of the universe, and I have taken the liberty of drawing a parallel between these four Ophanim and the four forces. Phanuel's AT Field, as such, acts with some electromagnetic character giving polarity and direction to his various structures.
Phanuel himself is one of the Angels of Presence, an important and exclusive group which Wikipedia also names "Angels of the face". According to myth these angels were created on the first day and rank highest in the Book of Jubilees, serving directly beside God's throne. The etymology behind the Hebrew reveals there to be a strong connection between Phanuel and the Ophanim, as well as the theme of faces and wheels:

Phanuel's appearance is directly after Arael's in the list of Angelic appearances. Having witnessed the fall of Zeruel, the last and fiercest of the Angels to use brute force, the remainder (Arael, Armisael, Tabris) realize that mere might and ATF magic is no longer the way ahead. Phanuel too is aware of this; he decides first to gather information from the enemy in stealth, and it is this that gives rise to the beginning of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION Episode 22.2:

"The End of the Dream"

[Rei floats in a tank of LCL in Terminal Dogma, Gendo and Ritsuko watching.]
Ritsuko: They've been restless lately.
Gendo: Hm.
Ritsuko: Have those children begun to suspect anything about the Dummy Plug system?
Gendo: No. They can ask questions, but nobody will give them answers.
Ritsuko [thinks]: Easier said than done. After the incident with the thirteenth Angel...
[Fade to black. Scene of Rei lying prone on her bed in her apartment. She opens her eyes.]
Rei: A dream?
[pause]
I had a dream.
[Echoing in her head]"Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?..."
That hasn't happened before...[flashback]
Zoom in on Rei floating in a seemingly boundless expanse of orange LCL, semi-conscious. She looks behind her to see another of her likenesses directly behind.
Rei: Who are you?
Rei clone: I am you.
Rei: Who am I?
An infinite, continuous line of Reis suddenly appears behind the Rei clone, who echoes--
Rei clone 1: Who am I?
Rei clone 2: Who am I?
Rei clone 3: Who am I?
Camera pans along the line of Reis all echoing the same fading line. As the camera pans, a glowing halo appears above the head of the original Rei and she elevates slightly above the others.
Rei clones [echoing]: Don't leave me...don't leave me...don't leave me...
The halo grows and descends to hover around her waist. Then, out of the LCL, another glowing ring fades into view, at right angles to the first halo, encompassing Rei.
Rei begins to drift away, but reaches out to the others; however, they recede from view.
Surroundings turn dark.
Rei: Ayanami...Rei?
[Return to the apartment. Rei walks over to Gendo's glasses, and holds them in her hand.]
Rei: Ayanami Rei. [Smile]
[NERV Central Dogma]
Hyuuga: Ma'am, we've just received news of an Angel approaching from the direction of Lake Ashinoko. Pattern blue confirmed.
[Scene of the Angel over the lake, reminiscent of Leliel but with a visibily rotating inner ring]

Misato: Understood. Which units are combat-ready?
Maya: Unit 01's still in full lockdown under the Commander's orders...
Misato [thinks]: And Asuka's in no state to pilot, is she?
Misato: Well, we don't have a choice then. Evangelion Unit 00, sortie!
[Rei lifts off. As soon as Unit 00 heaves into view, the Angel reacts. With a ghostly hum (comparable to Ireul's "howl") and a clacking of metal on metal, a few spheres move towards the side of the Angel facing her, forming a face rather like Zeruel's]

Rei: A face.
[Rei sprints forward and fires her pallet rifle. Bullets impact the surface of the Angel and ricochet with a metallic pinging sound. A few spheres are dislodged and fall, but before they reach the lake's surface re-levitate and cling back onto the Angel's body, now slowly moving forward]
[The Angel's clacking intensifies, like the sound of Shamshel's tentacle ribs from Rebuild. It rearranges itself to form a hexagonal Ramiel-like star with a hole in the centre. Bullets now pass straight through the centre of the hole, while the Angel continues drifting towards EVA-00]
Hyuuga: Target has landed, now approaching Tokyo-3!

Misato: Rei, the pallet rifle's useless. Head back into cover, we've prepped a positron rifle at 196!
[Several blast shields extend above the ground as EVA-00 ducks behind them. Cue "Marking time, waiting for Death"]
[As the Angel drifts slowly towards the city, Rei takes position behind a shield and takes aim.]

Misato: Ready to fire in ten...nine...eight...
[The targeting reticle beeps continuously. Rei, the sniping scope extended over her eyes, tenses visibly]
Seven...six...
[Rei breathes heavily]
Five...four...
[Shot of Rei's finger tense on the trigger. Cut to the Angel with the targeting reticle locked onto its lower corner, emitting a low buzzing hum]

Three...two...one...
Hyuuga: Target moved!
Ritsuko [simultaneously]: What?!
[Rei fires. The beam shoots almost straight into the centre of the hole and passes through unhindered. A large green cross erupts behind the Angel]

Ritsuko: Impossible!
Rei: It seems to be...reading my thoughts...
[The Angel, the cross still burning behind it, returns to its original form and speeds towards Rei.]
Misato: We've betrayed our location...
[Rei brings the pallet rifle to bear and peppers the Angel, blowing chunks off it which regroup into three distinct parts. The Angel's main body peels off an outer layer to reveal a second ball inside]

[Suddenly, when they are close enough, all three groupings levitate off the ground and dart swiftly towards EVA-00. Rei cries out, dropping her weapon, and barely manages to catch hold of one line of spheres directly straight at EVA-00's head]

Misato [desperate]: Progressive knife! Rei, cut them off!
[Rei draws the knife and slices at the Angel but the spheres only slide apart and back together again. The knife becomes caught between two of the spheres and the Angel lashes it away]
[As Rei struggles with the Angel, the strands of spheres snake up the body of EVA-00 and wrap around it. One ring forms around its head, then another]
[EVA-00 pulls strands away but can only do so one at a time. More and more spheres pile up around EVA-00's head]
[EVA-00 becomes completely encapsulated by the Angel]
Misato: Rei!


[Rei, in the entry plug, gasps...and then blinks]
[She is surrounded by mirrored spheres, each reflecting an image of EVA-00's head. As she watches, the images morph into her own face]
Rei: Who are you?
Voice: I am you.
[Shot in the control room]
Hyuuga: Unit 00 has opened channel to the broadcasting system!
Rei's voice, heard over the loudspeakers: Who am I?
Echoes: Who am I? Who am I?...
[NERV staff and bridge officers stand confused and awestruck]
[Shot of Rei clones held in Terminal Dogma. The words "Who am I?" echo faintly throughout the tank. The cloned Reis lift their heads and turn to look at the camera]

Aoba: Captain, we're detecting activity in Terminal Dogma!
Misato: You're kidding! At at time like this?
Aoba: Identifying signal...[spins round] it's Rei!
[Scores of Rei clones float upwards through the shaft leading from Terminal Dogma.]
Ritsuko: No...it can't be! Scan the Field that they're producing!
Maya: The bodies are Rei's, but the Field...it's a pattern blue! The Field belongs to the Angel!
[Shot of the Angel still perched on EVA-00's head, emitting a low hum. Cut back to NERV in the Evangelion cage, where levitating Reis spill out from an elevator shaft. Personnel in orange uniforms back away from the clones as they mill around giggling. One man pulls out a pistol and shoots at one of them, only to have a strongly glowing ATF barrier extend in front of his eyes. He cries out and shields his eyes. The Rei clones drift towards the EVA-lift shafts...]
Misato: Stop them!
[...and, in perfect unison, throw the switches to the lift doors. A warning tone is heard, then all EVA-lifts simultaneously hiss wide open]
[Shot of the Angel on EVA-00's head. A strand of spheres, still humming, peels off the main body and slithers along the ground to the nearest lift shaft. The Rei clones ascend through the various shafts, chanting:]
Rei clones: Don't leave me...don't leave me...
[Shot of Rei in the entry plug, eyes closed. "Don't leave me..." echoes in her ears. She opens her eyes]
Rei: No! I am me!
Maya: Eva reactivated!
[A pulse ripples through the Angel's body, and it's grip on EVA-00 loosens]
Rei: I am...
[Another pulse. Spheres fall off EVA-00's head and, almost hastily, stick back on]
Rei: Ayanami Rei!
[A third, final shockwave as a horizontal ring of spheres is knocked to the ground. The Angel reels and a glowing halo around EVA-00's head shines through]
Maya: Her synch ratio's skyrocketing! Over 200%!
[The Rei clones, emerging from the lift shafts, levitate to around EVA-00's head height and join hands, continually chanting "Ayanami Rei" in the process. They continue to rise above the battle]
[The Angel howls and, snaking around the back of EVA-00, coils around the umbilical cable and tears it out. Cut to EVA-clock counting down from 5 minutes]
[Rei reaches for the cable but the Angel covers the plug, then wraps around EVA-00's arm. She flings the glowing spheres off]
Misato: We're out of time!
Ritsuko [muttering]: Dealing with a strong magnetic field...[looks up]That's right! Rei! Grab another cable!
[A nearby building yields a new umbilical cord. The Angel shoots off another strand to intercept it]
Ritsuko: Prepare a high-voltage pulse between cords 2 and 4!
The Angel, barely keeping a hold on both plugs, is pushed to the ground as Rei bombards it with her AT Field. A hexagonal pattern appears in the centre of the Angel, then a hole in the midst of the hexagons]


Ritsuko: NOW!
[Lightning jumps across the body of the Angel and sparks burst out of the gaps between spheres, which fall to the ground. There is a moment of silence, then the screen is lit up by 192 small glowing crosses]
[The chanting of the Rei clones is replaced by vacant smiles of the Reis first seen in Terminal Dogma. They pause briefly then fall, tumbling over each other, into the lake]

Postwar Carnage Report--Offensive Abilities:
Phanuel was revealed to have mental infiltration capabilites much like those of Arael's, but his mind attack was carried out in far more subtle a way. Technically, his first contact with the human world was during Ayanami Rei's dream, during which he was able to analyse her thought patterns via her subconscious. While this did not directly confer any ability to control the Rei clones in Terminal Dogma's cloning facility, it did allow him some insight into their mental workings with Rei having recently been cloned in Terminal Dogma. It is not known by what exact mechanism Phanuel was able to infiltrate the subconscious of both Rei II and the Rei clones which he possessed during the battle, but speculations have been made regarding "PWM resonance" that seem to indicate an ability of two or more PWM bodies, once set off by particular mental triggers (in this case, the key phrase "Who am I?" may have been the hook), to trace out the exact same thought patterns and establish a communicative bridge with each other. It is thought that Phanuel's evasion or prevention of most of the previous ranged attacks from EVA-00 were also largely a result of his "mind-reading" Rei, allowing him to predict enemy movements with pinpoint accuracy.
Whether Phanuel was attempting to take control of EVA-00 during the infection period is not known, but given enough time and concentration this could certainly have become the case.

Defenses--AT Field:
Phanuel has an AT Field unlike other Angels in that it has a polarity and magnetic affinity. This works to his advantage in several ways, recovering lost parts and shaking off knife attacks with minimal damage. However, a strong electrical pulse will overcome the field and wreak untold damage on the Angel--as is seen in the ending of 22.2.

Armour Type:
A metallic, flexible chain mail of spheres makes up Phanuel's "armour"...and indeed entire body. While Phanuel prefers to evade attacks, he is not unable to directly resist projectile impact and indeed does so several times, occasionally dissipating the energy of the shot by breaking off a sphere and reabsorbing it into the parent matrix.
It would probably have been possible for Phanuel to evade the Lance of Longinus, were he to see it coming:


Regenerative abilities:
None observed.

Combat strategies:
After Zeruel, Phanuel was the only Angel to open a route directly into Terminal Dogma (excluding Tabris, who was welcomed as a pilot after all). Aside from Asuka and Shinji (debatable), there are no other cases of Angels initiating unwanted mental exchanges with humans, and both of these were AFTER first visual contact with the Angel rather than before. Phanuel's style is unique in that every move is planned, intended to evade direct attacks and strike where the enemy least expects. Whether this method would have worked with a non-PWM pilot such as Shinji or Asuka, without evidence of any such attempts, remains an open question due to lack of fact-based data.



Designer/Contributors: Me, myself and I, the Internet, my trusty camera, my not-so-trusty card reader (gahhhhhh!), last but by no means least: Chowwow for hosting this competition and allowing me to use modelling!

oOoOoOo wrote:-----------------------------------


ANGEL DESIGN: KALI

Hello hello! O-chan here! I wrote this whole thing in an intoxicated blur, trying to figure out what sort of words should accompany my weird drawing. The result is this, the first of a two part mini-story that will be completed with my Eva design. It makes sense to me now, in a drugged haze, but you may disagree. You can skim to the end to see specs and visuals if you want.

I found the drawing process to be quite frustrating and humbling. Eventually I turned off all the lights and used my own hands for reference by holding them in front of my computer monitor (which involved a lot of contorting), so I basically drew the silhouettes. There were some problems when I realized I couldn’t draw my right hand while still holding my pencil with my… right hand. Also, the drawing was originally very dense and crazy, so I ended up erasing back a lot and using some simple ink lines. The inspiration should be obvious. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

“Shinji’S NEW WORLD”

“As of 12:30 today, a special state of emergency has been declared for the Kanto and Chubu regions…”

The announcer’s warnings were now a familiar mantra to Shinji, so familiar he found himself wondering if he’d heard it before, but he supposed every pre-recorded warning was recited by the same robotic woman.

He left the abandoned train station, moving through the streets like a ghost. It was as if the blue hour had come in the middle of the day. The city was kind of peaceful like this, pale buildings on either side of the broad street with silent cars and well-groomed trees as the only splashes of colour. Did it matter if there was no one around? As far as he was concerned, the world was like this every day. He probably wouldn’t have seen anyone even if they were there.

Maybe that’s why he felt so calm. His two worlds had merged. It nearly made him snicker. What was with him lately? Well, the thought of seeing a father like him would make anyone a little loopy.

“Due to the state of special emergency, all lines are currently unavailable.”

Of course he couldn’t reach anyone. He knew he shouldn’t have come, that was the feeling he had the moment he woke up that morning. But still…

There was a rumble in the distance. Thunder? The green phone slipped through his fingers, bouncing on its cord. He pulled out the photograph, hardly glancing at it. Was she really coming? The back of his neck prickled, like he was being watched. He should get to a shelter.

Birds scattered from a nearby telephone pole. No, she was coming, though he wasn’t sure where his confidence came from.

There was another rumble, a shuddering boom. Electric lines twanged overhead and he spun, looking beyond the city and the tree-covered hills, just as three military planes came into view. They hovered in reverse, retreating from something unseen.

Shinji looked at his hands. Not a tremble.

The aircraft started to bank wildly in every direction, the hills before them rippling, trees uprooting like dandelion seeds. The buildings followed, pieces stripped off and flung into the retreating vessels, lighting up the sky. As trails of fire arced over the cityscape, a car screeched to a stop before him, blocking his view.

The door flipped open, a young woman in tinted sunglasses smiling calmly from the driver’s seat. He was still slack-jawed.

“Sorry,” she said, “didn’t mean to keep you waiting!” It’s like she’s late for a date. Not that he would know.

What a strange thing to think.

Tires squealing, Katsuragi-san drove them out into the open, a structure toppling behind them. He could see the brown cloud racing after them in the side mirror. Soon enough they were up on the highway overlooking the city. She gulped, cheery mask cracking.

Something—were those wings?—loomed over the far edge of the city. It spread itself over the hills, broad shape silhouetted with the sun at its back. Yes, they were definitely wings, like some sort of great bird. Angel—and not the Christian sort. Even without thinking back to half-remembered lectures, he knew in his gut what it was.

The car slowed.

“Why are you stopping?” he asked. Why was he so anxious to get there?

“Just a second,” she said, pulling out some kind of fancy binoculars. She leaned across his lap and out the window. He rested his eyes a moment on the cross dangling from her neck. Then took in her breasts. Like a Westerner’s.

Was he on something like a date? The photo seemed kind of strange…

Suddenly she tensed up. He glanced at the distant hills from the corner of his eye, the hovering creature growing wide, four wings splayed like fans.

Then the innermost wings snapped forward. The cityscape rippled.

“Get down!” she shouted, throwing herself on top of him. Something slammed against the passenger-side door, then he was thrown up into her embrace.

* * *

The strange liquid rushed up over his head, and he gulped, letting it into his lungs. What the hell was he doing? Panic set in then quickly subsided, before the voice of the blonde woman could even explain. It had been a reflex to breathe the stuff, just as it’d been to accept his father’s insane request. This was a robot, wasn’t it? It didn’t matter, he’d seen a few cartoons in his day. He was probably still sleeping back at sensei’s, dreading this reunion.

But the smell, the taste…

When he next stopped to think about it, he was outside. Had he blacked out? No, it was more like how he always went from point A to point B—in a daze.

He flexed his hands, realizing the robot’s hands mirrored his intentions. It seemed all too natural, like he was wearing some giant suit of purple and green armour. The once towering buildings flanked him like the pale markers of a cemetery, the creature hovering at the end of the aisle. Even now, large as he felt, the thing was too massive.

“Damn monster,” crackled a girl’s voice in his cockpit. “Flung me half-way across Kanto!”

A crimson robot slid sideways out from between two buildings, pushing a line of parked cars across the street. Wait—wasn’t the other pilot the girl in bandages?

Oh, who the hell cared?

“Eh? Still standing?” She sounded almost disappointed.

“I’ll take the front,” he said.

“The Third? Already?” Her robot leapt onto the nearest roof with a crash. “Just keep it distracted and stay outta my way—shit, it’s coming!”

The winged creature started to drift, folding its wings back. A vast shadow slinked up the street towards him. Not even when the aircraft were surrounding it, did it act so defensively, bringing its wings in so close. Were the robots really this powerful? How could it tell?

“It didn’t do this before,” the girl said, her robot skipping from building to building.

“We can see it from here,” came Katsuragi-san’s voice. “It’s definitely protecting something.”

The girl in the red robot laughed. The sound made Shinji’s heart pound. “C’mon Third Child,” she cried, “watch and learn how to use a prog-knife!”

He looked from side to side, checking he had enough room to dive out of the way. No, this robot could take it. At least one wave. A giant rifle caught his eye, sitting in the side of a skyscraper like it was a cabinet. He pulled it out. Distract it, she said.

The thing was slowing its approach, so huge it was hard to gauge the distance. But distance didn’t matter to this thing, and Katsuragi-san’s shuddering car was proof of that.

So, this was an angel, same as the monster that ruined the world.


He could see it clearly now. Aside from its wings of overlapping, liquidy metal, it was nothing more than a mask-like face surrounded by ever-shifting strands, like living hair. A pair of arms pushed out of its body, then another, and another, then arms emerged from the elbows of the first pair, arms merging and splitting like shapes in a kaleidoscope. The eyes snapped open—mouths. All three mouths gaped. In a grimace? A moan? Laughter filled his head—a woman’s velvety voice.

It was the creature. He could feel his bones rumbling. The laughter came from inside his head.

“Isn’t this all so familiar?” said the angel, rich tones washing over him. His legs nearly buckled. “But you’re finally acting. This time… at last…”

He said nothing to the other pilot, or to the strangers watching him from some distant control room. Or to his father. Why wasn’t he scared? It didn’t matter. He had to stop it. He would show that smug bastard.

It laughed, sounding almost as delighted as the girl.

“Aim…centre…” he murmured, gun flashing before him, dumping car-sized casings onto the street.

The creature’s innermost wings lurched forward, the feathers quivering in a blur, scattering his shots. Guns were useless. Hadn’t they dropped some kind of bomb on it while they loaded him into the robot? A knife, she said? Really? He could see her silhouette in the distance, catching himself admiring how easily she manoeuvred, like a kid across a play structure.

The angel spread it wings, all its focus on Shinji. He lost sight of the red robot.



“Here it comes!” she yelled, the words hammering into his head.

The inner wings flapped towards Shinji, feathers slicing through the structures on either side. A wave of debris rushed down the street, slamming overturned cars into his legs, the force pushing his back up against a wall.

Beyond the swirl of dust, he saw the outer wings snap forward. His robot shook wildly, shedding its violet armour like scales. He had to hold its focus! The shouting from the control room, the roar of the wind, it all faded into white noise.

The girl’s scream cut through all of it, a primal thing, stirring something in Shinji. He wanted to rush forward and join her.

For a breath, all was silent.

Then he felt it. The pain reaching him a moment later, with the sound and the light.

* * *

He blinked his eyes open slowly, taking in the broad white ceiling.

“Unfamiliar? Or maybe a bit familiar.”

He turned to look at the speaker, sitting at his bedside. She wore a school uniform and a satisfied smile. Her long red hair marked her as a foreigner, though she seemed Japanese enough. A half? He gulped. Was she holding his hand, just a moment ago? He could feel the lingering warmth.

“But you’re not supposed to be—”

“Not supposed to be here yet?” she laughed, incredulous. “We can’t really afford to waste any time, can we? It's amazing you remember anything, though. I suppose that comes with reusing the same goop.”

“Uh…”

“It’s been a few days,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’ve always been delicate, there’s no denying that, but even I worried. Well, part of me worried.” She flicked a length of hair over her shoulder. “Still, it gave me time to collect myself. The angel might have been facing you, but those arms twisted around real quick to grab me.” She giggled. “That doesn’t sound quite right, saying it grabbed me.”

She hopped up onto the bed, leaning over, placing her hands on either side of him. Hair fell around her face, warm light filtering through. The hospital room—there was no denying what it was—felt more comfortable now, even though his pulse was quickening. It was a strangely comforting anxiety. It was like waking from a long dream.

"Awake," she nodded. "I've spent too long observing, too." She looked down her front, sighing. “This body’s much better than Amun’s clumsy child. This is more like the one I had before the Communion. But that so-called angel, it handled like a fucking dinosaur.”

“Uh…” Shinji didn’t know what to say. Maybe if he lay still long enough, she would do something and he could just react. That seemed appropriate.

“Oh, but I like it when you act.” She pursed her lips. “Well, a part of me does. Another part of me doesn’t give a shit.” She slipped off the bed, spreading her arms as if finishing a gymnastics dismount. “C’mon, c’mon, you sleepy-headed idiot. Don’t you want to see my new Eva? It arrived while you were being your typically comatose self. We have space monsters to slay.”

He sat up, sheets falling off his bare chest. There was something wet smeared across his belly.

“Oh, that?” Her grin widened. “Pretty fucked up, eh?”

TO BE CONTINUED …

* * *

SPECS
- Name: Kali (literally, “the black one”, “time”, or “beyond time”, taken from a goddess with many aspects)
- “Pilot”: whoever or whatever is now inside Asuka
- Measurements: 1 km wingspan, weight unknown
- Class: S
- Primary offense: inner wings flap forward, shredding all within 0.5 km in front of it, while projecting the boundaries of the angel’s AT field forward an additional 1 km; if both sets of wings flap at once, this leaves the core exposed at the angel’s back, but amplifies the force of the attack and pushes the field out even further; the AT field can also cause damage while snapping back to its original shape
- Secondary offense: “arms” can extend and contaminate by touch, should a foe get close enough
- Defence: blade-feathers, impenetrable to all human and Eva-based attacks, can completely cocoon itself but this removes all attack capabilities, quickness of wings makes up for slow travel speed and lack of maneuverability
- Mental: capable of human language, mindfuckery, mental contamination, possession
- Credits: Ophelia, cannabis, and a bunch of dead Hindus

Chowwow wrote:Very... interesting. Also, is someone starting to see this year's trend like I do? How does this happen, does everyone get together somehow and think of a theme for the year?

Formless One wrote:What trend? Simplicity? Radial symmetry? Mindfuckery?

Formless One wrote:As for the rest, the prose, its confusing. Is it supposed to be? It seems like you wanted to create a feeling of deja vu, but it comes off more like the narrator has some sort of dissociative disorder. One moment the scene is one place, the next moment its someplace else. One moment one thing is happening, the next moment there is a... flash forward? Then another one? One moment its told from one POV, the next moment I'm not sure. You might want to work on your transitions, because its otherwise fine. I think. :^/