What I have for you today is the Angel entry from Agentomega. He could not submit his illustration in time for this entry, but he hopes to have it done later. I'm sure no one would mind if that was a bit late. Anyway...
August 19
Agentomega
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: ShowThe 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: ShowDirector 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.
Great job! Can't wait for your other entries later!
I'm still hurting in terms of my own work, it's brutal.
In other news, I'm actually planning to move up AyrYntake's entry to tomorrow, since he completed it early. That way, we won't have to sit around doing nothing until O-san presents.