A/N: Here it is. The first chapter of Monster World. I wanna try to keep to schedule of new chapters every Monday, but I can't keep any promises as I'm slated to start job training soon.
On with the story! Enjoy!
Oh, hello! I didn't hear you come in! Welcome to my humble abode! My name is God. And before you start with the accusations of religious indecency, know that I'm a God who represents the deities of every religion and their pantheons. Since this is a story and not a video, imagine that I look and sound like Patrick Stewart. And at no point does the author wish to imply he is playing God.
Anyway, this is a story about a world. A world you thought you knew, but has been changed. Now, where do I start? Oh yes. Episode 24 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Things never looked so bleak for humanity. People were dying and the Angels were winning. I myself had awoken from a coma Satan had put me in during a fight (the very fight that caused Second Impact). When I saw what was going on, I was abhorred at what Satan had done to the Angels I once called my children! Satan had seduced them to his side with promises of immense power and wealth. So, I brought the hammer of justice down upon the planet, redeeming the Angels still rampaging in Tokyo-3. I then appeared before the world, filled them in on all the details, and then restored to the world to the state it was in before Second Impact. I myself stayed on Earth for some time to help with recovery.
Everyone you know and love was either saved or resurrected. Except Yui and Kyoko. Their souls are still trapped in Units-01 and 02. NERV personnel, such as officers, technicians, and especially Eva pilots, went to therapy. These sessions were very fruitful. Lives were improved. Trauma was alleviated. And bonds were forged.
NERV itself continued to function even after I intervened. New upgrades to the Evas were carried out, such as chest-mounted missile tubes (launching N2 Missiles), and ankle-mounted scramjets (they were Kaji's idea) allowing flight, hovering, and all-around improved mobility. I myself assisted in creating a new control method. Neural links and sync rates became a thing of the past. Now, it was a matter of hooking up to a plug and using your mind. Just think the action in your mind, and the Eva will do it. The mouths of the helmets can now freely move so the Eva can roar and intimidate opponents. For the other changes to the Evas, such as the new ejection system and the new purpose of the plugsuits, I refer you to the prologue.
Though the Angels were defeated, threats of other destructive forces remained. Ships sailing in the South Pacific had reported sightings of kaiju (Japanese for "monster"), mainly members of the more numerous species such as Ebirah and Gezora. Fortunately, no ships had been sunk yet, but the United Nations wouldn't take chances. They set about reforming the G-Force organization, renaming it the Earth Defense Force and reactivating the MechaGodzilla they had built from the remains of MOGUERA following SpaceGodzilla's defeat in 1994. This unit, named MechaGodzilla 2, would have been used against the Angels had Gendo not sabotaged it to avoid rendering the Evas obsolete. Besides that, the EDF had created another MOGUERA, as well as a new robot based on older designs for Jet Alone. They even used the working title: Jet Jaguar. JJ was programmed to learn, and soon, he could change his size at will.
But everyone was asking several questions: why did the kaiju disappear when the Angels appear? Will they attack again? And most of all: where is Godzilla?
The answer came one day in June of 2015. It had been several months since I had intervened. The world was at peace. Stocks were way up, and gas prices were way down. The term "third-world country" was anachronistic. NASA, JAXA, and ESA had set up bases on the Moon, and the preferred method of travel now was by rail. Cars were still around, as were planes, but planes were mainly used only for travel over oceans. Otherwise, continental travel was mostly rail, both passenger and freight.
It was a pleasant day in Tokyo. School had just gotten out, and a lone figure was walking amongst a crowd of other students heading home. This figure was male, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and wearing a standard school uniform consisting of a white shirt, black pants, and brown loafers. This boy, of course, was Shinji Ikari. He was deep in thought about the events of the past few months. Therapy had changed him from a Shrinking Violet to a more upfront and confrontational person who was very brave and very outgoing. The revelation that Rei Ayanami was his twin sister had shocked him, as had her developing emotions. At first, Shinji thought they were cute, but then, Rei started becoming…weird for many reasons. According to Shinji, she has "more than two problems", likely caused by the sudden onslaught of emotions. Still, Shinji couldn't deny that Rei, who was elsewhere in the crowd talking with some fellow FLCL fans, always made him laugh.
A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Shinji! Hey Shinji!" said the voice. Shinji turned and smiled. It was a girl with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and a sailor fuku uniform. Asuka Langley Soryu, his former enemy-turned-best friend. Ever since therapy, Asuka was a sweet, sensitive girl who stood by her friends. She still got angry, but never at Shinji. If anything, she loosed her wrath on anyone who hurt, insulted, or even looked at Shinji wrong. Shinji himself couldn't bother. He liked the new Asuka. Certainly a major improvement over being yelled at, physically abused, and saying "What are you, stupid?", as she had said many times.
Shinji and Asuka started walking together, chatting about random things. They always walked to the train station together to catch their train to NERV HQ (located on the former site of Toyko-3). Sometimes Rei would be with them, and sometimes she would be with her fellow Pokémon, Sailor Moon, or FLCL fans (she had obsessions with all three franchises).
The two teens were nearing the train station, there was a sudden bright flash, then a loud bang. Shinji knew what this meant.
"Hit the deck!" he shouted, and grabbed Asuka, throwing himself to the ground. Several seconds passed. There was no heat, no blast, and no shockwave. It clearly wasn't a nuclear attack.
Realizing there was no danger of nuclear attack, Shinji stood up and helped Asuka to her feet. "Sorry" he said, blushing. "No, it's fine, Shinji" replied Asuka, "You were just protecting me. It's a sweet gesture." Asuka smiled, but it quickly disappeared when a shadow appeared on the ground. It was a massive shadow, and a massive presence made itself known. Shinji and Asuka looked up, and froze in terror.
Standing over them, and towering over the high rises, was a massive monster. It had the head of a squid, a humanoid body, and dragon wings. The two teens were motionless, while their minds were swimming in thoughts. "Oh god" thought Asuka, "It's happening again!" Shinji, meanwhile, was locked in a battle with his bladder. He was trying badly not to pee his pants, as fear struck him.
The massive creature stood, for a minute or two, then roared so loud, Shinji and Asuka covered their ears and gritted their teeth. The creature then fired what appeared to be beams of energy from its eyes. A whole building was obliterated in seconds, and its occupants vaporized or crushed under rubble. Then the creature began to rampage.
"Guys!" shouted a voice. It was Rei. She was running towards them, stopping to catch her breath when she reached their position. "What the hell is that thing?" she asked.
"No idea," answered Shinji, "but it better not be an Angel."
"I-it's like a kaiju!" said Asuka, fear laced in her voice, "it's like a big, mean kaiju that hates people!"
The Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) moved into position and opened fire on the creature. As you'd expect, the creature was unfazed by the bullets, tank and artillery shells, and rockets. It then loosed its beams on the military.
"FALL BACK! FALL BA-AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
The three teens had seen it all. Bodies flew everywhere and many landed around them. Some were burned, dismembered, or eviscerated beyond identification. Asuka lost it.
"It can't be stopped! IT'S CAN'T BE STOPPED!" she screamed. She was now having a panic attack. Shinji immediately wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Asuka hugged him back, calming down as the sound of rotors came within earshot. It was a Boeing CH-47 Chinook carrying NERV's logo. It landed several feet away from them as the rear doors opened. A NERV soldier stepped out of the cargo hold.
"Get in! We're taking you to HQ!" he shouted over the roar of the helicopter. Rei complied immediately, while Shinji and Asuka took a few seconds as the latter was hesitant to break apart from the former. After they did, they ran aboard the Chinook, and the twin-rotor helicopter took off for NERV HQ.
As they headed for HQ, the creature suddenly began to talk. It was deep baritone voice with a British accent (A/N: think Tony Jay's voice).
"I AM CTHULHU, THE GOD OF THE APOCOLYPSE. I AM SATAN'S MESSANGER OF DOOM, ANNOUNCING THAT I AM YOUR NEW MASTER. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEFY ME. MY POWER IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO YOUR FEEBLE MINDS. YOU WILL BOW DOWN TO ME OR YOU WILL DIE A SLOW, PAINFUL DEATH AT THE HANDS OF MY ARMY. AND EVEN IF YOU DO DEFEAT ME, MY EVIL SHALL ENDURE IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. I WILL NEVER STOP UNTIL THE FINAL STAR IN THIS UNIVERSE IS EXTINGUISHED, AND UNTIL THE DESTINY OF THE ANGELS HAS BEEN CONSUMMATED. THERE IS NO HOPE FOR YOUR WORLD, FOR I AM A GOD. AN INVINCIBLE GOD. I CANNOT DIE, AND NEITHER CAN MY POWER. YOU WILL SUBMIT OR YOU WILL DIE. THE CHOICE IS YOURS."
The three teens and several soldiers aboard the Chinook were paralyzed with fear. This creature, which had identified itself (or himself, evidently) as Cthulhu, had been sent by Satan himself. And he had an army. It was the Angels Crisis all over again. As they flew away, they watched as Cthulhu tore apart Tokyo. People in the streets were panicking or dead.
Landing at NERV HQ, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei disembarked from the Chinook. It basically looked the same, just without Tokyo-3. Waiting on the helipad was Commander Misato Katsuragi.
"I assume the three of you know about this new threat?" she asked.
"Know about it?" said Rei incredulously, "We nearly died!"
"It obliterated a whole JSDF division! Bodies flew everywhere and traumatized poor Asuka!" put in Shinji.
Misato turned away in anger. "Idiots!" said Misato under her breath, "Do they not know conventional weaponry is no good against kaiju?!" She then turned back around to face the three pilots."A-a-anyway," she stuttered, "report to suit egress. We're gonna need the Evas for this one."
The three teens nodded and ran off. Misato turned to her chief aide, Makoto Hyuga. "As for you, I need you to go deliver this data we collected from Tokyo to Dr. Akagi."
"Y-y-yes, ma'am!" he stuttered. He ran off, nearly being hit by a cart. The driver yelled at him as Makoto apologized. After seeing this, Misato lowered her expectations regarding Makoto completing this simple task.
At suit egress, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei quickly threw on their plugsuits, and then put on the pressure helmets. After a quick pressure test, they were cleared to proceed to the elevator. An alarm sounded as they were headed for the elevator.
"Attention! Attention! This is Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari! Attention! Cthulhu has left Tokyo and is headed for our position! Launch all Evas!"
The three pilots quickly entered the elevator to head for the launch gantries. There was one thing on their minds: would they get out of this alive?
In Mission Control, Gendo sat in the same old seat he always sat in. Sub Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki was standing off to the side. Among those sitting at consoles were Maya Ibuki, Makoto Hyuga, and Shigeru Aoba. Misato had entered the room and was monitoring the progress of Tactical Operations. Ever since the MAGI Supercomputer had been taken offline, Tactical Operations now had to coordinate with each other using hand signals. They still, of course, had direct radio contact with the Evas.
"Shall we give final go on Eva launch, sir?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo.
"Make it so!" he replied.
The pilots had entered their Evas and were now sealed in. Their helmets filled with air as Shigeru ran down the launch checklist. Each pilot responded as he went down the checklist.
"Oxygen."
"Go"
"Life support."
"Go."
"Ejection system."
"On standby."
"Jets."
"Go."
"Missile Tube Doors."
"Closed."
"Missiles."
"Go."
"Control systems."
"Engaged."
"Abort program."
"On standby."
"Anti-Berserk Restraining Bolts."
"Go."
"Go for launch. All units: rock and roll!"
"Oh my god, Shigeru!" shouted Rei, "We get that you like rock and roll music! Must you say that every single goddamn time we go through this list?!"
Shigeru fell silent, then spoke up. "Go for launch. Sorry."
The Evans spun on the massive turntable towards the launch mechanism. Unit-00 went first, then Unit-02, and finally Unit-01. Unlike before, they rose up from the underground launch complex slowly.
All three pilots were deep in thought again. They were mentally psyching themselves out for the battle. Shinji closed his eyes, and used old Zen methods he learned in therapy to clear his mind, at the same time clearing the computer cache of his Eva. When he opened his eyes, he was ready. He was going to defeat this monster and stop this war before it began.
The silo doors opened, and the three Evas surfaced. Disengaged from the launch mechanism, Unit-01 roared (A/N: Unit-01s roar is the roar of the Reek from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones). Vehicles carrying their weapons rolled up. Shinji opened the slot used to store weapons on his unit, and grabbed the bolt-action blaster he always liked using. Asuka grabbed the assault rifle she always liked, and Rei got the minigun that she used interchangeably with a sword. Storing their weapons away, the three Evas started to walk forward, as Cthulhu appeared on the horizon. As he got closer, they could see the pure rage in his eyes.
"THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!" said Cthulhu, "SURRENDER AND I MAY SPARE YOUR LIVES! BUT DEFY ME, AND YOU WILL EXPERIENCE A NEW DEFINITION OF PAIN AND SUFFERING!"
The Evas stood for a few seconds, then Unit-01 roared in defiance and charged.
"FOOLS! YOU HAVE SIGNED YOUR DEATH CERTIFICATES! NOBODY CAN SURVIVE. MY. WRATH!"
Unit-01 ran towards Cthulhu and threw a punch. Cthulhu dodged it and punched back, only to have his blow countered. Cthulhu then began rapidly punching, as Unit-01 blocked them all. Seeing an opening, Cthulhu received a precision punch in the face, sending him flying backwards and landing with a mighty crash.
"I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED THE POWER OF YOUR MACHINES. BUT NO MORE. NOW, THE BATTLE BEGINS IN EARNEST."
Cthulhu got back up, and fired his laser beam at the Evas, hitting Unit-02.
"Asuka!" shouted Shinji.
"I'm fine, Shinji!" she replied, bringing relief to him. "Now it's my turn!"
Unit-02 began doing a series of flips, pulled out the assault blaster, and opened fire. Cthulhu howled in pain as the plasma bolts hit him. Then Unit-00 leapt into action, jumping into the air and bringing the foot down to kick Cthulhu. Unit-00, though, was way off target and hit the ground. No damage, but Rei was annoyed!
"Damn targeting computer!" she shouted, hitting the console in anger.
"Let's sync up, Asuka!" said Shinji.
"Just like old times, eh?" she replied.
"Oh, yeah!"
They began doing the same series of flips as during the Angels Crisis. They never forgot their synchronization training they had received under Misato. Difference was that now they were on much, much better terms than back then. In fact, Asuka was very ashamed of her old personality.
As they were about to land a double-kick on Cthulhu, he grabbed the feet of their Evas and tossed them like dolls. Unit-02 was resting on top of Unit-01, and both went into Safe Mode. This meant they couldn't move the units until the auto-repair program was complete. This left 00 as the only active unit left in play. Rei pulled out her minigun and began firing.
"EAT DIRT, YOU DRACONIAN FREAK!" she shouted, and began laughing maniacally while firing the gun.
"CRY SOME MORE!"
Cthulhu was being assaulted by a stream of plasma bolts. And they hurt. They really hurt.
But Cthulhu took flight. He flew high into the air and dive-bombed Unit-00. Rei flew back and landed on top of Unit-02 somehow.
The three Evas were lying in a heap, all in Safe Mode. Cthulhu advanced on them, charging his eye beams.
"This is it," said Shinji sadly, "The end."
"I always thought we'd be killed by Queen Beryl, not Cthulhu." added Rei. Clearly, she was watching too much Sailor Moon again.
"Before I die, there's something I want to say." said Asuka, "Shinji, I-"
She was cut off by a sound. It was a guttural sound. All of a sudden, another giant creature came onto the scene. Shinji wasn't sure, but it looked like a giant monitor lizard with folds of skin like a flying squirrel. "A kaiju" he muttered. And he was right in his assertation.
At NERV HQ, Ryoji Kaji looked at the screen, wide-eyed.
"Do you know who that is?!" he said excitedly.
"OK, I'll bite," said Ritsuko Akagi, "Who is it, Kaji?"
"This is Varan, the Unbelievable! First appearing in the hills outside Tokyo in 1958, he attacked Tokyo Haneda Airport before being killed after he swallowed bombs. This must be another member of his species."
Now Ritsuko was interested. "A kaiju?! Here?! Impossible! They haven't been seen since 1998 when that mutated marine iguana the Americans called Godzilla but we call Zilla attacked New York!"
"What of the sightings in the South Pacific, though?" asked Maya.
"Those were never confirmed. Until now, apparently".
Varan stood in front of the Evas, which were still in Safe Mode. Varan roared angrily at Cthulhu, then fired a sonic beam from his mouth. Cthulhu was hit, and lost his center of balance. Landing on the ground, there was a small tremor, and Cthulhu was launched sky-high, as a brown monster with a horn and huge ears popped up.
"Baragon! It's Baragon!" said Kaji.
"The burrowing dinosaur." added Ritsuko. "He can shoot a stream of fire from his mouth, charges power by making contact with the ground, and fights using acrobatics."
Baragon leapt out of the hole, grabbed Cthulhu as he came back to Earth, and threw him away. Varan, using his skin folds, glided over and slammed Cthulhu to the ground, rolling all over him.
Then a third kaiju showed up. It leapt into the air and landed a kick on Cthulhu, giving him a mild concussion. The kaiju then landed on its feet.
"King Caesar, guardian deity of Okinawa." said Kaji.
"Powerful kicker. He's also a giant capacitor, allowing him to redirect the beams of his enemies." said Ritsuko.
Indeed, Cthulhu fired his beam, but King Caesar absorbed it and fired it back. Cthulhu howled in pain. His own laser beam hurt.
"New contact!" announced Shigeru. "This one's flying. Outline resembles a butterfly."
"Mothra." said Misato.
Mothra came flying in, firing a beam from her antennae, and causing more damage to Cthulhu. Cthulhu fired his beam again, but Mothra used her Reflective Scales to bounce it back. Then, she picked him up and flew upwards. Cthulhu was too dazed to struggle.
At about 34,000 ft, Mothra let go of Cthulhu, allowing him to fall back to Earth. Then a brown streak appeared and hit Cthulhu in rapid succession. This went on until Cthulhu hit the ground, creating a sizeable crater. The streak then stopped, revealing itself as a giant pterosaur.
"Rodan" whispered Shinji, "My God."
Rodan loosed his Uranium Ray on Cthulhu, and screeched as he began clawing him with his talons. Then a giant spiked ball appeared, launching onto Cthulhu and rapidly spinning before unfurling.
"Now this is getting weird!" cried Rei. "Where the hell are all these monsters coming from? Who sent out invitations? Come on! Speak up!"
"I don't think kaiju have any concept of invitations, Rei" replied Shinji.
"This congregation of monsters is still weird, though. What's causing it?"
"I have a theory" said Asuka. "These monsters are native to Earth and are all either dinosaurs or deities. For example, the monster that just showed up is Anguirus, the ankylasaurous. These monsters, I believe, form Earth's natural defenses. Much like white blood cells in our bodies, they attack foreign presences, like Cthulhu here."
As Asuka was talking, Anguirus let out a sonic roar, giving Cthulhu a migraine instantly. He fired his beam point-blank, but Anguirus jumped out of the way. The beam hit a nearby mountain, causing a series of flashes. A silhouette appeared. It was a very familiar shape.
"Could it be?" asked Gendo.
"I believe it is, sir" replied Fuyutsuki.
The newcomer became fully visible, and roared.
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOONK!"
"OH MY GOD!" shouted Shinji.
"It's him!" exclaimed Asuka, "It's really him!"
"What are we yelling abou-HEAVENS TO MURGATROYD!" said Rei.
Everyone at NERV was silent. Then Gendo spoke up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the King has returned. I'm not sure what this means for us, but for Cthulhu, he's in for a world of pain. There are two things he never expected. Number One being our Evas, and Number Two being…Godzilla."
Godzilla smashed through the mountain and made his way towards Cthulhu. Cthulhu fired his beam at Godzilla, who was unfazed as Godzilla returned fire with his Atomic Breath. When it hit, Cthulhu screamed in pain as he felt his strength waning.
"I CAN'T HOPE TO BEAT GODZILLA" he said to himself. Then he spoke to NERV and the monsters. "YOU HAVE BESTED ME THIS DAY. BUT KNOW THIS: THOUGH YOU HAVE WON, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. I SHALL RAISE A HELL ARMY AND MARCH ON YOUR POPULATION CENTERS! YOU WILL ALL RUE THE DAY YOU TRIFLED WITH ME!"
Cthulhu took off, but this meant nothing to Anguirus, who jumped up and grabbed Cthulhu's right leg with his mouth.
"GET OFF ME, YOU PEST!"
Cthulhu shook his leg, but Anguirus, tenacious as ever, wouldn't let go. Cthulhu bent over and fired his beam at Anguirus. But at that moment, Anguirus released his jaw, causing Cthulhu to hit his leg. The leg exploded and came off, blood squirting out of the wound.
"AUGH! NO! HE'S MORE CLEVER THAN I THOUGHT!"
He circled around to grab Anguirus, hoping to strangle him to death. What he grabbed was his spiked carapace, causing him to bleed further. Anguirus tauntingly growled at him, as Cthulhu attempted to get Anguirus off. He did, but Anguirus quickly latched onto his left arm and bit down hard. Cthulhu was confident that this time he could hit Anguirus, but again, the latter let go and Cthulhu lopped off his own left arm. Cthulhu went into shock, but quickly recovered and flew away.
Anguirus landed on all fours. Godzilla came over and roared congratulations to Anguirus, which he humbly accepted. Godzilla then turned to the downed Evas, which had nearly completed repairs. Everyone at NERV was shocked when Godzilla helped all three to their feet. I wasn't, but I knew everyone wanted an explanation. So I appeared at NERV.
"People of NERV!" I said as I faded in. "Do not be alarmed by Godzilla's friendliness! I can explain everything! Well, me and Gaia."
So my good friend Gaia (who looks and sounds like Morgan Freeman) appeared and explained everything.
"This Godzilla is Godzilla Jr., who was found in the previous Rodan's nest in 1993, around the time the first MechaGodzilla was deployed" Gaia began. "He was hatched in a G-Force laboratory, and allowed us to find Godzilla III's weakness. He went off with Godzilla, and had grown to 30 meters by the next year, when he was imprisoned by SpaceGodzilla. He then grew to 40 meters by the time Godzilla III went into meltdown. He was killed by Destoroyah, then Godzilla III transferred his life force into his son, and grew to his current size of 60 meters. Because of his upbringing, Godzilla IV is friendly towards humans. Now I've spoken to him, and he says he will be humanity's champion. The rest of his allies, who have formed a coalition of kaiju native to Earth called the Earth Defenders, will also defend humanity."
Everyone in NERV understood now, as the Evas came out of Safe Mode and returned to the launch bay.
After debriefing, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei went to their room. It was a bedroom with two bunk beds, a TV with a Nintendo 64 (technology had yet to catch up to where it should be in 2015), a desk with a Luxo lamp, and a window providing a view of the whole valley. Shinji and Asuka shared a bunk bed, with Shinji on bottom and Asuka on top, while Rei slept on the bottom bunk of her bed, but some nights slept on top if she felt like it. Shinji flopped onto his bed.
"What a day" he said.
"Boy, I'll say" replied Asuka. "I think I stressed more today than I ever did."
"Jeez, Asuka," said Rei, slightly annoyed, "you gotta relax, girl. Trust in your Eva and it'll carry you to victory."
"Was that sage advice, Rei?" asked Asuka.
"No, it was me telling you to STOP BEING A WUSS!"
"But I'm not a wuss. I'm just sensitive."
"Sensitivity makes you weak! To beat these monsters, you have to become a monster yourself!"
"A monster like you?"
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MONSTER, YOU WHORE!" And she threw a full water bottle at her, which hit her in the left eye.
Her eye began to swell up, and Asuka began bawling. Memories of her old personality flooded back in. Memories of always having to be best at everything. Memories of calling herself "The Great Asuka Langley Soryu". Memories of physically and psychologically abusing Shinji because it felt good. Now, she was on the receiving end.
Shinji quickly hugged her, and she hugged back. She was lost in Shinji's warm embrace, tuning out the world around her, but what she faintly heard was a loud argument between Shinji and Rei.
"What the hell was that, Rei?"
"Me saying it like it is!"
"You know what you did? You triggered her. You brought up unpleasant memories for her, because THAT'S HOW SHE ACTED! But how would you know? You were drugged by dad to suppress your emotions and memories. I wish he never did, because you've become a jerk! No wait, not a jerk, A BITCH! THIS FLOOD OF EMOTIONS HAS MADE YOU INTO A GRADE-A BITCH! YOU'VE BASICALLY BECOME THE OLD ASUKA! THAT'S SOMETHING NEITHER ME NOR HER WANT TO BE REMINDED OF! ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW MUCH CRAP I WAS PUT THROUGH BY THE OLD ASUKA?! YOU WOULDN'T KNOW, BECAUSE YOU SAT AROUND THIS BASE, PROBABLY IN THIS ROOM, IDLING UNTIL DAD NEEDED YOU! Well you know what? Maybe you should stay that way. Maybe you should just give up piloting while you're ahead, because if you're gonna be like the old Asuka, you can go f*ck yourself, bitch!"
Rei was speechless. She saw Asuka look up at Shinji, and saw the black eye she had inflicted on her. Shinji just pulled her closer as she continued crying, glaring at her before he resumed comforting his best friend.
Rei knew Shinji was right. She had been a jerk lately. Emotions were a relatively new thing to her, and she wasn't sure yet which emotion was which.
"Can I say something?" she asked.
Shinji said nothing, but did look up with the same glare on his face. Asuka still had her face buried in Shinji's chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
"No, I'm sorry, Rei. I forgot that emotions are a new thing to you. You don't know any social conventions, and what emotions are appropriate to display in any given situation. I mean, you were laughing at a funeral for NERV soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Good thing dad understood your emotions are still developing, but I thought you were just being insensitive for the hell of it. Still, I accept your apology…sis."
"Thank you, Shinji. I know, having a twin is pretty taxing, but just know I try so hard to be good person."
"I know that, Rei, and I forgive you for your shortcomings. Emotions are pretty heavy things, and to have yours suppressed for the sake of creating the perfect soldier for so long…I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it is for you."
By now, Asuka had calmed down and heard the whole conversation. She took her face out of Shinji's chest and turned to face Asuka, but didn't let go of Shinji.
"I-I-I'm sorry being weak."
"No, I'm sorry for yelling at you and channeling…well the old you. I wasn't told about the old you. In fact, I wasn't aware of my surroundings when I was being drugged. I never even knew you hated me until I was told by Shinji you did. Why exactly did you used to hate me?"
"Huh…I can't remember now."
"But what do you say, Asuka: let bygones be bygones?"
Asuka thought, for a minute or two. She looked at Shinji, who gave an approving nod.
"Yes."
She stretched out a hand, and shook Rei's.
It was now that Shinji and Asuka broke apart, but they did rest their foreheads against each other for a few seconds. There was no denying the deep bond they had developed since therapy.
Meanwhile, NERV was examining Cthulhu's arm and leg. Ritsuko was in her lab, looking at a flesh sample in a microscope. She was intrigued.
"Never, and I mean never, have I seen such an interesting composition of different DNA elements. They're similar to those off of the Angels, yet different that there's no denying that this is not an Angel. Cthulhu appears to be some sort of hybrid. He has the DNA of a man, octopus, and King Ghidorah."
"Wait," said Maya, who was in the room, "how did Satan get a DNA sample of King Ghidorah?"
"He works in mysterious ways", I said, as I was also in the room, "just as I do."
"Oh, I examined one of your hairs" replied Ritsuko, "you're just a normal man with phenomenal cosmic power bestowed upon you by the infinite universe. And then you made clones of yourself to teach the various tenets of your philosophy and allow everyone to worship you in their own way."
"Everyone should be free to worship me in their own way. If they all had to worship me the same way, there would be mass chaos. And then, Satan would win."
Rei randomly appeared in the room when Ritsuko finished.
"Just passing through, going to the kitchen. See anything you like, speak up."
"That was random" said Maya.
"Yeah, well, she's random" added Ritsuko.
That night, the Earth Defenders arrived back on Monster Island. Mothra was greeted by her twin priestesses, the Shobijin, who set about tending to her. Baragon went into his burrow and fell fast asleep, Varan covered himself in a blanket of dirt, also falling asleep, King Caesar found a comfortable place and layed down, Rodan went to his roost, and Godzilla and Anguirus plopped down the cave and chatted about the threat Cthulhu poses to the planet and all life on it. They concluded that they would "fight to the bitter end", fist bumped, and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Cthulhu took a seat on his throne, located on an island in the Bermuda Triangle. He was still missing his right arm and left leg, and by the looks of it, they weren't regenerating anytime soon.
"Master Cthulhu, we await your orders."
It was one of Cthulhu's minions, more specifically his half-brother Hastur, who was a humanoid being wearing tattered yellow clothes and a mask hiding his face. At least, this was how he manifested himself. No one, not even Cthulhu, knew what he really looked like. Accompanying him were Byatis, a gigantic, multicolored toad with one eye, a proboscis, crab-like claws, and tentacles below the mouth, and Bokrug, a gigantic water lizard.
"Ah, Hastur. I've been expecting you. Gather the army. Tell them we invade at dawn!"
"If I may interject, Mr. Cthulhu," said Byatis, "most of our army is in no condition to fight at the moment, much like yourself."
"Yes, I've noticed my minions have been absent as of late. Where might they be, Bokrug?"
"Not sure, Master. They may still be in Hell being trained."
"Typical! It's like a group of minions to not be ready! Very well, then. We shall bide our time. In the meantime, I sense the humans and Godzilla will have much more to deal with while we wait."
Cthulhu was right. A large, mysterious object moved behind the Moon, out of sight of the moonbases. And on Jupiter's moon Europa, a creature resembling Godzilla arose from his slumber. This creature, SpaceGodzilla, roared to the stars, his way of saying "I shall have my revenge!"
It was going to be a long, long war. But Godzilla, NERV, and the EDF were ready. They had beaten the Angels before, and they would beat Cthulhu and all other threats. It was human nature to defend their planet to the bitter end, and everyone at NERV knew it. As Shinji slept that night, he thought to himself "We won't lose. We won't lose. We won't lose." A sharp contrast to his old mantra "I mustn't run away".