NERV HQ
Misato was starting to get really bored.
Gordon had declared another meeting after the whole incident with the Eleventh Angel, and had spent the past hour going over what happened and what they needed to do next. She couldn't really blame him; they had nearly lost Shinji, Asuka, and Godzilla in one fell swoop, but she also couldn't forgive him for somehow making the meeting so dull.
Not that it seemed to be bothering Ritsuko. The faux blonde, Misato noticed, was a lot more chipper than usual. To make matters more interesting, Maya had finally returned, her face practically beaming. Speculations were already flying abound, and apparently a small betting pool was forming amongst some of the staff. Rumor had it that Gordon himself had thrown some into the pot.
"We also have to discuss the transfer of Unit-03," Gordon said, finally perking Misato's attention. "The Angels will only be coming here, this is where Lilith is being held. There is no need for other countries to have Evas stationed on their soil, so I've already sent the order for the transfer of Unit-03 to Japan. Unit-04's staying in the US, apparently they're still working on the experimental S2 Organ." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Dr. Akagi, I believe you have already selected the pilot?"
Ritsuko rose from her seat, hurriedly flipping through some papers. "Er, yes. The prime candidate for piloting Unit-03 is Kensuke Aida."
"Really?!" Ozaki exclaimed, exasperated. "The kid would probably have a heart attack from excitement. All he kept blabbing about on the island was either Godzilla or the Evas. Are you really sure you want him piloting one of those things?"
"The Marduk Institute has been searching for suitable pilots since 2006," Ritsuko replied. "Kensuke is the optimal candidate."
Ozaki grunted but said nothing more. Ritsuko sat back down, seemingly satisfied with herself. Gordon took the opportunity to continue on with the meeting.
"There is also the issue of the next Angel," he said. "This attack was way too close for comfort. We have no idea what kind of physics-fuckery they're gonna have next time they attack. If those Dead Sea Scrolls have even a shred of accuracy left, then there are going to be four more attacks."
"What do you have in mind?" Misato inquired.
Gordon grinned. "We bring in the big guns. The Gotengo is still undergoing repair, but it'll be finished by Tuesday. We're gonna bring in the Karyu, the Eclair, and the Rumbling. That's a third of our entire defense fleet. We'll also bring in four more squadrons of aircraft and six maser battalions. Combined with our existing defenses, and you'll have something that could withstand almost any kaiju attack."
"Almost," Misato muttered under her breath.
"The Goddess will also be ready to fight soon," the Shobijin added, almost as if to assuage some of Misato's concerns.
"That wraps up the meeting," Gordon continued. "Dismissed."
One by one they left the room, until only Gordon, Ozaki, and Miki remained. Ozaki stretched some of the stiffness out of his limbs and turned to Miki. "There's no such thing as the Marduk Institute, is there?"
"No," Miki replied softly. "She's the one who picks the pilots."
"How, and why?" Gordon inquired.
"I wasn't able to dig that deep. The more she wants a secret to stay so, the harder it is to find it. Whatever she's hiding, it's an old secret. I could just rip the information out of the brain, but that'd be cruel," Miki replied. "In other news, I learned that Maya and Ritsuko are an item now."
Ozaki sighed and pulled a twenty-credit bill out of his pocket. Gordon swiped it from Ozaki's hand, chuckling. "Unot's going to be pissed," he said as he pocketed the bill. "He bet two hundred."
Tokyo-3 Arcade, two weeks later
"Somethin' real weird's goin' on," Toji muttered to Kensuke. "Look at 'em!"
Kensuke looked up from the game he was playing and looked to where Toji was not-so-subtly pointing. Shinji and the Red Devil were in the corner of the arcade, playing a game by himself. At first, he couldn't see what Toji was talking about, but he soon realized that something was off. It was the body language, he soon saw. The way they acted around each other, it was almost as if they were...
"No," Kensuke breathed. It couldn't be, that made no sense at all. There was no way-
His higher brain functions simply failed when the Red Devil gave Shinji a peck on the cheek.
"Oh shit!" Toji hissed. "He's fallen into her clutches! Face it, Kensuke, Shinji's gone for good. At least, the Shinji we knew and loved."
They remained quiet when the two walked by. To further their horror, they realized that Shinji was holding hands with the Red Devil. Kensuke felt as though his jaw was about to hit the floor, he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Since when have they been... datin'?" Toji asked, feeling a wave of nausea hit him when he said the last word. "I mean, how could we have missed that?"
"I dunno, man," Kensuke muttered. "They've been kinda reclusive ever since that whole thing with the newest Angel. Do you think something happened?"
"I remember Misato sayin' somethin' about the Angel trying to mess with their heads," Toji replied, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe they learned somethin' about each other in there, realizin' who they really were underneath?"
Kensuke gawked in shock at his friend. First he found out that Shinji was dating the Red Devil, and now Toji was being insightful? It was only a matter of time before pink elephants appeared, asking him to become a Jehovah's Witness in Klingon.
Toji's phone buzzed, prompting the jock to look down at it. "Hikari wants me to help her babysit. Later, man," he said, patting Kensuke on the back as he walked out.
Kensuke sighed and returned to the arcade game. He continued to play for the better part of an hour, until suddenly a shadow fell over him.
"Classmate Aida."
Kensuke jumped slightly and whirled about, finding himself facing Rei. The blue-haired pilot's red eyes were fixed on his, and her face was as expressionless as ever. "Hello, Rei," he said uneasily.
Seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had almost given him a heart attack, Rei continued on. "Classmate Aida," she said in her usual cool tone of voice, "are we... friends?"
"Y-yes," Kensuke replied. "I guess we kinda are."
"And is it true that friends often-" Rei paused to quickly reference an open book in her hand, "-hang out?"
"Yes, they do," Kensuke told her, still very unsure of where this conversation was heading.
To add another shock-of-the-day to an alarmingly growing list, a small smile appeared on Rei's lips. "Very well then. There is a film regarding Second Impact playing in a nearby cinema this Friday. We shall 'hang out' and watch the film together." With that, she left the arcade.
There was a brief pause as Kensuke's mind caught up with current events. "Did Rei just... ask me out?" he said softly to himself.
Somewhere in the Arctic Ocean
Another guardian was awakening.
This particular creature was the other half of an ancient protector, the aggressive and violent yin to its benevolent twin's yang. Nonetheless, its sole purpose was the protection of Earth, even if it was a being pure reactionary instinct. It had come to this world as nothing more than a spirit, having stayed dormant within the Tree of Life until it was needed.
That spirit had now coalesced into a physical being, one of immense power. It was not yet completely mature; like all of Earth's creatures it had to develop and grow, even if the timespan was far shorter than usual. It began to swim now, making its way to the source of the threat to the Earth. Unlike its twin, it was completely unfettered by the affairs of the small hairless creatures that dominated the planet, a fact that it demonstrated clearly by smashing through a vessel that had dared get to get in the way.
Battra, the Dark Guardian of the Tree, was on the move.
Matsushiro Base, near Tokyo-3
"Take a deep breath, Kensuke, everything will be just fine," Ritsuko said reassuringly over the commset in the entry plug. "It's an oxygenated fluid, I know you've already read about it dozens of times. You spent 9 months in the womb breathing liquid, you can do it here."
Kensuke did as told, forcing himself to breath in the LCL as it rose to his mouth. It was a very unpleasant process, he wondered how Rei and Toji could constantly do it. If I have to do this to pilot, so be it, he told himself. Come on, I'm an Eva pilot now!
"Your heart rate is elevated," Ritsuko said. "I know you're really excited, but please try to remain calm and keep a clear head, it will help with the synchronization."
Kensuke tried to do so, strong emphasis on tried. It was understandable, considering that he dreamed of this moment for years. Relax man, you got this. Think of something really boring, like school.
"We're commencing synchronization now," Ritsuko said.
Sure enough, the interior of the plug began to illuminate with a dazzling display of lights. Kensuke watched, mesmerized, his heart pounding within his chest. At long last, he would achieve his dream of being a pilot. The lights slowly began to give way to an image of the outside world-
-and suddenly turned red.
"Something's wrong!" one of the base's technicians exclaimed. "We've lost all connection with the Unit!"
"What do you mean!" Ritsuko demanded angrily. "Put the cage on screen!"
The technician did as told. Unit-03 stood in the cage, still restrained in place. So far, there appeared to be nothing wrong with it. Ritsuko ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of a possible answer. This seems very suspicious, she thought to herself. There can't be anything wrong with the equipment, we did a systems check right before we started the test.
"What's the status of the pilot?" Misato asked.
"Unknown, whatever cut the sensors' connection with the Unit also did it to to the entry plug," another technician replied.
That was when the Eva suddenly lurched forward violently, visibly straining against its restraints. Unit-03's jaw snapped open, its eyes glowing blood red now. The Eva roared, a sound that sent shivers down Ritsuko's spine.
It was Misato that saw it first. "There's something growing at the base of its head!"
"Oh God," Ritsuko exclaimed, slowly backing away. "It's an Angel!"
A blinding white light blasted forth from the Eva, and Ritsuko found herself being knocked off of her feet by a tremendous explosion.
Misato's Apartment
"...and so, one must wonder if such another creature may one day menace society..."
Asuka turned off the TV. "That was awful," she muttered with a yawn. "How the hell can they make documentaries about monsters beating the crap out of each other so dull?"
Shinji shrugged. "The documentary about King Ghidorah's defeat wasn't so bad."
"What about the documentary about that giant space chicken and its bug buddy we beat? Or that one about a monster literally made out of shit?" Asuka retorted.
"Maybe we just haven't been watching the good ones?" Shinji offered.
Asuka merely grunted and laid out on the couch. "I'm bored," she grumbled. She laid there for a few moments, lost in thought, then suddenly sat upright. "Do you still play that big instrument of yours?"
"You mean the cello?" Shinji asked.
Asuka nodded. "Yeah, it kinda looked like a giant violin to me."
"Well, I'm not that great at it," Shinji replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think you would want to her me play it."
"It beats just lazing around the apartment," Asuka retorted.
Oh come on, Zone Fighter said. I've heard you practice, you're pretty good.
"Alright," Shinji said finally. He hurried out of the living room, soon returning with the cello. "What do you want me to play?" he asked as he sat back down.
"Your choice," Asuka replied. "Just make sure it's good."
There's always Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Zone Fighter suggested.
Eh, I'm not feeling it with that one, Shinji replied.
"I'm waiting," Asuka reminded him, slouching back into the couch.
"Bach Cello Suite No.1 in G major, BWV 1007," he finally said. Taking a deep breath, he straightened and began to play. He was nervous at first, he had never played when she was around. It showed, occasionally he would make an mistake that made Asuka cringe slightly. Soon enough, however, he fell into the rhythm of the song, letting it flow through him as he delicately drew the notes from the strings. As such, he failed to notice Asuka slowly straightening on the couch, until eventually she was on the edge of her seat, her eyes fixated on him as he worked.
Finally, he finished and gently set the cello down. Looking up, he saw that Asuka's mouth was slightly agape. "D-did you like it?" he asked.
Asuka rose from her seat and kissed Shinji full on the lips. "I never knew you could play so well," she said once she pulled away.
"Thanks," he replied, feeling a growing warmth in his heart.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Shinji rose from the couch and hurried to the door, sliding it open. To his surprise, Rei was standing in the doorway. "May I come in?" she asked softly.
"Uh, sure," he replied. No sooner than he said it did Rei swiftly move pass him into the living room. Her eyes scanned the room, briefly pausing on the cello before moving to Asuka.
"What the hell are you doing here, wonder girl?" Asuka inquired.
"I cannot locate Classmate Aida," Rei replied.
"Kensuke's missing?" Shinji asked. "Are you sure?"
Rei nodded. "He has not responded to my phone calls. I have already made inquiries to Classmate Suzahara, he is also unaware of Aida's whereabouts."
"And this is important to you because...?" Asuka asked.
"We were scheduled to 'hang out' at a nearby theater and watch a film together" Rei replied. "When he failed to arrive, I grew concerned and-"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Asuka interjected, still undergoing a mental double-take. "You asked him out on a date?"
"We were scheduled to 'hang out'," Rei corrected. "We were to watch a film together, and possibly share some food."
"That's what dates are, wonder girl," Asuka retorted.
"Did you call his home?" Shinji asked, trying to defuse an argument before it could begin.
"Yes," Rei replied. "There was no response. Classmate Suzahara told me that he had been acting uncharacteristically lately."
"Where do you think he could be?" Shinji inquired.
Before Rei could respond, there was the blare of the Angel alarm.
I sincerely hope that this isn't connected with your friend's disappearance, Zone Fighter commented.
I hope so, too, Shinji replied as he sprinted out the front door. He briefly stopped on the steps, slamming his hands together. "ZONE DOBORU FIGHTU!"
Chichi-jima, Ogasawara Archipelago
The egg was gone now, having been replaced by a massive silken cocoon as white as alabaster. Godzilla stood over it, a mighty sentinel guarding the delicate thing growing within. Anguirus and Rodan were nearby, watching the cocoon intently. It was a tradition amongst the three kaiju, one countless millions of years older than mankind, to watch.
The cocoon began to shift and shudder, dislodging silken strands thicker than a man's arm. A tear formed in the top of it, and a fluffy head poked through. Brilliant compound eyes the color of sapphire regarded the group, and Mothra chirped softly. Her head was shortly followed thereafter by a delicate body coated in a white layer of fur, and soon she was out of the cocoon completely. She stretched her jointed limbs and unfurled her beautiful wings, waving them softly to dry them out. At long last, the Goddess of Infant Island had been reborn.
It was then that the group felt it, the familiar tingling in the back of their minds. It had guided them for thousands of millennia, driving them to protect the world they called home. Mothra rose into the air with a flap of her multicolored wings, chirping once more. Godzilla trudged after her, releasing a growl that told Anguirus and Rodan to stay behind and protect Junior. If kaiju could speak and utilized anything resembling human language, it would've been along of the likes of "You don't need to come, we can handle this."
Outskirts of Tokyo-3
A dark figure was stalking towards the city, nightfall serving to help conceal its existence. It was a titanic caricature of a man with unsettlingly long and slender limbs, clad in thick armor as black as coal. Blazing red eyes glared out from its vaguely dinosaurian head, its frightening gaze focused on the city. Far behind it were the ruins of the Matushiro base, smoke still billowing into the air.
Its approach had not gone unnoticed, however.
"Blue pattern detected!" Maya exclaimed. "The Eva's been somehow infected by an Angel!"
"Damn," Fuyutsuki swore under his breath. Gordon and Ozaki had made a brief visit back to their world in order to finalize the transfer of the additional forces, and with Misato likely incapacitated or dead in the rubble formerly known as Matsushiro, the job of commanding the operation had now fallen to him. "Can you eject the entry plug?" he asked.
"Ejecting right now," Aoba said.
A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. Fuyutsuki groaned inwardly. "Is there something wrong with the command signal?" he asked.
"There's nothing wrong with the signal," Hyuga replied. "The Angel must be physically preventing the plug from ejecting."
Fuyutsuki took a deep breath and sighed. "Prepare the defenses," he ordered. "The target is now classified as Bardiel, the 12th Angel. I'm afraid to say that rescuing the pilot must be a secondary objective to defeating the Angel."
"Yes, sir," Maya said weakly.
Another shape appeared in the video feed, and Fuyutsuki recognized it as Shinji. The boy had landed in front of the Angel, clad in that silver armor of his, and was now charging towards the Angel.
"Sir, Section II reports that the Second and First Children have arrived at the base," Unot said.
"Good," Fuyutsuki replied. "Have them bring over the Fourth Child as well. In the meantime, we need to launch Unit-02 as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir," Hyuga replied.
Shinji smashed through Bardiel's AT-field, the concentric hexagons shattering like glass and fading away as he rushed towards the Angel. He slammed into the Angel, catching it in the chest with his shoulder and sending it flying into a nearby hillside. Just as he prepared to fire a Proton Beam, however, the voice of the Shobijin echoed in his mind.
You mustn't slay the beast yet! Your friend is trapped within its breast! the twin fairies pleaded.
Who?! Shinji asked, shocked. Is it Kensuke?
Before they could answer, the Angel recovered from its experimental foray into flight. Roaring, it sprung from the crater made by its impact, pirouetting rapidly through the air before it slammed both of its feet into Shinji's chest. Shinji fell hard, feeling as the wind was knocked out of him. Bardiel pressed its attack, wrapping its hands around Shinji's throat and squeezing with all of its might.
Shinji, you have to do something! Zone Fighter practically shouted in his mind.
I can't just kill my friend in there, Shinji replied. His vision was already getting blurry from the lack of oxygen, and he could feel himself getting weaker.
The entry plug's in the core, which is in the chest, right? Zone Fighter inquired. Everything else is free game.
That finally pushed Shinji into action. Grabbing the Angel's wrists, he wrenched them from his throat, breaking more than a couple of bones in the process. Bardiel roared, furious, only to be silenced when Shinji followed up with a head-butt. The Angel growled in pain, and Shinji realized that his antenna had gouged out one of its eyes. Taking advantage of the distraction, he shoved it off of him and rose back to his feet.
Bardiel lunged once more, only for Shinji to dodge the attack and catch it in the stomach with a punch. The Angel staggered, allowing for him to follow up with a Proton Beam. The beam blasted away a good portion of Bardiel's left shoulder, and a partially molten pylon fell to the ground. Thick red blood gushed from the gaping wound, prompting the Angel to howl. I got to get the entry plug out of the Angel, Shinji thought to himself.
Fortunately, Unit-02 chose that moment to arrive. The red Eva decked Bardiel across the jaw, knocking out several teeth in the process. The two combatants began to grapple, sparks flying where their armored limbs met. "I'll handle it," Asuka said over the Eva's external speakers. "Get the plug!"
Shinji moved quickly, flying behind the Angel. He grabbed hold of the armor plate covering the entry plug and began to work it free. Unfortunately, it proved to be much harder to remove than expected, a slimy blue substance was gluing it shut. There must be a way to get the plug out, he thought to himself. Perhaps we could-
Bardiel interrupted his train of thought by sprouting another set of arms, catching him in a double-fisted uppercut. Shinji was forced away from the Angel, allowing it to focus entirely on Asuka. Disturbingly human-looking hands wrapped themselves around Unit-02's throat, distracting Asuka and allowing the Angel to capture her arms. She struggled, trying to escape from its vice-like grip, but it proved to be a fruitless endeavor. "Help... Shinji..." she gurgled. Bardiel growled, responding by tightening its grip around her throat.
That proved to be a mistake. A stream of red arrow-shaped cutting beams sliced off two of the Angel's arms at the elbow, blood pouring from its clean stumps. Howling, Bardiel let go of Asuka's arms and whirled about, just in time to catch Shinji's fist in its lower stomach. The Angel was lifted off of its feet from the sheer force of the impact, and more blood sprayed out of its mouth. It came down in a rice paddy, producing a sizable splash. Bardiel gurgled weakly, staining the paddy red.
"Thanks for the assist," Asuka replied hoarsely. "Now let's get the plug out and really teach that thing a lesson."
Before either of them could advance on the Angel, however, Godzilla's roar sounded nearby, waves forming in the paddies as his footsteps shook the earth. The nuclear leviathan appeared from behind a hill, glaring at the crumpled form of Bardiel. The Angel rose weakly and faced Godzilla, looking him up and down with its remaining eye. Suddenly, its broken jaw formed something far too similar to a grin. Before anyone could react, it lashed out like a rattlesnake, stretching its remaining arms an impossible length towards Godzilla. He managed to catch one of the arms, but the other one struck him in the shoulder, drawing blood.
Godzilla roared furiously and ripped the arm out of his shoulder, casually crushing it into paste like its twin, but by then it was too late. Bardiel began to warp and shift, growing bigger. The armor expanded, then snapped off entirely, revealing the unarmored form of Unit-03. The Angel regrew its missing eye and glared at the group with murderous intent. Then it began to transform. Its missing arms regrew, sprouting frighteningly sharp claws on the ends of its hands. All the while it continued to warp and shift.
"What... the hell... is happening?" Asuka asked quietly, her jaw agape at the horrific sight before her.
"I... I think it absorbed some of Godzilla's blood," Shinji replied.
Godzilla fired his atomic ray in an attempt to take Bardiel out while it was still transforming, but the Angel managed to dodge the attack, allowing it to complete its metamorphosis. Its missing arms regrew, and it continued to increase in size until it towered over even Godzilla himself, easily clearing 120 meters in height. Its brown flesh turned grey and began to warp and bubble in a nauseating manner. What appeared to be diminutive dorsal spines formed on its shoulders, bursting through its skin in the process. To top off the transformation, a long whip-like tail emerged from the Angel's lower back.
Bardiel stood tall in its new form, baring double rows of sharp teeth. It roared, a terrifying howl that sounded both like its old one and Godzilla's own. It focused its glare on Shinji and Asuka, growling. It trudged forward, raising all four of its arms to attack. The two managed to dodge to the sides, just in time for its fists to come down on the empty ground they had just occupied. Shinji fired off another Proton Beam, blasting away a large hunk of Bardiel's side in the process. Howling, Bardiel responded by smacking him across the chest with its tail, sending him flying into a hillside. Shinji rose just in time to see the Angel blast a blue energy sphere from its mouth. He dodged the attack, if just barely. The sphere smashed into the hillside behind him, producing a large explosion.
Bardiel began to charge up another energy sphere, its chest puffing up as it swelled with atomic energies. Before it could fire, however, Asuka jumped onto its back and sliced its throat open with her prog knife. Choosing the path of least resistance, the pent up energies blasted out of its wound, nearly decapitating the Angel in the process. Bardiel flailed about wildly, flinging Asuka off in the process. It whirled about, ready to pulverize her into the ground, only to get shoulder-checked by a charging Godzilla. The Kaiju King roared, slamming his fist into Bardiel's face and breaking its jaw. It swung an arm towards Godzilla in an attempt to dislodge him, but he simply responded by blasting it off with his atomic breath. He began to tear into the Angel, furiously looking for its core.
Now would be a good time to get the entry plug out, Zone Fighter commented.
Shinji flew around Godzilla, landing right in front of the Kaiju King. Somehow understanding what he wanted to do, Godzilla flipped the mutilated Angel over, granting Shinji access to the entry plug. Before he could do anything, however, several violet energy beams struck both him and Godzilla, prompting a growl of recognition from Godzilla. Whirling about, Shinji found himself facing what appeared to be a giant armored caterpillar. The thing cackled, firing more energy beams from a large yellow horn on its head and forcing Shinji back.
The Dark Guardian Battra has come, the Shobijin said in a low voice.
NERV HQ
"Sir, it appears that another monster is attacking both the Angel and the others!" Hyuga exclaimed.
"I recognize that thing," Unot said, his compound eyes somehow widening in surprise. "That's Battra!"
"Another monster from your world?" Fuyutuski asked, exasperated.
Unot nodded. "He's kinda like Mothra's meaner twin, nothing but raw instinct."
"He speaks the truth," twin voices said to Fuyutsuki's side. Turning, the old man found that the Shobijin had appeared on his desk. "Battra is the guardian of Earth, but he is also devoid of any reason or conscience. He will destroy anything that may threaten the world without mercy."
"Isn't it good that he's appeared?" Fuyutsuki inquired. "He has come to fight the Angel."
The Shobijin shook their heads. "He will destroy the pilot as well, then turn his attention to your kind. Battra sees humanity as a threat to the world."
Oh, how right he is, Fuyutsuki thought inwardly. "What is your suggestion?"
"The Goddess will fight him," the Shobijin replied. "You must also send the rest of your fighters."
"The Fourth Child is still very inexperienced, and Unit-00 was never even meant for combat," Fuyutsuki retorted.
"They must fight, or countless lives will be at lost," the Shobijin warned.
Fuyutsuki sighed. "Launch our remaining Units," he commanded.
"Yes, sir," Maya replied.
When Fuyutsuki turned back to the Shobijin, he found that they had disappeared.
Shinji reeled from Battra's energy beams, the dark guardian refused to let up its attack as it advanced. Fortunately, a blast of atomic breath sent the armored caterpillar flying away, its torso smoking. Turning, Shinji saw that Godzilla was now charging towards Battra, leaving an unrecognizable Bardiel on the ground. As he made his way to the Angel, however, it suddenly rose from the ground. Its flesh began to shift and bubble, sewing its wounds back together. With a sickening snap its jaw popped back into place, and its missing arm regrew. All of this took less than five seconds.
Bardiel glared at Shinji with its crimson eyes and once more trudged forward, an energy sphere charging in its throat. Shinji took to the air, strafing the Angel with his Proton beam as he landed behind it. Bardiel roared and tried to sweep out Shinji's legs with its tail, only for the boy to slice it off with a cutting beam. He began to clamber onto the Angel's back now, reaching for the entry plug. Before he could, however, Bardiel regenerated its tail and wrapped it around his torso, flinging him off. The Angel whirled about, charging up an energy sphere.
This is going to hurt, isn't it? Shinji thought.
Most likely, Zone Fighter replied.
Fate intervened once more, however, in the form of a high-velocity sniper round to the Angel's chin. Bardiel gurgled something that might have been a roar and whirled about to find Unit-00 standing some distance away, clutching a sniper rifle almost as big as it was. Regenerating its jaw, the Angel prepared another energy sphere, only to be once more interrupted by an atomic beam to the back. Turning his head, Shinji saw that Godzilla had rejoined the fray.
"Pilot Suzahara and Mothra are currently engaging Battra," Rei said over the blue Eva's speakers. "Pilot Soryhu has been ordered to retrieve a fusion reactor for you, and I have been ordered to help you defeat the Angel."
"Thanks," Shinji replied, groaning as he rose. "Let's go rescue the pilot, shall we?"
Mothra dove low, strafing Battra with her own orange energy beams. The dark guardian fired wildly, hoping to strike its twin. This proved to be a mistake, however, as Unit-01 rushed forward and caught it in a tackle. The two went rolling for a quarter of a kilometer, ending when the purple Eva straddled the armored caterpillar, its hands wrapped tightly around the kaiju's horn. It began to twist with all of its might, planting its knees into the ground for leverage.
This is how it shoots those purple laser-things, Toji thought to himself. Gotta get rid of it before it shoots again...
Sure enough, the horn broke off with a sickening crunch, green ichor spraying from the stump. Instead of crying out in pain, however, the dark guardian simply responded by smashing its head into Unit-01's chest, butting Toji away with its curved tusks. Toji rose just in time to see Battra glowing violet, glaring at him with his red compound eyes. In a flash, the guardian had transformed into a great black moth, its body crackling with arcs of electricity. Now fully mature, Battra took to the sky, hounding after his benevolent twin.
"Ah, shit," Toji muttered to himself.
Godzilla growled as he was forced back, his chest smoking from Bardiel's attack. The Angel prepared another shot, only for Godzilla to beat it to the punch by firing his atomic ray. The neon blue attack hit Bardiel in the shoulder, blasting away most of it and severing an arm in the process. While that distracted the Angel, Godzilla charged it once more, catching the abomination in a tackle that shook the earth for miles around. The Kaiju King straddled Bardiel, once more resuming his search for its core. Unit-00 took the opportunity to grab at the remaining armor covering the entry plug, only to be forced back by a swing of the Angel's remaining upper arm.
This is proving more difficult than expected, Rei thought to herself. Turning her head, she saw that Asuka had returned with the fusion reactor, and that Shinji was recharging. Perhaps I could have them restrain the arms-
Her train of thought was interrupted when Battra suddenly swooped down, knocking Godzilla off of the Angel with a well-aimed body slam. Bardiel rose to face this new attacker, only to receive several energy bolts to the face. Battra dove down once more, flying dangerously close to the Angel as he zoomed past and took to the sky once more. For a few seconds, nothing appeared to happen, and then the Angel's intestines fell out from the near-invisible gash Battra had made with his wing. Bardiel collapsed, moaning weakly as it began to regenerate its grievous wounds.
We cannot let it destroy the pilot, Rei thought. With that in mind she hefted her massive sniper rifle and took aim. The first shot went wide, but the second one managed to clip one of Battra's wings. The dark guardian changed course, diving right towards her. Rei managed to fire another shot before he slammed into her, blasting off one of his legs. Battra didn't seem to notice at all, instead pressing forward with his attack. He began to pelt Unit-00 with his energy bolts, blasting away armor and flesh with each shot.
Before Battra could expose the Eva's core and destroy it, however, Mothra rejoined the fray. The great moth slammed into her twin, knocking him away from Unit-00. The twin guardians took the sky, their limbs entangled.
With Battra temporarily taken out of the fight, Rei focused once more on Bardiel. The Angel was in the midst of grappling with Godzilla, desperately trying to hold the nuclear leviathan's head away. Dropping her sniper rifle, she turned to Shinji and Asuka, who were in the process of rushing towards the Angel. "I have an idea," she told them over Unit-00's speakers.
When I signed up for this, I never expected to fight a giant butterfly, Toji thought to himself.
Mothra and Battra were continuing their duel in the sky, blasting each other with energy beams. Mothra seemed to be constantly on the defensive, however, despite her twins more grievous wounds. Toji realized he had to do something, though he didn't know what.
That was answered for him when Battra disconnected from Mothra and flew closely, trying to attack from another angle. Toji lunged and managed to catch the dark guardian in a tackle that sent both smashing into the ground. Pulling out his progressive knife, he stabbed down into Battra's abdomen. The black moth responded by blasting Unit-01 in the face, knocking the purple Eva away, but by then the damage had been done. Mothra began to bombard her twin from the sky, orange lighting striking downwards from her wings and joining the rest of her attacks. When the smoke finally cleared, Battra was limp on the ground, the light gone from its compound eyes.
Mothra paused briefly over Battra's corpse, then flew back towards the main battle. Toji rose and followed, trying not to look at remained of the dark guardian.
Bardiel howled as Godzilla's atomic breath blasted away more of its flesh, the attack boiling the blood in its veins. The Angel backstopped and swung clumsily with two of its arms, catching the Kaiju King in the head and causing him to crash to the ground. Bardiel growled as its wounds quickly regenerated. It was growing frustrated with the battle, knowing that the only thing keeping it alive at the moment was the entry plug nestled in its chest. The Angel trudged forward, charging up another energy sphere, only to feel something land on its back.
"NOW!" Rei barked over Unit-00's speakers, her hands working on prying away the armor plate covering the entry plug.
Shinji and Asuka rushed from the sides, each one taking hold of two of Bardiel's arms with all of their strength. The Angel struggled, wildly blasting an energy sphere that went wide and destroyed a nearby hilltop. It prepared another, only for Godzilla to lunge forward and slice its throat open with his claws. While that happened, Mothra and Unit-01 appeared from behind and took hold of Bardiel's tail, completely immobilizing the Angel.
Rei finally managed to rip away the metal cover and grabbed onto the entry plug, pulling with all of her might. The blue ooze covering the plug resisted, but it only managed to delay the inevitable. With a wet tearing sound, the entry plug was ripped free of the Angel.
NERV HQ
"The entry plug is secure!" Maya exclaimed.
"Good," Fuyutsuki said, leaning back into his chair with evident relief. "Now they can terminate the Angel."
Suddenly, Ritsuko barged onto the bridge, breathing heavily. The faux blonde was bleeding from a bandaged wound on her head, but she seemed to give it no thought as she marched with a limp towards the crew. "You have to salvage the Eva's core!" she practically screamed.
"Why?" Hyuga inquired.
"Just do it!" Ritsuko barked.
"Belay that order," Fuyutsuki ordered, rising from his chair. "The Angel must be destroyed, the core is not a priority."
"Perhaps to you, but it is to us," the voice of the Shobijin echoed across the bridge.
Finally, Shinji thought to himself, we can get rid of the Angel.
As he prepared to fire a Proton Beam, however, an apparition of the Shobijin appeared before his eyes, resting on one of Bardiel's restrained arms. "You must retrieve the core of the beast!" they pleaded.
"How?" Shinji asked. "How can I get the core?"
"He will help," they said. With that, they disappeared.
As if on cue, Godzilla sank his claws into Bardiel's solar plexus, prying its chest cavity open in a show of Herculean effort. The nuclear leviathan began to rip away the regenerating tissue, finally making headway into the search. In less than a minute they were up to their heels in Angelic flesh and blood.
There. The core was barely visible now, almost rendered invisible by the copious amounts of viscera covering it. Shinji lunged quickly, plunging his arm deep into the Angel's torso. With a tug, he pulled the core out. As soon as that happened, Bardiel's body exploded into LCL, staining the countryside red.
"I've got the core!" Shinji exclaimed.
"Wonderful!" Asuka snarked. "In other news, it's going to take forever to get my Eva clean!"
Set it down on the ground, along with the entry plug, the Shobijin said. The Goddess will handle the rest.
Shinji gently placed the core on the blood-soaked earth. There were patches of that same blue ooze that had kept the plug immobilized on it. Rei stepped forward as well, placing a similarly slimy entry plug right beside it. "What will happen?" she asked.
"Am I missing something here?" Asuka inquired.
Before anyone could answer, Mothra set to work. The benevolent guardian began to fly in a circle around both the plug and the core, a golden haze following it. The great moth repeated the circle two more times, then flew directly above it. A cross-like symbol appeared in the center of the ring, then descended to the ground in a brilliant flash of light. When the light finally faded, the blue ooze had disappeared.
The beast's corruption is no more, the Shobijin said.
"Oh, good," Shinji said softly, suddenly feeling very tired. In a flash he was normal sized again, lying down in a pool of alien blood.
A few minutes later
"It's taking a bit long for the recovery crew to arrive, isn't it?" Asuka inquired, casually lying back in Unit-02's open hand, an arm wrapped around Shinji. The red Eva had entered a crouch before powering down, a pose that seemed almost like a medium-sized Buddha statue. Godzilla and Mothra were also nearby, resting next to each other after the battle.
Shinji shrugged. "I've never really stuck around to get picked up."
"Yeah, you can just up and fly away when the battle's over," Asuka said, tightening her grip around him. There was a brief pause before she continued. "What's it like to fly?"
"It's... freedom," Shinji replied. "You feel as though there isn't a thing in the world to worry you, all of your problems seem so small when you're up there."
"That sounds fun," Asuka said with a small sigh. "I don't think I could give it a shot, huh?"
"You barely tolerate Zone Fighter as it is," Shinji retorted. "Could you stand having him in your head?"
Asuka grimaced. "Fair enough."
"I would be willing to temporarily take such an other," Rei said softly from her little perch on Unit-02's thumb.
"Of course you would, wonder girl," Asuka muttered.
"Hey, guys," Toji panted, scrambling onto Unit-02's hand.
"Get lost, stooge," Asuka growled. "My Eva, my rules. I'm barely tolerating wonder girl over there as it is."
"I'm just bringing you guys a surprise," Toji retorted. "Guess who I managed to get out of the plug?"
On cue, Kensuke clambered onto the Eva's hand. "Sup," he said weakly.
"Kensuke!" Shinji exclaimed, rushing over to his friend. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Kensuke replied. "I jerked about in the plug a bit, and it got pretty hot in there, but I'm okay. You might not want to get in my plug until you wash it, though."
"Tell me 'bout it," Toji said with a grimace.
Rei perked her head up. "Pilot Aida?" she asked with a twinge of concern. She swiftly descended onto Unit-02's palm and almost ran towards the shaken otaku.
"Oh, hey Rei," Kensuke said unsteadily. "I'm sorry I couldn't go see that movie with you."
"It is... alright, Pilot Aida," Rei said, visibly relieved.
"You can just call me Kensuke," the otaku replied.
"Alright... Kensuke," Rei replied quietly.
The sound of something big moving drew their attention to the side. Godzilla had risen from his spot near Mothra and was returning back to the distant coastline. He paused briefly, pressing his hand against his scaly chest, then continued.
"That was weird," Asuka muttered. "Can giant radioactive lizards get heartburn or something?"
Shinji shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he was scratching an itch."
"It's kinda weird to imagine somethin' so badass still gettin' itchy," Toji commented.
"Does everything that comes out of your mouth need to be dripping with stupidity?" Asuka asked, exasperated.
"Does everything that comes out of your mouth need to be dripping with being a bitch?" Toji instantly responded.
Shinji stepped between the two of them before the situation could get violent. "How about Mothra's fairies, huh?" he asked in a lame attempt to change the subject. "They saved Kensuke, right?"
"Yeah, I saw them standing right next to Unit-03's core," Kensuke said. "I think they were singing or something."
"Wait, wha-?" Asuka began, only to be interrupted when a bright orange glow erupted nearby. The group suddenly became aware of singing as well, coming from where Unit-03's core was. Looking to the light's source, they saw that Unit-03's core was now glowing a soft orange.
"Mahal Mahal Mosura
Tama Tama Mosura
Laban Guerra Labanan"
"It's just like that night after the 7th Angel attacked, when we found you dying in the apartment," Asuka whispered to Shinji. "They sang it when they healed you."
The core's glow intensified to the point that they had to shield their eyes, yet they could feel no heat coming from it. The Shobijin were barely visible as tiny silhouettes in front of the core, their arms raised.
"Laban Guerra Labanan
Mahal Mahal Mosura
Tama Tama Mosura"
The Shobijin stopped singing. The orange glow around the core faded, only to immediately start up again, this time a brilliant red. The core began to pulsate, producing an audible hum as it did so, and a bulge appeared on it's surface, right around the "equator". Then something burst out of the bulge in a spray of LCL, landing on the soaked earth with an audible splat.
"Mein Gott," Asuka whispered, tightening her grip on Shinji's arm. "What did they do?"
"Something we have long suspected and now know," came the Shobijin's reply.
The something was a pale woman, devoid of any clothing. She was of average height, and her hair was a short and curly brown. The woman rose weakly, giving the group a good look at her face.
"M-mom?" Kensuke said weakly.