Deep beneath the waves, something lay, waiting. Partially buried in the seafloor itself, the details of the object were hard to make out, but its shape was clear- a massive, ribbed ovoid, measuring at least thirty meters along its axis, if not longer.
Slowly, a dull, red light suffused the shape, illuminating the dark waters around it in a hellish glow. Seconds later, the light faded away, just as slowly as it had appeared. And then it repeated the shift. And then again. And again. Each time, the light pulsed a little faster, building itself up to the point where it was almost constant in its presence…
An eye opened inside the shape.
Still glowing red, the ovoid changed, six long legs unfolding from its sides in eerie silence. The remaining shape lengthened and thinned, becoming something like a cylinder or pestle in its design.
The being focused.
With a painful scream, the ocean around it vaporised, a burning halo suspended meters above its top. The legs bent, and shot out, their owner leaping up through kilometers of water in a single bound. As it soared towards the surface, the red glow finally faded away, leaving only the glow of its halo.
The Premonition of God had finished waiting.
Neon Genesis Evangelion:
(Not) the End
Chapter 035: You Are (Not) My Foe
~Damndamndamndamndamn,~ Misato cursed to herself, dashing through the doors to Central Dogma. She knew that the Angels weren't going to stop coming just yet…
~But it's been only two weeks since the last one!~ she wanted to protest.
"Alright people, what's the situation?" the woman demanded, coming to a stop at her post.
"The target first appeared in the Bering Sea, less than half an hour ago. It's going to take a while before we can get any sort of visual on it, but the MAGI are already plotting its most likely trajectories. Bringing it up now," one of the bridge crew relayed, as a world map flickered up on the screen. At the sight of the yellow cone that marked the being's pathway, Misato frowned.
"Wait, it's not heading towards us?" she asked- for instead of aiming towards the southwest, the cone was pointed due north. "But why? The only thing in that direction is…"
The answer hit her like a blow to the gut.
"Shit."
Misato whirled around.
"Makoto, get Bethany Base on the line!"
Charles Illustrious was reading a newspaper when his phone rang. Well, 'reading' was a bit strong; something like 'browsing' would be far more accurate, as he simply skipped over chunks in order to find the parts he felt like reading. In any case, he wasn't too bothered by having to put the paper down.
Abandoning his attempt to find something entertaining, the man excused himself from the living room, and stepped out into the hallway to take the call. A quick glance at the number told him something a little worrying; it was from Nerv.
"Hello?" he asked, holding the cell to his head. "Illustrious here."
As the person on the other side began to talk, the man's expression swiftly became more and more concerned. His brow furrowed.
"...Wait, you're sure?"
They were.
"Damn," Charles muttered to himself, before replying back to the speaker. "Alright, understood. I'll make sure to let them know. We'll be over as soon as we can. Thank you."
Click.
Charles took a deep breath in, and sighed, pocketing his phone almost reluctantly. Slowly, the man looked back to the living room, where Mari and Asuka sat on the couch, the former cuddled up against the latter.
"...Hey, girls?" he asked. Mari flinched a little, and both turned towards him.
"I… have some bad news," he confessed. "Nerv's detected an Angel. They want you two at the base, in case London has to deploy."
Neither of the two replied immediately, but Charles didn't need words to understand their concern- Mari's especially.
"A new Angel…" Asuka murmured under her breath, and looked up at the man. "Okay then."
"Mari?"
Charles' daughter nodded, just a little hesitantly.
"Y-yeah… I'm… I'm okay," she said. "Let's go."
.
- Bethany Base, the North Pole.
.
Shots rolled out across the water, the base's defenses throwing everything they had at the Angel in an attempt to slow it down; cannons, missiles, anything. Almost all of it was repelled, bouncing off or detonating against the glowing barrier before it could hit. The Angel simply kept on coming, floating closer with its legs tucked behind it… until it came close enough to strike back.
Matarael's pupils dilated.
.
A torrent of orange fluid rushed forwards, spraying along the outer walls and washing over defensive emplacements. Anything loose was flung away, while the jets tore their way across the sides. But that wasn't the worst of it. As soon as the flood died down, the viscous liquid began to hiss and sizzle, acrid smoke soon pouring from whatever had the misfortune of touched by it.
As the solvent ate away at the fortress's defenses, the Angel ceased its advance, and began to sink downwards. Then, joints cracking and creaking, its six legs unfolded- each one more than twice as long as the Angel was tall, and sheathed in a dark green shell. The creature's halo dimmed, before it touched down on the ice, each slender limb supporting its body with minimal effort. Almost leisurely, the Angel resumed its advance, stalking towards the damaged section as the walls sagged and melted. After all; with its attack having already stripped the area of most of its armour, removing the last of what stood in its way would be child's play for the Premonition of God.
Brushing past two of the outer pillars, the Eleventh Angel tore into the side of Bethany Base, ripping chunks from the weakened armour with its talons until it could shove its body into the Styx Perimeter Loop. With dogged persistence, the monster threw itself further into the depths of the facility, hacking away at the walls of the numerous tunnels and corridors like a thing possessed.
At the very bottom of this place, it could feel something- very faint, very weak, but still alive. Something that made it redouble its efforts.
Its sibling was waiting for it.
.
Mari was worried. While she may have recovered a lot since Sandalphon, the thought of actually going face-to-face with one of those monsters again was not a happy one- not with the memories that came up when she thought about it. The girl sat slouched in her seat, resting her chin on her arm as she stared out the window, watching the world flit past.
~Come on, Mari, it's not like we're guaranteed to deploy,~ she thought. ~… But we might as well be.~ After all, if it was just doing the normal Angel thing, then there wouldn't be any need to get them to the Evas- especially when they were on the other side of the planet. That meant that the Angel wasn't acting normal.
So much for trying to boost her own confidence.
Fortunately, it seemed like someone else was more than willing to do that, and far more able as well. Asuka wrapped a hand around Mari's shoulder, and pulled the girl over to her.
"Hey, come on, Four-Eyes," the German girl said, an upbeat look on her face as she tried to lighten the mood. "It'll be a lot better this time. After all, there's two of us- along with whatever new upgrades they've put in our Evas- against one Angel. We'll beat this thing."
Mari sighed.
"Yes, but-"
"We've done it before, haven't we?" Asuka interrupted.
"Yeah," Mari replied. "That's why we're still here, Princess. That's why we're-"
"-heading out to kick some more ass?"
The brunette narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend, slouching purposely. For a few seconds, she just glared, before raising an eyebrow.
"...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" she muttered. Asuka flashed back a cocky smirk, and pulled Mari a little closer.
"Obviously," the girl replied. "You didn't think I'd just let you keep this stupid, defeatist attitude- did you, Mari?" Asuka's eyes softened for her, revealing a little of what hid behind her exterior to Mari. The redheaded German was anxious as well… but not about the Angel, about her. She didn't want to risk losing someone to despair again, not if she could try to stop it. She'd brought her confidence and determination to the front, trying to use the worry and desperation to help her efforts, rather than hinder.
.
~If Princess can do it... so can I.~
"Nah," the brunette sighed, before offering a teasing reply. "That wouldn't work for the great Asuka Langley Sohryu, now would it?"
A speck of genuine humour flashed in Asuka's eyes, her smile twitching.
"You've got that right, Four-Eyes."
.
.
The Angel's flesh steamed, flakes of shell peeling off as it took an uncertain step forwards. Behind it, the last remains of the Cocytus system lay scattered. Despite the all-penetrating pain suffusing itself, despite having its Light weakened and shredded by the hellish spires, it continued onwards. The Lilin's last defense had failed- nothing would stop it now.
Matarael's claws sank through the final armour layer, peeling it open as if it were wax. From within, a cool light poured in, freezing vapours turgidly rolling out.
.
Before it was a serpentine creature, its segmented and curled body coated in a cracked, crumbling exoskeleton. The nape of its neck was locked within a veritable slab of metal, held about 20 meters off the ground, while a thin cylinder shoved through its throat trailed a mess of red wires from either end. Its massive body lay arranged in a coil around the slab, held down by thick bands of alloy. The creature's head hung completely downwards, the sockets of its ivory skull dull, and lifeless.
But it wasn't. Matarael knew it wasn't. The Angel stalked forwards, stepping daintily over the coils of the other being's body, until it stood before the serpent's head. Slowly, its legs reached out, the talons brushing against the sides of the skull, before sliding into the brace. For a few second, nothing.
An ear-splitting crack rang out, as the Angel tore the neck clamp apart. Fragments of once-operational containment systems crashed to the ground, clanging as Matarael twisted, bringing its incredibly sharp claws to bear on the other restraints around it, each one shattering with an almost musical chime- until at last, the noise began to die. The being turned around again, its eyes focusing on the hanging head.
Its Light reached out.
.
Sibling.
Awaken.
.
The serpent's empty sockets ignited, glowing acid green for a second before shifting to a vibrant crimson.
Hofniel, the Fighter of God, the Third Angel... looked up and Spoke.
YOU.
.
- Nerv London.
.
Finally, Charles' car came to a stop, right at the front of HQ's entrance. The trio of occupants unbuckled, and got out, all moving to the curb for a moment of respite. The man sighed, and turned to his daughter and her partner.
"...I won't keep you two busy any longer than I have to," he said a little sadly, having accepted that he was going to have to let them do this. "So, just… do well, okay?"
Mari suddenly threw her arms around her father, pulling him into a crushing hug.
"...Love you, papa," the girl muttered into his shoulder, letting her composure down for a moment. The elder Illustrious gladly returned the hug, and held her for a few seconds.
"I love you too, Mari."
The two pulled away, taking a step apart. Mari sighed.
"I guess... I should get going now. See you later."
Charles nodded. Slowly, the two girls turned towards the building, heading towards the door with a wave farewell. Mari went first, Asuka following after-
"Oh, Asuka?"
The redhead paused, and turned in the doorframe to glance at the bespectacled man.
"Yeah?"
Charles Illustrious smirked.
"Just so you know, whenever you're ready… you'll have my blessing."
For a second, Asuka frowned, uncertain as to what exactly Mari's dad was talking abo-
~Oh.~
The girl promptly turned pink.
"Y-you- I-"
Unintentionally stumbling over her words, and a little pressed for time, the girl gave up on trying to put out a retort. Instead, Asuka settled on pulling down one of her eyelids, and sticking out her tongue, before dashing back inside.
~R-really? He's gonna bring that up at a time like this?!~ she thought furiously to herself as she headed down the hall. ~That… I… I-it's way too soon for me to even be considering that!~
Hopefully, she'd be able to hide her blush by the time she caught up to Mari. The far future was the last thing she needed on her mind right now.
.
The new plugsuit was pretty nice, Mari decided. Like the other ones in use, it was a third generation model, equipped with a number of technological advances and practically devoid of the issues her old one had- and like the others, it'd changed colours when she'd put it on. While the colours weren't bad, being a mix of army green and silver similar to her first suit, Mari couldn't help but feel that they didn't really fit the new model- perhaps something a bit lighter and softer? The girl turned on the nanofilament control system, and cycled through a few variations on her walk over towards the changing room's exit. Orange, turquoise, smoke grey…
"Ah! Perfect!" the girl grinned, locking in the new selection, and taking a glance over herself again.
The plugsuit was a sharp looking outfit, with the subdermal armour along her limbs offering soft but defined angles to her physique. The inner surfaces of the joints, arms, and sides of the body were a glossy charcoal black, along with a v-shaped band across the top of her ribs. Like the first model, many of her details were lit up in turquoise- the core at the base of her sternum, the orbs on the ankles and backs of the hands, along with her throat armour and the ridged ribs on either thigh- while a dark red band wrapped around the top of each shoulder. The synchronisation gauntlets were a lot sleeker, each one an almond-shaped plate that splayed out into a two-lobed guard at her wrist, with a retractable purple inset hiding the connection ports for the cables.
Then, of course, there were the main differences from the old suit; namely, the primary colours. Mari's new choice was mostly cerise, though it kept the silver-white armour- four almond-shaped plates along her stomach, and two larger ones replacing the banded armour on her breasts. It didn't seem to come with any helmet, which left her with the standard headband on her head.
The sound of Asuka's footsteps brought the short look-over to an end, and drew the girl's attention to where her red-suited partner stood. For a second, Asuka glanced up and down, taking in the sight.
"...You look good in pink, Four-Eyes," the redhead muttered at last, before flashing an approving grin. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah," Mari nodded, and clapped a hand around her girlfriend's shoulder, squeezing the glossy red surface. "So… let's go see what else they have in store for us."
.
.
- Nerv London, Eva Hanger launch tubes.
.
Any doubts Mari may have had left over faded into background noise when she got into Unit-05. There was an eager energy to the mecha, the start-up sequence carrying with it a familiar enthusiasm, much like that which Mari herself was known for. It was like the Eva was happy to see her again- and remembering just how alive the cyborgs had seemed to her before, Mari wasn't going to dismiss that.
LCL, lights, and a wave of pressure all washed over her in sequence, before the synchronisation lines leading to her gauntlets and the lights of her plugsuit began to glow a soft green.
"Mari here," the girl announced to her comms. "Unit-05 is active and fully ready to go. My synch's reading about seventy-nine percent."
"Asuka and Unit-02," the other girl called out. "Synch ratio's at eighty-three percent, with a fluctuation of point two. Everything's good on my end."
The comms crackled, before the London operations director spoke up.
"Alright, you two. Both your Evangelions have been reworked for greater efficiency and output, so expect to have a much higher ceiling to push with them. Unit-05, your holsters have been relocated to the forearms, and we've enhanced the mobility and durability of your prosthetics. The Lance has also been extended and modified a little, based on your unit's combat data. Unit-02, your reconstructed eye and arm feature a number of improvements in coordination and precision, and the latter has an emergency detonation system."
"However," they sighed. "I do have some unfortunate news."
"The Eleventh Angel, codename Matarael, has… destroyed Bethany Base, and freed the Third Angel. Both Angels are now on-route to London, for reasons unknown. That said, reports suggest that the Cocytus system was activated, so their AT Fields should still be unable to reach full strength by the time they arrive- but they're still Angels, so don't underestimate them."
Mari grimaced, emotions churning in her gut. Fear, shock, worry… and a spark of anger. Destroyed, the director had said. Not 'attacked the base', not 'penetrated its defenses', but destroyed. She may not have stayed there long, but she'd known people there- nice people, friendly people, good people. It was like how it'd been with Asuka and the Joint Pacific Fleet… except Asuka hadn't been linked to a cybernetic war machine when she'd gotten the news. The spark of anger grew in the gestalt mind of pilot and Eva, metal talons curling into a fist at its side.
Before the cyborgs, the launch lights began to light up in sequence.
Three…
"With that said…"
Two…
"Give them hell, you two."
One.
"You may launch when ready."
.
Mari looked to the left, a screen popping up to show the interior of Asuka's plug. The redhead looked back at her, looking just as ready as she did. Mari nodded.
"Let's do it."
The two turned back forwards, and tightened their grips on the controls. In the back of her mind, Mari could feel Unit-05 tensed, waiting for the moment where its beloved pilot would allow them to join the fight at last. The Fifth Child didn't intend on making it wait much longer.
"Evangelion Unit-02 Gamma…"
"Evangelion Unit-05 Beta…"
"... Launch!"