The next Angel is coming up, and she's likely the weakest of the group. Either way, we'll also be showing that SEELE has more than one trick up their sleeve. I need to show they can put up a good fight even without world domination under their belt. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Evangelion, or Anarchy Reigns.

Cruel Angel's Thesis Chapter 14: Angel of Rain, Matarael

Shortly after dealing with Zero, several bigger Mutants, called Super Mutants, showed up out of nowhere. "Just one thing after another," Shinji said with an exasperated sigh. There were only five, so each pilot dealt with one apiece. However, once they were dealt with, Max chose then to show up. "I thought something was off when Zero didn't report in. You kids are getting stronger than our bosses ever thought possible." He turned to the group. "That could prove a serious issue. Especially if you can use the info found inside this lab to gain even more strength."

Shinji scoffed. "Why don't you people get it? We're not like you. Our power is natural, even Aigis'. We don't need fancy mechanical augmentations to grow stronger. In fact, all that tech is just holding you back." He motioned to Zero, then Max. "The two of you could easily become potent Stand users. You have the energy, and it's clear you have the potential. But you rely too much on artificial powers. Whatever garbage SEELE stuffed into your head, I think it's time you took out the trash." Max rushed over to him, preparing to slash at his head, only to get blocked by Cruel Angel's Thesis.

"This is real Stand power," Shinji pointed out, "I didn't get this power from the Stand arrow. It's a power that was sleeping inside me all along. The arrow just allowed it to awaken. This is the difference between us!" He threw Max back and charged his Stand to full power, then made a massive attack. "DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME DAME!" Max slammed back into the lab door, causing it get cracked open. He shook his head. "Whatever you may think about us, kid, know that if we had any other choice, we'd never side with SEELE." And with that, he created another electrical shockwave to cover his escape, though he left Zero behind.

With the capture of the jungle lab, NERV was able to take that region away from SEELE, given them just over fourteen percent control of the island. Work was getting done raiding the lab for anything useful, from information to technology to resources. Yui in particular started looking through the files on the artificial Stand users, curious as to the meaning behind Max's words. "He said they wouldn't be joining SEELE if they had a choice," Gendo noted, "Are these artificial Stands working as life support, perhaps?" "That's what I hope to find out," Yui noted, "Anything we can use to turn these guys against SEELE will be useful to us."

Meanwhile, Lorenz was not pleased with the latest turn of events. "While Max's attempts to retrieve Zero and lock down the lab are commendable," he admitted, "His actions caused a breach in the lockdown, allowing NERV access to sensitive information." "And all this before the arrival of the Ninth Angel," SEELE-02 noted, "At this rate we might have to take drastic actions." "What sort of actions?," SEELE-05 asked. "As it happens," SEELE-02 explained, "Our spies in NERV have planted a kill switch that will cut all power in NERV save for the MAGI for exactly two hours."

"That's a risky venture," Lorenz noted, "We only get one chance with it. And we won't be able to contact NERV to make them an offer until the power is back on. Should they discover what happened, that will be another avenue lost to us." "I had a different idea in mind than threatening to cut their power," SEELE-02 clarified, "Once the power is gone, our spies can retrieve our other Stand users and even steal Adam for us. We need to study him in order to create that all-important factor to power our own EVAs." Lorenz smiled. "Of course… We need access to the S2 Engine. Very well, proceed with the plan."

Two weeks passed as everyone was looking through the data they had collected from the lab. "Man, this is a really big deal, isn't it?," Rei noted. "It's a major accomplishment to take something from SEELE," Ritsuko pointed out, "It'll take some time to fully analyze everything." Later, the five pilots were returning to the Geofront. The Ninth Angel was due to arrive soon, and they wanted to be ready to launch at any time. Shinji looked around. "Does the city feel… Quieter to anyone?" The group looked around as well. "What happened to all the traffic lights?," Aigis asked.

"Something's wrong," Asuka realized, "I think we're experiencing a blackout." "Should the Geofront be safe?," Rei asked. "Only one way to find out," Shinji said. Unfortunately, it looked like the card reader for the main door wasn't working. "This is way too convenient," Kaworu noted, "Especially since Matarael is due to attack soon. This has SEELE written all over it. They have access to the entire power grid on Zero Point, so they can shut it all down at any given moment." "Yeah, but how does that affect the Geofront?," Asuka asked, "It's supposed to be on an isolated system."

"We have confirmed some workers are no longer present," Fuyutsuki reported. "Then this is a deliberate act of sabotage," Gendo realized, "What's the status of the cell block and the Central Dogma?" "We have no confirmation as of yet," Fuyutsuki said sadly, "Hopefully we can find out before long. This outage can't last forever. The question is, why pull this off now of all times? SEELE had to have known we'd be on to them." "They're using this as an opportunity to steal important items from us," Gendo replied, "Luckily Jet Alone is activated remotely. Have it active at once. Matarael is said to be the weakest of the Angels, so it should be able to deal with her."

"Not without backup," Fuyutsuki noted, "Which we can't get so quickly." Gendo rubbed his chin. "Then contact Doctor Idabashi. I think it's time Aigis' older brother came to the party." Mirai Idabashi had told Gendo the full scope of what Keebo's Stand, Machinehead, was capable of. At its strongest it could easily pierce through an AT Field. Now was the time to put theory into practice. Luckily, the power outage didn't affect cell phone usage, since all cell towers were outside the island's perimeter. Fuyutsuki immediately put a call in to the good doctor.

As it happened, Matarael had actually arrived on Earth some time before Sachiel. But she suspected the humans had been planning to confront them for some time now, and so had chosen to wait to see what they would do when one of her stronger siblings appeared. Sure enough, when she saw how deadly the EVAs were in combat against Sachiel, she decided to sit and wait for a good chance to make her own move. When a sudden blackout hit the city, she knew this was her chance. "The Lilim should be unable to mount any sort of offensive while in the midst of this chaos. Now's my chance to find Father and free him."

"Just got word from Dad," Shinji said, "The Ninth Angel is set to arrive soon." "Actually, knowing Matarael she's been here for quite a while," Kaworu noted, "But she likely waited for a chance like this since doesn't have the combat skills of my other siblings. In fact the only Angel weaker than her is Iruel, but she balances it out with her special skill." Shinji raised an eyebrow. "So would Matarael be vulnerable to normal weapons?" "Only the highest caliber ones," Kaworu said, "Normal arms fire could never pierce her AT Field. However, things like anti-tank shells or high explosives would definitely have the yield necessary to penetrate it and do damage."

"That's good," Shinji said, "Because Dad is having Jet Alone mobilized to deal with Matarael until the power is restored. And he's also contacted Doctor Idabashi." Aigis smiled. "Looks like you guys will get to see how strong my brother is when he goes all-out with his Stand." "You mean Machinehead, right?," Shinji asked, "Isn't it just a nanotech factory that can pump out endless robots?" "On the surface," Aigis admitted, "But Keebo has had his Stand since his strong AI first developed true sentience. And over the last seventeen years he's pushed the very limits of his imagination in utilizing it."

Misato sighed. She had would up trapped in an elevator. Then again, it could have been worse. At least she got stuck with Kaji. Over the last few weeks she had talked things out with him. He had been shocked when he learned that she had been comparing him to her father, at least when she was younger. And she was concerned she didn't deserve to be happy, and it turned out she was happy being with him. Naturally it had been her old friend Shining who had encouraged this. 'Though there are times I wonder how things could have gone if he hadn't met Cadence.'

"Looks like we'll be here for a while," Kaji noted. He got surprised by Misato snuggling up to him. "Yeah, look's like it. We'd better get comfortable. Luckily I was able to hit the bathroom before all this went down." Kaji chuckled. "Where did that come from?" Misato grinned. "Hey, if we're starting from square one, I gotta start by breaking the ice right? Just like when we first met in college." They leaned in and kissed, the elevator acting like the perfect private room, for a few hours at least. Meaning they would have plenty of privacy.

Meanwhile up above, Matarael had finally found the central shaft. Unlike Ramiel, she didn't have the brute strength needed to force her way through the ground or the armor of the Geofront. She needed to find a preexisting entrance. "This should do nicely. I'll start secreting my special acid right here." Just then, she felt something hard impact her body, enough to start weakening her AT Field. "What the heck!?" She spotted two large humanoid figures racing around her perimeter. One was likely Jet Alone, but she didn't know what the other was, since she couldn't feel the same energy like with the EVAs.

Matarael fired an acid mist at the figure, but it seemed to repair much faster than she could erode it. It finally got close enough for her to get a good look. It was no EVA, looking almost purely machine, with motifs of wolf, rhinoceros, and crocodile. And piloting is was Keebo Idabashi, Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate Robot. The mech, which he called Mega World, was created by pushing his Stand to its absolute limit. Unlike a human Stand user, his platform could withstand the strain. Better still, he could activate his Stand to repair any damage to Mega World.

Actually, the design had come from his girlfriend Miu, he had just used the design as a template. Keebo smiled as he looked at a picture of him and Miu together, which was posted on the side of the cockpit. "I'll win this for both of us," he assured her, "Now… Machinehead!" His Stand could also equip Mega World with a variety of weapons, in this case a set of construction spikes. The pounding of the spikes was enough to batter through the AT Field. "Not as strong as some of the earlier Angels," he noted. He then sent a wireless signal to Jet Alone. "Get the EVA hatches open. Let's get the other pilots in here."

Jet Alone received the signal, and hurried to where the launch hatches were, wrenching them open one by one. This was noticed by the pilots. "Looks like we have a chance to get into the action," Shinji noted. The group hurried off to change into the plug suits in private, then activated special wrist watches that could act as beacons for their EVAs. Instantly the five EVAs launched themselves using their various abilities, opening wide for the pilots to enter. Matarael's various eyes widened. "This is gonna end badly…"

Asuka moved in first, using Unit-03's claws to tear into the Angel's flesh, Shinji then flew in and used Unit-01's talons to grab the core and pull it out, before the other three finished the job of disposing of the body. Once it was over, Aigis opened her cockpit. "It's good to see you again, Big Brother." Mega World opened its outer hatch, revealing Keebo to the others. "Yo. Glad I could make it here on time. Allow me to introduce my personal mech Mega World, crafted using my own Stand, and the designs of my girlfriend Miu Iruma." The others stared in shock at the mighty mecha, and how it fit so well with their own theme.

Back at SEELE central, Lorenz watched as a suited agent brought in the container for Adam. "We managed to find it deep within the compound. We were also able to retrieve our other agents. But there is an issue. They couldn't be brought here. It seems NERV expected them to be released at some point, so they were tagged." "I see," Lorenz noted, "We can't have them leading NERV to anywhere sensitive. What about the information from the lab?" The agent shook his head. "We didn't find a chance to retrieve that. And even if we did, it's all been copied onto the MAGI computers." Lorenz sighed. "More's the pity for us, then. No matter. We accomplished our goals with this operation. And now we start our studies into the S2 engine…"

Managed to make this one longer. As you might expect, Keebo's Mega World is my answer to Zyuoh TheWorld. I'll be having other analogies as the part continues, though it's a relatively short part, so don't expect them in order. Read and review.