We'll be using this chapter to wrap up a few plotlines, and advance SEELE's final plan. Plus we get the next Angel. But it'll be a little different than you expect. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Evangelion, or Anarchy Reigns.

Cruel Angel's Thesis Chapter 26: Angel of Birds, Arael

Mayumi rubbed her belly after the procedure was complete. Prepping her for the surgery to remove the S2 engine was time-consuming considering everything else NERV was going through, but it was always a higher priority. Kensuke sat with her. "You feeling okay?" "Considering I had the world's only beneficial abortion," she quipped, "I'm feeling mostly better. A lot of the pain is gone." She sighed. The day this all happened, she only remembered getting abducted after someone had chosen to adopt her. Turns out whoever did that had chosen her thinking no one would care about a missing orphan.

She had told the main group of NERV what she knew of the incident, and about SEELE. How they first used her to experiment with a new type of organ transplant, and then as a spy to check on the very organization who was helping her. If Aigis hadn't detected the S2 engine, it likely wouldn't have been long before SEELE accelerated the process of the engine's growth, which would have killed her. Apparently, the engine was never meant to be held by a pure human body. "For now it's better that she remain here in NERV HQ," Gendo offered, "SEELE's presence is limited, but we're not yet done with them."


"Operation Heavy Rain was a complete success," Shigeru noted, "The dome has completely cracked and broken away. But it looks like SEELE still isn't done playing its hand. We have reports of vast military forces moving through previously unknown channels into the central region of Zero Point." Fuyutsuki was confused. "Where on Earth could they have gotten these forces? Speedwagon made sure they couldn't influence the world's military?" "I don't think these came from any country," Shigeru clarified, "The only insignia they're carrying is that of SEELE. Basically, this is a private army they've been building up, likely for years."

Fuyutsuki frowned. "They've been planning this. They must have been seeking out those who had no interest in the world and brining them into the fold, slowly training and arming them over the course of half a century. To think they could maintain this level of influence in spite of everything." "it's not like they need much to instigate Instrumentality," Shigeru noted, "Only enough to keep their asses covered and understand the concepts behind the Angels." That's when the alert came in of a Code Orange. "Speak of the devil, as ironic as that statement is right now. Looks like the Fifteenth Angel decided to make it's presence known."


"That's Arael all right," Kaworu noted. The spy satellites had gotten a good look at her. She looked like a skeletal bird made of pure light. "I hope she hasn't gone crazy looking through every human mind on the planet," he said, concern in his voice, "Human thoughts can be really terrible." "Shinji, Mari, looks like this one is going to be all on you," Misato said, "Your EVAs are the only ones that can fly. Just in case of breach you'll be going in using specially crafted breather helmets. The plug suits were designed to be able to resist outer space conditions."

"Hopefully it won't need to get that far," Shinji noted. This was probably the most dangerous mission they ever had. Yes Units 01 and 00 could fly even in outer space, but they weren't exactly spaceships. Because of the LCL the entry plug was vacuum sealed, one less thing to be concerned about, but if a breach should occur it could be catastrophic. Fortunately, Arael's abilities were purely mental. Additionally, their Stands were strong enough to pierce the AT Field. The only other thing that could likely do so was the Lance of Longinus, and the longer that stayed pinned to Lilith the better.


Little did anyone know, the elderly Douglas, one of SEELE's artificial Stand users, was down in Lilith's chamber with a group of armed men and Mutants. "Have the Mutants remove it," Douglas said. One of the soldiers nodded, using a shock collar to get one of the Mutants to climb Lilith and remove the lance. "Finally…," she muttered, "But I'm still too weak to fully awaken yet." "My bosses have already prepared sufficient escape for you," Douglas said, pointing to the tunnel they had used to enter this deep. "Excellent," Lilith replied, "I have strength enough to use it. The time will soon be upon you all…"

Douglas looked down as Lilith crawled through the hole to the central sector of the island. "Follow her," he said to the others, "I'll be staying here. Someone needs to let NERV now what has just happened." The soldiers nodded and left, thinking this was SEELE's way of saying NERV was going to lose. In actuality, Douglas wanted to warn NERV about what SEELE was doing. 'I lost way too much in my life. And will likely lose what little I have left by the end of this. Might as well make some form of atonement.' He walked over to a nearby trip wire and used it to set off an alert.


Meanwhile Shinji and Mari had just hit escape velocity and were sailing through the sea of stars, Arael's giant form looming over them. "Great humans of Earth, greetings. I know you are expecting a terrible battle. This is normally where I would try to peek into your minds… But you have no more time to waste on me or my remaining brother. Lilith… Lilith has disappeared from your chains!" Shinji gasped. "Wait… Seriously!? But we had her pinned with the Lance of Longinus! Sure we expected her to get loose sooner or later… But not this soon!"

"It was the hands of SEELE who did this," Arael explained, "They had been secretly digging into your depths for several weeks now. I know, because I had been looking into their minds. Lorenz Keel, he has terrible designs in place. If he succeeds… Most of humanity will not survive. And over countless millennia, I have found myself growing fond of the developments humans have made. Taken all at once, their minds would overwhelm me. So I chose to only visit every few centuries, to see what new developments have occurred. I have even conversed with several Stand users that had telepathic abilities."

She opened up her ribcage, revealing her core inside. "Go and take my core, that I may see my siblings again. Then you must deal with the ones who allowed Lilith to roam free. Right now her power is still weak, but it will not remain so for long." Shinji nodded to Mari, and the two of them grabbed the core and pulled it free, letting Arael's body explode in space. "Dad," Shinji said, "Were there any alerts in the Central Dogma?" 'Just now in fact,' Gendo replied, 'We checked the chamber where Lilith is, and she's gone. The only thing left is a massive cyborg and the lance, which they left behind. The other pilots are moving to investigate.'


Douglas was just sitting in place when the door opened, revealing Rei, Asuka, Aigis, and Kaworu. "You could have easily escaped from here with no one realizing what had happened," Kaworu noted, "Why bother?" "I'm too damn tired to keep this going for much longer," Douglas explained, "And you've locked damn near every other member of our group. Figured I might as well get it over with. The Twins!" He revealed a pair of pile bunkers in his hands, causing ignitions as they popped out. He charged at the group. Aigis revealed her own arm revolvers, firing on Douglas as he did his best to dodge.

However, he wasn't most maneuverable, and got hit quite a few times. Luckily he was also durable, though once the pilots got close enough his vulnerability to electric attacks became apparent. And they were much more nimble than him, making it easy to hit and run, wearing him down slowly. Not that he wasn't expecting it. Finally, Rei wound up right in front of him, her hand on one of his pile bunkers. "I'm normally not one for attacking the elderly," she noted, "But you did start this fight. It's about time you got some rest." She flooded Douglas with electrical energy as her nerves wrapped around his arm, shorting out his body and causing him to go unconscious.


Lorenz was meeting with his inner circle again. "Gentlemen, all of our scheming has led to this moment. Soon Lilith will be at her full strength again. And only one Angel remains to be dealt with. Once everything is in place, we will begin our plans for Instrumentality." "It's about time," SEELE-05 admitted, "Just waiting for this moment has been a struggle." Lorenz nodded. "Though I suspect you were just eager for Robert EO Speedwagon to refuse our offer, correct? Not that it matters, your contributions have been especially significant. Without them, we never could have gathered a private army to make up for the loss of government influence."

SEELE-05 grinned. "You just need to know the right people. But time is starting to become a factor in our plans. NERV is catching on to our actions, and are taking steps to interfere." "We've gathered the best from every country," SEELE-03 noted, "But it's not exactly a large force compared to the greater allies of the world. Still, we are closer than ever before. Only a few more steps to complete." Lorenz smiled. He was willing to share the power of godhood with those who aided him out of loyalty rather than coercion, as these four men have done. And soon he would have everything he ever desired.

Yeah, didn't expect an Angel to flat out surrender, did you? Don't get used to it, this was the only one I felt would likely surrender. But now SEELE has access to Lilith, and she's really eager to finish what she started. Read and review.