Chapter 29: But it was I, Asuka. Or Kono Asuka Da.

Tarot cards: featuring the Evangelion cast.
Rei = Death (She carries a vast amount of power that does far more harm than good)
Shinji = The world (for its fate rests upon his shoulders)
Gendo = The emperor (He commands a vast army powerless to oppose him)
Yui = The hanged man (Her sacrifice starts the plot of the story)
Asuka = The fool (She cannot seem to realize that her survival along with the rest of mankind hinges on her being able to work efficiently with the other pilots as a friendly team)
Ritsuko Akagi = The hermit (She genuinely has good intentions but lost her ability to trust after repeatedly being betrayed in increasingly hurtful ways)
Maya Ibuki = The moon (She's less happy go lucky than Mari but is one of the kind few to never harass, betray or purposefully harm Shinji)
Mari Makinami = The sun
Misato and Kaji = The lovers
Kaworu = The chariot (His determined spirit encouraged Shinji to never give up)
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu = The high priestess (From the little we know, she seemed to be a good mother to Asuka in the little time before she was driven mad against her will)

Shinji POV
Having finally shaken away Asuka's humongous crimson Evangelion that had been relentless in her pursuit, the rest of the journey passed uneventfully.
Me and Rei talked like normal teenagers while Mari and Dr Akagi debated an interesting thesis that if humanity's power to think and rationalize put them above worth over the lower animal kingdoms, any living beings with the same ability should be regarded with the same rights and dignity.
By this logic, Mari joked, Asuka was several rungs down the evolutionary ladder and little more than an ape.

It was hardly another hour before our jet touched down in the midst of a clearing of a thick forest, Setsuko warmly explained to us we'd be staying in for quite some time.
She reassured us with a relieved smile that this was probably the one place on Earth even NERV would never find us.
The forest around us was surrounded by a thick poisonous fog that could kill a healthy adult in less than one minute and there was a species of mutated giant insects called the Ohmu that had made it their home. They were very docile and friendly creatures but fiercely territorial with an extraordinary sense of retribution for those hunters who thought them easy prey.
Even if they weren't here, there was nothing exceptionally valuable here anyway.

The Ohmu had bulletproof shells that made for an excellent building material, but of course NERV had never managed to find this out since they'd declared this area inhospitable long ago.
This area here however was safe.
It was what Fio called the wind valley as she eagerly led us without delay and without interruption through the maze of very old-fashioned grey stone towers, each of which bore a windmill on its pointed roofs. Wind power was one of the least damaging ways to harness energy and the only way which would not ruin the small pocket of pure air this valley was fortunate to be blessed with due to its unique underground geography, which consisted of a freshwater tunnel underneath housing some very unique plants which absorbed the poisonous air away.

"Very interesting" Dr Akagi notes as she begins to scribble away at a pocket sized notebook she had stashed away in her lab coat that she still wore.
I could tell our esteemed professor at least was going to have a field day here.

We are shown into one of the towers only slightly newer and grander than the others.
A worn banner was draped over the old but thick and sturdy doorway. The emblem reminded me of something out of a first millennium-stained church window.

What happened in the next few hours following my entry into my first home away from my abusive father, I could only recall fragments.
The chin length strawberry blonde haired young ruler of this peaceful land hidden well away from the rest of the greedy world introduced herself as princess Nausicaa while politely requesting that we refrain from the princess part since over-formality was very much an overrated virtue which was very unnecessary. Her plain lavender dress topped with a matching round cap bearing a small copper badge of the wind valley emblem, made for a simple but incredible regal attire that commanded authority while emitting a glow of complete sincerity.
I knew from that one line that she was the complete opposite of my father when it came to her stance on leadership. It lifted an enormous burden to see that not every person in charge abused their control.

We were then shown to the humble but cosy lodgings that had specifically been laid out for us, after a slightly awkward but still very comforting dinner of some delicious cans of chungus soup cooked over a warm fire.
Setsuko and princess Nausicaa seemed particularly eager to catch up and traded many stories with each other as me and Rei chose perhaps rather rudely to ignore this idle chatter for once in favour of staring at each other from across our places at the royal table with deep love filled eyes.

It was the second time we'd sat down at a dinner table together counting yesterday's meal.
My expression lit up at the thought of there being many, many more of these amazing times to come.
Now my mealtimes were no longer just a necessity to keep myself nourished so that I could live to see another day of being berated endlessly and worked like a dog with no concern for my welfare from anyone.
Now they could become something special. Something worthy of fighting and living for.
How was I supposed to live without a reason for living?

Me and Rei made small talk occasionally at the appropriate times when princess Nausicaa like all the others, took her turn to commend us for our myriad of successes while offering her condolences for the many sacrifices we had been forced to make along the way for her survival along with that of the world.
This too would have to be something I'd have to get used to after years of being shouted into my shell by everyone around me.
I wasn't sure I could handle such authentic praises or even if I deserved it.

"Shinji. They are all lying and you know it. They only wish to make you feel good so that you can continue doing your job and even Rei in reality hates your guts." My inner self keeps trying to tell me.
There aren't enough beds this time for all of us so me and Rei agree to share a closet like room and the sole bed within.
Not before however, taking a heated bath to get all the grime, shrapnel and sweat that we had become coated in during our long battle with NERV's forces who we once loyally served with every ounce of our being.
Much to my surprise as I finish filling the tub with the correct temperature, I turn to find Rei covered only in a white towel as she regards me with a soft grin that rivals her expression after I'd saved her and she'd returned the favour in my darkest hour of despair.

"Mind, err. If I. Um. Join you Shinji?" She stumbles as she blushes a deeper shade of red than the red of Asuka's hair, her plug suit and her furious face when she was readying another brutal kick to my skull.
The redness of her cheeks flowing so vibrantly against the blue of her short but beautiful bob hair, it filled me with a sense of serenity words alone could not begin to describe.

It gave me the full confidence I needed to let myself go enough to beckon her with a shaking gesture as I took my spot on one side of the bath and her the other.
We said nothing but merely closed our eyes and took relaxing breaths as we let the heated water caress our knackered forms.
The best times in life needed not be interrupted by idle chatter that would serve no purpose.
Our breathing was in perfect synchronisation as we sensed ourselves closing the gap between one another.
This was human intimacy at its finest. Not kissing, nor making out the way I secretly knew my dad liked to do with his "mistresses", but this.
We'd stay here till the water turned cold enough to send a shiver up our spines whereupon we'd exit the tub, hand in hand before relucantly letting go so that we could each dry ourselves off.

This opening and exposing of myself would have to become another one of the daily luxuries I got used to, now that Rei didn't need to hide her affection from me anymore nor worry about dad.
I wasn't sure if I had to confidence for the next time as I had this time.
But for her sake, I was determined to try anything.
Just as she was determined to try anything for me.

We soon got into bed in our underwear, Rei naturally sporting a bra the same shade as her hair.
"Good night. My love" I mustered the strength to say as I almost collapsed into the sheets while she did the honours of draping the duvet over my briefly shivering body before flicking off the lamp on the bedside desk.
This then, was the last night of my life I spent as a mere boy to be ordered and to do as he was told. The last night Rei was forced to abide her purposeless existence as a hollow, empty shell not allowed to have a single emotion good or bad.

The boy had become a man and his girl had become a woman.
Dad had failed to stop us from growing up after all.

I thought that sleep would come pleasantly with how well everything had turned out for us. But I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Even as my last wave of awareness left me, the darkness usually associated with the realm of rest quickly morphed a bloody crimson. I was about to be dragged once again to the one nightmare of the one life-changing event that persuaded me that I would never have peace of mind so long as I lived.
As well as the one awful crime that would haunt me to my grave and the afterlife if one existed.
It would forever weigh on my conscience no matter how hard it was I tried to escape through the most painful acts of repentance.

What made it all the worse, was that I had no warning that it was going to happen nor any control to prevent it in spite of my best judgement.
Asuka had come back to the apartment in a particularly bad mood.
Not wanting to aggravate her any further, I quickly rushed for the kitchen intending on laying out the ingredients for dinner that night. But almost as if sensing my fear, Asuka's scowl tightened and in the one second my eyes slid by her in spite of my best efforts not to, she ensnared me in her devilish glare as she stepped unnervingly close to me.

I tried to step back but my wobbly legs turned to jelly beneath my feet and I was powerless over the godlike control that she held over me.
"So stupid Shinji. You and Rei make a pretty smart couple don't you?"
She sneered disarmingly, before I could plead for mercy over a wrong, I knew not that I had committed.

I made no reply. I knew then and there that this could only end badly.
I tried to form the word "sorry" but the small selfish part of my brain firmly insisted that since I had behaved myself to the utmost of my ability, outstandingly performing my missions and managing to keep myself out of trouble from either Misato or my father for the past entire week, I needed no apology. I strained my vocal cords but the apology could not be formed.
Asuka had been relatively civil and calm to me in the previous entire week too, so her anger today came very much out of left field. She'd even briefly commended my diligence in her cooking just yesterday.
What could possibly be wrong?

"Let me ask you. Idiot. Have you and that little suck up ever kissed?" She demanded fiercely edging herself ever closer to me, choking off my personal little bubble of personal space.
I tried to back away, but found only the cold concrete of a wall blocking my retreat.
I gave one look downward in hopelessness but it was all Asuka needed to pronounce me wholly guilty of whatever crime she'd seen in me this time.
From the dark look she gave to me as she launched herself forward like a bat out of hell , the punishment she was about to issue for this unknown infraction that she'd found me guilty over.

I blinked once and she was on me, grabbing my delicate neck and locking me into a constriction so tight that struggling would have done me no good even if I had mustered the will to manage it.
One more tear filled blink and the final fragment of faultlessness left within me was forever shattered in to a million jagged shards that would never be repaired regardless of the penance I could try to seek.
Now I had broken my final promise to the final living soul who I was not even sure was fully human, that still placed their trust in me despite my insufferable imperfections.

It was too late to pull away by the time my strength came back to me.
Asuka had pressed her lips to mine and planted upon me a kiss so firm, I swore I could feel the blistering of the skin around my mouth as the hard impact hurtfully bruised my jawbone.
I'd be unable to eat properly or brush my teeth for the next whole week.
But my last bit of dignity had been ruined for life.

Asuka seemed to savour my tears as an exotic delicacy. She laughed coldly and bitterly as she kept me in the suffocating chokehold that would soon rob me of my consciousness and air.
"You thought your first kiss would be with Rei."
She let a devilish grin spread all the way across her pitch black face as I let out a helpless sob.
"But it was I. ASUKA"

I choked and let myself fade into blackness where Misato would find me lying there that same evening, so that she could criticize me once more for my laziness and inability to take any kind of responsibility like a grown man that the world depended on ought to be able to.
"Kono. Asuka Da...Baka"
One of the few times Asuka deigned to address me in proper Japanese, and it was the most unfortunate of circumstances where she'd broken me inside and out.

Now I knew that there was no path to gladness in my everlasting sadness.
That even when I tried to make no mistakes, I'd make a mistake that hurt those I loved in the most evil way possible.
That I belonged to Asuka eternally, and forever and that even if I could one day live to see the end of the Angel incursions, I would forever be trapped in a depressive guilt that not even death could spare me.
It was then and there that I decided it was time to die.

Since to continue living would mean to break even more vows of fidelity against my will, and to become even more of a betrayer than I already was.
I was the most wicked and detestable beast on the planet, not the Angels.

…
When I woke to Rei's gentle caressing and soothing, the duvet we shared was drenched in my stinky sweat and my pillow with my salty tears.

"NO ASUKA NO!" I was screaming as despite my sleepiness at being awaken in the middle of the night, my trembling hand instinctively balled to a fist and before I could fully regain control of myself, my fist was sailing speedily towards my skull.

I didn't deserve Rei and Mari's friendship nor the admiration of those who had taken it upon themselves to assist my escape from my father.

I deserved to burn in the deepest, darkest pit in hell and for Asuka to beat me to her heart's content. I had broken my promise to Rei that I would be devoted wholeheartedly to her and her alone.
Asuka had snatched from me my final ounce of free will.
I needed to die and to die as quickly as possible before Rei could find out the truth but I'd let my selfish desire to be with her distract me from my goal.
I should have just forced her hand away so that I could drown in Tokyo 3's poisonus sea.

"What's wrong Shinji?" The bluenette tries to ask in genuine concern as she flicks on the light to let me fully see the worry In her troubled expression. She holds my freezing shoulders lightly in her arms as I continue to shake and shiver not from cold but from overwhelming guilt that eats me alive.

My troubled mind finds itself unable to respond rationally and I find myself repeatedly mumbling like a maniac "Kono Asuka da. Kono Asuka da."
It was Asuka. It was Asuka.
It doesn't take long before my sobs of regret begin, followed by a flood of tears which burst out to the rhythm of my pathetic wordless cries for mercy.
"My first kiss was with Asuka. Not you." I manage eventually to choke out as Rei uncontrollably wrinkles her brow. "I tried to stop it. I tried so bad. I tried. I tried."

I try to direct a vicious fist to my face, but Rei senses my motions and quickly grips the hand intending to carry out this act of punishment before it can even ball itself.
She knows me too well and can sense my feelings all too well. I could get away with no more self harm so long as Rei was around. I didn't know whether to call this a blessing or a curse with how much I hated myself right now.

"The...the wall behind me, stopped me. She, she grabbed my neck. She, choked me breathless." I manage to huff out in between gasps of sadness.
"I was too weak. Too weak. Kill me now. I don't deserve to have you Rei. I failed you." I beg as I blink several times in great anguish, unable to meet Rei's gaze any longer without intense agony.
"I don't deserve to have you by my side."

I expected the cliched attempt that a typical lover would make to a self-loathing scumbag who held nothing but contempt for himself.
All the meaningless gestures of placation like "no. You're wrong. I love you." or "Of course you matter.".
But Rei was not a typical girlfriend. She was my waifu. The ultimate waifu to end all waifu's.

"Asuka forced you into that kiss so it didn't count." She softly but bluntly pointed out, neither pity nor anger in her voice nor face.
"She took away your free will and you resisted till the very end with your best, so it makes your actions at least in this instance, forgivable."

"But she made me kiss her and break my vows to you" I tried to weakly protest, once again trying to ball my itchy hand to be stopped by her even more quickly than the previous time.
"I didn't kiss you first like I promised I would. Like I promised my own damn self I would. You don't need me ruining your life, Rei. Just find someone else and leave me to die."

She scowled, on the verge of tears but managing to compose herself with an incredible inner will that terrified me to witness as she let off a quiet, pained groan that shattered my psyche. "That wasn't your first kiss. Shinji. For a kiss to mean anything, it must be made with a fully conscious decision. Like the one I bestowed upon you when I was finally able to see how much you truly meant to me after all the times you put your life on the line to save mine. Asuka forced it out of you. There was no love in your heart for her when she did. If there is no love, then a kiss has no value."

She let a solitary droplet of saltwater trickle down her left temple.
"So, no Shinji. There was no Kono Asuka da."
She let her frown brighten to a gentle grin as my fatigue overwhelmed me and I fell deeper into her loving embrace.
"Kono Rei da. Since when we kissed, I let you and you let me. It was truly a gesture of our mutual admiration and trust in each other and neither of us forced each other. Just as I will never force you from now on to do anything you don't want to. Because the one thing I want from you Shinji, is for you to be the best you can be in your own way."

She would continue to hold me muttering occasionally when I let off another sob "Kono Rei da."
When I eventually fell back to sleep, I could tell from the way the darkness seemed to dissipate from my world of dreams that Rei had chosen to forsake her own time of rest for the sake of sitting over my sleeping form to pray over me, the whole night through.
She uttered the memes I found most entertaining from the rare time I had to enjoy my favourite Anime cartoons. She recited every psalm from the bible, start to finish.

As the sun rose and the world of the living begun to come within view, she concluded her nightly prayer with an improvised but no less meaningful sermon.
Wherein she decreed from here on and out, my suffering would be her suffering, my strength, her strength. That she owed me a debt that could never be repaid when I taught her that where there was joy, there would also be sadness. That the only alternative was to deaden yourself and not live at all which she was never going to do again.

My final thought as I snapped back from the spirit realm into the real, was that the defining merit of why I found Rei to be the greatest love of anyone I'd ever found it in myself to love, was her capacity to continually change and her unending quest of self-improvement.
She may not have said much, but I liked it that way.
Asuka may have droned on and on with a seemingly endless breath about this and that all day long.
But most of what my former abuser said, had no meaning and no relevance to anything in the moment.

She never listened to me. She gave me many valuable gifts like the delicious knuckle sandwiches that my still cracked skull would forever remember and treasure dearly.
But she never gave me the one great present I endlessly offered upon her, and which Rei was now willing to offer upon me.
She never gave in. That was the seemingly small but life-changing difference between Asuka and Rei.

Rei POV
My even redder than usual eyes would be a little sore for the rest of that day as I wandered the village in search of work along with Shinji and the rest of my friends to repay their kindness in taking us in.
But it had all been worth it as a start to Shinji's slow recovery of himself and the inner beauty that Asuka, Misato, my commander and the rest of the sociopathic jerks we'd once trusted had taken from him for their own sick amusement.
It would take a long time for Shinji's traumas to even begin to heal, even as resilient as he had been his whole life long for the sake of his true love even in the face of his loved one's empty promises to him.

"I will fix you, my dear love." I whispered solemnly as I took my place in the village kitchen which had been short on cooks ever since more hunters started perishing on expeditions into the woods.
I watched the beef patty sizzling on the dusty grill in front of me, the way the heat cooked out the juices and the darkened tone it was beginning to take which signalled to me that it was time to flip it over.

One of the reasons I loved Anime so, was that it was fun to see just how famous I had unknowingly become with my seemingly unnoticed life-risking accomplishments which not even my creator bothered to praise me once or thank me for.
Yuki Nagato of Haruhi Suzimiya? That was me, with glasses and a slightly different school outfit.

The other reason, I remembered to myself as I placed the now finished burger between two slices of thin bread and begun to add the condiments that would complete the meal, was to learn how I could become a better girl for the source of my gladness.
Since I knew even despite my lack of empathy, that the only way Shinji would ever come to true reciprocate my love for him, was if I became a loving individual worthy of his love.
Asuna Yuuki maxed out her cooking skills to become the ideal partner for Kirito, when they cleared sword art online together.
Now it was my turn to do the same.

The Earth may have been a messed up place as it was. But at least it was all real and not just a video game. More importantly, it was not a death game where the survivors of mankind stooped to killing each other all in the name of getting their hands on the best gear and the best ranking.
At least not yet. At least not for all of us.
At least not for me, my Shinji and Mari along with the rest of the colourful friends we'd picked up along the way.

I still needed to grow my hair out longer. Shinji would never be fully rid of his sense of unease when around his father's former killing machine unless I fulfilled that promise I made to him on the sleek silver jet that brought us here to this hideout.
It needed to be as long as Asuka's and longer before Shinji stopped pining for a home and roommate that had caused him nothing but misery and regret.
I would ask Doctor Akagi whether she had any chemicals that could help me grow it quicker before Shinji seriously contemplated suicide.
Just as NERV had (although for extremely selfish reasons) proven that killer robots were not only in science fiction novels, so too was it my turn to prove to Shinji that amazing brides with stylish haircuts were not only on the big wide silver screen.

There would be a brief but respectful ceremony held later in our honour, where me and Shinji would walk before the red carpet of princess Nausicaa's throne room after reciting the traditional wedding vows that would officiate our union, hopefully for as long as we lived.
Shinji's Onee-chan Maya and the closest thing I had left for a mother, Doctor Akagi would have front
seats for the spectacle, along with the few citizens of the wind valley not occupied with life-or-death duties.

"I take you now, Shinji for better or worse. And promise with all my heart and soul, to love you in both sickness and in health." I recited to myself in practice.
I wonder what my commander was like preparing himself for this special day. As well as how seriously he really took these oaths that were supposed to last a lifetime.
I guess I would never know now that I'd cast him out from my life to be with those who truly cared for both my physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Not that I think I needed to know.

Misato POV
"Don't be afraid. Misato" were the words I first heard from my beloved Kaji, upon reawakening to find myself in the back seat of a shockingly comfortable police car driven by the blonde Minako "M" with blue haired Ami "Mello" carefully looking me over.
"Where two or three are gathered in God's name. There will he be also."

He then crisply but caringly summarized the situation that we had gotten ourselves into.
That I was now a key part of the search party the Juban district police had sent to find Asuka before she could hatch whatever devious plan she was bound to be brewing up.
And to relocate my long-lost son and the adorable girl that was certain to have become my daughter in law by now, if luck was on their side.

I looked down at the nametag I still bore, whereupon the characters for "Rei Hino" was scrawled in shoddy Kanji writing.
I smiled as to Kaji's own bemusement and pride, I carefully removed it and asked for a bottle of water with which to wash away the black paint in my hair to revert it back to its natural purple.
Pretending to be a great heroine I was not had been fun while it lasted.
But it had also taught me that it was not necessary since it was my own skill and change of heart that had given power to my alter ego in the first place.

"Rei Hino" may have been the courageous crusader who liberated Tokyo 3 from evil's grasp.
But Misato Katsuragi was the one to make the call to become Rei Hino.
Which came first. The egg or the chicken?
Was Superman really Clark Kent or was Clark Kent really Superman?
Was Kirito an unstoppable swordsman who could not be even scratched by the most potent of attacks, or just an insufferable time-waster and master procrastinator who wasted his life away grinding video game skills that would never be of any use to him in real life.

I didn't know. But with how dire the circumstances we were in thanks to Asuka's rapidly worsening insanity, I had no time to waste in rumination that served no purpose.
I wanted to be better as myself. To let Shinji, see when I found him, that despite the changes I was about to make for the better that it was still me.
His new mother who wished only to do the best she could for him even if she could never replace the one, he lost.

"I tried to call for child protective services to stop Asuka." I thought aloud.
"They ignored my cry for help. The law had chosen to turn a blind eye to my son and me in my darkest hour of need."

"Well now. We are the law." Usagi sharply intoned snapping me out of my delusions as she presented Minako's official constable badge before me, from her place riding shotgun to the driver of the black and white police sedan.
"So as long as you choose to follow us and our ideals, you too will be part of the law."

The Angel that nearly killed me had splattered a messy puddle of grey goop all over me when Minako nailed its backside with the finishing laser blast.
It had been easy to clean off while I was unconscious, they said, although Ami had told me that apparently the cross around my neck had grown gradually brighter and shinier throughout the ride, and that she thought she was imagining it at first but was certain after a few times that this was true.

I looked down at the now dazzlingly reflective rose gold emblem of heaven.
It seemed to sparkle like the sun and to fill me with a sense of wellness I had no right feeling with the grievous bandaged wound on my chest.
I had a strange idea that it was only thanks to the now beautifully glistening metal now showing me a perfect reflection of myself, that I was able to resist that Angel's underhanded attempt at mind control.
What to make of this supernatural phonomenon, I knew not yet.

That however was a thought for another time as I looked forward and to my shock, saw a gigantic ravine with the bridge out before us.
What made it more frightening, was how Minako wasn't slowing down despite how fast approaching we were to the all-consuming darkness that would end our bizarre adventure before it began.

"Minako. Look out" I tried to shout only for Minako to nonchalantly maintain her course as Usagi fished out a black top hat with a single narrow orange stripe near its base, from a nearby car compartment and placed it on the blonde constable's noggin where it fitted like wax.
She then put on her on head, a much plainer blue cap.

"Puzzle 95" She joyfully exclaimed, blissfully ignoring the danger up ahead. "The police car and the cliff. This puzzle is worth fifty picarats."

"But we're going to fall in..." I attempted to warn her before she cuts me off by playing a soothing electronic tune with no lyrics on the car radio as she continues to narrate the supposed puzzle, she seems to be totally absorbed in.

"A police car is approaching a cliff. The police car is travelling at 53.5 mph while the cliff is approximately 670 yards away. How long will it take the car to reach the cliff under these conditions, rounded to the nearest second. You currently have no hint coins."

"We're going to die!" I bark, completely ignoring her.
Strangely, despite the frown it puts on her face, she does not become angry with me in the slightest.

"We're going to die is not a valid answer. Please input your answer in numbers only."
Usagi emotionlessly replies as the front wheel edges off the edge of the ravine.

I open my mouth to scream but Minako simply pushes a button and we are quickly uplifted into the air by a pair of majestic steel wings sprouting from the two sides of the car.
The leap to the other side is made both simple and the view is breath taking.

"Who built this amazing car?" I ask as I take a brief look at Kaji to reveal he has not been worrying about this ordeal in the slightest, having clearly been told about this one of a kind vehicles' capabilities long before I woke up.

"Q did" Minako "M" eagerly explains as we make contact with the worn and uneven country road once more. "His friend, a Mr James Bond made some further adjustments to take its capabilities to yet another level. Our entire department envies them for their espionage and technological prowess."

"Isn't Bond supposed to be in England?" I wonder, at least despite my ignorance recognizing the name of this renowned wonder.

"He was drawn to the kingdom of Anime by its far superior filmography and the longer lifespans the Japanese were known for having at least before the impact" Minako simply answers.
"England was also completely trashed by the forces of NERV after they basically razed it to the ground after taking everything they considered to be of value.
It has been a puppet state ever since its loss of the second world war, and it is safe to say that it will never be its own nation again."

I remorsefully looked down at my feet. If only I had paid proper attention in history class.

"You didn't answer my puzzle." Usagi complains a little bitterly. "Don't you like puzzles? Ami showed me how much fun they could be when you set your mind to them."

"Maybe next time I..." I begin to apologize only to stop mid-sentence as a gargantuan roar fills the air and the crust shakes to the mighty leap of a slavering blood red behemoth with coal like slits for eyes, as it lands right before us, blocking our path.
It stands as tall as the tallest skyscraper in Tokyo 3, and as broad as a barge.
It turns towards the sky and howls a bloodcurdling cry.

"Do something" Minako asks of me, with the same fear I was possessed by earlier when I thought we were all going to fall into the ravine we were now long past.
"Our weapons ran out of ammunition and even if they weren't, we couldn't carry them with us because of their immense size."

I could have just asked that we drive away.
But I knew that to even suggest such a selfish and lazy move would be to completely betray my son's remaining respect for me and bring great shame upon all of mankind that remained.
We could not let this rampaging terror live for it would surely take the lives of the innocent.

What was I to do now?
This beast had caught us unarmed and all that I could now feel was a fierce vibration around my chest where I wore the cross.
Wait. What?
I held it up to find that it was now glowing a radiant golden light.
Each one of my fellow passengers upon witnessing this divine miracle, seemed to leave their worries behind as all sense of doubt left their frightened faces.

Not even understanding what it was I intended to do, I unclasped the cross from my neck and with a shaking hand, upheld it from the window nearest to me which I opened with my free hand.
I began to recite the 91st psalm, the first thing that came into mind upon seeing this otherworldly sight.

"I will say of the lord. He is my refuge, and my fortress. My god in him I will trust."

A thin trail of bright gold started to trail from the cross as I continued to say the rest of the psalm.
It collected into a humanoid like shape on the grass nearby as I finished the prayer.
"Vade post me satana. Exaudi Domine patri"
One of the only lines of any foreign language that I understood and not because of school.
I really was an incompetent fool.

Then there they were. A glowing apparition of a short and lithe barefoot human-like entity, sporting a plain white robe and trailing a shoulder length trail of slightly curled brown hair behind them.
The same shade of brown, as Shinji's.
It turned to me to let me see that it had no mouth. In the words of the condescending insult I had thoughtlessly thrown in Shinji's direction after all the good he did for me and the cruel world he had every right to detest, Shinji was to speak only when spoken to.
Such a cruel thing for me to say but there was no changing the past now.

Their eyes were brown and identical to Shinji's in every way down to shape and size.
A gleaming round halo of gold, levitates above its head to follow it wherever it goes.
The same could be said for their every feature save their middling length hair which made it impossible to discern even a rough estimate of gender.
Their skin was white, but the kind of white only present in severely malnourished humans and animals that had been deprived of food and light for a very long time.
Bones were visible through their skinny feet and hands.
I winced as I remembered the countless nights Shinji had prepared me and Asuka's meals.
Only to have no energy nor time nor food left for his own.

What a good son and caretaker he was.
How ungrateful I'd been.

They signalled with a light squeak of anticipation that sounded eerily similar to Shinji's, that it stood ready to carry out my orders even if they should lead it through hell's gates and beyond.
When I was too scared initially, it knelt and bowed its head to the ground.
Just like Shinji used to do in the times I lost control of myself and flew into a scathing rage.

"Stop that Angel before it kills any innocent people who don't deserve to die." I manage to blurt out. Upon which they quickly straighten themselves to nod gratefully before stretching out its feathery white wings on its back as it takes flight fearlessly in the direction of the monster that has finally finished psyching itself up and returned its gaze at its hapless prey which is us.
The mindless beast seems to recoil from its majestic pose of dominance as it witnesses the mirage of my summoned stand.
Now I even had a stand and Usagi took due note of my new accomplishment as she set Giorno's theme to blare up throughout the cabin at a gargantuan volume which I swore would soon blow my eardrums.

"Jojo...Golden wind" A talented singer passionately sings accompanied by the deafening harmony of an equally pumped saxophone, drum, violin and piano.
The sound seems to empower my Shinji-like angelic stand as it raises an oustretched palm.
I do not know why I am not surprised when a massive wave of thunder in the shape of a cross, flies at lightning speed towards the blood red Angel and splits itself into an uncountable quantity of smaller electrical jolts as it tries in vain to run.
Thunder. Heaven's way of showing its wrath at evildoers who it could not persuade through kindness to change their ways.
The thunder cross split attack. The sole technique that no attempt at evasion could foil.

Realizing somehow that it had no hope of evading its oncoming demise, the Angel crouches and shifts its gigantic, muscular arms around its mouth defensively.
My stand seems to relish in its decision as it raises its arms once more.
This time, an even larger torrent of emerald coloured water floods from its palms.

They say that even before the impacts, there was another even more serious disaster that reduced humankind to a shadow of its former self. The flood.
A test from the heavens to trial man's faith if he were truly worthy of survival.
If the bible's verses on this baneful event held any grain of truth, the impacts were but a small hurdle that would easily be overcome in comparison.
We were all making a mountain out of a molehill when we as a species had endured far worse and come out far better for wear.

Now my stand was creating the emerald splash.
No one could deflect the emerald splash.

The police girls and Kaji who had accompanied me here, looked at me with a new level of pride.
Now their fearless and selfless leader was also a stand user. An epic one at that.
No evil would befall us now.
Asuka stood no chance of escaping her judgement.

When I caught Asuka, I intended to make her fully realize the extent to which her selfishness had ruined infinite lives beyond her wildest imagination.
She would regret the day she took Shinji's kindness for granted to throw it all back in his face.
Wait for me Shinji, son. Mom will find you soon too.

...

Asuna's mother: Asuna. Stop playing video games. They can't make you money and you need to get an education. I don't care if you hate your subjects. You have to do it.
Asuna: Markiplier and Jacksepticeye would like a word with you mum. As would the countless let's players on the internet who are killing it and bringing home vast fortunes beyond even what you have with your cushy job at the university. As for an education, Bill gates and Steve Jobs dropped out of university early and look how rich they ended up getting. Because they had common sense that school's don't teach you.

Asuna's mother: Well then stop hanging out with Kirito. You met him in a game and he's nothing but a complete stranger who you have no business loving.
Asuna: You married dad solely for his money. How would you know what love is? You leave me alone at home just so you can find more ways to cheat even more money from the countless number of men you go dating. How can you tell me this?
Yes. I met him in a game. A game in which we could both die so to all intents and purposes; it was the same as real life. Neither of us could have made it out without each other. You wouldn't even get to see me alive right now if not for Kirito.

Yet once more, really special thanks to fictionelement777, neoWarkid4, bandiras2, An enemy of the state, Fantasian, Kycosoccerref and every other unnamed guest for your kind and generous reviews.
You are all great people. Thank you so much for reading and see you all next time and bye.
You're kind reviews bring a tear to my eye.
Any and all reviews welcome. You will be credited and appreciated for your generous patronage.
I'm really glad to have all you epic people here with me.