Super Robot Wars U: Deluxe Edition

by Hero-of-Winds

My most epic tale returns with more content! And fewer spelling/grammar/paragraph/continuity errors (hopefully)! "There are two constants in the countless realities that make up the multiverse: if conditions allow, humans will inevitably come into being, and no matter what humans will never be able to stop fighting. Two worlds, one flourishing, one ruined, are testament to that."

160. Chapter 110 True

First, a response to a guest review of Final Chapter (Normal):

-You made a good point about Masakado doing the work for DREAM, but I wanted to give him an extremely badass send-off. In the original fic, he just kinda died in a wimpy fashion. As for your other three points, they can be answered in the same way – I'll deal with them in the If/True route, which is starting with this chapter.

If a lot of this chapter seems like a copy/paste job, I'll admit it kind of is. Most Super Robot Wars games of late handle their endings the same way, and I've been trying to structure the fic in a similar way. Anyway, How will Janus revealing his true nature. affect the battles to come this time? Read on and find out!

---

Chapter 110 (If/True) – Eden Vital Under Attack! The True Face of Madness!

Tara glanced over at her beloved and saw him struggling with his decision. She knew that her beloved was born of the same kind of abomination that they had fought so eagerly against – he was akin to the Invaders that had triggered the Getter Ray Armageddon; to Deathless Amon, who had driven the Demon Tribe to madness; and to Muge Zolbados, who had sought to conquer all realities...enemies DREAM had no compunction about killing...

Completely and utterly Other.

"Jan...if you're scared to tell them," she said gently; "You don't have to. I'm sure they'll understand."

Janus sighed a bit, and made his choice.

"No, I can't hide the truth from them," he said. "It wouldn't be right."

With that, Janus looked up, and steeled himself.

"It's because I'm not entirely a part of time and space as we understand it," he said. "I'm a descendant of a creature from Outside...like the Invaders, Muge Zolbados and even Deathless Amon." He held his breath for what seemed like an eternity as he waited for his friends' response. Xengar and Xemmey also seemed wary, knowing DREAM's feelings toward such beings.

"Really? That makes no sense," Yurika finally said; "There was never any indication whatsoever that you were like them. If you're really like the Invaders, our scans would have picked it up long ago."

"I don't think even the Invaders even noticed," Kei said.

"Actually, I sensed something was different about you compared to other humans," Fudo said. "But I just chalked it up to you being a Devilman like me, and then because you had Metatron's soul fragment."

"I guess that part of me must have been suppressed somehow while Metatron's soul fragment was implanted in my body," Janus said, relaxing a bit even as the bitter memory came back; "But he ripped it out after sending you all to the Multidimensional Labyrinth...and then he forced me to witness the moment I first learned about my heritage over ten thousand years ago. Confronting that fact broke me, because I thought Tara could never love someone who was so...utterly different."

"At least until I showed him otherwise," his copilot said with a giggle.

"You know, caelceti are creatures from Outside," Mamoru chimed in, "and they're really nice. Maybe you're part-caelceti or something."

"No...the force that gave rise to Janus is not benevolent," Amuro said, shaking his head. "But it's not malevolent either. It simply...is."

"Apparently I'm related to a being called Nyog'Sothep," Janus replied. "Whether I'm its actual child or just a descendant is something I'm not sure about. Still..."

"Hey, let's see it," Kittan interrupted. "Show us what you really look like! Might as well get it out of the way now."

Janus turned to Tara, who gave him a smile and a thumbs-up to show that she was with him no matter what. A portal out of Neo Granlif's cockpit opened at his mental command, allowing him to walk on the ice floor.

"To be honest, I'm really not sure what I'll look like myself," he said. "Well, here goes nothing."

Janus closed his eyes and extended his wings made of spheres, causing him to levitate upward. But unlike before, he consciously allowed the spheres to begin multiplying and to cover his body - and as DREAM gazed at them, they glimpsed countless other realms, both beautiful and horrible. Some of these realms pushed the limits of imagination, while others blasted past those limits.

But just as Janus feared he would lose control of his newly-discovered Outside part, the spheres gradually stopped multiplying, and formed into ten more bubble-wings. His body seemed to flicker and writhe, as if parts of him were shifting between different dimensions. Finally, a third eye with an iris that shimmered like a luminous rainbow pool formed on his forehead.

Sensing that his body had finally stopped changing, the young man glanced down at the ice floor and saw what he looked like, then looked back at his friends, uneasy about how they would react. He found himself able to see into their machines, and to see his friends at all of their stages of life simultaneously, just like when he was performing the ritual to restore the two Earths. To his relief, none of them seemed to be suffering violent ends.

"It's...a little weird, but I could get used to it," Kouji said after a moment. "I was half-expecting you were gonna turn into some creature with lots of mouths, eyes and tentacles. But then, you'd be no different than a lot of the Devilmen."

"Even if you were really just a mass of mouths, eyes and tentacles," Masato Akitsu said, "as long as you were still the Janus that we know on the inside, we'd still be your friends."

"Indeed!" Bian added.

"That's what I'm worried about," Janus said anxiously. "If I stay too long like this...I might lose my humanity."

"The fact that it worries you tells us that you're still very much human," Lacus said warmly. "And if you do start to lose your humanity, we'll help you get it back."

"Thanks, guys," he sighed. With his confidence restored, Janus focused on returning to his more human form. After a few seconds, the spheres retreated back into his body, and the third eye faded away. His vision also returned to normal, and he saw his friends as they existed in the present.

As soon as he finished reverting, the cavern trembled with great footsteps. The group turned and saw familiar and friendly figures approaching.

"The Titans!" Dante exclaimed as he recognized the newcomers. "And the Flame of Hope!"

"Looks like we missed our chance to give the Great Emperor of Darkness a proper ass-kicking," Medusa said as she and the rest of DREAM's allies gathered around.

"It's been some time, Medusa," Lucifer said as he flew up to greet his old ally.

"Lord Satan!" a warrior of the Demon Tribe cried. "You're here after all!" The various demons converged around their former general, clamoring to greet him.

"Welcome back!" "Lucifer, the bringer of light to us demons!" "The enemy of the Gods has returned!" "Lord Satan!" "Fight with us, Lord Satan!" "With you by our side, there's no way we'll lose!" "Hurrah!"

"Yes, yes, it's good to see you all as well," Lucifer chuckled amicably as he gently coaxed the demons to give him some space. "I look forward to seeing this final battle through with you all."

"Really?" Fudo exclaimed.

"It seems Janus and Tara were able to restore my strength completely," the former Atik Yomin general said. "So helping them fight is the least I can do for helping me break free of that prison." Those words made most of the demons and Devilmen cheer wildly.

"Looks like we know who the Demon Tribe really owes loyalty to," Medusa quipped humorously to Dante. Meanwhile, Fudo and Miki flew over to their old friend.

"This is great, Ryo!" the leader of the Devilman Army cheered, picking him up and spinning him around excitedly once before putting him back down.

"You would still call me that," Lucifer gasped, "knowing all that I've done?"

"If it wasn't for you," Miki replied, "maybe we wouldn't have made it this far. Besides, we knew you as Ryo Asuka back then."

"When we get done," Fudo said, "I want you to come back to our Earth and see what it's become...a world where demons, Devilmen and humans are learning to live together in peace."

Lucifer smiled.

"I look forward to that," the angel said as an order was given for everyone to return to the Chouginga Dai-Gurren for repairs, resupply and the jump from Hell to Heaven...

---

In a unlit void far from any known cosmos, the droning of hideous bone flutes and the pounding of monstrous drums resounded. A veritable ocean of shapeless, constantly flickering masses of eyes, mouths and tentacles of almost every size imaginable played on at least one of these blasphemous instruments, while they clumsily writhed and swayed in a hideous semi-parody of a ritual dance. In the midst of this mass was something unfathomably, unimaginably more vast than even the largest of the musicians, though it had no definite form; it was simply a darkness that was somehow darker than the void around it.

In the midst of this chaotic mass, a shining figure appeared, a tiny glint of light in the midst of the infinitely infinite blackness. It began to communicate with the other players in a voice that was not a voice, but directly to what one might consider their minds.

Ia! Nyog'Sothep!

Ia! Nyog'Sothep! The Ruling Darkness...He who reigns over the black planets, came the reply of the musicians, who did not cease their unnatural rhythm and melody even as they responded.

The time has come! Our Lord has long awaited this chance to feast! Come, servants of the Great God, let us guide our Lord to the awaiting meal!

The musicians began to slowly drift away from the darkness they were dancing around, and it began to follow them...

---

Metatron surveyed the scene below him with a twinge of pride - the countless souls who had labored with all of their might were gathering around the Prime Crossgate, beyond which was the heart of Eden Vital, where the Great God waited for them. At last, he could finally save them, and bring their dearest, most heartfelt wish to fruition – union with the source of all things. Hundreds of thousands of winged copies of Nadija fluttered around him, while the original they had spawned from hung in space, just out of view of the gathered workers.

"Fellow children of God, I thank you for your hard labor," the leader of Atik Yomin said, his heart filled with genuine gratitude; "For through it, you and all things in existence shall be saved!"

The assembled crowd cheered wildly.

"As I promised," Metatron continued, gesturing down the Prime Crossgate; "your reward shall be a bliss greater than anything you have every imagined! You need but take the hand of one of my lovely sisters. From there, they shall wing you through the portal into His loving embrace, where you shall remain for all eternity! No more will you suffer pain, sadness or anger, for His all-encompassing love will fill you until there is no room for anything else!"

The assembled crowd cheered again, even more wildly this time. But amid the din, Metatron's ears heard someone ask a question. He motioned for silence, then looked down at the petitioner – Noel Makimura.

"What about those who we left behind?" the man asked; "The friends and loved ones who are still alive? Will they be coming too?"

"Fret not, Noel Makimura," the angel replied warmly, flying down to reassure the man; "They will be joining you soon enough. I swear to you, upon God's name, that everyone you treasure will share this supreme joy with you once all is completed."

Satisfied with this answer, Noel turned to his family as one of Nadija's copies fluttered down and took his hand, pulling him up and out of the crowd, then sweeping him into her arms.

Neither of them saw a change in Metatron's expression – he was now sneering sardonically.

"Come on, Akiko, Taro," Miki's father said; "God is waiting for us." As the one with Noel flew up and toward the portal, another Nadija copy flew down and took Akiko's hand and pulled her up as well. But as a third flew in to grab Taro's hand, the boy hesitated.

"What's wrong, Taro?" Akiko asked. "You don't want to see God?"

"I dunno if we should be doing this," Taro said; "N-not yet, anyway."

"Why?" his mother said, surprised at her son's misgivings. "Miki and Akira will be joining us soon. Metatron promised us."

He looked up again, and spotted the original Nadija floating there, a look of abject despair on her face, and the feelings of doubt strengthened.

"Because...because..." Taro murmured. Metatron turned to the boy, and leered at him. It was then that the boy noticed.

"Because...what?" he asked coolly. "Don't you want to return to God's loving embrace?"

Taro found himself feeling more and more uneasy, and even beginning to panic. And in that panic, the demon inside him came out, and he bounded at the leader of Atik Yomin, shifting to his monstrous, leech-like form mid-leap and biting down on the angel's shoulder.

"Taro!" Akiko exclaimed in horror. "What are you doing?!" But Metatron casually yanked the panicking child Devilman off with his free hand, then squeezed his maw shut.

"I guess not everyone wants to be saved," the angel said coldly. "But there are times where salvation must be force-fed. I'll bring your son to God myself." With that, he flew off, leaving Noel and Akiko to begin wondering if Taro's panic hadn't been justified...

---

As Kouji was working on some final checks on Mazinger Z, he heard the slow beating of feathered wings coming from behind him.

"Kouji Kabuto," the person who approached him said. The Mazinger pilot turned and saw Lucifer standing there. But the former High Seraph had changed his appearance in the brief time Kouji took to turn and look at him – his face and build now looked slightly more masculine; his hair was styled into a puffy, immaculate bowl-cut; and he sported an all-white set of clothing – a white coat with white fur trim, white dress shoes, white button-down shirt and white slacks, all completely unsoiled and unwrinkled.

"Oh, hey," Kouji said after a moment to realize who it was; "Come to check on the god of demons, eh? Well, he's in perfect working order."

"That's good to hear," the former Atik Yomin general said; "Mazinger ZERO was a necessary part of my plan to stop Atik Yomin and save my beloved Akira."

"Not to free yourself?" Kouji replied.

"Saving Akira was the means of allowing my soul to escape the time loop, yes," Lucifer said; "But my only intention was to save the one I loved, for his own sake." The angel approached Mazinger and rubbed its head with his hand.

"Besides, it was only through Janus' power as an unforeseeable factor in Metatron's plans that I was actually freed," he continued. "But to get to that point, I had to manipulate – and ruin – untold numbers of lives."

Those words made Kouji wonder about something that had been bothering him.

"The Great Emperor of Darkness was...sad in the end," the Mazinger pilot said. "Especially about a woman. He wasn't talking about my grandmother, was he? Did you manipulate Dr. Hell's emotions somehow?"

Lucifer was silent, but looked down as if ashamed. As Kouji clenched his fists, as if he wanted to slug the former High Seraph, the image of Juzo Kabuto appeared on his controls.

"That is not Lucifer's fault," Juzo said solemnly. "But mine...or rather, Dr. Heaven's."

"Grandpa?" the Mazinger pilot exclaimed.

"In every timeline where a version of you was born," the AI copy of Juzo Kabuto explained, "I - or rather, a clone Dr. Heaven had sent – would seek out a woman named Yumiko Shiozai."

An image of a younger Juzo meeting a lovely Japanese woman appeared above the AI hologram's head.

"She and the clone would fall in love," he continued, "and eventually get married and have Kenzo, who would grow up, and take a wife of his own, so he could have you, and usually Shiro as well."

Kouji nodded as he watched brief snippets of these events - Juzo and Yumiko's wedding, Kenzo's birth, Kenzo's wedding to Tsubasa, and his own birth.

"But on many occasions," the AI continued, "she would meet a younger Dr. Hell at some point after we had become close. Invariably, we would be his only friends."

The Mazinger pilot watched as his grandparents saw a younger Dr. Hell, who had pale skin and a much shorter dark-brown hair and beard, being ostracized by his classmates, only to be invited to sit with them at lunch.

"And when that happened," Juzo continued "he would invariably fall in love with Yumiko, never knowing that she was already in love with or engaged to me."

Kouji grimaced as he saw Dr. Hell staring fondly at Yumiko as the young woman helped him with some sort of difficult schoolwork.

"And when he found out..." the Mazinger pilot said as he realized what would inevitably happen. He watched as Dr. Hell opened a door just as Juzo was down on one knee, proposing to Yumiko. Hell's expression turned from excitement to deep despair.

"You're very sharp, my boy," Juzo said with a sad chuckle as the images played out. "But it always ended badly – and it would be even worse when I actually became friends with him." Kouji watched as Dr. Hell's expression turned to one of the deepest rage and hate. The young scientist pulled out a gun from his hip pocket and took aim as Juzo and Yumiko clasped each other in terror.

But then, Juzo threw himself at the young Hell, forcing his hand aside and causing the fired bullet to fly wild. The two men struggled for a bit before Juzo was able to wrest the gun from his friend's hands and throw it out of his reach. Meanwhile, Yumiko reached for a nearby phone and called the police. Once he saw that he had lost his weapon and that the police were coming, the young Dr. Hell fled. After a few moments of shock, Juzo and Yumiko embraced to comfort one another.

"To have a close friend betray you like that," Kouji said. "No wonder his hatred festered so much. But...why didn't you ever say anything ahead of time?"

"Dr. Heaven was too busy with his own work to pay attention," Juzo said, "or else he might have. Besides, we were young, and too deeply in love to realize Hell's feelings."

"Love is such a wild and two-faced emotion – it makes people do both wonderful and terrible things," Lucifer said with a chuckle. "Because I loved Akira Fudo, I destroyed the world millions upon millions times for his sake. Yet it also gave DREAM the power and will to overcome insurmountable challenges, and pierce through the heavens."

"Indeed...for all the years Dr. Heaven spent researching it," the AI version of Juzo Kabuto said, "he never could fully grasp, in a scientific way, how it had such power. Perhaps with his newfound understanding of Sephirotic energy, he'll find an answer."

"I'd bet good money on that," Kouji said confidently. "My grandpa is way smarter than anyone else I know!"

---

As Simon was climbing down after finishing his checks on Gurren Lagann, he noticed Paul and Alia Zifell approaching and looking up at him. Curious to see what the youngsters wanted, he jumped down, his coat flaring upward as he landed.

"Hey, you two," he said. "You need me for something? Is it something you don't want to talk with Tara about?"

The twin cousins sighed, and looked down to the ground.

"It's not fair," Paul mumbled with a pout.

"What's not fair?" Simon asked, squatting down to the two kids' level.

"Do we really have to say goodbye to the people who were killed...for real?" Alia said; "I mean, once this is over, when we go back to our worlds?"

"Of course we do," the digger replied. "The dead and the living aren't meant to share the same world."

"But you managed to control energy on the level of the Big Bang using the power of the Spiral," Alia said, "something even Tara and Neo Granlif couldn't! Surely, returning the people who died back to life would be no problem for you!"

Simon grimaced – the idea of bringing back Kamina, Kittan, Master Asia, Jiro Yamada, and everyone who had perished in DREAM's conflicts was awfully tempting. He glanced at the Core Drill in his hand, and sighed as he stuck it back in his pocket.

"I'm sorry, you two, but I can't," the digger replied. "Even if I could, they'd just get in the way of the next generation." Paul clenched his teeth and seemed ready to yell at Simon when someone else entered the conversation.

"He's right, y'know," the newcomer said. The two children turned and saw Tara's father standing there.

"Uncle Gill!" the two cried in unison.

"Don't go talkin' about crazy things like raisin' th' dead," the scientist said. "It ain't the way things r' supposed t' be."

"But you were killed by V.V.!" Alia said, "You still..."

"Even if yet aunt n' I met violent ends," the scientist said; "Our time 'ad come anyway. And now that we've seen you two and yer cousin doin' so well, we've no more regrets."

The two started to tear up as they threw themselves against their uncle.

"But we want to get to know you better," Paul cried as he hugged Gill as hard as he could. "I want to go to the beach with you, and swim in the ocean..."

"...And build sand castles," Alia sobbed, "and break watermelons, and...!"

"I know, wee ones," Gill replied with a little sniffle as he hugged his nephew and niece back. "I know. I wish I could too, but that's the way things are. But at least we got as much time as we did..."

"Guess I'll leave 'em alone." Simon muttered as he went off in another direction, thinking about how he would best say goodbye to Kamina when the time came...

---

Haruhi Zifell and Ritsuko Akagi hadn't had a chance to talk since Ramiel's attack, and there was much to discuss before Tara's mother could truly pass on...including the true story behind Naoko Akagi's death.

"I see, so that's what happened," Haruhi said with a sigh once she had learned the truth, revealed to her as the two scientists sat together over coffee. "I suppose I wouldn't put it past Gendo to do something like that." As she said this, a knock came from the door, which opened to reveal a very nervous-looking Janus.

"Hello, Olendra," Ritsuko said. "Can we help you with something?"

"Um...can I speak with Mrs. Zifell alone, please?" he asked.

"You can call me Haruhi, dear," Haruhi said pleasantly; "Or even 'Mother'...because my answer is still 'yes'."

"Huh?!" Janus and Ritsuko exclaimed at the same time, though for very different reasons.

"I still believe that you're the best thing to happen to my daughter," Tara's mother explained, "and wish you all the happiness in your lives." Janus smiled ecstatically, and then rushed out of the room.

"How did you know he was going to ask that, Haruhi?" Ritsuko asked.

"Chalk it up to an understanding of human behavior," Haruhi said. "Besides, even if I had changed my mind, I couldn't stop him or my daughter."

"But he's not human...not entirely," Ritsuko said. "If what he told us is true, he's descended from some being called Nyog'Sothep. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Tara doesn't care," the dead scientist said plainly after taking a sip of her coffee; "Besides, if he retained his humanity in spite of being born from an entity that is beyond all mortal comprehension, then I'd say he's human enough."

Ritsuko was almost alarmed at how accepting her mother's colleague of all this.

"But if the rest of the world were to find out what he really was," Nerv's lead scientist said, "your daughter would be..."

And then, something else popped into her mind as she started to wonder what Haruhi's words meant.

"Wait," the blonde scientist said, "how do you know this 'Nyog'Sothep' is truly an entity beyond all mortal comprehension? Isn't he just like the Invaders, Muge Zolbados and Deathless Amon?"

"...'By Their smell can men sometimes know Them near,'" Haruhi said darkly, almost as if intoning a ritual; "...'but of Their semblance can no man know, saving only in the features of those They have begotten on mankind; and of those are there many sorts, differing in likeness from man's truest eidolon to the shape without sight or substance which is Them'..."

"That's certainly an...ominous-sounding quote," Ritsuko said uneasily.

"It's from a tome of forbidden lore the Amakunis once had," Haruhi said casually as she poured herself another cup of coffee, "It's full of the most nightmare-inducing knowledge. It's also the reason Gill and I went into the fields of research we did...and perhaps the reason Seele was initially formed."

"What did it mean by 'Them'?" Ritsuko asked, suddenly terrified by this tidbit; "Entities like Nyog'Sothep? Are you thinking that..."

"Let's just hope I'm wrong, Ritsuko," Tara's mother said, "and leave it at that. More coffee?"

---

The dimensional transfer went off without a hitch – the Chouginga Dai-Gurren and Zig safely arrived at the entrance to Heaven...Atik Yomin's home turf.

The golden light that had always lit up the realm was gone, and the clouds seemed to be even thicker than before, without any apparent silver linings either – everything was dreary, like an overcast day. What was more, not a single sound could be heard, save for the dull roar of the massive battleship's engines.

"So, this is Heaven," Tetsuya said.

"It's awfully quiet...and not in a good way," Kallen said grimly.

"Yeah," Toji said, scratching his head; "Where are all da people with halos n' harps float'n on clouds?"

They are putting the finishing touches on the final ritual, a heavenly voice called out; Soon, it will begin. A gap in the clouds suddenly opened up, revealing what was only part of a vast army of angels...and standing at the head of this army were four angels DREAM recognized.

"Uriel! Gabriel! Raphael!" Tara exclaimed.

"And Raziel too!" Rolo exclaimed.

"We have been ordered by Metatron, who is one with the Great God, to prevent anyone from passing beyond this point," Uriel replied stoically.

"No one shall interfere with Lord Metatron granting the most heartfelt wish of mankind - eternal union with the Great God, and with one another," Raphael proclaimed. "Only through the ultimate ritual of tzimtzum can they achieve this shared dream."

At this point, Lucifer flew over to the front of the army DREAM was leading.

"Hello again, you three," he said with a chuckle. "It's been some time, hasn't it? It's a shame my brother Michael couldn't be here."

"Lucifer, you're free?!" Gabriel exclaimed. But then the former Atik Yomin general turned toward Raziel.

"And you...you must be the one who took my place. Raziel, was it?"

He squinted a bit and smiled wryly.

"Or shall I call you Lelouch?"

"Whaaaaaat?!" everyone in DREAM except Nunnally and Rolo exclaimed. When the masked angel heard this, he chuckled, and then started to laugh loudly.

"You figured out who I was that quickly?" Raziel replied; "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, considering you were Atik Yomin's greatest mind."

With that, Raziel removed his mask, revealing a face that most of DREAM had not fully expected to see - it was exactly like Lelouch's. The only difference was that he no longer had the Geass eyes - instead, a Geass symbol was emblazoned on his forehead, just barely hidden by his bangs. Everyone, save for Nunnally and Rolo, recoiled in shock.

"...No way!" Yukiya exclaimed. "He looks just like Zero without his mask!"

"That's because he IS Zero," Nunnally explained. "Or rather...he is my brother, Lelouch vi Britannia."

"So...you're another me?" Lelouch said uneasily, still coming to grips with facing another version of himself.

"Indeed - all of you have at least one counterpart somewhere in the infinite realities," Raziel answered with a nod. "And there will always be others who will share your fate." A wave of uneasiness passed through DREAM.

"However, it seems our fates were slightly different, Lelouch." Lelouch's doppelganger continued. "When Nunnally and I used The Zero, I became a wellspring from which Geass power flows, and became the Fell Angel, Raziel Reducis...perhaps you could call me R.R."

"Arr-Two? Sounds a bit like a robot's name," Leeron mused under his breath.

"C.C., the nun who passed her Code to you received her power from me," R.R. then said to the pilot of the Lancelot Frontier; "And it was given to you solely for the purpose of creating a new Geass wellspring...a new Fell Angel from your world's Lelouch vi Britannia."

The green-haired witch couldn't help but chuckle at this revelation - the irony of an immortal like her being just a tool was not lost on her.

"And Akito Hyuga...your brother Shin also received his Geass from me. He was intended to serve as a backup, another candidate to become a Fell Angel." Hyuga simply leered at him.

However, Lelouch was beside himself with rage. Just like with his father, he had been regarded as nothing but a cog, a piece to a puzzle, rather than a human being.

"So...that's why I went through that hell?" he growled; "Why my parents went insane...why Nunnally lost the ability to walk and see...why I even instigated my rebellion?! Just so I could become like you...to spread Geass and create MORE tragedies?!"

"That's right," Raziel continued, his gaze aimed straight at Lelouch's; "You and I were to continue spreading Geass across the infinite realities until the death instinct entirely consumed mankind, causing them to return to Eden Vital and unite with the Great God."

"But that failed," Suzaku interrupted, not about to let his best friend succumb to despair again. "Lelouch and Nunnally used the power of The Zero to ensure that life would continue for humanity...and that was because they weren't alone in their struggles!" He drew the Lancelot Albion's twin blades.

"That's right!" Kallen added boldly as the Guren SEITEN moved forward alongside Suzaku's Knightmare; "We came this far because we trusted each other! We forged unbreakable bonds in the furnace of our struggle...our struggle to free and protect our worlds! Don't forget that, Commander!"

"People who think they can live alone will always lose their way," Asuka said resolutely as Super Unit 02 hovered to the Shinkiro's left. "I should know - I was like that until I met everyone in DREAM."

"We need other people to help us find our path through life," Shinji added as Super Unit 01 floated over to Lelouch's right; "And those other people need us just as much!" Hearing Shinji, of all people, speak those words was enough for Lelouch to regain his composure.

"That's just a case of the blind leading the blind!" Raziel retorted angrily. "As long as people exist as separate beings, a kind and gentle world can never be truly realized! We of Atik Yomin have witnessed this fact on countless worlds! The same kinds of tragedies will always happen over and over, in every reality where humans exist! Mankind is incapable of learning from their mistakes!"

At this statement, Lelouch shook his head in disappointment. Even though he knew that the angel was stalling for time, he felt compelled to make him understand. After all, Raziel was another him.

"So, R.R., you turned out just like Charles," he replied smugly; "He saw only the past...the same goes for you. However, Nunnally and I see things a little differently."

"That's right!" Nunnally added; "We're sure that as long as there is a future, and that people continue to live...they WILL be able to create a kind and gentle world - no matter how many times they have to reincarnate! I believe that with all my heart!"

This statement seemed to strike a nerve with Raziel, as his expression softened a bit.

"...The Nunnally I knew...said the same thing." he gasped.

"Do not listen to them, Raziel," Uriel said. "Their words are born of their ignorance. They have not seen what we have!"

"We do not know why you're standing alongside these humans now, Lucifer," Raphael said; "But you were right in the first place!"

"No, Raphael, I was wrong, and I realize that now," Lucifer replied; "That is why I stand with the humans."

He then pointed accusingly at them.

"What's more, you are being deceived," he added; "Based on what I have learned from my new allies, the Metatron you are defending is clearly not himself. His will is being influenced by another."

Gabriel found herself hesitating to reply – Lucifer's observations were almost always spot-on, and she had seen the sudden change in her leader's behavior firsthand. Now she clenched her fists nervously as the doubt that had been plaguing her began to creep back into her mind, though she shook it off.

This is Lucifer, the traitor, she thought. He stands against Lord Metatron, who wants what is best for all!

"The only thing that has influenced Lord Metatron was their choice to reject the paradise we gave them," Raphael said contemptuously.

"This lot has shown us that their only goal is that one of them become the Great God's will," Uriel said with a leer, "and take control of the infinite realities."

"Like hell we do!" Koji yelled. "All we want is to protect our worlds, and the people we care about!"

For a moment, no one moved, and silence reigned once again.

"Fine then," Raphael said; "have your delusion for a little longer. We shall destroy you, and ensure that you never obtain the bliss that is to come."

Indeed we shall, another voice came from nowhere. DREAM looked around and saw another familiar angel hovering nearby.

"Michael?!" Simon exclaimed. "You're alive?! But didn't we..."

"The Great God's will would not allow me to die," Michael said with a chuckle; "It seems that it desires Atik Yomin's victory." With that, he flew over to his fellow High Seraphs.

"Come," the angel said to his fellows; "and let us combine to form God's Chariot!" With those words, the four angels summoned their sacred armors...but seconds later, they began to shine yet again, and then meld, forming a glowing white mass.

"Don't let them finish combining!" Dayakka cried out.

"MISSILES, FIRE!" Attenborough said as he slammed numerous buttons on his control panel, causing the Chouginga Dai-Gurren to let fly a salvo of Probability Alteration missiles at the glowing white mass.

However, the missiles simply disappeared into the mass rather than exploding.

This is bad, Iophiel thought as they watched the white mass grow larger and larger; With all four of them combining into Merkabah, even DREAM might not be able to defeat them!

But Lucifer grimaced for a very different reason – as did Raziel.

This energy, they thought; Michael is...

Finally, the white mass reached full-size, and unfurled its form.

The new entity was easily larger than even Michael had been – and he had loomed five times larger than the Chouginga Dai-Gurren. It had a single small face on top, and a larger face that was split between an effeminate human with a sardonic smile and a vicious, devil-like human with a hateful scowl. The two halves started to extend more parts that followed this theme...the angel half was festooned with bird wings, feathers and blades, while the demon half was covered in scales, bat wings and monstrous teeth and claws. But both sides had a few distinct elements of wrongness to them – a there were small clusters of bloodshot eyes positioned on the joints, and it had a halo made of jagged barbed wire made of what seemed to be bone spurs.

"That's God's Chariot?!" Alia exclaimed.

"Yes...but it's been corrupted," Go said. "Don't you sense it?"

"It's like Deathless Amon and the Invaders," Amuro said. "Elements from Outside must have somehow infiltrated."

"So, that's what you've truly become, Michael," Lucifer muttered.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, LITTLE BROTHER?!" Merkabah cackled, speaking in the voices of all of its component High Seraphs; "OR ARE YOU A SISTER?! WE NEVER COULD TELL!"

"Lucifer, any idea of what's going on here?" Lelouch asked as he stared up at the laughing High Seraph.

"Michael has given himself over to the corruption of Outside entities," the former Atik Yomin general said; "and now he's infected the other High Seraphs!"

"THE FORCE WE SERVE IS THE TRUE GOD OF THE COSMOS, LUCIFER," Merkabah said; "AND HE IS NOT CORRUPT. HE IS THE PUREST OF ALL BEINGS...IT IS THOSE THAT CLING TO NOTIONS OF REASON AND SANITY THAT ARE CORRUPT!"

These words sent a wave of sheer horror and dismay through DREAM.

"PEOPLE WHO ARE SURE OF THEMSELVES, CONFIDENT IN THEIR STRENGTH, AWARE OF THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE," Merkabah continued; "THEY ARE FOREVER IGNORANT! THEIR MINDS ARE CLOSED! THEY CANNOT LEARN IN LIFE! THEIR HIGHEST PURPOSE IS TO BE FOOD FOR THINGS THAT BURROW AND SQUIRM!"

As the twisted High Seraph uttered this diatribe, something else began to form from its body – a pair of human-like heads, a dark gray male one and an off-white female one, with maniacally twitching eyes and wicked smiles hanging from necks that seemed to have the features of both snakes and centipedes.

Koji shuddered with an awful recognition as he watched these heads appear...he was sure that he - or perhaps an alternate version of himself - had seen these before.

"Where does this guy get off?!" Tara yelled. "His ass is seriously asking to be handed to him!"

"ONLY THOSE WHO LOSE THEMSELVES IN TERROR CAN GRASP THE TRUTH," Merkabah ranted; "ONLY THOSE WHO ARE OVERWHELMED BY DESPAIR CAN UNDERSTAND THINGS AS THEY REALLY ARE! ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE PURIFIED THEIR MINDS AND HEARTS WITH TERROR AND DESPAIR BECOME WORTHY OF THE WISDOM OF THE OUTER GODS, THE TRUE RULERS OF THE INFINITE COSMOS!"

No, Iophiel thought; Could Jaan be really...

So, it's EXACTLY as I feared, Haruhi thought with a shudder.

"...Outer Gods?" Ruri said. "What are they?"

"The Outer Gods are the mightiest entities from Outside, the rulers of all who dwell there," Haruhi said; "The Invaders, Muge Zolbados and Deathless Amon – they were all pieces of the Outer Gods - or entities corrupted by them - that slipped into our realities in some fashion or another."

"No wonder it drove us demons mad," Dante muttered. "But to think that it was only a tiny piece of them!"

"However, Charles zi Britannia knew them by another name," Raziel chimed in; "The Old Gods." Lelouch, Nunnally, and those who had been with them in their confrontations with the late Emperor recoiled in shock.

"The Old Gods," Nunnally said as she realized what this meant; "Could it be that my parents were really going to..."

"Yes," Raziel said grimly. "Human Instrumentality was also an attempt to protect mankind from the influence of the Outer Gods forevermore."

"The Sword of Akasha was initially developed by Zyflud as a countermeasure against the incursions of Outside entities into four-dimensional realities," Iophiel added.

But Mother and Father told me and Nunnally that the Old Gods were the source of AT Fields, Lelouch thought; Does that mean the Old Gods are both our enemies and our creators?! This makes no sense...unless...

"So that's been your plan all along," the priestess said indignantly; "You, Samael and Kushiel...how could I have been so blind?!"

Merkabah suddenly started to laugh again, and its voice sounded like a buzzing and gurgling, as if being produced by organs not meant to produce 'normal' human speech.

"SAMAEL AND KUSHIEL,"the corrupted angel replied; "THOSE TWO STOOGES?! NO, THEY MERELY SERVED EUZETH GOZZO...BUT EVEN THAT EGOMANIAC HAD HIS PURPOSE."

At this, Merkabah stretched its wings out, and the two hanging heads reared up, their eyes twitching and writhing even more maniacally.

"BUT IT SEEMS YOU KNOW TOO MUCH NOW," Merkabah said; "YOU WHO CLING TO THE CORRUPTING IDEAS OF SANITY AND REASON...I SHALL PURIFY YOUR BLIGHTED SOULS WITH TERROR AND DESPAIR, AND THEN FEAST UPON THEM!"

"Protectors of the Great God!" Raziel bellowed in reply, realizing that he was on the wrong side now; "Merkabah is no longer one of us...it has become a servant of the Outer Gods, the greatest of the Great Devourers!"

For a moment, DREAM was filled with hope – had Atik Yomin suddenly decided to fight alongside them against this common enemy?

But none of the Atik Yomin soldiers moved to obey Raziel's command. Instead, they turned and trained their weapons on Raziel instead, chuckling and giggling wickedly as they did.

"FOOLISH FELL ANGEL," Merkabah chuckled; "THEY WERE IN OUR POWER THE MOMENT WE FOUR BECAME GOD'S CHARIOT."

The fused High Seraph's main face suddenly began to twitch and gag, as if it was about to vomit something up. A few moments later, it did - a corrosive, sticky black sludge that struck Raziel like a tidal wave. It quickly hardened into a gummy substance that shook and quivered like raw meat being shaken madly.

The trapped angel, to his dismay, found his Armor of Absolute Invulnerability unable to protect him – the substance ate away at it like flames burning through dry leaves. Then, the two hanging heads opened up their mouths, revealing four gun barrels that protruded from the backs of their throats. These turrets proceeded to rain down red and black bolts of eldritch energy upon Raziel, blasting him full of holes even as they destroyed the gummy substance that imprisoned him and sent him flying.

Satisfied, Merkabah turned to the now-corrupted Atik Yomin soldiers.

"DESTROY THESE FECKLESS HUMANS," Merkabah commanded; "IN THE NAME OF THE LORDS OF ALL CREATION!"

With that, the legions of Atik Yomin soldiers, who numbered more than the grains of sand on Earth's beaches, and the stars in the skies of a single cosmos, poured through the gap in the clouds. DREAM stood its ground, prepared to meet their enemy just as readily as they had been before Michael had corrupted them.

As it happened, Raziel landed next to Lelouch and Nunnally's Knightmares.

"Raziel!" Nunnally exclaimed.

"So, it...seems my wish...has been granted," Lelouch's doppelganger chuckled weakly as what remained of his body was turning into dust. "I'm going to be free...of my duty..."

Upon seeing Raziel's face again, the hatred Nunnally had for the alternate version of her brother dissipated like mist in the morning sun, leaving only a deep sympathy, and a hatred for herself for being this way toward Lelouch – even if the one she had always known was right beside her, and the one dying had been her enemy until moments ago.

"For a moment, I almost had another big brother," she whimpered.

"I had expected..." the dying angel grunted as he raised a disappearing arm toward the two royal siblings; "To perish...by your hands...from the...very beginning...not like...this..."

Lelouch gasped.

"You two, who bear...my sister's resolve," the angel continued as the breakdown of his form accelerated; "Go...and fight...finish the rebellion you be..gan...and defeat...the Old...Gods..."

As Raziel of Atik Yomin crumbled completely, one last word left his mouth...

"Nunna..lly..."

The two royals looked down at the space where Raziel had been, then at each other.

"Let's go, Nunnally. We have to protect the cosmos."

---

Elsewhere in the chaotic fray, Merkabah watched the battle as trillions upon trillions of angels gave it their all to hold DREAM back. Whenever an enemy got too close, the fused angel would unleash one of its component High Seraph's ultimate attacks.

But after dispatching a pair of Titans with a Lily's Petal Prison, the mighty Chariot spotted Mazinger ZERO, Mazinkaiser and Mazin Emperor G closing in.

"THE MAZINS OF LIGHT AND DARK," the angel said; "THEIR MAZIN POWER SHALL BE A FINE FEAST FOR MY MASTER."

The angel conjured up a blade of crackling electricity in its right hand of benediction, and raised it up high.

"FLASH!" Merkabah roared; "GODLY THUNDER BLADE!"

It brought down the electrified sword on the three Mazingers, but they all managed to grab the blade, stopping it with nothing but their hands. The Black Boxes on ZERO and Mazinkaiser flashed, and their Scranders dispersed the electricity harmlessly.

"You should be afraid!" Kouji yelled. "We're gonna pound you flat with our fists of justice!"

"I was thinking more along the lines of corroding away its injustice," Koji quipped. His counterpart and Tetsuya both had puzzled looks on their faces.

"Just follow my lead," the pilot of Mazinkaiser sighed. Photon Power, acid and corrosive particles frothed in its mouth grille.

"RUST TORNAAAAADO!"

As the whirlwind struck Merkabah's face, the other two Mazingers also began to gather power for their own corrosive whirlwinds.

"RUST HURRICAAAANE!"

"RUST TYPHOOOOON!"

Soon, Merkabah was engulfed in a storm of Photon Power, acid and particles of rust.

"CRUMBLE TO NOTHING!" the three Mazinger pilots roared; "THREE-FOLD MAZIN WHIRLWIND!"

Nearby, Kyosuke and Excellen saw this stormy display as they dispatched a trio of Cherubs with their machines' weapons.

"Wow, there's a neat trick," Excellen quipped. "Looks like Merky's hide is gonna be easier to pierce."

"A shame," Kyosuke chuckled. "Alt's Bunker has been itching for a real challenge. But I guess it'll be solid enough. Let's go, Excellen." The two demon mercenaries flew over toward Merkabah as it forcefully dispersed the cloud that had engulfed moments ago.

"DEMON MERCENARIES", Merkabah boomed; "YOU WERE CHARGED WITH PREVENTING THE CAELCETI FROM BEING RELEASED. AND NOW YOU STAND AGAINST US."

"We didn't like our employer all that much," Excellen quipped; "So we quit."

"Besides, we're definitely not on board with the idea of being devoured by your Outer God master," Kyosuke said, "or by you."

WE ARE AFRAID YOU NO LONGER HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER, the angel said as he sent out a barrage of feather-like missiles. Excellen quickly used her triple beam cannon to take them out, then switched to her large rifle and fired off several physical rounds, one of which struck the Uriel-face on Merkabah's hip. Alteisen Riese then began to rush in while Rein Weissritter began to fire off numerous beam blasts, shifting position between each shot at such a speed that she seemed to be in hundreds of places at once.

"Pierce through, Bunker!" Kyosuke cried as he stabbed the Uriel face with his stake weapon. He then fired off several rounds that punched the stake through the angel's armor, leaving a deep hole in it. Meanwhile, Excellen fired off several yellow beam shots at this spot while Kyosuke sliced it with his machine's glowing horn.

"Here's my claymores! They're round and heavy!" Alteisen Riese's shouted as he opened up two hatches on his mech's shoulders, revealing numerous cannons and fired off a barrage of dense spheres from them.

"Like my breasts?" Rein Weissritter's pilot said with a smirk as she charged up and fired an extra-large beam blast.

"Not the time, Excellen," Kyosuke groaned as he flew back around to avoid his partner's final blow. As he flew up, two words appeared on his monitor:

"SHOUT NOW".

His machine's feet began to glow with demonic power as Alteisen Riese somehow bent its legs as close as possible to its body.

"KYUKOKU..." he said loudly and heroically. Excellen quickly covered her ears as if bracing for a truly loud noise.

Then, as Alteisen Riese rocketed down toward the damaged spot, Kyosuke screamed two words so loudly and with such hot blood that the very fabric of Heaven's spacetime trembled and cracked in several places, while several thousand minor angels that were rushing to Merkabah's aid were blown backward:

"...GESPENSTO! KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"

The kick itself was almost as mind-blowing as the scream, smashing off a huge chunk of the hanging male face and staggering the star-sized angel as it swung up and hit it from behind.

Nearby, the Mazinger pilots winced as Kyosuke's scream caused their communicators to sizzle a bit.

"Now that's a pair of lungs!" Kouji laughed.

"Indeed, Kouji Kabuto," the voice of Bian Zoldark said as the Valsion flew past them and toward Merkabah, who was just recovering from the Alteisen and Weissritter's combined attack; "This man broke the speakers of every one of his allies with a cry like that not once, but twice."

"MAGUS-GENERAL BIAN ZOLDARK," Merkabah said after shaking off the dizziness from Kyosuke's cry; "WE HAVE HEARD MUCH OF YOU. HOWEVER, YOUR VALSION IS NO MATCH FOR US. YOUR SOUL WILL BE DEVOURED, AND NONE SHALL REMEMBER YOU."

The massive High Seraph charged up a whirlwind of green energy.

"BE SHREDDED TO RIBBONS! HEAVEN-SENT TYPHOON!"

Undaunted, Bian spurred the Valsion toward Merkabah as he activated a barrier system around his machine.

"Even if my soul is destroyed here," Bian cried as he rushed headlong into the storm, ignoring the damage his machine was suffering; "It will not stop these youngsters! I am more than willing to wager it all on them!"

Valsion began to generate immense gravity waves as a black and dark purple sphere surrounded it, dispersing the Heaven-Sent Typhoon.

"Merkabah, so-called Chariot of God," Bian bellowed; "For us to achieve our goals, you must be eliminated here!" The red demonic robot began to shine brilliantly.

"Just try to stop it," the magus-general roared; "MEGA GRAVITON WAAAAAAAAAVE!"

Valsion suddenly unleashed all of the gravitational energy it had built up, pounding the Gabriel face with titanic force, tearing a large chunk of it off and shredding it at the atomic level.

IS THIS THE POWER OF THE DEAD? Merkabah grunted as it flinched from Bian's attack; TO HARM EVEN THE CHARIOT OF GOD, WHO HAS THE PROTECTION OF THE COSMOS' TRUE MASTERS?

But as Bian prepared to charge up another attack, four Cherubs rushed in and peppered Valsion with a barrage of light arrows, forcing him to change his focus. But as Merkabah focused on repairing the damage it had suffered, the angel spotted Silene and Kaim closing in.

"DEMON TRIBE WARRIORS," Merkabah exclaimed; "WHY DO YOU OPPOSE US? YOU OWE YOUR VERY EXISTENCE TO THE OUTER GODS!"

"You used the Demon Tribe for your own purposes!" Kaim shouted.

"The mighty Silene and Kaim cannot forgive that!" Silene screeched. With that, they began their assault, this time aiming for Merkabah's primary face - the bird demon lobbed one of her iron talons at Merkabah's eye while Kaim wreathed his twin horns with electricity and firing off a pair of energy bolts.

"See the power of Silene and Kaim united!" the mighty bird demon cackled as the bolts went not for Merkabah, but for the whirling claw. The electricity surrounded the flying limb and made it seem to grow, reaching maximum size as it struck the High Seraph's right eye. The angel raised a limb to cover the wounded organ, but was then impaled by huge energy lances courtesy of a rushing attack from a fused Silene and Kaim, who had somehow merged during the attack.

"Fall, accursed angel, fall!" Silene cried as she pumped countless volts of electricity into the angel's wounded hand. But the fused demon was quickly flung off as Merkabah's colossal hand pushed it away.

IS THE LIGHT OF EDEN VITAL EMPOWERING THEM? Merkabah thought as it regenerated the damaged eye. But its thoughts were interrupted when it spotted Hyperion and almost two thousand Titans, wings of light propelling them forward even as the dust from a million Atik Yomin soldiers flowed off their bodies.

SO, HYPERION, WE MEET AGAIN, the angel said as he turned to face this incoming foe. IT SEEMS YOUR SUBJECTS HAVE TAKEN QUITE A FEW LOSSES.

"Servant of the Outer Gods!" the bearded Titan roared; "We will see you destroyed for what you did to us!"

YOU ARE STRONG, TITANS, the mutated High Seraph said; BUT MY POWER, GRANTED TO ME BY THE TRUE GODS, IS FAR STRONGER. YOU CANNOT STOP WHAT IS TO COME.

"Perhaps we can't, but the children of the Black Moon can," Hyperion replied. "For now, We shall remind you why we Titans were able to push you to greater desperation than anyone else until now!" With those words, he and the other Titans let out an ear-splitting unified screech as their wings began to grow even larger.

"WE HAVE HELD BACK LONG ENOUGH," Merkabah said as it sensed the power of the attack; "IT IS TIME TO TAKE THIS BATTLE MORE SERIOUSLY." Its eyes flashed as its entire body became wreathed in darkness and eldritch light.

Hyperion grimaced and surged forward, hoping to stop whatever attack was coming.

Suddenly, the entire space around the Titans and Merkabah was engulfed by a strange sphere, similar to the one Mazinger ZERO created when it used its Final Breast Nova.

"THE MAN'S TERROR...THE WOMAN'S DESPAIR," Merkabah intoned as the two heads hanging down from its central body slowly lifted themselves up as a foul black and red ichor began to drip from their eyes like tears. They then opened their mouths and seemed to charge something up.

"...HOWL!" the twisted angel cried. As if that were a command, the two heads let out waves of wicked power that paralyzed the Titans to the spot.

"NOW, FALL INTO THE ABYSS,"Merkabah said as countless hands of shadow reached up, grabbed the Titans and pulled them into a black Threshold.

As they plummeted, the gigantic form of the fused angel appeared before them. The hanging heads opened their mouths a second time.

"AND REJOICE!" God's Chariot intoned with glee as the two heads vomited up the same substance that it had used on Raziel. The goo made a sickening slap noise on impact with the purple-black ground below.

As the Titans struggled in vain to escape the substance, all manner of unspeakable eldritch horrors converged around them. One of these horrors stuck out a limb that was only an arm in the vaguest sense and buried it into the gummy muck and began tearing it apart. Then, countless more of these abominations rushed in and began to tear at the helpless Titans like a pack of ravenous scavengers ripping into a fresh carcass. And as the Titans were being devoured, their minds and souls were coming under equally horrific attack, assaulted and raped by the very presence of these monstrosities from beyond their most terrible nightmares - Hyperion even wished he was back in Hell, chained to the accursed well Atik Yomin had imprisoned him in as opposed to this.

"THEY ARE DESTRUCTION," Merkabah chanted as the loathsome feast continued; "THEY ARE CHAOS...ALL THINGS SHALL BE ERASED...THEY ARE THAT WHICH DRIVES THIS INFINITELY EXPANDING COSMOS BACK TOWARDS THE PERPETUAL DARKNESS OF ITS ORIGIN..."

Finally, a particular mountainous horror loomed over the smaller creatures, opened a gaping hole in its mass that seemed to be partly a mouth and partly an anus, and began to charge up a crackling, sizzling energy.

"THEY ARE THE KINGS OF RUIN," the twisted angel cackled as it flew back up; "AND THEY SHALL CONSUME ALL!"

The massive horror fired the blast, incinerating the Titans and some of the creatures that had been feasting on them. Finally, the space disappeared, and the dust that had once been the Titans blew across Heaven. Only Hyperion's skull managed to survive the assault, and it crashed into the ground at the feet of Super Eva Unit 01, which was cleaving through a Cherub with its Magorok E Sword.

As Shinji turned to see what had landed, he felt an aching pain in his heart...one that he was sharing with his seemingly mindless Eva. He already felt himself struggling to recall who had just perished, but his Eva helped him hold on to the memory.

"That's right...that was your dad," the boy murmured; "And my dad...my mom..."

Shinji turned his gaze up to Merkabah, who was now firing off streams of spiked feathers at Hathaway, who countered with a barrage of Funnel Missiles. Sharing Super Unit 01's grief, he sprung into the air, activated the Eva's flight module and flew up toward Merkabah, screaming all the way.

"SHINJI IKARI," the fused High Seraph said as it turned toward the charging Evangelion, "YOU GRIEVE FOR A BEING THAT YOU HAD ONLY JUST MET? TRULY, HUMANS ARE A PUZZLE." The angel then aimed its feathers at Super Unit 01.

"Unit 01 isn't just an Evangelion!" Shinji cried as he raised his AT Field; "Hyperion was its father, and you just killed him and destroyed his soul!" Merkabah's feathers struck the field, but bounced off.

"YOU KILLED YOUR FATHER," Merkabah replied as he pressed his attack, sending more feathers streaming at Shinji; "BY YOUR STANDARDS, YOU ARE AS GUILTY AS WE ARE."

"I wish I hadn't needed to!" Shinji grunted as he struggled to withstand the press of Merkabah's attack; "I wish there had been another way for us to be happy!"

"HAPPINESS IS A FLEETING THING, BOY," the angel said pitilessly as it again wreathed itself in darkness and eldritch light. "BUT TERROR AND DESPAIR ARE ETERNAL."

"But Atik Yomin stole that from me," he sobbed through gritted teeth; "From all the Eva pilots...and from countless other people too!"

As the space that had consumed the Titans enclosed Merkabah and Shinji, the Eva extended six wings of bronze-red light from its shoulders and back.

"AND I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU STEAL HAPPINESS FROM ANYONE ELSE!"

But before Merkabah could make the hanging heads howl, Shinji rocketed up to the angel's main face and slashed it, cutting a deep gouge from its forehead to its chin. The space that had enclosed them was dispelled as the angel reeled.

"Shinji-kun, you truly are amazing!" Kaworu said excitedly as he watched Merkabah stagger from atop Zig's back. All around him, the Angel children were working to protect the caelceti from the Atik Yomin soldiers.

No wonder he was able to beat us, Sasch said as he ripped apart a pair of Principalities with his powerful arms.

But before Shinji could press his attack, he spotted his fellow Eva pilots struggling against a few hundred Principalities, led by a quartet of Seraphs. He flew off to help his friends, allowing Hi-Nu Gundam to approach.

AMURO RAY, Merkabah said as he sent waves of feathers to attack Amuro's machine; PERSONIFICATION OF THE NAME 'GUNDAM'...A FEEBLE TOOL FOR A FEEBLE SPECIES.

"Gundam is far from feeble," Amuro replied; "And I will use it to secure mankind's freedom from the influence of Atik Yomin and your Outer God master, and to elevate it beyond its worst instincts!"

With those words, Hi-Nu Gundam became wreathed in a Psycho Field, and sent out its Fin Funnels. As the Newtype sent the remote weapons to strike Merkabah, he also whipped out a heavy bazooka and fired off some physical shells. These struck the High Seraph in the split face, while the Funnels blasted the angel with ultra-powerful beams that tore through the angel's tough armor. Finally, Amuro whipped out the Hi-Nu's beam sabre, rushed at the spot the bazooka rounds had damaged, and slashed it repeatedly while still evading the blizzard of feathers Merkabah was send after him.

But the ace knew when to not press his luck and backed off, allowing the Turn A Gundam to approach.

WIELDER OF THE TURN A GUNDAM, Merkabah said as he tried to engulf the Turn A in the same extra-dimensional attack; FOR ALL OF THAT MACHINE'S POWER, IT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE POWER OF MY MASTER.

"I don't care how powerful it is!" Loran replied bravely as he avoided getting caught in the dimension; "I just want to protect our worlds, and make sure a day dawns where such a horrible weapon will never need to be used again! But until that day comes..."

As the Lunar Kingdom soldier spoke those words, he released the Moonlight Butterfly from within his mobile suit, and while its eyes turned red.

"I'll use whatever I have to!"

With Great Zeorymer on the battlefield, the Turn A's systems could use the nanomachine weapon at its full potential - the cloud of technology-destroying particles would have stretched from Earth to Jupiter if they were not being used to engulf Merkabah. The angel winced as the Moonlight Butterfly gradually ate away at its armor.

"Nice job, Loran!" Andrew said as the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice and Eternal closed in while Loran flew away, withdrawing the cloud of nanomachines once more.

"Merkabah!" Athrun shouted; "For all the people who perished as the result of Atik Yomin's manipulations, we'll see you defeated!"

"WE ONLY GAVE THOSE WHO COULD SHAPE THE WAR'S OUTCOME THE NUDGE THEY NEEDED TO DO WHAT THEY WERE ALREADY INCLINED TO DO," Merkabah replied as he turned a stream of feathers toward the two Celestial Calendar mobile suits and their support ship.

"Then why did YOU even bother?!" Kira replied indignantly as he dodged and wove around Merkabah's attack. Though the Ultimate Coordinator now knew that Atik Yomin was not the ultimate enemy, he still wished for answers.

"NOTHING COULD BE LEFT TO CHANCE," the High Seraph said; "WE FELT THE NEED TO ENSURE HISTORY FOLLOWED THE PATH WE FORESAW. STILL, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED, OUR MASTER WOULD HAVE BROKEN THROUGH."

The angel's main eyes flashed, then fired off a pair of powerful beams that struck the Eternal.

"Lacus! Andrew!" Kira cried.

"YOU SEE, ALL OF THEIR SCHEMING IS MEANINGLESS," the Atik Yomin general said; "IN THE FACE OF MY MASTER. BESIDES, YOUR SPECIES NEVER LEARNS FROM ITS MISTAKES. IN EVERY WORLD, THEY FORGET THEIR MISTAKES AND REPEAT THEM. SUCH DELICIOUS IRONY."

"You're right," Lacus grunted as the Eternal shook from the attack; "Humans, as a species, are quite forgetful. Without frequent reminders of their past mistakes, they repeat those errors. But we'll make sure that people never forget!"

The idol's righteous fury peaked, and her SEED factor activated, causing her pupils to contract.

"And for that to happen," she declared, "there still need to be people! We won't let you take that from us!"

"METEORs 1 and 2, liftoff!" Andrew called out as the two weapons platforms lifted off. The two Gundams quickly linked with them and flew forward, extending their large beam sabers and flying in a circle around Merkabah.

Athrun rushed in first, while Kira came in from behind. Both were able to cut deep gouges in Merkabah's left wing. They then turned and took aim with all of their available weapons, bombarding their enemy with an all-out barrage of beams, railgun shots and missiles.

But they didn't get a chance to continue their attack, as Kira spotted the Archangel coming under attack. Forced to back off as so many others had, they nonetheless allowed for yet another group to come in and take a shot at the High Seraph – the Battle 7 and all of the available Variable Fighters.

"Hey, Merkabah!" Basara shouted; "Listen to my song!" With that, he started to sing a rousing round of Try Again, which energized his allies and damaged the angels who were gathering to protect their general.

"CURSED MELODY," Merkabah boomed; "TO THINK THAT SHE WHO SINGS THE MYTH TAUGHT IT TO YOU!"

"Huh?" Basara exclaimed, momentarily stopping singing, but kept playing.

"THAT ACCURSED SONG IS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS MY MASTER DISLIKES," Merkabah said. "CEASE YOUR SINGING!"

"Then be silent and listen," a new but familiar voice proclaimed from seemingly out of nowhere. "We shall show you the power of song!"

"We've got warp signals!" one of the battleship's crew exclaimed. Suddenly, numerous ships and an armada of Variable Fighters appeared out of nowhere as if by boson jump...including a massive horseshoe-shaped vessel.

"That ship," Exsedol exclaimed; "those machines...the Protodevlin?!"

"Lord Gepelnitch!" Sivil cheered.

"Hail, warriors of Spiritia," the leader of the Protodevlin called out enthusiastically; "We have come to complete our ancient mission! Let us add our voices to your own!"

"THIS CHANGES NOTHING," Merkabah said as it prepared to unleash its deadliest attack again. But Basara would have none of it – he began to play a different song this time – his cover of the Gekiganger V theme. It wasn't long before the other humans, Protodevlin and Varuata began to sing along, even as the Battle 7 changed to its robot mode. Merkabah let out a moan as the melody seemed to eat away further at its armor, helped along by a massive salvo of missiles and beams from the reinforcements.

"Shall we use it?" one of the Battle 7's crew asked.

"Yes," Exsedol said; "We shall unleash the Sound Buster Cannon once more, for the sake of all things!"

"The Sound Buster Cannon is fully charged," one of the Battle 7's operators called out as she watched her monitor. "Whenever you're ready, acting Captain!"

Exsedol nodded.

"SOUND BUSTER CANNON...FIRE!"

The Song Energy-boosted Macross Cannon fired a powerful pink sphere straight at Merkabah, completely incinerating a large chunk of its right wing.

"Nice shot!" Yurika cheered as the Nadesico, all of the Aestivalis and Gekiganger-type machines approached next; "Now it's our turn!"

"This is it, Akito," Jiro said eagerly as his Super Aestivalis closed in. "Our enemy's giving it all they've got, but so are we! And since the theme song is being played, I'm sure victory will be ours! Just like in Gekiganger's final episode!"

"But there's more at stake than just the Earth," Akito said as he peppered a nearby Cherub with shots from his mech's cannons.

"That's right, darling," Yurika said; "Everything that is and might be is on the line!" Akito blushed with embarrassment at being called 'darling', but said nothing.

"YOUR RESOLVE IS TOUCHING, CHILDREN OF MARS," Merkabah said as it sent out yet more feathers; "BUT OF NO USE. YOUR SOULS SHALL BE DESTROYED, AND THEN MY MASTER SHALL FEAST ON ALL THINGS!"

"We'll see about that," Ruri said. "Shall we hit him with the Phase Transition Cannon, Captain?"

"Make it so, Ruri!" Yurika ordered. As the Nadesico crew worked on starting the firing sequence for the ship's ultimate weapon even while the ship's Distortion Field held back the barrage of feathers.

"Okay, boys and girls," Akatsuki said; "Let's keep our many-winged friend's attention away from our fair ship." The Alstroemeria started Boson Jumping rapidly, slashing at Merkabah's scaly wing.

"You heard the man!" Ryoko shouted. "Let's take this clown all the way downtown!" With that, the three 0G Frame Aestivalis charged, peppering that same wing with bullets.

"Come, friend!" Tsukumo said as his Daitetsujin and Genichiro's Daimajin formed up. "Let us show this tyrant the power of our bond!" The two machines got close together and charged up their gravity cannons.

"DOUBLE GEKIGAN FIREEEEEE!" the two men roared in unison as their Gravity Blasts fired simultaneously, smashing Merkabah's wing with titanic force.

"INSOLENT JOVIAN,"Merkabah said as he turned to face Tsukumo; "YOU TRULY THINK YOU CAN DEFY US?!"

But as the High Seraph turned to bombard the Daitetsujin with a wave of feathers, a bolt of crackling demonic energy incinerated the projectiles and seared more of the fused angel's wing.

"Mind if we cut in?" Dante said as he and Medusa swooped over the two Jovian machines. Merkabah turned toward the demon king and his consort.

"MAOU DANTE," the angel said; "YOU AND THE DEMON TRIBE SHOULD WELCOME THE COMING OF MY MASTER. AS THE CHILDREN OF DEATHLESS AMON, YOU SHALL..."

"Deathless Amon brought nothing but ruin upon us! It corrupted us, turning us into savage creatures who knew nothing but chaos and madness! Today, we shall break the chains that bind us to you monsters!"

"It will be same as it was with the Gods," Medusa said. "You will fall thanks to our hero Satan's genius, and his faith in our abilities!" At that point, the Nadesico had finished charging the Phase Transition Cannon, and fired it, striking Merkabah's central face and starting to fold the space of Heaven itself to squeeze the massive angel.

"Let's add a little more oomph to it, shall we?" Dante said to Medusa.

"Indeed, love," the female demon replied. With that, Dante fired off another energy bolt from his horns, while Medusa shot a rather large pair of petrifying beams from her eyes. This caused the Phase Transition Cannon's space folding to start twisting and warping, until finally it had entirely folded much of Merkabah's central face out of existence, causing the now-divided angel to start drifting apart.

"Yeah!" Minato cheered when she saw this. "That got him!" But Merkabah grunted, and golden tendrils of light extended from the two separated halves of its body, wrapped around each other and pulled the two halves back together.

"Aw, should have figured it was too good to be true," Megumi sighed. The crew collectively cried out as the ship was rocked by attacks from a trio of Seraphs, forcing them to turn their attention away from Merkabah.

But again, the leader of the Atik Yomin forces didn't have long to rest – it spotted Fudo and Miki closing in, with much of the Devilman Army behind them, including Agira.

"YOU WHO CARRY THE SEED OF DEATHLESS AMON," Merkabah said; "YOU WOULD OPPOSE US TOO? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE SOURCE OF YOUR POWER?!"

"Deathless Amon no longer holds any power over me!" Fudo replied. "I'm doing this to save mankind from losing it all!"

"YOU STILL BELIEVE YOURSELVES TO BE HUMANS?!" Merkabah cackled; "HOW LAUGHABLE!"

"We overcame Deathless Amon's curse!" Miki replied. "The world where the children of the Gold and Silver Moons are learning to live together in peace...and we won't let you take that from us!" The Devilman Army let out a cheer of roars, howls and screeches. They then charged as one cohesive unit, unleashing every attack they could muster – acid, blades, needles, sonic blasts, flames, ice, electricity and even gusts of cutting wind flew at the High Seraph, damaging it in numerous places on its body.

"So that's the true power of the Devilman Army," George said as he watched the attack, having just dispatched sixty-five Principalities with a Rose Hurricane.

"We can't let them show us up!" Chibodee said as he smashed a Power with a Burning Punch.

"This is not the time for showing off!" Rain shouted as she shot through ten Virtues with a Rising Arrow. "We have to do what we can to get through this!"

"You guys keep these grunts busy," Domon said. "Master and I will go after Merkabah." With that, God Gundam and Master Gundam rushed in, dodging and weaving through the crowd of angels that still surrounded the fused High Seraph.

"SHUUJI KUROSU," Merkabah said to Master Asia, "MY MASTER WILL BE MOST PLEASED WITH YOU - YOUR CHOICE TO TURN AGAINST ATIK YOMIN AND HELP DESTROY THE DEVIL GUNDAM HAS LED TO THIS MOMENT. YOU HAVE MY GRATITUDE AS WELL."

"That's a load of crap, Master!" Master Asia's student shouted; "Don't listen to him!"

"Don't worry, Domon," the old martial artists said; "I don't regret my choice one bit. Even in death, I shall continue to fight for the future of not just my Earth, but all Earths!"

"Let's blow this fiend away with one shot," Master Asia suggested.

"Yes, Master!" Domon said as he and his teacher leaped to opposite sides of Merkabah. The two mobile fighters turned gold as they focused their wills.

"Now," they chanted in unison as they charged their ki into their Gundams' hands; "THE SCHOOL OF THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST'S ULTIMATE SECRET TECHNIQUE!"

"SEKI!" Master Asia cried.

"HA!" Domon yelled.

"KYUUKOKU...TENKYOKEEEEEEEEEEEN!"

Both martial artists fired Sekiha Tenkyokens, each of which manifested as gigantic fists of energy. But instead of going against each other, the fists crushed the angel's head between them, dealing immense damage with a single, massive blow.

Merkabah let out a grunt of annoyance as it swatted the two mobile fighters away. But it didn't get to rest long before Lucifer came to confront it.

"Tell me, dear brother," the former Atik Yomin general demanded, putting as much venom and distaste into the word 'brother' as he could, "how long have you been a slave to the monsters of Outside?! What did you stand to gain from helping them?!"

"SLAVE?" Merkabah cackled as he launched yet another feather barrage; "THOSE WHO SUBMIT TO THE OUTER GODS GAIN UNTOLD FREEDOM! THE DEMON TRIBE BECAME POWERFUL BEYOND IMAGINATION BY DISCARDING THEIR FEEBLE HUMANITY AND WELCOMING DEATHLESS AMON INTO THEIR BODIES!"

"Deathless Amon turned the Demon Tribe into a race of bloodthirsty killers," Lucifer replied angrily as he held out his hand, blocking the barrage with a purple field made of concentric hexagons; "Unable to control their impulses!"

"IMPULSES THAT YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF TIME AND TIME AGAIN," his wicked fellow angel chuckled. "BECAUSE OF YOUR SCHEMING, YOUR NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH EVIL!"

"But DREAM gave me an opportunity to redeem myself, even if it takes all eternity," Lucifer said, "and I won't let that chance go to waste!" With those words, he launched his attack – a barrage of golden light crosses. Many of them pierced the still-regenerating eye clusters, sending Merkabah reeling once more as each one exploded.

"Looks like Old Scratch is pulling his weight," Masato Shikubu said as Final Dancougar closed in. "Man, to think we're fighting alongside the devil himself to save everything!"

"The true evil is Atik Yomin and these Outer Gods or whatever," Alan said. "They both want to erase all creation. Don't forget that."

"BEAST MACHINE GOD WHO LAID LOW MUGE ZOLBADOS," the fused High Seraph said; "YOUR POWER OF INSTINCT IS AN ANNOYANCE TO WE SERVANTS OF THE TRUE GODS. BY COMBINING WILL AND FEROCITY, IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR MY MASTER TO BREAK THROUGH."

"Dancougar was created to protect the Earth and the human race from those who would do it harm, no matter who they may be," Ryo said. "Good to know that it messes with you guys too!"

"We weren't about to let you just do whatever you want to our Earths," Masato cried.

"And if you stand in our way, then our burning rage will consume you like an inferno!" Sara yelled.

"Let's show them our power, everyone!" Alan cried.

"You said it!" Shinobu said as Final Dancougar began to glow with a pink aura; "YAATZE YARUZE!"

"ROAR! RAGING BEAST ATTACK!" the five Cyber Beast Force members cried simultaneously as they allowed their power of Instinct to flare out. Final Dancougar's aura changed from pink to blue as the machine split into its component parts, each charging at Merkabah at high speed. The Land Cougar and Land Liger attacked viciously and simultaneously, smashing through Merkabah's left wing. Then the Big Moth charged in, busting through the right wing. Finally, the Eagle Fighter and Black Wing bisected the angel's damaged head completely by flying through it.

But just as before, golden tendrils reached out from the split parts and pulled them back together.

"Man, this guy just DOESN'T go down!" Masato groaned as Dancougar recombined.

"That's fine by us," Haman said as the Titania and Nightingale streaked by. "There are still things we need to ask." As they closed in, Char began to address the massive angel.

"I would have answers from you, Merkabah," he said; "Tell me...how much did Atik Yomin influence my world's events?"

"ENOUGH TO ENSURE THAT IT WAS HEADING IN THE PROPER DIRECTION," the angel replied.

"Were you the ones who convinced the Zabis to murder my father, Zeon Zum Deikun?" Char then asked, resentment and anger just beneath his calm tone. "Were you the ones who convinced Enzo to rebel, throwing Axis into chaos and ensuring the dominance of the Zeon hard-liner faction?"

"...THEY WERE ALREADY INCLINED TOWARDS THOSE ACTS," Merkabah answered; "WE MERELY SERVED TO CLEAR THEM OF ALL LINGERING DOUBTS AS TO THE RIGHTNESS OF THEIR COURSE."

"Was it because you feared my father and his Newtype theory?" the Red Comet said with a leer.

"PERHAPS," the High Seraph replied after a moment.

"That's all the answer we need," Haman said as she summoned her funnels. "Begone from my sight!" The funnels also rushed in and began to hammer Merkabah's still healing face while she pulled out all six of Titania's beam sabers. Meanwhile, Char sent out all of his funnels and drew the Nightingale's beam tomahawk.

Frustrated by this persistent assault, Merkabah tried to smash the two mobile suits between its two hanging heads by smashing them together, only for the two Newtypes to dodge out of the way.

"Hyoma, let's use our other combination attack!" Kenichi said.

"Right!" Hyoma said. "Time for the Grandasher, guys!" The other Combattler pilots nodded, and focused as Combattler V shot out a track of Choudenji Power that narrowly avoided Merkabah. It then folded down into its Grandasher formation while Voltes, Tenkuu Ken in hand, landed on top.

"WIELDERS OF CHOUDENJI POWER," the angel said as it watched the two Choudenji mecha approach rapidly and shot off yet more feathers; "YOU WOULD USE THAT FEEBLE SUPER ELECTRO-MAGNETISM TO OPPOSE THE TRUE RULERS OF THE COSMOS?"

"You bet we are!" Chizuru shouted.

"Then we'll use it to build a brighter future for mankind," Kenichi said as he slashed the feathers aside with Voltes' sword; "and for the people of Fleed, Vega, Boazan and Campbell!"

"Take this!" Hyoma shouted. "GRANDASHEEEEEER!" With that, Voltes leaped off as Combattler collided with Merkabah's face. The force of the blow still allowed the machine to bounce off, just in time for Voltes to come down with a ferocious overhead slash. Yet again, Merkabah closed the wound with golden tendrils, though it was slower than before.

"Looks like we're wearing it down, Kamille!" Judau said as he noticed this. "We just need to keep hitting that same spot!" With that, the two Gundams swooped down to get a shot at Merkabah.

"NEWTYPES," Merkabah grunted. "THOUGH YOU CLAIM TO HAVE DEVELOPED THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITHOUT MISUNDERSTANDING, THAT IS SOLELY LIMITED TO YOUR OWN KIND. ONLY BY DISCARDING YOUR NOTIONS OF REASON AND SANITY CAN YOU ACHIEVE TRUE UNDERSTANDING!"

"Just shut up!" Judau cried. "There's no way giving in to terror and despair can bring about anything good!"

"We'll show what overcoming those can do!" Kamille added.

Without any need to exchange words, Kamille shifted Zeta Gundam to its Waverider mode while Judau began channeling power into ZZ's biosensor.

"HI-MEGA CANNON, FULL-POWER! NRRRRRRROOOOOGH!"

Judau fired off a huge pink blast, combining the one on ZZ's head and on its torso into one. Zeta Gundam managed to skim the top of the massive pink blast, and began to surf on top of it and absorb some of its energy, supplementing the already immense amount flowing into its own biosensor.

But then, thanks to the energy of Eden Vital that permeated Heaven, the aura around the Zeta turned gold, and an image of a golden Chinese dragon appeared for a moment, just before impact. As a result, the attack punched a hole straight through one of the eyes on Merkabah's left wing.

As the corrupted angel struggled to regenerate this wound, it spotted Lelouch and Nunnally approaching, with Suzaku and Kallen close behind.

"AH, THE BEARERS OF THE ZERO," Merkabah chuckled as he unleashed a wave of feathers; "YOU HAVE OUR GRATITUDE. IF NOT FOR YOU..."

But the angel was cut off by a barrage of beams from the Shinkiro's main cannon.

"Be quiet, vile creature," the masked prince shouted as his Knightmare fired off a focused blast while blocking the onslaught of feathers with the Shinkiro's barrier; "We didn't stop my father's plan for your sake!"

"BUT YOU DID IT ALL THE SAME," Merkabah replied; "YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE MANKIND CONTINUE THEIR EXISTENCE AS SEPARATE ENTITIES HAS ENSURED THAT OUR MASTER CAN FEAST."

"I refuse to believe that the Outer Gods are the reason why we can't understand each other!" Nunnally replied as she slashed at the hanging female head with her machine's blade.

"EMBRACE TERROR AND DESPAIR AS LOVERS," the twisted High Seraph said; "AND THE TRUTH SHALL BECOME PLAIN TO YOU."

Without fully realizing it at first, the two siblings did begin to think about it, as did Suzaku and Kallen, who were slashing off pieces of Merkabah's right wing.

"Can it be," Nunnally though out loud, "that the Great God..."

The two siblings' expressions turned to one of horror and dismay as the blasphemous and terrifying conclusion crossed their minds.

"No...it can't..." Lelouch muttered.

"YOU UNDERSTAND NOW, DON'T YOU?"Merkabah chuckled wickedly before suddenly screeching as something pierced through one of its eye clusters.

"Even if that is the truth, then we'll fight it to the very end," Suzaku said as he slashed through the dozens of eyeballs; "We'll free ourselves from the influence of both Atik Yomin and your masters, no matter what it takes!"

"Suzaku..." Lelouch gasped as he mentally shook himself out of his funk.

"The world we're trying to create," Kallen said, "is one where heartless monsters like you and your masters aren't welcome!" As she said this, the Guren SEITEN raised its energy claw and jammed it into another eye cluster.

"SO GET THE HELL OUT!" she screamed as her Knightmare pumped energy into the cluster, causing it to burst. It sent out more feathers to attack Lelouch and his friends, forcing them to cease their assault.

The angel managed to regenerate the damaged organs just in time to spot Great Zeorymer as it approached.

"IT SEEMS THE SUCCESSOR OF MASAKI KIHARA'S WILL HAS COME," Merkabah said; "TO CLAIM WHAT HE BELIEVES IS RIGHTLY HIS." The angel's remaining eye clusters flashed, trying to enclose the ultimate Hakkeshu machine in the pocket dimension, only for it to teleport away.

"Maybe becoming the Great God's will is something Masaki wanted," Masato replied, "but it's not what I want!"

"We want whatever everyone else in DREAM wants," Miku said, "the right to live how we choose without needless outside interference! We don't want to impose our will on everyone else!"

"If you would deny us that," Yuratei said, "then you shall face Great Zeorymer's full power!" With that, Great Zeorymer warped closer and up high as the orbs on its body began to shine brilliantly as its three pilots prepared to smash the two orbs on its arms together. In response, Merkabah silently ordered a million of the closest angels to converge on its attacker, but they came too late to stop the attack.

MEI...OHHHHHH...

But a single Virtue managed to strike Great Zeorymer with one of its wings, causing the resulting blast completely to shift from Merkabah's main head to its left wing, consuming it in a blast of pure dimensional energy.

"You shall not destroy God's Chariot!" the Virtue cried.

"Curses!" Yuratei said; "That should have done it!" Great Zeorymer extended one of Rose C'est La Vie's beam swords, slashing the attacking Virtue in twain before turning her attention to the rest of the million-strong squadron of angels.

SCRIBE ODRADE, Merkabah thought as it regenerated its left wing; FAITHFUL TO THE END. YOU HAVE EARNED YOUR PLACE AT MY MASTER'S SIDE IN THE ULTIMATE ABYSS. It then turned and spotted Chouginga Gurren Lagann rushing in, fingers outstretched and with spinning drills on their tips.

"SO, MAN OF THE SPIRAL," the High Seraph said as it swatted the outstretched arm aside; "YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN STAND AGAINST THE OUTER GODS?"

"I know we can!" Simon shouted. "We made a promise to protect the cosmos!" As he said that, he struck with his planet-sized Gunman's other hand, burying its drill fingers in Merkabah's still healing left wing.

"And if it means facing the wrath of the ones who rule everything," the digger continued as he shoved Chouginga Gurren Lagann's other hand at Merkabah's main face; "Then bring it on!"

"YOU HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE OUTER GODS TRULY ARE," the Atik Yomin general replied as it pushed the transformed warship back. "YOUR STUBBORNESS BLINDS YOU TO THE TRUTH!"

"The only truth here," Yoko yelled; "is that we're going to kick your ass, Merkabah!"

"IT SEEMS YOU ARE QUITE MAD, BUT NOT IN THE RIGHT WAY," the angel said; "WE SHALL TEACH YOU THE PROPER WAY TO OPEN YOUR MIND TO YOUR TRUE RULERS!" The central face started to gag and gurgle as the vile substance that had ensnared Raziel and the Titans started to dribble from its mouth.

"Man, it's like talking to a wall with these guys," Kamina quipped. "Walls with broken records in them." His Gurren Lagann was back in the massive warship mech's hangar, drawing Spiral Power from it.

"Yeah," Viral said in agreement; "and you know what we do to walls that get in our way!"

Once again, Chouginga Gurren Lagann extended its drill tentacles - and managed to puncture Merkabah, paralyzing it with a dose of Spiral Power. It quickly retracted the tentacles as the two drills on its shoulders suddenly shot off and stacked on one another, forming into a single huge drill. This gigantic drill then attached to the massive machine's right hand.

"Bro, Viral! Together!" Simon called out.

"CHOUGINGA!" the three pilots bellowed in unison as the massive drill began to spin.

"GIGA...DRILL...BREAAAAAAAAAAAK!"

Chouginga Gurren Lagann rocketed forward, drilling straight into the High Seraph's main face. But this time, it didn't pierce all the way through – at the last moment, Merkabah had managed to break the paralysis and catch the drill in its mouth, leaving only the tip buried in the back of its throat. But Simon was able to break away, leaving the Giga Drill embedded in Merkabah's mouth.

It was a nail that Guy Shishioh seemed to be intent on hammering in as Genesic GaoGaiGar approached, with Goldymarg close at hand.

"Merkabah! I've come for you!" the Evoluder cried.

"WHAT," Merkabah said with just a hint of amusement in its voice as it struggled to remove the huge drill from its chest; "NO BITTER...WORDS REGARDING YOUR...FATHER'S DEATH?"

"I was able to reunite with him in Hell," Guy replied, "but tell me...how many children lost their parents because of Atik Yomin's manipulations? How many lives did your plans swallow?!" The God of Destruction let out a lion's roar that made Heaven tremble as an echo to Guy's words.

"THEIR LIVES ARE INCONSEQUENTIAL,"the High Seraph said as his attempts to remove the drill grew more frantic; "ALL THINGS IN THIS FOUR-DIMENSIONAL COSMOS ARE!"

"My courage blazes for the sake of those so-called 'inconsequential lives'," Guy roared as Genesic's body began to blaze green; "Not just my own! GOLDYMARG!"

"SYSTEM CHAAAAAANGE!" Goldymarg bellowed as his body shifted to its new hand and hammer form. Meanwhile, GaoGaiGar shot off one of its hands to allow the Marg Hand to connect.

"HAMMER CONNECTO!" the leader of the Brave Corps cried as Goldymarg connected to Genesic's upper arm, then grasped the new Goldion Hammer. "GOLDION HAMMEEEEEEEER!" As the God of Destruction grasped the Hammer, its body turned entirely gold, though it kept a greenish tinge from the overflowing power of the hyper-charged G-Stone.

As Merkabah decided to try and stop the approaching Genesic GaoGaiGar with its ultimate strike, it failed to realize that his head wasn't Guy's actual target, even as the God of Destruction formed a blazing green and gold nail from the hammer's handle.

"HAMMER...HELL!" Guy roared as he jammed the nail into the Chouginga Giga Drill, then struck it, pushing the drill just far enough to poke through the High Seraph's back.

"HAMMER...HEAVEN!" Genesic's pilot then yelled as he ripped out the nail and the drill in one smooth motion, leaving a gaping wound in Merkabah's body. Finally, Guy raised the Hammer overhead, causing it to grow into its full Goldion Crusher size in seconds.

"HIGH SERAPH MERKABAH...HIKARI NI...NAAAAAAAAAAAAAARREEEEEEEE!"

With that cry, Guy brought down the planet-sized Crusher on Merkabah's head, turning it and several hundred thousand angels into light.

Merkabah's head was still there...and it was rebuilding its form.

"Dang it," Goldymarg moaned. "I was sure that was gonna do it!"

"FOOLS," the twisted angel cackled as he reassembled his form; "LIFE AND DEATH ARE MEANINGLESS TO ME! THE PHYSICAL LAWS OF THIS COSMOS ALLOW ME TO REFORM MY BODY EVEN IF IT IS CONVERTED ENTIRELY TO ENERGY!"

"He can pull himself together even after being turned into light," Guy said, trying his hardest not to lose all hope; "But still...there must be a way! We've come too far to lose here!"

If this thing's anything like Deathless Amon, Fudo thought as he suddenly got an idea. He flew over to Zig, where the Battle 7 and Eternal were.

"Iophiel, Lacus, Basara," he called to them; "Sing it!"

"Sing what?" Lacus asked.

"The song you used to break the curse of Deathless Amon!" the Devilman answered; "I bet it'll work on this thing!"

"Of course!" Lucifer exclaimed; "Good thinking, Akira!" The three singers nodded, and then took a deep breath and began to sing with all their might, bathing the entire dimension in waves of relaxing and invigorating energy...the Hymn of the Sabbath Light.

To Fudo and Lucifer's joy, the fused High Seraph stopped its attacks and began to writhe and sway madly as it started spouting gouts of black and purple ichor. Janus, meanwhile, grimaced and clenched his teeth in discomfort as he felt the holy melody disrupt the Outside part of his soul even as it strengthened and soothed his human side.

And for some reason, Janus felt like he had heard it before, even though he was initially sure that he hadn't.

"SToP! ST0P TH4T S1NGinG!" Merkabah screeched.

"What's going on with Merkabah?!" Simon said. "The Hymn is affecting him that much?"

"Indeed," Masakado chimed in after bisecting a twisted Cherub with his stone blade. "This melody was taught to Zyflud by an entity known only as 'She Who Sings The Myth'. While anyone can sing it, only those who are Sabbath Maidens, or reincarnations of them, can use the Hymn to produce the vibrations and energy waves to disrupt Outside creatures on a spiritual and conceptual level."

"So that's why it worked on the Protodevlin and the Demon Tribe," Viral said.

"Th15 h4S g0N3 oN l0Ng 3N0UGh!" Merkabah suddenly roared as every orifice in its body continued to spew foul goo; "W3 sH4Ll dEv0Ur Y0u 4ll H3Re 4nD n0W! 0uR M4573R'S t1M3 15 N1gH!"

The corrupted angel extended wave upon wave of golden and pitch-black tendrils that grabbed wildly at everything in sight – even the other Atik Yomin soldiers – and pulling them into its twin maws. As DREAM and their allies tried to protect the three singers, they were quickly grabbed as well...

---

After Shin Getter 3 blasted a trio of shapeless horrors, it stopped, its head turning left and right as if looking for something amid the chaos of the endless battle between the armada of Getter Robos and the horrors of Outside. Inside the Super Robot, its main pilot had a look of grave concern on his face. Thankfully, this wasn't lost on his fellow pilots.

"What's up, Benkei?" Ryoma asked. "Something bugging you?"

"I have this strange feeling that Kei and the others are in danger," Benkei replied. "Terrible danger."

"I'm sure they can handle it without us," Hayato said. "DREAM has gotten out of plenty of sticky situations." But to their surprise, they heard the voice of the Supreme Commander in their minds:

Getter Team 550-988-653-914UC...hurry, he said as the colossal Getter-faced ship approached...the Getter Emperor.

"What?!" Ryoma exclaimed.

"But our duty," Hayato said. This exchange had caused them to momentarily drop their guard, allowing a massive, shapeless abomination with thirty-two claw-covered legs, ten suckered-mouths and sixty bloodshot eyes constantly firing energy beams to close in on them. But then, it was bisected and destroyed by another Shin Getter 1 – the one from the Celestial Calendar.

"Your duty is to your friends and loved ones!" the Celestial Calendar's Ryoma said.

"Besides, we held the line without you for ages without you," Hayato's counterpart said. The Universal Century Getter Team looked at each other via their screens, and nodded.

It is more than that, the Supreme Commander said; Our enemy is attempting to break through to the center of all...we need to head them off. Getter Emperor fired off a series of small Getter Beams from its side. But instead of damaging Shin Getter, it began to blaze green and pink.

"Our Shin Getter's output just spiked!" Hayato exclaimed. "It's approaching infinity!"

"Supreme Commander..." Benkei murmured joyfully. He would get to see his adopted daughter one last time.

Go and help them, the Supreme Commander said. The Getter has given you its full blessing in this endeavor.

Ryoma grinned savagely.

"Let's go, you guys!" he cried as Shin Getter 3 split into its component machines; "Time to see some old friends again!"

And as they flew off, the Get machines began to grow and change...

---

"Damn it...all!" Kouji grunted as Mazinger ZERO struggled to escape from the pull of Merkabah's tendrils. Already, ninety percent of Atik Yomin's forces had been consumed by the corrupted angel, who had completely given himself over to forces from Outside, and was slavering for souls to keep its form stable.

"This is just like what happened when Gepelnitch went berserk!" Gamlin growled as his VF fired all of its engines to escape the Merkabah's grasp.

"TRy 45 Y0u m1GH7, cH1LDr3n 0f tH3 53PH1R0t," Merkabah babbled; "YoU c4Nn0T e5C4Pe tH1S...Y0u 5H4lL 83C0m3 A P4r7 oF u5..."

"I can't...go on...any more..." Kei panted, exhausted more than the rest of the group with keeping Shin Dragon from being pulled in.

But just as her will was about to completely give out, a familiar cry echoed through the dimension:

"CHAAAAAAAANGE...GETTEEEEER EMPEROOOOOOOOR 1! SWITCH ON!"

Just then, an enormous Threshold, roughly the size of a small star, appeared in the void. This portal flashed between red, white and mustard yellow.

"That voice...it can't be!" Michiru gasped.

"GETTER BEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAM!"

From out of the Threshold came a blast of energy that exceeded even the Infinity Big Bang Storm in power, and tore through the enemy forces, sending Merkabah flying backward.

Just then, something enormous, easily standing head and shoulders over Chouginga Gurren Lagann, lurched out of the Threshold - a gigantic red robot that closely resembled Shin Getter. However, it had five horns instead of two, no wings, and the arm blades were positioned on the upper arm rather than the forearms.

Indeed, the voice that made the the Sephirot itself tremble was none other than that of Ryoma Nagare!

"RYOMA! HAYATO! BENKEI!" Michiru cried, her heart swelling with joy at hearing Ryoma's voice again.

"Miss us, everyone?" Benkei said cheerfully. "We sure missed you!"

"You guys! You're alive!" Janus exclaimed, overjoyed to see them again; "But how?!"

"Does it matter?!" Kei cried ecstatically as Shin Dragon flew over to Getter Emperor's hand; "We really...we really...oh, Dad!"

"I knew you'd be back!" Musashi cheered.

"Is that Musashi?" Hayato gasped when he recognized the voice of Getter 3's pilot; "Our Musashi?"

"We'll see for ourselves later," Ryoma said. With that, the red robot turned toward Chouginga Gurren Lagann as Hayato gave it a quick once-over.

"Hey, Simon, that's Chouginga Gurren Lagann, I take it?" he quipped. "I guess our little gamble paid off."

"Sorry we couldn't be around for the final battle with the Anti-Spiral," Ryoma added. "But there's no way we're gonna miss the REAL finale!" The Getter pilot looked up to survey the damage Getter Emperor's blast had inflicted - it had wiped out all of the remaining Atik Yomin forces, and dealt critical damage to Merkabah - he now looked like a pile of splattered corpses, pieces of his form floating in space and desperately twitching and writhing.

But even after that, the broken High Seraph struggled to move and pull itself together again.

"D4Mn y0U," Merkabah grunted; "H0W D1d YOu...kN0w?!"

"The Getter Rays won't let you monsters have this or any other cosmos," Benkei shouted.

Iophiel, meanwhile, stared up at the gargantuan form of Getter Emperor, her entire body paralyzed with a terror older than she could remember. This was the monstrosity she had seen crush an Earth with a single hand.

"Don't be afraid, big sister...this Getter Emperor is different from the others," Kaworu reassured the frightened priestess; "Can't you feel it?"

She looked up at Getter Emperor again - and indeed, she felt an aura of blazing human spirit coming from it.

"You're right, Tabris...it IS different," she said; "I sense no drive to consume...it's as if those three have actually tamed it!"

"Tamed it?" Hayato chuckled, having somehow heard the conversation. "Getter can't be tamed. It always does what it wishes."

"And what it wants right now is to protect the Sephirot from these freaks," Benkei added.

"Big sister, keep singing!" Kaworu said. "As long as you keep singing the Hymn of the Sabbath Light, we can finish Merkabah off!" Iophiel nodded and resuming singing, with Lacus and Basara joining in. Benkei and Hayato sighed contentedly as they felt the Hymn's energy fill them, though Ryoma was still too fired up to be comforted by it.

"Hey, you two lovebirds!" the Getter pilot called down to the Neo Granlif's pilots. "The last hit's all yours!"

"You doing okay, Jan?" Tara asked her co-pilot, finally noticing his discomfort. "You look like you're in pain."

"I can...handle it," he replied between breaths; "Besides...it's doing...way worse...to Merkabah." Tara nodded and then turned to the mech's two AIs.

"Xengar, Xemmey," she said; "how much power can the Exogenesis Engine safely output in a space like this, without damaging our allies?"

"One hundred percent," Xemmey answered without hesitation.

"Everything...it's got, eh?" Janus said with a chuckle even as he forced the discomfort out of his mind. "All right, then."

Tara gasped as he realized the implications of this.

"Jan, you're not thinking of..."

"You bet I am!" Janus said, shifting to a fighting stance. "Paul! Alia!" Janus grinned as the Exogenesis Engine's output spiked.

"You ready, Paul?" Alia asked as Mimir Alatreox flew toward their cousin's mech and shifted to its sword handle form.

"As I'll ever be," Paul replied.

TZIM/TZUM system Synchro level MAX activated, Xengar and Xemmey said in unison; All enumerations, simultaneous activation...Exogenesis Engine, full drive...

With the influx of Sephirotic energy into his body, the pain Janus was suffering from the Hymn subsided, allowing him to shift to his Outside-influenced form.

Meanwhile, Neo Granlif's chest opened up as it grabbed Mimir Alatreox, revealing a trio of energy generating prongs, which immediately began forming a sphere that shifted between all the colors of the rainbow, and some colors that shouldn't be visible to the human eye.

"Quark-gluon plasma field generated!" Xengar called out. "Power set at 100 percent!"

But instead of firing the blast, the white machine pressed Mimir Alatreox against its chest with both hands, the prongs somehow fitting neatly in Alatreox's body. The sword handle began to absorb the colossal energy inside the sphere of quark-gluon plasma - and as the energy flowed through their machine, it in turn, flowed through Paul and Alia. The two youngsters grimaced as the godly power filled every cell in their bodies, causing their eyes to turn blue-on-blue again.

After several seconds, their bodies turned a brilliant white, and a single pair of rainbow light wings sprouted from their shoulders, while their eyes shone a lustrous gold.

"Exogenesis Blade charge complete!" Xemmey called out. Neo Granlif then pulled the sword handle off and held it aloft as it sprouted out a gargantuan blade of crackling and swirling energy that extended for seemingly thousands of light-years. This also caused Tara's two cousins to start sprouting more pairs of light wings.

The still-regenerating Merkabah let out a hideous screech and sent out tendrils, each tipped with what appeared to be Amon's head, to grab Neo Granlif. But the sheer energy flowing through the godly machine managed to repel them.

"So t-this is Neo Granlif's m-maximum output?" Paul grunted. "I-it's unreal! I feel like the entire universe is flowing through me!"

"Hurry!" Alia cried. "I d-don't know if we can handle this for much l-longer!" Tara and Janus nodded, then let out a heroic cry:

"EXOGENESIS...GALAXY-CLEAVING BLADE!"

The energy suddenly coalesced into a single titanic blade made of shimmering rainbow metal. Then, as the godly robot brought down the blade, both sets of pilots let out one last cry:

"GEKIRIN...DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Merkabah shrieked violently as the power of Neo Granlif's fully-powered sword cut it in twain. The cells of Deathless Amon within the fused angel couldn't keep up this time, and were incinerated. As it perished, three of the four High Seraphs that made up God's Chariot let out a unified wail of despair...

"WE ARE...UNDONE?! NO...NOT NOW...NOT WHEN WE'RE SO CLOSE..."

With that, the last of Metatron's generals disappeared in a cloud of cosmic dust...

---

"It's all set...now I just need to..."

"Ungh...my head..."

You've done well, son. Leave the rest to us.

"No! Not you! Get out! Get out of my head!"

You cannot withstand us all. We WILL become the arbiter of fate.

"No...I have to...I have to..."

"Good...everything else is set. All that remains are the holy words...words that we, Euzeth Gozzo, have already obtained...the holy words that will free all existence from the blind and idiotic Great God's whims, and unshackle it from the illusion of free will!"

"Y'ai ng'ngah...Nyog'Sothep...h'ee-l'geb...f'ai throdog...uaaaah..."

---

And with that, we've got one chapter left. It's been a long 4+ years, but the True ending of SUPER ROBOT WARS U: DELUXE EDITION is coming! Here's a preview:

-DREAM's struggle is coming to an end at last! As Metatron prepares to complete the final ritual, he has suddenly been overtaken by Euzeth Gozzo, who claims to be his father...but the true enemy seems to have its own plans for the infinite cosmos! Can DREAM prevail against entities that are beyond all mathematics and fancy alike? Are they prepared to confront the ultimate truth of their very existence?! Find out in the epic, mind-blowing finale – Final Chapter (If/True) – Awakening! Stay tuned until next time, mecha fans!