Author's Note

I would like to apologize for the long wait in beginning this final installment of Evangelion X Godzilla. Following the completion of Part II, I ended up with a major case of burnout, and I walked away from writing for a few months. I've finally resuming writing, but I'm going to be moving at a much slower pace than I was before. I hope to have Part III finished by the end of the year, but I guess we'll see. If you're still here, thanks for continuing to read!

February 29th, 2016

Rei stared out across the stormy sea with a blank expression, which hid a level of turmoil that rivaled the waves she was watching. She gripped the railing of the aircraft carrier as the wind gusted around her, and the first few raindrops of a massive typhoon began to land upon the top of her head.

She knew that Misato would want her to retreat indoors, and she would. In a minute.

This cold, new world brought on by the Third Impact was merciless in many regards; first and foremost being the weather. What parts of the world weren't freezing cold were being constantly ravaged by violent storms.

The South Pacific was one of those places.

Rei was on an expedition with the Followers of Caesar to Infant Island. A recent burst of electromagnetic energy had been observed emanating from the island, and now, they were all on their way to investigate. Also onboard the repurposed Japanese aircraft carrier Shikinami was Misato, Miki, Daisuke, Fuyutsuki, Ryoji, and of course, Asuka.

Both Eva Units 00 and 02, fully repaired, were currently crouched on the deck of the aircraft carrier, deactivated and waiting for their pilots, in case of an emergency. The Shikinami was still three hours away from Infant Island, and anything could happen.

Swimming alongside the shipwas King Caesar, who had seemed wary of riding on the giant metal ship. Rei wasn't sure how the Followers of Caesar communicated with their liege, but it seemed to involve basic hand signals. Ultimately, she didn't really care. She was there to pilot her Eva and defend the world, that's it.

"Rei," a voice from behind her said.

Rei moved to face the redhead who was coming up from behind her. "Yes, Asuka?"

"Misato sent me to tell you to come back inside. This storm looks like a bad one, and we don't want you to get blown out to sea or something."

Rei mutely turned back to the sea. Asuka stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and walked up to the blue-haired girl, joining her at the railing and staring out at the choppy waves which stretched as far as the eye could see. She glanced at Rei, who was refusing to meet her gaze.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "You gonna keep ignoring me, or what?"

"I'm not ignoring you," Rei responded quietly. "I'll go inside in a minute. You're free to leave."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Asuka stated sardonically. "I mean about what I've been telling you for the past two months."

Rei knew exactly what Asuka was talking about. Ever since the Third Impact, the two of them had been battling monsters constantly side-by-side. Despite Misato's hesitations, given Asuka's betrayal with letting Gendo, Ritsuko, and Ryoji into Nerv, she hadn't had a choice in letting Asuka pilot again. With monsters roaming the already damaged world, attacking cities relentlessly, the Followers of Caeser had insisted that Asuka be allowed to pilot again.

Fighting together, and often aided by the valiant King Caeser, Rei couldn't deny that Asuka had changed for the better. Clearly, her experiences beneath Nerv had changed her. Finding out that her mother was trapped within her Eva, coupled with the knowledge of Rei's origins, had noticeably softened the girl. She was still blunt, and arrogance still filled her soul, but she was much less volatile now, and more likely to take other's feelings into consideration.

Their personalities were still as different as night and day, but the two girls had developed a mutual respect for each other. This did, however, mean that Asuka was pushing for Rei to be more sociable, which was something Rei had no great desire to achieve. She was content with resting at the stronghold of the Followers of Caeser in the Himalayas between missions, where Mari, and all of them, now lived. She would stay in her room and devour books, killing time until the next monster attack was reported, when she would be whisked across the world with Asuka to do battle in their Evas.

"You're still ignoring me," Asuka said, drawing Rei back to the present. The rain was getting noticeably stronger now, and the wind was starting to chill her skin. She raised her hand to her neck, touching her hair, which she had been allowing to grow ever since Gendo left Nerv following Godzilla's second attack. Now, coming up on five months later, it was the longest it had ever been.

"Asuka," Rei said slowly. "I'm perfectly fine with the amount of human interaction I participate in. You don't need to….worry about me."

"Ha!" Asuka let out a short laugh, shaking her head as her tone took on an exasperated note. "I'm not worried about you, wonder-girl. I just think you would be happier if you listened to my advice."

Rei let out a small sigh, turning to face Asuka. "I'm not like you," she said softly. "I don't desire the approval and respect of others. I just want to be left alone. Is that so strange?"

Asuka scoffed in response. "A little bit. You know, you've changed a lot since I first met you, but you're still as weird as ever. Go ahead and stay out here, see if I care. Just remember to tell Misato after you get a cold from this storm that I did tell you to come in. I'm finally on good terms with her again, and I don't want to blow it." With that, Asuka turned and strode away, her long hair bouncing with every step.

Rei turned back to the sea. Asuka was right about one thing. She had changed. She was much more self-aware than she used to be, and did more than just what she was told to do. In many ways, she could be described as having become her own person. And that only happened because….

Her thoughts drifted momentarily to Shinji, and her expression darkened. What had he been doing for the past two months, ever since he disappeared? Where was he? Was he safe? Was he even still alive?

If he was, she wondered how often he thought of her. Whether or not he regretted leaving her, right when she needed him most.

Rei shook her head. She didn't need him. Not anymore.

Thunder exploded in the sky above Rei, and raindrops began to pelt the surface of the aircraft carrier with wild abandon. She sighed, and turned to head back indoors.

It was at that moment when something massive collided with the Shikinami underwater, and Rei was thrown back against the railing as the ship rocked from the blow. Slightly dazed, she grabbed the rail to steady herself, only to immediately jump back as an angry sea serpent monster rose up out of the water.

With green scales, multiple horns, and a jaw filled with sharp teeth, it looked much like a traditional eastern sea dragon. It stared down at her for a second before letting out a roar, fury evident in its gaze. Rei didn't flinch as she stared up at it, knowing that if she tried to run, it could easily kill her before she escaped. So instead, she stood her ground, leaving the outcome to fate.

The monster reared back its head, but before it could strike, it was suddenly yanked to the side by a powerful force. Rei ran forward and peered over the railing, only to find the serpent tangling with King Caesar, whose muscular arms were wrapped around the serpent's body as it thrashed its way free, turning and smacking its adversary across the face with its long, slender body.

Alarms started to blare, and Rei turned to run towards her Eva. It was time for battle.

Rei's Eva jumped off the deck of the ship and dove into the water with a clean splash, despite the choppy waves and roaring rain. With powerful strokes, the biomechanical giant cut through the water towards the grappling monsters.

"Remember," Daisuke said over her Plug's loudspeaker. "This is a serpentine monster named Manda. This is its first known appearance. Its 150 meters long, so if it wraps around you, it will crush your Eva."

"Then I need to free King Caesar," Rei stated matter-of-factly as she approached the two monsters. Manda was wrapped around King Caesar, whose powerful kicks were downright useless in the water. Out of his element, he needed help immediately.

Just before Rei could grab Manda however, alarms started to go off in her Entry Plug.

"What is it-" Rei was cut off as another monster slammed into her Eva. Flailing blindly, she managed to grab onto it just before it could bite down on her Eva's head. She got a good look at it, and recognized it immediately. She had faced it just a few weeks ago, off the coast of the Korean peninsula.

"Daisuke, let Misato know. Maguma is here."

Maguma, the walrus monster, let out a roar of anger right in the face of Rei's Eva. It grabbed the right arm of the mech and pulled it under the waves, where it could attack with ease. Rei managed to pivot her Eva so that she was on top of Maguma, and she carefully drew a Prog Knife. While she would've preferred to use her Katana, the water wouldn't allow her to use it properly, so the Knife it was.

Stabbing down, again and again, the water was soon filled with Maguma's blood. The walrus monster let out another roar, and powered by its incredibly strong tail, it rocketed to the surface with the Eva's arm still clenched between its teeth. Exploding out of the water, it rose up into the air, where time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Rei quickly took stock of everything going on around her. In mid-air, Maguma was turning so that Rei's Eva was positioned underneath it. King Caesar was still grappling with Manda, a look of fury on his face as he struggled with the serpent. The Shikinami was sitting in the water nearby, with its entire arsenal primed and ready to fire if necessary. Asuka's Eva was cutting through the stormy sea with powerful strokes, coming to join the battle. And bearing down on the red biomechanical giant was another familiar sea monster.

Rei blinked, and time unfroze.

"Asuka, six o'clock!" Rei shouted, while simultaneously bracing herself for impact.

Asuka turned just in time to see the aquatic dinosaur monster Titanosaurus coming at her with an ear-piercing warble, while Rei grunted in pain as her Eva slammed into the ocean underneath Maguma.

"Shit! Not you again!" Asuka yelled in annoyance as Titanosaurus slammed into her Eva, momentarily stunning the girl. The two Eva pilots had battled Titanosaurus off the coast of Africa, and it had managed to give them the slip. Now, it appeared it was here to back up Maguma and Manda.

King Caesar let out a roar of fury, as he had grown to be quite fond of Asuka and her fearlessness in battle. Sinking his jaws into Manda's scales, the serpent let out a cry of pain and released him. Taking advantage of his sudden freedom, King Caesar powered through the waves to Asuka's Eva, wrapping his arms around Titanosaurus' bulky midsection and yanking it off of the giant red mech.

Asuka shook off her shock from the impact and let out a cheer. "Thanks!" She yelled out, before showing her appreciation by punching Titanosaurus in the face. The dinosaur warbled angrily, and using its giant paddle-like tail, it spun in a circle in the water, smashing Asuka's Eva across the face, and sending it flying.

"Help!" A voice suddenly rang out through the Entry Plug's speakers. Asuka turned in midair, and just before she impacted on the ocean surface, her eyes widened.

"Rei!" Asuka yelled helplessly. In one terrible motion, Maguma tore the arm off of Rei's Eva, spraying the ocean with blood, and drawing a scream of pain from the blue-haired girl.

Asuka cursed in German, and as soon as she surfaced from beneath the waves, she began making her way over to Rei and Maguma, confident that King Caesar could handle Titanosaurus by himself. Her forward momentum through the stormy sea was suddenly halted when Manda sunk its teeth into her Eva's ankle.

"Oh, come on!" Asuka groaned in pain, turning to grab the serpent with both hands. Grasping onto Manda's long body, Asuka managed to squeeze hard enough to force it to open its mouth, freeing her Eva's legs. Manda continued struggling, but Asuka tightened her grip on its slender body. With giant kicks, she desperately tried to swim over to Rei and Maguma, hoping she would get there in time. "Hang on, wonder-girl!" Asuka called out, Manda struggling to slip out of her grasp.

Rei managed to power through her pain to continue fighting off Maguma, swiping at it with the Prog Knife clutched in her remaining hand. She landed a particularly good swing, slashing across Maguma's head and taking out one of its eyes, leaving it blind to Asuka's approach with the thrashing Manda.

"Rei, try to hold that damn walrus still!" Asuka barked out, a crazy idea already fully formed in her head. Rei didn't respond, focusing instead on throwing her Eva at Maguma and wrapping the mech's arm and legs around the monster's body, holding it still for whatever Asuka had planned.

With a yell, Asuka looped a section of Manda's long body all the way around Maguma's neck, choking both monsters at the same time. With a pull, she tightened it, and the monsters starting squirming in agony. "Rei, now's your chance!" Asuka screamed, knowing this trick could only hold for a few more seconds.

Rei didn't hesitate, taking her Prog Knife and stabbing it directly into the top of Maguma's head, killing it instantly. Without missing a beat, she pushed off of Maguma's corpse and went straight for Manda, her Knife ready. With one giant swing, she sliced off the serpent's head, and the battle was almost over.

"Alright, now we just need to help…." Asuka's voice trailed off as both girls turned to find King Caesar gripping Titanosaurus in a vicious headlock. With a disgusting pop, the poor dinosaur's head was removed from its body.

Rei sat back in her chair and took a deep breath of LCL. The battle was over. They had won.

Asuka let out a sigh of relief as Infant Island came into view. They had finally passed out of the typhoon, and the sky was bright orange as the sun grazed the horizon. She glanced at Rei, who was sitting next to her, rubbing her shoulder where she had felt Maguma rip her Eva's arm off.

"How long does Miki estimate it will take for your Eva's arm to regrow?" Asuka asked.

"A few more hours," Rei responded. "I will admit, I didn't like the idea of Orga's DNA being a part of the Evas at first, but it's certainly proven to be useful."

"Well, duh," Asuka said wryly. "Ritsuko was a genius after all. She just also happened to be an idiot who went along with the ideas of an insane maniac."

Rei went quiet at that. Asuka figured she had hit a nerve, so she tried to change the subject. "So. You think Misato will ever let Nerv unfreeze Orga's heart? I mean, I know that Absolute Zero tech is supposed to keep it alive indefinitely, but…." Asuka trailed off as she noticed that Rei was giving her a stony glare. The redhead rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What? I'm trying to be friendly, work with me a little!"

"Asuka," Rei quietly said.

"Yeah?" Asuka replied, annoyance flooding through her.

A rare smile crossed Rei's face. "Thanks for helping me out there."

Asuka blinked, not sure how to respond. "Uh, yeah. No problem."

"No," Rei said, sincerity filling her voice. "I was in trouble, and you came to my aid. You saved me. Thank you."

Asuka shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to sitting down and talking with Rei, whose utterly unassuming nature stood in stark contrast to her own proud personality. Still, she could appreciate that Rei was stepping outside of her comfort zone. It was just a few months ago that the two of them had been bitterly opposed (at least in Asuka's eyes).

"Well, consider it another apology for how I used to treat you," Asuka said with a shrug, trying to play it off as no big deal.

Rei's expression darkened, and she looked down at the ground. She hesitated before speaking, but determination filled her eyes, and she pushed ahead with her question. "Why did you stop treating me so badly? You used to hate me."

Asuka let out a small groan. She did not want to talk about this. "I didn't hate you."

Rei arched an eyebrow. "That's not in line with how you acted," she responded.

After a moment, Asuka gave up. It wouldn't be worth it to try to lie to Rei. "Fine. I'll be honest," she said in defeat. "After I found out that not only is my own mom inside my Eva, that Ritsuko's mom is inside your Eva, that those bastards twisted your body to look like Gendo's wife, did that same thing to a bunch of other girls, and killed your mother? How could I keep hating someone who's been through as much pain, if not more, than me?"

Rei didn't respond for a moment, digesting Asuka's words.

"Asuka," Rei began. "I don't-"

"Save it," Asuka snapped. "I don't want to hear it. These past two months have been hard, and I don't want to think about what landed us, and the whole damned world, in this sorry state."

Rei opened her mouth, but then closed it, apparently deciding to not push any further.

Footsteps came running up to the two girls, who both got to their feet.

"Ryoji," Asuka said with an air of caution. While he had explained his motives for going along with Gendo's plans, and apologized, she still viewed him with a sense of distrust. How could she not, after he tricked her into letting him, Ritsuko, and Gendo into Nerv?

"It's time," Ryoji said casually. "The island's still the same as it was the last time the Followers of Caesar were here, with one exception: a cave has opened up near the highest point of the island. It's almost certainly linked to the source of the electromagnetic burst."

Asuka grinned. "Alright. Let's see if these giant moths are worth all the fuss."

Rei, Asuka, Miki, Daisuke, Misato, and Fuyutsuki all stared in total shock.

"OK, what?" Asuka said in disbelief. The cave had turned out to be completely empty, and the group had been about to leave in defeat, when two women dressed in red suddenly materialized out of thin air.

"Unbelievable," Daisuke said as he rubbed his eyepatch. "Somehow, this is the strangest thing I've ever seen, and we live in a world of monsters."

Fuyutsuki sighed, and stepped forward, kneeling respectfully in front of the two women. "Greetings. I believe it has been a long time since you've seen mortal humans. Is that correct?"

"Yes," the tiny twin priestesses responded, their voices speaking in unison. They stood only 30 centimeters tall, and seemed to be giving off a soft, yellow light. "We are known by many names, but you may call us the Shobijin. We speak for Mothra and Battra, the divine moths."

"You're kidding me," Asuka said. "They're real?"

"Yes, Asuka Langley Soryu, they are real," they responded together with a knowing smile.

"Ok, we don't have time for this," Misato said as she stepped forward. "I am-"

"Misato Katsuragi. We know who you are, and we know why you are here." The Shobijin glanced at each, and their gaze shifted to one of concern, before turning back to the humans. "You seek the identity of the King of the Monsters, which was spoken of in the texts written by the people who once inhabited this island."

"Yes, that's it!" Miki said as she jotted down every word the two fairies said. "You surely know about Ghidorah, and how he's going to unfreeze from his self-induced state on March 27th, less than a month away!"

"We know. That is why we have chosen to reveal ourselves, for the first time in over a millennium."

"Well, it's King Caesar, right?" Asuka cut in. "We need to know how he can rally other monsters to fight Ghidorah!"

The Shobijin glanced at each, but this time, their gaze hardened. "Only Mothra and Battra know such things. They will only reveal the secret to the King of the Monsters himself."

"Well, then tell Mothra and Battra to show themselves!" Misato said as she turned around, facing the exit of the cave. "King Caesar's right outside. We can-"

"No," the Shobijin said. "King Caesar is not the King of the Monsters."

"What?!" Asuka shouted in alarm. "Then who is?"

Rei felt unease creep up her spine. Already, she knew that defeating Ghidorah was about to get a lot harder.

"Godzilla. And since he has been compromised by the creature known as Evangelion Unit-01, will we need to speak to the pilot instead."

Everyone in the cave froze in shocked silence. It was broken by Rei uttering a curse word for the first time in her life.

"Fuck."

Author's Note

In preparation for resuming writing, I reread the entirety of both previous parts of Evangelion X Godzilla, and to be honest, looking back, there's a lot of things I wish I'd done differently. I won't list them all here, but I will mention that I think I made Asuka way too unlikable, as my intention was never to villainize her, but she ended up becoming a very unlikable character. This was fun to write, so I kept going with it, but I think I overdid it a bit. This probably reflects my overall somewhat negative view of her character, and how I think that way too many people overlook her physical abuse of Shinji in the original anime. I personally think that she was very toxic towards Shinji, and so I dialed that up for my story. If anyone was put off by this, as I know she's a very complex character with a lot of fans, then I apologize.

I always planned for her to have a turnaround, which is why I had her go through everything she experienced in Part II, and I hope that her character progression here feels natural as a result.

I'm somewhat hesitant about moving forward, but I've decided to stop worrying about the quality of what's come before, and just focus on finishing this story that I came up with late last year, as I still feel very passionate about it, and I want all of you to be able to experience it in full, as it's supposed to be.

Ironically, this absence does mean that anyone who's been reading this story as it comes out will experience the same passage of time as Shinji has in-universe, with a couple of months passing with no contact with any of the other characters. We'll catch up with him next chapter, and see what he's been up to all this time.

Until then!

-AlphaBeta17 (8/17/20)