Chapter 41: Night of Titans

We have found a most monumental thing, hidden underneath the very feet of Japan, sequestered within a vessel of clearly alien origin, after the better part of a decade's excavation in near-total secrecy. It is a massive, pallid white being, whom the Dead Sea Scrolls most closely translate the title as 'The Mother of All Life'.

I refuse to call such a being Eve. I have seen the bestial nature of humanity far too easily displayed to believe we could ever come from a source so supposedly pure. This being we have found can only be Lilith.

We have posted the creature up in secret within the massive space that is known as the 'Black Egg' to the Scrolls, and continue to study both it and the secretion that it emits, a liquid that is not entirely like our own blood which holds remarkable properties.

For Lilith, however, there must be an Adam. Where such a being would be, I am still unsure. But… from what little I have translated of the most important Scrolls, such a being will be essential to my plans. To the Instrumentality of humanity.

- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, May 1967

Somewhere in Payette National Forest, Idaho

Rei and Kaworu both blinked as the daylight of Matsushiro was replaced by the clear, moonlit night of North America. They found themselves surrounded by dark mountains, far taller than most, standing in one of the valleys.

As the view brightened on the Frame Plugs screens, both Unit-05 and Unit-06 crouched slightly, a stained glass halberd and the black and blue copy of the Spear of Cassius that had become Kaworu's signature weapon springing into being as they leveled it, Kaworu coming around to cover Rei's back.

"Nothing in the immediate vicinity." Rei said into an open comm link with Kaworu as she scanned their surroundings.

"For the moment, at least." Kaworu replied. "We should perhaps obscure our Vent Frame pylons, so as to not give ourselves away. After all, if the enemy is glowing, why let the battlefield be even?."

"That's certainly not unwise." Rei replied, nodding as she tapped on an open panel. "Do we have any way to contact Orien?"

"Lieutenant Mogami should be of assistance there." Kaworu said somewhat offhandedly, keying his comms as the glow of his shoulder pylons dimmed and vanished. "Lieutenant, can you arrange a link between us and pilot Wallace?" he said as their link to Matsushiro opened, showing the cool, but somewhat frazzled look of Lieutenant Mogami.

"One moment, pilots." Mogami replied, and her image blinked away.

That moment seemed to stretch into minutes as they changed their weapons into a sniper rifle and an Eva-scale marksman rifle, helped along by a simmering anxiety in the pit of Rei and Kaworu's stomachs. It was a feeling they were both used to by now, having fought against the Angels and everything that came after, but even still, the sense of the unknown gnawed at them both.

"Here is Lieutenant Commander Wallace now." Mogami finally said as her image returned, joined in split-screen by the face of Orien in a dark grey and white Plugsuit, his eyes lighting up slightly as he saw them. "He'll be joined by your liaison with the U.S. Army Eva Corps, Colonel Sadler shortly. Good luck, pilots."

With that, Mogami blinked away, leaving Orien to nod slightly. "It's good to see you here in this neck of the woods." he said, an innate confidence in his voice, familiar to them, comforting both Rei and Kaworu somewhat.

"We're glad to be of help." Rei replied. "Are you aware of our position?"

Orien glanced to the side. "Our AWACS is picking you up now. All the way in Idaho." he murmured the last words. Then, a pause. "I'm told we've worked out teleportation of me to you as well." he chuckled softly. "Good. I'd hate to run all the way from Fort Bragg after I'm done forming. It's… a ways away."

"We'll take your word for it." Kaworu replied. "When will you be ready to move out?"

"3 more minutes."

As Orien finished speaking, another panel joined his, one that was Audio Only. "Pilots," a masculine voice who Rei and Kaworu assumed was Colonel Sadler began, "we've detected the invading force about 3.5 kilometers from your current position. In the terrain you're operating in, that's quite a ways away. I'd recommend you wait for Thunderhead to be deployed so that you'll be able to recon in force. Due to your experience, I leave the particulars of the operation to you. Wallace will follow your lead."

"Understood, Colonel." Rei said calmly. "We await his arrival."

A symbol on a corner denoted the colonel muting the comms, and Rei looked back at Orien. "Once you arrive, we'll run you through how to make your Vent Frame pylons invisible. Then, we'll make up a plan as we head out based on the information available to us."

"Sounds good." Orien replied, running through what looked like some last checks.

"And, if I may…" Kaworu interjected. "How does one obtain a nickname such as 'Thunderhead'?"

"It's my callsign." Orien shrugged. "Pilots here, all military pilots, have those. That, and it's a nickname I got for being top of my class in martial arts. But storytime can come later."

"That it shall." Rei said, nodding slightly.

"Alright. 1 minute to deployment, then I'll be there. Get ready."

A minute came and went, and what was apparently Orien's Evangelion, Thunderhead, fuzzed into existence behind them.

It was, true to its name, a deep grey, with accents in white and bright yellow acting as the lightning within the cloud itself. The Vent Frame pylons, before their light disappeared, showed a head with an austere helmet, a rounded dome with smooth walls flowing into a rather sharp chin, its vision provided to it by a simple T visor. In its hands, it hefted a Pallet Rifle with a relatively small, somewhat improvised IR laser module mounted in the front on top of the gun, and a Progressive Glaive locked in across its back.

After a moment, simplified radar screens, showing the view from the AWACS Orien had mentioned, the Evas slowly began to move forward, climbing the mountains as quietly as they could.

"Any idea on how big our targets are?" Orien said as they came close to a mountaintop from which to peek over at their foes.

"Our Intermediary System pins the smallest of these Kaiju at around 90 meters tall." Kaworu replied as their heads crested the peak of the mountain, granting them a view of the glowing monsters below them. "The largest may well be twice that height."

Orien nodded slowly as he sighted in his Pallet Rifle, an arched eyebrow the only sign of being somewhat impressed. "Man. Did the Angels really get this big?"

"Bigger." Rei replied as she aimed her Eva's monoeye down a scope that allowed her to see the scales of one of the smaller Kaijus. "But we, and the Angels before them, have an advantage over these creatures."

"Ah, yes." Orien chuckled. "Whatever happens we have got the AT Field, and they have not." he intoned in a rhyme.

Kaworu and Rei looked at him for a moment before Orien blinked. "Oh. An old, old adage I picked up in history class. Even still, we could use a little more advantage."

"Perhaps we could draw one of these creatures off at a time?" Kaworu postulated.

"Maybe… We'll need to make sure they don't overwhelm us first." Rei said, nodding slowly.

"Let's use this terrain to our advantage." Orien interjected. "We are in a mountain range, after all. Breaking line of sight for these things will be easy."

"We'll need someone to draw one out then." Rei stated, a serious look in her eyes, under a slightly furrowed brow as they were.

"I'll make it work." Orien said, preparing to move away from the mountain top. "Cover me."

. . .

Near the Congo River, United Congolese Republic

Toji and Hikari gazed out into the long, flat landscape they had found themselves teleported to, a far cry from the hills and valleys of Matsushiro, even covered in greenery and dotted with patches of low trees that stretched into the dark horizon.

Toji looked around at the sight, silent for the moment as it slowly brightened thanks to his Frame Plug, his gaze settling back on Hikari's Unit-03, still a catching sight in the darkness.

Its color was an almost brilliant white with blue accents, its brow decorated with a crest that looked like two outstretched wings, clinging close to the Eva's head. Its two eyes were accented by two lines of red that ran down the cheeks from the bottoms of the eyes like lines of sanguine tears.

It was certainly hard to miss, Toji mused. Kind of like one of Ken's Gundams. Then again, his wasn't much more discrete, his Vent Frame pylons shining on armor that looked like it was made of dark, lacquered wood, a lighter wood color and a deep green accenting the body and head, with a crown of antlers like a deer's gracing Unit-04's brow. 'I don't have room to really argue, do I?'

"I'm going to go ahead and contact Mavuto while you do what I'm sure is thinking up our battle plan."

Toji blinked, looking over at the comm panel that showed Hikari, smiling slightly as she set herself to her task.

"Will do, ma'am." Toji replied only somewhat seriously, waiting for her to contact Lieutenant Mogami.

"First things first." He began after she finished speaking to Mogami. "As nice as your Eva looks, it sticks out like a sore thumb out here. We'll need to do something about that soon."

"That is true, I'll admit…" Hikari said quietly, tsking. "Let's see… with what I know about light…"

Hikari's attention was drawn away for a moment, then Mavuto's face appeared, smiling easily at them from above a brilliant scarlet, pink and white Plugsuit. "Ah, it is good to see you all again." he said with a warm chuckle. "I believe you are here for the Grootslang, yes?"

"I, uh… I think so?" Toji replied. "If you're talking about the giant snake-elephant… thing…"

"Yes." Hikari interjected with a quiet sigh. "Are you on your way?"

"I'm already here, bosi." he paused for a moment. "Here being the outskirts of Kupanda Nyota, the capital of the UCR. You're lucky I was here doing joint exercises with the AUDL."

"I'm guessing that's where your intelligence has this thing heading?" Toji said, looking up the location of the city mentioned as best he could.

"Got it in one." Mavuto replied with a nod. "With any luck, you can intercept it before it reaches the city, and I'll sweep in to help secure the victory for us."

He heaved a sigh, an almost dreamy gleam in his eyes. "What a proving for the warrior of a new generation. Against a myth…"

"Proving?" Hikari said as the Units began to advance towards the city. "We already gave you training that I can certainly hope was above the standards we were first given."

"Perhaps." Mavuto shrugged. "But even until only my grandfather, we Maasai men could only become warriors by slaying a lion with our spears. Now, it would be foolish of me to try and kill this thing we face single-handedly, but I think my ancestors would accept the exception."

"So," Toji began after a moment's silence, "you seem to know something about this 'Grootslang' thing. Mind filling us in a little?"

"It's a creature of mostly South African fame." Mavuto began, chuckling slightly. "A little far from home, I must say. A creature accustomed to rivers and caves, and a diet of elephants, it's said to be a guardian of glittering diamonds. It's also said when the gods first created the creatures, they recognized their mistake in making their kind so powerful and cunning, and split them into the first elephants and snakes. One was said to have escaped, from which all others spread in secret."

"And now, one has tumbled into this world." Hikari noted as she nodded slowly. "Let's hope it doesn't have too many surprises in store for us. We should be getting close to it soon if our sensors are correct."

"We should probably skate around it and link up with Mavuto." Toji said somewhat uneasily. "I'm not too keen on taking this thing on before we're ready."

"It may have the eyes of a snake, but it has the ears of an elephant." Mavuto warned. "It will likely hear you, then go and see you."

"Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't see us." Hikari said, smiling slightly as Unit-03 slowed to a stop, Unit-04 taking a moment to pause and turn to it as Toji arched his eyebrow.

"And how do we do that?" Toji asked slowly.

"Simple, really. Just some applied Interfacing to make us completely invisible." Hikari replied with a slight smile.

"Oh…kay." Toji said. "You're the light girl, after all. If you make it so that light doesn't hit us, go for it."

"A bit of an oversimplification, but you're on the right track." Hikari replied. "You were paying more attention in science class than I expected. Good."

Toji smiled slightly as Unit-03 vanished from sight. "I aim to please." he said somewhat sardonically.

Soon, the world went dark, and the Frame Plug adjusted accordingly, an almost wireframe outline of the world springing into being as Pneumaic sensors activated, outlining Unit-03 as it ran forward again.

Mavuto hummed, then scoffed softly. "Perhaps you should be called Lady Namiri, to sneak around like a panther in this nighttime battle as you do. When will you arrive?"

"At our pace?" Hikari paused. "We should reach the city at least a dozen minutes or so before the Grootslang. But… if this thing hears us, we might be leading it to you."

Mavuto scoffed again. "One way or another, we will kill this thing. Whether it's running towards us or walking, it will meet us regardless."

Toji nodded, connecting his soul to Hikari's as they continued their rush towards the city. "You know, I still think Asuka should have trained him. They're like two peas in a pod."

"Maybe."

Hikari replied. "But it takes a firm hand and a steady will to make sure that he isn't getting himself killed. Something Asuka's still learning to master, even with the time she's taken to try."

"You would know something about those, after all."

Toji said drolly.

"Yes. And with the implications you're making, I think after this mission I'll have to remind you of that." Toji could feel Hikari smile as she finished her sentence. However, like she said, they had to focus on not getting killed first.

. . .

Lieutenant Commander Orien Wallace did his best to sneak through the valley. In a giant biomechanical walker. On the way to kill some monsters from another universe. Of all the ways he had expected his career in the military to go, this was the last of them.

'Then again, how much of my life has gone to my first plan?' he mused, stifling a grim chuckle.

"Lieutenant Ayanami, what's the status of our targets?" he asked as he shook himself out of his thoughts.

Rei's brow furrowed slightly as she moved Unit-05 a little further down the mountain to obscure her Eva's face as she watched the rather eclectic group of invaders. The smallest ones looked something like the theropods that she had briefly studied in biology, strange crests or horns adorning their heads as they ranged ahead somewhat from the rest of the group.

Their somewhat larger compatriots, in comparison, were markedly different from one another. One was like a six-legged hairless cat, hardened scales replacing soft skin as it seemed to shimmer in and out of sight. Its companion was nothing short of a massive arachnid, its relatively compact body towering over the theropods on 8 spiked legs all coming up and down smoothly, regularly, as it and its compatriot began to climb the mountain range on the far side of the valley from them.

The last, the largest, stood what could easily be guessed at double the height of an Eva, four legs supporting an upper torso with two powerful arms reminding almost uncomfortably of the physical form of Iruel. The similarities ended there, however. For one, Iruel did not have a glowing circle in the center of his upper body, and a head, shaped like an armored wedge, looked around with six beady, gleaming blue eyes.

"Still seemingly unaware of our presence." Rei replied. "They seem very well coordinated."

"Perhaps they are connected on some level?" Kaworu postulated. "A hive mind?"

"Certainly not out of the question." Orien replied as he crossed the mountains into the valley the Kaiju lurked within, sweeping the view with a rifle whose targeting laser was only visible to him. "There's only one way to really find out."

He passed through a bend in the valley and saw the two smallest Kaiju in the distance. "I'm engaging their forward element." he said simply, sighting in one that looked like it had a fan strapped to its head, and let loose a burst of Pallet Rifle fire.

The thunder of the gun split the night, filling it with the lightning of muzzle flashes as the 330mm shells slammed into the monster. It roared in pain, spraying brilliant blue blood everywhere from the wounds as it and its companion charged forward.

Orien backed away, continuing to fire as he did. "Oh hell." he muttered as the truth of how big these things were finally seemed to dawn on him. "How are the others reacting?" he said into his comms.

"Moving towards your position now." Rei replied calmly. "Watch your flanks. The feline is hard to spot, and looking to move to your left. We'll lead off the centaur and the arachnid if we can."

"Sound's good." Orien replied levelly, his brow furrowing slightly as, bullet-riddled though it may have been, the Kaiju continued to charge at him, only dozens of meters away and closing fast. His controlled bursts became a stream of automatic fury raking lines across the Kaiju's body.

Finally, as his gun clicked empty, the monster stumbled and tripped, its body slamming into the ground and sliding a little ways before stopping. Its companion charged on, roaring as it closed in.

Orien dodged to the side, slamming the butt of his rifle into the face of the Kaiju as it passed, its head jerking to the side and crashing into the mountainside as Orien tossed aside the otherwise useless rifle, unlimbering his Progressive Glaive.

He took a moment to look around himself, scanning as best he could for the feline Kaiju that Rei had mentioned as he began to hear the nigh unmistakable crack and chatter of gunfire further up the valley, roars and chittering in the distance.

The Progressive element whirred to life, its brilliant pink-white light showing the angry heat it gave off as he put the blade between himself and the remaining scout as it extracted itself from the ground and turned to face him.

It began to roar, then paused as it focused on the Progressive Glaive's blade, its gaze following it as Orien took a step closer. Then another.

'These things can't be that dumb. Can they?' Orion wondered as he kept his focus on the Kaiju. Then, his eyes widened as he felt the rumbling in the ground, then looked back down at the radar screen. And the contact that was rapidly approaching from his right. 'Oh, shit!'

The feline Kaiju was a blur in the air, and as Orien jumped back, he felt the glaive being yanked out of his hands as he looked to the side, catching the Kaiju with the glaive in its jaws for a second before the weapon snapped in half, the Progressive Element going dark and leaving the only light the bioluminescence of the Kaiju in front of him.

"Shit." Orien muttered out loud, glancing back at the other Kaiju as it charged at him, its glowing mouth gaping wide to try and take a massive bite. Orien stepped back, the jaws snapping shut as he planted a right hook across what he assumed was its armored cheek, then drove an elbow into the top of its head, again sending it face-first into the dirt.

He glanced over at the feline as it roared and charged at him, leaping into the air. Orien stepped back, throwing his arms in front of him as he finally deployed his AT Field.

The Kaiju slammed into a wall of prismatic light, bouncing back and landing on its feet, then backing up slowly as it growled.

Orien continued to hold the Field as he advanced, stretching it to surround him in a semicircle to ward off the other Kaiju as it also backed away slowly.

Soon enough, he crouched down and picked up the upper half of his Progressive Glaive, thankful that the Progressive element hummed back to life as he dropped the AT Field.

"Orien," Rei asked almost casually, "Did you deploy your AT Field, by chance?"

"How did you know?" Orien replied as he swiped at the theropod Kaiju.

"Because the Kaiju we're facing have become far more cautious." Kaworu answered.

Away from Orien, Kaworu kept an eye on the centaur Kaiju as Rei leveled a polearm at the arachnid, the monsters slowly backing up and seeming to take stock of them again. They had been wily foes, the centaur having a propensity for spitting brilliant blue acid at them. The arachnid, thus far, seemed content to try and entangle them or their weapons in webs, a few stray strands draped on the haft of Rei's polearm.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag now." Orien said levelly. "For both of us, from the looks of it. Looks like you might be right, Nagisa. How do we overcome that?"

"A good question." Kaworu replied as the centaur seemed to gather its courage again, spitting up a globule of acid as it charged Rei.

Unit-05 deftly dodged back, and a pane of glass sprang up, the Kaiju roaring as it saw itself for a moment before it slammed into the glass, its impact only cracking the glass as it stumbled back, shaking its head in confusion as it looked through the glass at the deep blue Eva.

It roared again, raising its arms above its head as it pounded the pane again and again, its third blow shattering the glass. As the crack of the glass echoed through the dark night, Rei caught the pieces, the jagged shards hanging in the air for a moment before Rei gave them motion again, sending them flying into the body of the centaur Kaiju, causing it to stumble back as it roared, perhaps in pain, perhaps in rage.

As Rei charged the centaur, Kaworu peppered the arachnid Kaiju as best he could with the marksman rifle, 3-round bursts slamming into its chitin as it chittered, its thorax bending beneath it as it unleashed a stream of bioluminescent webbing.

Kaworu dodged to the side, then charged as his rifle became a copy of the Spear of Cassius. As he closed with the arachnid, it raised its front legs, the tips spiked and serrated, and brought them down savagely on Unit-06's head.

The legs crashed into the flickering barrier of an AT Field as Kaworu charged under them, slashing at one of its left legs. The spear bisected the leg, spurting the same bright blue blood as the others as Kaworu dodged away from another spray of webbing.

The spider wobbled back as it screeched, and Kaworu's rifle reformed in his hands as he aimed up and let loose a long burst of automatic fire into the underside of the arachnid. After long seconds of the rounds of solid ink sticking into the arachnid's thorax, they finally pierced through, and Kaworu dodged back from the torrents of blood that poured out as the screeching grew higher, the arachnid stumbling back more and more before tumbling over onto its back, the remaining legs thrashing in the air as the screeching quieted, then went silent, the legs curling in on themselves for a moment before the spider went still.

"That's one down." Kaworu said levelly as he turned to regard the centaur pulling the shards of glass out of its body, no blood dripping from the wounds as it tossed the pieces aside one by one.

"I must admit," he continued as he sighted in the centaur and began to pepper its back with rifle fire, "this is far easier than I would have expected."

"Perhaps so." Rei admitted as she jumped away from the centaur's wild charge. "But this one is tougher than its compatriots, it seems."

Her sniper rifle appeared again as she backpedaled, prismatic flashes of Metos preceding glowing rods of stained glass that slammed into the centaur's skin, sticking in a few meters and stopping. The Kaiju's mad charge dislodged most of them, however, as it wildly grabbed at Unit-05.

Though Rei dodged out of the way of its charge, the Kaiju's outreached hand grabbed a hold of the barrel of the sniper rifle, Rei digging in her heels as the monster attempted to wrench the gun from her hands. The Kaiju roared again, its other hand grabbing hold of the rifle as it pulled, Rei's eyes widening slightly as she slid forward, then jerked to the side, Unit-05 maintaining a death grip on the rifle as it fired again and again, the shots almost, but not quite, hitting the glowing circle in the center of its chest.

With a final roar, it let go of the rifle, sending Unit-05 flying into the air. Right towards a now backpedaling Unit-06, whose pilot had wide eyes as he saw the blue giant sailing towards him.

Kaworu braced for impact as Unit-05 slammed into Unit-06's chest, sending both Evas sprawling with a rumbling crash that threw up dirt and rocks as it flattened trees.

Kaworu and Rei both shook their heads, pounding as they were, trying to focus as they heard the centaur Kaiju roar again, felt the drumming of its feet as they became sure it was charging towards them.

They both scrambled off of each other as best they could, Kaworu rolling Unit-06 out of the way as Rei turned to watch the Kaiju rush past them.

As both Evas unsteadily got to their feet, their comms screens showed Orien shake his head slightly, his expression grimly set even as his eyes shone with anxiety. "I'm leading these Kaijus back to you! We need to even the playing field a little."

"Sounds like a start." Rei said with a wince as she and Kaworu watched the centaur Kaiju slow to a stop and turn to face them. "How quickly can we kill the smallest one left?"

"Given a minute or two of gunfire, the other one went down easily…" he paused as they heard what they assumed were Thunderhead's footsteps interrupted by a crash. "Enough." he finished as the rhythmic beating of a running Evangelion began again.

"Oh good. An unfair fight." Kaworu nearly muttered as he caught sight of Thunderhead dashing towards them, the other Kaiju in hot pursuit as he and Rei got ready. "I think we can make that work."

. . .

Toji, for whatever reason, felt his heart pumping in his hands as he and Hikari got closer and closer to the Grootslang, their pace slowing as they approached. His mind began to whirl with possible outcomes, dozens of possible strategies passing through and finding themselves considered and tucked away or discarded as they slowed to a walk.

"Hey, Hikari." he began somewhat slowly as he looked out to their left, seeing what he believed to most likely be the creature itself, represented by a small stain of Metos, in the distance. "How good are elephants at smelling things?"

"Uh…" was Hikari's wise reply. "Mavuto?" she said, deciding to defer to more native experience. "Any info on how good that trunk might be at sniffing us out?"

"A regular elephant can smell food up to several miles away." Mavuto replied. Then he paused for a moment. "As for something supernatural such as this… it might already smell you."

A jolt of cold, prickling fear trickled down into the pits of Toji and Hikari's stomachs as they both looked towards that once seemingly harmless splotch in the distance that was their target. "Well," Hikari said after a moment, Unit-03 beginning to turn its jog into a proper run, "I think picking up the pace won't hurt us too much then."

"Let's just not pick it up too quickly." Toji said with a nod. "I'd hate to go dashing into the city dragging this thing with us if we can avoid it. Pretty crummy start to a battle, in my opinion."

Mavuto laughed. "I would think so. All that time with your back to the enemy? It's almost asking for a lucky shot at that point."

"Well, Interfacing should help us with that at least a little. After all, it's gotten us this far ahead." Hikari said assuredly before pausing for a moment. "Were you able to find someone to teach you Interfacing, Mavuto?"

"Ah." Mavuto chuckled as the Children saw the lights of what life was still in the city of Kupanda Nyota draw closer. "I'm touched that you remembered. I did, actually. I've not gotten more than the basics, but I'm 'plugged in', as it were."

"Oh, good. That's going to be a big help once we arrive in…" Hikari paused as she glanced at her radar screen. "About 10 minutes. You should be seeing our radar signatures soon."

"I can see them now. I'm on my way out to meet you." Mavuto replied. Then, his brow furrowed. "Our radar has shown that the target has stopped."

Toji and Hikari paused for the briefest of moments as they slowly looked over at the blotch of Metos in the distance. Except…

"Did we get closer to it?" Toji asked slowly. "Or did it get closer to us?"

They were silent as they watched the blotch pause. Then rapidly start getting bigger.

"Doesn't matter anymore." Hikari replied. "Run!"

The world flashed back into view as Hikari dropped the invisibility around them, the Evas breaking into a dead sprint towards the city, now feeling the pounding of feet behind them and hearing a bellowing roar.

"Get ready, Mavuto!" Toji shouted. "We're coming in hot!"

"The best way, in my opinion!" Mavuto laughed. "I'm on my way out! Let me strike the first blow, if you will!"

"Okay, I guess…" Toji said, risking a glance back, the massive grey sight that greeted him roaring back, mouth wide under massive, glittering tusks as the gleaming end of what he assumed was the trunk flailed after him.

Toji shouted in return, a far more frightened sound that urged him to go faster than the beast that had caught up to them frighteningly quickly. "Mavuto! I hope you get here quickly!"

As he looked back in front of him, he felt an urge from Hikari. "Break to the right!" Toji complied, turning on his heel and catching a flash of red go past them, Mavuto letting out a wild warcry over his Eva's speakers.

Unit-03 and Unit-04 skidded to a stop, turning to watch as Mavuto's Evangelion, one which its transponder identified as 'Type-1: Lion's Fang', slammed into the creature, lifting its mass slightly as he shoved it back, leveling a Progressive Glaive at the Grootslang.

True to Mavuto's Plugsuit, his Eva itself was a uniform red, the most catching sight a flowing skirt that fell nearly to its knees, matching the striped colors of Mavuto's Plugsuit, swirling as he back-stepped away from wildly sweeping tusks. As he came to a stop, the glowing Vent Frame pylons showcased a head that had a band of black, feather-like spikes traveling around its face, standing up like a bird of prey's warning display.

Hikari manifested a ghostly version of a Pallet Rifle, a keening sound trailing the stream brilliant bullets as they slammed into the creature… and did seemingly nothing, as patches of clear diamond flashed into existence, the Grootslang taking a step to the side as beams of light began to shoot back out from the points of impact, flashing in and out of existence like the spotlights of some mad rave.

"Ah." Mavuto said as he linked his soul to Toji and Hikari, his jovial tone cooling as the smile on his face grew smaller and smaller. The two Children could feel Mavuto's focus intensifying, the emotions they were used to seeing on his sleeve fading alongside his smile. "I see we still have to be terribly cautious. Its lust for diamonds seems to only be part of the truth."

"Looks like it." Toji said with a nod. "Nice skirt, by the way."

"Thank you." Mavuto replied levelly. "These Evangelions are so bare. They needed something to spice them up."

Hikari chuckled slightly. "I just hope it doesn't tear easily."

"I doubt the kevlar lining will allow that. Now," Mavuto continued after a moment, "Let's focus on taking this beast down."

For a moment, both the Grootslang and the Evas were still, sizing each other up as an unspoken plan passed between all of the pilots. The silence was only broken by the high-pitched whine of Mavuto's Progressive Glaive, the crackling formation of Toji's greathammer, the keening hum of Hikari creating a glaive of her own, and the deep, hissing growl of the Grootslang.

Then, the Evas flashed forward, Toji and Hikari dashing to the sides as Mavuto charged the Grootslang head-on, stabbing his spear towards the chest of the beast. A scale of gemstone spread across the point of contact in the instant before the glaive slammed into it, sending it bouncing back, Mavuto jumping away as the Grootslang brought a diamond-tipped trunk down on the ground, the end sticking for a moment before it pulled it back out, swinging towards Mavuto as it stepped forward.

On the sides of the Grootslang, Hikari and Toji battered at the writhing serpentine body as best they could. For the most part, they were successful whenever they could land a blow on the body, jumping away from time to time as a tail-tip covered in a spiked mass of crystal whipped around one way or another.

But even still, Hikari thought with a tsk, there were always more than a few moments where her blade or Toji's blow would simply impact harmlessly off of supernaturally tough diamonds. Before she could step in for another stab, however, she caught from the corner of her vision the Grootslang stepping around to her side as it roared, glancing over to see Mavuto on the ground and getting the Lion's Fang back on its feet.

She turned to face the creature, the blade of her glaive growing half again its length as she swiped at its chest. Her jaw clenched slightly as she watched a line of gemstone form just ahead of her swipe, refracting the ambient light of her weapon even as it sparked across the scale.

As the glaive reached the endpoint of its swing and Hikari began to try another swipe, the Grootslang used its tusks, which a distant part of Hikari's mind noted seemed to be made entirely out of diamonds themselves, and batted aside the swipe, causing Hikari to stumble back as she tried to regain control of her weapon.

She only caught the trunk swinging low out of the corner of her vision, too late to react as it swept her feet out from under her, driving the air out of her lungs as she went to the ground on her side, her weapon fading out of existence as she lost focus. She looked up, and saw the two legs of the beast coming up over her.

Suppressing a yelp, she rolled Unit-03 back, feeling as one leg slammed into the ground where she had been only a moment before. The other leg came down ahead of its companion. Right on top of Unit-03's leg.

The crack of the Eva's leg, its knee shattering, combined with Hikari's scream of pain from the sympathetic connection, her sight disappearing in a blinding flash that left behind twinkling stars. She shook a pounding head as she felt the Eva knitting its leg back together, looking up with dazed eyes as Unit-03 rolled onto its back.

Her eyes widened as she saw the legs of the Grootslang coming up a second time, and she shouted as she threw Unit-03's arms in front of it, a hastily made AT Field, weak though it was, causing the trampling feet to stop short, the creature bellowing in surprise.

Before it could act any further, Hikari saw a vine flash into sight from behind the beast, wrapping around its neck and head in seconds, muffling the beast's roar as Toji pulled with all the might Unit-04 could give him.

Hikari rolled Unit-03 back further, unsteadily getting to her feet after a moment as she shook her head. "Thanks, Toji." she said, wincing slightly as she put pressure on a tender, still freshly healed leg. She watched as, in moments, the Grootslang's chest, neck, and she assumed its head became encrusted with long, broad scales of glittering diamond.

"Are you okay?" Toji asked, concern edging out the strain in his voice as the Grootslang thrashed and writhed, the Lion's Fang stepping under the vine and batting away a tail that lashed back at the Eva that restrained it.

"I'll be fine. I've felt worse." Hikari replied, nodding as a different weapon manifested in Unit-03's hands, its head nothing short of a mattock. "Next question, how do we kill this thing?"

"You seem to be on the right track, miss Namiri." Mavuto interjected. "However this thing creates its diamond scales, it depends on its senses to know when to do it. We need to pin it down and pry it apart. You two with your Interfacing will split its scales, and I'll go in for the kill."

"I've got us on that first front." Toji replied as Unit-04 let go of the vine with one hand, pointing it at the ground beneath the Grootslang's stamping feet. "Just make sure this thing doesn't surprise me."

As he finished speaking, more vines erupted from the ground, lashing themselves around the trunk-like legs and pulling them to the earth, continuing to wrap around the beast's legs as Toji made the end of the vine around its head a solid spike of wood, driving it into the ground and making it put out deep, strong roots.

Its front secured, Toji moved towards the still lashing, whipping body and tail, Unit-04's arms outstretched as glowing thorns began to grow on them. After a moment, rows of vines erupted from the ground, gracefully arcing over the sides and back of the beast and entwining with each other before sinking back into the ground, locking the coils of the serpentine portion in place.

Even secured as it now was, Toji and Hikari still watched the beast carefully as it jerked against its restraints, a quiet crackling joining Unit-04's slow, rumbling steps as a pick much like Unit-03's formed in its hands.

"Alright," Toji said as the two Units came up to join the Lion's Fang in front of the Grootslang, "where do we want to hit this thing?"

"We'll start on the right side of the chest." Mavuto replied, pointing the glaive in his hands at the spot. "Right where a heart should be. If that doesn't work quickly enough, then we pry the other scales apart and go again."

"You two pick a place and get to work. Let's make this quick as we can." Mavuto nodded forward, and Hikari and Toji slowly nodded as they approached the Grootslang from two angles.

The bond between Hikari and Toji's souls strengthened as they looked for a chink in the armor to take advantage of. Spotting a split between two scales somewhat high on the chest that they agreed to try, the Units hefted their picks, then swung.

The heads of their picks bit deep, and the Grootslang bellowed in pain as Hikari and Toji slowly pulled the scales apart, brilliant red blood flowing out of the wound.

Then, Mavuto stepped forward, jabbing the brilliant, nearly white-hot Progressive Glaive's blade into the gap, blood hissing and steaming, the Progressive element searing the flesh as the beast screamed in pain, its cries muffled by the vines that clamped its mouth shut.

"Man," Toji said uneasily as Mavuto yanked the Prog Glaive out again, "you almost feel sorry for this thing."

"It's said to be a maneater as much as it is an elephant eater." Mavuto replied dispassionately. "A predator of the largest kind. We're doing this to keep this world safe."

Hikari nodded slowly as she and Toji extracted their picks from the wound, a little more blood. "That… sounds about right." she said, equally slowly, as she looked at the Grootslang again. Its struggling had slowed significantly with their first wound. "Do you need us to make another gap?"

"With how much this thing has stopped struggling?" Mavuto said, a ghost of incredulity haunting his currently impassive voice for the briefest of moments. "No need."

The Lion's Fang stepped forward, its grip on the glaive sliding up closer to the head as he came to a stop only dozens of meters away from the chest that heaved slower and slower. The Children watched Mavuto shake his head slightly as he leveraged the blade tip into a gap and shoved the blade in. Once. Then after a moment, again. Then again.

With each thrust of the knife, the Grootslang grew more and more still, until finally, Mavuto stepped away, and the beast finally slumped forward, Toji slowly clearing the vines away from its feet to allow it to fall forward.

Finally, the vines began to wither away from its head, showing glassy eyes and a limp jaw filled with sharp teeth.

Toji looked down at the sight as he shook his head slightly, looking over at the comms screen of Mavuto. "So…" he began, unsure of what to say. "Was that… glorious enough for you, I guess?"

Mavuto glanced over at him, and Toji breathed a silent sigh of relief as the level face finally cracked a slight smile. "I think it'll do."

He chuckled slightly after a moment. "Congratulations, Hikari, Toji. Perhaps I can convince my tribal elders to consider you warriors of the Maasai as well." he looked off into the middle distance as he continued, listening to the distant boom of an airstrike. "My uncle's sister makes necklaces for newly minted warriors. Perhaps you'll both receive one in the coming week."

"Thank you, Mavuto." Hikari said, a slight smile of gratitude at seeing the rather jovial friend they had made beginning to return. Then she blinked. "Was that explosion what I think it was?"

"Let me find out." Mavuto paused as he muted himself, looking over to another comms panel and speaking silently. His smile grew as he unmuted. "That it was. The portal that this Grootslang tumbled out of is so much dust and debris now. No more giant monsters to worry about here tonight."

He took a deep breath. "So… how long are you staying? I could introduce you to some local cuisine if you have the time. Kupanda Nyota has a great nightlife."

"Only for the duration of the mission." Hikari replied. "They'll most likely expect us back, now that we've dealt with the threat here."

"We'll probably come back sometime soon, though." Toji interjected. "Maybe pick up those necklaces you mentioned."

He paused for a moment. "I wonder how the others are doing. Maybe we finished early."

"I think, and hope, they're doing just fine." Hikari replied.

. . .

In the moment of stillness before the centaur Kaiju pawed at the ground and began to charge again, Rei had an idea. And, as crazy as it might be, it might just help them win against the massive Kaiju.

"I'll blind the largest one and keep it distracted until we can defeat it together." she said into her commlink with the other pilots as she moved forward, one hand reaching out towards the massive Kaiju. "Kaworu will help you deal with the others harrying, Orien."

"Sounds good." Orien replied, turning and swiping at the remaining theropod to keep it just enough away to let him reach the others. "Ready, Kaworu?"

It was a silently conflicted moment before Kaworu set his jaw slightly and replied, Unit-06 turning to face the oncoming duo of Kaiju. "I'm on my way. Good luck, Rei."

"I'll take as much of it as you can spare." she replied with a slight smile which Kaworu returned.

With that, the marksman rifle reformed in Unit-06's hands, peppering the feline Kaiju as best he could to get its attention. As the shots stuck in its hide, it finally shook its head and glowered at Kaworu, roaring as it charged away from biting at the Thunderhead Eva's heels.

'That should give Orien the space he needs.' Kaworu thought as he dodged back from a lunging swipe, the Spear of Cassius forming in a flash as he swiped down at it. The Kaiju jumped back, its hide shifting colors as Kaworu blinked… and the beast nearly disappeared.

'That's impressive, I must admit. How much of that is natural, I wonder?' Kaworu mused as he glanced down at his radar to try and keep track of the breathtakingly fast beast. Even still, it seemed to be a blur on the display, smearing back and forth as he remade his rifle. He led the Kaiju as best he could, each 3-round burst still seeming to only just miss it or clip a got or flank.

Then the feline charged at him, juking from side to side and dodging a few of the rounds that Kaworu sent towards it before jumping up at him. Kaworu jumped back, swinging the stock of the rifle up into the Kaiju's chin and sending it tumbling back, putting a burst of rounds into its prone body as it rolled to a stop.

After far more bullets than it should have taken, a spring of brilliant blue blood erupted from its side, a roar along with it as the feline Kaiju struggled to its feet and dashed away, a trail of nearly glowing blood following it as Kaworu went after it.

Orien was simply thankful that he could focus on the theropod by itself now. The task was made far more difficult by the fact that his only weapon was basically a glorified Prog Knife, a knife which the theropod batted aside as it enveloped him in a crushing hug, causing Orien to wheeze in sympathetic pain. As it did, The Kaiju's jaws clamped around where the Thunderhead's shoulder met its neck, the sound of armor crunching and flesh tearing as it shook its head slightly from without the Frame Plug joined by Orien's pained scream within.

Even through the nearly blinding pain, through a hazy curtain which allowed no AT Field to pass into being, Orien's instincts still drove the knife into the theropod over and over again, hoping for just a second of release to allow him to focus again.

Finally, the Kaiju released him from its death grip with a roar of pain, and Orien shoved the beast away, a hand instinctively reaching for the wound on his neck even as it began to seal itself. The Kaiju, on the other hand, was not so lucky, its wounds continuing to smolder as it took great, heaving breaths.

Each was still for a moment as the battle raged around them, Orien catching a glance from the corner of his eye as Rei sent a thick sheet of glass flying towards the centaur Kaiju's head, the sheet clamping onto its face as Orien's focus returned to the Kaiju that took a weary, heavy step forward, it's chest heaving and twitching.

"I'm able to heal, big guy." Orien muttered, shaking his head slightly to try and clear away the remaining dull pain. "Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can say the same for you. It's a shame, really."

With that, Thunderhead dashed forward, aiming for what he hoped was a heart as the Kaiju weakly tried to bat the attack away to no avail.

The strike landed true, the burning blade sinking deep into the monster's chest, its roar pitching up an octave as its flesh, blood, and bone were seared by the Progressive Glaive blade being jerked further up its chest.

Finally, Orien pulled the blade back out as the Kaiju went still, stepping back and allowing the body to fall to the ground with an almost dramatic crash.

He took one deep breath, then another, steadying himself as he turned to examine the battlefield that was now developing behind him, scanning for the feline Kaiju that Kaworu had given chase to.

As Orien spotted Unit-06 and moved to assist, Rei dodged away again from a blind charge from the centaur, the shattering sound of her far more compact rifle sounding again and again as massive slivers of glass slammed into the Kaiju's thick skin.

Still, there was no indication that the shots did anything but annoy it. 'Come on… I can't keep up this Interfacing forever.' she thought as she tried to get the beast's attention again, glass blades forming in the air and launching towards the Kaiju's back as it charged away from her.

But still, it charged forward. Unerringly so. 'Where are you going?' Rei wondered as she gave chase.

Then, from the corner of her vision, she spotted the feline Kaiju backing away as Unit-06 and Thunderhead gave chase, almost heedless of the far larger threat that was barreling towards Kaworu.

'A hive mind… the feline's acting as its eyes!'

Rei's own eyes widened in horror as she looked down at her comms screen. "Kaworu, watch your left!" was all she had time to say.

Kaworu turned, just in time to see the centaur grab at his torso, a massive clawed hand wrapping around it and lifting Unit-06 off the ground as the other grabbed one leg, then another, and began to pull. Hard.

A band of almost blinding pain bloomed into being across Kaworu's stomach and tightened at a breathtakingly quick rate, sweeping away all attempts to make an AT Field as a shout of pain turned into a scream.

Unit-06 continued to fire wildly, his rifle becoming automatic as he tried to make the Kaiju release him, a grouping of rounds cracking, nearly shattering the opaque glass mask that Rei had created.

After agonizing moments, Unit-06's body finally gave way, its legs flying in one direction while the torso flew the other.

"Kaworu!" Rei shouted as she deepened her connection to him. His mind was a haze as he struggled to get to feet that weren't even connected to him anymore, his eyes widening in fear as he saw the feline Kaiju eyeing him hungrily.

'Oh no, you don't.' Rei set her jaw, her crimson eyes beginning to blaze as she sighted the feline Kaiju with her rifle as it grew back to its sniper length, pouring all her worry and fear, her anger and indignation, into the round that she would sling at the creature that was even now preparing to pounce.

Pounce it did, and Rei felt the spike of fear in Kaworu's heart clearing his head for a moment as she led the shot and fired.

A shattering sound echoed through the valley as a glowing rod of multicolored stained Glass lanced through the air. The round struck the Kaiju true, piercing through its head and out the other side at the apex of its jump.

The Kaiju fell to the ground limply, sliding to a stop just short of Unit-06's upper half as Kaworu breathed a sigh of relief. "Good shot, Rei." he managed to say. "Unfortunately, I believe I'm not going to be of much use now."

"We'll bring this monster down." Orien interjected. "Just stay safe."

Even as Orien said this, both he and Rei somewhat doubted they could do this without Kaworu. But there were no reinforcements they could rely on. The US military would probably not make much of a difference, either.

Along with that, as the battle stilled for a moment, the centaur trying to pull off its mask, Rei felt burning exhaustion settling on her bones. She needed to end this fight. Before…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard a tritone, another comms screen opening by Kaworu and Orien's faces, this time from Matsushiro, showing the face of First Lieutenant Ooi.

"Pilots!" she began with no small amount of urgency. "We're reading another Pattern Blue that's appeared in your area from the Kaiju's entrance point. It's smaller, but it may still be an enemy contact."

Rei glanced back, hearing distant footsteps growing closer, slow at first, but picking up speed as the Kaiju roared in frustration while it continued to struggle with its mask.

Even still, the steps were ponderous, lumbering things, and Rei looked back up the valley from where the Kaiju had come, confident that Orien was keeping an eye on the centaur. What emerged from around the bend was… not what she was expecting.

It was a humanoid mech that looked about as large as an Eva, bulky and angular. Most of its body was a combination of orange and blue, the colors on its chest making the pattern of a stylized eagle, its large head striped by a deep red visor that matched its otherwise hilariously mismatched red and black, claw-like left arm.

Rei didn't recognize what it was. But, it seemed, the Kaiju did after finally ripping the mask from its head with a shattering sound. And judging on the roar that it gave as it charged past her, it did not like it at all.

Rei's eyes widened as she reached a hand out in front of her, spinning an AT Field into existence between the charging Kaiju and its clearly caught off-guard prey. Even with the exhaustion that harried her, the Kaiju still slammed into a prismatic barrier, howling in frustration once again as the newcomer took an uncertain step back, its head scanning the valley.

'That's right.' Rei thought as she and Orien began to slowly advance towards the Kaiju that had wheeled around on them. 'Don't forget we're still here.'

The Kaiju roared, its glowing chest beginning to bubble in preparation to spit up its acid once again. Before it could, however, a dark length of chain flashed into sight, wrapping around the Kaiju's neck and pulling back, the newcomer bracing itself as it strangled the Kaiju.

"Now's our chance." Rei said, her rifle turning into a long polearm with a broad, winged blade. "Go for the legs!"

With that, Unit-05 and Thunderhead charged, an artificial thunder filling the valley once again as the Kaiju reached for its noose with a choked howl. Only dozens of meters away, Unit-05 skidded to a stop, jabbing at one of the front legs of the Kaiju as Thunderhead nearly hugged the other as he stabbed again and again.

Pain joined the roar as it began to crumble, first to one knee, then to another. It abandoned the struggle to release its noose, swinging its arms out wildly at the Evas and driving them back for a moment.

As they stepped back, Rei considered the brilliant glowing circle in the center of its chest that seemingly allowed it to make its acidic spit. 'Perhaps if we breach it correctly…'

"Orien," she began as she batted a flailing arm away, "see if you can pierce the chest just below where that glowing spot is. I believe we may yet achieve a self-destructive victory."

"Maybe." Orien said as he ducked under another swinging arm. "But we need to pin this thing's arms first, or it's going to be a real tough shot."

"Allow me to assist." Kaworu said calmly, propping the upper half of Unit-06 up as best he could, a globe of ink swirling into existence above his head. After a moment, the globe shot forward, snaring a swinging hand and dragging the arm it was attached to up and away.

As that happened the head of Rei's polearm changed, a grasping claw-like head replacing the blade as she jabbed at the Kaiju's other wrist once, then again, snaring it on the second try and dragging it aside, leaving the chest open, the glowing circle the perfect target. "Now, Orien! Go!" Rei nearly shouted.

Orien needed nothing further as the Thunderhead dashed in, flipping the grip on its knife and stabbing deep into its chest just below the glowing target. He jerked the knife up into what was likely the organ that contained its acid, then pulled the knife out and stepped back.

A great hissing noise erupted from the wound, the Kaiju's scream reaching almost impossibly high as the acid seemingly melted everything within its body, steam pouring from every hole in its upper body.

Then, after agonizing seconds, it fell silent, slumping over and hitting the ground face first, the new arrival's chain slipping off and returning to an outstretched arm. The fight was finally over, it seemed.

Rei took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as Unit-05's weapon disappeared, then opened her eyes to focus on the last remaining entity that had traveled through the portal. The mechanized… pseudo-Eva?

Rei shook her head slightly as she activated the powerful speaker system on her Eva, approaching the mech slowly. "My name is First Lieutenant Rei Ayanami of HERZ, pilot of Evangelion Unit-05. Please identify yourself."

It was silent for a moment before a young male voice replied. "My name is Taylor Travis, pilot of Atlas Destroyer alongside Hayley Travis. I don't know what an Eva… whatever Unit-05 is, but it's pretty clear we're far from home."

A pause. Then, quietly, "Yes, they look nothing like Jaegers, I know. I'm getting there, Hayley."

"Um," Taylor continued, "would you happen to know how we can get back to where we were? We were… kind of in the middle of something."

Rei nodded slightly. "The point you entered this world from is known as a Looking Glass. If you return the way you came-"

She was interrupted by an orange glow followed by a boom in the distance.

Orien sighed quietly." And that's the Air Force. Right on time, as usual." he said ruefully.

"Well…" Rei said slowly. "Your current way home has closed. If you stand by, we will figure out a way to ensure you are taken care of while we figure out where you need to return to."

"Well… thanks, I guess." Taylor replied. "So… how did you do that whole force field thing?"

"That," Rei replied with a quiet sigh and a small smile, "is going to take some time to explain."

. . .

Deep in the Pacific Ocean, the Next Day

'Well,' Shinji thought as he sank ever deeper into the biting waters of the Pacific, 'at least I can be sure that Gaghiel won't pop out of anywhere.'

He chuckled slightly at the thought as he scanned the area around him, searchlights cutting through the darkness that held sway nearly 30 kilometers off the coast of Japan.

As he looked down, he saw the seafloor approaching quickly, bracing himself as Unit-01's feet touched down and threw up billows of silt.

Shinji looked back down at the sonar screen, noting the two marked dots that were his targets. These, Daniel had judged, required just a little more than the Japanese navy to destroy, just in case something else popped out of them.

Thus, the reason he was walking on the ocean floor, slowly making his way towards the Looking Glasses.

The darkness that clung to him like a nearly smothering blanket had him scanning around himself habitually, his Sight catching glittering stars of Metos that were fish of various kinds. Taken in whole, the sight reminded him somewhat of a clear night sky.

After a long moment more, Shinji caught Sight of something big in the distance. Big enough to threaten him. "There's something out here." Shinji said through his link to Matsushiro. "I'm checking it out, just in case."

On the other end of the comms screen, Daniel nodded. "Acknowledged, Shinji. I have my guess as to who it is, but better safe than sorry."

Shinji nodded wordlessly as he approached, switching off his Sight for a moment. At first, he wasn't sure if his searchlights were looking at whatever was there. Then, the telltale bone-white spikes clued him into whose tail he was staring at.

"Well, I've found Godzilla, it seems." Shinji said, a quiet relief welling in him that it wasn't anyone else.

"Then leave him be." Daniel said with a slight smile. "We'll note where he is, put a tracker on him later. For now, you're close to your objective."

"Got it." Shinji replied as he turned away.

As he finished his turn, his searchlights revealed a leering, arrow-shaped head with glaring yellow eyes speeding towards him, a trail of bubbles rising from its mouth as a muffled screech reached Shinji's ears.

Shinji yelped as he raised an AT Field, the creature crashing into it and tumbling away, the searchlights revealing wings and a long whiplike tail trailing after two bird-like legs with wicked claws.

As it righted itself again to look at him, it shook its head and roared, a lance of terribly familiar yellow light slamming into the AT Field with a piercing whir.

Shinji's eyes widened as he sent back a glowing orb of sound that traveled unerringly towards the bat-like monster's face, slamming into it and spinning it with the force of its impact.

As it tried to right itself again, twin bolts of purple lightning, followed by a singular deep orange one, slammed into it from the side, pushing it away as it howled again.

It turned, speeding off into the inky dark, Shinji's gaze following it for as long as he could.

"A Gyaos." Daniel said darkly, drawing his attention away for a moment. "If there's anything I remember from Gamera's universe, where there's one, there's more. Get moving before anything else tumbles through."

"Got it." Shinji replied as he looked away, scanning for the source of those lightning bolts that had driven the Gyaos away.

As he searched, his eyes widened as he saw another form speed past him, a tubular black body with yellow stripes and red spots along its side, capped at the front by a glowing horn." What was that?" Shinji wondered aloud.

Before anyone could reply, he heard a melodic chirping from his right, drawing his attention to… another.

It was much like the creature that had sped past him a second earlier, brown instead of black, smooth where its companion was studded with spikes and a horn, and it looked directly at him. It had an insect-like, seemingly sideways mouth, above which stared at him two deep, glowing blue eyes that seemed to pierce into his mind.

All else seemed to fade away for a moment as he felt the creature gently probe his mind, perhaps even his soul. After a period of time he couldn't fully count, the creature seemed to nod, making a long, almost cooing sound before it turned to follow after the other caterpillar.

"Mothra…"

The name seemed to shake Shinji from a daze. "Mothra? Was that what it was?"

"Yes, indeed." Daniel mused. "And, I assume, it's counterpart Battra. Life just got significantly more interesting. Get moving, Shinji. I think that the twins will be able to take care of things while Godzilla's asleep."

Shinji nodded and began to move again. "I hope that something else didn't tumble into our world while I was occupied. How long was I standing there for?"

Daniel shook his head slightly as the Looking Glasses came into sight, glinting in the light of Unit-01's searchlights. "Not more than 30 seconds."

"Huh." Shinji shrugged as he simply stomped on one, then began making his way to the other. "I figured it was longer than that."

With that, he soon stomped on the other, and the threat, at least for now, was taken care of.

. . .

Somewhere in the Himalayas

Lorenz Kihl, SEELE-01, deliberated silently within the fortified personal space that had been set aside for his use, his eyes, hidden behind their visor, scanning the screens before him silently. SEELE-04, 05, and 02, the Frenchman, the American, and the African, stood waiting.

"What is the final tally?" Kihl finally said quietly.

"From all reports of our collectors, somewhere in the realm of 550,000." the American said simply.

Kihl's lips became a thin line as he considered the number. "For how the Final Scripture is intended to work, for how many are needed for the simplest of its puppets… it is a number that still falls short. We require more."

With that, Kihl nodded slowly. "Are our more overt assets prepared?"

"The pilots and their Plugs are almost ready, and our on the ground elements require a week more to gather the materials they need." the African replied.

"Very well." Kihl leaned back as he paused for a moment. "A week it shall be."

He paused again. "As the mantle of the Human Instrumentality Committee served its purpose and was swept aside, so too shall the United Nations be. With their fall, the world will be in utter chaos."

"And we shall step in to save it from itself." the Frenchman said, a small smile growing on his face.

A slight upturn of the lips, in turn, graced Kihl's. "Yes, Noyer. That is what shall be."