Chapter 48: Holy, But Hardly Silent
It is true.
An ancient, dead Angel, ensconced in an equally ancient and silent city. From all accounts, this should be impossible. The Dead Sea Scrolls tell of their deathless nature, and how they must be slain to be killed. How this civilization managed to kill it, I am unsure.
But it is, perhaps, in the shape of things to come. A valuable lesson to be taught before we must stand against its brethren in the future. As for how we shall puzzle out the makeup of an Angel from this specimen alone remains to be seen. But already, I can only imagine its strength.
For now, it must be my secret, to share with a few select others. Its time will come, I am sure.
- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, February 2013
Evangelion Bay # 7, Geofront, Tokyo-3, December 24th, 2016
Mari finished the shutdown sequence for her Frame Plug, and lifted the control console free, swinging out and standing as she opened the hatch in the top.
Climbing up the ladder that magically appeared (nanotech was, after all, still magic in her book), she exited the Plug and turned to the catwalk that connected her to the rest of the bay.
The sight that greeted her warmed her heart to no small degree. There was Asuka, up and about again, though with no small amount of fancy white anti-Flux bracelet thingies on her wrists. Marie was by her side, bejeweled in much the same fashion, talking to her quietly. The two had been nearly inseparable since they'd gotten out of the hospital.
The third woman that waited to greet her was a newer face, with blue eyes and hazel skin and black hair hidden under a scarf, but one she'd gotten accustomed to as her trainee. And her face, far more openly than the others, was painted in relief.
"Subhanallah, you're safe!" Sanniya Zaman of the Arabic States Evangelion Division exclaimed, stepping onto the Plug as she wrapped up Mari in a quick embrace. "That must have been… terrifying, seeing all those Angels come into being like that."
As Sanniya stepped back, Mari took a deep breath, her Plugsuits disappearing to reveal her regular clothes. "It was certainly a shock, I'll give them that much."
She paused for a moment. "I'm guessing you guys, at least, were watching?"
Asuka nodded, crossing arms that had 4 of those Vent Cuff thingies. "With something like this, Boudica, I don't think anyone wasn't."
"Ah. Gotcha." Mari paused for a moment, then gave a smug grin. "Enjoy the show?"
"Yeah, actually," Marie said with a chuckle. "You're quicker on your feet in real life than you are in the sims. And that's saying something."
"Thanks," Mari replied as she stepped off the Plug with Sanniya, and began to walk. "Those Sachiels were real cheaters, the lot of them. I'm guessing all the rest of them will be too."
"And that new Angel…" Asuka said, pausing and shaking her head as the group emerged from the bay. "I don't know what it's going to take to get through that thing's AT Field if it makes Lancium rounds useless."
"Azazel," Mari said quietly, almost offhandedly.
"What was that?" Marie asked, all eyes narrowing slightly as they focused on Mari.
"That's its name," Mari said, a far off, almost dazed look in her eyes as Mana and Mayumi emerged into the hallway they walked down. "Azazel."
A dread chill seemed to sweep down the hallway, sinking into the collected pilots' bones. "How do you know that?" Asuka asked, quietly.
"It…" Mari took a deep breath, a somewhat shaken look in her eyes. "It told me. The bloody thing spoke to me before it sic'ed those Angels on us."
It was silent for a shocked moment. "Then…" Asuka trailed off as she shook her head in wonderment. "I think that makes… what, 5 people who an Angel has directly spoken to in combat?"
"Make that 9, actually," Mayumi said quietly. "We heard it too. Likely Zhou and Hua did as well."
"Wow…" Marie paused for a moment then chuckled. "Talk about an exclusive club. I mean, you have to risk death just to try get in."
An almost relieved bout of laughter rippled out as the tension broke. "Also, 'you daft tosser'?" Asuka asked as she rolled her eyes. "You really proved you're from Britain, aren't you?"
As they continued to the pilot debriefing, Marie's mind, however, lingered on the almost mind-blowing situation of an Angel speaking to someone. 'If only God's angels were still that talkative.' she mused.
The thought was a far off hope if nothing else. The idea that it led to, however, was something that Marie pondered on for quite a while longer.
. . .
Central Dogma, 4 Hours Later
Misato and Ritsuko continued to watch the screen, having descended from the desk above to stand at Makoto, Daniel, and Maya's side, staring at the screen as they watched what Mari and her copilots had named Azazel crawling forward with its Angelic retinue. "Good lord, it is slow, isn't it?" Misato muttered.
"That it seems Azazel is," Daniel said quietly. "Maybe its glide off the Himalayas was a fluke?"
"No." Maya shook her head. "If its wings are more than ornamental, then it could use its AT Field for lift like the MP-Evas did. Perhaps it's using it for something else."
"Multiple AT Fields, mind you," Ritsuko interjected. "Could it be using them to generate the Angels that we're seeing?"
Maya nodded. "That's certainly probable. It would need some way to manipulate the LCL it produces to turn it into suitable bodies, and the power to make it happen."
"Whatever it's doing with them," Makoto said, "it's not using flight as a means of locomotion, nor are most of its creations. At this rate, it's going to be a long time before it reaches us."
"If I may…"
All eyes turned to the elevator as Gendo Ikari, the first showings of stubble for a rather different beard and mustache on his face, finished speaking, he and Yui Ikari stepping off the elevator and walking towards the assembled group. "Permission to enter the bridge, Commander?" he asked Misato.
"Granted," Misato said as she suppressed a quiet sigh, "seeing as you're the closest thing we have to a leading expert on SEELE. What are your thoughts on this thing?"
Gendo regarded Azazel silently for a moment. "This truly is their Final Scripture," he muttered to himself. After a moment's silence, he looked back at Misato. "And Miss Marlowe said that Azazel spoke to her when she found out its name, correct?"
Daniel nodded. "Used a face on the tip of its horn to do it as well. Creepy looking thing."
"Is there a picture of the face from one of the Evas?"
Misato looked over at First Lieutenant Ooi, who looked at the group somewhat expectantly. "Pull up a capture of Unit-08's eye cameras when it talked to Mari."
Ooi nodded, fingers flying over her keyboard as a still came up, the face at the end of Azazel's horn prominent.
Gendo stepped forward, leaning over and peering at the face silently. "I recall…" he finally said after a moment.
"Whose face is that?" Ritsuko said, a guess she felt more and more was right dawning on her.
Gendo straightened up as he looked back at them, using his newly acquired Interfacing to send the group a memory of a picture. It was a black and white thing, a group photo taken against a desert backdrop, a body of water off to the right of it. In the middle of the picture, rather prominently, was a man with the face that they had all watched take its place on the Angel's horn.
"That is a picture of Lorenz Kihl's expedition to the Dead Sea, dated circa 1920." Gendo said levelly. "He is, of all things, the figurative 'head' of the Angel."
Ritsuko sighed quietly. "How utterly prideful," she muttered, her mouth twisted slightly in distaste.
"Which may explain the pace at which Azazel is going." Gendo continued. "What is the current estimate for its time to arrive here?"
Makoto looked back over at Ooi, who nodded wordlessly as she queried the Valhalla system. "With its current speed and factoring in a propensity for moving close to the ground…"
She paused as a map pulled up, drawing a line through Beijing, hooking down through the Korean peninsula, and crossing into the Yamaguchi prefecture before making a straight line towards Tokyo-3. "Based on its current speed and sticking to as much land as it can, Azazel and its army will arrive in Tokyo-3 in 8 days."
"New Year's Day for a new world," Daniel said drolly as he rolled his eyes. "How terribly poetic."
"It's not just an advancing army." Misato said, a hard edge to her voice. "It's a procession. A parade for Instrumentality." she said the last word with no small amount of derision.
"My father's knack for the theatrical is all over it, I'm sure." Yui Ikari said quietly.
Her remark drew the glances of most of the senior staff. It was a rare occasion that Yui mentioned, let alone talked about, Yoshiro Ikari, the man who was SEELE-8.
"Either way," Misato said after a moment, "I have no doubt that SEELE wants to keep us up and watching this thing's every move, wear us down so that we're too exhausted to put up much of a fight."
"So…" she paused dramatically as a sure smile slowly spread on her face.
"So?" Ritsuko asked as she arched an eyebrow.
"So, we get to continue the ever-lovely job of not giving them what they want," Misato said in utter satisfaction as she looked over at Ooi. "Lieutenant, have Valhalla keep an eye on them and inform us of any changes."
"Yes ma'am," Ooi replied, and Misato looked around her at the others on the bridge.
"Alright, I've got a Christmas party to finish planning for. I can count on seeing you all tomorrow at my place?" she asked, her smile only shrinking slightly.
Daniel sighed quietly as a small smile turned up his lips. "You know we'll be there."
Misato nodded once. "Good." she looked over at Makoto. "Hyuga, you have command. I'll be seeing you and Adira tomorrow evening." she said firmly.
Makoto nodded as he chuckled quietly. "Yes, ma'am. I have command."
. . .
Faez Residence, December 25th
Adira Faez took a deep breath as she looked out the window, watching the brilliant red sky of Tokyo-3, glittering towers reflecting the setting sun, slowly turn to black. It was time, now.
She took out a lighter that she used for a variety of different purposes. The most prominent of those uses was for the burning of her paintings. For now, though, instead of a tool of destruction, it was an instrument of worship.
The lighter clicked on as it always had, Adira studying the flame for a moment before she touched it to the second candle on her old, beaten little menorah.
As it caught, the lighter flickered out, and Adira began to quietly recite the prayer that her father and mother had taught her. It was, now, one of her few connections left to them.
As she prayed, she heard the door opening. Makoto was likely letting himself in. However, her hearing told her that there were two sets of footsteps, Makoto's quiet hushing of the other person all but confirming he was not alone.
A part of her couldn't help but be somewhat amused at how fascinated Makoto had shown himself to be at her traditions, how supportive he'd been of helping her worship, even if he'd never be converted himself. It was terribly endearing, really. As she finished her prayer, she couldn't help a slight smile as she stood and turned, seeing, of course, Makoto, accompanied by Shigeru.
"Well, hello, Shigeru. I didn't expect you to join Makoto in getting me," she said as she set down the lighter and smoothed out a blue and white sweater.
"Didn't expect it either. Got caught up in a conversation is all." Shigeru replied with a shrug. "So, uh… what's the candlestick for?"
"It's a menorah, Shigeru." Makoto said patiently, and the smile on Adira's mouth quirked up on one side. "It's Hanukkah as well as Christmas."
"Oh. Oh." Shigeru said as it finally seemed to click.
"It's okay," Adira said. "Makoto didn't find out until Tu Bishvat at the beginning of this year. It's… well, it's one of the things I don't really advertise about myself."
"Okay." Shigeru was silent for a moment before frowning slightly. "Wait a minute. You were Jewish… in Saudi Arabia?"
"Well… not exactly," Adira admitted with a shrug. "I lived in Abu Dhabi, close to the border. In the circles I was running with when I got to America, after what happened in the Gulf War… it was easier for them to remember around where their brothers and dads died. I guess I just kind of… stuck with it, after a while."
It was silent for a moment. "I see," Shigeru said quietly. "So… still coming to the party, I assume?"
Adira chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Of course. Just because I'm Jewish doesn't mean I suddenly hate Christmas parties. It's where everyone else will be, after all."
She walked over to Makoto's side, putting an arm around his waist. "It's where I'll be with you," she said with a smile that Makoto matched.
. . .
Misato's Residence
It was a lot easier now, to fit the sort of Christmas party that Misato had wanted to throw in her home. Mainly due to the fact that, with the wonders of Interfacing, one could stretch a room so that a four-person apartment could, in fact, accommodate more than 2 dozen people comfortably.
But the comfort stretched beyond simple space to walk about and breathe without bumping into anyone, perhaps even walking between the two apartments that had been linked together. It was… a sense of place, as well. For a great many of the people here, this place wasn't simply a residence, it truly was home. Those new here, mostly the pilots of other nations, felt its warmth as well and how utterly at ease those native to Tokyo-3 were in the home.
Of course, the apartment, with it being Christmas, was decorated with all the trimmings of the season, a small, but heavily decorated tree in one corner, fairy lights strung along the edges of the ceiling, the flatscreen TV showing snowfall, and, perhaps most magically, a quietly descending snow outside the window. There was a full table of food, Shinji's hurried, yet still delectable preparations sitting beside dishes brought by other guests and that most vaunted of Japanese Christmas foods: KFC bucket meals.
Misato stood in the living room with everyone else, beer in hand from the fully stocked fridge, a quiet murmur nearly overwhelmed by Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Kaworu's string quartet, playing a soothing piece of music that they'd composed themselves over the last several months. She swore she could hear pieces of music from that television show that they'd seen, but she'd have to ask later.
Ryoji was by her side, arm around her waist and holding his own drink, only removing his hand from her side to clap politely as best he could as the four kids finished with a flourish, the rest of the room clapping with them as the Children exited their seats, Daniel and Mari replacing them with an acoustic guitar and a bass guitar, respectively.
"You know," Misato said through a link to Kaji's soul as Daniel and Mari began to play a rendition of 'O Holy Night', "I missed this. We've been living here long enough, but… it hasn't felt right until now."
"Yeah, I can agree with that,"
Kaji replied. "I think this was exactly what we needed, even with Azazel hanging over our heads. One last moment of normal before everything goes crazy."
"Normal…" Misato whispered aloud.
"What else is on your mind?" Kaji asked quietly.
"I'm just… thinking about what might come after." Misato replied almost hesitantly.
Ryoji was silent for a moment, quickly squashing the thought of what he was wanting to do soon. But not yet. The moment was there… somewhere.
"And what do you think will happen after we win?" Ryoji asked as he glanced over at her from Daniel and Maria's performance.
"If…" Misato caught herself and paused for a moment. "When we win…" she took a deep breath. "I don't think I want to be in charge of HERZ forever."
"I think of all the people who could take an early retirement, we're the ones who deserve it," Ryoji said with a quiet chuckle.
"Sure." Misato paused again. "And really… I think we can leave the world in the hands of others without it falling apart once all's said and done."
"Like who, do you think?" Ryoji asked.
"Hmm…" Misato was quiet as she considered the crowd around them. "Well, there's the national pilots, for one. Once we've dealt with SEELE, there won't need to be as much emphasis on us."
"And what about HERZ?"
Misato's gaze fell on Makoto and Adira, watching from the corner of the room as Daniel and Mari continued their set. "You know… he wouldn't be too bad at this. He'd have about as much experience as I did coming into the position."
"But he'd also have you to help him, I'd assume." a wry grin tugged at the corner of Ryoji's mouth. "It'd hardly be like you, I think, to leave someone high and dry like you were."
Misato chuckled. "Of course. Just because I got thrown headfirst into the shark-infested waters that are geopolitics doesn't mean he should."
They were quiet for a moment as Daniel and Mari finished their set, a polite clap leading them off the impromptu stage and ushering in Rei, Kaworu, and Orien with their instruments.
"Well, now that you've talked about what you might leave behind…" Ryoji paused for a moment as he considered the next part of his question. "What would you want to go and do?"
Misato was silent as she listened to the music for a moment. "I… I don't know, honestly. I mean, there's places I want to go, things I want to see, but… I have a long life ahead of me, now. We do. Longer than anything we could have ever expected."
She paused for a moment. "A kind of life I don't think either of us would have expected even 2 years ago, either," she said quietly before looking back over at Ryoji. "Unless you were somehow ready for the advent of magic and getting ready to put a base on the moon in less than half a decade." she said with a slight, wry grin.
Ryoji chuckled softly. "Of all the things I can be guilty of, having the gift of prophecy is not one of them, sadly."
The grin on his face faded. "Even if our hindsight's become a little too good at times."
Misato swallowed silently as she recalled what could have been. "Yeah." was her only reply.
It was silent again for a moment before Ryoji looked back over, a rueful smile on his face. "And hey. If nothing else, at least I get the privilege to be part of your life."
Misato smiled as she pulled Ryoji closer to her side. "I already made the stupid mistake of losing you once. I'm not losing you again," she said firmly.
They shared a small, warm smile, their eyes closed for a moment before Ryoji looked out at the veranda. "I wonder what they're talking about," he said offhandedly.
Misato looked up, then followed Ryoji's gaze to see Shinji and Asuka standing out on the veranda, the snow around them conspicuously melting around them in a small circle. "Good question," Misato replied with a shrug. "Let's give them space to talk."
. . .
Outside, Shinji and Asuka, hand in hand, watched the snow falling silently, massive flakes drifting slowly towards the ground and coating everything in an almost silent sheet of white. The snow, however, did not touch them, Shinji's Interfacing keeping them warm and dry, a cage of Frames only visible to those who could See. It also provided a curtain of silence. Though they could hear the music their friends, their family, made, no one would be able to intrude on them.
"I never thought I would have seen something like this with my own eyes." Shinji finally broke the silence, his eyes wide and wondering as he took in the magical sight before him. "A truly white Christmas…"
"Yeah," Asuka replied quietly, sharing in her boyfriend's wonder. "I mean, even I was used to it just raining for Christmases out in Germany."
"And all it took was a little magic." Shinji mused, shaking his head slowly.
Asuka snorted softly. "Well, closer to divine intervention, but hey, magic works too."
The two shared a quiet chuckle. "And to think, my dear rookie, that I got the best Christmas present of all."
She paused as she looked over at Shinji, the man she loved looking back at her. "I get to spend it with you. I get to be by your side, and you by mine. Whatever comes." she said with a confident grin.
Shinji smiled back at her, then, her brow furrowed in concern as that smile she'd come to love faltered. "Even if it's a new Angel that's coming," he said quietly, looking out over the city again.
"Hey," she said gently, squeezing Shinji's hand. "I don't care what Azazel is. It could be God itself trying to start Instrumentality, and I'd still go out and look it in the eye. And I know you'd be there with me. Because together, we win. We've stopped the end of the world before. Twice!"
"And we'll stop it again." Shinji chuckled, that smile returning for a moment. Then he took a deep breath. "Even still, though, this one feels… different. We're dealing with something… truly intelligent. Not just curious but deadly, but something truly malicious. Something that has SEELE at the helm. That…" he trailed off, words failing him.
Asuka's confidence began to falter as well. "Well, yeah. They have that, I'll give them that much." she nearly muttered. Then, she took a deep breath. "But it's not just us, mind you."
She glanced back, and Shinji with her, to look at all the people inside. At Rei and Kaworu playing music with Orien as Galina, Sanniya, and Yasir Sultan, Toji and Hikari's trainee, watched intently. At Saveli trying, somewhat awkwardly, to converse with their trainees Sauli Koskinen and Sigrid Stenberg, two Nordic Federation pilots who had worked together to bring homemade shortbread cookies to the party, Marie succeeding where he faltered. At Toji and Hikari pulled into a conversation with Kensuke, Mayumi, and Ichigo as they talked with the Travis children, Mai, and Boy as they all brought Boy up to speed on what, exactly, Christmas and snow were, Boy listening with wide eyes.
"We're not alone, Shinji," Asuka said quietly. "We never were. And now… we have more people standing with us than we ever could have dreamed of."
She looked back at Shinji and smirked. "And the kicker? They're all probably looking up to you, rookie."
Shinji took a deep breath, his eyes wide and anxious. "Yeah. Yeah, that's… certainly possible," he said, stammering slightly.
Asuka chuckled as she punched Shinji lightly in the shoulder. "Oh, come on. Don't sell yourself short now, of all times. You went from random schoolkid to leader of the most elite team of world defenders ever! That's gotta count for something, right?"
She paused, an eyebrow arched as Shinji finally nodded. "Yeah… I guess you're right."
Asuka nodded once. "Of course I'm right. It's the truth, after all."
"And besides," she continued, "we got to meet each other, despite everything that's tried to kill us. We got to find out who we really were. I…" she trailed off, her voice growing soft. "I know what I could be doing if I didn't really know you. I barely even want to think about it."
It was silent again between them as Asuka scooted closer, leaning against Shinji. For a moment, they simply took each other's presence in, watching the snow continue to fall.
Finally, Shinji spoke again. "You're right," he said softly. Then he chuckled. "Of course you are."
"See?" Asuka said with a smile. "It was only a matter of time before you broke out of that funk."
Shinji nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.
It was a long silence before he spoke again. "So… once we win… what do you want to do?"
Asuka looked back at the apartment as the trio finished their piece, and the music concluded for the night. "You know…" she paused for a moment. "That's a good question."
"I'm assuming it's changed as much as we have?" Shinji asked somewhat wryly.
"A very astute observation, my dear Watson." Asuka chuckled. "Before all this, I just wanted to be an Evangelion pilot for as long as I could be. But, with everything that's out there…"
She looked back at him, wonder glittering in her eyes. "I want to go and see the rest of Reality. After what little we've seen from Daniel, after the taste of the Worldsea we've gotten… I want to go exploring. Go see Tel and all these other places that are suddenly just… so real."
Her smile grew. "And I want to do it with you."
Shinji nodded. "I see." Shinji looked back out into the night. "I wouldn't mind that either. But…"
He sighed quietly. "I wouldn't mind having some peace and quiet, either. Just for a little while."
Asuka shrugged. "Can't say that I blame you for wanting that, after everything leading up to now." She was quiet for a moment. "So… how long would you want?"
Shinji blinked. "I'm… kind of surprised you asked," he said slowly.
"Oh, come on, Shinji." Asuka rolled her eyes. "As much as I want to explore the Worldsea…"
She sighed quietly. "I think your desire for some time to ourselves has rubbed off on me."
"So," she repeated firmly, "how long?"
Shinji was silent, his cheeks beginning to flush. Asuka knew for a fact that it wasn't from the cold.
"Well…" Shinji stammered. "I… I was thinking…"
Asuka's eyes narrowed, then widened as she began to blush as well, looking away. "It's okay if you don't know," she said somewhat hurriedly. "We have a lot to think about right now. Maybe we should focus on that before you try and answer that question."
Shinji gulped softly, then nodded. "Okay." he took a deep breath. "Okay, that sounds good. But… I think I'll be able to answer that question soon."
Asuka nodded. "Okay. That sounds good to me."
They settled back into silence and continued to watch the snowfall.
. . .
The night grew long, and people began to slowly go home, in as much as going back to the apartments they had in this same building was going home. Among them were Orien and Galina, walking towards their separate apartments that, by a stroke of luck, or perhaps something a little more deliberate, had been placed relatively close to each other.
"You played well tonight, Orien," Galina said, nodding down at the cello case that he held in his hand. "You complimented Rei and Kaworu quite nicely."
"Thanks, Galina," Orien replied. "I'm sure you enjoyed the section of Russian Christmas Music that we played."
Galina chuckled. "Yes, actually. It's been a long time since I heard Village Song. My father used to put it on every Christmas for us."
They came to a stop in front of the door to Galina's apartment, and Orien's expression sobered. "That being said…" he paused for a moment as his expression dimmed. "Did your family make it out alright from the attack?"
It was silent for a moment, Galina looking down as she opened the door to her apartment. "They got out… mostly alright," she said quietly. "Nikolai, my little brother, and his family lost their little daughter."
"Oh," Orien said. "I'm… sorry to hear."
Galina took a deep breath. "Thank you. Did you lose anyone?"
Before he could reply, Galina blinked, then shook her head. "What am I saying? Come in for a moment. No need to just stand out here all night."
Orien blinked in turn before following Galina in. "So… Mr. Koslov's not here then?"
"Oh no, he has his own apartment." Galina waved off. "He knows almost as much as I do how much of a mess his bunk space can be. I've tried to help him out but…" she shrugged. "There's only so much I can do for him. I'm not his mother, after all."
Orien set his cello down by the doorway as he entered the unsurprisingly spartan apartment, walking up the entry hall. As he did, he saw Galina snap her fingers. "Ah, getting back on track… did you lose anyone in the attack?"
Orien shook his head. "Oh, no. My family lives in Texas. A ways away from Washington D.C."
Galina nodded as she paused in the doorway to the dining room and turned. "I see." she said levelly. "That's good to hear."
With that, she turned, then smacked her forehead. "Ah. That's what I was forgetting."
She stepped in, and Orien rounded the corner to see something on the table, wrapped in newspaper with a red bow. "I meant to give this to you at the Christmas party. I don't know how I forgot it here."
Orien smiled slightly. "I see," he said levelly as he walked over to the table and picked up the present, flat and rectangular with a smaller square pushing up on which the bow sat.
"Oh, Orien," Galina said, an exaggerated look of shock on her face as she put a hand to the center of her chest. "Are you thinking of accusing me of trying to get you into my apartment on false pretenses?"
"Now, I never said that," Orien replied. "Unless you'd like a personal performance for your dances?"
"With this sort of space?" Galina rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see anyone try and do what I've learned to do."
The two shared a quiet laugh before Galina shooed towards Orien. "Go on then. Open it. Now's as good a time as any."
Orien unwrapped the present and found a bundle of several music books, a pack of strings, and two blocks of rosin. "Ah. Thank you." Orien said, his smile becoming warm. After a moment, he chuckled softly as his smile faded. "Gramps would be so confused right now."
Galina's head tilted slightly. "The man that taught you how to play?"
"Well, yeah… but…" Orien sighed. "Grandpa also fought in Vietnam. He's always been adamant that a Russian would never get along with an American. The Impact Wars… well, they didn't really help things."
It was silent between them for a moment. "You know…" Galina said quietly. "For a long time, I thought the same. The Impact Wars took my father. They took my older brother when we skirmished with the US. I would have never guessed that I would have ever followed an American willingly. Then, well… you came and proved me wrong."
Galina's smile was small but warm. "You know what? Thank you for doing that."
Orien shrugged. "I'm glad I could. I've always tried to tell my grandpa that there were good people everywhere. But, after everything he'd gone through, then the last decade and a half… I can understand where his cynicism and yours come from."
As Galina nodded silently, Orien looked down at the gift. "Anyways, I hope I get the chance to use these strings. What with what's coming and all."
Galina nodded a little more quickly. "Good point. Think we can beat it?" she asked, an edge of anxiety in her voice.
Orien shrugged. "That's always a good question. I mean, it's not just an Angel. It looks like it might be all of them." Orien sighed quietly. "But I think we can manage."
"Against an army of Angels?" Galina said quietly. She'd gone somewhat paler. "It feels… almost impossible. I…"
She looked at Orien with an almost desperate look in her eyes. "Orien… I'm…"
Orien took a deep breath as he set the present down on the table again, walking over to stand in front of Galina. "You've got this. If anybody should know that, it's me," he said calmly. "We've got this. As long as we're together, we'll make it. After all, our trainers made it through the seemingly impossible. And they'll bring us with them, even if it's the last thing they do."
He paused for a moment. "Or beyond, now, I guess."
Galina chuckled softly. "Good point," she said quietly, a somewhat unsteady smile on her face.
She took a deep breath as she paused for a moment. "Are you as scared as I am?"
"Of course. No sane person wouldn't be." Orien replied with a shrug. "And you know what I do when I need to balance myself."
Galina's smile became more sure as she waved him off. "Go and get your cello then. I think I could use a little serenading myself."
Orien nodded, and the cello was set up in the living room in short order. And as his bow touched the strings, Galina sat on the couch and closed her eyes, listening to the music that Orien made.
And, for the briefest of moments, the fear they both felt was held at bay.
. . .
Arantxa and Keita were in her apartment, sitting on her couch and watching the snow falling outside the veranda window and listening to the muffled music that came from above. They were silent, sitting closer than either of them had intended to. Though they appreciated each other's company, a tense atmosphere had settled in the room, seeming to smother whatever they might have said.
As the music ceased, Arantxa looked over at Keita, trying to find something to say that she hadn't been able to at the Christmas party. "Nice music." she finally decided on, saying the words as casually as she could.
Keita nodded silently.
"Um…" she blinked as she remembered something. Something that was, among all else, actually somewhat important to her. "Oh. It may be a little late, but… happy birthday."
Keita blinked in turn before he sighed. "You know, it's hard to remember that I'm 18 now. What with everything that's gone on."
Arantxa nodded slowly. "Yeah. I… I can see that." she said quietly.
Keita shook his head. "I mean…" he paused, then began to chuckle. "I did say that I'd see you at the next world-ending event. I guess we stuck to that, didn't we?"
Arantxa blinked, then chuckled herself, the two of them feeding each other's laughter until they held each other to keep from falling off the couch.
Finally, the laughter started to die down, and as Arantxa wiped tears from her eyes, taking deep breaths, she looked over at Keita. "That… probably wasn't as funny as I thought it was. But… I needed that. Thanks."
Keita, taking deep breaths of his own, nodded. "I mean, I'll take even the most mediocre of things to laugh at over obsessing over what might be hanging over our heads."
Arantxa's amusement threatened to flee from her as she took a more apprehensive breath. "I mean… that bears some thinking on, too."
Keita sighed, leaning against Arantxa's shoulder and not knowing if the flush in her cheeks was from laughing or blushing. "You're right. I mean, we're not just talking about one Angel. We're talking about all of them, and a giant one that has millions of souls that are being enslaved by it. It…"
His eyes widened. "Oh, god… it has my father…"
Arantxa felt Keita begin to shudder. "I… I might…" Keita whispered.
Arantxa was silent as she put her hands on Keita's shoulders. "Keita," she said as calmly as she could. "We'll get him back. I don't fully know how, but we will."
Keita looked up at her. "What?" he said, an almost numb shock to his voice.
"I'm going to make sure you see your father again, Keita Asari. I promise."
It was quiet again for a moment, and they both suddenly realized how close they'd gotten to one another. And both were fairly confident that they were both blushing now.
Then, Arantxa went in, and their lips met, Keita's eyes widening before they slowly shut, and he melted into the powerful, desperate kiss.
Time seemed to disappear, and when they parted, it sounded like Orien was in the middle of another piece. Scratch that, the music stopped shortly after they noticed it.
"Wow," Keita said, breathing quickly and shallowly.
"Wow," Arantxa replied.
"Um…" Keita said after a moment. "How long has that been building up?"
"For… a while," Arantxa admitted. "Since we started talking a few months ago."
"Really?" Keita said, a genuine look of shock on his face, his eyes holding a guarded look as he scooted back a bit. "You mean… you mean it?"
Arantxa looked at him in open mouthed shock, then shook her head as an almost strangled scoff. "Yes? Keita, why… why wouldn't I mean it?"
Keita opened his mouth, then closed it as he looked down. "Because… well, I've been told a lot of things like that before." he nearly muttered.
Arantxa blinked. "What… what do you mean?"
Keita was silent for a moment. Arantxa took a deep breath. "Keita," she said softly. "Would you be okay with talking about it?"
It was silent again, then Keita sighed quietly. "It was 3 years ago, back when we were starting to pick up the pieces made by the Impact Wars, but before money fully managed to replace bartering. We were doing pretty alright. I was a young, dumb kid, and my dad was an alright trader. I met a girl who moved into our town from another part of the country. Really nice, rather sweet."
He chuckled. "She seemed to take an interest in me, and we got a pretty good thing going. Through my relationship with her, our families got to know each other."
Keita paused. "Then, one day… they were gone. Along with most of our stuff." his voice had descended into a whisper as he continued.
He shook his head slowly. "Mom and dad never blamed me, but… she was how they got in. I was how we were left nearly destitute on the street. It's the entire reason I joined the military in the first place."
It was silent again for a moment. "I got paranoid. Untrusting. After all, if you didn't fully trust them, no one could take advantage of you like that."
"Then…" Arantxa hesitated for a moment. "How did you get to be so close to Mr. Strasberg?"
"Well," Keita said after a moment, "I knew the look on Musashi's face. The look of someone who'd been screwed over. Our stories may have been different, but we were there in the JSSDF for the same reasons."
"I see," Arantxa said quietly. "Then… what about our conversations?"
Keita opened his mouth, then closed it, his face painted with embarrassment. "You were long distance. You couldn't take advantage of me like Sakura did. And… I got comfortable with the knowledge that it would likely taper off with time. If I led you on, I'm sorry. I never meant to."
It was silent again for a moment as they both stared out the window. "Keita…" Arantxa finally said. "You're…"
Keita looked over at Arantxa, a glum, almost resigned look in his eyes. "I'm what?" he asked quietly.
"You're the first person I've allowed myself to feel comfortable about feeling like I do… ever," Arantxa admitted.
Keita's eyes widened as she continued. "All of our time talking has only made me want to be next to you. It showed me how sweet, how caring, and kind you are, regardless of how much you've been hurt before. I've treasured every conversation we've had since we met."
"Even the weird ones?" Keita asked quietly.
Arantxa smiled. "Especially the weird ones." she chuckled." They've all given me something to think about, something that I can look forward to in a day. And…"
Arantxa took a deep breath as she looked at Keita. "I love you, Keita. And I would never want to take advantage of you."
"You promise?" Keita whispered.
"I'm a woman of my word, Keita," Arantxa said firmly. "I meant it when I said we'll get your father back."
She paused, and her voice softened as she continued. "And I mean it when I say I want you to stay here with me."
It was silent again, and they both found that they'd gotten far closer than they'd expected. Now, though, neither of them cared.
Their lips met again, softer this time, desperation replaced by tenderness. Tonight, it seemed, would be a longer night than they both first expected.
. . .
The Next Day
Kensuke and Ichigo stood in front of the doorway of Mayumi's apartment as Kensuke rang the doorbell.
"I gotta say," Kensuke began with a slight chuckle as they waited for an answer, "I'm glad Ms. Duck waited a day to drop this in our laps. I'd hate to seem stingy."
"I believe her timing concerning celebrating with the Worldstriders and the Outriders was rather serendipitous," Ichigo replied with a slight smile. "From what little I've heard, the parties were quite… energetic."
"In that case, I'm sure she appreciated Shinji's help," Kensuke said wryly before a slight frown turned the corners of his lips downward. "Even if he did have to run off to the Horaki's with everyone else."
The door opened, and Kensuke's frown disappeared as the bright, smiling face of Boy looked up at them. "Hello!" he said cheerily. "Come in! We've been waiting for you!"
"Good to hear, Boy." Kensuke chuckled as they entered. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good! I enjoyed Christmas a lot. I still don't quite know how it works, but the present things were cool." Boy said, seeming to not need to pause as they walked down the entry hall.
"I would ask that you perhaps try and breathe between sentences," Ichigo said with a slight smile. "It would be a shame to have you pass out and miss out on your company."
"He's got big lungs. He can take it." Trevor Travis called out as they turned the corner.
The sight that greeted them was nothing short of magical. The dining room, stretched sideways, hosted what very nearly seemed to be a banquet table, three tables put end to end and laden with all sorts of Western Christmas foods. The Travis' sat beside Mai as Boy scampered over to sit by her, Mari and Mana sitting across from them beside Mayumi and Hotaru, Mari waving over at them excitedly.
In the kitchen space, Della Duck turned, a platter with an almost massive turkey on it in her hands as she smiled widely. "Oh, hello!" she said warmly as she walked forward. "Glad you could make it. Find a seat, get comfortable!"
Kensuke and Ichigo wasted no time as they sat down by Mayumi as Della set the turkey down in the center of the table. "Thank you for inviting us, Ms. Duck," Kensuke said. "I'm sure Mr. Horaki appreciates not having to try and squeeze more than just the original Children and friends in his place."
"Oh, I'm just glad to help," Della replied as she waved him off. "Great minds think alike, and all that. And besides, I think we've got the same goal anyway. Like my great-great-great-uncle, Hieronymus Duck is famous for saying, 'never go into a fight with a rumbling stomach'. And man is Shinji a wizard at making sure that doesn't happen!"
"Wise words from your… uncle, I guess," Mai said with a slow nod. "With everything that's been going on, that sounds… pertinent."
"Oh, yes," Della replied before she shook her head. "It's going to be one hell of a fight."
"But for now," she continued as she took a seat at the head of the table, "dig in!"
They ate, settling into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed the food and each other's company.
Finally, though, Hayley looked up at Kensuke from her plate. "So, how's finding our home coming along?" she asked after swallowing her turkey.
Kensuke sighed quietly. "Well, before this whole nonsense with Azazel, we were actually pretty confident we were getting close. We know roughly which World Engine you came from, after all. After that, however, it's a matter of pinning down the correct Echo."
"Easier said than done, I assume," Hotaru said, a look of sympathy in her eyes as she glanced over at her wayward housemates.
"Oh, yes." Kensuke nodded emphatically. "We may have your unique Pneumaic signature, but there are still hundreds of different stable Echoes to sift through. It's going to take some time."
"Time Azazel might not give you," Mai said, a cautionary tone to her voice.
Kensuke shrugged. "There's definitely a chance of that being the case. But we've done the impossible before. Even before the Worldsea fully came into the picture, Shinji and Asuka, and Rei were making miracles. I fully trust that they can do it again."
"I certainly hope they can," Mai replied. "But luck can only go so far."
Taylor sighed quietly. "I just wish we could help in some way. I mean, Atlas Destroyer is a fully functional Jaeger."
"Maybe, robo-lord," Mari interjected with a sympathetic shrug. "But as metal as your giant robot is, it's likely going to do diddly squat to an AT Field."
Taylor sighed again, and Mari nodded. "Ah, chin up, friend. I'm sure your Jaeger's an awesome piece of tech. It's just… not the right tool for the job right now."
Taylor shrugged. "I see your point, much as I hate to admit it."
"What about the other one?" Boy asked as he finished his second plate.
Kensuke, along with the other HERZ members, blinked. "What other one?" Mana asked slowly.
"There are other Kaiju here on this Earth?" Hayley asked, worry evident in her tone.
Ichigo blinked, then nodded slowly. "Ah. I believe he would be referring to Godzilla."
"Ooooh. Right." Kensuke said with a nod. "Yeah, about him. Our tracking has him in the East China sea. He probably senses Azazel and the others in some capacity. As for why he hasn't acted yet…" he shrugged. "Maybe he's waiting for reinforcements."
"So, wait," Hayley said, a questioning look in her eyes. "You've got the actual Godzilla? Like, the movie monster where we get that whole 'Serizawa Scale' that we grade our own Kaiju with? This is where he's from?"
"No, actually," Kensuke said, digging his clear-pad out of his pocket. "He's one of the other things that came through during the Incursion. Daniel, Shinji, and Asuka went out with the JSSDF pilots and met him before they all fought with another monster. Want to see?"
He passed the clear-pad over the table, the video file on its screen playing as the Travis's, Boy, and Mai huddled together and watched. "Wow…" Boy said, eyes full of wonder. "He's as strong as I feel he is."
The Travis' and Mai glanced over at Boy as they considered the remark. Mai slowly nodded. "So it seems," she said quietly.
"We can hope that he shows up," Mayumi said after a moment. "Heaven knows we would appreciate the help. Even still, I think, we can make it work without him."
. . .
Horaki Residence
Toji took a deep, contented breath as he sat back in his chair, thankful for the good food and even better company of the feast that Hikari's father — with the help of Shinji and Daniel — had put on for the pilots.
As Bunzaemon rose, beckoning Daniel into the kitchen to help him do dishes, Eleanor chuckling slightly at the elder Horaki's insistence that "you stay connected to your first life", Toji's focus turned to the rest of his friends.
"So," he said, a serious look in his eyes even as he passed his plate up to Daniel, "I've got a few things on my mind I wanted to try and talk about with you guys after dinner."
His gaze swept across each of the Children as they seemed somewhat surprised, Hikari looking over at him. "What did you have in mind?" she asked quietly.
Toji took a deep breath, looking over at the adults, who had been drawn in to help the Horaki's clean up, leaving them be. All of them. The Theismans, Misato and Kaji, and the elder Ikaris. Odd.
Shrugging slightly, he continued. "We can't just talk about the fact that we'll be going up against this Azazel thing soon. We're going to need something to do. We need a game plan."
"Always good to hear, dear jock," Asuka said, leaning against the table. "Have something in mind?"
Toji nodded. "Well, a couple of things. One, since we're all going to be together, in our Evas, with our Interfacing, we should probably figure out how to make it so that we make the most of our Interfacing."
"That's certainly not unwise," Rei said, nodding slowly. "With the breadth of our powers, we would be able to make some rather spectacular displays." She finished her sentence with a slight smile.
Hikari nodded in turn. "Now, let's see…" she said as she cupped her chin thoughtfully. "Remind me what you all have again?"
"I have command over ink." Kaworu began. "Shinji commands flames and sound, Asuka metal and lightning, and Rei commands glass."
Hikari hummed quietly. "I see." she paused for a moment. "Speaking of ink… Kaworu, have you been learning Inscriptive Interfacing?"
"The thought did cross my mind some time ago, I will admit," Kaworu replied. "I've been learning from Deputy-Commander Akagi and Captain Ibuki. I'm at least familiar with it, though I cannot say that I can make up any new effects with any confidence."
"What can you do confidently, then?" Shinji asked.
"Let's see…" Kaworu paused for a moment. "As of right now, I can draw up standing barriers of Metos. I will, however, continue to experiment, and see what I can come up with before the battle."
"Alright," Asuka said. "Now that we know that, what about the rest of us?" she looked over at Hikari. "You can make things invisible, right?" she asked with a growing smile.
"Why yes," Hikari replied with no small amount of satisfaction. "Yes, I can."
"Then I can already think of a few different applications between several of us and you." Asuka continued." After all, it's tough to block what you can't see."
"Or, perhaps," Rei interjected, "what you see too many of."
"Good point," Toji said before pausing. "I wonder what I could do with someone else…"
"Wood and plants are a little more specific, and a little harder to build around," Shinji admitted with a slight shrug.
"I mean if we stick to the given of trying to be realistic with what our powers produce, yeah," Toji replied with a shrug. "This is basically magic we're talking about. I'm sure I could whip up something that could hold up to one of Asuka's electric currents, or literally reflect Hikari's light at someone."
The comment gave everyone pause as their minds swirled with new ideas. Then Shinji shook his head slightly. "As good as talking about this is, I think we're just going to need to test it out in order to find out who would be the best working with who."
"Preferably in a space that won't hold the potential for turning any one of us into a crisp accidentally. I don't think Daniel wants one or more of us strung out before we come into contact with Azazel's forces." Hikari interjected meaningfully before pausing for a moment. "Would the Simulation Plugs be able to simulate Interfacing, perhaps?"
Asuka shrugged. "I don't see why not. It already does a good job of faking our AT Fields. It wouldn't be too much of a leap to make it show what our Interfacing would look like."
Shinji nodded slowly. "Then we'll have to bend Captain Ibuki's ear about it today." he paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, we should be working with all the pilots if we're going to be fighting together, Interfacing or not."
"I'm somewhat surprised Misato hasn't had us doing that already," Asuka said. "Though I'm sure that's going to change now that all the partying is basically done."
"We have enough Sim Plugs at Matsushiro to make that work, right?" Toji asked.
Hikari looked up and away for a moment as she silently recalled the number. "With Sanniya, Yasir, Sauli, and Sigrid… we should just have enough for everyone to fit into a training session."
"With one to spare for Daniel," Shinji said with a slight smile.
"What are we sparing for me, if I may be so bold?"
The Children looked over at Daniel as he stood before them, a slight smile on his face as he dried his hands with a dish towel, the other adults starting to enter the room again behind him.
"A Sim Plug, dear Bruder," Asuka replied. "We've come to the conclusion that we're all going to need to train together to make sure we can boot Azazel into deep space when the time comes."
"You said what I've been thinking, then," Misato interjected as she stepped over to Daniel's side. king, then." Misato replied as she came to a stop by Daniel's side. "Now that we're done with relaxing, I'm going to be driving you all harder than I ever have before."
"That's saying something, from what I remember of Asuka and I's training for Israfel," Shinji said with a slight grin.
A burst of laughter rippled around the table, and even Misato couldn't help but smile slightly. "It might not be that crazy," she admitted, "but if it isn't, then it's going to be close. But I know that you kids can do it."
. . .
Commander's Office, Geofront, Later that Evening
Misato sighed quietly as she leaned on the holotable, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed as she regarded the map upon the table's surface.
It was a map of Azazel and its forces' march, the line only having deviated somewhat from what the Valhalla System had predicted, the space above the front of the army's course showing a bubble of real time footage.
Now, it was within a day or two of reaching Beijing, now thankfully mostly evacuated due to the advance warning.
"Man, that's a lot of Angels," she said somberly as she looked at the observation satellite footage, augmented by scans made by the Sonne and various recon drones, that showed the force that advanced upon the Chinese capital.
There were hundreds of Sachiels and Israfels striding towards the city, a bestial, Eva-like, lycanthropic creature that they assumed was the more natural form of Bardiel to be found among the ranks, with Shamshels and Zeruels orbiting 5 glittering Ramiels that hung in the sky.
And those were the ones that were familiar to her. Other Angels, far stranger ones that Kaworu had identified as Hadraniel and Azariel strode across the ground, accompanied by a fierce-looking, six-legged dragon-like Angel that he'd been unable to identify by name. That one had been designated by Ritsuko as 'Baraquiel'. Based on what little Kaworu had been able to divine of its capabilities from other worlds, it would live up to its namesake as the Angel of lightning.
In the sky above, weaving amongst the five Ramiels, two Angels that Kaworu identified as Ptahiel floated gently, the familiar Angels also joined by several that Kaworu had identified as Turiel, a white monolith of an Angel with a face seemingly carved out at the bottom, and a blue gem set near the top of what could be considered a comically large hat.
And in the center of it all was Azazel itself, crimson LCL cascading from its slightly open jaw and splashing onto the Corite that it trailed, the liquid flowing back to the nodules that the Angels left behind. All in all, it was a force of some 6,000 Angels, all headed towards them.
"We have some consolation," Ritsuko added after a moment, "that at least it seems to be constrained to needing to use multiple souls to power each Angel. The greater the Angel, the more souls it seems to need."
"Yeah. We've got that much." Misato nearly grumbled in reply.
Then, she took a deep breath as her gaze scanned across the rest of the table. Daniel, Eleanor, Maya, Makoto, and Ryoji, all the heads of the departments of HERZ gathered together to try and figure out, once again, how to stop the end of the world.
"So," she said quietly, "first things first. Let's go over what we know again, have it fresh in our minds." she looked over at Maya. "Give us the rundown, Captain."
Maya nodded as she pulled out her clear-pad. "We'll start with the basics. This creature, which has been named Azazel, is a living vessel, a conglomerate of souls not terribly unlike Lilith or Adam. Thus, it can be surmised, and has been at least partially verified, that whenever we destroy the body of an Angel, the souls will return to the core of Azazel in order to inhabit a new body."
Eleanor took a deep breath. "Oh, joy," she said, deadpan. "And it's quite likely in the meantime that it will use it to augment its defenses, correct?"
Maya nodded, a resigned look on her face. "Got it in one, unfortunately."
"Let's see…" Daniel said as he cupped his chin thoughtfully. "Our Lancium rounds are ineffective. Interfacing less so."
He was silent for a moment more before shaking his head. "I've got to admit, I'm stumped. Unless we can somehow overcome the combined AT Fields of millions of souls with a little over two dozen Evas… I can't see how we'll do this."
"Maybe the Evas can't," Makoto said quietly, all eyes turning to him. "But maybe… we don't need them to."
More than a few quizzical looks appeared as Ritsuko narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute…" she said slowly.
Before she could continue, Eleanor's eyes lit up in understanding. "Lilith?" she said, barely above a whisper, the single name sending a slight, tingling chill racing up everyone's spines.
"I mean, what else do we have on that level?" Ryoji asked with a shrug. "If anything, it might overwhelm this Azazel thing. I mean, compared to the several hundred million souls we're talking about Azazel having, how long has Lilith been sitting there collecting souls over the millennia?"
It was silent as all considered the possibility. "Even still," Misato finally said, "we can be more than certain that Lilith is going to be not just a target, but the main target Azazel will be gunning for."
Ritsuko nodded. "And, should it consume Lilith, we could be facing an imminent Instrumentality. No Lances, no fancy rituals. Just godhood spilling out of the bottle for SEELE."
"Perhaps if Lilith is just sitting there, maybe," Daniel interjected. "But if it were somehow active and motive…" he trailed off suggestively.
Ritsuko hummed quietly as she nodded slowly, looking over at Maya. "Do you think you can get Kadmonel and Suriel to help out with something like that?"
"Against whatever Azazel is?" Maya replied. "I'm sure they'd be more than willing to work with my team to get things up and running with Lilith."
"I'm sure we'll appreciate the results," Misato said with a nod.
"Which brings up another question," Makoto said, putting his hands on the table. "Where are those results going to be seen? Where are we making our stand?"
Misato regarded the image of the marching Angels for a moment more before she swiped them away with a gesture, revealing the world map that lay beneath it, the line still looping up and down the peninsula of Korea before crossing the sea into Japan. In the Yellow Sea beside what was now the United Republic of Korea, a glowing blue dot, representing Godzilla, waited almost ominously within its depths.
Her eyes were drawn to a divide, across which the lights of Korea still didn't reach, even after all that had been done to put the world back together. A dead zone. A battleground from the past.
Misato pointed to the eastern coast of Korea roughly in the middle, drawing across it to the western coast. "We'll make our stand here," she said, pointing roughly in the middle of the line she had made.
Daniel's brow arched. "The 48th Parallel?" he mused quietly.
Ryoji's expression, though a carefully managed blase look, betrayed to her a note of anxiety. "I don't know how hot Korea is going to be on letting us allow this thing to their doorstep, Misato," he said carefully.
"There's a variety of reasons why I've chosen this location," Misato replied. "One of the biggest is this guy right here."
She tapped on the blue dot in the Yellow Sea. "I don't know how useful he's going to be in this fight, but with a soul as big as his…" she shrugged.
"We have made some theories that Godzilla, if presented with the right circumstances, might actually make an, albeit rudimentary, AT Field." Maya mused. "It would explain, to some extent, his durability and regenerative capabilities, and it would allow him to try at piercing through the AT Fields of the Angels."
"What about Mothra and Battra?" Eleanor asked. "Their more mystical powers might help a little more than Godzilla could."
"Right now, we've got them heading towards Azazel and company from over in Africa," Ritsuko replied. "Whether they'll try and engage them before we do is anyone's guess."
"They'd have to be stupid to try," Ryoji said as he shook his head. "And I wouldn't think they would be, however willful they are."
He shook his head. "Anyway, what other reasons did you have for engaging Azazel at the Korean DMZ?"
"We also have a larger area to work in." Misato continued. "Even with how large the Angel army is getting, it seems to be concentrated in a rather tight, disorganized formation. I don't really count on SEELE being particularly adept generals, so we'll use the space to our advantage, strike at the sides, and use mobility, of any kind, to keep them on their toes."
"Okay," Daniel said. "And what about Lilith? If we're counting on mobility, how does it play in?"
"We'll keep a force, a small one, as a guard element for Lilith. No more than four or five Evas. We'll need all the offensive power we can get breaking down these Angels to get Lilith to take in their souls."
Misato looked down at the map again, at the cross she had made into the Angels' line of advance. "We'll still need a way to deal with Azazel, though. With the number of souls it has on hand for regeneration, I doubt we could fully destroy it in one go."
"We could, however," Ritsuko interjected, "render it inert. Much like we did with Lilith."
Misato nodded slowly. "That's right. The Lance of Longinus."
"We'd likely need to clear a path for whoever uses it," Daniel said. "And we'll need to make sure something like the Ramiel's doesn't interfere from range. A rather long one, at that."
"I have an idea on how to deal with the Ramiel's," Misato replied. "And I'm sure the Cataphract would love to be of assistance once Lilith nullifies their AT Fields."
Daniel nodded slowly. "Well, it's a start, if nothing else," he admitted quietly, the others nodding silently with him.
He glanced down at the table. "When will they reach the point you've set?"
Misato glanced at Ritsuko, who began to query the Valhalla System. "It will reach the target point on… the 31st," she said as she looked back up.
"New Year's Eve," Makoto said with a grim chuckle. "How fitting."
"5 days," Misato said. "We all have that long to get the details figured out, and get things up and running. I'm counting on each of you to take what we've discussed here and elaborate on it in the way that best benefits your sections. I'll be checking in with you all before we deploy the pilots on the 30th."
"For now, though…" Misato sighed as she stood. "Let's get some rest while we can. We have a lot of long days and nights ahead of us."
With that, the meeting was adjourned, the others rising as Ritsuko and Maya, Daniel and Eleanor, and Makoto all made their way towards the door.
Ryoji, however, remained, regarding Misato and seeming to hold her in place for a moment before chuckling softly. "Now, how much womanly intuition went into that, I wonder?" he asked with a slight smile.
"Hopefully enough to work," Misato replied with a quiet sigh as she went around the table and came to a stop in front of Ryoji. "We've seen it work before. I have faith it'll work now. If nothing else than because the kids will make it work."
"Whether they make it work or not remains to be seen," Ryoji said with a shrug. "But I share your confidence in them. They've made miracles before."
Misato nodded. "I just hope they can make this last one," she said quietly.
She took a deep breath, glancing at the door to see Ritsuko and Maya waiting for them before turning back to Ryoji. "Ryoji…" she nearly whispered. "I almost can't believe how scared I am."
Ryoji nodded as he stepped forward, putting his hands on Misato's shoulders. "I get it," he said reassuringly. "I am too. But even if we do somehow end up as so much orange juice… I'm going to find you in there. We'll be together, SEELE be damned."
Misato looked up at Ryoji with a small smile. "I love your optimism." she chuckled quietly. "I… I love you, Ryoji."
"I love you too, Misato."
Ryoji stepped back as he dug in one of his pockets, pulling out something small.
And Misato's eyes widened with a small gasp as it turned out to be a small box, within which sat a simple ring, a brilliant blue topaz stone set within it.
"Which is why I want to be your husband," Ryoji said with surety even as he shook ever so slightly. "I've been sitting on this for too long. I should have asked long before all of this. I should have done a lot of different things. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long."
It was silent for a moment, then Misato nodded. "Yes," she said quietly, her voice choked with tears of joy. "Yes."
And as Ryoji, with a sigh of relief, slipped on the ring and they shared a deep kiss, Ritsuko and Maya, who had stayed behind to record the event, looked at each other, smiling slightly.
"Someday, dear?" Maya asked sweetly over a link between their souls.
"After we beat this?" Ritsuko replied. "Certainly."