"And it grew both day and night, till it bore an apple bright"

October 7th, 2015, 5:16 PM Sirens blared across the city, warning all civilians who had not made it to the Shelters to evacuate. Across the mountains and plains of Japan, The Third Angel, Sachiel made his advance to Tokyo-3, hellbent on causing The Third Impact. 14 year-old Shinji Ikari grabbed a payphone, typing in the phone number provided to him by Misato Katsuragi. He felt a rumble, starting softly, and then escalating until I was violent. Overhead he watched the monstrous beast marching across, uncaring for all that stood in it's way. As if on cue, Katsuragi's car tore through the streets, stopping right in front of him. She said something he couldn't make out before gesturing for him to get in, with little other choice, he obliged.

Deep under Tokyo-3, Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari sat in NERV HQ, debating with the generals of the JSSDF on how to approach the angel, all of them offering ineffective solutions, for he knew the only thing that could truly defeat The Angel was on his way right now, being escorted by Captain Misato Katsuragi

6:02 PM "I'm not going to do it! I'm not going to pilot The Evangelion!" Shinji declared to his father, who stood, staring at him without a trace of emotion "If you don't" his father said back, as stoic as ever "Humanity will die. Our world will cease to be." "You abandoned me! And now the only reason you want me back is because you have a use for me! You don't care about me at all!" The Commander gave no response, shifting his ice-cold gaze to Dr. Ritsuko Akagi "Dr. Akagi. Bring out Rei." The Scientist stood shocked, protesting "But she's in no condition to pilot! She could die!" The Commamder did not falter at her words, if anything it strengthed his resolve "Being her out, now." Sighing, she typed on her tablet, and moments later, a gurney was pulled out with a blue-haired girl on it, visibly in pain. Shinji felt a pang of guilt in his heart, she didn't deserve this, nobody did. A sudden tremor causing her to fall off the gurney, Shinji rushed over to help her, and as he did debris fell over and would have hit him were not for Evangelion Unit-01 suddenly raising it's hand to protect him. Misato and Ristuko stood there, astonished by teh act that The Evangelion had seemingly done on it's own, it should not have been active or have been given any power. Shinji, not realizing the thing the Evangelion had done, held Rei in his arms, sorrow overwhelming him "I'll do it! I'll pilot The Evangelion! Just don't let her get hurt!" Although Gendo did not show it physically, he grinned mentally. His ploy to force Shinji between a rock and a hard place had worked, and now he would do as he commanded. Hastily embarking inside The Purple Giant, the final preparations were made and Unit-01 was launched to the surface, where it came face to face with The Third Angel, staring right back at it...

7:33 PM Everyone inside The NERV HQ Command Platform stood amazed, unable to tear their eyes from the screen. Shinji was about to run out of power and be defeated by The Angel, but something had happened. They had lost communication with Shinji as The Evangelion gained overwhelming power, teraibg it's mouth armor and bellowing an unholy roar. Defeating Sachiel as The Angel died in a giant burst of flames and destruction, knocking our their surveillance monitors. The Commander could not be more pleased. But as the monitors and cameras came back to life, Misato could feel a ball of ice form in her stomach. A giant, fleshy mass with hundreds of tentacles protruding from it had broken it's way to the surface, feasting off of any people in the area, taking their blood. "What the fuck is that?!" She shouted, horrified "Is that another Angel" "It's not showing up as a Blood Pattern: Blue" Ristuko said with panic in her voice, scanning over her tablet. The Commander stood up, eyes locked on the screen "Captain Katsuragi. Retrive Unit-01 immediately and lock down that part of Tokyo-3 immediately. Do not let anyone in or out. Is that understood?" Without any other words, Misato did as instructed. Issuing the order to evacuate and lock down, but something strange happened after she gave the order to retrieve Unit-01 to their helicopter forces. They saw, crashing through the colossal mass two objects, red and black, respectively, followed by another crash and five more strange beings falling from it, which only accelerated their efforts to enforce a lockdown on the area. Only one person in the entire Command Platform knew what they really were, or rather, who they were... Commander Ikari...

October 9th, 5:38 AM "HOLD THE LINE! HOLD THE LINE! NOTHING GETS THROUGH!" Barked The Leader of the small force of NERV soldiers. They had been sent to investigate what had happened to the area that had been locked down, but they didn't expect to be attacked as soon as they crossed the walls built to contain the demonic "tree". As he saw his fellow soldiers falling to the human-sized monstrosities that stole their blood, he felt increasing fear and desperation. His gun clicked, he had run out of ammo, he backed up terrified before falling inside a 3 meter hole. The Abomination approached him, raising it's claws, ready to strike. But before it's claws reached his flesh, a van flew above him, throwing the creature back a dozen feet as it parked in front of him. He maneuvered his way around it, seeing a blue-coated one armed man with a sword on his back walking towards the horde "HEY!" the soldier shouted "You can't fight them!" The white-haired man ignored him, slapping a contraption on the stump of his right arm "You hear me, you dumb one-armed son of a bitch?! You're gonna get yourself killed!" "Cheer up, crew-cut" the stranger responded. Throwing a blue and gold plated robotic arm onto the contraption before it snapped into place "You takin' notes?" he said to the camera on top of the soldier's helmet, before throwing his fist into of the creature's faces, launching a massive electrical blast which destroyed it on contact

5:42 AM The Command Platform stood in awe at what they witnessed. Ever since the tree had appeared they had been unable to contain what spew forth from it. And now, the stranger that appeared out of nowhere was utterly humiliating the monstrosities. As he finished dealing with the dozens of beasts, another man exited the van, wearing all black and using a silver cane. Tapping the soldier's badge with his cane he spoke "Take us to the Supreme Commander"

6:03 AM The two strangers stood directly in front of their van outside an entrance to NERV HQ, a neon sign on the side reading "Devil May Cry". Ahead of them, an uncountable amount of turrets and rifles were pointed at them. Misato stood right behind them, making it clear that they were willing to "pacify" them if they wished harm upon NERV. "Who are you two." she said it not as a question, but as a demand The black coated man was focused on a book in his hand, leaning on the cane using his other hand. Moments later, he stood upright, spinning his cane slowly "I have no name. I am but two days old." They could see his companion look annoyed and roll his eyes The black-haired man closed his book before lifting his gaze to meet hers "Just kidding. You can call me V."
"Well, "V"" she began, unsure of how she felt calling him that "We want to know just what the hell you're both doing here. And how you managed to take out those things on the other side of the walls." "Take me to your Commander, and I'll answer your questions." V offered. But before Misato could answer, his blue-coated companion spoke up, obviously frustrated "What are we doing wasting our time here? Let's just go and take care of the demons already!" V shifted his weight back on to his cane, looking at the one-armed man "Do you not understand, Nero? We cannot hope to do this without them."
Misato shifted her gazed to Nero, and thought to herself how wierd both of their names were. V turned his attention back to the NERV entranceway, noticing a camera watching them, he lifted his book up, allowing the Commander on the other side to see the massive "V" imprinted on the side. As soon as he lifted it up, Misato received a call on her radio, stepping away she picked up "Captain Katsuragi. Let them in." Without another word, the Commander hung up, turning back towards them, she spoke "Looks like it's your lucky day. The Commander wants to talk to you. But don't think for a moment we're letting our guard down..."

6:28 AM Nero and V stood on The Command Platform, surrounded on all sides by firearms, with the Commander sitting high above, looking down on them.
Commander Ikari: "Before anything, ensure your familiars will not cause any trouble" A tattoo on V's right arm began glowing, on his shoulder appeared a massive hawk-like creature with blue feathers, glaring at all around "Great, just great. I leave you alone for two minutes and you get yourself surrounded!" the creature complained V: "settle down, we're negotiating with the Commander" "What Comman-" The bird locked eyes with the Commander, still I'm passively watching "Yeah... On second thought... I need to go" the blue bird said, disappearing again The Commander, confident that V's "helpers" wouldn't interfere, instructing V to follow him to his office, ordering Fuyutsuki to keep an eye on Nero.

6:33 AM V and The Commander stood a dozen feet apart inside the Commander's tomb-like office. V looked at the Commander, his face hidden behind his white-gloved hands with orange light reflecting glasses that blocked out all emotion from his eyes. "You look well" V began "It appears your project came to fruition after all. What were they called again?" Commander Ikari: "The Evangelions. Now, answer my question, what are you doing here? Right after Sachiel was defeated?" V: "Me and my companions being here was not voluntary, Commander. We intercepted the Qilphoth when it was still below, but it sought out Sachiel. It sought out The Blood Of The Children Of Adam."
Commander Ikari: "And The Blood Of The Lilim. I know this tale well. However it was not anticipated that it would appear the moment The Angel was defeated."
V: "It appears we are at an impasse then, Commander. You need to eliminate The Angels, and we need to destroy the Qilphoth. So, I propose a business arrangement if you will. Between NERV and The Devil May Cry Agency, we will make sure the Qilphoth doesn't spread out more than it already has. And you will keep The Angels away, lest it detects their blood."
The Commander simply nodded, the alliance was formed. As V turned to leave, the Commander spoke Commander Ikari: "You look different since last we met."
V: "It's a... Long story. By the way, I know how you contained the Qilphoth using those measly walls. Your trick is LCL, while it may heal Lilim, it's detrimental for demons. Well played, Commander" V exited the office, seeking out his companions to inform them of the arrangement. Leaving the Commander alone in his office, he stood up, walking to his bookcase and taking out a weathered book that looked ancient, a sword depicted on the cover "I know your sins, Son Of Sparda..."

1995, Fortuna January 18th, 11:54 AM Gendo Rukubungi, the newest associate of SEELE by virtue of marrying Yui Ikari, had infiltrated their sub-branch "The Order Of The Sword" in the reclusive city of Fortuna. Getting in was easy, what wasn't was getting the files he needed. The Order had them under lock and key, on top of that they were protected by the Order's "Holy Knights". Despite their defences, they lacked any kind of technological advancement, and would only notice his presence lling after he was gone. He smirked at this opportunity, breaking into their library with ease. To the people of Fortuna, this was an impossible task, but to Gendo it was as easy as breathing. He navigated deftly through the library, avoiding Knights, and looking for what he needed. Eventually, he arrived at a steel-reinforced oak door, if they had what he was looking for, it would be in here. Taking out a lockpick and pocket knife he jammed inside, trying to gain access, it was surprisingly stable despite the archaic aspect of the entire place with weirdly shaped tumblers and bizarre anti tampering measures. It took a while, around 15 minutes before he finally heard a click and was able to open the door, closing it behind him. Heading down the stairway, he stopped in surprise at the sight of a body in front of him, a stab mark on his chest and several lacerations on his body. Looking between the bookcases, he saw a cloaked figure looking for something, looks like someone beat him here. Pushing past the body, he stood a few feet away from the figure, hiding behind a bookcase, it was then that he noticed a sheathed Katana at the stranger's side, the murder weapon. The figure looked over his shoulder and spoke "I know you're there. Step out of the shadows."
Gendo walked out, hands clasped behind his back Gendo: "You're not with The Order, are you?" ?: "Nethier are you. Speak, who are you?" Gendo: "Gendo Rukubungi. I don't need to know who you are, the less I say to SEELE the better. But I believe we can help each other, you're looking for something, and so am I."
?: "I need help from no one. Leave, before I regret my leniency."
Gendo: "You need help from no one, you say? Well, it would be a shame if The Order were to discover you" ?: "You'd be dead before you would get to the door. And besides, I know who you are. And I know who SEELE is."
Gendo: "You're smarter than you look. Not many people know about the ancient conspiracy. Let alone people being sought by them. That's right, I know who you are... Vergil, Son Of Sparda" The figure turned around to face him, hand clenching the grip of his blade. He quickly unsheathed and resheathed his sword, despite being a distance apart, Gendo was cut with several slashes across his body, knocking him to the ground. He wouldn't go down that easy, jumping back to his feet, he ran at Vergil, throwing himself into a slide to avoid a sword attack before knocking Vergil off his feet. But before he hit the ground, he disappeared and reappeared several feet in front of Gendo, shooting a spectral blade into his arm. Gendo, thinking quickly, decided to use the cramped space to his advantage, hiding behind a bookcase, knocking it over when Vergil got close, pinning him under. It didn't last for long, but it gave him enough time to run to the corpse and grab the massive sword on the dead Knight's back. It looked odd, with a motorcycle-like engine embedded in it, he didn't have enough time to figure out how it worked before Vergil teleported on top of the bookcase and charged at him. Despite it's size, it was surprisingly lightweight, giving him enough strength to attack and defence to block. He put the sword in front of him, catching Vergil's sword swing, pushing him off and swinging at his abdomen, knocking him back. Vergil retaliated, sending more mirage blades at Gendo and hitting him with a three hit combo at him, knocking him off balance and causing him to bleed profusely from his chest and arm. Using his sword, Gendo rebalanced himself, before throwing a two-handed swing at Vergil, hitting him in his upper body and throwing him onto the floor. Vergil jumped up again "That's enough" He slashed in a wide arc, but Gendo didn't feel any pain, however he couldn't move, the path of the slash stayed in the air, cutting through space. Vergil: "Your abilities are formidable. I will admit that..." Gendo felt a sense of pride, if he could have moved he would have smiled "Just not good enough to face me."
All sense of accomplishment faded as he realized what Vergil meant, he had held back, he was *testing* Gendo. Vergil sheathed his sword, giving Gendo control of his body again. Reaching for his jacket, Gendo pulled out a peculiar book, handing it to Vergil, who stared in confusion at it Gendo: "That's what you're looking for, isn't it? Knowledge on Sparda? Don't worry, that isn't the nonsense they feed people. That's the truth, which is why it's kept under protection."
Vergil: "Where did you get this?" Gendo: "I took it when I was hiding behind that bookshelf." He said, gesturing towards the toppled bookshelf. He noticed one book out of place, and picked it up, reading it. Vergil realized what it was and snatched it away Gendo: "William Blake. I like your taste."
Vergil: "It is not yours to read. Do not try that again." Gendo: "As you say." He looked down again, finding what he was looking for, he stuffed it in his jacket Gendo: "Till next we meet, Son Of Sparda." Vergil nodded, teleporting away. Sneaking out of Fortuna was as easy as sneaking in. Leaving before they could even notice what they had lost. with this newfound knowledge in his hands, Gendo could now find out the truth about The Underworld, and the truth about The Angels...