Chapter 17
Redemption
Eva 04 crashed to the ground, it's lifeblood and LCL oozing out into the fields outside Japoness. The 14th Angel let out a roar of victory then turned with the 3rd and looked towards Japoness, now defenseless.
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Otaru, Lorelei, Faust, and the rest stood stunned on the balcony. The only sounds heard was the frantic calls of Yui.
"SAYOKO!! ANSWER ME!" shouted Yui.
"She's gone." said Asuka quietly.
"She can't be Momma. She just can't be."
"Shouldn't that Eva be going berserk about now?" asked Touji.
"It won't." said Shinji quietly, "Her mother isn't inside anymore."
"So how do we stop them now?" asked Otaru.
Asuka began to scan the battle area. "Somewhere, around there is the Lance of Longinus. We can use that."
Armisael immediately stepped forward. "I will slow them down while you look." He then vanished.
Shinji turned to Touji, "Come on. We have a Lance to find."
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Armisael reappeared over his brothers in his tube form. He circled overhead, watching them. Both were weakened from their battle with the shadow of Adam, the light of their souls dimmed somewhat, but they would eventually recover. Unless he did something about it. He quickly dove, aiming for Sachiel. Sachiel never even knew what hit him as Armisael ripped through the chest of the 3rd Angel, just missing the core. Sachiel collapsed to the ground, but remained very much alive. He was, for the moment, no longer a threat. Nearby, Armisael spotted the 2 male Guardians flying about, trying to find the great Lance. The Angel turned back just in time to see the Zeruel's ribbon arm soaring at him. He quickly dove and moved out of the way. He then charged at his brother, trying to eliminated him as plunged toward his brother's core. Instead he bounced off of the small clamshell doors that sealed off the core. Not wanting to fall victim to the razor sharp arms this close, Armisael wrapped himself around Zeruel, preventing him from using his arms. This did not prevent Zeruel from moving about as he tried to remove Armisael from his person.
* Arael. * called out Armisael, * Tell them they need to hurry. I cannot hold him for long. *
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Touji and Shinji frantically searched for the Lance.
"It's 50 stories long!" shouted Touji, "How the hell are we missing it?"
Shinji pulled out his communicator, "Luchs, Cherry. Do either of you know where the Lance ended up?"
"Negative." came Luchs reply, "The Lance was obscured by the explosion."
"Can't you estimate?"
"Not enough information to provide an estimation."
Shinji turned off his communicator. "Great."
A loud roar caused them to turn back to the battle between the Angels. Even with Armisael wrapped around it, the 14th continued to fight and move closer to the city. Suddenly the Angel moved its head and fired off several eye blasts. Cross explosions went off in several areas of Japoness.
"Time's up." said Touji, "I don't think we're gonna make it."
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Armisael watched as Zeruel continued to fire on the city. Below he could see people running about, trying to avoid the destruction that was slowly approaching. He watched as people ran towards the burning wreckage of homes, pulling out those who were injured. In several spots, he saw children crying over the bodies of their fallen fathers.
'Unless Zeruel is stopped,' thought Armisael, 'everyone here will die.'
He then made his choice.
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Arael watched with the others, helpless to stop her brothers onslaught against the city.
* Arael. *
Arael jumped slightly as Armisael called out to her. She closed her eyes.
* Yes brother? *
* Tell the First Child..I understand now. Good-bye, my sister. *
Arael frowned. * What do you mean good-bye? *
She received no reply.
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Armisael moved one of his ends outward, then brought it back in, catching Zeruel off guard and slamming into the core cover. He then began to join with his brother.
* ARMISAEL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? * Zeruel called out.
Armisael would have smiled, had he been able to. * I cannot allow you to continue to destroy this city. I will stop you...now."
Armisael felt a surge of power as he attached himself to his brother's core. With a sigh, he caused both cores to collapse.
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The shockwave from the two cores exploding was tremendous. Touji and Shinji were tossed from the sky. People all over Japoness were knocked flat to the ground. Everyone in the castle was on their knees, everyone but one.
Arael remained standing, watching the mushroom cloud that was once her brothers expand slowly upwards towards the sky.
The shockwave had another effect. It rattled the fallen form of Eva-04, whose eyes began to flicker.
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Lorelei slowly got to her feet and looked out over the city. Several areas remained ablaze from the 14ths Attacks and the area near the battle seemed flattened, but the city remained standing.
"Is it over?" she asked, "Did we win?"
A loud roar from the edge of town was her only reply as the 3rd Angel rose to its feet. It looked around until its eyes came to rest on the crater created by the resent explosion. Only one thought went through its mind.
Vengeance.
It started to head towards the city when it noticed that an object had been underneath him.
The Lance of Longinus.
The Angel picked up the Lance, feeling its power pulse in its hand. It then turned and resumed its march towards the city.
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Shinji coughed and slowly got to his feet. He looked over to see a massive crater where the 2 Angels had last been fighting.
"Oh." He said. He then looked around. "Touji?"
Touji sat up nearby, "I know we're immortal...but if I keep getting hit by explosions its gonna kill me."
Shinji smiled. His smile vanished as he spotted the 3rd Angel marching towards the city with the Lance in its hand.
"Tell me I'm seeing things." said Touji.
"You mean the 3rd Angel heading towards Japoness holding the only weapon that can destroy it?" asked Shinji, "Nope, you're not seeing things."
"Great." muttered Touji, "What should we do now?"
"Stop it."
"How?"
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Battery after battery of guns fired at the Angel from the few remaining positions left on the city wall. The Angel continued to walk towards the city, the shells bouncing easily off its AT-Field. Every now and then, a different kind of explosion went off against the AT-Field from the efforts of Shinji and Touji. These also had no effect on the Angel.
"So this is it." said Otaru, "The end of Japoness."
"Not if I can help it." said Yui. "I defeated the 6th, I can defeat the 3rd."
"No! Wait!" shouted Asuka, but Yui had already vanished.
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Yui appeared above the Angel. She watched as explosions went off around the Angel.
"I will not lose." muttered Yui. A helmet flashed into existence on her head and lance appeared in her hand. She dove downward towards the core, holding her lance before her.
Shinji turned and spotted his daughter diving at the Angel.
"YUI! NO!"
Yui's lance connected with the Angel's AT-Field and immediately stopped. Yui grunted as she pressed the lance forward, trying to force it through the field. She was so occupied with her attack, she never saw the hand heading her way.
Shinji could only watch as his daughter was sent hurtling away from the Angel, impacting hard against the ground. Yui struggled to her knees but collapsed back to the ground. The Angel roared in victory and began to approach Yui.
"NO!" Shinji screamed. He flew in front of the Angel and began to push against the Angel's AT-Field, trying to slow its approach. Touji joined him seconds later. Both struggled to keep the Angel from getting any closer to Yui.
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"NO!" shouted Asuka. "YUI!" she tried to teleport to her daughter's side, but was still too weak.
"Bloodberry," said Otaru, "How fast can you get to her?"
"Not as fast as Lime, But I'll try." She turned and began to speed away."
"Oh my god." said Lorelei.
Otaru turned back to see Shinji and Touji tossed aside. The Angel approached Yui and brought its foot up over Yui.
Asuka screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
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Arael had stood and watched as Lime cried over her fallen friend. She had watched Armisael sacrificed his life for the lilim, as had her brothers Leliel and Tabris. Now she watched as Sachiel prepared to crush the life out of Yui.
'Angels are nothing but vicious killers!' came Misato's voice.
'....Angels were those big monsters that attacked earth a long time ago..' came Lime's voice.
'....You made us relive the worst moments of our lives.' came Sayoko's voice.
"No." Arael said softly.
'..vicious killers!..'
'..monsters....'
'...worst moments of our lives....'
'..Momma! I'm Pilot! Look at me!...'
"No..not this again.not now."
'Momma!'
'Tell the First Child.. I understand. Good-bye, my Sister.'
Arael looked over at Rei. She still lay on the ground, unconscious. She turned her head and saw Lime, no longer crying but still holding tightly onto Marine. She then turned back to the Second Child, screaming as the 3rd and 4th children were tossed out of the way, allowing Sachiel to move straight towards Yui.
'Whatever you did,' came Yui's voice, 'you need to let it go and move on. If Aunt Sayoko trusts you, that's good enough for me.'
Arael glanced over at Unit-04. She noticed the eyes of the Eva flickering. She knew she had a decision to make. She turned sharply as the 2nd Child screamed one more time. Arael's eyes flared bright red as she made her choice.
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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Asuka as the 3rd Angel's foot started to come down. Bloodberry, running at top speed, was still minutes away. Just feet from crushing Yui, the massive foot froze, an AT-Field preventing it from reaching Yui. The field flared, knocking the 3rd Angel back away from the fallen Guardian.
Cherry turned and looked at Asuka. "Did you do that?"
Asuka stared stunned, "No...I can't do an AT-Field. If I had the power to raise a shield...it would have been blue. Who could have...." Suddenly Asuka knew who did it. She slowly turned to face Arael. Arael was floating just off the ground, her eyes glowing bright red. "Arael?"
"I won't let him harm her." Arael said softly, "I owe both you and her that and so much more."
"What?"
Arael was no longer listening. She slowly floated upwards from the balcony. As soon as she cleared the castle her body began to glow bright white and shift. Snowflake wings sprouted from her back and began to grow in size. Asuka shivered as Arael took on the form that she remembered from so long ago.
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Sachiel recovered quickly from the shock of running into Arael's light of the soul. Seeing it was no longer present, Sachiel started moving forward again, determined to kill the daughter of the Guardian's. Then he spotted a shadow of lilim, one of the mechanical constructs that cohabited this world with the lilim. It had moved to the fallen Guardian and was trying to escape. Sachiel growled in anger and had just started to follow when he was engulfed in a bright light. He blink, trying to clear his vision. When it return, he found himself standing over an orange colored ocean, and ocean full of the life blood of Lilith, what the lilim called 'LCL'.
'What is this?' he thought.
With a flash, he found himself in heaven. 15 figures in gray robes bowed before 3 figures. 2 wore the same gray as the 15, the last one wore a colorful robe and sat behind a desk.
'Kami-sama.' muttered Sachiel as he looked at the man behind the desk, the two in front however....
'Father? Mother? How can this be?' He then realized who the 15 were. His brothers and sister, all together.
"You 15," said Kami-sama rising from his desk, "are tasked with the clearing of the surface world of demons." Kami-sama stepped beside Adam and Lilith. "You will take your orders from Adam. Once the demon threat has been neutralized, Lilith will begin to seed the world with the life I have planned for it."
Adam smirked, but only the other Angels caught it.
The view then shifted to a large plain. Dead demons littered the plain, the ground soaking in their blood. Adam floated over the corpses, Sachiel, and Bardiel behind him.
"Adam."
Adam turned to see a Goddess floating towards him. He sighed as he realized who it was.
"What can I do for you Verdandi?"
Verdandi floated next to him. "Kami-sama wants an update."
"We have cleared this continent of the demons. As we speak Lilith has begun to release her offspring."
"Very well. I will inform Kami-sama." Verdandi vanished in a flash.
"That bitch is becoming annoying." said Bardiel
"Hush Bardiel." Adam said, "We only have to put up with it a bit longer, and then we will rule this world."
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Bloodberry arrived back at the castle with Yui. Shinji and Touji arrived shortly there after. Yui now stood before a very annoyed Asuka.
"What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"
"Do you have to yell at her right now?" asked Shinji.
Asuka turned and glared at her husband, "What?!"
Shinji pointed towards the 3rd Angel, still frozen in a shaft of light from Arael.
"We have an Angel to stop and I don't know how long it will stay there."
Asuka immediately went quiet. "How do we do it? It still has the lance."
"Can't you pull it out of its hand?" asked Lorelei.
Asuka turned to Shinji. He shook his head. "Already tried it. It's like his hand is frozen around it."
"I..think you guys had better take a look at this." said Luchs.
"Take a look at...oh"
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"Sachiel! The others!" shouted Bardiel, "They've all been defeated!"
Sachiel tossed the Valkyrie in his hand other his shoulder. "What?"
Bardiel plunged his arm into the chest of another Valkyrie. "I can't get a hold of any of them."
"Sachiel...Bardiel.."
Both Angels turned to see their mother, Lilith floating over head.
"Mother?" Sachiel said quietly.
"Sleep...it is time..to sleep.."
Bardiel began to wobble, before collapsing to the ground.
'No..not this again..'
Sachiel began to feel drowsy. He struggled to remain awake...but was fighting a losing battle.
"Why..Mother?"
"We are not meant to rule this world." replied Lilith.
'Not again..' thought Sachiel as he watched his younger self fall, 'Why am I seeing this?... why is..wait..ARAEL!'
Sachiel now found himself standing over the ocean again. Arael stood across from him.
"So you figured out it was me holding you here." Arael said quietly, "It will not change anything. As we speak your destruction is imminent."
Sachiel crossed his arms, "You turn against your brethren? For what? The pathetic lilim? You have become weak."
"Perhaps." replied Arael, "But I will remain alive long after you are dead, returning to the service of our original master, Kami-sama."
"I have no intention of allowing you to outlive me, sister."
"And what will you do to prevent it? You cannot leave this plain."
Sachiel smiled, "But I still hold the Lance of Longinus." Arael paled slightly. "I see you remember it. Perhaps a demonstration of its power is in order."
The ocean of LCL began to froth and boil.
"No!" shouted Arael, "Wait!"
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With a load roar of outrage, the 3rd Angel reared back and raised the Lance of Longinus above its head. The lance's forks merged into one spear as the Angel threw it towards the 15th. The lance ripped through the 15th's AT- Field and then through the Angel itself. With a scream of pain, the 15th fell from the sky, its left wing collapsing downward as it fell.
The 3rd Angel then turned back towards the city. It had just taken a step when it froze. It glanced downward to see the point of a progressive knife sticking out of its core. Turning slightly, it could see EVA-04 still holding the handle of the knife.
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Most of the LCL had leaked out of the entry plug. Sayoko still sat in the seat, half in the LCL, half out, clutching the side of her body tightly. Sparks spat out from the controls and from the shattered electronics along the gash. Sayoko coughed up more blood before she spoke.
"Forget....about me?" she coughed out before fainting.
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EVA-04 slowly sank to the ground, while the 3rd Angel's core began to glow bright. With a roar, the core exploded. The shockwave sending EVA-04 tumbling across the ground.
The former Eva pilots winced as they watched the Eva smash into rock after rock, finally coming to rest on its face, more of the LCL leaking out.
"At least the worst part is over." said Touji.
With the bang of explosive bolts, the back panel blasted off of the Eva.
"You had to open your big mouth." muttered Asuka as the rockets ignited on the entry plug, carrying it out of the Eva and into the sky.
"What happens now?" asked Lorelei.
"I will answer that." came a new voice.
Everyone turned to see several armed Valkyries. Leading them was Mist.
"Why are you here Mist?" asked Asuka. 'What kept you?'
"Clean-up and recovery." said Mist, "A few dozen of my troops are removing all remains of the Angels as well as recovering the Lance and the Eva."
"What about Arael?" asked Yui.
Mist turned towards Yui, "That is being taken care of." She then turned back to Asuka. "A full memory block order has been issued for Terra 2."
"WHAT!?" shouted Asuka.
"What's a memory block?" asked Otaru.
"They want to remove these last several weeks from your memory." said Asuka, "That means you won't remember anything about the Saber attacks, the Angels...or us."
"You can't do that!" shouted Otaru, "You have no right."
"We have every right." said Mist, "The existence of the Gods and Demons must be kept secret, otherwise chaos will engulf the world. It is best left up to their faith wither they believe in us or not."
Lorelei placed her hand on Otaru's shoulder, "We understand."
"However, my orders do not include any of the mortals here or the Marionettes. The rest of the planet is all that my orders call for."
"Why not us?" asked Faust.
"You are deemed...trust worthy." replied Mist, "But you must never speak of these events to anyone else...ever."
Mist then turned to Asuka.
"We return now."
Asuka nodded and stood next to her husband and daughter.
"Will we ever see you again?" asked Lorelei.
"One day perhaps." Asuka said as she faded away with the others. "Until then, farewell."
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The next day
"Clean-up continues after the big plasma storm." said the reporter, "Japoness scientists believe this was the last gasp from the major plasma activity of a month ago. It is still not known why the storms were particular violent in Gartlant. Plasma based weapon systems created in Gartlant are suspected to increased the destruction there, which also involved a large loss of life. In other news.."
Bloodberry clicked off the TV. "Plasma Storms? They wiped out everyone's memory's of the Angel attacks and replaced them with Plasma Storms?"
Cherry looked up from her cooking, "It makes sense. Those Plasma Storms we had before were very violent. This is very believable."
"Yeah.sure."
Otaru came down the stairs. "Morning.."
"Good Morning Master." said Cherry, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. Where's Lime?"
Bloodberry and Cherry looked at each other, then turned to Otaru.
"She's at the castle." said Bloodberry, "With Marine."
"Oh."
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Lime stood next to Lorelei looking over the platform Marine laid on.
"Can you still fix her?" asked Lime.
"I don't know Lime." said Lorelei quietly, "Her Maiden Circuit was complex to begin with. I was still trying to understand its design. When that lance went through her, it damaged the Circuit." Lorelei placed her hands on Lime's shoulders. "I'm sorry Lime, she may be gone forever."
Tears rolled down Lime's eyes. She bent over and picked up the shell where it had fallen. She placed it next to Marine's ear.
"Here that Marine?" Lime said quietly, "It's the ocean. Now.you'll always hear it."
Lorelei placed her arm around Lime and then the two walked out, sealing the door behind them.
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The Heavens
Belldandy stood quietly in the observation room, Keiichi next to her. Both watched as the Healers worked on Sayoko. Finally, after long hours of waiting, one of the healers exited and walked towards them.
"How is she?" asked Belldandy.
"She lost much blood Milady." said the Healer, "One of her lungs was pierced when her side was sliced open. Also she was banged up a bit when her 'entry plug' hit the ground. She is a very tough Goddess."
"She gets it from her father." said Belldandy with a smile.
"Of course Milady."
"And the Angel?"
The Healer was quiet for several moments. "The Lance is very powerful weapon. She was lucky to make it this far."
"Shouldn't someone be with her?"
"There are 2 people with her Milady."
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Arael lay very still. She did not want to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was the Lance ripping into her..again. The last time she had awoken in limbo, to be repeatedly assaulted by the memories of the 2nd and 5th children. She tried hard to remain still, but finally she couldn't stand it anymore. She shifted her body, trying to get more comfortable. Pain shot through he left side, causing her to gasp out loud.
"So you're finally awake." came a voice which Arael recognized right away.
'No..not her...not now...' Arael slowly opened her eyes to see the Second Child standing next to her bed, Yui just behind her.
"I'm...not dead?" Arael asked.
Asuka smiled, "You're lucky the 3rd Angel can't aim well. He missed your core by several inches. The Healers say your regenerating nicely and should be on your feet in a few days." Asuka then turned to Yui. "Go outside for a minute."
Yui turned to obey, leaving Asuka alone with Arael. Arael stared in fear at the Second Child as Asuka turned back with a slight frown on her face.
"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you did." Asuka said softly, "But you saved my daughters life. Because of that, I'm going to give you a second chance." Asuka then smiled. "Now hurry up and heal. Yui has this strange idea your going to be working with us more."
Asuka turned to leave.
"Second Child?"
"Please," Asuka turned back to Arael, "Call me Asuka."
"Asuka then." said Arael, "Thank you."
Asuka nodded and left the room. Arael laid back and for the first time in a month, she slept peacefully.
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Redemption
Eva 04 crashed to the ground, it's lifeblood and LCL oozing out into the fields outside Japoness. The 14th Angel let out a roar of victory then turned with the 3rd and looked towards Japoness, now defenseless.
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Otaru, Lorelei, Faust, and the rest stood stunned on the balcony. The only sounds heard was the frantic calls of Yui.
"SAYOKO!! ANSWER ME!" shouted Yui.
"She's gone." said Asuka quietly.
"She can't be Momma. She just can't be."
"Shouldn't that Eva be going berserk about now?" asked Touji.
"It won't." said Shinji quietly, "Her mother isn't inside anymore."
"So how do we stop them now?" asked Otaru.
Asuka began to scan the battle area. "Somewhere, around there is the Lance of Longinus. We can use that."
Armisael immediately stepped forward. "I will slow them down while you look." He then vanished.
Shinji turned to Touji, "Come on. We have a Lance to find."
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Armisael reappeared over his brothers in his tube form. He circled overhead, watching them. Both were weakened from their battle with the shadow of Adam, the light of their souls dimmed somewhat, but they would eventually recover. Unless he did something about it. He quickly dove, aiming for Sachiel. Sachiel never even knew what hit him as Armisael ripped through the chest of the 3rd Angel, just missing the core. Sachiel collapsed to the ground, but remained very much alive. He was, for the moment, no longer a threat. Nearby, Armisael spotted the 2 male Guardians flying about, trying to find the great Lance. The Angel turned back just in time to see the Zeruel's ribbon arm soaring at him. He quickly dove and moved out of the way. He then charged at his brother, trying to eliminated him as plunged toward his brother's core. Instead he bounced off of the small clamshell doors that sealed off the core. Not wanting to fall victim to the razor sharp arms this close, Armisael wrapped himself around Zeruel, preventing him from using his arms. This did not prevent Zeruel from moving about as he tried to remove Armisael from his person.
* Arael. * called out Armisael, * Tell them they need to hurry. I cannot hold him for long. *
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Touji and Shinji frantically searched for the Lance.
"It's 50 stories long!" shouted Touji, "How the hell are we missing it?"
Shinji pulled out his communicator, "Luchs, Cherry. Do either of you know where the Lance ended up?"
"Negative." came Luchs reply, "The Lance was obscured by the explosion."
"Can't you estimate?"
"Not enough information to provide an estimation."
Shinji turned off his communicator. "Great."
A loud roar caused them to turn back to the battle between the Angels. Even with Armisael wrapped around it, the 14th continued to fight and move closer to the city. Suddenly the Angel moved its head and fired off several eye blasts. Cross explosions went off in several areas of Japoness.
"Time's up." said Touji, "I don't think we're gonna make it."
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Armisael watched as Zeruel continued to fire on the city. Below he could see people running about, trying to avoid the destruction that was slowly approaching. He watched as people ran towards the burning wreckage of homes, pulling out those who were injured. In several spots, he saw children crying over the bodies of their fallen fathers.
'Unless Zeruel is stopped,' thought Armisael, 'everyone here will die.'
He then made his choice.
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Arael watched with the others, helpless to stop her brothers onslaught against the city.
* Arael. *
Arael jumped slightly as Armisael called out to her. She closed her eyes.
* Yes brother? *
* Tell the First Child..I understand now. Good-bye, my sister. *
Arael frowned. * What do you mean good-bye? *
She received no reply.
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Armisael moved one of his ends outward, then brought it back in, catching Zeruel off guard and slamming into the core cover. He then began to join with his brother.
* ARMISAEL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? * Zeruel called out.
Armisael would have smiled, had he been able to. * I cannot allow you to continue to destroy this city. I will stop you...now."
Armisael felt a surge of power as he attached himself to his brother's core. With a sigh, he caused both cores to collapse.
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The shockwave from the two cores exploding was tremendous. Touji and Shinji were tossed from the sky. People all over Japoness were knocked flat to the ground. Everyone in the castle was on their knees, everyone but one.
Arael remained standing, watching the mushroom cloud that was once her brothers expand slowly upwards towards the sky.
The shockwave had another effect. It rattled the fallen form of Eva-04, whose eyes began to flicker.
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Lorelei slowly got to her feet and looked out over the city. Several areas remained ablaze from the 14ths Attacks and the area near the battle seemed flattened, but the city remained standing.
"Is it over?" she asked, "Did we win?"
A loud roar from the edge of town was her only reply as the 3rd Angel rose to its feet. It looked around until its eyes came to rest on the crater created by the resent explosion. Only one thought went through its mind.
Vengeance.
It started to head towards the city when it noticed that an object had been underneath him.
The Lance of Longinus.
The Angel picked up the Lance, feeling its power pulse in its hand. It then turned and resumed its march towards the city.
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Shinji coughed and slowly got to his feet. He looked over to see a massive crater where the 2 Angels had last been fighting.
"Oh." He said. He then looked around. "Touji?"
Touji sat up nearby, "I know we're immortal...but if I keep getting hit by explosions its gonna kill me."
Shinji smiled. His smile vanished as he spotted the 3rd Angel marching towards the city with the Lance in its hand.
"Tell me I'm seeing things." said Touji.
"You mean the 3rd Angel heading towards Japoness holding the only weapon that can destroy it?" asked Shinji, "Nope, you're not seeing things."
"Great." muttered Touji, "What should we do now?"
"Stop it."
"How?"
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Battery after battery of guns fired at the Angel from the few remaining positions left on the city wall. The Angel continued to walk towards the city, the shells bouncing easily off its AT-Field. Every now and then, a different kind of explosion went off against the AT-Field from the efforts of Shinji and Touji. These also had no effect on the Angel.
"So this is it." said Otaru, "The end of Japoness."
"Not if I can help it." said Yui. "I defeated the 6th, I can defeat the 3rd."
"No! Wait!" shouted Asuka, but Yui had already vanished.
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Yui appeared above the Angel. She watched as explosions went off around the Angel.
"I will not lose." muttered Yui. A helmet flashed into existence on her head and lance appeared in her hand. She dove downward towards the core, holding her lance before her.
Shinji turned and spotted his daughter diving at the Angel.
"YUI! NO!"
Yui's lance connected with the Angel's AT-Field and immediately stopped. Yui grunted as she pressed the lance forward, trying to force it through the field. She was so occupied with her attack, she never saw the hand heading her way.
Shinji could only watch as his daughter was sent hurtling away from the Angel, impacting hard against the ground. Yui struggled to her knees but collapsed back to the ground. The Angel roared in victory and began to approach Yui.
"NO!" Shinji screamed. He flew in front of the Angel and began to push against the Angel's AT-Field, trying to slow its approach. Touji joined him seconds later. Both struggled to keep the Angel from getting any closer to Yui.
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"NO!" shouted Asuka. "YUI!" she tried to teleport to her daughter's side, but was still too weak.
"Bloodberry," said Otaru, "How fast can you get to her?"
"Not as fast as Lime, But I'll try." She turned and began to speed away."
"Oh my god." said Lorelei.
Otaru turned back to see Shinji and Touji tossed aside. The Angel approached Yui and brought its foot up over Yui.
Asuka screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
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Arael had stood and watched as Lime cried over her fallen friend. She had watched Armisael sacrificed his life for the lilim, as had her brothers Leliel and Tabris. Now she watched as Sachiel prepared to crush the life out of Yui.
'Angels are nothing but vicious killers!' came Misato's voice.
'....Angels were those big monsters that attacked earth a long time ago..' came Lime's voice.
'....You made us relive the worst moments of our lives.' came Sayoko's voice.
"No." Arael said softly.
'..vicious killers!..'
'..monsters....'
'...worst moments of our lives....'
'..Momma! I'm Pilot! Look at me!...'
"No..not this again.not now."
'Momma!'
'Tell the First Child.. I understand. Good-bye, my Sister.'
Arael looked over at Rei. She still lay on the ground, unconscious. She turned her head and saw Lime, no longer crying but still holding tightly onto Marine. She then turned back to the Second Child, screaming as the 3rd and 4th children were tossed out of the way, allowing Sachiel to move straight towards Yui.
'Whatever you did,' came Yui's voice, 'you need to let it go and move on. If Aunt Sayoko trusts you, that's good enough for me.'
Arael glanced over at Unit-04. She noticed the eyes of the Eva flickering. She knew she had a decision to make. She turned sharply as the 2nd Child screamed one more time. Arael's eyes flared bright red as she made her choice.
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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Asuka as the 3rd Angel's foot started to come down. Bloodberry, running at top speed, was still minutes away. Just feet from crushing Yui, the massive foot froze, an AT-Field preventing it from reaching Yui. The field flared, knocking the 3rd Angel back away from the fallen Guardian.
Cherry turned and looked at Asuka. "Did you do that?"
Asuka stared stunned, "No...I can't do an AT-Field. If I had the power to raise a shield...it would have been blue. Who could have...." Suddenly Asuka knew who did it. She slowly turned to face Arael. Arael was floating just off the ground, her eyes glowing bright red. "Arael?"
"I won't let him harm her." Arael said softly, "I owe both you and her that and so much more."
"What?"
Arael was no longer listening. She slowly floated upwards from the balcony. As soon as she cleared the castle her body began to glow bright white and shift. Snowflake wings sprouted from her back and began to grow in size. Asuka shivered as Arael took on the form that she remembered from so long ago.
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Sachiel recovered quickly from the shock of running into Arael's light of the soul. Seeing it was no longer present, Sachiel started moving forward again, determined to kill the daughter of the Guardian's. Then he spotted a shadow of lilim, one of the mechanical constructs that cohabited this world with the lilim. It had moved to the fallen Guardian and was trying to escape. Sachiel growled in anger and had just started to follow when he was engulfed in a bright light. He blink, trying to clear his vision. When it return, he found himself standing over an orange colored ocean, and ocean full of the life blood of Lilith, what the lilim called 'LCL'.
'What is this?' he thought.
With a flash, he found himself in heaven. 15 figures in gray robes bowed before 3 figures. 2 wore the same gray as the 15, the last one wore a colorful robe and sat behind a desk.
'Kami-sama.' muttered Sachiel as he looked at the man behind the desk, the two in front however....
'Father? Mother? How can this be?' He then realized who the 15 were. His brothers and sister, all together.
"You 15," said Kami-sama rising from his desk, "are tasked with the clearing of the surface world of demons." Kami-sama stepped beside Adam and Lilith. "You will take your orders from Adam. Once the demon threat has been neutralized, Lilith will begin to seed the world with the life I have planned for it."
Adam smirked, but only the other Angels caught it.
The view then shifted to a large plain. Dead demons littered the plain, the ground soaking in their blood. Adam floated over the corpses, Sachiel, and Bardiel behind him.
"Adam."
Adam turned to see a Goddess floating towards him. He sighed as he realized who it was.
"What can I do for you Verdandi?"
Verdandi floated next to him. "Kami-sama wants an update."
"We have cleared this continent of the demons. As we speak Lilith has begun to release her offspring."
"Very well. I will inform Kami-sama." Verdandi vanished in a flash.
"That bitch is becoming annoying." said Bardiel
"Hush Bardiel." Adam said, "We only have to put up with it a bit longer, and then we will rule this world."
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Bloodberry arrived back at the castle with Yui. Shinji and Touji arrived shortly there after. Yui now stood before a very annoyed Asuka.
"What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!"
"Do you have to yell at her right now?" asked Shinji.
Asuka turned and glared at her husband, "What?!"
Shinji pointed towards the 3rd Angel, still frozen in a shaft of light from Arael.
"We have an Angel to stop and I don't know how long it will stay there."
Asuka immediately went quiet. "How do we do it? It still has the lance."
"Can't you pull it out of its hand?" asked Lorelei.
Asuka turned to Shinji. He shook his head. "Already tried it. It's like his hand is frozen around it."
"I..think you guys had better take a look at this." said Luchs.
"Take a look at...oh"
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"Sachiel! The others!" shouted Bardiel, "They've all been defeated!"
Sachiel tossed the Valkyrie in his hand other his shoulder. "What?"
Bardiel plunged his arm into the chest of another Valkyrie. "I can't get a hold of any of them."
"Sachiel...Bardiel.."
Both Angels turned to see their mother, Lilith floating over head.
"Mother?" Sachiel said quietly.
"Sleep...it is time..to sleep.."
Bardiel began to wobble, before collapsing to the ground.
'No..not this again..'
Sachiel began to feel drowsy. He struggled to remain awake...but was fighting a losing battle.
"Why..Mother?"
"We are not meant to rule this world." replied Lilith.
'Not again..' thought Sachiel as he watched his younger self fall, 'Why am I seeing this?... why is..wait..ARAEL!'
Sachiel now found himself standing over the ocean again. Arael stood across from him.
"So you figured out it was me holding you here." Arael said quietly, "It will not change anything. As we speak your destruction is imminent."
Sachiel crossed his arms, "You turn against your brethren? For what? The pathetic lilim? You have become weak."
"Perhaps." replied Arael, "But I will remain alive long after you are dead, returning to the service of our original master, Kami-sama."
"I have no intention of allowing you to outlive me, sister."
"And what will you do to prevent it? You cannot leave this plain."
Sachiel smiled, "But I still hold the Lance of Longinus." Arael paled slightly. "I see you remember it. Perhaps a demonstration of its power is in order."
The ocean of LCL began to froth and boil.
"No!" shouted Arael, "Wait!"
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With a load roar of outrage, the 3rd Angel reared back and raised the Lance of Longinus above its head. The lance's forks merged into one spear as the Angel threw it towards the 15th. The lance ripped through the 15th's AT- Field and then through the Angel itself. With a scream of pain, the 15th fell from the sky, its left wing collapsing downward as it fell.
The 3rd Angel then turned back towards the city. It had just taken a step when it froze. It glanced downward to see the point of a progressive knife sticking out of its core. Turning slightly, it could see EVA-04 still holding the handle of the knife.
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Most of the LCL had leaked out of the entry plug. Sayoko still sat in the seat, half in the LCL, half out, clutching the side of her body tightly. Sparks spat out from the controls and from the shattered electronics along the gash. Sayoko coughed up more blood before she spoke.
"Forget....about me?" she coughed out before fainting.
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EVA-04 slowly sank to the ground, while the 3rd Angel's core began to glow bright. With a roar, the core exploded. The shockwave sending EVA-04 tumbling across the ground.
The former Eva pilots winced as they watched the Eva smash into rock after rock, finally coming to rest on its face, more of the LCL leaking out.
"At least the worst part is over." said Touji.
With the bang of explosive bolts, the back panel blasted off of the Eva.
"You had to open your big mouth." muttered Asuka as the rockets ignited on the entry plug, carrying it out of the Eva and into the sky.
"What happens now?" asked Lorelei.
"I will answer that." came a new voice.
Everyone turned to see several armed Valkyries. Leading them was Mist.
"Why are you here Mist?" asked Asuka. 'What kept you?'
"Clean-up and recovery." said Mist, "A few dozen of my troops are removing all remains of the Angels as well as recovering the Lance and the Eva."
"What about Arael?" asked Yui.
Mist turned towards Yui, "That is being taken care of." She then turned back to Asuka. "A full memory block order has been issued for Terra 2."
"WHAT!?" shouted Asuka.
"What's a memory block?" asked Otaru.
"They want to remove these last several weeks from your memory." said Asuka, "That means you won't remember anything about the Saber attacks, the Angels...or us."
"You can't do that!" shouted Otaru, "You have no right."
"We have every right." said Mist, "The existence of the Gods and Demons must be kept secret, otherwise chaos will engulf the world. It is best left up to their faith wither they believe in us or not."
Lorelei placed her hand on Otaru's shoulder, "We understand."
"However, my orders do not include any of the mortals here or the Marionettes. The rest of the planet is all that my orders call for."
"Why not us?" asked Faust.
"You are deemed...trust worthy." replied Mist, "But you must never speak of these events to anyone else...ever."
Mist then turned to Asuka.
"We return now."
Asuka nodded and stood next to her husband and daughter.
"Will we ever see you again?" asked Lorelei.
"One day perhaps." Asuka said as she faded away with the others. "Until then, farewell."
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The next day
"Clean-up continues after the big plasma storm." said the reporter, "Japoness scientists believe this was the last gasp from the major plasma activity of a month ago. It is still not known why the storms were particular violent in Gartlant. Plasma based weapon systems created in Gartlant are suspected to increased the destruction there, which also involved a large loss of life. In other news.."
Bloodberry clicked off the TV. "Plasma Storms? They wiped out everyone's memory's of the Angel attacks and replaced them with Plasma Storms?"
Cherry looked up from her cooking, "It makes sense. Those Plasma Storms we had before were very violent. This is very believable."
"Yeah.sure."
Otaru came down the stairs. "Morning.."
"Good Morning Master." said Cherry, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. Where's Lime?"
Bloodberry and Cherry looked at each other, then turned to Otaru.
"She's at the castle." said Bloodberry, "With Marine."
"Oh."
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Lime stood next to Lorelei looking over the platform Marine laid on.
"Can you still fix her?" asked Lime.
"I don't know Lime." said Lorelei quietly, "Her Maiden Circuit was complex to begin with. I was still trying to understand its design. When that lance went through her, it damaged the Circuit." Lorelei placed her hands on Lime's shoulders. "I'm sorry Lime, she may be gone forever."
Tears rolled down Lime's eyes. She bent over and picked up the shell where it had fallen. She placed it next to Marine's ear.
"Here that Marine?" Lime said quietly, "It's the ocean. Now.you'll always hear it."
Lorelei placed her arm around Lime and then the two walked out, sealing the door behind them.
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The Heavens
Belldandy stood quietly in the observation room, Keiichi next to her. Both watched as the Healers worked on Sayoko. Finally, after long hours of waiting, one of the healers exited and walked towards them.
"How is she?" asked Belldandy.
"She lost much blood Milady." said the Healer, "One of her lungs was pierced when her side was sliced open. Also she was banged up a bit when her 'entry plug' hit the ground. She is a very tough Goddess."
"She gets it from her father." said Belldandy with a smile.
"Of course Milady."
"And the Angel?"
The Healer was quiet for several moments. "The Lance is very powerful weapon. She was lucky to make it this far."
"Shouldn't someone be with her?"
"There are 2 people with her Milady."
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Arael lay very still. She did not want to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was the Lance ripping into her..again. The last time she had awoken in limbo, to be repeatedly assaulted by the memories of the 2nd and 5th children. She tried hard to remain still, but finally she couldn't stand it anymore. She shifted her body, trying to get more comfortable. Pain shot through he left side, causing her to gasp out loud.
"So you're finally awake." came a voice which Arael recognized right away.
'No..not her...not now...' Arael slowly opened her eyes to see the Second Child standing next to her bed, Yui just behind her.
"I'm...not dead?" Arael asked.
Asuka smiled, "You're lucky the 3rd Angel can't aim well. He missed your core by several inches. The Healers say your regenerating nicely and should be on your feet in a few days." Asuka then turned to Yui. "Go outside for a minute."
Yui turned to obey, leaving Asuka alone with Arael. Arael stared in fear at the Second Child as Asuka turned back with a slight frown on her face.
"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you did." Asuka said softly, "But you saved my daughters life. Because of that, I'm going to give you a second chance." Asuka then smiled. "Now hurry up and heal. Yui has this strange idea your going to be working with us more."
Asuka turned to leave.
"Second Child?"
"Please," Asuka turned back to Arael, "Call me Asuka."
"Asuka then." said Arael, "Thank you."
Asuka nodded and left the room. Arael laid back and for the first time in a month, she slept peacefully.
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