Chapter 19
Celes moved through the corridors of the SEELE base back to her quarters. She had to get ready. Unlike the UN, the gods would move quickly. They didn't rely on planes since they could easily teleport from place to place Upon entering her quarters she went straight to her suitcase. She opened it, the carefully removed the false bottom. Underneath, a large gun was revealed. Celes smiled. It was one of the few things her Master had left for her since his retirement. Of course he told her it was just for safe keeping, after all, he still had the massive black freak gun. She loaded the weapon, careful not to touch the bullets. She then walked over to the wall and pulled what appeared to be at first a black pipe. It was her Halconnen Cannon. She had only a few shells for it, but the gun would come in use. Her weapons prepared, she sat down and waited.
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Tokyo-2
University Hospital
Belldandy was asleep sitting beside Keiichi, her head laying against his arm when Skuld entered. Megumi was asleep in a chair across from her.
"Onee-sama." She whispered quietly.
Belldandy opened her eyes and sat up.
"Wh….what is it Skuld?"
"Mist is back at the apartment. She brought a squad of Valkyries with her." Skuld was quiet for a second. "She brought Lind with."
Belldandy's eyes widened. "Does that mean……?"
Skuld nodded, "We know where SEELE is, and the Soultaker."
Belldandy looked up at Skuld. "I want to come with but……"
"Go."
Both goddesses turned and looked at Megumi..
"Go and get that Demon bitch." Megumi said softly, "I'll tell him when he wakes up."
Belldandy stood up and bent over Keiichi, giving him a kiss on his cheek. She then turned towards the door. She stopped and looked back at Megumi.
"When he wakes up, tell him I love him."
"Oh he already knows that." replied Megumi, "But I will tell him."
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Ikari Apartment
The apartment was rather crowded. Mist had arrived along with Lind and 5 other Valkyries. Asuka felt a bit nervous around them do to the fact she and the other Guardians had defeated most of them in training battle. But she welcomed all the help they could get.
"Where is Touji?"
Asuka turned to see Rei behind her.
"On his way over."
"What's he doing? Walking? I thought he'd teleport."
Asuka smiled, "We don't call him the stooge for nothing."
Something began to glow behind Rei. Asuka moved to the side and saw the mirror glowing and a hand coming out of it.
"Looks like Belldandy's here." Asuka said. "Better go see about getting a cup of water from Skuld."
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Touji walked up to the front door of the apartment and rang the bell. The door opened and Shinji stepped out, closing it behind him.
"Where have you been?" asked Shinji.
"The temporary housing sucks." replied Touji, "Hikari and the kids hate it."
"They've had four months to get used to it."
"Those four months just made them hate it more." Touji glanced at the closed apartment door. "So who's here?"
"Asuka, Rei, Belldandy, Skuld, Mist, Lind, and 5 other Valkyries."
Touji whistled. "SEELE is in trouble."
"Oh that reminds me." Shinji pointed his finger at Touji. "No stupid comments."
"What?"
"You and me are the only males in there. You make one stupid insulting comment and they're all over you."
"Come on Shinji. This is me you're talking about." Touji smiled as he opened the door and entered the apartment.
Shinji sighed, "That's what I'm afraid of."
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Lake Kizaki
Maho and Mizuho sat quietly in front of their guest. Kei was off in the kitchen making tea.
"How long till we go?" asked Mizuho.
"According to the note Maho brought, about an hour."
"You sure your alright?" Mizuho asked.
Their guest glared, "Of course I'm not alright! "
Mizuho and Maho backed away. It was the fourth time their guest had exploded in the last couple of days. After taking several deep breaths, she calmed down.
"I'm sorry." She said, "I….….just want to get this done."
Mizuho nodded. "Of course."
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Siberia
45 minutes later
"You see it?" asked Rei.
Mist nodded. "Looks like them. I saw the same kind of security system in England."
Both were laying down on a hill looking at the entrance in the SEELE base. Like the one in England, it too was set into a mountainside and mostly underground.
"Easy to get in?" asked Rei.
"For us, yes." Mist glanced over at Rei, "But then they know we're coming in. The idea is to get in there and surprise them. So we can't go in the front."
"Teleport?"
"Have you tried to sense that place yet?"
Rei frowned and looked back at the entrance. She reached out with her mind towards the base, and shivered.
"Cold." She muttered.
Mist nodded. "She's in there. We teleport in, she'll sense it. Hell, she may sense us anyway, but we have to find another way in."
Rei was quiet for a second.
"They have to circulate air." Rei glanced at Mist. "Let's find a ventilator."
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The group stood around the narrow ventilator shaft. Looking into it, the darkness seemed to go on forever.
"Who's first?" asked Touji.
Asuka immediately stepped forward.
"Damned if I'm going to let a pervert like you look up my robe." She turned and looked at Shinji. "Feel free to drop in after me. I might get lonely." She vanished down the shaft.
"Go on Shinji." said Skuld.
"Wait a second." Touji shouted, "You'll let Shinji go before you?"
"He's not as bad as you." replied Skuld.
"Much more of a gentlemen." added Mist.
"I'd have him by my side any day." finished Lind.
Shinji shrugged at Touji before vanishing down the shaft. One by one the others followed, till Touji was the only one left.
"I definitely have to work on my people skills." muttered Touji as he followed the rest in.
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Keel and the other members of SEELE watched as the technicians worked on the new MP Evangelions. It wouldn't be much longer before they were all operational. The only thing left to do was to get the Clone of Unit 01 to work. But that Unit required a soul. Keel glanced behind him at the Soultaker. She was sitting in his chair with her eyes closed, meditating or sleeping, he didn't know which. Other demons moved quietly about, bored from lack of activity. He hated that he had to resort to using these foul creatures from hell, but achieving Instrumentality would be worth it.
"Sir?"
Keel turned back and faced the technician. "Yes?"
"We're ready sir."
"Excellent. Activate the Evas."
The technician flipped a switch. All 9 Evas stood up straight and flexed their hands. Keel smiled. Instrumentality was even closer now. The lights then flickered, and the Evas hunched back down. Keel frowned.
"What happened?"
"The S2 Engines didn't engage." replied the Tech.
"Why not?"
"We're not sure." replied the Tech, "Maybe the soul didn't take."
"Oh it took."
The tech glanced nervously back at the Soultaker as she walked forward. He'd seen what she could do. Months ago, another tech had insulted her. The demonstration of her powers afterward had been suitable enough that no one even thought an insult at her.
The Soultaker stopped just in front of the console and stared at the Evas. "They just don't like the idea of being in the Eva. Keep at it, they'll get use …..to……it."
Keel glanced over at the Soultaker. A puzzling look had appeared on her face. It then vanished into a smile. She snapped out an order in her demonic language.
"What is it?" asked Keel.
"We have bats in our attic." replied the Soultaker softly, "Bat's with angelic wings."
"Gods?" Keel asked.
The demon nodded. "Don't worry. It will be taken care of." She turned and left the room.
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Two guards stood watching over an intersection. Above them, a grate was quietly lifted out of the way. Suddenly a shape dropped from the vent and before the guards could react, they were sent flying. Lind stared down the corridors before waving her hand. Belldandy, Skuld, and the others dropped from the vent.
"Remind me never to pick a fight with you." muttered Asuka.
"Thought I was already supposed to tell you that." replied Lind with a smile.
Asuka mumbled something in German.
"Where to?" asked Touji.
"Hey you!"
Everyone turned to see 4 Demons running up the corridor. Mist smiled, then turned to the other Valkyries.
"You three with me. The rest of you with Lind." Mist turned to Belldandy. "We'll keep them occupied. Good Luck."
Mist turned towards the charging Demons and raised her arm.
"DEATH TO THE DEMONS!!" She cried and charged.
Lind pushed the others down another corridor.
"Let's move." Lind glanced back, "There'll be more soon."
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"Sir!"
Keel glanced over at the Tech.
"What is it?"
"Security is reporting that some demons are fighting intruders near section 8."
Several members of SEELE looked alarmed. Keel ignored them.
"Order Security to go to full alert." ordered Keel, "Make sure we have a clear escape rout as well." Keel glanced at the other members of SEELE. "I doubt we'll need it, but better to be safe then sorry."
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Alarms rang all across the base.
"Looks like Mist has made a big impression." said Asuka.
"Now we'll run into more mortals." Lind said quietly. She pulled out her ax. "Time for us to go our separate ways."
"What?"
Lind turned and bowed slightly to Belldandy. "If I don't make it, give my best to Keiichi." She turned and barked an order to the remaining Valkyrie and they all ran off in search of the enemy.
"Keep moving." Belldandy said quietly.
"But what about…..?"
"Lind and Mist will distract them." Belldandy said, "We will face the Soultaker below." She turned and headed down the corridor.
"How do you know?" asked Touji.
"I know." Belldandy said softly.
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Outside the main entrance, three shafts of light appeared. When the light dimmed, three cloaked figures stared silently at the main door.
"Marie!" shouted one.
Another flash of light, and a small figure in an inner tube appeared at it's master's command.
"Scan that."
"Noh!"
The figure looked at the others.
"Security door. We enter in the wrong command and it will set off an alarm." The figure then shrugged, "Or kill us."
"That's a real positive thought Mizuho." muttered the shortest of the three.
Mizuho looked at the figure. "I'm sorry Maho but that's the truth and…….what are you doing?"
While the two sisters had been talking, the third figure had walked up to the gate. She then turned and went to a small control panel beside the door. She hit a button and placed her hand on a scanner. A red light then came on and scanned her face. The light then flashed green.
"Welcome Lucy." came a mechanical voice as the door slide open.
'Lucy' pulled her hood off, revealing the helmeted form of Sayoko. She looked back at the two sisters before entering the base.
Mizuho and Maho hurried after her.
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Celes peered out from her room. The sounds of fighting could be heard elsewhere in the facility. Somewhere, guns roared, and humans screamed, and died. Also audible was a faint cry that sent chills down her spine.
It was time to go.
She slung the Halconnen Cannon to her back and grabbed Arucard's pistol. She exited into the hallway and looked down one way, and then the other. Nothing. She stepped out and ran down the hall.
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"What do you think is going on?" asked one guard. He and another guard were guarding an intersection.
"I don't know." replied the other. "All I know is that those demon things are fighting something and…." He stopped talking as 3 figures approached. He recognized the lead figure easily.
"Lucy Ma'am." He said. "There are orders that all demons……"
He never finished. 'Lucy's fist whipped out and smashed the guard's nose. The guard stumbled backward, clutching his face as blood gushed out everywhere. The second guard started to raise his gun but 'Lucy' leaped at him. Her foot slammed into the guards chest. The cracking of ribs echoed throughout the corridor. The guard went down. 'Lucy' then turned back to the second guard, grabbed his head, and twisted violently. The guard collapsed to the floor, his head hanging off at a weird angle. 'Lucy' then turned and resume her walk down the hallway. Maho shivered and looked at Mizuho. Then both followed 'Lucy' keeping a respectful distance behind her.
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Celes moved silently along the corridor, pausing to listen for any sign of either the attackers or defenders. She then rounded a corner and froze.
Standing in front of her were two demons. Both stared at Celes.
"Well well." said one, "What do we have here?"
The other demon frowned. "Hey! She's already dead!"
"You're right." The first demon smiled, "We got ourselves a giant leech. Whatcha going to do leech? You can't bite us."
Celes smiled. "No but I can do this." She raised the gun and fired. The left most demon's head exploded. The other stared in shock, then snarled at Celes.
"You bitch!" He charged at her.
Celes fired the gun again. This time a red shield deflected the bullet. Celes' eyes went wide and she fired again. Once again, a shield deflected the shot. She was about to fire again when the corridor behind the demon lit up. The demon suddenly sped up and flew past her with a scream before it vanished in a fireball. Celes' looked back towards the direction the demons had started from. Standing in the middle of the corridor was helmeted figure in a dark robe. The figure walked towards her, then paused just long enough to look at her, before moving on. Celes continued to watch the figure walk away when footsteps caused her to turn around. Before her was a red hair woman and a dark haired girl.
"You must be Celes." said the woman.
"Who are you?" asked Celes.
"I'm Mizuho, and this is my sister Maho."
Celes' eyes widened. "You're goddesses?"
"No." Mizuho replied. She looked up the hallway. "She is and if we don't hurry she's going to leave us behind."
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Belldandy, Skuld, and the four guardians stepped out into a massive hanger. Dominating the far wall were 10 Evas.
"Oh shit." muttered Asuka, "They've been busy."
"They even have a Unit 01." Rei said, "They've been planning for a repeat of third impact."
"Nice to see someone has been doing their homework."
The six looked up to see a demon floating 20 feet off the floor in front of them. Shinji stepped forward.
"You're the Soultaker aren't you?"
The demon smiled.
"That's what those who fear me call me." She replied.
"So what would you like us to call you?" asked Touji.
"Mistress, Queen, Your Ladyship, it doesn't matter." the demon smiled, "For soon you will be dead."
"Oh yeah?" asked Asuka, "You and what army?"
"I don't need an army." replied the Soultaker.
The floor lurched, sending everyone to the ground.
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Keel grabbed hold of the console as the entire room shifted. Techs and several of the other SEELE members fell flat on their faces. Keel looked out the window into the hangar. The floor of the hanger began to buckle. With a roar the floor exploded, a large monster bursting from the cloud of debris. Multiple arms ending in claws unwrapped themselves from the beast. It turned and snarled at the deities standing before it.
"What the hell is that?!?"
Keel turned to see one of the SEELE members standing next to him.
"A rather large demon I imagine." replied Keel.
"This isn't part of our scenario!" shouted the member, "Keel this is getting out of hand."
"I agree."
A shot echoed in the room and the SEELE member fell to the ground dead. Keel turned and looked at the other members, still holding the pistol in his hand.
"Anyone else care to bring up the obvious?"
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Asuka leaped through the air, trying to avoid the claws that were flying after her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Skuld and Shinji also flying about. She could only assume the others were doing the same. A sudden sense of danger caused her to move quickly to her left. In the space she just vacated, a force bolt raced past. Asuka looked up to see the Soultaker frowning. The Soultaker raised her hands and sent another force bolt flying towards her. Asuka ducked out of the way of it and fired off one of her own. The force bolt was easily knocked aside by the demons shield. Then Asuka's world spun as one of the claws locked onto her and sent her down towards the floor.
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"Doesn't she say anything?" asked Celes.
At this point, Celes was questioning wither the person walking ahead of her was a goddess. She had just spent the last ten minutes following Mizuho, Maho, and….the goddess deeper into the facility. Everytime they encountered a guard or a demon, the goddess brutally attacked and killed them. Using either her hands or her powers, it didn't matter.
"She's had a rough time recently." replied Mizuho, "At least that's what I've gotten out of her when she has talked."
"I've had bad days too. But I don't literally rip people's heads off. Besides…." Celes looked back up at the goddess. "Since when do Goddesses have a rough time?"
Mizuho shrugged, "I don't know. I…."
A figure burst from the ceiling above them and landed with a crash on the floor in front of them. Maho screamed and hid behind Mizuho while Celes pulled out her gun and took aim.
"NO WAIT!" Mizuho brought her arm crashing into Celes arm, causing the gun to fire into the ceiling. "It's a goddess!"
Celes stared at the grim and blood covered figure in front of them. Then it clicked.
"Mist?"
The Valkyrie's eyes narrowed. "Nosferatu Celes Victoria."
Mizuho and Maho looked between Celes and Mist.
"What?"
"That's Mist, Commander of the Valkyries." replied Ceres, "What happened to you?"
"The demons have unusually strong." Mist said quietly, "Several of my comrades have fallen." Her eyes then narrowed as she looked at Mizuho and Maho. "You are the aliens. Where is the goddess you arrived with?"
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Shinji and Touji pulled with all their strength, trying to pull the claw that pinned Asuka to the floor off of her. Above them, Rei, Belldandy, and Skuld flew about, distracting the other arms. Asuka help out as well from her position on the floor, tossing force bolts at any arms that came near Shinji and Touji.
"LOOK OUT!"
Shinji and Touji were tossed away as a figure raced past them. Asuka felt a slight breeze and was hit in the face by hot liquid. The monster roared in pain and reared back. Asuka felt the pressure from the claw cease and sat up, easily moving it aside. Lind stood nearby, her ax coated in the creature's blood. Asuka wiped the blood from her face.
"Thanks a lot."
Lind smiled, "Your welcome." She then turned and proceeded to hack away at the creatures limbs. Asuka stepped back and looked around. Skuld was laying over a console unconscious, but alive. Belldandy was flying around avoiding the claws that reached out to grab her. Two of the Valkyries who had gone off with Lind were now circling the Soultaker. Shinji and Touji had resumed harassing the creature, burning away limbs with force bolts. Lind was hacking away at them as well, leaving a rather large pile on either side of her………wait. Asuka frowned. It didn't have that many arms to begin with. She watched the creature more closely. Everytime a limb was cut off, a new one grew in its place. Asuka growled in frustration.
'It's not fair!'
A loud scream brought her attention back to the Soultaker. She now held a Valkyrie in her arms, both of her hands glowing. The Valkyrie was struggling to get free, but was appeared to be getting weaker by the moment. The Valkyrie let out one final cry, and then froze, her skin tightening across her bones. The Soultaker smiled as she released the Valkyrie's body. The body fell to the floor. When it hit, the body crumbled into dust. The other Valkyrie stared in shock, then snarled and through herself at the demon. She soon joined her fallen comrade as dust.
"Mien Gott." Asuka whispered.
"You saw that?"
Asuka glanced over. Rei was next to her.
"Yeah." Asuka said, "How much worse can this get?"
The room vibrated slightly. Next to the Soultaker there was a bright flash. A figure now floated there.
It was Sayoko.
"Lucy!" shouted the Soultaker, "You've returned to me!" She then looked down at Asuka and Rei. "Destroy them Lucy! Destroy the Guardians!"
Sayoko turned her head and looked down at Asuka and Rei. She raised her hands, a force bolt beginning to form between them.
"You had to ask Asuka." muttered Rei.
Before Asuka could reply, there was a bright flash from behind Sayoko, followed by a roar. An claw that has been just about to hit Belldandy exploded into gore. Sayoko turned slightly and sent her force bolt racing towards the monster. The bolt slammed into the creature's head, taking out a large chunk of it. The monster immediately began to regenerate.
"WHAT?!" The Soultaker turned towards Sayoko. She started to reach for her when another flash came from behind Sayoko. The Soultaker's shield burst into bright red as something exploded against it, temporary clouding both demon and goddess from view. When the cloud faded, only the Soultaker could be seen.
"What the hell is going on?" shouted Asuka.
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Celes reloaded her cannon and took aim. Next to her, Mist watched the demon carefully and listened. Mizuho and Maho could only stand off to the side.
"I've got the demon lined up for another shot." Celes said quietly.
"Don't bother." Mist said, "Her senses are too sharp. We won't take her by surprise. Besides, Sayoko is there."
"I don't see her." muttered Celes.
"Just because you don't see her doesn't mean she isn't there." replied Mist.
"What do you…." Celes started to ask when she spotted something. Thanks to her being a vampire, she could see things far away very clearly. Floating faintly just behind the demon was ghostly form of the goddess.
"Line up another shot on the demonic creature." Mist said.
"I thought you said we could shoot the demon."
"Not her. The creature on the floor. It is the Demon's creation, she is what is causing it to regenerate. Every time we hurt it, she must supply power to it. Now shoot it!"
Celes gritted her teeth and took aim.
The Halconnen Cannon roared.
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The head of the monster vanished in an explosion. Once again the head began to reform.
"That's becoming quite bothersome." muttered the Soultaker.
"It won't for long."
Something wrapped itself around the demon's throat and tightened. The demon gasped and grabbed at the invisible arm, which soon became visible.
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"How the hell did she do that?" Asuka asked as Sayoko reappeared.
"I'll explain later." shouted Belldandy, "Keep blasting at the monster!"
The guardians fired away at the creature, joined in by shots from Celes. The monster continued to regenerate, but it was doing so much slower then before. High above, the Soultaker was still struggling to pull Sayoko off of her.
"You're……… becoming……quite….a pain……Lucy." gasped the Demon.
"My name is SAYOKO." snarled the goddess. She pulled a dagger from her robes with her left and plunged it into the side of the demon and twisted. The demon howled in pain.
"You're………quite……vicious……" the demon smiled, "I…..like that……..hope for ……..you yet."
"You should know." snarled Sayoko, "You made me into a monster!"
"Now………I'll just……make you……..dead." The Soultaker reached back and grabbed hold of Sayoko's face under the helmet. Her hands began to glow. Sayoko screamed. It felt like she was being pulled apart. She felt the skin beginning to tighten on her left hand. She glanced over and saw that her arm was slowly drying out, looking almost mummified. She closed her eyes and pushed the knife deeper into the demon. She heard the satisfying sound of the demon grunting in pain.
"I go. You go." whispered Sayoko.
"I think not." The demon's voice was stronger. "I have a agreement with some others……….."
Sayoko felt the demon grow slightly in power and strength. Sayoko's grip on the demon began to fail.
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Keel felt light headed. And tired. He shook his head trying to clear his mind. A glance behind him showed that he wasn't the only one having problems. Several of the other SEELE members we on the verge of collapsing.
'What's happening to us?" thought Keel.
"Sir? What should we do?" asked the tech.
Keel looked out the window into the hanger bay. The Demon was still wrapped up by the Goddess. The monster below was moving even more sluggishly as the multiple attacks began to tell on it. Keel turned to the Tech.
"Activate the Evas." He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the Techs head. "And they had better work."
The Tech gulped. "Yes sir." He reached over and began to type commands into a console.
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The hanger shuddered as a deep growl echoed throughout. Everyone, Guardian, Goddess, Alien, Vampire, Demon, and monster, stopped moving. They all slowly turned as one towards the Evas. All 10 were flexing their muscles, trying to break free of the restraints holding them against the wall.
"Oh hell." muttered Touji, "If they get loose……."
"We can take them." replied Asuka.
"10 at once?"
"Why not?"
"Don't worry." They glanced over at Belldandy who stumbled over to where Skuld lay. "It's being taken care of."
"What?" Touji looked back at the Evas. One had worked the restraints enough that it had an arm free. It brought it's arm crashing down on the monster which roared in pain.
"It's being taking care of." Belldandy turned and looked off towards the far corner.
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Mist nodded at Belldandy then glanced at Mizuho.
"Do it now."
"You heard her Marie." Mizuho said, looking at her computer.
"Noh!"
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The console flickered. The tech frowned.
"What is it?" asked Keel.
"I don't know." The tech entered some commands. His eyes grew wide. "Oh hell……."
"What?"
"The S2 Engines. They're going to critical!" the Tech turned around. "They're going to blow!"
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Sayoko's arms were almost completely mummified. The Soultaker was starting to get loose.
"You have failed little goddess." the demon said with a smile, "I have won!"
"Not yet." Sayoko pulled the knife out of the demon, leaving a large gash. Dropping the knife, she reached into her robe and pulled out a small object. "I have to go. But I wanted to give you something, for luck!"
The Demons eyes widened. "What?"
Sayoko plunged the Good Luck charm into the demons body. The Soultaker screamed as her body reacted the to charm. Sayoko released the demon, who fell to the hanger floor.
"We need to get out of here now!" shouted Mist from above.
"Belldandy and Skuld don't have the power to teleport!" shouted Rei.
"Marie and Miruru can teleport us." came Mizuho's voice.
* Sayoko? *
Sayoko turned her head and found herself staring right into her mother's eyes. Sayoko released the chin strap and pulled the demon helmet from her head. She let it fall to the hanger floor.
* I'm sorry Mother. *
* Come with us. Please? *
Sayoko shook her head. * Not yet Mother. Tell Father I love him. *
"SAYOKO! WAIT!" Belldandy cried out.
Sayoko reached into her pocket and pulled out a sliver of mirror. The mirror glowed and she vanished into it. The sliver hovered in the air a bit longer before falling to the floor, shattering into pieces when it hit.
"Sayoko." Belldandy whispered.
One of the Evas roared, clutching at it's chest.
"If you're going to do it," shouted Asuka, "Do it now!"
The last thing Belldandy saw as the sparkle of Marie's teleportation took hold was the Soultaker, struggling to her feet.
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She hadn't felt pain like in all the thousands of years she was alive. Not even when Hild had locked her away in the pits of hell had it been this painful. She couldn't even pull the damn charm out, she had almost totally healed right over it.
'Curse all Goddesses'
She looked up at the Evas. All of them were still struggling to get free, their chests glowing a bright cherry red.
'Time to leave.'
She tried to teleport, but the pain from the charm prevented her from doing so. She then turned and looked at the window to the control room. Keel was in the window, looking down at her. He smiled, then vanished from view.
Her eyes narrowed.
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"Friends." Keel said, "It is time for us to leave."
"But what of the Evas?" asked one of the other members.
Keel shrugged, "They were cloned once. They can be cloned again."
Keel turned and started towards the door.
* And where do you think you're going? *
Everyone in the control room froze and looked about, trying to see where the voice was coming from.
"We're leaving." replied Keel, "It wouldn't due for SEELE to be killed off. We still have the future of humanity to control."
* And what about me?! *
Keel smiled. "You can stay here and die. I've had enough of your so called help."
* WE HAD AN AGREEMENT! *
"…..The agreement is off." replied Keel, "Good bye demon."
Keel started to leave when he heard the demon laugh.
* You mortals thinks it's that easy? Just break an agreement just like that? HAH! * He voice dripped with venom. * I told you before Keel. Our fates are linked. *
Keel paled slightly. "What?"
The room rocked as the one of the Evas fell to the floor, twitching as the core began to vibrate. The techs and other members of SEELE ran for the exit. Only the tech made it through the door. The SEELE members slammed into a red shield. Keel walked back to the hanger window and looked down at the demon.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!"
* We go to oblivion…..together. *
Bright white light filled the control room as the cores exploded.
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The mountain began to shake. Rocks and other things tumbled down it's side. Large fissures opened up, light bursting out from underneath. Then the entire mountain vanished in a bright flash. The shockwave from the blast leveled the forest for almost a hundred miles around. The sky all over the planet lit up.
Many thought it was the second impact all over again.
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Heavens
Alarms screamed out all over Yggdrasil control. Peorth and Urd stared at the main screen, watching as the mushroom cloud from the explosion expanded ever higher.
"10 S2 Engines." whispered Peorth.
"Think the planet will get knocked of kilter again?" asked Urd.
Peorth shrugged, "Don't know. Maybe."
"Ma'am?"
Peorth glanced at Erie. "Yes?"
"Cayla is on the line. She wants to know what's going on, and if they all………"
Peorth grabbed the phone and pressed a button on the SysOp console. An image of Cayla and her surroundings appeared on the main screen.
"Cayla?"
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Toyko-2 University Hospital
The room was filled with the steady beep of the heart monitor. Three people where in that room. Keiichi lay on the bed, still unconscious and likely to remain so. Megumi, his sister sat quietly at his bedside, maintaining a vigil started by his wife. At the phone, Cayla, Goddess of the Moon, listened for word of the others.
"Cayla?"
"Lady Peorth, what do you know?" asked Cayla.
"There's been a massive explosion in Siberia." Peorth replied, "Looks like 10 Evas blew up."
"What about Lady Belldandy, Lady Skuld, and the Guardians?" asked Cayla. Megumi looked over at Cayla hopefully.
"Hold on……"
Cayla could hear Peorth talking to someone, probably Lady Urd. Then Peorth came back on the line.
"Urd's got Skuld on the line. They lost 5 Valkyries, but the Soultaker is dead. Everyone else is fine, in fact, Belldandy should be on her way over right now."
"And Lady Sayoko?" Megumi looked up very interested.
Peorth said something to Urd. Urd hesitated, then muttered something. Peorth then returned to the phone.
"She didn't return with them, but she's alive, with all her memories."
Cayla looked over at Megumi. "Sayoko was there. She had her memories back."
Megumi smiled then looked at Keiichi. "You hear that Keiichi? Sayoko's alive!"
Keiichi made no reaction. A soft glow caused Megumi to turn and look at the mirror across the room.
"Keiichi your wife is here."
Belldandy stepped out of the mirror and walked to Keiichi's side.
"Keiichi." Belldandy said softly, "I'm here. I saw our daughter. She has a message for you, she says she loves you Keiichi."
Keiichi took in a deep breathe, then sighed. The heart monitor's beep stopped and became a tone. Everyone's eyes flashed to the monitor. Keiichi's bed was soon surrounded by doctors. After several minutes, the head doctor looked at Belldandy.
"I'm sorry."
Tears came to Belldandy's eyes. She soon found herself wrapped up by a crying Megumi. Cayla, still on the phone, fought to hold back her tears.
"Peorth, get someone to receiving. Keiichi Morisato is on his way."
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OMAKE #1
"We're ready sir." The Technician said.
"Excellent." replied Keel, "Activate the Evas."
The technician hit a switch. In the hanger, the mighty Evas stood a bit taller, clenching their fists.
"Good work." said Keel, "Very good work, now…………."
With a loud roar, the Evas flexed their muscles, breaking their restraints.
"SHUT THEM DOWN!!" shouted Keel.
"I can't sir! They're running on internal power!"
The Evas roared and smashed their way out of the base and into the night.
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Keel sat before the other monoliths, listening as they reported the whereabouts of the Evas.
SEELE 2 let out a sigh and began. "Two Evas were found at a Yebisu Beer plant in Japan. One Eva apparently downed several thousand gallons of beer, letting out a roar after emptying each tank. The second one joined it, and apparently…….began to copulate."
"Two more Evas were also found in Japan………..pictures show them to also be engaged in…….a lewd manner."
"Another Eva was found in Poland. It took a box car, a telephone pole, and a bunch of wires and made sort of a guitar. It's currently leaning against a record company building, playing 'Fly me to the Moon'."
"Two more are at an American Base in Germany, playing chess with the equipment."
"And the last two?" asked Keel.
"The last two had souls from bit characters and the author doesn't really care about them."
"Oh."
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OMAKE #2
"Oh yeah?" asked Asuka, "You and what army?"
"I don't need an army." replied the Soultaker.
The floor lurched, sending everyone to the ground.
The floor split and exploded as a monster burst out from underneath. The monster rose high above the Guardians and Goddesses. The Monster stared at them, and stretched out its many tentacles.
"NO!!!! OH GOD NO!!!" shouted Touji, "NOT TENTICLES!!!!"
It got really messy from there.