Chapter 4

A month went by.

For Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and Sayoko, it was a month where everything was pretty much normal. They went to school, hung out with their friends, and carried on as they always had. Mana also hung out with them, though Asuka would still protest, her complaints carried less weight in light of her lack of evidence, and Sayoko's claim that Mana did not have any Demon powers that she could detect.

Mana continued to hide her demonic identity from the others. At home, she practiced her skills with Welsper. She also went out on occasion and caused mischief here and there: A traffic light that had green in all directions, ATM machine that spewed out cash at anyone who walked by, annoying things.

All the while, Mana plotted out her next move against the pilots.

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Heavens

"Damn Demons." Peorth muttered from the SysOp chair. "What are they up to?"

"Ma'am?"

Peorth glanced over at Chrono. "There's all this demon activity in Tokyo-2, yet Yggdrasil can't detect them until they do something. By that point, they're gone."

"So what can we do?" Chrono asked.

Peorth thought for a moment, drumming her fingers on the armrest.

"Call Skuld." Peorth finally said, "Tell her to come up here to speak to me."

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Asuka, Shinji, Rei, Sayoko, and Mana were all walking together after school.

"Five more months!" Asuka shouted, "And then FREEDOM!!"

"Yay. Five more months and then I get ready for college." Shinji muttered.

Asuka looked at Shinji.

"Hey! Don't look so depressed. It'll a few months before it starts. So relax!"

"Says the girl who has already graduated college and doesn't need to worry about entrance exams." Rei replied.

"Graduated already college did you Sohryu?" Mana asked.

Asuka whirled about and glared at Mana. "I did! What of it Kirishima?"

Mana smiled, "Just wondering how someone that is so smart could do so poorly on the tests."

Asuka walked over and snarled at Mana. "It's because of that squiggly lines that you call writing!"

"Yeah sure." Mana said with a smirk.

"Why you…!!!" Asuka lunged at Mana. It was only quick action by Sayoko and Shinji that stopped her.

"Well, this is my street." Mana said. She then blew Shinji a kiss. "Later Shinji."

Asuka lunged again, but was still held back by Shinji.

"Just let her go." Shinji said, "She does that to provoke you."

"She was right though." Sayoko said.

"WHAT?!?!" Asuka and Shinji both shouted turning towards Sayoko.

"Her knowledge of Kanji sucks."

Asuka let out a sigh and sagged in Shinji's arms.

"Yeah…it does." She agreed.

"Anyway, This is my street too." Sayoko started up the street, "See you all later."

"Bye Sayoko."

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Heavens

Peorth sat in her private office, staring intently at her screen.

"Come one." She muttered. "Where are you?"

A knock at her door didn't even cause her to turn her head.

"Come in!" she called out.

Skuld entered the office and walked up to Peorth.

"What is it Peorth?" Skuld asked, "Chrono said it was important."

"There is a demon somewhere in Tokyo-2."

Skuld blinked. "Really?"

"Really." Peorth finally looked up from the screen. "It's been popping around various parts, only staying long enough to cause trouble and then it vanishes completely."

"So Mara's back." Skuld said, "We've handled her many times."

"It's not Mara." Peorth replied, "She's still in Alaska. And this is different then her, it doesn't have the same level of power." Peorth turned and brought up a list of incidents on her screen. "Read these and tell me what you think."

Skuld began to read each incident. The more she read, the bigger the frown became on her face.

"This doesn't read like something any Demon of Mara's power would do." She finally said, "These are almost like….training exercises."

"Exactly." Peorth replied.

"But then, what about Misato, and the kids shifting souls?"

"You and I both know that device has been around for years." Peorth answered, "Demons don't use it anymore because it's become easy to fix for us."

"So why use it?"

"More training."

"You're saying that there is a low class Demon in Tokyo-2 right now that is training?" Skuld asked, "But that has never happened before! They do all their training in Hell."

"This one isn't." Peorth replied, "I talked to Urd. She agrees with me."

Skuld sighed, "Great. There's a low class demon trainee in the same city as me."

"No."

Skuld looked up. "What?"

"You missed something." Peorth said, "A trainee would never have been able to control or direct that device. It takes a 1st Class Demon to use it."

"That would mean two demons." Skuld said.

Peorth nodded, "A teacher, and the pupil."

"But they've never trained like that." Skuld said, "Urd has talked to her mother and knows how demons are trained. Even Mara told us how she was trained. Demons don't have a teacher/student thing going. It's more……Master and slave if anything, with a capital M. The teacher/student is a heaven only thing."

"Well, I'd say something has changed." Peorth said, "and from the looks of it………it isn't good."

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Sayoko had barely walked five minutes before she spotted Mana waiting for her. Sayoko's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What?" Sayoko asked.

"Just wanted to continue to walk with you." Mana replied, "At least until your final turn off."

"Right."

The two walked along the street in silence for several minutes.

"You know you shouldn't provoke Asuka." Sayoko finally said.

"But it's fun." Mana replied, "She always goes ballistic." Mana stopped and looked at Sayoko. "I'm just trying to show Shinji what a bitch she is."

Sayoko sighed, "Mana, Shinji does know what a bitch she is. He's lived with her for quite a few years now."

"I still think he can do better."

"And by better you mean you."

"Naturally."

Sayoko smiled, "You'll never change will you?"

"So long as Shinji doesn't have a ring," Mana answered, "I'll always have a shot." She then looked up. "This is your stop."

"Right." Sayoko turned and stared up the street towards her apartment. "See you later Mana!"

"Sooner then you could possibly think." Mana said with a grin. She then turned and ran the rest of the way towards her apartment.

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Asuka, Shinji, and Rei entered their apartment.

"We're home!" Asuka hollered out.

"Wark!" came the only greeting.

"Guess Misato is still at work." Shinji said.

"And Kaji left for gott knows where." muttered Asuka.

"Hmmm."

Asuka and Shinji glanced over at Rei.

"What is it?" asked Asuka.

"We have mail." She handed the other two hand addressed envelopes addressed to them. Shinji eyed his.

"What is it?"

Asuka held hers up to the light. "Looks kind of like an invitation."

"Invitation to what?"

"Don't know. Let's find out."

Asuka ripped her envelope open and pulled out a the letter inside. She blinked at the contents.

"What does it say?" asked Rei.

"Umm…" Asuka said, "It's says 'You are invited to spend eternity in hell.'"

Suddenly the letter began to glow. Asuka dropped it and backed away. The glow got brighter and brighter. Then there was a flash, followed by Asuka and Rei screaming, then nothing.

Pen Pen waddled out of the living room to the spot the children had been standing at. A pile of ash was all that remained of the letter. The other two letters sat on the floor, smoking slightly as their contents slowly turned to ash.

"Wark?"

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Sayoko entered the apartment holding the mail from their box.

"I'm home!" she shouted out.

"Welcome home!" came Skuld's voice from the living room, "How was your day?"

"Same old same old." Sayoko replied, "Hey we got mail."

"Anything good?"

"Nah. Bills, junk mail, have you seen me?, and….ooooh I got a letter!"

Sayoko walked into the living room holding it.

"Whose it from?" Skuld asked.

"Don't know. It's hand addressed though." Sayoko started to open it. "Looks like an invita…."

"WARNING WARNING DEMONIC PRESCENSE DETECTED!!!" Banpei came rolling out from the hallway, a giant gun popped out of his shoulder and took aim on Sayoko. Sayoko's eyes went wide as the gun fired, covering her in Lucky charm papers.

"Banpei seems to be glitching Auntie." Sayoko said with a sigh.

"Banpei!" Skuld shouted, "Reinitialized your sensors and recognize."

"Bleep?" replied Banpei, "Bleep!"

"He says he can still detect a demonic presence." Sigel said, "Though he does recognize Mistress Sayoko as not the source."

Skuld frowned, "What is the source?"

"It would seem to be the letter Mistress Sayoko is holding."

Sayoko let out a yelp and dropped the letter. She and Skuld then stared at it as if it possessed the plague. Both were silent for a moment.

"I didn't feel anything wrong about it." Sayoko said finally.

"But were you even looking?" Skuld asked.

"Well.……no……"

"Peorth told me there had been demonic activity around. Apparently a teacher and their student."

"But they don't teach the same way we do." Sayoko said, "Aunt Urd and Mara said….."

"I know what Aunt Urd and Mara said." Skuld interrupted, "But something has caused these two to be here. And this letter," she pointed at the object, "may help us figure out what they are up to."

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Elsewhere.

Asuka blinked and looked around. One moment she had been in the apartment with Shinji and Rei, now it looked like she was in the middle of a small town. And talk about small! The doors to the homes were, at the most, 4 feet high. The windows of the houses were shuttered up, preventing her from finding out if anyone was actually there. Asuka walked the streets, looking about for any signs of life, and finding non. Not even a cat or a dog made their presence known.

"Where the hell am I?" Asuka muttered.

"Hell is exactly where you are." Came a voice.

Asuka whirled about to see a figure all in black leather, complete with a hooded cape. The hood was up, preventing Asuka from seeing the person's face, but allowing her to see that the person's eyes glowed red.

"How can I be in Hell?" Asuka asked.

"Simple. I brought you here."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Asuka began to get angry. "Look you! I don't know who the hell you are but I want you to send me home right now!"

"Well," the figure said, " I could do that, but then you'd be leaving your friends to a rather unpleasant death."

Asuka blinked, "What?"

The figure waved it's hand and a small sphere appeared. Images floated across the surface of the sphere, images of Rei, Shinji, and even Touji and Sayoko?!?!

"What are you doing to them?!?!"

"For now, nothing." The figure replied, "But if you leave……." The figure dropped the sphere. It shattered into thousands of pieces when it hit the ground. "………they die."

Asuka shifted nervously. "What do I have to do?"

"Play my little game." The figure said, "If you can rescue them all, and then defeat me, you all can go free."

"And if I don't?"

"Hell has the reputation of being like your worst nightmares." The figure said, "Unlike your nightmares, you shall never wake up from this one."

Asuka sighed, "So we'll be stuck here. Great. What a choice." Asuka looked at the figure. "So what do I do?"

"I leave it to the inhabitants here to tell you." The figure replied, "And just you're not alone." The figure snapped it's fingers. A flash of fire appeared next to Asuka. When they vanished, they left behind Hikari.

"Huh? what!??!" Hikari looked around confused.

"WHY DID YOU BRING HER HERE?!?!" Asuka shouted.

"I'm a demon." The figure replied, "What more did you expect?" The figure then vanished in flames.

"Asuka? What's going on?" Hikari asked.

"That demon has Shinji, Rei, Sayoko, and Touji."

Hikari's eyes widened. "But Sayoko's a……"

"I know." Asuka said, "But somehow, we have to rescue them."

"So how do we do that?"

"I'm glad you asked!" came a new voice.

Asuka and Hikari whirled around to see a funny little orange man with green hair in coveralls. Asuka let out a groan.

"Oh please……don't tell me. You're….."

"I am an Oompa Loompa." The little man replied.

"Mien Gott…I swear if you start singing……."

"Asuka?" asked Hikari confused.

"There was this old American movie based off of a book." Asuka said, "All about a guy and his chocolate factory. Kaji got me the movie when I was 7. It was really childish, but it helped me with English." Asuka pointed at the Oompa Loompa. "They ran the factory for the guy." Asuka placed her hands on her hips and glared at the Oompa Loompa. "Alright then, how do we find our friends?"

"You follow the Yellow Brick road."

Asuka blinked. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Nope." The Oompa Loompa replied. He turned and pointed. Sure enough, the road in front of them became yellow brick.

"Great…thanks." Asuka grabbed Hikari and started walking.

"What's wrong now?" Hikari asked.

"Now it's become an entirely different story." Asuka said, "It's about a girl in the US who gets sent by a tornado to another land. She had to follow this yellow brick road to see a wizard." Asuka stopped and thought a second. "Come to think of it……" Asuka closed her eyes and clicked her heels together three times, mumbling something Hikari couldn't hear. After a moment, Asuka opened her eyes and looked around. "Didn't think so." She then continued walking.

"What did you just do?"

"Don't ask. It was a really dumb idea in the first place."

As they continued down the yellow brick road, they passed a sign.

"Mien Gott." muttered Asuka.

"What does it say?" Hikari asked.

"'You are now leaving Munchkin Land.'" Asuka then glanced over at Hikari, "Which really doesn't make sense since there was Oompa Loompa's there." Asuka then turned back to the sign. "'This way to the Dark Tower.' Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"Where else is a demon going to live?"

"Good point."

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Tokyo-2

Skuld and Sayoko sat behind a barricade. The letter still sat upon the floor, though now it was covered by a glass dome with sensors mounted all over it. Skuld type a few commands on a panel and the dome began to glow. On a screen beside them, information began to fill the screen.

"Well?" Sayoko asked.

"Not sure." Skuld replied.

"Looks kind of like a teleportation spell."

"Yeah, it does." Skuld agreed, "Though definitely demonic in nature."

"Definitely."

"Need to run more tests though."

"Of course."

"Also have to figure out why it was sent to you, and if it was sent to anyone else."

"That'll be fun. There's only like 150 million people in Tokyo-2."

Skuld glanced at her niece." So we start with people we know and work our way up from there."

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Misato tiredly entered her apartment and kicked her shoes off.

"I'm home!" she called out.

"Wark wark wark wark!" came Pen Pen's calls.

"What's wrong Pen?"

Misato walked towards the living room, then slipped.

"AHH!!! What the hell!" Misato cried as she fell hard on her back. She laid there for a moment, muttering and cursing in pain, then rolled over to see what she had slid in. On the floor lay three envelopes, two remained sealed, one opened. There was also a small amount of fine ash on the floor, which had a mark in it from her sliding.

"Why is there stuff on the floor?" Misato called out, "Someone could get….." Misato's voice trailed off as she realized something: no one had answered her hello.

"Shinji? Asuka? Rei?" Misato called out. A look back at the doorway showed their shoes to still be there. Their backpacks also lay in the hallway.

Misato moved down towards the bedrooms and looked into each child's room.

No one.

'Maybe they went out?' Misato walked over and looked next to the phone, the traditional place where notes were left. The spot was empty.

Misato picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. Almost immediately a cell phone began to ring in Shinji's bag. The next two numbers she dialed produced similar rings from the remaining two bags. Misato leaned over and flipped through a small phone number book. She found the name she was looking for, then dialed.

"Hello? Is this the Horaki Residence? Hi this is Misato Ryoji. I'm calling to find out if Asuka is there……She's not? Neither is she? Yes, If I see her I'll pass that on. Tell Asuka the same if you see her."

Misato hung up and took in a deep breath. She then flipped a few pages and dialed the next number.

"Hi? Suzuhara residence? This is Misato Ryoji. Is Shinji…..What? He's gone too? Yes, I'll let you know. Thank you."

Misato hung up again.

"What the hell is going on around here?" she said out loud.

Another number dialed.

"Hello, this is Misato Ry….Kensuke! Have you seen Shinji? No? How about Asuka, Rei, Hikari, and Touji? Not since school? Let me know the instant you see or hear from them. Alright? Thank you."

Misato dialed the final number from her phone book.

"Come on pick up……pick up…… PICK UP! Oh..sorry Skuld. Listen is Sayoko there? She is! What about the others? Any of them, Shinji, Touji, Asuka, Hikari and Rei? None of them? When did she see them last? Walking home? Well their stuff is here, but they aren't. And there're these envelopes laying on the floor and…….Hello? Skuld? You still…"

"WHERE ARE THE ENVELOPES?!?!" came a shout from behind her.

Misato leaped into the air, dropping the phone. She whirled about, pulling out her gun. She quickly pointed it elsewhere when she saw who it was.

"Skuld," Misato said, holding her chest, "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, but this is very important." Skuld said, "Now where are the envelopes?"

Misato pointed. "Over there.

Skuld walked over and looked down at the pile of ash and the envelopes. She carefully lifted one of the sealed ones and looked at it.

"Oh heck."

"What?" Misato asked, "What is it?"

"We may have a Demon problem."

Skuld waved her hand over the spot. With a flash, the envelopes and ash vanished into separate little glass domes. Skuld waved her hand over them again and they vanished entirely.

"Demon problem?" Misato repeated, "But I thought Mara was……"

"She is in Alaska." Skuld said, taking Misato's hand and leading her into the kitchen. "This is an entirely different Demon." She led Misato to the sink.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Misato asked.

"We are going to figure out where this demon is." Skuld said.

"So why are we in the kitchen?"

"I don't exactly have a car Misato……"

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"Have I said this sucks?" Asuka asked.

Hikari turned and glared at her friend.

"Repeatedly. For the past 3 hours."

They had been walking along the yellow brick road, through forests and now through fields of wheat, then corn.

"I just hate this." Asuka said, "Poor Shinji, held captive by a demon. Who knows what it's doing to him."

"It has Touji, Rei, and Sayoko." Hikari reminded Asuka, "Don't forget about them."

"Well of course I didn't forget about them! What kind of person do you take me for?"

"A demon for starters!" came a familiar male voice.

Asuka and Hikari turned and looked into the corn field. A little ways in, tied to a pole, was Touji.

"Touji!" Hikari cried. She quickly rain over to where her boyfriend was and hugged him. "I was so worried about you!"

"Could you untie me first and them hug me?" Touji asked, "I've been tied here for a while now."

"I GET IT!" Asuka said, "It's funny as hell and I get it!"

"What is?" Touji asked as Hikari worked on untying him.

"This Demon has been taking things from books. Old books. The Oompa Loompas, Munchkin land, the Yellow Brick road…and now you."

"What about him?" asked Hikari.

"Well that girl that walked along the yellow brick road ended up picking up three people along the way. Each of them needed something. There was the Lion who needed courage, the Tin Man that needed a heart, and a Scarecrow. And you are the Scarecrow."

"What did the Scarecrow need?"

Asuka smirked, "You both need brains."

"WHAT!" Touji shouted, "WHY YOU…..!" before he could finish, Hikari had finally loosened the knot, causing Touji to fall face first onto the ground. Asuka started laughing. Hikari glared at her, then looked back at Touji.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Touji sat up. "So where are we? Besides a Corn Field?"

"From what Asuka told me of her conversation with a demon, in Hell."

"WHAT?! Why?"

"I don't know, and neither does she. All we know is we have to rescue Shinji, Rei, and Sayoko and then defeat the demon."

Touji's eyes widened. "It has Sayoko? But she's….."

"I know." Hikari said, helping Touji to his feet. "Which means we are in big trouble."

"So, how do we find them?"

"The Oompa Loompa said to follow the yellow brick road."

"The what?!"

"The Oom….you know what…forget it. We just follow this road ok?"

"Yeah fine." Touji stretched and then followed the road of into the distance with his eyes. "What is at the end of this road anyway?"

"A Wizard." Asuka said, "But with our luck, it's some place that a Demon would call home."

"Wonderful." Touji started walking, "Let's go rescue the others and get the hell out of here."

"Couldn't put it better myself stooge."

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"LET ME OUT!!! ANYONE!!!" Shinji shouted, pounding on the various walls of his prison. It was fairly large, nearly ten feet by ten feet and made of stone. A small cot sat in one corner. In the other had been a tray of food, now long since cold. He didn't know how long he had been in this room, but it had felt like hours.

"LET ME OUT!!" Shinji called out one more time.

"What for?"

Shinji whirled about and found himself face to…well face with the hooded figure.

"Why should I release you?" the figure asked.

"Why are you holding me?" Shinji asked.

"As bait."

"Bait?"

"Yes…." The figure walked closer to Shinji, it's red eyes glowing a bit brighter, "Bait for your friends.

Something began to tick in the back of Shinji's mind. There was something familiar about the voice.

"Why? We've done nothing to you." Shinji said.

"True, you haven't."

"Then why do this? What have you to gain?"

"Something very special." The figure replied.

"And that is?"

"You."

Shinji blinked. "Me? I'm already taken."

"YOU CAN DO BETTER THEN THAT BITCH SOHRYU!" the figure cried out.

Shinji's jaw dropped as he recognized the voice.

"Mana?"

The figure back away a few steps before pulling back it's hood. Auburn hair spilled out from the hood. Mana turned and looked at Shinji, red slashes upon her forehead and upon her cheeks. Her eyes were also red, not the normal green. Shinji backed as far from her as he could get until the wall prevented him from moving any further.

"You…you're a Demon!"

"Yes." Mana said, her voice soft. "I am a Demon. Mana Kirishima, Demon Second Class."

"But why?" Shinji asked, "Why are you doing this? Aren't we friends?"

"Friends are something I can never have." Mana said, "My job doesn't allow me that privilege."

Shinji sat down hard on the floor. "But why…..why all this?"

"Because I want to be a First Class Demon." Mana replied, "And for that to happen, I must do something to get the Higher Powers of Hell to take notice. Causing the Eva Pilots pain and Misery is a way to do that."

"You caused our souls to switch!"

"I didn't know who you really were until the concert Shinji." Mana said, "This was only supposed to be a way to get promoted." Mana turned away. "And then something unexpected happened. A mortal found his way into my heart."

"Mana…."

Mana whirled about. "I will have you as my own Shinji! Asuka will fail to rescue you! And when she does she'll be left to rot here, while you….you have the chance to come with me."

"Asuka and I are in love." Shinji said, "Nothing will ever change that."

Mana eyes hardened slightly. "We shall see. I have all eternity to wait Shinji Ikari." With that she vanished in a fireball.

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Mana reappeared within another stone room. Unlike Shinji's, this room had a door and a window looking out across a large field of sand and gravel. Almost immediately Mana sagged to the floor.

"I can't do this." Mana said softly, "I just…." Mana went quiet as a previous teaching from Welsper went through her head.

'We are Demons.' She had said, 'Our whole existence is to bring misery and pain to the mortal world, just as it is the God's existence to bring happiness and joy. This is the way of things.'

'Bad things like monsters exist in the dark.' Her mother had said.

'I see you my pretty.' A dark voice said.

Mana shook her head clear of the old memories.

"I am a Demon." Mana said, "I must do this."

 Mana walked over to a large crystal sphere that had been set into the floor.

"All right," she whispered, "Where are you?"

The sphere glowed and then showed an image of Asuka, Hikari, and Touji walking along the yellow brick road.

"So you found him did you?" Mana said, "That leaves Rei and Shinji……..and Sayoko if she ever turns up." Mana thought for a moment. "What could she…..ah…it doesn't matter." Mana looked back at Asuka and the others. "Perhaps I have made it too easy though."

Mana walked over to a bookshelf and started looking over the names written on the spines.

"No…..no…..no……Ah ha!" Mana pulled out a book and flipped through several of it's pages. "Excellent. The Sleeper shall awaken."