Antenora

"MAGI doesn't detect a Pattern Blue!"

"First reports indicate at least 57 victims, and more than one hundred wounded! Real numbers are likely much higher!"

"Areas 44, 45, 47, 49 and 50 are clogged! The police are trying to open emergency routes for ambulances!"

"The roots have penetrated the first six protective layers! No further movement detected!"

Gendo and Fuyutsuki stood silent amidst the cacophony. On the main screen, their unexpected enemy, the new intruder in their Scenario, mocked them by doing nothing. It didn't even have the same courtesy as some Angels, who possessed somewhat of a face they could look at. This one was just a tree, taller than any building, with pinkish skin instead of bark. Even through the camera, even at a distance, they could see it inflating and deflating, slowly, almost as if breathing.

The roots had spread across the surrounding streets, piercing buildings, smashing vehicles, sinking into the road and then coming back up. The branches, covered with dark green spikes, were coiled around each other, taking a form resembling a cocoon. From them, strange fruit-like growths, orange and round, dangled in the wind of eternal summer.

"Another Demon, most likely." Fuyutsuki said. "I didn't know they could be so big."

"By this point, we should expect anything from those things."

Below them, Ritsuko Akagi entered in the Command Center, shouting instructions everywhere and trying to put some order in the chaos. Someone announced that the pilots were on their way.

"Something's different with this one," Gendo said.

"In what sense?"

"So far, other Demons have prioritized their so-called King. This one hasn't called out for him. No demands. No reason for the attack. Yet."

"What do you think it means?"

Gendo didn't answer. Not immediately, at least. Perhaps he didn't wish to admit that he didn't know.

In any case, the alarms flared once more. The screens flashed, and a voice screamed:

"Movement detected in the surface roots!"


A cracking noise filled the air as they twitched and twisted, slowly at first, but quickly gaining speed. Panic spread among the civilians evacuating the area, and among the police agents and firefighters sent to aid them. That monstrous tree would no longer give them any respite.

Some roots sunk into the streets and wriggled under the asphalt, and the city quaked. Others drilled through the nearby buildings, causing many of them to crumble. Their length increased by the second, it seemed that they were intending to cover all of Tokyo-3.

Screams filled the air. A group of people, trying to carry their wounded to safety, found themselves about to be squashed by a particularly larger root.

Until an enormous dark figure popped almost out of nowhere and used its own body to shield them. The civilians found safety in the shadow of the familiar horned and winged being, and although they still feared, they hurried up.

Shinji's claws grabbed the root when it tried to go around him, and then he severed it with his eye beams. He was expecting that the others would attack him after that; but the spreading came to a halt.

The trunk of the tree inflated, and then released a long gust of air, as if it was taking a deep breath. Then, much to Shinji's surprise, the cocoon of branches began to unfold. He adopted a stance, ready to face whatever came out of that thing, while also praying that Asuka and Rei would arrive soon.

The branches straightened to their maximum length, casting a longer shadow over Tokyo-3 and revealing what they had been hiding: a human-like torso, as big as an Eva, growing from the very trunk. It had four arms, and the lower ones were eerily long, with fingers that looked more like vines. A collar of enormous rose-like petals, of an intense pink, surrounded its… no, her neck. Instead of hair, she had an enormous orange bud growing on her head. In each of her breasts, a human face with grey, dead eyes.

She stretched, and the branches and roots of the tree twitched. She took her time yawning, almost mockingly. But, when she noticed Shinji, an honest gasp of pleased surprise escaped her lips.

"(Well, if it isn't Lord Dante!)" she said. "(So glad that you're still around! We have unfinished business, you and I.)"

Shinji recognized the language of demons, which confirmed his suspicions about her nature. He didn't abandon his stance, but let his guard down, just a bit. If she could be persuaded to leave…

The enormous tree leaned forward, and the human torso of the demoness elongated, getting closer to him.

"(I'm disappointed to see Black Invaders everywhere, though)" she continued. "(Did your pretty little war fail? Were you trapped in ice for millennia or something?)"

"I'm not the one you think," Shinji said, wishing to clear things out as soon as possible.

The demoness raised an eyebrow and approached further, studying him. She even sniffed him, for some reason. It didn't take her long to see the teenage face between the gigantic yellow eyes. Hers went wide like saucers, and her mouth hung open, revealing sharp canines.

Then, she burst into laughter, arching her head back as her cackles thundered across the streets.

"No way!" she said, switching to Japanese. "There's a Puppy in this world, too?"

Her words gave Shinji pause, so much that his stance faltered without realizing. Luckily for him, the tree-devil seemed more interested in laughing.

"Talk about coincidences! And not just that, but a Puppy that has taken over the body of the Demon Lord! Oh, this is rich! Not that I complain, mind you. It'll make things easier for me."

Shinji shook his head, dispelling the questions piling up in his head. He took a step forward, ignoring the amused smirk of the demoness, or the smug way she was looking at him.

"Look," he said, "I don't understand what you're saying, but there's no need for us to fight. Please, leave."

"Aw," she snickered. "So pure, so disgustingly heroic. Just like the other Puppy. Here. A reward for being such a good boy." Her breasts bounced closer to Shinji's head, and the uncanny, mannequin-faces in them gifted him with smiles of mockery.

He took a step back, weirded out by those antics. It was at that moment that Units 02 and 00 reached the surface. Each grabbed a weapon from a nearby stash and flanked the tree monster, but they did not attack.

"Ah," she said, putting her breasts away from Shinji. "Now, this makes more sense. Yeah, of course mankind would develop them in this world, too. Never saw any blues in the other one, though." She pointed at Unit-02, and an almost predatory smile appeared in her lips. "The Princess is in there, isn't she?"

Shinji's talons sunk into the asphalt, and his tail whipped in the air. The fur on the back of his neck turned bristly. There was something about that woman that he didn't like, and it wasn't just her cryptic way of talking.

"Leave," he insisted. "We're three against one. Whatever is it that you want from me, I'm not interested. I'm not your king."

"No, you are not." The whole tree leaned back, returning to its original position. "But you will do. And I'm not leaving. I've been away for far too long already."

And without warning, three of the roots moved at deadly speed. One hit Shinji right in the face, sending him crashing against a building. The other two shot upwards, aiming to impale the Evangelions, who extended their AT-Fields. A futile action, for both barriers where instantly pierced. Luckily, the fights against previous Demons had prepared Asuka and Rei for such a thing. Their Units rolled out of the wat, avoiding the attack. 00 began to run around the perimeter, firing a Pallet Rifle at the trunk; while 02 jumped around, spinning a Sonic Glaive and slicing through the roots.

With a grunt, Shinji stood up. Shards of glass, dust and other debris fell off his shoulders. In a single flap of his arm-wings, he jumped high into the air, avoiding yet another root. Baring fang and claw, he lunged at the humanoid body of the demoness. She didn't react. Not an iota of nervousness in her eyes, no tension in her four arms as she readied for the impact… she just kept looking at him with a smug and calm smile, as if she knew something they didn't.

Like his father did, sometimes.

A jolt of anger made Shinji descend faster. Alas, this proved to be a double-edged sword, for he didn't have time to react when the spiky branches rose, forming a wall against which he crashed. But it didn't end there: the branches shoved him back down into the broken buildings, and a cloud of dust rose upon impact. They pushed him back, dragging him through the ground, further and further away.

Then, they retracted, but the needles had sunk in the flesh of the Demon Lord, and refused to let go. A loud snap was heard when they were torn from the branches, and Shinji roared in pain.

"Aw, you even scream like a puppy!" the tree-demon laughed. "That's good. You know, I never had the pleasure of hearing the other Puppy scream, except from that time when he cried for that pretty boy. And, to know that you're screaming with Dante's vocal chords makes it so much bett–"

A rocket hit her face, interrupting her. Once the smoke cleared, it revealed burnt skin and an eye dangling from a damaged socket; but she didn't seem too bothered by that. In fact, it quickly began to heal. The demoness raised branches to protect herself as three more rockets flew her way. Unit-00 had dropped the Pallet Rifle, perhaps upon seeing that the bullets weren't doing anything.

"Well, well;" the devil's smile showed her sharp teeth. "The test-tube baby wants to play rough. How cute."

Roots wriggled through the air and the ground, but Unit-00 could avoid them. However, its umbilical cable was severed.

Unit-02 jumped forward from the other flank and tried to cut the branches with the Sonic Glaive; but they proved to be tougher than the roots. Asuka ordered her Unit to jump back, repeating the movements she had done during her synch battle with Shinji. It was enough to avoid another attack, but she ended up losing her umbilical cable as well.

"I know your toys' weakness, Princess!"

"Who gave you permission to call me that, you ugly weed?" Asuka retorted.

While this was going on, Shinji tried to stand up, but a wave of pain assaulted him. Half of those damned spikes, each longer than a bus, were piercing joints. Even breathing or moving his head to look around was agonizing. From his position, he could barely see the roots flailing in the air like a nest of angry snakes. He could hear the trashing, the noise of explosions, the sound of the Units connecting new umbilical cables…

"I… need to…" but it hurt so much, and his movements only caused the spikes to sink further.

Then, he felt something small landing on his shoulder. He looked to the side, ignoring the pain.

"You!"

Medusa, in her demon form, was using both her hands and her hair to hold onto one of the needles. She pulled it out, leaving a bloody wound that soon began to heal, and then moved onto the next.

Shinji's first instinct was to growl at her and tell her to leave; but he fought against it. As much as he didn't like Medusa, they needed all the help they could get, and she was their best source of demon knowledge.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"Her name is Iscariote," Medusa answered as she pulled another spike out. "She was one of Dante's lieutenants in the War of the Black Earth; but she grew too chaotic, too violent. She would cause more damage than good to our side. Many demon troops died because of her carelessness." Another spike out. "Dante and Satan subdued her, and together with the other Demon Lords, they exiled her from this world. I never thought I'd see her again."

Another one out. Shinji could move his right arm, so he reached out and pulled the needles himself.

"Dante!" Medusa got closer to the head. "This is the perfect chance! Let's run away, while they're all distracted!"

He ignored her, and just waited for the wounds to heal. It was quick.

"You can't fight her alone!" She insisted. "Not in this state! Let me take you to our people, I'm sure there are still some loyalists hiding somewhere! We'll find a way to reawaken your memories, and you'll have all your powers back!"

"You don't get it, do you?"

Shinji stood up as his last wounds closed. Medusa tried to get closer, but he turned his head away, grunting a "Leave." So, the crimson demoness climbed down. Standing among the debris, she watched as Shinji rose in his titanic stature. Her eyes didn't leave him as he stumbled towards the vile tree, gaining more balance with every step.

"I'm not giving up on you," she said, her voice a whisper. "I'll make you remember."


Naked and cold, Mari hid her face in her knees, whimpering. Her voice was weak, even in the cavernous silence. Tears streamed down her cheeks, despite the fact that she was submerged in liquid.

Was she? Hard to tell in there, inside that abominable body. Most likely, she didn't have a physical form anymore, so those legs, those tears, that sticky hair over her shoulders; all of that wasn't really there. Yet, it felt so real.

Not as real as the pain of her failure, though.

"I failed you, Yui… I'm sorry, Puppy…"

And now, another world was going to die as well, because of her naivety.

"I just wanted to be closer to him… so that I could protect him better…"

"That's what you get for making a deal with an overgrown nettle from another world."

Mari's head jolted upwards, her eyes wide. She knew that voice, even though she hadn't heard it in years.

"Princess?"

Unmistakable. Asuka, their Asuka. The same she had seen through the eyes of Iscariote for fourteen years. The same she had listened while in the prison of her own being.

But it couldn't be. It was probably another of the demon's games, wishing to feed on her misery.

She felt a foot pressing on her back, and then a push, thrusting her into the darkness. She smiled, and her heart ached a little less. She only knew of one girl who could push in such a way.

"Get up, four eyes. Your superior officer doesn't give you permission to quit."

Red appeared among the shadows, flowing, shiny as the sunset. The figure of a tall woman stretched out a hand.

"Come. We have one last battle to win."

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Iscariote is pretty much an original character, although her design is slightly based on the demon Lilith, from the OVAs Cyborg 009 vs Devilman.