A/N: Whadya know? My fic got a spot in Evincar's c2! That makes me a happy guy! Thanks Evincar! Anyhow, a few things to say to Vtrahex. I know what you mean about fallen angels, being a Catholic myself. (Don't hold religion against me! Please!) I just figured Black Angels would have a better ring to it. Anyway, you also said how every character except Ivana has a weakness. She does have ONE weakness. She will not refuse a challenge put before her, even if the challenge could result in her getting killed.
Anyhow, now on with the story!
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"Japan is so damn boring!" Elly shouted out loud. She hated living directly at NERV. It was so a sharp eye could be kept on her actions. Especially since she was able to single-handedly "borrow" a tank and take it for a joyride. Upon her arrest, she was discovered as having better scores than all of NERV's first-level candidates. To avoid being charged with several crimes, she agreed to pilot EVA. And that's how she became the Seventh Child. However, she was discovered right after the destruction of the 16th Angel. She thought she would be going to Japan to replace Asuka, who had some sort of problem that made it almost impossible for her to pilot Unit 02. But some other guy had taken her place instead. And that guy turned out to be the 17th and last Angel! 'Wonder who screwed that one up?' she thought to herself as she wandered through the streets of Tokyo-3, familiarizing herself with the fortress city. Eventually, after 3rd Impact, she was given her own EVA Unit 06, and stationed in Australia to fight terrorists that were rising up. She thought Japan was so lame compared to her sunny home back in Sydney Australia.
'So this is where all of us will be going to in September,' she thought while checking out the high school. 'They had better not have stupid history classes where they talk about nothing other than 2nd Impact.'
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"You have got to be kidding me! I can't have two kids walking around my high school with loaded firearms!" The principal of the school Tokyo-3 High was in a heated discussion with Supreme Commander Gendo Ikari. Major Katsuragi was here earlier to tell the principal that Zack and Ivana were licensed to carry firearms with them. The principal refused to allow that and so Gendo had to come deal with this himself.
Gendo was aware of the fact that high school could be dangerous and he could only dispatch a few Section-2 agents to watch out for the kids. But since it was so big, it would be hard to monitor direct movements as usual. So Gendo wanted it to be that Zack and Ivana would carry loaded firearms in the school with them for protection.
"Haper and Kharlamov are both well trained with firearms," started Gendo. He passed the principal some documents. "As their scores indicate, they are very efficient."
"If they have guns, they could threaten the lives of others!" the principal said.
"That is true. But they know the dangers of using firearms illegally. If they are caught doing so, they will be severely punished. And in case I forgot to tell you, I am using NERV's constitutional authority to override any attempts by you to stop me from protecting my pilots." He handed over more documents. "These are the courses my pilots have signed up for. We are done here." Gendo got up with Fuyutski and left with the Section-2 agents.
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Katsuragi Residence
In its own strange way, it felt good be home. The first thing Misato did was refill the fridge with beer. She had used it all up in Australia, and she didn't like the kinds they had there.
A lot had happened over there. The terror attack, the Black Angel, Rei getting a tan, Ivana beating up a gang of guys, the heartfelt dance Shinji and Asuka had, the acquisition of Elly. A lot happened in a short period of time.
Zack and Ivana were practicing with their paintball guns, shooting at targets they had set up in the park. Shinji decided to go hang out with Toji and Kensuke for the day. Rei was reading a book she bought in Australia. Her English was coming along greatly, and with Zack and Ivana as mentors, she could soon be able to speak as well as any Canadian.
Asuka was watching TV. She would have gone with Shinji, but she couldn't stand it when all Three Stooges were in one place. Misato watched Asuka as she picked up the phone to what she assumed was to call Hikari. Misato was right.
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"How could you betray us?" Kensuke was in disbelief. He just couldn't come to grips with the thought that Shinji of all people would the one going out with Asuka.
"Oh it's nothing really," said Shinji. "She's not as bad as she misled us all to believe. She can be really nice."
Toji stepped up. "Yeah, Shinji. She must have been nice. You two were getting kinky in that elevator."
"Whaaaaaaaaaat? You kissed her? How could you? I can't believe you kissed the Devil-Incarnate! You've made a pact with the devil! You're going to burn in the fiery pits of hell!"
Now Shinji was red on the face. He turned to attack Toji. "And what were you doing Toji? I'll bet you were Instant Messaging Hikari!"
This caught Toji off guard. "Uhh, no I wasn't."
Kensuke was even more shocked. "Oh my god! My two best buds are dating the two worst girls possible! The evil class rep and the devil!"
Luckily for the two Toji knew how to drift Kensuke's mind away. "You know Kensuke. You should have seen the battleships they had there. They were amazing!"
It worked. Kensuke was distracted. "Really? Tell me about them! I wanna know!"
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Misato finally had the house to herself, except for Rei of course. Asuka had gone out to hang out with Hikari. So she took this chance to see what courses the kids were taking.
Rei Ayanami
1. Math (Academic) 80 minutes
2. English as a Second Language (Open) 80 minutes
3/4. Japanese (Academic) 2 40-minute periods
5. Lunch 40 minutes
6. Physical Education (Open) 80 minutes
Zack Harper
1. Japanese (Academic) 80 minutes
2. Integrated Technology (Open) 80 minutes
3. Geography (Academic) 40 minutes
4. Lunch 40 minutes
5. Geography (Academic) 40 minutes
6. Physical Education (Open)
Shinji Ikari
1. Food and Nutrition (Open)
2. Music (Open)
3. Math (Academic)
4. Math
5. Lunch
6. Physical Education (Open)
Ivana Kharlamov
1. Japanese (Academic)
2. Math (Academic)
3. Lunch
4. Science (Academic
5. Science
6. Physical Education (Open)
Asuka Sohryu
1. Food and Nutrition
2. Science (Academic)
3. Japanese (Applied)
4. Japanese
5. Lunch
6. Physical Education (Open)
As Misato looked at their courses for the first semester, she noticed Asuka taking the cooking course Shinji wanted to take. She laughed to herself. Usually that class had lots of girls and very few boys. So Misato assumed Asuka wanted to make sure none of the other girls went after Shinji. Auska also could not cook either. Well maybe slightly better than Misato. Maybe…
Misato also noticed that everyone had the same gym class at the end of the school day. Probably to give the Section-2 agents a break by putting them all in the same class so they could keep an eye on all of them at the same time.
Suddenly, she had the urge to go see Kaji. "Rei. I'm going to go over to Kaji's. If I'm not back by tomorrow, don't worry. And be sure to tell the others when they come in."
"Understood," replied Rei. And with that, Misato left.
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Asuka and Hikari were sitting on a bench in the park.
"So how was it in Australia?"
"Oh, it was awesome," said Asuka. "We got to do tanning, go to fancy restaurants, sweet hotel rooms, and we had to fight terrorists down there."
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," said Hikari in a sweet voice. "So how is Shinji doing?"
"Huh?" Asuka was surprised by the question. Auska knew Hikari saw her hanging out with Shinji at the fair a while back, but Asuka never thought Hikari may suspect it had gone any further. "Oh it's just fine. He's nice and such."
"That's good to hear. Oh look, there's the Three Stooges now."
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The man who was at an important meeting, was once again back in his basement with all his candles, skulls, and anything else considered evil. He was surprised the Second Child was able to defeat the Black Angel he had summoned. Suddenly, another man who was covered by a hood and cape appeared.
"Ah, good to see you in prayer. I apologize if I have distracted you."
The man got up from his kneeling position. "No your Excellency. Not at all. I was just thinking of whom to send next. Jeroboam was a failure indeed."
"Indeed he was," replied the hooded man. "I am aware that you are planning to try methods other than the ones I have provided to defeat NERV."
"You don't approve your Excellency?"
"If you wish to try other methods, go right ahead. It's fools like God who make everyone follow his way, or else suffer. If you have other tactics that you wish to use, then I will endorse your efforts. I must be leaving now. I wish you the best Keel."
After the hooded man had disappeared into thin air, Keel went back into his prayer. "Ancient powers of the Diablos. Once again, I call upon thee to infuse me with the powers to raise one of your own from the depths of hell."
The room began to rumble as the prayer was answered, and Keel was infused with great power. He raised his hands to the sky and shouted.
"Come forth Manasseh! Hahahahahaha!"
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"Well if it isn't the Three Stooges!" said Asuka.
"Well if it isn't the Devil-Incarnate!" said Toji right back.
"What have you done to Shinji?" asked Kensuke. "You've brainwashed him!"
"Kensuke! She didn't brainwash me!" Shinji started.
"Okay, that's enough out of all of you!" said Hikari. "Can't we all get along without fighting?"
"Yeah fine," muttered Kensuke. He pointed at Asuka. "But you better keep your lips off of Shinji! I know what you're doing! You're…"
WHAM!
Kensuke just got his head handed to him by the furious German.
"Well he had it coming," said Hikari. "Didn't you ever learn to keep your comments to yourself?"
"Your true nature is exposed!" shouted Kensuke who slowly made it back to his feet.
Asuka was about ready to punch the four-eyed stooge again when suddenly, alarm began blaring, signaling that something was about to attack. The pilots raced towards NERV while Hikari and Kensuke raced towards the nearest shelter.
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NERV HQ - Battle Stations
"It looks like a giant arachnid. Similar to that Angel that attacked when we had the power failure. It's stationed outside the city and is slowly advancing towards Tokyo-3," reported Shigeru.
"It's got that Black Waveform pattern that the guys in Australia were talking about," said Makoto.
"What more do we have on this Black Angel?" asked Ritsuko.
"It's blue, has a scary looking face, four legs, and the MAGI assume that its front legs are its primary weapon as the legs are like blades," said Shigeru.
"I see," replied Gendo. "Classify it as the 2nd Black Angel. Go to 1st Stage Alert. Have Units 00, 01, and 02 fight this battle. The other pilots are to watch, as they will observe how to fight an Angel."
"Roger. Pilots are in the launch bay."
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Launch Bay
Misato was not happy about having her trip to Kaji's be interrupted by the coming of another Black Angel. But that did not matter at the moment, as she was giving her usual pre-battle briefing to the pilots. However, only Rei, Asuka, and Shinji were to fight this battle.
"Okay, we got a big bug to swat. It looks like an arachnid. But according to what we know, it will likely attack with its front legs, as they are like blades. So whatever you do, DO NOT engage it from the front. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" said the three originals in unison.
The three pilots got into their respective EVAs.
"EVA Unit 00, launch," said Rei. Unit 00 was launched into battle.
"EVA Unit 01, launch!" said Shinji. His EVA launched up.
"EVA Unit 02, launch," said Asuka. Her EVA followed suit.
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Tokyo-3 - On top of a random building
A man whom had his face hidden under a hood and cape watched as the three EVAs launched into battle against the new Black Angel. He stood on one of the buildings in the city.
"Welcome back Manasseh. I hope being in hell for too many years hasn't made you rusty. If you are successful, you will be able to turn these kids into cold cuts. If not, you will suffer dearly, so as my master wills it."
Another hooded man appeared behind the first one. The second hooded man's face was also hidden under his hood. He kneeled and then spoke, "The 3rd and 4th are ready to be summoned should the second fail, my master,"
The first turned around to face the second. "Good. But inform Keel that Oholah and Ohlibah will work best when both are summoned at the same time."
"Yes my master." The second man vanished into the air.
The first hooded man began to watch the battle. "So let's see how good these kids actually are."
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The three kids each selected a progressive sword to protect themselves from the arachnid's deadly arms. As they tried to circle around it, the Angel kept moving with them, keeping all of them in front of it.
Suddenly, the Angel swung its arms at Asuka. Unit 02 managed to dodge the blow, but one the mountains was hit. It slid down in a clean cut.
"Schiest! Those things are sharp!" Asuka said over the intercom.
"The best way to get one of us behind it is to spread out around it in a triangle formation," said Shinji.
"Impossible. It would have easy access to our umbilical cables, then we would have a limited amount of time to beat it," replied Asuka.
"Then we must engage it head-on," said Rei.
"Why?" asked Asuka.
"The head is likely to be its weak point as it is protected by its arms."
Shinji stepped up. "Then I'll go first."
Shinji attacked the beast with his sword. The Black Angel used its blade-arms to counter. But Shinji blocked the attacks and parried with his own. He managed to cut it just below one of its eyes. The Black Angel roared out in pain. Suddenly it jumped into the air.
"Look out Shinji!" shouted Misato over the com.
As Shinji jumped back, the Black Angel attacked from the air, using its arms to impale the ground where Shinji was a second ago.
"Dammit Shinji! Be careful!" shouted Asuka.
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The hooded man on the roof watched with interest as the EVAs, one after another, made attempts to attack it, only to get forced back by the Black Angel's deadly leg-blades.
"All right Manasseh. It is time to use the power you have had bestowed upon you."
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As Rei planned to take her second turn to attack, there was something weird about this Black Angel that made her stop. Then she got a disturbing feeling. It felt familiar too. She sensed the same presence when she fought her clone who was infused with dark magic. "Watch out!" she called to her comrades.
But it was too late. The Seal of Diablos was cast, and this time, the Black Angel had chosen to fight all three of them. So the unholy circle that they were trapped in would be able to contain all four combatants. The Black Angel's eyes turned a demonic red. And the Seal also appeared on its forehead.
'This battle has gotten a lot more dangerous,' she thought to herself. 'I can't let Ikari or his love get hurt.'
"Indeed," said a voice in her mind. "You know what you have to do."
'What was that voice?' she wondered. 'I cannot worry about it right now. I must defeat this Black Angel.'
"Ikari. Sohryu. We should attack it together. It would three blades against two. I have doubts it will be able to handle the three of us attacking at once."
"Leave it to Wondergirl to come up with the battle plan," said Asuka sarcastically.
And so they all attacked together. The Black Angel was infused with the power coming from the Seal, so its arms were extra fast.
"Dammit! Why do these things have to use magic to fight? Why can't these things just fight fair?" said Asuka who was now frustrated.
Suddenly, the Black Angel jumped again. It moved to attack Shinji with its blade arms. Rei, on impulse, shoved Shinji out of the way.
It was a horrible sight to behold. Unit 00 got skewered by the blades from the Black Angel's aerial assault.
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NERV HQ -Battle Station
"Unit 00 has suffered serious damage!" said Maya.
"Pilot is alive though," reported Shigeru.
"Be careful out there!" shouted Misato.
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Asuka now fought the Black Angel alone while Shinji used Unit 01 to drag Rei and Unit 00 away from the fight.
"Ayanami! Are you okay?"
"I'm… fine. You must… help Sohryu." She hands him her progressive sword. He takes it and goes to help Asuka.
"Heads up Asuka!" Shinji shouted. When Asuka backed off and looked. Shinji was attacking the Black Angel in a fury with his and Rei's swords.
Asuka watched as Shinji and the Black Angel continued to exchange blows. She wanted to help, but she was afraid of getting in Shinji's way and distracting him.
From the looks of it, Shinji was slowly gaining the upper hand. 'Mein gott, he's one guy you don't want to get mad.'
Shinji then caught it off balance and slashed the body of the arachnid. But suddenly, to Shinji's surprise, it countered and severed Unit 01's left arm below the elbow.
"Shinji!" yelled Asuka. She now rushed the demon. As Shinji stumbled back to absorb the pain he was feeling, Asuka picked up his sword and continued what Shinji had started.
Asuka was attacking in a blind fury, and her efforts were futile. She got stabbed in the lower part of Unit 02's chest. That hurt a lot. Asuka went stumbling back, trying to get out of the range of the demon's blades.
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"We've lost contact with the pilots!" said Makoto.
'Oh my god,' thought Misato. 'Hang in there you three. Don't go dying on us.'
"Unit 01 has suffered damage! Unit 02 has been damaged as well," reported Maya. "What's this? There's some sort of mental interference in Unit 00!"
"What do you mean?" asked Ritsuko.
Maya continued. "Something's interfering with Rei's concentration!"
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Rei's mind
Rei suddenly had blacked out from the pain she was in. Her injuries were more serious than Asuka's or Shinji's. Suddenly, she seemed to be in some other place. At the other end, she saw a silhouette.
"Who are you?" Rei asked the silhouette.
"You know me better than you think. In a way, you are me as I am you," replied the voice.
"Why are you in my dreams?"
"I don't know that myself. I know that you are the Rei from Unit 01's dummy plug. However, thanks to Shinji during 3rd Impact, you were able to recover your 2nd and 3rd's memories and incorporate them into your conscious."
"How would you know that?" asked Rei.
"I share a bond that is very important to Shinji. I also share a connection with you as well. We both know of the danger that is outside of your consciousness."
"How can you help?" asked the albino girl.
"I can help you. It may seem like I'm invading your mind and body, but relax. I'm only here to help."
"I understand. Protect my friends," said Rei.
"Count on it," said the voice.
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NERV HQ- Battle station
"The second presence in Rei's mind is taking over! It's some sort of contamination!"
"Is it the Angel?" asked Ritsuko.
"No. This one manifested itself from inside Rei's consciousness!"
"What?" said Gendo in shock.
"But whatever it is," continued Maya. "It's giving Rei a 100-sync."
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Shinji and Asuka slowly made it back to their feet. Unit 01 was missing its left arm and Unit 02 had some nasty slash wounds. They slowly picked up their swords. But suddenly, Unit 00 began to act weird.
Shinji kicked up the visual com to Unit 00. "Ayanami? What's going on?
Rei looked like something was going to possess her. After a few seconds, she settled down. When she spoke, it wasn't Rei, but an adult woman's voice instead.
"Alright Shinji! Let's swat this bug!"