Well, it seems these 2-3 months delays aren't stopping anytime soon :( Thank you so much for your patience. I hope you're having a wonderful time and I hope you like this chapter.
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Rage
By this point, the protocol for an Angel Attack had been drilled into the mind of each citizen in Tokyo-3. Thus, when the alarm cried, everyone in the amusement park ran for the bus, the train or their own cars; already planning the fastest route to the nearest shelter.
Everyone but Shinji and Asuka. They stood in place, still holding each other's hand, their eyes focused on what little orange remained on the horizon. They didn't know why. There was no way of knowing if the Angel would come in that direction. It just felt… appropriate. Their enemy was out there, somewhere.
Shinji was the first to turn his head. Asuka did the same, and their eyes met. Then they looked at their clasped hands, and in annoyingly perfect synch, they let go. It wasn't a fast and sudden movement, as if they had been touching a hot stove. Neither it was a slow separation, as if they longed to make that moment last as much as possible. Something in between fear and joy, determination and confusion.
"Will you…" Shinji said, clenching and unclenching his fist. "Will you get angry at me if I apologize?"
"Of course," Asuka huffed, brushing some locks of hair away from her face. "This isn't your fault."
"We should be going, right?" he gave her a smile.
"It's our job, isn't it?" she smiled back.
And they ran, following the tide of people even though they weren't going to a shelter. No sooner they had exited the park than a black car stopped in front of them, its tires screeching against the asphalt. The window was rolled down, revealing a familiar face.
"Get in!" Sosuke said. "Quickly!"
He didn't have to tell them twice.
"How did you get here so fast, Mr. Oshiba?" Shinji asked as he buckled up.
"I didn't," Sosuke said, steering the wheel and shifting gear. "I've been following you all afternoon."
Asuka was the first to understand the implication and buried her face in her hands, mostly to hide that it was gaining the coloration of a pomegranate. It took Shinji a couple of seconds to get it, but when he did he shrunk in his seat, sporting an equally intense fluster. Sosuke saw it in the rearview mirror, and allowed himself a smirk, despite the situation.
"S-So what do we know?" Shinji asked. "What's the new Angel like?"
"No clue," Sosuke turned serious. The amusement park could no longer be seen behind them. "Seems Headquarters was taken by surprise. Damn thing came out of nowhere, just like the Fourteenth. I just hope those brainiacs down there can give us some info soon."
"Tell me everything! Where is it? What's the situation? What's the ETA?" Misato screamed at the phone as the train took them to the GeoFront.
Kaji waited, leaning his back on the metal wall, giving her enough space while fighting the urge to grab another smoke. For the first time, he was more invested than ever in seeing the Angel destroyed. He knew that he couldn't expect them to respect their moments, it would be as absurd as demanding an earthquake to respect your privacy; but of all days…
"What?" Misato's shriek caught his attention. "And the pilot?" her hands were trembling. "What about Doctor Akagi? Is she…" Now her legs trembled too, and her face turned pale. "No… No!"
"Katsuragi!" Kaji ran to hold her, seeing that she was about to lose balance. Her phone slipped from her hand, and she buried her face in his chest. He felt tears wetting his shirt.
"No…" Misato whimpered. "Not him, not her! Oh… What do I tell Shinji?"
They came out of the tunnel, but the early night-time GeoFront didn't seem breathtaking or beautiful. He could not enjoy any landscape, no matter how extraordinary, when Misato was suffering like that. Kaji embraced her, and although the mutual warmth brought a little comfort to both, she still cried.
"Katsuragi," he said. "Please, tell me what's going on."
She looked up with red, teary eyes. "Matsuhiro is gone. Unit-03... it got out of control, and there was an explosion. It's coming this way, but they can't reach the pilot. MAGI detects a Pattern Orange, but they…" her voice broke. "They are designating it the Fifteenth Angel! The kids' friend is in there! They'll have to fight him! And Rits is… Rits is…"
Each word was like a dagger stabbing his heart. What little happiness and hope he had found that night, it was all being ripped apart, taken away. He felt the breath of a cold and cruel universe on the back of his neck, mocking him. Kaji tightened the hug and Misato cried on his chest once again. He gritted his teeth, swallowing the tears of anger his body wanted to release. Anger at himself, for one more time the woman he loved was suffering, and he couldn't do anything.
And it wasn't just Misato. A grim trial awaited Shinji, Asuka and Rei; and perhaps there would be no happy ending this time, even if they won.
And Ritsuko… He remembered the empty seat at the wedding reception, and his very soul ached. Was it going to end like that? Would their last memory of Ritsuko be that silent, sad chair?
The train stopped, and the door opened. Kaji took a deep breath but couldn't find the strength or the will to step down. Neither did Misato, who just sniffled in his arms.
Eventually, however; she made weak attempts to free herself from his embrace and move towards the exit. "I have to go," she said, shaking like a scared kid. "I am the Major. I have to… I have to…"
But Kaji could feel the doubt in every one of her movements. Her whole world was now torn between what she wanted to do and what she had to do. Emotions and duty clashing, and Misato was afraid to choose either of them. Similar to what had happened in their university days.
This time, Kaji decided, he would not let her go through that alone.
"Go to Rits, Katsuragi."
"Eh?" She stopped and looked up. Even her tears halted in surprise.
Kaji tightened their hug, just for a few seconds, and then let go. With a gentle push, he made her take a step back into the train car, while he stepped down. He didn't sport his usual smile, but a much kinder one. Humble, with a tinge of sadness, as if he was apologizing for failing her so many times in the past. Misato gasped, and her wet eyes widened when that smile sent her back to her youth, to the first time they had met. When he wasn't a spy, and she didn't wear high heels.
"Go to Rits," Kaji repeated. "She's tougher than she looks, I'm sure she survived. But she needs you right now, and you need her, too."
Misato dried her tears in her own sleeves. She tried to say something, but a short hiccup stole her words.
"She's one of the few friends you have in this shitty world, Katsuragi. Don't lose her."
"But… the kids…"
"Let me take care of it. It's time I do something useful and earn the honour of being their other guardian."
A voice announced that the train was going to move soon. Misato longed for a last kiss, but she settled for a smile, and a farewell. "When I come back, let's start calling each other by our first names."
The doors closed and the cart began to move, getting farther and farther; but Kaji couldn't look away, not while he could still see Misato through the glass.
Neither could she.
When the train disappeared into a tunnel above, Kaji turned around and walked into the pyramid, right to the Command Centre. His steps were wide and fast; he was almost running. He took out his phone.
"This is Chief Inspector Ryoji Kaji, on my way to the Command Centre. Major Katsuragi is going to Matsuhiro to assist in the search and rescue, so I'll be standing in for her tonight. Get MAGI working and have a full analysis ready for when I get there. Find if the pilot is still alive and if we can save him. Also, contact the Section-2 agents in charge of the pilots and give them all the important data. The Children must be informed! … What do you mean, it's jumping?"
Unit-03 had been walking, without apparent rush or urgency, until the tanks rolled in and the VTOL flew around, cutting its advance. Through the Eva's eyes, the parasitic Angel studied the machines with mild curiosity, if its kind could even conceive such an emotion.
Then, they fired. Missiles and shells whistled through the air, engulfing Unit-03 in a maelstrom of noise, fire and smoke. The Angel didn't even bother to expand its AT-Field, for no weapon could pierce its new black armor. Still, it stretched the Eva's neck upwards, opened its maw and roared. With a jump, its feet crushed some of the tanks. It stretched an arm and swatted one of the VTOLs off the sky, while the others flew back, to a safer distance.
These were the events shown on the main screen of the Command Centre. The black giant leaped like a rabid beast, crushing the attacking machines. The top of a hill shattered when Unit-03 landed on it, causing a landslide. It caught a VTOL with its mouth and destroyed it in a single bite.
Kaji ran into the room as the Eva stepped on another tank. Mouth agape, he joined the technicians in watching the carnage, unable to utter a word. An Evangelion, one of mankind's saviors, killing the ones they were supposed to protect. Only then it dawned on everyone how… monstrous the Units could be. And yet, they were so human-like in their hands, arms, the way their backs arched, even in how Unit-03 was exerting violence. In a way, it was like watching a chimpanzee or another great ape in a frenzy. An eerie reminder of the beasts that humans once were, and could easily be again.
Such thoughts came to a halt when the camera was destroyed, leaving the screen in static.
As the technicians busied themselves trying to get a new signal, Fuyutsuki and Gendo watched it all unfold from their perch.
"I wonder who they are," the older man said.
"Were," Gendo corrected. "Probably a captain or a colonel who didn't like how we do things. Thought he could solve the situation his way."
"Didn't they learn their lesson with the Third Angel?"
"Their dislike for us must outweigh their logical thinking."
Fuyutsuki sighed, "Without the Prime Minister's protection, we're bound to see more of this in the future."
The image returned to the main screen, showing Unit-03 from a different angle, now standing among piles of smoking scrap metal. However, instead of resuming its calm walk, the Eva flexed its knees and jumped one more time, disappearing from sight.
"Get feed from all cameras in the surrounding areas!" Kaji ordered.
New holographic windows opened in the main screen and also in the minor ones, but even then it was hard to follow Unit-03's movements. It went from one scenery to another, in almost primal leaps, passing over hills, fields, roads and villages in a matter of seconds.
"This is bad," Kaji said. "That attack altered its behavior."
"Unit-03's speed has doubled!" Aoba announced. "No! It has quadrupled! It will arrive much sooner than anticipated!"
"Transmit the terminal signal! Execute forced ejection of the entry plug."
"Impossible!" Maya said. "It won't recognize either the terminal signal or the ejection code!"
Kaji turned to Makoto. "What about the pilot?"
"We have his respiration and pulse, but we can't establish contact."
"Alright. We can salvage the situation. Calculate Unit-03's most probable path and prepare to intercept at no less than eight hundred meters away from Tokyo-3's limit. Miss Ibuki, keep trying to send the ejection signal. If that doesn't work, we'll do our best to guide the Children into extracting the entry plug."
"No."
The voice coming from above felt like a frozen claw clutching at his heart.
Not just Kaji, but also Aoba, Makoto and Maya; and even the technicians of the secondary stations looked at Gendo. In none of the previous battles had they been so expectant, or dreadful, of what he could say.
"From this moment on, Evangelion Unit-03 is expendable. It shall be re-classified as the Fifteenth Angel, codename Bardiel, and destroyed."
A cold shiver ran down Kaji's spine and into his stomach. He realized that it shouldn't have. He knew Gendo. It was expected that he would decide such a thing. And yet, Kaji just couldn't help it. Perhaps he had hoped, foolishly, that there would be an ember of humanity in Gendo Ikari.
"Commander, I must protest!" he said. "The pilot is still inside!"
"Our mission is to defeat the Angels. If a life must be sacrificed, so be it."
"He can be saved! If there's even a small chance–"
"Chief Inspector Ryoji Kaji. I remind you that you don't have the authority to direct this operation, and you're here only as Major Katsuragi's temporary replacement. Defy my authority one more time, and I'll have you detained."
Gendo had barely raised his voice, and he hadn't moved an inch, and yet Kaji felt his strength abandoning him. He looked back and saw that all of the technicians were busy at their monitors again. Their backs had a certain hunch, as if they were too scared to hold the Commander's ever-present gaze and too ashamed of themselves to look at Kaji.
He had never felt so alone, so helpless. Except maybe those days, right after Second Impact. Kaji breathed in and didn't antagonize Gendo any further. He needed to be there for the kids, to help them as much as he could, no matter how little it was.
He hoped that Shinji's powers would turn the tide and save their hides, one more time.
"He can't do that!"
His hand, clenched into a trembling fist, had hit the seat in an almost involuntary action. He was gritting his teeth, and a careful observer would've noticed them growing sharp, just a bit. He spat as he cursed his father, with the recent memory of Gendo's cold and distant demeanor in the cemetery.
Sosuke threw brief but uneasy glances at Shinji through the rearview mirror, worried that he might lose control and transform. Even if the few remaining vehicles and people were busy going in the opposite direction, he didn't want to risk it. He regretted not getting a car with tinted windows.
"He doesn't care!" Shinji said. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself! Toji could die, but he'll just sit there, and…"
His rant came to an abrupt end when two firm, yet gentle hands cupped his cheeks and forced him to look into a blue that, for him, was as beautiful as the ocean.
"Calm down!"
Her warmth, her voice, the depths of her eyes, her perfume… All of it acted like a beacon that took Shinji out of the storm of his emotions. His anger receded, and the anxiety behind was not given a chance to take hold on him. They were still there, but they had no power. At least, not while she was there.
"Asuka," his voice was now closer to an unsure whisper, almost fearful. "I… I don't know…"
"What to do? Yes, you do. We're going to save your monkey friend and rub it in your father's face."
A cackle escaped his lips, mostly thanks to the mental image. It was not an unwelcome laugh.
He wondered how she could do it, even at a moment like that.
"And one more thing," Asuka pulled his face closer. "Whatever happens, whatever anyone tells you; this wasn't your fault. Understood?"
Shinji's hands went up, to hers. A part of him wanted to keep them on his cheeks forever. The warmth of her skin was only rivaled by the warmth that her words had awakened in his heart. He nodded.
"No," she said. "I want to hear it."
He laughed again. "It wasn't my fault."
"Good."
She let Shinji guide her hands away from his face. They smiled at each other, offering mutual and silent encouragement. Together, they were defiant against the Angels and the cruelty of the universe. Not unlike during their synch training, or when they had piloted Unit-02 together.
Shinji let go of her hands. "Mr. Oshiba, stop the car."
There was no screeching of tires, no sudden stop or turn. The swordsman knew better than that. Sosuke looked for a relatively quiet place, not hard to find in the almost empty streets. He stopped next to the entrance to an alleyway, and then turned his head to look at Shinji, who was already unbuckling.
"My synch rate with Unit-01 is too low. I'll only be a burden. I can't save Touji like that."
Sosuke smiled, not unlike a master proud of his student. "As far as I'm concerned, I only picked Miss Sohryu at the amusement park."
Shinji then looked at Asuka one last time. Her fist bumped his shoulder. "See you on the battlefield, idiot."
And with an unspoken promise to see each other soon, to fight together and to win together; Shinji stepped out of the car and slid into the alleyway. He watched them drive away and quickly disappear from sight, among the streets of Tokyo-3.
Safe in the shadows of the alley, Shinji let his wings and his horns grow, for once not caring that his shirt was shredded to pieces. But, as his eyes turned red and the scar-like marks appeared on his cheeks, and as fur appeared on his arms and legs; his mind was taken back to that very same afternoon. To the Haunted House, and how Asuka had been so comfortable with him, even in that form. He chastised himself for thinking of such a thing when the situation was so urgent; but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to help it.
A whirlpool of many different emotions formed his mind. Anger at the Angel, much more than in any previous fight. Shinji wasn't sure he had really hated them until then; but this one he despised almost as much as his father. There was disgust, too; at the mere thought of being related to that uncaring man who could condemn Touji without remorse. Fear as well, of the battle ahead and of what could happen if he failed. If he wasn't strong enough.
Shinji would've been drowned by so many negative emotions, were not for the happy memories of that same day. Asuka's smile, their ride on the Ferris Wheel, the times they laughed or whenever their hands touched, even by accident… He held onto those like a raft in a raging sea, just as he had done in the car, and he felt calmer. All of that, all those happy memories he would treasure even if things went south; because he had dared. He had pushed through his fears, asked Asuka on a date, and she had said yes.
After taking a deep breath, he grabbed a piece of his shirt and held it close to his chest. He was about to murmur his mantra of not running away, but he instead said something else.
"I can do this."
Shinji wrapped the piece of shirt around his face, covering everything under his nose, just in case Nerv had some cameras around. He then stretched his wings and took off, upwards, grabbing onto window ledges every now and then, to take more impulse. He avoided verandas and clotheslines, and eventually landed on the rooftop. Around him, the tallest buildings had sunk into the ground, and he could see even the faraway mountains. Searchlights had been turned on all round the city, in preparation for the Angel's arrival.
Shinji crouched, almost like a gargoyle, and waited. As soon as he could see Unit-03 coming, he would transform into his giant form and fly to it. He'd keep it away from Tokyo-3 until the other Evas arrived, and together they would save Touji, just as Asuka had said. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the night breeze caress his face. A respite before the battle.
He thought of her again, drawing strength from the sound of her laughter, her blue eyes, her red hair against the sunset sky…
Something grabbed onto his wrist, forcing him to end his respite sooner than expected. Shinji opened his eyes, and when he looked down, a new wave of anger and discomfort ran through her whole being.
The thing holding his wrist was a tendril of moving hair. Crimson, with a shadow of pink.
"Medusa."
The red dress was the last thing she took off. She folded it, neatly, and left it in the locker; and both actions she found harder than expected. The dress itself felt heavy, as if it was made of anything but silk. It took a while for Asuka to find the will to close the locker, and when she did, she opened it again, to check that the dress was still there. She even threw side glances at the locker as she put on the plugsuit.
Asuka released a somewhat dejected chuckle. It hadn't dawned on her, until that moment, how her priorities had changed in just a few days. Her whole vision of the world had been turned upside-down, and there she was, acting as if everything was normal. Just a year before, she would've thrown the mother of all tantrums. Now, however, she was doing exactly what she swore herself she wouldn't do: fawning over a dress and a boy, and not caring about her status as a pilot.
The plugsuit was a bit cold, even though Nerv was always sure to keep them warm. Asuka pressed the button but didn't feel anything other than the fabric sealing itself against her skin. No excitement, no craving for the fight... All she could think of was the red dress, or rather, the boy associated with it. It helped her keep the fear away, the fear of what would happen if they failed to save Touji, regardless of the battle's final outcome.
She closed her eyes and retrieved the mental picture of Shinji smiling at her, atop the Ferris Wheel, in that meek and stupidly endearing way only he was capable of. She remembered how he had surprised her with his initiative and drive that afternoon, and she drew strength from it. Her own promise to him echoed in her mind.
"I can do this."
Asuka made sure that the plugsuit was working properly and that the A10 clips were on their usual place. Then, she turned around. "Rei, are you ready?"
A couple of lockers away, Ayanami nodded; but there was no eye contact.
"Then let's go. We have a monkey to rescue."
The walk to the elevator, and the ride down to the cages, was silent. Asuka noticed, later than she would like to admit, that Rei seemed absent. Her gaze went from her feet to a corner, instead of looking forward like usual. Thinking that such a somber ambience was not good for either of them, especially right before a battle, Asuka tried to reduce the tension.
"With some luck, the Angel will die before reaching the city. Poisoned for eating Suzuhara."
No reaction. Asuka wasn't sure that Rei had even heard her.
She sighed. "I know, I know, too soon," she crossed her arms and tapped on the floor with her foot, waiting for a reply that didn't come. "I mean… I guess I should be nicer to him, seeing that he's Shinji's best friend; but I can't help it! I just really don't like him. He has guts, though. I'll give him that."
Nothing, just the hum of the elevator as it descended further and further. Starting to get worried, Asuka put a hand on Rei's shoulder and shook her, just a little. Ayanami blinked in surprise, as if she had just been taken out of a trance. She looked at Asuka, then at the hand in her shoulder. With an apologetic face, she lowered her head.
"What's wrong?" Asuka asked.
"Nothing."
"Don't 'nothing' me, Rei. It's obvious you're distressed about something."
Ayanami looked up. "Do you think… do you think Doctor Akagi is okay?"
Asuka's eyes opened wide and a hand went to her mouth, to prevent a gasp for escaping, or perhaps an I'm sorry. She hadn't even spared a thought about Doctor Akagi.
"I didn't…" she tried to speak, but the words became a jumble in both her mind and her throat. "I shouldn't have… I was just trying to…" She stopped, took a deep breath and kicked her own thoughts into order. Then, she put her remaining hand in Rei's other shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine. Akagi is a resilient hag, just like Misato. After we kill the Angel, we'll go to the hospital and she'll be there, you'll see. And if she isn't, I'll take you to Matsuhiro in Unit-02 to look for her."
Ayanami failed to stifle a giggle at Asuka's absurd, yet brash and honest way of cheering her up. "Thank you."
"Everything will be alright, Rei," she patted her shoulders, and then let go.
"Will he be there? With us?" This question was asked almost in a whisper, in fear of who could be listening.
Asuka nodded. "And it'll be like when we caught that big-ass orange Angel, the three of us. We'll save Suzuhara and go back home, with all the people and cats that we love."
Rei smiled, Asuka grinned, and both left the elevator with renewed resolve.
Moments later, Units 00 and 02 reached the surface. Each grabbed a weapon from a nearby stash, the former a sniper rifle, the latter a trusty sonic glaive. Flanked by the searchlights, they stood together in the night, the last line of defense against the enemy.
Soon, a noise came from the distance, a growl that was more like a thunderclap, even so far away. The Fifteenth Angel, wearing Unit-03, leapt from the darkness around Tokyo-3, going over the last hills, high into the night, only to land on a road that was crushed by the titan's weight. At first, it was just a shadow with red eyes, but when the searchlights focused on him, they revealed a beast in the guise of a humanoid machine.
Asuka looked around. Still no sign of Shinji. She bit her lip, struggling to keep her mind calm and her synch rate high. She threw a glance at the holographic window connecting with Unit-00's entry plug. She could see uneasiness reflected in Rei's face, regardless how much she tried to hide it.
"Doesn't look so though," Asuka smirked. "Don't worry, Rei. We can beat that thing."
We can beat it by ourselves, was what she really meant. Ayanami nodded, getting the hidden message.
"It's resuming movement!" Kaji warned through the comm. channel. "Get ready!"
Unit-03 roared and leapt forward, the arms bent and ready to strike, the maw wide open and drooling. It fell over the Evas like a predator, but the prey was neither ignorant of, nor unprepared for its arrival.
"Now, Rei!"
A combined AT-Field exploded like a sun, eclipsing the searchlights. Unit-03 landed on it, slamming its head against the hexagonal wall. It snarled at the Evas on the other side, baring its red teeth and scratching the barrier of light.
"Angel is eroding the AT-Field with its own!" Makoto's voice reached the entry plugs.
In perfect coordination, Units 00 and 02 stepped aside, one in each direction, as 03 shattered the AT-Field. Rei was quick to put as much distance as possible between herself and the Angel. She then proceeded to shoot at it, aiming for the legs and the arms. Bardiel was about to center its attention on her when a sonic glaive hit its leg.
"I'm your opponent!" Asuka said as her Eva spun the weapon.
Unit-03 growled. A cut had been opened in the armor of its leg, revealing brownish flesh underneath, bleeding, although the wound wasn't too deep.
And so began a battle not to kill, but to stall. To incapacitate, hopefully. Asuka stepped back after every hit, only to step in and hit again, trying her luck with different spots in Unit-03's body, looking for a place where the armor would be easier to pierce. Rei provided cover fire, distracting the Angel and preventing it from focusing on one or the other, while also looking for a weak spot on her own.
Alas, with such a strategy in mind, it was only a matter of time before Bardiel adapted. After one of Asuka's assaults, while she was retreating, Unit-03 stretched one of its arms to double, triple its original length, and grabbed Unit-02 by the ankle. This broke the balance of the red giant, making it fall.
"Hey!" Asuka protested. "That's cheating!"
Without letting go, Bardiel, covered in bleeding cuts from Asuka's attacks, turned around and stretched its other arm. Rei reacted quickly and jumped back, increasing the distance enough that it couldn't reach her. She kept shooting, throwing quick glances at the ammunition counter. She was running low.
Meanwhile, Unit-02 raised her other feet right above Unit-03's wrist and then lowered with all the strength the biomechanical muscles were capable of producing. A loud crack pierced the night, and Asuka, now free, retreated a couple of steps.
"Sorry, monkey," she said upon seeing Unit-03's wrist, twisted and crushed.
Bardiel's arms returned to their original length, and he crouched like a cornered animal, growling and snarling. Because of this, Asuka could see something in Unit-03's back. Zooming in, she saw an entry plug, stuck to the Eva's spinal cord, kept in place by a white web, sticky and organic in appearance.
"Rei! The plug!"
Unit-00 nodded and shot at the Angel a couple more times, to disorient it. "Out of bullets! Asuka, give me cover while I reload!"
"My pleasure!" holding the sonic glaive in one hand, Unit-02 unsheathed its progressive knife with the other, and then it jumped high, to land right on the hissing black monster. "Time to remove a parasite, and I'm not talking about Suzuhara!"
"They're doing it!" Kaji closed his hand into a fist, almost without realizing it. The smile on his face was, for once, not smug or suave; but a wide, honest expression of joy. "Maya! How's the ejection going?"
"Unit-03 still rejects the signal!"
"Keep trying! We have to help the pilots as much as we can!"
Maybe it was because of the unusual sight of the Chief Inspector so pumped up, but the whole of the Command Center seemed to share his passion. Or perhaps it had nothing to do with Kaji, but the fact that hope was shining in such a dark situation. They could save the pilot of Unit-03, they had a chance. They could have a happy ending that night. And so everyone did their best to aid. They analyzed the battlefield and relayed every important data to the three main technicians, or they made sure to send enough ammunition and extra weapons to the nearest stashes.
Gendo watched it all unfold, without a word, without a movement. However, if someone could've seen through his shiny orange glasses, they would've found displeasure in his eyes.
On the main screen, Unit-00 was reloading the sniper rifle. A smaller window opened next to it, showing Ayanami in the entry plug.
"Rei," Gendo said, and his cold voice cut through the energy in the Command Center. "Get a better weapon. MAGI will send you Unit-03's weak points. Shoot to kill."
Many heads turned to the new window and to the girl in it.
She didn't respond. She didn't even look at the camera.
"Rei."
The blue Eva walked away from the weapon stash and resumed shooting, providing cover fire as Asuka grappled with Unit-03.
"Pilot of Unit-00," Gendo raised his voice, but without losing his cool. "Obey."
For an instant, it seemed as if Rei's lips trembled of insecurity, but her eyes remained on the Angel, even when she cut communications.
Some of the lower-level technicians dared to murmur, while others returned to their work, lowering their heads as if to avoid being caught in the crossfire of whatever could be brewing.
"Pilot Soryu," Gendo said.
"Little busy at the moment!" Asuka replied. On the screen, she blocked Bardiel's attacks with the glaive, while trying to reach the trapped entry plug with the progressive knife.
"Your behavior is putting us at unnecessary risk. Destroy the objective."
"Not without saving the pilot first!"
On the screen, sparks flew as the knife's blade cut through Unit-03's chest armor. Bardiel roared and sunk his red teeth in the arm of Unit-02, drawing blood.
"It is an enemy," Gendo insisted. "The Angels must be destroyed if mankind is to survive."
"I know! Just let me grab that entry plu–"
"Will you put the life of one pilot above the lives of millions of human beings?"
The sudden question gave Asuka pause, enough for Bardiel to jump using its AT-Field and crash onto Unit-02, pinning it down and making it drop its weapons. The Angel had regenerated its wrist, and now it tried to grab onto the head of Unit-02 with both hands.
Kaji called Asuka's name. Some of the technicians gasped in horror.
After a tense millisecond, a red fist slammed onto Unit-03's face. Unit-02 stood up as Bardiel retreated a couple of steps, and Rei was quick to shoot it to attract its attention.
"Will you do it?" Gendo insisted.
"Commander!" Kaji protested, but he was ignored.
"Will you?"
Asuka panted. "I can't," she said as Unit-02 crouched to grab its weapons. "I can't sacrifice millions just to save one…" she threw a defiant glare to the camera. "But I can't give up without trying, either! We can save the pilot! There's no need to sacrifice anyone!"
"You are disobeying direct orders from your superior," Gendo raised his voice again. "Your job is to defeat the Angels by any means necessary. If you can't do that, then you are not worthy of the title of Second Children, and you will–"
"It's Child, you poor excuse for a father!" and she cut communications.
A tense silence fell over the Command Center, with the only sound being the battle noises coming from the main screen. All eyes were on Gendo, expecting an explosion at any moment.
The commander just pushed his glasses up. "Activate Unit-01 with the dummy plug and tow it to the catapults. When it reaches the surface, cut off the synch of Units 00 and 02 with their respective pilots."
And the silence became cold, while Gendo's voice gained a faint tinge of ire. A small ember of indignation, but it was more than enough to terrify the whole Command Center, who had never heard him speaking like that. Only one man refused to be scared.
"Have you gone mad?" Kaji yelled, looking up at those orange glasses, with a defiant scowl and burning anger of his own. "They're winning! The pilot will be rescued, and the Angel neutralized! Just give them more time!"
"Insubordination will not be tolerated," and Gendo looked down, right at the chief inspector, making it clear that he wasn't just talking about Asuka. "If the Children can't follow simple orders, then we don't need them. The dummy plugs will do a better job." His eyes then went to a terrified Maya. "Activate it."
"Don't!" Kaji's voice thundered in the Command Center, making Maya, and a few other technicians, wince.
Chief inspector and commander held each other's stare, the latter not letting a single emotion show in his face, not corresponding the formers' indignation. Almost as if daring him to do something. To disobey.
Kaji spoke to everyone there. "Commander Ikari is no longer suited to direct this operation. From now on, you will ignore all instructions coming from him and focus on providing support to Units 00 and 02. The main objectives are the rescue of pilot Touji Suzuhara and the destruction of the Fifteenth Angel in that order. Ibuki, keep sending the ejection signal! Aoba, see if MAGI can give us any advice! Hyuga, send more bullets for Rei!"
But the sound of footsteps and guns cocking behind him made him stop. Kaji didn't need to look to know that a whole detachment of armed agents had arrived. He turned all the same, though, only to glare at Gendo one last time. However, the commander didn't acknowledge it.
Kaji tried to resist as they grabbed him by his arms. To hell with not antagonizing the commander. He kept calling to the technicians, pleading them to help the kids, first and foremost. He only stopped when a fist hit his face.
"Should we take him to the cells?" an agent asked.
"No," Gendo said. "I don't want him out of my sight for now. Keep him quiet and make sure he doesn't cause troubles. Use force if necessary."
Ignoring the pain in his jaw, Kaji looked up. Despite what he had just said, the commander still refused to even glance in his direction. He spat blood on the floor, a last act of defiance against Gendo.
"Is this my punishment?" Kaji asked. "Are you going make me watch as you murder a child?"
Once again, he was ignored. They punched him, this time in the stomach. It hurt, but not as much as the knowledge that he had failed Asuka, Shinji and Misato.
Gendo shifted his focus to the technicians. "Dummy plug. Now."
The sonic glaive was at their feet, snapped in two. On all fours, Bardiel had its eyes locked on Unit-02 as its black armor bled from many superficial cuts.
Asuka panted in the entry plug. Her Eva had also suffered some damage, and the phantom pain still burned; but it was hidden by the excitement of the battle. Or maybe the adrenaline from having told the commander off, or both.
Her eyes went to the entry plug peeking from Unit-03's back. Unit-02 tightened the grip on the progressive knife. Asuka had managed to cut a few strands of that white substance in a lucky hit, but they had regenerated already. She needed faster strikes, and more potent so that the Angel could not heal. She saw Unit-00 beyond Bardiel, sniper rifle in hand, ready to resume their deadly dance as soon as she gave the signal.
But, just as Asuka was about to move, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A catapult exit opening, not too far away, and Unit-01 emerging.
"What are they doing?"
Then, darkness. The hum of dozens of systems shutting down at once filled the entry plug. Caught by surprise, Asuka could only stare at the walls, mouth agape, before her brain finally processed what had happened.
Her umbilical cord hadn't been severed. The Angel hadn't hit her. That could only mean one thing.
She pulled the control levers, but nothing happened.
"What's going on?" she pushed buttons, but no holographic windows opened. "Rei, can you hear me? Kaji?"
She pulled the control levers again, and when the darkness remained unbroken, she kicked them in anger. An anger that was slowly morphing into desperation.
"Rei, come in! Rei! Kaji, what the crap is happening? Is there any problem? Kaji? Kaji!"
The comm. channels remained silent.
Let's go back, for a moment. Not too much.
Shinji slapped the lock of crimson hair away, but he didn't look back. He didn't want to give her too much attention.
"This charade has to stop," Medusa's voice came from behind, accompanied by approaching footsteps.
He kept his eyes on the dark horizon, but his breathing became forced, as if to send a message. A hand on his shoulder told him that the message had been not understood, or just ignored.
"You can't keep hiding from your real self," her voice in his ear gave him shivers, and not the good kind. "I can help you. I will find a better spell, one that will bring your memories back for good. I know you're in there, Dante."
Shinji stood up, and with a single shoulder movement, he shook Medusa's hand off. He turned around, meeting her eyes, but he reciprocated their love and hope with a stare so angry that it could either burn or freeze.
"Go away," he didn't bother with politeness or manners.
Medusa's smile didn't falter. She raised a hand towards the shirt around his mouth. "You are beautiful in this form. Why hide your face?"
Shinji grabbed her hand before it could touch him and pushed it away. "Stop. Just stop."
Locks of her hair moved and tore away the improvised mask before he could react. They restrained his arms when he tried to swat them away, and Medusa's fingers caressed the red marks on Shinji's cheeks.
"Why would I do such a thing?" she asked. "Why throw away all my hopes, all the hard work of my people, when we're so close to having you again?"
"Who's we?" Shinji freed himself, and some strands of crimson hair snapped. "Don't you remember Piccolos? He was the last loyalist, and he died! You're alone! Good demons like Miss Ura want nothing to do with you!"
Medusa snickered, but the corners of her smile trembled, and for an instant, her smirk threatened to break into a grimace. "Good demons," she huffed, pretending to be amused but barely able to hide her disgust. "That Ura is nothing more than a pathetic coward."
Shinji clenched fists and teeth. Her eyes shrunk under his frown, glaring at the demoness; but she didn't seem to notice.
"There are others," Medusa continued. "Not loyalists, true; but they have not forgotten the suffering of our people. They're undecided, fearful of the Throne of Souls and mankind's weapons. But, once you claim your rightful place at the last Demon Lord, they will find the courage to reunite and fight back."
"It's not my rightful place! I'm not Dante, I've told you many times! Why is it so hard for you to understand?"
Medusa gave him an unamused look. Then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Before Shinji could react, a mass of crimson hair hit him from the side, with the speed and force of a train. He was thrown off the roof, and when he tried to flap his wings to fly, tendrils of that same hair bludgeoned his body from all angles. Incapable of staying on the air, Shinji fell back to the alleyway, and Medusa's hair kept hitting him, pushing him down so that he fell even faster.
He cracked the ground upon impact. Pain ran wild through every muscle, although he had felt worse. Coughing, Shinji looked up, and saw Medusa descending, climbing down the wall, using her hair as the legs of an enormous spider.
"Why is it so hard for me to understand?" she asked, and more locks of her seemingly never-ending mane shot down and held Shinji's legs and arms. "Because I saw Dante fighting the White Invaders, six thousand years ago. You think you have it hard, battling them one by one in your toys? In the old days, two would often wake up at the same time, perhaps even three or four; and Dante always won."
Medusa reached the bottom, but her feet didn't touch the ground. She kept herself over Shinji, letting her hair hold her own weight. Their eyes met, his defiant, hers disappointed.
In a sudden movement, Shinji was hurled out of the alleyway, crashing into a car. The empty city didn't care.
"You can't fathom the might of the Demon Lord," Medusa said, walking into the street. "You think it's just a big, resilient body. You think shooting beams through your eyes and manipulating electricity is the extent of what Dante can do."
With her hair, she unrooted a street signal and threw it at Shinji, who this time could avoid it; but Medusa didn't stop at that. She attacked with anything her locks could grab, from street lights to even chunks of asphalt. Shinji, in an aerial position, did his best to evade them. Not an easy task, since he wasn't used to flying among projectiles. And, whenever he tried to go up and out of Medusa's range, her hair would go up even faster and smack him back down. Eventually, his tired wings couldn't react in time, and he was pushed through the glass of a nearby shop. Shinji growled, his head buzzing as a collection of sports equipment fell over him.
Outside, Medusa would not grant him any rest. She enlarged and extended her hair until it could wrap around, and lift, a small truck.
With a smirk, she tossed it over the street.
Shinji let out a sigh that was more like a grunt. The last droplets of his patience evaporated in the flames of growing anger.
A blast of light and heat burst from inside the shop, and the truck exploded when it was about to hit. The asphalt of the street hissed and boiled for a brief instant, the shards of glass became liquid, and everything inside the store was reduced to cinders. After the final fires of the explosion ceased, all that remained was Shinji, standing on his feet, his arms stretched forward. His hands still irradiated some heat.
"See?" Medusa closed the distance between them using her hair. "I bet you didn't know you could do that. There are many powers you still need to reawaken."
Shinji looked at his hand, now back to normal temperature. Alas, that parenthesis in his anger, that moment of distraction, was enough for Medusa to pin him back to the ground. This time, she even sat on top of him. She leaned forward, her naked breasts almost touching his chest and her crimson locks tightening their grip on his limbs. She cupped Shinji's cheeks and forced her to look into her eyes, which coldly pierced into his soul. She wasn't smiling anymore.
"Why is it so hard for me to understand?" she repeated. "Because Dante is the champion of the demon tribe. He carries our rage, our sadness, our eons of suffering in the bowels of the world. He's the result of millions of years of adapting to the harshest environments, performing bloody magic rituals and breeding our strongest warriors; all in order to create the ultimate defender of this planet. Someone who can not only slay the Giant of Light and its spawn, but also protect demonkind from whatever else lurks among the stars. So I would rather die than accept that a weak, pathetic, insignificant Black Invader somehow stole Dante's body."
Her fingers were digging into Shinji's skull. Had it not been for his supernatural resilience, perhaps they'd had pierced the skin already. But then, as soon as her speech was over, they relaxed, and so did her face. Medusa smiled again as her hands caressed his cheeks, and the coldness of her stare melted, giving way to, once again, desire.
"But that could never happen," she cooed. "You're not a Black Invader, you're Dante. This Shinji Ikari is just a mirage, a bad dream you'll be glad to forget. Let's not fight anymore. Come with me, I will help you," she leaned even closer. "Don't make me hurt you."
His breathing stopped in a gasp. His eyes opened wide as her lips were almost on his, but Shinji didn't even register it. Those words had triggered something in his brain, and recent memories were resurfacing, paving a road through which his fury would explode, roaring like a volcano.
His hands released waves of scorching heat, melting iron and reigniting fires in the store, forcing Medusa to stand back. When she did, Shinji freed himself from her grasp and, with a double kick to the stomach, pushed her back into the streets. She quickly tried to get back on her feet, couching and spitting. She had to use her hair to give extra support to his trembling legs.
Before her eyes, Shinji walked out of the ruined shop, the air around his claws distorted due to the heat. And yet, that was nothing compared to the burning hatred she saw in her eyes, all directed at her.
She said something, but Shinji ignored it. His mind went back to that night, not so long ago, when Asuka had come into his room, wanting to talk. The night they had locked their pinkies.
"She promised she would never hurt me!" his voice was like a thunder, and it seemed as if the whole street trembled with his anger. "She didn't threaten, she promised!"
Medusa, gnawed by a sudden fear, threw another car at him, but Shinji just swatted it away. He was more focused on the memory of Rei's figure against the full moon, and her words before a fight that had darkened the whole country for an instant.
"She promised she would protect me!"
Shinji rushed forward, using his wings to give himself a boost. In a single step, he closed the distance between them and threw a punch. Medusa protected herself with her hair, but the force of the impact still pushed her back. She kept her balance by digging her clawed feet in the asphalt, and yet her body ached from the punch. She unfurled all of her mane at once, some locks rushing to attack directly, while others grabbed yet more stuff to throw.
Shinji's eyes shone in a different shade of red. He snarled, showing his sharp teeth. "They all… They all…"
"Shinji, this is your house."
"If I find someone who blames you, I'll beat the crap out of him!"
"You are yourself. Your destiny is your own. Never forget that, no matter what happens."
"Thank you for protecting my family, for saving this city so many times."
"They all care! But you… you!"
"I only called you because I need you now."
"You're just like him!"
His eyes went from red to yellow and shot beams of golden light, cutting through her hair. The severed locks fell to the ground, quickly burning to ash.
Medusa screamed and fell to her knees.
Shinji panted as his eyes returned to normal. They itched like never before, and some tears were released against his will, but not to cry. Rubbing his face, he approached Medusa, who was clutching the bloody, charred stump that had once been her right arm. She looked up and hissed. Shinji didn't recall her ever glaring at him with so much anger and pain.
For once, he didn't feel sorry.
New noises came from afar; ones he couldn't hear before due to their scuffle. It was the sound of reinforced armor clashing, of trees being squashed, of the very ground quaking. The sound of giants brawling.
Shinji held Medusa's stare. His eyes were full of contempt. "I am Shinji Ikari. I am not Dante, and I don't love you. Now leave me alone. I need to save my friend."
And he walked past her, ignoring the shock in her face. Even when she screamed and cursed in the demon tongue, and her crying shrieks pierced the night; he didn't look back.
Shinji ran, following the searchlights he could see over the buildings. His thoughts were now on Asuka, Rei and Touji; and how much he wished he could tell them that he was coming. Responding to that desire, his body grew large. The wings on his back vanished and reappeared fused with his arms. His clawed legs became full talons, and Tokyo-3 shrank around him. Windows shattered as he ran, the asphalt was torn by his bird-like feet, and cars and streetlights were thrown away, into the air, by the speed of his flight.
It didn't take him long to reach the battlefield, but once he got there, he stopped, dead in his tracks. All his eyes opened wide, and a knot formed in his stomach at what he saw there.
Unit-01, active, holding a black Evangelion by its throat. Unit-03, Shinji assumed, was flailing its arms and legs, weakly kicking the stomach of Unit-01 and trying to claw at its helmet. It groaned and wheezed, like a human having difficulty to breathe. The purple fingers were digging in its neck, already crushing its windpipe –if Evas had one– or about to.
But Shinji couldn't see Unit-03. He could only see Touji, and Unit-01 was killing him.
His mind, strained by his battle with Medusa, snapped.
He ran. He roared. He jumped. And his fist made contact with the head of Unit-01.
Sparks and small chunks of armor flew everywhere. The limp Unit-03 fell to the ground, its neck bruised and almost twisted. Unit-01 landed on its back, and Shinji leapt over it before it could get back up. The 25 meters of height difference in the Eva's favor meant nothing, it could not free itself, no matter how much it struggled. When it raised one arm going for the bat's neck just as it had done with Unit-03, Shinji sank his fangs on it, piercing through the armor. In a brutish pull, he yanked the whole limb out, spilling Evangelion blood on the battlefield.
Shinji spat out the arm, clenched his fist and rammed it into the head of Unit-01, roaring as he did so.
Kaji cheered. It was automatic, his mouth moved before he could even think about it; but he didn't regret it, not even when it earned him another punch. He saw Gendo standing up, slamming both hands on the table, in an action that gave pause to all technicians present.
"Deactivate the Dummy Plug!"
Nobody followed that instruction, but out of shock rather than disobedience. Never before had the commander been so vocal in one of his orders. He had even sounded… Worried? Fearful? But such a thing was surely not possible, the technicians thought.
Kaji new better, and he was enjoying every second of it.
"Do it!" Gendo insisted. "Cease aggression!"
Unit-01 went silent, and the light in its eyes vanished.
Shinji didn't care. He kept punching, shattering the horn and part of the mask; but his attacks were neither careful nor precise. Some hit the head, others the chest, and others the ground beneath them, leaving fist-shaped craters. Shinji worried about aim as little as he did the Eva's inactivity.
The floodgates of rage had opened and he couldn't stop them. He didn't want to stop them. He loathed that abomination, that thing which had only given him pain and misery since day one. The same thing his father loved more than him, than even his mother. That barrage of primal violence was the manifestation of his hatred, forged from his suffering, and he was going to return every ounce of pain to that thing.
The Eva's head was dented. Its lower jaw broken, with bloody teeth spilling out. A green eye dangled from its socket, but Shinji felt no pity for it. He raised his fist, ready to deliver one more blow, perhaps the killing one.
Yes. He would love to kill that thing, if only to spite his father. Tear it to pieces, laugh at his misery. He wished the Eva had exploded during construction or something. That way, he would've never come to Tokyo-3.
The fist stopped a few feet before reaching the mangled face. Evangelion blood dripped from the knuckles into the shattered mouth.
Shinji panted as the cogs in his mind turned, dragging an uncomfortable truth to the light. Had it not been for Evangelion Unit-01, he would've never come to Tokyo-3.
He would've never met Misato or Rei.
He would've never become friends with Touji and Kensuke.
He would've never met Asuka, much less live with her. Much less go on a date with her.
Shinji's arms went limp. His fists unclenched, and his claws brushed against the earth. Head low, his grunts and growls were replaced by quivering whimpers. It was the only way he could let his anger out now, with his energy spent, his willpower halted all of the sudden, his soul crushed by a painful realization. He still wanted to hate the thing below him, but he wasn't sure he had the right to.
In the demon's forehead, Shinji's human face cried. So did the colossal yellow eyes flanking it.
Alas, he had no time to be alone with his sadness. Most of Nerv's searchlights focused on his right, from were some noise was coming. Shinji looked, in a weary movement of the head. Unit-03 had stood up, its neck having regenerated. Its red eyes locked onto the Demon Lord and it seemed to doubt for an instant, as if to decide if its chiropteran savior was friend or foe. But soon Bardiel bared its fangs, and crouched on a hostile position, about to leap.
Until a red progressive knife flew through the air and sunk in its belly.
"Who reactivated Unit-02?"
Gendo had just yelled. No passive-aggression, no threats between the lines, no slow raising of his voice. He had yelled, straight up. A shiver ran through the whole Command Center. Only one person was brave enough to reply, and her voice trembled all the same.
"N-Nobody, Sir!" Maya said. "The reactivation was internal!"
Unit-03 focused its attention on the attacker, the same red giant that had annoyed it so much since its arrival. However, when it tried to jump, Shinji's tail coiled around its leg, and Bardiel fell to the ground, face-first. Shinji and Unit-02 reacted almost in unison and rushed forward. Together, they pinned down all the limbs of the infected Evangelion.
Unit-02, taking care of the arms, looked at Shinji, and its four eyes shone in a green light. He nodded and leaned over the back of Unit-03 as it struggled to free itself. His demonic fangs closed around the white web trapping the entry plug. At the first bite, Bardiel tossed and turned, roaring through the mouth of the black Eva; but neither of its captors would let go. It even tried to use its AT-Field, but Unit-02 had already deployed its own, and both barriers nullified each other.
Shinji tore some of the webbing, but it began to grow back almost instantly. So he bit again, and again, even using a claw to rip more strands away until, at last, the entry plug was free. This allowed Maya's ejection signal to go through, and the plug was shot out of the back of Unit-03, leaving an arch of LCL as it crossed the sky. A parachute opened, and it fell somewhere in Tokyo-3.
Bardiel's next scream was like nothing anyone had heard on that battle. It grew high-pitched, in a way that didn't seem possible for the Evas. It trashed with so much violence that Unit-02 and Shinji had to let go, although it didn't matter anymore. Its arms snapped backwards, its legs arched and its tongue flapped grossly. It was almost as if the Fifteenth Angel had suddenly forgotten how to properly move the Evangelion.
Unit-02 and Shinji exchanged one last look. He retreated into the city, growing smaller so that the buildings would hide him.
In her entry plug, Asuka smirked. She didn't have to hold back anymore.
First, she recovered her progressive knife and stabbed the base of 03's neck. Then, she pushed upwards, until the blade got stuck in the jawbone. Bardiel flailed its arms, but Unit-02 grabbed 03's head with both hands. Asuka pulled from the control levers as she let out a wrathful scream, filling the LCL with bubbles. With the wet noise of meat snapping, the lower jaw of Unit-03 was ripped away, along with a good chunk of the neck.
Bardiel's arms snapped back into a normal form, and its hands went for the throat of Unit-02, digging both thumbs into the red giant's windpipe. Asuka gasped in pain, and some blood escaped her mouth; but she didn't let that stop her. She opened the shoulder pylons and shot the spikes, and one of them pierced 03's right eye. Unit-02 grabbed the attacking arms and began pushing them away, while repeatedly hitting the stomach of Unit-03 with a knee.
"Die already!" Asuka cursed.
She broke 03's wrist, the same one she had shattered before. She punched its wounded head, and then its chest, and then kicked its stomach. She grabbed one of the cuts in the armor and pulled, tearing the plaques around the left shoulder. But, despite all of this punishment, Bardiel would not desist. Its arms went for the neck again.
"Die!" Asuka dealt blow after blow, not caring about the pressure on her throat. Her hatred burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, and it helped her ignore the pain. "Die! Die! Die!" She bellowed out the last one as if it was a shriek from Hell.
All of her rage was directed at Unit-03 and the monster puppeteering it. She wanted it dead. She wanted it gone, from her life and the lives of those she cared about. Out of her city. Out of her date.
Out of her happiness.
A blast of orange light flashed between the two Evas, and the hum of an AT-Field filled the night. When it ceased, Unit-03 had been cleanly bisected at the stomach. The two bleeding halves fell to the ground, inert.
Something white and gooey slithered out from the spilled entrails of the fallen Evangelion. Before it could crawl too far away, Unit-02 stomped on it, with so much strength it caused a small quake. When Asuka saw that it was still moving, she stomped on it one more time. And then another one. And…
After a while, the ground was cracked and broken beneath Unit-02. Under its foot, Bardiel no longer moved. The red giant lowered its head, and its arms went limp when it deactivated, seemingly on its own.
"Angel neutralized," Maya said. She would've sighed in relief, if not for the suspicion that the night wasn't done, and that someone would suffer the repercussions of what had just transpired.
Kaji's laughter mixed with the noises of the beating he was receiving. A grunt of pain escaped his lips every now and then, but it was a reflex action. No matter how much they hit him, no matter how many teeth they were going to knock out; they couldn't kill his good mood.
Gendo sat down, returning to his usual pose.
"Fuyutsuki. Bring me the Third. No excuses this time."
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Some last-minute rewrites were done here and there, I hope the chapter's pace doesn't feel weird because of that. I think I could've done this one better, but I needed to upload it already or I would've gone insane xD
List of Shinji's Demonic Powers: Heat-emanating hands (Volume 1 of the original Devilman manga, 1972)
I want to give a huge thanks to SheriffJohnStone for his help with this chapter, and also to all the people who helped me with the many vocabulary questions I had. Special thanks go to Sunsetman, JazzCabbage, Author0fntent, LDGV, Romulo Nidoking BR, one guest, Calborghete, skyf0x, RealRemainder, Born2Walken, Chucky117, Lovemichi, Gillaume Grigna (300th review!) and deathbringer374 for their feedback and support. And thanks to all of you who read, favorite and follow. I wouldn't have reached this length if it wasn't for you.
Hopefully next chapter will arrive in less time, but I seriously doubt it :( Busy months await me once August ends. In any case, I'll see you all in the next update. Take care and keep being awesome.