Chapter 23: Do Our Desires Come from a Genuine Place?

After a day where he was left in fear of what was transpiring in NERV, there were very few who would have argued that another Angel attack would have been an ideal time. Shinji was not one of them knowing it would at best be a distraction from learning more about what was causing trouble with his friends or understanding how Misato really felt by now. It was unfortunately still a duty for him and he was expected to fulfill it no matter how he felt.

The Angel known as Azrael was the size of Leliel and floated though the city much like it. It was an Angel in the shape of a sperm adorned with craters on its head while its core lay beneath it with ribs as protection. At its bottom was a flagellum encircled with masks of Sachiel that lightly wove back and forth in its flight.

The sight was enough to make the city of Tokyo-2 engage its safety procedures before the Angel could make its advance but would discover a sense if futility in its approach. Just as soon as Azrael came within a mile of the shore to the city a piece of the ground began to rise before being tossed out of its path. The closer Azrael came to the shore, the more its marks across the ground began to resemble the digging of a trench towards the hidden buildings.

The sight if the destruction became enough for Ristuko to report, "We have confirmation. This Angel has a significant ability behind it."

Misato watched the advance of the Angel as she asked, "We have an idea of its range then?"

Maya confirmed, "It appears to be able to lift pieces of land on its own no matter the substance in the area. It might be a bit much to theorize, but this Angel might be able to manipulate gravity."

Fearing that NERV might be dealing with another seemingly impossible monster, Misato asked, "Do we have authorization to attack?"

Makoto answered, "We have an N2 mine prepared for launch. No word how effective it will be."

Desperate to keep the Angel from approaching at all costs, Misato ordered, "Launch it now!"

Without debate the mine was launched from one of the NERV missile bays as it flew towards the Angel. Azrael continued its flight towards the area where NERV was hidden and showed no interest as the projectile continued its flight towards it. As soon as it came within a mile of its area however, the mine made an immediate downward turn as it shot down to the ground and exploded in impact.

The mine left the mighty explosion it had become known for, but Azrael continued its advance though the air towards its target. Even the flames the explosion left behind proved not to be enough as Azrael passed through them as a minor hindrance. Some of the city had been damaged but no progress had been made in slowing the Angel down.

Gritting her teeth at the sight, Misato found Maya's theory to unfortunately be correct. As if it was not enough, Azrael continued its flight through the air while lifting buildings on both sides into the air before being flung into the distance. Its advance through the city became more evident as damage was done to the city as its ultimate goal was still being sought.

Misato forced herself to prepare for her duty as she ordered, "Send all units out now! Do everything we can to slow it down!"

Realizing there was no use arguing the efficiency of the order, Makoto confirmed, "All units are being sent now!"

In a short instant the three Eva units were launched to the surface as they saw Azrael in the distance preparing to overpower whatever would challenge its advance. Despite the sight of what occurred before, Shinji knew he would be expected to five everything he had in making sure humanity would survive another encounter with the recent monstrosity. To one degree or another he knew Kensuke and Asuka had that responsibility as well.

Seeing the Angel make its way towards them, Shinji asked, "How do we get close to it anyway?"

Misato answered, "It's not ideal, but one of you has to move towards that thing. If anything so we can prepare for long range attacks."

Ritsuko warned, "We've seen the effects of the Angel's area already Major. We do not have any more powerful alternatives."

Acknowledging the pressure on the humans in the instant, Misato agreed, "We don't but we can ideally get that thing to fly over one of our bays. That might be our chance for the Evas to attack it from underneath."

Acknowledging the lack of alternatives, Ritsuko accepted, "The success or failure will weigh on your shoulders Major. This is all dependent on whether or not the Angel can determine the danger of passing over one of our missile bays or not."

Gripping a nearby rail from the tension of the situation, Misato warned, "If it is a failure we might not get a chance to make up for it." Refocusing her attention to the battle at hand, Misato ordered, "Unit-01, Unit-02, move forward and split up. Unit-04, remain behind and await further orders."

Both Shinji and Asuka accepted, "Moving!"

Noticing a lack of response from Kensuke, Shigeru asked, "Do we have any sign of compliance from Unit-04?"

Misato dismissed, "The pilot of Unit-04 has been quiet! We don't have time to speculate, just keep an eye on him!"

The two Eva units moved forward with their pallet guns at the ready as they took aim at Azrael. Unit-04 remained still as it waited for the command to move forward. Kensuke looked on in a frozen state as he kept biting on his lower lip in a desperate attempt to keep himself from saying anything. Even in the powerful Eva unit he long dreamed to have, he felt a sense of hopelessness linger over him whether it was from the imposing Angel threatening to destroy the human race or the threat of said humans prepared to deal with him.

Shinji and Asuka made their advance in both sides of the Angel while keeping their Eva units outside the range of the buildings that were floating around their target. Shinji kept himself from pulling the trigger on his gun but felt the temptation to defy his order increasingly difficult. The sight of city destruction around him became an intimidating sight as Azrael showed no significant bodily movements remaining unimpeded. As he was kept at a distance however, what little safety he had before was soon to be lost as he was given his next order.

"Shinji, fire at the core."

The command left Shinji uneasy but knew going against Misato's order would not achieve anything now. Hoping he would achieve some damage, Shinji took aim at the core of Azrael and fired. Before the bullets could even reach anywhere near the Angel, the gravity around it caused the bullets to fall flat onto the ground with a mighty crash. The powers of his target were far from complete demonstration as Azrael turned slightly in Unit-01's direction and hurled one of the buildings towards it.

Panicking at the attack, Shinji made Unit-01 duck underneath the flying building before feeling his unit hit in the chest by a construction beam. Seeing the attack caught Asuka's attention and call out, "Shinji!" Firing her own pallet gun at the Angel she saw the bullets fly only to come crashing down the same distance away as Shinji's did.

Seeing the destruction continue, Misato ordered, "Asuka, stay behind! Don't let it cut your cable!"

Asuka cursed the situation, "How can I allow this? Shinji is in danger!"

Asuka ended up doing more than just deny the order, she charged forward with Unit-02 and prepared to tempt fate by coming into close contact with Azrael. Seeing the unit make the charge made Misato demand, "Get back here! Now!"

The order did nothing to stop the advance of Unit-02 before it found itself in Azrael's range. It was raised into the air and flung backwards causing it to spin in the air. Much to the amazement of its onlookers, the cable powering Unit-02 did not appear to be severed.

While the plan to attack did not proceed like she hoped, Misato was relieved to see there were no pilot casualties yet but knew things were not progressing for the better. Remembering her initial plan she asked Shigeru, "Has missile bay 3 been cleared?"

Shigeru confirmed, "All armaments have been removed."

Turning her attention back to the battle, Misato ordered, "Kensuke, move to your right. Once you get to the bay doors, just hold on to the side of the walls and make your descent to the bottom. Think you can do that?"

Still no response from Kensuke. Misato was relieved to see Unit-04 was moving in the direction she ordered but not receiving any words from someone who was supposed to be so enthusiastic for battle was an unusual sight. When the battle against Azrael continued to be as dire as it was, she knew she could not afford to worry about what he was going through when there was a threatening air looming over the human race.

Looking beneath him, Kensuke saw the open bay doors on the ground and made Unit-04 leap into the hole. Holding on to his side of the wall, he felt himself descending before making contact with the floor where a missile should have been. Looking around and keeping his breathing steady, Kensuke gave every thought he had to making sure he would not give a word if confirmation or question what was happening. He had an idea if what Misato planned to launch an offensive on Azrael and had questions of its efficacy but still had the warning delivered by Rei to consider as well.

Shinji forced Unit-01 up from the ground before looking across the city to see Unit-02 bringing itself up as well. Despite her conditions, Asuka was clearly willing to do everything possible to assist him seeing the demise of the Angel. With Azrael's powerful ability surrounding him a mile wide however, the task seemed to be another nearly impossible one.

Misato gave what relief she could as she ordered for the next phase of her plan to begin, "Asuka, Kensuke moved past your location. Do everything you can to lure the Angel towards you but stay out of its range."

Asuka confirmed the plan, "Right away."

Drawing out her pallet gun, Asuka fired Unit-02's bullets towards the Angel only to come crashing to the ground as the previous ones had. Azrael gave heed to Unit-02's attack by floating where it was and sending one building after another towards its location. Due to their size, Asuka was able to find the window she needed to avoid them but her attacks did nothing to attract Azrael to move in her direction.

Seeing Unit-02 struggle to deal any damage to the Angel made Shinji plea, "Miss Misato, Asuka can't do anything! If she keeps this up it will hit her!"

The warning drew a sense of hope that Misato immediately dreaded feeling. The idea that Asuka might be lost in this battle. The thought she actually would be out of the way. Shinji would have no excuse to have anything standing between him and her.

This thought caused her to tremble as she kept herself steady by clinging as tight as her hands could manage on her railing. The fact she allowed herself to think about Asuka being forced out of the way like she was her age made her realize her mind was being taken to a dark place. She did not simply want another lover out of the way, she was hoping for the death of a child.

Without an immediate answer for Shinji's warning, Ritsuko made her way to the screen and told him, "Wait until you are ordered to move."

It was a short while before Azrael ran out of nearby buildings to throw towards Unit-02. After so much of the city being destroyed, the Eva units finally achieved their goal of making Azrael turn away from its initial direction and making it's way towards Asuka's location. While success was still out of reach, the Eva pilots had a reason to hope the Angel would soon meet its demise.

Asuka reported, "Miss Misato, the Angel is headed my way!"

Recognizing there was one success she could claim, Misato ordered, "Move backwards and head for the bay. Get the Angel to go over it."

Asuka complied with the order but found too late how detrimental the command was. Just as soon as Unit-02 stepped backwards a few times, the cable attached to it's back snapped off. Within the command room of NERV, the five minute counter on Unit-02 began.

Realizing the danger at hand, Maya announcer, "Unit-02's link has been severed!"

The danger Misato tried to suppress wishing for had just become more realized. While Asuka's life was not in danger yet, she would have five minutes to either assist Kensuke with his part or save her own life. Being forced to make the next series of snap decisions would be all she could do to ensure disaster was not about to follow.

Misato ordered, "Asuka! Move back!"

Panicked by the danger, Asuka tried to prepare herself by moving Unit-02 back and asked, "Should I stop at the bay?"

Doing everything to cast aside her dark thoughts made Misato answer, "Try to get the Angel to go right over it! Move as far back as you can before you run out of time!"

Just as she gave the order, Azrael lifted another building into the air before throwing it to Unit-02's location. While Unit-02 had more room to move being unbound by its cable, the time limit place upon it was becoming more of a warning by the second. Devastation continued to wreak across the city as Azrael made its advance while only pieces of scrap made their way into the depths of the missile bay Kensuke occupied.

Shinji found himself aghast as he saw the continued destruction and asked, "Miss Misato! Can't I do anything to help her?!"

Gripping her railing harder than before, Misato remembered Shinji was still present as he was desperate to find some way to assist Asuka. Even if he was not interested in returning Asuka's affection, Shinji was still the same boy Misato knew only wanted to help others no matter the toll on him. A trait that Misato wished she could claim was true about her.

Misato had no time to reflect further about herself as she saw Azrael incrementally move and wreak more destruction in its path towards Unit-02. Not willing to argue with Shinji any further, Misato ordered, "Do what you can Shinji, but stay out of that field!"

Unit-01 moved towards the field where Azrael left its destruction but made a turn as Shinji remembered what he was heading into. The mile wide field around Azrael persisted and waited for the first sign of another target coming its way threatening its creator. While the Angel's attention remained focused on the escape of Unit-02, one of the faces on the phellgum of Azrael turned to watch Unit-01 making its way around the remains of what was destroyed as it prepared to react to how close it would come.

Unit-02 continued its escape backwards as it stayed out of the reach of the gravitational field Azrael had but did everything it could to deal even a little damage. It took cover behind a building and fired its pallet gun only to see the bullets directed away fro the Angel before creating collateral damage in their descent. Seeing the Angel continue forward served as the only indication to Asuka she was doing anything right to gain its attention and made her escape from the advance.

Asuka watched to progression of the city streets below and to her relief saw what she was assigned to find. The missile bay that was left open remained waiting for a chance to be activated but became what she needed to surpass. Making a dash towards the hole in the ground, Unit-02 leapt over it as soon as it came to the ledge and landed safely on the ground. What Asuka hoped was an accomplishment turned out to precede what would stike fear into everyone watching her.

With one final step forward, Unit-02 stood still in place and ceased movement. The insides of Unit-02 went dark and Asuka realized the danger she had been placed in. The five minutes she had were gone and she was stuck in place.

With no way to escape, Asuka found Unit-02 stuck in place. There was no way for her to turn and face her enemy and she felt herself gripped by fear of being unable to move. No matter how much she fought against her controls, Unit-02 would not move. Her unit was stuck in place and a perfect target for Azrael to attack.

Asuka immediately realized this as she called, "Miss Misato! I can't move! Help me I'm stuck!"

Misato saw the danger of leaving Asuka where she stood and ordered, "Shinji hurry!"

Shinji continued to circle Unit-01 around the field Azrael manipulated before seeing what Misato warned about. Unit-02 was frozen in place and the Angel raising another few buildings in front of it in preparation for throwing. His fears of Asuka being severely hurt were about to be realized.

Refusing to allow harm to be the final outcome, Shinji forced Unit-01 to make as hard of a dash to the area as possible before colliding with Unit-02 . The two units fell to the ground but were a little further away from the reach of Azrael. The Angel's intent to destroy them still remained as it levitated towards their area and the range of its field began to encroach upon them.

Forcing Unit-01 up, Shinji heard Misato emphasize, "It's coming within range! Move now!"

Holding Unit-02 by the hand, Unit-01 dragged it across the roads desperate to remain out of range from the Angel's wrath. While moving steadily Shinji believed he would eventually find safety while Misato would have the chance to spring the trap she had ready for Azrael. His escape was denied with one significant interruption.

A mass of land shot over the heads of both Eva units before landing right in front of them. With the combined debris and crumbling land in front of them, their escape forward was denied while Azrael continued its slow levitation towards them. Seeing no other option, Shinji forced Unit-01 to hold on to Unit-02 as tight as possible before turning to his left and forcing his way through a nearby gathering of buildings that impeded his progress.

Desperate to make Unit-02 move in such a desperate time, Asuka jerked against her controls before shouting, "Shinji! Please help me!"

While he could not hear her at the moment, Shinji's voice trembled as he answered Asuka's plea, "Miss Misato! I'm stuck!"

The sight of the two Eva units struggling to continue their way forward made a mighty clench in Misato's stomach form as she waited for the moment she hear her plan could be executed. She could do nothing to influence the direction of the units making their escape and the buildings around the two continued to crumble. The slow and painful progression of the Angel was the only hope anyone had at this point as more of the city was torn asunder and Kensuke's unit lay in wait.

Misato's fears were amplified as she heard Shigeru announce, "The Angel is approaching within range of the units! They have nowhere to escape!"

The worst had come indeed as Unit-01 and Unit-02 were brought into the air by the power of Azrael. They floated among the massive pieces of debris causing Asuka to lose hold of her controls while Shinji struggled to even move. Far across from them, the Angel that was determined to eliminate all threats to it was prepared to destroy two of the greatest obstacles it had faced.

Before she allowed herself to completely succumb to her fears, Misato heard Makoto add, "It's reaching within range of the target area!"

Desperate to finally change the devastation in front of her, Misato ordered, "Fire bay 3 now!"

Within the depths of the missile bay, Kensuke felt Unit-04 propelled into the air above by the floor beneath him. Grinding his teeth and keeping his focus on the Angel, he knew now was the best chance he would have at turning the tide. Reaching for his progressive knife he saw the light above him become gradually brighter before being brought to the surface and thrown towards Azrael's phellgum.

Azrael registered the new challenger that took hold of it before seeing Unit-04 use its progressive knife to scale its way up before leaving it ledged into its body to prepare for another attack. As the unit reached for the ribs surrounding its core, Kensuke painted as he summoned every bit of strength he could manage into yanking the ribs he took hold of. A mighty pair of cracks sounded through the air as two ribs snapped off Azrael's body and Unit-04 plunged them right into the core on both sides.

Azrael stopped floating forward as it registered the attack that was landed and struggled to keep itself alive. After a few seconds of trying, the Angel's core faded in color and signified its demise at hand. Everything that floated around it earlier fell to the ground with a mighty crash while Unit-01 and Unit-02 landed on a pile of rubble breaking their fall. Azrael was the last thing to fall as its body came falling upon the open bay door but was stopped as soon as the upper half of its body covered the doors and sent Unit-04 falling back down into the depths.

Misato breathed a sigh of relief at the sight not caring about the damage before Maya announced, "All Angel life signs are negative. It will not move."

Relieved to hear that all of the destruction from Azrael was finally stopped, Misato ordered, "Retrieve all units. Make sure everyone is fine."

While the same could not be said of the city, Shinji, Asuka, and Kensuke came out of the recent Angel attack ruffled but as physically fine as they were before. Much to Shinji's disappointment he found Kensuke still intent to keep himself from speaking even a peep even after achieving a feat he always dreamed of achieving. The only thing he would hear was from Asuka as she threw herself around him in an embrace.

You stupid stupid Shinji! I could have handled this just fine and you just humiliated me again in front of all these people! I swear I will strangle you and your stupid friend!

"Oh Shinji, thank you! You care about me so much, I can't not love you for it!"

Still uneasy with Asuka's forwardness, Shinji told her, "Asuka, we have to talk to Miss Misato soon."

Asuka placed her hands behind her back as she smiled and told him, "I'm okay with listening. Don't you think it will be hard for Kensuke though? He doesn't seem to speak very much."

Shinji clenched his hand afraid of what revealing the truth would do as he told her, "He... had to keep himself quiet for something."

What? Did boy wonder decide to stuff his throat with his cock? Wouldn't be surprising, he might have even asked for it for all I know!

Before any of the pilots could speculate what had happened, Misato made her way up to them and saw them form a line next to one another. The three children responsible for saving the human race were once again in front of her and demonstrating the best form of discipline they could manage. Each of them bearing a certain characteristic that reminded her what she would have to one day reckon with.

Turning to Kensuke, Misato began, "Kensuke, well done. We were worried if you'd be able to pull it off or not." No response. Kensuke simply stood with his hands behind his back while looking down at the ground with a frown. Attempting to hear him say anything, Misato asked, "Did something happen? Yesterday or just now?" Still nothing. Kensuke tightened the lock of his arms behind him as he remained unsure how to give an answer. Trying to keep her concern from becoming evident, Misato tried one more time, "I'm really worried about you. I can't imagine you just went mute suddenly. We can't help you unless you tell us."

Realizing how dedicated Kensuke was to keeping himself from speaking, Shinji answered for him, "Miss Misato, he told me earlier. He says someone is watching him. If he speaks at all he'll get hurt."

Misato's eyes widened as soon as she heard this. With the window for Shinji to tell her earlier most likely being so small it seemed like a plausible reason he did not report this to her or anyone else in NERV. Then again he did not have much of a reason to trust anyone other than her and the other pilots at this point anyway.

Determined to make sure the issue could finally be resolved, Misato promised, "I'll speak with the commander about this. I'll make sure we fix this soon."

Shinji had to wait before he was taken back to Misato's apartment but decided it would be worth the wait. If it was to help Kensuke with what was threatening his life it would be one of the best things to happen recently. Unfortunately, the developments in NERV never turned out to be as simple as anyone wanted.

After giving her report to Gendo Ikari, Misato was left to wait for a response. It was a peculiar habit of his that made Misato wonder if it was where Shinji gained his contemplative nature. If instead of looking on in desperation to understand someone else he had thrown a shield of cold calculation to present himself.

Misato had little time to wonder about Gendo's behavior before he asked, "You can confirm that he fears for his life?"

Prepared to do everything to convince the commander to react, Misato confirmed, "Yes sir. He can't tell where it came from but it was clearly enough to affect him this much."

Much to her amazement, Misato discovered there was no need to push him with her concerns as Gendo told her, "You should be relieved to hear that we know who was responsible for this. We are preparing to interrogate the suspect very soon."

Doing her best to contain her surprise, whether it was simply the imposing nature of the commander's office or trying to remain formal in front of him, Misato asked, "You... are? Who is it?"

Gendo remained unmoved as he answered, "That much is classified Major and beyond your duty. Still, you did follow your responsibility of reporting this as soon as you obtained knowledge of it. It will be answered for."

Remaining at attention and prepared to answer for whatever assignment she would receive next, Misato told Gendo, "I... apologize for wasting your time sir. I was unaware how on top of this you were."

Gendo dismissed the gesture by telling Misato, "If that is all Major, you are dismissed. Resume your usual duties."

While Misato was not eager to remain in the commander's office any longer than she had to, she found herself in a state of confusion at what she had learned. She could not have imagined anyone in NERV had already gone so far into investigating Kensuke's situation when she had just learned about it. It was a difficult demand to expect everyone around her to be open with what was occurring in NERV but she could not imagine there was any reason for Gendo to lie about something so serious. Especially when the matter of his ultimate ambition was at stake.

Misato did not have a chance to wonder about this any further as she heard Mitsuru greet, "Major. You just return from the commander's office?"

Misato looked up to see Mitsuru and greet back, "Yeah, one of the children was having issues and I needed to make sure it was handled."

Mitsuru scratched the back of his head as he told her, "That sounds like every day to me. Hope he's not too drowned in work right now."

Misato giggled before telling him, "No, he just keeps sitting behind his desk menacingly like always. You headed to him?"

Mitsuru sighed before looking ahead and answering, "Yeah. He wanted to hear from me specifically. Not a high honor or anything but duty is duty right?"

Allowing Mitsuru to pass her by, Misato told him, "You enjoy. I'm sure he'll enjoy the company."

Watching Misato leave and make her way down the halls, Mitsuru whispered under his breath, "If only it was that simple."

Mitsuru stood across from Gendo as he gave a report of vital information explaining a key development within NERV. It was true that NERV was searching for the one who threatened Kensuke's life but the recent injuries Rei had to endure were a key part of the investigation as well. Knowing this, Mitsuru revealed everything that would command Gendo's attention on both subjects.

"You claim to be the one responsible for both."

Mitsuru stood with both hands at his side as he confirmed, "Consider it a warning from my superiors at SEELE."

The answer achieved a reaction few could boast to have achieved from Gendo Ikari. He raised his head from his crossed fingers and looked directly at Mitsuru with an intent gaze. What followed was a long period of silence between the two men as though both waited for each other to speak first.

Gendo was the first to break the silence as he told Mitsuru, "You do not show any identifiers of being from SEELE."

Committing to his answer, Mitsuru explained, "I am a volunteer for them. I am not part of them but I believe in what they want to achieve. It does not even matter if I do join one day, the fact I can achieve what we all desire is the end goal."

Another period of silence hung in the air before Gendo asked, "So it was a warning? Am I to take it those old fools are growing restless already?"

Mitsuru held himself firm as he answered, "We want to make sure you are still willing to cooperate with us. We have come to understand how much the First Child means to you."

Gendo showed little sign of being moved by the mention of Rei as he reminded, "You would not send a warning if I deviated from what we are looking to achieve."

Realizing he did not have the attention of Gendo, Mitsuru found himself unable to make him desperate to stop any more developments such as this one. Was he truly as heartless and cold as his coworkers joked about? He began to fear that his bluff was about to be completely revealed as a sham.

Not allowing a silence to make himself appear on shaky ground, Mitsuru told Gendo, "But you are unwilling to provide us the timetable we need to anticipate when we can begin. You do not control us."

Placing his face back behind his crossed fingers, Gendo told him, "Very well. If they want to know what the Book of Shemaiah foretells, they shall have it soon enough."

While Mitsuru was hopeful Gendo would have broken and finally agreed to release the information he was looking for, he felt conflicted how it was achieved. He could not imagine he would have so easily gained his trust with his SEELE background being enough. As much as he felt a sense of achievement he knew he could not show any sign of eagerness when the suggestion of success was brought up.

Sticking to the facade he presented, Mitsuru accepted, "A wise decision. We await your report very soon commander."

Hoping he was able to continue selling the act, Mitsuru walked away from Gendo's view and out the door he came through. Gendo gave the look of isolation now there was no one speaking to him. Out of a nearby corner in the shadows however, Fuyutsuki stepped forward to break the isolation and give his observation.

"You believe it is wise to follow his demand?"

"We may be able to use this to our advantage."

A/N: As you might have guessed, Azrael is the same Angel from Neon Genesis Evangelion RPG: Decisive Battle in Tokyo-3. I don't have a lot of knowledge on how this Angel operates so I'm not sure if I nerfed or overpowered it. That being said, I fully comprehend if people don't feel like they have much to comment on here since this Angel took up most of the time for this chapter. If anything I hope the intrigue among the NERV members at least gave a bit of value.

To hopefully make up for a lack of progress, I have some pretty big developments coming up in the next chapter. I don't know how to pitch what I've got without giving away serious spoilers really so I think I should just reveal this much: it's crucial. In this long ongoing epic it's something that couldn't be avoided. So whether you're fearing or anticipating whatever that development might be, I hope to see you all in that next chapter.

Also, a response to Xavier Rivera 4003 on their previous review since I can't reply to those reviews: I have to admit this is the first time I ever heard of the phrase "homewrecker," but in a messed-up way, I'd say it's pretty accurate to say I ended up writing Kaworu into that role. At least in the grand scheme of things anyway, the sort of effect he has would be giving him too much credit to say the least.