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NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: ASCENT OF THE FALLEN

By Sparky Clarkson

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"What's happening?" Misato demanded as she led the remaining three children into the command center.

"We've detected an AT field in the western sector of the city," Makoto replied, not removing his eyes from the monitor in front of him. "We can't seem to get visuals just yet Commander Ikari apparently sabotaged almost all Magi functions when he betrayed us.

"Sabotaged? How?" Misato asked.

"We're locked out," Maya said. "All Magi functions have been reset so that they require a command code. Inside the Geo-Front we can still operate the independent control systems, but beyond HQ our hands are tied."

"Commander Ikari's not available to remove the lockout," Misato said. "So get Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki. Maybe he knows the codes."

"Can't," Makoto replied, gnawing at his lower lip while he continued to try passwords. "A nurse found him five minutes ago, in Rei's hospital room. He'd been shot twice."

"Dammit! So you're saying we're helpless?"

"We're not helpless," Maya replied. "We just need some time to hack the lockout code."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," a familiar voice called from the door. Misato whirled around to see an old friend wearing an unfamiliar hairdo.

"Sempai!" Maya shouted, a radiant smile spreading across her face. "You're back!"

"Yes," Ritsuko replied. She had only very short brown hair, and was without her customary lab jacket, but Misato could easily recognize her old roommate.

"That hair color suits you better," Misato said.

"Thanks. Now, let's get to business. Hyuga-kun, could I have your terminal?"

"Yes, Akagi san!" Makoto replied, standing almost before she finished asking the question. The scientist took a seat and began rapidly typing, muttering quietly under her breath as her fingers clattered on the keys. Within moments, screens began flickering on all over the room.

"We have visuals!" Shigeru announced unnecessarily as images of the city appeared on the monitors.

Everyone in the room turned towards the displays, then froze in momentary horror. Tokyo-3 was covered by ascintillating carpet of black, a surging, ebbing tide of obsidian particles that made waves in the streets and lapped up at the edges of buildings, and around the feet of an immense beast. It's seven giant heads were supported by massive shoulders and a long, sinuous body that tapered to a tail with seven curving, black spines. Five of the heads had horns, each a different shape, and the other two heads spewed fire against the storage buildings, detonating the weapons inside. The creature also used its clawed feet and bat-like wings as weapons, toppling buildings and tearing holes in the pavement.

"What the Hell is that?" Misato asked, the first to break the long, stunned silence.

"An appropriate question," Kaoru replied, gulping nervously. "It... it is the Adversary."

"Adversary?"

Kaoru closed his eyes, and said,"In the first days of the Universe, one of the greatest of the angels attempted to raise himself above God, and a third of the angels supported him. They were all cast out of Heaven and fell to earth, but their power was not completely removed." He shuddered, then continued, "The one who had led the revolt was afterwards called 'the Adversary,' and he used every opportunity to try and reclaim the position he thought he deserved. But before he fell, he was called Sammael, or Lucifer. He can take many shapes... but this is his favorite." The former angel's voice remained calm, but he had started shaking, obviously afraid to be facing his oldest enemy.

"So now we're up against Satan, too?" Shigeru asked. "Can't we ever catch a break?"

"What do we do?" Misato wondered aloud.

"What we always do," Shinji replied, putting an arm around his shivering friend. "Sammael's still an angel, so we have to go fight him."

"But how?" Makoto asked."How do you kill the Devil himself?"

"I don't know," Asuka said."But we have to try."

"Misato, I have a message for you that may be relevant," Ritsuko announced. "Gendo kept the Longinus Spear after pilot Nagisa returned. Fuyutsuki told me to let you know that it was hidden in warehouse room 3184, behind a load of water exchangers."

"The Longinus Spear you mean, what Rei used to defeat the fifteenth angel?"

"Yes. Its metal possesses apsychic energy that lays open the soul and makes it one with the flesh. It's very dangerous though because of that property, if it damages an Eva, the pilot will suffer the same physical wound. If you use it, you'll run that risk."

"We don't really have any other choice," Misato said, "If that really is the Devil out there, then we're going to need every bit of help we can get." She considered the situation for another moment, then said, "As third-in-command, I am assuming control of NERV. Makoto, have the engineers prep all the Evas for launch, and get a team down to Terminal Dogma to help Shinji get back in Unit One. Maya, Ritsuko, start analyzing all the data we can get from the surface sensors. We need to have a plan of attack, and we can't make one until we know what that ugly bastard really is. Kids, suit up, then get in your Evas. I'll brief you before you launch."

"Yes Ma'am!"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Kaoru?" Shinji asked.

"Yes?" the fallen angel replied, pressing the switch on his wrist. His plugsuit made a small vacuum sound as it shrank to fit him.

"Where was I? When I... when I died, I mean," Shinji asked, depressing his own vacuum switch.

"You were in the Throne of the Soul," Kaoru replied, "The real one. From it, God rules the entire universe. Few mortals have ever seen it even after their bodies perish permanently. For you to see it and return... I have never heard of such a thing."

"Oh," Shinji said, feeling no pride in this particular form of uniqueness. "I'm not sure whether I want to do anything like that again," he added, staring at the floor. "I felt... small, and overwhelmed... like I didn't belong."

Shinji started with surprise when Kaoru hugged him tightly. "You belonged," the grey-haired boy replied. "You're the best person I've ever met. You have so much love in your heart, despite all that's happened... I'm honored to be near you."

Shinji returned the embrace, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. "Kaoru," he asked,"Can we really defeat Sammael?"

Kaoru tilted his head to nuzzle Shinji's cheek and said, "I'm not sure, Shinji. Before the Fall, Sammael was the greatest of God's servants, except perhaps Michael. Even outnumbered two to one, his army almost triumphed over the Host. But I cannot believe God would let us fight him if there were no hope, and if any human being can defeat Satan, it's you."

Shinji tightened his hold for amoment, then released his friend. "Then we'll just have to give it atry," he said as Kaoru let him go. The boys turned to leave the locker room. As they neared the exit, Shinji said, "Kaoru, just in case... I want to tell you again... I love you."

Kaoru paused in mid-stride."I love you too, Shinji," he answered. "But don't worry about not having another chance. We're going to win."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"This field architecture is very strange," Ritsuko said, taking a slow drag on her cigarette, "It seems each head has its own AT field, and then the body has an eighth field." She noticed that the cigarette was nearly gone, and ground it out against the desk. She leaned back in the seat, sighing. "What's strangest," she added, "Is that the fields intersect without interfering. I'm not exactly sure how."

"Perhaps the AT field works differently for this Angel," Maya suggested. "After all, he's not from the same place as the others."

Ritsuko shook her head, saying,"That may be so, but if we proceed on that assumption then we can't make any plans at all." Maya frowned as the once-blond doctor continued,"No, we have to assume that this Angel's AT field works just like all the rest. That means the fields should negate each other when they come into contact."

"Yet that leaves us no closer to the answer," Maya whispered. "Well, the obvious place to start is: Why do AT fields negate each other when they come in contact normally?"

"I'm not sure," Ritsuko replied, "There's not enough data to explain it. As far as anyone knows, they just do. Like mutual annihilation of matter and antimatter, AT field negation just happens because that's the way the Universe works."

"That can't be right, though," Maya protested. "After all, when the kids had to fight the Archangels, their AT fields weren't always enough to negate the enemy fields completely."

"Well, you have to account for field strength," Ritsuko replied. "If two fields have different strengths, the stronger one survives in a weakened state. That's not helpful here, though, because the fields around the heads are all equally strong. Even more confusing, the field protecting the body is much weaker than any of the head fields. It should be completely obliterated."

"I'm still not convinced, sempai," Maya said, "especially not about your analogy. When matter meets antimatter, it's one minus one. When AT fields meet, it's one plusone."

"So what's different between AT fields?" Ritsuko asked.

"The creator?" Maya asked. "Maybe it matters who creates the field. That might explain it human fields cancel angel ones, but not human ones."

"But that leaves us without any advantage," Ritsuko said. "And besides, tests with the mass-production Evas showed that they could cancel each other's fields."

"So we have nothing to go on."

"That's about the size of it."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The shelter trembled, causing several of its occupants to lose their balance. Many were already sitting to avoid the embarrassment of toppling over onto a stranger. "It feels like an earthquake," Hikari said.

"No, that's not it," Kensuke replied. "Feel how it comes and goes so quickly? It's like something big is stomping around up there on the streets above us."

"It's probably the angel, then," Hikari said. "I hope the Evangelions take care of it soon," she added as a loud crashing sound emanated from somewhere above."I'm not sure this place can hold up forever."

"Where's the emergency exit?" Touji asked, deeming the issue important enough to abandon his customary silence. "If rubble from what's going on up there falls down the elevator shaft, we'll need to know the other way out."

"It's in the back corner," Kensuke said, waving his hand in the general direction."Right next to the vending machines."

Touji nodded, then cringed as particularly strong tremor caused powder to fall from the ceiling. "Maybe we should move over there," he suggested.

"Good idea," Hikari said, taking Anita's hand.

"Will we get to see an Evangelion?" the little girl asked as she dutifully followed her brother and his friends towards the rear of the shelter.

"I hope not," Hikari replied. "Kensuke likes to think otherwise, but I hate watching the pilots fight angels. It's better to stay in here, where we're safe."

Kensuke sighed, "I guess Iwas a bit crazy for a while, wanting to watch that kind of thing." The shelter trembled again, and he had to support himself against a wall. Seeing that they'd managed to reach the exit, he let himself slump down to the floor.

"Had a change of heart?" Touji asked, taking a seat himself.

Kensuke nodded. "I'm not sure when my mind started to change," he said, "but I got tired of all this. I think... I think I'd like us all to be normal, y'know? I used to think that nothing could be cooler than piloting an Eva, but after all this..." The room shuddered again, and Kensuke was silent for a moment. "My dad sneaked me in to see Shinji right after the battle with Gabriel," he quietly admitted.

"Wha..? Ya never told me!" Touji said, surprised.

"I... I couldn't talk about it... I couldn't tell anyone," Kensuke said, wrapping his arms around his knees again. "It was the... the most awful thing I ever saw... even worse than when you..." Kensuke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to master his emotions, then continued, "He didn't seem to have any shape at all, like someone took all his bones out. He was bleeding, and they had t-tubes... tubes and wires in him everywhere. I... I couldn't eat for days. I can't... I can't believe I ever wanted to be a pilot, can't believe I wanted them to do it. I wanted to apologize to Shinji, to tell him I understood what it did to him, but... I never got to do it." He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "I should have... before..."

Touji grabbed his friend's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, maybe it will be the last time," he said. "Then we can all go and have a proper camping trip, huh?"

Kensuke grinned weakly, and said,"Yeah... I guess I'll have to buy another tent, for the girls."

"Who said anything about separate tents?"

Kensuke grinned as he saw Hikari's face turn red. "You should be glad Asuka didn't hear that," he told Touji.

"Why?"

"'Cause that means you're only gonna get slapped once."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"I'd like a status report, guys," Misato commented, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I've got the spear," Shinji said as his Eva hefted the two-tined weapon in its hand. It had taken the three children several minutes in the warehouse to find Lancea Longini."We're proceeding back out to the lifts now."

"Excellent. Is EVA-01 handling any differently?" Misato asked.

"It's a little strange," Shinji admitted, "but it's okay. I can still... sense my mother, somehow. I think she's still here not because she's trapped, but because it's the only way to be with me. So it's different, but... still sort of the same."

"Good," Misato said with relief. "We definitely don't need any complications at this juncture."

"I'll say," Asuka interjected as the Evas found their way to the power lifts. "So, what's the plan, Misato? How do we kill the Devil?"

"Well, this sucker looks pretty tough," Misato admitted. "Maya and Ritsuko can't see any weakness, but I think we still have a way to attack. Each of the heads has apretty powerful AT field, and the body has a weak AT field of its own. The body is definitely the easier target, but I don't think you'll have a good shot at it as long as the heads can still fight."

"So we take out the heads first, then," Asuka concluded. "Sounds simple enough."

"Yeah, but keep in mind that each of those heads is like an archangel all on its own," Misato replied."You guys will have to work as a unit to take out each one. 'Simple'hardly covers it."

"Yeah, but we still don't know about the core," Shinji said. "Knocking off a head or two won't do us any good if we don't destroy the life source."

"Actually," Kaoru said,"Destroying the core might not be enough. Doing that only forces an angel to return to Heaven but Sammael has been cast out. I'm not sure what destroying his core would do in that case."

"So you're saying that hitting the core is useless?" Asuka asked.

"It doesn't matter," Misato said. "Whether we can destroy the core or not, our best course of action is still to kill off the heads. Once we have the body defenseless, then we can look for the core and figure out what to do with it."

"Well then," Asuka said,"Let's get going!"

"Where will we come out?" Shinji asked as he loaded his Eva onto one of the catapults.

"The lifts should spit you out about a kilometer away from Sammael," Misato said. "Move towards him as a unit, minimum spread. And kids?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sammael scooped up a pawful of the black, liquid mass of flies, letting the bloated bodies fall through his claws back to the reserve from which they came. "It is time," he announced, stirring up the lake with his talons. "Time to take the shapes I gave you long ago."

A knot formed in the seething piles beneath Sammael's feet, twisting into a new shape and color before finally solidifying into a new form with an burst of black fluid. A miniature version of the mighty dragon, with no wings, but having two extra heads, formed out of the inky insects, consuming their bodies to form its own.

This event inspired the formation of additional knots of flies, each erupting into a new form. Smaller dragons took shape by the dozens, adding their flames to the ruin being wreaked by Sammael's two hornless heads. Giant serpents, wolves, and a three-headed hound reared up out of the depths and added their efforts with tooth and claw to the damage being done by their master's claws. Other, smaller shapes, too numerous to count or categorize, seethed upwards out of the masses of flies, until the insects were gone, and the street swarmed with the all the subjects of mankind's nightmares.

Sammael's army had gathered, and as he unleashed a great bellow of triumph, they dispersed to take over the city.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Wow, that thing's even uglier close up," Asuka muttered as she got her first in-person glimpse of the gigantic creature tearing through the city. The three Eva units had fanned out slightly from their initial tight formation. Asuka and Kaoru flanked Shinji as they approached Sammael from the front.

The archangels had never responded to the first arrival of the Evangelions, but Sammael immediately desisted from his attacks, swinging all seven of his heads so that they faced his attackers. Fourteen eyes - black pits tinged slightly with red carefully observed the approach of the three artificial life forms, while seven mouths hung slightly open in evil grins as the three Evas drew near.

"Kids, develop your AT fields," Misato ordered.

"It does not matter," an unfamiliar voice interposed itself over the communications frequency. "You cannot hide your souls from me."

"Lorenz," Kaoru growled.

"Who?"

"Keel Lorenz."

"I am pleased you still have enough intelligence to recognize my old form, Tabris," the voice said."A pity you were not intelligent enough to see the inevitability of my victory."

"Who is Keel Lorenz?" Shinji asked.

"The Chairman of Seele," Misato replied, her voice steely with anger. "The man who controlled Nerv from the beginning."

"You mean we've been working for the Devil?" Asuka asked.

A humorless laugh grated over the airwaves for a moment before Keel said, "Indeed you have, Miss Soryu. Everything has gone as I have planned from the beginning. I have always been in control."

"Hmph," Kaoru snorted."You're not called the Prince of Lies for nothing, Sammael. Much has happened that you did not foresee, much that you had no chance of controlling."

"Quit jabbering guys," Misato warned. "This thing can obviously hear our radio communications, so just stick with the battle plan we already devised. Got it?"

"Sure thing, Misato!" Asuka replied.

"It's no good to try and hide your intentions from me, mortals," the leering dragon sneered. "I know everything; I see everything. I am the destined ruler of the Universe"

"Not while I'm still around you're not!" Asuka shouted, firing her positron rifle at one of the hornless heads. The ray started to dissipate when it hit the powerful AT field, but when Kaoru added his own stream of antimatter to the attack Sammael's shield started to waver. "Go!" Asuka yelled, and Shinji charged forward, dodging blasts of white-hot fire and attacks from Satan's horns.

One gout of fire hit directly in front of EVA-01, forcing Shinji to somersault forward. Halfway through the roll, he gathered the Eva's legs under it, allowing him to spring straight up when his mecha found it's feet again. Not expecting this move, Sammael momentarily lost track of Shinji, giving him an opportunity to plunge the Longinus Spear straight towards the spot where Kaoru and Asuka's beams were intersecting. The AT field tore apart like paper at the onslaught of the Spear, which practically tore that head off its neck. Shinji quickly disengaged the massive weapon and sprang back to avoid Sammael's fiery counterattack.

"Not such a good feeling, is it?" Asuka said as Sammael's six remaining heads howled in agony.

"That seemed to work pretty well," Shinji said. "Should we continue?"

"Fine by me," Asuka replied, sniping at several of the heads to keep Sammael from pursuing Shinji's retreat. Kaoru only nodded wordlessly.

"Don't get too cocky, kids," Misato warned. "You still have a long way to go on this one, and I'm sure he still has some tricks up his sleeve. We have other attack patterns we can use."

"Maybe," Shinji said,"but all the ones we learned a few months ago were for two people, or four."

"Well, no use complaining about missed opportunities at this point," Asuka said, and opened fire on the other hornless head. This time, however, Sammael had an idea what the children were planning. He began waving his other heads into the way of the beam, nullifying Asuka's attack and preventing Kaoru from taking a clear shot.

"I'm gonna sweep in," Kaoru announced, sidling his Eva towards Asuka. He had to jump several times along the way to avoid Sammael's fireblasts, and the going was somewhat slow because of the ruin that had been wreaked on the ground around the dragon. Shinji had similar problems as he fell back towards Asuka, but he mostly had to worry about damage from Sammael's horns, as the only remaining fire-breathing head was busy with Kaoru.

Finally the children got themselves in position, and Kaoru opened fire, continually shifting his aim so that Sammael couldn't block it effectively. The process of move and countermove continued for several minutes before both Kaoru and Asuka managed to lock their beams onto a head with long, straight horns. Without prompting, Shinji lunged forward immediately and plunged the Longinus Spear into the targeted head.

This time, however, the Spear got tangled up in the complicated bone structure of the horns. Shinji tugged for several seconds, but only got the Spear free when a head equipped with ram horns slammed into his Eva. The force ripped Lancea Longini out of the decimated cranium, and sent both it and EVA-01 flying nearly 500 meters. The Eva somersaulted gracelessly at the end of the flight, colliding head first with the ground, then spinning twice in the air before it crashed to earth.

Shinji grunted as he pushed his Eva up, then had to roll his Eva forward to avoid a gout of white flame directed at him. Out of the way for a moment, he collapsed again while he tried to clear the pain from his head.

Asuka moved up to try and pull him further back from the black dragon, but a second head unleashed its own fire at her, passing through her AT field as if it didn't exist. Only a skillful adjustment of footing kept her from being roasted by the white-hot flames."Damn," she muttered, "That stuff's powerful."

"Of course," Sammael responded, laughing grimly. "I am the ultimate power in the Universe. My strength knows no limits."

"Idle boasting doesn't do much to intimidate me," Kaoru responded, covering Asuka's next advance with a tight barrage of rays from his positron rifle. The dragon's heads reared back for a moment under the onslaught, just long enough for Asuka to jump forward, grab the arm of EVA-01, and pull the purple giant out of Sammael's range.

"It's... not working," Shinji said as he managed to make his Eva stand again. "Check the heads."

Asuka swore as she came to the same realization Shinji had something she should have already noticed when that unexpected gout of flame nearly hit her. The first head of Sammael's that they'd destroyed had regained its shape and its ability to spew fire.

A low chuckle came over the communications link. "You cannot kill me one head at a time, mortals," Sammael said. "You must do it with one blow, or not at all. And I am too powerful for you to overcome so completely!" Then he spread his massive black wings and lunged forward, bathing all three Evas in a flood of white flame.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Misato turned off the audio link, unable to bear the screaming of the children anymore. Their AT fields had disintegrated under the onslaught of Sammael's incredible power. Awash in flames, overcome by agonizing pain, the children were powerless against the great black dragon.

"Evas refusing all signals," Makoto reported. "Cannot cut neural links, cannot eject."

"Signals are nearing contamination zone," Maya added nervously. "The pain could drive them insane in a few minutes if we don't do anything."

"Well, we can't do anything from here," Misato said, "so there's just one thing for us to do. I'm going to go out there and pull them out of the plugs myself," She grabbed her pistol, slipping it into its holster beneath her jacket.

"Are you kidding?" Ritsuko asked incredulously. "Even if you made it to the battlefield andto the Evas, you'd burn your hands to cinders opening the plugs, if the children are even alive by then."

"If they die, then there's no sense waiting around here," Misato replied. "I've sat on my ass in this place long enough."

"I'm going with you," Makoto said, standing.

"Makoto..."

"Don't say it. If you're going, then I'm going with you."

Misato hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Fine," she said. "Shigeru, I need you to hold down the fort. Keep trying to eject the plugs from here."

"Yes, Katsuragi-san!"

"Maya, Ritsuko... figure out some way to kill that thing. And do it fast."

"We'll do our best," Maya offered.

"You'll succeed," Misato replied, "or we're all gonna die." She turned and ran out of the command center, Makoto fast on her heels.

"How're we gonna get to the battlefield?" Makoto asked, gasping as he tried to keep up with his lover.

"Ever driven through an N2 explosion?" Misato asked.

"Huh? Um, no..."

"I have. How much worse than that can this be?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Who turned on the music?" Kensuke wondered aloud as a sweet melody filled the shelter. The simple theme, played on what sounded like a harp, had an immediate soothing effect. The adults in the room, whose postures had all spoken of tension and anxiety, became more relaxed, smiling contentedly as if everything was fine.

Everything will be all right, Kensuke thought as the music started to have its effect on him. The Evas had probably already won the battle, and the city administrators would be sounding the all clear soon. In fact, he thought as he heard aquiet knocking at the main door, that's probably one of them right now.

The knocking persisted, and Kensuke began to wonder why nobody had yet answered the door. Safety and happiness were only a few moments away, after all... He stood and started towards the door himself, but stopped when he saw several adults already at work breaking the locking mechanism. In a few moments, they shelter would be open and they'd be free to go home...

Kensuke's train of thought was broken as a fist lodged itself in his stomach. The bespectacled boy coughed weakly, then asked, "Why'd you do that, Touji?"

"We've gotta get outta here," Touji said, rubbing at his artificial joints as if they were paining him. "Somethin' weird's goin' on."

Kensuke frowned and took another look around, realizing as he did so that what he'd thought was quiet knocking was a thundering impact, as if someone was using a battering ram on the main door. A few adults were trying to pry the door open, to welcome in whatever was pounding against the outside into the shelter. The rest were standing around, smiling blandly as they stared vacantly into space.

"Oh we are in some deep shit," Kensuke muttered. "Let's get the hell out." He grabbed Hikari's arm while Touji grabbed Anita's, then helped the disabled boy open the emergency exit. As the alarms went off and he shoved Hikari out into the service passage, Kensuke took one more look back into the shelter.

The doors burst inwards, flying off their hinges and through the crowd of adults with tremendous force. Nobody moved to avoid them, and several people were practically torn in half by the metal panels. Unaffected by the tragedy, the remaining inhabitants of the room simply continued to smile and stare vacantly.

As Kensuke stood frozen in horror, a black cloud seeped into the room, dark vapor obscuring the form of whatever had blown the doors apart with such power. Through the murk, only the creature's eyes could be seen red spheres of baleful light.

Kensuke felt himself pulled backwards, and realized only when the door slammed that Touji had yanked him out of the room. The spell seemed to have lifted from Hikari and Anita, and they both looked anxious to get as far away from the shelter as they could, as soon as possible.

"What was that?" Touji asked as the small troupe started running down the service corridor. "Was it an angel?"

"If it was," Kensuke answered, trying to suppress an involuntary shudder, "then when I die, Iwant to go to Hell."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Makoto grabbed onto his seat with one hand, and the door with the other as the blue sports car whipped around the corner so fast that two wheels came up off the road. Misato's foot seemed to be connected to the floorboard, the intervening accelerator pedal a mere afterthought. The car shook as it came back down on all four wheels, but Misato seemed barely cognizant of the damage being done to her vehicle. Nor did she seem particularly concerned about its occupants, Makoto noted dismally as the car went over a pothole, jolting his kneecap into the dashboard.

"W-what are we going to do when we get to the battlefield," Makoto asked, hoping that conversation would distract Misato enough to slow down a little, but not enough so that she lost track of her driving.

"We're getting the kids out of those damn things," Misato replied, moving neither her foot from the accelerator nor her eyes from the road.

"Then what?"

"I don't know, Makoto. Pray, maybe? I just want the kids to stop hurting. They've suffered enough, and if we're all willing to let them burn alive so that we can protect our sorry skins, then mankind isn't worth saving anyway."

Makoto said nothing in reply, wondering, If not the kids, then who'll save us? His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the car swerved to avoid a giant stepping into the road. Makoto had only a moment to catch a glimpse of blood-red skin and yellowed horns before the car flipped over.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Sempai," Maya said, her forehead propped on her hands, "light cancels."

"What?"

"When two beams of light merge," Maya elaborated, "and they have equal amplitude, equal frequency, and opposite phase, they cancel."

"So?"

"One plus one equals zero," Maya said.

"I think I get the picture," Ritsuko replied. Her fingers started flying over the keyboard, as she continued, "AT fields cancel when their frequencies match but their phases are opposite just like destructive interference."

"That's what I was thinking," Maya said. "So I checked Sammael's fields. Each head is slightly out of phase with the rest, so they should theoretically all cancel out. The only reason they don't is that the weaker field is constantly changing phase to reinforce whichever one of the head fields is about to collapse."

"So if we destroy the AT field around the body..."

"...the rest should come crashing down like a house of cards," Maya said.

"Shigeru," Ritsuko yelled, "alert Major Katsuragi immediately if the children can fight at all, they must target Sammael's body. That's what keeps his AT field intact." She nodded in response to his shout of acknowledgement, then turned back to her assistant. "You did it," she said. "Good work."

"Well, I had your help..."

"I was stumped," Ritsuko retorted. "I had no idea how to proceed. No, Maya, this was all you. I'm very proud of you."

Maya blushed deep red. "Thank you, Sempai," she murmured, "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Ritsuko pulled her chair over to sit in front of Maya, then took one of the younger woman's hands between her own. "No," she replied, "I do."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The red ogre paused in its advance as the first shot hit it in the chest, but began moving forward again almost immediately, ambling forward with slow, clumsy steps. "Tough guy, huh?" Misato muttered as she raised the gun to fire again, "Well, we'll see how much you can take." She spared a glance at Makoto, who had his shoulder against the roof of her car, trying to push it off its side and back onto its wheels. "Hurry up, Makoto," she called as she fired into the ogre's knee, "We're in a bit of a rush."

"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'," Makoto replied, again heaving against the vehicle with all his might. The streets, however, were damp with some kind of liquid and absolutely covered in refuse both remnants of the insect ocean. His feet slipped before he could exert any force.

Misato grinned as one of her shots found the giant's knee, shattering the joint in an explosion of blood. The ogre tumbled to the ground and Misato aimed a coup de grace between its yellowed horns. To her surprise, however, the beast quickly pushed itself back up onto its feet. It took a few tentative steps to test the knee, then continued its unsteady advance on her position.

"That is notgood," Misato murmured, replacing her clip as she sidled away from the car. To her relief, the ogre kept its attention on her, leaving Makoto free to keep trying to rescue the vehicle. "That's right, ugly," Misato yelled at the beast, "Keep following me."

The ogre did that and more, charging forward and catching Misato off guard. She managed to jump out of the way as the beast stampeded towards her, getting an ineffective shot off into its side, but she dropped her gun as the giant grabbed her arm in one of it's massive hands. Yellow-green fingernails dug into her skin as the ogre lifted her up to its eye level, fending off her kicks with its free hand. It licked its lips as it stared at her, running a slimy red tongue over its blackened teeth.

At a loss for anything else to do, Misato reached for the ogre's nearest horn and gave it a sharp yank. The yellowed bone spur came away in her hand, and blood started gushing from the spot on the creature's head where it had been. The giant dropped Misato and staggered back, clutching at its bleeding wound. Misato grinned as she realized that for whatever reason, the ogre wasn't recovering from this particular injury. "You've got a weak spot, huh?" she asked as she knelt and retrieved her gun. "I'll keep that in mind next time." She aimed for the base of the remaining horn and squeezed the trigger.

The ogre fell dead just as Makoto gave up on his leverage and backed up several meters. He got a running start, then took a flying leap, throwing all his weight against the roof of the car. He bounced off, but to his satisfaction the car wobbled, then fell back onto its wheels.

"About damn time," Misato noted as she climbed back into the driver's seat.

"Next time I'll just call atow truck," Makoto replied as the phone started ringing. He grabbed it as Misato started the car and pulled away from the curb. Well, it's pretty much ruined now, Misato thought as she surveyed the damage to her vehicle. Maybe I can get compensation from the UN for damage sustained in the line of duty...She shook her head, envisioning the stacks of paperwork such a request would entail. Easier just to try and buy a new car. Sure makes me wish I could afford insurance.

"Misato," Makoto shouted over the roar of the engine, "Shigeru says that Maya came up with a way to defeat Sammael. If we can tell the children, we still have a chance."

"Give it to me," Misato said, snatching the phone as she once again pushed the accelerator to the floor.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shinji moaned incoherently as he tried to collect his wits. The flames had ended a few moments ago, and with them the intense agony that reminded him of his encounter with the fifth angel. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to concentrate. He had to figure out where he'd landed, where he could find the spear...

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted as something wrapped itself around his Eva's chest with crushing force. The pain forced him to exhale, but he could barely manage to breathe back in - his chest felt like someone had wrapped a steel band around it. He was reduced to shallow, panting breaths as he felt his mecha lifted. As his vision cleared he realized that Sammael had grabbed his Eva, and now held it up in front of the central head. Oily saliva dripped from the black teeth of the dragon's head, and its wickedly curved horns were tinged with gore.

"This is my time," Sammael growled. "Everything that has transpired has done so as I planned it. The angels and archangels have come and gone, and none besides them can oppose me... not even you, Ikari Shinji... not even God's chosen conduit. Iwill consume your soul, mortal, and with it I shall draw the spirits of all mankind into me. With that power at my command, I will at last be able to topple Him, and take my rightful place on His Sapphire Throne. My hour has come at last!"

Shinji heard Kaoru cough in his plug, and Asuka moan quietly. He took as deep a breath as he could, and replied, "I won't let you do this!" What he meant to come out as shout, however, emerged as barely a whisper, timid and weak.

"You won't letme?" Sammael asked, then laughed uproariously. "You have no choice in the matter. I am all-powerful! None can oppose me! I am more powerful even than God!" He began laughing again, but stopped at the sound of a new voice, deeper and louder than thunder.

"Who is like God?" the voice asked, and Sammael's eyes widened. The pressure around Shinji's chest vanished as the dragon dropped EVA-01. Shinji barely managed to keep from falling flat on his face, pushing his mecha back up into a crouch.

Kaoru laughed weakly as his own Eva got to its knees. He said, "You... miscounted, Adversary," as he got his feet underneath him. Shinji raised an eyebrow and turned to face the source of the new voice.

Amid the ruined buildings of Tokyo-3 stood the largest of the Archangels yet. It wore a coat of steel chain mail, and carried a steel sword and matching shield. Steel boots and greaves protected his calves and feet. The armaments were all plain, simple objects designed for utility rather than aesthetics. Beauty came with the great emerald wings that grew from the angel's back, its bright emerald eyes, and saffron-colored hair. The angel took a ready stance, shield forward and sword raised, and once again asked, "Who is like God?"

The words seemed to enrage Sammael, who bellowed and charged forward, mouths spewing white fire. Even as he did so, however, the sky filled with light so bright that Shinji had to momentarily shield his eyes.

"What's going on?" Shinji called out.

"Ragnarok," Kaoru calmly replied as his Eva stood. "The rules are disposed with: angels no longer need their cores to come to earth. God has opened the heavens, and all the angels and righteous souls have come to make war with Sammael."

"All of them?" Shinji asked, then cringed as an all-too-familiar octahedral form passed overhead.

"All."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Damn," Touji muttered as he tested his weight against a pile of rubble blocking the path. Fleeing the subterranean shelters had taken him and his friends out of immediate danger, but the surface had brought its own perils. What few buildings had not been retracted into the Geo-Front had been torn to pieces, creating a haphazard labyrinth of ruins and debris. Black-green ichor pooled in the streets and dripped from the lamps, releasing a sickening, sulfurous odor. In the harsh light of the glowing sky, the streets of Tokyo-3 seemed a landscape out of some other planet.

"Dead end, huh?" Kensuke asked, his voice muffled by the camouflage bandana he'd tied around his face to ward off the stench.

"Yeah," Touji replied, kicking the pile of twisted girders and concrete in disgust. He frowned as the motion caused most of the pile to resettle. "It's too heavy to push out of the way," he said, "but not stable enough to climb over. We've gotta turn back, find another way."

Kensuke shook his head, squinting in the bright light from above. "This is gonna take forever," he whispered.

"Touji!" Hikari called, running up to the two boys, Anita in tow. She leaned against her boyfriend, breathing heavily from the exertion. "I heard... noises," she explained between gasps. "It sounded... like... something big... was coming."

"Get behind me," Touji muttered, gently pushing Hikari and Anita away from the mouth of the alley. Adopting a stance he remembered from judo class, he prepared to face whatever monster had decided to hunt them in this blasted landscape. He jumped slightly and moved to the side as he realized that Kensuke had joined him, brandishing awooden plank.

"It's my turn to fight," the other boy explained.

A gasp from behind him brought Touji's attention back to the mouth of the alley. A gigantic grey wolf with glowing white eyes blocked the exit, saliva dripping from yellowed fangs set in its black gums. Long nails clicked against the pavement as the monster advanced, the stench from its mangy fur almost as bad as the fumes rising from the foul liquid pooling on the asphalt.

We don't have a chance, Touji realized as the creature continued towards him at aleisurely pace. The beast was large enough to easily swallow him whole even if he'd had a weapon on hand, Touji wasn't sure anything short of a grenade could hurt it. Nonetheless, he held his ground, warning the creature, "Get back."

The wolf's eyes narrowed, then its jaw dropped open a little wider and its blackened tongue lolled out. It seemed almost as if the monster were laughing at him. The beast then hunched down, ready to crouch.

Suddenly the alley went dark for amoment, and a familiar form interposed itself between the children and the wolf. Touji recognized it instantly, though he'd seen the black giant with its impossibly long arms only once before.

It then spoke, in a voice Touji also recognized the same voice that had filled his mind every harrowing minute he'd spent inside EVA-03. "Allow me to make amends," Bardiel said, then reached out with one massive arm and seized the cringing wolf by the throat."You have overstepped your bounds, Fenris," the angel announced."This child is under my protection." In an almost casual motion, the Eva twisted its hand and ripped off the demon's head.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"It's a stalemate," Shinji said as the emerald-winged angel rammed its shield into one of Sammael's heads. Neither of the giant combatants seemed to be tiring of the struggle, but neither seemed to be doing any lasting damage either. The archangel often gained the upper hand over its adversary, but then one or two of Sammael's heads would regenerate and the battle would even out for a while.

"Michael's power is limited," Kaoru said. "He's strong enough to wound Sammael, and that was enough to force the Adversary out of heaven, but now there's nowhere else for Lucifer to go. The best Michael can do is battle Sammael to a tie."

"So what happens?" Asuka asked. "Do they just keep fighting forever?"

"No," Shinji replied."We have to help."

"How?" Asuka asked."It's not like anything we did before made a difference."

The conversation was interrupted as something banged against Shinji's foot. As his Eva staggered slightly, Shinji looked down to see Misato's car. The Major kicked its ruined door open and stepped out, waving her cell phone. Shinji nodded, getting her meaning, and switched his communication channel over to her cellular frequency.

"What are you doing here?" Shinji asked as Misato brought the phone up to her ear.

"The AT fields around here have cut off your telemetry to headquarters," Misato explained. "I came to help Maya explained things to me just before my cell link to her went out. Her explanation was really complicated, but the gist of things is this: the AT field around Sammael's body is the key. If you can destroy that, he should fall apart."

"Got it," Asuka said, listening in on the conversation. "So if we break the body first, we can beat him."

"Exactly," Misato said.

"Get out of here quickly, Misato-san," Shinji said, "it's too dangerous."

"I'm on my way," the major replied, getting back into her car with the phone still against her ear."Good luck, kids."

"Thanks," Shinji said, then switched back to the normal communication channel. "Do you think we can make it work?" he asked.

"As long as our archangel buddy up there keeps Sammael's heads occupied, we'll probably have a good chance," Asuka said.

"Yeah, but that's a big body," Kaoru replied. "Where do you stab it so that the AT field collapses?"

"I'm not sure," Shinji said, "but we don't have any option but to try. Maybe I can find a good spot if I get up on his back."

"We'll hoist you up onto him from behind," Kaoru suggested as Shinji hefted the Longinus Spear.

"Good idea, Kaoru-kun," Asuka replied. "Let's get into a triangle formation and get this done!" She and the fallen angel paired up behind Shinji to form a wedge, and on her command they started charging towards the huge body of the seven-headed dragon. As the group drew closer, EVA-02 and -05 grabbed hold of EVA-01's arms, adding the force of their arms as EVA-01 jumped.

Shinji landed on Sammael's back in a crouch, skidding across the AT field for a moment before he came to a stop, sinking a bit into it. He was nearly at the tail end of the immense large dragon. One of Sammael's heads turned to look at him and narrowed its eyes as it realized who the new weight was. The tail shook, and Shinji was almost thrown off, but he managed to grab a hold of a scale and start pulling himself forward. Soon, Sammael's attention was once again put fully to the forward as the other two children rejoined the fight against him, sniping at the heads when Michael's sword temporarily negated the individual AT fields.

Shinji began running forward on the dragon's back, scanning for anything that might indicate where the fiend's core was. He stopped as he came to a strange pattern that had been worked into the scales. It was almost impossible to see a pattern of dark crimson on black, composed of nine circles and fourteen lines. Shinji stood at one end of it, and at the other end, two lines ended at a spot where a circle obviously should have been. Shinji thought the pattern seemed familiar... and for some reason it conjured up memories of his father.

"Here goes nothing," Shinji muttered, and lifted the spear. EVA-01 charged along the pattern, jumping into the air at the last moment and plunging Lancea Longini into the spot where the final circle should have been.

The spear tore through the dragon's skin, then began to move downward of its own accord, dragging EVA-01 with it. Through flesh and bone the spear plunged, down to a core composed of black stone that flickered at its edges with red. The spear shattered the surface of the core.

Shinji's world went dark.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shinji opened his eyes, then blinked several times to clear his blurred vision. After a moment, the man in front of him came into focus a man wearing a familiar pair of orange-tinted glasses. "Father," Shinji half-growled, standing up from a kneeling position he didn't know he'd adopted. Seeing that his father gave no response, Shinji tried to take in his surroundings. Aside from his father, however, everything was featureless blackness. "What is this place?" he asked.

"I don't know," Gendo replied. "I no longer know anything that can help me."

"Well, you know at least one thing," Shinji said. "You know how it feels to be me." He glanced down at his hands, noting with indifference that they were still covered by his plugsuit. "I never had any idea what to do... how to make you..."

"Make me what?"

"You know. I asked you."

Gendo nodded sharply, the slightest hint of a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "I made sure you never knew anything," he said after a moment. "Ignorance and pain made you easier to use a better tool."

"Is that how you thought of me?" Shinji asked, shivering briefly as a chill passed over him. "A tool? A toy for your games?"

"I... didn't know any other way to think," Gendo replied, still contemplating the nothingness beneath his feet. "I didn't know how to make things work without your mother I... needed her. I had no chance of raising you properly, so..."

"So?" Shinji screamed,"So what? So you threw me away without even making an attempt to raise me?" The boy's fists clenched convulsively, and he paused, surprised to find something in one of them. A knife, much like that his Eva used, had appeared in his right hand. "Did you ever consider trying?" he asked, advancing on his father. "Did you ever think that I might have forgiven you a few little mistakes along the way, if I knew you loved me?"

Gendo shook his head, still staring down into oblivion. "I failed you," he said. "I can make no further excuses... I saw you like I saw everyone except your mother you were all just meat. Just flesh and bones. I could never see your souls like I could see hers." He pulled off the orange glasses and held them in front of his face. "Even when I looked directly at them, it was like they weren't there."

"'Just meat?' Was Rei 'just meat', too, farther?" Shinji asked.

Gendo nodded slowly. "In the end, that's how I saw everyone."

Shinji glanced down at the knife."I want to hurt you," he whispered. "I want to make you feel every little bit of pain you put me, Asuka, Touji, the whole world through. I... I want you to know how it felt... for us... to be 'just meat'."

Gendo's expression did not change."I deserve whatever you wish to do," he said.

Shinji raised the knife to his father's throat. "I had a vision once," he whispered, "in the Eva. I saw my enemy."

"Who was it?"

"You."

"And what will you do to your enemy?"

Shinji tensed himself to drive the knife home, but then paused. Almost experimentally, he straightened his fingers, watching as the knife fell. It seemed to travel in slow motion, drifting sluggishly downward until it got swallowed up in the darkness near his feet. "I'm sorry, father," he said. "It's not... not my place to punish you. I wish... things could have been better."

"It's my fault," Gendo said.

"I forgive you," Shinji said, then leaned forward and embraced the man he'd spent most of his life hating. As if from far away, Shinji heard a voice he did not recognize howling in agony. Then darkness became light, and Shinji's world faded away once again.