Chapter 38: From the Sea, a King
The war is over. The demagogue shot himself, a rat in the sewers of Berlin as a red tide swept over the city. I am in transit to America, now. A far more fertile field than Germany was before it. The country served its usefulness, a seedbed for my plans, my fledgling network of contacts. Now, we scatter to the wind, some to England, some to Russia, some to the Americas, a small few to the far east. They have their orders, and I have ensured their mental pedigree is to my satisfaction.
They will worm their way into the petty seats of power, slowly but surely. As always, we must work in secrecy. To reveal this hope for unification to the world would be to have it ignorantly decried as evil. As if they do not understand that the evil they fought and bled to kill still keeps them apart, will still fester in the floorboards, in one form or another, driving humanity to further separation. To extinction.
No. I will save humanity. Whether they like it or not.
- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, May 1945
HERZ-Matsushiro, Mid-November 2016
It was, altogether, a rather quiet start to the day for one First Lieutenant Satsuki Ooi of HERZ. She had reported to her station at the command bridge in the morning, had run all the diagnostic checks needed of her, and now she simply waited for their lunch break at her console.
To her left and right were, at least according to Major Hyuga, the ladies who were going to be her bridge-mates when they inevitably moved back to the Geofront. She had vaguely remembered them from when she started working, but now, it seemed, she would need to get to know them better.
And over the course of the last week, she'd done just that with a quiet, yet excited zeal that only getting the chance to get together with someone seemed to give her. After all, there was a lot you could tell of a person from the drinks they got, at least according to mom.
There was First Lieutenant Kaede Agano, their link to the Science Division, who was a brown-haired woman with bright brown eyes who had proven to be remarkably easy to get along with. She had a good head on her shoulders, at least most of the time, and had surprised her at the end of the week with a handmade clay sculpture of a bear she had named 'Vasily-san'. Rather thoughtful of her, that.
Her drinks of choice were usually rather airy and light, fruity too, far and away from the straight Cirocs and Reykas that had been the staple of her own family's maternal side. Uncle Grigory always said to look out for those sorts. It was how he had met his wife and designated driver, after all.
First Lieutenant Aoi Mogami, Captain Aoba's second in command, on the other hand, was far more reserved, tougher to get out to a bar. Black-haired, with grey eyes encircled by red wireframe glasses, she focused on the boring topics of work, even after the effort it had taken to remind her that she was off the clock. She certainly knew her stuff, however, and knew how to present it interestingly. She had also encouraged Agano to keep improving on her sculptures, after having examined the clay crow that she had been given. 'A symbol of wisdom', Agano had called that one.
Her drinks were likewise austere, few of them containing much alcohol at all. They had happened to bond over karaoke, however, a moment that Satsuki smiled slightly about as she remembered a rather tipsy Mogami belting her way through an almost tearful, basically perfect rendition of Yo Hitoto's Hanamizuki.
"So," she said after a quiet breath, looking over at Agano, "got anything going on tonight?"
Agano glanced up for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope, not really? What were you thinking this time?"
"I was thinking something a little more quiet than the last little while. Maybe a movie night together for our weekend?"
Agano smiled slightly. "Sounds fun. Would you mind if I invite Maya along?"
Satsuki shrugged. "The more the merrier. Speaking of…" she looked over at Mogami. "Is your schedule free?"
Mogami glanced over at Satsuki, then pulled out a clear-pad and pulled up a calendar, one which Satsuki knew was quite detailed. "Aside from a few pieces of paperwork… Nope. I'm mostly free tonight."
Satsuki smiled broadly. "Great. I'll provide the drinks. Agano, what kind of-"
Before she could continue, an alarm blared, and all their screens lit up as they jumped to attention, scanning over their now very active stations with intent eyes.
"We're seeing positive Pattern Blue signatures! Intermediary System confirming!" Agano nearly shouted, her eyes wide as she turned to watch Major Hyuga, the Commander and Deputy Commander, and Major Theisman stride into the room.
"Where at?" Hyuga asked, a serious look on his face as he strode over to Agano's side, looking down at the screen as Aoba arrived, Maya in tow.
"They've appeared all over the world." Agano said, the shocked proclamation chilling the room.
Satsuki heard an "I'll get the pilots ready." from Major Theisman as Agano continued. "I've got several in North America, a big one in Europe, one in Africa, another big one in South America… and two heading towards Japan."
Hyuga glanced over at the world map on Ooi's screen for a moment before straightening up. "We'll need visuals, intel on what we're up against. We'll need to link with the Sonne and the Cataphract, as well. Aoba, Mogami, start on coordination efforts with the governments of the affected areas, make sure they start seeing this as well. Place priority on contacting the nations with Evangelions and warning them. They'll likely get support from our Units, but they need to be warned regardless."
As Aoba and Mogami began to contact the governments and militaries of the world, Hyuga turned to look at Misato. "Anything you need from us, ma'am?"
Misato shook her head. "Not right now. Let me know if the situation changes drastically. I'm going to contact the Massive Weapons Use Committee, then drop in on Daniel's briefing of the kids. I'll be back then."
Hyuga nodded, snapping off a salute as Misato turned to Ritsuko. "Let's go tell the Committee what we're doing." she said with a quiet sigh.
. . .
Commander's Office, 20 Minutes Later
Misato stared silently at the screens in front of her from behind her desk, waiting on the reactions of the Committee to who she had just relayed the situation.
"This…" the North American representative, a man whose name she constantly forgot, began, scoffing slightly as he paused. "This is somehow worse than the Angels, I feel. At least they only came one at a time in one location."
"Perhaps." Misato replied levelly. "Until we get visual confirmation back on all of the threats before us, though, it'll be hard to know for certain how dire our situation is. My people are ready and raring to go, as I'm sure those national pilots who are in the know right now are as well. Is there any special consideration or instruction that you will be giving us?"
The head of the Committee, one Chairwoman Edith Thibault, shook her head, a grave expression on her face. "At this point in time, we leave the operation in your hands. As dangerous as it is to say this, just this once, you have carte blanche to do whatever is necessary to eliminate this threat. Commander… good luck."
With that, the Massive Weapons Use Committee disappeared from her screens, and Misato leaned back in her chair as she looked up at Ritsuko. "They're getting out of the way and letting us do our job." she said quietly, a slight tinge of wonder and satisfaction in her voice.
"How novel." Ritsuko replied with a slight smile. "It's not like they can do much of anything else, really."
. . .
Briefing Room, Near the Evangelion Cages
Daniel studied the long-range observation drone scans intently. They had managed to capture pictures of a fair few of the threats that now entered into this world, high quality and everything.
One picture showed nearly half a dozen massive grey beasts, their blue and green and orange bioluminescence easy to pick out in the darkness of the Rocky Mountains. They seemed to be sticking together for the moment, from what other intel was attached to them, as if somewhat afraid to descend upon the city centers. They'd likely have to move quickly, however, before the beasts gained confidence.
Another picture showed something like a massive hooded snake slithering towards Munich, a massive splotch surrounding it, lit up by thermals, becoming an army of dragons, dinosaurs, and some kind of humanoids in the next picture. Rough estimates made by the Intermediary System numbered the secondary force at around half a million individuals.
One taken in what was once the Democratic Republic of the Congo showed a similarly serpentine beast, trunk-like forward legs leading up to a pair of hooded ears and massive tusks. It was utterly unfamiliar to him, but it seemed like something that was entirely suited to the vast savannah that it now roamed.
In the heart of Nova Brasilia, what looked to all the world like a classical devil, clad in white armor and glowing with blood-red light, strode towards a city center, surrounded by legions of terribly familiar demons and crackling with fiery lightning that subtly twisted the space around it.
But the two pictures that worried him most were the ones several kilometers off the coast of Japan. Dark blotches in the sea, similarly massive sonar pictures. One was built like a massive tube, the other had ridiculously long tentacles trailing out behind it. Other than that… that was the extent of their info until they made landfall. If one of them made landfall at all.
He set the tablet on which he viewed the pictures on the table that he, the Children, Misato and Ritsuko surrounded, a long tap throwing the pictures into the air in a tree of slowly spinning branches, and sighed quietly. "Sometimes I wonder how good it is to be a nerd in my profession." he mused with a soft, grim chuckle as he stroked his beard.
"And why is that?" Ritsuko asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Because I have a general idea of how much of a mess we're in. And I'm not going to lie to you, it's a big one."
He leaned on the table. "We'll start with the most prominent threats: the ones with small-scale armies behind them." he pointed to the snake. "This is most likely Buraki, an ancient Korean fallen celestial being looking for a power that will allow it to ascend to near godhood. It's not going to find it here, but it's going to make a hell of a mess while it does it."
"And what about the devil missing his pitchfork?" Asuka said, nodding at the picture that held its visage.
"That," Daniel said darkly, "is the Icon of Sin. A being twisted into a war machine by demonic energies and shackled to be used by, again, nominally celestial beings. This one will need to be dealt with as quickly as possible."
"Why is that?" Hikari asked.
"Because the longer it stays out of its interdimensional cage, the stronger it becomes. Eventually, from what I've heard, it will get to the point where it is breaking down spacetime around itself and destroying the planet that we stand on before taking the whole universe with it, given enough time. Even if it doesn't have an AT Field, it'll still have whatever demonic magics are up its sleeve, and those get… fairly wild from the little I've seen of it."
Daniel continued into the silence. "Other than those two, the others are a lot more simple. These ones, in North America, are simply Kaiju from another world. Similar to our more tame Angels like Sachiel and Israfel, but no AT Fields. It'll still pay to be careful though. As for the African… thing…" he shrugged. "I don't know. Whoever gets tasked there should approach it with caution."
"And what about what's coming here?" Misato asked. "Any guesses on what they are?"
"I have a guess, based on the tubular one's trajectory, but…" Daniel shook his head after a moment. "I won't know until we get a solid visual on them."
Daniel nodded after a moment. "Alright. Let's get to deployments. Rei, Kaworu, you'll be going over to America to help Orien deal with these Kaiju. Be ready. They'll likely have some tricks up their sleeves. Mari, Mana, you'll be going to stop the Icon of Sin and support the Nova Brasilian armed forces in wiping out its army. Toji, Hikari, you'll deploy to Africa to support Mavuto. Mayumi, you'll go to Europe and link up with Arantxa and the EU forces. Finally, I, along with Shinji and Asuka, will be deploying to Old Tokyo alongside Musashi and Keita."
"Old Tokyo?" Shinji tilted his head slightly. "Is that where it's landing?"
Daniel nodded. "Indeed it is, based on its trajectory thus far."
He looked around at the pilots as he tied up his hair into a simple bun and tapped on a bracelet, bringing up two rings of light as he stepped towards the door. "Alright. Suit up and move out. Those of us going out of the country will be teleported out by the Sonne." he smiled slightly as he paused and turned. "Let's go do what we're the best at, shall we?"
The others followed behind, and the click-hiss of sealing Frame Plugsuits filled the hallways as they made their way towards the waiting Frame Plugs.
They entered their craft as quickly as they could, floating out of the bays and into the bright open air as they began to deploy.
As the process progressed, arming themselves as they finished forming, Mari, giddy with excitement, couldn't help but revel in the returning Thrill, tapping her foot to a pulsing, thrumming beat only she could hear and put words to.
Here we go again, here we go again,
The best that's ever been, best that's ever been,
Rolling in like a storm cloud, loud as the thunder,
Bring the thunder down on the unlucky little bad guys…
The words trailed off soon after that, but the feeling of anticipation remained.
Soon enough, they all stood ready, weapons in hand, in the valley of Matsushiro, 10 Frame Titan Type-E's, 10 Evangelions, ready to go and save the world.
"Alright, Sonne," Daniel said as he pulled up the vessel over comms, "We're ready to go whenever you are. Sending you location data now."
"Acknowledged, Major." the Sonne's comms officer replied. "Good luck and good hunting. We'll provide some sensor support, but don't expect any orbital bombardments out of us. That's in Cataphract's wheelhouse." Daniel could almost hear the slight, wry grin in her voice.
"My thanks." Daniel replied with a slight smile as he scanned across the loose circle. Mana and Mari, FT Unit-07 and Unit-08, were the first to leave, fuzzing out of existence. Mayumi, in FT Unit-09, followed soon after. Rei and Kaworu, FT Unit-05 and Unit-06, disappeared, then Toji and Hikari, back to being (Frame Titan) Unit-03 and Unit-04, were the last to vanish, leaving FT Unit-00, FT Unit-01, and FT Unit-02, two of them gleaming in the sunlight in their ever familiar color schemes, standing alone in the valley.
"Alright, lady and gentleman." Daniel said with a slight smile as FT Unit-00 turned towards the blasted ruins of Old Tokyo. "Let's not waste any more time, shall we?"
- - -
Hokuto Ground Force Base, Hokuto
First Lieutenant Musashi Strasberg took a deep breath as he waited for the Japanese Ground Force Evangelion A-1 to finish forming. This was it. Real, honest to goodness combat. Against what, he still had no idea, but if nothing else, he knew who he would be going into combat with. Not just Keita, piloting Evangelion A-2, but Shinji, Asuka, and Major Theisman. A solid team, if ever he'd heard of one. Whatever came, he was sure they would be able to handle it.
As the formation process completed, Eva A-1 and A-2 stood stark against the sky, austere grey digital camouflage broken up only by a Japanese flag on one shoulder, a JSSDF Ground Forces patch on the other, and two stripes crossing from right to left over their chests, A-1 sporting a purple one, A-2 wearing green.
Keita's face popped in on a comm screen, the face of Major Hoshi Fujimori, their handler, to his right.
"Lieutenants, you'll be deploying to the edge of Old Tokyo to link up with HERZ's Units in preparation to intercept the oncoming targets."
Musashi and Keira shared a glance. "Isn't Old Tokyo still a radioactive hotspot, ma'am?" Keita asked, no small amount of uncertainty in his voice.
"Indeed it is. But, according to HERZ, a low-level AT Field will protect you from the worst of it." Fujimori paused, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Good luck, Lieutenants. Good hunting. Do us proud. After all, Second Lieutenant Suzunami will be watching quite intently."
Musashi and Keita nodded as they picked up and stowed the Pallet Rifles and Progressive Glaives that were, for now, their only armaments. "Yes, ma'am." Musashi said. "Moving out."
- - -
Old Tokyo City Limits
It was somewhat weird, Shinji thought, to see so much of the land that had been the capital city of Japan showing. Most of it had been underwater the last time he had been here, deployed to stop the out-of-control Jet Alone mech. He had deployed on the outskirts of the city, the view of the ocean blocked by a big tan and red humanoid war machine.
Now, though, as the water had started to recede due to the efforts of the League, it had unearthed a vista still ticking with radiation from the dirty bombs that had started… well, nearly everything that had to do with the Impact Wars, really.
"Asuka," Shinji asked idly as they waited for Musashi and Keita to arrive, "how high was the sea level after Second Impact?"
Asuka glanced up and to the side in her comm panel silently for a moment. "When all was said and done, the highest it got was about 70 meters higher than normal. Now, though…"
"It's at about 15, 20 meters worldwide, last I heard from Mrs. Moon and her team. It'll be back to regular sea levels by the time we get into next year. Now, though..." Daniel interjected. "Depending on where the threat goes, we might still be wading as much as walking through these ruins."
"Maybe." Shinji said quietly.
It was silent again for a moment before Asuka looked intently at Daniel's comm screen, the sound of thunderous footsteps in the distance ignored for the moment. "So, what do you think we are going to be fighting? You said you had a guess, singular. So… what is it?"
Daniel sighed quietly as he looked back, the transponder tags of the approaching Evas marking them as Musashi and Keita's. "Well, Asuka…" he glanced up, a flight of what were likely reconnaissance drones passing overhead. "We've got a measurement on it now from the Intermediary System. About 340 meters from point to point. Something that big, which we know is from another World Engine, heading straight for Tokyo by way of sea…"
"No way…" Asuka shook her head as Musashi and Keita appeared over comms. "What am I saying? Of course, it's possible, with what you showed is going on elsewhere."
Daniel nodded. "This is likely going to go one of two ways. Either we can make this work for us, or this is about to be very, very, very bad and we'll need to deal with it as quickly as possible."
He nodded at Musashi and Keita. "Gentlemen, welcome to the party. Now that everyone's here, let's get moving. AT Fields up."
With that, they began to advance into the great and silent tomb of long-lost Japan, the headstone of the old world's grave.
. . .
In the Matsushiro command center, a tone sounded on Mogami's terminal, and she pressed a finger to an earpiece for a moment before turning to face her superiors. "JS Zuiryu is confirming the sonar profile of Anomalous Object 1 is beginning to surface. Visual contact in approximately 1 minute, landfall at the Chiba prefecture about 3 minutes after that."
Hyuga nodded, looking around himself. Adira and Shigeru were at his side, and just behind them, Misato and Ritsuko. His gaze landed back on Shigeru. "Aoba, what's the status of the Central Army units?"
"They're about 40 more minutes out from the city limits. They're under the command of one Brigadier-General Fukashi, who will be turning over command to Major-General Katsuragi for the duration of the operation."
Hyuga nodded, and they looked back up at the main screen, a flanking drone's camera showing the growing shadow in the waters just off of the coast of Japan. Then, something began to break the surface. A lot of somethings.
At first, they blended in with the sea spray that they made, then reached above it, rows of instantly recognizable bone-white, jagged plates rendering the entire command center silent as their owner began to stand on the now comparatively shallow ocean floor only a few dozen meters out from the shoreline.
Sheets of ocean water cascaded down a black, cobble-scaled body, broad and thick, that was supported by two trunk-like legs, clawed hands grasping at the end of muscled arms, and eyes that were a baleful orange and yellow wide and wandering, a jaw filled with teeth gaping wide in a roar no one needed sound to hear.
"It's… Godzilla." whispered Ritsuko.
. . .
Daniel looked intently at a screen that showed Godzilla as he began to march forward, his distant roar able to be picked up by the Eva's audio sensors, and heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. It's not Shin Godzilla."
"Shin Godzilla?" Asuka asked incredulously. "What is that?"
"A version that came out as a movie in 2016 where I'm from. Endlessly adapting, utterly hellbent on destruction. Twisted. Sick, in more than one sense." Daniel grimaced for a moment. "Last I saw, it was splitting into a whole lot of human-sized versions before it got frozen."
"Oh, dear." Shinji said quietly. "That is bad."
"Indeed." Daniel paused for a moment, the grimace disappearing. "And the kicker?" he began to smile slightly. "The movie was directed by Hideaki Anno and composed by Shiro Sagisu."
Shinji and Asuka's expressions soured at the mention of the first name as Daniel chuckled slightly at their reaction. "Oh, joy." Asuka snarked. "The architect of our cinematic misery."
"At least the music would have been decent." Shinji muttered.
Musashi and Keita were thoroughly flabbergasted. "What… is going on? Are you guys movie stars or something, and we just didn't know?" Keita asked after a moment of silence.
"We'll explain later." Daniel promised. "For now though, like I said, we aren't dealing with Shin Godzilla, or any other monster related to Godzilla, for that matter. With that in mind…"
FT Unit-00 slowed to a stop, the others taking a moment before following his lead. "I feel we should stand back. Assess the situation for a moment." he glanced over to a freshly opened comm panel to the command center. "Is that alright with you all back home?"
. . .
Hyuga nodded at the image of Major Theisman on the screen. "You're clear, Theisman. Current estimates of its speed predict he will reach Old Tokyo in a little under half an hour. It'll give us time to get a good scan on him. If he gets overtly violent when he's near your position, then move to engage."
"Yes, sir." Daniel said, and Hyuga turned to the small circle of the command staff. "Aoba, are those Central Army units informed of our situation?" he asked quietly
Aoba nodded. "Yes. They're breaking off their march. Air units are deciding to circle the city and not directly engage unless ordered to. The Navy is standing by as well. They know better than to throw themselves at something like that."
"Doesn't everyone?" Faez said somewhat darkly. She shook her head after a moment. "What can we do to supplement the Evas just in case they need it, then? Do we break out one or more of the Lance copies we have in the Geofront?"
"Deploying a Lance copy would tip our hand disastrously early before we've even had a chance to fully study them and reverse-engineer them." Ritsuko said with a serious expression. "The political fallout is almost too great to mention. Besides, Godzilla has no AT Field to nullify, at least so far as I know of. The weapon would really only be of limited use."
After a moment, her expression became thoughtful. "However… I wonder if we have any spare cadmium lying around…" she mused as she watched the screen showing Godzilla marching across the old Chiba prefecture, chuckling softly.
Maya looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "Cadmium? What good will that do us, Senpai?" her eyes widened as she connected the dots, nodding slowly as she smiled slightly. "Oh. You want to use it to slow down the nuclear reactions that he's inevitably making."
Ritsuko looked over at Maya for a moment as she nodded. "It was also used to physically slow down and knock out Godzilla in the 1984 film. It almost killed him. If this Godzilla is from that era, so to speak, then perhaps we can try that strategy as well, Super X or no."
Misato's brows, along with the brows of the rest of the command staff, rose, and Ritsuko's expression became slightly defensive. "What? I watched the Heisei era movies when I was younger. Miki Saegusa is at least 35% of the reason I started learning Metaphysical Biology in the first place."
Misato shrugged after a moment's silence. "I don't know. Maybe, if it comes to it, we'll whip up some cadmium-based weapons we can stuff down its throat. In the meantime, we have the Evas. We know how well they work. I think they'll be able to handle a big lizard with a spicy breath."
"For now, though," Misato continued as she looked back up at the screen, the others' eyes following hers, "we wait."
. . .
The time passed somewhat slowly for those sitting in the pilot's chairs, watching the feed of Godzilla as it walked through Tokyo Bay. It was close, now. And Daniel had an idea stirring in his head.
A moment's wondering had him keying up the command center again. "Command, we know where Godzilla is now, but what about the other target's location?"
"Still seabound." the voice of who he remembered was First Lieutenant Ooi replied. "It seems to be taking the long way around Chiba. Based on its current speed, it'll be making landfall about 15 or 20 minutes after Godzilla does."
Daniel nodded slowly. "Alright, then." he said softly as he looked back at the screen that showed Godzilla as he took a step onto what was the shore of Tokyo, skeletal ruins effortlessly being crushed underfoot. "Here he comes." he said quietly.
They waited and watched Godzilla as he walked and waded through the ruins. His pace had slowed, and he paused from time to time as he scanned the silent city often. He seemed… confused more than anything.
"What's the radiation around him like?" Asuka piped up after a moment. "Do we know how hot our combat area could be?"
"Radiological scans are in progress." First Lieutenant Agano replied. "Stand by."
Within the command center, Agano watched her screen intently as the scans came back, only in passing noting Deputy-Commander Akagi and Major Ibuki coming to a stop behind her seat.
Godzilla, of course, was the brightest source for kilometers around, nearly eclipsing the rest of the radiation present within Old Tokyo. He drew in the emissions around him like filings to a magnet, the radiation readings around it dropping slowly, but steadily.
However… he did not seem to emit any radiation of his own. At least, for the moment.
"How odd." Ritsuko mused quietly, cupping her chin thoughtfully.
"What's that?" Shinji asked as Ritsuko's comment drew the attention of the other pilots, Strasberg and Asari becoming linked up in moments.
"This Godzilla is taking in a lot of radiation. Like, a lot of it. Visually, nothing really seems to be changing with the creature, but… with background radiation dropping by several curies a minute, in a several dozen meter radius around him, I get the feeling that the cleanup crews the League were planning on sending in might not be needed as much. Not only that… but he's not putting out any sort of emissions. He's just… consuming it."
Ritsuko's brow furrowed. "Which makes no sense. Anything taking that much radiation in should be putting at least something back out. Unless… maybe his soul is turning that radiation into Metos, somehow?"
Daniel's lips pursed as he took in this information. "And where is he now?"
"Currently passing from the Chiyoda district to the Shinjuku district. At your current location, you'll make contact in about 10 minutes." First Lieutenant Ooi replied.
Daniel nodded slowly. They were in the Nerima district right now. And, if the idea he had worked…
"I'm going to begin approaching him." FT Unit-00 began to slowly walk forwards, the others following behind him. "Alone."
"Alone?" more than one voice said. Asuka was the first to continue. "How stupid are you? Do you really think you'll be able to take him on yourself?"
"No." Daniel replied as the crystalline rifle in Unit-00's hands, a close approximation of the Pallet Rifles A-1 and A-2 wielded, disappeared. "And I have no intention of fighting him. Stay back for right now. If there are too many of us, there's a much greater risk of spooking him."
"What's going through your head, Daniel?" he heard Misato ask only somewhat incredulously.
"Honestly, something that's really stupid." Daniel paused as he continued on alone. "But if it works, it's really going to work."
. . .
Daniel began to seriously reconsider having the others stay out of sight as Godzilla came into view, and he turned to regard him.
Oh, he was tall, wasn't he? All 100 meters of him looking down at what he must have regarded as this stick-figure of a thing slowly approaching him, hands to the sides, palms back. As non-threatening as he could get.
"Hey, big guy." he said under his breath, the speaker system for the Eva still putting it out regardless. Unit-00 paused for a moment as Godzilla growled, the several dozen meters between them not stopping the sound from seeming to seep into Daniel's bones. "I'm not here to hurt you unless you hurt me. Promise."
He reached out with his soul, his Sight confirming what he'd already suspected. Other than the light of Lilith, this was perhaps the single brightest soul he had ever seen. After long, almost agonizing seconds, he connected.
Confusion. Wondering. Even some… sadness. Those were the first emotions that Daniel felt as he deepened his contact, projecting as much calm, confident friendliness as possible. However, there was something else there, too. Something he hadn't quite expected as he pushed the contact further. A sensation of… familiarity.
'Now, why is that?' Daniel pondered, as he began to sift through the thoughts and memories attached to that emotion, Unit-00 taking another tentative step forward as he did so.
Within the memories, he found… a face. An impression of a human face, hazier now, perhaps, but still a clear enough mental imprint to make out details. The face of a woman with short black hair and a kind, knowing look in her black eyes that seemed to stretch far beyond her years. Why was she familiar?
It was a moment before the realization struck him in what felt like the face, his eyes widening slightly. 'Miki Saegusa.'
He began to approach again as he started to sift gently through the memories that Godzilla had, pausing for a moment as he heard a low, warning growl. "Sorry, big guy." he said quietly. "Just… looking around."
A shorter view was one of the latest that he found, looking up into the sky at what could only be a devil. A deep crimson thing, its body covered in ridges as it glided around on two massive wings, its frilled head looking about as it roared, a jutting orange horn crowning it.
The battle that came after was a blur, the crashing of rubble, the hellish purple glow of his foe's breath. The pain. The stabbing, bursting, burning pain in his chest as the thing landed, changed its form, and plunged a dagger-like tongue into him.
The burning remained as he shoved the creature off him, his own breath driving the creature back. Father arrived soon after. The battle lasted into the night.
Then he grew too weak. The beast, in a massive, final form, dragged him across the ground, lifted him into the air, and simply… let him drop.
Beaten, weak and fading, his vision blurred. He felt a suffusion of life from his father, a small thing. But… it wouldn't be enough. And slowly, he slipped away.
Then… a blooming of power.
He drank from it as if he would die of thirst, the power crashing into him like an ocean wave. He felt it… changing him. Strengthening him. Growing him taller and taller until he let out a scream of triumph, of mourning, of challenge. And none dared answer him.
"It's his son…" Daniel said, barely above a whisper, as his eyes went wide.
"Come again?" Misato said, confusion evident in her voice.
"This Godzilla's father was the Godzilla of the Heisei series. This Godzilla had near-constant human contact with Miki Saegusa. He must have gotten pulled through not too long after his father melted down from the fight with Destroyah."
Ritsuko's eyes widened. "That explains his ability to take in radiation so easily." she murmured over the shocked whispers and quiet gasps that rippled through the command center.
Unit-00 took another step forward, one of its arms slowly coming forward as Daniel stopped again, his hand only a few dozen meters away from Godzilla as he projected the general idea of a handshake.
Godzilla looked down at the outstretched hand with no small amount of confusion, even hesitation. Then, a small step forward, and slowly, Godzilla reached out a hand and grasped Unit-00's in a firm, almost crushing grip that made the armor on Unit-00's hand creak slightly as Daniel winced.
Back at Matsushiro, the stunned silence that now hung over the command center took on an altogether different tone, broken only by the doors opening to allow Eleanor to step through before it was truly broken by Misato. "You've got to be shitting me."
A wave of laughter, partly at the sight before them, partly at the tension broken by their commanding officer's disbelief, washed through the command center as the other pilots also began to chuckle and laugh at the sight playing out on a comm screen.
"Alright, boys and girls," Daniel said to the other pilots as the laughter died down, "I think it's safe to come up now. Take it slow, weapons stowed. No need to freak him out too much."
The expression he had was one of a man on an adrenaline high, a slight, almost disbelieving smile on his face and a wondrous gleam in his eyes. On Eleanor's face was a look of utter bemusement. "Living the dream, dear?" she asked with a slight chuckle.
"You have no idea." Daniel chuckled, releasing Godzilla's clawed hand as he stepped back, slowly backing up towards the other Evas as they came into view. Godzilla took a step back, growling softly, or at least, as softly as a monster of his size could.
It made the other pilots pause, and Daniel projected as much reassurance as he could through his link. "It's all good." he said slowly, gently. "These are friends."
Shinji and Asuka chuckled somewhat nervously, Musashi nervous enough to not even do that much. Keita, on the other hand, had wide eyes and a quiet chuckle. "Wow… never thought I'd see an actual Jet Jaguar moment…"
Daniel chuckled in turn. "Yeah. Neither did I."
Before anyone could go on, they all heard a trilling tone. It had come from Agano's station. "Anomalous Object 2 is picking up speed! It's breaching the surface!"
Daniel and the others turned to the distant sound of crashing water, Godzilla turning as he began to stomp towards it, his lumbering steps shaking the ground as he roared at… whatever was out there, the sound rattling the pilots, some even putting a hand up to an ear.
"Do we have a visual on the target?" Daniel mustered as he shook his head, the rifle he had created beforehand reappearing. "Whatever it is, it's got the big guy really riled up." he looked up, watching as lances of yellow light slashed through the sky, the sound they carried with them the whir of a dentist's drill writ large grating at their ears.
"All our drones are getting knocked out!" Mogami's voice held an edge of anxiety as drone feed after drone feed saw a blur, then static, the wing disappearing in seconds. "Whatever it is, it's now airborne!"
"Contact in…" Ooi paused for a brief second. "30 seconds!"
"AT Fields ready!" Daniel raised his rifle as a speck in the distant sky came screaming at them silently.
The monster glided in on massive wings of scintillating energy that snapped out of existence as it touched the ground, the wings becoming massive tentacles tipped with undulating blades that extended nearly out of sight. The muscled, fleshy body of the beast was a ruddy red, spikes of blue on its knees offering the only other color on its body that didn't glow. Grey armored spikes emerged from legs capped off with almost hoof-like claws, and its arms ended in armored spikes. Its chest and back were covered by a similar armor, the armor on its back making a spiky shell, while within its chest, several ovoid, glowing protrusions formed an almost mesmerizing display. Its head was a single, spearlike helmet, a hollow in the top center allowing an orb of glowing orange to shine forth as it gave a growling, almost mournful keen.
"What is that?" Asuka asked incredulously as a stout, gunmetal grey side-by-side shotgun with a blade appearing in between the barrels flowed into existence in Unit-02's hands, the weapon crackling with energy as sparks jumped from one point to another all along the gun.
"Iris…" Keita nearly whispered.
"What?" Shinji asked. Before he could get an answer, he noticed a glint from the corner of his eye and a flash of yellow light.
On instinct, an AT Field spiraled into existence, and a beam of light and sound slammed into it, Shinji willing the barrier to hold up for as long as it could as he summoned a weapon, flame spiraling into existence and becoming compressed into the shape of a rifle.
The beam's fire stopped, and Shinji dropped the field, squeezing off one 3-round burst, then another, the reports sharp and distinct snaps of crackling flame.
But where he had fired, the tentacle was gone, and Shinji's eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. They widened again as he noticed the wave of rubble flying into the air. A wave that advanced towards him.
It was only moments after that the tentacle swept his legs out from under him, Unit-01 falling square on its stomach and driving the breath out of Shinji's lungs with the impact as he turned Unit-01 onto its back, his eyes widening at the sight that greeted him. Overhead, another tentacle flashed, a single, curved blade at the end hanging in the air for the briefest of moments before plunging down on him.
With a shout, Shinji rolled Unit-01 out of the way, hearing the bladed tentacle slam into the ground once, then again, then again. As he rolled, he caught the tentacle that had swept him careening back towards him.
He stopped rolling, lying Unit-01 flat on its back as he threw up an AT Field in front of him as he gathered Metos in spots on his shoulder and back, hastily weaving the Frames as the tentacle slammed against his field.
After harrowing moments, he activated the Expression, jets of fire and sound flaring to life and pushing him off the ground, the tentacle sweeping under him as the jets along his back flickered out, the ones on his shoulders propelling him to land on his feet.
'I can't believe that worked.' Shinji thought with no small amount of amazement. It was the only thought he was able to process as he caught the two tentacles snapping back together, pointing at him as another flash of yellow light made him throw up an AT Field.
It bored down on him, straining his AT Field in a way few other foes had. 'Maybe, if I try and lock it in place…'
Before he could finish his thought, a buzzing bang jerked the tentacle out of the way, slamming it into the side of a wrecked building as it became caught in a web of electricity flowing between pellets of metal, jerking back again and again to no avail as its blade-tips twitched.
Shinji looked over to Unit-02 with a sigh. "Thanks, Asuka."
"No problem." she replied jauntily. "These things can take a surprising amount of punishment. Best to stick them in place and kill the thing itself."
Shinji nodded. "Do you know where Musashi and Keita went off to?"
Unit-02 scanned the terrain before Asuka nodded. "I see them. Follow me."
Unit-02 walked past Unit-01, and Shinji followed behind, keeping watch on their backs in case one of the tentacles decided to break free. "Think Daniel's doing fine?" he asked offhandedly.
"Shinji, he's next to Godzilla. As long as we keep these tentacles off them, I think they'll do fine."
A little ways away, Unit-00 and Godzilla moved side by side, approaching what Keita had called Iris. It held its head low, its arms up and together in something approximating a boxer's block.
Godzilla roared again, his dorsal fins glowing blue for a moment before a torrent of superheated plasma streamed forth from his mouth, slamming into the block and beating down on it as Daniel shouldered his rifle, four rails detaching and floating by the sides of his rifle as he fired, three rows of shots in a line joining the bombardment as Iris continued to charge forward regardless.
Soon, it closed enough distance, and Godzilla's beam snapped off as he charged, the two titans slamming together as Daniel backed off, dodging a wildly swinging tail as he connected to Keita again. "Asari, you seemed like you recognized this thing. What is it?"
"It's a beast called Iris, from the Gamera movies of the '90s." Keita replied as he fended off another of the tentacle's beam attacks, snapping off a burst of Pallet Rifle fire. "It can absorb the DNA of its opponents in order to grow stronger."
"Great." Asuka interjected, her shotgun's report sounding through the comms as she sighed dramatically. "Another movie monster. Any glaringly obvious weak points we should know about?"
"There's a glowing section of its chest that, if we burst, will weaken it significantly."
"Which one?" Asuka shook her head incredulously. "There's like, a dozen of them on there!"
"The yellow one in the center!" Keita sighed in exasperation as he flinched back from another beam. "Damn these supersonic scalpels…" he muttered.
Daniel looked back as Godzilla clobbered Iris, sending it crashing through the ruins of a building. "I'll try and relay that to Godzilla. In the meantime, keep those tentacles busy!"
"On it." was the terse reply from all of them as Daniel moved in, relaying the information as best he could to Godzilla, the rails floating from the sides to circle the barrel of the gun as Godzilla let loose another atomically charged breath that slammed into the upraised arm of the monster. Daniel aimed, and after a momentary star appeared at the end of Daniel's barrel, a stellar particle beam joined the barrage. 'Come on…'
Daniel watched as the arm began to move. "Heads up, Daniel!" he heard Shinji shout. "You have a tentacle coming at you!"
Daniel looked over, and saw the yellow flash of the lance slice at Godzilla's back, carving furrows into it that sprayed deep crimson blood as Godzilla roared in pain, his beam flickering out of existence for a moment.
The arm straightened, and Daniel watched as the blade at its end shot forward, spearing into Godzilla's stomach, the roar becoming a gurgle. Then, Iris' arm blade began to glow an almost sickly green, flecks of black and glowing blue flowing from Godzilla's wound into the arm and the body.
Daniel fired again, the beam of his rifle slamming into the arm again, and Iris emitted another keen, one that was beginning to sound concerningly like a distant echoing of Godzilla's roar.
Godzilla finally pulled himself off the blade with a growl, the wounds on his back already almost finished closing up, as he continued to step back, almost stumbling as Iris began to rise.
"I think he just absorbed some of Godzilla's DNA." Daniel said, anxiety edging into his voice as he intensified his beam.
"Oh, shit." was the wide-eyed, deadpan reply Keita gave before something slammed into Unit-00's back, sending Daniel's Eva falling forward, a hastily thrown up AT Field battered aside as he hit the ground, another raised just barely enough as Daniel looked back, and saw a cruel, green-tinted facsimile of Godzilla's atomic breath bearing down on him.
Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." he muttered as he got to his feet, glancing back to see Godzilla shake his head, roar again, and go charging back into the fray, slamming into Iris yet again. 'He's got persistence and endurance, as expected. Let's make the most of it.'
. . .
Across the way, Asuka was getting really tired of keeping these things busy. Now, they seemed to copy Godzilla's atomic ray, in addition to getting more and more wily, faster, seemingly even more intelligent.
Asuka ducked Unit-02 under a bladed swipe, then yelped as its other half tried to slam into her from the side, causing her to jump back as the tentacles recombined, flashing blue as Asuka threw up another AT Field for the atomic beam to slam into.
She had stopped using her shotgun after the webbings were simply blown away by a short-range pulse of some sort that came from the blade tips. Now, she had followed in Musashi and Keita's lead, gripping a long-hafted ax with a spike at the cap and long beard as she pressed forward towards the portion of the tentacle that lay on the ground, swinging her ax overhead with a wordless shout as the beam attack stopped battering at her AT Field.
The coil twisted out of the way as the blade bit deep into the ground, the buzz of electricity thrumming through the air as the strike threw up rubble and what little water they splashed through as the fight spilled over into the still waterlogged portion of the city.
Asuka growled softly as the blade tip of the tentacle sliced over an armor plate on her shoulder, a shower of sparks flying off of a cut that slashed through the HERZ logo. 'Damn things. Sit still so we can chop you up!'
She glanced over at the other three boys for a moment as she blocked another strike with an AT Field. They were doing… well, almost as well as she was. Musashi and Keita slashed at the tentacles with their Progressive Glaives, their swings mostly hitting either the empty air or flashing through the water below, throwing up plumes of steam as the superheated blades passed through.
Shinji's weapon, a bident not entirely unlike the Lance of Longinus, its blades a little broader, had a similar effect on the water around them, the flames it was composed of having no effect on his hands. 'Bet he doesn't even get burned when he's cooking now.' a distant part of her rambled off. 'Lucky.'
She threw up another AT Field behind her almost on instinct, watching as the tentacle circled around Unit-01 as she felt the impact of her own tentacle on the field. Why was the way it was circling Shinji concerning her…
Her eyes widened as the water around Shinji erupted, throwing up a wall of seaspray as Shinji put his guard up. The constricting tentacles cared little as they wrapped around Unit-01's upper half, the bident in Shinji's hands slammed against his chest as he jerked against the bindings to little avail.
"Asuka!" Shinji called out. "I'd appreciate a little help with that ax!"
Asuka took a step forward and watched as the tentacle wrapped around Unit-01 began to glow with a pale green, almost teal light. "Shinji!" she shouted.
Another pulse rippled out from the tentacle, and Shinji shouted in pain. The pulse came again, then again, then again, Shinji's shout turning into a scream as the pulse began to heat up the armor on Unit-01.
All else around Asuka fell away, her rage at hearing Shinji's pain focusing her on a singular point, the tentacle's length that began to dip into the water, as she charged, a wordless shout thundering along with Unit-02's footsteps, ax held high and glinting in the noonday sun, an AT Field at her back warding off the tentacle that continued to hary her.
She came to a stop, throwing up waves of water as the ax came arcing down, all of Asuka's annoyance and anger and desire to protect the man she loved flowing into an AT Field that enfolded the blade of her ax, causing it to gleam with prismatic light and crackle with barely contained lightning as it slammed through the tentacle into the ground beneath it, twin columns of water shooting into the air.
The tentacle wrapping around Shinji spasmed, then loosened, the coils falling to the ground in a tangle as Shinji heaved a sigh of relief, then charged forward, batting the tentacle at Asuka's back aside as it let out an atomic beam.
"Thank you, love." Shinji said as he took a moment to catch his breath.
"And thank you." Asuka replied before she keyed up the other two pilots. "How are you two doing?"
"It could be better if my hands weren't bound together." Musashi gritted. "We'd appreciate some support."
"I'm on my way." Shinji said. "Asuka will take care of hers, then come up and support one of us."
"Use your AT Fields to enhance your weapons!" Asuka said sternly. "It seems to be the only way to do some lasting damage to these things now."
"Yes, ma'am." was the response from Musashi and Keita both as Shinji began to move away.
Asuka nodded, turning back to face the tentacle that had been on her back for the past several minutes, and an almost cruel smirk tugged at a corner of her lip. "Alright, you sharp piece of calamari." she muttered. "Let's see you try something now."
As if in response, the tentacle separated, the two halves of the once claw-like blade drifting to either side of her. Asuka watched them silently, her body coiled like a spring as she waited for a moment, ready to put up an AT Field right where she wanted it to be. 'Come on… try me already…'
In a flash, the spears darted forward. 'Yes!' Asuka thought.
One of them slammed into an AT Field that flickered out of existence the moment that the blade struck it, sending it reeling back for a moment. A moment that was all Asuka needed as she stepped to the side, the blade she dodged shooting past her as she raised an ax crackling with electricity that played across a blade that had become coated again in a prismatic field, bringing it down with a shout of satisfaction as a gout of pale blood spilled into the water below the bisected tentacle.
She looked down at the pool of blood growing in the water for a moment, then stepped forward and turned back to dodge the other half, grabbing it firmly and squeezing the flesh under her fist as it tried to jerk back to no avail, the ax in Asuka's hand sliding down as she changed her grip to just under the head.
"Alright, that's enough." she chided as she energized the blade again, noting the buildup of what she assumed was nuclear energy. "This'll be over quick, so stop squirming."
With that, she forced the blade through with a sickening squelch, the blade at the end twitching before going limp as it was finally severed.
She looked down at the piece in her hand for a moment before dropping it. "Well, that's done and dusted." she said as she looked into the link with the other pilots. "How are the rest of you doing?"
"We'll get them pinned down eventually, ma'am." Keita replied. "They've all split, but spears are easier to deal with than atomic breath weapon copies."
Asuka nodded. "Alright. Daniel, how are you and the lizard doing?"
Daniel's brow was furrowed in concentration as another of the roars Godzilla gave, a roar which Asuka had begun to tune out, echoed through the air. "We could be doing better, I'll admit." he paused for a moment. "This thing is…"
He paused, sudden movement evident as he leaned slightly. "Mainly coming after me now. I'd appreciate another dance partner or two to even out this thing's size advantage."
Asuka was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Alright. I'm on my way."
She glanced over at Shinji, Musashi, and Keita. "Do you boys think you can manage those tentacles?"
"We'll make it work." Shinji said firmly. "Go help Daniel and Godzilla."
Asuka missed as Shinji shook his head in wonderment as she began to run back towards the dry ground on which the titans danced.
. . .
Daniel stumbled back, an AT Field blocking the swinging arm-blade as Unit-00 made another jab with the swordspear that had replaced the rifle in its hands.
Iris pressed forward regardless, leveraging its nearly 20 meters extra height, and the reach that came with it, to simply try and batter its way through Daniel's defenses.
Daniel glanced over at Godzilla as the monster kept his distance, roaring and letting loose an atomic beam every few minutes on Iris' back as he healed the deep wound that had been made in his stomach. As effective as the wounds that they made could be, that those wounds now began to close again put a distinct crimp in the plans that Daniel had first made.
'And this damn yellow spot…' Daniel tsked as it flashed into sight once again before he had to bat away a slicing arm blade, then disappeared behind a frankly gargantuan arm that Daniel's next overhead stab clattered off of.
From the corner of his eye, he caught an arm blade slicing towards him, and he jumped back, the tip of the blade slashing across his chest, the scratch, joining several others, still running deep enough that Daniel had a flash of worry for his core. While not an Evangelion core in the traditional sense, the Pneumaic engine at the center of Unit-00's chest was still its main source of power. If it was breached, the Evangelion would lose all mobility and power. Game over.
'Come on, Asuka…' Daniel thought with a deepening brow. Then, he felt a familiar connection, a suffusion of confidence and panache only one person he knew could have to the depths of her soul, and Daniel stepped Unit-00 back as Asuka drove Unit-02 forward, hacking once, then again, then again at Iris' arm, a stab at Asuka's stomach blocked by Unit-00's AT Field.
"My, Daniel," Asuka chided with a smirk, "and here I thought having Godzilla on your side would make this easy for you."
Daniel tsked even as he grinned. "Well, I'd like to see you helping out much when you have a gaping stab wound to tend to." he glanced over at Godzilla, noting that the hole was now less than a quarter of its original size. "But I think Godzilla might become a little more active again soon. We need to keep this thing busy until then."
Asuka scoffed. "Please. Keeping this thing busy will be a piece of cake when we're not worrying about its tentacles."
Thus, they began to dance with Iris, weaving and dodging in and out, a slice here, a jab there, as they slowly began to break down the defense that was presented before them. A gash there, a shallow jab into the chest here, all their attacks slowly inching closer and closer towards that one glowing yellow point that would signify victory.
Then, Iris finally seemed to reach its limit, a wailing shriek piercing the air as the tip of its spear-like face began to glow green.
Daniel and Asuka's eyes widened as they dashed to the sides just before a beam of screaming green energy lanced out, carving a channel between the two Evas before it swept to the right, Asuka ducking with a startled yelp as it passed just overhead.
Daniel's eyes widened as he saw the path that it would take, vaporizing building tops as it swept towards Godzilla. He stepped forward, an AT Field beginning to spin into existence between the titan and the beam, when Godzilla roared, and his spines gave off their ionizing blue light.
A moment later, blue fire erupted from his mouth, catching the beam at an angle and reflecting it at its point of contact. The beam continued to swing around regardless, and Daniel and Asuka hit the floor again as the end of Iris' 'breath' weapon came sweeping back towards them.
Soon enough, the beams were aligned with each other, their point of contact a chaotic maelstrom of plasma that bled from one beam to another, flying away in wisps of color and light. Daniel and Asuka could only stare at the display in open awe for a moment. Then, anxiety began to mount within their hearts as they slowly watched Iris' beam begin to advance.
As they stepped forward to assist, however, Shinji spoke up, an almost fearful tone to his voice. "The tentacles have broken off! They're heading towards you!"
Daniel and Asuka turned, readying their weapons as the tentacles in question flew towards them, splitting off and striking at them as AT Fields flared.
The Evas pushed forward, swinging out at the tentacles as they dodged away, Daniel and Asuka's brows furrowed in concentration as they worked in near-perfect unison, a strike meant for Asuka batted aside as she raised an AT Field to stop another blade dead in its tracks.
Moments battling the tentacles became minutes, and Asuka sighed quietly as she dodged another stab. "I hope the others are on their way because I don't know how long the big lizard is going to make it." she nearly growled.
"If there's anything that could make it, it's Godzilla." Daniel replied as he froze a tentacle in place, a ring of gemstone hanging in the air for a moment before a flashing pulse freed it to dance away from Daniel's swordspear chopping down.
. . .
In the command center, all eyes had been drawn to the main screen, which showed the clash between Iris and Godzilla, and the silence that hung over them was one that was tense, anxious, and somehow, filled with desperate hope.
'Come on.' Misato thought as the tension grew with each inch that Iris' beam advanced. 'Of all the things I thought I'd root for to help save the world, the last one was you, big guy. Come on…'
Then, a tone began to sound on Agano's station, drawing her gaze, along with Ritsuko's and Maya's, down to the screen.
It was silent for a moment, and Misato's gaze, along with a few others, was slowly drawn to the three scientists. "What is it?" Misato asked, daring to break the silence.
"Godzilla's radiation intake has increased dramatically." Ritsuko said. "He's drawing in energy from… all over the city."
Quiet gasps went up around the room as Misato looked back up at the screen, then narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute…" she paused. "Is he changing colors?"
All eyes darted back up to the main screen to see Godzilla's beam growing not only brighter, but slowly shifting in hue, the blue beginning to bleed into a deep, vibrant purple. And the tide began to change.
Slowly, surely, the beam Iris emitted was being pushed back, the pace beginning to pick up as Iris took a step back, then another, then another, the tentacles harrying Evangelions Unit-00 and Unit-02 flying towards Godzilla, stabbing into him over and over again in a desperate attempt to wound him enough to make him stop.
But, after a moment's more of struggling, Iris was overwhelmed, its head and chest disappearing into a river of light that snapped off as Godzilla closed its mouth.
The tentacles fell limp, and the remains of Iris, its arms and stomach now making a u shape around the open air, fell back with a crash.
All expected some roar of triumph, some display of superiority, but they got… nothing. What must have been a deep breath, a sigh of either relief or exhaustion. Without sound, they could not tell which.
Hyuga was the first to recover his wits. "What's the radiation levels of the city look like?" he asked.
"It's… impossible." Maya said, then shook her head slightly as she looked over at Makoto. "The city… it's completely clean. If not completely, then at least enough to allow people to move in again."
A quiet, shocked gasp rippled through the room as Misato stepped forward. "Pilots, what's Godzilla's status?"
. . .
Daniel looked at Godzilla as he heaved another rumbling breath, and reestablished the connection to his soul, dropped in the heat of battle.
Tiredness, all-encompassing. Calling him to deep sleep.
Daniel projected as much gratitude as he could as he looked to his sides to see the others coming up slowly behind him and Asuka. "He's not a threat anymore. We don't need to engage him."
"Alright. Then what do we do with him?"
"Let him return to the sea, for now." Daniel watched as Godzilla regarded the group of Evangelions for a moment more, then turned away, marching with slow, heavy footsteps towards the shoreline. "We'll figure out a proper response, if there needs to be one, while he's asleep, I think."
"Alright." Misato sighed quietly. "Go ahead and come home."
"Actually, Misato," Asuka began, "is there anyone that needs our help? I'm still up for some piloting, and we can redeploy easily enough."
"Yeah, actually." Shinji nodded. "I'm sure Mari and Mana would appreciate some help. Arantxa and Mayumi, too."
"That is a very good point." Misato said. "Shinji, go ahead and get ready to deploy to South America. Asuka, you'll be going home for a little bit. Daniel, anywhere in particular you want to go?"
Daniel hummed for a moment, then nodded. "I think I'll go with Shinji. The Icon of Sin must be contained quickly. An extra pair of hands is only going to speed up the work."
"Very well. Stand by for transport." Ooi said, and Shinji, Asuka, and Daniel wondered for a moment how the others were doing before they disappeared from the face of Japan.
You had me at Godzilla.
View: https://youtu.be/wrhe9KO8Z1Y
