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Genesis 1.07

Third Impact

 

Somewhere deep in space, yet approaching Earth

 

            <So, he killed Lunahr.>

            <It would seem so.  I cannot fathom why he would do such a thing.>

            <It was obviously with good reason.  Runarak would not kill one of his own kind for no reason.>

            <I will go down and bring him back to his senses.  He should remember the truth when he meets me.>

            <Something happened to his memory.  Being sucked into a Sea of Dirac must have given him amnesia.  Perhaps you will succeed where she failed.>

            <I guarantee it, father.>

 

Rei’s and Raiu’s apartment

 

            The young couple lay together in bed, holding each other close.

            “Raiu-chan,” Rei whispered.

            “Yeah?”

            “When will this finally be over?”

            “I wish I knew.” Raiu whispered back. “All we can do is continue fighting and hope for the best.”

            “It seems like that’s all we do.  Fight Angels and whatever else might attack Earth.”

            “It’s all we can do to protect Earth and each other,” Raiu replied.

            “There’s something I need to ask you.  Why didn’t you tell us who you were when we met you right after you landed?”

            Raiu looked over at Rei and sighed.

            “Would you have fallen in love with me if I had?”

            “Hai.  But still, why didn’t you?”

            “I don’t know.  I guess I thought I could lead a double life.  That got shot down rather easily, eh?”

            “Hai.” Rei agreed. “It doesn’t matter now, though.  I was just curious.  We’re together.  That’s all that matters to me.”

            “Me too.”

 

SEELE HQ

 

            The monoliths of Seele sat in their circle, the people they represented waiting for Lorenz Kihl to arrive.  As his monolith faded into view, the others began speaking almost instantly.

            “We have been silent far too long,” Seele-02 hissed.

            “It is for good reason,” Seele-07 countered.

            “Yes.” Seele-04 agreed. “The EVA series should be nearing completion.  Another three months, I believe.”

            “Correction.” Kihl interrupted. “They will be finished within the week.”

            “How did you manage to finish them so quickly?!” Seele-03 exclaimed.

            “Ikari was a fool.” Lorenz explained. “After he hired that creature Raiu, he left the security light to build up his militia, unwittingly giving our spy access to the DNA files.  Using those files – after Raiu revealed himself to be that black dragon – we were able to speed up the growth process and make these EVAs much stronger than any others.”

            “How will they be piloted?” Seele-09 questioned. “We already know the Kaoru dummy plugs won’t work with them.”

            “We will pilot them,” Kihl stated simply.

            “US?!” the assembled monoliths cried out in unison.

            “Yes.  We will destroy NERV and merge with Lilith.”

            “How will we accomplish that?” Seele-08 inquired.

            “Raiu’s DNA is a mix of human, Evangelion, and . . . Angel.”

            “He’s the eighteenth Angel?!” Seele-10 gasped in shock.

            “No.” Kihl assured the committee member. “There have been more Angel attacks.  Raiu has destroyed most of them.  But, our EVAs should be able to defeat him with little trouble.”

            “Then let us begin,” Seele-06 stated.

            “An EVA will be sent to each of you.” Kihl stated. “Be ready to leave two weeks from today.”

 

Downtown mall

 

            “Ooh, look at this, everyone!” Yisiu called out.

            “Yes!” Asuka exclaimed excitedly. “C’mon, Shinji!”

            “Let’s go, Raiu!” Rei stated, pulling Raiu along.

            “No . . . please . . . no . . .” Raiu moaned.

            As groans and protests rose up from the guys, the girls dragged them toward a clothing store for its closeout sale.  Several hours – eternity for the guys – later, the group finally left the store, the guys loaded down with countless bags of clothes.  Raiu was barely less fazed by the experience than the others as he’d been through that type of living hell before.  Hikari had to grab Touji by the ear and pull him back at one point when he’d started to walk out.

            “Let’s see if there are any more sales here!” Hikari suggested, much to Touji’s chagrin.

            “How about we take these home first,” Kensuke tentatively suggested.

            “And miss out on another sale?!” Krystal replied. “Not a chance!”

            Kensuke groaned and obediently followed the others as they went from store to store, looking for a sale.  The girls grouped together ahead of the guys, who were clustered together due to the belief in “united we stand, separated we fall.”  Touji chuckled to himself.

            “What’s so funny?” Shinji asked.

            “Them,” Touji replied, nodding toward the girls.

            “Why?” Chekov asked, dumbfounded.

            “They’re like bloodhounds.  They can smell a sale from a mile away.”

            “Got no argument from me,” Raiu agreed.

            “Hopefully, it will be over soon,” Chekov stated.

            Raiu chuckled then burst out laughing.

            “You obviously have no experience with women!  They’ll go on like this all day!  The only reason Rei only dragged me to one store the day you got here was because the rest were closed up for the day.  She even tried to get a few stores to open up for us!”

            Chekov groaned painfully and almost cried when the girls came back saying they’d found a storewide sale.

 

NERV HQ

 

            “Misato!” Hyuga exclaimed.

            “Yes?” the Commander answered wearily.

            “We got incoming!” Shigeru answered for his friend. “Thirteen targets!”

            “What?!  From where?”

            “Every direction but up an’ down!” The longhaired lieutenant responded. “ETA, 20 minutes!”

            “What’s the wave pattern?” Misato asked, turning to the only other lieutenant.

            “They’re EVAs!!” Maya answered.

            “Crap!” Misato swore. “Get the pilots!  They should have their cell phones with them.”

            Fifteen minutes later, the pilots were assembled in the control room, wearing their Plug suits.  Raiu and Rei stood at the head of the group.  As everyone watched, the EVAs landed in a semicircle around a nearby lake.  Twelve of the EVAs were white with black lining, silver shoulder-mounted blades, and white bird wings.  They each held a large bladed staff in both hands.  On each of their chests, they had Seele followed by a number.  The last was grey and black with silver bat wings.  It held the Lance of Longinus.  Upon seeing the legendary weapon, most of the group gasped in shock.  Raiu smirked and pressed a button on the nearest terminal.

            “Looks like we’ll have a nice little exercise, eh?” he stated as the windows pivoted out of the way.

            Raiu and Rei leapt out, converting to their gargoyle forms and flying off.  The pilots ran to their EVAs and activated them.

 

Lakeside

 

            The EVAs and dragons reached the lake at the same time.  Raiu stepped forward and readied himself for an attack.

            “What do you want?”

            “We are here to destroy you and merge with Lilith,” Kihl responded flatly.

            “Well then, bring it on!” Raiu snarled.

            Before the Seele EVAs could attack, however, a pillar of light appeared in the middle of the lake.  It widened into a sphere of light then faded from view revealing a strange creature hovering above the surface of the lake.  It was as tall as Raiu and looked like a combination of Arael, Sachiel, and Zeruel.  What was truly disturbing was its human face.  It faced Raiu and smiled.

            “Hello, brother,” the creature hissed.

            Raiu shook his head.

            “Not again!” he growled. “I’m not Runarak Dion!!”

            “Yes, you are.” The Angel laughed. “You just don’t remember.  I, Leuach Raiel, will restore your memory.  Then we shall destroy Earth together.”

            “Rei.” Raiu stated, glancing over his shoulder. “You and the EVAs can take out Seele.  I’ll deal with this idiot.”

            As the others approached the Seele EVAs, Raiu took to the air, motioning for Leuach to follow.  The Angel didn’t need a second telling as it flew after the silver dragon.  The two flew several miles before landing.

            “Come back with me brother!  Father will be most pleased if you do!”

            “How many times will I have to repeat myself to you idiots?” Raiu hissed as he charged the Angel.

            Leuach dodged out of the way and was surprised when Raiu’s tail latched onto one of his legs, pulling him to the ground.  Raiu turned around and leapt into the air, intending to body slam the Angel.  Leuach caught Raiu’s shoulder full in the chest, almost knocking the wind out of him.

            Rei charged Kihl’s EVA and slashed at him, only to have the Lance of Longinus stabbed into her shoulder.  The female dragon shrieked in pain as she fell backward, the spear wrenching free of Kihl’s grasp.  She shakily stood and pulled out the Lance, grunting in pain as she did so.  Once the Lance was removed, she glared at Kihl in anger and threw the Lance at the grey EVA.  The legendary weapon slammed into its abdomen and stuck there, half protruding from its stomach, the other half out its back.

            Sularos engaged two Seele members in close combat as Siron sat back, blasting them with sonic waves and booms.  Yisiu took to the air in EVA-05, firing positron blasts at the EVAs on the ground and hacking at any that tried to engage her in midair combat with her prog sword.  Unit-07 ran off a ways and began selectively snipering the Seele EVAs while Chekov pulled out his twin battle axes and began indiscriminately slashing away at the white Evangelions.  EVAs 03 and 04 charged into the fray, pummeling foes right and left with whatever fighting skills their pilots had learned.

            Leuach pushed Raiu away and stood up slowly, his breathing ragged.  He faced Raiu and activated his AT Field.

            “Why do you attack me, brother?!”

            “I ain’t yer brother!  I am Raiu Kusanagi!  I never have been, nor will I ever be Runarak Dion!”

            “Quit denying the truth!  You may look different, but you’re still –”

            Before the Angel could finish his sentence, Raiu had slashed his stomach open.  As Leuach held his internal organs in his hands, Raiu kicked the Angel in the knee.  Leuach’s knee buckled, then inverted, the leg broken.  Raiu then kicked the Angel in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

            As Rei watched EVA-Kihl calmly pull the Lance out of its stomach, the NERV EVAs were being overwhelmed by the power and numbers of the Seele EVAs.  Sularos watched in shock as the wounds he inflicted upon the EVAs he was fighting were healed within thirty seconds.  He was slowly beaten to unconsciousness only to be awakened by the pain of his own sword slashing into his chest and stomach.  EVA-05 came crashing to the ground, the wings torn from its back by two of the white EVAs.  Chekov screamed in pain as the arms and legs of his EVA were broken and ripped apart by the Seele EVAs.  Siron collapse in agony when a hole was punched through her stomach by one of the white monsters.

            Raiu leapt into the air as Leuach slowly levitated off the ground using his wings.  The silver dragon scissored his legs, catching the Angel’s head between them, and snapping his neck.  Raiu grabbed the Angel and slammed his claws into Leuach’s chest, then tore out his core and S2 engine.  He stood over the dissolving body for a few moments then flew off.

            EVA-07 was unsuccessful in keeping the EVAs at bay as three of them circled her and prepared to attack.  They launched themselves at her and attacked like a pack of starving wolves.  EVAs 03 and 04 were each torn limb from limb until only two piles of body parts were left.  Rei stood frozen in shock as EVA-Kihl ran at her and skewered her with the Lance of Longinus.  She fell to the ground as Raiu flew into view.  His roar of rage was heard for miles.  The Seele EVAs looked at their new target and began advancing toward him.  The dragon looked down at the EVAs as their wing unfolded and they took to the air.

            “You will pay.” Raiu hissed. “Sea of Dirac!!”

            He held the core and S2 engine above his head and slammed them together.  A shadowy funnel emerged from the organs as they met.  The funnel aimed at the Seele EVAs and grew in size.  Before the EVAs could react, they were being sucked into the vortex of the Dirac Sea.  The only EVA left was EVA-Kihl.  Raiu snarled when he saw that a foe was left standing.  He dropped the core and S2 engine, then activated a Kusanagi sword on each arm and dove at EVA-Kihl, the swords slashing madly.  When Raiu was done, only strips of metal and flesh were left.

            The dragon walked over to Rei and saw the Lance still imbedded in her abdomen.  He quickly pulled the Lance out and kneeled beside Rei.

            “You gonna be okay?”

            “Yeah . . . now that . . . the Lance is out.  Thanks.”

            “No need to thank me.”

            Confident in her regenerative powers, he checked on the EVAs.  Sularos and Siron were heavily wounded, but healing very slowly.  He pulled the Entry Plugs from each of the other EVAs and set them down next to their EVAs.  As he approached EVA-07, however, a sense of dread washed over him.  Raiu found the Entry Plug lying beside the mangled head of the EVA.  He slowly raised the Plug to eye level and saw that it was a mangled mass of metal, LCL and blood leaking from the cracks.  The dragon set the Plug on the ground and shifted to gargoyle form.  He walked up to the Plug and tore the door open.  He looked in, but quickly jerked his head out and replaced the door.

            Returning to human form, Raiu turned around and saw Rei approaching him in her dragon form, the other pilots cradled in her hands.  She set them on the ground and returned to her human form.  Once everyone was within hearing range of Raiu, he spoke.

            “Though we won,” he began, “it was at a cost I wish we didn’t have to pay.  We defeated one of NERV’s greatest enemies today, but we also lost a good friend.  Krystal died defending NERV, Tokyo 3, and most importantly, humanity.”

            Gasps of shock and mutters of denial passed through the pilots.  Kensuke wiped his eyes and turned away from the others.  A recovery team showed up on the scene about then.  They were about to load Krystal’s Entry Plug onto a truck when Raiu stopped them.

            “Rei and I will take back the EVA parts.  You just worry about the pilots.”

            As the couple shifted into their dragon forms, the depressed pilots were herded into a couple of vans and driven off.  Raiu turned to Rei and lowered his gaze.  Raiu was about to say something when Rei cut him off.

            “There was nothing you could have done.  Let’s just get these back to NERV.”

 

NERV debriefing room

 

            Misato stood before the pilots and almost cried herself.

            “What I want to know is,” she stated angrily, “how were they able to beat our EVAs so easily.  Raiu, I thought you made them stronger than any other EVA.”

            Raiu stared at the ground, his right fist rhythmically clenching and unclenching, for a few moments before replying.

            “No matter how powerful an EVA is, it will never be a match for me.”

            “So?”

            “Seele used my DNA to make their EVAs more powerful.  I felt a similar version of the link I share with Rei the moment I saw them.”

            “How –”

            “You bastard!” Kensuke cut Misato off by lunging at Raiu, his fist pulled back to punch the older teen.

            Raiu didn’t even look up.  He merely reached out and grabbed Kensuke’s hand a few inches before it connected with his face.  Kensuke tried to punch Raiu with his other hand only to have the same thing happen.  Raiu finally looked up and stared Kensuke down.  Raiu released the younger teen’s hands and stood up.

            “If you truly believe I would betray you, then you are fools.”

            “What other possibility is there?” Kensuke asked.

            “Do the rest of you feel the same way?” Raiu asked.

            When no one even bothered to look him in the eye except Rei, he sighed disgustedly.

            “Then this is goodbye.” Raiu stated in a low voice before turning to Rei. “Don’t try and stop me.  They’ve made their decision.”

            Without another word, Raiu walked out of the room and eventually, NERV HQ itself.  Rei turned to Kensuke and narrowed her eyes.

            “You little . . .” Rei hissed. “I know Raiu didn’t give Seele those samples.  He wouldn’t betray us like that.”

            “You don’t know that for a fact,” Kensuke returned.

            “Wrong.  I know him better than you know yourself, you chakana.”

            Before Rei could leave, Shinji stopped her.

            “What does that word mean?  I’ve heard you and Raiu use it several times.”

            “Cha means mother.” She replied before glaring at Kensuke. “Figure the rest out yourself.  And didn’t you even think of the possibility of a spy?”

            Rei followed Raiu’s lead and slowly walked out of the base.  Misato was about to berate Kensuke when the other pilots stood up in unison and walked out, pointedly ignoring Kensuke.  Once they were gone, Misato and Kensuke were left alone.

            “How could you?!” Misato yelled. “He’s done more for us than you’ll ever know!  He even risked his life by sacrificing half his heart to save Rei!  I, for one, believe he’s innocent.”

            “So?” Kensuke snorted. “Because of him, Krystal is dead.”

            Misato was about to snap at him in anger, but calmed herself before speaking.

            “You’ve got a choice right now.” Misato stated coldly. “You can go apologize to Raiu and curb that attitude of yours.  Or, you can walk out that door right now and never come back.  We can always find another pilot.”

            Kensuke walked out the door and didn’t look back.

 

Orchard

 

            Raiu leaned against the tree and closed his eyes.  A few moments later, he sensed Rei land nearby and walk toward him.  Raiu opened his eyes and looked at her as she sat down next to him.

            “Why aren’t you back at NERV?”

            “Because you are more important to me,” Rei replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

            “Then why didn’t you defend me when Kensuke accused me of betraying NERV?” Raiu snapped.

            “I was just stunned by what was going on.  I didn’t know what to do until it was too late.  I’m sorry.”

            “It’s alright.  I shouldn’t have snapped at you.  What’s new at NERV?”

            “Well, in the past few days, they’ve finished the repairs on the EVAs.  Right after you left, Kensuke was given a choice.  He could apologize to you or leave.  He left.  EVA-07 wasn’t repaired.  Misato doesn’t want anybody else to pilot it.  Hikari now pilots EVA-04.  No other Angels have attacked.  All in all, it’s been good and bad.”

            “When is Krystal’s funeral scheduled for?”

            “A week from tomorrow,” Rei replied.

            “Damn.  Talk about yer bad vibes.”

            “Huh?”

            “Your birthday is the day after that,” Raiu stated in a low voice.

            “So – oh.” Rei whispered as realization hit her. “Yeah.  That is really bad.  What are we gonna do?”

            “We’ll still have the wedding on your birthday.  Although, we will be there for her funeral.”

 

Earth’s orbit

 

            So, Runarak has killed both Lunahr and Leuach.  He also continues to deny the truth.  I will have to deal with him myself.  No matter what happens, though, I will merge with Lilith.  She and I will be one again.

 

Sea of Japan

 

            The crewmen of the aircraft carrier went about their jobs as if nothing was wrong, none of them taking a few seconds to look into the sky to see impending doom.  Thus, it came as a world shattering shock to them when a flaming sphere struck the ship with the power of a nuclear bomb.  The blast vaporized the ship and turned all the water for several miles into pure steam, killing all aquatic life.

 

NERV HQ

 

            “Holy shit!” Shigeru yelled, surprising the other three.

            “What is it?” Misato asked calmly.

            “Several hundred cubic miles of the Sea of Japan just disappeared!”

            “What?!  How?”

            “Something fell from space.” Maya explained, reading a printout. “The blast turned the water into steam.”

            “Crap!  Call the pilots!  Raiu and Rei, too.  They might not want to help, but it’s worth a shot.”

 

Sea of Japan

 

            The EVAs rode a group of carriers out to the location of the ‘meteor’ crash.  Once there, they saw nothing out of the ordinary.  Without warning, a beam of red energy shot up out of the water and hit EVA-06 in the chest, blowing a hole through its body.  As the EVA collapsed onto the deck of its carrier, a being rose out of the water.

            It was shaped similar to a human, but was different in several ways.  It had two extra fingers on each hand, four eyes like EVA-02, and writhing tentacles in place of hair.  Each of the fingers had an extra joint on them, making them much longer.  Two of the eyes were human while the other two were catlike.  The tentacles hung down its back from the base of its skull.  The being smiled at the EVAs before speaking.

            “So, this is my reception.  A group of pathetic Evangelions.  How demeaning.” The being looked at Sularos. “Wait – one of them was copied from Lilith.  Too bad it’s been altered, or I could have used it instead.”

            “Who are you?” Sularos snarled.

            “Oh?  The weakling speaks?  Heh.  I am Lord Shriak, leader of the Angels, and your destroyer.”

            Having said that, Shriak fired another blast, this time at EVA-03.  The blast severed the Unit’s head from its body.  The head fell to the deck of the carrier and rolled around as the body fell into the water.  Hikari screamed in rage and fired her positron rifle at Shriak, who merely watched in amusement as the bullets bounced off his AT Field and flew back at EVA-04.  Each bullet hit with enough force to punch through the EVA.

            Several of the bullets hit EVA-04 in the head, blowing it to pieces.  Hikari didn’t even have time to scream.  Sularos fired his fusion cannon as Siron shot her energy beam at the Angel.  Both attacks were merely absorbed by Shriak’s AT Field.

            Shriak grinned evilly and raised his hands over his head.  A shock wave shot out, knocking the pilots unconscious and shutting down their EVAs.  Sularos and Siron were merely stunned, however.  The Angel flew down to the ship that had been carrying EVA-03 and picked up the decapitated head.

            With a single flex of his muscles, Shriak crushed the head, killing Touji as he lay helpless in the Plug.  He went from ship to ship, repeating his actions until only Siron and Sularos were left.  The Angel reached down and gripped the two upgraded Evangelions in his hands so that he was holding their faces, but wasn’t covering their eyes, then lifted them up until they were looking him in the eye.  A moment later, all that was left of each EVA’s head was a bloody stump, proof to the strength of Shriak’s energy blasts.

            Shriak flew over the EVAs toward Japan.

 

Tokyo 3

 

            Raiu and Rei stood in their dragon forms on the outskirts of the city, waiting for Shriak to arrive.  They didn’t have long to wait.  Only a few minutes after he attacked the EVAs, the Angel arrived in Tokyo 3.  He landed in front of Raiu and Rei.  He was about to speak when Raiu cut him off.

            “Before you get going on a ‘come back with me, son’ speech, I’ve got one thing to say.  I am not Runarak Dion.  I am Raiu Kusanagi.  I never have been, nor will I ever be your son.”

            “Quit denying the truth, Runarak.”

            “You’re the one denying the truth.  You and your ilk.  Either leave Earth in peace, or die in pieces.”

            “I have no intention of fighting you, my son.  I only wish to merge with Lilith, so that our family may be one.”

            “You’re insane!” Rei exclaimed.

            “Perhaps.” Shriak replied calmly. “But there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

            “That’s were you’re wrong.” Raiu growled. “Terra Flare.”

            The black beam shot out from Raiu’s mouth and tore through Shriak’s AT Field to hit the Angel square in the chest.  A flash of bright light blinded the two dragons as the energy poured into the Angel.  When they could see again, they saw Shriak standing in the exact same place, not a mark on him.  He calmly fired a beam at Rei, slicing her in half at the waist.  Raiu let loose a cry of anger that would have deafened any humans who had heard it.  He charged Shriak only to be thrown back by the Angel’s AT Field.

            The Angel fired another beam that cut into Raiu’s chest, knocking the dragon to the ground.  With both opponents unable to continue fighting, Shriak began blasting into the ground.  Once he had blown a hole into the Geo-Front, he flew down, leaving Raiu and Rei to slowly heal.  Raiu rolled onto his stomach and crawled over to Rei.

            “You okay?”

            “Go . . . on.” Rei gasped. “I’ll be . . . fine.  Have to stop . . . Third Impact.”

            “I’ll do my best.”

            Raiu painfully stood and leapt down the hole after Shriak.

 

Geo-Front.

 

            As Shriak approached Lilith, something knocked him to the ground.  He rolled over and stood up to see Raiu floating above the underground lake.  Raiu fired another Terra Flare at Shriak, knocking the Angel down again.  The dragon charged his prone opponent and leapt into the air to come crashing down on Shriak with the force of fifteen N2 mines.  Raiu stepped off Shriak and lowered his arms to his sides.  A Kusanagi sword emerged from each of Raiu’s arms.

            As Shriak slowly stood up, Raiu slashed at him, slicing his arms off and cutting deep gouges in the Angel’s chest and abdomen.  Shriak jumped up and kicked Raiu in the chest several times, finally kicking him in the jaw, and sending the dragon flying several hundred yards.  To Raiu’s shock, Shriak’s wounds and severed limbs rapidly regenerated.  Once the regeneration was complete, it looked like Raiu hadn’t even touched him.  Shriak smirked as he saw Raiu’s face and began walking toward the silver dragon.

            “Surprised I can heal so quickly?  You shouldn’t be.  I am virtually a god.  Even compared to you, Runarak.”

            “I am not Runarak Dion. You of all beings should know if your son is dead or not.”

            “Why do you persist in denying the truth?  It’s really getting irritating, you know.”

            Raiu stood up and launched a flurry of punches and kicks at Shriak.  The Angel merely laughed and blocked each of Raiu’s attacks before punching Raiu in the chest.

            “You still fight the same.  Only my Runarak would fall victim to that counter attack.”

            Shriak fired a black fireball at Raiu, tearing the armor from his chest and shredding the skin beneath.  Raiu stumbled back several steps and fell to his knees.

            “You were never able to beat me, so why should that have changed, my son?” Shriak mockingly asked. “If you continue to fight me, I will be forced to destroy you before I merge with Lilith.  Then we will be one again.  Admit the truth or die.”

            “The truth?” Raiu asked, a strange grin on his face. “All right.  I’ll admit the truth.”

            Shriak smiled widely only to have it wiped from his face a moment later.

            “I am the Dark Hearted one.” The silver dragon hissed. “I am the possessor of the Soul Blade.  I am Alpha through Omega.  I am Raiu Kusanagi.  But, most importantly.  I.  Am.  HUMAN!!”

            Shriak watched in surprise as Raiu stood up, his chest instantly healed.  The skin under the armor plates turned midnight black.  The edges of the plates smoked slightly and changed into a charred black color, as if they’d been burned.  Raiu’s arm blades grew longer and slightly curved as blades emerged from the end of his tail.  His claws and talons lengthened and sharpened as his muscles grew in size, slightly stretching the armor.  As Raiu’s wings grew larger, his eyes burned red.

            Streams of colored light appeared from out of nowhere and began circling the two titans.  The lights merged and coalesced to form a grey pillar around them.  The sides of the pillar then expanded, leaving them in an expanse of grey.  There was no horizon, no land, no sky; only grey.  Images flashed around the dragon and the Angel as Raiu spoke, an AT Field holding the former in place.

            “For the love of family . . .”

            Images of Kea and Raiu fighting side by side flashed by only to be replaced with views of Raiu and Rei kissing numerous times.

            “ . . . the kinship of friends . . .”

            Memories of Shinji and Asuka fighting Angels alongside Raiu and Rei circled for a few moments before being replaced with images of the teens going sale hunting.

            “ . . . the loyalty of allies . . .”

            An image of Misato berating Kensuke for attacking Raiu lingered until images of Raiu explaining his past took over.

            “ . . . the memory of those who have passed on . . .”

            Images of Kaji, Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Krystal swirled around, mixing into a giant montage of faces.  They were replaced by pictures of Raiu’s other friends before his death.

            “ . . . and for humanity itself . . .”

            Faces and images of people from around the world floated by, each one changing into a new face or picture every few seconds.

            “ . . . I will destroy you and prevent the Third Impact.”

            The two giants were then returned to the Geo-Front.

            “What was the purpose of that?” Shriak asked impatiently.

            “Life itself gives me the strength for this.” Raiu hissed in reply. “Apocalypse.”

            A Kusanagi sword emerged from each of Raiu’s arms as a red line ran from the tip of his snout to the end of his tail.  The silver dragon split in half as if he’d been sliced down the red line.  The two halves floated away from each other and new body parts began growing from the cut edges.  In a matter of seconds, there were two Raiu’s standing before Shriak.  The one on his left had a Kusanagi sword on its right arm, and the one on the right had a Kusanagi on its left arm.  The twin dragons each drew back into a battle pose for a few moments before charging Shriak.

            Raiu Right attacked first with an upward slash, sending Shriak flying into the air.  The dual dragons then leapt straight up until they were level with the Angel and each went into a series of sword slashes so complex and rapid the human eye would see only a blur.  Shriak was bounced back and forth between the silver warriors, each hit nearly knocking him senseless.  Each time he tried to attack one of them, the other Raiu would hit him from behind.  Once the Angel was mangled and diced beyond recognition, the dragons let him fall to the ground, creating a small crater where he landed.  Both dragons hovered next to each other above the Angel.  They didn’t even wait for the dust to clear before firing multiple Impulses, Banishers, and Terra Flares at the prone Angel.  After several moments of that, the dragons landed and merged into one again.

            As Shriak painfully stood up, Raiu snarled savagely.  Small spheres of energy circled around Raiu before flying into him, creating an aura of blue energy around him.  Raiu slowly shifted into a sphere of pure white energy.  When Shriak took a step forward, Raiu shot forward in the shape of an energy arrow.  The arrow tore through Shriak like he wasn’t even there.  Several hundred yards behind Shriak, Raiu reformed as a dragon, his back to the Angel as Shriak seemed to explode.

            “It is over.  Shriak is dead.  The Third Impact has been avoided.  But at what cost?”

            <Not so easily, Runarak.  I still live.>

            Raiu spun around in time to see Shriak’s core rise up and hover above the ashes for a moment.  Before Raiu could react, the core began flying toward Lilith.  Raiu growled and flew after the red sphere.  He caught up with it before it reached Lilith, and threw it away from her.  The core stopped in midair and came rushing back at Raiu.  He fired a Terra Flare at it, but the core merely dodged and continued on its course.  A few seconds later, the core collided with Raiu, punching through his heart/core.  The silver dragon collapsed to the ground and rolled over to try and stop the core.  The last thing Raiu saw before he lost consciousness was the core slamming into Lilith’s chest, knocking the replaced Lance of Longinus from her body.

            “Forgive . . . me . . . Rei,” Raiu whispered.

            A single red tear fell to the ground as Raiu slipped into the darkness of death.

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