The wall of water soon fell, and seawater cascaded from above like a light rain.
Asuka looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure and asked tentatively, "Zhetian, you idiot? Is that you?"
Huang Zhetian jumped down from Special Unit X's cockpit and stood before the two of them. "I was Apocalypse all along, but special circumstances kept me from telling you the truth."
Asuka's mind went blank. She could not fathom how Apocalypse, who had been fighting beside her all this time, could actually be the idiot she had missed so much!
Mari, however, looked smug. "I told you! Someone wouldn't just appear out of nowhere for no reason, especially when both he and his machine looked so much like someone we knew."
"Some things happened, and I had to avoid Gendo Ikari's purge. I had no choice but to do all this..."
Asuka bit her lip, nodding as she tried to take it in. "But how did you get those incredible abilities? They're practically miracles..."
Huang Zhetian said, "Everyone has their own secrets. All you need to know is that I'm here to help you, just like Mari. We don't really know much about her identity or where she came from, either."
Mari, who was sipping her drink, sounded annoyed when she heard that. "Hey, hey, hey, that's going too far. I just understand my mission and know what I should and shouldn't do. Unlike you, pulling a stunt like this."
Vrrr, vrrr, vrrr-BOOM!!!
A transport aircraft swept through the sky above them, whipping up a gust that made them instinctively narrow their eyes.
Watching the aircraft fly past, Asuka asked, "Is Misato... doing okay?"
Huang Zhetian said, "Is losing someone you love really something you can get over so easily? Besides, she's staying away from her own son