Rei's smile

Zero swept his hand, and his blue cape returned to his shoulders.

Everyone staring at the main screen was tense to the extreme, terrified that the giant before them would attack.

The beam and head sluggers he had casually unleashed had broken through Ramiel's AT Field in less than a second, and the second attack had struck while Ramiel was defending.

An AT Field that required all of Japan's electricity to breach had been torn apart by a beam the giant fired with a mere raised hand. It was unbelievable.

If the giant attacked them now, they would have no way to fight back.

Terrifying memories flashed through Misato's mind again. She tightened her grip on the cross in her hand and murmured:

"Are you Adam?"

She knew the truth about the disaster fifteen years ago: another giant of light had caused it.

That was why the sight of Zero made her recall that scene despite herself.

If he was Adam, everyone here was finished. Humanity was probably finished too, of course.

In the command room, Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari were also speculating about the giant's intentions.

But what happened next caught everyone off guard.

The giant spread his arms toward the sky and shouted, "Hyah!" He pushed off with both legs, sending dust billowing around him again.

The people at the scene saw only flying dust and the giant soaring skyward. The resulting blast of air nearly knocked them off their feet.

The technician stared at the screen in disbelief, then snapped out of it and shouted, "The giant is flying! His speed is approximately Mach 5!"

As Zero flew, intense friction with the air left a long trail behind him, while sonic booms formed around his body like those of an accelerating fighter jet.

"Activate the radar! Set it to maximum detection range! Don't let him get away!" Gendo Ikari stood and issued his orders.

They could blame their failure to track the Red Sphere last time on a lack of preparation, but now that they were prepared, they could not let such an enormous giant get away.

"The target is still accelerating! He's exceeded Mach 7 and is expected to leave the atmosphere and head into space! He's almost at the limit of our detection range!"

"Contact the satellite team! Whatever happens, we cannot lose him this time!"

"No... that's impossible! The giant has vanished!"

Gendo Ikari's expression visibly darkened. "Did we lose track of him?"

"We didn't lose track of him. The giant simply vanished after entering space. He really just vanished!"

The technician brought up the footage. As the giant entered space, he really did dissolve right before the camera.

"What kind of being is he...? He's far too mysterious." Fuyutsuki frowned.

He had appeared to destroy the Angel when humanity was doing everything it could, then flown away without attempting to communicate or taking any further action.

They had no way of determining what sort of life-form he was. But judging by his deliberate avoidance of human buildings, he might be intelligent, and he seemed to hold goodwill toward humanity.

Moreover, as far as they knew, only Eva could breach an Angel's AT Field. Yet the giant had shown no AT Field readings, and the way he had taken the Angel's beam directly against his chest made one thing clear.

The strength of his body alone was already beyond anything they dared imagine.

Even if Unit-01 went berserk, it would probably be annihilated before the giant.

"What exactly do they want? Why have they come to Earth...?" Fuyutsuki could not make sense of it.

"Could they be here simply to help humanity destroy monsters? Impossible. How could such life-forms exist?"

"The Dead Sea Scrolls mention nothing about this."

Fuyutsuki gave up pondering it and spoke quietly to Gendo Ikari.

"At least for now, he doesn't directly conflict with our plans. But he's very likely to become a variable later."

Gendo Ikari folded his hands in front of his mouth, his glasses beginning to catch the light.

"At the very least, the giant's appearance is good for us right now. Without him, we might have lost both Unit-00 and Unit-01 this time."

At the mention of Unit-01, Fuyutsuki thought of Shinji's actions.

"Shinji's insubordination this time wasn't part of your script either, was it?"

Based on Gendo Ikari's understanding of Shinji, the boy would never disobey his orders. Yet both his current and previous behavior made something unmistakably clear.

He had been wrong. Something had changed in Shinji without his knowledge.

"Compared to the giant, Shinji's issues are secondary."

At least he was still choosing to fight the Angels. That was enough.

After Shinji's threat last time, he feared that getting rough with the boy again would introduce another unpredictable variable.

Several variables had already appeared in the plan. He did not want to cause any more complications.

"There's no need to report Shinji's changes to those old men at SEELE. As for the giant, we don't know the specifics anyway. Just report the facts."

The people at the scene still had not recovered from their shock, so none of them noticed a speck of light slip back into Unit-01's Entry Plug.

The light gradually coalesced into Shinji's form.

Shinji took off the glasses.

He was still in shock too.

"Is this your true power, Zero?"

Zero stylishly brushed a finger beneath his nose. "That was nothing! If I hadn't been injured... that kick alone would've finished him."

"Wait, now's not the time for that! Hurry up and check on Rei!"

Shinji climbed out of the Entry Plug. Both Unit-01's and Unit-00's Entry Plugs had already been ejected, but with the surrounding terrain devastated by Ramiel and everyone stunned by the giant's appearance, the medical team had yet to arrive.

Shinji rushed to Rei's Entry Plug, grabbed the hatch lever with his bare hands, and forced the hatch open.

"Ayanami! Are you all right, Ayanami?"

Ayanami lifted her head. She had passed out earlier.

"Big brother..."

She tried to stand, but the sharp pain in her abdomen forced her to sit back down.

She had entered the battle already injured, and Ramiel's attack had made her injuries even worse.

Blood was beginning to seep through the damaged parts of her Combat Suit.

"Hang on, Ayanami! I'll get a doctor!"

"No need. I've got a move for this." Zero stopped Shinji.

"Knowing that old bastard, he'll probably send Rei into battle injured again the next time an Angel attacks. And don't forget, Rei's a clone."

"I'm afraid that old bastard will simply activate the next Rei clone."

"Transform."

"Huh? Here?"

Before Shinji could react, Zero took over his body, put on the glasses, and transformed into a human-sized Zero. He raised a hand to the lamp on his forehead.

"Zero Healing Beam..."

Gentle green light washed over Rei Ayanami's entire body. She felt incredibly comfortable as her wounds slowly healed and the pain disappeared.

She experienced a sensation she had never felt before.

A ringing sound interrupted her thoughts. She looked at Zero before her. The sapphire-like indicator on his chest had begun flashing red and sounding an alarm.

Transforming again so soon after his previous transformation consumed considerable energy, even without taking on giant size. Combined with the energy-intensive healing technique, it had nearly depleted Zero's reserves.

"Whew, I'm exhausted."

Zero ended the transformation, and his spectral form slumped to the ground.

"That move Dad and the Silver Cross Army use really eats up energy."

"Thank you, Zero." Shinji and Rei Ayanami both thanked him from the bottom of their hearts.

"What should I say after thank you?" Ayanami did not know what to say next.

"Just smile," Shinji answered without hesitation.

Bathed in moonlight, the blue-haired girl silently nodded at his words. Facing Shinji and Zero, she tilted her head, and a beautiful smile curved her lips.

"My little sister is so beautiful," Shinji could not help remarking.

"Say, how long are you two planning to stay here...?"

Shinji held out his hand to Ayanami. "Come on out."

Holding Shinji's hand for support, the girl stepped out of the Entry Plug.

"I'm going to find the true meaning of a bond."