"My God..." Misato couldn't help marveling as she watched Zero leave a trail across the sky.
Looking at the seawater still giving off steam and the floating pieces of the Angel, Misato wondered if she was dreaming.
Even with the previous incident to prepare her, her worldview had taken another brutal beating.
"Does a creature like this really belong in this world?"
"One minute, twenty seconds." Kaji closed his watch.
"Compared with last time, Ultraman seemed a little rusty in combat."
"Look! I got a picture!" Kensuke shouted excitedly at Toji, holding up his camera.
He had successfully photographed Zero flashing a peace sign.
"Now I'm going to be famous in class! Hahaha!"
"Is this NERV's secret weapon?!" Toji pestered Misato.
"I... I don't know either. The base never told me we had anything like this." The Commander had instructed Misato not to say much about the giant, so she could only bluff her way through.
The sailors aboard the battleship fell silent as one. They were rebuilding their understanding of the world.
"I really do admire you people at NERV," the captain told Misato with difficulty, having barely pieced his worldview back together.
"You deal with these things every day and still come back in one piece, without losing an arm or a leg." The captain's admiration was sincere.
"I really underestimated you."
The captain felt he could no longer keep up with the times. It was time to retire. The world belonged to the young now.
"Exactly. That's our duty, after all," Misato said, forcing herself to play along.
The scorched smell of the charred Angel fragments at sea had faded, replaced by a foul stench.
Fortunately, the outcome was good. Besides...
The giant had helped them three times now. Whatever else she might think, Misato was beginning to trust him.
"Honestly, you're pretty cool, big guy," Misato quietly complimented the trail overhead.
Asuka sat in a daze inside Unit-02. Suddenly, she sensed something behind her.
She turned around to find a human-sized Zero right in front of her face.
"Ah!" Asuka jumped in fright.
Zero reached toward his eyes, and light flashed again. When it faded, Zero had turned back into Shinji, who tucked the glasses into his combat suit.
"This is my secret," Shinji said slowly.
"Idiot Shinji, you're actually the giant!" Asuka threw two punches at Shinji's head, both of which he easily blocked.
With that, Asuka turned her head away, refusing to look at Shinji.
"This is so unfair..."
For Asuka, becoming the best Eva pilot was practically her reason for existing.
Yet the giant Shinji transformed into had proved beyond doubt that she wasn't the strongest.
She was falling apart a little.
Watching Asuka struggle to hold back her tears, Zero sighed. He understood what was going on with her.
"This girl's probably got a lot of pride. She couldn't help at all in Unit-02 earlier, so she's probably shattered inside."
"How did this happen? I only wanted to protect her."
Shinji hadn't realized he'd said those words aloud.
Asuka's face instantly reddened, and she snapped, "Who asked you to protect me, idiot Shinji?!"
"Tell me, are you an alien?!"
"He isn't what you call an alien. I am."
Zero's phantom appeared before Asuka.
"What is this?!" Asuka jumped in fright again, staring blankly at the giant before her.
Zero cleared his throat.
"It would be rude not to introduce myself by now."
"I'm Zero, Ultraman Zero!"
"I'm from the Star of Ultra in the M78 Nebula of another world. I'm the captain of Ultimate Force Zero, which is affiliated with the Space Garrison."
"Some unforeseen circumstances brought me to this world. Right now, Shinji and I share one heart and one body. In other words, I'm possessing him."
Asuka finally managed to process it.
"What gives you the right to possess this idiot?! Are you up to something?!"
"Watch your tone. Shinji isn't an idiot! And I don't have any ulterior motives," Zero said sternly.
"Shinji lost his life while saving a vulnerable creature. His willingness to sacrifice himself moved me. I couldn't bear to watch his life slip away, so I joined my heart and body with his and gave him my life."
"Shinji and I are now fighting side by side to protect the lights of every home."
Asuka struggled to take in so much information. It took her a while to react.
Hmph, this idiot is pretty brave... but I'll definitely surpass him someday! she thought to herself.
Hiding her feelings behind a disdainful expression, Asuka told Shinji, "I don't need you worrying about me. You, on the other hand, would probably get hauled off for research if I didn't keep your secret."
"Research? Research what?" Shinji scratched his head.
"And you, alien, I don't completely trust you yet. What was your name again?"
"Zero."
"You're an idiot too... From now on, I'll call you Idiot Zero!"
"How dare you call me that... you little..." Zero flared up.
Aside from one close childhood friend, nobody had ever called Zero that.
"All right, all right, Big Brother Zero. What's the point?" Shinji barely managed to calm Zero down.
"I won't forget this..."
Even so, the girl had taken Shinji's words to heart.
"What an... idiot."
Unit-02 was hauled onto the deck. With its power depleted, it lay slumped there.
"Well, humanity really does need a bunch of children to protect it. How ironic." The captain watched Shinji and Asuka emerge from the entry plug.
"That's why they're such remarkable kids." Kaji had drifted over without anyone noticing.
After leaving the entry plug and changing his clothes, Shinji checked that no one was around and secretly followed Kaji, making sure he didn't slip away.
The battleship docked with Unit-02 aboard.
Shinji walked up to Kaji and whispered a few words to him. Kaji's expression changed, and he told Misato that the Commander wanted him to take Shinji back first.
"Huh? What's this about?"
"I don't know either. The Commander said it was urgent."
"All right, then. Go ahead."
Shinji got into Kaji's car.
"So you're the giant called Ultraman?" Kaji asked "Shinji" in the car.
The roguishly handsome "Shinji" was back.
"Correct."
"First, I should apologize for pinning you against the wall, although you were the one who pointed a gun at me first."
"Then, to make it up to me, tell me what you're after, Ultraman."
"My name is Zero."
"All right, Zero."
After introducing himself, Zero began talking about the Adam Embryo.
"I can't tell you too much, because I don't trust you yet."
"Your Commander, Gendo Ikari, intends to use the Adam Embryo to become a god."
"And in the process, every human will die."
"I want to stop him. That's all."
"Why do you want to stop him?" Kaji didn't believe anything in the world happened without a reason.
"Why? Probably because all of us in the Ultra Race love humanity."
"That's it?"
"Yes. That's it. Nothing more."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Do I have any reason to lie to you? Don't you think destroying that base would be even easier for me than destroying an Angel?" "Shinji" said coldly.
"Heh. Looks like I have no choice but to believe you."
"One last question. Is Shinji Ikari a human or an alien now?"
You should let him answer that question himself.
After spending all this time with Zero, Shinji already had his answer.
"Both!" Shinji answered firmly.
"How interesting. Looks like you two really are going to turn everything upside down." Kaji smiled wryly.
NERV headquarters, the Commander's office.
Kaji opened the door, carrying a briefcase.
"Good. It's finally here." Gendo Ikari wore a rare smile.
He had been waiting for the Adam Embryo for a long time.
"But I also brought him along," Kaji said, changing tack.
He stepped aside, revealing Shinji behind him.
"What are you doing here? Get out!" Gendo Ikari snapped at Shinji.
Golden light shone from "Shinji's" eyes.
Gendo Ikari panicked, remembering the kick Shinji had given him last time.
"You... you're not Shinji..."
Zero stepped forward, fixed his gaze on Gendo Ikari, and spoke slowly.
"It's time we cleared a few things up."
Before you continue