A/N: Ok ok...YES I'm using the Reboot's World, but hear me out will ya?

To start, the world of DmC is interesting in it's own right, and truth be told, it fits with Evangelion's tone more-it's just overshadowed by the characters which, to put it bluntly, just suck...honestly I can't defend them even if I wanted to. BUT I can't be the only one that sees even a tiny bit of redemption in the new Dante (or Donte, whichever you guys prefer). Yeah he's an asshole and a douchebag NOW-even though it's SOMEWHAT justifiable once you think about it-but if we were to see more of him (which is highly unlikely), I'm pretty sure he'd start acting a lot more like Original Dante. Maybe not an exact replica, but something close to it once character development hits him properly.

Long story short, that's what I'm here to try and do, now without further ado...

Disclaimer: Everything written here is either property of GAINAX and Capcom. Basically I own nothing. With that being said, enjoy the show

I:

The Advent

…..

Mission 1: Dante's [Rude] Awakening:

Click.

The observation room was deathly quiet. On one side, two occupants looked towards the grisly scene inside the safety a control room full of monitors, computers, and an overfilled ashtray; the only other light source aside from the dimly lit light bulb overhead was produced by the many screens displaying information.

The blonde scientist watched from behind the thick glassed control center as a trio of colleagues examined the battered and gory body. Aside from the occasional blink, she appeared to be apathetic to a T.

Keywords being appeared to be.

Click.

One would easily assume that the scene before her didn't bother the normally stoic and aloof woman in the slightest. Maya Ibuki however, knew better. Her time working with the doctor taught her the subtle hints that revealed the older woman's true feelings she tried to surpass in order to appear formal and professional to those around her.

The almost invisible facial twitches as she watched the zoomed-in pictures of the body appear in the computer screen next to her, the slight wrinkling of her nose, but most of all, her urge to reach for another cigar, despite smoking her last one a mere ten minutes before. Never mind the haggard and sloppy appearance, at least for her usual standards.

It was obviously clear that the woman was disgusted.

Click.

Truth be told, she couldn't blame her.

She now glared at man-if such a thing could be called a man-lying on the metal table, partly blocked by the three researchers examining it. In her mind, the faux blonde was still trying to make sense of it all.

He was tall and scrawny, yet not without a decent amount of muscle on him. His skin was unnaturally pale, at times she thought, chalk-white, but what caught her attention the most was his hair.

It wasn't ash-blonde or gray like she originally assumed. No, it was white as snow, with the sides shaven and the remainder forming a sort of Mohawk. She had chalked him up to be an albino, but then realized from the images taken when rolling up his eyelids that that wasn't the case.

His eyes had color, a cyan or greyish-blue iris.

His clothes were, as expected, in tatters. What used to be black jeans were now reduced to uneven shorts, ending just at the knee cap on one side while the other extended past the knee slightly. Whatever shoes he had worn before were gone now, leaving only his bare feet; the same could be said for the tattered mess that used to be the tank-top he had on, only being sustained by one strap. This left his scared and mutilated body on display.

She found it ironic that the one thing that remained visibly intact was the fingerless glove on his right hand, no doubt with the skin fused within.

As she glared at the gruesome magnified images on the scientist's monitor, her assistant gagged, quickly looking away. "Umm…Ritsuko-senpai, wasn't there…someone else who would do this?" she asked, trying her best not to empty her bowels right then and there.

"Unfortunately for us Maya, there wasn't." her superior replied, silently cursing herself for agreeing to this. She'd much rather be doing her own job and help get Unit-01 prepped for combat while the pilot arrived. She sighed, jotting down some notes before the speakers inside the room roared to life.

"Well, that's about as much information as we can get on the outside." one of the examiners reported, "He's in pretty bad shape. Aside from the external damage, we predict a fractured skull, a couple of broken ribs, and this," he held out one of the man's blackened hands as he spoke, "From what we've gathered, he's had these since his arrival."

The woman nodded, the look on her face not betraying her surprise. To think, this person was already injured when he attempted to-

"Should we start with the torso?" another of the men asked as he slammed a clear container of the tools for the autopsy on the table, shaking Ritsuko out of her thoughts. "Or would you prefer we examine the head f-"

"I've got a pulse!" the first cut off, practically dropping the blades and startling everyone in the room, "He's alive, but just barely!"

If there was any doubt about it before, that statement just killed it: The man lying on that table was anything but human. And this time, the woman didn't bother to hide her shock.

"Just what the hell is he?" she murmured to herself, a mixture of fear and slight awe in her voice.

"For starters, glad to be alive I'm sure." The blonde spun around upon hearing the voice behind her, coming face-to-face with an old friend.

"Captain!" the younger girl stood up, quickly saluting before turning back to her superior.

"Ah, Misato," she breathed, her voice was still stern but her posture relaxed significantly. Still, the woman allowed herself a small wary smile, "Fashionably late, aren't we?"

The tall, dark haired Captain wore her usual attire, consisting of a formfitting dark blue blouse that ended above her toned legs. On top of that, she wore a red jacket, the NERV insignia bared proudly on her left arm.

She smirked, playfully sticking out her tongue in a childish manner before extending her index and middle fingers into the peace gesture. "Hiya Ritsuko!" she greeted in her usual cheery voice, "Would've been here earlier, but I kinda got lost on the way here…". Before she could say any more, she glanced behind her, a slight guilty look on her face, "I almost forgot you were with me, Shinji-kun." She laughed, sweatdropping slightly. "Come on, she won't bite, much!"

Ignoring her comment, Ritsuko heard the shuffling of uneasy footsteps until a coy looking boy stood before her, slightly shaking and looking like he was forcing himself to stay in place.

If she had to pinpoint his age, he couldn't be older than 14. His greyish eyes and messy brown hair flickered a memory within the woman, one she couldn't recall at the moment. Contributing to his timid persona was his physique. He was thin, almost uncharacteristically so she realized. His clothes were also remarkably plain. Just a simple white dress shirt tucked into some black pants. Then again, from the files she'd read, this was to be expected of the Third. However, there was something else about him that caught her attention.

His eyes. They still held a glint of innocence in them. It was faint yes, but it was there. To her, this was little more than a miracle. It seemed that even the ruined world they were forced to inhabit couldn't rob him of that. Yet.

'He isn't one to cause trouble', she observed, 'rather he's someone who stays out of the radar, and prefers it that way.'

"So you're the Commander's son?" she asked, giving him a warm smile, "The famous Third Child we've been hearing so much about?"

She saw him flinch slightly as their eyes briefly met. "I-…..Yes." he gave a small, polite bow, still looking like a cornered rabbit in front of a snarling wolf.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Shinji Ikari." She extended her hand, which the boy glared at, unsure of what to do. Finally, after a long time, he gingerly took it and allowed the woman to shake it in a mostly one-sided greeting.

"Sure…" came his barely audible reply. She watched his attention shift towards the sound-proof room. Inside, the barely-alive specimen was being bandaged and cleaned by the three examiners who, judging by their delicate work, feared making him stir.

"Ka-Misato-san…is-is that the man?" he swallowed upon looking at the sorry state the body was in, but nevertheless continued to stare.

"Mmhmm," the dark haired woman nodded, stepping closer to the boy. Her peppy diameter was now replaced with a concerned frown despite the fact that hints of her professionalism seeped through.

"Has the subject experienced any change?" the blonde woman asked, rubbing her forehead with a sigh.

"Negative." Came the reply, "heartbeat remains unchanged. Shall we move him to the cells?"

"No, I want it placed in the infirmary after you run a full-body scan. Try and keep it alive for the time being; should it expire, you're free to carry on your investigation. Dismissed." With that, the men inside the room nodded, quickly loading the body into a gurney before beginning to carry it off.

"Geez Ritsuko," Misato glared at the blonde scientist with a raised brow, "do you really gotta dehumanize him like that?" her voice suggested she wasn't scolding her, but at the same time didn't agree with the terminology being used.

"I'd hardly call that half-dead thing on the table a human, Misato." She retorted with an even voice as she crossed her arms. "Never have I heard of a human who survived free falling from the atmosphere, never mind standing up to an Angel without the aid of an EVA almost immediately after."

The Captain frowned, clearly biting back a retort. She glanced as the examiners wheeled away the mystery man with a sigh. "Shame, he was kinda cute too." She muttered to herself, "don't know about the hair though."

"You're not really that desperate, are you?" Ritsuko asked the younger woman in an attempt at a jibe, "I know your love life sucks, but you can't seriously be considering that."

"Who knows," the woman shrugged, playing along, "I might try and sweet-talk that Angel into leaving us alone by putting the moves on him too." She winked. An alarm suddenly ended their entertainment as the voice of the Vice-Commander rang throughout the facility.

"ATTENTION, PREPARE FOR GROUND-UNIT INTERCEPTION. THIS IS A LEVEL ONE EMERGENCY. I REPEAT, THIS IS A LEVEL ONE EMERGENCY."

"Sounds serious," the Captain mussed with a frown, suddenly all business.

"Indeed." The blonde agreed, "It would seem the UN's efforts at halting the Angel's progress failed. Although credit is given where it's due; without their efforts, the two of you wouldn't have been able to beat it here."

"Better not keep it waiting any longer." She turned towards the boy, and motioned for him to follow, her features softening slightly.

Shinji had not been paying much attention, but silently followed upon realizing the three women were exiting the room now. He buried his face in the manual that he was provided, hardly paying attention to what he was reading as his mind tried to comprehend what he just saw.

It might have just been wishful thinking, but as they were rolling the half-dead man out of the room, he swore the bruises and cuts on his face were already starting to heal…

….

The man was vaguely aware of what was going on around him, the numbing pain that irked his body was slowly being silenced at an agonizing rate. Around him he could hear voices, they sounded so far away, but in actuality, they were right next to him.

"-Landed near the sea-"

"-hurt the Angel without an-"

"-Found something near him too…"

What the hell were they saying? Maybe the injury to his head was worse than he imagined, but he was pretty sure what he was hearing wasn't in English. Though, he was knocked around pretty hard in a short span of time.

Human or not, that hurts. A lot.

He tried to flex his fingers, only for a fiery pain to run through his arm and causing him to grunt in discomfort. Thankfully, whoever was in charge of doing this had the mind to plug him into a mobile IV unit, the medicine numbing the pain of his scorched arms.

After some time, he gave up trying to concentrate his aching body, deciding that he'd wake up naturally, sooner or later. He wouldn't die-at least, that's what he hoped-and the full extent of his healing should kick in the minute he was fully conscious and focused again. When that time would be however, remained to be seen.

He tried recalling how he got in this mess in the first place, the memories however, were hazy and disjointed. The last thing he could remember clearly was waking up in free fall and the feeling of water embracing him in its cold essence as he sunk to the depths below.

After that, only an urge; an animalistic instinct to hunt and slaughter an eldritch entity that threatened the humans he vowed to protect.

He must've found and engaged it, because after that the pain started. With every hit dealt to him, he could slowly feel rationality come back to him. It was through the combined effects of his still unhealed wounds and the damage the monster inflicted that he slowly found himself dropping to his knees until finally, he collapsed on the ground.

There were only two witnesses at the scene, he recalled. One of them was a women, maybe a bit older than himself. It looked like her hair was dyed a shade of violet, or it could've just been the light playing a trick on his already overloaded body. The other was a boy.

He was feminine looking, so much so that he thought he was looking at a teenage girl at first. If he had enough strength to do so, the hunter would've probably laughed. And if he were a betting man, he'd probably say the kid acted as girly as he looked.

But that was all he able to register before his body gave out, forcibly shutting down to save his life. It was only a few moments ago that he had regained consciousness, and the first thing he noticed, besides that he reeked from disinfectant, was that the boy from earlier was staring at him.

Well, "stare" wouldn't be the right word to describe it, more like he was gawking at him. There was curiosity in his eyes, perhaps mixed in with a hint of awe; but the emotions were buried deep beneath a somewhat justified fear. He couldn't read anything else in the boy, but for some odd reason, the man found him interesting.

Finally, he felt the world stop moving beneath him and after a few seconds, he realized he was alone. Slowly, his left eye squinted open, closing suddenly as it was invaded by the bright light above.

After a few seconds, he began to blink until his vision was somewhat fixed. He winced as the damage to his body suddenly felt the need to remind him of its presence, but he knew he'd soon be rid of it.

Groaning in protest, the man forced himself into a sitting position as he took a shaky breath. He closed his eyes and concentrated, but not before glancing at his shaking and bandaged hands, the scorching had yet to heal completely. The pain that gripped him was now subsiding as he felt a familiar warmth being emitted from his upper back.

He sighed in relief as his strength slowly returned, taking a minute to examine his surroundings.

The room they left him in was bare and white with not even a few flowers to give it some life. Clearly, it was a hospital room just by the feel of it, he didn't need to glance towards the cabinets filled to the brim with medicine for confirmation. As a youth, he'd often be sent there and hated it with a passion, even before the truth was revealed.

To his side, a large window that practically took up the entire section of the wall showcased the already setting sun, the final rays setting light to the signs above doors and containers.

He glanced at them and did a quick double take, confirming what he was seeing.

It was all in Japanese.

He cursed under his breath, running a hand through the tips of hiswhite hair and stopping right at the bandages that encompassed his forehead.

He glanced at his still gloved hand. Right, that still needed to be taken care of.

Without hesitation he proceeded to tear the glove off, taking with it most of his right hand's skin. He glanced at the exposed muscles with a pained expression before clenching his fist and drowning out another swear. Thankfully, the healing process was already at work replacing the missing flesh anew.

It was at that point that the other presence in the room made itself known. It was an almost inaudible gasp coming from the farthest corner to his left.

Not only was there someone else in the room with him, she also appeared to be heavily injured. She didn't even have the strength to sit up, remaining on her back with her eyes focused on him.

She was a petite girl, a teenager by the looks of it. Briefly, the two locked eyes, and the white-haired man immediately took note of her blood red iris. Moreover, there was a lifeless look in her eyes, too dead for someone with such a gentle face as hers.

Her light blue hair also struck him as odd, yet she would probably think the same of his white top if circumstances were different.

When he realized she was wearing an extremely skin-tight white uniform that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, he turned away, an embarrassed flush coloring his pale face. Yet she didn't seem to notice or care, as the man still felt the mystery girl's eyes glued towards his direction.

The way she stared at him, analyzed him, was somewhat unnerving. Yet try as he might, he sensed no abnormality within her.

It took him a few seconds to realize that the healing process had finished moments ago. Yet as he began to undo the bandages on his left arm, the cry of a siren rang throughout the building. Even if he couldn't understand what was being said over the speakers, the white-haired man could sense an ominous presence in the air.

A growl escaped his throat as he realized what was coming.

"This guy just doesn't let it go, huh?" he mused to himself with a sigh. "Ok then, I guess I'll play with him some more…"

He stopped as he prepared to stand, glancing towards the blue haired girl. He opened his mouth to speak, but realized she probably wouldn't understand what he told her. He pointed to the ground with his uncovered hand, jerking the thumb of his other hand towards the door whilst shaking his head.

He sighed in relief when he saw a faint flicker of life in her dull crimson eyes, understanding shown within them.

With a small nod, he stood and threw open the door that lead to the hallways of the ward, intending on finishing what he started and kill the goliath.

But first, he needed to get his gear back.

…..

The sea of rage that had once threatened to consume the boy quickly subsided as a cold fear began gripping every fiber of his being.

Unable to look at his father, the man who had caused him so much pain and now demanded the impossible from him, Shinji bowed his head in defeat.

"…..I can't!" he shouted in anger; his eyes betraying him and showing the crippling fear he felt. "I don't even know how to pilot that thing, yet you expect me to go out there and fight that monster?!"

He couldn't even face the metal titan bathing inside the pinkish liquid in front of him. Evangelion.

Despite its menacing appearance, this machine was evidently the only thing that could stand even a decent chance against the creature that descended upon them. "Humanity's last hope", the blonde woman had called it.

Even with the stakes raised so high, the thought of piloting it, of carrying that burden, was inconceivable to the youth.

"There's no way…This is insane…"

Simply ludicrous.

"Have someone explain it to you then." Came the Commander's cold reply from above the catwalk. He watched behind his orange tinted glasses as his son visibly flinched from the comment. "If you're going to pilot then hurry and prepare, if not, go home."

The way he spoke, so nonchalantly….almost like he didn't care. Did this mean then, that he wasn't needed?

The entire complex began trembling then, various warning were being issued over the intercoms of the facility, but the boy couldn't hear them. His mind was racing and neither of the options in front of him seemed desirable.

On one hand, he could leave, go back to the life he had before. In doing so however, he'd be damning this entire facility-no, the entire city-and leaving them for dead. Then again, who was to say he was safe even then? He saw the JSDF throwing everything they had at that thing with no effect...even the mysterious silver-haired man couldn't do anything to stop it.

On the other, he could stay and man Unit-01. With that would come the responsibility of all the lives of these people, if he failed their blood was on his hands….He had zero combat experience and knew next to nothing about piloting anything. It was almost as if they were handing him over as a sacrifice to that thing.

Was that what he was to them?

He didn't get a chance to make a decision, his father's stony voice cutting through the rings of the alarm. "Fuyutsuki….call for Rei."

"Can we use her?" came the reply, whoever was on the other end held genuine surprise, and if the boy was hearing correctly, some reluctance to the idea.

"She's still breathing."

"I understand, Commander." The sound of the line going dead was quickly replaced by something resembling static.

"Rei…" the elder Ikari spoke again, his voice remaining emotionless throughout, "It seems our spare isn't up to the task. You'll do it again."

"Understood."

"Right then," Ritsuko barked after a few seconds of dead silence, "Switch the core unit of 01 to the L-00 type and reactivate!" with that, the blonde scientist and the somewhat hesitant Captain left the still trembling boy, beginning preparations for launch.

It was only when he heard the sounds of the sealed doors being opened that Shinji lifted his head. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Three medical personal began to wheel a gurney with a mounted IV unit, similar to the one that carried the silver-haired man away. On it was a girl around his age. She was severely injured, as evidenced by the many bandages that adorned her body and the subtle twitching of her limbs. Underneath that stoic mask, the boy knew she was fighting to keep the pain down.

Realization finally hit him as he watched the girl's futile attempts at standing.

'She's….my replacement?' He thought to himself, a feeling of dread suddenly creeping up his spine, 'There's no way she can fight in this condition! If she goes out there she'll-'

Another shockwave rocked the building, the explosion sounding closer than the previous. It was enough to cause the lights above them to flicker and for the stretcher that carried the blue-haired pilot to flip on its side, causing her to hit the ground with a pained gasp.

Without hesitating the boy ran to her side, the fear and panic that had overtaken him moments before were now shifted and reversed. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed before he could ask the most obvious question.

His eyes quickly darted between the partly submerged machine and the whimpering girl scooped in his arms. His eyes widened as he felt something wet coat itself in his shaking palm.

Blood. Fresh blood.

He felt sick, lightheaded, and he suddenly found it hard to breath. On instinct, he shut his eyes tightly, trying to suppress the oncoming panic attack in the only way he knew.

"I mustn't run away…"

He couldn't pretend this wasn't happening, couldn't escape it. This was reality….

"I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away…."

But if he left now, she would die in vain, and everyone here would join her soon after….

"….I'll do it."

And that was something he couldn't live with.

….

"I'll pilot it."

The Commander let a small smirk slide upon hearing those words, not of pride but of triumph. His trump card had worked flawlessly.

….

It seemed like an eternity, but Shinji was finally able to see the hatch that lead to the surface open. A blink of his eyes later, he was suddenly above ground again, the restraints on Unit-01 coming undone.

His breath was taken away as he gazed upon the city from inside the metal giant. The illusion however, was broken when his opponent noticed him. His heart threatened to burst through his chest as the abomination slowly began making its way towards him.

"Just concentrate on walking, Shinji-kun." The boy suddenly heard the voice of the blonde doctor, snapping him back to the task at hand. "Take it slow," she added, her voice calm, reassuring, "right now, EVA is an extension of you and you of it."

He nodded, willing the horned Evangelion to take a baby step forward. Although hesitant, the resulting impact of the step was enough to cause glass on the nearby windows to crack and the ground beneath him to quake.

"It moved!" From the communicators, Shinji heard Misato cheer with the rest of her team, while the doctor simply breathed a noticeable sigh of relief. "We can win this!"

Unfortunately, Shinji made the mistake of taking his mind off of what he was doing, causing the purple machine to come tumbling down face-first into the pavement.

Lifting his head, the boy finally had his first good look at the so-called Angel before him.

The dark-blue monstrosity was about as tall as Unit-01, easily towering over most buildings. Its limbs were elongated and misshaped, but his arms were exaggeratedly so, reaching past the things lanky legs that somehow held up its bulky body.

However, it was the creature's eyes that caused his blood to freeze in his veins.

It had no eyes, only two pitch black sockets in its bony, beak-like face. And yet, Shinji could feel it looking at him, sizing him up to determine how much of a threat he could pose. It seemed to make up it's mind as a bony hand reached down to grab the Evangelion.

"Get up Shinji!" came the Captain's frantic voice, but it was too late, the Angel had seized him.

It lifted its opponent in the air almost effortlessly, grabbing the machine's left arm with speeds that betrayed his earlier movements. The creature's arms began to bloat as he yanked at the arm with all its strength.

…

The dark haired woman bailed her fists as the Third's screams of agony echoed throughout Central Dogma.

'This has to be done…' she mentally reminded herself as she forced herself to watch Unit-01 being manhandled by the Angel. That boy was quite literally the last hope they had at driving them back for good. 'I'm sorry, Shinji….'

"Calm down," she attempted to relay to the distressed pilot, "Remember that's not really your arm!" She only received his continued screams as a response, which added to the already crushing guilt that weighed heavily on her shoulders.

'I'm so sorry…'

"What's going on with the defense systems?" her friend demanded, her usual stoic diameter all but dropped.

"The signal's not working!" came her pupil's shaky reply; despite Maya's shock at what was going on in front of her, the Captain could see she was trying her hardest to turn it around in their favor.

She took a second to examine the rest of her coworkers in the command center. Aside from the Commander, who stood in the back like a looming shadow, everyone from Maya to Makoto Hyuga seemed stunned by the appearance of the Angel. Even Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki, who's probably seen his fair share of horrors, looked somewhat disturbed.

A sickening snapping sound drew her back to the monitors, her eyes widening in terror. 'Oh God…'

"Left arm damaged! The circuits have been completely snapped!"

But the Angel didn't stop there. With its hand still grasping Unit-01, it began piercing the robot's face with a purple energy beam repeatedly.

"The armor won't hold out much longer!" Ritsuko warned, and sure enough, she had been right. The beam tore through the right side of the Evangelion's brain case soon after and pushed the helpless machine back into a large skyscraper effortlessly.

The machine went limp soon after, blood spraying from the wound.

It took all her willpower, but the Captain found the strength to steel herself. "Status!" she demanded over the whirling alarms, "someone give me a status report!"

"Unit-01 is rejecting any inputs, it's completely shutting down!"

"How's Shinji doing?" the woman asked as she turned her attention towards Hyuga, who wiped his sweaty brow as he read the life monitors in front of him.

"I can't get a reading on the pilot's vital signs!" the youth answered in a grim tone, "there's no telling if he's alive in there or not!"

The Captain clenched her jaw, the words of the lieutenant ringing in her ears, anger building up within her. "Abort the mission!" she hollered at the crew, "the pilot's life is our top priority!"

Before the order could be carried out, a loud boom was heard not too far from where they stood.

"What's going on?!" Ritsuko demanded, "Is the Angel attacking us again?"

"Negative!" the third technician, Aoba, reported. "The Angel remains stationary!" As the word's left his mouth, several calls from various NERV personal suddenly appeared on the sides of the screen.

"EMERGENCY! THE SUBJECT, HE'S LOOSE ON THE AREA!"

"HIS WOUNDS! THEY'RE COMPLETELY HEALED!"

"HE'S HEADED TO THE SURFACE!"

Indeed, as the camera's refocused on battleground, the white-haired man was spotted atop the immobile Unit-01.

On each hand, a pistol: one midnight black, the other a deep silver, on his back, a greatsword that stood as tall as the wielder, and in his eyes, a burning, seemingly unrelenting rage.

The Son of Sparda had returned with a vengeance.