“So Rei, how’s life been treating you?”
The First Child stared back blankly. “…I don’t understand.”
Shinji blinked, but recovered quickly. “Has anything particularly good or bad happened recently? Anything interesting?”
“No.”
The Third Child sighed. “Well, I’m sure you have a lot of questions you’d like to ask, so fire away.”
“…you are not Shinji Ikari.”
“I’m certainly not the person I was three days ago, but I am Shinji Ikari. I’ve just changed a little.”
“You feel like an Angel. That is not an insignificant change.”
Shiji smirked slightly. “True. Of course, I’m not the only Child with a little Angel in them, right?”
“Correct. You have yet to prove that you are Shinji Ikari.”
The Third Child leaned forward and grinned. “I know for a fact that you have a beautiful smile. Does that help?”
Rei blushed very faintly. “Somewhat. How do I know that you will not be a threat?”
If it were possible, Shinji’s grin would have grown. “Don’t you trust your Mother’s work?”
That stopped Rei in their tracks. “My…Mother?”
“Lilith. Or, as she prefers to be called, Lili-chan. She was the one that spirited me away from Tokyo 3 and to my future employer. A minor miscalculation later, with some LCL thrown in for good measure, and I’m part Angel. She taught me the extent of my few Angelic powers, and her advice has gotten me out of a jam on many occasions.”
Rei mused quietly, mostly to herself. “I was under the impression that Lilith was completely restrained.” She brought her attention back to her fellow Pilot. “You have powers similar to those of Angels?”
Shinji nodded. “Regeneration and comprehension. I can heal any injury and understand any language, but that’s about it. Not much compared to the powers a half-Angel like you should have, but it’s not bad for someone who’s about one twentieth Angel. Plus, I don’t have that pesky S2 Engine Achilles’ Heel.”
Rei was a little confused, though she barely showed it. “I don't possess such powers.”
“You would if you weren’t constantly being weakened and inhibited. I guess it’s just Commander Ikari’s way of keeping you under control.”
Rei frowned, looking as close to truly angry as Shinji had ever seen her. “Commander Ikari would not do something like that. He cares for me. I am sure it is just a side effect of…” Rei cut herself off. She had almost revealed a little more than Shinji needed to know.
Shinji gave the matter some thought before he pulled his wallet and his mobile phone from his pocket. He slipped a photo of Misato from the wallet and placed it next to his phone on the table where Rei could see them. “Misato is irreplaceable. I enjoy her company, and even though she occasionally annoys the hell out of me, I wouldn’t have her any other way because she’s my friend.” He picked up the phone. “I chose this phone because I liked the look of it and it had the features I wanted. Over time I’ve added more features and data to cater to various situations and needs. If it doesn’t work I can throw it away and get a new or better one, and if I don’t need it for a time I can shove it in a drawer and forget about it. I like it, but I can live without it.” He glanced up to meet Rei’s eyes. “Now, does Gendo care for you like I care for Misato, or like I ‘care’ for my phone?”
This conversation was heading in a direction Rei really wasn’t comfortable with. Before she could think of answering, a familiar sensation washed over her mind. Until that moment she had never been grateful for an Angel attack. “An Angel is coming. We must head to the Bridge.”
After a second of hesitation Shinji stood, shoved the phone and the photo back into his pockets, and led the way to the lifts. “How far away do you think it is?”
“Ten, maybe twelve kilometres away. We have time.”
Shinji stared at her over his shoulder in surprise. “You can sense them that far away?”
“Further. Can’t you?”
The Angel/Dragon hybrid shook his head as he pushed the button for the lift. “Nope. Lili-chan told me that I’d probably only sense them as far as 500m away.” He snorted. “I have the supernatural ability to detect a gigantic monster from half a kilometre away, just like any idiot with eyes in his head.”
Rei smiled faintly as the elevator doors opened, and the Angelic duo stepped in.
On board the Othello, Asuka sat before her Eva grumbling to herself, cursing the stupidity of the male gender and two males in particular. “Dummes Kaji. Dummes, sonderbares Erstes Kind. Wer hat eine 40% Synchronisierung Rate auf ihrem ersten versuch?” She snorted. “Sobald ich in Tokyo ankomme, sehen wir, wem ist der beste Pilot.” She smiled at the red Eva. “Korrekt, liebchen?”
*WHOOOOOOM!!!*
The whole ship shuddered, the walkway swaying as LCL flowed from one side of the Eva tank to the other before settling down. Asuka gripped the floating path tightly until the tremors faded away. ‘An undersea shock wave!?’ The Teutonic redhead scrambled to her feet and ran from the Eva bay, only stopping once she was leaning over the railing of the ship. As she watched a massive figure surged through the water and beneath a ship, a fin on the back of the creature slicing through the vessel and destroying it. “An Angel!?” She blinked as an idea popped into her head, and the Second Child turned and grinned evilly back at her Eva. “Hmm, wundervoll…”
=All ships, fan out and take evasive actions!=
Misato stood on the Bridge of the ‘Over the Rainbow’, watching the Angel through the paint-riddled windows and keeping an ear on the orders and reports given.
“Radio Room, status report!”
The requested reports sounded through the speakers. =The Simberley’s gone silent! Titus Andronicus can’t locate the target! The Malocsly Blue’s taking on water!=
The Admiral snarled in frustration. “Damn it all, what the Hell is going on!?”
Misato smirked at him. “This is just my opinion, but I’d say that must be an Angel.”
Of course, the old seaman ignored her. “All ships fire at will!”
The penguin-owning Captain sighed in exasperation. “It’s pointless.”
Several decks down a certain spy leaned against the railing and watched as missile after missile, torpedo after torpedo slammed into the speeding Angel to no effect. As yet another ship was destroyed Kaji shook his head and stood up. “An AT-field can’t be penetrated by this kind of firepower.” After watching a moment longer he turned and headed back to his cabin. He hated to leave Misato and the kids behind, but he had a delivery to make…
“Why won’t it sink!?”
“Only Unit 02 can beat it.”
The Admiral, his First Officer, and Misato all turned at Shinji’s voice; the rest of the Bridge Crew were all to busy at their stations to take notice. “What did you say!?”
Shinji smirked and stepped into the room, Rei close behind. “You heard me. All previous Angels have been extremely resistant to conventional weaponry, though N2 mines can slow them down for a while. So, unless you’re willing to drop an N2 mine in the middle of your fleet, I suggest that you prepare to activate Unit 02.”
“LCL Fullung. Anfang der Bewegung. Bestätigt. Anfang des Nervenanschlusses. Bestätigt. Auslosung von Linkskleigung Gesundheit Monitor. Bestätigt. Fangen sie an Synchro-Start!”
=Communication from the Othello; Eva Unit 02 is activating!=
“Say What!?”
As those watching turned to the Othello, Misato pressed herself against the glass to get a better look. “Alright Asuka!”
Admiral Forrester moved with surprising speed and grabbed a microphone. “Abort! Stop the Eva activation sequence!”
Misato snatched the mic from his hands and shoved him aside. “Don’t listen to that moron Asuka, go for it!”
“What are you doing!?”
“Ack!”
The Admiral snatched the microphone back and shoved Misato away, keeping her at bay with a hand on her head. “That Eva and its pilot are under my jurisdiction! You’re violating my authority!”
Misato fought free and managed to get a grip on the mic. “Who gives a damn about your procedures, this is an emergency!”
“I’ll have you all clapped in irons and keel-hauled!”
“Hey, give me that!”
Shinji watched with amusement as the two seasoned Officers squabbled like children over the microphone. “Hey Rei, I bet you 10 000 yen that Misato kicks Forrester’s ass.”
Rei turned from where she was watching Unit 02 and studied the fighting pair. “…Captain Katsuragi will be victorious.”
Misato cackled madly as she managed to twist the Senior Officer’s arm behind his back. “Hear that? Even the kids can see that you’re hopeless!”
The First Officer, pointedly ignoring the unprofessional conflict, blanched at what he saw through his binoculars. “Oh Dear Lord, Unit 02 is still using the B-Type equipment!”
“What!?”
‘Now’s our chance.’ Misato pulled the mic closer. “Asuka, take off!”
=Roger!=
The red Eva launched itself into the air from a lying-down start moments before the Angel sliced through the doomed ship. Seconds later Unit 02 landed atop a nearby destroyer, forcing it down into the ocean and crushing the top few decks. It was an impressive image; the four-eyed unit was wearing the protective tarp as a cloak, with only the legs, head, and shoulder armour revealed.
Misato yanked the microphone from the Admiral’s hands once and for all. “Asuka, you only have 56 seconds of power left!”
=I know that! Have the external power cable brought onto the flight deck.=
“I’m on it!”
=In the meantime, I guess I’ll play a little hopscotch!=
The Admiral was freaking out at this point. The situation had gotten completely out of control. “What’s she doing now!?”
Unit 02 crouched down low, then leapt through the air to another ship, annihilating the landing pad. After taking a second to make sure she was balanced, Asuka leapt again, throwing off the tarp before she landed. Shinji watched her hopping game with morbid curiosity. ‘…I really don’t want to know how many sailors she’s injuring and killing with each jump…’
Meanwhile, technicians were working frantically to get the power cable hooked up and ready for use. Other technicians were monitoring their progress on the Bridge. “The power cable is in place!”
“Reactor connection completed!”
The First Officer tapped into the ship-wide P.A. system. “All hands brace for impact!”
=Eva Unit 02, coming in for landing!=
Most of the Bridge crew were barely able to hold their bladders as a 30m tall biomechanical war machine flew towards them. Shinji took a quick glance around. Rei already had a firm grip on a table bolted to the floor, but Misato was standing almost 10 feet from the nearest stable surface. ‘Shit!’ Sprinting across the room, Shinji wrapped an arm around Misato’s waist and dragged her to a wall. Unnoticed, a lance of energy shot from his forearm and burnt a hole in the hull. The Third Child shoved his hand through, anchoring himself in place with moments to spare.
*WHAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM!!!*
The enormous mecha slammed onto the flight deck with unbelievable force. The whole ship shook with the impact, and the Supercarrier rocked to the side, nearly 45 degrees from its normal upright position. Equipment and aircraft foolishly left out on deck tumbled overboard.
Shinji had a pretty good idea of what was happening even though his location offered a poor view of the outside. ‘Damn. It’s a good thing we’re not getting paid, or that’d be coming straight out of Asuka’s pay check.’
After a few seconds of tilting terror Asuka leaned Unit 02 to one side, returning the deck to its usual horizontal alignment. Misato pulled free from Shinji’s grip with a grateful smile before returning to the front of the Bridge. “Asuka, the Angel is approaching from your 3 o’clock!”
=Got it. Switching to external power. Hey, is the Third Child there?=
Shinji tilted the microphone in Misato’s hand towards himself. “Right here Asuka.”
In the entry plug Asuka grinned smugly. =Watch closely Third Child, and I’ll show you how a real Pilot kills an Angel.=
Rolling his eyes, Shinji let go of the mic’ and stepped back. ‘You haven’t killed him yet, girl.’
The Angel’s massive bulk sped towards the Over the Rainbow, and as it drew closer Asuka pulled a progressive knife from the shoulder armour blade and held it forward in a ready stance. The blade extended and began glowing.
Gaghiel launched himself out of the water, his massive form slamming into Unit 02 with a tremendous crash, trying to pin the Eva to the deck.
Misato cheered on the redheaded Pilot. “Looking good, Asuka!”
The Admiral wasn’t quite as impressed. “This isn't a game! Look what she’s doing to my flight deck!”
As Unit 02 wrestled with an Angel more than twenty times its size, one of its bus-sized feet settled on a lift. The elevator couldn’t hold up under the strain and buckled, throwing Unit 02 off balance and sending Asuka and the Angel into the drink.
“Asuka, it’s impossible to fight underwater using the B-Type equipment!”
=Well you know what they always say; you don’t know until you try.=
Shinji watched the power cable unwinding at an incredible rate, sliding around the deck as the Angel tore through the water and weaved around, trying to shake off its passenger. He winced every time a perfectly good plane was sent into the ocean. “How much of that cable is left?”
One of the technicians checked his monitor. “About 200 meters.”
Misato nodded and spoke into the microphone. “You’re about to run out of cable, so brace yourself for the impact.”
=I hear you.=
A moment later the power cord reached its limit, and the sudden stop made the supports holding it to the deck shudder and groan in protest.
=Damn!=
“Captain Katsuragi, Unit 02 has lost sight of the target.”
=Hey, Katsuragi!=
Misato looked up from one of the monitors to see her Ex-boyfriend sitting in the rear seat of a small blue fighter jet parked on deck. “Kaji!?”
=I’ve got to make a delivery, so I’ll just be taking off now!=
“W-What!?”
=Take care of the rest of this, Captain!=
Misato just stared, stupefied, as the small jet flew off into the distance.
She wasn’t the only one watching; Shinji had briefly toyed with the idea of blasting one of the wings off and forcing the jerk to stick around, but he could sense the Angelic presence on the jet and decided to let it go. For now. ‘Deal with one problem at a time, Shinji.’
“Admiral, the target is approaching the Eva again!”
=I’ll finish it off this time…Hey!? What’s wrong!? It’s not working!=
Shinji pulled the microphone from Misato’s slack hands. “Asuka, it’s B-Type equipment.”
=What’s that got to do with…TEETH!?=
A hideous chomping/crunching sound echoed through the speakers, and the previously still power cable jerked to life again. “Eva Unit 02 has entered the targets body!”
The Avatar scowled darkly and muttered under his breath. “Just like the last time I went ‘fishing’…”
Flashback…
Shinji, looking a little younger and a great deal more naive, watched silently as Ranma and Harry tied the end of a huge roll of thick steel cable around his waist and strapped lead boots to his feet. “…I still don’t understand why I’m the one who has to go down there.”
Harry finished tying the last of the bootstraps and stood up, dusting his hands off. “Shinji, you don’t have to breathe, and you can easily withstand a great deal of water pressure. You’re perfect for this.”
“…I guess that makes sense, but I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for!”
Harry had an answer for that, too. “It’s kind of a big turtle. You’ll know it when you see it. And before you ask, I enchanted these goggles to help you see underwater. Now stop worrying, you’ll do fine!”
Shinji nodded with a little more confidence as he slipped on the goggles. “Ok, I’m ready.”
Ranma nodded, lifted Shinji up, and then dropped him overboard. Once he’d sunk out of sight, the pig-tailed Gold Dragon turned to the spiky-haired Silver Dragon. “So what are we looking for again?”
“A demonically altered Dragon-Turtle that’s been terrorising nearby shipping lanes. After talking to a couple of survivors, I’ve estimated that the shell is roughly the size of a Quidditch field.”
Ranma whistled, impressed. “That’s pretty damn big. So…why DID we send Shinji down anyway? I can breath underwater, and I’m tough enough to survive a bit of pressure. I’m sure you could too with a little of that hocus-pocus.”
“Two reasons. Firstly, it still hasn’t sunk in that he’s much tougher now, and he needs to learn that he’s going to get put through the wringer on assignments. Getting swallowed by a Dragon-Turtle should wake him up.” Ranma’s shocked face forced Harry to reassure him. “Don’t worry! I layered enough protective spells on those boots and the cable that it’d take a dozen demonically enhanced Dragon-Turtles to hurt him.”
“…And the second reason?”
“He’s too trusting. He needs to learn that there are a lot of people out there that will screw him over if given half a chance.”
“Even us?”
Harry chuckled. “Especially us.”
…End Flashback.
Shinji’s scowl deepened. ‘Bastards.’
Misato had been close enough to hear Shinji’s muttered words, and as they sank in she snapped out of her daze. “Fishing? That’s it, fishing!” She snatched the much-abused microphone back. “Asuka, don’t let that Angel get away!”
=…what!?=
The Captain turned to Admiral Forrester. “Admiral, I’m going to need your co-operation.”
He groaned in resignation. “What now?”
Misato moved over to a computer, and with the help of one of the technicians she outlined her plan on the screen. “We'll sink the two remaining battleships in line with the umbilical cable as a trap. When Asuka opens the Angel's mouth, both ships will rush into the opening. Once inside the Angel the ships computers will be activated by remote control, and they will then fire all of their bow turret cannons before they self-destruct, destroying the target.”
“But…but that’s preposterous!”
“Preposterous, maybe. But not completely impossible.”
Admiral Forrester stared at her for a moment before nodding tiredly. “I understand.” He turned to his First Officer. “Make the necessary arrangements.” He faced Misato once more. “What about the Evangelion?”
“Don’t worry about Asuka; she’ll be fine. Asuka, do you understand the operation?”
=Perfectly.=
Misato glanced at the First Officer. “When will the ships be in position?”
“Three minutes.”
Three minutes of evacuations, preparations, and standing around later, and the two ships were ready.
“Open the Kingston valves! Scuttle at point Z!”
“Reverse the cable!”
With a whirring of motors the cable began to reel the catch of the millennium to its Doom.
“T-70 to contact…T-60 to contact…”
Misato spoke up. “How’s its mouth?”
“…It’s still not open.”
“Both Battleships are sinking towards the target.”
“Eva continues to surface, T-40 to contact.”
=It’s stuck!=
“Asuka there’s no time to waste, you have to open its mouth!”
=I’m trying, Gott damn it!=
“Target has passed beneath the Tempest!”
“T-20 to contact.”
=Aaarggh!=
Inside Eva Unit 02 Asuka snarled viciously, all the while trying to force the controls forward.
‘Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…’
On the Bridge of the Over the Rainbow Shinji focussed on the feeling of the rising Angel and Eva, unknowingly copying Asuka’s mental chant.
‘Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…’
His red eyes started to glow faintly…
Asuka almost lost focus when she felt a pair of masculine arms wrap around her. Powerful hands and an older mind overlapped her own and helped to force the Eva to respond. Asuka did the best she could to ignore the foreign but not unwelcome presence as she got back to the task at hand.
‘Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…’
One of the technicians monitoring the Eva’s systems blanched at what he saw. “Captain Katsuragi, there are anomalous readings coming from the Entry Plug!”
“What!?”
Unnoticed by all but Rei, the glow in Shinji’s eyes intensified.
‘Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…Open!…’
In Gaghiel’s mouth Eva Unit 02’s head reared up and its eyes glowed with power; one pair a pure white, the other a nightmarish red. With a silent roar the Eva strained and forced the Angel’s mouth wide open. The two Battleships slammed into the orifice, shattering teeth and tearing flesh…
“Fire!”
The commands were sent. For a moment there was only silence, then…
*WABOOOOOOOOOM!!!*
A massive column of water erupted from the ocean as the Battleships, then the Angel, were destroyed. Several seconds later the hole-riddled form of Unit 02 crashed onto the flight deck before slumping over as its power ran out.
New Yokosuka.
Ritsuko Akagi watched from a Jeep as a battered Aircraft Carrier pulled in to port. “My, my, my, quite spectacular.”
Sitting next to her, Misato groaned. “I should have anticipated something like this. It was stupid of me…”
The blonde Doctor turned to smirk at her old friend. “You’re apologising? Are you feeling ok?”
“Cut it out! At least we collected a lot of valuable data.”
“Hmm.” The Doctor glanced down at the clipboard in her hands, flipping over the top sheet and skimming through the information on the next page. She paused briefly before frowning and double-checking what she’d just read. “Odd. I’ve never seen these kinds of readings before.”
Before she could elaborate, a fiery redhead in a plug-suit leaned into the Jeep and cut in. “Hey, where’s Kaji?”
Misato growled at hearing that accursed name. “He took a powder. He’s probably back at Headquarters by now that Jerk!”
“I’d say that’s a safe bet.”
Ritsuko looked up at hearing the voice of the only current male Pilot. “Shinji. I didn’t expect to see you here.” If his new look surprised her, she gave no visible sign.
Shinji grinned from his position next to Rei. “Well, life’s just full of little surprises. How’s my favourite blonde mad scientist doing these days?”
Ritsuko smiled warmly. “I’m doing quite well, thank you. I’d love to stick around and catch up, but I need to analyse these readings, and there are some gentlemen over there who would like to have a little chat with you.”
Glancing in the indicated direction, Shinji saw only a plain black van with tinted windows surrounded by four extremely grim-looking Section 2 Agents. “Oh no. It’s the Men in Black, come to kidnap me and drag me to their Evil Boss, the Stone-Faced Assassin of Joy himself!”
“Something like that, yes.”
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(Posted Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:06)
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