Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of the characters and properties thereof. Neither do I own any of the many franchises I'll likely be making Shout Outs to.
Author's Note: Here's a small little story that's been bugging at me for a while that I'll be working on when I get writer's block on The First, The Best, The Last, so don't expect too many updates.
"We're sorry, but due to the state of emergency all phone lines are currently unavailable. Please contact the nearest emergency services representative for more information, or immediately head for the nearest shelter, depending on your current level of danger. Thank you, and have a nice day."
Ikari blankly stared down at the pay phone in his hand, disbelief clearly written on his features. After staring at the phone for a good twenty seconds, long enough for the per-recorded message to start playing again, he gently put it back on the receiver and looked around. "I'm in Atami, 13 kilometers east of Tokyo-3," he realized aloud.
Almost without thinking, the dark brown-haired fourteen year old picked up his backpack and started walking towards the large mountain in the distance. He continued on like that only for 53 seconds before he caught a brief look of his reflection in a discarded hubcap. He stopped immediately, crouched down to take a look at his reflection, and touched his bare-skinned cheeks with a almost clinical curiosity, his eyes growing wider and wider the whole time.
Suddenly, and without warning, the air shook with a terrific bang. Ikari stumbled and fell from the shock of the noise, tearing open the epidermis on his left elbow as he did so. If he was in pain he didn't show it, for he was much too focused on the titanic shape cresting the hill less than three kilometers away. It was big, swamp green, and had bony white protrusions strategically placed on its body. "Sachiel," Ikari said quietly.
The first explosion was soon followed up by several more as missiles curved in from several kilometers away, striking against the giant's glowing orange shield. The sound was deafening, the air shook, and Ikari cupped his hands in a desperate attempt to keep his eardrums from bursting from the overpressure – a task that became significantly harder when a stray missile exploded not a hundred meters from the place he was. The cacophony of explosions had a brief heckler as a blue sports car screeched to a stop a meter in front of the young teenager.
"Get in!" the older woman driving the car said as she opened the right front door.
Ikari didn't need any encouragement as he bolted into the open passenger side door, threw his backpack into the back seat, and slammed the door shut. "Go!" he shouted, probably louder then was necessary.
The woman driving the car quickly shifted into gear and sped away. The young teen sighed in obvious relief as the car speedily made its way from the site of the battle. "Thank you, Major Katsuragi," Ikari said genuinely, noticing that as he did so the lavender-haired woman's right eyebrow briefly raised itself.
"It's Captain, actually," Katsuragi responded, finally slowing down to turn a corner just in time for a AH-1 Cobra gunship with JGSDF markings and empty missile racks to swoop overhead.
"Sorry, my mistake," Ikari said. "I guess it's just that my mind is a little messed up from all the excitement."
"Indeed," Misato stated before shifting her attention back to driving.
"Captain?" Iakri spoke up after a few minutes of driving.
"Hmm?"
"Where are we going? I thought we were going to Tokyo-3?"
"We are. We're just taking an alternate route is all."
"Oh, OK," Ikari finished tiredly.
Just as soon as he finished talking, a bright flash lit up the sky behind the car, followed a few seconds later by a terrifically loud shockwave. Ironically, the occupants of the Renault made no motions to indicate that they had noticed the blast besides Katsuragi checking her rear-view mirrors.
"So, don't you have any questions?" Katsuragi asked out of the blue when they reached the outskirts of Yugowara.
"What do you mean?" Ikari responded curiously.
"Oh, I don't know, the normal things like, 'What's going on?' 'What was that thing?' 'What was with all the shooting?' You know, things like that."
"Ah, well, I just figured that you wouldn't tell me anything anyway."
"That's a pretty pessimistic attitude."
"It's not pessimistic if it's accurate, Captain Katsuragi."
"Perhaps, but just in case you were wondering, even a little bit, that behemoth was a lifeform known as a Shito," Katsuragi supplied helpfully.
Ikari cocked an eyebrow at this. "You mean the military was literally trying to . . ."
"Yes, yes they were, and trust me on this; every joke, every pun, every play-on-words: done to death," Katsuragi cut in as they turned onto Route 75.
"Captain Katsuragi, do you have any idea where we should be going?" Ikari asked exasperatedly.
"I thought I did, but it looks like I was wrong," Katsuragi replied as they came upon an elevator with a list of destinations beside the door. "Yes! Finally!"
Just then the elevator doors parted to reveal a woman with short blonde hair wearing a one-piece swim suit. "Captain Katsuragi, you're twelve minutes late. Be glad I found you when I did, any longer . . ." a small smile graced the woman's face, ". . . and we would have had to send out a search party."
"I apologize, Dr. Akagi. It won't happen again," Katsuragi replied dutifully.
Akagi's smile dropped from her face as soon as she heard the Captain's words. "Trouble, Misato?"
"Nothing more than was expected, Doctor," Katsuragi gestured to Ikari. "I have the Third Child, as ordered."
Akagi's smile returned to her face as she laid eyes on the young man. "Well hello there, you must be Commander Ikari's son, correct?"
"Uh . . . yes, yes I am," Ikari said after a shaky start to his sentence.
"Well, it looks like we'll be working together from now on," Akagi extended her hand towards Ikari. "I'm sure we'll get along great."
Ikari stared at Akagi's hand for moment, as if considering if it would kill him to shake it. He waited a bit too long though as the Doctor retracted her hand after thirty seconds.
"Wow, chilly in here today," Akagi deadpanned before briefly looking back at the youngest occupant of the elevator. "Hmm?"
Ikari had extended his hand towards the blonde-haired scientist while looking for all the world like a lost puppy. Akagi's smile grew a little bit wider as she took his hand firmly and shook it.
"You ready for this?" Akagi asked as she placed her hand on the door to the Unit-01 cage a few minutes later.
"I think so, Dr. Akagi. You did a very good job explaining the situation to me," said Ikari, earning himself an inquisitive look from Katsuragi.
"OK then," Akagi said simply before opening the door to reveal a well lit room much like the one they were currently in, albeit much smaller.
Ikari stepped once more into the breach and came face to face with a giant metal face. It actually appeared to be modeled after an old Samurai oni mask, but no-one commented on it as the brown-haired young man wearing a dark shirt maneuvered so that he was standing right between the giant's eyes. They appeared to be staring each other down.
"So this is what my father has been working on?" Ikari said dismissively.
"Correct," came the almost immediate reply from above and to the left in the observation booth. Ikari turned his head upwards to see who was talking. "It's been a long time, Gendo."
"Shinji. I should have known, I really should have known," Gendo Ikari said even as Katsuragi's nostrils flared and Akagi's eyebrows raised.
"I have only one question, will you pilot the Evangelion?" Commander Shinji Ikari asked from his perch on high.
"You know I could, but I really don't want to," Gendo said with a malicious smile even as Akagi's face developed a disappointed frown.
"Oh, come on! Enough with the posturing, just get in the Eva already!" Karsuragi interjected angrily as a shockwave shook the complex.
"Damn, it must be using kinetic rounds," Shinji cursed to himself. "If you don't pilot the Eva we will have to use its original pilot, and she is far too injured to be in a combat mission. Don't you care at all about her safety?"
"Not really, go ahead and kill her for all I care," Gendo said dismissively.
". . . Very well," Shinji said with the same disappointed and disgusted frown that was being worn by everyone within earshot of the Eva cage.
Gendo, for his part, just continued to smugly smile as the technicians and Dr. Akagi got the massive machine ready for its new pilot. He continued to smile right up until the point where the doors opened to admit the stricken pilot and her orderlies. She was 145cm tall with green eyes, brown hair, and a expression on her face that hungered for battle and adventure.
"Yui," Gendo breathed out, oblivious to Katsuragi's eyes boring metaphorical holes in his head. Before he could do anything though another blast shook the room, causing a quartet of giant fluorescent lights to come loose and fall towards the unwilling pilot. There was a large crash, and when the confusion had passed the Evangelion's right hand was hovering protectively over the young Ikari. If he was at all disturbed by this turn of events though he didn't show it.
"All right already, I'll pilot the Eva!"
"Excuse me?" Katsuragi asked hotly.
"You heard me, I said, 'I'll pilot that thing!'" Gendo shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Are you OK in there, Pilot?" Lt. Horaki asked as her eyes scanned over the displays in front of her.
"I'm Okay, feel free to send in the LCL," Gendo responded. A few seconds later the entry plug he was in filled with an orange liquid, and he was left sputtering, coughing, and hacking. "Ugh. I don't think I'll ever get used to that."
"Cut the chatter, we're moving out," Katsuragi said in a commanding voice as the restraints on Eva were removed and the massive form was moved to the launching pad.
"You sure about this, ma'am? He is an untrained pilot after all," Lt. Aida asked curiously.
"Of course, he's the only one who can pilot the Eva, so we don't have much choice. Besides, you saw the way the Eva projected the pilot in the cage, so it might just be better for the pilot to be knocked out and let the Eva take over. Either way, we're going to win this," Katsuragi said assuredly.
"But what if the pilot dies in the process?"
"Acceptable losses."
"Accept . . ."
"Yes, acceptable losses," Katsuragi said as she turned her head to look down at the glasses-wearing Lieutenant. "It's one of the dirtier aspects of command, and it's good that you all are being exposed to it now before you move up the ranks."
". . . Yes, ma'am."
"He's still just a kid," Lt. Suzuhara quietly put in. No-one had a verbal answer, but a dark smile did cross Captain Katsuragi's face when she turned back to the large monitor on the opposite wall.
Inside the entry plug Gendo was blinking his eyes in an apparent attempt to adjust to the now clear liquid filling up his vision. Then the Eva reached the launch platform, was locked into place, and then was shot towards the surface at Mach 1. The massive form of the Eva managed to slow down enough by the time it reached the top of its ascent that it didn't smash through its restraints, but the damage had already been done to the pilot.
"I am going to throw up," Gendo moaned.
"No you're not," came Akagi's almost immediate reply. "The LCL won't allow you to."
"Fantastic."
"Get over it. The enemy is a kilometer away, and the nearest weapon position is 400 meters away on your left. Retrieve the assault rifle from there and open fire, if you don't the mission will be a failure," Katsuragi barked.
"Right. I can do this," Gendo muttered to himself as he moved the handles attached to the command couch forward. The Eva took one gigantic step forward, shaking the ground under its titanic weight, then it took another and crumpled to the ground.
"Pilot, what the hell is wrong out there?" Katsuragi bellowed over the comm lines.
"I don't know, it just stopped working!" Gendo shot back as he hung upside down from the command couch's five-point harness.
"The nerves between the motor functions and the entry plug aren't working, something's disrupting them!" Lt. Horaki reported excitedly.
"How in the world could that happen?" Lt. Aida asked in a confused tone.
"Come on! Move! Move! Move! Move!" Gendo repeated as he moved the control handles back and forth. "Move. Move. Move. Move."
The giant green form of the Shito stepped in front of the Eva, barely even pausing the pilot's mantra even as it grabbed the Eva's head and dragged it up to a semi-standing position. It then took the Eva's arm with its left hand, rapidly increased its arm's muscle mass, and then snapped the Eva's arm like a twig. The pilot's screams lit up the comm lines, but the Shito didn't stop there. It generated an energy lance in its left arm and began pounding on the Eva's skull like a pile driver.
It wasn't long before the covering around the Eva's eye broke apart, the skull was penetrated, and the pilot fell unconscious.
.
