Disclaimer: Only the Original Characters are mine. Anyone else that may pop up belongs to whoever they belong to.
WITH GREAT POWER, COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
OR
ANIMANIA: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
If the world needed to be saved, whose responsibility is it to do so?
Of the billions of people on this planet, can you really point to one at random and say, "Get to it"?
Of course not, those who have the power to do something should do it. The wisest of these will seek out companions to aid them in their task, smartly choosing people who are proficient in areas of expertise which they themselves lack. The warrior seeks out an archer and a mage. The solider seeks out a sniper and a medic. The contractor seeks out the engineer and the materials consultant.
Unfortunately, the individuals who find themselves in a position to do something are very rarely those who are best suited to perform the task; whether it be a man trapped in space with no one to keep him company or sane but a couple of inorganic life forms created by the man whose place he has taken, a high school student whose overbearing father and ability to see things others can't constantly makes his life a living hell, an alcoholic gun for hire whose childhood on the streets has sculpted her pessimistic and hateful view of the world, or a whiny little kid who had been forced to drive his Dad's giant robot; time and time again, the countless masses find themselves unknowingly relaying their very survival on people they would rather not make eye contact with in a crowded room.
If the universe needed to be saved, whose responsibility is it to do so?
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Currently, the observable universe contains between 300 and 700 heptillion stars(heptillion being equal to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), which are themselves organized in more than 80 billion galaxies, one of which contains a small, nondescript solar system made up of nine planets circling a single star. At one time, there were ten planets circumnavigating this solar system's sun, but a cataclysmic event from eons past has seen its destruction, resulting in an asteroid belt between the fourth and fifth planets.
Either by random chance or intelligent design, the third unremarkable little planet in this unmentionable little solar system is teeming with life. Not truly intelligent life, mind you, because, despite the fact that their galaxy is only one of billions, there are those on its surface who choose to ignore the simple laws of mathematical probabilities by declaring themselves to be alone in the universe.
Taking all of this into consideration, it is most ironic to discover that the key to the destruction of the entirety of existence, from one ever-expanding edge of the cosmos to the other, resides on this
pitiful little ball of rock and water. If this was due to some grand scheme devised by a higher power, they must either have an incredibly morbid sense of humor, or are not as high and mighty as those below them believe them to be.
But all is not lost. For even though the majority of this planet's population remain ignorant of the vastness of space around them, they are also unaware of the true vastness of the space they themselves occupy. It is most fortunate that this plane of existence is not alone, for this allows the insignificant few who have the power to save the world to also not be alone. Separated by the complexities of time and space, there exists a cast of heroes, which, if brought together, might possibly be able to overcome the growing darkness that threatens to not only consume all, but to erase it.
If only there was someone who had the capabilities, knowledge, and will to bring these people together….
Thus, our story begins: with three sisters, a list of names, and a big-ass truck.
Chapter One:
FLOURESCENT EXODUS EVANGELICAL
Asuka Langley Soryu suffered from a severe case of thanataphobia. For those unfamiliar with the psychological illness, another more accessible term would be necrophobia, both referring to the fear of death or dead things. Thanataphobia, however, specifically refers to the fear of one's own death, because as the young German American girl was clearly demonstrating, she had no qualms about bringing about the ultimate destruction of others.
The mammoth blade produced a sound similar to the roar of a flying monster from a Japanese Kaiju film as it sliced through the air. Seconds later, this noise was replaced with one of solid contact, followed by contorting flesh and metal, concluded with the splashing of hundreds of gallons of red liquid and gore, as the weapon connected with and severed the leg from an enormous white robot.
The red-haired warrior, still wielding her tool of destruction, prepared for another swing, constantly fighting not only the nine winged-opponents on the battlefield, but also with the incredible forces and the very laws of physics themselves that declared an object so large should not be swung about so wildly.
She regained her footing a little clumsily before charging forward, intent on inflicting upon Units 05-13 that which she feared above all else.
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All of this was watched by helpless and terrified individuals: people who knew the pilot of the EVA Unit 02 and cared for her deeply. But on the ridge of a nearby hill, at about 5 miles distance, another pair of eyes watched these cataclysmic events unfolding through the lenses of a pair of military surplus binoculars with a slightly different set of emotions.
To tell the truth, she was a little bored.
Asuka Langley Soryu was going to run out of power. The 2nd Child was then going to be impaled through the left eye. The German pilot would then be eviscerated by the regenerated Mass-production EVA series. And then she would die. That is, if things unfolded the way they usually did. Asuka may not be killed outright by the ordeal, but experiencing your body being skewered both before and after someone guts you like a fish can't be all that great for one's psyche.
Well, bored wasn't the only state of mind she was currently experiencing.
She was also very much pissed off that she had left her good viewing apparatus at home, forcing her to pick up this primitive hunk of junk at retail. Damn things didn't even have Thermal.
It's not as though she didn't care for these people. Not at all! Just look at all the trouble they had gone through so that she could be in this part of the world at this precise time. It was just that, having studied the events leading up to Third Impact so carefully, she already knew everything that was coming next. So much so that she could tick off each individual event on her fingers.
Misato dies saving Shinji. Blah, blah, blah. The 3rd child fails, bringing about the End of the World. Yada, yada, yada. Everybody dies, giant naked Ayanami Rei in the sky. Bing-bada-boom. The girl set the binoculars down and reached for a beer from the cooler beside her on the hood of the truck. As her shirt sleeve rode up her small but well-muscled arm, the sun glinted off the black ink of her tattoo.
"Gawd, it's too fuckin' hot here…." She complained to seemingly no one in particular as she rolled the cold surface over her forehead before popping the top.
The girl was about five feet six inches tall, her long brunette hair streaked with pink highlights. Her desert camo pants were a little baggy on her slight frame, tucked into her black leather stompy boots, their chrome buckles flashing in the sun as she leisurely kicked her feet back and forth against the truck's massive grill. Taking a drink and then setting the can down beside her, she raised the optical tool back up to her eyes, setting them against the mirrored green lenses of her black-rimmed goggles. The ensemble was completed by a black Flogging Molly t-shirt, the Skull & Crossbones rather fitting when considering her FTW personality.
She sat on the hot metal surface of her vehicle, straddling the hood ornament: a strange pointed face compiled of simple shapes, which just happened to be the exact same design as was tattooed into the girl's flesh. If a person ever looked idiosyncratic as the driver of their vehicle, it was the small Rocker sitting on the hood of a desert camouflaged MRAP armored vehicle.
At twenty-two and a half tons, the twenty-seven foot long 6x6 wheel drive Buffalo mine protected vehicle usually required an operating crew ranging from 2 to 6. But there were many abnormalities concerning this particular rig: Whereas the military equivalent was topped by a highly mobile minesweeping arm ending in a 14 inch fork, this fork was almost 10 feet wide. The 7.62 x 51mm NATO ball standard armor was only present upon visual inspection. In reality, high explosive rounds would bounce off the alloyed frame like bottle rockets, causing more scorch marks than actual damage. And of course, the massive
military vehicle was usually powered by the Mack ASET AI-400 engine, producing 450 horsepower. What powered this particular metal monstrosity was both far more advanced and incredibly more powerful.
The girl continued to watch the scene unfolding with detached interest, knowing well that soon she would be needing as much strength and focus as possible when the adrenaline kicked in. Beneath her, a deep throaty roar emanated from the hood, sounding more like a threatening growl than the revving of an engine.
The girl casually reached down with one hand and patted the hood reassuringly. "Easy, Partner, it's almost time…."
The mechanical roar was silenced almost immediately, transforming into a low, ominous rumble.
The radio at her belt squawked. "Holy Diver to Death Valley Queen, Do you copy? Over." Pulling the speaker buds of her MP3 player from her ear she let it drop to her shoulder, the musical styling of Dethklok emanating from within. Even if it was only a pseudo-Metal band based off of a cartoon, she had to admit it was better than most she had heard, and all in all made for a pretty interesting soundtrack to the spectacle before her. The dark-haired girl reached for the device and thumbed the receiver switch. "This is Death Valley Queen, reading you loud and clear. Are you in position?"
"Roger that, Lil' Sis. I'm currently advancing through the south entrance of the Geofront. " A few seconds pause. "Are you drinking?"
"No." She casually slid the can away from her across the hood, as if she could hide it from the woman that was currently several miles away yet still observant enough to know exactly what was going on. "Any problems so far? I hope you didn't have to shoot too many NERV personnel…"
"Relax Gabriella. I've been aiming high or taking limb shots."
"You really shouldn't put too much stress on yourself. It won't matter in a few hours anyway."
"Just because every single person on this planet will be dead before the sun goes down doesn't mean I can get my jollies by dropping a few unknowns, kiddo…" To be perfectly honest, Elizabeth was more than a little concerned with her youngest sibling's almost complete disregard of human life. Surely this Machiavellian point of view had something to do with the steps she had taken to forge her new partnership with the third member of their party, with whom she had to admit got things done despite his overly destructive Modus Operandi. Any impromptu parenting sessions would have to be put on hold for the time being: they had a job to do.
"In about five minutes the Guardian will rescue the Third Child and they'll head for the cages. You'd better get a move on."
"Roger that Holy Diver." She knew her sister cared little for the code names she had assigned to them, but tough shit. If she was going to go along with this, certain exemptions and liberties had to be made.
Gabby wasn't very enthusiastic about watching the scene unfolding before her for the umpteenth time. In a matter of minutes, the Second Child's AT Field would fail, allowing the gargantuan lance to skewer the red mecha's skull. She had heard the German girl's screams of pain only once before, and it was not something she was too eager to hear again anytime soon.
"Are you sure we can't just go in with guns blazing and fix this now?"
Perhaps Liz had been too quick to judge her little sister's way of thinking. "You know we can't do that, Squirt. Not yet anyway."
She wasn't entirely convinced of the reply she had given. If they had rearranged certain aspects and stages of their overall plan, it was in fact possible to perform the necessary steps to prevent this world's demise. But that wasn't the way they were taught to handle things. They needed help, so they were getting it, and in a way that wouldn't greatly affect this planet's timeline. This world would end whether these people were here or not. But if they were successful in the task at hand, when they brought them back, they would do so in a manner that gave them the advantages they needed to save THEIR world for themselves. Fuck the rules. Call it a reward for a job well done.
The tiny microphone surgically implanted in her inner ear let loose its soft tones, announcing an incoming call, and her sister's voice began speaking to her at a volume impossible to detect only inches away. "We've got about ten minutes before the feisty redhead bites the big one. I'll hitch my ride to the west entrance and send the Iron Giant to fetch Fraulein."
The humorous tilt of the girl's voice told her Liz may have spoken too soon, yet she had to admit, it would be one hell of a shock to those bastards once the cogs started to turn. The tall girl's attractive face and dirty blonde hair were hidden by her black mask and faceplate, and no one paid much attention to the trooper who brought her gloved fingers up to her neck to press the surgically implanted transceiver. Like the incoming calls, the position of the device allowed her to speak softly enough to go unheard only feet away, which wasn't a problem in an underground facility being rocked by gunfire. "Get your ass over here then. It's time to rock and roll."
Gabrielle hopped down off the hood, smiling to herself as she walked around to the passenger door and climbed up. She situated herself inside the tinted cab and turned to the driver's seat. "Well big guy, it's Showtime!"
With a deafening rumble, the enormous juggernaut began to roll forward, quickly accelerating until it was thundering down the road, an unknown assailant ready to rain hell down upon the seemingly victorious execution squads.
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At the west entrance to the NERV Geofront, now completely under SEELE control, an enormous black MRAP bearing SEELE insignia rumbled to a stop, allowing a smallish figure cloaked in the black SEELE regalia to hop down from the passenger side, her goggles hidden under the facemask of the helmet, a bag of computer equipment slung over her shoulder. She didn't give her transport a second glance as it
continued down the road, instead striving smartly for the entrance, gaining immediate access after flashing her ID.
Gabby smirked wolfishly, congratulating herself on the workmanship she had pulled off with the ID badge. When she had just shown it to the guards, it had declared her to be a computer technician, as it would until she had made it a few more levels deeper into the facility. Then, merely by pressing her thumb against a different corner of the seemingly laminated card, she would now be a member of the subsequent wave of shock troops. Maybe a little later she would make herself a Lieutenant.
"Damn I'm good."
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Misato Katsuragi knew she was about to die. That was why she was able to kiss Shinji Ikari the way she did now. That was also why she made him a promise to follow through with these intimate actions up to their logical and natural conclusion as soon as he got back.
Oh, sure, she had thought about it. Every now and then she would steal a sidelong glance at her pitiful, self-deprecating roommate and idly wonder if she could boost his self esteem by screwing him senseless. Of course, knowing his twisted form of logic, any gift of physical contact may be skewed until he felt as if he was being used, but she was sure that could be resolved by having him initiate a few of her therapy sessions. And there were no problems from a legal standpoint, what with 14 being the legal age of consent in Japan. The higher-ups in NERV may not take too kindly to an EVA pilot being romantically entangled with his Guardian, but surely she'd be able to provide plenty of motivation for keeping his mouth shut.
But none of that mattered anymore. True, she had thought about it plenty of times, worked through all the angles, even had the proper lingerie picked out for when she wanted him to take the initiative. But she had never gone through with it. And now she never would. 'It's a shame really.' She thought to herself. 'A little nookie is probably just what this kid needs to fix what's wrong in that mixed-up head of his…'
So, she lied. She kissed him deeply, passionately. An adult kiss. And then she told him they would do the rest when he got back.
It wasn't really a lie, she told herself. It's just that she knew right-fucking-well that she would be dead in a matter of minutes. But, if by some miracle, she were able to see Shinji again after those elevator doors closed, no matter what the circumstances, she was going to rock his world.
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Two figures concealed themselves in the shadows in a corner of the hall, listening to every single word the Major said to her young Charge. Gabby whispered back to her sister in the darkness: "Think they'll thank us afterwards?" She received a nudge in the ribs from her older sister, telling her to shut up. "But
seriously Sis, these people are psychological nightmares. And we'll already have enough pilots with the Dreadnoughts and the Aestevalis crew. Do we really need them?"
"You know as well as I do that we need all the help we can get. Just keep quiet and be ready to make your trip when the time comes. I'd rather NOT be here for the end of the World…"
Elizabeth knew they didn't need the EVA pilots specifically for their mission. The call to bring them was that of her second youngest sister, and her reason for suggesting they do so was one that Elizabeth herself had to partially agree with: she didn't like the way this ended. The people they had singled out for the List were all highly skilled; even so, with the tasks before them, it helped to gather those people that could greatly be helped in return. Money can't buy everything in the world, so how do you pay for the services of someone whose world is about to end?
They were in luck today. They must have observed these events a dozen times, and while they were ALWAYS the same, they didn't take place at the same time: Sometimes, Asuka met her fate after Misato hers. Sometimes it happened before. Others, the two events occurred simultaneously. Even though they had been taking every precaution against affecting this place too greatly, it was obvious that their mere presence would have consequences, let alone their intervention in things to come. However: once they made the biggest changes they had planned, their escape should still be possible before the current plane of existence become too befuddled.
"Well, if we're gonna take them, why not do it now instead of making me do my Sam Fisher impersonation?" Never having been one with much patience, Gabby was growing fairly anxious.
"I've got two good reasons for you." Elizabeth never took her eyes off the tragic couple down the hall. "First and foremost is this: Misato thinks this is the only way to save them, and she's going to fight us tooth and nail if we try to interfere. Don't forget she's still armed, and her ability to handle herself in a fight is the main reason we're bringing her too."
Elizabeth did not continue until she was prompted by her youngest sibling. "What about Reason numero dos?"
Liz held up a hand to silence her sister, not just to keep them from being heard but also to keep from having to answer, thereby escaping some ridicule for being sentimental. Reason number Three was, she really wanted to let those two have their moment of privacy together.
Presently, Major Katsuragi was pushing her necklace into the pilot's shaking hand before forcing him into the lift and sending him down to the cages below. Then, she slumped against the wall, fell to the ground, and was still.
It was time to move.
The two intruders raced down the hall, the oldest removing a composite knife from her belt, jamming it between the lift doors, and levering them open a few inches. Her sister got her fingers between them,
and straining together, forced them open, exposing the dark cavity beyond, the elevator cable still spooling away to the floors below.
After she had restored the volume of the pirated radio at her belt, Gabby quickly fitted her hands into a pair of protective gloves and flipped a switch on the side of her goggles. A soft hum told her sister that the night vision was working properly, this assumption being reinforced by the soft glow of the lenses. A slight shudder ran down the older sister's back as she considered just HOW that night vision was functioning. The radio continued its incessant garbling transmissions, not giving any thought as to whether or not they were being heard by all parties present. Unit 02 had just been liquidated. The duo shared a quick glance before turning their attention to the open elevator shaft.
"I really should be the one going down there…" Elizabeth sighed regretfully.
Gabby scoffed. "And what? Leave me to deal with Big Boobs McGee? I don't need to know a thing about Engineering to tell you that it's gonna suck trying to haul that much top-heavy deadweight back to the surface. I'll take the hostage who can still walk thank-you-very-much."
Without waiting for a reply, the small-looking girl leapt into the chasm, her hands finding easy hold of the cable, and she slid down into the darkness, the tight confines of the elevator shaft illuminated in shades of green, keeping her from being caught unawares and slamming into the roof of the car with enough force to break both her legs.
Her sister yelled into the void after her. "JUST DON'T CALL HIM A HOSTAGE!" While she had to agree with the logic Gabby had presented, she still had her doubts about sending the outspoken girl to deal with the young pilot. Or, perhaps so much time around Asuka Langley would provide a comforting familiarity when Gabby started bossing him around.
Elizabeth turned back and stood over the woman lying face down on the floor in a puddle of her own blood. Her head turned, looking upward out of the corner of her eyes, she knew she was still alive, but also that that would change momentarily. Misato had heard the entire exchange between the two, but even now, she lacked the strength to so much as move. All she could do was lay there, watch, listen, and die.
Liz knelt down and brushed a lock of purple hair out of the woman's face, her hand resting on the clammy cheek. "Don't worry Ma'am," she whispered, "We're here to help."
Misato had the faintest impression of being lifted up off the ground, draped across a pair of slender, yet surprisingly powerful shoulders, and then lateral movement towards one of the emergency lifts that would take them to the surface. Then the darkness took her, and she knew no more.
Using the Fireman's Carry, Elizabeth had to marvel at the firmness of the thigh she was holding onto, considering the other woman's living habits. The purple-haired woman's blood was soaking the back of her SEELE uniform, but she paid it little mind. She was halfway to the escape lift and the first step in their evacuation plan when she felt the heartbeat in the body draped across her neck cease. She took no pause and made no attempts at revival.
Entering the lift and pressing the button for the highest possible level, she used one hand to make sure her weapon was loaded and at the ready. The time for subterfuge was over, and the SEELE soldiers would almost certainly take note of one of their own trying to leaving the facility with the body of a high-ranking NERV official. Elizabeth smiled grimly to herself. After the genocide she had been forced to watch, she was in the mood for a little payback.
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As Gabby slid farther and farther into the Earth, the pilfered radio at her belt continued to squawk along the open SEELE frequencies, as it had all morning. The old saying was true: no news was good news.
At first it had been little more than the occasional reports coming in describing the killing to be going smoothly. Contact with the team who had run into and captured the Third Child had been lost. Two individuals sighted heading for the cages. Splashes of blood near a door confirming at least one had been hit. Then the radio had been muted while she and her sister watched the two roommates say their goodbyes. EVA Unit 02 had been confirmed dead, and the mass-production EVAs where called back to await the appearance of additional opponents. At the same time she was beginning her descent through the shaft, SEELE personnel were on their way to the destroyed monstrosity, making ready to remove the body of the pilot.
Then it got good.
"Sir, unidentified vehicle approaching checkpoint B."
"What is it Corporal?"
"I'm not sure, Sir. Checkpoints C and D let it through no problem…"
"Checkpoint C, explain yourself!"
"It looked like one of ours, Sir. Paint and markings matched…"
"Checkpoint B to Checkpoint C, was it a large 6-wheel drive vehicle?"
"Affirmative."
"Sir, I'm looking at it right now, and there's no way in hell that thing looks like one of ours. All our stuff is black, this is some sort of desert camoufla-HOLY SHIT!"
"Corporal?"
"SIR, IT JUST PICKED UP SPEED AND BURST THROUGH! FOUR MEN ARE DOWN, TWO CONFIRMED DEAD SIR!"
"What about the spike strips!"
"Sir, it just RAN OVER A TRUCK! The spike strips didn't even catch! It's like a fuckin' tank!"
"Checkpoint A, as soon as you have visual contact, open fire."
"Affirmative Sir!"
Roughly fifteen seconds passed, filled with garbled bursts of static, before a terrified voice cut in, nearly drowned out by the sounds of gunfire in the back ground.
"SIR, NO EFFECT! WE'RE HITTING IT WITH EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT AND IT'S NOT EVEN SLOWING DOWN! SIR, IT'S-"
A thunderous crash.
"Lieutenant? LUETANANT!"
"Sir, it's through Checkpoint A, heading straight for the plug recovery team. There was this big fork on the top of the thing Sir! Came down and completely threw the Lieutenant's jeep. It doesn't look good Sir. It went flying off the road and rolled a couple times. It- Oh, My God…."
"Sergeant? Sergeant, what's going on!"
"IT'S STANDING UP! REPEAT, THE TRUCK IS FUCKIN' STANDING UP! IT'S RUNNING RIGHT AT US! SIR, IT IS RUNNING AT US! WE'RE NOT EVEN PHASING IT! JESUS CHRIST!"
More explosions, more frantic voices lost over the ripsaw of gunfire. The only voice that could be heard clearly was that of the Commander, demanding to know what was happening. Then, one more clear transmission before she slipped too far out of broadcast range.
"IT'S GOING FOR UNIT 02'S ENTRY PLUG!"
Gabby smiled widely, fighting the urge to burst out into laughter.
Suddenly, the car came into view, and she tightened her grip simultaneously with her gloves and boots, sliding to a gentle stop, landing with a muffled thud on the roof of the elevator. She quickly went about kicking in the ceiling panel and dropping through, nearly tackling the boy from behind a second before he exited the parting doors. As it was, he jumped back with a startled yell, stumbling and landing on the floor with his back up against the wall.
She should have prepared for this. This was, after all, the pivotal moment. The moment that would change everything. First contact. She should have had something ready, something profound, reassuring, and dignified. But then again, Fuck it, she had always done fine just by winging it.
"You Shinji Ikari?"
The terrified young man could only gawk at her, wondering if after all this, he was about to be killed. But how would she do it? He didn't see a gun anywhere. Absentmindedly, he nodded.
She reached down with her right hand. "Come with me if you want to live." 'Fuck me sideways, did I really just say that?' she asked herself silently.
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There were twelve of them, holding position near the hallways that lead to the main control room. Three were messing with some computer consoles, while the one with a flamethrower huddled with the others, most of them with their backs to the elevator. They must have thought the surviving inhabitants of NERV were being forced deeper into the complex, and had little to do while they waited for their superiors to arrive.
Beautiful.
Normally one to avoid violence if at all possible, the actions she had seen carried out by these people against unarmed NERV employees had been bubbling beneath the surface for a long time now. The logic that the quickest way past these trained killers was straight through only served to strengthen her resolve. Elizabeth stepped forward through the lift doors, shifting the dead weight to her left shoulder as she raised the small, turquoise weapon in her right hand, taking aim for the one closest to the middle of the group.
"HEY, ASSHOLES!"
The SEELE men looked up and, not taking the blue toy-like weapon as an immediate threat, only a third of them thought to raise their own. Liz pulled the trigger. With a sound reminiscent to a low budget Sci-Fi movie, the small-caliber round caught the man squarely in the chest, embedding itself in his armor, the force barely enough to make him stagger backwards.
For a moment, everyone paused, the men from SEELE staring at the intruder's useless weapon with amusement, the intruder staring right back as if waiting for something, the soldier who had just been shot staring idly down at his chest, a small smile spreading across his face at the thought of facing an opponent that would do more than simply beg for her life. He had just raised his weapon to take aim at her left knee when he became aware of a soft beeping emanating from the round in his lodged into his armor.
With a blinding flash and a deafening bang, the round exploded, splitting his chest open like an overripe melon. He was dead before he hit the wall behind him. With the exception of the rogue assailant, who had been prepared for the blast, everyone was either grasping at their ringing ears, or belatedly turning away from the blast in a useless attempt to shield themselves. Several were suffering from blast wounds. Those who survived this ordeal would be horrified to learn that the shrapnel they had been hit with was actually bone fragments from their unlucky comrade. In turning, the firebug exposed his back to Liz.
Perfect.
She calmly flipped a switch near her thumb from "ANTI-PERSONELL" to "ARMOR-PEIRCING", and readjusted her aim. Okay, so maybe Gabby had a point: she COULD have a little fun while doing the dirty work. Her second round punctured the back-mounted fuel tank as easily as a BB through a Pepsi can, where it struck the internal wall blocking its exit path before it too exploded.
Every surface within a twenty foot radius was sprayed with burning fuel. This included 1,250 square feet of stainles-steel flooring, one lifeless and ruined body, and eleven hapless SEELE troopers. The sounds of the crackling flames were easily drowned out by the screams of individuals experiencing their first, and last, exposure to napalm. The stench of melted nylon and burning flesh hung heavily in the air.
Shifting her burden once again, Elizabeth made her way down a side-hallway, avoiding the conflagration as she continued towards another lift, each step bring her closer and closer to the surface. Her third encounter with enemy soldiers, and she had yet to be fired upon.
She could clearly imagine the compliment she would have received had Gabby been there to see her handiwork: "Damn Sis, you are good."
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Shinji Ikari stumbled for perhaps the hundredth time as he was dragged through the hallways and stairwells of NERV, the ride in the emergency lift having taken place in silence. Well, relative silence. He had asked countless questions, all of which went unanswered by the mysterious, goggled, and surprisingly strong girl who had literally dropped into his shambled life. The last detail in this list had been confirmed during one of his rare moments of protest, when she had literally THROWN him into the lift.
"But WHO are you? What do you want with me?" More seemingly sensible questions poured out of him even as his focus shifted to the necklace clenched in his fingers. His attention divided, it caught him off guard when the newcomer actually answered responded.
The girl dressed in a SEELE uniform kept looking forward as she spoke, never slowing in her stride. "You know kid, people would like you a lot more if you didn't always act like such a whiny little bitch…" She was beginning to regret not letting Shinji reach his EVA and find it encased in Bakelite. It probably would have made him easier to handle if he thought there was nothing at all he could possible do here anymore. Then the thought of the EVA breaking free and crushing her like a bug when she abducted the pilot made her change her mind with a grimace.
She threw herself against one final door, her hand gripping the collar of his shirt tightly, and they suddenly burst out into the blinding glare of sunlight, the rush of fresh air slightly disorienting compared to the recycled atmosphere of the NERV facility. They continued running/stumbling through the forest, before reaching the paved road, where his captor was apparently meeting up with someone. An enormous 6-wheeled vehicle sat idling on the shoulder, a blonde girl in an identical SEELE uniform throwing the driver's side door open and motioning for them to hurry. Shinji was dimly aware of the scorched and dented EVA entry plug nestled in a clawed fork on the roof of the truck's body, the words "UNIT 02" clearly visible. The sickening lurch of his stomach was in no way helped by the shrieking roar from overhead as they were spotted by the enemy EVAs. The girl leading him like a dog shoved him up and into the truck.
"Is Asuka…alive?" He choked on the words trying to get them out. The muttered response from the blonde girl above him was accompanied by her pulling him inside.
"She will be…"
The young pilot found himself in a spacious cab, shoved into the back seat. Liz moved over to the passenger seat while Gabby took her place behind the steering wheel. Farther back behind the back seat, there was a bulky black mass that looked suspiciously like a body bag. The truck lurched forward, slowly picking up speed.
"But I can't leave! I made a promise! Why are you doing this?" Shinji pleaded with his mysterious captors, absentmindedly clutching the bloodstained cross tighter in his trembling hand. The words flowed without thought, without consideration of how much he feared the fight ahead.
The shorter girl with long black hair raised her goggles up onto her forehead, revealing a pair of shockingly bright, almost unnaturally, blue eyes, which she locked directly onto his own, before replying with an unwavering voice: "Because if we don't get an A on our History report, I'm getting sent to military school."
The third child could only gawk at her, unsure if he had heard her correctly. With lightning speed, the blonde girl's hand shot out and slapped her younger sister upside the head. "Damn it, Gabby! It's not like this isn't weird enough for him already without your being a smartass!"
The one named Gabby glared back at the other, rubbing painfully at the point of impact: "FUCKIN' A! Gawd Liz, haven't you ever heard of alleviating a stressful situation through humor? You watch M.A.S.H., for Fuck's sake!"
"Just pay attention, the beacon's about to activate." The vehicle began to pick up speed, and Shinji could have sworn Gabby's hand never touched the shift lever. Presently, she did something with some switches on the dash, which may or may not have had some sort of effect on the strange glowing sphere that had appeared in the middle of the road up ahead. The blue swirling mass started out roughly the size of a basketball, before it began to grow. The larger it expanded, the faster it swirled, until the globe of ball lightning sat as a pulsating dome on the surface of the pavement, stretching from one edge of the highway to the other. The ground shook as the first of the Mass-Production EVAs touched down; pulling in its wings as it simultaneously began loping after its prey.
Liz didn't even seem interested in her gargantuan pursuer as she turned her own eyes to their young captive, the level of compassion in her gaze an easy match for the level of humor and sarcasm in Gabby's. "You promised Misato that you would try, but you're going to fail, Shinji. You're going to let the world end."
He could only stare in horror, all of his personal doubts and innermost fears confirmed by a complete stranger.
"But it doesn't have to be that way. We can help you save your world. But first, we need your help."
Behind them, three more EVAs had touched down, and they were approaching quickly. With each thunderous footstep, the truck came closer and closer to the mass of swirling energies.
"Help you? But how? What do you want me to do?" Shinji's mind was spinning.
The corners of Liz's mouth crept upwards in a sad smile as she answered, knowing she wouldn't be the first to put an unearthly weight upon this frightened young man's shoulders. "Help us save ours."
The closest EVA lunged forward, its monstrous claw about to close upon the rumbling transport, just as they plunged forth into the translucent shell. The mass of lightning and fog converged around them, seemingly drawn into the boxy device Liz had been working with on the dashboard. With a bright blue flash and a quick whiff of ozone, the dome collapsed, leaving nothing in its place but swirling clouds of dust; the EVA's outstretched hand clenching around empty air.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please note that up until, and beyond, this work's completion, it will be subject to massive rewriting, as later installments may require more or less information being available earlier on. Also, while I have specific parts mapped out perfectly in my mind's eye, the actual sequence in which they take place may I will give notices at the beginning of chapters in case I need you to go back.
Any who…
It has come to my attention that there are some critical bastards out there who don't think I'm going to be taking this seriously. You want serious? Oh, I'll give you serious…
To Flamer: Go stick your tongue into a light fixture. You'll have the right to be such a complete dick when you yourself have a creative product you're ready to present to the world, and are brave enough to stand behind it. Although, I must admit, I'm glad my first flame EVER was so juvenile in its content, and completely lacking any reason as to WHY my story sucks.
So yeah, this is my Love Letter to the Anime genre in general, Neon Genesis Evangelion in particular, with a few other entertainment fetishes of mine thrown in for good measure. Let's see how people react now that I've finally given them something…
My apologies if I've screwed up some details concerning Neon Genesis Evangelion in its entirety. I'm doing my best to make my research concrete, and will go back to fix things should they prove necessary. The timeline of events, however, needed to be manipulated somewhat for the story overall. As did Asuka's fate after her battle with the Mass-Production Units.
Hopefully the readers who picked up on this will take it as the small piece of foreshadowing it was meant to be, as the aspects of time and space will be discussed, explored, and even sodomized to a certain degree. Besides, EoE was so messed up, it's pretty obvious it was designed with viewer interpretation and reaction in mind.
Personally, I preferred the insight I received after reading Re-Take (The thinking man's erotica). Yes, I read it. So sue me. You have to admit after the little scene with Shinji in Asuka's hospital room at the beginning of EoE, there wasn't much Studio Kimigabuchi could do to faze us.
(P.S. I'm incredibly sorry if I have offended any of you, but I just really got worked up over some of that…well, it wasn't even criticism. More like hate mail, really. Anyway, anybody out there who's decided to give this thing a chance, I thank you very much.)