Chapter 4: …Has his day
Note: Wow first time I've noted at the beginning of a chapter, right this is a bit complex as we have Future Shinji & Asuka and Present Shinji & Asuka, I HOPE you can tell the difference.
The Battle had begun, Commander Gendo Ikari sat in his command bridge chair, his hands linked together to bridge his nose and his elbows leaning on the desk. It was his usual pose. His long time friend and former mentor Sub Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki stood beside him watching the "Bridge bunnies" had several of the lower officers had dubbed them, go about there business typing commands into there workstation to try and identify the situation.
Kouzou Fuyutsuki was perhaps the only other person alive who knew of Gendo Ikari's true agenda - to be reunited with Yui…forever, everyone you ever loved or cared about with you for all eternity and while he might not totally agree with Ikari's methods his motives were sound. To Fuyutsuki Yui had been a very special woman; he had met her many years before anyone had even thought of using the beasts Adam or Lilith to create the abomination known as Evangelion.
Eva had been her design and her agenda through her own creation killed her, well after a fashion. Her ego border had been breached by Unit 01 and her soul "absorbed" into the core, where she lay trapped for a decade. Fuyutsuki often wondered if Gendo had known what would happen in the Unit 01 activation test and had deliberately placed his own wife in danger to further his ends…
Fuyutsuki pushed those thoughts out of his mind as his attention was drawn to the main screen and tactical 3D map that stood in the centre of the Command Bridge showing Unit 03 lumbering over the desert landscape. Its long black arms hung loosely at its side as it walked slowly towards Tokyo 3.
Shinji, Asuka and Rei had deployed in Unit 01, 02 and 00 respectively and lay in wait for the renegade Eva to approach them. Unsure of exactly what was happening the pilots spoke amongst themselves as Unit 03 came from behind a hill,
"Any idea what's happening" Shinji said as unit 03's hulking mass came into view.
"No idea…all I know is there was some kind of explosion at the test facility" Asuka said.
"I hope Misato is ok…" Shinji replied however Asuka went silent
Rei did not respond, what she classed as "Idle chit chat" was unworthy of her time.
Uproar erupted on the Command Bridge as Aoba stood from his seat and yelled out "Pattern blue! It's an angel!" the look of shock quickly subsided as the other 'Bridge bunnies' attempted to locate the angel however all there sensors pointed to unit 03.
"This can't be right, Unit 03 is creating a blue pattern" Maya echoed
"That is correct" Gendo said his usual mask firmly in place; "Re-classify unit 03 as an Angel and have our Eva units engage" he ordered.
"Sir?" all three technicians turned to the commander.
"DO IT" Gendo spoke not breaking his composure.
After a quick flurry of commands the Tact-Net was updated re-classifying unit 03 as the Thirteenth; "Eva Units are to engage the Thirteenth angel"
"What about the pilot? Who is it?" Shinji replied.
"The Pilot has been ejected, only the angel remains" Gendo lied.
Asuka's voice cut in a second later; "what are you Stupid! The Pilot is…" Asuka's video screen was cut off under the commander's orders; the minor distraction giving Unit03 the opportunity in needed as it erupted from its standing position and used its colossal arms and legs to sprint forward like a Primate, it quickly closed the distance on Unit 02, slamming into it, using its arms to disable it.
"Scheisset!" Asuka yelled.
As her Red Unit 02 fell silent and was pushed into the ground.
Next up was Rei, she aimed her rifle at the Back of unit 03's head, with one clean shot this would be over, the two green circles merged into one and turned red, signalling the lock.
Rei's finger tensed around the trigger, a millisecond later the muzzle flash erupted from the rifle's barrel as the slug was propelled forward striking the Eva's shoulder.
Rei quickly compensated for her error, she would need to get the sights looked at on unit 00 later, re-locking her targeting system she fully intended to carry out the commanders orders and silence the thirteenth Angel. After all there was no pilot to worry about and Rei would have done it to had she not spotted one flaw in her plan – the entry plug.
A moment's hesitation was all it took for unit 03 to leap high into the air, Rei tried to bring her rifle up to correct her mistake however it was two late as Unit03 came crashing down on top of her slamming her into the mountainside.
The Angels arm wrapped around her throat holding her down while its other arm pushed into her shoulder. Rei felt pain as the Angel tried to fuse with her Eva no…with her.
"CONTAMINATON!" Maya bust out in the command centre; "Unit01 has been contaminated by the Thirteenth on the right shoulder and it's spreading fast". To Rei's credit she did not scream out as the intense pain gripped her body, literally feeling her shoulder start to melt as if it had been dipped in acid.
"Detonate Unit Zero's right arm" Gendo ordered coolly.
"What...You can't be serious!" Maya protested.
"Carry out my orders Miss Ibuki or I shall find someone who will", Gendo said coldly.
"Y...yes sir", Maya said under the commanders burrowing gaze a moment later issuing the commands that would ignite the explosive bolts in unit 00's right shoulder.
Within a second of receiving the command unit 00 complied and its right arm exploding violently, throwing the angel back several feet in the process, this time Rei screamed as the pain of having her arm slowly corroded was replaced by having her arm blown off – literally.
As Rei passed out from the pain and shock as unit 00 went silent.
Unit 03 stared down Unit 01 for now the purple giant was the only thing standing between it and victory, Unit 03 charged towards the purple mecha using its arms to grasp unit01 by the throat, Shinji responded in kind as the two giants tried to strangle each other.
As Shinji willed unit01 to punch the black mecha in the face, Unit 03 was thrown back by the impact with an almighty scream as the pilot felt what Unit03 felt however the blow was not enough to silence the beast as it slowly rose back to its feet. To Shinji's horror he spotted the familiar shape of the white entry plug burrowed deep into Unit03's spine, covered by webbing.
"Father! The Pilot is still inside!" he almost yelled.
"Irrelevant, the pilot is most likely dead, Unit 01, you are fighting the thirteenth angel, now carry out your mission" Gendo ordered.
Unit 03 slammed right into Unit 01, the tackle dragging the purple Eva across several Kilometres and right into the side of a mountain back first.
"Fight back!" Gendo ordered as Unit 03 wrapped its hands around Unit01's neck and began to squeeze with no resistance from the pilot of Unit 01
"I can't father, I can't kill another human being", Shinji cried.
"Third Child! That thing is an angel, it is your enemy! Destroy your enemy NOW" Gendo replied coolly his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I won't father!" Shinji screamed out still feeling the pain as Unit 03 squeezed the life out of him without any mercy.
"Activate the Dummy Plug", Gendo said sadistically with a slightly sickening grin.
"That system hasn't been approved by Doctor Akagi yet!" Maya once again jumped up in protest.
Gendo Stood up and slammed his hands down on his command table, palm first; "It's still better than the current pilot!" he yelled.
However before Maya could comply with Gendo Ikari's request everything in the command centre went dark, the 3D Tactical display shut down, as did all monitors and all consoles stopped accepting commands only the large screen at the front of the command centre remained active.
"Shinji Listen to me" Said a voice over the tact-net, unfamiliar to the younger pilot; "You have to fight Shinji"
"What's going on?" Sub commander Fuyutsuki ordered; "Unknown, someone has completely overridden our systems" replied Aoba.
"Where from?" Gendo commanded.
"According to this its somewhere within NERV Headquarters. Tracing…" Aoba said.
A Display screen appeared in Shinji's cockpit; "Shinji are you listening to me!" the voice prompted, its face silhouette masking the mans identity
Shinji continued to sob both tears of pain from the way the Angel and tears of sadness from the way his father was treating him as nothing more than a pawn to be played with; "I can't do it!" he sobbed out.
"Yes you can, you have to, do you want that pilot to die?.…Because if you don't fight he WILL die…I can't keep them out forever." He stated knowing just how good Maya and the other technicians were.
"Die…" Shinji sobbed out.
"Yes, the pilot, Touji! He will die unless YOU stop it, NOW" the voice commanded.
"TOUJI!" Shinji screamed, as the giant Purple mecha brought its arms up and wrapped them around the throat of the Angel, pushing it off of Unit 01 narrowing its eyes with determination and fire not seen before; "I'm coming Touji HANG on!" Shinji yelled adrenaline taking over his body.
Shinji willed the Giant Mecha forward tackling the angel to the ground belly first, using its own weight to push the angel into the ground and suppress its ability to move. Unit 01 reacting on instinct opened the shoulder compartment housing the Progressive knife, with a quick reflex the knife was pulled from its housing, glowing yellow as it activated.
With a quick slash of the Progressive knife, the webbing around the entry plug was cut, Unit 01's hands levered off the back plate and ripped out the entry plug, after several spasms unit 03 went silent.
Power in the command centre was restored and all motoring systems were restored. "Target is silent"; Hyuga said checking the status of the angel.
"Got him!" Aoba said as he finished the trace on the hacker "Section 3, Junction 8 ...Tricky bastard." Aoba spoke.
"Get security down there now" Fuyutsuki ordered however he didn't need to as Aoba had already taken the liberty of doing so.
Unit 01 moved the fragile white plug to safety however his Tact net flashed up a warning as Unit 03 once again started to get to its feet. "Eva Unit 03 has reactivated!" Hyuga yelled.
The Purple beast turned to face the black behemoth as it mutated, several tentacles shooting out of its left arm to try and grab Unit 01, wrapping themselves around its torso and pulling the mecha closer to it.
Shinji willed Unit 01 to resist but the bind was to strong, so instead he pushed the control yolks forward moving the purple behemoth forward, using the progressive knife to cut the tentacles in one downward slice causing the now pure angel to let out an almighty scream.
"You fucking DIE!" Shinji screamed, seeing not the angel but an image of his father as rage, joy, anger, love, hate, sadness and pain all blurred into one emotion.
Shinji using its momentary distraction continued to charge and bear down on the black mecha. Once again raising his progressive knife however this time holding it with both hands he rammed full force into the giant mecha before it could retaliate sending it to the ground. Using every ounce of strength both he and Unit 01 could muster as well as the momentum from the fall he drove the progressive knife into the neck of Unit 03.
A high-pressure jet of blood sprayed forth in all directions from the open wound covering the purple mecha in the red liquid as well as the nearby landscape. Maya looked at the blood soaked giant bio-mechanical machine on the screen and tried to suppress her urge to vomit.
Gendo sat back down in his command chair satisfied with the situation, a sickening grin crossing his lips only hidden by his bridged hands as he formed his usual pose.
"What is the status of the Angel?" Fuyutsuki enquired.
"Silent" Hyuga replied after double checking his readings.
"Are we sure this time?" Fuyutsuki ask to confirm.
"Yes, I'm reading zero core activity", Hyuga replied checking his readings for a third time.
"Very well, send a recovery team to bring in the pilot of Unit 03 for debriefing and medical evaluation, issue orders to retrieve the Evas" Gendo cut in smoothly.
"Aye" replied the three main bridge technicians.
(000)
NERV Security quickly ran through the maze of corridors that made up this area of Central Dogma turning corners and sprinting between their colleagues, their tan white uniforms only broken by the Kevlar body armour worn over there chests and the metallic black of P-90 submachine guns. The five man team quickly came to a stop and executed a standard SWAT tactic with one man holding on each side of the corridor while the rear guard and leader protected from behind with the scout approaching the metal door at the end of the corridor.
As the scout moved forward the two men on each side moved forward too keeping just behind him so they could give him covering fire if need be. The scout reached the door and kicked it open and to his surprise there were no booby traps, no explosions and no people, the intruder had disappeared.
Meanwhile several corridors away Shinji pulled a cap down over his eyes and kept them downcast as he made his way to the exit, the cap he had borrowed from the desk in the computer room he had been in mere minutes before security arrived as he made his escape.
(000)
Gendo Ikari's office was large and expansive; its red carpet only broken by the single black marble desk that the commander himself sat behind in his usual pose, the Tree of Life decorating the office ceiling, its massive form covering it entirely.
Doctor Ritsuko Akagi stood in front of the Commander Ikari's desk she had been summoned to give her report on the earlier situation; "Damage to Unit 03 was fairly extensive however it is recoverable…"
"What is the status of the fourth child?" Gendo cut in smoothly
"Mentally or physically?" Ritsuko asked.
"Both" Gendo replied in his usual emotionless tone.
"He has undergone significant trauma, we have healed his physical injuries however when the angel breached his mind it induced a catatonic state that we have been unable to breach thus far he is currently on an isolation ward undergoing treatment" she reported.
"What of his sister?" Gendo asked.
"As per your instructions commander she has not yet been given her operation", Ritsuko replied coolly.
"You may proceed with her operation Doctor, it is unlikely that the Fourth Child will pilot again, if he survives therefore NERV has nothing to lose by granting his request", Gendo stated and briefly paused for the doctor to nod her understanding before continuing. "Do we know why the Thirteenth reactivated?" he asked.
"Because the Angel was linked directly synced to the pilot, when Shi…the Third Child removed him from the Eva, Unit 03 became dormant however the Angel quickly compensated for this and took complete control of Unit 03. I can only assume that on some level the pilot was fighting the angel since it was only able to truly manifest itself after the pilot was ejected", Ritsuko replied.
"Very well doctor", Gendo replied; "You are dismissed" he ordered.
"Commander, today's Thursday, I was hoping we could…"
"I am having dinner with Rei tonight" Gendo cut in.
"Oh" Ritsuko said trying not to sound too disappointed but failing.
"However, if you report to my office afterwards then we may engage in sexual relations" he replied. Gendo wasn't a complete bastard and at the same time he wasn't going to turn down sex with the blonde doctor either.
"Thank you" she said quietly as she departed his office.
Gendo Remained fixed in his pose a smile forming on his lips.
(000)
Asuka awoke nestled in Kaji's arms, his strong arms around her shoulders as she lay on his chest. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips as she rested, the sex had been good, better than good but still she somehow regretted it. She thought it would be a good idea when she kissed him; All she had intended to do was kiss him but somehow one thing had led to another and here she was nestled in the mans arms bathing in the 'Afterglow' as it were of their love making.
"You fucked up" she muttered to herself out loud as she thought of Shinji and all the things he would say and likely do to her when he found out and there was no doubt in her mind he WOULD find out even if not right away.
"Love making between two adults is never a bad thing" Kaji said in a soft comforting tone of voice startling Asuka as she blushed profusely at being caught not only talking to herself but acknowledging their 'relationship' as a mistake.
"This was a mistake", she said simply.
"Sometimes the best things come from mistakes", he replied just as easily.
"Perhaps, but not this time, I should not have been so weak", she answered.
"Weakness is human" he shot back levelly.
Asuka only met him with silence as she quickly dressed and left, with no intention of ever returning to this house or to Kaji's arms. Kaji sat there thunderstruck and confused at what he might have said wrong.
As she walked alone down the mountain road silent tears streaming down her cheeks all her pent up emotions came to a head and she yelled at the top of her lungs – "WHY CAN'T YOU LOVE ME!"
The sound of the words echoing between the valley over and over repeating itself "why can't you love me" over and over again; "it should have been me" she sobbed out dropping to her knee's now openly crying.
"It should have been me" she repeated over and over like a mantra as if this would somehow make her feelings for Shinji Ikari manifest and suddenly he would love her too.
Knowing this was never going to happen she cried, really cried for the first time since she saw her mother hanging from her bedroom ceiling
(000)
The young Shinji Ikari sat at his friend's bedside, Touji lay there still, he was in a coma the doctors had said, something about the way the Angel had intruded on his mind. Shinji watched him sleep silent tears running down his face.
"It was because of me…If I had acted faster maybe…I hate you father" Shinji muttered.
Shinji really did hate his father, not just because of what he had done but because of what he had turned him into and for making Shinji truly understand and feel what hatred was and for that he could never forgive him.
But even with all of that, all of the things he had done to him, he was still his father.
(000)
The Elder Ikari walked to the gate that exited the Geo-front the large Magnetic sealed doors stood in his way, he swiped his card through once again and chimed our a "Thank you" before the large doors began there accent to let him pass and exit NERV HQ. Everything had gone as planned, well almost, Touji was in a Coma but at least he was alive.
"Alive" he thought.
As he stood on the escalators they acceded to surface level with a slow hum, descending however on the escalator next to him was none other than Miss Maya Ibuki, standing there in a daze looking out through the Geo-fronts glass windows onto the garden. Dressed in her usual NERV technician uniform that fit her so well.
Shinji's heart caught in his mouth and he began to shake, as his breathing became erratic, he subconsciously started clenching and unclenching his fists, something he hadn't done for many years. Focusing his eyes and all his attention on to the metallic step in front of him his eyes were downcast as she passed.
"Focus on the mission" he muttered to himself, "when that's over I can allow myself to die until then…I must go on"
With that final resolute focus he pushed his feelings aside determined to finish what he was here to do, the future depended on it.
Notes: More notes, lots of angst towards the end there and there will of course be more as Asuka and Shinji's tentative relationship starts to show the signs of how much it's strained.
Pre-reader notes: I swear, this is the first time I've nearly started to pull hair out; still, it SHOULD be fine now, 2 pre-reads later. Cockups on a postcard please. –buzz.