Genesis Evangelion - The Case of Ro Sohryu:
Episode 04:
Part 1: Praeteritum
The year is 2000. Before all of the chaos. Before the Evangelions and the Angels. Before things were set in motion. The Earth was as it always had been. Blue and green. Teeming with life on land, in the sea and the air.
Joining the wildlife in the air. A small aircraft flew over the cold blue water and the white ice cap.
"Misato. Aren't you happy? You get to see your father's work." The pilot said as he drove the plane.
"Yeah I guess."
A young Misato leaned back into her seat, putting her feet forwards. Staring out the window of the plane with her chin in her hand. She looked bored already. Not wanting to have anything to do with what was happening with her father's work. But things hadn't gone her way and she'd been sent to join him on his "expedition".
"He'll probably just ignore me away." Misato said to herself.
And then it happened. The Second Impact was occurring and she was at ground zero. The Angels rose up and sent their wings flying up into the sky past the clouds. Shattering the world with their cry.
The wind howled and raged on. There wasn't much left standing. Aside from her father. The pain in her chest got worse as the cold tried to settle into her. The warmth of her father as he held her kept her alive and safe.
The mixture of the cold and heat kept making her fade in and out of conscience and she lost track of time.
He stumbled and walked through the snow for what seemed like an eternity. Carrying her body in his arms. His own clothes tattered and ripped. Blood soaking through from wounds. He finally came upon the rescue area. He struggled to open the last escape pod as the cold settled into him. Putting her inside the pod slowly. He panted over her as blood dripped down onto her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open as she winced in pain and looked up at him as he handed her his pendent.
And then he was gone with a wash of light. The capsule closed on Misato, sealing her in. All she could do was lay there in the darkness as the world crumbled around her. Holding tightly onto the pendent. Praying as the pod rocked and tumbled. Holding onto dear life.
The year is 2015. The world is recovering. The Angels have appeared and Evangelions are being used to fight them. The waters of the Earth are red like blood and life still endures.
Misato awoke from her slumber. The room was cold and dark except for the light peering in through the blinds on the windows. Pen Pen was asleep beside her, his head buried in her shirt. Her right hand was holding onto yet another bottle of alcohol from the night before. Her limbs splayed out in different directions. She slowly moved up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and took her shirt off, throwing it to the side.
She fumbled through her drawers and took out a clean matching pair of bra and panties. She discarded the old panties and soon slipped into the new ones. Standing before the mirror. Looking at herself for a moment.
Misato lifted her bra up, locking it together at the front. She stood alone in front of the mirror. Clad in nothing but her bra and panties. A long scar streaked across the bare skin of her torso. A painful reminder of what had happened to her all those years ago. On her desk was the only other reminder. The pendent her father gave to her. Her mind sobered up as she looked at herself. This was reality and she had to deal with it.
Space was quiet, devoid of life and sound. It was fitting really, since the moon was equally quiet. Bouncing solar rays off its surface. A thick red line streaked across the surface of the moon. Like a blood stain from eons ago.
Floating precariously close to the surface was a small craft, drifting silently over buildings set up across the streak of red. Solar panels shining bright as they absorbed and reflected the sun's rays. Working to ensure some protection for what lay underneath.
Gendo and Fuyutsuki peered out of a small window from the small spacecraft. The interior was filled with the sounds of electronics as they surveyed what lay before then. Wearing spacesuits to help protect them as the craft travelled along silently.
"Here we are. Not even a hundred feet above Tabgha Moonbase and yet they still refuse to let us land. SEELE can be nasty when they want to." Fuyutuski noted.
Before the little spacecraft was the large form of a giant. Laying dormant in a large crater. Wrapped in dark bandages and appliances. Armour was being applied to its body in various places. The mask of a new Evangelion Unit was held close by to the figures' head by large cabling.
"Their clearly using a new method of construction for the Mark VI series. Getting to confirm that is enough." Gendo said as he studied the giant.
"I didn't realize that there were to be any plans for construction beyond Unit-08." Fuyutsuki said
Gendo was not phased as he looked on. "For all we know, there are likely still undisclosed Apocrypha of the Dead Sea Scrolls that SEELE intends to use."
"But even SEELE cannot be oblivious to NERV's ultimate goal at this point." Fuyutsuki pointed out in observation.
"Even if they are aware, we cannot allow that to alter the course of our path. Though it may mean acting against the Word of God."
As Gendo finished his sentence, he noted something unusual and looked up.
Outside in the vacuum of space sat a small figure of the fingertip of the large giant. His skin pale. His hair silver. The solar rays shone down on him.
Fuyutsuki looked surprised at the sight. "A person? Surely not."
The figure turned to the spacecraft, looking into the window with his crimson eyes and a gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you, Father."
The council of SEELE had been called together again in the darkness of the room. A hologram in the center appeared under the scrutiny of the large monoliths that loomed over it. Watching recordings of the Eighth and Ninth Angels.
"The Ninth Angel has been destroyed."
"Yes, although the Eighth and Ninth were present in the original revision. They were not in the previous one."
"How many more Angels are there that we are not aware of or haven't planned for yet?"
"We must move into action to ensure that this revision does not escape our grasp."
"And what of Ikari? He must be aware of the Mark VI series by now."
"That piece of information is irrelevant to Ikari now. The Human Instrumentality Project cannot be jeopardised because a piece learned some information."
"Indeed. The damage by this leak is an acceptable one. We must proceed more quickly however. Construction of the other Units must be hastened."
"And what of Unit-06?"
"It's development is progressing at the acceptable rate, even with the latest revision. Data is being transferred as we speak."
06:00 AM Japan Standard Time
The distinct quiet that Tokyo-3 mellowed into was loudly interrupted by the sound of engines flying overhead. VTOLs with large cables attached to large packages that carried black gunk from the remains of the melted transit hub. The last few remnants of the Ninth Angel.
Close by the transit hub was Unit-06, slumped over onto one side, armour melted and with its back open and exposed to the open air of Japan like a patient in surgery, a large mechanical engine had been taken from its back and hooked into the power cables the ran into NERV Headquarters. Announcements on the loudspeakers kept everyone in the work area aware of the status of things.
Ro lifted his head from the underside of the engine, a screwdriver between his lips, his mouth full with the taste of metal as he cranked on another part of the engine with a wrench. His body was covered in sweat as he worked, mixing with the dark grease. He was wearing his plug suit up until the waist. The upper half of his plug suit was wrapped around his waist. His white t-shirt had been heavily stained with grease. He finally finished cranking and took a breath before he pulled on a nearby lever on the engine in front of him.
It hummed as it came to life. Green lights moved along the engine in a circular pattern. Energy whirling within as the cables were charged. Soon the power levels on the readout on the side rose in bars and hit the straight line across the middle and turned green.
Things were stable.
Ro raised his arms in triumph. Although no-one around him paid much notice as they were too busy working on their own tasks.
He took the screwdriver out of his mouth.
"Really? Nobody is happy of my work? I mean, I just turned on the lights and no pat on the back?" Ro asked.
No response came as the technicians were busy working on their assigned tasks. Ro sighed in defeat.
He felt a hand pat him a couple of times on the back. He turned around and saw Felia standing with him.
"Good job." She said with a smile.
In her other hand was a cup holder that held two drinks. She offered one to Ro and he took a sip if it. Spitting out the drink as the taste hit his mouth.
"Gah! What the hell is this?" Ro spat.
"It's coffee." Felia replied.
"It's disgusting! Didn't they have any tea?" Ro said.
"All out." Felia said, shaking her head.
"Hot chocolate at least?"
"Nope."
"Ugh. I can see why it wakes people up. It tastes horrible." Ro said with a disgusted look on his face.
Felia patted Ro on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it."
"Yeah. Let's hope the Angels aren't getting used to attacking so often. Not sure if we can handle the rotation."
06:30 AM Japan Standard Time
Misato stepped out of the operations vehicle that had parked on-site to where the Angel's remains were. Looking out and pausing for a moment to look at the flying craft overhead. The area surrounding the remains had been sealed off with the usual Biohazard containment procedures to study and extract the Angel remains to parts unknown. She pressed onwards out of the transit hub and stepped over makeshift cables, all the while stepping around busy people that were too enthralled with their work. She came up to a small track that ferried personnel in and out of the facility. She showed her access card and stepped onto a small train car. Letting it ferry her out of the hub and into the cleaner air towards Unit-06.
As she approached, she saw Felia waving and walking along the train car.
"Hey Misato! Mind if I jump on?" Felia said, jumping into the seat next to her.
"Oh sure." Misato said as Felia sat down.
"Everything is back up and running." Felia said.
"I can't believe the engine actually works." Misato said.
"I know. Unit-06 will out of action until the power cables are fixed. Till then, expect a system reboot every eight hours." Felia said, handing Misato some fresh coffee.
"Thanks. Probably better than just sitting around doing nothing. What's with all the science techs around the engine though?" Misato asked.
"Gathering data for the final prototype version. If what I've been told is true. Unit-04 was selected by the Americans to be the test type for it. Hopefully that'll make upgrading the Evangelions a lot easier once their done."
"Isn't that a little risky, giving them access to that kind of technology?" Misato asked.
"We've got people on the ground overseeing the process Misato. We're keeping a close eye on America. We certainly don't want another incident like Tokyo-1."
"I hear that." Misato said.
"Misato?"
"Yes?"
"Sorry about shouting at you the other day."
"It's alright. You probably did the right thing." Misato said.
08:00 AM Japan Standard Time
The elevator doors opened as Hikari Horaki, the class representative, stepped out. Clad in her school uniform, she stepped to the apartment that Asuka had registered herself at.
She pushed on the call button to the apartment, hearing the electronic tone of the doorbell ring. From inside came a muffled German cry of haste as Asuka hurried to the front door.
"Oh Hikari!" Asuka exclaimed in surprise.
"Hi Asuka! I wanted to come by and check up on you. Especially with the blackouts and such."
Asuka leaned against the doorframe. "Yeah, me and Stupid Shinji got caught up in it. Misato said we should take the day off as a break until things are fixed."
"Well I'm glad you're ok. Do you want to hang out later?" Hikari asked.
"Mmmmm maybe not tonight, we can tomorrow though if you want." Asuka said.
"I'll be glad. I'll drop by tomorrow to see how you're doing." Hikari said with a smile.
"Ok, thanks for dropping by."
Hikari bowed and then walked off, Asuka closed the door to the apartment. She let out a happy sigh and walked through the apartment, seeing the idiot in the kitchen.
"Who was that?" Shinji called out as he was cooking breakfast for everyone.
"That was Hikari, she dropped by for a chat." Asuka answered as she entered the kitchen. She took a step towards the bathroom.
"I'm gonna take a shower. No peeking." She warned.
Shinji turned to Asuka before she opened the curtain. "Umm Asuka?"
"What is it Third Child?" Asuka said in an annoyed tone.
"How come you haven't spoken to your brother or sister since they arrived? Don't you ever call them? I mean, aren't they your family?" Shinji asked.
Asuka paused after opening the curtain to the bathroom. She turned towards the idiot and leaned against the doorway for her response. "For the most part my sister is busy with her work and Ro is just like every other boring male. There's not much to talk about with him."
"Aren't you curious about the training he did?"
"Why should I?" Asuka asked, she put her hand on her chest and spoke confidently. "Excellence comes naturally to an Elite Pilot like myself. I don't need to be trained like a little doggy."
"...that ok with you little NERV doggy?"
The image of the girl handing his SDAT player back to him suddenly came to his mind. But Asuka snapped him back into the moment.
"AAAhhhhhhhh! TOO! HOT!" Came the cry from the bathroom.
Shinji sighed as he turned to finish cooking.
09:30 AM Japan Standard Time
"Verdammt!" Felia cursed as her finger mashed at the buttons on the coffee vendor.
While most of the lights and doors and everything else was powered up. The occasional light flickering and unpowered vendor was still a nagging problem for Felia's convenience. Her hand started to tremble a little as she felt the addictive urge for coffee starting to take over.
It was a habit she didn't want to kick. It kept her awake, kept her alert. Kept her in control of herself, lest she became a dribbling idiot on the floor.
And the stupid contraption that was the coffee making machine before her was taunting her with reboot messages and swallowing her money. She growled and kicked the machine in frustration.
"You won't get coffee by hitting the poor little thing. But if you ask nicely..."
Felia turned to see Kaji handing her a can of coffee.
"Weren't you supposed to be in America by now?" Felia asked.
"My plane got cancelled, seems a particular woman wants me to stay and tend to her heart." Kaji said with a smile.
"Bah! As if!"
Felia swiped the can out of Kaji's hand. Opening it and taking a gulp of the coffee. It was bitter, but her body relaxed as the caffeine entered her blood stream. The shaking stopped and she felt a sense of equilibrium return.
"I suppose you think I'm indebted to you now." Felia said to Kaji.
"No, it's my treat to the highest ranking official here. But if you ever wanted anything from me, you know where to find me." Kaji said.
"Sorry Ryoji. But my skirt is invitation only, so you can get your pelvis out of it before I hand it back to you." She warned.
"Can't say I'm not disappointed, but I understand. Enjoy the coffee. Commander." Kaji said as he left.
Felia sipped at the can as she watched Kaji walk off. By all rights he was correct in addressing her with such a title. But it was all bull, a figurehead while Gendo was not present and nothing much else, when the Commander comes back, he would resume command.
But he wasn't back in command yet.
10:05 AM Japan Standard Time
Ro slumped into his bed, all around him was the gentle hum of the electronics, it's was comforting in a way. He closed his eyes, resting on the cold mattress, cooling him down.
Then a buzz.
Ro opened one eye as he looked around, the was a soft buzz here and there. He turned to his phone and saw it vibrate. He flipped it open and looked at the bright screen. A message in his inbox. He clicked in the open button and read its contents slowly. It was from one of his friends on the course. The spelling was all in text sleek and barely intelligible. But he got the gist of what it said.
"Unit-04's in America huh? I wonder. Is she still there?" Ro muttered to himself.
Ro moved his legs up and rolled to his side, stepping out of his bunk bed, he punched in a number on his phone as he walked along the corridors of the base.
It was relatively quiet at Gotenba Base. The morning crew were all fighting sleep from their eyes as they were going about with their duties around the base, paying little attention to Ro. He listened to the phone ring several times as he walked into the control room that overlooked the space that his Evangelion would normally be hanging in its container. No-one else was here. Perfect for a private conversation.
"Hello?" A female voice asked.
"Hey, it's me." Ro said as he leaned against the glass.
"Ro? God what time is it there?" The female asked before yawning on the phone.
"10 in the morning, but it feels like I've done a day's work already." Ro replied.
"Mmmmm tell me about it. They had me doing restart tests all night. Not fun." The female said. She was obviously tired.
"I take it you got it then?" Ro asked.
"The big shiny new unit? Oh my god it's so awesome!"
Ro smiled a little at her reaction, she had instantly perked up at that. "Well you deserve it. You were the best of us."
"Yeah. How's That hunk of junk you call Unit-06?" She asked.
"Hanging in there. Runs smooth as always." He replied.
"Well you just wait! My Eva is gonna wipe the floor with you when everything is all sorted." The female voice said in a cocky tone.
"Strong words, I've already got a couple of Angel kills to my tally however, so you'll need to catch up quick." Ro said.
"Mmmm Show-off."
"Anyway, the rate of this call is gonna be killing me so I'm gonna head off." Ro said as he stood up from the glass.
"Ok Ro and... Thanks."
"You're welcome Maria. Take care."
Ro ended the call and smiled gently. But the moment was interrupted by red klaxons going off around him.
"Christ! What now?!"
Genesis Evangelion - The Case of Ro Sohryu:
Episode 04:
Part 2: The justification of the namesake
10:15 AM Japan Standard Time
The klaxons rang out and red Alert screens appears on both sides of the Command Center. Misato stood, arms crossed, along with the three main technicians as the data was coming in.
"Target detected by Mauna Kea Observatory! Status: Currently entering Earth's orbit!" Makoto stated.
"Surveillance Satellite 3 has a visual on the target. Putting it on the main view screen."
The image of a large sphere appeared on the view screen. Symbols darted around the surface. A clear haze of spatial distortion could be seen in its wake as it floated into earth's atmosphere. The image drew a loud gasp from everyone in the room.
"It has an AT-Field strong enough to bend light? That's unbelievable." Misato said.
"So, where do we expect it to land?" Misato asked before stopping herself in realisation. "Let me guess, its heading right here isn't it?"
Maya leaned back in her chair. "The MAGI are recalculating. Probability of a direct contact on NERV headquarters is over 99%"
High above in the upper atmosphere of Earth, several satellite platforms floated towards the large Angel. The front panels blasted off to reveal a massive amount of payloads carried on-board. Cylinders exposed and aimed at the Angel, soon delivering a massive amount of N2 weaponry in a bid to strike the Angel.
Each N2 mine that was fired from the platforms slammed into the Angel's AT-Field. Each impact resulting in a hexagonal shape appearing around the Angel as the AT-field deflected the explosion. The bombardment continued until all of the platforms had exhausted their ammunition.
The spatial distortion around the dark sphere expanded outward, enveloping the platforms and soon began to crush every one of them until they were the smallest size possible, sent hurtling down onto the Earth's surface.
13:07 PM Japan Standard Time
Ritsuko looked over the recorded footage from the surveillance satellites, sipping at her big cup of coffee. The light from the table reflecting on her glasses.
"Following the destruction of the payload satellites, the remaining surveillance satellites recorded the Angel sending the wreckage down to the planet's surface. The impact points appear to correlate to the Angel adjusting its aim to strike Tokyo-3 directly." Ritsuko stated as she showed the impact craters made by the Angel.
The three technicians: Maya, Makoto and Shigeru, all gathered around the lit table, looking at the data and collaborating between themselves as Misato looked on, arms crossed, deep in thought.
"The Angel will have run out of payload satellites by then, so it'll more than likely use itself as a bomb to destroy the Geofront." Maya said.
"We can't strike the target with any ground to air weaponry. The Positron rifle is still too heavily damaged from the Sixth Angel and I don't think the SSDF would appreciate us using it again even if they fixed it in time." Makoto noted.
"Aerial combat is out of the question since we haven't yet developed an aerial propulsion system for the Evas to use. And using the Aerial transports will likely be ineffective as well." Ritsuko said as she sipped her coffee.
"At the rate the Angel is descending, the MAGI calculate that it'll impact at approximately 2200 hours. That's eight hours and fifty three minutes from now." Shigeru stated.
"The Geofront will be vaporised as well as Central Dogma. Terminal Dogma will be left completely exposed to the Angel." Makoto noted.
"Matsushiro Base has agreed to handle the backup of the MAGI. The MAGI will be fully backed up within the next 4 hours of the next system reboot." Maya said.
"What about Commander Ikari? Any word from him?" Misato asked.
"Felia is in a discussion with him now. But the Angel is putting up a jamming field. Its small however, but the closer it is, it'll eventually cut all communications. What are you gonna do Misato?" Ritsuko asked.
Misato sat there for a good few seconds before leaning forward and standing up.
"I'll co-ordinate a plan to deal with the Angel and see what Felia thinks. I just hope I can come up with a good plan."
Felia sat at the commander's desk, before her was the hovering screen showing a phone call with Gendo Ikari. There was no visual feed so it was audio only.
"What is the current status of the Eva Units? Will they be functional for this operation?" Gendo asked.
"Unit-00 is fully functional and ready to be deployed. Unit-06 is still in the middle of repairs and assisting with the power needs of NERV." Felia replied.
"And the pilots?"
"All of them have been given the all clear and are ready for debriefing."
"Good. We're about to approach the Angel's jamming field. This will mean that we will not be able to make contact again until it has been destroyed."
"Understood Sir."
The phone call ended and the screen scrolled down. Felia sat down and leaned back into her chair.
"I hope Misato can come up with a good plan."
13:59 PM Japan Standard Time
Misato sighed and slumped into the chair next to Felia. Both of them sipping on their hot coffee cups. Felia was watching the world news. Staying up to date with current affairs.
"Boy do we have a problem on our hands." Misato said in a defeated tone.
Felia sat her coffee cup down and looked at Misato. "You want problems? I can give you problems. Africa is in the middle of an Ebola outbreak. The Middle East is in flames and rubble from terrorists popping out of the sand. The Russians are pissed about Bethany Base. Riots on all fronts. Dogs and cats living together and oh yes, I forgot. The usual assortment of protesters about the Evangelions. Keeping hard working people like you and me busy with mountains of paperwork. Anything I missed?"
Misato leant forward, resting her chin on the table close by to her coffee.
"When you put it like that, the destruction of the human race is small fry in comparison." She weakly joked.
Felia smiled a little bit. "As it always is Misato. We save the lives of whiny, bitchy ass people and get no thanks in return."
Felia took a sip of her coffee as she looked back at the news.
"Just remember one thing Misato." Felia said.
"What's that?" Misato asks, tilting her head.
"Whatever it is. It can't be that bad." Felia said.
The lights and everything else went dark suddenly, plunging Felia and Misato into darkness, the sound of engines and other electronic equipment dying ran out through the Geofront. It was gonna be a long thirty minutes.
"Verdammt!" Felia cursed.
"Hey Felia." Misato said in the darkness.
Felia sighed. "Yeah?"
"Whatever it is. It can't be that bad right?" Misato joked.
This sent Felia into a giggle. And soon both women were giggling in the darkness.
18:00 PM Japan Standard Time
Eva Unit-01 stood by a dam, the umbilical cable attached to the back. The red afternoon sun was setting in as the last of the NERV trucks drove off, having unloaded the last of its personnel to get the Unit ready. Misato stood nearby the drop-off area under a tent. She was explaining her plan to the three Eva pilots while Ritsuko was standing nearby with a computer showing a map of Tokyo-3.
"What? You want us to catch it with our hands?" Asuka exclaimed at Misato's plan.
"That's right! As the Angel descends, you'll max out your AT-Fields and catch it directly. The target has scrambled its co-ordinates so we can't get a clear point of impact. In order to narrow the field of possibility, all three working Evas will be deployed simultaneously in three different locations."
"Listen! I've already proved I can destroy an Angel on my own! I don't need these dead-weights tying me down!"
"No way Asuka! It's impossible. This is the projected area of impact." Misato said as Ritsuko brought up the map of the Eva coverage.
"Mein Gott! That's a huge area!" Asuka exclaimed.
"Exactly. I need all three of you to make this Miracle work."
"What is this positing based on exactly?" Rei questioned in her deadpan voice.
"Woman's intuition." Came Misato's casual reply.
"Oh that's reliable!" Asuka shouted, crossing her arms.
"What's the chance of success?" Shinji asked.
"Its probably best if you didn't know that." Misato said with a smile.
"For now, get to your Evas. The MAGI will use the street lights to plot the best course to the target. I'll see you three later. I'm counting on you."
With that, Misato and Ritsuko left the three Eva pilots to get themselves ready for the operation. Asuka did not hide how dismayed she looked.
"Woman's intuition. This miracle is slipping further and further away."
Shinji looked at Asuka. "She plays the lottery a lot. But she hardly ever wins."
"Mein Gott! This is so stupid! I've got more chance of dancing with an animated turnip!" Asuka shouted as she stormed off to her Eva.
Shinji watched her for a bit before turning to Rei, seeing her silently doing the same herself. He turned and looked at his own Eva as it stood perfectly still, the afternoon sun's rays shining off the purple armour.
21:45 PM Japan Standard Time
The night air was cold, the sun had settled down under the horizon and the stars had come out. Searchlights had been set up and locked onto the armour of the three Evangelions as they stood at their positions. Bigger searchlights were lit around Tokyo-3, shining up into the night sky to track the Angel high above. There were a few clouds overhead, making the tracking a little more difficult.
Inside of her Evangelion. Asuka sat proudly as she listened to the radio chatter from the NERV techs amongst the hum of her Unit. She flexed her fingers occasionally, watching her Eva's hands move in synch.
"I can beat this Angel by myself. I don't need Stupid Shinji or Wondergirl." She muttered to herself.
She looked into the view screens of her fellow pilots. Seeing them relaxed with their eyes closed. Lost in their own little worlds. But she looked forward past them. She was going to beat this Angel easily.
21:50 PM Japan Standard Time
Misato looked up at the screen showing the Angel with her arms folded. "Alright. Here is comes. Evangelions, get into your start positions."
The sound of artificial muscles being stretched groaned through the air as all three Evangelion units crouched down into a starting position for their runs. Large fingers pressed into the concrete floor, head's tilted up to look forward. Misato's voice came over the radio in the usual serious tone she undertook during operations.
"We can't rely too heavily on the secondary data. So from here on, priority for all actions will be left to your judgement. Everything we've got is riding on the three of you and your Evas."
"Target approaching! Distance at approximately 30,000 feet!" Shigeru stated.
"Understood, release the cables when the Angel hits 20,000 feet!" Misato ordered.
21:54 PM Japan Standard Time
"Let's go, let's go." Asuka muttered under her breath as she waited for the go.
Suddenly the lights turned off all around her. All of the power shut off around Tokyo-3 in one single second. Meanwhile ahead of her, blocks further away turned off in quick succession, even the searchlights soon turned dark, plunging Tokyo-3 into darkness and the mercy of the moonlight and stars above.
"What?" She asked in a panic, the radio from NERV had gone dead, but her connection to the pilots was still on.
The 5 minute timer started on the Eva's battery. She didn't even wait for a response from the panicking techs. She reached back and pulled the electrical plug out of the back socket, before she ploughed her Evangelion forward and started the run.
"Charge!"
Misato leant over Makoto's shoulder. "What happened?!"
"The Power restart has kicked in! We've lost the secondary data!" Makoto said.
"We're getting reports that Back-up generator Alpha is coming online now. We're only gonna be 33% functional." Maya noted.
"Maintain the MAGI and divert all the remaining power to the lighting system to guide the Evas, they need that route!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
The three Evangelions thundered down their respective routes in total darkness, charging forward with everything they had, their only visual aid was up in the sky as the clouds above parted. Showing the Angel above in the sky.
As Unit-00 leapt over two power lines, the lights for their respective routes came back on. Although everything else was still enveloped in darkness.
From high above, the lights could been seen triangulating to a spot that the Angel was heading for. Something the Angel did not ignore as it descended.
Lines on the black sphere of the Angel appeared and it scattered, falling away like an egg shell, cast off into the wind. A small sphere could be seen inside, hexagonal shapes before it turned and started to guide the Angel into a different direction, using the wind to guide it.
"Target is changing course and accelerating! MAGI are selecting route 205!" Shigeru shouted.
The pulsing lights ahead of Asuka shifted to the left, she leaned into the corner and kept Unit-02 running at top speed, jumping over a couple of electrical lines.
"It's moving faster! There's no way I'm gonna reach it in time!" Asuka exclaimed.
"I'll take care of it!" Shinji exclaimed.
He slammed his controls forward, pushing Unit-01 forward as fast as he could. White clouds trailed behind him as he ran. Breaking the sound barrier and letting off a sonic boom that flew like a shock wave, shattering glass in buildings and sending cars and anything else that wasn't nailed down flying.
The colourful sphere split again, opening up like wings unfolding, splaying out as the Angel glided down towards the impact point. A red halo appeared behind it, pushing it down towards the Earth.
Shinji skidded the feet of his Evangelion as he came to the impact point directly underneath the Angel.
"AT-FIELD AT MAX POWER!"
A purple haze appeared around Unit-01 as it maxed out its AT-Field, all of the trees and debris surrounding the Eva were soon cleared by the expanding AT-Field.
Shinji put the Eva's hands up, touching the Angel's AT-Field and pushing back. Stopping it from touching the ground.
From the "eye" of the Angel came an elongated form. The bone white mask of an Angel followed by long arms, folding outward and reaching down. The fingers of the Angel's hands slipped through the AT-Field and Unit-01's fingers, taking hold of the hands and then began to squeeze tightly. The sound of metal being crushed, flesh torn and bones breaking soon snapped as the Angel's hands turned and confirmed into the shape of spears. Crushing Unit-01's hands and piercing through the arms.
Shinji let out a painful scream as bright marks appeared on his hands, the heat and searing pain coming through clearly from the feedback of his synchronisation. He desperately held on his controls, trying not to lose his grip through the pain.
"Unit-02, get the core." Rei said.
"I know that dammit! I'm almost there!" Asuka shouted as she ran. Two progressive knife holsters slide forward from compartments in Unit-02's shoulders.
Unit-00 was the first to arrive, Rei maxed out her AT-Field, the right side of the Angel lifted up slightly.
She pulled out her own progressive knife and cut through the Angel's AT-Field. Clearing the way for Asuka.
As she did this, the Angel took notice. It's red glowing eyes staring down on her as its head turned and snapped around.
Suddenly a shine from the eyes and a blast pushed Unit-00 away, striking it in the mid-section and sent Rei and Unit-00 into the ground some distance away.
The red rings floating above the Angel pulsed and became more intense, pushing more weight down onto Unit-01, pushing its feet into the ground, the Angel's arms spearing through the bone and muscle of Unit-01's arms more, corkscrewing through the elbows.
Asuka leaped forward, forgoing pushing the AT-Field up, she grabbed onto both progressive knifes from the holsters on her shoulders and sliced through the Angel's AT-Field easily with one knife, thrusting the other knife forward. The core bounced off as the knife struck at it.
"Verdammt! That damn thing is scurrying around!" Asuka cursed as the core spun around the Angel's body quickly.
"Asuka! Hurry!" Shinji shouted.
"I'm trying dammit!" Asuka shouted as her eyes darted left and right, trying to track the position of the core.
The Angel pushed down more. Fountains of blood poured from Unit-01's arms as the weight forced it into the ground more, burying Unit-01 at knee height.
"ASUKA!" Shinji shouted.
"Not this time! Verdammt!"
Asuka swung the knife in her right hand sideways, catching the Angel on the horizontal axis, she quickly shoved the second knife into the underside of the core with her left hand.
"Now DIIIEEE!"
Asuka leaned back and sent Unit-02's left foot rising upwards with a bicycle kick, kicking the second knife through the core and shattering it cleanly into two.
The wings of the Angel gently flowed down, laying gently on the ground like feathers.
An eruption of blood came from the center of the Angel, following along the wings before the central mass then glowed and erupted into an cross of light.
The blood of the Angel flowed and cascading though the nearby towns. Washing away more simpler bamboo homes and massive steel tower blocks with the strength of the torrential red wave. Seeping through and overflowing lesser lakes of pure water. Turing them from blue to red.
22:01 PM Japan Standard Time
Misato leaned forward on the desk as the alert klaxons died down. "You did it. Thank you." She breathed out in relief.
"Radio systems are back online. Incoming call from Commander Ikari." Shigeru said.
"Patch him through."
Misato stood up to attention as a screen scrolled up. Showing a phone call from Commander Fuyutsuki. There wasn't any visual data, so AUDIO ONLY was the most prominent words on the screen.
"I apologise Commander. Because of my actions, all three Evas have sustained heavy damage. The responsibility is mine and mine alone." Misato said.
"Not to worry. Given the sheer scale of how much damage this Angel imposed, the circumstances are quite favourable." Fuyutsuki said.
The screen swapped for another as Gendo Ikari joined into the conversation. "I agree. You did well, Colonel Katsuragi."
"Thank you Sir."
"Patch me through to Unit-01's pilot." Gendo ordered.
This made Misato blink in surprise for a second at the Commander's request.
Inside of Unit-01's entry plug came a holograph of the phone call from Gendo Ikari. The display still showing that it was audio only.
"I heard what happened. You did very well Shinji."
Shinji looked surprised at the screen as he heard his father's words. "Umm. Thank you Sir."
"I'll leave the recovery effort to you Colonel Katsuragi." Gendo ordered.
"Yes Sir. Expedite recovery of all three Evas." Misato ordered.
Shinji continued to stare at the screen as the techs began their work.
01:36 AM Japan Standard Time
The military VToL's had been going into overtime ever since the Angel was confirmed dead. Unit-00 was the last one of the three Eva Units to be airlifted out.
Shinji listened to his music, hearing the SDAT stop and playing the 26th track again. The door behind him slid open suddenly. In a panic, Shinji quickly slumped into a sleeping position. Careful not to awake the redheaded dragon that had been in that room on the other side of the door.
Over the top of his quiet music, Shinji heard footsteps walking around on the carpet. He listened with closed eyes as the bathroom was used and then heard more footsteps inching closer to him. He heard and felt a body slump into the bed behind him. He slowly opened his eyes and turned, seeing Asuka laying behind him. He quickly faced forward, trying to stay quiet.
"You know. You should have technically addressed me by my rank as Captain." Asuka said quietly.
Shinji didn't know how to react or say anything. How had she known he was awake?
"But I guess I can make an exception, but only if you let me call you Stupid Shinji."
Shinji turned back slowly. She was facing away from him.
"Umm... Asuka?" Shinji asked.
Although Asuka hunched her shoulders a bit, she relaxed a little. Shinji decided to ask again.
"I was wondering. Why do you pilot the Eva?" He asked.
Asuka was silent for a few moments. "Stupid Shinji. I pilot it because I want to. It's the only thing that matters to me. It's how I want the world to remember me by. I don't need qualifications or a degree to prove I'm the best pilot."
Asuka turned slightly. "What about you? Why do you pilot the Eva?"
Shinji looked at his bandaged hand. "I think... I do it for my farther's approval. Today, he actually praised me."
Asuka turned back. "Stupid Shinji. You really are an idiot."
05:56 AM Japan Standard Time
Ro opened the entry way hatch to the outside world, birds twitting and the sunlight blazed on him, forcing him to close his eyes. He stretched his arms upwards, going onto his toes. Letting out a loud yawn as the muscles clicked.
Fresh air and a good stretch.
But, the air had a faint smell to it. He stopped in mid-stretch. Eyes closed and he sniffed. There was a faint smell of iron in the air.
He lowered his arms and opened his eyes. Suddenly crying out in disbelief.
"What the fuck is all of this shit?!"
The area before him had been encrusted with red sludge, a small path had been carved out of it for travel. Masses of the Geofront before him had been flooded the same way, a massive chunk of mountainside had been blown away. The dark silhouette of Eva Unit-02 been airlifted met his eyes.
His ears soon attuned to the sound of creaking wheels. He saw the shop owners of the noodle stand he regularly visited coming up the path. Steaming piles of food in plastic bags carried on what was left of their business. They noticed him and called him over.
Ro slowly stepped up to them, shocked at the sight.
The shop owner bowed and apologised profusely to him, before handing him an order. Ro hardly had any time to check the food bag before the owner started to drag his business away. Too much hassle of Angel attacks. As the owner passed out of sight, Ro slowly checked his bag.
"What? This is... Ramen? But... I never ordered any." Ro said as he looked.
"Hey Ro!" Cried out a familiar voice.
Ro groaned and growled, grumbling as he turned and his eyes met Kaji. He was cycling along with a steaming food bag of his own, he pulled up in front of the teenager, lowering his sunglasses.
"It seems they mixed up my order. They gave me noodles instead of Ramen. Had to use a bike to get up here. Roads are too narrow for cars at the moment." Kaji said.
Ro shoved his bag forward with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Swap. They gave me Ramen."
Kaji reached for his bag and swapped with Ro, who's early morning wake up was shattered into levels of annoyance that made him almost snatch the bag from Kaji's hand.
"Get a good night's sleep at least?" Kaji asked innocently.
Ro mumbled as he stomped back into the base. Taking hold of the metal bar and pulling on it roughly behind him, slamming the metal hatch shut with a loud slam.
End
A notice to all readers:
As some of you know, I try to get a chapter out on time. But this chapter took a bit of work to get done. I will try to maintain a level of consistency as best as I can. Every chapter will be released every 1-2 weeks. So come back on either the 26th of October or 2nd of November 2014 for the next chapter of Genesis Evangelion!
