Disclaimer: I do not own "Neon Genesis Evangelion" or its production company GAINAX. Heck, I don't even own stock from these guys, if they offer any.
The sweet chorus of a songbird quieted Shinji's mind, as he jumped out of the ASLAV. It had been a while since he had heard the sounds of animals, namely because he never took the time to notice. However, among all the chaotic bustle of the military setting up their Command Post, he was hard pressed to concentrate on the melody. But for just a moment, Shinji forgot he was in the middle of a disaster area, until he felt a punch against his back.
"Keep it moving idiot!" Shinji sighed; he could always count on Asuka to bring him back to reality. He awkwardly turned around to face Asuka, expecting to see the normal, tough-as-nails Asuka. "Please?"
"Asuka, are you feeling alright?"
"Shut up Shinji! I'm trying to be nice to you for once. You had better not take advantage of it, 'kay?" Shinji shoulders slumped as Asuka walked briskly in front of him while Shinji trailed behind. Just like the good old days.
"Sergeant Elric!" screamed Major McCormick amidst the chaos of the unloading. The sergeant briskly walked over to his superior, straightening to attention. "You have new orders," she said nodding to Shinji and Asuka "you now have custody of Ikari and Soryu."
"Yes ma'am."
"I've given you this prestigious honor for one reason: they seem to trust you. They are both very young, so I would not trust them with anyone, save for yourself."
"Yes ma'am."
"Carry on sergeant."
"Thank you, ma'am" Elric gave McCormick a swift salute and turned around to join up with his squad. Elric was quite adamant about not taking these kids into any sort of combat zone. He realized that men and supplies were both in short supply, but that still did not excuse the use of children in a combat zone. He sighed as he realized how ironic that his government was trying to prevent the use of child soldiers in war zones before Third and Second Impact, but came to use them when push came to shove.
"Yo, Elric!" shouted Lieutenant Fairfax, looking more ragged than he did a few hours ago.
"Fairfax, when the hell are you going to shave?"
"Well, the wonderful Major dropped us supplies and ammunition, but no razors or cream for that matter."
"Why don't you use your knife and some water, Fairfax? Anyways, is there something you wanted me for?"
"Crap Vince. It's me mate, not some random bloke off the streets." Fairfax for being the most unorganized and ragged of the 5th/7th Battalion was also the most perceptive. Nobody could hide anything from him, be it private or not. "Something is bothering you mate, that much is certain. If it's anything I'd say it be about those kids were babysitting, am I right?"
"As always Fairfax, you're right. I hate the fact were taking these kids on a military mission. We don't even know if those things will be in there; for all the fuck we know, they could be entrenched in there. I can just see them kickin' their goddamn feet up and just waiting for us to walk into some fucking ambush."
"Whow mate. Slow down there, we can't have you off your game now! You're the calm guy in this platoon and possibly the only one who can think before he squeezes the trigger." Vince felt a hand slap his back hard as Sergeant Cester came from behind.
"If I'm not interrupting you two ladies, word just came down that we're going in."
Fairfax's face twisted into disappointed as he heard Cester talking. Not only did Fairfax have it in for Cester for being insubordinate, but he was not looking forward to going underground. He hated it being underground.
"Goddamn it Cester! Can you stop being a jackass for once in your life? Who did you hear this from?" snapped the Lieutenant
"Major McCormick, sir; she wants us at the maw in 10 minutes. From what she told me, our objective is to secure the former NERV command center."
"Great, I hate being the bait." Fairfax sighed as he shouldered his rifle and went towards the maw. When Fairfax left the two sergeants, Elric turned to Cester hoping that he had seen Shinji and Asuka.
"Yeah, I saw them. They're over by the maw, which we need to be at right about now." Replied Cester.
"Does the platoon know about our mission?" asked Elric
"I let my squad know and the word went around pretty fast." Cester paused for a moment and turned to Elric. "You know Vince; I'd keep my eye on that Shinji kid. Call it a hunch, but I just have a bad vibe about him."
"He's a kid Cester; he can't be some murderous psychopath."
"I'm just saying that because when you rescued the two of them from Tokyo-3, I took my squad inside to see if any scavengers were inside. There were bodies, about five, give or take a few, with rifles that looked like they could have punched holes in our esteemed guest. They were brutally murdered Vincent, like something you would see out of a horror film. Windpipes cut, arms severed, gunshot holes through the entire place, blood everywhere."
"And you think it could have been either of them? For all we know it could have been the girl or both of them."
"Stop defending him Vincent! You know as well as I do that Shinji had the blood all over his shirt. The girl couldn't have done it. She may be somewhat of a bitch, but that's all a cover up." Elric sighed; he knew Cester was on to something. For all he knew, he could have been right. Shinji did have blood on him that night; he was drenched in it to say the least. Vincent smoothed his hair, as he remembered that Asuka was not that trigger happy because he had lent her his sidearm during an attack a few nights ago. "I'm sorry Vince, but you are going to have to watch him in there. You're probably right about all those jackasses waiting in there, and if you were right, those two kids may feel some sort of resentment about that place."
"Crap Cester, I'm going to need a night in a pub after all this is said and done."
"I'll gladly you join you. Let's go to the maw."
The maw was the name the soldiers had given to NERV's entrance. It was huge, with rows of "teeth" along the opening, and was lined with former JSSDF vehicles like rotting carcasses. Platoons from the 5th/7th Battalion took defensive positions while one platoon took their positions next to the entrance, ready to storm the dead NERV center. Sergeant Elric took Asuka and Shinji by his side, as he formed up in front of his squad. Lieutenant Fairfax took a seat, as he unfurled a rough drawing of NERV in front of the soldiers. He gave a signal to the men to stand down and to sit down and motioned to Asuka and Shinji to sit by him.
"G'afternoon mates and welcome back to work. Before we go on the briefing I want all of you to stow any immature shit and act like actual military men and not some sorry-ass recruits. Our primary objective is to secure the NERV command center located here and obtain data files pertaining to anything that NERV might have been working on. Secondary objective is to secure any finished experimental items."
"So, is NERV like Black Mesa? Complete with teleportation guns and HEV suits?" joked Private Radcliffe.
"Radcliffe, what did I just get through about not acting like a goddamn kid? You're lucky I'm such a nice guy, or else I'd go Sergeant Hartman on your ass and skull-fuck you." Radcliffe and all the other soldiers who were smiling suddenly turned serious, after hearing Fairfax. "We don't know what they were working on, per se. However, if it's anything like a radiation rifle, we are obviously not going to be taking it back. There is something that interests the brass dubbed "Evangelion." From what we've heard from intelligence and the rumor-mill, it's a humanoid cyborg that is about 10-15 stories high with destructive capabilities akin to a nuclear weapon." Asuka and Shinji shifted uncomfortably in their positions, after Fairfax referred to the Evas as "nuclear weapons."
"Your rumor mill is right" Asuka muttered. "The Eva's are very powerful and if was used right now, you and your entire battalion would be wiped out."
"Alright, anything else we should know? Like weapons, artifacts or more of these mech things?"
"If this is an interrogation, we're…"
"Asuka, if I may call you that, I am not interrogating you or Shinji for that matter. I am only concerned for the safety of my men, that's all."
"There are, or were, three Evangelions at NERV" Shinji muttered.
"He speaks English? I thought you could only speak English, not him." said Fairfax.
"I taught Shinji all he knows," Asuka put in proudly "and yes he's right. There should be…." She paused for a moment and stuttered as she tried to pronounce the number 'three.' It suddenly caught up with her the horrific images of her Eva's final moment as it was mutilated by the faux Evangelions. The pain wrenched her gut as she felt the teeth digging in her flesh again.
"Asuka? Keep it together girl, nothing's happened, and we're still here." Fairfax whispered as he tried to soothe her. The soldier's started to whisper to each other about her being a nut. Sergeant Hayes finally told the gossiping soldiers to be quiet, even though he doubted using children as guides and this only bolstered his claim.
"Alright, so there are 'evas' down there; is there any way to activate them?"
"No, you can't activate them," Shinji responded "but we can." Sergeant Cester looked quizzically at Shinji and spoke out.
"You and the girl can control these mechs? Why can't any of us use them to get them out?"
"You need something called a 'synch-rate' with the Eva's. Without one, you couldn't even get it to twitch."
"Alright," interrupted Fairfax "if Shinji's right, then none of us can move these things, so we shouldn't worry about it. Nevertheless, we still need to move on to our primary objective now. Suit up and load out, we've got some searching to do." The soldiers stood up, shouldered their rifles, and began to march towards the maw.
The platoon arrived at the lift down to NERV headquarters, only to find it was littered with dried blood and a crusting yellow liquid. Eerily though, the bodies were gone leaving only uniforms, equipment and rifles.
"Corporal Blair, get over here." Fairfax shouted. A tall woman with hazel hair and freckles walked over to Fairfax. "Run a bypass of the system and get this lift working." Shinji, who was feeling much calmer around the soldiers, approached the lieutenant.
"Sir, you don't have to have her hack into the systems." Before the Lieutenant could respond to Shinji, Shinji pulled out his card and swiped it through a reader, opening the doors and lighting the path below. Fairfax and the platoon were stunned; this kid obviously had much more use than they had thought originally. Fairfax waved to the platoon to board the platform, while motioning to guard the entrance. Amidst the confusion, Asuka pocketed a Glock handgun with a full clip. Unlike Shinji, she was not going to give away her trust so easily to these soldiers.
The platform whined to life as the chains creaked and platform began to inch its way down to the surface. Soon, what was formerly known as the Tokyo-3 NERV complex came into view. Elric, as well the soldiers, gaped in awe at the sheer architectural genius of an entire ecosystem that was at least a 10 stories underground. Shinji moved over towards Asuka, brushing his hand against her hand. Asuka turned towards Shinji, while Shinji gazed into the wreckage of their former command center. That hated place where the both of them had faced death and destruction many times before. And now they were returning to it with soldiers whose aim was to pillage whatever scraps were left. Shinji softly grasped Asuka's hand and she squeezed it back.
"You'll stay with me on this, won't you?" Shinji whispered to Asuka. She only squeezed his hand harder.
"Idiot, of course I will. Just don't yourself shoot yourself in the foot." Shinji started to feel a cold sweat running down his back as the crater from the last battle came into view. He sensed that Asuka was worried also, but he held his tongue. Knowing Asuka, she would get extremely defensive. He only felt her hand grow cold as she saw the crater too. Maybe it was a sign of things to come, but Shinji was too nervous to notice and Asuka was busy fingering the Glock with her free hand.
Minutes passed and the lift was finally coming to a rest on the first level of the NERV center. Fairfax nodded to Vincent as he motioned his squad to take a position around the door. The door creaked to life and sprang opened halfway, enough for two men to get through. As the men loaded out and began their sweep of the area, they began to grow nervous. They weren't the first ones down here since Third Impact. Hayes took his squad to cover the hallway leading into the lobby, while Cester and his squad investigated the damage. Elric, his squad and Asuka and Shinji were the last to exit the lift. They were all equally terrified.
The walls were scrawled with peeling blood and the yellowish liquid they had seen previously. The squads eyed them equally with curiosity and fear as the markings were in English, Arabic, Japanese, and lastly, Latin. The markings said all the same thing: in Japanese "arinomama," in Arabic "حقيقة," in English "truth," and lastly, covering the ceiling with its brown-red letters "veritas."
"Christ mate, this some weird shit going!" screamed one, young private in Cester's squad as he looked towards the ceiling.
"Secure that shit Stoner! It's just writing, not goddamn bombs." Cester calmly said to his greenhorn private. Fairfax was even looking at the ceiling in disbelief. He muttered something along the lines of that this was not supposed to be happening in this day and age. The soldiers had now realized that they had stepped into a world they had never before perceived and their morale suffered. Some began begging Lieutenant Fairfax to call for reinforcements, while others began to lose faith in the mission. Meanwhile, Shinji and Asuka stood, still holding each others hands stood unflinching. This was nothing they hadn't seen before.
"You pansy-ass, sorry excuse for soldiers!" screamed Hayes "Get back in your damn squads, right this fucking instant!" Seconds after Hayes had screamed, the halls began to echo with the sound of rattling gears. Cester and Elric took flanking positions around Hayes' squad as the sound intensified. Fairfax put Shinji and Asuka behind him as he centered his M-8 rifle at the hallway and readied a grenade. Asuka began to finger the Glock in the back of her pants, ready to pull it out. Hayes kicked down some tables that were lying around and directed his squad to take cover as they placed their rifles above the tables. They adjusted their sights and some fingered their grenades in case that sound came from the things they had fought earlier.
The sound grew louder, as it inched closer and closer down the hallway. The creaky sound of joints and bumps of items clattered, echoed throughout the hallway. The fingers began to grace the edges of the triggers, ready to fire at a moments notice. The sound grew louder until it abruptly stopped, mere meters from the platoon's position. Then Elric motioned to his squad to cover him, as he squeezed of a few rounds into the hallway. The crack quieted the platoon, relieved that nothing had responded. Then, the creaks started again and a voice echoed from the hallways.
"Stop shooting! I'm human!" Shinji and Asuka immediately recognized the voice. They thought that he was dead for sure after Third Impact, the invasion, and even his rouge Evangelion should have killed him. The voice belonged to Toji. They ran towards the voice, brushing the hands of the soldiers away. Toji was there alright, alive and kicking. He was sitting in a wheelchair and had an MP5 submachine gun on his lap. His face was worn and tired, but he still had that gruff demeanor that defined him.
"Crap, am I happy te see you guys. It's been nothing but hell down here for meh, but damn, you didn't hav te be so goddamn trigger happy."
"Sorry Toji," replied Shinji "the soldiers were wound a little tight."
"Hol' the up dere, ya brought soldiers? Actual honest ta gawd soldiers?"
"Yeah, they aren't here to kill anybody," Asuka put in as Fairfax and the rest of the platoon came into the hallway. Their rifles were still drawn, but most of them were relived that only a boy was around the corner.
" 'Ello mate. Glad to know you're not one of those things too."
"Anno…."Toji replied. Shinji suddenly remembered that Toji had one of the lowest scores in his English scores.
"Lieutenant Fairfax, Toji's not too great with English. He'll have a hard time understanding you."
"No shit, he won't. We can talk later guys, but right now we've got to move." Toji said hurriedly as he raised his MP5. The soldiers raised their rifles at Toji; Toji placed his MP5 on his lap carefully to appease them. "Look 'ere. Those damn buggers will be comin' soon. I've already supplied the command centur with plent'y of ammo and food."
"What's he saying?" Vincent asked sternly as he motioned to his soldiers to lower their rifles.
"He's saying that those things that wrote those words will be coming for us. Toji said that he stocked the command center with plenty of supplies, isn't that right Toji?" Not knowing what she said, Toji nodded and sped his wheels towards the command center. Lieutenant Fairfax motioned to the sergeants to flank the guides and he would take Cester's squad to the rear. The platoon raced down the hallways, not even bothering to hear the scratching coming from the vents and walls.
They knew no fear. They had no comprehension of preserving their lives. They were lead on animal instinct. The Veritas drew their crudely made spears and followed the unsuspecting platoon. Three was about 10 of them, more than a match for these weakling humans. Their Empresses told them that the self-destructive reign of humanity was coming to a close and the first step was to eradicate the species from the face of the cursed planet.
They had wrongly calculated the senses of human, as one of the soldiers noticed them crawling on the ceiling, firing a burst from his Jackhammer shotgun. The Veritas sprang on to the unsuspecting guard as the soldiers in front ran faster, cowering from their attack. The remaining soldiers fired their rifles, proving to be more effective than last time, but still not enough to turn the tide in their favor.
One Veritas turned his horned face towards a soldier who was doing the most damage and leaped towards him, knocking the soldier down. The soldier knew he had three shells left, not enough to take this sucker out. He mustered up what courage he had left and yelled out "EAT THIS!" as he placed that Jackhammer squarely in the mouth of the Veritas as it roared over a kill. The blast blew the soldier and the Veritas back, both injured, but the soldier had survived the ordeal. The Veritas stumbled with half of its face blown off and blood rushing down his shoulder. He looked down and prayed to his Empresses for forgiveness for the humiliating death by a human.
Noticing the fall of her comrades, the surviving leader threw a soldier meters, before calling to her comrades in a whispered yell. She turned her bearded face to her comrades and initiated the retreat. This was a momentary defeat for her and her comrades. There would come a day, Empresses willing, these humans would rue this day.
The surviving soldiers carried the wounded back towards platoon. The skirmish took a heavy toll by taking out a quarter of Cester's squad. The men formed a barrier around the guides, one even picked up Toji out his wheelchair for fair that he would slow them down. Toji, now looking down on Asuka and Shinji, had still managed to keep his head through the ordeal.
"I tol' ya it was hell down here!" Asuka grabbed Shinji's hand and grabbed the Glock with her free hand. She recognized those things so vividly. They weren't aliens, demons or mutants and she shuddered at the thought of it. She squeezed Shinji's hand tighter as she quickened her pace. Asuka promised herself that she wouldn't be the damsel in distress this time.
"Asuka…" Shinji said in a quivering voice. "those were Evangelions, weren't they?" Asuka could only nod.
Author's Note: Well this is fracking awesome! I finally finished the tenth chapter of "Exiled." Woot for laziness for delaying me and a Woot to my memory that remembers these things and a Woot to the beta readers. On a side note, to anybody who was curious, the chapters were indeed taken from songs. Here's the list
1) What ever became of Likely Lads- The Libertines
2) Some other time- Yoko Kanno
3) Different names for the Same Places- Death Cab for Cutie
4) Come as You Are- Nirvana
5) Sleep Now in the Fire- Rage Against the Machine
6) Smile Like You Mean it- The Killers
7) Paralyzed- Rock Kills Kid
8) Maybe Tommorow- Stereophonics
9) Such Great Heights- The Postal Service
10) Hang Me Up to Dry- The Cold War Kids