Chapter ten: The Best Defence.

"Commander, I have that report on the pilots training regime you requested, All pilots are in line with our predictions, aside from the forth child. He's still trailing behind the others by quite a margin, but it's a moot point as his sync score doesn't seem to have any relevance on his combat performance."

"Explain."

"Yes sir, as you know the magnitude of the synchronisation between the Unit and the pilot effects the agility and control during combat and training exercises, as well as other, more subtle effects. A pilot with the Forth Child's score should be able to move the unit in basic tactical formations and handle weapons with enough success that they can be placed on the active duty roster and can be deployed as support for higher scoring pilots.

Tanus has shown enough skill to be deployed in a point position, has an unusually high knowledge of combat procedures and tactical movement, and his Eva responds to his subtle movements as if his score was in the upper hundreds, but it's languishing at the bottom of the heap. Even with the reasons you provided, I just don't understand it."

"Do not trouble yourself with sync score anomalies, instead focus on increasing his and the other pilots training to more complex manoeuvres and squad tactics. Defeating the Angels is our primary concern."

"Yes commander."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The evening before the trip was spent like any other, the three Eva pilots killing time after another's day training until Misato got back from her shift and we could decide on dinner. I was dozing on the sofa, my cap over my face to block out the light, Shinji was sat on the floor watching television, and Asuka was reading one of her magazines by the patio windows, her last-minute purchases in the bags beside her. The only sound was the low chatter of the television programme and the flick of Asuka turning the pages.

The sound of the living room door opening caused the three of us to look up and I pushed the peak of my cap away from my eyes as Shinji greeted the exhausted-looking Misato with a smile.

"Oh hey Misato, how was your shift?"

"Same old, same old." She said with a sigh, pushing my feet from the cushions with her hand and collapsing into the space, "The intercept system is still giving us a major headache, it'll take months to bring it up to a hundred percent effectiveness. That's why you'll all on permanent standby as of now."

"What?" Asuka's shriek caused me to flinch, she could reach a high pitch when she wanted; "That means I can't go on the trip! What jackass decided that?"

"This one," Misato press a thumb to her chest, "The Operations Director and your commanding officer."

"Shinji," Asuka barked, "act like a man and talk some sense into this woman!"

"Why me? I already expected this." Shinji was quick to back away from the problem,

"So you've already given up? Pathetic!" she turned her gaze to me, with a look that allowed no argument, "You'll convince her that she's making a mistake wont you?"

"Standby status doesn't seem so bad." I said sleepily, stifling a yawn with my hand,

"What are you? Stupid? Standby means we have to stay here and be ready to launch at a moments notice. We can't go to Okinawa!"

"Why not? Headquarters had said it was fine."

"Look," said Misato with a sigh, "I know you guys are upset, but we need you nearby in case an Angel attacks. The intercept system isn't strong enough to repel them by itself."

"So we have to do constant training and preparation against an attack that may or may not come?" Asuka muttered angrily, "Sharpening a blade too much dulls the edge, Misato. Shouldn't we find them and attack them first?"

"If we could do that we would." Misato responded calmly, then quickly switched track, "Think of this as a chance to get ahead of your classmates with your school work." She pulled three discs from her pocket and held them up, I could make out our names written at the top, "Or did you think I didn't know about your test scores yet? Well, your reports are forwarded directly to my terminal. I'm very disappointed with the three of you."

"Well this country's grading system is just dumb," Said Asuka with a shrug, "The numeric method is an out-dated and inaccurate display of my skills."

"I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Hell, I'm probably a spoon," I argued, "But even I can see that Asuka's got a point. The numeric system belongs in the eighties. Its not flexible enough to cope with the diversity of skill levels in our class."

"You two could just try to adjust to Japanese schooling." Misato said with a calm that just seemed to irritate Asuka further, " "In Rome do as the Romans do.""

"Yeah, but where's the fun in conformity?" Asuka said, hands on her hips, "This sucks."

"I'm sorry, maybe when the other Eva's are finished and we have more pilots we can afford to give you guys more free time."

"But there's only four of us." I said with a sigh, covering my eyes with my cap again, "Besides, training is kind of fun. I'll stay."

"Yeah, me too." Added Shinji with unusual force, I gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder.

"Psyched up and ready to fight huh? The Angels are in trouble now."

"Get serious," Asuka snapped, "there'll be nothing left once Unit Two is finished with them."

"Glad to hear it." Said Misato and gave us a proud smile before she disappeared down the corridor to her room.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The next day was unusual in that Ritsuko hadn't scheduled the four pilots for any tests until the afternoon, so Shinji and I had taken advantage of the free time to set up our laptops and assorted papers on one of the tables inside one of the geo-fronts sports centres that overlooked the pool, trying to finish the mountain of work that our teachers had left us quickly so we wouldn't have to worry about it for a week, and reasoning that if we worked in the geo-front we wouldn't have as far to go if Misato's fears materialised.

Rei had come out of her self-imposed isolation and was stood on the diving board in her school swimsuit, Shinji and myself watching her silently out of the corner of our eyes, then slid of her elevated position with a graceful swan dive and entered the water with barely a ripple.

"What've you guys got there?" Asuka called, her voice echoing though the room and causing the two males to quickly focus on the papers before them.

"Basic physics primer." Said Shinji hurriedly, grasping a file at random.

"If this is basic, I'd hate to see the advanced." I added, flicking through the textbook, "This stuff is hard."

"Such obedient students," Asuka said mockingly, I could hear her walking closer, "Why can't you lighten up and have some fun for once."

"Well, we'd have to study it anyway-," Shinji began; looking up from his laptop at something over my shoulder, then fell silent with his eyes wide.

I turned in my chair, and found my eyes level with Asuka's chest, the red and white striped swimsuit she was wearing revealing more skin than it covered, and I knew my face mirrored Shinji's. Kensuke would kill to get a photo of this.

"Well? What do you think?" Asuka spun slowly on the spot, our treacherous eyes following the movement, "I bought it for the trip, but as I can't go diving in Okinawa, lets do it here."

My imagination conjured up an image and I quickly stomped it out, fearing womankind's ability to read my mind and the possible repercussions, Shinji seemed to have shared my vision, as he sounded hoarse when he replied.

"Do, do what?"

"Diving, idiot." Asuka said with a roll of her eyes, leaning over my shoulder and spinning Shinji's laptop round to face her, I focused on the wall to my left and tried to ignore the pressure on my back, humming helped.

"You can't solve an easy problem like this?" The Second Child muttered, her fingers dancing over the keyboard, "There. It's done. Its simple when you know how." She turned the laptop back to Shinji and stood up with a triumphant expression.

"Wait, if you can solve problems at this level, how come you always seem to do badly on tests?" Shinji protested

Asuka sighed, removed her diving goggles from her forehead and gave them a polish with her thumb, "Its because I'm having trouble translating the questions into a language I can understand. I didn't have to study Japanese in collage."

"You went to collage? At your age?" This new information seemed to shock Shinji more that Asuka's swimsuit,

"I graduated last year." Said Asuka, returning her goggles to their place, "With flying colours."

"You should try the training course for NERV techs," I suggested, "the damn thing is a challenge even for adults with your kind of education. I barely scraped through."

The girl snorted, and lent back to examine Shinji's work again, "What does this one say?"

"Erm, it's a question about thermal expansion." He looked like he didn't know where to put his eyes, he settled for the screen.

"Thermal expansion? That's kids stuff!" Asuka said, trying not to laugh, "To put it in terms you might understand, most things get larger when they get hot, and shrink when they get cold, okay?"

"It sounds simple enough, but-" Shinji began, but Asuka cut him off,

"Look, if I was to warm up my breasts with my hands, do they shrink or expand?"

She clutched at her chest to demonstrate and Shinji went from pale to bright red in less then a second, I returned to staring at the wall, suppressing any Asuka related thoughts while my friend spluttered.

"I don't think about things like that!" he said quickly and Asuka rolled her eyes and turned away,

"Boring little boy." she muttered in German as she walked off, "Nothing compared to Kaji…"

I turned in my chair to watch her return to her diving equipment at the other end of the pool and began to pull it on, adjusting straps and valves as she did so.

Shinji was watching Rei pull herself clear of the pool and dry her hair on a towel she had left nearby, then she picked up a small book and flicked through the pages, seating herself on one of the wooden chairs.

"Rei's quite the athlete," I said to Shinji, with a nod to the first child, "I couldn't do that many lengths in such a short time."

"Yeah," he replied distantly, "Say Tanus, how long-"

"Hey guys!" Asuka's shriek cut him off again, "Watch this!"

We turned once more, this time to face Asuka where she was sat at the edge of the pool,

"Back roll entry!" she cried then pushed herself back into the water with none of Rei's grace. Shinji gave a weary sigh and I grinned, giving the girl a victory sign when she surfaced.

"Attention, all pilots prepare to sortie, I say again, all pilots prepare to sortie." The PA blared, causing two European curses, "All Eva Pilots report to briefing room seven immediately."

"Just our luck," I muttered as I offered Asuka a hand up, "Misato was right."

"Think of the combat bonus on your pay check," Asuka said, ignoring my hand and hauling herself from the water and began to remove her diving equipment. Rei had vanished.

I shrugged and left the room at the run, falling in beside Shinji as he weaved though the crowded corridors, giving him a reassuring grin.

"Time to save the world again."

"Yeah. Lets do it."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The Thing that occupied the briefing room's main screen put me in mind of a human embryo, having two arms, two tiny legs and even five fingers on each hand, but the scale said it half the size of an Eva and the beginnings of a tail from its pelvis.

"That's an Angel?" Shinji said, and Ritsuko nodded opposite him,

"Correct, it must be a chrysalis state that precedes the adult stage we are familiar with, it is currently in the Mount Asama crater. Your mission will be to capture this angel alive and in a state as close to its original as possible."

"What if we fail?" Asuka asked, staring at the picture uncertainly,

"Then it must be destroyed, understood?"

"Roger." The four of us coursed,

"The primary combat pilot will be," Ritsuko began and Asuka quickly raised her hand, hopping from foot to foot in her swimsuit anxiously,

"Pick me please, I love diving!" she pleaded,

"Asuka." Ritsuko finished and Shinji and I exchanged surprised looks, I had expected it to be him. "You will handle the mission."

"Sure, it'll be easy!" said Asuka confidently,

"Unit One and Unit five will be deployed as back up and fire support respectively." Ritsuko continued,

"And me?" said Rei softly, stepping forwards in her still wet swimsuit,

"The equipment we are using hasn't be standardised for use on the prototype model, therefore you will remain here on standby."

"Yes ma'am." Rei replied and stepped back to her place in line with parade square precision.

"Poor little Rei," Asuka whispered, "She never gets to have any fun."

The first child's eyes flicked towards her for a second then she returned them to the screen without reacting. Ritsuko stepped into the silence.

"An A-17 has been ordered, so you'll have to roll our immediately."

"Yes ma'am." The three active pilots replied.

"Asuka," Ritsuko herded us out, "You'll need one of the heat resistant plugsuits for this operation, come with me."

Three minutes later I was stood in the cage with Shinji and Rei, staring up at the bloated form of Unit two in the bulky D-type with amusement, it was sat against the back wall of cage six, like a discarded toy, with the dull grey suit covering every inch of the machine except its face, which had thick glass or some other clear material allowing the pilot a view of the outside.

"Unit Two! What have you done to it?!" I heard Asuka shriek from the lift beside us, a glance in her direction turned into a full stare once I realised what was different. She was an almost perfect circle, her head sticking out the top like an afterthought, and just slim enough to allow her though the doors to the cage. How she was supposed to pilot wearing that was a mystery.

"Go ahead," Asuka snarled, noticing my expression, "Laugh. I'll make sure it's the last thing you do."

"What? Did you say something funny?" I replied, fighting to keep a straight face, "I don't see anything amusing here, oh no."

"You didn't tell me that the suit did this!" Asuka snapped at Ritsuko, "You can forget it! I'm not piloting while wearing this stupid thing! This is the sort of thing you have Shinji for!"

"I'm so disappointed," said a new voice and I looked upward to se Kaji on one of the walkways above us, Asuka froze in horror, "I was looking forward to seeing you fight again, Asuka."

"Doctor Akagi, how could you let Kaji see me in this awful thing?" Asuka stomped a foot and looked so ridiculous I had to cover my laughter with hollow coughing.

"Type D equipment is designed to protect you from extreme environmental duress, not for the catwalk."

"Yeah," I added, the coughing fit had passed, "Would you rather go into the lava without it? You'd not last long, even with an AT field."

"If you're so smart why don't you wear it?"

"I would, but I don't look as good in red." I tapped my chest, "Green is more my colour."

"Use of D-type equipment means removing both shoulder pylons. Safe disengagement of unit five's targeting computers would take several hours. Unit one would require extensive refit of its amour mounts, which would also take too long. Unit Two is the only viable option." Ritsuko said, examining something on her clipboard,

"Then I will go in Unit Two." Said Rei suddenly, raising a hand, "its exterior appearance matters little."

Asuka slapped down Rei's hand; "There's no way in hell I'm letting you near my Eva. I'd rather do it then let you take my place."

She looked up at her swollen Eva and said something, so softly I almost missed it "I'm sorry, but they made me do it."

Ritsuko stepped forwards, "The rest of you get aboard your Eva's, we've wasted enough time as it is. Move!"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

We used the highway that ran near Mount Asama as a makeshift airstrip for the arrival of the Evangelions, the huge transports "hedge hopping" towards the drop zone and lowering the harnesses for our feet to touch the tarmac, then disengaging the locks as it flared over the roadway, the sudden drop in speed eliminating any forward motion we would have made, The large amount of houses nearby prevented a normal combat drop.

I saluted C-22 Bravo as it climbed skywards once more, picked up the positron rifle that lay nearby, and ejected my right pylon and let it fall to the ground. Then I slid my arm into the armoured sleeve to grip the firing stud, the huge weapon connecting to the now unoccupied pylon mount and turning my right arm rigid. Tracking a moving target would be difficult.

I could feel the heat of the barrel against my arm as the weapon charged, energy from the national grid now diverted to aligning the magnetic coils, and used my free hand to attach my umbilical cable as the roar of C-22 Alpha drew closer, dropping its cargo with barely a pause, the purple Eva quickly clearing the drop zone as C-22 Charlie lined itself up on the strip, Unit two slung underneath like a puppet.

"What ever you do, don't laugh." I warned Shinji as the Eva landed awkwardly, steadying itself on a nearby house with a claw-like hand, and Units Five and One suddenly found more interesting things to examine in the distance, deliberately not looking at the unit waddling pathetically up the mountainside.

"All Eva's move to your designated positions." Misato ordered, her face a welcome sight on my HUD "Lets get this operation done quickly and effectively. Commander Ikari wants no mistakes."

"Hey, is Kaji here yet?" Asuka asked, her Eva now stood near a lava chimney about halfway up the volcano and was turning its head to search the personnel gathered around the huge crane that dominated the slope, I moved my Eva up beside her, Shinji standing on her right.

"God's gift to women wont be coming, he has no business here." Said Misato irritably and closed the link, obviously Kaji was still tormenting her.

"Aww." Asuka muttered as she was hoisted onto the crane, secured in place, and large coolant pipes where attached, "I wanted him to see me capture a live Angel."

My targeting computer beeped as it registered new contacts and small yellow symbols appeared on my HUD, at the limit of my sensor range, indicating allied forces.

"What are those? Jets?" Shinji asked, watching the distant vapour trails,

"Looks like a B-52 squadron with F-22 fighter escorts." I added, examining the aircraft with my weapons scope, "A large formation, and enough ordinance to turn this mountain into a valley."

"The UN and JSSDF will be standing by, until this op is over at least." Ritsuko explained from the command car at the base of the mountain.

"Are they here to help?" Asuka asked hopefully,

"No, to clean up the mess if we fail." The doctor replied flatly, "They'll use N2 depth charges to destroy the angel, us as well if we're not careful."

"What kind of idiot would authorise that?" Asuka spat,

"Commander Ikari." Ritsuko said, and then closed the link. Shinji snarled and muttered something; I tapped his shoulder with my free hand,

"Don't worry, Shinji. Your Father wouldn't let that happen."

"How can you be so sure?" Asuka asked from where she hung, I turned to face her, heavy rifle swinging round over the crater's edge.

"From what I've seen of the man, it wouldn't be for personal reasons, He can replace these machines, but not us. We all have valuable combat experience against these monsters. Only an idiot throws that away."

"Okay guys, cut the chatter." Misato re-appeared on our HUDs, "Asuka, are you ready?"

"On standby. Ready when you are."

"Roger," the captain turned to someone off screen, "fire the laser bore and prepare to lower Unit two into position."

A small box shaped object on the end of the crane boom glowed red for a second, then fired a short blue beam into the fiery lake below, cutting through the crust and allowing liquid rock to bubble out of the opening like blood from a wound. Shortly after, the winch whirled into life and Unit two began to sink downwards, clutching the electromagnetic cage frame in both of its hands.

"Unit five, we need you to be our eyes and ears." Ritsuko informed me as the Eva drew closer to the lava, "Unit two's sensory equipment isn't going to be much use down there. Stay vigilant."

"Roger."

I booted up my data transmission software and connected my computer to unit two's, using its sonar equipment and my own pylon mounted gear to scan the surrounding magma for the target.

"Unit two is entering the lava." Maya reported,

"Hey look at this Shinji!" Asuka called and her Eva extended its right leg forward while pushing its left back, entering the lava in that ridiculous position "A perfect scissor dive!"

"Ten out of ten." Shinji replied, rolling his eyes at me, I stifled a chuckle.

"Current depth; one-seventy. Rate of decent: twenty. No problems detected. Visibility is zero." Asuka was suddenly professional and alert; joking down there could get her killed. "CT monitor has little effect."

"Roger," I replied, my eyes focused on the deep scan radar and sonar screens I had pasted to the HUD, "No contacts so far."

Silence fell on the camp as the Eva was lowered further and further into the lava, Maya reading off the depth every few seconds. I rested my finger on the trigger and released the safety locks, ready to fire at a moment's notice as the tension mounted.

"Unit has passed the 1050 safety depth, the positron rifle's effectiveness will be limited any further down."

"Stay alert everyone," Misato cautioned, "Asuka, you should be near the target now, do you see anything?"

"Negative." Asuka replied, pinging her sonar, "Its not here."

"Confirmed," I added, "scope is clear."

"The lava currents must be faster than we thought," Ritsuko mused, "The Eva's velocity alone is different from our predictions."

"Hurry up and recalculate," Misato ordered, then turned back to the screen, "Continue the decent, the mission must go on."

The tension returned in force as Asuka sank lower, and the minutes crept past. Unit one opening its left pylon to grip the knife within, while I didn't allow my eyes to wonder from the screens, I had to concentrate.

"We have exceeded the maximum allowed depth," Maya told us as the crane came to a halt,

"How's it looking guys?" Misato asked, "Have you made contact with the target yet?"

"Negative." Asuka replied, I echoed her, my two screens remaining blank.

"Very well, descend further. How are you holding up?"

"Nice and toasty," was the reply, "I just want to finish this and take a shower."

"There's a nice hot springs near here, we can go there once this is over. Hang in there."

"Roger."

"Maximum allowed depth, plus 120."

There was a thud and a Germanic curse over the radio, "I've lost my prog knife, the pressure destroyed the harness."

"Maximum allowed depth, plus 200."

"Captain Katsuragi, you have to stop this!" Hyuga burst out, "This isn't one of those probes, and there's a human being inside there! Any further and the pressure could…"

"I will manage this operation as I see fit, Lieutenant." Misato snapped, "And I am aware of the dangers. If you object, feel free to write it into your report. Continue further."

"Misato's right." Asuka added, "I don't need the knife anyway. I can go on."

"Depth 1780."

"Contact! Contact!" I interrupted, staring at a sudden bright blip on my HUD "Target moving right to left across Unit Two's front."

"Good job Tanus. Asuka, prepare for capture."

"Roger."

"Because of the convection current that's moving both you and the target, you'll only have one shot at this." Ritsuko explained.

"Consider it done."

A few more seconds passed, filled with reports flowing to and from the command car, my finger tightened on the trigger, the waiting was killing me. The blips representing the angel and Unit Two converged.

"Cage has been spread. No problems detected. The target has been captured."

A cheer went up then, Pilots, Techs and Command Crew all venting the tension of the past half an hour. The two Eva's on the surface exchanging relived nods as the crane reversed the thick cables; quickly pulling Unit two and its cargo back up.

"Excellent work guys." Misato broadcast proudly, "lets get it back to the surface so we can get out of here."

"Sample transport is standing by ma'am."

"Units one and five, stand down. The operation is completed."

I wiped the sweat from my brow then, it dissolved into the LCL around me and allowed myself to relax, pointing my weapon safely skywards as I waited for Asuka's triumphant return.

"Asuka, are you okay?" Shinji asked, worry clear on his face,

"Of course I am, this was a walk in the park." She replied, "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

"Wow." I breathed, examining the Angel through Asuka's video feed, "I wonder what they're going to do with it?"

Asuka shrugged, "Maybe test weapons on it, find weaknesses. It's a giant lab rat now."

A part of me felt satisfied at that, not to mention relieved at the thought of an easier time from now on.

"High energy reading inside the cage." A tech yelled, and I snapped my eyes back to my screens, why hadn't I noticed the build up?

"The Angel's hatching?" Ritsuko said fearfully, "but it's too soon!"

"Cage status." Misato barked.

"It wasn't built to handle this."

"Damn it, abort the capture! Jettison the cage!" Our CO ordered, "Primary objective has been changed, we must destroy the target. All Eva's prepare for combat."

"Ready, willing and able ma'am." I yelled, pointing my weapon down the shaft and powering up, "Lets do it."

"This Angel's going to pay for everything I've gone through today." Asuka added, and then swore, "Verdammnt, I forgot I dropped the prog knife."

The blip on my screen suddenly leapt across the distance between it and Unit two, but she somehow managed to avoid it, and the blip circled around to her rear.

"I've lost track of it." She said, and I could see her turning in her seat to try and follow the Angels movements, "its fast."

"Unit five, covering fire!"

"Yes, ma'am." I pulled the trigger and two spheres of blue energy screamed downward, missing the target by mere feet,

I swore, lowered the targeting mask, then fired again, my Eva absorbing the recoil with ease and two more shots cut through the molten rock, missing the Angel by an even smaller margin.

"The bastard's too fast," I informed Misato angrily, "Target lock is impossible at this range."

"Shinji, drop her your progressive knife. We'll kill it the old fashioned way. Tanus, just keep that thing away from her."

More shots rained downwards, diverting the angel each time it made a move towards unit two, but none hit it, leaving it unscarred and still circling.

Beside me Shinji had removed his entire knife and sheath, hurling it into the depths without pause, the strength of the throw sending it rapidly towards our defenceless friend.

"Forty seconds until knife arrival."

"Hurry up with that thing!" Asuka shrieked fearfully, as the Angel dived past her, diverted once more by my close shots, her Eva reaching up towards the distant weapon, "fall faster!"

I pulled the trigger again and was rewarded with dead man's click as the magnetic coils misfired on an empty camber. My rifle was empty.

"I'm out!" I yelled and the Angel surged forwards, taking advantage of Asuka's vulnerability, "Some one get me a fresh clip!"

A truck at the base of the mountain rumbled into life, the armoured carriage behind it opening to reveal three more power packs, it might as well have been back at Tokyo three for the time it would take to get here. I turned away from the crater and leapt off the ledge towards it, sliding down the mountain in a mini-avalanche.

"How the hell can it open its mouth in lava?" I heard Ritsuko protest, on my sonar link with unit two the pair of blips came together as I neared the truck, scooping up a pack and sprinting back up the mountain, ejecting the spent one in my rifle as I ran.

"Reloading, Asuka hold on!"

"I have the knife!" she reported, then screamed,

"Left leg damaged!" Maya said, panic clear in her voice, "The suits been pierced, sealing off breached sections."

"Die, damn you!" Asuka bellowed and stabled at the angel with her blade, the weapon rebounding from its armour, "Its not working!"

"Its too close!" I hissed, slamming the new pack into place and returning to my place by the vent, "Any shot I make would hit her! What'll we do?"

"Think physics!" Shinji barked and an idea struck me,

"Thermal expansion!" I yelled at the same time Asuka did,

"Transfer all coolant pressure to pipe number three! Do It!" The pilot snapped and sliced the pipe free of her armour, thrusting it into the angels gaping mouth.

The angel began to convulse as the liquid poured into it, and the knife finally found purchase, cutting deep into the flesh.

Asuka kicked the dying creature away with her good leg, its claws lashing out weakly at her and its symbol disappeared from my HUD.

On screen the second child breathed a sigh of relief then lent back in her command seat, with her eyes closed. Then looked up towards the surface scant metres away, suddenly her eyes widened in surprise.

"I've killed it but my cable's damaged," She said, giving Shinji and myself a weak smile, "I'm done for."

A loud crack echoed around the mountain then, and the crane convulsed as the cable that was Asuka's lifeline snapped, unable to support the Eva's weight.

"Asuka!" Shinji yelled and leapt off the edge of the crater after her, as the other end of the cable began to sink below the fiery surface, I lunged at his umbilical cable with my free hand as it whipped past, pulling back on it with all my Eva's strength and digging in my heels to slow his fall, but I hadn't braced myself enough to counter his weight, and he dragged me towards the abyss in a cloud of dust.

NO!

The thought thundered in my head and I felt the Eva move beneath me, turning to face back the way I had come, cable over its left shoulder and leaning forwards, while swinging the position rifle's back towards the edge, using my speed towards death to drive the heated barrel deep into the rock and I came to a jarring halt on the very lip of the vent.

My right arm was numb to the elbow, I could feel air beneath my heels, but I was still upright, and the subtle shifting of weight at the end of the line told me that Shinji had managed to catch Asuka and they were still attached.

For a few seconds there was shocked silence, and then I heard Asuka mutter something, there was a note to her voice I hadn't heard before, a sort of approval, but I wasn't really listening, instead I felt the currents of the LCL change, the liquid brushing past my cheek like a loving caress. Then it was gone, and the radio channels where once more filled with Misato demanding status reports.

"Of course." Asuka was once more all bravado, responding to a question I hadn't heard, "Notch up another one for the good guys."

"Yeah!" I agreed as I walked my Eva forwards, hauling the others out of the lava vent and leaving them in a pile beside the destroyed crane.

"That was excellent teamwork and squad coordination." Ritsuko appeared on our HUDs, "I'll be sure to inform the commander of your actions in my report."

"Wow." Asuka said sarcastically as the link closed, "That'll make my day."

"Would you rather have some coco beans," I said with an evil grin, "Umpa Lumpa?"

"What?" her Eva began to thrash about angrily where it lay on its back, "Come here and say that!"

I laughed as her curses increased in volume, another Angel had been defeated, and all four Eva's where fully operational with at least two more well on the way to completion. The Angels would lose this war.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The setting sun cast its dying rays onto the surface of the hot springs, and giving the water an unusual orange tint, my cap covered my eyes, the only piece of clothing I had on, to keep the sunlight out as I dozed. The warm waters quickly washed my mental and physical exhaustion away.

I pushed up the peak of my cap as a sudden squawking destroyed the silence and Pen-Pen charged from the changing rooms and leapt into the pool beside me with all the grace of a thrown brick, flailing his wings happily as Shinji slid into the pool as well,

"Kaji sent him." He replied to my unspoken question and lent back against the rock as he allowed his stress to vanish, "This feels like heaven."

"You've got to hand it to volcanic action." I agreed, returning my cap to its place, "I haven't felt this relaxed in ages."

The tranquillity returned once more, I felt the penguin float past my face, like a boat on a lake. I pushed him away, earning an annoyed squawk.

"Shinji," I said, sitting upright, "you wanted to ask me something?"

"Hmm?" he opened one eye, "I did?"

"This morning, before we came here. You were about to say something when the alarm went off."

"Oh yeah," he opened both eyes, "I just wanted to know more about you."

I arched my eyebrows, "About me? There's no much to say. I've been a part of NERV in one form or another for a long as I can remember."

"What about your parents, don't you have family?"

"Nope." I replied, leaning back. "No brothers, no sisters, no grandparents. Just me."

"I'm sorry." Shinji said hurriedly, "I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't worry about it, I know you didn't." I dismissed his apology with a hand, "You were just curious. I understand."

"Its just that, well, you seem to know a lot about my father."

"All I know about Gendo Ikari is that he's the head of NERV, he's your father, and he's in to discipline and formality in a big way. But I've met men like him before, their objectives are impossible to fathom. Although you can bet that what's right and wrong hold little sway over their designs."

I fell silent and returned to my doze to avoid any further questions. Pen-pen brushed past my face again.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?" Misato broke the silence, "Could one of you gentlemen be a dear and throw us the body shampoo?"

"We've run out of ours." Asuka added and I felt for the bottle beside me then threw it to Shinji, him being closer to the bamboo divides and I couldn't bring myself to move.

"Here it comes!" he called and tossed it over the screen in a high arc.

"Ow! Watch where you're throwing, you dork!" Apparently he had managed to hit Asuka in a pool the size of Misato's living room. I grinned under my hat.

"Someone give that boy a coconut."

"He hit me in a really sensitive spot." Asuka moaned,

"Sorry!"

"Aw, let me take a look!" I heard Misato reply playfully, amid the sound of splashing.

"Stop it! You're tickling me!"

"Wow, your skin is so soft and smooth, Asuka!"

"Let me go!"

I coughed loudly, hearing a yelp followed by a splash on my side of the divide, and I folded my arms behind my head, still staring at the fabric of my cap.

"Thermal expansion?" I asked the world at large,

"Shut up."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv