Shinji's Room
Shinji lay on the sleeping mat, trying his best to catch some sleep. So far, it wasn't working. Sighing, he rolled onto his side and continued to listen to his SDAT player.
You could use some variation in the music you listen to, Zone Fighter commented. I'm starting to go a little crazy hearing the exact same songs every day.
What did you have in mind? Shinji asked.
Hikaru used to listen to rock'n'roll a lot. I got rather fond of it, although I still have a soft spot for disco, Zone Fighter replied.
Shinji snickered. Disco? Seriously? That's been dead for more than twenty years.
Not in my universe, replied Zone Fighter.
The two were so caught up in their mental conversation that they failed to notice Asuka standing in the doorway. As such, Shinji was quite surprised when she silently walked over and laid down next to him. He squeaked noiselessly and became as still as a statue, not daring to make a noise. Asuka faced away from him, her red hair spread out in a mesmerizing pattern on the pillow.
There was a silence that lasted some time before Asuka spoke. "Shinji," she began in soft and measured words, "what do you think of me?"
You're walking on thin ice here, Shinji. Tread carefully, Zone Fighter advised.
It took a few seconds for Shinji to find his tongue. "W-well, you're smart, y-you don't take disrespect, and-"
"Am I useless?" she asked.
Shinji was blindsided by the question. "No, of course not! You pilot an Evangelion, you fight the Angels for us."
"And I haven't gotten a single kill," Asuka replied, turning to face him. "It's always Godzilla or Zone Fighter that get the kills. It doesn't matter whether or not I get in the Eva, someone else will do it."
"If it weren't for you, the Fourth Angel would've killed Zone Fighter," Shinji countered. "And when the Sixth Angel attacked the fleet, Zone Fighter wouldn't have gotten the kill shot if you hadn't held open its jaws. You're not useless, Asuka. If it weren't for you, a lot more people would be dead. I would be dead."
Asuka's brow furrowed. "How do you know that?"
"I, uh, was watching from afar each time," Shinji replied. I was with Misato on a hill when the Fourth Angel attacked, and I accompanied you to the Over the Rainbow.
Asuka said nothing, but closed her eyes. "I'm staying here tonight. You better not try to violate my nubile body when I'm asleep, baka," she said with her normal tone of voice. Soon after, she fell quiet, snoring softly. Shinji remained motionless, watching her sleeping face through lowered eyelids.
You know, she's really pretty when she isn't angry, he thought.
I knew it! You have a crush! Zone Fighter exclaimed.
Before Shinji could respond, Asuka began to stir. She seem... distressed, something he had never seen in her before. A single tear escaped her closed eyes. "Mama," she whimpered.
Mama? Shinji wondered.
I'm just as clueless as you are, Zone Fighter replied. If you want to find out, you could enter her dreams.
You can do that? Shinji asked.
I just need your nervous system to be in contact with hers, Zone Fighter said.
No... that seems too invasive, replied Shinji. He paused for a moment, thinking. Then, with extreme caution, he gently took her hand in his. He didn't to anything else, he simply held her hand. It appeared to work, Asuka stopped stirring and her face became placid once more. Smiling, Shinji closed his eyes and finally went to sleep.
About halfway through the night, Zone Fighter took control of Shinji's hand and moved it away from Asuka's in order to prevent an awkward situation when the two woke up. Satisfied, he hopped into Shinji's dreams once more and joined him on his skiing trip on the Moon.
Eva Cages, NERV HQ
"So, how are the repairs on the Evas going, Rits?" Misato asked, leaning against the railing casually. "We'll have them up and running soon, right?"
Ritsuko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me you're joking, Misato," she said. "Have you even read the reports I gave you on their status?"
"No, I've been too busy dealing with the paperwork the JSSDF threw at us after the whole Godzilla fiasco," Misato replied.
Ritsuko's eyebrow rose. "Godzilla?"
"Just a name for the creature that's been going around," Misato replied. "Anyway, I've been working nonstop for a while now, trying to limit the damages the JSSDF wants compensated. There weren't any casualties, thankfully, but apparently Godzilla wrecked about seven billion dollars worth of equipment, which isn't so good."
Ritsuko lit a cigarette and took a long drag to relieve some stress. "That'll be paltry in comparison to the damages done to the Evas, Misato," she replied, smoke wafting out from between her lips. "Unit-02 is in bad condition. It has seven broken ribs, severe damage to its armor plating, its left arm was completely snapped at the humerus, and its head is utterly destroyed. Unit-01 suffered the least damage, just some contusions and damage to the armor plating. If it weren't for the fact that it regenerated some of its wounds when it went berserk, however, it would be far worse off."
"How about Unit-00?" Misato asked.
Ritsuko let out a sad chuckle. "Misato, I've seen victims of bear attacks that got off luckier. It has six broken ribs, a fractured shin, severe lacerations across its chest, a missing arm, and its back is completely snapped in half. We've also run into some major difficulties with the missing arm. The cells around the stump are dying from radiation poisoning. We're going to have to remove the diseased tissue before we can begin regrowing the arm, otherwise we could have a cancerous lump instead."
"How long until repairs are finished?" Misato asked.
"For all of them? I'd give it a month, maybe two," Ritsuko replied. "If we focus repairs on Unit-01, it could be fully operational in a week, maybe less."
"Alright, then," Misato said, straightening. "I've got to finish up the paperwork."
The captain left the cages. Ritsuko looked up at the battered form of Unit-01, sighed, and took another puff of her cigarette.
Old Tokyo
The queen stirred in her cocoon. Her spawn had returned far fewer in number than they had set out in, but they had what she needed: food. She feasted upon the morsels they brought her, supplementing it with they spawn themselves. She could always hatch more. Once that was finished, she had formed the cocoon about herself, drawing radiation from the surrounding area into her body. The transformation was quick and startling, soon she was at her full size, a majestic 50 meters in length.
It was time. She emerged from her cocoon, screeching for the world to hear. Her wings spread out from her body, drying themselves. Once they were free of moisture, she rose from the ground, her wings moving too rapidly for the human eye to see. She sped off, looking to quell her fearsome appetite. There was a hotspot nearby, rich with both living things and energy for her to consume and use to feed her next brood of spawn.
Megaguirus was on the hunt.
School, the next day
Kensuke was not in the jolliest of moods. First and foremost, Rei wasn't in today. He suspected it might have something to do with the N2 mine detonation beyond the mountains, no one knew what happened over there. NERV was being especially tight-lipped about that particular case, and had also put considerable work into hushing up the incident with the giant man-eating bugs. For hours he had been researching insects, but it appeared that there was nothing like them at any point in Earth's history. It was... confusing, to say at the very least.
There was a substitute teacher in today, a young woman named Mrs. Saegusa. She had proved to be a far better teacher than the old fart that just kept rambling on about Second Impact, it was almost as if she knew exactly how to get the message across with her lessons. She never forgot names, she never raised her voice, and she was remarkably intelligent. Kensuke found that he was actually learning something in class, and listened with rapt attention. It was almost too soon when the bell rung and school ended. As he made his way out of the classroom, he saw Mrs. Saegusa having a conversation with Shinji. He was too far away to hear anything, but he noticed that she had a rather grave expression on her face.
After the conversation was over, Shinji began to quickly make his way out of the classroom, Kensuke stealthily trailing behind. The otaku's silent tracking of the washed-out pilot soon took him out into the woods near the school. As such, he failed to notice the alarms blaring in every building across Tokyo-3, directing people to the nearest emergency shelters. It was a rather important thing for him to hear, considering what was to come next.
Soon, Shinji reached a clearing in the woods. Kensuke hid behind a tree, peeking out slightly. To his complete surprise, Shinji suddenly stretched out his hands and brought them together. "ZONE DOBURU FIGHTU!"
Kensuke gaped, his eyes directed upwards. "Ho-ly shit!" he exclaimed, really wishing he had brought his camera with him now.
Outskirts of Tokyo-3
Megaguirus rushed forward, ignoring the missiles and artillery shells slamming into her. She was almost at the hotspot now, and saliva began to drip down from her gaping maw in anticipation. Soon she would be able to feed.
An obstacle came in her way, however. It was a silver creature taller than she was, sharing the same body shape as the small creatures running about beneath her. Blazing yellow eyes glared at her, an expression her primitive brain understood. It appeared that she would have to fight for her meal, but as she felt the energy coming off of it, it didn't seem like such a bad thing.
Shinji steeled himself for battle. The monster hovering over the city was like some humongous dragonfly, except far more menacing in appearance. Its long tail was tipped with a large stinger that occasionally twitched, almost as if it was anticipating impaling someone. According to what Miki had told him, it was called Megaguirus.
Okay Shinji, you have to be careful with this one, Zone Fighter said. It's incredibly fast, it'll be able to dodge you attacks with ease. You're also going to have to be careful with that stinger, it's going to try to stab you with it and drain you of energy.
As if on cue, Megaguirus lunged forward, stinger at the ready. Shinji was barely able to dodge, Zone Fighter wasn't joking about the monster's speed. Megaguirus quickly spun about, screeching. Shinji fired off a Proton Beam, hoping for a lucky shot, and the creature moved out of the way. The beam blasted uselessly into the sky, soon disappearing from sight. Shinji sighed. It didn't hurt to try, he thought to himself.
It was Megaguirus's turn now. A blue ball of energy formed in the monster's thorax and shot forward at an astonishing velocity. Shinji didn't have enough time to dodge, it hit him dead on in a brilliant explosion, knocking him through a building in the process. The armor on his chest sizzled, steam rising from where the blast had struck him. Shinji rose, staggering. Megaguirus lunged forward, ready to impale him. It failed to notice the energy buildup in Shinji's hand.
Shinji managed to duck as the monstrous dragonfly dashed overhead, making his move. The stinger missed its target, but a clawed foot managed to make a small gash in his shoulder. He spun about, gritting his teeth. Megaguirus turned as well. Suddenly, its left pincer fell down, green ichor oozing from the wound. As Megaguirus screeched in agony, Shinji grinned. That cutting beam was pretty useful, albeit energy draining.
To his disappointment, Megaguirus recovered quickly. At this distance, dodging didn't seem very feasible. Before the monster could lunge, however, a purple blur slammed into it. Megaguirus fell to the ground, flailing its limbs about. It rose from the ground and glared at its new opponent.
It was Unit-01. Shinji saw that it had what appeared to be large bandages on some parts of its body, but overall it seemed to be ready to fight. The purple Evangelion drew its prog knife and entered a fighting stance. Shinji did so as well, moving to its side. Megaguirus screeched and lunged forward.
Asuka grinned as she dodged to the side, making an appreciable gash in the monster dragonfly's wing with her knife. Its howl of agony was music to her ears. This creature's a joke, she thought to herself. I'll one-up that silver asshole and kill this thing before he can.
She failed to notice the sudden appearance of an energy sphere in the monster's thorax until it was too late. It smashed into her, shattering her AT-field in the process and smashing her into the ground. Asuka gritted her teeth in pain, Unit-01 was still rather bruised and battered from its battle with Godzilla. It was only from some pressuring from the government that the Commander had even allowed the Eva to launch, under the condition that she, as the most experienced pilot, would be the one in the plug. It appeared that he had made a wise choice, it was only through her finely-tuned reflexes that she dodged the second blast, which ended up hitting Zone Fighter instead. The monster sprung forward, its stinger at the ready. There was no time to dodge this attack, she could only hope that she would survive what came next. Considering the size of the stinger, she seriously doubted that.
That was when something moved in the way, and with a gasp Asuka realized that it was Zone Fighter. The silver giant cried out in pain as the stinger stabbed into his side, red blood flowing from the wound. The monster made a sound of satisfaction and latched on, resisting the weak struggles to get it off. That was the last thing Asuka saw before the entry plug suddenly went dark.
Megaguirus screeched triumphantly as she began to siphon energy from the silver assailant. Already she could feel herself growing stronger, soon she would be full and ready to make more spawn. The giant's movements were glowing more sluggish, the sign of weakening prey.
Suddenly, strong hands took hold of her stinger and pulled it out of the giant's side. It was the purple metal thing that dared attack her. Megaguirus howled angrily and tried to shake off the assailant, but it was of no use. The purple thing tightened its grip, and in an amazing show of strength, ripped the stinger out, roaring all the while. Megaguirus screeched in agony, blindly flailing about. To her misfortune, the purple attacker didn't finish there. Howling, it began stabbing her repeatedly with her own stinger, tearing apart armored exoskeleton and destroying the soft innards underneath. After a few stabs, the stinger broke off somewhere in her guts, and the purple giant proceeded to pound her into the ground with wildly swinging fists. Some of the metal broke off around the mouth, and Megaguirus realized that the thing was actually flesh and blood underneath. Glaring at her with green eyes, the beast began to tear into her exposed viscera with pearly white teeth. The last thing the queen of the Meganula ever saw was the nightmarish face of the purple attacker as it lunged towards her face, jaws wide open.
Operations Center, NERV HQ
Misato watched in astonishment as Unit-01 began to devour the monster that had attacked the city. The idea of the purple Evangelion going berserk in the hands of an inexperienced pilot was plausible, but when Asuka was in control... something was off.
An alarm broke her reverie. "Blue Pattern detected off the shore of Osaka!" Hyuga exclaimed. "Estimated time of arrival is one hour!"
"Unit-00 and Unit-02 still aren't ready for combat," Misato said. She glanced back at the video feed showing Unit-01 making a meal out of the giant dragonfly thing. "And I don't think we can prepare Unit-01 for combat, either."
Maya finished vomiting and wiped her mouth. "What can we do?"
Misato had an idea. "Access the external audio speakers in that section," she said. "We're going to make a request of a certain someone."
Shinji rose weakly, placing a hand over his wound. Red blood was pouring into the street below, his blood. He wondered just how much he had lost already, and how much longer he could stay conscious. A groan directed his blurry vision to his side. Unit-01 rose from the pile of gore that had been Megaguirus, green ichor and bits of flesh surrounding its mouth. The Evangelion looked at him with an almost tender expression, and then shut down.
Shinji, you are in really bad shape right now. You've lost twenty percent of your blood, and I don't thing you can just sleep off this wound, Zone Fighter said.
Before Shinji could say anything, the emergency speakers, usually meant to direct people to their shelters, blared to life. "Zone Fighter," Misato's voice crackled and resonated, "there is an Angel emerging off the shore of Osaka. We can't fight it right now, there's nothing available for combat. We need you to save us, Zone Fighter."
No, Zone Fighter said firmly. Shinji, going out there would be a suicide mission. Besides, we're too low on power to even get there.
I can't just let them die! Shinji snapped back. When you gave me this power, you said that together we can save the world. The world needs saving right now. I'll do it with or without your help.
Zone Figher sighed. I could draw power from that umbilical cable in the Evangelion's back. With some energy I might be able to staunch the bleeding. I still don't think you should go, Shinji. Let someone else stop the Angel.
Like who? Godzilla? Shinji asked in exasperation. You saw how pissed he was at us. He's never going to help us again. Now, lets recharge, shall we?
Zone Fighter complied. The material on Shinji's gloves became almost like that of the graphene chargers he had seen at science conventions. Walking weakly over to the deactivated Unit-01, he removed the cord from its back and took hold of the socket. He could feel the energy flowing back into his body, almost as if he were reversing the flow of time. The wound in his side became less painful, and the bleeding stopped. After half a minute or so, he let go of the socket, his belt light glowing blue once took off into the sky, breaking the sound barrier as he sped towards Osaka.
During the flight, the only thing going through his head was I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away...
Osaka
Israfel, the Seventh Angel, strolled through the city of Osaka. It was a massive behemoth, 130 meters tall from head to foot. Its appearance was vaguely apish, but it also had an artificial aesthetic to its flesh, looking more like a carved metal statue than a living thing. It had four huge arms, two to each side, tipped with clawed hands. Its face was almost like that of a yin-yang symbol, and two cores were imbedded in its chest. Each footstep it took left craters in the ground as it continued to make its way to the Geofront. Several VTOLs and tank battalions had engaged it at the shorelines, their ruins now littered the beach.
A shape in the sky caught its attention. Before the Angel could figure out what it was, it slammed into it, sending it back 300 meters.
Shinji reeled from the impact, barely maintaining his balance as he backed away from the prone Angel. As it rose from the ground, he didn't give it any chance to counterattack. He fired off a trio of Proton Beams, rending large holes in its flesh. While the Angel reeled from the attacks, he charged up a Third-Level Cutting Beam. With a battle cry, he fired the beam, neatly cutting the Angel in half from head to groin. The two halves fell to the ground, as did Shinji. He gritted his teeth and clutched at the wound once more, stifling a cry of pain.
All right, mission's accomplished. You need to get some medical attention as qui- Zone Fighter began, only to be silenced as the two halves of the Angel suddenly rose and formed two smaller versions of it, each one only 95 meters tall. Before Shinji could react, they moved in unison, sending him flying into a nearby building with a kick. They gave him no time to recover, and began flinging energy blasts from their hands. Shinji cried out as the attacks slagged his armor in places and burnt him. He rose, staggering, only to be pounded into the ground once more by the twin Angels. The blows were rapid and powerful, Shinji felt like he was in the ring with an MMA fighter. He tasted copper in his mouth, and his ribs groaned under the pressure of the Angel's attacks. Consciousness began to slip from him...
Then a sound Shinji thought he would never hear again rolled across the hills, a screeching roar that could strike terror in men and monsters alike. A massive bulk smashed into both Angels, knocking them into the ground with tremendous force. The Angels rose to face their new opponent, only to actually take a step back, revealing and emotion Shinji never knew they could feel.
Fear.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters, roared a challenge to the Angels as he went forward to engage them in a melee. They attempted to fight back, but their blows were like raindrops in comparison to his tremendous strength. Growling, he took hold of an arm from each Angel and ripped them out of their sockets, spraying blood everywhere. Before the twin Angels could recover, he began beating them viciously with their own limbs in a savage display of strength and brutality. To his dismay, each time he smashed the core of one, the other's core would shine and reconstruct it. Nevertheless, he made sure that the Angels were little more than piles of broken bones and torn flesh before he rose again.
Blood dripping from his claws, Godzilla walked over to Shinji and extended a hand. Shinji took it, and with a heave was pulled back up. "Thanks," he panted, still clutching his wound.
Godzilla responded by pointing towards one of the Angels, almost as if to say "we aren't out of the woods yet". He then placed the other clawed hand over his own chest, followed by pointing both at Shinji and the other Angel. Shinij understood the gesture, and turned in unison with Godzilla to face the Angels, which were still trying to heal their horrific injuries. He charged up his Proton Beam and aimed his Meteor Missiles with shaking hands while Godzilla powered up his atomic ray. The two attacks struck each Angel at the same time, destroying each core simultaneously and for good. A massive explosion rocked the earth, and all that remained was a massive crater in the ground.
The battle was over. Godzilla roared in victory and began to make his way back to sea, eager to return to his son. Shinji rose into the air and began to race back home with his remaining energy, trying to fight back unconsciousness. He wondered if he would be able to make it in time.
Enroute to Misato's Apartment
The car ride home was spent in silence. Asuka had been in a foul mood ever since the battle with the dragonfly monster, and Misato did not wish to press the matter. Soon they were back home, and the two made their way up the steps in silence. That silence was broken, however, when they saw that their apartment door was open and blood stained the floor. Drawing her gun and gesturing for Asuka to stay put, Misato crept inside. When she saw what was inside, she gasped.
Asuka ran in. "What is it, Misato?" she asked. Before the purple-haired woman could reply, Asuka got her answer.
Zone Fighter was propped up on the couch, bloodied, battered, and burnt. His armor was gone in several places, revealing what appeared to be human skin underneath. Kensuke was at his side, trying poorly to staunch the bleeding from his wounds. "I found him collapsed on the ground," the otaku said. "I need help removing his helmet, he sounds like he's having trouble breathing."
Misato knelt down by Zone Fighter's side. Just as Kensuke said, his breathing was raspy and irregular. The eye lights were not on, and the belt light was dark. She probed his neckline, looking for a way to remove the helmet. There. A small button on each side, almost impossible to detect. Pressing them, she managed to remove the helmet, and gasped at what she saw. Despite it being severely bruised and having an eye swollen completely shut, it was clearly the face of Shinji Ikari.
"S-shinji?" Asuka asked.
The boy's good eye cracked open. "I-I mustn't run away," he whispered, then slipped once more into unconsciousness.
A/N: The plot is about as thick as maple syrup now, huh? I hope you liked this chapter, the next one will be rather devoid of action.