Disclaimer; I don't own Jack. Or Eva.


Of Lilim and Lilium

Chapter 11; Fear of Light

A/N; Well, here you go! I actually made the deadline. Enjoy!


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Disclaimer; I don't own Jack. Or Eva.

Nine hours.

That was the time they all had until the operation would be initiated.

Nine hours of hard, rushed work, hoping that the mission would not fail.

Nine hours of nerve- wracking worries for technicians, builders, staff and civilians.

Nine hours to prevent the angel from ever reaching the geo-front, mankind's last hope to defeat the angels.

"Sniping? What the hell kind of plan is this?"

Misato grinned at her smiling friend. "It's the best we can do right now, so keep your damn comments to yourself, Rits!"

Akagi harrumphed, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Yes ma'am, Operations Director Katsuragi…"

Misato clasped her hands in front of herself and sighed. "Ooohhh, I could get used to you saying that! No matter how utterly stupid you try to make it sound, the words themselves are enough to get me by…"

Ritsuko snorted, obviously unconvinced at Misato's attempt at playing the 'eager overachiever'. "You have to know that our positron rifle will not penetrate the Angel's AT field, right?"

"Yes. I know that. But there is one more…"

Ritsuko smiled again. "You're gonna-"

"Hey! I'm the one that came up with this! And I'm damn sure that I'll be the one to say it!" Misato's face was red with jealousy, her fists clenched in fury as she turned to her currently Ex-friend.

Akagi backed off a step, raising her hands defensively. "Oka, okay! Jeesh, go ahead and say it!"

Misato turned around, placed her hand on her hips and raised a single finger to the heavens.

"We're going to get the SSDF's secret Positron Prototype!"

Akagi sighed, rubbing a cheek with a free hand. She's got one hell of an attention issue…

So all that remained was the issue of getting enough watts to actually penetrate this angel's AT field. 180000000 Kilowatts to be precise.

.

.

"We interrupt our regular program for this urgent newsflash. From tonight, 23:30 until tomorrow morning, 04:00, there will be a large scale power blackout throughout most of japan. We thank you for your cooperation."

Kensuke and Touji stared at the screen. Ten seconds. Ten seconds. That's how close they'd come to beating the last opponent before the bitch screwed them over with this stupid bulletin.

Touji's left eye twitched.

Kensuke just cursed the damn news override act of 2012.

.

.

"How's the construction going?"

"We're about 2.1 percent behind schedule, but we should be up and running at 23:10."

Misato nodded. Then she turned to another screen. "Status report on the positron rifle!"

"We can make it in three hours, Ma'am!"

Nodding again, she turned to the sound-only display. "What about defense?"

Ritsuko's voice was slightly halled as she answered. "Well, a shield is the best we could come up with. It looks ugly, but it's got an electromagnetic base coating, and section two says that we'll have at least 17 seconds of resistance. That good for you?"

Misato nodded. "Good work, Ritsuko."

Turning to the crew, she addressed the deck. "We will commence the operation at zero hundred hours. Once the preparations are done, we defend mankind from mount Futago. From now on, this operation is codenamed operation YASHIMA!"

As the hustle and bustle took up again, she couldn't help but think what might happen tonight. The fate of mankind was in one pilot's hands. But the backup…

.

.

Shinji woke, slowly becoming aware of the fluorescent light illuminating the hospital room and himself. He felt the familiar soft linen covering his body, protecting him from the cool air around him.

"Fuck…"

He let a hand rise to his chest, where the ghost pain of the pin point beam had seared itself into his memory.

Suddenly, the door slipped open, revealing Rei Ayanami pushing a trolley in front of her. She parked it neatly next to the bed and then walked over to the chair next to the bed. Sitting down, she removed a small notebook from her pocket.

Setting it down on her lap, she faced him with a usual expressionless glance. Shinji pulled himself together and shook his head slightly.

"Ayanami…"

"Ikari." She acknowledged his greeting, however confused he seemed. "How do you feel?"

He sat up slightly, leaning on his right arm while still rubbing the spot where for all he knew, he'd been shot through.

"Okay, I guess… it still hurts a little" He looked at Rei, a faint smile on his face. The enigmatic girl nodded, then opened her notebook.

"I've been sent to brief you on operation Yashima. The orders are as follows; the operation will begin tonight, midnight. Pilots Ikari and Ayanami are to report at the cages at 17:30. At 18:00 Units One and Zero will activate. At 18:05, both units will be deployed. At 18:30, we will arrive at the temporary base at mount Futago, where we will await further orders."

She folded the book, then replaced it in her pocket. He nodded and glanced at the trolley.

Rei followed his glance and explained the situation.

"This is your meal. A Spare plug suit is also included in the trolley. Here..."

She got up and opened a compartment, retrieving a plug suit wrapped in foil. She placed it on the chair, then waited for any questions.

Shinji drew his legs up, hugging them to himself. "I don't feel like eating…"

Rei nodded once. "We will be departing in one hour. I suggest you replenish your strength before going into battle"

He turned away, looking out the window, the early evening sky shining into the room.

"Do I really have to pilot Eva again?"

Rei gripped the handle slightly harder. "yes… You must."

Shinji sighed. When was this ever going to end?

"All I ever get from piloting is wounds…"

He mumbled into the sheets.

Rei knew what he meant. She'd been subject to enough pain already to know what he meant. Unfortunately, there was no other choice.

"You must hurry. Dr Akagi and Captain Katsuragi will be waiting for us at the cages" she turned and opened the door. As she passed the frame, she halted, her hand on the laser sensor keeping the door from closing. Turning her head to one side, she felt like saying something.

"Ikari…"

Words, however, failed to come. All she could say was..

"…Goodbye"

With that, she left, leaving a confused Third child behind. After a moment, he moved his eyes from the door to the tray. His stomach grumbled…

.

.

"Primary connections are go!"

"Initiating second contact sequence!"

"All readings nominal. Removing mindblocks!"

"Secondary connections are stable. Pilot's lifesigns are in the green. We have a go for third contact sequence!"

Rei sat back, awaiting the mental weight that always manifested itself upon synchronization. It felt almost as if her mind was being compressed, in a weird sort of way. Commander Ikari had told her it was due to the mindblocks that reigned in the Eva's Mind that the restraint she felt was that which the Eva felt.

She believed this, of course. The Pilot felt everything the Eva Felt. Pain, rage, emotions….

Now there was something she would ponder on for hours on end. What if these blocks were to be removed? What if the full emotional and sentient Eva were to awake, to find itself in such a hostile terrain as an Angel battle?

Part of the answer was hidden to her. A very large part.

However…

The battle against Sachiel had proven what could happen. Broken from within, these barriers had unleashed something akin to the feared state of berserker. She had asked him if this was indeed what it seemed like, but he had answered with a simple No.

The barriers had been found intact as soon as the Eva had been locked in the cage.

She shuddered slightly at the thought.

I feel cold… why?

.

.

Shinji stood next to Rei, maybe five feet away from the two women coordinating the operation.

Misato nodded at the two of them as she came to a stop in front of them, crossing her arms and standing with her feet placed firmly on the ground.

"Right. My orders are as follows. We will snipe the angel from the top of the mountain. The high-powered Positron prototype cannon will have enough strength to penetrate the Angel's AT-field."

Looking at the Doctor beside her, she continued.

"There will be two positions. Offence and Defence. Rei?"

"Yes"

"you will be the gunner"

Shinji sighed inwardly. Thank god I don't have to shoot…

Shinji?"

He jerked. "Y-yes?"

"You will defend Rei if anything should happen. There is a shield that Rei transported here. You'll be manning that. Hopefully, you won't need it"

He gulped. "Okay…"

"Rei. Since your sync rate is higher, you will need to be the gunner. This operation requires high- precision manipulation. Since the positrons will be influenced by the earth's gravitiy, magnetic field and rotation, you'll have to do the corrections manually"

Rei nodded silently. She glanced over to her co-pilot.

Shinji was fidgeting with his plugsuit. "so… I have to protect Rei, right?"

Misato smiled. "Yes, Shinji. You'll be protecting her. Now, get ready. We'll be starting in ten minutes"

They both answered with a soft "Yes"

.

.

Rei and Shinji were sitting on the boarding platforms. The sky was alight with the soft sheen of the moon, the only source of light outside the Tokyo III area. Shinji mused that if the moon would not be up, they'd have a beautiful starry sky right now. He wondered if he'd ever see one again…

"Why do you continue to pilot Eva, Ikari?"

The question shook him out of the reverie, completely knocking him off his thoughts.

"Umm… I'm not sure. I guess it's because no one told me to stop."

Yeah, right. She'll see right through that…

Rei seemed to reflect on this. There was a silence for a while, until she asked another question.

"Is there no other reason you pilot?"

He hugged his knees. He wasn't entirely sure about that himself.

"I guess… that I like the praise I get. When I pilot Eva, people are nice to me. I don't know…"

The silence grew heavy once more. He wondered if the First child would leave off talking to him.

"I… trust you, Pilot Ikari"

Huh!

"You have proven yourself adequate to handle this mission. I feel… assured that you will be protecting me from harm. Thus, I trust you"

"Rei…"

She stood up, checking her plug suit. "It is time. Let us go"

For a moment, she was silhouetted against the huge white moon. Her blue hair covered the side facing him.

"Goodbye, Shinji"

It sounded like she was leaving forever. But as he got up and boarded his Eva, he realized that it was just the way she was.

.

.

The timer blinked to 00:00, then the alert sounded the beginning of the operation. Misato took a deep breath and faced the crew in the command vehicle.

"All right, people, let's get this show on the road!"

As the technicians began to focus all the power of Japan into the one, fateful shot that Rei had to execute. Six minutes later, the final connection was made, the nearly two million kilowatts focused on the positron rifle in Rei Ayanami's hands.

I feel… uncertain

She felt her heart beat slowly against her chest. The Angel in front of her continued to drill down to the geo front, its seemingly endless patient drilling not only breaking the defenses of the physical world, but of all the men and women involved in the war.

"Load rifle!"

She reached out and pulled the release, sliding a fuse in place to unleash the deadly flow of power.

"Rifle is loaded. Awaiting orders."

"Fire at will. Repeat, fire at will."

She pulled out her targeting system. It switched to enhanced mode, and began to coordinate distance, height and power of her rifle. The targeting cross-hair slowly made its two elements come closer, indicating the acquisition of target. Now she had to wait.

Will one shot even be enough?

The thought came though her mind and pierced her concentration. That was not her thought…

Pain. No! Not now!

The cross-hair inched its way closer together. Not long now.

The pain got worse. It crept from the back of her head to her forehead, dulling her vision.

Only five more seconds.

She grunted in pain. Her vision lost focus, the edges of her eyesight began to fade…

The cross-hair clicked into place, and the alert made her twitch her finger against the trigger with just enough pressure to fire…

Just then, the Angel began to glow…

.

.

Shinji saw it coming. The Angel was beginning to glow, and just as the shot was fired, it split and twisted, the diamond shape fracturing into hundreds of geometric forms, circling the red core in the middle. The shot passed just a few feet under it, crashing into the mountain side behind it. The core was growing brighter, until…

He screamed and leapt up, his shield flung before him as the Angel's energy beam blasted it's way to Rei's position. He buried the point in the ground, braced one leg behind him and held on to the shield for his dear life. The impact almost threw him off, dissipating along the surface of the shield into the ground.

"Rei! Are you okay?"

He tried to reach her, but the interference jammed communication. She should have been reloading! Why wasn't she reloading?

He grunted as the shield began to disintegrate under the onslaught of the angel's powefulr weapon.

.

.

NO! Not NOW!

Rei felt herself slipping mentally…

.

.

Lucy was aware of something….

Just like always, she lashed out at it, mentally screaming to escape from her prison. The darkness within herself was pressing upon her, trying to constrict her mind. It felt like being choked, slowly and deliberately.

+Lucy+

She felt the word reverberate around her mind, setting off her instinct to destroy…

"Why do you torture me so?"

She projected the thought with as much venom as possible.

+Torture? I... do not understand...+

Lucy laughed. "You're just the same as all the rest. You're just using me…"

.

.

"Rei! Reload! Rei! What the hell are you doing!"

Misato's words were lost to the still unconscious girl.

"Pilot is unconscious. But…"

"What the fuck do you mean by That!"

"Ahh... she seems to be syncing, so that means she's still awake.."

"How the fuck can she be unconscious AND awake?"

Shinji felt the shield begin to disintegrate. Ten seconds left.

Come on, Rei... reload…

The merciless energy beam tore at the shield as he put up with the strain.

.

.

Lucy lashed out, her wild anger trying to rip the other mind apart. But, being the host, it withstood her attempt at freedom.

Just like earlier that day, she felt that cold light of freedom. And then…

Rei awoke to screaming. Ikari Shinji's scream to be exact. And Captain Katsuragi's.

"Rei! Goddamnit, do something for god's sake!"

She blinked the pain away, reloaded and took aim…

Just as Shinji's shield gave up to the power of the angel's blast of energy.

All that stood in the way of her annihilation was his AT field and Evangelion unit 01.

The crosshair locked, and she jammed her finger against the switch….


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A/N; Cliffie! Nyahahaha-ahem.

Merry Christmas everyone! Lucy says Hi!