Chapter 11-Gaghiel

"So Shinji-kun, have ya done the deed yet," Toji asked with obvious glee during PE practice.

Shinji practically screamed, "Wha-? No! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Kensuke pushed up his glasses as he sighed, "Why do you have to be so dense, Shinji-kun!"

Ikari blushed crimson and sputtered incoherently.

The military otaku smiled, "You live with that awesome Captain Katsuragi, and work with Ayanami-san and Rami-san every day in your secret lair! Hasn't anything juicy happened yet?"

"N-no! I would never…"

Toji laughed as he effortlessly outdistanced his less athletically inclined friends. "The boy doth protest too much!"

Ikari grumbled at being teased yet again, as he fidgeted with the necklace containing Ramiel's tiny shard. He could never admit about that intimate embrace inside Ramiel, ever. "Can…can we take five?"

Soon the three of them sweated profusely and gulped at water bottles as they crouched at the base of a retaining wall anchoring the school and outdoor pool foundations. Shinji watched with interest through the chain-link fence as Jadel in her chair and still in her school clothes was animatedly talking with the pale Rei and the class rep in their navy blue one-piece school swimsuits by the pool's edge. After a short chat, Rami pointed to the pool and Ayanami and Horaki jumped in and joined the other girls doing mock races. She wheeled over to a plastic folding table and handled the scorecards.

"Look at the maracas and cabooses on those babes," Toji beamed as he practically drooled.

"Yeah," Kensuke added in vigorous agreement.

Shinji rolled his eyes, and was very pleased that Rei was finally integrating with her classmates; not that he would ever discuss so delicate a topic with these horndogs. He felt a pang as he realized his half-angel friend was encouraging Rei to not to sit on the sidelines even as her condition excluded her from swimming herself.

"So who has the best rack, Shinji?"

"What?" He looked at his pals with a suddenly blooming face, "Argh! Don't you guys think about anything other than sex?"

Both spoke as one cheerfully, "Nope!"

"Let's see. I'm not really into looks," Shinji mulled seriously. "I like…kind people."

Kensuke laughed, "We have a winner!"

"Good luck scoring with the foreign exchange student, ya perv!"

"No! Wait! Just…no way guys!"

Kensuke ticked off his fingers, "Ayanami-san is an ice queen, The class rep is too bossy, Miss Captain-my Captain is too much woman for the likes of wuss like you!" He chucked Shinji on the shoulder and flashed a V-sign, "But Rami-san is a cute sweetheart!"

And an utterly terrifying 800 meter tall crystal octahedron in her spare time, Shinji silently added. Their relationship was just too complicated to work out he mused gloomily; even though they excelled in tag-team combat against the Angels and the occasional runaway mecha. "Look, if you don't stop teasing me, I won't give you these temporary passes so you can see the UN combined fleet and meet the Second Child tomorrow!"

Both youths immediately cut out the razzing for the rest of the school day.

…

The next day at high noon a lone NERV VTOL shot out across the open Pacific. Inside in the passenger compartment sat Shinji and Misato, with Rami and Hikari on the opposite side. Behind them sat Toji and Kensuke. The military-loving geek had his camcorder out filming the ocean in breathless expectation of seeing the grand combined UN fleet consisting of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Over the Rainbow, the twin Iowa class battleships USS Illinois and USS Kentucky and a dozen smaller aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, and submarines. All of the vast armada was there to escort the massive converted cargo container ship SS Nordrhein-Westphalia carrying Evangelion Unit-02 to Tokyo-3 in its hollowed out hold.

The pilot at the controls raised his voice above the whine of the jet engines, "Captain, we are 15 minutes out from the Rainbow."

Misato nodded curtly, "Thanks ensign."

Shinji curled up his left hand reflexively, and nervously.

"Relax Shinji-chan. We'll get there in one piece."

"Erm, well." He sighed. "I'm not nervous about the plane. I'm just worried about Souryu-kun. What if he doesn't like me?"

Misato giggled. "Like I said, relax. The second child is competitive about everything. It's nothing personal."

On the port side, Rami glanced over at her friend and then back to the bulkhead in front of her.

Hikari beamed, "He likes you too, don't worry."

"Eh?" Rami's eyes widened and she hissed, "N-no! He only likes me as a friend."

The class rep gently patted the nervous girl on the shoulder and beamed, "Not from where I'm sitting. He's a nice boy, isn't he?"

Rami clumsily wiped her sweaty forehead, "There are better choices than me though."

"Uh-uh. Do your best Rami-san!"

She flushed hard at her friend's encouragement, but she couldn't possibly make another move on him after he had seen such an ugly side of her. He needed his first girlfriend to be a normal human instead of an-

An angel!

Rami's head shot up, "Captain Katsuragi, Gaghiel just manifested!"

"Crap! Where?"

"He's dead ahead! He's targeting the UN fleet!"

Hikari gaped at her friend, not comprehending what they were talking about.

Katsuragi threw on her jacket, and cursed, "Do you sense anything else?"

Rami focused, and kept getting a vague presence that kept slipping out of her mental grasp like a slippery bar of soap. "There's possibly another angel! But the second one is dormant. I can't track it."

"Right, good to know! Shinji-chan, up and at 'em!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Hikari, Toji and Kensuke all looked massively confused.

Misato barked out, "Ensign, hover mode and open the starboard hatch!"

"Yes Captain!" Everybody was nearly bowled over as the VTOL lurched to an abrupt stop, the jet pylons rotating to point straight down. The class rep let out a startled yelp as the seat belt cut into her.

After the aircraft righted itself, Ikari gently hoisted Rami up and turned to let him cling to his back.

Hokari looked at her friend with a dismayed expression.

Rami smiled bitterly, "Thanks for being my friends, everyone. I'll never forget you Hikari-san, Aida-kun, and Suzehara-kun. You were the best!"

"B-but..I"

Misato opened up the door, "Now!"

Shinji waddled over and gaped over the ocean 2000 meters straight down!

Hikari gasped, "Don't jump!"

"Misato, I don't think I can do this!"

Rami defiantly hooked her leg on the doorframe and gave a sharp push, sending the entwined duo out the hatch!

Ikari reacted calmly to the situating by shrieking at the top of his lungs as the cold air rushed past them! Before they could hit the water, he suddenly felt warm cables wrapping around his limbs and red liquid blinding his vision. He opened his eyes and saw the blue crystal casing form around the core, as Ramiel took its full monstrous shape. He felt his earbud hum and he heard Rami's voice in his ear, "Ready to take out the Seventh angel, Shinji-kun?"

He gasped and took a few deep breaths in the hot dry core fluid which was so different from the Eva's cold coppery-tasting LCL, "Yeah. Let's go kick some angel butt!"

Inside the VTOL Misato donned a headset, "Do you read me Unit A4?"

A tinny voice piped up from the console, "This is Jadel! We read you Captain!"

Hikari fell to her knees, "S-she's okay!"

Toji gently helped her up and squeezed her hand for reasurance.

The Captain gave a thumbs up to the stunned children behind her, "Rami-chan and Shinji-chan are fine! Now let's get started!"

Kensuke filmed the pylons rotating back into flight mode as the aircraft was pushed to its maximum speed. He nearly dropped the recorder to the deck when a massive triangular shape burst through the clouds below them. It was a giant bright blue crystal wedge easily 20 times the length of the VTOL, flying in a parallel course.

His eyes bugged out from behind his glasses, "C-captain Katsuragi! Look below us! That blue angel that was over our school is back!"

Misato smiled wearily, "I know Aida-san! That's Unit-A4, the manifested form of Rami-chan's angelic persona."

The class rep looked floored, "Rami…Rami-san is an angel?"

The speaker activated again, with Jadel's voice, "I'm so sorry Hikari-san! I'm sorry I lied to you all this time! I am Ramiel, the angel of Thunder."

"Worry about that later. Unit-A4, attack!"

"Yes ma'am!" The giant wedge shot away at supersonic speed, quickly leaving the VTOL behind.

…

Aboard the USS Over the Rainbow, within the cavernous aircraft hanger bay below the flight deck, a tall handsome pony-tailed man stood against the rail watching the Iowa class battleship and the Kirov class missile cruiser behind it suddenly increase to flank speed. He groaned inwardly as he felt a slender pair of arms around his chest.

A confident girl's voice possessively said, "Ich habe dich gafangen, Herr Ryoji!"

He chuckled, "Jaja Fräulein Sohryu!" He pulled free from his lovesick teen stalker and turned to face the Second child. "Asuka-chan, I fear we're going to be very busy in mere moments."

The blue-eyed girl with her ginger hair tied off with blood red A10 synchronization clips beamed at her crush. She was dressed in a pale yellow sundress that she had to hold onto tightly to avoid any random passerby from seeing more than they should in the gusty hanger deck. She would just beat them to a pulp on the spot if that happened she thought viciously. She pleaeded, "Awwww! C'mon Ryoji-san! You promised me a date today!"

Ryoji rubbed at his stubbled chin and chuckled, "No time, the fleet is shifting position into battle mode. The only date you have today is with Unit Two!"

"But Kaji-san-"

A ringing phone in Ryoji's pocket cut off the Second child's whining. "Yes?" He chuckled, "It's been a long time, sunshine! What's the looming disaster this time?"

Asuka sullenly glared at Ryoji. She instantly knew that it had to be his old flame, and her old guardian Katsuragi Misato at the other end. Hearing the way he cheerfully flirted with her inflamed her adolescent heart with poisonous jealousy.

"Oh. That's probably bad. Okay, I'm on it! Bye my precious!" He winked to the red faced girl, "Misato says an angel is attacking the fleet. Unit A4 is on its way. We have to get you over to Unit Two."

Instantly her annoyance was replaced with excitement. She knew the Third and Fourth children were with Misato, and she couldn't wait to show them up! She grinned wickedly and saluted, "Jawohl!"

…

Captain Briggs couldn't believe what he was hearing! He was too old for this crap! He had severed faithfully in the Navy for decades but absolutely despised being pressed by his superiors into acting as a glorified FedEx service to transport that damn child's toy robot from Wilhelmshaven to Neo Yokosuka. Now with a giant alien bogey closing in from the northwest at mach 1.1, he had wasted no time in launching a full cruise missile spread to demolish the angel attacker. He barked out, "NERV VTOL 38, Rainbow. Did not copy last message! Please repeat!"

That annoying Nerv officer's voice broke through the static, "Rainbow, NERV VTOL 38! This is Captain Kasuragi! Stop shooting at the flying angel! Unit A4 is on our side! The real threat is below you!"

"What?"

"It's right below the fleet! Unit A4 can sense it!"

Briggs looked to his trusted XO. The American officer in dress whites nodded at him grimly! "Sonar contact from the HMS Titus Andronicus, the HMS Othello, and the JS Kongo! We just lost contact with the USS Decatur. All contacts report a giant bogey rapidly ascending from the seabed!"

"Damn! Tell the Illinois, Kentucky and Kirov to cease cruise missile firing!"

"Aye sir!"

"Rig the fleet for underwater battle. Deploy torpedoes and depth charges!"

"Aye aye!"

The XO looked over to the Westphalia with his binoculars, and gaped. Sliding metal panels on the massive container ship trundled open, and a 50 meter tall giant red robot gracefully hauled itself into a standing position. "Captain, Evangelion Unit Two has been activated!"

Kill me now, Captain Briggs fumed. "Forget Unit Two! Destroy that damn angel below us!"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

Inside Ramiel's massive shell, octagonal AT barriers exploded missile after missile as the fleet got closer and closer. Shinji winced as the explosions caused shudders resonating through the crystalline shell like being on the inside of a pealing church bell.

He heard Rami's urgent voice, "Shinji-kun, they won't get through! Gaghiel is our problem! He's en route to the Wesphalia! Contact Unit Two, and warn Sohryu-san!"

"Got it!" A new viewscreen overlaid the tactical view of the UN fleet and the massive aquatic angel on a rapid collision course! "This is Unit A4, come in Unit Two!"

A feisty, red-haired girl, with piercing blue eyes, and encased a crimson plugsuit with a blue collar gaped at the bizarre sight before her. "Gott im Himmel! You're the Third and Fourth children?"

Shinji sputtered, "What the heck! You're Sohryu-kun?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Yeah! Got a problem with that, Third child?"

"M-misato said that you were a boy!"

Asuka flew into a righteous rage, "Was? Du bist ein Idiot! Dummkopf! Ikari-kun, you jerk!"

"I-I'm sorry!"

Rami's voice in his earbud snapped, "Shinji, focus!" Unit A4 started to elongate so the wedge became extremely thin and pointed like a rapier. "Ten seconds to contact!"

"R-right! Sohryu-san! Get ready for combat! The seventh angel is coming right at you!"

Inside the glowing cockpit of Unit-02, Asuka grumbled and drew out the retractable progressive knife and powered in up, as she saw the shadow of the massive angel making a head on run towards the freighter she was perched on. The four green eyes of Unit 2 lit up brightly as her sync ratio climbed over 55%. She grinned wickedly. Bring it on! Abruptly she saw sun glinting of a tiny blue shape, which rapidly grew in size. "C'mon you Schweinehund!"

A massive tan angel larger than a whale breached the surface with its fanged jaws agape aiming to take out the cargo ship and Unit 2 with it! A screaming blue needle over a kilometer long harpooned the massive nightmare and completely pierced through the Seventh angel. The angel clipped the starboard side ripping out a large chunk of the hull in the process as it belly flopped back into the ocean. Unit-02 leapt over and plunged its glowing knife into the attacking angel's dorsal side. Gaghiel screeched incoherently and attempted to dive back under the surface.

Shinji screamed from the shock of the collision, and Ramiel's cables around snapped taut. He blinked and saw that he was staring out at the pink striated interior of the Seventh angel. "Arggh! Rami, where's the core?"

Jadel grimaced as she felt the muscular bulk of the angel strain to fracture her crystalline shell. "I don't know! We missed it!"

Asuka hung on for dear life as Unit-02 and Unit-A4 were helplessly dragged across the ocean surface. She barked at her inset viewscreen, "Stupid children! You're in angel form and you missed an S2 engine?"

Shinji bowed meekly, "I'm Sorry!"

"Dummkopf! Don't apologize, just kill it!"

Katsuragi cut off the argument, "Asuka, Shinji, the core is in its throat! Rami, try to levitate!"

"Yes ma'am!" Rami nodded and applied full power to her engine, but the bulk was too much for even Ramiel to lift Gaghiel free of the water. The out of control angel smashed off the bow of the GMD Udaloy in its attempts to target the Rainbow.

All the ships in the immediate vicinity poured artillery, missile, and torpedo fire at the surfaced Gaghiel. Asuka used the knife to pull Unit 2 closer to the angel's mouth. The Seventh angel responded by smashing the Evangelion against the hull of the SS Kirov, nearly capsizing the Russian vessel. Asuka yelled in pain as she felt the crush damage to her precious Eva through her synchronized brainwaves.

Shinji shook his head, "We have to do something! Sohryu will be killed!"

"I can't use the particle beam in this form," Rami despaired.

Misato cut in again, "Rami, check your subsystems! Do you have any other weapons?"

"No I don't…wait, the shell can create a AT-field powered drill!"

Ikari shook his head! "You do? Now is as good time to use it as any! Unit A4 extending drill!"

Part of the outer shell formed a corkscrew shape and began to burrow its way forwards.

Gaghiel breached in the air as point blank 16" shells inflicted minimal damage to its flank. Unit-02 got to the mouth area and jammed the knife into its gums.

The NERV VTOL finally reached the battlesite, and Misato gaped as she saw her ex-lover Kaji wave to her from the backseat of a Harrier jumpjet as it took off vertically from the deck of the Rainbow and blasted away from the inferno. "That…cowardly bastard!" She growled, "Keep digging Rami!"

The Seventh angel leapt in the air, smashing off the black antenna tower of the Kentucky, and snapping Ramiel's needle-shaped bulk in two!

Rami shrieked as if her spine had just snapped! The drill bit stopped dead.

Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs, "Idiot! Don't give up! Fight the pain Fourth child! Attack the monster!"

Shinji twisted around and faced his friend, touching her cheeks with his hands, "Stay with me Rami!"

Rami looked at Shinji and could only see a blurred face through her tears of agony. "I've...failed you."

Shinji took decisive action, as the only alternative was being turned into paste! He was sure he'd get slapped for this later, but that was better than being dead. He shoved his face forwards and kissed Rami awkwardly on the lips!

"Mmmph!" Rami couldn't believe her fortune. She clumsily reciprocated and deepened the kiss, as tears seeped out into the core fluid. Even if this gesture meant nothing to Shinji-kun, she would eternally treasure it as the happiest moment of her life! She pulled away and her blue glowing eyes lit up with renewed determination. The core lit up with hellish red light and the drill bit plunged deep into Gaghiel's head.

Asuka's mouth hung open in shock, but then the great monster roared in pain and opened its mouth wide. She yelled victoriously, "Sterben Sie Tier!" She plunged the dagger deep into the exposed core and kicked it up to its hilt with her mecha's foot. "Die!"

Gaghiel's core imploded, and its entire body ruptured apart like an overinflated balloon, showering the Rainbow with red blood which shattered all the starboard side bridge windows and engulfed Captain Briggs and his entire retinue!

Ramiel effortlessly mended its fractured body, and gently levitated skywards with a damaged Unit 2 clinging to its gleaming surface. The needle-shaped angel serenely floated over to the USS Over the Rainbow and set down along the centerline of the bloodstained deck. Above the fray in the VTOL Katsuragi laughed with glee as three shocked teens behind her gaped at the carnage below with chalk white faces.