Chapter 11: Rage
He was moping. He was sitting on the ground, his legs in a very uncomfortable position, still looking at the empty case, still with the same defeated look on his face. This was way worse than the times the hedgehogs and his friends destroyed his latest super platform or defeated the latest god-like entity he recruited.
"So, what?! You're just gonna sit there, Robotnik? It's not like I was the one that defeated you!" His long-time rival exclaimed suddenly.
Shadow nodded, "There must still be something we can do…"
That made Robotnik snap back into action somewhat, though he still didn't stand back up, "You don't understand, hedgehogs; IT'S OVER! With Adam grafted into his body and the fidelity of Miss Ayanami, Gendo Ikari can jump start Third Impact whenever he wants. It's over!"
Silver narrowed his eyes, "Maybe you can just sit and accept an entire world is doomed, but I," He looked at his fellow hedgehogs, "we cannot."
"That's right Silver," Sonic said in his usual determined voice, "Come on, we gotta figure out what to do next! Just leave the Egghead sulking here."
The three hedgehogs started walking away. It irked Robotnik how the stupid plush dolls didn't know anything of anything and could just shrug off something as huge and heavy handed as 'Gendo Ikari has what he needs to end the world'. Or maybe he was just jealous the hedgehogs could just keep going no matter what. Sonic's tenacity WAS what he always feared most about him, since they first started fighting.
Come on Ivo… think… Can you still turn this around? You can turn this around right? How much did you do and learn since you came here?
…
Come on come on, Evangelion structure, god like structure. Cells, molecules that can reconfigure themselves on the go, decide whether they'll be wave or particle, energy that travels through extra dimensional means. Energy of the soul…
…
Soul. Being. To become whatever you want in the molecular level as you go. Core control. Core… control…
…
CORE CONTROL!
He stood up suddenly and gazed upwards the gigantic white gargantuan that was the crucified Lilith.
Perhaps… perhaps if I use that, I can claim Lilith for myself… it will be difficult, but it's the only trump card I still have, the only thing I can use against Gendo…
Dusting himself off and walking away, he took one last look at the white giant…
I'll move it here first, start working on this new project immediately.
…before continuing and reaching for his com unit.
But let me distract everybody else first.
"Sonic, can you hear me?"
(SGE)
Sonic blinked, not knowing what he was more surprised at: The fact his com unit spoke something or that Robotnik was out of his defeated stupor and contacting them.
"Um, Robotnik?"
"Sonic, nice to see you can use your com unit perfectly. Is that something that came with your scarf and Emerald pouch?" He asked sarcastically.
Sonic snorted at his com unit, "We are already on the elevator out of Terminal Dogma. What do you want?"
"I have figured out something I can do to try and take back the blow Ikari delivered onto us by absorbing Adam, but I'm gonna need your help."
"…Um-"
"I'm gonna need to move something real big, right now, it has to be now, and it has to be in silence. No one can know I did it. I will hide it here in Terminal Dogma so I can work with it and Lilith! I need a distraction to do that."
Sonic blinked, looked at his fellow hedgehogs before addressing the com unit again, "Alright Egghead, what do you need us to do?"
"Simple really; Shadow and Silver create an even bigger ruckus fighting NERV security and the rest of my Eggbots- Yes I will release the remaining Units- while you, Sonic, hurry out of HQ and the Geofront, up to the surface."
"Why am I going to the surface?"
As if answering his question, the elevator dinged and opened the door to the outside fields of the Geofront, just out of the abyssal parts of the NERV base.
"We can't hear it because we're all the way down here in Terminal Dogma, but I'm pretty sure the Angel alarm is blaring right now."
Sonic eyebrows shot up and then he looked determined, "There's an Angel attacking?!"
"Why yes. That would be the next Angel, Bardiel. And it took control of one of the Evangelion Units. Unit 03 to be exact."
Sonic narrowed his eyes to the side, getting pumped up.
"Remember Sonic, you go fight the Angel while Silber and Shadow-"
"What about its pilot, Robotnik?" Shadow spoke next, cutting him off.
There was a bald forehead slap sound, "Oh right. You boys have been either incarcerated or hiding out of HQ and out of the Geofront. You wouldn't have heard who the pilot of Unit 03, the Fourth Child, is…"
"Just speak clearly Robotnik!" Sonic snapped.
"It's Mr. Aida, Sonic."
Sonic blinked, his eyes quickly becoming dinner plates with green bottoms. "Ke… Kensuke?"
"Yes."
"Kensuke is inside a giant robot- an Evangelion possessed by an Angel?!"
"I'm afraid he is."
Sonic boosted. Leaving the entrance to Terminal Dogma almost instantaneously and running up the elevator shaft and ignoring the elevator already there. Shadow and Silver stayed back while sound itself shattered behind him.
(SGE)
It was rare for Shinji to utterly and completely hate not knowing. What he DID know was that an Angel had attacked Matsushiro, where not only Misato, but also doctor Akagi and his friend Kensuke with the new Evangelion were at. He also knew that, like every other occasion, he'd have to fight it off and win. Also oddly enough, this time around his father was commanding him instead of Misato.
All he was told about Matsushiro is that there was only a small degree explosion. Though status of the area was unknown and sheltered people were probably safe, now that he was actually deployed, on standby for the 'target' to arrive, with nothing to do but wait, he couldn't help but think about everything that happened.
How are we getting through it this time…?
And now his mind wondered back to all the times he got through it, that he fought before. The near death brawl with Iblis and with the volcanic Angel before that. How he had to stampede across a lake to get the laser Angel, the whole time losing several limbs. How he fought the double Angel by syncing with Asuka with help from Sonic and Shadow. How the meteor Angel nearly crushed him. All of those times he felt unbelievable pain, searing him through the synchronization with his Eva. All of those times, like right now, he felt crushing fear and nervousness.
And now Kensuke is in the same boat… starting off even worse than I did…
Well, maybe not worse, an Angel also attacked on my first day too…
His haze of nervousness and fear was somewhat jolted out of him when the command line said something about 'target from Nobeyama' that he couldn't quite make out and he looked up slightly to see something approaching in the distance.
…Is that the…?
"Um… Is that the target?"
"Correct. That is your target." his father's stoic composure shook him out of his stupor completely. He felt his eyes widening and the blood draining out of his face didn't even noticed he was gripping the yolks of his Evas hard until his palms ached.
"The… target? T-that's an Angel?!"
Shinji sucked in a double lungful of LCL.
"That's an Eva!"
"No way! Taken over by an Angel?" he heard Asuka whisper angrily from her Eva through his com Unit.
But her whisper and whatever buzz was happening in the command center all but disappeared to Shinji as something clicked in his head instantaneously and he reached a conclusion. Again instantaneously, the finality of his conclusion hit him like a ton of bricks.
Kensuke is STILL INSIDE THAT THING!
(SGE)
"I am the one who is going to trash all of you! One by one you will fall!"
Shadow face palmed inside his head. Being all theatrical was never his forte, he never had to appear more bad ass just for the sake of distraction, but this called for every bit of distraction he could muster. The fact there was an Angel attacking helped in that regard, but he still spat out those awful one liners as he unleashed another flurry of attacks that knocked out another squad of armed guards.
Silver grimaced as he too readied another wave of psionic power, "Do you have to scream stuff like that?"
"We must draw their attentions."
SWOSH! CLANG!
He homing attacked an Egg-bot that appeared again shortly after answering Silver.
"Does Robotnik HAVE to send the rest of his toys on us?! Taking down NERV's security and Section 02 is hard enough as it is!"
Silver halted with his telekinetic power the latest swarm of bullets and a couple of Anti-Chaos Energy stun batons that were shot at him. He then exploded in a way Shadow recognized, sending ALL the projectiles Silver stopped with his mind back to the attackers. Four more security guards and two more Section 02 agents were down.
"Robotnik isn't exactly trustworthy, but there is something in this for him," He performed another homing attack on the nearby Egg-bot, sending it flying off and exploding to smithereens, "And he didn't lie about the Angel attacking." He landed and receded back slightly, so he and Silver were back to back again, "I see no reason not to give him the distraction he wants."
(SGE)
"But-" Silver cut himself off narrowing his eyes as he turned to capture more bullets as he heard gunfire behind him. It was a good thing the projectiles being tossed at him were small. Not only it didn't matter they were fast bullets, he could halt then by simply shielding himself, not much of his psionic energy being sapped but also toss them back with enough speed to just knock them out or would them, making them vulnerable to Shadow's bashing and knocking out. No casualties so far.
"But what is Robotnik doing that requires a distraction? Why aren't we helping Sonic getting out of here and go fight the Angel too?"
"That, I don't know. Nothing else we can do right now."
Silver narrowed his eyes to the side as he heard more enemies approaching.
"Think of it this way," Shadow was as collected as ever as he prepared for another bout, "We're making it easy for Sonic to leave HQ and the Geofront to go help the kids kill the Angel."
(SGE)
Sonic had slowed down, allowing the sense of hearing, sound itself catch up with him again, but he was still running, still enjoying the sensation of speed. However he was also actually starting to feel tired.
Getting out of HQ and climbing up from the Geofront lines while avoiding guards PLUS going to Nobeyama actually took a higher tool than I thought…
Something giant and red in the distance caught his attention. Unit 02, Asuka's Evangelion, was downed like a lifeless red mountain, serious abrasions on a skinless, apparently strangled neck, among other bruises throughout the red plated armor.
"Asuka?!"
He boosted again for a second, but stopped short of breaking the sound barrier again and his horrified face was replaced by a determined one when he saw the entry plug was already ejected.
She's safe… probably…
With that thought he resumed his running at a casual pace towards the distant sound of giant robot footsteps. The same foot did a sound he recognized.
Did that black Evangelion just BACKFLIP?!
With that thought, seeing a move that was amazing for something that size, Sonic saw Unit 00 being overpowered almost instantaneously. It was at this moment, seeing one Eva on top of the other, that Sonic actually saw the grandeur of his enemy; there was nothing to its size, since Sonic was used to the giant size of the Evangelions and Angels alike. But the shadow pitch black mech was extremely intimidating with its demon like build. This thing was scarier than the black copy of Evangelion Unit 01 that tossed him, Shadow and Silver across time and space, stopping time like the Time Eater did.
"REI!"
He exclaimed and increased his speed, almost shattering the sound barrier, because the Angel wasn't satisfied with overpowering Unit 00 quickly, the black Evangelion oozed some sort of acid goo on the shoulder of the light blue mech.
"SERIOUSLY! What is it with Angels and acid stuff?!"
He said as he reached the two wrestling gargantuan titans. Before he could do anything else however, he had to screech the ground to slow down and side step four times really quick to be able to dodge the giant piece of plated light blue flesh that flew straight towards him really fast. Upon looking at what he just dodged, he realized it was Unit 00's arm. It had ejected itself from the body for some reason.
"Probably the acid was also poisonous…" he pondered upon looking again at the giant mechs.
Only now it was actually only one mech; the downed Evangelion Unit 00. The black Evangelion, the Angel had already risen and walked away, leaving its second downed opponent behind.
Sonic blinked, "Rei just lost her arm. How is she already out- wait!" He widened his eyes as the sudden worry for the albino girl hit him like a ton of bricks "REI!"
He screamed as he made his way to the top of the downed immobile Unit 00. After running up the plating, wall stepping where he had to and running atop the Evangelion's shoulder and small of the back plating until finally reaching the entry plug hatch entrance. He nabbed it, twisted it in the right way and the plug came scorching out of the Eva's back, with him still holding on to it because it had not ejected completely. He rolled down to the hatch entrance and spin opened it.
Rei was inside, clutching her shoulder, her face twisted in pain, "Sonic…"
"You're okay right Rei?" he didn't give her time to answer before turning away. "I can't waste any time, it's going for Shinji next!" and he resumed his running.
Not that far ahead, he saw the Angel standing before a very still Unit 01, Sonic could have sworn the purple giant robot almost looked frightened.
"Shinji…"
After whispering the name to the wind, Sonic was now running faster again, just below the speed of sound. He wanted to still be able of hear things, like if his communicator ringed or something, so he was barely keeping up with the black giant that had trashed Asuka, then Rei and now stood before a obviously scared Shinji. He was almost on them when the black Evangelion stretched its arm in a very unnatural manner, making the black limb quadruple in size. With a punch, Unit 01 was almost tossed away from the Angel. At the very next moment and with a snap that sounded dangerously like a neck breaking, the black hand gripped around the purple Evangelion's throat.
Upon seeing that Sonic screamed "SHINJI!" And started running even faster, finally shattering the sound barrier behind him, finally ridding himself of his sense of hearing.
(SGE)
"Are you sure about that Kensuke?"
"Positive dude!" His smile opened wider, "I'm loving this! I get to pilot an Evangelion! I can't wait for tomorrow!"
"Well… okay then…"
"Hey don't worry about me man! I am loving this! More importantly…"
Shinji blinked.
Kensuke's face turned slightly serious when he approached Shinji more and whispered, "What about Sonic?"
Shinji nodded, "He escaped. Probably aided by Silver and Shadow as I was told. And there are… a few people considering everything he said."
Kensuke actually smiled and sighed in relief, "That's good. I don't buy that he's the bad guy either."
Shinji smiled, "He has an effect on people doesn't he? And not just because of how he looks."
Kensuke nodded still smiling but then appeared crushed "I just wished I could've said goodbye."
(SGE)
Even I could tell he was crushed. I wanted to say goodbye to Sonic too. I couldn't say anything to him at that time, so I just held his shoulder. It was unusual for me, since I was never much into that kind of closeness. At least he didn't jerk away like I did when we met in the wild and Robotnik met up with us. I felt it was a moment it was safe for us to be closer.
Also, it was at that time that I thought about how even Kensuke agreed with what Mephiles said, even though he didn't know, and I didn't even tell him what Mephiles said about my dad. It was that conversation that really cemented our status as 'both of us are pilot friends'.
That was the last time we talked, the last conversation we ever had.
…
No! I can't let myself think like that! Just because he's a pilot and he's my friend doesn't mean he's going to die! I WILL talk to him again!
Why am I even remembering and thinking about all of this anyway?
…
Oh, right…
(SGE)
Shinji opened his eyes again to feel the same pain around his neck, stopping him from breathing, and to see the same scary black Evangelion like face glaring at him as it strangled him.
…Unit 03- the Angel knocked out Asuka and Rei, then flung me away before grabbing my throat, almost knocking me out…
"Shinji, why aren't you engaging the target?" his father's stoic voice actually managed to reach him through his Eva's com unit, shaking him out of his drowsiness and over thinking it stupor.
"Kensuke is still inside it!"
"Irrelevant. I said he and Unit 03 are now expandable."
Shinji felt his face twisting in anger and horror and finally, something akin to hate tinged his heart. Funny how he could recognized even in the heat of battle, even as he was choked by the Angel.
"We have to find a way to save him!"
"SHINJI!"
A sudden new voice, winded by strain, came from just in front of him, Sonic just emerged, apparently instantaneously, in front of him, clinging to something in Unit 01's face, maybe the plating, because he was right in front of Shinji's sight.
"Shinji! I can't open the hatch to the plug where Ken is! It is super glued with some sort of acidic gooey stuff! We gotta find another way to save Kensuke!"
Still feeling the choke hold, Shinji sputtered out, "I know, but-"
"Third Child!" He heard his father once again, cutting him off harshly, from his com unit, "The mobians are no longer relevant here. You will fight the Angel."
"I won't kill my friend, father!"
"You will die if you don't fight."
"I don't care! I still won't kill my friend!"
There was a bump of some sort on the other side of his com link and his father stopped addressing him, "Activate Unit 01's dummy plug system!"
"Shinji! Can you hear me?! How do we save Kensuke?!" Shinji was able to return his focus to his current situation when Sonic drew his attention again.
Come on Shinji, think. You can't use the Eva right now. What CAN you use?!
Whether it was the heat of the moment or the fact he still felt like he was being chocked thanks to the synchronization, it actually took him a very long moment to actually think about what he would have thought of instantaneously…
The emerald!
…and let go of the yolks that controlled the Eva to make a round shape with both his hands.
"It's still more useful than the current pilot! Do it now!" his father yelled on the other side of his com unit for some reason.
Ignoring that advent and ignoring the fact Sonic was no longer in front of him, he focused on the magical gem he still had. The purple Chaos Emerald started manifesting itself on his hands, in a blurry octagonal shape.
It was then that several things happened at the same time: The purple Chaos Emerald appeared on his palms; He saw Sonic holding on to the entry plug stuck in the back of the black Eva, trying to open it; And weirdest of it all, the sensation of synchronization left him as his whole entry plug went dark, replaced by a red light.
He narrowed his eyes, confused, since this wasn't supposed to happen until what he was going to do next. Even more confused when a box saying 'operation dummy system' appeared in front of him, blocking a good chunk of his sight. He didn't waste any time pondering on it though, he needed to be fast. He focused on the emerald, closing his eyes and seeing nothing but the inside of Unit 03's entry plug…
Take me to Kensuke!
…before executing the intended maneuver yelling, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Darkness of a purple hue with a saturation that both engulfed and suffocated him, enveloping him as suddenly as he was physically present again. The next thing he noticed was how the purple was a psychedelic jumble of horrific colors, like looking directly into the mind of a monster. Shinji realized that wasn't too far from the truth; he really was inside the entry plug of an Angel controlled Eva.
And, sure enough, when his searching eyes gazed in the right direction…
"KENSUKE!"
…he saw his friend, unconscious, still with glasses on, a blackish plugsuit covering his small thin frame, but most scary of it all; his arms and his legs appeared to be 'fused' with the yolks and pedals of the Evangelion by some sort of grey mass.
He licked his lips, once again focusing on the jewel on his hand…
Just like in the living room, showing Asuka, zap the table without damaging it, I have to zap Kensuke's limbs without damaging them. Just have to free him!
After a moment of reflection on how freaky it was that Mephiles taught him to use such a Chaos technique without even talking to him, at the same time thankful he was now saving his friend, he pointed the purple gem at Kensuke's left hand…
"Chaos BEAM!"
… and a focused string of energy that looked like purple light erupted from the Emerald's tip. This was much more powerful, brighter and thicker than the small laser beam he showed Asuka that barely damaged the living room table. This not only burned away the strange grey mass enveloping Kensuke's limbs, it seemed to somehow purify it, making it fade not only in the area where the light hit but also all around it.
Feeling a spike of determination on how well his technique worked, Shinji smiled and didn't waste any time…
"Chaos BEAM!"
…and now both of Kensuke's hands were free…
"Chaos BEAM! Chaos BEAM!"
…followed swiftly by both of his legs.
Shinji embraced the unconscious form of Kensuke, now floating around freely like Shinji was, with both arms while still holding onto the purple Chaos Emerald. He focused on the Chaos Emerald once again…
"Chaos CONTROL!"
…and then Shinji was outside. The glare of the sun briefly hurt his sight, being on the ground again, lying on the asphalt, gave him a feeling whiplash, being that different from the last two entry plugs he was at. None of that even mattered though, because Kensuke was lying there beside him, apparently safe and sound although he was still unconscious.
"Kensuke," He turned to him, wanting to check on him. Simply seeing that he was still breathing was enough for Shinji to shake his head and turn away from his friend's immobile form, "I can't waste any more time here! I have to get back… into my own… Eva?"
The reason his determination turned into a question was that when he turned to look at the giant behemoths in the distance, he expected seeing the black Evangelion, now without Kensuke, mangling Evangelion Unit 01, now limp because it didn't have him in its entry plug.
No, he didn't see that, what he saw instead was Unit 01 on its feet, overpowering the black Angel controlled Evangelion.
"W… what? How-?"
He was cut off by a very loud snapping sound that took a while to reach him because of how distant he was from the two gargantuan, but a snapping sound nonetheless. Made even scarier by the fact the Black Evangelion's arms went limp after that sound.
Shinji widened his eyes and his brow creased in fear, "Did… did you… do this, father?" he took a small step towards the giants in the distance. "You… you don't now I saved Kensuke. You don't… I didn't…" The horror that formed in his chest kept growing as the purple Unit 01 proceeded to throw the black Unit 03 to the ground and stomp it with its fists and remove pieces of it.
With a mouth hanging open and eyes wide in an expression of horror, Shinji whispered as if his father was listening, "Y-you… would have used me to kill Kensuke…?"
(SGE)
Sonic couldn't believe it.
"Shinji!" he exclaimed to the wind, "What the heck are you doing?! Kensuke is still inside the robot you're trashing!"
But his hopes that Shinji was somehow still listening seemed vain because the second big piece of the black Evangelion's armor flew right by him, as he side stepped to avoid it.
"It's no use! I gotta go after Kensuke right now!"
As he fell into open air, once again tossed around by the giants fighting around him (more like the purple one massacring the black one), he reached for his pouch, taking one of the Chaos emeralds that he had with him
I can't do this nearly as well as Shadow or even Silver, but it's gotta work! I gotta save Kensuke!
Still falling he wielded the green emerald upwards, focusing on it…
So take me to Kensuke!
…and screamed, "Chaos Control!"
One enveloping flash of greenish light later he was looking up at the bright blue sky, the bright green of the emerald he was holding right beneath it.
"No no NO! I didn't wanna go outside! I wanted to go to Unit 03's entry… plug…?" As he said it he looked around him, "KENSUKE!" And saw Kensuke, wearing a black plug suit and unconscious, with Shinji standing nearby, "Oh Kensuke thank GOD!" He went to a kneeling position beside him instantaneously.
Still alive, seems okay.
He sighed in relief and looked at the teenager still standing.
"Shinji. Wha-"
He blinked in confusion when he saw in the distance the Black Evangelion was still being torn to pieces by the purple Evangelion. Shinji was watching in horror. Sonic noticed he probably had been for a while, and not even his sudden appearance distracted him. Sonic wasn't distracted by the fact Shinji had the purple Chaos Emerald in his hand. It was easy enough for Sonic to figure it all out.
Shinji saved Kensuke using the Chaos Emerald. He learned to use it like we can somehow…
"Good job Shinji!"
Shinji looked at him, expression still somewhat horrified. "Um… Huh?"
"You saved Kensuke right?"
"Oh… Y-yes I did." Shinji stared ahead again.
Sonic blinked. He wanted to ask how Shinji learned to use Chaos Control, but noticed there was something else really bugging Shinji, "What's the matter?"
Sonic looked in the direction Shinji was looking when he didn't say anything. Unit 01 was still mangling Unit 03.
"Um… that's good isn't it? You and Ken not being inside those things as they tear at each other?" Sonic gulped when the purple Eva removed the empty entry plug from the black Eva and seemed about to smash it. "Well actually it's totally one sided…"
Shinji on the other hand seemed even more horrified when Unit 01 smashed the entry plug like an egg, some foul liquid raining down on the ground far away from them.
Sonic looked at him again, "Shinji, please talk to me! You're safe, Kensuke is safe and the Angel is being trashed. So what's wrong?! Why are you-?"
"I'm not piloting."
Sonic blinked, "Huh?"
"I'm not inside Unit 01. I'm not doing that," He pointed at the purple giant that had just totally and utterly destroyed the black giant.
Sonic double took the sight far away from them and Shinji. He then scratched his head, "Then how-?"
"My father…" Sonic thought he would be relieved by Shinji's expression no longer being one of horror. He wasn't, because now he had pure unaltered hatred in his expression, "My father, he did something to my Eva… he… Dummy system or something… he…"
Sonic actually winced, "Shinji, calm down dude," it was very weird seeing a usually gentle face like Shinji's tainted with rage like that.
"I don't think I can calm down Sonic. He would have used me to kill Kensuke."
"Shinji, you don't need to be like your father. Hey look at me," when Shinji slowly turned to face him, he continued, "You are not like Blackbeard. I told you before; you're awesome. You're gentle, kind and you kicked ass in every battle you've been in."
Shinji nodded, "I know that Sonic."
"Do you? 'Cause you still look really angry…"
"He abandoned me and started hating me for his wife's death. Which wasn't my fault. And now he…" Shinji trailed off as he stared at the image in the distance, that was now Evangelion Unit 01 smashing the entry plug of Unit 03.
Sonic wished he could say something else other than what he already said. And was glad he didn't need to because Shinji had more to say.
"Sonic, take this away from me. You can probably use it better than me anyway," he stretched the hand holding the purple Chaos Emerald.
Sonic blinked, "Oh yeah, that. I was gonna ask you for this anyway. It's the last of the seven, I really needed it too. How'd you get this anyway?"
Shinji shook his head, "Long story."
Sonic rose one eyebrow, "If it was so much trouble for you to get it, why are you just giving it to me like this?"
Shinji narrowed his eyes, "I abandoned Unit 01. He'll want to talk to me in private for that. I'm afraid of what I'll do if I have the emerald with me when confronting him…"
Sonic blinked, "Why?"
"Because Mephiles told me to…" Shinji trailed off again, looking to the side, still looking like rage consumed him.
"Wow, Mephiles?! Did you-?"
"Did you say the truth Sonic?"
Now Sonic rose the other eyebrow, "Huh?"
"About my father, did you say the truth about him and what he wants?"
Sonic winced. Ah… that…
He looked away from Shinji. Unit 01 in the distance was now limp and no longer fighting. Unit 03 was in pieces.
Target neutralized I guess…
Sonic eyed him sadly, "I'm sorry, Shinji. I wouldn't joke or lie about something like that… I know what I saw."
Now Shinji really grimaced and dropped the emerald. Sonic quickly grabbed it. After that, Sonic could tell that, in Shinji's own way this was the ugliest face he could do. His mouth was twisted and his gentle blue eyes were filled with rage.
Sonic winced again. Well… someone really hates his dad…
"Look, you don't have to feel bad about what happened…" Sonic looked him in the eye, "you are NOT like your father…"
"It's not that Sonic, it's just…"
"Breathe, Shinji. Pace around too if you think it'll help…"
Shinji complied and Sonic accompanied him with his eyes. "It's just that he… Not just him, everyone working for him, even Misato…" he breathed. Taking deep breaths for some reason. "I hate them all…"
Sonic looked troubled, "Shinji…"
"If it wasn't for Asuka I'd…" he trailed off shaking in anger then shook his head as if to clear it, "You should leave Sonic."
Sonic knew he was right, he knew he was still a fugitive but he didn't wanna just leave Shinji there like that.
"They will lock you away again if they catch you. Go."
If the situation wasn't so grim, Sonic would have felt proud of Shinji for speaking so spontaneously for the first time. How sad was it that the first time of that was for something like rage. And directed towards a figure like his own father.
"Just don't go do anything stupid because of all the crap you handled today, Shinji. You handled it. You're okay."
He allowed himself to say that much although he couldn't outright tell Shinji 'don't try to kill himself again', before boosting away from the scene, testing the energy he gained from the new emerald, given to him by Shinji. Also, even though he was running, he couldn't help but wonder what was still going through the poor boy's mind.
Author's note: Evangelion belongs to Gainax, Sonic belongs to Sega. Big thanks for GamerJay for beta reading.
And now Shinji hates his father. He even gave Sonic the Purple Chaos Emerald he had so he wouldn't kill him. What consequences will that have and how it will go down I wonder. Also, has anyone figured out what the "something big" that Robotnik has that he "will try to use to take Lilith to himself" AND used Shadow and Silver as a distraction to move it to Terminal Dogma? It is a forgotten plot point that we haven't seen since the first book. Stay tuned!
Reviews are greatly appreciated!