A promise made, A promise kept. Ch 14
"Dammit! These guns are useless!", Asuka shouted as she threw yet another clip into her pallet rifle and continued her assault on the angel, now deemed as "Zeruel". Shinji stood beside her, twin launchers in hand while Rei was quickly draining her Gatling gun's ammo reservoir. All three watched as their rounds merely bounced off of the Angel's massive upper body.
"We've already established this, Asuka!", Shinji shouted as he dropped a shell into each of the open chambers of his rocket launchers. He clicked them shut with a flick of his Eva's wrist and brought them up to his shoulder. He locked on to the Angel and fired off the two massive rounds.
They streaked past the NERV and U.N. VTOL's and made solid contact with the target. Yet again, there was no effect. Zeruel kept steadily moving forward. One of the large barrel-like structures at its side suddenly changed, morphing from a stubby appendage into a long, black streamer. The Angel swept it up and to the side almost lazily, as though it were waving away a group of mosquitoes. Six of the VTOL's were instantly vaporized, the screams of the pilots making their way across the airwaves. On the bridge, Misato and the other technicians cringed involuntarily.
"Shit!", Shinji yelled as he groped for another round, and, finding that he had expended them all, threw the launchers aside. He grabbed a spare pallet rifle and joined Asuka and Rei as they desperately tried to slow the monster's advance.
"Come on, Misato! Lemme after this thing!", Asuka shouted, her rifle eating up its last clip of ammunition. It too was tossed away along with the launchers and added to the pile of discarded weapons that littered the area around the Eva's feet, "You know these guns aren't doing a damn thing!"
On the bridge, Misato slowly clenched and unclenched her fists, the blood vessel on her forehead beginning to swell.
"Asuka... We've been over this...", she spoke calmly, barely able to control her frustration, "You are to expend all of your munitions before you attempt to go hand to hand with this thing. We cannot take any unneeded risk. Those are you orders, please follow them!"
Asuka resorted to swearing under her breath in German as she reached back and grabbed one of the Eva sized pistols sticking out of the massive rack behind her. She trained the sights on Zeruel and squeezed off a few rounds. Not surprisingly, they simply ricocheted off of the creature's A.T. Field and flew off into several directions. One round clipped the wing of a NERV gunship and sent it spiraling towards the ground.
"Crap!", Shinji yelled before taking off after the flaming aircraft, his Eva's feet digging two massive trenches as they searched for traction. Finally gaining purchase, Unit 01 lunged forward, Asuka watching in numb horror as it sped off in the direction of the Angel. She stood, frozen at the ludicrousness of the situation as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
What is he doi...
Oh great...There he goes again... Running away...
Running away from trouble... Running away from the pain... Running away from...
Me...
That coward...
A thought occurred to her then.
No... Wait... He's running towards the Angel...
But... That can't be... He's not... No...
Misato broke the girl's train of thought as she yelled after Unit 01.
"SHINJI! You stop right now! That is an order!", the Major shouted over the radio, finally noticing the plummeting NERV aircraft.
It soon became apparent, however, that he wasn't listening. Misato swore under her breath and turned her attention to Unit 02.
"Asuka! Go after him!"
Asuka shook her head, knocked back into reality by Misato's exclamation, and looked to her right. The last shells from Shinji's launchers lay, still smoking, in the indentations that Unit 01's feet had occupied only a moment before. Shinji's umbilical cable was sliding quickly through the dirt, bouncing and writhing as it did so.
She whirled around and caught site of Unit 01 as it ripped across the countryside, a house exploding under its feet like a balloon made of brick and mortar. Zeruel continued its relentless advance, its pace quickening ever so slightly as the Eva rushed towards it.
Misato watched as Unit 02 took off after its purple counterpart, a worried look on her face.
Shinji... Please... Be careful...
"Wha.. Dammit, Shinji! You idiot, get back here!", she yelled after him, her own Eva now charging forward. Rei stood in an indecisive shock for a moment before dropping her now empty Gatling gun to the ground. She lowered herself slightly, preparing to run after the other two Children. She stopped as Misato came over the radio, slightly perturbed.
"REI! You stay right there! That's an order!", she bellowed.
"But, Misato... Shinji.. Asuka... I...", Rei replied, her voice desperate., "I have to help them... They.. They.."
She stopped then, her mind in turmoil.
I have to be there with them... I can't... I can't let them go this alone...
All they've done for me... I have to...
Setting her jaw, Rei came to a decision. She knew Misato wasn't going to be happy with it, but at that particular moment, she really didn't care.
"I'm sorry, Misato... But I have to help them... I... I think you know why...", she spoke at last, her voice surprisingly calm and firm. She ducked slightly and launched her Eva forward, quickly gaining on the other two pilots.
"REI! STOP! GET BACK HERE, DAMMIT!", Misato bellowed as Unit 00 took off running. She stood there, stunned.
There's no way that just happened... Did Rei... Did Rei just disobey an order? My God... Those two have certainly been busy with that girl... she thought numbly before Maya let out a frightened gasp.
"Major! The Angel... It's picking up speed!", she yelled, her console flashing with numerous red icons, "And, it appears to be changing direction as well!"
Misato shot a quick glance to the main screen and noticed with alarm that Zeruel had begun to move towards the Eva's, its pace quicker than before. The gunships flitting around the creature were steadily running out of munitions and frantically radioing for backup. She saw Unit 00 catch up to Units 01 and 02 as Shinji plucked a flaming VTOL out of the air and took off towards a hillside.
Asuka and Rei caught up with him as he sat the aircraft down at the foot of the hill. Asuka began berating him over the radio as Unit 01 stood up. Misato watched in horror as Zeruel suddenly lifted, its A.T. Field acting as a source of propulsion. It left the VTOL's behind in a flurry of energy as it flew towards the three Evangelions and gently set itself down right behind them. Asuka and Rei slowly turned around and stared at the Angel.
"Major! I'm picking up another energy buildup! My God... It's off the charts!", the lieutenant shouted as an alarm began to bellow.
"What is...", she began
She didn't get the chance to finish her question.
Topside, Shinji had managed to reach the plummeting VTOL. He swiped it out of the air mere seconds before it impacted the ground below. He cradled the aircraft to Unit 01's chest and ran to his left just as Asuka reached him, Rei bringing up the rear.
"You idiot!", she screamed at him as she performed a skidding turn in Unit 02 to keep up with him, "Did you not hear Misato, huh? What in the hell are you thinking?"
"I agree with Asuka, Ikari-kun...", Rei added, "You deviated from the Major's orders. You could have been killed!"
"I know... I know...", Shinji replied as he gently sat the aircraft down and stood up, "I just.. I saw the plane going down and I kinda, well... panicked... I'm sor..."
He stopped mid sentence and Asuka heard him inhale sharply. A noticeable breeze blew past Units 02 and 00 and she noticed that Unit 01 seemed to be staring over her left shoulder. She slowly turned her Eva to match his gaze, and found herself face to face with the Angel, it's A.T. Field still shimmering from the effort of its short flight.
Its eyes were glowing, and she felt a sudden buildup of static electricity, even though she was surrounded by LCL. She froze, unable to react as she stared into the dark recesses of its "face". She was barely aware as Unit 01 grabbed her and Rei by the shoulders and pulled them behind him. At the same moment, the glow grew in intensity and seemed to lance out.
"Mein Gott..."
"ASUKA!"
The blast was powerful enough to rip through every layer of plate armor that made up the roof of the Geofront. Buildings and other support structures fell through the opening and crashed into the floor below. A particularly large skyscraper impacted directly beside the pyramid housing NERV HQ. Every person on the bridge was thrown to the ground as the entire structure shook violently.
"Damage report!", Misato bellowed after she had gotten back to her feet, "What's the status of the Pilots?"
"Unsure, Major!", Makoto shouted in reply, furiously typing at his console and flipping through status screens, "Communications were cut in the blast! I don't have audio or video!"
"Alright... Shigeru!", Misato yelled as she turned to the other technician, "You heard the man! Get on it!"
"Yes Ma'am!", came the immediate response as the lieutenant dove under his control terminal and began ripping panels from their moorings. He was half-submerged in wires and circuit boards within seconds.
"Maya, report on the Angel!", Misato barked.
"It's still active, Ma'am! It's.. Oh.. Oh God... It's floating down into the Geofront!", Maya exclaimed as she went to work redirecting the defenses towards the Angel's new position.
Misato set her jaw and, nodding, walked over to her console and pressed the general coms button.
"Shinji... Asuka... Rei... Are you there... Please come in...", she spoke, hoping that maybe they could at least hear her, even if they had no way of replying, "Please... Somebody, say something..."
There was a hint of pleading in her voice as she spoke the words.
Please... God... Somebody... Let them answer..., she whispered to herself. Maya slipped her hand over hers and gave a light squeeze. Misato looked over in surprise and found the lieutenant smiling up at her, despite the chaos surrounding the both of them.
"They'll answer, Misato...", she said as she released the Major's hand, "They'll save us. They always do..."
There was a loud sizzling noise and a series of pops followed by Shigeru's surprised yelp as he fell out of the control panel. Misato was about to speak up when the static from the Eva's communication signals began to crackle, small bits of a human voice making its way through.
"MiZZato! ComZZ ZZin! Come inZZ. MisZZto!", Shinji's voice struggled to overcome the static, "AsZZka, Rei! I cZZn't reZZch them ZZn thZZ radio! PlZZse! SomZZe! ComZZ in!
Misato grabbed her headset and quickly secured it in place.
"Shinji! Oh thank God! Are you okay?", she practically shouted, tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes. The line still wasn't completely free of static, and it was tough to make out what the boy was saying, "Aoba! Get this static cleared, pronto!"
"Yes Ma'am!", Shigeru barked as he dove back into the labyrinth of wires under the control panel. Within seconds, he had managed to sufficiently reduce the static enough for Misato to clearly hear Shinji's labored pleas.
"Misato!", he yelled, his voice cracking at the effort, "Please! Can you hear Asuka and Rei? I can't... I can't reach them!"
"Shinji! Shinji, calm down!", Misato broke in, her voice level and calm. She had to maintain a sense of control, even if things were going to shit around her, "We're working on that as we speak. Now... Are you alright? Huh? Come on, Shinji... Talk to me..."
She heard the boy take several deep breaths before through her headset before he replied.
"I.. I'm fine... Misato.."
"There.. That's good, Shinji.. Come on.. Keep talking... Tell me what's going on...", Misato prodded, trying to keep the boy calm.
"I.. I.. My umbilical cable... It got severed... I've only got four minutes of power left.. I don't... I don't know about Asuka or Rei..."
There was a crackle as another voice joined the conversation.
"Well... I can't speak for Wondergirl, but I'm fine...", said Asuka, her voice slightly strained.
"Asuka! Where are you? I can't see anything through all the dust...", Shinji called over the radio, noticing a large weight on his Eva's shoulders, "I think a building landed on me... How about you?"
"I'm clear... But my umbilical cable is gone", Asuka replied, "I've only got four and half minutes of power remaining..."
"Yeah... We can see that from here", Misato spoke up, her eyes flicking back and forth from screen to screen, "What about Rei? Can either of you see her?"
"I.. I can't see anything, Misato", Asuka replied as she stood up in Unit 02 and scanned her surroundings, "There's so much damn dust..."
"Same here...", Shinji added, shrugging the skyscraper off of Unit 01's shoulders as he did so, "I can't see 30 feet in front of me... "
A large, white, metallic hand landed on Unit 01's right shoulder.
"AHHHH!", Shinji screamed as he whirled around and found himself face to face with...
Misato and Asuka jumped at the boys' sudden outburst, their pulses skyrocketing.
"Shinji! What is it? Is it the Angel?", she yelled, panic starting to creep into the edges of her mind, "Shinji! Answer me!"
"Shinji! You baka! What happened?", Asuka yelled, her Progressive Knives at the ready, "Shinji! Answer me you idiot!"
They waited for a few tense seconds before a small, girlish giggle made its way across the radio band.
The owner was quickly identified.
"Rei!", Shinji yelled, his breath catching slightly from the shock, "Don't do that! You scared the hell out of me!"
"I am sorry, Ikari-kun", the First Child replied , still chuckling, "I did not realize you were that close. I apologize for the shock..."
Asuka let out a string of German profanities.
"Rei! Don't scare us like that! I mean, you could have at least given us some warning!", she yelled as her pulse slowly brought itself back to normal, "Besides, you nearly gave poor Shinji a heart attack! You know how scared he gets..."
"Hey! I do not!", Shinji retorted, "You shut up!"
Misato let out a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose as the two fell into their typical quarreling.
I love these kids... But they're going to kill me one day...
"Alright!", Misato spoke up loudly, interrupting the squabbling teens, "Rei, good to know you're okay. What's Unit 00's status?"
"Well, it seems to be in perfect working order, Major Katsuragi. There is only aesthetic damage", Rei replied as Asuka found her way over to the two Pilots, "However, my umbilical cable seems to be damaged or gone. I am showing three and a half minutes of power remaining."
Figures..., Misato thought to herself, All three umbilical cables are destroyed... This is just what we need...
A beep brought her back to the situation at hand and she immediately looked to Maya's screen. What she saw did nothing to alleviate her fears.
"Dammit... The Angel is still active.", she spoke quietly, "Maya, what's its position?"
"Trying to figure that out now, Ma'am", the lieutenant replied as she brought up a window showing all of the security systems under her control, "It looks like... Wait... That can't be right... According to this, the target is..."
Topside, Shinji looked up and saw a massive shadow moving towards them.
"The Angel! I see it!", Shinji yelled as he took a few staggering steps backward, "Its... It's in the Geofront!"
"No shit!", Asuka replied, bringing up her Progressive Knives in a defensive stance, "Misato, are there any other defenses you can throw at this thing?"
"Negative, Asuka...", she answered grimly, "They were all destroyed in the explosion. You three are going to have to take it out barehanded. Looks like you got your wish..."
This pleased Asuka immensely.
"Alright... Let's go!", she yelled as she prepared to rush towards the Angel. She barely noticed the small alarm going off in the cockpit alerting her to another large buildup of energy coming from the Angel. She did, however, feel when Shinji grabbed Unit 02 by the shoulder and threw it to the side, "Wha..."
There was a flash of light in the distance and a beam of energy shot out, cutting a swath through all the dust still hanging in the air, leaving a clear, circular path to the Angel.
It shot over Asuka as she landed, hard, and she saw that Rei had also been thrown to the ground. Unit 01 was hunched over them, shielding them from the blast as it made contact with the pyramid that sat above NERV HQ, obliterating it in a purple flash.
All the personnel on the bridge were thrown violently against their consoles, bruising numerous ribs and causing several busted lips. Those standing were slammed into the nearest hard surface, be it the walls or the floor. Misato reached up and grasped the edge of the console nearest her and pulled herself back to her feet, a small trickle of blood coming from her forehead.
"That hurt...", she spoke gruffly as she tried to clear her head, "Status report!"
"Backup systems are online..", Ritsuko replied as she hurriedly typed command after command into the MAGI's main processing terminal, "All reserve generators have kicked in. We are at 85% operating efficiency and climbing. Maya! Run scans on ancillary systems 104 to 340, I want th..."
Misato drowned out Ritsuko's techno babble and turned to Makoto.
"Lieutenant, what is the status of the Pilots?", she asked as she scanned the main display for any sign of the Eva's.
"Not sure, Ma'am", he replied as his screen lit up with red warning notices signifying that the status feed from the Eva's had been severed, "It seems we still have communications, though..."
"Great! Just work on getting everything else reestablished"
"Yes Ma'am!"
Misato opened the general coms line and called out to the Pilots. Behind her, the main screen flickered back to life, showing a live feed from one of the few remaining security cameras above ground.
"Shinji! Asuka! Rei! Come in! What are your current conditions?", she asked calmly, the small cut on her forehead having finally stopped bleeding.
After a few moments, Shinji's strained voice came over the line.
"Misato... We're fine... Shielded... Unit 02... Unit 00...", he wheezed as he tried to catch his breath, "Two minutes... Power...Angel still active... Going... After it."
Misato's blood ran cold at that last part.
"Shinji! You can't! You only have 2 1/2 minutes of power left!", she yelled, her voice higher than she would have liked, "You won't make it!"
"I have to try!", he screamed back, his voice cracking, "I have to!"
With that, Unit 01 stood from its position over Rei and Asuka and turned to face the Angel. As he prepared to charge, he felt a nudge at his left. He turned and saw Unit 00 pulling itself to full height as Rei's voice came over the radio and her face appeared on a virtual monitor in the cockpit.
"Ikari-kun... If you are going to do this, then I will be forced to assist you...", she spoke softly as she slid her own prog knife into her Eva's hand, "I can't let you do this alone..."
Shinji tried to stammer out a reply, but Asuka cut him off, her own face appearing beside Shinji.
"I'm with Wondergirl on this one", she said as Unit 02 joined them, "I'm not letting you steal all the glory this time..."
"I..I..", Shinji stammered. He tried to find something to say to deter the two girls from doing this, but he knew that, no matter what, they weren't going to back down. Not from this. Not after everything they had gone through. A wicked smile crept onto his face against his will, and he chuckled, "Alright then... If you insist..."
Back on the bridge, Misato listened to all of this, her own grin now securely in place. She stood there for a few moments before an alarm brought her back to the situation at hand. She looked at Maya's screen and swore, loudly.
"Hey! You three!", she yelled over the radio, "You only have 90 seconds of power left! If you're going to kill this thing, I highly recommend you do it now!"
The three Pilots looked at their power displays and swore in unison. Shinji grabbed his Prog Knife and flicked it open, the blade glowing as it activated. He looked to Asuka and then to Rei. They nodded and all three dropped to a kneeling position, ready to pounce.
Shinji grinned maniacally and lunged forward, Unit 01 sending massive clods of dirt into the air as its feet dug in.
God is in His heaven..., Shinji found himself thinking, though he wasn't sure why...
Alright then. Here we have the beginning of the battle. I'm not too happy with the last part of the chapter, but I've been working on this one for so long that it was starting to physically hurt every time I thought about it. I probably spent a week straight working on the first half alone.
Now, as for the next chapter... It will contain the actual battle, and it will be, well, intense. It might just be the last chapter as well. I'm not sure... We'll just have to see how things go.
Finally, I would like to give a big Thank You to Belimair, who helped me immensely with this chapter.
So, until next time...