Chapter 33: Wut
As Soren disembarked from the EVA carrier Misato raised an eyebrow. Instead of his usual clean cut suit the man was in the formal dress of a UN colonel. Not even that of the Inspectorate, but a colonel of the UN Military Command. Seeing as Asuka had insisted on coming along to see her mentor and Shinji was tagging along, his cover was going to be well and truly blown. Soren however remained unperturbed even as the red headed girl gaped at him.
"Colonel," he nodded to Misato.
"Colonel," Misato responded with a smirk.
"Colonel," Soren continued to Kayabuki.
"Colonel." The regimental CO's grin was even wider than Misato's.
"Colonel," Soren said as he reached Madison.
"Colonel." Somehow the Bundeswehr officer's smile managed to even eclipse that of Kayabuki.
"Oh please," Amanda said with a snort as Soren glanced over at her.
"Dear," Soren said dryly before looking down at Asuka. "Fraulein. I trust you've been productive in my absence?"
"Umm, yes Maestro," Asuka said. "But, umm, well…"
"Ah yes, my uniform," Soren said. "I suppose I have not entirely been honest with you, Fraulein. My job as a concert master is something of a hobby. My formal responsibility is as an IPEA Inspector-General."
Asuka's eyes bulged. She looked at Amanda pleadingly. The brunette shrugged.
"It's true. Soren's job involves the EVAs." She smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "He took the inspector-general gig because he wanted to look out for you though."
Asuka batted away the woman's hand and shot her a brief glare before looking back over at Soren.
"I'm, not sure how I should feel about this," Asuka said.
Soren leaned over. "Did you enjoy our time together, Fraulein?"
Asuka nodded.
"Have you ever felt that I lied to you?"
She shook her head.
"Then listen to what your heart says," Soren said, offering a rare but genuine smile, "like I've always told you to."
Asuka smiled back and nodded. Soren straightened and stepped aside to let the others have a clear view of the girl behind him.
"This is Lieutenant Vincennes. I believe you have already spoken with her Fraulein, even if you two did not physically meet."
The redhead nodded. "Yeah, when Sahaquiel attacked."
"A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," Maria said politely as she extended a hand. "Thank you for your advice earlier, it was most helpful when I needed to deflect one of the eye fragments."
"No problem," Asuka said, accepting Maria's hand and giving it a shake. She pointed over at Shinji. "This is Shinji Ikari, Unit 01's pilot."
"It's a pleasure," Shinji said with a slight bow.
Maria responded with a nod. "Same here."
"Let's get you squared away with your living arrangements," Misato said. "You'll be sharing an apartment with Mari, Unit 05's pilot. You also spoke with her, I believe?"
Maria nodded a bit stiffly. "Yes. She seemed, rather enthusiastic."
Asuka snorted. "That's one way of putting it. And don't let her sniffing get you riled up, she enjoys getting a rise out of people."
"Umm, okay," Maria said, sounding less and less sure of herself.
Amanda, Madison, and Misato all chuckled.
"Mari isn't that bad," Amanda assured the blond girl. "A bit axe crazy, but against the Angels a certain ruthlessness can come in very handy. Anyway, you guys hurry along home, Soren and I'll sort out the transfer of Unit 04 to HQ."
"Thanks," Misato said with a wave as she herded her charges to a waiting car. To her amusement Asuka took the initiative to offer Maria the front seat. The way the redhead seemed to be hovering over Shinji was almost cute. Oh who was she kidding, it was cute. They were probably still too young to need to hear the talk but Misato made a mental note not to put it off for too long. Time flew when you were having fun after all.
After the others had left leaving her and Madison with Soren, Amanda looked over at her husband.
"So? You're here, now talk."
Soren cracked his neck as he gathered his thoughts.
"I saw what an alternative to the final movement."
Amanda scowled. "I thought we had gone over this."
"We have, and I will keep my word. But having witnessed such an alternative I cannot help but think of it. And of what will soon transpire."
"You're worried about the second," Madison said, her usual good humor absent.
Soren nodded. "If the choice comes down to her or Yui Ikari, you know what my choice will be."
Amanda frowned. "What about Shinji's choice?"
"His choice is his, mine is mine. You chose me to play this part knowing this."
Both women sighed.
"Yeah, we know," Amanda said. "My god you can be damn stubborn sometimes. But so long as you keep to the main score this is one choice that you do get to make. And to be frank, you've done a hell of a job so far."
"More than a hell of a job based off of what I've seen," Madison said with a leer.
Amanda flushed. "Madison! You were peeking!?"
"Hard not to when we can pool our memories," the woman said cheerfully.
"You-you bitch!" Amanda hissed, her temper flaring full throttle.
Soren sighed. Yep, he was most definitely back in Tokyo-3, with all the insanity that entailed.
"Asuka, are you alright?"
The redhead looked up to see Shinji giving her a concerned look.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," the girl said.
"Is this about Reimer-san?"
"No, well, some but not entirely." The girl looked Shinji in the eyes. "Rei told you about her dinner party?"
Shinji nodded with a smile. "She's been practicing cooking. I told her she was already plenty good, but she still wants to keep at it."
"Has she told you who she's invited?"
"Let's see, you, Misato-san, umm, a few other people from NERV and some of our classmates."
No mention of his father, so Rei probably was intending that to be a surprise. That meant Asuka could tell Shinji and the boy might refuse to go. Except, she could not do that to Rei. Or to Shinji. Sure the boy's father was an asshole but there was always that chance that the two might reconcile. After all the strife between her and her own father had all been due to a stupid misunderstanding and they were making up. She could not deny that chance to Shinji no matter what the odds were.
"Just make sure that you make it," Asuka said, pointing at the boy. "Rei might forgive you if you miss the party, but I won't!"
Shinji blinked but he then nodded solemnly. "Of course Asuka."
The girl lowered her arm, wondering if she had done the right thing. She would find out soon enough, the dinner was coming up fast.
"So what do you think of that Maria girl?" Asuka asked, changing the subject to a hopefully less dangerous topic.
Shinji shrugged. "I'm not sure, we just met. She seems nice enough and Reimer-san seems to trust her."
Asuka frowned. That was true enough, though she was not sure she liked the way Maria kept staring after her mentor with those puppy eyes of hers. The girl obviously had it bad, almost as bad as she once had it for Kaji. The girl shook her head. Did she really look that stupid when in the middle of her childish crush? God she hoped not.
"We'll be working together though so we should get to know her better," Shinji said before chuckling. "We might need a bigger table for meals."
That was true enough. Adding Mari to the mix was already making for cramped seating arrangements, if Maria did join in they would really be tight for space. Tonight though Shinji had dropped off some quick to eat things and left Mari and her new roommate to work out their rooming arrangements. Asuka idly wondered how that was going.
"So all of you eat over at Colonel Katsuragi's place?" Maria asked as she wiped down her room.
The room had had a fine layer of dust when she started and it was just now that it was approaching what she might consider clean.
"Yep," Mari said, resting her head on the end of the mop handle. "It's more efficient this way, Asuka and Rei handle breakfast and Shinji and me swap for dinner."
"I see," Maria said thoughtfully. "Then, perhaps I could help with lunch?"
"Nah, you don't need to worry about it," Mari said. "We always take the leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day."
"Still, it hardly seems fair that I should be the only one not contributing," Maria persisted. "Surely there is some way I can help."
Mari shrugged. "If you insist, we could probably squeeze you in somewhere."
"Please do," Maria said with a smile. "I would feel bad otherwise."
That Mari knew was a lie but she refrained from calling the girl out on it. No reason to rob the girl of any more self-confidence, she could not have had that much if she felt the need to put on this fake good-girl persona.
"Are we actually required to go to school?" Maria asked next.
"Yep." Mari chuckled. "I heard the princess complained loud and long after she first arrived. 'Why do I need to go to school? I already have a master's degree!' Or something like that."
This time the laughter from Maria was genuine. "I can understand her position a bit though, I myself have a PhD. I'm not sure there's anything the schools here could teach me."
"Besides Japanese you mean?" Mari said with a smirk.
"Well, I guess," Maria conceded. "What about you, Mari?"
"Oh, I didn't jump the grades like you and Asuka," Mari said. "I have already learned most of the stuff they're teaching here, but not that much more. So from my perspective I get to take it easy for a few years until high school, if I stay here after the Angels get defeated that is."
A strange look flickered over Maria's eyes but the girl kept smiling. "And will you? Stay here I mean."
Mari shrugged, filing away the momentary lapse in the other girl's self-control for the time being. "I don't know, maybe. I've met some interesting people over here in Tokyo-3, and it's not like I've got family back in Berlin. I'll probably follow Soren and Amanda wherever they go, if they'll take me."
"I see." Maria paused for a brief moment as she stood. "You must be very close to the colonel and his wife."
"Well yeah, they more or less raised me. And Asuka's like a sister to me, we snark at each other enough for it."
Maria regarded the other girl thoughtfully. Unlike the other natural born pilots Mari really was more or less alone, even her father having passed away. Yet she somehow seemed to be the best adjusted of all of them, despite Maria herself having been raised by a large extended family. The girl put on no airs, spoke her mind freely, and almost seemed happy with her life and situation. Maria shrugged. Maybe ignorance really was bliss. The other girl could not have possibly known what was in store for her and Asuka. They were the two most viable sacrifices for Instrumentality after all. Maria felt a lingering regret, one that she managed to live with. Progress demanded sacrifice and whichever one of them ultimately was lost would be honored. Whether the two girls would think that tradeoff worthwhile was not something Maria tried to think about.
"Say, what is Shinji like?" Maria asked, switching topics again.
"Pup? He's got depths, that much can be said," Mari said. "He somehow managed to defrost Asuka and Rei both and if he wasn't such a prude I would have pegged him for a real Casanova type."
Maria regarded Mari skeptically.
"What? Just calling it what it is. But anyway, he seems to see Rei as a sister and if there's anything going on between him and Asuka it probably started on her side."
"Those two are, dating?"
"Nope," Mari said, confusing Maria further. "Or at least not like anything one would recognize as dating. They are flirting though, so I suppose it's just a matter of time."
"I see," Maria said thoughtfully.
Mari grinned mischievously. "Wondering if you've got a shot yourself?"
"What!? No of course not!"
Mari burst out laughing as Maria shot her roommate a glare. Something told her that cohabitating with the girl would be quite the trying experience.
"Maya, when's the last time you had a full night of sleep?"
Maya looked up somewhat groggily to see Aramaki standing next to her desk. She had not even noticed him coming in.
"Umm, I think last week," the woman admitted.
Aramaki sighed. "You can't keep pulling all-nighters like this Maya, it's not healthy."
The woman smiled weakly. "I'll be fine Kei-chan, once we're done with Unit 03's activation I'll take a day off and get some rest."
It took some effort for Aramaki not to grimace. Bad enough just who would be playing victim this time but once Bardiel awoke they were going to be in so deep Aramaki was not sure even the collective could guide the scenario along the score it had written.
"Work on Unit 03 alone can't be causing you to pull this much overtime," Aramaki said instead.
Maya shook her head. "There's also the work on Unit 04, we're modifying and installing a new tether system to power it. That should be done by next week, a couple of days after Unit 03's activation test." The woman grimaced. "And then there's the installation of the dummy plug. That's actually been eating up most of my time."
Aramaki placed his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders and gave them a firm squeeze. Maya sighed in appreciation as she was given a much needed massage.
"You don't sound happy about the dummy plug," Aramaki said.
"It's, unnatural," Maya said. "At first I thought it would be great, we could get the children out of the EVAs for good and still be able to fight the Angels. But the readings from the dummy plug are, unstable. I'm almost afraid what would happen if we actually turned it on."
"Have you brought this up with Dr. Akagi?"
"Yes, and she insists that it should be safe to use once we've added in some more filters," Maya said. "I want to believe her, I mean she was one of the principle architects of the system, but I just can't help but worry."
Aramaki's hands wandered up to Maya's neck. "What about Colonel Sommer?"
"I'm not sure the colonel could do anything without concrete proof of my concerns," Maya said helplessly. "I mean, whose word is she going to believe between me and sempai?"
"You'd be surprised," Aramaki muttered.
Maya looked up. "Huh?"
"Nothing," Aramaki said quickly before leaning down and giving the woman a quick peck on the forehead. "Just be careful, Maya. I don't want you to do something you feel you'll regret in the future."
The woman smiled and took hold of Aramaki's hands. "Thanks Keitaro."
Maria's introduction to class 2A had its predicted effect. The boys were immediately smitten with the latest exotic beauty in their midst, a blond girl with absolutely no hint of Japanese lineage in her features. The girls just rolled their eyes even as they evaluated how much of a threat the new girl might be to their own social standing. Kensuke and Toji saw a distinct uptick in business for the first day before something mysteriously happened to all of their negatives. Mysterious as in a Section 2 operative greeted them as he was leaving the photography club room with a familiar looking envelope, giving the boys a knowing look in the process. The boys got the hint. Interestingly enough only Maria's negatives were missing, Asuka and Mari's were right where Kensuke had hidden them. The two decided not to ask too many questions.
By the third day Maria's novelty had worn off some, the class having seen a steady progress of transfer students starting with Shinji after all, and she was just another figure in the class. The girl felt more than a bit peeved at how quickly she went from new and exotic to mundane but hid it as best she could, pretending to be friendly with the circle of friends that gathered around the pilots. In the process she was at least learning more about them and Kensuke was more than willing to blab about past adventures and incidents that Maria had not been present for. Some things though even he remained tightlipped about, like what really happened with the Eighth Angel.
After school Maria had little time to socialize, engaged as she was in the modifications required to make her EVA operational. Without its S2 engine it needed the tether system reinstalled, a task that was fortunately made less complicated by the Second Branch having left intact some of the interconnects from when they cobbled together the system to fight Sahaquiel. Maria had thought such work would have been the last thing on her plate for the day but on the first night as she was preparing to go home Amanda had found her, dragged her back to the lockers, made her change into a gi, and hauled her to one of the gyms. She was not alone as all the other pilots were present and wearing similar attire, the only differences being the colors of their respective belts. Shinji wore yellow, Rei a green, while Asuka and Mari both wore red. Soren and men Maria recognized as members of the Section-2 detachment assigned to protect the pilots were also present, a smattering of red and black amongst their numbers.
"Umm, what's going on?" Maria asked.
"All the pilots are required to undergo personal defense training," Amanda said. "From the records I've pulled it looks like you were allowed to be less rigorous about following the regimen but here I run the training and you'll be attending regularly. Is that clear, lieutenant?"
Maria swallowed. Much as she knew of Soren's reputation she also knew the very formidable one possessed by one Amanda Sommer.
"Clear ma'am."
"Good. Now assuming the records are accurate you do at least hold a green belt so line up next to Rei."
"Yes ma'am."
Maria did as instructed and watched as Amanda stepped to the front of the formation. Soren called everyone to attention and ordered them to bow. Amanda returned it. And then they were off, running through a series of stretches, pushups, crunches, leg lifts, and other physical motions that should have by themselves been a complete workout. When they were done and Amanda congratulated them on finishing the warm up Maria thought she would faint then and there. But then she looked over at the other pilots and noticed that not one seemed ragged in the least and all were breathing evenly she forced herself to fight down her nausea and exhaustion. No way was she going to be second best in anything. Sure the others might have had a head start on her but she would show them. She would show them that she was as good, if not better, than any of them.
The next day there was a synchronization test. The results, Asuka at 93%, Shinji and Mari at 84%, Maria at 80%, and Rei at 78%. The girl felt frustration well up. This would not stand. She would show them. Oh she was so going to show them.
Asuka yawned as she entered Misato's apartment. It was her turn to cook breakfast which meant she needed to get up earlier than the others, what with so many to cook for. To her surprise however Misato was already up and dressed.
"Misato? Where are you headed this early?"
"Didn't I tell you?" the older woman said. "I'll be headed to Matsushiro for a few days, we're going to be activating Unit 03 there instead of at HQ."
"Oh, right. That was today?"
"Well if everything checks out. If we run into any snags the test will get delayed until tomorrow."
Asuka frowned. "Wait, today's Rei's dinner party."
"I know, and I've already apologized to her about missing it," Misato said sheepishly, "but unfortunately duty calls."
"Well I guess you can't help that," Asuka said. "I'll see you when you get back."
"And all of you behave when I'm out," Misato said. "No wild parties besides what Rei has planned."
Asuka snorted and waved goodbye as Misato headed out the door. Well, that was one less person to cook for. Not that it mattered much with five people and a bird remaining. Hmm, perhaps she should just give Misato's share to PenPen. The penguin did seem to gulp down anything put in front of it after all. Asuka stopped. Had Misato told her who the pilot for Unit 03 was? No, no the woman had not. Asuka shrugged. Well she would find out soon enough, probably later today after Unit 03 was successfully activated. She proceeded into the kitchen once more.
"Hey Shinji."
Shinji looked over to see his friend standing next to his desk.
"What's up Toji?"
"Umm, I don't know how to say this, but has Hikari talked to you at all?"
Shinji frowned. "No, not more than usual at least. Is something wrong?"
The jock scratched his head. "Well, I think she might have been selected as a pilot."
Shinji's eyes widened. "What makes you say that?"
"She wouldn't come right out and tell me but she's been dropping hints that she got selected for something important and that she'd be out of town for a few days. I asked Kensuke, discreet like ya know, and the dates she gives me overlaps with when they're supposed to be starting up that new EVA from America."
Shinji thought over it carefully. "Misato-san and Amanda-san haven't said anything to me, though I suppose I haven't bothered asking. And Misato-san is also out of town for the activation test. I could try asking Amanda-san about it."
"No, that's okay," Toji said. "But look, if Hikari really is a pilot now, I gotta ask a favor."
"Sure," Shinji agreed immediately.
Toji smiled wirily. "Jumpin' straight in I see. The favor's this. Look out for her, okay? I can protect her from a lot of things, but I can't be there for her when she's in an EVA. Only you and the de-I mean Shikinami-san and the other pilots can."
"Of course Toji," Shinji assured his friend. "Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to her."
Toji's smile became more relaxed. "Thanks pal, you don't know what it means to me to hear that."
Shinji smiled back. "Hey, what are friends for? And I know Asuka would never let anything happen to her best friend too."
Hikari watched patiently the bustle of activity around her. The lack of anything to do was eating at the girl but her sense of responsibility kept her from complaining. She had already read the basic instructions and background information provided to her, some of which contradicted what the pilots themselves had to say about being in an EVA. Not entirely surprising seeing as the people who wrote those documents probably never piloted themselves. Still Hikari was glad that her friends had been willing to answer her questions. She felt a little guilty about not telling them why she was curious, but that could wait until after it was confirmed she could pilot. After all there was always the possibility, no matter how remote the adults kept assuring her it was, that she would wash out. Not that that would be entirely a bad thing.
Hikari Horaki was not one to shirk from responsibility and duty but what little she had known about the EVAs scared her. None of the pilots seemed to be able to answer just exactly what they were and even Asuka, likely the smartest and most familiar with the technology could only say that it was a biomechanical construct. Just how the synchronization process worked, or why it was necessary in order to control an EVA, remained mysteries. Why she qualified as a pilot was also a mystery. Still Hikari had been called upon to assume a duty and the girl would not shy away from it. That would have been irresponsible, especially with her best friends already risking their lives to protect her and her loved ones. How could she run away from that duty and still face them? Unbeknownst to the girl that very quality had been why Ritsuko had ultimately selected her to be Unit 03's pilot. Her sense of responsibility made it unlikely she would say no and also provided a lever to control her. Control, after all, was the one thing the doctor was genuinely afraid of losing, even if in reality she had little control over her own life.
"Well it looks like all systems are a go," Misato said as she walked up to the girl. "Ritsuko says all of the systems are ready and waiting so we're on schedule for once."
Hikari nodded.
"How are you feeling?" Misato asked.
"Umm, nervous, but I'll be fine Katsuragi-san," Hikari said, putting on her bravest smile.
Misato returned it and nodded. "Don't worry, the other pilots have done this countless times by now and we've gotten pretty good and making sure nothing goes wrong. Today is only an activation test, we'll just check to make sure that you can achieve synchronization with Unit 03 and that'll be it."
"I understand ma'am."
Alright, run along and get dressed. I'll be down to get you when we're ready to start."
"Yes ma'am."
With that Hikari trotted off to the locker room. Her plug suit was already waiting and the girl regarded it with scant favor. It was orange, a bit flashy for her tastes and not exactly what she would call modest. She had seen pictures of Asuka in her plugsuit and while the German girl seemed entirely unashamed of how it hugged her figure Hikari was not Asuka and had a more modest demeanor. The girl sighed. Well there was no helping it, she needed to wear the plugsuit in order to pilot and that was that. Reluctantly the girl stripped. Hopefully this would be the worst of it for the day. Maybe.
Amanda, Madison, and Soren were all intentionally away from the Geofront as the anointed time approached. The timing was going to be incredibly tricky, especially with their need to keep Hikari from getting killed. At the same time they needed the elder Ikari to activate the dummy plug and drive a permanent wedge between himself and the other pilots and thus providing the pretext for their deposing of him. The fact that there were four EVAs, three assuming Gendo was true to form and did not deploy Unit 02, actually complicated that plan. Mari was a very skilled pilot and would see the necessity of causing some harm to Unit 03's pilot in order to save said pilot's life. Even by herself she actually stood a decent chance of winning. If Shinji could be convinced to actually provide her with proper support their window of opportunity might just never appear.
Still defeating Bardiel via conventional means was not the end of the world, figuratively speaking. There would be other opportunities to depose of Gendo and the closer they could delay his outright execution until Armisael's appearance the better. For reasons that were still not clear the score demanded that Gendo survive that long, though the moment the elder Ikari was no longer necessary Soren was intent on putting a bullet in the man. Preferably several. For now though they could only watch and wait. And prepare. There was a reason after all that Kayabuki was issuing direct orders to several companies so that they would follow Soren's orders when the time came.
Hikari fought down her instinctive panic as the entry plug filled with LCL. Asuka and Shinji had warned her about this and about the fact that she would not drown when she breathed in the liquid. Shinji had also warned her that the liquid tasted like blood, an assertion that Hikari found herself in agreement with. Soon enough it was not panic she was trying to keep down but nausea in her stomach. After taking a few deep breaths however she managed to get control of her stomach.
"Hikari-san, are you okay?" Misato asked over the radio.
"Yes ma'am, just getting, acclimated.
Misato chuckled. "You're doing good. We're going to begin activating the connections. Are you ready?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Alright, here we go."
The channel muted and Hikari waited patiently. Based on what the other pilots had told her synchronizing with the EVA was like being embraced by a warm, almost motherly presence. The girl only had a faint memory of her own mother and wondered if it would be anything like that. The plug began to light up, swirling patterns washing over the interior walls. And then everything went dark.
"Huh?"
Hikari tugged at the handles but nothing happened.
"Katsuragi-san? Akagi-sensei?"
Nothing.
"Umm, hello?"
And then Hikari felt it. A cold, dark it nothing like the warmth she would have imagined. A second passed before a scream escaped her. She just beat the explosion that ripped through the EVA cage.
The command center was in a panic. Contact had been lost with the Matsushiro secondary site at the exact moment Unit 03's activation test was supposed to happen. Information was still scarce but a few on site reports made clear that some kind of explosion had ripped through the testing grounds. The number of casualties was unknown but assumed to be high. Even more emergency response teams were racing for the site and as a matter of course the 597th had two companies mustered to provide support. And then the unthinkable happened as the MAGI's filters were triggered and the displays in the command center were covered with red warning glyphs.
"Pattern blue AT-field detected!" Hyuga shouted. "Location, Matsushiro!?"
"Shit, operations commander to the command center immediately!" Aoba shouted over the PA.
The official chain of command within the operations department was pretty straightforward. Misato stood at its head with Hyuga and Aoba acting as her deputy. In case she was incapacitated operational command fell onto Aoba, the senior of the two first lieutenants. Right now however the organization chart was somewhat muddled by the presence of one Colonel Madison Ingred Metz. While officially Bundeswehr the colonel did hold the position of operations head at Berlin as a loaner to NERV. After her arrival to Tokyo-3 Misato had immediately signed her on to be her deputy, even if the woman was technically her senior. Madison had not minded however, accepting the position with her usual good cheer, which meant right now with Misato likely out of commission at Matsushiro Madison was next senior and should be assuming command. At least once she arrived at the command center. Until then however Aoba was in charge, something the man had never expected in his worst nightmares. He did his best but Aoba knew that he was hopelessly out of his depth even after having been an understudy to Misato for the past few months.
"Scramble Units 00, 01, 02, and 05," Aoba ordered. "What's the status on Unit 04?"
"It's not ready," Maya replied immediately. "We don't have the tether installed yet. If we deployed it it'd be tied down to the catapult pad."
"And be a sitting duck," Aoba finished for her. "Prep it anyway just in case, at the very least it should be able to shoot."
Maya began to say something before nodding grimly. When fighting Angels sometimes every little bit was needed. And then a cold voice cut through the room.
"Unit 02 will remain on standby and not be deployed for the intercept."
The three lieutenants looked back to see Gendo assuming his seat.
"But sir, Unit 02 might well be our most powerful asset at this point," Aoba protested.
"It is also infested with an Angel," Gendo replied curtly. "It will remain on standby unless the other EVAs prove insufficient."
"That may be too late sir," Aoba persisted, "we should at least launch it to make sure it is in position to move in with minimal delay."
Gendo glared at the lieutenant. "You have your orders. Carry them out."
Aoba bit back further protests. "Yes sir."
"What the hell do you mean I'm on standby!?" Asuka screamed.
"We still haven't verified that Unit 02 is safe to deploy," Hyuga tried to placate the girl. "You'll be positioned on the catapult ready for launch in case your support is needed, but until then you're staying down here."
"That is bullshit!"
"That's also an order," Hyuga said more sternly. "I'm sorry Shikinami-san."
The connection terminated and Asuka screamed obscenities at the blank screen. It did not help.
In his own entry plug Shinji had slightly different concerns.
"Do we know if there are any survivors at Matsushiro?" he asked.
"No," Aoba replied. "The regiment has sent troops to search the area, but they can't move in until the Angel is defeated, so the faster we take it down the sooner they can begin mounting a rescue op."
"Understood," Shinji said.
Aoba actually cracked a grin. The boy probably did understand. He had certainly come a long way from the crying child all those months ago.
"Assume your assigned positions and good luck."
Shinji felt his EVA slowly begin to rise as it was carried to one of the launch catapults. He tightened his grip. Misato had to be alright. If he lost her, he really did not know what he would do. And he had promised Toji. He had promised that he would look out for Hikari. Had he already failed? No. He would defeat this Angel and make sure Hikari was safe. He would make sure all of them were safe.
Units 00, 01, and 05 advanced beyond the city limits to the outer range of where their tethers would still allow them to maneuver. Rei was armed with a sniper rifle to provide long range support while Shinji hefted an assault rifle. Mari carried with her a large battle axe, ready to take on the Angel in melee should the opportunity present itself, and to keep it off her comrades.
"We have visual!" Hyuga cried.
On the main display against the falling sun a black figure approached. Gasps escaped many who looked upon it. Gendo Ikari was not one of them.
"Maya, are we getting any telemetry from it!?" Aoba shouted.
The operator quickly tapped away at her console. "Yes! The-oh my god, the entry plug is still inside that thing!"
"Can you eject it!?"
More pounding of the keyboard. "It's, it's no good, I'm sending the command and it's registering, but something is tying the plug down!"
"Unit 03 is now designated as the Thirteenth Angel," Gendo stated. "The EVAs are to destroy it."
Back in his entry plug Shinji stared in horror at the sight before him.
"No way, that's a lie right?" he muttered. "That's an EVA, right?"
"Snap out of it pup," Mari's voice cut in. "If we don't take that thing down it'll take us down instead!"
"Mari!" Shinji shouted. "Hikari-san's in that thing!"
The girl hesitated ever so briefly. The tone of her voice noticeably darkened as she responded.
"Then we just need to save her as we kill that thing. I'm going in!"
"Mari! Damn it!"
The pink colored EVA charged in and with a roar Mari swung her axe at the advancing Angel. Bardiel responded with a roar of its own as it jumped, dodging the swing and plummeting towards Unit 05. Mari was ready however, throwing a leg up in a kick. Her foot slammed into the Angel but instead of crumbling Bardiel seized Unit 05's leg and twisted.
"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Mari! Baka-Shinji, do something!" Asuka screamed over the radio.
"But-but Asuka, Hikari is in there!"
"Then go fucking save her!" the redhead yelled. "You can't save her if you can't win, and you sure as hell can't win if you hold back damn it!"
Grimacing Shinji raised his rifle and fired off a burst. The rounds bounced harmlessly off the AT-field but it at least got Bardiel's attention. The Angel shoved aside the limping Unit 05 and charged at Shinji. The boy discarded the rifle, drawing out his prog knife.
"Bloody idiot, don't get into hand-to-hand with it!" Asuka shouted over the radio.
Shinji ignored the girl, standing his ground as the Angel barreled in. It crashed into him and Unit 01's feet sank into the ground as he tried to stop it. Shinji stabbed down with his knife, slamming into the AT-field but slowly cutting through. Suddenly something exploded against Bardiel's back and the Angel roared. The AT-field gave way and the blade sank into the thing's shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye Shinji saw another round zip through the air before slamming into Bardiel. With Rei providing covering fire this might just work. Shinji twisted the knife, praying that the nerve connections between Hikari and the EVA were cut, and drove his knife towards the muck holding the entry plug in place. If he could only just-
A sharp pain erupted in his chest and Unit 01 staggered back as Shinji lost his grip. The Angel's fist reared back before delivering another punch, this one cracking Unit 01's helmet. Shinji toppled over.
"Shinji!"
"Ikari-kun!"
The Angel raised one foot to stomp on the fallen EVA when another round hit it. Its AT-field reformed however the shot simply bounced away harmlessly. It did get its attention however as Bardiel turned to look at Rei. The girl cocked her rifle and quickly fired off another shot. Another bounce. This far away her own AT-field could not neutralize the Angel's and with Shinji down the boy was in no position to help her. However her shots were not for naught as Bardiel suddenly stopped. The Angel looked down to see Unit 05 grabbing hold of its leg.
"And where do you think you're going you bastard?" Mari spat.
Unit 05 lunged upward, grabbing onto the compromised EVA and wrapping itself tightly around it. Bardiel clawed at its opponent and stumbled back and forth trying to throw her off. Mari was not deterred however, slamming her knife into the Angel's back. With a normal EVA that blow would have severed its spine and rendered it unable to walk. The Angel however remained upright even as its movements grew clumsier.
"Take this! And this! And this!"
The girl pounded away, ripping off pieces of armor to expose the underlying flesh before tearing out strips of that as well. Bardiel roared in pain before finally managing to twist its head around to fix Unit 05 in its gaze. Its eye flashed and Mari screamed in agony as her EVA was bathed in a burning light. Her grip loosened and she fell off the Angel.
The personnel in the command center watched in horror as Bardiel gave Unit 05 a good solid kick before turning toward Unit 00 again.
"Sir, we need to deploy Unit 02 now!" Aoba shouted.
Gendo's eyes narrowed. Unit 05 was badly damaged, its leg obviously broken and parts of its armor melted off. Unit 00 was at this point completely unscathed but it was obvious that Bardiel was simply too powerful to defeat alone. Unit 01 however had only suffered minor damage and should have been a match for the Angel, if only its pilot would actually fight. That was easily remedied however.
"Lieutenant Ibuki, activate the dummy plug."
Maya looked up in horror at the commander. "But sir! It's not ready there! There are countless errors that have not been-"
"Lieutenant, I gave you an order," Gendo said coldly. "Do it, now."
Maya held the elder Ikari's gaze for a full five seconds before turning back to her station. Her hands shook as she typed in the commands even as a small voice in the back of her head screamed for her to stop. And then red flashed across the command center once more as Unit 01 acknowledged the command.
Back on the battlefield Shinji was trying to clear his head. The blow from the Angel had disoriented him but he was not out of it yet. As he tried to rise however the entry plug went dark. And then a sickening red light bathed him.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Unit 01 rose. It rose, by itself. Had the EVA gone berserk? But he was still conscious, was that even possible? Shinji pulled frantically at the handles. Nothing, the EVA was not responding.
"What's going on here!?" he shouted into the radio.
And then a holographic message flashed before his head. DUMMY PLUG ACTIVATED. Dummy plug? Shinji searched his memory. He recalled passing remarks between Amanda and Misato, about some kind of autopilot system for the EVAs. A dummy plug. One had been installed in Unit 01? And it had been activated? But by whom? The answer came quickly enough to the boy. Only one person would do this, only one person lacked so much faith in him that he would wrest control of the EVA from him at a moment like this. The boy's voice was a low and dangerous growl as he named that person.
"Father."
Unit 01 broke into a run. No, a charge. It roared, smashing through the AT-field as if it were thin glass and slamming into the Angel. Bardiel went crashing down, dazed at the sudden blow to its barrier. Unit 01 gave it no chance to recover however, raining blow after blow on its head. The Angel raised its arm to defend itself but only succeeded in having Unit 01 shatter the bone. Bardiel looked up and unleashed another flare of light against the EVA. Shinji screamed. Unit 01 ignored the burning, instead pressing its hands down over the Angel's eyes. A burst of light flashed and when Unit 01 uncovered the eyes only burned out sockets remained. The Angel cried pitifully in pain but the EVA was not done it. It plunged a hand through Bardiel's chest armor and pulled, ripping off not just the plate but a handful of guts as well.
"Stop it!" Shinji screamed. "Shut this thing off! The Angel's done for, shut this thing off!"
Gendo remained silent. Maya was already throwing up at her station while everyone else on the bridge could only watch in horror.
"Father! I know you can hear me! I swear if you don't shut this thing off I will kill you!"
The elder Ikari raised an eyebrow. He had not expected so direct a threat from his son but he still made no move to acquiesce.
Unit 01 ripped off Bardiel's head, tossing it aside and exposing the entry plug. It reached for it.
"No, no, no, no stop!" Shinji screamed.
The EVA's hand closed around the plug. It began to squeeze.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Unit 01 reared back. Something had slammed into its head and the EVA went flying, its hands empty. A few seconds later a massive boom sounded. Shinji watched as his EVA picked itself back up to gaze at its assailant. There, standing above the mangled flesh that was Bardiel, stood a gleaming red EVA. Unit 02. Asuka had arrived.
End of Chapter 33
Hmm, I'm on a roll. Three chapters in less than a week? That's a pretty good pace.
I'll be honest, a part of me enjoys it when all of you try to puzzle out the various curve balls I throw at you in the text. Some of the more amusing reviews have definitely been when people tried to propose theories about what is going on with the sidesteppers. For that matter it seems that the more confusing I make things the more comments I get. HintHint. Anyway, no, Amanda is not Rei. Or a variant of Rei. I would have however thought the appearance of Yui Ichijo would have provided some hints. Or is she too obscure?
I might have laid it on a bit too thick too quick with the build up to the battle with Bardiel, but to be frank I didn't want to drag it out too long. We're now fast approaching endgame and soon enough lots of answers will be provided. And heh. Anyone still think that the battle with Zeruel is going to be easy?