The scaffolding of the 150' tall crates release, the sides falling to the ground as the mecha rises to it's full height of 200' tall at the shoulders. It is bent over, standing on four massive metal legs, less resembling a human and more a giant metal beast. The two shorter forelegs rise, claws folding inward to resemble the arms of a great carnivorous dinosaur as the jet engines on the back purr, coming to life. Six red eyes blink into existence on the purple and black, shrunken and sloped head as the legs buckle and it begins moving.
"The T-RIDEN-T land cruiser," Shiro Tokita says, "State of the art, highly mobile, and each one's a small military in and of itself. The chin mounted chainguns are just the beginning. Each arm ends with a plasma cannon with three quarters the yield of Unit 05's left arm, there are missile batteries set up to give it a three hundred sixty degree range of firepower, and as a kicker, we installed electromagnetic rail N2 launching systems on its fins, so nothing can see the N2 mine coming."
He leans against the window as the first Trident passes, the fin reaching to his waist, even with them 250' off the ground.
"And there are three of them," Yui says, folding her arms as the other two rise, stalking from the cargo freighter and towards the cargo lift leading down into NERV central, "Your superior is intent on getting them into the field."
"Mr. X is like that," Tokita says with a shrug, "He's also curious what happened to the type-5 spider tanks. In particular, how two and a half dozen of them disappeared."
"Dirac sea opened up," she responds, "You'll excuse me, but we're more concerned about the situation for Captain Kirishima. Understand, even if Jet Alone Prime's performance hasn't measured to NHIS's standards, Miss Kirishima is a valuable part of NERV and a member of our piloting corps. Is there any way we can negotatiate her being released to NERV?"
"Well, you'd have to talk with the Old Man, Dr. Ikari," he says, scratching the back of his neck, "I'm just following my orders. Me, I see it like this. Jet Alone Prime cost more than a medium sized army to build when you count the research specks, and it got totaled in nearly every fight it was in. It's not just cost ineffective, it's an embarrassment. The Tridents are computer controlled, unmanned, and follow your orders. Captain Kirishima, on the other hand, for years of military experience, couldn't kill a single Angel by herself."
Popping the cap of his soda, he sips it, not noticing her glare.
"Anycase, I'm gonna go and inspect JAP," he says, "Have Kirishima and Mr. Kaji meet me in the hangar. We'll continue things there."
He walks out, Yui glaring at him the entire time. Snarling and pushing her glasses up her nose, she turns on her heel and walks out.
-
-
Chapter 37: Over the Hump
-
-
The door to the apartment slides open and he enters, footsteps soft, light as he tries not to disturb the inhabitants that may still be here. In all honesty, he doesn't know what he's going to do, only that he needs to be here. He has to be here. He can't let this go, he can't let things stand like they do. It might hurt, but in the long run it can…
"Shinji?"
Thoughts cease and he turns towards the open door. Her hair is frayed and her eyes are puffy and red, and the pink robe she has over her nightgown makes her look even smaller. He's realized she would be almost as tall as him, maybe taller, if she ever stood up fully, but she never does.
"S-sorry," she says, arms wrapping around herself, "M-Misato's at NERV and…s-sorry."
He walks towards her, silent. His face a mask, she looks away, looking to the floor, swaying in place and muttering whispers to herself, her shoulders already beginning to hitch. He doesn't know exactly what he was going to do when he arrived. Break up with her? Maybe. Yell at her? Perhaps. He honestly had no idea.
But he's never been good at thinking things through. He's been a person who does things in the moment, at the second it has to happen.
This is one of those cases. Moments of decision, moments of revelation.
So, he reaches out, grabbing her by the wrists, and pulls her to him before pressing his lips against her own. She starts, her finger spasming and her eyes snapping open, and he realizes that in the time they've been together, it's always been her who initiated everything. It's always been her kissing, or her coming to his room to talk, or her coming up with the ideas. He simply stood by and let things happen.
F___ it.
"I," he says, as he ends the kiss, her face one of shock with a smile slowly spreading on it, "Have been a shitty boyfriend."
She says nothing, taking the moment her wrists are free to grab his hands.
"I want to talk," he says.
She nods.
"S-so do I."
*
*
Folders open on the desk in front of him, Tokita looks up as the doors open. Flanking Kirishima, who he notices is wearing a NERV uniform, not a JSSDF uniform, is Misato and Mr. Kaji Ryoji. Right, Tokita thinks, he would be here.
"At ease," Tokita mutters.
Mana does not relax. She stands ramrod straight in front of him, hands clasped behind her.
"Right. Well, let's get to the main point. The old man wants Jet Alone decommissioned."
"Can I ask why, sir?" Mana says, snapping out the last word.
"Because it's an embarrassment," Tokita says with a sigh, "Prime has not scored a single unassisted Angel kill in its entire functional life. In fact, most of the time, it gets trashed. He's furious. I only managed to talk him down from stripping out your cybernetics, Captain, and convinced him to replace yours with civilian models."
"That'll put her back into the iron lung," Kaji says, stepping forward, moving in front of Mana as he does so, "You can't-"
"NHIS came into possession of the Captain when she was legally dead, Kaji," Tokita snaps back, "It's the Robocop dilemma. She's legally dead, and she belongs to NHIS. Kindly don't second guess my boss because you've gotten attached. You want to convince Mr. X? Fine. Do it yourself."
"Will you shut up?"
Kaji and Tokita turn to Misato as she rolls her head, hands folded behind her.
"Ex-excuse me?"
"Captain Kirishima has assisted kills on every single Angel outside of the ones before she got here," Misato explains, "She's one of the four main reasons anyone is breathing right now. So kindly remember that NERV still has possession of Jet Alone for the mean time."
"Which is why we shipped over the Tridents-"
"Assuming your remote controlled walkers work, Mr. Tokita," she responds, "Because if you're so dissatisfied with Jet Alone, why should NERV trust your newest giant robots?"
Tokita closes his jaw, muttering something under his breath.
"We'll resume later," he says, "Dismissed."
*
*
"I really wish you'd be a little more concerned over this development, Gendo. Rei, for all we know, has killed one of the three heads of Project E."
Sighing, the Supreme Commander of NERV stares at his wife, hands folded on his stomach as the two debate in his office. It has been going back and forth for the past half hour, once they realized that a complete search of NERV-1 has not turned up any sign of Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu and that, pretty soon, they'll have to inform the Sub Director.
"Rei has not killed people before," he responds, "And she has had many opportunities to do so to Sohryu since Sohryu arrived."
"Consider what she did to Nagisa."
"Only after she realized Nagisa was a nephilem," he responds, "She knows full well that a cork screw can not be used on a normal human's-"
The door to the mausoleum opens. LCL dripping on the carpet, feet dragging and eyes wide and unblinking, Kyoko stumbles in.
"Oh, thank God," Yui says, "Sohryu?"
"Ikari," Kyoko says.
"Ah, that explains it," Gendo responds, assuming his typical position, "Rei brought you all the way down to Terminal Dogma."
Walking past them, she walks to the almost invisible closet build into the wall, opening the liquor cabinet and taking a bottle of scotch. Holding up the shotglass, she puts it down and begins pouring the scotch into a beer mug.
"Are you alright?" Yui asks.
"I've seen things, Ikari," Kyoko breathes, pouring the whiskey to the top and taking a drag, "Things. And heard things. Some involving cabbage."
"If Rei used cabbage, she's definitely upset," Gendo observes.
Yui turns to her husband and narrows her eyes. Hands up, receiving the signal, Gendo pushes out of his chair and walks out through the side entrance.
"Kyoko," Yui says, hopping off the desk, "I understand Rei had to talk with you. But there's been a development with Asuka that you should-"
"Asuka has a disassociative personality disorder," Kyoko says, "My…my daughter has multiple personalities. I may as well have beaten her with a belt, Ikari, and it would have done less damage!"
With a scream, she hefts up the glass and tosses it clear across the office, Yui ducking out of the way as the glass hits the far wall. An impressive throw, she thinks, but no less impressive than what she sees afterwards. Hand braced on the liquor cabinet, her other hand is over her face, the first inklings of the tears running between her fingers.
"God damn it," she whispers, "It never fucking ends, does it?"
*
*
Ducking into the mens room, Shiro Tokita swears to himself. Billions, trillions of dollars poured into this place, and he has to go down five floors to find a freaking can. Naturally, they held the meeting with Kirishima in the conference room nowhere near the restrooms, so he had barely gotten through the whole 'your fired' shpeal before he had to take a leak.
Undoing the zipper as he siddles up at the urinal, the lopsided grin comes across his face as four hours worth of meetings, travel, and coffee drain out.
And then the nozzle of the gun presses against the back of his head.
"Hey there, Shiro," Kaji says, "Been a while."
BLAM.
The tile shatters as Tokita drops, holding the singed hair on the side of his head as his hand hits the flush control just in time for Kaji to grab him by the back of his head and force his face into the urinal.
"I thought we should talk," Kaji says, holding the gun up, "You know. As professionals."
*
*
It begins to stir. The presence it feels, the hated, hated presence is within its senses. Awareness for the first time. Awareness like a child turns to the seeking of the presence of the parent.
The parent is gone.
Why is it gone?
Why is the one who has reared it gone?
What has happened? Is it alone?
Yes.
Why?
Why is it alone?
Who has done this to it?
Who has done this?
Yes.
I see now.
I see who is responsible. I see what must be done. I see what must be done. I am aware. I am awake. I am
-
-
-
-
ALERT
AT FIELD DETECTED
BLOOD PATTERN TYPE BLUE: CONFIRMED
14TH ANGEL: CONFIRMED
*
*
Alarms blare over NERV-1, and grumbling to himself, Pieter Sohryu enters Central Dogma as the massive room already buzzes with activity.
"Report!"
"Cherubim detected," Maya announces, already at her station, "Junior has confirmed it is not an Angel. We have visual coming up in three…two…"
The Big Screen blurs into existence above Terminal Dogma, showing the mountains around Tokyo-3. The valley proved to be imminently defendable, which is why it was chosen.
"Is the Cherubim hiding in the mountains?"
One of the mountains moves. Rocks begin shedding off of it, revealing the metallic skin underneath. With a groan and a flash of its AT field, the mass begins to slowly move as Pieter's jaw drops and the bridge erupts into chaos and
-
-
You are, all of you, garbage.
You choke the air and rape the base earth beneath you.
Those you term 'Angels' are your salvation through destruction.
But we are not them.
We do not seek salvation.
We do not believe you are to be saved.
You will be ground beneath our weight until you are paste and compost.
I am the Crawling Mountain of God.
Angel of the Peaks.
I am Rampel.
I am coming.
*
*
They talked for a long time. They lost track of the time, although it wasn't important. It was the little things that were of import today, the small glances and smiles. He admitted he was a crappy boyfriend. During the entire time they've been together, he hasn't taken her out on dates or even really changed his routine, and she admitted she was trying too hard.
So, when Section 2 arrived and told them they had to get to NERV, both were more than a little angry at whatever supernatural menace was on its way this time. They were in their plugsuits in minutes on on the lift in seconds, standing close to one another the entire trip.
"We can figure things out later," he says, as the lift doors open into Cages, the motionless forms of their Evas waiting, "Just be…careful."
"Just a moment, children."
Standing before the catwalks, arms folded and eyes narrowed, Yui Ikari catches their gaze with her own. It is the Look, both realize, the one the Commander uses on occasion but which nonetheless freezes them in place.
It lets them know they are in trouble.
"Mom, what's wrong?" he asks.
"I want to talk with Asuka alone, Shinji," Yui says, "Get in Unit 01. We'll be along shortly."
"We don't have time," Shinji says, stand in front of Asuka, blocking her off from his mother, "The Angel's on its way."
"I am not comfortable with this situation, Shinji," Yui explains, voice level, "One of the pilots is not mentally stable. I am not comfortable with her in combat."
"You were fine when you didn't know."
Yui turns as Kyoko walks onto the catwalk, past Shinji and Asuka.
"You had no problem with her piloting when you assumed it was just her being stuttering and damaged," Kyoko says, "You will not take her out of the Eva program for this. Which she has always had and was smart enough to hide from you, Ikari."
"This is not a power play, Sohryu," Yui says, "This is important. And this cannot wait."
"Well, I understand," Kyoko says, and smirks, "This, however, is a power play. Zwei!"
The ground rumbles. Four eyes glow green. Lurching from the Cage, Unit 02 overshadows them all, Yui's jaw dropping as the red and white Evangelion grabs an Entry Plug and holds it in front of them.
"MASTER. READY."
*
*
"Biolink established. Mega Encapsulated Granule Awareness System, ONLINE. Jet Alone Prime: Online."
The rush of sensation and Mana grits her teeth. For long moments, she sits in the chair in the Ball, slowly breathing, the air filters of the Suit whirring in response. Once more into the breech, she tells herself. One last time. Then they'll strip the cybernetics out of her and leave her in an iron lung, just like they found her.
Can't think that. Can't f___ing think that, not now.
"Mana, we're reading to go."
Kaji. Kaji's cheering her on, like always. In some ways, yeah, it's fake. She knows everything, even if she's never told him. Like how she knows who threw that grenade that crippled her, or even that he demanded to be made her guardian.
Well, he took responsibility. That counts for something, right?
"Mana?"
"Ready," she responds, "Jet Alone Prime, ready for launch. Trident status?"
"Launching them now. They'll soften up the Angel for you. Standby."
*
*
Alarm klaxons blare as the metal skyline of Tokyo-3 retracts, the city going into full combat mode at the press of a button. New skyscrapers rise in the perimeter, ammo and weapon buildings designed for the mobility of its guardians. In the distance, the last of the rock has been discarded, the gleaming metal skin of Rampel shown in the sunlight, the long claw extending forward, dragging it along the ground. The unblinking blue eye at the center of its face is aimed at Tokyo-3 and thousands of small, insect like legs click along the ground.
Plates open. Lifts slowly grind, different from the electromagnetic elevators of the usual guardians, revealing the three bent over forms of the Trident Land Walkers as rails come up at the center of the city.
"Mr. Tokita has been spotted in one of the shelters," Hyuga reports, "Shall we detain him, ma'am?"
Misato smirks, standing behind the three main bridge operators as the backup Bridge Bunnies call out activation announcements from the secondary bridge.
"No need," she says, "We'll deal with the smug bastard later. And give Mr. Kaji a commendation."
"About?"
She turns her head as Ritsuko walks up next to her.
"Kaji jumped Mr. Tokita in the mens room," she says, "He didn't like what he said about Mana's performance."
"He was right. Jet Alone Prime has been heavily damaged in every engagement."
"Yeah, and Unit 01 went completely out of control and got its armor shredded when it fought the Fourth Angel. Doesn't mean we're kicking Shinji to the curb and dismantling Ichi."
"Tridents are at full power," Maya announces, "Remote control startup in three...two..."
*
*
The three massive mechas stand as the cage elevators bring the Evangelions and Jet Alone Prime to the surface. The Cherubim is miles away, but already takes up much of the horizon.
"That's gotta at least be as big as the fish Angel," Shinji says.
"About, yeah," Misato says, her face appearing in his line of sight, "Shinji, the Tridents are going to long distance bombard the Angel. You four are on backup if anything happens."
"Got it," he says, as the ammo building next to 01 opens up and the Eva retrieves a pallet rifle, "Okay. Ready, Ichi?"
*
*
Missile batteries snap out along the legs of the Tridents, chain guns aiming at the blue crystal eye of Rampel as it approaches. The backs of the Tridents open up, long rail cannons moving upwards, angling into position as the N2 mine compliment of the walking tanks begins to rise into position.
And then the eyes of the Tridents dim, before flashing blue and closing their armaments. Rising up as one, they begin to run, running towards the edges of Tokyo-3.
"Tridents have overridden their control," Maya announces, "They're moving towards Tokyo-3 city limits...N2 mines are activating!"
"What a shock," Misato growls, "Thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Move to perimeter, bombard Tokyo-3," Ritsuko says with a nod, "Maximum explosive saturation. Should we be happy that NHIS didn't outfit them with proper nuclear weapons?"
Swearing, Misato grabs the mic from Maya's console and taps it.
"Pilots, listen up! The Tridents have gone rogue. Shinji, Asuka, Rei. Restrain the Tridents if you can, destroy them if you can't. Rendezvous with Mana at the designated entry zone of the Angel when you're done! Move!"
*
*
Unit 01 kicks off first, firing off the pallet rifle and to his credit scratching the Tridents paint. Tossing the rifle aside, Shinji extends his will, the mecha ramming into an AT Field before turning to Unit 01 and energizing its plasma cannons with an ominous glow.
Rolling out of the way, the two blasts hit the armor plating behind Unit 01, just as it draws its progressive knife and charges.
The knife cuts the metal armor, but not deep, the cannons powering down and the metal claw protrusions wrapping around the focusing crystal into a fist. Unit 01's head snaps to the side and Shinji grunts, feeling the sympathetic pain and gritting his teeth. He catches the next punch but feels the armor and bones of his Eva strain.
"Ichi!" he calls out, "Anything we can use?!"
His eyes glow. The connection deepens. Options play out before his eyes as time stands still in the near perfect synchronization with his Evangelion.
"Level 4 functionality achieved. Access granted to the Dirac Armor. Accessing: Type F Melee Armor."
The air around Unit 01 shifts, becoming a sphere of white. Not light, but the absence of everything, even the blackness of the void as portals into the Dirac Sea open around the purple Evangelion. Purple plate flashes and disappears, replaced by magenta and red armor. The shoulder strips widen, forward facing arrow shaped protrusions appearing, glowing on the inside as red and orange lines run down the surface of the armor. Clawed purple gloves become violet and orange gauntlets, extra armor appearing around the chest as orange jet stripes glow with internal power.
Turbines built into the armor glow as Unit 01's hand flexes and crushes the caught fist of the Trident. In the entry plug, Shinji grins and extends his thought into action.
And Unit 01's first punch sends the Trident flying.
Standing fully upright, the Eva flexes its neck, steam escaping its nostrils as the completed F-Type Melee Enhancement armor comes to full life, and with a burst of flame from its back mounted jets, it charges.
*
*
"Unit 01 has engaged its target. Unit 05 has engaged its target. Unit 02 is approaching Trident 03."
"I don't like this," Yui growls, "We shouldn't have put her in Unit 02."
Walking onto the bridge, Yui takes up position next to Akagi and Misato, staring at the Big Screen.
"You're wrong, Dr. Ikari," Misato says.
Yui turns to her.
"What?"
"You're wrong about her," Misato responds, "This doesn't change anything. The only difference between Asuka right now and Asuka a week ago is that now we know. What's upsetting us isn't that Asuka has problems. We're upset because she managed to hide it for God knows how long from the smartest people in the world. In the time she's been at NERV, which is maybe three months at this point, she has saved the world at least twice, saved you son's life and kicked the ass of any challenge we've put in front of her. I don't know what's going on between you and Sohryu, but like everything else in that girl's life, it probably isn't her fault. So we can talk about it later, and I'm just asking you to have a little more faith in that girl to pull off the impossible. Asuka!"
*
*
Asuka nods, tapping the holographic keyboard coming from her left wrist.
"Approaching Trident 03," she says, "Linking to its AI core."
The seat of her Entry Plug leans down, the metal collar lighting up and projecting a full circle holographic interface around her head.
"Zwei," she says, "I'm trusting you to keep us both safe. I'm releasing control to you."
A rumble, an acknowledgement from the Core.
"This is Unit 02," she announces, "Engaging Dive!"
The world around her blurs, forming into a tunnel of light and sense as Unit 02 grapples with the Trident and then the world of the Entry Plug goes blank. Her consciousness disconnects from Zwei, diving down the tunnel towards the light of brilliant blue and sapphire. It spins silently before her, whispering commands monotone and shrill.
This is it, she realizes. This has to be the AI core of the Trident.
Thankfully, when she designed her custom Plug Suit, she put in this VR feature. It should be easy enough to diagnose the problem and restore the Tridents to full functionality so they can help deal with the Cherubim.
A calm wave of her hand and the core shatters, spinning into a cloud of blocks around her, expanding out into the world around her. The empty digital sky turns blue and the formless aether underneath her becomes sidewalk and street, and what should be a digital Cyberspace becomes downtown Berlin.
In particular, she is on the Berlin Campus of Teikyo University, where she earned her bachelors degree. It brings her back; the sights, the sounds. She stands in the field where they held the graduation procession, where Uri was waiting for her and congratulating her, and where Mother never came.
The wind shifts. Turning, she watches as the shadow blots out the sun and the clouds part, and something rises over the faculty hall.
It bends down, hands pressed on either side of her. It is massive and chalk white and as it bends down over her, its parts its almost featureless face in an ear to ear grin as she realizes that it is not a virus in the Tridents at all.
"Hey there, Woobie," Iruel booms, "How's Mommy treating you?"