The nearly empty deck of an aircraft carrier,the sound of the waves crashing against it's hull can be heard as a man and a girl lay on it's deck,looking up at the sky. The man's eyes seem to focus on something else entirely while the girl seems to be intent on capturing his attention.
"Ah,we'll be in Japan tomorrow, Misato said she'd pick us up in the afternoon." Asuka Langley Sohryu said,her voice a much more upbeat version of that she normally used with everyone else,a mask. "Ah,Misato is the person who was with me before you in Germany. I don't like her too much,she seems too contrived as a person."
There was something to be said about the irony of such a statement,but if Ryoji Kaji caught on to the irony within it he did not give a single indication of such,his eyes had the same far distant look they had mere moments prior.
"Tsk,i guess that means a temporary parting between us,boooring."The red head said,deliberately elongating the last word,an attempt to catch his attention. The man exhaled.
"You'll have plenty of boyfriends when we get into Japan"Kaji said,eyes still turned toward the heavens above. "Not to say that I've heard the first child's a boy."
"Bahh!I'm not interested in some stupid kid!"She said, rolling over to be ontop of the much older man,her head reaching only to the level of his chest. "I only want Kaji-san!"
"I'm honored."He said, making no effort to hide the dishonesty in his voice. The girl rose slightly from her position of resting against his chest.
"I'm ready for anything as long as it's with you Kaji-san,be it kissing or beyond!" She said,the man closed his eyes with a sigh.
"You're still a child,such things are for when you grow older."Kaji said,eyes not leaving the skies above him as he thought about a certain purple-haired woman.
"Ahh!Boring,i'm and adult all ready,so just look at me!" She said,opening the top of her shirt to reveal it to him.
Bells rang,a little girl stood before a coffin,her father's hand wrapped around her own despite her protests.
"One would almost think it the work of fiction,the scientist herself becoming the guinea pig."A man commented.
"So,do you think the contact experiment was the cause or...?"Another asked.
"If the mental breakdown was the result of the contact we can't be sure, it's not what happened with the other."A man to his side said.
"No,no it wasn't,but committing suicide when you're leaving behind such a young girl is quite definitely worse than what happened to Ikari's son,at least he has the knowledge that it wasn't his mother who chose to abandon him."
A hospital room,a woman that is still alive,holding onto a doll in her hands,the doll has red hair and pale skin,much like the girl that watches the woman from the window of her room,not allowed to move inside.
"Asuka-chan,Mama has made your favorite food for you,now you can't complain otherwise that mean girl will laugh at you." The woman said,looking at the doll and speaking to it in a motherly tone.
Such had been the fate of the woman called Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu,looking at a doll and calling it her daughter while the girl in question watched on with a blank expression,a strong expression,an expression no child should have.
"Everyday it's been like that,"A female doctor commented "she talks to the doll thinking it's her beloved daughter."
"Well,it's only natural."The father of the girl in question said. " In a way she must feel responsible,having devoted her life to her research she never did leave any time for her daughter."
"In some ways I sympathize with such grief." The doctor commented.
"In a way both mother and daughter are like dolls."Langley commented. " Maybe there really is little difference between humans and dolls after all."
"Dolls are made by humans in their own image."The woman said. "If god were to exist,we might simply be dolls for him as well."
The man gave a slight amused laugh. "Hearing such things,one would hardly think that you're a doctor of modern medicine."
"Oh,but before a doctor I'm a woman and a human as well." The woman said.
"Maybe you could show me again just how much of a woman you are?"The man said flirtatiously.
"You truly are wicked." The woman said,though her voice was not one of someone who did not agree to his suggestion.
Her grandmother, Asuka remembered her grandmother, she remembered her grandmother telling her she could cry,she remembered telling the woman she never would. She remembered it all like it was yesterday.
In the end..i broke that promise,didn't I? Asuka asked herself,her mind flashing to the time in which she'd cried into Shinji like a child right after his disappearance.
"Can you hear me Asuka?"The familiar voice of Doctor Akagi said from the intercom. "You're down another 12 points, it's not looking good. Just clear your mind of everything else."
"I'm trying!"The girl nearly shouted.
"Recently Asuka's synchro rate has gotten lower and lower."Maya commented.
"This is troubling,we don't have a spare, Shinji might make do but his synchronization with unit-02 isn't perfect, not to say that he's still not clear for piloting duty. We might have to switch our resources to work on Rei's unit 00,we can't focus on repairing both units at the same time."
"Talking about such things Sempai,Unit-01's still showed no signs of activity after a month, shouldn't we unfreeze it by now?"Maya asked,Ritsuko shrugged.
"In the end all we can do is follow commander Ikari's orders,whether or not we agree with them is irrelevant." Ritusko said. " Well,i'll be going to check on the progress made in the mitosis of unit-00,stay safe Maya."
"I will,thank you sempai."She said with a wide smile.
Misato looked onward at the frozen still unit-01,it's mouth still ever so slightly agape and the spear of Cassius still firmly placed in it's stomach. The Evangelions...creatures born from Adam... We have no other way of defeating the angels so we must utilize them.
I suppose I hate them, they're something like that thing which killed my father,but it's mankind's nature to use even something they hate if it means surviving. The only creatures capable of doing so are mankind,sometimes I wonder if we're truly worthy of surviving this war.
"But in the end this is all for my father's sake in it?"Misato asked,mostly herself. " It's all for the sake of my own petty vengeance."
"Misato-san!"A voice from beside her.
"So it's true.."Misato commented. "The mass production series has begun construction."
Hyuga nodded. "Yeah,it has,and all outside of our supervision,this thing is truly kind of scary."
"And they're speeding up construction only now...i wonder why."
"It's because we lost two units recently and our other four aren't available for combat,it's natural that the council would become worried."Hyuga said.
"Even then...creating units outside of Nerv's control..what do they have planned?"Misato asked.
"Maybe they're planning on firing us."Hyuga said. "If the Autonomous nature of these Evas is really all it's made out to be then they won't need people like us."
"Maybe..."Misato commented,crossing her arms. But...i have the bad feeling that,it's much,much more than just that. With a sigh she rose from her seat. "Well,my shift's over,I'm going home."
"Have a good night miss Katsuragi."Hyuga said, she nodded.
A train station,it's night, train stations already made the young redhead that was Asuka Langley Sohryu anxious,the phone wasn't helping.
"The number you've dialed is no longer in service." She sighed,shoving her phone back in her pocket with an annoyed huff.
Shinji looked at her from his position sitting down beside the second child,turning his eyes toward the standing Asuka. "What's the matter?"
"Kaji-san won't answer my phone at all."Asuka said annoyed. "All I wanted to do was talk to him about some things and he wont even answer!"
Shinji nodded. "It's understandable that you would be mad, but that's just the kind of person Kaji-san is,he's not one to speak about his emotions or let others in. In some cases just speaking to someone might be enough to hurt their heart."
Asuka looked away with an huff of indignation. "And since when are you a psychologist?"
"Ritsuko used to lecture me on this sort of thing when she was tasked with taking care of me."Shinji said. "Even as a child I was enough of a nerd to enjoy that sort of thing."
"Ritsuko,you speak a lot about her,why's that the case?"The redhead asked, Shinji shrugged.
"I guess it's because she's like my mother, more so than my real one."Shinji said,his eyes narrowing at the mention of the words 'real mother'.
"Mother uh..."Asuka commented. "Lucky you."
The three pilots sat down around their table,all eating the food made by none other than Shinji Ikari,it was good food but the tension in the air was palpable, Rei's eyes drifted toward the empty spot on the table. She misses Mari. Shinji thought.
This silence continued,the kind of silence that made it feel like everyone in the room didn't know each-other at all,but the fact they did know each-other made things even more awkward. Shinji brought a piece of food into his mouth.
"This kind of atmosphere is depressing."He commented,being responded with by a glare from Asuka and silence from Rei.
The silence continued, Shinji also shut himself up at this. Simply eating in utter silence. Asuka rose from her spot. "I'm finished."
Shinji nodded as their landline began to ring,an uncommon thing, Shinji rose from his seat and walked over. "Nerv headquarters,it's the first child speak...uh,i see."
Shinji walked over to Asuka and handed her the phone. "An international call for one Asuka Langley Sohryu."
The girl in question grabbed the phone with a slight 'allo?"
"Ah,hallo mutter!Wir haben uns lange nich gehort."
Shinji decided not to interfere and went about the job of cleaning the dishes,after about 30 minutes of that single conversation Asuka finally hanged up the phone. "That was a long call."
Asuka shrugged. "Well,it's the sort of periodic communication you have to have with someone."
"Family talk uh?"Shinji asked. "That's certainly not something I really engage in much often,dad's always busy and my mother died when I was very young."
Shinji,of course,decided to not reveal the fact that his mother had been inside unit-01 and that she was now back from the dead, he had the feeling that might shift the general mood of the conversation to less pleasant things.
"Well,it's only superficial and she's not my real mother." Asuka said. "It's not that I dislike her,i just don't feel very comfortable around her."
Shinji nodded with a soft smile in his features. "Ah,I see."
"What are you smiling for baka?"Asuka asked,Shinji chuckled.
"well,it's because I enjoy it when you speak about yourself Asuka."Shinji said,a wider smile in his face. "Normally all I do is speak about myself and it makes me kind of feel selfish,I really enjoy listening to your own troubles as well."
Asuka looked away with a blush. "Don't stay stupid things...baka."
Asuka was partially submerged beneath the water,her nose and eyes the only thing besides her red hair that peaked out of it's surface.
I feel sick. She thought,her arms wrapping around her submerged stomach. It's not just this stupid period as well...i can't even pilot well anymore...what's the point?
There was no answer,only the silence of an empty bathroom,empty except for her. She breathed in sharply as she emerged from the water.
"Oi Asuka,don't waste all our hot water!"Shinji joked as he passed by the closed door.
Asuka however,didn't respond,she only cursed herself as she reached for her towel. I hate this.
Ritsuko looked down at the screen below her,the first true Evangelion's synchronization rate...it wasn't good,in fact it was quite the opposite.
"She's only 0.4 points over the minimum activation borderline..."Ritsuko commented. "If she drops anymore she won't even be able to pilot an Evangelion."
Misato beside her looked down. "She hasn't been looking too happy lately,even with Shinji by her side that won't erase her problems."
"Love is many things but it can't make miracles."Ritsuko agreed, laughing internally at her own hypocrisy.
"You're right about that."Misato said,looking up with a tired sigh. "But this doesn't bode well for us."
"If things go badly enough Shinji can serve as a substitute,he's been proven to be able to properly synchronize with unit-02. And like the commander says 'as long as the Eva moves it will make do'."Ritsuko said, trying to imitate the commanders voice at that last bit. Misato chuckled slightly.
"I guess you're right but..I'm more worried about Asuka's well being,i don't know if living with the others is doing her much good."Misato said.
"It's the best for her,someone like her will put the delusions that they are fine alone in their head and when the weight of their loneliness begins crushing down on them they are surprised to find themselves broken."Ritsuko said.
"For some reason I'm starting to think you base your impressions of others on your own self."Misato said,a hint of humor in her voice.
"That's because we all do,someone can only relate to people when based on their own experiences,it's why no matter what Asuka's rage won't be directed at Shinji,she feels as if doing so would be directing her rage at a part of herself because they're so similar."Ritsuko said,Misato nodded.
"People...we really are complicated."
"Asuka."Ritsuko spoke through the intercom. "We're finished here,feel free to go."
Asuka's fist stood tightly clenched by her side as she stomped into an elevator,it's only other occupant the blue-haired girl that was Ayanami Rei,her fellow pilot.
As Asuka walked in,laying against the wall,there was silence...and the silence continued,12 seconds passed, a seemingly small amount of time but one that felt inhumanely long when there was nothing to listen to besides the sound of the floor counter ticking upwards and the soft and barely audible elevator music.
"You must open your heart to Eva."Ayanami Rei was the first among the two to speak, Asuka's eyes looked at her,a venomous glare in them.
"What did you say?"She asked,a hint of annoyance and irritation in her voice.
"You must open your heart to Evangelion,that will help you."Rei said, Asuka scoffed and looked away,crossing her arms.
"What the hell do you know wondergirl? It's just a stupid machine!"Asuka shouted, causing the blue haired girl to sigh.
"I simply know,if you wish for Eva to move...you must believe in the heart of Evangelion."Rei said,Asuka's fist clenched harder.
"There's not heart of Evangelion,it's a doll,a stupid machine made to fulfill orders just like you!"Asuka shouted.
"I am not a doll."Rei replied,her eyes dangerously narrowed.
"Yes,yes you are just some stupid doll that would die if she wa-"
SLAP!
Asuka's eyes widened as she brought her hand up to her cheek, as if she couldn't believe even with the after effect of the blow,that the blue haired girl had truly slapped her. Rei herself too looked like she was shocked,her own eyes wide,at least by her standards.
SLAP!
"You know what!?screw you!I never liked you anyways!" And with that,as the elevator reached it's stop Asuka rushed out of it with her hands tightly clenched,leaving Rei to look on in shock as she reached up toward her own wounded face.
Pain...Rei thought. Pilot Sohryu is in pain. My fault...
"Shinji's not here today..."Touji commented.
"Kensuke is out of the hospital but he's also been absent lately.."Hikari commented from beside him. "As well as Asuka and Rei,i wonder what's going on?"
"Well,i guess it must something important if all the pilots are missing school."
The newly renewed form of Evangelion unit-02 stood before Asuka in all of it's magnificent glory. It's four green and deactivated eyes seeming to stare off into the distance as Asuka stood before the gigantic behemoth with her hands on her hips.
"So you're finally back online after loosing like that."Asuka said,a scornful tone in her voice. "From now on you've go to listen to me you hear?!"
No answer,this only infuriated her further,he teeth grit.
"Geez,why does a weapon even have a mind,it makes no sense whatsoever,it's just a stupid bothersome thing!"She spat out. "So,since you're stuck having a mind just be my doll and we'll be alright,you got it?"
A few seconds passed, Asuka looked at the still form of unit-02 and nothing happened, there was no response, why should there be? She wasn't stupid,she knew it was just a machine with a basic thought pattern so it could follow the commands of it's pilot,and yet she wished she could communicate with it now, simply so that she could chastise it for being weak.
'Is it the machine or the pilot who's weak?' Her inner critic asked, she scoffed.
"This is stupid!" Asuka nearly shouted, her shout being shortly followed by the sound of an alarm going off.
"All personnel go into immediate first stage alert and prepare for aerial assault,we repeat all personnel go into immediate first stage alert and prepare for aerial assault."
"An angel,they're still coming."A grin grew in her face.
'Chance!'
A bird-like figure of light, it seemed to glow even among the darkness that surrounded it. "This is the target at maximum maginification."
"It's holding it's orbit and staying still when relative to the headquarters."Aoba said.
"A Geo-stationary orbit?"Misato asked, the man shook his head.
"No,it seems like it's brute-forcing orbital mechanics with the power of the AT field." Aoba said, causing Misato to sigh.
"Talk about bothersome."She said in a bitter tone of voice. "Do we have any idea if it's just looking for a place to land or if it's just planning to obliterate us from orbit?"
"Currently there's nothing we can do to justify either answer ma'am,it's just standing there menacingly." Hyuga said.
"Great.."Misato said sarcastically. "There's nothing we can do for as long as it stays outside of our firing range, Evangelions can't defeat an enemy in orbit."
"Yet."Ritsuko whispered from behind her,causing Misato to give her a sideways glance. "Nothing,i said nothing."
"Anyway, what's the status on Rei?"Misato asked.
"Her and 00 are ready for combat but...the Evangelion is still not up to scruff, not when compared to unit-02 anyway."Maya said.
"Good,she'll serve as fire support then. Have unit-02 take the main position with our positron rifle." Misato ordered.
"Roger ma'am."
Shinji walked into the command room. "What did I miss?"
"Not much."Misato answered. "Why are you here?"
He shrugged. "It's not like I'm clear for piloting so there's no point in hanging around 01."Shinji said. "In fact I'm strictly prohibited from even coming close to it."
Why would the committee be so worried about Shinji entering with contact with Evangelion unit-01..even if it's not activated? Misato asked herself. Is this yet another one of those secrets I shouldn't look too hard for the answer for? Or else they'll...they'll kill me,like they did with Kaji.
"Well...this is it,Evas launch!"Misato ordered.
This is it Asuka,all you need to do is kill the angel,return home the hero and show everyone that you are indeed number one! Asuka told herself as both her unit and that of the second child's moved up the ascent elevator.
As she reached the very top, the city of tokyo-3 becoming clear all around her she could notice that it was down pouring, of course it would be raining in the day of her greatest victory thus far, of course it would be. It doesn't matter,I'm sure the skies will even listen to me once I kill this thing!
She grabbed the positron rifle, mounting it on her shoulder as she pointed it upward at the gigantic sun-like figure of the angel above.
"The angel is still outside of our maximum engagement range,probability to pierce AT field is 0%." One of the bridge's men reported.
"Come on you stupid lazy bird, you're starting to piss me off with how long you're taking to do this!" She complained.
And then, as the pointers finally began to converge on the center to give her the possibility of killing the Angel, she was blinded by heavenly light.
An alert rang out through the bridge as the beam of quite literally light hit Asuka.
"The enemy's directional weapon?!"Misato asked.
"No ma'am,no thermal reaction detected."Aoba reported.
"Psycho grap is giving us unusual readings, mental contamination will begin soon!"Maya said
"An angels..psychic attack?"Ritsuko asked with widened her eyes.
"It's going for Asuka herself."Shinji said as he leaned in. "It's attacking her mind directly!"
"Could it be...could an angel truly try and understand the human mind?"Ritsuko asked.
"AGHHHHH!"Asuka cried as she pulled the trigger,two blasts of the positron rifle leaving it's barrel as they soared high above the heavens,cutting through the cloud cover as they moved into the upper atmosphere and into low earth orbit.
"Positrons have dissipated."
"There's no point,it's still out of range!"Hyuga exclaimed.
Back outside the unit began to pull the trigger in an uncontrolled fashion,blasts of energy leaving the rifle and striking the surface of the city. Explosions rang out through the city and consumed everything in fire.
"Unit-02 is out of ammunition!"Aoba reported.
"Analysis on the ray?!"Misato asked.
"It's an energy oscillation pattern on a visible wavelength" Hyuga said. "It's similar to an AT field but the details are still unknown!"
"How's Asuka?"Ritsuko asked.
"The situation is dangerous,she's broken the contamination borderline!"Maya said,Shinji looked at the screen with broken eyes.
"Asuka..."He whispered.
In the screen the unit was bending in on itself and grasping at it's head in horrifyingly human fashion,almost as if it too was having it's mind assaulted by the angelic attack.
"NOOO!DON'T DO THIS,DON'T ENTER ME!"Asuka shouted,her cries echoing even through out the bridge. "STOP THIS,LEAVE ME,LEAVE ME ..PLEASE,STOP IT!"
"Her psycho graph is at critical point,the Ego barrier is being pierced!"Maya said
"STOP THIS,STOP,DON'T PEEK INTO MY MIND!"She shouted.
"Her mental circuits are taking too much damage,the feedback from the unit will end up killing her if this continues for too long,we need her to get out of there!"Ritsuko said.
"Asuka retreat!"Misato ordered.
"NO!"A short and utterly violent answer.
"Asuka,that's an order retreat!"Misato yelled at the top of her lungs.
"NO,I'D RATHER DIE HERE THAN RETREAT!"Asuka said.
"Asuka please!"Shinji begged her.
"NO,NEVER!"
"Accelerator synchronization initiated."
"Voltage is increasing,entering pressure zone."
"Compulsory focus convergence,activated."
"Correction for earth's gravity,rotation and curvature, point zero two."
"Rifle is charged,all personnel prepare for firing."
"Ayanami Rei, Unit-00,super positron canon is ready to fire."Rei said in her usual monotone.
"FIRE!"
The lance of energy that was the positron canon opened fire, parting away the clouds as it ascended toward the Angelic entity that was the 16th angel. And then,just as it struck it's orange AT field,it split into four pieces before dispersing upon reentry.
"No effect!"Aoba said from his positron on the bridge. "There's just not enough power to draw on for this sort of long distance firing!"
"The psycho graph signal is weakening at a worrying pace!"Maya said.
"What about the additional barrier given by the LCL?"Ritsuko asked.
"No effect,we can't even expect it to act as a buffer!"Maya replied.
"Prioritize life support,don't allow the sympathetic feed-back to reach her from the Evangelion!"Ritsuko ordered.
"Yes ma'am!"The aide replied.
Ritsuko's eyes focused back on the screen. This creature..it's ray seems to scan the mental wavelength pattern inherent within each person...is it trying to understand us,to understand the human mind?Like the 13th did?
A child,a red-headed child is crying.
Me,I'm crying, why? I promised I wouldn't cry,not anymore.
An older child,a red headed teen holds on to the boy she loves,she holds him as close as she can and she weeps tears for his return. Those are happy tears, tears of relief.
But I broke that promise as well,didn't I?...It's because...I'm weak.
A young girl,the same young girl of earlier,with a ripped up teddy bear beneath her feet.
"What's the matter Asuka,it's a present from your new mama."The man,her father,said.
"No!"The girl replied,she seemed angry.
I was.
"Well,then what do you want?"
Mama back.
"I'm not a baby,I'm an adult,I'm grown up!"The teenage Asuka shouted as she stomped down on the teddy-bear.
Death,pain,sex,insanity,murder,pain.
"MAMA,MAMA,PLEASE DON'T STOP BEING MY MAMA,MAMA PLEASE."
DEATH,PAIN,INSANITY,HURT,PAIN,COMFORTLESS.
"Come..."A maddened voice spoke in the corner of her mind. "Come to heaven with me!"
"No!"The young Asuka cried out. "I don't want to die,Mama please don't kill me. Mama I'm not a doll,mama!"
DEATH,PAIN,ENTROPY,COMFORT,INSANITY,MADNESS,HURT,SEX,HELP,HELP,HELP.
"I can live on my own,i can live by myself!"The young Asuka said.
"No,stop!"The older one begged. "I don't want to see such things,don't show them to me!I want to forget,so let me forget!Don't dig into my memories,let me forget,let me forget,let me forget!"
A doll hanging from a rope.
"Come Asuka,come die with me."The woman said,her mother said.
"I'll do it,I'll die with you Mama,just don't stop being my mama!"The younger Asuka said.
"Mama?I Don't know you.."The woman said. "Who are you?"
A school
"My name is Asuka Langely Sohryu,a pleasure to meet you."
Every day life
"What are you stupid?"
An aircraft carrier
"Chance!"
Once more but the night before.
"So look at me!"
A fight
"You're just like everyone else!"
"NO!"Asuka shouted. "Stop,this isn't me!"
A school
"My name is Asuka Langely Sohryu,a pleasure to meet you."
Every day life
"What are you stupid?"
An aircraft carrier
"Chance!"
Once more but the night before.
"So look at me!"
A fight
"You're just like everyone else!"
"NO!"Asuka shouted. "Stop,this isn't me!"
A school
"My name is Asuka Langely Sohryu,a pleasure to meet you."
Every day life
"What are you stupid?"
An aircraft carrier
"Chance!"
Once more but the night before.
"So look at me!"
A fight
"You're just like everyone else!"
"NO!"Asuka shouted. "Stop,this isn't me!"
A school
"My name is Asuka Langely Sohryu,a pleasure to meet you."
Every day life
"What are you stupid?"
An aircraft carrier
"Chance!"
Once more but the night before.
"So look at me!"
A fight
"You're just like everyone else!"
"NO!"Asuka shouted. "Stop,this isn't me!"
A path,a path,a train station,she hated trains, her mind was running amok, she was in her plugsuit,why,why was she there?
Pepole too many,a wave of them,they moved toward her. One of their hoods came undone,her face but red, red,the world was red,the world became red,she was being consumed by it but...a familiar face.
"Shinji...please,Shinji save me!"
Blood,a splatter of blood, Shinji held loosely to life at her lap.
"I'm glad then."
WHY?!WHY ARE YOU GLAD,WHY ARE YOU GLAD TO LEAVE ME,YOU HATE ME DON'T YOU?YOU HATE ME JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!
"Well...Sohryu,you're an attractive girl."
IS THAT ALL I AM TO YOU!? JUST A PIECE OF FLESH FOR YOU TO MASTURBATE TO!?
"Even If I have to walk into hell itself...I'll be by your side,Asuka."
YOU'RE LYING,YOU'RE NOT HERE, YOU HATE ME,YOU'RE LYING TO ME,LIKE EVERYONE ELSE LIES.
"...this is the best day of my life."
NO,STOP IT, STOP LYING!
"Asuka...I love you as well."
NO,STOP IT,STOP IT,STOP IT!
"I'll protect you no matter the cost."
Stop...
"Asuka...for sure,no matter what happens...I'll protect you,I'll save everyone!"
I...i'm not worthy...please...just stop.
An empty park,a broken childhood, the child reaches out.
"No!"Asuka shouts. "don't come near me! I can live by myself."
"I can live by myself!"
"I can live by myself!"
"I can live by myself!"
"I can live by myself!"
"I can live by myself!"
"I can live by myself!"
She looked up,a doll stared back at her.
MENTAL CONTAMINATION,LOVE,HATRED,GOD,HEAVEN,DIE WITH ME.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Asuka sat in her plug in a fetal position. She was crying.
"My mind's been polluted..."Asuka sobbed into her legs. "Shinji,It's been polluted. Shinji...help me."
Shinji's eyes were wide as they watched the screen..his mind ran with a million thoughts a second as he watched Asuka cry and beg for help,as he watched her beg to be released from her torment. As she cried, wept for the whole world to see.
What had happened to the confident girl he'd once known?the ace pilot who couldn't take no for an answer and would do everything to reach victory...he knew what,just like his own facade the angel had revealed it's truth,torn down the mask in the most violent and unimaginable way possible.
He knew how she felt, the violation of it all,the feeling of something invading your innermost thoughts and trying to slither into them as if they were your own,it was the same feeling he'd had when he'd been consumed by the 13th angel,it was the same feeling he had when unit-01 first went berserk, violation. Rape,not of the body but of the mind,there was nothing to be done to forgive it.
And now it wasn't him,it was the girl that loved him even after he'd ran away,it was the girl who fought with him,the girl whom he'd saved,the girl,the girl,the girl..it was Asuka,it was Asuka and that was enough,more than enough.
He didn't notice when it was that he had dashed out of the bridge,he did notice however when he reached the titanic form of unit-08. Eight eyes staring back at him.
"you're helping me."An order.
Red 'Emergency' lights filled the command room.
"Unit-02 has ceased activation,the life support system has crashed!" Hyuga reported.
"The pilot's mind is entering the danger zone."
"The target hasn't shifted,it's relative orbital position in relation to us hasn't changed!"Aoba reported.
"The possibility that the target will move into the line of fire of unit-00 is 0,02%!"Hyuga added.
"What can we do,move it by air?No,too risky."
And then another set of alarms rang out.
"W-what!Ma'am,unauthorized Evangelion activation!"Hyuga said,both Ritsuko and Misato's eyes snapping toward the man in question.
"What?!"Misato yelled in genuine and utter surprise. "Where's Shinji!"
"He left"Ritsuko said. "Is it unit-01?"
"No ma'am,it's unit 08,it's now moving toward the Evangelion launch catapults!"Hyuga said.
"Get me in communications with him now!"Ritsuko said. "He's not cleared to pilot just yet...we don't even know if..."
Misato glared at her. "If what Ritsuko,now's not the time for your games!"
"We don't even know if it wont finish what he started with unit-01!" Ritsuko said.
"We've got a direct communication line with the pilot!"Hyuga said
"Shinji,what the hell are you doing?!"Ritsuko asked, as the camera feed appeared his eyes looked focused.
"Ikari Shinji,first child,moving out for combat operations."Shinji replied with the full confidence of a man who was willing to die for whatever it was he was about to do.
"Shinji,retreat immediately,you're not cleared for piloting!"Misato said. "That's an order."
"Disregarded."Shinji replied shortly. "First child Shinji Ikari and Evangelion designation number eight are moving out to engage in combat operations."
"Shinji,you can't do this, your job i-"Ritsuko began.
"To defeat the angels,Ikari Shinji and this Evangelion unit will now move out to defeat the angel,that is all."And with that she feed went dead.
"Ma'am,two-way communications have been cut!"Hyuga shouted from his post. "Evangelion unit-08 has reached the catapult!"
"Lockdown the launch catapults,do it immediately!"Ritsuko ordered.
"Denied!"Maya replied.
"What?!"Ritsuko demanded,leaning in to Maya's screen.
"Both Balthasar and Melchior have refused the decision to shut down the gates, Caspar's position was neutral and has thus agreed to refuse the order as well!"Maya exclaimed.
"What's going on Ritsuko!?"Misato asked,the woman in question turning around.
"The Magi,they've betrayed us."
Shinji's unit reached the rainy surface above, his eyes focused and locked into the gigantic light that was the last angel to have arrived, hatred filled his soul,he felt the soul within the Eva resonate,the soul which had not accepted him but had been forced into activation,that soul resonated with him now, now it could see,now it saw his plight,his foe.
His eyes glowed,purple in color as he looked at the heavens above,he closed them and when they opened all he saw was light,the light of the soul of the Angel,it's AT field,but he did not care to see light. No,if it would mean saving Asuka he would gladly live in darkness.
"Inverted mode,secret code:Wings of light."
He felt his chest constrict as the Evangelion's frontal armor plates were released,the feeling of his heart being ripped from his chest growing stronger with each passing second and making his body wish to give up,but his mind did not consider such a thing for even a second.
The lower mouth piece of the unit gave way,revealing serrated dark purple teeth as it gave out a low groan of pain. "Just hang in there….hang in there for just a while longer.
The core pushed outward with a fleshy sound,glowing as light began seeping off it.
"Plug is going into unsafe depths,it's going in the negative!"Maya said, Ritsuko's eyes widdened.
"Shinji,if you do this you..."Ritsuko bit her tongue. No,he already isn't human. "What's he doing?"
"The Unit has just expanded it's AT field at maximum range! It's reached the angel's orbit!" Hyuga said.
"Is it neutralizing it from this distance?!"Ritsuko asked with an incredolous look.
"No ma'am,it looks like it's at it's minimum strength,barely at 0,00001% protective capacity,it's just spreading itself as far as it can."
"Could it be that.."Ritsuko began.
"The Angel has shifted in it's orbit,it's descending rapidly!"Aoba said.
"It is!"Ritsuko said. "He's using the nature of Evangelion as bait,spreading the light of it's soul to trick the Angel into coming closer."
"How is that possible?"Misato asked. "How are they interested in Eva when we have...you know who?"
"It's not Eva Misato...it's Shinji,he was part of the ascension of unit-01,it's him that the Angel is after." Ritsuko said before turning back toward the screen. "Rei,you must destroy the Angel before it makes contact with unit-08!"
"Acknowledged."The blue haired girl said with a nod.
The Angel dove downward,it's light-based form allowing it to break the very laws of reality around it in ways no other angel could,it ignored all other things besides the faint whiff of it's creator's soul which it had caught from the bastard that was Evangelion,it would reach completion,no matter the cost.
The Mental assault on unit-02 came to an abrupt end as the Angel descended, Rei Ayanami breathed in, aware of the fact that she would only have a single shot. The pointers converged,the Magi's targeting system taking every possible contingency into account and then...pull.
A beam of energy left the barrel of the super positron canon,traveling through the air and cutting through the rain as it flew. As the Angel broke through the cloud-layer so did the positron beam hit it,instantly evaporating it's AT field in a single blow before continuing onward to the Angel's light-based form.
It's core,hidden among it's central bird-like body,was pierced,the energy wave that flowed from it's destruction lay ruin to the cloud cover,making the day suddenly very sunny when compared to how it had been a mere few moments later.
"Rei Ayanami here,I have successfully destroyed the angel."
"Success!"Hyuga said. "Target eliminated!"
Misato and Ritsuko both sighed in relief. After a second Ritsuko turned toward the commander.
"What is to be done with unit-01's former pilot?"She asked. The commander shrugged.
"His actions,while directly against orders,have saved us."Gendo said. "I see no reason to punish him too harshly,give him a slap on the wrist and move on. To add to this, as of this point I am putting the first child back into the combat rooster, with Evangelion unit-08 as his combat unit,that is all."
Ritsuko nodded. "Understood sir."
Misato sighed in relief. "I'm glad things have turned out okay."
Shinji moved past the 'do not cross' line and sat down next to Asuka as unit-02 was slowly lowered back into the headquarters.
"I hate it."She spat out. "I hate that unit,i hate this world,i hate everything!"
Shinji was silent as she spoke. "Won't you say anything,won't you at leas try to comfort me?!"
"Words won't change anything."Shinji said. "I know you're the kind of person who prefers actions so.."
He hugged her tightly,she tried to push him away,she tried her hardest but he wouldn't allow her to.
"Let go!"She said as she punched him in the shoulder,let me go!...I'm not...i'm not worthy of this..."
"Asuka." He said. "For me,you are all that matters."
She stopped hitting and let herself rest against him, sobbing scattered apologizes which he answered with whispered reassurances that things would be okay.
And so she cried,she cried more than she'd ever cried in her life,she cried until her tears ran out and when more arrived she cried some more,she cried until night fell and she fell asleep on the boy she loved,she cried and apologized and told him she was sorry a million times over, she told him he wasn't an idiot at all, she told him she loved him the most, she told him she didn't want him to leave her ever again. And to all this questions he answered that he knew.
Because he did,because they were the same. Two sides of the same coin, soulmates for eternity. And on that day most of all Shinji Ikari knew,he would follow this girl until the day he died, even if it meant burning down his world to do so.
From that point on,she was all that mattered. How ironic of him to become like his father.
AN:Hello again everybody,a rather long chapter again. for some reason i feel like something in this one is..off?I don't know,i hope you enjoyed it anyways.