Hikari was screaming. This time, the pain came shooting from the base of her neck down through her spine. After a moment, it subsided. She tried to catch her breath, but something was wrong with her lungs. She was gasping, but it still wasn't enough. There was no air.
Her mind was fogged (because she couldn't breath?) and she wasn't certain where she was. For one lucid moment, she thought that she was laying on her side in some sort of glass tube, and that there were lights blinking off in the distance. But then she suddenly was looking at something else: mountains and Evangelions... and then it all faded to red, with the blinking light in the distance, mocking her.
12 hours earlier
Hikari walked into the principles office, still dwelling on the rejection. 'Shinji doesn't want me because I'm not a pilot. Because I can't understand his life. Not like Rei and Asuka can.' That would explain why he got along so well with Rei, despite the autistic girl being completely emotionless. She didn't want to be angry with the blue haired girl, but she couldn't help it. Shinji was choosing her, and because of something Hikari couldn't control!
"Miss Horaki?" the secretary repeated. "There is a woman from NeRV here to speak to you." She gestured to Ritsuko, who was perched on the corner of a desk.
"Hello, Hikari Horaki. I have a proposition for you. Let's go somewhere where we can talk in private."
now
She screamed again. It felt like her arm was being torn out. She wasn't certain how long it lasted, but when it finally faded, she saw a glimpse of Unit 01 pulling at something stretchy. 'I can't handle this anymore'. She had thought that being a pilot would let her become close to Shinji. Now, she just wanted it all to end.
She willed herself to stop fighting. To just hold still and let the Evangelions do what they wished with her body.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Hikari is dead?"
Ritsuko looked back at Shinji. The teen had run over from his Evangelion, still dripping LCL from the entry plug, and immediately began interrogating her. She had let Gendo answer, but he clearly didn't care about his son mental state enough to give him a straight answer. Ritsuko shook her head. 'Why do I always have to be the one to fix things?' "No, she had insisted on doing a prolonged sync test in the external test plug first, so she wasn't inside of Unit 04 when the Angel took control. But she still has neurological damage from the Angel's incursion. She is being transported to medical. I don't know how serious the damage is until the doctors have a chance to evaluate her."
Shinji sighed in relief. "When can I, when can we visit Hikari?" Shinji gestured to include Asuka, who was standing by his side.
"You can check with the medical staff, but I expect she will be in an isolated ward for several days at least."
But before Shinji could leave, a cold voice interrupted, "Third Child, you disobeyed my direct order." Gendo repeated. He stood with his hands by his sides, giving him an appearance of a statue. He did not appreciate how Shinji was taking his presence for granted. He was not used to being ignored.
"Because the order would put people into danger. Besides, it worked out." Shinji found that he was not intimidated by his father. Instead, he was noticing trivial things, 'Why is dad wearing gloves indoors? Is he making a fashion statement?'
"That is irrelevant. We are only able to defeat the Angels if we properly follow the chain of command. If everyone does what is best in their own eyes, we will have anarchy."
"And if we blindly follow orders that put others at risk, we will lose our humanity."
Gendo stared at his son. This was a significant deviation from The Scenario. It had to be stopped before it poisoned everything. "You are suspended from piloting duties for two weeks, barring an emergency." Gendo ground out before stalking away.
Ritsuko sighed. 'More work.'
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
The following day, Hikari wasn't in school. And the following day. On the third day, Touji confronted Shinji as he walked into the class room.
"Ikari, what happened to Hikari?"
"I.." Shinji stood, looking lost. He wasn't certain what he could say.
"It had something to do with NeRV. She texted me back before she disappeared that she had been picked for some secret program. Your dad is the NeRV head honcho - you can find out if she's ok." Before Shinji was able to figure out how to respond, Touji continued, "It's your fault that she got hurt! Whatever she was in to, she did it to impress you." The larger boy glared angrily at Shinji.
"I'll let you know what I can."
"Fine. But if anything happens to her, I'll hold you responsible!"
Shinji nodded. He already felt guilty over what had happened, and Touji's anger didn't help. He never liked the jock, but that didn't matter. Here was another person that he had failed. He grabbed his bag and slid into his seat quietly, putting his head down on his hands.
And yesterday hadn't helped. He knew that Hikari blamed him.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Yesterday:
"Hi," Shinji walked into the hospital room. Hikari was reclining on the bed, tilted up so that she could watch television.
"H-Hello Sh-Shinji" She stuttered quietly, and raised one hand stiffly.
Shinji stopped part way in, awkwardly. He didn't know what to do. With Rei, it was easy: he would just sit quietly and maybe hold her hand. But Hikari was a lot more gregarious - she wouldn't appreciate him just sitting silently. "So, are you doing any better? The doctors finally let me visit..." His voice trailed off. Hikari smiled slightly, but didn't move otherwise, "I uh, brought you the class notes from the past two days. They're mine, so the writing is kind of messy."
"Th-Thank you, Shinji." There was a pause as Hikari adjusted her position to better be able to see her visitor, "I won't be going back to school, though. Not this year."
Shinji nodded, feeling guilty, before replying, almost desperately, "But the doctor said that you will be able to be back to normal eventually."
"Hopefully. But now, I am working my way up to using a wheel chair. And I get tired very quickly. It's not my muscles – it's that I have to concentrate on everything I do. It's hard." She paused before adding, "Don't tell anybody in school - I.. I'll let them know when I am ready." She hated being this helpless. She was always the one taking care of other people, not the other way around.
Shinji crossed the last distance and enveloped his classmate in a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't help."
Hikari just nodded. She knew she should tell him that it wasn't his fault, that she had volunteered. She had wanted to be more like him (to be with him). But she was angry, very angry, at the injustice of it. She had tried to help, to be a hero who protected the city, and all that happened was that she had almost died.
But it wasn't his fault. So she couldn't yell at him or blame him or even tell him all this.
On the other hand, she wasn't doing anything wrong if she just stayed quiet and let him blame himself.
After a moment, Shinji let go of Hikari and stepped back, "Uhm, I guess I'll let you rest."
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
At lunch, Rei watched Shinji. He was silent. They never talked much as they ate, but now his body language was silent as well. Withdrawn. He had even shifted so that she wasn't leaning against him.
"Shinji, would you like to go out to eat this evening?"
"You have sync training," Shinji replied bitterly. "I don't think there will be time."
Rei nodded. She wanted to help, but she wasn't certain how to do so. She didn't even understand what the problem was. She took another bite of the food that Shinji had prepared. It was good as always.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"You don't need to come every day," Hikari was able to talk clearly now, though her voice was still soft. She was sitting in the wheel chair as Shinji pushed her outside. The hospital had a small courtyard set up for patients (and their guests) to get some fresh air without having to leave the premises.
"I have the time, so I might as well." Shinji replied. He was going to help at least one person. "I told Touji that you were being transferred to the regular wing of the hospital tomorrow, so he can come visit."
Hikari nodded. She had instructed Shinji to let her classmates know what had happened - she couldn't keep running away.
She felt bad about how hard Shinji was taking her injuries, but at the same time it was gratifying to see him finally paying attention to her. Which made her feel even more guilty. 'I still haven't told him that its not his fault.'
She opened her mouth to say it, but no sound came out.
After a moment Shinji wheeled her over to a small bench. "But for today, your stuck with me. Come on, we can sit under the oak and I'll go over what you missed in school."
Hikari nodded. She would rather just talk with Shinji, but she didn't know what to say to him, and this was ok too. It was meaningless, but it made her feel less isolated.
Shinji talked, trying his best to cheer up Hikari. Even if his father hadn't banned him from sync training for two weeks, he would still have come. When he piloted, he just got people killed or hurt. Here, maybe he could do some good.
But after only a half hour, Hikari's strength began to flag - her head kept nodding down. "I'm sorry, but can you take me back now?"
Shinji nodded guiltily. He had just made things worse again. After wheeling Hikari back to her room, he pressed the button to call a nurse to put her back onto her bed.
"And take some time off. Touji will be here tomorrow," Hikari managed as Shinji was leaving. Touji wasn't Shinji, but at least she didn't feel so confused around him. And Shinji did need to rest. He looked awful.
Shinji nodded. He knew when he wasn't wanted. He slunk away. 'I shouldn't bother her anymore. She will have Touji now.'
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Have you seen Shinji?" Misato asked. It was two weeks later, and Shinji's suspension was over - he was supposed to be back in for sync training. But apparently he had forgotten. The other two pilots were already getting into the plugs.
"He's probably visiting Hikari. He's been doing a lot of that recently." Asuka shrugged. She appreciated that he did - it absolved her of the need to go visit.
"He is not visiting Hikari." Rei countered angrily as she got into the tube and sealed the hatch.
Misato exchanged glances with Ritsuko "Is something going on there?"
"I don't know," Ritsuko considered, before adding, "but recently her sync score had been creeping up, until it suddenly leveled off in the last couple of days. The score is somewhat affected by the pilots state of mind, so something could be going on." What went unstated was that neither woman was certain how much of a personality Rei actually had.
"Well, keep an eye on our ice queen, and let me know if something anomalous comes up." Misato went up to her office to call Section Two to check on Shinji. 'I shouldn't have loosened the cordon on the pilots.' She had stopped having Section Two tail the pilots 24/7 after the fourth Angel - she felt bad having Section Two spying on them (not that the pilots knew about it, of course).
Beside, after that suspicious power outage during the ninth Angel's attack, NeRV needed all the man power they could get to provide basic security.
She logged into the security software on Shinji's phone, and turned on the GPS. It reported that he was still at home. That was not good, because the last report from Section Two stated that there was nobody in the apartment.
She sighed. According to her records, Hikari had been released from the hospital, so she dialed the Horaki's, on the off chance that Shinji was there. "Hello, Mr. Horaki? This is Major Karutsugi, I am calling to see if Shinji Ikari is visiting you."
"No, that's not likely - we're on the train on our way to Sendai. I took a job at a small factory, and we will be relocating out there."
Misato made small talk for a minute before hanging up. She was still working on tracking the wayward pilot when Rei knocked on her door, an hour later.
"Hey, Rei. What do you need?" Misato faked cheerfulness for the dour teen.
"I am concerned about Shinji. He has not been acting in his typical fashion."
Misato quirked an eyebrow. She was fairly certain that she had a better understanding of what was typical for Shinji, given that he was her roommate. "I think he's just upset about his friend getting injured."
"It is more significant than that. He does not seek to spend time with me, and when we do eat lunch together, he sits apart."
Misato gave a sigh. Weird as it was coming from Rei, this was beginning to sound like typical teenage drama. "Sweetheart, I know Shinji is a very nice boy, but sometimes guys lose interest in hanging out, and you have to be able to move on. Take a couple of days, give him a little space, and you can go back to being friends."
"We are not friends. I am his romantic partner."
Misato's mind stalled and had to reboot. 'Is she implying what I think she is? And I haven't even had THE TALK with him! And do I need to have Ritsuko do a pregnancy test?!' She took a breath and collected herself. 'Wait... This is Rei.'
"What does 'romantic partner' mean?" Rei was far too calm talking about this for her to actually be in a physical / love relationship.
"Shinji provides me with food, and we hold hands," Rei replied calmly.
Misato released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. 'That's not so bad.'
"He is the single important person in my life, and his presence maintains my well being."
Misato coughed. 'Crap.'
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Shinji wasn't certain where he was. He hadn't wandered Tokyo 3 like this in months, not since the first week that he was here. But right now, he didn't really care where he went. 'I'm worthless. No matter what I do, it doesn't matter.' Nothing he did made any difference. He had tried to save one person. Just one person, and even that had been a failure.
The doctors said that Hikari would probably never walk again.
A car whizzed by, almost hitting him him. The streets in this neighborhood were so dark that the driver didn't even honk, because he couldn't see Shinji at all.
Never mind that she was the first person to ever be kind to to him. Or that fact that he was pretty certain that she liked him. She was somebody who he had set his mind to protect, to save from a specific situation.
and he had failed.
Shinji had started walking right after class. He had walked out of the school building and turned right. He didn't really see where he was going, turning left or right at random whenever the street he was on ran out. It wasn't until well after nightfall that he remembered that he had sync training again, but it didn't really matter. What would it change? He just kept walking, going wherever his feet took him.
But Shinji had spent so much time wandering Tokyo 3, first on his own, and then with Rei, that eventually his body walked itself to a place that he recognized. He looked around at the shops - they were all long closed, and the streets were almost empty. 'I guess I should go home.'
It was midnight be the time he made it to Misato's apartment. As he opened thee door, he was surprised to find that the light in the living room was still on.
"Welcome back," Misato did not look pleased.
Shinji nodded, "I'm home."
There was a pause before Misato continued, "Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Shinji just shrugged.
"You skipped out on your sync training, you didn't take responsibility for your actions. This is not acceptable behavior!"
"I had to clear my mind."
"No, you don't get to do that! You disappeared for the whole night without telling anyone where you went. You didn't even take your phone." Misato tried to keep her voice down to keep Asuka from waking up.
Shinji just looked at his feet.
"Stop doing that! Stop avoiding me. I am trying to hold a conversation here with you!"
Shinji shrugged.
Misato was at a loss. She had never experienced something like this before. She was trying to be rational, but Shinji wasn't even engaging. How could she accomplish anything if he wasn't even listening? "Fine!"
Shinji nodded and went into his room.
Misato went and got a beer. By the time Shinji had brushed his teeth and gotten into bed, she had finished her second one, and she was a little calmer.
She knocked on his door. "Can I come in?" At the grunt, she slid the door open. After a moment's hesitation, she went in and sat down on the lone desk chair.
"Shinji, I know you might not want to tell me what is going on, but talk to somebody, ok? Maybe Ritsuko, or even Rei."
Shinji nodded.
Misato sighed and bit the bullet, "Rei really loves you. Talk to her at least. Tell her what is going on. She deserves to know." She quickly stood up and fled.
Shinji rolled over and pulled the covers over his head. 'Another person that that I failed.'
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Shinji is not in class." Rei confronted Asuka as soon as the redhead walked into class.
"Wow, you're a rocket scientist," Asuka snarked, "Yes, Shinji is not in class." A lot of people weren't in class - families had started moving away, as the Angel attacks showed no signs of abating. It wasn't her problem. Except it sort of was. He was her roommate, and despite her best attempts, his responsible streak had rubbed off on her.
Rei frowned, "Why?" Even now, Shinji still typically arrived early to school, sometimes even before she did. But not today, or yesterday. This was a concerning trend.
"How should I know, am I his keeper? He said that he wasn't feeling well and that he would come in later." Asuka sighed. She just wanted today to be a normal day. Though with all the missing students, it still meant that there wasn't going to be anybody that she wanted to eat lunch with. "Look, Ikari is taking Hikari's injury pretty hard. I.." She paused, before continuing, "You should go talk to him." Asuka hated to admit weakness. She never, ever did, if she could help it. But now the baka was a total basket case, and she had no clue on how to deal with HIS weakness. Despite how much she disliked the girl, she had to admit that there was the possibility maybe Rei could. 'I wish he would just grow a backbone!'
Rei nodded, considering her options, and found them lacking. 'I have never been instructed in how to handle this type of situation.' She had even asked for assistance from Major Katsaguri and from Pilot Sohry, but neither was able to remedy the situation.
Asuka frowned. Maybe she should text Shinji that her sync score was higher than his again. That should motivate him to show up to NeRV, at least. She pulled out her phone.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Is Shinji coming today?" Ritsuko asked.
"I called him, but he said that he's sick. He stayed home from school." Misato's expression made clear what she thought of that excuse.
"If he keeps skipping, his sync score will decay. He will be endangering himself and everybody else."
"I know, I know!" Misato sighed, "But I don't know what to do about it. I have tried to give him some space, to gently cajole him into coming, all the stuff that those stupid parenting websites describe. I am not cut out for this! How did I end as the surrogate parent to a teenager?"
"Do you think getting Gendo involved will help?" Ritsuko already knew the answer to that, but she wanted her friend to say it herself.
"Heck, no. Shinji has absolutely zero connection to him. It's actually a little strange. Maybe I'll have Kaji ask."
"Why Kaji?" Ritsuko took a sip of coffee – she appreciated that Misato was helping 'distract' the scruffy special inspector, but he was still showing up in all sorts of places where he shouldn't. She should report this to Gendo. She took a sip of her coffee.
"Why not Kaji? He's cool and persuasive, and he can do 'guy talk' with Shinji. Beside, I don't have a lot of options." 'Well, I could ask Rei..' Misato's mind skittered away from that thought like a cockroach from the light.
Ritsuko nodded along as Misato talked, 'Maybe I'll report Kaji later, sometime when I'm more pissed at him than at Gendo.' She didn't want to interfere in her friends happiness unnecessarily.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Shinji was wandering the streets again.
As soon as both Asuka and Misato had left in the morning, he had headed up towards the hills around Tokyo 3. Maybe being out away from people would help him clear his mind. He knew that he was sulking and that he was being stupid, but that just made it worse. He hated himself for acting this way in addition to hating himself for being a pathetic loser that made everything worse.
Being up above Tokyo 3, away from people was very peaceful, but it didn't make him feel any better. It just made him feel like a coward who ran away from his problems.
He kept walking, circling around the city. He had to admit it was beautiful, in a way. A man-made island cradled in-between rolling green hills.
Eventually, it started to get dark. Shinji sighed. As appealing as the idea of losing himself out here was, never to be found, he had responsibilities and no matter how much he hated himself he couldn't abdicate those.
He started back down towards the city. His stomach growled – he hadn't brought a lunch, and he hadn't really eaten much for the past couple of meals. 'I guess I can cook something when I get home. To make it up to Misato for being a burden.' He was giving most of his attention to the path – it was steep and rocky along this section, and he didn't want to slip – when a man stepped out from the gloom growing under a small bushy tree.
"Hey, kid. Got a smoke?" He was dressed in a dark tee shirt and dirty jeans.
Shinji started, and was immediately embarrassed at himself for being so unaware, "Uh, no, I don't smoke."
"You certain? You don't have anything? Not even matches?" The man approached Shinji.
There was something … off about him. Shinji stepped away, and tried to circle down the hill, but as he did, the man lunged forwards and pushed him. As Shinji stumbled backwards, the man grabbed him and tossed him to the ground.
"Gimme your money and your phone, kid!"
When Shinji tried to sit up, the man punched him in the face. Hard.
Shinji fell back down. 'I need to get up.'' He rolled over and pushed at the ground, but the man came and kicked him in the side, knocking him back down the hill. While Shinji was still groggy, he felt hands reaching into his pockets, spilling the contents onto the ground. The man rummaged for several minutes before dumping most of it and jogging back towards Tokyo 3. By the time Shinji recovered, it was much later. He found his wallet several yard down the hillside, empty.
Fortunately, his phone was at home, or Misato would kill him.
He gathered himself and staggered back down. As he walked, people crossed the street to avoid the strange, disheveled teen. Shinji stopped and looked at himself in the reflection of a shop window, 'I need to do something about that'. He tucked in his shirt and brushed back his hair and stood up as straight as he could before continuing on.
By the time he reached the apartment, he was almost normal except that his face was starting to puff up.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Where were you?" Misato was in full-on 'authority figure' mode. There was none of the playful (drunken) big sister today.
"I went out. A guy attacked me."
Misato waited for more elucidation, but none was forthcoming. Shinji couldn't understand what she was so angry about. He did something foolish. He got hurt. That was normal.
'I am not ready to be a parent. This is NOT my job!' Misato fumed, "Fine. Get inside. I am calling Section Two - you're not allowed to leave the apartment until you start to act like a responsible adult!"
She stormed off. She knew she hadn't handled that the way she should have, but for the life of her, she wasn't certain where it had all gone wrong.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Hey kid." It was the following day, and both Misato and Asuka had just left (Misato had given Asuka a lift to school, since it was raining).
Shinji held the apartment door open for Mr. Kaji, "Hello." He didn't ask why he was here. As always, Kaji looked like he had slept in his clothes. Back behind him Shinji could see the Section Two agent sitting on a stool on the landing. 'I bet that makes the other tenants really comfortable.' It then occurred to Shinji that he hadn't seen anybody else on their floor. Maybe there weren't any other tenants?
"Can I come in?"As Shinji stepped back, Kaji elaborated, "Misato mentioned that you were stuck at home, so I figured you could use some company."
"Ok."
Kaji placed a pair of cantaloupes on the counter. "I grew these myself – I rent a small plot at the outskirts of the city." He leaned in conspiratorially, "I love melons. Especially nice big ones."
Shinji just nodded.
"I hear you have a girlfriend yourself, now. That's pretty exciting."
Shinji was confused by the abrupt change in topic, "I guess?"
Kaji paused to examine the teen in front of him. He was, as always, neatly dressed in a school button down shirt and black pants. The only thing that was off was that his hair was mussed, as if he had been laying down. 'He doesn't look depressed - just insecure.' Not that he had any experience with stuff like this - you had to be tough, growing up on the streets. Any failing, physical or mental, would see you dead.
Kaji gave his typical knowing smile and changed tack. "You should take better care of yourself. You have a responsibility to Rei. If something were to happen to you, she would be sad."
Shinji nodded. He knew that he was a failure. Here was even more proof.
The two stood facing each for sometime time, each lost in their own thoughts,
"How about I slice up some of the melon?" Kaji offered.
"Ok." Shinji paused, "Would you like something to drink?"
Kaji smiled – he had elicited a response! "Yes, how about a beer. I hear that Misato stocks some."
Shinji nodded and opened the refrigerator. The bottom shelf was filled with rows of beers. "Do you want a Yebisu?"
"No, I'll take an American, if there is one."
"No."
"Well, what does she have in there?"
"Yebisu."
"Right..." Kaji accepted the beer, more as a way to keep Shinji engaged than for want of a beverage. He put it aside and looked around the kitchen. "Can you help me? I need a cutting board and a knife. I don't know where Misato keeps those."
"Misato doesn't know where she keeps those either." Shinji replied as he got the items.
Kaji quirked an eyebrow, "So you do all the cooking? Or does Asuka help?"
"No, I cook for the entire apartment. And Rei, sometimes" Shinji perked up as he discussed cooking.
"So what's on the menu for tonight?"
Shinji drooped back down, "I don't know, yet."
Kaji sliced up the fruit and pushed a couple of slices over towards Shinji with the side of the knife. "Give that a try. See, it's pretty good. And all it takes is perseverance, and a little dirt. You water and weed it and that's all. No rocket science." He leaned against the counter and nursed his beer as Shinji nibbled on the slice. "Sometime, simple stuff, with almost no intrinsic value, can make something pretty nice. Life is like that."
Seeing that Shinji wasn't responding, Kaji finished off his beer and threw it into the recycling, "Anyways, I gotta go. You think about what I said. You can do a lot of good."
He let himself out.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
It was late afternoon, and Shinji was laying on his bed again when his cell phone blared to life. After Kaji had left, Shinji had basically shut down - he cleaned the apartment on autopilot, then he lay down and stared out the window at the clouds. From his angle, he could only see a small sliver of sky, and the sky was overcast, so there was nothing really to look at. Shinji glanced at his clock - it was still early, despite how dark the sky was getting. 'Maybe I should go in for the sync training today.' He looked at his phone see who was calling.
The message from a NeRV number.
'It must be another Angel.' Shinji grabbed the phone, but the caller had hung up. He swung out of bed and ran out onto the apartment's balcony, to see if there was anything visible. To his surprise, he could see the Angel - it was stocky, shaped like an ape with ribbon like arms and a skull mask.
And it was at the far end of the city already, tearing through any buildings that were in its path to the Geofront. Even as they retracted into the ground, the monster's tendrils sliced through them, and many didn't make it down in time.
'I have to help.' It was simple as that. It didn't matter if he was a failure. Rei, Misato, Asuka deserved better, but he couldn't leave them to fight on their own. He might be worthless, but they weren't.
He slammed out of the apartment, yelling to the Section Two agent waiting outside, "I need to get to Unit 01!" He pointed out the stairwell window at the approaching Angel.
The agent glanced out at the approaching Angel and nodded, leading the way down to the car parked out front.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
"Where did it come from?" Misato was almost screaming. The Angel had appeared out of nowhere five minutes ago, at the outskirts of Tokyo 3. Not only had it shrugged off all all conventional weapons, it had literately CUT THROUGH the hillside. "A better question is, where are the pilots?"
Aoba checked his timetable, "Asuka should be in the combat simulator with Maya. Rei's in for her monthly special sync training, and Shinji is.."
"Get the girls up here." Misato interrupted. She knew where Shinji was, "Launch Asuka to hold off the Angel while we decant Rei."
"Will one Evangelion be enough?" Makoto asked.
"It will take at least 10 minutes to get Rei up here." Misato watched as the Angel casually destroyed another building that hadn't retracted in time. At its current rate, they didn't have ten minutes before it reached the geofront. "She needs to slow it down at least."
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
As the car carrying Shinji skidded around an abandoned truck, the agent grimly keeping his eyes open for other obstacles, Unit 02 was already racing to engage the Angel. Asuka had a pallet rifle in each arm and was firing on full auto, but the the bullets never reached the Angel. Its AT field was so strong that Shinji could see it shimmer. He watched out the side window as the driver spun the car around a corner. The barrage of massive bullets at least caused the Angel to halt, but at full auto, the ammunition did not last log. Unit 02 dropped the rifles and pulled a grenade launcher from its back, as it continued to close with the Angel, trying to force down its AT field with her own.
"Faster!"
SHTOOM
The car rocked as a giant grenade went off against the Angel's AT field. With Unit 02 almost within arm's reach, the Angels ribbons lashed out. Unit 02 janked right, out of the path of the ribbons, and shoved the grenade launcher forward, into the Angel's massive torso, but it stopped short surrounded by glowing hexagons. Asuka grabbed her progressive knife as she dodged the other ribbon and jammed it into the field, trying to cut her way through.
The AT field buckled under the pressure. Asuka brought up the launcher again, aiming it at the shimmering weak spot and fired.
SHTOOM
SHTOOM
The grenades hit their target.
And bounced back, like it was rubbery, before exploding. The close range detonation staggered Unit 02, forcing it to pin wheel its arms to maintain balance.
As the car slewed into a tunnel leading into the geofront, the last that Shinji saw of the Angel was one of its ribbons lashing out, punching through the disoriented Unit 02's neck.
'Oh, god. Asuka. I hope they cut the sync.'
As the car train grabbed their vehicle and rocketed them down in to the depths of the huge underground cavern, the ground shook and they almost derailed.
Shinji was in shock as the agent hustled him towards the cages. He ran in daze over to the ground crew.
"Good, you're here," Ritsuko didn't spare any words, "get it. We've already launched Unit 00, but Rei can't stop that monster on her own. Get out there."
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Rei sat in Unit 00 as it shot up in the elevator. She arrived just in time to see Unit 02 drop to the ground as the Angel's tendril pulled back from its neck. The Angel casually stepped over the downed Evangelion.
Rei had never been afraid - the fact that she was replaceable was a core tenant of her self knowledge - but the raw brutality of this Angle sent a sliver of ice through her spine. The Angel was pure force. Nothing Unit 00 could do would be able to match its power.
She hefted the N2 mine into a football hold and exploded forward as soon as the elevator reached the top. Unit 00 smashed into the Angel's AT field, creating a hexagonal rainbow. With her free hand she reached out and pushed through the field, grabbing it and pulling it apart with all of her will.
A ribbon lashed out, punching through Unit 00 shoulder. Rei screamed in pain, but she shoved the N2 mine through the gap with her good hand before the AT field closed up.
She closed her eyes as she waited for the explosion.
WHUMP
It was oddly muted
Rei opened her eyes. She was alive.
And so was the Angel.
'It must have a second AT field'.
The Angel's ribbons casually lashed out, cutting off her good arm. With a roar, Rei reached out, clawing at the AT field in animalistic desperation. The Angel lashed out again, cutting off her remaining arm before stepping on Unit 00 and continuing on its way.
Rei clutched at her shoulders, screaming, as tears of pain dissolving into the LCL
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Misato watched, horrified as the Angel cut its way into the geofront after destroying the two Evangelions in a matter of minutes, "cut off the synchronization on unit 00!"
"I sent the signal, but I am not certain if Unit 00 received it - it's antenna was damaged in the blast," Maya reported as the command center shook.
"Do we know where Shinji is?"
"I have a report that he's in the cages - they were preparing to launch him." Makoto was interrupted as the whole command center shook again, harder than before, and the lights went out before coming back, except red.
"We lost power. Telemetry lost, communications lost. Magi off line." Shigeru quickly read out the damage, as he was trained. "I still have the internal PA and the emergency radio, but I can't reach the Evangelions." Despite the trained precision, you could hear the barely restrained fear in his voice.
"Do we have any working cameras inside the geofront?
Before anybody could reply, a yellowish ribbon whipped through the room, ripping most of the outside wall off. Misato looked in horror at the face of the Angel - it was mere yards away. But before it could lash out again with its tendrils, Unit 01 body tackled it like a foot ball player, pushing it to the side.
The Angel staggered sideways, pushing free and turning to face the Evangelion.
Unit 01 stood in front of it, a pair of progressive swords in its hands.
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
Shinji hefted the prog swords. They had come from Germany along with unit 02. They felt natural in his hands, but he rarely got to use them as they were awkward to carry when not in use.
'Eva. Help me kill that thing.' He didn't care about himself, but he had seen that monster kill Asuka. He didn't know what it had done to Rei, but she might also be dead.
He wasn't going to let it hurt anybody else. He would kill it or die trying.
The tendrils casually flashed out to decapitate him. He batted them aside with a sword as he stepped to the side.
The tendrils struck again, and again he deflected them.
Evangelion 01 started walking towards the enemy, parrying the tendrils. The attacks began to speed up, as if the Angel was finally starting to take its enemy seriously, but Eva kept up.
"Ma'am," Makoto called up to Misato, "I have re-established communication with the Magi - turns out they didn't lose power - and they have telemetry from Unit 01."
Misato stepped over the rubble. They were lucky that the tendrils had come in high, cutting into the room above people's head: nobody had died, though small pieces of concrete littered the floor, and Shigeru was bleeding from a cut to his arm.
"Show me."
Makoto turned his laptop, "Sync score is 80 and rising."
"Good." Misato looked up from the screen out through the hole in the wall. She could just see the two giants battling at the right side of the gash. She was momentarily tempted to go up to the damaged section to get a better view, but the crumbling concrete made her come to her senses. 'Come on, Shinji!' She hated how there was nothing she could do. She hadn't prayed in years - her father had been the religious one, not her, but she said a quick prayer anyways. She hadn't realized how important Shinji was to her. Shinji and Asuka both - they were like the family that she hadn't had these past 16 years. 'I hope Asuka is still alive.'
She continued to watch the battle as the bridge techs read out numbers that she couldn't make any use of.
'I hope we all make it out of this alive.'
/\/\/\ Beautiful/Night \/\/\
'We can do this.' Shinji had a look of focused concentration that was completely out of place on his normally open and placid face. As he deflected the attacks and advanced, he wasn't seeing the entry plug. He almost wasn't seeing the Angel - his eyes focused past it.
He knew where it was. He saw its movements out of the corners of his eyes, and he moved on instinct.
He didn't see Eva either, but he knew that she was there also.
And together they parried each attack. With each step forwards, it was becoming easier and easier.
"His sync score is 120%. Is that even possible?" Makoto asked, confused.
"Yes, its possible, but it's not good." Ritsuko staggered into the room, panting. The elevators were out, and half the corridors were filled with rubble. "But there is nothing we can do."
The Angel began to back up, to make some space for its whips, but Unit 01 press its attack, slamming a sword into the AT field. It flashed hexagonally before giving slightly under the blow. The Angel rotated to protect that side as the other, closer tendril slipped through Shinji's guard and wrapped around Unit 01's neck.
"Yaa!" He struck with all his force, severing the tendril at the Angel's shoulder.
"Sync score is 385% and climbing!"
The other tendril wrapped around Shinji's other sword and tore it from his grip, but Unit 01 just punched out, slamming its fingertips into the Angel's chest and digging into the armor. Hexagonal sparks danced along the Evangelion's arm. With a roar it yanked, ripping a piece of the chest armor loose trailing fleshy strands. The Angel staggered back, but before it could get clear Eva plunged her sword forward, smashing through the remains of the AT fields and the last the armor, into the Angel's chest.
Shinji pushed on the sword together with Eva, twisting it to saw through the Angel's chest and into the core.
It was tough, like sawing wood with a blunt knife, but Unit 01 leaned in with all of its strength and yanked, sawing deep into the Angel. When the core shattered, the entire Angel exploded, throwing Unit 01 to the ground and covering the inside of the geofront with gore.