Taming the Beast

Summary: An error in the Space Bridge Project sends Coby, Lori, and the Convoys into the Eva Universe. Why are the Rumbles that Coby and Lori pilot so similar to the Evas? Is there a connection between the Angels and the Transformers? Will they survive?

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or Transformers Galaxy Force, but they are interesting stories.

Chapter 7

"I don't care how many times I see battle, I'll never get used to the smell of rotting flesh," Lori said, holding her nose between her fingers. Misato had brought the three of them to the area where the Angel's corpse was. NERV was studying it to try to find out as much as they could. Rumble and Hitomi were helping, able to take care of several things easily that would have taken several Humans much longer. The only problem was the fact that in spite of being Symbiocons, the two of them were built from the remains of the parasitic swarms that attacked Seibertron in their universe, and had the instincts from those swarms. More than once, Coby and Lori had to mentally tell their Symbiocons to not eat the Angel.

"Trust me on this one, Lori. The smell of a decaying Transformer body is worse," Coby said. It explained why he wasn't too bothered by the smell.

"Still, they could have given us some masks or something," Shinji said. He ran his red eyes across the corpse, feeling a slight tug of sadness. I killed Shamshel, a sister. Wait! Where did that come from? He looked over his shoulder yet again. Who the hell is laughing at me?

Cyborus tried. He really did. BA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Cyborus!

Yes, dear? Oh! Oops! His laughter had caused Shinji to grab his head in pain.

"Oww!" the white-haired teen moaned. Walking to where Ritsuko was pouring over the data on a computer screen. Misato, Coby, and Lori were already there.

Coby noticed Shinji holding his head and said, "I think enough is enough. SYMBIOCON DUALITY FIELD TECHNIQUE TYPE 2: ODOR BARRIER." The area around them glowed slightly, and then the smell of rotting Angel left their senses. "It only lasts for two minutes, so let's get this over with quickly."

"The analysis should be complete in a second," Ritsuko said. "Thanks to how efficiently you three worked, the Angel is only damaged where Shinji stabbed the core, and even that is hardly damaged. We have a complete sample that is perfect for us to study and find out what we're up against."

The computer dinged and displayed its results: 601.

"Cannot be analyzed," Ritsuko huffed in annoyance. "We have no idea what the Angel is."

"Can you show me the raw data?" Coby asked. Ritsuko brought it up, and his brow furrowed in both confusion and worry. "This data… Are the Angels really that close to Humans?"

"99.89 out of 100 matches up," Ritsuko answered. Then she noticed the worried look on Coby and Lori's faces. "What's wrong?"

"That's the exact same ratio of difference between Humans and Transformers," Lori answered.

"Furthermore," Coby added as the others' eyes went wide, "This data suggests that the Angels are even closer. The primary difference between a Human and a Transformer is that Transformers are bio-metallic, and Humans are bio-organic. No such difference exists between the Humans and Angels, as this data shows that while we can't identify the matter they're made from, they are bio-organic as well."

"We should try to contact the next Angel that attacks," Lori said. "These Angels may be trying to help us, rather than destroy us."

"With the last two, that wasn't the case," Ritsuko said. "The one that attacked right before you showed up purposely shot several residential areas before the JSSDF could mobilize and retaliate, and this Angel purposely sunk a battleship at sea, which was how we knew it was coming."

"Still, we should try," Coby said. "If the Angels are anything like Transformers, we may already have allies among them." Seeing the confused looks that Misato, Ritsuko, and Shinji were giving him, he explained, "Transformers Mythology talks of two Beings that had a hand in creating their race. One they called Primus was their true Creator, while the other, the Dark God, copied what Primus did and integrated his children with Primus'. For a long time, the two fractions fought until Primus destroyed the Dark God, sealing what was left of his power inside the Dead Matrix. Any who touch the Dead Matrix become corrupted by the Dark God's power, and end up starting the war all over again. This is because the Children of Primus have some of the hatred towards their Creator that was seeded inside of them by the Children of the Dark God. A lot of that myth is just a story to explain that everyone has darkness inside of them, just as you can't have one side of the coin without the other, and that the way to be happy is to overcome that darkness and not let it control you."

"Like a fable?" Ritsuko asked.

Lori nodded, "Yes, but there is also a lot of true facts in it. Primus chose to exist in the form of the Transformer's homeworld, Planet Seibertron, and Coby and I have both seen the power He has. We've also seen the power of the Dark God, and the corruption the Dead Matrix can cause first hand."

"So, that war you guys based your simulations off of was the result of someone being corrupted?" Shinji asked.

"Yes," Coby answered. "Master Megatron found the Dead Matrix and tried to use it's power to take control of Seibertron, but ended up releasing some of that power into deep space, causing the creation of something we called Grand Black Hole, a storm of imbalance between matter and energy that would have destroyed all life in our universe had Primus himself not destroyed it."

Shinji nodded and turned toward the Angel's corpse again. He noticed his father – no, parent – looking at it, and caught sight of the older Ikari's hands. "How did the Commander get those burns on his hands?" he wondered aloud.

"During the Activation Test of Unit 00 when Rei was injured," Ritsuko answered. "He burned his hands opening the superheated entry plug manually. Rei should be recovered by now, in fact. We'll be trying to reactivate Unit 00 in a few days. Dang it! That reminds me, I forgot to give Rei her new card. Can you take it to her for me, Shinji?" The doctor held out the card and Shinji took it. He stared at it for quite some time, focused on her picture.

She looks a lot like me, he thought. Red eyes. Did she get those from Unit 00? She also wears the same haircut that I remember Mom wearing.

"Shinji?" Misato sang in a teasing voice. "Why are you staring at Rei's picture?" His face turned as red as his eyes as he spluttered an excuse in embarrassment and took off running, yelling he was going to go deliver the card.

"He could get lost," Coby remarked.

"I'll follow him," Lori said, and then took off. She would have no trouble catching up to the young Ikari. The day before at school, she had put every boy in school to shame in gym, except for Coby, who matched her on every level.

"This place is a dump!" Lori exclaimed when they reached Rei's apartment building. "How can she possibly live here?"

"I don't know," Shinji replied, getting on the elevator. "Are you coming?"

Lori shook her head, "No, you go ahead." He shrugged again and rang for the correct floor. The minute the doors closed, Lori closed her eyes and focused. "SYMBIOCON DUALITY FIELD TECHNIQUE TYPE 2: MIND SWAP." Her eyes opened, but they were now glowing blue orbs as Hitomi temporarily took control of her Human partner's body. Hitomi scanned the structure, making note of every weak point and regulation infraction: 276 in all. Within seconds, Hitomi had complied the list, as well as creating a 3-D blueprint of the entire building – noting that Rei's apartment was the only one occupied – and stored it away in her memory before giving control back to Lori, who simply shook her head in disgust. It was a wonder that Rei wasn't already dead or hospitalized due to the state of the building.

Shinji found Rei's apartment, number 402, and knocked. No answer. He tried the doorbell, only to find that it didn't work. He knocked again and the door opened slightly. He stepped in, calling out, "Ayanami-san? It's me, Shinji Ikari. Can I come in? Hello?" There was no answer, and the room was empty. In fact, it looked like Rei had not been there for days. There was dust everywhere, a garbage can overflowing with bloody bandages, a single, broken light, and an unmade, moth-eaten bed. Shinji could have sworn he saw a rat scurry across the floor too.

Then he noticed something on the nightstand. Walking over to it, he picked it up. It was a glasses case. Ayanami didn't wear glasses, so whose were these? Then he saw the name on the side in black ink: Gendo Ikari. He put them down and heard a door open behind him. Naturally, he turned, only to freeze physically and mentally as he saw a sight that most kids in his school would die for.

Rei Ayanami hadn't heard him knock because she was in the shower. Now, she was out, and completely naked.

"Are you all right, Pilot Ikari?" Rei asked, wondering why he was standing there with an expression on his face that suggested that he had seen a ghost. He turned red and turned away, muttering apology after apology. Wondering why he was apologizing when she was at fault, Rei pulled her clothes on. "Why are you here?"

"Your… card…" Shinji managed to say, holding her card out to her. She took it.

"Thank you," she told him, feeling her face heat up. Those words. I have never said them, not even to the Commander. Why did I say them now, and to Shinji? Why do I feel embarrassed, and yet pleased at his attention? Why didn't I feel ashamed when Shinji saw me? Why did I feel disappointed when he looked away? The questions continued through her head as she left the apartment, leaving Shinji behind. He caught up to her at the elevator.

"Where are you going?" he asked, still trying to recover from what he just saw.

"To dinner with Commander Ikari," Rei answered.

"Oh," Shinji said, and even Rei heard the venom in his voice.

"You disapprove," she said, not a question.

"I guess I'm a little jealous of you," Shinji replied. "The Commander seems to like you a lot."

"Isn't Commander Ikari your father?" Rei asked. "Don't you have any faith in your father's work?"

"The Commander is not my father, nor is the Eva his work," Shinji said. "He's just the person I have to sadly call my parent. My mother developed Eva. This is her work, not his. That's why I'm working at NERV, for my mother's memory."

This surprised Rei, "How do you know this?"

"Ritsuko told Coby, and Coby told me," Shinji replied. "I wish I could trust the Commander, but I don't think I ever could. It makes me feel sad, but it also makes me feel free from him; him and his damn plans."

SLAP!

For the first time as far as she could remember, Rei was angry. What Shinji had just said was an insult to Gendo Ikari. It was unacceptable. Commander Ikari should be treated with the utmost respect!

Then the anger faded, replaced by an intense guilt for what she had just done to the white haired boy whose face was turned away from her now, rubbing his cheek where she had struck him. A boy who was a lot like her, and yet seemed to have more, and wanted to share what he had with her. He had tired to be her friend so many times, and each time she had pushed him away. She felt her face burn up with shame as she hung her head, realizing she needed to change. It would hurt, it would be scary, but she needed to change. For a long time, all she wanted to do was return to nothing from where she had come from. Now, she could see that there was another path, and wanted it.

"I-Ikari-kun?" she stuttered, trying hard to say what she knew she should, but was hard to say due to the way she was raised. "I-I-I am s-sorry. I s-should not h-have s-s-struck you."

He turned toward her and gave her a small smile, "Its okay. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Rei would have a lot to think about during dinner, and would lie to Gendo for the first time since her activation.

During gym the next day, Rei sat alone against the corner of the fence, watching while the other girls did their swimming exercises. Her mind was in turmoil from the previous days events. She had lied. For the first time, she had lied to Commander Ikari. He had asked her if something was wrong, and she had said no. It was a lie. She knew that if she told him what she was feeling, what she was confused about, he would tell her to forget it, that it wasn't important or relative to her purpose.

What is my purpose now? Should I follow through with Commander Ikari's purpose for me, or is there another purpose I can fulfill? Who can help me? She cast her eyes about. She needed someone who could understand. Someone who was a pilot, like herself, but also a female, as she had red that males interpreted feelings differently than females. Her eyes landed on the last person she expected, as she knew her the least, yet knew that it was somehow the right person to ask.

Can you help me, Lori Sakura? And why do you not go by your true last name here at school?

Shinji continued to stare at Rei's huddled form, wishing he could go up to her and ask her what was wrong. He was supposed to be running, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He felt drawn to her, like she was a part of him that was torn away long ago.

Kensuke and Toji began to tease him. "What are you looking at, Ikari? Ayanami? Are you checking her out?"

Seeing Rei turn to look at him, Shinji did the one thing he could think of. He stuck his index and middle fingers up Toji's nostrils, as the jock was practically breathing down his neck.

Toji's reaction of imitating a bug-eyed, shocked cartoon character got immediate reaction from all the girls as they laughed. Well, almost all. While the rest jeered at Toji and congratulated Shinji, Rei did nothing. She simply continued to stare, and then turned away.

"What the hell was that?!" the jock yelled, slapping Shinji's hand away from his face.

Shinji was still too preoccupied to notice. Knew it. She didn't laugh.

"SHINJI!" Toji roared, about to unleash a world of hurt that would have an Eva impressed.

"Okay, now we're even," Shinji grinned, and then continued jogging.

Toji watched his friend run off and felt deflated. "I didn't want him to get me back like that."