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 13
"This is the key to Instrumentality. This is Adam," Gendo smirked as he looked at the embryo inside the case Kaji had given him. This is perfect. Soon, it will all work out. Unit 01 will be used, and I'll have Yui back.
In the Eva Cages, Unit 01 surprised the Symbiocons by sneezing.
"Well, I don't see anything out of the ordinary," Ritsuko said, finishing her physical examination. "Lay down on this bed, we're going to take a look inside you."
Shinji did as he was told, and tried to relax as the bed was placed into a tube that began to scan him. He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping he was okay. The fact that he could sense the Angel scared him. Misato had also been worried, though her worry was that he might be turning into an Angel.
Turning into one of the Enemy.
"Will Captain Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami please come to Medical Room C-143," Ritsuko said over the intercom. She knew the commander would want to know about what was going on as well, but he had just left, and would be out of contact for a few weeks at the least.
"So, did you figure it out?" Misato asked once the two of them arrived.
Ritsuko motioned them over to the monitor, "Rei what do you see here?"
Rei's eyes widened, "That's an…" Her sentence trailed off, her hand unconsciously flying to her chest.
"That's what I thought," Ritsuko said. "Shinji, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Dr. Akagi," he answered.
"Put your hand on your heart," she instructed. He did so, feeling his heart beating fast under his palm due to his nervousness. "Now move it to the opposite side of your chest and tell me what you feel."
Shinji's eyes widened, "I feel something pulsing. It's not my heart, but it feels somewhat similar."
Ritsuko took a breath and braced herself, "Shinji, it appears that your exposure to Eva has caused your body to develop an S2 organ, an Angel heart. You don't need to be scared, Shinji. It's the only change I can detect, and I think it is the reason you can sense the Angels. This doesn't mean you are an Angel though. Rei has also developed one, exactly opposite of her heart, like you."
Hearing that helped Shinji calm down, "So, what changes should I make?"
"Probably none," Ritsuko answered. "Rei has had an S2 organ for years, and she's never had any problems. In fact, it seems to be more of a help than a hindrance. You'll be less susceptible to infections and disease; you'll be stronger, have more endurance and energy, and can survive Misato's cooking."
"Why you…" Misato began.
"Whether or not you can produce an AT field remains to be seen though," Ritsuko cautioned. "So be careful. If you feel anything is wrong, come tell me as fast as possible. You can get out now, go ahead and get dressed."
"In the mean time," Ritsuko continued, closing the screens to give Shinji some privacy, "Misato, you should get a bigger apartment. NERV can still pay for it."
"Why?" Misato asked.
"I want you to be closer to NERV, just in case," Ritsuko answered. "I also want you to take Rei in. One of the reasons why she's lived alone is because she has an S2 organ. Now that there's someone else like her, it would be best if they were close by."
Misato sighed, "All right. Does this mean that all Eva pilots will develop S2 organs?"
Ritsuko could only shrug and say, "I'm afraid I don't know."
Ow! Ow! Ow!
Ow! Ow! Ow!
You can feel it too?
I'd have to be stupid not to!
Do you know of a way to get out of this?
Sorri, Israfel bro, not a clue.
This hurts, Lefarsi.
The Destroyer is mocking us.
Don't remind me.
"This is so unfair! Why do the others have to back me up?" Asuka whined.
"This is war for survival, Second Child," Galaxy Convoy said over the linked communications. "When it comes to survival, there is no room for underestimating your enemy, or having a 'my horse is bigger than yours' with your allies." No one needed to guess to know that the Cybertron Soushireikan was referring to Commander Ikari, who continued to insist that the Cybertron Army work under him. "To respect your Commander's request, we will not engage the enemy unless you require it."
"I don't need help from you, and I don't need help from those two either!" Asuka shouted.
"Soushireikan, We have an intense desire to terminate her," Lori Hitomi said.
"Control it, for now," Galaxy Convoy replied.
"Look on the bright side, if she screws up, you can yell at her again," Live Convoy laughed.
Inside Unit 01, Shinji smiled, "Lori wouldn't yell at Asuka." He paused for effect, "She'd blow her up."
The five Cybertron Army members laughed as Asuka fumed, and Shinji could have sworn he heard Rei chuckle. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the new 6th sense he had thanks to his S2 organ. He could tell where Rei was, at the ready with Unit 00. It seemed strange that when he sensed her, she seemed to be in two places at once, but he guessed that was her syncing with her Eva. He could detect Asuka's Eva, even if he couldn't sense Asuka. He could even sense the Cybertron Army members, but Galaxy Convoy had explained that their energy signatures were similar to an Angels due to the powers they had, so that wasn't a problem. What was puzzling to Shinji was what he sensed in Unit 01.
An animalistic rage, barely contained by something that, upon his probing, seemed to wrap him in a blanket before withdrawing. Yet another question to add to what Eva was. He really needed to learn more about it.
His eyes snapped open, glowing slightly. Unnoticed by him, but noticed by Misato at HQ, Rei did the same.
"Angel," they whispered. They looked at each other briefly, but set it aside, realizing that if one of them could sense Angels, so could the other.
"Do you feel that, Ikari?" Rei asked.
"Yes," he answered. "It's like there are two, only as one."
The Angel rose out of the sea, heading for the shore where the Eva Units waited.
"Stay back, let me show you how it's done!" Asuka yelled, rushing forward.
"Asuka wait! It's a trap!" Shinji and Rei yelled.
"Asuka stop!" Misato yelled.
"Second Child! Listen to your commanding officer!" Galaxy Convoy called.
"Yah!" Asuka brought her weapon down, cleaving the Angel in two. "That is how you kill an Angel!"
These energy readings, Galaxy Convoy thought. It's as if… "Second Child, the Angel is still alive! MOVE!"
It was too late. The Angel split into two smaller forms before grabbing Unit 02 and throwing it. It landed head first in a rice field, the head, hands, and knees sinking in to render the Eva helpless.
Units 00 and 01 rushed forward to engage the targets separately, only to have both retreat and merge back into one Angel. It twitched, looking from one to the other.
"It's hesitating!" Shinji realized.
"If we can sense it, maybe it's sensing us," Rei hypothesized. Then pain shot through her head.
Give in to me, false creation. You are nothing, without purpose. Let me give you a purpose: Mankind's destruction!
Rei screamed, holding her head as her Eva flailed about in pain.
"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled, rushing forward to help her. The Angel split again and stopped him. He tried to fight, but was quickly overwhelmed by their physical attacks and shoved into the muddy shore. He was stuck.
As the Angel was doing that though, Rei suddenly found relief from the pressure in her head. Fear took hold of her, and she quickly retreated. "The being that possesses the Angel and possessed all previous Angels has attempted to posses me," she reported, trying to stay conscious. "I need something to attack it from out of range."
She got an attack, from the Angel. Both split forms fired beams from their eyes that struck Unit 00 in the face. Before she blacked out, she heard Galaxy Convoy call out, "Cybertrons, engage! Megalo Convoy, retrieve Unit 00, and Unit 02." Then she was picked up, and knew no more.
"This is ridiculus!" Lori Hitomi yelled as she dodged another beam from the Angel.
"I agree," Live Convoy said. "Every time you hit the core, it just regenerates."
"It must be that one must hit and destroy both cores at the same time," Coby Rumble suggested. "Only Evas can do that. We have to come up with a stalling technique."
"I have a plan," Galaxy Convoy said. "Flame Convoy, we need your help."
"About damn time!" was the response. "You know how much I hate water! You have me out here for Primus knows how long hiding; I was starting to wonder if you had forgotten me!" The dragon burst from under the waves, "I'll get their attention, and then you put them to sleep for a few days. Lady, Otoku, give me a boost!"
"Soushireikan, use this!" Megalo Convoy shouted, tossing Galaxy Convoy his weapon.
Coby Rumble and Lori Hitomi positioned themselves on either side of Flame Convoy, who had transformed into his robot form, standing at the ready. "SYMBIOCON DUALITY FIELD TECHNIQUE: LIFTOFF!" The burst of energy allowed Flame Convoy to fly high over the head of the split Angel.
"FORCE CHIP! IGNITION! DEATH FLAME!"
Flame Convoy's attack hit both Angel halves in their faces, forcing them back. Galaxy Convoy raised Megalo Convoy's weapon.
"FORCE CHIP! IGNITION! GIGA GALAXY CRUSH!"
"You totally screwed up my grand debut in Japan!" Asuka yelled at Shinji.
"I didn't know you thought your job was to perform as the Jester of NERV," Shinji calmly replied, making Asuka's face go redder. Where the hell did that come from?, he wondered. He turned his head as Asuka opened her mouth to reply. He could have sworn he heard someone laughing at him.
"Pilot Soryu, shut up and sit down," the Sub-commander ordered, waiting until she did so before finishing. "While Galaxy Convoy's attack did not finish off the Angel, it did stall the Angel until we can come up with a way to destroy it. Galaxy Convoy has explicitly stated that only a synchronized attack by two Evas will do the job; a Transformer simply cannot generate enough power or force. We have six days until the Angel is healed, lowers its AT Field, and resumes its hostilities. The Cybertron Army will help us at Captain Katsuragi's request."
The debriefing was over, so Shinji asked, "Is Ayanami all right?"
"She's still in intensive care," Ritsuko answered. "She probably won't be out for two more days, and that's pushing it. The mental attack hurt her bad."
"What worries me is how the Destroyer, who we know is controlling the Angels against their will, was able to mentally attack her," Coby said. Ritsuko handed him a paper. He scanned it, eyes widening, "This makes sense, and I think I can help you with this." He handed the paper to Lori, "Galaxy Convoy will want to know. The Cybertron Army does not keep secrets from members that are involved."
"I know," Ritsuko said. "I think that's why you guys work so much better than NERV, and it shows in your battle record. Any ideas on how to win, before Misato gets fired by the Commander for loosing this battle?"
"Well, there is an exercise that we often do," Lori answered. "Since Coby and I work together most of the time, we do exercises that keep us in sync with each other."
"First things first though, we need to clear it with the Captain. And then there's something else," Coby said, and then turned to the two pilots. "What is your job here at NERV?"
"To pilot the Eva," Asuka answered.
"To protect mankind," Shinji answered.
"Correct, Pilot Ikari," Coby said. "Pilot Soryu, you are not here on a pleasure cruse to boost your ego. Piloting Eva will get you nothing. When all this is done, you'll get your fifteen minutes of fame, and then you're old news that no one wants to hear about again. In our universe, Lori and I continually save lives, but no one makes a fuss over it because we are just that, old news. If you can't find something else in your life besides piloting Eva, your worth as a pilot will soon be nothing, because in the end, the Evas will be used to stop the Angels, and then no one will want to see them any more. Learn this now, because if the Captain approves of our plan, Lori and I will only have the two of you to work with, and I will not be able to teach an arrogant student."
If it had been anyone else, Asuka would have yelled at them. But Coby had said everything in an even, caring tone, as if he were lecturing a daughter. That and the fact that Asuka had heard about Coby's battle simulations from others at NERV already, proving that he was a warrior who knew more about these things than she ever would, kept her silent.
Author's Note: In Galaxy Force, Flame Convoy often calls Lori 'Lady' because he holds her in very high respect. In this fic, he calls Coby 'Otoku' because he heard Lori calling him that.