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 23

Three pinpricks were moving toward Earth at an incredible speed. At the center of each glowing ball of energy was a humanoid figure, each one having different types of wings producing from their backs.

"Stay together, we don't know whether or not the call was real," one said.

"Understood," the other two replied.

Lori, Shinji, and Rei watched helplessly from their hiding place as the soldiers continued to fire at Coby. For a long time, silver liquid continued to pour from his body, solidifying into armor until he was completely covered, looking more like a sliver monster than a human. Instead of eyes, there were two glowing red orbs that seemed to burn the air.

"What is that? What happened?" Shinji asked, suddenly very afraid.

"Quicksilver Form," Lori answered. "The instinctive last resort of a Symbiocon Partner. It's unavoidable, and nearly unstoppable; a berserker."

As if to prove the point of her words, the monster lashed out, striking a soldier in the face with its fist. Blood splattered and there was the terrible sound of armor and bone cracking as the soldier's visor and face shattered and caved inward from the blow. Before the dead body could hit the ground, the monster drew back its other arm, the silver armor flowing to form a spear-like weapon at the end. It lashed out three times, striking the body clean through the stomach, lungs, and heart. The monster turned its attention to the other five soldiers, who had the sense to back away and stop shooting.

One soldier rushed forward, fist raised. The monster caught the blow, and then ripped off the offending appendage. The soldier didn't even have time to scream in agony about having his arm ripped off before his head followed. The monster finished by smashing the ribcage like the front of a car that hit a wall at 80 mph. Two soldiers rushed in at different sides and grabbed his arms while he doing so, trying to restrain him. This proved ineffective as well, as the monster simply used his fang filled maw to bite their arms. He grabbed both of them by the neck and proceeded to smash them together until they were lifeless pulps. He dropped them to the ground, and turned toward the final two soldiers left.

The sound of a siren reached their ears, and one of the soldiers turned toward the sound. It was a mistake. The monster raised his arm, the silver flowing again to form several thousand pins that shot out. The projectiles tore through the soldier, filling him with more holes than Swiss cheese.

In their hiding place, Rei threw up, unable to stomach the carnage. The siren grew closer, accompanied by the sound of a running dragon. Lori sighed in relief, "We can come out of hiding now."

"FORCE CHIP! IGNITION! DEATH FLAME!"

Fire engulfed the monster. He struggled against it, trying to get away from the oppressive heat.

"What are they doing?" Rei asked.

"Chemistry 101," Lori said. "What happens to superheated metal when it is supercooled?"

Flame Convoy stopped his fire breath, and Galaxy Convoy turned his cannons on, dousing the monster in ice cold water. The monster struggled for a brief moment before the effect froze it in place, unable to move. In an instant, Flame Convoy transformed, picked the being up, and raced off.

Hitomi approached the group, the final soldier struggling in her fist. Lori's eyes narrowed dangerously. The Symbiocon placed the soldier on the ground and transformed, pointing her cannon at him so he wouldn't run. The soldier still tried, only to be stopped as a blast from Galaxy Convoy's pistol struck in front of him. By that time, Lori had reached him and grabbed his shoulders. She ripped off his helmet and turned him to face her. "Who hired you?" she demanded angrily.

"Like I would tell you," he replied, trying to push her away. She released his shoulders and grabbed him by the neck with one hand, lifting him off the ground.

"What makes you think I won't?" she replied. The soldier refused to speak, trying to break her grip on his neck. Lori raised her free hand and touched his forehead, "Fine then! SYMBIOCON DUALITY FIELD TECHNIQUE TYPE 2: MIND PROBE!"

The soldier's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he began shaking as Lori tore into his mind, searching for the information she wanted. She growled when she did, and dropped the soldier to the ground. He came to and looked up at her in fear. "If I were you, I'd run," she told him. He did so, and Lori turned to Hitomi, "You can eat him if you want." The Symbiocon dove after him, and Galaxy Convoy drove Shinji, Rei, and Lori home so they didn't have to hear the soldier's screams as he was devoured.

"Who was responsible, Lori?" Galaxy Convoy asked gently.

"Who do you think?" Lori snapped, her voice filled with anger and pain. Shinji noticed that tears were running down the side of her face.

Coby's body floated in a tube filled with LCL. As she breathed, Rei could see her breath in front of her. The LCL was being kept at an almost frozen state, leaving the entire room cold. She shivered, since she was only in a t-shirt and jeans. Shinji, who was dressed like she was, wrapped his arms around her, trying to keep her warm even though he himself was shivering. Lori stood in the center of the room in her pilot's uniform, next to the tube. Also present were Misato, Ritsuko, and several other NERV personnel.

Lori took a deep breath before speaking. "At 07:21 this morning, Coby, Shinji, Rei, and I were attacked by six soldiers. Their objective was to kill Coby and me, and possibly the Eva Pilots. What they didn't know – what none of you knew – was that Coby and I can't die unless our bodies are completely destroyed. Nothing short of something like being stepped on by an Eva will do that. Anything less results in what you see here, Quicksilver Form.

"When Coby and I pilot our Symbiocons, we act as the mind and the Symbiocon acts as the body. Quicksilver Form is opposite of that. When fatally wounded, our bodies begin bleeding Quicksilver, a liquid bio-metal that covers our bodies and hardens, keeping us protected and allowing us to heal. Our minds are pushed back, and the most basic of our Symbiocons' instincts take control. Anyone who is not 'nest', or someone else in Quicksilver Form, is an enemy, and has to die. It's impossible to stop Quicksilver Form from happening. As you can see, anyone in Quicksilver Form can be contained, but they have to remain so until the Human inside heals and takes control once more. Once Coby starts shedding his armor, he's in control again."

"How often has this happened?" Ritsuko asked.

"It has only happened once before," Lori replied.

"So all we can do is wait," Shinji said. Lori nodded in agreement.

That night, Lori was on the balcony of the apartment when Misato came out. "You told me a while ago that revenge once came back to bite you. Was that when…"

Lori nodded, "Yes. That was the 'other time'. If it wasn't for Coby, I would have killed my own parents."

"I'm sorry," Misato said, pulling the younger woman into a hug. Lori buried her face into Misato's shoulder and cried. She knew what Coby was going through, and it was horrid.

Shinji and Rei came out onto the balcony as well, simply standing there to show their support. Eventually, Asuka showed up as well, "All right, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Lori said, standing back up and wiping her eyes. "Just getting some family support." Asuka rolled her eyes.

"Look, Rei!" Shinji said, pointing into the sky. "A shooting star! Make a wish!"

I wish for Shinji and me to survive this war and live together happily, Rei thought. Then she gasped, "Three of them!"

"There's too much interference! We can't hold together much longer!"

"Split up and hit the surface! We'll meet together later!"

As the three points of light that they had been watching broke away from each other, Lori's eyes narrowed. "I don't think those are ordinary shooting stars."

"Why?" Asuka asked.

Rei's eyes widened as she realized what Lori meant, "One of them is coming right at us!"

Sure enough, the orange ball of fire was barreling down on their apartment. It grew closer, roaring through the night sky. A plasma shot suddenly diverted it, and it shot over the building.

"Thanks, Nitro Convoy!" Lori called out.

"Stay up there!" the Transformer replied. "It landed in the park! I'm going to go check it out!"