This took way too long to come out… and I apologise for that. The real reason was simply that I kept getting new ideas for this Chapter the more that I wrote it. The final word count: About… 16,500 Words! That's a new record! We'll see if we beat it at some point. Adapting the Second Half of Episode 8 here! Asuka and Shinji fight Gaghiel, and Gaghiel becomes a Shoulder Angel! Also there's some brand new stuff wedged in there as well. Hope you all enjoy it!
August 30th, 2015
A loud siren wailed on the Over the Rainbow, making sure that it could be heard over the loud and constant rapping of the waves against the sides of the ship. Over the nearby loudspeaker, a message was relayed across to all ships in the fleet, an indication that something big was happening. "All ships, take evasive action! Watch the formation! Keep it clean!" A large explosion occurred, and bits of a ship started to fly around, sinking quickly into the ocean, or impacting against other ships in the fleet, causing more trouble than was already occurring.
– Neon Genesis Evangelion OST I – Track 3 – Angel Attack –
Up on the Bridge, the First Officer was frantic, a radio handset in his hand. The Captain sat nearby, binoculars plasted firmly on his face, staring out at the sea. "What's the status report?" The First Officer said, speaking firmly and quickly despite the escalating situation.
"The Cymbeline's gone silent!" Came the frantic and horrified voice from the other side. "Titus Andronicus can't locate the target! Oh, my god! Ushakov is taking in water, and quick!"
The Captain growled in frustration, and the frantic breathing could still be heard from the radio. "Damn it all! What in the hell is going on here!? The United Nations has never dealt with something like this before!" In the Captain's annoyed musings, he didn't notice Misato coming in quietly, standing in the doorway, a smug look on her face.
"Hello! NERV delivery calling!" Misato called out with a touch of spite in her voice, as she stared about the bridge, noting the majority of the room's occupants moving around in a jerky, frantic way. "Would you like to buy some information on this invisible unknown enemy and get some info on some possible countermeasures?" Misato said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Leave immediately Major!" The Captain replied, annoyance as always in his tone. "This is a combat situation! No non-essential personnel are allowed! So, get the hell off my bridge!"
"Wow! Touchy!" Misato replied, her face morphed into a triumphant smirk. "This is just my opinion, and you can continue with your own operation if you want to die quickly and painfully! But I'd say we're dealing with an Angel Attack right now!" Shinji's three friends appeared behind Misato, looking inside with slight apprehension.
"What's happening here?" Toji asked, glancing around the bridge. Officers were rushing around, making sure that everything was currently in order.
"Looks like an Angel Attack!" Kensuke replied, grabbing his camera as quickly as possible, loading it up with a new memory card. "This is gonna be great!"
"Great!" Hikari replied, staring at the military buff in indignation. "It's not great when an Angel attacks! If it wasn't for Shinji and Rei, and now Mari and Asuka in their Eva's, we'd most likely be dead right now." Hikari crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at the Captain across the way. "And something tells me that the Captain isn't one to give up command easily."
The group's words were heard on deaf ears though, as another order came from the captain. "All ships, on my signal! Fire at will!"
"Roger!" Came the collective reply from the Bridge, as well as multiple voices at once over the radio. Misato sighed, staring at the ground in annoyance.
'How can one person be so proud!?' She thought as the ships started to fire all their missiles. "It's pointless!" She cried out as the Captain just waved her off, indicating to continue to fire.
"He's an idiot." Toji stated, watching as the Missiles started firing from every ship.
"Agreed." Hikari said, staring out at the distant ship, where Unit-02 sat under a tarp. "Shinji and Asuka haven't returned since they left. Should we be worried?"
"I'm sure they'll be fine!" Kensuke replied, keeping his camera trained on the Missiles. "This is great!"
The missiles landed in the water, and moved quickly, sweeping towards the Angel in the sea, known as Gaghiel. The aquatic Angel glanced over at the quickly approaching missiles, his movement creating ripples and waves in the water. How cute! He noted as the missiles exploded in his face, creating more explosions in the water, and causing another ship of the fleet to collapse and explode inwards as it was hit. You missed! How about you try again!
Kaji stood on a deck nearby, watching silently as the frigate exploded finally from the pressure. Having witnessed the Nineteenth Angel in his little trip, this new Angel was no surprise to him, knowing that this was the Sixth Angel. "Not even an AT Field can be penetrated with this kind of firepower, this is why we need the Eva's." He noted, glancing up at the Bridge, where Misato was staring hard out the window, Kensuke not far behind, his camera still flipping left and right.
'But what is the Angel doing here?' Misato thought, wondering laced through her thoughts. She suddenly stopped, her eyes widening. 'Could it be after Unit-02? Maybe it's trying to sabotage us before we get it.'
– End –
Asuka smirked as she ran back towards Shinji and grabbed his hand, running quickly back under the tarp that Unit-02 was hiding under. She quickly grabbed a red bag with Unit-02 written on it, dashing towards the nearest staircase. She growled as Shinji struggled to keep up with her, nearly falling over again. "Mein gott, beeil dich!" She said, dashing past a staircase. Shinji stared at her, wondering just what the hell she was saying.
"Wait a minute!" Shinji said, trying to pull her back the other way to stop her for a brief moment. "Where are we going?" Asuka growled as she turned and stared at him in annoyance, she was about to speak when she noticed the staircase. She stood in the doorway, glancing inside for a brief moment. When satisfied, she turned and stared straight at Shinji, daring him to follow her.
"Wait here a moment!" She said, before dashing down the stairs, just out of sight. Shinji stared after her with his mouth wide open, wondering what the hell had just happened.
"I don't believe this!" He said, in slight annoyance. "What is going on here?" He glanced down at the Angel's in his pocket, who just shrugged up at him. They didn't know anything about this girl, who'd just happened to wander into their lives suddenly.
"I don't think I like her very much." Sachiel said quietly, so only Shinji and his siblings could hear him.
"She seems very, headstrong." Shamshel said, agreeing with Sachiel. Ramiel just nodded, unsure of what else to say.
"Any idea who's out there?" Shinji asked, intent on getting any information he could out of the Angels while Asuka was gone.
"I think I have an idea." Sachiel replied. "We're out at sea, and we're transporting a new Evangelion Unit, there must be something here that our brethren are after, as we wouldn't be here otherwise."
"It's not after Unit-02?"
"Without a doubt." Shamshel replied. "We don't care about the Eva's, we only fight them when you guys get in the way. No, it's here for something else."
"Yes." Shinji glanced over at Ramiel, who'd taken to relaxing… somewhat… inside his shirt pocket.
"Do you know who it is?" Shinji asked, apprehension dawning. 'There's been an Angel, Mari's Angel, Skeletal, who wasn't known by these three before she arrived. Who knows what is out there, and if there's anything they can tell me.' Shinji thought, things had changed quite a bit since he'd arrived in Tokyo-3, to say the least.
"Yes." All three replied at once. "Gaghiel." Sachiel and Shamshel said in unison, Ramiel simply nodding to affirm her answer.
"Anything Asuka should know?" Shinji said, glancing over at the staircase, where Asuka had ducked away.
"Well, Gaghiel has always loved water." Sachiel started. "So, he most likely will stay underneath the sea."
"So, no fighting on land?"
"No." Shamshel replied. "Although I don't know how you would fight on land anyway. It's kind've impossible."
"Fair." Shinji replied. "So, he'll most likely stay underwater. Anything else? Like where the core is?"
"Don't know." Sachiel replied. "It's been years since I've seen Gaghiel, I wouldn't be able to tell you."
"Yes." Shinji sighed.
'Great, we're out at sea, with a new pilot who's never been in a real Angel battle before, and she's about to go out without C-Type Equipment.' He leaned back, staring at the staircase again. 'What is she doing down there that's taking this much time!?'
The rustling of clothes, and the unmistakeable dropping of a dress made Shinji immediately aware of what was happening on the staircase just out of his view. He just stared in annoyance as she took a while to do whatever she was doing. "She's taking too long." Shinji said, staring straight ahead.
With a small sigh, Asuka pulled her red plugsuit over her nude body, pulling it into place. She was just about to make sure her hands where in the right position when Shinji in annoyance glanced over the railing to see what was taking so long. Asuka's sudden shriek emanated in the staircase as Shinji quickly ducked back behind the staircase, as Asuka turned to shout at him, unintentionally giving the boy a small show. "Gucknicht, du pervers!" Asuka said in annoyance, glaring at where the boy once stood. "You, absolute deviant!"
"Sorry!" Came Shinji's voice from behind the staircase, Asuka paying him no mind as she returned to what she was doing, making sure her hands where in the plugsuit.
"Why do all boys have to be a bunch of perverted jerks!" She said loudly, so Shinji could hear her ranting to herself. "Dieser dumme Idiot!" She cried in frustration and annoyance. Shinji sat above once again, sighing to himself.
'She sure has a lot of opinions.' Shinji thought as Sachiel smirked at him.
"Smooth." Sachiel commented once again, causing Shinji to glare at the Angel.
With a final sigh, Asuka flipped her hair out of the way, before pressing the button on her wrist to pressurise the Plugsuit to her body. She stared ahead, apprehension lining her face slightly. "Well, here we go." She said to herself, in reassurance. "Let's do this, Asuka."
On deck, missiles were continually fired into the sea in an attempt to attack Gaghiel. Every time however, the missiles would explode on contact, but not hurt Gaghiel at all. The attempt to fire missiles into the air and explode on contact didn't help either. The Captain grew increasingly frustrated at his lack of success with his plan.
"Why the hell won't it sink!?" The Captain said, his First Officer standing right behind him, just as frustrated.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Hikari said, bringing the attention of everyone in the room to her. She frowned at all of the crew, her Class Rep mode coming into full effect. "Only an Eva has the capabilities to beat it!"
"What was that!?" The Captain replied, bearing down on the young girl, glaring right at her. "Are you saying that we, the United Nations Pacific Fleet, do not have the ability to take care of a normal sea creature!"
"Knock it off!" Toji said, standing in front of Hikari in a show of protection. "She's only voicing exactly what everyone here on the bridge is thinking!" The Captain frowned, glaring at the boy, before turning away in annoyance.
"Oooohhh! I don't like that man!" Hikari said in annoyance, staring back out at the tarp covering Unit-02.
Shinji glanced up as Asuka walked up the staircase. He quickly shook the Angel's away, pushing them towards a hiding place better than his shirt pocket, they quickly nodded and dashed back into the main room, hiding away behind some boxes. Shinji nodded in approval before turning back to Asuka. He froze. She was wearing her Plugsuit, primarily a red colour, with the occasional green or orange highlight here and there, highlighted with black stripes in key locations. Shinji gulped as his eyes moved to the girl's breasts, her Plugsuit changed to a lighter red colour at her breasts, making them stick out to the teenage boy. Like with Rei before her, and Mari as soon as she showed him her own Plugsuit, the material hugged her body tightly, showing off the girl's curves to the boy. Asuka glared at him with a light red tinge on her cheeks, before throwing something at the boy. He caught it quickly, trying not to stumble over his feet after staring at her, turning it over in his hands to get a good look at it. When he realised it was her spare plugsuit, he stared at her unimpressed as she put her hands on her hips and pointed at him.
"Well," She said, staring right at him. "Put it on!"
"What?"
"Don't just stand there!" She said, coming right into his face. "Get moving! Don't you realise you're coming too!"
'She wants me to wear her plugsuit… designed to fit her body type… Lord, help me…' Shinji thought as he quickly ducked into the stairwell and changed himself. Asuka stared after him a moment, a brief fleeting thought told her to look at him as well.
'It would be nice revenge…' She shook her head and banished the thought away quickly. 'There's only one, Kaji. No one else will ever take his place…' Her thought finished fleetingly as Shinji walked back out, wearing her plugsuit, which really didn't fit him that well. She glanced down for a moment and blushed slightly, before looking back at him.
'Note to self:' Shinji thought. 'Next time, don't leave my own plugsuit with Misato when new pilots kidnap me and force me to fight with them when an Angel appears.' Asuka just stared in shock. "Well?" Shinji said, crossing his arms across his chest, looking noticeably silly in Asuka's plugsuit. "What now?" He said, meeting her hard gaze with his own.
"What do you think?" She replied, grabbing his hand subconsciously again and heading towards Unit-02. "We're going to defeat that Angel in my Unit-02!" Asuka said, jumping onto the shoulder pylon and opening up the back of the Eva, freeing the Eva's Entry Plug from its confines. Shinji climbed up after her, moving to stand beside her.
"Don't you think we should get permission from Misato, first?" Shinji asked, a bit annoyed about the current situation. She turned and looked him straight in the eye, the distance between the two getting ever smaller. Asuka didn't know why, but she felt so comfortable around Shinji, someone who she'd never met before now.
"We can get her permission after we win." Asuka replied, a smirk on her face. As Eva Unit-02's Entry Plug opened up, the seat inside waiting for its occupant. "Now, let me show you how magnificent my piloting is! And you, Third, get a seat right up close and personal!" She said, indicating inside. She climbed in, settling into the seat, with Shinji following closely behind. She settled into the seat, resting her hands against the controls, breathing slowly but surely. Shinji glanced around, already aware of his surroundings, and waiting for battle. They felt the ship shake, and with them, Unit-02 itself.
Outside, another boat sank quickly into the water, as Gaghiel continued its assault. Yippee! This is fun! Oh, there's another one! Another ship cracked in half and started to sink as well. Gaghiel suddenly stopped, turning slightly. I feel my siblings… What is going on!? He continued his trek, completely confused as to why this was a strange feeling. He glanced around. Better actually focus on what I came here for… Nah! Another one can't hurt!
From the bridge, Misato stared out at the sea. Confused for a moment. 'This is strange. It's almost like it's… looking for something…'
"Give me a break!" Kaji said over the phone, his bags packed nearby, ready to leave at a moment's notice. "No! I didn't know that an Angel was going to attack! Your patience is running thin! This isn't quite the circumstances of the deal we had, isn't it, Ikari?"
"No." Gendo replied over the phone, calm as always. "However, it is fine. Unit-02 is there, as is its pilot, and I have supplied the Third as a spare in case anything goes wrong. If the worst comes to worst, make the escape by yourself." Kaji sighed, staring out the blinds in his small room.
"I know." Kaji replied, hanging up quickly. "And at this rate, that just might be what I have to do."
"Should we really leave Shinji with her?" Sachiel asked, for once being the voice of reason.
"I don't know Sachiel," Shamshel replied, his tendrils wringing back and forth. "For what it's worth, they'll both be fine in the Eva."
"We could help them?" Sachiel said. "I know we can use the Eva effectively, and give it new abilities."
"If it was just Shinji, we'd be in there right now." Shamshel replied. "But right now, not only is this a Unit we don't have any knowledge about, there's also another pilot in there. Who doesn't know about us."
"Not yet, anyway."
"I know that, Sachiel."
"Maybe we should go in there, so she's not surprised after Gaghiel is defeated."
"Yes."
"See?"
"No, Sachiel we are staying here. In fact, we should probably get back to Misato. We're not going to be much use here."
"No."
"Ramiel?" Shamshel said, turning abruptly to the blue Angel.
"No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"No." Ramiel said one last time, before flying quickly towards the Entry Plug of Unit-02, ducking inside before it closed completely.
"Ramiel!" Sachiel said, flying after him. "What do we do, Shamshel? She got in!" Shamshel sighed.
"We hope she doesn't get herself in trouble." He replied, honestly. "Shinji told us to wait out here, as much as we want to help him we can't. He knows the new pilot doesn't know about us, and wants to make the transition as smooth as possible."
"But that won't happen now." Sachiel said, floating beside Unit-02. "What now?"
"We go back to Misato." Shamshel said, floating towards the open air. "And help out as best we can." Sachiel nodded, before floating beside his brother, heading quickly towards the Over the Rainbow.
"You do know I'm older than you right?" Sachiel said, sounding smug. Shamshel smirked, well, he tried to.
"I know. But I'm wiser than you." He replied. The brothers laughed as they made their way to the bridge, ducking out of sight so they couldn't be seen.
The Entry Plug flashed its usual start up sequence as it adjusted to the view outside. Asuka sighed as this happened, settling into position. "LCL Füllung." She said in her native tongue as LCL started to fill the plug. She closed her eyes, settling into sync as she ran through the Unit-02 start up commands. "Systemsprache: Deutsch. Initiieren Sie die Aktivierungssequenz. Stellen Sie neuronale Verbindungen her und geben Sie LCL zu. Gehirnwellen und synaptische Verbindungen: Positi. Synchronisation starten." The Plug flashed through a couple of sequences, before suddenly stopping and the entire plug being replaced with a flashing Error, shown as Fehler. Shinji glanced up as the incessant beeping continued.
"A program error? What happened?" Asuka frowned, and turned to look at him.
"It's thought noise! Yours to be exact. I thought I told you not to disturb me!"
"You never mentioned anything like that!" Asuka frowned as she realised he was right. She hadn't mentioned anything like that.
"You're right." She replied, slightly annoyed. "But you're thinking in Japanese, and as such, are conflicting against my thinking in German. If you're going to think, do it in German!"
"Well, okay. Don't expect anything amazing though. Bratwurst… Strudel…" Asuka's eyes widened in annoyance.
"Dummkopf! Just… forget about it! Switch base language to Japanese. Start Synchronisation sequence from scratch." The Entry Plug complied, restarting the activation sequence and flashing many patterns and colours. Eventually settling on the view outside the Eva, showing the inside walls of the ship. "Evangelion Unit-02, move out!"
– Neon Genesis Evangelion OST II – Track 12 – Spending Time in Preparation –
"Emergency communication from the Othello! Evangelion Unit-02 is currently in the process of activation!"
"What did you say!?" The Captain said in annoyance, turning around abruptly and staring hard out the window as one of the other ships in the fleet started to rock back and forth slightly. The group of friends turned quickly, smiles dawning on their faces. Misato, in a fit of happiness, leant hard against the window and watched intently.
"Alright! Let's go, Asuka!" She said in happiness, a smug but happy smile on her face, directed at the Captain, who glowered at her. Across the sea, the tarp started to shift quickly, as Unit-02 started to move from its position underneath. The Captain growled, grabbing the handheld radio from its position and speaking into it quickly and aggressively.
"Abort the activation! We can't let something like that have its way in the sea!" Misato jumped in and pushed hard against the Captain, intent on getting her own thoughts in to the other end of the line.
"Don't listen to that moron, Asuka! Just launch the Eva! We have a job to do here!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" The Captain said in anger, pushing Misato's head down to get her as out of the way as possible. "NERV Berlin in Germany gave us express permission to bring that toy over to you, and until then it is under the strict command of this fleet. You can't just bypass that command with your own!" Misato growled and fought back, taking a hold of the radio at the same time, fighting for control over it.
"Screw your authority! Who gives a damn about your procedures, this is an emergency!" Misato replied, at odds with the Captain over who was in control right now.
"All of you are acting like Children!" Hikari called out, unheard over the commotion of the deck. "Right now, we have the best chance of actually beating this thing!"
"Oh no." The First Officer said, binoculars on his face, looking out at Unit-02, now getting ready to stand to attention nearby. "Unit-02 is still using the B-Type Equipment!" Despite the man's disapproval of the Evangelions and NERV in general, he did understand quite a bit about the beings themselves.
"What!?" Both the Captain and Misato said, rushing back to look out at Unit-02. Concern on everyone's faces.
Inside Unit-02, Shinji and Asuka sat, ready. Asuka in the main seat, Shinji behind, sitting as best in could in the shape of the plug. Shinji had heard the commotion regarding B-Type equipment, and knew they were in trouble.
"Asuka, if we fall into the ocean, then we're done for." Shinji said, turning towards the girl, who turned to look at him with a gleam in her eye.
"Then we simply won't fall in." Asuka replied, her smirk never disappearing.
"Shinji? Is that you? Are you in there too?" Misato asked over the communications channel, surprise and relief in her voice. As much as Asuka was a good pilot, she had never been in a real combat situation before, while Shinji had, three times, four if counting the Jet Alone.
"Yes, Misato!" Shinji replied, Asuka continuing to smile beside him.
"What!? Two kids in there!" The Captain said in outrage. Misato stopped for a moment, thinking to herself.
"With Shinji's experience, we might just be in luck." Toji said. Hikari smiled beside him, things were finally starting to look up.
"Alright! Let's go Shinji and Asuka!" She said, jumping up in happiness. Misato glanced over at the ecstatic kids, a thought fleeting in her mind.
"This is a chance… If this works well, then Ritsuko will be very happy, and we can move forward…" Misato said quietly to herself, settling on her decision. "Alright, Shinji, Asuka, Launch!"
– End –
The ship shook once again as the large stream of water sprayed from Gaghiel's quick and fast movements. Shinji and Asuka watched as it quickly approached them, water splashing everywhere.
"It's coming closer!" Shinji said, indicating out to the water, where the Angel was almost on top of them.
"Let's do this!" Asuka replied, staring hard.
– Evangelion 2.0 OST – Disc 2, Track 3 – Ambassadrice Rouge –
With a flourish, the Evangelion Unit leaped from its position on the ship, pulling the tarp away with it, flicking up dust and it flew through the air. The ship was destroyed soon after by Gaghiel's collision, taking out the ship that once held the mighty Evangelion Unit.
Unit-02 quickly landed on another ship in the fleet, causing more destruction to the top of the ship. It stood for a moment, the tarp wrapped around it like a piece of clothing. As it stood to attention, Shinji and Asuka glanced around inside. Taking in the surroundings, eyes out, searching for the Angel's whereabouts.
"Where'd it go!?" Asuka asked, glancing around frantically.
"Over there!" Shinji replied, pointing the Angel out nearby, it's movement continuing to splash up water.
Asuka got ready to move, before a loud beep echoed throughout the plug, they only had one minute to defeat this thing.
"Asuka, we have less than a minute left!" Shinji said, a hard look on his face.
"I'm well aware of that. Misato! Please tell me that the external power supply is not destroyed! If it isn't, get it up on deck!" Asuka said into the communications channel, continuing to scan the ocean for signs of Gaghiel.
"You're all good, Asuka! The power supply is fine!" Misato replied over the channel, where the Captain's faint disbelief could be heard in the background.
"What is the girl going to do now!?" He said in frustration, concern over his fleet taking hold.
"Good for the world, and your fleet!" Kensuke said in happiness. "You should be happy!"
"Good for my fleet!" The Captain replied, staring daggers at the boy. "Have you not been paying attention! That girl is showing no regard for my fleet! So, what is she going to do next!?"
"Right!" Asuka replied, turning to Shinji with a smirk again. "Ever played Hopscotch, Shinji?" She asked innocently, with another gleam in her eye.
"Hopscotch? What are you doing!?" Shinji replied, just as Unit-02 jumped high into the air, causing Shinji's voice to get very high mid-sentence. Unit-02 flew towards the nearest flight deck, causing a quick scurry and shouts from below, just before Unit-02 landed with a crunch, destroying the deck, quickly leaping off again. As the Unit flew, the tarp finally flew away, revealing the Unit's Red body for the world to see. With a leap, a hop and a jump, the Unit skilfully landed on each ship, doing reasonable damage due to the size of the mech.
The screaming from each ship got louder with each jump and landing.
"The Power supply is in place, and ready to be loaded." A voice came over the comm, indicating the setup for Unit-02's power being nearly complete.
"Direct connection to the reactor has been established."
"Take cover! Evacuate the flight deck!" A swarm of people rushing of the deck could be seen below, as Unit-02 approached swiftly.
"Flight deck is ready for Evangelion landing!" The final call came, as the Captain looked out in sorrow. His fleet, devastated and mostly ruined. All due to the actions of an Angel and an Eva.
"All hands, brace for impact!" Came the voice of the First Office, making sure everyone was ready for the significant impact Unit-02 would make on its arrival.
"I can't believe this! This is nuts!" The captain said, visibly frustrated from everything that was happening currently. He was promised a nice, safe trip from Berlin to Tokyo-3. An Angel appearing was not on that order.
"Evangelion Unit-02! Preparing for landing!" Came Asuka's excited voice from inside the Entry Plug, Shinji holding on to the chair hard. With a sudden stop, the Over the Rainbow shook hard from the Eva's landing, causing most people on the bridge to fall over. Misato landed on Kensuke, with Toji landing hard after Hikari fell on him. With the ships center of gravity having shifted, most of the fighter jets on deck quickly shifted and fell into the depths of the ocean. Unit-02 righted itself, causing the ship to also correct its center of gravity.
With a sigh and a groan, Kensuke's tear-stained face could be seen faintly from behind his camera, wimpering at the sight of lots of war-time jets and ships being wasted like they were nothing. "What a waste of perfectly good history!" Kensuke cried in terror as Misato groaned from beside him, rubbing her head slightly.
"The target is rapidly approaching this vessel!" A frantic voice cried out from nearby, causing everyone to look out at the swiftly approaching wave. Gotcha now!
"Angel's here! 9 o'clock!" Shinji said, swiftly doing his job in an Eva that wasn't his own.
"Switching to external power." Asuka noted as Unit-02 grabbed the external power supply and swiftly plugged it into the slot on the Eva's back. The countdown beside the two pilots switched from 0:07:00 to 9:99:99 as the Eva completed the switch from battery to external power. "Switch from backup to external power has been completed." Asuka noted from inside the plug, where Shinji sat in thought behind her.
'Power's great and all, but we're going nowhere without…' Shinji suddenly turned to Asuka. "We can stay powered now, Asuka! But we aren't going to be able to fight the Angel without a weapon!" Asuka smirked and flicked a switch on the controls, causing the Unit's shoulder pylons to open up.
"These Progressive Knives ought to do the trick!" She replied as Unit-02 brought both its arms up and pulled out both Progressive Knives from their sockets in the shoulders, brandishing them in front, ready to strike. The blades pulled out quickly, glowing a brilliant green colour.
"You have two!" Shinji said, noting how Unit-01 only had one Progressive Knife. Asuka smirked in satisfaction as Shinji turned to the communications channel. "Misato!"
"Yes, Shinji?"
"Once we get back, can we get another Progressive Knife in Unit-01?" Misato laughed on the other end, completely forgetting about Unit-02 having a second Progressive Knife.
"We'll chat to Ritsuko about it later Shinji! Now, you guys have an Angel to beat!"
"Right!" Both Shinji and Asuka said in unison, watching carefully as Gaghiel swiftly approached, finally rising out of the water for the first time. It looked like a weird mix between a Shark and a Squid, with a bit of Manta Ray mixed in. One thing was for certain, it was huge.
"That thing is massive!" Shinji noted in disbelief, even Ramiel hadn't been that big.
"The bigger they are, the quicker they fall!" Asuka said, a hard look on her face as the tan Angel quickly approached, it's speed increased now that it was riding the waves it was making.
"That's not necessarily what that means!" Shinji replied, staring hard at the Angel. "Its skin looks really hard! And I can't see the core!"
"The Core! Of course!" Asuka replied, staring hard at the Angel. "We've got to find that core quickly, Shinji!"
From the bridge, the crew watched in shock as the Angel quickly approached Unit-02. The Captain in complete disbelief, being the first time he'd seen an Angel up close. "What are those two going to do to it!?"
"It must be noted that we've found hand-to-hand combat to be the best way to deal with an Angel." Misato said, watching the Captain and his First Officer react to the Angel and its movements.
"Noted in what way?" Hikari asked innocently, she was normally able to see the good in most people, but this Captain somehow was able to really piss her off. His attitude was horrible, and his thoughts towards the machines that had been able to keep them safe was baffling. 'So, screw it.' She thought. 'If he won't listen to reason, I'll try to annoy him as much as I can.' She smirked, letting her Non-Class Rep side come out.
"Why, Hikari, I'm glad you asked!" Misato replied, knowing exactly what the younger girl was doing. "First-hand experience from our two, now three pilots of course!"
"Alright, take it down, Shinji and Asuka!" Hikari cried out, staring out at the Red Eva on board the vessel.
Unit-02 stood ready, Progressive Knives out and ready to strike. What the hell are you? Gaghiel noted before ducking under the water and diving up, ready to strike the Eva himself. I don't care though! I'll destroy you before you can do anything to me! Yippee! With a loud screech, the Angel collapsed into the Over the Rainbow, knocking over Unit-02, and everything on the ship. The sudden pressure of the Angel against Unit-02 caused it to lose track of its Progressives Knives, one falling out of its grip and cutting through a jet on deck. Unit-02 stood, holding onto Gaghiel as much as it could. Wait! You're not supposed to be holding onto me! Dammit I thought that would work!
"Looking good, Asuka!" Misato called through the radio, letting the pilots know of their work.
"Is this all a game to you!?" The Captain said, furious. "The ships flight deck is ruined!" As he said this, a loud screeching noise was heard as Unit-02 struggled to hold Gaghiel in place. Aha! Suddenly hitting a sweet spot, the lift to the deck collapsed beneath them as Gaghiel grabbed them and quickly ducked underwater, bringing Unit-02 with him. Aha! See what you can do now!
– End –
"They fell." The Captain said, dread coming across his features, knowing that if Unit-02 was underwater, there was no way they could fight.
"This is bad." Toji bluntly stated, staring out at the spot where Unit-02 once stood proudly. "They can't do much now…"
"Asuka, Shinji! You need to get out of there now, it's impossible to fight underwater using B-Type equipment!" Misato said through the comm. Shinji nodded, knowing this already, when Asuka spoke again.
"Well, you never know until you try, don't you?" She said, completely missing Shinji's look of complete disbelief at her actions. He tried to get her to know until he felt a brief nudge on his shoulder, he turned to find Ramiel floating behind him. Shinji glared at the Angel after explicitly telling her not to come in. Ramiel just indicated, as best she could, to the Eva. Shinji's eyes widened.
"Wait, Asuka!" Misato cried out from her end of the comm, as the external power cord swished back and forth across the flight deck as Gaghiel continued to hold Unit-02 hostage. "You need to come back up!"
"Wait, Misato!" Shinji called out. "It's fine! We can win!"
"But, Shinji! Unit-02 is using B-Type Equipment, it's not going to do anything!"
"But we can! Ramiel!" Misato's eyes widened on the bridge.
"Of course!" Asuka just glanced at Shinji, wondering what the hell was happening.
"Who is Ramiel?" Asuka asked as Unit-02 and Gaghiel sunk deeper into the water, she started to breathe heavily as the weight of the water against the plug took a toll on both her and Shinji.
"No real time to explain!" Shinji replied, as Ramiel floated into view. Asuka shrieked as Ramiel came into view.
"Heilige Schiesse! That's an Angel!"
"Yes, it is. But she's going to help us." Shinji replied calmly as Ramiel nodded, a curious sight as it involved Ramiel moving her entire body in a nod motion.
"Yes."
"But it tried to –"
"It won't kill you Asuka." Shinji said, putting a hard on her shoulder. "Just let her help out. She'll be able to help us defeat the Angel out there." Asuka calmed herself down a moment. Before nodding silently and glancing warily at the Angel. Ramiel nodded again, before ducking into the bottom of the plug, causing the girl to shriek again. Suddenly, the plug felt warmer, as Ramiel's presence in the core of Unit-02 could be felt. She calmed down just as Unit-02 hit the ocean floor, now a once proud, sunken city, with Gaghiel close by. Asuka grabbed the controls, with Shinji coming in and resting his hands on top of hers. They nodded at each other, before grabbing onto Gaghiel so they wouldn't lose him.
What! That was not part of our game! Gaghiel quickly moved, crashing into as many destroyed and sunken buildings as possible in an attempt to get them off of him. Unit-02 hung on really hard as Gaghiel crashed into another building, debris and grime being picked up in the aftermath of the collision. Despite the constant twisting and turning, Unit-02 held on, the external umbilical cable continuing to roll along as it went.
On deck, the Power Cord whipped back and forth, screeching against the edge of the deck, as Unit-02 moved around underwater. The cord shifted all the fighter jets on the deck, causing all but one to fall into the water below. Kensuke groaned and sighed at the wreckage. "A complete waste!" He said dramatically, his eyes watering under the pressure of the now destroyed jets.
"Calm down, Kensuke." Toji noted. "There's always more jets in the world."
"Not like this!" Kensuke cried out again, causing Toji to awkwardly pat the boy on the back. He shrugged at Hikari, who was trying really hard not to laugh at the situation, knowing that Shinji and Asuka were currently deep underwater, fighting the Angel. Misato was worried, staring hard at the cable as it kept moving, swishing around the deck.
"How much cable is left!?" She called out, turning to the Captain and the First Officer. The Captain just stared at her in annoyance, while the First Officer continued to glance out at the cable.
"About 1200 meters left…" The First Officer said, despair in his voice.
"What are you going to do?" The Captain said, pushing his hat up his face. "It's useless."
"Not entirely." Hikari said, coming up to him. "Place your trust in them. Please."
"Don't worry!" Misato said, coming up to the Captain. "They've got a plan."
Deep down, both Shinji and Asuka were struggling hard with the effects of the water pressure on the plug bearing down on them. Asuka's eyes were firmly shut, pain shooting through her body. Shinji was handling it a little bit better, but the pain was still there, in spades.
"Come on, Ramiel!" Shinji said, waiting for the opportune moment to attack. The rattling continued, as Gaghiel swam deeper and deeper, before long, they would lose their grip and lose the Angel. Let go already!
The cable continued to unwind swiftly, getting faster as it went. Misato growled as the cable reached the end of its tether, just about to stop completely. "Brace for impact!" She cried out as the cable finally ran out, stopping Unit-02 completely. Gaghiel got away, laughing to himself the entire time.
"Verdammt! It got away!" Asuka cried out in annoyance, watching as the Angel swiftly moved further away.
"Misato!" Shinji said over the comm link. "The Angel's gotten away!"
On deck, Misato frowned, while Kensuke fiddled with his camera, a disk in his mouth. "If I could just change the disk… There's still more content to be captured!" Kensuke said, before noticing the whirring of the elevator below. He frantically shuffled around, trying to get his camera ready. "That's a… Yak-38 Custom!" He said happily. Misato, Toji and Hikari glanced over, wondering what was happening.
"Hey, Katsuragi!" Came the male voice from inside. Misato smiled happily, leaning against the railing of the destroyed window.
"Kaji!" She said, happy that someone was going out to help the Eva in its time of turmoil.
"I'm sure this is wonderful and all," Kaji said, pushing up the visor on his helmet. "But I have to go make a delivery, so I'll be taking off now. Ciao!" Kaji said, giving the Operations Director a happy smile. Misato stopped abruptly.
'That little…' Misato thought in annoyance.
"Alright, let's get going." Kaji said to the pilot, as the jet lifted off from the flight deck, heading towards Tokyo-3. "I'm sure you'll be able to deal with the rest of this perfectly fine, Major!" Kaji said, before shutting of the radio and settling into the jet. Misato stared after the jet, rage and annoyance starting to appear on her face.
"Kaji, just… left." Hikari said, watching silently, as Kensuke groaned, having missed filming the impeccable machine.
"He ran away, like a coward, when everyone else here is in danger…" Toji noted, as the First Officer brought everyone's attention back to the current situation.
"Major!" Misato turned quickly, taking in the account of the First Officer. "The Angel is approaching Unit-02 once again!"
– NGE S2 Works – Disc 2, Track 8 – B-10 (Menace and Surprise, Guitarless) –
"Here he comes again!" Shinji said, indicating to the Angel, appearing in their view once again. Asuka growled, firmly seated against the back of the seat.
"Right! We'll finish it off this time!" She said. Both Shinji and Asuka tried to move the Eva, but it wouldn't budge. Being stuck, floating from the umbilical cable under the water. "Why won't this thing move, dammit!" She cried out in annoyance, pushing hard against the controls in a desperate attempt for Unit-02 to do anything.
"That's because we're using B-Type equipment." Shinji replied. Asuka turned, fear finally appearing in her eyes. The urge to prove herself to Shinji and everyone else gone, instead replaced with the fear that had finally surfaced due to the Angel's attack on the fleet. Gone was the Ace Pilot who wanted to prove herself, now there was a normal teenage girl having been sent into a dangerous situation.
"Well… What are you going to do?" She said fearfully, her eyes widened as much as they could.
"Me!?" Shinji replied, incredulous, as the Angel continued to approach. You're all stuck now!
"Well you're the Third Child, aren't you!? Afraid of nothing!" Asuka replied, staring back and forth between the Angel and Shinji. Shinji sighed, grabbing a hold of her shoulders to stop the girl shaking so much.
"Asuka!" She stopped, staring right at the boy. "Ramiel is in the core right now, if we work together, we can defeat the Angel!"
"What do we do? What can we do?" She said quietly, watching the Angel approach them.
"We wait for an opening." Shinji replied. "Ramiel's already in the core, and I have a feeling I know what she can do in there. All we need, is to find the core."
I'm gonna getcha again! Our first game was fun, let's play it again! Gaghiel approached quickly, suddenly opening its mouth to them. I like snacks! Do you like snacks?
"Mein gott." Asuka said as Gaghiel's mouth opened wide. "Sharp teeth…"
"There's the core!" Shinji said, waiting for Ramiel to start. He was right after all, Gaghiel had opened his mouth to gobble them up, but had also inadvertently revealed his core to the pilots. The feeling of the Eva's body getting warm was felt, as Ramiel began charging his particle beam.
You're mine! That suddenly stopped when Unit-02 was gobbled up whole by Gaghiel. Shinji collapsed onto Asuka in the Entry Plug, Ramiel's charge was lost as the Unit-02 moved around frantically inside the Angel's mouth. Always time for a snack! Now what was I doing again? Gaghiel just sat there for a moment, turning back and forth. Confused.
"Evangelion Unit-02 has been eaten by the Angel!" Someone on the bridge said, as Misato and the trio watched carefully.
"They can defeat it from inside!" Hikari insisted, glancing around at everyone on the bridge. "Believe in them, like we can believe in them!" The power cord continued to move around on deck, swishing back and forth as Gaghiel swam around with Unit-02 inside its mouth, it's lower body dangling around inside the giant Angel.
"Well this just got much better!" Shinji said in exasperation, as his body leant across Asuka's lap. Both teens were aware of their position, both blushing as their trip inside Gaghiel's mouth continued.
"Shut up!" Asuka replied, moving forwards slightly to get a better view, inadvertently pushing her breasts into Shinji's back. "Can he do that thing again?"
"What thing?" Shinji replied, aware of Asuka's current position. "It's kind've hard to do anything in here!"
"The Angel! In the Eva!" Shinji's eyes widened, remembering Ramiel.
"She's ready to go again! But she can't stay in much longer!"
"Right!" Asuka smiled, as Shinji shifted himself off Asuka's lap and placed his hands over hers again.
"Asuka, Shinji! Can you two hear me?" Came Misato's voice over the Radio, worry laced throughout.
"Yes, Misato." Shinji answered, as Asuka calmed her breathing in the background.
– End –
"Whatever you do, don't let go of the Angel!"
"Huh?" Shinji and Asuka asked, confusion dawning on their faces. "Misato, we're fine. Ramiel inside Unit-02 can deal with the Angel." Shinji said. "But maybe it would be good to see if the fleet can help and be prepared for backup, just in case something goes wrong and we need the help."
"Good thinking, Shinji!" Asuka glanced over at Shinji impressed, in a moment of desperation, Shinji had come up with a decent plan, and was using the United Nations Fleet as backup in case the Angel inside her Eva couldn't destroy the Angel. Meanwhile, she had been recovering after hyperventilating.
'I will get stronger, Shinji. Just you wait. You'll be chasing after me the entire time.' Asuka thought, a happy smile coming across her face, both meaning happiness, and challenge.
Misato turned to the Captain, still holding the radio in her hand, she stared him in the eye, intent on him helping.
"What now?" He said in exasperation, annoyed at the constant changing conditions of the battle. The fleet had been reduced to a mere few ships, with only a couple still capable of firepower.
"My pilot has just come up with a brilliant plan, but we are going to need your cooperation." Misato said, a firm, business-like tone to her voice. Operations Director of NERV was currently in play, and overriding all possible retaliations from the Captain and his First Officer. She was in charge now. "We have a way to defeat the Angel, however, if our plan goes wrong, we are going to need backup from the remaining ships in the fleet. Any ship that has aggressive firepower will be necessary to directly attack the Angel. We know where the core is, we just need to destroy it."
The Captain stared at Misato in shock, processing just what the Major was asking of him. "You're telling me that you want a point-blank assault on the target at the ready in case anything goes wrong!? I thought that toy was using B-Type Equipment, just how are you going to defeat that thing!?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. NERV business only, highly classified." The Captain grumbled, as Misato grinned at them. She turned towards the nearest console, shifting things around and bringing up a highlighted display.
– Music from Evangelion 1.0 – Track 8 – The Longest Day –
"What we'll do is get two of the evacuated battleships into position by the umbilical cable, setting a trap for the Angel. The Eva will open the Angel's mouth, and attempt to destroy the Angel on their own first. If they somehow fail, then the evacuated ships will sink into the water, heading straight towards the Angel's opened mouth, once inside, the ships will fire all their turret cannons, then self-destruct, destroying the Angel." As Misato explained the plan, the display she had brought up showcased how the battle would occur, in case something did go wrong with the kids inside.
"So, if those kids fail, then we have to sacrifice two of the ships in United Nations Pacific Fleet! That's absurd!" The Captain said, annoyance and disbelief in his voice.
"Perhaps, but I have faith in the kids, and if it comes down to this, then it's not impossible."
The Captain grumbled, lowering his head slightly. "I understand." He finally said, soberly accepting the fate of some of the ships in the fleet he was so proud of.
Loud sirens started to wail across the fleet as the remnants of some ships gave their evacuation calls and started moving quickly and swiftly away from the current predicament. As this happened, the other frigates, the ones who weren't evacuating, were swiftly picking up any passengers they could from the other ships. On the bridge, the Captain stared out at the proceedings, concerned about all his men. He also had another thought though. "What about the Evangelion?"
"You don't need to worry about them. They'll be fine. I have my faith in them, why can't you?" Misato replied, staring at the Captain. The Captain dropped his head in reply, not answering. Misato then picked up the Radio, radioing to the Pilots inside Unit-02. "Shinji, Asuka! Do you two understand the operation?"
Inside Unit-02's Entry Plug, Shinji lay hard against Asuka's lap. Asuka's chest pressed into Shinji's back, the uncomfortable position a result of the amount of pain they were enjuring from Gaghiel, and this being the position they had the least pain in.
"We'll do the best we can, Misato!" Asuka replied, her hands on top of Shinji's on the controls.
"Good, because we're counting on both of you!"
On the surface, the evacuated ships stayed on the surface of the water, staying in line with the Umbilical Cable, they would only fine and Self-Destruct if necessary. Loudspeaker's relayed the operation to the men on board the other ships. "The Kingston Valve has been opened. Both ships now scuttling towards Point Z."
"Roger!" Misato replied, indicating to the nearby control panel. "Unravel the Umbilical Cable! Shinji, Asuka, start charging!"
– End –
– NGE S2 Works – Disc 2, Track 2 – B-6 (Anxiety) –
Simultaneously, as Eva Unit-02 was pulled back towards the Surface by the Umbilical Cable, Unit-02 began to glow a brilliant bright red colour, energy forming at various points on its body, ready to feed towards one specific spot.
"Get ready, Ramiel!" Shinji said as the ride was continuously bumpy the entire way up. The Entry Plug flashing Red in annoyance and pain, as the damage to Unit-02 got ever bigger.
Why can't you just let me eat you!?
The Umbilical Cord continued its quick retraction, pulling both Evangelion and Angel quicker and quicker towards the surface. As they came closer, they could be seen by the continuing glow of Unit-02's body, and the mental strain on the pilots inside, shared between them.
"The Evangelion has begun to surface!" The tensions were high on the bridge, and inside the Eva, as Shinji and Asuka fought hard to get the Angel's mouth open, a struggle that was all too difficult, especially in the position they were both in.
"Come on, Asuka! We need to pry its mouth open sooner or later! Or else we'll be fish food!" Shinji called out, twisted around as best as he could to look at Asuka. She nodded, and working together, the two pushed with all their might. Misato stared from the bridge, wanting confirmation on everything that was happening around her.
"What's the status on the Angel's mouth?" She called out, in an attempt to get some kind of confirmation on what was happening below the surface.
"They're struggling down there! It's still not open!"
"Come on, Shinji, Asuka!"
I feel funny. Gaghiel was continually pulled by the Eva's Umbilical Cord, continually rising towards the surface. Nearby, the battleships were nearby, settled on top of the ocean, not moving anywhere, but ready to fire if necessary.
"Battleships are in position."
"Eva Unit-02 is continuing towards the surface! T-minus 50 to contact!" Unit-02 tried to pry open the mouth, but it wasn't getting very far, having situated its feet on the edge of Gaghiel's mouth, in an attempt to get some footing.
"We need to work harder, Asuka!" Shinji said, from inside the plug. "The mouth isn't budging!"
"It's because we're stuck inside the teeth isn't it!" Asuka replied. "We're running out of time! Pull the levers back, change modes!" Shinji nodded, staring back at Gaghiel. Asuka pulled her hands off the controls for a brief moment, allowing Shinji to shift the levers position, releasing them from their main hold. Asuka nodded in satisfaction when this was completed, resting her hands back on top of his.
They felt a loud rumble from the underbelly of a nearby ship, as they sailed near it. The conversation on the radio could be heard by the two pilots, but their focus was on the Angel in front of them.
"Target has passed by the Tempest! Speed of ascent increasing!"
"Damn! We're running out of time!" Misato said, fumbling with the radio. "Get that beam charged, kids! You're almost at the surface!"
"Roger!" Came the replies from Shinji and Asuka, who had returned to their compromising position in the Entry Plug.
"Don't get any strange ideas, Third." Asuka threatened, having returned to a position pressing hard against his back.
"Now is definitely not the time for those thoughts, Asuka!" Shinji replied. "Now let's get this mouth open!"
"We need to concentrate! Or we're going nowhere!"
"Works for me!" As they had this conversation, Unit-02 continued to push hard against the bridges of the Angel's mouth. The colour of Unit-02, now an insanely bright red, as the five points on the Eva, the head, the two feet and the two hands, glowed with bright yellow energy.
"T-Minus 20 to contact!" Came the urgent voice on the communicator as Unit-02 continued to push the mouth open, as this happened, Unit-02 started to feed the particle energy towards one central point, it's mouth. Ready for the fatal attack.
Shinji and Asuka continued to push hard, the vibrations from the significant pressure being applied onto and by them, from both the Angel inside the Eva, and the Angel outside holding them captive. With a final grunt, and a warning of 15 to contact, the levers buckled more and more, getting ever closer to their final destination.
On the water, the ships were now getting ever closer to their position, having prepared their turrets for fire, remote detonation at the ready.
'Open! Open! Open! Open!' Came the simultaneous thoughts of both Shinji and Asuka as they pulled all their strength together. In a moment, Unit-02's head finally lifted, its eyes glowing a brilliant yellow, as the Eva's mouth continued to glow ever brighter, just about ready for an attack. All throughout this, Gaghiel's mouth continued to be pushed ever open. With a final grunt, the mouth was pushed as far open as possible, and all the energy being built up came flowing together all at once. With a gigantic flash, the particle beam from Unit-02 pierced straight through Gaghiel's core, and right out the other side, splitting the Angel in half down the middle. With a final groan, Gaghiel exploded into the ocean, blue becoming red as the Sixth Angel was defeated.
– End –
Being flung away, Unit-02 was finally able to get a footing in the air as it breached the surface of the water, a gigantic wave coming up behind from the explosion. With a flip, the Evangelion landed gracefully on the deck of the Over the Rainbow.
With a final sigh, Shinji and Asuka calmed down, settling down after the tough battle that had just occurred. Unit-02 mimicked them, crashing down onto the deck in a slump. Happy that the battle was finally over.
"We did it…" Asuka said, breathing heavily as she felt her body drifting into a nice sleep.
"Yeah, we did…" Shinji replied, staring out at the ground of the flight deck, Unit-02's slumped form a representation of the current physical feeling of both of its pilots. "We should probably get out of here…" He said, moving slightly so he could move about the Entry Plug. "Oh yeah, I need to talk to you about…" As Shinji turned to look at Asuka, her peaceful sleeping form became known to him. He smiled slightly as she rested, the exhaustion from his own first battle coming back to him. 'She looks so… peaceful.' He thought. 'It's fair though, I felt pretty exhausted after my first battle too.' Shinji gently moved the girl out of the pilots seat so he could sit in the seat himself. Asuka was completely out, Shinji glanced at the display ahead of him, bringing up the current Sync Ratio. What was once sitting gleefully in the 120's had dropped back to the 60's. 'So, Asuka's not synced because she's asleep.' He thought as he tried to move Unit-02 into a sitting position.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Misato and his friends, along with the Captain and his First Officer, rush onto the Flight Deck, he smiled as he heard the chatter from below, the speakers inside the Unit having been turned on.
"Look at my flight deck!" The Captain said, turning quickly and swiftly to Misato, who stared back at him in annoyance. "Those kids and that toy did this to the pride of the United Nations!"
"We've already made this clear, sir." Misato replied, with a forced smile. "Under any intense threat, NERV's authority overrides yours." She said with a fake cheery voice. "Besides," She continued, completely dropping her Operations Director Persona and returning to a more relaxed persona. "I'm sure the United Nations will compensate you for your unexpected trouble."
"Trouble!?" The Captain replied, staring out at sea. "My fleet is ruined!" He said in exasperation. "Half of my ships are gone, destroyed! By an out of this world menace that we, as the United Nations Pacific Fleet, had the right to know about!"
"Unfortunately, we don't know when, or where in this case, that the Angels will strike." Misato replied calmly, as the older man was starting to completely lose it. "If we knew about this attack, we would have let you know about it. Unfortunately, we didn't, so even myself, and my two pilots, didn't know that this would occur." The Captain grumbled as he moved away, his shadow reflecting across the flight deck from the quickly setting sun, drifting below the water, reflecting a nice orange glow across the ship.
"That man is more trouble than it's worth." Hikari noted, her feelings for the man becoming quite obvious over the fiasco of the past few hours.
"He's just proud." Misato said. "He's never had to relinquish command before, that's why he's so annoyed. Besides, now we have to deal with the fun part."
"What's that?" Toji asked, glancing around the almost ruined flight deck.
"The clean-up." Misato groaned, tilting her head back to stare at the darkening sky. "I really wish I had a beer right now." She turned to step back inside, as the weight of Unit-02 started to shift. She turned back around, staring up at the beast. "Shinji? Asuka?"
"Just me, Misato." Shinji replied, his voice coming over the Unit's loudspeakers. "Asuka's just gone to sleep from exhaustion, so I'm the only one awake."
"Yes."
"Keep it down, will you!" Shinji turned to Ramiel, who simply shook herself apologetically. Misato laughed from her spot on the deck, they were still in the open, although there were few people left because of the state of the day, most of the men were starting to head towards their quarters for the night. Only the few high ranked Officers would stay up, interchanging roles as the night went on.
"Alright Shinji! You can power down and eject yourself now!" Misato replied.
– NGE S2 Works – Disc 1, Track 29 – B-4 (Fly Me to the Moon, Strings Only) –
'I can just eject and get out of this suit… Although…' Shinji turned to Asuka's still sleeping form, and came to a decision. "Actually Misato, I think I'm going to stay in here. Asuka's still asleep and I don't want her to freak out at anything." He said, knowing that the Angel they just fought would be appearing to Asuka before too long.
"Aw!" Misato replied. "You're adorable Shinji!"
"Misato…" Shinji replied, embarrassed at Misato's teasing.
"Alright, Shinji. That's your choice." She replied, turning towards the nearest elevator and heading towards it. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Misato said cheekily, leaving the deck.
"It's great that you're doing this Shinji." Hikari said, glancing up at the giant robot. "Look after each other." She said, heading towards the elevator as well. Kensuke continued to rush around, his camera trying to catch as much as possible of the aftermath of the Angel Battle, to him, it was just as interesting as the battle itself. Toji however, was different, he didn't acknowledge Shinji. To him, he'd already made his mind up about the Second Child.
'What a bitch.' He thought as he stepped onto the elevator, exiting the flight deck.
Shinji glanced back at Asuka, peacefully sleeping at the back of the Entry Plug as the warm glow from the sunset reflected in her red hair. He smiled as he turned back to the main view, settling into the seat. As the sun sunk below the calm waves of the sea, Shinji's eyes drifted closed, lulling himself into a deep sleep.
– End –
When Asuka woke up she felt sore, her muscles stiff after sleeping on the side of the Entry Plug. She shifted herself into a seated position, her red hair falling erratically around her face. She glanced out the main view, seeing completely dark skies over the sea, the light of the moon reflecting off the calm water. She smiled at the sight, it felt peaceful, something that wasn't very common in her life, not since her mother died.
'Wait.' She thought glancing around her. 'Wasn't I in the pilot's seat!' Asuka growled, she moved forward, intent on giving whoever had moved her a piece of her mind. Instead, she found Shinji sitting idly, eyes shut, his breathing soft in sleep. She stopped, smiling as she took in the sight of the boy in front of her. 'Peaceful.' Was the thought that popped into her head from the view, the boy, like herself, having eventually fallen asleep from exhaustion.
"Nope!" She froze, turning quickly to find Ramiel floating quietly beside her. But that wasn't the noise, she knew from the very short time she knew the Angel that she barely talked, and only said three things. Nope was specifically not one of them. No, what caused her to gasp in shock was the sudden appearance of the Angel she had just defeated with Shinji, now floating in the air beside her. "Hi! I'm Gaghiel! Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time together! Oh yeah, he decided to stay inside with you because you were sleeping before!" The Angel said, very, very quickly, zipping around in intense excitement the entire time, moving from one subject, to a completely different one seamlessly, as if Shinji staying with her was along the same lines as introducing himself.
"Great…" Asuka replied, glancing warily at the Angel as he continued to zip around. "You aren't going to try and kill me?" She asked, not completely sure about what the Angel would do. Sure, Ramiel hadn't killed her, but she'd chalked that down to being around Shinji for so long.
"Nope! Why would I do that! You had the honour of killing me, and as such, I'm going to stick around with you for a while! Won't that be fun!" Asuka sighed in annoyance at Gaghiel's reply. She just knew that the Angel was going to be really annoying.
'Mein gott, when will this end?' She thought as Gaghiel moved towards the Pilot's Seat, indicating to various switches with his fins.
"What's that do? Actually, what's that do? No, how about this one?" Gaghiel asked, pointing to as many things as possible in such a short time span.
'It's going to be a long night.' Asuka thought as Gaghiel floated over to where Shinji was resting peacefully, pointing down at him.
"Hey, Asuka! Why is he doing this? And why is that thing growing?" He asked innocently, as Asuka blushed hard and tried to stammer out a reply. She knew what it was, she'd learnt it in her schooling back in Germany. 'A very long night.' Asuka thought as she tried to explain what was happening to Shinji to the oblivious Angel.
After almost an hour of constant questions from Gaghiel, Ramiel finally stepped in and pulled Gaghiel away to sleep, allowing the girl some peace and quiet. She turned back to Shinji and smiled, deciding to lean against the chair beside him, the cool night sky slowly brought her back to sleep, letting herself drift off beside her fellow pilot.
August 31st, 2015
Shinji slowly opened his eyes as the morning sun glowed across the horizon, he smiled as he took in the glow of the sun bouncing off the calm waters. Unlike the day before, land could now be seen, in fact, they were very much about to dock at New Yokosuka. Shinji smiled as he took in the land again. 'Despite how nice it is, the sea does get very boring.' Shinji thought, as he glanced to his left… and froze. Asuka was lying there, resting peacefully beside him. 'Does she even know where she is?' He thought, wondering if the girl had moved in her sleep. 'Oh well, better wake her up.' He reached over and shook her plugsuit clad shoulder lightly, getting progressively more intense to give the girl the chance to wake up peacefully.
He froze again as her eyes snapped open, glaring at whoever dared to touch her. She softened however when she noticed it was Shinji waking her up. She smiled lightly at the boy, before moving into a sitting position and stretching. "Morning." She said sleepily, the final nodes of sleep still in her mind.
"Morning." Shinji replied as he stared at the girl. 'Shinji, stop staring at her!' He shouted at himself in his mind, as he shook off the gaze. Blushing as he did so. Asuka smirked, she had caught him. "Hey, did you know you moved beside me during the night?" Shinji asked, causing Asuka's eyes to bulge.
"Nope! Must've moved in my sleep!" She replied quickly, this time blushing herself. He did not need to know about waking up in the middle of the night and moving there herself.
"Okay then." Shinji replied, unsure of the situation. He stared at the controls, indicating to them. "Better get out of here, we've been in here for a while."
"Yep." Asuka replied in happiness, settling into her Pilot's seat once again. "This feels much better." She noted, smirking at Shinji, who simply rolled his eyes in response. She started the Entry Plug extraction, the Plug shifting out, the door out opening up behind her. "Time to exit and show everyone my win against the Angel! I am the better pilot after all!" She said, exiting quickly.
'Of course.' Shinji thought, as she exited the plug. 'She's still got her pride, she won't let anyone else know that I was here with her. Wait… I haven't told her about the Angels yet!' He frowned as he started to move towards the exit, before glancing down at himself. He was still wearing Asuka's spare plugsuit. 'Oh crap…' He thought as he imagined his friends' reactions. 'I'm never going to hear the end of this.' With a sigh, he stepped out of Unit-02's Entry Plug. Ready to face the music.
The sun shone brightly as the birds flew past, casting shadows along the ground at New Yokosuka. Swiftly, the United Nations Pacific Fleet had finally arrived at their destination. Misato exited the ship first, meeting Ritsuko who sat nearby, in a jeep, a folder in her hands, staring intensely at the ship. She nodded in greeting, as the rest of the group had barely moved. The situation had been serious, and had spent a day before they got moving again. Asuka, in exhaustion had fallen asleep, so Shinji had stayed behind with her in Unit-02. The Over the Rainbow and the remaining fleet also had to double check everything to make sure they were safe, that nothing had destroyed anything of importance on the ships, before they could start moving again. So, a day later, they'd finally arrived.
"Well, would you look at that." Ritsuko said, indicating to the substantial damage many of the ships had received over the course of the past day. "You guys certainly went all out."
Misato frowned as she sat beside her friend, relaxing back against the seat, her head staring up at the sky. "Why didn't we anticipate this? An Underwater Angel, should've packed the C-Type Equipment, maybe then we would have stood a better chance."
"What's this?" Ritsuko asked, turning her head towards Misato. "Apologising? For nearly destroying an entire fleet?"
"Cut it out, Rits." Misato replied, before indicating to her folder. "Hey, at least you were able to get that data you wanted on your dual-entry system."
"That is true." Ritsuko said, flipping it open and looking at it for the first time. "Misato… You're not wrong. This data really is amazing. This will help immensely." Misato nodded, glancing over at the harbour, where Unit-02 was currently being delivered and deposited into NERV's possession, Unit-02 had seen better days, it's torso had massive bite marks in it, and its eyes were still glowing after yesterday's ordeal, not having dissolved yet. Toji, Hikari and Kensuke were nearby, Kensuke still filming the proceedings, somehow having not lost his camera in the scuffle of the previous day. Asuka then came down the elevator, glancing left and right, plugsuit still on in the clean-up of the early morning. Toji glanced at the girl over his shoulder, annoyance on his face.
"Oh god…" Came Hikari's timid voice. "What…?" Shinji had just started to come down the elevator, covering himself with his arms as much as possible, he was still wearing Asuka's plugsuit, having stayed inside of the Red Evangelion after the battle finished, keeping an eye on the sleeping Asuka.
"They match!" Toji cried out in indignation, as Shinji tried to cover himself as much as possible. Kensuke smirked as he whipped around and pointed his camera at Shinji, who blushed in embarrassment.
"Haha! Nice figure, Shinji!" Kensuke called out teasingly, keeping his camera trained on Shinji as he exited the elevator and quickly walked away.
Misato laughed at her ward's misfortune, relaxing once again, happy that everything had been taken care of.
"My, my, look at this!" Ritsuko said, indicating to a small portion of her notes. "Both Shinji and Asuka broke their synchronisation records!"
"Yep, they managed to hold at 125 together." Misato replied, yawning.
"No, Misato, I mean they hit this!" Ritsuko replied, showing her the number on her page.
"Oh, 200? Yeah, they hit it for about seven seconds. Probably a final act of strength pushed them both over the barrier." Misato then noted the other numbers sitting below. Individual values. "Oh! That'll be very interesting!" Misato said, laughing at the irony of Asuka's constant mantra. She'd wait until the next sync test for the reveal.
"Wait a minute!" Asuka called out, rushing over to the Doctor and Operations Director. The jeep quickly stopped, screeching to a halt. "Hey, Misato? Where's Mr. Kaji?" She said with a wide smile on her face.
"He took off ahead! Knowing that idiot he's already back at headquarters now!" Misato replied, scowling at the sky. The Jeep she was sitting in started to move, as the group went their separate ways. "I'll see you back at home, Shinji!" Misato called out as she moved towards NERV HQ. "Make sure to shower because you stink, and get Asuka's Plugsuit back to her!" She teased as she rounded the corner with Ritsuko, ducking out of sight. Asuka grinned at the boy, a laugh ready on her lips, having been held in the entire time since he first appeared wearing her plugsuit. Shinji scowled at her and strode past her quickly, intent on getting out of there as quickly as possible. She threw his clothes at him, which he quickly ducked out of sight to get into. He didn't bother removing the plugsuit yet, that would be too embarrassing.
"You know," Sachiel said, ducking out of the shirt pocket. "That plugsuit does look good on you!"
"I agree." Shamshel said, deciding to tease Shinji for once.
"Yes."
"Shut it, all of you!"
Gendo Ikari's office was, as always, dark. Kaji stood nearby, staring out the window towards the wonder of the Geofront.
"My, my, I have to say Ikari, that was a very eventful trip." He said, turning slightly. "Bethany Base than back to the ship. Very delightful, beautiful sights I must say." Kaji then placed the case down on Gendo's desk, indicating to it. "Both Eva Unit-05 and the Nineteenth Angel were destroyed without a hitch. The cause, officially labelled as an accident. Because of this, the Marduk Project at Bethany Base has been set back, possibly completely suspended. So, everything is going according to your plans. As for SEELE…"
"Don't worry about that. We've already seen it." Gendo replied. "The info on the construction of Evangelion Mark. 06 was very useful." Kaji nodded, speaking again.
"Glad to hear it. Now then, as for the Sixth Angel attacking the fleet carrying Unit-02. Would it have been after this?" Gendo stared coolly at Kaji, no emotion coming through on his face. "I wonder." Kaji idly noted, flipping the case open, revealing the contents to the room. "The metaphysical twining between God and the soul. Frozen inside Bakellite, but still alive. Truly amazing." Kaji glanced up at Gendo. "This is the key to the Human Instrumentality Project, isn't it?
"Correct." Gendo replied, staring at the small, key-like object, looking like a skeleton at one end, sitting in stasis in the case. "This will open the door to Human Instrumentality. The Lost Key of Nebuchadnezzar." He said, glancing up at Kaji, a smirk appearing on his face.
"Well if that's all, then I will take my leave." Kaji replied, giving the Commander a small salute. "I have places and people I need to see." With a final smile, the suave man left with a swoosh of the door. Fuyutsuki turned slightly, intent on speaking with Gendo. The man had once again hidden in the shadows, as that was the best place to be.
"Ryoji Kaji. Chief Inspector." Fuyutsuki tasted the words as he spoke them. "Are you sure we can trust him?" Gendo smirked.
"If we can't, he can be easily… indisposed." Fuyutsuki turned away again, staring back out at the Geofront.
"What about Unit-03? It is being sent here after all."
"The United States have a reputation to upkeep, they want their Evangelion to be the best one, completely disregarding that they've only had Unit-03 in construction for a few short months, both Unit-01 and Unit-02 would logically be much better suited for combat. But it is on its way anyway, and the Fourth Child will be chosen once it arrives." Fuyutsuki turned back, addressing Gendo directly.
"What does this mean for the Scenario?"
"As of this moment, one of the Angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls no longer has a vessel. But as we have seen, the Scenario is no longer proceeding as we have thought."
"Is this about the other Angels, Ikari? Like the Nineteenth found at Bethany Base?"
"Indeed. Despite these changes, we will still proceed according to plan." He glanced up and smirked. "But it will take longer than we originally planned. Turns out Humanity has more time than we initially thought…"
Hikari stood silently, relaxing against the wall of the local NERV Living Quarters. She relaxed herself, intent on not being a stuttering and blubbering mess when she formally introduced herself to the Second Child. Ever since they had a brief moment of eye contact on the Over the Rainbow after Toji's rather embarrassing moment, she'd been intent on talking to the girl and getting to know her. She couldn't tell if it was the Class Rep part of her speaking, or the Hikari part speaking. Asuka's pride and wanting to show off her skills to Shinji (Which she found cute as well), and Gaghiel's attack on the fleet had halted those plans however.
Now though, there was no Angel that could stop her. 'At least, I hope not…' She thought, praying to whatever God that could hear her that no Angel's attack right at this very moment. When she was satisfied, holding the basket of food she had created in her hand, she raised her arm, and knocked on the door.
"I'll be there in a second!" Came the voice from inside, the sounds of hurried scurrying coming through the rather thick walls. "Gaghiel! Don't touch those!" A sudden shout caused the waiting girl to smile, remembering her first experience with a Shoulder Angel. They were definitely weird, and unusual, but she'd gotten used to them now. The sound of the door opening shocked her out of her thoughts, her gaze settling on Asuka standing in the doorway. She had an eyebrow raised, glancing at the girl from head to toe. Hikari blushed under the gaze. Asuka smirked, before speaking. "You were the one who gave that idiot a telling off on the ship, weren't you?"
"Y-Yes!" Hikari replied, regaining her composure quickly. "Yes, that was me." Her voice slipped back into its Class Rep Mode, as Toji always loved to call it. "He's not usually like that, I swear!" Asuka laughed, before standing aside and letting the girl in. "I never got to actually introduce myself." She said, Asuka smiling slightly.
"Yeah, I think the Angel kind've took up all our priority once he attacked." Asuka said, sighing slightly. "I wish I could've fought it by myself, I would've defeated it much faster than if spineless Shinji was there!" She laughed, glancing over at Hikari, who had a small smirk on her face.
"I think you were trying to show off to Shinji! Coming over and demanding he come with you!" Asuka smiled slightly at that, but kept her pride in place.
"I only did that so he could have a front row seat as I showcased my superior Piloting ability!" Both girls laughed at her comment, smiling at each other afterwards.
"I'm Hikari." She finally said, finally introducing herself. "I have a feeling we're going to need someone of your talents to keep those three boys in check!"
"The Three Stooges!" Asuka replied, laughing at her joke. "It looked like you could handle it just fine." She said, remembering back to the event on the Over the Rainbow.
"Yeah, but now we out number then four to three!" Hikari replied, a large smile on her face. Asuka smirked at that.
"That does sound interesting." She said, turning towards Hikari. "Well, you probably already know, but I'm Asuka! The best Eva Pilot around!" Hikari laughed as she set the basket down, opening it up.
"Well, it looks like you have a new friend, Asuka!" Hikari said, pulling out the Bento's she had made earlier, soon after coming off the ship.
"Friend." Asuka said to herself, taking the offered Bento and raising it in a cheers motion. 'That does sound nice.'
"It's been done!" Shinji glanced over at Mari as they trudged through the streets of Tokyo-3.
"What's been done?"
"My sync test, mainly to see what Eva I'd be a best fit for!" Mari replied, giving the boy a smile. "Before long I'll be able to go out there with you!"
"That is a question, what happened to Unit-05?"
"It exploded!"
"That's it?"
"Yep!"
"Okay then."
"Don't worry about it, Puppy! I defeated Skeletal, and now he's here with me! I don't know what he'd be useful for though…" Shinji grinned at her.
"Turns out they can actually go into the Eva's and give them new abilities."
"Really!?" Mari replied, excited as they rounded a corner, coming to a small arcade hidden in a small corner of Tokyo-3. "So, what would you do, Skeletal?" The Skeleton Angel shrugged.
"I-I d-don't k-know?" He replied, timidly, wondering just what it was that the two pilots were talking about.
"Oh! What about that one, Asuka!? Actually, that one's really good!? Actually…"
"Mein gott! Make up your mind or I will make it for you."
"Who's that?" Mari asked glancing around the corner. There stood Asuka, standing in front of a machine called UFO Catcher. Floating beside her was the Angel that had been defeated out at sea the day before. Asuka had just obtained her first Shoulder Angel.
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!" Gaghiel cried out, drawing it out for as long as possible. "That one!" He said, pointing a fin at a bear doll sitting inside.
"Finally." Asuka stated as she started playing the machine. The claw inside lowered, grabbing the bear by the ear, she smirked as the bear started to get lifted slowly, before falling off completely. Asuka growled in annoyance, bringing her foot around to kick the machine in anger. "What the hell is wrong with this damn machine!?" She cried out. Out of the corner of her eye she caught two people staring at her, she had worn her sundress again after all. She twirled around, raising her eyebrow slightly. "Alright! Give me 100…" She suddenly stopped, as Shinji just waved at her. "Yen…" She finished lamely, staring at the boy, before scowling. "So, who's this? Your girlfriend or something?"
"What!? No, this is Mari, another pilot." Shinji replied staring at the ground.
"Another one! They didn't tell me that!"
"I think we've gotten to the point where they don't tell us anything! Hi, Princess! Mari Illustrious Makinami, at your service!" Mari said, stepping forward quickly, causing the Second Child to take a couple steps back.
"Yeah, Hi…" Asuka replied lamely, a bit confused at the girl's antics. She continued to step back. Mari noticed Gaghiel floating nearby, his giant maw open in awe.
"You must be the Angel beat by both the Puppy and his Princess here?" Mari asked, completely ignoring the blushing and stammering refusals from both the Second and Third Child behind her at her choice of words. She smirked in joy and amusement.
"Yes!" Gaghiel replied, rushing forward. "I'm Gaghiel! I'm going to be the greatest, and help Asuka as much as I can!"
"Wunderbar." Asuka replied sarcastically, as Gaghiel's frantic zipping around in an attempt to introduce himself to both Shinji and Mari caused her to tumble backwards, colliding into something behind her. A growl brought everyone's attention away from Gaghiel, who zipped out of sight quickly.
– NGE S2 Works – Disc 2, Track 10 – B-13 (Oppression and Impatiance) –
"You absolute bitch!" The man said, turning around in anger and humiliation. "I was on the last level! You caused me to get a game over!" Asuka frowned and rolled her eyes, but decided to play the good girl card.
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm sure I can make it up to you!" She replied with a faux grin on her face. The man grinned menacingly, stalking towards the young girl.
"I'm sure you can." The man replied, licking his lips. "Come on, boys! Let's show this lady just what we can do!"
"Hey, Asuka! I think that man doesn't like you!" Gaghiel commented.
"I get that!" Asuka replied, as she stared hard at the man.
"You think you can take us on!" The man said, inching ever closer. "Come on little lady, there's 5 of us, to the one of you!" The man laughed, cracking his knuckles. Asuka smirked, as the man approached quickly, bringing his fist up the punch the girl in the face. She ducked, quickly swinging her foot around in an arc to collide with the man's stomach. He faltered slightly, before he attacked again, using his fingers to indicate his friends to come closer. Asuka faltered as she started to get surrounded, she kicked at any of the men who approached, all of whom simply laughed and continued to approach the girl. Asuka frowned as she was surrounded. "Whatcha gonna do now, girly?" The man asked, indicating to all his friends. "You're completely surrounded, and all alone. What are you going to do now!?" The man started laughing, revelling in his victory. "Now, I think I require some payment don't you think." Asuka growled as he stepped forward, hand outstretched.
"Scheisse essen, Arschloch!" Asuka replied, jumping up and outstretching herself, punching one man and kicking another at the same time. They went down, but quickly got back up. Asuka growled as they all approached again. She braced herself for the worst, when the sound of one of the men going down could be heard, she opened one eye, to see Shinji standing above the man, glaring down at him.
"You forgot one part of your assessment." He punched the man in the face, knocking him out. "She's not alone." Asuka grinned, as Shinji came to stand beside her. One of the men laughed, staring at the boy in front of him.
Mari stared at what was happening from outside, a sad smile sitting on her face. 'Well, Puppy, you did the right thing. You and the Princess are back together again.' She thought with a smile as one of the other men pointed straight at Shinji.
"Seriously, you think you can help this girl out!" Shinji smiled, staring the man down, starting to look a lot like his own father.
"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Asuka smirked triumphantly, things were looking up.
"Ready, Third?" She asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"As I'll ever be." Shinji replied, staring at the man.
"Get them!" The man said, pointing at them, rushing them with the last three men available. Shinji smirked, as the man who was laughing at him rushed him with his arm outstrechted. He grabbed hold and twisted, bringing the man to the ground, he placed a well-aimed kick at the back of his head to knock him out. Another man came up behind him, grabbing onto his back. Shinji gave the man a glare, spinning around in an attempt to make the man dizzy.
Meanwhile, Asuka took on another two men. As the first guy approached, he punched, aiming straight for her head, she ducked, quickly giving the man a sweep kick, sending him to the ground, she then knocked the wind out of him with a kick, pressing her foot into his ribcage, as another man came up near her. She whipped around quickly, kicked the other man away, sending him sprawling backwards into an arcade cabinet. She smirked as she caught Shinji's eye. One guy was down, the other was on his back. She slowly crept up behind him, and as Shinji spun the man around again she placed a well-aimed kick into the man's nether regions, sending him sprawling off Shinji's back. She stepped back, as the man struggled to get up.
"Want to do the honours?" Asuka asked Shinji. Shinji stepped forward, and simply punched the man's face. His nose started bleeding heavily as he rushed away from the scene, his leader's idea dead in the water. As he left, Shinji turned to the other men.
– End –
"What about those guys?" Shinji asked, returning to his more usual meek self. Asuka shrugged.
"Who cares! NERV will probably come get them or something. I'm more interested in where you learned to fight like that?" Asuka asked, pointing at him. Shinji blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I don't like it, but I kind've had to learn to myself because I was bullied a lot before coming here to Tokyo-3." Asuka smiled slightly, before turning away.
"You were right. You are full of surprises." Shinji just smiled, as Asuka began walking away.
"Wait! Asuka! Where are you going!?" Asuka turned, surprised.
"NERV, of course. That is my current home right now. Although I wish that would change soon, it's so drab and boring, and so small! I wish I could live with Kaji!"
"And there's Kaji again…" Shinji noted, walking into step beside her. "Coming, Mari?"
"Yes! Hold on a moment, I'll catch up with you!" Mari replied, Shinji shrugged and continued to walk with Asuka. Mari ducked outside, staring up at the sky. 'Well, are you two proud?' She thought staring out at the clouds drifting slowly. 'They are wonderful, both of them. Don't worry, it won't be long until they figure things out. They'll always love you, know that.' With a final sad smile, she turned and dashed back towards Shinji and Asuka, heading towards NERV HQ.
The trip to NERV HQ was uneventful, a usual case of the Pilots wandering throughout the city, and Section 2, the guard assigned to protect the Pilots, following them in their usual discreet manor. Not much happened until the small group arrived at NERV, where they were found by Misato, busy and hard at work after the fiasco out at sea.
"Ah, there you guys are!" She said, stepping into view as the trio entered the giant pyramid. "I was just about to get Section 2 out to get you. Mari, you're needed by Ritsuko, she wants to make sure that all fittings are final for your new plugsuit, and she has a prototype ready for you to try."
"Yes!" Mari replied, giving a small fist bump. "Finally, I can get my Plugsuit! I really hope they got my measurements right!" Misato gave the girl a wide smile, before indicating to Asuka.
"I see you've most likely already met, but I'll make it brief. Mari, this is Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child and designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-02. Asuka, this is Mari Illustrious Makinami, the Proto Child and will be the designated pilot of an Eva, we just need to get that sorted out…" Asuka raised an eyebrow at Misato.
"You called her the Proto Child? Why?" She asked curiously, wondering how she was the Second, Shinji the Third, but Mari the Proto? It didn't make any sense.
"Simple." Misato replied. "Mari is actually the Prototype Child, picked before any of the rest of you. I don't know particularly why, but that's what I've been told. We just refer to her as the Proto Child officially."
"Right." Asuka replied, glancing around. "Do you know where Kaji is?" She asked, standing on her tiptoes.
"No, I don't! And I don't want to hear about that jerk again!" Misato angrily replied, her face contorting into a weird mixture of various feelings. Shinji glanced at his guardian in concern, but Asuka just shrugged it off. "Anyway, Shinji, Asuka, you two need to come with me, Ritsuko wants to talk to you for some reason, possibly something to do with her dual-entry system concept."
"Uh, Misato? What do you mean dual-entry concept?" Shinji asked, curiosity etched onto his face.
"Ritsuko will explain it better, but after what happened against the Sixth Angel, she's decided to move forward with an idea of using two pilots to sync with an Eva. And she needs to discuss this with you two. Considering your performance against the Sixth Angel, she'll be wanting to conduct tests with you two."
"Both of us?" Asuka asked, glancing over at Shinji.
"Yes, Asuka. Both of you. That's what Ritsuko requested." Misato replied, walking into the depths of NERV HQ. Shinji and Asuka following silently behind, wondering just what would be on the cards for Ritsuko's Dual-Entry Idea.
Their walk wasn't long, as Misato had figured out just how all the various hallways and travelators connected to each other at NERV HQ, so the trio were at Ritsuko's lab deep within the pyramid in only a few minutes. The woman opened the door with a swoosh, stepping aside to let the pilots into the room.
– NGE S2 Works – Disc 4, Track 10 – C-55 (Ritsuko, Type A) –
"Thank you, Misato." Ritsuko said, as Misato entered the room herself.
"So, what's all this about Ritsuko?" Misato asked, not really understanding the concept herself. Ritsuko smiled.
"I'm glad you asked, Major." Ritsuko replied, plugging her laptop into an external screen to show some more concepts to Misato and the two pilots. "After your exceptional performance against the Sixth Angel, the data we received afterwards allowed me to proceed with a project that I've wanted to get underway for quite some time now, ever since both Rei and Asuka initially synced with their Eva's. I call it the Dual-Entry system."
"What will it do?" Shinji asked, wondering just what that meant.
"I'm glad you asked, Shinji. In your recent battle with Asuka, you managed to obtain a combined Sync Ratio of 125%." Shinji and Asuka stared at the Doctor with wide eyes. "As you both know, hitting an 100% Sync Ratio is very difficult for even a single pilot. With two pilots Synced at the same time, however, we are able to exceed that Ratio at a much higher rate. With this knowledge, we understand that a Dual-Entry System is ideal for going above a 100% Sync Ratio, as the strain on the pilot is now shared between two people, rather than all the strain going to one person."
"So, what's your plan with this?" Asuka asked, fiddling with the hem of her sundress, watching the Doctor carefully.
"My plan is to build a unique Evangelion, specifically for Dual-Syncing purposes. It will take some time, and I still have some kinks to work out, but I have the general idea here." Ritsuko replied, pulling out some blueprints and placing them on her desk. "These are the current blueprints for the first Dual-System Evangelion, named Unit-13. There's still some problems, as there's still only one Entry Plug, and I haven't yet sorted out a way to get Two Entry Plugs into the Eva, and synced together at the same time, so until that is sorted out, there is still only one Plug."
"Okay, so Unit-13 is going to be a new Eva, and will most likely be dual piloted by both Asuka and I?" Shinji asked, staring at the blueprints for Unit-13.
"Correct, Shinji. Unless something occurs in the future and we find a pair better suited to this task, you and Asuka are set for sortie in Unit-13 once its ready."
"Okay…" Asuka said, glancing hard at the documents. "Why Unit-13? What about our own Evangelions?" She asked, wanting to know precisely what would happen to her beloved Unit-02 in this case.
"The Evangelion is Unit-13 due to Commander Ikari's wishes. As for Units-01 and 02, they will still be available for your own piloting needs. Commander Ikari only wishes for Unit-13's use if absolutely necessary, so unless the need arises, you will still sortie as normal in Unit-01 Shinji, and in Unit-02 Asuka." Both pilots nodded as Ritsuko pulled the blueprints off the desk and stored them away once again. "However, due to the current standards of the technology, and how new it is compared to a Single-Entry system, we will require lots of tests from both of you."
"What!?" Shinji and Asuka replied, turning to face one another. "That's all our free time you're taking up!" Asuka replied, staring hard at the Doctor.
"It's not much more, only once a week." Ritsuko replied, staring hard at the pilots. "They will work exactly like the Sync Tests you already do twice a week, except with both of you in one plug instead of separate. We need to do this to work out the kinks in the design, and work on getting the Dual Entry Plugs working correctly. Because of this, it's entirely possible that you will be required to test more than once a week. Due to the circumstances of the system, and how it works, we will not be able to conduct these with your normal Sync Tests that you already do biweekly, due to changes in the setup."
"Three days a week!"
"Yes, Asuka. That is what is required of you as a member of this organisation." Ritsuko replied, turning away from the pilots. "That is all I needed you for." She finished, turning away from the kids. Both pilots frowned, Ritsuko seemed to have a cold disposition in her personality, acting like there was more to this than what they had been told. Misato stood quietly, and led the two teens out of the room, leaving the Scientist to work in peace.
– End –
September 1st, 2015
Shinji sighed as he entered the classroom once again for another day at School. The trip to the Over the Rainbow had been calming, and a nice change of pace from Tokyo-3. But now, he was back, and settling into his seat, the rest of his friends surrounding him. Hikari notably, had a massive smile on her face.
"What are you smiling about?" Toji asked Hikari, who turned towards him in surprise.
"No reason." She replied, her smile still on her face.
"She's obviously happy to see you!" Mari noted, settling herself on Shinji's desk to relax.
"T-That's n-not…" Hikari spluttered, before straightening up and returning to a Class Rep stance. "It doesn't matter, Sensei will say something soon."
"Hey, Mari?" Shinji asked. "Where's Rei?" Mari shrugged.
"Said she had to do some stuff at NERV. Who knows." Mari replied, shrugging.
Shinji smiled good naturedly before turning to his friends. "So, what do we think about Asuka?"
"The Princess?" Mari replied, teasingly. "She's cool I guess." She said, her mind trailing elsewhere. Shinji raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't comment.
"I like her." Hikari said.
"Of course, you would."
"What does that mean!"
"Nothing, Hikari!" Toji replied, raising his hands above his face. Hikari gave him a stink eye, but otherwise said nothing. "Anyway, she's cute and all. Ow, Hikari!" Hikari had pulled on his ear once again, before letting go. A frown on her face. "But the way she acted? She was an absolute bitch." Hikari grumbled in annoyance at Toji's language, but didn't bother to berate him for it.
"Well, at least we won't have to see her again." Kensuke said, fiddling with the side of the desk.
"Come on, guys." Shinji said, glancing out the window. "She's not that bad."
"Oh, Shinji! Do you have a crush?"
"What! Mari, no! It's not that!" Shinji replied, shaking his head. "It's just, you guys weren't there, in the Eva, against that Angel. She was, different, I guess." He said, staring out the window still.
"Well, I still feel sorry for you, and Mari, and Rei. You all have to work with her." The sound of a door opening brought the groups attention to the front of the room, where Mari grinned like a predator.
– Evangelion 2.0 OST – Disc 1, Track 7 – 2EM08_B17 (Asuka Strikes!) –
"Well, would you look who it is!" Shinji turned from the window, a small smile appearing on his face. Hikari laughed at her friends, particularly Kensuke and Toji, who shrieked in indignation. Toji falling down to the ground.
"WHYYYYYY?" Toji cried out as he jumped back up, pointing one finger right at the redhead who now stood at the front of the room. A piece of chalk in hand as she wrote her name on the board, humming to herself the entire time. "This is what you were smiling about!?" Toji asked Hikari, who simply grinned at him.
With a final giggle, she turned around, a nice smile sitting on her face. Her hair flipping around her with her sudden movement. Toji and Kensuke continued to groan in the background, feeling like they had just arrived in hell.
"Hey! I'm Asuka! Asuka Langley Soryu! Charmed, huh?" Asuka smiled and gave a final giggle, happy that now, she was finally in Tokyo-3, and ready to showcase to the world her excellent pilot abilities.
– End –
つづく
Pilot Sync Ratios:
Shinji – 64.3%
Asuka – 60.7%
Rei – 50.0%
Mari – 23.6% (in Unit-01)
Shinji/Asuka (Dual) – 125.0%
German – English:
Mein Gott, beeil dich! – My god, hurry up!
Gucknicht, du pervers! – Don't peep, you pervert!
Dieser dumme idiot! – That stupid idiot!
LCL Füllung. Systemsprache: Deutsch. Initiieren Sie die Aktivierungssequenz. Stellen Sie neuronale Verbindungen her und geben Sie LCL zu. Gehirnwellen und synaptische Verbindungen: Positi. Synchronisation starten. – LCL Filling. System Language: German. Initiate the activation sequence. Establish neural connections and add LCL. Brain Waves and Synaptic connections: Positive. Start Synchronisation.
Fehler – Error
Dummkopf – Idiot/Fool
Heilige Schiesse – Holy Shit
Verdammt – Damn
Scheisse essen, Arschloch! – Eat Shit, Asshole!
What a Chapter! Above are a couple of new things that are going to go at the end of each Chapter! Firstly, we have the current Sync Ratios of all the Children as of the end of the current Chapter. First thing you'll notice, Shinji is higher than Asuka! This is very important, as this means Asuka's downfall will be caused by both a mixture of new and original reasons, so look forward to that! As for the second thing, German to English translations, now that Asuka's in the Story Proper, she'll be spouting some German every now and then, so I've got translations of what she's saying at the end of the chapter. I hope they are good, as I used an online translator from the Cambridge Dictionary Website to get these. Future Chapters most likely won't be as long with German – English Translations, the big thing here was Asuka's startup sequence, that was entirely in German.
Some people might have some problems with Shinji taking a bit more charge here than he did in the series. Keep in mind that Shinji himself is more confidant here because of the Angels, as well as the bits of his Manga Personality. As for Asuka nearly breaking down, she's never been in a true battle situation before, so I wanted to give a couple moments to Shinji and Asuka in this chapter during the Gaghiel Battle.
Ramiel gives the Eva the ability to use his Particle Beam! At the expense of a long charge time, so she's powerful, but is hindered by the amount of time it takes to get it working. As such, the Pacific Fleet ended up slightly better for wear.
Anyway, with that being said, next chapter is… Episode 9! Yep, we're jumping straight into it! Very excited for this one, and I hope you are too!
Until the 21st…
Chapter Title Inspiration: Neon Genesis Evangelion Manga, Stage 3
Reviews!
dalek114: Thanks! I wanted to present Shinji and Asuka's relationship as more of an equals type of thing, because that's what they are. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest: Well you got Gaghiel being beamed away by Ramiel right so good job! Just requires a bit of time to charge. Living with them will come in the next Chapter, as Episode 9 is coming right after! Thanks, make sure you take of yourself too!
YourBlandestNightmare: Thanks! The Pokémon idea came to me after reading another fic. Don't worry, by the end of the story they won't be the only one's playing Pokémon! As for when they'll remember each other... my lips are sealed. :)
Guest: Thank you! Your words meant so much! It won't be abandoned, I plan to take this through to EoE after all! But it might take a while for new chapters to release... considering the length of this one...
Alexanderlay: Um... You do realise that was a preview... right? Don't worry, Full Chapters are much longer, and I hope you enjoyed the Complete Chapter.
Guest: Don't worry, I don't plan to abandon this at any point! It just might take a while for new chapters to come out...
