Chapter 46: Dance Among the Mountains
The flames of what had been called Second Impact have begun to die down, now. The world is ravaged, half the population gone in little less than a decade. But SEELE has survived, and even flourished, as the new Human Instrumentality Committee of the United Nations. Our former research branch, GEHIRN, has been reorganized into the Special Agency NERV, with Gendo Ikari at its head. He has proven himself… dedicated to the cause since his wife's disappearance. It makes him a more pliant tool.
However, translation of the Scrolls has not ceased during the time of the so-called 'Impact Wars'. Besides the hazily mentioned 'Angels', of which it is said there are 13, mentions of another place, beyond the location of the Dead Sea, have been found. Based on further translation since it was first found a year and a half ago, I have narrowed down its location to somewhere within the Himalayan mountain range. Expeditions are being prepared to leave as of only a few days ago.
Yet again, that feeling of something… momentous awaiting me strikes. I wonder what will be found…
- From the personal journals of Lorenz Kihl, May 2009
Commander's Office, HERZ-HQ, Geofront, December 17th, 2016
Commander Misato Katsuragi regarded the holotable intently, studiously ignoring the display on her desk, and the war reports that scrolled across its surface. The international conflicts had flickered out, for the most part. Now, the whole world seemed intent on wiping anything that had to do with the UN out of existence, HERZ notwithstanding. Millions more were dead in the two weeks that had come after the breathtakingly devastating attacks, and it was estimated that what was a population of nearly 4 billion would be reduced to 2 should the state of warfare last much longer. Even Mothra and Battra, now massive, brilliant moths, seemed to be busy fighting off the doggedly persistent Gyaos that had come to roost in the out-of-the-way places of the world, taking advantage of the conflicts all around the world.
On the holotable's surface, it showed what was once the small resort town of Malbun, Lichtenstein, wrapped in the mountains of the Rätikon range of the Alps save for an opening to the northwest that acted as a gateway to the rest of the world.
Now, it was known to the world as Unity Base, the central hub of all of the United Nation's military efforts across the world in the aftermath of the Impact Wars. The small town had been expanded into a proper city, holding not only a garrisoning base but a manufacturing plant, housing, schools, underground transportation and shelter, and all the amenities that made it rival only the Geofront and Tokyo-3 in its size and defenses. It was, in no small terms, a fortress set in the stone pocket that towered above it.
After a moment more of silence, Misato looked up at Ryoji intently. "And they're all moving out now?" she asked quietly.
Ryoji nodded, looking around at Ritsuko, Daniel, Maya, Makoto, and Eleanor. "Yep. Based on what I and my dwindling list of contacts know about the various nation's airlift capabilities, it'll take about 3 or 4 days for them all to get into position, and another day to move out and start their operation."
"And who all will be taking part?" Daniel asked quietly.
Ryoji took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. "The US, the EU, the AU, Japan, Russia, China, the Middle American States, and Nova Brasilia. Everyone with an Eva thus far."
A chill dread swept through the room, unseen but fully noticed. 16 Evangelions in all, each of them poised to descend on one patch of land.
"Can we convince the Japanese pilots to not take part?" Maya asked after a moment, a note of hope daring to enter her voice and try to dispel the dread.
Ryoji sighed quietly. "I've tried that avenue. The government, brave as it's been, is afraid of being branded as 'UN sympathizers' if they do. Just as afraid of being the next potential target if they bow out."
Eleanor shook her head. "And what about Unity Base itself? What kind of resistance are we looking at seeing put up against these Evas?"
"We had the Sonne moved into orbit several days ago to be ready to assist in information gathering on Ryoji's part and to get a lay of the land for tactical planning." Misato replied. She looked over for a moment at Ryoji. "What are the world's intelligence agencies saying?"
"They're saying that a force of about 10,000 soldiers, vehicles, and aircraft, along with batteries of automated defenses, are waiting for whoever comes. All of the civilians were supposed to have been evacuated one or two weeks ago." Ryoji replied. "Let me guess…" he said sardonically after a moment, the rest of the group wondering for a moment about the non sequitur's purpose.
"We asked the UN to allow a Pneumaic scan to be made of Unity Base." Ritsuko began, typing into her clear-pad as she spoke. As she finished typing, the 3D map of the area was swept over by a bar of prismatic light, tiny dots flashing into existence as it passed over the city base.
"The Valhalla System counts 18,472 individual souls based on that one scan." Ritsuko continued. "The UN representative we talked to said that the usual population, military and civilian combined, comes up to about 35,000."
"What else did he say?" Eleanor asked quietly, the look in her eyes that of one slowly coming to a terrifying conclusion.
"That most of the military forces, except for the two or three divisions garrisoned there, were siphoned off by other ARF commanders for use in several fronts of the wars in Europe and Africa." Ritsuko said quietly.
"Then that means…" Maya said as her eyes widened.
"Those nation's Evas are going to be trampling on almost 15,000 civilians." Misato said, a hard edge to her voice.
"We can't allow that!" Maya said in righteous indignation, a hand to her heart as the thought of what could happen tinged her cheeks green.
"And we won't." Misato replied reassuringly. "We're coordinating with the UN and the vessels above us to get everyone out. It'll be empty by the time they get there, I'm sure."
"Even still," Daniel began, "those pilots will be barrelling down here. Someone is going to need to stop them, or who knows how they'll scatter to the wind. Or even," he continued darkly, "if they would decide picking a fight with each other would be a good idea."
"With AT Fields in the mix, who knows where that fight might spill over into." Misato said, looking intently at Daniel. "They'll need to be contained. And this mountain range is likely the best place to do that."
As Daniel nodded, Eleanor shook her head slightly. "16 Evas versus… however many we decide to put out there, though…"
"And we'll need to hold some back, I feel." Daniel interjected. "This has SEELE's fingerprints all over it. Whatever they may be building up to, I feel like we might see it soon. So…"
He was silent for a moment as he pondered. "I'll take Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Kaworu, Toji and Hikari out with me. If we can't reach the national pilots by way of telecommunications, then they'll certainly be able to talk to us face to face, as it were."
"Do you think they'll be swayed by your arguments?" Ryoji asked seriously.
Daniel shrugged slightly. "I can bet that at least most of the first-wave pilots will be willing to listen to us. The second wave and the national trained ones… that's the big question mark."
"And if they don't listen?" Ritsuko asked archly. "If something happens due to SEELE's interference?"
"Then we have the Lancium weapons." Daniel said levelly as he glanced over at Maya. "From what I've heard, Asuka and Mari have been rather successful at making Lancium." he continued as she smirked slightly. "Even if it does leave them wrung out after a day. And, in their case, with Interfacing being what it is, they'll be able to produce their own weapons, with some effort."
Maya nodded. "He's right. With the Pneumaic formula of Lancium down, we can not only create the material itself, but we've also prototyped modules that can intelligently coat a weapon's striking parts with Lancium." she paused for a moment. "If we're looking to field test this, as sad as it is to say, this might be the place to do it."
Misato nodded slowly, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. "Alright, then. Daniel, go and prep the pilots to deploy in the next day or two once the Sonne and the Cataphract have the teleporter bandwidth and the time to spare. I'll coordinate with Izalith and Rastaff to start getting the people in Unity Base evacuated. Ryoji, keep an ear on things, especially with the JGSDF. Once they lift off, we'll launch the pilots and get them out ahead of the national Evas."
She took one last look at the gathered heads of the divisions before sighing quietly again and standing. "Let's go do what we do best. Let's go save the world."
'From itself, now.' she left unsaid.
. . .
Pilot Briefing Room, 1 Day Later
Daniel leaned on the edge of the holotable, the Children, numbered and Numberless, crowding around it to look down on the landscape that they would be deploying into. And, if it came to it, would be fighting in.
"Alright." Daniel began. "First things first. We have to iron out who's going and who is staying."
As he noted the raised eyebrows among the pilots, his gaze settled on Mari, Mana, and Mayumi. "You three are going to be staying behind for this one, I'm sad to say."
As Mana and Mayumi's brows rose, and Mari began to pout slightly, Daniel raised a hand slightly before he continued. "With SEELE still in the shadows, something like what we're trying to stop has their mark painted on it in awfully bold strokes. If they try something, especially if we're still away, you three are going to make sure we have a home to come back to. After all," Daniel said as he began to smile slightly, "if they try that Evangelion stunt again, you are specially trained to take enemy Evas down. They won't know what hit them."
Slowly, the girls began to nod, Mari tilting her head side to side as she began to smile slightly, and Daniel swept his gaze over the rest of the group. "With that taken care of, I still believe you should all be aware of what we're planning on doing over in Europe."
He typed on a floating keyboard, and seven dots appeared scattered throughout the city. One, most prominently, was situated between the two peaks that acted as the gateway to the city. Three were arrayed in a roughly triangular formation within the city limits, while the last three were lined up on the peaks of the mountains that made up the 'back' of the city.
"Here's how the positioning is going to work out to start." Daniel began as he pointed to the lone dot. "The general consensus is that the national Evas will be trying for an encirclement of the city, climbing the mountains to rain down fire on it. However, there's likely a small force that they'll send directly through the front entrance here. Thus, I'll be deploying there to meet them. My Interfacing should level the playing field if things get dirty."
"Shinji, Asuka, Rei, you'll be deployed in the city proper." Daniel continued, pointing to the long, broad triangle situated in the center of the city. "Most of it is built low to the ground, so trying to take cover behind the abandoned buildings will be useless. Make sure you're either smart with your AT Fields or make your own cover. I'll move back if things get too hairy for me, so be ready for a whole lot of Evas headed your way."
"Toji, Hikari, Kaworu, you three are going to be spread across the Spitz, Chalbergrad, and Sareiserjoch peaks keeping watch for anyone who tries to come up from the backside of the city." Daniel swept a finger across the mountaintops that he mentioned. "They should be pretty obvious against the mountainside, so you shouldn't have a hard time keeping them tied down. Uphill is still uphill, after all, Eva-sized or not."
There was a pause, a tension around the table slowly tightening, seeming to twist at the stomachs of all within its grip. "So…" Hikari finally said quietly. "Are… are we really going to have to fight against them, do you think? I mean…" she didn't have to elaborate on how everyone felt about the possibility of coming to blows with their trainees. Their friends.
"There's certainly a distinct possibility that we'll come to blows, I won't lie." Daniel said with a quiet, weary sigh. "But first we're going to try the diplomatic route. Every Frame Titan has the same communications package. We can get Kensuke, Ritsuko, and Maya to hack through any encryptions that the nations might have put up. Then, we can finally just talk to them, as close to face to face as we can get. I'll take the lead, but if any of you want to speak up, you'll be able to. Even you three." he continued as he nodded to Mari, Mana, and Mayumi.
The kids slowly nodded, and Daniel nodded in turn. "The hope is that they'll listen to reason and we can avoid this mess altogether. But if someone is still itching for a fight, or if the worst really comes to worst, we still have an ace up our sleeves." he continued.
"Lancium weapons, I assume." Asuka interjected, a somewhat weary tone still present in her voice as she said the words and shared a similarly weary glance with Mari.
"Right you are, Asuka." Daniel said. "We'll be field testing the Lancium-plating Disks that Kensuke came up with here. And we'll also have the updated Nu-Pallet line of weapons on hand and ready to teleport to us, seeing as they'll be loaded with Lancium rounds and keep Flux levels down for Interfacing."
The others nodded slowly, and Daniel took a deep breath, smiling slightly. "We've got this, guys. I'm confident that, if nothing else, we can at least make it a fair fight. And if there's anything we know we can win, it's a fair fight." he said with as much surety as he could project.
Asuka smiled slightly. "We have that much, at least." she said wryly.
"We do." Daniel replied. "Now, we'll be moving out…" he glanced up and to the side. "Tomorrow evening. Rest up. Get ready. It's going to be a long day on the other side of the world."
. . .
5 Kilometers Outside of Unity Base, Former Lichtenstein, December 19th
First Lieutenant Marie Vincennes, callsign 'Rocketeer', looked around at the 'advance force' of Evangelions that would be taking the fight to the UN ARF sequestered here in the mountains.
They were a varied crew, composed of the Evas of 3 national blocs. The US Evas were perhaps the most ostentatious among them, their varied color schemes in stark contrast to the mostly camouflage green and grays of the EU and Japanese Evas. Even still, they represented one of the most powerful military presences in the world. Not even a nuclear strike could dent any one of them, even if the Non-Nuclear arsenal hadn't basically replaced it already.
A comm panel flashed into existence, and the severe face of Major-General Iris Lesley, her commanding officer, flickered into sight, regarding her with intense black eyes under similarly black hair and a fair complexion.
"Pilots, I'm Major-General Lesley." she said with little preamble. "I'll be in command of this joint operation. I'm sure you all have been informed of how you will approach Unity Base."
Marie, at least, nodded. "Yes, ma'am." she could not hear the others. She hadn't been able to talk to anyone about the upcoming operation, in person or not. Operational security was the stated reason. But she still had her suspicions.
"Very well. The operation begins now. Move in, draw off and destroy the defending force, and level the base to ensure that the UN remnants don't have a base to fall back to."
Marie nodded, and the 8 Evangelions that would make up the spearhead of the attack moved off from the town of Frastanz, into the valley within which Unity Base lay in wait.
As they walked, Marie pondered on what, exactly, she was about to do. She was about to lay waste to soldiers that, for the most part, had stayed out of the firestorms that had raged within the nations as they fell upon the UN holdouts that were within their borders. There were a few civilians there as well, from what little she could glean, but they were innocent in this.
Mercy argued that the soldiers, to this point, were innocent of the sins of their comrades. But God was a God of justice as well, one who urged that the faithful be ready to defend themselves even as they turned the other cheek. That these soldiers were innocent now did not mean that they would remain so.
'Lord, I pray thee to forgive these soldiers of their sins.' she asked silently. 'I would ask you to do so quickly, as they'll likely be meeting you soon.'
After that, and a silent prayer to Saint Barbara to ensure that her explosive Interfacing would work for its intended purpose, the miles melted away, and they arrived at the small town of Steg. To their left, the gateway into Unity Base, two mountains stretching into the sky, loomed. Ahead of them, another valley stretched out, where Marie knew other national Evas were going to get into position to surround the town.
A small part of her whispered again. 'Surely there were better options than this.'
Were there really, her rational mind answered. With a show of force like this, the UN would surely roll over. Needless deaths could be spared with this sacrifice.
That was the rationale that she settled on as she marched into the valley, taking point on the column of Evas.
But, as they turned the slight bend in the valley, the base was not the only thing to come into view. About half a kilometer away stood an Evangelion, a rifle on its back and its arms crossed as it regarded them. But this… was unlike any Eva she had seen before. It looked as though it was armored in a dark kind of star opal, flecks of what looked like starlight suspended in the black, some places shaded by brilliant colors that reminded her of nebulae.
Most striking was its head, crested by broad, flat horns that flared out like dragonfly wings, their points hooking up and away slightly making them almost like antlers.
The Evangelions on her side began to spread out as best they could, but the valley made a natural corridor within which to herd them into. Whoever piloted that Eva seemed to know that quite well.
She seemed to be the first to act, switching on her Evangelion's loudspeakers. "Unidentified Evangelion. State your business." she said as authoritatively as she could, even though she could guess at who its allegiances lay with.
There was a moment of silence, then a multitude of comm screens flared into existence, several split screens showing her fellow national pilots with looks of surprise as they could finally see each other face to face. Above them, as Marie had feared, were HERZ's pilots, dressed in their Plugsuits and likely in their Evas as well. At least, most of them were, with three of the girls in casual clothes seemingly somewhere else.
And, in the center of her view, underneath the starry Evangelion, another face appeared. This was Major Theisman, dressed in a Plugsuit that reflected what was clearly his Eva's armor and seated within what could only be the Plug for the Eva before them.
"Pilots." he said levelly. "As I'm sure you're realizing, you're now able to talk to each other. That's what I and the others here at HERZ are here to do. Talk to you."
"And do what?" she heard one of the Japanese pilots, Keita Asari if she remembered correctly, ask incredulously and with no small amount of venom. "Try to convince us to not strike back at the people who murdered so many innocents? Who killed my father?"
"Hardly, Keita." Captain Ikari said, a firmness to his voice that surprised most that knew him only as Captain Ikari. "We're here to stop you from becoming butchers yourselves."
"What?" she heard another pilot say incredulously, a glance at her screen telling her that it was Captain Blanca Palmeiro, operating in what was designated as Bailarina-1. "You assume that several thousands of soldiers firing back at us would be butchery?"
"No." Major Theisman said levelly. "The wholesale slaughter of nearly 20,000 non-combatants, on the other hand, would be."
A shocked gasp rippled through the national pilots, several of them blanching openly. "That's…" one of the Russian pilots said numbly.
"Impossible?" First Lieutenant Ayanami said levelly. "No. It is not. You were told, quite likely, that somewhere within the realm of 10,000 soldiers would be waiting for you here, correct?"
"Yes…" she heard Orien say slowly. "And that they'd only be here for a limited time before most of them were deployed elsewhere in Europe and other nearby parts of the world." a pause. "What did you find out?"
"That a Pneumaic scan from a spaceship doesn't lie, my friend." First Lieutenant Makinami chimed in from… wherever she was. "Come on." she said almost scornfully. "At least when me and mine were on our way to basically kill everyone, we had the excuse of being brainwashed by having parts of our souls hacked off. I don't think you all can get away with that. And I know you all should be smarter than this."
"This is the last thing we want you to do." Asuka finally said, seeming to look directly at her. "We don't want to fight you. You don't want to commit war crimes, I'm sure. Please. Stand down."
There was a tense moment as eyes, including her own, darted between the screens, looks of hesitation evident on more than one face.
Who would break first, she wondered. Who would follow them away from the mission at hand? She would be ordered to eliminate them. Her and the rest of the American pilots, she had been told. But… what if they were right?
The person who broke first surprised her somewhat. "Alright, then." she heard Orien say with a sigh. "I can trust that you wouldn't lie to us just to get us to stand down."
"We may have evacuated the city as a precaution, but we would never lie to you." Major Theisman said, firmly yet still tenderly. "The last thing I want to do is fight any of you."
Orien nodded. "Alright. I'm standing down, then."
"And I am as well." Captain Etxebarria said. "I don't want that blood, or yours, on my conscience."
"I'm standing down as well." First Lieutenant Strasberg said firmly. "I'm not going to be manipulated."
"I would think not." Major Theisman said, no small amount of relief in his voice. "After all, these people would not have been your enemy. SEELE would be. SEELE still is, and this is exactly the sort of situation that they'd want the world in. At each other's throats, in utter chaos and disarray."
Again there was silence. People were weighing their options now. The silence was broken briefly by a simple "Lion's Fang, standing down." but then returned.
All the while, Marie waited for the order she knew was coming. And, true to her expectations, Major-General Lesley's face appeared.
"Pilots, while eliminating those who have abandoned the operation will come, the HERZ Evangelions have been designated as enemy combatants. Engage and destroy them." she said calmly.
"And who, exactly, are those orders for, madam?"
Marie's eyes, along with Lesley and everyone else's, widened at Major Theisman's interjection. "Because those orders could apply to anyone, couldn't they?" his eyes narrowed. "Do your loyalties lie only to your nation, I wonder?"
Lesley was silent, glaring daggers at who she was sure was Major Theisman. Then, her image disappeared.
Major Theisman shook his head. "You can't even trust your commanding officer." he said quietly.
"Look," he continued, his Eva standing aside for a moment to open up a view of Unity Base, "we can go in here, and we can all shut down our Evas and talk this out face to face. What about the rest of you? Are you all willing to stand down with your friends?"
"One last thing, though." Marie heard Howard say quietly, Neptune slowly looking over at one of the EU Evas. "Who got those orders? Because I wasn't told that this option was supposed to be that kind of secure."
Marie felt a thunderbolt of shock arc up her spine as the EU Eva he was looking at looked back, its pilot, Falkenrath if she recalled, meeting Howard's blue eyes with his hard green ones. "Neither was I." Falkenrath said, a hard edge to his voice. "Unless you're insinuating something."
"You know what? Yeah, maybe I am." Howard replied over the murmur of other voices as his Eva turned to face the EU Evas, the grip on his Pallet Rifle changing ever so slightly. "How do we know you weren't supposed to keep that sort of thing a secret yourself?"
"We can find that out if you all stand down." Major Theisman said forcefully, the murmuring pausing for a moment. "There's no sense in beating each other to death over suspicions."
"Maybe." Howard replied, his Pallet Rifle slowly rising. "But I don't want to risk being shot in the back. We take care of this now, or I don't think we'll be able to at all."
As he finished speaking, his Pallet Rifle was level with Falkenrath's chest, and silence fell over the comm panels again. "After all, that call could have been for any of us that they felt confident could take a deserter down. Could have been for the Japanese pilots. Could have been the Russian or Chinese pilots. Or…" he paused dramatically as the barrel of his Pallet Rifle drifted towards Etxebarria's Eva. "It could have been one of you before you lost the nerve."
Marie turned her Eva to face Howard's, watching as Asari raised his own rifle towards Howard, the EU Evas stepping back as they raised their rifles in turn. "You'd better put that down." he said as his Eva took an almost ominous step forward.
"Or what?" Howard replied, his breathing beginning to grow quick. "The only way I'm going to consider standing down is if you guys turn back into Plugs."
"And risk you being the one who's going to obliterate a Plug when they do?" Asari asked almost incredulously. "I don't think so."
Howard turned his rifle to Asari, the other two Japanese pilots raising their rifles. "Maybe it was you she gave the orders to." he said, his voice quivering for the slightest of moments. "Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. No actual base, but everyone's ready to kill each other."
"Hansen, stand down." Orien said with a heavy sigh as Thunderhead stepped toward Neptune, putting a hand on the top of its rifle. "This isn't helping anyone."
Neptune jerked the weapon away. "No, sir." Howard nearly growled. "I'm not going to be another casualty."
Before Marie could speak up, she saw the dark, starry Eva glide past her without a sound, looking over with wide eyes as its feet touched the ground, and Major Theisman put a hand on Neptune's shoulder, turning Howard to face him.
"Son," he said softly, an undeniably firm tone to his voice, "listen to your commanding officer. You're not going to win this fight if you start it."
"Maybe not." Howard said quietly after a moment, his rifle lowering slowly. Then, Marie saw the flash in his eyes, and out of the corner of her vision, the retractable bayonet that was now the standard on American Eva rifles flashed out, its Progressive element whining to life as he jabbed up.
In an instant, the valley widened, and Marie, and the other Evas, flew away from Howard and Major Theisman without moving. As they did, Major Theisman's Eva moved back as well, avoiding the stab of the bayonet as something that glinted in the sunlight sprang into being in his Eva's hand.
He slashed at the rifle, cutting cleanly through the top third of it as the thing resolved into a massive crystalline spear with a sword-like blade, Major Theisman stepping back as he fell into a guard position, blade aimed squarely at Neptune's neck.
Orien shouted at Howard to stand down, but the call went unheeded as Neptune threw aside the rest of the rifle and charged, arms out and AT Field unfurling to try and defend himself from further attacks.
In response, Major Theisman backpedaled, a hand reaching for something that was attached to his Eva's hip. Whatever it was, it was small enough that she didn't see more than a flash of a small, disk-like object that he secured to the base of his blade. Continuing to backpedal, Major Theisman deflected the wild swings aimed at him easily with the haft of his weapon, the blade's edge becoming coated with a dark, off-blue metal of some sort.
As the blade became fully coated, Major Theisman shoved Howard away, Neptune stumbling back as he leveled his weapon once again. Then, he stepped forward, swinging the butt of his weapon at Neptune's left side.
Like clockwork, the strike slammed into a prismatic AT Field that stood like a wall between the two Evas. As the strike bounced off, Howard reached for a Progressive Knife sheathed at his hip.
The blade had barely been barred before Major Theisman swung with the blade, aiming low to hit Neptune's torso. And Marie's eyes went wide as the blade passed through the AT Field like it wasn't even there.
Howard's shout of surprise became a scream of pain as Major Theisman bisected Neptune, slicing through its body and the wrist of the hand holding the Progressive Knife in a massive spray of scarlet LCL. The top half of his Eva's body fell backward, the legs buckling as they fell forward.
Major Theisman sighed quietly as the sword blade at the end of his weapon lost its metal edge, then disappeared. As the Eva he piloted stepped forward, Marie's eyes widened as she watched two stars flare to life flanking the top of the shaft, coronal ejections binding them together into a hammerhead.
Howard, for his part, grabbed for the nearby Prog Knife with his left hand, getting a grip on it just as a cuff of crystal clamped down on Neptune's left wrist, dragging it to the side and pinning it to the ground.
"Now, I'm not going to destroy your Plug, Mr. Hansen." Major Theisman said, a cold, hard edge to his voice that made her shiver slightly. "I'm not here to kill you. But right now, you need to stay down. Which means you'll have to say goodbye to your core for the moment."
He came to a stop in front of the prone upper half of Neptune, swinging the hammer behind his back and over his head. After only a second's pause, the head of the hammer came up and over, tracing a line of fire like a comet's as it struck Neptune square in the center of its chest.
The crack that echoed through the valley silenced everyone as Neptune fell limp, Howard's pained breaths slowing as his synchronization to the Eva was cut off.
The hammer disappeared, and the valley began to shrink again as Major Theisman looked around himself. "Alright. I'm done asking nicely. You all are going to stand down, deactivate your Evas, and prepare to be transported to the Geofront now."
Marie blinked as a moment of silence passed, and she realized that her synchronization to her Eva was washing in and out, the sensation of feeling connected to the Eva, then not, almost nauseating.
Then, as her synchronization returned, the comm panels all blinked out of existence at once, and the last message that accompanied her view of the outside world, along with the sight of her gun raising without her willing it to, was the words 'Nu-Dummy System v2 Boot Phase 1 Complete. Phase 2 Beginning'.
'Oh.' was her last legible thought she would remember as her head became locked to her headrest. 'So that's the mission-specific hardware they were installing before the operation.'
. . .
Daniel's eyes narrowed as the Evas seemingly began to shut down, their screens going dark as their Eva's eyes did much the same. 'That's odd. They don't need to cut comms to start shutting down. Unless…'
Daniel steeled himself as the eyes flashed a familiar, baleful orange, 5 rifles swinging up to aim at him. His AT Field, though a solid enough defense from the rounds that slammed into it at first, quickly began to falter as 5 Evangelion's AT Fields sought to smother his own, Unit-00 taking one step back, then another.
"They seem to have been taken over by Dummy Systems!" Daniel said to the other HERZ pilots. "Try and restrain them, break their cores!"
As the others acknowledged him and began to go to work, Daniel considered simply bending the space around him to deflect the rounds coming at him in order to spare his AT Field for other work. But the display against what he believed was callsign Neptune had shoved a lot of Flux into the Eva, and thus, into him. If he tried something like that again, he didn't know how long he'd stay in this fight.
So, as a round finally pierced through his defenses, striking him in the shoulder, he threw up a wall of hazy, quartz-like crystal, the top reaching head and shoulders above his height as he turned and ran towards Unity Base.
"Asuka! I'm leading 7 rather angry Evas towards you guys." Daniel said to her comm panel, seeing Unit-02 behind two walls of dull metal, Unit-01 and Unit-05 hunkered behind it as well as they took fire from the mountaintops from both the left and right, firing back with their Nu-Pallet Rifles. "If Shinji and Rei can manage it, I'd appreciate some help."
Asuka scoffed as Unit-02 prepared to dash out from behind its cover. "They may have them two to one, but they can take them on. Right, Shinji?"
"We'll do our best. Go help Daniel." Shinji replied as resolutely as he could, and Asuka nodded as Daniel heard the wall he'd erected shatter from a rather spectacular explosion.
"Good luck, liebling. Now, cover me!" she said with a slight smile as she dashed out from her cover, Unit-01 and Unit-05 popping out to pepper the mountains with Lancium-tipped rounds as she dashed through the wide, empty streets of Unity Base.
Daniel spun Unit-00 around to face the incoming national Evas, its right arm coming up as a rectangular constellation of dozens of stars sprang to life around it and his body, thin, but brilliant lines flashing out from one star towards the others as they caught the rounds thrown at him, Asuka sliding to a stop behind him.
"Alright." Asuka said. "What's the game plan?"
"Who is the most dangerous pilot out of everyone in that group?" Daniel asked, a part of the shield becoming clear to allow Asuka to peer through.
"Probably Marie." Asuka said nearly instantly. "She has Interfacing, and…" she sighed quietly as she shook her head, a rueful smile appearing. "She's just like me. She wants to be the best. If these Dummy Systems work the way I remember Mari telling me they do…" she trailed off.
"Then draw her off as best you can." Daniel said. "If you can get her away from the others, I can handle the other six fairly easily."
Asuka nodded. "Alright. I'll get her away from you. What were you thinking of doing against all those guns?"
Daniel raised Unit-00's left arm as its hand became a fist, crystal that glowed with an inner light growing over it. "Taking away the range advantage." he said simply.
Asuka chuckled as her smile became a hungry grin. "Oh, I've always liked the way you think, Bruder. Ready?"
"Whenever you are." Daniel replied with a sure smile of his own.
It was a tense moment of silence between them. "Go!" Asuka finally shouted, dashing to the left and making a beeline towards Marie's Rocketeer, Daniel charging forward with the shield to keep their attention.
Like a charm, Asuka's drive towards Marie's Eva drew its attention to her, Unit-02 batting Rocketeer's rifle aside as it delivered a solid blow on the Evas chest. As Rocketeer tried to step back and aim again, Asuka grabbed the rifle and delivered a punishing series of precise blows to its wrist, throwing the rifle aside as the Eva finally let go of the gun.
But Daniel had other things to focus on, as the shield dropped and he got into the middle of the group, three Japanese Evas, two EU Evas, and one American Eva surrounding Unit-00.
Daniel wasted no time, his senses and reflexes shooting towards the Third Peak as he pushed Unit-00 in kind, slapping the Lancium-plating disk on his Unit's left arm as another gauntlet formed around his right. As the plating process began, Daniel grabbed at what he recognized as Arantxa's rifle, pulling it towards, then past him as he brought an elbow down on one of the arms that held it in place.
It snapped, the thunderous crack preceding the weapon slipping out of one hand, then the other, only by seconds.
Finally, after what felt like minutes, he heard the crack of a rifle firing from behind him. An AT Field stopped the round, but barely.
He turned to try and bat Thunderhead's rifle away, blinking as a pair of familiar hooked blades, composed of glinting topaz, flashed out to trip Thunderhead and send it tumbling onto its back for a moment.
"Getting yourself into the thick of things again, I see." the resonant voice of Nynrya echoed in Daniel's mind. "How often do you forget I'm here to help?"
"More than I care to admit."
Daniel replied as he kicked away Thunderhead's rifle, blocking a series of strikes from EuroEva-Alpha as he lunged for the rifle of Evangelion A-1. "Thanks for having my back."
"I am obliged to repay you for doing the same for all of us. Regardless of the outcome."
Nynrya replied as Daniel simply bent the barrel of the rifle A-1 held to uselessness, smacking away A-2's rifle to strike at A-3. "You would know that if you tried to get to know me after all this time."
"After we get you a body and I fulfill the rest of my promise, I swear we'll talk. Right now,"
Daniel said as he twisted the rifle out of A-3's hands with an almost unreal strength, "let's focus on getting these kids to safety. Strike at the center of their chests if you can. Not too deep, but deep enough to hear a hollow crack. They will be subdued then."
Sure enough, such a sound he heard from behind him. "The prone one is down. But after this battle, we will talk. We have put this off for long enough." Nynrya said in a tone that brooked no argument.
"Fair enough." Daniel replied as he delivered blow after blow to the center of A-3's chest, caving it in and shattering its core.
It was quiet again as Daniel focused on bearing down on the remaining four Evas, most of them switching to knives that were sheathed at their hips. Keita's A-2 pulled a Progressive Sword from its back as EuroEva-Beta tried to step back and clear some space to fire its rifle.
"Their presence… grows, somehow." Nynrya said, concern lacing her words. "More succinct, more defined."
Daniel blinked as he too began to feel the AT Fields of his opponents beginning to strengthen in the process of turning to smack down the rifle of EuroEva-Beta. They were starting to get faster, too. Were they cranking up their synch scores to try and get an edge? Did the Dummy System allow them to do that?
They were, Daniel confirmed with no small amount of dread, as his right hook collided with a stronger AT Field than before. "It looks like they're cranking their synch scores to try and get an edge." he said aloud.
"They can do that?" Toji said incredulously.
"Seems like it." Daniel said grimly. "If they keep going much longer, we'll reach a point where sympathetic damage reflection is more than just nicks and bruises. Take them down quickly!"
. . .
Shinji's eyes widened in fear for a moment as he heard Daniel's warning, then became set in resolve. They did need to be terribly quick, or their attacks would do more than just wound the Evas soon. They needed to make sure their friends were safe.
As he peeked out from behind cover, looking up at the mountains that held the Middle American and Nova Brasilia Evas. As he did, he saw the glint of the rifles and the flash of gunfire before he ducked back behind the cover Asuka had made for them. It was made of the same stuff that protected the Geofront, but even that wouldn't last forever.
He looked over at Unit-05, a rather small part of him having to remind himself that it wasn't Unit-00 anymore, and opened a comm panel to Rei. "We need to get them off of the mountains." he began. "Any ideas?"
Rei was silent for a moment before she nodded slightly. "Sharpen your senses and reflexes. The next time you aim out of cover, aim for their rifles."
Shinji nodded, even as his brow quirked in slight confusion. "Can the Evas handle that?"
"As extensions of our soul, it would not surprise me in the slightest." Rei replied with surety. "We'll win whatever close combat we engage in after we take out their guns."
Shinji took a deep breath, nodding slightly as his senses sharpened, the impacts of the rounds seeming to slow. "Ready?" he said after a moment.
Rei simply nodded, and Unit-01, quicker than it ever should have been, turned and aimed its Nu-Pallet Rifle. Its target was ready though, and Shinji saw the flash of escaping gasses as it fired its first round.
As the bullet began to fly at a still not too leisurely clip towards him, Shinji adjusted his aim slightly, and fired his first round, waiting for a few moments before he adjusted again and sent three more rounds after it.
Shinji ducked back into cover waiting for whatever came next. After what felt like minutes, the barrage stopped, and he chanced another peek out from cover.
As he'd hoped, he found Bailarina-1 clutching the shredded shoulder his first round had struck, the rifle that was now tumbling down the mountain towards them so much smoking scrap metal.
Another barrage slammed into the ground just in front of him, and he ducked back into cover to avoid the Brasilian Eva's fire.
Shinji waited for a moment as Floro's Cavaleiro-Verde continued to rain down suppressing fire on his position. He'd established a solid pattern, popping out from the left side to suppress their Evas. Now, it was time to switch things up.
As Unit-01 moved towards the right of the barricade, Shinji saw Rei's face pop up again. "I've destroyed the other AU Eva's rifle." she said levelly. "Mavuto and the other pilot are coming down the mountainside to engage us now."
"And Mavuto still has his shotgun, I assume." Shinji said, tamping down the anxiety that reality gave him. "I'll make this quick, then."
With that, he ducked out of cover, catching his opponent by surprise as he sent two rounds in quick succession into the rifle it held. He watched as it began to turn its head, but it noticed too late to stop the rifle from exploding in its hands.
Shinji watched as it threw the rifle aside, taking a Progressive Glaive from its back as Bailarina-1, against all odds, jumped over the mountain peak it crouched behind and started to slide down the mountain, Cavaleiro-Verde following only a few moments after.
Shinji trained his gun on the stumbling form of Bailarina-1, the brown and yellow Eva making an excellent target as he led his shot, then fired, hoping his sharpshooting was up to snuff.
The shot, much to Shinji's relief, struck true, and he could almost hear the hollow crack of the Eva's core shattering as he watched it crumple into itself and go from sliding down the mountainside to rolling down it.
As Shinji's gaze flicked back to Cavaleiro-Verde, however, his eyes widened as he saw it take an AT Field-powered leap into the air, falling in a graceful arc that would land right on top of them. "Rei! Above us!" he shouted, and Unit-05 looked back to see Cavaleiro-Verde slam into the ground, charging toward them.
Unit-01 and Unit-05 swiftly backed out of the opening between the twin walls, a flaming bident flaring to life in Shinji's open hand as he stowed away the Nu-Pallet Rifle. "I'll keep Floro off you! Get Mavuto and his friend!" he shouted as he deflected a jab from Floro's Eva.
Rei simply nodded as a massive stained glass polearm sprang into existence in Unit-05's hands, swinging in a wide arc to keep the AU Evangelions at a distance. "Go!" she said, her brow furrowed in focus as she deflected a massive slug with a floating shield of glass.
Shinji didn't even nod as he bore down on Floro, batting aside the strikes that came after him as he tried to jab at the core. Floro proved a wily foe, though, as he, or at least the Dummy System that puppeteered him, guided Shinji's blades just enough out of the way, Shinji's efforts earning him nicks and cuts on the deep green Eva.
Shinji winced slightly as a deep gashed was cut into his side, his focus on nullifying Floro's rather strong AT Field wavering for a moment. Was it getting stronger?
It was. And he had to keep up with it. So he overrode the relatively simple system locks put in place, and cranked his score up. 115% later, he smiled slightly as he felt Floro's AT Field begin to give way again, and he pressed the attack, slashing and stabbing as best he could. As he did so, globes of solid sound intermittently battered Floro's Prog Glaive aside, giving Shinji the briefest of shots to try and stab the core.
But always, the core was just out of reach, Shinji's blade finding its mark in a leg, a torso or an arm.
Shinji furrowed his brow a little deeper. 125%, the pain of taking wounds becoming more acute even as his AT Field, and physical capabilities, became greater. And out of the corner of his vision, he saw several Evas tumbling down the mountainside behind Floro as he pressed the attack harder, feeling a deflected blow slice across his cheek in a way that he was sure would start to bruise later.
. . .
Kaworu did not appreciate tumbling down the mountain at a rather concerning 130% synch ratio, his Interfacing mending his bruises as he grappled with Golem-Tundra, trying to wrestle a sable dagger towards the Eva's chest.
It had all started decently enough, with Toji ensnaring Yún Ji, Hua Tsung's Eva, with roots around its wrists and legs, sending it falling forward towards a waiting spike that managed to breach its core.
The other Evas, on the other hand, did not wait to suffer the same fate, forgoing their rifles on their backs and charging up the mountainside to close the distance and grapple with them.
Keeping their balance on the mountain peak was a considerable challenge, and Hikari and Toji rooted themselves to the mountain before he did the same, the Dummy System controlled Evas doing much the same with their AT Fields, which increased in intensity at an alarming rate.
Thus, he'd begun to slowly raise his synch score to compensate, matching Golem-Tundra strength for strength. Then, a surprise blow across the face after reaching 130% felt like a hammer strike to the face, sending his mind reeling, and his Eva tumbling out of his inky restraints and down the mountain, the others following behind as they began to lose focus for a dangerous moment as well.
As they slowed to a stop within Unity Base, Kaworu finally shoved Golem-Tundra off of him, rolling away as its Prog Knife slammed into the ground where he once lay.
Getting somewhat unsteadily to his feet Kaworu shook his head slightly as he felt his opponent's AT Field strengthening again.
'I need to keep him at a distance.' he thought as he progressed to a 140% synch score, the sensations he felt within Unit-06 heightening still further.
The dagger in his hand began to expand, the dark facsimile of the Spear of Cassius soon leveled at his pale opponent. 'Come on…' he thought, waiting for the Evangelion before him to make its move.
It was still for a moment, and Kaworu caught a glance behind Tundra as Hikari sent a wave of light at Chiju Liliang, Hua Tsung's Eva, binding its arms to its sides as Hikari charged at it with a sword of brilliant white light, half-swording it to strike at the core that seemed exposed.
But Unit-03 simply slammed into a defensive AT Field, Chiju Liliang bursting its bands with yet another AT Field as it charged Hikari, drawing a Prog Knife as it slammed into Unit-03 and into the ground. 'Are they really getting that powerful?' Kaworu wondered with no small amount of shock.
Kaworu hesitated but for a moment, and Golem-Tundra charged in that moment. His focus snapping back to his immediate opponent, he stabbed at the Eva, the blade slamming into an AT Field as Kaworu put up one of his own to stop the charge.
As the Tundra crashed into the prismatic barrier, Kaworu reached for the Lancium-plating Disk at his hip slamming it onto the base of his blade as he cranked his score to 150% to try and smother his opponent's AT Field for good measure. Now, he would definitely feel what would come next, as memories of the Final Battle of Tokyo-3 mingled with the present fight.
He charged forward, and the Tundra counter-charged, the pale Eva batting aside the Spear's blade as it slashed gashes into his arms and torso, then stabbed deep into his shoulder with its Prog Knife, a shout of pain tearing from Kaworu's lips as he grappled once more with the Golem.
As his Spear became a far more maneuverable sword, the Golem took his sword arm in a savage grip, jostling it away as Kaworu's own hand flashed up to stop it from pulling out the knife and inflicting further damage.
They stepped back and forth, back and forth, Kaworu's sword swinging in the open air as he honed his reflexes and physical capabilities more and more, his synch score rising automatically to 160 as he slowly, jitteringly, began to bring his sword back towards his new target.
A little more strength, a little higher of a synch score, and Kaworu finally swung the sword through Golem-Tundra's arm, severing it near the elbow as its grip on the knife slipped, the pale Eva letting go and stumbling back as Kaworu stepped back in turn, his sword becoming the Spear again.
He needed to end this, and he needed to end it now. A sufficient display of Interfacing would hopefully give him the moment he needed to strike and shatter the core of the Eva.
Stepping back, he focused, finding Interfacing easy as he prepared to shackle Golem-Tundra in place, dodging and ducking as he spun the necessary Frames together, the nicks and cuts he'd accumulated, along with the deep wound in his shoulder, burning with an intensity that was at once somewhat familiar and unexpected.
The Tundra charged, and Kaworu let his Expression loose, surprised at the rather greater amount of Flux than he expected as Tundra froze in place, its arms wide, its core exposed. 'Now, then.'
Unit-06 dashed forward, the tip of the Spear piercing the armor going just deep enough to hear a hollow crack as Golem-Tundra spasmed slightly, then slumped forward, Kaworu catching the now disabled Eva and setting it down gently. 'I hope I didn't cause too much damage.' he thought, taking note of the small gashes, and the not so small one, hidden underneath the Plugsuit, that matched where his Eva had taken the more serious cuts, and the deep stab, that had slipped through.
Taking deep breaths, he took stock of the situation around him. Toji was handling Golem-Tantsor as best he could, his typical greathammer exchanged for a seemingly simple, yet surprisingly flexible, spear. Hikari, back on her feet as she continued to press on Hua Tsung's Eva, finally breached the core as well, the steel-grey Eva slumping into Hikari's arms.
And, in the distance, Asuka dueled with what he remembered to be Ms. Vincennes' Eva. Even from what little he saw of Vincennes' performance during the final Gauntlet she had run, he knew it would be a terribly close fight, indeed.
. . .
Asuka ducked under a blindingly quick, superheated slash as she backpedaled, taking note of the Prog Knife as it continued to snake towards her, batting it away as best she could if it got too close. Even still the nicks and cuts she received were small, but steady in coming.
She'd accrued more than enough cuts already. Not simply on Unit-02, but on her own body as well. There was definitely still a decent amount of Marie left in there seemingly ramping up its synch score nonstop to try and get an edge on her. Now, she sat at 175%, bumping it up to 180 as she felt the pickling of Marie's...
No. Right now, it was the Rocketeer she was fighting, the Rocketeer's AT Field that she was now almost physically feeling as she dashed forward, a small dagger of pure Lancium manifested in her hand that she jabbed towards the core, brushing away a right hook that was heading towards her face.
The Expression of the Interfacing that Marie had, something to do with air, Asuka believed, still went off on her forearm, and she gritted her teeth as she felt the bones in her arm fracture from the blast. On top of that, Rocketeer still proved wily enough that her attack was deflected away, a swift kick in the ribs sending her stumbling back with the air knocked out of her lungs and what she was sure were a few broken ribs.
Asuka mended them as best she could, saving as much Metos expenditure as she could for this fight. She would need every scrap of Metos she could muster without worrying about Flux Crush if she was going to win this one.
The Rocketeer was on her in a flash, its own Progressive Knife flashing out towards her. On instinct, she slammed her hand into the blade, the tip stabbing through her Eva's palm and sliding out the back of her hand as she grabbed onto the knife.
Asuka gasped in pain, feeling the wound open up on her own left hand underneath the Plugsuit. 'Damn it!' she cursed as the Emergency Nano-Triage package within the suit finally got to work, the pain and burning in her hand disappearing under a blanket of numbness. 'I can't afford that sort of recklessness! But I need to win this…'
She wrestled the knife away from her, Asuka's stab intercepted by the Rocketeer's grip of steel as they pushed against each other, intermittently kicking at each other's shins to try and force one or the other to give way. Asuka stood strong, slowly gaining ground as she took one step forward, then another. Rocketeer's right leg was starting to shake. She hit it with one savage kick, then another, forcing Rocketeer to step back again.
A feral part of Asuka's mind grew excited as the Rocketeer slipped, regaining its footing in an instant, but only barely so. 'Come on… slip up… let me at your core…'
As she pushed more and more, something flew across her field of view, something glowing brilliantly as it broke Asuka's concentration and drew her attention to the right.
Her eyes widened as she took in the fight that was happening a little ways away from her. Daniel was facing off against 4 of the national Evas now, Evangelion A-2's sword buried in his Eva's gut as peeks of the handles of two Progressive Knives buried in his back flashed into view every once in a while.
As they struggled, a pair of hooked blades drove into EuroEva-Alpha's core, sending it tumbling lifelessly to the ground as Daniel took the arm of A-2, holding the blade in place as a hammer blow broke most of the blade off from its handle, leaving the Eva to take a step back with little more than a glorified knife.
Evangelion A-3 came up from behind him, its knife flashing high for a moment before burying itself into Daniel's left shoulder, likely just missing the S2 Organ. A-2 stepped forward and delivered a cruel slash across Unit-00's face, sheets of crimson LCL beginning to pour down it as it jerked to the side.
Asuka blinked, and in that moment, Rocketeer decided to make its move, body slamming Asuka and sending her tumbling back, the knife blade sliding out of Unit-02's hand and reopening the wound on Asuka's as the Eva hit the ground, Rocketeer dashing towards the other Evas.
Asuka's heart nearly seemed to skip a beat as she saw Rocketeer heading for Daniel. "No you don't!" she growled, spinning up the Frames needed for the Expression she had in mind as quick as she could.
A vambrace of dark, gleaming metal flashed into existence on her left arm as she flung it across her, a length of wire flowing from it like a current as it cut through the air the tip trailing to the left as it swung towards Rocketeer's legs.
It connected, lashing itself around one leg and securing itself with magnetic strength as Asuka pulled, giving a tired, triumphant shout as Rocketeer went face-first into the ground, dirt, dust, and debris billowing up as she caught Unit-00 forcing the rest of A-2's broken blade through the wound it had made, the Eva's flesh sealing up as the blade clattered to the ground behind Daniel.
Asuka got to her feet somewhat slowly, continuing to pull at Rocketeer's leg as she attached the Lancium dagger to her left arm to take the wire she had made with both hands.
She pulled, then pulled again, each step she took making sure that Daniel would be able to do his job without worrying about her. Then, she stifled a sigh of exasperation as she heard an explosive crack and felt the line go slack, Rocketeer getting to its feet again.
"Oh, come on." she growled, lashing the whip back into the air and towards Rocketeer's chest as it took a step forward. She could feel the buzz in the wire as it flew out to the left, then wrapped around Rocketeer's chest and torso, again latching on magnetically.
Asuka set her jaw as she pulled again, but an AT Field around the crimson Eva's legs kept it from falling back. Again, at least for the moment, they were at an impasse.
Asuka sighed quietly as she maintained the wire's integrity against Rocketeer's attempts to cut it with its Prog Knife. 'This isn't bad… but I need to get close.'
So, Asuka took a step forward, the slack in the line drawn magnetically to Rocketeer's body as it continued to struggle. Then she took another step forward. Then another.
As the line went taught again after another step, Asuka's eyes widened as she saw an AT Field spring to life across the half of the wire closest to Rocketeer, the Eva turning and gripping the line with its free hand as it pulled hard.
Before Asuka could stop herself, she felt herself pushed back into her seat as she went flying to the left, Unit-02's feet leaving the ground for just a moment before it slammed into the mountainside, the impact making a crater as rock and dust went into the air.
A flash of light and pain swept Asuka's vision away for a moment as she shook her head, trying to focus again. As she regained her focus, her eyes widened as Rocketeer came to a stop above her, a fist raised and flying towards her left arm.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl without her willing it, and the oncoming fist, hazy with what Asuka assumed was explosive potential, came into sharp focus. Her mind went a million miles an hour, but her next move was made on instinct, as her soul latched to the Lancium dagger and threw it towards the arm that threatened to send her own flying.
The dagger flew unerringly true, slicing through Rocketeer's left forearm just below the elbow and sending the arm, along with a decent amount of crimson LCL, flying towards her face.
A warm, primal relief began to flow through Asuka's body before she saw the blood-chilling sight of the explosive shockwave launch off the arm, heading straight for her arm anyway.
It tore through her forearm, the elbow giving way and sending the ripped-off forearm flying away, Asuka howling in pain as her own arm tried to do the same from within her Plugsuit. She grabbed at her bicep as the pain drowned in the numbness of the Emergency Nano-Triage, and her soul reached out to the metal that made up Rocketeer's armor and pushed.
Rocketeer went flying away through the air, the dull boom of its impact mingling with the thundering of Asuka's heartbeat in her ears. She took a deep breath, then another, then several more for good measure before she lifted Unit-02 to its feet.
It wasn't hard to spot the cloud of debris that marked where Rocketeer had landed, nor was it hard to see said Eva stumbling out of the cloud, its Prog Knife likely having flown away from it.
Asuka looked Rocketeer in its orange eyes, the eyes of a Dummy System, and a spark of anger pulsed to life inside her chest, the hand that wasn't dangling at her side clenching into a fist on the control stick.
"Damn you, SEELE." she whispered, nearly delirious, her voice rising as she continued. "Damn your Dummy System and your schemes that use my friends!"
The anger, alongside a very real, very electric current focused in her right arm, built in intensity. "I'm not going to let you take Marie and throw her away like this!" Asuka shouted as she began to walk, then run forward.
Rocketeer began to run too, its own right arm clenched into a fist. Their AT Fields canceled each other out. Its core was open. 'All I need to do is shatter it.' Asuka thought as her vision tunneled. 'One good lightning strike…'
The two Evas slid to a stop in front of each other, and swung.
"Give her back!" Asuka screamed, Unit-02 howling with her as time slowed, and her fist, arcs of electricity pulsing all across its length, went straight for Rocketeer's core.
They connected, and the world exploded.
The last thing Asuka physically felt was the shockwave from Rocketeer's attack racing past her skin, through her body, and seemingly out the other side as Unit-02 began to fall. Then… there was nothing.
After the pain had passed, Asuka tried to move, trying to even only open her eyes to blink. But nothing happened.
Then, the realization that she was still cognizant and in place took her aback. 'Oh. I guess I'm… dead.'
She would have chuckled grimly if she'd had the lungs for it. But those, along with most of the rest of her internal organs, were likely so much paste from the force of the explosion. 'But I'm not going anywhere just yet.' she thought with no small amount of determination. 'Daniel will know what to do.'
She didn't know how long she focused on holding herself in place. Her sense of the passage of time had gone out the window well before this point anyway. Finally, though, she felt Daniel connect to her.
"Asuka!" he said, his words carrying the shock and fear in him true. "Holy shit! What synch score were you at?"
Asuka thought for a moment. "Um… 184?"
Disbelief thrummed through her link to him. "Good god… we need to get you to Eleanor and the others. Now!"
"Wait!"
Asuka said. "Are… are the others okay?"
It was a silent moment as she felt Daniel consider what he knew. "All the national Evas were neutralized. We're all at high enough synch scores that there are plenty of wounds for Medical to treat, but no one's dead. Well…"
"I'm the only one dead. Right?"
Asuka's words gained a thread of desperation. "Is Marie okay?"
"We'll get her fixed up. Just like we will you."
Daniel promised, projecting as much surety as he could. "As long as neither of your souls flies away, we won't even have to worry about making a new body."
"Oh, good."
Asuka said. "I'm going to focus on holding together now, so I'm going to check out. Go make sure the others are okay! We both know how Shinji worries."
"I will. See you on the other side, Jünger."
With that, the link disappeared, and Asuka gave a facsimile of a deep breath as she focused on staying, Pneumaically speaking, right where she was.