Chapter 11: Angel of Might


The next morning at sunrise Rei was sleeping in Shinji´s arms.
A small bird landed on the window-sill and started singing.
A single sun-ray tickled her nose. Finally she awoke and leered at the clock.
"Oh..."

"Hm?" Shinji said. "Rei-chan, what´s up?"

"We shouldn´t have fallen asleep."

He smiled relaxed.
"After we did I guess it was... understandable."

"Yes", she whispered and caressed his cheek. He answered by pulling her back into his arms
and embracing her softly.

"If this moment could only last forever... Rei-chan are you happy?"

She thought for a moment, came to the resolution that she felt quite happy.
"Yes."

"Me too, beloved."
He kissed her on the lips.
"I don´t want to loose you... never... I know it since the fight with Ramiel."

"I know... truth..."

"You know?"

"I remember... your lips when you brought me back... your words..."

"Ah... you never said anything..."

"There was no reason; why talking about the obvious? But you were wrong."

"Wrong?"

"You do not need my strenght. Your strenght originates here."
She place a hand on his chest above his heart.
"With this strenght you could form the world."
Rei broke the embrace, sat up, reaching for her nightie and put it on.
"I have to see after Asuka, she was quite down yesterday."

"She didn´t feel weel?"

"No. But she wanted to be alone."

He remembered the moments after his first fights inside EVA-01 after having finished the
opponent and the heart beating slower again, remembered how much he had been in pain. But
he had nobody come near him, had wanted to be alone.
"I know how she feels."

"Yes. Don´t forget - this afternoon we have tests." She bended down and gave him a long loving
kiss before getting up and leaving the room. She just looked shortly into the room
she was sharing with Asuka who was laying on the bed knees drawn up to her chest, arms
around her knees, snorring, before entering the bathroom.
When she came back Asuka had turned to the other side. Silently she moved through the room
and laid down on her bed eyes gazing into the far away, a feint smile on her lips.

At noon Zeruel attacked, the angel of might. And everything changed...


***


The angel had appeared above Tokio-3 without warning, broken through the lines of defense
and made his way right into the geofront, smashing armor layer after armor layer.

At this time only Asuka and Rei were at the headquarters while Shinji visited Touji at
hospital, of course he left for the geofront as soon as the sirens started to wail.

Misato decided to intercept the angel inside the geofront near the central shaft. EVA-00
was still damaged beyond it´s natural regeneration abilities. Gendo ordered Rei to use
EVA-01, time was running short and he couldn´t afford to wait for his son.

Asuka felt terrible after a mostly sleepless night. And the few hour she had slept had been
of nightmares. Her synchronrate was low, EVA-02 just followed slowly and moved very wooden.

Major Katsuragi, after recognizing this, changed her plan and ordered Asuka to take position
behind the cover of an artificial hill while having the complete arsenal brought to her.

The red EVA waited within it´s sniper position for the enemy, it´s pilot cursing her own
weakness.

Meanwhile the synchronisation between Rei and EVA-01 was started.

"Entryplug is inside unit one. LCL initiated." Maya Ibuki reported.

"Close A10-nerve connections!" Akagi ordered the operators.

The screen showed Rei suddenly folding up as if she felt terrible pain within her stomach.

"Pulse frequency falls. Unit one denies neuralconnections!"

"I can´t believe it..." Ritsuko mumbled.

At the commander´s area Fuyutsuki looked at Gendo from aside.
"Ikari..."

"Yes. She denies me..." He stiffened. "Abort startsequence and start anew. Prapare a dummy-
plug additionally. Unit one must be readied, one way or the other!" Gendo nodded at his
second-in-command. "You are in command, I´m in the hangar."

Within the entryplug Rei was collecting all her strenght. During the first try to initiate
the startsequence she had believe to have run again a brickwall. The EVA had not only completly
ignored her orders but blocked and thrown back.
Finally her heartbeat had calmed.

Akagi announced another try.

"Ready." Rei confirmed.
Again she reached out for the EVA-consciousness, tried to make the giant move.

A wave of denial hit her.

She was breathing hard, thought her heart would burst within her chest as fast as it was
beating suddenly.
"Why?" Rei whispered.

"Rei, I abort", Ritsuko said.

"No, I have to make it", she whispered and turned of the radio, concentrating again by
projecting the picture of a smiling Shinji Ikari before her mind´s eye.

It worked, the opposition lessened.

Why? it echoed from the deepth of the EVA-consciousness.

At first she believed it an echo of her own thoughts, then a wave of emotions rolled over
her, dragging her away...


***


The angel entered the geofront, smashing through the last layer.

Asuka shot her positronrifle, emptied the complete clip into Zeruel´s AT-field without piercing
it. Careless she threw the rifle away and grabbed another one, repeating the action
again without success.

"The passive AT-field is too strong for the positronbullets!" Misato explained.

"Yes, I see it - now!"
She shouldered a rocketlauncher, fired. The impact made the giant loose a bit of it´s balance.
"Verdammter Bastard!" (trans: Damned bastard!)

The last hit got her Zeruel´s attention. The next moment he tackled her. EVA-02 reacted
way too slow. Paper-thin whip-like arms hit the red EVA, ripping it´s arms off and slicing
through the chest armor.
For a moment Asuka felt pain, terrible pain, then the synchronconnection was interrupted.
Before loosing consciousness she noticed the entryplug beeing evacuated.


***


Gendo stood on the catwalk next to unit one, staring at it through his dark glasses.

"Father!"

The older Ikari turned around, watched his son climbing up the ladder, still wearing his
civilclothes and out of breath.

"You are late."

"Yes..." Shinji stopped pantingly, looked at EVA-01. "Who... is inside the entryplug...?"

"Rei." Gendo turned towards the next intercom. "Akagi, interrupt the start, Shinji has arrived."

"No reaction. EVA-01 denies all signals."

"What?"

Misato entered the connection.
"The angel has beaten EVA-02."

"Asuka!" Shinji said.

"Pilot was salvaged."

"That doesn´t matter now!" Gendo bellowed. "What about Rei?"

"No contact. - Commander, leave the hangar, the angel...!"

At this moment Zeruel broke through the wall, hesitate for a second, before moving slowy
towards the EVA-cages.

Shinji stared at the giant.

Gendo shouted at EVA-01: "Act! Do something!"

Debris fell from the ceiling. Shinji looked up, saw a part of the construction giving way.
"Father, move!" he screamed and threw himself forward, pushing his father out of harm´s way,
hit the catwalk. The last thing he saw were some dark shadows falling towards him...


***


Gendo Ikari use the railing to regain his balance, a piece of metal had hit his shoulder,
his arm got limb.
"Thanks..." he mumble while turning around.
His eyes grew wide.

Shinji was buried under the debris, only a twitching hand was visible.

"No... Shinji!"
Something inside him broke. The angel seemed to vanish out of existence while he started
digging.
Then he threw the head around and screamed at EVA-01.
"Are you happy now? Is it this was you wanted?"

And EVA-01 answered with a loud roar, broke the bindings and grew to it´s full size.
It roared the boy´s name...


***


"Shinji!" Rei screamed.
Just a moment ago he had fought against dragging coming out of the EVA-consciousness´ deepth
when the duel for control suddenly had been ended - by EVA-01.
It had been the same moment Shinji had vanished under the falling debris.

No...

Zeruel came closer.

Stop it!

"Yes..." she answered to the strangly familiar voice coming out of the EVA´s deepth. "Help
me!"

And light filled the entryplug...


***


With open mouth Ritsuko Akagi was staring at the monitors.
"Synchronisation with EVA-01 closed. Synchronrate increasing rapidly... Maya, are the
numbers correct?"

"Yes, Sempai. Synchronrate at 150% and growing..."

"Yes, Rei, go and get it!" Misato encouraged the pilot.

Like lightning EVA-01 jumped out of it´s LCL-pool and attacked the angel.

The angel whipped with it´s arm at EVA-01, the right arm simply splittered at contact with
the EVANGELION´s AT-field.

"Field-strength not measurealbe anymore", Maya whispered. "Synchronrate at 200% and increasing!"

The purple hand of EVA-01 grabbed the angel´s other arm below the shoulder and ripped it
without any problems of the socket, beating Zeruel with it´s own arm, chasing it right
through the hangar.

Gendo, still busy with digging Shinji free, ignored the wavelike drop of blue angelblood
hitting him.

Out of Zeruel´s back grew several smaller arms, started beating at unit one, cutting the
maintenance cable. Now EVA-01 only had energy for about a minute of combat activity.
Rei was determined to use this time by throwing the angel onto on of the elevatorplattforms
and nailing it down with one knee while being carried to the surface and smashing the EVA´s
fists into it.

Zeruel´s arms hit the chest armor of EVA-01, broke several segments.

They reached the surface within a small wood.

Rei ripped a tree out of the ground, gored the angel with it. Zeruel laid unmoving.

Time was running out...

EVA-01 fell down down to the enemy.

"Synchronrate beyond 400%. No changes!"

"Even with the EVA´s energy spent?" Ritsuko asked.

As if it wanted to mock them EVA-01 rose the very same moment and howled with triumph.
And then it turned at the body of it´s fallen enemy and started feeding...


***


Gendo Ikari waited in front of the ER. There was nothing else he could do. Fuyutsuki had
everything under control, while Katsuragi commanded the salvage of EVA-01.
On the other side of the door was his son. Shinji have saved his life and Gendo felt obliged
to wait...

Finally the doors were opened and his son brought out, head thickly bandaged.

"And, doctor?"

The doctor nodded.
"Lots of bruises, cuts, a concussion and a broken arm, quite complicated break. The boy was
lucky."

"So he won´t be able to pilot the next days."

The doctor move a step away from Ikari.
"Yes... you could formulate it... this way..."

"You can tap into all available ressources to fasten his recovery."

"Yes, Commander."