Hey everybody. I'm finally back with chapter three of this lil' story of
mine. But before I get into things it's time for another little author
blurb.
First I want to thank the two people who replied to the second chapter, Tsabo Tavoc and Drakkan. Thanks to the both of you for your kind words of encouragement, they really helped me pound this chapter out. You guys rule! I hope it lives up to your expectations! ^_^
Now just to clear something up, since it has appeared twice, I do not in any way or fashion intend to bash America and Americans. I'm a proud citizen of the United States and love my country. However, from a literary perspective, I wanted to add some conflict, so the rather negative attitudes towards Americans are supposed to be the feelings of the particular characters, not my own views. However since a lot of you object I'm going to try and tone it back as much as I can in the future. Sorry again for any inconvenience.
And finally before I get on with this, if you do read this, please reply; be it kind or otherwise. Please feel free to let me know how I am doing, and more importantly how I can improve. This is my first shot at an Eva fic, and though I'm getting ideas for other fics, I kind of want to use this one to get my style down before I try something new. So please enjoy this fic, and let me know what you think, mmkay? ^_~
Chapter Three: Battle With the Thirteenth
***
(Somewhere within the Geofront…)
Though he was not in the cell he had first been given, Jordan nevertheless felt imprisoned once more. Though he was several levels higher up in the Geofront, and in a room that actually had windows, there were two NERV security guards always present at the door, making sure that the American remained inside at all times.
Resting his arms on the table in front of him, Jordan reviewed the recent events of the past hour or so. First he had been informed that he was restored to temporary pilot status. Though this news had given him a degree of relief, he soon found that his status had changed little. He may be considered a part of NERV again, but they still didn't trust him.
Jordan leaned forward and rested his head on his arms, letting his eyes fall on the single piece of clothing that remained folded on the table next to him. It was a new plugsuit, designed to fit his new body-shape. Jordan remembered that when he had been found, his old suit had been reduced to little more than tattered rags that barely covered him. Through all of the disappointments he had faced since coming here to Japan, Jordan was slightly pleased to see that they had kept the old colors of his plugsuit; black on the shoulders and chest, with muted gray on the arms and leggings. It was nice to see something…familiar.
Familiar; there was something else around he had found that was very familiar and he was sick of it. Jordan had never felt so alone and isolated in his life; and the fact that he couldn't talk to anyone only compounded the problem.
'Dammit, why am I here?' Jordan asked himself as he balled a hand into a fist, 'I'm not even in control of my life any more. I've lost my Eva, my home…I'm just the proud owner of a plugsuit and a mind full of memories I never asked for in the first place.'
But Jordan's thoughts were cut short as the relative silence was shattered by the blare and shriek of sirens. Alarmed, Jordan sat bolt upright, looking around for the cause of the sudden disturbance. Above the intense sound of the alarms, he could hear a voice speaking in Japanese, it's message lost on the young man who could only sit in confusion. Looking through the windows he could see that the guards were still there, but they definitely looked a lot tenser than they had before.
Standing up from the table, Jordan tried to make some sense of the sudden activity. Alarms…could the headquarters be under some sort of attack? But who would have the guts to try and assault the most heavy defended fortress in the world? Then the answer hit him like a blow to the stomach; the Angels.
Eager to find out the truth, Jordan grabbed his plugsuit and rushed to the door of the cell-like room. Knowing that it was locked from the outside, he began to pound on the door in order to get the guards attention.
"Hey!" Jordan shouted in English, "Let me out of here. I'm a pilot, I need to report for duty!" Jordan held up his plugsuit by the window for emphasis.
One of the guards looked confused and started to reach for the door handle, but his partner swatted his hand away and gave him a sharp look. Their orders had been explicit; no one was to get in, and most certainly no one was supposed to leave the room.
Jordan watched the exchange with a mix of confusion and building rage. "God DAMMIT!!" he shrieked, his voice raw with emotion, "Let me the hell out of here, you sons of bitches! Can't you see I'm needed?! What the hell is the matter with you?!" However, the two guards found it easy to ignore him; they couldn't understand a word he was saying, and the glass did a good job of muting out the young man's shouting.
Unable to contain the feelings of anger and hatred building up inside of him, Jordan began to slam his fists into the door, trying to take his rage and frustration out on the inanimate object. Then his right fist struck the door at an odd angle, and sharp piercing pain shot up his arm. Jordan let out a strangled cry of pain as he stumbled backwards, and landed awkwardly on his back. Cradling his injured wrist in his other hand, Jordan bit down on his lower lip as he waited for the pain to subside. When the pain started to go away, he tested his hand, and was relieved to find that he hadn't broken it.
'Way to go idiot,' Jordan chided himself, 'That's exactly what the people in charge of this place wanted to see; a pilot acting like a freaking spoiled toddler.' Standing back up, Jordan grabbed the plugsuit that he had just dropped. 'If they didn't want his help fighting the Angel out there, fine,' Jordan told himself, 'But I'm going to be ready and waiting in case they change their minds.' With that, he moved over to one of the corners and began to change into his plugsuit.
***
Shinji listened to the sound of his breathing echoing off the curved walls of his entry plug. It was odd, he thought, if the whole entry plug was filled with fluid, why could he hear himself so clearly? Squeezing his eyes shut, Shinji tried to focus his mind again. The thirteenth angel was here; now. Heading this way. He must concentrate.
'I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away…'
Over the comm the voice of one of the NERV technicians came over the line. "Unit-02, the target is approaching your location. Do you have a visual?"
"Nein!" Asuka's voice shouted over Shinji's comm with a hint more fear in it than the young girl probably wanted, "I can't see anything yet! Where is it? What's going on, why can't I see it?!"
"Calm down 02," the adult's voice said with unnerving calmness, " It's approaching straight down the road you are on…"
"What are you talking about, there's nothing here!" Asuka's voice screeched, starting to rise in pitch, "I can't—AAAIIIIIIIIEEE!!!"
Shinji gasped, and soon realized he had been holding his breath. Gasping again for air, he heard the voice of the NERV technician speak again, "Unit- 02's entry plug has been safely ejected. Angel is now approaching Unit-00's position. First Child, do you have a visual yet?"
Shinji listened and shivered as he listened to another exchange between NERV command and Rei, wishing fervently that Rei could stop the angel. But just as it had with Asuka, the Angel quickly dispatched Rei and her Eva, and continued on towards NERV headquarters and Shinji.
The voice of the NERV technician cut through the fear induced haze of Shinji's mind. "Pilot Ikari, you need to calm down and concentrate. You're the last line of defense between the Angel and the Geofront. Can you do that for us?"
Forcing his breathing to slow down, and pushing his fear back down; Shinji nodded and simply replied, "Hai."
"Very good Pilot Ikari. The Angel is approaching your position now. Prepare to engage."
With his eyes glued to the forward monitor, Shinji gripped the control handles in a fierce death grip, as he waited for the Angel to appear. His breath whistled in and out of his mouth through clenched teeth as he saw the shadow of his enemy move forward from around a bend in the road. Reacting from practice and experience, Unit-01's hand reached up and drew the progressive knife from its place in the shoulder sheath. 'Should I rush and attack it like Asuka would?' Shinji thought, as the Angel's form began to appear around the side of the mountain, 'But maybe it would be better to engage it from a dist,,,what? Oh no…'
The Angel that came into view was nothing like Shinji had expected. The black shape of Eva Unit-03 stalked forward towards its prey while Shinji remained paralyzed in shock.
"Pilot Ikari, what are you doing?" the voice of the technician now held an edge of panic and confusion, "The Angel is nearly on top of you…why aren't you engaging?"
"I c-can't!" Shinji croaked out, finding his voice, "T-that is…a-a-an Eva!"
There was a click on the comm device as a new speaker came on line. Shinji flinched as the sound of his father's voice filled the entry plug. "Pilot, Unit-03 has been designated the Thirteenth Angel. You will attack and destroy it at once."
Shinji was frozen between watching the approaching black demon, and the command given by his father. "B-but…there's someone…in there!"
Suddenly, before Shinji could react, the Angel lashed out; it's limbs stretching impossibly far to slam into Unit-04. Shinji gasped from the surprise and pain of the impact, and the progressive knife slipped from the grip of Unit-01's fingers. As it toppled, Unit-01 slammed into the side of the large hill, with the Angel quickly pouncing upon it; ready to tear it's prey to shreds.
***
"Shinji, you must destroy this Angel," Gendo said more forcefully, even though he hadn't moved from his seated position above the technicians in Central Dogma. Slightly behind him, Fuyutsuki watched from his usual position; lines of worry etched his otherwise impassive face. On the screen before them, the NERV personnel watched helplessly as Shinji and Unit-01 struggled against the Thirteenth Angel.
"I can't!" Shinji repeated with equal force, though his voice was filled with fear and pain, unlike his father's deathly calm monotone, "There's a pilot in there! I can't kill him!"
Commander Ikari paused as he considered his son's words. To the technicians below, the Commander said, "Prepare to activate to dummy plug system; the boy may leave us no choice…"
"Wait, Commander," Fuyutsuki said hurriedly, before regaining his composure. Gendo turned in his chair to regard the Sub-Commander, and the light struck his orange glasses in a way that hid the expression in Gendo's eyes.
"What is it, Sub-Commander?" Gendo said quickly, "We don't have much time for delays."
"Unit-04 and the American pilot are ready to be launched," Fuyutsuki said trying to keep his voice even, "I have just received word from the launch cage that the pilot merely needs to be given the order to synch, and we can get Unit-04 to the scene of the battle to assist Unit-01 within a matter of a few minutes."
Commander Ikari's brow furrowed into a frown, and he spoke in a low and dangerous tone, "Who countermanded my orders?"
"I did, sir," Fuyutsuki replied, trying to keep the anxiety from his voice and facial features.
The NERV Commander continued to frown, but his voice no longer held its edge. "You disappoint me Sub-Commander, but now is not the time for this. Launch Unit-04 at once." Fuyutsuki nodded and relayed the message to the technicians below. After he did, Gendo spoke once more.
"When the Angel is defeated, we will meet inside my office," Commander Ikari said impassively, "I want an explanation for your actions."
***
On the side of the mountain, Shinji struggled for breath as the Angel that was Unit-03 now tried to strangle the life out of him and Unit-01. As dots began to form on the edge of his vision, the boy struggled with his inner thoughts. 'Why isn't father telling me to fight? Is he just leaving me here to die? Maybe I deserve to die, since I won't fight. But how can I kill another human being? What am I supposed to do?!'
But then, just before Shinji strength was about to give out, he saw an amazing thing. The top of the Angel's black head was obscured as a large hand reached up and gripped down on the Angel's face. Before Unit-03 had a chance to howl in surprise and rage, the hand of the new Eva yanked backwards sending the thirteenth angel careening backwards through the dirt and dust.
It was then that Shinji saw the other Eva for the first time, as air began to rush back into his oxygen-starved lungs. He noted fearfully that it looked surprisingly similar to the black Eva, save for the fact that this one was painted in an almost silvery gray. It held itself in a low crouch while it watched the Angel pick itself up; a prog-knife clutch in it's left fist.
Then reality came back to Shinji and he grabbed the controls to his own Eva just as the Angel leaped up to attack the new Eva.
***
In hindsight, Jordan realized that it had been foolish not to try and go for the kill immediately. For almost as soon as Unit-03 had recovered from Jordan's little stunt, it was up and upon him in the blink of an eye.
Yanking fiercely on the left control yoke, he willed his Eva to bring up the prog-knife to slash at the other Eva's throat as it rushed toward him in a beast-like leap. But Unit-03 moved with seemingly supernatural agility, and seized Unit-04's left wrist, stopping the prog-knife mere feet away from its demonic face. With its other arm, Unit-03 reached out for the throat of Jordan's Eva, but the American caught the Unit-03's hand, and braced against the other Eva's awesome strength.
Unit-03; Jordan couldn't bring himself to think of the other Eva as the thirteenth angel, not yet. Though when he had seen the black colored Eva crouched over the form of the purple Eva, that sight had sealed things for Jordan Reynolds. Though the Angel may be one of the Evas, it couldn't be allowed to run berserk like this.
Flexing his left arm, Jordan tried to move the blade of his knife closer and closer to Unit-03's neck. 'Maybe if I can hurt the damn thing,' he thought, 'I might stand a chance.' But the Angel seemed to have an infinite source of strength, and Jordan could barely rotate the wrist, there was so much pressure applied to it. Then in an act of inspiration, Jordan flicked the blade to the side, and plunged the prog-knife into 03's right arm. Jordan let out of grunt of satisfaction as he saw dark blood spurt out from the wound he made. However, Jordan's feeling of victory was extremely short lived, as he saw no affect register in Unit-03. In fact Jordan swore he saw the Eva smile before it increased the pressure on his left wrist enough to snap the limb back at an unnatural angle.
Jordan howled in anguish, and felt his Eva fall to one knee under the intense attack of the Angel. With his right hand holding onto the right control yoke as if for dear life, he held his left arm against his chest trying to tell himself that the limb hadn't been broken. Above him, Unit-03 still held him by both arms and was now pressing his Eva backwards in an attempt to break Unit-04's leg at the knee. As the pressure began to build up in his knee, Jordan screamed as the pain began to build up to more than he could bear.
Suddenly the pain vanished, and Jordan nearly collapsed in the sudden rush of relief. Opening his eyes, which had been squeezed shut a moment ago, Jordan saw the purple Eva, Unit-01 standing above him, its arms still braced after ramming itself into Unit-03. Letting out his breath, Jordan chuckled; he had completely forgotten about the other evangelion unit. However, to Jordan's surprise the other pilot didn't pursue the fight with Unit-03. 'What the heck does this guy think he's doing? Why won't he attack?' Jordan thought in confusion, 'Can't he see he's going to get himself killed?'
The young man winced as he watched the Angel attack Unit-01 once more. This time, instead of plowing the Eva into the ground, the Angel grabbed Unit-01 by both arms, and pulled them backwards while pressing down on 01's back with its foot. Forcing himself up, Jordan tried to move to the other pilot's aid.
However, as he tried to force his Eva to stand up, he was rewarded with a sharp pain in his knee. 'Damn it all, it must've been damaged,' Jordan cursed silently, 'I don't have time with this.' Looking around quickly, he groped around for his dropped prog-knife. Finding the weapon he seized it in his right hand, and began to slowly hobble over to the unsuspecting Angel. No fancy stuff this time, he promised himself, just one swift attack and finish this. Then, steeling his determination against the pain he leapt outward towards Unit-03.
He impacted solidly against Unit-03's back, and Jordan looped his bad arm around the Angel's neck, while with the other he plunged the blade deep into the Eva's thick neck. Screaming with unholy rage, the thirteenth angel released Unit-01, and tried to claw at the Eva, which hung precariously to its back. Gritting his teeth against the exertion, Jordan held fast onto the blade even thought the thick blood from the Angel made it slippery to hold. Jerking it back and forth violently, Jordan tried with all of his might to inflict some sort of damage to the berserk Eva, but Unit-03 seemed to struggle all the harder with each twist of the prog-knife.
Finally, ripping the blade out of the Angel's neck, Jordan tried for a different approach. Stabbing down lower in the chest area, Jordan ripped the knife deep into the Angel's flesh hoping to find its S2 organ. He remembered the commanders back in America teaching him that was the only way to stop the Angels. Even though Unit-03 wasn't supposed to have one of the S2 organs, Jordan didn't know any other way to end this fight.
Then, Jordan felt his prog-knife encounter hard resistance, and the Angel began to struggle far more desperately, gouging its fingers deep into the unprotected areas of Unit-04's back. Squeezing his eyes shut against the pain, Jordan lifted the prog-knife one more time; he knew he must be at the S2 organ now. Striking downward with all of his might, Jordan slammed his blade against the solid sphere of the S2 organ. Once, twice, and again, he struck until he felt the blade go through, and Unit-03 went limp in his arms, like a lifeless doll.
***
Meanwhile from within Unit-01, Shinji watched in morbid fascination as the Angel collapsed lifelessly on the other Eva, burying it under its own deadweight. Shinji gasped in surprise and horror; true he had hated watching the battle between the two Evas, but when he had seen the gray one destroy the Angel's S2 engine, he thought that then the nightmare might be over. Shinji had thought then that maybe neither would have to die. But as neither Eva showed any movement, Shinji felt the bile of fear and dread begin to build in the back of his thought.
But then as he took one step forward, the tangled bodies moved ever so slightly. Then as the third child continued to watch, the broken mess shifted again, and this time Shinji saw the good hand of the gray Eva appear. Grabbing a hold of 03's shoulder plate, it twisted the dead Angel over onto its stomach and Unit-04 stood…or at least it tried to. Shinji could see that its left wrist was all but destroyed, and the right leg below the knee didn't seem to be working right.
Shinji thought about offering the other Eva a hand to stand up, but then to the boy's consternation and then horror, he watched as Unit-04 turned back to the Angel and began to tear at the metal plating on it's back and neck.
'What is it doing?' Shinji thought as he breathing became ragged and full of terror, 'Why is it still attacking the Eva? Hasn't it done enough? There's still a pilot in there…oh my God, the pilot!' As a piece of the Angel's armor clattered by Shinji's feet, Unit-01's hands clenched into fists, and began to charge forward. "Stop it!!" Shinji screamed as he rushed forward towards Unit-04, "Stop killing it!! STOP!!!"
Then just as Unit-01 was about to plow into the other evangelion, Unit-04 looked up and held a hand up in front of it. Confused, Shinji's pain-filled rage halted almost as quickly as his Eva slid to a stop just bare feet from Unit-04. Panting from both the physical and emotional trauma, Shinji stared at the other Eva asking silent questions. 'Why? What? What are you doing?"
Unit-04's head turned away, and with its good hand it gingerly reached into the hole it had made in Unit-03's back. Then with great delicacy, it lifted a thin narrow object; a pale colored rod that Shinji instantly recognized. Then turning towards Unit-01 again, it offered the object towards Shinji, cradling it with great care.
Stunned, Shinji reached out with both hands and cupped the entry-plug as it were made of fragile china. Looking back and forth between the entry-plug and Unit-04, Shinji whispered, "Domo…domo arigato." As if the Eva had heard and understood, it looked away and leaned backwards onto it's back, as if resting. Shinji looked back at the entry plug. 'It's strange,' Shinji found himself thinking, 'I don't know who is in this entry-plug, but yet it is so dear to me, as if I might know them.' Come to think of it, he didn't even know who was in the grey Eva. Then Asuka's words from earlier back in the day returned, and he remembered the two new Evas that she had talked about. 'I bet she didn't expect that she would be fighting one of them,' Shinji thought in a weird twist of humor. But that train of thought quickly vanished as he saw NERV recovery vehicles appear on the road coming to take the Evas and their equipment back to the Geofront.
Since Unit-01 was undamaged, Shinji knew that eventually he would be asked to pilot it back under it's own power, but he felt compelled to stay for now. As he saw vehicles begin to swarm around the motionless Unit-04, a sudden thought occurred to Shinji. Now was his chance to see the new pilot before any of the others! Though Asuka might not be too keen on being beaten on that account, it would still be fun to say he was the first. Looking down, Shinji saw the entry plug eject and LCL drain out as the hatch opened. Leaning forward in his own entry-plug, Shinji tried to get a better look.
But then as the figure appeared from the entry-plug, Shinji squinted in surprise. The pilot looked so tall…for a child like the rest of them. And in fact as NERV agents and technicians approached the pilot, Shinji could indeed see that the adults and the pilot appeared to be almost the same size and stature. Then to compound that mystery, a trio of the black suited Section-2 agents approached the pilot. Though Shinji knew that Section-2 agents often followed him and his fellow pilots for security reasons, the way the pilot flinched away made it seem as if he feared the intelligence agents.
Finally, Shinji saw the pilot slouch as if in surrender and then hold out his hands in front of them. Then the Section 2 agents attached something to the pilots wrists, over the distance Shinji couldn't tell what, and then the agents escorted the pilot into a car that quickly drove off.
"What was all that about?" Shinji asked of nobody in particular. It seemed the longer he piloted Eva, the stranger things seemed to get. Then with a sparkle of static, the Eva's comm system came to life, disturbing Shinji's reflections.
"Shinji…Shinji?!"
Instantly recognizing the female voice, Shinji stammered before properly finding his voice. "M-m-misato? It's me! Are you alright, you sound hurt?"
On the other side of the comm, Major Katsuragi hesitated, "I was at Matsushiro…I was there when Unit-03 went berserk. But listen, that's not important, I'm alright. What I need to tell you is…"
"Did I do alright?" Shinji asked, interrupting his guardian, "I hesitated...during the battle…but did I do alright?"
Over the comm, again Misato hesitated, taken aback by Shinji's plea. "Of course…of course, you did the best you could. But Shinji listen to me now. There is something I need to tell you…"
Suddenly some motion to his right distracted Shinji. Turning his Eva's head in that direction, he saw that the recovery technicians were finally opening up 03's entry-plug. Entranced, Shinji watched as Misato continued to speak in a halting and emotion-filled voice.
"Shinji…about the fourth child…I never told you who the fourth child was… but Shinji, you deserve to know! The fourth child is…"
Then the technicians pulled the unconscious form of the pilot into view, and even across the distance Shinji could recognize the familiar black crew cut and the narrow face of the other child.
"T…T…T…" Shinji began to stammer in a quiet broken voice. Suddenly the full impact of all that had just transpired flooded back into Shinji's consciousness with new meaning. All this time one of his closest friends had been inside the entry-plug of that beast. And the words of his father seemed to ring in his ears like the tones of a death knell.
'You will attack and destroy it at once.'
"TOOUUUJJIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"
****************************************************
Ya-ha-har! Not quite like in the series, but I'd still imagine that Shinji would be pretty upset to learn that he was fighting Touji in that battle. So will Shinji try to leave NERV like he did in the series? And what will happen to Jordan and Unit-04 now? All these and more will hopefully be answered in the next installment.
Please let me know how that went, as far as action and characterization. Feedback is what I live on. ^_~
I've just barely started on chapter four so it may be a while before I get that up. There was something else I wanted to say, but it's bloody well left me. Oh well. Thanks again to all those who read and reply!
First I want to thank the two people who replied to the second chapter, Tsabo Tavoc and Drakkan. Thanks to the both of you for your kind words of encouragement, they really helped me pound this chapter out. You guys rule! I hope it lives up to your expectations! ^_^
Now just to clear something up, since it has appeared twice, I do not in any way or fashion intend to bash America and Americans. I'm a proud citizen of the United States and love my country. However, from a literary perspective, I wanted to add some conflict, so the rather negative attitudes towards Americans are supposed to be the feelings of the particular characters, not my own views. However since a lot of you object I'm going to try and tone it back as much as I can in the future. Sorry again for any inconvenience.
And finally before I get on with this, if you do read this, please reply; be it kind or otherwise. Please feel free to let me know how I am doing, and more importantly how I can improve. This is my first shot at an Eva fic, and though I'm getting ideas for other fics, I kind of want to use this one to get my style down before I try something new. So please enjoy this fic, and let me know what you think, mmkay? ^_~
Chapter Three: Battle With the Thirteenth
***
(Somewhere within the Geofront…)
Though he was not in the cell he had first been given, Jordan nevertheless felt imprisoned once more. Though he was several levels higher up in the Geofront, and in a room that actually had windows, there were two NERV security guards always present at the door, making sure that the American remained inside at all times.
Resting his arms on the table in front of him, Jordan reviewed the recent events of the past hour or so. First he had been informed that he was restored to temporary pilot status. Though this news had given him a degree of relief, he soon found that his status had changed little. He may be considered a part of NERV again, but they still didn't trust him.
Jordan leaned forward and rested his head on his arms, letting his eyes fall on the single piece of clothing that remained folded on the table next to him. It was a new plugsuit, designed to fit his new body-shape. Jordan remembered that when he had been found, his old suit had been reduced to little more than tattered rags that barely covered him. Through all of the disappointments he had faced since coming here to Japan, Jordan was slightly pleased to see that they had kept the old colors of his plugsuit; black on the shoulders and chest, with muted gray on the arms and leggings. It was nice to see something…familiar.
Familiar; there was something else around he had found that was very familiar and he was sick of it. Jordan had never felt so alone and isolated in his life; and the fact that he couldn't talk to anyone only compounded the problem.
'Dammit, why am I here?' Jordan asked himself as he balled a hand into a fist, 'I'm not even in control of my life any more. I've lost my Eva, my home…I'm just the proud owner of a plugsuit and a mind full of memories I never asked for in the first place.'
But Jordan's thoughts were cut short as the relative silence was shattered by the blare and shriek of sirens. Alarmed, Jordan sat bolt upright, looking around for the cause of the sudden disturbance. Above the intense sound of the alarms, he could hear a voice speaking in Japanese, it's message lost on the young man who could only sit in confusion. Looking through the windows he could see that the guards were still there, but they definitely looked a lot tenser than they had before.
Standing up from the table, Jordan tried to make some sense of the sudden activity. Alarms…could the headquarters be under some sort of attack? But who would have the guts to try and assault the most heavy defended fortress in the world? Then the answer hit him like a blow to the stomach; the Angels.
Eager to find out the truth, Jordan grabbed his plugsuit and rushed to the door of the cell-like room. Knowing that it was locked from the outside, he began to pound on the door in order to get the guards attention.
"Hey!" Jordan shouted in English, "Let me out of here. I'm a pilot, I need to report for duty!" Jordan held up his plugsuit by the window for emphasis.
One of the guards looked confused and started to reach for the door handle, but his partner swatted his hand away and gave him a sharp look. Their orders had been explicit; no one was to get in, and most certainly no one was supposed to leave the room.
Jordan watched the exchange with a mix of confusion and building rage. "God DAMMIT!!" he shrieked, his voice raw with emotion, "Let me the hell out of here, you sons of bitches! Can't you see I'm needed?! What the hell is the matter with you?!" However, the two guards found it easy to ignore him; they couldn't understand a word he was saying, and the glass did a good job of muting out the young man's shouting.
Unable to contain the feelings of anger and hatred building up inside of him, Jordan began to slam his fists into the door, trying to take his rage and frustration out on the inanimate object. Then his right fist struck the door at an odd angle, and sharp piercing pain shot up his arm. Jordan let out a strangled cry of pain as he stumbled backwards, and landed awkwardly on his back. Cradling his injured wrist in his other hand, Jordan bit down on his lower lip as he waited for the pain to subside. When the pain started to go away, he tested his hand, and was relieved to find that he hadn't broken it.
'Way to go idiot,' Jordan chided himself, 'That's exactly what the people in charge of this place wanted to see; a pilot acting like a freaking spoiled toddler.' Standing back up, Jordan grabbed the plugsuit that he had just dropped. 'If they didn't want his help fighting the Angel out there, fine,' Jordan told himself, 'But I'm going to be ready and waiting in case they change their minds.' With that, he moved over to one of the corners and began to change into his plugsuit.
***
Shinji listened to the sound of his breathing echoing off the curved walls of his entry plug. It was odd, he thought, if the whole entry plug was filled with fluid, why could he hear himself so clearly? Squeezing his eyes shut, Shinji tried to focus his mind again. The thirteenth angel was here; now. Heading this way. He must concentrate.
'I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away…'
Over the comm the voice of one of the NERV technicians came over the line. "Unit-02, the target is approaching your location. Do you have a visual?"
"Nein!" Asuka's voice shouted over Shinji's comm with a hint more fear in it than the young girl probably wanted, "I can't see anything yet! Where is it? What's going on, why can't I see it?!"
"Calm down 02," the adult's voice said with unnerving calmness, " It's approaching straight down the road you are on…"
"What are you talking about, there's nothing here!" Asuka's voice screeched, starting to rise in pitch, "I can't—AAAIIIIIIIIEEE!!!"
Shinji gasped, and soon realized he had been holding his breath. Gasping again for air, he heard the voice of the NERV technician speak again, "Unit- 02's entry plug has been safely ejected. Angel is now approaching Unit-00's position. First Child, do you have a visual yet?"
Shinji listened and shivered as he listened to another exchange between NERV command and Rei, wishing fervently that Rei could stop the angel. But just as it had with Asuka, the Angel quickly dispatched Rei and her Eva, and continued on towards NERV headquarters and Shinji.
The voice of the NERV technician cut through the fear induced haze of Shinji's mind. "Pilot Ikari, you need to calm down and concentrate. You're the last line of defense between the Angel and the Geofront. Can you do that for us?"
Forcing his breathing to slow down, and pushing his fear back down; Shinji nodded and simply replied, "Hai."
"Very good Pilot Ikari. The Angel is approaching your position now. Prepare to engage."
With his eyes glued to the forward monitor, Shinji gripped the control handles in a fierce death grip, as he waited for the Angel to appear. His breath whistled in and out of his mouth through clenched teeth as he saw the shadow of his enemy move forward from around a bend in the road. Reacting from practice and experience, Unit-01's hand reached up and drew the progressive knife from its place in the shoulder sheath. 'Should I rush and attack it like Asuka would?' Shinji thought, as the Angel's form began to appear around the side of the mountain, 'But maybe it would be better to engage it from a dist,,,what? Oh no…'
The Angel that came into view was nothing like Shinji had expected. The black shape of Eva Unit-03 stalked forward towards its prey while Shinji remained paralyzed in shock.
"Pilot Ikari, what are you doing?" the voice of the technician now held an edge of panic and confusion, "The Angel is nearly on top of you…why aren't you engaging?"
"I c-can't!" Shinji croaked out, finding his voice, "T-that is…a-a-an Eva!"
There was a click on the comm device as a new speaker came on line. Shinji flinched as the sound of his father's voice filled the entry plug. "Pilot, Unit-03 has been designated the Thirteenth Angel. You will attack and destroy it at once."
Shinji was frozen between watching the approaching black demon, and the command given by his father. "B-but…there's someone…in there!"
Suddenly, before Shinji could react, the Angel lashed out; it's limbs stretching impossibly far to slam into Unit-04. Shinji gasped from the surprise and pain of the impact, and the progressive knife slipped from the grip of Unit-01's fingers. As it toppled, Unit-01 slammed into the side of the large hill, with the Angel quickly pouncing upon it; ready to tear it's prey to shreds.
***
"Shinji, you must destroy this Angel," Gendo said more forcefully, even though he hadn't moved from his seated position above the technicians in Central Dogma. Slightly behind him, Fuyutsuki watched from his usual position; lines of worry etched his otherwise impassive face. On the screen before them, the NERV personnel watched helplessly as Shinji and Unit-01 struggled against the Thirteenth Angel.
"I can't!" Shinji repeated with equal force, though his voice was filled with fear and pain, unlike his father's deathly calm monotone, "There's a pilot in there! I can't kill him!"
Commander Ikari paused as he considered his son's words. To the technicians below, the Commander said, "Prepare to activate to dummy plug system; the boy may leave us no choice…"
"Wait, Commander," Fuyutsuki said hurriedly, before regaining his composure. Gendo turned in his chair to regard the Sub-Commander, and the light struck his orange glasses in a way that hid the expression in Gendo's eyes.
"What is it, Sub-Commander?" Gendo said quickly, "We don't have much time for delays."
"Unit-04 and the American pilot are ready to be launched," Fuyutsuki said trying to keep his voice even, "I have just received word from the launch cage that the pilot merely needs to be given the order to synch, and we can get Unit-04 to the scene of the battle to assist Unit-01 within a matter of a few minutes."
Commander Ikari's brow furrowed into a frown, and he spoke in a low and dangerous tone, "Who countermanded my orders?"
"I did, sir," Fuyutsuki replied, trying to keep the anxiety from his voice and facial features.
The NERV Commander continued to frown, but his voice no longer held its edge. "You disappoint me Sub-Commander, but now is not the time for this. Launch Unit-04 at once." Fuyutsuki nodded and relayed the message to the technicians below. After he did, Gendo spoke once more.
"When the Angel is defeated, we will meet inside my office," Commander Ikari said impassively, "I want an explanation for your actions."
***
On the side of the mountain, Shinji struggled for breath as the Angel that was Unit-03 now tried to strangle the life out of him and Unit-01. As dots began to form on the edge of his vision, the boy struggled with his inner thoughts. 'Why isn't father telling me to fight? Is he just leaving me here to die? Maybe I deserve to die, since I won't fight. But how can I kill another human being? What am I supposed to do?!'
But then, just before Shinji strength was about to give out, he saw an amazing thing. The top of the Angel's black head was obscured as a large hand reached up and gripped down on the Angel's face. Before Unit-03 had a chance to howl in surprise and rage, the hand of the new Eva yanked backwards sending the thirteenth angel careening backwards through the dirt and dust.
It was then that Shinji saw the other Eva for the first time, as air began to rush back into his oxygen-starved lungs. He noted fearfully that it looked surprisingly similar to the black Eva, save for the fact that this one was painted in an almost silvery gray. It held itself in a low crouch while it watched the Angel pick itself up; a prog-knife clutch in it's left fist.
Then reality came back to Shinji and he grabbed the controls to his own Eva just as the Angel leaped up to attack the new Eva.
***
In hindsight, Jordan realized that it had been foolish not to try and go for the kill immediately. For almost as soon as Unit-03 had recovered from Jordan's little stunt, it was up and upon him in the blink of an eye.
Yanking fiercely on the left control yoke, he willed his Eva to bring up the prog-knife to slash at the other Eva's throat as it rushed toward him in a beast-like leap. But Unit-03 moved with seemingly supernatural agility, and seized Unit-04's left wrist, stopping the prog-knife mere feet away from its demonic face. With its other arm, Unit-03 reached out for the throat of Jordan's Eva, but the American caught the Unit-03's hand, and braced against the other Eva's awesome strength.
Unit-03; Jordan couldn't bring himself to think of the other Eva as the thirteenth angel, not yet. Though when he had seen the black colored Eva crouched over the form of the purple Eva, that sight had sealed things for Jordan Reynolds. Though the Angel may be one of the Evas, it couldn't be allowed to run berserk like this.
Flexing his left arm, Jordan tried to move the blade of his knife closer and closer to Unit-03's neck. 'Maybe if I can hurt the damn thing,' he thought, 'I might stand a chance.' But the Angel seemed to have an infinite source of strength, and Jordan could barely rotate the wrist, there was so much pressure applied to it. Then in an act of inspiration, Jordan flicked the blade to the side, and plunged the prog-knife into 03's right arm. Jordan let out of grunt of satisfaction as he saw dark blood spurt out from the wound he made. However, Jordan's feeling of victory was extremely short lived, as he saw no affect register in Unit-03. In fact Jordan swore he saw the Eva smile before it increased the pressure on his left wrist enough to snap the limb back at an unnatural angle.
Jordan howled in anguish, and felt his Eva fall to one knee under the intense attack of the Angel. With his right hand holding onto the right control yoke as if for dear life, he held his left arm against his chest trying to tell himself that the limb hadn't been broken. Above him, Unit-03 still held him by both arms and was now pressing his Eva backwards in an attempt to break Unit-04's leg at the knee. As the pressure began to build up in his knee, Jordan screamed as the pain began to build up to more than he could bear.
Suddenly the pain vanished, and Jordan nearly collapsed in the sudden rush of relief. Opening his eyes, which had been squeezed shut a moment ago, Jordan saw the purple Eva, Unit-01 standing above him, its arms still braced after ramming itself into Unit-03. Letting out his breath, Jordan chuckled; he had completely forgotten about the other evangelion unit. However, to Jordan's surprise the other pilot didn't pursue the fight with Unit-03. 'What the heck does this guy think he's doing? Why won't he attack?' Jordan thought in confusion, 'Can't he see he's going to get himself killed?'
The young man winced as he watched the Angel attack Unit-01 once more. This time, instead of plowing the Eva into the ground, the Angel grabbed Unit-01 by both arms, and pulled them backwards while pressing down on 01's back with its foot. Forcing himself up, Jordan tried to move to the other pilot's aid.
However, as he tried to force his Eva to stand up, he was rewarded with a sharp pain in his knee. 'Damn it all, it must've been damaged,' Jordan cursed silently, 'I don't have time with this.' Looking around quickly, he groped around for his dropped prog-knife. Finding the weapon he seized it in his right hand, and began to slowly hobble over to the unsuspecting Angel. No fancy stuff this time, he promised himself, just one swift attack and finish this. Then, steeling his determination against the pain he leapt outward towards Unit-03.
He impacted solidly against Unit-03's back, and Jordan looped his bad arm around the Angel's neck, while with the other he plunged the blade deep into the Eva's thick neck. Screaming with unholy rage, the thirteenth angel released Unit-01, and tried to claw at the Eva, which hung precariously to its back. Gritting his teeth against the exertion, Jordan held fast onto the blade even thought the thick blood from the Angel made it slippery to hold. Jerking it back and forth violently, Jordan tried with all of his might to inflict some sort of damage to the berserk Eva, but Unit-03 seemed to struggle all the harder with each twist of the prog-knife.
Finally, ripping the blade out of the Angel's neck, Jordan tried for a different approach. Stabbing down lower in the chest area, Jordan ripped the knife deep into the Angel's flesh hoping to find its S2 organ. He remembered the commanders back in America teaching him that was the only way to stop the Angels. Even though Unit-03 wasn't supposed to have one of the S2 organs, Jordan didn't know any other way to end this fight.
Then, Jordan felt his prog-knife encounter hard resistance, and the Angel began to struggle far more desperately, gouging its fingers deep into the unprotected areas of Unit-04's back. Squeezing his eyes shut against the pain, Jordan lifted the prog-knife one more time; he knew he must be at the S2 organ now. Striking downward with all of his might, Jordan slammed his blade against the solid sphere of the S2 organ. Once, twice, and again, he struck until he felt the blade go through, and Unit-03 went limp in his arms, like a lifeless doll.
***
Meanwhile from within Unit-01, Shinji watched in morbid fascination as the Angel collapsed lifelessly on the other Eva, burying it under its own deadweight. Shinji gasped in surprise and horror; true he had hated watching the battle between the two Evas, but when he had seen the gray one destroy the Angel's S2 engine, he thought that then the nightmare might be over. Shinji had thought then that maybe neither would have to die. But as neither Eva showed any movement, Shinji felt the bile of fear and dread begin to build in the back of his thought.
But then as he took one step forward, the tangled bodies moved ever so slightly. Then as the third child continued to watch, the broken mess shifted again, and this time Shinji saw the good hand of the gray Eva appear. Grabbing a hold of 03's shoulder plate, it twisted the dead Angel over onto its stomach and Unit-04 stood…or at least it tried to. Shinji could see that its left wrist was all but destroyed, and the right leg below the knee didn't seem to be working right.
Shinji thought about offering the other Eva a hand to stand up, but then to the boy's consternation and then horror, he watched as Unit-04 turned back to the Angel and began to tear at the metal plating on it's back and neck.
'What is it doing?' Shinji thought as he breathing became ragged and full of terror, 'Why is it still attacking the Eva? Hasn't it done enough? There's still a pilot in there…oh my God, the pilot!' As a piece of the Angel's armor clattered by Shinji's feet, Unit-01's hands clenched into fists, and began to charge forward. "Stop it!!" Shinji screamed as he rushed forward towards Unit-04, "Stop killing it!! STOP!!!"
Then just as Unit-01 was about to plow into the other evangelion, Unit-04 looked up and held a hand up in front of it. Confused, Shinji's pain-filled rage halted almost as quickly as his Eva slid to a stop just bare feet from Unit-04. Panting from both the physical and emotional trauma, Shinji stared at the other Eva asking silent questions. 'Why? What? What are you doing?"
Unit-04's head turned away, and with its good hand it gingerly reached into the hole it had made in Unit-03's back. Then with great delicacy, it lifted a thin narrow object; a pale colored rod that Shinji instantly recognized. Then turning towards Unit-01 again, it offered the object towards Shinji, cradling it with great care.
Stunned, Shinji reached out with both hands and cupped the entry-plug as it were made of fragile china. Looking back and forth between the entry-plug and Unit-04, Shinji whispered, "Domo…domo arigato." As if the Eva had heard and understood, it looked away and leaned backwards onto it's back, as if resting. Shinji looked back at the entry plug. 'It's strange,' Shinji found himself thinking, 'I don't know who is in this entry-plug, but yet it is so dear to me, as if I might know them.' Come to think of it, he didn't even know who was in the grey Eva. Then Asuka's words from earlier back in the day returned, and he remembered the two new Evas that she had talked about. 'I bet she didn't expect that she would be fighting one of them,' Shinji thought in a weird twist of humor. But that train of thought quickly vanished as he saw NERV recovery vehicles appear on the road coming to take the Evas and their equipment back to the Geofront.
Since Unit-01 was undamaged, Shinji knew that eventually he would be asked to pilot it back under it's own power, but he felt compelled to stay for now. As he saw vehicles begin to swarm around the motionless Unit-04, a sudden thought occurred to Shinji. Now was his chance to see the new pilot before any of the others! Though Asuka might not be too keen on being beaten on that account, it would still be fun to say he was the first. Looking down, Shinji saw the entry plug eject and LCL drain out as the hatch opened. Leaning forward in his own entry-plug, Shinji tried to get a better look.
But then as the figure appeared from the entry-plug, Shinji squinted in surprise. The pilot looked so tall…for a child like the rest of them. And in fact as NERV agents and technicians approached the pilot, Shinji could indeed see that the adults and the pilot appeared to be almost the same size and stature. Then to compound that mystery, a trio of the black suited Section-2 agents approached the pilot. Though Shinji knew that Section-2 agents often followed him and his fellow pilots for security reasons, the way the pilot flinched away made it seem as if he feared the intelligence agents.
Finally, Shinji saw the pilot slouch as if in surrender and then hold out his hands in front of them. Then the Section 2 agents attached something to the pilots wrists, over the distance Shinji couldn't tell what, and then the agents escorted the pilot into a car that quickly drove off.
"What was all that about?" Shinji asked of nobody in particular. It seemed the longer he piloted Eva, the stranger things seemed to get. Then with a sparkle of static, the Eva's comm system came to life, disturbing Shinji's reflections.
"Shinji…Shinji?!"
Instantly recognizing the female voice, Shinji stammered before properly finding his voice. "M-m-misato? It's me! Are you alright, you sound hurt?"
On the other side of the comm, Major Katsuragi hesitated, "I was at Matsushiro…I was there when Unit-03 went berserk. But listen, that's not important, I'm alright. What I need to tell you is…"
"Did I do alright?" Shinji asked, interrupting his guardian, "I hesitated...during the battle…but did I do alright?"
Over the comm, again Misato hesitated, taken aback by Shinji's plea. "Of course…of course, you did the best you could. But Shinji listen to me now. There is something I need to tell you…"
Suddenly some motion to his right distracted Shinji. Turning his Eva's head in that direction, he saw that the recovery technicians were finally opening up 03's entry-plug. Entranced, Shinji watched as Misato continued to speak in a halting and emotion-filled voice.
"Shinji…about the fourth child…I never told you who the fourth child was… but Shinji, you deserve to know! The fourth child is…"
Then the technicians pulled the unconscious form of the pilot into view, and even across the distance Shinji could recognize the familiar black crew cut and the narrow face of the other child.
"T…T…T…" Shinji began to stammer in a quiet broken voice. Suddenly the full impact of all that had just transpired flooded back into Shinji's consciousness with new meaning. All this time one of his closest friends had been inside the entry-plug of that beast. And the words of his father seemed to ring in his ears like the tones of a death knell.
'You will attack and destroy it at once.'
"TOOUUUJJIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"
****************************************************
Ya-ha-har! Not quite like in the series, but I'd still imagine that Shinji would be pretty upset to learn that he was fighting Touji in that battle. So will Shinji try to leave NERV like he did in the series? And what will happen to Jordan and Unit-04 now? All these and more will hopefully be answered in the next installment.
Please let me know how that went, as far as action and characterization. Feedback is what I live on. ^_~
I've just barely started on chapter four so it may be a while before I get that up. There was something else I wanted to say, but it's bloody well left me. Oh well. Thanks again to all those who read and reply!