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" " : Indicates spoken words.
italics : Indicate thoughts.
] [ : Indicates radio transmissions.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angel Opposition Agency
Book 1: Divergent Scenario; Chapter 2
I walk through fire, I feel no pain.
Fields of war which fuel my veins.
In the end, son, I was once like you...
Cut me, child, you'll see I bleed.
Scars of black which help me see.
In the end, son, I was once like you...
Life, birth, blood, doom;
The hole in the ground is comin' 'round soon...
Life, birth, blood, doom;
The hole in the ground is comin' 'round, comin' 'round soon!
Fields of death, the rotted womb.
Hatred, chainsaw, the blessed doom.
In the end, son, I was once like you...
The ashes that fly, the skin which burns
Kill all you can, refuse to learn
In the end, son, I was once like you...
Life, birth, blood, doom;
The hole in the ground is comin' 'round soon...
Life, birth, blood, doom;
The hole in the ground is comin' 'round, comin' 'round soon
Excerpt from: Life, Birth, Blood, Doom by Black Label Society.
Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:31 A.M. NERV Headquarters, Level 2 main passageway entrance.
Major Miyama was standing away from the rest of her troops, taking a moment to recover from the wonton, wholesale slaughter she had been ordered to execute, listening and occasionally responding to radio chatter through the tactical network. Though she was a hard, seemingly uncaring woman, this kind of slaughter was not something she favored; she was a warrior, as well as a soldier. Neither was supposed to kill civilians, not intentionally. But she had no choice, and she was silently fuming over that fact as her HUD's comm. screen flagged to her that she had a priority message incoming. It was on her private comm. channel. The private comm. channels were for emergencies only, and carried the user's name and rank to her visor display. When the major saw who was calling her, she answered almost immediately, a great deal of concern in her voice. "Miyama here, what's the problem Shoji? What's happened to Sergeant Hirayama?" She didn't blink an eye at using his first name, as none of her troops were in earshot of her now very quite voice.
]Dead, Ma'am.[ came the formal reply to her question. Major Miyama was surprised when he didn't use her first name over the private comm. channel, and that combined with the formal language he was using implied that the message was of extreme importance. ]I'm the only survivor of the squad, and I don't think that'll last much longer, I'm bleeding into my lungs quite severely…[ He was gasping the words out, his breath sounding shallower with each gasp. She gasped lightly as she realized that his injuries must indeed as sever as he stated, then looked around quickly to make sure none of her soldiers were within earshot. She watched on her screen as he sent information on the most logical route to the Eva cages for a vehicle. She realized, as Sergeant Okiura must have, that the route would take them there in less than five minutes, and she cursed softly. ]Major Katsuragi and the Third Child… Were in parking garage three four seven… They took us by surprise, and escaped…. They're heading towards the Eva cages… Through Terminal Dogma via the route three roadway… They will be able to enter… Through the R Ten area… Using either a stairwell or an elevator... Suggest you send… Reinforcements there ASAP… Okinura… Signing off…[ Major Miyama was about to order medics to be sent to the place he was at when his strained voice came over the personal comm. channel again. ]Don't send a medic, Mitsuki… I'm almost dead… Save 'em for someone… Who needs 'em…[ She heard the telltale sound of someone on the verge of unconsciousness attempting to stay awake and felt she had to say something to him. It was very hard for her, however. Only a few people outside of a small circle of friends knew that she and Sergeant Okinura were intimate with each other. And save for the two of them, no one knew that the relationship had grown from the sexual friendship it had been into a deeply emotional attraction.
There were tears in the voice of Major Mitsuki Miyama when she spoke again, something that anyone who knew here would find quite amazing. The woman that most, if not all of the people under her command, would follow into hell if need be, and come out again if she ordered it, alive or dead, was on the verge of tears. The woman who rarely smiled, almost never laughed, and had not even cried when the news of her mother's death reached her was discreetly wiping tears from her eyes, and taking deep breaths to control the urge to sob. "Un-… Understood, Shoji…" She could picture him smiling as she used his first name over the comm. "Th-thank you for your concern about the medics, Sergeant. As well as for relaying the information about Major Katsuragi and the Third Child. I'll make sure people are there. We'll get them, Shoji, I promise you…" For a moment she became very formal, her voice growing cold, but not impersonal. "You've done an exemplary job, Sergeant Okiura, I'll make sure that it goes into your records." her voice faltered again, but she forced herself to continue as if nothing were bothering her. "My only order to you is to rest, you've earned it, Sergeant…"
]Yes, Ma'am… Will do! And… Thank you… Mitsuki… I-…[ His statement was interrupted by a fit of coughing, and she could hear the blood that was forced from his lungs spatter wetly against the concrete beside him. ]Mit… Mitsuki… I'm glad… I was able… To love you… Even if it was… For such a… Short time…[ He laughed softly, interrupted by a harsh cough, as if some cosmic joke finally made sense to him. ]I love you… Mitsuki Miyama… Goodbye…[
Major Mitsuki Miyama once again restrained her emotions, though this time it was almost physically exhausting to do so. The force of the sobs that threatened with the last six words from Sergeant Okiura's mouth almost overrode her iron will, but somehow, she persevered, keeping her face tear free and neutral. "Shoji I… I love you too…" When no further response came from the radio, Major Miyama slowly leaned back against the wall behind her, as her legs threatened to give out on her. She brought her right hand up to her mouth, biting the material of her glove almost hard enough to bite through it, to keep herself from screaming. Shoji, why did I have to lose you now? WHY? A few errant, unnoticed tears slid down her cheeks, to be absorbed by her uniform shirt. I will get them, Shoji, one way or the other, I'll make those responsible for this pay! Unknown to Major Miyama, the entity that had once been Lieutenant Arima watched from a darkened corner of the area they were in. His eyes were sharp as he listened to her conversation with Okiura. He smiled as the body slumped against the one of the walls of the area they were in. There was a brief, unnoticed flash of light, and most of the soul of the individual within the body of Lieutenant Arima went searching for Sergeant Okiura. After a moment, Major Miyama felt a familiar caress against her cheek, and she looked up, only to see her soldiers almost ready for the next section of the operation. She also saw Lieutenant Arima walking towards her.
In a small alcove that held a stairwell and the bodies of four soldiers, Sergeant Okiura smiled as one who had found satisfaction in life can. I love you too, Mitsuki… He was too far from consciousness to feel it when a stranger touched his chest. A stranger that smiled softly at him and looked upon him with sad, but hopeful pale pink eyes.
Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:35 A.M. Underground lake within the Geofront.
Unit-02 lay silently at the bottom of the lake located within the Geofront. The brilliant red bio-machine seemed almost to be sleeping like the young woman within confines of its entry plug, as if it were comfortable resting at the bottom of the lake. The Eva was far away from the death and pain going on within the structure that was NERV Headquarters. The tranquil waters were disturbed slightly by the intrusion of what appeared to be a barrel. As the barrel slowly descended, it was followed by perhaps two dozen twins to itself, all just as seemingly innocent. The depth charges made their way down into the depths, towards the bottom of the lake, many towards the red armored form of Unit-02. Within the entry plug of the Evangelion, the young pilot, Asuka Langley Sohryu, slowly stirred, then cried out softly as her perceptions slammed the fact that she was no longer asleep into her newly awakened mind. She lay on her left side, curled in a fetal position, her hands resting under her face, and her legs curled closely to her chest. "Am I alive?" she whispered weakly, as if uncertain whether the pain meant she lived or was dead. Then she heard something, a loud, low rumble, followed almost immediately by a force like someone shoving her face into a wall. She cried out in pain and covered her head as more concussions came, the force of the blasts and the pain in her body forcing her back towards unconsciousness. whispered desperately, "I don't want to die, please, I don't want to die…" She whispered the words over and over like a mantra until her body surrendered to the wave that brought unconsciousness with it.
Asuka, however, did not realize that she was unconscious. She still felt as though she were within the entry plug, and she still felt the pain form the depth charges, though to her they had stopped exploding around her. "I don't want to die..." Asuka whispered, then she heard something, a voice that seemed to be speaking in time with her whispered mantra.
"You must live!" Came a whisper, as if in response to her.
"I don't want to die… I don't want to die…" Asuka whispered on, not wanting to give whatever it was the satisfaction of knowing she heard it.
"You're still alive… You mustn't die yet, Asuka…" the voice continued, sounding strangely familiar to the girl. This woke fear within her, and through that fear, anger.
She raised her voice, as if hoping that she could drown out the voice that seemed to reverberate throughout her entire being. "I don't want to die... I don't want to die."
"I won't let you die… Yet I don't want you to kill me… And you're still alive." Slowly, the image of the entry plug around Asuka disappeared, turning into a neutrally gray darkness. The voice still reverberated around and through her, recognizably female in tone, despair taking root within the voice.
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die." Asuka's voice became more and more resolute, as if she were starting to believe the mantra she spoke. She still held her eyes tightly shut, and her body was still curled into a fetal ball, as if to protect herself.
The voice within the space of nothingness with Asuka began to soften, "I won't let you die yet! You must keep living!" The voice was finally fully recognizable to Asuka. It was a voice she hadn't heard since her early childhood. It was the voice of her mother, the voice her mother possessed before the accident that had driven her mad.
Asuka started to relax from her fetal position, but before she could look towards the voice of her mother, another voice joined her mother's voice, the voice of someone who had gone insane. "Die for me! Join your momma in death, Asuka!" It was another memory, a memory that had haunted her for many years, the very memory that had helped drive her to run away from everything she had come to know.
"I don't want to die!" Asuka protested, her voice gaining strength as she fought against the memories that came to the surface of her mind.
"You mustn't die yet!" the sane voice of her mother agreed vehemently.
"Die! Come with me, Asuka!" the maddened voice of her mother called, desperately. Asuka shook her head violently, her negative answer causing the maddened version of her mother to begin to fade.
You're alive, my darling Asuka! Live!" Asuka dared to look up from her position, seeing the image of her mother hanging from her hospital room ceiling disintegrate in front of her. This gave her the strength to fight the image of her nightmares, to accept what had happened, to finally let go of the past. As she did so, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her very soul, a weight she'd never know was there.
"I don't want to DIE! I won't DIE!" she screamed, the background of the hospital disappearing completely, and the hanging visage of her mother falling completely to ash and floating away into nothingness. The scene was replaced by a park, the beautifully manicured lawns and trees almost immediately setting her at ease with their sudden familiarity. "This is… Was my home in Germany… When I was young…" She looked around, and saw herself as she had looked as a young child. She almost snorted a laugh at her appearance, wearing a child's dress and bows in her hair. She watched in awe as her younger self approached her mother, Kyouko Zeppelin Sohryu. I… I don't remember this… No, that's not true, I do remember, I just… I wish I could… I wish I could be held by you again, Mamma! It's been so long, and I've missed you so much… Then, as suddenly as the flash from an explosion, she was looking at her mother from her younger self's perspective, reaching out to her mother as if asking to her mother to hold her. As her mother reached out, Asuka felt the warmth of her hand, the she looked back to herself, seeing that she was once again dressed in her plugsuit. She expected to no longer feel her mother's hand, but she still felt it, warm and comforting as her mother's hand gave a reassuring squeeze. She looked up, and saw her mother smiling down at her, with the image of Unit-02 superimposed around her. Asuka understood what that meant, and the realization shocked her. She smiled, and then her mouth opened in a laugh of pure, childlike joy. "Momma! So this is where you've been? I understand now, Momma, you've been with me all along, haven't you?"
"Yes, my little Asuka, I've been here watching you grow into the beautiful young woman you've become… I have tried to protect you as best I could, and I'm sorry I was incapable of helping you more than I have been…" Kyouko lifted her head up, closing her eyes in sadness and pain. "I wasn't whole before, I was incomplete, and I needed your love to rebind the tear that has kept my soul incomplete… But I'm here completely now, and I'll be able to protect you better than ever before, if you'll let me…" Kyouko smiled regretfully down to her daughter, and was relieved to see her daughter smile as if it was nothing to worry about.
"I… I'm the one who should be sorry, Momma… I'm sorry I didn't realize that you were here before now…" Asuka was about to continue when her mother cut her off, chiding her gently.
"You could not have known, Asuka." Kyouko pulled Asuka into a fierce hug, tears appearing in her eyes, then gently pushed Asuka to an arms length, so as to look into her daughter's eyes. "Neither of us knew how to contact the other, so neither of us can be at fault! We're together when you're piloting, and that's all that matters, alright?"
"But…" Asuka paused for a moment, to collect her thoughts from the jumbled, chaotic morass they had become since the fifteenth angel. She realized slowly that since she'd come into contact with the soul of her mother her thoughts were calming and becoming more coherent. While she wanted to say something profound and loving to her mother, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Although the vestiges of her pride did not cause her to be arrogant as she had been, it still would not allow such behavior, even with her mother. It went against everything she had convinced herself she was supposed to be over the last several years of her life. She bowed her head, her voice coming out at first as a bare whisper. "I… I'm a coward, Momma… I ran away…" Kyouko tried to say something, but Asuka continued, heedless of her mother's attempts to console her. "I closed myself off from you, I let my piloting skills fall off… I was ready to kill myself, Momma! I would have, if Section Two hadn't found me…" Asuka started to sob lightly, as the enormity of how far she'd fallen struck her.
"Asuka…" Kyouko stated softly, pulling Asuka back into a motherly embrace, stroking her daughter's hair softly. "I know how horrible you felt, but it's in the past…"
Asuka smiled slightly upon hearing her mother say this. She even believed it for a moment. Yet before Asuka could accept her mother's comfort, her pride, that part of her psyche that had so long ago placed barriers against letting other people into her trust slapped her in the face with all of the events of the recent past. She even felt herself falling into agreement with that snide, hateful part of herself. Why are you even bothering, Momma? I'm not worth the effort, I'm not worthy of your love! Why can't you see that? Do I have to tell you how worthless I am? Asuka looked up at her mother, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, her voice raised to an almost scream as she now tried to shun even her mother. "I'm a hollow shell, Mother, can't you see that? I'm not worth anything; I'm just a useless doll like Rei, and a sniveling, pathetic coward, even worse than Shinji!" As she finished, she shoved herself away from her mother, the hateful part of her inner self that feared being hurt again attempting to sever the tenuous, hopeful link that had occurred between herself and her mother. She didn't want to, and tried to force her will not to do so, but her haggard emotions and the remnants of her pride had overpowered her will. She didn't know what to expect as she stood there, looking into the emotionally clouded eyes of her mother, eyes that were as unreadable as her own.
So intently was she staring into her mother's eyes that she didn't have a chance to see that slap that her mother delivered to the left side of her face until it had happened. Asuka could now see emotion in her mother's eyes, anger, every bit as strong as any she herself had felt. Kyouko spoke then, her voice harsh with anger, but she did not raise her voice too much beyond a normal speaking level. "How dare you! A hollow shell? A Coward? Worthless? A useless doll? Do you think I'd have come back to you if I felt that you were any of these things?" Asuka opened her mouth to speak, but her mother cut her off by bringing her right hand up, palm towards Asuka. "Let me finish!" she reached her right hand out, grasping Asuka's shoulder lightly but firmly. "You say the same things about yourself that you saw within them… Why is that I wonder? You were teammates, Asuka! How can you call Rei a doll when she was starting to show the very emotions a doll can not possess? She even tried to help you to contact me!" As Kyouko spoke, Asuka tried to look away, only to be confronted by the very images her mother was speaking of. Asuka knew the things her mother said were true, but accepting what her mother said was extremely difficult for Asuka. "And Shinji… Was he a coward when he jumped into the volcano to save you? Was he a coward the other times he helped you? Would he have kissed you when you approached him in the way you did if he were a coward?"
Asuka reeled as if she were a sailor on a drinking binge. She was seeing everything that her mother mentioned flashing into the space around her, as if she were in some kind of strange movie theater. She looked back at her mother, her voice confused and even a little frightened. "How do you know about that? How do you know about those things that happened outside of Eva if you're within Eva, Momma?"
"Because, Asuka, whenever you synch with Eva Unit Two, I see all of your memories." Kyouko's voice was still harsh, giving very little leeway to Asuka, even with the fear and confusion she was feeling.
"Then you've seen how they are! You know why I say Shinji's a coward and Rei's a doll and how I'm now worse than either of them!" Asuka screamed this at the top of her lungs, uncaring if it hurt her voice, or her mother. Her pride was not going to give in to logic without a fight, and even she knew that the struggle within her would either tear her apart or end with her a more complete person. "Rei just keeps to herself and doesn't talk, doing whatever the damned Commander wants of her. And Shinji!" she snorted a derisive laugh thinking of him, in his apron cooking breakfast like the wimp she considered him to be. "He is a coward, he always says 'I'm sorry' even if it's not his fault, he cleans, he cooks, just like any good housebroken male… And he ran away twice… And…" Asuka paused, searching her memories for that last damning piece of information about Shinji that would prove her point. She found it and threw it out for her mother to hear just before her mother could interrupt the silence that had descended. "He didn't even come to help me when I needed him the most! He… He's just a worthless coward!" Tears were streaming down Asuka face as she spoke, her tone not one of accusation or truly of anger, but of betrayal.
Kyouko came within a heartbeat of slapping Asuka again for saying that. She knew intimately what happened to her daughter, and the sense of betrayal her daughter felt about Shinji not coming to help her. She also had the advantage of not having been the one it was happening to. The memories from Kyouko's perspective during that battle came to the fore, and Asuka tried to look away from them, and to close herself off from hearing them. Try as she might, though, she could not shut out the sound of the battle, and the images of the memory stayed directly in front of her, no matter where she looked, and she was too shocked to close her eyes. Kyouko had heard Shinji, and even the rest of the bridge crew, all but begging Commander Ikari to let him help Asuka. The most painful had been Shinji's cries, appealing to his father to allow him to sortie to help Asuka, to no avail. She had also heard the subtle tone of anger in Rei's voice at what was happening, and had heard the subtle growl that Ayanami had given when firing the high energy particle cannon at the angel, as well as when she had thrown the Lance of Longinus into the heavens to kill the angel. Kyouko realized that logic would not work against the pure emotional rush that Asuka was being fueled by. She now saw the perfect path to get through to her daughter, and a soft, loving smile crossed her face. She drew Asuka into another embrace, and was surprised and even pleased when Asuka hugged her back, laying her head against Kyouko's right shoulder, all with surprisingly little protest. She spoke in a very soft voice, completely devoid of the anger she had displayed a moment earlier. "Asuka, Shinji may be willing to cook and clean, he may back down from you, or refuse to protest too loudly when you do something… But Shinji Ikari is no coward. I know this because I know that my daughter wouldn't fall in love with a 'sniveling, pathetic coward'…"
At this, Asuka pulled back enough to look at her mother, her look on her face horrified as a blush spread slowly across her cheeks. "I'm not in love with him! He… He's just a boy, I'm a woman and I only want to have a man in my life, Mother!"
Kyouko smiled thinly, her voice ironic when she spoke. "Asuka, first, yes you are a woman… A beautiful, opinionated, aggressive, but young woman… One who hasn't had enough time in life to truly enjoy life, who grew up too soon, without her mother there to help her… And as I said, I'm so very sorry that I wasn't there to help you as you grew, but the past is the past, and cannot be changed…" Kyouko then let her smile soften into a loving, irony filled smile as she continued. "And if I remember correctly, the things you say you hate about Shinji are the very same things that attracted you to Mr. Kaji, if I remember correctly… Yes, he cooked, and fairly well, too, from your memories… He cleaned up after himself, and even after you… He did chores so you wouldn't have to…" Asuka's blush intensified as her mother continued to speak, causing her to look away. For Asuka, this was a small mistake in and of itself, as she could see that her mother was correct. "Yes, he had more worldly knowledge than Shinji, but I'm sure that would have changed with Shinji over time!"
"But…" Asuka tried to protest, but was cut off as her mother continued.
"Asuka, let me tell you something… I used to be a lot like you, a little firebrand that thought she knew everything, and didn't know when to quit. I may not have been as arrogant as you can be, but I had some things to hide from everyone, too…" As she spoke of this, Kyouko's face hardened for a moment, then lightened as she continued her train of thought. "Asuka, when I first met your father, I thought many of the same things you did about Shinji, but I was also older than you… I knew a few things about the world that even a young woman like you wouldn't know. But I was still ignorant. Yet as I got to know him, he turned out to be perfect for me. He was also a lot like Shinji, is some ways, timid around new or loud, obnoxious people… Afraid to say anything wrong around me… But… He could cook, he cleaned up after himself, and even me… He took my constant complaints of how life was going with college with a smile and stayed with me, even though I was a royal bitch to him at times…"
Asuka couldn't help but feel the familiarity to her situation with Shinji, and she looked away from her mother, trying to hide from the truth that perhaps he did care for her. Then her anger flared again, bringing her memories of the battle with the fifteenth angel, and all of the times he'd bested her. She looked up to her mother, and spoke in a thin, almost desolate voice. "He's just a boy, I couldn't care for him like…"
Instead of letting her daughter exasperate her further, Kyouko interrupted her, her voice a little sharper than intended. "Don't forget, Asuka, I see everything you remember when you synch with Unit Two!" With that, she looked to her left in a casual manner, as if towards something unimportant. Asuka's gaze followed her mother's, only to encounter her own memories, most of them from her perspective. She herself on the deck of the USN Over The Rainbow, looking at him in a dismissive manner, then later, yelling at him for being a pervert but secretly thanking him that he was there to help her overcome her own fear. She saw herself later as she was moving in with Shinji and Misato, berating him for being a "housebroken male", yet secretly glad that he was. She saw many more images of him, secretly admiring glances stolen when no one was looking, or taken directly while yelling at him. She felt almost dirty for the manner in which she had looked at him while insulting him or even while physically abusing him. She saw other memories, as well, memories she had not thought anyone knew about. She saw her fantasies of Shinji, some tame and romantic, others quite blatantly erotic.
"OK, I admit that he's cute, and he may even become handsome, but he's still a little boy! Just because I think of him like that sometimes doesn't mean anything, Momma!" Asuka's protest wasn't as strong as it could have been due to the fact that she had a very deep blush spreading across her face.
Seeing Asuka's blush, her mother smiled at her in a teasing manner, and spoke an inflection in her voice that Asuka found to be very familiar from living with Misato for several months. "That's why the only person that you fantasized about in that manner other than Kaji was Shinji? In fact, your dreams and imaginings about Shinji were even more blantant…" Asuka was expecting to see and hear more of her fantasies when her mother said that, so she closed her eyes in order to not hear them. What she heard instead was a string of German curses from her, and a stammered apology from Shinji.
Asuka immediately snapped her eyes fully open, to be confronted with another time she had cursed him, then a time she had slapped him, and so on, time and time again, seeing him come back from the yelling, the berating, the emasculation, the occasional physical assault, without so much as judging her as being in the wrong, except for the few times he suggested that she could be nicer. "Momma, please… Don't show me this…" Her mother didn't give in to her daughter's request, showing her more and more times she had hurt Shinji, both emotionally and physically, until finally she heard herself yelling that she hated him and everything else. She remembered that time well. It was directly after the fifteenth angel, when her slow downward slide became an out of control spiral. "Momma!" Asuka whispered loudly, moving back to her mother and grabbing her mother's shoulders, her eyes pleading. "Please stop this! Can't you see, even if I wanted to love him, even if he ever felt that way towards me, I've done such horrible things to him… He couldn't want to feel that way… Not for me…" Asuka fell to her knees, sliding out of her mother's embrace, and brought her hands to her face. She cried because she realized, for the first time, exactly how much she had hurt Shinji, and was starting to realize that perhaps she did care for him.
"Asuka!" Kyouko snapped after a short time of her daughter crying, her voice bringing Asuka's face from her hands to stare at Kyouko, as tears streaked down her face. Kyouko kissed her on the forehead, and then wiped Asuka's tears away, a sad, but understanding smile taking to her features. "I'd say he cares for you a great deal. He put up with your attitude, and your abuse, for months. He tried in his own way to help you, and although his attempts did come a bit late, at least he tried!" Asuka opened her mouth to protest again, and Kyouko held up a hand to forestall any further arguments. "Asuka, I believe that he loves you enough that he'll forgive you… He cares so much for people, Asuka, and those that he has chosen to love hold a special place in his heart. You are one of those people, I'm certain. When this is over, go to him, tell him what you feel about him, no matter how hard it is, let him know, Asuka…" Kyouko's face hardened, and she stood, drawing Asuka up with her. "But you will have time later… Right now, I believe that you have a battle to attend to…"
Asuka awoke within the entry plug to Unit-02, and felt the concussion from the depth charges still exploding around her. The explosions were not as on target as the others were, though they still hurt. She gritted her teeth, and a slight grimace took to her features as she realized she was under the lake within the Geofront. There was a brief lull in the dropping of the depth charges, and the area fell into a deathly silence, except for the radio traffic she was picking up from NERV. She heard on the techs, Makoto Hyuuga, stating something about a battle in the Geofront and concentrated upon what he was saying. ]We've just intercepted a message from within the Headquarters! The Prime Minister's office has ordered unconditional termination of all NERV personnel, including non combat personnel." She didn't need to hear anymore. The fact that they were willing to hurt unarmed technicians and civilian workers was enough for her to consider them viable targets for her Unit-02. And if Shinji is within Headquarters, that means that they'll kill him… I… I don't know if I love him yet… I don't know exactly how I feel… But if he dies, because I didn't help him… She felt something on her cheeks, and realized that she was crying. Why the hell am I crying? She asked, event though she knew the answer already. Asuka knew that she was crying at the thought of losing Shinji, and never having a chance to find out how he felt, or to tell him how she felt. OK, maybe I do care for him, a little… Maybe even love him like Momma said… Images came to her mind, images of Shinji wounded, bleeding his life away somewhere within the massive maze that was the headquarters building. Fear welled up within her as she thought of never finding out if they truly felt anything for each other. Sorrow and grief soon followed, washing over her in a sickly wave as she thought of all the time lost to her own foolish pride, and all of the hurt she had inflicted with her pride. Underneath all of this, however, was anger, slowly building, its fires being fueled by the very fear, sorrow, and grief that was trying to tear her back down into the depths of her own mind. NO! She screamed at herself. The anger then flared within her, devouring the other emotions until all that remained was a smooth, tempered core of rage. Not the kind of anger a person feels towards another person. Not even the frustrated anger she had possessed when her pride had been her driving force. This was a far more primal rage. I… I may not know exactly how I fee, but I won't stand by and lose him before I even know for certain! I will find out how I feel for him, and how he feels for me! I'll be DAMNED before I let him die today!
Asuka spoke a few quick words, disengaging the last few safety interlocks that kept the Eva from going completely active. As she did so, she felt herself merging with her Unit-02 like never before. It felt as if she'd never been truly piloting it before. She felt the currents of the water that she was in, the felt the concussion waves from the last few less than accurate depth charges. As another barrage of depth charges fell, she thought of expanding her AT field. The thought had barely started to pass the threshold of her mind, and she felt the undeniable sensation of it expanding to encompass the area directly around her, protecting her from the concussive blasts of the depth charges. That's when it struck her, the realization that was on the very edge of her conscious thoughts for all of her time piloting Unit-02, the realization that her mother had truly never left her. Mama... I understand it now! The meaning of the AT Field, the essence of it being what it is! It's always protecting me… Always watching over me, just like you… It's part of the machine, and I can use it because you're in here! Softly, Asuka spoke aloud, not completely trusting her voice to speak. "We're always..." Asuka stopped to keep her composure, not wanting to break down again so soon after regaining her ability to pilot. She raised her voice almost to the levels she had used before falling into a coma. "We're always together, Momma! Now let's go protect that idiot and everyone else, and get out of this alive! Let's go, Momma!"
On the surface of the lake, upon the destroyer that had been bombarding Unit-02 in a vain attempt to destroy it, two soldiers had been watching the surface of the water as the explosions from the depth charges shattered the otherwise still surface. They were both startled into cowering as a massive explosion of violet light flashed through the surface of the lake, forming a cross of light several hundred meters high. They looked towards each other in a manner that was almost congratulatory, until they saw something break the surface. It was unrecognizable at first, just a deep shadow with four menacing pinpoints of white light below the surface. Then the massive head of Evangelion Unit-02 broke the surface, its red armor glistening as water cascaded from its surface. The four glowing points of light were it's eyes, which were now narrowed at the ship before the massive machine. After a moment of contemplation, it reached underneath the ship, braced itself, and lifted it bodily from the water. As the destroyer was lifted, the men on the deck only had a moment to wonder what had happened when the ends of the ship broke just past where Unit-02 held it aloft. Fully half of the crew on the deck of the ship were dumped to their deaths as the ends broke, the superstructure miraculously holding against the unusual weight change. On the shoreline of the lake, orders were passed, received, and executed, and a massive barrage of fire was brought to bear upon the seemingly triumphant form of Unit-02. Asuka saw the flashes of light and the first few cannon shots from tanks lining the shore glance harmlessly off of her AT field. She also saw that a very large barrage of missiles had been fired towards her. Asuka tilted the ship towards the shore, the ship taking the brunt of the damage barrage. The rest of the crew on the first few decks of the ship were instantly killed as hundreds of warheads smashed into the deck. In a move that displayed exactly how foolish an attack from the ground forces was, Asuka hefted the destroyer and threw it towards the shoreline. The ship slammed into the shore, destroying an entire artillery and tank platoon in one fell swoop.
On the shoreline opposite Unit-02, an officer knew at once there was only one way to stand a chance of surviving for any length of time against the massive war machine. "Attention! Go for the cable, deprive that monster of power! Concentrate all firepower on the cable until it's severed!" Within seconds the cable was severed, the high powered cable flashing and sputtering like a frenzied snake as it automatically reeled itself into its deployment structure. Asuka angrily ejected the useless power plug from the rear of her Eva, cursing as she did so. "You bastards can't stop me! Even without power, I have more than enough armor to defend myself from you, as well as my AT field. I won't lose against you!" By the time she had finished saying this, she had made it to the shore. Asuka looked around and smirked as thousands of rounds of ammunition and dozens of missiles struck the surface of her AT field harmlessly. She quickly decimated the remainder of the JSSDF ground troops that dared to attack her, her final actions upon them causing a massive fire to erupt around Unit-02. Asuka calmly ordered the Eva forward, walking through the flames as if they weren't there. As Unit-02 walked forward, flames licking harmlessly at its legs and flanks, the four eyes of Unit-02 began to glow even brighter, making the already menacing machine look all the more dangerous and frightening.
High above Asuka's battle to destroy the invaders of NERV, nine delta wing craft circled lazily. Upon the bottom of these massive transport jets were white shapes very reminiscent of the Evangelions. Atop each of the planes were numbers, ranging from five to thirteen. The cargo of these massive transports were the Mass Produced Evangelions. As they approached closer to the Geofront, a red entry plug was inserted into each one. The cover that kept the entry plug protected slid closed over the vulnerable internal workings of the Mass Production Evangelions, and each was launched. After falling for several dozen meters, each Eva unfurled a set of massive wings. The wings were the same color as the body of each Eva, an sickly, pallorous white, except for the mouth and the black colored joints of their armor. The mouth was surrounded by a line of pure red, the mark tracing down half the length of the massive head of each Eva. Each one held in its right hand a massive, double ended, axe-like sword, the blade sharpened all the way around except for a small section in the middle of one side where the weapon was held. The Eva's circled around the perimeter of the Geofront, before finally settling around Unit-02 in a rough circle about a kilometer in diameter at the bottom of the Geofront.
The immense machines landed with a few mighty flaps of their massive wings, the ground shaking with their impact. Each one furled its wings, which were stored in a protected compartment on each unit's back. With their wings furled, the movements production Eva's were viewable in all of their twisted glory. Except for their primary color and the fact that they had wings, the Production Unit's bodies were very similar to that of Asuka's Unit-02. The general shape, however, was where the similarities ended. The Production Units were slightly taller, with larger, stronger arms than Unit-02. The arms, legs, and head appeared at first to be uncovered by armor. Closer inspection would reveal, however, those areas to be covered by a flexible, yet very strong armor, that moved with the body underneath much like a neoprene wetsuit does on a diver's body. The heads of the Production Units were like that of an eyeless monitor lizard, their lower jaw forming an under bite and their massive mouths filled with vicious, razor sharp teeth. Their movements and the way they held themselves gave the impression of both the monitor lizards their heads so resembled and a carrion bird nearing the time to feast upon some animal's corpse. Asuka looked around herself, shock evident in her features. "The Eva Production series? Since when have they been completed?" She shook herself free of her shock and began to study them, feeling that this would be a very challenging fight.
Tokyo-3, June Eighth, 2015; 10:37 A.M. Central Dogma lower levels, vehicle roadway 3.
Misato and Shinji sat in tense silence as she drove her blue car down the roadway in the lower levels of Central Dogma. The cause of the silence was not merely because of the situation, but also the fact that they were passing the remains of the failed Eva prototypes that sat discarded, broken, rotting reminders of NERV's many failures to make the Evangelions a reality. Shinji was staring out the window towards the Eva failures, his face hooded in depression. Misato was staring resolutely at the road, still fuming at Shinji's earlier actions. The silence was shattered as Misato's cellular phone rang. She quickly picked the phone up and answered the call. "Katsuragi." The voice on the other end of the phone was that of Maya Ibuki, and the information she gave Misato made the major's face light up like no news for some time had. "Ok, thank you Maya. As soon as you can, could you patch me through to her? Thanks!" She glanced towards Shinji, splitting her attention between him and the road, her eyes afire with determination and hope. "Shinji, Asuka's awake! She's alive and fighting. You see? There is hope, Shinji!" Shinji turned towards her, and Misato almost cried as she saw the relieved, almost happy look on his face, and the hope in his eyes. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the emotions were replaced by a desolation that was even more intense than that she had seen before. "Shinji?" she asked, seeing tears sparkling in his eyes, but not drop as he turned his face away from her. Misato could do nothing other than stare at him hopefully, but forlornly, for several seconds before turning her attention fully back towards the road.
"Th- that… That's good to hear, Misato… Maybe… Maybe we'll live through this after all. I know that if you were relying on me we'd all die, and..." He stopped his whispered monologue as Misato looked over towards him for a moment, her eyes hard at his apparent lack of self worth.
What the hell, is going on, Shinji? Misato screamed at him mentally, knowing that doing so physically wouldn't help to change his attitude. You looked so happy when you heard that she was awake, why such a severe change of demeanor? What the hell is wrong? Misato stopped her mental ramblings, knowing that they were as useless to her as they were for Shinji. Instead, she looked back to him for a moment, considering what she could say to help sway him. She looked back to the road, pondering the information she had gleaned from NERV's database in addition to what Kaji had already found. Maybe if I tell him what's been going on, it'll help him… I hope so, it's tearing me apart seeing him like this… Misato drew in a breath, letting it out in a loud, quick rush. She steeled herself for any possible protests from Shinji, and spoke, her voice soft and contemplative as she spoke. "Shinji, I know that you've gone through hell recently. I also know that you blame yourself for a lot of it…" She glanced over, and felt a small wave of nervousness pass over her as she beheld Shinji's eyes. She'd hit the mark far closer than she though she would have. Shinji's face darkened even further, as a deep, wrathful anger flushed his face. As he opened his mouth to speak, Misato held her hand up, stalling his words before he could speak. "Please, here me out, Shinji… Please?" Misato waited for a response from the young man, and felt relief as he slowly relaxed, his head held low and his hair covering his eyes. "I know how you feel, I… I've felt that way a few times recently myself. But I have found out things, things about what's been happening around here." She took another deep breath, letting this one out slowly. She was staring at the road ahead again, and did not see Shinji turn towards her slightly, his eyes showing a keen interest in what she was going to say. She was concerned that he would explode with what she was about to reveal, mostly because the very thought angered her, as well. "We've all been used as pawns, Shinji… Not by NERV, at least not like this… But by Selee, the organization that preceded NERV. All of us, Shinji… You, me, Asuka, Rei, Ritsuko… Even your father, as much as it angers me to admit that!"
"The Commander? Manipulated? That's almost funny, Misato…" Shinji said, his voice barely above a whisper, and holding none of the humor his statement implied. His eyes were hard as he said this, barely hinting at his feelings for his estranged father.
"This is serious, Shinji, deadly serious…" Misato's voice was as Shinji's eyes had been, a vice only a few had ever heard, as she used it almost exclusively during battles with the angels. "Like I said, Selee is behind what's happening right now, and what has been happening. This is what Kaji was searching for, Shinji…" Misato's voice dropped even lower, becoming harsh with restrained emotions. She doubled up her left fist, slamming it angrily against the dashboard before returning it to the steering wheel. "They killed him for discovering the truth, Shinji. The truth is that Selee is planning to initiate Third Impact. Not with Angels and their manipulative bullshit, but by using the Eva series." Misato had been hard voiced before, but as she spoke now, her voice hardened even further, and her face became pale as old memories came to the forefront of her mind. "Fifteen years ago, Second Impact was caused by humans on a scientific mission in the Antarctic. This was no accident as we've been led to believe, but it was caused entirely on purpose. It was done in that manner in order to minimize the damage by returning the first angel, Adam, to an embryonic state before the other Angels awoke." Misato glanced over to see Shinji looking at her with an focused, almost scathing intensity. Misato was startled by what she saw, and barely kept this from her face. She felt a twinge of fear looking at Shinji, as at that moment he resembled his father, Commander Gendou Ikari. "Shinji," she said in a soft, sad voice, the tone of her voice calming Shinji slightly. "That is the truth. Kaji sought it, and gave his life for it." Misato returned her attention to the road, her voice continuing in the same tone of voice. "We humans were born from a being called Lilith. She is one of the primary sources of human life, just like Adam. We humans are the eighteenth Angel. All of the other angels were possibilities of what we, as humans, might have become…" Misato shook her head, sighing softly as she did so. "Humans that have given up their human form. Sadly, we had to reject each other, even though we're all human... That's the way of this entire, chaotic mess that we're in currently."
Misato brought her blue sports car to a slow, controlled stop, not the usual reckless stunt maneuver she normally used. She looked over to Shinji, who's head was bowed, his hands resting limply in his lap. "We're here…" Misato said in her soft tone of voice, startling him out of his reverie. When she was sure she had his attention, her voice became more forceful, to make sure he kept his attention. "Listen, Shinji. You must destroy all of the Eva series. It's the only way to stay alive. For all of us, all of humanity, to stay alive! Do you understand, Shinji?" Seeing no response coming, Misato closed her eyes for a moment, to calm her emotions. "Let's go, Shinji…" she said softly once more, getting out of her car, and moving around to his side of her car. She opened his door, Misato's cellular phone rang. When she answered, she heard the strained, angry voice of Asuka on the other end.
"What, Misato, I'm kinda busy with the Eva Production units right now!" she said, her voice tinged with excitement, fear, and the adrenaline rush of combat.
Misato allowed a small smile to cross her face at the display of seeming bravado from Asuka, and just as quickly became all business. "Listen Asuka. You must destroy all of the EVA series. I'll have Shinji there to help assist you soon. Do your best, OK? She changed lines on her phone, feeling relief as Makoto picked up immediately. "We can get to Eva Unit 01 by way of emergency route twenty, right?" After hearing his Makoto's affirmative answer, she put her phone back on hold, and pulled Shinji out of her car. He didn't resist, but he only allowed himself to be drug along at first, until it became obvious that Misato would drag him, whether he wanted her too or not. Soon enough he was keeping pace with her, and they made good time for elevator R-Ten-Twenty. The only thing standing between them and the hallway leading to the elevator was a cross passageway that allowed the Eva's to pass through it, and the several dozen soldiers converging along another corridor, murder in their eyes…
