Neon Genesis Evangelion : Eye of the Tiger
Chapter Two - A Real One!?
[english]
/thoughts /
*comm devices*
Fei stepped to the railing of bow of the cargo ship. An unlit cigarette hung from his lips as he looked to the super carrier 'Over the Rainbow'. On the flight dec sat on of the largest troop transport copters ever built. Sleek black, large enough to move an Evangelion with support crew, and was able to fly with four sets of rotors, it was the pride of the SCOUTS. Currently, it was being unloaded and refuled as it prepared to lift off to escape the Angel's attack. After lighting the cigarette with a flat black lighter, a gloved hand lifted a small radio from Fei's belt to his face and began to speak into it.
"[Wild Child to Bear, do you copy? Over.]"
*[This is Bear. I copy. Over]*
"[I need the beast fueled and prepped for remote activation. Over]"
*[Roger that Fei. Way ahead of ya there. Weltall is fueled and ready for launch. Unfortunately, no weapons could be unloaded from the bird. Over]*
"[Roger. You guts should probably just lift off. It's not safe for a bird here anymore. Over.]"
*[We're heading to port. I'll see you there pilot. Over]*
"[Thanks Bear. Oh, and can you feed Fluffy when you land? The little beast is probably hungry. Over.]"
*[Heh- will do pilot. Now, don't you have an enemy to fight?]*
The cigarette fell from the long-haired youth's mouth as a look of determination spread across his face. "[Roger that Bear.]"
Fei cliped the radio back onto his belt, then began to remove his jacket. The leather fell to the ground with a thump, followed by hus black turtle neck and his pants. Standing on the deck of the transpert vessel, Fei slid his pistol into the holster built into the black pilot suit that he was wearing. The same suit he always wore under his uniform. A flat black, the suit conformed to his body much like an Eva pilot's plug suit. Created with stealth infiltration and the need to survive in mind, this particular 'sneak suit' had all of the life support systems that the plug suits had, a holster for two pistols built in, and mounts to hang clips of ammo onto.
/ Time to show this angel that he chose the wrong convoy to mess with. /
Fei pressed a small button on the digital watch built into his sneak suit."
"Weltall remote activation sequence begin," Fei proclaimed.
Asuka layed next to the entry hatch of her beloved Unit-02 as she worked a small control panel built into the Eva's back.
"Asuka," Shinji yelled to his hot-headed fellow pilot, " What do we need these flight suits for?"
Asuka looked down to the Third Child. Clad in a red female issue plug suit just like hers and ising his arms in a futile attempt to cover hhimself, he was a comical site to behold.
"Are you stupid?" Asuka replied, "Were going to fight the Angel!"
"Shouldn't we ask Misato?"
Just then the entry hatch opened and the entry plug twisted out of place, and the cockpit opened up. Asuka motioned for Shinji to join her as she replied, "I'll get her permission after the fact."
Asuka climbed into the pilot's seat leaving shinji to position himself behind her, overlooking the controls and veiwscreen.
Inside the cockpit of Gear Unit-00, a small light on the right control stick began to flash. A monotone feminine voice could be heard, if anyone was in said unit.
"Remote activation sequence confirmed. Scanning terrain. Over-sea terrain confirmed. Possible underwater conflict. Adjusting seal pressure. Confirmed. Activation sequence starting."
All of the controls lit up simultaneously. The surrounding veiw screen sprang to life, and on it, the black transport helicopter could be seen lifting off. But this was of no consequence to Weltall. The sensor panel began beeping an alarm as, once again, the monotone female voice spoke, "Enemy designated 'Angel' confirmed. Searching for location of pilot...Pilot location confirmed. Engine starting. All systems powering up. Weltall launching."
A deck hand walking by the still head of Weltall got the shock of his life as the dormant machine's eyes lit up. Shining a brilliant yellow, they turned, along with it'e head to the miniscule being next to it. The young Navy recruit ran away. Fast. Weltall's head righted itself, as the giant machine sat up on the deck.
On the bridge of the 'Over the Rainbow', Touji and Kensuke (through his video camera) watched as Misato bickered with the crusty old Admiral about the current predicament. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on you point of veiw, the two were cut off by the cry of a crewman monitoring the flight deck.
"Oh my God! Gear Unit-00 has just activated itself!"
The bridge crew and visitors all looked down to where the Gear had been laying, only to se it slip into the water under it's own power. An audible splash, and accompanying water hit the deck crew like a miniature hurricane, with deckhands running about in all directions.
"Sir! Unit-02 is begining it's activation progress too!"
The Admiral grabbed a microphone and began to bellow into it, "Cancel the start-up of Unit-02!"
"Don't listen to that old fool Asuka!," Misato yelled into the mic as she wrenched it from the old man's grip, "GO!"
Fei felt the rush of air behind him as the red behemoth that was Evangelion Unit-02 jumped into the air wrapped in the canvas that had covered it's sleeping form. As the red mech flew over head, the massive form of Welltall burst from the water in front of the long-haired pilot. As the sea-spray dusted his face, he jumped toward the chest plate of the gear. In response to his leap, the gear's chest armor split, and a small door slid upward unveiling the cockpit of the mechanical monster. The pony-tailed youth landed in the entrance to his small lair, and sat in the soft contro chair. The control center of the giant robot was shut off from the rest of the world when the entrance sealed itself along with the chest armor. Veiwscreens came to life as a contol panel slid over Fei's lap. He reached over to the side and produced a sleek black helmet over his head, and stowed his clothes where he had gotten the protective gear. The forward veiwscreen came alive with activity when the very ship that Fei and Unit-02 had resided on explode in a flurry of water.
The monotone voice of Weltall's computer proclaimed, "A-9 nerve connection in place. Weltall activation complete."
"Activate Booster System." Fei said through his helmet.
"Booster System active."
"Then lets rock'n'roll Weltall," Fei smugly commanded as his hands covered the control, and he dropped the gear under water.
Asuka Piloted her Eva with practiced skill hopping from ship to ship, all the while the aquatic Angel hot on her heels. Behind her, Shinji held on the the control chair for dear life as his stomach heavily protested the current motions his body was forced to endure. Asuka, on the other hand, had a look of euphoria on her face.
"We have less than a minute's power!" Shinji cried after glancing at the power guage.
"Right," the red head replied. "Misato," she called after activating the comm system, "Get that external power supply onto the deck!"
"Okay Asuka!" the older woman called over the intercom.
A moment later, a vid-window popped up to the left of the two pilots. The figure depicted in the window was helmeted sitting in a cockpit similar to the entry plug the two Eva pilots were currently sitting in. The caption under the window read 'Gear-00'.
"Wild Child to Red. Do you copy?" the helmeted face called.
"RED?!?!?!? Who do you think you are?" Asuka yelled back.
"Fei?" Shinji yelled.
"Yeah. Whats your situation?"
Shinji opened his mouth to reply, but Misato butted in over the comm, "Fei, you need to keep Unit-02 out of the water! It's using B-type equipment!"
"SHEIST!" Asuka cried, "I forgot. Damn it."
"Whats B-type equipment?"
"It's impossible to fight with it underwater!" Misato called over the comm.
Asuka steered her Eva toward the super carrier after she saw that the external power supply was set up. "Unit-02 coming in for a landing!"
Misato was royaly pissed. Not only did she have to deal with the moronic admiral of the pacific fleet, but Kaji had run out on them. Flying off in a custom fighter, she had left her to 'handle things'. Added to that was the untested (against Angels at least) Gear being the only viable way to fight the Angel, since Unit-02 was using equipment not meant for underwater combat.
Kensuke, on the other hand, was in tears. When Unit-02 had landed on the flight deck, the ship had tipped, allowing a good number of the fighter jets on deck fall to their watery graves. Though to his eyes, the battle that was commencing was blurry, his camcorder caught it clearly. At least, the parts it could see.
The red Eva stood proudly as the geyser of water that the Angel created neared the carrier that Unit-02 stood upon. The left shouler wing opened up, producing a progressive knife. Looking like a box cutter, the newest model's prog knife could be snapped apart in case part of the blade was broken, and more of the sharp edge extended. The Production model held the relatively miniscule weapon toward the oncoming enemy.
The two Eva pilots became a bit confused when the geyser turned off course, away from the fleet. Without warning a splash erupted directly ahead of the Angel, and Weltall flew into the air. A sleek black, with red and white trim, the boosters on the gear's back flared to life, keeping it aloft. The angel jumped from beneath the waves, it's giant form boasting grace it shouldn't have and enough teeth to make a dentist cry.
"Damn it!" Fei cried over the intercom, "Red, you got any weapons?"
The Angels jump from the water came just short of snatching Weltall in it's mighty maw. In it's rage, the monster snapped its teeth at the Gear's feet as it fell beneath the waves once more.
"Just the prog knife, cat boy." Asuka replied.
"Damn."
The Angel seemed to decide that the flying target was more trouble than it was worth for now, as it streaked for Unit-02 once again. It surfaced, once again opening the great chasm that was it's mouth, and leapt onto the carrier, intent on snatching the red Eva in it's mouth. Asuka had no time to use her weapon as the monster dug it's teeth into her mech's torso, and dragged the immobile Eva with it into the cold ocean.
Misato and Fei, summed up their emotions in one word, at the same time, "FUCK!"
"Fei, you need to get Asuka and Shinji out of there," Misato ordered with a hint of desperation.
"Roger," Weltall's pilot said, as he willed his gear to drop to the deck. Unit-02's umbillical cable, the life sustaining energy source for an Evangelion, had almost run out. The yellow green eyes of Weltall observed the cable become taught. Fei had heard Capt. Katsuragi warn his fellow pilots of the coming shock, but a plan was already forming in his mind. He observed on a vid-window to his left, the Angel turning to once again clamp down on the Eva it had extracted from the deck. He tuned out the chatter of the other pilots. He then, took action.
Weltall jumped over the side of the ship, and gripped the power line loosely, and used it to guide him to the Angel. Weltall sliped through the water, assisted by his boster's, until he ran into Unit-02.
"Watch it dumkopf!" Asuka screeched at him.
"Sorry. Still got your knife?"
"Yeah," Shinji said.
"Okay. I have a plan. I'll free you from fish-lips here, and you two stab the core."
"Thats crazy! we have to climb into it's mouth?!?!" Asuka screeched irately.
"Hey, your already half way there, and besides, it's the fastest way."
Misato chose this moment to intervene, "I agree with Fei. Carry out the plan."
"Yes mam," Asuka said dejectedly.
"Good," Fei said, "GO!"
Weltall's hands gripped the mouth of the beast. The Angel's teeth slid neatly from Unit-02's body. The red mech, now free, pulled it's way into the enemy's body with the Prog Knife held firmly in hand.
Fei's arms burned and angry red marks appeard on his hands about where Weltall's met teeth. The strain put on the gear was transfered to him through the Neural link, much like an Eva. A small alarm rang, and the status console lit up from warnings of iminent joint seal ruptures. He could feel his limbs locking up as water rushed into the gear's elbows, wrists and shoulders. But he could hold out. Asuka and Shinji were almost there. "Hurry up you two...ghh...."
In the cockpit of Unit-02, Asuka and Shinji pressed forward, toward the Angel's core. Fei's grunts of discomfort came over the intercom. But they couldn't move any faster. B-type equipment made underwater movement sluggish at best. So, they were forced to move at a crawl. After what seemed like forever, but was in fact a few momwents, they had reached the core. Ecstatic, Asuka pushed forward onto her control yoke, and with a scream of fury willed her Eva to stab the knife into the red glowing gem before her. The monster of a mech was more than willing to comply as the knife slid cleanly into the solid sphere that was the Angel's heart.
Fei heard the scream, and saw the stab, but then, everything was white. The sound of exposive fury surrounded him, and then, he was tossed into the air. He saw Unit-02 as well, and he followed it's sight all the wat to it's safe landing on the Super air-craft carrier. He was not so lucky. Weltall landed on it's back with a crash, it's arms locked up and unable to move.
"Ouch," Fei winced, as he willed the Gear to it's sleep, and the shutdown process began. Sore all over, Fei climbed out of the cockpit. His long hair flowed down his back as he pulled the helmet off of his head. Wit a glance to his right, he could see the entry plug of Unit-02 had already been ejected, and the two pilots were exiting the red behemoth. He smiled as he gave the two a thumbs-up. The pair returned the gesture and began their descent to the deck.
Asuka rushed the jeep that Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and Capt. Misato Katsuragi were riding in port. It had been only a short trip left afeter the Angel attack.
"Where's Kaji?!?! Did he see?!?!" an excited Asuka gleefuly questioned the purpl-haired captain.
"That jerk took off the moment things got too hot!"
Fei and Shinji, who was wearing the former's jacket to cover the red plug suit's 'extra pectoral room', rode the gangway to the cement dock. Unit-02 was being unloaded by a crane. Not too far away, the enormous heliopter from the SCOUTS rested, currently having the rest of it's load hauled away. A tall figure, dressed in a suit similar to Feis leaned against the side of the copter, smoking a cigarette. He waved to the pair, but stayed where he was. Touji and Kensuke joined the pair of pilots, as Misato's jeep pulled up.
"C'mon," she said to the group, motioning to the seats behind her. Asuka was already aboard. "Where heading over to HQ," she conitinued.
Hours later
NERV headquarters, located beneath the fortress city of Tokyo-3, was housed in a Geo-Front. Composed of many facilities above and below ground, the central control room was located in the metallic pyramid known as Central Dogma. In this modern mockery of the ancient Egytan's greatest acheivments, stood Fei, Misato, Shinji, Asuka, and a gruff older man Fei had introduced as 'Bear', his guardian while he was stationed in America. The conference room was by no means small, and even had a flat screen projector installed for 'war meetings'.
Dr. Ritsuke Akagi, a rather attractive blonde woman with a mole on her cheek like a tear, entered the room, followed by a short-haired female tech (who looked positively giddy at the moment), and a petite girl about the age of the other pilots. She had pale skin, and her hair was a soft blue, but her Eye's caught the new pilot's attention. A blood red, they seemed to be familiar to him, as if something was tugging at the brink of his conciousness. The long haired youth was snapped ut of his reverie as the blonde woman spoke.
"Hello Fei. I'm Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Head of E-Project, this is my assistant, Lt. Maya Ibuki," she said motioning to the smaller tech, "And this is Pilot Rei Ayanami," She finished motioning to the albino Girl."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Pilot Fei Fong Wong, and this is my guardian Lt. Heind, but everyone calls him Bear." Fei said politely.
"Not for much longer," the Doctor said, "Capt. Katsuragi will be taking over that dutie."
"Like I said Fei," the up 'till now silent Bear said, "When I heard the captain was takin' care of the squirt there (no offense) I asked that she be your guardian."
"Yeah, I know ya gotta get back to the 'States'."
"What about me?" Asuka said almost worridley.
"Undetermined yet," Ritsuko said. "Now, that introductions are out of the way, down to business. Lets sit down."
After everyone had sat, with Dr. Akagi at the head of the table, she bagan to speak, "Now, as you know, Weltall, one of the newest additions to our team, is not an Eva. However, it can produce an AT feild. How, we're still not quite sure, but it has to dow with a system connected to the nerv connectors, marked as the AE sytem. That, along with a few othe sytems, such as system I.D. are are sealed in thes black boxes that we can't seem to open."
Then who made that thing?!" Misato queried.
"Well..." the doctoe blushed, "we're not quite sure..."
"They found Weltall about twenty years ago," Fei stated, "near the tip of south America. It was worshipped by some of the indiginous people as the 'Host to the Slayer of God'. My Dad was a part of the team's security. He was also it's first pilot."
"Yes... But it is the discovery that made a lot of the Eva's systems possible, including the Neural interface," Ritsuko said. "Maya, you will be the leading technician for Weltall."
"Yes Ma'm," the young bridge bunny said excitedly.
"Good. Misato, you can finish filling out the transfer papers with 'Bear'. Maya why don't you go see the damage done to Weltall. I'll be along to check the damage to Unit-02."
"Alright Rits," Misato said happily, "Oh, Fei, we'll be renting the apartment adjacent to mine for you, so Shinji, can you take him home?"
"Yes Ma'm."
"Alright, c'mon, I want to show Miss Ibuki some of Weltall's quirks," Fai said, as he followed the young tech out of the room. Shinji replied with a meek 'Okay', and fell into line behind the two.
Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion Unit-01 and savior of the world three times over, lay in his bed, pondering the day's events. / Fei, he seems like a nice guy. But how does Maya know him? /
A few hours earlier
Shinji followed Fei and Maya, the woman obviously excited over her new assignment, to the cages when the woman suddenly turned around and hugged the long-haired youth.
"Its been years Fei!" she squealed.
Fei's whole body went stiff, and his hair practically stood on end.
"Wow Fei, you weren't kidding about the techie girls liking you," Shinji stated with a look of surprise on his face.
"Huh," Maya said, "oh, I guess Dr. Akagi was right....you don't remember anything from then do you?"
"No."
"I'm sorry.." she said, releasing the boy, "I knew you when you were little. I was a frind of your mother's."
"I see. Come on, lets get to Welltall. Those joints need to be hosed out and sealed again..." Fei said, taking the lead to the cages.
Shinji watched the exchange in silence. Maya looked embarased, but started toward the cages again. Shinji strted walking a moment later, pondering his fellow pilot's reaction.
Present
/ I'm glad he'll be next door. Another guy to talk to around here will make life easier, and when thay knock out that passageway to next door, I'ttl make this place that much larger. And that girl, Asuka, she seems nice enough, if a bit energetic. In any case, another two pilots will make life easier.. /
Shinji pulled the covers up, and started listening to his S-DAT, untill sleep finally claimed him.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes
That concludes Chapter Two of Eye of the Tiger. Thanks to my reveiwers, and C1STAD my editor. Oh, and I updated Chapter one, with only two minor changes. Props to who can spot 'em. Hopefully Chapter Three won't take as long to get out. And to those of you who expressed worry in Weltall being too powerful - I have this to say : It won't be. Fuel and Mechanical limitaions put it on Even footing with the Eva's. The only real Advantages it has is flight ( a gas guzzler) and not being restrained by an Umbillical cable (which it may get kater for fuel purposes). Thank you for reading, and please reveiw. E-mail me with comments at nohanstrife@yahoo.com. THANKS!