PATTERN TYPE: BLUE

13th ANGEL

DESIGNATION: IBLIS

"Dammit!" Misato growled, before grabbing her radio, "Status on the pilots?"

"Ma'am, Pilot Ayanami is en route, ETA 7 minutes."

"And where are Asuka and Shinji?"

"Pilots Soryu and Ikari are currently missing."

Misato's fist slammed into the console next to her, drawing a rather dirty look from Maya. "What do you mean 'missing'? How the hell did you lose them?"

"Ma'am," the Section 2 agent's voice wavered at the fury in her voice despite his efforts of professionalism, "the Pilots arrived at the apartment after school at their regular time. Per protocol, security detail swapped from units A to D for home observation. But upon checking the apartment, the pilots weren't there."

"Search the complex, top to bottom. Check every room, every closet, every nook and cranny. They can't have gotten far. And I swear if you come back empty-handed, I will make you fight the angel. Without an Eva."

Misato didn't wait for a reply, instead turning to the screens to try and divine some information from the new angel's appearance.

"Rits," she said, not looking away, "Unit-00's still not fully repaired, right? What kind of shape is it in?"

"The left arm was in the process of being regenerated. The limb is connected but the nerve connections aren't finished and it hasn't been calibrated. It might be able to pull a trigger, but it's incapable of fine motor control. The armor hasn't been refitted either. It's not in any shape to go into front line combat."

Misato glanced back at Akagi, "Can Rei pilot Unit-01?"

"Not without a core reconfiguration, which would take a few hours."

"Hours we don't have," Misato groaned, "Where the hell are Shinji and Asuka?"

As if on cue, the radio crackled to life.

"Major, ma'am, we've searched the complex and have the occupant en route. However-"

"Bring them to the cages and put them in their Eva!" Misato shouted into the radio.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at the Section Two agent's wording, but didn't want to attract Misato's ire.

"Yes ma'am, but Major, the occupant-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Misato's grip actually cracked the plastic on the radio, "GET THEM IN THE EVA!"

"... Yes ma'am. Over and out," the radio crackled one last time before falling silent.

Ritsuko waited a minute, letting Misato take a few breaths and seethe, before chiming in, "It would probably be helpful to know which Unit needs to be prepped for sortie."

Misato turned to glare at the head of Project E, before turning back to the bridge technicians. Before she could open her mouth, Hyuuga spoke up, "Major, Unit-01 is prepped for sortie, Unit-02 will be ready in approximately 17 minutes."

"Just get them in their Evas," Misato said. Her professionalism had taken over, encouraged by the knowledge that she had at least one pilot to work with.

"Major, Pilot has been delivered to Unit-01," Maya called from her terminal, "Pilot is in the entry plug."

"Bring up communications," Misato ordered, ready to give Shinji a piece of her mind. She opened her mouth to deliver a dressing down for the history books before the words died on her lips as the video communication came on the main screen, "Pen Pen!?"

There was a moment of silence across the bridge as everyone stared at the interior of the entry plug and the very confused penguin sitting in the pilot's seat, before the gravity of the situation kicked in and the bridge crew returned to their tasks.

A thousand questions ran through Ritsuko's mind, but before she could voice them someone beat her to the punch.

"Where did they get a plugsuit that fit him?" The subcommander asked, his voice far more calm than it had any right to be.

Ritsuko flushed. Of all the questions, this one she actually had an answer for, though not one she'd ever admit outloud-

"A demonstration," Misato said, not looking away from the screen. Ritsuko turned to stare at her long time friend in horror as she continued, "We had a few too many and I asked how they managed to get Rei's plugsuit so snug. Rits demonstrated the entire process behind getting them fitted, and we used Pen Pen to model."

Ritsuko slammed her palm into her forehead. Those suits were highly customized for each pilot, and as a result fitting them was an expensive process. On the bright side, when the Angel got to Terminal Dogma unimpeded, she wouldn't have to face the painful discussion on the matter.

Fuyutsuki just nodded, "that explains the expense in the discretionary budget just labeled 'SCIENCE!' a few months back. Will the neural connectors work connected to the crest?"

Ritsuko nodded dumbly, "as long as they're close enough to the head, they should work."

"Begin the activation sequence," Misato ordered, causing Ritsuko to jump, before scowling.

"Major, what are you doing!"

"I'm saving our asses," Misato said, eyes not leaving the screen.

"Misato, this is stupid. He's not a pilot, he's an animal. Your pet can't pilot the Evangelion!"

This time Misato looked back for just a moment, before turning back to make eye contact with the avian in the cockpit.

"He's not my pet, he's my roommate. Pen Pen, can you hear me?"

Pen Pen looked at the video screen in the entry plug, catching sight of Misato he gave a nod and a hesitant "Wark."

Misato smiled, "Okay buddy, I'm gonna need your help for this. Right now a giant monster is coming, and I need you to pilot that big robot and stop it."

Pen Pen tilted his head before letting out another squawk of confusion.

"Normally Shinji and Asuka pilot them, that's what we're doing when we get called away," Misato explained, "But we can't find them right now, and you're the only chance we've got."

"Misato, this is ridiculous. Stop thi-"

"Doctor Akagi," Gendo finally said. Ritsuko stopped, looking up at the Commander of Nerv before stepping back. The unsaid order was clear.

Misato's lips twitched just a hair, before she continued, "Pen Pen, we need your help."

Pen Pen's eyes had scrunched up at the mention of the children putting themselves in danger piloting these machines. He did not like that. He did not like that one bit. He made to voice his disapproval but was cut off as his squishy roommate kept talking

"I don't like it either, but they're the only ones that can. But they aren't here, so you're our only hope. If you don't pilot and the monster, the Angel, makes it down here, everyone will die. You. Asuka. Shinji. Me. Everyone."

Pen Pen's long brows twitched. He shook his feathers and trilled. It could be considered cute, but to those familiar with him, his anger was quite apparent. The puffing up his feathers, the small up and down motions of his wings at the shoulders, the way his webbed feet stepped up and down. He hadn't looked this mad since that time Misato had gotten particularly wasted and had mistaken his fridge for the bathroom.

"So, will you help us?"

Pen Pen did not give a verbal response. Instead he wrapped his claws around the butterfly controls and wiggled his rump firmly in the chair.

Misato's smile widened into an excited grin, "Thanks Pen Pen, I knew I could count on you," turning back to the bridge technicians, she returned to her normal commanding officer voice, "Alright, get that activation sequence started."

To their credit, the bridge techs seemed to roll with the situation without batting an eye.

"Roger. Inserting entry plug."

"Direct hydro-transmission system, connection prepared."

"Plug fixed in place."

"First stage connection initiated."

"Filling the entry plug."

"Connecting main power."

"Commencing secondary contacts. A-10 nerve connection, normal."

Ritsuko threw up her hands, "Fine, set the thought configuration to Japanese."

Aoba looked back at the doctor before nodding and turning back to his console, "All preliminary contacts established.

"Bi-directional circuits are open. Synchronization rate..."

There was a pause before Maya finished in a somewhat shaky voice, "48.3%"

Ritsuko dropped her tablet. Misato pumped her fist. Gendo raised an eyebrow.

Fuyutsuki turned to his superior, "Ikari?"

Gendo grunted, "Yui always did like birds."


"Okay Pen Pen," Ritsuko's voice broadcasts through the entry plug, "we're going to be sending you up an elevator. When you get to the top, restraints on the Eva will be released and you'll be in full control. The Evangelion uses a neural link between the pilot and the Eva, so just think "walk" and-" she paused. Pen Pen tilted his head, wondering if she'd just realized the problem that he had.

Back on the bridge, Ritsuko turned Misato with her brow furrowed, "Misato, we can't say for certain if this is going to work. The Eva uses the fact that it has the same general body shape as the pilot to tap into the pilot's muscle memory and motor controls. But Pen Pen has a different physiology than a human. His method of walking, the way his limbs are structured, it's all different. He won't be able to just move the Eva like he'd move himself."

On the one hand, Misato was pleased Ritsuko was taking her roommate more seriously. She certainly didn't have any issue with that when she came over for a drink. On the other hand, she brought up a very real problem. But, Pen Pen was smart. She had to have faith.

"Pen Pen," Misato called to the temporary pilot, "You're not gonna be able to just think of the Eva as a big version of you. You're gonna have to try and 'think' it to move as if it were a human."

"Wark"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Misato asked. Did he really-

Pen Pen squawked before giving a small trill.

"Well alright, buddy, I knew you could do it."

Misato looked back at Akagi, face in smug grin, "Looks like he's got an idea."

Ritsuko rolled her eyes, "Sure, why not, we've already thrown sanity out the window. Let's trust the penguin's ideas on operating the most advanced machine mankind has ever conceived."

"Knew you'd see it my way," Misato didn't waste time gloating any further, turning towards the bridge crew who'd been patiently waiting for their superiors to finish their conversation. End of the world or not, they were professionals. And no one really wanted to risk getting caught in the crossfire in case things got catty.

"Direct elevator to gate 36E, send pallet rifle to weapon depot E19," Misato had switched back to her 'commanding officer' voice and the bridge bunnies immediately turned to their consoles to obey.

"Weapons load-out delivered."

"Gates 12 through 25 are open."

"Rails are fully charged."

"Right," Misato smiled, "Your time to shine, buddy. Launch Eva!"

—

Pen Pen had been expecting some kind of jolt, but the sudden pressure from the acceleration was far beyond what he anticipated. Was almost as if Misato had fallen on him playing Twister again. But he'd keep that bit to himself.

Reaching the top, he was rewarded with the jolt he'd been waiting for, before he felt the restraints holding the Eva to the elevator release. That had the potential to be very bad.

"Wark!" He called out over the communications channel.

Misato's face appeared in a window. Why did they bother closing it if they were going to keep opening it back up?

"Sorry buddy, we should have told you, you're connected mentally to the Eva. What it feels, you feel. But it's not real! Don't forget that."

Pen Pen didn't like how she was so quick to reassure him. That told him it'd been an issue in the past. And given that apparently only the children were able to pilot…

"Wark wark wark!" Pen Pen squawked quickly. Misato cringed on the video screen. Oh they would be having words when this was over.

Ritsuko pushed into the camera's view. "We don't have time for this. Pen Pen, the angel is about 3 kilometers west and heading your way. It'll be on you in a minute. There's a weapon in the building 200 meters west. Grab it. You've seen guns before, right?"

Pen Pen honked to let them know that this was not over, but did as instructed. There was a moment of hesitancy where Unit-01 made some jerky shuffles before transitioning into smooth steps. Pen Pen kicked his feet in pride. He'd been right. All the time observing his roommates had paid off. He just had to visualize himself as a human, then imagine his human self doing things he'd seen his humans do. It was that simple.

If he'd bothered to explain what he'd done to the bridge, he might have learned that it was in fact, not such a simple thing to visualize the complex mechanics of a body's movements all at once, but he was too pleased with himself to bother.

Grabbing the gun, he held it in roughly the same position he'd seen on TV.

"Pen Pen," Misato's voice came through the comms again, not bothering to open a visual channel, "you don't hold it sideways. You're not a gangster in the streets of Harlem. Besides, it's a rifle. Use both hands."

Pen Pen grumbled. Why did she have to take the fun out of it? Repositioning the rifle into what he knew was the proper grip, he was pleasantly surprised to see a reticle on the screen. With a few slight movements of his hands to get a feel for moving the reticle where he wanted it to go, he was fairly confident in his ability to aim. Which was good, because it was then that the Angel decided to introduce itself.

I AM

Pen Pen squawked in surprise before opening the video channel, question on the tip of his beak. But, no one reacted. Did no one hear that? He ruffled his feathers. Fine. Didn't matter. He was going to kill this thing and make the food giver prepare him a special meal to celebrate. And have a very long conversation with his oldest roommate about their responsibilities as guardians.

Focusing on the Angel, Pen Pen had less than a second to take it in before he was forced to jump behind the weapon depot to avoid a pink flash. A giant fiery cross appeared where he -the Eva, he corrected- had been standing. Looking back to the Angel, he was able to take more of it in, before dodging another flash.

It was massive. Although, he also felt pretty massive, so right now it seemed just big. It looked somewhat like a turtle, standing on four legs with an oversized shell on its back. But that was where the similarities ended. The shell looked less like a turtle shell and more like some form of sea shell. It was tall, taller than the Eva, shaped like a narrow mound with three spikes protruding towards the top, two in front and one towards the back. A strange symbol resembling an eye sat in the middle of the shell. Its legs were oddly shaped, knee and ankle joints essentially touching, three large sharp claws in place of toes with one smaller claw coming from the knee. Its neck was long and serpentine, ending with a roughly snakelike head, if snakes had horn-like bumps at the back and lacked eyes. Though, that was not entirely accurate. It had an eye. It was just attached to the angel's long, thin tongue. Its tail was thick, looking more like a segmented arm than a tail, complete with a claw at the end. Said claw was holding tightly to a crystalline red sphere.

Pen Pen had played enough video games to know that was probably the weak point. His suspicions were confirmed as Akagi's voice came over the comms, "That red sphere on the tail is the core. You need to destroy it in order to kill the angel."

Easier said than done, he thought. He was having a hard enough time dodging the pink blasts the thing kept launching. Eyes were not supposed to work that way, dammit.

Coming up from a dodge, he prepped to dodge again before the ground sank slightly beneath a foot. A large metal wall sprang from the ground in front of him, blocking the next blast with only a dent to show for it. Not pausing to think too much, Pen Pen poked out from the side of the wall, rifle at the ready. Letting out a three round burst, he ducked back behind the wall before spinning to lean out the other side. Just in time to see his bullets ricochet off a hexagonal orange shield.

"That's its AT field," Ritsuko's voice was back, "You'll need to project your own to erode it."

Pen Pen gave a "Wark" of frustration. How was he supposed to do that?

"Just think about projecting it. Visualize bouncing something off the core of the Eva and it spreading in front of you. The Eva should handle the rest."

Pen Pen idly noted the mention of the Eva having a core of its own. That had its own implications he'd be asking about later.

Trying to follow her instructions, Pen Pen imagined a wave of water crashing onto a red core in the Eva's chest. He didn't know where it actually was, but usually the magic power source was in the chest of the giant robot, so he'd just go with what he knew. The wave crashed against the Eva's core, splashing upwards like waves against a cliff side. Then something weird happened. Something else took hold of the visualization in his mind. The waves fell from the cliff, like normal, but then reversed and rolled out into the sea. The wave gained in size, becoming a tsunami that moved out to sea instead of inland. But he didn't do that. That wasn't him crafting that image.

Outside his mind, he saw the angel's AT field shimmer into existence before it seemed to dissolve. That must have been the Eva's own AT field 'eroding' it. Pen Pen fluffed his feathers again. That meant it was vulnerable.

The angel realized this too, as it swung its tail behind the shell out of Pen Pen's sight, retracting its head into the shell. The eye marking on its shell blinked, before the tongue somehow extended from an opening in the center of the marking that he was sure wasn't there a minute ago.

Not giving the angel a chance to shoot its annoying eye beams, Pen Pen let off another burst of fire at it. His aim was true, and bullets the size of minivans tore through the eyeball like butter. Very bloody butter.

As the angel started thrashing, Pen Pen realized he wouldn't be hitting any more vulnerable parts from his current position. Stepping out from behind the wall, he sprinted towards the angel. Skidding to a stop in front of it, he slid the rifle under the heavy shell and tried to use it as a lever.

The angel reacted, head snapping out with the speed of the serpent it resembled, mouth wide and its massive fangs ready to skewer. Abandoning the rifle, Pen Pen jumped back to dodge. Unfortunately he wasn't quite fast enough, one of the fangs managing to gouge a chunk out of Unit-01's left arm with a glancing hit.

Jumping back again to avoid a follow up and stay out of range, Pen Pen squawked in pain, right flipper flapping wildly as he held his left protectively to his body.

Sprinting to the side for some distance, Pen Pen was able to squash the pain with a thought. The children did this. The children did this. They had felt this pain. How many times had they put their lives on the line? How many times had they felt as if their own bodies were being savaged by giant monsters from nightmares?

Misato was shouting something, but Pen Pen couldn't hear over the sound of his heartbeat. Reaching out a hand to grab a building, Pen Pen used the building to swing around the corner without losing most of his momentum. Now headed straight towards the angel, he leapt over the predicted strike from the angel's fangs and grabbed on to the two protrusions at the top of the shell. The added weight of Unit-01, in addition to the momentum from the jump, caused Iblis to start wobbling uncontrollably. It fell over after failing to catch its balance, Unit-01 releasing its hold and jumping off right before the angel hit the ground.

After a failed attempt to slide down the street on Unit-01's belly coming off of the jump, Pen Pen quickly forced the Eva to roll to the side and back to its feet to avoid the incoming attack that the angel would reveal. Only, nothing came. Pen Pen peered around the building he crouched behind, trying to get a view of the angel. The shell was there, but it was still. And empty!

Pen Pen's heart rate shot up again when he realized the angel had somehow left the shell.

"Behind you!" he finally heard Misato shout over the comms. Immediately he leapt forward, again instinctively trying to slide away on Unit-01's belly. It wasn't much more successful an attempt than the last one, but he did manage to avoid having Unit-01 head caught in a lightning fast bite from behind.

Scrambling forward, he managed to avoid the following stomp, but not the eye beam after that.

Pen Pen screamed. He was on fire! The metal of his armor was melting and fusing into his skin! A jolt of pain in his heart brought him back to reality. He managed to stumble out of the pillar of fire and hide behind another building. He was fine. He was not on fire. It was the Eva.

Which meant the Eva was damaged. Still not good. The pain in his heart wasn't particularly calming either. He could feel it beating in his ears.

"Pen Pen, the angel is trying to flank you again. It's 600 meters southwest and heading north. You need to move!"

Pen Pen groaned. Okay. Fine. But Shinji was going to make him a freaking feast after this.

Shinji. The food giver. The lonely kid who'd swept through his home and transformed it from a pigsty to a proper home. The boy who'd go the extra mile to make every meal something to look forward to. Who washed the tub and left out towels on the shelf doors just so they'd be in easy reach for a penguin. The one who took the brunt of Asuka's chaos and kept her occupied.

Asuka. The loud one. The fiery girl who'd bulldozed over the house's normal order like a freight train. Rude, demanding, and just as lonely. The one who shared chips while they watched TV together. Who made sure to leave the stock report section of the paper at his fridge when she took the comics. Who kept Shinji from retreating too deep into that damn black box.

Again he felt his heart race at the thought that the only reason he was in this situation was that they couldn't find the kids, kids, to pilot this robot instead. The pain in his heart stung a bit more, but the rest of his fatigue seemed to fall away.

"Pen Pen, what just happened, your sync score just rose 4%?"

He didn't acknowledge Ritsuko on the comms. Even if he knew what she was talking about, it didn't matter. He had but one thought right now. Stupid snake turtle needed to die.

And speak of the devil, out of the corner of his eye he saw the target sneak from behind a building at 3 o'clock. Shifting slightly, he was able to get a good look at the angel without its shell.

It was odd. Its shoulders and hips were both thick and strong looking, fitting for the limbs they connected to, but its torso and abdomen were rail thin. Serpent-like, just like its neck and head.

It walked on two legs, with its thick tail held high from its tailbone, though it was hunched over to accommodate a large bulge growing out of its back.

It must have noticed his glance, as in a flash it abandoned all pretense of stealth and started sprinting towards him, far faster than its awkward gait should allow. Pen Pen readied himself into the first human fighting stance that came to mind.


"Southpaw?"

The bridge crew weren't sure what was more surprising, the Commander recognizing a left-handed stance and using the terminology, the fact that his cold monotone somehow managed to carry the slightest hint of questioning, or that they could still feel surprise after all the craziness they'd dealt with today already.

Misato nodded, "Makes sense. He's left-winged, so he'd probably copy one of his favorite lefties."

For all their professionalism, even the bridge bunnies had limits. Hyuuga had just hit his.

"Left-winged? How do you know he's left-winged? How is a penguin left-winged?"

"Well that's the wing he writes with," Misato said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean!? What does a penguin even write?"

"Balancing budgets, for one," this time it was Ritsuko that answered. Now it was Misato's turn to slowly turn to look at her in horror. 'Good,' Ritsuko smirked, 'Payback for the plugsuit.'

"What do you mean, balancing budgets?" Fuyutsuki asked, his voice hinting that he knew where this was going but wanted to see it through.

Mistao was now shaking her head frantically, pleading with Ritsuko not to say it. She should have known her pleas were in vain.

"Simple, Pen Pen is the one who handles the budgeting at the Kasturagi household. Someone has to make sure Misato doesn't drink away their rent," Ritsuko commented off-handedly.

Before Misato could try and defend herself, the one person still focusing on the fight spoke up. "Unit-01 has made contact with the angel," Aoba called from his terminal, "Sync ratio has jumped 2%. Heart rate rising to dangerous levels again."


The angel was nimble for such a heavyset bastard. Two body lengths away from the Eva, Iblis leapt high into the air, aiming to land on Unit-01 with its back talons first. Hopping back, Pen Pen dipped under the wild swing from its upper claws upon landing before he came back up with an uppercut from his left.

The angel's head flew back, its long neck letting it go that much further, before snapping back like a rubber band into a retaliatory bite. Pen Pen dipped again, letting the strike fly over his right shoulder before lashing out his right arm to grab hold of the vulnerable neck while it was extended. He managed to briefly wrap Unit-01's fingers around it, but the melted armor slowed down the grasp by a fraction of a second. It was a fraction of a second too long, as the angel managed to yank its neck out of Pen Pen's grasp before he could get a firm hold, and took advantage of the avian pilot's opening to slash at the Eva's chest with its claws.

Pen Pen squawked. The ripping sensation in his breast, compounded by the already agonizing stabbing feeling in his heart, was almost too much to take. He shuffled back, not letting the pain affect his footwork, managing to get just out of reach of a follow up bite before hunching over with the Unit's hands on its chest. In the entry plug, Pen Pen was copying the motion, as if trying to settle the throbbing in his chest by pushing it back down.

A shout from the comms brought him out of his fog fast enough for him to roll to his left, once more avoiding being skewered by the angel's bottom talons.

He managed to come back to his feet just in time to block an incoming slash from his right. Bringing up his right arm to catch the angel's inner forearm on his own, he once again grabbed at the angel's neck with his left. Yanking it towards him, he simultaneously brought up his right knee into what he roughly guessed was the serpentine abdomen's solar plexus. The blow caused Iblis's retaliatory slash go wild, but it tried again with the other limb in a slash from above.

Pivoting back on his right leg, Pen Pen yanked on the neck, bringing it with him and further pulling the angel off balance. With its legs unstable, he took the chance to kick out at the vulnerable joints, causing the angel to start thrashing about in pain.


Fuyutsuki winced. He turned to see Gendo raise an eyebrow. It was subtle, invisible if not for his years of experience with the Commander, but he could tell that his former student was just as curious as he was.

"Where did he learn to do that?" Fuyutsuki asked, deciding to ask the question for them both.

Mistao turned up to the Commander's raised platform and shrugged. "He's a big fan of UFC. He really likes strikers like McGregor. Something about bellies being for sliding on, not fighting on."

Fuyutsuki hummed in acknowledgement, before glancing back down at Gendo. He received the faintest nod in return, "Yui had quite the left hook too."


Pen Pen didn't stop with the legs. After the angel had fallen on its front, the Eva had grabbed hold of one of the thrashing arms by the wrist, pulling it up as hard as he could before stomping on the shoulder joint until he heard it crack. Dropping the lifeless arm, but not the thrashing neck, Pen Pen stepped over the angel to repeat the process on the other arm.

"Pen Pen," Misato's face appeared in the video window, "there's a knife in the pylon on Unit-01's shoulder. Use it to stab the core while you can! Before it heals!"

Pen Pen nodded. It would have been nice to know the thing could heal.

Deciding not to take a chance, he yanked on the angel's neck, drawing it tight before placing his foot where the neck met the shoulders. The bridge crew would later recall there being extra vindictiveness on the way Unit-01 stomped repeatedly on the angel's neck, starting from the base and going up as far as possible without letting go of the vice grip on Iblis's throat.

Finally, the thrashing ceased, barring some twitching and spasms. Reluctantly letting go of the head, but keeping the neck under his foot, Pen Pen withdrew the knife with his left and reached down to grab the tail with his right. Just before he could bring down the progressive knife, the large hump on Iblis's back burst open, another head darting out with its mouth wide open. It snapped shut on the Eva's abdomen, sending the feeling of fiery knives spreading through Pen Pen's guts.

Refusing to let go, Pen Pen swung down the knife right into the core. Again and again he stabbed, unheeding the snake head desperately ravaging the Eva's midsection with bite after bite. Finally, the red crystal shattered. The angel's second head fell limp from its current strike attempt.

Pen Pen dropped the knife, Eva stumbling back before its feet could not longer keep up and the Eva fell on its behind, clutching its chest as it leaned its back against a building.


"Cutting sync connections."

"Injecting pilot with painkillers."

"Wait," Ritsuko shouted, "lower the dosage to a quarter of the standard dose. Remember, he's a penguin."

"Heart rate decreasing, no longer in the danger zone."

"Get a medical team out there, ASAP," Misato barked to the bridge, "and grab a vet!"

"Maya, forward me the readings on the pilot's vitals during the fight. I don't like what I saw on his heart," said Ritsuko, her inner scientist finally taking over now that the threat had passed.

"Ma'am, we found Pilots Soryu and Ikari," the speaker on the Section 2 radio cackled to life again.

Misato snatched it from its place on the terminal with a grip that made the plastic bend.

"Where the hell were they?"

"We found them trying to get into the Geofront Entrance in block V26."

Misato's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "what the hell were they doing over there?" She wondered, voice much quieter. Apparently not quiet enough, as the radio crackled in response.

"Apparently they were on a picnic date, Major. Something about not wanting a bunch of old guys in suits creeping on them, according to Pilot Soryu," the Agent on the other end replied. If she didn't know better, Misato would think he might have sounded a little offended.

Putting that thought aside, she instead focused on just how much skin she was going to tear from her pilot's, "Alright. Bring them to the conference room on floor 67. Do not let them out of your sight for any reason."

"Roger that. Over and out," the radio crackled once more before falling silent. Again, Misato wondered if that was a hint of vindictiveness in the Agent's voice, before turning to talk to Ritsuko about Pen Pen's status.


Fuyutsuki and Gendo had exited the bridge the moment the angel had fallen silent, Fuyutsuki to the left and half a step behind his superior.

"Quite the performance," Fuyutsuki said after they were thoroughly out of earshot.

"Hn." Gendo acknowledged.

"I wonder how the Committee will take this turn of events. They'll surely be curious as to how someone other than a designated Child was able to pilot. It goes against all the research we've given them."

"The Old Men will bluster and ask questions, but do nothing more. The scenario is too far along for them to try and change course now," Gendo said.

"And what of the new pilot?" Fuyutsuki asked, his voice wavering with uncertainty on the last two words.

"Having a backup is rarely a bad thing," Gendo said dismissively, "Send a missive to the Marduke Institute."

"Saying what?"

"Tell them to designate the new pilot, the First Chick."

.

.

.


AN: This was going to end with the Eva activating, but someone said it wouldn't be complete without a fight. So there you go. First time doing an Eva fight. Iblis is one of the unused Angels from NGE, and as the number here indicates, this is before Bardiel and after Leliel.