Disclaimer: Gainax owns Evangelion, not me, so stop asking me to explain End of Evangelion, 'cause I'm just as clueless as you all!! Also, if you happen to work for Gainax, kindly request that your employer not sue me, as I am just writing this for amusement and will not profit from it in any way. Ok? This is part 6 of my Deviance storyline, started in Asuka: Beyond her heart. You should be able to get the gist of it all without reading the other parts, but read 'em anyway... they're not that bad.
Part 6
(Episode 20)
Fourth and Fifth
By Random1377
Day one
Misato Katsuragi was staring at the heavily bandaged Unit 01, "So there is a chance he can be brought back?"
Ritsuko Akagi looked up from her computer terminal, "There is a chance. Everything that makes Shinji, well, Shinji, is still in the entry plug. We tried once before, with the test pilot of Unit 01... but we were not successful"
Misato kept her back turned to Ritsuko, so she could not see the tear running down her cheek. She spoke quietly, "Do everything that you can to get him back to me..." -To us,- she thought to herself, -us...-
Day two
"I don't care if Rei is ok!! Just bring HIM back to me, Misato!!" Asuka Langley Souryu slammed the phone back down on its cradle and lay down on her bed again, covering her head with a pillow, -I couldn't do anything... nothing at all- she thought, angry at herself, -Shinji had to be hurt again, just to save me... I'm useless-
She threw her head back and screamed her sorrow, "Oh please... God, PLEASE! Bring him back to me..." she began to sob, "please... I can't... I can't live without him anymore..."
The tears that she cried were bitter... and lonely...
Day fifteen
"Understood." Gendou Ikari hung up the phone that he was talking into, and spoke to the others gathered in his office, "I have just received confirmation. NERV branch two and Evangelion Unit 04 have reappeared in the Nevada desert."
Misato and Ritsuko both gasped. Gendou went on as if he had not heard them, "Dr. Akagi, I know that you are working to retrieve the pilot of Unit 01 so you will not be needed for what I have in mind. Major Katsuragi, you are in charge of our defenses, so you will not do either. Now I'm sure you are wondering why you are here, and the reason is quite simple. Dr. Akagi, I will need you to teach your subordinate, Miss Ibuki everything necessary to insert a core essence and activate an Evangelion unit without any other support staff."
Both women gasped again. Gendou's mouth quirked down at the interruption as he continued, "Major, I need you to ready the Fifth Child to pilot Unit 04. Also inform your lover, mister Ryouji, that he will be going with the two woman for security purposes - and close your mouth Major, you have not been exactly discrete."
Misato's mouth snapped shut, and she bowed quickly, "Yes sir, but shouldn't Rei or Asuka go to pilot the unit out? The Fifth Child has been training less than three weeks... and why does Kaji need to go?"
Gendou folded his hands, "Rei is still recovering from her wounds, and I have my reasons to doubt the stability of the Second Child. I assume you saw her charge the fourteenth angel, even though her unit had no arms? It must be the Fifth. As to Mister Ryouji being needed... let's just say there are certain other parties that would be interested in getting their hands on an intact Evangelion... by any means they can. He will be useful for security reasons. They will be leaving tomorrow, so prepare them. Dismissed."
As they turned to leave, Kouzou Fuyutsuki spoke, "Major, a moment more."
Ritsuko kept walking, while Misato turned and waited. Fuyutsuki continued once Ritsuko had left, "We have one last bit of information on the site, make sure your pilot is aware."
Misato looked from the sub commander to the commander and back again, "What is it, sir?"
Gendou spoke quietly, "The branch has returned, this is true, but remember that it was fully staffed when it disappeared. There will be... bodies."
Day sixteen
Hikari swallowed hard, "I understand. Just out of curiosity though, why can't we take one of the other units with us, or a more skilled pilot? My sync ratio is not as high as any of the others."
Misato was sifting through the stack of data on the mission, "Well, Unit 00 is repaired, but Rei is still not up to it - though if we get attacked, she will HAVE to be up to it. And Units 02 and 03 are still being worked on, so basically... you are all we've got." She looked up and smiled, "You'll do fine, it's just a little pick up mission, and I'll be in radio contact if anything goes wrong. Don't worry about it."
Kaji spoke up from his position against the wall, "Don't worry about a thing, as long as I'm around, nothing can go wrong."
He turned and winked at Hikari, while Misato made a rather unpleasant face at his back. Hikari tried to relax, but found it difficult under the four pairs of eyes that were currently appraising her. Misato and Kaji both looked reassuring, but Ritsuko was staring at her intently and Maya was looking slightly ill - not very comforting, as far as Hikari was concerned.
Maya said timidly, "I'm still not too sure about this ma'am. A core insertion and first activation with no support staff is tricky enough, but doing it in a foreign location under possible hostile conditions..."
Ritsuko cut her off, "The Nevada site has all of the same facilities that we do, and I have given you step by step directions. Just remember to disconnect the S^2 engine before proceeding and you will be just fine."
Misato stood up to leave, "Your carrier takes off in one hour, so if you need to gather any personally effects or say goodbye to anyone, now would be the time... of course, you can't tell anyone where you are going..."
The last comment was directed towards Hikari, who looked rather downcast at the news, "Then I just have one person to talk to."
***
Hikari sat by Touji's bed, listening to the quiet hum of the life monitoring systems. The doctors had told her (after she had been confirmed as a pilot) that Touji was not dead, or even brain dead for that matter. The problem seemed to be that his mind could not reconcile the shock of being told by the EVA system that it was dead. Essentially, his brain had gone into hibernation to protect itself. They told her he may wake someday, but he would need to decide for himself that he was alive.
She spoke softly, "Touji? I have to go away for a few days... to America. I have to go get something that was lost and-" She hesitated, realizing that she had not told him that she was a pilot yet. It occurred to her that she didn't want him to know, but at the same time she knew that he might not wake - or she might not return.
She clenched her fists in her lap, gathering her courage, "Touji, I've... I've become an EVA pilot..." Of course, Touji had no response. She went on, "I wanted to tell you, but I never felt right, now I know I might not have another chance. I'm going to America to get the Evangelion that will be mine... and I might not come back. It's going to be dangerous, Touji."
She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and stood up, "I hope that you're awake when I get back. I have... things I want to tell you - NEED to tell you... but I won't until I know you can hear me." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, "Goodbye"
She walked quickly out of the room, determined not to look back, and so she missed the sudden rise in Alpha waves on one of the monitors, and the almost imperceptible word Touji uttered, "Hikari?"
***
Day 17
The carrier pilot's voice came back to the passenger bay, "We are coming in for a landing, please brace yourselves."
Hikari looked out of the window, but all she could see was barren wasteland, "Is this the right place? It looks so... empty."
Kaji also looked out of the window, though looking more for people than at the terrain, "Well, it IS a desert. Are you ready?"
Hikari pulled at the neck of her tan and gray plugsuit, "Ready as I'll ever be, but why couldn't I wear my normal plugsuit? This one is... uncomfortable."
Kaji looked at her, regretting the short amount of time that was spent putting the mission together, and the obvious lack of training the young girl had received. He sighed, "You are wearing an experimental type plugsuit, designed for the possibility that an EVA unit may be damaged and captured or the pilot forced to eject in hostile territory. There are only two like it."
Hikari was stunned, "You mean, they really think that a group of people might try to capture an EVA??"
Kaji shrugged, then smiled - not in a pleasant way, "NERV likes to be prepared for any eventuality. Push the button on the right wrist, and sit still"
Hikari did as she was told, and was amazed to see her hand - and the rest of her - fade into nothing. "Am I invisible?" she said, sounding amazed.
Kaji chuckled, "No, especially since your head is poking out. This is more like a chameleon's blending ability. If someone were to look at you from the side, they would notice the irregularity in the surface of the object you are resting against. As for the head, there is a hood that is built into the neck of the unit. Just pull the tab at the base of your skull, and flip the hood over your head." He paused, "Also, it won't work if you move more than an inch... so if you have to activate it for any reason, stay STILL."
Hikari turned the suit off and was much happier to see the rest of her body become visible. She looked up and saw Kaji smiling again, he spoke with a slight trace of laugher in his voice, "The reason it is so uncomfortable is that it was designed for a male pilot... it has no breast cavities."
Hikari blushed bright red, "I see... could you stop smiling that way, Mr. Kaji? It makes me nervous..."
***
"What do you mean she's gone? Gone where?!" Misato was doing her best to calm the obviously agitated Fourth Child, and keep him from tearing the I.V. out of his arm.
Misato succeeded in pinning his arms to the bed, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that just now, Touji, it's classified."
Touji stopped struggling for a minute and studied Misato's face, a vague memory of Hikari's voice echoing in his mind. He spoke slowly, looking Misato in the eyes, "You said that Unit 03 was recovered... you made her the pilot, didn't you? Just in case I couldn't or wouldn't... am I right?"
Misato considered the boy for a moment before answering, unconsciously echoing Ritsuko's tactics when dealing with Hikari a few weeks back. Unlike Ritsuko, however, Misato felt bad about it, "Well Touji... I could tell you everything - IF you were a pilot. Then you would need the information..."
Touji, whispered, "That is a cold way to do things, Major Katsuragi."
Misato flinched at the ice in the boy's voice, and at the fact that he had deliberately used her military title rather than her first name, -Even if he stays, he'll never trust me completely...- she thought.
Touji looked away from Misato. After a few minutes he quietly spoke, "When Unit 03 activated, and the angel took it over, I was aware. You know that, don't you? You told me that Shinji refused to pilot again after what happened to me, because he felt responsible," He looked at her again, and she could see tears in the corners of his eyes... but his voice never wavered, "Do you know how it feels, major, to be forced to hurt someone you care for? I felt every blow that landed on Unit 02... I felt Unit 00 pinned under me... and I felt my hands wrap around Unit 01's throat and squeeze. Worst of all, I felt what the angel felt - I could FEEL its satisfaction, its triumph."
He stared up at the ceiling once again, a far off look on his face, "Do you know the last thing I felt when Unit 03's neck broke? For myself, I felt happiness... it was finally over - I wouldn't hurt my friends any more... but from the angel... from it I felt something unexpected. Not the agony of death, not the pain of defeat, no sense of loss at all. It felt content, like it had done its part and someone else would finish the job."
His eyes narrowed and focused on Misato again, and for the first time since she had entered the room she felt as if the side arm she was carrying under her flight jacket would not help her if this young man lost control, "Now you come in here telling me that the one person I've finally realized truly cares for me is gone - and that you won't tell me where she is unless I agree to pilot again? Did you ever, even for one minute, think that I wouldn't?"
Misato blinked in surprise, "Come again? Weren't you just saying that the pain was-"
Touji cut her off, "Yes... the pain was almost unbearable - almost. But the thought of sitting idle while those THINGS try to destroy everything that I love is more unbearable. I'll pilot for you, don't worry about that. Now where is Hikari?"
Misato took a deep breath, "Well, you see..."
***
"Yes, I understand." Kaji pressed the disconnect button on his cell phone and turned to the others.
Hikari looked at him hopefully, "Well, any changes in Touji's condition?"
He shook his head sadly, "Unfortunately no, Katsuragi says he is still the same... I'm sorry." Hikari looked crestfallen, but Kaji went on cheerfully, "Don't worry. Touji is a strong young man, I'm sure he'll be fine in no time. Besides that, the lovely Major just informed me that we are less than one mile from the installation. She says to check in again once we get there, for security purposes."
Maya muttered from the driver's seat, "Thank goodness. With all this wind and sand blowing around, I can't get my bearings."
Kaji offered her a dazzling smile, "I was more distracted by your stunning beauty... now about the dummy plug system, I was wondering if-"
Maya sighed and restarted the jeep they we driving, "Hikari, never trust men that compliment you TOO often..." She glared at Kaji, who looked hurt, "they always want something."
Hikari, whispered, "Touji never compliments me... but I know he has a lot on his mind, and I plan to find a way to make him notice me... because I love him." A stunned look crossed the girl's face, -Is THAT why I'm here? To make him notice me?? No! I'm here to protect the ones I love... and I do love him... I do. God, please make sure he's ok.-
Kaji, who had always been pretty good at cheering up unhappy women looked at her closely and smiled, "I'm sure he's noticed. I've seen the way he looks at you, Hikari. Just watch, when you get back I'm SURE he'll want to spend some time with you"
Hikari looked at the floor, on the verge of tears, "B-But, he doesn't even know I'm there, Mr. Kaji."
"Now you listen to me, young lady!" The vehemence of his voice made her head snap up and her eyes go wide as he went on, "You say you love this boy, right? So prove it! Do you think he would want you to mope around, thinking he'll never get better? Or do you think he would want you to do your duty as an Evangelion pilot, fulfill your mission obligations, and come home safe to him?"
Hikari did not know what to say. Kaji went on in a quieter voice, "Listen. You have to have faith that he will be ok - even if he never wakes up, do you understand? That's part of what love is - it is believing that things will turn out for the best. It's KNOWING deep down inside, that you WILL see him again. It's the only thing that can keep a person going sometimes... believe me, I know."
Hikari smiled at him, wiping the single tear that had fallen off of her cheek, "Thank you. Really."
Kaji smiled and patted her hand. Looking out of the driver's side window, Maya smiled, -Well, maybe he's not THAT bad after all.- A short series of beeps from the GPS in the dashboard wiped the smile off of her face quickly, "We're there, right on time, too. We need to check in."
Kaji and Hikari both jumped out of the jeep and looked at NERV branch 2, "It looks so... desolate... deserted..." she whispered.
Kaji was frowning, "I wish it was, honey, I wish it was..." He was looking at one of the entrances to an ancillary building, and the decaying corpses of the two guards leaning against either side of one of the doors, -They must have tightened security for the installation of the S^2 engine, that building is a food storehouse. Fat lot of good it did them- "Huh?" There was a sound like small rocks bouncing off of metal
Hikari looked up at the sky thoughtfully, "Is it... raining?"
Kaji yelled, "Get DOWN!!!"
"Unh..." Maya gasped.
Kaji pushed Hikari to the ground, behind the jeep. Maya, still behind the vehicle's door, fell backwards into the driver's seat.
Hikari yelled, "What's happening?!?"
Kaji had a gun in his right hand, pointing it towards the front of the jeep. In his left hand was his cell phone, which he was shouting into, "Katsuragi? Do you copy? Misato!? Dammit! If you can hear me, we are under fire and Ibuki's been hit. Damage unknown. Out."
Hikari whispered: "H-Hit?"
Kaji didn't acknowledge her, just kept scanning the rooftops, "There is at least one sniper somewhere on one of the buildings. We need to get Maya into that building over there," He pointed to a squat structure "and see how badly she is hurt. Do you understand?"
Hikari nodded, too scared to speak. Kaji pushed a button on his watch and steel plates slammed down on all the windows of the jeep. Hikari could hear the doors lock (except for the driver's side, which was still open...) Kaji noticed Hikari's stunned look and grinned slightly, "Now you know why the gas mileage is so bad. Ok, when I count to three, I want you to run into that building because it's the only one I know is unlocked. I'll cover you, ok?"
Hikari got up to run, and heard more of the rain sound. Kaji yanked her back to the ground and she felt something whiz past her cheek, whining slightly, "Wait until I count to three, ok?"
The girl looked at him, wide-eyed, "I'm sorry! I'm scared, Mr. Kaji..."
Kaji gave her a quick hug, "I know you are, honey, so am I. I'll be right behind you... I just need to pick up Miss Ibuki. One... two... three!"
Kaji stood up around the end of the jeep and fired four rounds in the direction he had estimated the bullets were coming from as Hikari sprinted to the door and throw herself against it - only to find that it opened the other way, -Great! I'm going to die because I pushed instead of pulling- She almost started laughing hysterically, then pulled herself together and yanked the door open.
***
"What do you mean, they haven't checked in?!" Misato demanded, standing in the middle of the control center, her arms crossed.
Hyouga replied, "Well, there IS a sandstorm moving in..." He sounded unconvinced
Misato shot him a skeptical look, "Keep monitoring, I have to check on the status of EVAs. If they make contact patch them through to my cell phone." She moved for the door, but hesitated on the threshold, "If they don't make contact by 18:00... proceed with plan N."
Hyouga nodded slowly, "I... I understand." He turned to his console, "This is the Nest calling Falcon 6 and 7. Prepare to execute plan N in one hour, repeat, one hour unless rescind command is issued, over." After a brief crackle of static, two voices answered, "Orders confirmed, Nest, rising to Release Altitude. Over and out." "Nest out." -Come on, Kaji!-
***
17:04
Hikari dashed through the door, but came up short as she found herself fifteen feet from three people trying to get through a large security door on the other side of the room. Two of them were slightly overweight men - one carrying a clipboard and entering codes on the keypad, the other resting his hands on the handle of a large cart that held a glowing container of some sort - the third, a boy around her age. He was wearing a forest green plugsuit with the number 04' printed on the chest. No one moved for several seconds
"Ummm..." Hikari slowly started to back up, then remembered the sniper and froze.
"Who the hell...?" One of the men started to ask, the other one put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll take care of it." He reached under the cart and started to draw something shiny and black.
Hikari found that she could not move. She heard a quiet voice behind her, "Duck."
Hikari dropped to the floor and heard two rapid shots... then a second later... a third -NOOOOOO!!!!!- Her mind screamed. She looked up, and saw that the two technicians had bullet holes in their foreheads, and the young man had one through the 0 on his plug suit. All three were slumped against the wall. The boy, Hikari noticed, looked surprised... and a little sad.
She looked up at Kaji, who had Maya and a small duffel bag slung over his left shoulder and his gun in his right hand. The last traces of cordite wisped up from the barrel, "W-Why? Why did you shoot him?? WHY?!?!?"
Kaji looked down at her, his eyes were cold. He carefully lay Maya down on the ground before answering, his face averted, "I... I couldn't take the risk that he was armed."
Hikari exploded, "BULLSHIT!! He was a kid!! Like ME!!" then covered her mouth, embarrassed that she had yelled at him.
Kaji didn't reply. He leaned over Maya and tore her button up shirt off of her body.
Hikari stared at the proceedings, "What are you doing?"
Kaji removed her pants and her underclothes, leaving her lying naked on the industrial carpeted floor. Hikari could see a small hole in Maya's left side, just below her breast and off to the side. Kaji whispered, "Lucky girl... looks like just two broken ribs and a little flesh damage." He unzipped the bag and removed some medical supplies, taping her wound quickly.
Maya moaned a little bit, but did not open her eyes. Then he pulled out a second plug suit ("Just like Mine... just like...his...", Hikari noticed, still somewhat in shock) and started to pull it on her body. Without turning around Kaji said, "Can you give me a hand?"
Hikari stayed where she was, looking down at the floor, "You... you shot him... just a kid... just..."
Kaji screamed, "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Hikari started, and looked up at him as he went on, "I had to! Do you understand that?? I HAD to!!! If they had gotten to the EVA first, we would have all DIED!"
Hikari whispered, "But he..."
He cut her off, "I KNOW! He was just a kid... but I COULD NOT TAKE THE CHANCE! If he had a gun, and I hesitated, he would have killed me, you, Maya, and then taken the EVA and killed everyone we know. I just couldn't risk it, do you understand that?"
Hikari could no longer meet his eyes, he went on in a quieter voice, "I can see that you don't understand... and there's nothing I can do about that because we don't have much time... but I did what I felt was necessary to do to protect you... and Maya."
He didn't sound entirely sure of himself, and Hikari suddenly felt sorry for the man, -He's... he's right... I don't know if I could have done the same in his shoes - and it may have cost everything- She thought of Touji - I... I have to be strong-
She opened her mouth apologize, but Kaji started speaking quickly before she could say anything, "Now. Maya is hurt, but she should be ok. You need to stay with her and try to wake her up. If anyone comes in, hit the switch on your suit and hers... hopefully they won't see you. If they do..."
He held out a small gun, Hikari held up her hands, "No, I-"
He cut her off, "It's a tazer. I don't think you have had firearms training yet, and I don't think Maya is up to shooting anything right now. If you have to use it, try to aim it at exposed skin, because it will only go through thin fabric, and it's better to not risk it, ok?"
Hikari took it uncertainly, "O-Ok"
Kaji pushed the button on Maya's suit, pressurizing it, "I need to go find the sniper, and take care of things. I need you to wake the young Miss Ibuki here and get to the EVA." Suddenly he drew her close to him, holding her tightly. He whispered, "I'm sorry that you had to be a part of all of this, honey... just remember the people back home that are counting on us, and I'm sure you'll do fine. I believe in you."
He gave her another smile and stood up. He walked slowly to the cart with the glowing container and bowed to it. He spoke softly, "I am sorry, ma'am, for what I must now do... and for your son. I truly apologize." He raised his gun and fired a single round into the container, closing his eyes. There was a small flash, and a barely audile sigh - like autumn wind through dead leaves.
Hikari thought, -Was that a cross rising into the air? No... I must be seeing things-
The container stopped glowing red and turned a dull leaden gray. Kaji sighed, bowing again, and moved for the door. He hesitated with his hand on the knob, "Be sure that you hurry, honey. If I know Katsuragi, we have less than forty-five minutes or so to reestablish contact with her. If we can't, this entire place is going to be bombed so hard that we'll get to see for ourselves if God truly is in his Heaven..." He raised his gun, opened the door, and quickly ducked outside.
***
17:15
Misato was back from the EVA cages, "Any word yet?"
Hyouga looked up at her nervously, "Not yet, but they need to hurry... the birds are off the ground and flying..."
Misato nodded, "I know. They'll make it."
Hyouga turned back to his panel, "I hope you're right..."
***
17:17
Hikari had been trying for several minutes to wake Maya, but had so far only succeeded in eliciting pained groans from the older woman. -I have to get her awake.- she thought, somewhat frantically. She looked at Maya, "Please forgive me for this, Miss Ibuki..." Hikari took a deep breath and pushed on the spot the bullet had struck.
Maya screamed in pain, "ARRRGGHHH!" Her eyes flew open and she sat up, looking around, "Where am I? Oooowww.... Why does my chest hurt?"
Hikari threw her arms around her, "Oh, thank God you're awake. You got shot, Miss Ibuki. Mr. Kaji bandaged you and went to find the sniper..." She paused, looking at the floor, "and he killed those people over there."
Maya looked at where Hikari's trembling finger pointed, her eyes going wide. When she spoke, her voice was shaky but professional, "I see. They were most likely on their way to secure Unit 04. That must have been the..." She stared at the dead gray container for a moment, then whispered to herself, "Oh Kaji... it must have been hard to kill her..." Seeing Hikari's confusion, she shook her head and went on, "Anyway, we need to get the core essence container from the jeep, then get it to the EVA. It will take us about an hour and a half to insert the it and get the EVA online safely, then... what?"
Hikari was shaking her head, obviously agitated; "We have to do it in forty minutes. ALL of it! Kaji said since we can't get in touch with Major Katsuragi that we have to get out of here in less than an hour, or-"
Maya cut her off, "Scorched Earth, eh? Great. Well, if we can get the core to the EVA in 15 minutes, we MIGHT be able to crash-activate it, bypassing all the safety protocols..."
Hikari looked nervous, "But isn't it in the jeep?"
Maya nodded, getting to her feet and suppressing a grimace of pain, "Yes, but we can't activate the EVA without it, so I'll need to go get it. You stay by the door and open it when I shout. Let's hope Mr. Ryouji is as good as he says. Come on" She started for the door, Hikari following hesitantly.
***
17:18
Kaji was hunting.
-This is bad.- he thought, -too many rooftops.-
The gunfire had not resumed when he dove outside, but Kaji knew that was just because the sniper was trying to get a superior position. -If I can get to that observation tower, I should be able to see the whole compound... of course, he may be already there, in which case...-
He let the thought trail off, and continued the hunt.
***
17:18
She had made it into the jeep without being riddled with bullets, a definite plus in Maya's book -Now I need to get the core essence back into the building - without getting it, or me, shot.-
Catching her breath, and wincing slightly from the pain in her side, she tucked the core Essence container under her arm and placed her other hand on the door handle, "Are you ready, Miss? Yeah? Me neither." She opened the door and ran for the building, shielding the container with her body.
-I think I'm going to make it- she thought. Then she heard the rain-like sound again. She yelled, "DAMMIT!! HIKARI!!!" The door to the building was thrown open, and Maya dove into it, feeling something scratch her arm, and a bright flare in her side. Hikari slammed the door, "Miss Ibuki!! Are you ok???"
Maya was carefully inspecting the container for any damage, ignoring the slight flow of blood coming from her left arm and the throb in her side, "I'm fine. It's just a scrape." She looked up, smiling slightly, "I guess Sempai was right... I AM lucky. Now left's get this core essence to the EVA and get out of here."
***
17:20
From his vantage point, Kaji had made out Maya's desperate run. He had also made out the location of the sniper. -I'm afraid your little game is up, my friend.-
He carefully drew aim and began squeezing the trigger, when he sensed something wasn't quite right. Years of combat training kicked in, and her dropped to the floor - a knife passing through the air he had just vacated and burying itself in the wall. Rolling to the side, he tried to bring his gun up, only to have it kicked out of his hands by a tall, gray-haired man wearing desert fatigues. Kaji continued rolling and came up on his feet, facing the other man.
The man smiled, "You're not bad, spy-guy. Too bad you're not on our side."
Kaji answered his smile with a cheerful one of his own, "Too bad you're a dishonorable back-stabbing bastard. I'm glad we're not on the same side."
The man smiled, shrugging, "All's fair in love and war, my man." The smile fell away from his face, and he became deadly serious, "Besides, I'll bet you didn't give the young mister Jennings too much of a chance now did you?"
Kaji flinched involuntarily -A name to the face... now I can't forget - not that I could have anyway...-
The man said, "Let's do this."
He started moving in.
***
17:20
Maya quickly tapped the entry code into the keypad next to the large security door. It slid open quietly, "Let's go. Kaji IS very good, he knew this building connected to activation cage for Unit 04. If he hadn't brought us in here, we would have been ducking more bullets. It's five minutes to the EVA from here... three if we run."
Hikari looked at her and they started to run, "Why is all of the power still on? I thought this place just reappeared."
Maya answered quickly, holding her side, "It has it's own generator, good for sixty days of continuous operation should anything happen to the external power. It will even power the EVA for sixty minutes... although now we'll be lucky if it gives us twenty-five. Once we get the unit active, we'll need to find a portable EVA power supply, like the one used when Units 01 and 02 fought the seventh angel - we have strict orders not to engage the S^2 engine... or we may end up like all the people here."
Hikari nodded, grimacing, and they kept running
***
17:21
Kaji knew he was in trouble. The man he was facing off against was good, and worse, he was using a style that Kaji had not seen before. His body was tilted slightly to the side, making him a smaller target, and his arms were crossed in an X shape in front of his body, lending strength to his hits. In addition to his style, the man had speed.
-Damn!- he thought, -I don't have time to mess around, and he's not as bad I hoped he would be.-
Kaji dodged a quick blow from his opponent's crisscrossed hands, and tried to counter with a kick. The man stepped back quickly, grinning, "Oh come on! You'll have to do better than that!" He sighed, "I really don't have time for this... gotta go kill your girlfriends, after all."
Kaji knew the man was trying to get him angry so he would make a mistake. He tried a roundhouse kick followed up by two short punches aimed at the man's throat, all of which came up short or were blocked, "Now YOU'LL have to do better than that... did you really think you could bait me so easily?"
The man stepped back and uncrossed his arms, sinking into the familiar Karate stance. He bowed slightly, "My apologies, sir, I mistook you for simple riff-raff. Now I see that you are of a better class, so you deserve an honorable fight." He dropped his arms to his sides, and Kaji was surprised to see a knife fall from each hand, -I never even saw them...- He matched the man's stance and returned the bow, "I will remember you for this, sir."
The man smiled slightly, "I don't think so."
They began to fight for real.
***
17:25
Maya and Hikari stumble-ran into the center of the base, the Evangelion cage. Maya had one arm around Hikari's neck, a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, "Lung's... definitely... punctured..." She gasped, pressing her hand to her left side, "We have to... hurry."
Hikari looked at Maya with concern, "Maybe we should stop and re-"
Maya cut her off raggedly, "No time. Major Katsuragi... will... fulfill her... duty...." She looked at the container Hikari was holding in the hand not supporting her, "and we... have to get that... into the EVA in the... next..." She trailed off and took a deep breath, wincing in pain. When she went on, her voice was a little more stable, "few minutes or we won't... have time to activate." She looked upwards. Hikari followed the line of her vision, and drew a sharp breath. Above them, secured to the wall with restraining bolts, was the hulking silver-gray shape of Evangelion Unit 04.
***
17:26
Kaji knew it was going to end soon. Both of them were bloody and breathing hard from the exertion... and he was losing. He launched a series of kicks and punches, forcing the man back towards the door. "Not bad..." the man said admiringly, "not bad at all. My turn."
The man started his own form, flowing from kick to punch to chop almost faster than Kaji could follow. Kaji flipped backwards twice, grabbing the knife that had almost killed him from the wall in his right hand, his left tucked snug against his body. He swung around, bringing the knife in a steep arc down at the man's face.
^KTING^ The sound of metal on metal echoed through the room, as his knife impacted the other man's - picked up, apparently, when he pursued Kaji across the room. The man smiled and reached behind him, breathing hard. Kaji could hear the sound of steel on fabric, "Dirty pool..." the man said, tasting his victory, "That's just not playing fai-"
Kaji's left hand flashed out, burying the other knife (that he had retrieved on his first flip), in the man's chest. The man's eyes went wide and he started to slump forward, the smile replaced by a look of utmost surprise. Kaji caught him before he could fall, and laid him gently on the floor. He whispered, "All's fair, right?"
He closed the man's eyes gently, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry I don't have the time for a proper burial, my friend... but I'm afraid I have unfinished business..." He got to his feet and walked over to where his gun had fallen. Looking quickly out the window, he could see that the sniper had not moved.
He thought, -Poor tactics, my friend. Though you've found a good spot, you should always stay on the move... so something like this doesn't happen...- He carefully aimed his pistol, and squeezed the trigger.
***
17:30
Maya and Hikari had managed to get to the gantry in front of the EVA. Maya was panting slightly, and Hikari could see more blood starting to seep from the corner of her mouth, but she said nothing. Maya panted, "We have to... hurry. Got to get... the Essence into the... core..."
She let go of Hikari and limped to the control, keying in the command to have the crane remove the entry plug. The EVA's head tilted forward as the plug rotated outwards and the crane gently clamped on to it, pulling it from the giant beast's neck. Maya frowned and took the container from Hikari, "This is going to take me a few minutes, you stay here." She walked around the gantry to the side of the EVA, and pushed a button on the safety rail. A small walkway extended to the entry plug socket.
Maya turned to Hikari, "Once this is in, we'll need to insert you as fast as possible, so go sit in the entry plug." She pointed to the plug, which had opened as part of the removal sequence, "I'll close the hatch and charge the LCL, you just keep your eyes open for any more... intruders. It should be about 10 minutes."
Hikari looked at the watch mounted in the back of plugsuits hand. She licked her lips, "That only leaves twenty minutes... will that be enough time, Miss Ibuki?"
Maya started her way carefully across the narrow walkway, cradling the essence container against her chest. Trying to sound reassuring, she said, "Sure... should be plenty." -Of course,- she thought, -activating it doesn't mean we'll be able to get in touch with NERV...- She tried to banish the negative thoughts and climbed into the EVA.
***
17:36
Kaji ran quietly through the deserted base. The fight had been over for almost ten minutes, and Kaji was getting nervous. -It has to be here somewhere!- he thought furiously. So far he had checked all the highest points in the base, -I KNOW there's a jammer somewhere around here, there has to be one! But I don't have any more time to search.-
After seven minutes of fruitless searching, he had given up and started running for the EVA cage. Being in better shape than the two girls (and not being shot) he covered the distance in less time than they had. He slowed as he entered the cage, -Something's wrong... where are they?-
He looked around the cage. The EVA's head was tilted forward and the entry plug was off to the side and open, but he saw no sign of either girl. He tightened his grip on his pistol and walked slowly towards the walkway leading to the EVA's neck.
Combat training had saved him from the knife, but he was not quite fast enough to dodge the two prongs that suddenly shot from the entry plug and buried themselves in his chest, "What the...?" He was rudely cut off as electricity surged through his body, shutting down his nervous system and dropping him to the floor like a sack of rice.
"I got him!" Hikari's voice came from the plug, as her head appeared. Maya didn't say anything, still occupied with the essence insertion. The rest of Hikari's body faded into view as she hit the button on her wrist. She jumped out of the entry plug and approached the still form slowly, tazer at the ready.
"Oh no," she said quietly, her elation falling away, "Miss Ibuki? I just shot Mr. Kaji..."
A moment later Maya's head poked out over the rim of the EVA's plug entry, she looked at Kaji then back at Hikari, "Did... you... kill him?"
Hikari was horrified, "No! I just... tazed him."
Maya looked from the girl back to the prone form on the gantry and shrugged, instantly regretting it as more pain flooded from her wound, "He'll live then. Get... back into... the plug, time is... running out." She slid back down and continued to work.
Hikari bit her bottom lip, "I'm, ummn, sorry Mr. Kaji." She got back into the plug and waited.
***
17:42
Misato was pacing central dogma, playing with her cross, -This is bad,- she thought, -I should have insisted on going with them, Hikari's just a kid, and Maya's not trained for this.- "Any word?"
Hyouga looked up at her, "Not since 30 seconds ago, when you asked last."
She sighed, "I'm sorry... I just... I don't know what to do. I can't send anyone after them, they'd never get there in time... and I can't let anyone else get the EVA." She slammed her fist into her palm, "Call off the strike!"
Hyouga blinked at her, "Ma'am?!"
She put her hands on the sides of her head, "Never mind!! Arrrghhh!!! I'll... I'll be in the EVA cages..." She stalked off angrily. - I HATE being powerless!!-
***
17:46
Maya climbed out of the EVA and wiped the sweat off of her brow, "There, we're ready to go." She looked at Hikari, who was staring fixedly on her watch, "How much time?"
Hikari shook her head, "Fourteen minutes!"
Maya nodded grimly, "Ok." She walked quickly over to the entry plug, ignoring the pain in her side and lung, "In you go."
Hikari smiled nervously, "I..."
Maya paused, her hand on the control panel of the plug, "What is it, Hikari?"
Hikari cleared her throat and said quietly, "Thank you, Miss Ibuki..."
Maya looked confused, "For what?"
Hikari met her eyes, thinking of how Maya wouldn't rest or stop, even though she was obviously in agony, "For showing me how to be brave..."
Maya smiled and said quietly, "I think you already knew how." She push close button, and the hatch cut off further conversation.
Maya went to the console and started the entry process. "Filling and charging LCL." She said quietly to herself, checking off the steps to activation.
***
17:55
The pilot of Falcon 7 radioed Falcon 6, "Looks like there's no flak. Let's begin approach."
Falcon 6 radioed back, "Roger that. Let's make this delivery and go home. I'm starving..."
The two planes began to descend. An N^2 bomb clearly visible on each wing.
**
17:56
Maya was sweating, "Entry complete and connection is at stage 2. Going to stage 3. Approaching absolute borderline." She shivered slightly, remembering Unit 03's rampage.
Hikari saw the walls of the plug flash from green to veined red to blue, and every other color in the spectrum, before flashing once more... and she was looking down at Maya. -It's different,- she thought as she felt the connection to Unit 04 become fully active, -it's different than the test plug. It's more... complete.- Maya was talking to her, so she focused her attention on her.
"We're up and running!" Maya looked proud of herself.
Hikari smiled, "What about Mister Kaji?"
Maya looked down at his still-prone form, "He's still sleeping like a baby. See if you can establish connection with NERV, we're almost out of time."
Hikari keyed her long range communications to life, "NERV, come in please."
She waited tensely.
***
17:58
Misato called Central Dogma from the Evangelion cage, "Order the release," she said in a monotone. She looked up at Unit 01, a tear running down her cheek as she whispered, "I'm sorry Shinji..."
***
17:58
Hikari's panicked voice came over the speakers in the cage, "It's not working! My sensor's show some sort of interference coming from just outside the base."
Maya thought quickly, then spoke in a tired voice, "There's no way you can get there and disable it before it's too late," She looked up at Unit 04's face, "but Unit 04 can survive the blast. You'll be ok."
Hikari was shocked, "B-But what about you and Mister Kaji?"
Maya looked away from Unit 04 and shook her head sadly.
***
17:59
The two planes streaked in low, hugging the ground tightly. If someone had been on the wings when the clock rolled over to 18:00, they would have heard a soft click as the bombs detached and began their graceful, deadly descent. The pilot of Falcon 7 whispered quietly, "Hail Mary, mother of grace..."
***
18:00
Hikari's systems began to go wild. "Warning," a soft female voice whispered to her, "non-nuclear type explosive device incoming. Time to impact: sixty seconds. Recommend immediate evacuation to avoid damage to this unit." A timer appeared in the lower right hand corner of her field of vision, and the light in the entry plug changing to red accompanied the voice. "No!!" Hikari cried out in frustration.
Maya kneeled down and put her arms around Kaji, whispering quietly, "I know... I know that you belong to the Major... but I don't want to be alone when I die, so forgive me, ok?" She closed her eyes.
Hikari looked from Maya to the timer, which now read thirty-five seconds. "No." she whispered, "No, I won't let it end this way for them!" She willed the Evangelion into motion.
Maya looked up, surprised, as the silver EVA started to tear it's way out of the bindings, "Hikari what are you doing?"
Hikari didn't reply, just shot a look at the timer (twenty-five seconds) and had the EVA cover Maya and Kaji with both hands. "Hikari? This won't save us... we-" Hikari switched off the external speakers and spoke quietly, "Mother? In your letter you said that you had to go... that it was the best for me - for everyone, if you went away."
A tear slid down her cheek, as the timer reached thirteen, "You also said to call for you and you would be there if I was ever in danger. Well, I am, mama... I need your help, wherever you are... help me if you can." The clock reached four as she whispered, "AT field, full spread."
The air around Unit 04 shimmered and seemed to solidify.
***
In Central Dogma, Hyouga shouted, "AT field detected at NERV branch two! It's..." His voice trailed off as the sensor's registered the impact of four N^2 mines at the same location.
***
Hikari felt like she was in Hell. The explosions rocked the EVA viciously, but she willed it to remain in place, "Mother, please... please help me..." Though she would not know until much later, her mother
Maya looked up at the EVA's hands, and the Octagonal shape of the AT field surrounding them, "Amazing... the pattern is... different somehow..." She gasped and closed her eyes as she felt the gantry starting to give way.
"NO!" Hikari shouted as the gantry all around Maya and Kaji was vaporized, and they began to fall. Quick as thought, she flipped the left hand over and softly caught them before they had fallen five feet.
The explosion was starting to fade, but Hikari held the AT field tightly... and her two superiors gently. She yelled, hoping they might be able to hear her, "Hang on!!" -Just hang on...-
***
Misato was greeted with total chaos as she ran into Central Dogma, "Report!!" she yelled anxiously.
Hyouga answered without looking up from his post, "The N^2 bombs were all successfully delivered, but three seconds before impact an AT field was detected at the location."
Misato looked hopeful, "What was the pattern analysis?"
Hyouga looked up at her uncertainly, "It was indeterminable."
She looked at him questioningly, "What do you mean?"
He looked more confused, "Well, the Magi reported a standard Evangelion AT field deployment, but there was something else as well... almost as if two fields were in place. The other field could not be analyzed."
Misato had no reply for that, but she smiled as inspiration on another matter hit her, "I'll be back in one minute!!"
***
As the firestorm subsided, Hikari opened the EVA's hands gingerly, like a child after catching her first firefly. She sighed in relief as she saw that they were both breathing, though unconscious. She opened a communications channel, "Major Katsuragi?"
After a second of silence a quiet voice replied, "Hikari?"
Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes went wide, "T-Touji?"
"The one and only. How are you holding up, babe? I hear you've visiting the States." He asked, with a slight smile in his voice. She smiled and started to speak when he went on in a more serious voice, "Hikari? There's something I need to tell you."
Her mouth went dry, -Is something wrong? Oh God! I hope Kimiko is ok!- "W-What is it, Touji?" Her voice cracked slightly.
He spoke hesitantly, "I know that... this isn't the most ideal place. And I know you've been through a lot... but I need to know something."
Hikari tried to think of what he was talking about, -Could he? No! he wouldn't!-
Of course, he would... and he did, "Hikari, will you be my girlfriend? Because... I love you, Hikari."
Her heart did summersaults in her chest, "Will I... ? You love...?"
He went on hastily, "You don't have to answer right now, but-"
She cut him off smoothly, using her best Class rep tone, "Why Mister Suzuhara! How dare you think..."
He apologized, quickly, "I'm sorry, I just thought... since you offered to make me lunch... and I do... I..."
She waited for him to trail off, then smiled and spoke briskly, "Why Touji Suzuhara! In all my years I never thought I would hear such a confession! And right in the command center! With everyone listening, too!"
She listened to him babble more incoherent apologies, before cutting him off again, "And what's more," she went on in a softer voice, "I'm amazed that you would have to ask. Of course I will... I love you too, Touji."
She smiled at his silence, "Now. We can discuss this when I get back, Pilot Suzuhara, my power cells are three and half minutes from being depleted and I have two wounded officers that need attention. I need to see if a power supply survived and double time it back to the transport."
His happy voice came back to her, "Yes Ma'am! I'll be waiting when you get here..."
She smiled and whispered, "I know you will..."
In her mind she offered silent thanks to her mother, though she would not find out until much later just how close her mother really was that day...
***
Day Thirty-three
"What good is all of your technological bullshit if you can't bring back one little life? Give me back my Shinji! GIVE HIM BACK!!!" Asuka was on the floor, holding Shinji's empty plugsuit in her hands and crying.
Ritsuko stared at the girl, amazed. When the experiment had begun several hours ago, she had been surprised by Asuka's vehement insistence to be present, -I... I knew she had some kind of relationship with him, but I never knew her feelings were this strong!!- she thought with some surprise.
Her attention was distracted by a wet smacking sound. She turned her head to see Shinji's body lying on the gantry next to Unit 01's entry plug, her gasp alerted the distraught Second Child, who immediately ran to Shinji and threw her arms around him, sobbing hysterically and repeating his name over and over again.
Misato wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and sniffed quietly, "Good job Ritsuko."
Ritsuko just stared at Asuka, who was starting to get herself under control, "I don't think it was me... I think it was you. You and her."
***
Shinji awoke slowly, a vague dream of his mother dissipating as his eyes crept open. -Is someone...singing?- he thought. His eyes opened all the way, and he was so stunned by what he saw that he could not speak for several minutes.
Asuka was asleep with her head and arms resting on his bed, obviously exhausted - Rei was stroking Asuka's hair and singing quietly. She became aware of Shinji's gaze and stopped singing, though she kept stroking Asuka's hair gently. "Hello, Pilot Ikari."
"Why?" Shinji's voice came out as a hoarse whisper, he cleared his throat and tried again with slightly better results, "Why are you doing that, Ayanami?"
Rei considered Asuka for a moment before replying, "It felt... correct."
Shinji licked his lips and decided to press her a little, "What do you mean?"
Rei looked slightly surprised (whither it was because she was unsure or because he had pursued the issue, Shinji was not exactly certain). She stared at him for a moment, her hands never stopping, before responding quietly, "Pilot Souryu has been extremely distraught for the past month due to your physical body being diffused into Evangelion Unit 01."
-Was it that long??- Shinji thought, amazed, -Oh, Asuka...-
Rei went on in the same methodical tone, ignoring Shinji's steadily dropping jaw, "In addition to this, approximately two weeks ago Evangelion Unit 04 was retrieved and Hikari Horaki was assigned as it's designated pilot. Also, Evangelion Unit 03 was recovered and Pilot Suzuhara awakened from his comatose state to resume his duties as the pilot. Suzuhara and Horaki are now a 'couple.' The stress of having you gone, coupled with her best friend becoming a pilot was a lot for Pilot Souryu to handle. She wept a lot."
Shinji looked into Rei's crimson eyes for a moment, then down at Asuka's sleeping form, -I'm so sorry to cause you pain, Asuka...-
Rei went on, "Pilot Souryu spent most of the month in the EVA cages, and she has not left your bedside since you were recovered. When I arrived this morning, she was on the verge of collapse. She asked if I would watch over you and I agreed."
She averted her eyes, "While she was sleeping she started to cry... asking for her mother, and for you." Now she looked uncertain, "I... felt that I should do something to comfort her. This felt right." She stared at Shinji for a moment longer, apparently waiting for him to ask her more questions.
When he did not, she resumed singing softly.
Shinji didn't interrupt her...
To be continued
Omake
From the scene where Kaji is explaining the chameleon plugsuits:
"The reason it is so uncomfortable is that it was designed for a male pilot... it has no breast cavities." Kaji explained patiently.
Hikari blushed bright red
Kaji smiled and went on, "Of course, that shouldn't be a problem for you, since you're not that well endowed..." He ignored her look of stunned disbelief mingled with anger, and glanced over at Maya, "but Miss Ibuki here is pretty much flat as a board, and you're still growing, so maybe there's still hope for you."
Maya looked up from the laptop she had been diligently tapping on with a look very similar to Hikari's on her face. Kaji sighed, "I hope that you DO get bigger breasts in the future, because you certainly can't rely on your personality to get you by - because it sucks. Maya has the same problem, but I think that comes from her staying a virgin so long. Maybe I could help the both of yo- HEY, what are you doinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg......?"
As he fell several thousand feet, Kaji thought about his error in judgment
From the scene where Maya, Kaji, and Hikari are approaching NERV's 2nd branch in the US
Maya sighed and restarted the jeep they we driving, "Hikari, never trust men that compliment you TOO often..." She glared at Kaji, who looked hurt, "they always want something."
Kaji smiled and winked at her, "Oh, Come on. You weren't complaining last night!"
She shot him a withering glance, and spoke in an icy tone, "If you ever want to experience that again, you'd be wise to remember your 'lesson'"
Kaji paled as the smile fell from his face. He looked at the floor as he spoke, "Yes, Mistress..."
Hikari looked nervously from one to the other, and decided it would be in her best interest to say nothing...
Author's notes: This part took me a long time to write and is so far the longest, but I enjoyed it quite a bit (especially the mental image of Hikari running full tilt into a closed door). I know that others have done Hikari as a pilot, but I have not seen anyone do that, unit 04, unit 03, AND Touji all at once - plus an Asuka/Shinji romance - so I thought I would. In case you hadn't noticed, I like a good happy ending, so expect that to be an overall theme in the entire series (I'm trying not to be TOO sappy). Yes, I know that Rei was a little talky at the end, but I thought that if Shinji pushed her she would give him a full run down of everything that had happened. What about her comforting Asuka? If you think about what Rei truly is, it makes perfect sense, though I doubt that she would have tried it while Asuka was awake...
Thanks to Ryoma once again for pre-reading and pointing out a couple continuity problems (which I hope I corrected satisfactorily).
Feedback is always welcome at Random1377@yahoo.com.
Part 6
(Episode 20)
Fourth and Fifth
By Random1377
Day one
Misato Katsuragi was staring at the heavily bandaged Unit 01, "So there is a chance he can be brought back?"
Ritsuko Akagi looked up from her computer terminal, "There is a chance. Everything that makes Shinji, well, Shinji, is still in the entry plug. We tried once before, with the test pilot of Unit 01... but we were not successful"
Misato kept her back turned to Ritsuko, so she could not see the tear running down her cheek. She spoke quietly, "Do everything that you can to get him back to me..." -To us,- she thought to herself, -us...-
Day two
"I don't care if Rei is ok!! Just bring HIM back to me, Misato!!" Asuka Langley Souryu slammed the phone back down on its cradle and lay down on her bed again, covering her head with a pillow, -I couldn't do anything... nothing at all- she thought, angry at herself, -Shinji had to be hurt again, just to save me... I'm useless-
She threw her head back and screamed her sorrow, "Oh please... God, PLEASE! Bring him back to me..." she began to sob, "please... I can't... I can't live without him anymore..."
The tears that she cried were bitter... and lonely...
Day fifteen
"Understood." Gendou Ikari hung up the phone that he was talking into, and spoke to the others gathered in his office, "I have just received confirmation. NERV branch two and Evangelion Unit 04 have reappeared in the Nevada desert."
Misato and Ritsuko both gasped. Gendou went on as if he had not heard them, "Dr. Akagi, I know that you are working to retrieve the pilot of Unit 01 so you will not be needed for what I have in mind. Major Katsuragi, you are in charge of our defenses, so you will not do either. Now I'm sure you are wondering why you are here, and the reason is quite simple. Dr. Akagi, I will need you to teach your subordinate, Miss Ibuki everything necessary to insert a core essence and activate an Evangelion unit without any other support staff."
Both women gasped again. Gendou's mouth quirked down at the interruption as he continued, "Major, I need you to ready the Fifth Child to pilot Unit 04. Also inform your lover, mister Ryouji, that he will be going with the two woman for security purposes - and close your mouth Major, you have not been exactly discrete."
Misato's mouth snapped shut, and she bowed quickly, "Yes sir, but shouldn't Rei or Asuka go to pilot the unit out? The Fifth Child has been training less than three weeks... and why does Kaji need to go?"
Gendou folded his hands, "Rei is still recovering from her wounds, and I have my reasons to doubt the stability of the Second Child. I assume you saw her charge the fourteenth angel, even though her unit had no arms? It must be the Fifth. As to Mister Ryouji being needed... let's just say there are certain other parties that would be interested in getting their hands on an intact Evangelion... by any means they can. He will be useful for security reasons. They will be leaving tomorrow, so prepare them. Dismissed."
As they turned to leave, Kouzou Fuyutsuki spoke, "Major, a moment more."
Ritsuko kept walking, while Misato turned and waited. Fuyutsuki continued once Ritsuko had left, "We have one last bit of information on the site, make sure your pilot is aware."
Misato looked from the sub commander to the commander and back again, "What is it, sir?"
Gendou spoke quietly, "The branch has returned, this is true, but remember that it was fully staffed when it disappeared. There will be... bodies."
Day sixteen
Hikari swallowed hard, "I understand. Just out of curiosity though, why can't we take one of the other units with us, or a more skilled pilot? My sync ratio is not as high as any of the others."
Misato was sifting through the stack of data on the mission, "Well, Unit 00 is repaired, but Rei is still not up to it - though if we get attacked, she will HAVE to be up to it. And Units 02 and 03 are still being worked on, so basically... you are all we've got." She looked up and smiled, "You'll do fine, it's just a little pick up mission, and I'll be in radio contact if anything goes wrong. Don't worry about it."
Kaji spoke up from his position against the wall, "Don't worry about a thing, as long as I'm around, nothing can go wrong."
He turned and winked at Hikari, while Misato made a rather unpleasant face at his back. Hikari tried to relax, but found it difficult under the four pairs of eyes that were currently appraising her. Misato and Kaji both looked reassuring, but Ritsuko was staring at her intently and Maya was looking slightly ill - not very comforting, as far as Hikari was concerned.
Maya said timidly, "I'm still not too sure about this ma'am. A core insertion and first activation with no support staff is tricky enough, but doing it in a foreign location under possible hostile conditions..."
Ritsuko cut her off, "The Nevada site has all of the same facilities that we do, and I have given you step by step directions. Just remember to disconnect the S^2 engine before proceeding and you will be just fine."
Misato stood up to leave, "Your carrier takes off in one hour, so if you need to gather any personally effects or say goodbye to anyone, now would be the time... of course, you can't tell anyone where you are going..."
The last comment was directed towards Hikari, who looked rather downcast at the news, "Then I just have one person to talk to."
***
Hikari sat by Touji's bed, listening to the quiet hum of the life monitoring systems. The doctors had told her (after she had been confirmed as a pilot) that Touji was not dead, or even brain dead for that matter. The problem seemed to be that his mind could not reconcile the shock of being told by the EVA system that it was dead. Essentially, his brain had gone into hibernation to protect itself. They told her he may wake someday, but he would need to decide for himself that he was alive.
She spoke softly, "Touji? I have to go away for a few days... to America. I have to go get something that was lost and-" She hesitated, realizing that she had not told him that she was a pilot yet. It occurred to her that she didn't want him to know, but at the same time she knew that he might not wake - or she might not return.
She clenched her fists in her lap, gathering her courage, "Touji, I've... I've become an EVA pilot..." Of course, Touji had no response. She went on, "I wanted to tell you, but I never felt right, now I know I might not have another chance. I'm going to America to get the Evangelion that will be mine... and I might not come back. It's going to be dangerous, Touji."
She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and stood up, "I hope that you're awake when I get back. I have... things I want to tell you - NEED to tell you... but I won't until I know you can hear me." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, "Goodbye"
She walked quickly out of the room, determined not to look back, and so she missed the sudden rise in Alpha waves on one of the monitors, and the almost imperceptible word Touji uttered, "Hikari?"
***
Day 17
The carrier pilot's voice came back to the passenger bay, "We are coming in for a landing, please brace yourselves."
Hikari looked out of the window, but all she could see was barren wasteland, "Is this the right place? It looks so... empty."
Kaji also looked out of the window, though looking more for people than at the terrain, "Well, it IS a desert. Are you ready?"
Hikari pulled at the neck of her tan and gray plugsuit, "Ready as I'll ever be, but why couldn't I wear my normal plugsuit? This one is... uncomfortable."
Kaji looked at her, regretting the short amount of time that was spent putting the mission together, and the obvious lack of training the young girl had received. He sighed, "You are wearing an experimental type plugsuit, designed for the possibility that an EVA unit may be damaged and captured or the pilot forced to eject in hostile territory. There are only two like it."
Hikari was stunned, "You mean, they really think that a group of people might try to capture an EVA??"
Kaji shrugged, then smiled - not in a pleasant way, "NERV likes to be prepared for any eventuality. Push the button on the right wrist, and sit still"
Hikari did as she was told, and was amazed to see her hand - and the rest of her - fade into nothing. "Am I invisible?" she said, sounding amazed.
Kaji chuckled, "No, especially since your head is poking out. This is more like a chameleon's blending ability. If someone were to look at you from the side, they would notice the irregularity in the surface of the object you are resting against. As for the head, there is a hood that is built into the neck of the unit. Just pull the tab at the base of your skull, and flip the hood over your head." He paused, "Also, it won't work if you move more than an inch... so if you have to activate it for any reason, stay STILL."
Hikari turned the suit off and was much happier to see the rest of her body become visible. She looked up and saw Kaji smiling again, he spoke with a slight trace of laugher in his voice, "The reason it is so uncomfortable is that it was designed for a male pilot... it has no breast cavities."
Hikari blushed bright red, "I see... could you stop smiling that way, Mr. Kaji? It makes me nervous..."
***
"What do you mean she's gone? Gone where?!" Misato was doing her best to calm the obviously agitated Fourth Child, and keep him from tearing the I.V. out of his arm.
Misato succeeded in pinning his arms to the bed, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that just now, Touji, it's classified."
Touji stopped struggling for a minute and studied Misato's face, a vague memory of Hikari's voice echoing in his mind. He spoke slowly, looking Misato in the eyes, "You said that Unit 03 was recovered... you made her the pilot, didn't you? Just in case I couldn't or wouldn't... am I right?"
Misato considered the boy for a moment before answering, unconsciously echoing Ritsuko's tactics when dealing with Hikari a few weeks back. Unlike Ritsuko, however, Misato felt bad about it, "Well Touji... I could tell you everything - IF you were a pilot. Then you would need the information..."
Touji, whispered, "That is a cold way to do things, Major Katsuragi."
Misato flinched at the ice in the boy's voice, and at the fact that he had deliberately used her military title rather than her first name, -Even if he stays, he'll never trust me completely...- she thought.
Touji looked away from Misato. After a few minutes he quietly spoke, "When Unit 03 activated, and the angel took it over, I was aware. You know that, don't you? You told me that Shinji refused to pilot again after what happened to me, because he felt responsible," He looked at her again, and she could see tears in the corners of his eyes... but his voice never wavered, "Do you know how it feels, major, to be forced to hurt someone you care for? I felt every blow that landed on Unit 02... I felt Unit 00 pinned under me... and I felt my hands wrap around Unit 01's throat and squeeze. Worst of all, I felt what the angel felt - I could FEEL its satisfaction, its triumph."
He stared up at the ceiling once again, a far off look on his face, "Do you know the last thing I felt when Unit 03's neck broke? For myself, I felt happiness... it was finally over - I wouldn't hurt my friends any more... but from the angel... from it I felt something unexpected. Not the agony of death, not the pain of defeat, no sense of loss at all. It felt content, like it had done its part and someone else would finish the job."
His eyes narrowed and focused on Misato again, and for the first time since she had entered the room she felt as if the side arm she was carrying under her flight jacket would not help her if this young man lost control, "Now you come in here telling me that the one person I've finally realized truly cares for me is gone - and that you won't tell me where she is unless I agree to pilot again? Did you ever, even for one minute, think that I wouldn't?"
Misato blinked in surprise, "Come again? Weren't you just saying that the pain was-"
Touji cut her off, "Yes... the pain was almost unbearable - almost. But the thought of sitting idle while those THINGS try to destroy everything that I love is more unbearable. I'll pilot for you, don't worry about that. Now where is Hikari?"
Misato took a deep breath, "Well, you see..."
***
"Yes, I understand." Kaji pressed the disconnect button on his cell phone and turned to the others.
Hikari looked at him hopefully, "Well, any changes in Touji's condition?"
He shook his head sadly, "Unfortunately no, Katsuragi says he is still the same... I'm sorry." Hikari looked crestfallen, but Kaji went on cheerfully, "Don't worry. Touji is a strong young man, I'm sure he'll be fine in no time. Besides that, the lovely Major just informed me that we are less than one mile from the installation. She says to check in again once we get there, for security purposes."
Maya muttered from the driver's seat, "Thank goodness. With all this wind and sand blowing around, I can't get my bearings."
Kaji offered her a dazzling smile, "I was more distracted by your stunning beauty... now about the dummy plug system, I was wondering if-"
Maya sighed and restarted the jeep they we driving, "Hikari, never trust men that compliment you TOO often..." She glared at Kaji, who looked hurt, "they always want something."
Hikari, whispered, "Touji never compliments me... but I know he has a lot on his mind, and I plan to find a way to make him notice me... because I love him." A stunned look crossed the girl's face, -Is THAT why I'm here? To make him notice me?? No! I'm here to protect the ones I love... and I do love him... I do. God, please make sure he's ok.-
Kaji, who had always been pretty good at cheering up unhappy women looked at her closely and smiled, "I'm sure he's noticed. I've seen the way he looks at you, Hikari. Just watch, when you get back I'm SURE he'll want to spend some time with you"
Hikari looked at the floor, on the verge of tears, "B-But, he doesn't even know I'm there, Mr. Kaji."
"Now you listen to me, young lady!" The vehemence of his voice made her head snap up and her eyes go wide as he went on, "You say you love this boy, right? So prove it! Do you think he would want you to mope around, thinking he'll never get better? Or do you think he would want you to do your duty as an Evangelion pilot, fulfill your mission obligations, and come home safe to him?"
Hikari did not know what to say. Kaji went on in a quieter voice, "Listen. You have to have faith that he will be ok - even if he never wakes up, do you understand? That's part of what love is - it is believing that things will turn out for the best. It's KNOWING deep down inside, that you WILL see him again. It's the only thing that can keep a person going sometimes... believe me, I know."
Hikari smiled at him, wiping the single tear that had fallen off of her cheek, "Thank you. Really."
Kaji smiled and patted her hand. Looking out of the driver's side window, Maya smiled, -Well, maybe he's not THAT bad after all.- A short series of beeps from the GPS in the dashboard wiped the smile off of her face quickly, "We're there, right on time, too. We need to check in."
Kaji and Hikari both jumped out of the jeep and looked at NERV branch 2, "It looks so... desolate... deserted..." she whispered.
Kaji was frowning, "I wish it was, honey, I wish it was..." He was looking at one of the entrances to an ancillary building, and the decaying corpses of the two guards leaning against either side of one of the doors, -They must have tightened security for the installation of the S^2 engine, that building is a food storehouse. Fat lot of good it did them- "Huh?" There was a sound like small rocks bouncing off of metal
Hikari looked up at the sky thoughtfully, "Is it... raining?"
Kaji yelled, "Get DOWN!!!"
"Unh..." Maya gasped.
Kaji pushed Hikari to the ground, behind the jeep. Maya, still behind the vehicle's door, fell backwards into the driver's seat.
Hikari yelled, "What's happening?!?"
Kaji had a gun in his right hand, pointing it towards the front of the jeep. In his left hand was his cell phone, which he was shouting into, "Katsuragi? Do you copy? Misato!? Dammit! If you can hear me, we are under fire and Ibuki's been hit. Damage unknown. Out."
Hikari whispered: "H-Hit?"
Kaji didn't acknowledge her, just kept scanning the rooftops, "There is at least one sniper somewhere on one of the buildings. We need to get Maya into that building over there," He pointed to a squat structure "and see how badly she is hurt. Do you understand?"
Hikari nodded, too scared to speak. Kaji pushed a button on his watch and steel plates slammed down on all the windows of the jeep. Hikari could hear the doors lock (except for the driver's side, which was still open...) Kaji noticed Hikari's stunned look and grinned slightly, "Now you know why the gas mileage is so bad. Ok, when I count to three, I want you to run into that building because it's the only one I know is unlocked. I'll cover you, ok?"
Hikari got up to run, and heard more of the rain sound. Kaji yanked her back to the ground and she felt something whiz past her cheek, whining slightly, "Wait until I count to three, ok?"
The girl looked at him, wide-eyed, "I'm sorry! I'm scared, Mr. Kaji..."
Kaji gave her a quick hug, "I know you are, honey, so am I. I'll be right behind you... I just need to pick up Miss Ibuki. One... two... three!"
Kaji stood up around the end of the jeep and fired four rounds in the direction he had estimated the bullets were coming from as Hikari sprinted to the door and throw herself against it - only to find that it opened the other way, -Great! I'm going to die because I pushed instead of pulling- She almost started laughing hysterically, then pulled herself together and yanked the door open.
***
"What do you mean, they haven't checked in?!" Misato demanded, standing in the middle of the control center, her arms crossed.
Hyouga replied, "Well, there IS a sandstorm moving in..." He sounded unconvinced
Misato shot him a skeptical look, "Keep monitoring, I have to check on the status of EVAs. If they make contact patch them through to my cell phone." She moved for the door, but hesitated on the threshold, "If they don't make contact by 18:00... proceed with plan N."
Hyouga nodded slowly, "I... I understand." He turned to his console, "This is the Nest calling Falcon 6 and 7. Prepare to execute plan N in one hour, repeat, one hour unless rescind command is issued, over." After a brief crackle of static, two voices answered, "Orders confirmed, Nest, rising to Release Altitude. Over and out." "Nest out." -Come on, Kaji!-
***
17:04
Hikari dashed through the door, but came up short as she found herself fifteen feet from three people trying to get through a large security door on the other side of the room. Two of them were slightly overweight men - one carrying a clipboard and entering codes on the keypad, the other resting his hands on the handle of a large cart that held a glowing container of some sort - the third, a boy around her age. He was wearing a forest green plugsuit with the number 04' printed on the chest. No one moved for several seconds
"Ummm..." Hikari slowly started to back up, then remembered the sniper and froze.
"Who the hell...?" One of the men started to ask, the other one put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll take care of it." He reached under the cart and started to draw something shiny and black.
Hikari found that she could not move. She heard a quiet voice behind her, "Duck."
Hikari dropped to the floor and heard two rapid shots... then a second later... a third -NOOOOOO!!!!!- Her mind screamed. She looked up, and saw that the two technicians had bullet holes in their foreheads, and the young man had one through the 0 on his plug suit. All three were slumped against the wall. The boy, Hikari noticed, looked surprised... and a little sad.
She looked up at Kaji, who had Maya and a small duffel bag slung over his left shoulder and his gun in his right hand. The last traces of cordite wisped up from the barrel, "W-Why? Why did you shoot him?? WHY?!?!?"
Kaji looked down at her, his eyes were cold. He carefully lay Maya down on the ground before answering, his face averted, "I... I couldn't take the risk that he was armed."
Hikari exploded, "BULLSHIT!! He was a kid!! Like ME!!" then covered her mouth, embarrassed that she had yelled at him.
Kaji didn't reply. He leaned over Maya and tore her button up shirt off of her body.
Hikari stared at the proceedings, "What are you doing?"
Kaji removed her pants and her underclothes, leaving her lying naked on the industrial carpeted floor. Hikari could see a small hole in Maya's left side, just below her breast and off to the side. Kaji whispered, "Lucky girl... looks like just two broken ribs and a little flesh damage." He unzipped the bag and removed some medical supplies, taping her wound quickly.
Maya moaned a little bit, but did not open her eyes. Then he pulled out a second plug suit ("Just like Mine... just like...his...", Hikari noticed, still somewhat in shock) and started to pull it on her body. Without turning around Kaji said, "Can you give me a hand?"
Hikari stayed where she was, looking down at the floor, "You... you shot him... just a kid... just..."
Kaji screamed, "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Hikari started, and looked up at him as he went on, "I had to! Do you understand that?? I HAD to!!! If they had gotten to the EVA first, we would have all DIED!"
Hikari whispered, "But he..."
He cut her off, "I KNOW! He was just a kid... but I COULD NOT TAKE THE CHANCE! If he had a gun, and I hesitated, he would have killed me, you, Maya, and then taken the EVA and killed everyone we know. I just couldn't risk it, do you understand that?"
Hikari could no longer meet his eyes, he went on in a quieter voice, "I can see that you don't understand... and there's nothing I can do about that because we don't have much time... but I did what I felt was necessary to do to protect you... and Maya."
He didn't sound entirely sure of himself, and Hikari suddenly felt sorry for the man, -He's... he's right... I don't know if I could have done the same in his shoes - and it may have cost everything- She thought of Touji - I... I have to be strong-
She opened her mouth apologize, but Kaji started speaking quickly before she could say anything, "Now. Maya is hurt, but she should be ok. You need to stay with her and try to wake her up. If anyone comes in, hit the switch on your suit and hers... hopefully they won't see you. If they do..."
He held out a small gun, Hikari held up her hands, "No, I-"
He cut her off, "It's a tazer. I don't think you have had firearms training yet, and I don't think Maya is up to shooting anything right now. If you have to use it, try to aim it at exposed skin, because it will only go through thin fabric, and it's better to not risk it, ok?"
Hikari took it uncertainly, "O-Ok"
Kaji pushed the button on Maya's suit, pressurizing it, "I need to go find the sniper, and take care of things. I need you to wake the young Miss Ibuki here and get to the EVA." Suddenly he drew her close to him, holding her tightly. He whispered, "I'm sorry that you had to be a part of all of this, honey... just remember the people back home that are counting on us, and I'm sure you'll do fine. I believe in you."
He gave her another smile and stood up. He walked slowly to the cart with the glowing container and bowed to it. He spoke softly, "I am sorry, ma'am, for what I must now do... and for your son. I truly apologize." He raised his gun and fired a single round into the container, closing his eyes. There was a small flash, and a barely audile sigh - like autumn wind through dead leaves.
Hikari thought, -Was that a cross rising into the air? No... I must be seeing things-
The container stopped glowing red and turned a dull leaden gray. Kaji sighed, bowing again, and moved for the door. He hesitated with his hand on the knob, "Be sure that you hurry, honey. If I know Katsuragi, we have less than forty-five minutes or so to reestablish contact with her. If we can't, this entire place is going to be bombed so hard that we'll get to see for ourselves if God truly is in his Heaven..." He raised his gun, opened the door, and quickly ducked outside.
***
17:15
Misato was back from the EVA cages, "Any word yet?"
Hyouga looked up at her nervously, "Not yet, but they need to hurry... the birds are off the ground and flying..."
Misato nodded, "I know. They'll make it."
Hyouga turned back to his panel, "I hope you're right..."
***
17:17
Hikari had been trying for several minutes to wake Maya, but had so far only succeeded in eliciting pained groans from the older woman. -I have to get her awake.- she thought, somewhat frantically. She looked at Maya, "Please forgive me for this, Miss Ibuki..." Hikari took a deep breath and pushed on the spot the bullet had struck.
Maya screamed in pain, "ARRRGGHHH!" Her eyes flew open and she sat up, looking around, "Where am I? Oooowww.... Why does my chest hurt?"
Hikari threw her arms around her, "Oh, thank God you're awake. You got shot, Miss Ibuki. Mr. Kaji bandaged you and went to find the sniper..." She paused, looking at the floor, "and he killed those people over there."
Maya looked at where Hikari's trembling finger pointed, her eyes going wide. When she spoke, her voice was shaky but professional, "I see. They were most likely on their way to secure Unit 04. That must have been the..." She stared at the dead gray container for a moment, then whispered to herself, "Oh Kaji... it must have been hard to kill her..." Seeing Hikari's confusion, she shook her head and went on, "Anyway, we need to get the core essence container from the jeep, then get it to the EVA. It will take us about an hour and a half to insert the it and get the EVA online safely, then... what?"
Hikari was shaking her head, obviously agitated; "We have to do it in forty minutes. ALL of it! Kaji said since we can't get in touch with Major Katsuragi that we have to get out of here in less than an hour, or-"
Maya cut her off, "Scorched Earth, eh? Great. Well, if we can get the core to the EVA in 15 minutes, we MIGHT be able to crash-activate it, bypassing all the safety protocols..."
Hikari looked nervous, "But isn't it in the jeep?"
Maya nodded, getting to her feet and suppressing a grimace of pain, "Yes, but we can't activate the EVA without it, so I'll need to go get it. You stay by the door and open it when I shout. Let's hope Mr. Ryouji is as good as he says. Come on" She started for the door, Hikari following hesitantly.
***
17:18
Kaji was hunting.
-This is bad.- he thought, -too many rooftops.-
The gunfire had not resumed when he dove outside, but Kaji knew that was just because the sniper was trying to get a superior position. -If I can get to that observation tower, I should be able to see the whole compound... of course, he may be already there, in which case...-
He let the thought trail off, and continued the hunt.
***
17:18
She had made it into the jeep without being riddled with bullets, a definite plus in Maya's book -Now I need to get the core essence back into the building - without getting it, or me, shot.-
Catching her breath, and wincing slightly from the pain in her side, she tucked the core Essence container under her arm and placed her other hand on the door handle, "Are you ready, Miss? Yeah? Me neither." She opened the door and ran for the building, shielding the container with her body.
-I think I'm going to make it- she thought. Then she heard the rain-like sound again. She yelled, "DAMMIT!! HIKARI!!!" The door to the building was thrown open, and Maya dove into it, feeling something scratch her arm, and a bright flare in her side. Hikari slammed the door, "Miss Ibuki!! Are you ok???"
Maya was carefully inspecting the container for any damage, ignoring the slight flow of blood coming from her left arm and the throb in her side, "I'm fine. It's just a scrape." She looked up, smiling slightly, "I guess Sempai was right... I AM lucky. Now left's get this core essence to the EVA and get out of here."
***
17:20
From his vantage point, Kaji had made out Maya's desperate run. He had also made out the location of the sniper. -I'm afraid your little game is up, my friend.-
He carefully drew aim and began squeezing the trigger, when he sensed something wasn't quite right. Years of combat training kicked in, and her dropped to the floor - a knife passing through the air he had just vacated and burying itself in the wall. Rolling to the side, he tried to bring his gun up, only to have it kicked out of his hands by a tall, gray-haired man wearing desert fatigues. Kaji continued rolling and came up on his feet, facing the other man.
The man smiled, "You're not bad, spy-guy. Too bad you're not on our side."
Kaji answered his smile with a cheerful one of his own, "Too bad you're a dishonorable back-stabbing bastard. I'm glad we're not on the same side."
The man smiled, shrugging, "All's fair in love and war, my man." The smile fell away from his face, and he became deadly serious, "Besides, I'll bet you didn't give the young mister Jennings too much of a chance now did you?"
Kaji flinched involuntarily -A name to the face... now I can't forget - not that I could have anyway...-
The man said, "Let's do this."
He started moving in.
***
17:20
Maya quickly tapped the entry code into the keypad next to the large security door. It slid open quietly, "Let's go. Kaji IS very good, he knew this building connected to activation cage for Unit 04. If he hadn't brought us in here, we would have been ducking more bullets. It's five minutes to the EVA from here... three if we run."
Hikari looked at her and they started to run, "Why is all of the power still on? I thought this place just reappeared."
Maya answered quickly, holding her side, "It has it's own generator, good for sixty days of continuous operation should anything happen to the external power. It will even power the EVA for sixty minutes... although now we'll be lucky if it gives us twenty-five. Once we get the unit active, we'll need to find a portable EVA power supply, like the one used when Units 01 and 02 fought the seventh angel - we have strict orders not to engage the S^2 engine... or we may end up like all the people here."
Hikari nodded, grimacing, and they kept running
***
17:21
Kaji knew he was in trouble. The man he was facing off against was good, and worse, he was using a style that Kaji had not seen before. His body was tilted slightly to the side, making him a smaller target, and his arms were crossed in an X shape in front of his body, lending strength to his hits. In addition to his style, the man had speed.
-Damn!- he thought, -I don't have time to mess around, and he's not as bad I hoped he would be.-
Kaji dodged a quick blow from his opponent's crisscrossed hands, and tried to counter with a kick. The man stepped back quickly, grinning, "Oh come on! You'll have to do better than that!" He sighed, "I really don't have time for this... gotta go kill your girlfriends, after all."
Kaji knew the man was trying to get him angry so he would make a mistake. He tried a roundhouse kick followed up by two short punches aimed at the man's throat, all of which came up short or were blocked, "Now YOU'LL have to do better than that... did you really think you could bait me so easily?"
The man stepped back and uncrossed his arms, sinking into the familiar Karate stance. He bowed slightly, "My apologies, sir, I mistook you for simple riff-raff. Now I see that you are of a better class, so you deserve an honorable fight." He dropped his arms to his sides, and Kaji was surprised to see a knife fall from each hand, -I never even saw them...- He matched the man's stance and returned the bow, "I will remember you for this, sir."
The man smiled slightly, "I don't think so."
They began to fight for real.
***
17:25
Maya and Hikari stumble-ran into the center of the base, the Evangelion cage. Maya had one arm around Hikari's neck, a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, "Lung's... definitely... punctured..." She gasped, pressing her hand to her left side, "We have to... hurry."
Hikari looked at Maya with concern, "Maybe we should stop and re-"
Maya cut her off raggedly, "No time. Major Katsuragi... will... fulfill her... duty...." She looked at the container Hikari was holding in the hand not supporting her, "and we... have to get that... into the EVA in the... next..." She trailed off and took a deep breath, wincing in pain. When she went on, her voice was a little more stable, "few minutes or we won't... have time to activate." She looked upwards. Hikari followed the line of her vision, and drew a sharp breath. Above them, secured to the wall with restraining bolts, was the hulking silver-gray shape of Evangelion Unit 04.
***
17:26
Kaji knew it was going to end soon. Both of them were bloody and breathing hard from the exertion... and he was losing. He launched a series of kicks and punches, forcing the man back towards the door. "Not bad..." the man said admiringly, "not bad at all. My turn."
The man started his own form, flowing from kick to punch to chop almost faster than Kaji could follow. Kaji flipped backwards twice, grabbing the knife that had almost killed him from the wall in his right hand, his left tucked snug against his body. He swung around, bringing the knife in a steep arc down at the man's face.
^KTING^ The sound of metal on metal echoed through the room, as his knife impacted the other man's - picked up, apparently, when he pursued Kaji across the room. The man smiled and reached behind him, breathing hard. Kaji could hear the sound of steel on fabric, "Dirty pool..." the man said, tasting his victory, "That's just not playing fai-"
Kaji's left hand flashed out, burying the other knife (that he had retrieved on his first flip), in the man's chest. The man's eyes went wide and he started to slump forward, the smile replaced by a look of utmost surprise. Kaji caught him before he could fall, and laid him gently on the floor. He whispered, "All's fair, right?"
He closed the man's eyes gently, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry I don't have the time for a proper burial, my friend... but I'm afraid I have unfinished business..." He got to his feet and walked over to where his gun had fallen. Looking quickly out the window, he could see that the sniper had not moved.
He thought, -Poor tactics, my friend. Though you've found a good spot, you should always stay on the move... so something like this doesn't happen...- He carefully aimed his pistol, and squeezed the trigger.
***
17:30
Maya and Hikari had managed to get to the gantry in front of the EVA. Maya was panting slightly, and Hikari could see more blood starting to seep from the corner of her mouth, but she said nothing. Maya panted, "We have to... hurry. Got to get... the Essence into the... core..."
She let go of Hikari and limped to the control, keying in the command to have the crane remove the entry plug. The EVA's head tilted forward as the plug rotated outwards and the crane gently clamped on to it, pulling it from the giant beast's neck. Maya frowned and took the container from Hikari, "This is going to take me a few minutes, you stay here." She walked around the gantry to the side of the EVA, and pushed a button on the safety rail. A small walkway extended to the entry plug socket.
Maya turned to Hikari, "Once this is in, we'll need to insert you as fast as possible, so go sit in the entry plug." She pointed to the plug, which had opened as part of the removal sequence, "I'll close the hatch and charge the LCL, you just keep your eyes open for any more... intruders. It should be about 10 minutes."
Hikari looked at the watch mounted in the back of plugsuits hand. She licked her lips, "That only leaves twenty minutes... will that be enough time, Miss Ibuki?"
Maya started her way carefully across the narrow walkway, cradling the essence container against her chest. Trying to sound reassuring, she said, "Sure... should be plenty." -Of course,- she thought, -activating it doesn't mean we'll be able to get in touch with NERV...- She tried to banish the negative thoughts and climbed into the EVA.
***
17:36
Kaji ran quietly through the deserted base. The fight had been over for almost ten minutes, and Kaji was getting nervous. -It has to be here somewhere!- he thought furiously. So far he had checked all the highest points in the base, -I KNOW there's a jammer somewhere around here, there has to be one! But I don't have any more time to search.-
After seven minutes of fruitless searching, he had given up and started running for the EVA cage. Being in better shape than the two girls (and not being shot) he covered the distance in less time than they had. He slowed as he entered the cage, -Something's wrong... where are they?-
He looked around the cage. The EVA's head was tilted forward and the entry plug was off to the side and open, but he saw no sign of either girl. He tightened his grip on his pistol and walked slowly towards the walkway leading to the EVA's neck.
Combat training had saved him from the knife, but he was not quite fast enough to dodge the two prongs that suddenly shot from the entry plug and buried themselves in his chest, "What the...?" He was rudely cut off as electricity surged through his body, shutting down his nervous system and dropping him to the floor like a sack of rice.
"I got him!" Hikari's voice came from the plug, as her head appeared. Maya didn't say anything, still occupied with the essence insertion. The rest of Hikari's body faded into view as she hit the button on her wrist. She jumped out of the entry plug and approached the still form slowly, tazer at the ready.
"Oh no," she said quietly, her elation falling away, "Miss Ibuki? I just shot Mr. Kaji..."
A moment later Maya's head poked out over the rim of the EVA's plug entry, she looked at Kaji then back at Hikari, "Did... you... kill him?"
Hikari was horrified, "No! I just... tazed him."
Maya looked from the girl back to the prone form on the gantry and shrugged, instantly regretting it as more pain flooded from her wound, "He'll live then. Get... back into... the plug, time is... running out." She slid back down and continued to work.
Hikari bit her bottom lip, "I'm, ummn, sorry Mr. Kaji." She got back into the plug and waited.
***
17:42
Misato was pacing central dogma, playing with her cross, -This is bad,- she thought, -I should have insisted on going with them, Hikari's just a kid, and Maya's not trained for this.- "Any word?"
Hyouga looked up at her, "Not since 30 seconds ago, when you asked last."
She sighed, "I'm sorry... I just... I don't know what to do. I can't send anyone after them, they'd never get there in time... and I can't let anyone else get the EVA." She slammed her fist into her palm, "Call off the strike!"
Hyouga blinked at her, "Ma'am?!"
She put her hands on the sides of her head, "Never mind!! Arrrghhh!!! I'll... I'll be in the EVA cages..." She stalked off angrily. - I HATE being powerless!!-
***
17:46
Maya climbed out of the EVA and wiped the sweat off of her brow, "There, we're ready to go." She looked at Hikari, who was staring fixedly on her watch, "How much time?"
Hikari shook her head, "Fourteen minutes!"
Maya nodded grimly, "Ok." She walked quickly over to the entry plug, ignoring the pain in her side and lung, "In you go."
Hikari smiled nervously, "I..."
Maya paused, her hand on the control panel of the plug, "What is it, Hikari?"
Hikari cleared her throat and said quietly, "Thank you, Miss Ibuki..."
Maya looked confused, "For what?"
Hikari met her eyes, thinking of how Maya wouldn't rest or stop, even though she was obviously in agony, "For showing me how to be brave..."
Maya smiled and said quietly, "I think you already knew how." She push close button, and the hatch cut off further conversation.
Maya went to the console and started the entry process. "Filling and charging LCL." She said quietly to herself, checking off the steps to activation.
***
17:55
The pilot of Falcon 7 radioed Falcon 6, "Looks like there's no flak. Let's begin approach."
Falcon 6 radioed back, "Roger that. Let's make this delivery and go home. I'm starving..."
The two planes began to descend. An N^2 bomb clearly visible on each wing.
**
17:56
Maya was sweating, "Entry complete and connection is at stage 2. Going to stage 3. Approaching absolute borderline." She shivered slightly, remembering Unit 03's rampage.
Hikari saw the walls of the plug flash from green to veined red to blue, and every other color in the spectrum, before flashing once more... and she was looking down at Maya. -It's different,- she thought as she felt the connection to Unit 04 become fully active, -it's different than the test plug. It's more... complete.- Maya was talking to her, so she focused her attention on her.
"We're up and running!" Maya looked proud of herself.
Hikari smiled, "What about Mister Kaji?"
Maya looked down at his still-prone form, "He's still sleeping like a baby. See if you can establish connection with NERV, we're almost out of time."
Hikari keyed her long range communications to life, "NERV, come in please."
She waited tensely.
***
17:58
Misato called Central Dogma from the Evangelion cage, "Order the release," she said in a monotone. She looked up at Unit 01, a tear running down her cheek as she whispered, "I'm sorry Shinji..."
***
17:58
Hikari's panicked voice came over the speakers in the cage, "It's not working! My sensor's show some sort of interference coming from just outside the base."
Maya thought quickly, then spoke in a tired voice, "There's no way you can get there and disable it before it's too late," She looked up at Unit 04's face, "but Unit 04 can survive the blast. You'll be ok."
Hikari was shocked, "B-But what about you and Mister Kaji?"
Maya looked away from Unit 04 and shook her head sadly.
***
17:59
The two planes streaked in low, hugging the ground tightly. If someone had been on the wings when the clock rolled over to 18:00, they would have heard a soft click as the bombs detached and began their graceful, deadly descent. The pilot of Falcon 7 whispered quietly, "Hail Mary, mother of grace..."
***
18:00
Hikari's systems began to go wild. "Warning," a soft female voice whispered to her, "non-nuclear type explosive device incoming. Time to impact: sixty seconds. Recommend immediate evacuation to avoid damage to this unit." A timer appeared in the lower right hand corner of her field of vision, and the light in the entry plug changing to red accompanied the voice. "No!!" Hikari cried out in frustration.
Maya kneeled down and put her arms around Kaji, whispering quietly, "I know... I know that you belong to the Major... but I don't want to be alone when I die, so forgive me, ok?" She closed her eyes.
Hikari looked from Maya to the timer, which now read thirty-five seconds. "No." she whispered, "No, I won't let it end this way for them!" She willed the Evangelion into motion.
Maya looked up, surprised, as the silver EVA started to tear it's way out of the bindings, "Hikari what are you doing?"
Hikari didn't reply, just shot a look at the timer (twenty-five seconds) and had the EVA cover Maya and Kaji with both hands. "Hikari? This won't save us... we-" Hikari switched off the external speakers and spoke quietly, "Mother? In your letter you said that you had to go... that it was the best for me - for everyone, if you went away."
A tear slid down her cheek, as the timer reached thirteen, "You also said to call for you and you would be there if I was ever in danger. Well, I am, mama... I need your help, wherever you are... help me if you can." The clock reached four as she whispered, "AT field, full spread."
The air around Unit 04 shimmered and seemed to solidify.
***
In Central Dogma, Hyouga shouted, "AT field detected at NERV branch two! It's..." His voice trailed off as the sensor's registered the impact of four N^2 mines at the same location.
***
Hikari felt like she was in Hell. The explosions rocked the EVA viciously, but she willed it to remain in place, "Mother, please... please help me..." Though she would not know until much later, her mother
Maya looked up at the EVA's hands, and the Octagonal shape of the AT field surrounding them, "Amazing... the pattern is... different somehow..." She gasped and closed her eyes as she felt the gantry starting to give way.
"NO!" Hikari shouted as the gantry all around Maya and Kaji was vaporized, and they began to fall. Quick as thought, she flipped the left hand over and softly caught them before they had fallen five feet.
The explosion was starting to fade, but Hikari held the AT field tightly... and her two superiors gently. She yelled, hoping they might be able to hear her, "Hang on!!" -Just hang on...-
***
Misato was greeted with total chaos as she ran into Central Dogma, "Report!!" she yelled anxiously.
Hyouga answered without looking up from his post, "The N^2 bombs were all successfully delivered, but three seconds before impact an AT field was detected at the location."
Misato looked hopeful, "What was the pattern analysis?"
Hyouga looked up at her uncertainly, "It was indeterminable."
She looked at him questioningly, "What do you mean?"
He looked more confused, "Well, the Magi reported a standard Evangelion AT field deployment, but there was something else as well... almost as if two fields were in place. The other field could not be analyzed."
Misato had no reply for that, but she smiled as inspiration on another matter hit her, "I'll be back in one minute!!"
***
As the firestorm subsided, Hikari opened the EVA's hands gingerly, like a child after catching her first firefly. She sighed in relief as she saw that they were both breathing, though unconscious. She opened a communications channel, "Major Katsuragi?"
After a second of silence a quiet voice replied, "Hikari?"
Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes went wide, "T-Touji?"
"The one and only. How are you holding up, babe? I hear you've visiting the States." He asked, with a slight smile in his voice. She smiled and started to speak when he went on in a more serious voice, "Hikari? There's something I need to tell you."
Her mouth went dry, -Is something wrong? Oh God! I hope Kimiko is ok!- "W-What is it, Touji?" Her voice cracked slightly.
He spoke hesitantly, "I know that... this isn't the most ideal place. And I know you've been through a lot... but I need to know something."
Hikari tried to think of what he was talking about, -Could he? No! he wouldn't!-
Of course, he would... and he did, "Hikari, will you be my girlfriend? Because... I love you, Hikari."
Her heart did summersaults in her chest, "Will I... ? You love...?"
He went on hastily, "You don't have to answer right now, but-"
She cut him off smoothly, using her best Class rep tone, "Why Mister Suzuhara! How dare you think..."
He apologized, quickly, "I'm sorry, I just thought... since you offered to make me lunch... and I do... I..."
She waited for him to trail off, then smiled and spoke briskly, "Why Touji Suzuhara! In all my years I never thought I would hear such a confession! And right in the command center! With everyone listening, too!"
She listened to him babble more incoherent apologies, before cutting him off again, "And what's more," she went on in a softer voice, "I'm amazed that you would have to ask. Of course I will... I love you too, Touji."
She smiled at his silence, "Now. We can discuss this when I get back, Pilot Suzuhara, my power cells are three and half minutes from being depleted and I have two wounded officers that need attention. I need to see if a power supply survived and double time it back to the transport."
His happy voice came back to her, "Yes Ma'am! I'll be waiting when you get here..."
She smiled and whispered, "I know you will..."
In her mind she offered silent thanks to her mother, though she would not find out until much later just how close her mother really was that day...
***
Day Thirty-three
"What good is all of your technological bullshit if you can't bring back one little life? Give me back my Shinji! GIVE HIM BACK!!!" Asuka was on the floor, holding Shinji's empty plugsuit in her hands and crying.
Ritsuko stared at the girl, amazed. When the experiment had begun several hours ago, she had been surprised by Asuka's vehement insistence to be present, -I... I knew she had some kind of relationship with him, but I never knew her feelings were this strong!!- she thought with some surprise.
Her attention was distracted by a wet smacking sound. She turned her head to see Shinji's body lying on the gantry next to Unit 01's entry plug, her gasp alerted the distraught Second Child, who immediately ran to Shinji and threw her arms around him, sobbing hysterically and repeating his name over and over again.
Misato wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and sniffed quietly, "Good job Ritsuko."
Ritsuko just stared at Asuka, who was starting to get herself under control, "I don't think it was me... I think it was you. You and her."
***
Shinji awoke slowly, a vague dream of his mother dissipating as his eyes crept open. -Is someone...singing?- he thought. His eyes opened all the way, and he was so stunned by what he saw that he could not speak for several minutes.
Asuka was asleep with her head and arms resting on his bed, obviously exhausted - Rei was stroking Asuka's hair and singing quietly. She became aware of Shinji's gaze and stopped singing, though she kept stroking Asuka's hair gently. "Hello, Pilot Ikari."
"Why?" Shinji's voice came out as a hoarse whisper, he cleared his throat and tried again with slightly better results, "Why are you doing that, Ayanami?"
Rei considered Asuka for a moment before replying, "It felt... correct."
Shinji licked his lips and decided to press her a little, "What do you mean?"
Rei looked slightly surprised (whither it was because she was unsure or because he had pursued the issue, Shinji was not exactly certain). She stared at him for a moment, her hands never stopping, before responding quietly, "Pilot Souryu has been extremely distraught for the past month due to your physical body being diffused into Evangelion Unit 01."
-Was it that long??- Shinji thought, amazed, -Oh, Asuka...-
Rei went on in the same methodical tone, ignoring Shinji's steadily dropping jaw, "In addition to this, approximately two weeks ago Evangelion Unit 04 was retrieved and Hikari Horaki was assigned as it's designated pilot. Also, Evangelion Unit 03 was recovered and Pilot Suzuhara awakened from his comatose state to resume his duties as the pilot. Suzuhara and Horaki are now a 'couple.' The stress of having you gone, coupled with her best friend becoming a pilot was a lot for Pilot Souryu to handle. She wept a lot."
Shinji looked into Rei's crimson eyes for a moment, then down at Asuka's sleeping form, -I'm so sorry to cause you pain, Asuka...-
Rei went on, "Pilot Souryu spent most of the month in the EVA cages, and she has not left your bedside since you were recovered. When I arrived this morning, she was on the verge of collapse. She asked if I would watch over you and I agreed."
She averted her eyes, "While she was sleeping she started to cry... asking for her mother, and for you." Now she looked uncertain, "I... felt that I should do something to comfort her. This felt right." She stared at Shinji for a moment longer, apparently waiting for him to ask her more questions.
When he did not, she resumed singing softly.
Shinji didn't interrupt her...
To be continued
Omake
From the scene where Kaji is explaining the chameleon plugsuits:
"The reason it is so uncomfortable is that it was designed for a male pilot... it has no breast cavities." Kaji explained patiently.
Hikari blushed bright red
Kaji smiled and went on, "Of course, that shouldn't be a problem for you, since you're not that well endowed..." He ignored her look of stunned disbelief mingled with anger, and glanced over at Maya, "but Miss Ibuki here is pretty much flat as a board, and you're still growing, so maybe there's still hope for you."
Maya looked up from the laptop she had been diligently tapping on with a look very similar to Hikari's on her face. Kaji sighed, "I hope that you DO get bigger breasts in the future, because you certainly can't rely on your personality to get you by - because it sucks. Maya has the same problem, but I think that comes from her staying a virgin so long. Maybe I could help the both of yo- HEY, what are you doinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg......?"
As he fell several thousand feet, Kaji thought about his error in judgment
From the scene where Maya, Kaji, and Hikari are approaching NERV's 2nd branch in the US
Maya sighed and restarted the jeep they we driving, "Hikari, never trust men that compliment you TOO often..." She glared at Kaji, who looked hurt, "they always want something."
Kaji smiled and winked at her, "Oh, Come on. You weren't complaining last night!"
She shot him a withering glance, and spoke in an icy tone, "If you ever want to experience that again, you'd be wise to remember your 'lesson'"
Kaji paled as the smile fell from his face. He looked at the floor as he spoke, "Yes, Mistress..."
Hikari looked nervously from one to the other, and decided it would be in her best interest to say nothing...
Author's notes: This part took me a long time to write and is so far the longest, but I enjoyed it quite a bit (especially the mental image of Hikari running full tilt into a closed door). I know that others have done Hikari as a pilot, but I have not seen anyone do that, unit 04, unit 03, AND Touji all at once - plus an Asuka/Shinji romance - so I thought I would. In case you hadn't noticed, I like a good happy ending, so expect that to be an overall theme in the entire series (I'm trying not to be TOO sappy). Yes, I know that Rei was a little talky at the end, but I thought that if Shinji pushed her she would give him a full run down of everything that had happened. What about her comforting Asuka? If you think about what Rei truly is, it makes perfect sense, though I doubt that she would have tried it while Asuka was awake...
Thanks to Ryoma once again for pre-reading and pointing out a couple continuity problems (which I hope I corrected satisfactorily).
Feedback is always welcome at Random1377@yahoo.com.