]+ ELECTRONIC TRANSCENDENCE PRODUCTIONS +[
presents
]+ NEON EPOCH +[
]+ E V A N G E L I O N +[
]+ EPISODE 8: PARALLEL SPIRITS +[
By Eliot "Lostfactor" Lefebvre
Based off of "Shin Seiki Evangelion" by GAINAX
]++[
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one
another.
- 1 JOHN 3:11
]++[
Neil's eyes were closed tightly, the warm stickiness in his right hand
glaring in his mind as he flopped back down on the bed, breathing more
heavily and hoping that Nieve hadn't heard anything. He tended to
doubt it, but the mere thought of her knowing what was going on only
increased his revulsion with himself as he clenched his hand into a
fist, feeling the fluid flow from between his fingers. "I'm
disgusting," he muttered, waiting for a moment before pulling his pants
back up to his waist, hating himself for failing at long last when he'd
been doing so well before. "Other people can control themselves when
they feel this way. It's like I'm some kind of animal."
He'd done his best to control the reflex, but Nieve had been shooting
him somewhat odd looks all evening, and the fact that Misato had been
unusually quiet had only made things worse. Slightly to his credit,
he'd managed to restrain himself until ten, when he finally turned in,
insisting to himself that he wouldn't give himself anything for only
moments before the thought of Nieve lying on top of him grew too
great. It wasn't as though he felt any better afterwards, with all the
guilt bubbling through him, but at least it was guilt instead of lust,
something he was used to dealing with.
"I'm sorry, Nieve," he muttered, wiping his hand off on the mattress,
already wishing that he could take everything back, that he'd never
discovered it was possible to relieve his tension in such a way. He
might not have been able to control himself much longer anyways, and he
knew that, but on another level he also felt terrible about ruining a
wonderful evening by succumbing to the urge. He had enjoyed kissing
Nieve more than he could express, enjoyed the taste of her lips, the
feel of her tongue. "But I'm not a good person," he muttered. "Not
when it comes down to it. Good people don't fantasize about a girl in
the room next to them."
Then his thoughts drifted to Eiko, and he found himself feeling even
more guilty as the momentary physical pleasure drifted away, tilting
his head towards the pencil sketch that he'd placed up on his wall.
She hadn't dated it, and what he'd initially thought was English on the
back was a meticulous Japanese script. It looked somewhat different
than Eiko's handwriting on the front, but he couldn't be sure, and it
ultimately didn't matter. The simple fact that she'd given him the
sketch meant something, but without knowing when she'd given it to Ryo
he couldn't figure out quite what. If it had been before the Fifth
Angel, it could have just been a peace offering. If it came later, it
could have been an expression of gratitude. Or at either time, it
could have meant something more, something he didn't even want to
contemplate for fear of being disappointed.
"Eiko and Nieve... they deserve better than me," Neil muttered, the
warmth of his fluids still tangible on his hand, the guilt still just
as fresh. "They're good people. They deserve someone who doesn't lay
in bed at night and dream that they're whores." The whispered
statement was harshly directed inward despite its volume, and Neil
winced slightly at the thought, suddenly feeling even worse about
himself. Bad enough that he was unable to control himself, but to
think that he was dragging the girls down to his level felt even worse.
Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of his door opening, and he jerked up
in his bed, terror and excitement rushing through him at the same
instant, both emotions springing from the thought that it would be
Nieve at the door. He paused for a moment before he realized that it
was Misato standing there, the light from the kitchen silhouetting her
against the darkness of the room, her body leaning at an odd angle in
the doorframe. "Misato," he breathed, not sure whether Misato knowing
about how perverted he truly was would be better or worse. "Is
something wrong?"
"Pretty much everything," muttered Misato, stepping into the room and
shutting the door behind her, pausing for a moment as her eyes adjusted
to the darkness of the room and she became visible in the twighlight of
the stars from Neil's window. Neil touched the wet spots still damp
upon his bed and tried to fold the blanket over them as Misato stared
out the window, apparently unconcerned. "Hey, Neil, you want to know
something?"
Misato turned towards Neil, and in an instant Neil recognized her
expression, feeling a sudden rush of heat flow through his body, though
he couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion behind it. "Um... sure," he
replied, sitting up straight in his bed, another old guilt drifting
back into his mind.
"I was in Antarctica during the Second Impact," the woman replied,
flopping down at the foot of Neil's bed, the strap of her tank top
falling slightly from her shoulder. "I was visiting my father down
there, maybe the only time I went to see the bastard, and in the early
morning I head him screaming as everything started getting fucked up."
She paused for a moment, her eyes just out of Neil's sight and keeping
him from seeing what she was feeling. "That bastard kept mother and me
out of his life for so long, and then when I finally went to see him,
he..." She trailed off. "I was twelve, then."
"You were there when..." Neil's voice faltered, the thoughts of his
own failure and his concern for Misato suddenly dampened by the
knowledge of who he was talking to. "We learned that there was only
one person at the site of the Second Impact that survived, the child of
one of the researchers. That was you?"
Nodding, Misato pushed herself upwards, sitting up straight although
somewhat wobbly, her expression still not entirely readable but
distinctly sad. "There was a lot of screaming," she muttered,
describing the events with a sort of clinical detachment that was
almost frightening. "People were running all over, panicking... but my
dad wasn't scared at all. Or if he was, he didn't act it. He just
pulled me out of my bed and carried me to the escape capsules, sealed
me in that little metal cylinder and sent me off into the ocean, his
expression just sad, not afraid." She paused for a moment, looking
away from Neil. "He died there. He never even tried to get in a pod,
just stared as the light spread and covered him. I saw."
"That's... amazing," gasped Neil, leaning towards Misato slightly.
"Misato, I had no idea..." His words faltered again, and the shock
slowly began to fade away as he thought about his own father,
contemplated the idea of his father voluntarily sacrificing himself for
his son. It wasn't something that he could wrap his head around.
"Your father must have been an amazing person."
"Fuck him. He was never home, he made my mother cry, and he made me
cry. The only thing he ever did to make up for it was to save my life,
and I think he just did it to feel better about what he did to us."
She sighed heavily, leaning forward and balancing on her knees, head
hanging low. "But that's what everyone does, isn't it? They'll screw
you as long as they like, until they know that they need to make your
last memory of them a good one. And if they come back into your life,
you'll find out that they were lying all the while, won't you?"
Uncomfortable, Neil shrank back slightly from Misato, an awkward
silence spreading between the two for a moment. "I have a scar from
the Impact, you know," she slurred after a moment, turning towards Neil
and suddenly perky once again. "Do you want to see it?" Neil nodded
tenatively, and Misato shrugged, grabbing the bottom of her tank top
and yanking it upwards. Neil felt his heart skip several beats, and it
took him a few moments before he realized that Misato had stopped just
shy of flashing him, the shirt pulled high enough to reveal the curve
of her breasts. "Right there," she muttered, pointing to a cross-
shaped scar to one side of her breast, not particularly large but
distinguishing.
A lump firmly lodged in Neil's throat as his body responded without
thought to Misato's sudden exposure, the scar below her breast the last
thing on his mind. On the one hand, the fact that she had obviously
had several beers before entering his room was somewhat disturbing, but
on the other hand she was an extremely attractive woman undressing in
front of him, and Neil couldn't help the fact that he noticed that. "I
see," he managed after a moment, the words coming out as more of a
croak than a statement.
Misato paused, then noticed the young boy's discomfort, and she glanced
down at the blanket, a sick sort of smile crossing her face. "You're
not even looking at the scar. You're looking at -me-." Neil's eyes
went wide, and he glanced down at the blanket, simultaneously feeling
angry with it for betraying him and angry with himself for still being
unable to control himself. Misato didn't seem to care, shoving herself
towards the boy, legs still dangling off the bed as she leaned towards
him. "Are you a virgin, Neil? Have you ever wondered what a woman
feels like?"
Neil swallowed hard, the close presence of Misato intoxicatingly
difficult to resist. He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself
to forget the extremely attractive woman next to him and focusing
instead on the distinct scent of alcohol on her breath, knowing that it
would drive out any other feelings he had on the matter. "Misato,
you're drunk," he said firmly, his breathing coming harder
unintentionally.
"Yep," replied Misato, grinning widely for a moment before falling
backwards away from Neil, her head nearly hitting the footboard of the
bed as she started laughing. There was an odd bitterness to her laugh,
as she clutched at her chest, shaking slightly with each heave of her
chest. After another moment or two, she pushed herself back to her
feet and stood unsteadily, waving back and forth slightly. "Yep, I'm
sure drunk, all right. Know what? It's easier that way." She was
still laughing as she staggered into the door, hitting the wood for a
moment before actually putting her hand on the knob.
"Hey, Neil, can I tell you something else?" she asked as she turned the
knob slowly, leaning against the door. Neil paused, then nodded, guilt
and arousal causing an unsteady mix within his internal chemistry.
"Most guys would have just told me to lay down and put out. And if
you'd told me to, I would have." She paused for a moment, then laughed
again, opening the door with an unsteady sort of force. "Your loss, I
suppose. I wouldn't have even felt bad about it afterwards."
With that, Neil's door finally shut, Misato's heavy footfalls stil
vaguely audible as she staggered down the hall. The boy remained
sitting stark upright for a moment or two before collapsing back down
upon his bed, his mind fighting a battle with his body's renewed desire
for gratification. He had wanted Misato, but even as he'd felt
disgusted at himself for that he'd felt something burning inside of
him, an urge to blame her for his failing of control, to hurt her for
lapsing in her judgement. Sighing heavily, Neil lay down and closed
his eyes, the familiar image of EVA-01's green eye drifting across his
vision as he began to drift into sleep.
]++[
Vash did not want to deal with Kensuke. He didn't want to deal with
Hikari. He didn't want to deal with most of the class, and he
certainly didn't want to sit through an entire day of school. What he
wanted to do was figure out what in the world had gone wrong the night
before, what had made Eiko suddenly decide that she didn't want to make
love to him that night, why everything had suddenly gone wrong when it
seemed to be going perfectly. Unfortunately for him, he also knew that
Kensuke wasn't stupid enough not to figure out what was going on, that
Hikari would be told sooner or later, and that when two class members
found out about something like that it wasn't long before the entire
class knew about it, even if one of those people was Hikari. So while
he was disappointed when he entered the classroom to see the students
of his class gathered around his desk, he wasn't particularly surprised.
Kensuke was the first to step forward from the crowd around Vash's
desk, eyes wide beneath his thick glasses, his curiosity almost
uncontainable as Vash walked towards the back of the room, distantly
noting the fact that Ayanami was the only member of the class not
crowded around his desk. "What was it like?" Kensuke breathed as Vash
elbowed his way to his desk, slinging his schoolbag to the ground.
"Did you like it? Did she like it?" He paused for a second, then
leaned closer to Vash, smirking. "Does she look as good under those
clothes as she does with them on?"
"That's my girlfriend you're talking about, you pervert," snapped Vash,
smacking Kensuke in the side of the head lightly, not truly angry with
his friend so much as he was irritated with the entire situation.
"It's none of your business." He paused for a second, glancing around
to the other students in the vain hope that they'd get the message.
"Come on, guys, what's going on."
Nobody spoke for a moment, then Hikari stepped forward, her ponytails
bobbing slightly as she moved. "Nekasa, while I can't endorse what's
going on, I'm afraid that you're obligated to tell us what happened
between you and Suzuhara last night." She paused, and Vash couldn't
help but sighing, knowing that Hikari was just as interested as the
rest of the class. "Please?"
"Oh, for God's sake," he muttered, shaking his head as he clutched at
his forehead, feeling even worse about the situation. He was entirely
at a loss to explain how he'd managed to strike out to himself, much
less to the entire classroom, and with Hikari behind them there was
little he could do to drive everyone off. "Nothing happened, all
right? Absolutely nothing."
A pause settled in the air for a moment, then everyone seemed to start
talking at once, and Vash slumped down into his chair, feeling
humiliated once again. He remembered the day after the Fifth Angel
attacked, recalling how he'd been chewed apart by the class for
bragging, and he knew subconsciously that the entire class was laughing
at him on some level, something that he entirely didn't need. "You
didn't even get a kiss?" asked Kensuke, closest to Vash as he sat in
his chair, his expression disapproving. "Man, you really screwed
something up."
"It wasn't -that- little!" snapped Vash, hearing everyone suddenly fall
silent once again as he leaned forward on the small wooden desk, the
classmates all staring intently with the obvious expectation that he'd
begin to finally tell them what they wanted to hear. Vash shook his
head, then leaned back again, tilting his head just enough to focus on
the manilla ceiling instead of his fellow students. "I just didn't get
as far as I'd expected, all right? Something came up."
Hikari made a small coughing noise, but it was lost in the din of the
classmates almost assaulting Vash with questions, still finding the
subject fascinating. One boy asked him if he'd gotten to see her
boobs, another shouted about how far he'd expected to get, and a third
asked if he'd made her angry and not want to do it. Vash slumped in
his chair, plugging his ears as the questions came and his embarassment
increased, ignoring the small grunts from Hikari's direction.
The questions continued to come, and at length Vash pulled his hands
out of his ears, slamming them down on his desk and silencing everyone
other than Hikari. "We didn't have sex, all right?" he announced at
length, figuring that directness was the only thing that would satisfy
his classmates. "We got close, but for some reason Eiko wanted us to
stop. Are you all satisfied now?" Hikari glanced towards the front of
the classroom for an instant, then tugged roughly on Vash's shirt, only
increasing his already-present irritation further. "What -is- it,
Hikari?"
"Eiko..." The single trailing name was enough for Vash to know
instantly what was going on, and he glanced with terror towards the
back of the group of students. Sure enough, Eiko was plowing her way
towards her boyfriend, her school uniform getting slightly dissheveled
as she forced her way though the crowd. "Eiko's coming over here,"
Hikari stated at length with a note of belated satisfaction, stepping
back slightly from Vash.
Vash felt his heart skip a quick beat as Eiko shoved the last staring
member of the crowd out of the way, then glared down at him, obviously
having heard more than enough. There was a brief pause, then the
entire class suddenly dispersed from around Vash's seat, all returning
to their own chairs as Kensuke turned around and leaned forward. "He's
going to get killed," he muttered dejectedly to himself, leaning his
chin down atop his folded arms. "Too bad. I was going to show off my
new video game."
For a split second, Vash felt the intense desire to reach over and hit
Kensuke firmly, but he was cut short as Eiko fixed him in place with
her glare. Sighing heavily, he stared up at her, trying his best to
look innocent and wondering in the back of his mind why these things
always seemed to happen to him. "You told the entire class," she
breathed at length, obviously angry. "You went and told everyone
exactly what was going on between us."
"-No-," replied Vash, shaking his head enthusiastically and getting the
distinct impression that this was the sort of thing that could end his
relationship permanently. The thought unearthed a mild twinge of anger
with him at the sudden turn of events, the fact that she'd been willing
to give herself to him a day earlier and now was furious with him. "I
just told Kensuke. He must have spread the word." He paused for a
moment, then leaned forward and tapped his friend on the back,
eliciting a bored sort of stare from the other boy. "Come on, man.
Help me out here."
"Sorry, Vash, you've dug your own grave this time," muttered Kensuke,
turning back away from the blonde boy sitting behind him. "I'm not
getting involved in a domestic disturbance."
Gritting his teeth, Vash began to reach towards the other boy, then was
stopped once again by the harsh stare of his girlfriend. "You know
what?" she asked, shaking her head and crossing her arms across her
chest. "I'm not mad about that. I was -proud- of what we've got. I'd
be happy if everyone knew what was going on between us. What bugs me
is the way that you're talking about it."
His confusion compounding, Vash pushed his chair back and stood,
rubbing the back of his head, noticing as he looked around that every
class member had their gazes half-turned towards the arguing couple, as
though they simply couldn't get enough of them. It was precisely the
time that he didn't want to be dealing with the attention of everyone
around him, and some part of him wasn't surprised that his desires on
the subject mattered little. "Exactly why would that be?" he asked
Eiko at length, wishing that he could rewind the morning and take back
his words.
"Like..." She paused, then hurled her arms down angrily to her sides,
fists clenched and voice rising in both pitch and volume. "Like you
didn't care about the fact that it was -me-! You're talking about last
night as if you just wanted to get something to sleep with!" She
paused, then lowered her gaze slightly, gripping her right shoulder
with her left hand uncomfortably. "Is that the truth? Did you just
want to have sex?"
"You're not being fair, Eiko," Vash snapped, feeling even more exposed
than he had before. "I love you. You -know- that. I was there with
you because I wanted to be with you. But it's not like I wasn't
looking forward to having sex, too." Eiko's eyes suddenly snapped up
towards Vash, angry once again, but by that point Vash was struggling
to save face in any way possible, and a solution sprang to his mind
almost unbidden. "Believe me, I'd have no problem finding a girl that
actually -wanted- to sleep with me instead of one who pulled out at the
last possible -"
"Jerk," snapped Eiko quietly, letting her right hand freely slam across
Vash's cheek, the unmistakable popping noise of the slap filling the
otherwise silent room and drawing a few students to stop pretending
that they weren't watching. Vash let his head recoil from the impact
for a moment, then turned towards Eiko slowly, seeing something between
anger and sadness welling up in her eyes. He opened his mouth to
speak, but Eiko simply turned away and stormed over to her seat,
sitting down forcefully.
Vash stared after her for a moment, then flopped limply to his desk,
knowing that he'd said the first thing that popped into his mouth and
screwed everything up again. It wasn't the first time that he and Eiko
had fought over something, but it was the first time he could remember
her slapping him in something other than a joke, and he knew that meant
something important. "You really did screw up back there, Mr. Humanoid
Typhoon," noted Kensuke, tilting his head back slightly towards Vash.
"Shut up, Kensuke," growled Vash, crossing his arms across his chest
and feeling intensely bitter. He was certain that the whole thing was
tied back to Neil somehow, knowing that most of the things wrong with
his relationship has started right about the time that Neil had
arrived. The simple fact that he knew he'd have to work with the boy
was bad enough, but Neil ruining his relationship seemed even worse,
especially in light of what Neil had done to Toji. "Eiko should be
even angrier than I am," he muttered, unsure of the exact connection to
Neil but willing to bet that it was there anyways.
The entire class remained silent after the small drama had played
itself out between Eiko and Vash, nobody daring to speak a word as the
professor stepped in, the class standing and bowing appropriately with
as little noise as possible. Vash, not particularly interested in
class anyways, only distantly heard the noise of the professor
preparing his lecture, beginning to outline his discussion topics. He
wished that somebody would say something to make him feel better, that
one of his friends wasn't simply observing him and waiting for him to
fail, but nobody spoke as the professor launched into the beginning of
his lecture, as usual centering around the Second Impact.
It was almost an afterthought at first when the loud siren tore through
the air that signaled Tokyo-3 was under attack, and while the rest of
the class jumped to its feet it wasn't until a moment or two later that
Vash realized it was the Angel alert. "Everyone, line up for
evacuation!" shouted Hikari, immediately springing into her role as
class representative, getting the rest of the students into line. Vash
finally rose to his feet, feeling horribly disoriented as he stepped
towards the back of the line, more going through the motions than
anything else.
"You don't go into a shelter," said Ryo's quiet voice, somehow managing
to cut through Hikari's shouting despite the obvious discrepancy of
volume. Vash simply stared at the other boy for a moment, then smacked
himself on the forehead and stepped out of line, heading towards the
door as he remembered his role. Hikari didn't even seem to notice as
he elbowed past her and ran for the stairs, Ryo close behind, and
somehow her ignorance didn't particularly surprise him.
]++[
Misato's head was still doing somersaults as she stared at the central
screen, watching the black vaguely humanoid thing fly towards the city
at an amazing clip. The UN aerodrones were engaging it with their
typical effectiveness, the beast alternately ignoring them entirely and
simply plowing through them. From the blurry camera shots that they
were getting, it looked much like the Third Angel, albeit with more
curves and a slightly different face that looked suspiciously like a
Chinese yin-yang. "This is the worst possible time," muttered the
woman, balancing still somewhat unsteadily on her high heels, one arm
across her chest and the other raised so that she could rub her
forehead. "At least all six Children are finally here."
Ritsuko stared at Misato disapprovingly for a moment, overtly enough
for the woman to notice and glare back. "You're hung over," noted
Ritsuko calmly and harshly, her gaze focused back on the display of
Maya's screen. "You really ought to be acting a little more
professional, especially in these circumstances." She glanced back at
Misato, and Misato snorted disapprovingly while Ritsuko turned her gaze
towards the display of the Angel. "What's the current status of the
Eva units?"
"All of the pilots are awaiting synchronization," replied Maya, fingers
dancing across the keyboard and bringing up small portraits of the
pilots sitting inside their cockpits. "We've detected no connection
abnormalities. Everything is at peak functionality." She smiled, then
turned towards Ritsuko, swiveling her chair around just enough to face
the other woman. "We've been working overtime to make sure that we
were ready for the next Angel attack at full strength, and it's paid
off."
"Shigeru, open a communications channel to all of the units," Misato
shouted as best she could, still rubbing her forehead and hearing the
communications officer's reply as if through a thick blanket. She
didn't remember exactly what had happened the prior night, lost in a
haze of alcohol and bitterness towards Kaji - who, she noted, hadn't
shown up for work, or at least had managed to avoid her thus far - but
she'd seen an odd expression on Neil's face when he'd come out to
breakfast, enough to make her wonder exactly how poor her judgement had
been. It wasn't as though she'd intended to drink until she passed
out, just that she'd needed to bleed away the memories that had filled
her head, and there wasn't any other way available to her.
Noticing the quick hand gesture from the younger man that indicated the
communications were open, Misato stepped towards the main microphone,
leaning towards it and nearly hitting it with her mouth. "Eiko, Ryo,
you'll be sortied first. We'll launch you near the outskirts of the
city, where you'll be able to obtain long-range weaponry from within
the nearby weapons depots. Your mission is to destroy the Angel before
it clears the ruins of old Tokyo. Nieve, Niobe, I want you ready to be
launched as backup as necessary." She paused for a moment, feeling
another railroad spike of pain driving itself between her eyes. "Is
everyone clear on the plan."
Leaning back in the cockpit of his machine, Neil heard the choir of
affirmitive responses from the other Children as he focused on the
sense of the LCL around him, the noxious scent becoming no more
familiar as time went by. "So even though you aren't planning on
involving me in the mission, I still have to breathe this into my
lungs," he muttered under his breath, low enough to keep the command
center from hearing. "All right, Misato. I'm ready if you need me."
Vash scoffed at Neil's statement even as he distantly heard the noise
of EVA-04 and EVA-00 moving towards the launch tubes, sitting at the
ready inside his own cockpit. "Nobody will need you, Neil," he
snapped, wishing that he'd remembered how to open a private channel
between the two machines but not particularly caring. "They barely
need Ayanami, for that matter. I'm sure that Eiko will be more than
capable of handling the Angel by herself."
A surge of jealousy pulsed shallowly through Neil, and he leaned
forward himsely, resting his hands lightly on the grips of the cockpit,
the smooth silverish metal offset by the orange color of the blood-
scented liquid in the chamber. "You're not worried about her at all?"
he snapped, sounding slightly more protective than he'd meant to. "If
I were you, I'd be begging to be sent up there, to make sure that she
was all right."
"I'm sure you'd be able to save her if she was, too," replied Vash, the
cynicisim dripping from his voice as small bubbles of air formed in the
LCL from his speaking. He'd meant to sound like the reasonable half of
the argument, but he was distantly aware of the fact that he had failed
miserably. "Because, after all, everyone loves having you around.
Never mind that -"
"Children," snapped Misato, distantly wondering what the cause behind
the argument was but deciding that she didn't really want to find out.
Glancing over towards Maya's console, she saw that both of the
operating units had reached the dock, and she stepped away from the
microphone slightly. "All right. Orient 04 to Port 17, 00 to Port 3,
and unfold both weapon depots." She paused for a moment, letting Maya
key in the commands. "Launch!"
Eiko had never experienced the harsh acceleration of the Eva launch
tubes before, and as she felt the LCL push down against her harshly she
couldn't say that she would look forward to using them again in the
near future if she could avoid it. Closing her eyes, she waited until
she felt the machine lurch to a stop as she'd been taught, hearing the
loud clanging noise that she'd been told to expect as the Eva was
brought forcibly to a stop. Opening her eyes slowly, she could see the
taller buildings of old Tokyo still poking out from beneath the waves,
empty and damaged, many lying at odd angles. She glanced behind her
quickly, looking at the white buildings of Tokyo-3 almost as
reassurance, noticing Ryo's blue machine several meters away. "This is
Unit 04," she announced, glancing around for a moment before seeing the
white building with the red NERV logo on one side that she knew
designated a weapons depot. "I'm obtaining a weapon now."
"Good. Your Eva's targeting system is designed for encounters like
this, so it should work well. Take the rocket launcher on the far
right, then point it out towards Tokyo Bay. Your target should appear
within a few moments." Eiko silently absorbed Misato's commands,
removing the large tubular weapon from the storage facility and letting
her machine's hand slip around the handle, her finger resting loosely
on the trigger as she looked out across the blue waters of the bay.
She heard the noise of Ryo's Eva coming up behind her, another rocket
launcher in his hands, cradled with the grace of a professional. "As
soon as the Seventh Angel appears within range and you lock on, begin
firing. If at all possible, destroy it before it gets into Tokyo-3."
"Just like a video game, huh?" asked Eiko, smirking despite herself as
she watched the targeting cursors dance across her display, the green
hills rising around Tokyo Bay visible at the edges of her sight, the
blue water and clear sky almost seeming to meet as one at the horizon.
The thought that all she had to do was act as though she was playing a
game made her feel slightly better, and she simply focused on the twin
targeting cursors, waiting for some sign of the Angel's form in the
distance, watching patiently. "I won't be afraid," she muttered,
gripping the handle tightly. "I won't be afriad."
Then a black speck appeared on the horizon, and Eiko gritted her teeth
as the green cursors lined up on her display, the beep even sounding
like confirmation from a video game as the cursors flashed red. "Back
me up, Ryo!" she shouted, pulling down on the trigger and watching a
rocket streak forth from the launcher, a plume of smoke bursting out as
it cruised towards the target. Doubting that a single shot would be
enough, she released the trigger and pulled again even as she watched a
glinting streak of flame fire from Ryo's position, confirmation that
he'd gotten a target lock as well. Both launchers sent blast after
blast towards the target, the coast of Tokyo-3 filling gradually with
the smoke of launched rockets. "Misato, we must be hurting it!"
Inside the command center, the central screen had switched over to the
display from one of the cameras on the hills encompassing Tokyo Bay,
providing a clear shot of the Angel as it flew along the surface of the
water, rocket after rocket exploding with the octagonal ripple of the
AT Field. "Negative, Eiko," snapped Misato, still feeling oddly
distanced from the situation, due in no small part to the effects of
her hangover. "Its AT Field is too powerful. Our weaponry can't
penetrate it." Inwardly, she was sighing - even though the Eva
weaponry was designed to puncture AT Fields, it was well-known that the
ordnance could only break through a field of minimal strength, which
made advance interception even more difficult and the Evas even more
dangerous. "We'll have to try a different tactic. Ryo, your machine
should be able to generate a more powerful AT Field - spread it out to
the maximum distance and full power. Eiko, retrieve a standard rifle
and start shooting as soon as you receive notification from the command
center that it's within range."
Nodding, Eiko dropped the rocket launcher, a growing fear mounting
inside her gut. She knew that the Eva was designed to protect her, but
the Angel was getting decisively closer, and even as she shouldered the
black weapon and turned back towards the approaching beast she wondered
if she'd be able to cut it down fast enough to stop it. "I'm ready,"
she said, trying to force herself to be brave, finger twitching
slightly against the trigger.
"EVA-00 has spread its AT field to the maximum possible radius," noted
Makoto, fingers dancing across the keyboard and displaying a quick
green wireframe of the domed field expanding to encompass both of the
units. "Still, it's not much. Eiko is only going to have a window of
thirty seconds before the Angel reaches her, and I'd hate to think
what'll happen if she doesnt make it."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," replied Misato, leaning
towards the microphone as she watched the Angel grow closer and
closer. "All right, Eiko, the Angel should be vulnerable within twenty
seconds. Be ready to fire on my signal."
Sitting in her Evangelion and slowly counting the seconds as they
ticked by, Nieve found herself unbelievably bored despite the tension
of the situation, and she leaned back in the dampened nylon of the
chair, tilting her neck back and staring at the darkened ceiling of the
entry plug. "You should have sent Neil up there," she said, sounding
disinterested with the entire process. "After all, he's got a record
with shooting these things down. Isn't that right, honey?"
Hearing Nieve's last words, Eiko suddenly froze, the implications
obvious to her instantly. She flashed back to the prior day, when Ryo
had asked her about what Neil had meant to her, how he'd asked if it
was anything like a relationship, and for reasons she couldn't entirely
explain a wave of terror shot through her body. "I'm unprotected," she
whispered as Misato shouted something through the comm line, her eyes
drawn away from the bay and sinking towards the ground. "I don't have
anyone to -"
"EIKO, SHOOT!" screamed Misato, and the girl's attention was suddenly
brought up to the black humanoid form streaking towards her. The fear
from before suddenly found itself redoubled, and her hands nervously
jerked the rifle around towards the Angel, her finger closing down upon
the trigger suddenly, and the weapon jerked out of control, rounds
biting into the ground and the air before she brought it finally down
towards the Angel's location. Unfortunately, by the time that she was
actually aiming at her target the Angel was only a few feet away from
her, and she froze from panic, hands suddenly going slack and dropping
the rifle as the beast's clawed hands sank into her chest.
The sensation of being cut with burning knives from her battle with the
Fifth Angel suddenly tore into her chest, and she tasted the harsh salt
of the LCL as her mouth jerked open in a scream, terror gripping her
even more firmly as her Eva's limbs flailed wildly. "Somebody, help
me!" she screamed, the Angel crouching atop of her and driving its
claws into the machine's silvery chest, the armor not thick enough to
effectively deflect close combat attacks. "Help me! HELP ME!"
"04's synch ratio down to 35% and dropping!" shouted Maya, turning
immediately back to her screen and widening her eyes in shock.
"Pilot's heart rate is critically low! She's approaching a cardiac
arrest!"
"Ryo, move to defend her!" shouted Misato, her head already aching
without the added impetus of Eiko's screams. As she turned her gaze
back towards the main display, she found herself thinking that the girl
turned into a wreck without someone else she seemed to rely on nearby,
and she instantly felt bad about trivializing the pain that she had to
be feeling as the Angel tried to force its hands past the chest armor
of her machine.
"Understood," said Ryo curtly, pausing only momentarily at the nearby
weapons depot to grab the first weapon that he could find and rush at
the Angel, slamming his shoulder into the beast and sending it rolling
off EVA-04 as the other machine twitched on the ground. Ryo's brain
only registered the weapon in his hand after he had sent the Angel
tumbling away, and he realized that he'd gripped one of the axes, a
weapon that NERV had only produced in limited numbers. Ignoring the
thought, he forced his machine forward, swinging the axe in a practiced
routine motion, using it to deflect a slash from the Angel, then
letting it bite shallowly into the Angel's side and cause the beast to
stumble backwards slightly. For a split second, he contemplated the
fact that Eiko hadn't defended him so much as panicked, then he twirled
the axe in his hands and brought it down from above the Angel.
Everyone in the control center watched with reassurance as the blue
golem brought its axe down through the black skin of the Angel, tearing
it nearly in half vertically and tearing the core in half. Misato
sighed with relief, certain that the beast couldn't have survived the
attack. "The Seventh Angel is down for the count," she breathed, her
headache slowly fading to a painful but regular pulse. "We'll need to
recover Eiko and her -"
"Negative on the target's status!" shouted Makoto, screen flashing
warnings as his fingers moved across the keyboard smoothly, flipping
swiftly between multiple displays of the Angel's condition. "The Angel
is still active!" He paused, then gaped, thin-rimmed glasses jostling
on his nose slightly as he jerked away from the console in surprise.
"I'm detecting -two- AT fields activating, both with a blue pattern!
The Angel has split itself!"
Misato turned her gaze back towards the main screen and watched in
horror as the two halves of the Angel seemed to liquify and reform,
each half into a smaller mirror of the prior Angel, one with a silver
cast and the other with a gold shade. On the surface, Ryo felt
nothing, simply accepted the requisite change in routine and began
moving once again, lashing out with the axe towards the nearer of the
two Angel clones and letting it bite shallowly into the arm of the
beast. Half a second later he felt the claws of the other beast rip
into his back, and he lashed out in a circular arc, missing the Angel
entirely and instead simply sending it jumping backwards. "I require
assistance," he noted calmly, backing away from the dual Angels for a
moment, waiting to hear confirmation or denial from Central Dogma.
"The Angel seems capable of further division," announced Makoto,
drawing up a quick display on his screen as the blue Evangelion slashed
desperately against its twin oppressors. "The core structure is
organic to an extent, as though it's actually designed to take these
divisions in stride. Ryo isn't going to be able to beat that thing,
and throwing the rest of the Evas in isn't going to help at all."
"Hold on, Ryo," Misato announced into the microphone, feeling as though
she'd signed both his and Eiko's death warrants as she turned away from
the main screen, trying to think through the haze of her hangover.
Commander Ikari was still away in a conference, and that meant that she
was the ultimate authority in the situation. Biting her lip, she sank
her head slightly, then turned towards Ritsuko and Maya, both of whom
were watching casually. "We'll draw the two Angels out into Tokyo Bay,
then deploy EVA-05 with an N2 canister. Once it detonates, Niobe will
retrieve both machines and bring them back inside."
Ritsuko simply stared at Misato as she explained her plan, the same
disapproving glare on her face that she usually wore. "You're not
authorized to utilize N2 devices," the woman noted coldly, glancing
towards the main screen. "The commander won't be happy if you activate
one."
"Do we really have any choice in the matter?" snapped Misato, trying
not to show that she was losing her own confidence in her ability. She
knew that the N2 weapon wouldn't destroy the Angel, but with its AT
field neutralized she hoped that it might at least stun the thing long
enough for another plan to coalesce. Ritsuko simply turned away from
Misato towards Maya's display, and Misato took a deep breath as she
stepped back towards the microphone, leaning towards it and wincing as
her headache aggravated itself once again. "Ryo, Niobe is being armed
and prepared for launch. Draw the Angel into Tokyo Bay, as far away as
you can safely get."
"Affirmative," replied the boy, the orders taken without bitterness as
simply another part of a routine. Stepping backwards, Ryo lunged
slightly forward and slashed at the Angels idly, more interested in
making the beasts think that he was attacking them than actually trying
to damage them. The two things paused for a moment as Ryo backed
towards the water, then followed after him, moving with ponderous
efficiency as he slashed idly towards them, just enough to look
threatening. His left foot sank into the waters of Tokyo Bay, and he
hesitated for only an instant as he continued backing up, letting the
water slosh around his Eva as the two beasts advanced.
Inside her cockpit, Niobe gripped the handles of her machine tightly,
gritting her teeth and forcing herself not to feel any hesitation about
the mission as her Eva hurtled towards the surface. She would be
launched some distance away from Ryo and Eiko, far enough so that she
could retrieve the N2 canister from one of the Geofront's surface
elevators and then move in without the Angel being made aware of her
presence. "I'm coming, Ryo," she said firmly, her voice measured as
the Eva slammed to a stop, her head jerking down a little too quickly
and giving her a view of her yellow-brown plugsuit before she corrected
the error and glanced towards the surface elevator, watching as the
canister slowly came into view. "Just hold on a little longer, and
I'll be there. I'll get you out."
Ryo did not respond, instead focusing on drawing the seventh Angel
outwards, noticing that the Angel was intentionally trying to spread
around him, pin him between its two halves and tear him apart. As the
water of the bay splashed about his waist, he felt the power cord begin
to pull slightly taught, and he realized that he couldn't draw the
beast out any further, that it would have to be far enough. "I am
engaging the Angel until Niobe arrives," he announced, slashing the axe
towards the golden half's bone-white face, letting the vibrating edge
crash into the structure with a satisfying crunch. A second later he
saw the silvery claws of the other half close firmly around his
forearm, and he winced as the Angel tightened its grip casually,
tearing into the armor and crushing the bone. Nothing daunted, Ryo
deployed the prog knife from the right shoulder flange, letting the
left hand fly up to grab it before he drove it towards the other half,
forcing the beast to release him and move backwards as the golden half
extracted the axe from its face.
Niobe reached down and grabbed the N2 canister before the elevator had
even quite reached the surface, then sent her machine running down the
streets of the city, dashing between the white buildings towards the
site of the battle, springing over the prone EVA-04 as she ran. Both
Angel halves turned to notice her as she approached, but she did not
falter for a moment, pushing the handles of her cockpit further forward
as she gritted her teeth. "Don't show fear," she hissed, jumping
towards the bay, cradling the N2 canister in her hands as she soared
over the blue water and Ryo began to withdraw his damaged machine. She
waited for a moment longer, then hurled the canister as though it were
a football towards the spot between the two Angels, landing roughly a
few meters away and dipping beneath the water as she landed in a
crouch. Grimacing, she activated her AT Field to full power and pulled
the radius as close as she could, knowing that there was no time for
her to try and avoid the blast.
"Canister detonated," announced Makoto grimly as the main screen showed
the effects, the center of the bay suddenly lighting up in a ball of
flame, water hissing away to steam almost instantly at the site. The
flash was too bright for a moment for any of the NERV staff to see
through it, but a second later it faded away, leaving the Angel still
clearly visible. Everyone held their breath for a moment, but the
Angel remained still as EVA-05 emerged from beneath the water, several
meters away from its initial position, looking rather banged up but
otherwise functional. "Target is still active, but all instruments
indicate that it's regenerating. The Magi computers are still working
on decoding the exact time until it's finished."
"Thank God," muttered Misato to herself as Maya reported all of the
Evas on the surface still functional. "Niobe, retrieve EVA-04 and
place it on the nearest entry port. Ryo, withdraw immediately. We'll
have to go after this one from a different angle." She paused for a
moment, then moved away from the microphone and leaned against the edge
of the operations level, staring down towards the level below and the
three red boxes that she knew housed the Magi computers. She'd
thought, for a moment, that the project would have had its first
casualty because of her poor decisions, and she felt as though only
sheer luck had proven her wrong. Combined with her headache, she
wanted more than anything to simply return home and go back to
drinking, knowing that both the guilt and her headache could be cured
with the one balm.
]++[
Misato stood at the far end of Commander Ikari's office, staring across
the room towards the Commander at his desk and Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki
beside him through the red light of the room, wondering if the
commander had any reason for such a huge office besides sheer
intimidation. The whole thing was easily four times the size of
Misato's office, but as sparse as her office was this one seemed even
emptier, the desk clean and organized from what she could see.
"Captain Katsuragi," announced Ikari at length, his glasses a shining
red under the light. "Explain your actions against the Seventh Angel."
"Yes, sir," replied Misato sharply, restraining the urge to say
something else. "The Seventh Angel, Israfel, was first detected by our
forward radar off Tokyo Bay on a direct course into Tokyo-3. UN
interception forces were launched immediately and had no effect on the
target. All six Children had reported ready for combat by the time the
target was within 30 kilometers of the bay. Reasoning that it was best
to attempt to dispatch the Angel before it came any closer, I deployed
Units 04 and 00, both machines designed for long-range combat. Both
pilots were directed to the surface, obtained weapons as directed, and
proceeded to open fire upon the Angel."
Pausing briefly, Misato tried to gauge whether or not the commander was
reacting favorably for a moment, but even if there was some trace of
emotion on his face she was too far away to see it. "The Angel's AT
Field was too powerful to penetrate from our location, so I ordered Ryo
to spread his field as wide as possible and Eiko to gun down the Angel
as soon as it had come close enough for Ryo to neutralize its field."
She paused once again, unsure of exactly how to phrase Eiko's sudden
panic on the field, still not entirely clear on the causes herself.
"Eiko lost control of herself and was rendered incapable of further
safe operation by the Angel, and Ryo proceeded to split the Angel in
halves. The Angel proved capable of splitting itself into multiple
forms, and I therefore decided that we would need a chance to formulate
a new strategy. Unit 05 was sent to the surface with an N2 canister -"
"I did not authorize the usage of N2 devices," interjected the
commander, moving one hand to push his glasses up on his nose before
folding them together in front of his face once again. "Moreover, I
fail to see what made the deployment of EVA-05 with an N2 canister a
necessary action."
Misato gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to get angry, knowing
that it would only make the situation worse. "To address the first
issue, you were in a conference at the time, and as you were not
available to authorize the device's usage I took full responsibility
for any consequences. As for the deployment, we had one Eva pilot out,
and one that could not handle two Angels at once. Had I simply left
them out there, they both would have died. The Angels needed to be
stunned for a time, and my first priority was to make sure that the
pilots were safe."
Dr. Ikari said nothing for a moment, simply stared at Misato behind the
reflective lenses of his glasses. "Incorrect," he said at length,
startling her slightly. "Your first priority is to destroy the
Angels. The pilots can be replaced. Four fully functional units were
still within the base, and could have been deployed after a new plan
was formulated. You should not have detonated the N2 canister."
Once again, Misato bit her lip, forcing herself not to scream at the
commander for his emotionless expression. She wanted, more than
anything, to storm over to his desk and tear him from his seat, to
shake him back and forth until he finally seemed to understand that the
Children were not objects to be used, but she remained silent, simply
waiting for him to continue. There was a momentary pause, but he did
resume, position unchanging. "Why did the pilot of Unit 04 panic?"
"We haven't determined that yet," replied Misato, trying not to sound
bitter despite herself. Eiko's sudden failure to operate her machine
had been disturbing to say the least, and it looked bad that Misato
didn't have any explanation for her actions. "Our suspicion is that
some kind of neural feedback was coming from her AT field. The Magi
are currently attempting to analyze the situation data."
"Irrelevant. You had a pilot lose control of their machine." The tone
was harsh but still nearly emotionless, and Misato was momentarily
struck by the fact that it sounded almost exactly like she imagined
Ryo's voice would sound if he were capable of displaying harshness.
"The fate of the planet depends upon these children being capable of
keeping themselves under control. As their commander, you are
responsible for making sure that they are an effective combat unit."
"Yes, sir," replied Misato, keeping silent out of knowledge that
speaking would only make things worse. She wanted to defend Eiko, to
say that the girl had good reason for panicking as soon as the Angel
had come within range, but she didn't know why herself, and there was
little that she could offer in way of a defense. Besides, she also
knew that Gendou was right, that she needed to make sure the Children
were capable of fighting the Angels in the first place. "I'll make
sure that they're better prepared for the next sortie."
A brief silence settled over the room, Ikari's eyes feeling as though
they stared right through Misato despite being hidden from her sight.
"Dismissed," he announced at length, his position remaining fixed even
as Misato turned and stepped out of the sliding door, back into the
comfortable by comparison fluorescent lighting of Central Dogma's teal-
gray hallways. She paused for a moment, then leaned against one wall
of the corridor, her headache still splitting her brain in half, the
effort of standing still and not wincing in pain in Gendou's office
having been almost beyond her ability to bear it.
"Keep it together," she muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut
briefly and rubbing her forehead, knowing that the day wasn't over by
any stretch of the imagination. She still had an Angel to deal with on
the surface, and that meant that no matter how much her head was
hurting, she needed to keep herself coherent. Allowing herself one
more moment of rest before she pushed away from the wall, she began to
head towards the command center, hoping that Makoto had come up with
some solid information on the Angel.
]++[
Vash and Neil stared at one another bitterly, their plugsuits still
damp from the LCL and hair still occasionally dripping the red-orange
liquid to the floor of the conference room. It looked for all the
world like a prison movie theater, except for the addition of a podium
at the front and the absence of guards. Only the two boys were sitting
in the room, both trying to measure one another, Vash's bright blue and
Neil's bright green. The fact that Eiko was down in the infirmary was
on both of their minds, even more than the fact that they didn't know
why they'd both been called down to the room instead of the other
pilots.
It was Neil who spoke first, his guilt beginning to slowly overcome his
anger towards Vash. "I should have been protecting her," he muttered
to himself, breaking the gaze with Vash for just a moment before he
turned back towards the other boy. "I should have been making sure
that she was safe."
"You're damn right," replied Vash, his glare deepening. "After what
you did to her brother, you should be laying your life down for Eiko.
But wait... you did that defending the city, didn't you?" He turned
away from Neil, throwing his hands in the air and pretending to be
suddenly repentant. "Well, in that case, obviously, please, don't get
anywhere near Eiko. With protectors like you, the Angels are getting
their jobs done for them."
"Really? You weren't so tough yourself when the Angel blasted you in
the chest, were you?" The accusation was meant to sting, and Neil felt
a small twinge of guilt drowned by his growing anger. He knew that
Vash didn't have the vaguest clue what being inside of EVA-01 was like,
and he hated the implication that he was doing the wrong thing even
though he kept getting in it. "I've screwed up, I'll admit. But you
haven't managed to even get deployed against an Angel -"
"Oh, I'm -sorry-, great and radiant Neil," replied Vash, ears burning
slightly from embarassment at the mention of his lack of proficiency
with EVA-03. "Not all of us can go berserk while we're supposed to be
protecting the city and crush innocent civilians!" He snarled,
clenching one hand into a fist involuntarily. "First Toji, now Eiko.
Who are you going to screw up protecting next? Me? Nieve? The whole
planet?"
Neil's fist clenched involuntarily, and he felt the urge to rush over
and hit Vash hard, to give Vash what he'd been asking for the day
they'd met. The glove of the plugsuit squeezed taught for an instant,
then the door of the conference room opened to reveal Misato, a haggard
expression on her face as she walked to the front of the room from the
door in the back, distracting Neil enough for his anger to fade
slightly and turn his attention towards her podium. Vash continued to
glare at the other boy for a moment longer, then turned his attention
as well. "What's going on?" Vash asked, trying to sound as calm as
possible and look like the better of the two boys.
Misato took a moment, leaning forward on the podium and apparently
trying to compose herself before returning to her full height and
trying not to look exhausted. "I'm in no mood to try and make this
sound better than it is, boys," she said after a moment, perceiving for
a split second what seemed like an affirming glance from Neil. "We've
finished analyzing the Angel, and it's as bad as it looks. The thing
can divide its core, and it looks as though it's designed to do that
instantly if the core sustains lethal damage."
"So it keeps splitting in half," muttered Neil, still trying to cap off
his anger and feeling guilty about the fact that he had failed to
protect Eiko. "Eventually, it's going to get too small to target
effectively if it keeps that up. How are we supposed to defeat
something like that?"
"We've come up with an idea," replied Misato, rubbing her forehead once
again at Neil's question, wishing that she had a better answer than she
did. "The core takes a moment or two to split, just like a dividing
cell. If we deal a fatal blow to the core one moment, then hit the
remaining core before it finishes splitting, that should be enough to
finish the thing off for good." She paused for a second, less out of a
dramatic necessity and more because she needed to allow her aching head
a brief rest. "It's not a certainty, and we'll need to have the blows
be nearly perfectly timed. But it's the best plan that we've been able
to come up with."
"Fair enough," replied Vash, leaning back slightly in his seat and
resenting Neil slightly more. The other boy had managed to make
himself look significantly smarter than Vash, something that was more
than a little annoying in light of recent events. "So why aren't the
other Children in here? Aren't they going to be involved in the
operation?"
The question had been coming since the beginning of the briefing, and
Misato had known that, but it still took an effort not to sigh in
response. She'd heard the boys shouting at one another before she'd
entered, and the argument that was no doubt about to ensue wouldn't be
good for her head. "The primary units for this operation will be EVA-
01 and EVA-03," she announced after a moment, trying her best to filter
out the disgusted noises from both Children. "Both units have stronger
armor than the other Evas, and they're better suited to close combat.
This is going to have to be a close combat operation by nature. You
two will have to work together."
Both Children, unsurprisingly, were shouting at Misato the instant
she'd finished talking, each one screaming about how the other was
unfit to pilot the Eva in the first place, their complaints eerily
similar. Either way, Misato's headache wasn't helped by the shouting,
and after a few moments she slammed her fist down on the podium with
enough force to shut both of the Children up. "This isn't open for
debate! Neil, you're going to work with Vash. Vash, you're going to
work with Neil. The operation won't start for another five hours, so
we're going to send you back to your homes for a time." She paused,
rubbing her temple. "Don't be childish about this, you two. For
everyone's sake."
Misato remained at the front of the room for a moment longer, then
stepped out from behind the podium and headed towards the door,
desperately in need of some beer or some painkillers, preferably the
former. Vash and Neil said nothing, instead choosing simply to stare
at one another, unflinching as Misato stepped out of the room and they
were left alone.
]++[
It was a ten-minute drive from the most accessible car exit from
Central Dogma to Vash's house, plus the ten minutes it took for the
Children to shower and change back into their street clothes for what
little relaxation they could hope for. Misato had hoped, for the sake
of her sanity, that the boys would have shouted themselves out by that
point, but to her amazement their argument hadn't even slowed down
since they had gotten in the car, both trading insults recklessly.
Nieve, either put off by the argument or simply lost in thought, was
being entirely silent in the front seat, staring out her window and
ignoring both of the boys. At the back of her mind, Misato was vaguely
aware that the boys were really repeating the same few things over and
over, Vash saying that Neil should feel guilty for his mistakes, Neil
saying that Vash wasn't even good enough to have the time to screw up.
On a more conscious level, however, she had heard more than enough
shouting as she pulled her car to a stop in front of Vash's house.
"All -right-," she snapped, silencing both boys as she turned back
towards them, her eyes beginning to grow bloodshot from stress and her
headache. She had the urge to shout at them for their immaturity, but
forced herself to remember that she was dealing with teenagers even if
they had adult responsibilities. "Vash, your parents should be back by
now. We're not going to be evacuating the populace again until half an
hour before the operation commences. NERV should contact you before
then."
Vash nodded curtly, glaring at Neil as the other boy glared back. He
wanted very badly to hit Neil, though he couldn't quite decide why,
whether it was because of Neil's injuring of Toji, or the fact that
he'd turned Eiko against him, or the fact that he hadn't protected
Eiko. Distantly, he wondered for a split second why he was so certain
that Eiko's reluctance had been a result of Neil, but he pushed the
thought out of his head as he opened his door and unbuckled his
seatbelt. "See you later, gaijin," he snarled as he stepped out of the
car, slamming the door as he walked towards his house.
Neil watched him leave for a moment, unsure of whether he was angrier
at Vash or himself. "'Gaijin' means something bad, doesn't it?" he
asked after a moment, glancing over towards Misato as she nodded.
Sighing, Neil looked back towards Vash's house as the car began to move
once again, unsure of whether he was more angry at himself or at Vash.
He certainly didn't feel as though Vash had any right to question his
performance in EVA-01, but he also hated himself for what he'd done in
the machine, for the way he felt around it. Still, it wasn't as though
he'd set out in the machine to crush one of Vash's schoolmates.
The thought of Vash's school tickled something at the back of Neil's
mind, and it took him a moment to think to look down at the floor of
the car where Vash's schoolbag still sat, forgotten in the argument
from before. "Stop the car, Misato," Neil said, grabbing the bag from
the floor and feeling himself sigh inwardly. "Vash forgot his bag.
I've got to run back and give it to him."
"You're not going to do that," announced Nieve as Misato slowed the car
down to a stop, the redheaded girl suddenly taking an interest in the
situation and turning back towards Neil, her voice sounding slightly
empty as she spoke. "It'll be a disaster. I'll take it - he's not too
fond of me either, but -"
"I don't want you anywhere -near- him," snapped Neil, speaking somewhat
more forcefully than he'd intended and surprising Nieve. Opening his
door, he glanced back and forth for a moment, unsurprised to see no
traffic on the road as he stepped out. "I'll do it. Besides, this way
I might get to tell his parents what a pathetic kid he really is."
Slamming his door shut, Neil crossed the street and walked idly towards
Vash's house, not turning back out of the presumably justified fear
that Misato or Nieve would try to stop him. He wanted to do something
more final than argue with Vash, but despite himself he couldn't figure
out what in the world he actually planned on doing inside the house,
already feeling guilty for wanting to hurt the other boy. As he
stepped up to the front door of Vash's house, he grinned at himself
bitterly, recalling that at least being angry at himself had kept him
from feeling guilty about the prior night.
Neil took a deep breath before knocking on the door, waiting for a
moment and hearing nothing from inside. It was tempting to simply turn
around and walk away, but Neil forced himself to remain, knowing that
he would only feel worse if he ran away. "Vash?" he shouted, trying to
sound as innocent as possible as he knocked once again. "It's me,
Neil. You forgot to -"
Without warning, the door swung open, and Neil felt a familiar scent
assault his nose as an older man stared at him, eyes only dimly focused
and long black hair tied in a messy ponytail and looking somewhat
greasy. The man was obviously rather tall, but looked shorter because
of his slumped posture, dissheveled blue shirt and jeans hanging
loosely off his body. "You're one of those kids from the program,
aren't you?" he asked, the words slurred and spoken with a crippling
Japanese accent. "Fighting those big black things, right?"
"Um... yeah," replied Neil, beginning to feel another memory bubble
into his head as the stink of fermentation reeked forth from the man.
He bit his lower lip for a moment, wondering if the man was of the same
mindset as Vash about Neil's performance or not and feeling
uncomfortable regardless. "Is Vash here, or has he -"
"He's here," slurred the man, stepping aside from the door and
gesturing for Neil to step in. Neil hesitated for a moment, then
stepped up into what seemed like the same depressed space as Misato's
apartment, the implication obvious. He removed his shoes, and the man
nodded approvingly, shutting the door and awkwardly staggering towards
a nearby couch, beer cans strewn about the floor and couch itself,
television blaring something incomprehensible. "You look like a good
kid. Probably for the best, you kids doing this stuff. God knows that
I need my rest nowadays." The man paused for a moment, taking a sip
from what seemed to be a largely random beer can, then staring back at
Neil. "C'mon over, sit down. Let's talk."
"Really, that's all right," replied Neil, taking a step back and
suppressing a slight twinge of terror as the man turned back to
whatever he was watching with a shrug. Neil stared at him for a moment
longer, unpleasant memories jumping to the surface, then turned around
to see Vash standing behind him, still glaring. Giving a small start,
Neil began to take a step backwards towards the drunk man on the couch,
then realized that wouldn't make things any better. "Vash. I was
looking for you."
Vash said nothing for a moment, then reached over and firmly grabbed
Neil's collar, yanking him away from the small den and tugging him
through the brown halls of the house into what Neil assumed was Vash's
room. Yanking Neil in, Vash slammed the door to the small room, then
turned and glared at the other boy, his opinion of Neil obviously not
getting any better. "I'm going to open this door in a minute," snarled
Vash, "and when I open it, you're going to leave this house and -never-
say a word to -anyone-. Not Misato, not Nieve, not -anyone-. Do you
understand that?"
"I..." Neil trailed off, suddenly feeling intensely guilty, knowing
that he was intruding on something private. "I just came because you
left your bag in Misato's car. I thought you might need it." He
swallowed for a moment, hoping that maybe he was incorrect about his
assumptions on who the man was. "Was that man your older brother, or -"
"Don't you -dare- make fun of my father," replied Vash, grabbing Neil's
collar once again and pulling the taller boy towards him, eyes
sparkling with anger. "He's my problem, all right? I hate him, and
I'm disgraced by him, and you have absolutely no right to intrude
here." Neil mumbled something, turning his head down and away from
Vash, and Vash's eyes narrowed as he shook Neil roughly. "What did you
just say?"
"At least you have one!" snapped Neil, anger beginning to take over
from guilt as he broke free of Vash's grip with one hand, the other
tensing into a fist. Stumbling backwards, he rubbed the back of his
neck for a moment as Vash continued to glare at him, trying to compose
himself. "I said that you should be thankful that you've got a father
in the first place."
There was a moment of silence between the two boys, then Vash's stare
grew darker, grabbing at Neil's collar once again. Neil held the other
boy's hand back tightly, but Vash continued to struggle against him,
his eyes flashing with anger. "Oh, so you just spawned spontaneously
from your mother, did you?" asked Vash, glaring harshly and managing to
force his hand closer to Neil's collar. "That's just great, Neil. You
don't have to live with -anyone's- opinion, because you're just so damn
special."
Neil glared for a moment, then his anger took over, sending his arm
snapping up towards Vash's collar and grabbing it roughly, taking
advantage of the fact that his arms were slightly longer. "My father
was an alcoholic too," replied Neil, his hand tightening around Vash's
collar unconsciously. "He started drinking almost as soon as I was
born. He died when I was ten. Mother never divorced him, even though
he never did anything, even thought he just wasted his life and made
mine miserable." He scowled, tightening his grip even more. "What
gives you the right to judge me? What makes it all right for you?"
Both boys remained quiet for a moment, Vash's hand slightly away from
Neil's collar, Neil's grip almost tight enough to tear the white fabric
of Vash's school shirt, the dark brown walls suddenly seeming
oppressive. Then Neil felt guilt start to seep through his body, and
he let go of both Vash's collar and Vash's wrist, wondering for a
moment if the boy would try once again to grab his collar. The
Japanese boy did no such thing, simply staring angrily at Neil, shock
creeping into the edges of his expression. "Here's your bag,"
announced Neil flatly, dropping the small schoolbag and stepping around
Vash, opening the door and beginning to walk out.
Vash heard the door close only distantly, his arms slowly sinking back
down to his sides, Neil's words hitting him with a sting he hadn't
expected. He still wanted to be angry with the other boy, but
something about the situation made it feel impossible, made him feel as
though he was doing something wrong by resenting Neil's unconditional
acceptance from others. "He's been through the same thing," muttered
Vash, the words sounding alien to his ears. "He's dealt with it just
like I have."
]++[
Misato's table was unusually quiet, both Children remaining perfectly
silent as they ate their lunches, Misato slumped over her lunch and
still feeling as though a sledgehammer was working the inside of her
skull. "This is nice," she muttered to herself, ignoring the icy stare
she was receiving from Nieve for a moment. Neil simply hadn't spoken
since whatever had happened at Vash's house, and Nieve seemed to be
angry about something without any intention of telling Misato what it
was. "This is really nice. Don't you two think so?"
"Yeah," muttered Nieve, obviously lying. "Nice." Neil noticed her
tone and looked up at her, but she didn't look back, simply eating her
lunch quietly. He wondered for a moment if she was angry with him, but
then noticed that she was glaring daggers at Misato, waiting for the
woman to take notice of her. A thought occurred to Neil, and he turned
back to his lunch as well, hoping that he got a chance to talk to Nieve
before she did anything.
"What's going on, Nieve?" asked Misato, her speech sounding pained as
she forced herself to sit upright, jostling the table slightly. She
could tell that Nieve was angry with her, but she hadn't wanted to say
anything beforehand. Nieve simply glared at Misato for a moment
longer, then went back to eating her lunch, angering Misato slightly as
her headache continued to pound at the back of her skull. "Listen,
Nieve, I can tell that you're angry, so just tell me what -"
"I was sitting down in EVA-02 for the whole time, waiting for you to
sortie me, and you just left me there," replied Nieve, gripping her
fork more tightly as she stared over at Misato. "I sat, and I waited,
and I didn't say anything about it as I waited for you to send me to
the surface. But you didn't. You just left me there doing nothing.
That's why I'm angry."
Groaning, Misato leaned back slightly, tilting her head towards the
ceiling and trying to ignore the increasing headache. "Nieve, we only
sent out three Evas," she said at length, forcing her voice to remain
quiet and calm despite how annoyed she was getting at everything around
her. "We only needed to send out three. It's not like Neil or Vash
were deployed."
"No, you're saving them for this afternoon!" snapped Nieve, eyes
flashing with anger as she glared towards Misato. Neil felt himself
unconsciously pushing away from the table, the shouting making him feel
deeply uncomfortable even as he felt the desire to clench his fists
once again. "You're giving everyone else their turn in the field, but
you're -sidelining- me! I'm probably the best pilot that you've got,
and after all the effort I've given to this project, you're just
ignoring me!"
Misato gritted her teeth for a moment to try and restrain her own
irritation, but all the resentment that she'd felt over the course of
the day so far had to come out sooner or later, and as she leaned
forward towards Nieve the young girls could see that she'd made herself
a perfect target. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe there's some
kind of -risk- involved in these operations, you insolent little girl?
Have you ever thought that maybe we don't want to send you all to your
deaths? Has it begun to cross your tiny little mind that maybe the
Evas have different capabilities for a -reason-? Or do you just feel
like shouting at me so that you can feel better about yourself?"
The table was once again silent, Misato glaring at Nieve in anger,
Nieve recoiling slightly and obviously not prepared for the sudden
outpouring. Sighing heavily, Misato pushed herself up from the table,
standing somewhat wobbly and knowing that she'd lost control over
herself, that she needed to be more collected in situations like this.
"I need a beer," she snarled at nobody in particular, turning towards
the refridgerator and sliding open the door, knowing that she'd feel
better once the alcohol started to blot out her hangover."
As her hands closed around the golden can of alocohol, Misato heard the
sound of silverware slamming down to the table, and she whirled around
angrily, expecting that Nieve had gotten a second wind for her little
hissy fit. As she stared at the table, however, she realized that it
had been Neil, his hand still pressing the fork down into the table,
eyes shut tightly and fist clenching in his free hand. "Do you really
think that will make anything better?" he asked, sounding as though he
was trying to be angry but failing despite himself. "You think that as
long as you've got a beer you... you..."
Neil's words trailed off into silence, and the entire room followed
him, all three people unsure of what more there was to say. At length,
Misato looked at the can in her hand for a moment, then put it back
inside the fridge, ignoring the slight spike of pain in her head that
seemed to come with the knowledge she'd get no such relief. The
refridgerator door swung shut as Misato stepped back towards the table,
and all three were about to return to eating when the phone rang and
cut through the silence.
Misato stood silently, stepping over to the black telephone and picking
up the receiver as casually as possible, feeling guilty for what she
hadn't done and wondering if Neil hated her now. She put the receiver
to her ear and opened her mouth to speak, but before she even got past
the first syllable of a greeting Ritsuko's calm, analytical voice had
already started. "The Angel is regenerating faster than we'd
expected," she announced, the hint in her voice that it was somehow
Misato's fault. "You're required back at Central Dogma immediately."
The two Children at the table couldn't hear Ritsuko's voice, but they
could hear Misato's startled exclamation that Ritsuko couldn't be
right, and as intelligent people they had no trouble figuring out what
it was that Ritsuko couldn't possibly be right about. Gulping down one
final bite of their lunches, both stood, turned towards the door, and
walked to the small recess where their shoes remained just as Misato
hung the phone back on the hook and turned towards them. "That was Dr.
Akagi," she announced to the pair, her head still splitting. "The
Seventh Angel has almost finished regenerating. We need to start the
operation early."
]++[
Both EVA-01 and EVA-03 had been moved to the same oversized holding
bay, prepared for immediate launch as soon as the last elements of the
operation were in place. Neil, lost in thought, stood on the catwalk
in front of his Eva, green and purple plugsuit hugging tightly to his
skin and feeling unexpectedly nervous. He'd never worked with Vash
before, but he recalled how angry he had been when he left the boy, and
he remembered the red haze of his vision when the Eva had gone
berserk. "I've got to control it," he muttered, remembering Nieve's
words about who was in charge of the Eva. "It's my tool. I won't lose
control of my temper with it. I refuse to."
Neil stared at the purple head of the beast, the monstrous jawline, the
diamond-shaped eyes, and he thought of Nieve once again, knowing that
she and Niobe had already been placed inside their respective units.
The girl had been mostly silent after Misato's angry shouts towards
her, but she'd given Neil a quick kiss before they'd gone into the
locker rooms, saying nothing to explain. Something about her was
unspeakably sad, something that Neil couldn't quite place, and he
wished that she was being allowed to pilot her machine into the
operation, knowing how badly she wanted to be in control of defeating
the Angel. Shutting his eyes, he thought of her, then of Eiko, the
faces of both girls dancing at the edge of his vision like some exotic
form of torture.
"I thought you'd be out here." Vash's tone sounded oddly regretful,
but Neil still took a moment longer before looking towards the other
boy, his black and purple plugsuit looking rather striking against his
spiky blonde hair. He was at almost the other end of the catwalk,
seeming hesitant to get any closer to Neil. "Do you mind if I come
over? I want to talk."
"Actually, yes, I mind," replied Neil, feeling somewhat bitter as he
turned away from Vash once again, his right hand clenching into a fist
almost unconsciously. "I think I know what you're going to say,
anyways. You want me not to get in your way, even though you've never
piloted the Eva before, even though you have no idea what you're
doing." He sighed. "Fine. I don't care. I didn't stay in Tokyo-3 to
argue with you. All I want to do is to destroy the Angel."
"God, give -me- a chance to talk, will you?" snapped Vash, glaring over
towards Neil and shaking his head. Neil's expression softened slightly
as he looked towards the other boy, and Vash found himself wondering
about the sort of person that he'd claimed to hate, the same person who
had given his all to defend Eiko for no personal gain. "I... I
wanted..." He swallowed for a moment, then turned towards Neil
completely and started walking. "I wanted you to hit me. The way that
I hit you when we first met."
Neil didn't reply, simply turned and stared back at the boy as Vash
came to a stop within arm's length of Neil, his expression stoic. "I
owe you an apology," he said curtly, the statement clearly taking a
great deal of effort to say. "When I blamed you for hurting Toji... it
wasn't fair. You hurt Toji because of something that we did." He
paused, then sank his head slightly, staring towards the catwalk and
the liquid sloshing around beneath. "Kensuke wanted to get a look at
one of the Eva units in action, after he'd gotten his hands on some of
the design details over the Internet. So Toji and I agreed to help him
out on the surface. We shouldn't have been out there in the first
place." He paused, then turned his gaze back towards Neil, setting his
jaw. "So, I'm telling you to hit me. Because I'm the one who hurt my
friend, not you."
For a moment, neither boy moved, Neil simply staring at Vash, Vash
closing his eyes tightly and waiting for Neil to hit him. Then Neil
turned back towards his Eva, and after a moment Vash seemed to realize
that he wasn't being hit and opened his eyes to stare at the other
boy. "No," said Neil, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly.
"I won't."
"What, am I not good enough for you to deign to touch? Come on, Neil,
you know that you want to." Vash spread his arms wide, presenting
himself as an open target for the other boy. "Go ahead, hit me. Just
smack me in the chin. You know I can take it. One solid blow, and
then I'll -"
"I said no!" snapped Neil, turning around and glaring at the other boy,
fist clenching involuntarily, his mind forcing down the desire to do
exactly as Vash said. "I don't want to hurt people. I don't want
revenge." He paused for a moment, letting his hand relax as Vash
stared at him, his breath beginning to relax slightly. "You might have
led your friend out of safety, but that doesn't make it your fault that
he got hurt. You were right, it was my fault. I should have had more
control over the Eva." He paused, then extended his hand towards the
other boy. "Can we move on from here as a team?"
Vash stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then smiled despite
himself and took it in his, giving it a firm shake before letting go
and glancing towards EVA-01. Neil turned towards the machine himself,
wondering if he'd done the right thing or not, then felt Vash tap him
on the shoulder. "Can you dance?" Vash asked as Neil's head turned to
face him, a grin slowly spreading across the Japanese boy's face.
"Not particularly well, no," replied Neil with a shrug. "But I can
manage it." He paused, cocking his head slightly and trying to figure
out what it was that Vash wanted. "Why do you ask?"
"Had an idea," replied Vash, smirking and turning towards the door at
one end of the catwalk, glancing back at Neil over his shoulder as he
walked towards it. "I was talking with one of the head technicians
before I managed to find you, and he turned out to be a pretty nifty
guy. Just thought of something that might help us focus against the
Angel." His smirk widened, and he flashed an incomprehensible hand
signal at Neil before stepping through the door and letting it hiss
closed behind him, Neil still baffled as to what the other boy's plan
was.
]++[
Misato could feel Ritsuko's eyes staring at her as she switched her
gaze back and forth between the main screen's display of the
regenerating Angel and the display at Makoto's console of Neil and
Vash's Evas racing through the launch tubes towards the surface. Her
headache had only slightly improved, but the fact that Ritsuko was
watching her seemed to cancel out the positive effects of the slowly-
receding headache. As the two Evas exited the Geofront and headed up
closer to the surface, Misato finally sighed and turned towards
Ritsuko, eyes narrowed. "Is there something you want to ask?"
Ritsuko shook her head, expression still icy as she shifted her grip on
her clipboard. "Not a thing," she replied, sounding almost bitter.
"I'm just somewhat surprised that you're still sober. I had expected
you to come back drunk again."
The comment struck Misato like a slap across the face, and she fought
the urge to slap Ritsuko at the same time that she fought the urge to
shed a tear. "I did, too," she replied at length, turning towards the
main screen where the two Eva units were finally emerging. She took a
second to compose herself, then leaned over into the microphone,
clearing her throat slightly. "All right, boys, you remember what you
have to do. Hit the core simultaneously."
Sitting in the cockpit of his machine, Vash flexed his fingers and let
the Eva flex its own, watching as the Angel slowly returned to its
original form. The LCL still stank like blood, and it reminded him
vaguely of the horrible burning he'd felt as the Fifth Angel's beam had
hit him square in the chest, but he forced the thought out of his mind,
tightening his grip on the handles and grinning sinisterly. "All
right. Shigeru, you ready?"
On the upper level of the command center, the long-haired console
technician grinned, letting his fingers dance across the keyboard for a
moment. "All ready, Vash," he announced happily, hitting one final key
and letting the room's speakers fill with the aggressive noise of an
electric guitar playing to a drum backup. He smiled for a moment, then
noticed that everyone else on the upper level was staring at him and
shrugged. "He thought that it would help them focus against the
Angel. Keeping in time with the beat, and all."
"Well, now I know why you asked if I could dance," sighed Neil,
flipping open the Eva's shoulder flange and letting the progressive
knife pop out into his hand. He glanced towards Vash, and the black
Eva nodded back at him as it deployed its own knife, holding the thing
with the blade pointing down. Taking a deep breath, Neil began to move
the Eva forward, Vash walking next to him as the Angel rumbled to life
once again and slogged its way towards the shore. "Let's get to work."
Both machines hesitated for a moment as the Angel stared at them, then
rushed forward at the same moment, letting the Angel watch them come.
The beast's arms shot out at both of them, and Neil let his machine
skid to a halt as Vash continued forward, one claw catching on the
upper right arm of EVA-03 while the arm aimed at Neil snapped against
thin air. Seemingly frustrated, the Angel took a step forward with one
foot, attempting to snatch at EVA-01 with its free arm, and Vash
switched the prog knife to his left hand, then let the blade slice
through the Angel's core as it went off-balance. "It's going to
split!" he shouted, breaking free of its grip and stepping back to
where Neil was standing, the pain in his upper arm severe but managable.
Certainly enough, the black beast split back into its two smaller
forms, the gold one taking lumbering steps towards Neil and the silver
one heading straight towards Vash. "Distract them, then force them
back together," Neil said firmly, sidestepping a blow from the golden
Angel half and chopping into the thing's shoulder with his knife. Vash
gave a quick nod with his unit, then jumped backwards as the silverish
Angel lunged forwards, letting the beast overextend its reach before he
slammed the prog knife down into the back of its head. Both halves
recovered within instants, only for the two Evas to hit them again,
driving them apart with surprising synchronicity.
As the two Evangelions worked together, driving the Angels in a loop,
first away from one another and then back towards their starting point,
Maya heard a beeping noise from the console over the still-playing
aggressive guitar music, and she stared at it with surprise, watching
the synch graph. "Both pilots have achieved a synchronization of 60%!"
she shouted, amazed. "The rate seems to be leveling off, but they're
doing amazing!"
Neither Vash nor Neil heard Maya's statement, and even if they had it
would have probably had no effect upon them as they continued to drive
the Angel's halves back with remarkable efficiency, now keeping them
unaware of the other's position while forcing them back towards the
center. Both pilots drove their target towards a single center point
until the halves were within a few meters of one another, then both
Evas flashed one another a thumb's-up sign, and clenching their free
hands into fists they slammed hard into the Angel's face, sending it
staggering backwards into itself. The parts seemed disoriented for a
moment, then merged back into the original Angel once again, apparently
willing to recombine.
There was a momentary pause as the two Evas waited for the Angel to
recombine, then both pilots rushed at the thing, prog knives at the
ready as it staggered slightly. Neil's Eva reached the beast first,
and slipping around a half-hearted claw swipe he drove his knife into
the thing's core just as the music reached a climax. Seconds later,
Vash followed suit, driving his own progressive knife into the core as
well, and the red orb suddenly splintered and cracked for a moment.
Seconds later, the entire Angel exploded, and the main screen of the
command center was filled with the red haze of the explosion as the
music finally ended.
"EVA-01 reporting," announced Neil, his body feeling slightly achy from
the impact of the Angel's explosion and the LCL tasting distinctly
bloodllike but otherwise fine. "Looks like we destroyed it."
Misato confirmed Neil's statement as the explosion began to fade from
sight, but Neil had other things on his mind as he shoved the prog
knife back into the shoulder flange, stepping over and extending his
Eva's hand to Vash. Vash paused, then handed the prog knife off to his
other hand and shook it, a rather corny display in the Evas but still
somewhat gratifying. "You did well," noted Neil, smirking.
"So did you," replied Vash, releasing his Eva's hand and pausing for a
moment. Then his picture appeared on Neil's display, and Neil was
surprised for a moment before he realized that the other pilot had
opened a private communications line with him. "Listen, Neil..." Vash
seemed oddly hesitant, looking away from the other boy's face. "I
really appreciate what you did today, but I need to tell you
something." He paused briefly. "Eiko makes a better friend than a
lover. You should remember that."
Almost involuntarily, Neil felt his grip tighten around the handles of
the cockpit, the scent of blood suddenly increasing within the LCL. He
knew, consciously, that he wasn't alone anyways, that Nieve and he
seemed to be taking the first few tenative steps into a relationship,
but Vash's thinly-veiled warning somehow still managed to sting just
beneath the skin. "Yeah," replied Neil, sounding oddly distanced even
to himself. "I'll remember what you've said, Vash."
]++[
Outro: Neon Epoch Evangelion is based off of -Shin Seiki Evangelion- by
GAINAX and company. It is not intended to be a straightforward fanfic,
but it is building off the work of others, and as such it is done with
the utmost respect for the original works and their authors.
Basically, even though this is an original work, it's based off the
work of others, and if you read this, you should go to see the original.
Special thanks to all of the real Children - you know who you are.
Extra special thanks to Joe Augulis for his consultation on the
Japanese portions of the story. He might not know much Japanese, but
that's more than I know.
Copyright 2002 Eliot Lefebvre.
NEXT EPISODE:
As one, they are gifted.
As one, they are resolute.
As one, they can be betrayed.
NEON EPOCH EVANGELION 9: WITH ONE VOICE
"It's important that the Children remain aware of their place."
]++[
We only have a little time in our lives to waste. Make the most of it.
Electronic Transcendence Productions:
Producer of, um, stuff for an unspecified time-period.
Rants:
presents
]+ NEON EPOCH +[
]+ E V A N G E L I O N +[
]+ EPISODE 8: PARALLEL SPIRITS +[
By Eliot "Lostfactor" Lefebvre
Based off of "Shin Seiki Evangelion" by GAINAX
]++[
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one
another.
- 1 JOHN 3:11
]++[
Neil's eyes were closed tightly, the warm stickiness in his right hand
glaring in his mind as he flopped back down on the bed, breathing more
heavily and hoping that Nieve hadn't heard anything. He tended to
doubt it, but the mere thought of her knowing what was going on only
increased his revulsion with himself as he clenched his hand into a
fist, feeling the fluid flow from between his fingers. "I'm
disgusting," he muttered, waiting for a moment before pulling his pants
back up to his waist, hating himself for failing at long last when he'd
been doing so well before. "Other people can control themselves when
they feel this way. It's like I'm some kind of animal."
He'd done his best to control the reflex, but Nieve had been shooting
him somewhat odd looks all evening, and the fact that Misato had been
unusually quiet had only made things worse. Slightly to his credit,
he'd managed to restrain himself until ten, when he finally turned in,
insisting to himself that he wouldn't give himself anything for only
moments before the thought of Nieve lying on top of him grew too
great. It wasn't as though he felt any better afterwards, with all the
guilt bubbling through him, but at least it was guilt instead of lust,
something he was used to dealing with.
"I'm sorry, Nieve," he muttered, wiping his hand off on the mattress,
already wishing that he could take everything back, that he'd never
discovered it was possible to relieve his tension in such a way. He
might not have been able to control himself much longer anyways, and he
knew that, but on another level he also felt terrible about ruining a
wonderful evening by succumbing to the urge. He had enjoyed kissing
Nieve more than he could express, enjoyed the taste of her lips, the
feel of her tongue. "But I'm not a good person," he muttered. "Not
when it comes down to it. Good people don't fantasize about a girl in
the room next to them."
Then his thoughts drifted to Eiko, and he found himself feeling even
more guilty as the momentary physical pleasure drifted away, tilting
his head towards the pencil sketch that he'd placed up on his wall.
She hadn't dated it, and what he'd initially thought was English on the
back was a meticulous Japanese script. It looked somewhat different
than Eiko's handwriting on the front, but he couldn't be sure, and it
ultimately didn't matter. The simple fact that she'd given him the
sketch meant something, but without knowing when she'd given it to Ryo
he couldn't figure out quite what. If it had been before the Fifth
Angel, it could have just been a peace offering. If it came later, it
could have been an expression of gratitude. Or at either time, it
could have meant something more, something he didn't even want to
contemplate for fear of being disappointed.
"Eiko and Nieve... they deserve better than me," Neil muttered, the
warmth of his fluids still tangible on his hand, the guilt still just
as fresh. "They're good people. They deserve someone who doesn't lay
in bed at night and dream that they're whores." The whispered
statement was harshly directed inward despite its volume, and Neil
winced slightly at the thought, suddenly feeling even worse about
himself. Bad enough that he was unable to control himself, but to
think that he was dragging the girls down to his level felt even worse.
Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of his door opening, and he jerked up
in his bed, terror and excitement rushing through him at the same
instant, both emotions springing from the thought that it would be
Nieve at the door. He paused for a moment before he realized that it
was Misato standing there, the light from the kitchen silhouetting her
against the darkness of the room, her body leaning at an odd angle in
the doorframe. "Misato," he breathed, not sure whether Misato knowing
about how perverted he truly was would be better or worse. "Is
something wrong?"
"Pretty much everything," muttered Misato, stepping into the room and
shutting the door behind her, pausing for a moment as her eyes adjusted
to the darkness of the room and she became visible in the twighlight of
the stars from Neil's window. Neil touched the wet spots still damp
upon his bed and tried to fold the blanket over them as Misato stared
out the window, apparently unconcerned. "Hey, Neil, you want to know
something?"
Misato turned towards Neil, and in an instant Neil recognized her
expression, feeling a sudden rush of heat flow through his body, though
he couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion behind it. "Um... sure," he
replied, sitting up straight in his bed, another old guilt drifting
back into his mind.
"I was in Antarctica during the Second Impact," the woman replied,
flopping down at the foot of Neil's bed, the strap of her tank top
falling slightly from her shoulder. "I was visiting my father down
there, maybe the only time I went to see the bastard, and in the early
morning I head him screaming as everything started getting fucked up."
She paused for a moment, her eyes just out of Neil's sight and keeping
him from seeing what she was feeling. "That bastard kept mother and me
out of his life for so long, and then when I finally went to see him,
he..." She trailed off. "I was twelve, then."
"You were there when..." Neil's voice faltered, the thoughts of his
own failure and his concern for Misato suddenly dampened by the
knowledge of who he was talking to. "We learned that there was only
one person at the site of the Second Impact that survived, the child of
one of the researchers. That was you?"
Nodding, Misato pushed herself upwards, sitting up straight although
somewhat wobbly, her expression still not entirely readable but
distinctly sad. "There was a lot of screaming," she muttered,
describing the events with a sort of clinical detachment that was
almost frightening. "People were running all over, panicking... but my
dad wasn't scared at all. Or if he was, he didn't act it. He just
pulled me out of my bed and carried me to the escape capsules, sealed
me in that little metal cylinder and sent me off into the ocean, his
expression just sad, not afraid." She paused for a moment, looking
away from Neil. "He died there. He never even tried to get in a pod,
just stared as the light spread and covered him. I saw."
"That's... amazing," gasped Neil, leaning towards Misato slightly.
"Misato, I had no idea..." His words faltered again, and the shock
slowly began to fade away as he thought about his own father,
contemplated the idea of his father voluntarily sacrificing himself for
his son. It wasn't something that he could wrap his head around.
"Your father must have been an amazing person."
"Fuck him. He was never home, he made my mother cry, and he made me
cry. The only thing he ever did to make up for it was to save my life,
and I think he just did it to feel better about what he did to us."
She sighed heavily, leaning forward and balancing on her knees, head
hanging low. "But that's what everyone does, isn't it? They'll screw
you as long as they like, until they know that they need to make your
last memory of them a good one. And if they come back into your life,
you'll find out that they were lying all the while, won't you?"
Uncomfortable, Neil shrank back slightly from Misato, an awkward
silence spreading between the two for a moment. "I have a scar from
the Impact, you know," she slurred after a moment, turning towards Neil
and suddenly perky once again. "Do you want to see it?" Neil nodded
tenatively, and Misato shrugged, grabbing the bottom of her tank top
and yanking it upwards. Neil felt his heart skip several beats, and it
took him a few moments before he realized that Misato had stopped just
shy of flashing him, the shirt pulled high enough to reveal the curve
of her breasts. "Right there," she muttered, pointing to a cross-
shaped scar to one side of her breast, not particularly large but
distinguishing.
A lump firmly lodged in Neil's throat as his body responded without
thought to Misato's sudden exposure, the scar below her breast the last
thing on his mind. On the one hand, the fact that she had obviously
had several beers before entering his room was somewhat disturbing, but
on the other hand she was an extremely attractive woman undressing in
front of him, and Neil couldn't help the fact that he noticed that. "I
see," he managed after a moment, the words coming out as more of a
croak than a statement.
Misato paused, then noticed the young boy's discomfort, and she glanced
down at the blanket, a sick sort of smile crossing her face. "You're
not even looking at the scar. You're looking at -me-." Neil's eyes
went wide, and he glanced down at the blanket, simultaneously feeling
angry with it for betraying him and angry with himself for still being
unable to control himself. Misato didn't seem to care, shoving herself
towards the boy, legs still dangling off the bed as she leaned towards
him. "Are you a virgin, Neil? Have you ever wondered what a woman
feels like?"
Neil swallowed hard, the close presence of Misato intoxicatingly
difficult to resist. He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself
to forget the extremely attractive woman next to him and focusing
instead on the distinct scent of alcohol on her breath, knowing that it
would drive out any other feelings he had on the matter. "Misato,
you're drunk," he said firmly, his breathing coming harder
unintentionally.
"Yep," replied Misato, grinning widely for a moment before falling
backwards away from Neil, her head nearly hitting the footboard of the
bed as she started laughing. There was an odd bitterness to her laugh,
as she clutched at her chest, shaking slightly with each heave of her
chest. After another moment or two, she pushed herself back to her
feet and stood unsteadily, waving back and forth slightly. "Yep, I'm
sure drunk, all right. Know what? It's easier that way." She was
still laughing as she staggered into the door, hitting the wood for a
moment before actually putting her hand on the knob.
"Hey, Neil, can I tell you something else?" she asked as she turned the
knob slowly, leaning against the door. Neil paused, then nodded, guilt
and arousal causing an unsteady mix within his internal chemistry.
"Most guys would have just told me to lay down and put out. And if
you'd told me to, I would have." She paused for a moment, then laughed
again, opening the door with an unsteady sort of force. "Your loss, I
suppose. I wouldn't have even felt bad about it afterwards."
With that, Neil's door finally shut, Misato's heavy footfalls stil
vaguely audible as she staggered down the hall. The boy remained
sitting stark upright for a moment or two before collapsing back down
upon his bed, his mind fighting a battle with his body's renewed desire
for gratification. He had wanted Misato, but even as he'd felt
disgusted at himself for that he'd felt something burning inside of
him, an urge to blame her for his failing of control, to hurt her for
lapsing in her judgement. Sighing heavily, Neil lay down and closed
his eyes, the familiar image of EVA-01's green eye drifting across his
vision as he began to drift into sleep.
]++[
Vash did not want to deal with Kensuke. He didn't want to deal with
Hikari. He didn't want to deal with most of the class, and he
certainly didn't want to sit through an entire day of school. What he
wanted to do was figure out what in the world had gone wrong the night
before, what had made Eiko suddenly decide that she didn't want to make
love to him that night, why everything had suddenly gone wrong when it
seemed to be going perfectly. Unfortunately for him, he also knew that
Kensuke wasn't stupid enough not to figure out what was going on, that
Hikari would be told sooner or later, and that when two class members
found out about something like that it wasn't long before the entire
class knew about it, even if one of those people was Hikari. So while
he was disappointed when he entered the classroom to see the students
of his class gathered around his desk, he wasn't particularly surprised.
Kensuke was the first to step forward from the crowd around Vash's
desk, eyes wide beneath his thick glasses, his curiosity almost
uncontainable as Vash walked towards the back of the room, distantly
noting the fact that Ayanami was the only member of the class not
crowded around his desk. "What was it like?" Kensuke breathed as Vash
elbowed his way to his desk, slinging his schoolbag to the ground.
"Did you like it? Did she like it?" He paused for a second, then
leaned closer to Vash, smirking. "Does she look as good under those
clothes as she does with them on?"
"That's my girlfriend you're talking about, you pervert," snapped Vash,
smacking Kensuke in the side of the head lightly, not truly angry with
his friend so much as he was irritated with the entire situation.
"It's none of your business." He paused for a second, glancing around
to the other students in the vain hope that they'd get the message.
"Come on, guys, what's going on."
Nobody spoke for a moment, then Hikari stepped forward, her ponytails
bobbing slightly as she moved. "Nekasa, while I can't endorse what's
going on, I'm afraid that you're obligated to tell us what happened
between you and Suzuhara last night." She paused, and Vash couldn't
help but sighing, knowing that Hikari was just as interested as the
rest of the class. "Please?"
"Oh, for God's sake," he muttered, shaking his head as he clutched at
his forehead, feeling even worse about the situation. He was entirely
at a loss to explain how he'd managed to strike out to himself, much
less to the entire classroom, and with Hikari behind them there was
little he could do to drive everyone off. "Nothing happened, all
right? Absolutely nothing."
A pause settled in the air for a moment, then everyone seemed to start
talking at once, and Vash slumped down into his chair, feeling
humiliated once again. He remembered the day after the Fifth Angel
attacked, recalling how he'd been chewed apart by the class for
bragging, and he knew subconsciously that the entire class was laughing
at him on some level, something that he entirely didn't need. "You
didn't even get a kiss?" asked Kensuke, closest to Vash as he sat in
his chair, his expression disapproving. "Man, you really screwed
something up."
"It wasn't -that- little!" snapped Vash, hearing everyone suddenly fall
silent once again as he leaned forward on the small wooden desk, the
classmates all staring intently with the obvious expectation that he'd
begin to finally tell them what they wanted to hear. Vash shook his
head, then leaned back again, tilting his head just enough to focus on
the manilla ceiling instead of his fellow students. "I just didn't get
as far as I'd expected, all right? Something came up."
Hikari made a small coughing noise, but it was lost in the din of the
classmates almost assaulting Vash with questions, still finding the
subject fascinating. One boy asked him if he'd gotten to see her
boobs, another shouted about how far he'd expected to get, and a third
asked if he'd made her angry and not want to do it. Vash slumped in
his chair, plugging his ears as the questions came and his embarassment
increased, ignoring the small grunts from Hikari's direction.
The questions continued to come, and at length Vash pulled his hands
out of his ears, slamming them down on his desk and silencing everyone
other than Hikari. "We didn't have sex, all right?" he announced at
length, figuring that directness was the only thing that would satisfy
his classmates. "We got close, but for some reason Eiko wanted us to
stop. Are you all satisfied now?" Hikari glanced towards the front of
the classroom for an instant, then tugged roughly on Vash's shirt, only
increasing his already-present irritation further. "What -is- it,
Hikari?"
"Eiko..." The single trailing name was enough for Vash to know
instantly what was going on, and he glanced with terror towards the
back of the group of students. Sure enough, Eiko was plowing her way
towards her boyfriend, her school uniform getting slightly dissheveled
as she forced her way though the crowd. "Eiko's coming over here,"
Hikari stated at length with a note of belated satisfaction, stepping
back slightly from Vash.
Vash felt his heart skip a quick beat as Eiko shoved the last staring
member of the crowd out of the way, then glared down at him, obviously
having heard more than enough. There was a brief pause, then the
entire class suddenly dispersed from around Vash's seat, all returning
to their own chairs as Kensuke turned around and leaned forward. "He's
going to get killed," he muttered dejectedly to himself, leaning his
chin down atop his folded arms. "Too bad. I was going to show off my
new video game."
For a split second, Vash felt the intense desire to reach over and hit
Kensuke firmly, but he was cut short as Eiko fixed him in place with
her glare. Sighing heavily, he stared up at her, trying his best to
look innocent and wondering in the back of his mind why these things
always seemed to happen to him. "You told the entire class," she
breathed at length, obviously angry. "You went and told everyone
exactly what was going on between us."
"-No-," replied Vash, shaking his head enthusiastically and getting the
distinct impression that this was the sort of thing that could end his
relationship permanently. The thought unearthed a mild twinge of anger
with him at the sudden turn of events, the fact that she'd been willing
to give herself to him a day earlier and now was furious with him. "I
just told Kensuke. He must have spread the word." He paused for a
moment, then leaned forward and tapped his friend on the back,
eliciting a bored sort of stare from the other boy. "Come on, man.
Help me out here."
"Sorry, Vash, you've dug your own grave this time," muttered Kensuke,
turning back away from the blonde boy sitting behind him. "I'm not
getting involved in a domestic disturbance."
Gritting his teeth, Vash began to reach towards the other boy, then was
stopped once again by the harsh stare of his girlfriend. "You know
what?" she asked, shaking her head and crossing her arms across her
chest. "I'm not mad about that. I was -proud- of what we've got. I'd
be happy if everyone knew what was going on between us. What bugs me
is the way that you're talking about it."
His confusion compounding, Vash pushed his chair back and stood,
rubbing the back of his head, noticing as he looked around that every
class member had their gazes half-turned towards the arguing couple, as
though they simply couldn't get enough of them. It was precisely the
time that he didn't want to be dealing with the attention of everyone
around him, and some part of him wasn't surprised that his desires on
the subject mattered little. "Exactly why would that be?" he asked
Eiko at length, wishing that he could rewind the morning and take back
his words.
"Like..." She paused, then hurled her arms down angrily to her sides,
fists clenched and voice rising in both pitch and volume. "Like you
didn't care about the fact that it was -me-! You're talking about last
night as if you just wanted to get something to sleep with!" She
paused, then lowered her gaze slightly, gripping her right shoulder
with her left hand uncomfortably. "Is that the truth? Did you just
want to have sex?"
"You're not being fair, Eiko," Vash snapped, feeling even more exposed
than he had before. "I love you. You -know- that. I was there with
you because I wanted to be with you. But it's not like I wasn't
looking forward to having sex, too." Eiko's eyes suddenly snapped up
towards Vash, angry once again, but by that point Vash was struggling
to save face in any way possible, and a solution sprang to his mind
almost unbidden. "Believe me, I'd have no problem finding a girl that
actually -wanted- to sleep with me instead of one who pulled out at the
last possible -"
"Jerk," snapped Eiko quietly, letting her right hand freely slam across
Vash's cheek, the unmistakable popping noise of the slap filling the
otherwise silent room and drawing a few students to stop pretending
that they weren't watching. Vash let his head recoil from the impact
for a moment, then turned towards Eiko slowly, seeing something between
anger and sadness welling up in her eyes. He opened his mouth to
speak, but Eiko simply turned away and stormed over to her seat,
sitting down forcefully.
Vash stared after her for a moment, then flopped limply to his desk,
knowing that he'd said the first thing that popped into his mouth and
screwed everything up again. It wasn't the first time that he and Eiko
had fought over something, but it was the first time he could remember
her slapping him in something other than a joke, and he knew that meant
something important. "You really did screw up back there, Mr. Humanoid
Typhoon," noted Kensuke, tilting his head back slightly towards Vash.
"Shut up, Kensuke," growled Vash, crossing his arms across his chest
and feeling intensely bitter. He was certain that the whole thing was
tied back to Neil somehow, knowing that most of the things wrong with
his relationship has started right about the time that Neil had
arrived. The simple fact that he knew he'd have to work with the boy
was bad enough, but Neil ruining his relationship seemed even worse,
especially in light of what Neil had done to Toji. "Eiko should be
even angrier than I am," he muttered, unsure of the exact connection to
Neil but willing to bet that it was there anyways.
The entire class remained silent after the small drama had played
itself out between Eiko and Vash, nobody daring to speak a word as the
professor stepped in, the class standing and bowing appropriately with
as little noise as possible. Vash, not particularly interested in
class anyways, only distantly heard the noise of the professor
preparing his lecture, beginning to outline his discussion topics. He
wished that somebody would say something to make him feel better, that
one of his friends wasn't simply observing him and waiting for him to
fail, but nobody spoke as the professor launched into the beginning of
his lecture, as usual centering around the Second Impact.
It was almost an afterthought at first when the loud siren tore through
the air that signaled Tokyo-3 was under attack, and while the rest of
the class jumped to its feet it wasn't until a moment or two later that
Vash realized it was the Angel alert. "Everyone, line up for
evacuation!" shouted Hikari, immediately springing into her role as
class representative, getting the rest of the students into line. Vash
finally rose to his feet, feeling horribly disoriented as he stepped
towards the back of the line, more going through the motions than
anything else.
"You don't go into a shelter," said Ryo's quiet voice, somehow managing
to cut through Hikari's shouting despite the obvious discrepancy of
volume. Vash simply stared at the other boy for a moment, then smacked
himself on the forehead and stepped out of line, heading towards the
door as he remembered his role. Hikari didn't even seem to notice as
he elbowed past her and ran for the stairs, Ryo close behind, and
somehow her ignorance didn't particularly surprise him.
]++[
Misato's head was still doing somersaults as she stared at the central
screen, watching the black vaguely humanoid thing fly towards the city
at an amazing clip. The UN aerodrones were engaging it with their
typical effectiveness, the beast alternately ignoring them entirely and
simply plowing through them. From the blurry camera shots that they
were getting, it looked much like the Third Angel, albeit with more
curves and a slightly different face that looked suspiciously like a
Chinese yin-yang. "This is the worst possible time," muttered the
woman, balancing still somewhat unsteadily on her high heels, one arm
across her chest and the other raised so that she could rub her
forehead. "At least all six Children are finally here."
Ritsuko stared at Misato disapprovingly for a moment, overtly enough
for the woman to notice and glare back. "You're hung over," noted
Ritsuko calmly and harshly, her gaze focused back on the display of
Maya's screen. "You really ought to be acting a little more
professional, especially in these circumstances." She glanced back at
Misato, and Misato snorted disapprovingly while Ritsuko turned her gaze
towards the display of the Angel. "What's the current status of the
Eva units?"
"All of the pilots are awaiting synchronization," replied Maya, fingers
dancing across the keyboard and bringing up small portraits of the
pilots sitting inside their cockpits. "We've detected no connection
abnormalities. Everything is at peak functionality." She smiled, then
turned towards Ritsuko, swiveling her chair around just enough to face
the other woman. "We've been working overtime to make sure that we
were ready for the next Angel attack at full strength, and it's paid
off."
"Shigeru, open a communications channel to all of the units," Misato
shouted as best she could, still rubbing her forehead and hearing the
communications officer's reply as if through a thick blanket. She
didn't remember exactly what had happened the prior night, lost in a
haze of alcohol and bitterness towards Kaji - who, she noted, hadn't
shown up for work, or at least had managed to avoid her thus far - but
she'd seen an odd expression on Neil's face when he'd come out to
breakfast, enough to make her wonder exactly how poor her judgement had
been. It wasn't as though she'd intended to drink until she passed
out, just that she'd needed to bleed away the memories that had filled
her head, and there wasn't any other way available to her.
Noticing the quick hand gesture from the younger man that indicated the
communications were open, Misato stepped towards the main microphone,
leaning towards it and nearly hitting it with her mouth. "Eiko, Ryo,
you'll be sortied first. We'll launch you near the outskirts of the
city, where you'll be able to obtain long-range weaponry from within
the nearby weapons depots. Your mission is to destroy the Angel before
it clears the ruins of old Tokyo. Nieve, Niobe, I want you ready to be
launched as backup as necessary." She paused for a moment, feeling
another railroad spike of pain driving itself between her eyes. "Is
everyone clear on the plan."
Leaning back in the cockpit of his machine, Neil heard the choir of
affirmitive responses from the other Children as he focused on the
sense of the LCL around him, the noxious scent becoming no more
familiar as time went by. "So even though you aren't planning on
involving me in the mission, I still have to breathe this into my
lungs," he muttered under his breath, low enough to keep the command
center from hearing. "All right, Misato. I'm ready if you need me."
Vash scoffed at Neil's statement even as he distantly heard the noise
of EVA-04 and EVA-00 moving towards the launch tubes, sitting at the
ready inside his own cockpit. "Nobody will need you, Neil," he
snapped, wishing that he'd remembered how to open a private channel
between the two machines but not particularly caring. "They barely
need Ayanami, for that matter. I'm sure that Eiko will be more than
capable of handling the Angel by herself."
A surge of jealousy pulsed shallowly through Neil, and he leaned
forward himsely, resting his hands lightly on the grips of the cockpit,
the smooth silverish metal offset by the orange color of the blood-
scented liquid in the chamber. "You're not worried about her at all?"
he snapped, sounding slightly more protective than he'd meant to. "If
I were you, I'd be begging to be sent up there, to make sure that she
was all right."
"I'm sure you'd be able to save her if she was, too," replied Vash, the
cynicisim dripping from his voice as small bubbles of air formed in the
LCL from his speaking. He'd meant to sound like the reasonable half of
the argument, but he was distantly aware of the fact that he had failed
miserably. "Because, after all, everyone loves having you around.
Never mind that -"
"Children," snapped Misato, distantly wondering what the cause behind
the argument was but deciding that she didn't really want to find out.
Glancing over towards Maya's console, she saw that both of the
operating units had reached the dock, and she stepped away from the
microphone slightly. "All right. Orient 04 to Port 17, 00 to Port 3,
and unfold both weapon depots." She paused for a moment, letting Maya
key in the commands. "Launch!"
Eiko had never experienced the harsh acceleration of the Eva launch
tubes before, and as she felt the LCL push down against her harshly she
couldn't say that she would look forward to using them again in the
near future if she could avoid it. Closing her eyes, she waited until
she felt the machine lurch to a stop as she'd been taught, hearing the
loud clanging noise that she'd been told to expect as the Eva was
brought forcibly to a stop. Opening her eyes slowly, she could see the
taller buildings of old Tokyo still poking out from beneath the waves,
empty and damaged, many lying at odd angles. She glanced behind her
quickly, looking at the white buildings of Tokyo-3 almost as
reassurance, noticing Ryo's blue machine several meters away. "This is
Unit 04," she announced, glancing around for a moment before seeing the
white building with the red NERV logo on one side that she knew
designated a weapons depot. "I'm obtaining a weapon now."
"Good. Your Eva's targeting system is designed for encounters like
this, so it should work well. Take the rocket launcher on the far
right, then point it out towards Tokyo Bay. Your target should appear
within a few moments." Eiko silently absorbed Misato's commands,
removing the large tubular weapon from the storage facility and letting
her machine's hand slip around the handle, her finger resting loosely
on the trigger as she looked out across the blue waters of the bay.
She heard the noise of Ryo's Eva coming up behind her, another rocket
launcher in his hands, cradled with the grace of a professional. "As
soon as the Seventh Angel appears within range and you lock on, begin
firing. If at all possible, destroy it before it gets into Tokyo-3."
"Just like a video game, huh?" asked Eiko, smirking despite herself as
she watched the targeting cursors dance across her display, the green
hills rising around Tokyo Bay visible at the edges of her sight, the
blue water and clear sky almost seeming to meet as one at the horizon.
The thought that all she had to do was act as though she was playing a
game made her feel slightly better, and she simply focused on the twin
targeting cursors, waiting for some sign of the Angel's form in the
distance, watching patiently. "I won't be afraid," she muttered,
gripping the handle tightly. "I won't be afriad."
Then a black speck appeared on the horizon, and Eiko gritted her teeth
as the green cursors lined up on her display, the beep even sounding
like confirmation from a video game as the cursors flashed red. "Back
me up, Ryo!" she shouted, pulling down on the trigger and watching a
rocket streak forth from the launcher, a plume of smoke bursting out as
it cruised towards the target. Doubting that a single shot would be
enough, she released the trigger and pulled again even as she watched a
glinting streak of flame fire from Ryo's position, confirmation that
he'd gotten a target lock as well. Both launchers sent blast after
blast towards the target, the coast of Tokyo-3 filling gradually with
the smoke of launched rockets. "Misato, we must be hurting it!"
Inside the command center, the central screen had switched over to the
display from one of the cameras on the hills encompassing Tokyo Bay,
providing a clear shot of the Angel as it flew along the surface of the
water, rocket after rocket exploding with the octagonal ripple of the
AT Field. "Negative, Eiko," snapped Misato, still feeling oddly
distanced from the situation, due in no small part to the effects of
her hangover. "Its AT Field is too powerful. Our weaponry can't
penetrate it." Inwardly, she was sighing - even though the Eva
weaponry was designed to puncture AT Fields, it was well-known that the
ordnance could only break through a field of minimal strength, which
made advance interception even more difficult and the Evas even more
dangerous. "We'll have to try a different tactic. Ryo, your machine
should be able to generate a more powerful AT Field - spread it out to
the maximum distance and full power. Eiko, retrieve a standard rifle
and start shooting as soon as you receive notification from the command
center that it's within range."
Nodding, Eiko dropped the rocket launcher, a growing fear mounting
inside her gut. She knew that the Eva was designed to protect her, but
the Angel was getting decisively closer, and even as she shouldered the
black weapon and turned back towards the approaching beast she wondered
if she'd be able to cut it down fast enough to stop it. "I'm ready,"
she said, trying to force herself to be brave, finger twitching
slightly against the trigger.
"EVA-00 has spread its AT field to the maximum possible radius," noted
Makoto, fingers dancing across the keyboard and displaying a quick
green wireframe of the domed field expanding to encompass both of the
units. "Still, it's not much. Eiko is only going to have a window of
thirty seconds before the Angel reaches her, and I'd hate to think
what'll happen if she doesnt make it."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," replied Misato, leaning
towards the microphone as she watched the Angel grow closer and
closer. "All right, Eiko, the Angel should be vulnerable within twenty
seconds. Be ready to fire on my signal."
Sitting in her Evangelion and slowly counting the seconds as they
ticked by, Nieve found herself unbelievably bored despite the tension
of the situation, and she leaned back in the dampened nylon of the
chair, tilting her neck back and staring at the darkened ceiling of the
entry plug. "You should have sent Neil up there," she said, sounding
disinterested with the entire process. "After all, he's got a record
with shooting these things down. Isn't that right, honey?"
Hearing Nieve's last words, Eiko suddenly froze, the implications
obvious to her instantly. She flashed back to the prior day, when Ryo
had asked her about what Neil had meant to her, how he'd asked if it
was anything like a relationship, and for reasons she couldn't entirely
explain a wave of terror shot through her body. "I'm unprotected," she
whispered as Misato shouted something through the comm line, her eyes
drawn away from the bay and sinking towards the ground. "I don't have
anyone to -"
"EIKO, SHOOT!" screamed Misato, and the girl's attention was suddenly
brought up to the black humanoid form streaking towards her. The fear
from before suddenly found itself redoubled, and her hands nervously
jerked the rifle around towards the Angel, her finger closing down upon
the trigger suddenly, and the weapon jerked out of control, rounds
biting into the ground and the air before she brought it finally down
towards the Angel's location. Unfortunately, by the time that she was
actually aiming at her target the Angel was only a few feet away from
her, and she froze from panic, hands suddenly going slack and dropping
the rifle as the beast's clawed hands sank into her chest.
The sensation of being cut with burning knives from her battle with the
Fifth Angel suddenly tore into her chest, and she tasted the harsh salt
of the LCL as her mouth jerked open in a scream, terror gripping her
even more firmly as her Eva's limbs flailed wildly. "Somebody, help
me!" she screamed, the Angel crouching atop of her and driving its
claws into the machine's silvery chest, the armor not thick enough to
effectively deflect close combat attacks. "Help me! HELP ME!"
"04's synch ratio down to 35% and dropping!" shouted Maya, turning
immediately back to her screen and widening her eyes in shock.
"Pilot's heart rate is critically low! She's approaching a cardiac
arrest!"
"Ryo, move to defend her!" shouted Misato, her head already aching
without the added impetus of Eiko's screams. As she turned her gaze
back towards the main display, she found herself thinking that the girl
turned into a wreck without someone else she seemed to rely on nearby,
and she instantly felt bad about trivializing the pain that she had to
be feeling as the Angel tried to force its hands past the chest armor
of her machine.
"Understood," said Ryo curtly, pausing only momentarily at the nearby
weapons depot to grab the first weapon that he could find and rush at
the Angel, slamming his shoulder into the beast and sending it rolling
off EVA-04 as the other machine twitched on the ground. Ryo's brain
only registered the weapon in his hand after he had sent the Angel
tumbling away, and he realized that he'd gripped one of the axes, a
weapon that NERV had only produced in limited numbers. Ignoring the
thought, he forced his machine forward, swinging the axe in a practiced
routine motion, using it to deflect a slash from the Angel, then
letting it bite shallowly into the Angel's side and cause the beast to
stumble backwards slightly. For a split second, he contemplated the
fact that Eiko hadn't defended him so much as panicked, then he twirled
the axe in his hands and brought it down from above the Angel.
Everyone in the control center watched with reassurance as the blue
golem brought its axe down through the black skin of the Angel, tearing
it nearly in half vertically and tearing the core in half. Misato
sighed with relief, certain that the beast couldn't have survived the
attack. "The Seventh Angel is down for the count," she breathed, her
headache slowly fading to a painful but regular pulse. "We'll need to
recover Eiko and her -"
"Negative on the target's status!" shouted Makoto, screen flashing
warnings as his fingers moved across the keyboard smoothly, flipping
swiftly between multiple displays of the Angel's condition. "The Angel
is still active!" He paused, then gaped, thin-rimmed glasses jostling
on his nose slightly as he jerked away from the console in surprise.
"I'm detecting -two- AT fields activating, both with a blue pattern!
The Angel has split itself!"
Misato turned her gaze back towards the main screen and watched in
horror as the two halves of the Angel seemed to liquify and reform,
each half into a smaller mirror of the prior Angel, one with a silver
cast and the other with a gold shade. On the surface, Ryo felt
nothing, simply accepted the requisite change in routine and began
moving once again, lashing out with the axe towards the nearer of the
two Angel clones and letting it bite shallowly into the arm of the
beast. Half a second later he felt the claws of the other beast rip
into his back, and he lashed out in a circular arc, missing the Angel
entirely and instead simply sending it jumping backwards. "I require
assistance," he noted calmly, backing away from the dual Angels for a
moment, waiting to hear confirmation or denial from Central Dogma.
"The Angel seems capable of further division," announced Makoto,
drawing up a quick display on his screen as the blue Evangelion slashed
desperately against its twin oppressors. "The core structure is
organic to an extent, as though it's actually designed to take these
divisions in stride. Ryo isn't going to be able to beat that thing,
and throwing the rest of the Evas in isn't going to help at all."
"Hold on, Ryo," Misato announced into the microphone, feeling as though
she'd signed both his and Eiko's death warrants as she turned away from
the main screen, trying to think through the haze of her hangover.
Commander Ikari was still away in a conference, and that meant that she
was the ultimate authority in the situation. Biting her lip, she sank
her head slightly, then turned towards Ritsuko and Maya, both of whom
were watching casually. "We'll draw the two Angels out into Tokyo Bay,
then deploy EVA-05 with an N2 canister. Once it detonates, Niobe will
retrieve both machines and bring them back inside."
Ritsuko simply stared at Misato as she explained her plan, the same
disapproving glare on her face that she usually wore. "You're not
authorized to utilize N2 devices," the woman noted coldly, glancing
towards the main screen. "The commander won't be happy if you activate
one."
"Do we really have any choice in the matter?" snapped Misato, trying
not to show that she was losing her own confidence in her ability. She
knew that the N2 weapon wouldn't destroy the Angel, but with its AT
field neutralized she hoped that it might at least stun the thing long
enough for another plan to coalesce. Ritsuko simply turned away from
Misato towards Maya's display, and Misato took a deep breath as she
stepped back towards the microphone, leaning towards it and wincing as
her headache aggravated itself once again. "Ryo, Niobe is being armed
and prepared for launch. Draw the Angel into Tokyo Bay, as far away as
you can safely get."
"Affirmative," replied the boy, the orders taken without bitterness as
simply another part of a routine. Stepping backwards, Ryo lunged
slightly forward and slashed at the Angels idly, more interested in
making the beasts think that he was attacking them than actually trying
to damage them. The two things paused for a moment as Ryo backed
towards the water, then followed after him, moving with ponderous
efficiency as he slashed idly towards them, just enough to look
threatening. His left foot sank into the waters of Tokyo Bay, and he
hesitated for only an instant as he continued backing up, letting the
water slosh around his Eva as the two beasts advanced.
Inside her cockpit, Niobe gripped the handles of her machine tightly,
gritting her teeth and forcing herself not to feel any hesitation about
the mission as her Eva hurtled towards the surface. She would be
launched some distance away from Ryo and Eiko, far enough so that she
could retrieve the N2 canister from one of the Geofront's surface
elevators and then move in without the Angel being made aware of her
presence. "I'm coming, Ryo," she said firmly, her voice measured as
the Eva slammed to a stop, her head jerking down a little too quickly
and giving her a view of her yellow-brown plugsuit before she corrected
the error and glanced towards the surface elevator, watching as the
canister slowly came into view. "Just hold on a little longer, and
I'll be there. I'll get you out."
Ryo did not respond, instead focusing on drawing the seventh Angel
outwards, noticing that the Angel was intentionally trying to spread
around him, pin him between its two halves and tear him apart. As the
water of the bay splashed about his waist, he felt the power cord begin
to pull slightly taught, and he realized that he couldn't draw the
beast out any further, that it would have to be far enough. "I am
engaging the Angel until Niobe arrives," he announced, slashing the axe
towards the golden half's bone-white face, letting the vibrating edge
crash into the structure with a satisfying crunch. A second later he
saw the silvery claws of the other half close firmly around his
forearm, and he winced as the Angel tightened its grip casually,
tearing into the armor and crushing the bone. Nothing daunted, Ryo
deployed the prog knife from the right shoulder flange, letting the
left hand fly up to grab it before he drove it towards the other half,
forcing the beast to release him and move backwards as the golden half
extracted the axe from its face.
Niobe reached down and grabbed the N2 canister before the elevator had
even quite reached the surface, then sent her machine running down the
streets of the city, dashing between the white buildings towards the
site of the battle, springing over the prone EVA-04 as she ran. Both
Angel halves turned to notice her as she approached, but she did not
falter for a moment, pushing the handles of her cockpit further forward
as she gritted her teeth. "Don't show fear," she hissed, jumping
towards the bay, cradling the N2 canister in her hands as she soared
over the blue water and Ryo began to withdraw his damaged machine. She
waited for a moment longer, then hurled the canister as though it were
a football towards the spot between the two Angels, landing roughly a
few meters away and dipping beneath the water as she landed in a
crouch. Grimacing, she activated her AT Field to full power and pulled
the radius as close as she could, knowing that there was no time for
her to try and avoid the blast.
"Canister detonated," announced Makoto grimly as the main screen showed
the effects, the center of the bay suddenly lighting up in a ball of
flame, water hissing away to steam almost instantly at the site. The
flash was too bright for a moment for any of the NERV staff to see
through it, but a second later it faded away, leaving the Angel still
clearly visible. Everyone held their breath for a moment, but the
Angel remained still as EVA-05 emerged from beneath the water, several
meters away from its initial position, looking rather banged up but
otherwise functional. "Target is still active, but all instruments
indicate that it's regenerating. The Magi computers are still working
on decoding the exact time until it's finished."
"Thank God," muttered Misato to herself as Maya reported all of the
Evas on the surface still functional. "Niobe, retrieve EVA-04 and
place it on the nearest entry port. Ryo, withdraw immediately. We'll
have to go after this one from a different angle." She paused for a
moment, then moved away from the microphone and leaned against the edge
of the operations level, staring down towards the level below and the
three red boxes that she knew housed the Magi computers. She'd
thought, for a moment, that the project would have had its first
casualty because of her poor decisions, and she felt as though only
sheer luck had proven her wrong. Combined with her headache, she
wanted more than anything to simply return home and go back to
drinking, knowing that both the guilt and her headache could be cured
with the one balm.
]++[
Misato stood at the far end of Commander Ikari's office, staring across
the room towards the Commander at his desk and Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki
beside him through the red light of the room, wondering if the
commander had any reason for such a huge office besides sheer
intimidation. The whole thing was easily four times the size of
Misato's office, but as sparse as her office was this one seemed even
emptier, the desk clean and organized from what she could see.
"Captain Katsuragi," announced Ikari at length, his glasses a shining
red under the light. "Explain your actions against the Seventh Angel."
"Yes, sir," replied Misato sharply, restraining the urge to say
something else. "The Seventh Angel, Israfel, was first detected by our
forward radar off Tokyo Bay on a direct course into Tokyo-3. UN
interception forces were launched immediately and had no effect on the
target. All six Children had reported ready for combat by the time the
target was within 30 kilometers of the bay. Reasoning that it was best
to attempt to dispatch the Angel before it came any closer, I deployed
Units 04 and 00, both machines designed for long-range combat. Both
pilots were directed to the surface, obtained weapons as directed, and
proceeded to open fire upon the Angel."
Pausing briefly, Misato tried to gauge whether or not the commander was
reacting favorably for a moment, but even if there was some trace of
emotion on his face she was too far away to see it. "The Angel's AT
Field was too powerful to penetrate from our location, so I ordered Ryo
to spread his field as wide as possible and Eiko to gun down the Angel
as soon as it had come close enough for Ryo to neutralize its field."
She paused once again, unsure of exactly how to phrase Eiko's sudden
panic on the field, still not entirely clear on the causes herself.
"Eiko lost control of herself and was rendered incapable of further
safe operation by the Angel, and Ryo proceeded to split the Angel in
halves. The Angel proved capable of splitting itself into multiple
forms, and I therefore decided that we would need a chance to formulate
a new strategy. Unit 05 was sent to the surface with an N2 canister -"
"I did not authorize the usage of N2 devices," interjected the
commander, moving one hand to push his glasses up on his nose before
folding them together in front of his face once again. "Moreover, I
fail to see what made the deployment of EVA-05 with an N2 canister a
necessary action."
Misato gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to get angry, knowing
that it would only make the situation worse. "To address the first
issue, you were in a conference at the time, and as you were not
available to authorize the device's usage I took full responsibility
for any consequences. As for the deployment, we had one Eva pilot out,
and one that could not handle two Angels at once. Had I simply left
them out there, they both would have died. The Angels needed to be
stunned for a time, and my first priority was to make sure that the
pilots were safe."
Dr. Ikari said nothing for a moment, simply stared at Misato behind the
reflective lenses of his glasses. "Incorrect," he said at length,
startling her slightly. "Your first priority is to destroy the
Angels. The pilots can be replaced. Four fully functional units were
still within the base, and could have been deployed after a new plan
was formulated. You should not have detonated the N2 canister."
Once again, Misato bit her lip, forcing herself not to scream at the
commander for his emotionless expression. She wanted, more than
anything, to storm over to his desk and tear him from his seat, to
shake him back and forth until he finally seemed to understand that the
Children were not objects to be used, but she remained silent, simply
waiting for him to continue. There was a momentary pause, but he did
resume, position unchanging. "Why did the pilot of Unit 04 panic?"
"We haven't determined that yet," replied Misato, trying not to sound
bitter despite herself. Eiko's sudden failure to operate her machine
had been disturbing to say the least, and it looked bad that Misato
didn't have any explanation for her actions. "Our suspicion is that
some kind of neural feedback was coming from her AT field. The Magi
are currently attempting to analyze the situation data."
"Irrelevant. You had a pilot lose control of their machine." The tone
was harsh but still nearly emotionless, and Misato was momentarily
struck by the fact that it sounded almost exactly like she imagined
Ryo's voice would sound if he were capable of displaying harshness.
"The fate of the planet depends upon these children being capable of
keeping themselves under control. As their commander, you are
responsible for making sure that they are an effective combat unit."
"Yes, sir," replied Misato, keeping silent out of knowledge that
speaking would only make things worse. She wanted to defend Eiko, to
say that the girl had good reason for panicking as soon as the Angel
had come within range, but she didn't know why herself, and there was
little that she could offer in way of a defense. Besides, she also
knew that Gendou was right, that she needed to make sure the Children
were capable of fighting the Angels in the first place. "I'll make
sure that they're better prepared for the next sortie."
A brief silence settled over the room, Ikari's eyes feeling as though
they stared right through Misato despite being hidden from her sight.
"Dismissed," he announced at length, his position remaining fixed even
as Misato turned and stepped out of the sliding door, back into the
comfortable by comparison fluorescent lighting of Central Dogma's teal-
gray hallways. She paused for a moment, then leaned against one wall
of the corridor, her headache still splitting her brain in half, the
effort of standing still and not wincing in pain in Gendou's office
having been almost beyond her ability to bear it.
"Keep it together," she muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut
briefly and rubbing her forehead, knowing that the day wasn't over by
any stretch of the imagination. She still had an Angel to deal with on
the surface, and that meant that no matter how much her head was
hurting, she needed to keep herself coherent. Allowing herself one
more moment of rest before she pushed away from the wall, she began to
head towards the command center, hoping that Makoto had come up with
some solid information on the Angel.
]++[
Vash and Neil stared at one another bitterly, their plugsuits still
damp from the LCL and hair still occasionally dripping the red-orange
liquid to the floor of the conference room. It looked for all the
world like a prison movie theater, except for the addition of a podium
at the front and the absence of guards. Only the two boys were sitting
in the room, both trying to measure one another, Vash's bright blue and
Neil's bright green. The fact that Eiko was down in the infirmary was
on both of their minds, even more than the fact that they didn't know
why they'd both been called down to the room instead of the other
pilots.
It was Neil who spoke first, his guilt beginning to slowly overcome his
anger towards Vash. "I should have been protecting her," he muttered
to himself, breaking the gaze with Vash for just a moment before he
turned back towards the other boy. "I should have been making sure
that she was safe."
"You're damn right," replied Vash, his glare deepening. "After what
you did to her brother, you should be laying your life down for Eiko.
But wait... you did that defending the city, didn't you?" He turned
away from Neil, throwing his hands in the air and pretending to be
suddenly repentant. "Well, in that case, obviously, please, don't get
anywhere near Eiko. With protectors like you, the Angels are getting
their jobs done for them."
"Really? You weren't so tough yourself when the Angel blasted you in
the chest, were you?" The accusation was meant to sting, and Neil felt
a small twinge of guilt drowned by his growing anger. He knew that
Vash didn't have the vaguest clue what being inside of EVA-01 was like,
and he hated the implication that he was doing the wrong thing even
though he kept getting in it. "I've screwed up, I'll admit. But you
haven't managed to even get deployed against an Angel -"
"Oh, I'm -sorry-, great and radiant Neil," replied Vash, ears burning
slightly from embarassment at the mention of his lack of proficiency
with EVA-03. "Not all of us can go berserk while we're supposed to be
protecting the city and crush innocent civilians!" He snarled,
clenching one hand into a fist involuntarily. "First Toji, now Eiko.
Who are you going to screw up protecting next? Me? Nieve? The whole
planet?"
Neil's fist clenched involuntarily, and he felt the urge to rush over
and hit Vash hard, to give Vash what he'd been asking for the day
they'd met. The glove of the plugsuit squeezed taught for an instant,
then the door of the conference room opened to reveal Misato, a haggard
expression on her face as she walked to the front of the room from the
door in the back, distracting Neil enough for his anger to fade
slightly and turn his attention towards her podium. Vash continued to
glare at the other boy for a moment longer, then turned his attention
as well. "What's going on?" Vash asked, trying to sound as calm as
possible and look like the better of the two boys.
Misato took a moment, leaning forward on the podium and apparently
trying to compose herself before returning to her full height and
trying not to look exhausted. "I'm in no mood to try and make this
sound better than it is, boys," she said after a moment, perceiving for
a split second what seemed like an affirming glance from Neil. "We've
finished analyzing the Angel, and it's as bad as it looks. The thing
can divide its core, and it looks as though it's designed to do that
instantly if the core sustains lethal damage."
"So it keeps splitting in half," muttered Neil, still trying to cap off
his anger and feeling guilty about the fact that he had failed to
protect Eiko. "Eventually, it's going to get too small to target
effectively if it keeps that up. How are we supposed to defeat
something like that?"
"We've come up with an idea," replied Misato, rubbing her forehead once
again at Neil's question, wishing that she had a better answer than she
did. "The core takes a moment or two to split, just like a dividing
cell. If we deal a fatal blow to the core one moment, then hit the
remaining core before it finishes splitting, that should be enough to
finish the thing off for good." She paused for a second, less out of a
dramatic necessity and more because she needed to allow her aching head
a brief rest. "It's not a certainty, and we'll need to have the blows
be nearly perfectly timed. But it's the best plan that we've been able
to come up with."
"Fair enough," replied Vash, leaning back slightly in his seat and
resenting Neil slightly more. The other boy had managed to make
himself look significantly smarter than Vash, something that was more
than a little annoying in light of recent events. "So why aren't the
other Children in here? Aren't they going to be involved in the
operation?"
The question had been coming since the beginning of the briefing, and
Misato had known that, but it still took an effort not to sigh in
response. She'd heard the boys shouting at one another before she'd
entered, and the argument that was no doubt about to ensue wouldn't be
good for her head. "The primary units for this operation will be EVA-
01 and EVA-03," she announced after a moment, trying her best to filter
out the disgusted noises from both Children. "Both units have stronger
armor than the other Evas, and they're better suited to close combat.
This is going to have to be a close combat operation by nature. You
two will have to work together."
Both Children, unsurprisingly, were shouting at Misato the instant
she'd finished talking, each one screaming about how the other was
unfit to pilot the Eva in the first place, their complaints eerily
similar. Either way, Misato's headache wasn't helped by the shouting,
and after a few moments she slammed her fist down on the podium with
enough force to shut both of the Children up. "This isn't open for
debate! Neil, you're going to work with Vash. Vash, you're going to
work with Neil. The operation won't start for another five hours, so
we're going to send you back to your homes for a time." She paused,
rubbing her temple. "Don't be childish about this, you two. For
everyone's sake."
Misato remained at the front of the room for a moment longer, then
stepped out from behind the podium and headed towards the door,
desperately in need of some beer or some painkillers, preferably the
former. Vash and Neil said nothing, instead choosing simply to stare
at one another, unflinching as Misato stepped out of the room and they
were left alone.
]++[
It was a ten-minute drive from the most accessible car exit from
Central Dogma to Vash's house, plus the ten minutes it took for the
Children to shower and change back into their street clothes for what
little relaxation they could hope for. Misato had hoped, for the sake
of her sanity, that the boys would have shouted themselves out by that
point, but to her amazement their argument hadn't even slowed down
since they had gotten in the car, both trading insults recklessly.
Nieve, either put off by the argument or simply lost in thought, was
being entirely silent in the front seat, staring out her window and
ignoring both of the boys. At the back of her mind, Misato was vaguely
aware that the boys were really repeating the same few things over and
over, Vash saying that Neil should feel guilty for his mistakes, Neil
saying that Vash wasn't even good enough to have the time to screw up.
On a more conscious level, however, she had heard more than enough
shouting as she pulled her car to a stop in front of Vash's house.
"All -right-," she snapped, silencing both boys as she turned back
towards them, her eyes beginning to grow bloodshot from stress and her
headache. She had the urge to shout at them for their immaturity, but
forced herself to remember that she was dealing with teenagers even if
they had adult responsibilities. "Vash, your parents should be back by
now. We're not going to be evacuating the populace again until half an
hour before the operation commences. NERV should contact you before
then."
Vash nodded curtly, glaring at Neil as the other boy glared back. He
wanted very badly to hit Neil, though he couldn't quite decide why,
whether it was because of Neil's injuring of Toji, or the fact that
he'd turned Eiko against him, or the fact that he hadn't protected
Eiko. Distantly, he wondered for a split second why he was so certain
that Eiko's reluctance had been a result of Neil, but he pushed the
thought out of his head as he opened his door and unbuckled his
seatbelt. "See you later, gaijin," he snarled as he stepped out of the
car, slamming the door as he walked towards his house.
Neil watched him leave for a moment, unsure of whether he was angrier
at Vash or himself. "'Gaijin' means something bad, doesn't it?" he
asked after a moment, glancing over towards Misato as she nodded.
Sighing, Neil looked back towards Vash's house as the car began to move
once again, unsure of whether he was more angry at himself or at Vash.
He certainly didn't feel as though Vash had any right to question his
performance in EVA-01, but he also hated himself for what he'd done in
the machine, for the way he felt around it. Still, it wasn't as though
he'd set out in the machine to crush one of Vash's schoolmates.
The thought of Vash's school tickled something at the back of Neil's
mind, and it took him a moment to think to look down at the floor of
the car where Vash's schoolbag still sat, forgotten in the argument
from before. "Stop the car, Misato," Neil said, grabbing the bag from
the floor and feeling himself sigh inwardly. "Vash forgot his bag.
I've got to run back and give it to him."
"You're not going to do that," announced Nieve as Misato slowed the car
down to a stop, the redheaded girl suddenly taking an interest in the
situation and turning back towards Neil, her voice sounding slightly
empty as she spoke. "It'll be a disaster. I'll take it - he's not too
fond of me either, but -"
"I don't want you anywhere -near- him," snapped Neil, speaking somewhat
more forcefully than he'd intended and surprising Nieve. Opening his
door, he glanced back and forth for a moment, unsurprised to see no
traffic on the road as he stepped out. "I'll do it. Besides, this way
I might get to tell his parents what a pathetic kid he really is."
Slamming his door shut, Neil crossed the street and walked idly towards
Vash's house, not turning back out of the presumably justified fear
that Misato or Nieve would try to stop him. He wanted to do something
more final than argue with Vash, but despite himself he couldn't figure
out what in the world he actually planned on doing inside the house,
already feeling guilty for wanting to hurt the other boy. As he
stepped up to the front door of Vash's house, he grinned at himself
bitterly, recalling that at least being angry at himself had kept him
from feeling guilty about the prior night.
Neil took a deep breath before knocking on the door, waiting for a
moment and hearing nothing from inside. It was tempting to simply turn
around and walk away, but Neil forced himself to remain, knowing that
he would only feel worse if he ran away. "Vash?" he shouted, trying to
sound as innocent as possible as he knocked once again. "It's me,
Neil. You forgot to -"
Without warning, the door swung open, and Neil felt a familiar scent
assault his nose as an older man stared at him, eyes only dimly focused
and long black hair tied in a messy ponytail and looking somewhat
greasy. The man was obviously rather tall, but looked shorter because
of his slumped posture, dissheveled blue shirt and jeans hanging
loosely off his body. "You're one of those kids from the program,
aren't you?" he asked, the words slurred and spoken with a crippling
Japanese accent. "Fighting those big black things, right?"
"Um... yeah," replied Neil, beginning to feel another memory bubble
into his head as the stink of fermentation reeked forth from the man.
He bit his lower lip for a moment, wondering if the man was of the same
mindset as Vash about Neil's performance or not and feeling
uncomfortable regardless. "Is Vash here, or has he -"
"He's here," slurred the man, stepping aside from the door and
gesturing for Neil to step in. Neil hesitated for a moment, then
stepped up into what seemed like the same depressed space as Misato's
apartment, the implication obvious. He removed his shoes, and the man
nodded approvingly, shutting the door and awkwardly staggering towards
a nearby couch, beer cans strewn about the floor and couch itself,
television blaring something incomprehensible. "You look like a good
kid. Probably for the best, you kids doing this stuff. God knows that
I need my rest nowadays." The man paused for a moment, taking a sip
from what seemed to be a largely random beer can, then staring back at
Neil. "C'mon over, sit down. Let's talk."
"Really, that's all right," replied Neil, taking a step back and
suppressing a slight twinge of terror as the man turned back to
whatever he was watching with a shrug. Neil stared at him for a moment
longer, unpleasant memories jumping to the surface, then turned around
to see Vash standing behind him, still glaring. Giving a small start,
Neil began to take a step backwards towards the drunk man on the couch,
then realized that wouldn't make things any better. "Vash. I was
looking for you."
Vash said nothing for a moment, then reached over and firmly grabbed
Neil's collar, yanking him away from the small den and tugging him
through the brown halls of the house into what Neil assumed was Vash's
room. Yanking Neil in, Vash slammed the door to the small room, then
turned and glared at the other boy, his opinion of Neil obviously not
getting any better. "I'm going to open this door in a minute," snarled
Vash, "and when I open it, you're going to leave this house and -never-
say a word to -anyone-. Not Misato, not Nieve, not -anyone-. Do you
understand that?"
"I..." Neil trailed off, suddenly feeling intensely guilty, knowing
that he was intruding on something private. "I just came because you
left your bag in Misato's car. I thought you might need it." He
swallowed for a moment, hoping that maybe he was incorrect about his
assumptions on who the man was. "Was that man your older brother, or -"
"Don't you -dare- make fun of my father," replied Vash, grabbing Neil's
collar once again and pulling the taller boy towards him, eyes
sparkling with anger. "He's my problem, all right? I hate him, and
I'm disgraced by him, and you have absolutely no right to intrude
here." Neil mumbled something, turning his head down and away from
Vash, and Vash's eyes narrowed as he shook Neil roughly. "What did you
just say?"
"At least you have one!" snapped Neil, anger beginning to take over
from guilt as he broke free of Vash's grip with one hand, the other
tensing into a fist. Stumbling backwards, he rubbed the back of his
neck for a moment as Vash continued to glare at him, trying to compose
himself. "I said that you should be thankful that you've got a father
in the first place."
There was a moment of silence between the two boys, then Vash's stare
grew darker, grabbing at Neil's collar once again. Neil held the other
boy's hand back tightly, but Vash continued to struggle against him,
his eyes flashing with anger. "Oh, so you just spawned spontaneously
from your mother, did you?" asked Vash, glaring harshly and managing to
force his hand closer to Neil's collar. "That's just great, Neil. You
don't have to live with -anyone's- opinion, because you're just so damn
special."
Neil glared for a moment, then his anger took over, sending his arm
snapping up towards Vash's collar and grabbing it roughly, taking
advantage of the fact that his arms were slightly longer. "My father
was an alcoholic too," replied Neil, his hand tightening around Vash's
collar unconsciously. "He started drinking almost as soon as I was
born. He died when I was ten. Mother never divorced him, even though
he never did anything, even thought he just wasted his life and made
mine miserable." He scowled, tightening his grip even more. "What
gives you the right to judge me? What makes it all right for you?"
Both boys remained quiet for a moment, Vash's hand slightly away from
Neil's collar, Neil's grip almost tight enough to tear the white fabric
of Vash's school shirt, the dark brown walls suddenly seeming
oppressive. Then Neil felt guilt start to seep through his body, and
he let go of both Vash's collar and Vash's wrist, wondering for a
moment if the boy would try once again to grab his collar. The
Japanese boy did no such thing, simply staring angrily at Neil, shock
creeping into the edges of his expression. "Here's your bag,"
announced Neil flatly, dropping the small schoolbag and stepping around
Vash, opening the door and beginning to walk out.
Vash heard the door close only distantly, his arms slowly sinking back
down to his sides, Neil's words hitting him with a sting he hadn't
expected. He still wanted to be angry with the other boy, but
something about the situation made it feel impossible, made him feel as
though he was doing something wrong by resenting Neil's unconditional
acceptance from others. "He's been through the same thing," muttered
Vash, the words sounding alien to his ears. "He's dealt with it just
like I have."
]++[
Misato's table was unusually quiet, both Children remaining perfectly
silent as they ate their lunches, Misato slumped over her lunch and
still feeling as though a sledgehammer was working the inside of her
skull. "This is nice," she muttered to herself, ignoring the icy stare
she was receiving from Nieve for a moment. Neil simply hadn't spoken
since whatever had happened at Vash's house, and Nieve seemed to be
angry about something without any intention of telling Misato what it
was. "This is really nice. Don't you two think so?"
"Yeah," muttered Nieve, obviously lying. "Nice." Neil noticed her
tone and looked up at her, but she didn't look back, simply eating her
lunch quietly. He wondered for a moment if she was angry with him, but
then noticed that she was glaring daggers at Misato, waiting for the
woman to take notice of her. A thought occurred to Neil, and he turned
back to his lunch as well, hoping that he got a chance to talk to Nieve
before she did anything.
"What's going on, Nieve?" asked Misato, her speech sounding pained as
she forced herself to sit upright, jostling the table slightly. She
could tell that Nieve was angry with her, but she hadn't wanted to say
anything beforehand. Nieve simply glared at Misato for a moment
longer, then went back to eating her lunch, angering Misato slightly as
her headache continued to pound at the back of her skull. "Listen,
Nieve, I can tell that you're angry, so just tell me what -"
"I was sitting down in EVA-02 for the whole time, waiting for you to
sortie me, and you just left me there," replied Nieve, gripping her
fork more tightly as she stared over at Misato. "I sat, and I waited,
and I didn't say anything about it as I waited for you to send me to
the surface. But you didn't. You just left me there doing nothing.
That's why I'm angry."
Groaning, Misato leaned back slightly, tilting her head towards the
ceiling and trying to ignore the increasing headache. "Nieve, we only
sent out three Evas," she said at length, forcing her voice to remain
quiet and calm despite how annoyed she was getting at everything around
her. "We only needed to send out three. It's not like Neil or Vash
were deployed."
"No, you're saving them for this afternoon!" snapped Nieve, eyes
flashing with anger as she glared towards Misato. Neil felt himself
unconsciously pushing away from the table, the shouting making him feel
deeply uncomfortable even as he felt the desire to clench his fists
once again. "You're giving everyone else their turn in the field, but
you're -sidelining- me! I'm probably the best pilot that you've got,
and after all the effort I've given to this project, you're just
ignoring me!"
Misato gritted her teeth for a moment to try and restrain her own
irritation, but all the resentment that she'd felt over the course of
the day so far had to come out sooner or later, and as she leaned
forward towards Nieve the young girls could see that she'd made herself
a perfect target. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe there's some
kind of -risk- involved in these operations, you insolent little girl?
Have you ever thought that maybe we don't want to send you all to your
deaths? Has it begun to cross your tiny little mind that maybe the
Evas have different capabilities for a -reason-? Or do you just feel
like shouting at me so that you can feel better about yourself?"
The table was once again silent, Misato glaring at Nieve in anger,
Nieve recoiling slightly and obviously not prepared for the sudden
outpouring. Sighing heavily, Misato pushed herself up from the table,
standing somewhat wobbly and knowing that she'd lost control over
herself, that she needed to be more collected in situations like this.
"I need a beer," she snarled at nobody in particular, turning towards
the refridgerator and sliding open the door, knowing that she'd feel
better once the alcohol started to blot out her hangover."
As her hands closed around the golden can of alocohol, Misato heard the
sound of silverware slamming down to the table, and she whirled around
angrily, expecting that Nieve had gotten a second wind for her little
hissy fit. As she stared at the table, however, she realized that it
had been Neil, his hand still pressing the fork down into the table,
eyes shut tightly and fist clenching in his free hand. "Do you really
think that will make anything better?" he asked, sounding as though he
was trying to be angry but failing despite himself. "You think that as
long as you've got a beer you... you..."
Neil's words trailed off into silence, and the entire room followed
him, all three people unsure of what more there was to say. At length,
Misato looked at the can in her hand for a moment, then put it back
inside the fridge, ignoring the slight spike of pain in her head that
seemed to come with the knowledge she'd get no such relief. The
refridgerator door swung shut as Misato stepped back towards the table,
and all three were about to return to eating when the phone rang and
cut through the silence.
Misato stood silently, stepping over to the black telephone and picking
up the receiver as casually as possible, feeling guilty for what she
hadn't done and wondering if Neil hated her now. She put the receiver
to her ear and opened her mouth to speak, but before she even got past
the first syllable of a greeting Ritsuko's calm, analytical voice had
already started. "The Angel is regenerating faster than we'd
expected," she announced, the hint in her voice that it was somehow
Misato's fault. "You're required back at Central Dogma immediately."
The two Children at the table couldn't hear Ritsuko's voice, but they
could hear Misato's startled exclamation that Ritsuko couldn't be
right, and as intelligent people they had no trouble figuring out what
it was that Ritsuko couldn't possibly be right about. Gulping down one
final bite of their lunches, both stood, turned towards the door, and
walked to the small recess where their shoes remained just as Misato
hung the phone back on the hook and turned towards them. "That was Dr.
Akagi," she announced to the pair, her head still splitting. "The
Seventh Angel has almost finished regenerating. We need to start the
operation early."
]++[
Both EVA-01 and EVA-03 had been moved to the same oversized holding
bay, prepared for immediate launch as soon as the last elements of the
operation were in place. Neil, lost in thought, stood on the catwalk
in front of his Eva, green and purple plugsuit hugging tightly to his
skin and feeling unexpectedly nervous. He'd never worked with Vash
before, but he recalled how angry he had been when he left the boy, and
he remembered the red haze of his vision when the Eva had gone
berserk. "I've got to control it," he muttered, remembering Nieve's
words about who was in charge of the Eva. "It's my tool. I won't lose
control of my temper with it. I refuse to."
Neil stared at the purple head of the beast, the monstrous jawline, the
diamond-shaped eyes, and he thought of Nieve once again, knowing that
she and Niobe had already been placed inside their respective units.
The girl had been mostly silent after Misato's angry shouts towards
her, but she'd given Neil a quick kiss before they'd gone into the
locker rooms, saying nothing to explain. Something about her was
unspeakably sad, something that Neil couldn't quite place, and he
wished that she was being allowed to pilot her machine into the
operation, knowing how badly she wanted to be in control of defeating
the Angel. Shutting his eyes, he thought of her, then of Eiko, the
faces of both girls dancing at the edge of his vision like some exotic
form of torture.
"I thought you'd be out here." Vash's tone sounded oddly regretful,
but Neil still took a moment longer before looking towards the other
boy, his black and purple plugsuit looking rather striking against his
spiky blonde hair. He was at almost the other end of the catwalk,
seeming hesitant to get any closer to Neil. "Do you mind if I come
over? I want to talk."
"Actually, yes, I mind," replied Neil, feeling somewhat bitter as he
turned away from Vash once again, his right hand clenching into a fist
almost unconsciously. "I think I know what you're going to say,
anyways. You want me not to get in your way, even though you've never
piloted the Eva before, even though you have no idea what you're
doing." He sighed. "Fine. I don't care. I didn't stay in Tokyo-3 to
argue with you. All I want to do is to destroy the Angel."
"God, give -me- a chance to talk, will you?" snapped Vash, glaring over
towards Neil and shaking his head. Neil's expression softened slightly
as he looked towards the other boy, and Vash found himself wondering
about the sort of person that he'd claimed to hate, the same person who
had given his all to defend Eiko for no personal gain. "I... I
wanted..." He swallowed for a moment, then turned towards Neil
completely and started walking. "I wanted you to hit me. The way that
I hit you when we first met."
Neil didn't reply, simply turned and stared back at the boy as Vash
came to a stop within arm's length of Neil, his expression stoic. "I
owe you an apology," he said curtly, the statement clearly taking a
great deal of effort to say. "When I blamed you for hurting Toji... it
wasn't fair. You hurt Toji because of something that we did." He
paused, then sank his head slightly, staring towards the catwalk and
the liquid sloshing around beneath. "Kensuke wanted to get a look at
one of the Eva units in action, after he'd gotten his hands on some of
the design details over the Internet. So Toji and I agreed to help him
out on the surface. We shouldn't have been out there in the first
place." He paused, then turned his gaze back towards Neil, setting his
jaw. "So, I'm telling you to hit me. Because I'm the one who hurt my
friend, not you."
For a moment, neither boy moved, Neil simply staring at Vash, Vash
closing his eyes tightly and waiting for Neil to hit him. Then Neil
turned back towards his Eva, and after a moment Vash seemed to realize
that he wasn't being hit and opened his eyes to stare at the other
boy. "No," said Neil, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly.
"I won't."
"What, am I not good enough for you to deign to touch? Come on, Neil,
you know that you want to." Vash spread his arms wide, presenting
himself as an open target for the other boy. "Go ahead, hit me. Just
smack me in the chin. You know I can take it. One solid blow, and
then I'll -"
"I said no!" snapped Neil, turning around and glaring at the other boy,
fist clenching involuntarily, his mind forcing down the desire to do
exactly as Vash said. "I don't want to hurt people. I don't want
revenge." He paused for a moment, letting his hand relax as Vash
stared at him, his breath beginning to relax slightly. "You might have
led your friend out of safety, but that doesn't make it your fault that
he got hurt. You were right, it was my fault. I should have had more
control over the Eva." He paused, then extended his hand towards the
other boy. "Can we move on from here as a team?"
Vash stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then smiled despite
himself and took it in his, giving it a firm shake before letting go
and glancing towards EVA-01. Neil turned towards the machine himself,
wondering if he'd done the right thing or not, then felt Vash tap him
on the shoulder. "Can you dance?" Vash asked as Neil's head turned to
face him, a grin slowly spreading across the Japanese boy's face.
"Not particularly well, no," replied Neil with a shrug. "But I can
manage it." He paused, cocking his head slightly and trying to figure
out what it was that Vash wanted. "Why do you ask?"
"Had an idea," replied Vash, smirking and turning towards the door at
one end of the catwalk, glancing back at Neil over his shoulder as he
walked towards it. "I was talking with one of the head technicians
before I managed to find you, and he turned out to be a pretty nifty
guy. Just thought of something that might help us focus against the
Angel." His smirk widened, and he flashed an incomprehensible hand
signal at Neil before stepping through the door and letting it hiss
closed behind him, Neil still baffled as to what the other boy's plan
was.
]++[
Misato could feel Ritsuko's eyes staring at her as she switched her
gaze back and forth between the main screen's display of the
regenerating Angel and the display at Makoto's console of Neil and
Vash's Evas racing through the launch tubes towards the surface. Her
headache had only slightly improved, but the fact that Ritsuko was
watching her seemed to cancel out the positive effects of the slowly-
receding headache. As the two Evas exited the Geofront and headed up
closer to the surface, Misato finally sighed and turned towards
Ritsuko, eyes narrowed. "Is there something you want to ask?"
Ritsuko shook her head, expression still icy as she shifted her grip on
her clipboard. "Not a thing," she replied, sounding almost bitter.
"I'm just somewhat surprised that you're still sober. I had expected
you to come back drunk again."
The comment struck Misato like a slap across the face, and she fought
the urge to slap Ritsuko at the same time that she fought the urge to
shed a tear. "I did, too," she replied at length, turning towards the
main screen where the two Eva units were finally emerging. She took a
second to compose herself, then leaned over into the microphone,
clearing her throat slightly. "All right, boys, you remember what you
have to do. Hit the core simultaneously."
Sitting in the cockpit of his machine, Vash flexed his fingers and let
the Eva flex its own, watching as the Angel slowly returned to its
original form. The LCL still stank like blood, and it reminded him
vaguely of the horrible burning he'd felt as the Fifth Angel's beam had
hit him square in the chest, but he forced the thought out of his mind,
tightening his grip on the handles and grinning sinisterly. "All
right. Shigeru, you ready?"
On the upper level of the command center, the long-haired console
technician grinned, letting his fingers dance across the keyboard for a
moment. "All ready, Vash," he announced happily, hitting one final key
and letting the room's speakers fill with the aggressive noise of an
electric guitar playing to a drum backup. He smiled for a moment, then
noticed that everyone else on the upper level was staring at him and
shrugged. "He thought that it would help them focus against the
Angel. Keeping in time with the beat, and all."
"Well, now I know why you asked if I could dance," sighed Neil,
flipping open the Eva's shoulder flange and letting the progressive
knife pop out into his hand. He glanced towards Vash, and the black
Eva nodded back at him as it deployed its own knife, holding the thing
with the blade pointing down. Taking a deep breath, Neil began to move
the Eva forward, Vash walking next to him as the Angel rumbled to life
once again and slogged its way towards the shore. "Let's get to work."
Both machines hesitated for a moment as the Angel stared at them, then
rushed forward at the same moment, letting the Angel watch them come.
The beast's arms shot out at both of them, and Neil let his machine
skid to a halt as Vash continued forward, one claw catching on the
upper right arm of EVA-03 while the arm aimed at Neil snapped against
thin air. Seemingly frustrated, the Angel took a step forward with one
foot, attempting to snatch at EVA-01 with its free arm, and Vash
switched the prog knife to his left hand, then let the blade slice
through the Angel's core as it went off-balance. "It's going to
split!" he shouted, breaking free of its grip and stepping back to
where Neil was standing, the pain in his upper arm severe but managable.
Certainly enough, the black beast split back into its two smaller
forms, the gold one taking lumbering steps towards Neil and the silver
one heading straight towards Vash. "Distract them, then force them
back together," Neil said firmly, sidestepping a blow from the golden
Angel half and chopping into the thing's shoulder with his knife. Vash
gave a quick nod with his unit, then jumped backwards as the silverish
Angel lunged forwards, letting the beast overextend its reach before he
slammed the prog knife down into the back of its head. Both halves
recovered within instants, only for the two Evas to hit them again,
driving them apart with surprising synchronicity.
As the two Evangelions worked together, driving the Angels in a loop,
first away from one another and then back towards their starting point,
Maya heard a beeping noise from the console over the still-playing
aggressive guitar music, and she stared at it with surprise, watching
the synch graph. "Both pilots have achieved a synchronization of 60%!"
she shouted, amazed. "The rate seems to be leveling off, but they're
doing amazing!"
Neither Vash nor Neil heard Maya's statement, and even if they had it
would have probably had no effect upon them as they continued to drive
the Angel's halves back with remarkable efficiency, now keeping them
unaware of the other's position while forcing them back towards the
center. Both pilots drove their target towards a single center point
until the halves were within a few meters of one another, then both
Evas flashed one another a thumb's-up sign, and clenching their free
hands into fists they slammed hard into the Angel's face, sending it
staggering backwards into itself. The parts seemed disoriented for a
moment, then merged back into the original Angel once again, apparently
willing to recombine.
There was a momentary pause as the two Evas waited for the Angel to
recombine, then both pilots rushed at the thing, prog knives at the
ready as it staggered slightly. Neil's Eva reached the beast first,
and slipping around a half-hearted claw swipe he drove his knife into
the thing's core just as the music reached a climax. Seconds later,
Vash followed suit, driving his own progressive knife into the core as
well, and the red orb suddenly splintered and cracked for a moment.
Seconds later, the entire Angel exploded, and the main screen of the
command center was filled with the red haze of the explosion as the
music finally ended.
"EVA-01 reporting," announced Neil, his body feeling slightly achy from
the impact of the Angel's explosion and the LCL tasting distinctly
bloodllike but otherwise fine. "Looks like we destroyed it."
Misato confirmed Neil's statement as the explosion began to fade from
sight, but Neil had other things on his mind as he shoved the prog
knife back into the shoulder flange, stepping over and extending his
Eva's hand to Vash. Vash paused, then handed the prog knife off to his
other hand and shook it, a rather corny display in the Evas but still
somewhat gratifying. "You did well," noted Neil, smirking.
"So did you," replied Vash, releasing his Eva's hand and pausing for a
moment. Then his picture appeared on Neil's display, and Neil was
surprised for a moment before he realized that the other pilot had
opened a private communications line with him. "Listen, Neil..." Vash
seemed oddly hesitant, looking away from the other boy's face. "I
really appreciate what you did today, but I need to tell you
something." He paused briefly. "Eiko makes a better friend than a
lover. You should remember that."
Almost involuntarily, Neil felt his grip tighten around the handles of
the cockpit, the scent of blood suddenly increasing within the LCL. He
knew, consciously, that he wasn't alone anyways, that Nieve and he
seemed to be taking the first few tenative steps into a relationship,
but Vash's thinly-veiled warning somehow still managed to sting just
beneath the skin. "Yeah," replied Neil, sounding oddly distanced even
to himself. "I'll remember what you've said, Vash."
]++[
Outro: Neon Epoch Evangelion is based off of -Shin Seiki Evangelion- by
GAINAX and company. It is not intended to be a straightforward fanfic,
but it is building off the work of others, and as such it is done with
the utmost respect for the original works and their authors.
Basically, even though this is an original work, it's based off the
work of others, and if you read this, you should go to see the original.
Special thanks to all of the real Children - you know who you are.
Extra special thanks to Joe Augulis for his consultation on the
Japanese portions of the story. He might not know much Japanese, but
that's more than I know.
Copyright 2002 Eliot Lefebvre.
NEXT EPISODE:
As one, they are gifted.
As one, they are resolute.
As one, they can be betrayed.
NEON EPOCH EVANGELION 9: WITH ONE VOICE
"It's important that the Children remain aware of their place."
]++[
We only have a little time in our lives to waste. Make the most of it.
Electronic Transcendence Productions:
Producer of, um, stuff for an unspecified time-period.
Rants:
