As the pilots reached the cages: Misato stopped them for a chat
"So, how did the tournament go?" she asked
"Well, Shinji and I both got our butts kicked, Rei made it through to the semi-finals though" Asuka said, grumbling a little
"Really, that must have been lucky for her" Misato said
Rei's eyes narrowed at the words, they made it seem as if her new skills were meaningless
"It was not luck, captain. It was the right kind of training from the right person" she said and brushed past Misato and onward to her Eva; she was backup
"She's right Misato, if Rei had fought harder than she did, then medics would have been peeling me off the ground with a spatula" Shinji said
Misato took all this in: last Ki level check she'd seen; Rei was the weakest, even small children had larger Ki than her. And now Shinji just told her that Rei thrashed him to within an inch of his life. Misato knew what was going on, she just wished she didn't
"Right, okay, to your Evas" she ordered crisply; the two complied quickly
Misato then went to her own post in the command centre, awaiting orders from commander Ikari as to the course of action
"Deploy the Evas" Gendo ordered
"Sir. Okay, deploy Unit 1 two kilometres due East of the Angel. Unit 2 is to be deployed at the opposite end to Unit 1" Misato instructed
"Yes ma'am" Aoba replied and sent the Evas to the appropriate catapults for the launch pattern
"Okay. There is basically no data on this thing so tread with caution" Misato spoke to Shinji and Asuka
"Okay" Asuka said
"FAB" Shinji joked
Misato shook her head and ordered the launch; she turned at the sound of Shiguru sniggering
"And what is so funny, lieutenant?" she asked
"I get the joke, it's from Thunderbirds" he said and went about his work again
The commander watched from his place at the banter his crew engaged in: behind him was his friend, Kouzou Fuyutski, military man, teacher and mentor all in one lifetime
"So, this is Ramiel" Fuyutski said, eyeing the diamond pyramid Angel
"Yes" Gendo said and watched as each Eva shot up from its catapult
Just at that point, the Angel's small middle section began glowing and energy registers began to flash
"We're registering a high energy reaction inside the Angel!" Maya cried
"What?" Misato asked in shock
"The energy is amassing and multiplying upon itself" Aoba checked another console
"Oh shit", Ritsuko said as it dawned upon her what was happening
****************
Eva 1 shot up in its position as Misato sent a message to Shinji
"Duck!" the radio screeched
"Huh?" Shinji muttered
As he looked towards the Angel, he saw a beam of energy come for him. But using his fighter reflexes, Shinji dodged the beam
"Shit" he muttered
Asuka saw this and wondered why the Angel hadn't shot her yet
"Hmm, maybe it can't fire at multiple targets" she mused
Asuka picked up a rifle and fired it at the Angel, but the A.T. Field was too powerful for the small gun
The Angel sensed Asuka's Eva and stopped firing at Shinji and began to shoot at Asuka, leaving Shinji alone
Shinji got up and charged the Angel but ended up landing on his backside hard, the field was so powerful that it acted like a spring when he hit it
"That sucked", he groaned and got up, as he did though, the Angel fired
The beam struck Shinji in the upper chest and sent him flying across the city and into a building. Upon impact, Shinji hit his head on the wall of the plug, knocking him unconscious. Meanwhile Asuka used this small timeframe in which the Angel fired to jump on top of it. She drew her knife and tried to stab Ramiel, but it shot a smaller beam through the top of itself, going through Eva 2's body and exiting through the shoulder. Asuka grit her teeth in pain and slid a bit, the Angel fired again and this time the beam went through her thigh, she fell off after that.
"Launch Unit 0; Rei's orders are to retrieve the other Evas" Gendo said
"Sir" Misato said and relayed the instructions to Rei in Unit 0
"I understand" she replied and prepared to launch
Asuka managed to get behind a building and take cover with her rifle
"Goddamn son of a bitch" Asuka cursed as she reloaded the rifle and fired again
**********************
Rei's Eva arrived at the hilltop near Shinji and picked his Eva up, and clamped Unit 1 to her restraints and sent it back down. Rei looked and saw Asuka; the nearest entrance for an Eva was a few miles from her. Rei was thinking how to help Asuka when a plan suddenly formed itself in front of her eyes
"Okay, here we go" she said to herself and jumped
The Angel, sensing Unit 0, turned its attention to it, leaving Unit 2 free to escape. Although Asuka's pride usually wouldn't let her run, she had no choice in this case and used her one good leg to spring towards the retrieval bay, just making it by a whisker as Rei ducked somewhere and the Angel tried to fire at Unit 2 again. Rei had accomplished her mission but knew she now had to get herself out of this mess. Rei spied a large girder on the ground. With few options left to her, she threw it in the hope that the Angel would target it. Her hopes however proved unfounded and it did not attack
"It must be smart enough to distinguish from moving objects and hostile targets somehow", she said to herself
Rei had to think quickly or she was screwed. Fortunately for Rei, she was smart
"Captain. I have a plan but I need some help," Rei radioed in to base
"I'm listening" Misato replied
"I want you to fire as many of the city defence weapons as you can: it will distract the Angel long enough for me to escape" Rei explained
"Okay, you heard her, let fly with everything we got" Misato barked
The crew were quick to respond to her orders and soon the Angel was being bombarded with all the conventional artillery Tokyo 3 had to offer. Rei saw the Angel was distracted enough to ignore her and she made a break for it. The elevator was a few miles away, three or four long strides and she'd cover it no problem. Ramiel was a little smarter than she gave him credit for though and shot her in the back of the left arm just as she reached the lift
"Aaaagggghhhhhhh" she screamed, the arm being thinner than the rest of her Eva it went right through her arm
"GET HER DOWN!" Misato bellowed
"Ma'am" Maya was quick off the mark and let the lift freefall until Rei was totally underground and then put the brakes on
"Captain. I want as much data on this Angel as you can gather. Then it is your main duty to find a way to combat this Angel" Gendo ordered. He then got up and went to his office
"Yes sir" Misato replied
***************
Hikari, Goten and Trunks made their way through the hospital hallways to the area where the pilots were kept until a pair of burly Section 2 agents blocked their way
"You may proceed no further," the biggest one said
"Try and keep me from Rei and you will lose something you may wish to later rely on in bed" Trunks said and sidestepped the man
"Hey, kid" the same one put his hand on Trunks's shoulder
"You have 5 seconds to remove that hand or I will remove it" Trunks never liked being told what to do: he obeyed when necessary
This was not however one of those times and Goten knew this guards was skating on dangerously thin ice with hot blades
"1" Trunks began counting
"Security to pilot ward" his partner radioed the main station
"2" he continued
"Trunks, don't be a fool", Goten warned
"3" Trunks went on unhindered
As security men came running up the stairs, Ritsuko looked through a curtain and saw that things were about to get ugly
"Oh hell" she groaned and jogged over
"Its okay, they're with me, and she is the 3rd Child's girlfriend" Ritsuko explained
"Then what relationship do these two have with the pilots?" the other agent asked
"None of your fucking business" Trunks snapped, he had stopped counting and moved on towards the room where Rei was
"Agent, let me give you some free advice: if you see these two young men with any of the pilots: steer clear, do not get involved. It's beyond our authority" Ritsuko whispered in the man's ear
"Why?" he asked, incredulous as to someone with more authority than Nerv
"Piss either of them off and find out, but only at your own peril" Ritsuko answered and turned around
Goten and Hikari just strolled through the doors trying to be as small as possible
"Does he always try and start a fight?" Hikari asked
"Usually, unless someone who he really respects gets him to calm down" Goten said
"Doesn't that reflect how much he respects you?" Hikari asked
"No not really, I've never taken his advice, we just ignore each other in that respect" Goten replied
"Oh I see" Hikari said
Each one of the visitors went to their respective other half's room; Rei's was bit up the hallway. As Trunks approached it: he saw a duty nurse
"Is this Rei Ayanami's room?" he asked
"Yes. Are you a visitor?" she asked, somewhat excited
"Of course, why wouldn't I come and see my girlfriend?" Trunks asked
The nurse chose that moment to stutter incoherently at Trunks
"You, you, you're her, boyfriend?" she stuttered
"Yes" Trunks reiterated
[The woman must be mad] he thought and slipped into the room
Rei was on the bed listening to her Discman, nodding her head slightly to the beat of the song. Trunks sat down beside the bed and waited: she knew he was there; he was just content to watch her and Rei content to let him do that. The now recovered nurse poked her head into the room for an inspection: Trunks had grasped one of Rei's hands and was smiling, and so was Rei.
[Oh that is so cute] the nurse thought with giddiness as she rushed off to find her friends and show them all what a good piece of fortune had befallen the girl they looked out for
*********************
Just outside the hospital, a man in non-descript clothing or average frame and build and features walked towards the hospital in which the pilots lay. It was his mission to make sure that the next hospital room any of them visited was the morgue. He grinned slightly to himself as he felt the small ninja knife under his shirt and the silenced 9mm in his coat pocket.
[They are protected, but if my source is right, it's only a few of those dopey goons-for-hire] he thought and let out a twisted little laugh
Indeed the man was right: they were guarded by goons-for-hire, but they were also guarded by something he never expected to encounter. This guy was going to wish he had never accepted this task.
