Welcome to Phase 11 of the TIT (huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh...). Hmm, maybe I shouldn't use the abbreviation anymore...
Sorry it's been such a long time, and I hope the old readers will still be around to check this out. And as for you new readers, welcome! I know with all the rewrites, it might get confusing, but please bear with me... I'm only one person. Anyways, enjoy!!
Where we last left off, Snake was able to escape with Misato's help. In the middle of his escape, he comes across another prisoner - - a Dr. Ritsuko Akagi...
Gendo Ikari slept well last night. He knew that in a few hours, he would be with his Yui. No one would be able to stop him from enacting the Third Impact - - not NERV, not SEELE, and certainly not Keel Lorenz. He need only put together three pieces of the puzzle: Rei, Lilith, and...
(Adam,) Gendo thought to himself as he looked down on his right palm. There was a large embryo embedded under the skin. (This will be my key to life everlasting with you, Yui...)
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11-41 Studios presents - -
Evangelion : The Third Impact Trilogy
A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.
Part 1: New Apocalypse
Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover
Chapter 11: Revenge Will Be Mine
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Ritsuko was a bit puzzled as to why Snake had his hand up to his left ear, as he was listening to something inside it. "Who the hell are you?"
Snake diverted his attention now to Ritsuko, with his gun still pointed at her face. "That's not important. You're gonna answer some questions for me, in exchange for your freedom..."
The sight of the stranger dressed in grey, and the unnerving sensation of a loaded gun pointed at her face, scared the doctor, almost out of her wits. Sweat trickled steadily down her brow, and her hands began to shake involuntarily in fear.
"Wha- - What do you need to know?"
"I'm need to know where your boss is, 'cuz I'm here to help him 'shuffle loose this mortal coil,' and I'll be helping you do some shuffling as well if I don't get some answers," Snake said gruffly.
Ritsuko stood there with an expression of shock on her face, which slowly transformed into a devious smile. Ever since she was thrown in her cell by Gendo for the destruction of the dummy plug system, all she thought about was - -
(If this guy is here to kill that bastard...,) she thought, (Yes, this can help me a lot...)
This smile gave Snake a small shiver down his spine. It looked like she was up to no good. (Is this lady ok? She looks like a basket-case when she's smiling like this.)
Ritsuko was only too happy to help this man. "So, where do I start...?"
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Asuka, dressed in her red plug suit, was in a room so dark, she could not even see her hand when she placed it in front of her face. The last thing she remembered was sitting down naked in a decrepit old bathtub, listless and miserable. She thought that she must have died, and this is Hell, or at least Purgatory, even though she had no religion. From what she could tell by staggering blindly up to a wall, and walking the length of each side, the room was square, with each side about 20 meters long. She had been in there for so long; she had lost track of what day it is or what the time is. Strangely, she did not feel hungry or sleepy either. At first, she contemplated asking for help from anyone - - The Invincible Shinji, Misato, or even Wondergirl - - but who would help someone with a sync ratio that can't even activate an Eva? After this, she just sat down in the middle of the room and broke down crying. This place was Asuka's pit of despair, and she's wallowed in its emotional filth for God knows how long.
The tears don't last forever, though... After a while, her eyes became incapable of shedding tears, and all that was left was the emptiness inside of her. After the tears stopped coming, Asuka spent most of her time contemplating what was missing in that void within her. She concluded that her mother never loved her. It was always that stupid doll; the crazy bitch adored that Goddamned doll better than her, just like everyone else liked Shinji better than her. It's always "Shinji, do this," "Shinji, good job," or "Shinji, your sync ratio went up 10 points today!" Why did everyone like Shinji better than her? Was it because he was nicer than her? He's not nicer, he's just being a dumb bastard! He hurts people without considering anyone else's feelings! All the times he hurt m- -
Asuka paused. She tried frantically to remember any moments in the past where Shinji had hurt her. All she could remember were times he tried to help her... times Asuka never understood or paid attention to.
This realization made Asuka infuriated. She let a scream echo through the darkness, as she groped her way through the room to look for something to break. Instead, she threw herself on the floor, and found that she was able to cry again. Asuka wanted to grab Shinji, to hit him, to kick him, to strangle him...
...to see him...to talk to him...to need him...?
A confused Asuka mumbled something incoherent between her sobbing, as the darkness continued to consume her.
A kindly male voice called out to Asuka, startling her. "Digging yourself further into the pit, I see..."
"Shinji?" Asuka called out in the direction of this voice. A figure materialized about 10 feet in front of her. It was not Shinji. However, he was wearing the same school uniform as Shinji. He had unkempt whitish hair that seemed to illuminate the room a bit, and red eyes - - just like Rei. Asuka sat in a combination of fear and amazement as he began to walk towards her...
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"Where will it take place?" Snake asked the doctor, who was currently having a cup of coffee she pilfered from the nearby officer's lounge. Ritsuko Akagi has been divulging every bit of information that pertained to Third Impact and the completion of Snake's mission for the past 15 minutes.
Ritsuko took a sip of coffee, and continued to explain. "It will take place in the Terminal Dogma, otherwise known as the LCL plant. There's something there you might not know, but your supervisors might. Do you know how that place makes LCL? It comes from an Angel they keep incapacitated in there."
"An Angel?" Snake said in amazement.
Ritsuko looked up from her mug. "Yes, the second Angel - - Lilith. Third Impact can begin by another Angel coming in contact with her, or by having the following elements: Lilith, Adam, a manmade Angel with a human soul, and the Lance of Longinius. With all of this, whoever initiates the Impact would have full control over what happens next - - the 'evolution' of human beings into one perfect, singular being. Personally, I prefer the term 'extinction' over 'evolution...'"
"However, if an Angel did happen to come in contact with Adam, extinction would have been the correct term. Instead of a 'constructive' Third Impact (an Angel coming in contact with Lilith), there would be a 'destructive' Third Impact. Thankfully, all 17 Angels are destroyed, making a way for the constructive Impact to happen."
"Unfortunately, the Lance is lost to us, but that doesn't mean the Impact can't happen anymore. It just means that no one person will reign supreme over the souls of mankind. It can still happen. The manmade Angel is the First Child - - Rei Ayanami. If you don't kill Gendo, you can kill her, but I'm sure that you find the task of killing a child disgusting. I could also show you how to self-destruct the facility, but I doubt you would get out alive. You'll just have to get to Terminal Dogma, and to Gendo. I can show you, but I'm afraid they would kill me on the spot if they saw me out of my cell."
Snake thought for a second. "Do you have any Codec devices here?"
"Codec... Yes, we do," Ritsuko answered, as she got off her prison cot, and walked towards a nearby supply room. She entered it, and returned shortly with a Codec device. "Good, I'll be able to lead you to the Terminal Dogma with this. These things have been very useful since their creation during pre-Second Impact. My frequency will be 147.07," she said while placing the Codec in her ear.
(This woman is strange,) Snake thought. "You seem enthusiastic about this," Snake asked. "Do you have some issues with this man?"
"You could say that," Ritsuko replied darkly. "I must warn you though," she added, "If you do manage to stop Gendo, there are others who look for the 'evolution' of the human race."
"Others?"
Ritusko smiled. "Hmm... So, who is your support for this? NERV is a huge place; I'm surprised you didn't get lost."
"Well, there's this one ex-NERV employee - -"
"Akane?!?" Ritsuko had cut Snake off.
"Yeah, she told me you two worked together at one time - -"
"That whore is working for you?" she exclaimed, her voice a mixture of surprise and anger. "No, she'll jeopardize your whole mission!" Ristuko warned Snake.
"What do you mean?" Snake asked worriedly.
"I MEAN that she'll endanger your whole operation! She's going to try to save- -"
The discussion was interrupted by the shattering sound of Ritsuko dropping her coffee mug as she clutched her chest in pain. "AAAGGHH! Akane, what the hell are you - - URRGH!!! THE PAIN..." She dropped on all fours, trying to catch her breath, which was shallow and heavy.
"He never loved you! He's a cold-hearted - - AAGGH! And so are you!!!" She continued to clutch her left breast, as she managed to mutter her last words - -
"You... Bitch..." - - before collapsing on the floor. A bewildered Snake saw what had happened (not this again...) as he got down on one knee to check the body's radial pulse.
"Dead..." He dialed 140.85 on his Codec device, and pressed the call button.
"Snake, what happened?!?" Tadokoro asked.
"What happened?!?!" Snake was furious. "This woman just died of what looked like a heart attack! Do you know what the cause of something like this was when I last saw it?? FOXDIE! You bastards had better tell me everything that's going on here right now!"
Otacon showed up on the screen to try to calm down his friend. "Snake, please calm down! You know that the FOXDIE program was deactivated after the Shadow Moses incident. There must be some other cause - -"
"There is no other damn cause! It's FOXDIE... I know it."
Eliza Akane now tried her luck at calming down the spy. "Snake, please have some sense of reason - -"
"Reasons?" Snake snapped back. "Reasons? I want some reasons why she would be so pissed at you! Why would she say that you would jeopardize this operation?"
"Look Snake, the truth is... yes, Ritsuko and I had a quarrel long ago, about a man we both had feelings for. Obviously, she still has harsh feelings about that incident. That, mixed in with her apparent dementia - -"
Snake interrupted. "Dementia?"
"Yes, dementia. Neither you, nor Tadokoro know this, but Ritsuko was placed in incarceration for murder." Both Snake and Tadokoro lay silent in shock. "Ritsuko had destroyed the core of the dummy plug system, which happened to be clones."
"Clones?!?"
"Yes... of the First Child, Rei Ayanami." She was apparently very emotionally disturbed when she did this."
Tadokoro interjected. "Why haven't you told this to us before?"
"So this is what that Clone Transfer System is for, isn't it?" Snake added. "You said you didn't know what it was for!"
"This was all very confidential information, and did not pertain to this mission," Eliza countered. "It was not essential for the completion of this assignment - -"
"Bullshit," Snake spat out. "There's more to this than you're letting on, and when this is done, I'm gonna get some answers out of you." Eliza, looking very angry and frustrated, left the Codec room inside the submarine, leaving the screen blank for a second. Tadokoro came onto the screen.
"Look Snake... despite Dr. Akagi's death, we now exactly know where Gendo will be. We have maps of the facility here, so we will try to lead you to the Dogma as best as we can. Keep your focus on the mission." Tadokoro disappeared from the screen.
Otacon's face flashed on to the Codec screen now. "Snake," he asked, "switch to a private channel." Snake did so.
"What is it, Otacon?"
"This doesn't smell right, Snake," Otacon said as he shook his head. "I'll try to check out the UN and NERV personnel files for you to find more information about this. Just try and focus on your mission and try to act professional around Eliza - - there's something not right about her, but we can't assume anything that could be false at such a critical time as this."
Snake felt a little relieved. He could always count on Otacon for stuff like this. "Thanks, Otacon. Snake, out." The Codec turned off.
Snake got up to drag the dead body to her former cell. He worked quickly, because he knew that this place would be swarming with guards when they realize that the guards were not coming back. Before leaving the containment unit, he made a trip to its storage room. There, he found his knife, his specialized Five-seveN, and some ammo. Unfortunately, he could not find any grenades. He took his weapons, and decided to hang on to Misato's Glock to prevent any suspicions about his benefactor to surface. Snake remembered that he was without a Soliton device, so he reminded himself to be extra careful in the hallways. He walked out of the unit to complete his mission.
In the hallway, Snake found a security camera, and he quickly ducked back into a corner. (I forgot... my Soliton device is broken.) After a moment, he looked around the corner to see that it was not moving at all. (This camera must not be working... there's no power LED indicator,) he reasoned. Snake gingerly walked down the hallway, where there was an elevator waiting. (No, I can't afford anymore surprises... I'll have to take the stairs.) He found the emergency staircase next to the elevator, and headed down to Terminal Dogma.
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"So you're Asuka... I don't know why he cares about you so much, if you're crying like this all the time," the mysterious figure called out to Asuka.
Asuka, on the other hand, was speechless at the boy's sudden entrance. The only thing she could manage to utter was "W-who are y-y-you?"
The boy smiled warmly. "Me? No one in particular... But you can call me Kaworu. How do I know you? An... acquaintance of mine mentioned you once or twice in some of our conversations." Asuka was even more confused now. Kaworu continued to talk. "Now, if you weren't so startled by my appearance, you'd probably ask me what I am doing here," he said as he stopped in front of Asuka. "I'm here to help you, Asuka Langley Soryu."
Asuka had recovered from his sudden appearance. "Help... you can't help me," she said bitterly. "I'm way beyond anybody's help... not you, not Misato, and definitely not that idiot- -"
"- -Shinji?" Kaworu said, finishing Asuka's sentence. "I suppose you're right, he's not in a very good condition, and I worry about him too."
Asuka got up. "Shinji? You know Shinji? Where- -" Asuka caught herself being excited about some news from Shinji, and immediately stifled this happy outburst. "Where the hell is he now?!? He can't help me!" she said angrily instead.
"Not very good at expressing a broad spectrum of emotions, are you?" Kaworu commented. "This is something you need to work on, among other things."
Asuka pouted furiously. "Me? Improve?!? I don't need to improve, I'm the great Asuka Lang- -"
"The same Asuka Langley Soryu who has an Evangelion sync rate of under 10%?"
This enraged Asuka. She pulled her fist back, and tried to let a punch loose on Kaworu's chin, only to be stopped by a red-orange wall of light that threw her backwards.
"An AT-field?" Asuka stared wide-eyed as the boy took the light into himself, making the field disappear.
"You don't mind if I protect myself, do you? I'm really sorry if you hurt yourself, if that is possible here in this world inside your mind."
Asuka never really thought about that before. "I'm... inside my..."
"Yes. You are in here because you've let yourself withdraw from the outside world," Kaworu explained as he walked up to Asuka to help her up. "You think it's a problem with everyone else, but really, the problem is- -," he said, pointing to Asuka's head, "- -in here."
Asuka did not dare attack him again, so instead she replied angrily at the comment. "Oh! So now, you're saying I'm a nutcase! Is that it?"
Kaworu smiled. "No, not at all. You seem to be a smart young lady." Asuka crossed her arms. "You just need to realize what you really want," Kaworu continued. "I don't think you're too sure about that."
"What I want?" Asuka said. "What I want is to get the hell out of here, pilot my Eva, and squeeze the crap out of your scrawny body with it!"
Kaworu chuckled a little. "No, thank you, that's actually quite uncomfortable. Now, on a serious note, please keep my words in mind. When you've reached self-actualization, your mind will release you. I can't tell you how to do that, because deep inside, it is you and you alone who knows how to do this, Asuka Langley Soryu. I really cannot offer any more advice, as my time here is fleeting. The rest is up to you, if you want to help yourself." He turned around to leave Asuka with her thoughts, and began to walk away. (This is all I can do for you Shinji... I pray that she will be able to arrive in time to help you. This, Shinji, is my final 'thank you...' and 'goodbye...')
"Wait!" Asuka called from behind. Her eyes had a look of pining she could not conceal. "You - - You said you knew Shinji." She chuckled nervously. "Umm... not that it really matters to me, but how is he?" She looked down, and was seemingly interested in her feet.
Kaworu's smile faded away. "Not too good I'm afraid. If you like him so much, why don't you go and see him?"
"What?!? I never- -" Asuka objected. But Kaworu already disappeared, leaving a very confused Asuka Langley Soryu.
What do you think? I know something that you guys might say... why not Asuka's mother instead of Kaworu? Well, I have plans for her... har har.
Will Asuka be able to wake up? What killed Ritsuko so suddenly? Will Snake complete his mission? Find out in the next chapter of MGL:A!
Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.