I don't own anything. (My new idiot-proof disclaimer.)
Lycanthrope
-Chapter Twelve: My Flesh and Blood
"What the hell?" Shinji jerked awake as the angel sirens sounded.
"What's all the noise?" Yuki asked tiredly.
"It's an angel," Shinji said as he climbed out of their bed and began to get dressed. 'Why can't a sense it?'
"Did you know it was coming?" Yuki asked as she began to get dressed herself.
"No," Shinji said. "There's something wrong with this one. I could sense the others, but I can't sense this one."
"Maybe it's a false alarm," Yuki said. "Or a civil test."
"No," Shinji said. "There hasn't been one in months. You need to get to one of the shelters."
"Alright," Yuki said. Shinji started for the door, but Yuki grabbed his hand. She pulled him around and kissed him.
"Be careful."
"Always."
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"So you didn't see this one coming?" Touji asked as he leaned back against the bank of lockers.
"Did you?" Shinji snapped. "Aren't they your relatives?"
"Shut up rover," Touji snapped back, his head jerking towards the curtain that separated the boy's side of the locker rooms from the girl's.
"Sorry. They got me up in the middle of the night and I'm a little tired."
"No problem," Touji said. "Just keep the angel cracks down around anyone else."
"Got it." Shinji thumbed the button on his wrist and the suit vacuum-sealed to his body. "Why are you here anyway?"
"Because I'm the only viable replacement pilot," Touji said.
"That's a scary thought," Shinji said.
"You're telling me," Touji said. "It's really quite sad when you think about it."
"You being a pilot?" Shinji asked.
"Well that," Touji said. "And the kinds of things that human kind is placing their future in."
"You mean a lycan, a psycho, and two half-breed angels?" Shinji asked in a voice too low for either Asuka or Rei to hear.
"Yeah," Touji said.
"War against the angels," Shinji said with a shrug. "Who have you to trust but us poor little devils?" He grinned. "And you little traitors?"
"Makes me glad that I'm a Buddhist," Touji said, ignoring the barb.
"Really?" Shinji asked. "I believe in the Guardian of Lycans."
"How's that working out for you?" Touji asked curiously.
"Just fine."
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"So what's the deal?" Shinji asked.
"Asuka is being sent to fight alone," Misato answered.
"What?" Shinji asked. "And why is Unit One frozen in Bakelite?"
"Commander's orders," Misato said tiredly.
"That makes sense," Shinji said. "That stupid bastard doesn't know enough about tactics to win a game a Risk." Misato's eyes widened slightly and she looked over her shoulder.
"He can hear you."
"So?" Shinji asked. "Did he miss what I said? Do you want me to repeat it?"
"No!"
"Alright already," Shinji muttered. "Jesus. Always somebody on my back about something." He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His hand found one of the radio switches by memory and the radio crackled as it switched to the all hands frequency.
"All you have to do is aim and fire," Misato said to Asuka. "This should be a cake walk."
"Of course it will be," Asuka sneered. Shinji opened one eye and glanced at Unit Zero-Two as it was loaded onto a catapult. It was carrying a massive beam sniper rifle of some kind.
"We are still unsure as to whether or not the rifle will be able to reach the angel in its orbit," Misato continued. "If you can't hit it then retreat."
"Evangelion Unit Zero-Two has been successfully loaded onto the catapult ma'am," one of the bridge crew members said.
"Launch her." Shinji watched in interest as the red Eva rocketed up the catapult tube. It was only a few seconds before the bridge crew began to release the locks holding the unit in place and allowing it to step out into Tokyo-3. Shinji listened absently as the bridge crew monitored the rifle's start up procedures. The LCL was so warm and Shinji was so tired.
"No!" Shinji jerked to full consciousness as Asuka screamed in pain.
"What the fuck is going on?" he snapped. Asuka screamed in pain over the radio. "Misato!"
"The angel is attacking Asuka!" Misato said.
"How?" Shinji still couldn't sense it. There was no way the angel could be close enough to attack if he couldn't sense it.
"It's attacking her mentally!" Ritsuko yelled.
"Send Unit Zero to try and assist her!" Misato yelled.
"No." Shinji recognized the calm, cold voice as the old bastard himself. "Send Rei to retrieve the lance."
"Please," Asuka begged. "Someone help me." Shinji mentally tuned out her pained cries.
"Then send Unit Zero-One!" Misato cried.
"You do not have the authority to unfreeze that Unit," Commander Ikari said coolly. "He will remain in stasis." Shinji glanced at the communication screen that showed Misato. There were tears running down her face. She looked Shinji dead in the eye and mouthed one word. 'Please.' Shinji took a deep breath of LCL. He couldn't give a damn about Asuka, but he did owe something to Misato. 'A hit for a hit and a favor for a favor,' Shinji decided tiredly. He closed his eyes again and began to focus.
"Pilot Ikari's synch ration is skyrocketing!" someone screamed.
"Cease your activities!" Commander Ikari bellowed. Shinji smirked slightly. Just because he was doing Misato a favor didn't mean he wasn't getting something out of this.
"His ratio is topping out at three hundred and fifty!" someone cried in amazement. Shinji brought his left arm up; at that high of a synch ratio the control yokes weren't truly necessary. He opened his eyes. The Eva's left arm had been torn from its Bakelite prison. He raised his other arm and the Eva's right arm lifted effortlessly from the Bakelite. He pulled himself out and ran towards the launch tube. He jumped strait up and sank his claws into the side of the tube. Then he began to climb.
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Misato watched as Shinji's Eva scaled the inside of the catapult tube and tore its way out onto the streets. "Pilot Ikari!" Commander Ikari yelled. He was more furious then Misato had even seen him.
"Shut up!" Shinji roared, his voice horse and tired. "I'm busy!"
"Return to the Geo-Front now and you will not be executed for disobeying orders!" Commander Ikari yelled. Shinji nearly doubled over in laughter.
"Even if you tried to kill me," he managed. "You wouldn't be able to." Misato ignored the banter and watched as the purple Eva ran towards the red one. It stopped just outside of the light being admitted by the angel. "Don't go into the light." This crack was preceded by more laughter.
"Is he insane?" someone demanded.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Misato mumbled under her breath. Insane or not, Shinji wasn't a fool. He grabbed the Eva's power cable and pulled hard. The red Eva flew threw the air. "I've got it, I've got it, I've got it!" Shinji chanted as his Eva danced around with its arms raised. Misato turned away from the screen and glanced at the bridge crew. Most of them were simply too stunned do anything. That did not surprise Misato in the least. Back on the screen Shinji managed to catch Asuka's unmoving unit.
"Get her to the catapult!" Misato screamed. Shinji's Eva turned and began sprinting, but the light snapped around. Misato's entire thought pattern at that moment was easily summed up by Shinji's simply words.
"Oh. . .shit." Then the purple unit jerked and fell, sending the red Eva sprawling, but not far enough to get out of the light.
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Asuka was curled into a little ball as her memories swirled and danced around her. "Do you love me?" a little girl's voice asked.
"It's not real," Asuka moaned miserably.
"But it is," the little girl's voice said sadistically. Suddenly all noise was cut off and the little girl's voice rang out in a terrified scream. Asuka looked up and stared at the new figure standing in the empty void that had replaced her memories. He was standing over the body of a young red-haired girl. Asuka watched as her blood began to pool in the blackness. The figure turned and stared at Asuka while he licked the blood off his claws.
"Shinji?"
"Yeah," the young man said, his voice unnaturally deep and rough. His body was different as well. His long black hair had grown down to his lower back and his golden eyes seemed even brighter then usual. Asuka continued to stare at him. His ears were different too. They were too long and pointed to be human. "What are you staring at?" Shinji demanded, his eyes narrowing.
"Fangs?" Asuka asked weakly. Shinji reached up and touched one of the long, sharp teeth in his mouth. He checked his hair and ears and looked about as surprise as Asuka was. "What is this place?"
"Inside the angel," Shinji said with a shrug. "God I hope this doesn't mean that I become part angel. Touji would never let me live it down." Suddenly flashing memories and voices filled the void. Asuka watched in shock as a bearded man walked away from a young crying child. Shinji snorted in amusement and a new memory floated into place. This time Asuka could recognize Shinji. Touji was holding him by the collar. There was a flash of movement and Shinji fell to the ground.
"You don't care for me at all anymore." Asuka spun in surprise and stared at the young blue-eyed boy standing behind her. "You just don't care," he continued, his young voice betraying heart-wrenching sorrow. Asuka watched in shock as Shinji shoved his way past her and snatched the young boy up by the throat. She looked away, but couldn't black out the sounds of the boy's screams of pain. Then they fell into silence.
"And stay dead this time!" Asuka looked back and retched violently. The young boy's corpse wasn't a neat kill like her younger self's. The young boy had been torn into shreds. "You don't seem to get it!" Shinji bellowed into the void. "I don't care about this shit!" Suddenly new memories began to flash. Asuka watched as a young woman from class slapped another Shinji.
"You disgust me," she began.
"Don't even bother," the Shinji by Asuka said with a laugh. "Yuki is my mate. Mates are the truest form of love there is." Suddenly there was another view. A man with glinting silver eyes was holding the same young woman and slowly ripping her apart.
"Oh my God," Asuka moaned as she began to retch again.
"Help me Shinji!" the woman cried out. Shinji's laugh shocked Asuka into looking up.
"Didn't I tell you not to bother with Yuki?" he demanded of the void. "You're trying to break a lycan using the same tactics you would use on a human. I am sorely disappointed." Asuka listened in shock as Shinji began to laugh. It wasn't the insane cackle he seemed to use now, but it was a deep chuckle of pure amusement.
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"What's happening?" Misato wondered as she stared at Shinji and Asuka's stats.
"They're perfectly synched," Maya said in awe. "Heart beat, brain wave pattern, even their synch rations are perfectly matched."
"Unit Zero has retried the lance!" Shigeru said.
"Get her on the street!" Misato ordered, but the three technicians were already working on it. In a matter of seconds Unit Zero appeared on the streets wielding the twisted Lance of Longius. It wound up and hurled the weapon like a champion lance thrower. In a matter of seconds the weapon pierced the angel's AT field and then went through its body. The light on the two other Eva's died away quickly.
"The blue signal has ceased completely," Makoto announced.
"Both pilots are conscious and appear to be in good shape." Two screens popped on the main viewer. Shinji looked at Misato and grinned brightly before flashing her a victory sign. Misato smiled and looked at Asuka. The young redhead slowly uncurled from her ball and looked up.
"Oh shit," Misato said as she watched Asuka's large golden eyes stare at her. She glanced at Shinji and noticed that his golden eyes were practically three times their normal size.
"You've got to be shitting me," he managed weakly and his eyes rolled back and he slumped in his seat.
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"You fainted. That is just pathetic."
"Shut up," Shinji growled. "I fainted from disappointment."
"Pardon?" Touji asked in confusion.
"She's one of us," Shinji growled as he sat up and swung his legs out of the hospital bed. "One of my kind."
"Eh?"
"Asuka's a lycan."
"And you're her sire," Touji said as he began laughing. "Now that's ironic!"
"No," Shinji said. "It's horrible."
"Why?" Touji asked.
"She's not just any lycan," Shinji said, trying to explain this was hard. "She's my pack mate. She's my own flesh and blood now. Well kind of anyway. I mean we don't actually share any flesh or blood, but I'm still her sire!"
"Can you kill her like that?" Touji asked curiously.
"I don't think so," Shinji said tiredly. Touji turned around while Shinji got dressed. "Do you have my cell phone?" Touji pulled the chunk of plastic and metal from his pocket. Shinji took it and punched in the speed dial. The phone in his house continued to ring until the machine caught it. Shinji ended the call without leaving a message and hit the speed dial for Yuki's cell phone. Again it continued to ring.
"What's wrong?" Touji asked.
"Yuki isn't answering the phone," Shinji said.
"Did you try her cell?" Touji asked.
"Yeah," Shinji said. He could feel his breathing begin to increase. Yuki would never be caught without her phone. He had seen her put it in her pocket when he had left that mourning.
"You think something bad happened to her?" Touji asked. He was already moving towards the door. Shinji followed after him.
"I wouldn't doubt it with a Van Hellsing in town," Shinji said as he followed Touji into the hall. Immediately the sounds of a woman singing some old nursery rhyme in German assault his eyes.
"Is that Sohryu?" Touji asked. Shinji looked around and spotted two Section-2 agents standing in front of one of the hospital rooms. Shinji quickly moved towards it.
"I'm sorry," one of the agents said. "You can't go in there."
"Commander Ikari has also ordered you to be placed under arrest," the second agent said as he reached into his coat for a pair of handcuffs. Shinji swung his arm once and both men dropped to the ground. Touji frowned as one severed head bounded into his leg. He pulled back his foot and kicked it down the hall. Shinji his own foot and knocked the door of its hinges.
"Shinji!" Shinji was caught completely by surprise as something heavy slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground. Shinji looked up in shock to see a beaming Asuka sitting on him. "Hi Shinji!" the young woman sang at the top of her voice.
"What the hell?" Touji asked. Asuka turned to look at him and pressed herself to Shinji with a look of fear.
"Bad," she said with a pout as she made little stabbing motions at him with his pinky finger.
"Get off!" Shinji roared. Asuka quickly scrambled to her feet and looked at the ground. She looked like a little girl who had been scolded. "Come on," Shinji growled in annoyance as he grabbed her wrist and began running down the hall with Touji following behind him closely.
"Where are we going?" he called.
"To find a car!" Shinji answered. He pulled off his black leather waistcoat and handed it to Asuka. "Put this on." She quickly pulled it on over her plug suit. 'That might attract just a little less attention.'
-End
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-Author's notes. Heh, major cliffhanger eh? Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon (if I know what's good for me, right?).