Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion all characters and related trademarks are property of Gainax.
"But Shinji why do you have to go?"
"Because I have to."
"No you don't. Fuyutski has no right to send you out there. This is a matter of international politics, it has nothing to do with Angels or Wraiths or anything making an Eva necessary," Asuka Langley Soryu said with an exasperated look in her eyes.
"How do you know that it isn't necessary to use Eva?"
"Because if it was, then they would have sent me of course…I mean, they wouldn't send you alone."
"I won't be alone."
"Oh really? And who else is going on this little camping trip?"
"As far as I know, about eight 18 year old JSSDF troopers."
"What? That doesn't make any sense, why would they send such young soldiers with you?"
Shinji Ikari stopped walking. He turned around to face the second child.
"Because you need to be 18 to join the JSSDF, and you need to be born after Second Impact to pilot an Evangelion."
"Pilot an Evangelion? Shinji what the fuck are you talking about?"
Shinji said nothing. He was terrified about going back into battle. It had been 3 years since he had seen actual combat. And then he had been fighting against Angels and Wraiths. Now he was fighting against human beings; other kids barely older than he. He had been relatively okay about killing Angels, with the exception of Koaru. It was harder for him to kill a Wraith knowing that they were made up of trapped human souls. But killing actual humans…Shinji was still struggling to come to grips with what that meant. "But taking the lives of others is worth saving the lives of my friends, right?"
"Shinji! Talk to me goddamnit!" Asuka was yelling now.
Shinji reached down and pressed the button on the wrist of his plug suit. He could feel the suit fit itself snugly to his body. The Third child looked back ahead of him. This was it; he had reached the transport bay elevator. Fuyutski would be waiting for him on the other side.
"Look Asuka, I'm sorry that I have to do this. I know that you are worried about me, but if something was to attack Japan while I was gone, they would need you here; you're the best they've got."
Shinji was trying his best to make her feel better by appealing to her all important pride, even though he knew that Damon was the best Japan currently had. Though he also knew that the American boy would probably be leaving soon. Fuyutski would not go to war with America unless he absolutely could not avoid it. Shinji knew that this was the real reason that he was going on this mission alone.
"Don't you dare try to appease me with those bullshit excuses, Shinji! We both know that Fuyutski would send that baka Damon out before me."
Asuka wasn't quite sure why she had called the American boy that. In truth she liked him a lot. But at this point she was just very pissed off at Shinji. She could tell that he wasn't telling her something.
"Asuka, look, leave Damon out of this. We may never see him again."
"I highly doubt it. That impulsive fool just proposed to your sister!"
"He what?"
"You heard me Ikari."
Shinji closed his eyes and balled his fists. He simply did not have the will power to deal with everything that was happening around him at this moment.
"Asuka…" Shinji said, trying to calm himself.
"Look Shinji, just tell me what is going on."
"Fine," Shinji said to himself, as he let out a long breath.
"The Russians and the Americans are holding Nishka and Kensuke hostage somewhere out in Siberia. I've been selected to bring them back."
Asuka Langley Soryu couldn't believe what she had just been told. What did that mean? War? Was that where this was headed?
"No. Oh God. Please tell me you're lying," Asuka said, hoping that what had been said was not true.
Shinji Ikari stepped into the open elevator in front of him. He pushed the button for the top floor, and watched as the elevator doors slowly closed; watched as the second child tried to contain her rage and her tears.
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"And it's all done? It's all legal?"
"Well Hikari, why don't you look for yourself?" Misato Katsuragi said as she handed the certificate to the brown haired girl.
"So you just had a judge do it?" Toji Suzahara asked, scratching the back of his head as he did so.
"Yup," Misato said, "Just this morning."
"Wow," Hikari said, "And they were both okay with this? I mean I've dreamed about my wedding ever since I was a little girl, the dress, the cake, everything."
"I know. I felt kind of bad. But it was necessary to keep Damon in the country. Even so I promised that as soon as all this trouble with the Americans was over that they could have a real ceremony with all the fun stuff," Misato said.
"Oh. Okay then. I'm glad. I've always wanted to be in a wedding," Hikari said with a smile.
Toji groaned. Hikari shot him a look and the Japanese boy quickly put his hands over his mouth. Misato smiled. She had tried her best not to tell them about the true nature of the conflict with the American government. They had not been told about Kensuke and Nishka's abduction, nor had they been told about Shinji's mission to rescue them. Section two wanted to make sure as few people knew as possible in hopes that the war might still be avoided.
"Well," Toji said as he pulled his hands away from his mouth, "Where are Damon and Rei anyway?"
Misato's grin grew wider at this question.
"Oh, I'm sure they're fine. Probably off having fun somewhere," Misato paused before she added, "It is there honeymoon you know."
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"Attention!"
Shinji Ikari watched as the eight pilots snapped instantly to attention following Commander Fuyutski's order.
"Here they are, Shinji. From left to right we have privates Takahashi, Amori, Dazai, Endo, Fujishima, Hirata, Iwakura, and Kasamatsu."
Shinji nodded.
"At ease," The commander yelled, releasing the pilots from their salute.
After a brief moment longer, Fuyutski motioned for Shinji to follow him, which he did. After about a two minute walk they entered a massive launching bay.
"Gamma series," Shinji said to himself.
The Gamma series closely resembled Unit 03. Shinji shuddered slightly from the memories that the short lived Eva had brought. Unlike unit 03 though these Gamma Evangelions were only black on their limbs however, for their torsos and lower faces were painted a silvery gray.
"Here they are Shinji, mankind's new weapons."
Shinji nodded to the commander. Then after another short moment he was led to the briefing room with his men.
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Damon Robinson ran his left hand slowly through the hair of the first child, kissing her fully as he did so. His right hand he kept cupped upon her cheek, and then, after several moments more, ran it down the length of her chest, hovering briefly around her breasts, and then down her torso. Soon he noticed that she had opened her eyes. Even in the darkness the deep crimson seemed to light up the room. He did his best to return her gaze; to return her passion. The seventh child found that he had lost himself in her eyes, as if he was journeying through her very soul. And perhaps he was. Damon felt her reach out in the darkness, wrapping her right arm around his back, and placing her left behind his head. Soon afterward he felt her pulling him; rolling him horizontally across the bed, and then Damon found her above him. The blinds in the room were open slightly, and through the slits he could see the subtle moon light flow onto her, illuminating her pale body in the darkness. The seventh child drank in every part of the first, from the white nails on her pale toes, to the smooth skin of her uncovered body, to the light tips of her blue hair. Her presence was absolutely intoxicating; her body crafted by God in the image of what beauty was meant to be. He could hear her soft moans, and seconds later pulled her closer; close enough to whisper in her ear.
"I love you."
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"I can't believe he just proposed to her like that! I mean, my God…Kids these days."
Misato Katsuragi did her best to keep from laughing as her only human room mate said this. But the effort was futile.
"And what might I ask is so funny, Major?" Ryoji Kaji asked with a sarcastic grin.
"Well," Misato started, "I just don't see what's so wrong with it."
"Oh come on Misato, there barely 18, if that."
"Call me a romantic but I don't think that there is ever a time to early, or to late, for marriage if two people truly love each other."
Kaji made an odd sort of sputtering noise, and spilled a bit of his coffee.
"Well…I suppose it's okay if you look at it that way, Major."
"You see what I mean? At least Damon had the courage to propose. No one can say now that he is afraid of commitment. I mean, that would be the worst, to love someone and never be able to actually express it."
Kaji spilled more of his coffee.
"I see."
"Anyway Kaji, while were on the subject of marriage, did you know that today is the three year anniversary of when you proposed to me…"
"Really I didn't-"
"…and you still haven't set a date."
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"Alright, everybody listen up. The team dynamic breaks down like this: Shinji is the head of attack team 1, with Takahashi and Amori as his wingmen. Dazai is the head of attack team 2, with Endo and Fujishima as his wingmen. Hirata and Iwakura are scouts for the team as a whole, and Kasamatsu will be transporting the assault team. It is an absolute necessity that Kasamatsu be protected at all costs. If he goes down, we lose all of the assault shock troops that have been supplied for the actual raid of the facility. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir, Commander Fuyutski Sir!"
"Good. Now to go over some of the finer details. As you are all of course well aware, the Gamma series has several weaknesses. In order to allow any person, regardless of Marduk status to pilot certain cuts to the original design were necessary. To allow for all possible ego parameters to be satisfied, the Gamma series is equipped with a very generalized soul, and though mass produced and slightly modified, remains closely similar to the dummy plug system used in the original SEELE units. However, because of this, the Gamma system is forced to rely on a substantially weakened AT field. As you know the S^2 engine will provide you with all the running power you will need for movement, but you must also be aware that the S^2 engine is supplying power to your AT field. That means that if your field takes too many hits, then your S^2 engine will need to pump more power to the field for protection. However, when this occurs you will only have 5 minutes until the S^2 unit becomes depleted. And you all know what that means."
"Yes sir, Commander Fuyutski Sir!"
"I would also like you all to remember that no AT field is ever invincible, even at full power. With enough power linked up to the proper weapon, your field can be penetrated. So I want you all to be on the lookout for that as well."
Shinji knew what the commander was referring too. The same tactic had been applied by NERV against the Angels. All of Tokyo 3's power had been re-routed to ensure the success of the operation.
"One last thing. If any of you get yourselves into a fix you can't get out of, remember that Shinji can supply cover with his AT field if necessary. Understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Good. Get your bags packed and ready to go. We're set to arrive in Siberia at zero hundred hours, so let's get moving. Dismissed."
Shinji stood up with the rest of his team and headed for the door out of the briefing room. He watched the men walk out and head for their transports. "These men are putting their lives in my hands," Shinji thought to himself, "I can't let them down. If I do, that means they won't make it back. I can't let that happen. I would never forgive myself." Shinji could almost see the faces of their crying mothers. And then he wondered if his own mother would ever have expected her son's life to turn out the way it had. Shinji sighed.
"Shinji, a word please."
It was commander Fuyutski.
"Yes commander?"
"You are doing a very noble thing today. I just want you to know that. They always talk about the assassin who started world war I, and the men who stormed the beach at Omaha in world war II. Tonight, Shinji, you will go down in history as well."
"Commander, there is a difference between this war and the wars before it."
"Oh?"
"They say history is written by winners. But if we don't win this war, there won't be any humans left to talk about it at all."
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Asuka Langley Soryu found herself sitting in an empty church. It was almost midnight, and she was entirely alone. The second child was doing something she had not done in a very long time; praying. Asuka was praying that her lover's life would not be taken on this night; praying that he would return to her. The German girl found herself wishing that she could have had a normal life; that she could have lived happily and contentedly with Shinji Ikari. But she knew that wishing was pointless. That's why she had decided to pray. The mark on Shinji's chest was plain to her, and she knew that it could not be mere coincidence. Things were happening for a reason. She kept seeing images of Shinji bleeding on the roof, in the rain. He was alone, and she did not help him, she could not help him. She had been frozen; unable to move. That night he had demonstrated the strength she knew he had, even if he didn't believe so. Asuka was now praying for something else than simply being with him. She was now hoping beyond hope that God would again give her the chance to fight alongside him. If Shinji was to die than Asuka Langley Soryu prayed that she could die next to him, gloriously, on the field of battle; the tragic love story of their lives finally concluded.
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Shinji Ikari watched the display in front of him as his Eva rapidly lost altitude. The clouds around him were parting now, and he could clearly see the frozen white expanse laid out beneath him. The forest where the rally point was to be placed could now be easily seen. Shinji looked up now, seeing his squad mates plummeting mere seconds above him. This was it. Moment's later Evangelion unit 01 hit the ground. Shinji could feel the legs bend as they recoiled from the force of hitting the surface, and then he slowly found control and stood as the rest of his team hit the ground around him.
The display in Shinji's cockpit immediately began to light up with status reports on his squad. A display of all eight friendly units was shown on the left side of his screen. The display showed damage received to each individual body part on his team, as well as the amount of energy remaining in their Gamma AT fields, and therefore, their S^2 engines as well.
"Alright, let's lock and load," Shinji said, and upon hearing his command the Eva's around him pulled their rifles from their back holsters and began reaching for their clips. The third child did the same, pulling one of eight clips from the attachment on his leg. Once this was done, Shinji nodded to Hirata and Iwakura. The two scouts signaled back and pulled their progressive knives out as they began to slowly walk through the forest.
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Private Iwakura could now plainly see the target installation through the pale green of his night vision display.
"Hirata?"
"Yes, I hear you go ahead."
"Do you see what I'm seeing?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Iwakura opened up his radio channel to the rest of the team.
"Shinji, we have visual confirmation of the target."
"Good. Is the path clear?"
"No. Hirata and I can see at least four Ruskie Eva's near the perimeter, but its likely that there are several more."
Shinji sighed. "Damn it," he said to himself. Somewhere deep down he had hoped to encounter no resistance.
"Alright," Shinji said, "How do we reach your position?"
"I'm downloading the path to your HUD map as we speak sir," Iwakura responded.
Unit 01's screen began to flash signaling to its pilot that the map had been successfully received. Shinji quickly glanced over the map before sending it to the rest of the team.
"Amori! Takahashi! Lets go," Shinji said over his comm. to his two wingmen, "We're heading out first. Attack team two is to bring up the rear while keeping Kasamatsu out of harms way. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Here goes nothing," Shinji said to himself.
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Nishka Zalomai sat in complete darkness. It had been this way since she had been abducted the day before. Complete isolation and complete darkness. She had given up calling out for Kensuke. It was now apparent to her that the cell was likely sound proof anyway. Nishka knew that she had been tricked by her own government. Though as to why she was not sure. The sixth child decided that it would be best if she tried to get some sleep.
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Shinji Ikari let his eye stair up the spine of his rifle, an enemy Evangelion centered in his sites.
"Don't move," Shinji shouted to the Russian pilot, "You're surrounded. Drop your weapon and you don't have to get hurt."
The red and blue Eva in his sites seemed hesitant. It kept glancing around from Shinji to the members of the second attack team. Then, finally, it moved to place its weapon on the ground. Suddenly however three other Russian Evangelions managed to make their way into the small clearing. Upon seeing their comrade's predicament they immediately snapped their rifles up to firing position.
"Shit!" Shinji said out loud to his team.
"You three! Don't move!" Dazai shouted to the new bogeys that had entered the clearing, "No one needs to get hurt."
Shinji Ikari was unsure of who fired first; all he knew was that he had heard the sound of gunfire, and soon after that the forest was ablaze with light and sound. All at once it Shinji could see the AT fields of everyone involved activate as they began to reflect the high impact rifle rounds off into the distance. Red lights began to flash on the left side of Shinji's screen as he watched AT field energy meters begin to rapidly drain, and then the first blood was drawn. The third child watched as Dazai at last penetrated the field of one of the Russian pilots. The bullet stream moved horizontally up from the stomach, splintering the chest and the abdomen as it reached up to the neck and head. LCL began to spew violently from the Eva as the bullets cut deeper, until Dazai finally managed to sever the head from the rest of the body. The enemy pilot's screams at last ceased as Shinji cut the comm. link and watched the blossoming explosion overtake the surrounding trees.
"I'm hit!" Amori yelled to the rest of the team.
Shinji glanced at his monitor to see the display for Gamma 03. Seconds later the display for Amori's right arm went blank, and a new wave of screams again filled the Third child's ears.
"Stay low and head north, we'll flank them and come up the side!" Shinji shouted.
"Yes sir!"
The third child ducked low behind the trees and snaked around to the left with his wingmen following closely behind. Shinji spied something moving to his right and centered his scope. Everything seemed to go into slow motion as Shinji pulled the trigger. The bullets arced into their curved trajectory; the white hot vectors cutting cleanly through the skull of the Russian Eva. If it were not for the fact that Shinji was protecting the rest of his team, he may very well have broken down and cried; cried for the second murder he had committed in the 17 years he had been alive. The third child could feel his mind reaching out for aid; screaming for comfort. "Asuka," Shinji said to himself. They had yelled at each other as he left; he had left her crying. "If I don't make it back tonight…I hope she knows that I love her."
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Koaru Nagisa woke suddenly in his sleep. The fifth child had heard the sound of a gunshot pierce his dreams. He stood from his bed and walked to his window. The ocean was calm. The boardwalk was silent; there were no joggers or rollerbladers upon it at this time of the night. Koaru could feel the cool breeze blow off the water to his window. If there was one thing the fifth child did not like about California it was the cool nights. He sighed.
"Shinji…"
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Shinji Ikari finally shouldered his rifle. Unit 01 was stained with LCL, both the enemies, as well as private Endo's. He had tried his best to save Endo, but in the process of pulling the entry plug free the enemy had overtaken him.
"Shinji?"
"Yes."
"This is commander Ikari. You should have about an 18 minute window before reinforcements show up."
"Understood."
"Tell Kasamatsu to unload the assault team."
"He already is sir."
"Good."
"Once they're inside, keep your eyes and ears open. If reinforcements come early and your team goes down there wont be any way to get Aida and Zalomai out of harms way if the assault team is successful."
"I understand."
"That is all."
Shinji glanced at the destruction around him. The forest was ablaze, and felled Evangelions littered the ground; the ice stained red. The third child had never felt further from home in his entire life; further from the people that mattered. "How will they even be able to look at me when I come back?" he thought, "How can you look a killer in the eyes?" Shinji Ikari had no answers to these questions.