Yue's Lady: Coming to you with a new chapter as a product from slacking off…but very happy at the reviews I received. I even got put on a Favorites list! I'm so happy!
I'm also doing my best to produce longer chapters, but my small brain will not allow it. I am trying…NOTE the TRYING ok…
Since I could really not be bothered changing the previous chapter (dodges fruit), I will try to amend Asuka's lack of reaction to Xiao Lan's slap. It does seem very Mary Sue, doesn't it…oh well, I just couldn't resist. I detest that redhead…now I'm getting carried away again, so here's my thank you list-
D14852001: thanks…I'll try, but sometimes my italics don't show up (same with the bold, it always messes up). Yes, this is a Shinji/Rei, although there's little to no romance in this fic unfortunately…perhaps in the epilogue I'll put some WAFF…
Steve VADER: thanks…I know it was a lame reaction…shall strive for longer chappies but it all depends on my inspiration at the moment…
Otaku D-Man: that's a very one-sided deal…extremely unfair…are you barking?! Your fics are a gift to EVA fanfiction, you stop updating and I will bombard you with complaints. About Asuka's retaliation…hmm…debatable whether she succeeds or not, providing that I make her retaliate without seeming stupid…I regard the Rei-jumping-on-Shinji's-SDAT amusing as well…thanks for your review anyways!
Ghost140: Thank you. I know the plot's been used already, but I'm trying to make this one unique…probably anyhow…
The Lord Of pencil: Err…(sweatdrops and continues to throw knives)
Faoron: thanks! ^_^
Lady Laran: thanks so much! ^_____^
Drake Pendragon: thank you thank you thank you!
jennyjennai: thank you!
Grey Wolf4: thanks!
Now, what's left to do…oh yes…
Disclaimer: All you freaky poof-heads with lawyers looking for people to sue, you can't sue me! Because I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion…I wish I did. Xiao Lan's mine though, so no stealing.
CHAPTER FIVEAsuka was fuming, absolutely furious, raging, spitting mad. Having finally felt the full blow of being slapped by the Sixth Child was unforgivable. She, the prettiest, smartest, basically the best out of all of them, slapped? By a Chinese bitch who barely knew anything? Simply unforgivable.
But banging and kicking and screaming at a solid door was quite undignified especially since the Chinese prat would never open it…coward.
No, she would wait and humiliate the little bitch so she'd never forget how wrong it was to cross Asuka Langley Sohryuu. Time to do some research.
~*~
Later…
All the pilots were summoned to the NERV Headquarters. There was a double Angel attack. As expected, Shinji was the main offense with Unit 01, with Rei, Asuka and Xiao Lan as backups. Toji was to remain at the Headquarters, apparently being told that watching and analyzing the battle was going to be good education for his own battles when he had fully healed. Not to mention that Commander Ikari had ordered him to remain and watch.
Shinji climbed into his entry plug numbly, barely registering the fact that the LCL smelled even more like blood than usual.
Ritsuko fought the urge to stop the mobilization of the Eva Units, but could not allow either, the Angel to terrorize Tokyo 3. Misato squashed her already biting conscience and the staff began the mobilization sequence.
Xiao Lan felt her muscles grow clammy as the LCL entered her system. But she ignored it, and remembered her promise. Nothing was to happen to Shinji. The scent of the LCL made her hands clench at the controls, her knuckles bleach white under the gloves.
Rei felt a twinge of resentment at the commands that were becoming repetitive. Pilot Ikari was always on the forefront, even in his present presence of mind. He was clearly not in the right condition to pilot, but Rei could never refuse an order from the Commander.
Asuka also felt a similar twinge of resentment, only hers was magnified a hundredfold because of a certain Chinese brat and the depressed baka on the front line again. She was clearly the best, so why did they never put her in front, as the leader, as the one to kill the Angels and save them? Aside from the synch test results, Shinji had nothing on her…absolutely nothing.
~*~
Shinji strained against the controls as the red Angel lunged at him, 'claws' piercing Unit 01's right arm. He could feel pain, but he simply could not scream. He forgot how to scream, to say anything other than a mumbling of something he didn't know of. He remembered a faint voice saying 'She's just a doll!' and almost smiled sadistically. He was nothing now…just a murderer…just following orders…wallowing in his mental maelstrom of guilt…just a murderer…
~*~
Rei plunged the Prog knife into the Angel, just to distract it from Unit 01. She just needed to find the core and eliminate it. But where was the core? There was sweat on her pale cheek as she fended off the Angel from Unit 01, which had stopped moving. She glanced at the Eva for a split second but then refocused her attention on the Angel. Her orders were to keep Unit 01 from sustaining permanent damage. But as her crimson eyes continued looking for the Angel's core, she could not help thinking about what she was really trying to protect- Unit 01, or Ikari Shinji. What does this mean? Rei asked herself.
~*~
Asuka sliced at the other Angel, this one an attractive purple to match Unit 01. Finally, she could defeat an Angel without baka Shinji's interference. They'd appreciate what a valuable person she was. She/Unit 02 rushed at the Angel, hacking at the armor, her blue eyes also looking for the core that would provide an easy kill. On a spur of adrenalin, she yelled through the system…
~*~
"Watch and learn, you Chinese wimp!" Asuka's voice yelled proudly through the speakers, making Xiao Lan wince at the volume. Of course, maybe that was also partially due to the fact that pain was curling in her muscles at the prolonged LCL soaking. Hives would break out soon along her skin. She coughed again. She actually wished Asuka was quickly finish off the Angel so she could get out of the entry plug and breathe real air. But something nagged at Xiao Lan's mind- she should have lasted without any effects in the LCL for longer than this…what was wrong?
~*~
Ritsuko dropped her mug of coffee as the Sixth Child's vitals flashed orange. The crash made the staff jump, and the pieces of pottery was littered in a puddle of brown liquid as the scientist quickly got put through to Eva Unit 05.
"What the hell is going on, Xiao Lan?! What happened?!" Ritsuko almost yelled into the speakers.
"I [cough] don't know, Dr. Akagi," Xiao Lan replied.
"Then retreat, damn it-," Ritsuko was cut off by a well-known and cold voice.
"No. You will stay where you are, Pilot Li, and assist the other pilots in eliminating the Angels," said Commander Ikari from his place. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Commander [cough]," Xiao Lan said quietly. Ritsuko's glared sullenly at her fist.
~*~
You're useless…always running away…no one wants you echoed the voices in his mind, voices that he remembered.
No one cares about you…they don't need you…you can't do anything
I know, I know! Leave me alone!
Flashes of color appeared in his mind's eye, memories…all those painful memories. NO! I don't want to see them!
You're running away again…see how useless you are? You're always running away…that's why everyone despises you…you're a coward…a murderer…
~*~
Misato flinched as she saw the sickening images. Even after seeing numerous times, the thing known as Berserk Eva Unit 01 still repulsed her inside. Earsplitting mechanical screeches from the biomechanical weapon vibrated in the air, as it pounced on the Angel, tearing it to pieces after having pushed Unit 00 to one side. Fluids and flesh-like parts flew and Maya buried her face in her hands.
~*~
Xiao Lan gritted her teeth as she drove her own Prog knife into the purple Angel, pain building up in her limbs, and little flesh bumps were slowly popping up onto her skin. Her vision was beginning to blur.
~*~
Ritsuko tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk, watching the vitals for Xiao Lan gradually darken. The monitors for mental activity were off the charts for Shinji…as well as Asuka, who was on a power trip, shredding the purple Angel for all it was worth, and Unit 05 well reflecting it's pilot's decreasing strength.
~*~
Rei winced as she got her Eva back on its feet. Unit 01 was on its Berserk frenzy…her screen was splattered with Angel blood. She wondered again, as she watched, what was this feeling…this feeling of concern…this almost longing for Shinji Ikari to smile and say something to her again…
~*~
Asuka finally found the core, it's gleaming smoothness almost surely attracting the blade point into it, little cracks spreading from the blade like ripples from a dropped stone, and light flashed as the Angel was killed. Unit 02 was covered in Angel fluids, only partially obscured by the redness of the Eva. Asuka panted, her muscles going slack with relief and triumph…she had won…won without baka Shinji as the hero…she had killed the Angel alone, before Shinji had killed the other one…she had won…
~*~
Shinji clutched at his head, whimpering and shaking. Leave me alone! Why can't you leave me alone?! Where was his SDAT when he needed it…the voices…he didn't want to hear them anymore…
Why must you always run away…just when everyone needs you, you always try to run away…
Leave me alone…I don't always run away…I fought them…I didn't run at all…
What about Kaworu…you didn't run…but you killed him…he said he liked you…you still killed him…
I had to…I didn't want to…
Murderer…murderer…
Shinji's world turned black, but he welcomed the darkness, there he could escape the voices, even for a little while…
~*~
Ritsuko saw the vitals and charts all beep loudly. Shinji had fainted. Unit 01 reared and screamed again, and then a bright flash of light signaled the demise of the red Angel.
The battle had been won.
~*~
Xiao Lan stumbled, dropping the Prog knife. Damn it…what's going on? she hunched over, fingers uncurling from the controls. Her face was covered in bumps, and she knew that the rest of her body was covered in hives as well…Shinji had gone unconscious. Eyes swimming, she felt a semblance of failure sting her conscience before her throat constricted and she groped at the controls again, reaching for the Eject on the panel…(is there one? If not, pretend there is)
A loud hissing sound followed the ejection of the entry plug, LCL spitting out from all sides of the tube. The door of the entry plug opened, and Xiao Lan stumbled out with the remaining LCL, taking a breath before passing out.
~*~
Misato was outraged, worried, and any other available emotion as she yelled into the system, before Ritsuko could get to it. "I want all medical units out there now and retrieve Pilot Ikari and Pilot Li! Pilot Ayanami and Sohryuu, get your butts back here!"
~*~
In the NERV medical center…
"Ritsuko, what's the status of Shinji and Xiao Lan?" Misato asked, her dark brown eyes glazed over with worry.
"…They're both stable for now…Shinji's still unconscious…Xiao Lan will be out for a few days…the allergy had gotten to its extreme stages," Ritsuko reported curtly. Misato frowned, and Ritsuko formed a small 'o' with her mouth.
"Allergy…? What allergy? There was nothing on the report or profile on Xiao Lan about any allergy! What allergy, Ritsuko?" Misato said. Ritsuko told her what had happened and expected an explosion.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! LCL?! THAT'S PRACTICALLY THE WHOLE JOB DESCRIPTION!! AND YOU STILL LET HER BE PILOT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" Misato screamed at the scientist plus more. When Misato had finally exhausted her voice and vocabulary, Ritsuko spoke.
"Would you like to see them? Pilot Suzuhara is in there already," Ritsuko said. Misato glared at Ritsuko and marched in.
"Misato-san," Toji greeted, getting up and bowing as custom. "Dr. Akagi."
Misato gave him a strained smile and looked at the two unconscious pilots. Shinji looked as though he were sleeping, with shadows under his eyes. Xiao Lan lay against the pillows of another bed, with a respirator mask clamped on her nose and mouth, the hives significantly smaller, but still visible.
~*~
What happened…
You saw the whole thing…why do you bother asking?
You failed today…
I noticed…but the LCL was tampered with…
…he's gotten worse…
I know…
…it's coming soon…you're running out of time…
I. Know.
~*~
Asuka was (there is no other word to describe it) happy, giddy even. She had won alone against that one Angel, and she knew, that even if Shinji hadn't been there, she could have taken out the other Angel. It had been such a long time, as she thought with slight bitterness, that she had won against an Angel…it had always been Shinji, the 'phenomenal' Third Child, who had saved the world so many times, the one who had nothing special about him.
Shaking her head, she drove out those dampening thoughts and relished in the knowledge that she'd won. She was wearing her skimpy yellow dress with her favorite red heels, a proud smile on her face as she walked out of the changing room.
~*~
Rei walked over to the medical center, and turned into the corridor where the Third Child was situated. She opened the door, and saw the Fourth Child, Dr. Akagi, and Major Katsuragi already there. The three turned to look at Rei.
"Is Pilot Ikari all right?" Rei asked in her usual monotone.
Ritsuko looked mildly surprised and nodded. "He should be waking soon."
Silence.
Ritsuko then looked at a file folder on a nearby desk, and scanned the contents.
"Misato, can I have a talk with you outside? I have some interesting results of the LCL testing," Ritsuko said slowly. Misato looked at the scientist for a moment, then followed the blond out of the room, taking one last glance at Shinji.
~*~
Ritsuko thrust the folder at Misato. "Someone tampered with the LCL today. The tests showed a clear increase in the amount of [insert random chemical here]. This chemical doesn't affect anyone other than-,"
"Xiao Lan," Misato finished for Ritsuko.
"Correct. So the person who did it clearly managed to hack into the MAGI, find the file on Xiao Lan, break into the LCL supplies (Yue's Lady: If there's no such thing, pretend there is) and saturate the supplies with [random chemical]. Another half an hour and Xiao Lan would have drowned."
"And it's…?" Misato's voice trailed off. Ritsuko's expression hardened. Misato's eyes widened.
End of Chapter
Author's note: Yes, lame cliffhanger. Obvious suspect. Author is also obviously unintelligent. Oh well…please read and review and make me happy ok?