The Final Battle
Commander Fuyutski stared hard at the large map in front of him, a frown on his wrinkled face. The control room was busy but utterly silent. Everyone knew what this battle meant.
"How much time do we have?"
"Given the speed at which he's moving...not more than an hour." The Commander sighed heavily.
"Damn, what a mess this is going to be."
"Commander." The older man turned as Misato walked into the control room, her face betraying no emotion.
"Captain. We weren't sure if you were going to show up."
"I won't let you do this without me. How long do we have before his arrival?"
"An hour at the most. The angel is heading straight for the heart of Tokyo 3, destroying everything in its path. Five major cities have been annihilated already." Photos of a wrecked city flashed on the large screen.
"He did THIS?" Misato gasped, staring at the ruined cities.
"Yes. As of right now, we still lack a visual on the angel, but we should be getting one soon."
"Do we have a size estimate?"
"All reports have said that the angel is much smaller than the rest; maybe twenty feet or so. But the wing span is more than twice that. We already know from experience that the feathers are razor sharp and they seem to be its natural weapon."
"What do you mean?" The Commander enhanced one of the pictures on the screen. Embedded everywhere were silver feathers. "My God..."
"They cut through anything and everything. The only way to avoid them is to run like hell. If the girls try to stand and fight directly, they'll be cut down before they have a chance to draw their knives." Misato was quiet, staring at the enhanced photo. Finally, she said:
"Where are they?"
"They're changing in the locker room."
"I'll be right back then."
(Cut)
The girls were silent as they changed, their eyes never connecting. Asuka's hands were trembling so hard, she was having a hard time zipping her suit.
"Are you two ready?" They turned their heads to see Misato standing there.
"Define 'ready'," Rei replied. Misato smiled a little.
"Point taken."
"Misato...what are we facing? Is he the same...or...?" Misato turned to look at the German.
"We don't have a visual yet. One thing we do know is that he's a lot taller than he used to be."
"How tall?"
"Around twenty feet. His wingspan is probably about twice that though. You'll have to use guerrilla warfare, otherwise those feathers will slice you to pieces." The teens fell silent once more as they finished putting on their plug suits.
"Pilots to their units, repeat, pilots to their units," squawked a voice over their heads.
"Time to begin."
(Cut)
"How are they?" Commander Fuyutski asked as Misato entered the control room again.
"They'll eradicate the angel," she said in a slightly hollow voice. "Visual?"
"Yes, it just came in. You'd better prepare yourself, Captain." He pushed a few buttons and Misato gasped.
Every trace of humanity was gone. Narikage's torso and legs were covered in a hard armor, similar to that of the EVAs. His arms, now heavily muscled, were covered in black designs. His head was covered by some sort of helmet—at least that's what she hoped it was—that resembled Unit 01's headpiece, save the black color and it was somewhat flatter. Silver wings, a full 60 feet in length, arched from his armor-plated back. In his hand he held a sword that danced with blue flame.
"Oh..." Misato couldn't utter anything more. He was different...so very different...
"He's coming faster than we thought! Then minutes until he reaches Tokyo 3!" Maya called over her shoulder.
"Activate the units," Ritsuko said. "Misato, how do you plan on fighting this thing?" Misato have her friend a sharp glare at the word 'thing', but it didn't faze the blonde in the least.
"Hit-and-run. They can use the metal shields we have set up around the city as resting points. If those feathers are as sharp as everyone says, they won't last long but it'll slow them down at least. Do we know where the core is yet?"
"Negative. We can't get a placement on it. His AT field is disrupting our sensory equipment." Misato stared up at the approaching angel.
"The core is usually in the spot that's the most protected," she said in a quiet voice. "There." She pointed to the stomach area. "It has to be there. The girls will aim for this area using those new high-powered rifles. I know the bugs are still being worked out but it's all we've got."
"Five minutes until contact with Tokyo 3!"
"Maya, what's the status on the pilots?" Ritsuko asked.
"Everything's normal. Rei's numbers are a little lower than they were last time, but she's still function above her average. Asuka's normal." Misato smiled a little, hugging herself.
"I think I finally understand why we use such young children: they adapt well to shi kind of situation." A silence fell for a few tense moments. "Anyway," Misato said finally, giving herself a shake, "pathway?"
"All lights green."
"Girls, are you all set?"
"Hai."
"Hai."
"Hassha!" Unit 00 and Unit 02 shot for the surface. They came up behind a carefully placed metal sheet, which allowed them enough time to get the rifles Misato had sent up with them.
"Remember, girls: no direct attacks. If possible, take out the wings; they're your biggest threat," Misato said over the units' intercoms.
"That sword looks pretty threatening to me," Asuka replied.
"As near as we can tell, the sword's a close-range weapon. Those wings aren't."
"Contact! Angel is in Tokyo 3!"
"We don't see him!" Rei called.
"Jesus Christ! Girls, he's right above you!"
Both units dove out of the way as a volley of razor-sharp feathers embedded themselves in everything they hit. They managed to find an out-of-range building to hide behind, rifles at the ready.
"Well, he certainly has no problem attacking US," Asuka said in a dry voice. Rei closed her eyes for a moment.
"We have to kill him...we have to save everyone..." A shudder tore through her. She couldn't kill him...she couldn't...
'You have to...'
It was a woman whispering to her, a voice she knew well from her dreams. Rei's eyes opened, flashing with an unprecedented determination. Narikage or no, it was up to them to protect the city.
She had promised Shinji.
And she wouldn't break it.
"Asuka, go right, I'll go left. We'll see how quick this angel really is." Asuka smiled to herself.
"Sure thing. And when I beat him, I can brag to him later, ne?"
"Right. Ready?" The units crouched but before they could run, the building they had their backs against exploded, sending them both flying forward.
"Pay attention!"
Everyone froze.
The speaker stepped slowly out from the rubble of the destroyed building, dust swirling about him like a cloak. As it slowly cleared, the setting sun made his wings glow the color of blood.
Narikage.
The angel.
"He can speak?!"
"What the hell?!" Commander Fuyutski leapt to his feet. "Angels can't speak!!"
Rei and Asuka scrambled up, retrieving their rifles and pointing them at the smaller figure.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" His voice was booming, unearthly. The sound it made rang deep in the gut. Asuka hit a button in her unit so her voice would be projected outwards as well as to everyone in the control room.
"Why wouldn't we?"
Slowly, the creature reached up its free hand, grasping its face. There was a loud tearing noise as he pulled. It threw the horrid mask away, raising its head.
Misato felt sick.
Eyes that had once been a pale shade of blue, were now completely red. The flesh-like substance covering the face was a horrid white that contrasted sharply with the surrounding black armor. Pointed fangs were now set in a red-lipped mouth.
But it was Narikage.
"Isn't it obvious?"
The units fell back a few steps, neither girl sure how to react to this turn of events. Seeing the angel with the first face...it was easier then, easier when they couldn't recognize them...easier when they could make it 'just another angel'...
But now...
He used their hesitation to his advantage.
His wings unfurled and another barrage of razors were unleashed. The units threw up their arms and the feathers cut into their arms and chest, drawing pained screams from both girls.
"Pathetic," Narikage rumbled, raising his sword high in the air.
"I don't know what you're going to do with that...but I'm not going to let you," Asuka panted, raising her rifle. She squeezed the trigger.
Before it even got close, a visible shield appeared and the shot was thrown back at Asuka, who dodged just in time.
"That's impossible!" Ritsuko cried. "The screens all show his AT field was negated by the EVAs'!"
"Ritsuko!" She turned her head sharply when one of the workers called. "Another AT field is appearing!"
"What?! How can that be?!"
"He's more advanced," Misato murmured, suddenly recalling the day he'd demonstrated his AT field. "I should have compensated for this..."
"Surely you can do better than that?" Narikage said as the shield faded to invisibility. "No? Then I'll show you real power!" He brought the sword down fast and hard, embedding it in the ground right to the hilt. He stepped back, obviously pleased.
"Big deal! A sword in the ground," Asuka said, struggling back up from the rubble of the decimated building.
"Mortals have such small minds."
A ring of red appeared on the ground around the hilt. Slowly, it began spreading outwards.
"Jesus Christ! Commander, he's melting the armor on the GeoFront!"
"What?!"
"The first level is already gone!"
"Dear God...he's going to burn us all alive..." Ritsuko breathed.
Outside, the ring continued expanding as the heat spread and became more intense. As it touched buildings, they too grew red-hot before exploding, forcing the girls back.
"Let's see how well you fight avoiding this." He rose into the air then folded in his wings and dove. Asuka fired on him again, but with the same result as before. For ten minutes, the three were engaged in a strange cat and mouse game, in which Narikage—looking like some kind of demented bird—swooped down on the units, bombarding them mercilessly with feathers. Every time they tried to shoot him, it would bounce harmlessly off his AT field and back at them, giving them not only the heat ring to worry about, but also their own rifle shots.
"Misato, what do we do?!" Asuka cried, panic in her voice as she tried to duck behind a metal shield. Narikage quickly drove her out by spraying the area with razors. "We can't hit him!!"
Misato bit hard on her lip. She didn't KNOW what to do. The rifles the girls carried were the most powerful weapon they had right now. And there was no way to call a retreat; given how fast the armor on the GeoFront was melting, they would be dead long before they could get anything stronger.
"Can the AT fields expand any more?"
"No, they're at full power. If we transfer any more power to them, it could endanger the pilots' life support systems."
"They're already in danger!"
"He's through the tenth plate! The heat's spreading too fast for us to stop!"
"Damnit!" Commander Fuyutski's fist hit the table. "How the hell do we stop him?!"
"Misato!"
"What?" She turned to her friend.
"There is a split second time frame after he releases the full power of his AT field that his defenses are completely down. If we can hit at that EXACT moment, we might be able to bring him down."
"What's the probability from the Maji?"
"Less that 3, but it's the only chance we have."
"Can't you two at least give me a slight challenge?" Narikage grabbed Unit 02's arm, throwing it like it weighed nothing at all. Asuka screamed as her unit hit three buildings and was buried under a ton of debris.
"Asuka!" Rei started forward but Narikage batted Unit 00 aside with one swipe of his arm.
"You aren't going anywhere!" He pounced on the unit, latching onto the frontal plate. His wings began stabbing wildly at her sides, belly, and back, leaving razors wherever it touched. Rei screamed, struggling to throw him off. Blood began pouring from the wounds, staining a large area around them red.
"Humans bleed...pathetic mortals die...sins are never forgiven..." Narikage hissed, continuing to tear into her unit. "I shall be the one to purge this place of all unworthy beings!" Rei bit back her pained screams, focusing all of her energy into getting him off.
"Who...then...is worthy?" she grunted.
"No one." His wings jammed hard into her sides and she screamed again, louder than before. Her vision became fuzzy and she fell back in her chair in a dazed swoon. Pain continued to pound through her body and she squeezed her eyes shut.
'It hurts...oh God...'
'Rei...' She raised her heavy head.
'Who...?'
'Rei...you can do it...'
'No...it hurts too much...I just want to crawl into darkness...'
'You mustn't run away...you promised...you promised...'
"Never...run...away..." Rei whispered.
'Yes...that's right...now throw him off...set him free, Rei...you must...'
Unit 00's hand came up suddenly, grabbing one of Narikage's wings.
"What the--?!"
Her foot connected with his chest and there was a thunderous ripping sound. Narikage let out an inhuman scream, skidding away. Rei threw away the wing she held, jumping to her feet.
Narikage got up slowly, acidic blood pumping from the remaining stump of his left wing. "You'll pay for that..." he snarled, baring his pointed teeth.
"Hey, Angel Boy!" His head turned sharply. Asuka was up again and as he turned, she chucked her progressive knife. He raised his hand and it bounced harmlessly off his AT field.
"Is that all?"
"You fell for it. Rei! Now!"
"What?" He turned his head forward again.
Rei fired.