I learned how to activate my grammar check on my word processor. I can finally check my grammar and improve the professionalism of my story. Thanks god… I'm also changing the chapter system to eliminate confusion. This chapter will be chapter 11, instead of 9½ and so forth.
Well, here is the second half of "Spear fishing in Hawaii." Hope to hear from my small but loyal fan base.
Chapter 11 "Spear Fishing in Hawaii Part II"
**
Adams and Kaji were inside the transport ship that contained Unit 02. It didn't take long for them to get there, and Adams was already making a diagnostic check of the systems within Unit 02 to make sure that it was indeed compatible with the weapons systems used at headquarters.
Adams began looking at the data at his computer, nodding in approval. "Everything is looking alright."
Kaji was looking over Adams's shoulder. "So this is all you have to do?"
Steve nodded. "Yep, this is it. I'm almost done."
Kaji nodded. "A day in the sun in exchange for almost no work. You got it made."
Adams shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But you got several days in the sun, and all you had to do was watch over the Second Child."
Kaji agreed. "Yep, but she does seem pretty attached to me. It feels kinda weird that a girl that's almost young enough to be my daughter flirts with me."
"At least she flirts with you." Said Adams as he was just getting done. "She pretty much told me, Shinji, and Suzuhara to fuck off before we were introduced to her. And she knocked Aida out with one punch."
Ryoji blinked with surprise. "She did that?" He then smiled and nodded slowly. "I'm not surprised. I had the feeling that she was kissing up to me."
The American agreed. "Yeah, she's not a very good actor, but she's ten times better then Suzuhara or Aida." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Man, those two are bad."
"Your acting wasn't very convincing, either." Said Kaji.
Adams's heart jumped for a second. "What?"
Kaji cut to the chase. "You and Misato aren't actually dating, are you?"
Adams realized that he was caught, and that there was no use in denying it. "No…we're not…"
Kaji smiled dreamily upon hearing this revelation. "So she's still single. Who'd thought?"
Adams came up with his own question. "So what happened between you two?"
Kaji thought about the answer. "A lot of things happened. It mostly ended because I was cheating on her."
"Really?" Asked Adams. "Got bored?"
The Special Agent shook his head. "No. It had more to do with the fact that she wanted to take the relationship a little further. I didn't want to do that. It made me feel uncomfortable. Rather than dumping her, and breaking her heart for no real reason, I decided that I wanted to give her a reason to dump me. And that's the story."
Adams gave a light smile. "Yeah, commitment scares me, too. I figure I'll never get married at the rate I'm going at."
"Do you know of 'The Four M's of Dating?'" Asked Ryoji.
Adams shook his head. "No, I can't say I do."
Kaji shows four finger and starts counting them. "Meet'm, date'm, do'm, leave'm."
Both Kaji and Adams busted out laughing. The American snorted. "That's a good one. I'll have to remember that."
Kaji began to think back. "Yeah, words to live by."
"Too bad I haven't been on a date in over a year." Said Adams. "I never have any time. You see, my problem is that I love my job, maybe a little too much. I work constantly on new designs for use with the Eva, and I often spend long hours drawing up plans. I then I have my hobby. I build cars. I buy the parts one piece at a time, slowly putting them together. It takes forever to finish a car. It's no wonder why I have no sex life."
"You'll be fine." Said Kaji. "I wouldn't get too upset. You still have plenty of years left."
Adams frowned again. "That's another problem. I'm 33 years old. I'm almost middle-aged. At the rate I'm going at, I'll look like the sub-commander in no time."
Kaji laughed. "You worry too much. You need to be little more laid back."
Adams had just finished the diagnostic. "Nah, that's what Whiskey is for. Speaking of which, I'm about ready to head to that bar."
"Alright." Said Kaji. "I'm ready when you are."
"Just a sec." Said Adams as he gathered his laptop and was getting ready to go. He stopped, however, when something caught his eye. "What the fuck is that?!"
Kaji was startled by the weapons developer's reaction. "What? Huh?"
Adams pointed in the direction of a long, cylindrical, rod that was very large. At the end of it was a blade, obviously depicting a spear. "That thing right there!"
Kaji seemed unconcerned. "What? That's the spear that came with Unit 02. I heard it has built in progressive technology. You didn't build it?"
Adams shook his head. "No!" He then went up to it and examined it at all angles. "This is impossible. I'm the one who designed and developed the progressive technology. There's no way that someone else would have known about it."
Kaji scratched his head. "You sure you didn't build it. I have no idea as to how it got there."
Adams kicked the spear in anger. "Somebody got a hold of my designs. It's the only way. It's either that, or I'm designing weapons in my sleep."
"Sorry I couldn't be of anymore help." Said the special agent. "But I'm sure you'll feel better once you get a few drinks in you."
Steven sighed. He realized that there really was nothing he could do about it right now, but he knew he would make a point of finding out about it when he got back to HQ. "Fine…let's go."
**
Misato and the younger teens were still eating their entrees. Misato was only picking at her food, though, since she seemed quite upset with the recent turn of events.
Everyone else decided to take this time to try and get to know the Second Child. Shinji was the first to ask. "So, how long have you been an Eva pilot?"
Asuka thought about the question for a few seconds. "Well, officially since I was seven, but I haven't actually piloted Unit 02 until recently. Before then, I was trained in simulations that mimicked the design of the Eva. By the time Unit 02 was built, I had already mastered its controls and movement."
Shinji was impressed. "Wow! I guess it's safe to assume that you're pretty good."
Asuka was once again trying to be modest. "Oh, I'm sure that I'm a long way from perfection."
Kensuke leaned towards Asuka, hearts in his eyes. "You're certainly perfect enough for me."
Asuka laughed nervously at the complement as she tried to move herself away from the dorky boy without making it obvious.
Touji wasn't impressed. "Eh, you Eva pilots aren't anything special. I'm not that impressed. I'm sure that anybody could pilot that thing."
Shinji shook his head. "Not from what I've heard."
Asuka nodded in agreement, trying her best not to become argumentative. "He's right. Only people born with certain innate abilities can pilot it. Otherwise, there would be more of us."
Suzuhara shrugged. "I could probably do it. Not that I'd want to, but I'm sure it isn't that hard."
'Yeah right.' Though Asuka. 'Like a talentless meathead like you could ever pilot the Eva. It's amazing enough that the Third can do it.'
Kensuke leaned his head back to daydream. "I wish I could pilot an Eva."
Asuka was loosing her self-control, so she spoke before thinking. "They'd never take you…" She then realized what she said and cleared her throat before correcting herself. "…Unless they felt you had the ability to handle it."
Kensuke then turned to Misato with a puppy-dog look. "You think that I could pilot the Eva?"
Misato banged her head on the table, too annoyed to answer. Equally frustrated with her lack of appetite, she decided that she was finished. "Guys, I'm going to my room. NERV is already going to cover the bill, so don't worry. You guys can do whatever you want when you're done, just stay out of trouble." She then got up and walked out of the restaurant, her head still hung low.
Just as Misato left the room, Kensuke frowned in disappointment. "She didn't answer my question. Now I'll never know."
Asuka, who no longer needed to control herself, yelled at the boy in exasperation. "The answer was no, you moron!"
Touji leaned toward Shinji to whisper. "She's back. I think we should get outta here while we still can."
Kensuke was almost tearing up. "You really think they wouldn't take me?"
Asuka smacked her forehead. (Idiot!!)
Kensuke sighed as he accepted the reality check. He then leaned toward Asuka with a sneaky look. "Nice going with hiding your true feeling for me earlier. I don't know about how I feel about the secret romance thing, but if you like it, so will I."
It was at this point that Asuka pushed the creepy four-eyed boy away and grabbed her food to move her seat as far away from him as possible. "Yeah right! I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole."
"You don't have to." Said Aida. "We already had our first kiss, remember?"
Sohryu became repulsed. "Eww! What are you talking about? I'd never kiss you! That's the second time you've mentioned that!"
Kensuke blinked in confusion. "You don't remember? It must have been pretty intense because I don't remember either."
Asuka stared blankly at the blond-haired boy. "When we first met, did I scramble your already miniscule brain? It wasn't my lips that landed on your mouth."
Kensuke nodded. "Yes it was. My friends saw the whole thing."
It was then that they noticed that both Shinji and Touji weren't sitting at the table anymore. They were spotted, trying to sneak out of the restaurant. Asuka called out to them. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
Both of them stopped, giving sheepish looks. "Who us?" Asked Shinji. "W…we were only going to…wash our hands…yeah."
Touji nodded. "Yeah, it's good manners."
Asuka was hardly fooled. "That's funny. The bathroom is on the other side of the restaurant."
Shinji nodded. "Uh…Yeah…but we were going to use the…bathroom in our room."
Touji agreed. "Yeah, we were going there anyway, so we were going to kill two birds with one stone."
"That's nice." Said Asuka as she then pointed towards their seat. "You're not leaving yet! Sit your asses down!"
The two boys hung their head in defeat and slowly walked back to their seats. Asuka then confronted them on their eyewitness report. "So tell me, what exactly did you guys see earlier at the beach?"
Both Ikari and Suzuhara looked and her and their friend with guilt. Touji was the first to speak. "Well…we might have…kinda…stretched the truth…a little."
"Yeah…um…" Spoke Shinji. "If you use the term kiss loosely…as kiss meaning the same thing as…uh…punch, then yeah…we told you the truth."
Kensuke became quite upset. "You mean to tell me that she punched me in the face? No wonder my mouth hurts so much!"
"And the truth shall set you free!" Yelled Asuka as she got in Kensuke's face. "And if you don't stop hitting on me, I'll do it again!"
Touji was becoming annoyed at the German girls behavior. "Hey! Who do you think you are, acting like such a bitch toward my friend?"
Asuka turned towards him with fire in her eyes. "Who do you think you are, lying to your friend about me kissing him?"
Touji stood up from his seat. "You two-faced whore!!"
"It's a good thing you're not two faced." Said Asuka. "Your one face is ugly enough."
Touji was about to get in her face when Shinji got up to stop him. "Cut it out guys. We shouldn't fight here. Let's just sit down and finish eating."
Asuka refused. "Forget it! I'd rather leave than spend another minute with you losers."
"The feeling is mutual!" Retorted Suzuhara.
Shinji interrupted. "Now wait a minute. Sohryu's right. It was wrong of us to lie to Kensuke. I think a round of apologies are needed." Shinji was the first to apologies. "Kensuke, Asuka, sorry for lying about what happened earlier. Touji?"
Touji grunted, but he knew that he had to at least apologize to Aida. "Sorry, Kensuke. Just didn't want your feelings hurt. As for the Red-head, I ain't apologizing unless she does, too."
The Second Child refused. "What? I didn't do anything wrong. There is no reason for me to apologize!"
Touji crossed his arms. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" Yelled Asuka as she got up to leave. "I'm out of here. I've got more important things to do than hang around with you losers."
"Like what?" Asked Shinji.
"None of your business, Third Child!" Retorted Asuka. "If I wanted you to know, I'd…" She then thinks about the situation for a second. "On second thought, maybe I do want you to know. I was about to check on my Unit 02. I hadn't seen it since we left Europe."
Shinji gave a look of confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"
Asuka continued. "Well, I was thinking perhaps it would be a good idea to show it off to you since it is obvious that you've never seen a real Evangelion."
Kensuke jumped in excitement. "Can I come along?"
Asuka raised an eyebrow in Aida's direction. "No. You're not necessary."
"Please?!!" Begged Kensuke. "I've always wanted to see one up close!"
Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Fine! But if you do anything that I find annoying, I will personally kick your ass."
Kensuke turned toward Touji. "Come on, let's go."
Touji shook his head. "Who said I wanted to go?"
The blond-haired kid went behind him and began pushing him out the door. "Come on, this is going to be so cool!"
Touji gave in. "Alright, alright I'm going! Stop pushing me."
Asuka's exasperation was relieved when she thought of Kaji. "I hope Kaji is still there. It sucks that he's hanging around that scruffy American."
The mentioning of Adams reminded Shinji of something. "I need to talk to Steve about his relationship with Misato. I can't believe they've been dating this whole time."
Asuka gave Shinji a strange look. "You mean to tell me that you actually believed that line of crap that Misato was trying to pull? Even Misato has more taste than to go out with that ugly Red-neck."
Shinji was now really confused. "What do you mean? Why would she do that?"
The German pilot nearly face-faulted. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"
**
Despite Asuka's wishes, Kaji was no longer with Unit 02. He was with Adams at a local bar, taking in a few drinks while enjoying a casual conversation. "This place gets livelier every time I come here."
Adams nodded. "I bet. I wouldn't really know. This place wasn't here the last time I was here. When I was here last, this place was buried by ocean."
Kaji nodded, as the smile ran away from his face. "Yeah, Second Impact had done us a lot of harm. I lost my parents from Second Impact, and my bother a year later…"
Adam also lost his smile remembering the pain of Second Impact. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I lost my parents and my sister during Second Impact."
Kaji continued with his story. "There was no where for my brother and I to turn to when my parents died, so we were sent to orphanages. Sadly, there were so many of us kids, they couldn't handle us all, and we had to struggle and fight just to see who got to sleep on a bed or who got to eat. It wasn't long before we escaped and lived out on the streets, scavenging what we could to survive. Sometimes, we had to resort to thievery to feed ourselves. It was then that we got an idea. We decided to try and steal from military bases. One day, though…"
Kaji fell silent for a moment, recalling the pain of regret than he bore within him. "I got caught. They forced me to tell them where my friends and I hung out. They said they would kill me if I didn't. It was my first confrontation with death…and I cracked. I told them and they went off and killed them, including my little brother. I managed to escape, but I couldn't save them. They died because of my fear of death."
Kaji took a moment to enjoy the silence before continuing, "It was shortly afterwards that I got in touch with some relatives that took me in and got me into school. I soon went into college and I've never looked back, except to remind myself as to why I joined NERV. I'm doing what I can to make sure that a Third Impact doesn't happen. It gives me reason to live."
Adams took in another shot of whiskey before speaking. "I can relate in a lot of ways. As you know, I'm a little older than you. I was eighteen when Second Impact occurred. I had just graduated from High School and was getting ready for college. I think I was going to major in Mechanical Engineering. I wanted to work on cars. It was a passion of mine at the time. Sadly, before I could go, Second Impact had destroyed the very college I was supposed to go to. I also discovered the deaths of my parents and my sister. I had no idea where they were at the time. I never even knew they were dead until I got a phone call telling me the news."
"That sucks." Said Ryoji as he took a shot of liquor. "What happened then?"
"Well…" Continued Steve. "Like I said, I was eighteen. Unlike you, I wasn't forced into an orphanage or the streets. I was instead forced to join the military. Another war had broken out shortly after Second Impact, and the draft was reinstated in the U.S. They assigned me to the U.N. Special Forces. We were sent in to do such things like assassinations, the retrieval of hostages, and other menial tasks during wartime. Somehow, I cheated death long enough to make it out of wartime." Adams began to reflect briefly on his years in combat with great regret. "I killed a lot of people. People just like me. People who were forced into the military because there was nowhere else for them to turn to. These people did what they had to do in order to survive, and I killed them for it. It was a burden on me that still gives me nightmares. When they took me out of combat, I decided I didn't want to kill people anymore."
"So you became a weapons developer?" Asked Kaji. "Sounds contradicting, doesn't it?"
"I suppose it does." Said Adams. "It wasn't long after I joined the military that I found a new interest in guns and weapons. I used to love to take apart my gun and put it back together, over and over again. I began studying weapons in my spare time and I grew more knowledgeable about them. When I found out that an Angel caused Second Impact, I began wondering about what I could do to stop another Second Impact. It was then that I wanted to try and build weapons to defend people, instead to killing them. I joined an academy after I was taken out of combat, and eight years later here I am."
Kaji picked up his shot glass to make a toast. "Here's to learning from our past in order to make a better future."
"Indeed." Said Adams as they touched glasses and drank down.
**
Asuka arrived at the transport ship, followed closely by Shinji and Touji. Shinji and Touji were quite winded, far more than the German Red-head. "Are you telling me that you guys are tired already?" Questioned Asuka. "It wasn't that far."
Touji regained his breath first. "Sorry if we're not used to running ten city blocks just to see a giant robot."
"I feel sorry for Kensuke." Said Shinji. "He fell behind a long time ago, and he was more excited about this than any of us."
It was then that Kensuke finally appeared around the corner, jogging very slowly. He eventually made it, nearly collapsing when he did.
"About time you got here!" Yelled Asuka.
Aida spoke between breaths. "I…am…so out of…shape."
"Well." Said Touji. "If you spent more time participating in gym and less time playing with your camcorder, you'd be in better shape."
"I know, I know." Cried out Aida as his breath slowed. "Can we see…the Eva now?"
"Yeah, yeah." Said Asuka. "Be patient. It's not like it's going anywhere until tomorrow."
The Three Stooges finally regained their wind and entered the transport, led by Asuka. It wasn't long before they reached where it was, hidden underneath a giant tarp. Each of the teens ducked underneath it and looked inside. There was Unit 02, complete with red paint-job and four green eyes. Kensuke quickly pulled out his trusty camcorder and turned it on. "This is so awesome!!"
Asuka climbed up the Eva and stood on its stomach in triumph. "This is it. Unit 02, the first production model. The first true Evangelion." She then began to look around the area and frowned. "Kaji's not here. They must have left."
Kensuke was suddenly overcome with the urge to touch the Eva. He slowly walked up to it and placed a hand on it. "I'm touching an Evangelion! I'M TOUCHING AN EVANGELION!!!"
Asuka noticed his behavior with annoyance. "Hey! Who said you could touch my Eva?"
Touji walked up to the Eva and knocked on its shell. "I guess it's impressive."
Kensuke was mesmerizes. "Touji, am I peeing my pants?"
Touji shook his head. "Nope."
Asuka was revolted. "Eww, don't you even think about peeing near Unit 02!" She then loses her temper. "That's it, now I'm kicking your ass. I warned you!"
Asuka jumped down from the Eva and was about to give Kensuke a knuckle sandwich when a loud blast was heard a long distance away. Everyone looked around in order to determine where the blast came from. They rushed outside and looked around. All they could see was a smoke plume on the outside of the Ring.
"What's going on?" Asked Asuka. "I can't see from here."
"Whatever it is…" Said Shinji. "I'm sure that it's not good."
**
Misato was lying down in her bed, finishing off her third beer. She was depressed over the fact that her ex was around again, so she did her best to try and forget, using her favorite beverage. It was then that she heard the explosion. "Holy shit! What the hell was that?" She quickly opened her window and looked outside to find the origin of the blast. She found it, realizing that there was definitely something wrong. She quickly ran out of the Hotel and headed towards the military base.
**
Kaji and Adams quickly ran outside when they heard the blast. From where they were, they couldn't see where the blast was from, and could only guess as to what was going on. "Do you know what happened?" Asked Adams.
Kaji shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. What should we do?"
Adams thought for a minute. "I suppose going to the base would be a sound idea. I'll take us there."
"On your bike?" Asked Kaji. "You're not exactly sober."
Adams rolled his eyes. "Look, if you'd rather wait for a taxi, then fine, but I'm not patient enough." He then grabbed his bike and got on it, kick starting it before looking at Ryoji. "Well?"
Kaji hung his head. "Fine, but I'm only taking this risk because I'm not sober, either."
"Fine with me." Said the American. With that, Kaji got on the bitch seat and the two sped away towards the base.
**
The Admiral of the U.S.S. Over the Rainbow ran into the command deck to get a report as to what exactly happened. "Report!!"
The Second in command saluted. "Sir, we've lost a destroyer. We have no idea as to what happened."
"Any enemy ships nearby?" Asked the Admiral.
Another officer shook his head. "We have no visual on any ships nearby on the surface or on the sonar."
"Could it have been a terrorist attack?" Asked the Admiral, becoming increasingly concerned.
"We don't know." Said the second in command. "The blast nearly vaporized the destroyer, though. It would have to be a hell of a bomb to do that."
The Admiral became frustrated. "Dammit, What the hell is going on?"
It was then that one of the crewmembers spotted something on sonar. "I've picked something up, sir." His eyes suddenly widened. "I…It's huge!!"
The other officers look at the sonar screen, their jaws dropping. The admiral seemed most stunned. "A submarine that big? Impossible!!"
The object in the water moved close to another destroyer. Suddenly, a bright red light began to glow underneath the water. There was little time for the crew on the ship to react as a beam quickly shot straight through the ship's hull, obliterating it.
It was then that the true nature of their enemy was revealed. The Admiral went onto the intercom. "All crew, man your battle stations! I repeat, man you battle stations! This is not a drill!!"
**
Shinji, seeing the light that destroyed the ship, became horrified. He stepped back realizing the horrid truth. "I…it can't be…"
Asuka looked towards the Third Child. "Can't be what?"
Shinji didn't answer. He continued to mumble. "This is not happening. Not here."
Asuka became annoyed. "What's not happening? Tell me you moron."
Shinji gave a very serious look towards Asuka. "That light. It must be an Angel."
Asuka's eyes widened. "An Angel? Are you sure?"
Shinji turned his head toward the direction of the second blast. "It's the only thing I know of that shoots blasts like that."
Touji and Kensuke also became concerned. "No way!" Said Touji. "Are you going to do something?"
Shinji was reluctant to answer. "I'm not sure what I can do. My Eva isn't here."
Asuka's look of concern quickly turned into confidence. "Maybe not you, but I can."
Shinji was taken a back. "You mean you're going to take Unit 02?"
"No, I'm going to swim up to the Angel and make friends with it." Said the Redhead sarcastically. "Of course I'm going to use Unit 02."
Kensuke became excited. "Awesome! We're going to see Unit 02 in action!"
It was then that Shinji's cell phone went off. He picked it up, wondering if it was Misato. "Hello, is this Misato?"
He guessed correctly. Misato was calling from the base. "Yes it is, Shinji. Did you see the blast?"
"Yeah I did." Said Shinji. "It's an Angel isn't it?"
Misato was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I think it is. I need to get in touch with the Admiral. The U.N. Pacific fleet had exited the Ring earlier today in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Looks like they have their hands full now."
"What are my orders?" Asked Shinji.
"Well, where are you?" Asked Misato.
"I'm at the transport where Unit 02 is being held." Answered the young Ikari.
Misato was surprised. "Well that's convenient. Is Sohryu there?"
"Yes she is." Said Shinji. "You need to talk to her?"
"Yes I do." Said Misato
Shinji handed the phone to Asuka. "Misato wants to talk to you."
Asuka grabbed the phone. "Yes, Misato?"
"Asuka, can you activate Unit 02?" Asked the Director of Operations
Asuka nodded. "Yes I can, but it only has a minute of reserve power."
"That's ok." Said Misato. "We have a umbilical station near the base. You think you can get your Eva there in time?"
"Yes ma'am." Said Sohryu cheerfully. "I'll be on my way!"
"I'll give you further orders when you establish external power." Said the captain. "Good luck."
"Thank you, bye." She then hung up the phone, tossing it to Shinji before running underneath the tarp.
Shinji ran after her, followed by the two other boys. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"Moron, what do you think? I'm going to activate Unit 02!" Yelled the Second Child. Asuka runs towards an area near the Eva's head, where a duffle bag was found. She opens it and pulls out a red plug suit. She then runs to the other side of the Eva. "Stay on the other side, you perverts!! If I catch you peaking, I'll step on you with my Eva!!"
The other boys wisely complied. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was suited up. She then went into the duffle bag and grabbed another red plug suit and ran up to Shinji and tossed it to him. "Put it on!"
Shinji stared at the plug suit with dread. "What for?"
Asuka groaned. "Well, you're the famous Third Child, right? I figured that maybe your experience might come in handy."
Shinji unfolded the suit, seeing that it was obviously designed for a girl. He frowned as he began to unbutton his shirt.
This upset Asuka. "Not here you idiot! Like I'd want to see you naked!"
Shinji blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry…" He then ran to the other side of the Eva.
Kensuke ogled Asuka, obviously entranced by the way she look in her plug suit. His stare didn't go unnoticed. "What are you staring at, you perverted dork?!"
Kensuke didn't answer. Instead lifted his camcorder to his face and pointed it at Asuka. She or course was not pleased with his response, and she quickly walked up to him and slapped the camcorder out of his hand. It slammed in to the ground, breaking some pieces off. Kensuke was horrified. "Oh no!! My camcorder!!!"
"Next time, it'll be your head." Threatened the young female pilot.
Shinji was finished getting dressed, walking into view with an obvious blush. "Do I really have to do this?"
"No time for complaining, Third Child." Exclaimed the Second. "We have work to do!" It was then that the two of them moved towards the entry plug. Kensuke stared at Shinji with envy. "I wish I was the one wearing that plug suit."
This statement was soon followed by Touji's hand smacking Aida upside the head.
**
"ALL SHIPS!!! OPEN FIRE!!!" Yelled the admiral.
With that command, every standing ship available began to fire away at the target. Missiles, artillery shells, and torpedoes all hit their mark, but the creature below the water wouldn't sink. "Dammit!" Said the Admiral. "Why won't it be destroyed?"
It was then that the Angel began to surface, slowly revealing itself.
The crew in the flagship stared in awe. "What the hell is that thing?" Screamed the second in command.
The Admiral was almost speechless. "Uh…. Uh…Fire away!"
Several more shells were fired each nearly making their mark, except for one problem.
"None of the shells are hitting." Said an officer using binoculars.
"What do you mean?" Asked the Admiral. "We're hitting it with direct attacks!"
"Take a look." Said the officer as he handed the Admiral the binoculars. "The shells are exploding before they impact. It's like they're hitting something."
The Admiral confirmed this when looking through the binoculars. "How can this be?"
Before his question could be answered, the Angel made another attack. It targeted another destroyer and charged at it, moving at surprising velocity. It reached the ship and grabbed it with one claw, lifting it from the water and throwing it at another destroyer, demolishing both of them.
The Admiral gritted his teeth in frustration. "It's toying with us. How the hell can we beat what we can't hit?"
**
Asuka and Shinji were both contained within the entry plug. Unit 02 had been activated, and the Eva was starting to move. The timer representing battery power was at a minute and ten seconds.
The shortness in time concerned Shinji. "Do we have enough time to make it to the base? It's a good mile away."
Asuka turned towards the male pilot with a look of cockiness. "Throwing in the towel already? Ha! I'll show you how to pilot."
It was then that the Eva leaped from the ship it was on, while carrying its spear, and began leaping on other ships or rocks that were in the path. It moved at incredible speed.
Shinji held on for dear life, unused to the maneuvers that the German redhead was performing. "Watch out! AAAHHH!!…You almost!!…I can't look…"
"Stop whining you wuss!!!" Yelled Asuka. "How did someone like you become a pilot anyway?"
"I wonder the same thing sometimes." Answered Shinji.
The Eva then landed on a road that led to the base, and it began to sprint the rest of the distance. It had thirty-five seconds left, and there was about half a mile to go.
"We're not going to make it!" Said Shinji.
Asuka pushed the red machine harder. "We'll make it if it's the last thing I do!"
The clock wound down, almost to twenty seconds, neither pilot relaxed, their hearts pounding. They were getting close.
Nearby, Steve and Kaji were also nearing the base, still on the motorcycle. Their balance wasn't the greatest, but they managed to stay upright. The American had just made a turn towards the base when a giant red foot came crashing next to them, nearly knocking them both off. Adams had to stop, or risk trashing the bike, himself, and Kaji. "Holy shit!"
Kaji looked at the Evangelion speeding away. "They deployed Unit 02. Looks like we might have an Angel on our hands."
Adams's eyes widened. "An Angel? No way! All the way out here? But why?"
Kaji shrugged. "I have no idea. But I think we should get going."
"I agree." Said Steven as they pulled away towards the base.
Unit 02 was almost there, but the time was waning. "We only have ten seconds!!" Yelled Shinji.
"I know I know!!" Screamed Asuka just as they reach the base. Running across it, they come into contact with the outlet. Without wasting time, Asuka put the cable on the back of the Eva with only two seconds to spare. "See? I told you we'd make I."
Shinji was half-relieved. "Well, at least we have power. But now what?"
Misato was heard over the intercom. "Asuka, I see you have made it. Is everything alright?"
Asuka nodded. "We are all clear, Misato. Awaiting orders."
"Good." Said a relieved Misato. "Your orders now are to move out to the edge of the Ring and investigate what is going on and give the fleet any support you can give."
"Roger." Said Asuka.
It was then that Shinji spoke. "Do you know if it is an Angel yet?"
Misato sounded surprised to hear Shinji. "It that you Shinji, what are you doing in there?"
Asuka answered. "Shinji wanted to tag along so badly that I couldn't say no."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You were the one that…" His sentence was interrupted when Asuka hit him in the nose. "OW!"
Misato became concerned. "What's going on? Are you two alright?"
"We're fine Misato." Said Asuka. "We're moving out."
"Ok, good luck." Said the Director of Operations.
"Thank you." Said Asuka as she moved the Eva towards a connecting bridge that led to the Ring.
Shinji began to rub his nose. "What did you hit me for?"
"Because you talk too much." Said Sohryu.
"I talk too much?" Said Shinji. "I don't talk nearly as much…"
Asuka interrupted. "And you will talk a whole lot less unless you want a black eye as well."
Shinji shut up. 'How did I get myself into this?'
**
Adams and Ryoji finally pulled into the base. Kaji swallowed hard as he realized that he was safe. "Could you do me a favor? The next time I have to ride in the bitch seat, can you be sober?"
Adams rolled his eyes. "Look, we didn't crash, right? Stop complaining."
"What about that old lady you nearly clipped?" Said Kaji.
Adams groaned. "Look, clipping is not crashing. Besides, I only almost clipped her."
"Still…" Said Kaji. "You shouldn't drink and drive."
"Whatever." Said Adams as he got off the bike. "We need to report to the command area."
Kaji seemed reluctant. "I…I'll catch up to you. There is something here that I need to grab real quick."
Adams thought of what Kaji said to be strange. "Could it wait? This is important."
"This is important, too." Said Kaji. "Don't worry about me, just go ahead."
"Alright." Said Adams as he began to hustle to the command area.
When he arrived, he was met with an unhappy Misato. "So what took you so long?"
"I was sighting seeing." Said Adams sarcastically. "You know exactly what I was doing."
Misato was not surprised. "It figures. You reek of booze."
Adams smelt her breath as well. "You were drinking, too."
"You were drinking way more." Said Misato.
"Yeah right." Argued Adams. "I could smell your breath the moment I walked in."
"Your breath always smells like that." Retorted Misato.
Before the argument could escalate, one of the officers nearby reports. "Ma'am, the Evangelion has reached the edge of the Ring."
**
Asuka and Shinji began to stare out to where the Pacific fleet was battling. They saw the half dozen destroyed ships and spotted the cause of those destroyed ships.
"So that's an Angel, huh?" Asked Asuka.
"Afraid so." Said Shinji.
Asuka turned back toward Shinji. "So Third, you've already killed two of these. What's the big secret?"
Shinji thought for a moment, but shrugged, unable to really think of anything. "Destroy its core?"
The German redhead hung her head in exasperation. "Why in God's name did I bring you along?"
It was then that they heard Misato over the intercom. "Asuka, Shinji, what is the situation?"
Asuka answered first. "It's an Angel. How should we proceed?"
"Your orders…" Said Misato. "Are to defeat the Angel by any means necessary. You can't enter the water, because you only have the B-type equipment on. You don't have a rifle do you?"
"That's OK." Said Asuka. "If I throw the spear and hit its core, it might do the trick."
Misato sounded concerned. "Maybe, but if you miss, you'll lose the spear. There has to be another way."
It was then that Asuka had a thought. "I know! Give me a few minutes."
It was then that Unit 02 quickly ran back to the harbor to find something.
**
Adams had remembered the spear that Unit 02 had and became upset. "We can't use that spear!"
Misato turned to Adams, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
Adams explained. "The spear is untested. It may not work."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Misato.
"I wasn't the one who designed it." Said Adams. "For all we know, it could be seriously flawed."
Misato realized his game and smiled in amusement. "So what you're actually telling me is that because you did develop it, you don't want it to be used. Otherwise your reputation might get soiled if it worked."
Adams became angrier. "Whoever developed that stole the designs for the progressive technology! It should be illegal for it to be used."
The female captain rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic. I'm ignoring you. You hardly make any sense when you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk!" Yelled Adams.
It was then that a Harrier could be heard flying by. A voice was heard on the intercom, recognized to be Kaji's. "Misato, Steve, I'm afraid I have to head off. I have business to take care of and let's just say that it hard to accomplish it when you're sixty meters below sea level. By the way, I know the truth about you and Steve, Misato. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm personally glad you're still single. Well, good bye!" It was then that the plane took off out of sight.
Adams gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn coward. And I was just starting to like him, too."
Misato was even angrier, although her anger was partially focused on the American. "You told him the truth?!!"
Adams swallowed hard. "Heh, well he sort of figured it out on his own."
"That's because you blew it!" Yelled Misato.
Adams crossed his arms. "It was stupid idea anyway."
"You're going to pay for screwing it up." Said Misato.
"Not if we can't beat this Angel." Said Adams while watching Unit 02. "What are they doing?"
**
Unit 02 was kneeling on top of a cargo ship, gathering a large amount of cable from a large spool. She then took it and tied it around its wrist and the spear.
Shinji seemed a little confused as to what Asuka was planning. "Uh…you mind telling me what exactly you have planned."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Simpleton. Isn't it obvious? We're going spear fishing."
"Spear fishing?" Asked Shinji.
"Yeah." Said the redhead. "Never done it before?"
Shinji shook his head. "No. Have you?"
Asuka was silent for a moment. "Well…how hard can it be? Besides, the targeting computer is doing all the work. I just need to throw."
Shinji seemed surprised. "You can use the targeting computer to throw stuff?"
Asuka groaned once again in exasperation. "What drugs were they on when they chose you as a pilot?"
Shinji shrugged. "I'm wondering the same thing."
It was then that Unit 02 rushed quickly back towards the edge of the Ring.
**
The Admiral stood in dread as he watched the behemoth crush half of his fleet. It was slowly becoming more apparent that his forces couldn't win and that his own death was imminent. A look of absolute helplessness overtook the crew as they all realized the futility of this battle. It was then that they heard a transmission.
"This is Captain Katsuragi hailing the U.S.S Over the Rainbow. Do you copy?"
The Admiral responded to the transmission. "We copy, Captain. This better be good."
Misato continued. "I'm sending Unit 02 to assist you in destroying the target. Do you see it standing to your right?"
Everyone on board looked to their right and saw a large red machine with a spear standing on the edge of the Ring. The Admiral gritted his teeth in annoyance. "That thing is going to help us? Preposterous!"
Misato spoke with increasing confidence. "That 'thing' is the only weapon we have that can beat an Angel. I doubt you really have much choice in the matter."
One of the officers was confused. "An Angel? What is she talking about?"
The Admiral was irritated by the Captains tone of voice. "How dare you talk to me that way? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"It doesn't make a difference if we're all dead." Said Misato. "Just stand by and watch. You'll see."
It was then that Asuka spoke to Misato. "We're in position."
"Good." Said Misato. "You may attack when ready."
"Yes ma'am." Said Asuka with increasing excitement. "This is it. My time to shine. And you get a front row seat, Third."
"Yippie…" Said Shinji unenthusiastically.
Asuka lifted up the spear and pointed it at the Angel. "Good, we're just within range to neutralize its AT Field." The targeting computer began to center itself as Unit 02's AT Field increased in order to neutralize its enemy's. "Almost…"
Meanwhile, the Admiral of the U.S.S Over the Rainbow had plans of his own. "Have all ships prepare an all out assault. We'll show that Captain what we can really do."
"Just couple more seconds.." Said Asuka.
"Ready all guns!" Commanded the Admiral.
The targeting cross-hares were centered. "NOW!!" Yelled the Second Child
"FIRE!!" Yelled the Admiral.
Both forces attacked at approximately the same time, but the artillery shells had greater velocity so the hit first. The shell impact sent the Angel back a few feet, which was more than enough for the spear to miss its mark. It instead penetrated its body, causing only a minor flesh wound.
(SHIT!!!) Yelled Asuka. "They fucked up my shot!!!"
"Oh no…" Said Misato as she heard the result over the intercom. "Those idiots. They're doing more harm than good."
The Admiral smiled with pride. "See? I knew that if we attacked with enough force, we could hit that target. The nerve of that Captain. After I'm done with her, she'd be lucky if she's still a lieutenant."
"Target still remains." Said one of the crewmen.
"Then keep attacking." Said the Admiral. "I don't care if we have to turn it into sushi."
The shells and torpedoes continued to bombard the Angel, causing some damage to its body. To escape the attacks, it began to move away at high speeds.
Shinji spoke up. "Um Asuka? Now that the spear is stuck inside the Angel, how do we get it back, and what happens when we run out of cable? It's sort of moving away from us."
Sohryu's eyes slowly opened up as she came to realize her blunder. "Uh…I hadn't thought about that…"
'Great…' Thought Shinji just as they ran out of cable. The Eva was suddenly pulled forward over the edge to the Ring and was being dragged across the water. They both began to scream. "AAAHHH!!!
**
"Oh shit!" Yelled Misato. "What the hell happened?"
Adams grabbed a two-way radio and a pair of binoculars and headed out the door. Misato stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going out to the Ring." Said Adams. "I'll keep you informed as to what is going on. I'm not doing us any good here."
"Fine." Said Misato. "But if you get yourself killed, it's your fault."
"I can live with that." Said Adams. "Even if I'm dead."
**
The Admiral watched as the Eva was being dragged across the water. He chuckled with superiority. "Look at that thing. And that was the machine that could defeat that monster. It's down right pitiful." He then turns to the second in command, who was using the binoculars. "What's the status of the target?"
"Damage to the target appears to be moderate. It's still moving rather rapidly." Said the officer.
"Tough bastard." Said the Admiral. "Keep firing. I don't care if we completely use up our munitions."
**
Asuka was struggling to maintain control of the Eva while it was being pulled. "Dammit!"
"We have to do something." Yelled Shinji.
"What are you stupid? Of course we have to something." Retorted Asuka.
Shinji tried to grab the controls. "We have to pull ourselves in. It's the only way."
Asuka pushed him away. "Don't even think about it! I'm way ahead of you anyway." She then began to try and pull towards the Angel, but was having some difficulty with all the water in her face.
**
It was then that Adams pulled up to the edge of the Ring in his bike. He surveyed the area to get a good idea as to what is going on. He then radios in to Misato. "This is Adams. Do you read me?"
Misato answered the other end. "Roger. What is the status of Unit 02?"
Adams frowned in embarrassment. "Not so good. The spear is caught in the Angel and the Eva is being dragged across the water."
"Dammit!" Said Misato. "What do we do? You're an advisor, do you have any ideas?"
Adams shrugged. "I don't have a damn clue as to what we should do. I will say this. If I had developed the spear, it wouldn't have gotten caught and we wouldn't have been in this mess."
Misato smacked her forehead. "Why…You…Grrrr. Over and out!" Misato groaned in aggravation. "Doesn't that idiot ever have anything better to do but talk about himself?"
**
Shinji then had an idea. "Why don't you try and get the Eva on its feet?"
"What?" Asked Asuka.
"You know, like those guys being dragged by a boat." Said Shinji.
Asuka thought about it. "You mean a water skier? That just might work. Maybe you're not a complete waste of space after all."
It was then that Asuka dragged the feet of the Eva around so it could drag its feet across the water. It produced the desired effect, and the Eva was actually water skiing.
**
Adams saw this and sweatdropped. *A water skiing Eva…Now I've seen everything.*
Skiing across the water did the trick. Although there was slightly more drag while doing this, with the water out of its face, it was easier to operate the Eva. Unit 02 began to close in on the Angel.
It was then that Adams noted a new problem. *Oh shit! They're running out of umbilical cable.* He then radioed Misato. "This is Adams. Do you read me?"
"Yes." Said Misato.
"You're about to run out of umbilical cable." Said Adams. "You're going to have to sever the connection to the
Eva."
Misato widened her eyes. "Are you nuts? Why would we want to do that?"
Adams hurriedly explained himself. "Because it is my firm belief that the tensile strength of the umbilical cable is stronger than the cable attached to the spear! If the weaker cable breaks, Unit 02 will sink to the bottom of the ocean, and you and I will be good as dead! Make sense to you?"
Misato frowned at the situation. This would mean that Asuka and Shinji only had five minutes to get the job done, and that may not be enough. She contacted the pilots. "Guys, sever your umbilical connection."
Asuka blinked for a moment. "What did you say?"
"Just do it! You're going to run out of it!" Commanded Misato.
Understanding the situation, Asuka complies. "Dammit! This sucks!" She releases the umbilical cable, starting the reserve battery's countdown.
"Why'd you do that?" Asked Shinji.
"Because if we ran out of umbilical cable…" Said Asuka. "The force of the tug might break the cable we're being dragged by, duh."
"Great…" Said Shinji.
"No big deal." Said Asuka. "We just have to be faster."
It was then that they noticed a new problem. An exploding shell nearby had sent out shrapnel that grazed the cable they were holding onto, causing a couple of wires to snap. Both pilots gazed upon with horror.
"Better make that really fast!" Said Shinji.
Adams saw the problem through his binoculars. *Shit! That's not good.* He then radioed Misato. "We need to stop the U.N. fleet from attacking. If they destroy that spear and the cable, we're done for."
Misato gritted her teeth in frustration. "Isn't the situation bad enough?" She then makes contact with the Admiral. "This is Captain Katsuragi. I request that you cease firing on the target. Do you read me?"
The Admiral was quick to respond. "Are you out of your mind? Why in God's name would we do that?"
"Cause if you don't…" Explained the female Captain. "Then you might destroy the spear or cable that the Eva is holding onto. If that happens, it will sink to the ocean bottom."
The Admiral snorted. "Is that all? Fool! We don't need that robot to destroy this monster. We're already destroying it!"
"That's only because of the Eva's AT Field." Continued Misato. "It's the reason why you can hit it now. If the Eva sinks to the ocean bottom, we'll all die! You have to believe me!"
The Admiral ignored her plea. "Preposterous! I will continue to attack for as long as necessary."
Misato slammed her fist on a desk. "Dammit!" She then spoke to the pilots. "Guys, how much power do you have left?"
"Three minutes!" Yelled Asuka. "I'm getting there."
Misato didn't sound hopeful. "Just do you best, ok?"
**
The Angel got smart. It began to swim near other ships, where some of the shells and torpedoes would hit those ships instead. It also executed several counter attacks, destroying a battleship in the process. One of the officers on the carrier confronted the Admiral. "Sir, with all due respect, I think that we should cease fire and make a strategic retreat."
"What? Are you mad?" Yelled the Admiral.
Another officer also stepped up. "If we continue this course of action, we'll be destroyed. We need to regroup. We can't withstand this kind of attack. It might attack us next."
The Admiral clenched his fists in anger. "I will ignore you request. I will decide when we will retreat."
It was then that the Angel had switched targets. Instead of aiming at the ships, it aimed at a much larger target, the Ring. It charged up a powerful blast and sent it forth.
Everyone watched on horror as a huge chunk of the Ring was completely blown away, causing severe damage. The Admiral gasped in horror upon seeing the result. "This is insane. How can we beat something that can do that?" It was then that the Admiral realized the futility of his assault. He switched tactics. "We can't allow that thing to attack the Ring again. I order a temporary crease fire. We will then reposition ourselves on front of the Ring to protect it. Once there, we will continue our assault." He then spoke through the intercom. "Did you read that Captain? You better hope that you robot can do something, because if it doesn't'…"
"Thank you Admiral." Said Misato, who was somewhat relieved. She then contacts the pilots. "How much time?"
"Two minutes!" Said Asuka. "I'm almost there."
Unfortunately, the Angel suddenly stopped, which meant that the Eva began to sink again, just short of reaching the spear. This was especially bad, considering the fact that the Eva couldn't move well when completely submerged in water. All it could do was hold on to the cable.
"I can't move it!" Yelled Asuka. "Why won't it move?"
"It's the B-Type equipment." Said Shinji. "It doesn't function well underwater."
Asuka struggled to move the Eva. "If we stay here, we'll be sitting ducks. It has to move!"
It was then that Shinji grabbed the controls again. "Let me help."
"No!" Said Asuka. "I don't need your help."
"If we don't work together…" Said Shinji. "We'll run out of time."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Fine, but don't get to comfortable. I know how you perverts think."
It was then that both of them grabbed the controls and synched together, allowing the Eva to move slightly. It began to move and climb up the cable, bit by bit. With a minute of time left, it finally reached the spear, just as the cable they were holding snapped off.
"Shit!" Said Asuka. "We won't be using that anymore."
Upon climbing up the Angels back, they noticed that the Angel was just about to unleash another blast at the Ring. Quickly grabbing the spear and ripping it out of the Angel's body, Asuka charged forward and swung the spear, slicing off one of the Angel's claws. Its sudden attack caught the Angel off guard, and the blast that came out of the other claw went over the Ring, shooting up into the atmosphere.
"That was close." Said Shinji. "Hurry and kill it!"
"Yeah, Yeah!" Said Asuka as she turned around and raised the spear.
Unfortunately, the Angel suddenly moved forward, causing the Eva to lose balance. It began to charge towards the Ring.
Adams saw what was about to happen and quickly jumped on his bike to get away. *This is insane! It's going to ram the Ring!*
Asuka tried to position herself to make a stab at the Angel core but before she could do so, the Angel smashed into the Ring, causing even more damage. The inertia sent the Eva flying, and it landed on the Ring, near the inner edge. Upon recovering, they realized that they only had about thirty seconds left.
"Maybe we should try and reattach the umbilical cable again tom give us some more time." Said Shinji.
"Negative.' Said Asuka. "It's about to attack again." She then lifts the spear and prepares to throw it.
"I hope you don't miss this time!" Said Shinji in a worried tone. "We won't get another shot!"
"Shut up shut up!" Yelled Asuka as the targeting computer began to line up.
The Angel raised its remaining claw and aimed it directly at the Ring, charging up its energy.
"Almost there." Said Asuka with increasing anticipation. The timer was down to fifteen seconds.
Misato, Adams, and everyone else were cheering them on. This was it.
Angel was about ready to blast. Asuka was about ready to throw.
"A few more seconds… and NOW!" She then threw the spear. Its aim was straight and true, penetrating the Angel's core and killing it before it could finish its attack. It quietly sunk to the bottom of the ocean, just as Unit 02 ran out of power.
Both pilots seemed very much relieved. They'd both be covered in sweat if they weren't already covered in LCL. Asuka looked back at the young teenage boy and smirked. "I guess you weren't completely useless after all. Thanks for the help, even though I probably would have succeeded without you help."
Shinji just sighed. "I'll take that as a complement."
**
The Admiral of the U.N. fleet stood dumbfounded. "It beat it…that machine just did what the entire Pacific fleet couldn't." He hung his head in shame. He knew that his actions had nearly destroyed the fleet, and that his future career wasn't too prominent. He sat back, his eyes glazing over, and spoke weakly. "I need to retire…"
**
It was the next day. Everyone was gathered at the military base. The departure of the transport ship was slightly delayed, due to the fact that the Pacific fleet needed to return to harbor to resupply and repair. As a result, the transport wasn't leaving until tomorrow, this of course also included Asuka and Misato. Shinji, Kensuke, and Touji on the other hand, had a choice.
"Here are your options." Said Adams. "You guys can stay with Misato, and ride the U.S.S. Over the Rainbow to Tokyo 3, or you can come with me and be back in Tokyo 3 by tomorrow. It's up to you. I have to leave early to report to HQ, so if you guys don't make up your minds by the time I leave, you're out of luck."
"How long will it take for Misato to get home?" Asked Shinji.
Adams thought about it. "I'm guessing about a week."
Shinji nodded his head and looked to his friends. "What do you guys think?"
Kensuke was the firs to answer. "I'm all for staying with Misato. We can stay here at the beach for another day, spend a week at sea, look at all the cool ships, skip a week of school, and best of all, Asuka will be with us!"
Touji then gave his argument. "I think we should go with the American. Sure we can stay at the beach some more, and be with Misato, but I kinda get sea-sick easily, I can't afford to miss a week of class, ships kinda of bore me, and worst of all, Asuka will be with us!"
Shinji thought about both their arguments. "You guys make good points, but…" He thought about it some more and decided. "I don't think it would be too fair to leave Misato alone. I vote to stay here."
"You would." Said Adams. "We all know the two real reasons as to why you want to stay." He then pats him on the shoulder. "You're one step closer to being a man."
Shinji blushed profusely. "That's not true. I just think Misato needs some company on the trip back!"
"I'm so sure." Said Adams while chuckling.
"In any case, majority rules!" Exclaimed Kensuke. "Yahoo!!"
Adams shrugged. "Have it your way." He then looks at Touji. "You can still come with me if you want."
"Nah." Said Touji. "I'll stick it out with my buddies. They'll need me around to fend off Asuka."
"Ok." Said Adams as he began to walk off. "Have fun!" Adams then grabbed his bike and head towards the transport chopper.
He made it up to the ramp, but was stopped by a guard. "Sorry, sir, but you can't go up there."
Adams raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean? This is the transport to take me home."
The soldier shook his head. "Not today. This chopper stays here. Captain Katsuragi's orders."
"What?!" Asked Steve in surprise. "How am I getting home?"
The soldier pointed to his right. "You'll use that chopper."
Adams turned his head to look in that direction. His eyes widened in disbelief as he realized that he was being transported in a considerably smaller helicopter. The American quickly turned towards the soldier in desperation. "No! There must be a mistake. I can't ride in that thing! It's too small for my bike!"
"Not my problem, sir." Said the soldier. "You'll have to take that up with Captain Katsuragi."
Adams began to look around. "Where is she?"
"I'm right here!" Exclaimed the Director of Operations. "I hope your new transport arrangements aren't a problem."
Adams ran up to her. "You realize that it's too small to fit my bike in there, right?"
Misato nodded. "Yep."
"You…you wouldn't." Said the weapons developer.
"Yes I would." Said Misato. "After all, consider this you punishment for snitching to Kaji about us."
Steven clenched his teeth in anger. "You'll pay for this!"
"Careful." Said Misato. "I might just make you swim back to Tokyo 3." She then walks off, a huge grin covering her face. "Have a nice day! Buh bye!"
Adams looked at his bike with dread. 'If I can't put my bike in the helicopter, then I have to leave it here. And if I have to leave it here, then…" Adams screamed *NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!*
He then walks up to the soldier, his gesture completely grim. "Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?"
The soldier nodded. "Yeah, why?"
Adams tosses the guy his keys. "It's all yours."
The soldier shook his head. "I don't have any money, sir."
"Don't worry about it." Said Adams. "It's no good to me anymore…" With that Adams slowly and reluctantly walked up to the other helicopter. Before entering it, he takes one last look at his bike before entering the helicopter and leaving Hawaii.
Misato see Asuka, who was staring out into the ocean with a frown on her face. "Are you OK, Asuka?"
"No." Responded the German. "Kaji already left. Now I won't see him the entire time we travel towards Tokyo 3."
Misato sighed. "Don't worry about. Chances are, you'll see him soon enough." She the tried to cheer the girl up. "On a higher note, I must say, you are an incredible pilot."
Asuka turned towards Misato. "You really think so?"
Misato nodded. "Absolutely. Your abilities far surpass Shinji. You make him look kinda sad, really."
Asuka smiled, enjoying the stroking of her ego. "I guess so. Thanks Misato."
"No problem." Said the female Captain as she head off. "I'll see you later."
"Bye." Said Asuka as she too decided to head off. She then noticed that the three other boys were still there. They were in the middle of deciding what to do for the rest of the day when she approached them. "Why are you dorks still here? Weren't you leaving with that American?"
Shinji shook his head. "No. We're going to be going home with you and Misato."
Asuka's eyes widened. "What?"
Kensuke walked up to the redhead. "We'll be riding on an air-craft carrier together. It'll be like a romantic cruse. Aren't you excited?"
Asuka took a step back. "You're kidding me, right?"
Touji whispered into Shinji's ear. "I'm telling you, we should have left when we had the chance."
Asuka had only one thing left to say. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
***End Chapter 11***
There we are. I hope I got Asuka's character down well enough.
I have a special treat coming up for the next chapter. You might like it. Anyway, I hope to here from you guys.
Well, here is the second half of "Spear fishing in Hawaii." Hope to hear from my small but loyal fan base.
Chapter 11 "Spear Fishing in Hawaii Part II"
**
Adams and Kaji were inside the transport ship that contained Unit 02. It didn't take long for them to get there, and Adams was already making a diagnostic check of the systems within Unit 02 to make sure that it was indeed compatible with the weapons systems used at headquarters.
Adams began looking at the data at his computer, nodding in approval. "Everything is looking alright."
Kaji was looking over Adams's shoulder. "So this is all you have to do?"
Steve nodded. "Yep, this is it. I'm almost done."
Kaji nodded. "A day in the sun in exchange for almost no work. You got it made."
Adams shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But you got several days in the sun, and all you had to do was watch over the Second Child."
Kaji agreed. "Yep, but she does seem pretty attached to me. It feels kinda weird that a girl that's almost young enough to be my daughter flirts with me."
"At least she flirts with you." Said Adams as he was just getting done. "She pretty much told me, Shinji, and Suzuhara to fuck off before we were introduced to her. And she knocked Aida out with one punch."
Ryoji blinked with surprise. "She did that?" He then smiled and nodded slowly. "I'm not surprised. I had the feeling that she was kissing up to me."
The American agreed. "Yeah, she's not a very good actor, but she's ten times better then Suzuhara or Aida." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Man, those two are bad."
"Your acting wasn't very convincing, either." Said Kaji.
Adams's heart jumped for a second. "What?"
Kaji cut to the chase. "You and Misato aren't actually dating, are you?"
Adams realized that he was caught, and that there was no use in denying it. "No…we're not…"
Kaji smiled dreamily upon hearing this revelation. "So she's still single. Who'd thought?"
Adams came up with his own question. "So what happened between you two?"
Kaji thought about the answer. "A lot of things happened. It mostly ended because I was cheating on her."
"Really?" Asked Adams. "Got bored?"
The Special Agent shook his head. "No. It had more to do with the fact that she wanted to take the relationship a little further. I didn't want to do that. It made me feel uncomfortable. Rather than dumping her, and breaking her heart for no real reason, I decided that I wanted to give her a reason to dump me. And that's the story."
Adams gave a light smile. "Yeah, commitment scares me, too. I figure I'll never get married at the rate I'm going at."
"Do you know of 'The Four M's of Dating?'" Asked Ryoji.
Adams shook his head. "No, I can't say I do."
Kaji shows four finger and starts counting them. "Meet'm, date'm, do'm, leave'm."
Both Kaji and Adams busted out laughing. The American snorted. "That's a good one. I'll have to remember that."
Kaji began to think back. "Yeah, words to live by."
"Too bad I haven't been on a date in over a year." Said Adams. "I never have any time. You see, my problem is that I love my job, maybe a little too much. I work constantly on new designs for use with the Eva, and I often spend long hours drawing up plans. I then I have my hobby. I build cars. I buy the parts one piece at a time, slowly putting them together. It takes forever to finish a car. It's no wonder why I have no sex life."
"You'll be fine." Said Kaji. "I wouldn't get too upset. You still have plenty of years left."
Adams frowned again. "That's another problem. I'm 33 years old. I'm almost middle-aged. At the rate I'm going at, I'll look like the sub-commander in no time."
Kaji laughed. "You worry too much. You need to be little more laid back."
Adams had just finished the diagnostic. "Nah, that's what Whiskey is for. Speaking of which, I'm about ready to head to that bar."
"Alright." Said Kaji. "I'm ready when you are."
"Just a sec." Said Adams as he gathered his laptop and was getting ready to go. He stopped, however, when something caught his eye. "What the fuck is that?!"
Kaji was startled by the weapons developer's reaction. "What? Huh?"
Adams pointed in the direction of a long, cylindrical, rod that was very large. At the end of it was a blade, obviously depicting a spear. "That thing right there!"
Kaji seemed unconcerned. "What? That's the spear that came with Unit 02. I heard it has built in progressive technology. You didn't build it?"
Adams shook his head. "No!" He then went up to it and examined it at all angles. "This is impossible. I'm the one who designed and developed the progressive technology. There's no way that someone else would have known about it."
Kaji scratched his head. "You sure you didn't build it. I have no idea as to how it got there."
Adams kicked the spear in anger. "Somebody got a hold of my designs. It's the only way. It's either that, or I'm designing weapons in my sleep."
"Sorry I couldn't be of anymore help." Said the special agent. "But I'm sure you'll feel better once you get a few drinks in you."
Steven sighed. He realized that there really was nothing he could do about it right now, but he knew he would make a point of finding out about it when he got back to HQ. "Fine…let's go."
**
Misato and the younger teens were still eating their entrees. Misato was only picking at her food, though, since she seemed quite upset with the recent turn of events.
Everyone else decided to take this time to try and get to know the Second Child. Shinji was the first to ask. "So, how long have you been an Eva pilot?"
Asuka thought about the question for a few seconds. "Well, officially since I was seven, but I haven't actually piloted Unit 02 until recently. Before then, I was trained in simulations that mimicked the design of the Eva. By the time Unit 02 was built, I had already mastered its controls and movement."
Shinji was impressed. "Wow! I guess it's safe to assume that you're pretty good."
Asuka was once again trying to be modest. "Oh, I'm sure that I'm a long way from perfection."
Kensuke leaned towards Asuka, hearts in his eyes. "You're certainly perfect enough for me."
Asuka laughed nervously at the complement as she tried to move herself away from the dorky boy without making it obvious.
Touji wasn't impressed. "Eh, you Eva pilots aren't anything special. I'm not that impressed. I'm sure that anybody could pilot that thing."
Shinji shook his head. "Not from what I've heard."
Asuka nodded in agreement, trying her best not to become argumentative. "He's right. Only people born with certain innate abilities can pilot it. Otherwise, there would be more of us."
Suzuhara shrugged. "I could probably do it. Not that I'd want to, but I'm sure it isn't that hard."
'Yeah right.' Though Asuka. 'Like a talentless meathead like you could ever pilot the Eva. It's amazing enough that the Third can do it.'
Kensuke leaned his head back to daydream. "I wish I could pilot an Eva."
Asuka was loosing her self-control, so she spoke before thinking. "They'd never take you…" She then realized what she said and cleared her throat before correcting herself. "…Unless they felt you had the ability to handle it."
Kensuke then turned to Misato with a puppy-dog look. "You think that I could pilot the Eva?"
Misato banged her head on the table, too annoyed to answer. Equally frustrated with her lack of appetite, she decided that she was finished. "Guys, I'm going to my room. NERV is already going to cover the bill, so don't worry. You guys can do whatever you want when you're done, just stay out of trouble." She then got up and walked out of the restaurant, her head still hung low.
Just as Misato left the room, Kensuke frowned in disappointment. "She didn't answer my question. Now I'll never know."
Asuka, who no longer needed to control herself, yelled at the boy in exasperation. "The answer was no, you moron!"
Touji leaned toward Shinji to whisper. "She's back. I think we should get outta here while we still can."
Kensuke was almost tearing up. "You really think they wouldn't take me?"
Asuka smacked her forehead. (Idiot!!)
Kensuke sighed as he accepted the reality check. He then leaned toward Asuka with a sneaky look. "Nice going with hiding your true feeling for me earlier. I don't know about how I feel about the secret romance thing, but if you like it, so will I."
It was at this point that Asuka pushed the creepy four-eyed boy away and grabbed her food to move her seat as far away from him as possible. "Yeah right! I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole."
"You don't have to." Said Aida. "We already had our first kiss, remember?"
Sohryu became repulsed. "Eww! What are you talking about? I'd never kiss you! That's the second time you've mentioned that!"
Kensuke blinked in confusion. "You don't remember? It must have been pretty intense because I don't remember either."
Asuka stared blankly at the blond-haired boy. "When we first met, did I scramble your already miniscule brain? It wasn't my lips that landed on your mouth."
Kensuke nodded. "Yes it was. My friends saw the whole thing."
It was then that they noticed that both Shinji and Touji weren't sitting at the table anymore. They were spotted, trying to sneak out of the restaurant. Asuka called out to them. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
Both of them stopped, giving sheepish looks. "Who us?" Asked Shinji. "W…we were only going to…wash our hands…yeah."
Touji nodded. "Yeah, it's good manners."
Asuka was hardly fooled. "That's funny. The bathroom is on the other side of the restaurant."
Shinji nodded. "Uh…Yeah…but we were going to use the…bathroom in our room."
Touji agreed. "Yeah, we were going there anyway, so we were going to kill two birds with one stone."
"That's nice." Said Asuka as she then pointed towards their seat. "You're not leaving yet! Sit your asses down!"
The two boys hung their head in defeat and slowly walked back to their seats. Asuka then confronted them on their eyewitness report. "So tell me, what exactly did you guys see earlier at the beach?"
Both Ikari and Suzuhara looked and her and their friend with guilt. Touji was the first to speak. "Well…we might have…kinda…stretched the truth…a little."
"Yeah…um…" Spoke Shinji. "If you use the term kiss loosely…as kiss meaning the same thing as…uh…punch, then yeah…we told you the truth."
Kensuke became quite upset. "You mean to tell me that she punched me in the face? No wonder my mouth hurts so much!"
"And the truth shall set you free!" Yelled Asuka as she got in Kensuke's face. "And if you don't stop hitting on me, I'll do it again!"
Touji was becoming annoyed at the German girls behavior. "Hey! Who do you think you are, acting like such a bitch toward my friend?"
Asuka turned towards him with fire in her eyes. "Who do you think you are, lying to your friend about me kissing him?"
Touji stood up from his seat. "You two-faced whore!!"
"It's a good thing you're not two faced." Said Asuka. "Your one face is ugly enough."
Touji was about to get in her face when Shinji got up to stop him. "Cut it out guys. We shouldn't fight here. Let's just sit down and finish eating."
Asuka refused. "Forget it! I'd rather leave than spend another minute with you losers."
"The feeling is mutual!" Retorted Suzuhara.
Shinji interrupted. "Now wait a minute. Sohryu's right. It was wrong of us to lie to Kensuke. I think a round of apologies are needed." Shinji was the first to apologies. "Kensuke, Asuka, sorry for lying about what happened earlier. Touji?"
Touji grunted, but he knew that he had to at least apologize to Aida. "Sorry, Kensuke. Just didn't want your feelings hurt. As for the Red-head, I ain't apologizing unless she does, too."
The Second Child refused. "What? I didn't do anything wrong. There is no reason for me to apologize!"
Touji crossed his arms. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" Yelled Asuka as she got up to leave. "I'm out of here. I've got more important things to do than hang around with you losers."
"Like what?" Asked Shinji.
"None of your business, Third Child!" Retorted Asuka. "If I wanted you to know, I'd…" She then thinks about the situation for a second. "On second thought, maybe I do want you to know. I was about to check on my Unit 02. I hadn't seen it since we left Europe."
Shinji gave a look of confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"
Asuka continued. "Well, I was thinking perhaps it would be a good idea to show it off to you since it is obvious that you've never seen a real Evangelion."
Kensuke jumped in excitement. "Can I come along?"
Asuka raised an eyebrow in Aida's direction. "No. You're not necessary."
"Please?!!" Begged Kensuke. "I've always wanted to see one up close!"
Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Fine! But if you do anything that I find annoying, I will personally kick your ass."
Kensuke turned toward Touji. "Come on, let's go."
Touji shook his head. "Who said I wanted to go?"
The blond-haired kid went behind him and began pushing him out the door. "Come on, this is going to be so cool!"
Touji gave in. "Alright, alright I'm going! Stop pushing me."
Asuka's exasperation was relieved when she thought of Kaji. "I hope Kaji is still there. It sucks that he's hanging around that scruffy American."
The mentioning of Adams reminded Shinji of something. "I need to talk to Steve about his relationship with Misato. I can't believe they've been dating this whole time."
Asuka gave Shinji a strange look. "You mean to tell me that you actually believed that line of crap that Misato was trying to pull? Even Misato has more taste than to go out with that ugly Red-neck."
Shinji was now really confused. "What do you mean? Why would she do that?"
The German pilot nearly face-faulted. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"
**
Despite Asuka's wishes, Kaji was no longer with Unit 02. He was with Adams at a local bar, taking in a few drinks while enjoying a casual conversation. "This place gets livelier every time I come here."
Adams nodded. "I bet. I wouldn't really know. This place wasn't here the last time I was here. When I was here last, this place was buried by ocean."
Kaji nodded, as the smile ran away from his face. "Yeah, Second Impact had done us a lot of harm. I lost my parents from Second Impact, and my bother a year later…"
Adam also lost his smile remembering the pain of Second Impact. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I lost my parents and my sister during Second Impact."
Kaji continued with his story. "There was no where for my brother and I to turn to when my parents died, so we were sent to orphanages. Sadly, there were so many of us kids, they couldn't handle us all, and we had to struggle and fight just to see who got to sleep on a bed or who got to eat. It wasn't long before we escaped and lived out on the streets, scavenging what we could to survive. Sometimes, we had to resort to thievery to feed ourselves. It was then that we got an idea. We decided to try and steal from military bases. One day, though…"
Kaji fell silent for a moment, recalling the pain of regret than he bore within him. "I got caught. They forced me to tell them where my friends and I hung out. They said they would kill me if I didn't. It was my first confrontation with death…and I cracked. I told them and they went off and killed them, including my little brother. I managed to escape, but I couldn't save them. They died because of my fear of death."
Kaji took a moment to enjoy the silence before continuing, "It was shortly afterwards that I got in touch with some relatives that took me in and got me into school. I soon went into college and I've never looked back, except to remind myself as to why I joined NERV. I'm doing what I can to make sure that a Third Impact doesn't happen. It gives me reason to live."
Adams took in another shot of whiskey before speaking. "I can relate in a lot of ways. As you know, I'm a little older than you. I was eighteen when Second Impact occurred. I had just graduated from High School and was getting ready for college. I think I was going to major in Mechanical Engineering. I wanted to work on cars. It was a passion of mine at the time. Sadly, before I could go, Second Impact had destroyed the very college I was supposed to go to. I also discovered the deaths of my parents and my sister. I had no idea where they were at the time. I never even knew they were dead until I got a phone call telling me the news."
"That sucks." Said Ryoji as he took a shot of liquor. "What happened then?"
"Well…" Continued Steve. "Like I said, I was eighteen. Unlike you, I wasn't forced into an orphanage or the streets. I was instead forced to join the military. Another war had broken out shortly after Second Impact, and the draft was reinstated in the U.S. They assigned me to the U.N. Special Forces. We were sent in to do such things like assassinations, the retrieval of hostages, and other menial tasks during wartime. Somehow, I cheated death long enough to make it out of wartime." Adams began to reflect briefly on his years in combat with great regret. "I killed a lot of people. People just like me. People who were forced into the military because there was nowhere else for them to turn to. These people did what they had to do in order to survive, and I killed them for it. It was a burden on me that still gives me nightmares. When they took me out of combat, I decided I didn't want to kill people anymore."
"So you became a weapons developer?" Asked Kaji. "Sounds contradicting, doesn't it?"
"I suppose it does." Said Adams. "It wasn't long after I joined the military that I found a new interest in guns and weapons. I used to love to take apart my gun and put it back together, over and over again. I began studying weapons in my spare time and I grew more knowledgeable about them. When I found out that an Angel caused Second Impact, I began wondering about what I could do to stop another Second Impact. It was then that I wanted to try and build weapons to defend people, instead to killing them. I joined an academy after I was taken out of combat, and eight years later here I am."
Kaji picked up his shot glass to make a toast. "Here's to learning from our past in order to make a better future."
"Indeed." Said Adams as they touched glasses and drank down.
**
Asuka arrived at the transport ship, followed closely by Shinji and Touji. Shinji and Touji were quite winded, far more than the German Red-head. "Are you telling me that you guys are tired already?" Questioned Asuka. "It wasn't that far."
Touji regained his breath first. "Sorry if we're not used to running ten city blocks just to see a giant robot."
"I feel sorry for Kensuke." Said Shinji. "He fell behind a long time ago, and he was more excited about this than any of us."
It was then that Kensuke finally appeared around the corner, jogging very slowly. He eventually made it, nearly collapsing when he did.
"About time you got here!" Yelled Asuka.
Aida spoke between breaths. "I…am…so out of…shape."
"Well." Said Touji. "If you spent more time participating in gym and less time playing with your camcorder, you'd be in better shape."
"I know, I know." Cried out Aida as his breath slowed. "Can we see…the Eva now?"
"Yeah, yeah." Said Asuka. "Be patient. It's not like it's going anywhere until tomorrow."
The Three Stooges finally regained their wind and entered the transport, led by Asuka. It wasn't long before they reached where it was, hidden underneath a giant tarp. Each of the teens ducked underneath it and looked inside. There was Unit 02, complete with red paint-job and four green eyes. Kensuke quickly pulled out his trusty camcorder and turned it on. "This is so awesome!!"
Asuka climbed up the Eva and stood on its stomach in triumph. "This is it. Unit 02, the first production model. The first true Evangelion." She then began to look around the area and frowned. "Kaji's not here. They must have left."
Kensuke was suddenly overcome with the urge to touch the Eva. He slowly walked up to it and placed a hand on it. "I'm touching an Evangelion! I'M TOUCHING AN EVANGELION!!!"
Asuka noticed his behavior with annoyance. "Hey! Who said you could touch my Eva?"
Touji walked up to the Eva and knocked on its shell. "I guess it's impressive."
Kensuke was mesmerizes. "Touji, am I peeing my pants?"
Touji shook his head. "Nope."
Asuka was revolted. "Eww, don't you even think about peeing near Unit 02!" She then loses her temper. "That's it, now I'm kicking your ass. I warned you!"
Asuka jumped down from the Eva and was about to give Kensuke a knuckle sandwich when a loud blast was heard a long distance away. Everyone looked around in order to determine where the blast came from. They rushed outside and looked around. All they could see was a smoke plume on the outside of the Ring.
"What's going on?" Asked Asuka. "I can't see from here."
"Whatever it is…" Said Shinji. "I'm sure that it's not good."
**
Misato was lying down in her bed, finishing off her third beer. She was depressed over the fact that her ex was around again, so she did her best to try and forget, using her favorite beverage. It was then that she heard the explosion. "Holy shit! What the hell was that?" She quickly opened her window and looked outside to find the origin of the blast. She found it, realizing that there was definitely something wrong. She quickly ran out of the Hotel and headed towards the military base.
**
Kaji and Adams quickly ran outside when they heard the blast. From where they were, they couldn't see where the blast was from, and could only guess as to what was going on. "Do you know what happened?" Asked Adams.
Kaji shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. What should we do?"
Adams thought for a minute. "I suppose going to the base would be a sound idea. I'll take us there."
"On your bike?" Asked Kaji. "You're not exactly sober."
Adams rolled his eyes. "Look, if you'd rather wait for a taxi, then fine, but I'm not patient enough." He then grabbed his bike and got on it, kick starting it before looking at Ryoji. "Well?"
Kaji hung his head. "Fine, but I'm only taking this risk because I'm not sober, either."
"Fine with me." Said the American. With that, Kaji got on the bitch seat and the two sped away towards the base.
**
The Admiral of the U.S.S. Over the Rainbow ran into the command deck to get a report as to what exactly happened. "Report!!"
The Second in command saluted. "Sir, we've lost a destroyer. We have no idea as to what happened."
"Any enemy ships nearby?" Asked the Admiral.
Another officer shook his head. "We have no visual on any ships nearby on the surface or on the sonar."
"Could it have been a terrorist attack?" Asked the Admiral, becoming increasingly concerned.
"We don't know." Said the second in command. "The blast nearly vaporized the destroyer, though. It would have to be a hell of a bomb to do that."
The Admiral became frustrated. "Dammit, What the hell is going on?"
It was then that one of the crewmembers spotted something on sonar. "I've picked something up, sir." His eyes suddenly widened. "I…It's huge!!"
The other officers look at the sonar screen, their jaws dropping. The admiral seemed most stunned. "A submarine that big? Impossible!!"
The object in the water moved close to another destroyer. Suddenly, a bright red light began to glow underneath the water. There was little time for the crew on the ship to react as a beam quickly shot straight through the ship's hull, obliterating it.
It was then that the true nature of their enemy was revealed. The Admiral went onto the intercom. "All crew, man your battle stations! I repeat, man you battle stations! This is not a drill!!"
**
Shinji, seeing the light that destroyed the ship, became horrified. He stepped back realizing the horrid truth. "I…it can't be…"
Asuka looked towards the Third Child. "Can't be what?"
Shinji didn't answer. He continued to mumble. "This is not happening. Not here."
Asuka became annoyed. "What's not happening? Tell me you moron."
Shinji gave a very serious look towards Asuka. "That light. It must be an Angel."
Asuka's eyes widened. "An Angel? Are you sure?"
Shinji turned his head toward the direction of the second blast. "It's the only thing I know of that shoots blasts like that."
Touji and Kensuke also became concerned. "No way!" Said Touji. "Are you going to do something?"
Shinji was reluctant to answer. "I'm not sure what I can do. My Eva isn't here."
Asuka's look of concern quickly turned into confidence. "Maybe not you, but I can."
Shinji was taken a back. "You mean you're going to take Unit 02?"
"No, I'm going to swim up to the Angel and make friends with it." Said the Redhead sarcastically. "Of course I'm going to use Unit 02."
Kensuke became excited. "Awesome! We're going to see Unit 02 in action!"
It was then that Shinji's cell phone went off. He picked it up, wondering if it was Misato. "Hello, is this Misato?"
He guessed correctly. Misato was calling from the base. "Yes it is, Shinji. Did you see the blast?"
"Yeah I did." Said Shinji. "It's an Angel isn't it?"
Misato was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I think it is. I need to get in touch with the Admiral. The U.N. Pacific fleet had exited the Ring earlier today in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Looks like they have their hands full now."
"What are my orders?" Asked Shinji.
"Well, where are you?" Asked Misato.
"I'm at the transport where Unit 02 is being held." Answered the young Ikari.
Misato was surprised. "Well that's convenient. Is Sohryu there?"
"Yes she is." Said Shinji. "You need to talk to her?"
"Yes I do." Said Misato
Shinji handed the phone to Asuka. "Misato wants to talk to you."
Asuka grabbed the phone. "Yes, Misato?"
"Asuka, can you activate Unit 02?" Asked the Director of Operations
Asuka nodded. "Yes I can, but it only has a minute of reserve power."
"That's ok." Said Misato. "We have a umbilical station near the base. You think you can get your Eva there in time?"
"Yes ma'am." Said Sohryu cheerfully. "I'll be on my way!"
"I'll give you further orders when you establish external power." Said the captain. "Good luck."
"Thank you, bye." She then hung up the phone, tossing it to Shinji before running underneath the tarp.
Shinji ran after her, followed by the two other boys. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"Moron, what do you think? I'm going to activate Unit 02!" Yelled the Second Child. Asuka runs towards an area near the Eva's head, where a duffle bag was found. She opens it and pulls out a red plug suit. She then runs to the other side of the Eva. "Stay on the other side, you perverts!! If I catch you peaking, I'll step on you with my Eva!!"
The other boys wisely complied. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was suited up. She then went into the duffle bag and grabbed another red plug suit and ran up to Shinji and tossed it to him. "Put it on!"
Shinji stared at the plug suit with dread. "What for?"
Asuka groaned. "Well, you're the famous Third Child, right? I figured that maybe your experience might come in handy."
Shinji unfolded the suit, seeing that it was obviously designed for a girl. He frowned as he began to unbutton his shirt.
This upset Asuka. "Not here you idiot! Like I'd want to see you naked!"
Shinji blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry…" He then ran to the other side of the Eva.
Kensuke ogled Asuka, obviously entranced by the way she look in her plug suit. His stare didn't go unnoticed. "What are you staring at, you perverted dork?!"
Kensuke didn't answer. Instead lifted his camcorder to his face and pointed it at Asuka. She or course was not pleased with his response, and she quickly walked up to him and slapped the camcorder out of his hand. It slammed in to the ground, breaking some pieces off. Kensuke was horrified. "Oh no!! My camcorder!!!"
"Next time, it'll be your head." Threatened the young female pilot.
Shinji was finished getting dressed, walking into view with an obvious blush. "Do I really have to do this?"
"No time for complaining, Third Child." Exclaimed the Second. "We have work to do!" It was then that the two of them moved towards the entry plug. Kensuke stared at Shinji with envy. "I wish I was the one wearing that plug suit."
This statement was soon followed by Touji's hand smacking Aida upside the head.
**
"ALL SHIPS!!! OPEN FIRE!!!" Yelled the admiral.
With that command, every standing ship available began to fire away at the target. Missiles, artillery shells, and torpedoes all hit their mark, but the creature below the water wouldn't sink. "Dammit!" Said the Admiral. "Why won't it be destroyed?"
It was then that the Angel began to surface, slowly revealing itself.
The crew in the flagship stared in awe. "What the hell is that thing?" Screamed the second in command.
The Admiral was almost speechless. "Uh…. Uh…Fire away!"
Several more shells were fired each nearly making their mark, except for one problem.
"None of the shells are hitting." Said an officer using binoculars.
"What do you mean?" Asked the Admiral. "We're hitting it with direct attacks!"
"Take a look." Said the officer as he handed the Admiral the binoculars. "The shells are exploding before they impact. It's like they're hitting something."
The Admiral confirmed this when looking through the binoculars. "How can this be?"
Before his question could be answered, the Angel made another attack. It targeted another destroyer and charged at it, moving at surprising velocity. It reached the ship and grabbed it with one claw, lifting it from the water and throwing it at another destroyer, demolishing both of them.
The Admiral gritted his teeth in frustration. "It's toying with us. How the hell can we beat what we can't hit?"
**
Asuka and Shinji were both contained within the entry plug. Unit 02 had been activated, and the Eva was starting to move. The timer representing battery power was at a minute and ten seconds.
The shortness in time concerned Shinji. "Do we have enough time to make it to the base? It's a good mile away."
Asuka turned towards the male pilot with a look of cockiness. "Throwing in the towel already? Ha! I'll show you how to pilot."
It was then that the Eva leaped from the ship it was on, while carrying its spear, and began leaping on other ships or rocks that were in the path. It moved at incredible speed.
Shinji held on for dear life, unused to the maneuvers that the German redhead was performing. "Watch out! AAAHHH!!…You almost!!…I can't look…"
"Stop whining you wuss!!!" Yelled Asuka. "How did someone like you become a pilot anyway?"
"I wonder the same thing sometimes." Answered Shinji.
The Eva then landed on a road that led to the base, and it began to sprint the rest of the distance. It had thirty-five seconds left, and there was about half a mile to go.
"We're not going to make it!" Said Shinji.
Asuka pushed the red machine harder. "We'll make it if it's the last thing I do!"
The clock wound down, almost to twenty seconds, neither pilot relaxed, their hearts pounding. They were getting close.
Nearby, Steve and Kaji were also nearing the base, still on the motorcycle. Their balance wasn't the greatest, but they managed to stay upright. The American had just made a turn towards the base when a giant red foot came crashing next to them, nearly knocking them both off. Adams had to stop, or risk trashing the bike, himself, and Kaji. "Holy shit!"
Kaji looked at the Evangelion speeding away. "They deployed Unit 02. Looks like we might have an Angel on our hands."
Adams's eyes widened. "An Angel? No way! All the way out here? But why?"
Kaji shrugged. "I have no idea. But I think we should get going."
"I agree." Said Steven as they pulled away towards the base.
Unit 02 was almost there, but the time was waning. "We only have ten seconds!!" Yelled Shinji.
"I know I know!!" Screamed Asuka just as they reach the base. Running across it, they come into contact with the outlet. Without wasting time, Asuka put the cable on the back of the Eva with only two seconds to spare. "See? I told you we'd make I."
Shinji was half-relieved. "Well, at least we have power. But now what?"
Misato was heard over the intercom. "Asuka, I see you have made it. Is everything alright?"
Asuka nodded. "We are all clear, Misato. Awaiting orders."
"Good." Said a relieved Misato. "Your orders now are to move out to the edge of the Ring and investigate what is going on and give the fleet any support you can give."
"Roger." Said Asuka.
It was then that Shinji spoke. "Do you know if it is an Angel yet?"
Misato sounded surprised to hear Shinji. "It that you Shinji, what are you doing in there?"
Asuka answered. "Shinji wanted to tag along so badly that I couldn't say no."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You were the one that…" His sentence was interrupted when Asuka hit him in the nose. "OW!"
Misato became concerned. "What's going on? Are you two alright?"
"We're fine Misato." Said Asuka. "We're moving out."
"Ok, good luck." Said the Director of Operations.
"Thank you." Said Asuka as she moved the Eva towards a connecting bridge that led to the Ring.
Shinji began to rub his nose. "What did you hit me for?"
"Because you talk too much." Said Sohryu.
"I talk too much?" Said Shinji. "I don't talk nearly as much…"
Asuka interrupted. "And you will talk a whole lot less unless you want a black eye as well."
Shinji shut up. 'How did I get myself into this?'
**
Adams and Ryoji finally pulled into the base. Kaji swallowed hard as he realized that he was safe. "Could you do me a favor? The next time I have to ride in the bitch seat, can you be sober?"
Adams rolled his eyes. "Look, we didn't crash, right? Stop complaining."
"What about that old lady you nearly clipped?" Said Kaji.
Adams groaned. "Look, clipping is not crashing. Besides, I only almost clipped her."
"Still…" Said Kaji. "You shouldn't drink and drive."
"Whatever." Said Adams as he got off the bike. "We need to report to the command area."
Kaji seemed reluctant. "I…I'll catch up to you. There is something here that I need to grab real quick."
Adams thought of what Kaji said to be strange. "Could it wait? This is important."
"This is important, too." Said Kaji. "Don't worry about me, just go ahead."
"Alright." Said Adams as he began to hustle to the command area.
When he arrived, he was met with an unhappy Misato. "So what took you so long?"
"I was sighting seeing." Said Adams sarcastically. "You know exactly what I was doing."
Misato was not surprised. "It figures. You reek of booze."
Adams smelt her breath as well. "You were drinking, too."
"You were drinking way more." Said Misato.
"Yeah right." Argued Adams. "I could smell your breath the moment I walked in."
"Your breath always smells like that." Retorted Misato.
Before the argument could escalate, one of the officers nearby reports. "Ma'am, the Evangelion has reached the edge of the Ring."
**
Asuka and Shinji began to stare out to where the Pacific fleet was battling. They saw the half dozen destroyed ships and spotted the cause of those destroyed ships.
"So that's an Angel, huh?" Asked Asuka.
"Afraid so." Said Shinji.
Asuka turned back toward Shinji. "So Third, you've already killed two of these. What's the big secret?"
Shinji thought for a moment, but shrugged, unable to really think of anything. "Destroy its core?"
The German redhead hung her head in exasperation. "Why in God's name did I bring you along?"
It was then that they heard Misato over the intercom. "Asuka, Shinji, what is the situation?"
Asuka answered first. "It's an Angel. How should we proceed?"
"Your orders…" Said Misato. "Are to defeat the Angel by any means necessary. You can't enter the water, because you only have the B-type equipment on. You don't have a rifle do you?"
"That's OK." Said Asuka. "If I throw the spear and hit its core, it might do the trick."
Misato sounded concerned. "Maybe, but if you miss, you'll lose the spear. There has to be another way."
It was then that Asuka had a thought. "I know! Give me a few minutes."
It was then that Unit 02 quickly ran back to the harbor to find something.
**
Adams had remembered the spear that Unit 02 had and became upset. "We can't use that spear!"
Misato turned to Adams, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
Adams explained. "The spear is untested. It may not work."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Misato.
"I wasn't the one who designed it." Said Adams. "For all we know, it could be seriously flawed."
Misato realized his game and smiled in amusement. "So what you're actually telling me is that because you did develop it, you don't want it to be used. Otherwise your reputation might get soiled if it worked."
Adams became angrier. "Whoever developed that stole the designs for the progressive technology! It should be illegal for it to be used."
The female captain rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic. I'm ignoring you. You hardly make any sense when you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk!" Yelled Adams.
It was then that a Harrier could be heard flying by. A voice was heard on the intercom, recognized to be Kaji's. "Misato, Steve, I'm afraid I have to head off. I have business to take care of and let's just say that it hard to accomplish it when you're sixty meters below sea level. By the way, I know the truth about you and Steve, Misato. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm personally glad you're still single. Well, good bye!" It was then that the plane took off out of sight.
Adams gritted his teeth in anger. "Damn coward. And I was just starting to like him, too."
Misato was even angrier, although her anger was partially focused on the American. "You told him the truth?!!"
Adams swallowed hard. "Heh, well he sort of figured it out on his own."
"That's because you blew it!" Yelled Misato.
Adams crossed his arms. "It was stupid idea anyway."
"You're going to pay for screwing it up." Said Misato.
"Not if we can't beat this Angel." Said Adams while watching Unit 02. "What are they doing?"
**
Unit 02 was kneeling on top of a cargo ship, gathering a large amount of cable from a large spool. She then took it and tied it around its wrist and the spear.
Shinji seemed a little confused as to what Asuka was planning. "Uh…you mind telling me what exactly you have planned."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Simpleton. Isn't it obvious? We're going spear fishing."
"Spear fishing?" Asked Shinji.
"Yeah." Said the redhead. "Never done it before?"
Shinji shook his head. "No. Have you?"
Asuka was silent for a moment. "Well…how hard can it be? Besides, the targeting computer is doing all the work. I just need to throw."
Shinji seemed surprised. "You can use the targeting computer to throw stuff?"
Asuka groaned once again in exasperation. "What drugs were they on when they chose you as a pilot?"
Shinji shrugged. "I'm wondering the same thing."
It was then that Unit 02 rushed quickly back towards the edge of the Ring.
**
The Admiral stood in dread as he watched the behemoth crush half of his fleet. It was slowly becoming more apparent that his forces couldn't win and that his own death was imminent. A look of absolute helplessness overtook the crew as they all realized the futility of this battle. It was then that they heard a transmission.
"This is Captain Katsuragi hailing the U.S.S Over the Rainbow. Do you copy?"
The Admiral responded to the transmission. "We copy, Captain. This better be good."
Misato continued. "I'm sending Unit 02 to assist you in destroying the target. Do you see it standing to your right?"
Everyone on board looked to their right and saw a large red machine with a spear standing on the edge of the Ring. The Admiral gritted his teeth in annoyance. "That thing is going to help us? Preposterous!"
Misato spoke with increasing confidence. "That 'thing' is the only weapon we have that can beat an Angel. I doubt you really have much choice in the matter."
One of the officers was confused. "An Angel? What is she talking about?"
The Admiral was irritated by the Captains tone of voice. "How dare you talk to me that way? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"It doesn't make a difference if we're all dead." Said Misato. "Just stand by and watch. You'll see."
It was then that Asuka spoke to Misato. "We're in position."
"Good." Said Misato. "You may attack when ready."
"Yes ma'am." Said Asuka with increasing excitement. "This is it. My time to shine. And you get a front row seat, Third."
"Yippie…" Said Shinji unenthusiastically.
Asuka lifted up the spear and pointed it at the Angel. "Good, we're just within range to neutralize its AT Field." The targeting computer began to center itself as Unit 02's AT Field increased in order to neutralize its enemy's. "Almost…"
Meanwhile, the Admiral of the U.S.S Over the Rainbow had plans of his own. "Have all ships prepare an all out assault. We'll show that Captain what we can really do."
"Just couple more seconds.." Said Asuka.
"Ready all guns!" Commanded the Admiral.
The targeting cross-hares were centered. "NOW!!" Yelled the Second Child
"FIRE!!" Yelled the Admiral.
Both forces attacked at approximately the same time, but the artillery shells had greater velocity so the hit first. The shell impact sent the Angel back a few feet, which was more than enough for the spear to miss its mark. It instead penetrated its body, causing only a minor flesh wound.
(SHIT!!!) Yelled Asuka. "They fucked up my shot!!!"
"Oh no…" Said Misato as she heard the result over the intercom. "Those idiots. They're doing more harm than good."
The Admiral smiled with pride. "See? I knew that if we attacked with enough force, we could hit that target. The nerve of that Captain. After I'm done with her, she'd be lucky if she's still a lieutenant."
"Target still remains." Said one of the crewmen.
"Then keep attacking." Said the Admiral. "I don't care if we have to turn it into sushi."
The shells and torpedoes continued to bombard the Angel, causing some damage to its body. To escape the attacks, it began to move away at high speeds.
Shinji spoke up. "Um Asuka? Now that the spear is stuck inside the Angel, how do we get it back, and what happens when we run out of cable? It's sort of moving away from us."
Sohryu's eyes slowly opened up as she came to realize her blunder. "Uh…I hadn't thought about that…"
'Great…' Thought Shinji just as they ran out of cable. The Eva was suddenly pulled forward over the edge to the Ring and was being dragged across the water. They both began to scream. "AAAHHH!!!
**
"Oh shit!" Yelled Misato. "What the hell happened?"
Adams grabbed a two-way radio and a pair of binoculars and headed out the door. Misato stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going out to the Ring." Said Adams. "I'll keep you informed as to what is going on. I'm not doing us any good here."
"Fine." Said Misato. "But if you get yourself killed, it's your fault."
"I can live with that." Said Adams. "Even if I'm dead."
**
The Admiral watched as the Eva was being dragged across the water. He chuckled with superiority. "Look at that thing. And that was the machine that could defeat that monster. It's down right pitiful." He then turns to the second in command, who was using the binoculars. "What's the status of the target?"
"Damage to the target appears to be moderate. It's still moving rather rapidly." Said the officer.
"Tough bastard." Said the Admiral. "Keep firing. I don't care if we completely use up our munitions."
**
Asuka was struggling to maintain control of the Eva while it was being pulled. "Dammit!"
"We have to do something." Yelled Shinji.
"What are you stupid? Of course we have to something." Retorted Asuka.
Shinji tried to grab the controls. "We have to pull ourselves in. It's the only way."
Asuka pushed him away. "Don't even think about it! I'm way ahead of you anyway." She then began to try and pull towards the Angel, but was having some difficulty with all the water in her face.
**
It was then that Adams pulled up to the edge of the Ring in his bike. He surveyed the area to get a good idea as to what is going on. He then radios in to Misato. "This is Adams. Do you read me?"
Misato answered the other end. "Roger. What is the status of Unit 02?"
Adams frowned in embarrassment. "Not so good. The spear is caught in the Angel and the Eva is being dragged across the water."
"Dammit!" Said Misato. "What do we do? You're an advisor, do you have any ideas?"
Adams shrugged. "I don't have a damn clue as to what we should do. I will say this. If I had developed the spear, it wouldn't have gotten caught and we wouldn't have been in this mess."
Misato smacked her forehead. "Why…You…Grrrr. Over and out!" Misato groaned in aggravation. "Doesn't that idiot ever have anything better to do but talk about himself?"
**
Shinji then had an idea. "Why don't you try and get the Eva on its feet?"
"What?" Asked Asuka.
"You know, like those guys being dragged by a boat." Said Shinji.
Asuka thought about it. "You mean a water skier? That just might work. Maybe you're not a complete waste of space after all."
It was then that Asuka dragged the feet of the Eva around so it could drag its feet across the water. It produced the desired effect, and the Eva was actually water skiing.
**
Adams saw this and sweatdropped. *A water skiing Eva…Now I've seen everything.*
Skiing across the water did the trick. Although there was slightly more drag while doing this, with the water out of its face, it was easier to operate the Eva. Unit 02 began to close in on the Angel.
It was then that Adams noted a new problem. *Oh shit! They're running out of umbilical cable.* He then radioed Misato. "This is Adams. Do you read me?"
"Yes." Said Misato.
"You're about to run out of umbilical cable." Said Adams. "You're going to have to sever the connection to the
Eva."
Misato widened her eyes. "Are you nuts? Why would we want to do that?"
Adams hurriedly explained himself. "Because it is my firm belief that the tensile strength of the umbilical cable is stronger than the cable attached to the spear! If the weaker cable breaks, Unit 02 will sink to the bottom of the ocean, and you and I will be good as dead! Make sense to you?"
Misato frowned at the situation. This would mean that Asuka and Shinji only had five minutes to get the job done, and that may not be enough. She contacted the pilots. "Guys, sever your umbilical connection."
Asuka blinked for a moment. "What did you say?"
"Just do it! You're going to run out of it!" Commanded Misato.
Understanding the situation, Asuka complies. "Dammit! This sucks!" She releases the umbilical cable, starting the reserve battery's countdown.
"Why'd you do that?" Asked Shinji.
"Because if we ran out of umbilical cable…" Said Asuka. "The force of the tug might break the cable we're being dragged by, duh."
"Great…" Said Shinji.
"No big deal." Said Asuka. "We just have to be faster."
It was then that they noticed a new problem. An exploding shell nearby had sent out shrapnel that grazed the cable they were holding onto, causing a couple of wires to snap. Both pilots gazed upon with horror.
"Better make that really fast!" Said Shinji.
Adams saw the problem through his binoculars. *Shit! That's not good.* He then radioed Misato. "We need to stop the U.N. fleet from attacking. If they destroy that spear and the cable, we're done for."
Misato gritted her teeth in frustration. "Isn't the situation bad enough?" She then makes contact with the Admiral. "This is Captain Katsuragi. I request that you cease firing on the target. Do you read me?"
The Admiral was quick to respond. "Are you out of your mind? Why in God's name would we do that?"
"Cause if you don't…" Explained the female Captain. "Then you might destroy the spear or cable that the Eva is holding onto. If that happens, it will sink to the ocean bottom."
The Admiral snorted. "Is that all? Fool! We don't need that robot to destroy this monster. We're already destroying it!"
"That's only because of the Eva's AT Field." Continued Misato. "It's the reason why you can hit it now. If the Eva sinks to the ocean bottom, we'll all die! You have to believe me!"
The Admiral ignored her plea. "Preposterous! I will continue to attack for as long as necessary."
Misato slammed her fist on a desk. "Dammit!" She then spoke to the pilots. "Guys, how much power do you have left?"
"Three minutes!" Yelled Asuka. "I'm getting there."
Misato didn't sound hopeful. "Just do you best, ok?"
**
The Angel got smart. It began to swim near other ships, where some of the shells and torpedoes would hit those ships instead. It also executed several counter attacks, destroying a battleship in the process. One of the officers on the carrier confronted the Admiral. "Sir, with all due respect, I think that we should cease fire and make a strategic retreat."
"What? Are you mad?" Yelled the Admiral.
Another officer also stepped up. "If we continue this course of action, we'll be destroyed. We need to regroup. We can't withstand this kind of attack. It might attack us next."
The Admiral clenched his fists in anger. "I will ignore you request. I will decide when we will retreat."
It was then that the Angel had switched targets. Instead of aiming at the ships, it aimed at a much larger target, the Ring. It charged up a powerful blast and sent it forth.
Everyone watched on horror as a huge chunk of the Ring was completely blown away, causing severe damage. The Admiral gasped in horror upon seeing the result. "This is insane. How can we beat something that can do that?" It was then that the Admiral realized the futility of his assault. He switched tactics. "We can't allow that thing to attack the Ring again. I order a temporary crease fire. We will then reposition ourselves on front of the Ring to protect it. Once there, we will continue our assault." He then spoke through the intercom. "Did you read that Captain? You better hope that you robot can do something, because if it doesn't'…"
"Thank you Admiral." Said Misato, who was somewhat relieved. She then contacts the pilots. "How much time?"
"Two minutes!" Said Asuka. "I'm almost there."
Unfortunately, the Angel suddenly stopped, which meant that the Eva began to sink again, just short of reaching the spear. This was especially bad, considering the fact that the Eva couldn't move well when completely submerged in water. All it could do was hold on to the cable.
"I can't move it!" Yelled Asuka. "Why won't it move?"
"It's the B-Type equipment." Said Shinji. "It doesn't function well underwater."
Asuka struggled to move the Eva. "If we stay here, we'll be sitting ducks. It has to move!"
It was then that Shinji grabbed the controls again. "Let me help."
"No!" Said Asuka. "I don't need your help."
"If we don't work together…" Said Shinji. "We'll run out of time."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Fine, but don't get to comfortable. I know how you perverts think."
It was then that both of them grabbed the controls and synched together, allowing the Eva to move slightly. It began to move and climb up the cable, bit by bit. With a minute of time left, it finally reached the spear, just as the cable they were holding snapped off.
"Shit!" Said Asuka. "We won't be using that anymore."
Upon climbing up the Angels back, they noticed that the Angel was just about to unleash another blast at the Ring. Quickly grabbing the spear and ripping it out of the Angel's body, Asuka charged forward and swung the spear, slicing off one of the Angel's claws. Its sudden attack caught the Angel off guard, and the blast that came out of the other claw went over the Ring, shooting up into the atmosphere.
"That was close." Said Shinji. "Hurry and kill it!"
"Yeah, Yeah!" Said Asuka as she turned around and raised the spear.
Unfortunately, the Angel suddenly moved forward, causing the Eva to lose balance. It began to charge towards the Ring.
Adams saw what was about to happen and quickly jumped on his bike to get away. *This is insane! It's going to ram the Ring!*
Asuka tried to position herself to make a stab at the Angel core but before she could do so, the Angel smashed into the Ring, causing even more damage. The inertia sent the Eva flying, and it landed on the Ring, near the inner edge. Upon recovering, they realized that they only had about thirty seconds left.
"Maybe we should try and reattach the umbilical cable again tom give us some more time." Said Shinji.
"Negative.' Said Asuka. "It's about to attack again." She then lifts the spear and prepares to throw it.
"I hope you don't miss this time!" Said Shinji in a worried tone. "We won't get another shot!"
"Shut up shut up!" Yelled Asuka as the targeting computer began to line up.
The Angel raised its remaining claw and aimed it directly at the Ring, charging up its energy.
"Almost there." Said Asuka with increasing anticipation. The timer was down to fifteen seconds.
Misato, Adams, and everyone else were cheering them on. This was it.
Angel was about ready to blast. Asuka was about ready to throw.
"A few more seconds… and NOW!" She then threw the spear. Its aim was straight and true, penetrating the Angel's core and killing it before it could finish its attack. It quietly sunk to the bottom of the ocean, just as Unit 02 ran out of power.
Both pilots seemed very much relieved. They'd both be covered in sweat if they weren't already covered in LCL. Asuka looked back at the young teenage boy and smirked. "I guess you weren't completely useless after all. Thanks for the help, even though I probably would have succeeded without you help."
Shinji just sighed. "I'll take that as a complement."
**
The Admiral of the U.N. fleet stood dumbfounded. "It beat it…that machine just did what the entire Pacific fleet couldn't." He hung his head in shame. He knew that his actions had nearly destroyed the fleet, and that his future career wasn't too prominent. He sat back, his eyes glazing over, and spoke weakly. "I need to retire…"
**
It was the next day. Everyone was gathered at the military base. The departure of the transport ship was slightly delayed, due to the fact that the Pacific fleet needed to return to harbor to resupply and repair. As a result, the transport wasn't leaving until tomorrow, this of course also included Asuka and Misato. Shinji, Kensuke, and Touji on the other hand, had a choice.
"Here are your options." Said Adams. "You guys can stay with Misato, and ride the U.S.S. Over the Rainbow to Tokyo 3, or you can come with me and be back in Tokyo 3 by tomorrow. It's up to you. I have to leave early to report to HQ, so if you guys don't make up your minds by the time I leave, you're out of luck."
"How long will it take for Misato to get home?" Asked Shinji.
Adams thought about it. "I'm guessing about a week."
Shinji nodded his head and looked to his friends. "What do you guys think?"
Kensuke was the firs to answer. "I'm all for staying with Misato. We can stay here at the beach for another day, spend a week at sea, look at all the cool ships, skip a week of school, and best of all, Asuka will be with us!"
Touji then gave his argument. "I think we should go with the American. Sure we can stay at the beach some more, and be with Misato, but I kinda get sea-sick easily, I can't afford to miss a week of class, ships kinda of bore me, and worst of all, Asuka will be with us!"
Shinji thought about both their arguments. "You guys make good points, but…" He thought about it some more and decided. "I don't think it would be too fair to leave Misato alone. I vote to stay here."
"You would." Said Adams. "We all know the two real reasons as to why you want to stay." He then pats him on the shoulder. "You're one step closer to being a man."
Shinji blushed profusely. "That's not true. I just think Misato needs some company on the trip back!"
"I'm so sure." Said Adams while chuckling.
"In any case, majority rules!" Exclaimed Kensuke. "Yahoo!!"
Adams shrugged. "Have it your way." He then looks at Touji. "You can still come with me if you want."
"Nah." Said Touji. "I'll stick it out with my buddies. They'll need me around to fend off Asuka."
"Ok." Said Adams as he began to walk off. "Have fun!" Adams then grabbed his bike and head towards the transport chopper.
He made it up to the ramp, but was stopped by a guard. "Sorry, sir, but you can't go up there."
Adams raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean? This is the transport to take me home."
The soldier shook his head. "Not today. This chopper stays here. Captain Katsuragi's orders."
"What?!" Asked Steve in surprise. "How am I getting home?"
The soldier pointed to his right. "You'll use that chopper."
Adams turned his head to look in that direction. His eyes widened in disbelief as he realized that he was being transported in a considerably smaller helicopter. The American quickly turned towards the soldier in desperation. "No! There must be a mistake. I can't ride in that thing! It's too small for my bike!"
"Not my problem, sir." Said the soldier. "You'll have to take that up with Captain Katsuragi."
Adams began to look around. "Where is she?"
"I'm right here!" Exclaimed the Director of Operations. "I hope your new transport arrangements aren't a problem."
Adams ran up to her. "You realize that it's too small to fit my bike in there, right?"
Misato nodded. "Yep."
"You…you wouldn't." Said the weapons developer.
"Yes I would." Said Misato. "After all, consider this you punishment for snitching to Kaji about us."
Steven clenched his teeth in anger. "You'll pay for this!"
"Careful." Said Misato. "I might just make you swim back to Tokyo 3." She then walks off, a huge grin covering her face. "Have a nice day! Buh bye!"
Adams looked at his bike with dread. 'If I can't put my bike in the helicopter, then I have to leave it here. And if I have to leave it here, then…" Adams screamed *NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!*
He then walks up to the soldier, his gesture completely grim. "Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?"
The soldier nodded. "Yeah, why?"
Adams tosses the guy his keys. "It's all yours."
The soldier shook his head. "I don't have any money, sir."
"Don't worry about it." Said Adams. "It's no good to me anymore…" With that Adams slowly and reluctantly walked up to the other helicopter. Before entering it, he takes one last look at his bike before entering the helicopter and leaving Hawaii.
Misato see Asuka, who was staring out into the ocean with a frown on her face. "Are you OK, Asuka?"
"No." Responded the German. "Kaji already left. Now I won't see him the entire time we travel towards Tokyo 3."
Misato sighed. "Don't worry about. Chances are, you'll see him soon enough." She the tried to cheer the girl up. "On a higher note, I must say, you are an incredible pilot."
Asuka turned towards Misato. "You really think so?"
Misato nodded. "Absolutely. Your abilities far surpass Shinji. You make him look kinda sad, really."
Asuka smiled, enjoying the stroking of her ego. "I guess so. Thanks Misato."
"No problem." Said the female Captain as she head off. "I'll see you later."
"Bye." Said Asuka as she too decided to head off. She then noticed that the three other boys were still there. They were in the middle of deciding what to do for the rest of the day when she approached them. "Why are you dorks still here? Weren't you leaving with that American?"
Shinji shook his head. "No. We're going to be going home with you and Misato."
Asuka's eyes widened. "What?"
Kensuke walked up to the redhead. "We'll be riding on an air-craft carrier together. It'll be like a romantic cruse. Aren't you excited?"
Asuka took a step back. "You're kidding me, right?"
Touji whispered into Shinji's ear. "I'm telling you, we should have left when we had the chance."
Asuka had only one thing left to say. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
***End Chapter 11***
There we are. I hope I got Asuka's character down well enough.
I have a special treat coming up for the next chapter. You might like it. Anyway, I hope to here from you guys.