Lita of Jupiter – drowning in cheese… such a wonderfully horrible death. *quickly checks disclaimer* Ancient One? With SIBLINGS? I fear what would happen… notice that Hikari seems like Hitler? O_o;;
C^rrot – funny flaming cheese… mmm… I remember a dish called flaming cheese or something, it was good. I think. Hikari's hair is too cute! Well… no, I just think it would be difficult to rip out pigtails. Heh… And yes, Gendo is a sick, twisted, cold-hearted bastard.
RichardRahl -- Crazy indeed, Monsieur Rahl. I suspect you like the Sword of Truth? Your name should be marked for spoilers, you know. ^_^ I'm fairly sure you haven't reviewed yet. Fairly sure. I'd have to check, and I'm a lazy jackass. ^__^ Oh, and breathe man, breathe. Can't have my reviewers dying on me…
Arizosa—Yep. Gendo ain't just a cold hearted bastard… he's a sadistic cold hearted bastard! Mmm… revelry…
Shinji-Ikari—not merely psycho.
Ghost140--… I… don't make you laugh…? Ah, well, inspiring fear is good.
Disclaimer: I dost not owneth this Evangelion you speak of. Copyright infringements are not my job. Lawyer is in that direction (--), speak with him. You are not seeing the copyright infringements… you are not seeing the copyright infringements… Oh, crap, hypnosis doesn't work over the internet, does it?
Author's incoherent babbling:
Where did you go, Raiden X? Oh, where oh, where can you be? Lunatic Calm needs finishing, I tell ye! And the Purple Knight… and umm… other stuff too! Just like most of the original Eva writers have disappeared, at least from FF.N… it is saddening to see that. Ah, well, that isn't really important right now. And not what you are here for, am I not right? Anyway, school is teh suck. So, umm… being so late… direct death threats to mpw_mania@yahoo.com. If that doesn't show up like usual, then to my e-mail. Which may or may not be listed in my profile.
In other news, I don't think anyone noticed that I never mention Shinji eating… well… he forgets to. Yep. He only eats at school basically… and when… other stuff forces him to. Yepyepyep.
www.doacentral.com
"Man's unfailing capacity to believe what he
would prefer to be true, rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and
possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring, forgiving universe that
will save us from our childish mistakes, and despite mountains of evidence to
the contrary, we will pin all hope on the slimmest of doubts.
God has not been proven NOT to exist, therefore, he must exist."
-Academician Prokhor Zakharov
||||||||||
Ocean Red
Chapter 8: Ace of Diamonds
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfiction
By CrimsonNoble
||||||||||
Shinji craned his neck to peer backward over the stone, his hands wrapped loosely around the gun in his hands. Splashes of bright red across the arena bore testament to the fury of the fight.
He tapped the gun against his palm idly, considering whether or not to change the clip, before sinking back into a squatting position. His hand slid into his pouch, digging for a new magazine, and then switching it calmly with his current one. A satisfying click came from the arm as the case popped into place.
Shinji counted mentally, as far as he could count, that being around fifty. Immediately he slithered around the rock, keeping the bulk of his body out of the view of the gateway to the labyrinth.
Nothing came from the entry, but that didn't mean there was no one there. Shinji kept his head low as he dragged himself through the dirt, relying on his ears more than his eyes to check for danger. Failure was literally not an option.
His fingers twitched, barely refraining from squeezing the trigger tight enough to fire as his he turned his head to the side and pressed his ear to the earthen surface.
…
Absolutely nothing.
Within a second he had gained his feet enough that a headlong sprint was well within his capabilities, and was halfway across the distance to the portal.
The ground behind him exploded in a shower of dirt.
Dud.
He dove into a roll, coming up on his back as he half-slid into the corridor, his hands already swiveling to his left, preparing for attack.
None came.
Shinji stood, dusted himself off, and glanced down the hall. A bus-length down it broke into three paths, the one he was on, one directly perpendicular to the one he was on, and one slightly off center from both. His eyes screwed up in concentration as he considered which to choose.
The primary point for an ambush would be the one perpendicular…
So the ambush would be set up in the off center area.
Shinji dropped slightly, bending forward enough that he managed to halve his height. He slid forward, carefully submerging the sound of his breath into the sound of the air vents. Eons of being hunted by perfectly stealthy creatures had taught humans an impeccable instinct for finding spots of utter silence.
So the first thing in learning stealth was to learn how to blend in with the background, rather than disappear. Anyone that didn't…
There was a reason it was first on the curriculum.
Shinji slid around the corner, barely checking for opposition as he passed the first antechamber. There was nothing there.
He continued, leveling his weapon at the nearest side-passage. His pupils dilated with intensity as adrenaline flooded his bloodstream.
The shadow halted before it rounded the corner, weapon leveled.
Shinji cursed his hands as they shook slightly. Beta-blockers would have come in handy…
As it was, Shinji abruptly lunged into a feet-first slide, firing blindly into the passage.
And then his vision was painted red.
--
Shinji yawned as he stepped out of the shower rooms, what remained of his hair sticking up wildly from its vigorous drying. Cobalt eyes gleamed with excitement as he dressed quickly, returning to a pair of dark blue, almost black, jeans and a lurid silver shirt. Over this he drew a jean-jacket.
He made a mental note to never. Ever. Let anyone shop for him again. Shuriken would pay for that. Silver was an evil color… too reflective… and shiny… He did have to give her credit for introducing him to Hawaiian shirts though. Too damn cool.
His hand went involuntarily to his pocket, checking for his lighter. Upon finding it safe and sound, he tugged it out and began flicking it open and closed. Deft fingers darted through the motions of lighting the tiny flame without actually doing so. His eyes half-shut with contentment as he felt the familiar lines of the burner, felt the immense power contained within.
The Greedy Element contained within.
Shinji struck the flame, holding it before his eyes, standing still as he watched it dance, suspended above the stainless steel of the flame canister.
Simple combustion, the most basic of chemical reactions, heat and fuel make flame. Simple and deadly, flame and fuel make firestorms. Firestorms and people spelled… firestorms and people, but cause death. Death, destruction, doom, and havoc.
Yay.
Shinji walked smack into a door, so intent on the tiny life in his hands, falling flat on his ass. Undeterred, he stood, dusting himself off, and shoved the door open, absentmindedly jamming the extinguished lighter back into his pocket.
In one glance he surveyed the room, crowded with people, anywhere from half to twice his age. Faces looked back at him, foreigners, children that could have been his classmates, pre-pubescent younglings that could have been his siblings.
All flushed faces.
He seated himself in the middle, placing himself at both a disadvantage, in that he could not view the entire room at once, and showing his dismissal by the same token. Shinji's disdain for these people knew no bounds.
A pudgy man stepped up to the podium, the eyes of a child behind his rosy-lensed glasses. By the obvious bulge beneath his jacket, he was showing that yes, he was armed, and that no, he didn't care if anyone knew it. He tapped the microphone, and Shinji almost visibly winced at the screech that came with it, trying his absolute best to ignore the way the man's layers of flesh wobbled with every motion. The way the man's hands drifted toward his belt, and more specifically the sidearm, which Shinji took careful note of, being careful to straighten his posture.
In a trembling, yet somehow resonant voice the obese man began, "And the results are…
"Shinji Ikari in first place with ten kills.
"Kaworu Nagisa in second place with nine kills.
"Shogo Kawada in third place with nine kills and one team kill.
"Mitsuko Souma in fourth place with eight kills.
"And in fifth place… Noriko Nakagawa with six kills.
"That is all. Winners, remain after dismissal for your prizes. This concludes the Tournament."
Shinji smirked easily as hateful stares were fired his way from everyone else. He yawned boredly as various obscene gestures were sent to accompany the stares. So immersed was he in their hate that he failed to notice the unusual glances sent his way by Nagisa.
Had he been paying attention at all, he would have noticed the predatory look in the boy's eyes. A glint of hunger within eyes of blood.
Yet he was not paying attention to that. He was watching the hate, floating in it. Sucking it from the room, draining it to sustain himself.
Nagisa stretched, and trotted over to Shinji, with an unnatural spring in his step. "Hello."
Shinji turned, rolling his head down and up to stare at the boy. "Hallo."
Nagisa smirked, and with a slightly sardonic quirk of his lips tossed, "I suppose a congratulation is in order. After all, you're the only person to ever beat me. Next time, mind, you will lose," at Shinji.
Shinji uncurled himself from his seat, rising to stare into the other boy's eyes. As his feet unconsciously spread slightly beyond shoulder width, he lifted a finger to poke Nagisa in the sternum. "I wish nothing upon you but hell."
Nagisa frowned, and drew his lips back to reveal not-quite white, not-quite straight teeth. Immediately his left hand came up in an attempt to trap Shinji's finger against his chest, to find himself groping at air. Having been unable to contain the reflex motion, he watched as his other hand leapt for the child's throat.
Shinji whipped his hand off Nagisa's chest as the hand tried to snatch his finger. Skill the albino had… Speed he did not. In a continuation of the same movement, Shinji drew a circle in the air with his hand, and slapped the pasty fingers away from his neck. The boy wasn't bad, per se, but he was just so slow…
"Boys. Break it up. Now."
There was such a commanding nature hidden beneath the malleable exterior. The sponsor was indeed quite odd.
Shinji turned, grinned his dumbass grin, and nodded cheerfully. He skipped over to the man, ignoring the stare of complete astonishment that overtook Nagisa's face, and dropped into a seat. As the older man's eye twitched violently at the rampantly disordered splaying of his limbs across the ordered chairs, he took on a vapid look of unconcern.
"As champion, Ikari gets five hundred, the agreed upon percentage, and a standing invitation to all future tournaments, free.
"Second place, Nagisa, receives three hundred.
"Third place, Kawada, wins two hundred. For his breach of conduct, involving the shooting of a teammate, he is penalized fifty.
"Fourth place, Souma, achieved one hundred fifty.
"Fifth place, Nakagawa, obtains one hundred.
"This concludes the Ninth Tournament. We welcome you back whenever you choose to come."
Shinji popped out of his seat, bowed deeply enough that it was perfectly obvious he was mocking everyone in the room, and skipped out, his jacket almost flowing around him. As he disappeared around the door, there was a resounding crash, a curse, and the janitor went skidding past the door, as if Shinji had flung him forcibly. But as the janitor had to weigh two hundred pounds, at least, it was impossible.
--
The door creaked open to admit Shinji, whose radiance was almost painful in the darkness.
He slammed the door behind him, listening to the crash that accompanied Shuriken falling off the newly erected cot. It wasn't a very good cot, requiring extreme care in balancing it, and was probably the invention of the Ancient One himself, intended solely to piss off his pupils. And it worked too. Shuriken's bellows of rage that echoed around the more or less abandoned complex testified to that fact.
Shortly, Shinji pelted out of the apartment, vaulted over the rail, and fell the five stories to land on the concrete. His knees protested loudly at his attempt to stand, and he cringed slightly at the echoing crack from where his lighter had hit the ground. Stupid jacket…
As a pair of rocks ricocheted off the concrete to his left, Shinji decided that yes, this was a bad place to be in, and that yes, he was going to run his ass off. Well, he amended as his hand missed the first snatch for the lighter as he leapt away, as soon as he returned for the burner. With a complex series of motions, that in the end did nothing but look really cool, he turned around and dashed the other way, catching the lighter and scampering like a rabbit running from… well… another rabbit. It was forgivable though, the other rabbit had ballistic weaponry, and he was unarmed. Much like he would have been in a battle of wits. The other rabbit being Shuriken, who was doing an excellent job of dropping from floor-to-floor, as she vaguely recalled seeing in some movie or other.
Shinji vaulted into the next building, busy thanking everything he knew of that Shuriken had he obsession with flashiness, which would buy him a few seconds here and there. Unfortunately, Shuriken was still armed, demonstrated when a knife skidded over the side of his hair, to bury itself deep in the wall. He nodded blithely to himself, and skittered through the nearest door to escape.
As the wall between him and Shuri, he wondered somewhat panicked where she had found the arm strength to put a kunai through the wall. He stopped caring as the next kunai managed to stick in his jacket, barely missing the lighter, and bolted through a door.
Or so he thought. In reality, he'd missed the door by about four inches, and crashed through the glass next to it. How glass, something Shuriken found valuable, managed to survive the aging process was beyond her, but Destroying Nodachi, an endeavor that most certainly deserved capitalization, was more important at the moment.
She failed to notice the black-suited man trying desperately to catch up, futile though his attempt may have been.
--
Kaworu stepped through the revolving door, and then to entertain himself, spent the next fifteen minutes trying to slam it shut. Not that he had nothing else to do; he just didn't want to do them. Besides… nothing was impossible, right?
Finally, as he began to get slightly more violent with the door, he stopped, his eyes spread wide enough to swallow dinner plates, and stopped breathing. He slowly forced his eyes shut, and reached for the fullness inside him. Instead he found raw hatred and anger. He shrank away from it, drawing his mental defenses close.
No. Anger was bad. Anger was the root of punishment. Anger was pain. Anger was despair. Anger was not what he wanted. Anger was hell.
Kaworu turned and ran. He needed his room; he needed the steel walls, the electric cage, and the bed of glass. Tears threatened his eyes, and never fell. They could not, would not fall. After all, tears were anger.
With a great mental heave, Kaworu flung his thoughts away from punishment, and wondered if there was anyone around he could mug for a few Family Guy tapes. A good laugh was always more important than the old men.
And so, with this purpose in mind, he began to stalk the halls of illumination.
--
Gendo Ikari stood, as usual, silently. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes danced over the report in his gloved hands.
Ikari.
Your son is not under your control, is he? You are a cold bastard. The information you requested has been sent through the usual route. Password, not experiment.
I ask you now, how many monsters are there? Are you a fool, or a monster? And I, as I aid you, does this make me the greatest fool of all, or the worst monster?
Gendo didn't bother to hide his lipless smile as he turned his head upward to look at the empty Geofront. His hands crumpled the paper, and he tossed it onto his desk. Where most heads of highly secretive organizations would have burnt the paper, so confident was he that he didn't bother, but turned and started toward the extra exit from his office.
How long had it been since he had visited Akagi? Such a simple puppet. How easy to manipulate.
He despaired at the monotony of his task. Why should he be forced to pander to such insignificant animals? Why was everyone around him so carnal?
Gendo Ikari drew from his pocket a cellular phone. Three vicious pokes later he spoke into the metal.
--
The cubic angel slipped unnoticed across the first defensive perimeter, something that should have been impossible for a being of its size.
It simply wouldn't do for NERV to become aware of its presence before it was in position. Therefore, with strategic placement of drone units, the angel continued its silent procession toward the center of Tokyo-3.
Unfortunately, it had managed to forget to include telephone wires in its stealth calculations, and as a result, tripped over one, rotating wildly on several axes. It finally came to a stop, after much raging at the injustice of the world, on a corner of its cube. Of course, this also had the side effect of setting off every Angel alarm in the city of Tokyo-3 as several purplish beams sprayed across the city.
The Angel gave a mixed sighing groan of disbelief, and triggered the detonation of its drones.
Six city blocks vaporized as the raging maelstroms of energy tore into the concrete jungle.
--
Shinji slithered between the rapidly closing blast doors, fleeing Shuriken and her ICS, or rather, her Infinite Clip Syndrome. Who's brilliant idea had it been to give her an accursed SOCOM anyway?
Oh. Right. He'd been the one who'd snatched it off a training run. Hell, wasn't like the dead man needed it anyway. On the other hand, it had taken far too long to figure out how he couldn't use the damn thing. It had a pressure sensitive grip: hold it too tightly; the firing pin was locked. Hold it too loosely; the firing pin was still locked. He'd given it to Shuriken to laugh at her. Problem being she'd figured out a way to bypass that particular safety. Stupid stupid Shuri.
Of course, now that the feet of steel between them finally drowned the gunshots out, there was nothing stopping the sound of the Angel Alarm. Which sucked. Because now Shinji didn't even have an excuse for being late.
"Oh, I was being shot at. What? No, they missed. Eh? No, I didn't see their face. Come again? A really long magazine?" was something he didn't quite think would go over very well. And, while the aftermath of the chat with his father had been entertaining, the prelude had been rather dull.
And with that, Shinji Ikari bolted down the hallowed halls of NERV, in desperate search of the lockers to change into his plugsuit.
--
"Where the hell were you?" the irate Captain demanded.
"Places, mademoiselle Katsuragi. Here and there and everywhere, down the rabbit hole, and through the looking glass, to the magical land of Oz. With a temporary stop over in Margarita-Ville." Yes, Shinji had no idea that he had just mixed three totally different fairy tales with an American song. Not that he would have cared, but if ignorance was bliss, Shinji was the happiest man on earth.
"…"
"Yes, ma'am?" Shinji wondered innocently.
"…"
"Is that your, O-M-G-W-T-F-L-O-L face?"
That had been truly bizarre to the non-techies hunkered in the room. The techies, on the other hand, had chosen to crack up laughing at his spelling out of internet lingo. That he had done it with a straight face made it all the more amusing.
Ritsuko's eye twitched. Her eyebrow twitched along. Slowly, her entire head was drawn into the twitch.
"Gee, doc. You should have that looked at soon. Parkinson's striking early, is it?"
Akagi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"As much as I enjoy slaughtering unarmed opponents in battles of wits—" The control room rocked with the sound of the drill crushing its way through another layer of armor, temporarily interrupting the Doctor. "—I believe we have a more pressing issue at hand."
"My good doctor! You wound me! See?" Shinji asked, holding his still red hand up toward the camera. For some reason, the plugsuit he'd found had no gloves. "I bleed!"
The doctor stared for a good half minute, before slowly asking. "You… went… PAINTBALLING!?"
Shinji blinked rapidly. "Lets see, red paint on the hand, missing most of the past couple of days, and five-hundred new-yen richer, yep. Common symptoms of paintballing."
The doctor opened her mouth to chew him out, before a phone jangling reminded her that yes, she did have a job to do.
"Launch him Katsuragi!"
"Uh…" Misato broke out of her attempt to understand what the hell had just happened, and bellowed, "Eva Unit One, Launch!"
Shinji just put his head back against the seat inside the LCL filled tube.
Ahh, the taste of blood in your plug. It was indeed the best part of waking up.
--
The distinctive screech of metal on metal snapped Shinji out of his rather demented reverie, mostly about what he was going to do to Shuri' when he got out of NERV headquarters. Mostly involving some Ritalin, some cheese steaks, and most importantly, whipped cream. A camera would, of course, be necessary. No, several cameras. Had to make sure that at least one set of prints survived, neh?
Shinji peered upward, confused. The hell? He wasn't anywhere near the surface yet!
"Shi—an—ea—e?"
"No, I don't read you, you stupid bitch." He abruptly started to fervently hope that she had as shitty reception as he did.
"Shinji—read me?"
"Getting better."
"Listen… you're… fifty meters… surface… climb…"
"Righty-o then, old… whatever you are."
He attempted to start climbing, to watch the admittedly amusing sight of his arms and legs milling about uselessly in midair.
"Might wanna release those hardlocks anytime now…"
There was a solid chink, and Shinji ended up flat on his Eva's ass, due to the inopportune positioning of his legs.
"Ow…"
Well, he could at least be thankful that the Eva did not appear to have balls to squish. That would have hurt a lot more. Yes, that was something he could be confident about. Because he knew from personal experience. Not something he cared to remember.
The giant purple fingers drove into the unforgiving concrete of the ETS, which expanded to, "Eva Transport System." It wasn't a very good name, as the transport system only operated within Tokyo-3, which was part of the cause for his belief that the acronym should be changed to T3ETS. Of course, it had nothing to do with how T3ETS looked like teets. Because, in his own words, "What the hell is a teet?"
Which had no bearing whatsoever on the current situation, but it wasn't like there was much else to think about while climbing the remaining distance to the surface of the city. Well, technically there was a lot else to think about. Everything in the world actually. ETS and T3ETS just happened to be the only things coming to mind at the moment.
Shinji sighed at his mental dissertation, and mentally slapped himself. Forgetting, of course, that he was in an Eva, and therefore was controlling it by thought.
The results were predictable; the Eva pulled one hand out of the wall of the ETS, and slapped its purple helmet. Shinji yelped at the sudden introduction of purple hand to purple face, and cursed his thoughtlessness. Or rather his thinking about slapping himself. Or something like that. His head hurt far too much to be thinking in circles at the moment.
He glared at the somewhat clearer commscreen, on which he could see Misato and the long haired one laughing. Everyone else was off screen. He could hear their laughter around sporadic bursts of static, his eyebrow starting to twitch in an irritated fashion. They were going to die.
And Nodachi always made good on his threats. Always. "You are not helping…" he hummed in a dangerously sing-song voice.
"Right… We don't know what this thing is capable of, only that we didn't notice it until it was past the first defensive perimeter. The MAGI estimate a sixty-two point three percent chance that it is based on long range weaponry. In addition, it caused several explosions immediately after we detected it, so it evidently has a degree of intelligence. Furthermore, it has eliminated most of the defenses the last Angel left intact enough to be eliminated. Unfortunately, it has destroyed most of the nearby armories, so you're stuck with the prog knife. It is worthy of note that the Angel has also been destroying the shelters it comes across. The MAGI explain this with the theory that it has the knowledge of the two previous Angels. As such, proceed with caution."
Shinji smiled hungrily. "Sounds like fun. Who's up for a bite after I kick this thing back into the heaping ball of plasma it should be?"
Misato was cautious. And for someone with cooking skills like hers, that was damn impressive. "A bite of what?"
Shinji rolled his eyes. "Fried Angel meat, what else, dipshit?"
"You're grounded for that one. And I'm never eating with you if that's what you eat."
"You're not my guardian. In addition, have you never heard the word, 'sarcasm'? I know it is hard and all, but do try and expand your vocabulary."
Ooooh, was the collective thought of the bridge crew. Burn…
Shinji smiled innocently, apparently seeing the thought in their faces, and continued, "Talk to Ayanami. Better get some ice for that burn…"
Misato's face was the most interesting pink-purple-blue-red-mauve he'd seen in… well, ever, actually.
Shinji slapped the 'Close Window' button, and turned his attention to the fact that he was nearing the surface.
As the purple horn lifted over the lip of the tube, the Angel decided it needed some target practice.
Shinji yelped as he felt the intense heat of the Angel's attack shear the horn from his helmet, and then vaporize it.
After a few moments of cowering behind the concrete shield, he re-opened the communication channel, to find a totally different Misato on the other end. Loki, she looked like the Ancient One's daughter… And that was just a creepy thought. Him getting it on… "Arrrgh!" Shinji wailed.
"Cut the shit Shinji. Damage report?"
"The horn's missing. That thing vaporized it. That is one hell of an attack."
"Check your extension cord," she ordered.
Shinji glanced back to see the cable descending into the darkened corridor. "On which topic, what am I plugged into, and why couldn't you just install that into the Eva?"
"You're plugged into the main generator for the greater portion of Tokyo-3. That's why we couldn't put it on the Eva. And it is rather too big to install. Is that a 'it is still intact'?"
Shinji nodded blandly. "Yeah. Far as I can see it is."
"Right. The MAGI hypothesize that the Angel will vaporize anything within a certain radius. We're sending up a decoy unit along another track as we speak. Kind of. It is a 1/1-scale prop of your Eva. You need to get out just after it; hopefully the Angel will destroy the decoy first, and then turn its attention to you. Am I clear?"
"Perfectly muddy. Lets see if I can get this dirt to settle some. You're sending out an imitation of the Unit-01, to distract the Angel. At which point I am to proceed out of the launch path, and begin my assault, while attempting to avoid being swatted. Correct?"
"Close enough. The decoy should be arriving in about three seconds. Prepare to engage."
"Roger."
Shinji counted to two, before he pulled his Eva over the ledge, and scampered toward the Angel. Its first attack nailed the decoy, annihilating it without trouble.
Shinji flung the Eva flat against a building to avoid the second beam, and then continued his headlong assault.
He felt something building inside the Angel, and flung himself down a side street conveniently located to his left, with two more where he had boarded the street, and two more streets closer to the Angel.
//Please fasten your seatbelts, we may be experiencing turbulence//, ran through his head, for no particular reason. He always had trouble focusing just before a battle.
This attack, however tracked him better, and he had to continue down the street to escape. As it finished, he promptly vaulted the buildings, and continued his charge. Once again, he felt the strange building of energy within the Angel, and he tried the same dodging technique he'd used before.
The angel, apparently fed up with him, and getting smarter, had not fired the same single beam it had been firing. Instead, a cone of energy sprayed from the corner nearest Unit One, peppering its legs with energy.
For the first time since he had actually been shot with a shotgun, Shinji screamed. It felt almost the same, only take the number of pellets, multiply by a hundred, and then square the velocity they were traveling at a few times.
Yes. Definitely reason to scream.
As the barrage ended, Shinji heard the stirrings of the voice his head.
'Don't die. Failure. You die, you're worthless. No one needs a corpse. Then how would you get your revenge? How would you get your pleasure? Don't be stupid. Don't die. Failure…' The voice looped.
Shinji's eyes flashed. Despite the still open comm channel, he bared his teeth in a snarl. "I… will… not… lose… to… you!"
His guttural voice was the tiniest bit creepy most of the bridge crew agreed. Or would agree. Later.
"Shinji! Retreat!"
The Eva complied; so much as it pulled itself to its feet. Whereupon it started toward the Angel again.
To be blasted backward by the full concentrated beam the Angel fired. Shinji screamed again, pain dulling his senses. All he knew was the intense heat drilling into his chest, forcing him to his knees, forcing the Eva backward.
By some stroke of fate, he stopped on a recovery elevator.
"Recover Unit One! Now damn it!"
The Eva disappeared down the recovery tunnel, retreating as ordered.
--
Shinji's wide eyes stared at the walls of the plug, not feeling the pain from the superheated LCL.
Nor did he feel the LCL as it was ejected violently from the circular enclosure, steam rising from the boiling liquid.
Oddly enough, all that kept Shinji from being boiled alive was the lack of room inside the plug, so the LCL could not boil while confined.
Shinji forced himself into a standing position as the plug was ejected, stumbling down onto the catwalk in front of the Eva. For a brief moment, he felt the weakness attempt to bring him to his knees, but he stubbornly remained standing.
His eyes hurt like hell. So did his ears. Hell, his nose felt pretty damn bad too. His eyes were having trouble focusing, but that wasn't really anything new. They didn't focus well anyway.
One of the medtechs hauling the gurney stepped toward him in an annoyed fashion. "Mister Ikari, we have orders to escort you to the medical wing."
Shinji's eyes glittered. "Job or Life?"
The man was, understandably, confused. "What?"
"What do you value more. Your Job, or your Life? Because I can assure you, you're losing one of those today."
The man glared. "Is that a threat, mister Ikari?"
"It is a statement. Take it how you will. And furthermore, to you, it is 'Pilot' Ikari."
Shinji stepped past the man, brushing him off callously.
"I have to take you to the medical wing."
Shinji's hand knifed into the side of his neck.
"No, you don't."
The man dropped, too busy dying to care about Shinji at the moment.
"He needs medical attention, if he's going to live."
He continued out of the room, heading for the lockers, not noticing one Rei Ayanami following him.
Not that he would have particularly cared. She was just one more person to get in his way. Just one more infidel.
Albeit, a powerful infidel. But still an infidel.
--
Shinji leaned heavily against the lockers, allowing himself a brief moment of weakness. His eyes shut, and he began to explore the damage to his person with the Power. He couldn't necessarily fix the damage, but he could find out what it was.
To his surprise, and joy, he found that almost all of the damage was superficial. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some rest. Unlikely as it was that he would get that rest. Unfortunately, there was some residual damage to his nerves, mostly in the legs. But, there wasn't really anything NERV could do for that either. There was only two people he could think of that could have fixed it, and one of them was dead. Very dead. He'd killed the man himself. No, the one whose mind he had stolen had committed that act. But was there a difference now? He had the man's memories, knowledge, everything that made the man who he was. There was no difference.
Shinji didn't believe in souls.
He sank to the ground, draping his arms loosely.
"Pilot Ikari."
He yelped and jumped, his hand already busily wrapping itself around the girl's throat, and his other groping for a weapon. He had enough time to recognize the blue hair, and red eyes, before he slammed the girl into the lockers.
Dropping his hand, he asked, "What is it?"
"You require medical attention."
Shinji's eyes reflected the phosphorescent light as he turned his head to the side. "You have credentials to prove your diagnosis is valid?"
Rei stood silently.
"I didn't think so. In the future, please refrain from attempting to give me medical advice."
He turned away, depressurizing his plugsuit, as he did so. He dropped it to the floor, observing the parts now grafted to his skin, and decided it would require replacing.
Shinji stretched out for a moment before starting to get dressed, strapping his knives back onto his body, followed by one of his Walther-P99s, and then finally his clothes.
When he at last turned around, he noted that Rei was still there. Or there again. One of the two.
"Yes Rei?"
"Why did you mutilate your body so?"
"The tattoo? I wanted to."
"I see. Why are you so armed?"
"Because I want to be."
"I see. The Commander and Capitan Katsuragi request your presence in the debriefing room."
With that she turned and exited the locker room.
Shinji stared after her for a moment, then shrugged and picked up his bag. His body was so hypersensitive that his clothes rubbing against his skin sent jolts of pain slithering through his nervous system, to arrive at his brain, telling him that Rei had indeed been correct.
Not that he was going to admit it.
--
Shinji stepped into the room slowly; a mixture of revelry and agony twisting his eyes, though neither reached his lips. Never show potential enemies your pain, nor your pleasure, had been the Ancient One's favorite saying.
"Pilot Ikari."
The same tone of voice as the Ancient One, even. Shit.
"Commander. Capitan. Doctor." Shinji nodded, mockingly. Of course, they were not among the people who understood his mockery, and therefore did not interpret it as such. His collar hung open, revealing his neck, another sign that he felt no threat from them.
Around people whose skills he respected, he would have a weapon in hand, and his neck hidden as well as his wrists and ankles. Furthermore, his eyes would never have left them, neither their hands, nor their faces. But he had no respect for their skills.
Just that they let him do what he wanted to.
"I am here."
Shinji hopped away from the girl, his hand slipping into his shirt to finger the closest knife, as the other immediately buttoned his collar.
Rei… He wasn't entirely sure if he feared her or respected her. Or both. Both, probably. She was no Weapon, but she did have abnormal amounts of the Power.
And that was something you didn't fuck with.
"Alright you two. We have a plan."
"And I thought it was the fish that stank."
"Shut up Pilot. As it stands, our tests have confirmed that the Angel will fire upon anything within a set area, or anything that makes a hostile movement. Further tests have shown that its AT-Field—"
"What is an AT-Field?"
"I told you to shut up. It's what stops you from hitting the Angel. And vice-versa. Its AT-Field will require over one point eight g-cal of energy to puncture. We have come up with a plan, involving the JSSDF's Positron Rifle. We will have one gunner, and one shield. The gunner will fire the Rifle, destroying the Angel."
"Why do we need a shield, Capitan?"
"Simply put, should the gunner miss the first shot, it will take the Rifle seventeen seconds to recharge."
"You're not going to put the shield out there without protection, are you?"
"No. We have… come up with a shield. It is… or rather, was going to be the bottom of the Eva atmosphere reentry shuttle. We have Section 2's guarantee that it will hold up to the Angel's beam for thirteen seconds."
"Whoo! Section 2! The guys that lost me at a paintball tournament! I feel so much safer now!"
Blondie nodded as Misato slipped on some LCL.
"I seem to be tracking that stuff everywhere lately…"
"Shinji, you'll be the shield. Rei is the gunner."
Shinji moaned at the thought of missing his chance to use that big of a gun, but nodded his understanding nevertheless. "Oh… right. I need a new plug suit. And uhh… do you think you can get it off of me?" He lifted the sleeve of his shirt, showing the way the suit had been burned into his upper arm.
--
Shinji slid into the seat of his entry plug, sighing dimly. The seat even had pieces of his plugsuit boiled onto it.
He shut his eyes, mentally reviewing the conversation he'd just had with Rei.
"So… why do you pilot?"
"It is… my purpose… and my bond to life."
"Feh. I pity you… I guess."
"Why is that, Pilot Ikari?"
"You have nothing else. You believe yourself replaceable. You don't think you deserve life. It is pathetic."
"…"
"Tell me, are you scared?"
"… I… do not know…"
"Don't worry about the Angel. If I tell you to hold your fire, you hold your fire. Don't worry, it will work out."
"… How can you be sure of that?"
"Because if it does not, I have failed, and I will be damn lucky I am not around to reap my reward for that failure. Besides, I have people to see, things to do. I am not going to die. And I guess that means I will not let you die either, after all, I am your bodyguard."
"…"
"Well, time to go. I would say good luck, but you do not need it. That would be insulting. I will protect you. You will not die."
"… understood."
Shinji shook his head. "Why the hell did I do that?"
"Because you knew she would come back if she died."
"No, I do not care if she comes back or not. I want to know why I said that I would protect her."
"Because you like her."
"I am incapable of that. Maybe you are? Are you putting thoughts in my head again?"
"How could I? I'm just one of your thoughts."
"That does not mean anything. I may have created you, but you can still use my head."
"Very well. Yes, I did put that idea in your head."
"I have told you to stop that. If you keep interfering, you know what will happen. I am going to snap, and then we will both be fucked."
"I can't stop what will happen. I can merely affect the way things happen. I'm trying to make this easier on you!"
"You know I'm incapable of those emotions. You know I do not care if you disappear. If you want me broken, I will break, you have that power."
"I just want this to be as pleasant as possible!"
"Then stay out of my way."
Shinji didn't respond to his statement. //Man, I am fucked up. Talking to myself like I am another person. Hell, I am using contractions to indicate the difference to myself! What the hell?//
"Shinji!"
"Yes ma'am?"
Katsuragi's face froze. He was never that respectful.
She shook her head. Fluke. "The operation is going to begin in two minutes. Energizing the LCL, prepare to boot."
"Gotcha."
And what the hell was wrong with him? He was practically ANGSTING!
Shinji shook the thought off as the LCL woke him up again.
"Everything ready, Rei?"
"Yes Capitan."
A minute of silence passed.
"All right. Rei, Prepare to fire."
"Understood."
Shinji heard the power couplings begin to thrum with energy.
And then, he felt the Angel massing its attack… again.
"Shit! Ayanami! Hold your fire!"
Shinji dove in front of the prone Unit Zero, bracing himself for the Angel's blast.
It slammed into his AT-Field, lashing at it for less than one tenth of a second, and then whipping through the dying field.
To collide with a second, much stronger AT-Field, backed by Shinji's Power.
"Damn it!" He bellowed as the beam slashed through that Field as well.
"REI! FIRE NOW!"
"Ayanami! DO NOT FIRE! YOU FIRE AND WE BOTH DIE!"
Her finger hovered above the trigger, twitching as she fought an internal battle. It was obvious that she was being ordered to fire, but Shinji did know something about fighting Angels. And she felt something… different about him. He was no Angel, that was for sure. But his AT-Field was utterly abnormal for a human.
It felt… purer. Like that of a newborn, was the only thing she could think of that might have felt similar.
Shinji snarled as the heat washed over the finally fully disintegrated shield.
"Now! Fire Ayanami!"
Her finger pulled the trigger, sending the purple blaze of light slashing through the night air, ramming effortlessly through the Angel's weakened AT-Field, and then slicing through the diamond itself.
Shinji screamed as the Angel's death-shriek rippled out through the Power, razing his mind.
Unit One dropped to its knees, molten armor plating running freely from its body.
//Thank Loki that was not a concentrated beam. Why was it not though? The Angel should have known…//
He didn't have time for further reflection as his plug ejected from the back of his Eva, and was pulled out by Unit Zero.
Shinji turned, and drove a vicious kick into the secondary exit for the plug, snapping it off of hinges.
" 'S cold…" he whispered as he tumbled out into the night air.
"So… cold…" he shivered before falling into something similar to hibernation.
END CHAPTER
Well… here it is. Late. Really late. Oh well.
Yeah. Flame, review, praise, roast, yeah. Go ahead. I'm lazy, I make no excuse.
Luckily, I already know what's going to happen next chapter, so it should be out faster. Go me.
EDIT: Er… Yeah. I forgot Misato was a Capitan at this point… corrected.