Chapter 3, pt 1:To rise

If you chose to take your eyes from the chaos and small-scale war raging above the geo-front's lake by taking a moment to peer into its crystal blood depths, you may be able to make out something totally out of place; a great mass of hulking red curled up like some slumbering dragon on the lake's bed. Lying so still, it's almost impossible to believe that this dormant behemoth is the fabled evangelion unit 02, a creature born of forbidden science and, in its short life time, has spilt enough blood to dye its metallic coat crimson a thousand times over.

The still, glassy surface of the lake is suddenly shattered and the image of the evangelion splinters as a volley of missiles crash through the water's surface in a spray of white. Noiselessly, they sink like stones, slowly bearing down on the inactive mecha…

8 8 8

"I'm still alive?"

Yeah, I'm still asking myself that same old question. Come to think of it, I've been asking myself that ever since I woke up to being bundled into my plug-suit by a bunch of mindless nurses and chucked in here.

And here was I thinking they couldn't make me sink any lower… Ha, how for you've fallen, Asuka Langly Sohryu. To think, you probably would have killed to get in this thing and show the world that you were its undeniable master, that you were peerless and nobody, not even wonder girl or that stupid Ikari kid could show you up.

And now? This…this thing's become nothing more than a testament to what an utter failure you've sunk to. Look, you can't even get it to twitch, let alone pull off half the stunts you'd use to without blinking an eye.

How pathetic.

Why am I still alive, that's the real question I should be asking? Who needs a pilot that can't make her Eva budge even an inch…

8 8 8

This red-haired girl sighs, sinking further in to the nest of crossed arms and the bitter world of her sour thoughts. She almost misses the soft chunk of metal against her Eva's skull, but there was no way in hell that she could ignore the roar that flooded the plug as the mine ripped itself apart on impact.

8 8 8

W-what the hell was that? I crane my neck to look up but the outside world's cut off from me by the shell of metal that's my plug. Oh yes, I'd forgotten… my sync-rations fallen so miserably low that I can't even see what's beyond the confides of this glorified prison.

I'm a sitting duck for whatever's out there and I can't do anything more than wait for it to finish me off…

But I don't want to die.

8 8 8

Those words being to race across the girl's lips as the depth charges continue to fall, drowning out her quite plea for life as they explode, hammering mercilessly on the sides of her Eva with red hot fists. Each one wracks the great metallic beast's form, sending shock waves rattling through.

In the plug, the girl continues her frantic begging. Despite deeming her self as less than worthless, she still wants to cling to the half-life she's become so used to leading over the last couple of days. Even that's got to be better than death.

"I don't want to die."

Below the sound of the thudding explosions, something else begins to whisper along with her. At first the girl doesn't hear, for she's too busy holding her tortured head between her hands in a feeble attempt to block out the sound of her immanent, booming destruction.

8 8 8

"I don't want to die"

No, not like this, this is just- this is worse than pathetic.

You're still alive….

"I don't want to die"

I've done so much, things people couldn't even dream of accomplishing.

I won't let you die…

"I don't want to die."

I can't go out like this.

You must live

"I don't want to die."

Not like this, alone and cowering in the dark.

Stay with me

"I don't want to die."

W-what's that noise? I can barely hear it…but it sounds like there's someone talking to me…someone I know?

I will protect you…

"I don't want to die!"

Is it the Eva? No, it's… it's…

I won't let you die

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Mama!

I promise.

Suddenly, the smooth walls holding me disintegrate into nothing. The heavy LCL's gone, replaced by the cleanest air I've ever breathed in my entire life. I'm no longer in the dark, cramped hold of the plug but outside in a place I've never seen before. God, where ever it is, it's so wonderfully bright and…and there's someone here with me. I raise a hand over my eyes in an attempt to try and filter some of the near blinding light out of them, yet even though they're only a meter away, I can barley make the figure out against the white glare that's streaming down on us from every inch of the sky. There's something so very familiar about them...

Could it possibly be?

"Mama?" I can't stop the hopeful lump that's budding in my throat and all but cutting of my voice.

Silently, they turn to me and even though their features are blacked out by the invisible sun, there's no way on earth that I can possibly mistake who this person is.

"You've been here all along, haven't you?"

The silhouette nods slowly and I can just about make out the warm smile that beings to cross her shadowed face. Silently, she raises a hand, offering it too me.

Asuka…live.

Suddenly, I'm mirroring that pure happiness on mama's face.

I'd never admitted to anyone, not even Kaji just how much I'd missed her after she went away from me. I think I was even trying to fool myself into thinking her death hadn't left a painful gap, and even if it had, I could just fill it up with false, brave smiles.

But now she's here and there's no need for me to lie or burry myself in my own pride any more. In fact, she's been with me all this time, looking over me…protecting me.

Yes mama, I'll live. I'll live for you.

Without thinking twice, I take her hand and for a moment I can see her so clearly, smiling that irradiating smile as she speaks a single word.

Together.

Then, everything goes dark once more.

8 8 8

In the now murky depths of the geo-front's lake, there's a blaze of light as unit 02's four eyes simultaneously spark back into life and its great head snaps up.

Almost half a mile away, Maya Ibuki's fingers freeze over the keys of her lap top. For a moment, she forgets about the seemingly endless crackle of gunfire that's raging through the colossal room and stares with utter disbelief at the blinking monitor before her.

"Oh my god…"

Makoto stops halfway in the act of reloading the spent hand gun in his hands, glancing over at the dumb struck lieutenant.

"What is it?"

"Unit 02…"

"What about it!"

The woman doesn't even look up at him, still totally transfixed by the readings before her.

"It's re-activated…"

Makoto feels his jaw go slack as the meaning of her words sink in. He doesn't even hear the next bullet that clanged into the thick metal barrier behind him.

There are others who share these two's surprise, a prime example being the small army lining the side of the geo-front's lake with tanks and soldiers ready to blow anything that may emerge from the blue depths away before it could even perform a proverbial blink. That was the plan, however not a single one of them is able to even lift a finger to their anxious triggers as they watch the gigantic cross of pure, righteous light tare its way up into the sky, spreading its perpendicular arm like a pair of wings. Some don't even blink as the cascade of water thrown up into the air by it comes showering down, splattering like rain against their up turned face masks.

"Wh-what the HELL is that?"

8 8 8

Together…yes mama, together we pull ourselves out of the water and into the light. Without even having to tell my Eva, I can feel it catching the boat above us, her hands grabbing onto it as if they were nothing more than extensions of my own.

No, they are my own now.

"Mama, now I understand the meaning of the A.T field!" I can hardly sense the weight of the great iron ship as we effortlessly hold it up and break through the water's surface. "You were always protecting me, always watching over me, always…" We rise up to our full, magnificent height while the ship overhead whines, the iron twisting as it buckles under its own weight. "…we were always together, mama!"

8 8 8

There's a great roar of artificial thunder as the missile launchers amongst the mass of now panicking soldiers fire yet more sleek missiles in the direction of the great red demon that stands at the center of the lake, their unanimous, mechanical bellow drowning out almost every single other sound that's to be heard. The metal-clad monstrosity cranes its sharp head and with mild amusement watches as the volley of rockets come racing towards it as if the weapons of mass destruction are nothing more than a hoard of bothersome flies. With a mere shift of its colossal shoulders, it tilts the boat forward, not even flinching as the missiles come raining down on the ship and burst against it into swollen clouds of orange.

8 8 8

Mein Gott, I can help but grin at the thought of the looks that must be slapped across the faces of those little idiots over there, I bet they sure as hell didn't see that one coming. Ha, if they hadn't tried to blow us up, I might almost let my self feel sorry for them, after all, I of all people know how much of a kick in the teeth it is too see an easy victory stolen away when the enemy decides to finally pull the trump card out from their sleeve and slap it down on the table.

Poor men, they must have thought they had it pretty easy when the order came through to destroy a little girl who'd been abandoned in an immobile can at the bottom of a lake. Ha, what could she do with a robot unable to lift even one of its three-meter fingers in an attempt to defend itself against some of the world's most high-tec and destructive artillery? They probably just joked amongst themselves, laughing at the over-sized fish in a barrel that they'd been charged with shooting down.

Oh, I'll give them something to shoot at, you just watch. How dare they underestimate me like that, thinking I'll give them an easy job by just lying down and letting them give me a good kicking without even a whimper of protest. I'll show them I'm most certainly not a force to be trifled with.

They're going to pay for making the mistake of crossing me today, oh boy are they going to pay.

8 8 8

With a great heave, Unit 02 lurches forward, flinging the great mass of twisted iron and metal over its head and towards the heavily fortified hill side. The broken ship, nearly three times the size of the metal-plated creature flies up into the air, looking absurdly out of place hanging against the blue sea of sky.

And then it comes down.

With a rusty groan, it slams into the raised shore, obliterating anything misfortunate enough to be in its path as it grates up the hillside, leaving a track of raw, up-turned earth in its wake.

There is a moments pause as both parties stand stock still; the Eva is motionless as its four eyes gleefully absorb the sheer destruction it has wrought on the enemy camp while they can do nothing more than look on with dumb struck horror at the crumpled ship that has just wiped out maybe half of their forces.

They had not been expecting anything this…not by a long shot.

Fortunately for the gaping soldiers, some among their number manage to keep their heads together for long enough to remember that the forty meter tall giant is the real object of their attention and if unchecked, will probably come chasing right after that boat and straight at them. Now, they'd really be up the shit creek if they were to let that happen…

With a great boom, the silence is shattered once more as yet another volley of rockets tare off into the air, ripping the very substance apart as they speed straight at the red monstrosity with the soul purpose of blowing it to smithereens. Before you could even think of counting to three, the flock of silver projectiles hit the water, blowing it apart in a great spray as they explode on impact…

However, the lake's surface is the only thing they managed to disturb, for in that impossibly short time allotted, the great Eva had leapt clear of the vicinity in a blur of near invisible crimson, dancing past each and every one of the homing missiles to an impossible tempo.

It skids to a halt, glancing up at the horde of soldiers on the other side of the lake just in time to see the familiar metallic grey of stainless steel flood its vision. The charging missile lets out a sharp whine as it grinds unrelentingly into the Eva's upturned face, its sides splintering as its engines try to drive it on. The beast stumbles back but refuses to loose its footing on the muddy lake-bed, throwing out its great hand and catching a second war-head between its splayed fingers, crushing the metal as if it were nothing more than paper. For a moment, it just stands there, battling against the two missiles before the whole scene is engulfed in a roar of blazing orange.

Silence, and nothing moves save for the slowly rising colloum of ashen smoke as the echo of the latest explosion dies away. A countless number of eyes lock onto the obscured spot where the second Evangelion unit stood only moments before. Surly that thing wouldn't be able to get up and just shake off that last onslaught, why, between them, those two rockets had enough power in them to pale a single N2 mine and wipe a small village clean off the face of the earth… It had to be dead, or at the very least disabled. Nothing on god's green earth could be able to shrug that off.

There is a flash of red through the thick, dark air.

On the other side of the lake a chorus of shocked cries ripple through the ranks of men as the beast tares forth from the smoke, utterly un-scathed and making a dead bee-line straight for them.

"FIRE!"

Almost immediately all those guns come alive, pouring a white hot rain of lead at the on coming Eva. It doesn't slow, let alone seem to take the slightest bit of notice of the bullets ringing against its thick chest plating.

It just keeps walking as if nothing on hell or earth will stop it.

8 8 8

Do they honestly think this will stop me! Ha, they really are stupider than I though, I mean, c'mon! This Eva and I, we've been to the bottom of a volcano and decapitated by an angel but that never stopped us. What chance do these lowly bastards think they have? They might as well be trying to take down a tank with a catapult.

Well, by the time I'm through with them, they won't even be able to regret such folly-

A shill alarm cut me off as something flashes across the viewing panel.

"Scheiße!" I cuss under my breath, recognizing what those ticking numbers now splayed out before me mean as they begging their countdown. Great, they finally wised up and decided to cut off my power source, leaving me with only five minuets activation time… but it's not like that's not going to be any great hindrance.

"Even without my umbilical cable attached," I lean forwards, pushing down on the control handles and world out side begins to blur as we lope forward. "I've still got twelve thousand plates of fortified armour and I've got my AT field." A small squadron of planes rise up from nowhere before us, opening fire in some sad attempt to halt us. Not happening. "There's no way I can lose…eat this, Arschloch!"

In unison, our hands go out. Meters away, a great field of yellow hexagons materialise in the air and the group of jets can do nothing as they smash straight into it. Two narrowly missed piling blindly into it and go to fly past me.

Like they're going to get away that easily.

Our leg swings up, the massive appendage catching the plane mid-flight as we kick it clean out of the sky. Before the foot even comes down, we lash out with the other, sending it in a great arc and utterly obliterating the second jet with a single round house.

They don't stand a chance against us.

8 8 8

High above the carnage, a flock of airships slowly pass over the site of destruction, miles away from the violence. Unlike the fighter planes that just crumbled against the raging Unit 02, these ones are not designed to engage with the Evangelion but instead have a far more indirect purpose…

There is the soft hiss of hydraulics as the underside of these black planes slide back one by one and sluggishly from each one comes forth a bulge of white as gravity teases out the gross, living cargo from its hold. These pale, ghostly bodies begin to unfurl like insects that have finally crawled free from the binding clutches of a claustrophobic cocoon, wordless sounds creaking on their monstrous, serpentine lips as they gradually come to life. One lets its colossal head loll, a great grey tongue darting between twin rows of razor sharp, mechanical teeth and plays on the air whipping past it as if tasting the substance for the very first time.

There is a final crack as the last few bindings give way. The nine Eva units fall away from the jets, tumbling into the air as the over-sized carriers stream past overhead. For a moment, they do nothing but let the pull of the earth suck them down towards the ground at break neck speed. Then-

Fhump

A pair of white, feathered wings splay out from one of the number's back, catching the air rushing by and lifting the Eva up. Another follows suit, and another, and another. The air is suddenly alive with the sound of their metamorphism as one by one they take control of their free fall and begin to glide down towards the ever approaching terra-firma.

Far below them, their original looks up, it's head cocked to one side as the robotic giant watches the flock's decent. Beneath the layers of fortified armour, skin, muscle and tissue, Asuka's eyes also follow the troop as they slowly circle over head. A vague look of confusion crosses the girl's face.

"The Eva series? It's been completed?"

She got no answer from the great body that held her as they both gazed sky-ward.

A/N: This perticular part's going to be a two parter since it took five pages to get hear and if I'd done the compleat sequence, it probably would have been un-readable. I've never written Asuka before (acctualy, i've never written using any of these charaters before) so I'm sure there are areas that could be improved. Any CC would be greatly appreciated.