Heaven Sent
By crimsonwraith
Chapter 5: Chaos
Sheltered from the raging storm behind a ten inch thick reinforced fiberglass shield, Admiral Whitaker could not help but sense a lingering darkness hidden in the squall. He hardened his gaze, searching for something hidden in the skies or in the waves. For forty years he had sailed the seas. Storms were nothing unusual to him, but there was something unnerving about this one.
Something… not of this earth.
The unsteadiness of the admiral was infectious, bothering all the controllers and officers inside the control island of the American aircraft Carrier, Vigilant. Captain Reynolds saw this as well, he too growing anxious of the admiral's wariness. "Admiral," he began, "the fleet has completed the half kilometer spread. Storm preparations have been accomplished."
"O- of course. My apologies Captain." he stammered, throwing the captain an acknowledging nod. "Have the crew of the Vigilant stand down. I want them in the mess hall for dinner by 1800 hours. I heard the cooks were preparing a surprise for the men."
"Understood sir," acknowledged the captain before turning his attention to the XO. "Bring the men back on deck."
"Aye, Captain-"
Suddenly, an operator rose from his station. "Con sonar… bearing 305, distance 27 miles. Depth… approximately one hundred feet."
"Probably a Russian Submarine waiting out the storm," suggested the admiral. "Sonar, I want you to keep an eye on him, let me know if he makes a move."
"Admiral!"
"Yes, seaman Francis. Just like that."
The operator shook his head, throwing glances between the admiral and his screen. "No, admiral… the contact has began to move towards the Vigilant. Current speed… 45 knots and accelerating."
"What?" the captain gasped. "That's impossible."
"It's no submarine," mused the admiral, narrowing his eyes towards the pouring rain. "They're finally here…"
"Speed: 68 knots and rising, admiral."
Finally, the old man rose up and took command. "Raise alert condition to level 1: all men to battle stations."
"Aye captain," acknowledged the XO. "Raising alert condition to-"
"Distance 13 miles and closing, admiral. The signal… it's enormous!"
The admiral gnashed his teeth. "Prepare to launch Harpoon tubes 1 to 14… electronics," he called over to another operator across the bridge, "Run a full spectrum analysis on this thing. I want to know what it is."
"Aye captain!"
"Distance 8 miles and closing…"
"Man at arms, have we got a lock?"
Another man managed a quick salute. "Aye, admiral. Weapons are locked and loaded. Awaiting your order to fire."
He threw a glance over to the captain and found the younger man trembling. They all were, but now was not a time to be frightened. "Fire on my mark…" He watched as the man-at-arms place a hand on a button.
"Distance 5 miles…"
"Fire!" he screamed.
Outside, a streaks of white smoke rocketed out of the deck as 14 missiles soared high into the air. One missile was capable of tearing through the bunker, 14 would have been overkill in most cases. This was not such a case.
The admiral watched as the fourteen missiles punched through the surface of the waves, followed by fourteen pillars of water exploding from it as a massive wave soared towards them… then passed by harmlessly as if it didn't see them.
The men braced the nearest fixture as the cruiser was hit by a massive swell, throwing unknowing seamen across the bridge. Then, a long silence passed, the only sound was the pitter patter of rain drumming against the glass and the heartbeats thumping in the men's chest. Admiral Whitaker sighed, half out of relief for surviving, half terrified by the thought of the encounter.
"Where is that… that thing headed, sonar?" he barked out.
The young seaman glanced at his screen before returning his gaze. "If it continues its course… it should reach Japan within the hour.
Then the electronics operator slowly rose from his console to face the admiral. "S- sir… I h- have completed the analysis… I think you should look at this."
Victory came in but a hair's width as two girls lunged for a red ribbon. Both fell face first into the grass, only one rose triumphantly. To the victor went the acclaims, to the loser, only a pat and a wish for "better luck next time."
These humans were certainly odd.
Asuka sat by the grass, watching as the girls ran five at a time around an oval track. She noted the behavior of the girls around her: most of them fearing to come last. It seemed that most of them had been fearing this day for quite some time now, but Asuka was far from concerned. She only had one race to win, but no matter how hard she tried, she was always losing.
The finish line: Shinji Ikari
Her competition: Rei Ayanami
"Next!" she heard the gym teacher call out, picking 5 more girls out of the group. There wasn't many left, she noted. There was her, the class representative, a few fat girls and then there was Rei. Her attention seemed to be focused on the far end of the field where all the boys were holding their event: high jump, Asuka noted. She saw Kaoru clear the bar and sink into the mat. His wounds must have healed.
BANG!
Asuka watched as the five girls hurtle down the track as fast as they could. But why are they trying so hard? There was nothing for them to gain out of the exercise, no prize for coming first and no penalty for coming last. It made no sense to Asuka.
Suddenly, a shadow fell upon her. The redhead quickly looked up to find the gym teacher staring down on her. "Okay, new kid. You're up next. Lane 1."
"Yeah, whatever." The girl quickly lifted herself up to her feet and shuffled over towards the clay track, passing Rei on lane 5.
The cerulean haired girl turned coldly towards her. "Are you ready, Asuka?"
She gnashed her teeth as she passed Rei on her way to her own lane. "If I were you, I'd worry about myself, Rei."
"That's enough, girls!" the teacher screamed out as she loaded her gun, lifting it to the air. "On your marks…"
As Asuka set her foot against the starting blocks behind her, she noted a few boys watching them from the High Jump mats. She could see Kaoru smiling at her from a distance… and Shinji cheering Rei on.
BANG!
"Wha!" Asuka stammered, briefly catching a glimpse of the girls taking, leaving her in their wake. The girl snarled something under her breath as she exploded from her blocks in bounding leaps. This was not a race she was willing to lose, especially not against Rei.
The blue haired girl lead the five, some ten meters ahead of Asuka, but that distance closed as the redhead stormed down the track at a blistering pace. Asuka passed her nearest rival, leaving the fat girl in her dust. The next was slightly fitter, but not by much as Asuka left her in her wake, leaving two more girls to beat.
The class representative, the one named Hikari was incredibly athletic despite her slender frame. It took Asuka a while to catch the girl, but soon enough she had passed her. Leaving Rei to catch.
Come on! she told herself. You can't lose! Not again! She placed all she had in her sprint, and she was slowly catching up, but not fast enough. The finish line was closing in, there wasn't much time left. Hardening her resolve, Asuka threw every ounce of power that she had left and leapt forward, her arms outstretched hands reaching for the red finishing ribbon.
For a moment, it seemed as if she could fly as she soared through the air, her hand about to snag the ribbon when she began to fall. She watched helplessly as her hand fell short of the ribbon as the ground grew beneath her. The girl hit the ground with a loud thud, skidding across the clay for a few feet before coming to a complete halt, with grazes all over her arms and legs. But what hurt the worst was her pride.
Rei had won… again.
"Damn it," she hissed as she slowly pushed herself up, then found a hand offered to her. She looked up, and to her surprise, found Rei staring down at her.
"Lend me your hand," she said.
Asuka didn't answer, half stunned at what she was witnessing. This demon… her sworn enemy… is reaching out for me. But why? We are supposed to be at war, and yet she is smiling… at me… confused, the girl slowly lifted a hand and reached out, swiping Rei's hand away. Gnashing her teeth, Asuka painfully pushed herself off the ground. "I don't need your help."
For a second, Rei merely smiled at Asuka as she drew back her reddened hand. Then she stepped forward. "We are required at headquarters immediately."
"What in the hell are you on about?" the redhead snarled, and then heard panting behind her. She quickly turned around and found Shinji behind her. "Sh- Shinji!"
"What is wrong with you Asuka?" the boy hissed, pointing to a blue Renault Alpine sliding across field. Turning away from Asuka with disgust, he shifted his attention towards Rei. "Come on, Rei. Let's go." The boy became silent, making his way towards the car with Rei trailing him not far behind, leaving Asuka on her own wondering just what she has done.
"Turn the alarm off, we already know that it's coming." Ritsuko watched as the claxons dulled to silence, replaced with the hum of activity around the command platform. Her eyes darted up towards the commanders perch above the platform. There sat a man, his auburn eyes stared out behind a pair of cold glass spectacles. The way he stared at the screen so calmly as everyone else cowered around him frightened the blonde doctor. He had always been cold, but now, he seemed somewhat… inhuman.
Shaking the awkward feeling off that was slowly overcoming her, Ritsuko quickly shuffled behind Maya's monitor. "How's she doing, lieutenant Ibuki?"
The operator stammered, not expecting her superior officer to be standing behind her, but then quickly managed a response. "Asuka's synch ratio is phenomenal… much higher than her record states in Germany. It's as if… she's somebody else, ma'am."
"The point is that she's performing better than expected," Ritsuko asserted. "We'll keep her as backup for this operation."
"Yes, ma'am."
Ritsuko paused. "Maya, you almost seemed glad that I took her out of the front… mind telling me why."
The young lieutenant hummed something beneath her breath then pushed a button. A box expanded across her screen, revealing a Asuka with a troubled look on her face. Somewhat concerned, Ritsuko reached across the screen and fingered the audio trigger. "Asuka… is something bothering you?"
Suddenly, the girl looked up, slightly startled as a face boxed out across her HUD. "Doctor… Ri- Risoo- Ritsuko. Uh, no. I'm fine."
The doctor raised a brow. "Are you sure Asuka? If you're not up to the task-"
"I can do this!" she asserted forcefully, gnashing her teeth, her eyes suddenly beaming with determination. "I can do this, Ritsuko."
Ritsuko saw Asuka's eyes hardening with a resolve. "Alright, Asuka. You'll be staying here with Unit 02 on active standby for now."
"What?"
"Units 01 and 00 have already deployed to engage the angel… let's just hope that they can do the job."
The doctor's screen boxed out of existence, leaving Asuka to commiserate on her own. "Just what are these angels that I have to fight?" she growled to her self, slamming her fist against the titanium walls. Her fist left the wall, leaving a small indent on the steel and her knuckles glowing red. She stared at her hand for a second, the remembered the hand offered to her when she was down, and the smile on Rei's face. "Ayanami…"
Sheets of rain poured across the beach, bouncing harmlessly off Unit 01's reinforced armour. He could see the trees swaying in the wind across his HUD, but the only thing Shinji was focused on was the Rei's face at the bottom right corner of his screen. "That Asuka… what's wrong with her? She's usually nice, but when you're around she… becomes someone else."
"Leave her be, pilot Ikari," the girl replied in a dry whisper.
"But she doesn't respect you, Rei. She shouldn't treat you the way she does."
"How she treats me is my concern, not yours." She looked away from her screen.
Shinji frowned, somewhat puzzled by Rei but let it pass. "Anyway, I saw your race, Rei. You deserved to win that one, you were really amazing."
The girl frowned. "Asuka hesitated at the start…"
"Well that's her fault."
Suddenly, Rei's eyes narrowed. "That is not a fair race, Shinji. She started a little later than I, and because I had a head start, I won instead of her."
"A win is a win, Rei. You take them anyway you can."
"But it is not…" Rei's gaze fell, "it is not… right."
Suddenly, Misato's face boxed across their screens. "You two! The angel has entered the zone of engagement! Begin your attack!"
Both Misato's and Rei's faces disappeared from Shinji's screen as he saw a shadow explode from the water in the distance, half hidden in the pouring rain. He then noticed the shadow splitting in two as two red orbs came to life.
Soft footsteps echoed across the launch gantry as Asuka looked her red giant, face to face. "A creation not of heaven nor hell. A graven image… a false god for man to worship," she muttered, with unit 02 staring back at her with four deep sullen eyes. "you are… an abomination."
The red giant remained silent.
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Just what do these humans need these things for? Are these humans really fighting angels? Am I really…. the enemy?" Her train of thought ground to a halt, frightened to answer her own questions, though it would certainly explain a lot, like why Shinji hated her so much, or why he aligns himself with Rei.
No! she told herself. It couldn't be what she was thinking. Wanting to drown her thoughts, she thought about walking away when all of a sudden, a group of technicians began to scurry around the platform with anxious looks on their faces.
"I can't believe they used an N2 mine on that angel and only managed to slow it down."
"At least it managed that. Our Evas were beaten to a pulp. Unit 00 got out relatively unscathed… unit 01 on the other hand…"
"SHINJI!" gasped Asuka.
The technicians turned towards the voice, only to find the girl running away.
Her hand covered in patches, Rei couldn't help but stare into the only window looking into the intensive care unit. The young boy lay unconscious amidst an array of machines, barely keeping him alive. He had nearly died, she knew. That thing had nearly killed them.
Suddenly, Rei heard hurried footsteps down the corridor. She turned and found Asuka, still in her plug suit, dashing towards her.
"Rei!" she gasped, stopping just in front of her, "Rei! Is Shinji alright?"
The girl shook her head. "Shinji has sustained moderate injuries from the engagement. He will not be able fight for at least a week."
"How?" Asuka gasped breathlessly. "How could you let this happen to him?"
"We were overwhelmed," she replied, "They… the angels…. Attacked me first, neutralizing Unit 00 before they engaged Unit 01. Pilot Ikari… Shinji, was completed overwhelmed."
Upon the verge of tears, the young redhead shoved Rei aside as she peered into the room. "Is he going to be alright?"
"I don't know."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?"
"She means exactly that." Both girls shifted their attentions towards the source, finding Gendo Ikari at the far end of the corridor with Ritsuko and Misato at his sides. The steps came in sharp, loud footsteps, halting a short distance from the pair. "Pilots Ikari and Ayanami failed to destroy the angel, and as a consequence suffered injuries to themselves and their Evas. NERV faced humiliation as the UN succeeded where we failed at halting the angel's progress. We will not face this humiliation a second time."
At this, Ritsuko stepped forward. "We have calculated that the angel will recover in approximately 7 days time, at which point, it will commence its attack on Tokyo-3. Unit 01, on the other hand, has sustained moderate damage. Repairs will take at least 3 weeks."
"What about Shinji?"
Ritsuko's sinking stature was not reassuring. "Shinji will make a full recovery in approximately a month if he does not exert himself."
"Which leads us to our main point," said Misato as she walked over towards the girls. "Will the both of you please follow me?"
Both girls nodded.
Misato continued down the corridor with both girls following not far behind. "We have analyzed the angel's attack patterns and determined that the only way to defeat it is to coordinate a synchronized attack on both the angel's cores."
"Wait a second," Asuka said, "are you talking about one enemy or two?"
Wincing, Misato turned down a hallway. "We are talking about one angel capable of splitting itself in two targets, alpha and beta. That was how it was able to defeat our Eva's attacks. One core was able to heal the other, so as long as one of the two cores were intact at any one time, the angel was able to regenerate itself. But we have a plan to counter this. We plan for the both of you to attack both cores at the same time. Unit 00 will be fully repaired before the angels completely recovers, so that gives us a week of preparation."
"Captain Katsuragi," Rei interrupted, "what preparation do you speak of?"
Finally, Misato smiled as she stopped in front of a room, pressing a key to open the doors. Inside was a pair of beds, a common television set, sound system, coffee table and a hallway that lead into a common bathroom. "We need the both of you to be able to work in complete synchronization with each other and to achieve this harmony within the allotted time, we need the both of you to eat, sleep, work and play together."
"W-WHAT?" Asuka stammered in disbelief.
Misato smiled brightly. "In short, you girls will be living together for a week." She reached into a pocket and threw Rei a cassette tape. "Ritsuko said that learning a few steps together can help start the process so…" she pushed both girls into the room, "have fun! Everything you need is inside."
Asuka quickly turned around and was about to complain to Misato when the doors slid shut in front of her. "Hey!" she screamed, banging heavily upon the steel frames. "Let us out! You can't do this to us!"
Rei quickly scanned the door for a control panel. "There is no way out."
"Oh yeah?" Asuka snorted. She stretched her hand out, about to summon her blade to cut a swathe through the doors when all of a sudden, Rei lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. Asuka desperately tried to shake the girl off her when all of a sudden-
"You cannot let them know." Rei pointed to a camera mounted on the ceiling.
Asuka stared at the camera for a second before sighing resignedly. She had no choice but to do what she is told. She had to do this… for Shinji. She was about to accept her situation when she noticed that Rei's body was still pressing down upon hers, her face lingering a short distance above her own. "GET OFF ME!" screamed Asuka, violently throwing Rei off her. "We don't have to know each other that close!"
Rei quickly picked herself and watched as Asuka stormed off into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. She then looked at her fingers which touched Asuka's bare skin. Her face glowed a bright shade of pink. Asuka… so warm… and soft… and fragile…ten thousand years I have waited to feel your touch again. I will make you remember me. I promise you…
...my love.
To be continued
A/N: Yes, that last bit was from the manga.