Disclaimer: See chapter 1
A/N: This is my last prewritten chapter. For those of you who are kind enough to be reading this right after I post, it should take roughly a week for the next chapter. That's most due to the fact that my chapters average over 8,000 words. If you want quicker updates and shorter chapters review and say so and, it shall be done. Because I am a whore to the critics, (Especially hot female ones, so if your out there give me a buzz).
Warning: There is some lemonous material at the very end of this chapter. If you don't want to read it you wont miss out on too much in the way of storyline and I understand. But it's pretty tasteful and not too bad and it's background for some things I am going to refer back to later so I don't discourage reading it. But that's not for everyone so I figured I would warn ya.
Apotheosis:
Ones Descent into Heaven in order to become God
Chapter 7:
Worthy
The earth shall quake before them;
the heavens shall tremble:
the sun and the moon shall be dark,
and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joel 2:10
Italics - Inner thoughts
Bold - English Dialogue (technically all other dialogue is in 'Japanese')
I was inside of my EVA almost before Rei had gotten out of her's. During the briefing, (which had take place over the comm link) Misato had questioned the decision not to use Unit 00 as well. That however was quickly dismissed by the Commander who stated that even though it had been successfully activated, it was not battle ready or even motion reflex tested. I don't know about the other listeners but to me that said only one thing. He wouldn't want to put the one he cares about in harms way. Not when the expendable one is right here.
That was just spite and hurt talking though. To be honest I didn't want Rei to go out there either. To me she didn't seem like much of a fighter, to be honest I couldn't picture her going through the same ordeal I did with the last angel and coming out alive. She's too meek and her body is too frail. Besides it seems to me she pretty much does as she is told without question. If she only fights because she is told to, she'll just get herself killed.
You can't enter a fight of any kind without a reason or purpose. If you do you are only asking to get crushed by the one who has the drive to win. Purpose and faith are two of the most effective weapons in battle. The American revolutionary war was won by the colonist despite being out manned and out gunned. Not to mention they were fighting what was at the time, the most powerful and experienced army in the world. The only thing they had on their side was the fact that unlike the English army who consisted purely of paid soldiers, the colonists were fighting for a cause. They were defending their homes and protecting their rights. They fought as men with nothing to lose, because if they failed all was lost. And there is no enemy more dangerous then a desperate one.
Truthfully that was the only reason I won me the last battle; I was desperate. My rash move probably should have gotten me killed. The back up power should have ran out, and I should have died. But at that moment I wanted it so bad, I needed it. I put my entire being into that final blow. Despite the pain and fear I felt, not to mention the interference from Toji and Kensuke, I had the sheer will to just attack without any regard for myself. It didn't matter if I got killed by the neural feedback from the EVA; I was going to kill that Angel and keep everyone safe. If I had only been in that fight because I was ordered to, I would have run away when I was told. Chances are it would have ended up more like the first battle, and unless the EVA went berserk again we'd all die. If you ask me, it's a good thing that I have found a reason to fight. Revenge might not be the most honorable motive, but it lacks nothing in the effectiveness department.
Back to reality though, the final checks were made and the Eva was moved to the launch pad. Misato was talking over the comm link, telling me to keep my distance I think, I wasn't really paying attention. All we knew about the Angel was that it looked like a giant floating cube. I am well past the nervousness of being in the EVA and even for the most part going into battle doesn't bother me. I almost feel excited. Of course there is still some fear, but right now I feel like I did when I was fighting. This is the heavy calm before the storm. A moment so charged yet absolutely still. I was sitting inside the entry plug with my eyes closed and a small tight smile. I prepared myself for the sudden rush upwards, and soon I was forced down into my seat as the EVA shot towards the surface.
Back inside the command center...
"We're detecting a high energy reaction from inside the target."
"What?" Misato screamed. This is not a good sign, he's not even on the surface yet and it's reacting.
"It's building up and gathering at a focal point"
"Could it be..." Ritsuko started. But she was distracted by the image of Unit one breaking the surface.
The second it did however the giant cube did in fact react quite drastically. It let loose a high energy particle beam that disintegrated a sky scraper on it's way towards Unit 01.
Suddenly, day light surrounded me and I came to a stop on the surface. Just as I did I heard Misato scream "Oh no, dodge it!"
I was still connected to the launch pad so on instinct I raised my AT field figuring it would handle anything that approached. However my feelings on the subject quickly changed when I saw the beam hit the orange hexagonal wall that was my AT field and it was starting to tear it's way through. I tried to concentrate harder but that was useless. No more than three seconds passed and it broke right through. I tried to fling myself to the side to dodge it, but I was still attached so I went no where fast.
The beam struck the EVA directly in the center of the chest and quickly began melting through the armour plates. To me it felt like someone was holding a blow torch to my chest; at least for the few seconds before the entire entry plug seemed to start boiling. I screamed out in pain, there was nothing I could do.
Once again I felt that feeling like this was it, and questioned if now was the time I didn't make it. Warnings flashed across the entire inside of the entry plug as the heat began building up inside the plug. Before I passed out I heard Misato scream the order to bring me back down. Amazingly the beam followed me as I descended only stopping when enough ground was between us to block it.
If I had been awake I would have heard Misato's frantic voice yelling commands, telling the techs to send me to cage seven. Then yelling to Ritsuko telling her to take over because she was going to meet me there. Then I would have seen the worry on her face as my limp body was lifted from the entry plug. After that would come the emergency medical treatment in which I was cut out of my plug suit and put through countless tests. Then the medical pod. To be honest, I wasn't sorry about missing that part when they told me about it later.
Meanwhile the Angel positioned itself directly above NERV headquarters. All those remaining in the command center could simply watch as the Angel extended what looked like a giant drill. It began boring it's way into the ground, which at first gave way with great ease. Soon after though a loud sound could be heard as the first of 22 armoured layers was reached and the metal squealed. They estimated that at this rate it would take the angel less then ten hours to get through and reach the geofront. It would arrive just after midnight. The clock was ticking and things were not looking good.
While I was napping, Misato was busy. She had come up with a plan to defeat the angel. They had tested it using dummies and missile defense systems to gauge it's attack and defense capabilities. What they found out was basically that it was totally bad ass. Any enemy that got within a certain range was automatically destroyed with about 100 percent accuracy and it's AT field was of course far too powerful for any of our weapons to even come close to breaking through.
But that was far too trivial of a fact to stop Captain Misato Katsuragi. With a wicked grin she proposed her plan to the Commander and Vice Commander. Much to her and Ritsuko's surprise they accepted it with minimal convincing. Misato could've swore she even saw a small smile appear on the mans face.
The truth was the man was quite impressed, it was exactly the kind of hard nosed, high impact kind of plan he expected from his Operations Director. Exactly the reason she was chosen as well. To defeat the angels it would take more than tactics or cunning or even the underhanded type of brilliance that Gendo was capable of. The most important factors were drive, creativity, and adaptability. All of which the Captain possessed in spades. It probably didn't hurt that the thing Misato hated more than anything was losing.
So that brings us to our current situation, Misato tell the JSSDF's research and development department that she is 'borrowing' their biggest project. The prototype Self Propelled Positron Cannon, the strongest projectile weapon ever created, by far. So needless to say they weren't exactly happy to hear the news.
"What the hell did you say?" The foreman couldn't believe his ears
"As of this moment, NERV is requisitioning the Self Propelled Positron Cannon prototype." The smile on her face was not just to be diplomatic, she was enjoying this. And she was about to start enjoying this even more.
"But this is ridiculous." He was almost panicking, you could see the fear of what the higher ups were going to do to him. If what happened next hadn't been so scary he might had been relieved. It proved there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Still with a devils grin Misato responded, "We'll try to return it in as close to it's original condition as we can. Thank you for your cooperation." She turned around and shouted up towards the far corner of the building. "Okay Rei! Take it away!"
To watch this you would have thought that she was talking to herself as many as of the techs in the area did. That was until a huge hand lifted the ceiling up from the corner And in poked the head of EVA 00.
"Oh and be careful, that's a piece of precision equipment." She said as the Eva reached for the giant weapon.
Lt. Hyuuga butted in, "But Ma'am, It's going to take over 180 million kilowatts to generate the force needed to penetrate the enemy's AT field. Where do you plan on getting all that electricity from?"
She really felt on top of the world right now and hell, who could stop her at this point. "From all of Japan of course!"
I woke up in the hospital, though not in a bed like usual. I was in some kind of weird capsule. It slid open and I tried to sit up but nothing happened. I felt like someone had tried to blow me up from the inside. The medical staff rushed around and I distantly heard someone talking on the phone telling someone I had woken up. I noticed I was wearing a breathing mask, and began wondering how badly I was actually hurt.
I found out the answer was pretty damn bad, but nothing permanent. I was moved to a normal bed, and I fell back asleep for a little bit. I felt so drained that once the soft bed was underneath me I couldn't help it.
I wish I could say that it was a peaceful sleep but as far as my brain knew, I had failed to save the world and that meant we were all dead. And those who fail to save the world wouldn't logically go to heaven. So suffice it to say my mind had created it's own personal hell for me. It mostly consisted every person I've ever known telling me how worthless I was for failing to save them. One after the next, most of them weren't so nice to say it in so few words. I was cursed at, screamed at, and even at one point had them tearing at my flesh. Not exactly a fantasy world.
Luckily it wasn't too long before I woke up, but how I felt when I did made me wonder which hell was worse. This time I was in a bed. The now all too familiar beeps and antiseptic smells gave me at least some clue to where I was. I heard the sound of the door knob and instinctively closed my eyes, I wasn't sure if this was someone I wanted to talk to. This might be a good time to be sleeping. I hear what sounded like a small cart being wheeled into the room. No words or sound other than that though, this of course peaked my curiosity. I cautiously opened one eye, and there stood the absolute last person I was expecting, Rei Ayanami.
"Ayanami? What are you doing here?" My manners were lost in my confusion.
She looked down at me and I could almost see a small amount of compassion in her eyes. But it left quickly as she opened a small note pad and began reading it off. "I'm here to brief you on the timetable of Operation Yashimo. The Operation will begin at midnight 00:00 hours. Prior to that at 17:30 pilots Ikari and Ayanami will report to the cages. At 18:00 hours Unit 00 and Unit 01 will activate. At 18:05 the units will be deployed. They will arrive at the temporary base at Mt. Futago at 18:30. there they will await further orders. The operation will begin directly after midnight." She threw a small plastic wrapped package. "Here, this is your new one."
I looked at it, it was my plug suit. "Umm, thanks." I said lifelessly. It took me a second but I sat up and the sheets that had been covering me fell to my waist. It took me a second to realize that I was completely naked. My fellow pilot however, noticed right away.
"Don't show up looking like that." I almost thought the stoic girl had cracked a joke, except for the fact that her face didn't even twitch towards a smile. I looked down and realized what she meant. I quickly pulled the sheets to cover the parts of me that mattered, and the red in my face subsided after only a minute or so.
"I'm sorry, but I guess that makes us even huh?" I said scratching my head with a smile.
"I don't understand." Again If I didn't know better I would've thought she was joking.
"I just meant now we've both pretty much seen each other naked, so now we're even." I can't imagine life without a sense of humor but it seems like Rei Anayami lives it.
"I had no desire to become, even." The last word dripped with disdain, almost disgust.
"Ouch. Nice to know." I said trying to make a joke but somehow neither of us laughed. After a brief moment of awkward silence I had to ask the question that my heart had been tearing at me for the answer to. "They really still want me to pilot? Even after I failed like that?"
"Yes." Her answer was surprisingly forceful as if that wasn't even questionable. I however didn't share that sentiment.
"Are you serious? All I'm going to do is get everyone killed, I couldn't even defend myself last time." I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them. "What good will having me out there do?"
"You had no knowledge of the enemy's abilities or tactics, you weren't prepared for the surprise attack, that is all. This time there will be two Evangelions in the battle, and we have been testing the enemy's abilities. We are prepared now, we will win. We must win."
Holy shit, did I just hear that right? Her words are tough but I don't think she realizes what we are up against. That thing is powerful. "I don't know, I think if we go out there chances are we don't come back." I felt like a pussy saying it but that's the way it is sometimes. But what I heard next nearly stopped my heart.
"Then don't go, stay here bed ridden. I will pilot Unit 01." I stared at her trying to she if she was bluffing in order to see my reaction. There was absolutely no bluff in those eyes. "Dr. Akagi is already prepared to rewrite the personal data." Still not bluffing.
Huh?...No... Wow, holy fucking wow. Did I ever misjudge you. I was blown away to say the least. "No, I won't let you go out there alone." I have to make up for how bitch-made I acted before, time to say something classy and brave. "First of all the fate of the world is at sake. Secondly I know how hasty that thing is, the only way we stand at chance is if the two of us work together. But most of all, it would be my honor, to fight along side someone as brave as you Rei Ayanami." I smiled up at her and then bowed.
Rei seemed confused, the look on her face was one of puzzlement. She didn't return the bow, instead keeping her eyes on me the whole time as if trying to figure me out. "I must go now, Dr. Akagi and Captain Katsuragi are waiting for me in the cages. Goodbye." She quickly turned around and walked out of the room.
I flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I really hope I can back up those really nice words I just said. This sucks, how come the whole world is counting on me? Couldn't they have found someone with training to do all this? Oh, what the hell am I thinking, I wouldn't be any happier if I had to rely on someone else to save me. I don't trust anyone that much. Besides they say I'm the only one who can pilot Eva 01. If that's true, I don't have a choice, like it or not it's up to me to save the world...
On the bright side though, if I manage to pull this off and defeat all of the angels... I'll have bragging rights over the whole world. 'Ha! Every last one of you owes me your lives, and what!' And I mean talk about the ultimate coochie coupon, 'Hey ladies, I'm the one who save the world and piloted the Eva. Wanna hook up with the savior of humanity?' It doesn't get any better than that. Rock stars eat your heart out.
With my mood completely uplifted I felt like a new man; that is until I tried to stand up. I had about an hour to report to the cage and nothing else to wear so I put on my plug suit. This took much longer than it should of do to the aches I was feeling and the lack of balance issues. All was well in about twenty minutes and with a little bit of improv. stretching I worked out the pains and made my way towards the cages.
I thought Misato and Ritsuko were going to be there, I was wrong though. They were busy overseeing the various facets of Misato's plan. Turns out we took the armies latest attempt to make a more efficient way to kill each other. A high powered positron rifle. The R&D department was making modifications to it even now in order to make it powerful and accurate enough as well as compatible for use by an Eva. But even this awesome piece of firepower wouldn't be enough so the rest of the technical division was working on rerouting all of the electricity in Japan to the base of Mt Futago, which was apparently where we were going to take our shot from. NERV running at 100 capacity was an amazing thing. They had repaired the Eva came up with this plan and were well on the way to making it reality in less then twelve hours. And the amount of work that each of those things entails is not something to be taken lightly.
I also found out what the angel had been up to during my nap. I thought once I lost it would be all over, but instead the angel has been boring it's way through the armor plates that protects NERV headquarters and the geofront. The reason we are attacking at midnight is because it will break through shortly afterwards, so in order to give us as much time as possible we are waiting until the last minute.
Me and Rei used underground access tunnels to get most of the way to the temporary base . Only until after we were almost there did we rise to the surface behind the cover of some mountains. I noticed a group of people on a observation platform for tourists, they were watching the EVAs. I zoomed in to test a theory, and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed. There was Kensuke with his camera.
It was a little after eight o'clock when we got to the base. Rei was lead to a impromptu docking area so she could get out to her EVA. I was lead to where they had modified the JSSDF's prototype Self Propelled Positron Cannon, into NERV's Custom Positron rifle for EVA. Which included a new firing mechanism, a longer barrel and an extensive rapid cooling system. I picked it up and as I did I heard Misato's voice. "Be careful, that's a peice of high precision equipment there."
It wasn't long before I too left my EVA and was forced to wait for more orders. I changed out of my plug suit for the wait, might as well be as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. It kinda pissed me off that there was going to be so much time between now and the battle. The suspense left me extremely uncomfortable. I found my earlier confidence wasn't necessarily rock solid. During the briefing I began wondering if this hastily formed plan was actually going to work. We were right next to the weapon and looking up at it I could see the unpolished features of the last minute modifications. I wondered, "This thing wasn't made for the battlefield, are we sure it's going to hold up to this?"
Misato was hardly going to be dissuaded at this point, "No, but we have no choice. It's the most expedient way to achieve our goal."
"Fantastic, so does that mean I'm going to get blown up when I try to shoot this thing," I couldn't help the sarcasm even now.
"Theoretically no, it shouldn't blow up when you fire it. However we aren't sure if the barrel and accelerator will be able to handle the stress. This is the first time it is being fired with such a high energy output."
"How fucking comforting." I mumbled under my breath.
I saw Misato's eye twitch, apparently I hadn't said it quiet enough. But she couldn't afford to lose her cool now. "Here are the battle plans for the Operation." She recovered well, firm and very authoritative. If I hadn't seen her drunken-self I might have even been called to attention. "Hinote.."
"Yeah?" I don't like this plan already.
"Your Unit 01 will be the gunner."
"Right" Why am I not surprised. Good thing father isn't running this mission I probably would've been a decoy.
"Rei you will cover him with Unit 00." Misato's face faltered for just a second and I began to wonder what she meant by 'cover'.
"Right." Rei affirmed.
"The reason for this configuration is that Hinote has a higher sync ratio with Unit 01 and this mission will require an exceptionally high degree of precision. Since the positron beam with be influenced by the earths gravity, magnetic field and rotation it will not fire in a straight line. You must remember to adjust for these deviations. You must penetrate the core precisely."
"This things has never been shot before, so how am I supposed to know how much to adjust? How can you expect me to be so accurate with a make shift weapon without any practice?" Things were not looking good. I thought after I had more information I would feel more secure about this. However now I was leaning towards the fact that ignorance is bliss.
"Don't worry, just do it by the book. When the indicator is in the center of the target fire. The computers will do the rest. Also beware that before you can fire the rifle a second time you will have to wait for the unit to cool, then replace the fuses and reload." She said this all so calmly.
"Oh and the hits just keep on coming huh? So what happens if I miss or it decides it's going to shoot back."
Dr Akagi jumped in to help with the 'encouraging'. "Don't think like that. You must destroy it with the first shot."
"That's you answer? Don't think about it? You have got to be..." I was about to go into all out rant mode when Rei spoke out.
"I am just to defend Unit 01, is that correct?" She didn't even seem phased by the idea. Maybe she hadn't guessed at what that meant.
"Yes." Misato quietly answered.
"Understood." She said with a steadfast nod. I wanted to continue my protest but how could I when the one that was really putting herself in harms way wouldn't say a word. They were setting it up so that if only one of us could make it back that one, would be me. And she didn't even seem to mind.
Misato took the moment of silence to end things. "It's time. Go get geared up."
There wasn't much else to say. So I followed Rei as she walked towards the small tent they had set up for us to change in. We changed on either side of a sheet that split the room in half. It was a little uncomfortable. Especially since the lights from outside casted a very defined silhouette on the white divider. I was dressed first, as I hit the button to compress my plug suit I looked over and the shadow gave away the fact that Rei was just taking off her panties. I tried not to think of it and that left me with the other thing on my mind. "Today could be our last day alive." I said loud enough for Rei to hear.
"Why do you say that?" I was searching for an answer but she spoke before I found it. "You won't die, I will protect you."
My eyes went wide, then I blinked twice and pinched my leg to make sure I wasn't dreaming. What she said was so simple yet, I was completely blind sided. I turned towards the curtain and as I watched as she walked out of the tent without a word. I felt like an idiot. I didn't even get a chance to say anything, like 'thank you'.
I walked to the portable tower that served as a mobile docking for the EVA and took the lift to the top. I could reach the shoulder of my EVA from there, only because it was knelt down of coarse. Which reminds me, I heard a funny thing from one of the workers once. If they were ever forced to recover an EVA that was standing straight up, standard operating procedure stated that they are to knock the EVA over. Preferably onto it's back but with collateral damage control as the primary concern. It was an odd thing to think about now but if I am going to die; I'd rather do it laughing.
I stepped off the lift and I saw Rei sitting their on the cat walk to her EVA hugging her knees and looking up at it. We had some time before the mission started so I sat down on the cat walk across from her, looking up at mine. We sat their in silence for a little while, to be honest I really enjoyed it. It was nice to have this quiet peaceful moment, and at this moment the only person it'd be appropriate to share it with is Rei. No matter how different we are, or quiet frankly how weird she is; she is the only person who can really understand what this moment means and is. Everyone who knows what is happening feels some level of tension and anticipation, perhaps even foreboding. But we are the only two people at the very pin point of it all. The buck starts and stops right here, we the pilots are the shoulders on which the world rests all of it's hopes and dreams. If the weight wasn't so crushing I'd be honored. Kinda puts my video game hero's into a new perspective. I used to think it would be great to be the one person who can save the world. Turns out that even that is over rated. For some odd reason I can't remember any of them ever being nervous, and that's not what you think about when you are watching it. But now that I am the one in the game it's not so glorified. Especially since this game doesn't have a reset button, though it'd sure be nice if I could save my data about now. That way when this thing blows me to smithereens, at least I could try again.
As we sat there I watched as the lights of the city began to blink out. First a small centralized section then it began spreading quickly in every direction. It was strange to watch the city go dark especially with the knowledge of where it was all going in mind. I continued to watch it as the entire country side went dark. Section by section, hill by hill, valley by valley. Until the only two things that were producing light in all of japan were the bare essential equipment around the EVA and the angel itself.
I looked over at Rei, she hadn't moved an inch or said anything since I got there. She sat still looking up at her Eva almost as if it was listening to a story it was telling. Shit, with how weird things are around here I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was. As I looked at her one question came to mind, and being that this could be the last time I ever had a chance to ask I figured what the hell. "Rei, why do you pilot it?"
I could see a brief moment of reflection in her eyes, probably trying to find the right way to express it. Then she simply said, "Because I am bonded to it."
That kind of hit me by surprise. I didn't know what kind of answer I'd been expecting, I just knew that wasn't it. "Bonded?"
She nodded, "Yes it is a bond.." She seemed to be thinking about something far off. So I took a shot in the dark.
"You mean to my father?" Trying not to sound bitter.
"To all people." Another surprising answer, from what I knew of Rei Ayanami she didn't want to be bonded with anything. Yet her reason for piloting is basically because it connects her with the whole world. That's quite an enlightened way to look at things, in all my time thinking about EVA I never once thought of it like that.
"You're an amazing person Ayanami. I think that is the most selfless thing I've ever heard." I thought this was a compliment but it seemed to bother her.
She leaned her chin against her knees and solemnly said, "I have nothing else."
I felt my heart sink when I heard that. That can't be true, she has to be exaggerating. Wait Rei is not the type to exaggerate, hell I doubt she'd know how. Which means... "Rei what exactly do you mean, 'you have nothing else'?"
Apparently that was the wrong question, Rei stood up and turned towards me. "It's time. Let's go."
She walked to the edge of the cat walk, but turned back before boarding her EVA. The full moon seemed like it was hanging low, or maybe we were just that high, but when she turned back the moon was directly behind her. The light from the moon almost made her a silhouette but the white of her plug suit made her distinguishable, even as a shadow. Though I couldn't clearly see her face, it looked to me as if she was almost crying. "Goodbye." Was all she said and at that her voice was not the drone like voice I was used to at all.
I can't shake the feeling that she didn't think she was coming back. Yet, I just watched her walk to her EVA, not exactly the actions of someone going into a suicide mission. Who is Rei Ayanami? Because she is no ordinary girl. That is for damn sure.
I tried pointlessly to clear the image of Rei saying goodbye to me out of my head but for some reason it tore at me. It was almost like when I knew I'd never see Omar again. My heart ached and all I could do was sit there and think about it as I waited for this all to be over. It was almost ten o'clock when we got into our EVA's we had gotten into position by ten thirty. And there we sat there waiting as the last of the work was done and the rifle was finally made ready only thirty five minutes before midnight. We were told to keep radio contact to a minimum so I didn't even get a chance to say anything to Rei. Instead I sat trapped with my own thoughts as I listened to the occasional check in from the different tech crews.
And then it was time.
Back in the command center Misato shared a similar train of thought, except she was thinking about Hinote and how he sounded before he left. He didn't sound like he was ready for this. He was still shaken from the first attempt, it had surprised them all that he even decided to pilot again. Misato mentally reminded herself to ask him about that, after she thanked him that was. She watched as the counter ticked off the final seconds before midnight, and despite everything that was going on a smile crept across her face. This was a true moment that defines character, Misato Katsuragi stood steadfast and ready. She was sure that this was going to work, she might be the only one who thought so, but she was sure. She felt no fear other then for the pilots, because she knew for a fact that she had sent one of them out there for the purpose of taking the enemy's attack. But she trusted her plan, and she trusted those kids. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have there.
All eyes watched the final seconds tick. Three.. two.. one...
Misato yelled "Commence Operation!" Their was a sudden rush of activity as everyone began the appointed tasks. "Hinote, we are entrusting you with the energy of the entire nation of Japan. And I, am counting on you." She said over the open channel.
Hinote's face appeared on the screen briefly, "Right."
"Initiate primary connections." Misato order. So it begins, I wonder if it has any clue of what it's in for.
"Initiating power transfer from blocks 1 through 803!" Lt Hyuuga responded. Then he literally flipped a large breaker switch. Immediately a loud electric hum could be hear all around as the power began to build up.
A few seconds later Lt. Ibuki contributed, "Voltage is rising. Water exchange unit reaching pressure zone."
"All cooling systems operating at full power. Temperature levels stable. No problem detected."
"Positron charge nominal." The techies took turns relaying their respective readings
Misato smiled to herself again, "Initiate secondary blocks 804 through 2,000."
"All accelerators engaging. Activate convergence unit."
"Transferring all power to the Mount Futago temporary substation."
"Good now the third connection, blocks 2,001 to 3,400." the Captain was dying with anticipation.
"No problems detected with the third connection"
"Release final safety systems." Misato ordered, her eyes narrowed and she stared at the screen. "Prepare to fire."
I sat silently the whole time, listening to the command center. I tried to picture the energy in the huge cables that came from every direction. All the energy in Japan is about to be in my hands. And I can't make them stop shaking. I chuckled sadly to myself. Good thing no one will be able to see me.
I shook my head, this wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that. I focused my eyes on the giant cube in the distance.
I heard the order "Prepare to fire."
I cocked back the giant bolt and let it slam home. "Weapon ready." The sniper targeting helmet came down and I focused my entire being into the moment.
Through the comm information poured in. "Error correction for the earths rotation and gravity is 0.00009. Voltage is 0.2 from critical. Connections 8 through 10 complete blocks 1 through 20,000 connected. Transferring all power directly to the positron rifle." I could feel the power as the electricity vibrated through the entire mountain, I saw steam rising up every where as even the huge cables began heating up.
I aligned the target in the center and waited for the charging to finish. Then the countdown began.
"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5..." But like any good countdown, this one had a problem.
"High energy build up detected inside the target!" Lt. Ibuki. screamed.
"4.."
Ritsuko being the quickest of the bunch said, "It can't be..." I however didn't even care, it was about to take it hard. One way or the other.
"3.."
The lines on the targeting display fell into place and the annoying beeping turned into a solid annoying tone. I was dead on.
"2.."
"Pay backs a bitch." I whispered to my self as stared down the sights at the Angel.
"1.."
"FIRE!" Misato yelled into the comm.
I pulled the trigger and felt the surge of energy. The entire EVA vibrated as streams of light burst forth from the gun and the accelerators cycled. The whole world stood still and for one fraction of a second their was not a sound in the entire world. I felt so aware in that instant, I think I finally understood what Rei meant. Right now I felt connected to the world. That however had one downfall, because in that brief moment one of the things I realized was that it was about to fire too. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it, except... "Shit."
The blast of the prositron rifle was tremendous, it shook the entire mountain and the Eva. I felt the massive kick back by both the huge jolt and the massive pain in my shoulder. At the same exact time the angel fired, all I could do was watch. The beams were just offset and as the two beams past each other the massive energy fields reacted disrupting each other. The two beams bent and twisted but in the end the went almost back on course.
I watched my shot hoping that at least I could take the Angel with me. At the same time I tensed for the impending impact. I saw at the last moment that my shot was going to miss I closed my eyes and hung my head. I failed. I'm sorry everyone.
But the moment of my death didn't come. Instead I felt the whole world shake and I felt heat on my back as the beam soared past me and slammed into an adjacent mountain. I looked up and saw a huge explosion in front of me where I had missed and a huge one behind me where it had. I saw the devastation as the shock waves blew out windows for miles around and turned over cars. The areas where the beams had actually hit were nonexistent, I silently hoped that they were evacuated. But this meant I might get another shot, assuming the gun still worked anyway. Then I remembered, Shit, I have to wait for this thing to cool down and recharge. Wonderful! I just hope it has a longer reload time than me.
In the command center, they were recovering from the blast. The windows had blown out and the shock wave have displaced everything not bolted down. The lights were out but the monitors blink on with the emergency power and within a few seconds they were getting readings again. Unfortunately, most of them weren't good.
"Did we miss?" Misato asked.
"Negative impact, we've missed the target!" One of the frantic techs responded.
But in the true spirit of playing one up the next chimed in with, "The enemy drill has just penetrated the geofront!" As red lights and Alerts flashed everywhere.
Misato needlessly yelled, "Hurry! Line up the second shot!"
In my EVA I was way ahead of her, I already had it lined up again but the gun wasn't ready.
"Replacing fuses! Initialing recharge!" On cue I pulled back the giant bolt and let it slide home again reloading my huge weapon.
"Can I shoot yet?" This sucks I should have blasted this thing to hell by now. At this rate it's going to get another shot off first.
Commencing barrel cooling!" I hear them say.
I looked across at my target and knew this would be it. The next shot was going to decide everything, one way or the other. But I shouldn't have even thought it.
The next message sucked the worst. "We are reading another high energy build up inside the target! It's preparing to fire!"
My self preservation instinct screamed, 'FUCK ME!'
Misato added, "No, not now!.. Hinote!"
I saw the flash of light from the tip of the cube and then the beam was coming I braced myself and closed my eyes. There was no distortion this time, and I could see it was dead on target. All I could think as I faced death was, I'm sorry everyone I failed you all again. Dammit!
But the impending blow didn't come, instead I opened my eyes and in front of me with an enormous shield was Rei. She was standing just in front of the end of the rifle taking the blow with all her strength. Amazing, I could never have done that, ever.
I heard her cry out in pain as the intense heat melted the shield.
"Ayanami!" I screamed, helpless all I could do was wait for the gun to be ready. "How much longer?"
"10 seconds!" the tech responded.
I have to kill this thing before Rei gets hurt. She's far too good to be hurt now, not like this, not because I fucked up.
The seconds ticked down. The shield steadily melted. I could hear Ayanami holding back the pain. I could even feel the intense heat now. I had just enough room to get a shot off, luckily I wasn't aiming for the dead front but a small way offset, so I still had a path to fire. The only question was whether or not I would get the chance. I watched as the armor of Unit 00 began to bubble and melt like the shield. I glared at the weapon in my hands. "Damn you work!"
Practically on cue a small beep told on the gun was ready. "Yes!" I screamed as I pulled the trigger.
Again came the massive recoil and the mountain shaking. But this time the blinding beam of light was not deterred, it traveled directly on course piercing the Angel cube exterior and destroying the core before exploding out of the far side with a blast of fire. I watched as the massive form tipped and crashed it's way to the ground, we had won. At the same time I saw Unit 00 drop the shield and slump onto the floor.
I could hear the celebration in the command center but I wasn't paying that any attention. I hopped up in my EVA and rushed over to Unit 00. Completely disregarding any damage I might do I ripped the armor that protected the entry plug right off. It was badly melted, they would have had to cut it open anyway. But non of that mattered, I had to make sure Rei was ok, and if she wasn't I would get her to help, now. I watched as the entry plug ejected and the LCL sprayed in all directions. I gently gripped the plug and took it out placing it gently on the ground. I had my Eva sit back against the mountain so I could use the emergency latters to get to the ground.
With the smoke still rising off of the dead angel, I ran to the entry plug and tried to open it. "Óww, damn that's hot!" I yelled as pulled my hands back from the hatch handle. Good thing I was wearing my plug suit or my hands would have been burned. I grab a little dirt to act as an insulator and grab the handle yanking with all my strength. It was tougher than I thought and when I did get it open I was panting. I looked in not exactly sure what I'd find, but knowing what I didn't want to. There she was, she looked alright but she was unconscious. I got worried, "Rei! Rei, say something!" I called into the tube.
The limp girl began to stir, her eyes fluttered then opened slowly. She slowly took in her surrounds then her eyes came to rest on me and what a sight I must have been. I had all but started to cry, tears of relief welling up in my eyes. "Are you ok?" I asked. She simply nodded. I smiled, and let out a huge sigh, "You had me so worried. Don't ever say goodbye when you leave for a mission like that, I thought you were going to die." Rei's face was one of utter shock, she didn't seem to comprehend what I said but I still had more. I climbed into the entry plug so I could look her straight in the face "And another thing, I don't ever want to hear that you have nothing else again, ever. Tonight you put your life on the line to safe mine, without so much as a blink at the thought that you might very well die. So from now on you'll have your EVA and you will have me, your friend." I smiled. She looked at me with such a strange look, it was as if she'd never heard anything like this before.
She confirmed my fears by saying, "I'm sorry, I don't now what to do or feel in a time like this."
"Why don't you trying being happy, and maybe you could even smile." I reached out my hand to help her out.
Her puzzled look shifted slowly to a smile and she took my hand. As I helped her out of the hatch I thought to myself, This is the first time I've ever seen Rei smile yet somehow it's so familiar and soothing. I'm going to make sure she starts smiling alot more, it's the least I can do for the girl who saved my life.
It's was about quarter to one when the recovery team got to us. I greeted them with an playful, "Took you long enough!" I was surprised to see Misato jump out of the lead truck. I was a little less surprised when she came running up and hugged me as tightly as humanly possible.
"Oh thank god you're safe" she said softly into my ear before pulling away.
"Heya Misato, what's up?" I tried to act casual. She in turn slapped me upside the head gently with a smile. That had become her way of dealing with my sarcasm.
The crew had taken Rei to be checked out and had only hesitated to take me because of Misato. Once our little scene was over they promptly took me away and we connected a smile before she was out of sight.
For some strange reason, after the initial medical exam I was sent to meet up with Misato. I expected a debriefing but instead she said we were going home right now, my father had insisted on it. That struck me as a bit weird, I mean I knew I deserved it but my father actually thinking that? No way, I wonder what's up
.Gendo Ikari sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of his face. He stared at his young charge with contempt. "I thought I had order you to stay away from him?"
"But Sir, I was inside Unit 00's entry plug and Pilot Ikari was the one to open the hatch. I had little choice but to interact." The girl said as respectfully as possible.
"That's not the point, you disobeyed a direct order. There is far too much at stake for you to be so careless. Don't let it happen again, that will be all.
The girl walked out of the hurt with a strange feeling deep within her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was but she didn't like it.
Gendo however turned to his right and said too the shadows, "We need him to remain isolated until the transfer and I don;t want those two interacting ever. I wouldn't want to lose my monopoly on Rei's emotions."
"Don't you think you are taking this a little too far?" His one time teacher responded.
"No, after all the fate of the world is at stake."
It was a little after two when we got in, I went directly to the bathroom and took a shower. I needed a minute to myself and I still had the film from the LCL, I can't stand this shit. Why must it taste like blood?
I spent almost twenty minutes in the shower, until I really felt clean. I figured after everything that had happened today Misato would have gone straight to bed. I should've known better, when I walked out of the shower I was greeted with a very drunk Guardian. Well, for a normal person she was very drunk but for Misato she was only fairly drunk. I have seen her far worse than this but she must've been drinking with a passion because I already counted six beers on the table and one in her hand.
I smiled and shook my head giving a small laugh, "Well I can see someone is in a good mood." I walked over to the table, I wasn't tired at all still wired from the fight.
"Well of course I am, we won!" Her head shot back as she downed half the can. "Besides that was my plan, so I'm glad everything turned out alright. If someone would have gotten hurt I wouldn't be so happy." Her huge smile disappeared and she almost looked sad.
"But everything turned out fine, everyone's still alive. Good guys three, angels nothing." I said with a huge smile
Misato laughed at me, then gave me a soft smile. "You know, technically you've beaten all three angels so far. Aren't you turning into quite the little hero?" She teased in her drunkeness.
"Well I don't about all that, I wouldn't exactly say I'm a hero..." I said with no playfulness in my voice but I was interrupted.
"What? Are you joking? Three times now you have gone out there to fight the angels; To fight them for the entire world. How are you not a hero?" The woman was almost furious. That was the one thing about a drunk Misato, her emotions were like a roulette wheel. Round and round she goes, where she stops no one knows.
"Well for one, I couldn't do it by myself so instead Rei almost got killed protecting me. Secondly, I hurt innocent people like Toji's sister every time I get into the EVA. Yes I save the world, but hero's don't hurt other people."
Misato's look was one of puzzled rage, she shook her head and glared at me. "Maybe not in the story books but in real life kiddo, people.. get.. hurt. And if Rei hadn't been there we would all be dead now, but you would've been first and I'm not ok with what, so if being saved by a girl takes away from your glory that's too damn bad."
I snapped back, "It's not like that!" I didn't think I had said it very loud, but the shock on Misato's face made my wonder. "She shouldn't have been put in harms way, not to defend me. She's so much better than I am, she protected me without a thought. Do you know how many times I wanted to run away, or just not go out there?" Now I was yelling and almost in tears.
"Stop It! Stop it right now!" Misato yelled over me. She came around the table and wrapped her arms around me. "You are the bravest person I know, I don't want to ever hear you say anyone is better than you." She pulled back to look me in the eyes, "Even if you don't think so, to me.." She gave me one of the warmest smiles I had ever seen. "..you're a hero." She hugged me tightly again. This time I brought my arms up around her too, grateful to her for being so stubborn. She almost had me believing her, almost had me thinking of myself as a hero. But I couldn't let her know that because then she'd won, and smart asses never let anyone win. Now for a comment.
"But see I can't be a hero because the hero always gets the girl, and I haven't even gotten flirted with, let alone gotten any play." I laughed a little as Misato's roulette wheel spun again and this time landed in a playful mood and she looked at me with mock hurt in her eyes.
"Oh what am I chopped sushi?" Her arms came around my neck and she pushed her body against mine. "Don't I flirt with you?" Her face was only inches from mine. I could smell the beer but that was the last thing I was thinking about. Misato was a perfect female specimen to say it nicely, and totally fuckable if said not so nicely. And she was no stranger to the art of seduction, even as inexperienced as I was I could tell that much. She rubbed her body against mine making our bodies anatomically parallel. She just seductively looked at me with pleading eyes while biting her bottom lip.
It was going to take about ten more seconds of this before Misato started feeling the effects of her power over males. "Well you do but you're never serious, and I wouldn't exactly call one kiss play either." I said figuring Misato would back off like usual.
"Oh that wasn't good enough huh?" She grinned wickedly.
"Well it was good, but was it world saving hero worthy... eh, I'm not so sure." She had caught me by surprise but I don't give up so easily. I took a hold of her waist, not forgetting to notice how small and toned it was and melted into her embrace. "But if you had something else in mind?" I said giving her a naughty look. Of course I was totally bluffing, this was real close to the most physical I had ever gotten with a girl. But I wasn't about to back down now.
She tripped me, putting me onto my back and she quickly righted herself on top of me straddling me. And she made no mistake about where she sat as she grinded her hips into mine. "Well.. I guess you do deserve a little something for making me look so good by winning all the time..." She leaned down and kissed me deeply. It took me a second to react as I was quite taken by surprise. Her hands rubbing all over me didn't help either, she certainly wasn't holding anything back here. I felt my pants get tighter as her hips rubbed against mine, she felt it to and broke the kiss for a moment. "Oh well look what we have here..." She was leant forward and she lifted her hips sliding her hand under them and much to my surprise grabbing me where I least expected it. "Looks like I am having some effect, maybe this is good enough?" She only ran her hand up and down it once before bringing her hand back up to support her weight, but for me it was heavenly. I was almost shaking with desire and Misato seemed to love it, she kissed me again with even more heat than the last one. This time she took a hold of my hands and starting at her neck she began tracing them down her body. I tried to shy away from her breasts but she firmly pressed my hands over them, and with her hands over of mine began squeezing them. Actually it was more of a massaging really, I payed close attention knowing she was showing me how. She began to softly moan and pulled her hands away but left mine, one went behind my head. The other ran down my chest and much to my disappointment stopped on my stomach. She seemed to like the six pack I had developed with all my training her fingers teasingly traced them.
My hands hand began to wander over the rest of Misato, over her back and through her hair. She had such an amazing body I wanted to take in as much as possible. It seemed to excite her, I was trying to show her exactly how much I wanted her and it seemed to be working. I had a beautiful full grown woman on top of me and she was kissing me with such passion, I had definitely done something right. That's right, who's the man!
My hands came back to her stomach and this time I brought them up under her shirt. I moved up slowly and she arched herself so that my hands were right on her breasts. I gasped half interrupting the kiss. She pulled up briefly and smiled but quickly and forcefully continued. I began gently caressing the soft skin of her breast. I had read that anticipation adds to the experience and that the nipple is where the most pleasure comes from so I took my time getting there. But I did get there and I brushed my fingers over them lightly at first; then the firm massaging Misato had showed me before. I was rewarded with getting to watch Misato as her face lit up with ecstasy and she let out a barely audible moan. Her hand again came to rest on mine and I followed her lead as she had me squeeze her nipple between my thumb and forefinger. She moaned again this time her hands gripping my face and kissing me harder. I felt her hips grinding harder against me making sure to run up and down my now hard self. I used Misato's reactions to figure out a couple of tricks as I played with her chest. We were getting pretty hot and heavy, and I didn't want this to stop; I was having quite a bit of fun. I also wasn't going to pass up this chance. I have to see how far she's willing to take this, because if I don't and somehow I find out she would've taken it all the way, I'll commit suicide.
I made up my mind. I increased my pressure on the kiss almost making it a fight for dominance. As I did I ran my hands down her stomach to her hips then onto her thighs. I gripped them and then caressed them up and down for a second. I brought my hands up to the bottom of her shorts. I traced my hands along the edge and when I wasn't stopped I continued upward slipping my fingers under the cloth between it and her inner thighs. My thumbs found their way to the crease of her pelvis and I found them naturally rubbing along it. Misato responded with a moan and then to my surprise she spread her legs wider giving me better access. I can't believe it, she's going to let me? Holy shit, this is amazing. She had broken the kiss and we began kissing each others necks. I twisted my hand so my pointer and middle fingers were rubbing up and down the line then I slowly slid one hand to the middle and I felt a wetness. The soft flesh was still skin but it was slightly raised and wet, I must be so close. I moved less then an inch and I felt the slit and I heard the moan. I ran my finger along the outer edge on both sides and then I slowly slipped two fingers inside her feeling her tense around me. Her moaning got louder as I began moving them around inside her. Not too long after that I must've found her clit. I'm guessing of course as I've never done this before, but I heard that it gives women such intense pleasure they go crazy. Well Misato was damn near convulsing and her moaning got louder and louder until she practically screamed, sitting up and throwing her head back. That of course drove my fingers futher inside her and she responded with a shudder of pleasure. I had given my first orgasm, I silently congratulated myself. She was panting and I could feel her heart pounding from around my fingers. She slowly brought her head forward and looked down at me.
I had a huge smile on my face I mean, I was in heaven right now. That display was amazing not to mention I was so hot I could have melted steel. I wanted her to return the favor but I was more than content to let me and my imagination take care of that later. I was content with what had just happened. That was until her eyes met with mine, suddenly her eyes went wide "Oh my god". With a look of absolute horror and shame she jumped off of me and ran into her room. I could have sworn I heard her crying through the door, I wanted to go help her but I was pretty sure I was the cause of her pain so I should probably give her some space. Instead I went into my room and lad on my bed. Right now I should have been celebrating the greatest moment in my teenage life. Instead I felt as if I had done something dirty and wrong.
DAMN IT! Why can't I ever just have the happy ending.
End of Chapter 7
A/N: Next chapter, Will be my major break off point from the story line. I am adding a new character, both to add to the advancement and originality of the story. As well as appease the harshly over worked editor that I call my brother BlaZe. A few new plot lines will begin to emerge also. So tick around the fun's about to start.
Special thanks, to Danny BlaZe for editing this story. Without him this would be a red pens wet dream.
Naruto Uz-Omake
I looked across at my target and knew this would be it. The next shot was going to decide everything, one way or the other. But I shouldn't have even thought it.
The next message sucked the worst. "We are reading another high energy build up inside the target! It's preparing to fire!"
My self preservation instinct screamed, 'FUCK ME!'
Misato added, "No, not now!.. Hinote!"
I saw the flash of light from the tip of the cube and then the beam was coming I braced myself and closed my eyes. There was no distortion this time, and I could see it was dead on target. All I could think as I faced death was, I'm sorry everyone I failed you all again. Dammit!
But the impending blow didn't come, instead I opened my eyes and in front of me was a giant wall of sand. It shifted into the shape of what looked like a giant robust raccoon wearing a samurai's hat. Floating behind it on a small patch of sand was one of the scariest beings ever to walk any earth.
Gaara of the Desert.
The maniacal ninja lifts one open hand into the air. Meanwhile a large sand storm surrounds the angel. "Desert Coffin".
He waits only a second and squeezes his hand close. "Desert Funeral." The sound itself is horrifying enough to make you want to scream. That's not to mention the 600 meter streams of Angel blood that came spewing out in all directions as the angel is crushed into nothingness.
His words are without emotion just like his eyes. He floats to face Unit 01, eye to person. "Now you will give me my payment."
"Ummm... yeah.. about that... I don't exactly have that much..." I started through the loud speakers.
His hand began to raise just like it had before.
"HEY! HEY! HEY! CALM DOWN!