Reign of the Tabri
"If the Final Messenger is defeated by the neglected son it shall come to pass that the children rule all."- Dead Sea Scrolls, Chapter 17
Disclaimer: Don't own Gainax. Well, in my dreams I do.
Chapter 4: To Stand and Fight
Shinji rolled over and fell out of bed.
He hit his head hard on the nightstand and let out a loud "Umph!"
It was hardly a scream but after the last days action everyone was a little high strung. Misato had the gun leveled at his head in 12.354 seconds. Shinji blinked and realized what he was seeing was real. Misato and Asuka were standing in front of him in their night clothes. He blushed furiously and dove for cover. Misato might not go after him for this but Asuka surely would.
Shinji forgot that Misato had had a gun aimed at him. When he dove for cover she fired. It missed him by only a few millimeters and he could feel the wind off the bullet. All in the room stood frozen for a moment before it became apparent Shinji wasn't shot.
"Sorry!" squeaked Misato.
"Geez Misato I thought you were a better shot then that." sneered Asuka.
Misato rubbed a little bit of sleep out of her eye and smiled sheepishly. "Lucky for Shinji I'm a little sleepy still."
"I'll say." muttered Shinji. A little bit more loudly "Do you think anyone else will have heard the gunshot?"
To answer his question Rei burst in. Her AT-field was fully spread out. She paused in the door way and looked them over. "It is clear." she said. Apparently she had decided it was an accident and not an attack.
After she finished speaking Commander Ikari came in and chewed them out. They couldn't afford to draw any attention to themselves. Gunshots in the early morning would definitely do this. Therefore, no gunshots in the morning. Got it?
"Yes, sir" they all said quietly.
Shigeru's head leaned in from around the corner "Sorry to intrude but I think you all should see this." As quickly as it had appeared it was gone. That is to say, not that fast.
They all rushed next door to see Shigeru and a few of the remaining Section Two agents sitting on the hotel beds watching the TV. They sat down and watched the only slightly edited clips show a few hundred people being rounded up in Tokyo-3. The carnage was obvious as was the look on the people's faces as they were pastured for what they surely thought was the slaughter.
"This was the scene yesterday in downtown Tokyo-3." drawled the voice of the news anchor. The screen changed to one showing several JSSDF soldiers shooting and throwing grenades at a lone man. The grenades exploded, the bullets were dead on, and the AT-field was visible. The man advanced calmly and then began ripping the soldiers limp for limp. Eventually the camera man hightailed it out of there to give his precious cargo to the television station. "At this time there has been no confirmation of any of these apparent attackers being killed. It is unclear what the Japanese government and the UN wi-".
The news anchor was cut off as the screen dissolved into static only to be replaced moments later by a face they all recognized. Michel gazed down at the camera from Gendo Ikari's throne in Central Dogma. Michel's smile showed all of his teeth.
"Attention Lilim! I am Michel, High Speaker of the Conclave of the Tabri. I now rule your city of Tokyo-3!"
Through out the world people watched as Michel spoke. With all eighteen Magi at his command he could hack into any location on the planet.
Gendo's mind raced furiously. With three sentences Michel had given him so many questions. As he watched on he began to understand a bit of the Dead Sea scrolls he had never understood. 'Dam Fuyutsuki for dying' he thought.
"I will rule here until I see fit. No force, however strong, can remove me now. However, I have a few demands that may make us more likely to leave." Michel continued. "First, there are several fugitives who escaped from our attack. I want the first, second, and third children alive. Second, all Evangelions not located in NERV-HQ will be immediately shipped here. Contact at the other NERV locations will be accepted as of now. I will have more demands later." His smile grew by close to an inch. "That's all for now. Be quick before I change my mind."
The screen faded away.
"We are so screwed." said Misato.
"Pretty much." agreed Shinji.
Gendo was lost in thought at what Michel had broadcast. Conclave? Tabri? No mention of me? 'Tabri, Tabris?' he speculated.
After a minute of thinking he realized that everyone else was looking at him. "Ahem," he moved to regain control of the situation "I'd say it's clear we cannot trust the Japanese government, or any others, for now. They are too likely to turn us in."
Everyone nodded solemnly. The television switched back to the announcer. He was acting like Michel interrupting him was planned. "There you have it folks. Will the UN hunt down the three missing children in order to save the children? We can only speculate but it is most likely a yes" he put his hand to his ear for a moment "I have just received confirmation that NERV 8 in Jerusalem has been entered by a team of…" his voice continued but Gendo had stopped listening.
"NERV 8 isn't in Jerusalem." he interrupted.
"What?" asked Asuka "What to you mean it isn't in Jerusalem? The guy on the TV just said so!"
"Then he's wrong isn't he?" Gendo remarked smuggly. "NERV 9 is in Jerusalem. NERV 8 is in Australia."
"Could it have been a mistake?" asked Misato.
"Not likely," said Gendo," more likely NERV 8 wasn't attacked. It was never a very prominent base." He paused for a moment "It was also the place were Mass Production Evangelion Unit 12 was being created."
A stunned silence filled the room. Shigeru spoke first, "So wait…if we get to Australia we can get an Evangelion?"
"Correct." replied Gendo.
Everyone mulled this over in their heads for a few moments. Then, "We need to get their." Surprisingly it was Shinji who spoke.
"Shinji?" asked Misato.
"I know Misato, it could be a trap. Still, I think we should try it anyway. I'm sick of running away, it's time to stand and fight." he concluded with a decisive nod.
"I agree with pilot Ikari."
"I'm with Shinji on this one."
Both Rei and Asuka spoke almost simultaneously. It was surprising to say the least. Asuka finished speaking and turned to gape at Rei. 'Ow, great. Now I'm mimicking Wonder girl.' she thought.
Rei also showed her surprise. Rei showed surprise. Everyone else was to busy thinking to notice. It really was a shame they missed it.
Everyone began to agree rather quickly after Commander Ikari did.
The adults were in Shigeru's room planning for the journey. Rei was nowhere to be seen. Now was his time to finally talk to Asuka.
It didn't matter how Shinji and Asuka got out of the room. What was important was he got to talk to her.
She was in their room, a problem caused by not thinking straight the night before. Also, lack of yen was apparent. It was a pretty cheap hotel and their second choice.
She was sitting on her bed. He sat down on his. Misato had had the floor.
She had been thinking. Why didn't she want to die anymore? No reason came to mind. She just…wanted to live. Didn't she? She could still do it right now if she wanted to.
Shinji sitting down across from her startled her. It was out of the question now. If she was to do it she didn't want anyone she knew to see it. Not like she had seen her mother. She didn't even hate Shinji that much.
She looked up at Shinji. Something seemed different about him although she couldn't quiet place it.
"Asuka, I missed you." he said. It was much more frontal then she was used to him being.
"Did you?" she spoke quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah, a lot. I haven't been able to talk to anyone in a real long time. Ever since Kaworu died-"
"Kaworu? You make a new friend while I was away?"
"Huh? Well, kind of."
"What do you mean kind of? How do you kind of make a friend?" Her voice grew in intensity as she spoke. She seemed insistent on chewing him out on everything she had missed.
"Well you see he was really nice at first. Then, later…he turned out to be the last angel." He said regretfully.
"What!" 'The last angel had been killed and no one had even told her?' Her surprise quickly turned more towards anger. 'Score another one for baka-boy.'
Shinji, unaware of what was going on in Asuka's head, continued on, "Kaworu was the last angel. I had to kill him though. He was my friend and I killed him. Asuka…I felt so horrible. But now it is ok because you're-"he was cut off by Asuka.
"You baka! Only you would kill an angel and complain about it. You're pathetic for not wanting to kill him. Do you know how lucky you are to get all those kills!" Asuka spoke barely quiet enough for the others next door not to be able to hear her.
"But-" he was cut off a second time by Misato returning. He didn't want to argue about this in front of her. Her views were too fixed. 'Asuka's can't be like hers. They can't be.'
"Hey you two we've gotta plan." Misato stated.
Asuka sat up more excitedly, almost as if she was glad not to be alone with Shinji anymore. "What is it?" her voice agreed completely with her body posture.
"Grab your things and I'll let you know when we're on our way."
Misato immediately began following her own advice. She grabbed her jacket and headed out.
'What's there to grab?' thought Asuka. She followed Misato out. Shinji sat and hung his head for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and got up and left.
It had taken Misato a while to see the intelligence in splitting up but she had finally agreed. She would lead the second group with Shinji and one of the Section Two agents. Gendo, Rei, and another Section Two agent would be group one. Asuka, Shigeru and the remaining Section Two agents would be group three.
Group one would board a ship to take them through the Philippines down to Australia. They had one agent because Rei could protect all three of them if necessary. At the same time, if Rei was gone for any reason Gendo was defenseless. The Section Two agent would be a human shield if necessary.
Group two would take ship to Siam and then board another one. Misato was perfectly capable of keeping track of herself and Shinji. The Section Two agent was added insurance.
Group three would go into China and then get transportation inland from their. They'd cross into India and then board ship for Australia. Group three was the largest and therefore the most noticeable. It was also filled with the most expendable people.
Shigeru was not nearly as important as Misato or Commander Ikari and no one even knew if Asuka would be able to synch with an Eva. The extra Section Two agent needed to be put someplace and group three was it.
Shinji was heartbroken when he learned he wouldn't be traveling with Asuka. He was doubly heartbroken when Asuka was overjoyed to be away from him.
Rei tried to ignore the…caring she felt. Being away from her fellow pilots had never been a problem before. Now, suddenly, it really mattered. During the journey she'd even realize she missed them.
Although it was nearly noon when they set off they still made it to ships and got passage to their locations. They had barely missed the blond boy who walked into the hotel parking lot moments after they left.
They had escaped again, however, was it a good thing this time?
A lot shorter, a lot lighter. Don't know whether I like long or short chapters now. Much more action planned in Chapter 5.