Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1.
Chapter 36: John II
N/A: Sorry this one's so late-- I tried to put it up earlier but the site was down >:( Anyway, on with the story...
"Major--Unit-02 is attacking Unit-01!"
"WHAT!"
"Pilot's life signs fading...He won't last much longer!" Thinking fast, Misato pointed to Hyuga.
"Cut the umbilical for Unit-02-- Emergency power shutoff!"
Asuka's grip on Shinji wavered as a siren went off in the Entry Plug, alerting her to the severance of her main source of power. Shinji felt her stranglehold slacken, and using the opportunity, pushed Asuka off. Unit-02 stumbled backward and crashed unceremoniously into the ground.
"Unit-02's external AND internal power sources have been shut down--The Eva's completely silent!"
"Good," Misato barked at the engineer stationed lower on the bridge. "...We'll send out a recovery squad as soon as we can."
Rei's crimson eyes flashed as she focused her thoughts on the surface of the NERV pyramid. Upon her will, another shining crucifix materialized, tearing through the thick wall of reinforced steel and metal. The command bridge shook from the force of the explosion and Misato only just barely succeded in staying on her own two feet.
"What happened!"
"The Angel's broken through the last 12 armor plates-- main elevator shaft exposed!"
The blinding light of the explosion pulled Shinji's attention back to Rei, who had turned back to stare at him from her place before the gaping hole in Headquarters. Before he could react, she floated casually into the gap she had made, inherently aware of where it would lead. Shinji completely forgot about the unstable girl in the nearby Eva as he told his Unit-01 to run after the glowing Angel.
Rei...!
"...It's heading for Terminal Dogma! Passing first level...second level..."
"Unit 01 in pursuit! Repeat, Unit-01 following the Angel and closing fast!"
Misato stared at the cutaway schematic of NERV on the display wall, showing the relative distances of Unit-01 to the 12th Angel. He was still a ways behind her, and while there was plenty of time before they made contact with Terminal Dogma, he needed to hurry in order to catch her.
"Shinji..." She whispered under her breath.
"Fuyutsuki...I'll leave this to you," Gendo said as he stood up from his desk on the bridge slowly. The Sub-Commander nodded, only just noticing the sidearm that Gendo had slipped in his pocket as he got on the small personal lift a few feet behind them.
"Ikari...What are you going to do?" he muttered as he saw the unsettled-looking Commander of NERV descend.
Asuka pushed helplessly against the induction levers, but the Eva refused to budge.
"Move! Move, goddamnit! I swear to God I'll kill her, I'll kill her, I'll KILL HER!" She struggled to hold back the tears of frustration and sorrow in her eyes, but they fell regardless, staining her lap and running down the rubber Plugsuit. "Sh-she killed him...Kaworu...please...help me..." Just as she was ready to surrender to her powerlessness, she heard the whirring and beeping of the Eva as it suddenly began to re-activate.
"W...what?" As the Unit-02 slowly got onto its feet, the front of its faceplate slid apart, revealing four horrible glowing eyes. Suddenly all questions left the girl's mind as she narrowed her turquoise eyes and tightened her grip on the controllers. All that mattered was that it was moving. And if it was moving, then it could fight an Angel.
"Major--Unit-02's gone berserk!"
"WHAT! How is that possible?"
"Now moving toward the exposed shaft! Shaft entered--It's going into freefall!" Misato stared helplessly at the monitor as another flashing dot rapidly to descend.
Thanks to the S2 Engine, Unit-01 was no longer chained to the restrictions of a power supply-- or the laws of gravity. Shinji made his way steadily down the wide elevator shaft that led directly into the heart of NERV, looking for a floating speck of light in the darkness. Soon enough, he saw her. Floating down slowly, almost leisurely, as if this was merely a visit to a mildly interesting place. And then she looked up at him with a cold smile, the half-glazed, indifferent look still in her eyes.
I've been waiting for you, Shinji.
"REI!" He wasn't sure if his outcry was in anger or fear, he just knew that he had to stop her. Hopefully without hurting her.
It doesn't matter...I still...
He reached out the Eva's hand to grab her out of midair, but a bloodcurdling scream above him grabbed his attention, making him look skyward. Unit-02 was growing from a barely discernable dot in the darkness above to a monstrosity of metal and flesh that soon smashed into Shinji. The force of the impact slammed Unit-01 into the steel cylinder around them, tearing up the metal from the overwhelming weight of the Eva.
"...Asuka!"
The girl in Unit-02 made no immediate response, she simply locked her Eva's legs around Unit-01 to prevent it from forcing her off, then forced the purple demon's helmeted head into the wall with her hand as they continued to slowly fall. Shinji groaned as he felt the steel's friction against his own face, then tried to ignore it as he made Unit-01 lean forward as much as Unit-02 would allow.
"Asuka, what are you doing!"
"...IF YOU'RE GOING TO DEFEND THAT BITCH THEN I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!" Asuka sounded half-hysterical, and if he could see her face Shinji would have seen an irrational anger burning in her eyes. She'd almost completely forgotten who she was after as the pain of losing Kaworu and of being rejected by Shinji blinded her. To ensure he knew she was serious, the left shoulder pauldron on Unit-02 opened to reveal its Progressive knife.
The blood-red Eva grabbed the humming blade and brought it down in one swift movement, Shinji barely managing to stop the attack with his own knife. Sparks flew as the two vibrating blades made contact, the shower of hot metal particles growing to a downpour as the two monsters strained against each other, while Rei passively watched from beside them.
"Rei, STOP!" Shinji yelled as he struggled to keep Asuka at bay. "Why is this happening!"
All I have done is synchronize with Unit-02 in place of its pilot. She's acting entirely of her own free will.
"...But why?" came Shinji's response as his knife slipped, causing both his and Asuka's blades to curve off their marks, and Unit-01's blade to shoot towards Rei. Shinji tried to stop it, but before it could pierce her it hit a wall of solid air, a wall that made pulsing orange hexagons of light spread out from where the tip of the Prog knife had hit. The wide-eyed boy stared in astonishment, managing to block Unit-02's second attack with his right arm while he brought his own blade away from Rei. "I..Is that an AT Field?"
Correct. At least, that is what you lilim call this thing.
"Rei, please don't let this happen! You've got to stop Asuka! She's not in her right mind!"
If this is what she desires, then what law enforces me to stop her? She wished to kill you, so I feel no shame in providing her the opportunity she wished for. It was because of you, after all, that she lost her abilities and became vulnerable to my former body, is it not?
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, REI!" Shinji suddenly felt something cut into his right arm, and saw that Asuka had made a deep gash in Unit-01's limb and was thrusting the blade down again when Shinji blocked Unit-02, sending another flurry of sparks into the air.
Why do you insist on calling me by that name, Shinji?
"...Because that's who you ARE!" Shinji desperately shouted over the screaming of hot metal upon metal. Rei merely smiled at him as though he were a naive child.
There is no Rei Ayanami. Only Tabris remains.
Misato stared at the three dots all within a few feet of each other as they continued to get closer to Terminal Dogma.
"How long until the Angel reaches the target?" Misato barked at Maya, who instantly began typing into her small computer pad.
"Calculating...Approximately 598 seconds and counting!" Misato grimaced as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Just short of 10 minutes... She leaned close to Hyuga's ear, so that she wouldn't be overheard by the rest of the personnel.
"If Unit-01's signal disappears or if anything else should occur..." Fortunately, she didn't need to finish her sentence, as the technician nodded gravely.
"Got it--I'll input the self-destruct for the whole facility. It's better than letting Third Impact occur. Besides," he allowed himself a wry smile as he looked at the Major, "...There's no place I'd rather die than by your side, Major." In spite of the situation, Misato smiled appreciatively as she kept her eyes glued to the screen.
Gendo ran along the hallway that lead to the emergency elevator, installed in a dark corner of the facility. It was the only lift in NERV that ran along a straight vertical rail, and more importantly, led directly to Terminal Dogma.
This should not have happened. There's no way that it could have been in the scenario... His thoughts were as frantic, and anyone who saw him at that moment would scarcely have recognized him-- His cold, calculating manner had disappeared in the face of the last Angel's final form. He pulled out the gun in his pocket, looking it over to make sure it was properly loaded.
Rei...I won't let you betray me. Not after everything I've sacrificed for this...
He turned the last corner and saw the small elevator stationed right in front of him. Before he could enter, a familiar-sounding voice came from behind him.
"...Hello, Commander Ikari."
The leader of NERV turned in surprise and instinctively aimed his weapon at the voice's source. Standing in a far corner, just beyond the reach of the overhead light, was Kaworu.
"...I'll be taking it back now, if you don't mind," the boy said simply.