Disclaimer: Don't own Evangelion. I'd buy it but...yeah...4 cents won't give you the contract rights for a mass-produced television series.
Author's Notes: Alright, first things first: I apologize for not updating sooner. This chapter was actually half done 8 months ago, but fell off the face of the Earth sometime after that.However...I am absolutely driven to tears to find people still reading this story. Seriously, I have had friends who wrote fanfics, dropped them, and never continued them because of a lack of motivation and audience interest. But I find myself fortunate to have those out there who still read this story, and for that...thank you everyone. It means alot.
Okay, that's enough of that.I hope you guys enjoy this chapter (it's a pretty long one; Quite a bit of effort did go into this one.) and I hope that I didn't bend the rating that I previously gave this fic...heh..heh...
(oh...and one last thing. italicized text for thought, and "double quotes"for speech. Enjoy.)
Chapter 16: Chaos is the weapon of mankind. I am the wielder.
"I just don't understand it….how did this happen?"
Unlike her cohort, Misato didn't show a single sign of surprise "It was to be expected…we knew our enemy could be among us, so causalities will happen. We would be lucky to have this few once this is over..."
"That is…if we manage to complete the operation."
"You're right. We'll need many more to keep this situation under control. Just keep your guard up and your wits about you and we just might survive."
"Understood Commander…but still…one nurse and one man slaughtered….and Captain Remington probably won't survive the night."
"Captain Remington was careless; it's unusual for a man of the military, especially for one as experienced as him. Perhaps..he was actually frightened by the enemy, in which case, hysteria was the cause for his carelessness."
"What is the likelihood of that?"
"Zero to Null. But in any case, I fear that this angel is stronger than we can ever imagine. Please be careful…"
"Understood Commander."
Misato began to walk out of the nurse's office, where the scene of slaughter took place. She was quickly followed by the solider she had spoken to moments ago.
"Uh…Commander?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"…Pardon me for saying so Commander, but…what if…you were the enemy? What would have to be done then?"
Misato wasn't surprised by such a question.
" If I were your enemy, I would make sure that you would be dead, along with everyone else in this room; but not right away. I would probably use you as a shield, allowing you to absorb the gunfire while I take out each individual in your squadron with a simple handgun. If I manage to eliminate your teammates, then I would either snap your neck, or give you a quick gunshot to the head; either way, your death would be quick and painless. Also, if you had the opportunity to do so, I would expect you to kill me without hesitation; with any means necessary. Death would be the best solution for optimum results."
The young soldier blinked a few times, "I understand…but…you really thought about this, didn't you?"
Misato turned to him; a sly grin present on her face.
"Of course; as commander, I must consider all scenarios…even those that are unfavorable to myself," With that said, she left the solider to his post and continued toward the dark corridor ahead.
The solider unpackaged a lone cigarette and plucked it onto his lip.
"Jesus…I would hate to be the guy to piss her off." And with that, he struck a match and lit the cigarette tip.
Shinji awoke with a gasp.
Even after catching his breath, all that swarm in his mind were the last few images of his deep nightmare: the pool of red liquid, the stained nurse uniform clothed on a fresh corpse…all of it was too vivid to be a mere manifestation of his own subconscious.
Her face…that dead woman's face…it looked so familiar…but full of pain. Her death must have been agonizing.
Shinji stood up slowly as to not wake Asuka, who was still slumbering in the adjacent futon. Carefully, he opened the door to the bedroom and closed it quietly behind him. He rubbed his eyes as he proceeded to the kitchen.
Why does that woman look so familiar? I swear that I've seen her somewhere before…perhaps from NERV?…Wait…there was another face there too…
Indeed there was; he remembered it now. The mad glare of those two demon eyes as they stared lustfully at the pool of blood forming around the poor woman's corpse. There was no doubt that the sinister figure was responsible for that nurse's torture.
Shinji opened the refrigerator door and scanned the contents groggily; there was nothing that would suit for a small midnight snack, unless he should copy the actions of his former guardian.
Ugh…don't need beer at 2 am. A glass of water will do.
Shinji grabbed a clean glass from the cabinet and turned the faucet on high. A spray of water shot out from the tap faster than Shinji's tired mind could think.
'Water spouting out…like the blood spray from a warm neck…unable to control flow of blood…unconsciousness...death…'
Shinji's eyes widened; he couldn't believe what the hell he was just thinking, but it was as if someone reached into his mind and groped around with it. God forbid that he would think such malicious thoughts willingly.
He looked down at the glass in his hand; the tap was still running, causing the water to overflow over his hand. He turned off the faucet as the last remaining trickle of water dripped over the side of his thumb and disappeared.
…overflowing…the blood in my hand….
Shinji's hand began to tremble violently; the water glass felt the pressure of his grip on all sides.
Overflowing…blood...hand…family…
CRACK!
Shinji stared at the shattered glass that pierced his hand. The blood began to steadily pour out of the small crevices that formed around the bases of the glass shards.
But Shinji did nothing but stare. His mind told him that there was a sharp pain in his right hand, but his body did nothing.
…blood…pool…
The blood was beginning to drip off of his hand, signaling to Shinji that he needed to treat the wound immediately. Once again, Shinji didn't move a muscle; he just watched as the blood accumulated from his hand and onto the floor, as if it were actually amusing the young man.
…family…
"Shinji? What's going on?"
Shinji didn't even look, but he already knew who it was. It was Asuka, wearing nothing but one of his oversized t-shirts (while he only wore the trousers that matched the outfit). Apparently his sneaking technique was rather sloppy and woke her up anyway. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she walked into view of the kitchen.
"Shinji?" She asked again, "What are you doing up at this hou-SHINJI!"
She saw it; the bloody hand where the glass shards rested deeply. She saw how deep it was, and how Shinji's hand quaked from the very loss of blood; but when she looked at the boy, he did not even look back at her. He just continued to stare at the hand…completely mesmerized.
"SHINJI! WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAND? SHINJI ANSWER ME!"
The boy slowly began to look up from his hand and came face-to-face with Asuka. She was close to gasping; his eyes were so wide and frightened, as if he were staring down the devil.
He spoke softly.
"…family, eh….Katsuragi?"
If there was one thing that Asuka liked about her new apartment, it was the fact that NERV provided absolutely everything for Shinji and herself. They had plenty of food, functional plumbing and electricity, and of course, medical equipment. Their bathroom shelves have been completely filled with enough medicine to complete about twenty-five first aid kits; and if that weren't enough, they still had the emergency kits that lined the cabinets of their kitchen.
Asuka walked into the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of septic and a bandage/suture kit. She looked around at the other supplies that filled the shelves; they had ointment, anesthetics, different types of aspirin, hypodermic needles, and an endless supply of plain, household bandages.
…All this preparation. And I always thought that Misato was an irresponsible drunk. Heh, now she seems more like an over-concerned mother…
Asuka closed the door to the bathroom and walked into the kitchen, where Shinji sat. He had his bloody hand wrapped in a towel while he applied the necessary pressure to keep it from bleeding anymore.
"I found some bandages; none of the cuts look that big Shinji, but that one near your arm probably needs to be stitched; I'm not sure if just wrapping it in bandages would be enough," she explained.
Asuka and Shinji have both received education in medical treatment from NERV; but Asuka's skills were slightly more advanced because of her extensive training in Germany. With her skills, she should be able patch up any of her fellow comrades in no time.
"It's okay, Asuka. I can handle a few stitches…" Shinji replied with a smile.
Asuka smiled back, but was slightly concerned all the same.
"All right Shinji. Just a moment then, I forgot to grab some anesthetic."
Asuka came back a few moments later with a small bottle and a hypodermic needle. She injected the needle into the bottle and filled up the needle completely. Carefully, she took the needle and slowly placed it into Shinji's arm. Shinji winced a little from the sharp pain.
"Hey…that hurts." He whined.
"Well, you should have been more careful!" She replied impatiently, "What in the world were you doing in here anyway? You weren't acting like yourself."
Shinji felt a slight twinge of guilt; he should be more grateful to Asuka, who was only trying to help him out.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to complain," He looked at Asuka as she begin to apply the septic to his right forearm," To be honest, I really don't know what happened earlier."
"Nothing at all?" Asuka asked, a little surprised by Shinji's response. She started to place the first stitch in his arm while Shinji looked at the ceiling; it was just too creepy to watch.
"All I remember is waking up from this really bad nightmare, getting a glass of water, and then…my mind just went completely blank," he explained.
Asuka stopped for a moment and looked at Shinji curiously, "What was the nightmare about?"
Shinji blinked a couple of times, "…I'm…not sure."
Asuka sighed and continued to stitch the remainder of Shinji's cut. Shinji, on the other hand, looked back at the ceiling and tried his best to remember.
"I can't imagine you forgetting somethinglike this.I mean…your hand…it was covered with blood! How in the world could you not see that?" She ranted.
Shinji's eyes flashed, "…blood?"
"Yes, blood Shinji. Sheesh…you really can't remember anything, can you? Baka…" Asuka finished the last stitch and began to wipe off the little trace of blood that still lingered on his hand.
"…no…there was blood…in my dream last night," Shinji spoke in a quiet tone," there was also…a body there. The dead body of a woman…she was wearing a white uniform; I think she was a nurse. Then there was also a shadow of some…thing…it looked like a man, but I don't think it was because it…liked to kill…"
Shinji's voice trailed off as Asuka began to apply some more septic to his hand. The rest of his right hand did appear to be all right; just a little cut up from the glass.
"It was just a nightmare. You know how they are; you'll probably forget about it in two days anyway…" said Asuka.
"That's not all though. I remember now; I remember breaking the glass in my hand."
Asuka didn't speak. She just silently continued her handy work.
"Asuka…you know those nightmares where you know that you are really asleep? The ones where if it gets so bad, you can just force yourself to wake up from it?" Shinji asked.
"…I think so. I don't usually remember my nightmares anymore though." She replied.
"When I was in the kitchen earlier, I felt like I was having one of those; except in this one, I couldn't force myself to wake up. I could see myself staring at the glass in my hand, but I couldn't do anything as the blood began to come out. My thoughts…I couldn't control them; instead they controlled me. All I caught myself thinking about were the words that man in my dream said."
"…What did the man say Shinji?" Asuka asked quietly.
"…He just said something about 'family'. It was pretty creepy. He said something else too; someone's name I think."
"Katsuragi?"
"What?"
"Katsuragi…that was the name you said when you spaced out." Asuka began to wrap the bandage lightly around Shinji's injured hand.
"Katsuragi…Misato…."
There was only one terrible thought that was going through Shinji's mind: what if Shinji's dream was more than that? What if his dream was a premonition: something that spoke of events to come? Or worse…what if he was dreaming an event that already happened?
"Asuka, maybe we should go to NERV right now…I think…something terrible is going to happen."
Asuka tied the bandage into a loose knot and admired her work, "there! It's finished."
"Asuka, I'm serious about this…I think something bad is going to happen, or worse...hashappened, inside of NERV headquarters."
" I heard you the first time Shinji; but you said it yourself that it was all just a bad dream. No matter how real they may feel, you got to realize sooner or later that there are some things in the world that are never real; only imagined." She argued.
Shinji averted his eyes from Asuka, "…Why don't you believe me Asuka? Is it because it's not realistic to believe it?"
Asuka frowned at him, "No, that's not it Shinji. Its just th-"
"Because you know damn well that everything we have seen has been far from realistic. People turning into puddles and a monster we can't see; sounds completely insane, but we know it's real because we are experiencing it. Listen to me Asuka: there are also some things in this world that are too real to be true; and those are the ones we only wished were imaginary. My nightmare is going to be real too if I don't do something about it. I'll do it…with or without your hel-"
"Listen to me baka!" Asuka shouted irritably, " sigh...I. Believe. You. Its just that…."
Asuka took Shinji's bandage hand into her own, and began stroking it gently. Shinji's hand winced from her touch.
"…I don't want to believe it. Because the more I believe, the more chances we have at getting hurt. The more chances there are of me losing you…"
Shinji smiled warmly and gripped Asuka's hand. He looked at her straight in the eyes.
"Asuka; I understand you feel. Before I found you again I have always been wondering 'where is Asuka right now?' or 'Is she still alive?'. And now that you are here next to me, I no longer think those thoughts anymore. It doesn't matter what is or isn't real anymore; as long as we have each other, we can not be separated."
"Oh Shinji…that's so…corny." Was her only reply.
"Bwuh? What did you say?" Shinji asked dumbstruck.
Asuka simplygiggled and stood up. " I said that was really corny Shinji; but it was also very sweet of you. You are right though: as long as we are together, we can face anything with our unbreakable bond."
"Hmm." Shinji stood up next to Asuka and looked across the hallway at the front door.
"Come on. Let's go see what see what is going on down there."
Asuka nodded and joined Shinji, hand-in-hand, as they left the safety of their own home. The moon shined brightly across the night sky, but it didn't matter to those two. All they knew was that they could very well be entering the bowels of hell, facing an enemy who wished to have both of them die in agony.
And yet…they smiled.
It was perfect…too perfect…yet still…someone managed to find me…
Tyrone Remington kept as still as he possibly could; he had to fake a serious injury, and in order to do that he had to fake sleep as well. If the guards at the door of his office thought he was acting suspicious, then they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. Or at least, that is was they were ordered to do.
Still, Tyrone could not take that risk; he had to keep his true identity as secret as possible, even with things being the way they were.
If it weren't for that one damn soldier…then my plan would still have perfect; and I wouldn't have to worry about this delay…damn him…once I get out of this mess, I swear to it that I will see him dead. It will be a glorious killing for me, but grueling agony for him. hmph...he should grateful to be part of such graceful murder...
Fortunately for Tyrone, his maddened thoughts kept him perfectly still and out of suspicion. The couch in his office helped a little as well; it made a very comfortable place to settle his 'wounds', and it also had somewhat of a strategic advantage as well. If the guards decided to play target practice with him, he had the chance of blocking the attacks with the piece of furniture; giving him the opportunity to prepare his offensive.
…But still…he could not let go of the subtle mistake he made before.
FLASHBACK
He had just finished off that bitchy nurse and the obedient soldier boy; it was a magnificent and silent sequence of mayhem, the kind that Tyrone valued the most. The nurse was easy to kill; just a few fists across the face and swift stab in the heart were enough to paralyze her. That gave him enough time to attack the soldier before the boy's brain could process what he was seeing. Tyrone simply took him out by breaking his neck; another unskilled soldier recycled.
Now Tyrone had time to enjoy killing that nurse. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her swiftly against the wall, making no sound in the process due to his sheer agility. Her breathing was rapid and erratic, like that of a wounded deer looking into the eyes of the deadly predator. Her eyes were like that of a deer's as well: frightened, desperate, and filled with the life the Tyrone sought to take. The knife he used to stab her earlier then made its away across her throat in one swift movement. Then another slash…then another…and another…and another….
Then he stopped; something was grabbing onto Tyrone's leg. He looked down slowly towards the cold tile floor and saw the pitiful figure of the soldier boy trying to stop Tyrone with his pleas.
Or maybe he's trying to kill me with his passion for vengeance. …Pitiful…simply pitiful…
Tyrone shook the human's hand from his trouser leg and instantly stamped on its hand. The boy tried to scream out in pain, but his slightly twisted neck made it impossible; it came out as a scratchy groan. Tyrone chuckled at that.
heh….I must admit, I am surprised that you are still alive. But it was inevitable that you would die anyway, wasn't it?
Tyrone dropped the bleeding nurse on the floor and grabbed onto the soldier's shirt collar. He then raised the boy upward, bringing the pathetic creature up to level with Tyrone.
'hm. Dull. Lifeless. You are on the verge of death, Mr. Valiant Soldier. Here, allow me to direct you to the final abyss.'
Tyrone took his crimson-drenched knife and jabbed it multiple times into the boy's bowels. Each movement was as quick and merciless as the last; when finally, the soldier stopped his groaning. Tyrone tossed the dead man against the wall opposite of the nurse and stared at his masterpiece of terror.
Perfect. Simply perfect. I am too swift, too powerful to be heard. The perfect murder indeed; I shall glory in doing the same to Katsuragi. She won't know what hell I have in store for her…until the final moments of her death. And why stop there? I may as well give Mr. Ikari and that bitch he calls his girlfriend a taste of my 'God-given skill' as well. They all don't deserve it, but I will give it to them out of mercy. The gift of hell given to the unworthy….Ikari…Sohryu…and Katsuragi….
Tyrone looked up at the ceiling, his eyes widened with madness.
"Family…eh Katsuragi? Well then, I shall pleasure in killing off every last one of them."
He stalked his way out of the room and scanned the hall, looking both ways in hopes that no one spotted him. A few seconds later, and there was still silence in both directions. Tyrone smiled again at his ingenuity and quickly began to make his way down the west hallway.
Then he heard it; the voice of a man calling in the opposite direction.
"Hello? Is anyone down here?"
Tyrone's eyes filled with a bloody rage; someone heard him. Someone with some unimaginable hearing ability was able to sense Tyrone. How and why was obviously not the question, but what he should do about it. His first instinct was to charge at the interfering stranger and to shred his guts all over the cold concrete floor, but the darkness that filled the deeper parts of the hallway left Tyrone at a disadvantage. For all he knew, there could a dozen soldiers following the man; and challenging all of them could result in Tyrone's death…or worse. One of the soldiers may escape his onslaught and expose the killer's identity to the rest of the base.
Tyrone could not risk that; there had to be another way. He looked around for any other resources, but could only see the ominous shape of the nurse's office door. Tyrone looked at the door for a few moments then looked down at his hands. A bloody knife was gripped in one of them.
Remington's smile came back. It wasn't the most brilliant plan in the world, but it would have to do. He dashed into the nurse's office and quietly shut the door behind him. The room was pitch black; he couldn't even see the bodies of the two he just murdered. With his hands, he felt his way to the only bed in the office, and settled himself across it. It was rather uncomfortable, but thankfully, he wasn't planning on sleeping here.
Tyrone gripped the knife tightly with both hands and raised it in the air. With a slight degree of courage, he faced the blade his way and jabbed it deeply into his chest. He let out a sharp gasp from the pain.
Amazing…so this is what it feels like. This is what each of those pathetic humans feel whenever I bring the blade to their skin. Pain….what a sensation indeed…
Tyrone took the knife from his body and brought down again; in order to make it convincing, he had to make himself bleed as much as possible. And to his relief, blood began to form quickly from the fresh wounds.
…He's close…I can hear his footsteps 100 yards away…
Tyrone let the blood continue to rise as he tossed the knife onto the adjacent body of the soldier boy; it landed with a soft thud onto his thigh. Remington was bleeding faster than expected; soon, his whole shirt would be covered in red.
now all that's left to do is wait……Katsuragi…you wait as well; you'll see…my wrath will find you soon enough.
Remington could already hear the muffled sound of a male's voice on the other side of the door.
"I swore I heard someone down here…"
The doorknob began to turn, but the voice grew distant; Remington was on the very threshold of fainting; everything around him was beginning to become unclear. He could barely see the bodies of the two humans as a faint light from the hallway began to creep in.
The soldier stepped through the door; that was when Tyrone lost his consciousness.
END FLASHBACK
That bastard of a soldier; I'll make sure that he sees death soon enough. Though…I guess I should be grateful to his incompetence. Any reasonable soldier probably would have kept quiet until they found the source of the sound. But that boy…he just let his cowardice take over and called out for the sound. If he didn't let me know he was there, I would have been in worse trouble. Still…it's pitiful…simply pitiful…
Tyrone opened his eyes slightly and looked over at the entryway. Two armed soldiers guarded the door on both sides; and, as most mindless drones would, they remained motionless until a sign of disarray. Their tired eyes stared at Tyrone as if he were priceless piece of art at a museum exhibit.
heh. Are they really even looking at me? They look rather tired. Perhaps I should see if they are daydreaming or not…
Tyrone shifted his back towards the guards and began groaning in pain. His body shook as the bursts of agony continuously tortured the injured Captian. The two guards at the gate snapped out of their dream-like state and slowly started over to him.
"Captain! What's the matter? Is it you injuries?" The first guard asked with concern.
"Sir, do you need a medic down here?" The second one followed.
Tyrone smiled slightly heh…they seem to be awake now.
He slowly turned around and faced the two distressed guards, "No, I'm fine Private. Back to yourpost; you don't want the commander scowling at you if she finds you slacking on the job."
"But sir, our main priority is your safety. Are you sure that your alright?" The first private asked.
Tyrone sat upright unto the couch, "Yes. Yes. I'm quite all right; quite all right. Just a little dizzy from the blood loss, that's all. Perhaps I should return to my duties…just to get the blood flowing again"
Remington slowly began to stand upright, but sat back down when another seemingly sharp pain entered his lower body. He wrapped his hands around his abdomen and started groaning again.
The soldiers lowered their weapons and came closer towards the Captain. One bent down and put a hand on Remington's shoulder, while the other stood next to him and studied the captain.
"Sorry sir. But we were given our orders to keep you here until you have fully recuperated."
Tyrone clutched his stomach even harder and bent over so that his face was out of view. He shook violently as both guards supported him.
" Sir, please! You really need to relax…"
Tyrone chuckled, "You two never give up do you?"
The first guard was slightly taken aback, "but sir…our orders are to-"
"make sure I fully recuperate. I know. Or….are you just holding me prisoner?
The second guard appeared distressed and impatient, "no sir, we are just-"
"Am I a threat to all of you? Is that it? Is Katsuragi afraid that I will KILL EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF HUMAN GARBAGE IN THIS HELL FACTORY?"
Tyrone kneed the standing soldier in the groin while pounding the sitting one square in the face. Both fell to the ground, panicking from the pain that swelled in their injured parts.
Tyrone took this opportunity to arm himself. He swiftly moved over to his desk and opened the top drawer; in it sat a rather large and clean knife. It was similar to the one he used on nurse Kusajira and that incompetent soldier, but Tyrone had never used this one.
"yes….another weapon worthy of my skill…" the knife shook violently in Tyrone's grip, as if it were possessed. Swiftly, Tyrone raised his knife in the air and approached the two fallen soldiers.
"s-sir…why…why…kil-"
Tyrone gashed the knife across the man's head; the neck wound was so deep, the poor soldier's head might have fallen off. The other soldier stared in terror as his comrade's head rolled across the floor and into his lap. He nearly vomited at the sight of the vacant and painful expression the head's face.
"pft. Pathetic. You still don't get it. You could at least stop thinking like a soldier and think like a human. Humans may be illogical scum, but they don't sell their souls to the military. Use your instincts and kill me before I kill you, you lowly dog…"
The soldier frantically pulled his gun off the floor and pulled the trigger; but Tyrone was too swift. He merely stepped to the side as the bullet sped past his face and into the wall. Remington shook his head.
"….I would like to believe that you think like a human, but you once again followed my order to attack. You would make a fine soldier; willing to attack your commanding officer if he orders it. But that's the problem: real soldiers never think for themselves. At least human scum have free will. Even the man that kindly escorted me earlier fought back without me telling him too. Why can't you do the same?"
The soldier shook his head back and forth slowly and whimpered. Tyrone smiled.
"hm. Very well then."
Tyrone bent down next to man and seized the soldier's arm. The Captain then aimed thearm (along with the gun in it's hand) at his own leg and spoke silently.
"all right soldier, this is your last order. Either way, I will see to it that you die right now; there is no escape from it. However, you will have the choice to die like a human being or like a soldier of NERV. Here is your order: shoot me in the leg. You have ten seconds to do so. After ten seconds, this blade will slash across you neck, and you will die almost instantly. Understood?"
The utterly frightened soldier gulped deeply and then nodded his head.
"Do it now."
The clock was ticking, and the man's finger was itching to pull that trigger. But something stopped him; Tyrone could see it. It was the human inside of the soldier that stopped him fromshooting his own superior. But the soldier inside couldn't be held back for much longer….for the finger was still ready to punch a bullet straight into Tyrone's leg.
"Three….Two….On-"
BAM!
A streak of blood flew across the door. Tyrone had killed the soldier in his typical fashion; and the results of his little gun test were as expected. The man had shot him; right above the kneecap. The ignorant being died as a soldier after all. Tyrone was slightly disappointed by this fact.
…Either way, my leg would have been shot. I need solid evidence to convince the other lowly worms of this facility that I am not their precious enemy. You could have died a human and gained the small chance of receiving redemption from God. He thought to himself.
The story Tyrone had concocted was simple: the accused target raided Tyrone's office, pounced the two guards with his knife; the target was about to kill Tyrone, but decided to shoot him instead because fighting hand to hand with Remington would be a death wish. He was prepared to shoot him in the head with one of guns the dead men held, but was immediately distracted by the sounds of rushing footsteps outside. Because he was distracted, he accidentally shot Tyrone in the leg, dropped the knife, and escaped through the ventilation ducts before he was caught.
It was a sketchy tale, but it would have to do. If Tyrone were lucky, he would be 'saved' by foot soldiers that would believe his every word. But if worse came to worse, he would just have to kill him. One wounded leg wasn't enough to stop Tyrone; in fact, he became newlyaccustomed to enjoying the pain.
Speaking of soldiers….he swore that he could hear the faint sound of running footsteps…
alright…now is the time to finish the setting…
Tyrone stood up on his couch; his left leg throbbed in pain from the gun bullet, but he smiled at the sensation. He then proceeded to remove the vent on the ceiling, and dropped it with a BANG!
heh…that should get some more attention…
Then he carefully placed the knife next to one of the dead bodies; it was evidence that the 'madman' that killed the nurse was still on the loose. Finally he plopped himself next to the chair and positioned his body carefully, so that it appeared as though he were attacked.
That was when two stupid-looking foot soldiers busted through the door.
"Sir! Is everything al-…..my god….."
The two men gaped in terror as they scanned the room; the messy murder scene had apparently given them the desired effect.
"Sir! What the hell happened here!"
One of the footmen dashed toward where Tyrone slumped and inspected his wound carefully.
"He's been shot in the leg…..who ever shot him must have had no time to finish him off.."
The other foot soldier starred at his commanding officer with unspeakable disbelief.
"Sir…please tell us….what happened!"
Tyrone groaned slightly, "….madman….he…….came back….to finish me off…"
Deep down inside, Tyrone began laughing maniacally.
"We have detected a blue pattern!"
Misato spun around fast, "Shit…Where is it!"
The man at the console began typing rapidly as the display on the screen changed every few seconds.
"We can't pinpoint the location Commander, but it is at least within at least 3 kilometers of this area!"
" Well, try again! The angel wont wait for long." Misato demanded.
"Can't compute its exact location with the dead Magi. If we at least had one of the real Magi, then I could give you something."
"Damn…the downgrades…"
During the first few months of NERV's deconstruction, the magi and its components have been dismantled for the sake of secrecy, in case any outside interference would care to get their hands on the most valuable technology available. As a result, the Magi were completely destroyed after its initial deconstruction. So even if they had time, Misato wouldn't be able to order back the reinstallation of the system.
Therefore, they were forced to work with the downgraded version of Magi that was installed in order to handle the rest of the operation. However, the downgraded Magi was no more powerful and intelligent than a standard university mainframe (hence, the operators gave it the name "Dead Magi"). According to Misato's knowledge, this system couldn't perform even the most simplistic NERV operation program; long story short, it was toy meant for dismantling.
Misato's eyes widened, "Wait a minute...A blue pattern? On the dead system?"
"Yes m'am. The Angel identification protocol seems to be working at optimum efficiency."
"B-but that impossible! The Dead Magi can't handle angel-type programs!"
The third personnel adjusted his headset slightly, "Commander, I'm getting some noise down on level 19."
"Put it on speaker."
The personnel nodded in confirmation and flipped the switch.
Click
"NO!NOO!GET AWAY!(Machine gun firing)YOU SON OF BITCH, DON'T KILL ME! (firing stops)DAMN..DAMN…DAMN….G-G-ET THE HELL BACK! DON'T COME NEAR ME! PLEASE…(sounds of sobbing)... I don't want to die….I don't want to…(sound of swift movement and gushing)"
Misato's heart practically shivered at the sound of it. Yet, the noise still continued.
"…Hmm….worthless. No more than herded cattle. I wonder….if you taste like cattle as well…(slurping sound)"
"oh my god…." Misato whispered.
"(munching and slurping still continues)….ugh…..they even taste disgusting…more worthless than even livestock…"
The noise stopped momentarily.
"….can you hear me up there? Don't worry, I'll be coming by shortly…"
"turn it off…" Misato quivered.
Click
Misato quaked in fear; she couldn't recognize the voice because the sheer thought of it alone made her scared. It was something she couldn't comprehend, even with her military background and expertise, she couldn't hold her fear at that very moment. This thing was different from the angels; it was evil…pure evil.
"What the hell is going on down there?" She managed to whisper.
"I gather that gave them a scare." Tyrone proceeded to wipe the blood off of his face. There was a part of him inside that grimaced at the thought of him resorting to cannibalism, but he chose to ignore it all the same. He simply looked down at his prey and shook his head from side to side.
"another worthless human being….truly disappointing."
Tyrone picked up his knife and continued down the hallway; his stomach was suffering from some slight ingestion; as a result, he made a solemn promise to quit cannibalism right here and now. Though he wouldn't quite call it 'cannibalism' per say. Cannibalism was defined as the eating of his own species; but he knew damn well that he was better than the humans that infested this planet. He was perfected; He was brilliant; and most of all, he was powerful. The world was in the palm of his hands, and he could do whatever he wanted with it.
For now, however, he decided to enjoy the essence of this massacre.
"Well now. Let's see what Katsuragi has been up to lately…"
Katsuragi, more than likely, hasn't caught on by now; so the element of surprise was still in his hand for the time. Tyrone felt that he best use it to his advantage.
Tyrone took a left turn down the corridor, whistling some strange tune every step of the way. Then, some caught his ear.
"….Mi….."
The sound was faint, but it was not too far way. Tryone proceeded with caution as he attempted to seek the source of the sound.
"……Misa…."
Tryone peered over the corner of the adjacent hallway, but saw nothing coming or going. It was the same black darkness just like in the last few floors.
"…Hey guardian! You down here?"
Tyrone's eyes widened. He knew that voice anywhere.
'So…the boy and his bitch decided to come back, eh?…strange that they didn't go straight to Central Dogma though. Perhaps they are lost…"
It didn't matter though; Tyrone could hardly contain his glee, for he had finally found the perfect opportunity to deal Katsuragi a punch to where it hurts. He sheathedthe knifeto the back of his belt, and proceeded as casually as he could.
He still had the element of surprise after all.
'ugh…lost again…'
Shinji couldn't see anything in this black; it was like wandering though a maze with a blind mouse. Then again, Shinji was hardly surprised. He and Asuka had the same trouble when NERV had a power outage so many years ago.
This time, however, he didn't have the advantage of having Rei lead the way. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach her by cell phone. And on top of the overwhelming darkness, Shinji wasn't familiar with NERV's deconstructed facility; it was almost as if they completely altered the building structure rather than take it apart. So needless to say, they were lost.
"….ugh! I can't take anymore! We've been walking around for hours, my knees are getting sore from crawling in those vents, and it smells like blood down here! Sheiss! Sheiss! Sheiss! pant…pant…"
"…..feel better?"
Shinji gave Asuka an exasperated look; her wanting to come down here with him still didn't stop her from bitching.
"pant…pant….sorry. I just needed to get that out…"
"I don't think you need to worry about thatwhen some psycho maniac is chopping us to pieces…"
"psycho maniac?"
Shinji spun around with his gun and flashlight aimed at the figure in the shadows. The dim light revealed the shadow to be none other than Tyrone Remington. He raised his arms in the air.
"Whoa…easy with that Ikari. Don't want that thing shooting off in the dark."
Shinji lowered the nine-millimeter.
"sigh…Sorry about that captain…didn't know it was you…"
Tyrone waved one hand and grinned.
"Don't worry about it. However, I will commend you for taking the initiative. If only the other soldiers were so lucky…"
Tyrone lowered his head and silenced momentarily. He took several deep breaths and patted Shinji on the shoulder.
"But enough of my moping. What's important is that you're alive."
Shinji nodded in agreement.
"Glad to see you're fine as well."
"AHEM."
"ugh!"
Shinji cringed; he knew that sound anywhere. It was the 'Asuka-doesn't-like-to-be-ignored' sound. The young boy turned his head towards the young woman; her arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently on the floor.
Tyrone took the hint as well.
"And of course, its always a pleasure to see you too Asuka." He smiled.
"Likewise captain!" Asuka replied cheerfully.
"So I gather that you two are trying to reach HQ as well?"
"Yes sir; but we haven't had much luck…"
Tyrone snickered to himself , "Very well then. I'll escort you there myself. I need to reassess my plans with the commander anyway…"
Shinji sighed in relief as Asuka put on her best smile.
"Thank you xaptain! At least someone here has a sense of direction…" her glare looked back at Shinji.
"….but it was you who told me to lead…" He mumbled while itching the side of his face.
"Pardon?" Asuka's incredibly frightening smileglared at Shinji.
" I said that I am perfectly aimless." Shinji confessed half-heartedly.
"Oh good, we're in agreement then. You can lead now Mr. Remington!" Asuka 'commanded' cheerfully.
Remington chuckled and took the position in the front; the two children following closely behind, side by side. Tyrone turned his eyes towards Shinji and spotted the gun in the boy's right hand. He turned his head back and smirked a little.
"Where did you get that gun anyway? That type of weapon is the kind NERV provides to soldiers only."
Shinji was slightly taken aback, "oh. Well…I found it on a dead woman a few floors up. I thought that we might need it… " he admitted guiltily.
Asuka glanced at him and noticed his discomfort, "oh, come on. It's not like she was going to need it anyway."
"How about you ms. Sohryu? Do you have a weapon?"
It was her turn to feel the guilt, "Well…no. I thought that since Shinji has one that-"
"Never assume that. You never know when you and Shinji can be separated in this darkness. And if you do, a gun would be nice to have, wouldn't you think?"
Asuka sulked a little, " I suppose so."
Tyrone smiled and reached into his gun holster and pulled out the nine-millimeter. He checked the safety and handed the weapon to Asuka.
"Very well then; use this. I got a spare weapon anyway."
Asukablinked a few times, buteventually accepted the weapon, "Thank you sir."
"Let's just hope you don't need use it." Tyrone added with a grin.
Shinji smiled in response, "Can I ask you ask you question sir?"
Tyrone looked at the boy "Certainly, what is it?"
"Do you have kidsback at home?"
Tyrone's eyes widened. He didn't expect such a question to be directed towards him: an uptight captian of a private military base. It was no matter, Tyrone just had to keep his cool and answer the question casually.
"Perhaps. Why do you ask?"
Shinji shrugged, "I don't know. Its just that when you smile, you kind of look like a father playing with his children."
Tyrone was dumbstruck; people were dying all around this boy and yet he spoke as if he were taking a walk through the park. Why bring up thatsubject at a time like this? Either the boy was just plain stupid, or overconfident about his chances. Of course, his chances were absolute zero, now that he was sitting in the palms of the killer himself. It was all just a matter of time.
He responded just as casually as usual, "…No. but thank you for the compliment."
Shinji wasn't surprised, " I figured as much. But I still think that you would make a great father. If you had a family, they would be lucky."
"family eh?"
Shinji eyes froze. Suddenly, it was as if all time around had slowed down. That voice…the one he heard in his nightmare…sounded exactly like what Tyrone sounded like at that very moment. But…could Tyrone really be the sadistic looking man with the crazy laugh?
…it can't be…
Tyrone put his hands in his pockets, "I'll have to think about that one…"
Shinji caught a glimpse of metal under Tyrone's belt. What was it?
Remington continued "Of course…we should really worry about getting out of here first…."
Shinji squinted his eyes, but couldn't make out exactly what it was. It appeared elongated, like some sort of a melee weapon.
"…wouldn't want to be around if the enemy shows up."
Shinji glanced over at Asuka, who looked at him with confusion. Tyrone was starting to get worried with the silence of his two subordinates. He stopped in his tracks, and spoke without looking at either of them.
"Something the matter? Shinji?"
Shinji directed his attention towards the captain and spoke firmly, "sir…what's that in your belt?"
…oh shit…Tyrone's thoughts began to swarm with fury. He cursed himself for not properly concealing the weapon, but he needed to take action and quick.
Tyrone turned around to face the two young adults. He reached slowly behind himself and withdrew the knife. Shinji took a defensive position in front of Asuka.
"Oh this? This is that other weapon I mentioned to you."
Shinji pointed the flashlight towards the knife; it still had a mirror-like sheen, as if it were still brand-new. On the surface, the knife seemed relatively unused. However…
"mein gott…it smells like blood. Oh my god...captain, you didn't..." Asuka covered her mouth in shock.
"bad move ms. Sohryu."
SPLAT.
"Commander, the blue pattern is less than 200 meters from Central Dogma! We have to perform a lockdown!"
"Not yet!" Misato ordered.
The second personnel spoke next, "but we have to lockdown HQ commander! If we don't-"
"I said not yet! This is our chance to get the upper hand. We could end this battle here and now!"
"But that's….reckless!"
Misato narrowed her eyes at the first personnel, "…do you have a better idea? Anyone else have a better idea?"
The entire staff remained silent. There were certainly other ways for them to extend their survival during this battle, but none that would eradicate the enemy indefinitely...except for this one.
"Alright then! Release all the primary and secondary locks on the doors and…prepare for battle."
Each personnel nodded in confirmation as they pulled out a wide range of weaponry: handguns, tactical shotguns, short sub-machine guns, and a couple of full-size automatic weapons. That added with a few fire grenades, and you have enough firepower to destroy a small platoon. Certainly this was enough for one individual target who could be killed like a human.
"Target is closing in by 100 meters."
Misato withdrew her trusty handgun from the holster and clicked the safety off. She examined carefully.
It's been a long time since then. I never thought I would have to use this again.
"50 meters"
"It's closing in faster. Everyone, prepare to fire!"
On that note, the chairs were pushed out of the way and the tables were tossed down, forming a few makeshift barricades. Everyone, Misato included, ducked behind the tables with their weapons aimed at the only two convenient entrances to the room. The air became still.
Misato glanced at the console, "….It's here."
The Eastern Entrance opened with a loud SWOOSH! The sound of footprints proceeded slowly into the room.
Misato took a deep breath, "EVERYONE FI-"
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"
Misato froze; she thought that she would be prepared for anything but never for this. There was only one man in this whole facility that could command in such a tone. The figure in the darkness continued to step forward, his face slowly being revealed in the light. Misato nearly dropped her gun.
"…..Remington…"
Indeed, it was Tyrone Remington; gleaming with some sort of an arrogant smile. He appeared confident with himself; but if supreme victory is what he's expecting, then he had another thing coming. The blue pattern revealed the truth: this man was their enemy. And Misato wasn't prepared to hold back.
"A pleasure as usual Commander. I trust that you are enjoying this as much as I am?"
Misato locked her gun straight for his forehead, "Not as much as I'll enjoy this."
"Ouch! Let go of me dumbkoff!"
Misato stopped breathing.
"...Asuka..."
Tryone looked down at his left hand, "Oh yes. I brought along your 'daughter' as well. I thought she might enjoy this as well."
He lifted his left arm, struggling with a tangle of fiery red hair in his grasp. On the other end was Asuka, nearly driven to tears. He stepped forward casually, dragging the young girl along with him. A trail of blood followed.
"Ow…." Asuka cringed in pain.
"You son of a bitch! What did you do to her!" Misato demanded, her voice filled with fury.
"Calm down Katsuragi, she just has a scratch on her leg." Remington chuckled.
"….L-Liar!" Asuka choked out of her tears, "Misato! He attacked Shinji too! He-"
Tryone jerked on her hair, bringing her up to eye level with him.
"Shut it bitch; useless you would like for meto stabyour other leg as well." He muttered darkly.
Misato could not comprehend the fury she felt right now. Her gun remained firmly leveled, but her voice quivered slightly.
"What did you do with Shinji, you bastard?" Misato practically whispered.
"Oh him? ….Hey, it's not my fault that you never taught the kid how to use a gun."
"What did you do with him?" Misato shouted.
"I shot him of course. Took the gun from his hand and shot him; he practically gave it to me.But I bet your wondering if he is dead or not, right?…well….that depends on how bad he's bleeding."
Misato tightened the trigger, "sick son of a-"
"Hey, hey! Did you forget about her already?" He pulled Asuka by the hair some more just to prove his point.
Misato stood still for moment. The air was tense, until she took a deep breath and finally lowered the gun. It was a lot harder to do than sheimagined.
"Good." Tyrone replied promptly. He took one of the chairs off the ground and placed it next to him. He motioned his hand towards Misato, gesturing for her to sit down.
"Now, let's talk."
"…It's getting cold."
Shinji wasn't sure what had occurred, for it all happened in a single moment. A swift movement, the sound of a knife cutting through the air, a splatter of blood.
"Asuka's blood…."
That's right. Tyrone stabbed Asuka deep into her right leg. He remembered Asuka screaming from the pain as well. Shinji wanted to deal Tryone a few bullets to the scrotum just for that alone. But the moment didn't stop there. In the next instance, Tyrone snatched the gun from Shinji, aimed it at the boy, pulled the trigger, and then, there was a warm growth spreading across Shinji's shoulder.
'he missed. He had me dead in his locks, and he missed."
Then again, maybe Tyrone's plan was to have Shinji bleed to death. Touching, really. Never the less, Shinji was still convinced that Tyrone missed; the shoulder wasn't the best place to start if you wanted to someone to bleed to death.
What happened after that? Shinji fell over from the shock of being shot; and it was there that he watched the devil carry away Asuka; knife in one hand, a bundle of red hair in the other. And there was Shinji, unable to do anything. He didn't know why: it could have been the shock, it could have been his increasing weakness from blood loss, or he could have beenjustscared stiff.
Yet, that was beyond the point. The truth was that he let his guard down for a split second, and lost Asuka as punishment.
…alright then...it's time to get back what's mine…
Shinji began to feel that sudden rise of determination; he learned of this feeling during his years in self-isolation from Asuka, NERV, and the rest of the world. It was how he came to mature into the strong young man he was today. All the same, he still had a part of his old self deep within him. And that was a part that onlyAsuka could see. Though painful, Asuka was always there to remind him of what he once was; and comparing that to 'him' he was today gave him that sudden burst of confidence. It's how he lived now.
'come on Shinji….let's see how confident you are when Asuka's dead from torment. Get a move on!"
With that said, he loaded his newly acquired nine-millimeter (one that he, once again, pried from the dead fingers of corpse) and jogged down the corridor. He had no idea where Central Dogma was, but the blood trail created by Asuka was sure to give him enough milestones towards his destination. The whole time, he could only think of the things he wanted to do to Tyrone for making the young boy's lover bleed….it was the only other thing besides determination that kept his otherwise exhausted body going.
"Hang on Asuka…I'm coming…"
Soon, everyone began to feel warm again.
Misato promptly sat down in the chair that Remington offered to her. Her expression was stern, but lacked that intense fury that she had experienced only moments ago. Tyrone circled her and eyed her lustfully. Though it wasn't the kind of lust that a man would normally feel for a woman; it was more of a bloodlust, like he wastrying to think of the best way to kill her.
Asuka sat near the wall, her blank expression going off into space. Tyrone did little to restrain her, since the young woman seemedfrightened enough of the man as it is. The personnel were also of little concern as well; for one, they were no better than the soldier dogs that Tyrone had fought earlier, so they would never fire unless commanded too. Secondly, he was certain that Misato valued her newlife, so he knewthat she wouldn't order her staff tostart shooting with her in the line of fire. Therefore, all they could do was aim their otherwise useless weapons and wait.
"So…how's the family?" Tyrone asked cheerfully.
"Piss off, " was all that Misato said.
"sorry…alright then, we'll talk about something else."
Tyrone rubbed the end of his chin, then glanced over at the near catatonic Asuka. He smiled with a big "hmmm…" and pulled out Misato's gun from his pocket.
"How about we make a little wager Katsuragi?"
"I'd rather not." Misato scowled.
"oh, come on. You may want to listen to this; it concerns the life of your daughter over there after all."
Misato sighed inwardly, but continued to advert any eye contact with Remington.
"Let's here it first."
Tyrone gave a big grin, "Fair enough. It's rather simple actually: your life in exchange for hers. You die right here and now, I let the young girl be, and I'll be on my way. Like it?"
Misato's body shivered, "hmm. Personally, I would rather that you drop dead first."
Tyrone let out a forced laugh, "I didn't say this bargain was negotiable. Either you take it and die, or you don't accept it and she dies. Those are your only options."
"I understand….well, which one would you prefer?" Misato smirked.
"oh, believe me. I would love nothing more than to see your dead body in a pool of cold blood. But don't get me wrong; I am sure killing ms. Sohryu over there may have its advantages as well."
hentai. Misato thought. There wasn't much she could possibly do right now. She could try and stall for some more time, but more time for what exactly? Besides, if she pushed Tyrone too much he just might slaughter everyone without a second thought; though there was no guarantee that he wouldn't if she accepted the trade.
After a few brief moments, Misato directedeye contacttowards Tyrone for the first time. She winced when she saw that his eyes were filled with nothing but void; the man's soul was gone. She gasped slightly, and adverted her eyes once again. Then, with a slight ounce of courage, she spoke.
"I accept."
"Excellent! Then here's what I want you to do commander..."
"What? Aren't you going to kill me now? That's what you wanted right?"
"Oh no, I'm afraid that you have misunderstood. I merely said that I wanted to see your dead body on the floor. What I really want you to do is toshoot yourself right in the head." Tyrone made a gesture with his finger pointing at the sideof his head, "pow! It's that simple."
Misato was at a loss for words. There was no way that she would ever want to shoot herself. She knew that she wanted to live and that her life was worth living; it was impossible.
"No way. I can't do it."
"Hey come on now, we made a bargain remember? I know it's difficult to do, but that is why it is so brilliant! If you truly care for the life of your 'daughter' then you'll do it. It's the only way to guarantee her life."
Misato had enough of Remington's bullshit, "Oh come on! How do I know you won't kill her once you're through with me?"
"You have my word. And I am always a man of my word."
"Bullshit! You're not a man! You aren't even human!"
For some inexplicable reason, Tyrone felt a slight twinge of rage. He swung the butt of the gun across Misato's face; blood spurting from the side of her mouth.
"THAT'S ENOUGH OF YOUR TALK! I WON'T HEAR IT! JUST DO WHAT YOUR TO-"
"You can't fool me anymore. your not Tyrone; he died a while ago."
Tyrone growled, " your right…I am better than that pathetic man that once inhabited that shell; I am perfection in a personified form: I am the angel Iruel."
Misato chuckled, "I could have guessed that. But what bothers me is why would a perfect being want to live in the body of such an imperfect species. Face it; you're not perfect…you're not even close to perfect. All you have is weakness."
"SILENCE! You know nothing of me…I will find a deity vessel to house my perfect soul…"
Misato's eyes widened, "deity vessel?"
Tyrone whipped out the gun and jammed the barrel against the side of Misato's head
"Seems I have said to much. Very well, I suppose I will kill you myse-"
"Your different from when I last met you. Why do you want to kill me anyway?"
Tyrone pulled the gun back slightly in surprise, "….well…your death will insure that…I…"
"Are you acting on Tyrone's instincts or your own?"
"ENOUGH!"
Tyrone gained back his focus and aimed the gun point blank at Misato's head. He squeezed the trigger, sweat pouring down the side of the gun. Misato closed her eyelids shut, bracing herself for the worst.
But then…
"DIE YOU MONSTER!"
"damn!" Tyrone directed his head towards the source of the voice, which was none other than the second child, Asuka Langley Sohryu. Her face was stained with dry tears and her expression was filled with a mix of fright and rage. The gun she held in her hand shook slightly. It was the gun Tyrone gave her.
Asuka began to squeeze the trigger, but suddenly, a strong force pulled the weapon away from her hand. It was Remington; he dashed from the end of the room and disabled her in less than three seconds.
"you little bitch."
Tyrone chucked the weapon across the side of the room and wrapped his muscular fingers around the poor girl's neck. Asuka's breathing became stagnant as Tyrone added more pressure.
"You probably thought it was clever pretending to be spaced out this whole time…but yet in the end, your emotions betrayed your thoughts." Tyrone spoke more darkly than before. His eyes maddened at the sight ofthe suffering girl.
"Interesting….isn't that exactly the same thing that happened to you Iruel?"
Tyrone spun around, only to find another handgun pointed at him. He had completely disregarded Katsuragi's capabilities; for thesecond time today, he had made a mistake in his plans. For that, he would never be able to forgive himself.
"This gun is loaded Remington…Iruel…whatever. Take your hands off of her, or I'll have a bullet do it for you." Misato commanded; her voice sounded just as deep and rage-filled as Tyrone's.
Seeing no way out of this mess, Tyrone loosened his grip on the near breathless Asuka and placed his hands in the air. Asuka took one deep breath of air as she massaged her neck gently with her hand.
"What kind of sick bastard would give an empty gun to a helpless girl?" She mumbled as the now-defeated Tyrone Remington began to rise slowly to his feet.
Defeated. Now that was a word that Tyrone didn't expect to hear. He cringed at the thought of actually being at the mercy of a hapless drunk like Katsuragi; he would have rathershot himself right here than to be taken intocustody by someone who was far less than perfect.
Thankfully for him, all was not lost.
Unbeknownst to the commander, Tyrone had taken measures to secure himself with a tertiary weapon within his jacket sleeve; it was a small knife, about the size of dagger. Tyrone had never used it because, for one, he never really met a situation where he had too. And second, the weapon was not as efficient as his bowie knife was.
However, that didn't mean that it was incapable of killing. With the right aiming and velocity, he could slice the dagger right through Katsuragi's neck. It wouldn't be the killing of his choice, but this was no time to be choosy. Besides, death by choking-on-own-blood might be a suitable enough torture for the trouble Katsuragi has caused him.
And all it would take was a sleight of hand.
Tyrone smirked, "How cruel of both you and irony Misato. But…it seems that fate has rolled the dice and chosen the winner. And as the loser, I must abide the rules of fate and accept my death."
"Turn around," Misato was in no mood for funny business.
Tyrone slowly made a 180-degree turn, his arms still up in the air, "It's a pity though…I still wanted to make one more sacrifice before I leave. But…oh well. I suppose the ritual of Damocles was never meant to be completed."
Misato's eyes flashed with curiosity. Tyrone grinned evilly.
Her guard was down.
too easy!
Tryone flicked his wrist, revealing a small sharp dagger. Misato had no time to react as Tyrone gripped the dagger lightly and twisted his arm back slightly. He was preparing to launch that thing straight through her neck.
Misato panicked and rose up her gun, but her reaction was too slow. The knife would cut her before she could even pull the trigger.
omigod…omigod….is this it?…no…I don't want to...I don't want to die!
BAM!
Blood spurted out of the side of Tyrone's left shoulder. He grunted in agony as he abruptly dropped his arm to the side, his hand still clutching the dagger.
Misato was astounded, "What the hell?"
"I don't believe this…" Tryone muttered as warm blood streamed down his arm.
"My gun's loaded too captain."
Sure enough, the voice didn't belong to anyone who was currently in this room. The voice was definitely male, so it didn't belong to Asuka. The Central Dogma staff were quiet as they watched Remington carefully from behind their barricades, and Misato was simply dumbstruck. However, the voice was familiar…someone they all knew…
"It can't be…." Tryone growled with fury. The mysterious voice stepped out of the shadows, revealing the limping shape of the young Shinji Ikari. His right arm clutched a smoking pistol as he attempted to cradle his other arm.
Asuka's face brightened with light-hearted tears as if she found new salvation, "OH MY GOD, SHINJI!"
"I thought I would give you some of the same, Sir," Shinji smirked.
Tyrone lowered his head; his arm still clutching the dagger tightly. "And so you have. Perhaps I can give something in return."
Without warning, Tyrone chucked the knife at Shinji's gun, knockingitinto midair and twelve feet across the floor. Before Shinji knew what hit him, Tyrone dashed up to the boy and proceeded to strangle Shinji with his free hand (as he had done with Asuka).
Asuka's face showered with disbelief, "SHINJI!"
"Heh…Déjà vu," Tyrone joked darkly, "This time, however, I'll see to it that you die."
Shinji struggled under the intense pressure of Remington's hand. He attempted to grunt for breath, but was ultimately unsuccessful. To make matters worse, he was unarmed and unable to resist. It seemed that Tyrone had the upper hand once again
"Hang on Shinji!" Misato attempted to aim her gun at Tyrone's head, but she resisted in fear of hitting Shinji in the process.But if she didn't hurry…
Asuka looked around the room desperately for anything that could aid Shinji. Her hopes rose as she spotted a black 9-millimeter only a few feet away from her. She dragged herself over to the weapon slowly, her wounded leg piercing her with unbelievable pain.
Just a little more…
Shinji's face began fading to a bright red. Tyrone chuckled deeply at the prospect, "It seems that you too can succumb to death Mr. Ikari. But it would be nice if it went a little faster…" With that said, Tyrone tried to add more pressure to his grip.
Asuka stretched her hand out as far as she could, but she still couldn't quite reach the gun. She inched the rest of the way, her hand still outstretched until, finally,she caught hold of the gun's handle.
"Shinji! Here!"
In no time at all, Asuka swung the gun across the floor towards Shinji. The young boy quickly picked it up off the ground and jammed the barrel deep onto Tyrone's heart. Remington laughed manically as Shinji squeezed the trigger.
"You stupid boy! Don't you realize that that gun has no bull-"
BAM!
Tyrone silenced. A warm sensation began to flow down his chestand onto the floor. His body began to grow cold as life left his body.
He released his hold on Shinji and fell to the ground, clutching hischest tightly.
"N-no way….I don't understand-d….It was all p-perfect…"
There seemingly was no logical explanation to this. Sure enough, the gun that Shinji fired was the one the Tyrone gave to Asuka. And, as Tyrone stated before, the gun indeed was intended to be empty. But all the same, the gun fired and punctured a hole though Tyrone's chest as a bullet normally would. There was no explanation, so why did it happen? Simple: there was indeed at least one bullet in the gun. There was a magazine in it after all, so it was likely that Tyrone miscalculated the number of bullets within the gun. In other words, Tyrone Remington made a mistake that cost him his life.
And he realized this.
"….ugh….such terrible luck…"
With that said, Tyrone Remington let loose his last breath as his body collapsed in a sea of his own blood. His body dissolved into that disgusting yellow pool, like the other victims before him.
Shinji crawled to his feet and dashed over to Asuka. She apparently collapsed under her own pain as she attempted to help Shinji. He shook her gently, but got no response.
He panicked, "Asuka! Asuka, wake up!"
Her body remained motionless. Many possibilities ran through Shinji's mind, but the only one that seemed to stick was the thought that Asuka might be dead. His panic heightened.
"Oh my god, Asuka! Please get up, I don't want…to…..lose…you…..I….lov…"
Shinji's body gave way to exhaustion as his body fell silent. Misato stumbled over to the unconscious couple and smiled slightly.
"You both are very strong. It makes me proud to be your…" she hesitated for a moment, "…..mother."
Misato pausedfor a few moments of satisfaction, but her face eventually changed back into that stern military visage as she turned towards her subordinates.
"Get these two into the ER. After that, we got a lot of cleaning up to do."
End of Chapter 16
Author's Note: So there you have it, a single chapter that took several months in the making. The only problem I had with this chapter was mainly...Misato. I don't know, I think I may have butchered her character a bit; but thankfully, I will be exploring more of her (pardon the expression) in the chapter to come. Besides that, I hope there weren't too many grammatical errors, and I also hope that this chapter was simple enough to understand. I seem to have some difficulty with continuity. lol oh well.
I will try my best to update this story a.s.a.p., but by all rights, I have not given you guys a reason to trust me on my updates.However, I will say this: it may take a couple of weeks, it may take several months...but I will get to writing this story eventually.That has been made set in my mind since the day I started this fic.
So until next time, please keep the reviews coming! all constructive criticism is welcomed and embraced, so don't be hesitant.
Later!