Chapter 9 – Ground Zero
Shinji smiled lightly as the engines roared one last time as he came in for landing. Weltall was nothing like the old Evangelion. His thoughts on it, now that he knew more, were mixed. On one hand, it was his mother's soul inside, and he felt bad that the 01 had been destroyed. But he felt that she was better off, wherever she was now, and that was a comforting thought.
Unit 01 had rebelled against him so many times, and no wonder with how she was trapped in there, but Weltall moved without hesitation, like a second skin, completely conforming to his will. It was a good feeling. Once he was in, there was no way for an outside force to control his actions. He was trusted to make sure he did the right thing, and that alone made him feel better about being there.
Landing adroitly on his feet, Shinji paused and waited for Kensuke and Toji to catch up. Brigandier and Renmazou landing smoothly beside and a bit behind him, he motioned for his team to move out.
Shinji was more than a little nervous. I'm pretty sure it's natural. It's my first time in command… Before now, he'd always gone in with Rico giving the orders.
They paused at the top of a rise, and for a moment, watched the Chaos below, trying to make some sense of it, to know where to begin. He heard Toji swear over the com link.
"What's up?"
Brigandier just pointed. Kensuke started swearing too, and Shinji was tempted to join them. Over the ridge were two groups duking it out, yes, but with them was a larger carrier.
"Rico should have gotten this job." Kensuke fumed.
Shinji shook his head. "Well, his group is busy with that situation in China. All right, you guys know the drill. Try to target the umbilical cords and take the pilots alive so the UN ground troops can do mop up. Switch frequency to battle scramble and let's go."
They jumped over the ridge and went charging in. "What about the carrier, Fei?" That was Toji, referring to Shinji by his designated call sign as instructed.
"The carrier is a mobile power supply, and that's about it. When the Evas are down, we call for surrender."
"And if they say no?"
"This is a battlefield, Bart. What do you think?"
As soon as their presence was detected, a few units on each side started spraying bullets in their direction. Kensuke 'Billy' Aida stopped forward motion and moved sideways, laying suppressing fire as he went. Weltall and Brigandier rushed onwards, trying to stay out of the bullet's paths. Weltall jumped suddenly, activating its thrusters to extend the leap, coming down behind the first Evangelion, and kept running.
The Evangelion turned slightly; exposing it's back to Brigandier, who launched his whips, using them to rip the umbilical cord to shreds before it could put any slugs in Weltall's back. The majority of the models they'd been facing were completely dependent on the umbilical cords, the internal power supplies costing too much with too little effect to be worth it to most organizations. Still, they were careful to make sure that the Eva no longer registered an energy signature before ignoring it completely.
Weltall's fist rocketed into the side of one Evangelion's head, smashing it into the one beside it. He didn't have time to rip out the cords, though, as his position was covered in rifle fire from three other Evas. They didn't get too many shots off though, as Renmazou started nailing them with his own guns.
Weltall rushed forward then, and Brigandier came in from the side. In seconds, there wasn't anything left but five more powerless Evangelion units crumpled to the ground.
The last six though, were all from the carrier, and had formed up to protect it. Shinji opened a channel. "The use of Evangelion type units is strictly forbidden by the United Nations Security Council except under special sanction, which you do not have. Eject your entry plugs and surrender."
In response, they opened fire. "Well, I had to try," Shinji muttered. He opened a link to the others. "Okay. Billy, see what you can do to disable that carrier, but try not to hit us if you can avoid it. Bart, we've got some more Evas to crunch."
"I'll try."
"Yes sir, Lieutenant sir!"
Shinji mumbled something about hotheads and insubordination as they charged forward. Shinji slammed his metal foot between the legs of the Evangelion he was directly in front of, lifting it from the ground with the sheer force. Metal hand flat as a board, he drove it straight through the cable.
Toji shot out both whips and wrapped them around the closest unit, and used them to catapult the unit over his head and behind him, the cord ripping out in the process.
Kensuke looped around behind while the other units were kept busy, but he still had to deal with turret fire from the carrier. He leveled his arm out as he passed, and let loose, ripping the cannon to shreds as he passed.
Not pausing after he'd dealt with the slumped unit in front of him, Weltall ducked under the fire of the units on either side of him, and launched a sweep kick, hand darting out to pull out the cable as it fell. The one behind adjusted it's rate of fire, but Weltall rolled out of the way and came up with a kick to the side to stun to pilot, and removed his cord as well.
Brigandier knew he was in trouble when a couple of slugs buried themselves in his back, but he started moving quickly. It'd take more than that to even begin to think about bringing the gear down, but he still didn't appreciate taking the hits. I'm just glad that I don't feel the pain like they do. As he went, he spun around a little, and snaked out one whip, snaring and snapping one of their weapons. The one without a gun drew its knife, and Toji cursed.
Kensuke took out some more turrets on his way to the rear. He figured that he might not be able to completely disable the ship without unnecessary casualties, but he could probably slow it down, if not stop it from moving by taking out the engines. He'd just have to be careful about it. Suddenly, one of the other units came bounding over the carrier, shooting at him. Renmazou was light on its feet though, and got out of the firing path quickly. Mentally switching one of the barrels over to HE ammo, Kensuke fired a single, well-placed shot, eliminating the umbilical cord. Kensuke frowned at the waste of one of the six HE rounds he carried, but mentally shrugged. He'd been hoping to use save it for the engines, as he'd been planning this since he'd seen it, but it was necessary.
Toji mentally ordered Brigandier to duck, and then charged. He blocked the knife thrust by bringing Brigandier's forearm up under the Evangelion's, and punched the unit in the face. He scrambled out of the way of the other unit, which had opened up again. One whip snapped out and caught its leg and sent it on it's back. He paused to rip the cable out of the knifed one's back, and turned to see Weltall ripping the plug out of the other's back. Brigandier gave a thumbs up, and Weltall crossed its arms reprovingly.
Renmazou set the timers on the remaining HE rounds and hoped their shells would hold against the heat of the engine. He let loose and ran. He didn't get three steps.
---
Citan groaned. "What happened out there, Kensuke? Weltall and Brigandier suffered only minor damage on the raid, but Renmazou needs the majority of its armor replaced, it's so burnt. I can only assume this means you were the one who caused the core explosion of the carrier."
The three were sitting in debriefing. "Well, Shinji said to try and disable the thing…"
Citan stared at him in disbelief. "And this was what prompted you to fire high explosives into what was essentially a nuclear reactor!"
Rico, next to Citan, started laughing. Citan glared at him, but otherwise ignored the laughing giant. He looked back at Kensuke, silently requesting more information. Kensuke sighed. "Well, I was supposed to disable it, right? I thought I had the timers set well enough to get out, and plus, I didn't think that the engines going up would cause that kind of chain reaction. I thought that maybe the back end would go up and it would crash down."
Citan sighed. "I suppose I can't fault your intentions, but this is going to be a media disaster. The explosion was seen for miles. There's no way a news crew won't get a hold of it and speculate."
"Are we admitting to involvement, sir?" Shinji asked.
Citan shook his head. "No. We won't say anything. We won't admit to this, but we won't deny it either. Besides, Jet Alone as a whole wasn't responsible, and they'll never admit Yggdrasil exists. Well, at least not yet. Eventually it'll probably come out anyways, but that's later."
"Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
Rico was still laughing as the boy exited. He clapped Kensuke on the back. "Good on you kid. Haven't seen Citan that flustered in years." And then he walked off laughing.
Kensuke watched him for a moment, then turned to his friends. "Rico's proud of me. Why do I suddenly feel like I should break down and cry?"
---
Okay. Be a man. Be a man. Be a… Oh the hell with it. Just be sure you don't pee your pants.
Shinji knocked on Mana's door. This was it. The moment of truth. He waited.
Mana answered the door wearing only a towel. One nosebleed later, Shinji fell forward, collapsing onto her.
"KYAAA!"
One slap later, Shinji was turned around and face planted into the opposite wall. There was the sound of the door slamming.
---
Shinji shook his head, still waiting a bit. That's as unlikely as it is unpleasant.
Mana answered the door wearing only a towel. One nosebleed later, Shinji fell forward, collapsing onto her. Without warning, he was pulled up and into a kiss and dragged into the room.
He woke up the next morning staring at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. Mana stirred next to him. "Shinji, I'm pregnant…"
---
Shinji just shuddered, and tried knocking again.
Rico answered the door wearing only a towel.
---
Shinji just twitched lightly, not letting that one go anywhere.
The door opened and for a moment Shinji couldn't see anything other than the fist flying towards his face.
When he was conscious again, Asuka was in the process of beating him.
Strangely, she was wearing only a towel as well. As soon as he noticed, so did she.
"PERVERT!"
The beatings were many and bloody until he lost consciousness yet again.
---
Shinji shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and tried the door a third time.
Mana opened the door looking like she had just come from the shower, but thankfully, for Shinji's sake, was fully dressed. She smiled.
"Shinji… Hi. What's up? Sorry I didn't hear you, I was in the shower."
Well, that was weird. Never mind. Okay, you planned this out. Just follow the plan.
"Well, actually I was wondering if you liked Italian food."
"ShinjiKim!"
The nanomachine colony known as Emeralda slammed into Shinji's side with her usual exuberance, sending him down the corridor. Mana hurried out in concern, only to find the green haired girl sitting on Shinji's back. "Emeralda like Italy food!"
Mana giggled. "Great! Why don't we all go together then!"
There was a mumbled response from Shinji. Emeralda grinned. "Yay! Italy food!"
---
The Yggdrasil had had to come in carefully to avoid it, but come in they did. It was a mastery of architecture, walls perfectly clear under the water's surface.
The restaurant, called Storia (History), moved through the water over historic Rome, over the top of many of the monuments, sometimes only feet from them. It made for a truly breath taking and romantic atmosphere, Emeralda watching the dolphins weave through the coliseum's arches at play.
Shinji and Mana were similarly entranced, and the feeling was comfortable. The comfortable feeling lasted, despite Emeralda's attachment to his arm, until they reached Mana's door aboard the Yggdrasil.
"Goodnight Shinji."
He smiled lightly. "Goodnight Mana…"
Their heads tilted slightly, and moved closer, but Shinji was suddenly feeling uncomfortable, something inside shifting nervously, saying it was wrong. Trying to get over it, Shinji plunged forward.
"NOOO!"
With that exclamation, Emeralda shifted her arm into a mallet, and struck Mana lightly across the face, sending her backwards through the open door into her room. Shinji gaped in shock.
Well, until Emeralda grabbed his ear and began dragging him away. This was the first time Shinji had ever seen her angry, and it scared him more than slightly. She dragged him back to her room, and shoved him down on the couch. Shinji found the strength to speak.
"What was that all about?"
She turned to face him, tears in her eyes. He tried to get up, but she glared. "Sit. Stay."
She hurried into her second room. Shinji sat. Shinji stayed. Emeralda came out with a photograph, and she handed it wordlessly to Shinji.
It was a photograph… of himself and… Asuka? They were both older looking and wearing lab coats and standing in front of a glass pillar with what looked to be a young Emeralda floating inside. Shinji looked up at her, not quite able to speak. What… is this? I've never worn a lab coat… and Asuka and I aren't that old…
Emeralda, on the other hand had started talking quietly. "Dr. Citan… say that you not remember yet… not remember FeiKim, or Kim-papa."
What? I don't remember?
"Why don't I remember these people Emeralda? Who are they to me?"
Emeralda sniffled. "Kim-papa made Emeralda. With Elly-mama." She gestured to the photo. "Kim-papa t-t-trans… have many lives. Kim-papa was FeiKim. Is ShinjiKim. Not remember past lives at first… but then remember."
T-That's impossible… Reincarnation? But… I don't think Emeralda would lie to me either…
"And Kim… Fei… Shinji…" She glared at him on this last one. "All love Elly-mama. Not ManaMaria. Elly-mama."
Shinji almost shouted at her. He probably would have if she hadn't looked so close to tears. "But…"
That's… It's just insane! I love Mana! Not this 'Elly'. Shinji was once more assaulted by this 'Elly's likeness to Asuka. Don't I?
Emeralda did start crying then, and he opened his arms. Emeralda rushed forward and buried herself in them, and he held her, crooning softly until she was asleep.
It was not until he closed her door lightly, a soft, loving, smile on his face, that he realized he had unconsciously accepted his role as her father.
That reincarnation stuff is just a load of crap… isn't it?
---
Mana grunted as the recoil from her Berretta pushed back on her hand a little. Her aim flew wide off the mark. She grumbled a bit. Kensuke worried a bit. "What's wrong Mana? Your aim is really off today."
Mana sighed and put the gun down. "It's nothing. I shouldn't let it get to me."
Kensuke's eyes widened. "Did Shinji really mess up that badly last night?"
Mana flopped down in a chair next to him. "No, Shinji didn't do anything. Emeralda…"
Kensuke winced. "Gave him another flying tackle, did she? Man, those things are brutal. I'd hate to see what she did to someone she didn't like."
Mana smiled faintly. "Well, she did that, but it wasn't a real problem. She horned in on our date, and even that wasn't a big problem. But…"
Kensuke arched an eyebrow. "She went on the date with you? You didn't have a problem with it?"
Mana shook her head. "No, she was… I don't know. It just wasn't a problem until we were back here, and well, we almost…"
Kensuke's eyes went wide. "WHAT!"
Mana blinked. "We almost kissed. What did you think… never mind. But then Emeralda screams out 'NO!' and the next thing I know, her mallet's in my face and she's dragging Shinji off."
Kensuke calmed down. "Well, that… sucks."
She nodded. "Yeah, and to top it off, I think Shinji's been avoiding me today."
Kensuke smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm sure he's just embarrassed about what happened. He'll get over it. Well, either that or you'll have to make the first move. But I don't think it'll stay like this long." She nodded, and Kensuke rose, offering his hand to help her stand as well. "Now. Let's get back to it so that Rico doesn't kill me for slacking off on your training."
Mana nodded and picked up her gun, moving back to the target platform. Kensuke moved up behind her, showing her how to hold and aim properly again. Mana blushed a little at the closeness, but shook it off, and soon the sharp bang of gunfire filled the hall again.
---
Neverwhere: Wow. In all the rush of Thanksgiving, I almost forgot to post this thing today. Lucky I checked to make sure. Okay, another chapter up, and only two more chapters left of the already written stuff. So be sure to grab Classic's e-mail and pester him unforgivingly until he writes another chapter.
But otherwise, you may recognise theopeningscene as Shinji's side of the news report in chapter 'Live Broadcast'
See you in two weeks, unless ClassicCowboy gets off his butt and writes another chapter