disclaimer... Yada... Yada... I'm back...
Kuno Mansion - Outer region of old Tokyo, Nerima district a few days after Jet Alone ran amuck
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"I see you are still meditating brother dearest…" Kodachi stated conversationally as she stepped into the large room where her brother remained motionless kneeling while leaning on his bokken in the middle of the floor, "Even after all this time you can not break away to speak to me…?" Hearing no reply the woman continued, "Perhaps this will get your attention, During my business dealings I have run across something of interest, well not so much of a something, more of a someone."
Striding across the room to where she was standing directly over her motionless brother she continued, "I have news of your Pig Tailed Goddess… It seems that she did not perish all those years ago but instead had managed to spirit away my Ranma-Sama…"
"Yes… Yes… I know… Foul sorcerer…" the woman commented with a dismissing wave of her hand, "That's not really important right now…" She admitted sadly as she thought over the death of a man that she had spend the better of two decades pining over, "Both our loves have perished… How I am not sure, but the one whom I spoke to assured me of this."
"For one constantly meditating you sure are impatient." Kodachi mentioned as she heard a slight rustle within the room, "Regardless I shall get to the point, It seems my darling Ranma-Sama managed to father a child, well that's not so much a surprise… He was rather manly and virile…"
"No the surprising thing is not that my darling managed such a feat…" Kodachi stated while she began pacing the room with her eyes narrowing in anger, "But rather whom he fathered the child with… That Harlot… Strumpet… Man stealer… She's the mother… I should be the mother… Yoiko should be my daughter… Not hers…"
Stopping in mid stride the dark-haired woman looked up and asked, "What was that? Brother? Of course, I do have the means… Yes… Yes… I will right this wrong…"
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A few day's later.
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"Shinji, I want you on your best behavior while we're gone. Rei is going to be doing some field testing while we are gone so it will just be you here for the next few nights. You can have friends over no drinking my beer, and they can't spend the night.. Oh and remember to feed Penpen so he stays out of Yoiko's room and away from her fish." Misato instructed before adding, "Makoto will be calling to check in on you later tonight so be back home no later than eight o'clock,"
"I'll be here…" Shinji sighed back out tiredly, "I'm still exhausted from last night." He added while trying to suppress the memories of carving up the remains of the fifth angel with his progressive knife to make disposing of the body easier on the ground crew.
"Well at least you and Rei finished up with that last night." Misato replied with a understanding smile, "I know it was rather gruesome work but every second of training counts, by having you guys take care of this we actually save money on the budgets bottom line which in turn will only serve to give us more money that we can spend on research and training."
"I know…" Shinji replied having had the reasoning explained to him already before he had been deployed to help with the disposal.
"Now remember Shinji, Asuka will be moving in as soon as she arrives, so I am going to need you to make sure that you give the extra bedroom a quick once over."
"Come on Misato, cut him some slack… You've been over this several times already." Ranma commented as she walked into the room carrying two cases, "I'm all packed, grabbed your bag too. So I'm ready when you are."
Glancing over at the two bags the redhead was carrying Misato asked, "What about your normal clothes, we will be out there for a day and a half."
"I put them with the suit for now, no sense in having to carry multiple bags for just a quick over night."
Shrugging because the girl had a point Misato conceded, "Alright then, I guess we're ready to go then. Is Rei going to come with us to Nerv?"
Shaking his head negatively Shinji stated, "Naw, she said something about stopping by Hikari's place before heading over there. Something about helping her plan a party for Asuka and research for a sleep over."
"I though you were going to help with that Yoiko?" The purple haired woman asked while grabbing her keys.
"Err… I was…" Ranma stated nervously not sure as to what she would actually say on the subject considering that she was positive that she really didn't want to partake in the experience. Making a move to follow the woman she added carefully , "But I've never been to one before so Rei decided to seek out expert advice on it…"
Stopping just short of the door Misato turned around and replied, "Well I'm sure it will be fun, Hikari seems to be a good friend to Rei…" Turning her attention back to her male charge she added, "Come here you, give me a hug goodbye… And give Yoiko one too…"
Almost reluctantly the teen approached, while he had to admit that he did like the attention and somewhat motherly affection from the older woman at times it felt a bit embarrassing, but ever since he had run off and came back the older woman had been rather adamant about showering him with the attention. And if he was going to be honest about it the young teen rather enjoyed.
"If you have any issues or questions call up, Makoto or Shiguru. I have their home numbers on the fridge and added their numbers to your phone too."
Gently extracting Shinji from Misato's clutches Ranma piped in, "Relax Misato, we're just going to be gone for two day's… Shinji's a big boy and can handle himself."
"I know… I'm just worried, Rei is going to be training with some new equipment, and Ritsuko is going with her to oversee and I…"
"Come on now, we're going to be late." Ranma interjected, successfully distracting the older woman from her concerned ramblings while shooting Shinji an understanding look.
Despite being grateful for the reprieve Shinji held out his arms and coyly teased, "Aren't you forgetting something Yoiko?"
"Ohh… Right, forgot about that." Ranma started completely dismissing Shinji's tease, "I left a little surprise in my room for Penpen just in case, so be careful when you go in there to feed the fish and try to stay away from the dresser."
"What sort of surprise?" Shinji asked in return only to see Yoiko shake her head and point over to the hall where a sole warm water penguin was attempting to look inconspicuous by leaning against the wall while appearing to leaf through a paper.
"Oh… That reminds me…" Misato started to say to Shinji before she was pulled from the room by the petite redhead who gave the lad a cheerful wave before lazily grabbing a small blue beret on her way out.
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"So why are we going out here again?" Ranma asked as she looked out the front window of the transport helicopter to see a small speck on the horizon.
"We're going be linking up with the UN's pacific fleet, Eva Unit 02 and its Pilot." Misato reminded.
"Yeah I know… You said that already…" Ranma stated before adding, "But why? They're only a day or two from Tokyo-03."
"Yoiko, I have no idea, my orders were to take you, some of your friends and an umbilical cable out here and return with the fleet." Turning the tables on the redhead Misato prodded, "That reminds me, why didn't you invite any of your friends?"
Momentarily caught off guard by the older woman's probe Ranma mentally stammered before sighing and admitting, "Well, Rei has that thing… Shinji has to stay in Tokyo-03, Hikari is going to be helping Rei when she gets back and…"
"What about those two friends of Shinji's?"
Shuddering in annoyance at the idea of bringing either the infatuated jock or the other guy who kept trying to snap pictures of her Ranma replied, "They're okay, just didn't feel like putting up with them… I was going to bring Toji's little sister but didn't think that he would let her come without tagging along himself…"
"Oh come on, they can't be that bad?" Misato questioned in disbelief.
"They're okay… I guess…" Ranma conceded before tacking on, "But they're Shinji's friends, I can put up with them for his sake. He needs all the normal friends he can get…"
"What about you though?" Misato queried in return.
Waving the woman's concern off Ranma replied, "I don't really do normal that well… But I got you… You're my friend and you're normal… Well for the most part…"
"Oh… Thanks Yoiko. I'm glad you consider me a friend, but I was talking more about kids your own age."
Unable to voice her protest of her actual age Ranma instead stated, "Misato, I'm not a kid, I'm not saying the others are kids either but I've been around… Sides… I'm friends with Hikari, there's Rei and I got Shinji too, with that and my training I really don't have time for much else."
"I suppose…" The older woman conceded reluctantly not liking the fact that while it was true that Yoiko was in her mid-teens it was also true that the young woman had a lot of responsibilities piled on her small shoulders, more so than the other pilots as she had been relying on her to help out with the others.
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"Are you sure this is wise?"
Gendo answered, "No… Seele requires a mostly intact S2 organ for their project and while I would much prefer to bide my time and wait for the right opportunity to arise acting now does have its benefits."
Raising an eyebrow to question his one time student Futsuyuki asked, "And those would be?"
"Up until now all the angel's cores have either been utterly destroyed or in the fifth angels case too damaged to use. Because of this the council is reluctant to release Eva Unit 03 to us. If this operation leads to the acquisition of a functional core then the council will release Unit 03 to us." Gendo answered with the barest hint of a smile.
"And the other benefits?"
"Their timetable has already been pushed back with the delay in our acquisition, and if all goes well and we can deliver then not only will we control another Eva but we will retain Jet Alone within our grasp."
"I don't see how that contraption can even be of assistance? Dr. Akagi even agreed that without an AT field the giant robot is just an oversized meltdown waiting to happen." The gray haired professor stated as he looked the other man over waiting for reply.
"While its battle capabilities are limited it still has its uses. If your teams are right and the area we are sending Unit 00 into does indeed contain a hibernating Angel, Jet Alone's newly installed power access port will continue to supply Unit 00 continues power and allow us to not be hindered by the limitations of her battery pack." Shuffling a folder on his desk Gendo continued, "And should the Robot survive this encounter we do have numerous potential uses for it."
Glancing down at the mans desk as he flipped open a folder Futsuyuki nodded in understanding, the reactors onboard the Jet Alone robot were massive and could potentially supply a large city with power to spare.
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"Okay Rei, this is going to be a routine mission. Your target is called the Yamata no Orochi, much like the mythology surrounding it, it seems to be an eight headed eight tailed snake or dragon if you prefer. Our advance teams on the site have noted that it is in a period of hibernation right now so with any luck this will be rather simple." Ritsuko informed before adding, "We are forgoing using a transport to bring you out to the site. Instead once we deploy you, you are then to meet up with the Jet Alone robot where you will exchange power cables so that you are drawing power from Jet Alone. After that you will arm yourself with a progressive axe and start walking to the target, keeping pace with the Jet alone Robot. You will be doing this alone so success or failure of this mission is entirely up to you, Shinji must remain in Tokyo-3 and Unit 02 is not due to arrive until tomorrow late afternoon. Do you understand?"
"Yes Doctor…" Rei nodded absently as she suppressed her unease towards the operation. Due to the more recent events with her budding friendships Rei was having difficulties with the idea of her mission being routine. If it were truly routine then the exact details of the mission would be known to her new guardian and her roommates/friends. However she had already been told that as far as the others were concerned this was a need to know mission meaning that unless things went horribly wrong the others didn't need to know. Of course given her expendability the blue haired girl wasn't even sure if they would be told in such an event.
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"It's a bit windy out here today." Misato commented idly as they were hit with a large gust of wind after stepping out of the helicopter transport.
"You could… My hat…" Ranma exclaimed as the wind knocked the blue beret off her head while she was leaning down to set their cases down on the deck. Unable to catch the hat in its flight due to both hands being occupied with her and Misato's bags the redhead tried to scramble after it, narrowly dodging around the crowded deck through the swarms of sailors trying to go about their duties. "Oh come on, I just got that… Someone mind giving me a hand here?" She complained only to sigh in relief when the hats advance was halted due to the arrival of a strappy red shoe.
"Thanks…" Ranma said as she set both cases down to retrieve her hat, "Normally that wouldn't have happened but I sort of had my hands full."
Frowning as she took in the other girls appearance Asuka waited for her to introduce herself before relinquishing her foot from the hat. Sure she knew whom the girl was, her Kaji-kun had made sure of that as she had been the victim of constant teasing since they had left port. "I don't see how anyone would be able to mistake us as twins… I'm much prettier… And no way are those real… She must stuff… Padded bra or something…"
Seeing that the other girl was not relinquishing her foot from her hat Ranma rolled her eyes on slight irritation before kneeling down and reaching out to take it. "Ya know… I appreciate the save and all that but just standing there undressing me with your eyes is kind of creepy…"
Flustered as she hadn't really expected the other redhead to go there Asuka went to grind her foot down on the hat, after all the girl was being rather rude and it would serve her right. Unfortunately at that moment the wind picked up and lifted her yellow sundress up causing her to give the surrounding deck crew a brief view of her panties.
Glad that she had opted to wear a set of navy slacks and a white blouse instead of a skirt Ranma gave her head a slight shake while squeezing her eyes shut so the other girl wouldn't accuse her of trying to stare or something and lashed out with her hand, directing just a small amount of ki into the dress instantly bringing the flapping garment under control and saving the other girl further embarrassment.
"Ah Asuka there you are… Look at you all grown up now, has it really been that long? Seems like it was just the other day…" Misato started nostalgically before continuing, "I see you've met Yoiko already."
Ignoring the fact that the only thing still keeping her skirt from flipping up was the grip of the other girl Asuka sniffed pridefully before thrusting her chest out and replying, "Grown up and out Misato…"
Noting that the wind had died down to a manageable level Ranma released her grip on the other girls skirt and stepped back to retrieve her bags.
"So this is the fourth child? The pilot that doesn't need an Eva to combat the angel." Giving the girl another critical once over she added, "I thought she'd be taller…"
"Hey…" Ranma started about to go on the verbal offensive only to stop herself short, "Why am I stopping… She started it, I haven't even said anything yet…" Sighing to herself as she realized that she was stopping herself from running her mouth more to prove to the older woman present that she wasn't a kid like the others the redhead shrugged, "Height isn't everything."
Frowning in frustration at her continued failure to get a rise out of the fellow redhead Asuka sniffed, "Apparently so shorty."
"Girls…" Misato interrupted diplomatically in an attempt to spare her new German charge from the shorter redheads wrath, "We need to head over to the bridge, I have orders to hand over and a Eva to assume custody of… Come on…"
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Katsuragi residence
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"Guy's I have a few chores to finish up first." Shinji said as he opened the door to reveal a grinning Toji and Kensuke.
"I still can't believe someone like you gets to live with three beautiful women." Toji replied as he stepped in through the door.
"Yeah you're really lucky…" Kensuke added, "It's like a dream come true… just think, we're standing in the same doorway that they pass through everyday."
Shaking his head at his two friends antics Shinji replied, "We just live together guy's, it's not like they're my girlfriends or something."
"I can't believe this…" Toji shot back, "Aren't you a man? You have three stunning women living with you…"
"Yeah…" Kensuke added with a silly grin on his face, "Misato Katsuragi, the mature and sophisticated working woman…"
"Yoiko Soatome, the fiery goddess made flesh…" Toji continued with a bit of drool escaping his mouth.
"And Rei Ayanami, the quiet vixen just waiting for the right man to come around and break her out of her shell…" Kensuke finished before asking, "So do cuffs and collars match? They are all so exotic."
Shaking his head negatively despite knowing the answer to the questions, mostly because of a few accidents and in Rei's case a total lack of modesty when she first moved in the young teen fought valiantly to keep the blush off his face.
"Kensuke…" Toji started in amazement, "Look he's blushing… You know what that means?"
"My lord, please… Describe to this lowly peasant the wonders you beheld." Kensuke pleaded as he fell to his knees and bowed his head.
"It's not like that…" Shinji defended, "It was an accident, sides I told you guy's, we're just roomies…"
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"Hello, you must be Yoiko, the fourth child."
Breaking her gaze away from the flight deck as she leaned comfortably against the door to the bridge Ranma turned her attention to the scruffy looking man with a ponytail to reply, "Yep, that's me."
"You're pretty famous in our world you know that?"
"I guess…" Ranma replied as she tried to ignore the man and his suave attempts to make conversation with her. It's not that she was trying to be unfriendly with the man but her earlier experience with Asuka mixed in with her conversation before in the helicopter had put her in a rather introspective mood as she tried to mentally separate the things she said from the things she thought and wanted to say. She couldn't really understand why, but the thought that Misato not seeing her as a peer just wasn't sitting well with her.
"She's always on my mind…" Fighting a losing battle to keep the blush off her face as she thought about some of the things she had done while the physically appealing woman was on her mind, "Sure I like her and all, she's a good friend… but I'm still engaged… I think…" Growling to herself as she tried and failed to mentally conjure up an image of Akane the redhead switched targets to her other fiancée's only to realize that while she knew what they looked like she was just as unable to conjure up their faces.
At first when he had spotted the girl's blush he had congratulated himself for still having his smooth talking skills with the ladies but then as he noted her delicate features turning into a frown Kaji amended his earlier thoughts to add that while there was no doubt that he still had his skills the young lady was obviously troubled by something as it was keeping her from responding in the usual school girl way that he had become so accustomed with his German charge.
"Ah there you are…" Misato greeted.
"Yes here I am… It's been awhile, you miss me?" Kaji replied with a smile directed at the purple haired woman.
"Huh… Oh you…" Misato commented, "I was talking to Yoiko. I thought you were right behind me?"
Snapping away from her troubling thoughts Ranma answered, "It looked a bit crowded in there, sides this is my first time on a ship this big…" Reconsidering her words briefly she added, "Actually first time I've been on a real ship before…"
"Yoiko, you've been to China though…"
Smiling as she remembered the memory of Ranma replied, "Yeah but I swam it back then…"
"You swam to China?" Asuka asked in disbelief, "Yeah right…"
"Now Asuka, while there's not a lot of direct evidence to Yoiko's claims the results and her abilities tend to speak for themselves." Kaji chastised gently. Noting that the rebuke had the desired effect of getting the volatile and highly competitive girl to cease her hostilities for a time as she fought off a shameful blush he asked, "Well since this is your first time on a ship this big how about I give you the nickel tour?"
Hearing a small rumble coming from Yoiko's midsection Misato smirked while ruffling the girls hair, "Actually, while that sounds like a good idea, but I think we should start in the mess hall."
Sulking in embarrassment at the verbal rebuke from her Kaji-kun the German redhead just nodded and trailed behind the others as they made their way to the small lift.
Squeezing into the small elevator first Ranma quickly moved the bags she was still carrying off to the side of the lift before shuffling up next to them in an effort to make room for Misato and the others.
Stepping into the small lift with Yoiko instantly noting the cramped quarters and the two bags stacked up against the wall Misato offered, "Yoiko, I think we need to revisit the directive of you keeping that case on you at all times. It's bulky and seems to take up a lot of space."
"What's so special about the case anyway?" Asuka asked.
"It's a combat suit, sort of like a plug suit." Ranma answered as she lashed out and latched onto a stray hand that was gravitating towards Misato's backside.
"That case looks kind of heavy…" Kaji commented while hiding a wince of pain at the fierce grip holding his hand captive. "Note to self… Don't try to grope Misato when Yoiko is around."
Shrugging as she tightened her hold on the man's hand Yoiko replied sweetly, "Oh it's not that heavy, heck I barely notice that I'm carrying it around most of the time."
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Tokyo 3
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"Come on guys… I got some chores to take care of." Shinji whined before going to leave the room.
"Well we could always help out." Kensuke responded as he made to follow.
"Yeah, we could help out…" Toji added, "We'll help gather up the laundry, come on Kensuke…"
"Hey…" Shinji protested weakly as the two ducked into Yoiko's room, "Don't be going through her things…" Noting his words falling on deaf ears he added, "At least feed the fish while you're in there, food's on the dresser next to the fish bowl."
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"Dude check this out…" Kensuke exclaimed as he pulled something out of the closet.
"Who cares…" Toji waved off in disinterest as he stared at his very own goddess's most intimate storage space and the possible wonders held inside.
"This looks huge, how could she even wear this… She'd be swimming in this…"
"Feh whatever…" Toji mumbled as he debated approaching his personal mecca, "I wonder what treasures are in there… Does she keep a journal… Diary… I bet it has my name with little hearts drawn around it on every page…" Looking around and noting that he was now alone in the room the stricken teen muttered, "I'm just going to feed her fish for her… If by chance a drawer opens up and her diary falls out… I'll just put it back… Yeah… Feeding the fish…"
Taking a step forward the teen gingerly reached out with shaking hands towards the small shaker of fish food while 'accidentally' brushing his hand up against the top drawer of the dresser. Unfortunately for the tall jock he had completely ignored the small rug placed inconspicuously in front of the dresser. That proved to be a mistake as the moment his foot set down upon the rug the dark-haired youth felt something tighten down around his ankle followed closely by his whole world turning upside down.
Blearily as the excess blood in his body flowed into his brain Toji blinked his eyes and belatedly realized that perhaps he should have kept his distance. Seeing a shadowy figure stepping into the room and assuming it was either Shinji or Kensuke coming into the room he muttered, "Not a word, just get me down from here okay…"
'Wark…" Penpen replied in something that loosely translated into a cross between laughter and a thank you for freeing up the final obstacle standing between the warm water penguin and his premeal treat.
"GET IT OFF… GET IT OFF… OH GOD IT HURTS… SHINJI… TOJI… SOMEBODY… IT'S CRUSHING ME… ANYBODY… HELP…"
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"I don't know Yoiko, I'm just saying that Asuka is a very prideful girl and has trained to be a pilot since she was a small child. So maybe she feels threatened by the possibility of you replacing her."
Shaking her head as she took her change of clothes out of her case to sit neatly on the dresser in their shared room Ranma replied, "But, I'm not…"
"I know that, you know that. But Asuka doesn't know that. All she really knows is that there are four pilots and only three Eva's at the moment and that Shinji and Rei are still pilots."
"I guess…" Ranma replied as she sunk down onto the bed next to the Nerv Captain.
Pulling the shorter girl into a half hug Misato continued, "I'm just very proud of how you handled her earlier… I know that if it would have been me I might have snapped."
Blushing at the close contact with the taller woman Ranma shrugged it off with, "Hey, I told ya that I aint no kid."
"Yeah, okay… But you're still younger than me…" Misato conceded before hearing a knock at the door and calling out, "It's open."
"Fourth child come with me…"
"I have a name ya know…" Ranma replied in annoyance.
"Please?" Misato directed to the German redhead.
Huffing lightly Asuka asked, "Yoiko would you 'PLEASE' come with me?"
Looking back towards Misato and seeing her nod Ranma sighed and rose off the bed replying, "Alright I guess, where are we going?"
"I want to show you something."
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"So what do you think."
"Looks like a giant robot laying on its back under a tarp." Ranma commented idly as she glanced around the tarped Eva to get a better look at the deck of the transport vessel.
"Giant Robot…" Asuka sputtered, "This is the first production model Evangelion, this is a shiny sports car compared to the ones the others use."
"Oh…" Ranma shrugged, "I didn't know. So what? Does it have some sort of special weapons or something?"
From her position standing on the chest of her sleeping Eva Asuka puffed out her chest and replied, "Of course it does, The progressive knife is of a different design than the others in that the blade can extend out of the handle incase it breaks… And the right shoulder pylon can shoot spikes out for close combat."
"What is that?" Ranma asked as she turned her head after spotting movement coming from the open seas.
"What's what?" Asuka replied as she climbed down her Eva to join the other redhead only for her mouth to fall open in shock as she watched one of the fleets escorts blow up.
"It's an Angel…" Ranma stated as her grip tightened down on her case's handle. Taking the German girl by her hand she added, "Come on I need to get you out of here."
"What? No way…" Asuka screeched in outrage, "I need to get into my unit 02..."
Grumbling but not wanting to really argue Ranma asked, "How much battery life do you have left on it? I don't see a power cable…"
"It has a minute." Asuka shot back as she grabbed her red duffle bag and took advantage of the other girls hold on her to tug her towards a nearby hatch where they could change.
"Is that enough time for you to get to the carrier and get plugged in?"
"Plenty of time…" Asuka sniffed.
"Fine… Get changed and then let's get moving. The faster we get out there the less damage that Angel is going to do to the fleet." Ranma said before popping her case open and slipping out of her pants with her back turned to the other girl.
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"You ain't done changing yet?" Ranma asked calmly as she turned around thankful that for once that the words had not come out as the nervous stutter that her mind had wanted to shoot out.
Covering her chest up with her hands Asuka nervously shot out, "I'm changing as fast as I can… Obviously I'm not as experienced as you when it comes to taking off my clothes."
"Whatever…" Ranma grunted in annoyance as she ignored the verbal jab, "I'll be outside…"
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"Come on lets go." Asuka commanded as she stepped out from the hatch.
"Finally…" Ranma muttered before making her way to the railing at edge of the deck.
"Hey… Where are you going?"
"I'm going to fight the angel…"
"What are you going to do? Swim out there?"
"Well yeah… How else would I do it?" Ranma stated obliviously before her suit's comm. system crackled to life with, "Yoiko… Yoiko do you read me…"
"Misato? Yeah I'm here…"
"Good, I can't find Asuka, is she with you?"
"Yeah, we're over on the transport ship with Unit 02." Ranma replied casually as she hopped up onto the railing, "I was just about to go and try to stall the angel before it takes out another ship."
"No… Don't do that yet…" Misato said before pausing briefly and turning her attention to the captain of the Carrier, "Do you have the Umbilical cable hooked up yet?"
Seeing a nod from his first officer as he replied, "It's tied into the ship's reactors now."
"Good." Misato replied, glad that the man seemed to be cooperating for the moment before turning back to the comm, "Yoiko, stay with Asuka for now, her Eva has B type equipment and won't be able to move well if she falls into the water."
"Alright…" Ranma said as she hopped off the railing to turn to Asuka and say, "Misato say's to get in the Eva and try to make it back to the carrier… And try not to fall in the water."
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"IDIOT…" Asuka cursed in frustration, "How is she supposed to make it to the carrier?"
"She's going to ride on Unit 02's shoulder." Misato replied over the comm.
"Ahhh… Don't do that I didn't know you were listening Misato."
"That doesn't matter right now Asuka." Misato stated, "Right now I just need you to focus on linking up with the umbilical cable, Yoiko will support you by stalling the Angel if need be, but once you link up I want the two of you to work together on this. As I told her your Eva doesn't have the right equipment equipped to function in the water so try not to fall in… Now I am going to patch Yoiko's comm. system into yours so you two can communicate."
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" Sie bereit supergirl?" Asuka asked snidely as she began to activate the Eva in her native tongue.
"Asuka, Yoiko doesn't speak German so you might want to start up using Japanese just incase communicating in Japanese throws your Sync rate off." Misato said as she came back over the comm.
"I speak a little, Du weißt nichts und du bist nichts…" Ranma interjected with a heavy accent before remembering, "Oh and I know this one too, kann ich dir beim Ausziehen helfen?"
'WHAT…" Asuka shrieked, "HOW DARE YOU TELL ME I KNOW NOTHING AND AM NOTHING… AND THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD EVER LET YOU HELP ME TAKE OFF MY CLOTHES…"
"Huh… Is that what that means? My old man always told me that it meant that Sensei was right and that I should go get changed… Though that sort of explains why he was always so rude one minute and then nice the next… Now that I think about it, I sure did have to change a lot and sometimes I wasn't even dirty… I guess that also explains why Sensei would always be even more upset when I was done changing before he got there… "
Shaking her head in the hopes it would help dissipate her confusion on whether the fellow redhead was serious or not Asuka dropped the matter and coldy replied, "Activating Unit two in Japanese… Get ready, I only have a minute of battery life so don't think I'll let you slow me down."
"I'm ready." Ranma replied back as she braced herself using one of the shoulder pylons.
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Katsuragi residence
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"I thought it was one of those one size fits all uniforms… It looked so cool… Well besides the pink trim…" Kensuke defended as he gingerly placed an ice pack on his lap, "At least I wasn't trying to go through her panties…"
"That wasn't me… It was that stupid penguin running around… I was framed…"
Holding his head between his hands as he listened to his two friends try to explain themselves Shinji could only groan in frustration at how he was going to explain what happened to Yoiko.
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With Unit 02
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"You still with me super girl?" Asuka smirked as she landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier.
"Yeah I'm here…" Came the distracted reply as Ranma visually tracked the angel through the water. Reaching behind her back to grasp a hold of her expanding disk she added, "This should be pretty easy, I'm just going to drain this thing and then blast it like I did the fourth Angel… So try to stand still…"
"Yoiko you haven't tested that out yet…" Misato warned before she realized that with Asuka's current equipment their options were limited, "Just be careful okay… You spend too much time in the infirmary as it is and Ritsuko isn't here to patch you up this time."
"WHAT… I CAN TAKE THIS ANGEL DOWN MYSELF…" Asuka protested with a screech, "I DON'T NEED SUPERGIRLS HELP TO DO MY JOB…"
Shaking her head in hopes of chasing away the ringing sounds that the Germans girl shriek had inspired the Nerv captain calmly ordered, "Asuka, Yoiko has experience with this so follow her lead…"
While keeping her sights on the approaching Angel and holding the disk in front of herself Ranma depressed the lever, extending the ring to its maximum size as she readied herself for her attack. Realizing that unlike the last angel she had tried the technique on this one had the advantage of being mostly hidden by the water and seemed to travel at a much faster rate the redhead begun to visually trace it's approach. After mentally accounting for the Angels speed she picked a spot a good distance in front of the it and shouted out her attack, " Happo Fifty-Yen Satsu,,,"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Asuka shouted as she noticed the swirling beam coming from the water to her right shoulder pylon.
"Damm… It's moving too fast… Was sort of hoping that this would at least slow it down like it did the last one." Ranma mumbled to herself as she concentrated on keeping the swirling energy within the ring stable.
Realizing that the Angel was almost right on top of them Misato made a snap decision and ordered, "Asuka prepare for incoming, The Angel isn't slowing down…"
Nodding to herself in anticipation the German girl snickered, "Sorry Super girl, seems like you got yourself a dose of kryptonite."
"Just hold still dammit…" Ranma replied through gritted teeth as the Eva she was still standing upon began to move its arms.
"Misato ordered me to engage then Angel… So get off me…" Asuka complained while she opened up the Eva's shoulder pylon that contained her Progressive knife, "I can't take on the Angel if I have to worry about you getting in my way." She added as she gave an unintentionally slight shrug that nearly dislodged her fellow redhead.
Unable to immediately regain her balance with the Angel seconds away from the Carrier and knowing that she wouldn't be able to launch a modified hyru shoten ha at it as unbalanced as she was Ranma did the only thing she could think of and heaved the glowing disk at it, hoping that the effort would at least stall the Angel.
"ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT…" The captain shouted over the ships PA system just seconds before the massive form of a monstrous fish broke through the surface of the water.
Having wasted precious time in bickering with Yoiko, Asuka was still seconds away from retrieving her knife and as a result was caught with one arm up as the Angel leapt up out of the water.
Unable to keep her footing as her off balance stance was only worsened by the unexpected movements of Unit 02 Ranma tumbled off the shoulder, smirking slightly as she realized that her aim had been spot on target.
/BOOOOMMMMM/
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Diving down onto the deck of the bridge Misato tried to shield her eyes from not only the explosion but the following shock wave she knew was coming while silently hoping that her charges would be okay.
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"WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT…" Asuka cried out as her Eva was knocked off balance by the blast. Thinking that the attack had come from the Angel and unable to see it from being spun halfway around the German girl finished withdrawing her progressive knife and stabbed out violently into thin air consequently worsening her spin and sending her overboard.
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Groaning as she pulled herself up from the deck plating Ranma took a quick glance around, seeing a few of the remaining fighters on fire, a handful of indentations along the deck in the shape of a giant boot and no Eva she rushed to over to the side hoping to catch a sign about Unit 02's whereabouts.
"Asuka… Asuka? Can you hear me?" Not hearing anything the pigtailed girl continued, "Misato, I can't get Asuka on the radio…" Still not hearing anything but static as a reply the redhead turned her attention to the bridge and instantly noted the scorched looking metal and blown out windows. Frowning as she took in the destruction on deck Ranma took a half step towards the ships bridge before she heard the high pitched whine of line being spooled out. Turning her attention to the sound she nodded to herself, "Misato would want me to stick with Asuka… "
Realizing that the power cable supplying the Eva was quickly running out of slack Ranma made a few quick leaps to where she was standing near the cable and peering down into the murky depths. She knew that her suit was equipped to handle a broad spectrum of terrain and battlefield conditions but had not been designed with underwater combat specifically in mind. Crossing her fingers while hoping that the highly advanced gear would hold up she reached up to the helmet and activated it, Causing it to make a slight hissing sound as it expanded from it's neutral position where it closely resembled a extremely thick headband to that of a true helmet that once in place sealed her airtight.
Now ready Ranma leapt up into the air only to dive down, following the umbilical cable into the water beneath the carrier.
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"Move it… Dammit move…" Asuka shouted in frustration as she tried to get her Unit 02 to do something other than drift lazily in the water like a dead worm on a hook.
"Crap here it comes…" Asuka cursed as she caught sight of the angel swimming rapidly at her, "MOVE… MOVE… MOVE…" she repeated hoping that she would be able to do something as the Angel opened its mouth in preparation to bite down on her Eva. "What?' She noted immediately upon staring into the gaping maw and seeing a large portion of the right side of the angels mouth missing, "Did super girl do that? Why was I trying to piss her off again?"
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"MOKO TAKABISHA…" Ranma shouted upon seeing the angel about to bite Unit 02, "Asuka can you here me? Crap… She must have hit her head or something…" Wanting to put herself in between the inactive Eva and the incoming Angel Ranma increased her pace.
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"Asuka… Can you hear me?" Misato called over the staticy comm. system as damage control teams ran rampant through the bridge in an attempt to get all of the ships systems back online.
"Misato? My controls aren't responding… There was a blue explosion a few moments ago and the Angel veered off…" Asuka responded frantically as she continued to struggle with moving her Eva.
Nodding as she remained calm the purple haired woman replied, "You're using B-type equipment, your controls are going to be nearly unresponsive."
"I KNOW THAT… YOU AND SUPERGIRL ALREADY TOLD ME THAT…" The german redhead snapped back, "Tell me something I don't know…"
"I've temporarily lost contact with Yoiko but her suit is equipped with a tracker… If I'm reading this right she should be almost right on top of your position."
Snorting in disbelief Asuka shook her head and replied somewhat more calmly, "A lot of good that's going to do me when this overgrown tuna decides to eat me…"
Holding back a sigh as she tried to figure out what to tell the girl Misato cursed whomever had the bright idea on shipping the Eva without any equipment. They were supposed to be battle ready at all times, but Nerv Germany had already not sent out an umbilical cable, hence the choppers payload. Cursing herself for the total lack of preparedness and knowing that if Yoiko couldn't turn the tide so to speak, her short but somewhat prestigious career with Nerv would be over, the Chief of Nerv Tactical Operations replied, "Just concentrate on arming yourself with your progressive knife, It might be really sluggish but you have to hang in there."
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Having lost sight of the Angel in-between the murky depths of the ocean floor and the ruins of buildings that littered the bottom Ranma came to an abrupt stop right in front of the Eva and began to slowly tread water as she scanned her surroundings while cycling through the functions of her helmet in an effort to see which one would give her the best visual.
"I really should have had a bit more training with this thing… Sure it seems easy enough but who reads the entire Manuel? I've seen smaller bricks…" Preoccupied with chastising herself as she was the redhead almost cycled past the right setting. Now able to see relatively more clearly she momentarily paused, allowing herself to sink slightly as her arms quite treading water as she scanned the depths looking for her target.
Spotting the angel as it came out from behind a rather large grouping of submerged buildings she muttered, "Found you…" Realizing that the Angel was coming for another head on charge she added, "Is it just me or are these things not so bright… I already proved I could hurt it… Course I'm not really complaining… Don't really know how I am going to defeat it at the moment but I'm sure I'll figure something out."
Seeing the Angel open its large mouth as it rapidly closed the distance and feeling just slightly intimidated at the rows of giant teeth she added, "Well… Reasonably sure anyway… At least I have a target now… That glowing thing in it's throat looks like the core…"
Aware that she didn't have a backup for her expanding disk meaning that draining the beast would be problematic without it at best and knowing that while her Moko Takabisha's usually lacked the sheer power to fell the beast the teen decided that perhaps she could just overwhelm it and started to shoot off Moko Takabisha's left and right in an effort to puncture the Core.
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"Mien Gott…" Asuka muttered in disbelief as she watched the fourth child start blasting away with blue energy balls, each one about the size of a small car.
"Asuka… Talk to me… What's happening?"
"She's blasting the Angel…" The awe stricken girl replied, "How…"
"FOCUS!" Misato shouted trying to get the other girl back in the game as she looked down at the small handheld display that listed the suits available functions, "Yoiko doesn't have a weapon to launch her main technique with so you're going to have to try harder to move your Eva. Or are you not enough of a pilot to fight?"
Snapping out of her awestricken state Asuka's eyes burned with fiery passion, she was a pilot and had trained most of her life to operate Unit 02, there was no way she was going to let the other girl show her up in her own debut.
Slowly in a show of the girls mental resolve the red Eva's arms began to move sluggishly through the water as she managed to arm herself with her progressive knife.
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Frantically Ranma began swimming backwards to the Eva after realizing that her ki blasts were not hitting the core with enough power to kill the angel.
"HA… TAKE THIS…" Asuka cried out in anticipation smirking as she noticed her fellow redhead fleeing from the Angel.
Unknown to the German pilot Ranma had not been retreating. Once she realized that the Angel had started to drive through her attacks and was getting a little too close to comfort she had decided to relocate to the Eva so they would not be separated again by the Angel.
Just as Asuka began her clumsy sluggish awkward swing with her progressive knife with the angel moving in to swallow them whole Ranma activate her climbing spikes in her gloves only to wedge one of the blades right into a seam in the Eva's armor.
"AHHHHHH… IT'S GOT ME!" Asuka screamed as she felt the Angels sharp teeth pressing against her Eva's armor.
"It's just the Eva Asuka your going to be okay…" Misato tried as the ship lurched violently.
"That's easy for you to say… You're not the one being eaten…" The teen venomously shot back.
Thankful to have avoided all of the large nasty looking teeth of the Angel Ranma took a moment to look around while holding back a shudder at the thought of being eaten alive. Sighing in relief as she realized that Unit 02 seemed mostly undamaged as the angels intimidating jaws were not strong enough to tear the Eva in half the teen began to turn her attention onto other important things, namely like how she was going to get out of her current predicament.
Her Moko Takabisha's weren't quite strong enough, she had her modified hyru shoten ha but she didn't think that it could be pulled off without some sort of disk or something. "And in the water I'm not even sure if I can manage a vacuum blade… Heck even when the old ghoul was using the shark fist against me she started the technique above the water…"
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"What's Yoiko doing now?" Misato asked Asuka over the comm as she glared at the tech scrambling about to rewire the interface so she could talk to Yoiko.
"She's just staying there looking around…" Asuka grimaced as the innitial pain from being trapped within the Angels jaws started to fade. "No wait she's moving now… Not sure what she's doing though… She stopped again, now she's just standing there by the Angels teeth… HEY DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE YOU DUMBKOFF!"
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Moving in-between the Angels teeth Ranma nodded to herself, she knew that if she destroyed the angel's core the Angel would die but at the same time was a bit wary of blowing it up while inside. So instead of returning to her blast it till it stops strategy she decided that she would try stabbing it. Unfortunately she was under equipped for that seeing that all she had was a small combat knife.
Having no idea on where the red Eva's progressive knife was she settled for the next best thing, that being the angels teeth. So not wanting to waste anymore time she drew back her fist and brought it forward hoping to earn herself a temporary degree in dentistry.
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"Asuka what's going on now?" Misato asked in concern as she noted that the comm. had fallen silent.
Holding back a sigh of relief from seeing the other redhead swim back into view the German teen replied, "I don't know, the fourth came back but she's carrying something that looks like a tooth… It is a tooth… She's launching it at this glowy globe thingy in here…"
Wondering whether or not Nerv Germany had even bothered giving Asuka reports to go over Misato supplied, "That would be the angel's core, if Yoiko can puncture that then the angel will die…"
"Ohhh…" Asuka stated offhandedly while she watched her Japanese counterpart use the bottom of the Angels jaw to launch herself and the giant oversized tooth.
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With sweat pouring down her face Ranma tried keep up her momentum with the tooth to no avail. It was simply too heavy for her. Not even considering giving up as an option she allowed herself to sink back to the bottom of the jaw to try again when suddenly her comm. system returned to life.
"Yoiko…"
"Misato…" Ranma grunted in relief as she squatted into position, "Was worried… Bridge looked trashed…"
"Things are in a bit of a state up here. Took the crew a little while to get thte comm system back online. Asuka tells me you're trying to throw teeth at the angel?"
"Trying to…" Came the strained reply as Ranma's muscles screamed out in protest as she launched herself upwards.
Frustrated over the lack of video feed to give her the much needed information but not wanting to disturb Yoiko while she was working on an attack Misato resisted the urge to call for a status update.
"Hah… Seems like super girl isn't quite super after all." Asuka goaded to herself.
"Why what's happening?" Misato asked as she furrowed her brow in frustration.
"Oh she just fell short of the core again… That's all…" Asuka replied feeling more than a bit smug.
"Misato… This isn't working… I need to find a smaller tooth or something…" Ranma reported unaware of the conversation on the other comm channel.
Holding back her temper at her newly appointed German charge Misato replied, "Okay… New plan, can you help Asuka get free? If she can get the angels mouth open the maybe I can scuttle a ship and remotely detonate it, hopefully taking out the core."
Turning her attention back to the downed Eva Ranma interjected, "Actually I have an idea… Doesn't Unit 02 shoot spikes out of its shoulders or something?"
Nodding as she realized where the martial artist was going Misato replied, "Yes… Yes, that's it, even if she can't really move in the water she should have enough mobility to loosely aim her shoulder at the core. The explosion should be more than strong enough to keep the spikes momentum up… Okay Yoiko, I want you to try to free Unit 02's arms Asuka tells me that they are trapped in the jaws."
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With Jet Alone hidden behind a ridge littered with massive trees that blended into the landscape Rei could not help but feel a little bit of unease slip into herself.
At first glance the forest seemed normal enough, but the further she ventured into it the larger it seemed to get. Pausing momentarily as the forest floor seemed to explode with movement causing her to unconsciously clutch her axe in preparation for an attack.
"Rei? Is there something wrong?" Ritsuko asked curiously as she zoomed in with the video feed.
"I am not alone…"
"Sensors indicate that the Angel has not moved." The blonde doctor stated offhandedly before adding, "It must be some of the local wildlife. The advance team already checked them out for anomalies and besides the fact that they have somehow been mutated to massive proportions there is nothing inherently dangerous to you . So disregard them and continue on mission."
"Yes doctor." Rei parroted back while trudging on ahead only pausing to ensure that her power cable remained untangled in the trees.
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"What's the hold up super girl?" Asuka chided over the now fully restored comm. channel.
"You… Could… Help…" Ranma grunted irritably as she tried to push the tooth loose, having already loosened it with several repeated blows.
"Hey, I'm not the one with the monstrous mystical strength or whatever you want to call it." The redheaded German girl defended snidely, "What am I supposed to do? Wave my arms about and magically free myself?"
Slapping her forehead in irritation Misato snapped, "Yes… That's exactly what you are supposed to be doing."
She had been trying to ignore the other girl and her constant verbal slams in an effort to prove to Misato just how mature she really was but her resolve had started slipping and with each comment Ranma was having a more difficult time holding herself in check. The latest comment had only aggravated her further to the point where she went and delved into the soul of ice just to keep herself from snapping.
"I think I got it…" Ranma grunted while holding back a shiver from the cold water she was finding herself immersed in.
CRACK… CRACK… CRUNCH… CRACK…
"There try moving your arm now…" Ranma panted as she batted away a large chuck of ice to look at the house sized tooth she had managed to dislodge before shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner, Ice…. I can freeze this thing…"
"Freeze what?"
Swimming up towards the core Ranma explained, "All we have to do is sever the core right?"
"Well technically…" Misato answered before the ship lurched forward as the Angel continued in it's efforts to sever the umbilical cable.
"Well the core is only really connected at the top of the Angels mouth so all I have to do is surround it with ice and break it out of its place…"
"Yoiko I don't think that's a good idea, I want you to stick to the current plan."
"I'm going to give it a try… Sides, didn't Ritsuko say something about wanting a core to study or something…" Ranma replied as she moved into position and began trying to project the soul of ice into the area around the core.
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"HAH… GOT IT…" Asuka cried out in triumph as she finally managed to free one of Unit 02's arms from the Angels jaw. Realizing that while it was still sluggish to move but not as bad before when she was in open water she immediately levered herself upwards and prepared to fire off her shoulder spikes.
"Asuka hold on…" Misato cried out.
"NO WAY, I DON'T NEED SUPERGIRL TO FINISH THIS…"
Hearing the German girls shout Ranma looked down in alarm just as several massive spikes the size of a large bus shot out of the Eva's shoulder. Trying to put as much distance between herself and the core as possible the nimble redhead pushed off from her position near the core in an effort to put some distance in-between herself and the incoming projectiles.
With a victorious smirk Asuka watched one of her projectiles smash into the core sending shards of frozen bits of Angel core exploding outward into the cavernous maw of the angel only adding, "Mission accomplished." As the angel quit moving.
"Yoiko?" Misato tentanvly called out, "Yoiko? Can you hear me?" Not hearing any response the older woman tried to ignore the lump growing in her throat while she asked, "Asuka, I need a status on Yoiko?"
Snorting because she believed the other girl to be put out for being shown up Asuka commented, "She's probably just upset that I didn't need her help to finish off the Angel. Isn't that right super girl?"
Feeling her chest tighten the purple haired woman softly asked, "Asuka, was Yoiko clear from the Angels core before you shot the spikes?"
"Why would she be anywhere near the core? She was supposed to be working on freeing my other arm…" Feeling just a little bit of doubt creeping into her voice she added, "Right? That's what the plan was? Wasn't it? Fourth child?"
Staggering away from the control panel that she had been bracing herself on Misato quietly turned to the captain of the ship and shakily ordered, "Reel in Unit 02's umbilical cable… I need divers in the water… Have medical standing by…"
"Yes Ma'am…" The Admiral replied before relaying the orders.
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"I am in position now." Rei stated as her eva stood in waist deep water, "The Angel known as the Yamata no Orochi is directly in front of me at Unit 00's feet and showing no sign of movement."
"Sensors confirm it is still in a state of hibernation. Proceed to eliminate target." Ritsuko replied as she kicked her feet up on the desk inside the mobile command center that was located several miles away from the hot zone.
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It's true purpose long since forgotten the Yamata no Orochi had been stead fastedly ignoring the irritating background buzzing that seemed to be calling out for it to do something for the past several months. Something that with its simple mindset directly contradicted with its base wants. Those wants being primarily booze and maidens. So as the large looming shadow approached it in the water it decided to ignore the presence, not even registering the threat. After all it was the Yamata no Orochi and the entertaining little hairless apes of the world could never offer enough of a threat to be considered anything other than a minor inconvenience or light snack.
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Not wanting to stall any longer lest the Angel wake up Rei brought her progressive axe down, slicing right into the angels body. Not giving it a chance to recover she immediately withdrew it only to slam it right back down continuing to do so until it ceased all movements.
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"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON AS TO WHY I SHOULDN'T SEND YOUR ASS PACKING BACK TO GERMANY!" Misato yelled while getting right in Asuka's face, "YOU THINK YOU'RE HOT STUFF! DON'T NEED TO FOLLOW ORDERS! TOTALLY DISREGUARD THE SAFETY OF YOUR TEAM MATE! AND FOR WHAT? SO YOU CAN LOOK LIKE SOME LITTLE HOT SHOT?"
"I didn't know…" Asuka defended as tears streamed down her face, "It wasn't supposed to be this way…" "I was just trying…" "I needed to prove myself…"
'JUST TRYING? JUST TRYING WHAT? CAUSE IF YOU WERE JUST TRYING TO IGNORE ORDERS AND KILL YOUR TEAMMATE THEN CONGRADUATIONS!"
"She's dead…" Asuka whimpered, "Nononno… She can't be dead… I didn't mean too… All I wanted to do was show every one that they didn't need to replace me… That I can fight the angels…"
Stepping away from the girl as she tried to reign in her temper Misato took in a deep breath and replied, "No… She was knocked unconscious…"
"So she's going to be alright?" Asuka hedged tentatively.
"I don't know. Her helmet was damaged in the explosion, filling the suit with water, she wasn't breathing when they got to her." Misato managed before slumping backwards against a bulkhead and adding, "They were able to resuscitate her but the suit lost structural integrity and she has several cracked ribs… The doctors are still with her."
"I'm sorry…" Asuka offered meekly in an attempt to break the silence that had befallen the room, "I wasn't paying attention to what you guys were talking about… I guess I was too caught up in trying to show you that I can be an Eva pilot… So you wouldn't replace me… That I just didn't hear what you were saying…" Laughing bitterly at herself she added, "Guess I really blew it…" Using the sleeve of her plug suit to wipe away at her tear streaked face softly finished, "Before you send me back can… can I see her… I want to apologize… And ask her to be good to Unit 02... She can be a bit fickle sometimes…"
"Be good to Unit 02? Send you back?" Misato murmured as her face softened at the realization of what the girls true motives had been, "Oh… Asuka…" She started while stepping closer to hug the teen tightly, "Yoiko was never your replacement…"
"But… You have 3 Eva's and four pilots?" Asuka sniffed out as she tried to resist the woman's efforts at comforting her.
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Sometime later
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With an inward groan at what was seeming to be a running theme synonymous with her battling Angels Ranma ignored the steady beeping sounds and tightly wrapped ribs while trying not to choke on whatever was jammed down her throat in favor of opening up her eyes and catching a glimpse of her surroundings.
"White ceiling… Check… though the colored pipes and wiring are a refreshing change from the norm…"
"White walls… Again with the pipes… Though the slightly transparent opaque curtain is nice… I suppose…"
"Must be on some sort of ventilator or something… That's new… guess that explains the tube down my throat…"
"I'm sorry…" Asuka whispered to her bedridden companion not noticing that she was awake, "I didn't mean for this to happen, I was just too wrapped up in competing with you that I lost track of what you were doing." Laughing bitterly at her own actions she continued, "You know, when I first heard about you, I had thought, 'how cool it was,' that when I finally got to Japan I'd not only be working with other kids my own age for once… but that two of them were girls and one of those girls was a fellow redhead… who is so strong… powerful… pretty… and could kick Angel ass… Everything I've ever wanted to be… I thought 'hey, now here's a girl that has best friend written all over'…"
Taking a moment to wipe away a few tears with her free hand while gently squeezing the other girls hand with her own she added, "Serves me right… thinking that I could be different… That I could make myself matter to somebody… My father left.. Mom… She… All she cared about was her precious little dolly…"
She wanted to tell the girl that it was okay, that she was fine regardless of her appearance a stay in the infirmary was actually the norm for her ever since coming to Tokyo 03 and that if she wanted to be friends then that was alright with her. Sure so she had gotten hurt but that wasn't even that important, "Heck… Back in Nerima my best friend tried to kill me… Multiple times…"
Unfortunately for Ranma she couldn't offer anything in the form of spoken reassurances at the moment due to the tube in her throat. So with no verbal options available she gently shifted her hand and firmly brought it to her chest with the hopes that the simple action would give the distraught girl some comfort.
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After another twenty minutes had gone by Misato took a small step away from the wall where she had been observing her two charges. Shrugging her jacket off she gave the german girl a sad look, having not realized before just much everything had effected her. After draping the jacket over the slumped over slumbering girls shoulder she turned her attention to the one in the bed.
Seeing two blue eyes staring back at her she sighed and leaned forward, speaking softly so she wouldn't disturb Asuka and said, "You're going to be alright, the visor cracked causing the helmet to lose it's structural integrity. You were unconscious and nearly drowned, you have a few broken ribs and some micro fractures on a few joints but nothing you can't bounce back from…" After pausing to gently brush aside the bedridden redheads bangs with her hand Misato leaned in and lightly kissed her forehead before lowering herself further down and whispering directly into her ear, "You might not be a kid, but next time please try to follow orders. I… We almost lost you."
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The next day around 1900 hours Tokyo 03 time
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"I still think you should be in the hospital, you almost died yesterday… Dumbkoff doctors releasing you early…" Asuka grumbled angrily as she pushed her redheaded counterpart along.
Sighing because now she had two mother hens to contend with Ranma tried, "I heal really fast, besides Misato chained me into the chair so it's not like I'm going to be able to aggravate my injuries."
"Yeah well… I still think you should be in the Hospital."
"Well, Misato said that Ritsuko would be coming by after they finished at the docks… Don't see why I needed to be chained to the wheel chair, it's not like I argued with the corpsmen when they brought me off the ship in a gurney… I don't even know where she got the chair from… If I didn't know better I would say she's become some sort of master of hidden wheelchairs…"
"Yeah well… I don't know either… But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be in the wheel chair." Asuka finished lamely.
"This is the apartment here." Ranma stated as she gestured to the door on her right.
"Ah okay, just let me ring the bell…" Asuka replied nervously suddenly unsure of herself and how the people inside would react to her after what she had almost done the day before. Sure Yoiko had been nice to her since waking up, but that niceness could have just been the painkillers talking followed by the other girl not wanting to say something in front of the adults. Now though with the added support of the other pilots to back her Asuka didn't know what to expect, would the fourth child turn on her, turn the others away from her too.
Sensing the girls hesitation Ranma tilted her head up and gave Asuka a warm smile while stating, "There's a few things you should know before you go in there…"
"Here it comes…" Asuka winced with a flinch.
"You need to remember to put the sign up on the bathroom door, Mostly for Shinji's sake. We have a schedule worked out but sometimes it… Well, just be prepared for Rei or Misato to join you… And Rei has a tendency to forget to wear clothes on her way to and from… So if you see her doing that then try to remind her… Nicely though… Oh and be wary of Pen-Pen, he tries to act all innocent reading his paper but if you're not careful he'll go in your room and eat your fish, so if you need any help laying out a trap let me know… " Remembering one other small fact Ranma added, " One final thing… Stay out of Misato's beer, you can drink Pen-Pen's… Just not Misato's."
"Okay… That's not what I was expecting…" Asuka blinked before cautiously reaching out to wring the bell, "Perhaps… No don't even think it… I have a fresh start and I'm going to make the best of it."
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OMAKE
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NOTE REALLY LONG OMAKE THAT NEEDS A BIT OF WORK
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Ranma adjusted her position slightly, hoping that the three other girls in the room would not take notice and start to fawn all over her again. It's not that she didn't enjoy the sentiment, no the fact that they seemed to care about her so much to ensure that she was totally comfortable was nice and left her feeling pleasantly warm all over. The fact of the matter was though that despite her enjoying the warmth their affections stirred up that all three (four including herself) were clad only in the flimsiest of nightwear for the slumber party had her just a little self conscious about how warm she could possibly get.
"After researching slumber parties, I have come up with a list of several activities that we can partake in…"
"That's great Rei. What did you come up with?" Hikari stated proudly at how far the normally stoically silent girl had come.
Furrowing her brow in concentration as she scanned down the list the bluette replied, "I have discovered a wide variety of possible activities, some are rather situational and dependant on other factors."
"Awe… come on first child out with it already." Asuka teased with a smile.
"Well, there are the standard procedures for this type of event; we can make any assortment of snack and then partake in the viewing of several movies called 'chick flicks,' however in my studies I came across a rumor that the viewing of chick flicks requires several boxes of tissues and more often than not inspires women to sniffle uncontrollably… Misato assures me that this is not the case but her statement is contradictory to my research."
"What's the next one Rei." Ranma shot in before anyone could try to convince the girl otherwise.
"I also learned that at some of these sleep overs it is a tradition for each girl to receive some form of 'Make over', often starting with the homeliest of the group as she is often the one with the most need to be made over. Once that is finished my studies suggested that the conversation should degenerate into general gossip including but not limited too; boy's, music, parent's, makeup and other girls insecurities."
"Well that sounds kind of promising…" Asuka started after realizing that out of the four girls in the room only herself and Hikari wore any makeup.
"Since we also have a young male inside the residence with us…" Rei continued, "My research also states that tormenting said male by dressing him up as a girl and giving him a make over is an often acceptable course of action…"
"Wark…" Penpen agreed as he held up a flipper while trying to wipe away the pink lipstick off his beak. After all why should he be the only male to suffer.
"After that my research hit a small stumbling block until I came across another book. That one had several more suggested activities listed."
"Go on…" Hikari prodded
"Since we are already scantily clad we could partake in a pillow fight as this was a rather highly rated suggestion. However due to concerns over Yoiko's injuries I do not think it wise. That leaves us with several more possibilities. We can play spin the bottle, though I do not see the point of this game. Or Seven Minutes in Heaven, that one seemed interesting you take an object of affection into the closet for some special alone time…"
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Unlike Rei, Ranma had a good idea of what exactly the suggested activities were actually for as she was pretty sure that to the blue haired teen an object of affection meant a book. So feeling flushed and needing to take a breather away from the situation she snuck off into the bathroom hoping that some cold water on her face would cool her down.
"Oh hey, Yoiko… Shouldn't you be out there with the others?" Misato asked as she lounged in the furo nursing a beer.
Resisting the urge to dunk her whole head under the cold water tap at the sight of the naked woman Ranma was just about to make a reply when she heard commotion break out from the living room.
"LOOK! THERE'S SHINJI… GET HIM!"
"WHY?"
"SO WE CAN GIVE HIM A MAKEOVER FIRST CHILD… WHY ELSE?"
"MISATO… YOIKO… PENPEN…"
THUD
"I GOT HIM GIRL'S… THERE'S A BOX OF OLD CLOTHES IN MY CLOSET… WE CAN USE THOSE… I GOT A FEW OLD BRA'S IN THERE TOO…"
Wincing at the sound of nails scraping down the hall Ranma turned to the older woman and asked, "Are you going to go out there?"
Snorting as she waved off the commotion Misato replied, "Naw, let the girls have their fun…"
"WHAT IS THAT?"
"Shinji… Shinji… Shinji… This my dear fellow eva pilot is a corset, just something that us women have to endure on occasions…"
"Can't breath…"
Wincing as she remembered her own experiences with the constricting garment Ranma turned to Misato and asked, "Don't suppose you would mind if I joined you for a bit…"
"If you want…" Misato said with a shrug before turning her gaze back upwards to the ceiling consequently missing the way the petite redhead gazed down at her bare breasts.
12321
A short time later
121
"Say? Where'd Yoiko run off to?" Hikari asked as she realized that the room while the room was currently occupied by what looked like four teenage girls it was conspicuously short one redhead.
"I think I should go look for her." Shinji wheezed out in hopes that he could use the opportunity to escape the hellish corset, frilly purple dress, binding black thong. fishnet stockings, and crushingly small red gogo boots that he now found himself wearing.
"I think it is obvious as to where she went…" Rei started, "My research warned me of this but in my own ignorance I dismissed the threat…"
"What threat?" Asuka scoffed as she settled down on the floor with her legs crossed.
"Why the threat of the indomitable Panty thief…" Rei replied in a near whisper just as the room was filled with the sound of thunder.
"Panty thief…" Asuka questioned dubiously, for a moment she had thought that Rei was going to talk about bloody mary or perhaps the candyman but a panty thief, that was just absurd.
"Yes, legend has it… In a time before second impact… That the young women of Japan were terrorized by the most dreadful creature… Some would claim it was part troll… others, part man…"
"I heard that he's some type of Oni…" Hikari said as she leaned forward.
"True, the legends do speak of him in such a way."
"Come off it guys, she probably just went to the bathroom or something." Asuka interjected, "Panty thief… That's just silly…"
"She doesn't know?"
"No she doesn't…"
"Know what?"
"That the fearsome panty thief is real… In fact, we even know his name." Shinji supplied helpfully.
"Feh… That's just crazy talk…"
"And I suppose a young girl whom is capable of going toe to toe with an Angel is just fiction?"
"Yeah but that's different…" Asuka defended while resisting the urge to break the fourth wall.
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"Did it just get really cold in here or is it just me?"
"Huh.. No… The water just got freezing cold all of the sudden… You didn't…"
"No…" Ranma replied as she shook her head before climbing out of the furo, "I'm not using the soul of ice…"
"Weird…" Misato offered back with a shiver as she wrapped her arms around her waist.
"Do you feel that?" Ranma asked as her attention was torn away from the stunning sight in front of her to something that she could sense but not see.
"No… I don't feel anything…"
12321
"All you have to do is say his name three times in the dark…" Rei instructed as she handed over a small slip of paper while Hikari lit a candle.
12321
"You had to have felt that."
"Nope nothing…" Misato answered as she lost her grip on her towel.
Stepping away from the door as she was hit with a persistent chill Ranma asked, "What about now?"
"Still nothing…" Misato replied as she unintentionally backed into the younger girl.
"Okay… Well I definitely felt that…" Ranma muttered to herself as she valiantly kept her hands to herself, while pushing aside her more perverted thoughts in favor of the nagging scream her senses were giving off that something was wrong.
121
"Come on guy's this is silly…" Asuka complained, "There's no such thing…"
"If there's no such thing then why won't you say his name?" Hikari asked innocently.
"Fine… I'll say the words… Happossia… Happ…"
12321
"No they wouldn't…" Ranma muttered in horror as she rushed out of the bathroom to shout, "Don't say it… YOU'LL DOOM US ALL…"
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Snorting at the dramatics Asuka shook her head and replied, "Can't stop now, I'm committed… Happossia…"
"HOTCHA… SO MANY PRETTIES…"
THE ENTIRE OMAKE NEEDS A BIT OF SOMETHING, I KNOW IT'S LONG BUT ORRIGINALLY IT WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE OFFICIALLY PART OF THE FIC. BUT I'M DISSATISFIED WITH THE ENDING LINE HAPPI SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING MORE OF A ZINGER I THINK DUNNO
Sie bereit super girl - you ready super girl
Du weißt nichts und du bist nichts - you know nothing and are nothing
kann ich dir beim Ausziehen helfen? - would you like help taking off your clothes..
A note about Asuka, in the anime she doesn't really seem to know that taking out the angels core is how you kill an angel. Or at least not at first as in ep eight her initial plan was just to stab at it with her knife (that ended with her being knocked overboard) then in ep 9 she just bisected the angel totally missing the core. So either she missed or did not realize how to defeat an angel.
I theorize that maybe, unlike rei, she was used as a test pilot for all of the combat systems for eva2 with all of the data being used for updates to eva1. rei was a test pilot to advance the control systems. Canon tv series ahs her as a really good combat pilot. Lastly, in the twin angel battle, she just sliced it when simply knowing to go for the core would have had rei or shinji probably continue fighting instead of dropping their guard.