This is the second 'half' of the super long original chapter 11. Due to pacing issues, it was split into chapters 11 and 12.
If pacing seems odd, that's probably why. I did the best I could, I hope you enjoy it.
Here's Chapter 12 "Sohryu II"
"I always had trouble with Asuka. Our relationship had its highs and lows. It was like that for years. Deep down... we were alike, her and I. Two broken people. I miss her. She was stronger than me, always was. Smart and tough. But to be tough does not mean you do not feel. People like to be cared for. I, of all people, know that better than most. I know what it's like to be alone even when surrounded by other people. It hurts no matter how 'tough' you are.
I can still remember the feeling of her hand in mine. Another ghost that has haunted me for all my days."
- the Broken Man
"I... I screwed up. I let the Angel get free."
Shinji spoke into the comm, his voice came out shaky and awkward. He had only been trying to save Asuka. He didn't always get along with her. Yes, she bossed him around for no reason, but he didn't exactly hate her. He hadn't even thought about it when he'd dived into the volcano after her, he'd just done it.
"The Angel is free?!" Misato's voice called into the comm.
He winced at the mixture of panic and shock in her voice. He didn't know where she was. She must have evacuated with the other Nerv personnel before the N2 mine was dropped.
"Shinji. Shinji, can you hear me?" Ritsuko's voice cut into the comm.
He was barely listening.
That hand. 'His' hand... it felt so real. Rough and aged flesh riddled with tiny scars. The hands of a working man, Shinji thought.
The boy sat in the entry plug of Unit 01. He'd been there the whole time, and yet he remembered when he had disappeared and had gone somewhere else. Gone to that place in the deepest reaches of his mind, the place he went to in his dark dreams filled with madness. His insanity.
Someone had taken his hand in theirs. He remembered.
"Dr. Akagi. We can hear you. Shinji pulled us out after the explosion," Asuka said into the comm breaking the silence.
That hand. Whose hand was that? Shinji thought his eyes wide. He felt his lips trembling at the memory of being back to back with someone or something in his madness. The Old Man. It sent a chill down his spine.
"Be brave. You can only ever be brave when you are afraid," Shinji whispered to himself. He lifted his hand up staring at it, repeating words that the thing in his head had spoken to him.
Asuka was talking for both of them. Exchanging information with Ritsuko and Misato about what had happened.
To Shinji, he seemed to hear as if from a great distance. Lost in his own thoughts. 'The Angel was afraid. Afraid of you. Fight or flight, you saw it make a choice. The Angel is afraid because it knows the two of us are here.' that was the other thing that 'it' had told him.
Two? Two of us? That doesn't make sense...
"Shinji?" Misato's voice called into the comm bringing him back to the world.
He blinked. He couldn't get lost in his head, he had to stay focused on the people around him or they'd think he was crazy.
"I don't know how I did it. I just... did. I made an AT Field. The Angel ran off; I don't know where. Power cables are damaged," Shinji said hurriedly.
He took a moment to re-center himself. He was inside Unit 01. Asuka and Unit 02 were leaning against him. Together they were standing on the scorched surface of Mount Asama.
"I'm just glad the two of you are safe," Misato said into the comm breathing a sigh of relief.
"The military isn't going to be happy. The Angel is loose and we have no idea where. We need to get emergency power cables here now. We're going to need both of you," Ritsuko said into the comm.
"I'll call it into Nerv. We'll get the two of you the emergency supplies. For now, just... just try to be ready if the Angel comes back," Misato said into the comm.
"Roger that," Shinji said softly.
There wasn't much they could do right now. Asuka's power cable had been torn apart with the other support and cooling cables that the crane had been supplying. Shinji's power cable had been damaged by the N2 blast and stopped working. Both Eva Units had only a few minutes of power left.
The Angel had disappeared, but if it came back and they were out of power...
It won't come back. Not until it gets stronger. You will be safe for now.
I'm not supposed to talk to it. Shinji thought slowly. Part of him was still afraid of his madness, but there was another that wasn't. Something had changed in that volcano, and he didn't know what. He shouldn't be listening to 'it' but it had helped him after all.
He was left with very mixed feelings about the thing in his head.
You need to stay focused. I'll leave you alone. Check on Asuka.
He shook his head trying to get a grip over himself. Eva Unit 02 was still leaning on 01 for support as they stood on the scorched surface.
"Shinji," Asuka called into his ear via the comm. He turned Unit 01's head to look at 02. It was a human reaction to someone calling their name, and the Evas mirrored their pilots.
"I... you saved me. You... saved me. You jumped in knowing you might not get out..." Asuka said in disbelief. She sounded like she might have been in shock, but there was more to it. Something he heard in her voice that he couldn't quite place.
"Yeah... " Shinji said stupidly. He didn't know what else to say.
Elsewhere.
"Oh shut up. You just tried to bomb a pair of teenagers. Teenagers who are two of only FOUR pilots we have right now!" Misato said over the phone.
"The Angel got loose! Those freaks blocked an N2 mine!" the military officer replied angrily over the phone.
Misato and Ritsuko had already contacted Nerv and they were sending supplies for the Eva Units. Unfortunately, that meant using the military for transport. The same military that had tried to bomb them. Tensions were high, to say the least.
"You really want to argue over this now?! We have more important things to worry about!" Misato shouted into the phone.
Aoba winced at the sound of them arguing. He had stayed behind with her, and he'd had to force her to eventually leave their station. The two of them hadn't gotten far but luckily the blast had been mostly contained and no one appeared to have been hurt. All thanks to Shinji Ikari, though few would see it that way.
"We're transporting what you need. Under protest! Now, my men have to go look for the Angel that you 'Nerv people' let loose," the military officer said roughly over the phone.
Aoba sighed as Misato finally stopped arguing with the military.
Later.
The Japanese military coordinated with the UN for support of the satellite network to locate the missing Angel.
The Angel was found several dozens of kilometers from Mount Asama. 'It' had fled into a nearby burned forest before making its way across the surrounding area. None could say what it was doing, only that it passed by a small town and notably did not inflict much property damage.
Instead, the Angel spent several minutes sitting in the middle of an abandoned street before once again taking off. It crashed through several walls of a general store on its way out. Thankfully, the A-17 procedures had already evacuated the surrounding areas, otherwise, there would have been widespread panic.
Currently, the military had chosen to ignore Nerv's recommendation to only track the Angel and instead sent two attack bombers to engage the enemy. The military reasoning was the fact that the Angel did not seem to be 'full-grown' and was still smaller than an Evangelion.
"I have the target in position," one pilot called to another.
The Angel heard the military's approach. The Abnormal creature whirled from its resting point and immediately ran off into the woods outside the town it had been sitting in. The Angel moved on all fours like some strange wolf and reptile hybrid packed in a humanoid frame.
"Firing," one piloted called to his superiors via the aircraft's comm.
WHOOSH.
BOOM!
The attack bomber fired a single missile at the moving Angel and scored a direct hit. A cloud of fire and smoke engulfed the Angel. The Angel flinched, wobbling slightly but suffering no serious wounds. It stood still seeming to consider that it had just been struck by something.
"Firing again," both pilots said each firing missiles into the target.
BOOM.
Four missiles slammed into the Angel and exploded upon impact, each after the other. Once again, the Angel withstood the assault with little damage. The creature shook itself, shrugging off the explosions with little effort. Annoyed.
"Target is still standing! Our missiles aren't hurting it!" the frantic pilot called to his superiors by the comm.
"All we did is piss it off!" the other pilot called.
The Angel stood on its hind legs, appearing to stand like a human would, yet leaner and on strangely elongated limbs. The creature turned its cold gaze to the attack bombers and snarled.
CRACK.
The Angel ripped a fully grown tree from the woods it had fled to, uprooting it with a single swoop of its hand, and both pilots immediately flew back. The Angel lifted the uprooted tree over its shoulder and threw it at one of the two attack bombers.
Propelled by a monstrous strength, the uprooted tree soared through the air spear-like with the force of a missile.
"Ejecting!" the frantic pilot shouted as he reached under his seat in the cockpit and pulled the switch.
In an explosion of white smoke, the pilot and his seat were ejected out into the air, the seat shot out of the cockpit, moments before the uprooted tree slammed into the attack bomber.
CRASH.
The attack bomber whirled downward, metal and glass dented and shattered, before crash landing into the ground in a brilliant explosion of metal and fire.
"Falling back!" the other pilot said hurriedly retreating.
The Angel uprooted a second tree. The remaining attack bomber retreated rapidly, accelerating as fast it could.
Nearby, the ejected pilot flew through the air still strapped into the seat of his former cockpit, the parachute deployed and he drifted through the sky, gliding down to the ground below. The man hurriedly unbuckled himself from his ejected seat, fumbling with his hands to get free.
The Abnormal Angel ignored his presence and went on its way further and further into the woods.
The poor pilot breathed a sigh of relief, he'd thought he was going to die. He pulled out his emergency radio and called in his position.
Mount Asama.
Eva Units 01 and 02 stood still and silent, like titans from some myth, on the surface of the once-famous landmark as the sun shined above them. They stood like guardians to the hurriedly set up base and the crowd of workers below.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe," Misato exclaimed.
She knelt down to his level and ran a worried hand over his face checking him over.
"I'm fine. Really, I am. Thanks, Misato," Shinji said gently batting away her hands. It wasn't that he was mad at her or anything, but he had a lot on his mind and he didn't want her fussing over him. Still, a part of him liked that she cared about him.
He was standing on what remained of the surface of Mount Asama. He was still in his plugsuit, as was Asuka, and both Eva pilots had been given permission to leave their Eva Units for the time being.
The military had tried, and failed horribly, to stop the Angel. But they had gotten a lock on it, and with the help of a few satellites, they were currently tracking its' movements and relaying the information to Nerv in real-time. Nerv had taken the time to regroup and set up a base of operations whilst supplies were on their way.
"What were you thinking? Diving in without a D-suit? Are you crazy?" Misato said shaking her head at him.
Shinji winced inwardly at the 'c' word.
"I couldn't let Asuka die. I couldn't stand there and do nothing... " he said in a low awkward voice.
Asuka turned her head watching him out of the corner of her eye as he spoke. She had been quiet ever since exiting her Eva, standing around looking bored despite being in shock earlier. She had changed out of the special D-suit plugsuit and into her standard red one instead, changing suits inside of her entry plug before exiting. The Eva Unit's added heat protection had been ripped apart by the Angel whilst Asuka had fought it in the depths of the volcano.
Misato sighed saying, "I know, Shinji. I know. Just... you're going to give me a heart attack one day."
"I don't mean to," Shinji said honestly.
Nerv staff, along with Ritsuko and her assistants were out and about setting up or else talking about what to do. He felt weird standing around with Asuka while the others worked, but there wasn't anything he could do until the power cables and generators arrived.
Misato patted him on the head, running a hand through his hair saying, "just take it easy for now. The military is tracking our Angel and we can go mobile if we need to."
They can, but you and Asuka can't. The Evas are stuck here until they get power. Don't worry. The Angel will not come yet, not until 'it' regenerates more. It wants to get stronger. We confused it.
Shinji kept his cool, the only sign of him being unnerved being that tremor in his hand that he quickly covered up.
"Here. Eat something for now," Misato said handing him a small bag with the Nerv label on it, he hadn't even seen where she'd gotten it from. Too wrapped up in his own thoughts.
Shinji took the bag as Misato walked off to speak with some of the others working around the base they'd set up around the stationary Evas.
The Angel is afraid of me... the Angel is afraid because it doesn't understand? Shinji thought, mulling over those words.
Asuka was watching him as he unzipped Misato's bag and found a ration box inside, it was a full meal already pre-cooked.
Shinji's stomach growled, he hadn't eaten in several hours. He smiled at the fact that Misato had thought about him 'not eating enough'. She really did care about him.
Sigh, that reminds me. Need to fix things with Rei too, he thought. His friend cared about him, she really did and he had made her angry and then sad. Just another thing on his mind, when the hell had his life gotten so complicated.
He turned to see Asuka leaning against the boot of her Eva, looking bored, and pretending that she hadn't been spying on him and Misato.
Misato gave me the food. Misato gave me the food. I cook lunch for Asuka almost every day. I cook for her enough... I don't have to share... I don't have to share... damn it... damn it! Shinji thought his head held low.
He walked over to her. She glanced up at him as he approached with the ration box in hand.
"Idiot- Shinji," Asuka said. She stuttered as she spoke, starting with her usual fiery demeanor but catching herself at the end. Changing to a 'polite' tone.
"We should eat. We don't know how long we'll be out here," Shinji said awkwardly. He avoided her eyes as she stared at him. Damn, why did he have to be so nice? Why couldn't he just get over himself and be more selfish?
Asuka slowly reached her hand out and wordlessly took the ration box from him before he could open it.
Oh great, she's not gonna share. Sigh, fine. I'll let her have it.
He turned and started walking away, he really was too nice.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Asuka called after him.
He turned back to face her and found the ration box colliding with his forehead.
SMACK.
"Ack!" Shinji winced, it hadn't hurt but it had surprised him.
"What was that for?" he said rubbing his forehead as he stumbled back. A few Nerv staff gave them confused looks.
"What are you looking at?!" Asuka said glaring at the people who had stared. The Nerv staff quickly moved on.
Even the adults don't want to mess with her, Shinji thought as he rubbed his forehead.
"Why did you walk away?! I thought we were gonna share," Asuka said avoiding his gaze.
She was still holding onto the ration box.
Ah, she didn't throw it. Who uses a box as a club? the boy thought even more confused than before.
She didn't really sound mad. It was like she was pretending to be mad. Why would someone pretend to be mad? Shinji did not understand girls at all.
"I thought you took it. It's fine, keep it. I'm sorry for... for whatever I did," Shinji said. He didn't know why this always happened between them, but he didn't want to argue.
"You apologize too much," Asuka muttered under her breath.
"... sorry," Shinji muttered.
She scowled at him saying "there you go again!"
Why does this always happen to me? Shinji thought, fighting the urge to groan.
"You said 'we' should eat. We're the Eva pilots. It was your idea to share. So we're sharing!" Asuka said grabbing him by the shoulder and dragging him back to her Eva Unit.
This is so weird... Shinji thought as he was tugged along.
...
They ate in silence, sitting beside Unit 02, and awkwardly sharing the food inside of Misato's ration box.
You didn't check on Asuka. You should ask how she's doing.
Asuka's tough. She's fine. She wouldn't want anyone checking up on her.
To be tough does not mean that you do not feel. Deep down, people like to be cared for. 'You' of all people, should see that. You know what it is like to be alone even when surrounded by other people. It hurts no matter how 'tough' you are.
I shouldn't be talking to it. I shouldn't be listening to it.
He glanced down at his hand.
When he'd gone away again, when he'd disappeared into what Dr. Page had called his 'madness', he had felt someone or something take his hand. He didn't know what to make of that.
"Pervert. Why do you keep staring at your hand?" Asuka asked breaking the silence suddenly. She seemed mostly bored as they ate together, in contrast to the awkward Shinji.
Pervert? Why would staring at my hand make me-? How does a hand make someone perverted? Shinji thought with a frown.
"It's a bad habit. It happens when I get scared or nervous I guess. Piloting is hard for me," he said telling a partial truth.
Wimp, Shinji could tell the word was at the tip of her tongue, it usually was with Asuka. But he was surprised when she stopped herself from saying it at the last second, and what came out was a strange mumble.
Shinji blinked in surprise. A conversation where she didn't mock him? That was new.
Turning to Asuka, he said "hey. I uh... are you okay?"
"Of course I am," Asuka said stubbornly.
What happened? She was almost nice earlier. Maybe she got over her shock? He thought.
"I know... I just wanted to check. You were down there longer than I was. And... and I had to stand on top of you near the end," Shinji said slowly.
"I was. I fought the Angel down there. Then I had to hold you up while the thing clawed at my feet," Asuka said. She seemed to be struggling with something, but he didn't have any idea what it could be.
Is she mad at me again?
Think about what just happened. Misato was here. What did she not do?
I'm not supposed to listen to it. I'm not. But I- … Misato barely asked about her... He thought, considering that.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Shinji said lamely.
"Stop. Apologizing." Asuka said through gritted teeth.
Shinji sighed and hung his head. The two of them could work together, they did before, and there were times where she could push him to work harder than he thought possible. And there were other times when everything he did seemed to make her angry at him. Honestly, why couldn't he work with Mari or Rei instead?
He was so tired of this. He didn't want to fight, didn't want to argue. He turned to her and met her eyes, neither looking away from the other.
"I'm glad you're not hurt, Asuka. I was worried about you," Shinji said. He spoke truthfully despite his tired eyes and haggard voice.
He turned back to his rations. He wasn't good with people, girls in particular.
Asuka didn't say anything for a moment. Her lips trembled and she ran a hand across her mouth, pretending to wipe food off to cover the movement, not that Shinji minded.
"When you dived in. How did you do that? Dr. Akagi said your sync ratio rose again. Mr. 91%, ... how the hell did you do that?" Asuka said struggling to get the words out.
Shinji thought about that for a moment, he didn't fully understand but he felt he owed her an explanation.
"I really don't know. I wasn't going to let you die, so I jumped in. Then when the time came I just sorta did it. I was scared," Shinji said sighing.
"Thanks," Asuka said softly, almost a whisper.
He glanced up at her, and he thought he saw a glimpse of a smile on her face. He couldn't remember her ever smiling at him before.
Shinji blinked in surprise. He let out a small chuckle saying, "you would jump in for me, right?"
When Asuka didn't answer right away, Shinji scoffed and shook his head at her.
"Maybe," Asuka said teasingly, finally giving him her answer.
The German girl was giving him a coy look like she was trying to get a rise out of him.
"I'll take what I can get," Shinji said with a shrug.
Wonder what Mari and Rei are doing? Bet they're working together better than this.
Nerv HQ.
"Hey! Come on! We can help them! Send us over there. The best defense is a kickass offense!" Mari said thrusting her hands into the air in frustration.
She stood dressed in her plugsuit, standby status meant that they had to be ready at all times, and it had been hours since they'd heard the news about the incident at Mount Asama. Her Shinji had saved Asuka's ass.
"No. You're wearing on my patience. Get out of my way," Commander Gendo Ikari said. His voice low and cold.
Mari made to follow after the infamously cold Commander Ikari, but the man sidestepped her in the hallway and left her behind without so much as looking at her.
"The Commander is a very busy man. I understand you are worried for your fellow pilots, but we are in constant contact and they are fine. Their job is to eliminate the Angel there, your job is to defend the city if it reaches the Geofront," Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki said calmly.
Mari noticed that the older man was remarkably easier to talk to than Gendo.
"This blows," Mari said shaking her head.
The Sub-Commander raised an eyebrow at her language, then turned to leave muttering a polite goodbye.
Mari let out an exasperated sigh and walked off. She had trouble sitting still for long periods of time. So much for cornering the Commanders and trying to help my Shinji, she thought.
She wandered the halls of Nerv once again, there wasn't much to do until further orders came. They were ordered to stay in the compound just in case the Angel made its way to Tokyo-03. Standby status, hours of boredom.
Mari found herself in the hangar again, and once again found her 'partner' sitting just outside Eva Unit 00. Most of the burn damage had been repaired or replaced, but it was considered 88% operational. Useable, but the higher-ups preferred Units 01 and 02 at the moment.
…
Rei sat before her Eva, dressed in her plugsuit, and unsure of why her hands felt uneasy and restless as of late. She had been sitting for hours, barely moving since news of the incident with Shinji and Asuka had reached them, followed by the standby orders.
She was aware of Mari's presence, was aware of the approaching older girl, but she had not expected the girl to 'slide' over into a sitting position and bump into her where she sat crossed-legged on the floor.
"Ah," Rei muttered as the older girl collided into her side.
"You've been sitting for hours. What you up to?" Mari asked.
Your grammar is incorrect, the pale girl thought with a flicker of annoyance. She scooted over to create space between herself and her 'partner'.
"We were ordered to be on standby," was all Rei said, never once looking at Mari.
"Jeez, how are your feet not asleep?" Mari asked.
"It is not an issue. Please leave, I want to be alone," Rei said.
Mari scooted closer to Rei on the floor.
Rei scooted further off to the side to create more space.
"Desist," Rei said as Mari made to scoot over, to sit beside her, again.
"Fine," Mari said not scooting over, but leaning back and turning to Rei's side. She raised a foot and placed it on top of Rei's shoulder.
"Desist," Rei repeated sharply, her eyes narrowing.
"I did," Mari said raising her other foot and placing it atop Rei's head. The older girl was using Rei as a foot stand to relax while she rested her hands behind her head. It made a comical sight considering that they were both Eva pilots.
Rei slapped the other girl's feet away and sent Mari sliding over on the floor.
"Whoa," Mari said catching herself and bringing herself back into a sitting position. Rei observed that the girl was very fast and quite nimble.
I should not have done that, Rei thought, glancing at her hands.
Mari laughed saying, "I deserved that. It's always the quiet ones."
Rei stared at the strange tremor in her hand. When had that started?
"Hey, I'm sorry alright. I was only messing with you," Mari said sincerely.
The girl got to her feet and stretched her long limbs.
"You don't always have to be so serious, you know? Sometimes we need a laugh, just a chance to breathe," Mari said oddly cheerful.
Rei chose to ignore that statement.
Mari chose to ignore Rei's ignoring of her comment.
"Why would you do that?" Rei asked not taking her eyes off her hand.
"Hmm?" Mari questioned.
Rei gestured to the annoying girl's feet.
"Was bored. Worried about my Shinji but can't do anything to help," Mari said simply.
"Shinji does not belong to anyone. He is not property," Rei said in barely a whisper.
"No, he doesn't. Not to me anyway," Mari said sounding sad.
Rei lowered her hand and went back to watching Unit 00, the machine stood towering over both pilots.
The two had little to say to each other, and Rei considered that Mari found that odd.
Mari broke the silence.
"You're not used to this, are you? Being worried about someone else? Being restless because you can't help them. That's why your hands shake, you know. My dummy has a similar problem. A tremor in his hand."
He is not your dummy... Rei thought but said nothing.
Mari sighed at Rei's continued silence.
"Well, miss Rei Ayanami. If I ever figure out how to deal with this, not being able to help, I'll let you know," Mari said softly.
Then without another word, Mari left her partner sitting in front of the Eva. The older girl had trouble staying still and went back to wandering the halls.
Somewhere near Mount Asama.
The Abnormal Angel stirred from its sitting position from out under the sun. It had grown taller, having 'regenerated' or further formed into a more adult form in the time away. Now, the creature stood the size of an Evangelion.
The strange beast rose to stand on its hind legs. The being was torn between two focal points in its alien mind, one close and nearby, the other far away.
It felt the call from its progenitor, far away and underneath another of the Lilin's areas of convergence. Yet it also felt the thing that it did not understand. Not a constant presence like the call of its progenitor, but a memory and a stirring that made it feel... fear.
The Angel turned and headed off towards the last location it had seen the 'thing' that it did not understand.
Far above in orbit, various coordinating satellites tracked its movements and the information was quickly and frantically relayed to Nerv.
…
Back with Eva Team One.
Shinji sighed, wishing that he had brought his SDAT player.
The Angel is coming. It's coming for you. For us.
Shinji blinked. He was laying down beside Eva Unit 01, waiting on standby for further orders.
No... that's silly. There's no way the voice can know-
His comm went off, and Misato's voice emerged into his ear.
"Shinji! Asuka! Get inside your Evas. The Angel is on the move. It's heading straight for us," Misato said into the comm.
"On my way!" Shinji heard Asuka say via the comm.
He rose to a sitting position and saw the girl in the red plugsuit running to her Eva Unit. Shinji got to his feet.
"All Nerv staff evacuate again! The Angel is coming to us! The Angel is coming to us!" Misato shouted into an open channel for all the staff.
Shinji saw her in a Nerv truck with Ritsuko and a few others. She offered him a reassuring smile as she and the others had to leave the area.
Getting inside his entry plug, and powering up 01 again, he saw the display confirm he had full power and the cable was holding. His sync ratio was 52%. The highest it had been in over a month.
"Shinji. Asuka. The two of you are looking good. Sync ratios are holding steady. We're forwarding over some data to your displays. The Angel is running for your position," Ritsuko said into the comm, opening a channel for them only.
Eva Team One was prepped.
"Thanks, Dr. Akagi," Shinji said.
Later.
Shinji and Asuka strode throughout the area, keeping within in sight of the other. The data sent to their displays showed that the Angel was nearly there. Both Eva Units had been refitted with emergency power cables that ran far away to massive generators, as well as a new loadout of prog knives, and guns.
"Asuka, I see the Angel. It's coming straight ahead from that tree line," Shinji said doing his best to keep his voice calm.
The Angel was now the size of an Evangelion, having grown nearly a third in mass since the last time they'd seen it, with elongated limbs, seemingly both reptilian and wolf-like, yet wrapped in a humanoid frame. Its 'skin' for lack of a better word was darker than Shinji remembered, and unsettling yellow eyes peered out from its faceplate.
Almost like... like it's looking right at me, Shinji thought as the Angel emerged from the forest.
It is looking right at you.
Not helping.
Asuka and Unit 02 raised their rifle and fired a burst of rounds into the Angel's sides as it stalked forward.
Shinji watched the sparks fly across the creature's body as the Angel only barely seemed to notice the bullets crashing into its hardened skin. It wobbled, then kept moving towards him.
"Don't ignore me!" Asuka shouted, firing more rounds into the Angel.
Shinji raised his own rifle and fired a burst of rounds just as Asuka did. The two of them sustained a continued burst on their target. He wasn't as good of a shot as Asuka, some of his bullets missed and went flying off into the distance crashing into trees and other smaller hills along the mountain path.
"It's not working," Shinji said into his comm.
The Abnormal Angel stalked forward, ignoring Asuka and heading for Unit 01, bullets crashing into it as it stalked.
Asuka ran out of bullets first, and she didn't even bother reloading. Shinji let his rifle fall to the ground when it clicked empty. Unit 01 reached down grabbing the prog knife that Nerv and the military had sent via the supply drop.
The Abnormal Angel broke into a full run.
Asuka had Unit 02 pull out their handgun and fired.
Shinji crouched with his prog knife in his Eva's hand.
The Angel leaped into the air, coming straight for him like something out of a nightmare. Shinji brought his Eva's massive hand up, prog knife at the ready, and slashed the Angel across the side just as it descended upon him.
Sparks flew as the prog knife scratched the surface of the monster's skin but did little damage.
Damn it, Shinji thought as the Angel brought Eva Unit 01 to the ground.
The two titans fell with a massive thud that echoed through the area, dirt and gravel went flying up in a massive cloud of smog.
"Ahh!" Shinji shouted as the Eva's phantom sensations brought him the pain of his chest being cut and clawed out. The Angel was on top of him, biting into 01's faceplate, running its claws across the machine's chest trying to cut its way inside. Shinji could hear, actually hear, the plate armor scraping as Unit 01 took damage.
He hissed from the phantom sensations and clutched at 'his' chest despite the fact that it was fine.
Are you just going to lay there? Fight back.
'There will always be pain. Best get used to it.' That was something else the thing in my head told me once... on my first piloting run.
He grunted and brought 01's hand up punching the Angel across the face.
It flinched but the hardened skin protected it from most of the blow.
Unit 01 punched again and again as the Angel pinned him to the ground, trying to cut 01 apart as if wanting to see what was inside. Shinji tried to slide out, to get out from under, to get away, but the Angel wouldn't let him. It kept shifting its weight to keep him pinned.
"Need help," Shinji hissed. Eva Unit 01 raised its hand and grabbed the Angel by the 'throat', trying to choke it out.
The Angel stared down at him with unnatural yellow eyes. It raised a clawed hand to 01's arm trying to yank it off, but Shinji held on.
"Stop ignoring me!" Asuka shouted. Unit 02 appeared tackling the Angel off of Unit 01.
THUD.
Unit 02 and the Angel were sent rolling off to the side, clouds of dirt and smoke were sent flying in their wake.
Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, Unit 01's hand fell back down as the Angel was pushed aside. He hadn't known if he could have gotten the thing off of him.
He took the moment to get Unit 01 onto its feet again.
Shinji turned seeing Asuka fighting the Angel all by herself, she was doing a much better job at it than he had been. The Angel was quick on its feet, trying to corner and bring Unit 02 to the ground, but Asuka kept pace with her foe.
Asuka slashed and stabbed, prog knife sending sparks and sparks across the Angel's skin. She moved in time with the Angel, almost like a boxer bobbing and weaving, never giving it an opening to pin her. He saw the remnants of her Eva's Handgun on the ground in two pieces. The Angel had cut the gun in two sometime during their scuffle.
"The Angel's skin is hardened. We thought that might have been an effect of the heat and pressure of the magma, but it seems to be permanent. Try looking for weaknesses such as the eyes," Ritsuko said into the comm.
"Roger," Shinji said as he started moving.
…
Asuka cut the Angel, again and again, sending sparks flying as she fought the monster one on one. She'd be damned if she lost to that thing a second time.
The Angel suddenly pounced forward, crouching on its hind legs, and slamming its head into Unit 02's chest. The phantom sensations made Asuka lose her breath for a moment. She gritted her teeth and brought her knee into the Angel's faceplate as payback.
SCRATCH.
The Angel's clawed hand ran across Unit 02's head, leaving long thin cuts across the armor.
Asuka hissed and punched it across the face.
Unit 01 appeared, stupid Shinji had finally gotten off his ass and she watched as he tackled the Angel.
Shinji shoved the massive Eva's body into the Angel's and sent both of them sliding back across the ground. Grass and gravel were dragged along as the two slid through the terrain.
Unlike with Asuka, the Angel held its ground against Shinji. The two titans struggled with each other's weight, their feet cracking the ground below them.
She heard stupid Shinji grunt on the comm channel, and she blinked in surprise as the boy actually brought the Angel to the ground, prog knife in hand aiming for its eyes.
Asuka couldn't deny it, she was impressed. But of course, the Angel flipped them over somehow and stalked off keeping a wary eye on him.
"What happened?! You had it!" Asuka shouted into Shinji's comm.
"I don't know. It wiggled free and flipped me," Shinji answered sounding winded.
Asuka guessed that the boy wasn't used to moving as quickly as she or Mari was, and he wasn't exactly nimble either.
"Can't you do anything right?" Asuka snapped, not really meaning it.
"I was trying to help!" Shinji countered sounding annoyed.
"So was I!" Asuka shouted back.
"THERE IS AN ANGEL IN FRONT OF BOTH OF YOU! Stop playing house and pay attention!" Misato's voice called into both their comms. They both winced at the shouting woman in their ear.
Don't be mean. Don't be mean, Asuka thought over and over. She didn't shout back at Misato like she wanted to, and focused on the Angel in front of her.
Her eyebrow rose dangerously as she realized that the Angel stocking them was hardly paying her any attention at all. Its strange yellow eyes peered at Unit 01 and stupid Shinji the whole time.
"Why does this thing hate me?" She heard Shinji whisper, he had obviously forgotten that the channel was open and that she could hear him.
Why does it hate him and not me? I was kicking its ass earlier? Asuka thought.
The Abnormal Angel uprooted a large piece of rock from the ground and hurled it at Unit 02.
Asuka swerved and her Eva moved with her, dodging the rock and gravel, even as the Angel leaped for Shinji.
"Hey! We need a plan to fight this thing! Prog knife won't work!" Asuka shouted into the comm for Misato and Ritsuko to hear.
She strode forward, red Evangelion moving to help her partner. She slammed into the Angel just as it nearly brought Shinji and Unit 01 to the ground again.
Fight me! Come on, fight me!
Asuka shoved the Angel away from Shinji, putting her back into it and driving the monster back.
Whatever else, tackling the creature seemed to be somewhat effective. The weight of the machines could match the Angel's, and not even the stupid thing's skin could change that.
"Ahhh!" Asuka grunted as the Angel head-butted her and brought its claws running down and around her Eva's throat. A harsh metallic screech followed, the metal armor was cut. Monsterous claws reached towards the spine of the Eva as it cut her.
What the-
She leaped back avoiding the claws narrowly.
"Asuka, the Angel doesn't realize where the entry plug is. Don't let it get to the spine or back of the neck! If it can cut through the armor it can eventually reach you!" Misato said into her ear via the comm.
As if I don't know that, Asuka thought, trying to keep her distance.
The Angel stalked closer and closer. She blinked realizing that during their scuffle, she had dropped her prog knife, not that it had been very effective. The Angel pounced forward trying to claw at her Eva's throat again.
Asuka raised a hand not knowing what to do, they couldn't keep fighting this thing close range like this, and they couldn't pierce its skin.
An AT Field materialized in front of her.
The outlandish protective octagonal pattern of lights stopped the Angel before it could cut at her again.
"Shinji?" Asuka said in barely a whisper.
Eva Unit 01 was standing behind her, hand raised over her protectively. Asuka didn't take the time to think as the Angel was stopped. It stood leaning against the AT Field, putting its weight into it, claws screeching against Shinji's shield as it tried to break through.
"Drop the Field! I got this!" Asuka said.
The AT Field disappeared, and Asuka kicked the Angel across the chest with all her Eva Unit's weight. The Angel went flying back and Asuka stumbled nearly falling over. Unit 01 caught 02 before it could fall, and Asuka felt the phantom sensations of Shinji's hand on her back.
"The Shield's not as strong as last time. Don't know why. It may not hold forever," Shinji panted.
Asuka got her Eva to its feet and standing on its own as fast as she could. They had to think of something.
"We're working on a plan. You two are doing good, just hang in there. For now, try to pin it to the ground and take out its eyes," Misato's worried voice called into both their comms.
The Angel was getting to its feet again as Eva Team One watched it carefully.
"Hey..." Asuka said in a low voice over the comm.
"Yeah?" the boy asked panting. Maybe the AT Fields tired him out?
"You... you've killed more Angels than I have. Where do you think its core would be? How could we kill it?" Asuka asked, surprising even herself with the seriousness of her tone.
"... Somewhere underneath the hardened skin. Maybe through the eyes or else the chest. But we can't get to it," Shinji said thinking that over.
The Angel was on all fours now, stalking them like a hairless and armored wolf, moving much quicker than it had before.
"I have an idea," Asuka said slowly thinking it over.
The Angel leaped forward trying to pounce on both of them. Once again Shinji raised Unit 01's hand, palm up, and an AT Field erupted into existence before them. The Angel slammed against the solid wall of bright lights. The creature hissed as it was forced to stumble back.
SCREECH.
The Angel clawed and clawed at the AT Field trying to cut through, but the shield held. Protecting both Shinji and Asuka.
Have to time it just right, Asuka thought.
"Shinji! Drop the Field again!"
The AT Field vanished just as the Angel had stumbled back, and once again Asuka used all her Evangelion's weight to kick the Angel across the chest. She sent it flying. Just as before, Unit 01 caught Unit 02 before it could fall. Asuka felt Shinji's hands on her back before she settled into a standing position.
"What?" Shinji asked, never taking his eyes off the clearly pissed off Angel getting to its feet again.
It stalked the two of them as each circled the other. Both Eva Units stayed close together. They were at a standstill at the moment, neither group able to best the other.
"The cooling tubes that my D-suit was using... they're still laying around somewhere. The crane got destroyed by the N2 blast, but if the tubes are still intact or else their supply is still there, we could use it. We could use all of it at once, freeze the Angel's skin so it cracks open," Asuka said.
It was the only thing she could think of. Now that she said it aloud, she grew more determined than ever.
Shinji seemed to consider that, before speaking into the comm. "Misato? Ritsuko? Did you get that?"
"We did. Asuka... that might work. Ritsuko says the tubes are still intact; we're sending their location to your displays," Misato's voice said into the comm.
Asuka looked at her display, the tubes weren't too far away, but they were a bit further back where they had originally been stationed.
Gonna be tricky to get to them, Asuka thought. She glanced back up at the Angel stalking them on all fours.
"Hey. I... I'll draw it away. You get the tubes; I'll cover you," Shinji said into the comm. He spoke in a nervous shake, a small undertone in his voice, but he seemed resolute enough.
Asuka stared at Unit 01 standing beside her.
"... okay," she said sounding stupid even to herself.
She slowly positioned herself behind Unit 01, making sure to follow Shinji's movements. Taking a deep breath, Asuka stepped away from Shinji and his Eva then broke into a run heading for the cooling tubes. She heard the Angel leaping behind her, heard the strange whooshing sound of an AT Field erupting into existence, then heard the slam of the Angel being held at bay.
Asuka and Unit 02 rushed through the base, reaching the remains of the destroyed crane that had first been used to lower her into the volcano, her footsteps pounding into the ground with heavy thuds as she ran.
02's hands lifted the remains of the crane up, shoving them off to the side, and she scooped up the cooling tubes that had once been fed into the D-suit for her Eva Unit. Asuka took them into her Eva's hands and stood up turning to Shinji and the Angel.
She gasped at the sight of Unit 01, AT Field gone, grappling with the Angel, its claws slashing at the torso and neck. Shinji and his Eva were brought down to one knee and the boy fought not to get pinned whilst the Angel loomed over him.
"I will kill you!" Asuka shouted as she threw a single cooling tube at the Angel.
The cooling tube, massive in size and filled with concentrated liquid nitrogen, collided with the Angel, crashing into its side. The container exploded in a brilliant shower of insulating material, shattering as the colorless clear liquid wept free washing over the Angel's torso.
"Hzzz" The Angel hissed as its hardened skin froze, icing over.
Did it work?
Asuka smirked, watching closely as the Angel's skin began deteriorating as it struggled to move. The creature's frantic confused movements only made it worse.
Shinji took the moment to punch the Angel on its now frozen shoulder.
CRACK!
The Angel's hardened skin cracked and it slumped back disoriented.
"Keep going! If you can get through the skin you can kill it," Misato called into the comm suddenly.
The Angel regained its balance and charged forward.
"It's not enough! Asuka it's still moving!" Shinji called into the comm. The Angel slashed at Unit 01's faceplate sending the Eva stumbling back.
Asuka ran for the Angel and threw another tube, she watched it smash into her target.
Shinji was up again, and stabbing his prog knife into the frozen skin of the Angel, breaking it further and further as the monstrous beast grew more and more rigid by the second.
"Almost there!" Asuka said watching as the Angel struggled to move with its partially frozen skin, reduced to limited mobility.
The Angel batted Unit 01 back having to use its whole body, and in doing so cracking the skin along its chest.
Asuka was close enough now, using both her Eva hands, she threw all four remaining cooling tubes into the struggling Angel's torso. Two of them broke upon impact, the freed liquid freezing over anything it touched, and in so doing cracking open the other two containers.
All four cooling tubes broken, the Angel was soaked.
Shinji and Asuka watched in amazement as the Angel struggled to stand with its frozen and cracked skin, yet still, it did not fall.
Shinji slammed his prog knife into the Angel's chest with all the strength he could muster, breaking completely through the frozen armor-like skin. Asuka was at his side then, and Unit 02 slammed its fist into the frozen skin too.
The Angel roared as the skin along its chest fractured and then shattered... revealing strange internal organs that lay underneath all the armor.
"The core!" Asuka said.
Among the internal organs of the Angel, lay a massive red orb where the 'heart' of a humanoid would be. The core did not beat as a living thing would, the organ lay still and cold even when exposed to the world, the source of the Angel's life held within a deadly frame.
She moved, and in a last-ditch effort, the Angel thrashed its damaged, mostly skinless, arm at her to bat her away, to put distance between them. But Unit 01 caught the Angel's arm and yanked it down, giving Asuka the opening she needed.
Unit 02 reached inside the Angel and grabbed the core barehanded, no weapons needed. Asuka yanked it free crushing the alien organ in the palm of her Eva's hand. She felt it through the phantom sensations, a shudder as the core exploded in the palm of her hand. A death murmur that was more whimper than yell.
"Die," Asuka said watching through the display as the frozen and fractured Angel stilled. Deep yellow eyes turned one last time to face Unit 01... and then stopped. Focusing on nothing and beginning to fade.
Eva Team One panted, and the Angel slump down dying. Its frozen armor-like skin breaking as it fell to the ground with a shove from both pilots. Together, they watched most of its body break into frozen fragments, the Angel's corpse losing its strength and durability when the core was destroyed.
"... you did it. Asuka, you did it!" Misato said into the comm sounding both parts relieved and awed.
"Ha! Of course!" Asuka said. She managed a smirk even as Shinji and Unit 01 slumped into a sitting position.
...
Hey! No nosebleed! Damn, I thought for sure that would happen again, Shinji thought. The boy managed a small laugh. A laugh that Asuka heard over the comm and no doubt found incredibly annoying, but he was too tired to care.
Shinji took a deep breath from inside his entry plug. Then he noticed something odd from the phantom sensations of the Eva.
He raised Unit 01's hand saying, "my arm is a bit frozen."
...
"Huh?"
Asuka blinked and turned to see. Sure enough, along the side of 01's arm and even torso was the lightly frozen over metal plating that made up the Unit's armor. Somewhere in the fight, the liquid nitrogen had gotten on 01 too. The repair teams would not be happy.
That wasn't my fault! Asuka thought
She shook her head mulling that over and losing track of time for a minute.
"I'm okay, Misato. Really, part of the job. None of it got in my entry plug," Shinji said into the comm as Asuka replayed the battle in her head.
Of course, everyone cares about 'dear' Shinji. Stupid Shinji, everybody's favorite, Asuka thought scowling.
"Asuka," Shinji called to her suddenly.
"What?!" Asuka said, almost shouting into the comm channel.
"Are you okay?" Shinji asked. Such a simple question, yet he was the only one to ask.
"... I'm fine. Sorry about the hand," Asuka said, muttering under breath.
"That's good. Ah, I think we deserve a long nap," Shinji sighed over the comm. Completely missing the obvious as usual.
It was almost comical how Unit 01 mirrored his movements. The Evangelion Unit slumped into a lying position on the ground, hands behind his head and resting his knees.
Asuka watched him and his Eva, and shook her head fighting the urge to laugh at the idiot. She found it quite hard indeed.
More character interaction than action or plot this time, due to the splitting.
I tried to write a kind of banter between Asuka and Shinji, in many ways there alike just as the 'Broken Man' said. She's just as damaged as Shinji is.
Rei and Mari are fun to write, and its good to show what 'Team Two' is up to whilst 'Team One' is away. The military isn't happy about what Shinji did, that will come up.
Thanks for Reading and please Review!