Both Shinji and the enemy Ayanami faced each other with no more than fifty feet separating the two of them. Shinji wondered what she could be thinking as they were looking at each other, if she had any other thoughts besides what was put into her by his fa…no, Gendo. He couldn't tell if she even knew who he was. He saw her look around in several directions for a few seconds before she began to walk towards him. He in turn stepped backwards for several paces before before his back was against the wall.
Ayanami 02 continued her advance, getting closer to him with each step. Seconds later, she was sprayed with a hail of machine gun fire. Though her AT Field prevented her from taking any injury, it was enough of a distraction to stop her advance.
"What are you standing there for?" he heard the technician yell at him. "Get your ass over here!" Shinji bolted towards him and the other soldiers as well as others carrying arms, keeping constant fire on their target, and only stopping when he reached them.
"Everyone clear back," One of the Varagarians yelled as he aimed at Ayanami 02 with a rocket launcher. Less than a second later he fired, the rocket hitting her dead on.
"Let's go!" the Varagarian yelled, dropping the weapon. Shinji and everyone else in that room ran as fast as they could out. The smoke cleared, and the Ayanami remained untouched. Looking around to find that the room was abandoned. She then began to follow the direction of their retreat.
"Take this," the technician handed Shinji a pistol as they were running. "There's a full clip in there. It's cocked with the safety on."
"Huh? Why are you giving this to me?" Shinji asked. "I don't know how to shoot."
"In case she is following us," the tech replied. "You need to be able to defend yourself. Besides, it's easy. Just aim and pull the trigger."
"With this?" Shinji asked.
"It's better than nothing," the tech replied. "There are times when you just have to go out swinging."
"Here's another one!" a nurse cried out before grabbing a wounded solider who had walked in and helping him into the makeshift triage center that was set up in the hospital's main lobby.
"Patch him up and get him moving," the lead doctor, Colonel Rachel McFadden, said after taking a look at the man's wounds. As the nurses began to work on him, Sakura approached her.
"Lieutenant, I thought I sent you with the walking wounded," McFadden said as she brushed away a few strands of her auborn hair.
"You did Ma'am," Sakura replied. "A second triage center has been set up in a parking garage outside the base where they're being treated. Once the patients were secure, I returned here for further orders."
"Well, I don't see why you would do that," McFadden replied. "We're about to pull out ourselves."
"So what would you need me to do?" Sakura asked.
"I would like one more sweep of the facility before we evacuate," she answered, "but there isn't enough people."
"I can help with that," Sakura said.
"The problem is that you have no clue where you need to go or where in the base you are, especially where there is no power. I don't want you getting lost."
"I know Colonel," Sakura replied. "But as I was coming in, I've been hearing from people who had been out there there are still many injured out there." McFadden let out a puff of air as she thought about the matter.
"Very well. Go out there and do what you can, but you're not going alone." She turned towards a group of nurses. "Chapel!"
"Yes Ma'am." A young male nurse stepped forward from the group.
"You'll be going with her on your assinged route," the Colonel pointed her thumb at Sakura. "Make sure she gets back here safely."
"Understood Colonel," Chapel replied before turning to Sakura. "If you would follow me." The two then went out with the other teams into the dark.
"Captain on the bridge!" Hyuga yelled as both Misato an Aboa ran into the chamber.
"Transfer to the battle bridge and prepare to launch," she ordered as both of them jumped onto their stations, their respective branches moving into position before the whole apparatus began to move up the Hirnstamm tower into the upper chamber.
"I saw the smoke on the train ride here," Ritsuko said, her hair still damp and matted. "Are we looking at a direct attack on the Tower?" Misato nodded.
"Until we know for sure, we have to go on the assumption that the leadership there is decapitated in some form," she stated. "We'll fly there and ascertain what the situation is, though I can make a few guesses to what we're dealing with." The bridge structure came into place and initialization began, the 360 degree screen lighting up and showing the outside world around them.
"Extend the wings and bring the main engines on line," Misato ordered. "Aoba, inform the control tower, tell them we're making and emergency liftoff."
"Right," he replied.
"We should have Asuka and Mari prepare to deploy as well," Ritsuko said.
"See to it," Misato replied.
"We got word from the control tower, we're clear for launch," Aoba reported.
"Main engines are on line," Koji added. "We're ready to lift off."
"Acknowledge," Misato replied. She took one breath before she spoke again. "Up ship!" Seconds later, the crew felt a slight lurch as the ship began to ascend. "Once we have significant altitude, set course for the tower and take us in slow."
"Roger." Nagara turned the ship towards the city, and began to make it's way to the center.
"Aoba, Contact the city government, have them evacuate the 1st ring as a precaution. Hyuga, I want a full scan of the area. Tell me if you see anything."
"Right," Hyuga replied as he started making the scans. "Nothing out of the ordinary, but I can also see that they launched Unit 10."
"Bring it up on the main viewer," Misato said. The crew saw that it was still laying on its trolley.
"I can confirm that the Unit isn't activated and there's no pilot on board," Hyuga said.
"They must have evacuated it as a precaution," Ritsuko said.
"Can you confirm Unit 11?" Misato asked.
"Checking," Hyuga said. "It's on the other side of the city, and it is manned and active. I'll bring it up." The ship's monitor showed the Eva getting up, and begin to walk towards the base.
"Contact the pilot immediately," Misato ordered. "Ritz, can you receive telemetry from the Unit?"
"We'll have it in about a minute," Ritsuko replied as she was hunched over her terminal.
"We have an open channel with the Eva," Aoba declared. Misato's personal monitor activated showing a black screen with 'Unit 11 Sound Only' in red letters.
"Pilot, do you read me?" she asked. A few seconds of silence was followed by an answer.
"Oh, Uh, yeah. I'm here," Joanna's voice rang clear throughout the bridge.
"This is Captain Katsuragi of the Wunder," Misato said. "Report on what you know Ms…" she tapped her head with her finger for a second trying to bring up the name in her head, "Kingston."
"I-I barely got out of there," Joanna began. "She's a monster."
"She? Monster?" Misato asked. "Are you talking about an Ayanami type?"
"Yeah, but it is not the one I have been hanging out with," Joanna replied. "It's supposed to be some special model. Dr. Hood called them Mary Sues or something weird like that."
"An advanced model," Ritsuko muttered. "That's what we're dealing with."
"I understand. Put your Eva in minimal activity mode and standby. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, no matter how small or insignificant it could be. We'll send out our Evas as well to back you up." She then signaled to Ritsuko to give the launch order.
"Roger," Joanna replied. "I sure hope everyone's okay. It was crazy, with all the explosions and shooting. I mean Shinji even threw me into the entry plug to get me out of there. I-I hope he made it out." Misato opened her mouth to speak, closed it for a second, and then spoke.
"I'm sure he got out of there as soon as you launched. He's probably out of the complex as we speak."
"If you say so," Joanna said.
"Good. Katsuragi out." After the channel closed, Ritsuko walked up to her and leaned to her ear.
"Was it a good idea for you to lie like that?" she half-whispered.
"We need to keep her focused on her mission," she replied. "Besides, I didn't lie to her. He could have made it out and he is safe right now." Ritsuko took a long look at her.
"I never thought you'd be one to engage in semantics," she said. "Makes me wonder to whom those words were for. I'll be monitoring the Evas." As she went away, Misato turned her attention back to her crew.
"Have you made contact with the tower itself?" she asked.
"Not yet," Aoba replied. "We are picking up some radio traffic from the area at different frequencies. They may have set up a series of two way systems in order to communicate.
"Try and listen in, and see who's talking to who. That might be our only way in short of going down there ourselves."
"Sam, tell me something good," Burke said into a two way radio.
"I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed." Hood's voice sounded somewhat garbled through the radio. "She smashed all the terminals in here. We're trying to connect to the network through a laptop we brought, but it's going to take some time. Who knows if she has some booby traps waiting for us when we get in."
"Do what you can. Over and out." Burke set the radio down alongside several others, pieces of masking tape stuck to them that had the names of various people written on them, and sat down in a chair, hunched over in exhaustion for a minute before Bertain approached him.
"Sir, here is a list of sections where power has been manually restored," she said as she handed him a handwritten list.
"Thank you," he said to her as he did a quick read through. "Do we have any idea where the enemy Ayanami is?" She looked at another piece of paper for the answer.
"Uh...No sir, but we haven't established communications with all security personnel and Varagarians yet. Of those we do, they have reported hearing sporadic bursts of gunfire from time to time."
"That tells us nothing," Burke said sounding exhausted. "For all we know, she could be right outside the command center here, and we wouldn't know it."
"With the Varagarians covering the exits, I doubt that's the case. Besides, I don't believe resorting to hyperbole will help the situation any sir," Bertain said.
"Maybe you're right," Burke said. "It's just that we can't really do anything to stop her right now, and I don't like it."
"I understand sir, but we are taking steps to remedy that. Colonel Aida has gone out to see what he can do."
"I know," Burke replied. One of the radios then began to chirp. Seeing that it was from one of the outside sentries, he picked it up.
"Yes, what is it?" Burke asked.
"Sir, this is Sargent Ouamouno. You're not going to believe this, but the Wunder is flying towards us," Burke jumped up.
"Is it sending any signals? Lights, flags, anything that suggests they're trying to communicate?"
"None that I can tell sir," Ouamouno replied.
"Keep an eye on them and report and report any unusual activity," Burke ordered.
"Yes sir," the Sergeant said. Burke pulled out his phone, seeing that it still had no bars on it.
"Damn," he muttered before putting it away, though he couldn't help but have a small smile on his face. "Yet, this does change everything," he declared. "I know it'll be a bit of a workout, but if we can get a couple of people up on top of the tower—" An unfamiliar voice then began talking through one of the radios.
"Can anyone hear me?" the voice said in English. "This is Lieutenant Commander Shigeru Aoba of the Wunder. Please respond." The message began to repeat itself in Japanese. Burke swiped the radio as fast as he could.
"This is Vice Commander Burke," he shouted into the radio. "We read you Wunder."
"Captain, we got them!" The two heard Aoba yell. A few seconds later, they heard another voice come through.
"This is Captain Katsuragi. I'm glad to hear you're all right."
"And I'm glad to hear your voice," Burke replied.
"Joanna told us what happened," Misato continued. "What's your situation?"
"Our systems are down, we have taken massive casualties, and she's still out there with no effective way to counter her. What control we do have right now is more focused on getting as many wounded and noncombat personnel evacuated as we can, along with restoring our systems. Are you thinking of bringing your people down here?"
"Not until you guys have a better handle of the situation, and we'll do what we can from here to help you with that."
"That sounds like a plan. We'll inform our people about you guys," Burke said. "However, we have to prepare for the worse possible situation."
"What's that?" Misato asked.
"We got out Evas out, but we also can't let her run free like this," he said. "If things get bad; like the Command Center destroyed, or if I give the order, you must destroy this facility, even down to the sub-levels." Several seconds of silence followed those words.
"I understand, but I hope it doesn't come to that," Misato said.
"Same here," Burke agreed. "I mean, I have a nice office here if I do say so myself." A small chuckle came over the radio.
"Very well. We will proceed with our action."
"Thank you." Burke laid down the radio, and picked up another one, standing up from his chair in the process.
"Ken, do you read me?" he said into the radio.
"I hear you. What's up?" he asked.
"The Wunder's right above us," Burke said with a grin on his face. "I think we can finally turn this around." He began to look around the Command Center. "Can you try to rally the troops?" When he looked over the chamber a couple of times, his grin began to disappear.
"That's what I'm trying to do," Aida replied. "We've been able to establish communication with enough units to set up a defensive perimeter, but I don't know if we're organized enough to launch an effective counterattack."
"Maybe we can get the Wunder to help us with that part. We'll see what we can come up here," Burke said. "One more thing."
"What is it?"
"Is the Ayanami that we have with you?" Burke asked.
"No, I wouldn't have taken her or let her come with me. Why do you ask?"
"Because it looks like she's no longer with us."
Misato turned from the communications terminal, and looked upon the image of the tower for a few seconds.
"Helm, take us up to 2500 meters," she ordered.
"2500, aye." Sagura replied adjusting the controls.
"Aoba, continue to monitor communications, try and see of we can act as a communication hub, help them coordinate down there."
"Right," Aoba said.
"Kitinkami, began scans of the facility, using infrared," Ritsuko added. "Focus on lone figures. If we can try to cross reference those images with any blood type blue readings, we may be able to find her so they can finish the job."
"Uh…right," she replied as she began to push buttons.
"Hyuga, bring the weapons systems on line and plot a firing solution on the base. Calculate the best firing pattern for maximum destruction and standby."
"Ma'am?" Hyuga asked. She then turned to him.
"The weapons systems have been repaired, haven't they?" she asked.
"Yes Captain, they have," he answered.
"Then please plot the solution," Misato said. As Hyuga did as he was told, Ritsuko spoke to her.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"We now wait," she said. "I don't like it, but it's the only thing we can do now."
Joanna was bringing up screens along the sides of the entry plug, those screens showing the main exits of the base, seeing people running out or where the wounded were being where the triage center was. She glanced up on the monitor for a second and saw the Wunder floating in the air. A quick glance at one of the screens showed a map of the base with three dots signifying her Eva along with Units 01 and 08. With those sights, she hoped it meant everything was now okay, that everyone she knew was going to be okay. She shifted her eyes from one screen to another, trying to keep a constant eye on everything. This continued for a couple of minutes until she heard an unsettling yet cheeky female voice speak through her communications systems.
"Heads up!" She yelled as an alert told her a high velocity object was heading towards her at the same time. She moved the Eva a couple steps back followed by a large box striking the ground. When the dust cleared, the box opened revealing a handgun.
"That's for you," the voice said. "If we're in battle and you need some heaver shit, we'll provide."
"Uh, thanks," Joanna guided the Eva to pick up the pistol, which when she grabbed the handle, automatically configured the weapon to its systems, bringing up a targeting system right in front of her.
"I bet that this is exciting for you," the voice continued. "From what I heard, this is your first deployment."
"Uh, well, I wouldn't call it exciting," Joanna said as she continued watching the screens.
"That's a shame," the voice said.
"It is what it is," Joanna replied. "I'm sorry, but I did get your name."
"Mari," she answered. "We met in person a week ago, though I'll admit I was not in the mood for pleasant conversation at the time."
"Yeah, well, that's fine," Joanna said as she continued her watching. "Could you please not bother me right now." There was silence for a brief few seconds before a screen came up floating right in front of her face.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked. Joanna didn't reply, instead wiping the screen in front of her. A few seconds later, her image appeared again, this time showing up on Joanna's right on the entry plug.
"Ooh, your plug looks much clean-" Joanna closed the channel again, only for it to reappear, this time on her left.
"You know, this is getting annoying," Mari said.
"I agree," Joanna replied, closing the channel once again. Several seconds of silence passed before being broken by Mari's voice only.
"I saw what you had on those screens you have." She sounded more subdued.
"Well, y-you never know if she comes out," Joanna replied. "I-I could just step on her." She heard Mari chuckle at that last comment.
"Are you sure that isn't the only reason you're trying to cover all these places?" Mari asked.
"W-what do you mean?" Joanna asked.
"What I mean Ms. Frizzle is that you're looking for him right?"
"W-Well, I mean, he could come out, and things were chaotic in there, and-" She sounded as is she was about the cry, and she was taking huge gasps of air in between her words.
"Hold it," Mari commanded. Joanna stopped talking, but her rapid breathing continued.
"Take a deep breath in," she said. Joanna took a long breath and held it.
"Breathe out." Joanna let out the breath.
"Breathe in," She inhaled again, "breathe out." She exhaled.
"Feel better?" Mari then asked.
"Not really," Joanna replied.
"But you do feel calmer, right?" Mari said.
"A-A little," Joanna answered.
"Good." A few seconds passed before Mari appeared on a floating screen in front of her.
"There's nothing wrong with hoping for the best, but you learn pretty quick in this business that there are some things you just can't control, so there's no use in worrying about them. Do you understand?"
"Yeah…" Joanna let out a short breath, and looked down towards her feet.
"If you want my opinion," Mari continued, "I've heard of him surviving worse, so I think he'll be okay." Joanna smiled and was about to thank her when an unpleasant voice sounding voice came over the com.
"What the hell are you two have a closed line for?" the voice demanded.
"Ease up on the yelling Princess. Joanna and I were discussing the situation at hand," Mari replied.
"Then keep it on an open channel," Asuka shot back. "Okay rookie, take your position here." On the screen showing the map of the facility, Joanna saw one of them blinking to indicate where she was supposed to be.
"Oh, Uh, Yeah, roger," Joanna replied.
"Just say 'roger,'" Asuka said. "Keep a clear eye out for anything unusual. From what I heard, the city's defenses are down. The Ayanami type may be a diversion while the main attack could still be coming."
"Sure thing," Mari replied. "I would suggest that we also keep on the exits to the base and where the evacuees are meeting up. You know, just to see if they need help or something."
"Might be a good idea," Asuka said. "Each of you keep an eye of your side of things. I'll contact the Wunder, see of they can cover the places we can't."
"Thanks a peach," Mari said before signing off. Joanna moved Unit 11 to her assigned position, and set up her monitors, reminding herself to thank Mari when this was over. Joanna knew she was right, but she still couldn't help but worry for her friend.
Shinji leaned against a wall, which he then slid down against to the floor trying to catch his breath, sweat covering his brow, which he wiped off with the sleeve from his jacket.
"You can't be tired," one of the men he was running with said as he sat right beside him. "You're a lot younger than a lot of us."
"After all that running, I don't feel that young," Shinji replied with a chuckle of his own. The man smiled for a quick second before resuming a serious demeanor.
"Do you think we got away from her?" he asked Shinji.
"I don't know," he replied. "I was so busy running, I didn't think to see where we were."
"Shit, I don't even know where the hell we're going, and I work here," the man declared. "We need to find a way out of this place."
"But what can we do?" Shinji asked.
"I don't know, but we have to do something," the man replied. "I can't run forever, and I'm sure a lot of people here can't either." He laid his head on his knees to rest.
Shinji gave himself a few minutes to rest as well before getting up to walk around. He saw the people he was running with; soldiers, technicians, and other people. They were sitting or laying down on the floor, and some were leaning against the wall, getting what rest they could. It was quiet, no noise, just silence as they all were too tired. He then heard footsteps from a distance. He began to walk towards the sound, one hand on the butt of his pistol. Getting closer, he could tell that it was two sets of footsteps as well as some indistinct talking. Relieved, he began to walk towards the sound.
"Damn, it's so quiet," Chapel said as he shined his flashlight on one of the corridor walls. "I don't think anyone is down here."
"We can't be too sure," Sakura countered. "We have to keep searching."
"But you heard what those two Varagarians we passed said, they said a general evacuation was ordered," Chapel stated. "Hell, they heard rumors that the Wunder is flying above us and that they're going to destroy the entire base."
"I can see the Wunder being up there," Sakura replied, "but I can't see them destroying the entire facility. And as you said, they are only rumors."
"I'm only saying what I heard," Chapel said. "May I also point out that that we have not seen any wounded. We haven't seen any dead even." Sakura sighed.
"I guess you have a point there," she said. "We'll go a little bit farther before we turn back."
"If you say so," Chapel said. "I'll also add that I always wanted to walk with a pretty girl, I just didn't think that it'd be under these circumstances." Sakura didn't reply, she only rolled her eyes. After going a bit farther, the two then heard footsteps coming towards them.
"You hear that?" Sakura asked.
"I did," Chapel answered as he got in front of her, signaling to stay behind him. "Be ready to run." They approached an upcoming corner as careful as they could. Chapel peered over, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's all right," he said to her before turning to the other person. "Come on up." A smattering of footsteps could be heard coming towards them. Shinji then turned the corner, where Sakura ran up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"You're alive!" she exclaimed. "But I thought you had evacuated."
"No, I had to escort Joanna to Unit 11," Shinji replied, "but that Ayanami busted in as she was launching, we barely made it out alive."
"Yeesh, you're damn lucky," Chapel replied. "Where is she now?'
"No clue," Shinji answered.
"Wait, you said that 'we' barely made it out," Sakura said. "Are there others with you?" Shinji nodded yes.
"There back just a little ways," he added. "They'll be glad to see you guys. "I'll take you to them."
Everything was beginning to hurt now. Her breathing had become labored, and she was tired, very tired. She tried to move her right arm, but it was slow to move and fresh bolts of pain coursed through it. She had the knowledge, but she did not have the means or the time to extract the bullet herself.
Despite her ailments, she had to keep going. While her primary target was now unachievable, a secondary objective was available to her. She must achieve it. She then heard footsteps and talking down one of the corridors. She turned in that direction, her footsteps unsteady, towards her destination.
The line of people, being led by Chapel, were walking down the corridor one after another, Shinji and Sakura watching them pass by.
"I should thank you for helping us," Shinji said to her.
"It should be us thanking you," Sakura replied, leaning against a case that contained a fire extinguisher. "If you hadn't come out here, we would have headed back without seeing you guys."
"So, what's going to happen now?" Shinji asked.
"We follow these guys out, then we'll be out of danger," she stated. A Varagarian then strode up to the two.
"Are you Shinji?" he asked.
"Yeah," Shinji replied.
"Vice Commander wants to speak to you," the solider said as he handed a radio to him.
"Thanks," Shinji said as he took it. He held it up when Burke's voice could be heard through the radio.
"Shinji, can you hear me?" he asked.
"I'm here," Shinji replied.
"I'm glad you're all right. Really glad," Burke said. "I don't know if I got all the details, but I received word that not only you got Joanna out of there under fire, but you helped lead the people that were with you to safety.
"I didn't lead them, I just went ahead and found Sakura."
"Well what ever it was, you did a damn fine job here. "You should be proud of yourself."
"Oh, uh…thank you," Shinji answered, phrasing it in such a way that he made it sound like a question.
"Now, it's extremely important that you evacuate the building," Burke said.
"We'll be on our way." He could tell that both he and Sakura were almost at the end of the line.
"Good," Burke said. "While I have you here, I'm going to try to patch you through to Captain Katsuragi."
"Misato?" Shinji exclaimed.
"That's right," Burke said. "The Wunder is floating up above us and-" Shinji couldn't hear any more as a woman's scream drowned out everything around him. He turned around to find the enemy Ayanami walking towards the group. Shinji dropped the radio to the floor, Burke asking him what is happening in a frantic voice. As the civilians began to run in panic, the few soldiers that were opened fire on her, but her AT Field deflected their bullets. The Ayanami then proceeded to dispatch her opponents. She then faced Shinji, looking at him with a disinterested gaze.
"What do you want?" Shinji yelled as he pulled his pistol and aimed it at her, or at least he thought he was aiming. The Ayanami tilted her head a little at the sight of Shinji holding the gun, which made him wonder if she was confused by his actors.
"You are a secondary target," she told him. "I have orders to eliminate you."
"Eliminate me?" Shinji asked, the gun starting to shake in his hands. "Why?"
"Those are the Commander's orders," she replied. Shinji's eyes widened and his mouth twitched, but before she or Shinji could say or do anything else, he heard Sakura yelling from behind him.
"Shinji get down!" As he did that, he saw her bound past him toward their enemy. In less than a second, she was spraying the Ayanami with a fire extinguisher, covering her in a pale yellow powder. The Ayanami began to stumble backwards, her arms flaying about trying to get away from the choking mist. Sakura continued to spray her until she was out of the retardent. Before the Ayanami could recover, Sakura struck her with the empty tank on her head throwing her back. She followed up with another strike sending the Ayanami to the floor.
"Run Shinji!" she yelled as she prepared to land another blow on her. This time, her opponent stretched out her hand, forming a small AT Field, which sent Sakura flying into a wall.
"Sakura!" Shinji yelled as he ran to her. He saw when he approached that she was still alive and conscious.
"G-Get away," She told him as she winced in pain. "Run…" Shinji aimed his pistol at the Ayanami, who was getting up and wiping the powder from her face. He fired two shots, but they were deflected by her AT Field. She raised her hand towards Shinji, who had now bent down in front of Sakura trying to shield her from any further attack.
"Stop!" another voice declared. Both Shinji and the enemy Ayanami turned to discover that the Ayanami he had known for many months standing in front of an adjacent corridor where she had come from. The two Ayanamis looked at each other for several seconds before the enemy one began to speak.
"You are like me," she said to her.
"Only in appearance," the one designated as Ayanami 01 said. There are notable differences in other areas."
"You are then an earlier model," Ayanami 02 stated. "What are you doing here?"
"To ask you to stop what you are doing," 01 replied.
"Stop?" she asked. "Why?"
"Because he is a person that is very precious to me," Ayanami 01 replied. "I wish for him to live."
"I have orders to eliminate Shinji Ikari," 02 retorted. "Please do not interfere."
"Must those orders be followed?" 01 asked. Ayanami 02 tilted her head a little, attempting to analyze the question before she spoke.
"Of course, those are my orders," was her answer. "What else is there?"
"That is something you need to find out for yourself," 01 replied. "Ikari has helped me with that. He can help you too, if you let him."
"Help me?" The confusion was now apparent on her face.
"You are not just a vehicle for carrying out orders," 01 declared. No one else spoke. In the surrealness of what he had witnessed, Shinji could see the enemy Ayanami slouch over and began to shake, her face contorting in confusion. He wondered what she was thinking to what his Ayanami told her. After a minute of struggling, Ayanami 02 stood up again.
"That…" she began to speak, a whisper at first, then rising with each word until it reached normal volume. "…That is impossible. There are orders that I must fulfill." She then raised her hand towards Shinji and Sakura, while Shinji in turn stood up an aimed his pistol at her.
Then the enemy Ayanami saw something she considered unusual. She saw herself. She at first thought that the other one has stepped in between them, but that was not the case. The clothing she wore was different. She appeared to be wearing a dress, a blue jumper with a white dress shirt and red tie. She knew she had seen this clothing before at Headquarters. It was supposed to be a uniform for school, worn by one of her predecessors, and that confused her. She wasn't told there would be reinforcements, yet this one was blocking her path.
The one in the uniform appeared to be smiling at her. To the enemy Ayanami, she got this sense that she was communicating the fact that everything was going to be all right. That was also something that she didn't understand. She blinked, and the image of her was gone, replaced by Ikari aiming a pistol at her. She saw a flash emanating from the gun. She then saw nothing, felt nothing, thought nothing.
Shinji emptied the clip into her, the bullets entering at various points her body. She slumped to the ground, Shinji still standing there, his empty pistol aiming at an enemy that was no longer alive, his breathing rapid, his finger still squeezing the trigger, not noticing the deluge of footsteps that were coming towards him and the others. Aida, leading a platoon of Varagarians, came upon the scene.
"Aida here," he said into his radio. "Enemy down. I repeat, enemy is down. It's over."
"Who took her down?" Burke asked. "Do you know if Shinji is all right?"
"Shinji is all right, I can assure you of that," Aida replied, his eyes on the boy.
"Then who took her down?" Burke asked again.
"I'll...I'll get back to you on that," Aida said, "but we do need a medical team down here immediately."
"Roger that," Burke said. "I'll issue a stand down order and inform the Wunder. Have the area secured."
"Right," the Colonel said. "Aida out." He went over to Shinji, and being as careful as he could be, leaned over and removed the pistol from his hands. After checking to see if it was loaded, took Shinji by shoulders, and began to lead him away.
"Come on now," Aida said to him. "We have to go."
"Uh, yeah," Shinji said, his voice sounding distant. Aida signaled for two men to escort the surviving Ayanami as a medical team arrived to treat Sakura. He then led Shinji away.
