Misato
The doors closed. The scent of blood filled her nostrils as she shuddered. Misato trembled in the empty elevator. The eerie giggles seemed to follow her as she left the clones. Ritsuko was dead. For the second time in her life, a person she admired and hated had saved her with their final act.
Misato breathed. She took a new grasp on reality. The Major was alone with the steady ticking of the elevator. Her heart pounded. She was alone. What if Nerv were destroyed when she reached the level she'd called? Now, Misato was alone. No Eva. No abilities. No friends. Ragged breaths drowned out the ticking. She felt helpless. A new trauma threatened to reduce her to the mute child she'd once been. Yet, even in the cold grip of fear, Major Katsuragi saw her duty.
Suddenly, she retched. She surrendered to it, bending double and letting the sick work itself out. Her vision began to fade as she sought breath between heaves. Finally, she could stand. The terror had not left. She redirected it.
Nephilim had been left to float in their tank for more than forty-eight hours. Ritsuko had been observing them all this time. Moreover, Commander Ikari knew about their presence, so close to Lilith and the remains of Adam. Why? They had a plan and back-up plan for everything.
Gendo wouldn't trust Nephilim so casually. Something bigger was underway.
One way or another, it would end. In this moment, loyalty to humanity separated from loyalty to the organization. Misato no longer cared for Nerv. The end of the world lay in sight. Whatever their plan, one thing made itself clear: they didn't care who died in the process. Those shadowy pricks would never stop to consider those who died, even if they killed everyone except themselves.
Beyond the righteous indignation, a personal fury boiled. Commander Ikari had gone on some mad quest in the name of saving humanity. An army of dedicated scientists, engineers, and every kind of person worked under the banner of Nerv. How many thousands had been used by Gendo in some way? How many of his decisions were meant to lead to this sort of thing? What did he actually want?
He'd gotten away with so much because he wanted the Angels defeated. Isn't that all that counted? That had been enough.
No more.
Alarms blared as the elevator doors opened. Misato sprinted through the halls to the observation deck. She burst into the dark room to find that the battle had hardly begun. Some members remained fixated on their monitors, desperately trying to make sense of the incomprehensible. One member groaned and smacked his head on the desk. Another turned pale and quaked as she worked.
Trained eyes scanned the countless monitors. Only the key information was gleaned. The Major's mind discarded anything unnecessary. Shinji and Asuka were in their Evas, about to launch. Misato looked around the monitors several times before she heard the voice behind her.
"Where do you need me?"
Misato turned to see Zenitsu. He looked paler than usual. The sickly complexion, combined with a burning resolution in his eyes, told Misato that he knew something was wrong in Nerv.
She grabbed his shoulders and whispered the short version. "The green-haired clone is an Angel. They've infected the others somehow. It looks like they have some of your speed. They're going to try to kill people in Nerv. The green-haired one wants to get to Lilith. We can't let that happen."
"Understood." Zenitsu nodded and turned away. Amidst the adrenaline, part of Misato's heart broke to see him hobble off on a broken foot.
All the more reason for her to fulfill her duty. She turned back to the rest of the room. Several members glanced to her, awaiting instruction.
Commander Ikari had no interest in them. Dr. Akagi had died. Major Katsuragi now stood as the highest-ranking person whom (she hoped) could be trusted. Her voice boomed as she announced the horrible news. "We have an Angel in the upper levels of Central Dogma!" Many eyes turned to her. She continued resolutely, hoping that she didn't have any vomit stains on her jacket. "Multiple hostiles within Nerv HQ. Abilities unknown. High speed. Psychologically damaging. Prepare your firearms in case of an attack on this room."
She turned to the monitors with the Evas. "Launch both Units immediately. Prepare all rifles for use." Her body moved by instinct. Too much happened to consider it. No strategy could keep up with all the information. On one monitor, she saw Inosuke stumbling back and forth at the edge of the shadow. She nearly jumped at the microphone to demand he return to HQ to help Zenitsu, but his mask no longer contained a comms unit. It hadn't been possible to replace it when the mask had been soiled with LCL fluid.
Her attention turned to the biggest screen. The Angel floated above the space where the hospital had stood. It looked like a god's marble, looming large and imposing in the air.
"Status report!" she ordered.
"Roger! Units -01 and -02 are ready for launch. Angel Slayer Inosuke remains at the edge of the shadow."
Another voice calmly cut through the noise. "Launch both units."
Misato looked to the Commander's station at the top of the room. Gendo's seat was vacant. Vice Commander Fuyutsuki stood alone in the outcropping that overlooked them. The old man seemed grimmer than usual. Had his grey hair lost even more colour?
"Prepare all rifles and Evangelion-sized weapons. Prepare all possible resources for the pilots in case we become unable to aid them."
"Roger!" the panic subsided. Sweat poured from every brow. Young faces which had never seen a wrinkle grew their first creases. Each hand worked and each mind strained. These people dealt with the unknowable for a living. Their trusted commander spoke as if they were working against the Apocalypse itself. They took her words seriously.
As all members of Nerv focused on their work, Misato rushed toward the Commander's perch. For so long, it had seemed natural that the leader see all from an elevated position. Now, she saw the perch of a vulture.
She couldn't even be surprised that Gendo had left. That bastard never stood where others wanted him. He might even know what was happening. Perhaps he'd planned for it. Fuyutsuki had stood at Gendo's side for years. They were almost a package deal. If anyone could know something, other than the Commander, it was this old man.
Nobody noticed as she rushed toward the top of the room, clambering up the rungs of the ladder on the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Evas reach the surface. Good, they'd deal with this Angel somehow.
When she reached the top, Fuyutsuki stood as he always did, back straight with hands folded. As usual, his strict posture was undermined by a sadly accepting expression. "Major," he said as she approached. "What has kept you from your post?"
She grabbed the old man by the arm and shoved him back. He staggered and hit the wall. Genuine rage flashed over him. "Have you lost your—"
He saw the gun. It stayed by her hip. From this angle, the members below would not notice, hopefully.
"Nephilim's an Angel. Ritsuko's dead."
The old man's expression didn't change. "She was a brilliant scientist. Her loss is—"
"Don't give me that. Gendo wouldn't let something like this happen so close to Lilith. What really happened?"
Fuyutsuki calmly looked her in the eye. "Is this treason?"
"Answer me, Fuyutsuki. I don't want to hurt you."
Fuyutsuki looked at her in silence. To her surprise, his shoulders sagged. He sighed and, more than ever, looked like a tired old man. "Gendo wanted to use Nephilim to open a gate to the Slayers' home world."
"What?"
The hand which held the gun drooped. The answer only made her more annoyed.
Fuyutsuki looked passed her. "From the Slayers' appearances, we've concluded that their entrances to this Japan are, bluntly, one-way. Gendo wishes to create a one-way gate the other way."
"But why—"
A voice called from below. "Activity within the spherical Angel!"
Angel. With that word, she grasped it. Slowly, she turned to face the screen. Another alert came from below. "Heat signature detected. A pattern. It's— Tanjiro Kamado?"
One feed filled the multi-storey screen. Everyone in the room forgot their trouble. Each leye looked to the newest miracle from the Demon Slayer. The marble in the sky bled. A line of fire sliced through the Angel in a clean line like an inverted surgery. The fire flashed outward.
"The Slayers are a variable," Fuyutsuki stated behind her. "They are not invincible, and we must be prepared if they should attack us. If it were possible, the ideal solution would involve sending them home, as well as any new threat that came against us."
She caught the hint. Not only did Gendo plan to send away all Angels, unethical in itself, but he would use this to exile anything he perceived as a threat.
On the screen, the marble burst. The shadow that swallowed the hospital vanished. A torrent of blood fell to the earth. A silhouette fell in the blood. Wings appeared. Tanjiro floated. His eyes opened. Bright red.
"Report!" Major Katsuragi demanded, struggling to keep her voice even.
"Roger!" instinct calmed the Nerv members. "There's a pattern. No, two patterns are overlaid. It appears to be green and red in a checkered pattern.."
Another member spoke. "Harmonics report. Wavelength Pattern Analysis similar to a pilot in an Evangelion."
"Confirmed!" a third reported. "Detected a synchronization rate of 100%."
Misato turned back to Fuyutsuki. His look of sad acceptance hadn't changed. For the first time, he looked like a tired old man. "Major Katsuragi. We've gone off-script. Gendo will achieve what he wants. If you go against him, I hope you're prepared."
Misato didn't reply. She'd found an answer, but it didn't satisfy. Still, it was something. For now, she had other responsibilities. She clambered back down to the main level. "Notify the pilots!" she called out. "Inform Tanjiro and Inosuke to return to Nerv HQ ASAP! Tell them to go to the lowest level of Central Dogma."
"Roger!" one of the members relayed the information.
Shinji's voice resounded. "Okay!"
"Yeah, yeah," Asuka muttered. "Geez, why even have pilots if the Slayers are gonna do all the work?"
An awkward laugh sputtered out of Misato. It was something only a child could have said in the moment. A few members took up the sound also. They were far from free from danger, but one of their greatest allies had returned. Frightened people appreciated a miracle.
Suddenly, a monitor blipped. Misato snapped her attention to the new window at the bottom corner of the massive screen.
"Oh, come on!" one member stood and kicked over his chair.
Fuyutsuki's voice cut through, "Control yourself. Report."
"Pattern: Blue!" The member clenched his fists as he stated the words. He seemed strained to keep himself from becoming enraged. "A new Angel is descending on the city."
"Ha!" Asuka's energetic voice seemed so out of place in the room of exhausted adults. "Time to remind you all why you wanted pilots in the first place."
Asuka
Scarface and pighead sprinted back to Nerv. They had something to keep them busy. Now, finally, the pilots had their turn. How had Tanjiro come back, anyway? This wouldn't help anyone's perception of him. People like Shinji treated the guy like he was holy or something. No. He was an idiot. That stupid way he smiled. The ease with which he'd handled the Angels.
How could she accept him? How did he think she felt when he did all that? Why did Zenitsu and Inosuke keep trying to say they were all on the same team? They weren't the same. Did they even count as the same species? With their fire dragons and lightning swords, how were they the same?
No. It was the furthest thing from fair. Zenitsu had told her that they'd finished some grand war. So, they'd already had their chance. They'd proved themselves. How could Asuka do that? It wasn't good enough to defeat the enemy. She needed to do it. She needed to be the best, look the best, make it look easy. Nobody would want to see her otherwise.
Nobody cared about the girl who lost a swordfight to a guy with a broken foot. No sane person would be interested in an Eva pilot when someone like Tanjiro existed.
Oh, you could pilot an Eva? Asuka imagined the crowds saying. That's cool. But you weren't nearly as impressive as the great and holy Tanjiro. Is it true that he was blind in one eye? Did he really have a limp arm? He did, wow! That means you're less effective than a high-blind cripple.
Only one standard in the world mattered, according to the pilot of Unit-02. The best. If a person was not the best, they didn't deserve to looked at. Nobody cared about the person who struggled hardest or worked most intensely. The only people who got attention were the best.
She'd been slipping further from her own standards. Being an Eva pilot had lost its value. Yet, she couldn't even be called the best Eva pilot. Both Shinji and Rei beat her in scores and in Angels defeated. How could she compete?
She needed to show them all. She needed to prove to them that she existed. They'd look at her. Now, they probably plotted to get rid of her. They had the Slayers. Why bother with the pilots, especially that red pilot?
She'd show them. They needed her. Damn them all! They needed her!
Look at me!
All those hours she'd worked. All those records she broke. Wasn't it bad enough that Shinji beat her synchronization scores? Even Rei had done something amazing. The footage of her battle on the coast had astounded Asuka. The Eva moved as if it were a skilled beast. It didn't look like something being piloted. Asuka didn't know an Eva could move so smoothly until she saw Rei in that fight.
Why did they bring me here? Asuka thought. Zenitsu had defeated an Angel alone. Inosuke had fought several. Tanjiro had killed how many with one blind eye and one limp arm? Now, that checkered idiot had woken from a coma? The Slayer might as well have killed the Angel in his sleep.
You're a Slayer, too, she recalled Zenitsu saying.
Lies. She struggled to keep herself afloat. She fought for whatever scraps of attention she got. These Slayers, what had they done? They didn't need to be here. Hadn't they saved their own world? They could go back to it. Who needed them, anyway?
What was the point in defeating the Angels if the winner didn't look good doing it?
That hurt, too. None of the three seemed to notice the praise. They just fought. They lacked common sense. There seemed to be no interest in looking good or getting noticed. Inosuke seemed annoyed by attention. Tanjiro had never cared. Zenitsu had said it was a job.
Just a job? They fought Angels, dammit! They were saving the world? Why would anyone fight so hard if they weren't going to get noticed? That was the whole point! Asuka wouldn't be stuck in this dumb country, surrounded by pigs and idiots, if she wouldn't get the recognition she deserved!
But no, nobody looked at her. All their attention fixated on the Slayers. Shinji got the leftovers. The boy was a dog, anyway. He lapped up the leftovers without complaint. So long as big brave Tanjiro gave him a pet, he'd be content. Not Asuka.
There was no point.
She'd show them all. The new Angel belonged only to the pilots. She didn't even need to compete with Miss Perfect.
A pang of guilt snapped like a whip within her. Had she just insulted the dead?
Suddenly, the comms came to life. Misato's voice broke through, "Asuka, dodge!"
"What?" she asked.
"Asuka!" Unit-01 tackled the red Eva.
Before she could argue, the spot where she'd been standing exploded. Glass and concrete erupted around her as explosions rocked Tokyo-3. "Asuka, focus!" Misato ordered. "Your sync rate is dropping. Focus on the new Angel."
"I know!" she barked.
She'd zoned out. Just like her to overthink. The curse of genius, she supposed. She couldn't afford to overthink, though. Unit-02 needed to take the victory in a landslide. She'd show them all.
"Come on!" Shinji yelled, offering a hand to her.
Didn't he know? How could Shinji pretend things were okay. The Slayers devalued him, too. Did he not notice. Was he too stupid to care? This pathetic idiot!
Explosions ravaged the city. She pushed off the ground and moved with Unit-01 for the moment. They weaved through the bombardment. Hell broke out around them. This felt like a storm instead of a battle. No reprieve occurred. The Angel seemed to be trying to demolish Tokyo-3 rather than attack Nerv.
I will defeat it. Asuka thought.
They found cover behind a large building. "Where's the nearest rifle outlet?" Shinji asked.
"Two blocks east," Misato answered.
Both Evas turned to see a large shelf rise from the ground, revealing two giant rifles within. Asuka got an idea. "Shinji, cover me."
"What?"
Misato cut in. "Asuka, now's not the time to—"
They didn't understand. With a cry of "Feuer!" Asuka charged into battle. She ran out from the building, taking aim and firing as she moved sideways to the backup weapons. Asphalt, glass, and concrete flew around her in fiery chunks. the many shockwaves pushed her like the waves of a turbulent sea.
"Asuka!" Shinji fumed, but followed instructions. He stepped out from cover and laid down suppressing fire. The explosions slowed. The storm of debris calmed around her.
Her plan was working. She'd defeat it. Her rifled emptied. She abandoned it and grabbed both backups. She struck out one, took careful aim, and unloaded onto the Angel. Positron bullets recoiled off the AT Field. She saw the orange hexagons dance outward as her ammunition bounced off harmlessly. But she'd break through! No Angel could withstand continuous fire!
"Feuer. Feuer. Come on, you stupid Angel. Die already."
One of the Nerv member's voices called out. "Energy buildup detected. AT Field unaffected."
"We'll break through," Asuka promised. The explosions had stopped. The Angel had ceased firing on the city. It wasn't even moving. It probably took all the stupid beast's effort to maintain its AT Field. Even if it took the rest of this rifle's ammo to wear it down. She'd defeat it with the next.
Unit-02 would tear it down. Asuka Langley Sohryu would defeat the Angels. She wouldn't share that with any Slayer. Asuka, they'd say, you did it. Nothing could've happened without you.
"Energy rates spiking. It's going to launch an attack."
Misato's voice filled the entry plug. "Get out of there!"
The gun emptied. The Angel remained.
Suddenly, red beams of energy flashed around Unit-02. Heat and pressure enveloped her from all sides as the shot smashed Unit-02 into the asphalt. Flames and smoke took her sight as the ground crumbled beneath her. She felt herself being ground through the earth. The beam ended. She burst through the other end.
The Angel had punched a hole through the city. Asuka fell through the smoke into the empty dome that covered Nerv HQ. An upside-down city appeared through the rain of debris, the underside of Tokyo-3. A manufactured forest spread out beneath her, hundreds of meters below.
Asuka froze. A single thought consumed her: I don't want to die.
As the red Eva fell, something grabbed its ankle. She gasped at the sudden pain. The grip threatened to crush her foot. She swung there, between two halves of the vertical city, and looked up. Unit-01 hung above her.
The idiot had jumped through the crater after her. His Prog knife was stabbed into the side of the crater. His other hand grasped her ankle.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Idiot," she muttered.
Who was she even directing it at?
She swung upside down. Nothing could have embarrassed her more.
"Asuka," Shinji spoke. "Quick. I'll swing you up and—"
The Angel appeared behind him. Something flashed at its side. Asuka raised the gun she'd somehow held through the attack. But she was too slow. The Angel moved with impossible speed. A razor-thin appendage shot out from the Angel. It sliced cleanly through Unit-01's shoulder, removing the arm at the joint. Shinji wailed as he released Asuka.
The cry of agony hurt and enraged her. How could she focus when she heard this?
Neither pilot heard Misato's words as they fell. The purple and red titans tumbled through the air, passing the inverted city. As she fell, Asuka caught glimpses of the silver pyramid that made Nerv HQ. Had they just guided the Angel through to its target, or had it ignored them? She felt like she'd just been shoved aside by a rude person on the train.
The Evangelions struck the floor of the false forest. Somehow, Asuka managed to land on her hands and feet. The Eva creaked as the earth broke apart beneath the points of impact. The earth quaked with their crash. She nearly flew out of the pilot's chair in the collision. Pain screamed through her joints as every muscle tightened painfully. She shook. Shinji's moans of pain overrode other sounds. He didn't land so gracefully. A purple heap of limbs writhed beside her, deepening the crater it'd made in the dirt.
"Get me more weapons," Asuka said, forcing Unit-02 to stand.
"It's going to fire again!" Misato yelled.
Dammit! Asuka turned to the sky, took aim at the distant figure, and fired. Surely, they'd damaged its AT Field enough. Right? It had to be weakened by now.
A red light flashed in the sky. A sound like bending metal rang through the air as a red line shot downward. Asuka scrambled from the crater and dove away. Once again, she heard Misato, "Shinji!"
Asuka had expected him to run. Yeah, he'd been hurt, but even a wounded animal knows to run from another attack. He… how hurt was he?
She stared in frozen horror as the red beam struck. This energy beam was thinner, more focused. It struck Unit-01's core, right where the entry plug lay.
Misato's order, "Cut the sensory connection!" was the last sound before the shockwave struck. Unit-02 staggered back from the force. She cut the audio from Unit-01, hating herself as she did so.
The Angel had broken through Tokyo-3. It stood on the base of Nerv HQ. They'd wanted to strategize. She was the one who rushed…
The pilot fumed. She turned back up to the Angel and fired.
As the smoke settled, she tried to glance to her fellow pilot. Unit-01 looked burned. The core plating had been melted off, showing the battered final layer of metal between the entry plug and the world. Most of the purple of the chest and remaining arm had been burnt off.
The Eva moved strangely. It seemed to be twitching. The light of its eyes flickered brighter.
No, she couldn't afford to get distracted. That was part of her problem. She asked the Nerv members, "Any sign of another shot?"
"No," someone responded. "Energy levels are building, but they're low. It should be at least twenty-five seconds before it can fire another energy beam."
Twenty-five seconds? That was it? As she worried, the gun emptied. "Is the AT Field weakened?"
"Negative. No effect thus far."
They'd done nothing. She stared at the distant speck that was her enemy. Suddenly, the Angel descended. It rushed down to her like a missile. There had to be a way. She thought. Asuka played through every memory she had of the previous Angel battles. A repeated image rose. Katanas. Swords cutting sidelong through the Angels.
She prepared her Prog Knife as the flashes of its strange appendaged prepared to attack.
"Prepare more rifles! I'm going to cut its AT Field."
Asuka needed to do this. It'd do no good to rely on the others. She couldn't be depended upon. Neither could she depend. Her mother had only wanted her as a companion in death. Her father saw her as the means by which he found a replacement bedfellow. Kaji had ignored her. The Slayers never needed her. Asuka needed to prove that she existed. She was worthwhile. Look at me. I'm Asuka. I'm here. If I'm not, then there's no reason to live.
The Slayers would not come to help, as she'd wished. She'd show them. The fact that she thought of them meant nothing. Human memory played weird tricks. Her mind had simply found an unorthodox plan. She believed in the plan.
The Angel bore down toward her. At its velocity, she could use the Angel's own momentum against it. If she could dodge and slash at right moment, she could break through.
The coffin-shaped Angel rushed down. Voices rang out. The members of Nerv babbled about calculations. Misato demanded she dodge. Nothing had changed. They'd chosen her because of her ability. She would show them what she could do.
"Just trust me," she said.
Now.
She leapt sideways, rolled, and slashed. The Prog Knife caught the AT Field. The Field ripped open a moment before the Angel struck the earth.
She'd done it. Now, all she needed to do was follow up. She pounced. the beast lay in the dirt. After that fall, it'd be disoriented. It even laid face down.
Metal flashed.
The thin metal appendages struck out toward her. One cut off the Eva's wrist, sending her weapon flying away. Another pierced her abdomen. Asuka couldn't scream. The rush of bile prevented her.
Shinji
"Come on… Come on…" Shinji yanked at the controls. His body heaved and twitched. The Eva had landed strangely. His neck hurt. Why did the world seem to be at such a strange angle? Everything hurt. It hurt so much.
"Come on…" he urged Unit-01. "She's gonna die. We'll all die. We need to do our part…" Shinji gasped.
It hurt.
Deep within himself, a sardonic voice chuckled. So, this is how Tanjiro felt. A moment of bad luck. Instead of hitting debris, Shinji had landed at just the wrong angle. His nerves aligned with the Eva's closely. It struck the earth bizarrely.
It hurt.
"I can't feel my feet."
He shuddered. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.
How could this happen? He'd die alone in a chamber of blood. Nobody would save him. They were all dying. Everyone was dead because he couldn't move. Why? Why? He'd failed. Why had he bothered to fight the instinct to run away if it was all going to end like this? It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.
"Please!" he shouted.
Instantly, he lost all feeling. Unit-01's jaw burst open in a roar. The metal over its arm broke off. Through the Eva's eyes, Shinji saw. It crawled forward on one arm and its legs. The Angel had pinned Asuka. It was about to kill her.
Unit-01 pounced like a wild animal. It took the Angel to the ground, crumpling its arms like paper. The great purple fist beat against the Angel's face. Again. Again. Collision after thunderous collision filled the dome.
A red light began to glow inside the Angel's mouth. The Evangelion replied by opening its jaw wide and lunging down. The Angel didn't fire another shot. Unit-01 fed. Soon, nothing remained of the Angel.