Chapter 3: The adventures of Kid Danger 2.0: Emergency! DANGER LEVEL 11
"You clearly don't know who you're talking to right now so let me clue you in. I am not in danger Skyler, I AM the DANGER!" - Walt "Heisenberg" to his wife when told he is in great danger.
"Thank god you've come at such short notice Miss Makinami" sighed a middle aged scientist clad in a white lab coat and blue shirt, her faux blonde hair completing the exquisite Hollywood actress set of attire which made her the centre of her usually apathetic boss's attention.
"There's reports of another Angel attack on road AL2 OM1 by the sea. We don't know why it's here on such short notice after we've already taken care of so many others of its kind, but we're glad you're here."
"Of course, its my job, Dr Akagi" replied the brown-haired newest recruit of the EVA pilots. The soft and caring look in the pale blue eyes behind her red spectacles reminded the chief scientist of NERV of a much kinder woman who was sadly no longer among the living.
If only she were still here then maybe NERV wouldn't have thrown itself into the hellhole it was only digging deeper and deeper into.
The memory was so painful and Dr Akagi had to blink back tears before she could bring herself to reply with composure.
"Mr Ikari and Miss Langley have been contacted but won't be able to get here for at least a while because of heavy traffic caused by the mass panic of the situation, and Major Katsuragi hasn't shown up today due to…" a fleeting angered expression flashed past the Doctor's face and she had to bite her lip to keep her temper in check "Illness. You need to face this enemy alone Miss Makinami. And hurry, satellite imagery suggests that this Angel seems to be capable of growing in size and strength by absorbing the matter of most any object. Which is why we need to act quickly"
Really Misato, the doctor cursed silently in her mind. You just had to drink yourself drunk on such an important day when our new recruit has to take on such a difficult and high risk task without any support from her more senior pilots.
Some Major you are since I'm sure that will be really good for the discipline and morale of your units.
"Well. As they say, too many chefs spoil the broth. Don't worry Dr Akagi. I can do this." How the brunette's strong and confident smile never faltered as she said these brave words the scientist would never understand. If only this girl had been Shinji Ikari's roommate instead.
It may have done wonders for that poor boy's psyche.
"Be careful. NERV has classified this mission as danger level 11 out of a possible 10 due to the highly destructive capabilities of the Angel. Do not take unnecessary risks" shouted the doctor as the girl rushed from the camera filled briefing room into the EVA hangars.
"Danger? Ha. I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger"she faintly heard the young pilot quip as the sound of her footsteps died away and the deafening racket of horrible explosions filled the room. The scientist allowed herself one of her few very rare light grins.
This girl had her priorities in order. This girl knew to keep her fights to the battlefield and only the battlefield. The battlefield was for battles and everyday life was for negotiations, socialising and jubilant celebrations and not fighting.
If only certain other imbeciles could get that glaringly obvious fact through their thick skulls, Ritsuko Akagi thought to herself as her teeth clenched and her brief smile vanished, and another big bang rocked the room.
Was it becoming fact and not simply her opinion that only brown-haired people with a fondness for white clothing were the only ones to be born with any brain at all these days?
The presence of Shinji and now Mari maintaining their kind and benevolent natures to always protect the innocent even as they were forced to be in constant contact with the many other cruel and vindictive assholes that sadly made up the majority of NERV.
Poor children.
She really could write a hypothesis and a several page academic report about it all, she mused as she turned her attention back to the camera screens in time to see Mari Makanami clad in her expensive pink plugsuit (which the cheapskates of NERV had specifically commissioned as reward for her above average performance) striking a heroic pose with her EVA as it took step after step towards the hangar exit.
If only this really was just an action flavoured Anime movie, the doctor sighed with a bizarre sense of amusement as she continued to stare bemused at the camera screen.
If only this were but a scene from a fictitious work for the big white silver screen where Mari and Shinji were the lead mains and she was the fan-loved support character assisting the two young heroes in their fight against injustice, recognized for her ingenuity and the proud she did her late mother in continuing to smoothly run the science department even through the dark age of science that an apathetic and uncaring mankind had unwittingly brought about them in their short sighted avarice and greed.
It would be one heck of a film with one heck of a box office, Ritsuko whispered silently to herself lost in the reverie of a great fantasy that she knew to be both childish, immature and completely unrealistic the moment she had dreamt it up.
But even a woman of science could afford to dream. NERV could take her dignity away but no one could take away her dreams. It was a relief, small as it was.
Adrenaline trickled in a steady flow through her system as the fourth child and EVA pilot of NERV guided her EVA through the passage that led out the Hangar into the city in which the Angel was no doubt already causing a great deal of havoc.
They were getting stronger and more plentiful in number, Mari mentally noted to herself.
It was as if these abominations were beginning to evolve some sort of strategic intelligence with how another attack had been launched midday directly after the previous day's attack had been late in the evening under the cover of darkness.
A very effective change of tactics and timing to catch any target by surprise.
Lovecraft would have had a field day were he alive to see what she was seeing now.
Perhaps when all this conflict was over Mari and her fellow pilots if any survived would pick up the pen where he left off and become bestselling authors of the new era.
That was something to look forward to even when things seemed so dire as they were.
But now was not the time to make such casual observations.
Creatures who killed without reason could not be reasoned with.
And if the explosions that rocked the briefing room earlier were anything to go by, this bloodthirsty beast had already extorted a heavy price in blood.
And if what the doctor had said about this being's capability to grow stronger with every kill was really true, then this was yet another reason Mari couldn't let that thing live no matter what.
Power corrupted but absolutely power corrupted absolutely seemed to be a saying that held true even for otherworldly abominations that were not meant to be.
But that wasn't all this mission was important for.
And as much as Mari disliked admitting it to herself being the headstrong hero as she was, Dr Akagi had been right to advise the exercising of caution for this encounter.
There was something important she needed to take care of here before she ended up joining the deceased Yui Ikari.
Something vital to ensure that a good woman and mother's sacrifices would not be wasted.
Something that her disloyal and distrustful widowed husband had deliberately neglected to do and in doing so, had spat completely over the grave of his dead wife while disrespecting her in every way possible.
Mari would not simply kill this Angel before it did even a midge more damage to anyone, she would do it in style and come back without a scratch on herself.
Today was the day she set things right for the boy for who she had promised his mother she would protect.
As much for his sake as for the sake of the promise made on the deathbed of the saviour that Mari owed her very life to.
And for the sake too of the cruel world that had done naught but abuse the misunderstood young philanthropist its very fate rested upon, but which did not deserve to die in spite of that.
Mari Makinami Illustrous would not die eaten alive by a hulking unworldly killing machine whose only instinct was to kill and kill without mercy or emotion.
Not today at the very least.
And so the action section of our great adventure commences, with Major Misato sitting the first part of this epic fight for humanity's survival solely due to (sigh) another alcohol overdose. Any way to treat set an example for a new recruit?
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