Here goes chapter 3-A slice of normality and the berserker awakens
...
"So Shinji Have you memorized the positions of all the Eva emergence locations, emergency power junctions, armament equipment buildings and recovery zones?" Ritsuko asked to a rather bored looking Shinji.
"Yes,it was incredibly tedious to so by the way." He answered in a rather monotone voice,while he had gotten some decent sleep that night,thank whatever deities there may be. Shinji was not in the mood for pointless combat training courses he'd already gone through at the age of ten.
"Yes,yes but its necessary. Do you need me to give you power cable speech again?" Shinji was actually quite happy she did ask,the last 3 times they'd done that god-forsaken program in that week alone she'd gone through the motions of explaining internal power batteries and the umbilical cable every time,and he was to be completely honest, pretty fucking done with it.
"No, I'm good thanks." Was his short,slightly more energetic reply.
"Lets continue from where we left off yesterday. Begin induction mode" With that a simulated environment formed itself around unit 1 and the internal battery count down began.
"Position the target in the center... Then squeeze the trigger" Ritsuko explained.
"I know how to shoot a rifle doctor Akagi" Shinji replied as he effortlessly hit the simulated Sachiel In the chest with a hail of gun-fire.
"If you are so sure your of yourself then, very well,Increasing the simulation's intensity."Ritsuko replied as a small smile tugged at her lips.
…
The door to Misato's room slid open.
"Hey,Misato its morning already,just letting you know." Shinji spoke,he had in reality been awake for 2 hours listening to his SDAT,he was simply an early raiser,so he of course knew she had only returned from work a short while ago,nonetheless he asked her.
Shinji then heard a mumble closely resembling the words 'just got back from work'.
"OK,then I'll let you rest."He closed the door and went about his own life,he also made sure to dispose of the burnable garbage.
….
Shinji arrived at school and went about to sit on his normal seat. He sees Ayanami again and looks at her for a few seconds before sitting down.
Kensuke is for lack of a better word,playing with a model airplane while recording it with his camera when Hikari arrives.
"Did you deliver the printout I delivered yesterday?"She questioned the boy.
"No one was home at his place."Kensuke replied.
"Aren't you even a little worried about him?"She asks.
"You think he was injured or something?"
"The Television reports didn't report any injured." Hikari stated.
"Did you see the damage the city took?and you can see the explosion marks on Mt. Toconuso. They must be hushing up the deaths and injured or something like that."Was Kensuke's reply,television reports were often nonfactual and biased,which is he himself wanted to become a journalist,to make sure said reports were as truthful as possible.
The class room doors slid open and Toji walked in.
"Why were you absent for so long?Did you get yourself involved in the battle?"Kensuke questioned his friend as he continued to play around with this camera.
"My little sister was..."This immediately picks up Kensuke's attention who lowered his camera and looked at Toji with a surprised expression."She was crushed under a pile of rubble,she's alive but has been in the hospital since." Toji finished with a saddened expression on his face
"And that pilot,how could he be some dumb to wreck our own city!What did the stupid idiot think he was doing!"He shouted out in anger,which of course Shinji heard. He's right,because of my own failures his sister was nearly killed...i have to help somehow. This was all his fault yet he had no idea how to help. Mental note:Kick father over the head for not putting 'how to deal with people whose family you killed' as part of his training programs.
"About the pilot,have you heard the rumors about the new kid?"Well,that took them a whole of 10 seconds to figure out. Now I'm gonna get beaten up by the school jock,not that I don't deserve it.
"New kid?" Toji asked.
"him over there."fantastic,he was talking about me,not like there are many new kids around. Shinji thought."He transferred while you were absent,right after the incident." Kensuke added. Shinji did suppose that was incredibly obvious,which did beg the question of why no one on NERV had though of it either,it would have been simpler and easier to simply have him transferred after a couple weeks and no one would suspect anything. didn't matter not now at least he'd fix this,somehow.
...
Shinji receives a message
'Are you the pilot of the mecha? Y/N' there was no point in trying to keep it a secret now.
'yes'
The entire class erupts into a frenzy of questions and shock,should not have replied to that.
"Hey,we're still in class so sit down!"ordered Horaki, Unfortunately for Shinji the students were already all on top of him asking questions such as
"Hey,how were you chosen?"
"Were there any tests?"
"Weren't you scared?
"what's the cockpit look like?"
"I can't talk about classified stuff."Shinji was a bit overwhelmed and slightly flustered at all the women around him.
"Come on don't be mean!"
"What's the robot called?"
"Now that's a question I can answer,its called evangelion unit 01"Shinji answered,he was at least 96.3% sure that wasn't classified,but even in the event that it was,he wouldn't get into too much trouble. Being the son of one the world's most influential organizations does have its perks. Perks he would very much abuse if they were having him fight 60 meter tall harbingers of death.
…
Okay I deserve that but,OW!Were Shinji's thoughts as Toji Suzuhara's fist made impact with his face. While he did believe he deserved it,the fact Toji wasn't either immobilized or dead at this point spoke droves of section 2's competence.
"Sorry newcomer but I've got too work off some rage." In all honesty Shinji had heard people with worst excuses for trying to hit him,keyword trying,Shinji could have broken Suzuhara's arm in 4 different ways if he didn't' believe he deserved the punishment he was getting.
"Sorry,his sister was injured in the incident,that's his excuse anyway."Aida whispered.
"I know,he wouldn't have all of his bones intact if I didn't."Was Shinji's reply. Wich seemed to have been said a tad too loud as Toji turned around,picked him up by the collar and punched him again before walking away.
He heard light footsteps coming his way and looked towards their direction to see Ayanami approaching him.
"We've gotten an emergency call, I'll go"An emergency call. That means one of 2 things,Father's out of toilet paper in his private bathroom or an angel is attacking.
…
"The Target has been detected by our sensors,its already entered our territorial waters."One of the bridge crew spoke.
"Assume battle stations,level Tokyo-3 into combat formation"The sub-commander ordered
The City began to shift and its buildings began to lower,streets where blocked off as gigantic buildings lowered into the geo-front.
"What's the status on civilians and non-combatants?"Misato requested.
"Reports show a 99% efficiency in the evacuation efforts,most non-military personnel have been evacuated."
The JSSDF were trying their hand at it again,shooting the angel with Hundreds of rounds and dozens of anti-air missiles to no effect. Not that the city's own defensive systems were doing much more to the damnable creature.
"Its impressive they managed to mobilize these many forces in just 3 weeks."Misato commented,the JSSDF were incompetent at dealing with angel's and far too proud for their own good,but at the very least they were incredibly persistent,not that did them any good at the moment.
"What a waste of taxpayer's money"Fuyutsuki spat out in a venomous tone.
"The committee is demanding we dispatch an evangelion again,ma'am"
"Oh,they get on my nerves,i would have deployed it anyway."She answered.
Meanwhile Shinji's plug is lowered into his Evangelion's spine.
Here I go,to save the world again. Is THAT really why I pilot?To save the world,people I care about?or something else...
…
"Hey,Toji can we speak privately for a second?" Kensuke asks to his friend,both of them already on the evacuation shelter.
"What for?"Toji replies.
"It's just a second,come on"Kensuke answered,as he grabbed onto his camera.
"Okay,okay. CLASS REP!"Toji shouts the last part as they get up from their spot on the ground. She turns around from her conversation and looks at them.
"We both have to have to go to the bathroom!"
"You were supposed to do that before you got here!"was Hokari's angered response.
A few minutes later and they are in the decrepit,old looking bathroom.
"So,what's this about?"Toji asked,curiosity finally over-taking him.
"I've got to see it,at least once!"Kensuke Said with incredible enthusiasm
"The battle?"
"Nobody knows when the next enemy will come.."
"Kensuke..."Toji groans"you can't be serious"
"If we let this opportunity escapes us we loose it forever!Please help me unlock the gate"Kensuke was practically begging at this point,his desire to see the battle above overwhelming the one to stay in safety
"You Could get us both killed!"
"And?who's to say we're safe down here!" Kensuke shot back
"And what do you think NERV is for?"
"And what's NERV's most important weapon?The robot whose pilot you just punched in the face twice,He could refuse to fight and we all die anyway."
"I guess that makes it my obligation to watch the battle or sumthing?"Toji sighs"lets go"
…
"Shinji,are you ready?"Misato of course rather rudely interrupts Shinji's internal debate on why he pilots.
"Ready and willing ma'am"Now that was the part he wasn't so sure about willing, sure he was ready but did he want to fight giant death monsters that came from the closest thing to a god there was?Of course he knew he had to fight,mankind's survival rested on the fact,but did he want to? that was the big question. However that was a question he had to ask himself later because at that exact moment, Shinji had a battle to win.
"Launch!"Misato shouts and Shinji's admit-ably sweet ride is sent upwards at mach 15.
Kensuke and Toji watched in awe as the evangelion left its launch catapult.
"Shinji,the AT field has been deployed,do as planned"Shinji simply nodded in response-
His unit turns and unleashes its mighty fury upon its target in a rain of steel and lead .Of course Shinji realized he'd just unleashed so many bullets into the target it was now covered in smoke,but that didn't matter because it was dead,right?
He was proven wrong when a whip of light cut through both the smoke,his rifle and the building next to him. Okay,not dead. let's ignore the fact I just unleashed the fire power of a small army on it with no effect and think of a plan.
"I'm sending you a spare rifle Shinji,take it!"He heard Misato state over the communication's channel,couldn't they give him something else?something which had not just 3 seconds ago proved to have ZERO effect on the thing. Misato's plan was 'shoot it until it dies' why was she promoted again?Why was he focusing on this small detail at the moment? perhaps a way of keeping himself form panicking with the extreme pain he'd just felt,probably that.
The angel unleashes its whips on its downed foe, who barely evades it and runs away . away from the spare weapon,clearly I have a superior intelligence. The angel lets losse its whips on Shinji again who for his part tries to evade but is hit,his Cable snapping as he falls on a building.
Great battle performance there ace. Shinji thinks as the enemy grabs him by the foot and throws him into a hill.And in comes the burning pain!
"Shinji are you alright,Shinji are you alright?!"His only response to Misato's question is to grunt in pain as he attempts,and fails to will his Eva up. He notices something on,or to be more exact,something near the palm of his evangelion. He freezes as he sees what it is
"Shinji's Classmates?"Misato asks in confusion as she looks through the feed and at the two boys.
"What are they doing here?"Ritsuko adds.
The angel floats above his unit and lets loose its whips,Shinji grabs onto them grunting in pain as they burn through the Eva's armor and into its hands.
"Shinji let them into your cockpit and retreat."He hears Misato order. Let them into the entry plug?that will cause mental feedback,i might not even be ABLE to retreat.
"
Do you think you can allow un-authorized civilians into an entry plug!"Ritsuko asks
"Im authorizing it."
"Your over steeping your bounds,Commander"
"Hold the eva on current commands and eject the plug,now!"Misato orders. Shinji simply sighs as he does so. This battle just got 10 times harder.
Unit-01 throws the angel away as the 2 other young menentered the cockpit.
"Retreat through route 34."He doesn't hear Misato's order nor does he hear Toji beg him to do same,all he can feel is an Un-clenching primal, hot rage as he regains control of his eva.
The Eva's Jaw bolts break apart,it opens its jaws and both it and its pilot let out a synchronized ear-piercing roar. Steam leaves its mouth as it rushes down the mountain,the angel lets loose its whips, they pierce into the Eva's stomach,Shinji feels the pain but his mind cannot focus on it,there was only on thing in it at that moment pure,unadulterated evangelion moves forwards ignoring the pain as it strikes the angel's core with its fists again and again and again.
"Eva-01 running out of internal power in 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1"The crew of the bridge watch stunned as instead of stopping the Eva keeps moving,keeps landing blow after blow on the core's surface until it cracks and finally shatters
"How could it be?"One of the bridge crew asks
"The Eva should have been unable to move 30 seconds ago."Another states.
In the cockpit, Shinji takes notice of the pain lancing through his gut and the blood that's now staining his plugsuit and cries in pain.
…
In the classroom,Rei watches the rain fall,one of the few things she does enjoy doing and Toji and Kensuke speak
"Its been three days"Toji says,head on his arms as they sit on the table.
"Since we were chewed up?"Kensuke asks
"Since he stooped coming to school"
"Who's he?"Kensuke asks,of course he already knew the answer.
"The new kid of course."Toji answers.
"Are you worried about him?"
"I wouldn't say worried,but..."
"For someone who is so tactless,your pretty stubborn."Kensuke says"If you had apologized back then you wouldn't agonize over it for 3 days."He hands him a piece of paper "Its his phone number,if your worried,call him."
…
Ritsuko looks at unit-01.
"The berserker awakens...the question is,are you the berserker,or is he?"
...
I'd say this chapter had a pretty decent fight,its a pretty good way to show how unit-01's berserk mode will work in this fic.
Anyway,this next chapter will be the hardest to write mostly due to the changes i'll have to make in it.