CHAPTER 18: HOT BATH

As Asuka was moved into position over the magma Shinji stood at the ready at the rim of the caldera. Behind him was an arsenal of weapons. Shinji was not taking any chances with this angel; rifles, rocket launchers, a pair of EVA sized swords and, Shinji's new favorite toy, a Gatling gun. The first words out of his mouth as he picked it up were "Say hello to my little friend."

But, as he looked down into the lava he could feel a tingle of fear. He was still gun shy after his red lobster incident. "Unit-02 is ready and in position," Makoto announced when the sorry-looking EVA was held in place.

"Asuka," Misato asked. "Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are," the pilot responded.

"Beginning operation." And with that Unit-02 was lowered towards the magma.

"Oh, man," Asuka groaned as Unit-02 neared the lava. "Talk about hot!"

"Hey," Shinji replied. "At least you've got equipment to protect yourself from that crap."

"Huh?"

"Forget it," Shinji replied.

"Unit-02 is entering the lava," Maya announced.

"Hey! Look at this, Shinji!" Asuka cheered. "A perfect splitter dive!" And with that Unit-02 splashed down into the molten rock.

"Looked more like the world's largest nutcracker, to me," he replied. He could hear Maya and others chuckle over the line. "But, I'll give it a 9.3 out of ten, though."

"Dumbkopf."

"Depth is 170," Asuka announced a moment later that she was currently at one-hundred and seventy meters down. "Visibility is zero." She then switched over to the ultrasound monitor. Everyone up top was relayed what her unit saw. "Even with this I can barely see a thing." Shinji estimated that she couldn't see much further than a football field. Which, for an EVA might as well be arm's length.

Unit-02 continued to be lowered deeper into the magma and Maya continued to read out the depth. "450…500…" Half a kilometer down. "550…600…650…700…" Down below Asuka could hear the pressure straining against the D-Type equipment and armor. "900…950…1000…" She passed the kilometer mark. "1050…We're over the maximum safety depth."

"How much longer?" Shinji asked a moment later. The suspense was killing him.

"Depth is almost 1300," Maya replied. "Unit-02 is nearing the estimated target level."

"See anything, Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"It's not here!" Asuka announced. "I'm not detecting anything. Except more lava, of course."

'It's not awake yet, is it?' Shinji thought. "Maybe it's gone further down?"

"The lava currents must be faster than we thought," Ritsuko said to Misato.

"Damn that Murphy," Misato nodded.

"The target's velocity certainly doesn't match our predictions," Makoto announced. "Could the AT field be having an effect on the current?"

"Doesn't matter," Misato said. "Recalculate and continue the operation."

"Depth is 1350…" Maya complied. "1400…" An audible crack was heard over the radio. "A crack has occurred in the second coolant pipe."

"Misato," Shinji came back on. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Trust me, Shinji."

"Depth is 1480, we have exceeded the maximum allowed depth," Maya announced.

"But we haven't made contact with the target yet," Misato said. "Keep going."

"How's it going, Asuka?" Misato asked the strawberry-blonde combat pilot.

"Nice and toasty," Asuka said cheerfully. "I just want to get this over with and take a shower."

"Better 'toasty' than 'broiled'," Shinji added.

"There's a nice hot springs near here," Misato announced. "We'll go there once this is over. Just hang in there a little longer." At that moment something cracked very audibly.

"Maximum allowed depth, plus 120," Maya announced the depth. Asuka was now 1600 meters down into the magma. That's when the progressive knife attached to her unit broke away and fell. "Unit-02 has lost its progressive knife."

"Maximum allowed depth plus 200…"

"Major Katsuragi!" Makoto yelled at his boss. "You've got to stop this!" Shinji was starting to feel the same way. He was getting a bad vibe from whatever was down there. He couldn't be sure. But he felt as though that angel was close to waking up. "Have you forgotten there's a human being in there?"

"I will manage this operation as I see fit," Misato replied softly.

'Like hell,' Shinji said to himself. "Asuka," Shinji called out to her. "It's your call: what do you say?"

"Shinji!" Misato snapped at him.

"I agree with Misato," Asuka replied, cutting off Misato. "I'm okay, Shinji. I can go on."

"Alright then," Shinji stood down.

Finally at 1,780 meters Unit-02 reached the corrected target depth. A few seconds later Asuka came on the line. "I see it!" She announced.

"The target is in sight," Makoto confirmed.

"Prepare for capture," Misato ordered. Asuka then extended the pylons for the electro-magnetic cage and got ready.

"Alright, Asuka," Ritsuko said to the pilot. "Because of the convection current that's moving both you and the target you'll only get once shot at this."

"Just leave it to me!" Asuka cheered confidently. A moment later she hit the switch and captured the angel. "Electromagnetic cage has been spread! No problems detected. The target has been captured." Everyone in the control trailer breathed a sigh of relief. And with that the gears reversed and Unit-02 was brought back up.

As Asuka was passing the kilometer mark again Shinji called out to her. "How're you doing, Asuka?"

"Outstanding!" She replied. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

"Wasn't it an American President who said that?" Shinji teased her.

"Hey, it's a good quote. So who am I to argue?" She then groaned. "But this suit is killing me! It feels more like a sauna bath than anything else."

"Just be glad that's as worse as it got for you," Shinji replied. "And I'm speaking from experience on this."

"What do you…? Huh? AAHHH!" The angel began to stir and make noises.

"Shit!" Shinji screamed out. He couldn't explain it, but Shinji could feel just how pissed the angel was. "Get out of there, Asuka!"

"It's started to hatch!" Ritsuko announced the obvious. "It's earlier than we predicted!"

"What's the cage's status?" Misato asked the tech crew.
"There's no way that cage can hold it!" Makoto announced.

"Drop the cage, Asuka!" Shinji barked. Asuka complied and explosive bolts released the cage and angel before it could break free.

Down below Asuka watched as the angel's form shifted and transformed into something out of the pre-Cambrian era. She reached for her prog-knife only to remember that she had lost it. "Verdamnt!" Asuka swore. "I forgot!" She looked up and saw that the angel was closing in. "Releasing ballast!" She then shot off the weight belt of depleted uranium and the EVA lifted up out of the angel's path as it shot past. "This thing's too fast! This is no good. Scheist!" She swore when it disappeared into the magma. "I've lost it again!"

"Asuka!" Misato cried out. "We're dropping you a spare! Shinji!"

"One step ahead of you!" He pulled out one of his kukris and hurled it straight down. "Coming down, Asuka!"

"Oh, hurry it up!" Asuka screamed as she reached upward for it.

"Forty seconds till contact," Maya announced.

"The angel is approaching Unit-02, again," Makoto announced. "Rapidly!" The angel launched forward just as Asuka caught the blade. She brought it down onto the angel just as it made contact. That's when it opened its mouth and chomped down onto the EVA's armored head.

"No!" Ritsuko cried out. "How can it open its mouth in molten lava!" Shinji turned back to his arsenal but Asuka was still five hundred meters down and he was still out of the fight.

"AH!" Asuka screamed in anger down in the fight. "Left leg is damaged! The heat shield is failing!" She then jettisoned said leg. She then jettisoned the other to lighten the load.

"Asuka!" Shinji cried out as picked up the Gatling. "You've got to crack that motherfucker open somehow! Either that or get up here so I can unload a can of whoop-ass!"

"Die damn you!" She brought the blade down on the angel again and again and again but it failed to penetrate. "Why won't you crack!"

"The extreme heat has extended that things molecular structure!" Ritsuko deduced.
"Asuka!" Shinji called out again. "Feed it something cold!"

"The coolant!" Asuka got where he was going. "Thermal expansion!" She then cut one of the coolant pipes along the armor and shoved it into the angel's mouth. "Want some ice cream, arschlosh!"

"Redirect all coolant to pipe number three!" Ritsuko ordered once she got where the kids were going with that one. Makoto didn't say anything, he just did it and the coolant began to overflow into the angel. The angel began to writhe and squirm as its body took all the coolant into its bowels.

"AAHHH!" Asuka roared as she brought the blade down once more. This time it penetrated the angel's shell and it began to crack. She twisted the blade and shattered the enemy's shell. Finally, the angel's grip on Unit-02 weakened and it fell away dissolving. But not before it took one last swipe at the cables above it, severing all but one.

As the angel fell back down into the magma it broke apart and disintegrated. The D-Type armor on the EVA began to buckle under the pressure since it lost all its support from the coolant. Asuka's sensors also began to fail and she could feel the temperature slowly begin to rise. "I've done it but…" she said as she watched the last cable strain against the immense weight. "That's it…I'm done for…"

"Asuka!" Shinji cried out. "Er…fuck it!" He tossed the Gatling to the side. "It's cowboy time," and with that he launched onto the cables and slid down and into the magma as Misato screamed out at him.

"Shinji!"

"Yippee-ki-yay!"

Asuka closed her eyes when the cable finally snapped as she felt herself and the EVA descend back into the magma. But five seconds into the plunge towards hell her EVA shook as something grabbed a hold of it. "Was im Himmel!" She asked looking up. And there, holding onto the cable with one hand and latched onto her EVA with the other was Unit-01. "Shinji!" Unit-01's eyes looked like they were glowing. "Idiot. You show off," Asuka smiled up at the EVA.

"GOD DAMNIT, SHINJI!" Misato screamed at the top of her lungs. "Get them the fuck out of there now!" But Maya was already reeling the cable back up. Inside his plug Shinji was growling at the burning pain he felt from the magma and focusing as hard as he could to keep a hold onto Unit-02 and the cables.

"GGGRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRRR!" Finally, after ten seconds in the hot fluid both EVAs were extracted and brought back over land. Shinji dropped Unit-02 onto a small knoll and just let his EVA fall to the ground. It rolled partially down the hill before coming to a stop.

"Shinji!" Asuka cried out as the rescue crews rushed towards the EVA. They reached it just as the plug ejected from its back. The crews were wearing special protective gear to protect them from the scalding hot EVA.

The plug opened and Shinji was carefully carried out and down to the medical teams. Thankfully, his suit didn't melt this time but he was still shivering from the pain. Asuka and Misato rushed up to him just as the medics began to insert an IV into his arm. "Save the slap, Misato," Shinji said when they arrived. "My skin is red enough." And it was true. He looked like he had a bad case of sunburn.

"Shinji," Misato groaned. "I don't know whether to slap you for being so stupid or kiss you for saving Asuka's life."

"How about both?" He chuckled. Misato chuckled at that too as did Asuka.

"You just had to show off, again," Asuka said smiling. "Didn't you?"

"Wasn't fun," Shinji replied. "Damn I hate it when that happens…"

XXXXX

Later, like Misato had promised, the three of them hit the hot springs. In fact, it was a natural outdoor onsen. Misato even had the whole place reserved just for them. When they arrived Shinji was surprised to find a package waiting for them. "It's from Kaji," he said as he signed for it. "I wonder what it is." As he cut it open out popped a certain giddy penguin flapping its wings in frustration at being cooped up in that box for three hours.

Pen-Pen then began looking back and forth for the springs. "Over there," Shinji chuckled. "To your left." As he and the penguin plunged into the springs the bird began to splash around in glee. Shinji couldn't blame him; despite having been cooked a second time in an EVA not long ago, it certainly did feel like heaven. Shinji just laid there and took it easy. Off to the side he had his I-Pod hooked up to an I-Stereo and was quietly playing some classic rock, Carry on Wayward Son. Pen-Pen just kept swimming back and forth in the au natural hot springs.

Then, the females on the other side of the wall interrupted the peace. "Shinji! Can you hear me?" Misato called out to him.

"Nope!"

"Very funny. Would you be a dear and throw me the body shampoo?"

"We ran out of ours!" Asuka added.

"Alright!" Shinji said reaching over and grabbing the bottle. "Ready?"

"Yeah! Just toss it over!"

"Allie-oop!" He tossed it over without leaving where he was sitting. He heard it land followed by Asuka's screech.

"Ow! You idiot! Watch where you're throwing, you dork!"

"How can I watch where I'm throwing when there's a fucking wall in my way!" Shinji shouted back. "Unless of course you wanted me to look first, Asuka!"

"ACK! PERVERSE MENSCH!" Shinji just laughed and went back to lounging. "Ooh. He hit me in my most private part."

"Oh, let me take a look," Misato teased.

"Oh! Watch your fingers!"

'Oh, my god,' Shinji rolled his eyes at what he was hearing.

"Wow," Misato purred as Asuka giggled. "Your skin is so soft and smooth, Asuka."

"Okay," Shinji snapped. "Seriously. Do you two get up in the morning and go, 'Good morning, Asuka.' 'Good morning, Misato,'" Shinji said imitating their voices. "'How are you doing?' 'Alright.' 'So, Asuka, how're we going to take advantage of our sexuality and harass the fuck out of Shinji today!' 'Oh, gee, I don't know, Misato.' 'Oh! I know! Why don't we finger each other in the onsen?' 'Sounds great!' Jesus! And you call me a pervert!"

"Schwinehund!" Asuka reeled. "Don't make me come over there!"

"Was? Ich soll nackt hier rüber kommen? Hierhin wo der Perversling Shinji
Ikari auch nackt ist, Fräulein Soryu?" (Free translation: What? Come over here naked? Over to where the pervert Shinji Ikari is naked, Miss Soryu?)

"W-wh…I…I don…ah…what?" Asuka mumbled.

"Shinji," Misato spoke up, sounding impressed. "I didn't know you spoke German."

"He doesn't," Asuka snapped.

'Wait for it,' Shinji chuckled to himself.

"When we were on board the freighter and about to fight the…" Insert dramatic pause. "SHINJI!" Asuka screamed at him as he began to laugh his ass off. "Du Hurensohn! Dafür bring ich dich um!" (Shinji! You son of a whore! You're going to die for that!) "You told me you didn't know German!" Misato also couldn't help but laugh when she figured out what was going on.

"No! Bullshit!" He shot back. "I asked you what made you think that I did. I never said I didn't. You assumed I didn't." He then went right back to laughing.

"SCHEISTKOPF!"

"The day is mine!" Indeed, he was quite proud of himself.

As Shinji was feeling proud of himself for finally cashing in on that prank he pulled on Asuka, the two females went back to relaxing. Asuka looked over at the scar between Misato's breasts. "Oh, this scar?" Misato smiled. "It's something I got in the Second Impact." Asuka sighed and looked out at the sunset.
"You know my past," Asuka said softly. "About everything, don't you?"

"Well," Misato replied. "It's part of my job. It's all ancient history now. We really ought to let it go."

"Misato," Asuka changed the subject. "Earlier today, Shinji said he was speaking from experience when he mentioned something about being broiled. What was he talking about?" Misato looked down.

"I guess you really didn't hear."

"Hear what?" Misato them explained Shinji's first encounter with the Fifth Angel. How the LCL in his plug boiled and how his heart had stopped for nearly fifteen seconds when they were retrieving him. How part of his plug suit had melted to his skin. She even told her about Operation: Yashima and how Shinji pulled Rei from her entry plug when nearly the same thing happened to her.

"It was the most heart wrenching thing I ever heard," Misato said. "When Shinji was screaming in pain inside his plug. For a moment I thought…"

"Huh? Thought what?"

"I thought I was going to lose one of the closest people I've ever had in my life." Asuka was humbled by what she heard. "It was…horrifying. It was just the most god awful sound you could ever hear." Now she knew exactly why Shinji was so nervous about today's operation. "While they were recovering Unit-01 his heart stopped for about ten seconds until they gave him a couple shocks with the suit's built-in defibrillator." And now she had a better understanding of who he was. Or so she thought.

A/N: Once again, many thanks to Joke4Joker for the help with the German.