Ritsuko sighed as she checked everything for the umpteenth time. The last time two Angels attacked at the same time was a disaster and she was hoping this time would be different. They had new equipment, an extra Evangelion, and more experience in dealing with the unexpected. Not to mention the Angels had the common decency to attack after her short break had ended. Now if she could only deal with the worst component of the Evas.
"Is that a katana?" Asuka asked in amusement as she stared at the weapon being equipped to one of Unit-01 shoulder pylons. "What couldn't afford a normal sword?"
"The Magoroku Exterminate Sword's form was chosen after careful testing. I'm sorry if that offends your European Sensibilities Pilot Soryu." Ritsuko retorted back, wishing she could strangle the smug German girl in front of her.
"Margoroku Exterminate Sword? Seriously? Who names these things? I mean Smash Hawk was one thing, but-"
"Yes yes, I'll be sure to forward your complaints on the naming scheme to the relevant departments. Now if you have anything to say about your own Eva's equipment then say it or zip your lip and get in your entry plug." Asuka glared at her and stomped off toward Unit-02's entry plug. Ritsuko stared at her until she was sure Asuka was out of earshot. "Note to self, do an audit of the naming department if possible." She wouldn't give Asuka the pleasure of admitting that she also thought the names for some of their equipment were questionable at times. But that could wait for after dealing with the Angels.
"Senpai? Did you say something?" Maya inquired as she triple and quadruple-checked the stream of data coming in from the MAGI.
"No, just talking to myself. Is the new equipment ready?"
"Yes, the new weapons have been loaded up and are ready for deployment."
"Good, hopefully that virtual testing will give us an edge against the Angel." Maya paused and turned to look at Ritsuko with a confuddled expression.
"Senpai, you didn't get the email I sent you?" Ritsuko blinked and realized she hadn't checked her emails since she got back.
"No. Why? What was the email about?" Maya suddenly found the floor very interesting. "Maya, what was the email about?" Ritsuko had a feeling she wasn't going to like this
"Are you alright Leader?" Shinji inquired as Leader held her head in her hands.
"Anta Baka…." Leader grumbled with a pout as the LCL began flooding the entry plug. Shiki rolled her eye as she fiddled with the entry plug's machinery. Shinji made a note to ask about all the entry plug modifications they were making before realizing that he probably wouldn't understand what they were saying in the first place.
"Well if you want to…. talk about it, then I'm here." Leader gave him a blank look before sighing and nodding. Before anything else could be said the force of Unit-01 being rocketed toward the surface was felt and the four Eva units were in the combat zone.
"Alright, the Angels will be here soon, so grab your weapons quickly and set up." Misato ordered as the weapons caches began to emerge. "Asuka and Kotone, you'll be engaging in close quarters so be careful of any tricks the Angels might pull. Rei you'll be setting up a sniping position and providing long-range support. Shinji, you provide fire support from the middle and be prepared to assist with melee. Any questions?"
"One." Asuka interjected as she inspected her Sonic Glaive. "What's the ETA?"
"Any minute Asuka." Misato rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her charge's eagerness for a fight. "Keep your eyes peeled and be careful, I don't want you hurt because one of the Angels can shoot lasers or acid or something equally painful."
"Question." Shinji began as he inspected his newest weapon. "Why do I have a giant crossbow?"
"Good question, Rits, why does Shinji have a giant crossbow?" Misato turned to look at their resident Project Eva lead, who had an annoyed look marring her features.
"The Super Electromagnetic Crossbow is an attempt at replacing the so far substandard Pallet Rifle as our dedicated mid-range firearm. At least until we can work out the kinks in the Positron Rifle. You should have had training in regards to using the crossbow, but I was informed that our simulator has been down since a certain incident, so you'll have to intuit how to use a crossbow I'm afraid." Ritsuko ground out as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, I'm going to strangle the idiot programmer who overlooked such a simple problem."
"Oh, uh, I'll figure it out-"
"Guys!" Kotone called out. "Two thingies coming over here, they look like Angels." Kotone waved her Smash Hawk in the direction of the two looming entities encroaching upon Tokyo-3. "One looks like a weird club and the other has a very unfortunately placed orb."
"Thanks, Kotone, but-" Asuka paused as she got a closer look at the approaching Angels. "Huh, yeah that core is not placed well. I pity whoever has to describe that in the reports."
"Focus." Misato ordered, knowing full well she was likely one of the people who had to write the reports. "Asuka, Kotone, you two begin approaching the two Angels slowly. Shinji circle to your right and keep the floating one in your crosshairs, the weirdly shaped ones usually have a trick up their sleeves. Rei, zero in on the humanoid one and prepare to fire on my mark." Four affirmatives reached her ears as her plan began to form together. "Let's show these bastards what happens when you mess with humanity."
I FEEL INSULTED FOR SOME REASON, THE LILIM ARE TO BLAME OBVIOUSLY. BROTHER, I WANT TO SMASH THE LILIM QUICKER.
In due time Zefron, first we must engage the Lilim in a solemn staredown as tradition demands. Then- oh, they're approaching us. Of course, I don't get a chance to set the scene. Very well. If you wish to play this game Lilim-
WHAT GAME ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
…If you wish to play this game Lilim let it be known that those marked for death by the reaper no longer leave footprints upon the earth. For I bear the sword of the reaper! And I mark thee judged for your sins!
BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE A SWORD.
Zefron I swear to father!
"Alright, so far so good." Asuka muttered as she slowly approached the pair of Angels, who were just standing/floating there for some reason. Normally she would charge in and smash these fools, but after the Angel that could split into five copies of itself, she wasn't taking any chances. Suddenly the club-shaped one began emitting some kind of haze, so she stepped back, only to no longer feel pavement upon her feet.
"Asuka, do things suddenly feel…. weightless to you?" Kotone inquired as Asuka noticed Unit-05 floating off the ground. A quick check confirmed that, yes, she too was floating off the ground.
"Oh, Scheiße. The club-shaped one is doing something to make us float!" Asuka quickly grabbed her power cable and used it to reel herself back to land, Kotone quickly did the same.
"The MAGI have detected a gravitational anomaly on your position, and have determined that the club-shaped Angel, pending codename Azrael, has some sort of gravity manipulation ability." Ritsuko explained as she was attempting to determine how to counter this ability.
"Great." Asuka hissed. "Any ideas?"
"I have one!" Kotone exclaimed before upholstering her pistol. "Gun!"
"Kotone, that's-" Asuka attempted to explain, but she was too late as Kotone fired her pistol. The force of the pistol going off in a zero gravity environment forced her backward, throwing her aim off and causing her shot to go wide. "-not going to work." Asuka finished as Unit-05 floated backward.
"It worked last time!" Kotone complained as she tried to reel herself back to the ground once again.
"Shinji, Rei, engage Azrael!" Misato commanded.
"I am unable to, Unit-02 and Unit-05 have obstructed my line of sight, I would need to change position."
"Damn, hold position then and keep an eye on the other Angel. Shinji?"
"I think I can get a shot in." Shinji confirms as he takes aim at Azrael's core. "Center target, pull trigger." Shinji muttered reflexively as he fired the crossbow, the titanic bolt loaded within being launched via electromagnetic propulsion at the unsuspecting Angel. Unfortunately, just as it looked like it was going to hit Azrael, one of Zefron's hands burst out and grabbed the crossbow bolt just as it was about to hit Azrael. The bolt was dismissively tossed to the ground, Zefron's hand already beginning to heal.
"Huh." Shinji muttered dumbfoundedly. "Is this what Rei felt like when the Jet Alone deflected her bullet with a hammer?" He would not have time to ponder that, as Zefron decided to strike.
Zefron launched forward with surprising speed, delivering a massive sucker punch into Unit-01, launching it away like a rag doll. Zefron quickly grabbed the retreating power cable and yanked Unit-01 back towards it, before punching it away again. It repeated this three more times in rapid succession before the power cable snapped and Unit-01's limp form was launched onto the outskirts of Tokyo-03.
""Shinji!"" Misato and Asuka exclaimed as Unit-02 attempted to move to Unit-01's position to little effect.
"Third Child's life signs are erratic!" Maya called out, a tinge of worry in her voice.
"His sync ratio was too high, his body took too much of the mirrored damage." Ritsuko muttered. "Pilot Ikari, can you hear me?" No response, that wasn't good. "Maya, remotely access his plugsuit's system and dispense Formula B."
"Yes, Senpai." She quickly set out the command and got an affirmation ping from the suit's system.
"Good, that should keep him stable for now." Formula B was a cocktail of drugs and chemicals meant to keep someone alive in conjunction with LCL. Perfect for the pilots. However, it wouldn't last forever. "Now, send a remote shutdown signal, prioritize keeping the life support system online."
Senpai, the shutdown signal is being rejected!"
"What?!" Ritsuko put her simulations on hold as she directly accessed Unit-01's system and sent the signal herself, and to her surprise, it was also rejected. "How?!" Her clearance should supersede all but the Commander's, how was it not enough?!
"Rei, you're closest to Unit-01, alter your position and re-equip Unit-01 with a power cable." Misato ordered, side-eying the Commander to see if he opposed her decision, which he did not thankfully enough.
"Understood, moving." Rei confirmed as Unit-00 quickly bounded towards Unit-01's position.
"Asuka, Kotone, I need you two to split off and handle an Angel on your own. Now-"
"I have the big-handed Angel." Asuka all but growled. Her face a visage of fury only comparable to ancient depictions of the devil himself. "I'm going to strangle it to death with it's own spine."
"….Alright." Misato acknowledged, sensing the futility of arguing with her. "Kotone, you have Azrael."
"Alright…." Kotone stared at the club-shaped Angel like it was a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle as Unit-02 went to engage Zefron. "How do I murder gravity?"
"Working on it!" Ritsuko shouted out as she discarded simulation after simulation.
"Contacts approaching!" Makoto announced, fear turning into relief as soon as he identified them. "Dozens of RC helicopters. I believe reinforcements have arrived."
"Joy." Ritsuko ground out as the MAGI played triumphant fanfare. "Mother, some days I just want to strangle you."
Zefron, I believe you may have ignited their wrath.
GOOD.
If Azrael had the biology to facilitate sighing he would let out a long and defeated sigh at this point.
You should be careful Zefron, while rage can cause mistakes it can also make one strike with enhanced fervor.
THEN I SHALL HIT HARDER.
….Let it be said that you are quite to the point. I admire that about you, even if you cannot understand metaphors.
WHAT IS A META AND WHY ARE THERE FOUR OF THEM?
I swear Zefron I… Hmmm?
Azrael noticed the flight of miniature helicopters approaching him with malicious intent.
What in father's name are- OW OW OW!
The Minisukas deployed their lances with righteous fury, pelting Azrael judiciously.
How do you have those lances?! Graviton!
With a flash of his AT-field, gravity went from nonexistent to barely within human tolerance, crashing the RC helicopters to the ground and causing the nearby Unit-05 to be pushed against Tokyo-3's plates.
Well, that was… something. Zefron, how are you-
CAN'T TALK, FIGHTING.
Azrael saw that Zefron was engaged with Unit-02, who had apparently escaped his gravity well at some point.
Hmmm. He should be fine. I should keep this green one suppressed so we are not overwhelmed.
"Little….help….please!" Kotone half screamed through grit teeth, the intense gravity weighing down upon her preventing any sort of movement.
"Rits!" Misato called out as she tried, and failed, to formulate a plan that could ignore gravity.
"Working on it!" Ritsuko had the MAGI working overtime on how to circumvent the Angel's gravitational powers. Unfortunately, nothing was coming up.
"Major Katsuragi I have installed the new power cable on Unit-01. How should I proceed next?" Rei reported.
"Good work Rei! Try to help Kotone while Asuka is keeping…. whatever the big hands Angel is called busy."
"Zefron." Ritsuko provided without taking her attention away from the MAGI's calculations.
"Right that. Set up and provide support for Kotone."
"Understood." Rei found a row of buildings and set up her Sniper Rifle's bipod atop them, quickly zeroing in on Azrael. She fired a quick shot at Azrael, but the Angel seems to have noticed her and quickly brought up it's AT-field to block the shot. This has the added effect of seemingly relieving the increased gravity off of Unit-05, which took the opportunity presented and backed away from the Angel. "It appears that the Angel cannot control gravity and deploy an AT-field at the same time." Rei noted.
"But how do we use that?" Kotone inquired as she massaged her jaw. "Asuka, do you have any ideas?" Asuka's response was a string of German swears as Unit-02 was thrown across the ground like a stone across water. "Yeah, me neither." Kotone paused as her brain processed what just happened. "Wait what?"
"I'm going to destroy you!" Asuka screamed as she picked herself up. "Misato! New power cable!"
"Waypoint 37-B."
"Thank you!"
"Uh, power building up in Angel Zefron." Aoba announced.
"Oh yeah, it's orb is glowing." Kotone observed. Asuka saw the increasing intensity of the orb and a familiar incident during her first Angel fight came to the forefront of her mind.
"Oh, Scheiße. Take cover!" Asuka dove behind a building and Kotone, recognizing the tone of Asuka's voice, followed soon after. However, Zefron wasn't aiming at them. The energy coalesced and a bright beam erupted forth from Zefron's core, aimed directly at Unit-00. Rei quickly tossed her sniper aside and brought her AT field to bear. The roaring energy lance crashed against Unit-00's AT field, pushing her back. While not as powerful as Ramiel's attack, this beam attack still took all of her might to withstand. The beam receded, and Unit-00 was forced to fall to it's knees.
"Rei, report!" Misato ordered.
"I am alive, but I have sustained heavy damage." Rei wheezed out as she began to hobble to a new position.
"Dammit! Asuka-"
"Sneak attack!" Asuka let out a warcry as she clotheslined Zefron while it was distracted from attacking Rei. Zefron was sent to the ground, where Asuka followed up her attack by grabbing it's leg and spinning it around and tossing it at the perplexed Azrael. The two Angels crashed into one another, sending both to the ground.
"Huh. Well, I can't argue with results. Good job Asuka! Now continue pressing them and don't let up!"
THAT WAS UNEXPECTED.
The Lilim's fruit of knowledge grants them many a devious way to enact the unexpected against us, keep your attention undivided brother lest you fall for their trickery again.
OR PERHAPS I SHOULD USE A WEAPON.
A weapon? What are you talking about?
IT IS SIMPLE, YOU'RE GOING TO HELP ME.
Unit-02 and Unit-05 charged toward the two Angels from different angles, hoping to catch them in a pincer attack. Both had abandoned their power cables to enable them more freedom of movement and prevent what happened to Unit-01 from happening to them. They were on a time limit and seeking to bring a quick end to this battle.
"Eat this!" Kotone cried out as she lunged forward with her Smash Hawk, the giant ax embedded into Azrael's AT-field. The field was wearing with every passing moment, and would soon shatter under the strain of the assault. If one fell then the odds would be in their favor, and with Unit-02 about to pounce upon Zefron it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, it would not be that easy. To everyone's surprise, especially Azrael's, Zefron grabbed Azrael and swung him like a club into Unit-02's body. Not expecting this, Asuka didn't dodge and was knocked to the side like a sack of potatoes. Zefron spun around and gave Unit-05 a similar treatment.
"This… is getting ridiculous." Asuka drawled as she got to her feet. Her eyes flashed to her timer for a moment, before refocusing on the Angels. She couldn't delay for a moment. She realized she dropped her Sonic Glaive and quickly grabbed her Prog Knife and approached the Angels.
"ANTA BAKA!" A unified shout echoed throughout Tokyo-3 as a regrouped mass of Minisukas swarmed the Angels. The red tide began to envelop Zefron's legs with frightening quickness. Zefron raised Azrael up high with the intent to smite the minuscule enemies before him.
Shinji blearily opened his eyes, all his senses a nondescript haze. He could vaguely feel shouts near him, and his mind recognized them and Leader and Shiki arguing about something. They sounded…. worried for some reason. The haze started to lift and he could feel a distant pain encompassing his body. He pushed that to the back of his mind as he saw vague silhouettes in the distance, and a discarded sniper rifle nearby. He remembered Angels as he recognized the red cores on those distant silhouettes. He grabbed the control yolks and ordered the Eva to grab the rifle.
"How did it go…?" He muttered as he began aiming at the distant Angels. Leader and Shiki stopped arguing before shouts began being directed at him. He tuned those out as his brain brought forth lessons taught to him by Asuka and NERV instructors. "Right, center trigger pull target." He aimed at a core before pulling the trigger, the recoil causing the faint taste of copper to enter his mouth. Before he could confirm the hit the icy talons of unconsciousness pulled him away from the waking world once more, and darkness overcame him.
A distant bang echoed throughout Tokyo-3, and a massive sniper round pierced through Azrael's core, shattering it and causing the Angel's body to pop like a balloon filled with water, showering the area with angelic blood. Zefron stopped in complete surprise, trying to process what just happened. That was all Asuka and the Minisukas needed.
"Take this!" Asuka lunged forward and buried her Prog Knife hilt deep into the Angel's core, the Minisukas reaching it shortly after, annihilating the body with judicious use of ancient precursor weaponry. Unit-02 stood over the rapidly dwindling body of Zefron in triumph. The last thing she saw before the Eva's battery ran out was the prone form of Unit-01 holding a Unit-00 discarded sniper. "Heh. Not bad Shinji."
Five hours later, NERV Medical Ward, outside ICU
"I hurt in places I didn't think existed." Kotone groaned as she lay upon a bench, her form engulfed with compresses. "How you doing Asuka?"
"Fine." Asuka muttered curtly. Her eyes never left the door to the ICU.
"He's going to be fine, you know? They got the best medical people working on him."
"First of all, medical people is not the proper term to use. But yes, I know he's going to be fine. He doesn't get to die before I say so!"
"I don't think that the best way of going about it but you've got a positive outlook at least." Kotone gave Asuka a knowing look. Asuka was about to give a scathing remark, possibly in German, before the doors to the ICU opened to reveal Ritsuko in bloody scrubs.
"Before you ask-" Ritsuko halted the two teenagers that had nearly bolted in front of her. "Shinji and Rei are fine."
"How bad was it Doc?" Kotone asked, dreading to know the answer but far too curious not to ask.
"Rei got what amounts to minor burns and bruises, so we're providing her some creams, and a minor skin graft in the worst area, to help her out. She should be out in a few days. Shinji however…." Ritsuko paused as she contemplated how to say this. "Well, he suffered quite a few bone fractures and a lot of internal bleeding. He's lucky we got to him when we did. Fortunately, he'll make a full recovery, but that'll take a week at minimum, and that's if he's really lucky. Realistically it'll take about two weeks."
"I see….. Can we see him?" Asuka asked, a storm of conflicting emotions running through her head.
"Sorry, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. He's out like a light and he needs to rest to recover from surgery. The gremlins are seeing to that." Ritsuko growled as she lit a cigarette.
"Should you really be smoking in here?" Kotone asked, disgust plain on her face.
"No, but I don't care."
"Come on Kotone, let's get out of here." Asuka gave Ritsuko the stink eye before marching out of the ward, Kotone followed soon after, complaining about soreness the entire time.
"Teenagers." Ritsuko breathed out along with a cloud of smoke.
Commander's Office
"So, are you not going to visit your injured son?" Fuyutsuki inquired as he moved a pawn forward.
"It is unnecessary. He will live regardless of whether or not I visit." Gendo counters, the Shogi board wobbles due to an uneven leg. "Besides, the Ishim and Cherubim have most likely gathered there en mass. I would not escape unscathed if I went there."
"Fair." Fuyutsuki concedes, baiting Gendo with a lance.
"On a separate note, how goes your search in Cyprus?" Gendo takes the bait lance, trying to use the trap to bait Fuyutsuki's rook.
"Nothing but dead ends, I fear what was once there has long since fled and covered its tracks with frightening success." Fuyutsuki sees through Gendo's play and ignores it in favor of moving another pawn forward.
"A pity, but such happens at times. Whatever it was could have been useful, but we will manage without-" Gendo's next play was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. His brow furrowed, he was positive he told his secretary to hold all calls. He check his person and found that it wasn't his personal cell phone, before realizing where the ringing was coming from. Inside his drawer, where only one item lay. His eyes met Fuyutsuki's for a moment before he retrieved Yui's old cell phone from his drawer.
"I thought we were the only two left who knew the number." Fuyutsuki muttered in surprise and suspicion.
"We should be." Gendo responded before he answered the phone, ready to face whoever this was. "Who is this?" He demanded. The individual on the other end of the line spoke and Gendo's eyes widened in a rare show of complete and utter surprise. "You? How?" Entire sections of his scenario were suddenly overturned. This one piece he never truly accounted for changed so much by merely existing, for good or ill.
Wow, been a while. This chapter has been fighting me harder than usual, so apologies if it's not that great, I'm certainly a touch iffy on it. Anyway, the Magoroku Exterminate Sword is a weapon that exists in concepts that weren't used in the show proper and is modeled on a few figures. The electromagnetic crossbow is the weapon Asuka uses against the Seventh Angel(Clockiel) in the second Rebuild movie. Also, a small few of Azrael's lines are taken from a character from one of my favorite animes, if you figure it out you'll make me happy. In any case, I hope you enjoy, leave a review it you can, and have a pleasant day.