Chapter 32: Time to Rumble

I'm back, and with chapter 32 to boot. Thanks for your patience as I worked on this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if they bear any resemblence to other fictional characters or real people, it is coincidental

Preread by YouarenotasrandomasI

Now, on with the show!

Pen-Pen waddled around behind Misato as she checked to make sure that she had packed everything. Every once in a while he'd squawk and remind her to pack one thing or another. Once she had finished packing, Misato put her bag down and picked up the penguin.

"Now Pen-Pen, you behave yourself while I'm gone, alright?"

Saluting with a flipper, the penguin squawked an affirmative. Smiling, Misato put him down and headed out to the main room. It was quiet in the room since the Avatars were rarely seen. Sighing, the woman heard the door open as Asuka and Shinji entered

"Hey Misato," the boy greeted, "Are you going now?"

Nodding, the woman picked up her bag, "Remember I'll be gone a few days for the test activation of Unit-03, so you two behave yourselves"

"We know, we know," Asuka said in an exasperated tone, "Just go already, you don't want to be late"

Chuckling a little, Misato teased, "Why are you in such a hurry to see me leave for? Could it be that you're going to make a move tonight?"

Flushing, the red-head retorted, "Hentai! I am not like you"

Laughing, Misato put Pen-Pen into Shinji's arms and told them, "Remember to feed him, and don't forget protection"

She easily stepped out of Asuka's range when she swung at her. Laughing, the woman took her cell and warped out of the apartment. Folding her arms grumpily, the red-head muttered darkly under her breath. Smiling at her, Shinji put Pen-Pen down and patted her shoulder.

"Come on Asuka-chan," he said, "She was only teasing us, and you know that"

Pouting, the girl leaned backwards into him and replied, "I know, but she's so annoying sometimes"

Still smiling, Shinji asked, "Are you hungry? I can whip up a snack"

Smiling back, Asuka replied, "That sounds great"

Hospital

Lying in a hospital bed was a young girl. She was unconscious, and had been for some time. Sitting next to the bed, holding her hand, was Touji. His eyes were full of worry and compassion as he sat there silently.

The door opened, and a couple of doctors came into the room. Reluctantly, the jock released the girl's hand and let the doctors move the unconscious girl from the hospital room.

"Don't worry," one of the doctors said, "I promise that she'll be treated with the utmost care and receives the best medical treatment"

Nodding his head, Touji silently watched the doctors take the girl. Heaving a sigh, Touji left the room.

School

The next day at school, Touji arrived early at the gate and waited there. He was deep in thought as he leaned against the cool stone.

"Suzuhara?"

Looking up, Touji spotted Hikari standing in front of him, "Hey Horaki-san"

There was a moment of silence before the girl reached into her backpack, "Ano, I was cooking last night and I accidentally made too much. I know that you don't bring your own lunch, so I thought to bring some to you"

She was blushing as she held out a black bento box. Also red-faced, Touji took the box, thanking her in a low mumble. There was another moment of silence before the jock broke it

"I'm going to be gone for a couple of days," he told her, "I'm not sure when I'll be back"

Looking disappointed, Hikari replied, "Oh, okay"

Shuffling his feet, Touji asked, "When I get back, we could, um, go out and do something?"

Giving him a shy smile, the girl told him, "That would be nice"

Returning the smile, he walked away, saying, "I'll call you when I get back"

Avatar Base

The next few days were monotonous, if quiet. Shinji and Asuka had the entire complex to them, and entertained themselves by peeking into some of the other's rooms.

"I think that this might make more sense if the others were here," Shinji commented as he looked at chemical stand in Kaitos' room

Gently tapping at an aquarium, Asuka replied, "Yeah, it's so quiet with no one around"

Jumping when a fish with bulbous eyes popped out of the weeds, the red-head knocked into a desk and caused the stack of papers on it to spill.

"Mein Gott, Shinji, help me clean this up"

Picking up the sheets, Asuka spotted a diagram of an Eva. Bending over to join her, Shinji noted that there were other diagrams of different Evas.

"This is interesting," Shinji muttered, "I guess Kaitos-san designed their Units"

Picking up the design on the top, the red-head saw that there was a design for a Unit that they had not seen. In the margins was a handwritten note in a shaky hand.

"A new one, and its Iak's," Asuka noted, "It looks pretty nasty"

Looking at the design with her, Shinji nodded, "Kaitos has a lot of spare time; the designs look pretty tough"

"I wouldn't want to face that in combat, that's for sure"

Avatar Eva Hangar

Having finally fitted himself with a plug suit, Iak was ready to test start his Eva. It was in time too, since the time schedule put them within an hour of the Thirteenth Angel's arrival.

"How's it up there?" Kaitos asked through the intercom

Fighting down the urge to puke, the Aerolan replied, "Fine"

Looking up at his display, the cripple said, "LCL is a nasty liquid, you're not shaming yourself by admitting that it's nasty"

"It's not the worst I've experienced"

Manning another set of consoles, Sai said, "All systems are green, ready to test activate at any time"

"How's our timing?" Iak asked

Scribbling furiously on some paper and punching the buttons on a calculator just as hard, Cairn told him, "Rough estimate: forty to forty-six minutes"

"Just enough time," Kaitos said gleefully, "I can't wait to see you go into action with my greatest work"

Poking him in his bad side, causing the cripple to wince, Sai replied, "Don't get such a big head. It's impressive, yes, but that doesn't mean it's perfect"

Coughing, Kaitos shook his head and went back to work without replying. Up in the observation room, Rikku watched as Iak's Eva began to come online. For some strange reason, she has been feeling as though something terrible will happen.

Nerv

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were being briefed about the situation. A massive explosion had occurred nearby, but due to electrical interference no one was able to locate the point of origin. Also, all communications with the areas outside of Nerv has been affected by the interference, so it was impossible to obtain outside information.

"Since we have been unable to contact Major Katsuragi or Doctor Ritsuko, I shall be taking control of field operations"

The Commander said this with an air of a priest proclaiming the word of God. Although Shinji was worried about Misato, he had to focus on the task at hand

"Pilot Sohryu will take position in the northern mountains, Pilot Ayanami will be south and east of her position, and Pilot Ikari will be south of Ayanami and to the west," Gendo continued, "This is based off of what we were able to collect from the explosion. If it was caused by an Angel, then its best path is to the south. All pilots are to engage the target upon sighting, understood?"

All three pilots responded, "Hai"

Battleground

The pilots were waiting tensely for news to arrive. Half an hour and the electrical interferences were still holding strong, though the area it was affecting decreased. No communications has been established with the lab where Unit-03 was being held.

"I'm getting worried," Shinji admitted to Asuka, "Do you see anything?"

Irritably, the red-head responded, "Nothing, and stop asking me that or I will go back there and-"

"You will hold you position," Gendo's cold voice came over the intercom

Flinching, Asuka stopped mid-sentence and replied, "Understood"

Shinji glared at Gendo's image for talking to his girlfriend like that, but did not reply. It was not best to annoy the person who would be providing direction and information for an upcoming battle. There would be plenty of time for that after the battle

Nerv

"I'm finally getting something," Aoba announced, "Image is a bit fuzzy, but it's a blue pattern and moving south"

Up in the command box, Fuyutsuki stared at the display. While it was still fuzzy, the image showed a bipedal being moving through the valley. The color brought a sinking suspicion to the old man

"Ikari, it looks like an Eva"

His face expressionless, the Commander replied, "And if it is? We still need to destroy it"

A look of worry on his face, Fuyutsuki looked away and back to the screen. He was reminded of the Angel that nearly took over the Magi and cause Nerv to be destroyed. If this was an Angel controlling an Eva, it could be their worst fears come true.

"Pilot Sohryu," the Commander announced to her screen, "The target is nearing your position, prepare to engage"

Battleground

Asuka waited tensely as she made her Eva crouch down. Sighting down the barrel of her pallet gun, she took a deep breath as she waited for the Angel to appear.

Suddenly, she began to feel rumbles that sounded like footsteps. Her finger resting on the trigger, Asuka waited until the being had come out of the mountains and into her range of fire.

Lowering her rifle, the red-head stared at the being that appeared. It was taller than a regular Eva, but appeared to be the same general design. It was also large; easily four times the mass of her Unit-02. Much of the mass appeared to be armor, but the armor appeared more like restraints than a protective surface. There was even a set of chains encircling it, binding its arms across its chest and a muzzle across its face

"That's the Angel?" Asuka muttered

"Pilot, engage the target"

Raising her rifle again, the red-head took a moment to aim and then proceeded to fire. Multiple rounds hit the target, many deflecting away and hitting the ground. The impact caused a large dust cloud to form, obscuring the target from view. Ceasing fire, Asuka waited until the clouds had parted and gave her a clearer target.

The clouds cleared, revealing an unharmed enemy, "Scheiße, it didn't work"

The being lumbered slowly toward her, its armor making it takes slow plodding steps. Backing off a bit, Asuka thanked her stars that she no longer had to deal with an unwieldy cable for power.

"Is it even using an AT Field," the red-head growled in irritation, "Requesting to fall back and pick up some heavy weaponry"

"Request denied, hold position. Ayanami will be arriving at your position to provide assistance"

Rolling her eyes, Asuka aimed at the target and pulled the trigger again. Once again the bullets had no affect on the Angel, but the girl found that it never made any move to attack. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the restraints seemed to actually bind it, making unable to do much more than walk.

"What's wrong?" Shinji asked over the intercom

"The thing doesn't seem capable of attacking," Asuka replied, "I think the Avatars may have done something to it before it attacked"

Rei arrived carrying two shoulder mounted rocket launchers. Handing one to Asuka, the blue-haired girl took aim

"Shall we?"

A sinister smirk on her face, the red-head replied, "A chance to blow apart an Angel that can't even attack? Of course!"

The girls targeted the encumbered target and waited for the electronic targeting systems to lock on. Once they locked onto the Angel, both girls fired their payload into it. The force of the explosions caused both pilots to back up their Evas to escape being damaged.

"Ha ha!" Asuka laughed aloud, "Take that! Who wants some barbeque?"

"Wait," Rei interrupted, "Look"

Peering through the cloud of dust and debris, the red-head's jaw dropped as the target appeared from the fog nearly unharmed.

"Oh come on," Asuka whined, "Not even a scratch?"

In fact, the target came away with more than just a scratch. Falling away in chunks and pieces was the armor it wore. Also falling away was a small section of chains that had bound its arms. Freed from its restraint, the being lifted its right arm and flexed it, roaring through its muzzle.

"Ah, we may have a problem," Asuka said in a strangled tone as she looked at the arm.

The freed arm looked very similar to the kind that their Evas were using. A visual comparison made her feel uncomfortable

"The inner armor of the target appears to be similar to our own," Rei observed

"Yeah," the German girl replied, "I don't like this. Obviously the Avatars have done something to it, but why haven't we heard from or seen any of them?"

Both girls dropped their spent weapons and pulled out their spares, Rei with a rifle and Asuka with her pallet gun.

"Rei, you go around my left," the red-head directed, "I'll distract this bastard, see if you can puncture its armor"

Sidestepping, Asuka fired off a couple of rounds to get the being's attention while Rei snuck around to its back. Its head turned to face the red menace, but its freed arm went toward the blue Eva. With amazing speed and precision, the black beast's arm stretched to twice its original length and grabbed Unit-00 by the throat.

Caught by surprise, Rei dropped her rifle and scrabbled at the hand that was cutting off her air supply. In retaliation, Asuka emptied her clip into the beast, concentrating her fire in one spot, in the hope of breaking through the armor and hitting flesh.

"Come on, it's not even using an AT Field," Asuka complained irritably, "Shinji, we need some help, bring the heavy weapons"

Nerv

"Ikari," Fuyutsuki implored, "Send Shinji with the weapons, the pilots are in dire need of assistance"

His lower face hidden behind his clasped hands, Gendo observed the fight on the screen. Something wasn't right, and he knew it, so the only real option was to play along.

"Pilot Ikari, move to the other pilots' position. The weapons will be provided"

Battleground

Relieved to be finally sent to the front, Shinji grabbed a pair of rocket launchers and hiked to the girls' position. A couple of heavy transport helicopters followed, each with a rocket attached to their undersides

Meanwhile, Asuka struggled to break the grip the beast had on Rei's Eva. Both the red and the blue robots were tossed to the side like a couple of used tissues. Rolling their Evas to their feet, the girls were barely up before they were knocked over again. The target had swept them over by swinging its stretched arm at Eva shoulder height.

"Asuka! Rei!"

Shinji's purple Eva bounded over the next mountain, dropping to its knee to aim one of the launchers he brought. Firing all the shots as covering fire, he allowed Rei and Asuka to get away.

"About time you got here Dummkopf," the red-head said irritably, "what took so long?"

Smirking, Shinji replied, "Hey, I'm here right? Besides, I brought some gifts"

The transports that had followed him dropped their loads near the three Evas before pulling out.

"Aw," Asuka cooed as she hefted one of the launchers to her shoulder, "You shouldn't have"

Picking up one as well, Rei told the couple, "We will fire in alternating rounds, continuous fire should wear away enough of its armor and its AT Field for us to damage it"

Focusing on the task, the couple dropped their humor and aimed at the behemoth. While they were talking, it had lumbered closer to them. Taking turns, the pilots emptied their weapons. Once a pilot had finished their round, they dropped the used weapon and picked up a fresh one. They each had two launchers, which were quickly emptied.

"Alright," the red-head shouted, "That should bring that bastard down for good"

Squinting into the dust cloud they formed from their overwhelming firepower, Shinji told Asuka, "It might still be there, so I don't think we should celebrate just yet"

Chuckling, Asuka replied, "Shinji, while you are cute when you're serious, think about it. That was enough firepower to level Tokyo-3 twice over, I think you might be a little-"

Whatever she said was interrupted by a loud roaring coming from within the cloud. All three pilots stared with disbelief as the beast roared again, sounding like it was cheering with relief and rage.

"Okay, so maybe it survived," Asuka said sheepishly

There we go, another chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it, so please send me your reviews and I'll get back as soon as possible

Later!