Chapter 33: Problem!
Date: 6/24/07
ARGH!! Something is wrong with my internet connection. I have been unable to contact my beta, so everything you see was preread by me. In this case, since my grammar skills are not as great, I hope you can allow for a few errors. In any case, I'm leaving for the summer, so I won't be updating anytime until the end of summer break. Also, you're getting two chapters, a consolation for missing me for the summer.
Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if they bear any resemblence to real people or fictional characters in other stories it is merely coincidental
Now, on with the show!
Battleground
Roars echoed through the mountains as the pilots watched the shadow of the monster walk towards them. The spent launchers lay around them uselessly, and the only weapon they had was Shinji's hand gun
"Damn," Asuka muttered, "What now?"
"Pilot Ikari," Gendo said over the commlink, "You will provide a distraction while Pilots Sohryu and Ayanami will fall back to retrieve their weapons"
"Hai," Shinji replied
Steadying his arm, he fired a round to get the beast's attention while Asuka and Rei snuck away. Before the round even struck the shadow had disappeared, reappearing above the pilots. They couldn't move fast enough, and were completely bowled over by the monster.
Getting up was a mistake; every time the three tried to get up, they were beat down. The loss of its armor gave the monster incredible speed and agility
"Scheiße," Asuka shouted as she felt her head throbbing, "Come on you stupid little bastard, hold still"
Shinji fired off a round, getting the beasts attention, "Asuka, Rei, RUN"
He felt the monster land squarely on his Eva's chest, causing him to lose his breath. Stars flashed before his eyes as Shinji struggled to catch his breath. Pain exploded in his head as the beast pounded the purple robot's head into the ground.
At one time her thought he heard Asuka calling his name, but the boy was beginning to lose consciousness. He was able to see the shadow of the monster raise its arm to finish him off.
"Shinji! Get up!"
Asuka rammed into the dark monster and knocked it off of Shinji. As they fell over, she felt something grab her Eva's leg. Impossibly, the Angel had grabbed the red Eva and was using the momentum of the fall to throw her into a mountain side.
"Come on," Asuka grumbled, "I liked you better when before you lost all that weight"
Suddenly she couldn't breath. The monster had Unit-02 by the neck and was threatening to snap her neck. Choking, Asuka scrabbled ineffectively at the nonexistent hands on her neck. She knew that she wasn't really being strangled, but the synchronization process made it so that she felt everything that happened to her Eva.
Through her shrinking vision, she saw the blurred image of the monster strangling her. Lying prostrate was Unit-01 as Shinji tried to get up. She saw a blue figure struggling against the monster, trying to get it off of her.
Smiling, Asuka was losing consciousness, but she made a note to thank Rei, if they lived through this battle.
Rei struggled in vain to save Asuka. The monster would not be deterred this time, and would finish what it started. The blue-haired girl was beaten and worn from the earlier beating, but she had to do it. Once again, she was putting her life on the line to save a person she cared for, one she would call friend
A blow to the side finally got the Angel's attention, but all it did was shrug her off. Rei was about to give up when her communication screen activated
"Rei, do you read me?"
Though the message was full of static and the screen was showing white noise, the pilot of Unit-00 recognized the voice as that of major Katsuragi
"Hai, I read you Major"
A sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness, we've been trying to find out what was going on out there"
"An Angel is attacking," Rei told her, her voice somewhat less than calm, "We are in dire need of assistance"
"Understood," the woman responded, "Help's on the way"
Rei hoped that it would come soon, because from the look of things Asuka wouldn't last that much longer. As she looked back up, she saw another black figure crash into the Angel, freeing the red Eva from its grasp
Jumping up, Rei went over to the fallen Unit, "Sohryu, are you alright?"
Coughing, Asuka gasped for breath as she painfully pulled her unit upright, "Pretty much, how's Shinji?"
Limping over, the purple unit helped the red one to its feet, "I'll be alright, but who's that?"
Asuka's savior was thrown back, landing on its back before them. Rei recognized it from diagrams as Unit-03
"It appears that the research facility were able to find a suitable pilot for Unit-03," she told the other two
Groaning a little, Asuka muttered, "I can't believe it, I was saved by the new guy?"
"Hey, I saved your butt, how about a little gratitude?"
Shinji and Asuka were taken by surprise by who appeared on the monitor. A satisfied smirk on his face, Touji said, "What?"
"Touji," the pilot of Unit-01 exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing there?"
The jock never got a chance to answer as the Angel he knocked down roared. In the process of turning, Touji was caught in the gut and sent flying into the other Evas.
"Get off of me," Asuka growled as she pushed the black Eva off of hers, "Move it rookie, your getting in the way"
The four Evas got up and moved away. They put a fair amount of distance between them and the Angel, but distance seemed not a factor to how quickly it can hit them. Either way, they needed some breathing room to plan their attack
"Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Touji, can you hear me?"
"Misato," Asuka shouted, "We're in trouble and you send us a rookie? And a stooge to boot"
"Hey!"
"Not now Asuka," the woman told her sternly, "He's the best we could send, especially since the Avatars haven't shown up yet"
"What? Avatars?" Touji was feeling confused, "What are you talking about?"
"We'll explain later," Shinji supplied, "Misato, have you tried contacting them?"
"Of course, but I think the problem is a their end"
Just then, several hundred tons of monstrous strength landed in front of them. The Thirteenth Angel had leaped over all of them while they were in retreat and was blocking their path. Being inexperienced, Touji was unable to stop immediately and stopped ahead of the rest.
For the first time, all of them were able to get a good look at their enemy, a foe so powerful and fast that they couldn't see more than a blur before they were struck down. The monster appeared Eva-like, with similar armoring. They now saw that the monster wasn't completely black, but had a stripe of blue running along both arms, wrist to shoulder. The top of its head was like a stretched dome, curving down over its brow and into a point, resembling the beak of a fearsome hawk. The knuckles had blunt hardened ends that caused such pain when Shinji was being pummeled, the tips of its fingers like talons. Its face was structurally similar to Unit-01, but had a more animalistic look to it.
Gulping Shinji turned to Asuka, who also had the same thoughts. They had seen this monster before. It was the design from Kaitos' desk for the production of an Eva for Iak.
"Misato," Asuka said slowly, "I think the Avatars have as much trouble as we do"
Avatar Eva Hangar
The entire complex was in ruins. Dust and debris rained down from the roof, and even the Evas were buried in rubble. A lone figure ran about, lifting pieces of debris and looking for survivors
"Hunter!" Cairn cried, "Damn it, Keevan, Rikku! Where are you!?"
Some rubble shifted, catching his attention, "Hang on, I'll be right there"
Grabbing a piece of rubble, Cairn lifted with superhuman strength. Some dust lifted, and with it came the twins
"Shuri, Shara," the dark man cried in relief, "Thank goodness, have you seen the others?"
Coughing, the boy said, "I think Rikku was on the observation deck, the others were on the platform"
Shara put an arm under her brother's shoulder and lifted him upright, "Come on, we'll help look"
Nodding, Cairn snapped a finger. A humanoid shadow rose from the ground and slid towards the group
"Anything?"
The shadow lifted an arm and pointed towards another pile of debris. The trio ran over and moved the pieces away. A particularly large piece impeded them, taking a great deal of effort to lift it
"Are you alright?" Cairn asked as soon as the piece was lifted
Sitting there cool as a cucumber with Keevan lying on the ground next to him was Hunter. A piece of debris had landed perpendicular to the ground and held up the bigger pieces, forming a sort of concrete tent.
"I'm fine;" the military man replied calmly, "Keevan was knocked unconscious, but has sustained no severe injuries"
Sparks flew from a short distance away, and the pile of rubbish transformed into a solid hunk a couple of feet away. Helping an asthmatic Kaitos to his feet, Sai looked around and was relieved to see them
"You all alright?" Shara asked
"Kaitos is in pretty bad shape," Sai answered, "But he'll live"
Flapping sounds preceded Rikku as she dropped down to where everyone was cradling her left arm, "Is everyone here?"
"I believe so," Sai said, "I think the commander was taking a walk when this happened"
"Iak?"
All of them knew what happened, that the unit built for Iak had been taken over by an Angel, and that it had destroyed the hangar.
"Damn it Cairn," Sai shouted, "What did you do? Everything with the Eva was okay until you brought it here"
Frowning, the dark man replied, "Oh, so it's my fault a thirty story monster in on the rampage, and my best friend stuck inside it?"
"From this standpoint, yeah!"
"What about you?" Cairn retorted angrily, "I didn't hear you say that there a problem. In fact, you actually gave it the green light to go"
"Enough"
Hunter got up and stood between them, "Now is not the time to argue, we need to get out there and help the pilots. I've seen the designs for this thing; it is too much for them"
Cooling off, Sai said, "Yeah, let's see what we got"
Their options were not good. The explosion had destroyed much of the tech gear, and buried all of the Evas. The only unit ready to go into battle immediately was Hunter's green unit.
"It's no good," Kaitos had recovered and was giving a diagnostics check on all of the units, "I don't think you can beat it, not alone"
"There's no choice," Hunter replied as he climbed the ladder to the entry plug.
Within minutes, the green robot had pulled itself from the pile of rubble and was jogging to the battleground.
All of the Evas were lying around after a few minutes of close range combat. The monster roared again as it pressed its foot into the neck of Shinji's unit
Gasping for breath, Shinji hoped that Asuka would at least survive the battle. However, he was rescued, this time by a green Eva. Disoriented, the boy took a few moments before he realized who it was that saved him. When he did, he instantly went round, helping the others back to their feet.
"Come on, let's go"
Disoriented, the other's allowed Shinji to herd them off the battlefield. The boy hoped that Hunter could hold off the monster that had taken control of an Eva.
Circling each other like wolves, the green and black Evas gauged each other before making a move. Hunter's green unit looked in bad shape, while the Angel had no damage to it.
"Shinji," Hunter called out, not taking his eyes away from his opponent, "Pull back, I'll handle him"
The monster stretched its arms, launching them like bullets. Hunter lifted his Eva's arms and knocked them away. Reaching behind, he pulled out a rifle and shot it one handed, catching the Angel by surprise. A few rounds punctured its armor, causing blood to pour out.
Leaping away, the Angel swung a claw, knocking the green unit off its feet. Rolling with the blow, Hunter dodged the monster's other claw. Firing a few rounds, Hunter was forced to drop his rifle when the black being rammed into him. Bringing the green Eva's fists together, Hunter landed a hammer blow to the spine of the beast
"Come on," he taunted, "Is that the best you got?"
Caught off guard, Hunter was thrown away. He found himself grappling with the monster, struggling to get to his feet. Suddenly, he was freed as the black Eva reared up in pain
Shinji had led the others away, and they all returned carrying whatever weapon they could carry. Now they were preparing to open fire
"Hunter," Asuka shouted, "Better move if you don't want to be Swiss cheese"
Rolling, he recovered his rifle and joined the firing squad of Evas.
"Don't give it a chance to recover," Hunter shouted, "Take it down"
There was a moment of slight hesitation in Shinji and Asuka, but they joined the firing squad and unleashed a storm of lead into the monster. Reeling, the beast fell under the hail of bullets.
Holding up a fist, Hunter shouted, "Cease fire"
The silence in the aftermath of the shooting was deafening. All of them looked at the fallen beast for any signs of life.
"Um," Touji began, "Can someone tell me who that is?"
Lowering his rifle, Hunter moved his Eva closer to the downed Eva, "I'm Hunter, an Avatar, but we can do introductions later, help me find Iak"
"Wait," Asuka demanded, "Iak was in that thing and we shot him?!"
"This thing was too tough," the pilot of the green Eva retorted, "there was no other option"
Standing over the fallen being, Hunter saw that it didn't look as damaged as it should have been
"Aw crap"
Knocked into the air, Hunter landed hard on top of Rei's Eva.
"Hunter! Rei!"
"Shinji look out!"
While he had been distracted, the monster charged at him from behind. Asuka knocked Shinji over and put herself in the line of fire. A blow to her Eva's face sent it into a mountain. Clenching its fists, the Angel raised its arms and prepared to land a powerful hammer blow to the downed Eva.
Charging to his feet, Shinji jumped in front of Asuka, preparing to take the blow
"Shinji, you baka," the red-head shouted, "Move!"
The hammer came down, and stopped. A few meters from contact, the fists just stopped. The arms seemed to be straining against some invisible force, unable to move.
"What's going on," Touji asked as he looked on in amazement, "It was pounding the heck out of us and now it's frozen?"
His Eva moving with a slight limp, Hunter sighed, "About time Iak, I was beginning to think you were in trouble"
No video showed, but Iak's voice was heard loud and clear, "I was momentarily disabled. I now have minor control"
"So," Asuka began, "What now? Since you're in there I don't think it would be a good idea to just blast away while you're trapped"
They pondered the dilemma for a moment before the Commander interrupted, "The target is immobile, eliminate it"
"The hell," Misato yelled, "There's someone inside that thing!"
"It is more important to save the lives of millions than that of a single person"
"True enough," Iak said to the shock of the others
Nerv
Units-00, -02, -03 were either in terrible condition or not good enough to do the job. Shinji and Unit-01 was the only person who could finish the mission. However, the boy would not do it.
Very well, then we shall try something else
"Lt. Ibuki, initiate the dummy plug"
Nervously, Maya asked, "Are you sure sir? Doctor Ritsuko said that some testing was still needed"
In his cold monotone, Gendo said, "Initiate the dummy plug"
Battleground
The lights in Shinji's entry plug turned red, and he lost contact with his Eva.
"What's going on," he asked when he heard a sort of whirring noise coming from behind him
The mouth of Unit-01 opened and it roared.
"Mein Gott," Asuka said in astonishment, "Shinji, what's going on?"
Pulling at the controls, Shinji replied, "I don't know"
The purple Eva then leapt forward, crossing the distance to Iak in seconds. With the black unit disabled, Unit-01 tore into it with relative ease. Grabbing its arms, the purple unit snapped them like twigs.
"Shinji stop it!" Asuka shouted shrilly
"I-I can't," Shinji responded in a panic, "Father, what are you doing?"
Jerking the controls in a futile way, he was shaken in his seat. Looking up, Shinji saw that Hunter had grabbed hold of his Eva. At the possibility of a new threat, Unit-01 roared and began to tear into the green foe. However, this foe was one that fought back. Pinning the arms behind it, Hunter forced the purple behemoth to eat dirt. Even then Unit-01 continued to thrash about
"Cut the cable," Hunter shouted
Running up, Asuka helped Hunter pin Unit-01 while Rei detached the cable from its back.
"That'll do," the military Avatar said, "Now we just got to wait till the power runs out"
Completely confused, Touji demanded, "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?"
No one answered him because they were busy with a struggling Eva. Meanwhile, Iak fought to gain control of his monster. Somehow, the parasite inside had found the controls and were testing them out. Like a child with a new toy, it was testing everything about it, finding all sorts of secrets. Including an emergency plug ejection system
Kaitos designed the system to launch the plug a good distance away. The maximum range was four kilometers. The force from the initial thrust alone was enough to blow a super tanker in half.
The Eva was bent over when the plug was launched. Not more than a half a kilometer in front was a mountain. The plug didn't stand a chance.
There we go, nice and neat. Read and reveiw and check out the other chapter
Later