Chapter 5: The Touch (minus song)
"As a phoenix rising from ashes, when a boy's dream is destroyed, a man's life will rise from its ruins."
– Unknown
Gendo Ikari walked numbly toward his office, his face a blank, pale sheet. "It's over …" Gendo said to himself as he sat down at his desk. Lilith was destroyed. His plans were ruined. Third Impact would never come now, and he'd never see her again.
"You're being silly," a familiar voice spoke from behind him. He turned and saw a bright doorway with three figures, two feminine adults and a child.
"Have you forgotten what we always fought for?" the other woman said as they walked out of the light, revealing their faces. "What we died for?"
"You used to help people, dad," the boy asked, looking up at Gendo with bright, blue eyes. "Why don't you help people, anymore?"
"You don't understand …" Gendo shook his head, "Everything I ever loved is gone, I have to … it's the only way."
"Bullshit, Rokobungi!" the Japanese woman snapped, glaring at the man.
"You didn't lose everything, Spike," Carlie said as the two women placed a hand on either of Gendo's shoulders. "You're not alone."
"We're always with you, dad," Daniel nodded, hugging Gendo's leg.
"And you have our boy still with you to watch over. Optimus and Misato are doing a good job as friends, but the boy needs his father, Gendo. Be Spike again, my love. You've got to live."
Gendo opened his eyes as the office shook again and found himself alone. "No … not alone …" Gendo said as he stood up and walked over to a large painting of Central Dogma. He jerked the painting from the wall and threw it to the floor, revealing a metal plate with a palm pad below it. He placed his hand on the palm and took a deep breath.
"Usque Omnis Unus," Gendo spoke softly, and the metal plate slid back to reveal a human-sized version of Optimus Prime's blaster rifle. Gendo took the blaster and held it with both hands. He hit a switch beside the trigger to switch the power on, causing it to give off a quiet hum. "Time to bust some Deceptichops."
"Everyone, stay behind cover," Misato called out as she ducked behind the computer console with her handgun drawn as the reinforced doors began buckling.
The doors finally gave way, and a small force of Decepticons stormed the command center. "Open fire!" Misato called out, and the NERV personnel and Autobot bridge crew began exchanging fire with the invaders.
"Keep them down; we can't let them take the AHH!" Misato screamed as the console she was hiding behind exploded, sending her flying through the air before landing right in the middle of the battle with a hard thud.
Misato pulled herself to her hands and knees and shook her head to clear the stars from her vision. Her head cleared just in time to see the panther-like Decepticon Ravage flying toward her, claws and fangs bared.
Misato screamed, curled in a ball and closed her eyes, but instead of feeling metal claws and teeth digging into her flesh, she heard a blast and Ravage cry out in pain and hit the floor.
"Lying in the center of a battlefield isn't smart, Major," she heard Gendo's voice lifting her off the ground, but she still refused to open her eyes.
"Am I dead?" she asked in a timid voice.
"Far from it. Major, open your eyes, please," Gendo spoke again and with the strange sound of humor in his voice caused her to open an eye to see the Commander holding her up with on arm and firing a massive rifle-cannon with the other.
Misato gawked as he led her back to where the Autobots were pinned down, Gendo walking backward and firing the whole way.
"Commander Ikari?" Gold Bug blanched as he saw the NERV commander pull a plasma grenade, put it in the barrel of his rifle and fire it into the Decepticons' cover.
Gendo spun and ducked as the grenade went off, and a few Decepticons screamed in shock and pain. When some of the screams died, Gendo gave an evil smirk.
"Who lit the spark in your tailpipe?" Kup asked, blinking his optics at the commander.
Gendo ignored him and turned to Goldbug. "Bumblebee, why are you hiding behind here?" he asked in a dead serious tone.
"Uh, Commander Ikari?" Gold Bug stared dumbly at his one-time friend.
Gendo cocked his cannon and looked up at him, "Lone Ranger and Silver maneuver. And call me Spike."
"Welcome back, buddy," Gold Bug laughed as he transformed and started playing Limp Bisket's 'My Way or The Highway' on his radio.
"Good to be back," Gendo gave a smirk as he sat in the driver's side and rolled down the window.
"Hang on, Asuka!" Shinji called out as he pushed his Evangelion to the limit, dashing through the city to get to her in time. Asuka's screams has died down to low moans and groans. "Not again …" Shinji gritted his teeth, remember her making similar sounds when the Fifteenth Angel attacked her. That wasn't going to happen again. Period. "I won't fail you again, Asuka!"
Shinji made it to where the Deception was nose-down in the Geofront and started to go around when a squadron of Jet-type Decepticons divebombed him and blasted the ground out from under his feet. Shinji cried out as he hit the ground and rolled back behind the ship to take cover.
Shinji punched the ground as he began getting frustrated. "I have to get to her …" he growled as he peeked around, but ducked to dodge a second divebomb. Shinji's temper flared as he heard Asuka's beginning to sob through the radio, and had the attack not been in the command center, they would have seen his synch ratio begin to rise. "Mother, help me … I can't let her get hurt again … please …"
Shinji growled in rage as the Evangelion's eyes widened, and it opened its mouth to bellow a roar. It stood to its feet and turned to face the massive, Decepticon carrier. It let out a demonic roar as it gripped the ship so tightly its fingers dug through the armor and it began pulling it up.
"What in Cybertron's name?" Thundercracker gasped as the ship was pulled from Geofront and held high in the air by Unit 01.
The Evangelion screamed a few times as an AT Barrier shot upwards like a laser beam, splitting the ship in half. "So, that's the power of the Evangelion?" Megatron stated to himself, taking his attention from Unit 02's beating.
"ALL FIGHTERS RETREAT!" Starscream yelled as the Eva threw the tail end of the ship their way, then the front end.
"IT'S TOO FAST!" Thundercracker screamed as the Eva took off their way. "WE CAN'T OUT RUN IT!"
"We don't have to out run it, you fool!" Starscream replied, "We just have to out run YOU!"
STARSCREAM! HELP ME!" Thundercracker screamed as the Evangelion grabbed it and crushed his jet-form in its hand before turning to where Devastator still had Unit 02 pinned down and taking a pummeling.
"BEEN NICE KNOWING YOU, THUNDERCRACKER!" Starscream yelled as he did a fly-by.
Unit 01 ignored the wing commanding Decepticon and made a dash toward Devastator. The Combiner never saw it coming till he felt the nose of Thundercracker impaled into his back.
Devastator screamed and rolled off Asuka to face his purple-armored attacker. "Who do you think you a-" The Decepticon Combiner asked, only to be cut off when 01 picked him up by the neck and roared at him like a raving animal.
"Stop playing, Devastator! Rip that weakling apart!" Megatron cheered from the sideline, only to wince when the largest of the Decepticons was thrown like a lawn dart into a building.
Devastator was visibly stunned. Never had he been manhandled like this before. He didn't have long to think about it before the sun was blocked by Unit 01 leaping toward him.
"Don't let that purple thing get you cornered!" Megatron 'coached' before turning at the sound of a air horn. Megatron didn't have time to move as the red, box-style semi slammed into him, pinning him into a building. "Prime …" Megatron climbed out from the rubble as Optimus Prime transformed to his robot-mode.
"This is the end of the line, Megatron," Prime said, pointing his blaster at his arch-foe. "One must stand. One must fall."
"Why throw away your life so recklessly?" Megatron asked, taking a fighting stance.
"That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron." Prime returned, narrowing his optics.
"You cannot …" Devastator growled before he was picked up by the Evangelion and slammed into another building, "...defeat me!"
The Evangelion growled as he gripped the Combiner's head and began forcing it into the building till it crumbled, and they both tumbled through the debris
Close by, Megatron gasped when Prime tackled and pinned him against Unit 02's thigh and punched him in the face. But before Prime could attack again, Megatron kicked him off and blasted his side. "I'm going to rip out your optics!" Megatron screamed as he pounced at the stunned Autobot leader.
Prime rolled with the pounce and kicked the Decepticon off him. He twisted into the roll, came up on his knee and shot Megatron twice in the shoulder. "That's one for one, Megatron," Optimus stated, climbing back to his feet.
Devastator screamed as his chest plate was ripped off and used as a hammer to slam him back to the ground. The Evangelion screamed as he jumped on the Combiner, pinning him down with his knees, and its hands gripped its head again, this time squeezing tighter and tighter.
Prime gasped as Megatron got another hit on his side this time with a jagged piece of metal, but ran through it, grabbed Megatron, lifted the Decepticon up, powerbombed him in to the concrete and stomped his chest, putting a large dent in Megatron's chest plate.
"It's over, Megatron." Prime wheezed as he lifted the battered, dented robot into the air and then threw him with all his strength into a damaged building, which instantly collapsed on the battered Decepticon. Prime watched for a moment before turning his back and starting toward the fallen, red Evangelion. "Now to check on the girl."
"This is for hurting Asuka …" Shinji stated in a tone that would make Rei sound emotional as he continued to squeeze Devastator's head, ignoring the robot's screams and the streaming water and oil spraying from between the Eva's fingers. A moment later, Devastator's head exploded in fire, oil and water, and its body broke apart into five smaller, unconscious and badly damaged robots.
Unit 01 rose from the damaged robots and let out a victorious roar, then turned to the Decepticons and Autobots watching the fight. "Who else wants some?" Shinji shot angrily to the Decepticons.
The Decepticons quickly scattered.
Optimus Prime limped around to the back of the Evangelion and fumbled with the plug section of the damaged Evangelion. He accessed the controls of the Eva and ejected the plug from the damaged bio-machine. "Is she ok, Optimus?" Shinji asked as 01 approached Optimus and the damaged 02.
"She's knocked out, but I don't see anything majorly wrong with her." Prime said before glancing up at the Eva. "You did well, son."
Shinji blushed and smiled at the Autobot leader, but then took a look of horror when Prime was struck from behind by energy blasts.
"FALL!" Megatron screamed from a few yards away, firing his main cannon at Optimus, striking him repeatedly in the back. "FALL! FALL!"
Optimus doubled over and tried to shield the plug with his battered body before falling forward over the plug.
"NO!" Shinji screamed, staring at the badly damaged Optimus. He took several deep breaths before his wide eyes turned to Megatron who was staring at Prime's body smugly. "COWARD!"
Megatron didn't even see what hit him before he was lifted into the air by Unit 01. "PUT ME DOWN, YOU MONSTER!" Megatron screamed as he blasted the Evangelion point blank in the face, but didn't even scratch the Eva's paint job. Megatron screamed out when the Evangelion's other hand's thumb and pointer finger gripped his arm and cannon and began to squeeze.
"Do you know what we do to useless, pathetic insects on Earth, Megatron?" Shinji growled. Megatron screamed when his cannon arm was jerked from its socket, spraying the Evangelion's fingers with oil, water, and sparks. "We pull off their arms and legs," Shinji stated as he began to squeeze him.
"M-mercy!" Megatron cried as his body began to crunch and bend.
"You know, you're not worth killing quickly, Megatron." Shinji snarled, "You're nothing but trash." Shinji then gave him another hard squeeze. "And you throw trash away!" Shinji said as 01 threw Megatron like a fast ball straight out of Tokyo-3's city limits and into the mountains. The Decepticon Leader was screaming the whole way.
Shinji gave Optimus another look and the rage continue to rise. Optimus Prime was the first to ever really treat him as a equal … this wasn't fair … "IT'S NOT FAIR!" Shinji screamed as he felt his body growing lighter in the LCL.
"Shinji … calm down …" Asuka whispered weakly over the com link. "It's over … see? They're retreating … calm down …"
Shinji took a deep breath and felt himself stop floating and rested in the seat inside his plug. "Are you alright, Asuka? And Prime, is he ok?"
"I've been … better, but … his … eyes … they're not shining anymore …" Asuka said weakly.
Shinji closed his eyes and said the one thing that came to his mind. "Shit."
Rumble barely got out the door with the Insecticons as majority of the invading crew was wiped out even before Starscream's signal for retreat sounded. "Where're you boys going?" Gold Bug yelled as Gendo hung out the driver's side window, blasting at their rears.
"What happened to the Deception?" Rumble asked, looking up at the gaping hole in the Geofront where the ship once rested.
"Who cares? RUN!" Frenzy replied as they all took to the air to join the other Decepticons all flying in the direction 01 threw their leader.
Gendo sat back in the driver's seat of Goldbug and sighed. "You know, a part of me missed that."
"Glad to hear it, Spike," Gold Bug replied in chipper tone.
"Commander Ikari," Misato spoke through the radio inside Gold Bug.
"Ikari here, what's the situation?" Gendo replied.
"The Geofront and Central Dogma took heavy damage, sir." Misato informed, "The Decepticons are retreating but … Sir, Commander Prime's down."
"Bumblebee …" Gendo breathed.
"On my way to the surface now," Gold Bug replied, accelerating toward the elevator.
The NERV and Autobot Command crew and three Evangelion pilots stood in the med-bay in the Autobot's flagship the Ark, all gathered around a table where Optimus Prime's broken body laid. "How is he, Perceptor?" Ultra Magnus asked the telescope transformer examining the damages. Shinji didn't even realize he was holding his breath until a small hand gripped his. To his surprise, he glanced to the side where Asuka was seated in her wheelchair not even looking at him, but her fingers were laced with his.
A moment later, Perceptor transformed to his robot mode and glanced around the room.
"Well?" Gendo asked, his voice surprised the humans present with the worry in it.
"Spit it out, 'Ceptor," Hotrod stated in one of his rare moments of seriousness.
Perceptor took a deep breath before glancing down at the unconscious Prime. "I fear his wounds are …"
To Be Continued …
C. Cowboy: Now for an added bonus, a preview of an upcoming fic from Fusion CowboyChaos Productions coming out very, very soon.
(-v-)
Shinji Ikari: They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my friends were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying. Something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.
(-v-)
Shinji Ikari sat on his knees in the dojo high in the Chinese mountains. The wise martial arts master stood before him with his hands in his lap.
"You've traveled the world... Now, you must journey inwards... to what you really fear... it's inside you..." The teacher spoke as several young martial artists walked in the side of the room. "There is no turning back."
Shinji jumped to his feet, barely missing staff hitting where he sat, and brought his forearms up to block a second strike from the opposite side.
"You're friend's death was not your fault." The teacher stated as Shinji ducked and blocked several attacks.
"Yes, it …" Shinji started, but gasped when he felt a staff get past his defense, striking his side.
"Your training is nothing." The teacher snapped, jumping to his feet to give Shinji a surprise attack that he easily deflected. "The will to act is everything."
(-v-)
Shinji stood outside the monastery with his things thrown over his back. "Shinji, I have one last lesson to teach you." The teacher stated, as he stepped forward toward the young man. "A man can be broken. He can be killed or locked up as you have seen, but if you make yourself more than a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal," the teacher stated, handing Shinji a jet-black cloak, "you become something else entirely."
Shinji stared at the black masked-cloak before looking up at his teacher. "Which is?" Shinji asked staring at the pointy-eared mask.
"Legend, Shinji," his teacher said, bowing, "Legend."
(-v-)
"How long will you be staying in Tokyo-3, Shinji?" Rei Ayanami asked from the opposite seat of Shinji on their private jet.
"However long it takes," Shinji said, staring out the window as the rebuilt city appeared on the horizon.
"However long it takes for what?" Rei asked in her usual monotone voice, but with a hint of curiosity added.
"Till the people of Tokyo-3 see that their city doesn't belong to criminals and the corrupt." Shinji stated firmly.
(-v-)
"This is a high-performance combat suit based roughly on the Evangelion's containment armor," Kit Fuyutsuki, CEO of Ikari Industries, said to his new boss. "Yes, I did check with my Uncle before I 'borrowed' the design for the containment armor." He then pointed from the armor to a belt and small gun. " it comes included with a utility harness and magnetic grappling gun."
"What about these prints?" Shinji asked, holding up a pair of blueprints for an assault vehicle.
"Oh, that? That's the Tumbler. Still got some bugs to work out on that design, but it's almost ready to build a prototype."
(-v-)
This Summer
(-v-)
"There seems to be more criminals than people who obey the laws these days, Shinji-kun," Misato sighed as she leaned into the couch in the main room of Ikari Manor. "What's going to be come of this city if good people continue to do nothing?" she continued on, ignoring the strange look crossing Shinji's face. "The whole city will go to the bats!"
(-v-)
Evil
(-v-)
A thug ran through the darkest alleyways of Tokyo-3, panic and tears covering his face as he pointed his trembling gun at every shadow. "Oh, God, oh God, oh God, help me, please!" the criminal begged, running as fast as he could.
He finally found a very dark, shadowy dead end and shrunk back in the shadows to hide. He heard footsteps and fired his gun where it sounded like it came from till the gun clicked empty.
(-v-)
Fears the Knight
(-v-)
The thug squinted his eyes, trying to see if he got him. "Where'd he go … WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed as two pure white, demonic eyes opened directly behind him, shining in the shadows.
"Here." A calm yet menacing voice spoke behind the criminal as a he was engulfed in the shadows.
CRUSADE: LEGEND OF THE DARK KNIGHT
"So, what do you think about this urban legend of 'The Batman'?" Misato asked Shinji, taking a swig of wine.
"Honestly, Misato," Shinji laughed, winking at his former guardian. "Any man who runs around dressed up like a bat obviously has some serious issues."
Coming this Summer