Neon Genesis Evangelion: Horizon of Eternity
by Bardic
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Gainax and Hideaki Anno. This is simply a piece of fanfiction based on the series. There, now since that's out of the way...
Sorry for delaying this for 1 week. Here's the next chapter, and be assured that I'm already working on the next one.
Hope y'all like it. Don't forget to review and comment, even if it's just to diss me for missing my deadline. :D
Ciao.
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Chapter 04: The Promise of Dawn
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:SATURDAY, 0535 hours:
Shinji shuddered involuntarily and wondered if it ironically had anything to do with how strange he felt rather than the usual chill of the LCL-filled entry plug. 'Strange' was how he ended up describing this sensation that overcame him as soon as he left the GeoFront; a bewildering mixture of lethargy and restlessness that he could not place, let alone deal with. At first he tried to shrug it off, but when it refused to go away he began to worry.
-I know it's the first time I've been out since that fight.- He himself barely had any recollection of the battle inside the GeoFront, just vivid memories of pain and blood. -How long ago was it? I mean, ever since I got out of the hospital I've been training, right? Misato-san and Ritsuko-san both told me that my results were still good, even if I wasn't allowed to participate in any of the recent missions. I'm probably just nervous or something.- he concluded with a deep, shaky 'breath' while outside Eva-01 visibly kept clenching and unclenching its free hand. -I've got to calm down-
"What's wrong, Shinji-kun? Something up?" Misato suddenly asked.
Shinji's heart leaped when Misato's screen suddenly popped up in front of him. -Damn! I almost jumped when she spoke.- "N-nothing, Misato-san." The boy said out loud, forcing a tight smile. "I guess I'm just a little nervous since this is the first time I've been out in a mission recently."
"Hmm. Well, you're right about it being your first mission in a long time..." Misato frowned. "Just try to relax a bit, ok? It's probably gonna be one boring day, anyway."
"I'll try." Shinji laughed weakly, and watched Misato's screen wink out. -She's right. Calm down, calm down,...- and silently continued reciting the words.Yet no matter how much he tried to force himself otherwise he still felt it through the pounding of his blood; it was like being in front of a train hurtling at full speed while his legs are rooted in fear. Except that there was no train in front of him, only the thin line of light over the distant horizon announcing the imminent arrival of sunrise.
Shinji wasn't sure how long he lost himself in his silent litany but all of a sudden he noticed the conversation between his three co-pilots. Without a second thought he immediately joined in, his usual timidness forgotten. Instead he forced a cheerful tone to his voice, driven by the urgency to put these unsettling feelings behind him by seeking the company of others.
"Still, whoever thought that Ayanami..."
--
"Well?"
"He did say that he's nervous about being on a mission after a long time, right? Maybe that's just it."
Makoto Hyuuga absently listened to the exchange, glancing at both Ritsuko and Misato through the corner of his eye before putting his attention back to his panel. Various data detailing the life signals of all four sortied pilots streamed constantly through the screen, with Shinji's data currently selected to allow a minor analysis thread to keep constant watch and to supply a more detailed report. -Still, these readings are mighty strange, even from Shinji-kun. It's almost as if this is his first time to pilot Eva-01.- he wondered, noting the increase in pulse rate, blood pressure, sweat production and neural activity. He was obviously in some state of distress, while in contrast the other pilots seemed more or less sleepy, something which Hyuuga couldn't agree more. Things were so quiet this morning that he himself lost count on how many yawns he consciously tried to stifle without much success. -I'll let the program watch him.- he decided before turning to the panel to his right.
With a keypress he had the smuggling fleet in real time display, merely 8 kilometers from the port. They were virtually the same since they were spotted a few hours ago; cargo ship in the middle, one armed light ship in front and two at the back, forming a defensive triangle over the bigger vessel. All three showed no other signs of activity; no people were visible on the decks of any ship, no energy signal of any sort coming from the fleet. Earlier Hyuuga did think it was strange that those three ships failed to register any kind of energy signal since they were put under monitoring, but since they followed a straight course to Old Tokyo Port and showed no other apparent problems he thought nothing of it. -Tsk, you'd think they'd be the source of excitement this morning. They're no fun.- he yawned again while he adjusted his glasses.
-But heck, it would really be amazing if we really find a live angel inside that cargo ship.- he wondered, suddenly feeling excited by the idea. -Well, a dead one would still be cool, but we already have a specimen. If it were alive, though...-
A sudden beep broke him from his daydreaming and made him glance reflexively toward the source. The radar screen, which just a few moments ago showed the four blips of the cargo fleet, was now blank. The screen right beside it still had the four ships in visual, with no problems. However, when the radar still failed to register the four blips of the fleet after a few more seconds, Hyuuga started frowning.
---
Gendou sat quietly in one side of the now NERV occupied tower control room, his face hidden behind steepled, white-gloved fingers. While many would mistake his silence with his usual quiet supervision, none of them could have been farther from the truth. His blank eyes stared straight through the room, seeing none of the bustle that many of the NERV personnel so competently displayed this early in the morning. Instead, this entire predicament only served to bring out the memories from one night few weeks ago, the rush of images filling his visage as crisp as if he were reliving them right that moment. A few days ago he gave them enough attention to warrant being extremely cautious about carrying his plans out, but if his suspicions are true then the events today threaten to change the very future of the entire human race; atleast, the future as far as both Gendou and SEELE would have it.
On that night he suddenly came to and realized that he was bound and gagged inside his cavernous office, with feet and hands tied to his chair. Almost immediately he felt somebody behind him grasp a handful of his hair and roughly tilt his head back, pressing the edge of a curved knife to his exposed throat. Taking great pains not to struggle, he let his eyes focus on the figure sitting in front of him, a few feet away from the other end of the table. The usual dimness of the room bathed most of the stranger's body in shadows, the feeble light only revealing delicate fingers as they toyed with a sinuous, finely crafted ivory dagger.
'Ikari-san.' The figure began in a soft feminine voice Gendou didn't recognize, the dagger continuing its dance. 'Forgive us giving you such rough treatment, but we only wanted to make sure you know how things stand so that when the time comes your...cooperation,' her tone becoming wryly amused, ' will hopefully be forthcoming. You see, we know all about your useless attempts to forcefully seize the reins of Human Instrumentality from SEELE.' Gendou remembered being shocked at just how nonchalant she sounded, ticking off knowledge that he was sure only he knew of, knowledge that he and the most powerful group on earth considered as the answer to humanity's eternal search for meaning, as if reading the weather report from a newspaper. 'I say useless because for quite some time now SEELE itself has abandoned the Human Instrumentality Project, obviously without your 'consent'. The only reason they continue to support NERV is their current inability to deal with Angels.' The dagger in her hand stopped spinning even as her voice became solemn. 'And that in itself is just a temporary setback.What's more, if SEELE's current plans are allowed to continue nobody, not even you Ikari-san, will ever have the chance to initiate full Instrumentality.'
'In any case,' the speaker continued in a more amicable yet distant tone, the dagger resuming its movement, 'we trust that you will make the right choice. If not, well, Adam can be grafted onto somebody else. Your son, perhaps?' she chuckled coldly before standing, the shadows seeming to swallow the speaker's entire figure. It was the last thing Gendou remembered seeing, as with a sharp rap to the back of his head he rapidly descended to unconsciousness. When he next awoke there was absolutely no evidence of the incident ever taking place. He could even pass everything off as a stress induced dream, except for the thin line of blood along his throat and the painful lump on his head.
Since that night he was never 'contacted' by this mysterious group again and as such brooded over the meeting constantly, thinking how much of what he heard was true. The very idea of another shadowy organization actively opposing SEELE was too absurd to even consider that he was convinced SEELE's concocted this whole thing up to catch him offguard. Even more so was the idea that SEELE had given up on Human Instrumentality. -Those old men stubbornly cling to their rights on the Project like children greedily holding on to their candy. Every scrap of power that I've managed to accumulate from them I have fought hard for, right at their very table. Then suddenly all this means nothing to them? How can I believe that?- It was very hard not to be skeptical about the whole thing but in the end Gendou himself concluded that their claims had to be false. Yet what worried him was the fact that somebody, whether it be SEELE or truly a third 'player' in their shadowy game, knows too much about his most secret of plans. -And just how much do they know?- That knowledge made him doubt his own conclusions, for he was sure that if SEELE was indeed the one who met with him he would not have lived that night.
Then came this whole predicament with the ships out in the middle of the ocean. To Gendou, the cargo's significance was but a shadow of what the entire incident might imply. To most people, expert or not, the reports that Major Katsuragi was able to gather, along with the ship's cargo manifest, were truly mundane with nothing out of the ordinary. However, the problem lies in the fact that he knew exactly where the items in the cargo manifest were from. He remembered the chill that ran down his spine the instant he made the connection, and along that sudden realization the specter of his nocturnal meeting reared back in his mind, its prescence as menacing as some dreadful serpent's. With cold certainty he could imagine nobody else to have the power, and the audacity, to do what they apparently have done. Like the stark flash of lightning, the whole incident tantalizingly illuminated the existence of the shadowy group from that fateful night, even for just an instant. An organization with very real power actively opposing SEELE and, if Gendou's suspicions are correct, who's fangs have already struck their first deadly bite just very recently.
-And the proof would probably be the cargo itself.- he concluded grimly.
An intense, burning pain suddenly seared up his right hand, breaking him out his troubled reverie. Even as he cradled his arm in an attempt to soothe Adam in between painful gasps he heard Hyuuga call out from his position.
"Major, my radar just blanked out. Anybody else..."
All of a sudden every screen available seemed to lose signal, either breaking to static noise or simply going blank, much to the astonishment of the personnel handling them. Many stood up in confusion, raising their voices and demanding to know what just happened. Others immediately began checking every other electronic equipment and gadget that they could find, and tensely called out that these too were dead. Amidst the growing air of panic inside the room both Misato and Ritsuko quickly tried to restore order, firmly taking command. Gendou, however, was beyond the din. Alone with the pain that kept on burning his arm, he knew exactly what was happening, yet with Adam reacting this hard he had to struggle mightly just to be able to get his voice. He felt it, and it was coming straight at them.
Right straight for him.
"Angel!" he rasped, fighting to get to his feet. "Angel!" Misato heard him first and immediately began hailing the Eva pilots.
Ritsuko's head snapped towards him, her eyes incredulous. "What? How can ..."
Without warning two black globes violently shot out of the water, the first hitting the unprepared Eva-02's back in a burst of crackling energy and hurling Asuka some two hundred feet away from the pier before she collapsed in a resounding crash of demolished buildings. The second globe hit the super-structure of the command tower with all its promised violence, tearing a sizable chunk out of the base and exploding all the glass windows in a deadly shower of shrapnel. Up at the control room pandemonium ensued as everybody scrambled to protect themselves from falling glass even as the floor shook like mad, hurling people and equipment down in indiscriminate heaps.
Gendou's heart pounded as he fought to stand. -I will not die here. Not when I'm so close.- he snarled silently, turning to those who were still conscious. "Tell Eva 01 to protect this building at all cost!" he grated.
Almost immediately people were crawling through the still heaving floor, trying to make their way to any communications apparatus, if indeed any still worked at all. If another blast hit them or even if the tower foundations were to give away they would surely perish, but Gendou refused to acknowledge such possibilities. Infused with his tenacious refusal to give up in the face of death he forced himself to his feet and rallied his crew, making all of them scramble back to their posts as best they can manage. He did not see Misato and Ritsuko anywhere, but right now such details did not matter to him.
"Commander!" One of the crew pointed through the shattered glass panels to the pier, where the angel was slowly rising out of the water.It appeared to be mostly dark-green in hue, with a spherical body and two 'legs'. Thrusting out from its back were two appendages that looked similar to a jointed scorpion's tail, the ends of which sported five claw-like fingers , all extended as if poised to strike its prey. On the center of its body was the red core, shining as if with malignant power, and surrounding it protectively were flowing, bone-white projections to the point where the whole effect made its spherical body look like an eye, with an uncanny resemblance to the stylized eye of ancient Egypt. That huge body turned left, then right; a huge eye on the hunt, while its 'arms' swiveled menacingly overhead, turning to point wherever the body faced.
Gendou impassively watched the angel search for him, his agony still raging yet very much ignored. He held himself rigid, his steely gaze on the monster never faltering even after it turned its body toward him with chilling finality, that huge scarlet eye seeming to fix him with a malevolent glare of its own. With an unearthly cry of triumph it charged, barreling through the deserted pier with its claws hungrily outstretched. -Is this how it everything ends, then?- he asked himself, feeling absolutely nothing inside as he unblinkingly watched the angel come closer with each crashing step, his mind still refusing to believe how everything that he and NERV had accomplished in the name of Human Instrumentality, of mankind's ultimate quest for salvation, could so suddenly and so completely be bereft of any meaning.
There was a faint burst of gunfire sounding off from a distance, and the next moment a hail of positron bullets rained down on the pier, most of it tearing through the low buildings or hitting the ocean, producing sizable yet otherwise harmless fountains of seawater. However, two bullets did mark the angel in midstep, one in a glancing blow to its right leg and the other squarely at the core, both exploding in a cloud of acrid black smoke as they came in contact with the AT field. Of course, such a feeble attack didn't even scratch the enemy, yet at that moment it was more than enough to save Gendou and the rest of NERV who were helpless inside the crumbling control tower. The monster skidded to a halt and turned its massive body inland, to the source of the gunfire. Then with another roar it charged, this time towards the two distant figures, one jet black and the other a deep blue, who were racing to the pier themselves.
----
-Asuka!-
Her mouth was dry, her heart trying to pound through her chest. She ran as fast as she could toward the pier, her positron rifle tucked under one arm, yet each step felt as if she were mired in mud. In her head she kept on hearing Asuka's scream, kept seeing her friend's face twisted in agony; the image flogged Faye mercilessly. Time blurred as she raced on and finally she had Eva-03 standing on the last hill overlooking the whole Old Tokyo Pier. She immediately spotted Eva-02 lying in a heap of demolished buildings and started to move toward it until movement by the shore caught her eye. So intent was she on Asuka that she forgot everthing else, until she saw it rise out of the water like a monstrous hydra.
No amount of training could ever have prepared her for the sight of her first angel.
"My god!" Faye choked in shock as her throat involuntarily constricted, her breath catching. Even this far from the shore she could make out the entire figure as it climbed onto the pier, the water sloughing off its massive frame. She tried to move and failed, paralyzed by the fear that suddenly had her in its cold, crushing embrace. Only her eyes were free and they involuntarily followed the movements of the angel's arms, swaying above its body like twin cobras, mesmerized in her terror. What was she supposed to do? Where were Misato and the others? Why won't they take command? Moments stretched with these thoughts running through her head in a panic. Unbidden, her eyes finally broke free from their spellbind and wandered along the pier, barely noticing the capsized yachts and misplaced ships by the harbor, before resting on the damaged control tower. Split seconds passed and she began to take note of the blasted windows and the huge hole right at the center of the base. However, before any other thought formed an unearthly cry drifted from the angel. Faye's eyes whipped back just in time to witness it charge toward the tower with frightening purpose.
-There are people in there!-. That instant of realization jolted Faye out of her paralysis. She immediately dropped flat on the hill top, assuming a prone firing position with her positron rifle aimed at the tiny, moving figure of the angel in the distance, the hands gripping the weapon deceptively steady. Inside the entry plug her heart pounded, her breath was ragged and her arms were trembling uncontrollably, yet the blonde pilot's attention was solely on the targeting display in front of her, concentrated on the circles that were slowly converging on her distant target. The intensity of her focus was manic, brought about by the certainty that if she failed to hit her target the whole of NERV would perish, crushed by the angel's massive bulk. It only took a few moments before the targeting system locked on, and when she pulled the trigger she knew for certain even before the bullets travelled halfway to their destination. It felt just like the times when she spent hours at the American Army Rangers' firing range, where her sister had first taught her the basics of handling a firearm. When she lost herself in the rhythem of shooting at the targets she sometimes feels the certainty of her shot, just like she did right now. She had hit her mark, dead center.
"Faye! Cover me!" Rei's voice suddenly rang inside the entry plug and an instant later Eva-00's dark blue form streaked past her, heading straight for the angel. Faye watched her friend skid down the hill in a cloud of dirt and earth, hitting the ground aimed and ready. Eva-00 immediately began strafing the angel, firing concentrated bursts of gunfire to hold it's attention while continuing to move in the enemy's general position. It was then that the blonde realized that the angel had already disengaged from the tower and was now bearing down on them both, it's murderous intent now directed at the two Evas and their pilots.
It was crazy. Normally when someone or something wants to kill you, you'd feel terrified. Faye knew that and was aware that fear did course through her in a torrent right then, but it was not for her own safety. Perhaps it was because of Rei's courage, charging down that hill to engage the angel up close, or Asuka who was lying helpless and injured on the rubble, but Faye felt her own desire to fight surge up and burn the terror that she felt, swiftly becoming her resolve. She wanted to help her friends, and to hell with this angel.
In the numerous training sessions that she had with both girls Faye was assigned to be ranged backup, which suited her just fine because of her easy familiarity with guns. Firing a positron rifle from the Eva did take her some time to get used to, a thing that frustrated her so early on, but when she got the hang of it she was shooting nearly as well as Asuka, much to Misato's surprise and delight. Now she put all her concentration in remembering every lesson, every detail of those experiences. She stood up and raced toward the bottom of the hill herself, noting Eva-00's position in relation to her line of fire. Rei had already drawn the angel into a favorable position; the angel was a lot closer now, at an angle where both Eva-03 and Eva-00 could strafe independently without ever being in danger of a crossfire. With the angel's attention on Rei the blonde fired fired a few shots of her own, successfully diverting its attention, allowing Rei to continue her advance with ease. From her position Faye concentrated on the AT fields even as she continued to distract the monster with calculated bursts of gunfire, unconsciously adjusting her angle in relation to Rei's position just as they had practiced for hours on end. -'Erode them. While your targeting system is locking imaging that you pushing against an invisible net, trying to dent it, to fold it in. It's easiest to begin at the extremeties; the closer you get to the core the tougher AT field concentration gets. Once the field collapses that's the time you fire. Right at the core.'- she heard Ritsuko's voice in her mind as she remembered her time in the firing gallery, endlessly repeating the exercise each time a dummy appeared for her to shoot. Back then it was so easy with no resisting AT field to meet her own, but doing it right now on the angel felt like beating her hands against a concrete wall rather than a steel fence. The resistance was simply incredible; the outer edges of the field yielded ever so slowly against the force she threw at it. Faye gritted her teeth at the effort, the sweat that would have beaded her forehead immediately washed away by the LCL in the cockpit. When her target display signalled a lock-on she wasn't even a fourth of the way done, the barrier still holding strong.
Her concentration on punching through the angel's AT field made her unaware that one of her enemy's arms seemed to be pointed at her with unnerving accuracy. All of a sudden an intense blinding light flared from the angel, stabbing at the blonde's eyes like a white hot needle. She cried out and shielded her eyes reflexively, just in time to catch one of the angel's dark energy spheres as it slammed over her raised arms. The force of impact itself shattered the ground beneath Eva-03's feet, yet somehow Faye managed to lock her knees in time and keep upright even if the blow tried to crumple her to the ground. A heartbeat later the globe exploded, fingers of jagged black lightning violently snaking down the entire length of her body, seeming to burn every nerve it touched.
Faye screamed again, dropping the rifle in her agony. This time it sounded like she would never stop.
-----
When blinding light flashed from the angel Rei instinctively dove to one side, discarding her rifle and drawing her progressive knife in one fluid motion. As soon as she settled onto a defensive crouch she readied the blade in front of her, fading whiteness filling her vision like a thin veil. Partially blinded as she was she felt for each reverberation in the ground, trying to determine the angels intention. After two more heavy steps it was clear that her enemy has angled away from her, charging at the next obvious target. Teeth bared, the blue haired girl sprang out of her crouch, her rapidly fading blindness allowing her to make out the outline of her target. She quickly closed in on the angel's flank, knife at the ready and her vision now fully restored, when the cockpit suddenly flashed a warning and reverted to internal power, the battery timer primed at 5 minutes and counting down at an abnormally accelerated rate.
Rei barely reacted to the switch, not even noticing how fast the battery timer dropped, her attention fiendishly riveted on intercepting the angel before it reached Eva-03. A few more seconds brought her nearly at range of her prey, and as she expected one of the arms lashed out at her, claws agape viciously. She waited until the last moment before leaping forward, instantly dodging the attack and landing at the opposite side of the extended appendage, getting the angel within arm's-length. As the monster turned to smash her down with its other hand Rei was ready, batting out the attack with her free arm, ignoring the jarring pain of the blow even as she thrusted the knife at its core with all her strength, intending to drive the blade hilt-deep into it's scarlet, pulsating heart.Then, just as the tip of the blade made contact the core itself moved; sparks flew when the knife slid roughly along its surface as the glowing red orb shot forward to ram Eva-00 right at the chest with terrific force, throwing it off its feet and sending it crashing onto its back quite some distance away.
Inside the entry plug Rei was stunned from the blow, hands clutched at her tortured chest and fighting for the breath that would not come to her. She lay helpless, her LCL-filled lungs heaving in futility, distantly aware of the angel's approaching footsteps. Her vision started to swim from the lack of air and the tears in her eyes when the angel's core floated into view, seeming to fix her in it's malevolent glow. That was the last thing that she saw as with a final beep the Eva's internal battery ran out, plunging the cockpit into sudden darkness, her pain vanishing at the same time. The girl shuddered again and agian as her lungs, free from their paralysis, finally accepted the oxygen from the LCL .
Anytime now, she thought. At any moment the vibrations would stop, and she would have a few seconds, or maybe more, before the angel skewers her with its claws. She was at the brink of death like she had been several times before in the past, but the calm acceptance that she had once possessed was absent now. Instead there was desperation, her mind refusing to accept the circumstances, fueled by the need to help her friends. If she would have only seconds more to live, she would spend those moments fighting with all she had, even if her Eva had no power left to move.
In that manner time seemed to cease to have any meaning for Rei; so lost was she on her own silent battle that the seconds went by unnoticed. On and on it flowed and the attack she had expected never came. The angel's movement continued; indeed for some reason Rei dimly sensed a renewed violence from outside her dark entry plug. These details were at best vague as all the while her concentration never did slip, up until the moment a terrible howl drifted softly from outside, the chilling call cutting through her thoughts. Only twice did she remember hearing that sound, and witnessing the spectacles associated with it had always filled her with a unique feeling of awe and terror, leaving her with things that she will never forget for as long as she lived.
It was the sound of Eva-01 gone mad.
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CHAPTER 04 END