A/N: Well, here it is. Here is what is most likely to be the biggest battle on an Evangelion virtual simulator ever. And Gemini Dreams, you need to read a little slower. You would have seen that I wrote that the virtual simulator was NERV's latest invention. On with the battle of the century!
The statement Ritsuko was trying to make was incredibly difficult. "The last b-b-battle is between…"
Now the other pilots were curious. They had gotten so excited during their simulation battles that they had also forgotten who was destined to battle next. Regardless, they were on the edge of their seats as Ritsuko finally named the combatants for the final match.
"Shinji vs. Asuka," said Ritsuko finally.
There was a huge gasp heard all around the room. EVERYONE who was a NERV employee knew about Shinji and Asuka's rivalry. Shinji could be a bit of a wimp at home, but when he was in an EVA, he could be the feared person on the battlefield. Asuka could not stand it if anyone was better than her. Especially if that same person lived in the same house with her. And they were usually at odds with each other when it came to piloting EVA.
A confident look came across Shinji's face when he heard the call. He was ready to prove to Asuka that she was NOT better than him like she always bragged she was.
"I am so going to enjoy destroying you, Third Child," said Asuka with a huge smirk on her face as she climbed into her seat.
"Just try it. I'll show you why the Angels feared me!" said Shinji as he got into his seat. Asuka would not shake his confidence when it came to EVA.
"Let's get this over with," sighed Misato. She knew one of them was going to have their confidence and their pride shattered when one of them loses.
"Look at this!" shouted Maya. "Shinji and Asuka's sync ratios are now tied at 90!"
"Oh my god!" whispered Ritsuko. "Their desire to fight each other is making their sync go up. Is the failsafe mechanism in place in case the worst case scenario happens?"
"Yes it is," said Maya.
"Uploading now!" shouted Makoto. Now EVA Units 01 and 02 were on screen. They then chose their weapons. Surprisingly, they both chose progressive swords.
"BEGIN!" shouted Misato. The 5-minute timer activated.
A/N: To make this epic battle more interesting, listen to some good fighting music.
The two pilots charged at each other. Time seemed to stand still. The only thing that mattered was the total annihilation of their respective opponent. Their two swords met with a clash. Asuka tried a V-step and cut on a 45-degree angle to Shinji's right. Shinji sidestepped to his left, barely dodging the blade and attacked Asuka with an overhead cleave. Asuka quickly had to go defensive and blocked the attack. The two stepped back and then clashed again.
4:45 left.
"Their synch ratios are rising!" said Maya over the battle noise. "93.9"
Asuka attacked in random patterns of high and low and middle. Her rage fuelling her as she intensified her assaults upon her fellow student and pilot.
Shinji countered with the unthinkable. He jumped into the air, combining a flip with a 180-degree spin and tried to hack Asuka in the back.
Asuka was shocked at his maneuver but it did not stop her from blocking it. And attacked right back.
Shinji was enraged that his move failed, but he countered and attacked again.
"Their sync scores are rising even higher! 95.4! And climbing!" shouted Maya again.
"How are their vital signs?" asked Ritsuko.
"Their brainwaves are ecstatic! Shinji's heart rate is 135 beats! Asuka's is 137! The chances of either of them entering cardiac arrest is extremely high!" said Shigeru. "Their hearts will literally explode if this keeps up!"
4:00 left.
Shinji was on the attack. Through some skillful swordplay, he managed to shove Asuka's sword aside as he went in for the final blow and…
WHAM! Asuka had kicked him and sent him flying avoiding his likely deathblow. She went to finish him off with a stab to the chest, but he dodged her attack and used his legs to sweep her off her feet. She quickly got back up and was on the defensive again.
Misato was horrified at what she saw. Two kids, who were like her son and daughter, were giving it all they got, threatening to destroy each other, while threatening to destroy themselves at the same time. She then realized; THIS was their full potential. Was their any way out without them destroying each other?
"98.79!" came the technician's cry. Misato wondered, what would happen if they hit 100 in a simulator? Would the EVA's go berserk like what usually would happen with Shinji?
Shinji felt he was going to explode with the way he was outputting his energy. But he kept digging deeper and deeper for the energy and stamina to keep going at such a high intensity. Asuka was doing the same, looking for more power. Unbeknownst to each other, but in unison, they vowed to win this battle. Even if it would cost them their lives… That power they were looking for came!
3:30 left.
"SYNC RATIOS ARE AT 100!" screamed Maya who was in a true panic.
"Shit!" shouted Ritsuko. "Shut this simulation down NOW! Use the failsafe program!"
"It's not working!" shouted Makoto. "Those kids are refusing to stop!"
"What's going on!" asked Misato.
Ritsuko tried to explain. "When the EVAs hit 100 it comes to life! But since this is a simulator the EVAs can't come to life. For every percent over 100 in this simulator shows how far beyond their tolerance levels they are going!" 102 read the computers. "They are now going 2 beyond their tolerance levels! Even when the timer runs out, they'll keep fighting!"
Misato was speechless. Those kids are going to die. And they won't stop till the other is dead. She looked at the pilot's visuals. It was horrifying. They looked okay, but their eye pupils had disappeared, leaving their eyes completely white. It was truly terrifying to watch.
Shinji attacked again. He screamed with rage as his vicious onslaught kept going. An equally vicious Asuka however, was blocking his slashes. She also screamed with rage as she parried and attacked again.
"Their sync ratios are at 110!" shouted Maya.
"MAGI says if their sync levels hit 150 at this rate, their hearts will explode and their brains will be fried at the rate they are going at!" said Makoto.
"Shinji's heart rate is 160! Asuka's is 159!" shouted Shigeru.
"Keep trying the shutdown program," ordered a very panicked Ritsuko. To her horror, it was not working. "Don't stop trying."
Shinji parried Asuka's attacks for a bit then backed off. He drew out another progressive sword. Asuka did the same. And attacked again! This time with two swords. Asuka also charged with her two swords. They were moving so fast they appeared to be blurs to the human eye. But they could track each movement perfectly. They were sadly oblivious to the actual danger they were in for fighting at the rate they were fighting.
2:45 left.
The other pilots were horrified at what they saw. They didn't see two pilots battling. These were not their friends. The only thing they saw were two monsters waging war at each other, vowing to fight to the death. They then knew that this was Shinji and Asuka's full potential. They also quickly realized that if Shinji and Asuka fought any of them like the way they are fighting now, they would be destroyed in seconds.
"Their sync levels will not stop climbing!" shouted Maya. "130!"
"Death is absolute at the rate they are going at!" replied Shigeru. Their heart rates are now at 170! Their hearts will not be able to take much more of this! Brain damage will be absolute too!"
Usually, in the past when it came to the use of swords, it was said to be foolish to use two swords as it deviated from the way in which swords were meant to be used. But Shinji and Asuka were using two swords as if that was the way they were to be used.
1:30 left.
"The shutdown isn't working!" said Ritsuko. "Is there any other way to shut down this simulator?"
"The only way to do that would be to shut down the entire facility!" replied Makoto. "And that would mean shutting down the MAGI!"
Ritsuko knew the MAGI could not be shutdown at all costs. She and everyone else had resigned Shinji and Asuka to their dooms. "Let me know when they've stopped," said a very upset Ritsuko. She also noticed that Misato had left the room too. She assumed Misato could not take any more of this either.
1:00 left.
"Sync levels are at 140!" said Maya.
Shinji was getting very agitated. All of his assaults were not working! His head and chest felt like they would explode. But he vowed not to let that stop them. He slashed and slashed again!
Asuka felt that she could not take more of this. But she would not let some physical technicality stop her from beating her rival. She parried and attacked again!
Everyone in the base could no longer watch. Shinji and Asuka's bodies in the seats were shaking uncontrollably from their minds in such a heated battle. Suddenly Misato reappeared. "MOVE!" she shouted.
Everyone turned to look at Misato. She was holding a sledgehammer. Everyone quickly figured out what Misato planned to do. "There's more than one way to shut down this piece of junk!"
Sync levels hit 147. Shinji and Asuka charged again, with way more intensity than all the previous attacks combined.
"Misato, don't do that!" shouted Ritsuko.
The false blonde only got one blunt reply from Misato. "FUCK YOU!"
Misato charged at the simulator, brought the hammer overhead and brought it back down with seemingly inhuman force. The computer exploded, making sparks fly everywhere. As everyone expected, the computer shut down.
"I want medical teams down here now!" shouted Misato. In a matter of seconds, paramedics came and took Shinji and Asuka's bodies to NERV's ER.
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NERV Cafeteria
The other pilots felt very shaken. They had watched what appeared to be a horrifying fight. None of them could even speak, let alone eat anything. It had been 3 hours since Shinji and Asuka were rushed into the E.R. The only reports they got was that they were in critical condition. They all silently hoped that their two fellow pilots were going to survive this incident. Even Rei Ayanami was worried for her fellow pilots.
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NERV Hospital- 3 days after the incident with the virtual simulator.
Shinji woke up, feeling very dazed. He quickly remembered where he was. He was in the NERV's hospital room. But how did he end up here. He remembered Ritsuko talking about the virtual simulator. Then he remembered his battle with Asuka. He remembered fighting her, but then after about a minute into the battle, he blacked out, and now he was here. He noticed he was hooked up to a life support system with a device that monitored his vital organs He wondered what in the world he did to end up on a life support system. He just couldn't remember.
He looked over to the bed beside him. It was Asuka. She was also on a life support system. She was also waking up. She then noticed he was in a hospital bed.
Shinji asked her how in the world they got here. Asuka replied by saying that she remembered being in the battle with him, but then blacking out during the battle.
When Misato came in, she was overjoyed that they were alive. She explained that their sync ratios had hit 147 during the virtual battle. And that afterwards they in the Intensive Care Unit as the doctors were able to slow their hearts down without the body going into shock. Then they just decided to let the kids rest until they woke up. Which wasn't for three days.
"Oh yeah, and the doctors suggested that you take the rest of the week off school," said Misato. Your brainwaves went crazy during your battle. So no deep thoughts for either of you. Also, you two won't be piloting EVA for at least 10 days, so your minds can get some much needed rest."
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Misato's Apartment- Wednesday (Early May)
"We're off Misato!" called Zack as he and Rei walked to school.
"I'm off too!" said Misato. While looking at Shinji and Asuka, she said: "Now you two, stay in the apartment and be good. Ritsuko said you two need your rest until you have fully recovered. The only time you need to be leaving is if the emergency sirens go off. Got that?"
"Yessss Misato," they said at the same time with obvious tones of boredom in their voices.
So Shinji made himself and Asuka breakfast because they were still a little shaken from the virtual battles.
The kids tried to find something to do. Shinji found Asuka in her room grooming the plush doll of himself. Gathering the confidence that Zack told him to have, he found the guts to strike up a question. "What are you doing Asuka?"
Asuka was surprised to get anything coming from Shinji that had nothing to do with an apology. So she chose to reward him by giving him a straight answer. "What does it look like? I'm giving the doll a much needed grooming job. Everything in my room has to look good. So I'm giving the doll of you a much needed grooming job knowing who it looks like," she replied. It was an obvious insult.
Shinji assumed that although Asuka has toned down her ego a LOT since the Angels and the aborted 3rd Impact, there were still a ways to go before she could totally kill her ego. He proceeded to leave her room, picked up a magazine in his room he bought while ago. It was a Shonen Jump. It was a comic book with all sorts of different stories in it. He went into the TV room and read it.
He was reading for about fifteen minutes when Asuka came into the room. He didn't notice her until she leaned over in front of his face and says: "Whatcha readin?" she asked in a casual tone.
Shinji starts explaining what he's reading as he brings his head up. As he does, he's in for a surprise. Asuka is wearing a fairly loose shirt, and is standing inches in front of him giving him a fairly good look at her breasts. He quickly shoots his head up the rest of the way, but is in shock from the sight of Asuka's chest and was at a loss for words.
Asuka then snatched the book out of his hands and decided to look for herself. "Wow. So this is a Shonen Jump."
"Shinji regained his composure when Asuka didn't react like he would expect her to. "Yeah. There's all sorts of different stories in here. Zack has Shonen Jumps too, but they're all in English so I couldn't read them."
"I can't read this Japanese either," said Asuka. Shoving the book back in Shinji's hands, she said: "Read it to me!"
Shinji was caught by surprise. "B-b-but…"
"Stop arguing and start reading!" she retorted.
Shinji quickly resigned himself to read to the German redhead to whom he secretly had a crush on, but would never say for fear of getting smacked or berated. He read several different stories. But after an hour, he noticed she had fallen asleep. He noticed that she looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. Shinji then decided to pick her up, carry her to her room, and set her down on the futon. After tucking Asuka back into bed, he proceeded to watch some TV. After flicking through the channels, he found a show with some comedians trying to do stand-up comedy.
Asuka woke up. "When did I fall asleep?" she said out loud. She checked the clock 12:30pm it said. She must have slept for about an hour. She assumed Shinji must have carried her into her room. She proceeded out of her room to see what Shinji was doing. He appeared to be watching TV. A comedy show from the looks of it. And Shinji appeared to be laughing along with it. She thought for a minute that he didn't look so bad when he was in a happy state rather than his usual state of being a total wimp. But then her stomach growled. And Shinji wasn't making lunch! So she decided to change that.
"Oh Shinji…" she said in a very seductive voice.
Shinji turned around to see Asuka with a big grin on her face. Suddenly her smile turned into a frown. Then sudden anger!
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? I'M STARVING! MAKE ME SOMETHING TO EAT! NOW!"
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That Saturday.
It seemed like it would be a normal day. The four pilots Shinji, Asuka, Zack, and Rei were taking a stroll around town. Zack said he wanted to show them all something special. But then, the emergency sirens were blaring! Zack's plan was totally disregarded as the pilots hurried to NERV.
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NERV- Battle Stations
"We've picked up targets outside Tokyo-3," said Makoto. "There's a total of nine of them. Each of them are about the size of our EVAs."
"AT Fields detected but the waveform pattern is not blue," said Shigeru.
"Go to First Stage Alert," replied Gendo Ikari. "Have all the pilots on standby. I want a visual of the targets."
"Yes sir," said Makoto. What the NERV picked up shocked everyone. There were nine white beings that looked like EVAs."
"Just as we thought," said Fuyutski.
"Yes," replied Gendo. "SEELE is back."
A/N: What do you think of that? The EVA Series are back for a rematch! And we sure as hell know SEELE is pulling these EVA's strings. However, there is still hope, as this time it will be a 9-on-6 instead of a 9-on-1! Can the kids stop SEELE's behemoths? Find out! And oh yeah, I don't own Shonen Jumps either. (That'll keep them off my back!)