Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from the fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Eight
A heavily modified MiG Transport Helicopter flew through the sky over the Pacific, carrying what was easily one of the world's largest electrical plugs ever made by man.
In the rear seat of the chopper, Shinji Ikari stretched out, something he had fairly ample room to do, as he shared the rear with only one other person. "So where exactly are we going?" he asked. "I know we're supposed to pick up the Second Child, but where? All I see is water."
Misato's eye twitched. "How do you know we're picking up the Second Child, Shinji-kun?"
Shinji shrugged. "I'm in headquarters almost every day. I hear things," he answered. "Besides, I'm the Third Child, and Rei's the First. It was pretty obvious that there was one missing, and I can't see why you wouldn't bring her here, with the Angels attacking and everything."
He left it unsaid that he probably wouldn't have bothered keeping his ears open if not for the fact that his best friend loved hearing about the goings-on at NERV, and he felt keeping her as up to speed as possible was the least he could do in repayment for befriending his sorry self.
"So where are we going?" Hikari spoke up, getting the conversation back on track.
She was rather confused with the whole affair. Misato had shown up at her home that morning with Shinji in tow and all but demanded she accompany them on some kind of day trip. Hikari had agreed, despite the fact that Shinji looked rather pale and nauseous, mostly because she was curious about Unit Two and its pilot.
Then she'd climbed into Misato's sports car, and discovered why Shinji had looked so shaken. They'd somehow arrived at a military airfield alive, and now here they were.
"Oh, I thought you must be getting pretty sick of the mountains, so I thought I'd take you two out on a trip to a cute little boat!" Misato said cheerfully.
As if on cue, the helicopter began to descend. They passed through a few clouds, suddenly able to see a huge fleet of warships sailing through the ocean below them.
"Wow," Hikari gasped, shocked by the display of naval power.
Misato smiled. "We're heading for the big old lady down there, the super carrier Over the Rainbow."
"It's enormous," Shinji said.
"Personally, I'm surprised that such a relic can still float," Misato commented as the helicopter drew closer to the great warship.
As the helicopter drew near to a vacant landing pad on the deck of the carrier, Hikari's sixth sense for the Angels suddenly went off…but something was strange. It felt different than all the previous Angels had, very different. If the other Angels had been like someone nearby shouting, then this was a deep, low rumble from far off. It was quieter, but she had no doubt that whatever it was, it was much more powerful than the other Angels had been.
It terrified her, but, bizarrely enough, it also enticed her. Part of her wanted it. Part of her wanted to change into her angelic form right at that moment, fly down to the fleet, and tear it to pieces until she found whatever it was.
Her skin broke out into goose bumps and she shivered with the disturbing combination of fear and desire that she was feeling.
Stop that! She commanded herself sternly.
The feelings receded, and Hikari no longer felt the neigh overpowering urge to transform and seek out whatever it was. Still, she couldn't banish the sensations completely.
They landed, and Hikari jumped out before the rotors stopped spinning, eager to get out of the helicopter and take in a breath of sea air, hoping it would steady her. She immediately regretted her actions when the gusts of wind the helicopter created nearly blew up her skirt before she could push it back down.
I really wish Misato had told me where we were going, she thought, blushing despite the fact that her skirt hadn't managed to make it above her knees. Then I could have changed into pants.
Keeping her hands at her sides in case a sea breeze decided to do what the helicopter had almost done, she followed Misato and Shinji across the deck of the huge ship.
"Well, hello, Misato. How have you been?"
Hikari looked up and saw a gaijin girl in a yellow sundress standing before them, her red hair blowing about in the breeze. The class rep immediately felt a small stab of envy; the girl was beautiful, and even at a glance, she seemed to just radiate self confidence.
"Just fine," Misato replied cheerfully. "My, you've grown since I last you."
The redhead grinned. "And I haven't just gotten taller, my figure's filled out as well!"
"Let me introduce you," Misato said. "This is the designated pilot of EVA Unit Two, the Second Child: Asuka Langley Soryu."
At that very moment, a particularly strong gust of wind blew across the deck. Hikari was able to push her skirt down in time, but Asuka wasn't so quick on the draw, allowing everyone nearby a clear view of her panties.
Cursing in German, Asuka lashed out at the only male within striking distance: Shinji. The Second Child slapped him hard enough to leave an angry red handprint on Shinji's cheek.
"Wh-wha?" Shinji stammered, the Third Child's mind apparently stalling due to the combination of sex and violence, despite the low intensity of both.
"That's the viewing fee, pervert," Asuka explained with a sniff. "Quite a bargain, wouldn't you say?"
Hikari blinked, having mixed feelings about Asuka. While she was always in favor of punishing perverts (unless, of course, she happened to be wearing her mask), that had been a little harsh.
Besides, the idea of Shinji being a pervert was just plain laughable. Honestly, he was easily the least perverted teenage boy Hikari had ever met. So much so that for a while she'd suspected he might be a homosexual. That suspicion hadn't been put to bed until recently, when she'd seen him sneaking quick glances at a woman dressed as Faye Valentine during the anime convention.
"So!" Asuka said to Shinji, as though nothing had just happened. "Judging from the fact that everyone at the Third Branch kept referring to the famous Third Child as a 'he,' I'm guessing that you would be him."
"Y-Yes," Shinji replied. "I'm Shinji Ikari."
Asuka leaned in close to him, narrowing her eyes as she inspected him. "Not much to look at," was her verdict.
Shinji frowned.
Misato cleared her throat loudly, looking to avert any potential conflict between two-thirds of the EVA pilots. "Let's get going, everyone," she said. "I need to see the admiral in charge of this fleet."
She turned and began to lead the group of teenagers off toward the bridge tower. Shinji walked right next to her, but Asuka and Hikari lagged behind.
"So, as you probably heard, I'm Asuka," the Second Child said cheerfully. "Who are you?"
"Hikari Horaki," she said with a slight bow. "I'm a friend of Shinji's. He's not a pervert, by the way. I wouldn't be friends with him if he was."
Asuka shrugged. "Well, on the chance that he was, I had to stamp out any hentai thoughts he might have been having about me. I find it's much easier to stop perverts early on, before they develop sick fantasies about you."
I wouldn't know, I don't attract that much male attention, Hikari thought, holding back a sigh. At least, not as myself…
"So, have you been piloting EVA long?" Hikari asked, eager to change the subject.
Asuka nodded proudly. "I've been training to pilot it for about ten years now! The Angels might as well just surrender now that I'm here!"
"I'm glad you're here, then," Hikari said in a sotto voice. "Shinji's a nice guy, but he seems pretty in over his head when it comes to piloting EVA. I've been wondering why they didn't have a better trained pilot brought in sooner to take some of the pressure off him."
Asuka seemed to swell with pleasure, both at the recognition of her skills, and at hearing someone who actually knew the famous Third Child say that he wasn't as great as everyone at the Third Branch had made him out to be. She liked this girl, Asuka decided.
"So, tell me, what do you know about this Spirit person I've been hearing so much about?" Asuka asked, wanting information on the more unexpected threat to her status as the top Angel killer.
Hikari suddenly grew nervous. "Oh, not very much, really," she said. "Shinji said that the Fourth Angel might have killed him if not for her help, though."
Asuka frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by Misato.
"Hey, hurry up, you two!" the Operations Director called. "You want to be left behind?"
Ending their conversation for the moment, the two girls picked up their pace and rejoined the other two members of their group.
A few minutes later found the group on the bridge of the massive carrier, with Misato and the admiral in charge of the fleet engaging in what Hikari could easily recognize as a thinly veiled pissing contest.
"The ocean is our jurisdiction," the admiral said harshly. "You will follow our orders here, Captain Katsuragi."
"I understand," Misato said. "However, you should be aware that in the event of an emergency, NERV's military authority overrides your own."
"She sounds just like Ritsuko," Shinji whispered to no one in particular.
Hikari arched an eyebrow at that. Shinji had mentioned the blond scientist to her now and then, but he'd never really told her what she was like.
"Well, I see that you're still as confident as ever!"
Everyone turned to see a tall, unshaven man in his late twenties or early thirties standing in the doorway to the bridge, smirking cheerfully. The loose, sloppy way he wore his tie mildly offended Hikari's sense of orderliness, but she did have to admit that he was handsome.
"Kaji!" Asuka squealed happily, throwing a hand into the air joyously.
In stark contrast to Asuka's reaction, Misato looked like she'd just swallowed a lemon, Hikari noticed. The class rep wondered what kind of relationship the two had.
"Thank you very much for your time, admiral," Misato said, saluting sharply, even as she glared at the unshaven man. "We'll get out of your way now. Please, take us to New Yokosuka as planned."
Misato left the bridge with the three teenagers in tow. She glared silently at Kaji as the group headed off and out of earshot of the admiral. Kaji just grinned sloppily back at her the whole time.
It wasn't until the group was packed uncomfortably into an elevator that was made for three people at most that the purple haired woman apparently deemed it safe to talk.
"What are you doing here?" Misato demanded angrily.
"Accompanying Asuka," Kaji answered, doing a surprisingly good job of sounding smooth, considering the cramped confines of the elevator car. "I'm on a business trip of sorts."
"Talk about careless, I should have anticipated something like this," Misato grumbled.
Miles beneath the waves, the massive form of the Sixth Angel stirred, sensing the call of the All-Father. It was weak but unmistakable.
It's numerous red eyes opening slowly, and the Angel began to swim upwards toward the world of light and air.
Hikari gasped softly, her eyes widening as she sensed an Angel more like the ones she was used to approaching.
First whatever's already here, and now another one's coming? She thought in dismay. What am I going to do? I don't even have my costume! Even if I did, they'd figure it out if I vanished and Spirit showed up!
"Did he touch you?!" Asuka barked suddenly, misreading Hikari's distraught expression and glaring daggers at Shinji.
Shinji didn't say anything in his own defense, probably because he was too busy looking embarrassed at how he had somehow ended up with his head being pressed firmly into Misato's very considerable bust.
"No, he didn't, Asuka," Hikari said. "I'm just a little seasick or something. Say, Asuka, your EVA's here, right?"
Asuka grinned, her anger and suspicion of Shinji instantly forgotten. "Sure is. I'll show it to you later, if you'd like."
Hikari merely nodded, feeling relieved. It's good that it's here, because I have a feeling that you're going to need it, she thought.
The elevator suddenly stopped with a ping, the doors sliding open. The people within very nearly fell out as a result of being so badly compressed, but they somehow all managed to keep their feet and made their way to an officer's mess hall.
With an angry huff, Misato sat down at one of the tables and crossed her arms, refusing to look at Kaji. Still grinning as though Misato's obvious displeasure at seeing him didn't deter him at all, Kaji claimed the seat opposite her. Asuka immediately plopped down in the chair next to him. Hikari considered briefly, then sat down next to Misato. Shinji apparently considered the choice he was given a no brainer, as he quickly sat down next to Hikari, rather than the girl who had slapped him earlier.
"So," Kaji said, "are you seeing anyone right now?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business," Misato replied curtly, glaring at the wall.
"Ouch, I'm hurt," Kaji replied, in a tone that suggested just the opposite.
So he is Misato's ex-boyfriend, Hikari thought. She had suspected as much almost immediately, but this little display dispelled all doubt.
"So, I understand you're living with Katsuragi," Kaji said, turning to face Shinji.
Shinji nodded. "Yeah."
"Tell me something," Kaji said. "Is she still so…wild in bed?"
"WHAT?!" Asuka, Hikari, and Misato all shouted as one.
He…he wouldn't! Hikari's mind sputtered, appalled at the thought of Shinji entering into a sinful relationship with a woman twice his age.
Misato practically dove over the table, and for a moment Hikari feared that she was going to try and strangle her ex. Instead she simply slammed her palms down on the tabletop with enough force to knock over the nearest cup of coffee.
"What the hell are you implying by that?!" she demanded, very red in the face with anger and embarrassment.
Kaji looked unfazed. "Hmm, no, she hasn't changed a bit, has she, Shinji?"
The color drained from Misato's face with incredible speed as she realized that she'd been had; Kaji had baited her and she'd fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. She silently sat back down in her chair.
"Um, I guess not," Shinji answered Kaji. "But how did you know who I am?"
"Well, I ought to know you," Kaji said, holding up a finger like a teacher giving a lesson. "You're pretty famous in my line of work. The famous Third Child who piloted an EVA in his first battle with no prior training."
Asuka scowled slightly, suppressing a sigh of annoyance. She had been listening to this sort of thing ever since the First Battle of Tokyo-3, and she was getting sick and tired of it. However, she didn't get nearly as annoyed as she would have an hour ago, mostly because Hikari had given her what she was sure was a far more accurate picture of the Third Child's abilities.
"Oh, I was just lucky," Shinji replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Luck is a part of your destiny! It's your talent!" Kaji proclaimed. He then rose from his seat. "Well, I'll see you later."
He walked out, with Asuka quickly getting up and following him without a word.
Misato, meanwhile, was holding her head in her hands, her gaze directed down at the coffee stained tablecloth. "It's a bad dream," she muttered to herself. "It's just a nightmare!"
Asuka hummed to herself as she leaned on the safety rail of one of the carrier's observation platforms, feeling quite cheerful. Having Kaji next to her helped to lift her mood, as always, and the knowledge that the great Third Child was really just a paper tiger didn't hurt either. Everyone would see that soon enough, and she wouldn't have to tolerate Kaji or anyone else praising him to death.
"So, what do you think of our famous Shinji Ikari?" Kaji asked.
Asuka snorted. "Him? He's boring."
"Hmm, and yet, his synchronization ratio in combat was well over 40 percent with no prior training," Kaji pointed out.
"Mein Gott!" Asuka exclaimed.
Perhaps she had been too quick to assume that the Third Child was no threat, Asuka decided. She had no doubt that Hikari had been telling her the truth, but the girl wasn't a member of NERV or anything. Asuka probably wouldn't have believed her so quickly, if not for the fact that Hikari had told her exactly what she'd wanted to hear.
It was a mistake, she knew, and she wouldn't allow herself to repeat it.
Looks like I'll have to put you into your place after all, Third, Asuka thought, suddenly clenching a fist.
"Excuse me, Kaji," she said, marching off.
Kaji just grinned and shook his head slightly, already pitying the poor Third Child.
"So, that Kaji's pretty…interesting, huh?" Shinji asked as he, Hikari, and Misato rode an enormous escalator up through the bowels of the ship.
"He hasn't changed at all, the chauvinistic pig!" Misato snapped.
Ouch, I do not want to know how that breakup went, Hikari thought to herself despite her increasing nervousness. She could feel the Angel drawing nearer.
"Are you all right, Hikari?" Shinji asked suddenly. "You look a little…jittery."
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine," she assured him. "I guess I'm a little afraid of being so far out to sea."
"Aw, there's nothing to worry about," Misato said. "This tub's old, but she's still perfectly seaworthy."
"Hey, Third Child."
They looked up to see Asuka standing at the top of the escalator, glaring down at Shinji. Her eyes narrowed. "You're coming with me," she commanded in a tone that brooked no argument.
Asuka's expression then softened and she turned to Hikari. "You can come along, too, if you like. We're going to see my Evangelion."
Well, I guess it's better that they be close to it when the Angel makes it presence known, Hikari thought as she silently followed Shinji and Asuka.
The Second Child led them to a small boat, which transported them from the Over the Rainbow to the freighter Othello, the only ship in the fleet that was not made for war that Hikari had seen so far. On the main deck of the Othello was a huge container with a brown tarp thrown over it, making it look like the world's blandest circus tent.
Asuka rushed over to the tarp and pulled part of it up high enough to allow Shinji and Hikari to see a red EVA laying in a pool of some kind of pink liquid. The Second Child looked at them expectantly, obviously waiting for them to comment.
The look in her eyes made it clear that the comments had better be positive.
"It's enormous," Hikari said, feigning awe. "I've never been so near to an EVA before. They look even bigger up close than they do in the pictures I've seen."
"It's…red," Shinji said.
"The color's not all that's different," Asuka said with a gleam in her eye. She gestured for them to enter the container and they obediently did so.
Asuka scampered across a bridge made of wooden boards mounted on barrels floating in the pink liquid and scurried up the side of her EVA, stopping on the highest part of it, which at the moment was the armor covering up the place where the entry plug was inserted.
"Units Zero and One were created as the prototype and the test type proof of concept, respectively," Asuka said, looking down at Shinji. "The fact that it synchronized with an untrained pilot like you is proof of that. However, my Unit Two's a little different. Created for actual combat purposes, my Unit Two is the world's first real Evangelion! It's the final production model!"
Shinji just looked up at her, and Hikari suspected that he didn't quite get the purpose of this whole thing. Before the Third Child could come up with any kind of response, the entire ship suddenly shook, very nearly sending Asuka tumbling from her perch and almost causing Shinji and Hikari to fall into the pink stuff.
"What was that?" Shinji wondered aloud. "An explosion?"
"Undersea shockwave!" Asuka exclaimed, sliding the down the side of her EVA and landing gracefully on the floating bridge. "And it sounded close!"
The three teenagers rushed out of the container and to the starboard side of the ship, grasping the railing and looking out to see a huge plume of water being kicked up by something under the sea. It came into contact with one of the warships, causing it to explode spectacularly.
"What's that?" Hikari asked, even though she had a pretty good idea.
"It can't be! Angels!" Shinji said.
"You mean a real one?" Asuka asked, sounding strangely excited at the prospect.
"This is really bad!" Shinji said. "We've got to go back and find Misato!"
Asuka smirked. "Now's my chance," she said. "Ikari, come with me! Hikari, you just stay put. I'll have this taken care of in no time!"
And with that, Asuka grabbed Shinji's wrist and began to drag him off, the Third Child protesting the whole way.
Hikari swallowed and looked out at the naval battle unfolding before her. The UN fleet was firing countless torpedoes and missiles at the Angel, but Hikari knew well enough that they could never get past an AT field with that kind of firepower.
Asuka went off to get Unit Two up and fighting, I'm sure of it, Hikari thought. She won't be back for a while. Maybe I could transform and lend a hand…No, they'd find out who I am if I did that. I don't have my costume, and even if nobody gets a good look at me, I'm probably the only teenage girl on this fleet besides Asuka. Misato would have to be an idiot not to figure it out.
Hikari didn't know Misato very well, but she seriously doubted an idiot could make it as high in the NERV chain of command as she had.
The pigtailed girl turned, hearing something massive stirring behind her. The tarp covering Unit Two began to move as the EVA got to its feet.
Drawn by the EVA, the Angel immediately changed directions and headed straight for the Othello. Hikari screamed as she saw the massive column of water coming right at her.
"Hikari!" Shinji cried out in horror, looking over his shoulder toward the burning wreckage of the freighter as Unit Two leapt to safety, landing on a nearby destroyer.
"I'm sorry, Third Child," Asuka said, genuinely sympathetic. "I know it sounds cold, but you can't think about her right now. If you do, us and everyone else here may well join her."
Shinji grimaced, but nodded, turning to face forward again. "What are we going to do? We only have 53 seconds of power left."
"We'll play hopscotch," Asuka answered.
"Hopscotch?"
Unit Two began to leap from ship to ship, using them as stepping stones to get over to the Rainbow. Shinji held onto the back of Asuka's command chair in a death grip and willed himself not to be sick.
Spirit threw her AT field up to shield her from the flaming debris of what had once been the Othello, not even trying to fly. She couldn't see a thing thanks to all the water and smoke in the air, and the force of the explosion had spun her around so many times that she had lost all sense of up and down.
She finally hit the water after an indeterminable amount of time and quickly resurfaced, gasping for air.
Even with her AT field deployed, Spirit felt terribly exposed without her mask and the rest of her costume. She was about to change back when the sound of rushing water suddenly filled her ears.
Spirit turned and saw the Angel bearing down on her, the body of the enormous, vaguely fish-like monster starting to crest above the water. She gasped and shot up into the air, intent on not letting the beast get a second crack at her.
As if it knew what she was going to do, the Angel leapt into the air. It rose to an impossible height, much higher than Spirit had gotten, and then began to descend, opening its mouth.
"T-Teeth!" Spirit screamed as the Angel's maw fell toward her.
She reflexively sent one of her cross blasts upward, just as the Angel's jaw passed her. The burst of energy flew up into the Angel's mouth, right into the red core contained inside its body.
But, as with the Fourth Angel, one shot proved insufficient to shatter the ruby sphere. And even if she had been able to kill it, it wouldn't have stopped gravity. She took a deep breath...
And was thrown about in all directions as the Angel snapped its mouth shut and plunged back into the sea. For a second time in under five minutes, Spirit was thrown about crazily, this time through the water inside the Angel. It was nearly pitch black inside the Angel's body, the only illumination coming from the cracked but still glowing core.
Now I know how Geppetto felt, Spirit thought as she took aim at the core.
Another cross blast lanced out, the seawater boiling furiously around the burst of energy. Unfortunately for Spirit, the Angel's wild movements and the fact that she couldn't keep very still herself with the water churning around her threw off her aim completely. The cross blast missed the core by a wide margin. In fact, most of the blast failed to hit any part of the Angel; only one of the arms of the cross hit the inside of the Angel's mouth, and it failed to punch all the way through.
Spirit's lungs began to burn; she was quite certain that the ability to breathe under water was not among her repertoire of powers.
This whale needs a blowhole, she decided, swimming up to the nearest "wall."
White light formed in her palm, and one of her energy blasts slammed into the Angel's flesh at point blank range.
This time the attack did manage to penetrate the Angel's body, shooting a fairly small but clean hole, revealing the ocean outside. Spirit realized that she'd fired downwards and hesitated briefly, wondering if she should try and blast another hole through the top.
The burning in her lungs and the fact that the first hole she'd made was already healing visibly made her decide to take the exit in front of her. Spirit swam through it, escaping the beast's body. The Angel quickly swam past her until there was nothing but water between her and the surface of the ocean.
Then itstarted to turn, probably coming for her again. Spirit's eyes widened.
I don't have wings! She thought frantically, feeling the feathered appendages retracting back into her.
Abruptly losing interest, the Angel turned back to whatever course it had been on previously.
Hikari was only mildly relieved. Her lungs' yearning for air was growing unbearable, and her head was starting to spin. She frantically swam upwards, toward the sunlight above.
Gotta make it to the surface, she chanted silently. Gotta make it, gotta make it.
Her vision began to tunnel, and she started having trouble convincing herself that inhaling would be a bad idea as her natural instinct to breathe threatened to overwhelm her conscious command of her body.
Gotta…make it…
Unit Two slammed down onto the flight deck of the Over the Rainbow hard enough to nearly capsize the huge ship. The EVA wobbled dangerously for a moment, but Asuka had not trained to pilot it for ten years for nothing. Unit Two soon regained its balance and picked up the power socket that had been placed onto the deck for it.
"Switching to external power supply," Asuka announced as she expertly inserted the plug into its proper place in Unit Two's back. The countdown timer flickered, showing four eights before going off as the computer registered the power flow. "Switch completed."
Shinji looked forward, seeing the huge plume of water that marked the Angel's location approaching them. It seemed to have slowed down, but he wasn't quite sure that wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.
"We don't have any guns," Shinji said, concerned.
Unit Two's left shoulder pylon popped open. "The progressive knife ought to do fine," Asuka said as she drew the weapon.
Shinji wasn't so sure about that, but he felt his doubts giving way to anger as he watched it approach and thought of what it had done. "Gut it like a fish, Asuka," he said, narrowing his eyes.
"You got it, Third Child," Asuka said.
The Angel rose partially over the water, finally allowing the two EVA pilots to get a look at it. Shinji's eyes widened. "It's gigantic," he breathed.
Asuka smirked. "The bigger they are…"
The Angel leapt into the air, slamming into Unit Two, sending the red titan sprawling, the progressive knife flying from its grip and plunging into the flight deck of the carrier. The mighty warship thrashed about in the water and came dangerously close to capsizing as the Angel's massive bulk landed on it.
But the Angel hadn't quite managed to do what it had intended; it failed to make it all the way onto the deck. Half its body was still in the ocean, with half of it on the ship, putting it in less than an optimal position.
"Looking good, Asuka!" Misato cheered from her place on the bridge.
Asuka smirked and retrieved her progressive knife, advancing toward the Angel. She stabbed it right above its mouth, blue blood spurting out of the wound. "Take this!" she shouted.
The Angel released a watery sounding roar, but Asuka didn't seem to be doing much of anything besides annoying it. In fact, the Angel's body was actually healing around the progressive knife.
The Second Child cursed in German, pulling out the knife.
"We have to go for the core," Shinji spoke up.
"Well where the hell is it, Third Child?" Asuka demanded.
"I don't know. It—"
At that moment, the Angel opened its mouth and tried to bite off Unit Two's hand. It nearly succeeded, too, thanks to Asuka being distracted by arguing with Shinji; the Second Child just barely managed to pull her EVA's hand back in time.
"Asuka?"
"What?" she demanded.
"Found the core."
She frowned in confusion for a second, then her eyes widened with realization. "Mein Gott! Are you serious? It's in there?!"
"Yeah," Shinji sighed.
"Fine," Asuka growled.
Unit Two returned the progressive knife to its holster and then marched back over to the Angel. The EVA grabbed hold of the Angel's jaws, and Asuka grunted as she forced them wide open. She grimaced as she saw the rows of deadly teeth the Angel was sporting.
"I am not going in there without doing a little dental work first," Asuka proclaimed.
"Dental work?" Shinji asked.
Rather than answer, Asuka grabbed the progressive knife again, leaving only one of Unit Two's hands to hold open the Angel's mouth. Then she ran the knife through the Angel's teeth, sending jagged spikes of enamel the size of moving vans cascading down onto the deck of the carrier and leaving the beast with nothing more than short, blunt stumps.
"There," Asuka said with satisfaction once the Angel had been thoroughly defanged. "Now we can go."
Unit Two plunged into the Angel's maw, which quickly snapped closed behind it. The Angel began squirming frantically, feeling the EVA moving around inside of it and apparently not liking the sensation one bit.
"Die!" Asuka shouted as she plunged her progressive knife into the core, just barely managing to keep her EVA on its feet.
The Angel's writhing increased in intensity, but Asuka held Unit Two firm. At last, the light in the core was extinguished and the Angel's movements ceased.
"Piece of cake," Asuka said smugly.
The Angel's body shifted slightly, causing Unit Two to wobble again. Asuka's eyes widened. "I thought it was dead!"
"It is dead!" Shinji said. "I think that was just—"
The Angel's carcass went falling back into the ocean with a massive splash, taking Unit Two with it.
"Gravity," Shinji finished with a sigh.
Back on the bridge, Misato slapped her forehead. "Retract the cable!"
Twenty minutes later, Unit Two had been dragged back onto the deck of the Over the Rainbow and the entry plug had been ejected. Asuka threw out a rope ladder, allowing herself and Shinji to climb down to the deck.
"Not the best finale I could have hoped for, but overall not too bad," Asuka said smugly. She turned and saw Shinji's downcast face and her feeling of triumph drained away. "Third Child…"
She had no idea what to say to him. What could you say to someone when their friend became a completely needless casualty in a war? Asuka hadn't the faintest clue.
I shouldn't have invited her along, Asuka thought. If I'd thought for even a second that an Angel would show up today…
"I'm sorry, Third Child," she said eventually, feeling incredibly awkward. She hesitated a moment, then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Arigato," he said softly.
Asuka heard the sound of running feet and looked up, seeing Misato and Kaji rushing over to them.
"Are you okay?" Misato demanded before she'd even stopped. "Are either of you hurt?"
"We're fine," Asuka said. "But that girl you brought with you…Hikari…she was on the freighter when the Angel destroyed it."
Misato paled. She had suspected as much but had clung onto the faint hope that Hikari was somewhere else when the Angel had shown up, that she had managed to get somewhere safe in time.
What am I going to tell her family? She wondered.
Every officer dreaded having to write and send the "I regret to inform you" letters to the family of fallen soldiers, but this was even worse. Hikari had never enlisted for anything, never agreed to any risks. She hadn't even known where they were going when Misato had demanded she accompany them this morning!
"Hey, there!" someone called in English. "This belong to you?"
Misato looked up to see one of the sailors walking toward them…with Hikari at his side. She looked like a drowned rat, and the blanket that was draped over her shoulders couldn't conceal the fact that her dress had been reduced to a wet rag.
But she was alive.
"Hikari!" Misato called, rushing over to her.
Shinji looked up at last and then ran after Misato. "Hikari! Oh, thank god!" he exclaimed as he drew near to her.
He moved to hug her, then checked himself, not feeling particularly bold about that sort of thing after being called a pervert so many times that day.
Ah, to hell with it, he thought abruptly, and drew her into a brief embrace anyway.
"Are you all right?" Misato asked. "You're not hurt are you?"
"I feel like I swallowed half the ocean," Hikari answered, wrinkling her nose, "but otherwise I'm just fine."
"Thank goodness," Misato said. "I'll make sure that your dress gets replaced. Sorry about this, Hikari."
"It's all right," she said. "I'm sure you didn't realize that an Angel was coming. Uh, can we go back to the city now? I think I've had enough of the ocean for today."
Misato smiled. "We should be arriving in port in an hour."
Hikari nodded, then she turned to Shinji, frowning. "Shinji…what are you wearing?"
Author's Notes: The original plan for this Angel was to have Misato opt against bringing Hikari. Her justification would be that she was hoping for Shinji and Asuka to hit it off and didn't want to make Asuka think Hikari was Shinji's girlfriend. Without Hikari around, the fight would go exactly the same as it had in the series.
Then I thought about how long its been since Spirit last fought an Angel, and most of the reviews said they wanted Hikari there. The problem was avoiding an "idiot plot," with Hikari looking like an idiot for becoming Spirit, and possibly needing Misato to be an idiot for not putting two and two together when she did. Then I came up for the idea on what happened in this chapter, and here we are.
Kenzie, I myself had all my wisdom teeth taken out less than a year ago; I feel your pain. I hope Asuka's work on the Angel's teeth didn't creep you out, too.
NefCanuck, Shinji as Kenshin just sort of felt appropriate to me, mostly because they're the two biggest male housewives in anime that I know of. Besides, Shinji had some control over his costume and would have vetoed anything that invited too much teasing.
Cronomatic, I hadn't really planned on Yuki making another appearance, but we'll see.
Zoro50, at the convention, I was hoping that the readers would let their guard down when Kensuke wasn't at the EVA section, however, it appears I was unsuccessful. Fortunately, it will be a while before I need to add more filler to slow the pacing.
Orionpax09, as you can see, the restraints on Spirit this chapter actually caused things to go much better than they did in the series from Asuka's perspective. However, the Second Child clearly doesn't like the idea of Spirit swooping in and doing her job for her. I think you can imagine how this situation will unfold. :)
And, as always, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.
Omakes
Aftermath
"God, I've said a lot of stupid things in my life, but none so bad as 'they make me feel pretty,'" Shinji grumbled to himself as he walked back to the apartment.
For once, he'd been glad that he and his Father didn't get along. In response to Shinji's claim of buying the Spirit costumes for himself, Gendo had just banged his head on his desk, followed by mumbling out a brief lecture. The only words Shinji had even caught were "manliness" and "NERV's public image." Shinji suspected it would have been a lot worse if his Father hadn't disavowed his paternal duties to him a long time ago.
And, ultimately, the excuse had worked. Hikari was safe from the threat of being exposed as Spirit, and Shinji didn't have to do any more explaining.
If she hadn't already saved my life, she would seriously owe me, he thought. Oh well, at least the whole ordeal's over with.
He opened the door to the apartment and walked in. "I'm home."
"Welcome home," Misato replied.
He walked over to the refrigerator to get himself something to drink but stopped before selecting anything. He glanced at Misato from the corner of his eye, realizing that she was watching him rather intently.
"What?" he asked.
"Shinji-kun," Misato began, "I just got a call from the Commander…"
Damn it! Shinji thought, feeling his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
His guardian gestured for him to sit at the kitchen table with her. Reluctantly, he did so, noting that she didn't look like she was about to tease him, at least. In fact, she looked unusually sober (in both meanings of the word).
"I'll level with you, Shinji-kun," Misato said. "The Commander ordered me to get you to stop these 'deviant tendencies' even if I have to beat them out of you. But I have no plans on following that order."
Shinji blinked. "Arigato, Misato," he said on reflex.
She smiled slightly. "Well, I don't believe you can really change a person, and that trying to force them to change will just make them miserable," she said. "So long as it makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone, I say you should do it. Though for both our sakes, you'll have to keep quiet about it so the Commander won't know."
For a moment, Shinji was nearly overcome with gratitude for Misato for being so understanding of his lifestyle choices.
Then he remembered that he didn't actually cross dress, which lessened the emotional impact. Still, it was very nice of Misato.
"Arigato, Misato," he said again. "I promise I'll be…discreet."
"Good," she said, grinning widely and dropping the serious attitude. "Now let's go shopping!"
Shinji's eyes widened. "Huh? What?"
"I haven't been clothing shopping with a girlfriend in forever!" Misato said. "Ritsuko can never find the time. We'll lose your Section Two detail and have a grand old time! I'll even help you pick out dresses and undergarments, Shinji-kun!"
Shinji could barely resist the urge to start sobbing as he was dragged out of the apartment by his guardian.
Childhood Fantasies
"You know, I thought that Asuka always tried to act adult," Ritsuko commented as she watched the main screen in the NERV command center. "I can't believe she'd do a thing like this."
"Tell me about it," Misato agreed, shaking her dead. "Back when I was her guardian in Germany, it was always 'I can't wear that, it's kid stuff' or 'I won't do that! That's for babies!'"
"How did she even get authorization to deploy Unit Two for this?" Makoto asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Misato replied.
Outside in the Geofront, Unit Two was making a crude pillow out of an enormous tarp. Once satisfied with her handiwork, Asuka placed this atop a pile of the teeth she'd cut out of the Sixth Angel's mouth.
"I'm gonna be rich!" she cackled as she headed back to headquarters.