Evangelion is property of Studio Khara and GAINAX.
Street Fighter and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist are property of CAPCOM.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: SENSHI NO MICHI
Asuka was roused from her pleasant, extended slumber by the sensation of someone shaking her gently by the shoulder. Brow creasing in frustration, the girl moved over in her bed, muttering indecipherable nothings about flowcharts. The shaking stopped for a moment, and then returned, even more intense than before.
The redhead promptly shot up in bed, taking a lazy swing at the person who had dared to interrupt her first lie-in in ten years. The strike was gently blocked, and as her eyes adjusted, she realised it was Shinji.
"Shinji…" The girl groaned, rubbing at her eyes. "What is it?"
Across from her, the boy seemed almost panicked, as he kept glancing from her to the open door of her room.
"Something's happened with Captain Katsu…with Misato. She got a call, I think it was from NERV."
Asuka quirked one eyebrow, and then shrugged. "So? She probably gets calls like that all the time, just basic reports and stuff. Her companion shook his head, in reply.
"No, I don't think it is. She was talking on the phone and…she just seemed to freeze up." Shinji said, quietly. "Then she told me to wake you and get dressed." As he spoke, the girl he faced slowly shuffled off the futon, taking a moment to stretch out.
"Alright. Give me a minute."
Shinji nodded, before moving out of Asuka's room and sliding the door shut behind him.
Alone, the girl took a deep breath, and gazed over to the window, watching the morning light shining through.
Guess this is it.
Without any time to lose, she stalked over to her table, and with speed and skill, tied back her hair into a ponytail with the coveted red ribbon she had kept there.
After changing into a red tanktop and blue jeans, with worn white sneakers, Asuka moved out of her room, and headed down the corridor. Ahead of her, she could see Misato, dressed in her work clothes from the previous day, kneeling down, seeming to whisper to the bottom of a large fridge placed near one of the walls.
Silently, the girl moved into the main room, watching as the woman in front of her closed the fridge's bottom door, and turned around, starting slightly at the sight of her.
"Oh, Asuka. You ready?"
Misato's tone was a mix of professional and casual, and there seemed to be an undercurrent of unease behind her words. The redhead simply nodded, glancing back at the corridor as Shinji's footsteps sounded behind her. Dressed plainly as always, he moved beside the girl and looked at Misato, who stood up to her full height.
The woman took a moment to fiddle with the cuff of her red jacket, before inhaling and facing the two children.
"Alright. Let's go."
Shinji was far too engrossed in thought to let Misato's driving disturb him, even if it was more erratic than usual. Beside him, Asuka sat rigidly, her arms tense and her fingers curling into the fabric of her jeans.
The woman driving the car remained silent, even as she took sharp turns that left the tires squealing, and vicious bouts of acceleration that drew roars from the engine. Her expression was stony, but behind cold, focused eyes lay a storm.
I just didn't think…that they'd be here so soon.
I thought we'd have more time.
"Angels." Misato muttered, nearly inaudible.
"Hmm?" Asuka tilted her head slightly, looking towards the Captain, along with Shinji. "What?"
"Angels." The woman repeated, clearer this time.
"…Misato, what do you mean?" Shinji asked, his voice quiet and tentative.
"That's what we call them. The…" The captain paused, her foot easing back on the gas pedal, before swallowing and speaking again.
"The phone call I received notified me of an incoming Angel. It's what we created the Evangelion Units for – why we brought you here. It's what we brought you here to fight – a hostile alien organism."
The redhead behind her started, stealing a glance at Shinji before focusing on Misato. "You could have told us this earlier, you know. And what do you mean, fight?"
The woman in the front seat shot an icy glare at Asuka, quieting the girl before she could continue.
"What I mean…is that you are going to climb into the EVAs, pilot them, and destroy the Angel before it destroys everything here. That simple enough to understand?" Misato asked, her voice barbed with frustration and stress.
In the midst of it all, Shinji looked between the two, eyes flicking to Misato, then Asuka, then back again. He chewed his lip pensively for a moment, watching as the girl beside him moved forward slightly in her chair, presumably to reply with a sharp comment. He reached out, his hand grazing hers, and she glanced towards him.
Using the distraction, Shinji interjected, hoping he could end this and keep things calm and coherent.
If these things are dangerous, the last thing we need is a disagreement like this.
"Misato…maybe if you could tell us more about this…'Angel', then we could just figure this out."
Letting out a sigh, the woman driving focused on the road ahead, quickly turning into a Geofront entrance reserved for emergencies.
"…Believe me, I wish I could. We do know that they have obvious, physical form, but we have no way of telling what that form is."
"So we're being sent out to fight something you know next to nothing about?" Asuka interjected, a dark expression on her face. Misato clutched the wheel tighter, as the car sped into a darkened tunnel leading into the Geofront transit lines.
"For all you know, you could be sending us to our deaths!"
The captain sucked in a breath, closing her eyes as the car was clamped into a transit pallet.
"We've only sat in your goddamn robots, we don't know how to fight in them!"
Whirling around, with desperate, frustrated anger in her voice, Misato screamed at the girl.
"Shut up!"
Both Asuka and Shinji drew back in their seats, as the woman slumped slightly against the wheel of her car.
"Believe me, I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want to take you from your home, and bring you here!" Misato straightened up, and looked into the mirror with an icy gaze. "But I had to. There was no use whining about it, I did it because it needed to be done! And now, you need to do this."
Her words seemed to have an effect on the girl, because the redhead didn't open her mouth for several minutes afterwards. Shinji too seemed to have been quieted, but most likely out of fear that whatever he said could only worsen an already tense situation.
However, Misato's eyes flew to Shinji, when he slowly went rigid in his seat, like a cat. Gradually, he loosened up again, before leaning over to whisper something to Asuka.
"Do you feel that?"
"What?" The girl murmured, glancing over at him.
"Like a…strange ki…in the air."
Asuka seemed to frown for a moment, before her eyes widened.
"Yeah…I can feel it too."
It is funny – in a tragic sort of way.
Gendo Ikari watched as the three men in front of him hurled everything they had at the enemy – all of the training and technology that their lives had been spent proving the virtues of – and it achieved nothing. Their ranks, their achievements – all worthless against an opponent such as this.
Across the vast expanse of the command bridge, a titanic screen displayed their target. It towered above buildings, stepping across cars as if they were mere pebbles.
Its obsidian body was hilariously disproportionate – massively broad shoulders contrasted with a minuscule waist. Its arms and legs were rakishly thin, and elongated – while across its thighs and torso, sharp stripes of white, bone-like material snaked.
From both elbows, a long, silver spike projected out, while large, rounded pads of the same bone-like material covered the shoulders, and between them, created a mask of sorts, akin to a bird – a simple circle, with a long, sharp beak bursting out from the bottom.
Two dead, black gaps stood in for whatever eyes the creature had, and in the centre of its chest, cradled by the bone across its torso, nestled a gleaming, smooth red orb.
As it turned to face the camera, a litter of explosions occurred across its form, but it paid them little mind, continuing to walk on.
"Forget about the budget!" One of the generals howled, his grip tightening on a pencil that promptly snapped from the pressure. "Destroy the target at any cost!"
All personnel on the bridge watched as a massive missile, launched from one of the many VTOL attack craft hovering over the city, screamed towards the target. With barely any effort, the creature held up a three fingered hand, catching the cone of the projectile and raking through its length, splitting it up to the booster rockets.
The image was promptly filled with fire and destruction, yet after a few moments, the enemy walked on, undeterred.
Gendo watched as the generals began to fall to pieces in front of him. "Why?" The first on the left roared. "That was a direct hit!"
The first on the right leaned back with a scowl. "The tank battalion's been annihilated. Guided missiles and artillery have no effect either."
The leftmost general, obviously the least composed of the three, slammed his hands against the table. "Damn it! It's taken everything we have! And not even a goddamned scratch!"
Behind Gendo, Kozo Fuyutsuki loomed, hands held behind his back as he observed the scene.
"An AT-Field?" The Vice-Commander inquired, glancing over at his superior.
"Yes. Basic forms of weaponry are nothing to the Angels." Gendo mused, his eyes never leaving the gigantic screen across from him.
To the left of the generals, a red phone rang, and was promptly answered.
"I understand…yes, Sir. We'll execute the contingency at once." The general on the left replied, his wavering voice betraying his lack of composure.
An N2 weapon. How predictable.
On screen, the many attack craft buzzing around the Angel pulled back with desperate speed, and a few moments later, the picture was consumed by bright yellows and whites, and the general on the left released a whoop.
"We did it!"
One of the older generals, on the right, turned back to face Gendo and Fuyutsuki. "Sorry, but it looks like we won't be needing you today."
Whilst Misato turned the wheel, sending the car squealing to a graceful, sliding stop, both Shinji and Asuka unbuckled their seatbelts. In a matter of seconds, all three were already out of the car, and headed towards the central facility. Misato cursed herself for blowing up at Asuka – it would only make things more difficult after this whole mess was over.
Presuming we even survive it.
Once they were inside, the Captain paused for a moment, before a NERV technician of unassuming height and build appeared, sweating slightly as he dashed towards them. Panting, he straightened up, saluting Misato for a brief moment.
"Captain Katsuragi. Dr. Akagi sent me, she said you might need assistance in getting to the cages."
The woman in front of him ground her teeth.
Well, isn't that just so kind of her?
"Then lead the way." Misato replied, bluntly, watching as the technician bowed, before moving back down the corridor he had come from. Following, she didn't see Asuka catch Shinji's arm as he moved to join them.
"Asuka?" The boy turned to face her, with a confused expression. "Asuka, we need to.."
"I know. But…look, whatever happens out there, don't use your hado."
Shinji's eyes narrowed. "I don't even know if I can, in that thing. But if I could, why wouldn't I?"
The redhead bristled slightly, glancing back at the retreating forms of Misato and the technician.
"Look, baka. These people, this NERV…it's a bad place. They've got power, and intelligence, and too much curiosity. If we start throwing hadokens at whatever that Angel is, they're gonna go for us, and then go for Gouken-sensei."
At this, her companion's furrowed brow softened slightly in understanding, and he pulled away gently. "I get where you're coming from…but there's a whole city up there. And if the only way we survive is by using our hado…"
"Then of course, we'll use it…" Asuka conceded. "But…"
"You two? What the hell? Keep moving!" Misato yelled, frantically beckoning them from the end of the corridor. Without another word to each other, they took off in her direction. As they did, the intercom nestled in the walls and corners of NERV buzzed into life.
"The N2 attack has failed to destroy the Angel. Repeat, the N2 attack has failed to destroy the Angel."
Gendo let a small, triumphant smirk slip as he watched hardened military men go to pieces over the failure of their latest and greatest strategy.
"The Angel appears to have some capacity to regenerate." The Vice-Commander mused, beside him.
"If it didn't, it wouldn't function as an autonomous invasion weapon."
Gasps rang out from the bridge crew as the Angel's black pits of eyes flashed, reducing the camera feed to static in front of them.
"And it also appears to be learning. Evolving." The older man replied, before looking forward as the generals called to the two of them.
"Ikari! Fuyutsuki!"
With nowhere else to go, the two men made their way to the platform beneath them, where the three main bridge technicians sat. The generals looked down on them, and the oldest folded his fingers together, squinting down at the Commander and his second with tired eyes.
"From this point on, command of this operation is entrusted to you. Prove your capabilities."
"Yes, Sir." Gendo replied, tonelessly.
"We must admit that our weaponry has no effect on the target. But…are you sure you can defeat these creatures?"
Letting the barest hint of a smile show on his features, the Commander of NERV took a moment to push his glasses back up his nose, before speaking.
"Absolutely. After all, this is the purpose of NERV."
"We will see." The general replied, before the platform holding him and his fellows began to lower down, until it disappeared from the view of the two men in front. Around them, there was continued, flurried chattering over the communications line.
"The target is still stationary."
"Our interception capabilities are only seven-point-five percent."
"The Second and Third Child have reported ready!"
Gendo's eyes flicked to his former sensei for a moment, before he turned around, to face the massive screen, displaying the Angel from a different angle.
Everything is coming together.
Tugging at the overtly tight plugsuit, Shinji was chaperoned into the same room, along with Asuka, in which they had been first shown the EVAs. It now buzzed with activity, and workers darted about, operating terminals and motorised scaffolds.
"Pilots on deck!"
A few pairs of curious eyes moved towards the two, but quickly returned to their work. The group of workers guiding Shinji and Asuka moved to separate the two, but not before the latter reached out, her hand grasping his shoulder for a painfully brief moment.
"Keep safe."
The words came as a murmur, but Asuka felt like she wanted to scream. Shinji nodded, and then tried to smile as he was moved away, to the hulking white and red giant that was his, but it was a broken, hollow effort.
Silently, the redhead let the workers guide her to her own monster. It was only a little less difficult, getting into the Entry Plug, than it had been last time – but at least she was making some improvement.
The hatch closing behind her, she let out a breath, and tried to keep her heart steady as the plug began to fill with LCL.
"Filling Entry Plug."
The tinny, distorted voice of Maya Ibuki narrated the process, and Asuka squeezed the controls in a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Just get it over with, already.
Teeth grinding, she let the orange liquid pass over her without protest.
"Secondary Contacts established. A-10 nerve connection, normal."
The inside of the plug began to shimmer and shine with a thousand shades of red, blue and green, and suddenly, she was with the EVA again. Closing her eyes, Asuka sought detachment, and the power she could gain from it.
"All preliminary contacts established. Performance normal. Bi-directional circuits are open. Synchronisation Ratio at seventy eight-point-seven. Harmonics green, no disturbances identified. EVA Unit Two is now operational."
The redhead watched with measured breaths as the restraints that were digging into her – no, digging into the EVA – began to pull back and disappear within the metallic walls they had sprouted from. Soon enough, even the walls disappeared, and Asuka jolted slightly in her seat as the EVA was moved.
I must be on a platform or something.
"Moving EVA Unit One and Two to ejector pads zero-three and zero five respectively."
A few moments later, the sensation of movement came to a stop, and Asuka looked above to see an endless shaft opening above her, a multitude of hatches sliding open one after the other.
"Launch path is clear. All systems green."
"Ready for launch."
Alright. We can do this. We didn't train for ten years to fight and lose…
The redhead craned her neck to see the white and red EVA Unit One locking into a space beside her.
But we trained to fight men. Not monsters.
"Launch!" Misato's voice bellowed, over the communications system.
Suddenly, the girl was blasted into her seat, her eyes squeezing shut and a gasp of surprise escaping her as the EVAs suffered the pressure of being forced up the transit shaft at such an incredible speed.
When that too came to an abrupt stop, Asuka let out a groan, shaking her head. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked ahead.
The city of Tokyo-3 was painted a darkening orange by the setting sun, the pillars of concrete and glass around her glimmering with the dying light. Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she watched as EVA Unit One came out of the ground a few streets away from her.
Wonder how Shinji feels.
Asuka looked to her left, and her eyes widened as she saw the Angel.
Relax. You're gonna kick this thing's ass.
"Evangelion Units, move out!" Misato shouted, over the comms.
Behind EVA Unit Two, the restraints holding it in place for transit unlocked, and the crimson titan lurched forward, a little unsteady under its own weight.
"Asuka? Shinji?" Ritsuko's voice came from the side, and Asuka looked to see a holographic window displaying the doctor's face.
"I realise you haven't had much in the way of training, so we'll need to make do, and quickly. I need you to walk. Just think about walking, about the act of it, as if you're actually doing so."
In her seat, the redhead rolled her eyes, chewing her lip.
What I wouldn't give for some of Gouken-sensei's cryptic wisdom right now. It's usually the simple stuff that helps the least, in my experience.
But I can't beat the crap out of that 'Angel' if I can't walk. So…walk.
A squeak of surprise escaped the girl as the EVA moved forward, one step, then two steps, and then three. A few more, and a sigh of relief escaped her.
Beside Asuka, Shinji too was taking his first steps, and seemed to be performing admirably well.
"Excellent." The doctor observed, her voice mechanical. "EVA operates via neural link – it operates on thought. Just do what feels natural to you."
Asuka gazed across the vista of the sunset, the city, and finally, at the Angel. It had turned to face them, and ever so slowly, it had begun to approach, taking rigid, lurching steps.
Just do what feels natural…
The EVA's feet shifted, it's arms moved, and within a second it was in a perfect mimic of its pilot's fighting stance.
It then began to bounce slightly on its toes, and after two solid hours of stress and tension, Asuka grinned.
To her right, EVA Unit One looked at her, before taking the hint and following in her lead.
"Alright." The girl whispered, her voice echoing from her Evangelion's loud speakers.
She gazed up at the Angel with burning blue eyes.
"Let's dance!"
And here we go. Hold onto your butts!
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