Chapter 2: Saigai ga hassei (災害が発生)
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Ritsuko leaned over the Maya's console, "Shinji, just focus on moving."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
Our eyes were glued to the screen. Shinji took a couple steps forward and then fell on his face. It seemed like he tripped over his own two feet.
"Shinji! Get up!" Misato yelled as the third Angel, Sachiel, moved into view.
The green humanoid walked over to the downed Eva. Glancing at the console, it beeped a few times indicating sudden spike in his heart rate.
"Shinji, you have to get up!" I called out.
"I can't," he wheezed out.
I quickly looked back up to the screen to see that Sachiel was standing on Shinji's back.
"Why hasn't he deployed an AT-Field?" Ritsuko asked.
"He probably doesn't know how," I replied with a frown.
"He's gonna be killed out there!" Misato yelled.
The Angel reached down and grabbed Evangelion Unit-01 by the head and lifted it at least two feet off the ground. My console beeped again to tell me that his heart rate spiked, but the visuals could have told me that.
With its other arm, Sachiel gripped the left hand of the Eva. It flexed its muscles and started tugging. Shinji screamed in agony as his arm was literally being torn from its socket. Eventually, the armour and its teenage occupant could resist no longer; the armour cracked like glass and small pieces embedded themselves into his arm, while the bone shattered under the immense pressure.
The scream we heard shall forever be burned into our very souls.
Ritsuko just gaped, completely at a loss for words, Misato nearly broke down crying, and Maya looked away with her hands over her eyes. I could have sworn that the universe just cracked like a lightning.
Quickly pushing the feelings of helplessness aside, I quickly entered the commands to inject some morphine into him.
As the drug took effect, the bane of human existence released Shinji's arm.
"Oh shit! Shinji!" Misato screamed, "Look out!"
Sadly, between the drugs and the morphine, Shinji had blacked out. Perhaps it was better this way, if he died, he wouldn't feel anything else.
The Angel's right elbow started glowing before elongating and suddenly shrinking.
"Damage to the cranial plate!" Maya screamed as her console flashed red and alarms started blaring.
The elbow retracted again before it suddenly shrunk, smashing into the Eva's head. It struck again and again.
I looked at the readings for Shinji again; his brainwaves were everywhere, his heart rate was at about 186 beats per minute, and his blood pressure was lower than it should have been considering how fast his heart was beating. Another strike, but this one shot through the head, narrowly missing Shinji's. Suddenly, his heart rate stopped.
Unit-01 flew back into a building and just lay there, silent.
"Shit, shit, SHIT!" I yelled, frantically issuing commands to the Life-Support Unit in his plug suit.
Misato ran over to see what I was so frantic about. She gasped and I'm pretty sure all colour lost her face, as had mine when he went into cardiac arrest.
Eventually the defibrillator installed into the suit finally kicked in, sending shocks into his heart every other second. After a couple seconds passed, there was a near silent beep as the poor kid's heart started beating again.
"What do we do? Ritsuko, Maya? Somebody?" Misato started mumbling.
I shot a glance at Ritsuko who came over to help the Director of Operations up off the floor and into a chair.
"Wait," Maya started, "Something's happening. Unit-01 just reactivated!"
My head snapped in her direction, "WHAT? But how? Don't they need conscious pilots to run?"
Even Ritsuko, the woman that helped design the Evangelions, was at a loss for answers.
The suit stood up and roared. But the Evangelions aren't even living, are they? How can something without life roar?
It turned to face the creature that inflicted the injuries on it and screamed before pushing off of the building. The distance was covered in mere seconds as the Eva tore up the pavement to get revenge. Suddenly, it stopped and a wall of layered, orange hexagons appeared.
"What the hell?" I voiced what we were all thinking.
"An AT-Field has been detected!" Maya answered, looking off some readings the Magi gave her.
"What?" Misato screeched.
"Wait, Unit-01 is using its AT-Field to neutralize the Angel's," Maya continued.
Unit-01 pushed its arm through the hole it had made and tore it further. Eventually, the wall faded as though it never existed in the first place.
Without any proper weapons on it, the Evangelion tackled the Angel and pinned it to the ground. Using its only good arm, it snapped off one of the bony rib-like structures alongside the core. It raised the makeshift knife into the air before slamming it into the red sphere that was the Angel's heart. Raise, slam, raise slam. It repeated this until the orb cracked and Sachiel shrieked before wrapping itself around the Eva's torso.
The cracked core began to glow a bright red before exploding and destroying everything within a fifty metre radius.
When the smoke cleared, a figure was seen walking forward a couple steps then collapsed onto the pavement.
Misato and I leaped from the chairs we were sitting in to the nearest elevator. Ritsuko stayed behind to talk with Maya about the data recorded.
How typical. She only cares about the data and the Evas; whether the pilot lives or dies means nothing to her. I thought sourly.
When the elevator stopped, we made a break for her car.
No sooner had we climbed in, Misato had the vehicle running and was speeding off to the battlefield. Two minutes later, we arrived. I had paled slightly from the terror induced by the woman's driving. Where the hell did she learn to drive?
We climbed out and, while she ran to check on Shinji, I pulled out my phone and called in Section Two to cover this up and transport Shinji to the NERV hospital. I leaned against the car with a sigh. This is too much for kids. If he doesn't have some sort of psychological trauma when he wakes up tomorrow, if he does, I will buy him and Misato some dinner.
If only I knew that I would soon be regretting that decision.
Five minutes after we arrived, a dozen black vans pulled up around the area, one near me and two more right by Shinji and Misato.
I walked over to the van and the agent stepped out. "Cover this up; say a gas line blew, or something. I don't really care at this point, just make this even disappear." I ordered.
The man nodded, "What should we do about the Evangelion?" He gestured towards the downed suit.
"Get the pilot out and to the hospital ASAP. As for the Colonel, take her home for now, and have her car transported to her place. She's gonna need a couple beers after this ordeal," I answered.
"And what about you, sir?" he asked.
"Me? Well, I'm going with Misato to make sure she relaxes and then we'll be going to the hospital; the kid's going to want a friendly face when he wakes up," I explained.
The man snapped to attention before barking the orders into his radio. I nodded and walked over to talk to Misato.
I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned towards me with a few tears in her eyes. "Misato, come on, let's go. The agents will make sure he gets the care he needs. I've asked one to drive us to your place; I'm sure you'll want some beers after all that's happened. Your car will be transported a little later. Afterwards, we'll go to the hospital," I informed the worry-stricken woman. "How's that sound?" I asked, attempting to smile.
"Y-y-yeah. Sure," she stammered. I gave her a hand standing and took her to the second van near us.
We climbed in and the driver sped off towards her small establishment.
I placed her arm over my shoulder and walked her to the building, up four flights of stairs and down the hall to her door. She fished around in her pocket absentmindedly for a few seconds before pulling out her keys and opening the door.
She pulled her arm off me and went to her fridge and pulled out a beer and a bottle of coke, while I went and sat down at the table. She joined me and slid the bottle over. We cracked out drinks open simultaneously and chugged a fair amount.
Slamming it down on the table she cheered, "Yeeeaaaaahhh!"
I just shook my head at how quickly she changed after a beer. "You gonna be okay, Misato?"
She downed a little more of her drink and wiped the tears from her face, "Yeah, I'm just worried."
"We all are," I said. "Even Ritsuko, even if she'll never admit it." I hope, she does, anyways.
Twenty minutes and four beers later, Misato was ready to go. Standing outside the door, as expected, was a Section Two agent. "Let's go," I said. He nodded and led us to the van.
Another fifteen minutes and we were standing outside the door to Shinji's room. I looked around and failed to spot any Spooks around. "What the hell?" I turned to face the agent accompanying us, "Where are the two agents that are supposed to be stationed here?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, drawing his gun.
As much as I hate using them, I drew mine as well. Glancing over at Misato, I saw she had also armed herself. I gestured to the door and then pointed at the agent. He nodded and moved to the door and placed his free hand on the handle. Misato and I moved to the wall opposite him. I held up three fingers and counted down. As soon as I reached zero, he pulled the door open while Misato and I moved into the room. Scanning around, we didn't notice anything. "All clear," I stated for the sake of the Spook outside.
I stepped out of the room to talk to the Section Two Agent, "Can I see your radio for a minute?"
He unclipped it and handed it to me without a moment's hesitation.
Holstering my gun, I pressed the button and spoke, "NERV Hospital Agents, report in."
A second later, a voice came over the radio, "Security forces, checking in."
"Where are the two agents that are to be stationed outside room 305?" I asked.
"Unknown. They wandered off about five minutes before you arrived, sir."
"Get a squad outside this door immediately, I want this room secured. Pilot's safety is top priority. Make sure to bring a nurse to check on him and inform Dr. Akagi." I ordered. Before returning the radio, I added, "And send two more radios; Misato and I need them."
"Sir, the squad is gearing up, anything else?" the officer confirmed.
"Nope, just keep us updated of anything. Until further notice, this building is on full lockdown. No one leaves or enters without authorization class two or higher," I concluded.
Class two was the security clearance Misato and I hold, as section heads. Class one is Ritsuko, Commander Ikari and Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki's clearance, which gives them free roam of the facilities.
"Yes sir," the NSF officer said. "Squad eta two minutes."
"Good, size?"
"Twenty fully armed agents, sir."
"Excellent," I grinned. "I'll radio you when they arrive. Toshi, out."
"Ten-four,"were the last words spoken before the channel went silent.
Shortly thereafter, the men sent arrived. Misato poked her head out of the room. "Toshi, what's going on?"
"Until the building is deemed secure and my agents are found, this building is under class two-plus lockdown," I explained.
"Is that really necessary?" she asked.
"To insure the safety of Shinji, yes it is." I turned to face the squad, "Which of you has the radios?"
One stepped forward and handed Misato and I one.
I quickly clipped it and put the headset in, Misato followed suit. "Good. Here's how this is going to work: Five agents will be stationed outside this door, five with me, five with Misato and," I turned to the agent that came with us, "Sorry, what is your name?"
"Hideaki Anno, sir," the man replied.
"The remaining five agents will go with Agent Anno. Is that understood?" I finished.
The twenty one agents present snapped to attention and replied as one, "Sir, yes sir!"
Two of the five guarding the room stood beside the door, one went inside with the nurse, and the two remaining went to each end of the hall, preventing anyone from getting to the room.
"Misato would you mind checking this floor?" I asked.
"Sure," she nodded and the six set out to sweep the area.
"Anno, head upstairs. I'm going to the main and second floors," I explained. He departed with his five and I turned to mine. "Everyone ready?"
They nodded.
"Very well then," I said as we set out for the elevator to the floor below us. I tapped the button on the radio, "If anyone finds the two agents in question, radio in and let me know."
"Got it," Misato said.
Agent Anno just said, "Roger."
When the elevator stopped, two agents stepped out and scanned the hall before gesturing for all clear. Once we stepped out, I pressed the button again, "Security, lock down the elevators."
"Ten-four. All elevators locked."
I led the way around the floor. We checked all eighty rooms, including the storerooms and the other twenty labs.
I radioed in, "Floor two clear, heading to the first floor."
Anno was next to radio in, "Floor four clear; what are our orders?"
"Standby for now. Misato, find anything?"
"Nothing so far. We've got the ICU left to check." She replied,
"Okay, Anno, return to 305 and standby for further orders."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, let's finish this up," I said.
We had just set foot on the first floor when Misato's voice came over the line.
"Toshi, we found them." I heard her gag and cough.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"ICU, burn ward," she answered.
"Anno, get your team over there stat," I barked before heading to the elevators. I swiped my card and we entered. One of the agents jammed the button for the third floor.
Stepping out, we tore off towards where Misato and the others were.
The sight we arrived to see was not pretty, the walls were covered in blood splatter, there were holes in the walls, glass was everywhere and the floor, too, was covered in blood. Looking at the two bodies, one agent had a massive hole through his chest, his arm was ripped off and I'm pretty sure his jaw was missing. The second agent wasn't much better, with the gunshot between the eyes, multiple scalpels in his torso and three needles in his arm.
"What the fuck happened here?" I yelled. I paged the NSF operator, "Get me the footage for the burn ward, now!"
"No can do, sir, the cameras were disabled the moment you arrived."
I shook my head, "That's not possible! The cameras used are beyond military grade!"
"Toshi, the best thing we can do is have the science division look into this." Misato said in a relatively calm voice.
I turned to Anno, "Get this cleaned up and their families informed. The bodies will be released after a full autopsy is done." I walked out of the room.
Misato came out a few minutes later, "You okay?"
"Do I look okay? Two of my agents were just murdered and I have nothing to go on," I snapped. "Shinji's still in recovery and Rei isn't doing much better."
"They'll be fine; NERV has the best healthcare facilities on the planet," she reassured me.
"I know," I took a few deep breaths. "Thanks. Let's go see Shinji." I pulled on the radio and spoke into it, "Release the lockdown."
"Yes, sir."
Once we entered the room, the agent inside left to help guard it. I collapsed onto a chair, while Misato just leaned against the wall.
A couple hours later, Shinji started to stir. "W-w-where... am I?" he stammered.
"You're in a NERV hospital," Misato said, moving from the chair she had claimed to his bedside.
He relaxed slightly when he saw her. "What happened?" he asked.
"We don't know," I said, joining them. "How's your arm?"
He seemed to cheer up slightly. "It hurts a bit."
I went to the door and asked one of the Spooks to get a nurse.
A few minutes later, he returned and the nurse checked his charts. She ran a few tests on him, before turning to face Misato and me. "He's okay to leave."
Misato let out a breath she probably hadn't realized she was holding. "Good."
The nurse bowed slightly and left.
"Can I leave now?" Shinji whined.
"Yeah, Shinji, you can," Misato replied, tossing him some clothes. The two of us left so he could have some privacy.
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A/N: Well, there's chapter two, hope you liked it.
Thanks to Matsuko Hirioko for helping make sure the characters were consistent and correcting a few errors.
Next chapter: Gakkou ga hajimaru (学校が始まる)