One Killed the Other
It stood on the surface, merely looking down. It was shaped like a human, but appeared to be made of dirt. It wore a mask that made it look like a plague doctor.
"That's the weird thing," Dr. Mondschein said, "We detected two Pattern Blues. Where's the other one?"
"It appears as if it possesses multiple cores, Sir."
"… Well, we got an Evangelion that can create multiple AT Fields, so I guess it's not too far-fetched."
The view on the monitor showed the left eye of the Angel glowing.
"Sir, I'm detecting an energy spike in the Angel!"
An explosion rocked the command center.
"What the hell was that?"
"It's using some weapon to dig towards The Garden. It appeared to be some… Impact… Laser…?"
"An Impact Laser."
"Well, the energy reading was similar to the ones generated by Ramiel."
"Ramiel… The seventh angel?"
"Yes. But instead of melting the ground, it just… impacted."
"When this is all over, we are developing an Impact Laser."
"That's all well and good, sir, but we need to deal with the Angel now."
"Right! Of course! Get the pilot ready! And make sure he has his suit on!"
Meanwhile, in the Locker Room, Adam is staring at the green and gold Plug Suit.
"Should I put it on…?"
"Boss says you have to."
"You're slightly creepy, Quatre. Maybe if…"
And a smile spread on his face.
"This could work."
Another blast shook the command center.
"Sir," Lieutenant Barret reported, "The Pilot is in the plug."
"And I'm wearing the dumb suit, Dad. UNDER MY REGULAR CLOTHES!"
"… That… Huh. Why didn't we ever think of that?"
"Don't know, don't care. Either way, it's not as awkward now!"
"His synch rate is holding at 153%."
"I guess its okay. Ready to launch, Kiddo?"
"Yeah."
"Load up Quatre's tunes."
"Aye, Sir." (.com/watch?v=X1clgyPLkUg)
"I like it! A lot better then last time! Ready to launch."
"Evangelion Unit-04 and 14, Launch!"
They heard a crack, and one catapult launched.
"Lieutenant Barret?"
"Unit-14's catapult is malfunctioning, Sir. I think the blast from the Angel knocked some of the mechanics of the catapult around."
"… Shit."
On the surface, a hatch opened up near the Angel. Unit-04 shot out and disconnected from the base.
"Hold on. Bro? Where are-"
The Angel faced Unit-04, its left eye glowing.
"… Son of a-"
The Impact Laser shot off and hit Unit-04 square in the chest.
"Biiiiiiiiiiiiitch!"
"Well, Quatre's out of it for a while. You okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just that now I'm currently a couple of kilometres away from the Angel."
"His connector cable has disconnected. 8 minutes of active battery life remaining."
"He can make it back in time. Have we loaded up Unit-14 in the other catapult?"
"Aye, Sir."
"Well, launch him!"
In the entry plug, waiting for them to finish loading up the other catapult, Adam found time to think.
'Can you read my thoughts?'
He waited.
'Good. Some privacy.'
He let go of the controls and leaned back in his seat.
'I've spent four years talking to you. I've spent four years wanting to actually see you. I agreed to pilot for the sole sake of protecting you. Do I have any room to complain about you not being human?'
"Son of a-"
"That can't be good." He said out loud.
'Back on topic… Who's to say you aren't human? Dad told me about the Evangelions. They're more or less human. They just have a core.'
"Have we loaded up Unit-14 in the other catapult?"
'Can I look past this?'
"Well, launch him!"
He felt the G-forces as he shot up the catapult, and jerked at the sudden stop at the surface. He saw the Angel, still digging downwards towards NERV.
"This doesn't matter. Not right now. Right now?"
His eyes began glowing a dull red.
"Burn."
Multiple AT Fields formed, and started crossing over each other in front of the Angel. The AT Fields generated a spark, and the air within ignited. The AT Fields pulled back and the blaze engulfed the Angel.
"Did that get him?"
From within the fire, Adam could make out the shape of the mask. Its left eye was glowing.
"That is not good at all."
He held his hands in front of his face, and Unit-14 did the same. The blast completely shattered 4 of the AT Fields, leaving only the last one. The resulting explosion sent them flying backwards.
"You're not going to get me that easily! I take it your core is in the head!"
He recovered from the kickback and ran towards the Angel. Both Unit-14 and the Angel raised their AT Fields.
"Mine's gonna last longer, buddy! I got 4 more!"
Both AT Fields shattered, and Unit-14 advanced, only to be met by another AT Field.
"What the…?"
The Angel's left eye started glowing again.
"… Hell."
This time, Unit-14 couldn't raise all its AT Fields in time. The four he had up shattered and was instead sent flying backwards.
"Adam," His father's voice said, "The Angel has multiple Cores. It can probably generate more then one AT Field."
"This wasn't considered important information?"
"Well, we needed to confirm it. And it's not like you're in too much danger, its laser has knockback but not much actual force. The most damage that can happen is some bruised ribs."
"Right. Now, I landed near where Quatre landed… Where is he?"
He looked around the landscape. Nothing. No silver Evangelion in sight. But something was… different.
"How long has that hole been there?"
"Hole?" Dr. Mondschein questioned. He stared at the view screen, from Unit-14's viewpoint.
"That hole, Sir."
"… When did that get there?"
That's when he noticed a crunching sound, on top of the occasional explosions.
"Ah. That's where the hole came from."
The angel continued to dig. Closer and closer to its destination. Closer and closer to home. So focused on its task that it didn't hear the crunching sound coming from its left. So focused, that it didn't notice the Drill tip that poked through the wall it made. Quatre climbed out of the whole, and poked the Angel in the back of the head.
"This Drill isn't just for decoration!"
He lifted the drill and brought it down as hard as he could onto the Angel. It struck the AT Field, and started to bore through it. The Angel's head turned around and looked at the drill.
"… No."
Its left eye lit up.
"No no no…"
The blast caused the drill head to shot into the sky and disconnect from the main drill.
"DAMNIT! Bro, looks like it's going to be up to you!"
While Quatre was initiating his unsuccessful sneak attack, Adam and Unit-14 made their way back. Adam found the disconnected plug and hooked it back up to the Eva.
"You think you can handle it?"
That's when the green Evangelion fell down the hole and crashed into the Angel, causing them both to tumble through towards NERV.
"I got it!"
They stood in a gigantic hallway, big enough for an Evangelion and an Angel to fit in. Before them was a gigantic door, almost completely frozen over.
"Well," Dr. Mondschein said over the comm., "At least the repair crews got the door fixed after the accident."
The Angel walked towards the door.
"Oh no you don't!"
Adam raised all of Unit-14's AT Fields and ran towards the Angel. The impact bull rushed the Angel straight into the door, pinning it. One AT Field shattered. The other started deteriorating.
"This is what you wanted? YOU'RE NOT GETTING IT!"
He continued to exert pressure on the Angel, until the last AT Field broke. He grabbed the head of the Angel and began slamming it into the wall repeatedly. The mask eventually broke, revealing the first core. He reached in, grabbed it, and ripped it out. He threw it underneath his foot and stomped on it, completely shattering it.
"One down," He said, a determined look on his face, "Where's your other one?"
He threw the Angel to the ground and began pounding on it. The dirt that made up its body started to fall off. The Angel raised one hand, weakly reaching towards the door. Adam continued pounding on it until the red core revealed itself.
"There you are."
He reached in with both hands and pulled at it. When it wouldn't come out, Adam deactivated Unit-14's AT Fields.
"Try this on for size!"
He activated and de-activated each individual AT Field in rapid succession. The sudden generation of the fields cut up both the core and the body it inhabited. He continued until eventually, the core finally gave up and the body fell apart.
"Hardcore."
He stood, panting, overtop the remains of the Angel.
"I guess I did go a little overboard."
"It's NERV-Alaska. There's no kill like Overkill."
"I guess you're right."
"You did good, Bro. That's one for you, and two for me!"
"We should be tied!"
"No, this counted as one angel!"
"It had two cores!"
"Are they… bickering?" Dr. Mondschein said, puzzled.
"I think so, Sir."
"… Just like brothers."
"And I did most of the work for the last one!"
"Okay then, you get half a point."
"Half a… You should get half a point!"
"… They got way too close to The Garden."
"They still killed the Angel, Sir."
"I know. But if the Angel had used its Impact Laser, it probably could have burst through."
"Look on the bright side, Sir. At least this time, the Eva didn't eat your son."
"… Good point."
Adam had been spending a lot more time at NERV-Alaska since the last Angel. He'd spend most of his time either with his father or with the Evas. Today, he was sitting on the ground, just looking at Unit-14. 'Quatre' was sitting next to him. They got over their dispute, and managed to agree that they each have 1.5 Angels below their belt.
"Still don't know what to call her?"
He didn't say anything. He couldn't. Hell, he was only marginally paying attention to Quatre. He was too lost in his own thoughts.
"That's cool, that's cool."
Lieutenant Barret walked by, clipboard in hand, and humming quietly to himself. At first, Adam paid no mind, but he recognized it.
"Hey, Lieutenant?"
He turned to face the pilot.
"Hmm?"
"Why are you humming Little Fugue by Bach?"
"Oh, I've had it stuck in my head for the past couple of days."
"Well, at least it's good."
"At least. What are you two up to?"
"We're just chillin'."
"Really? Well, I have to inspect the Eva units, so I'll leave you two alone after this."
"Take your time."
He looked over the Eva, wrote something down on the clipboard, and walked off.
"You ignore me, but you listen to Barret's absent minded humming?"
"Sorry."
"Eh, don't worry about it. Do you need some time alone?"
"… If you don't mind."
"Of course not! Anything for you or Boss. You guys are my family."
"Thanks, Quatre."
The hologram vanished, leaving Adam alone with Unit-14. He stood up, and walked a bit closer.
"What do I call you? What are you?"
He looked down, away from… her.
"Who… are you?"
He looked up again.
"What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be an Eva? Is it what we are? Is it what we're made of? Or is it how we feel, how we interact with people?"
He stepped closer, as close as he could without falling off the platform.
"Does any of this matter? Does this small body of mine matter? Does the fact that you're 200 feet tall matter? You're alive. You're a 'Her.' You're my friend; I don't care what you are."
He sat down, and let his feet hang off the edge.
"No. You're more then that. You've been the biggest part of my life for the past 4 years. You're much more then that."
The Eva's eyes lit up.
"… How much more?"
"… You told me, all those weeks ago, that you loved me."
"Yeah…"
"You said that you didn't know if its right that you felt like that. You thought that it might be wrong."
He smiled.
"Well, I don't care. I don't care if it's right or wrong. You said so yourself. 'You can't control what you love.' And I told you, I don't want to. I don't care if you're an Eva or a human, if you're built for war, if you're 200 feet tall. To me, you're still Allison Catorce, not Evangelion Unit-14."
"Does… does that mean…?"
"I love you, too. Always have. Always will."
Angel Designation NA-04(?) 'Kane and Abel.' Status: Destroyed by Pilot Adam Mondschein and Allison Catorce (Evangelion Unit-14)