Again and Again
All three pilots waited on stand-by in their entry plugs, ready to be deployed at any second. They could feel the earth shaking attacks of the coralians, as their assault on the Geofront raged on: it was intermingled with canon fire, rifle shots, and ray blasts from the numerous LFOs– who, Asuka wondered, seemed to be making the damage to Nerv HQ worse.
Shinji could only think of Misato. As soon as the bridge established communication with the pilots, he asked, "Where's Misato? Is she ok?"
"She's fine, just away, Shinji," Lt. Aoba supplied.
"How are we supposed to pilot without her?" Shinji muttered.
"Don't worry," Lt. Hyuga assured him, "The Commander is assuming direct control of this mission.
'Father,' was all Shinji could think due to his conflicting emotions toward this news.
"Unit-00 will take point," the Commander said, once all the preparation for the Evas and pilots were complete. "Unit-02 will be deployed simultaneously as back-up–" the Commander managed to complete the second half of his sentence "–while Unit-01 will stay on stand by" over the exclamations of both Asuka and Shinji.
They both shouted, "WHAT!"
Asuka rounded on the Nerv staff first, "Why should wonder girl get the lead position! I'm the better pilot– my performance and the tests prove it! She's never even piloted Unit-00 in battle before!"
Before the bridge could respond, Shinji interjected, "Asuka's right!" The anger in Asuka's face drained away for a moment. She was shocked that Shinji would agree with her– not realizing that he wasn't so much supporting Asuka out of belief in her skill, as he was because of his concern for Rei– but a triumphant smile quickly masked her surprise.
Shinji continued, "Rei should be the stand-by. I'll back Asuka in Unit-01."
"Right!" Asuka affirmed.
"It's not possible, you two," Lt. Maya explained. "Unit-01 has been frozen. After the Orange incident, its become too much of a risk: Unit-01 is Nerv's greatest asset."
"I don't understand!" Shinji yelled. "Aren't we a U.F. organization? Why are they attacking us?"
"That is not your concern," Gendo Ikari's voice resounded with a finality that hushed even Asuka. "You will pilot if necessary, when necessary. That is all. Ready to launch Unit-00."
Asuka regained her voice. "Fine! Stupid Shinji can rot, but I'm not gonna be put in a corner. Unit-02 launch!"
"Dammit, Asuka!" yelled Dewey, who was unknowingly present on the bridge.
"Orders?" Lt. Aoba asked.
"Proceed with the mission with Unit-02 running point, and Rei as her back up," Commander Ikari answered.
Shinji watched as Asuka, followed by Rei in Unit-00, launched up through the Geosphere and into the fray. The memory of Asuka's first fight flashed through the front of his mind, and gave him assurance. Rei would be safe, and Asuka could handle the LFOs– together they'd be able to fight off the coralians as well.
Gendo Ikari, on the other hand, felt himself pushed into a corner for the first time in many years. He could always release Unit-01 under the pretense of necessity, but it would need to be necessary. If he sent Unit-01 out too soon, his life would be in mortal danger. If he sent it out too late, Rei would be lost, and everything he worked toward for ten years would be lost in a moment– then, there would be no reason to live.
No, he would have to risk the latter option. He had planned even for this scenario– he knew Seele would act first– he had engineered the creation of the perfect Eva pilot of Unit-02. She could, if necessary, react with the Zone and come out relatively undamaged. His investment in the young Novak had paid off as well. He had not only ensured the pilot of Unit-02's safety, but also her drive– her need– to be the best.
Now that Seele had acted– now that they had waited for the natural appearance of a Kute-class– their window was only 23 minutes. The Kute-class had fully formed, manifesting the anti-body coralians, ten minutes ago. The pilots would only have to last the combined attacks of the LFOs and coralians for 13 minutes. After that, the LFOs would have to retreat, or else risk dropping the pretense of "defense" and declare open war.
Gendo spoke as Unit-00 arrived at ground level. "Rei, do not fail me."
Shinji heard Rei's steady voice from the other side of the com. link: "Yes, sir."
And as soon as Rei's voice cut out, the massacre began. Within seconds a swarm of coralians had divided Unit-00 from Asuka, who was charging at the air borne LFOs– not in the least bit phased by their overwhelming advantage of being able to fly. Instinctively, Rei raised her AT field, drawing all the heat of the anti-body coralians off of Asuka and on to her.
The words of the Commander echoed in Rei's ears. She couldn't fail him. Despite her anger, and despair, and helplessness, all stemming from her confusing feelings about her relationship with the Commander, she knew that she was still devoted to him. Even if it was for totally selfish reasons– even if he didn't really care about her– he was responsible for everything that made her who she was. It was the same with Shinji: the Commander had brought Shinji here.
She didn't know what Shinji had to do with this. She couldn't exactly put into words why he mattered. But it– "he" definitely did.
Asuka didn't bother raising her AT field, yet. She knew she could take out at least 5 LFOs without needing it; and the longer she could go without using the Absolute Trapar Field, the longer she could keep the anti-body coralians from interfering in her fight.
Dodging shot after shot, Asuka made her way into the middle of the LFO formation, grabbing a Nerv rifle from one of the defense buildings along the way. 'There's 10 of them,' Asuka quickly analyzed the situation. '2 behind me, 3 to my right, 3 to my left, and 2 in front of me. Charge and take out the 2 in front of me. The rapid increase in my speed will throw off the aim of the side LFO's: deploy AT field to my rear to block the shots fired behind me. Coralians will swarm, providing cover. Disengage AT field and find cover.'
In seconds Asuka had worked out her plan, and in a moment it was executed. The two LFOs in front of her fell easily enough, but one of the side gunners had knocked the rifle out of Unit-02's hands with a powerful canon shout. As planned, the AT filed had attracted the Coralians and provider cover, so that the rifle wasn't such a loss. Unit-02 had made it out of the LFOs' line of sight and taken cover behind one of the many cliffs on the outskirts of Ciudades del Cielo.
Meanwhile, though because Asuka had shut off her com. link with the bridge during her assault she did not know, Unit-00 was in dire straights. The only reason Asuka's plan had succeeded was because the swarm of Coralians were overwhelming concentrate on pursuing Unit-00, as Rei had extended it to full power immediately. While Asuka was still working out her plan to take out the front LFOs, Rei was running as fast as she could in the opposite direction, toward the fully formed Kute-class and toward the concentration of anti-body coralians.
Shouts of "REI! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!" resounded from both the Lieutenants on the bridge and Shinji in Unit-01, but Rei ignored them. If the LFOs could not be destroyed first, the Geofront would be exposed and HQ would be vulnerable to attack. She had quickly decided to believe in the Second Children's skill– after all, she knew, the Commander had ensured that she was the best pilot out of the three of them– Pilot Soryu would win against them.
She also knew that the Kute-class would only last 12 more minutes. Even if Unit-00 was ripped to shreds, the LFOs would either be destroyed or would have to retreat in 11 more minutes. Everyone would be safe them. 'He will be safe.'
As these minutes past– 10 minutes left– with Rei deep in thought of both the battle and its implications, Unit-00 had taken heavy damage. Shinji's outbursts were becoming ever more frequent. He demanded to be put into the battle. "I can help! Tell with the freeze!" But even in his rage, Shinji marveled at how amazing both Rei and Asuka were.
8 minutes left and Asuka had taken out all but 3 LFOs: she had lost the use of her left arm, but was otherwise undamaged. Rei, in much worse shape, had careful used her less valuable body parts to protect Unit-00's legs and right hand. Her strategy, the bridge thought, was simple yet effective: run till a group of coralians got close enough, rip them apart with the AT field and progressive knife, then run again when too many had caught up.
6 minutes left, and the situation became impossible. 5 LFOs still remain and Asuka had accomplished nothing except losing the use of her left leg. Rei's damage was steadily getting worse, but more than that, she was becoming physically and mentally exhausted. Shinji was sweating and in tears. They couldn't win alone. He thought they might actually do it: he thought that the bridge– that his father– was right to keep him here. But now he knew that it was a lie. His father would rather let them die then break the law– a stupid and arbitrary rule!
Why was he even frozen? What was special about Unit-01? Why now, when he actually WANTED to fight, couldn't anyone let him? Why was it that when he had finally found something worth protecting, a fucking rule denied him the opportunity?
But then Shinji's thoughts were broken. The LFOs had surrounded Asuka without her or the bridge noticing in time. Asuka tried to run, but her leg was too badly damaged. As a last resort, she extended her AT field to maximum.
For a moment, Shinji thought she was saved: the coralians were far enough away– tearing Unit-00 to pieces– that they wouldn't get to Asuka before she could think of a plan and turn the battle around. But there was no such luck. The LFO directly in front of her rode low to the floor, dropped of his board, and accelerated toward her with a knife in hand.
Asuka couldn't believe it. "A Progressive Knife!"
Lt. Maya shouted, "Asuka quick–"
"I know, dammit!" Asuka raged, drawing her own knife. She managed to block the LFOs attack, and ram her own knife into its neck. But the other two had charged at the same time toward her a second later. They both lodged their knifes, which cut easily through her AT field as the first one had, into Unit-02's abdomen.
"AASSSUKKAA!" Shinji cried. "Father, dammit! I have to– I need to–" Shinji was pulling on Unit-01's controls, but it remained motionless. The bridge controlled the Eva's initial start up, and there was nothing Shinji could do to wake Unit-01 from its frozen slumber.
The bridge watched helplessly as the two LFOs carved through the Eva abdomen and chest. "NO!" Shinji heard someone cry from the bridge. He recognized the voice as Dewey's. "DON'T PUSH YOURSELF, ASUKA!" Shinji looked toward the screen, and saw that Asuka had brought her right hand, holding her own progressive knife, into the head of one of the LFOs, and her left hand– still mangled and pathetic– holding the first LFO's knife, into the head of the second LFO.
"Unit-02 has gone silent," Lt. Aoba reported. Dewey had left the bridge, and Shinji thought that he must be off to join the Nerv retrieval team. "The 2 remaining LFOs are resuming their attack on the Geofront's second to last armored defense plate."
With every cell in him, Shinji hated the sound of the next voice, which spoke emotionlessly. "Time?"
"3 minutes," croaked Lt. Ibuki.
"What is the status of the 1st pilot?" asked the Commander's voice.
"Critical!' Lt. Hyuga said, distressed. "Mental contamination reaching its limit!"
Inside the Eva, Rei was frantically trying to keep in mind that the pain wasn't real. It wasn't actually her arm that had been ripped off. Her hamstring hadn't been sliced, and her ribs weren't shattered. She couldn't run anymore. She couldn't attack. Everything within in her was concentrating on keeping her AT field from breaking under the relentless tackles of the anti-body coralians.
–everything but a feeling and thought. The thought was that she had let the Commander down. Till this point in her life, the only thing she had lived for was to obey Commander Ikari, and this now was the first oder she had failed to obey: "...do not fail me." The feeling was overwhelming depression. This battle would be her death. If she could not follow orders, there was no reason to continue to her life, and yet the knowledge of her death grasp at her, pulling her into despair.
The thought of the Commander was replaced with another. 'Orders are not the only thing. There must be something else worth living for.'
Back in HQ, Shinji had lot his voice. His senses were assaulted and stalled by emotion. The utter helplessness of his position, as he watched Asuka fail and continued to see Unit-00 being destroyed slowly, strangled him.
"2 minutes and 23 seconds," cried Lt. Ibuki.
"She won't make it!" raged Lt. Hyuga.
Mustering all his will power, Shinji yelled, "MOVE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" And he tugged once more, with all his strength, on the controls of Unit-01. Miraculously, Unit-01 started up and broke free of its restraints.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" exclaimed Dr. Akagi. "The Eva acted without power?"
"Launch Unit-01," sounded the pitiless voice without a note of surprise.
"We can't!" protested the Doctor. "It's gone berserk!"
"Do it, now," commanded Gendo Ikari.
"Launch!" declared Lt. Aoba.
In seconds Shinji was to the surface. He couldn't get to Rei without drawing the attention of the 2 LFOs. They had already ceased their attack on the Geofront, and were heading toward him. "Finish them," the Commander ordered. Shinji didn't need orders. He grabbed the rifle that Nerv had provided at his side. He ran forward, expanding hit AT field to beyond its maximum limit, hoping it would draw the Coralians away from Rei.
"1 minute and 50 second remaining till the Kute-class collapses!"
Shinji fired wildly toward the LFOs, managing to take out one of them. He continued to fire as he blew past the last LFO, forcing Unit-01 to run directly into the oncoming swarm of anti-coralians, toward the eye of the storm where Rei stood. "Is her AT field still active? Is it holding?"
"Shinji!" answered Lt. Hyuga. "It's barely there, but we are getting a signal."
"Listen, Shinji," said Dr. Akagi. "When you get to Unit-00, we'll eject Rei's entry plug. Then you've got to run a far as you can. Get to cover before the Kute-class implodes on itself.
Though Shinji didn't answer, everyone seemed to understand that he had heard the plan. He was at Unit-00 now, using his AT field to push all the coralians for at least 40 yards. "QUICK!" Shinji yelled in pain. Lt. Ibuki saw that the stress of using his AT field in such a massively defensive manner had pushed Shinji's mental contamination into the danger zone– but, remembering the Doctor's orders, she kept quiet.
The entry plug was ejected, and Shinji grasped it in both hands. He heard a voice from the bridge say, "58 seconds." And he ran. It was the same run as before: the type of movement to which someone could only say, "He ran."
After 50 seconds, Shinji couldn't move anymore. His head felt like it was in a nutcracker or a melon squeezer. He hoped this was far enough. He had kept the entry plug upright and close to his chest, hoping not to cause more damage to the pilot inside. Unit-01 fell on its knees, with its back to the Kute-class, shielding the entry plug with the Eva's body.
The shock of the Kute-class was like nothing Shinji had ever felt. When wave after wave crashed upon the Eva's back, it wasn't pain or pressure or strain that he felt. It was as if his body was being burned alive, and his mind was being scrabbled like an egg. He lost count of how many waves hit him, and by the time it was over the trapar interference had knocked out any communication with Nerv HQ.
Shinji tried to move, but the Eva wasn't responding. "It's alright, Rei," Shinji spoke to himself. "I've got you. We'll get moving soon. I'll leave you somewhere safe, and go get Asuka. I'll be right back. I pro–"
Shinji's mutterings were interrupted by a sight on his monitor. The last LFO had landed only a few yards away. "GO AWAY!" Shinji yelled. "I don't want to fight you! Why should I! You aren't an enemy. You're U.F., like us!" The LFO drew a progressive knife. "NO!" Shinji yelled again. "Can't you see that she's hurt!" Shinji looked down at the entry plug in the Eva's hands. "I can't fight you! I need to get to Asuka!" The LFO advanced slowly, clearly noticing that Unit-01 was shut down, but obviously well-trained and cautious.
It stopped an arm's length away, ready to drive the knife into the Eva's chest. Shinji saw the angle of attack and moved just in time. Unit-01 re-activated and the Eva's arms shot out, leaving its chest completely exposed. The knife was driven into his heart– no. . .it was where the Eva's heart would be. Shinji wasn't actually bleeding out. Rei was still ok.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Shinji pulled out his knife in a flash, and cut straight through the LFO's neck. At that moment, the bridge regained audio communication and visual with Unit-01. Lt. Ibuki almost threw up at the sight. Unit-01 was tearing off the the armor of the LFO, digging its hands into the body of the archetype beneath.
"Shinji!" cried Lt. Aoba. "Stop! It's over: a team has gotten to Asuka and another one is coming for Rei!"
"Shinji, you have to stop!" Dr. Akagi was looking as the mental contamination of Unit-01. "If you keep forcing the Eva you won't be able to stop! Shinji!"
But Unit-01 kept on tearing into the machine. The bridge could hear the heavy breathing and stifled sobs of Shinji through the com. link. "Riders high," declared Vice Com. Fuyutsuki to his sitting companion.
"It's beyond that now," he responded.
The Doctor was right, Shinji couldn't stop. His rage burned against his enemy. The LFO had meant to destroy the entry plug, not stab Unit-01. It had meant to kill Rei. It deserved, in Shinji's mind, to be mutilated and destroyed to the point of nothingness. It seemed that he would never stop this self-satisfying destruction, but then he saw it. He lifted his arm from the LFOs remains, and saw a small red stained metal box, like a cockpit. He pealed the piece of metal and saw a mangled body– if you could call that splatter of organs and shattered bone a body.
And Shinji saw and thought no more.