With apologies to Sir Integra Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing…

I apologize also for the fact that this will be a cliffhanger. Next chapter is going to be goddamn epic.

Chapter 24

"Hey Asuka, I'm home!"

"Oh hi Misato."

"I hope you don't mind, I invited Shinji and Rei for dinner so we could all talk about what happened the other day. Shinji apologized today."

"Oh that's great! Rei and I were talking about their relationship and I am really happy for them. I talked to the commander about it since you know they are kind of both his children and I was hoping he would help you and me make sure they succeed but in a moral way. Its just not healthy for them to be living on their own so young and in the same bed, that's more temptation than anyone can handle."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I talked to Commander Ikari…"

"What, you just stopped by?"

"Yeah, he was actually really interested, he didn't know Shinji was staying with Rei."

Why did this always happen after she got rid of all the booze. Dammit, coffee, need coffee, this was going to be a late night.

"Asuka, the commander hates Shinji, that's why he lives with me. He has always treated Rei like his own daughter. I don't know why she lives alone, but Ritsuko says he has disappeared anyone else who has tried to get to her."

"Oh… I have made quite a bad mistake, haven't I?" Asuka said, her hands clenched together in front of her chin.

"You ain't just whistlin' Dixie…" Misato said, rubbing her temples. Knowing Gendo he was going to send an armed response team to Rei's apartment and… oh shit. The aftermath of the school attack came back to her in horrible flashes.

On the other side of town, Shinji had just finished in the shower. They had walked home in their practice gis from the nearest elevator and neither wanted to change into BDUs before getting cleaned up.

As Shinji stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel, he mused on how funny it was that the olive drab sets were now their default clothing. Not that Rei looked bad in hers, but they needed to get some normal clothes. All Rei had were school uniforms and some really old formals that didn't fit anymore. Then again, all he had besides his uniforms were some work out or lay around clothes.

He toweled off quickly. Though his muscles were now lean and very well defined, he still had very little body hair despite his age, so drying was quick. He imagined it might never grow over the myriad scars and marks that covered him from his thighs to his shoulders. He wasn't sure about his arms where they had been discolored by the sympathetic burns from the fourth angel, the worm.

He decided the issue did not bear thinking about and hitched the towel around his waist before stepping out of the bathroom.

"Hey wildflower, I'm done."

"Okay." Rei said, rising from the bed wearing only a towel wrapped around herself, her hair pulled up. Nakedness had been an issue, despite the progress Shinji had made. Rei considered it a small sacrifice to him to cover herself. When he was ready, she would be there for him.

They shared a light kiss as she passed. They were practically the same height now. Once Rei was in the shower, Shinji started to get dressed. It was funny, he had only realized he had been naked in front of Asuka, and not freaking out, after the battle was done and over, sometime when she babbling along in the entry plug.

Nudity and touch where things they had been experimenting with, though Shinji thought the word experimenting made it sound worse than it was. The other night they had been laying together in the darkness, Shinji in briefs and Rei in only a pair of panties. They had laid out rules. Anything exposed by shorts and a t-shirt were "green" and could be freely touched. Anything not green and exposed (besides Rei's breasts) were "yellow" and could only be touched slowly and with full hand contact. All intimate areas were "red" and were only to be touched with permission and fingertips only at first.

It was an hour after they began. Rei's hands were resting on his hips. He had one arm around her shoulders with his fingertips tracing the scars along the bottom of her breast on one side. The other hand was on her thigh and he was gently rubbing the side of his thumb along her panty line. She had been nibbling at his neck for a while and Shinji had to admit he liked it.

"I'd like to go into the red." She had said and he had nodded. She had hooked one finger into the waistband of his briefs and asked:

"Is this okay?"

He had said yes. She had slid the finger all the way around to the front, just below his navel, and asked:

"Is this okay?"

After several seconds, he said yes. As she slid a second finger into his underwear and pulled away just a little, she had asked:

"Is this okay?"

He had told her to wait. It took him a long time to say yes, to continue. She had added her ring finger, then her pinky, each time asking:

"Is this okay?"

Each time he said yes, and each time she rewarded him by ever so gently pressing her teeth to his earlobe.

"Would you be okay if I went further?" She asked when she was holding the waistband of his briefs in her hand.

He wanted her to. He REALLY wanted her to. Her hand was not the only thing pushing his underwear from his body. Inside though, he was fighting to keep the image from his mind, the feelings, the sensations, the emotions. That horrible experience of a tiny part of himself dying in that bathroom after school on that hot September day…

No, this was Rei. This was Kali. He was not that little boy. He was Shiva, the god warrior, the destroyer. She was not him.

Do it, he had said, please. He had screwed his eyes shut and tensed up. She asked if he was sure. Yes, he as snapped. She had cut him off with a kiss as she wrapped her hand around him. She didn't go any further but to gently squeeze.

He had felt like a freak when he began to cry. He was expecting her to be disgusted, or to laugh. She had just wrapped her arms around him and sat up so he could rest his head on her chest. She had squeezed him tight to her and told him how happy she was, how proud of him she felt. He had come so far, he was making progress, he was moving forward. He wasn't weak anymore, and he never would be again, she said.

Of course she would never laugh or be upset with him, Shinji had thought as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. She loved him, and he loved her.

He was buttoning up his pants when he heard the doorbell. That was weird. Ken and Toji hadn't said they would be coming by today.

"I'll get the door." He said loud enough for Rei to hear and he got a muffled OK from the bathroom in response.

Shinji checked the peephole and saw nothing.

Weird.

He waited. He didn't hear movement outside, nobody on the balcony hallway. It could be nothing. But it seemed off. Memories of Remo's lessons came back.

Remember kids, if something seems weird, it probably is. If something might be dangerous, there is no harm in preparing for a fight.

Shinji took a deep breath and put himself through his mantra. In a nearly silent whisper. If there was someone outside, they would not hear him unless it was Remo or Viral.

"I am created Shiva, the destroyer, the earth shatterer, the dead night tiger made whole by the master of Sinanju, who is this dogmeat that challenges me…"

He had been glad to leave the heightened state, but now really felt better back in it. As he began to feel his blood move within his veins, he grabbed the door handle. He pushed his presence outward and felt many souls out in the hall. He guessed a dozen.

"Oh shit, AT field…" He heard from the tiniest vibration in the air, it must have been a whisper.

Whatever was out there was hostile. He would greet them likewise.

Shinji swung open the door. Two men in black, either side of the door, long guns.

"THIRD CHILD YOU WILL-"

Shinji grabbed both barrels and swung them to his left as he stepped forward. Once past their tips he let the barrels go and swung out with his right arm in a back-hand strike, catching both men in the face, one with his fist and the other with his elbow. Collapsed onto each Shinji sent them both over the railing with piston kick.

As two more barrels poked around the door frame, Shinji pulled his hands back in fists against his body then thrust forward with his fingers spread. Orange light burst through the door and pushed the assaulters back.

What he did next was possibly the worst tactical decision one could imagine. He knew this, he did it anyway. He had to get them away from Rei while she vulnerable.

Shiva leapt into the hallway. He landed with a foot on the railing , twisting in mid air to get a look at his foes. Four more stacked up on each side of the door with someone at some kind of console behind the ones to the left of the door.

The hallway as a battleground provides a good staging area for making an entry. In this situation the home to be entered has only a single entrance/exit. Armored and armed entry teams can take the occupants by force of numbers. Their bulk and equipment gives them an advantage.

In the hallway itself however, their increased bulk becomes a serious problem when confronted with a single opponent who is able to do something they cannot: pass.

Shiva jumped off to the left and swung out with his arm behind him to send a flaming wall of force to the right and sent them all to the deck.

He slipped by the men in black to the left, the side with the support man behind them. Grabbing their gun barrels as he passed he twisted them all into each other, preventing anybody from aiming at him without muzzling their comrades.

Shiva took the support man by the neck and pulled him around as a shield. All of the men were still fumbling with their weapons or picking themselves off the floor in all their armor. Children playing with toys they didn't understand. He snapped the support man's neck and threw his body aside. He had meant to use him as a shield. It wasn't necessary.

The first man died with a spear hand to the neck. Where his spine and windpipe had been was now a soup. His body went over the rail.

The second man was grabbed by the high neck protector and his face pulled down onto Shiva's knee. His body was left slumped against the wall of the building.

The third man man died quickly and painlessly, his skull obliterated by a roundhouse kick. Shinji left his body where it lay, as if the man had been sitting against the wall and fell over.

The fourth man hadn't even recovered from the stunning blow of Shiva's AT field. He was finished with a knife hand to the nose that drove the bones of his face into his brain. He fell on his back in front of the door.

Shiva was back at the door to the apartment, and he was now between the door and all the remaining soldiers. The soldiers had recovered furthest from the door first, with the furthest, the eight man, on his feet helping the seventh up.

Five and six died still on the ground, their chests caved in by hand and food.

Seven died of having his face, jaw, and brain obliterated with a fist that stopped when it cracked the back of his helmet.

Shiva grabbed the eight man with his gore soaked hand, tearing his weapon from him with the other and lifting him from the ground by the throat.

Who are you?

"N-N-NERV, we're NERV!"

If you are allies, then why did you attack us with lethal weapons?

"P-please, we were ordered to separate you from the first child by any means necessary. We were just following orders I swear!"

Who ordered the attack?

"We were briefed by the commander directly. Nobody else was involved, we were told to tell nobody until the operation was finished. Oh god, what the fuck are you?"

Exactly. Did you see the operation's commander today?

"Y-yeah, I did."

What color was his tie?

"What? uuuuh, blue, no red!"

Shiva snapped his neck with a jerk against the wall so hard that it threw one of the man's boots off and left a spider web of cracks in the masonry. Shiva dropped the body and turned back to the apartment.

Shinji raised one foot up and looked at the string of gore between his toe and the floor.

"Eeeew. Rei, are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you." She said as she stepped around the door frame with only her blouse buttoned up and hanging down to her thighs.

"Oh thank goodness, we need to… Rei, are you okay?"

Shinji hadn't seen that look in Rei's eyes before. As she licked her lips, Shinji thought she looked… hungry. Her breathing was getting deeper as her chest heaved up and down and her eyes only got wider as she looked up and down the hallway, then looked Shinji up and down.

"Rei…"

Rei didn't know who he was talking to, she didn't care. His arms and legs were covered in blood and bits of flesh. He had killed nine men. No wait, she had felt the two he flung to the ground. Eleven men, armed, with his bare hands.

She stepped out of the doorway, each foot swinging around in front of the other, rocking her hips. With each footfall she felt the red that now covered the floor of the hall slide between her toes.

As she pressed her chest against Shinji's, she ran her fingertips from the tops of his shoulders down to his blood soaked hands. With gentle pressure she pulled his hands around her body. She placed one on her hip and the other across her shoulder blades.

"Rei, I don't want to get blood on you..."

"I want you too."

"Rei, we need to…"

"Go inside."

"Yes and finish getting dressed."

"But I don't want to…" She whined and tugged at him.

"I can tell, but we were just attacked."

"And you killed them all." She said and ran the tip of her finger across one of the loops of his serpent scar that crossed his chest. He always liked that. "My wonderful destroyer…"

Shinji felt horrible to do it, but they could still be in danger and he could apologize later. He lifted his hands from her and gently pushed her back by her shoulders.

"Rei, there could be more out there. We need to make sure we are safe, we need to make sure everyone is safe."

She came right back and grabbed him by the hair above his ears, pulling him close to kiss her and looking hurt for a moment when he refused.

"Let them take care of themselves, when have they watched out for us? They don't care for us, why should we care for them?"

"Rei, you know that's not true. What about Misato, what about Toji and Ken?"

Rei shut her eyes and turned her head to the side. She had forgotten their followers and felt ashamed for it. Misato was not so bad, even if she was friends with the Akagi witch and gave the gaijin Shinji's room.

"They care about us Rei, and this attack could be even bigger than the last one. I promise I'm all yours as soon as we make sure everyone is safe. We have a responsibility, we need to be worthy of our power."

Rei let go of his hair and nodded as she pressed her face into his shoulder.

"I love you, warrior." She whispered. It was the first time she had said it outside the safe darkness of the apartment at night.

"I love you too, wildflower." He said and wrapped his arms around her. What was the blood but the sign he had worked to keep her safe? And what was just one little kiss, he thought as she leaned against the wall and pulled him to her by his hips. As their lips met, they pressed into each other and shared a soft moan.

"Get your filthy hands off her right now, boy!"

Misato was making full use of the extensive rally modifications to the flashy red Nissan. As she carved through the streets and drifted around corners she left billows of white smoke and the stink of rubber behind her.

If Gendo was going to do what she thought he would, or worse yet, head an assault himself, this was going to be a bloodbath. Oh god, what if he caught them… No no no she did not even want to think about it.

Asuka sat in the passenger seat, bracing herself with one hand on the dash, one gripping the side of her seat, and a foot braced against the metallic red briefcase she had in the foot well. Misato didn't know what was in the thing, but Asuka had insisted on bringing it when she heard there could be danger to Shinji and Rei. She was still wearing her red dress and chucks.

Misato heard gunfire and slammed her foot down as she came out of the corner. Gunfire already could only… wait they weren't anywhere near the apartment yet, they were still heading hest across the northern edge of town and Rei's place was on the west border. And the shots were coming from the South.

Misato looked to her left from the highway just in time to see the explosion erupt from the side of the one of the skyscrapers downtown. She was already reaching for her phone when it began to ring.

"What the fuck is going on?! I just saw…"

"Major! They came out of nowhere! We have reports of multiple platoon strength armed groups moving within the city! They are engaging police, our troops, even each other. We have received no demands or declarations. We have VTOLs taking off but pilots report getting painted as soon as they get off the ground."

"Shitfuck, what about the pilots? I have the second child with me, what do we have for eyes on the first child's apartment?"

"Cameras in the area are down. Sensors showed an AT field surge consistent with the third child's pattern just a few moments ago. Commander Ikari is en route with an armed response team but… that's weird, it looks like they were en route before the attacks began."

"Yeah I kind of saw that coming."

"What?"

"Nothing Makoto, I am on the way to the first child's apartment now, do you have my location?"

"Yes Major."

"Any groups active between us and them?"

"Not at this time Ma'am."

Misato put her open phone into a clip on her dash. "Keep me updated."

"Yes Ma'am."

His father's voice. The sounds of metal on leather, the sharp clicks of safeties being flicked off. Heavy rubber soled boots, more coming up the stairwell. A loud car engine approaching, Misato's?

First, instinctual reaction: back away, raise hands, plead that nothing untoward was going on.

Second, calmly explain what was going on.

Third, semi-logical reaction: end the threat, explain and apologize as necessary later.

Fourth, logical option: Embarrass Gendo Ikari.

I think we have a winner.

"And where the fuck were you?" Shinji snapped. His arms were wrapped around Rei and he made sure to slightly turn to put himself between Gendo and her.

"Don't you fucking talk to me like that you little piece of shit." He said and drew his weapon, holding the black plastic and steel pistol out in one hand, arm straight. "Now let go of her and step away."

Shinji raised his lip at his father. "Don't point a gun at me like I am supposed to be afraid of it. You nor that weapon hold any fear over me. The dead guys with guns say you sent them, to separate us by force."

"Don't be ridiculous, the only men I sent are the ones with me. These aren't mine, but I am sure you brought them here."

"HEY!" They all heard Misato shout from below. Everyone present peeked over the rail and saw the operations commander, black coat around her shoulders and weapon drawn, stamping towards the building.

"If we can act like fucking adults here, we have a little bigger problem then teenagers getting up to hanky-panky!" She yelled before starting up the stairs. Behind her was Asuka, laying her red case on he ground to open it.

Asuka was content to stay on the ground and watch out. She had no desire to be in the middle of that family argument. She clicked the buttons on the sides of each clasp on the case then pressed her thumbs against the faceplates. She heard the little whirr of the scanner then the click as the locks disengaged.

Inside the case were not weapons, but a weapons system. Asuka had designed and programmed it herself after watching one of Master Kaji's old action movies. Well not really old, it came out right before impact. She had laughed at the idea of using statistics from gun fights to design a martial art based around shooting blind and "dodging" likely trajectories. But then she had started thinking about it.

First came the visor. The microframe computer used sonar and directional radar to display target locations and likely attack vectors. Asuka had figured out that due to the geometry of a gun barrel, it was easy to attach a cone of potential attack and let the system show her where a given weapon might shoot. It wasn't perfectly accurate, it was a cone, not a line. By tracing trajectories of shots fired, the system could locate targets it could not otherwise "see". All of the information was displayed as an overlay across the orange tinted, single piece, visor that she turned on and slid onto her face.

Next was the auto-syringe. It wasn't too different from an emergency allergy shot pen. She placed the tip to her neck and clicked the button, only tensing after the needle was in. A couple of deep breaths and she dropped the plastic tube on the ground as her visor came to life.

TETRAGRAMMATON system 2.03

Initializing…

Welcome Crusader

Pairing…

Asuka only reached for the guns once the system had found them. She had tried modified Beretta model ninety threes like in the movie, but had found them wanting. The Glock product on the other hand had been quite satisfactory. The void behind the magazine well provided plenty of room for hardware and the machine pistol magazines were quite reliable. Muzzle brakes and infrared lasers completed the package.

Weapons paired. Good hunting.

Asuka was not honestly expecting anything. It was to be simple, pick up the other pilots, get back down to the geofront, and wait it out until major UN forces arrived. Even a family argument, she was sure, would be only a small delay in such a serious situation.

She was of course, not taking into account that the family in question arguing was Shinji and Gendo.

"You are never to return here. Rei, when school starts again next month, you will have an armed escort and if this little psycho gets anywhere near you again they will put him down. You can still pilot without any legs, boy." Gendo growled out.

"You know if you want to just get to the point, we can both just drop our pants now." Shinji snapped back.

"I shouldn't expect an impudent little shit like you to have a serious conversation. Toilet humor though, really? When is the last time you read a book, was it green eggs and ham?"

"Oh just an ancient epic that has influenced South Asian culture for the last few thousand years, no big deal."

"Oh my god, will you both shut up!" Misato roared as she reached the top of the stairs. There was silence but for a small huff from Rei. She had been enjoying the Ikaris' bickering. They were fighting over her and it was flattering in a way.

"There are no less than ten separate, opposing, groups invading the supposedly most secure city on the entire fucking planet, and you two are up here… what? What are you actually arguing about? Shinji, you're fourteen, no matter how much you love your girlfriend, you shouldn't be living with her. Neither of you should be living alone!."

"Thank you Major." Gendo said, straightening his glasses after having holstered his weapon. "If you will please prepare transports, we will…"

"And you!" Misato said, turning to Gendo. "You are bringing armed troops, who are needed to control a, and I can't emphasize this enough, FUCKING INVASION of the city YOU are responsible for, to shore up your LIMP DICK EGO while you try and be a father to two children who you are responsible for but don't seem to actually do shit for!"

"Major, you are out of line!"

"No commander, you are! Under the emergency powers granted during a military operation within the metro area of Tokyo-3, all authority passes to the most senior military officer onsite. In case you may have forgotten, that is me! Now commander, you will go back to the geofront and shelter there." Misato turned back to Shinji. "And you two, get some clothes on and…"

They were interrupted as gunfire split the plaster above their heads. Everyone dropped to the floor, right into the blood and guts that filled the hallway.

Down below, Asuka saw the little box bracket where the shots had come from. Two bursts of 9mm fire and both shooters were down. More targets were already filling her view.

"Excuse me! If I could have your attention please!" She called out in her sweetest voice. Nobody was shooting at her yet, good sign.

"Hi! I would really appreciate if you would stop shooting at my friends and surrender peacefully. So just raise your weapons above your heads and come out nice and slow and nobody has to get hurt, okay?"

As cones of fire filled her view, she shrugged. It had been worth a try.

Asuka spun left as the windows and alleyways across the street lit up in muzzle flash. Spin, duck, jump, sway, spin back, she danced out of the fire like she could see it coming. Which, actually, she could.

She had realized that the human brain, even with practiced movements and heightened reflexes from muscle memory could not run the necessary calculations to make an idea like gun kata work. So she made the visor. But that still wasn't enough. It was still a matter of processing all the incoming information. Even in an adrenaline "rush" state, there was just too much to take in.

Master Kaji had suggested and authorized the experiments with stimulants. It had taken a while to find one that sped up the brain without dulling decision making, but when they finally did, it worked beautifully. Asuka danced away from the fire again and brought her pistols up.

"Alright if that's the way you want it!" She yelled and fired, ducked, spun, fired again. "I am the great Asuka Langely Soryu!"

Double axle over a hail of fire, turn, fire with arms at forty-five degrees.

"Welcome to my absolute territory!"

Up on the hall balcony, NERV's expert soldiers were talking amongst themselves.

"Dude…" "Holy shit…" "How is that even possible?"

NERV's expert assassins had more reserved praise.

"Hm, an acceptable substitute for actual ability I suppose."

"Neat trick, kinda works with how she fights with her hands."

Within a minute, the opponent was silent.

"Alright you two, go get dressed. You and you…" She said, pointing at two of Gendo's men. "Give them your radios. If you are going to be assassins, lets get you assassinating. The bridge crew will give you hot spots and you are going to go cool them off. I'd feel bad but seeing as guns aren't really a problem for you too anymore, I think you will be alright."

"You want us to go kill people?"

"But Misato, shouldn't we…"

"I have given you your marching orders soldier! You will search and destroy! SEARCH AND DESTROY! Any resistance you encounter is to be CRUSHED! NERV does not run from our enemies! We are the undefeated army! Kill them all! I order you to leave nothing but bloody stains in your way!"

end

I loved Equilibrium. Came out about the same time as the matrix, I thought it had better choreographed fights. What Asuka has done is used technology, drugs, and a couple of Glock 18s (full automatic 9mm pistol with 33 round magazine for gun unfamiliar) to replicate a gunfighting technique called gun kata from the movie.

The grand battle of Tokyo-3 comes next. This chapter is a little short, but I did not feel like padding it out unnecessarily.