Ch 5 The Wrath Of Man
Dark Woods, no people. I don't feel the wind on my naked body. All I feel is rage, blinding fury that causes me to grind my teeth and stomp my feet. My teeth are sharp and feel like metal. I rip another chunk of gore from the butchered carcass at my feet, devouring it greedily. I don't taste the meat, only the blood. All I can taste is blood. My feet are now surrounded in a warm puddle. I gave an unnaturally wide smile that stretched my lips from ear to ear.
I stuck my hand inside its gaping chest, tearing aside ribs and clutching my prize, slowly dragging it out of the still breathing corpse. I held the still beating heart and unhinged my jaw, still smiling widely, and swallowed it whole. As it slid down my throat, I began to growl, louder and louder until I opened my mouth to scream in a voice that was not my own.
Shinji awoke screaming. He stared at the white ceiling above him and tried to see if he recognized it. Every hair on his body stood up as he woke up screaming, gasping for breath, and his throat hoarse.
As his breath slowly calmed down and the fog slowly lifted from his mind, then the fact finally struck him. He could still vividly remember the dream. He hadn't remembered a dream of his since coming to Tokyo-3, yet when he closed his eyes he could almost still taste blood in his mouth.
The sound of a person wrestling and moaning and their sleep awoke him. He opened his eyes to see Misato slumped over a pair of hospital chairs with a blanket and pillow haphazardly lying around her. Her eyes slowly opened. She stared at Shinji, blinking a few times before throwing herself at him like a projectile.
Shinji tapped on Misato's back, trying signaling that he needed air after a few minutes, and she finally released him. "How are you feeling?" her eyes still held a tinge of worry and seeing this caused a strange warmth to grow in his chest.
"I'm feeling alright Misato" Shinji stretched his whole body to check for any damage and only noticed a soreness from being in bed for what felt like a long time.
"How long was I out for?"
"You've been here for about 2 days recovering after the Angel battle. I just got here a couple hours ago after managing the clean-up"
"Wow, what happened to the Angel?"
Misato's posture stiffened and her eyes turned away from Shinji's, looking at the IV behind him while she spoke. "It self-destructed after you almost pierced the core and your Eva took the blast point blank".
'She's lying' the unexpected and frankly unwanted voice of his father in his head caused his face to form the shadow of a scowl. Part of it he knew was his feelings of anger at his father, but mostly because Shinji's gut kept telling him the same thing.
"Ok" Misato's continual avoidance of his gaze caused a burning in his chest that he kept trying to swallow but just kept being replaced with a new fire.
"Let's get you home and out of those hospital clothes. I have time to take you home, then I have to come right back"
The drive home from NERV was silent, though Misato kept nervously peeking at him in the backseat through her rearview mirror.
"Well, I've got some good news. Tomorrow, you won't have to go to school. We're going to go on a trip"
Shinji's eyes widened, and he looked up from his intense study of the car's floorboard. "Where are we going?"
"We're going to meet the second child on a little boat as she arrives in Tokyo-3. You can even bring a couple of your friends along if you want"
"Another Eva pilot?" Shinji was relieved to hear there would be more help, but was curious about who this mystery person could be. All he hoped was that they were nice.
"Yep, and she's a girl. Pretty cute, too. You'll probably like her".
"Misato!"
She only chuckled at his outrage and ruffled his hair with her free hand.
Curiosity outweighed embarrassment after a few minutes and he finally asked her the question sitting on his tongue. "What's she like?"
Misato's mirth faded at this question as a slight frown replaced her smile and her eyes gained a distant, far off look to them. "Very passionate, confident and intelligent, also a tad confrontational and stubborn at times".
A completely alien sounding noise pulled Shinji away from his conversation with Misato. It sounded like a brief chuckle, but the mental image of his father laughing did not come to him. He had never seen his father smile, but the sound he heard him make recalled fuzzy images of a happy family that seemed so distant to him now.
'Did you just laugh!?'
'I apologize, I did not expect Katsuragi to have such a 'creative' way of talking about the second child'
'What do you mean, creative?'
'The second child is a little confrontational and a little stubborn in the same way you are a dazzling socialite and conversationalist'
Shinji's eyes narrowed 'well you know what they say, Like Father Like Son.'
Misato pulled in front of the apartment complex, sliding within centimeters of the curb to pull into a hard parallel park. "I'll probably be home late tonight so there's money on the counter for you to order something to eat"
He entered the apartment and began his daily routine of housework. His interest in learning more about the new arrival wore down against his anger directed at his father.
'Can you give me some future insight that might make her like me or at the very least not hate me? If we're gonna work together, I wanna be friends with her'
He could hear the smirk in his voice. 'You think I'm a person to ask about making friends?'
Shinji's eyes rolled in his sockets involuntarily. 'Are you saying there's absolutely nothing you know that could help?'
His father seemed to think about this, as it was a few minutes before he responded. 'The second child only respects strength and enjoys conflict. You should always argue back when she tries and picks a fight with you or she'll sense your weakness and rip you apart'
'Always argue back? She likes arguing? Who likes arguing!?'
'You asked for advice and I have given it. I only spoke with the second child once but based on what I've read, if you let her walk all over you that's what she'll do'
'So if I'm too nice to her, she'll think I'm weak, but she'll respect me if I argue with her?' Shinji's hands were now pressed against his face as a dull throbbing in the back of his skull was slowly building in intensity.
'Not really, just keep that in mind and you'll figure out the rest. What you should focus on is piloting the evangelion and defeating the Angels.'
'Is that all you ever have to say?' Shinji finally gave voice to the thought that had been pressing on him as his frustration boiled over.
'If you would listen one of these times, I wouldn't have to repeat myself'
Shinji clenched both his hands into fists and ground his teeth as he stood up from his spot in the living room and strutted to his room, flicking off the TV on the way.
He grabbed his SDAT from the corner of the room and turned the lights off. Throwing himself onto the bed and popping in his earbuds. The darkness and the soothing melodies of his music calmed the fire in his chest, threatening to consume him.
Shinji always liked the sea. He was reminded of this as he stared out from the side of their aerial transport zooming across the open ocean. The red water was a grim reminder of the second impact, but Shinji always thought it had a strange beauty to it. The color seemed so vibrant it almost didn't seem real, and a sense of tranquility fell over him as they neared their destination.
"This is so cool! I never thought I'd get to ride in an Mi-26 Transport Helicopter! Having you as a friend really has its perks, Shinji!" Kensuke had a giddy smile as he zoomed in his camera on the growing shapes of the ships in front of them.
Misato turned her head back from the co-pilot's seat to talk to the boys. "I figured a little date like this would be just what you boys need after being cooped up in the mountains for so long".
"Really? A date Misato? I got this cap for today, just for you. I'll never take it off." Toji bowed and showed off his new bright white hat.
While he was messing with the strap so it would properly fit on backwards, a powerful burst of turbulence hit the aircraft. Toji tumbled forwards, his hat floating helplessly off his head, quickly getting caught up in the breeze as it twirled in the air as it went out the open window.
"NO! MY HAT!" Toji now looked destitute as he stuck his head out the window and watched the white dot vanish in the distance.
"Where are we landing?" Shinji patted his anguished friend on the back, looking at Kensuke and seeing him also struggling not to laugh at their friend's terrible luck.
"Oh, we're just going to be taking a cruise on that little boat over there." Gesturing vaguely in front of the viewscreen. As the Helicopter emerged from the clouds, the entirety of the UN task fleet task force was revealed in front of them.
Kensuke promptly exploded with information about the different vessels in sight, including newly designed autonomous destroyer groups and their destination, the supercarrier 'Over The Rainbow'.
"That's your little boat?" Toji's voice was filled with disbelief. Misato only laughed in response to this as they landed.
Kensuke was like a kid in a candy store. Once everyone exited the helicopter, he was running in circles, filming everything around him.
Toji was still downcast about his lost cap, trailing behind Shinji. The boy kept his eyes low with an occasional mournful glance out at the sea behind them.
Shinji was trying to think of something to comfort his friend when a flash of red distracted him.
A pair of blue eyes completely transfixed him, like two polished crystals of cobalt. There was confidence radiating off of her, but something about her eyes looked familiar in a way he couldn't place.
The girl's hair flowed like waves of fire behind her, her posture radiated confidence. She proudly placed her hands on her hips and she surveyed the ragtag group approaching them with a look of unadulterated smugness.
Well Misato, long time no see. How have you been?"
"I'm doing just fine. It must've been awhile because goodness you've grown"
"I'm not just taller too, my figures filled out more as well". Shinji was aware words were being spoken but had instead focused on trying to figure out what shade of red her lipstick was.
"Allow me to introduce you to the designated pilot of Unit-02. Asuka Langley Soryu." Misato then shoved Shinji forward, and he remembered he existed and resumed breathing.
Kensuke was talking to some of the deck crew and filming vehicles on the runway. Toji was still pouting and dragging his feet behind Misato. This left Shinji the only one to see the effects of a powerful gust of wind on Asuka's tight yellow sundress.
He instinctively pivoted his feet backwards. His endless hours of combat training still working even when his frontal lobe was fried and his face crimson. He felt the breeze from her blow hit against his face. Missing her target only seemed to enrage her more.
He didn't see the kick, but he definitely felt it. It had enough force to steep his feet out from under him and throw him onto his behind with a loud THUD!
Toji's head snapped up at the noise he decided to approach and glared at the girl who was standing over his friend. "Hey! What was that for?"
Asuka only gave him a look that stopped him dead in his tracks. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I answer to Japan's first talking ape about anything I do!".
Toji only opened his mouth and closed it, shocked by the audacity of the insult into stunned silence.
Kensuke also heard the noise and turned his camera to film the unfolding violence with a slight look of concern.
Asuka raised her hand to take advantage of the opening before Misato stepped in and stopped her. "Asuka, could you please not kill your new coworker on the first day of meeting him?"
"Ugh, fine" her eyes now sized Shinji up as he got up and knocked the dust off his clothes. "So this is the famous third child? Not much to look at, is he?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that!?" Shinji, without thinking about it, stood up aggressively and marched towards the redhead. Putting his hands on his hips and assuming what he considered an indignant stance. He turned around to see his now cackling guardian behind him. "Did you tell her to say that!?".
Misato spoke between gasps of air as Shinji's outraged expression completely broke her down with laughter. "Coincidence, I swear".
Asuka had only cocked her eyebrow at his outburst at Misato. The girl had a predatory grin on fixed on him that activated Shinji's fight or flight and the choice was pretty clear in his mind.
"Come on kids, follow me" Misato beckoned for the group and began to walk towards the command deck with Toji, grabbing Kensuke and dragging him along as he protested.
Shinji looked out at the sea again after Misato told them to wait outside the command deck while she talked with the Admiral. Unlike before, he was now trying to estimate how far he would make it if he tried to swim for his life.
Asuka's intense gaze seemed to be boring a hole directly into his soul. Toji and Kensuke looked at him with eyes filled with jealousy. Shinji tried to silently communicate that he was in danger, but they just shook their heads dismissively at him.
She looked like she was about to say something or attack him, or maybe both. He wasn't entirely sure, but then Misato opened the door angrily, muttering to herself. Behind her strode in a man with his long hair in a ponytail and a scraggly beard framing a wily smile aimed at Misato.
"Kaji!" Asuke threw her arms around the man and forcibly threw herself into his arms. Shinji began to empathize with his friends as he saw the attractive girl he just met fawn over the older man.
"Let's get something to eat" Misato walked as quickly as her feet could carry her away from the man and the three boys hastily followed. Kaji practically carried Asuka to the cafeteria as his protests for her to let go were ignored by the redhead.
All six of them crammed into the tiny elevator that led into the ship's lower decks, no one having any room to move like they were in a cattle train.
By some twist of fate, Shinji had ended up positioned directly in front of Asuka, staring directly into her sky-blue eyes. Being the last person to get in, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Don't get any funny ideas," the rock said.
With his hands pinned at his side, he simply shook his head. As the door closed, he was pushed forward even further, his face being within inches of Asuka.
Shinji was so close he could see the individual pores on her face. The creases in her forehead as her eyes narrowed into a glare that added a sense of danger to her beauty.
"Hey! watch where you're touching!"
"I can't help it!" Kaji and Toji's unison protest did nothing to calm the two women.
Asuka sharply moved her body forward to move away from Toji, the lack of room bringing her knee directly into contact with Shinji's family jewels.
Shinji made a high-pitched yelp, something akin to the noises of a newborn puppy. And brought his legs together and involuntarily swung his head downwards.
"Ouch" Toji's head pressed against the door and he was visibly cringing at Shinji's plight.
Shinji only saw stars. His head rested on something soft and warm as an intense pain radiated from his groin all the way to his stomach.
"I said no funny business! What are you doing!?" Asuka pulled with all her strength and freed one of her hands from the tangle of people and pulled Shinji's head off her chest.
"I-I'm sorry" his voice came out as a strained croak as he felt waves of white fiery agony washing over him.
"He might not have kids because of you! That's the least you could do!"
As the doors opened, Asuka only huffed in annoyance and shoved Shinji backwards away from her before quickly going after Kaji and Misato.
Shinji's still wobbly legs almost gave way and Kensuke approached him and looped one of his arms around his, and Toji grabbed his other arm. His two friends carried him like a wounded warrior as they sat down at the cafeteria.
"So, do you have a boyfriend now?" Kaji was trying to play footsie with Misato under the table while Shinji timidly watched, icing his ailing soldiers.
"I don't see how that's any of YOUR business" Misato glared at the man as she ate, keeping her feet firmly rooted to the ground.
"Wow, I'm hurt" Kaji put his hand on his chest and clutched it, gasping in mock agony, a playful grin never leaving his face "Ow".
Finding a new target, Kaji leaned forward and his elbows and locked eyes with Shinji "So you live with Katsuragi right Shinji?"
"Yeah bu…" Kaji was quick to interrupt him before he could finish. "So tell me, is she still wild in bed?"
Everyone at the table made a noise of surprise. With Asuka blushing and flinching. Relatively mild compared to Misato's full body flushness and ferocious snarl.
"What are you implying by THAT!?" the table shook with the force of Misato's fists nearly denting the metal.
Shinji was not the most socially adept person on the planet, but even he could see the golden opportunity he had been given to get revenge for all the teasing he'd received.
Taking advantage of the chaos to think of something clever, Shinji's eyes lit up as his brain finally provided him with some ammunition. "You don't need to worry Mr Kaji, I wouldn't dream of taking her from you".
His gambit paid off. Misato gasped and stared at Shinji like someone had replaced him with a body-snatcher. The previously unflappable Kaji's cheeks turned a little crimson at his teasing.
"I'm surprised you know who I am, Mr Kaji," the older man quickly recovered from his previous surprise and only laughed heartily at Misato's reaction.
"Why wouldn't I know who you are? You're pretty famous in the defense spheres".
"Really? I am?" The idea of people thinking of him as some sort of celebrity was so alien a concept he couldn't fathom it.
"You're the famous third child, after all, who defeated an Angel with no prior training and now has 3 solo kills to his belt"
Shinji just rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "B-Beginner's luck, I guess?" He then forced out a small chuckle. Asuka was tightly gripping the fork in her hand with such force Shinji was bracing himself for the inevitable strike. She was also putting zero effort into concealing her scowl directed at him, causing him to shrink in his chair and feel small.
"Luck is part of your destiny! It's your talent!" he then abruptly stood up from his seat. "I've got to go, I'll see you later, Katsuragi," he then parted with a wink.
'Go and warn him that he must leave immediately. It might be different from my time but an Angel could be coming and if it gets ahold of what he's transporting, it would be bad'.
'How bad?'
'It would be very…..impactful'
'If that's a joke, it's not funny'
'Regardless, the risk is sufficient to warrant telling him, just tell him what he needs to know nothing more'
Shinji's face now twisted into a scowl of his own. Without warning, he shot up from his feet after the older man.
"Mr Kaji, can we talk alone for a second" Kaji turned around from the gantry to look at him with a quizzical look
"Well, it looks like we're already alone, so what did you wanna talk about?"
Shinji froze as he realized he hadn't thought that far ahead. Putting up his finger while he thought about it, he lost track of how much time passed before he spoke.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Mr Kaji, but you've gotta get out of here soon. Something's coming and you gotta get THAT outta harm's way," Shinji gestured towards the briefcase he was carrying.
Kaji widened his eyes and stepped back, looking like he had just been stabbed, tightening the grip on his cargo and hiding it behind his back.
"Well, aren't you just full of surprises, Shinji?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "What's coming?"
"I think you know" Shinji stared right into Kaji's brown eyes and hoped his eyes could better communicate what his words couldn't.
"Just making sure" Kaji frowned grimly at the boy and turned to look out at the sea. "So how do you…"
Shinji was already leaving. "Sorry, Misato's gonna wonder where I ran off to". He left without another word, leaving a very curious special inspector staring at his retreating back.
"So what do you think of the famous third child?"
"He's boring" Asuka tried her best to glare at the man she adored for bringing up the subject but couldn't maintain it before going in for another hug.
"What makes you say that?"
"He's practically a mute!" You'd think someone with as many victories as him would have something interesting to say or anything to say. Especially to a pretty girl like me"
"Disappointed he's not flirting with you?" If anyone else teased Asuka like this, she'd play the can-can with their spinal column, but she trusted Kaji to only be teasing in good faith.
"Ugh, As if! I don't want perverted boys like him hitting on me. I only want a real man like you, Kaji." She gave the man her best puppy dog eyes and tried to cuddle as close as she could while he kept his gaze fixed ahead and posture stiff.
"Well, something tells me he's not as boring as you think he is" Kaji ruffled her hair playfully, earning a grunt of frustration from Asuka.
"What could possibly make you say that!? Didn't you see what he did to me in the elevator?"
"Asuka, you kneed him in a very sensitive spot and he apologized to YOU. That's more considerate than what most teenage boys would do with a long shot. Not to mention the fact that he managed a synchronization ratio of over 80% while only learning of the existence of Eva that day".
"Mein Gott" Asuka's eyes became saucers. She stared disbelievingly at her guardian, waiting for him to tell her he was joking. His gaze only hardened as he brushed past her.
"I've got to go make a delivery Asuka, I'll see you when you make it to Tokyo-3 and give Katsuragi my regards". Asuka quickly moved to wrap her arms around the man to prevent his escape, but when she turned around, he was already gone.
"(I hate it when he does that)" Asuka cursed out the now empty air in front of her in her mother tongue for a few moments before Kaji's words finally sunk in.
'I won't be shown up by some yuppy who just discovered the difference between an entry plug and his privates. I'll show him the true and complete superiority of my Unit-02 and end this petty rivalry before it even begins'.
Shinji approached Misato. She had her head slumped on the table with Toji patting her on the back. Kensuke was reviewing the footage on his camera across from her, ignoring all of them.
"It's a nightmare, It's a nightmare" Misato got up, ignoring the 3 boys and pinching her cheek like she was trying to force herself awake.
Shinji's guardian came to her senses and looked up at Shinji. With incredible speed, she grabbed onto his ear and began to pull him.
"Did HE feed you that line" the fury in her voice made no mistake in who she was speaking about.
"Sorry. Ow! That was the first time we met. Honest, I was just teasing Misato"
Misato relented in her assault on his earlobe. Kensuke was still filming the spectacle while halfheartedly trying to hide his laughter.
"Ugh, I cannot believe him! To talk like that with you kids, while we're eating no less! He's still the same stuck up pig from back then".
Shinji slowly tuned out Misato's long-winded rant as his thoughts returned to the feisty redhead he had met earlier. Something in her eyes when he looked at him was familiar. Not familiar in the way that Rei was, he realized it didn't remind him of someone else; it reminded him of himself.
"Helloooo, earth to Shinji" Shinji blushed as he realized he had been so caught up in his thoughts and Misato gave him a cheeky grin. "You're thinking about Asuka, aren't you?"
"W-Wha…No" his deepening blush betraying his already weak protest.
"Sureee" Misato made sure to drag out the last syllable as long as possible.
"I-It's not like that Misato!"
As if being summoned by their mentioning of her, Asuka appeared at the top of the escalator with a fiery glare pointed directly at Shinji.
"You're coming with me, third child." She grabbed his arm with an iron grip before he could protest. Eventually forgetting to, he couldn't help himself from enjoying the softness and warmth of her hand against his.
"Red's a good color for you" Shinji studied the mechanical giant in front of him, giving a small grin at the smirking redhead perched atop it.
"Of course it is! The color isn't the only thing that's different about it! This is the first production model Eva made for actual combat, Units-01 and 00 are just for testing, which is why they sync so easily with unterlengen pilots like you"
Shinji frowned, as he couldn't understand the word. The way she said it made it clear it wasn't nice. Still, he gave Asuka a slow golf clap as she climbed down off the Evangelion.
Partway through her dismount, the ship they were on rocked hard to the side as the percussive roar of several ships guns firing echoed within the hangar. Asuka's feet slipped out from underneath her. "Scheiße!".
Before Shinji's conscious mind could do a risk reward calculation, he was already underneath her with arms outstretched.
His knees almost buckled underneath the weight and he guessed she was heavier than him as his arms burned from the exertion. With a burst of willpower he held on, a nice bonus being his proximity to Asuka overloaded his senses with the scent of her strawberry shampoo.
Shinji returned her shocked expression with a small smile tinged with fear. The girl he was now carrying in his arms bridal style eventually started flailing wildly as she realized her compromising position.
"Let me down you perv!" Shinji quickly obliged before she could start aiming her limbs with intent.
"I-I'm not a perv, I just didn't want you to fall" He couldn't meet her eyes as he explained, weakening his genuine expression of concern.
"Hmpf, you just wanted to cop a feel, at least be honest about it. Now quit wasting time! Let's go see what made all that noise!"
They quickly dashed out onto the viewing platform and gazed out at the approaching Angel. All they could see was the gargantuan creature's shadow. It looked like some prehistoric sea serpent. Its body stretched out so far behind it, neither could see its end. Grey scales cover its entire body, glistening in the sunlight. Its gaping maw had a glowing orb in the back of its throat, pulsating with hateful energy.
Shinji stared with awe and terror at the massive creature coiling and swinging its massive tail and snapping a battleship in half with a loud SNAP!.
"Wunderbar" Asuka grinned like a predator on the hunt at the angel. She grabbed Shinji and dragged the stunned boy by the hand.
"I can't wear that!"
"Why the hell not!"
Shinji withered under Asuka's glare, staring at the floor as he mumbled "it's embarrassing".
"You know what else is embarrassing!? Getting hit by a girl! Which is about to happen if you don't put it on!" Asuka then chucked the balled up suit at Shinji's head. He watched it as it collided with his face.
Not waiting for his reply, she walked over to a nearby stairwell. Glaring from the threshold. "No peeking" to emphasize her point, she made a throat cutting motion before closing the door.
Shinji heard the Angel let out a horrible scream like thousands of gears jamming at once and grinding against each other. His eyes widened to saucers, and he threw off his clothes and roughly threw himself into the ill fitting suit. He let out a long, drawn out hiss as he pressed the button and the suit vacuumed sealed tightly over his bruised family jewels.
He tapped his foot to Beethoven's 9th to distract himself and wait for Asuka. He forgot he was still standing in front of the door as it flung open.
"Ow" Shinji wasn't fast enough to dodge the entire door. He rubbed his now bruised shoulder and again, a pair of blue eyes entranced him. They were filled with bravery and determination. Her lips curled into a wicked smile. She looked ready to fight the Angel without even getting in the Eva.
"You should be honored! You're about to fight with and see The Great Asuka Langley Soryu in action. This overgrown sea snake is about to meet its maker!"
Shinji smiled and nodded his head at her rant and felt the weight on his chest lift a little bit, her enthusiasm and confidence making him believe the sincerity of her words. He ran after the girl as she sprinted towards the already open entry plug of the Evangelion.
Asuka leapt into her seat and began flashing her hands across buttons and switches inside the cockpit. Shinji stood shyly behind her seat and watched, dumbfounded by her speed and knowledge, as the entry plug door slid shut. He felt the plug lower itself and the chamber quickly flooded itself with LCL as the Eva started activating.
The cockpit began flashing with colors. Western characters he couldn't understand streamed all around them as the activation sequence started.
"Ugh! Think in German Blodmann! You're generating too much thought noise!"
"Uh, Ja Asuka, Wo ist die Toilette?" He tried to think of what he had learned about Europe from school, but even he knew it was a pitiful effort.
If looks could kill, the look he got from Asuka would've disintegrated him. It was impressive to see her enter the complex commands without breaking eye contact. She turned her gaze back to the Eva and flicked on the comms and external speakers with one switch. "Evangelion Unit 2 launching now!"
"What! I order you to stand down Eva-" The gruff voice of an older sounding man was cut off by a more familiar one. "Ignore that Asuka. Head to the converted supercarrier and I'll have the power cable ready when you get there"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the two Eva pilots spoke in perfect sync, each giving the other a surprised look.
"Shinji, are you in there too?"
"Hi, Misato" Shinji gave the radio a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head awkwardly while waving, despite that it was only an audio conversation.
The metal behemoth easily snapped free of its meager restraints. Carefully balancing its weight across the ship, it was standing on as it bucked wildly beneath the massive burden.
"Asuka, we're in B type equipment. If we fall in the water, we're toast!"
"Golly Gee, thanks mister, I never knew. It's not like I've been training to pilot this thing my whole life or anything!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. She tightly gripped the butterfly controls. She bared her teeth into a snarl and the display reminded him of an animal. "Now be quiet and watch how a professional works"
Leaving two massive dents in the ship's hull, the crimson titan leapt off the deck of the ship, landing on a nearby aircraft carrier. She leapt from ship to ship with the grace of a gymnast. Easily carrying her momentum from jump to jump before carefully bracing herself on the NERV ship containing its prize.
The timer that previously said 1:00 and was getting too close to 0 for Shinji's comfort switched to an ∞ sign. A panel on the strangely designed ship's floor opened, revealing an already loaded pallet rifle which Unit-02 hefted the weapon onto its shoulder. Taking a brief moment to aim, the Eva began laying down bursts of devastating fire on the Angel. We emptied the singular clip in less than 30 seconds with the rifle being uselessly tossed back on the deck after being used.
The Angel was carving a path of fire and death throughout the combined UN fleet. A burning cruiser was currently being crushed in the creature's massive jaws. Its shimmering scales brushed off the constant shower of explosive shells covering it. The upper half stuck out of the water like a pillar of stone surveying the battlefield. Its tail coiled around an aircraft carrier in the distance that exploded in a massive fireball. Its black beady eyes locked onto the form of the approaching Evangelion.
"This thing is really tough" Shinji immediately winced as he realized how stupid that sounded and knew Asuka would happily point that out for him. She looked like she was about to as a smug grin decorated her face, but then her eyes darted quickly around the battlefield and her eyes lit up.
"I have a plan"
"Really? what is it?"
"You'll find out soon, Misato. Those destroyers are unmanned, right?"
"Yes, what are you thinking?"
"Do they have a self-destruct to avoid capture?"
"Yes?" Even through the tiny radio, Shinji could clearly hear Misato's confusion mirroring his own as she tried to figure out what the redhead was planning.
"When I give you the signal, blow up the ships we're on" Unit-02 gracefully leapt off the ship and onto a nearby battleship. The Angel moved with surprising speed despite its incredible bulk. Waves created by the creatures' pursuit of them tossed aside like a plaything the ship they were on.
"W-Wait, why do you want Misato to blow us up?"
"It's not gonna blow us up, dummkopf! It's gonna give us a boost! Nothing can destroy my Unit-02!"
Misato's voice broke over the radio to interrupt the one sided argument "I see what you're planning Asuka, we'll try and keep it off you guys as long as we can but move FAST!"
"Speed is my middle name" Asuka gripped the controls tightly and stretched her whole body grinning madly.
"I thought it was Langley?" Her face switched to a molten glare at Shinji with such ferocity he wasn't sure if he was more scared of the Angel or her.
"Are you stupid or just an idiot?"
"B-Both?" Shinji tried to cower, but it was nearly impossible in the small entry plug. He prayed and hoped if he smiled, she wouldn't hit him. Thankfully, it seemed to work. As the girl turned her gaze towards the Angel in front of them, Shinji almost felt bad for it.
The sound of the entire fleet deafened Shinji's hearing. They were throwing everything they had left at the beast. Lighting up its entire body as projectiles and explosives poured over it from above and below. The Angel from the sea didn't sit idly by. It let loose another terrible noise from its mouth as the sky above it darkened and distorted and the previously sunny day gave way to a roaring thunderstorm. It swung its lengthy tail in a long, sweeping motion. Sending anything unlucky enough to be caught in its path to a watery grave as it knocked around the ships opposing it like children's bath toys.
Like a trained acrobat, the crimson Evangelion easily crossed the floating debris field. Heading towards a cluster of still surviving smaller ships. Each one was slightly bigger than the titan's foot, landing on its new perch with unsteady legs. The machine crouched to lower its center of gravity as it reached for its progressive knife.
"Misato NOW!"
Unit-02 threw itself into the air. As the bed of linked up destroyers the Evangelion was standing on exploded. Turning the scarlet colossus into a living projectile pointed right at the Angel's gaping maw. The Eva did a midair flip and pointed its foot directly ahead, preparing to deliver a devastating kick right for the Angel's exposed core. The Angel turned its head to face the loud noise. It seemed to twist its horribly scarred features into something resembling a mocking grin, stretching unnaturally from ear to ear. Its jaw unhinged, opening wide enough to swallow the war machine in one gulp. Halfway through the creature's mouth, the massive jaws snapped shut like a vice.
"Asuka! Are you okay!?" He reached to try and help the girl doubled over the controls, painfully clutching her abdomen. His concern outweighed the stabbing pains growing more intense in his own stomach.
"Never…Better" her words came out as a low growl as she roughly shoved him away and yanked on the butterfly controls with a savage growl and her canines bared.
Unit-02 weakly tried to pry the jaws, crushing the life out of it. It was only able to barely crack it open. As the creatures' shining white teeth crunched through the Eva's armor plating.
'Her Bravado will get both of you killed if you don't go over there and do something soon'
'But getting in her way will get me killed immediately'
'Do you honestly think she brought you into this entry plug because of your animal magnetism? You'll be ripped in half if you don't weaken the Angels' hold. DO SOMETHING.'
Luckily for Shinji, the decision was made for him before long. "Do you wanna die just standing there like an idiot!? Come help me!"
"Sorry, right" Shinji quickly ran to place his hands on top of hers. Heaving with all his might, both Evangelion pilots muttering "move" in building frustration.
The Angel grew tired of trying to crush the Eva outright and instead began grating its teeth together causing Asuka to let out another agonized scream. Geysers of steaming blood poured out of the widening holes as the Angel ripped into the writhing metallic juggernaut.
"RAUGH!" Asuka's battle-cry mixed with Shinji's own in a rising crescendo as the Evangelions' four eyes glowed white. It slowly pried the Angel's massive jaw open. The creature let out another roar, its eyes widened as the crimson Eva pulled itself to full height. Unit-02 viciously flung its arms above its head, pressing the roof of its mouth and legs pressing downwards until it made a wet CRACK and stopped resisting. It then leapt down the Angel's throat. Performing a perfect split to brace against either side and brutally swinging its fists at the core with reckless abandon. The glowing orb now cracked and shattered under the relentless assault, starting a chain reaction as it exploded in a sea of blood.
The Angel's form continued to erupt into a seemingly endless deluge of blood. The soaked and victorious Evangelion tumbled helplessly towards the ocean. Its internal battery power finally ran out.
The Over The Rainbow, already plowing a course towards the Angel. Made it just in time to place itself below the rapidly descending war machine. With the upper layer of the ship's flight deck buckling and shattering under the force of its landing.
"So I take it you had a pleasant trip?"
Misato only glared at her smirking friend before sighing, "I should've seen that coming. That was reckless, but at least we got here in one piece and collected a lot of valuable data"
"You are right about that, this data is quite interesting"
"What have you got?"
"They both broke their sync records for nearly 20 seconds"
"It must've been because of the danger their unit was almost out of power when it happened"
Asuka and Shinji both exited the entry plug. With the former doing a victorious strut and the other following behind with his hands, making a poor attempt at hiding his shame.
"Ha, Nice Figure!" Shinji tried to position himself out of sight of Kensuke's camera but failed. Asuka ignored all of them and ran ahead. His two friends heartily laughed at his expense while he followed.
"Mr Ikari, working with you has been a pleasure as it always is, but I think this little job warrants double my usual fee, don't you think?"
Kaji thought the man in front of him's icy stare was his most disconcerting feature, but the way he smirked at him quickly made him change his mind.
"Oh, and why might that be?"
"Simple, two items, two jobs, two payments. It's not my fault those old geezers keep all their skeletons in one closet, so to speak"
"I take it that you retrieved both items successfully, then?"
"Yes, and I suspect it'll be a long time before they check and notice it's missing and when that happens there's nothing tracing back to us"
"Good, you will receive your payments, that will be all Agent Ryoji"
Kaji did his best to hide his disappointment at getting a chance to confirm with the man himself just exactly what he had asked him to steal. He cast a forlorn look at the briefcase before silently exiting. Knowing that any attempt to request that would ruin what little repertoire he had built with the commander.
'Seele won't sit idly by when they find out that both the keys to human instrumentality are missing. I hope you know what you're doing with those, Commander, actually I hope I know what you're doing with those before long'.
"Even if it kills me" the words seemed to echo endlessly in the empty dark halls of NERV's HQ tossed around by the cold metallic hallway.
"She may have been pretty, but she's a real female dog, if you know I mean fellas"
"I wouldn't go that far"
Kensuke and Toji both stared at Shinji like he grew a third head and waited for the punchline to what they thought was an obvious joke.
"You met her for an hour, Shinji. How many times did she try to hit you in that hour?" Kensuke was patting him on the back. Speaking in a strangely sickly sweet tone, like he was talking to a kitten stuck in a tree.
"A few but…" He was never allowed to finish that thought as class started without their paying attention.
"Rise, Bow, Sit!" Wordlessly, the entire class followed the routine. Shinji, glad to be taken away from the conversation, watched the classroom door violently slam open.
"Students, we have another new transfer student, Ms. Soryu. If you'd be so kind as to introduce yourself"
"Of course, tee-hee." The three boys stared in horror at the redheads' song and dance routine, pretending to be a cute, innocent exchange student.
"My names Asuka. Asuka Langley Soryu, charmed, huh?"
AN:
The plot thickens, as we get further along the timeline it'll get less and less recognizable from the original Evangelion.
For simplicity's sake the living breathing Gendo Ikari will be referred to as the commander, and the Gendo in Shinji's mind will be referred to as his father. That does have narrative significance but I'm not holding your hand you're smart, figure it out with everything else. I also hope it's pretty clear what power the 6th Angel had and why NERV's response was a big L.
If I did my job right you have questions and I have answers you'll just have to see how it all turns out
Next time on LFLS, Will Shinji try to follow Gendo's confusing advice for befriending Asuka? Will Asuka really let Shinji get close to her just by standing his ground and not letting himself be a pushover? Does Shinji know how to stand up for himself? Will the next Angel be the last? Stay tuned to see that and lots of fanservice
I can actually answer that last one, hell no. Find out the answers to the rest or none of these questions in the next thrilling chapter of LFLS "So you think you can dance?"
Review and the next chapter will come out faster also follow and favorite, this is free entertainment my man at least let me get some dopamine out of it.
See ya on the next one.
