So when an angel by divine command
With rising tempests shakes a guilty land,
Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past,
Calm and serene he drives the furious blast;
And, pleas'd th' Almighty's orders to perform,
Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm.
- The Campaign, line 287. Written by Joseph Addison in 1704
†
He feels the rain sliding down his hide, and allows himself a pleased chuff as he walks ashore. Storms are as important as their absence, much like life and decay. To have only one without the other is to lose all.
Besides, the rain feels like a part of the sea is accompanying him inland.
The humans had built a wide trail of false stone that snaked across the land like a frozen black river, yet he knows none of their machines have tread it since the sundering of the ice. He snarls- even when they no longer had use of something, they would let it taint the world. He makes sure to stick to the trail as he walks inland, crushing it beneath his feet and leaving the grassland be.
It is no challenge to find what brought his attention in the first place- he simply needs to smell for the foul fumes of the human machines, listen for the felling of forest. Soon his eyes find his target- a swath of flat land where there should be jungle, even and neatly shaped in the way humans insist on molding the world into.
Their bright yellow machines mill about, scores of them. Some assault the forest itself, bringing down trees older than their operators' families, while others strip the trunks of their branches, and more still stack the carcasses in great piles.
His lips pull back, his fangs bared. Not for much longer.
His approach goes unnoticed. The night and the storm do well to hide one even as great as he- when they soon realize that Death has come for them, it will be too late to flee his wrath.
Something stays his feet. He stands a dozen paces from the humans and their machines, yet he does not take another step. Her memory plies for mercy. The men are not important, he knew she would say. Without the machines they are harmless.
He closes his eyes. Then, when he opens them again, he inhales deeply and roars.
At once he sees the tiny figures running from him, and he finally continues forward. He brings a foot down on the nearest machine, metal flattening and shattering against his inviolable scales. A swing of his tail sweeps away half a dozen others, their bent carcasses ploughing the earth. He works swiftly, trampling the abandoned machines underfoot.
He hears one behind him, and turns to see it moving away from him, a feeble flight. He snarls again, and in three strides he takes it in his hand. Faintly he can hear the screaming of the occupant, before he squeezes and it is cut short.
He had already given one small mercy; he would not give another.
The crumpled machine falls from his relaxed hand, and slowly he sweeps the land with his burning gaze, searching for more. There are none. With a final chuff he turns and begins his march to the sea.
It is then that he becomes aware of it. Not a sound, or a smell, but instead an indescribable feeling of something being out of place. He had felt it many times before, with all sorts of causes, yet he knew that only one manner of creature would trigger it now. A different sort of storm awaited him.
He quickens his pace, the water greeting him as he leaps forward and plunges into the waves. Immediately he makes for one of the channels in the deep rock, tail undulating as he swims with great speed. It would be some time before he arrives, likely not soon enough.
Yet he worries not. He knows the other will either triumph, or hold the line.
Still sitting upright at her desk, Rei opened her eyes, and reached inside her blouse pocket for her phone. There were only two numbers in her contact list, and she selected the Commander's as she sent him a high-priority text.
Stashing away her phone, she swept the classroom, searching for her fellow pilots. Neither of them seemed to be in the classroom at the moment- a glance at the clock told her it was lunchtime. Horaki and Suzuhara were sitting together, chatting quietly as they ate their bento, and she quickly intuited that they were the ones most likely to know Ikari and Sohryu's whereabouts.
Standing up from her desk abruptly, she made a beeline for the two. Horaki took notice first and looked up, slight concern clinging to her as Rei came to a stop only a few inches away.
"Oh, ah, hi Ayanami," she said. "How can I help?"
"Where are classmates Sohryu and Ikari?" Rei asked, bluntly.
"Shin-man's probably on the roof," Suzuhara said. "He likes to mope up there."
"I think Asuka said she was going to eat her lunch up there as well," added Horaki. She had a sudden glint to her eyes. "Wait. Oh, do you think-"
Suzuhara laughed, mouth full. "What, those two?"
"It's not that funny," Horaki retorted. "And manners, please."
Rei bowed her head slightly. "I will look up there. Thank you."
"Wait, does this mean there's-"
"I cannot tell you." With that she hurried out of the classroom. Behind her, she could sense the growing realization in the two of them.
"Oh shit," Suzuhara said, barely audible.
†
It was one of those days where the world felt still. The sky was a deep and hazy blue, devoid of even the smallest of clouds, and there was no breeze to caress his cheeks or ruffle his hair. Where it not for the incessant buzzing of the cicadas, audible even through his earphones, he could imagine that the world was frozen in a single moment.
Yᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪғᴜʟ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, Sʜɪɴᴊɪ.
He simply nodded, hands clasped behind his head as he laid on his back. There had been a time only weeks ago where the glare of the sun would have turned his skin bright pink, and the hot concrete of the roof would have been too painful to rest on for more than a few minutes, but it felt so long ago now, like it had happened to someone else.
Pᴇᴀᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏ̨ᴜɪᴇᴛ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ. Iғ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴀs ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴛᴏ ʟɪғᴇ, I ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴏ̨ᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ.
"I think you'd find it boring," Shinji said quietly, eyes closed.
I ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ. Hayata sounded mildly insulted.
"You're already bored with my playlist."
Is ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀɴ ᴏғғᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ sᴇʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs?
Shinji half-laughed, half-snorted. "See? You have the entire universe to yourself. You wouldn't want to keep on seeing new worlds and meeting new people?"
Iғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɢᴏɪɴɢ.
"Not like there's much to appreciate," he said, rolling onto his side. "If I were you I'd want to leave."
Hayata didn't reply, and slowly Shinji frowned. Reaching for his SDAT, he hit the power button with a soft click.
"How much longer?" he asked softly.
Iᴛ ɪs ᴀ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴅᴀʏs, ɴᴏᴡ.
He paused for a moment, then rolled onto his back again. "I-"
"You talk to yourself a lot."
His eyes opened wide, and realized Asuka was leaning over to look at him, hands on her hips. He coughed suddenly and sprang to his feet, hurriedly stashing his SDAT away.
"N-no I wasn't," he stammered.
"Are you autistic?"
Shinji blinked. "...What?"
Asuka shrugged. "I had an autistic classmate in college, and sometimes she talked to herself. I figured you were the same way."
"I'm not autistic," he said quickly.
Cᴏɴsɪᴅᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪsᴛ, I ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴜʟᴇ ᴏᴜᴛ ɴᴇᴜʀᴀʟ ᴀᴛʏᴘɪᴄᴀʟɪᴛʏ.
Shinji caught himself before he told Hayata to shut up. Asuka still seemed to take notice, and grinned.
"Don't sweat it, washout. You're still leagues above Wondergirl."
Shinji felt his face turning red. "Um... so you didn't... how much did you..."
"Just something about how much longer before you can leave." She gave a melodramatically helpless gesture. "I guess I can't blame you for feeling useless after all those failed tests."
His relief was quickly replaced by irritation. "Thanks for the concern. Did you come up to check on me?"
Asuka's eye twitched. "What? No, I was just coming up here to escape my adoring fans."
"Sure," he said.
Any further jabs were interrupted by the sound of the stairwell door swinging open. Shinji glanced over, and suddenly became very still. It was Ayanami.
"An Angel is approaching the city," she said simply, and then she was gone.
Asuka wordlessly brushed past him and hurried after the pale girl. Opening the door, she glanced back at him.
"What are you waiting for?"
Then she was gone too. Shinji stared for a moment, then finally began to follow after them. His footsteps echoed down the stairwell as he made for the first floor and ran towards the entrance, swiftly catching up with the others. He made sure to keep away from Ayanami as they walked towards the street.
A pair of black cars were waiting at the curb, Section-II agents standing by the open doors. The seeming leader put a finger to his ear, and Shinji could hear him speaking as he confirmed that the pilots had arrived.
"First and Second Child, you're going in separate cars for security reasons." He then looked to Shinji. "Third, your car will be here shortly."
Asuka cocked her head. "Since when is that a thing?"
"Since the protocol revision," the man said tiredly. "Get in, please."
Asuka looked back at Shinji, then Ayanami quickly hopped into their respective transports, the doors slamming shut behind them. Before Shinji knew it they had sped off. He watched the black cars disappear around a corner, and then looked around expectantly.
"Do you think it got delayed?"
I ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ.
Shinji continued to stand at the curb, hands in his pockets. A few moments later his phone rang, and he pulled it out to see it was Misato. Answering the call, he cleared his throat.
"Miss Misato?"
"Shinji, Asuka just called me and said you got left behind. Is that true?"
"Yeah. They said something about separate cars." Which was seeming less likely by the second.
"Goddamn Section-II just pulling new protocols out of their asses," Misato muttered. She sighed. "Don't wait for a car. Just get to the shelter, and stay safe. I'll talk to you later."
She hung up, and a few seconds later Shinji jumped in his skin as the evacuation alarms began to blare across the city. Behind him, he could hear students yelling and teachers yelling even louder, undoubtedly forming lines as they prepared to seek shelter.
He could join them, he knew. Only two people would have any expectation of him doing otherwise, and he was one of them. He could just hide away with Toji and Kensuke and wait for Asuka or even Godzilla to kill the thing. The boy who could change the world, cowering in a shelter with everyone else.
"I mustn't run away," he whispered.
Sucking in a breath, he crossed the street and started for the center of the city.
I ᴡɪʟʟ ɢɪᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs ᴛᴏ ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ sᴇᴇɴ ʙʏ ᴄᴀᴍᴇʀᴀs, Hayata said helpfully.
"This is just me being careful," Shinji said, forcefully. "I'm... I'm not going to just swoop in like Superman or something. It's just... in case I have to."
I ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅ, Hayata replied, and Shinji knew he meant it completely.
†
"Launch!"
Asuka closed her eyes, and braced herself. The acceleration of the elevator as it ascended had been easy to adjust to- it was just like being in the backseat of the trainer jets again. What wasn't easy to adjust to was the sudden and seemingly random jerking about as the elevator snaked its way to the outskirts of the city, then back to the system of tunnels sandwiched between the armor plates that formed the foundation of Tokyo-3.
She was sure there was some good reason for not having the elevators just go straight up through the Geofront, but in the moment she cursed whoever came up with it.
The bright summer sun assailed her eyes as the last blast doors opened and she shot up to the surface. Tokyo-3 had already sunken into the ground, the bustling metropolis stripped away and leaving behind only the cold citadel that was its true purpose. A weapons cache had risen with her, and instinctively she reached inside for a maser rifle before entering a crouch.
"The Angel was detected flying over the Pacific Ocean at half the speed of sound," Misato said through the speakers, unseen. "It'll be here any second."
"Understood," Asuka said, voice even.
A marker appeared in the lenses covering the Eva's eyes to indicate the Angel's path of approach, and so she hefted her maser rifle and took aim, her finger resting on the trigger. Already she could hear the damn thing, a strange cry echoing over the mountains every few seconds, like some grand choir singing the same note over and over.
Then, suddenly, it was over the mountains, its shadow falling over the city like a thundercloud.
Even at a quick glance Asuka could tell it was larger than any kaiju, but that was not what had shocked her the most. The thing didn't even look alive- it was nothing more than a giant octahedron, shining like a strangely cut sapphire the size of a city block. The sheer perfection of the thing made it seem unreal, an unfinished work of God.
It only stayed her trigger finger a split-second, however.
Her vision automatically darkened as she fired the maser, and the Angel's AT-field blossomed at the same time as it blocked the beam. The great blue octahedron came to a sudden stop over Lake Ashi, completely still. An alert suddenly pinged through the speakers, followed shortly thereafter by Misato's panicked voice.
"Asuka, take cover! High energy readings!"
She stopped firing and moved to the side, but was too late. The Angel shattered, its perfection undone in a heartbeat, and just as swiftly its shards reunited to form a quartet of sharp wedges aimed directly at her. She caught sight of the core only for the briefest of moments before there was a flash of light as the Angel screamed, and her chest caught fire.
Instinctively she closed her eyes and pushed her hands out, as if to bat the beam away, but of course that only meant her hands were burning as well. She finally regained some of her senses and extended her AT-field, but it only bought her a moment's reprieve before the Angel's attack punched through it. She ran to the side, hoping to throw off the searing heat if only for a moment, but the Angel's aim was as perfect as the rest of it.
The heat stopped abruptly, and Asuka opened her eyes to see that a blast shield had shot up out of the ground in front of her, the beam washing over it like a flurry of purple sparks. She took the moment to assess the damage. A glance down revealed that a shallow crater had been blasted into the Eva's chest armor, the metal plating underneath glowing a dull red, and she saw that her umbilical had also melted, leaving her on reserve power.
"Asuka, do you read?" Misato called, her voice straining to stay even.
She tried to speak, only to cough instead, and she forced herself to suck in a deep breath of hot LCL.
"I read you," she said weakly.
"Evac ASAP," Misato said. "We're directing you to the nearest emergency elevator shaft."
"I-" Asuka coughed again. "I just need to-"
"Y-We can't do anything against that beam." Misato's voice was raised. "We need to make a new attack plan."
Asuka grit her teeth. "Understood."
More blast shields raised themselves in a roughly diagonal pattern, leading towards the elevator shaft in question, and Asuka sucked in a breath as she prepared to make a run for it. Glancing to the side, she saw that the blast shield currently protecting her was already beginning to buckle, and she consciously began to extend her AT-field.
Then, suddenly, the beam stopped. Asuka didn't bother trying to learn the reason why, and took the opportunity to take off in a sprint towards the elevator shaft, moving with a speed that belied the mass of the Eva. She made it to the next blast shield before the Angel screamed again, and the slab of metal and ceramic to her side vanished like ice before a flamethrower as an even more powerful beam struck her dead-on.
This time, she joined the Angel in screaming.
She took two staggering steps towards the escape shaft before she fell to her hands and knees, the ground buckling beneath her mass, and then she tried to crawl despite feeling as though her skin was sloughing off. Her vision swam, made only worse by the bubbles forming in the LCL, and though she could hear Misato's voice over the crackling speakers, she couldn't parse what she was saying. Something important, probably.
She tried to tell herself to keep on crawling forward, that she wouldn't let it end like this. Yet instead her mind kept on drifting through the pain and towards something else. Someone else.
"Mama," she slurred, her breath shuddering.
Then there was a sound, a strange echoing chime, and though she had only heard it once before she recognized it immediately.
The burning pressure abated all at once, and she sucked in a gasp of relief, involuntarily curling into the fetal position as she fell to her side. Even through the growing haze in her vision she could see the giant of silver and red that had placed itself between her and the Angel, arms crossed to block the beam.
"You," she said, before she lost the struggle to stay awake.
†
It must've only been a few seconds at most, and already Shinji felt like his arms were becoming a giant blister.
The Angel had changed shape again, now a segmented cross the height of a skyscraper that spat blinding violet death his way. Just the pressure alone was bruising, and he could feel his feet skid back from the force of the energy beam. He wanted to scream, to escape the pain and the danger. Then he looked back at the charred form of Unit-01, and imagined the tiny life inside that now depended on him.
I mustn't run away.
Tʜᴇ ʙᴇᴀᴍ ɪs ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏʀᴇ, Hayata said. Wʜᴀᴛ I ᴀᴍ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛᴏ sᴜɢɢᴇsᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ʜᴜʀᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ-
I think I already know what you're about to say, Shinji interjected.
He adjusted his posture, his arms forming a cross that matched the Angel's own, even as the edge of his right hand took the brunt of the attack. Then, he sucked in a breath, and willed what he wanted to do into existence, just like how Hayata had instructed him last time.
Immediately the Angel's beam was pushed back by his own, the point of contact a maelstrom of blinding light as glittering blue-white sparks clashed with a solid violet ray. Swiftly he overpowered the otherworldly creature's attack, forcing it closer and closer to its point of origin, until-
The Angel suddenly collapsed back into its original form with a metallic clang and hid its core from sight, right as his beam punched through its AT-field. The blue crystal flesh of the creature cracked and discolored as it was skewered all the way through, and Shinji promptly uncrossed his arms, holding his breath as he waited to see if that had been enough.
The Angel howled, its body erupting into a mess of fractals, then promptly exposed its unharmed core as it prepared to fire again. Shinji moved to cross his arms again, but this time he was beaten to the punch as a veritable wave of energy slammed into him. He fought down a pained yelp as searing heat enveloped almost completely.
Exᴛᴇɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀɴᴅs ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇ ᴀ ᴡᴀʟʟ!
Shinji did as told, and suddenly a glowing orange wall manifested into existence, blocking the Angel's beam. Already he could tell the barrier was beginning to falter, the edges becoming irregular as segment after segment dissipated. A chime caught his attention, and he realized his color timer was already starting to blink.
How is it still alive? I thought we hit the core!
Wᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ғᴏᴄᴜs ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ. Rɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ ᴡᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴅ Asᴜᴋᴀ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ʜᴇʀᴇ.
The ground beneath his feet tilted with a series of explosions, and Shinji looked down to see that NERV was ahead of him on that. It looked like they'd had explosive bolts installed into the supports of the city's blocks so they could drop them straight down into the Geofront in case of emergencies like this one, but it seemed one of them hadn't gone off properly.
Keenly aware of the failing barrier, he looked around frantically until he found the undetonated bolt. Then raising his foot, he brought it down, shearing the support in half, just as the Angel's beam finally overpowered his defenses.
Freefall.
Darkness briefly enveloped him as he descended through the armored layers of the city. It seemed he was more aerodynamic than the Eva, considering it began to drift up past him as they fell, and he reached out to grab it by the shoulder, holding it against him in a bridal carry. The Geofront seemed to open up beneath them as they cleared the city, the vast cavern still dwarfing him even now.
They were falling too fast- even if he was strong enough to be okay, something told him Asuka wouldn't. The
Tʜᴇɴ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ғᴀʟʟ, said Hayata, as if it was simple.
Shinji closed his eyes, waiting for the impact even as he tried following his companion's advice. After few seconds passed and he still hadn't hit the ground, he opened them again, and realized he was slowly drifting down, a snowflake's gentle descent.
How-
Aʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇᴅ?
The dry earth still parted against Shijji's feet like mud as he landed, and carefully he laid down Unit-01 on the ground. Dread pooled in his stomach as he gazed upon the Eva. The entire front half of the machine was a mass of fused metal, steam escaping the cracks in the outer layers as it cooled. Parts of the armor had been boiled away, revealing the blackened flesh underneath, and he fought down a retch.
He knelt down, a hand on the nape of the Eva's neck.
Asuka...
Sʜᴇ ɪs ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ, Sʜɪɴᴊɪ.
He felt his shoulders relax a little. Is she going to be okay?
I ᴀᴍ sᴜʀᴇ ᴏғ ɪᴛ, Hayata said.
It was then that Shinji realized the platforms that had emerged from the ground nearby, revealing a swarm of recovery vehicles. One of them raced towards Unit-01, seemingly unafraid of the hundred meter tall Angel-killing giant looming over them. The passenger door opened, and even when she seemed so small Shinji could immediately recognize Misato as she stepped out. She stared right at him, an intent look on her face.
I'm surprised they didn't roll out tanks.
I ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sɪxᴛʏ-sɪx ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇs ᴏғ ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ᴍᴀsᴇʀ ᴀʀᴛɪʟʟᴇʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ SAMs ᴘᴏɪɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴜs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ.
Oh. Shinji looked down at his now-blinking color timer. How do we get out of this one?
Hayata sounded awfully amused as he replied, I ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪs.
†
"I'll have the ass of anyone who opens fire on Ultraman unprompted," Misato barked into her phone, still looking up. "Pilot recovery is our number one priority. Unless he is literally crossing his arms, the DNP is still in effect."
"Understood," Hyuuga said.
A hush suddenly fell across the Geofront as Ultraman suddenly stood up. Compared to Unit-01, the mysterious humanoid fared much better from its fight with the Angel. The metallic-looking skin around its forearms looked tarnished, like steel exposed to flame, and the red patterns on its body looked faded, but if it was actually injured it wasn't showing it.
Its gaze fell to her, and Misato's breath hitched as she realized she was making eye contact with the single greatest enigma on the planet. Then Ultraman craned its head skyward.
Then, with a slight crouch, it went up.
A gust of wind blew her hair back, and Misato actually let out an unbecoming gasp as she watched Ultraman take off like a rocket, moving too swiftly and steadily to be a mere leap. A cone of vapor formed around it as it rose higher and higher into the false sky of the Geofront, and yet there was no crack of a sonic boom, only a faint whine like the world's softest jet engine as it disappeared into the shaft it had fallen through.
"He can fly," she breathed.
All around her, the recovery teams leapt into in action, some moving to attach towing cables to Unit-01, others extracting the entry plug from its neck. She had to give credit to the professionalism of NERV's technicians, considering how they were able to mostly ignore the defilement of physics they had just witnessed.
"Captain?" Hyuuga said. "We can't find Ultraman. It's like he just vanished."
"We can worry about Ultraman later," Misato said, shaking her head as if to brush away the distraction. "What is the Angel's status?"
"It's stopped over the center of the city and it appears to be drilling through the armor," Hyuuga replied.
Misato looked back to the entry plug, and saw that they had already gotten Asuka out. She hurried over, and let out a sigh of relief as she saw the rise and fall of her ward's chest as she was laid on a stretcher. She was bright pink, but based on the chatter from the medical team it seemed that was the worst of it.
All thanks to Ultraman, she thought.
"How long until it's through?" she asked.
"Twelve hours, give or take," came the reply.
"Alrighty then," she said. "We have twelve hours to figure out how to beat this thing."
†
The only shelters that weren't under a dozen meters of armor plating at the moment were the pre-Impact ones meant for kaiju attacks, scattered across the countryside that ringed the lake. He found that they were dingier than the ones in the city proper, but he didn't care very much about that, not when they still had well-stocked first aid kits.
Shinji winced as he dipped his forearms into the sink, then relaxed as the cool water soothed the already throbbing ache. A glance down confirmed that the skin of his arms and hands had turned a bright red, like boiled lobster, completed with a mottled look thanks to the blisters. His left wrist in particular had one big one that had already broken, and he groaned.
Yᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ғᴜʟʟʏ ʜᴇᴀʟᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇs, Sʜɪɴᴊɪ.
"Well, it hurts right now," he muttered in reply.
He took his hands out of the water and grabbed a bandage roll. Carefully he wrapped the sterile cloth loosely around one forearm, then the other. Already the pain was starting to ease, but he still took some acetaminophen from the kit and swallowed it dry. He was sure to put the first aid box back in its proper place before he stepped outside again.
Lake Ashi stretched out before him, the shore only a minute or so's walk from the shelter. Tokyo-3 lay beyond the lake in the distance, a featureless plain of metal, and towering above it like a glass mountain was the Angel. Something narrow seemed to be extruding from its base, and as Shinji strained his eyes he saw that it was a drill of some kind.
Iᴛ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʙᴏʀɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴛʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ Gᴇᴏғʀᴏɴᴛ.
"But why a drill?" Shinji's brow furrowed. "Couldn't it just blast its way through?"
Tʜɪs ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀ sɪɢɴ ᴏғ ɪᴛs ʟɪᴍɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴs, Hayata said. Dɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴏᴛɪᴄᴇ ᴇᴀʀʟɪᴇʀ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ ɪɴ ɪᴛs ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋs?
Shinji frowned. "The... core was visible?"
Yᴇs. Iᴛ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ᴄʜᴀɴɴᴇʟ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋs ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ɪᴛs ʙᴏᴅʏ- ɪᴛ ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴇxᴘᴏsᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ғɪʀᴇ.
"But it still has an AT-field, right? That should be enough to keep it safe."
Nᴏᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴄʜᴀɴɴᴇʟɪɴɢ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ɪɴᴛᴏ ɪᴛs ʙᴇᴀᴍ.
The realization hit him. "It can't protect itself and shoot at the same time."
Mᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ-ᴘʀᴏɴɢᴇᴅ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴠᴀɴᴏ̨ᴜɪsʜ ᴛʜɪs ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ.
There was a whirring above his head, and he looked up to see a pair of large drones flying overhead, lazily flitting over to the Angel. One began to fly in a circle, as if pacing around, while the other continued its approach. The Angel didn't seem to respond, until it suddenly did, the two colossal pyramids of its body -each bigger than the ones in Egypt- briefly separating to allow its core to vaporize the drone with a quick shot.
The surviving drone ceased its circling, and promptly opened its bay doors to fire a particularly large missile. The Angel reacted again, its body flattening into a squat hexagonal brick, and its AT-field rang like a bell as the missile detonated uselessly against it. Then just like before, it shifted to expose its core, and the drone was promptly unmade with a split-second flash of its beam.
Iᴛ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs NERV ɪs ᴘʀᴏʙɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ Aɴɢᴇʟ's ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛᴏʟᴇʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴍɪᴛs. Tʜᴇʏ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ᴀʀʀɪᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ ᴀs ᴡᴇ ᴅɪᴅ.
"Good," Shinji said. "They can handle it then. Or maybe Godzilla will just show up and kill it again. He seems pretty good at that."
Sʜɪɴᴊɪ, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ɴᴏ ɢᴜᴀʀᴀɴᴛᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ sᴛʀᴀᴛᴀɢᴇᴍ NERV ᴅᴇᴠɪsᴇs ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ sᴜғғɪᴄɪᴇɴᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ɪs ᴀʟsᴏ ᴘᴏssɪʙʟᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ Aɴɢᴇʟ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ғɪɴɪsʜ ʙᴏʀɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ Gᴇᴏғʀᴏɴᴛ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ Gᴏᴅᴢɪʟʟᴀ ᴀʀʀɪᴠᴇs.
He looked down at his bandaged arms, then to the Angel and its unbroken perfection. "And there's no guarantee we'll survive fighting that thing again."
Tʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ.
Shinji frowned and averted his eyes from the Angel, his hand finding his temple again. His fingertips ghosted the patch of unmarred skin that had been a jagged wound, before pressing into it hard enough to hurt.
"Maybe, before..." he paused, then continued. "Maybe before we do anything, we should check and see how Asuka is doing. And maybe while we're there..."
I ᴄᴏɴᴄᴜʀ. Hayata's tone was as flat as ever, and yet Shinji swore he sounded proud.
He looked back to the city that had retracted into the ground like a frightened turtle into its shell. "The question is- how are we going to get in?"
Oʜ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴀsʏ ᴘᴀʀᴛ, Hayata replied. Tʜᴇʏ ᴀɪᴍᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴡᴇᴀᴘᴏɴs ᴀᴛ Uʟᴛʀᴀᴍᴀɴ. Tʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴀᴛ ᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇ ᴀᴛ Sʜɪɴᴊɪ Iᴋᴀʀɪ.
†
"Notice how the Angel does not fire its beam until after it has deflected the missile," Ritsuko said, gesturing to the paused frame with a pen. "S² organs might have infinite energy reserves, but their power has a set limit. When its beam is active its AT-field must be too weak to protect itself from attack."
Misato leaned back in her chair. "So it can't shoot while its under attack."
"Doesn't seem too big of a problem for it," Aoba said, slouching forward. "It can alternate in millisecond time scales."
"But if we assaulted it on multiple fronts it still wouldn't be fast enough," Maya piped up.
"There's still the problem of firepower," Hyuuga said. "Even a weakened AT-field is more powerful than anything conventional weaponry can punch through, and the Eva would have to be within its automatic kill radius to erode it."
"Then we'll go unconventional," Misato declared. "Rits, considering what we've seen of this thing in action, what kind of power would we need to punch through the field?"
Ritsuko ran a hand through her hair, revealing the dark roots. "I'll have to check with the MAGI, but I'd say we'd need something in the high-gigawatt range to reliably penetrate the Angel's AT-field without use of an Eva."
"That rules out anything short of an N2 mine," Aoba said.
"Or Ultraman," Maya said quietly.
All eyes went to her, and she squirmed in her seat. "I mean... we already know Ultraman's beam can easily penetrate AT-fields. Maybe we could try some way of signaling him, or..."
Misato shook her head. "No. Even if we could somehow contact it and miraculously convince it to go with whatever plan we have, we can't rely on Ultraman. This organization was built on the idea that humanity could protect its future with its own hands, and if we hand the reins to some potential alien the first time we hit a major obstacle, then what was this all for?"
She looked down at the image of the Angel, then back to Ritsuko.
"Do we still have the positron rifle?"
"The test model is in storage," the scientist replied. "It should still be operable, but I don't know where you're getting with this. We just don't have enough power to actually fire it."
"Oh, we do." Misato smiled and spread her arms wide. "We do."
"The Geofront has access to about fifty gigawatts," Hyuuga said. "But even then-"
"I don't mean just the Geofront," Misato said, standing up. "I mean Japan. The entire country. Every powerplant, every watt. Japan's electrical infrastructure has learned how to reconnect and change routes in no time thanks to fifty years of kaiju attacks."
"That's..." Ritsuko looked like she wanted to call the idea insane, or the product of utter idiocy. Instead, she rubbed her chin. "That could actually work. The positron rifle was designed for a maximum output of two hundred gigawatts, which was why it was shelved, but with the entire country's energy... yes. We could do it."
"We could have the MAGI plan the required shifts in energy infrastructure," Maya said helpfully.
"There's still the problem of mounting a gun like that," Aoba said.
"Who said anything about mounting it?" Misato replied. "We'll have Unit-01 operate the rifle. It doesn't need to be combat effective to act as a sniper, and Asuka should be out of the infirmary by then. We'll even get Unit-00 out of storage and have Rei cover her."
"Now that is asking a lot," Ritsuko said. "We're not even sure if Rei can pilot it without another incident."
"Well, looks like it's the right time to find out," Misato said. "We have eleven hours to hammer out the details."
"Ten, actually." Ritsuko didn't seem to acknowledge the look Misato gave her. "Satellite footage showed Godzilla leaving the Brazilian coast the same time the Angel appeared."
Why didn't I get that? Misato thought.
"-given what we know of the subterranean channel network and his swimming speed, he should arrive here an hour before the Angel breaches into the Geofront."
The room fell silent, and Misato wryly noticed that no one was suggesting they let Godzilla handle the problem. No surprise there- even if he could actually kill the Angel on his own (which was admittedly almost a certainty), he'd destroy so much of Tokyo-3 in the process the next one could just saunter on in without a problem. As far as options went, he was just barely below the 'saturation N² bombing' strategy.
Unless...
She crossed her arms and managed a laugh. "You know what? I think we can work with that."
"How?" asked several people at once.
"I'll let you know when we reconvene in two hours. In the meantime, we all have a lot of work to do, so let's get to it. Dismissed."
The room began to clear, until only Misato and Ritsuko remained. Two old friends soaked in the silence for a few moments.
"This is certainly a plan," Ritsuko said.
"Would you rather we have the Commander go out with a white flag?" Misato retorted, grinning.
"Sounds almost as crazy."
The smile faded. "I know this is a stretch. This could all fall flat if the damn rifle went kaput in storage, and that's not even the only breaking point. But frankly it's the only one we have."
Ritsuko took out a cigarette and lit it, uncaring for the big 'no smoking' sign right behind her. "At least, the only one we have."
Misato leaned back against the wall and sighed. "I meant what I said earlier. But just between you and me? I'm almost considering trying to ask Ultraman for help."
There was a knock behind her, and she turned to find Shinji standing in the doorway, arms folded behind his back and a nervous look on his face. The boy looked between her and Ritsuko, and cleared his throat.
"S-sorry if I'm not supposed to be here," he began.
Shinji?" Misato stood straight and walked over, resisting the urge to fuss over him. "How did you even get here?"
"My ride arrived right after the call," he replied, eyes averted. He finally managed to look at her. "I... um... how's Asuka?"
Misato let out a short laugh before she caught herself. "Someone sounds a little worried, huh?"
Shinji blushed. "Well..."
"I get it." Misato winked, and his blush only deepened. "She's in the infirmary on the second floor. You can go visit her if you want."
The boy nodded. "Thanks, Miss Misato."
He hurried out of the room, and only then did she notice he had bandages around his forearms. Probably fell over while evacuating from the school, and in typical Shinji fashion put way too many bandages over the scrapes.
She looked over to Ritsuko. "Remember your first crush?"
The scientist didn't reply, her lips set in a thin line as she watched Shinji go, cigarette screwed firmly in the corner of her mouth and making her look like an Old West sheriff about to duel. Then she blinked and looked over.
"Oh, I do." She took a puff. "He was a few years above me."
"Well, at least loverboy means we might have a backup pilot, if we can somehow fix the sync issue before the operation."
Ritsuko had an oddly distant look to her face. "It's always good to have a backup."
†
A quick LCL bath had taken care of the sunburn- well, technically it was epidermal cell apoptosis induced by sympathetic feedback as the Eva got broiled, but it looked and felt like a sunburn, so a sunburn she'd call it. What the treatment hadn't taken care of was the itching and peeling. She was still finding uncomfortably soft skin flakes in her hair even after an intensive brushing session, and it took every ounce of willpower to not start scratching her everything.
She studied her reflection in the hand mirror they'd given her, eyes narrowed as she looked for lingering patches of dead skin, or worse, wrinkles. Thankfully her face was as youthful and undamaged as it had been when she'd entered the plug just an hour or so ago.
She almost hadn't made it out of the plug. Even with the Eva's advanced life support the LCL temperature in the plug had peaked at fifty degrees. Just another minute or so and her brain would have quite literally ceased functioning.
And yet she was alive. She closed her eyes, and saw the giant of silver standing between the boiling fury of the Angel's beam and her. Again it had come out of nowhere to swoop in and rob her of what she had earned, and the very thought made her grit her teeth.
There was something else, however. In the moment before she lost consciousness, she swore she saw its head turn back to look at her from the corner of its eye. And despite the fact that its face was as alien and unmoving as always, she couldn't shake the feeling that it had been concerned for her.
She snapped the mirror shut and sighed. Lying back on the bed, she opened her eyes and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling.
Then there was a knock at the door, and she scowled.
"I'm not interested in a lecture about tactics right now, Misato," she said.
"Sorry," came the soft reply through the door, in a very distinctly non-Misato voice.
She sat up. Shinji?
She hopped off the bed and half-ran to the door, opening it with a push of a button. The boy had already been in the process of walking away when he looked back at her and paused, an uncertain look on his delicate face.
"Why are you here, washout?" she asked. "Actually, first, how are you here?"
He quickly put his arms behind his back. "I got picked up late. And then Misato told me about, um, the Angel and, and I decided to see if you..."
With how face his red had turned, one would've thought he'd been the one who'd gotten barbecued by an otherworldly horror. She had to admit, it was almost cute seeing him all worried.
The fuck that come from?
She frowned and craned her head up slightly. "I'm obviously fine, moron."
His face fell. "I guess so."
"But thanks," she quickly added. "It seems someone actually has the brains to check up on humanity's last hope."
Some odd expression briefly flickered across his face before he gave a small smile. She stepped out of the doorway and started walking down the hall towards the common area.
"C'mon, I'm getting a soda," she said, not bothering to look back. "Gotta recover my fluids after all."
Shinji followed after her, at first staying a few steps behind, then finally walking at her side. He looked from side to side in an oddly conspiratorial manner.
"Miss Misato is thinking about having you snipe the Angel with something called a positron rifle," he said in a low voice.
"Makes sense," Asuka said. "Engaging up close is a no go with that beam."
They pushed through the swinging doors of the common area and made for the vending machine. Asuka swiped her ID card and selected an orange soda. Grabbing the can from the slot, she pressed it against her cheek, groaning as the cold metal soothed her itching.
"But it still sounds dangerous," Shinji said.
"No shit," she said, moving the can to her other cheek as she looked over. "That's just part of the whole fighting Angels parcel, washout."
Shinji leaned against the wall, arms still behind his back. "So many things could go wrong, Asuka. Irradiation-induced positron emissions could fail, or flux from the outside power source could curve the shot..."
He stared at the floor, and Asuka arched an eyebrow as he began to rub his temple with a heavily bandaged hand.
"Do you wish you didn't have to do it?" he asked, still not looking at her. "Pilot the Eva, I mean. Do you wish someone else could fight the Angel so you didn't have to?"
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Like Ultraman?"
He abruptly put his hand away and looked at her with a panicked look. "I-"
"What, do you think I'm not up for the job?"
"You're the only one who is," he said quickly. "But... do you wish you weren't?"
"Oh," she said, her soft tone surprising even herself.
She looked down at her soda for a moment, then pulled the tab. "Washout, you ever read about the First World War?"
Shinji blinked. "Um, I... not really? What does-"
"I read a psych paper made right around the end of the war about what they called shell shock. PTSD. You know, because I went to college. The paper was looking at rates of shell shock among different kinds of soldiers, and they found that even though pilots had some of the highest fatality rates, they also were the least likely to get shell shock. Know why?"
Shinji gave a small shrug.
"Because win or lose, live or die, it was all in their hands. They could attack, they could retreat, they could defend their buddies or even spare the enemy. They controlled their fate, at least more than the others. Meanwhile the men in the trenches just helpless put up with artillery and mud and waited around to die, and it drove them crazy."
She took a long pull of her soda, then pointed a finger at him. "Think about it. When the Angel comes, you're already in danger anyway. Would you rather be hiding in a shelter with everyone else, or would you rather be able to do something about it?"
Shinji murmured something to himself, and she frowned.
"What was that? Something about a storm?"
"Nothing," he said. He managed a small smile. "I think I'm feeling a little better about everything."
She snorted. "Don't see how. You're packed into the shelters with everyone else, washout."
"I guess," he said. "But at least you're out there keeping us safe, Asuka."
"Damn right." She managed to put up a broad grin as she walked past him. "I'll see you around after I kick this thing's butt. Maybe you'll cook me a proper breakfast after I save the human race."
He made a small laugh. "I guess it's only fair."
She pushed through the swinging doors, and immediately the grin faded. A chill ran up her spine as she again recalled being in the Angel's beam, the feeling of white-hot metal searing into skin that was not hers. If it hadn't been for Ultraman...
It wasn't like that silver idiot had fared any better. At least now there seemed to be a proper way of taking the Angel out.
She ruminated on what Shinji had said earlier, about a 'positron rifle'. Since when could he rattle off technical concerns about a weapon she didn't even know existed? If Misato had told him to relay the info, she wouldn't have bothered telling him all of that. Had he been snooping on conversations he wasn't supposed to hear? Then there were the bandages around his arms to consider as well...
She turned back and pushed through the doors. "Hey washout-"
Shinji was nowhere to be seen, the utter stillness of the room oddly unnerving. She shook her head, more out of disbelief than anything else, and decided to head back.
"Unbelievable."
†
She sat in complete darkness, her grip on the yokes relaxed as she waited. The LCL circulating through the plug's life support was cool as it washed over her skin, and the sensation was spuriously familiar. She had never seen the ocean with her own eyes, yet she knew what it felt like to swim in its deepest trenches, where no light could reach.
I am not I, she admonished herself.
The silence was broken as the radio crackled to life. "Rei, this is Dr. Akagi. We will be starting the synchronization process shortly."
"Understood," she said.
The plug remained in darkness, yet colors exploded into her vision, an asymmetric kaleidoscope in hues that could not exist anywhere else but within the synaptic connections of the brain. Faintly, distantly, she felt the body of the Evangelion- unyielding bakelite constricting every movement, armor plating held in place against raw skin by oversized screws that compromised the integrity of bones.
First and foremost, however, were not sensations of the body, but rather of that which could not ever be properly captured in words. Weightless yet unfathomably heavy, desperately clawing from the prison of the giant's flesh towards her, seeking not a connection but a completion that could never be allowed.
This was where failure had occurred before, as the overwhelming sensation of feeling through another's flesh forced her to reject the Eva to avoid disaster, and in turn it had violently rejected her. It could not be allowed to happen again. The possibility of again suffering serious injury or even physical destruction was of no consequence- she could be replaced.
Failing the Commander was what was truly unacceptable.
The Eva reached to her, and she retreated reflexively, only to linger. The sensation of the bound giant's body was less overwhelming than before, and quickly she deduced the reason. Compared to him, a mere Evangelion was simple to adjust to.
She reached out to Unit-00, stopping at what seemed a reasonable buffer, and at once the violent colors dispersed, replaced with a rather flat view of the cavernous testing chamber.
"Thirty percent," Dr. Akagi announced. "That will do. Rei, we shall begin extricating Unit-00 from the bakelite."
"Understood."
A greenish liquid began to rain from the ceiling, sprayed from a dozen automated hoses. She could feel it patter against the armor of the Evangelion, and wherever it made contact with the bakelite the hard red plastic would begin to dissolve into pink foam. She let the solvent work for a minute or so before she began to move, limbs that hadn't moved in weeks stretching and straining as they broke free.
Shakily, she took a step forward, melted bakelite sloshing about her ankles, then another. Experimentally she raised a hand in front of her face, clenching and unclenching an armored fist that could completely envelop a car. The limb felt numb, like anesthetized skin, the movement somewhat unwieldy, yet it was functional.
"It appears I am satisfactorily ambulatory, Dr. Akagi," she said.
"Looking good on our end as well. We'll direct you to the elevators shortly so you can assist in preparing the operation on the surface, but first I need to inform Misato that we have another functional Evangelion."
"Understood."
The radio went quiet, and so Rei briefly ruminated on her orders. It seemed they would require to delicately move the heavy equipment into place for the sniping operation. She had already been instructed as to her own role in the mission, and though they did not inform her of the risks, simple logic dictated that she had the highest chance of fatality.
It had no bearing on her, for she could be replaced, and that which was replaceable did not truly exist.
"Rei, are you alright? Sync just dropped to fifteen percent for a moment."
"There is no issue," she replied.
That did not seem entirely accurate. As to why, she could not find a proper explanation.
†
The night was quieter than usual.
Emiko stood on the stoop, watching the horizon. A hush had fallen over her already lonesome piece of the world, a silence that bade man and animal alike to slip into it. No birds called out into the night, no distant trains blared their horns, no dogs howled. She knew not the cause, yet she felt that heavy quiet on her own shoulders, and so she dared not make a sound.
Her porch light died right when the alert on her phone had told her it would. From atop the hill she could see much of the countryside, streetlights and homesteads like white-hot sparks captured in velvet, and the invisible borders that marked the power grids were revealed as they shut off in sections. In a matter of moments the land had turned dark, the moonlit sky now the sole source of light.
No, not quite. A splotch of light remained on the horizon, towards the south. Tokyo-3, she realized. To her old eyes, the light that rose from the distant citadel city seemed a pillar of the heavens meant to ward off evil, and she found herself wondering what sort of terror would make it a necessity.
How many others were in her shoes at this moment? How many people, young and old, man and woman, kind and cruel and brilliant and dull; how many of them were now staring at that pale light?
Her thoughts returned to the letter. For Ayanami, should she ever come to you.
She had no clue who Ayanami was. Yet as she stared at the flickering candle in the dark that was Tokyo-3, she felt she had some idea.
†
"All power stations report successful rerouting," Hyuuga announced. "We're 3.2% over the required power for the positron rifle."
"Good," Misato said, stooped slightly as to not bump her head on the roof of the truck. "What are our observation planes reporting?"
"Alpha squadron are reporting no changes in the Angel," Aoba replied. "It is maintaining its drilling, with an estimated hour and thirteen minutes remaining."
That's good. Either it doesn't realize what's going on or it doesn't care.
She cleared her throat. "And Beta squadron?"
Maya's voice quavered for just a moment. "No observed change in speed or heading. Operation start is still 23:12 hours."
Misato nodded. "Any updates on the Evas?"
"Unit-01 and Unit-00 are still on standby with proper outfitting," Aoba said.
"Pilots have reported to their ready rooms as well, Major," Hyuuga added.
Misato looked around the cramped command vehicle, studying the personnel hard at work, their faces dark in the red light that buzzed from thin strips. Now, it seemed, came the worst part of it- the wait.
Wordlessly she opened the hatch and stepped outside. Looking back behind her, head craned up, she could see the dark silhouette of the hill they had made into the world's greatest crow's nest. The tops of both Evas' heads were visible, and trailing down the slope was a number of truly impressive cables. Following them down, she saw them split like a river, flowing in all directions and flocked by what had to be half the country's electricians.
There was a non-zero chance the cables would melt from the power being pumped through them, or that the untested positron rifle would explode. Someone could probably write a book about all the ways the plan go could wrong, actually. Yet she had confidence, in her pilots, her crew, her species. They had split the atom and strode the planets; they had slain monsters and survived the end of the world.
And now they were relying on something outside of their control to win. She gripped her cross tightly, staring at the sky.
"Mahara Mosura," she whispered.
She felt silly saying it. Her parents' goddess was dead, along with all but one of its kind and half the human race. No, the savior the world should be plying for safety was a hormonal teenager. Not a moth or radioactive monstrosity from the Permian. Not a giant silver humanoid.
And yet she still held her cross, and prayed quietly, with only the stars and moon as her audience.
†
I can't believe I wanted to do this, Shinji thought. If I get caught-
Wᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴏᴛ.
He forced himself to breathe deeply through his nose, then continued. The gangplank felt thin under his feet, like a wrong step would send him crashing through the sheet metal and down the mountainside. The towering forms of Unit-01 and Unit-00 on each side of the platform like futuristic gargoyles, the glare of the spotlights casting their monstrous faces in stark relief, didn't help the unease.
Though, he realized numbly, just a few hours ago he'd been taller than either of them.
Asuka was sitting on the edge of the gangplank, legs dangling over the edge, and the sight of her made him forget his worries. Largely because new ones suddenly replaced them. Moving only a few steps behind her, he cleared his throat.
She whipped her head back to look at him, her hair a swirl of flame. "What are you doing here?"
He stepped closer and awkwardly held out a water bottle. "Doctor Akagi sent me to make sure you had enough fluids."
"I could probably drink this lake dry and she'd be pestering me about it," she grumbled, taking the bottle.
He watched her uncap it and take a pull. When he saw that she wasn't dismissing him, he carefully sat down on the edge, watching her carefully. In the wan light of the moon her hair looked paler, like a dying fire.
She looked over. "Bet you're real glad you don't have to pilot right now, huh washout?"
"The Angel's terrifying," he replied, for he was sick of lying. "But if I could pilot, I guess I'd go out there."
Asuka snorted. "You guess? You're making it sound like you're talking about skiing or something. For something like this, you need to have a reason."
She twisted slightly to face him better. "Pretend you're a pilot. A real pilot, not a reservist or whatever they're calling you now. Think about everything you've seen with Eva and the Angels, and then ask yourself: why do I pilot?"
He turned away from her, looking at mountains that once would've been shrouded in darkness to him, but now could count individual branches on its trees.
"I'd pilot Eva because they needed me to."
"Who's they?"
"I don't know. Misato, I guess. My father. NERV. The human race or something." He glanced at her. "You too, maybe."
She tilted her head up slightly at his words. "Not yourself?"
Gᴏᴏᴅ ᴏ̨ᴜᴇsᴛɪᴏɴ.
He felt his cheeks get warm, and he squirmed under her gaze. "What about you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she scoffed. "I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu."
Her gaze moved beyond him, and he turned to see that Ayanami was making her way out of the dressing room, her white plugsuit almost blinding in the moonlight. They made eye contact, and again he felt his stomach turn to ice, but this time he realized did not feel her mind against his.
She walked over, sitting down on the edge of the gangplank next to him, leaving a few inches of space. At the same time, he became aware that Asuka was suddenly sitting a lot closer than before.
Ayanami didn't turn to face him as she spoke. "Pilot Ikari."
"Ayanami," he said, weakly.
Asuka's hand grabbed his shoulder, making him lean back so she could glare. "I swear to Christ if you start asking weird questions again-"
"I would like to apologize."
Asuka's glare did not soften, but she let go of Shinji's shoulder and let him sit back up. He forced himself to look in Ayanami's blood-hued eyes.
"I have been... unwell," she continued. "In a moment of weakness I let that cause you discomfort. I am sorry."
"T-thank you," he said, gripping the gangplank's edge tightly. "That actually means a lot."
Asuka craned forward. "I can't believe a doll like you is going to be my partner in this."
Ayanami gave no sign of being troubled as she spoke. "Do not be worried, Pilot Sohryu. When the operation calls for it, I will protect you."
"Even if it means getting sous-vised in your plugsuit by that Angel's beam?"
"I can be replaced," came the calm reply.
Shinji jolted as Asuka slapped a hand down on the rickety gangplank.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" she hissed. "That's how you seriously see yourself? Like a disposable toothbrush?"
"I am disposable, unlike you," Ayanami said.
Shinji frowned, shaking his head. "That's no way to live a life, Ayanami."
That seemed to give her pause where Asuka's outburst had failed. She blinked, then stood up, the moon against her back.
"The operation will be starting soon," she said. "I will protect you."
She turned to leave, only to stop when Asuka called out, "Hey Wondergirl."
"Yes?"
"Why do you pilot Eva?"
She didn't look back. "It is... how I connect to the world."
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.
Ayanami looked back and nodded. "Farewell."
She made her way across the gangplank, and Shinji was suddenly struck by how small she actually was, compared to her surroundings.
Asuka stood up as well. "Welp, hopefully we won't need her. See you around, washout."
Shinji watched her go, then turned back to look at the moonlit mountains.
"And hopefully they won't need Ultraman," he said quietly.
Aʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ, sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ?
Shinji looked at his bandaged hands. "If they do, hopefully he'll help them win."
He furrowed his brow. "Are good luck sayings from outer space you can give me?"
I ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʟᴇss ᴘʜʀᴀsᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇʟʟ-ᴡɪsʜᴇs, ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʀᴇ ʟɪᴛᴇʀᴀʟʟʏ ᴜɴᴘʀᴏɴᴏᴜɴᴄᴇᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇ.
"What about the ones that are?"
Hayata seemed to think about it, then finally said, Sʜᴜᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ.
"Shuwatch?"
Iᴛ ʟɪᴛᴇʀᴀʟʟʏ ᴍᴇᴀɴs 'ᴛᴏ sᴋʏ'. Iᴛ ɪs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ᴄᴜʟᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴡʜᴏsᴇ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs ᴘᴏssᴇssᴇᴅ ᴡɪɴɢs.
"I like the sound of it," Shinji said quietly, looking up at the night sky.
†
Perhaps she was imagining that they had made the LCL a little colder this time.
The lake stretched out before her, practically sparkling as light from dozens of different sources danced over the waves. In the distance she could see the Angel, surprisingly dull-looking despite the industrial-grade spotlights aimed at it, and she reassured herself that it wouldn't suddenly open fire now after not doing anything for the past few hours.
She glanced to her side, where Unit-00 was crouching, the circular pusher-plate of a discontinued P1 pulse rocket held in its hands like the shield of a Greek hoplite. They had slapped on nearly a meter of ceramic heat-tiles meant for reentering spacecraft onto the plate, and still she imagined the Angel could boil it away in a matter of seconds.
Then the Eva holding it would promptly melt as well.
Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. She carefully adjusted her grip on the positron rifle, taking care not to accidentally sever any cables. Just holding the thing told her of its experimental nature, with exposed guts and oversized parts that came from trial and error. At the same time, she could practically feel the power behind her, gigawatts of electricity that would soon be directed at the Angel.
It was like she'd be shooting it with Japan itself.
The plug's holoscreen blinked to life, a tired Misato looking at her. "Remember- this is a charged particle beam that will interact oddly with Earth's magnetic field, so trust the targeting data your Type-G helmet provides and don't eyeball it. It'll take fifteen seconds to cool the barrel down and reload, which is more than enough time for the Angel to retaliate, so do not fire until you have a clean shot."
"Understood," she said. "How are you going to goad it into firing and letting its field down?"
"We're going to harass it with several waves of ordnance to distract it," Misato replied, and Asuka realized the older woman had an uncomfortable look on her face. "We're also relying on... an outside source to draw the Angel's fire."
"What do you mean by 'outside source'?"
"It was deemed need-to-know to prevent morale issues, but now you, well, need to know, so you don't accidentally react in a way that forces a scrub."
Before Misato could continue, Asuka heard it. Well, perhaps 'felt it' was more accurate. A shaking in the earth, like the world itself was tremoring in fear at what approached. Faintly she could hear the distant booms, like bombs going off, but she knew immediately what it was. She craned the Eva's head to look behind her, at the mountains across the lake from the city.
She caught the eyes first, shining in the night like twin flames, and she was quietly grateful that their hateful gaze was directed elsewhere. Then the rest of him emerged from behind the mountaintops, a dark shape against the stars. He came to a stop as he crested the hill, glaring down at the Angel.
Then Godzilla puffed out his chest, and roared a challenge that made Asuka's seat shake.
"There's your distraction," Misato said, guiltily. "Operation Yashima officially commences now."
†
You have been reading:
シン・Leviathan, Chapter Seven: Storm, Part I