CHAPTER 13_AURAL ATTACK (AS HORRID AS CHINESE OPERA)
The next few days passed quickly for Shinji. They were but a blur of training polearm attack forms, defensive forms, physical strength, and endurance. Every afternoon when Marcus finally released him from his duties, Shinji went straight to dinner before taking a leisurely stroll along the beach to unwind. There were a few small street food carts which had set up shop there as the weather warmed up day by day.
Ken and Thomas joined him to enjoy the nice weather and great food. Anna joined them once too, the other two boys none the wiser who it was they were actually casually having dinner with. That was probably what Anna was going for, wanting to just be a normal person without having all the pageantry behind her normal day-to-day routine. On that occasion, Ken and Thomas excused themselves very early on in the evening, as they were eager to give Shinji and Anna the time alone. Shinji was thankful for their consideration, but when Anna wasn't there, the three boys would hang out for longer just chatting about everything and nothing.
It was obvious even through those few days that something big was happening around Summerise. Though the citizens went about their day, Shinji could see the building of a large logistics train for the upcoming westward march of one Summerisians division of troops and Unit One to the border of Summerise and Cullena. Marcus and Renee were both coming as well, leaving the city in the very capable hands of their deputies.
On the anointed day, Anna personally inspected the troops, and very personally inspected Shinji's lips, before they left.
Despite the day being cloudy and threatening to rain, Shinji and the accompanying soldiers were all in great spirits. It was not a long march, only three days each way. But the need to make sure the camps were safe from attack meant that they carried close to what an attacking army would need in terms of tools, food and temporary accommodation.
Unit One loped ahead to scout the land in front, with outriders patrolling the division's flanks. The baggage train was safely ensconced in between columns of soldiers as they marched along the packed road. By the middle of the first day though, it did start to rain heavily. The soldiers made no complaints. Instead they started singing songs to keeping their spirits up, no doubt looking forward to making camp and being satisfied by a freshly cooked warm meal at dusk.
They continued like this for the duration, encountering nothing more that regular merchant trains travelling in both directions protected by mercenaries along the road. Cullena, despite being focused more on war than commerce, still required lots of trade between it and it's neighbours to keep itself fed and entertained.
As the third day wound to a close, Shinji's scouting efforts yielded a suitable patch of flat ground next to a wide river and a large grove of trees to make camp. They were already on the border, having made good progress. The soldiers had been rained out for the last two days, and this was the first dry day during which they could stop feeling soggy. Shinji helped to set up the camp and the passive defences but pulling up some trees with Unit One and cutting them down with his progressive knife, which was more and more relegated to simply a tool instead of his primary weapon.
"Looks like we're a bit early," remarked Marcus, scanning the land in the direction of Cullena City. "Not a problem, it would do the soldiers good to have a good rest before we get down to business."
Renee was standing with him, also looking around. "Something doesn't feel right, Marcus. I hope it's nothing more than my paranoia."
"Maybe. It's unlike the Cullena's army to be late to a fight, even if it is just some exercises in the guise of a tournament," said Marcus nonchalantly. "There's nothing we can do for now, except get a good rest and be ready tomorrow."
With nothing else to do, that was what the three of them did.
/
Shinji slept surprisingly well in the field. Perhaps it was the time he spent in Unit One over three days, scouting and the work he'd put in during the evening's helping to set up camp and cooking. He felt, surprisingly, happy to have been put to work.
The clamour of soldiers and support staff getting ready in the morning outside his tent seeped into his consciousness. His stretcher was low to the ground - it wasn't like he would want to put anyone out by bringing a proper bed – and it felt a little strange to be so close to the ground after sleeping on a proper bed for so long.
It almost felt like he was back on a futon in Tokyo-3. Although the tent was bigger than Misato's closet.
He peeked outside once he was dressed and ready, but was surprised to see that everywhere was foggy. The fog was thick and moving quickly in sheets, bringing a slightly chilly sting to his cheeks.
It took a while, but he eventually found his way to the command tent where Marcus was already organising his troops and Renee poring through her books.
"Good morning," he said to the two Commanders.
"Morning, Shinji," they replied together, Marcus trying to peer through the grey soupy fog, while Renee's sounded muffled and distracted. "I didn't expect there to be a fog here of all places. It just didn't seem the type of place…"
Shinji was still a little bit sleepy, and took some time standing there letting the cool fog wash over him so that he could wake up properly. If there was one thing he'd now gotten used to, it was not having to wake up early to make breakfast for an angry German, his drunken guardian, and their pet penguin, even though he enjoyed the morning routine.
I wonder how they're all going? Have there been any more angels?
"Marcus, I've been using my fire magic to try and disperse the fog," announced Renee urgently. "It's not working at all. This fog isn't natural."
Marcus looked at his wife with some concern. "I'll get everyone to alert."
He rushed off quickly, not trusting just shouting into the murky aether currently enveloping them. The results were nearly immediate. The shouting to wake and be ready became more insistent, the horses seemed more nervous, and the clanging and banging of weapons being taken from racks rang out all over the valley.
"Bring your swords with you!" one man shouted.
"Arrows are useless if you can't see!" someone else yelled, probably at a squad grabbing whatever they could.
It was all very confusing since Shinji couldn't see further than ten metres in front of him. In the middle of it all, Renee stood up and put her hand on Shinji's shoulder. He hadn't been panicking yet, but he realised that he had been holding in a breath from the sudden need to be more alert.
I'm awake now!
"It's alright, Shinji," Renee said. For some reason, he had a faint memory that his mother had said this to him in a similar manner a long time ago. "I'll assemble my magisters and try to use our combined powers to dispel whatever is causing this fog. Meanwhile, get into Unit One and tell me if you see anything."
Shinji nodded his assent and walked swiftly but carefully along the path laid out towards Unit One. The path was busy now, as everyone who was awake was rushing about getting ready with a sense of urgency. Those who hadn't been awake a short few minutes ago were doing their best to get ready and join their comrades as soon as possible.
The fog seemed to be getting heavier, but Shinji had no real way to measure that. Maybe it was just the feeling of everyone running and clamouring all around him in the muck noisily but completely unsighted. It was claustrophobic, even though the rational part of his brain knew that they were in very open space.
Before he knew it, his forehead almost clanged into the sole of Evangelion Unit One's boot, the giant purple armoured shoe suddenly looming out of the fog. Now having a proper frame of reference, he clambered up into the Evangelion and initiated the startup procedures.
After the usual flashes of technicolour gibberish and greyscale static, the viewscreen faded to…light grey. Shinji wasn't sure what else he should have expected. Sure the Evangelion was skyscraper tall, but if it was a magical fog, then perhaps it wouldn't be as simple as just peeking above the miasma with Unit One.
[Hello, Shinji. Did you have a good sleep?]
"Good morning, Mother. I'm alright. It's very foggy outside and it might not be natural. I was wondering if we could use the Evangelion and scout around a bit."
[Hmm. Yes, I see the problem. That is a very thick fog…Let me activate the Evangelion's radar and lidar sets. That should help.]
Two new data layers came up on the display in front of Shinji; one red and one blue. Each displayed the returns from the various sensors. The world unfolded in front of him red dots from the lidar and blue lines from the radar. Both gave him a vision showing the overall shape of the world – the mountains, rolling hills, everything big – and the lidar showing him everything else in fine detail. The way people moved. The tents, the horses, and the chaotically arranged stakes forming a makeshift fence in the ground could all be seen very clearly.
But thus far, no sign of who or what might be causing the mysterious fog.
[Strange, isn't it Shinji? My sensors can't detect any clouds in the sky. Outside of this area, it should just be a bright and sunny day…]
"I watched a movie recently where one of the good guys said 'I have a bad feeling about this'."
[Oh, been watching the classics have we? I didn't think you'd be into Star Wars!]
"W-well, it was on, so I watched it. I didn't quite understand how swords could be made of lasers."
[It's just some silly fun son. Don't think too much about it, or else you'll start questioning everything.]
"Right, I'll keep that in mind."
And so, they kept scanning the surrounding environment. Despite the technological marvels that Yui Ikari had wrought, she was yet to find an answer as to who was fogging up the place. The remaining sensors did manage to discern when Renee and the templars who travelled with them made attempts at de-fogging the area. Little flashes and sparkles lit up the display every time they did something. Though the computers were still throwing up errors trying to analyse the source and type of energy causing them.
Before Shinji could get bored standing there looking at not much at all, a monstrous screech sounded the arrival of something large and nasty. Shinji swore that he'd heard the noise before…
…when a huge black dragon descended in front of Unit One and blew away all of the fog. The dragon's jaws were full of fangs as it snapped threateningly at the Evangelion. It revealed its forked tongue when it roared. Shinji was surprised for a split second, but remembered that he had seen this dragon before, and indeed had beaten it senseless. He drew the progressive knife from his shoulder pauldron and activated it. He was not intimidated.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here!" said a small figure on the back of the dragon cheerfully. It was, of course, Gerard the Unhinged. "We meet again! What a coincidence."
Shinji said nothing. Not that he could have made himself heard anyway, there were no loudspeakers on the outside of Unit One. He thought that it would have to be a new feature to be suggested for the Evangelion whenever he managed to get back to Tokyo-3. So instead, he settled for staring at the picture of Gerard and hoping that would suffice.
"We will be more civilized this time, I hope," the crazy man with the wild hair went on with his monologue. "I would not want a repeat of our last encounter to occur here."
But I kicked your dragon's butt!
"In any case, I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine."
Gerard pointed behind himself, which led Shinji to peer in that direction too. In the distance, a giant man holding a proportionately large seashell was strutting towards them. The man was ruggedly handsome, with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, chiselled chest and abs, with well-defined arms and legs. But what struck Shinji, aside from feeling inadequate, was that the man was covered in glossy turquoise shells, not unlike a fish or a merman.
"I would like for you to meet my good friend, Tritonis the Triton!" announced Gerard proudly.
[Wow, what an original name. What's he going to call a pet dog? Dogis?!]
"At least we got a formal introduction this time," said Shinji absently. "We can't possibly just be fighting a giant man armed with a seashell right? It can't be as simple as this."
/
Meanwhile, there was relief on the ground for the Summerisians now that the fog had been blown away. On the other hand, the giant dragon, Tritonis and Gerard being on the field were a cause for concern. Everyone in the camp was getting ready to fight to the last.
"A Triton?" asked Renee incredulously as she and Marcus stood together staring at the unexpected scene. "Where the hell did he get one of those?"
"Hey, Gerard has seven dragons remember, what's one more semi-mythological creature in his menagerie?" replied Marcus.
Renee could only grumble.
Marcus had a thought. "You know, the Triton is only armed with a seashell. That...can't be the extent of it can it?"
"Let me see..." said Renee while flipping through a large well-worn tome entitled The Field Guide to Mythological Creatures, Fifth Edition. Quite how the author considered the likelihood of seeing mythological creatures in real life, let alone anybody needing a field guide for them was anybody's guess.
"Tritons, gods of the seas. They, like their Siren sisters, can sing the most alluring of songs to entice targeted females of all persuasions to their doom."
Marcus merely shrugged. "Good thing we know Shinji is a boy and that he's definitely into girls then."
Narrator's note: unfortunately, Shinji isn't the one they need to worry about...
[I get the feeling the other shoe is going to drop soon, Shinji. Be ready.]
It was a bit difficult to prepare for the unexpected. Nonetheless, he nodded in the affirmative. "I'll do my best. But, uh, what exactly does a Triton do?"
[I'm not sure. Mythological creatures weren't really my area of expertise...]
The Triton bowed, and then, with one arm spread out, it started to sing into its seashell. Shinji Ikari thought little of modern, post-Impact, pop music. His previous favourite pastime was pretending to be a vegetable and listening to the classical music on his SDAT. It helped him to leave his existential pain behind, if only for a short time. The Triton sang opera, surprisingly, in a rich and velvety baritone.
[What exactly is this supposed to do? Singing has never...] hiss [..een a threat...] hiss [...cept maybe…]
The screen inside the entry plug started to flicker and show all sorts of artefacts; static in some parts, emergency broadcast signals in others. And they were never shown all together or all at once. It was all random.
"Um, mother, what's going on?" asked an increasingly nervous Shinji. "Is there something broken in here?"
[…ho's there? Who are you and…] hiss […you doing inside my spine?!] hiss [Gendo? Where are you…?]
"Mother?"
[…]
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Shinji muttered to himself.
Of course, that's when the entry plug's visual and aural alarms started going off. But the screen continued to show the Triton in its singing pose, standing proudly and blasting out its aural assault. The audio however had changed somehow from the rich baritone of a well-endowed man to a very distinctive saxophone solo. Shinji swore he'd heard the solo before; it was the start of a sappy love pop song written more than twenty years before he was born.
What in the world is going on?
I feel so unsure,
As I take your hand,
And lead you to the dance floor.
As the music dies,
Something in your eyes,
Calls to mind a silver screen,
And all its sad goodbyes…
"Mother! Mother!" he yelled into the LCL, and against whatever foul sorcery was causing Careless Whisper to be blasted into the entry plug. "Mother, something's wrong with the Eva! Please! Talk to me!"
/
"Well, that's…unconventional," said Renee sarcastically.
"Uh…what is Shinji doing?" asked Marcus, completely puzzled.
He asked this question, of nobody in particular, because Evangelion Unit One was dancing like it had had just a few too many drinks on a girls' night out in a late nineties nightclub in front of the entire Summerisian camp. Those hips, apparently, didn't lie.
"Marcus," quipped Renee, "Are you sure that Shinji only likes girls, or did he add to his repertoire after meeting Kosta in Sapphirica? That Triton thing looks like it'd make every girl and some boys weak at the knees."
He shrugged. "I'm not judging him. But that doesn't look like the way he would dance. I figure Shinji's style would be the awkward shuffle in front of the prettiest girl in the room…"
"Marcus, he does know how to dance," retorted Renee, reminding her husband that Shinji could indeed dance. Though maybe with lots of guidance and practice. Indeed, his first tentative steps with Anna had been an awkward shuffle in front of the prettiest girl in the room. And he definitely never learnt how to dance like that in the ballroom…
"Renee, my love, if this is a new tactic Shinji's trying out, then I think it's time you and your templars prepared to make something explode. Just in case."
Renee could only nod her agreement.
/
Shinji was, for the first time since he'd been stuck in the Twelfth Angel, properly panicking.
He was wondering if breathing into a brown paper bag in this situation would help, given it seemed to help all the people on television when they did it, and then again they weren't stuck in an LCL filled tube, where brown paper bags wouldn't help because they'd get soggy and break, and the screen was flickering again, and again, and again, and, for some reason his hips felt like they were moving on their own, and then his father's stupid bearded face appeared on screen instead of the Triton's.
Wait, why is Father on screen?
[Oh, Gendo. How did you know I liked this song? It's been such a looong time since we had a chance to do this…]
At reading the text, Shinji's blood turned to ice. If there was ever one thing he didn't want to know about, was that his parents were actually happy together once. He didn't begrudge them, but it reminded him of all the things he'd been denied. Love. A happy childhood. Simple things that others had, but couldn't appreciate until now.
"Mother! Snap out of it!" he yelled desperately into the LCL. "We're meant to be fighting that Triton thing out there. I can't fight if I don't have any control!"
[…wait, what? Shinji? What's going on?]
"Mother! We're being attacked by that…thing out there," Shinji replied as the alarms stopped blaring so loudly. "Are you alright? We have to fight it."
[Right…right, I…I was just…what was I doing?]
"I'm not sure, but there was saxophone and breathless singing and some weird dancing," Shinji replied. He felt the Evangelion's face heat up, which he didn't think was possible.
[I'm sorry Shinji, I think that monster is somehow affecting me with it's song. Even now, I'm having a hard time concentrating...] Somehow, the Evangelion's face felt…warm.
"It's alright, we just need to attack it and disable the noise somehow."
[I agree...] hiss [... it's awful...] hiss [... isn't it, Gendo?]
It was only now that Shinji noticed the Triton had increased the volume of its singing striking an even more grandiose pose and puffing it's already considerable chest out.
"Mother? Mother!?"
/
There was a little bit of panic in the Summerisian ranks as they watched the battle – if one could even call it that – unfold. Unit One oscillated between strange behaviours like dirty dancing one second and looking like it was about to strike the next. There seemed to be something very wrong.
Marcus rallied his troops, though there was little they could actually do against the two colossi. It wasn't as if their swords and arrows could harm either giant. No, they were reliant on Renee and her Templars to do something. Even now the Templars were crowded around his wife and each other chanting something. Marcus assumed they were channelling and concentrating their power.
He looked at her, hoping today was not their last day together on account of being stomped on by a half-naked Triton, or Unit One for that matter. He shook the worst-case scenarios from his head. There was no point thinking about the situation in those terms. His wife and Shinji would come up with a way to fight another day.
They had to.
/
Inside Evangelion Unit One, Shinji was battling an enemy that he wasn't used to; his confused mother causing absolute computational mayhem. The alarms would randomly blare, emergency lighting would flash on and off and the screen would cycle between imagery of his father in a suit, sometimes with no beard, sometimes with a beard, and sometimes of the operatic Triton outside.
"Mother!" yelled Shinji into the LCL, the orange fluid bubbling with his desperation to get everything under control. "Please, don't get distracted by that awful noise!"
It was an awful noise. Despite the ruggedly handsome appearance of the imaginatively named Tritonis, it sang like a retarded opera singer in drag. But obviously, it wasn't performing for the enjoyment of the audience, it was trying to break Unit One.
It was very nearly succeeding. Shinji wasn't sure how the Evangelion hadn't started going berserk yet, as it was prone to do. Maybe it was his continuously improving synchronisation ratio, and the fact that his mother had awakened enough to be cogent. He didn't want to think of the worst possibilities if Evangelion Unit One started going rampant in this world. Tokyo-3, for all of its fortifications, guided missiles and N2 mines would be unable to stop one rampaging Evangelion. This world, having not even reached the Steam Age, would have no hope.
[I'm…I'm sorry Shinji, whatever is happening, I can't seem to control myself…] hiss […that thing is doing something to my cognitive processes…] hiss […and wine would be nice right now…]
"Wine…what? Mother?!"
[…ooh, dessert would be really nice right now…]
I can't fight like this…what am I supposed to do now?!
The situation seemed hopeless to the young Shinji Ikari. He was trapped inside the entry plug with no way out, but to plead and beg and pray to whatever gods existed (or didn't) that something would happen, and he could get a modicum of control back. Was there anybody out there with that power?
/
"Yes! I love it when there's a plan," remarked Marcus as the Templars' chanting reached a crescendo of obtuse ancient language."
Still, Marcus spied Gerard the Unhinged uncertainly. The madman atop the dragon was watching the proceedings gleefully, cackling occasionally and rubbing his hands happily. Quite what his plan for Shinji and Evangelion Unit One was, still remained unclear. But one thing was clear to Marcus, he could not allow Gerard's plan to succeed whatever it was.
So he made a decision to create some kind of distraction.
"Archers! To the fore! Target the man on top of the dragon! Nock and loose at will!"
The archers did so, aiming as accurately as possible at Gerard the Unhinged, who was still laughing maniacally. None of the arrows really reached their target, but it did draw the attention of the madman on the big black dragon.
"Fools!" said Gerard. "Puny foolish fools! I have a dragon! What hope do you have of defeating me with those arrows?"
Despite the confidence shown by Gerard, his dragon still protected his master by batting the arrows away disdainfully.
Marcus didn't deign to respond to the goading of Gerard. After all, it was actually Marcus who was using the situation to his advantage.
Excellent, keep doing that, don't help your Triton.
Behind him, he could make out a chant reaching a crescendo.
I call upon the power of the heavens
I call upon the power of your fire
I call upon the power of the skies
I beseech you to bring down your wrath
On this wretch who seeks to destroy your creation
This wretch who seeks to ruin your perfection
This wretch who seeks to dominate your people
I call upon your power
The power, the wrath, of…
EXPLOSION!
Normally, Renee was one to just aim her ultimate attack in the vicinity of the target. After all, they were so potent and destructive that the target's complete and utter disintegration was guaranteed. However, that was not done today. No. Templar-Commander Renee Redwood wanted to ensure she caused as much damage as possible.
Which was why she set the explosion's epicentre to be inside the Triton's mouth.
/
Shinji was watching proceedings helplessly. Marcus had obviously grown desperate enough that he needed to attack the dragon with human scale weapons. His mother's consciousness was still whiplashing between cogently trying to fight, and being seduced by the Triton's song.
It had been a helpless fight trying to appeal to her sanity. He'd tried everything; screaming, pleading, yelling, and ever speaking calmly. He'd been through all five stages of grief at this point, and was at acceptance that this time he was totally impotent. Clearly it was not her fault, but the fact that she was at least partially responsive seemed to show she was resisting as much as possible. But it was still ineffective. He would get halfway through a lunge at the Triton with Lightning Engulfed before the Evangelion would just stop midstride and stare dumbly ahead. It kind reminded Shinji of how stared dumbly at the sight of Asuka Langley Soryu on board the Over The Rainbow.
Wind notwithstanding, it was the first time a girl had ever made his heart skip some beats. He also sometime still felt the phantom pain from her 'viewing fee' after looking at just the wrong moment.
Kind of like now, when he was staring at the Triton's mouth and his eyes were suddenly blinded by a supernova.
/
It began as a simple speck of light. It drew all of its energy from the Templars, from Renee, some from the light that coursed through the air on its way from the sun to the ground, some from the leaves, and the birds, and grasses, from the soldiers firing ineffectually at Gerard the Unhinged. It even took some energy from Evangelion Unit One, some from Shinji, and probably ironically, some from both Gerard and his dragon.
Then, this huge amount of concentrated magical energy expanded, like it was the birth cry of a new universe. This phenomenon was, at this time of day, at this time of year, in this part of the country, localised entirely within the Trion's throat.
And it was LOUD.
The explosion's visual impact was not very spectacular despite the amount of concentrated magical energy involved. But that was because it was trapped inside such a small space. Instead, it did what it was intended to do, and devastated the vocal cords of the Triton.
It was almost comical to Marcus that the Triton was singing one second, and then it was belching deep black smoke from its nose, mouth, ears and even its eyes, like when the local Summerisian blacksmiths had to burn dirty wood. Whatever, the result was that the Triton simply could not sing any longer. It was rather busy holding its head and trying to make sound come out.
This meant that Summerise's greatest weapon was back in play.
/
"Mother!" exclaimed Shinji. "Are you alright now? That horrible singing has stopped!"
[Shinji, I…wha…I feel like a fog's been lifted from my head. I…what the hell is that thing?!]
"I-It's a Triton, and it's been singing at you. It made the Evangelion completely uncontrollable. Are…can we finish this and I can tell you all about it?"
[Sure, son. That's a good idea. And…wait…George Michael?]
"Yeah, that was…not a pleasant image. Let's just…do this."
The Evangelion didn't respond, aside from leap at the Triton. It was, for all of its impressive masculinity, fairly defenceless without its aural attack. This was particularly the case when it was holding its head like letting go even a little bit would result in it losing structural integrity and smashing into so many pieces like a set of broken Legos.
But Shinji would not show the Triton any mercy. His neural interface with Unit One commanded the massive cyborg to wield Lightning Engulfed in a set of attacks he had honed on the Summerisian training grounds. The attacks were swift, and precise, and most of all, devastating.
Unit One completed its series of attacks and settled its vision on Gerard the Unhinged. He was still perched atop the giant black dragon, the one who had already had its wings clipped once. It flinched as it received a deathly glare from the purple leviathan. But it then held its nerve as Gerard also stared back, unflinching.
Behind Evangelion Unit One, the Triton's entire body slid apart piece by piece, thudding to the ground wetly, as if the legendary creature been forced into and through a supermarket's automatic meat slicing machine.
Gerard looked most displeased. "You! You may have beaten me again this time, but it is all for nought! Soon, I will reign supreme through these lands, and your efforts will all have been in vain! You will witness my power!"
And with those not entirely convincing nor threatening words, Gerard flew away on the beast upon which he had arrived. Obviously to fight another day, or at least send someone else in to fight in his stead.
What a coward. Wouldn't even stay, or fight, or lift a finger to help his side. I wonder why anyone follows him. Even my jerk of a 'father' put in the effort when NERV lost power and helped rig up the Evangelions…
But those thoughts were fleeting. Shinji quickly shut down the Evangelion after a final check of his Mother's sanity and dismounted to also check on the state of the Summerisians. He found Marcus gently tending to Renee in the commanders' tent with some of the medical staff. She had fallen unconscious straight after issuing the massive explosion that took out the Triton's vocal cords. He put a finger up to his lips at the sight of Shinji, who nodded in response.
"She's just resting," Marcus explained quietly. "When she wielded so much power all at once, she must have just had a sudden shock to her body. She fainted, so we brought her here."
Shinji nodded, relieved that everyone seemed to be none the worse for wear. Except Tritonis, of course, which was strewn across the field in cleanly cut slabs. Already, he could hear the cawing of crows circling the carcass of the legendary creature overhead.
"We're breaking camp shifting so that we avoid the…unpleasant consequences of this battle," said Marcus. "Thanks again for finishing the fight quickly. I…don't really know what happened to you, but it seemed like it was difficult for you."
"I don't really understand it myself," replied Shinji. "I just couldn't control Unit One properly when it was making that horrible sound. Once it stopped, it was simple enough to defeat it."
Marcus smiled. "I'll let you have a break and change out of those sodden clothes. See you at the new camp."
With that, Marcus returned to his duties of looking after his wife, and Shinji hurried out to get changed out of the LCL soaked clothes he was wearing and have a bath somewhere.
/
Breaking and resetting the camp took a while longer than Shinji expected, and it was well into the afternoon before everyone could settle down and truly relax after the battle. Though the tension from the battle had dissipated, there was still the ebb resulting from everyone being exhausted from all using all of their nervous and physical energy to defend themselves. Shinji was feeling it too, though he didn't look like some of the others who were likely to crash once they'd eaten dinner.
At least the sunset was nice. A golden glow bathed the landscape in the western sky, transforming the plains and the camp into warmth, amplifying the fires that had been lit in advance of the approaching night.
Shinji was inside the commanders' tent having dinner with Marcus and Renee, who had woken up some hours after her dramatic intervention in the battle against Gerard and his Triton lackey. She seemed none the worse for wear, apart from looking pale and moving around more slowly than usual. She explained that it was simply a matter of needing time to recover her energy. Shinji hoped that was all it was.
Their quiet dinner was interrupted by the sounds of horns in the distance and the perimeter guards suddenly coming to alert. Shouts of approaching army and everybody to their stations pierced the tent's thick canvas. It looked as if the soldiers of Cullena had arrived, better late than never.
A/N: Hi folks. It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that, but life has been super, super busy. Rest assured that the writing continues. Thanks for all the views, follows and reviews.
Kull-Warrior-SG1 - I have a plan with the two universes. Hope you'll like it!
Guest - Unfortunately, not everyone will have their wishes come true.
iCal 0897 - Thanks!
Episode preview: In the next episode of our mopey adventure, Shinji holds something. Shinji tries not to stare. And, Shinji stares.