Rebuild SKL is Kaiser
ESKK: Well, we've finished the 3.33 arc and now we're now entering the royal flop that is the Once Upon a Time arc what utter fun. Anyway, you all know the drill enjoy the read and leave a review when finished.
(Start WILLE, NERV Paris)
A battle was about to take place as WILLE forces flew over Paris with one goal in mind, to restore the city to its former glory. Leading this operation was Maya Ibuki with several members of Hachiryukaku there to assist with the task. It was a long and arduous duty, but it had to be done. Maya, Shigeru, and Makoto were on the scene wearing Plugsuits with the helmets on as they got to work.
Midori was also there with Hideki and a few other WILLE troops. Midori was the most vocal on Misato's continued search of the missing pilots for Kaiser and Wingle. Midori role however was not as grand as she though it was.
"Hey Midori go place that unit over there." Sayaka said as she was on a computer doing her work as Midori glared at her replacement.
Midori glared as her rank was shown as part of the maintenance crew. She was not even in charge of that because of how much she had let her vendetta jeopardize their past few missions before the near Fourth Impact.
Thus, here they were preparing for what would be the first step in finally reclaiming their planet Earth from NERV. Maya was seen walking across a roof where a large blimp was seen with high tech equipment attached to it.
Up in the sky Mari's EVA with large cannons form arms was hovering in the air with massive ships floating around her. "Well, this is the start of a beautiful day." Mari said in a sing-song voice as she then went to her communication link. "What do you think Honeybee?" Mari asked with a smirk on her face.
Over in her Entry Plug Miki was sitting in silence when Mari had spoken. Miki had been worried for about a month Kaiser and Wingle have been MIA which served to be a major blow to WILLE's morale losing their chief weapons against NERV. It was also a hard blow to Miki as she had lost Ryo during the invasion because he couldn't or didn't want to be healed from his trauma. Now she lost Akira because he had to do the sacrificial move to save everyone. It hurt, it hurt deep inside to lose those she cared about in this world.
"Honeybee? Honeybee? Hey Honeybee!" Mari called out to Miki drawing her attention away from the techno babble going on in the background.
"Oh sorry… were you talking to me?" Miki asked as she didn't realized Mari was trying to talk.
"Yeah, who else would I talk to Honeybee." Mari said and thus Miki raised a brow to this.
"Honeybee?" Miki asked as she didn't read that in any of the codes WILLE uses during an operation.
"Its your new nickname." Mari said with a relaxed posture in her Entry Plug. "Its because your cute as a bee, sweet as honey, and you got a kickass thorn hidden away." Mari said giving her reasons as to why Miki is now Honeybee.
"Mari…" Miki trailed off as she then sighed a bit. "Let's just focus." Miki said as she wanted to finish the mission and return to searching for their missing pilots.
"He's ok." Mari said suddenly getting Miki's attention on her. "I haven't known Akira for long but… he doesn't strike me as the guy who dies that easily." Mari said as they watched the operation. "Why do you think Katsuragi hasn't called off the search?" Mari added with a smile knowing Akira, Kuzo, and Kaiser were still alive and kicking.
"I know but…" Miki trailed off before an alert activated.
Mari also saw this and began to smirk a bit at the arrival. "Well, it looks like we got company!" Mari said ready for what was about to attack them. Descending upon their location were several of NERV's Mass Production Units coming towards their project. Moving towards battle stations Mari and Miki knew it was time to move. "Alright then let's show NERV what we can do." Mari said adjusting her glasses ready to deploy.
From high in the sky Mari's EVA came in with new arms for its guns ready and targeting all the enemy units approaching her position. She charged at her foes and began to fire upon them the enemy units forming something of a new creature that flew in a serpentine like formation. Mari laughed at this as on the ships the Iron Maidens fully restored were also assisting firing off their guns at the enemy troops. From the ground however a massive motorcycle engine was heard and from it Miki and her EVA were driving in on the back of the SKL RR.
The enemy units were coming the form of waves as Unit-08 and Unit-09 moved into attack. Miki drove up a ramp of a fallen building and once airborne the SKL RR shifted into its skeletal Pegasus form. Jun Fudo had managed to convert some of its systems so that it would respond to Miki's commands. Mari and her EVA were currently attached to a rig to allow it to fight from the sky mainly because it had lost its arms during the near Fourth Impact battle.
As the enemy troops moved in on Mari Miki flew in and skewered them on her spear and fired off at the others at pointblank range. The first and second waves were taken care of by their shared efforts.
As they began the Third Wave of foes Miki quickly noticed something wrong with Mari and her EVA Unit. "Mari watch your fire your going to overheat the guns!" Miki called out but alas it was too late the guns overheated and Mari was forced to drop them.
"Oops." Mari cried as she saw what happened to her guns here.
"Shit!" Miki cursed only for a barrage of rockets to hit the enemy EVA units. Looking to the source the Iron Maidens were firing their Oppai Missiles on the invading EVA's.
"Don't worry we got your back!" Hurricane called out as she covered for Mari. Miki smiled to this and focused her attention on their foes.
"Mari, you need to fall back you're a sitting duck up here." Miki said as right now she was the only one with air battle capabilities for the fourth wave.
"Not a chance there, Honeybee." Mari said and in turn it arrived, the Fourth Wave. "Can't exactly avoid them anyway I'm stuck up here." Mari said and thus Miki knew they had to act fast.
"Alright." Miki said and thus kicking the SKL RR's side the skeletal steed reared back and flew towards the fourth wave to prevent it from surrounding them. The Iron Maidens were firing their weapons and cannon at the Fourth Wave to prevent them from swarming. Riding through the foes Miki converted the SKL RR back to its ground form and had the Motorcycle land on the enemy units and ride off of them leaving grinding marks on them. She did for a few of them before she had the bike revert back into its skeletal Pegasus form and rode on.
Meanwhile on the building of the operation Jun walked out in her own suit as she glared at the scene. Her lab coat was billowing in the air as she watched the battle taking place.
The two EVA's and the three mech supporting them soon took out the Fourth Wave and with it the skies seemed to be clear. But just then alarms began to blare as something was happening. "What is it?" Miki asked as she saw the alert.
"These things were decoy's." Mari said and thus she glared at it. "But something is different about this signal." Mari added as she expected something to arrive on the scene. Just then from high above the AT-Field broke apart shattered as something broke through with brute force like it came from upper orbit. The combatants were forced to split apart as Mari's shields from the ships blocked the oncoming attack.
But then to her shock the shields proved useless as all the battle ships she had were broken through leaving her to fall to the ground. "SHIT!" Mari cried out and soon she had to cut loose.
"Move!" Hurricane called out and in turn she lead Misty and Flash as they jumped off the ships and onto the ground before said ships could crash down.
"What was that?!" Maya asked as she was caught off guard.
Looking upon the crater something began to rise upward. Standing tall was what looked to be a winged EVA, but something was different about it. Its armor was significantly bulkier almost rivaling Kaiser's armor. The feathered wings on its back almost gave it the image of an interpretation of what a biblical angel was. It had a large horn on its forehead and its eyes were glowing an azure blue color. On its right arm was a large gun with two more guns on its back ready for use. Standing tall it glared at its foes and in turn Jun almost saw Kaiser there.
"Something is very wrong here." Ritsuko voiced as she also saw the massive enemy unit.
"Is it just me or does that thing look like Kaiser?" Hideki asked and thus the ground units saw it.
It then aimed its arm cannon and thus it charged up the weapon before firing it off sending out a powerful beam attack. Everyone dodged it on the spot, but no one had seen something like that coming.
"A Positron laser?!" Maya asked as she was even shocked by this.
"How can NERV have compacted it for a single unit?" Ritsuko asked shocked over what she had seen. It was a clear violation of the Vatican Treaty, but it didn't seem to care for it.
"Ok lets' take this thing down!" Mari called out and thus the ladies regrouped and charged at the foe ready to attack it. Mari grabbed two guns that had survived the crash and aimed them at the enemy EVA Unit. Seeing this the new EVA reached back and pulled out its own guns and then to their shock made the combat stance Kuzo normally made. The guns however deployed large bayonets as it clearly was mimicking Kuzo's movements right now.
Mari opened fire and in turn the new EVA retracted its wings and spun around the shots before it was right in front of her just like Kuzo. It had one gun pointing at Mari and the other at Hurricane before it proceeded to open fire on them. Hurricane was able to avoid it but had her Iron Maiden nicked by the bullets a bit. Mari however was not so lucky as her EVA was riddled with bullets for a bit. She managed however to deploy her AT-Field, but it did little save slow down the assault enough for her to get some distance. She fired upon the foe, but it easily avoided her attacks much to her surprise here.
"IT's copying Kuzo's style." Miki said surprised over this foes ability to perfectly mimic Kuzo when he was controlling Kaiser. "Is NERV making more Kaisers?" Miki asked as she was now worried recalling how powerful Iron Kaiser was in battle.
Soon enough WILLE backup came in and in turn the EVA avoided the attacks and switched its hold on the weapons before using the blades to chop its way through the auto defenses from WILLE. "Ok long range won't work!" Mari said as she saw their foe was clearly a gunslinger.
"It's fast we need to be smart." Misty said as she saw the foe moving about.
Just then Miki roared out as she jumped off the SKL RR and came down upon the enemy with her spear. Her foe backflipped away and fired off the guns at her. Miki spun Kaiser's spear deflecting the bullets from hitting her EVA. The enemy EVA however glared for a moment before it holstered its guns once more.
Then two handles shot out of its shoulder armor to which it grabbed and drew revealing it had swords of its own to fight with. Miki was forced to block when the foe charged and slammed down the two swords upon her before rolling away to avoid a second attack. Glaring at the foe the EVA was seemingly blindsided as Mari fired upon it once more. She was helped by the Iron Maidens who also opened fire hitting it with Misty's cannon and their own Breast Missiles.
The EVA was covered in smoke for a bit as Mari began to smirk. "Got the bitch!" Mari said only to be blindsided as one of the EVA's swords flew out and stabbed into her EVA's arm. Mari cried out in shock as her rig began to come undone only for a Positron shot to take out the other side. The Iron Maidens were forced to fall back as Mari was left without her arms. From the smoke the EVA had summoned its wings and used them to blow the smoke away before charging at Mari. She was caught off guard as she was being slammed through several buildings by this new foe.
"Mari!" Miki cried out as she saw what was happening. Once the new EVA had stopped its assault Mari's EVA laid there helpless. The enemy EVA Retracted its cannon and thus Mari was shocked.
"Ok Plan B… or is this Plan C." Mari said before shaking her head. "Invert!" Mari began but was unable to finish it as suddenly the enemy EVA stomped down on her starting with the head before taking its swords and pinning Mari down. "SHIT!" Mari cursed and then to her utter horror the EVA's faceguard came undone revealing a maw of teeth hiding behind it. It tore the Swords through her legs leaving the EVA's legs as stumps before picking it back up by its neck. Mari cried out in pain as she felt the loss of her EVA's legs.
Looking at her foe it elongated its tongue and proceeded to lick her EVA's head before retracting it. Moving lower it then tore off the chest plate revealing the core underneath the pink EVA's armor. "No. Your not going to." Mari cried as she horrifyingly realized what this enemy unit planned to do… it was going to eat her EVA.
"MARI!" Miki cried out and thus she cried out slamming her hands to the controls.
"Miki!" Jun called out from the communications getting Miki's attention. "Its time to use that EVA's Beast form here are the command codes on screen now." Jun said as she had the codes sent to Miki's Entry Plug.
When Miki saw this, she was surprised that her EVA was being permitted to do this now. "Alright." Miki said as she glared at the enemy EVA. "I guess in this moment… I need to become Hell." Miki said and in turn she was ready to act. "Invert Controls access code 6-6-6 the Mark of the Beast. Backstage Code… Trihexa." Miki said and thus her Plug's view changed.
Miki's EVA's restraint armor came undone as when it did energy began to release from it wild and chaotic. The yellow lights began to turn crimson red as the shift of her EVA began. Miki cried out in shock and pain as she clenched her fists hearing the grinding metal of her prosthetic hands. It hurt it fucking hurt, but Miki had to endure she had to endure and find Akira wherever he is.
"Come on… come on… COME ON!" Miki roared in fury as she activated her EVA's Beast form.
"What is this?" Ritsuko asked shocked at what she was seeing.
"Is this her EVA's Beast?" Maya asked shocked by what was happening.
"No… a Beast is a mindless monster." Jun said as she grinned savagely over the scene as the EVA transformed. "But this is something greater this is a Devil!" Jun called out and thus they bore witness to the transformation.
The tendrils from the shoulders almost looked like wings as its hand flexed into claws with arm blades coming right after. The Enemy EVA stopped its assault and looked towards Miki only for the girl to roar savagely as she charged in and slammed into the new EVA. It acted fast trying to fight back only for Miki to bite down on its arm and tear it off causing the Positron cannon to become useless. Miki jumped off the EVA and in turn it held its stump. It wasn't backing down though as it pulled out its gun with its remaining hand and opened fire, but Miki moved fast avoiding the bullets before jumping upward. Her tendrils reacted and shot at the EVA stabbing its leg before retracting.
Miki then went in and tore into its side with her EVA's claws. Blood shot out but Miki was not done just yet before she used her arm blade to chop off its goon arm leaving it defenseless. But the time to end it was now so she jumped onto her foe and proceeded to tear out its throat intent on killing it. Then its eyes flashed in response before its core was exposed and collapsed on itself. What followed was the EVA exploding into a massive cross much to everyone's surprise.
"Honeybee/Miki!" Mari, Hurricane, Flash, and Misty all cried out fearing the worst had happened here. Just then boosters were heard and from it they saw the pylons from Miki's EVA flying into the ground zero. What followed was the sight of Miki's EVA coming out singed but unharmed as the energy tendrils were absorbed by the armor before reattaching itself. The maw snapped close before restraint bolts were heard activating. In the crater was the remains of the new EVA Unit that had attacked.
"Why didn't our sensors pick up on it?" Maya asked shocked that it had blindsided them. Just then an alert came in and in turn Jun sighed to this.
"Euro NERV Is about to be cleansed and reactivated." Jun said as she began to walk off. "I'm done here, I have a body to study." Jun said as she began to walk off leaving the science team to do their jobs. They had another task here, and that was to gather supplies from the Euro NERV base that was underneath the former French city of Paris.
(Scene Break Trailer Red Earth)
After everything that had happened the three pilots were currently sitting around a table with a deck of cards between them with a crate of supplies off to the corner. It was mundane with how it looked as they played their game of cards. It had been well over a week since the battle to stop Fourth Impact and right now this was all they could do right now. The now 28-year-olds Shinji and Asuka and the still 14-year-old Rei-Q were still fresh from the battle. Shinji and Asuka's plugsuits were torn due to the sudden growth spurt so were forced to gather what they could from the ruins of Japan.
Oddly, enough Akira, Eve, and Kuzo were nowhere to be seen and there was this rumbling going of outside in steady intervals. Asuka then coughed a bit as the silence was getting a tad bit awkward for the trio here. "So… we going to talk about the Elephant in the room?" Asuka asked gesturing to her new body and Shinji's as well.
"I do not believe there is much to speak of, Wingle Operator, Eve's theory is sound enough." Rei-Q said and thus Asuka glared at her.
"Shut up!" Asuka snapped pointing an accusing finger at Rei-Q who obeyed. "I mean what are we going to tell everyone when we see them?" Asuka asked as she directed her attention to Shinji.
"Officially I'm not a part of WILLE I already have an excuse that can be used, been held prisoner by NERV for over 14 years and only recently been rescued with heavy casualty." Shinji said as he sat around trying to decide on his move in this game.
"Stop avoiding it Shinji it's not just the civilians but WILLE." Asuka said but then all of a sudden, the entire trailer bounced causing everyone to fall over and the cards to scatter all over the table.
"Did we hit another bump?" Shinji asked as he rolled off his back to get back up.
Meanwhile Asuka growled to this bump as she got back up grabbing her communicator as she does it. She then stormed over to the window and opened it causing a billowing wind to blow out as she stuck her head out letting her hair be blown by said wind. "HEY ASSHOLES WALK STRAIGHT!" Asuka yelled into the communicator as she started up at something outside.
Outside the trailer it was not ground that they were on but the ebony hand of Kaiser holding the trailer. As Kaiser walked carrying the trailer Akira rolled his eyes to this as he had a response for Asuka as he was driving. "Oh, quit your complaining or else we'll drop you." Akira threatened as he was annoyed with Asuka's constant complaining.
Kaiser was walking through the Red Earth carrying the Trailer in hands as opposed to carrying the pilots only. The idea came about when they managed to find a trailer that surprisingly enough had survived everything thrown at it. It was a damn miracle it had survived this long.
Regardless the mechs continued its journey as high above Wingle was flying above giving them constant updates of any surprises.
(Meanwhile up in the sky Wingle)
Eve stared out to the distance hovering close to Kaiser's position keeping an eye out for possible enemies from NERV. So far, the entire journey has been quiet even peaceful if she dared to say. But her mind was elsewhere particularly over what had happened.
According to Asuka they were heading towards Village-3 where they can meet up with WILLE and regroup with the Wundur. Eve was grateful for that, but she was concerned for Akira and Kuzo. From what Asuka had explained the village was peaceful protected by the UN and what not. While the rest of humanity was made to suffer the Village was a safe haven. Akira and Kuzo will not do well in such a place for long getting stir crazy would not describe how itchy they will both get.
But the fact that Asuka and Shinji had undergone such a dramatic change had Eve thinking. She recalled how she described the theory as to why it happened the other night by the campfire.
(Flashback)
"Photonic Ionization?" Asuka asked as she raised a brow while they sat around a barrel serving as their fire pit. Skull Pilder and Wing Pilder were parked outside of the trailer they found and were ready to deploy at a moment's notice. Not that far away Kaiser and Wingle were stored in the red water of the lake with it reaching up to their waists. The way they had parked looked like the devil and his pet succubus enjoying a relaxing blood bath hot tub… Akira's words not Eve's.
They had some food on hand that the three pilots kept in their Pilders for when they needed to eat. "Yes, the Impact event should not have caused this in your bodies." Eve said as she sat close to the fire on the opposite side of where Rei-Q was sitting.
"When Kaiser detonated the Gravity Core of Iron Kaiser within the Gate of Guff it released charged Photons in the air." Eve explained as she recalled the light show they all went through. "Anything that was infused with LCL was purged including your cells being the closest to Ground Zero." Eve said recalling all that happened.
"Then why wasn't she affected?" Asuka asked pointing at Rei-Q.
"Because she's an artificial being not designed to last long her biology is different from those who were naturally born humans." Eve said as she looked to Shinji and Asuka.
"Still doesn't explain the rapid aging." Kuzo said as he then took a bite of his dried meat.
"I'm getting to that." Eve said as she explained her theory. "The Gate of Guff was the deciding factor its energies warped reality, space and time were in flux." Eve said and then Shinji cut in.
"It has merit." Shinji said as all eyes looked to him. "Inside the Gate of Guff time and space no longer matters you could literally create an entire world from in there with time and power." Shinji said and thus Eve nodded to this.
"So that same lack of the laws of physics leaked out into our world and reacted to each of your minds." Eve said gesturing to Shinji and Asuka. "My guess is either you did some growing or your mind knew it was supposed to be 28-years-old and used the Gate to rectify that error." Eve said as thus it was the only theory she had.
"So basically, Fourth Impact burned out the LCL in their bodies, and their minds during the chaos drifted and aged them up?" Akira asked as he raised a brow of confusion here.
"It's the only theory I have unfortunately." Eve said and thus they all saw where this was going for them.
"Well, it's better than nothing." Kuzo said as he then added to the fire. "Once we get back to the Wundur we can Jun and Ritsuko run some tests and learn more." Kuzo said as it was their best bet if they wanted answers beyond any simple speculations.
(End Flashback)
And that campfire gave them a lot to think about as they continued to travel to Village-3. Eve glared out towards the clouds wondering if the Village had survived the near Fourth Impact considering how close it was to what had basically been ground zero. Hopefully, the Pillars surrounding the area had blocked out the effects of Third Impact from reaching them. But with the former domains of Slum King, Death Star, and Kiba now under UN control this meant more locations for humanity to survive in this chaos.
Just then she saw a familiar sight coming on the horizon. "Kaiser this is the Wingle I've spotted the Pillars." Eve reported as their long trip was at an end.
(Back in the Skull Pilder)
"About damn time!" Akira called out and in turn he was happy that their trip had finally about to end.
"You've hardly gone this long without fighting something… that's a new record." Kuzo quipped with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, shut your damn mouth." Akira said as he seemed oddly on edge right now.
(Meanwhile in the Pilots Trailer)
"Well, that's good news." Asuka said as she sat down on the couch that their ordeal was going to end.
"But… how do we explain Kaiser and Wingle?" Rei-Q asked and thus Asuka sighed to this.
"Leave that to me." Asuka said as Rei-Q had a point since they wanted to avoid causing a scene. "Though I'm going to have to make a few other calls while I'm at it." Asuka said as this was going to be a long day for all of them.
(Scene Break Suzuhara Residence Village-3)
Toji likes to think of himself as a reasonable guy had to be 14 years after the true Third Impact. He did his taxes helped out at the clinic and was basically a productive member of this post Impact society. HE thinks in Village-3 he got the better end of the post apocalypse society then others out in the world. So, one can only imagine the shock he received today.
First started with the Village officials showing up around his clinic and telling him he needed to finish up with any appointments immediately or reschedule. Second was the fact that he was told to have the area cleared out before it was followed by an alert for all the streets and roads to be cleared. Toji was a reasonable person, but this had never happened in Village-3 since its conception.
The officials remained as they also had a truck on standby for some odd reason. They told him that he will be taking a few patients into his clinic, and they needed the upmost secrecy at the moment. Toji was suspicious, who wouldn't be, but then next surprise nearly gave him a heart attack. In the sky Toji saw a giant female robot flying past his clinic towards the forest. If that wasn't a shock enough it was followed by the rumbling of the ground shaking just about everything as it grew louder and closer. Then it came a giant ghastly looking robot that was holding a trailer in its massive hands.
The Robot began to kneel down gently as Toji stood there in shock for a moment. For a moment he actually thought the robot was his patient which sounded dumb, but his mind was rebooting at the moment. Just as the trailer was about to be placed down the robot let go causing the trailer to shake before being followed by the familiar vitriol of swears from inside it.
Toji was shocked by this before the robot stood back up and just… waited. Just then the door of the trailer creaked open and from inside he saw a familiar blue eye. "Suzuhara." Asuka was heard and thus Toji was surprised by this.
"Asuka?! What happened are you ok?" Toji asked with concerns.
"It's complicated but I can't get out yet… do you mind grabbing us some spare clothing… won't go into details but our current outfits are too small." Asuka said and thus Toji got the gist of it.
"Uh sure anything else?" Toji asked finding all of this to be getting strange.
"Yeah… do not freak out." Asuka added and thus Toji nodded to this one. She then closed the door and from there Toji got moving. Kaiser meanwhile saw his job was done and carefully stepped away from the clinic and headed towards the forest Wingle had flown towards to park.
(Later that day the Clinic)
After being given some scrubs to wear Shinji and Asuka had departed the trailer with Rei-Q and in turn got collected gaps from Toji and his family. Shinji was not that surprised Toji, and Hikari got married while he was away and was happy for his friend to find happiness. But that didn't change their reaction to seeing Shinji and Asuka in their 28-year-old bodies.
"Asuka your cured!" Hikari called out as they had gotten through the exams and beyond the physical aging there as no immediate issues to be found.
"I know but was there any issues you guys could find?" Asuka asked as they spent the last hour or so trying to find anything wrong with their bodies.
"None your as healthy as a horse." Toji said giving them to clean bill of Health.
"That's good." Shinji said as he stood from the bed once Toji finished his exam. He had to admit Toji never struck him as someone to become a doctor.
"You have to tell us everything." Hikari said wanting to know what's been going on.
"Later right now we need to figure out our living situation." Asuka said assuring them that they will talk later. "By the way have any of you seen Kaji recently?" Asuka asked as Hikari nodded.
"Oh yes he's not here right now but if you want to see him." Hikari began but Asuka cut her off.
"No just asking is all." Asuka said as she was opting to avoid Kaji Jr. After making her vow to kill Misato and Ritsuko for lying to her about being a clone and using her Asuka felt it was best to avoid the boy she was going to orphan. That way she wouldn't get second thoughts about what she was had planned to do.
"I'm sure it's a story though." Toji cut in as he looked over to them. "I mean you don't come in on Giant robots with one carrying that trailer and not have a story to tell." Toji said as he wondered how that had happened.
"Look things are kind of complicated right now… can we talk later?" Asuka asked and thus Toji and Hikari shrugged to this one.
"Fine… so what about those other three?" Toji asked recalling Akira, Kuzo, and Eve's arrival after they had parked Kaiser and Wingle.
"That is even more of a story." Asuka admitted knowing that they would be here a while. "We can tell you later AFTER we have our living situation sorted out." Asuka said as she hoped Akira and Kuzo aren't causing any trouble for these people.
"Yeah, I want to know if there is a reason why that that kid with the knives looks like the two of you went through a blender." Toji said as he wanted to know why the boy looked like he could pass himself off as Asuka and Shinji's kid.
(Meanwhile outside with the pilots)
Akira growled as he glared at the village and its people. He saw folks loading the trailer up to transport it elsewhere with Skull Pilder and Wingle's Pilder parked nearby. As he stood there his hands were getting itchy towards his blades keeping an eye on these people. He didn't like it Akira didn't like how friendly they were being they had to be after something from him and Kuzo. He noted how they avoided Skull Pilder no doubt a jet that was shaped as a skull freaked them out.
Kuzo for his part was nearby inspecting his guns making it clear that he was armed and deadly to anyone who would approach. Eve was currently going through her data gathering more after Shinji and Asuka got their medical exams which yielded no results on their sudden aged up forms. Just then Akira heard barking and soon was followed by the pitter patter of feed.
Looking to the source Akira saw a little kid with his dog looking at him. "Hi." The kid greeted as Akira glared at the boy.
"Beat it you little brat." Akira said as he was not going to play babysitter.
"Why?" He asked and thus Akira growled at the boy.
"Because I said so now go." Akira responded making it clear that he did not want to deal with the boy and his stupid dog.
"But I live here, maybe you should go." The boy responded and thus Akira decided to increase the pressure.
"I SAID BEAT IT!" Akira snarled and in turn startled the boy enough for him to jump back in fright. With tears forming in his eyes the boy ran back inside with his dog towing behind him.
"Well, that was uncalled for." Eve said as she saw what Akira did just now. She gets Akira can be a bit of a loner at times but that was beyond what he normally did.
"I don't deal with little kids, and I certainly don't put up with their antics." Akira said making it clear that the boy best steer clear of him for now.
Eve saw what was going on Akira was on edge in fact they were all on edge. This village was a complete 180 from what they normally dealt with out on the Red Earth. This was exactly what she was worried about for Kaiser's pilots. They are so used to fighting and surviving that the mere thought of being in a peaceful situation was a foreign subject and in turn left them at a loss. The boy had probably run off inside to cry to his mother about Akira earlier rudeness.
"Akira these people are welcoming us let's try not to anger them." Eve said as they needed a roof over their heads until they can contact the Wundur for pickup.
"Whatever." Akira said as he stood up from the wall. "I'm going to see if the EVA Pilots are done." Akira said as he walked towards the clinic knowing the riot act, he was about to get from those inside. Once he was gone Eve directed her attention over to Kuzo knowing she had to keep a close eye on the two of them as well as on Shinji too.
Akira and Kuzo are not used to being at peace and Shinji had displayed some concerning attributes after the near Fourth Impact had been stopped. This may cause them trouble later, so she needed to be ready for it which meant getting their living situation sorted out first and foremost.
(Back inside the Suzuhara Clinic)
Toji and Hikari were doing a small bit of catching up with Shinji and Asuka as it all seemed peaceful. Hikari and Toji noted that it wasn't just the physical changes that Shinji and Asuka had but there was some emotional changes as well both good and bad. It was subtle but they saw it and knew a lot had happened while they were away.
But before they could push for it the Suzuhara child ran inside in tears. "Shiro what's wrong?" Hikari asked her maternal instincts kicking in.
"There was this mean big kid outside he yelled at me to leave." The boy said causing Hikari to get worried as Asuka knew who it was.
Just then the door opened again as Akira walked in clearly annoyed right now. "Hey, you guys done yet I'm getting a bit stir crazy." Akira said with a rude tone in his voice.
"That's him!" The boy called out as he pointed at Akira as Asuka cringed realizing that of course it was Akira who yelled at Shiro.
"What I was nice about it… at first." Akira said as knowing him his version of nice was rude to other people in the village.
'Definite delinquent at best.' Hikari thought as the way Akira carried himself had all the telltale signs of a hoodlum. But the dagger he had also alerted Hikari of Akira possibly being a dangerous boy.
"Anyway, you guys done here, it's been a long trip and I'd rather we get the whole housing shit sorted out now rather than later." Akira said as he was clearly in a rush to get out of this place.
"Akira, was it?" Hikari asked as she was being as nice as possible.
"Yeah, what do you want?!" Akira snapped glaring at Hikari showing zero respect for the adult here.
"Hey, watch your tone kid." Toji snapped as he glared at Akira sternly causing him to scoff before looking over to the clinics main doctor.
"Let me think about." Akira said before scoffing. "Hell no." Akira said and thus Asuka knew she had to step in before it got out of hand.
"Young man." Hikari began her voice low and stern. "I think you should leave." Hikari said not wanting to expose either of her kids to this kind of behavior from someone who should know better.
"Trust me I didn't plan to stay around." Akira said and thus stepped back outside not caring if he was unwelcomed by the Suzuhara's in their clinic or even their own home.
Once things began to calm down Shinji was the one to speak up. "I'm very sorry about it him." Shinji said as Toji waved him off.
"It's not your fault… his parents should have reigned him in when he was smaller." Toji said but then Asuka cleared her throat a bit.
"About that, his parents didn't even know he existed especially after Fourth Impact." Asuka said and thus there was clearly a story to tell here.
Looking to this Hikari put the pieces together on the spot. "No." Hikari said surprised to find Akira was in fact Shinji and Asuka's son.
"It's complicated but do you guys remember when I told you about the Unit-03 incident?" Asuka asked as she looked to the couple who nodded. "Well, some of my DNA got left behind on Unit-01 and during the Near Third Impact it melded with Shinji's DNA resulting into… him." Asuka said gesturing to where Akira had left through the door.
"So, what your saying is Akira is basically." Hikari began and thus saw how Asuka tensed up but didn't cut her off. Hikari paused as she knew this was a straining situation for them all. Shinji was more or less aware of what Akira was and had yet to approach Akira about it because he didn't know what Akira was to him.
"Honestly, I don't know anymore if he's my clone or my kid." Asuka admitted because in the past she felt Clones can't have kids, but Rei proved that wrong with Eve and Akira was living proof as well. "He's already 14 and had to survive on his own." Asuka added as she wasn't sure how to feel here.
"Maybe… you should talk to him for a bit." Hikari said advising Asuka on what to do with the boy. "I know it's a lot to ask but I think you both need it." Hikari said suspecting Akira's life was not easy for the boy.
"Maybe." Asuka said as she considered Hikari's words. Asuka still had a lot of baggage to deal with as well as her rage against Misato and Ritsuko. They lied to her for over 14 years perpetuating the lie NERV originally told her about her origins. Clenching her fist, a bit Asuka sighed before she looked to the door opting to give Akira time to cool off before she spoke to him about his previous behavior.
(Later outside of the Clinic)
Akira leaned against the wall as Skull Pilder was loaded onto the truck with Wingle's Pilder. Nearby the Trailer was being hooked up to a truck so it can be towed away torts another location. As Akira watched he could not help but glare at the scene half-expecting to attempt to steal the Pilders and both robots, Kaiser, and the Wingle. Not like that would succeed but Akira, Kuzo, and Eve had met several people like that in the past who stole the Pilders thinking they can get those robots to listen to their commands alone.
Just then the voice of Asuka was heard nearby but now dressed in a set of Hikari's spare clothing. "Akira." Asuka said as Akira looked over and saw Asuka standing near where he was hiding. "Look I'm not here to yell or go off on you." Asuka began as Akira rolled his eyes to this.
"Great now go away." Akira said and thus Asuka had to quickly reign her anger in from Akira's rudeness here.
"No but we do need to talk." Asuka said and thus she got down to it. "What you did to that boy was uncalled for Akira he was just a little kid." Asuka began sounding stern as she spoke. "And how you spoke to Hikari and Toji who were being very nice and welcoming to you was also uncalled for." Asuka said and in turn Akira had enough.
"Hey, I didn't do anything to them." Akira said as she was clearly defending that he was in the right. "Besides people don't act like that unless there's some gains to be had." Akira added referring to his life prior to this.
Asuka was already losing her temper and she was still not in the best mental place to have this talk. But Shinji was in worse condition then she was, and Shinji was hiding it well. "Listen Akira things are different here you need to reign yourself in." Asuka said making it clear Akira's normal behavior was not going to be tolerated in the Village.
Akira scoffed to this and began to walk away showing her was not listening. "Sure, and then they slit your throat in your sleep." Akira said as he began to walk away thinking Asuka would not do anything this time around.
Asuka however had enough of this, so she acted. She caught Akira by surprised disarmed him of his dagger before grabbing him by the collar of his coat and pinning him to the wall. Akira was surprised by this and the fact that Asuka had gotten one over on him.
"Listen Akira I get it you lived your whole fucking life out in the Red Earth or under the tyranny of one of those three War Lords!" Asuka snapped as she glared directly at Akira. "But this isn't the Red Earth this place can give you the chance to actually live not just survive." Asuka went on but then Akira pushed Asuka back with a flare of his own strength.
"Your not the boss of me so don't tell me what to do!" Akira snapped before storming off leaving Asuka standing there for a bit. As Akira left, he made sure to retrieve his dagger so he would not be defenseless when in the Village.
Once Akira was gone Asuka let out a frustrated sigh as she saw this was going to be a lot of work for everyone here. "Teenagers." Asuka said in an exasperated tone over Akira's response. But then Asuka stopped as she realized what she just said and even dressed in Hikari's spare clothing Asuka saw that she had changed.
Looking at her reflection on a window Asuka was met with the face of not a 14-year-old girl with the mind of a 28-year-old woman but she was now a full-grown adult woman. She never really came to terms with the fact that she was cured all because of the near Fourth Impact amongst all the other factors of that incident. She never thought she'd be able to look at the true form of herself without the Curse of EVA but here she was. Of course, the eyepatch was a constant reminder of the Angel locked up inside of her body. Asuka let out a tired sigh before she headed out herself knowing they had to sort out their living arrangements.
(Later that day Aida Residence)
Late into the afternoon the now 28-year-old Kensuke was surprised to find a pickup truck outside his house towing a trailer. Following it was a flatbed truck holding a couple of vehicle jets one shaped like a skull which he noted looked creepy to him. But the next bit of shock came when he saw a familiar eye patch depart from the pickup truck.
"Asuka!?" Kensuke cried out shocked to see his ward had arrived. But the one who followed her out shocked him even more. "Shinji!?" He asked and in turn ran over to him noting that they no longer were 28-year-old adults trapped inside 14-year-old teenage bodies here.
"Hey, Ken-chan." Asuka greeted but the way she said that came off as wrong. "No… wait that's wrong, Kensuke." Asuka said as Kensuke saw that was also different from before.
"Asuka your cured." Kensuke said surprised to find that Asuka was no longer a teenager.
"Yeah, it's a long story." Asuka said before looking at his house. "Are my things still in there?" Asuka asked and thus Kensuke nodded.
"Yeah, why?" Kensuke asked and in turn Asuka sighed to this.
"Shinji and I will explain more inside." Asuka said and in turn Kensuke nodded.
"Right come on in." Kensuke said as Shinji nodded to this.
"Thank you." Shinji said and thus they began to enter Kensuke's house. Kensuke meanwhile noted Asuka giving Akira a small glare silently telling him to behave. Kensuke may need to ask about that one later.
(Later inside the Aida Residence)
The party was now gathered in the sitting room as tea had been passed around. Needless to say, Kensuke was shocked after all he had heard. Asuka, Shinji, and Eve had all taken turns explaining the situation with Akira and Kuzo filling in the blanks.
"That's something." Kensuke said after hearing the story from them.
"Yeah, which brings me to why I asked if my stuff was still here." Asuka said and thus got straight to it. "I'm moving out." Asuka said as she scratched her head a bit. "Right now, if I kept living here it wouldn't look right." Asuka said making up excuses which Kensuke saw right through.
"Your moving in with Shinji?" Kensuke said more then asked as Asuka scoffed to this.
"Don't look to deep into it we're both EVA Pilots even if Shinji is an Ex-Pilot." Asuka said waving it as the sole reason here. "Plus, he needs help keeping an eye on her." Asuka said pointing to Rei-Q here causing Eve to glare directly at the Ayanami Type Clone.
"Are you sure I don't think all six of you can live in that Trailer." Kensuke said gesturing to the trailer outside that had been set up to live in.
"It's all we got right now." Shinji said but then Eve spoke up on this.
"Actually, I don't plan to live in the trailer." Eve said surprising the group.
"Wait what?" Kuzo asked shocked to hear this from Eve.
"I need the space for our operations, and as Aida-san has so clearly stated the Trailer is much to small for such." Eve said as she kept her voice cold and neutral as she spoke. "If Asuka is no longer using her room here then I shall commandeer it for my living quarters." Eve said as Kensuke saw that there was another reason Eve chose this.
"That still doesn't handle the space problem." Kensuke said but Akira waved it off.
"Don't worry Kuzo and I will camp out in the woods." Akira said not at all bothered by doing some camping.
"Nothing we're not used to." Kuzo added with a smirk while crossing his arms and leaning against the far wall.
"Come on you two, the both of you don't have to keep living like that." Shinji said trying to assure them they can house the pair.
"Yeah, no offense to you but being around all this happy mushy welcoming stuff is giving me migraine." Akira said as he looked to Shinji.
"Besides never know when an angry mob will show up and burn you in your sleep." Kuzo added making it clear where he stood on this choice of action.
"Let them." Eve said as she began to stand up. "Its something their used to doing." Eve said making it clear that they could not force this for from them.
"Alright." Asuka said admitting defeat for the time being. But she planned to reapproach the subject at a later date.
(Scene Break that evening Aida Residence)
Day eventually made way into night and once Asuka's belonging had been transferred over to the trailer Eve had moved in. She had a lot of equipment stored in the Wingle's Pilder that, once Asuka's things were cleared out, she had gotten to work setting all the devices up. So, it was an odd scene when Kensuke walked in and found Eve had in just a few short hours turned the bedroom into mission control. He had to admit the girl works fast when she is focused on something.
As she stood in the room Eve was already getting to work typing away on keyboard and the like inputting commands and the like. "Hey um Eve." Kensuke began as he approached the young girl. "How are you settling in?" Kensuke asked trying to get a good read on her.
"These lodging are adequate to suit my needs." Eve said as she kept typing away starting up the systems. Entering the room Kensuke saw what Eve had put in place the desk had several computer screens set up that showed different views such as a radar, security camera's and several other devices set up. The girl looked ready for a combat operations from the look of how she handled things. That alone gave him cause for concern here.
"Uh I know you are all business, but this is still my house." Kensuke said but Eve disregarded his concerns.
"Do not worry my set up shall not interfere with your day-to-day life." Eve said as she kept doing what she needed to do on her terminals.
"Alright but you should go to bed we need to be up early." Kensuke said knowing Eve needed her sleep.
"I'll got to sleep later." Eve said as she kept on working. "This needs to be done so to ensure the Village is secured as are Kaiser and Wingle." Eve said as she her eyes drooped a bit. But shaking her head Eve kept working and while she hid it well it was clear to Kensuke that she needed sleep.
"The village will be fine." Kensuke said assuring her. "You won't be of any help to people if you pass out." Kensuke said making it clear that this was not up for debate anymore. This was his house so Eve would follow his rules.
Even then let out a tired sigh of defeat before putting the programs on auto. "I suppose a few hours of rest would not impede me too much." Eve said and thus Kensuke nodded as he smiled at Eve for agreeing.
"Good, sleep well." Kensuke said once he was sure Eve was under the sheets and what followed was her light snoring from her. Turning off the lights Kensuke took his leave to allow Eve to sleep without any outside interruptions. Once he was outside the room Kensuke chuckled to himself over his situation as of late. "Jeez I keep taking in strays." Kensuke sighed as he wondered if he should be running on orphanage or something with how many kids seem to flock towards him.
(Scene Break The EVA Trailer Shinji)
Shinji was laying down on the Sofa as he looked up to the ceiling with only a pillow and a blanket. Asuka had laid claim to one of the two rooms in the trailer with Rei-Q taking the other one. Shinji laid on the bed staring up at the ceiling as sleep seemed to elude him. So much has happened in such a short amount of time that he wasn't sure what to do anymore.
Turning to his side Shinji's mind went over to the Fourth Impact how his father had tricked and manipulated him into compliance. He suspected Shinji of having courage and planned accordingly to counter that. The Dummy Plug its always that damn Dummy Plug and in that final moment he destroyed a Dummy Plug. Forcing open a panel and tearing the wires out had caused Shinji extreme pain from it feeling like his heart was about to give out. But in Shinji's mind it was an acceptable lost if it meant stopping his father insane plan.
Yet somehow Shinji survived and from it he was aged up to the age he was supposed to be. Laying there Shinji wondered if he was of any use like this… maybe if he was lucky, he lost the ability to pilot the EVA units. No Gendo needed Shinji to awaken Unit-13 and now that the deed was done Shinji suspected he'd be cast aside. He didn't care though as long as his father was defeated in the end Shinji would die a thousand times before allowing Asuka or anyone he cared about to come to harm. Laying there Shinji wondered to himself if WILLE would find them and retrieve them to continue the fight.
Laying there Shinji needed to know something he made choices and his father manipulated their outcomes. If Shinji had been left unaware of what's been happening these past 14 years, the result may have been the same if not worse. It was like gambling sometimes and unfortunately Gendo ensured that the deck had marked cards. He needed to stop his father, but Shinji didn't know how to do it. So, while waiting for sleep to finally claim him the Shinji's thoughts began to wonder over to Asuka and Akira.
(Meanwhile over in Asuka's room)
It was late as Asuka laid in her bed of the Trailers master bedroom. It was typical of Shinji to give her the biggest room as well as Rei-Q. Yet despite laying there she could not help but find it empty to be in here. Its strange when she had originally learned of her connection to Akira, she wanted nothing to do with the boy. But seeing the world that made him what he was, fighting alongside him against NERV, seeing him risk everything to save his two friends, and most of all seeing him fight tooth and nail to stop the Near Fourth Impact has changed her views somewhat.
Then this happened, she was cured and aged up to her proper age and despite finally being the adult she knew she was… Asuka still felt like a child. It was strange since she had scolded Akira like a mother would her wayward teenager earlier. Then when he verbally lashed out and stormed off Asuka realized she acted on instinct when she complained about, teenagers.
Turning her head to the side Asuka wanted Shinji to be here with her. To lay down with her hold her, comfort her, and she wanted to do the same to him. Sadly, chuckling to herself it didn't take long for her to realize she was doing it all over again. Asuka was putting her walls up to protect herself expecting people to understand her without understanding them first. It was a vicious cycle that had paid her back with many traumas of the mind and scars on the body. Standing up Asuka got out of bed and grabbed a pillow before she left her room.
(Back over with Shinji)
Shinji was caught off guard when the door to Asuka's room opened so acting fast, he tried to pretend to be asleep not wanting to disturb her or bother her. Asuka approached Shinji prone form and glared down at him seeing right through his act. "Knock it off Shinji your not a child anymore." Asuka said and thus Shinji was surprised by this. "Make room." Asuka ordered and thus Shinji was shocked when Asuka moved the sheets and laid down on top of Shinji before covering them both in the blanket.
"Asuka… I." Shinji began but Asuka cut him off.
"Shush." Asuka said as she laid there. "I really did miss you and I am angry you never tried to contact us." Asuka said but as she laid there, she just let Shinji's heartbeat lull her into a calm demeanor. "But… I don't want you blaming yourself anymore." She added and thus Shinji was surprised by those words.
"Your father used you he played with your sense of right and wrong and made sure no matter what choice you made people you care about, and innocent people would suffer for it." Asuka said and thus she clenched her hand on Shinji's shirt. "He gave you a lose-lose situation so all you could do was take the one with the best chance of saving people." Asuka said as she knew Shinji had stalled for time so WILLE could arrive. Sadly, Gendo had planned for that and gave Unit-13 Dummy Plugs that he could control for his plans to come to fruition.
"I'm sorry." Shinji apologized only for Asuka to flick him in the nose.
"Don't be sorry for things outside your control." Asuka said and thus she just laid there. "If you need to apologize, then make sure it's something that's actually your fault." Asuka said reminding Shinji that he is not the source of all the worlds issues and problems.
"I… I understand." Shinji said causing Asuka to smile. "Improvement, that's a good thing." Asuka said and thus the two began to drift off into sleep.
'It's lonely to sleep alone.'
With that thought the pair fell asleep unaware that Rei-Q stood against the door of her own room holding something hidden in her hand.
(Meanwhile The Kaiser Pilots Camp)
Akira and Kuzo sat around the campfire that they set up where they had parked Kaiser next to Wingle. Wingle was sitting with her legs dipped into the lake while Kaiser was sitting against the mountain side like a throne. As they kept the fire burning Kuzo decided to be the first to speak up.
"So… we going to talk about what happened at the clinic?" Kuzo asked as Akira glared and focused on cooking the fish they had on sticks over the fire.
"Drop it." Akira said knowing what Kuzo was going for here.
"Just saying you never struck me as the angsty Teenager." Kuzo said but Akira glared at Kuzo for this.
"Its nothing we're only here until WILLE finds us and then its back to our regularly scheduled NERV ass kicking." Akira said as he then took the stick and began to eat the fish he cooked.
"And with that I can agree with." Kuzo said as he glared back to where the direction of Village-3 was. "Being in that place makes my skin crawl." Kuzo said as he felt wrong being in a place like that. They were so used to people eyeing them up wanting to kill or rape them that people treating them with kindness and expecting nothing in return unnerved Akira and Kuzo. It was why they chose to camp out here for the night they can be around something familiar to them instead of being forced into such a sudden venue change.
"The sooner we can contact the Wundur the sooner we can get our asses out of the land of pansy's." Akira said glaring at the distance where Village-3 was before adding wood to the fire. He took a bite of his food as Kuzo saw the village in the distance.
"Strange these people survive out here without a societal collapse." Kuzo said taking a bite out of his own food before swallowing. "But I guess some people have it better than others." He added as he figured that these people must be doing something right for their society to be functioning in such a way.
"Until some other jackass dictator moves in and destroys it all." Akira said not buying that this place would last this long or that it could even survive at all.
"Well, when that happens at least its something we're used to." Kuzo said as Akira shrugged to this.
"I guess." Akira said as he laid back and put his hands behind his head after finishing his meal. "Let's hit the hay if we don't show up tomorrow because we overslept their going to be pains in the asses." Akira said and thus Kuzo shrugged and joined Akira in dream land.
(Scene Break Wundur Jun's lab)
Jun was cutting open the remains of the new EVA unit as she had Ritsuko, Sakura, and Maya who were all assisting her. Midori was there but was more like an intern at this point. As Jun studied the tech used, she noticed something about it something unique which caused her to smirk to this.
"Well, isn't that a familiar sight." Jun voiced as this got the others attention on her.
"What is?" Ritsuko asked as she looked over.
"This tech… it's the same kind of tech I had used for Kaiser and Wingle." Jun revealed as Midori heard it.
"I knew it those two could not be trusted!" Midori yelled only to have an empty soda thrown at her head causing her to stop. The source of it was Jun as she then continued to talk.
"It seems Gendo has gotten access to some of my old resources in NERV." Jun said with a smirk on her face. "But one issues is that unlike the Iron Kaiser this one seemed to be a chimera of EVA and Kaiser." Jun said showing her findings to the others.
"What does that mean?" Sakura asked and thus Jun sighed to this.
"This one is the first in a long line." Jun said and thus it was clear that that the war with NERV was about to change.
(Scene Break the Red Earth)
Deep in the barren wasteland of the Red Earth a singular being was seen walking through. As she walked her poncho made her look like a wandering warrior, yet her eyes showed something much more. But then the wind blew revealing who this woman was and needless to say her form was completely alien to this world.
"So… this is another world of Evangelion. It is also another world that has touched by Mazinger." The woman said as she began to walk off following the trail left behind by the Mazinger's battle. "Will this world suffer the wrath of Zero or shall Armaros become the fate of this world?" She asked as she walked off knowing that she must see for herself and intervene should the need arrive. "Koji even if you do not exist, I will hold my promise and stop Zero's birth." She said with her voice full of heroic convictions.
She had emerged from the Gate of Guff small and undetectable when she had sensed the power of the Mazinger. Every Mazinger was a seed, the seed of Zero because if a world exists with Mazinger but no Koji Kabuto then Zero could emerge from any Mazinger. But Koji does not exist in this world, yet Mazinger does as does EVA. This meant Shinji Ikari exists in this world as well and thus she must find him before the chaos begins.
(TBC)
ESKK: A new chapter is finished I hope you all enjoyed it and will join us for the next one. So, until then be sure to leave a review before leaving and as always ja-ne.