Chapter 47 - Nothing Personal, Kids
When the alarm sounded, the three pilots were at the watermelon patch. Rei and Asuka both grabbed Shinji and hauled him towards the Section Two car waiting for them, one agent already behind the wheel and the other frantically waving at them. Thankfully they wouldn't need to change, as Misato had insisted they wear their plugsuits while on alert.
Through the car's radio, they could hear numerous reports from other NERV personnel. Most were being shouted, some were accompanied by gunfire, and none of them sounded good.
"Do we know what we're up against?" Asuka inquired as the car sped across the Geofront.
"JSSDF," said one of the agents. "The government's declared NERV a terrorist organisation and is throwing everything it can against us."
"Oh hell." Asuka glanced at Shinji, who had gone very still. It was one thing to destroy monsters threatening to end the world. It was another thing entirely to fight other humans; people who, up until recently, were the ones they were destroying those monsters to protect. Especially when those people had most likely been deceived by the ones running the show from the shadows.
There would be no peaceful resolution here. NERV had been attacked suddenly, without a demand for surrender. They had apparently already partially infiltrated the base, if the reports were anything to go by.
"Shinji," Asuka slowly began. "I know you said we won't fight other people, but..."
"I know," replied Shinji, his fists clenching spasmodically. He took what was probably supposed to be a deep calming breath and turned to Asuka. "But I was talking about... getting dragged into some politician's petty arguments. Rich fat assholes, like you said."
Asuka grinned slightly at her own words. "But if they're-"
The front passenger window suddenly exploded inwards. The agent sitting there jerked in his seat then slumped forward. The driver cursed and gunned the engine, taking the car off the road to cut directly towards a gateway out of the Geofront.
XXX
"The pilots' car is under attack!"
"Diverting Squad Seven to Gate Five to intercept!"
"Enemy has breached Sectors Fourteen through Eighteen!
"Stay back! The maniacs are using flamethrowers!"
Misato could only barely keep track of everything happening. Her military career and NERV training had not prepared her to repel an invasion like this, but Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki and Commander Ikari were absent from the bridge. Security cameras had completely failed to locate them, and Misato suspected she knew exactly where they had gone. Ritsuko had been here earlier, preparing some kind of firewall to protect the MAGI from attacks, but she had also run off.
The people of NERV were getting slaughtered by their country's own military, soldiers and civilians alike gunned down without mercy. On one camera feed, a man walked around a corner with his hands high over his head only to immediately take a bullet to the head and fall. On another, two black-suited invaders stood at a doorway somewhere in the medical wing and swept a flamethrower across the interior, the bedridden victims screaming and flailing in agony.
The most important camera feed focused on the pilots, having just reached Gate Five. Two agents, one of them carrying Shinji, escorted them down a corridor while Squad Seven covered the exit. The camera feed suddenly died, and the reason why made itself clear a split second later.
What felt like an earthquake struck the Geofront, sending people sprawling to the ground everywhere. Misato staggered to her feet, having just barely missed smacking her head on a console on the way down. Aoba wasn't as lucky, putting a hand over a gash in his temple. Hyuga helped him to a chair before returning to his own station.
"The... the JSSDF deployed an N2 mine!" Maya reported in horror. "The Geofront... it's completely open to the surface now!"
Through the staticy fuzz of a damaged camera. Misato stared in shock at the hole that had just been created. Tokyo-3 was no more; The explosion had stripped away the mountains like hot wax under a blowtorch, and the Geofront was wide open to the surface. She gathered herself and focused. "I'm sure they'll be bringing stuff in through there now. Helicopters and troop transports, maybe airlifted armour as well."
"Our defense forces are already being overwhelmed!" said Hyuga.
"Are the pilots alright?"
The view changed. The teenagers and agents sprinted down a corridor, before skidding to a halt and ducking down a side passage. One agent remained behind, firing up the corridor at something unseen, but he was soon gunned down. A JSSDF soldier advanced into the camera's view and down the side passage, barely giving the downed agent a second glance as he double-tapped him. Several more JSSDF followed behind in single file.
Misato noticed Rei had vanished from the group at some point, most likely during the bombing. "Where's the First Child gone?!" she loudly demanded. The bridge crew tried to locate her, but with so many cameras already inoperable, and a cyber-attack occupying most of the MAGI's attention, they were unsuccessful.
Asuka and the agent carrying Shinji had halted once they realised Rei wasn't with them. Misato urged them onward through the radio; just in time, as the JSSDF squad had caught up with them. Asuka ducked around a corner, but the agent took a round in the back and dropped along with Shinji. Asuka immediately dragged Shinji out of sight before picking up the agent's submachine gun and spraying wildly back down the corridor.
Misato cursed and quickly tried to work out where they were. A moment later she said, "I'm going after the children! Start flooding the corridors with Bakelite but leave a path to the cages!"
Not even waiting for confirmation, she unholstered her weapon and sprinted off to intercept her kids before the JSSDF could get there first.
XXX
Shinji didn't need their bond to sense the panic and anger pouring off of Asuka. People were dying around them, their own country seemingly wanted all of NERV dead, and now they were stranded, so close to the cages but unable to reach their Evangelions.
Because of him. Because he was crippled.
The thought about urging her to leave him behind barely even had time to manifest before it was smashed into oblivion. Either they would both make it or they would die together. Shinji forced himself to his feet and hobbled along to the next junction. He felt a jolt of satisfaction as Asuka managed to drop an overconfident attacker, followed seconds later by terror.
Asuka grabbed him and practically threw both around the corner just as the grenade exploded. She swore as she realised she'd left the pilfered gun behind, but it was almost out of rounds anyway. With no other option, she pulled one of Shinji's arms across her shoulders and dragged him along. There was just one more corridor and they would reach their Evangelions where they could finally fight back.
They were focusing so much on what was behind them that they failed to check their corners. By the time they noticed the squad standing in front of the door to the cages they were already out in the open. A soldier looking their way barked an alert to the other two. Asuka lost her balance coming to a panicked stop and she fell over. Behind them, the squad already in pursuit rounded the corner, cutting off any hope of escape. The men behind them, seeing them helpless, began to relax and laugh, one of them stomping on Asuka's back and casually pointing his sidearm at her.
"Stupid little bitch," he said, grinding his heel into her back while another flipped Shinji onto his stomach as well. "Led us on a merry chase, even manged to hurt one of my men. What are they teaching brats in school these days?"
"Doesn't matter now," said one of the soldiers approaching from the door. "Once we've dealt with the kids NERV's apparently got nothing left."
"Well now, I really hate do do this," said the first soldier, not sounding the least bit remorseful. "But here's where you die. Nothing personal, kids."
Shinji and Asuka reflexively closed their eyes as they heard a gunshot echo in the corridor. There was a moment of confusion, followed by angry shouts, a flashbang exploding, and more gunfire. It took several long seconds to realise they were still alive.
"No offense taken," said a familiar voice. One more gunshot rang out. Something hot and wet splashed onto Shinji's neck, followed shortly after by a heavy weight collapsing on his back.
Asuka dared to open her eyes and sit up. Six soldiers were dead on the ground, one had his hands up and his helmet off to reveal a scruffy face, and Misato was leaning down to check on them while keeping her weapon aimed at the soldier.
"You two alright?" Misato asked.
"I think so," said Asuka. "Doesn't feel like we got... shot..."
Wait.
Scruffy face?
"Kaji?!" Asuka shouted, bouncing to her feet.
"Hey, kiddo!"
The gun almost fell from Misato's hand as she stared at the man in shock. Seeing that he was no longer in danger of getting shot by her, Kaji put his hands down and ran over to them.
"While I'd love to relax and tell you everything, there's no time," he said, all business again. "The JSSDF are winning. We need you kids in your Evas right now!"
Jolted out of her shock, Misato hurried Shinji to his feet. Asuka immediately took hold of him and headed for the door to the cages while the adults stared at each other. She turned around just in time to see Misato interrupt whatever Kaji was going to say by grabbing his face with both hands and kissing him as hard as she could.
"Right!" Misato said as she pulled away and ran to the cage door. "You two get into your Evas. We'll be emergency launching you to the lake in the Geofront. Asuka, the S2 Engine has been cleared for activation so you won't need a cable, but Shinji still does. Cover him as best you can. Evas might be nigh-invulnerable to conventional weapons but the JSSDF can still destroy a cable."
Shinji nodded. "Right. I can't use an AT-Field anyway, so even if I lose the cable I'm guaranteed to have five minutes to find another."
"Be alert at all times," Kaji added. "I don't expect SEELE to just throw men and machines at us. They might even try another N2 bombing. They've already blown a hole from the surface all the way down here."
Both teens gasped in surprise, but there was something more important to ask. "What about Rei?" asked Asuka.
"No idea. We can only hope she's somewhere safe. Now get moving!"
Shinji and Asuka turned to leave, but paused. There was a fraction of a second of eye contact, and then they threw themselves at Misato and Kaji for a hug. The two adults squeezed their wards tight before pushing them through the cage door and sealing it.
As Asuka broke off to head to her own cage, Shinji gripped tightly to her hand and pulled her back to him. If it hadn't been for their bond she would have been completely unprepared for the desperate kiss he gave her. He let her go, nodded once, and scrambled up the gantry to the waiting entry plug. Behind him, she continued her dash to her own Evangelion.
XXX
Misato reloaded her pistol, holstered it, and grabbed what she could from the dead soldiers. She claimed a vest from the asshole she'd shot under the chin and accepted the helmet Kaji plopped on her head.
"Bakelite will have sealed off most of the entrances by now," said Misato, checking her new carbine, "but there's soldiers everywhere. What are we thinking? Stay here or try to reach the command centre?"
"Link up with survivors, consolidate forces," replied Kaji, pocketing as many magazines as he could hold. "We can hold them off better as a group, and the bridge crew don't have the training and experience we do anyway. The kids will be out of here soon anyway, and they'll need someone keeping an eye on things."
"Alright. Let's move."
XXX
Gendo stared up at the white behemoth before him. Fuyutsuki had decided not to join him, instead retiring to his office to wait out whatever was to come. With SEELE finally making their move, it was time for him to finally accomplish his goal. All that remained was the final piece.
The piece that had finally made her way down here, judging by the angry throbbing of Adam in his hand.
"It is time, Rei," he said without turning around.
"Yes." Yes. This close to Lilith, her words were echoed by the Second Angel. Her naked body was faintly glowing, and her skin had the sheen of melting wax. She stared up at her true self with a look of serenity on her face.
Gendo glanced down at her. The chill in his chest had spread to the rest of his body and was almost unbearable, but soon it would be over. "Remember that this will also save the Second and Third, among others. If SEELE were to have their way, they would eradicate anything that would even potentially be a threat to their reign over Instrumentality. All I wish is to be reunited with Yui. Humanity as a whole may continue in whatever fashion it chooses."
"SEELE's pawns are approaching." Rei looked down, and then over her shoulder. "As does another."
Gendo turned around. As he had expected, Ritsuko had chosen to try and stop him. She stood there, facing him down with both hands on a pistol she likely only barely knew how to use.
"It doesn't have to end like this, Gendo!" she shouted, hands trembling slightly. "We can find another way!"
"I have not spent the last decade idly waiting for this day," Gendo calmly replied. "This is the only method that will both eliminate SEELE's hold over humanity and return me to Yui's side."
Ritsuko sneered. "And that's all you care about, isn't it? Humanity can end, the world can burn, just as long as Gendo Ikari reunites with his wife."
"You would let your jealousy deliver us into SEELE's waiting hands. Even if we were to drive off this attack, they would never stop."
"What if there was nothing left of Lilith or the Evangelions?" Ritsuko dropped one hand to her pocket to pull out a device. "We destroy the Geofront. Drop a million tons of rubble on this place. Nothing would be left to fight over."
Gendo restrained a frustrated sigh. This was merely wasting time. "That would not return me to Yui. And you presume too much, gambling on a possibility. SEELE would simply take a few years to unearth them."
With a confident sneer, Ritsuko raised the remote, her thumb hovering over the button. "I'd rather take my chances with that than follow your scheme any longer."
Her thumb went down. The device beeped once.
XXX
"Are you alright, Shinji?"
"Asuka, did you get hurt?"
Their mothers were understandably frantic; they clearly knew what was happening around them, and they weren't even bothering to try and hide themselves from NERV. With their synchronisation strong once again, both pilots could hear each other's mother. They both hastened to give reassurances that they were fine. As he prepared Unit-01 for its launch, she did her best to get him ready to fight human attackers. The fact that they'd both been seconds away from being murdered certainly helped.
"Gendo's most certainly gone off to start his plan," said Yui as the Evangelions trundled along the track to the catapult. "I'm sure I know what it will involve... but you two are better off focusing entirely on what's in front of you. All I'll say for now is that while I really don't approve, at this stage there's no alternative besides SEELE."
"And we can all agree that SEELE can go sodomise themselves with a Prog Knife," said Asuka.
A brief snort of laughter was swiftly stifled. "Language, Asuka! But yes. Yui's filled me in on things, and SEELE would see everyone here wiped from existence. No place for dissident elements in their 'utopia'."
Unit-02 was closest to the catapult, and it was launched the moment it was in position. Since she had an AT-Field and an S2 Engine, she would scout while he was being launched. He didn't bother to tell her to be careful. Words hadn't been needed ever since the kiss.
Twinned gasps of surprise came from their mothers, as if they were also synchronised. Yui and Kyoko looked, metaphorically, at each other and grinned while their children blushed crimson.
Unit-02's catapult slammed to a halt horizontally underneath the lake. The red Evangelion got up as quickly as the water would let it, breaching the surface right next to the mystery destroyer. Around the lake, the JSSDF were already scrambling to cover or to begin futilely trying to destroy Unit-02. Small arms fire didn't register as damage to an Evangelion's sensors, and even an MBT's shot did little more than scuff the paint. She wasn't the type to just stand around and get shot at. She saw a pair of MLRS vehicles roll out of a forest to get a clear shot, and decided that now was the time to act.
Grinning nastily, she slowly headed to shore. More military vehicles began crowding around and firing at Unit-02, artillery flew in from elsewhere in the Geofront, and the two MLRS units finally decided to shoot their loads. Several VTOLs and helicopters added their firepower as well. With a mere thought, she brought her AT-Field to bear. The ordnance struck, covering the lake with a massive cloud of smoke. The JSSDF briefly halted, presumably thinking they had managed to stop the Evangelion in its tracks
Smoke billowed away as a red boot stomped on dry ground, followed by another. Unit-02 casually walked out of the cloud, and a scraping sound accompanied the destroyer she had decided to bring with her. The JSSDF vehicles began to scatter, but were too slow as she swept the ship around like the world's largest hockey stick. Metal smashed into metal smashed into more metal; vehicles tumbled end over end, a couple of tanks exploding as their magazines were set off. She lifted what remained of the destroyer overhead and heaved it nearly a kilometre at a command post the JSSDF had put together out of several vehicles on the other side of the forest. Her aim was true; the ship smashed directly into the command post whereupon it and the ship proceeded to violently explode.
As a new smoke cloud arose, the one over the lake cleared fully, revealing Unit-01 approaching the shore with one Pallet Rifle at the ready and another holstered on its back. He stopped next to Unit-02, who took the holstered weapon, and scanned the area. The vehicles were in full retreat, some still wildly shooting at the pair to no avail.
He had to admit, despite hating the loss of life, what she had done was pretty cool. Kyoko seemed to think so too. Yui... had a sense of grim satisfaction. An unfortunately necessary task done well.
She smirked. Their job wasn't done yet.
Unit-01 headed out in the lead, kicking over tanks and shooting aircraft down. Unit-02 followed close behind, covering the power cable while also firing at targets and stomping anything that didn't look pacified enough. Most of the JSSDF were too busy running away to make an attempt at the cable, but a few VTOLs tried their luck and were swiftly shot down by Unit-02.
The NERV command centre seemed to be having their own troubles; most of what was heard over the comm was gunshots and shouting. Occasionally somebody would mention enemy movements and reinforcements coming from the surface. Soon, there was a shout that halted them in their tracks.
"The Mass Production Evas?!"
XXX
The JSSDF were so focused on trying to breach the command centre that Misato and Kaji were able to sneak up and lob a couple of pilfered grenades into their midst from behind. When the dust settled, they charged for the door. Having been in radio contact with the men and women under siege, they were quickly ushered in and the door barricaded behind them. There were numerous personnel dead on the ground from both sides. Those still able to walk took the opportunity to grab better weapons and ammo and pass them to others. More soldiers would almost certainly attack again soon.
"Get me up to speed," Misato ordered as she returned to her customary position. Kaji took up station just behind Misato, weapon at the ready. Aoba, Hyuga and Ibuki rushed back to their seats and caught her up on recent events.
"We've also detected the Mass Production Evas heading for the Geofront," said Hyuga.
"The Mass Production Evas?!" Misato exclaimed. "I thought they were still being built!"
"Actually, most of them were completed, last I heard," said Kaji. "The numbers I saw said nine were ready and the last three were close to completion."
Misato cursed. "So Shinji and Asuka have nine enemy Evangelions to fight..."
"Um... no," said Aoba, giving her a nervous look over his shoulder. "We're tracking twelve signatures inbound."
Another curse, much louder this time.
"That must be why they delayed this attack so long," Kaji darkly mused. "Things weren't going as they predicted, so they decided to make absolutely sure. Glad I arranged that sabotage."
Misato got on the comm, nearly choking on her words. "...You hear that, kids? Twelve Evas inbound." She punched the console, but there was no energy in it. Shinji and Asuka stared grimly back at her. "God I wish we could send something, do something to help you. But the JSSDF have been tearing this place apart. Shinji, you'll most likely lose your cable within seconds. Even Asuka wouldn't be able to stop that. No offense."
"None taken," Asuka replied. "Even our worst case simulations never went this far."
"I do have a little good news at least," said Kaji. "From the intel I scraped together, those Evas are running with Dummy Plugs. No AT-Fields, and no guns. If we're lucky, no melee weapons either."
Shinji and Unit-01 looked to the sky. "Um, you'llwant to take that last part back," he said after a moment.
In the sky above Tokyo-3, twelve Evangelions with glider-like wings flew single file down into the Geofront, where they began to fly above the red and purple Evangelions in a giant circle. Each one held a grey double-ended blade, but the worst part about them was their appearance. Rather than a traditional armoured helmet design that kept the mouth locked away, the Mass Production Series had eyeless heads with giant, red-lipped mouths on full display.
"Who the hell came up with that design?" Misato muttered.
"That was basically a squadron aerial manoeuvre," Kaji added. "I wonder if they really are just Dummy Plug controlled."
"There's no way they managed to get twelve children to sign on for this," said Misato. She returned her attention to the comm. Somebody reported that the JSSDF were preparing to attack the command centre again, but that was irrelevant right now. "Shinji. Asuka."
The pair stared resolutely at her. Misato paused, knowing that this entire thing was a suicide mission for everyone involved, and once more loathing the fact that their fates rested on the shoulders of two teenagers. This could very easily be the last time she ever spoke to them.
"I'm so proud of you both," she began, battling to not let tears show. "Proud of everything you've accomplished since the start of this damn war. Time after time we've sent you out to fight monsters, knowing that the slightest slip-up could kill you. And you've both nearly died so many times, but you continued to fight. Those old bastards want to rule over humanity, and this is their last ditch effort. If we win here, we can take them down for good. Don't worry about what's happening to us, your fight is right there flying above you. Kick. Their. Asses!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Misato gave a brief amused huff. "Besides, I believe I owe Shinji a car. And Misato Katsuragi always honours her bets."
She was rewarded with the sight of Asuka looking perplexed for a second, before bursting out in laughter. She immediately closed the comm channel, fixing their expressions in her mind. She turned her attention to the men and women that were likely all that remained of NERV's staff at this point. Anybody still outside would have been found and slaughtered.
"We hold them off as long as possible," she announced. "If it looks like they'll win, we destroy everything here to deny it to them."
"Already taken care of," said Kaji, returning to her side. He held out a clean piece of cloth to her. Misato looked at it in confusion for a moment, before she realised her cheeks were wet.
Damn. She'd lost that battle after all.
The men and women of NERV got ready for the next attack. With weapons and ammo scavenged from the bodies of the JSSDF, they at least had some reasonable firepower. Many people had followed Misato and Kaji's lead by grabbing helmets and vests as well. Now was not the time to be squeamish about bloodstains.
On the holographic screen, the twelve Mass Production Evangelions folded their wings and dropped to the ground surrounding the NERV Evangelions. One of them almost casually cut through Unit-01's power cable, but by the time it had finished the swing the ejected plug had already hit the ground. A timer automatically appeared on the holographic screen counting down from five minutes. Back to back, Unit-01 and Unit-02 faced them down.
And with an explosion of motion, they charged sideways at one MPE, firing as they went. The attack took the entire squadron by surprise; by the time they began to move, their hapless victim was already being knocked to the ground where Asuka and Shinji drove their knifes into its chest together. Having taken the offensive, they moved to the next target, but not before giving a twinned shout of "One!"
A shout from below stole Misato's attention from her kids' final battle.
The JSSDF were likely throwing everything they had left to try and take the command centre. Their attack started with a gout of fire from one of those damnable flamethrowers; two NERV men fell down screaming as their uniforms caught alight before a well-aimed 40mm grenade, courtesy of Kaji's underbarrel launcher, dealt with that problem. Fire consumed the doorway as the flamethrower's fuel ignited. That would at least buy a minute or two. The men on fire were quickly extinguished and taken over to a corner to recover.
Seconds seemed to pass like hours. Every now and then Misato would glance up at the screen to see that not much time had passed for Unit-01's battery. Two MPEs were down and Shinji was finishing off a third while Asuka covered him, lashing out with knife, spike, and big armoured boot. Despite their massive numerical advantage it seemed the MPEs just weren't as good at fighting as her kids were.
Then another attack hit the command centre and Misato returned her focus to staying alive a few minutes longer.
XXX
The silence grew long.
Ritsuko stared triumphantly at Gendo until she seemed to realise that nothing was happening. She glanced at the screen, and her eyes widened in shock as her gun drooped. "What?!" she gasped. "Mother..."
In a heartbeat, Gendo had his own weapon drawn and aimed steadily at her. Ritsuko didn't even notice, staring at the remote as if it had betrayed her. Which was most likely what had happened, given the curses she suddenly spouted towards Naoko Akagi. Eventually she sighed heavily and dropped the remote; it cracked on the ground, loud in the oppressive silence.
"Looks like you get your way after all," she muttered. "You get to be with your damn wife, I get nothing, and the world goes to hell. Well then." She looked up, staring daggers into Gendo.
Ritsuko's arm came up, but Gendo's pistol fired first. She fell over backwards, her head hit the ground, and she did not move. Gendo cautiously approached, gun still aimed at her, but as he got closer he saw it was unnecessary. Blood was pooling around the back of her head as well as the bullet wound in her chest. He glanced down at her pistol and sighed. She hadn't even taken the safety off.
"No more distractions," he said after returning to Rei. He returned his gun to its holster and removed the glove covering his right hand, revealing the embedded Adam embryo. Its eye stared balefully back at him for the few brief seconds before he swiftly plunged it through Rei's almost-liquid skin and into her belly.
"Take me to Yui."
XXX
"Nine!"
Most of the MPEs were on the ground now, as were a lot of JSSDF and NERV people. At one point the JSSDF had tried to breach a wall on the other side of the room, but the reinforced design of the command centre meant that they only succeeded in making a small hole. Somebody had quickly stuffed a grenade through and though the hole had widened slightly from the detonation, there had been no further activity from that side.
Every MPE downed meant the next one was dropped quicker. Asuka had picked up one of the enemy's double-bladed weapons at some point and had become a whirling dervish. There were only three remaining MPEs and Shinji still had forty-five seconds left on his Evangelion's battery. The JSSDF attacks were slowing down. Either they were running out of bodies or somebody higher up had finally decided to stop wasting resources. It actually felt like they might win this.
Soon, Shinji and Asuka were standing amidst a pile of MPE corpses, and there was fifteen seconds left on Unit-01's battery. Misato took a moment to head for the comm system, but she froze mid-stride as she saw two horrifying things, both frantically demanding her attention.
A single, strangely bulky JSSDF soldier sprinted into the room, over the bodies of his fellow soldiers. It took Misato a fraction too long to realise that the reason for his odd shape were the dozen or so explosive charges strapped to his body. Her people were already opening fire, the man was falling over, but she knew they were all about to die.
And in the Geofront, the MPEs were getting back up.
The only mercy for Misato was that she died instantly in the blast.
XXX
The two Evangelions stood there, stunned, as their seemingly dead enemies rose back to their feet. This wasn't supposed to be happening! They had won! The resurrected MPEs surrounded them just as they had at the start of the battle, despite the crippling damage they had dealt them. Unit-01 was about to run out of power, leaving her to fend for herself. They weren't even bothering to attack right away, as if they knew one opponent was seconds away from shutting down. Yui and Kyoko were frantic, trying to work out how to keep Unit-01 functional.
The MPEs grinned, some of them licking their lips with disgusting red tongues.
Ten seconds.
"Sorry Asuka," he said aloud, closing his eyes and sighing.
"Relax," she replied. "I'll just kill them all again for the both of us."
He smiled, even as his entry plug went dark and Unit-01 slumped over. He couldn't see or hear anything anymore, but their synchronisation was still active. The MPEs had already begun their attack anew, and she was desperately trying to fend off attacks from all angles now. They seemed to be completely uninterested in Unit-01 now, presumably focused on eliminating their remaining opponent before doing whatever they had come here for.
She was fighting brilliantly, somehow managing to drop one MPE while being attacked by six others, but that one simply got back up again moments later. He could feel her frustration mingled with despair, even as she tried to reassure him that she was fine. And then, out of the corner of their mind's eye, unnoticed by her, he saw something bad.
An MPE was holding their double-bladed sword like a javelin, carefully taking aim through the melee. The other MPEs, seemingly through some hive-mind link, stepped aside as it threw the sword. She sensed the projectile and immediately threw up her AT-Field. The sword hit the barrier, but rather than bouncing off or falling to the ground it hovered there, its momentum retained, trying to push through the AT-Field.
And then it began to morph. The material of the sword turned seemingly to liquid, twisting and flowing around itself, changing from grey to red, and finally solidifying as a double-pronged spear.
Her eyes widened in shock. "What-"
The spear shot through the AT-Field as if the barrier no longer existed.
"-the-"
The spear was milliseconds away from Unit-02's face.
"-hewhoah!"
Unit-02 was shoved aside, stumbling to the ground. Asuka swiftly got back to her feet and instantly knew something was wrong. "Shinji?!" she called out, both on the comm and through their synchronisation, but to no avail. Something akin to television static was flooding her mind. She focused on the sight before her and gasped in horror.
Unit-01 was standing where she had been a moment before, arms dangling at its side and head reared back, gazing up at the sky. The spear that had almost impaled her had gone into and through Unit-01's head, destroying the left eye.
If anything, the MPEs seemed amused by this turn of events, simply standing around instead of pressing the attack. Their grins were wide enough to almost make the top of their heads fall off. If they were human, they would likely have been nudging each other and laughing evilly.
"Shinji!"
A purple hand twitched. The static seemed to clear from Asuka's mind. The hand shot up to the spear and clenched tightly around the haft. The grins started fading from the faces of the MPEs.
"Shinji?"
The jaw locks on Unit-01's helmet shattered and the Evangelion let out a roar at the same time as it ripped the spear from its head. Blood sprayed like a hose from the socket even as it lowered its gaze to the MPE that had thrown the spear. Asuka heard a chuckle through both the comm and her mind.
"My turn."
With not even a split second to aim, the spear rocketed from Unit-01's hand and buried itself in the chest of its original owner. The hapless victim didn't even have time to register the attack before it fell over. It did not get up again.
She was elated, but at the same time confused. How was Unit-01 still running?
He knew there was no time to find out.
Kyoko had an epiphany. "They have S2 Engines! Cores! You need to destroy the cores to put them down for good!"
The MPEs were no longer smiling as the two Evangelions charged forward.
XXX
His ears were ringing, his sight was blurry, and he was rapidly bleeding out. Slumped against a wall with one arm twisted behind his back, Kaji tried to focus on the JSSDF soldiers now walking into the command centre. There was only a few of them and they were carefully checking the bodies of the fallen NERV personnel. A woman groaned as a soldier nudged her and was immediately shot in the head.
Kaji could just barely hear the two kids as they took down the MPEs again, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upwards. It looked like at least they would survive this catastrophe.
Well then, he just had one last thing to do. He moved his gaze to Misato's lifeless face, her eyes blank. With great effort he brought his arm out from behind him and held up his hand. The soldiers immediately focused on him.
Ryoji Kaji released the trigger on the deadman switch just as they opened fire.
The command centre and everything within it ceased to exist.
XXX
"Eight!"
They had noticed the loss of communication, and what that meant, but they were too busy fighting to think about the dead. The MPEs fought desperately, even transforming their blades into more lances, but the two pilots were wise to their tricks now. Even though they had resurrected, they were still carrying many of the wounds of the first battle. Each MPE was focused, knocked down, and had a lance driven into their core. Numerous armour pieces were torn away, the Evangelions suffered grievous wounds, and with their synchronisation as high as it was, they could feel each injury keenly.
"Nine!"
Three left. One flared its wings and took to the sky to attempt an aerial attack, preparing to throw its lance, but he simply pulled one from a dead MPE and hurled it first. The lances seemed to have some kind of tracking ability; the MPE aborted its attack and reflexively tried to dodge, but the lance curved in midair to stay on target. It pierced the MPE which flew backwards into the side of the Geofront to dangle there like a macabre effigy.
"Ten!"
The last two were almost pristine; the time spent to get to them had allowed their worst injuries to fully heal. She took one and he took the other. Lance crashed against lance again and again until she, at a suggestion from Kyoko, focused on the lance in her hands and found she could make it transform back into a blade. An instant later his own lance followed suit. The MPEs were steadily getting cut to pieces even as they transformed their own blades to try and match. Finally, with a synchronised twirl of their blades, the MPEs had their weapons batted aside. Two blades transformed into lances. Two lances stabbed deep into cores.
Two MPEs fell over for the last time.
Unit-01 fell to its hands and knees.
With the battle over, she could now focus on him. His side of the synchronisation was weak and thready, and in the comm window he was laying back in his seat, the skin of his face deathly pale. Kyoko was grimly silent, while Yui seemed to be, metaphorically, barely holding back tears.
"Can't you do something, Yui?" Kyoko asked, despite seemingly already knowing the answer.
"No. Not as we are now," Yui hollowly replied as Unit-01 shut down and fell over sideways. "It took too much from both of us just to get the Eva moving and fighting without battery power."
He raised his head with great effort and smiled at her, blood pouring from his ruined eye. A second later he slumped over sideways in his seat.
She swiftly moved Unit-02 over to the stricken Unit-01 and lifted it back to its feet. With a purple arm slung over red shoulders, she began to haul Unit-01 over to a launch catapult. "We need to get him to the hospital right now!" she said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry Asuka, but that won't be possible," said Kyoko. "I've queried the MAGI, and 99% of NERV personnel are dead or missing. There's nobody left to help him even if he had time to get there."
"No, damnit!" Asuka snapped back. "He's the Invincible Shinji Ikari! He's going to make it! We're going to-"
A sharp, grief-filled cry interrupted her tirade. Unit-02 came to a halt. Asuka desperately reached for their synchronisation, their bond, and only now realised that it had already been severed. A chill fell over her body, accompanying a pain beyond description. An emptiness she never knew was possible. Her hands fell from the Evangelion's controls.
"...Shinji?"
XXX
Rei was glowing bright enough to almost blind Gendo through his tinted glasses. He already couldn't feel anything from the stump of his arm; Rei had consumed the entire hand to quickly absorb the Adam embryo into herself. Blood was pouring from the stump, but it didn't matter.
Yui was within reach.
Rei blinked. her head jolting backward to look up at the ceiling. A second later she slowly lowered her gaze to Gendo.
"Shinji Ikari has fallen," she announced, her words loudly echoed by the giant on the cross.
Gendo's eyes widened. "Save him," he demanded. "Begin Instrumentality before it's too late!"
In response, Rei flew at the giant faster than a gunshot. She entered its belly, the flesh rippling like water on a pond surface. The whole room began to shake as, for the first time in millennia, Lilith moved under Her own power. Her hands came off the spikes, the wounds instantly stitching back together.
Gendo fell over backwards from the tremors, but his eyes never left Lilith. The purple mask fell from her face, revealing Rei's own visage, and cracked into pieces on the platform. The entire body of Lilith morphed as it began to float upwards, transforming into nothing less than a giant clone of the fragment that had finally returned to Her.
Lilith passed through the ceiling like it wasn't there, and the tremors ceased. Gendo remained laying down on the floor, blood pooling around him. He glanced to the side to notice that he had fallen next to the body of Ritsuko, who stared back at him with empty eyes.
He sighed deeply, then looked back up at the ceiling.
"Soon, none of this will matter," he murmured.
"...Forgive me."
XXX
Lilith passed like a ghost through the numerous levels of NERV. JSSDF soldiers and NERV personnel, dead and alive, ended up in Her path; the mere touch of Her form reduced them all to splatters of orange fluid as She drew their AT-Fields into Herself. Each one was like a minuscule piece of a massive puzzle, one that restored Her strength with every piece that slotted into place.
Her head passed into the open area of the Geofront, and She immediately spotted the three most crucial pieces: a purple-clad piece of her own flesh torn from her body years ago, the red-clad fragment of Adam, and the white creatures scattered dead on the ground. From the red and purple, She sensed shock and elation, tempered by grief.
The piece of Her that was still Rei looked through Her eyes.
Asuka had fallen to despair at the death of Shinji, and Unit-02 was now desperately hugging Unit-01. Most of the Evangelions' armour had been stripped away by battle, including the protection for their cores, which were now touching.
That makes things somewhat easier.
Lilith brought her hands up to encompass the Evangelions and the MPEs. They all began to rise up into the air, and the bodies of the MPEs began to twist about to return to an upright pose with arms out to their sides. The few that did not already have a Lance in their cores had this swiftly rectified. The MPEs were now arrayed into a circle surrounding Lilith, while the Evangelions floated in the gap between Her hands.
Brilliant, thin orange wings erupted from the backs of the Evangelions. Hurtling towards them from space came Her own Lance, easily retrieved from its resting place embedded in the moon of this planet. The two cores of the Evangelions turned fluid, twisting and roiling before becoming one, still in both of their chests. With the care of a surgeon, She gently pierced the Lance into the back of Unit-01, through the conjoined core which opened up to allow it to pass through, and out the back of Unit-02. With the Lance in place, the core solidified around it. The material of the Lance spread out, covering the Evangelions completely and stretching out into a red metal cross that moved up to float in front of Her face.
Through it all, the piece that was Rei kept her focus on Asuka until the last moment. She wanted to offer hope to the grieving girl, to tell her that everything would soon be fine. But all she could do, all her greater self would let her do, was observe.
Lilith grew taller, until her torso poked up above the cloud layer. On the surface of this planet, the ground erupted around the Egg that had brought Her here, and it floated up to sit between her hands. A moment's concentration and her palms split open, while wings began to grow from Her back.
Her avatars were sent out, one for each of Her children, all in the form of Her smaller self. A sea of red swept across the planet, millions of green crosses erupting from the ground. Her children's souls were released from the shells of their flesh, each one becoming a mote of red light that gravitated towards Her Egg. The motes, the souls, spun around the Egg before being drawn into Her hands. As the final part of this stage, Lilith absorbed the Lance cross into Her forehead.
Now, with Her children returned to her, and with the Union of the First and Second, Complementation could finally begin.
All around her, the white pieces of Adam opened their mouths and roared into the void.