Darkness, Part 4

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).

Somewhere in the ocean
Seven Days After Sandalphon
12:36 P.M.

Once Matarael decided her exoskeleton was hard enough, she began the long walk towards Tokyo-3. The little box buried in the silt lit up for the last time; and, having accomplished its mission, it disintegrated in a small shower of energy particles and a series of ´Ping!´s, each one shorter and louder than the previous one, until they ran together in an ultrasonic warbling only a Kryptonian could have heard. An observer would have seen a small cluster of black dots surrounding the place the little box occupied, appearing, growing, shrinking and disappearing again.

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Dr. Akagi's Lab
Same Time

Dr. Akagi pressed the button on the intercom unit in her office. It was a direct line to Commander Ikari's Lair. She managed to pull the papers together in a neat pile and took the first sheet, the one that contained the summary of her findings. The rest were the readings and preliminary conclusions.

Once she heard the electronic tone that indicated the Commander was there, and there were no other listeners at the Lair, she spoke directly, reporting her findings. "Sir. The analysis of the First Child's brainwaves have yielded no anomalous results. Her readings are perfectly normal, and consistent with previous records. There are no traces of the anomaly detected in the Second Child´s brainwaves. I must conclude that the cause of the anomaly lies in the Second Child herself."

"I see. Keep the Second Child off the active roster until the cause of the anomaly had been detected."

She heard the tone that indicated an urgent call. Then the click when the Commander pressed the button to open a different communications channel. "Stay on the line, Doctor Akagi."

"Yes, Sir."

The line fell silent then. She stayed next to the comm, waiting for the Commander to resume the call.

Tokyo-3
Geo-Front, Central Dogma
A Few Seconds Before.

Captain Misato Katsuragi smiled warmly at Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga. "Makoto, hi! Thanks for delivering my laundry."

Makoto smiled awkwardly. His crush on his superior officer was very well know in Central Dogma. Some of the workers had a running pool on how long would it take him to actually try to ask Captain Katsuragi on a date. No one gave any odds on his favor of Misato Katsuragi actually accepting the invitation. "It was nothing, Captain, glad to help."

Before she had a chance to answer, an alarm beeped.

"Hey, we have a live one. Captain Katsuragi, the Army reports an Angel sighting." Lt. Aoba straightened up on his chair. Looking back at his superior officer.

"Lt. Hyuga, Confirm." Captain Katsuragi slipped easily into her professional persona, leaving behind her happy-go-lucky demeanor in an instant.

The bespectacled bridge bunny obeyed, checking the sensor net deployed around Tokyo-3. "Blue Pattern confirmed, Captain. It's an Angel. It moves slowly, but its course is set towards Tokyo-3."

"Sigh. Of course it comes here. Where else could they go? Las Vegas?" Tiredly, Misato rubbed her temples. "Call the pilots, send them a Section 2 car. I want them here as soon as possible." She rubbed her temples. "And call Commander Ikari."

"At once, Captain."

Tokyo-3
A Lonely Cabin, Somewhere in the Outskirts of the City
An Hour Before

"(Okay, boys, you have the operational times down to the second. Our man inside will blow the fuses of the Geofront while we get into the maintenance tunnels. Those tunnels are rarely checked, and they are set for inspection a month from now, so we have a good window of opportunity to get the goodies out. So, lets get to work. We pull off this, and the Queen will reward us generously!)"

The group of H.I.V.E. agents raised their fists as one. "(For the Queen!)" they shouted, and with military precision, boarded the vehicles. All looked like the service truck of three different, and ubiquitous, companies based on Tokyo-3. They weren´t delivery vehicles, as that could have tipped off some attentive watcher, those were intra-company trucks. The agents had been outfitted with the appropriate uniforms, of course. However, once inside NERV, they would change into their black and yellow H.I.V.E. suits, just in case something went pear-shaped; he wanted his men to have access to armor and weapons. No need to go unprotected into enemy terrain.

Every detail had been planned, checked, and confirmed. They had studied the city maps. Not the commonly available maps made for inhabitants or visitors to the city. These were the infrastructural maps. Detailing where the false buildings that covered the Evangelion operational equipment were, also the exit hatches, maintenance tunnels, ammo and weapon depots for the giant robots. And most important, where the access tunnel to the connection with the Garden of Eden was. For some strange reason, that was the name NERV had chosen for the Scientific Division warehouse, located in one of the deepest levels of the GeoFront.

The agent shrugged, who was he to criticize the naming conventions of another organization? After all, he was a H.I.V.E Drone, working for the Queen Bee. If NERV wanted to go biblical when naming their stuff, well, that was their right.

He slammed his hand twice on the door of his own truck, signalling the other two trucks it was time to go.

The other drivers honked once each, signaling their own readiness.

The convoy advanced towards the closest access to the tunnels. Soon, they were traversing the tunnels, on their way to their target.

However, they would have desisted had they not been in a radio-dead zone. One so deep into the ground that any sound coming down through ventilation shafts was so distorted by echoes and reverberation it was effectively unrecognizable as anything but a murmur.

On the way to Tokyo-3
Same time

Matarael´s long legs moved with deceiving speed. True, she took only a step at a time, but her sheer size meant she covered a lot of terrain with each step.

In front of her, many machines seemed to watch her intently. She returned the looks. Matarael was uniquely qualified to return hostile looks. In any direction. Her main body was shaped like a half sphere, while the flat part on the upside had only Four, very small eyes, set between the bases of her legs; the rest of her body was covered in gigantic, staring, unblinking eyes.

Several soldiers felt their blood turn to ice. The eyes covering the spider-like Angel´s main body seemed disturbingly human-like. Only their lack of expression and their own discipline kept them from freaking out and emptying their ammo holds in a single burst.

Having learned from previous experience, the army chose not to waste ammo on trying to attack the Angel.

Ironically, Matarael´s A-T Field was so weak, the weapons that rested silent would have been, for once, effective.

In route to the Geo-Front.
Present Time.

Shinji Ikari sat rigidly on the back seat of the Section-2 Sedan that had picked him and Asuka. While the redhead chatted excitedly about her next, inevitable victory, Shinji concentrated on keeping his breathing even and relaxed. Not an easy task. He whispered his mantra once again, "I Will Not Break."

"Hey, Boy Wonder!" Asuka backslapped him on the center of his chest. "Look alive, will you? We are about to get another killmark." Her smile was contagious, and in ordinary circumstances, he would have shared some of her enthusiasm. "And you look like you´re about to fall asleep in the way!"

Shinji looked into her eyes and gave her a half-smile; knowing this time, the German pilot wouldn´t be able to participate in the fight. But, for appearances sake, he had to hide that vital piece of data. Showing an eagerness he didn´t really feel, he raised a fist. She fist-bumped back with her own. "We will kick its posterior." He said, nodding twice for emphasis.

She nodded back. Turning towards the driver, she asked. "Hey, you. What about the First Child?"

The stone-faced S2 man didn't turn his head, his eyes scanning the street ahead, looking for any potential trouble. There was no other vehicles on the street. The warning sirens had been promptly obeyed by the inhabitants of Tokyo-3; everybody who wasn´t needed for the fight, had already been evacuated. "The First Child is already waiting for you in her EVA Unit." He answered in a flat tone.

"Well, at least Wonder Girl takes this seriously." Asuka nodded once for herself, crossing her arms.

Shinji´s mind turned back to the plan the Phantom Stranger and Deadman had concocted to get Asuka back into active duty. He didn´t like it too much, but Inner Robin had not found any viable alternative plan.

Tokyo-3
GeoFront, Central Dogma

"What? Why wasn´t I informed of this?" Misato slammed her hand on a console, barely missing the coffee mug that rested on it.

"Commander´s orders, Captain Katsuragi." Dr. Akagi answered. "I am not privy to his motives;" she lied smoothly. "but this time, the Second Child will not fight."

From his nest, overseeing Central Dogma, Commander Gendo Ikari hid his eyes behind his orange glasses. "Captain Katsuragi, you are dangerously close to insubordination. Control yourself." He pushed the eyewear back up his nos, in a fluid movement that somehow managed to convey a threat. "The Second Child will not participate. She is to remain in reserve. Is that understood?"

Misato swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes, sir. May I speak to her?"

"Be brief. You have ten minutes to return to your post." Gendo Ikari´s lips barely moved behind his tented hands. A sharp reflection slid over his orange-tinted eyeglasses.

"Yes, Sir." Misato answered through clenched teeth, barely containing her anger. She stomped out of the bridge, as soon as she was out of Central Dogma, she ran.

Pilots Changing Room
One Minute Later.

Just as Asuka had pressed the button on her wrist, the soft hiss of the plugsuit adjusting itself to her body filled her ears.

A familiar voice cut the silence. "Asuka?"

"Oh, Allo, Misato. I´m ready!"

Misato averted her eyes. "Sorry, Asuka. The Commander ordered you to stay in reserve."

"WAS? But why?"

"I don´t know. This is very strange." Misato grabbed Asuka´s shoulders. "Please be ready to deploy. I don´t know what is happening, and I like it as little as you do."

Asuka´s eyes narrowed dangerously for a moment. She controlled herself after a second, she shook her head. "Very well. I´ll be next to EVA-02´s cage, ready." The last words were said through clenched teeth.

As the two females exited the room, they met Shinji. The young pilot wore his own black and blue plugsuit. He looked at them for a moment, and asked worriedly. "What´s going on?"

"Commander Ikari sidelined Asuka. She is to stay in reserve." Misato grumbled.

"What? Can he do that?" Up until that moment, Shinji had held on to a thin sliver of hope. A hope that had been crushed in an instant.

"It seems he can." Misato grumbled. "As it is, he almost threatened me."

Asuka´s face reddened in fury. Shinji grabbed her forearm for a moment, releasing it almost immediately. "Asuka, keep your cool. You have done nothing wrong. But if you don´t control yourself, you might be permanently off the roster. At a minimum, he will throw you in the brig for who knows how long. I didn´t like it and I don´t want you to spend any time there. And I don´t want to fight alone again."

That admission surprised Asuka. "Wait, in the brig?"

"Later, ask Misato to tell you the how and why, later. Right now, we have an Angel on the way. "

"Is that fear I hear in your voice, Boy Wonder?"

"Hell, yes! You are our best fighter in close combat."

"Don´t you ever forget it." She nodded. She was still angry, but knowing that Invincible Angel Slayer Shinji admitted both his fear and his inferiority to her, she felt a little better.

"Never." He turned to Misato. "Um? Is there a way for Asuka to monitor the fight?"

"Showoff. You want me to see a fight I won´t be allowed to be in." She mumbled.

He looked at the german pilot. "No. It´s not that. It´s just that if that Angel has something up its sleeve, I want you and Misato to find a way to counter it. I don´t want another run with the dance outfits." He shot a rueful look at Misato, who just returned an appreciative look at him. She had realized Shinji´s strategy about Asuka.

"Oh." A little blush of shame threatened to rise on the redhead´s cheeks. To cover it, she turned to Misato, but before she could say anything, Misato took advantage of the momentary silence. "Good thinking, Shinji. Asuka, I´ll send a feed to the waiting room outside the cage. The mike will be set to my comm-bead, and only to my comm-bead. I want no chatter, got it?"

"Got it. I´ll only use it if I think of a strategy or see a weakness."

Misato grabbed her shoulders. "Good. Shinji, to your plug. I´ll go back to Central Dogma."

Just as she turned, Asuka and Shinji exchanged a look loaded with meaning. Both nodded once, and went their separate ways.

Pilots Changing Room.
(Spiritual Plane)

A red clad ghost floated next to the group. Unseen, he raised his two thumbs at the young man. "(Well done, kid! If the hothead didn´t like you before, she does now.)", he said. "(Now, I hope what we rehearsed will pay dividends.)" He rubbed his forehead and made to crack his knuckles. "(Well, this is new to me, usually I just jump in with both feet, and then play it by ear.)" He kept pace with Shinji until the pilot entered the plug.

Deadman saw Shinji tap his fingers on the control yoke, signaling he was ready to do his part.

"(Okay, buddy. Here we go!)"

Author Notes

This has been the hardest chapter to write so far. My muse decided to amuse herself on the Farscape and D20 Modern crossovers for a while. At the moment, I´m writing the next chapter of A Whole New Universe (of Problems), and the next Tokyo-3 Arcana is in the bubbling stage (meaning I go for the scene I want, in broad strokes, and once I have decided what will happen, I let the ideas percolate for a while. And when I finally sit down to write, the scenes simply flow out).

Both this chaper and Chapter 3 of A Whole New Universe (of Problems) are to be published at the same time.

The first scene in this chapter contains a little homage to the King himself, Mr. Jack Kirby. Is hard to find a creator with a bigger shadow on the comics medium. Kirby was amazingly creative, as I have said before. This particular scene pays homage to one of his more enduring techniques, knows as Kirby Dots or Kirby Crackle. If you have seen those little aglomerations of spots to show an energy discharge, well, those are Kirby Dots!

IIRC, he first used them in the pages of Fantastic Four, but he took them with him when he returned to DC in the 70s, and since then, many other artists have adopted the technique, to the point it is currently ubiquitous.