Usurper, Part 4
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).
Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base Former Site
Japan
Central Control Command Car
"Ev… everybody okay?" Major Katsuragi asked, her voice trembling.
Dr. Akagi was the first to answer. "Somewhat bruised, but okay." She lit a small flashlight and swept the compartment. The techs that were strapped to their seats were beginning to moan in pain. The tall blond tech who had been standing next to them at the beginning of the test had not been so lucky, his eyes looked up blindly behind his broken eyeglasses, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. He had hit a wall when everything had gone to Hell. Misato closed his eyes respectfully.
With a stab of dread, seeing the evidently broken arm of the unconscious Fourth Child, Misato put two fingers under the jaw to check the pulse. Regular, and strong. Ritsuko knelt beside him, and quickly used her flashlight to check his pupils. "Good, he is reacting to the light." Efficiently, she checked his head and neck. "Just unconscious, but..." His right arm and leg were evidently broken. "Compound fracture, right forearm, both radius and ulna broken, radius exposed, no major arteries or veins compromised, thank the kami, but there's possible nerve damage. I need the First Aid kit."
Lt. Mogami unbuckled herself, and passed the kit to Dr. Akagi. "I have training as a First Responder, I can help."
Akagi rummaged in the kit. "Misato, hold the light. Lt. Mogami, I need to set these bones quickly and splint and bandage the arm."
Aoi Mogami pushed her red rimmed glassed up her nose, and quickly tied her violet hair in a simple ponytail, to keep it from falling over her eyes at an inopportune moment.
While they worked on Toji Suzuhara, Misato held the flashlight as steady as she could, there was little space on the mobile HQ car.
A few moments later, the driver had tried everything he could from the control compartment, until the frustrated Satsuke banged his fist on the main control panel. The red emergency lights in the main compartment flickered on. And a moment later, he tried the start sequence.
The electric motor wheezed, and with a tremor, the vehicle came to life again. "It always works!" he said between his teeth.
"Well done, Satsuke!" Major Katsuragi exclaimed, turning off the flashlight and pocketing it, Dr. Akagi and Lt. Mogami were too busy now to take it. on second thought, she put the flashlight into Rits' labcoat pocket. The doctor grunted her aknowledgement.
Misato looked around, the place was a disaster zone. Screen readouts dead black, papers scattered all around, people hurt with different degrees of harm, but except for Toji and the tall tech… she realized with a pang of guilt she didn't even know his name… except for the two of them, everybody else seemed to be in fighting condition.
She looked at Ritsuko work on Toji, the dyed blonde looked up for a moment. "We have this under control, Misato, do your thing."
Misato nodded brusquely. She stood up, noticing the angle of the floor. Grabbing a handhold, she pulled herself up towards the door. "Lt. Agano, with me. I need to see what happened. Lt. Ooi, work on comms, we need to report to main HQ. Setsuke, I want this thing mobile ASAP, everybody else, check your terminals and make sure to save all the data you can; HQ will want to analyze everything." Affirmative answers chorused inside the armored car.
Major Katsuragi had to ram her shoulder into the door a couple of times to open it. Whatever had happened, it had been enough to damage the mobile HQ car.
Lt. Agano released her harness, and followed Misato out. Her colleague began to try the comms to contact NERV Japan at the GeoFront.
Once outside, the two women felt the hot air envelop them like a burning shroud.
"Kami above and oni below…" Lt. Agano hissed. All around them the ground smoked as if burned with phosphorus. "There's nothing left…"
Misato squinted, shielding her eyes against the setting sun's light. "The whole place is gone…"
A massive, still smoking hole now occupied the place where the Matsushiro Secondary Base had once been.
She trembled. "Shinji saved us. If it wasn't for him buying us time, we would have been closer to the explosion…" she fell on her knees as the realization hit her. "He saved us, and the Angel…" Her fingers grabbed at the dirt in impotence. "…The Angel…"
A scrapping noise and a gasp from her companion made Misato look up. In time to see a gigantic black hand grab the edge of the hole, followed a moment later by an equally black head. Unit-03 rose from the smoking pit like a demon escaping Hell itself.
Lt. Agano stepped back, while Misato's face twisted in hate. A burning tear fell down her cheek.
Unit-03 Plug
Shinji Ikari knew he was in big trouble. His head throbbed with pain in the red emergency light. Thankfully, now he couldn't see his blood floating in front of his face.
The last thing he remembered was seeing the Phantom Stranger running into Unit-03's cage, a blinding light; and then, pure, undiluted pain stabbing him right behind his eyes.
Tentatively, he shook his head. The pain remained at more or less the same level.
A stab of guilt paralyzed him momentarily. If only he had been stronger… more focused…
No! Inner Robin made itself known. A human, and not even an adult human, against a fully powered Angel? He was lucky to have managed to contain it for so long! Hopefully he bought Misato and the others enough time to escape.
Shinji closed his eyes; it helped a bit with the pain. He focused on his breathing; on the sensations he could perceive from the Evangelion Unit. He couldn't see or hear outside the plug, as those were two senses managed by electronic interface, and the plug had apparently been cut off from the system, but felt hard rock in his fingers and toes, muscles of arms and legs contracting in sequence. It didn't take him long to deduce that Unit-03 was climbing out the cage.
"Must be going to Tokyo-3." He said to himself. "If it gets there, it will set Third Impact off…" He gritted his teeth, and felt pain at the back of his mouth. His tongue revealed two cracked molars. His adrenaline spent, the pain no longer suppressed.
With a supreme effort, he relaxed his muscles. Very deliberately, he avoided thinking about the Stranger. Right now, Shinji was alone. Wildcat's voice replayed in his memory, "If you ever admit defeat, then you're down for the count. Even if your enemy is actually in a worse condition than you. Focus on what you can do. Not on what you can't. Leverage that. Use it to win."
Shinji breathed deeply the LCL, the smell of blood in the plug was almost overwhelming, but he was used to it by now.
He focused every iota of will into stopping the Evangelion.
An Unnamed Demiplane.
Death nibbled on a pastry. Her eyes sparkled with mirth. "You know you are gonna need something big to distract her, don't you?"
The Phantom Stranger nodded. "I know." He answered honestly.
"Well… I hope you include those idiots with delusions of godhood in your plans. They have disrupted the natural flow of life and death. Soul sundering!" she scoffed; her smile replaced by an angry scowl. "How many people have they killed and stopped from going forward to their rightful place?" Her twisted mouth was a completely out of place expression. Her lily-white face features were made for softer emotions, satisfaction on a job well-done, contentment, peaceful introspection, even joy. Seeing her angry was an unusual experience.
The Stranger took a sip of tea before speaking, "I have set things in motion, with Deadman's help. We are guiding the children SEELE and Gendo Ikari selected and molded into their catspaws."
"No wonder dear Boston has been so busy lately. Good, he needs a hobby. But tell me, are you working with Rei too?" Death asked, an eyebrow delicately raised.
"Indirectly so far." The Stranger admitted, "I plan on revealing the full reach of the conspiracy to her, when, and only when, she is ready to cast off Ikari's shackles."
"Good. Delightful child, for the couple of minutes we could speak before… Gendo…" the name was poison on her lips, "set her up in one of those hideous contraptions. My little brother is somewhat miffed that she lost the ability to visit his realm. Though there is another who walks the Earth in a dream, you know? Sleepwalking so well even he believes the dream is real. So it balances out, Daniel says."
"I can only guess, Mylady." The Stranger whispered.
"Oh, yes; sorry, Isaac; I forgot."
"No harm done." The Stranger took another sip of tea. He was forbidden to enter the Dreaming.
"I'm glad you came to visit. I know it's an imposition to take over so much of your time, but I really enjoy our little chats."
"It is no imposition. Just an unforeseen effect of my burden, Mylady."
"Oh, just call me Death already, Isaac. I think we are past that awkward acquaintances stage." She smiled over her cup of tea. "After all… I've known you since before you were even human."
Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base Former Site
Japan
Outside the Central Control Command Car
Major Katsuragi stood rigidly on her feet. She looked like she was about to try to tackle the giant herself, and to hell with the size difference.
Unit-03 crawled out the abyss, like a giant, monstruous spider. It stood up, its head moving around as if tasting the air, its jaw opening and closing in anticipation. Its long legs moved to walk. It raised a foot, and planted it firmly on the ground.
But when it tried to repeat the process, it fell face first on the ground, creating a shockwave that almost knocked down Misato and Kaede.
Misato's jaw hung open incredulously. That fall! She knew that fall!
She ran back to the MHQ. She jumped into the command Centre, "Ooi! I need comms right now!"
Unit-03 Plug
Shinji tried everything to recover control of Unit-03, to no avail. Almost out of options, he tried to contact the soul in the core, hoping that both of them would be strong enough to wrestle the Evangelion control out of the Angel's… hands?
To his horror, the response he got chilled his blood. It was child-like, eager, and absolutely inhuman in nature. There was no trace of a human soul in there.
"Are you my Father?" (1) "Did Father send you? You are so alone. So alone. Being alone hurts. Hurt is bad."
A Kilometer and a half from the
Matsushiro Secondary NERV Base Former Site
A corpse rested on the ashes of the hill. A few scraps of blue and black fabric clung to the charred and mangled corpse.
No scavenging animal had even come close to the body. All had been either killed or frightened off by the explosion.
Slowly, very slowly, the exposed bones, broken in places, began to knit themselves back. Flesh began to grow over them.
Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ
Central Dogma
"EVAs ready to launch." Lt. Ibuki reported.
"Sir!" Lt. Hyuga interrupted. "Urgent message from Matsushiro!" Relief was very clear in his voice.
"On speaker, Lt. Hyuga." Comander Ikari ordered cldly
Amidst burst of static, Major Katsuragi reported. "Commander Ikari. Unit-03 has been hijacked by an Angel. Pilot Robin managed to contain him for long enough for us to enact emergency evac. Except for the Fourth child and…" She read the dead man's tag, "Lt. Sagisu, all the crew in the MHQ is in fighting condition. We are still compiling the list of other survivors."
"I see. We have lost Unit-03, reclassify it as the Thirteenth Angel." He said, eliciting gasps of surprise and horror all over Central Dogma.
"Not yet, Sir. Robin is still fighting the Angel. He is sabotaging it from the inside. We must rescue him!"
Commander Ikari sat back on his chair, running scenarios in his mind. On one hand, this would be a good chance to pile negative emotions in the pilots. The surviving pilots, he amended himself… and field-test the Dummy Plug System. On the other hand, he grudgingly acknowledged Major Katsuragi's superior strategic mind. If there was some miracle to pull off in this situation, she would either find it, or manufacture it.
Fujutsuki put his opinion forth with a whisper. "Even if Shinji can be recovered, he could be irreversibly contaminated. Would you risk alienating Katsuragi and the pilots at the same time?"
Ikari mused about the possible consequences. If Katsuragi had been out of action, he would have had free hand to act, but it was not the case. Without a clear case of either unavailability or incompetence, taking direct command of the fight would alert SEELE of his ulterior motives.
Reluctantly, he acceded, on the strength of the last factor, and nothing else. "Agreed. Send all the data you have for analysis, Major Katsuragi. Lt. Ibuki, you are in charge of the MAGI System during Dr. Akagi's absence. You are to coordinate your efforts with Dr. Akagi and Major Katsuragi. Lt. Yamaguchi, take Lt. Ibuki's place in the bridge."
"Yes, sir. Establishing link for transmission."
While Maya almost ran to the MAGI control terminal, Tomoyo took her place, if only things weren't so dire, she would have enjoyed being next to Makoto Hyuga.
Commander Ikari checked the maps of the area, "Major, select an intercept point in the projected route of the Thirteenth Angel. The Evangelions will be ready there. Keep the channel open. That's all for now."
"Yes, Sir. Mobile HQ out."
Nobe Mountain Site
Unit-02 Plug
Asuka watched her comms windows. Misato's face in her main window, occasionally interrupted by static bursts, while Wonder Girl's window was set at her left.
The redheaded pilot's face grew grimed by the second. "I see, Control. Intercept, Rescue and Destroy mission."
Wonder Girl's eyes widened fractionally. "Priorities?"
Asuka controlled herself, it was so tempting to snort at her fellow pilot, but Rei was fighting in the dark, and open comms were not the best place to put light over some uncomfortable facts. Specially without the Phantom Stranger to prove her claims. "We must stop the Angel from reaching Tokyo-3, Rescue Robin, and then, we put a new kill mark on our tallies, Wonder Girl."
"Understood. Plan of attack?"
Misato shook on the screen, apparently Satsuke had hit a really big pothole in the way. "Huntress, attack and grapple. Wonder Girl, the eject signal was received and obeyed, but somehow, the Angel stopped the plug from being ejected. I have no image, but Rits and I saw some kind of webbing or fungal growth in the armor before the explosion. I bet that's the reason the plug wasn't released. In any case, while Huntress keeps the Angel down, I want Wonder Girl to cut the plug out."
Relieved, both Asuka and Rei breathed easier. But Misato continued, "Though he is fighting still, don't rely on Shinji's help; for all we know, he could… he could give up at any moment, out of sheer exhaustion." She paused, "You'll have visual any moment."
The pilots had a clear view of the pass, Unit-03 came into view, swaying like a drunkard, its fingers twitching in anticipation.
Asuka felt something nagging at the back of her mind. She narrowed her eyes, studying the enemy as it walked calmly towards them.
"Control? Watch the hands. Do you see what I see?"
"What do you mean..? Oooh… clever, clever boy!" She beamed at her ward's ingenuity and presence of mind.
Commander Ikari spoke, "Explain yourselves."
"Sir, Shinji is alive and aware inside the Angel, he is using Morse code to communicate. He has some control of Unit-03's right index finger, and he is… …no… No!"
"What? What is he saying, Misato?"
They heard a choked sob on the other side of the comms "…P-L-U-G—K-I-L-L…"
Author Notes
1. A similar phrase did indeed chill my blood. If you have seen the Doctor Who chapter, "The Empty Child", you know why.