Unstoppable, Part 7
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).
Note, the parenthesis indicates languages other than Japanese, in this case, English and German.
Wild Lands
Somewhere Between Continental USA and the Remains of Hawaii
(Former site of Project Mureau, currently abandoned by the USA Government)
Nosferata's Palace; Throne Room
The beautiful enhanced albino bat lounged on her (stolen) throne. She had just received word about Dr. Canus' recent actions. She only waited for confirmation of his betrayal.
"(My Queen,)" one of her rat lackeys, whose name she never had bothered to learn, had run into the room, eyes wide with fear, "(…the archives! They are burning! Three guards down by the smoke as they tried to put out the fire! One of them saw Dr. Canus flee through one window!)"
Queen Nosferata sat straight on the throne, leaned her chin on her hand, and half-closed her icy blue eyes. "(Regrettable, but accounted for. You are dismissed.)" As the rat hurried to get out of the throne room, the white bat queen sighed theatrically, "(Good old Dr. Canus. So predictable. Batrok? Be a dear and grab a few of the boys. Follow Canus' boat and drop a few rocks around them. Don't sink them or you'll be grounded.)"
"(Batrok obeys.)" The slow-witted enhanced bag turned around, walked clumsily to the window over his short legs, and hurried away to fulfill his orders.
"(Letting them go? Feeling merciful today, my dear Queen? How unusual!)" Commented a shrill, annoying, wheezing voice from a hidden alcove.
"(Not really, no.)" Indolently, Nosferata examined the claws of her right hand, her full lips sketching a sadistic grin under her upturned and barely there slotted nose, "(I have seen the maps of the sea currents, they are sailing right into nothing. The old Hawaii islands are not exactly a tourist attraction anymore. Mainly because the ones that weren't wiped out, were completely devastated by the big wave. Even the humans left them behind, the little soil left is salted, nothing will grow there for a good while, enough for them to starve if they are foolish enough to stay there. There's no place for them to find haven with the little food they could fit in that dingy boat. It's not enough to get to the continent. So, I give them an empty hope. They will feel lucky to get away, and too scared to even think of trying to come back here until it is too late. In any case, I am rid of several problems at the same time.)"
"Oh-hohoho!" The unseen owner of the voice cackled happily, "(Delightfully clever and merciless! I want to be like you when I grow up, my Queen!)"
"(You are already a fully grown adult.)" She noted with a mocking tone.
"(Oh, yes. Yes, I am. He-hehe. Silly me.)"
"(Doesn't matter, what matters to me is your ability to get me my Cortexin.)"
"(No worries, my Queen. That's relatively easy, just like a good wine. Gather the ingredients, squeeze properly, add some antifreeze in the right amount, filter, and let it age gracefully.)"
"(Are you sure you can work with the notes?)" Nosferata pulled a rope, and a curtain opened, revealing a skinny, disheveled human male; wearing old, ill-fitting, dirty clothes. Nosferata was glad to be a bat, the man's hygiene habits left much to be desired, and his smell was offensive even to her, admittedly, limited nose. She shuddered to think of what the smell would be like had she been a rat, or worse, a dog. '(Now, that's a good punishment to consider for any unruly rats or dogs…)' she thought.
The human fiddled in the pockets of the dirty labcoat, extracting a notebook. "(Oh, completely sure.)" He licked the point of a grubby finger, and began to flip the pages, until he reached a particular page, he set down a note, stabbing the page with the point of the pencil to leave the period at the end of the text, and put the notebook back into his pocket. "(Your royal scribes were very diligent in copying the late and very lamented Dr. Grant's notes while Canus was trying to delay things. Dr. Grant had the best tech the USA brass had back then to create Cortexin. My own knowledge in the field is, if you allow me to brag a little, unsurpassed! Whatever he did, I can do it too, and better; in a cave, with a box of scraps! (1) Do you have both? I'd like to work in a nice, dark, and secluded cave, feel right at home. Though a clean lab would do in a pinch, i guess." He paused for a moment, trying to get back to his thoughts track, "Though I must admit I prefer to, say, do the job myself to modify genes. Making a substance to boost intelligence and modify bodies wasn't in my curriculum, but I'm sure I will cope. With a delayed effect even.)"
Dr. Dabney Donovan adjusted his googles over his eyes. Smiling like a maniac always dislodged them.
Nosferata could barely wait for the right moment to betray Donovan, who in turn, thought exactly the same thing.
Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
Bottom of the GeoFront Lake (under the frigate)
One of the most primitive reflexes common to almost all animals, including primates and their equivalents, activated. Unit-02 swallowed. It would have been inconsequential, except for a factor no one had ever considerated.
The blood of an Angel was in its teeth, along with a little piece of angelic flash matter.
Locked inside the Entry Plug, Huntress heard a series of thunderous impacts, coming from somewhere up the lake. In a flash of insight, she reached a logical, but mistaken, conclusion. "That monster is trying to kill Wonder Girl!"
Desperate, she screamed in frustration, "Come on! Move! Move, you verdammter Schrott (2)! I have no time for you to sit down while Wonder Girl dies! Move! That's an order! Move!"
In the core, the newly restored soul of Dr. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu initiated synch with Huntress. Had the instruments been able to measure it at the moment, the numbers would have showed a steady progress.
46.1%, 58.9%, 64.5%
Huntress felt as if a giant heart beat all around her, a familiar, comforting sound she couldn't remember consciously, but that had been her constant companion during her really life.
The heart of her mother. Beating again.
75%, 83.2%, 99.9% (3)
And while the two souls, mother and daughter, synched with each other, a S2 Organ developed next to the core.
The sudden influx of energy did the impossible.
They surpassed the 100% synch, and the Evangelion awoke.
Unit-02 roared.
The Dummy Plug, deprived of a soul, couldn't manage the sheer amount of power, and ignited for a fleeting moment, incinerating itself and its content.
As Unit-02 rose from the depths like an avenging demon, the back hatch opened, ejecting the burnt plug shell almost contemptuously. The scorched cylinder fell into the water, and promptly sank to the bottom.
Commander Gendo Ikari didn't see that series of events, he was running in one of the tunnels leading to the GeoFront surface level, along with the rest of his operational staff.
Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
NERV HQ Building (AKA the Pyramid)
Unit-00's back lay against the polished surface of one of the sides of the underground building. Its pilot trying to think of a way to squeeze even a single extra second of energy from the depleted batteries. Zeruel was experimenting an emotion it wasn't equipped to handle.
Frustration.
After cutting away the reinforced metal over its enemy's torso, the Angel of Power struck the exposed core again and again with its cutting arms. Somehow, the core was resisting, though each strike damaged the area around the red sphere.
Inside the plug, Robin forced himself to stop yanking the control yoke, "Think! Dammit, think!" He mumbled, studiously ignoring the pain from his cracked molars. 'What would the Phantom Stranger do?' He thought.
He inhaled brusquely. It was a long shot, but…
'Rei? Boston-san? Can you hear me?'
He got two affirmative impulses.
"We have to do something!" Rei yelled!
"Yes. I have an idea, but it will be dangerous."
"I don't care!"
"Okay, we have to force a direct synch with Shinji, and it will hurt like the devil!"
Rei nodded.
"I'll try to shield you as much as I can, but it will still hurt."
Both ghosts grabbed each other's hands, and focused their will.
Instead of the energy supply from the batteries, Unit-00 was now directly powered by two souls acting in concert. The souls of two victims of murder, fighting in service to the living.
In a matter of seconds, they had synched to each other.
A synch of 99.8%.
Generating their own supply of energy. More than enough to reactivate the Evangelion Unit.
Suddenly, Unit-00 single eye flared to life.
Tokyo-3
Japan
GeoFront
Bunker 2
"Inspector Kaji?" Lt. Aoba asked. "What are you doing here?"
Kaji sat up from his place next to the inner entry door, far away from the side coterminous with the Geofront. "Following regulations, Shigeru. I was working close by when the alarm rung. How bad is it?"
Major Katsuragi was the next to enter, "Very bad. We have an Angel in the GeoFront, Central Dogma is wrecked, Unit-01 and Rei are incapacitated, and Asuka and Shinji are getting demolished!" She turned away from her lover, "Hyuga! Open the hatch! Maya! Connect the portable unit, we need to know what's going on!"
Outside, the ground shook with the regularity of a metronome, shaking the ground and causing small avalanches of dust and debris.
The group opened the hatch as quickly as they could, Maya put the portable control computer on the ground, kneeling to be able to reach the keyboard. The others walked out, right in time to hear twin growling howls.
Unit-02 emerged from the lake, holding the frigate over its head. Swiftly, the red Titan threw the empty ship at its enemy. With a crunching sound, the frigate crashed against the back of the Angel's head, which turned to look for the source of the attack.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Unit-00 raised its only arm to grab the razor-sharp appendage as it attacked. Somehow, the fingers crumpled the shifting blade.
"It's impossible!" Maya reported, as everybody around watched with their jaws hanging open. "Both Evangelion Units are out of energy!"
"And yet, they move." Kaji echoed Galileo's famous quote without realizing.
Inner Robin remembered when the Phantom Stranger compared Green Lantern's light to the A.T. Field. And sent an urgent suggestion to Shinji.
"Unit-00 is deploying an ATF, but… it's not…" Maya swallowed, "it's not extending!"
Inside the Entry Plug, Shinji focused all his will into shaping the ATF into the weapon he needed right now.
In the core, Rei and Deadman took their energy, and as Shinji shaped it, they locked its shape in solid form.
With a mighty roar, Unit-00's ATF coalesced into a shimmering series of iridescent hexagons.
The ATF shone like a beacon in a storm for a few seconds. When the light show dissipated, the biomechanoid flexed its fingers and closed its fists. The two fists.
A new arm had formed.
Commander Ikari gaped at the sight. 'Cant be!' He thought. Unit-01 is the one that should transcend! Not those. Unit-01, the only Evangelion that actually matters! Yui!'
A step behind the Commander, Vice-Commander Fujutsuki enjoyed the outraged incredulity of his former student. Though he abstained of commenting on this unexpected development.
Lt. Ibuki checked her portable computer, and reported the data she had received. "Robin's synch is fluctuating around 99% margin. Somehow, Unit-00 is actually generating its own energy!' She gasped in incredulity. "Unit-02 is doing the same! How?" An alarm beeped, "Huntress´ synch is going over 100%! She and Unit-02 are… oh, Kami! Her synch is still raising! 206%!"
Huntress smiled happily inside the Entry Plug, wrapped in emotions she had missed for over a decade. Feelings she had thought denied to her forever.
In the core of the red. Evangelion, Kyoko stood fiercely, the soul of a mother defending her daughter with everything she had.
"Huntress? Do you copy?" Robin asked.
"Loud and clear, Robin. I had a bit of a problem with some interference, but Im at full capacity now. Let' s ruin this Angel's day, shall we?"
"Allow me." A twisted smile opened in Shinji's face. The right arm ofUnit-00 pulled suddenly at Zeruel´s arm, forcing the monster forward, ending up face to face with a growling Evangelion. Zeruel tried to open fire with its optic blasts, but before the charge was hit enough, Unit-00 kicked the angel away, ripping the arm in the process.
Zeruel howled in rage and pain, only to be received by Unit-02. The red Evangelion grappled the Angel, holding it with the left arm, while the right hand held the progressive knife in the classic mugger pose. Without losing any time, Huntress stuck the knife in Zeruel´s left eye.
"Hold it there, Huntress!" Unit-00 ran forward.
Right as Major Katsuragi grabbed a microphone. "Dont give it any chance, you two; finish it!"
As if Zeruel had heard her, it turned its head back, and almost respectively, began to flow into an indistinct grey mass, to everybody´s horror.
"It´s gonna blow!" Robin screamed, guiding Unit-00 to jump to the fray. The ATF made arm shot forward as a beam of light, enveloped the fighters. "Huntress! Maximum ATF!"
Huntress screamed the order, as the grey goo covered the optic sensors on Evangelion-02´s head.
Incredulous, Maya reported, "Asuka´s synch has gone over 300%! And its still rising!"
"Kami above!" Dr. Akagi wheezed, "If she goes over 400%…" she snatched the microphone from. Major Katsuragi´s hand, "Asuka! Stop! You´ll…"
"400%!" Maya screamed.
Kaji did the same. "Everybody inside! Close the door! If that thing blows we´re toast!
The group scrambled to do so, the last one to enter, just as Kaji punched the close button, was Commander Ikari, pulled by Fujutsuki. Unheard by anybody, he repeated the same words again and again, "It can't be! Impossible!"
"Asuka! Pull back!" Robin screamed, too worried to bother with the call-sign
"I can't!" She screamed back. "I´m…"
Robin redoubled his efforts, splitting his attention between shielding Unit-02 and containing the imminent explosion. A cloud of blood floated in front of his face. He did not notice.
A shimmering sphere of energy enveloped Zeruel´s changed form. The same energy found a small opening, right at the top of unit-00´s left shoulder pylon and slid underneath the grey sphere, covering Unit-02 with barely a second to spare, reinforcing its ATF, Robin hopped it would be enough to protect Asuka.
Inside Unit-00's core, Deadman and Rei grit their teeth, stifling a scream of absolute pain, yet neither faltered.
In Unit-02's core, Dr. Soryu hugged Asuka protectively, boosting the red Evangelion's ATF to previously unheard of limits.
The explosion was apocalyptic. It had enough energy to vaporize the whole GeoFront, down to the lowest level, exposing Terminal Dogma for the first time in an Eternity.
Robin's energy field expanded geometrically for a split second, before shrinking back.
NERV's staff was thrown to the floor by the tremor. The door frame resisted, but the shock misaligned the locks. It took the whole group 13 minutes of Herculean efforts to finally open the hatch again.
The landscape had changed irrevocably.
The forest, gone. The lake, violently displaced, flowed back to its place, in the form of a myriad of streams of mud and water. The pyramid was covered by dust and debris.
And in the middle of the wasteland. Two Evangelion Units were the only things still standing.
Unit-00's only arm holding Unit-02's body, now bereft of paint and lettering. Naked metal and dulled reinforced lexglass.
Zeruel, the Angel or Power, had ceased to exist, leaving a wasteland to mark its passing.
(1) If there is a list of DCU characters able to pull a Stark, being able to build high tech items from junk, Dr. Dabney Donovan is canonically in that list. He hid in the depths of Project Cadmus unused levels for years, and created quite a few DNAliens with discarded stuff from the labs upside.
(2) "Damned piece of junk!" According to Google Translator.
(3) The synch numbers are the same during the second part of the song Ring Capacity, by Kirby Krackle. The song is from the point of view of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) as he fights Sinestro, his opposite number and former mentor. I really enjoy the song, as it is quite dynamic, fun, and true to the comics. They even managed to work Green Lantern's oath into the lyrics! The official animated video is available in YouTube, and though it's a bit crude, works perfectly for the song. The band has quite a few albums to their name, heavily influenced by geek/nerd culture, with many references to comic book characters, ussually as parody.