Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ A New Beginning/ A New World: Emerald Edition ❯ Chapter 39: SEELE strikes back ( Chapter 44 )

Chapter 39: SEELE strikes back


Let me start out by saying the following about this chapter:
WARNING!

There’s some strong language and some violence in this chapter. Due to what goes on in this chapter, I feel it’s in character for some major swearing to happen… so this chapter is R rated for language. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as you’ve read from me before. On Deviantart, this will get a “Mature Rating”.

END WARNING

Thanks for the prereading help from Daniel and Stephen on this one.

Sorry about the delay in releasing this chapter, I’ve been quite busy with my new job and it’s hard to find time to write. I was also in the hospital while on a two week company training trip last month… but I did manage to use some of that time to write.

For the most current updates with any of my fanfiction stories, be sure to visit my Deviantart account at:

http://shinjiasuka4ever.deviantart.com/

(Sometimes I’ll post ½ of a completed chapter there before the whole thing is done and released here and at the other fanfiction sites)


Part A


After Toji’s departure, Misato does her best to take control of the situation in the infirmary. ‘At least these false labor contractions are going away… I have a bad feeling that something’s about to happen…’

“Doctor?” Misato calls out, wanting to implement her idea as quickly as possible.

One of the head doctors walks over to Misato and asks “What can I do for you, Colonel?”

“Lockdown the infirmary… and implement code “Stratos 4” immediately.” Misato says softly.

“You mean we’re going to be attacked?” The doctor replies back in hushed tones.

“I have a bad feeling… and the attack on Shinji and Toji was only the beginning… I’m just playing it safe…”

“I’ll get right on it…”

Misato slowly stands up and gets out of the wheelchair. “Can you bring me my communicator and gun?”

“Sure… but are you well enough to be walking around?” The doctor asks, concerned for Misato’s welfare.

“I’m a sitting duck if something does happen… unless I can be mobile. Let’s get Shinji and Toji’s sister into the inner part of the infirmary and start securing the doors…”

With a salute, the doctor replies “Yes ma’am…” and the two head for a nearby office…


Near the Katsuragi apartment, Toji takes a break in the hallway to catch his breath. ‘I guess I’m still not back 100%… I shouldn’t be outta shape like this… but I have to get back to Hikari…’

As he resumes his march towards the apartment, Toji hears a buzzing in his ear.

“Um, yeah?” He says to himself softly.

A voice speaks from the earpiece he’s wearing. “Code Stratos 4… get back into the apartment immediately and protect Hikari. Don’t let anyone in unless they give you the proper counter code…”

“Sure thing Misato…”

A click is heard and the line goes dead.

Toji curses softly to himself. “Shit… something’s going down…”


A few minutes later, Hikari hears the sound of buttons being pressed and is happily surprised to see Toji enter into the apartment a few seconds later.

“Toji! I’m so happy to see you!”

“Me too… but something’s going on…” Turning around, Toji closes the door and locks it… and then starts inputting a code into the control panel.

“What’s going on? Why are you messing with the control panel?”

“Didn’t you get a message from Misato? She said that we’re doing the Stratos 4 code thing…” Toji asks, wondering if she got the message or not.

An ever increasingly worried Hikari starts to shake. “No… I didn’t get any message. That code… means something’s about to happen, isn’t it?”

A plan comes to mind and Toji decides to take some extra measures to protect himself and his girlfriend. “I think so… and I’m gonna protect you. Help me move the couch and the chairs… no one’s coming in here…”

Hikari takes Toji’s hand and looks up into his eyes… and tries not to cry. “Toji… I’m scared. I heard about what they did in here last time… I don’t want to lose you…”

“You ain’t gonna lose me… if you didn’t get the message, that means someone blocked it… and we’re gonna be targeted.”

Hikari watches Toji pull a gun out of his left pocket and a clip out of his right. He loads the gun and then places it in a holder attached to his belt…

Toji looks at Hikari and places a hand on her shoulder. “I gotta be ready… do you still have your gun?”

“Umm… yeah… but I…”

“Hikari, I need yah to be strong… let’s get the door barricaded and then get any weapons we can assembled.”


Taking a few a deep breathes, Hikari tries to calm herself down. “Okay… let’s do this…”


The pair quickly move items around the apartment and soon the door is barricaded. He takes a quick peek in the video monitor… and breathes a sigh of relief. He then realizes something’s missing…that should’ve been there when he arrived.

“No one so far… but yah know what, wasn’t there supposed to be guards here all the time? I mean, in front of the apartment…”

Hikari nods her head. “You’re right… where’d they go?”

“Either they were SEELE agents and left… or they were taken out… this bothers me a lot Hikari. There’s supposed to be people protecting us… and there ain’t…”

“Then we have to protect ourselves…” Hikari nervously touches the gun attached to her pants. “Right?”

“Of course… let’s find that… cache or whatever Kensuke called it… that Misato hid for emergency purposes… just in case…”

The two exchange glances and start their search in earnest… not aware that several people were moving towards their location…


At the very same time, Asuka arrives in the video control room and sits down at one of the empty seats.

“Someone tell me how to access old video logs… I need to see something and it’s urgent!” Asuka says loudly to the guards working there.

The guards look at each other and then one responds to the query- they all know the 2nd child by reputation and know not to piss her off.

“I’ll access what you need and send it over to that terminal… which day and which part of the base?” The lead guard asks of the redhead.

“Hmm… one week ago… the hallway in front of the boys’ locker room… just after they got out of swim practice.” Asuka says while trying to remember the details of some of her arguments with Shinji. ‘That’s when he said I insulted him… but I was with Hikari and Rei. Let’s see what comes up on the screen…’


The guard does as he’s told… and it isn’t long before the log is pulled up and displayed on all the monitors for all to see. ‘I think this is important… better put it on full view…’ Is the thought in his mind.


Asuka’s gasps after she watches the clip… which shows Shinji arguing with what appears to be her… but it’s not.

“What the hell is this?”

“Umm… it looks like you arguing with the 3rd Child, ma’am…” The lead guard says respectfully.

“Shit… that’s not me. Shinji was right…” Turning to the lead guard, Asuka decides to prove it to them… and to herself. “Bring up the hallway camera that’s outside the girls’ locker room for the same time period…”

The other guards wonder why’d she ask for that… but get their answer a few moments later. Several gasps fill the room…

“What is this? You can’t be there… and at the boys’ locker room at the same time…” Is the exclamation from the lead guard.

Asuka cannot believe her eyes. “I don’t fucking believe it… I guess Rei wasn’t the only clone…”

“So there’s two 2nd Childs’…” Is the exclamation from one of the guards before the sound of several gun safeties being released are heard. “How do we know you’re the real one?”

Asuka shrugs her shoulders. “Of course I’m the real one you idiots…”

“The communications in the area have been dampened… I just got a garbled transmission from Colonel Katsuragi… and I was able to make it out despite the interference.” The lead guard gets on his feet and backs away from Asuka. “We’re on alert… condition Stratos 4…”

“Well, if someone’s trying to block communication here… then of course it’s time to be on alert…” Asuka says while trying not to be nervous.

“What’s your code? That’s the only way we know of to prove your identity…” The lead insists.

“Me?” Asuka thinks for a moment and then confidently replies: “Shizuha Doi”


There’s a few moments of tension… and then the lead guard raises his right hand. “At ease… she’s the real one.”

The other guards lower their weapons and stand down.

“Whew…” Asuka breathes a sigh of relief. “I thought you guys were going to shoot me for a second there…”

All of the guards bow and then one speaks up in order to reassure Asuka. “Sorry, ma’am… but we just had to be sure. We had no idea that you had a double running around here for the last week or so…”

“Neither did I… until now. What Shinji told me makes sense… but now, the question is, what next?”

“I think we need to brace for an attack… the jamming of communications here has to be deliberate… and could’ve only been done by an insider.” The lead guard makes a few motions with his hands and the other guards fan out and start securing the area.

“You should stay here with us, we’ll protect you…”

Asuka thinks about that for a moment and makes a major decision… to confront herself, so to speak…

“No… I have some unfinished business…” Wheeling her chair around, Asuka turns her attention back to the console and accesses current video feeds. Her query is sound found and put on the main screen for all to see…

“I’m leaving… to take care of that problem you see on the screen. You guys keep this area from falling into SEELE’s hands…”

Looking down at the courageous young lady, the lead guard shakes his head. “Are you sure? The Colonel would kill me if anything happened to you…”

“Hmph. I’ll be fine… I’m the great Asuka Langley Soryu after all… just give me a gun and a knife…”

“Do you know how to use those?” The lead asks jokingly, knowing full well that she’s been through vigorous training on use of both objects.

A large grin forms on Asuka’s face. “Heh. All too well…”

Conceding the point, the guard motions towards the entrance to the next room. “Let me show you to the weapons locker…”


Events begin to be set in motion… the SEELE agents that remain start isolating communication in the non-critical areas in preparation for the attack soon to begin.


In another hallway in the NERV complex, Aoba runs towards his final destination, being spurred on even more by the alert he just received over his communicator.

‘Damn… we’re on Stratos 4… and I still haven’t gotten to Maya. Please be okay…’ Is the thought running through his mind as he nears her last known position.

“Maya! Maya, where are you?” He cries out as he reaches the intersection in question.

“Aoba?” A faint voice cries out from his right.

“Maya!” Aoba runs over to her and extends out his hand. “We have to get out of here now!”

Puzzled by his urgent comment, Maya wonders if something’s wrong. “But why?”

After helping Maya to her feet, he whispers the words “Stratos 4” into her ears… and the young woman takes a step back. She replies back in a whisper- “Oh no… they’re still here, aren’t they?”

“Yes… and we’ve got to get somewhere safe…” Aoba says, knowing every second they’re in the open like this increases their danger.

“Okay… but where are we going to go? It’s a long way back to the control center…” Maya says before trying to think of a safe place to hide.

“Maybe we should try for the control center… it’s far away but there’s a couple of spots we could stop at and hide in on the way. We have to get moving… we can talk about what happened later. Maya… it wasn’t your fault, okay? Shinji’s just fine… I got a report on his condition before coming down to find you…”

Maya takes his hand and holds it. “Thanks… I don’t know what happened… I just lost it…”

Aoba nods his head. “It’ll be okay… I’m here with you…”


The pair rush down the hallway… Aoba draws his gun and keeps it ready as they move down the eerily empty corridors towards the control center… but are stopped just short of their destination by the sound of bullets…



After seeing the near loss of his son and definite evidence of SEELE being on the move, Gendo was furious. ‘The pilots have only been stationed underground at NERV for a short time and now SEELE is on the move again. The old men never give up, do they?’

Checking a nearby terminal, Gendo was surprised to see a special alert code on the screen in front of him… without his notification. ‘Something is not right here… code Stratos 4 is in effect…’

"Excuse me, sir!"

Gendo turned around and stared at the man. "What do you want?" He asked with a scowl that soon turned to surprise when the guard lifted his automatic rifle.

"SEELE sends its regards..." And then the guard pulled the trigger.


In a few moments, it was all over… and only one man was standing, if one could call it that…

Commander Ikari staggered back, dropped his gun that he'd drawn as quickly as he could, and leaned against the wall coughing for several moments while holding his side.

"Damn..." He muttered as he noticed several holes in his leg, side and arm. "At least... he was a bad shot..." Limping, the commander of NERV made his way to the infirmary, hoping not to run into more trouble along the way…


Many NERV employees were on their way back to work after dinner, including Hyuga Makoto and the three new assistants. "Damn it... this is crazy..." he muttered to himself after hearing the garbled code alert from Misato. He turned to the women next to him and whispered “I think we better get back to the control center right away…”

Aoi is the first to respond. “What’s going on? I didn’t hear anything…”

“I heard something in my communicator… it was Misato… we’re on Stratos 4…” He says back while quickening his pace. The three women start walking faster and begin to worry…

“You think we’re going to be attacked?” Kaede says softly while reaching for her gun.

“There’s a reason why I barely heard Misato… and you three didn’t hear anything…” Hyuga says before pressing the key to call for the elevator. “We have to be on guard…”


Twenty seconds later, the elevator door opens… and three armed guards emerge and make their move. “Engage the targets!”


“Shit!” Hyuga pushes the women out of harm’s way before reaching for his gun. Shots ring out and bodies start falling to the ground…



“Hyuga!” Satsuki cries out as the technician falls to the ground. The remaining guard takes aim at the young woman and grins.

“Good night…”


Seeing her friend in danger, the wounded Kaede summons all her strength and reaches for her gun… squeezing off two shots at the unsuspecting guard who thought she was dead.


“I guess it’s good night for you…” She says before slumping to the ground. Satsuki gets on her feet and checks the condition of her fallen comrades. ‘Hang in there guys… I know you can make it…’



Up in the control center, Sub-Commander Fuyutski tries to maintain order… the majority of his staff on this shirt are young, unseasoned personnel that have no knowledge of the previous SEELE attack.

“Sir! The seal on the door is being broken!” One of the young technicians calls out from the lower level.

“Damn SEELE…” The sub-commander mutters to himself before trying to think of a plan. “Fall back, and blockade the door. Everyone arm yourselves, now…” He yells down at his subordinates, who immediately obey.

Having accomplished a temporary defense, Kozo turns his attention to the computer in front of him and tries to locate the Commander… and other key personnel. ‘They’re jamming the computers… I wish we still had Dr. Akagi with us… she’d neutralize that problem in no time.’


An explosion rocks the area and shakes the walls… one of the alternate entrances is under siege as well. ‘This feeling… is it déjà vu all over again?’ He wonders to himself before issuing more orders.


The crew in the control center is split into two groups, who throw chairs and any other miscellaneous equipment in the area near the two entrances before taking defensive positions. The secret equipment lockers are opened and everyone quickly dons armor as the entrances continued to be riddled by explosions and bullets…


Scattered battling continues to take place throughout the NERV complex… SEELE’s numbers, recently thinned thanks to information from an “outside source” transmitted to Maya’s terminal.


There are a few pockets of quiet, however. One such place is the cage area for the EVA’s… in particular, Unit 02.


“I see you decided to show after all…” A cruel yet familiar voice calls out to Asuka as she enters the room. “There’ll be no one to bother us here… it’s just you and me…”

Asuka grins. “Fine… that’s the way I wanted it. It’s time I confronted my worst enemy… myself… though I can’t say that we share the same taste in music… what is that?”

The clone taps her fingers on the guardrail. “Music informing the others of their fate… “Kill You” is the title of that one…” Pausing for a moment, both take notice of the song change. “Now… “Shoot To Thrill”… though the only ones that’ll be thrilled is SEELE, as you people get mowed down…”

“That’s better… AC/DC…but you still aren’t worthy of having MY name!” Asuka points at her opponent and cruelly smirks. “You know, there can only be one of us… there’s not enough room in this world for two Asuka’s…”

“You don’t say? You disgrace the person you used to be… you’re weak and not worth of the name Asuka Soryu… and you need to be eliminated!”

Reaching in her pocket, Asuka pulls out her gun. “Don’t move and I may just let you live… for all you’ve done to me, you deserve to pay…”

“You’re the one who’s going to pay… for stopping SEELE’s plans. Humanity should’ve been one, but no… you and your boyfriend had to screw everything up…”

“Screw up what? That fake world you people wanted? No thank you…” Asuka says back defiantly.

The cloned Asuka shrugs her shoulders. “You’ve denied us and the rest of humanity… so your organization has to be stopped. You may have thinned our ranks… but we’ll get our revenge…”

“That’s what you…”


Asuka is in mid-sentence when her clone pulls out a knife and charges her…

‘Damn she’s quick!’ Is the thought passing through the 2nd Child’s mind as she blocks the knife with her gun. The two struggle as the gun gets pressed closer and closer to the real Asuka’s body.

Seeing that she’s winning the battle, the clone taunts her real counterpart. “You think have a chance? I’ve had real military training… and for a lot longer then the bullshit they showed you here. Give it up, Asuka… you’re weak…”

“Not as weak as you think, bitch…” With a mighty thrust, Asuka reverses the movement towards her body and throws the gun off into the holding tank, taking the knife with it.


Striking a defensive pose, the fake Asuka faces her opponent. “So you want hand to hand combat? You got it…”

“Bring it on…” Asuka says before charging forward.


The two Asuka’s do battle, using any means they can to get a hold and damage their opponent. It’s life or death, no holds barred as the two redheads continue fighting, clothing gets torn… words are exchanged that would make a sailor blush…

Pure determination and NERV training versus SEELE’s military training and the desire for revenge… that’s what the fight boils down to. The cloned Asuka, however, slowly gets the upper hand and soon has Asuka in a strangle hold.

“Ironic that you’d end up being killed… by yourself… or am I just finishing up what you tried to do right before Third Impact?” The clone says cruelly while continuing to block the flow of air to Asuka’s lungs.

“Damn you…” are the last two words spoken before the young woman, battle worn, begins to succumb to the lack of oxygen.

The fake smirks in victory... "I'm going to do what your mother should have done all those years ago!"


Asuka tries to reply to that but her vision is becoming blurry. She starts to lose consciousness and the last thoughts passing through her mind reflect her undying love for her soul-mate, Shinji…

‘I’m sorry, Shinji… I just wasn’t strong enough… I love you… always…’

The last thing Asuka hears is the laugh of her clone, triumphant in her victory…


Part B


Several minutes after the second wave of attacks had begun in the command center, Sub-Commander Fuyutski is surprised to see one of the panels on the floor open up… he reaches for his gun and points at the panel…

“Don’t shoot!” A voice cries from below.

Recognizing the voice, the Sub-Commander lowers his weapon. “It’s nice of you to finally join us…”

“Heh…” Aoba pushes the panel to the side and climbs out… Maya follows close behind him.

“Close and lock that panel, Maya… just in case someone saw us take this route…” The technician looks down at his blood-stained clothes and shrugs. “Well, maybe that’s not much of a worry after all…”

Maya puts the panel back and secures it. “Not after what we went through…”

A few moments later, Kozo scrambles down the ladder and gets a better look at his two new arrivals…

“Looks like you two had a tough time getting up here…”

“That’s putting it lightly… but thanks to Maya here, it was no problem…” Aoba says while placing a hand on his friends’ shoulder.

“Thanks…” Maya blushes. “I didn’t like it… but they wanted to kill us… so yeah… I took some of them down…”

“Well… it seems like they’re trying to break into here… though the attack has quieted down a bit… I wonder if something happened?” Kozo says while glancing over at the two entrances that SEELE was trying to break into.

“No idea, sir.” The two technicians say simultaneously.

“They’ve jammed communications… and I can’t track the Commander or any of the pilots…” An exhausted Kozo says while looking at a nearby console.

“I think I can help with that problem, sir…” Maya says while inputting some commands into the computer. “I just got a new program from ‘Luna’ right before Shinji got injured… let’s see if it works…”


The Sub-Commander and Aoba watch as Maya’s fingers go to work… and soon the program is uploaded and working its ‘magic’…

Amazed, Kozo nods his head. “I don’t believe it… your override is totally overwhelming the SEELE lockdown…”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll find out where our people are…” A confident Maya says as she continues to break down the SEELE computer lockouts. Her work is accelerated when a sudden explosion rocks the command center.

Reaching for his gun, Aoba takes a defensive position behind a chair. “Looks like they know about the program already…”

“All personnel, defensive positions! Don’t let them through!” Kozo calls out as the bullets begin flying once again.



Down in the infirmary, Misato tries to catch her breath. “They nearly broke through that time…”

The head nurse hands Misato another gun and starts moving some of the debris out of the way near the main entrance. “That was a surprise… using a grenade like that… I guess they really do want us dead…”

The Colonel nods her head. “Yeah… but we can’t give up. They may be good shots…” Misato pauses and looks down at the ground… and the pile of bodies nearby. “But not as good as me… but we’ve lost a few of our own, too…”

“Yes…” The head nurse says sadly. “I guess they want revenge at any price…”

“At least we’re holding our own here… and Shinji and Toji’s sister, Azaka are doing okay. Wait a second… I hear something…” Tapping her ear, she tries to focus on the garbled message broadcasting through her earpiece. “Repeat…”


“What’s the situation down there, Colonel?” The voice on the other end repeats, this time coming through loud and clear.

“Commander Fuyutski?”

“Yes it’s me. We’re under attack up here… what’s your status?”

Misato frowns slightly. “The infirmary is secure… but we’ve sustained some casulties. Shinji and Toji’s sister are fine… but I have no idea where the other pilots are…”

“We’re working on that… and Commander Ikari is missing as well. Report in if there’s any change in your situation. Fuyutski out.” The line goes dead and Misato sighs aloud.

‘I hope the other pilots are okay… and where’s Kaji? Damn SEELE…’


Up in the control center, Maya frantically searches for the other key personnel. Her first search finds two, slowly limping towards the infirmary…

“This is Maya… can you hear me?”

“Maya? This is Kaji…” Is the reply back.

Happily, Maya nods her head, causing Aoba and Commander Fuyutski to move closer. The sounds of bullets whizzing through the air intensifies as the SEELE infiltrators push forward, despite the heavy rain of gunfire the technicians are pouring through the entrances.

“Status, Mr. Kaji…” Kozo says while tapping the transmit key.

“I’m okay… but I’m taking one of our wounded to the infirmary…”

“Who is it?” A curious Sub-Commander asks.

“Status, Commander…” A different voice replies back weakly.

Shocked to hear Gendo’s voice… all Kozo can say is: “Commander Ikari?”

“Yes… status… where is SEELE? We’re making our way to the infirmary…” Gendo says before groaning aloud from the pain of his injuries.

“The command center is under attack… we haven’t been able to locate anyone else so far, besides you and Mr. Kaji… but we just talked to the infirmary. Colonel Katsuragi has the place secured… should I tell her that you’re coming?”

“Yes… I don’t want to get ambushed by accident…”

“I’ll tell her right away… hang in there…” Kozo says before cutting the connection. He quickly punches in a code and switches the line to contact the infirmary. Within a matter of a few minutes, the infirmary is prepped for the new arrivals and the guards are awaiting the pair.

Maya continues to unlock some of the lockdown codes… and is able to get through to the security control room. After talking to the lead guard, she and the others are shocked to here about a duplicate Asuka… and the real one leaving to confront her.

“Where’s pilot Soryu?” Kozo asks, wanting to establish her current whereabouts.

“Well, sir… some of the screens are still blanked out. We can’t track many of SEELE’s movements at the moment… but we’re working on it. As for the pilot of Unit 02, she left to confront the imposter… I think she went to the cage for Unit 02, but I can’t confirm that visually right now…”

Not believing what he just heard, Kozo has to ask. “You let her go?”

“Could you stop that young woman?” Is the reply back with a loud sigh.

A grin forms on Kozo’s face. “I suppose not. We’ll try and get access back to the monitors… so we can coordinate a defense…”

“Aye, sir. I’ll be monitoring what screens we do have… and I’ll send text reports to you on any enemy movements.”

“Roger that. Fuyutski out.” Turning to look at his two technicians, Commander Fuyutski lets out a sigh. “So Asuka went out on a mission… to get her double… I still can’t believe that the old men cloned her…”

Aoba thinks about that for a moment and then speaks. “It would make sense… I mean why she was so moody lately… I heard Misato talking about a conflict between her and Shinji… and I’m guessing it was this clone at work, messing with Shinji’s head…”

Kozo nods his head. “I agree… they’re going for the psychological victory… as well as the physical one. Damn those old men…”

“I hope Asuka’s okay…” Maya says, worried about the young woman’s welfare.

Agreeing with his subordinates comment, Kozo gets the ball rolling by pressing a few keys on the keyboard. “Let’s try and find her… and the other pilots. Start with the Unit 02 cage… I want to see what’s going on in there…”


While Aoba guards the Commander and Maya, with gun drawn, the two work together on the computer, trying to get access to the monitors. When they finally do, both gasp aloud at the sight before their eyes.

“Asuka... she’s…” Maya says, horrified at what she sees.

“She’s what?” Aoba turns and looks at the screen. “What the hell?”

“I don’t understand it… why would Unit 02 move on it’s own… and crush Asuka?” A surprised Kozo says, trying to make sense of the sight before him.

Pointing at the screen, Aoba draws attention to another sight out of the ordinary. “The entry plugs’ been ejected… it’s just sticking out of the back of Unit 02.”

Realizing that there may be hope, Kozo asks Maya to investigate further. “Tap into the entry plug monitor… is there anyone in there?”

“Let’s see…” Maya’s fingers nimbly work the keyboard and soon a video feed for the plug is displayed on the screen for all to see…”

“Woah… it’s Asuka… she looks pretty banged up…” Aoba says while observing the screen. “Look at her clothes…”

“Is that the real Asuka? Or is it the clone?” Kozo asks, not sure of which one was which.

“I don’t know sir… but she’s alive. I think that’s the best place for her right now… assuming that’s the real one…”

“I hope that it is…” Commander Fuyutski says hopefully. “We can’t afford to lose anyone… when we’re on the verge of finding those bastards… and taking the fight to them.”

A loud explosion followed by flying shrapnel cause the three to duck for cover. Several loud groans are heard from the lower levels as the fragments hit various parts of the commander center… along with several NERV personnel. Aoba falls back onto Maya, who almost screams…

“AOBA! Are you all right?”

The technician slumps to the floor and nods his head. “I’ll be fine…” He starts ripping off a piece of his uniform sleeve on his right arm, which he uses to bandage up his left arm, the wounded one. “I’ll live…”

Maya looks down and says “You better! I didn’t save you earlier for you to die on me here!”

Kozo is impressed. “I’m glad you got over your fear of shooting… but we don’t have a lot of time… we have to find out where our forces are and tell them to head over here before it’s too late…”

“Aye… I’ll try and reestablish communications and find out where our troops are…” With that, Maya’s fingers go to work, trying to find help as fast as possible- before the situation gets any worse for the control center… or the other pilots. One of the first places she gets camera access to is the Katsuragi apartment… where several SEELE agents are trying to break down the entrance door.

Noticing the view on the screen, Sub-Commander Fuyutski gets concerned. “Who’s in the apartment?”

“Umm…” Maya tries to get access to the ID scanner and the cameras inside the apartment. Several frustrating moments later, the view changes… to one showing Toji and Hikari fighting for their lives…


“I told yah idiots NO! We ain’t going with yah!” Toji yells while firing his gun into door, which is starting to look like swiss cheese due to the number of holes in it.

“Then just give up… you don’t have a chance against us…” A cruel voice yells from the other side.

Ducking down, Toji reloads his gun while safely under the cover of the couch, which has a metal backing on it. “Hikari?”

The class rep, who’s on the floor in the kitchen, starts to look into the front room… before a volley of bullets enter the room at various points. She quickly pulls back and asks: “Toji… are you okay?”

“Yeah… throw me some more ammo clips… I’m kinda running low…”

“Okay…” Quickly, Hikari digs through the bag and takes out several clips for the gun Toji is using… and then heads to the doorway between the two rooms. “Here…”


Seeing the clips land on the floor in front of him, Toji breathes a sigh of relief. “Thanks…” He quickly gathers the ammo and starts firing at a different part of the door, one that hasn’t been shot at much… and hears a yelp out the other side.

“I told yah to go away!” He yells out, not too keen on shooting someone… but this is life and death… and the feelings of guilt are minimal.

“You’ll pay for that, insolent brat!” Another volley enters the room, this time through the door and some of the surrounding panelwork. Toji scurries around to another position so SEELE doesn’t lock into his position.

‘Who knew that hanging out wit’ Kensuke all this time may actually be saving my life… and hers…’

Returning fire from his new position, the 4th Child keeps the SEELE agents on the other side hopping. He unloads two clips from various angles… and grins when he hears several yelps on the other side.

“You fucking brat, it’s no more Mr. Nice Guy…”


The room goes silent and the bullets stop. Toji strains to hear what’s going on… several loud clangs are heard as the door starts to rattle.

‘Shit, they’re gonna pry to door off…’ Firing off several shots towards the point of wobble, Toji tries to stop the agents from opening the door. This time, there’s no reply on the other side, no cries of pain. ‘Did I miss ‘em?’


“Toji? What’s going on?” Hikari asks from the kitchen.

“I have no idea… it just looked like they were gonna pry off the door and…”


BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…


“SHIT!” Toji quickly scurries towards the kitchen and leaps inside, jumping over Hikari…

“Get back Hikari…”


Pulling her head back, the class rep barely gets it behind the wall before a large explosion goes off nearby, ripping a giant gash into the wall of the apartment.

“They’re coming in to get us…” Toji mumbles to himself. “Hikari, I need your help…”

Nervously, the 6th Child grabs her gun. “Umm, yeah… what do you want me to do?”

“We’re gonna let them getting a little closer… with all of the dust, they can’t see us in here anyway. When I say “Go” I need yah to shoot with me… I’ll be on the right side of the doorway, you stay here on the left. Fire into the cloud, reload, and keep firing…”

“Sure… I’ll do my best…” Hikari says, her heart beating out of control. ‘I have to shoot at a real person… but they’re trying to kill us… I have no choice.’

“Yah did have one of the fastest reload times out of all us…” Toji says softly. Don’t stop until all the ammo is gone… and then grab a knife and retreat… if there’s anyone left.”


The sound of debris crunching under boots is heard in the distance… alerting the pair to the impending attack. The dust cloud created by the explosion starts to dissipate and outlines of the attackers come into view.


Hikari looks at Toji and nods… and backs away slightly from the door. The 4th Child backs into position and nods back. Both have a pile of ammo at their side, awaiting use.


“Where are you? There’s no other way out… we’ll find you…” Is the audible comment is heard in the distance, indicating to the pilots that some of the troops are back in the bedroom area… and the sound of movement inside the front room indicates that some are in that room, moving towards their position.

When the first pair of boots is about three feet away, Toji says “NOW!” and starts firing. Hikari aims and fires as well… the recoil from the gun starts pushing her back.

“You…” Is the response heard from the first victim. Another figure jumps through the lingering dust and grabs Toji. “Die!”

Toji grapples with the guard and tries to hold his own but feels himself being overwhelmed. He knows the others will be in the room any second… and he can only hope that Hikari acts quickly…

“Get off of Toji or I’ll…”

The guard turns his head. “What, little girl? Shoot me?”

“Exactly…” Hikari says before closing her eyes and pulling the trigger. The guard slumps down and his struggles against Toji cease. The battle is not over, however… the sound of the other guards grows closer each second.

“Hikari, hide…” A struggling Toji says while pushing off the dead body that’s holding him down.

After taking a quick glance at the doorway, Hikari quickly backs up and drags the small ammo bag with her. She hides underneath the small table, which is covered by a tablecloth.

The dead agent, now propped up in the corner, conceals the smaller Toji from sight as another pair of guards enters the kitchen.

“We know you’re in here…” One of the guards says as he enters the room. He starts looking around for the pair and finds his friends, dead on the floor. Another guard walks in behind him and sighs…

“Who knew those two could do this… we knew that the 4th had some skills… but that girl must’ve done some of this, too…”

“Where’d they go?” The second guard starts walking around the room, looking for another way out of the kitchen that the two young people could’ve used to escape.

“Hmm… there’s a vent over there… they’re small enough to have climbed in there…” Says the first guard.

The two take out their flashlights and peer into the entrance… which was opened by Hikari during the initial assault as a back-up way to escape. Her forward thinking provides just the distraction the two young pilots need…


“FREEZE!” Hikari yells while pointing her gun at the pair from under the table. “HANDS UP!”


The two SEELE guards slowly obey… knowing that they outnumber their opponent. “What now? Are you going to take us in?” The second guard says with a sneer.

“I umm… don’t know… but don’t move…” Hikari says nervously while pointing her gun at the two SEELE operatives.


Knowing that their captor isn’t strong or confident with her weapon, the two SEELE agents’ exchange glances and make their move. Instead of charging Hikari, the two move away in opposite directions… Hikari’s reflex action is to fire forward, where the two agents were… resulting in a total miss.

One agent grabs her gun and pulls it away while the other dives under the table and reaches for Hikari.

“Nice try, bitch… you’re not getting away!”

The class rep screams in pain as the agent finally manages to rip the gun from her hand. “Owww…”

“Heh. We’re only getting started…” Is the reply back from the first guard as he grabs her wrist and pulls her out from under the table. Squirming under the dead body, Toji tries to get his gun into position to shoot the guards without blowing his cover. ‘Hang in there Hikari, I’m coming! Damned guard just had to move the body…’

“Let’s have some fun with her first…” Is the response from the other agent while leering at the class rep.

“LET ME GO!!!” Hikari says while struggling against her two captors. ‘They’re going to rape me! I have to stop them and buy Toji some time…’ One of the guards reaches for her chest… and receives a skin-piercing bite on his hand…

“YOWW! You fucking bitch!” The guard screams in pain and loosens his grip involuntartily… Hikari gives him a swift kick in the groin and tries to break away… the other guard grabs her shirt and tries to hold her in place. The garment fails as Hikari puts all her strength into escaping… and dashes out of the kitchen.

“TOJI!”

Two shots ring out as Toji takes aim and fires, knocking the pursuing guard backward into his comrade, who was pulling out his gun. The two stumble to the floor and groan loudly.

“You picked the wrong people to mess wit’…” Toji says while pushing the dead body out of the way. “We ain’t weak… and I know what to do with you… so don’t move…” Toji says while pointing his gun at the surviving guard. “Lower da weapon…”

“I’d rather die…” Is the defiant response back.

“TOJI!” Hikari screams out as she hears several voices from the “new” entrance into the apartment. “Someone else is coming…!”

“Heh. Your tricks won’t save you this time…” The guard says while experiencing one of the first rays of hope since his initial entrance into the apartment. His expression sours, however, as he catches a glimpse of the guards who enter the room.

“You sold us out…” The leader of this group of NERV guards says while looking down at the pile of dead bodies in the remnants of the room that used to be known as the kitchen of this apartment. “It looks like this young man has things under control here…”

“He and his buddies picked the wrong people to mess wit’… Hikari and I really kicked some ass here… though I though they were gonna hurt her a minute ago.” Is the reply back from Toji, glad that reinforcements had finally arrived.

The four guards, who Toji notices are decked out in body armor, all clear their throats. “Your girlfriend is waiting for you in the front room… we’ll take charge here. Wait for us in your bedroom… and we’ll escort you to the infirmary.”

“What about everyone else? Have they found my friends?” Toji asks, wondering what happened to his fellow pilots during this crisis.

The lead of the group answers that. “They’re tracking everyone down now… and the command center is under attack, too. Lt. Commander Ibuki is getting in touch with us and coordinating our attack back…”

Feeling a little better after hearing that, Toji sighs and says: “Oh, okay…”

“Toji, get in here!” Hikari cries out, on the verge of tears.

“You better get in there, son. We’ll take care of the traitor here…” Is the response to that by one of the guards before all four move out of the way, allowing Toji to leave the room. He heads over to his bedroom and finds Hikari sitting on the bed, her hands on her face.

“I’m here…” Toji says softly while sitting down on the bed next to her. “Are you okay?”

The reality of what just happened is starting to affect Hikari… she was attacked and nearly killed, not to mention an attempted sexual assault by the last set of guards.

“No… I killed people, Toji… I know they were trying to kill us… but still…”

Toji takes Hikari’s hands and holds them. “I didn’t like doing that, either… but we had no choice…”

“I guess…” Hikari says before looking down… and realizing that she was exposed- the shock had made her oblivious to the fact that she was shirtless. A red blush covers her face as her gaze slowly rises and meets Toji’s.

Not knowing what to say… or what to do, besides holding her hands reassuringly, Toji simply says: “Hikari…” while trying not to stare at her chest.

“Toji… umm…”

“Hikari… maybe ummm…” Toji gulps. “Maybe you should cover up…”


Impressed by his seriousness in this situation and his focus away from her chest, Hikari smiles. “No… at least, not yet…”

“Huh?” Toji is taken aback by that unexpected response.

Wanting the comfort feeling of his body against hers, the brunette gently lets go of her boyfriends’ hands and snuggles against his chest. “Hold me…”

Now it’s Toji’s turn to blush. “Sure…” He says as while wrapping his arms around her. “Is that better?”

“Mmm… yes…” Is the reply back with a soft sigh. The two hold each other in silence for several minutes… Toji’s fingers gently run across her back as she gently rubs her head on his chest. ‘Her skin is so soft… and warm…’

“Toji…”

“Yeah? ”

“Umm… how do I look? I mean…” Hikari blushes and takes a deep breath. “I wasn’t planning on letting you see me like this for a while… I mean…” The class rep stops herself from revealing more of her inner desires.

The 4th Child takes a moment and thinks about his response back, wanting to be honest but at the same time not sound like a pervert. “Class rep…”

“Yes?” Hikari says, eagerly awaiting his answer.

“You look great… ummm… yeah… nice bra, too… ummm…”

Feeling his fingers running across the back of her bra, Hikari knows that he’s very interested in what she’s wearing. “Thank you… I was hoping that you’d like it… when I was ready to show you…”

“Umm… I guess I got a umm… sneak peek…”

“You did… but don’t tell anyone. I don’t want Asuka or Rei hearing about this… I’m still not ready to be doing what they’re doing…”

“I promise not to say anything to Shinji or Kensuke either… this is just between us. I don’t wanna rush this, either. I want it to be perfect… you know, our relationship. When we’re ready, then we can move forward, together.”

Impressed by her boyfriends’ maturity, Hikari pulls her head away from his chest and plants a kiss on his cheek. “Exactly what I was thinking…”


A knock on the door a moment later interrupts this intimate moment… before Toji gets a chance to kiss her back.

“I’m sorry to interrupt… but we’ve taken the prisoner away. The other SEELE guards are all dead and we need to get you two to a more secure location…”

“Give us a second… we’ll be right out…” Toji says while nodding at the guard, who steps back and takes a defensive position outside of the door. “I’ll get yah a shirt… and wipe off the dirt and stuff on your arms…”

Looking down at her arms, Hikari notices dirt and dust, along with some blood from their attackers. Toji grabs a towel and wipes off her arms as best he can, then she does the same for him, removing the offending marks. After putting on a T-shirt, Hikari is ready to go.

The lead of the NERV group radios in their status and readiness to move out.

“Stand by…” Is the reply he gets back. “We’re showing some movement in your area… and I don’t think it’s ours…”

“Shit…” Turning to his men, he calls them forward and has them assume defensive positions. Hikari and Toji head back into the bedroom and reload their respective guns…

“Here we go again…” Toji says with a sigh. “Yah ready, class rep?”

Shooting a nervous glance over at her boyfriend, Hikari can only nod… and pray for their safety and those of the troops guarding them.

The sound of marching footsteps gets closer… and closer… and then suddenly is cut in half. A new report comes into the earpiece of the NERV soldiers…

“The group split up… some of them are heading your way… and some are heading towards an area that we haven’t restored camera access to…”

“What do you want us to do? After we deal with…” The communication is cut off by the sound of static just as gunfire fills the room.


One of the attackers lays down a spray of bullets with an old style AK47, hitting two of the four guards. “SEELE says hello… and good night…”

The other two toss grenades into the back of the room… the remaining two guards jump away… Toji and Hikari also duck for cover as the grenades go off- they cause a part of the ceiling to collapse in the front room. The walls between in the hallway between the bathroom and front room fall in… blocking off access from the bedroom


“Yah okay, Hikari?” Toji says while carefully getting to his feet.

“Yes… but everyone’s after us…” Hikari says while dusting off her pants.

“They just want some of your kick ass cookin’…” The 4th child says jokingly while searching the closet.

Hikari is not amused. “Ha ha Toji… what are you looking for?”

“Our ‘gift bags’ that we got just before this happened… with the extra stuff for our own personal use…”

“Oh…” Remembering what’s in the bags, Hikari starts looking for the secret panel as well. ‘We have to hurry… the way out is blocked… for the moment…’

Hearing the sounds of coughing, the pair turn around and point their guns at the entranceway. “Are you two okay?”

Both nod their heads in reply to the question from the dust covered group leader. “Yeah…”

“Good… because I need your help. One of my men is stuck in the rubble on our side…”

Tucking their guns into their waistbands, the pair walk out of the room and into the rubble-strewn hallway. The sound of scratching can be heard…

“He’s over there! Help me dig him out…”

“Sure… you guys risked your ass to save us…” Toji says while moving the debris out of the way. “So we’re gonna help you…”

“What about the other two guards that were with you?” Hikari asks, remembering that there were four that came into the apartment a scant few minutes ago… before the second round of chaos.

A down-trodden look appears on the face of the guard. “I think they were hit… before those two grenades went off. I’m not sure if they’re alive or not…”

“That felt like more then two grenades… I felt the whole floor shake… but then again, I ain’t no expert…” Toji notes aloud as he moves a panel out of the way and reaches the injured guard.

“Thank you…” Is the weak reply back from the injured NERV guard as the three dig him out of the debris pile and pull him free. “Sir, I don’t think anyone’s alive on the other side…”

“And why not Yoshi?”

“Because Matsu and Kyo were hit in the legs by the attack… and I saw them toss grenades of their own before the SEELE ones’ exploded. That’s why there was such a shockwave…”

“Damn… but they didn’t go without a fight.” Is the sad reply back.

“Those people really want revenge, don’t they?” Toji asks softly.

“You can say that again, son.” Tapping on his earpiece, the leader of the NERV group, Hiroki, tries to make contact with the command center again. After several gentle taps, the static clears…

“This is Hiroki… what’s our status?”
A frantic Maya replies back. “We’re securing the more critical areas… and we’ve protected the MAGI so far… but they aren’t giving up on taking the control center. We just had what I think was a suicide attack by several guards… we’ve lost one third of our people and Aoba’s injured.”

“What about those other troops that split off earlier?”

“I’m not sure… that whole block is still inaccessible… and I haven’t found Kensuke or Rei yet, either…”

Hearing that news, Hikari says sadly: “Oh no…”

Trying to be reassuring, Toji gently places his hand on her shoulder. “Hikari… Rei’s got Mister Military with her… I’m sure they’re all right…”

“I hope so…” The class rep says while hoping that she’s right.

“Roger that. We’ll try and get out of here and head in that direction as soon as we can. I’ve got to get reinforcements… and take my wounded to the infirmary…” Hiroki says while looking around the room for any other way out.

“Please hurry…” is the reply back before the line goes dead.


Toji stoops down and can see a glimmer of artificial light through the debris pile; where the injured man had just been pulled from. “How about we dig our way out… right over there? I don’t know if you two could fit in the air vents… and I have no idea where they go anyway…”

“Good point… let’s see what we can do with this pile…”



As Toji, Hikari, Hiroki, and Yoshi dig their way out, two corridors of NERV HQ become the focal point of all the remaining SEELE troops. The area near Unit 00’s cage… and the command center itself. Several minor groups head off to other areas in order to cause some minor chaos before grouping back together…


As time goes by, three separate groups of injured limp through the hallways on the way to the infirmary. Kaji escorts the injured Gendo and is the first to arrive, followed by Hyuga and the three female technicians. Toji’s group is barely underway from the apartment when another group of SEELE operatives do a renewed assault on the infirmary itself… forcing them to take another route in…


In the central room of the infirmary, Misato is busy trying to help Maya crack through the SEELE firewalls and restrictions while the lead nurse temporarily takes charge. ‘I guess watching Ritsuko helped out… and I know a few tricks, too… but where’s Rei and Kensuke?’


“Misato… I think I found them…” Is the panicked reply back a few moments after Misato completes the video feed to her monitor.

Concerned and worried, Misato quickly replies. “Show me…”

The room is silent for a moment as the scene shown in the monitor unfolds. Misato’s eyes get large and she can feel the anger building inside of her. ‘They shot Kensuke… damn it…’

The view changes as the camera moves, showing the now fleeing SEELE agents heading away from the scene… pulling an unwilling captive behind them. The sound of a woman screaming fills the whole infirmary a moment later…


“REI!!!!!! REI!!!!”

To be continued in Chapter 40: Determination

A/N: I forgot to mention who the artist was for the two songs mentioned above. “Kill You” was by Eminem, “Shoot To Thrill” was by AC/DC. I hope you, the reader, enjoyed this chapter. Find out what happens to Rei and Kensuke, along with the others, next time. Thanks again to Daniel and Stephen for prereading this chapter for me.