Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Evangelion: Renaissance ❯ Episode 17'b – That Which Yields Promise ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Episode 17’ - 

That Which Yields Promise

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___________________

Straddling one of the long steel benches in the pilot's locker room, Shinji wrestled with his plugsuit. Although he had successfully squeezed his legs into the tight lower half, the top half had packed itself into a wrinkled mass around his waist.
His head hung low, the soul-wrenching sounds and images from the Sea of Dirac still churning about in his skull. He couldn't shake the claustrophobic feeling of knowing he was trapped in the locked hatch, breathing in murky LCL, waiting for the life support system to shut off and the entry plug to run out of oxygen. He had almost died there, suffocating in a freezing pool of his own waste... and now he was about to step onto the battlefield once more.
What if he didn't return this time?
Perhaps it would be for the best—he barely cared about life anymore. He was a prisoner of circumstance. A slave to his loneliness. Death could be a reprieve.
He sighed.
A heavy feeling settled in his chest.

what's wrong /with /hiding /from my pain 
You can't live your whole life behind walls.
What do you live for?
Why   are   you
even  ...   alive

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" Asuka chided him loudly, tearing him from his introspective haze.

Shinji's head snapped up and he saw Asuka was fully dressed in her red plug suit. She stood beside the lockers, a fist pressed against each hip. When she leaned forward, Shinji caught sight of her her eyes. They blazoned with annoyance. Unnerved, he quickly looked back down at his lap and made a lackluster attempt to disentangle the remainder of his plugsuit.

"Are you still depressed?" Asuka asked, her voice dripping with frustration.

He opened his mouth to reply, but found no words.
In his mind he told her to shut up, to leave him alone, but he couldn't summon the strength to actually do it. A hot, stinging sensation boiled in his stomach. It felt like his whole body shrank under the weight of Asuka's spiteful glower.

"Stupid Shinji, get over it!" she chastised him, as if it were that easy. As if she had any idea what he'd been through.

"Why are you so angry all the time?" a hushed, unemotional voice from behind asked.

Asuka whirled around to face Rei, standing behind her dressed in a white plugsuit. Asuka's jaw dropped. She was clearly stunned that meek, reserved Rei had spoken up in defense of whiny little Shinji, but she soon buried her shock beneath more irritation.
"What did you just say, Little Miss Perfect?"

Rei, for her part, appeared completely indifferent to Asuka's aggravation.
"Ikari, we must be going." she said to Shinji in her normal muted tone, looking past Asuka.

"Am I not even here!?" Asuka seethed. "Sie meckern..." her voice trailed off, her yells degrading into unintelligible mumbling as her rage overtook her capacity for words

"Ikari," Rei repeated.

Shinji glared at Rei, bewildered and bemused by the exchange he had just witnessed. He shook involuntarily and pressed his arms close to his chest.

"Y-yes, Ayanami?"

"We should go to the command center."

"...okay." Shinji said.
He wiggled the top of the blue plug suit up over his torso, then depressed the button on his wrist. With a hissing sound, the synthetic material compressed itself to tightly fit to the form of his body.
Shinji gazed over at Asuka, whose eyes were now aimed at the floor. Her hands were tightly clenched into fists and her entire body quaked with anger.

Shinji wondered if she was preparing to lash out at Rei. At him, more likely.
There was no way to be certain, but just in case, he decided it would be best to leave the locker room as soon as possible.
He hoped that, on the battlefield, Asuka would direct her fury at the enemy and set aside their differences to assist Rei if she was in any danger.
As for himself, Shinji didnt care... life or death, it made no difference to him.

Rei stepped wordlessly around Asuka and exited the locker room. Shinji was astounded by the comment she had made earlier. It seemed very out-of-character for Rei to speak like that.
He rose from the bench and shuffled to the doorway, then turned back to check on Asuka.

She stood largely motionless, still in her previous position, trembling slightly. Her fists appeared to be clenched even more tightly now; her fingers dug into her palms. He felt like he should say something to comfort her, but what? Any words of solace he could offer would likely only enrage her further.
She muttered something under her breath that Shinji couldn't make out from where he was standing. He assumed it must have been something in German.

Then, just before he turned away, he thought he saw tears well up in her eyes.

___________________

"This is the video feed we received from a scout helicopter. It's just seconds after the UN forces deployed a N2 bomb." Maya Ibuki announced.
She mashed a few buttons on the computer terminal before her, and the Command Center's large view-screen lit up with grainy footage of an enormous orange fireball, somewhere on the outskirts of town. Her and everyone else on the bridge turned their focus to the screen.

The silent feed was choppy and broken with intermittent bursts of static. The flare of the explosion dissipated shortly, swallowed by billowing black smoke. The smoke drifted skyward, revealing the ground beneath. All that remained of the hillside was an immense, charred crater—one of many pockmarked across the surrounding landscape.
Then, through the thick plumes of smoke, the Angel slowly emerged, its crimson surface splitting the dark clouds.
It floated toward the scout helicopter, and its egg-shaped main body shimmered momentarily as it rotated in place. The tentacle-like appendages stiffened into spiky poles. Sparks arced between their tips, and then an almost translucent wave of something pulsed outward from Angel.
Power lines swayed and toppled over, their bases snapping like twigs. High-tension cables whipped through the air. Grass and dirt were ripped away from the ground. The wave reached the helicopter and the entire feed instantly cut to static.

"What happened!?" Misato shouted.

Ritsuko stepped forward, stuffing both hands into the pockets of her lab coat. "From the analysis it can be concluded that the Angel emitted a high pressure wind current, estimated to be equivalent to that of an F4 tornado." she explained.

Reading data from his own terminal, Shigeru Aoba chimed in: "Target is moving at an average speed of 42 kilometers an hour; it will reach the center of Tokyo-3 in approximately 25 minutes."

Fuyutsuki and Gendo had taken up their usual positions on the elevated platform in the back of the room.
Gendo was sitting, his elbows on the desk, his hands locked in front of his face. Fuyutsuki stood at Gendo's side, his own hands folded behind his back.

"What did the Magi determine?" Fuyutsuki inquired.

"The Magi unanimously decided on issuing instructions for a citywide evacuation." Maya informed him.

"And a battle strategy?"

"The Magi propose an elastic defense formation," Maya reported, "Two affirmative and one provisional affirmative."

The video looped back and they all watched once more as the Angel withstood the awesome destructive power of a N2 ordinance and showed barely a scratch on it.

"So far, we can confirm that 6% of the Angel's external structure was incinerated by the attack," Makoto Hyuga declared, observing the data at his terminal.

"How did the N2 weapon get past the AT Field?" Misato questioned.

Silence fell over the room for several seconds before Ritsuko offered an explanation. When she spoke, it was with a confidence that belied the mysterious, almost alien nature of their enemy.
"This Angel's AT Field is not all-encompassing, as we have seen in a few cases before. There appear to be a number of small linear breaks in the field, which allow for the passage of certain types of matter—in this case, fire."

"Breaks in the field? But why?" Misato asked, perplexed.

"Maya, replay the post-detonation sequence, at slow motion speed 200," Ritsuko said.

"Yes, ma'am," Maya agreed. She hurriedly entered the commands on her terminal, and the video began again, displaying at a drastically reduced speed.

Everyone in the command center watched the video patiently as it plodded along frame-by-frame at an agonizingly slow pace. Nevertheless, they looked on in amazement at what they noticed this time shortly after the smoke began to clear. The Angel had just breached the inferno of the explosion. In real time, it had briefly shimmered; however, in slow motion, the AT Field noticeably flashed bright orange and rotated counter-clockwise as the angel itself turned on its axis. A gust of wind kicked up and rushed outwards in all directions. The earth was torn asunder, and the video went to static once more.

"So that's how," Misato mused softly.

"Yes. It is able to generate wind currents through the alternating breaks in its AT Field, using almost like the blades of a gargantuan fan," Ritsuko stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So, we can get past its AT Field," Misato remarked, a note of confidence rising in her voice. "Anything else?"

"Its primary body appears comprised of a substance very similar to our own flesh," Ritsuko explained. "However, the membranes are less opaque, allowing it to refract light in any spectrum and possibly change its colour. More usefully, unlike us, it appears that the Angel's epidermal layer has few reticular fibers."

"What does that mean?" Misato asked.

"There is the possibility that its surface skin is very weak, so if we can penetrate the AT Field, it may actually be quite easy to damage the Angel." Ritsuko answered.

The video looped for a fourth time as the men and women of the command center continued deliberating. In the far corner of the room the three children silently stood and watched.
The adults on the bridge were so engaged with the frenzied dialogue of the room it seemed that everyone had forgotten about the Evangelion pilots themselves.

Shinji stood between Asuka and Rei, his head hanging low on his shoulders. He had already forgotten about the incident in the locker room and his thoughts had once returned to the Sea of Dirac. He was beginning to wonder if he was trapped in this psychological hell.

"Will there be an incident like last time?" Gendo inquired.

"No, sir," Ritsuko assured him, "Based on the video feed alone we're fairly certain that this Angel can not access or generate a Dirac sea, or any quantum vacuum. Preliminary analysis suggests it's similar to the previous Angel in appearance only."

"Good," Gendo spoke coldly, his hands still linked in front of his face. "Sortie the Evangelions."

___________________

The sound of Sagiri's own heartbeat thumped loudly in his ears, nearly eclipsing the wail of the air raid sirens. Sweat streaked the sides of his face, and his muscles felt like they were on fire. His sprint slowed to a jog and he felt fatigue grip him as the laptop case slung over his shoulder felt much heavier than before.

With the map of the city engrained in his mind, he traversed the outskirts of Tokyo-3. In the distance he could see the Angel as it loomed ominously over the buildings, creeping steadily closer to the center of the city.
His only wish was that he could make it to NERV HQ before the Angel commenced its attack, and that he'd be able to offer some kind of assistance. He wasn't sure what he could do to help, but he knew he couldn't sit idly by, huddled together with hapless civilians in a fallout shelter waiting for the battle to end. He had to do something.
First, however, he would have to make it through the perilous streets of Tokyo-3.

The sky overhead was awash with dark, heavy clouds. Wind whipped across the landscape, shearing branches from trees and sending dirt, garbage, and all manner of detritus tumbling through the abandoned streets.
The howl of the air raid sirens faded, and Sagiri skidded to a stop. Between two large buildings the Angel was still plainly visible. Why had the sirens ceased?

From somewhere close-by, a deafening THUMP rattled his bones.

Startled, Sagiri looked to the left and saw a monstrous purple-coloured humanoid figure appear from behind the shadow of a skyscraper. It took a second step forward. When its foot made contact with the asphalt, he heard another thunderous crash and felt the ground shake.

"Wow," Sagiri marveled, gawking up at the giant in amazement. There was no way he could have prepared for seeing an a Evangelion in-person; he never imagined one could have such an awesome presence.
Although he was well-versed in their technical specifications, the extent of his experience was limited to schematics and confined to a laboratory.
Now he was witnessing their incredible power firsthand. If a single step could cause the earth to quake, what would it be like when it unleashed the full strength of the AT Field?

Flanking the purple Evangelion, two other units, one blue and one red, came into view. They maneuvered into a triangular formation a few hundred meters in front of the Angel. As if sensing conflict, the Angel came to a stop and hovered in place.

The air crackled with tension, like the calm before a massive storm.
Sagiri swallowed hard and involuntarily began to tremble... perhaps he should have retreated to the shelter after all.

___________________

Asuka's hands rested lightly on the controls of Unit 02. She enhanced the magnification of the Eva's optical sensors for a closer look at the Angel. It looked quite similar to the last one, only more oblong, and red this time instead of black-and-white. Aside from the colour its main distinguishing feature was a series of wormlike tails. Every other Angel she had seen so far had assumed vastly different shapes from one another, each more ridiculous than the last.

Have they finally run out of ideas? she smirked to herself.

Misato's face blinked into view in the corner of the view screen, filling the communications window.
Asuka tuned out the tactical officer's instructions—the last thing she needed right now was some hare-brained military brat giving her orders. She didn't need to be told what to do; she could handle things on her own just fine.

"Asuka?" Misato nagged.

"Huh?"

"Do you understand?" Misato asked with a scowl.

"Sure, sure," Asuka confirmed as she feigned attentiveness. "Wonder Girl and I will lend support while Shinji the Great and Powerful destroys the Angel, just like always."

She wasn't entirely sure that was the thrust of the plan, but it seemed likely; she could hardly remember the last time they fought an Angel where the strategy didn't seem to hinge completely on Shinji.
What was the deal with him, anyway?
Why did everyone think he was so great?
She could have defeated the other Angels just as easily as he did... she just needed a chance to prove herself.

"Good," Misato said. "Stand by. You'll begin the operation on my mark."

The communications window blinked out, leaving Asuka alone with her thoughts and the constant hum that emanated from everywhere within the entry plug. It sounded so loud the first couple of times she sat in the cockpit, but she eventually grew accustomed to it. Now it was just dull ambience.

Her grip around the controls tightened as her thinking remained focused on Shinji. That idiot—what was it that he did that made him so great, anyway? Why was Misato always defending him? She always took his side, and he always got all the credit. Good job, Shinji. Way to go, Shinji.
Asuka was getting sick of it.
She had a role in each mission, but apparently nobody cared. Nobody ever told her good job or nice work. Never. It was always Shinji. Stupid Shinji. It didn't matter how much he whined or protested. They all loved him.

She squeezed the control levers until they shook.
Today was her chance. Today she would be the one to save everyone. Today she would get the praise she deserved. The attention she craved. This Angel would be easy; she could defeat it without Shinji's help... then everyone would appreciate her, and forget about how great Shinji was supposed to be.

"Shinji," she spoke into her comm link.

A window containing Shinji's face popped onscreen. "What is it, Asuka?"

"I'm gonna take point on this one," she boasted, "You'd better just stand back and let me take care of the Angel."

"But Asuka, thats not the plan! You could get hurt!" Shinji objected.

"Hurt? By what?" Asuka laughed. "That big egg's gonna blow some puffs of air? Ha!"

"Asuka, please!" he cried.

"Just sit back and watch how it's done, Shinji." she remarked with a smirk.

The communication window blinked shut, and white-knuckling Unit-02's controls, she lunged.

___________________

Stupefied, Sagiri gawped up at the red Eva as it charged headlong at the Angel. This was their plan?

Unit-02 rushed forward with the automatic pallet rifle in its hands. Each footstep sent out small shockwaves which echoed like thunder as it raced towards its target. Behind it, the umbilical cable wobbled dangerously side-to-side, tossing vending machines and sweeping cars aside like toys.

The behemoth screeched to a stop, aimed its weapon, and let loose a hail of gunfire. Simultaneously, the Angel shimmered for an instant, and a wave of air burst outward, catching the torrent of bullets in its flurry. The projectiles slowed, temporarily suspended in air, then blew back toward Unit-02, where they harmlessly bounced away. The Eva was stalled mid-stride by the force of the gale. It tottered back and forth precariously as the pilot tried to hold their ground, but the effort was futile.
In the next moment, the Eva was swept up in the gust of wind and tossed back across the city skyline.
Unit-02 stayed airborne for nearly five seconds before colliding with a skyscraper. The side of the building exploded in a cloud of dust, raining chunks of steel and mortar in every direction as the Eva tumbled to the ground.

As soon as the Eva was out of sight Sagiri heard the rush of wind. He braced himself, and was hit head-on by a blast of air. Reeling backwards, he crashed into the concrete wall of a building behind him. Luckily, the speed of the gust that hit him had been greatly reduced by the number of structures between him and the Angel, or his first day in Tokyo-3 probably would have been his last.

Every part of his body ached and burned. Breathing in, a sharp twinge of pain shot across his back and radiated throughout his chest. It was possible he had broken a rib—he prayed that was the absolute worst of it... the back of his head had also smashed into the wall. Little stars danced across his field of vision and he felt woozy, but eventually it stopped. Now he just had a headache.

He suddenly remembered his laptop case was still slung over his shoulder. It, too, had smacked into the building. His computer was very likely broken, but he didn't have time to check—he had to press on and get to NERV as quickly as possible, before the situation got any worse.

___________________

Asuka's mood had been thrown, just like her poor Eva, and she was sinking into a dark place. When the rumble of impact subsided, she found herself staring up at the cloudy sky in dejected silence. She sighed.

The communication window blinked on and Misato's irritated face appeared, "Asuka! You had explicit instructions to not engage the target until I gave the order!"

"Yeah, well I didnt think it would be a problem." Asuka retorted.

"Not a problem? Look at the damage you just caused!"

"Give me a break, Misato," Asuka grumbled. "Half the building is still standing."
She turned away from the window to avoid eye contact with Misato.

"This is no time to be facetious. The Angel has presumed us hostile. You need to–"

Before Misato could finish her statement, the Angel's tendrils went rigid and lashed around Unit-01's forearms with extraordinary speed. Shinji was barely able to assume a defensive position before the appendages tensed and pulled hard in the opposite direction. His Eva lost its foothold, sailing backwards and crashing to the ground just beside Unit-02. In an instant, the only Eva that remained upright was Unit-00. Inside, Rei dutifully awaited orders from Misato to begin the assault.

Asuka cried out. Her left arm burned with pain, like something indescribably heavy was crushing it. She looked to her immediate left and saw the hulking shape of Unit-01. It had narrowly missed her, but her arm throbbed with an agonising feeling of pressure. Biting her lower lip, she struggled to bring her arm close to cradle it. Although she successfully moved her arm, there was no corresponding movement from the Eva. Unit-02 didn't budge. Its arm was pinned underneath Unit-01.

"Stupid Shinji! Get off my–"

A movement in the corner of her eye caught Asuka's attention. Momentarily distracted from her pain, she looked up to observe the Angel floating toward her.

"–arm." she squeaked as it drifted directly above her Eva.

___________________

From the cockpit of Unit-00, Rei studied the Angel as it altered its course. Originally it was proceeding in a straight line toward the center of Tokyo-3. Now it moved toward Ikari and the Second Child. According to Major Katsuragi, the Angel now perceived them as a threat; therefore, it would now engage them in combat with the intent to destroy them.
Rei had to do something or her fellow pilots would be killed.

"I'll divert its attention," she announced.

"Rei, wait!" Misato cried into the communicator, but Rei paid no heed—if she didn't act now, Ikari could be injured or worse.

With the Angel's attention focused on the other Evas, Rei was able to maneuver Unit-00 into a new position. She arranged her Eva perpendicular to the current path of the Angel, assuming an offensive stance. Using two nearby buildings as cover, she readied her pallet gun and waited as the Angel moved into her line of fire. When its body was in her crosshairs, Rei squeezed the trigger and showered her target with bullets. The Angel's AT Field flashed bright orange as it deflected the volley.

Rei's finger released the trigger. She waited a beat. The Angel seemed to hesitate, then twisted around. Its AT Field gleamed, the telltale shimmer signifying its principal method of attack.
Rei spun her Eva backwards and to the right, diving for cover behind the adjacent skyscraper.
The burst of wind pounded the building, shaving off huge chunks of steel and concrete. Broken glass blew into the distance. Squarely behind it, Unit-00 remained unscathed.

"Ikari," Rei urged, in a rushed yet restrained tone. "This is your chance."

___________________

Rei's voice sounded bleak as it poured forth through the comm link. Shinji gazed on in terror as he saw Unit-00's cover decimated. His self-deprecating thoughts were momentarily superseded by something new: a desire to help Rei.

Unit-01 rolled over and effortlessly pushed itself off the ground. As the Eva rose, Shinji willed it to grab Unit-02 by the wrist, and yanked the red Eva to its feet.
“Asuka!" he barked. "We have to save Ayanami!"

Leaving his weapon in the street, Shinji pounced toward the Angel. Despite being unarmed, the fire of determination burned inside him. He had to save his friend. How many times had she saved him? He didn't care if he threw himself in harm's way; if he died, so be it... but he couldn't bear to let someone else die while he stood by and did nothing.

___________________

Unit-01 charged toward the Angel as Asuka looked on, aghast. With the thing focused on Unit-00, Shinji might be able to reach it... but even if he did, what could he do?
Just then, as if reading her thoughts, a new voice spoke through the communication window.

"Rei! Asuka! Shinji!" the voice called.

Asuka peered down and saw Ritsuko. She raised her head again, saw Shinji nearing the Angel, and sprung forward to intercept him—she had to move quickly to lend some aid. After all, she couldnt allow him to get all the glory again.

"What is it?" Asuka asked, her voice almost a growl as her Eva sprinted after Shinji's.

"I've analyzed the data from the two attacks," Ritsuko informed them. "It appears as though the Angel's strikes are unidirectional; it can only attack in one direction at a time."

Unit-02 had caught up with Unit-01, and the two began to close in on the Angel, cautiously encircling it.
Any second now it would notice them and change the direction of its attack. Suddenly, Unit-00 bolted out from its hidden position. The blue Eva stepped into the opening between the two buildings and let loose a quick volley from its pallet gun. Anticipating a counter-attack, it sidestepped and ducked behind the other skyscraper. The Angel blasted Unit-00's new cover with noticeably increased ferocity, efficiently ripping the structure to shreds, nearly leveling it.

"If you can get it to attack Rei, you and Shinji can seize the breaks in its AT Field and prevent it from rotating." Ritsuko proceeded with her instructions. "That should neutralize its main weapon."

"Have it attack Rei? I like this plan." Asuka sneered.

Units 01 and 02 were almost on top of the Angel now. Unit-00 appeared in the open space once more and leveled its rifle at the Angel.
The Angel's AT Field shined again, but before it could finalise its attack, Units 01 and 02 shoved their hands into the range of its AT field and grasped the edges of its opening. As they caught the field, it flashed bright orange, maintaining the colour as the Angel attempted to complete its attack cycle.

A white-hot burning sensation spread through Asuka's hands and her arms quivered, weakened from holding back the force of the attack. She glanced over and saw Shinji's Eva visibly struggling as well. No matter how much it hurt, she just had to hold on longer than him, if only for a second. She gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut and held fast.

Meanwhile, Unit-00 dropped its gun and raced forward to aid the other Evas. It dug its hands into the Angel's AT Field and strived to pull them in opposite directions. The Angel's tendrils flailed wildly as the pilots wrenched open its defensive barrier.
Asuka suddenly felt the force of the enemy AT Field weaken. She smiled, knowing she had almost defeated it.

The Angel's AT Field began to blink intermittently and a low rumbling started from somewhere deep within its body. Another tremor rocked the ground underneath her, but Asuka held tight. When she opened her eyes she watched as the AT Field suddenly cracked and unraveled into thin strands of light, then flickered out of existence.

"I got you, bastard!" she cried out triumphantly.

"Asuka, we did it!" Shinji congratulated through the communicator.

"Thats right," she smiled "We sure–"

No sooner had she spoken than the confidence in her voice was erased by a new complication. The red coating of the Angel began to slough off from top to bottom, oozing downward and dripping into a thick, viscous pool. When it finished, what remained was still roughly spherical, but its body was now nearly transparent.

"Can you still see it?" Shinji asked.

"I believe so." Rei responded.

"Me too." Asuka affirmed, adding, "And I'm about to take it down."

She flipped a switch on the control console, and her Eva's shoulder-mounted storage pylon flipped opened, revealing its progressive knife. As if waiting for her to make the first move, the Angel hovered silently in place as the Eva retrieved the weapon. Units 00 and 01 stood off to either side waiting for Asuka to land the final blow. With a roar of determination, Asuka brandished the knife and thrust the gleaming blade toward her target.

When the knife was within inches of penetrating the Angel, a blazing light shined. Small in diameter, the beam swept downward from the top of the Angel and passed through Unit-02's wrist without resistance. Cleanly sliced, the hand slid off of the wrist. Asuka shrieked in pain.
A geyser of blood sprayed forward and splattered onto the Angel, drenching its translucent body. Unit-02's severed hand fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
Then, just as abruptly as it had appeared, the beam of light vanished. All that remained was a dark pinpoint where the beam had originated.

Inside the entry plug, Asuka continued to scream and clutch her wrist. Although she could scarcely hear the sound over her own screams, Ritsuko's voice filtered through the communication system: "Cut fifty percent of the pilot's neural synch circuits!"

Followed by Misato's voice, "Everyone, get out of there!"

As if to underscore Misato's command, a multitude of dark pinpoints instantly appeared along the body of the Angel. Units 00 and 01 each grabbed Unit-02 under one arm and swiftly hoisted up the red Eva by its shoulders to make their retreat.
As they hastened to get away, more laser-like beams sprayed out from the Angel. Fortunately, the Evas managed to withdraw successfully from the field of fire.
Each beam shook everything they touched with devastating force. A few cut easily through nearby buildings and long stretches of road like a hot knife.

___________________ 

Horror filled Sagiri's eyes as Unit-02's hand was sliced off at the wrist. The Eva curled its arms up to its chest like a child cowering in fear. Its blood splashed onto the Angel, and rapidly started to coagulate. As the blood dried on top of the nearly transparent Angel it seemed to be floating in midair.

 

At least now they can see it better, Sagiri thought morbidly.

 

A moment later the Evas started to retreat. Sagiri had to hurry and reach NERV HQ. He ran faster and prayed that the pilot of Unit-02 would be all right. Moreover, he hoped the fighting didn't move in his direction.

Something about that beam of light stuck in his mind. What had that been? Then, as if offering an answer, the Angel unleashed a flurry of those beams which shot out in all directions. One of the beams passed through street just in front of Sagiri. It tore into the concrete and cleaved the ground in two. Dust and debris splashed out in every direction, and Sagiri brought up his arms to shield his face as he raced forward. The following instant the beam was gone, leaving a deep, ragged groove in the ground, approximately six feet wide.
If he kept his momentum up, he was sure he could jump over it.
All he could hear as he ran was the sound of Tokyo-3 exploding all around him. The air filled with smoke, dirt, and dust.
Accidentally breathing some in, he choked and coughed. His eyes watered. Nevertheless, he had to move forward... he was almost there now. He increased speed and leapt, sailing over the gap and landing safely on the opposite side.

Before he had a chance to revel in his success, another beam appeared. It swept horizontally above his head. "What the–?" he uttered as he heard a crash of glass and scrape of steel from the skyscraper to his right.
He looked up and felt his body go numb with fear.

The top third of the skyscraper seemed to pop off the rest of the building and tumble downward in a swell of dust. Sagiri found himself directly in its path. He could no longer see the sky, but only the massive cloud of wreckage as it plummeted toward him. Immediately, he dropped his laptop bag and pushed his legs to run faster than ever before. A burst of adrenaline surged through his body and he felt lighter than usual. The sluggishness he had felt earlier was suddenly gone. All he could feel now was the hard slap of his feet on the pavement. His arms and legs pumped like pistons as he ran for his life. He closed his eyes and moved even faster.

With a thunderous noise, the top of the building crashed to the ground and a flume of dust and dirt rushed outward. The shockwave tossed Sagiri forward through the air. He landed hard on the street, and rolled. When he finally came to a stop, he opened his eyes and watched as the sky above him spun out of control. He tried to stand, but found he was too dizzy to anything but sit still.

It took him a moment to process what had happened, but pain was steadily settling into his limbs.
“I'm still alive..." he breathed.

___________________

"Block all C-fiber afferent signals from the upper thoracic dermatomes, and reset all synchro circuits!" Ritsuko ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Maya nodded, her fingers a blur of movement along the computer terminal situated in front of her.

When she finished, full synchronization had been returned to Unit-02.
Unfortunately there was nothing she could do to relieve the pilot's longer lasting, post-trauma pain.

___________________

Asuka raised Unit-02's arm into view and inspected the damage. Her stomach fluttered nervously as she waited for someone to make some kind of smart remark. Certainly, one of them would feel the need to gloat about her most recent failure... as if none of them made any mistakes. With her Eva in this condition she wouldn't be able to defeat the Angel; the best she could hope to do was lend support. She narrowed her eyes and hissed into the communications window, "Well, what do we do now?"

"The truth is, we arent sure." Misato lamented on the other end. "The Angel's AT Field is gone so we think it should only be a matter of time before it can no longer sustain its form. However, we can't simply allow it to go on a rampage—we have to stop it."

"Miss Misato, what should we do?" Shinji asked through his own communications window.

"We're sending some more pallet guns. Try to disable it from a distance." Misato answered.

"Okay." Shinji agreed, sounding uncertain.

"Shinji," Asuka said.

"What is it?

"Are you ready for this?"

"Uh-huh." he claimed, "At least, I think so. How about you?"

Asuka shifted in place, gripped her controls, and tried to disguise her reluctance. "Sure thing."

Try as he might, Shinji knew he would probably never be able to understand Asuka. A few minutes ago she was demanding he stand aside, and now she was asking him, with a hint of concern in her voice, if he could handle the mission. Maybe she was just trying to get inside his head, to mess around with his emotions once again? He lowered his head.
Why did she have to always treat him so strangely?
Still, he hoped she would be alright. To have suffered such a blow to her ego, when she had been teeming with confidence earlier... it had to be difficult.
If they made it through this battle, he vowed to do something for her, something to cheer her up. Somehow.

Shinji's thoughts were broken by the whir of a nearby device raising from a hatch in the ground. It clicked open to reveal a rack of fresh pallet rifles. He reached out Unit-01's hand and took hold of one. Unit-02 approached the rack, grabbed one, and tucked the stock of the weapon beneath its arm. Unit-00 followed suit.

Strafing out from its hiding place, Unit-01 steadied its rifle and took aim at the Angel, which was much further away now. Shinji brought the weapons screen online and waited as the targeting reticle centered itself on his opponent. Before he could fire, the Angel unleashed another round of beam attacks. Unit-01 side-stepped as one sailed past it, blasting a hole into the spot where it had been. The ground on which the Eva had stood was torn to pieces.

"Bastard!" Asuka screamed.

Suddenly, Unit-02 jumped into the open and returned fire. With only one arm to control the pallet gun, the barrage of shots veered wildly off-target.
A new beam of light appeared on the right side of the Angel, and curved left toward Unit-02. Asuka noticed and piloted her Eva further left in a controlled attempt to outrun the attack.
However, as the Eva moved, the beam followed, seeming to track it. Unit-02 ducked seconds before the beam made contact. It swept over the body of the Eva, paused, and then swept back in the other direction. Already, Unit-02 was up and galloping furiously toward the right. The beam neared again. Then, immediately before contact, the red Eva was knocked to the ground by something heavy and blue.

Dazed, Asuka shook her head. She found herself looking up at Unit-00. Rei had tackled her out of the beam's path. Asuka peered toward the Angel as Unit-00 raised its own gun and fired a series of controlled bursts at the enemy.
A spinning array of light beams spread out from the front of the Angel's body and incinerated the bullets.

"Damn, how do we kill this thing?" Asuka moaned.

___________________

Sagiri could only helplessly stand witness as the Angel's beam attack tracked the red Eva with uncanny precision. He breathed a sigh of relief when the blue one rescued it from near disaster.

The way that the Angel detected every movement, the way it traced its attackers... it was almost as if the small black pinpoints that peppered its body could sense them.

His pace slowed to a trot. He dipped a hand into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone to call Major Katsuragi. Hopefully she would answer.
Perhaps she had already discovered his newest observation... but if not, she needed to answer the phone, for the sake of the city.

The phone rang... and rang... and rang...

"What is it?" an impatient voice demanded from the other end of the line.

"Major Katsuragi? It's Sagiri. I have information about the Angel... have you noticed anything unusual about those black spots all over its body?"

"You mean, other than how they fire lasers?" she quipped, annoyed.

It was clear to Sagiri that the last thing she needed right now was to waste time talking to him in the midst of an Angel attack, so he decided to just get to the point: "They aren't just weapons—the Angel is using them as a means of tracking the Evas. Those black spots... I think they're eyes."

"Eyes?" she uttered, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. And if you can find a way to blind it, then the Evas just might be able to kill it. It will work; you just have to trust me." he pleaded.

"Okay. At this point, we'll try anything. Thanks."

The line abruptly cut off, and the call dropped before they could further exchange any dialogue. Their conversation was finished anyway, Sagiri supposed.
He dumped the cell phone back in his pocket and increased his speed.

This had to work. He couldn't abide the thought that he would be a witness to the end of humanity.

___________________

Again, the Evangelions had been forced to take shelter behind the few remaining skyscrapers in the area.

The pilots had been ordered to wait under cover for further instructions, but if instructions didn't come soon, it would only be a matter of time before there was nothing left to protect them.

Asuka sat in the entry plug of Unit-02 fuming about the fact that Rei—of all people—had rescued her.
She had intended to do great things in this battle, but instead, she'd simply blundered her way through it.
Everything that could have gone wrong for her had gone wrong. Miss Perfect, and especially Stupid Shinji would likely never let her live it down.

Misato's face blinked onto the communication window.
“Everyone listen up!" she commanded.

"You better have a plan!" Asuka spat toward the window.

"We do," Misato confirmed, "Thanks to Sagiri."

"Who?" Asuka puzzled over the random name.

To Asuka's chagrin, Misato ignored her question and proceeded. "We're sending up a large supply of magnesium and ammonium perchlorate from the NERV Research Labs. With a little luck, the amount we have should be enough. It will be coming up on a lift shortly, almost directly in the path of the Angel."

"Then what do we do?" Shinji inquired through his comm link.

"Shinji, we need you to fire a few rounds into the chemicals, which should cause them to ignite. The reaction will be similar to that of a stun grenade. Hopefully, the Angel will be blinded long enough for all of you to light it up with your pallet rifles and take it out." Misato explained. "Stand by."

The window blinked off, and Asuka was once again at the mercy of her thoughts. In the distance she could hear the steady buzz of the lift. It grew gradually louder as it approached the surface. Something within Asuka stirred as the intensity of the sound increased.
This could be her chance.
She could push Shinji aside, and be the one to ignite the chemicals. She could be the one responsible for blinding the Angel. Her.
Her breathing became heavy and she felt that nagging nervous flutter in her stomach while the whirring of the lift grew ever louder.

Shinji's face suddenly popped into the communications window.
"Hey, Asuka."

"What!?" she snarled.

His head drooped and his voice became weak. "I-I know youre upset. If you want to do this you can. I don't want to, not really."

At last, her opportunity had arrived. Her moment in the sun.
She opened and closed her mouth without uttering a word. Her throat constricted and the nervous flutter in her stomach brewed into a violent churn. The trunk of her body began to shudder uncontrollably. All she had to do was say yes, and she would be the hero of the day.

Her hands slipped from the Eva's controls.

"Asuka?" Shinji asked meekly.

Misato's voice rang out explosively from the communicator. "Now, Shinji! Fire!"

"Asuka?" Shinji repeated anxiously.

"Shinji! What are you waiting for!?" Misato's voice shrilled.

A small sigh escaped from Asuka's mouth, and then she felt the hot salt of tears sting her eyes once more.
"I'm pathetic..." she whispered.

"Shinji!" Misato cried out.

Asuka brought a shaking hand up to the controls and manually cut off all outside communications. Through the Eva's optical sensors she watched as Unit-01 strode out from behind cover, raised the gun in its hand and took careful aim.
A moment passed.
Another beam of light grazed the side of the Eva's helmet, singing it, but Unit-01 didn't flinch. The pallet gun's barrel came to life with a rattling sound and a sputter of muzzle flare.

A roaring explosion reverberated through the empty streets. The sky lit up, engulfed in a pale white-yellow light.
After handily readjusting its aim, the purple Eva fired again. The blue Eva ducked out from under its cover and joined Unit-01, and the two units pelted the enemy with a seemingly endless hail of gunfire. They paused in tandem, reloaded, and resumed their assault.

Meanwhile, inside of Unit-02, Asuka dropped her head into her open palms and sobbed.
She was so wrapped up in her grief that she nearly failed to notice when the Angel exploded in the form of a giant, luminous cross.

Target eliminated.

___________________

Fatigue threatened to consume Sagiri as he lurched down the ruined street leading to the entrance to NERV Headquarters. Every inch of him was wracked with pain from his mad dash through the city, not to mention the numerous close calls throughout the battle.

Although he was only a bystander, he had encountered more than his fair share of danger. Even when the Angel had finally been defeated, the last explosion had flung a number of bulky objects in his direction, some of which were difficult to dodge. The jolt of adrenaline that had pumped through his bloodstream was dwindling, and his stiff joints were starting to complain.
His steps degenerated to a wobbling shuffle. As he stumbled towards the bay of metal doors he had to summon all of his remaining strength just to stay upright. Now... if all of these doors were shut, how would he get inside? He thankfully didn't have to worry about that for long—the leftmost door slowly rose into an open position once he was within a few meters of them.

Two guards in NERV uniforms stepped outside. They briefly trained their firearms on him before a look of recognition flashed across one's face and he gestured for his partner to lower his weapon.
"Major!" the guard summoned. "Its the boy! He's here!"

As the figure of Major Katsuragi became visible in the doorway, Sagiri felt the last of his strength give out and his legs reduced to jelly.

The major rushed forward, arms outstretched, but wasn't quite fast enough to prevent him from collapsing into a heap on the ground. Once at his side, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and said, "Sagiri, I was about to go out with a search party to look for you. I guess you made it on your own."

"Uh-huh." he croaked, his throat dry.

"Your plan worked. Thank you." she smiled.
She helped the boy to his feet and led him through the doors. As the metal door clanked shut behind them, she held her free arm out in front of her and proclaimed, "Welcome to NERV."

"Thank you, Major." Sagiri replied.

She grinned warmly, "Please, call me Misato."

___________________

—————————

つづく

To be continued

—————————

___________________

 Fly me to the moon
and let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
on Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, darling, kiss me

Fill my heart with song
and let me sing forevermore
You are all I long for;
all I worship and adore
In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you