Broken Wings [NGE]
- Thread starter Teen Spirit
- Start date
- Location
- Australia, mate
Ramiel is now shitting himself geometrically.
- Location
- supernatural
Ramiel... Death has arrived... Death has arrived.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Why indeed, Shamshel? Very curious that no one could help, isn't it? It's almost like you shouldn't be trusting your 'teammates' this much.
Oh, now you've jinxed it...
Yeah, Misato. You were picked by Gendo to be the tactical commander for NERV not just because of your easily manipulated traumatic past or nice legs. You were picked for your first-rate tactical mind. You know there's something fishy here. If your enemy enjoys a major tactical advantage of being invisible until he decides to appear, any time he does means he wants to fight then and there for some reason. So if he just appears and sits there, waiting for you to come to him, it's probably a trap of some kind.
Kind of awkward that it theoretically still has your paternal grandmother's teethmarks on it, too...
It's good this is Asuka from before that fight, since having to fight in Unit-02 alongside the Angel that humiliated her in battle would be rather awkward.
When your instincts are screaming at you like this, listen to them. The Angels... want to fight, here and now, and they're not... they're not fighting the Evas. They're just keeping them occupied. So they want something else. Either they want Misato to be forced to pull out her reserves like the remaining turrets or the Positron Canon, or... Uh oh.
They're trying to draw out Ria. This is a trap. If they're here to draw her out, that means Ramiel's got something up his sleeve to deal with her. He's hacked the turrets anyway, or he's snuck an N2 mine in, or something, but he's got something planned to deal with her. Ria's walking into a trap.
Hmm... they mentioned kidnapping the Pilots. Are they trying to pull Ria away from the base so someone else can get in and try to kidnap older-Shinji and Asuka, and hold them as hostages to neutralize Ria? Ramiel probably knows by now that they are Ria's pressure point.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Worse. It's a trap that Misato might even let them spring. She could easily order the pilots to hold positions while the Angels fight it out.
Even if that doesn't happen, there is still the aftermath to consider. The Angels went Tokyo Ghoul after their full-sized transformations. Even if Ria wins, she's still gonna be in a tight spot.
Unless Koda's transformation doesn't require that many calories and this not know that couldnt't she just tell them "Hey after those big transformations we need a crap ton of calories, so someone please get a mountain of deep-fried Twinkies or something like that."
Last edited:
- Location
- Altamonte Springs, FL
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That would be a great way of getting the pilots to disobey orders and for Adult Asuka to punch her in the face.
Ramiel: "LOOK! An obvious distraction!"
Fool! Ramiel, don't you know that trying to interrupt the transformation sequence is a waste of time and energy?
Chapter 17 Part 2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Misato stared at the screen in front of her, her mind not quite accepting what she was seeing.
Zeruel was out there fighting. No, Ria was out there fighting.
'Ritsuko, what have you done?' It had to be Ritsuko of course, everyone else who had access to that part of the Vault was in this room.
The sight filled Misato with old terror. Images of Zeruel moments away from wiping her and the rest of the bridge staff flashed before her.
For a brief moment, she wanted to kill her, she want to order the Positron cannons to fire on Zeruel and get rid of the problem Ria Soryu had posed since Misato first learned the truth.
Then she turned towards Asuka, who was sitting at her post, looking at once confused and incredibly scared, scared for the safety of her daughter.
"Ria, why? What are you trying to prove?" she whispered.
Misato turned away. She was better than this. Zeruel wasn't the enemy now.
"Ibuki. Have the Positron Cannons trained on the 5th Angel. Have them ready to fire on my command," Misato ordered
"Yes, General," Maya replied with a nod.
With any luck, Ria's appearance threw off whatever plan Ramiel was trying to enact here. Maybe she'd even kill the bastard.
'I'll give the girl a medal if she pulls that off,' Misato thought.
/
Shinji was watching from a TV in one of the most secure parts of WILLE, proud yet horrified.
She shouldn't have to do this. This was his burden, not hers. Everything he and Asuka had done, every battle they'd fought so others would not have to... And now his daughter had to fight, and all he could do was watch. He should have been there to stop her from doing this. How did she even do this? Who gave her access to the Vault?
He couldn't deny her bravery though. In the face of all that had happened, the fact that not four hours ago WILLE security was trying to kill her simply for existing, and she was still willing to fight.
Shinji felt his real hand clenching hard.
He wished desperately he could do something, anything to help her right now instead of being just sitting here uselessly.
He had hated being a Pilot with every fiber of his being, but being able to do nothing in the face of an Angel attack, especially when his family was on the line, was somehow so much worse.
/
Everyone in the shelter was crowded around the few laptops people had brought in with them, all watching the battle above unfold.
Mari found herself towards the front, nearly crushed by all the bodies around her.
She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from screaming when Zeruel appeared.
Ria's original form was... awe-inspiring in a way. She could almost feel the power radiating from her.
Some of the crowd, most older survivors of the first conflict and a few Mari suspected were transplants from Koda's universe, reacted with terror, recoiling at the sight of Zeruel.
Most were just puzzled. An Angel had shot at another Angel. For almost everyone here that seemed an impossible situation.
More than anything, Mari was scared, scared for her girlfriend. She understood why Ria would fight, but that didn't mean she approved of it.
Mari pulled herself out of the crowd, shoving and pushing as she backed up, just to avoid being crushed.
Mari leaned against the wall, her breath was hard, her hands shaking.
"So, they're fighting..." Mari turned to see Mrs. Suzuhara standing near here, a serious expression on her face. Kodama, Kensuke, and his namesake were in the far corner, looking varying degrees of miserable.
"It would appear so," Mari kept her voice low, doing her best to avoid being heard.
"I wouldn't worry about her," Hikari said reassuringly. "She's a tough girl."
"I know, but this isn't any normal fight. They're still outnumbered and Ramiel's leveled two cities as it is," Mari replied nervously.
Hikari nodded. "True enough. But you can't do anything to help her now. No use worrying yourself to death over something you can't affect."
Mari sunk to the floor, she couldn't argue against her point. But she still felt miserable and helpless.
/
The Evangelions quickly seized the upper hand, forcing the Angels to backpedal, even wounding them a bit.
Ramiel and Zeruel hovered in the air above the battle, barely a few city blocks' distance apart from each other.
Ramiel turned, presenting one corner of itself towards Zeruel. The octahedron was utterly incapable of making any sort of expression but for anyone watching it was clear the two were staring at each other.
For a moment, the two remained motionless, neither attacking. Each waiting for the other to make their move.
Zeruel was the first to attack, the hollow eye holes of her mask briefly glowing before a massive blast struck Ramiel.
A cross shaped Pillar of Light appeared in the air near Ramiel, it's AT-Field flaring brightly.
The air was filled with the high pitched electrical humming of Ramiel's building attack.
At the last moment, Zeruel rose slightly in the air, as a massive wave of energy just barely missed her legs. Ramiel's attack utterly obliterated the tops of several skyscrapers that had unfortunately been in the path of it's attack.
Zeruel unleashed a barrage of attacks, multiple blasts striking Ramiel within moments. For a split second one couldn't see the Angel of Lighting, it's form hidden by the glow of several cross-explosions.
This time Ramiel had been struck, the very top of the figure was damaged. A jagged hole was punched into one side, the crystalline flesh surrounding it was blackened, thick smoke pouring from the wound.
/
A cheer went through the shelter along with a few shouts of "that was for Seoul!" or simply "Melbourne!".
The majority were unmistakably increasingly confused, though. Now it was crystal clear that two Angels were fighting. But still, for a brief moment, people were cheering for Ria.
Mari couldn't wait to tell her that.
/
"All cannons open fire!" Misato shouted.
For a moment she waited for what she was certain would be Ramiel's death blow, but nothing happened.
"Sorry, General the Cannons are having trouble accepting the authentication codes! Rebooting the systems now!" Maya explained.
"God help me. My best hope right now is an Angel," Misato muttered under her breath in frustration.
/
Zeruel's arms unfolded, reaching below it's stubby legs.
Before they could unleash their next attack, Armisael flew towards Zeruel, aiming for the Angel's core.
With disdain, Zeruel swatted the Sixteenth Angel away, sending them crashing into the street below.
Then a light appeared, the baleful orange light of another Angel appeared formed in the air above Ramiel.
The bright glow filled the skies above Kyoto, for a moment even drowning out the sun.
The figure that emerged was massive, dominating the sky, it's wings easily several times as long as an Evangelion was tall. Like Armisael it almost appeared as if it was made out of white light, but unlike the Sixteenth it was a jagged thing of sharp corners. Resembling a giant crystal bird.
Zeruel's attention immediately shifted to the newcomer, her rage towards Ramiel now entirely eclipsed by her overwhelming hatred for this particular Angel.
It was the Fifteenth of their kind. Arael, the Angel of Birds, the Light of God.
Zeruel fired upon the bird-like Angel immediately. Her target's AT-Field stretched like a rubber band for a moment, but it did not break.
Light radiated from Arael, washing over Zeruel.
Zeruel's next attack suddenly halted and she went still and limp, hanging silently in the air.
/
The cry of pure anguish that came out of Asuka would haunt Misato until the day she died.
'This wasn't a trap for us,' Misato realized with horror, 'this was a trap for Ria!'
How did she not see that? It seemed so clear now, the sheer number of Angels, the refusal to press the attack. How did she miss that?
'How could I have been that blind?'
And they had set a trap for another Angel, one of their own kind. It was clear the Angels could fight each other, sure, but there was a difference between fighting and setting a trap involving Arael. Arael, The one that had so broken Asuka, and now they were sending them against her daughter, against Ria.
'Ria…'
Misato was sickened, at the sight before her, and at herself. Ria had thrown herself into this fight, wounded Ramiel, and was now enduring a fate that had broken her mother. And until a moment ago the only thing Misato felt towards her was contempt.
"We need to kill it!" Asuka shouted, tears rolling down her face.
'Guilt later, action now,' Misato reminded herself.
"Focus all Turrets on Arael!" Misato called out "Launch the Positron Rifle!"
"Roger," Maya replied.
Misato turned her attention to her Pilots. "Unit-00, you will act as shooter. Grab the Positron Rifle. You will fire upon Arael on my signal. Unit-01 and Unit-02, move to defend Unit-00. Do not let the Angels get to her."
"What about Ramiel?" Pilot Soryu questioned. "He's damaged, we have a chance."
"Fuck Ramiel!" her older self shouted.
Misato's heart tore, she could see all the old pain hitting Asuka. She was at once a scared teenager again and a mother terrified for the safety of her child.
"Arael is the bigger danger right now," Misato firmly insisted.
Emotions aside, Arael was the biggest threat. Whatever it was doing now, Ria wasn't attacking. Shewas just frozen. If Arael did that to any of the Pilots they would be sitting ducks out there.
"Understood," Pilot Soryu replied.
A massive metal container launched up the streets. One side fell away, revealing a large and unwieldy looking rifle, various cables running along it's length.
"Moving to grab the Rifle now," Ayanami said.
Unit-02 and Unit-01 pulled back to Unit-00's side. With any luck they could end this before too much more damage was inflicted.
/
Shinji collapsed to his knees. Screaming in rage.
'Not this, not this not this, anything but this. Not again!'
He could see Asuka lying in the hospital again. Her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He could see her her curled in a ball after the battle, hugging her knees tightly, the fireball of confidence and energy he'd fallen for utterly broken. He had been too broken himself then to do anything for her then. And now he was watching the same thing start again with Ria.
And he was just as powerless now as he was then…
/
Hikari watched the scene unfold on screen. None of the people watching understood what was happening to Zeruel right now, not even Mari. Mari looked concerned, but not as terrified as she would have been if she knew the truth.
Hikari kept her distance, making sure no one could hear her or was playing her any attention.
"So this was your plan, Ramiel?" she muttered in disgust. "You really are a sadistic bastard aren't you?"
/
"At least Okito stopped pretending when the truth came out."
Shut up.
"Well, I guess that explains why you were so quick to defend your father,"
I am not listening to this.
"She's one of them, she will betray you sooner or later."
Stop. It.
I can feel my body, distantly. The false Core surrounding me, growing through my skin. Faint echoes of the war outside lingering in my ear. Arael is prying at my mind, forcing me to withdraw in myself.
A concrete floor is beneath me, the heat of a spotlight hitting my back. None of this is real.
"Real enough for our purposes." It's was Dad's voice but not his words.
Arael stood before me, wearing his face. Though a younger version of it. Not the face he had now, or the face of the Pilot. But the face he had when I was young, before he left. When he was not even truly an adult yet.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here," I say, making my contempt clear.
"Relax. I just want to make a deal. With you." His false charm grates on me. I want to snap his neck.
"Why should I make a deal with anyone allied with Ramiel, especially you?" I snap.
"What do you mean, especially me?" He seemed genuinely confused.
That he's wearing my father's face only serves to make me more enraged.
My arms are shaking, my stomach is doing knots. "You violated my mother!"
He looks genuinely surprised, horrified even.
"Ohh...I didn't know." His voice was someone else's this time, perhaps his real one.
"You 'didn't know'," I sneer.
That didn't change anything. He still made her suffer, he still tortured her.
How many times have I woken up over the years because of her screaming in her sleep from the nightmares? The nightmares he caused.
I will kill him, as soon as I break free of this I'm going to rip him to shreds. There will be nothing but ashes left of him.
"I'll be honest with you Ria," he said, again using my father's voice, "Ramiel wants me to convince you to join us or break you. And I really don't want to do the latter. So hear me out?"
I laugh bitterly. Is he serious? Are they really still trying to recruit me?
"Why would I even consider joining you?" I asked, contempt dripping from my words.
"Because we could end this, here and now. Peacefully, without anyone being hurt. Not even the Pilots. We don't need to fight. Ramiel's plans have passed the point where he needs direct action against you. We're fighting because of Misato's actions." His pleas fell on uncaring ears.
"Look if you want to start an 'I hate Misato Katasurgi' club I'll be the first to join. But Ramiel's plan is madness and you're a fool for following him," I state.
"I admit I have my own doubts about his plans," Arael said with shocking honesty, "but what's the harm in letting him try? Why drag on this destructive conflict?"
I shake my head "So many reasons. Because it could backfire horribly, because if it succeeds he's going to aim for world conquest. Because he convinced the first real friend I had to be a giant idiot and try to ruin everything good in his life. Because the part of me that's still Zeruel finds it blasphemous to even consider. And that's just scratching the surface of the issue."
He looks at me, saddened and disappointed.
"I can tell you're not going to budge on this."
"What was your first clue, Captain Obvious?" I retort. "So I guess you're going to torture me now?"
"For how angry you were over what happened to your mother you seem shockingly unconcerned by that," he observes.
I'm going to enjoy killing you.
"Because I'm stronger than she was then. I had a far better childhood than she had. There's nothing you can use against me that will hurt me as much as hurt her," I retort.
At that, he smiled.
"Oh really?" he said mockingly. "Then why did I appear to you like this?"
It was only now I realized what he was wearing; pajamas. The same pajamas he wore the night…
Oh no.
The light shut off. For a moment there was nothing but darkness surrounding me.
Then with a snap the spotlight turned back on, this time above another figure.
It was...me. Only when I was younger, so much younger. She was a tiny thing, with long reddish brown hair, fluffy one piece pajamas, and a large butcher's knife with a false ivory handle held tightly in her hands. She looked determined and terrified.
It was at this point that I began to scream.
/
From within Unit-02, Asuka watched in horror as Zeruel plunged out of the sky, falling uncontrollably until she crashed into the street with a loud thunderclap, kicking up a wall of dust and debris. Arael's light was still focused on her.
'What the hell? What did it do to her?' Asuka wondered fearfully.
Then all of the Angels save for one half of Israfel and Ramiel turned away from the Evas and focused on Ria.
She was completely vulnerable, unable to defend herself. And now four Angels were barreling down on her.
Zeruel was out there fighting. No, Ria was out there fighting.
'Ritsuko, what have you done?' It had to be Ritsuko of course, everyone else who had access to that part of the Vault was in this room.
The sight filled Misato with old terror. Images of Zeruel moments away from wiping her and the rest of the bridge staff flashed before her.
For a brief moment, she wanted to kill her, she want to order the Positron cannons to fire on Zeruel and get rid of the problem Ria Soryu had posed since Misato first learned the truth.
Then she turned towards Asuka, who was sitting at her post, looking at once confused and incredibly scared, scared for the safety of her daughter.
"Ria, why? What are you trying to prove?" she whispered.
Misato turned away. She was better than this. Zeruel wasn't the enemy now.
"Ibuki. Have the Positron Cannons trained on the 5th Angel. Have them ready to fire on my command," Misato ordered
"Yes, General," Maya replied with a nod.
With any luck, Ria's appearance threw off whatever plan Ramiel was trying to enact here. Maybe she'd even kill the bastard.
'I'll give the girl a medal if she pulls that off,' Misato thought.
/
Shinji was watching from a TV in one of the most secure parts of WILLE, proud yet horrified.
She shouldn't have to do this. This was his burden, not hers. Everything he and Asuka had done, every battle they'd fought so others would not have to... And now his daughter had to fight, and all he could do was watch. He should have been there to stop her from doing this. How did she even do this? Who gave her access to the Vault?
He couldn't deny her bravery though. In the face of all that had happened, the fact that not four hours ago WILLE security was trying to kill her simply for existing, and she was still willing to fight.
Shinji felt his real hand clenching hard.
He wished desperately he could do something, anything to help her right now instead of being just sitting here uselessly.
He had hated being a Pilot with every fiber of his being, but being able to do nothing in the face of an Angel attack, especially when his family was on the line, was somehow so much worse.
/
Everyone in the shelter was crowded around the few laptops people had brought in with them, all watching the battle above unfold.
Mari found herself towards the front, nearly crushed by all the bodies around her.
She had to bite her lip to prevent herself from screaming when Zeruel appeared.
Ria's original form was... awe-inspiring in a way. She could almost feel the power radiating from her.
Some of the crowd, most older survivors of the first conflict and a few Mari suspected were transplants from Koda's universe, reacted with terror, recoiling at the sight of Zeruel.
Most were just puzzled. An Angel had shot at another Angel. For almost everyone here that seemed an impossible situation.
More than anything, Mari was scared, scared for her girlfriend. She understood why Ria would fight, but that didn't mean she approved of it.
Mari pulled herself out of the crowd, shoving and pushing as she backed up, just to avoid being crushed.
Mari leaned against the wall, her breath was hard, her hands shaking.
"So, they're fighting..." Mari turned to see Mrs. Suzuhara standing near here, a serious expression on her face. Kodama, Kensuke, and his namesake were in the far corner, looking varying degrees of miserable.
"It would appear so," Mari kept her voice low, doing her best to avoid being heard.
"I wouldn't worry about her," Hikari said reassuringly. "She's a tough girl."
"I know, but this isn't any normal fight. They're still outnumbered and Ramiel's leveled two cities as it is," Mari replied nervously.
Hikari nodded. "True enough. But you can't do anything to help her now. No use worrying yourself to death over something you can't affect."
Mari sunk to the floor, she couldn't argue against her point. But she still felt miserable and helpless.
/
The Evangelions quickly seized the upper hand, forcing the Angels to backpedal, even wounding them a bit.
Ramiel and Zeruel hovered in the air above the battle, barely a few city blocks' distance apart from each other.
Ramiel turned, presenting one corner of itself towards Zeruel. The octahedron was utterly incapable of making any sort of expression but for anyone watching it was clear the two were staring at each other.
For a moment, the two remained motionless, neither attacking. Each waiting for the other to make their move.
Zeruel was the first to attack, the hollow eye holes of her mask briefly glowing before a massive blast struck Ramiel.
A cross shaped Pillar of Light appeared in the air near Ramiel, it's AT-Field flaring brightly.
The air was filled with the high pitched electrical humming of Ramiel's building attack.
At the last moment, Zeruel rose slightly in the air, as a massive wave of energy just barely missed her legs. Ramiel's attack utterly obliterated the tops of several skyscrapers that had unfortunately been in the path of it's attack.
Zeruel unleashed a barrage of attacks, multiple blasts striking Ramiel within moments. For a split second one couldn't see the Angel of Lighting, it's form hidden by the glow of several cross-explosions.
This time Ramiel had been struck, the very top of the figure was damaged. A jagged hole was punched into one side, the crystalline flesh surrounding it was blackened, thick smoke pouring from the wound.
/
A cheer went through the shelter along with a few shouts of "that was for Seoul!" or simply "Melbourne!".
The majority were unmistakably increasingly confused, though. Now it was crystal clear that two Angels were fighting. But still, for a brief moment, people were cheering for Ria.
Mari couldn't wait to tell her that.
/
"All cannons open fire!" Misato shouted.
For a moment she waited for what she was certain would be Ramiel's death blow, but nothing happened.
"Sorry, General the Cannons are having trouble accepting the authentication codes! Rebooting the systems now!" Maya explained.
"God help me. My best hope right now is an Angel," Misato muttered under her breath in frustration.
/
Zeruel's arms unfolded, reaching below it's stubby legs.
Before they could unleash their next attack, Armisael flew towards Zeruel, aiming for the Angel's core.
With disdain, Zeruel swatted the Sixteenth Angel away, sending them crashing into the street below.
Then a light appeared, the baleful orange light of another Angel appeared formed in the air above Ramiel.
The bright glow filled the skies above Kyoto, for a moment even drowning out the sun.
The figure that emerged was massive, dominating the sky, it's wings easily several times as long as an Evangelion was tall. Like Armisael it almost appeared as if it was made out of white light, but unlike the Sixteenth it was a jagged thing of sharp corners. Resembling a giant crystal bird.
Zeruel's attention immediately shifted to the newcomer, her rage towards Ramiel now entirely eclipsed by her overwhelming hatred for this particular Angel.
It was the Fifteenth of their kind. Arael, the Angel of Birds, the Light of God.
Zeruel fired upon the bird-like Angel immediately. Her target's AT-Field stretched like a rubber band for a moment, but it did not break.
Light radiated from Arael, washing over Zeruel.
Zeruel's next attack suddenly halted and she went still and limp, hanging silently in the air.
/
The cry of pure anguish that came out of Asuka would haunt Misato until the day she died.
'This wasn't a trap for us,' Misato realized with horror, 'this was a trap for Ria!'
How did she not see that? It seemed so clear now, the sheer number of Angels, the refusal to press the attack. How did she miss that?
'How could I have been that blind?'
And they had set a trap for another Angel, one of their own kind. It was clear the Angels could fight each other, sure, but there was a difference between fighting and setting a trap involving Arael. Arael, The one that had so broken Asuka, and now they were sending them against her daughter, against Ria.
'Ria…'
Misato was sickened, at the sight before her, and at herself. Ria had thrown herself into this fight, wounded Ramiel, and was now enduring a fate that had broken her mother. And until a moment ago the only thing Misato felt towards her was contempt.
"We need to kill it!" Asuka shouted, tears rolling down her face.
'Guilt later, action now,' Misato reminded herself.
"Focus all Turrets on Arael!" Misato called out "Launch the Positron Rifle!"
"Roger," Maya replied.
Misato turned her attention to her Pilots. "Unit-00, you will act as shooter. Grab the Positron Rifle. You will fire upon Arael on my signal. Unit-01 and Unit-02, move to defend Unit-00. Do not let the Angels get to her."
"What about Ramiel?" Pilot Soryu questioned. "He's damaged, we have a chance."
"Fuck Ramiel!" her older self shouted.
Misato's heart tore, she could see all the old pain hitting Asuka. She was at once a scared teenager again and a mother terrified for the safety of her child.
"Arael is the bigger danger right now," Misato firmly insisted.
Emotions aside, Arael was the biggest threat. Whatever it was doing now, Ria wasn't attacking. Shewas just frozen. If Arael did that to any of the Pilots they would be sitting ducks out there.
"Understood," Pilot Soryu replied.
A massive metal container launched up the streets. One side fell away, revealing a large and unwieldy looking rifle, various cables running along it's length.
"Moving to grab the Rifle now," Ayanami said.
Unit-02 and Unit-01 pulled back to Unit-00's side. With any luck they could end this before too much more damage was inflicted.
/
Shinji collapsed to his knees. Screaming in rage.
'Not this, not this not this, anything but this. Not again!'
He could see Asuka lying in the hospital again. Her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He could see her her curled in a ball after the battle, hugging her knees tightly, the fireball of confidence and energy he'd fallen for utterly broken. He had been too broken himself then to do anything for her then. And now he was watching the same thing start again with Ria.
And he was just as powerless now as he was then…
/
Hikari watched the scene unfold on screen. None of the people watching understood what was happening to Zeruel right now, not even Mari. Mari looked concerned, but not as terrified as she would have been if she knew the truth.
Hikari kept her distance, making sure no one could hear her or was playing her any attention.
"So this was your plan, Ramiel?" she muttered in disgust. "You really are a sadistic bastard aren't you?"
/
"At least Okito stopped pretending when the truth came out."
Shut up.
"Well, I guess that explains why you were so quick to defend your father,"
I am not listening to this.
"She's one of them, she will betray you sooner or later."
Stop. It.
I can feel my body, distantly. The false Core surrounding me, growing through my skin. Faint echoes of the war outside lingering in my ear. Arael is prying at my mind, forcing me to withdraw in myself.
A concrete floor is beneath me, the heat of a spotlight hitting my back. None of this is real.
"Real enough for our purposes." It's was Dad's voice but not his words.
Arael stood before me, wearing his face. Though a younger version of it. Not the face he had now, or the face of the Pilot. But the face he had when I was young, before he left. When he was not even truly an adult yet.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here," I say, making my contempt clear.
"Relax. I just want to make a deal. With you." His false charm grates on me. I want to snap his neck.
"Why should I make a deal with anyone allied with Ramiel, especially you?" I snap.
"What do you mean, especially me?" He seemed genuinely confused.
That he's wearing my father's face only serves to make me more enraged.
My arms are shaking, my stomach is doing knots. "You violated my mother!"
He looks genuinely surprised, horrified even.
"Ohh...I didn't know." His voice was someone else's this time, perhaps his real one.
"You 'didn't know'," I sneer.
That didn't change anything. He still made her suffer, he still tortured her.
How many times have I woken up over the years because of her screaming in her sleep from the nightmares? The nightmares he caused.
I will kill him, as soon as I break free of this I'm going to rip him to shreds. There will be nothing but ashes left of him.
"I'll be honest with you Ria," he said, again using my father's voice, "Ramiel wants me to convince you to join us or break you. And I really don't want to do the latter. So hear me out?"
I laugh bitterly. Is he serious? Are they really still trying to recruit me?
"Why would I even consider joining you?" I asked, contempt dripping from my words.
"Because we could end this, here and now. Peacefully, without anyone being hurt. Not even the Pilots. We don't need to fight. Ramiel's plans have passed the point where he needs direct action against you. We're fighting because of Misato's actions." His pleas fell on uncaring ears.
"Look if you want to start an 'I hate Misato Katasurgi' club I'll be the first to join. But Ramiel's plan is madness and you're a fool for following him," I state.
"I admit I have my own doubts about his plans," Arael said with shocking honesty, "but what's the harm in letting him try? Why drag on this destructive conflict?"
I shake my head "So many reasons. Because it could backfire horribly, because if it succeeds he's going to aim for world conquest. Because he convinced the first real friend I had to be a giant idiot and try to ruin everything good in his life. Because the part of me that's still Zeruel finds it blasphemous to even consider. And that's just scratching the surface of the issue."
He looks at me, saddened and disappointed.
"I can tell you're not going to budge on this."
"What was your first clue, Captain Obvious?" I retort. "So I guess you're going to torture me now?"
"For how angry you were over what happened to your mother you seem shockingly unconcerned by that," he observes.
I'm going to enjoy killing you.
"Because I'm stronger than she was then. I had a far better childhood than she had. There's nothing you can use against me that will hurt me as much as hurt her," I retort.
At that, he smiled.
"Oh really?" he said mockingly. "Then why did I appear to you like this?"
It was only now I realized what he was wearing; pajamas. The same pajamas he wore the night…
Oh no.
The light shut off. For a moment there was nothing but darkness surrounding me.
Then with a snap the spotlight turned back on, this time above another figure.
It was...me. Only when I was younger, so much younger. She was a tiny thing, with long reddish brown hair, fluffy one piece pajamas, and a large butcher's knife with a false ivory handle held tightly in her hands. She looked determined and terrified.
It was at this point that I began to scream.
/
From within Unit-02, Asuka watched in horror as Zeruel plunged out of the sky, falling uncontrollably until she crashed into the street with a loud thunderclap, kicking up a wall of dust and debris. Arael's light was still focused on her.
'What the hell? What did it do to her?' Asuka wondered fearfully.
Then all of the Angels save for one half of Israfel and Ramiel turned away from the Evas and focused on Ria.
She was completely vulnerable, unable to defend herself. And now four Angels were barreling down on her.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Sounds like Ria is reliving a moment of weakness where she almost went through with killing her parents.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
Even Bardiel is disgusted.
Hey, maybe we are reading them wrong.
Maybe Bardiel is one of the good guys!
Hahahaha...ha...ha...huh.
Edit: ninja'd. Word for word! I swear I didn't see your comment before I wrote mine, Grue.
Hey, maybe we are reading them wrong.
Maybe Bardiel is one of the good guys!
Hahahaha...ha...ha...huh.
Edit: ninja'd. Word for word! I swear I didn't see your comment before I wrote mine, Grue.
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trob030490
Professor Kokonoe
- Pronouns
- she/her
Arael, you were honestly never going to survive this. Ria was always going to kill you no matter what if she ever had the chance, but you could have run for a while.
But now you had to go and do it. You did the worst thing you could outside of aiming at her mother or mini mother again.
Now you're gonna get tag teamed by Evas followed by an as enraged as possible Zeruel once you get shot by said Evas and drop your concentration. They're going to have tunnel vision on you between Ria's absolute rage and Misato and Asuka's orders/someone in command communicating to the pilots what you're actually doing/have done.
You gonna die. Horribly. Even the rage they have for Ramiel isn't nearly as personal or visceral as what's going to be aimed at you by your combatants.
And all you'll accomplish is giving one of your enemies mental trauma that is more likely to make her feel even more like she has to fight you at every turn out of guilt for something she almost did as a scared pre-traumatized child than ever join you or even show mercy; plus humanizing Ria for her human detractors.
You're going to die and make Zeruel a public hero.
But now you had to go and do it. You did the worst thing you could outside of aiming at her mother or mini mother again.
Now you're gonna get tag teamed by Evas followed by an as enraged as possible Zeruel once you get shot by said Evas and drop your concentration. They're going to have tunnel vision on you between Ria's absolute rage and Misato and Asuka's orders/someone in command communicating to the pilots what you're actually doing/have done.
You gonna die. Horribly. Even the rage they have for Ramiel isn't nearly as personal or visceral as what's going to be aimed at you by your combatants.
And all you'll accomplish is giving one of your enemies mental trauma that is more likely to make her feel even more like she has to fight you at every turn out of guilt for something she almost did as a scared pre-traumatized child than ever join you or even show mercy; plus humanizing Ria for her human detractors.
You're going to die and make Zeruel a public hero.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
He accomplished a bit more than that. He basically stunned Ria and left her open to every Angel there going after her.
Which means a lot of rage can directed towards Ramiel as well since this was his plan.
Though that said, yeah. If Asuka or Shinji could they would strangle the life out of Arael right now.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
These words would be a lot more reassuring if we didn't know it was Bardiel saying them...
Hah! I hope that leaves a nice ugly scar, you bastard.
Great. I hope this isn't another leftover of Iruel's hacking.
Well, shit. I hate being right, sometimes. I didn't expect them to pull out the Angel of Mind-Rape on Ria.
Yeah, this has to be a special kind of Hell for Asuka...
She knows exactly how hideous this feels, and has to watch it happen to her daughter. And there is nothing she can do to stop it. There's no other Eva for her to jump in, there's no other weapons she can take control of, there's not even any artillery or missiles she can order fired that Misato's not already doing.
Boy, Ramiel, even the deceiving bodyjacker thinks you're being scummy right now. That should be a warning sign.
Because even small Impact-Events tend to have bad side effects on the neighborhood?
You shouldn't have been so blasé about Arael having nothing to hit you with, Ria.
You were already troubled enough about facing the idea you once were within moments of killing the two people you know now love you more than anything, and were the only ones to stand by you without a blink no matter what. And Okito and Kodama-Alter's revelations that your Angelic side means less than you thought means it would have been all you. You'd have been a dozen times worse than Okito was. At least all he did was threaten his parents, not actually get a knife and go stalking...
The only 'upside' I can see here is Ria will still have her parents ready to hold her close when she cries this whole story out to them.
trob030490
Professor Kokonoe
- Pronouns
- she/her
I was just thinking based on what Ria can probably tank even without her AT field and that they're seconds from Arael getting shot they're not going to do all that much damage so the momentarily being open isn't going to pan out.
That is, unless Ramiel plans to start playing point defense and has the capability to do so with his Eva enemies.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Outside of Ria dying or being brainwashed, this is literally Asuka's biggest fear. Her daughter is now being subjected to one of the worst experiences Asuka ever suffered through and she's powerless to stop it. This is one of those rare moments when Asuka and Shinji would both give anything to be in the pilot's seat right now just so they could try and stop it.Yeah, this has to be a special kind of Hell for Asuka...
She knows exactly how hideous this feels, and has to watch it happen to her daughter. And there is nothing she can do to stop it. There's no other Eva for her to jump in, there's no other weapons she can take control of, there's not even any artillery or missiles she can order fired that Misato's not already doing.
Bardiel's Morality right now is a bit...odd, to put it mildly. But yeah, even She's going "Damn, that's messed up".
Here's something I want to make clear, Arael had no idea they actually hurt Asuka as badly as they did. Ramiel did, Ramiel knew damn well what he was doing. That doesn't excuse Arael in the slightest though.
Ria knew Arael had stuff to hit her with. She just figured anything that could be thrown at her that wouldn't hurt her as nearly as bad as her Mother was hurt. She unfortunately didn't realize that "Not as bad" could still be really awful to deal with.You shouldn't have been so blasé about Arael having nothing to hit you with, Ria.
- Location
- Somewhere in the eastern hemisphere.
I'm surprised that they haven't accidentally brought over one of the Rebuild Angels yet.
EDIT: Other than Rei of course.
EDIT: Other than Rei of course.
Nah, man.
Fog battleship FTW.
Those things are mini-Impacts of their own. For sheer ass-kickingness, there is very little that beats a Fog battleship outside of Gods, Reality Warpers, and major starships.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
TTGL has/wrecks all three of those.