Chapter 12
- Location
- Poinciana, Florida
Chapter 12
The next day, and we are returned to Lara Croft's custody at the Western-style mansion. We are also tasked with bringing over the packages of foodstuffs that we opened during our stay in quarantine, and some of it is quite heavy.
No sooner do we get everything settled than we hear a knock at the door.
Misato: "Take a rest, kids. I'll get it."
As we collapse into various chairs, sofas, and what-not, gasping for breath, Misato has answered the door, and not too kindly.
Misato: "And what, pray tell, are you doing here?"
?:"Well, the U.N. sent me over to investigate the status of 'The Children.' Make sure everything's on the up and up..."
Asuka: "KAJI!" With an unexpected burst of vigor, she runs over to the man at the door, and nearly bowls him over as she grabs him around the mid-section. "It was horrible! You have no idea what I had to go through since coming here!" She takes on the air of a helpless little girl and tries to paint herself in the most innocent and victimized manner possible while bringing him up to speed on her side of the story... Rei and I are not amused.
Kaji: "That sounds rough, leibchen!" He pets her on the head. "But your story isn't exactly accurate, you know. I was on the 'Over The Rainbow', and I saw the security footage of what you did when you got here. You have to admit some of what happened is your doing, right?"
Asuka begins squirming and pouting like a little kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Yeah.."
Kaji: "As for the rest, that's why I'm here. While some of what you endured in quarantine was unavoidable, the rest... Well, let's just say NERV security needs a LOT of work."
Misato: "No kidding. So why exactly are you here and not at NERV headquarters?"
Kaji: "Well, I do need to interview The Children as part of my investigation. Shinji-kun, you rascal. Got yourself a wife and a girlfriend, eh? And at 14 no less...."
Rei: "That is not exactly accurate, Inspector Kaji, Minister of the Interior, Liason to the U.N. and point-man for the Instrumentality committee." Rei then goes on to describe, in detail, the publicly available contents of his dossier.
Kaji: "Oh, that's right. Deer sweet Asuka here is your girlfriend, right Rei-chan? Asuka, why would you agree to that? I thought you were interested in.."
Asuka: "KAJI! … It was either that, or sleeping in a closet!"
Rei: "Soryu-chan, we would have never made you sleep in a closet, and you know it!"
Asuka: "Yeah, yeah. But my dignity would have demanded it, okay?! I mean, sharing a bed with a married couple? Even you have to admit that's rather weird, right?"
Shinji: "Well, I can see where you're coming from but.."
Asuka"Not another word, dumbkopf! I am well aware of the 'restrictions' Herr Dokctor put us under... And I don't like it any more than either of you."
Rei: "That's a relief, Asuka-chan. I was worried that you were forcing yourself..."
Asuka starts blushing furiously "Shut it, Wondergirl!"
Kaji: "Oh. You sure get along."
Asuka and Rei: "It's not like that!" They look at each other for a second and sigh. "Okay. So maybe it is!"
Kaji then pats me on the back. "Good job, Shinji-kun. You've already learned the most important lesson life has to offer. 'Happy wife, happy life.'"
Shinji: "Please don't talk that way, Kaji-san."
Asuka: "Oh please. Nothing more boring than a house-broken male..."
Shinji: (Sigh) "And that's why."
Suddenly the alarm starts blaring, indicating an Angel sighting.
Lara Croft: "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We jut now finished ferrying you out of NERV HQ and now you have to go back?!"
Misato: (Sigh) "Welcome to a soldier's life, 'Lara-Sensei.'" Misato pulls out her cell-phone. "Okay, Rits. Talk to me. Yeah, you can get me up to speed on the way."
Misato, Asuka, Rei, and myself head off to NERV, Lara Croft and Kaji settle down and start chatting about us.
Kaji: "So 'Laura-Sensei', how's James doing?"
Lara: "Who?"
Kaji: "Oh, so that's the story, eh? Well, have to thank you for getting NERV up and running as quick as you did after that EMP triggered black-out."
Lara: "My pleasure, but even if I did know a 'James', I have no obligation to share that with you."
Kaji: "Fair enough. What's your impression of The Children?"
Lara: "No point in hiding it, I suppose. The best we can do is what you saw, and that's hardly stable."
We were all briefed over the phone en route to NERV HQ, and then when we got to the war-room, we saw what we were up against, in detail. An Angel attacking from orbit took out one of the observation satellites America put into orbit and has been dropping pieces of itself as target practice as it approached the mainland.
Misato: "So we think it's going to drop itself like a bomb over Tokyo 3?"
Ritsuko: "Exactly, Major, but the possible area of impact is too huge to consider a proper plan of evacuation, and we certainly can't evacuate all of Japan in the few short hours we have left before it's directly overhead."
Misato:"And we blew through our ready N2 mines on previous Angels. It'll be days before we get new ones, right?"
Ritsuko: "Indeed."
Misato: "Where's the Commander?"
Ritsuko: "He's at the site of Second Impact, gathering something on behalf of the Instrumentality Committee. That's all I know."
Misato: "Oh, great! So it's all up to me, isn't it?"
Ritsuko: "I don't envy you.."
Misato: "Okay. I don't see any other way to do this.."
Shinji: "Wait. You want us to catch the Angel with our bare hands?"
Misato: "That's not all. In order to maximize our effectiveness, due to the huge margin of error of the Angel's incoming trajectory, we need to field all three Evas, and have each of them at a strategic point, racing towards the crash site when that is determined."
Rei: "You are aware that this plan is highly irrational, correct?"
Misato: "Yeah, but I can't come up with any better ideas? Asuka, can our college graduate come up with something?"
Asuka: "Scientific calculator, pencil and paper please?"
Misato: "Erm.. Okay?"
Asuka goes through some rather difficult and lengthy advanced trigonometry calculations. "Yeah, Major, I'm not going to sugar-coat the chances of success, but this 'plan' is the best we've got going for us, and your choice of Eva placement is ideal. I've even taken the liberty of detailing the best estimated angle of descent as that thing comes hurtling down." She hands out parchments to each of us.
"Dumpkopf, this one's yours, you and Rea abourd Eva-00 should respond with this angle of attack."
"Wondergirl. Likewise."
Asika: "I've got my own probability arc to contend with. Just say the word, Major, and we'll sortie!"
Misato: (Thinking) "Holy shit. This is the most cooperative I've seen her, ever. Guess I should thank Shinji for letting her be Rei's "birthday present." I just hope these kids don't screw things up, literally.
(Aloud): "Alright, Piots. SORTIE!"
Everyone: "Yes, Ma'am."
Once the Angel's orbit comes above Tokyo-3 it stards dive-bombing towards the surface. The closest unit is Eva-01.
Rei: "En route to intercept!"
Shinji: "Racing to assist now!"
Asuka:"Oh. You have got to be kidding me! The son-of-a-bitch is breaking up!"
Misato would crush something in her hand, but her hands are empty, so she settles on slamming the surface of her control console.
Misato: "Oh that son-of-a-bitch! It's broken up into four pieces. Three of them are headed towards the Evas, but the fourth is still heading for downtown Tokyo-3... OH! OH SHIT! High energy reaction detected, like with that damned Ramiel!"
A high-powered energy beam blasts straight down from the fourth fragment, instantly liquefying the ground, buildings, and concrete beneath, boring through the 22 armor layers, one at a time, but far quicker than Ramiel did. Breach is calculated as coming in a matter of minutes, not hours.
In addition, two lateral jets start spewing energy and mass to keep it on target, and an engine appears on top to keep its energy beam from blasting upwards. In short, it looks like a giant hovering crucifix.
Misato: "How the hell are we supposed to deal with this?! We can't send up the JSSDF positron rifle, set it into position and fire it safely in minutes! Worse, we can't spare any Eva as those three fragments are bearing down on them! And if the Eva don't stop them, the loss of civilian life would be astronomical! God knows how many people we lost due to that energy beam alone!"
Ritsuko: "I wish I had a solution, Major, but we just don't have enough Eva! Damn that Instrumentality committee! It took Ramiel to authorize a third Eva here, and now this?!"
Misato: "Damn IT!"
The solution winds up coming from the strangest of places. Whoever said "from the mouth of babes comes great wisdom" was an authentic genius!
Rea: "Onii-chan! I want to play catch, not do this!"
Shinji: "Rea, I understand but... wait? Play catch? REA, You're a genius!"
Rea: "???"
Shinji: "Asuka, Rei. Can we grab those incoming fragments and throw them back somehow?"
Rei: "Interesting concept, Shinji-kun! Yes, we can coil our A-T fields to work like springs, but the recoil... and targeting angles..."
Asuka: "Let me worry about that, lets see, for maximum effectiveness... (Begins mumbling some highly advanced math equations)... OK, Wondergirl. You need to ready your A-T field to reflect it back at approximately 60 degrees. Baka! 45 degrees upward! Myself.. 39.95 Degrees and GO!"
Everyone: "HAI!" (Yes, Ma'am).
Doing as Asuka said, it works, but the recoil sends Rei downward into the ground, breaking Eva-01's feet. Eva-00 is driven down and backwards leaving huge grooves along the ground until smacking into a high-rise, back first, and Asuka is literally sent flying!
Still, the plan works like a charm as the three giant Angel fragments are bounced back to the main body, right in the line of the energy beam. Each impact causes part of the Angel to be blown away, and forces it to quickly consume its mass as it revs its thrusters to keep from being blasted out of its location. On the third impact, it consumes the last bit of itself and the now unguarded core starts falling to the ground.
The core is so small that if Rea didn't tell me about it, I might have missed it. Not wanting to risk the Agnel's core falling into the middle of Nerv HQ, Eva-00 and I run over to the projected point of impact, reach up, and catch it.
Rea: "We caught it, Onii-chan! That was fun!"
Shinji: "Yeah! That was great, Rea! I wish I could pet your head right now!"
Rea: "Hehehe!"
Once we're back in the base, getting debriefed...
Ritsuko: "This is the second time you've brought in a near-perfect specimen, Pilot Ikari. But this time, you've managed to bring back the core, completely intact! Impressive performance, all of you!"
Gendo: "Indeed. Well done, everyone. Especially Pilot Ikari who came up with this plan."
Shinji: "Thank you, sir, but I didn't come up with it alone.."
Misato: "I'm sorry I allowed so much damage to take place..."
Gendo: "That's quite alright, Major. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this. We should all be grateful we're alive to see another day. That is all, dismissed."
Resting and relaxing on a hill overlooking Tokyo-3, and the huge scars caused by the latest battle, Lara Croft, Misato, Asuka, Rei, and myself are enjoying a well-earned picnic.
Larea Croft: "I know I already asked this, but how can the three of you keep on doing this? Despite all the downsides."
Asuka: (Beaming) "Getting my name carved in the history books and across the sky, never to be forgotten? YEAH. WORTH! IT!""
Rei: "I... I used to think I had nothing else... Then Shinji-kun, my anata, came into my life. Now.. I'm not so sure. Especially now that I've got the 'Great Asuka Langley Soryu' to cuddle with..."
Asuka: "Eh...ECCHI GIRL!"
Rei: (Sung to the tune of 'Barbie Girl') "I'm an ecchi-girl, and it's an ecchi world..."
Asuka: "Stop that, you!"
Lara Croft: "Hahahah! As for you, Shinji-kun?"
Shinji: "I used to want to get my dad's approval, but now... It's Rei's smile. I will do anything for that."
Rei: "You mean this smile?" (Rei does that cute little smile she first showed me immediately after the Ramiel battle.)
Shinji: "YES! That smile! That is the most precious thing to me in the world!"
Asuka: "You really are an idiot... But I must say I don't hate that about you, you sweet, naive dumpkopf."
Shinji: "Thanks, Asuka-chan.."
Asuka: "Hey! It's Asuka-San, to you. Only Rei gets to call me 'chan!' GOT IT?!"
Shinji: "Yes, ma'am."
Lara Croft: "Hmm. Definite improvement. I may have to re-evaluate my assessment of your relationship, but it's still too soon to tell. B+ for everyone!"
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location near Reno, Nevada, United States....
Random Lab tech: "Okay, Eva-04 is ready for activation test. You okay, Pilot?"
Pilot: "Yes, sir."....
Sadly, that is the last thing either of them would ever say on Earth, as Reno, and a circular area with a radius of approximately 40 miles vanishes forever. Eva-03 starts being shipped to Japan. To be continued...
The next day, and we are returned to Lara Croft's custody at the Western-style mansion. We are also tasked with bringing over the packages of foodstuffs that we opened during our stay in quarantine, and some of it is quite heavy.
No sooner do we get everything settled than we hear a knock at the door.
Misato: "Take a rest, kids. I'll get it."
As we collapse into various chairs, sofas, and what-not, gasping for breath, Misato has answered the door, and not too kindly.
Misato: "And what, pray tell, are you doing here?"
?:"Well, the U.N. sent me over to investigate the status of 'The Children.' Make sure everything's on the up and up..."
Asuka: "KAJI!" With an unexpected burst of vigor, she runs over to the man at the door, and nearly bowls him over as she grabs him around the mid-section. "It was horrible! You have no idea what I had to go through since coming here!" She takes on the air of a helpless little girl and tries to paint herself in the most innocent and victimized manner possible while bringing him up to speed on her side of the story... Rei and I are not amused.
Kaji: "That sounds rough, leibchen!" He pets her on the head. "But your story isn't exactly accurate, you know. I was on the 'Over The Rainbow', and I saw the security footage of what you did when you got here. You have to admit some of what happened is your doing, right?"
Asuka begins squirming and pouting like a little kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Yeah.."
Kaji: "As for the rest, that's why I'm here. While some of what you endured in quarantine was unavoidable, the rest... Well, let's just say NERV security needs a LOT of work."
Misato: "No kidding. So why exactly are you here and not at NERV headquarters?"
Kaji: "Well, I do need to interview The Children as part of my investigation. Shinji-kun, you rascal. Got yourself a wife and a girlfriend, eh? And at 14 no less...."
Rei: "That is not exactly accurate, Inspector Kaji, Minister of the Interior, Liason to the U.N. and point-man for the Instrumentality committee." Rei then goes on to describe, in detail, the publicly available contents of his dossier.
Kaji: "Oh, that's right. Deer sweet Asuka here is your girlfriend, right Rei-chan? Asuka, why would you agree to that? I thought you were interested in.."
Asuka: "KAJI! … It was either that, or sleeping in a closet!"
Rei: "Soryu-chan, we would have never made you sleep in a closet, and you know it!"
Asuka: "Yeah, yeah. But my dignity would have demanded it, okay?! I mean, sharing a bed with a married couple? Even you have to admit that's rather weird, right?"
Shinji: "Well, I can see where you're coming from but.."
Asuka"Not another word, dumbkopf! I am well aware of the 'restrictions' Herr Dokctor put us under... And I don't like it any more than either of you."
Rei: "That's a relief, Asuka-chan. I was worried that you were forcing yourself..."
Asuka starts blushing furiously "Shut it, Wondergirl!"
Kaji: "Oh. You sure get along."
Asuka and Rei: "It's not like that!" They look at each other for a second and sigh. "Okay. So maybe it is!"
Kaji then pats me on the back. "Good job, Shinji-kun. You've already learned the most important lesson life has to offer. 'Happy wife, happy life.'"
Shinji: "Please don't talk that way, Kaji-san."
Asuka: "Oh please. Nothing more boring than a house-broken male..."
Shinji: (Sigh) "And that's why."
Suddenly the alarm starts blaring, indicating an Angel sighting.
Lara Croft: "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We jut now finished ferrying you out of NERV HQ and now you have to go back?!"
Misato: (Sigh) "Welcome to a soldier's life, 'Lara-Sensei.'" Misato pulls out her cell-phone. "Okay, Rits. Talk to me. Yeah, you can get me up to speed on the way."
Misato, Asuka, Rei, and myself head off to NERV, Lara Croft and Kaji settle down and start chatting about us.
Kaji: "So 'Laura-Sensei', how's James doing?"
Lara: "Who?"
Kaji: "Oh, so that's the story, eh? Well, have to thank you for getting NERV up and running as quick as you did after that EMP triggered black-out."
Lara: "My pleasure, but even if I did know a 'James', I have no obligation to share that with you."
Kaji: "Fair enough. What's your impression of The Children?"
Lara: "No point in hiding it, I suppose. The best we can do is what you saw, and that's hardly stable."
We were all briefed over the phone en route to NERV HQ, and then when we got to the war-room, we saw what we were up against, in detail. An Angel attacking from orbit took out one of the observation satellites America put into orbit and has been dropping pieces of itself as target practice as it approached the mainland.
Misato: "So we think it's going to drop itself like a bomb over Tokyo 3?"
Ritsuko: "Exactly, Major, but the possible area of impact is too huge to consider a proper plan of evacuation, and we certainly can't evacuate all of Japan in the few short hours we have left before it's directly overhead."
Misato:"And we blew through our ready N2 mines on previous Angels. It'll be days before we get new ones, right?"
Ritsuko: "Indeed."
Misato: "Where's the Commander?"
Ritsuko: "He's at the site of Second Impact, gathering something on behalf of the Instrumentality Committee. That's all I know."
Misato: "Oh, great! So it's all up to me, isn't it?"
Ritsuko: "I don't envy you.."
Misato: "Okay. I don't see any other way to do this.."
Shinji: "Wait. You want us to catch the Angel with our bare hands?"
Misato: "That's not all. In order to maximize our effectiveness, due to the huge margin of error of the Angel's incoming trajectory, we need to field all three Evas, and have each of them at a strategic point, racing towards the crash site when that is determined."
Rei: "You are aware that this plan is highly irrational, correct?"
Misato: "Yeah, but I can't come up with any better ideas? Asuka, can our college graduate come up with something?"
Asuka: "Scientific calculator, pencil and paper please?"
Misato: "Erm.. Okay?"
Asuka goes through some rather difficult and lengthy advanced trigonometry calculations. "Yeah, Major, I'm not going to sugar-coat the chances of success, but this 'plan' is the best we've got going for us, and your choice of Eva placement is ideal. I've even taken the liberty of detailing the best estimated angle of descent as that thing comes hurtling down." She hands out parchments to each of us.
"Dumpkopf, this one's yours, you and Rea abourd Eva-00 should respond with this angle of attack."
"Wondergirl. Likewise."
Asika: "I've got my own probability arc to contend with. Just say the word, Major, and we'll sortie!"
Misato: (Thinking) "Holy shit. This is the most cooperative I've seen her, ever. Guess I should thank Shinji for letting her be Rei's "birthday present." I just hope these kids don't screw things up, literally.
(Aloud): "Alright, Piots. SORTIE!"
Everyone: "Yes, Ma'am."
Once the Angel's orbit comes above Tokyo-3 it stards dive-bombing towards the surface. The closest unit is Eva-01.
Rei: "En route to intercept!"
Shinji: "Racing to assist now!"
Asuka:"Oh. You have got to be kidding me! The son-of-a-bitch is breaking up!"
Misato would crush something in her hand, but her hands are empty, so she settles on slamming the surface of her control console.
Misato: "Oh that son-of-a-bitch! It's broken up into four pieces. Three of them are headed towards the Evas, but the fourth is still heading for downtown Tokyo-3... OH! OH SHIT! High energy reaction detected, like with that damned Ramiel!"
A high-powered energy beam blasts straight down from the fourth fragment, instantly liquefying the ground, buildings, and concrete beneath, boring through the 22 armor layers, one at a time, but far quicker than Ramiel did. Breach is calculated as coming in a matter of minutes, not hours.
In addition, two lateral jets start spewing energy and mass to keep it on target, and an engine appears on top to keep its energy beam from blasting upwards. In short, it looks like a giant hovering crucifix.
Misato: "How the hell are we supposed to deal with this?! We can't send up the JSSDF positron rifle, set it into position and fire it safely in minutes! Worse, we can't spare any Eva as those three fragments are bearing down on them! And if the Eva don't stop them, the loss of civilian life would be astronomical! God knows how many people we lost due to that energy beam alone!"
Ritsuko: "I wish I had a solution, Major, but we just don't have enough Eva! Damn that Instrumentality committee! It took Ramiel to authorize a third Eva here, and now this?!"
Misato: "Damn IT!"
The solution winds up coming from the strangest of places. Whoever said "from the mouth of babes comes great wisdom" was an authentic genius!
Rea: "Onii-chan! I want to play catch, not do this!"
Shinji: "Rea, I understand but... wait? Play catch? REA, You're a genius!"
Rea: "???"
Shinji: "Asuka, Rei. Can we grab those incoming fragments and throw them back somehow?"
Rei: "Interesting concept, Shinji-kun! Yes, we can coil our A-T fields to work like springs, but the recoil... and targeting angles..."
Asuka: "Let me worry about that, lets see, for maximum effectiveness... (Begins mumbling some highly advanced math equations)... OK, Wondergirl. You need to ready your A-T field to reflect it back at approximately 60 degrees. Baka! 45 degrees upward! Myself.. 39.95 Degrees and GO!"
Everyone: "HAI!" (Yes, Ma'am).
Doing as Asuka said, it works, but the recoil sends Rei downward into the ground, breaking Eva-01's feet. Eva-00 is driven down and backwards leaving huge grooves along the ground until smacking into a high-rise, back first, and Asuka is literally sent flying!
Still, the plan works like a charm as the three giant Angel fragments are bounced back to the main body, right in the line of the energy beam. Each impact causes part of the Angel to be blown away, and forces it to quickly consume its mass as it revs its thrusters to keep from being blasted out of its location. On the third impact, it consumes the last bit of itself and the now unguarded core starts falling to the ground.
The core is so small that if Rea didn't tell me about it, I might have missed it. Not wanting to risk the Agnel's core falling into the middle of Nerv HQ, Eva-00 and I run over to the projected point of impact, reach up, and catch it.
Rea: "We caught it, Onii-chan! That was fun!"
Shinji: "Yeah! That was great, Rea! I wish I could pet your head right now!"
Rea: "Hehehe!"
Once we're back in the base, getting debriefed...
Ritsuko: "This is the second time you've brought in a near-perfect specimen, Pilot Ikari. But this time, you've managed to bring back the core, completely intact! Impressive performance, all of you!"
Gendo: "Indeed. Well done, everyone. Especially Pilot Ikari who came up with this plan."
Shinji: "Thank you, sir, but I didn't come up with it alone.."
Misato: "I'm sorry I allowed so much damage to take place..."
Gendo: "That's quite alright, Major. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this. We should all be grateful we're alive to see another day. That is all, dismissed."
Resting and relaxing on a hill overlooking Tokyo-3, and the huge scars caused by the latest battle, Lara Croft, Misato, Asuka, Rei, and myself are enjoying a well-earned picnic.
Larea Croft: "I know I already asked this, but how can the three of you keep on doing this? Despite all the downsides."
Asuka: (Beaming) "Getting my name carved in the history books and across the sky, never to be forgotten? YEAH. WORTH! IT!""
Rei: "I... I used to think I had nothing else... Then Shinji-kun, my anata, came into my life. Now.. I'm not so sure. Especially now that I've got the 'Great Asuka Langley Soryu' to cuddle with..."
Asuka: "Eh...ECCHI GIRL!"
Rei: (Sung to the tune of 'Barbie Girl') "I'm an ecchi-girl, and it's an ecchi world..."
Asuka: "Stop that, you!"
Lara Croft: "Hahahah! As for you, Shinji-kun?"
Shinji: "I used to want to get my dad's approval, but now... It's Rei's smile. I will do anything for that."
Rei: "You mean this smile?" (Rei does that cute little smile she first showed me immediately after the Ramiel battle.)
Shinji: "YES! That smile! That is the most precious thing to me in the world!"
Asuka: "You really are an idiot... But I must say I don't hate that about you, you sweet, naive dumpkopf."
Shinji: "Thanks, Asuka-chan.."
Asuka: "Hey! It's Asuka-San, to you. Only Rei gets to call me 'chan!' GOT IT?!"
Shinji: "Yes, ma'am."
Lara Croft: "Hmm. Definite improvement. I may have to re-evaluate my assessment of your relationship, but it's still too soon to tell. B+ for everyone!"
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location near Reno, Nevada, United States....
Random Lab tech: "Okay, Eva-04 is ready for activation test. You okay, Pilot?"
Pilot: "Yes, sir."....
Sadly, that is the last thing either of them would ever say on Earth, as Reno, and a circular area with a radius of approximately 40 miles vanishes forever. Eva-03 starts being shipped to Japan. To be continued...