7734
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- Location
- Philmont
Fun fact- I actually had enough people interested in my stuff by this point to get a native German speaker to translate because Google Translate was mangling what I was trying to say.
NERVous Breakdown (NGE/XCOM)
- Thread starter 7734
- Start date
Fun fact- I actually had enough people interested in my stuff by this point to get a native German speaker to translate because Google Translate was mangling what I was trying to say.
Pt 15; Entry into Malbolge
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Looking out the window of the apartment, Shinji felt one hand under the other. His skin was still thin, the ripples and pocks from his burns gone, barely even a patterned discoloration left to the trained eye to pick up. His gaze turning, he looked down at himself, the ripples and swirls still marking the difference where different layers of his plugsuit lay. Moving his arm, he slowly drew his blanket over himself, pulling his pillow in closer. Closing his eyes, he let his mind slip into the blackness of sleep.
---
Fifteen feet and half a world away, Asuka stared at her nightdress in the mirror, before slowly reaching up to pull her A10 clips out. As the blue devices slipped from her hair, she hissed, putting them on a small velvet cloth. Closing her eyes, she breathed in, and out, holding herself together through a ragged will alone. Sitting on her futon, she breathed in and out. She was strong, the force of the EVA's fighting prowess! She was fast, the most synchronized! She stood strong, killing the Third Angel! She had succeeded, she had won!
As a tear dripped down her cheek, she slowly pulled the covers up to her chin and felt exhaustion overtake her.
---
In a lonely Geofront apartment, Rei slipped out of her uniform gracelessly. She still stung from the exercises, the blast of paint rounds to her gut barely subdued by the heavy cloth and her jacket. Putting herself in her bed, she blinked a handful of times as she realized her new abode lacked the familiar sight of a broken pair of glasses on the nightstand, a reminder to the closest thing she had to a father's warm, mindful gaze. Instead, a well-worn communications tablet sat face-down, star-and-ray badge proud in the light.
A knock came, now, one last check-in before she started to drift off to sleep. "Ready for bed, Rei?" Spee asked, voice still slightly raw.
"Yes, Lance Corporal Spee." She said, tucking herself in.
"Good, good. I'll be by the door if you need anything, okay? And you don't need to use my rank all the time, Rei."
"Yes, Lance- ah, Spee. Goodnight."
A soft chuckle went past the door. "Goodnight to you too, Rei. Sweet dreams."
---
As three people slept, one dream began. Most dreams these days were closer to nightmares, to be honest- the memories of pain and death, the war and the peace. Some dreamt better than others, but tonight three people dreamed as one.
The dream was a pleasant dream, with all three Pilots waking up to the sight of a cool night, full moon rising as they rested together under a tree in the main park of Tokyo-3. Each star was caught in the oak's broad branches, the leaves shading them from Luna's gaze as they each found themselves stirring. Rei was the first to rise in full, her distaste of half-measures taking her from sleep to wakefulness in an eyeblink. Asuka was next, the disturbance caused by Rei drawing her up too. Shinji, the last to rise, found himself looking at the two girls gazing into his eyes questioningly.
"Uhm… hi?" he asked.
Both girls blinked.
"This is a rather pleasant dream." He said. "Much better than the ones where we all die to an Angel with a hundred faces or one made out of lightning."
Now the girls paled, faint veins appearing under their skins as the blood ran to their feet. As Shinji rose, he smiled and stretched. Finally, Asuka shook herself out of it, grabbing Shinji's arm.
"An Angel made of lightning? One with a hundred faces? What kinda hellish meds did they put you on?"
Shinji shrugged. "All of them, according to Sweet. I stopped listening after he mentioned I shouldn't be in the cockpit of an EVA solo for a few weeks."
"Got…" Asuka murmered, holding her other hand up to his forehead as if he had a fever. "How much damage did you take?"
"Erm… right leg was pretty much gone, right arm got peeled off just below the shoulder, most of the starboard components need to get torn out…" Shinji said quietly, flicking off on his fingers. "Lost most of my LCL, power system nearly blew… at that point the meds started kicking in again, so I don't know all of it. I think they told me they were going to start fitting on the upgrades, though."
Without a second thought, Asuka pulled what she thought was a dream-Shinji to her, holding on tight. "You're mine, dumbass. If the Angels kill you, that means they took out the best pilot of NERV, and I'll forever be in your shadow! No, no, no! They will not- I won't let them!"
In the background, Rei peered at the fuzzy boundries of the park, and the dream-bubble. Going back to the pair at the center, she quietly sat down and closed her eyes, resting. At about the same time, Asuka realized the concept of hugging Shinji, even dream-Shinji, was just a little too much for her to stand, resulting in him getting pushed away. Muttering, "b-baka…" she turned around in a huff, only to see Rei.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at the blunette quizzically.
"Waiting. I can find no purpose to this dream, so I shall endure it."
Snorting, Asuka ruffled Rei's hair, earning a black look. "You goof, this is a good dream. You're supposed to enjoy them, because they're not nightmares."
"Nightmares?" Rei asked, tilting her head. "I've never had one."
At this point, Asuka and Shinji's jaws dropped. They looked at each other, then at Rei. Then they looked at each other, and back to Rei. She was not on a horse, they were not high on drugs, and she had said she had no nightmares.
"Never?" Shinji asked, perturbed. "Never?" repeated Asuka, blinking in shock.
"Never."
Normally, if Shinji grabbed on to Asuka to hold himself upright, the result would have been a severe beating. Likewise, any clinging by Asuka should, if all was right with the world, come with a volley of insults. When they held each other up, and then slowly sat down to look at Rei, level eyes to level eyes, though, not a word was said. As different as all the pilots might have been, Rei was now the most foreign thing to them in the world.
At any other time, any other place, it would have been a wedge between them all. So much had been built on their differences, their exceptions, their uniqueness; and every time it had struck back, holding forth to damage and ruin. Asuka's terror and joy under her strong exterior, Shinji's meek front hiding his inner strength, Rei's ignorance concealing the sharpest mind.
But here, in a dream? A dream none would remember to remember, dust in the winds of their mind? Here, Shinji and Asuka pulled Rei into a hug, holding her tenderly, sharing her strangeness, her oddity, her being between them as they felt the innocence they had both lost so long ago. Unkowing, Rei was confused at first, until their warmth filtered through to her brain, and she realized they were together. After that, it was enough to be a friend in the arms of friends.
---
The next morning as all three went to school, Hikari blinked. Were they… were they glowing? What the heck?
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
It lives in limbo. I'm restating work on it shortly, until then I will continue mirroring chapters to here from SB.
- Location
- Mobile, Alabama
Works for me then!
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
What.
I did not expect that when I saw "NGE/XCOM crossover".
"Looks up, sees the Long War tag".
Ah. Maybe that's why... nope.
This is weird. You are weird. I like your weird. Psionic Gunslinger Shinji? Yes, please.
But that psionic... cult? With a Russian Grandmaster who tries to start a religion around the Commander? Uh. Uuuuuuuuh. Brainxplode.
So. Shinji is seeing prophetic dreams? And... Gendo Ikari is apparently psionic, too. Or was that a part of a hallucination? So confused.
You know, this whole thing makes me remember weird words, like "shenanigans", "abounds", "ubiquitousness", that sort.
I wonder where this rabbit hole leads...
Following ( trying ) now. Let's see how that goes.
I did not expect that when I saw "NGE/XCOM crossover".
"Looks up, sees the Long War tag".
Ah. Maybe that's why... nope.
This is weird. You are weird. I like your weird. Psionic Gunslinger Shinji? Yes, please.
But that psionic... cult? With a Russian Grandmaster who tries to start a religion around the Commander? Uh. Uuuuuuuuh. Brainxplode.
So. Shinji is seeing prophetic dreams? And... Gendo Ikari is apparently psionic, too. Or was that a part of a hallucination? So confused.
You know, this whole thing makes me remember weird words, like "shenanigans", "abounds", "ubiquitousness", that sort.
I wonder where this rabbit hole leads...
Following ( trying ) now. Let's see how that goes.
- Location
- USA
This is at least partly based on the "List of things X-Com operatives are no longer allowed to do"
Which is where the cult of the Great Commandy One originated.
Either way, you're in for a hell of a ride. Have fun. Also, the SB version has a few more chapters than the one here. Just so you know, so you read some more when you run out of chapters.
Pt 16; The Bolge Nears, Perverting, Corrupting, Into Ruin
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Flying to America, Vahlen decided in the gently-refurbished Globemaster XCOM used for priority cargo delivery, was much more fun when she flew civilian. As the plane rattled and danced in the turbulence, she sighed and tried to lean back in her fixed seat, grimly wishing she could stretch her legs some, or at least use a decent bathroom. The narrow toilet that had been modified in for intercontinental flights did not count.
"EVENING MA'AM!" the loadmaster called, grinning. "NEED ANYTHING?"
"NO THANK YOU!" Vahlen yelled back, wishing she was off this goddamn crate. Next to her, Valarie just muttered something in Russian, and tried to roll over in her harness. "ON SECOND THOUGHT, I HAVE AN IDEA!"
"NOPE NOPE NOPE!" yelled the loadmaster. "NO IDEAS ON MY PLANE!"
"YOU FLEW WITH TYGAN, HAVENT YOU." Vahlen deadpanned as loud as she could.
"YEP! TOOK ME A MONTH TO GET THE PLANE BALLENCED AFTER HE SPILLED PSI SHIELDING FORMULA IN THE BAY! PLUS SIDE, WE'RE NOW PSYKER-PROOF!"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" was Vaheln's only response.
---
As he sailed along on the Izumo which just happened to be covered in Firestorms, the Commander groaned lightly. He wasn't a sailor for a reason, and that reason wasn't anything to do with the sea.
CONK
"Ow…" he muttered, rubbing his head. No, it had to deal with the fact he had yet to find a ship with sufficiently high doors. And here he was, on a Japanese ship. Sometimes, when the troops talked about how much of a genius he was, the Commander had to laugh and laugh. Sometimes he could stop before the men offered him calming drinks.
Shaking his head, the Commander looked over the documents. It would take a vessel of massive tonnage to move an Evangilion, plus massive power generation to actually kick-start the dang thing. Fortunatly, there was one right on call- the USS Shangri-La. A Ford-class that had been knocked loose after being just dropped out of the drydock, it originally had a different name that everyone had worked very hard to bury. Informally known as Over The Rainbow after it had disappeared post-Second Impact, one of XCOM's few jobs during the long peacetime was using their Firestorms to find the damn thing, which had floated halfway to England on the tradewinds.
The problem was, the ship was relatively new, and the Americans weren't exactly feeling charitable on the question of sending it to Japan as the handmaiden for a Evangilion, especially considering the fact Iran was loudly announcing it's newest, latest totally-not-a-copy missile, loaded with Elerium-196 warheads and only the Massive Carrier Spam sitting over there was keeping them from doing something stupid, apparently. The Commander stopped following international politics a long time ago, but he knew he was going to have to be ready to hork up a major wad of something before he could get the carrier.
Of course, Japan wasn't exactly in the mood for this little adventure, considering the fact they were the ones ponying up the megaship to haul the EVA proper. Thus, the Izumo, which while normally a "helicopter destroyer" was stuffed to the gills with Firestorms for the purposes of "equipment escort" and "VTOL tests". It was enough to make the Commander's ears bleed, and that said something. Groaning loudly, he stumbled his way back to his cabin. Did he really need to suffer through this bullshit just for a fourth mind-bending superweapon?
---
Back at the Geofront, Misato was groaning loudly at the schedule. After de-memeing her to-do list and crossing off items one, two, and three (feed the pilots, water the pilots, LCL the EVA's) she got cracking on the rest of it.
"GET BACK HERE!" she yelled at the lazily trucking SHIV unit with a filing cabinent strapped to its back holding her acquisition forms.
"Meep meep" the SHIV replied, kicking its little motors up a gear.
Misato suddenly got an idea, and stopped. Turning around, she grinned and walked away, back to her office. She could let that SHIV run wild- now would be an excellent time to handle that "UN Inspector" that was scheduled to come in today. Opening the door to her office, she saw Kaji's smiling face on a UN badge, right under Kaji's smiling face with a cigarette clamped between his lips trying to out-puff Nyugen's big black cigar.
"Really, guys?" Misato asked, holding her head in her hands.
"Shh." A voice came from Lily, in the corner. "They've been doing this for years, but Hilltopper finally got his Bronchial Filters. I've got ten bucks Zimbabwe riding on him."
"Really?" Misato asked again, both men nodding.
"Really." They said at once.
---
Lounging about the apartment, Asuka sighed mildly, flipping the TV remote through her fingers. Shinji was sprawled out across a different chair, flipping idly through a UFO recognition manual, although Asuka could see a sheet of music peeking out from under the bottom.
"Hey, Shinji," Asuka said, bored. "I got an idea."
Shinji shrugged. "Maybe later?"
"C'mon, Shinji…" she said, realizing that whining would get her nowhere. Changing tacks, she chucked the remote at him, knocking the book out of his hands. "They did mention having a new thing to boost Synch Rates!"
"Why do I have to worry about that again?" Shinji griped, standing up to put his book away. "Unit oh-one is out of action, remember? They're rebuilding it with the Block-point-seven-five upgrades right now, so I'm off the Synch Test list."
Asuka grinned, leaning down over Shinji, her loose shirt thinking hard thoughts about dropping open a peek. "I talked to Lily about it, she said it needed two pilots to work. Now, you can come and spend some time with me…" she drawled out, standing up and stretching, "Or I can find your book on Basic Psionic Exercises you threw out…"
Shinji just glared at Asuka. "Go ahead! I burned it!"
Grinning, Asuka reached into her bag, and pulled out another copy. "The Command Master Sergeant told me you might 'loose' yours, so I got you another one! Do you want me to read it, baka?"
Shinji glared harder, and stood up. "Do it. I dare you."
Grinning, Asuka opened it up. "Ahem. 'Introduction, by Marie Durrand. To begin, psionics is a dangerous art, one which pits the minds against one another. To be firm in knowledge of the Psionic arts, one must first be strong in the…"
As she read, Asuka tried to keep an even pace, pushing through the barely-translated snarl of weasel words that made perfect sense in French and French alone. Her head pulsing, she pushed through the mess, right up until it switched to untranslated French. Now, as soeone who frequently went into France with her father back in the day, Asuka spoke some of that Romance language. This French and the pleasant French of Lorraine were two different beasts.
Pushing, she suddenly felt a blooming pain behind her eyes, and a clamorus ringing in her ears. Her sense of balance went out moments later, Shinji quickly moving in to keep her from falling.
"Well, shit." Shinji muttered, setting Asuka down on a chair so she wouldn't fall. "I mean, that's the first time I've ever pulled that trick off."
"verdamnt…" Asuka muttered, cradling her head in her hands. "Warst du das?"
Rubbing the back of his head, Shinji shrugged. "Sorry about that, Asuka. The objective of the introduction is to frustrate someone enough to get them to Mindfray the reader. The thing is, I've never been able to pull it off!"
"Fick dich und das Pferd, das du eingegangen bist..." Asuka grumbled, moaning about her head.
Sighing, Shinji went to his room and started paging through his copy of Psionics for Psions manual, fiddling his way through the index. "Let's see, psi inspiration, psi inspiration, bingo! Page three-eleven. 'Generally used to repair damage of Mindfray on friends when you get really pissed at them or they start reading your old training pamphlets.' Thanks, boss, really needed to know that… 'for best results, maintain eye contact, think calming thoughts. Does not work well on the intoxicated.'"
Groaning, Shinji started breathing in and out. Theoretically, any psion with enough will could do any psionic maneuver, but everyone had their specialties. Shinji might not have been good at Mindfrays, for example, but he could fire up a low-grade Regen Aura without blinking (and frequently used it on Misato when she came home drunk as practice) and his Distortion Fields were almost always stronger than his nominal rank would suggest. Problem was, he never really had any practice with the so-called "Care Bear Stare" and he really hoped this woudn't go horribly wrong.
"Shinji, why do we look like our EVAs?" Asuka mumbled, her hands away from her eyes for now. "It smells like LCL here. Did you know that?"
Shinji nodded along, carefully moving a hand in to hold her head steady. Breathing in and out, he closed his eyes for a second before gathering up his Will.
"Embrace Eternity!"
----
Groaning, Lily woke up from where she'd crashed on her work table. Today was a Saturday, right? Whatever, not like she learned anything other than kanji at school anyway. Looking up over her desk, she scratched her chin idly. Why were Shinji and Asuka standing there looking awkward?
"G'morning, guys." She mumbled, hands dousing for a coffee mug. "Wha' canae do for yas?"
"We heard about a program to boost synch rates!" Asuka said boldly.
Lily just yawned. "Ya sures? I don't wanna gift you the new suits till we figure out hows to stop the Illuminator Gogles from going smoke-eyed."
"No… wasn't there something about a new Entry Plug?" Shinji asked, steping forward, away from Asuka.
"Th' training plug we builds?" Lily screwed up her face, shuffling off towards the pot of coffee on a counter. "Tha's for training new Pilots so they don flail about like Shinya here."
Asuka snorted. "Well, then that's what we'll use it for!"
"Ugh." Lily groaned. "Too early in the morning for this shit. Just get cleaned up and in your plugsuits, I'll request a systems test launch on Oh-two."
---
Up in her normal office, Misato groaned. Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. If it wasn't the UN forms for their inspector, it was this that and the other thing. At that point, though, she had to blink. EVA training request for new Synch systems? Eh, probably just one of the lab techs wanting to make sure their gadgets fit. Grreenlighting it, Misato sighed quietly as she wished The Commander would just come back already.
---
"Huh." Lily said, looking at her approved request. "Didn't think it'd get approved so fast. Normally I get a call if my name's attached to anything."
"So, ah, Lily… how's this going to work again?" Shinji asked, shifting from foot to foot in his plugsuit.
"Well," Lily grined, walking over to the Pilot Training Plug, "it's fairly simple. You get in first and take up the lower position, and then Asuka climbs in after you and we seal the plug. Then we get you guys to synch to each other, then we synch the plug to Unit oh-two."
"We synch to each other?" Shinji asked.
"Relax, it's not a mind meld or anything. We're just going to make sure you're not giving the EVA contradictory directions."
Nodding, Shinji got into the Entry Plug. Moments later, Asuka came out scratching at her chest. "Did something get in the pluguits?" she asked, irritable.
Lily laughed. "You're wearing one of the new Adaptive Nanofiberous suits, Asuka. They're less comfortable dry, but once you get in the LCL its going to be much more comfortable than the old ones."
"Oh." Asuka said, flat. "Well then, alons-y."
As Lily pointedly ignored the yelling that came out of the Entry Plug as Asuka found out she was directly above and behind Shinji, with the control panels and yokes practically leaning her over him, she arm-signaled the techs to seal that puppy up tight.
"Alright boys and girls," Lily yelled as she climbed to the Prinbow Box. "Let's see if we get something interesting here. Remember, we're doing this for Science!"
"You monster!" Asuka yelled over the radio once she'd figured out the control scheme. "You monster! You never told me I'd have to go in his head!"
"Cake, and grief counseling, will be available at the conclusion of this test." Lily intoned as the Pilot Trainer Entry Plug filled up with LCL.
---
Inside the Entry Plug, Shinji gulped and made sure his hands and feet were in the control yokes. It was something to do as the LCL filtered into the cockpit, and Asuka…
Yeah, thinking about Asuka right now was a really shitty idea. Speaking of which, she was talking. "-move, baka. The control yokes are right over you, so I need to lean a little…"
Feeling a pair of… protrusions… on Asuka's plugsuit brush his head, Shinji felt his breath catch. "O-o-okay."
"Good. Now, lesse how we're filling up." Asuka said, looking over the side of the dual piloting couch. "Now, Shinji, when the LCL gets up to your chin, do a full breath out and dive your head below the layer and breath in. That should help with the whole 'bubble of LCL' issue you had earlier."
Obeying, Shinji felt like he might have been drowning for a second before the LCL flowed all the way over his head. Pulling the heavy semifluid in and out of his lungs, he looked up to Asuka for advice. As she pulled her hair up in a ponytail before dunking her head under the LCL, Lily's voice came through the cockpit speaker.
"Good, good! Now, before we start the Synch Test proper, we're going to try and give you a common sensory experience, something you both like. Now, judging by Asuka's history of musical download from alternative distribution sites and Shinji's truly epic library of orchestral music, here's our first pick.
As the music began to flow through the Entry plug, Shinji raked his thin hair back and began ticking through the startup procedures, Asuka behind him doing the exact same thing. The Pilots didn't have to do anything, mind; the Prinbow Box could start an EVA from outside many times faster than the two eight-by-eight binary switchboards the Pilots possessed. The fact that they both were willing to go through the dozens of keystrokes, simple flicks up and down repeated over and over in arcane patterns, showed their willingness to pilot. Shinji had found a home here. Asuna had trained, been given purpose here.
In the soaking pit of LCL they were embedded in, the Pilots moved together, of one mind and motion. Outside, in the Prinbow Box, Lily's jaw dropped as she looked at the dozens of displays.
"Someone get Command Master Sergeant Melanseki here on the double." She said, watching as both pilot's readouts settled into a rhythym, the piles of sine waves colleting about an idea, firm. "Begin first stage pilot-to-pilot synchronization."
In the Entry Plug, Shinji smiled as his right hand finished it's task and stilled down on the butterfly toggle of the right yoke. Behind him, he knew Asuka was the same, the EVA shuddering to life as motors engaged and the central motive turbines revved at full speed.
"EVA oh-two, Asuka Soryu/Shinji Ikari, Lion From The North, Ready!"
In the Prinbow Box, Lily's jaw hit the floor. "For the love of God, please tell me we got that on tape. I swear they just said the other one's name!"
Outside the Box, Asuka smiled quietly to herself. Her EVA was ready to go, fully fighting fit and prepared to do battle! Even if this was a training exercise, even if she wouldn't get the stink of LCL out of her skin for more days, even if she was with the Baka, she was still ready! She was fighting! A solid stone rode in front of her, an unimpeachable bulwark, the perfect defense to her strengths. He was protection, a shield, a tower and walls and citadel keep in one, mobile as the wind and stronger than iron! As the shield to her spear, they could do anything, heal any wound! No more would those they love be torn away in the wind!
Below her, Shinji laughed silently, disturbing the LCL with his powerful lungs. At his back, there was a warmth, a flame, a plume of destruction that would wreck havoc given the opportunity. He had piloted with her before, and he would again, and she would be the spear to his shield! One Angel destroyed together, that was much, so much. None had stood in his shoes before, felt the power of the titan at his fingertips, fought with beasts as strong as his! Gods of War would tremble when they learned another one stood in their shoes, displacing the mechanisms of before!
"Woah there, boys and girls." Lily's voice came out, making both look together at the speaker. "Miiight want to remember whose plugsuits got what plugs where."
"What do you mean?" two voices asked as one.
"Well, we think you're… ah, what's a good word for this in Japanese? Merging? Yeah, let's say that. Your brain waves are merging, so that we're only really picking up one set for the two of you. Maybe normalizing would be a better word."
"Nonsense!" the two cried out, hands striking their chests in shock. "I'm perfectly fine, Lily! Now, let's start the tests, please. Something feels funny."
Groaning and hitting her head in her hands, Lily sighed. "Alright, fine. Two laps walking around the practice track, then two laps running."
As the two progressed around the track, Lily looked over the psychographs, grimacing. Behind her, the elevator to the Prinbow Box dinged, and out strode Grandmaster.
"You called?" the veteran Psyker asked, grinning.
"Take a look at this shit." Lily growled, kicking her rolly-chair back from the counter. "I mean, really. Before you read the labels, tell me which one of these psychographic measures is which kid."
"Left's Shinya, right's Asuka." Grandmaster said.
"Great." Lily griped, pointing at the backup monitors. "And those?"
"Reversed for some reason; Right's the guy, Left's the girl."
Groaning, Lily put her head in her hands. "Then we got a bigass problem. Either our wiring's crossed, or they're playing hell with the detection gear because the left one should always be Shinji and right should always be Asuka. Thing is… watch." She said, griping before grabing the 'TO EVA' line.
"Okay, guys, take a breather while I put up some hurdles."
As the bridge crew deployed six massive concrete hurdles, Lily sighed. "Okay, here's what's fucking us over- every time the EVA does a complex action, like leaning into a turn on the run, the readouts switch and the datasets get closer together."
"Mind giving them a Practice Rifle and asking them to try targeted shooting while running?" Grandmaster asked. "If they're undergoing an accidental Mind-Meld by Shinji or something, that plus a Sandbag Chuck should snap them out of it."
"Okay." Lily replied, pulling out her manual on psychographic readings. "Now, just give me a minute to do a common sense check and see if we're not reading these wrong.
---
Outside, EVA-02 tried to smile. It had worked hard today, and it wanted to go further, do more. One last run, one last challenge.
"Asuka, Shinji, last test of the day. Some hurdles, grab the Practice Rifle, and nail five targets while sprinting." Lily said over the mike. Nodding, the EVA knelt down, and started to sprint. One hurdle, two hurdle, three hurdle, four hurdle-
WHUMP!
-five hurdle, six hurdle, grab the Practice Rifle-
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
-decapitate the fucking sandbags murder destroy those useless lab-stealing sperglings watch the blood flow-
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
-Destroy the targets, watch them kneel before you, laugh as they surrender their virile young to the King and Queen mounted above in their heavenly throne-
CRASH!
-Laugh. Laugh at the fools.
CRASH!
Laugh at the fools who denied your godhood.
CRASH!
Laugh at the bitches who derided you behind your back.
CRASH!
Laugh as your daughter chose her man, so that they might bring about the coming of glory.
CRASH!
Laugh as their son and daughter awaken their Evangilions, not this crippled shell of yours.
CRASH!
Laugh as the world burns.
CRASH!
- Location
- Australia, mate
I like seeing dual sync stuff. Always nice to see Shinji and Asuka working to... gether...
Um...
I'm... just... gonna leave now. I think I left my oven running. On Mars.
Um...
I'm... just... gonna leave now. I think I left my oven running. On Mars.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
... well, at least Asuka's Mama likes her daughter's choice of Partner.
Ah, I remember this from SB. I won't spoil it for you, but the next few chapters will be a bumpy and feels-filled ride.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
I'm actually bringing it back now that I've untucked the outline. I know I'll hit the bottom of Caina, but I'm not sure if I'll actually write to the End of Evangelion.
- Location
- England
Well everything seems to be going just swimmingly.
Pt 17; Marching Clockwise and Anticlockwise Eternal
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Looking in on the two hospital beds, Misato clutched at her handbag slightly. Their forms were still under the thin satin sheets, and the sun coming through the window should not have been. It was bright, sunny, nearing fall slowly. There should have been rain, thunder and lightning as the skies wept. The city, marching in Western blacks as a great fire was raised. The left one would be cremated, bones sorted from the ashes by the closest family that could be found and those friends who would be present. The right, entombed in a casket of basalt in a marble vault, brass letter describing the scene in a font of fraktur.
Leaving their bodies still in the hospital was a disgrace. The sunlight through the window was a disgrace.
"I'm sorry." Was all Valarie could say, her dress uniform neat and tidy. "We did everything we could."
"How did they die?" Captain Kitsuragi asked, her voice icene.
"Hemorrhage of the brain." The senior NCO replied. "Nearly every blood vessel above the neck exploded, and at that point they were done for. The soft tissue damage was immense, and… well… they only started losing blood when their eyes burst. Whatever in that damn Evangelions killed them without blinking."
Sriding past the screens, Misato frowned. "I need to see."
"It's horrifying." Grandmaster warned. "They didn't die clean or fast."
"I was in the Korean Peninsula peacekeeping operations, Master Sergeant. Once you see one boy with hung by his guts for deserting his post under American bombardment, you don't see the horrors of war quite the same way again." The Captain didn't bother to disguise the weariness in her voice; the remains of the Second Korean War were horrific. The pressure of an otherworldly assault had made opportunities present; and when the North Koreans thought they had a chance they seized it. The Sack of Seoul was the result, as well as the reunification of Korea.
"Fine." Valarie said, nodding. "You'll regret it, though."
"Better to loved and lost, than to never loved at all." Misato said in accented English. "I believed that ever since I was a kid. Never look back, see the world in all it's horror and glory."
"Paratum Nostrum." Was the faint response, as the Grandmaster walked out of the room.
Flicking up the sheets, Captain Misato Kitsuragi saw death writ on two faces. They were so young, she thought first. So young.
They were still dressed in their plugsuits, life support cables still locked into their ports and devices mumbling along. It didn't matter anymore, though. Below the neck, they looked as if they could walk out of bed, dance a jig, and entwine themselves together like a young man and woman were wont to do. As her eyes drifted up, though, the damage intensified, the reds and the blues of spilled blood inside their skins contrasting with the deathly pale of both their hides. Under the jaw was the first major difference of the two- Shinji's artery there had blown, painting him with a faint bearding of blue under his chin. By contrast, Asuka's neck sides were dappled red, the blood flowing and tracing under her skin. Their cheeks were both hollow; with faint hints of teeth still coated in blood from the insides of their mouths.
Holding down her bile, the Captain kept looking, the ruined patina of Asuka's button nose and the prinpick marks on Shinji's brow holding her attention for a few moments until the white remains of retina peaked through. Their eyes, once blue and brown, now were red, shot through with that damned psionic purple that showed the real reason there were two corpses in the medical ward.
Holding on to her crucifix, Misato began to shake. She'd seen death, she'd seen war. Child soldiers with more ribs than muscle, gun-wielding thugs who didn't know what death was, mad mercenaries who believed they were invincible because of a fistful of powder and some used body armor, the haunted eyes of veterans who had done their duty and payed the price in their minds.
Taking a knee, Misato closed her eyes just before the tears began to flow. "Our Father…" she began, voice hoarse as she remembered the ancient prayer.
---
In America, the Commander was quite unhappy. He had been stonewalled by Gendo Ikari at every turn, citing pilot-machine interface problems as the main issue. As far as the Commander was concerned, this was all a load of bullpucky, but the paper tiger that was the Marduk Institute was causing no end of issues. Every proposal had been sidetracked, every attempt to scry the divinations they used to select pilots was foiled.
So, when the electronic mail marked "G.CMDR EYE ONLY" came in from Captain Kitsuragi with countersigns by Hilltopper and Grandmaster, he had to take it seriously. Inside was the news- his two pilots, his two best pilots, dead in a piloting accident. It hit him hard, even before he read the personal notes that Valarie and Nyugen had both sent. Pulling himself together, the Commander, hissed and went to his closet to lay out his full formal uniform.
He was the Grand Commander of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit. He led nearly a million men from around the world against threats that would rip a man's mind asunder. His responsibilities ran the gamut from therapist to quartermaster to head of state due to the Third Genoa Conference, and damn those sorry diplomats who forced him into the role to hell.
Now, though, he was just an officer delivering a notification of death to the next of kin. Placing the mitre hat on his head, the Commander fixed his sidearm and printed off the notification of death along with Shinji's complete personal file. Clipping the black and manila checkered folder shut with a plain metal clasp, the Commander began to march to the office of Gendo Ikari.
Base Advisor Gendo Ikari's office was grandiose, massive gothic deceleration and symbols wrapping around it. Kaabalist paraphernalia littered the area, as well as a titanic blackwood desk that bore no paper or electronic. There was one chair, holding one man there, and nowhere else for a visitor to sit. Granite tile carved with craven runes gazed up, while a chandelier with fat candles intermixed with electric bulbs brought light from above. It was a room imposing, and devilish in construction.
The Commander did not care. Entering, he ignored Gendo's refraining from a salute or even raising himself from the seat and placed the folders on his desk.
"What is the meaning of this? Commander." The man behind the desk said darkly, impudence behind his words.
"That." The Commander said quietly and solemnly, "Is the personal files and after-action report of the training exercise that was taking place during which your son Shinji Ikari died."
Gendo blinked once behind his mirrored sunglasses. "Shinji died."
"Yes." The Commander said, flat. "Lieutenant Ikari died in action. As per standard procedure with the death of close family, you are allowed ten days of leave. His funeral will be in four days, and two days after that his last will and testament will be read to all those mentioned within." Unspoken was a simple command- 'attend, or else suffer the consequences.'
"Well then." Gendo murmured, looking over the reports alone. "I will need to contact the Marduk Institute and speak with them about this. I'm afraid it would look rather… negligent… on your part to stay away from your home base in such a time of crisis."
The Commander frowned. "Duly noted, Base Advisor Ikari. However, things are in professional hands at home."
"I highly doubt Captain Kitsuragi is qualified to handle the Geofront." Gendo sniped back.
The Commander let loose a toothy grin. "Oh, she's the perfect person for the job right now. Due to the pilot loss on Units oh-one and oh-two, however, we will need the EVA Unit oh-three delivered to XCOM Foxtrot Site in order to have a full defensive measure for the area until new Pilots are found for the unmanned Units."
Ikari's face tightened. "You'll have it. I'll send it and the test pilots over as soon as a hauling fleet is available."
"There's a hauling fleet that meets the T/O exactly." The Commander said. "The EVA needs to be packaged and sent forth within four days. We cannot leave the trap with bait and without teeth."
Frowning, Ikari nodded. "Agreed."
Making his way to leave, the Commander felt a part of his tolerance calve off, much like the Glaciers post-Impact. He had problems with the man before. Now, he was advanced to the category of the Opposition. Two could play at games of power, after all.
--
Back in Tokyo-3, Rei woke up exhausted. Ever since the Dual Plug Test, she'd had nothing but nightmares haunt her sleep, the faces of Shinji and Asuka crying out. For help, for release, for company, the two dead Pilots haunted her. In school, the class stayed away from her now, far away.
It was Kensuke who finally broached the topic with her at lunch one day. Coming up to her corner, he sat his lunch down delicately.
"So… Ayanami…" he said, quietly. "Do you know what happened to Shinji and Asuka?"
She looked at him, the bags under her eyes adding depth to the gaze.
"Listen, I'm his friend. I want to know!" Kensuke said, gripping the table. "All we were told was he died in a piloting accident with Soryu, okay?"
The wordless response Kensuke was a sigh, and a shuffling around. Pulling out a small hat, she gave it to him.
"You were not, I think, as much his friend as someone to get some space with away from our program. It was something, though."
Babling, Kensuke looked the black slouch hat over quickly.
"This was one of Shinji's uniform hats. He mentioned, once, that you were a fan of the style. I think he would not mind you having it."
Taking it, Kensuke sniffed once. "I never thought… I never thought it was real. That Shinji was a Pilot, that he fought the Angels. But… but I heard the laughter. The incident… I saw. I was on a hill, taking pictures. When it laughed, and rampaged. It was heading for the Geofront, wasn't it? There was something there it wanted destroyed."
"That is the current preferred theory, yes." Rei said. "I must go now; I need to look over my part for the coming events. Excuse me."
Watching her walk away, Kensuke clenched the cap in his hands. He'd hold on to it until the day he died.
---
As the teacher walked in to the classroom for afternoon class, he was followed by a man in a stiff-necked black uniform with two worn tracks in his face. After briefly being introduced the man as Colonel Scott Fitzgerald, the man began to speak.
"I do not know if those of you here have been informed, but yesterday two of your classmates died in a tragic accident piloting their Evangelion units. The late Lieutenant Shinji Ikari and Lieutenant Asuka Langley Soryu were both fine pilots, with one confirmed Angel kill and one assistance in combat for Lieutenant Ikari and one confirmed kill for Lieutenant Soryu. Both were excellent warriors, and have given their lives in the defense of this city and their world."
As the strains of the pipes began to echo throughout the city, the colonel continued.
"As of today, in an area devastated by the Third Angel's attack, we will be placing a memorial garden and cemetery for those killed during the attacks. Tomorrow, at twelve noon, the remains of Lieutenant Ikari will be interned at the memorial as befitting of a man who died to protect his home, while the remains of Lieutenant Soryu will be placed in the entrance of the Eternal Tomb so she may rest where she fell, protecting those under her watch. Attendance is encouraged, but not mandatory. Thank you."
As the pipes trailed off, the reality of the event began to sink in. Now, more than ever, they keenly felt the invisible shield they had resided under, and it's absence. With the majority of the EVAs unable to be used, they were vulnerable. Without the EVAs, this could be the beginning of the end.
On a plaque of Vahlenstahl melded to a marble monolith, a list of names sat. The ones killed in the Angel attacks rested near the top, sorted by order of Angel and then by alphabet. Two dozen names resided on it, plus room for many hundreds more.
On it, for "Deaths Of Unknown Action" two of the most prominent were displayed, traced in the gold leaf reserved for officers.
LIEUTENANT SHINYA IKARIN (18/11/2015)
LIEUTENANT ASUNA LEXINGTON SORYU (18/11/2015)
Legend Of Desu
Frustrated easily by Rudeness and Stupidity
...Why did I watch this story again?
- Location
- USA
So, assuming you haven't taken the MONUMENTALLY risky path of killing off two main characters with almost no foreshadowing I can see, Shinji and Asuka are likely on a brain trip inside Unit 02. I hope that is the case for the stories sake if nothing else.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
Because it's good?
Also, if it goes something like where the earlier version went, it'll be worth it.
What earlier version? The only other one I know of is the one on SB that is a lot farther along than the story here.
As far as I can tell, they are the same one, but if there's something else to read, I would like to read it. Link, please?
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
They are the same: this one gets posted with a substantial delay because there's not much love for it. Funny, since it was born here.
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
I've forgotten where I read it, so I'm probably thinking of the one on SB.com.
I thought so. I follow the story there as well, so I was confused at what the other poster meant. Thanks for clarifying that.