N.G.Evangelion - When Angels Deserve to Die

Chapter Ten:

Shinji quickly scootched over, and exhaled. \"Thanks for letting me know...I\'d rather not have to get slivers of glass taken out of my butt.\"

Jack whistled. \"That\'s not good...and of course they can\'t send Rei out yet...because of...well.\"

\"If you want, we can move Alex over here... Or you think you can handle things over there? And where is Rei?\"

\"I\'d think it\'d be better if you move her here. And Rei?\" He scratched the back of his head. \"She went home with the other guys.\"

The alarms went off telling everyone that there was an attack.

\"Shit. Okay. You and Shinji move Alex while I wake Asuka, got it?\"

Jack nodded, and was out the door. There was a slight spring in his step as he left. He went into the next apartment, and called out, \"YO!\"

Alex cringed at hearing his booming voice.

\"We have to move Alex...Angel attack...\" Shinji blanched at the thought, and looked over at the girl.

Jack walked in, and put one hand in his pocket. \"Ready to go?\"

Alexia moved to get up. She squeaked in pain when she moved. \"My arms still hurt... Where\'s my bear?\"

Asuka sighed. \"Okay... I\'m up\"

Jack went back, and grabbed it. \"It\'s right here...now let\'s get moving...\" He walked back in, and, with Shinji at the other side, lifted her up, putting their arms around her waist, and hers around their necks. For some reason, Shinji thought of Rei when he looked at her, with all those bandages on.

She hissed slightly as tharriarried her.

\"Suck it up...we don\'t have that much time..\" Jack said as they carried her into Misato\'s, after they\'d locked the other apartment\'s door leaving.

Misato got the door open for them. \"We\'ll try to keep the fighting away from here... But if it gets close, try to make it to the basement.\"

Jack nodded as they set her down. \"Shinji...Don\'t get killed, eh? And watch out for the loon, there.\" He hit the other boy on the back, and sent him stumbling forward.

Asuka was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Misato herded them out of the apartment.

Shinji stumbled a bit heading down the stairs, and yawned. \"Did they identify it yet?\" he asked, trying to keep alert.

\"It looks familiar... That\'s all that Ibuki would tell me.\"

Shinji blinked. \"That\'s not very helpful.\"

Asuka yawned. \"How far?\"

\"About thirty minutes.\" She said getting them into the car.

Shinji buckled up, and yawned himself. \"What lousy timing,\" he commented, settling down in his seat.

Misato broke about all the traffic laws to get the kids there in time.

Shinji was white-knuckled by the time they got there, his eyes closed tightly and a silent prayer on his lips.

Alexia stayed on the cough where she had been placed. \"Jack... Think you could get me something to eat real quick... I don\'t mind if it\'s the salad I made.\"

Asuka entered the room. \"Where\'s wondergirl?\"

Jack nodded, and got some of the stuff from the table, bringing it in and setting it down in front of her. \"I just grabbed whatever..\" he said, shrugging.

She nodded, nibbling a little at it. \"Thank you..\"

Aoba, back in the Control Room, was trying to get things in working order before Ikari got there. \"Hey, Ibuki, is there any chance of another system freeze?\" he asked, worried.

Jack whiffed his hand. \"No problem...\" He turned on the television set, and started pacing about for some reason, his hand in his pocket, fingering the emitters.

\"The Magi are saying no.\"

\"This isn\'t a new one....\" Alexia said calmly as a camera got a feed on it.

He sighed in relief. \"Good. That\'s the last thing we\'d need to happen now...so, I guess we\'ve gotten the last of the bugs out now.\" He keyed in a few lines. \"Okay, EVA-01 and EVA-02 are ready and waiting....Unit Zero is still in the cage, since Rei is nowhere in the base.\"

Jack nodded. \"The timing is all wrong...\"

Alexia nodded.

Kensuke lead Rei and Touji towards the hill. \"We\'re safer up here.\"

Shinji hit the switch on the plugsuit, making it skintight. He fixed in his emitters, and took a deep breath. /I mustn\'t run away...I mustn\'t run away../

Rei nodded, while Touji seemed oddly relaxed. \"Even with HER around, Shinji\'ll bash it anyway, so there\'s no worry.\"

Asuka went for her unit. \"Come on, slowpoke!\"

Shinji sighed, and got into his entry plug, and got into the seat. \"Okay....I\'m in..\" he radioed as the cover slid down.

\"Launch!\" Misato ordered.

Aoba smiled grimly. \"Where\'s the Commander and Fuyutsuki?\" he asked softly, keying in the commands to insert the plugs.

Jack shuddered for a moment, and fell to his knees, holding his head. \"What...I know.....the Hell?\"

As they walked up the hill, Rei fell to her knees, grabbing her hair in her hands, in pain. Touji blinked, then started to panic.

Fuyutsuki entered. \"What\'s going on...\"

Alexia groaned a few seconds later.

Ikari followed, grim as ever as he took his seat. Aoba spoke up. \"Well, the EVAs are on the way, sirs.\"

Kensuke caught her. \"Ayanami?\"

The massive Angel, surrounded by a black AT Field, made its way through the hills, heading towards the city. Flickers of white ran along it, and only a vague shape could be seen....a think waist, spindly arms and legs, and large shoulders. There was a hint of chrome, but nothing more.

Rei gripped her head tighter. \"what...i know...the hell?\"

EVA-00\'s eye lit up. Alexia shook her head and the head moved slightly, still on its ten second delay from Alexia

Asuka came to the surface. \"What the hell is that?\"

\"Sir.. It\'s deploying an AT feild.\"

The cagelift marked 01 slammed up, and then opened and lowered, letting the cool night air wash over the EVA-01. Shinji looked around, feeling uneasy and sick, just like the first time he had piloted the Test Type. He hit the video feed to Asuka, and said in a shakey voice, \"I don\'t...feel so..good.\"

\"Shinji?\" Misato asked, hearing his feed. \"Shinji, what\'s wrong?\"

The Angel progressed forward, slowly, the AT Field blacker than pitch. It stopped some 40 feet from the two EVAs....then pivoted in the direction of Shinji\'s. Then the blast came, directed at Unit One.

A pillar of white light, that went up high in the night sky, with two branches that made it look like a cross...a blazing cross.

\"Ikari, you better not chicken out on me.\" Asuka said grabbing a gun fthe the locker. \"IKARI!\"

The purple EVA barely had time to react, the half-formed AT Field barely containing it. Shinji cried out and fell back, the giant armored Evangelion landing on its rear end.

Aoba blinked. \"Why did it attack Shinji? Asuka was much closer to it...\"

Alexia moaned. \"Free... Ikari... help Ikari.....\" She whispered. \"No... not Ikari... Shinji....\"

Asuka fired at it with the gun. \"Ikari, answer me!\"

Jack looked down at her, then whispered into her ear before heading out, locking the door and breaking into a run down the street, heading for one of the NERV checkpoints.

Shinji was trembling. \"It\'s...after me...oh God...no...\" he said, nearly crying.

EVA-00 fought against the restraints. Alexia moaned, feeling its struggle.

The black AT Field warped, and turned a lighter shade, a more grayish color...a sign that it was weakening.

\"Let go.... Have to help Shinji Ikari.... Rei.... Come help....\" Alexia whimpered softly.

Since everyone had gone in, or to the shelters, Jack was able to slip inside with little trouble. He pinned his hair down, attaching the emitters as he ran, his heart pounding in his chest. /I...have...to make it.../

Asuka kept firing at it. \"Let him go!\"

The AT Field began cracking, and the Angel fired again, blasting into Shinji again and again.

Alexia screamed in frustration.

There was an alarm on Aoba\'s panel. \"SIR! I can\'t explain it....the EVA-00 is moving again!\"

Asuka got between Shinji and the Angel.

\"Asuka! What are you do\"
\"

It regarded her, then started moving forward, more of its form visible through the cracks. Green/black skin, chrome visible at one hip...but not enough to identify it.

Ibuki looked at the cameras. \"Sir... It\'s coming free.\"

\"Shinji! Get out of here!\"

Suddenly a secondary alarm went off, and a new shot appeared on mainmain screen: An entry plug, activating in the EVA-00. Aoba cursed. \"What the Hell?!\"

Shinji began crying, holding his head. \"No use...no use...it\'s coming for me...it\'s after me..\"

\"Must ei..ei... Release Unit Zero!\"
zeromutoh: The cage slammed up, and the EVA Unit Zero was on its way, still twitching.

Alex moaned

Aoba managed to get a better angle of the action. \"Sir, the AT Field is fading around that Angel...more concentrated fire should shatter it completely.\"

Alex twitched as it did, spilling her juice to the floor.

EVA-00 came into view, unmoving. It\'s head was bowed, and the eye was blank, dull..almost as though it were empty.

Alex was breathing heavily, half on half off the couch. \"Shinji.... Shinji.. please... hang in there....\"

\"Wondergirl? I don\'t need your help.\" Asuka said as she charged at it.

The Angel continued its slow walk forward, the AT Field slowly darkening again....then it shattered away, exposing a vision that made Shinji scream hysterically.

Aoba blanched, and stared. \"No way....it...it..\" He was numb, and couldn\'t find the words to express what he was feeling. The heading above the screen flashed from Target: Unknown to Target: 3rd Angel.

Alex screamed, feeling the AT field shatter around the EVAs. She moaned, knocking over the table in a sudden move.

EVA-00 suddenly spasmed, one hand flying out and smashing into one of the weaponoresores.

\"Asuka! Get out of there!\" Misato cried trying to get her to listen.

\"No use... She\'s not listening Sir.\" Ibuki said. \"Do we cut Shinji\'s power?\"

The Angel standing there was indeed Sachiel...only not. The shoulders, ribs, and other white bone, including the two faces, were now chrome, and one arm was laced with wires and chromed metal. Its core was laced with cracks, only partly sealed. It moved ahead slowly, then fired at Asuka.

Ikari bit back a curse. \"Yes...severe the connection, and let it run out. Hopefully Shinji will recover before he\'s torn to pieces.\"

Asuka dodged, starting to dart between the buildings.

EVA-00 was still motionless, the hand that had swung out resting on a large barreled weapon. The head was titled at an angle, and it was slack.

Sachiel ignored her, tromping towards EVA-01.

Alex felt pain and fear. \"Ikari...\"

Shinji was near-catatonic, his mind too chaotic to even focus on getting out of there, too frightened to run.

\"Ikari get up....\" She whispered, part of her latching onto Unit One.

The Angel built up an energy, then split it in half, two glowing lights dancing along both claws.....

EVA-01 suddenly stood, staring ahead at Sachiel....then its mouth fell open, and its eyes flashed a dark red.

\"SHINJI! MOVE!\" Alexia screamed, still lying on the couch.

EVA-01 began leaping forwards, springing from building to building, heading towards the reanimated Angel just as it fired...

Kensuke turned back to the city. \"Three EVAs... Who\'s piloting the other one... Rei\'s with us...\"

Touji stared. \"I got no idea..\"

The Angel batted 01 away like it was nothing, sending another cross like blast at it.

The purple, geen, and orange unit was hit head on, armor cracking under the blast wave\'s pressure.

Asuka fired at the Angel again. \"Ikari, you’d better wake up now!\" She scowled.

Aoba compared some readings. \"This is bad...very bad...\"

Alexia screamed out as the damage wane tne to 01.

\"What\'s going on?\" Misato looked at him.

Suddenly, Unit Zero slammed into life, its eye burning a bright red tinted with green as it yanked the weapon out, and opened fire.

Aoba swallowed. \"Well...I did a comparison between what readings we\'re getting now, and the old ones...and I saw something that doesn\'t look good.\"

\"What?\" Misato looked.
re wre was a sudden squeal of tires outside the apartment building, and some began runnip thp the steps, and yanked in the door, but finding it locked. A curse, then the sounds of someone messing with the lock.

\"The Angel...is currently demonstrating powers and abilities that are more than double what it had before.\"

Alex didn\'t hear it. She screamed again as the angel attacked again. This time going for Asuka.

Asuka was thrown back, her gun out of ammo.

The door swung open, and Kaji ran inside, slamming it behind him. In one hand was a bottle of tranquillizer and in the other, a syringe. He\'d in reality gone back for them from the infirmary, and stuck the needle into the rubber cap, drawing up some of the pink fluid into the syringe. He tapped it, making sure it was flowing, then pinned Alex down and jabbed it into her thigh, injecting her with a dose much stronger than the other one she\'d been given earlier in the day.

\"Get the kids out of there...\"

Unit 01 stood shakily for a moment, before the power jack-up fell loose, melted off from the sheer heat generated by the energy bolts.

Alex screamed in pain then fell silent as it started to kick in. Her breathing started to slow.

\"...Shinji.... 01.... badly damaged..... 02.... power cut.....\"

Unit Zero continued to fire, then grabbed another gun, this one a missile-firing launcher. It aimed, then let loose, blasting the Angel andthinthing around it. An AT Field kicked in, and the gun ran dry...the sound of a clicking noise filling the cool night air.

Asuka cursed as the timer started going. /Damn... I only have a few minutes..../

\"Asuka, Can you hear me?\" Misato asked.

\"Yeah.... Cord\'s cut...\"

Suddenly, EVA-00 reached behind it, grabbing the power umbilical, and twisting hard....

Aoba blinked. \"What the Hell is Rei doing?! She\'ll snap the cable!!\"

Alex stiffened a second.

\"Rei? Rei what are you doing? You need that!\"

The EVA kept twisting, and the cable broke. \"It’s going to be a liability,\" came over the speakers.

Ikari blinked, then stiffened with rage.

\"What\'s going on out there, Misato?\" Asuka asked as her screens went dead.
\"Jack?! You were to stay with Alex!\" Misato growled. \"Where\'s Rei?\"

\"The American... This is embarrassing....\"

EVA-00 cracked its knuckles as the timer started up, and looked at the Angel. \"Sorry...but I had to do this.\" Then it ran forwards, rolling from side to side, avoiding the blasts. \"And the power cable was only going to get in the way....you saw what happened with Shinji...the same would\'ve happened here...I just saved some time..\" A blast just missed it, EVA-00 sliding like a baseball player along the ground, and slamming into the Angel.

Misato nodded. \"Shinji... Shinji, are you okay?\" She asked deciding it would be best to focus on the other two and let him do his work.

Shinji\'s voice, weak and strained spoke up. \"I think so....but..I still feel sick..\"

Alex\'s breath slowed more. \"...Smells like blood....\" She whispered.

\"We\'ll get you out of there soon, okay?\" Misato promised. \"Is there a way to get Units 1 and 2 back inside?\"

Sachiel picked EVA-00 up by the leg, and slammed it into the ground, then did it again and again. Then the blue/grey hands stopped it, and the EVA slammed its free foot into the broken core, which sent the Angel reeling.

Aoba hurriedly hit different keys. \"I--I don\'t know! The elevators they used to get up aren\'t responding...oh shit....SYSTEM FREEZE!\" he cried out as the image on the screen froze, and broke up into flashes of movement, like a bad movie.

Alex fell still again as the drugs took control, fully knocking her out.

EVA-00 started using its hands for walking, and kept kicking Sachiel back, slowly causing it to back out of the city. The timer hit 2:00:01.

Kaji fixed Alex on the couch, stopping her from sliding down any farther to the floor and putting a pillow under her head.

Ibuki looked at the timer and bit her lip. \"Sir... That file from the last test Jack was in....\" She said flashing it up on split screen..

Alex moaned slightly. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

EVA-00 then backflipped into a crouch, and tripped Sachiel, grabbing it in a headlock, blue fingers digging into chrome. \"Stupid ugly piece of crap...\" Jack said, tightening his grip, the sounds of metal giving away coming in loud and clear.

Ikari watched. \"Odd....didn\'t the Beserker Unit 3 do the same thing as Unit 0 is now?\"

Ibuki nodded.

\"Yet...when the EVA-01 went Beserk, Shinji had no recollection of what happened...\"

Alexia\'s face showed determination even though her eyes were still closed. The bit of her still partially conscious was fully focused on EVA-00.

Misato looked at them. \"Jack... Jack, you\'re still with us, right?\"

The fingers clenched tighter, cracking the head open in a spray of blood and oil. \"For another 51 seconds, I am..\"

Misato gripped the counter she was leaning against. \"We have to help him someway...\"

EVA-00 then kicked out Sachiel\'s legs, and as the Angel fell back to the ground, one blue and white arm swung down, the Evangelion\'s fist hitting the core and forcing it down.....

Asuka sighed. \"Power\'s only got two more seconds.\"

\"Get the elevators working..\" Misato barked feeling useless.

Then with a sudden explosion, even as the power went off, the fist continued moving down THROUGH the core....which erupted in a mass of blazing pink light and heat.

Alexia hissed feeling warm again. She didn\'t move.

After the flare had died down, the monitors were still hazy and blurred. Aoba hit some buttons, and sighed. \"I..I don\'t know what happened..\"

To Be Continued