Another chapter, this one hopefully written in less time than the last. I know a few felt short-changed by the last chapter seeing as it left our hero in an unfortunate position and then skipped to somewhere completely different for something seemingly pointless. I'd be pissed off as hell too if that happened to a story I was reading. But here comes more XVII goodness so no worries , eh? And no need for death threats huh?...Please don't hurt me.
XVII: Mistaken Identity
Shinji frowned. The wall facing him made no expression in return. He turned his head to the left slightly, trying his luck with the other wall but received pretty much the same result. The boy sighed and wished he had a watch to check. Not that the time made much of a difference of course but it would still be nice to know exactly how long he had been in the small, dank, plain grey cell. The only thing that broke the monotony was the etching of the NERV symbol over the fold down bunk on the other side of the room. Shinji was fairly sure it was his father's sense of humor to have the NERV logo - "God is in his heaven, all's right with the world" - displayed inside a holding cell. After all if you were in a position to see the logo like Shinji was then all was manifestly not right with the world. Not from Shinji's view anyway. Shamshel and the others had disappeared a while ago, at the eldest girl's suggestion that they go listen to the people outside and try to find out anything useful about his situation. Obviously they hadn't had much luck thus far. The young man leaned back against the cool wall of the small room he was being held in and twitched his eyes toward the door. Grey steel and apparently bolted from the outside it was doing an excellent job of keeping him exactly where he was.
"Just like the time with the forth Angel... with Shamshel...ha." He breathed, mildly amused at the symmetry of his life. Eyes tracing the outline of the giant leaf motif on the wall, he mused on what brought him here. After his father's acerbic question, one he was unable to answer, the armed guards had 'escorted' him to the cell. For some reason they obviously thought him dangerous, having six or seven men in heavy duty riot gear permanently surrounding his head with the barrels of their semi-automatic weaponry in a ring. Another set had stood outside the first ring keeping their weaponry trained on him in turn. His increasingly frantic cries for an explanation or some answers were ignored. Even Shamshel had seemed scared and there was nothing they could realistically do to her, even if they found out about her or the others. After unceremoniously throwing him into the room he sat in now he had received no word and no one had come to visit him. He wondered if they would bother to feed him when the time came. His head slumped onto his chest.
'What's going on? They can't know about Shamshel and the others so why...?' Shinji sighed and looked back to the door, just in time to see Evandiel step through it. The elder boy swallowed convulsively. Seeing them walk through things and people just wasn't something he could become used to. The red headed Angelic presence stepped into the room and sat next to Shinji, his light blue eyes annoyed.
"Grrr. I couldn't find out anything. I can't go far enough away from you to be able to find anyone who knows what's going on." He crossed his arms and growled in irritation. "I hope the others do better than I managed." Shinji laughed lightly. In a way the boy was so like Asuka, but at the same time very different. If it had been her in Evandiel's position - Asuka in his head, the thought of it alone made him shudder - then she would have blamed Shinji for her being stuck in his body, rather than just being annoyed at the situation they found themselves in. Hell, she probably would have called him a pervert to, for some reason or another. He smiled slightly; even saying that though, he kind of missed her. The apartment he shared with Misato was almost too quiet without the boisterous German around. His smile widened slightly, remembering something Kensuke had mentioned when he had defended Asuka, after they had mumbled that the girl was the devil.
"HA! You're defending her? Must be Stockholm Syndrome." The spectacled boy had said. Though Shinji had been disgruntled to hear that said, it had raised his lips in a smile whenever he thought about it afterwards. He awoke from his light daze, prompted by Evandiel's light poke to the cheek with an errant finger.
"What's up with you? You looked like you were spacing?" Shinji blushed lightly, before laughing again.
"It's nothing... You just remind me a lot of someone I know." The boy cocked his head to the side as Shinji continued. "But you're like her in a better way, y'know? Like a diet version of Asuka..."
"Asuka? You mean-" The young boy halted abruptly, his face suddenly downcast. Remembering what had happened only a few hours ago, Shinji regretted bringing Asuka into the conversation.
"Yeah, her daughter." Evandiel didn't respond. Shinji continued. "I...I guess that kind of makes you her brother, right?" Evandiel looked up, trying to hide the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.
"You think so?" Shinji nodded, trying to smile reassuringly. Before he could speak again, both of his female ethereal tenants stepped through the door together, drawing the males attention. Evandiel quickly turned away and brought an arm across his eyes quickly. Eve blinked and rushed forward, asking if something was wrong. Evandiel's reply that his eyes were stinging a little was drowned out by Shamshel's sigh as she collapsed next to Shinji. She pulled her bronze legs under her and slumped onto the palm of her hand, supporting herself on her knee.
"You didn't find out anything then?" Shinji asked, feeling a little disappointed. He had been slightly skeptical when it was first suggested, after all it wasn't like someone was going to wander past outside and explain Gendo Ikari's reasoning for imprisoning his own son at gunpoint. But he knew it couldn't do any harm and figured he might as well let them try. She shook her head, leaving her golden tresses wafting softly in her wake.
"Oh, no I found out what's going on, some of it anyway. It's just that as far as I can tell none of it is good." She sighed and drooped like a parched flower. Shinji began to feel nervous. Shamshel turned to look at him. "They think you're an Angel." She said plainly. Shinji twitched. "Well to be more accurate that's what the techs' outside think you're being held for. Not sure if it's true or not but that's the rumor flying around."
"What? Why!" His outburst had garnered the attention of the two younger Angelics, to the relief of Evandiel who was being fussed over by Eve. The dusky skinned girl shrugged apologetically and avoided his gaze.
"One of the people I was listening to said the only other person that could sync with an Eva from outside the plug was...the seventeenth. So they think you're one too." Shinji's face fell at the mention of Kaworu. Absently he wiped his palm on the legs of his pants, subconsciously still remembering the feel of his friend's blood staining his hand.
"Oh. Right." He stared at his hand, eyes glazing over as he remembered the man he had called a friend. The three Angelic presences looked at each other in question, puzzled by his reaction.
"It's not that bad, Shin! So they think you're an Angel! It could be worse." Shinji shook his head, debating whether or not it was worth telling them that wasn't really what was concerning him. He decided against it. There wasn't much point after all. Instead he decided to be thankful for the fact that his new friends had jumped to the wrong conclusion, understandable though that was. Forcing a grin onto his face he lifted his head and faced them, noticing how anxious they all seemed.
"It's ok. I'm fine. But what do we do now? How can I convince them that I'm not an Angel?" He asked, ploughing through the questions they were about to ask. They paused, considering. Evandiel spoke up eventually, frowning slightly.
"Well that's gonna be difficult, especially since you kinda are one anyway." Shinji blinked at the boy's words before they began to sink in. Shamshel was nodding.
"He's right, Shin. With our Nihro'du inside you, you are pretty much an Angel. Or a human with the powers of an Angel, which is mostly the same anyway." The other two nodded in synchronization, reminding Shinji of the week long training drill he and Asuka had been forced to endure. He shuddered mildly. Never again... His head snapped up with a thought.
"I've got their Nihro-whatsits as well?" Shamshel nodded. "So what, does that mean something else is going to happen to me? I mean I've got bone flying out of my arms thanks to you-" The golden haired girl grinned and dipped a quick bow, obviously impervious to the weak sarcasm he mustered, while the two children turned to each other and shrugged in confusion. "- so what's gonna happen if I have their powers as well?" The former forth messenger blinked at the thought, much like he had only a few seconds ago. A slim finger was brought up to her worry her bottom lip as she thought, gaze intently on the ceiling.
"Hmm..." He leaned closer, absently noting that both Evandiel and Eve were doing the same, apparently hanging on every word Shamshel might utter. "Hmmm..." All three leaned closer... "Hmmmm..." Closer... "Aha!" Everyone gasped.
"Well? What's the answer?" Shinji asked, eager to know what he should be expecting - if anything. Shamshel spread her hands and shrugged.
"I have no idea." Although three people had fallen over, seeing as two had no physical presence only Shinji's face impacting with the cold floor actually made a sound. Immediately Evandiel was back on his feet roaring at Shamshel from his slightly elevated position.
"What the hell kind of answer is that?" Shamshel beamed up at him before standing in turn to loom over him cheerfully. Shinji groaned into the floor, musing that perhaps calling him the diet version of Asuka was going a bit too far.
"An honest one. I have no idea what might happen. But if you can deal with having my powers then there's no reason you can't handle theirs." She addressed her answer to Shinji after throwing a not-so-apologetic smile at Evandiel, totally failing to mollify him in the process. "I don't know what form that power will take though. Like you said, you got those bone things from me, but I don't really have that power." She walked over to the fold down seat and plopped down on it unceremoniously. "The body I was imprisoned in did, but I can't summon bone blades or vibro-whips or whatever the hell they were." Anyone looking would have noticed little question marks appearing in Eve's eyes as her confusion grew. Evandiel, staying true to form on the other hand was fuming quietly, a violently pulsing vein standing out clearly on the side of his head.
"Someone want to fill me in on what the hell you two are talking about? Bone blades? Vibro-whips? Anyone at all? The floor is open." The growled words made Shinji thankful that since they were incorporeal they couldn't actually hurt him. Having the tiny redheaded angelic presence going ass nuts on him wouldn't be fun he guessed.
Shamshel spoke up, nonchalantly explaining the situation to the youths. Eve seemed more confused than ever.
"So... since he carries our Nihro'du... our souls... then he gets some of our powers?" Shamshel nodded, pleased her explanation was understood. "But, Evandiel and I don't have any powers. We were never... bound like you." The bronze skinned girl dropped slightly at the remembrance of her imprisonment and appeared to be lost in the unpleasant memories. Evandiel showed an Asuka-like lack of tact and spoke up.
"What was it like? Being bound?" Shamshel flinched sharply before relaxing slightly and mustering a small smile.
"It sucked much." She laughed weakly. "But it might help to talk about it I suppose." She stood and leaned against a far wall, making Shinji start. He still hadn't got used to the extent of their physical manifestations. One minute they were walking through doors, the next they were leaning on walls. Their interaction with the physical seemed to come and go at its own discretion. Shinji jerked and nearly fell over when he realized that Evandiel had poked him earlier to remove him from his introspection. Poked him. Looks like the levels at which they could interact were as yet undetermined. Shinji filed it away as a question for later.
"The first of us to fall was Aramisial. One day he just... disappeared." Shinji settled down to listen attentively. He had heard the shortened version of the tale, but it had been interspersed with tears and a cryptic reference to 'the darkness'. It had not been very detailed. Shamshel's gaze was focused on the floor in front of her, though her voice plodded onwards.
"Each time the universe births, we are... born I suppose. Each time it's new and different for us. We aren't the same each time, so we don't really know each other when we first meet. Some of us don't really know each other even now." The last was a wryly muttered aside, perking the younger of the three listener's curiosity. Noticing Shamshel waved her hand absently.
"You'll understand if you meet Leliel. Anyway, although some things changed, others never will. Time weakens us. We naturally exist in eternity, a place without time, so any contact with time has the same eroding process as it would on anything else. And.. in time...we fall." Shamshel breathed deeply and paused, collecting her thoughts. "When Aramisial disappeared the rest of us knew the time had come. Despondency set in and we drifted apart. That probably didn't help now that I think about it. One by one we vanished and soon I was claimed as well. We were chained and warped into bodies not our own and left as puppets. Once the order was given the bodies we inhabited had to obey. We had no power over them. They were like giant golems and our Nihro'du powered them. Each seeking the 'creator'. Adam - the first Angel. It didn't really matter I suppose. Adam or Lilith, the end would have been catastrophic."
Shamshel kicked away from the wall and paced around the tiny room slowly, suddenly needing to be moving of her own will, as if exercising her freedom. Shinji remembered the sensation of no control settling on him when the dummy plug system was engaged and shuddered quietly at an existence filled with such helplessness.
"Sometimes the lilim survived till the fifth messenger, sometimes the twelfth. One even made it to the fifteenth. The sixteenth - Aramisial - killed him. I think. It happened so long ago it's hard to pick out the details. What I do know for sure is that the only time the lilim have survived the onslaught, is this time." Shamshel grinned, though it looked a bit strained. "Well anyway, that's the story. It's not something I really like to think about, y'know." The others nodded, though Shinji's mind was racing.
She hadn't mentioned what had made them fall. The first time he had heard the story she had seemed terrified by it. She had called it something too... something about a gate... Shinji couldn't dredge it up from his memory and the lack of knowledge frustrated him. She hadn't explained what Adam and Lilith were either. The way she had spoken previously it just seemed to be taken as a given that they would never be encountered. There were too many questions all of a sudden, and none of the answers were readily apparent. The boy didn't want to ask Shamshel because it was upsetting her and he was unsure how Evandiel and Eva would take it. Privacy between the four of them was hard to come by so Shinji didn't expect to find out the answers anytime soon. Suddenly something occurred to him and he lost his train of thought.
"Hey, wait a minute. We still don't know what's going to happen to me now." The golden haired girl snapped her fingers impishly.
"No, we don't. While Evandiel and Eve are indeed angels, they aren't the same as me or my brethren. And sisteren I suppose. Since they are the latent souls of an Evangelion - a being which was thought to have no soul at all - I don't know what powers they are going to bring with them. So it'll be a surprise!" Flopping down next to Shinji she directed a huge grin at him. "Think of it like emotional baggage their bringing with them. Except life threatening and dangerous to all those around you."
"Exactly how is that meant to make me feel better?" Shouting in a whisper is difficult to do, but Shinji managed it somehow. Shamshel grinned even wider.
"Who said I was trying to make you feel better?" Shinji twitched. Over her shoulder he could see Eve and Evandiel staring at the girl like she was insane. Shinji felt for them.
Sighing and looking away, Shinji was conscious of the camera in the top corner of the room. The last thing he needed to be doing was making it appear he was talking to himself as well as possibly being an Angel. The three other presences in the room seemed to take his unspoken desire for silence to heart, all of them sitting or leaning against a wall and remaining quiet. Moments later Shinji decided to break his personal vow of silence for a brief second.
"This sucks."
"What are you going to do Ikari? You can't leave him there indefinitely." The younger man grunted quietly, shifting his hands as they sat propped on the desk in front of him with their fingers intertwined. His sepia stained gaze remained fixed on the doorway at the far end of his office, his eyes having followed his last impromptu visitor until her exit, but his mind was far away from the mauve haired and distraught Major Katsuragi. Immediately after her departure Fuyutsuki had arrived, leaving the command centre in Ritsuko Akagi's hands
"You should not have allowed them to become so close Ikari." A smile tugged at the Commander of NERV's lips and he shook his head slightly.
"She would have been a useful tool against him should he ever have crossed me in any significant way." A thin eyebrow arched at Gendo Ikari's choice of words.
"'Would have'?" The smile faded from the elder Ikari's face.
"It is... inconvenient but not impossible to continue the project without a proxy for Unit 01.It would be harder if we were still battling the Angels, but as things stand the pilot of Unit 01 is quite dispensable." His eyes traced the pristine white surface of his glove, probing for any sign of the embryo that lay embedded within it absently.
"So you're going to kill him?" Fuyutsuki asked bluntly, one eyebrow raised.
"All things considered it is the best for the scenario, sensei." The man lean back into his chair, but didn't turn his head to look at the man who beside him. "Things have reached a critical and delicate stage. With all the Angels gone it is now a race between SEELE's and us to complete Instrumentality. We cannot allow anything to interfere with that. If that means eliminating the Third Child, then that is the way it must be. Inconvenient, but not insurmountable." The elder man remained silent.
The silence in the cell was becoming oppressive but no one attempted to break it, sensing perhaps that to do so would be even more uncomfortable. The two young Angels sat together by the wall, nearly close enough to be touching but wordless. Shamshel sat against another wall, leaning back with her eyes on the ceiling deep in personal contemplation.
Shinji was slumped on the floor in front of the bunk, silent as the rest and his mind empty. Faint anxiety thrummed through his body but he tried desperately and somewhat successfully not to think about it. As it was he sat curled up with his head between his knees and tried not to think about his situation, which it was becoming clear would probably not have a pleasant ending.
Gritting his teeth tightly Shinji wished he had his S-DAT with him. It would drown out his problems, no matter how shallowly. And right now that was just the thing he wanted. The sounds of booted feet had passed his door numerous times since he had been thrown into the holding cell, but now the metallic thundering of many crowded down the corridor towards his cage, the harsh echoing making it sound like a platoon was descending upon him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and gooseflesh rippled down his arms, making him shiver suddenly. The others seemed more alert now, catching the sound the same as he had.
Abruptly feeling the need to stand Shinji eased himself up the cool steel wall, pulling himself to his feet. The blinking red light in the corner of the room indicating the position of the security camera seemed to gleam with evil intent in the darkness. Shifting from foot to foot nervously Shinji watched the others stand. Evandiel scrambled to his feet quickly while the other two stood slowly, Eve a little quicker than Shamshel and staying near Evandiel. The boots were getting louder.
With a violent scrape of metal on metal the door slid open revealing a Section 2 Agent, immaculate in black suit and opaque sunglasses, despite the gloom. Shinji squinted against the sudden influx of light from the corridor outside. While it was still low level illumination it was more than his eyes had become accustomed to in the cell. Behind the suited agent two more bulky men were in view, leaning around the door. Their rough shape made Shinji assume these were more of the guards on the riot gear that the ones who had arrested him had worn. Their automatic weaponry was in full view, trained on him while using the doorway of the room to give them the most cover. Shinji's eyes flicked back to the man in the room with him and watched him reach inside his suit expressionlessly.
The sound of the bullet discharging thundered in the small room like a grenade, the sound slamming off the steel walls and magnified by the enclosed space. Shinji stumbled backwards, deafened and watched the bright lines of brilliant blue streak through the air in front of his eyes dully. Small vibrant blue hexagons shimmered in front of his face and skimmed to the left as they guided the bullet, bending it's path past Shinji to the wall beyond. The cartridge hit the floor with a soft tink, like glass shattering quietly. Shinji screamed.
Pushing forward with a stunned curse and a snarl the agent tried to force the chamber of the gun closer to Shinji's head. Stumbling backwards in fear Shinji cried out again and raised his arms to try to protect his eyes futilely, and felt the warm spray of blood cover his face and arms. The Section 2 Agent's scream filled him with terror. Peering through stained fingers Shinji saw the Agent on the floor cradling his wrist, trying to stem the river of scarlet blood streaming down his forearm. His pale hand still clutched the gun from its position on the floor at his feet. The ivory blades that adorned the young pilot's forearms were drenched in warm wetness and the smell of fear, blood and the Agents urine filled the young man's nose, making him gag. The blood cascaded off the scythes of bone onto the floor in a macabre waterfall.
With a yell of anger the two riot guards opened fire, the muzzles of their weapons flashing and the sound hammering at the boys head. Bullets whipped around him, intercepted each time by streams of blue interlocking hexagons and embedding themselves in the walls behind violently. Shinji fell into a huddle on the floor and curled up, his hands over his ears and the tears streaming down his cheeks, trying to make it all go away. Another barked order and the two men disappeared from the doorway, keeping their weapons trained on the youth.
Even huddled Shinji could feel the blood on his skin, taste on his lips, and smell in the air. It was like being inside an Eva. He could hear voices around him, calling his name and the pained moans of the man on the floor, curled into a fetal ball around his mangled limb but he wanted to block it all out and make it all go away. Urges to run were ignored, pleas that he move and flee were unheard as his eyes scoured his stained fingers, feeling the chilling blood that coated them, making his fingers sticky and itchy.
Light flashed and searing pain cut across his face, as if a knife had dipped into the skin of his cheek and pulled across. Blue coated hexagons floated across his vision as he raised his head, The barrel of the gun was pointed waveringly at his forehead, it's sight shaking as the agent held it with his remaining hand, having pried it out of his detached, cooling fingers, it's grip still slick with his blood. Hunched over the shorn limb, his suit now stained red irrevocably, his pupils were tight and tiny from shock and sweat was beading on the man's brow. He jerked the trigger back again, fouling his aim with his urgency, pulling the gun high in his haste. The vibrant cerulean shields had better luck deflecting this, leading the lead past the boy totally rather than allowing it to skim the surface like the one that had marked his cheek.
The man groaned in pain and the weapon dropped from his hand and he collapsed back to the floor. Shaking fingers touched Shinji's bleeding face and it took a few seconds before the boy realized they were his own. He could feel the wetness of the blood on his fingertips, but was having difficulty telling if it was his own or the mans. The man's blood... It was everywhere... His scream ripped through the cell, silencing the voices urging him and he scrabbled to his feet and past the man to the doorway wanting to be anywhere but inside the room covered in blood. Erupting into the corridor, he stumbled and fell backwards as a bullet slipped past him, followed by more. Backing away from the onslaught, terrified despite his ethereal protection Shinji looked around frantically. The gunfire stopped as both men backed steadily away from the boy, rapidly changing the clips on their weapons. More footsteps from behind.
Turning swiftly Shinji found himself looking at Misato and another three riot geared figures. He reached out to her in fear.
"M-Misato!" He didn't know why she was crying.
"You're.. You're not Shinji..." The first bullet was hers, though a sob had choked her and thrown off her aim a little. It was guided past his arm rather than past his head. The other three opened fire, leaving burning trails in the air as the searing lead flashed past the blood smattered Third Child. The shrieks of pain from behind him made it clear that they had found other victims if they were to be denied him. Fear overwhelming him Shinji turned and ran, ignoring the shredded remains of the two guards that had entered his cell with the suited agent, their comrade's deflected bullets ripping their flesh to shreds. The blood made running slippery.
"Dammit." The phone was placed back into its cradle with a little more force than was strictly necessary, creaking loudly as the plastic covering was squeezed tightly. Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow in question.
"Something amiss Ikari?" Gendo struggled to master his face, denying his lips their desire to twist into a scowl. Forcing his fingers to release their grip on the phone he sat back, ignoring his hands curling into fists almost immediately. The feel of the first Angel embedded into his palm was harsh in his grip. He spoke with a growl, for all his self control.
"The Third Child has proven to be... difficult to dispose of. It seems our fears were right. The boy has acquired an A.T. field." His voice drew tighter and tighter with each word.
"An A.T. field?...My god..." Fuyutsuki felt his legs giving way and grabbed the desk for support. Sweat was beading upon his brow. "We...we have an Angel inside NERV... and no one that can stop it? My god..." Gendo grunted harshly.
"He's not an Angel yet. Reports indicate that he has yet to use his absolute terror field in any offensive capacity and that he is distraught and fearful. In other words..." Fuyutsuki looked up. "...just like he has always been." This time the commander of NERV allowed a sneer to worm its way onto his face as he leaned back, the new angle sending light glinting off his tainted lenses and obscuring his eyes. "With this being the case it should be relatively easy to put an end to him."
"Relatively?" Gendo's sneer turned into a frown of annoyance.
"Though he may not actually be an Angel it seems that at this point he has the powers of one - some at least. Until we are sure of the extent of his powers we cannot hypothesize just how difficult to kill he will be. Up until such a time we can only attempt to corner him and kill him with conventional methodology. It would be disastrous for him to roam too far." Fuyutsuki levered himself back to his feet and found himself staring at the System Sephrothica on the ceiling. Not for the first time he mused that his former student had an almost sick sense of irony.
"We'll lose dozens of men this way. Perhaps more." The eldest Ikari leant forward on his desk and interlaced his fingers.
"Unless you have a better plan sensei?"
Fuyutsuki remained silent.
"Where the hell is he?" Makoto stood up in his place in a bid to gain a better vantage and hopefully make his voice heard above the chaos in the command centre. Dozens of techs where running back and forth across the bridge frantically trying to carry out they're assigned tasks, with limited degrees of success. Shigeru caught sight of him and had apparently heard his query shoving another tech out of his way in his haste to get to the other bridge officer. Quickly reaching his side he leant over the console and brought up a map of the detention level.
"We had on camera's five through eight him moving through corridor B5, until he reached this intersection here-" The long haired man jabbed the screen, indicating an intersection on the map "- and after that we think he turned into the access way down here. After that the camera's lost him."
Makoto slumped back into his chair and glared at the monitor in anger.
"Why the fuck don't we have any security surveillance down there! Did the goddamn budget run out!" Aoba shrugged.
"No one thought to bother with equipping the detention level with security equipment, aside from a few emplacements at major junctions." His finger traced another path on the faint blue monitor screen, calling up points of reference as he spoke. "But aside from that there was no apparent need for serious security measures. It's a dead end for God's sake!"
Makoto slammed his fist into the console, prompting the monitor display to shudder slightly before returning to normal.
"This is fucked up." He muttered under his breath. Aoba sighed and nodded in agreement.
"No kidding. I mean Shinji... an Angel? We were talking to him a few hours ago... I can't get my head around it." As he spoke he scrolled through the displays on the few camera's they had, hoping to catch a glimpse of the errant boy. Makoto crossed his arms and stared over the bank of computing systems to the lower tiers of the command centre, each of which had it's own group of frantic technicians. Nominally both men were supposed to be directing the search parties in the detention level below, but this was proving futile seeing as they didn't actually know where they were supposed to be directing them. The teams had been given virtual free rein thus far.
"That's not the only thing. If Shinji is an Angel and we do kill him, what then? If another Angel attacks later we're screwed. Asuka's out of commission and Rei can't sync with either Units 01 or 02. We'll be defenseless." Aoba paused, letting these new considerations sink in.
"...Lets deal with one crisis at a time, shall we? We've got enough problems at the moment without thinking off more." Makoto nodded.
"We've found him!" Both men turned their heads at the female bridge officer's shout. Maya hurried towards them from her terminal and tapped in a few commands at the console the two men were hunched over. The system abruptly sped through it's perusal of the camera feeds until it reached camera 14, apparently at Maya's behest. The screen, though dark clearly showed the Third Child had been cornered by two groups of armored Section 2 agents at an intersection of two minor corridors.
"Should we call in the other teams?" Shigeru asked softly watching as the teams took up positions to open fire.
"I don't think we'll need to, do you?" His spectacled companion replied. Maya had tears in her eyes. The shooting started, eerily silent on a camera with no sound pickup. The muzzle flares of the automatic weaponry played havoc with the feed, sending it into flashes of light and shadow, making it difficult for the three techs to make out what was happening. Soon smoke hid most of the scene from view, indicating that one of the teams had used smoke grenades in an attempt to suppress their targets movement. Shinji didn't seem to be going down though. Maya had turned her face away and was sobbing into her sleeve.
Abruptly Ritsuko leant appeared at their side.
"Report?" Makoto looked up.
"We've found the Third Child. Teams.. Three and Seven have cornered him and have opened fire." She nodded and turned her face to watch the view screen, squinting in an attempt to make out the picture. A slight lull in the firing was swiftly followed by a vibrant blue flare and then the camera dissolved into static. Aoba swallowed loudly.
"What.. what the hell was that?" Makoto leant back, thumping his head into the rest of the chair and stared at the ceiling, ignoring his commanding officer at his side.
"Looks like the shit hitting the fan to me."
No one responded. And then the floor began to shake
Shinji ran, sometimes falling and scrambling to his feet, but always moving. He couldn't remember how long he had been running, but his body was becoming painful to move, his limbs weak and aching. Occasionally someone would find him and he would have to double back, fleeing from the onslaught of burning lead which never hit him, thanks to the constantly moving shroud of blue hexagons.
Shinji wasn't sure where he was heading, just away from the people that were trying to hurt him. Trying to make him see more blood. He stared at his crimson soaked hands and fell to his knees shivering. He couldn't get the blood off and he couldn't make the cold go away. He hunched over, ignoring the pain in his forehead as it slammed into the cold metal floor, leaving him curled over in a ball.
"Shin?"
"Go away..." Shamshel looked around quickly, scanning the corridor for a sign of pursuit, before hurrying to his side.
"It's me Shin. I told the other two to stay behind... they wouldn't want to see this..."
"Just go away... leave me alone..."
"Shinji please! You can't stay here! They'll find you again!" The youth dragged himself to his feet, trying to get away from the girl who wouldn't leave him alone. Her words meant nothing to him. They were just sounds.
He staggered away, continuing down the corridor he had turned into. At least he thought so. He couldn't really remember which way he had been moving or how long he had been there. He couldn't remember much at all in truth. Only hot blood spraying on his face and people trying to kill him.
'Misato...' Feet dragging he lurched around a corner and met an intersection. Direction was abstract now. He didn't care where he was going as long as he was going somewhere and he was alone. Moving towards the first corridor he came across regardless of it's direction he started down it. The loud concussion of the shotgun behind him sent blue fields dancing around him like little fireworks. Spinning around Shinji saw the bobbing lights of the riot team as they approached, torches attached to the front of their weaponry. Another volley of shots quickly followed. Chips of smooth stone exploded around him, stray shots ricocheting off the walls and floor sending a hail of little stones and dust over the boy.
Whirling around he met another team approaching from behind. Half a dozen men took up position, kneeling on the floor to brace their aim and locked onto his body with red tracers, shining clearly visible in the rising dust. A soft clink at his feet brought his attention down to the small round grenade which exploded into smoke as soon as his eyes found it. His legs gave out under him sending him staggering into the wall on his left, before the deluge of bullets began. Cries and shrieks of pain broke the monotony of the gunfire, making it clear that the armored teams of Section 2 were doing more damage to each other than to him. Most of the shots weren't even hitting his cobalt shield.
Another gunshot slammed into the tiled floor a few steps in front of him, crushing the tiling into dust and knocking him off his feet, leaving him half knelt and half crouched, hugging the wall for support. Shinji felt the sharp pains in his chest, the needle like fire that lanced him every time he breathed. Even above the raging fury of the weapon fire he could hear his own harsh breathing as he struggled to draw breath.
Collapsing to his knees completely he bent over, bracing his tired body on his trembling arms, gritting his teeth and trying to force his body to move. It did not.
"Please Shin, you've got to get up! We don't know how long your field can last!" The girl was back and she was making noises again. It was hard to see her now, his vision was blurred and the blue shapes fluttering through the air around him like lethargic butterflies got in the way. "Please move Shinji!"
Noise.
A grenade chimed into the wall beside him and exploded, the concussion throwing his limp body sideways into the middle of the cracked and pitted floor even though the blast was dampened by his protection. Suddenly more bullets were finding their marks. A blizzard of sapphire snowflakes sprung up around him, whirling like a tornado of azure. The harsh red lines of the fire traced the outside of his dancing shield, always guided past him and beyond. Dragging himself to his knees Shinji felt his tears cut tracks down his face and stared at his dirt and dust covered hands. They hurt.
'Why won't they leave me alone? I just want to be left alone!' A chip of stone flung from a bullet impact a few feet in front of him cut his shoulder, slicing material and flesh with equal ease. It hurt.
Looking up through the settling haze of the smoke Shinji saw the dark silhouettes of the men stalking him approaching steadily, their muzzles flashing continuously. His fingers dug into the floor as he threw his body upright, more through leverage than his muscles work, until he was on his knees again.
'Why won't they leave me alone?'
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shinji threw his head back and screamed. And the blue snowflakes became a tempest cutting through the smoke and stone and men and bullets until it all stopped. Then he was falling.
"Shinji!"
Noises.
"How long has it been?"
"About five hour's sir."
Gendo brought one white gloved hand to his face to adjust the glasses habitually perched there. The weak lighting of the emergency lamp beacons strung across what was left of the ceiling, blinked and fluttered, making him wonder irritably if it wouldn't have been better to leave the area in darkness. It might have been less distracting. The smell wasn't helping.
The initial implosion had sent shock-waves through the superstructure and collapsed the surrounding tunnels as the ones above gave way under the pressure and had been brought down. The result was an effective cave in and blockage of the last area they had seen the wayward Third Child. It had taken them this long to secure the site, dig through the tumbled rock and ensure that the structures in the area wouldn't continue to cave in on anyone who approached the area. Then the emergency lamps had been strung up and wired up to a back up generator three floors up, the lines trailing down a devastated lift shaft. It had all taken less time than he had expected it to.
The epicentre was horrific and the commander felt that soon enough the full weight of the terror he knew he should be feeling crash down upon him like a tsunami. It was shock, he supposed, that kept him standing. A near perfect sphere had been cut in the level. About 10 meters in diameter it was only interrupted by the gap in the ceiling and the floor and the fallen debris that had cascaded from above. The bodies of the men here were still being carried exhumed and carried away. What was left of them. Whatever had done this did not discriminate between flesh and stone. Those who hadn't been killed in the initial blast had been crushed from above.
Gendo was once again surprised at just how much blood was in the human body. It was splattered on every wall and every surface, coated liberally with settled and still falling dust. Another man was carted away, the morose medics dragging the bodies between them when they couldn't find space for a stretcher. This one had half his face left. His ribs were showing and his left leg and half his hip had been razed away. Half a face stared up at Gendo in unimaginable terror. It was more than they had found for some.
The dead man was carried away.
Fuyutsuki stepped to his side and stared at the hole in the floor.
"So it seems he fell through."
"Yes."
"..What now? We can't send people down there, Ikari."
"We don't have a choice sensei. If he finds Lilith... it will be the end of it all."
"If we hurry, perhaps we can send teams to intercept him at the gateway. It will take longer than I would hope though." Gendo looked over his shoulder at the mangled lift shaft, which would necessitate the teams moving through another route - too far away from the boy's point of entry than the Ikari father would have liked. But then there was nothing he liked about this situation.
"You'll send them into the Valley?"
"Better they see that than the other." Fuyutsuki shook his head dully, his hair looking even whiter under the dust that had fallen onto it. His face was pale and sallow too, but that might not have been the dust.
"Isn't it too late to be hedging our bets Ikari? What happens if they can't stop him at the gateway?"
"If they can't stop the boy there then they can't stop him anywhere." The elder man nodded and sighed, breath stirring the particles of dirt clinging to him.
"And so they'll walk through the Valley of Death..."
"Yes."
Blood surrounded him. He was drowning in it and breathing it in. He could smell it and feel it all around him. It was everywhere. He clawed at it, desperate to free himself to escape it's wet clinging touch, even as he panted and gasped through the liquid that filled his lungs. Eventually he gave up. He couldn't escape it. Blood surrounded him and covered him and he fell deeper into the darkness. Wherever he went there was always blood. The darkness claimed him.
"Shin! Shin! SHINJI! Wake up! Please!" The ground was gritty under his skin, scraping against his cheek as he tried to lift his head. It hurt all over, the aches permeating his body. Liquid hung in his lungs. Coughs wracked his body, doubling him over despite the sharp lances of pain that punctured his muscles as his body fought to expel the foreign substance. Translucent orange fluid splattered onto his fingers and the rocks he was curled up on.
'LCL...' Collapsing to his side, what little strength he had gone, Shinji pried his eyes open and stared at the lake of LCL he was lying on the shores of. His eyelids felt sticky and gummed together, the LCL coating on them drying and hardening. It was dark. A few dim lights illuminated the scene but most of the world he now inhabited was shrouded in shadow. Beyond the faintly shimmering lake of Link Connection Liquid colossal arms reached towards the black heavens, fingers clawed and broken, resembling dead trees hundreds of feet high. A sound at his side.
'Shamshel...'
"Are you alright, Shin?" He didn't answer. His throat still felt raw. "W-Where are we?" Grunting in pain and rolling to his knees Shinji threw his body forward, trying to force it to stand. Staggering to his feet, before nearly collapsing as his legs inevitably buckled, Shinji tried to ignore the screaming from his tortured muscles. Loosing his footing he smashed his shoulder painfully into a metal plate at his side, sending shock-waves of agony through his abused body. He didn't know bones could ache.
"Shinji..." Shamshel's gasp of horror drew his attention to his impromptu leaning post. He was not surprised to see it was a grey armored jaw, twice the size of himself. The dim light illuminated the rest of the armored head, it's eye sockets glaringly empty in the plate encasing the beasts face. It looked like it was screaming.
Turning away he tried to walk and found he could not. He tried to curl into a ball as he fell, but could barely even manage that. It made no difference. It hurt just as much when he hit the ground one last time. Shamshel called his name in panic and hurried to his side, skirting the fearsome visage behind him as much as possible.
"Are you ok? Shin..." She knelt next to him, unable to help in any way. Tears were in her eyes. Shinji's ears twitched at a sound and even that was painful beyond his imaginations ability to understand. His voice was grating and raw, scraping against his throat as he spoke.
"Do...you...hear crying?"
"What?" Ignoring Shamshel's silent tears, Shinji dragged his face along the ground to squint into the darkness in the direction of the small voice he heard.
"Please stop moving Shin! You're making it worse!"
"I hear... crying..." The boy's eyes found the behemoth that sat before them and towered above them. Amour cracked and pitted by time it sat, grey and dead on it's knees before him. It's armored head only had one eye... and it was crying.
Well there you go. Apologies for it taking so long, but Uni has started again and I have more writing projects than ever to work through. Some will have to be shunted and adjusted in my schedule. Hopefully I can keep updating this at something like a reasonable rate. As you might have noticed the rating in this fic has risen. Having just read the chapter you can see why. Rest assured this will not spiral into a death-gloom-and-darkness fest. Much like most anime though there will be serious bits and humorous bits, of for no other reason than that I can't stay serious for prolonged amounts of writing. Seriously I had to stop writing this fic several time because I was getting to tempted to put in a fart joke or something.
Later dudes.