As everyone settled into their stations in NERV's control room, Gendo and Fuyutsuki looked on as their screens zoomed in on the impending doom within the Geofront. The former held his composure, despite a black eye slowly forming on his skin and a good bit of blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He couldn't let anyone see how one girl managed to shake the foundations of his core like nobody else did. On the outside, sure, but not on the inside.
"Sir, this one wasn't predicted at all, was it?" Fuyutsuki asked, standing over his commander's left shoulder. "No, it wasn't...I don't think we've seen one like this before...I was wondering why temperatures had been cold recently, despite that not being possible anymore, but now we know...." Gendo said, watching the screen as the Angel hid itself in what appeared to be a blizzard. "Then, Commander Ikari, what should we name this one?" the older man asked, holding his hands behind his back. Gendo wiped his nose and mouth with one of his hands, staining the pure white glove on it. "...The Alpha Angel....Gabriel."
Asuka quickly changed into her plugsuit, emotions running through her veins as if they were injected into her one by one. 'Shinji, I promise you, I won't fail...I don't care that my sync ratio's been dropping recently...I'm gonna defeat that Angel...you're gonna wake up...everything will be okay...' she thought, doing her best to breathe deeply and avoid any kind of panic attack. Wrapped up in her own thoughts and emotions, she didn't even notice Rei had already changed and started walking out. Once she did, she turned back to the First Child, wanting to say something, but not knowing how to say it. Or even what she could say. All she knew is that she needed to before they went out to stop the Angel.
"F-First—!!" Asuka started to say, before stopping and slapping herself once again. "R-Rei!" she called out, watching as the other girl turned back towards her. "Yes?" Rei asked, standing with her usual calm composure and emotionless expression. Asuka didn't even know if there was anything truly in there, but all she knew is that Shinji wouldn't treat her like a doll. "...W-We'll watch each other's backs out there, okay...? We'll...w-we'll keep Shinji and everyone else safe..." Asuka said, unable to really look Rei in the eye. She still wasn't used to camaraderie, despite all the times she needed to rely on it, but she knew things couldn't change if she didn't make an active effort.
"Right," Rei said, surprising Asuka a bit. "We'll watch over each other and everyone here. No harm will come to them or Shinji. Good luck." She left the changing room, heading over to the hanger bay where Unit-00's being prepared to launch. Asuka stood motionless for a moment, but she felt this strange warmth in her heart for a short moment. For the first time since she trained with Shinji, she knew what it was like to be on the same level as someone. To be partners, and friends. All she knew is that she liked it a lot more than she thought she would, and she wants to feel that way again. "...Right, then," she said to herself, walking off to Unit-02's hanger bay, determined now more than ever to defeat the Angel and see that boy again. 'Shinji...there's so much I want to tell you...I don't deserve to be listened to, but...I want you to know...how I feel...and I promise you, I'll stay alive until then...'
Misato and Kaji had been driving for the past twenty minutes before finally reaching NERV HQ, the former accelerating as fast as possible. Once they parked the car, they ran as fast as they could to the medical bay, despite all the constant rumblings and quakes seeking to stop them. "Do you remember what room he's in??" Kaji asked, running up the stairs with her as neither of them wanted to risk an elevator failure. "303! I remember Asuka saying it over the phone once she started visiting him!" she yelled back, finally reaching the entrance to the third floor of the medical bay. They wasted no time in trying to run through each and every hall looking for anyone pushing Shinji's bed, before finally stumbling on a few who were coming in their exact direction.
Misato realized just then how unprepared she was to see Shinji in this state. He looked a lot skinnier than he did just a week ago, and even from this distance she could see the bruises surrounding his neck. Even Kaji was shaken up by the sight of him, as he himself had started to see Shinji as a son in some way. Despite these overwhelming emotions, the two of them collected themselves and took a deep breath. "Hey! We're here to help, we can help take him to a safer location!" Misato called out to the doctors, waving her hand.
However, just as they started walking towards the two of them, a giant white object crashed through the building killing those who were surrounding Shinji's bed, and causing the hallway to nearly come apart. Misato screamed at the top of her lungs, and immediately ran towards Shinji. Thankfully, he was still alive, and she started pushing his bed in the opposite direction of the destruction, with Kaji not too far behind. "The Angel's already trying to tear this place apart!" she shouted, running as fast as she could with Shinji's bed gripped tight in her hands. "Is there any safe place we can take him?!" Kaji asked, helping her steer it as the two of them ran down what seemed to be endless hallways. Misato looked down and gritted her teeth, knowing the only option was the one that she wanted to do the least. "I don't want to do this to him, but...the only safe place he'll be is inside Unit-01...." she said, knowing they were just a few doors away from it. "We'll put him in the cockpit and keep him submerged in the liquid, the LCL should help him be able to breathe..."
Before long, they finally reached the hanger bag for Unit-01, where different technicians and employees were able to help them carry him over to the entry plug. As they laid him down in the cockpit, Misato looked at everyone, directing them to give her a moment with her eyes alone. As she looked back at Shinji, she gently stroked his hair, trying her best not to cry. "I'm sorry, Shinji...god, I'm so so sorry...you didn't deserve this...any of this..." she said, kneading her cross necklace with her other hand. "I promise...when you wake up from this...I'll be better...I mean it, okay...? I won't fail you again...I can't afford to..." She gently lifted the necklace off of herself, looping his head through it and placing it on his chest. "It's yours now, Shinji...it'll keep you safe...and we will...whatever it takes, I'll keep you safe this time," she said, wiping her eyes a bit and slowly leaning up to kiss his forehead, stroking his hair one last time before backing up and gently closing the door of the entry plug. As she watched it descend into the neck of Unit-01, as well as the Eva itself submerge, she let out a long exhale of relief, drying her eyes and turning back to Kaji and the employees.
"Get to your positions. Get Unit-00 and Unit-02 ready for launch. We're moving out in T-minus five minutes. Is that understood?" she asked, watching as they all saluted to her confirming her orders, heading off to their stations. "Good. Let's give that Angel every bit of hell we can muster." Misato immediately walked to her position in the control room, more determined now than ever before to defeat an Angel.
Asuka and Rei remained ready and waiting in their cockpits, the former taking deep breaths and gently squeezing the handles. Maybe this would be her final battle. Maybe shouldn't match up to par. But unlike every other time before, she didn't care. Even if she died, as long as Shinji was safe, that's all that mattered. However, she knew she wouldn't let herself. Not until he knew how she felt. Before she knew it, her EVA's platform started moving up to the dock, all set up and ready to go. She smiled a bit, feeling strangely at peace now. 'Gotta go. See you soon, Shinji...' she thought.
"Evangelion Unit-00 and Unit-02, launch!"
To be continued...
(I promise you all, we're getting closer and closer to the end!! At least three more chapters are coming, most likely four. I didn't wanna try to rush things, and I would have if this ended up being 6 chapters. If it ends up being 10, though, I think that'll be pretty solid!
Hope you guys are enjoying so far!)
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Bohemian Rhapsody
Fanfiction(WARNING: This fic deals with heavy themes such as depression, mental illness, self harm, and suicide. Reader's discretion is advised.) Shinji Ikari is at his breaking point. He's never felt emptier in his entire life. Going through life is a chore...
