The indigo and red EVA units quickly elevated to the surface of the Geofront, with every kind of weapon at their disposal. Rifles, spears, knives, whatever they needed to get the job done. The two girls knew well enough what their strengths were, with Asuka picking up a spear and knife for offense, and Rei picking up a long-ranged rifle for support. They both strangely seemed to know what the other was thinking, at least in terms of how to attack, without needing to utter a single word.
"Asuka, Rei, do you copy?" Misato asked from the control room, with Ritsuko at her side. "Yes, ma'am!" the two girls said in unison, Asuka especially being surprised and relieved that Misato seemed to be back in the game. "Your target is what Commander Ikari described as being Gabriel, the Alpha Angel. It's shrouded in the storm you're currently in. Whatever you do, keep your distance for now and only attack when you can see it. It's going to get really cold for the both of you out there, so we'll be sure to increase the heat of the LCL if necessary. Take your positions, and await further instructions. Good luck."
"Yes, ma'am!" the two confirmed, immediately following their orders. Asuka took a crouched position on the ground, staying low and ready to run when ordered to. Rei went ahead and took an elevated position on a hill, keeping her aim on the epicenter of the cloud. For a while, it seemed like they were waiting for an eternity, barely able to keep their focus on the task at hand.
That's when it appeared.
For the past hour or so it had been basked in a violent blizzard, with no one able to see it. But now, almost as if it finally had a challenge ahead of it, the Angel wanted to make its appearance known. Two giant, almost beautiful wings stretched out from the fog and snow, starting to slowly flap and raise the body it was attached to into the sky. The body was completely white, without a single flaw on it, just like the wings. The only other appendages it had were two feet with razor sharp talons, appearing to be as strong as metal. Finally, the head lifted from the smog, appearing to be similar to that of the Third Angel, but almost being like the head of a bird. The best way anyone could describe it at the moment was a phoenix of snow and ice, rising to bring doom to the world as its beak opened and let out a screech loud enough to break glass on every corner of the globe.
"Asuka, Rei, go!!" Misato shouted while holding her ears in pain, trying to not lose her balance. Asuka let out a blood curdling battle cry within her EVA and immediately started charging towards the Angel without hesitation. Rei promptly started firing rounds at it to weaken its AT Field, aiming for the center where Asuka could rip into it. As the Angel started soaring higher in order to dodge their attacks, Asuka used all the strength in her EVA's legs to launch herself up to it, using her knife to stab at the center of Gabriel's AT Field and hanging onto it as if it were an icepick hanging off of a frozen mountain.
"Maya, is there any kind of support we can give to them?!" Misato asked, looking over at the other woman typing away at her station. "Looks like we can direct some of NERV's own heating tanks into the outside of the Geofront! It won't do much, but it might be able to keep the Angel from freezing everything," Maya responded, looking back at her superior. "Good, everyone, direct all heat sources to the outside! Make sure that Angel isn't able to freeze anything directly!" Misato declared, watching on as every member of NERV proceeded to type their commands into the MAGI.
"Ritsuko, is there any extra information you can pull up on the Angel?" she asked, looking over at her friend typing at her own station. "Its very existence seems to generate cold temperatures, forming all types of weather we haven't seen since before the second impact. Fog, snow, ice, all of that is just from it being alive, but there's got to be some kind of ability that channels it," Ritsuko said, looking over at her friend. Misato bit her thumb, looking back at the battle happening in front of their eyes. "Right...well then, we can only hope they kill it before we find out what that is."
Asuka was hanging on for dear life as the Angel was flying around the entire Geofront, trying to find any leverage she could in order to sink the knife deeper into the AT Field. "Dammit, I can't get a grip on anything!" Asuka shouted over the comms, trying to grip the AT Field with her other hand. "Rei, keep firing at it! Get as close to the center as you can without hitting Asuka!" Misato ordered, constantly checking back to another screen that shows Shinji and his EVA submerged. "Yes, ma'am," Rei replied, targeting the Angel's center closer and closer, firing each round as quickly as possible. Asuka was getting extremely cold, to the point that it felt like her fingers might go numb, but she was not letting go until Gabriel fell down.
As Rei kept firing at the AT Field, Asuka started to sink the knife deeper into it, managing to cause a tear big enough for her hands to fit through. The cold was so intense that it felt like her fingers were burning, but she used all of her strength to start to peel it open. It was slow, and her grip felt like it was fading every now and then, but she slowly but surely made progress, and with just the right leverage, she finally managed to completely destroy it.
However, this sent the Angel hurdling towards the ground, and as bewildered as she was, Asuka had no choice but to hang on for dear life. She looked down and saw that it was heading directly towards NERV HQ, and used every bit of her resolve to try to steer it away. Misato looked on at the trajectory of the Angel and Asuka, and quickly looked back at the camera she had on Shinji inside of his EVA. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized just where the two behemoths were falling, and frantically called out to the redhead.
"Asuka, stop!!! Steer in the other direction!!! You're gonna land in Unit-01's hanger bay!!" Misato shouted, her heart nearly on the verge of exploding. "It's the only option!! There's no one in there, and Unit-01 can be repaired later!" Asuka shouted back, steering the Angel closer to her intended impact zone. "No, Asuka, you don't understand!! I didn't tell you, we put Shinji in the EVA to keep him safe!! You have to abort!"
Asuka's heart nearly sank into her stomach, and before she could even think, it was too late. The two giants crashed into the hanger bay right on top of Unit-01, and the only thing anyone could make out was that the room was completely destroyed. Misato watched on in terror and fell to her knees, unable to say anything or make a sound. Asuka slowly came to amidst the destruction, and slowly realized that she was right on top of Unit-01. Tears started forming at the bottom of her eyes, and no matter what she did, she couldn't get her EVA to move.
"Shinji?! Shinji?! I know you're in there, please say something!" Asuka called out to no avail, as her comms were offline. "Please god, Shinji wake up!! Please!! Shinji! Shinji!!!"
To be continued...
(It's been a long time coming, but the next chapter will be from Shinji's perspective, wherever his mind is at this point.
Three chapters within two days is a massive deal to me, and I hope it doesn't come across as rushing!
Let me know what you guys think, and I'll get the next chapter done soon!)
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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...
