Neon Genesis Evangelion: Bohemian Rhapsody

Chapter Nine

So you think you can stone me
And spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me
And leave me to die?
Oh baby,
Can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out
Just gotta get right out of here

Broken promises. They seemed to be all that Misato could give to Shinji for the past few months they've known each other, at least to her. None of them, however, could quite hold a candle to this. 'I...promised...I promised that...w-we'd protect him...th-that I'd protect him...' she thought, unable to hear the commotion from the bridge bunnies, begging her for her orders. 'It's...all my fault...all of this....I should've protected him...I should've taken better care of him...it should've been me instead of him....'

Asuka was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. Gabriel's AT Field might have been destroyed, but it wasn't planning on going down to Hell without company. Even Rei was trying to pull the both of them out of the pit they created to no avail. It seemed like it was just getting colder and colder, and the two pilots were freezing up in their cockpits. However, as much as it hurt, and as numb as their fingers felt, they kept pushing and pulling, hoping in vain that the Angel would budge. 'Please...move... goddammit, move!!!' Asuka thought, pushing with all of her strength. It felt like her biceps were tearing from the sheer amount of force she mustered up pushing her handles forward, and she yelled out with every bit of breath left in her lungs.

Unfortunately for the both of them, this was exactly what the Angel wanted. In a swift motion, it sprang up in the air, flinging Rei off its back while it carried Asuka high up into the air with its talons, and proceeding to slam her back down into the Earth. The two girls were too weak to move their EVAs after all the strength they exerted into getting it out of the pit, and it seemed that Rei especially was down for the count. Gabriel stood before Asuka, as if it were an Angel of Death waiting to make her pay for all of her sins. Its eyes started glowing dark blue, and before she could even think, the right arm of her EVA was completely frozen and shattered by two beams coming from Gabriel's eyes. Asuka couldn't even scream in pain, as she felt that there was no point to it. They had already lost, and Shinji wasn't coming back. In her mind, it was better to make peace with this being the end, rather than worrying about something like pain.

It didn't take long for Misato to realize what was happening, looking at the screen as the arm of Asuka's EVA was being destroyed. She tried to push herself off of the floor, standing up and wiping her eyes. "Tell me...please...is there anything we can do to save Asuka...?" she asked, looking for answers from anyone. "All of our attempts to stop the Angel have failed...it's gotten too strong...." Ritsuko said solemnly, looking up in shame at Gendo sitting in his balcony above everyone else. "Sir...should we self-destruct the Geofront...?" Fuyutsuki asked, leaning over his commander's shoulder. Gendo didn't know why, but he felt deep down that they needed to wait. "No...not yet...I can't explain why, but...not yet..." he said, hoping more than anything that he was right.

Gabriel flapped its wings and soared slightly above Asuka, seeming to charge up its beams once again. In her cockpit, Asuka took a deep breath, and started to reminisce on her life. From her mother's suicide, to her desperate need to grow up, to meeting Kaji, Misato, Rei, and Shinji, she wished she could die without regrets, but deep down she felt like she didn't deserve to. She smiled and teared up a bit, closing her eyes and exhaling one last time. 'I don't know where I'll end up...but...I hope I'll get to see you again...Shinji...' she thought. Gabriel screeched with fury, and soon after, everything went dark for the pilot of Unit-02.

"Asuka...get up!! Asuka!!!"

The redhead was confused as to why she could still hear. Or why she could still open her eyes, for that matter. But what she saw, she couldn't believe. She thought it might've been a dream, but her instincts knew well enough that it was reality.

Shinji was awake. He was piloting Unit-01. And he was taking the full blast of Gabriel's beam.

"Asuka, please get up!!!" he shouted in pain, digging the feet of his EVA further into the ground. "Sh-...Sh-Shinji...?!" Asuka asked, starting to tear up again. Back in the control room, Misato couldn't believe what she was hearing over the comms, or what she was seeing on the screen. She covered her mouth and started to bawl, despite her best efforts not to. "Asuka!! Take this!!" Shinji called out, handing her his progressive knife as his EVA became more and more frozen. "Its core is exposed right now!! Destroy it!! Quickly!!"

Asuka nearly caught herself stalling, but with Shinji's life on the line, she wasn't going to hesitate. As quick as she could, she took the knife with her remaining arm, and charged at Gabriel while it was fixated on Shinji. In one swift motion, she launched herself up to it, and as soon as the core faced her, she used all the strength left in her body and in her EVA to plunge the knife into it. Despite this, the knife was barely moving further into the core, and just when she thought she couldn't do this on her own, Rei jumped up right next to her, using both of her arms to help push the knife in.

Shinji's EVA was nearly completely frozen, and pieces of the armor were starting to chip off, but he wouldn't budge one bit. If he felt himself wavering by even a centimeter, he'd sink his EVA's feet deeper and deeper into the dirt. It was so cold that it was painful, and it felt like every single one of his organs were being turned into ice, but he wouldn't back down, never again. 'Mom...Asuka...Rei...Misato...I know how you all feel, now...and no matter what...I won't run away...not anymore....'

Asuka and Rei kept pushing the knife in with all their might, screaming at the top of their lungs. It felt like it took an eternity, but soon enough, they finally got to the center of the core. The two girls looked at one another, and although they couldn't see each other, they both nodded in unison. Together, in one move, they twisted the knife upward, causing a large crack in the core. All of a sudden, right as the power in Shinji's EVA went out, Gabriel's beams finally stopped, and the blistering cold had dissipated at last.

The Alpha Angel had finally been defeated.

To be continued...

(We've finally gotten to our climax of the story! There are two chapters left, Chapter Ten, and then an epilogue! Thank you all for being so supportive of this story, and I hope you all enjoy how it wraps up!)