Uncoiling
its tail, the white skinned creature rises. At the heart of Tokyo-3,
traffic stops and people scream, the very obvious Angel having
appeared in their midst. In stretches out its white, feathered
wings, the curve of its tooth lined jaw giving the impression of a
knowing, patient smile.
This
works in contrast to the pandemonium in NERV-1. Alarms blare,
klaxons screaming to attend battle stations. In Central Dogma,
Misato runs in as the Commander's station rises to its overseeing
point.
"Someone
explain to me what the Hell happened and how an Angel snuck
up on us."
"MAGI
theorizes that it was a Cherubim larva left when ADAM attacked,"
Maya reports, multiple screens popping up, each showing the creature
from a different angle, "Pattern Blue is not registering as a
Cherubim, though..."
The
holographic projectors on the bridge hum to life, forming into a
three dimensional image of the floating flatfish.
"Junior,
what're we dealing with?" Misato demands.
"He
is called Zadkiel. Beyond that, I do not know. I sense him as like
myself, but I have no memory of a being like him existing before. He
is entirely new to me, as he is to you."
"Still
no motion from the Angel," Hyuga reports, "Evacuation procedures
are underway."
"I
can sense that. It wishes you to evacuate. It wants the city empty
before it will strike, as it desires battle."
On
the screen, one of the arms, an arm ending in a bulbous, hollow
structure. It doesn't take them long to realize what it is, before
the end of it fills with light and fires out into a beam. An office
building vaporizes, the expanding pillar of plasma and light rising
into a cross shaped structure.
"Tell
me that was empty," Misato says.
"Maintenance
staff only," Maya says, tearing her eyes from the screen as numbers
begin coming up, "Angel is moving. Present course projected..."
A
three dimensional map of the city appears, a line from the Angel to
the destination appearing.
"Oh,
shit," Misato growls, "It's heading straight for the mall. Prep
the Evas! Someone get Rei to Go-kun and-"
Alarm
klaxons blare, Shinji tapping on the holographic keyboard as the
plates above Unit-07 open, a path projected in his right eye.
"Shinji,"
JA-Tan says, "I
have the path, and I've used your backdoor into the MAGI to electrify
the rails. Is this really wise?"
"No,"
he says, "But we're the only Eva prepped and it's heading for the
densest area in the city. Misato!"
Misato
appears in his left eye, Maya in the background calling out projected
casualty figures.
"Unit-07
is prepped and I'm using my old Balthasar connection to set myself up
for launch. I'm going to intercept the Angel before it can attack
the city center!"
Misato
blinks, turns back to Maya, listens to something, and turns back to
Shinji.
"That's
incredibly stupid and dangerous. Good luck! We're getting Uri back
into Zwei and prepping the rest of the Evas. Give him Hell."
The
connection cuts, Shinji tapping in more commands. The rails begin to
glow as the launch mechanism overclocks. And gripping the controls,
he flashes a brief grin.
"Eva
Launch!" he yells.
In
the Tokyo-3 City Center, the location of many of the malls, shops,
community centers and places of gathering, thousands of civilians
panic. It is not just that they live their day to day lives in
Tokyo-3, the main front of the Angel War. It is not just that the
Angel, which appeared at the heard of the city, vaporized an entire
building for no reason at all. It is that the Angel, from their
view, is getting bigger and bigger. It is heading right
towards them.
Buildings
have already begun retracting as they flow towards shelters, screams
and panic filling the air. Mayumi holds onto her cat tight, Zophie
looking over her shoulder as she stares at the approaching white
shape.
This
is bad, the former Cherubim thinks. She can sense the presence at
the heart of the Angel. She knows it. She knows what's coming. She
darts from Mayumi's arms, running, the girl hot on her heels as the
cat runs towards the nearest evacuation shelter. It is only as
Mayumi catches up to her outside the metal doors that Zophie stops,
sitting on her haunches as the glasses wearing girl scoops her up.
And looking around, seeing her assigned shelter in front of her, she
darts inside.
Alarms
blare, the plates retracting behind the approaching Angel, as the
mouth of Zadkiel opens to reveal row upon row of jagged, bloody
teeth, leveling its eyes upon the fleeing Lilim.
Which
is when a blur launches from the entry point, flying through the air
before dropping knee first on Zadkiel. The tremor shakes the
building, some momentarily stopping their run to safety to see
Unit-07 bring its fist down on the Angel's face, sending teeth
flying.
"Don't
let up!" Shinji yells, "It's Core's on top of its head!"
Unit-07's
left hand comes up, progressive knife extending from her wrist, and
brings it down on the head. Layers of AT Fields fold out, winding
outwards as it pulses against the vibrating blade.
And
then the fields move, appearing between Zadkiel and the Eva, tightly
compressing as the Angel grins. They pulse, expand, and explode
outward, tossing the Eva through the air as the Angel rises,
forgetting the city center buildings as they retract into the ground.
A pulse of its light, and the Angel flies, pursuing the Eva as it
lands in a crouch in an empty portion of the city.
Shinji
groans, rubbing his chest, shaking his head as he sees the Angel
descending. And then he hears it. A voice, at the back of head,
speaking with thunder from the mind of the Angel to him.
"IKARI."
its tail, the white skinned creature rises. At the heart of Tokyo-3,
traffic stops and people scream, the very obvious Angel having
appeared in their midst. In stretches out its white, feathered
wings, the curve of its tooth lined jaw giving the impression of a
knowing, patient smile.
This
works in contrast to the pandemonium in NERV-1. Alarms blare,
klaxons screaming to attend battle stations. In Central Dogma,
Misato runs in as the Commander's station rises to its overseeing
point.
"Someone
explain to me what the Hell happened and how an Angel snuck
up on us."
"MAGI
theorizes that it was a Cherubim larva left when ADAM attacked,"
Maya reports, multiple screens popping up, each showing the creature
from a different angle, "Pattern Blue is not registering as a
Cherubim, though..."
The
holographic projectors on the bridge hum to life, forming into a
three dimensional image of the floating flatfish.
"Junior,
what're we dealing with?" Misato demands.
"He
is called Zadkiel. Beyond that, I do not know. I sense him as like
myself, but I have no memory of a being like him existing before. He
is entirely new to me, as he is to you."
"Still
no motion from the Angel," Hyuga reports, "Evacuation procedures
are underway."
"I
can sense that. It wishes you to evacuate. It wants the city empty
before it will strike, as it desires battle."
On
the screen, one of the arms, an arm ending in a bulbous, hollow
structure. It doesn't take them long to realize what it is, before
the end of it fills with light and fires out into a beam. An office
building vaporizes, the expanding pillar of plasma and light rising
into a cross shaped structure.
"Tell
me that was empty," Misato says.
"Maintenance
staff only," Maya says, tearing her eyes from the screen as numbers
begin coming up, "Angel is moving. Present course projected..."
A
three dimensional map of the city appears, a line from the Angel to
the destination appearing.
"Oh,
shit," Misato growls, "It's heading straight for the mall. Prep
the Evas! Someone get Rei to Go-kun and-"
Alarm
klaxons blare, Shinji tapping on the holographic keyboard as the
plates above Unit-07 open, a path projected in his right eye.
"Shinji,"
JA-Tan says, "I
have the path, and I've used your backdoor into the MAGI to electrify
the rails. Is this really wise?"
"No,"
he says, "But we're the only Eva prepped and it's heading for the
densest area in the city. Misato!"
Misato
appears in his left eye, Maya in the background calling out projected
casualty figures.
"Unit-07
is prepped and I'm using my old Balthasar connection to set myself up
for launch. I'm going to intercept the Angel before it can attack
the city center!"
Misato
blinks, turns back to Maya, listens to something, and turns back to
Shinji.
"That's
incredibly stupid and dangerous. Good luck! We're getting Uri back
into Zwei and prepping the rest of the Evas. Give him Hell."
The
connection cuts, Shinji tapping in more commands. The rails begin to
glow as the launch mechanism overclocks. And gripping the controls,
he flashes a brief grin.
"Eva
Launch!" he yells.
In
the Tokyo-3 City Center, the location of many of the malls, shops,
community centers and places of gathering, thousands of civilians
panic. It is not just that they live their day to day lives in
Tokyo-3, the main front of the Angel War. It is not just that the
Angel, which appeared at the heard of the city, vaporized an entire
building for no reason at all. It is that the Angel, from their
view, is getting bigger and bigger. It is heading right
towards them.
Buildings
have already begun retracting as they flow towards shelters, screams
and panic filling the air. Mayumi holds onto her cat tight, Zophie
looking over her shoulder as she stares at the approaching white
shape.
This
is bad, the former Cherubim thinks. She can sense the presence at
the heart of the Angel. She knows it. She knows what's coming. She
darts from Mayumi's arms, running, the girl hot on her heels as the
cat runs towards the nearest evacuation shelter. It is only as
Mayumi catches up to her outside the metal doors that Zophie stops,
sitting on her haunches as the glasses wearing girl scoops her up.
And looking around, seeing her assigned shelter in front of her, she
darts inside.
Alarms
blare, the plates retracting behind the approaching Angel, as the
mouth of Zadkiel opens to reveal row upon row of jagged, bloody
teeth, leveling its eyes upon the fleeing Lilim.
Which
is when a blur launches from the entry point, flying through the air
before dropping knee first on Zadkiel. The tremor shakes the
building, some momentarily stopping their run to safety to see
Unit-07 bring its fist down on the Angel's face, sending teeth
flying.
"Don't
let up!" Shinji yells, "It's Core's on top of its head!"
Unit-07's
left hand comes up, progressive knife extending from her wrist, and
brings it down on the head. Layers of AT Fields fold out, winding
outwards as it pulses against the vibrating blade.
And
then the fields move, appearing between Zadkiel and the Eva, tightly
compressing as the Angel grins. They pulse, expand, and explode
outward, tossing the Eva through the air as the Angel rises,
forgetting the city center buildings as they retract into the ground.
A pulse of its light, and the Angel flies, pursuing the Eva as it
lands in a crouch in an empty portion of the city.
Shinji
groans, rubbing his chest, shaking his head as he sees the Angel
descending. And then he hears it. A voice, at the back of head,
speaking with thunder from the mind of the Angel to him.
"IKARI."