Please feel free to send any C&C's. I surely could use some of them.
Ja!
*****
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-- Name : Wings1.txt
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Neon genesis Evangelion : Wings of the Seraph
by Chan Rivera
Chapter 1: A Streak of Red
Everything was gray. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing, heard nothing in emptiness of the void. He was pretty
sure that he merely had a minute or two left to live. He couldn�t breathe; where before there only had been a
change in medium, now there was a lack. There was no air in the freezing, monochrome abyss, just the sensation of
floating, and the total lack of color.
He can't remember when was the last time he breathed. His lungs were on fire , though the pain had long dulled
into a throbbing, low flame. His brain was as empty as his surroundings; random thought vanishing as fast as it
came. He can't even focus enough thought to move his fingers, his concentration shattering easily to the minute,
prickling sensations he felt.
He had long ago willed himself to die, unable to take the agony anymore.
He never new that dying could be this difficult. His two minutes stretched as long as two hours to him, pain
making the moments longer. He brought all his will to bear and focused on counting the seconds of his remaining
minute.
* 60 *. He thought of his family, how they had been together, how they loved each other, how they believed in
each other.
* 50 *. He remembered the massive earthquake which jolted him out of sleep, and running out into the safety of
open air, only to see an eerie light illuminating the evening skies.
* 40 *. He thought of how terrified he was when he first saw the beginnings of the wave which forever separated
him from his family.
* 30 *. He remembered seeing the great white wings towering over the monster wave itself.
* 20 *. He remembered entering the void, and willing himself to die.
* 10 *. He saw something flicker directly ahead of him, sunlight glittering over diamonds; incandescence
reflecting on the finest silver;the only color in the gray emptiness.
* 0 *. He closed his eyes.
****
Misato looked through the glass and couldn�t stop feeling nervous. Eva - 01 was standing by on the activation
chamber, along with it's pilot. Despite the reassurance she got from Ritsuko, she can't help but think that
something was going to go wrong. A slight error on the activation, and they were all dead.
* I hate this! *, Misato shouted in the silence of her mind.* What the hell is he waiting for ?! Let's just get
this over with quickly, goddammit!*
She looked across the room towards Commander Ikari, with Second Commander Fuyutsuki standing by his side. He
seemed totally cool and calm about the situation, hands clasped behind his back, talking quietly with Ritsuko.
Letting her gaze wander around the rest of the room, she took note of the people around her for probably the fifth
time. Maya was there, along with other personnel, Rei, and surprisingly, Asuka.
Misato looked at the girl, and wondered why she came. For the past week she locked herself up in her room,
allowing no one to enter. Misato knew that she was deeply hurt by her inability to sync with her Eva, and as far as
she knew Asuka, the Geofront was probably the last place she would like to be in.
She approached the girl and stood by her side." Are you alright, Asuka?", she asked quietly.
She sighed bitterly.
Misato dropped the conversation, since it was apparent that Asuka didn�t want to talk. She just stood by her side,
looking through the glass with her. Standing silently, they both waited for Gendou's signal to start the test.
****
" I'm having second thoughts about this, commander.", Ritsuko said, barely masking the tension from her voice.
Although she was fully convinced that the test was marginally safe, she still couldn�t shake thoughts of what would
happen if something DOES go wrong. " A single mistake would cost us the Geofront."
" There is no danger.", Gendou said calmly. " We will proceed as planned."
" Sir, I still think we should.."
" That is an order, Dr. Akagi.", Gendou said coolly.
Ritsuko snapped her mouth shut. She new better than to argue with the commander when he takes up that particular
tone. She grudgingly went back to her post at the head console and awaited Gendou's signal to start.
****
Fuyutsuki listened to Ritsuko and Gendou, and when the Doctor finally gave up, he started thinking.* Why is he so
calm about this?*, he asked himself. * There is too much risk in activating Unit one using the S2 engine, he knows
that.* " Are you really sure about this, Ikari? ", he finally asked aloud.
Gendou's response was a smile, malicious and utterly devoid of humor.
* He knows something.*, Fuyutsuki continued silently.* Why in the world would he seem certain that this is going
to go off perfectly?*
He absently waited for the test to start, his mind busy solving the new puzzle he uncovered.
****
Shinji sat inside the entryplug of Eva - 01, nervously waiting for the test to begin. He can't shake the feeling of
something going wrong, despite multiple assurances from Dr. Akagi. He would rather have fought another angel,
rather than go through this test.
* Damn, what's taking them so long?*, he asked for the third time. The wait was unbearable, and Shinji was getting
more and more restless by the minute.
He looked through the Eva's monitor to the control room of the activation chamber, watching the people scurry and
prepare for the test. He was suddenly struck by the gravity of what he was about to do, and the consequences left
him cold.
* If this does work,*,Shinji wondered to himself, partly to take his mind off the wait, * then the Eva would be
able to move without the umbilical cable. That would be a great improvement on the Evas. Our range wouldn�t be
dependent on our cable's length.*
Shinji imagined fighting the Angels without the cumbersome umbilical cable, and found himself smiling.* At last,*
he thought gleefully,* I don't have to keep looking back just to see if I'm out of cable!*
He saw his father raise a hand, and pushed all thoughts aside, bearing his mind to the task at hand.
****
Ritsuko was sweating. The readings in Eva - 01's activation grid were all normal, but it was approaching the
borderline. * Will it malfunction here , as Unit zero had in the past? *, Ritsuko asked herself tensely.
" .. Activation at .09, .07, .05.... ", Maya was saying, unmasked fear in her voice. The personnel were hard at
work, the prospect of a malfunction coming from the system itself boosting their efforts to a double.
" .. .04, .03 ... ", Ritsuko closed her eyes and held her breath, as did almost everyone else in the room.
" .. .02, .01. We're past the borderline. Eva - 01 is successfully activated !", Maya announced with an explosive
release of breath.
She was not alone. The whole control room erupted in a series of cheers and shouts as the personnel celebrated the
apparent success of the test, or they were simply overjoyed that they didn�t end up like the NERV's Second Branch.
The noise lasted for a full five seconds until Major Katsuragi called for them to get back to work.
" Status report on Eva - 01. ", Ritsuko asked Maya.
" Synchronization, normal. Harmonics, normal.Power readings, stable. The S2 engine seems to be holding up. Doing
internal scans on the body.", responded her second.
" How do you feel, Shinji-kun?", Misato asked through the intercom.
" No different than before. Are you sure I'm not connected to a cable?", Shinji's voice answered, sounding
dubious.
" You're using the Engine, alright.", Misato assured him.
" Proceed to level 2 of the test. ", Gendou told Misato with the same calm voice.
" Roger. ", replied Misato." Move Eva - 01 to launching bay to start second level testing.", she told the
personnel.
There was a general response to her command as all personnel prepared for the second part of the test.
" I'm detecting an anomaly on the S2 engine.", Maya said.
Everything grew still. " What is it? ", Gendou asked.
"I'm not really sure, sir. Scanning ...". They waited for a few seconds for the test to finish. " Pattern Blue!!",
Maya gasped involuntarily.
" An egg?", Gendou pressed.
" No sir.", Maya answered." It just seems to be a smear of Angel particles on the surface of the S2 Engine."
" Cancel level 2 of Activation Test.", Gendou said then." Send Unit one to the Launching Area, under full
surveillance." He turned to Ritsuko." Find out what this anomaly is. I don't want another Angel inside the
Geofront."
All of a sudden there was a voice from the Central Dogma." Unidentified object entering Tokyo - 03!", came
Hyuuga's voice.
" Damn.", Misato swore softly.
" Proceed as planned.", Gendou ordered." Eva - 00 will intercept the target."
The control room exploded in sudden motion as NERV personnel all prepared to engage the target.
" Pattern Blue, confirmed! It's an Angel.", Hyuuga's voice followed them.
****
From the edge of the Tokyo - 03's 3rd lake, a filmy, delicate fog suddenly rose up from the water to hover
slightly in the afternoon air. It was large, giving the impression that a cloud had suddenly descended to ground
level. Pausing slightly, it slowly moved towards the direction of the city. It made no noise as it floated it's way
towards Tokyo - 03.
By the time it reached the center of the city, the people were long gone, retreating to their designated shelters
as they were trained to during situations such as these. The cloud didn�t mind. It gave a little shiver,then
started to gather about to form a more solid shape at the same time a humanoid shaped robot appeared from one of
the buildings.
This was Man's enemy, enemies the Evas were built to fight against.
****
Rei watched the Angel take a more definite shape from inside her Eva. She was ordered to defeat the Angel at any
cost. She was briefed that she wasn�t going to get any back-up from the other pilots, which means she must
eliminate it without any help.
" Rei, engage target!", Misato's voice shouted from the Eva's speakers.
She wasted no time and fired at the Angel with her plasma rifle. It took about ten seconds of steady firing to
empty the gun, and after that the angel didn�t even seem to be damaged. She ditched the plasma rifle, reached over
her shoulder and drew her prog knife. She activated the knife, then she charged at the Angel.
The angel reached out with fog-like arms to catch the left arm of Eva - 00 in a steel grip, and Rei slashed at the
arm to release herself.
The knife cut the arm, and Eva - 00 stumbled back. Rei saw the missing part of the Angel momentarily be filled
with fog, and then a new hand materialized. Her enemy once again made it's way towards her.
" Impossible!!", she heard Misato say." It regenerates that fast?!?"
" The Angel is behaving like a cloud or fog.", Ritsuko answered." If any appendages are separated from the body,
it would just make new ones, using it's main body."
" Where is it's core?!", Misato sounded desperate.
" We cannot detect any structure in the angel resembling a core.", Maya said. " However, there is a concentration
of the angel's composition near the base of the head."
" Rei.", Misato addressed the girl." Engage the target and concentrate on it's head."
" Understood.", was all what Rei said just as the Angel crashed against her.
The Angel reached out and grabbed Eva - 00 by the neck with surprising speed, leaving Rei helpless and choking. In
desperation she stabbed at it's head, aiming for the spot Maya described, hoping that it would kill or at least
maim the angel and allow her a moment to regroup.
The blade deflected on something solid a good seven feet from her intended target. The tell-tale energy ripple
announced it's identity to all NERV personnel.
" Rei!", Misato cried out.
" AT Field!", Ritsuko wondered out loud." Which means that the core must be hidden in that spot, since that is the
only part it's trying to protect."
Rei then slashed at the arms holding her and kicked the angel squarely in it's abdomen, the foot passing
harmlessly through the semi-solid form the angel. She grimaced as the angel kicked her side, then retaliated by
slashing at the leg.
It was clearly a losing battle as the angel continued to batter Eva - 00 even without the use of it's arms. Rei
saw the situation clearly and knew that was only one way to kill the enemy.
" I'm expendable.", she said to herself as she started to reach for the self-
destruct switch on the side of her console. She planned to release the switch the moment she made another contact
with the angel, to ensure that the angel would be destroyed by the blast. She closed her eyes, and waited for the
blow to land.
It didn�t come.
Rei stared at the spot the angel was in a few seconds ago. She slowly released her grip from the self-destruct
switch when she was sure the angel was not in the vicinity. She used the precious time to compose herself and
wondered where the Angel might be. She heard Misato echoing her thoughts.
" What's the status of the Angel?!", Misato asked Maya.
" Scanning Tokyo - 03..., 500 meters northwest of Eva - 00.", Maya reported.
" Proceed with attack.", Misato addressed Rei.
Rei slowly moved towards her destination, cautiously approaching the angel.
" Rei, can you verify the target?", Misato asked her.
At last Rei started seeing patches of fog drifting out to hang motionless in the night air. At it's center
floated the core; a blood red orb amidst the deathly pale cloud." Hai.", Rei replied to Misato.
" Continue to attack with caution.", Misato instructed the girl.
" Hai.", was all that Rei said as she started to attack the Angel from yet another point of view.
Before she too two steps from her target, the Angel seemed to have disappeared, leaving only it's core in front
of her. She didn�t hesitate and charged directly, hoping to end it before the Angel struck her.
She didn�t take another step.
The Angel suddenly materialized and grabbed both of Eva - 00's arms from behind. Rei struggled painfully to get
free, the veins standing out of her arms a mute testimony on how tight and hard the angel's pull was. The angel
forced her to her knees, maintaining it's iron grip, and to everyone's astonishment, started to seep into Eva - 00.
" Force eject entry-plug.", Misato ordered Maya.
" No good!", Maya responded," The Angel is disrupting our signal!"
" Pilot life-signs?!", Misato turned to questioning Hyuuga.
" Pilot is physically stable, but her brainwaves are erratic!", Hyuuga replied.
" The same type of angel which attacked last time?", Ritsuko wondered out loud." The ones which attack and
contaminate the pilot's mind?"
" What is the status report on Eva - 01?", Gendou asked, watching the Angel progress in it's attack.
" Still normal, sir!", Maya said.
Gendou sat still for a moment, then spoke." Launch Eva - 01 and recover Eva - 00."
" Roger!", Misato responded. Turning away from her commander, she immediately gave order's that Eva - 01 would now
be joining the battle.
****
Rei saw herself, standing before her. It was really a mirror image, for no mere twin would ever hope to duplicate
it's sibling to every minute detail. Her double looked back at her with the same calm, emotionless gaze she
unconsciously assumed.
" Who are you?", she asked her double.
" Who are YOU?", it returned.
" I don't know.", Rei admitted.
" Yet you ask me, even though you yourself don't know the answer.", it told her.
" My name is Rei Ayanami.", Rei said.
" Does a name define your personality? Does being ' Rei Ayanami ' answer your question as to who you are?", her
double mocked her.
" No.", came Rei's straight answer.
" Then tell me who you are.", her double once again said.
" I'm the First Child.", Rei said then.
" Is being this ' First Child ' the entire purpose of your very existence? Is your entire being definable using
this term?", it asked.
" I don't know.", Rei once again answered.
" Why don't you know?", it continued.
Rei thought before answering." Because my perception of who I am relies solely on what I know, feel, and see
about myself. I don't know what others think of me, if their view of me is different from my view of myself."
" So you think that the only reason for you to know who you are is to ask other's of how they think of you, for
someone to teach you your purpose?",her double asked again.
" I don't know.", Rei said for the third time.
They continued to stare at each other, until finally her double broke the long silence.
" Do you want to know who you are, and what you are?", her double asked.
" Yes.", came Rei's clear, honest reply.
Her double raised a hand towards her, and Rei had time to close her eyes just as blackness covered her sight.
****
Shinji sat inside the entry-plug, willing the Eva to reach the surface as soon as possible. There were no
briefings on what the operation was to be. One glance on the main screen told him exactly what to do.
* Please, Ayanami.*, Shinji hoped fervently.* Please, just hold on a little more. I'm on my way.*
Shinji felt the Eva stop hard as it reached the surface, and he immediately went out of the launch - pad to get
his bearings. Once he spotted Eva - 00, still held down as the Angel continued to seep into it, Shinji charged,
armed only with his prog knife.
Apparently, the Angel sensed his approach, and broke it's attack on Eva - 00 to meet Eva - 01's charge. Shinji
swung at the arms as the angel reached for him, and to his dismay remembered that it was useless to do so. Even
now, the Angel was regenerating it's arms as it attacked Eva - 01 using its feet.
* Damn!*, Shinji thought fast as he dodged the angel's kick.* How the hell am
I going to kill this thing if I can't even damage it?!*
" Life-signals from Eva - 00's pilot?", he heard Misato ask.
" Heart rate, normal.Brainwaves, normal. No contamination detected. The pilot seems to be unconscious.", Hyuuga's
voice responded.
Shinji thought he heard Misato sigh with relief. Aloud she said," It looks like Shinji got there in time. What is
the status report on Eva - 00?"
" Minor damages on arms and shoulders. No major damages.", Maya reported.
" Misato-san,", Shinji asked as he cut off the angel's head," how do I kill this thing?!"
" The core is approximately two blocks to the north.", Misato responded." It seems to be the only part of the
angel vulnerable to attack."
" Roger.", Shinji said as he broke off the attack to run towards the last known position of the core. His mind
barely took note that he was able to move faster than before because there was no cable to hinder his movements.
He verified his target in a matter of seconds and immediately attacked it, conscious of the fact that it's body was
probably no more than fifty feet behind him.
He struck out against the core, only to find an AT Field blocking his attack. He then reversed the blade, then
stabbed down hard, cutting through the AT Field just before the Angel reached him.
He felt the angel grab him, and a second later he felt pain; pain enough for him scream at the top of his lungs.
The angel took hold of Eva - 01 and slammed it hard against one of the buildings, reducing it into a pile rubble.
Then it threw Eva - 01 across the block, and made another scrap pile of one of the buildings. The angel moved
to where Eva - 01 was lying and repeated the same attack it used on Eva - 00.
" Shinji!", Misato cried out.
But Shinji was beyond hearing. His blood was ice, cold frost coursing through his veins. His mind was fire, white
hot flames searing his brain. He felt as if somebody was ripping his very essence, his soul, away from him. He
screamed again, voice filled with agony.
" Pilot's life-signs are erratic! ", Hyuuga's said from his post.
" I'm detecting a change in the Eva!!", Maya added.
" What kind of change?", Ritsuko asked.
" The angel-particles seem to be forming minor colonies around the S2 Engine area of Eva - 01!!", Maya reported
tensely." It seems to be reacting to the angel's attack."
Misato started thinking fast." Commander,", she addressed Gendou." I propose that we eject Eva - 01's pilot and
allow the Eva to self-destruct."
" No.", came Gendou's immediate reply.
" But if we do not move, we would lose both Eva - 01 and the Geofront!!", Misato tried to convince her commander.
" And leave us nearly defenseless against the next Angel attack.", Gendou said." I would not do such a foolish
act."
" Then what shall we do now?!", Misato asked angrily.
Gendou crossed his fingers and hid his face behind them." Sortie Unit two.", was all he said.
" Unit Two?!", came Misato's stunned reply." But, we do not have a pilot..."
" You have one here.", Gendou said.
" But she can't sync with her Eva!", Misato demanded." How the hell do you expect her to fight?"
" Actually, Major Katsuragi, that girl is the only chance we have now.", Gendou said." We have no choice but to
use her to win this battle."
" But what if she still can't ?!", Misato fearfully asked.
" Then all mankind will perish." Gendou replied coldly." Pray for a miracle,if you would, but Unit two is the
only chance we have now!"
Misato finally understood the implications of the situation. " Understood.", she answered softly. Turning slowly
to Asuka, she said," Do it."
Asuka nodded slowly and started to walk past her, not seeing the tears which brimmed in Misato's eyes.
****
Fuyutsuki stared at the mainscreen of the Central Dogma, looking at the prone form of Eva - 00 and the still
thrashing Eva - 01, and listened to the screams of Shinji.
" All is lost, isn't it Ikari?", he said to Gendou.
" The Angel has yet to come down and reach Adam.", Gendou responded.
" We never knew all would end like this.", Fuyutsuki continued.
" We had to do something.", Gendou said.
" All that effort, the Human Instrumentality Project, the Evas, all for nothing.", the Second commander said.
Gendou gave no reply, silently watching the main screen of the Central Dogma.
Fuyutsuki also quieted and returned to staring at the mainscreen, just in time to see the scarlet form of Eva - 02
arrive from yet another launch-bay.
****
" Why won't you move?!", Asuka sobbed, pulling hard on her console-handles. " Damn you, why don't you move?!" She
sagged against her seat, full of misery and hopelessness, trying by force of will to activate her Eva. She closed
her eyes, concentrated very, very hard, and willed her Eva to sync with her, all while fighting off sobs that threatened
to break her concentration.
The empty silence that followed made her scream in frustration. " Why, Goddam you!! Answer me !!", she cried,
tears streaming freely down her face.
She removed her hands from the console and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes while in the midst of a storm of
weeping. Vaguely, she recalled her mother, and how she felt after the incident. She remembered her vow to herself
, that she would be strong so as not to depend on anybody else.
After all the years of hiding and denying to others, and even to herself, here, in the silence of the unactivated
Unit 2, Asuka Langley Soryuu,Second child and pilot of Eva - 02, finally admitted to herself the true meaning of
that vow.
" I just don't want to lose anybody.", she whispered brokenly. " I'm tired of losing those close to me without
doing anything. Ever since mama died, I tried my best to be good with my Eva, to protect those close to me. And now
, I'm here, helpless against the enemy I was sworn to fight."
And finally, after such a long time of misery and guilt, a new yet familiar emotion ignited Asuka. Stifling her
sobs, she glared balefully with tearful eyes at the ceiling.
" I'm not going to stand here doing nothing, you hear me?!?", she shouted angrily." I am NOT going to lose anybody
anymore!! I'm not going to let that angel kill my friends!! I need your help, damn it! HELP ME !!!!"
Independent and coherent thought dwindled as Asuka continued to rave about the angel. Shouts of anger suddenly
turned into screams of rage.
****
" Status report on Eva - 02?!", Misato asked Maya, tension masked in her voice.
" Nothing! Sync ratio is still down to zero!", Maya responded frantically.
Misato looked at the main screen, and saw the still moving form of Eva - 01 shake periodically. She was glad she
cut off the sync connection of Shinji to Unit one three minutes ago." How about Unit one?", she changed the
subject.
" The Angel particles are still forming colonies along the interior of Eva -01. Estimated time the particles cover
most of Unit one's interior is 5 minutes.", Maya said.
* That isn't a lot of time.*, Misato thought to herself. She then turned to her commander.
" Sir, I repeat my prior request. Eva - 02 is disabled. There is no other way to save the Geofront.", Misato
addressed her commander.
" Major, I'm detecting a change in pattern among the colonies!", Maya interrupted.
" What ?!", Misato asked.
" There is a change in the speed of the particles' colonization!", Maya responded." At this rate, the interior of
Unit one would be fully colonized in less than two minutes!!"
" Damn it all to hell!!", Misato cursed. She turned to Gendou." Commander, we have no other choice now. We must
self-destruct Eva - 01!!"
Gendou looked up from staring at his fingers at the main screen." There is no need for any of that.", he said as
calmly as ever, then pointed for the others to look.
There was a very audible gasp from Maya's direction.
Misato turned around to look at what her commander was pointing at, and had time to see the bright , four-eyed
glare of Eva - 02 just before it exploded into action.
*** To be Continued ***
Fly me to the moon, and let me play, among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand.In other words, darling, kiss me.
Fill my heart with song, and let me sing, forever more.
You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true.
In other words, I love you.