[Andrew and Ruri are setting up Christmas decorations in the MSTing
theatre, while the Buffy The Vampire Slayer soundtrack album plays in the
background. Suddenly, Ruri looks toward the screen.]
Ruri: Ah. He's done a chapter.
Andrew: Who?
Ruri: Brian Yaple. Destiny's Path's finally getting going.
Andrew (Grins): Well, looks like I've got an early Christmas present.
Ruri: Didn't Warhammer want to know whether he'd replied to his letter yet?
Andrew: Yeah, he did. Brian, you didn't reply when I asked that. Anyway,
Ruri-ruri, can you arrange some guests?
Ruri: Already done it.
Andrew: Wow, that was quick.
[There is a flash of light, and a fifteen-year-old boy with brown hair in a
long ponytail appears]
Ruri: This is Duo Maxwell, pilot of Gundam Deathscythe Hell.
Duo: [Grinning] Hi! Pleased to be here!
Ruri: And, for our second guest...
[A much-older-than-he-looks, but still VERY attractive to the female
audience, man, dressed entirely in black, steps out of the shadows]
Andrew: Geez, really in "morbid bishonen" mode today, aren't we?
[Angel glances derisively at Andrew]
Andrew: Anyway, on with the fic!
At 01:25 PM 12/22/99 -0500, you wrote:
"Since time began, there have been stories of great heroes
vanquishing their foes singlehandly. In actual history, that is not always
the case. Sure there are exceptions to the rule, just look at the
Neo-Queen's own history, of which I was a small part of. But in all
fairness, when I look back on the events of those years, the Chaos War, no
one was thinking about personal heroism or gain, we were just trying to
survive. There were no singular heroes' back then, just a harried group of
people trying to survive against impossible odds. I guess, then, in
essence...we were all heroes. I remember...it all began in the year 2015,
when..."
Andrew: ...the Nerilians arrived on Earth! [STOMP!]
Duo [From inside Shinigami]: Wrong series, man!
Excerpt from the personal journal of Erica Carter, June 23,
3115
...It Begins...
<Snip OP>
Knight Productions present....
Destiny's Path: Act 1: The Beginning Of The End
Chapter 1: The Darkest Hour/The Mystery Unfolds
Angel: No "Darkness" jokes.
Andrew: Uh... okay.
*************************************************
Misato crawled painfully along one of the passageways in NERV
headquarters, wounded from a gunfight with several UN soldiers. "If I knew
it would be this way earlier..." she gasped; "...I would have done what
Auska said..."
Asuka <Bursts in>: How DARE you misspell my name? <Sees Duo and Angel,
and somehow manages to glomp them both> Aaaaa....
<Duo and Angel bigsweat until Ruri presses a button, teleporting Asuka out>
She collapsed onto the floor. "Should have gotten some
carpet here..." she muttered. "Kaji, am I doing the right thing?" she
asked softly, while looking up at the ceiling. Because she was looking up
at the ceiling, Misato failed to notice the small box tucked away in a
nondescript corner of the hallway. A box with a timer that had just
reached zero.
Andrew: As well as several demonic spiders inside!
Angel: Careful. Your neck's bare, remember.
Misato disappeared from the hallway in a kaleidoscopic flash of light; a
second before a UN bomb destroyed the corridor.
...then...
"My God, where did she come from?"
"Never mind that now, clear a trauma room, stat!"
"Right...you want a security team in here?"
"Are you kidding? Yes! Nurse, her stats...?"
************************
Auska Langley Soryu was having what in her own opinion would be called a
good day.
If you could call resyncronizing with her Eva-02, tearing a rather large
hole in the UN forces, and currently taking great pride and joy in
literally ripping apart the nine Mass Production Series Evas, then one
would have to say that she was having a really good day.
Ruri: That sentence is incomplete.
Inside Eva-02's Entry Plug, Auska was beside herself with joy...or on the
edge of sanity, depending on someone's personal point of view.
Angel: Not much difference, really.
Andrew: And he speaks from experience.
-SNIP-
In the Entry Plug, Auska felt a piercing, stabbing pain like liquid fire
explode in her eye. The pain was enough to put her over the line and
attempt to make her Eva go berserk. Unfortunealy, she wasn't going to get
a chance to get Eva-02 to go berserk.
Ruri: "Unfortunately".
In the control room, Makoto and Maya were monitoring Auska's progress when
Maya noticed something.
"My God, The Eva Series! They're still active...regeneration detected!"
All eyes turned to the screen, which showed the MP Evas getting up,
regenerating the parts lost in the battle with Auska. The MP Evas turned
towards Eva-02...and smiled coldly...this was the smile of a
predator...predators about to pounce upon its next meal.
Duo: Hey, Angel, I bet you can identify with that one too, right?
Angel: That from someone who constantly talks about how his opponents are
going to hell.
The MP Evas took off, their Lances changing into Longinus replicas. As
they did so, Makoto noticed Auska's sync ratio with Eva-02. "Oh no...sync
ratio 151% and rising!"
"No, Auska! Don't do it!" Maya shouted.
In the Entry Plug, one thought was running through the tortured mind of
Auska Langley Soryu.
"Kill you all....kill you all....kill you ALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!"
Duo: Geez, who'da thought? The thing's got a Zero System.
Ruri: Well, not quite...
As the MP Evas threw their Lances at the helpless Eva-02, a small box
buried underneath Eva-02's present location activated.
Eva-02 disappeared in a kaleidoscopic flash of light seconds before the
Lance replicas struck the ground.
The last thing Auska Soryu thought before she blacked out was:
<Unfamiliar ceiling...>
Duo <Shinji voice>: Hey! That's my line!
"Intruder Alert...Intruder Alert...Unknown object in Bay 12...Security and
Medical teams report to Bay 12 immediately..."
************************
Evangelion Unit 01 rose up from the cratered ground near NERV HQ, its
wings transformed into a cross.
<Angel recoils from the screen>
The MP Evas each bit a part of the wing
cross and ascended higher. Then, the MP Evas prepared for the arrival of
the true Lance of Longinus, the start of Third Impact.
Andrew: Third Impact - more catastrophic than your regular Ascension.
-SNIP-
************************
The SEELE council was asking that same question from where they were
awaiting the Impact.
"What has happened?" SEELE 09 asked.
"It was all going according to plan...this is unprecedented!" SEELE 04
said.
"Begin the procedure again!" SEELE 12 ordered.
At the head of the table, a thought suddenly struck Keel Lorenz.
<Could it be...the Messiah? Has she actually returned?>
<Andrew plays a tape of the Hallelujah chorus>
************************
Back at the Eva formation, the MP Evas were preparing to start the Impact
again.
<Nine targets locked. Missiles armed.>
"Fire!"
The MP Evas were suddenly hit by a swarm of high-speed missiles. As they
were reeling from the explosions, they let go of Eva-01...
...which was then caught by a large blue and silver robot speeding past
the MP Evas.
Duo: Well, better color scheme than that ugly purple thing. Still, I
prefer black.
-SNIP MORE-
Carter's Excalibur was suddenly knocked to the ground again. "What the
hell...!" she shouted as she was thrown around in her seat. When the
shaking stopped, she looked out the Excalibur's viewscreen at the large,
white robot that stood above her. The robot was armed with a two-bladed
lance that it brought above its head in preparation to skewer Erica's
Excalibur.
"Uhh....can't we talk about it?" Erica asked.
The robot started to swing the lance downwards...
"Guess not." Erica closed her eyes.
THUNK!
Erica opened her eyes...to see the robot's lance about ten meters away
>from the Excalibur's head. While this wasn't particularly life
threatening, since the actual cockpit of the Excalibur was in the torso
area rather than the head-which housed the sensors, it would still be
annoying if that sharp lance had cleaved through the head, even moreso if
it had continued on to the chest area. Now THAT would be a reason to
worry.
These thoughts ran through Erica's head for about five seconds before she
reminded herself that the aforementioned lance hadn't really touched her.
And looking at the lance, she could see the reason why.
Sticking out of the lance, was a perfectly cut red rose.
Andrew: <waves> Hi, Tux!
************************
In the NERV control room, Fuyutsuki summed up everyone's reactions in one
sentence.
"What the hell was that?" he said.
All <in chorus>: Gee, I wonder!
************************
Sitting in her cockpit, Erica knew exactly what "that" was. Taking a few
deep breaths to calm herself down, she activated her mecha's loudspeakers,
figured out which direction the rose had come from, looked in that
direction, and said very calmly, "You guys sure took your sweet time
getting down here."
"Sorry." a voice responded, "Had to convince Jupiter to jump."
Andrew: Not hard. Say there's a guy who looks like her sempai. It'll
probably be true, too.
"Oh, is that it?" Erica said. "I guess that's all right, then.
I...assume you guys want to do your speeches now?"
"If that's all right with you?" a different voice, more feminine, said.
"Oh, no, go right ahead." Erica said, making her Excalibur give a 'go on'
gesture.
Duo: Yeah, have to make time for the speeches.
"Thank you." With that, several figures-eleven females and one
male-appeared from around a nearby piece of debris. All the females were
wearing what amounted to stylized sailor fukus-which seemed to have large
wings attached. One of them had differently styled wings, seemingly more
transparent, and she also had a long, nearly transparent cape attached.
She held a sword in one hand and a staff with a large sphere in the other
hand. Two of the other women also held staffs, one stylized like a key,
and the other with a rather sharp, curved blade on the end. The single
male in the group was wearing...a tuxedo, complete with top hat, cape, and
eyemask.
The woman with the cape, who had her hair done in two pigtails, strode up
and pointed menacely at the MP Eva with her sword, ignoring the huge
difference in height, and began speaking:
"How dare you attempt to harm a friend of ours and to bring darkness and
destruction to the world! In the name of Love and Justice, I am the pretty
suited sailor soldier, Sailor Moon!"
Then the rest of the Senshi launched into their speeches.
While the Senshi were throwing their speeches around, Erica activated her
mecha's comlink, careful to disable the loudspeakers, and contacted her
squadron, the Crystal Knights.
"Knights, this is Knight-1. Where the hell are you guys?"
A voice came back, laced with static. "K-1, this is K-2, with K-3 and
K-6. K-4 and K-5 are minding the ship. We're about 20 minutes from your
present position. We'll be there soon, but..."
"Atsuko," Erica said, "I hate it when you trail off like that. What?"
Andrew: What color's Atsuko's hair at the moment? Magenta or pale green?
Ruri: Probably Magenta. I doubt Brian's including Nuku Nuku Dash here.
Andrew: Hey, by the way, isn't the Nuku-Nuku TV series set in 2013 or
something? How does that fit in with the continuity here?
Ruri: I think Brian's just using the original OVAs.
"You've got eight more of those white robots heading your way. They'll
get there about the same time we do." Atsuko Natsume said.
Erica sighed. "What else is new?" she moaned. "Any word from up top?"
A new voice-Julia Martins, the newest member of the Knights-responded. "I
have no idea. Communications are still futzed up, and apparently,
Liberty's having a few unwelcome visitors right now. That's all I could
get out of them right now, sorry."
Erica nodded and smiled. "That's all right. Now, get down here fast.
The Senshi just reached Mars."
Andrew: And what was Rei doing so far ahead?
Duo [In Gundam Deathscythe Hell's cockpit]: May I?
Angel/Ruri: Yes.
[SLASH!]
"Damn, already?" Atsuko said. "On the way." Atsuko signed off.
Erica then set her comgear to search for a signal, and soon enough, she
found one.
"...repeat, this is NERV control to unidentified mecha, identify yourself
and state intentions, over."
Duo: [on comms] Anyone who sees me must die!
Ruri: They're not talking to you.
Duo: Sorry. Reflex.
<Might as well be polite.> Erica thought.
************************
The screen in NERV's control room lit up with the image of a young woman
wearing a flight suit and helmet. The woman then swung up the visor of the
helmet to reveal a soft looking face, framed with fiery red hair, and with
piercing violet eyes looking out at the command center. "This is Major
Erica Carter, Commander of the Crystal Knights, the 101st Special Assault
Squadron of the Earth Defense Forces. Now, you identify yourselves."
Fuyutsuki straightened up and squared his shoulders. "This is
Sub-Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki of the special organization NERV, though
now...it really doesn't matter."
"NERV, huh." Erica said. "Commander, I know it's really short notice, but
could you give me a little insight as to what the hell's going on here?"
she asked.
"Basically, Major..." Fuyutsuki smiled, "you and your friends-whoever they
are-just managed to save the world from destruction."
Angel: [Fuyutsuki voice] ...which I knowingly helped Gendou try to cause.
If Fuyutsuki expected Erica Carter to show a reaction, he was sorely
disappointed. "Oh, we just saved the world again? No big deal." she said.
"Oh. And my friends? They're the Sailor Senshi."
That got a reaction from the NERV control room, as a shocked silence,
broken by a few comments, filled the room.
"The Sailor Senshi...?"
"I thought they were dead!"
Andrew: So? This is anime, remember?
"...would explain that incident with the 14th Angel..."
[Angel glares at Andrew]
Andrew: Okay, no jokes!
[Xander pops in]
Xander: I liked that show! Appropriate name for the bad guys!
[Angel glares at Xander, who runs out]
A report brought a halt to the silence. "Commander, UN troops are in
levels 5 and 6!" Makoto shouted.
"Sounds like you're having problems there." Erica noted. "Would you like
some assistance?"
"That would be helpful." Fuyutsuki said. "We might have to evacuate at
this rate."
"No problem, our ship is coming down as we speak, and ...oh! They're
almost done." Erica said. "One more thing; can you get me a link with
whoever's piloting the robot I saved?"
"Of course." Fuyutsuki said. "But you may not like what you see."
Andrew: Geez, why would anyone not like Shinji during EoE?
"Huh? I don't get it." Erica said, looking a little perplexed.
"You will." Fuyutsuki responded.
************************
Back in Erica's Excalibur, Erica frowned at that last statement. <What
the hell did he mean by that?> she wondered as the link was being set up.
Erica looked toward the Senshi, where they were winding up...
"A planet of death and rebirth, Saturn is my guardian planet, I am the
Senshi of Destruction and Rebirth, Sailor Saturn!"
"A Sailor of the heavens, watching over the good and just, the talented
Sailor Solaris!"
Sailor Moon finished up. "In the name of the Moon..."
"We'll punish you!!!" the Senshi all shouted.
At that moment, the comlink to Eva-01 was completed, and Erica could see
Shinji Ikari, with his arms wrapped around himself, barely moving. Erica's
thoughts, at that exact moment, went like this:
<A kid.>
<A kid. Looks about fourteen or so.>
<A kid. A fourteen year old kid. And they shoved him into this robot.
Why?>
Duo: Because everyone knows teenagers make the best mech pilots! Geez,
hasn't she seen ANY Gundam?
<And that white robot was going to kill him!?!?!?>
Quietly, Erica reopened the link to NERV control. "I'm not even going to
ask why there is a fourteen year old child sitting at the controls of this
large robot." she said in a voice that spoke of barely controlled rage and
fury. "That can be saved for later. What I want to know is, if that white
robot..."
"A Mass Production Evangelion." Makoto said. "And the other one is
Evangelion Unit-01."
"Thank you...if that MP Eva had succeeded in skewering me, would that
child had suffered?"
Ruri: "Have".
[Snip Again]
Pluto stepped forward. "Princess, if I may?"
"Yes, Pluto?"
"The world may still be in danger. I need you, Tuxedo Kamen, and two of
the Knights to accompany Saturn and myself to a place called Terminal
Dogma."
Andrew: Oooh, boy.
"Why two of us?" Erica asked.
"We also need to bring Eva-01." Pluto said, and then she and Saturn
disappeared.
"A woman of few words." Erica muttered. "Okay, I need volunteers here."
Julia spoke up. "I'll go."
"Thank you, Julia. Now...how to get there...?" Erica looked down at
Eva-01.
************************
"Hey...hey, kid?"
Shinji Ikari hardly looked up as the unfamiliar voice came through the
comlink of Eva-01.
"Hey, I need some help here. We need to get to a place called Terminal
Dogma, can you help?"
"Go away." Shinji said. "I don't want to go there. I don't want to fight
anymore."
Andrew: Well, he responded. He's doing better than in the movie.
************************
In Erica's mecha, she blinked. <Okay, that was...unexpected.>
NERV control broke in. "We were listening in, Major, and we can provide
you with directions. Only one thing: hurry."
"Thanks, control." Erica said. Looking down at Eva-01, which had not
moved since the landing, she opened a channel to Julia. "Julia, I don't
think this thing's gonna move on its own. You wanna give me a hand?"
"Sure, Major." Julia said as her Excalibur went to help Erica's lift
Eva-01.
"Julia, call me Erica, okay? At least when there aren't any other EDF
ears listening." Erica said. "It keeps things clear."
"Okay...Erica."
"You'll get the hang of it." Erica said, with a laugh. Then she got
serious. "Atsuko!"
"Yeah?" she answered.
"I'm counting on you guys, Uranus, and Neptune. Keep these things off our
backs!"
"We'll do our best, boss. The Silver Moon's due in about 30 minutes."
Atsuko replied.
"Okay, that's all I expect." Erica looked to where Sailor Moon and Tuxedo
Kamen had perched on the shoulder of her Excalibur. "Sailor Moon, Tuxedo
Kamen, you two ready?"
"As we'll ever be." Sailor Moon said.
"Julia?"
"Ready here, Erica." Julia responded.
"Then, let's go!" Erica said.
With that, the two Excaliburs grabbed Eva-01, and headed off towards NERV
HQ...and Terminal Dogma. Behind them, the two Outer Senshi and the rest of
the Knights turned to face the approaching MP Evas.
*****************************
Two Excalibur class mecha and one Evangelion fell down a shaft which
seemed to go forever. As the three mecha fell, Erica Carter found time to
think and to try to piece together what had happened so far.
<Fifteen years? Oh my God. What has happened to the world?> She turned
to look at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, who were currently holding on to
the shoulder of Erica's Excalibur as it descended. <Still the same old
Usagi...even after she got married.> she thought, smiling. A sudden
thought struck her. <Oh, Lord, now what are they going to do for a
honeymoon?> She snickered under her breath at that thought for a bit, then
sobered up and looked at Eva-01, which had not moved since she and Julia
had grabbed it and jumped into the shaft. <What the hell is that thing?>
She looked at her communications monitor, which was currently showing what
NERV had said was the assigned pilot (<another little thing to 'mention' to
them> she thought.) of Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari. Shinji, for his
part, had brought his limbs as close to himself as was humanly possible,
and now looked totally withdrawn for the world. <My God, what the hell
happened to this kid?> Erica thought. <He...looks even more depressed that
*I* am at times!>
Duo: Of course, since we've got a guy who spent 98 years like that here...
Angel: You talk too much.
Duo: Yeah, Hiiro tells me that. [Wistfully] Ah, Hiiro-san...
Angel/Andrew: [Sweatdrop]
Ruri: Well, given the relationships we've seen in your fics, Andrew, the
boys aren't gonna have many options.
An old, familiar pain wrenched at Erica's heart at that thought.
<...Robert...>
"Hey! Bottom's finally coming up!" Julia Martins shouted over the
comlink, bringing Erica back to reality. She looked down and saw a hatch
was coming into view as the three robots dropped down towards it. As the
three reached the hatch, it opened, letting the three mecha and two
superheroes fall...into an icefield.
Andrew: Since all the NERV like iceskating.
"What the hell?!?" Julia Martins said, her disbelief showing in her image
on Erica's monitor. Erica then switched over to NERV control. "Okay,
we're at the bottom. Now where do we go?"
"You go nowhere." a new voice sounded over the com. Erica turned to look
at her com in shock, as outside, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and Julia
Martins reacted to the sudden voice.
Erica controlled her surprise. "Identify yourself." she said in a
professional voice.
A image of a soldier in a UN uniform came up on her monitor. "You are
interfering in an offically sanctioned UN operation. These people are
traitors to humanity and must be stopped! Therefore, you *will* surrender
or you will be shot on sight. Do I make myself clear?"
Duo: Good luck trying to shoot that mecha, pal.
"I'm sorry," Erica responded, "but I do not see any evidence that anyone
here is a 'traitor to humanity' as you quote. Furthermore, on my way down
here, I have seen evidence of atrocities committed by UN troops-although
calling them soldiers is the last thing on my mind, at least as far as
honorable actions go-and I cannot stand by and let you do this. Oh...and
one more thing. Last time I checked, the Earth Defense Forces were an
independent originzation, not under UN command, so I'm afraid that I must
refuse your orders." Erica finished, and shrugged to the image.
The UN soldier's eyes narrowed. "Than you will die like every other
traitor here will." he said coldly. Behind him, Maya Ibuki quickly typed a
message into the comm system.
>"STRAIGHT AHEAD. HURRY"<
Erica looked up and nodded to tell Maya she had gotten the message. Then
she caught movement behind the UN soldiers in the control room. Smiling,
she turned to the UN officer. "Sir, I believe it is you who should
surrender." she said quietly, while running her Excalibur towards the door
indicated by Maya.
"And why the fuck should I surrender?" the UN officer snarled.
"Firstly, watch your language! There are ladies present." Erica said.
"And as for the other thing...well..." she checked the watch on her flight
suit. "5...4...3...2...1...now."
"Cresent Beam Shower!"
"Burning Mandala!"
"Supreme Thunder!"
"Mercury Aqua Mirage!"
"Flaming Blossom Pyrotechnics!"
Andrew: [Soldire voice] Nooo!!! Not the stock footage!
********************************************
NERV Control Room
The UN officer who had been demanding Erica's surrender suddenly had good
reason to take cover (along with his troops) as laser beams, bolts of
lightning, several rings of fire, a spray of mist and ice, and several
balls of plasma flew through the air around him and his troops.
After the storm of magic created elemental energy had died down, several
voices called out from the doorways leading into the Control Center.
"Under the circumstances, I would ask you to surrender." Sailor Mars said,
stepping into the room with Sailors Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Solaris
behind her.
"Or...do you taste lucky?" Sailor Venus asked.
Duo: Hey, Angel, what does "lucky" taste like?
Just about everyone present in the Control Room sweatdropped. Sailor
Venus blinked while Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, and Solaris all slapped their
foreheads. On the screen, Major Carter looked like she was about to
facefault, while outside, on her Excalibur's shoulder, Sailor Moon and
Tuxedo Kamen already had.
While Sailor Solaris dragged Venus outside to "explain" a few things,
Makoto and Aoba double-teamed the UN officer while Mars and Jupiter kept
the other seven soldiers at bay and Mercury ran over to Maya's console.
Even with two to one odds, the UN officer was winning the fight, and had
nearly thrown off the two operators and gotten to his sidearm, when Maya
broke a coffeepot (still half full and rather hot) over his head. The
officer went down like a wet bag of cement, allowing the three operators to
grab and restrain him.
"Mars, is everything okay in there?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Oh yeah, Usagi, everything's just fine here." Mars responded. "In fact, I
thing it went better than trying to get you up in the mornings. Now that
is a real struggle!"
"WHAT!!! Take that back, Rei!!"
"Why should I take back the truth, Odango Atama?"
"I wouldn't talk, pyro-brain!"
"Same to you! Biiidddaaaa!!!!!"
"Right back at you!! Biiiiiddddddddaaaaaaa!!!!!"
Watching over by the control console, Makoto whispered to Maya, "And these
people saved the world?"
In her Excalibur, Erica sweatdropped. "Some things," she muttered, "never
change with age..."
********************************************
Doorway to Terminal Dogma
********************************************
"So, this is it?" Erica asked as she and the others came up to a large
steel door.
"Yes, it is." Maya answered as the control room was being evacuated. "I
can't open the door on this end, the controls have been overridden."
Back in her Excalibur, Erica cursed. "Well, I guess we'll have to try the
direct approach." She glanced over at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, riding
on her mechas' shoulder. "Get clear, I'm gonna try to blast the door
open."
"Be careful, Erica!" Sailor Moon said as she carried her husband away and
to the ground.
After looking to make sure everyone was clear, Erica raised her
Excalibur's plasma cannon, aimed carefully at the door, and fired a ten
second burst at it. When the smoke cleared after a short while, the door
was still standing, albeit with a few craters where the plasma blasts had
hit it.
Duo: Geez, lucky that thing was just steel and not Gundarium or something.
"Shit..." Erica said as she studied the lack of openings in the door. As
she was trying to figure out how to open it further, she was interrupted by
her comm console beeping.
"Erica, this is Mariko in the Silver Moon. We've just landed near the
prymaid remains and the Senshi are getting the survivors out as we speak."
She was suddenly drowned out by a close-by explosion. "SHIT!! Goddamned
monsters!!"
"Mariko, what's happening?"
"Major, whatever the hell you're doing down there, make it fast. Between
Uranus, Neptune, and us, we can give you 10-20 minutes before those white
things break through to your position! Add to that the local UN forces
shelling the holy heck out of us and you have our situation."
"Understood, Lt., but we have a slight problem. Namely, a very large,
very thick door standing in our way. This sucker's still standing after I
shot it with my P-Cannon. Any ideas?"
"Well...they say two is more fun than one. Have Major Martins help you
out, Major...shit!! Gotta go, those UN bastards just launched another
missile wave! Jake, get the defense grid back up..." The transmission cut
off.
Julia's Excalibur came up beside Erica. "I overheard, Erica. Ready when
you are."
Erica nodded and pointed at the door. "Direct center, go for full pulse
bursts. Let's see if that works."
The two Excaliburs carefully pointed their plasma cannons at the center of
the door. "Ready...steady...NOW!!" Erica commanded.
The two mecha unleashed a barrage of plasma fire against the stubborn
steel door.
After a minute, Erica called a halt. The barrage had absolutely no effect
other than adding depth to the craters that were already there.
Duo: You SURE that thing's just steel?
"Shoot...I
guess we're gonna have to try the missiles after all." Erica said. "I
really didn't want to use them in case Pluto and Saturn were on the other
side and got hit by shrapnel, but I guess..."
"CRESCENT MOON BEAM!!!"
Both Excaliburs ducked as a crescent shaped bolt of energy flashed past
them and struck the door, causing a loud explosion at the point of impact.
When the smoke cleared, there was a hole in the door. Not a large one
compared to the scale of the Excaliburs and Eva-01, but as any engineer
would tell you, if you're trying to break through a door or wall, any size
hole will help out a lot.
Erica turned her Excalibur's head to look at Celestial Sailor Moon, who
hovered near the shoulder of Erica's mecha. "Sorry, but it looked like we
were going to be here all day, so..." Sailor Moon said, holding her Cosmic
Moon Sword.
"Oh, that's all right, Usagi." Erica said. "You just made our job a little
easier." Turning back to the hole, Erica's Excalibur reached into a
compartment on its waist and pulled out its beam saber.
Duo: Geez, sabers are so boring! Gimme a scythe any day.
Igniting it, Erica turned to Julia's mecha. "Julia, activate your saber,
we might be able to use this hole to slice through this sucker..."
It was right then that Eva-01 roared.
Angel: BAD news.
*****************************************
Terminal Dogma-several minutes before now.
*****************************************
Commander Ikari looked at the giant white captive on the cross and
frowned.
[Angel averts his eyes, while everyone else boos]
<Shinji has failed. Well, I guess I should have expected that
>from him. Not that that will stop me...Yui, I will see you soon.> "Rei."
At his side, Rei Ayanami barely stirred, but she spoke in a soft whisper.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Shinji is late. I had expected him to be there to fool SEELE into
starting their plan, but I guess I expected too much out of him."
Commander Ikari looked at the cameras around the cavernous bay. "Strange,
I was expecting Fuyutsuki to give me an update..." he shook himself. "It
does not matter. Rei, it is time."
"Yes, sir." Rei responded, walking over to him.
Commander Ikari took off his glove, revealing a pulpy mass that had been
fused to the palm of his hand. "The first step has been completed; I have
become one with Adam. Now, by joining with you, you will take me to
Lillith...and to Yui." With that, he passed his Adam-fused hand through
Rei's chest and into the young girl. Rei shuddered and let out a groan.
"Now, Rei...take me to Yui."
Duo: Hiiro's mine, slimeball!
Ruri: Wrong Yui.
"...No."
"What?!?!" Commander Ikari drew back in shock. "What did you say?"
"No." Rei Ayanami said. "I am not your doll."
Ruri: Gee, you finally figured that much out.
Pain flowed like fire up Gendou Ikari's arm, and a wet snap resounded
throughout the chamber as Adam-along with the hand it was fused to-was torn
>from Ikari's arm and absorbed into Rei. Commander Ikari fell onto the
floor, blood collecting around him, and his scream of pain echoed off the
walls.
A soft chuckle answered that scream.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Ritsuko Akagi asked,
stepping into the light by the fallen Ikari. "Just a wave of your hand,
and you'll be back with your wife? Hah! Nothing's ever that
easy...Gendou."
"Dr. Akagi, this is only a minor setback. Now, I would appreciate a
little help here." Ikari gasped.
"A *minor* setback?!?" Akagi laughed. "Ikari, your 'puppet' just cut its
own strings. I'd hardly call that a...minor setback, wouldn't
you...Gendou?" She laughed again. "Oh, and about that bleeding, don't
worry, you'll live long enough..."
"..long enough for what?" Ikari gasped.
Akagi took a remote out of her pocket. "Long enough to see your dream
die. You see, I've just set the self-destruct protocol on the Magi."
"You will die as well." Ikari stated.
Akagi shrugged. "True, but if it means watching you squirm, so be it."
Rei suddenly screamed and fell to the floor, coughing up blood.
Duo: Bad?
Andrew: I think so.
"What the...?" Ikari gasped.
Ritsuko Akagi frowned and took a gun out of her other pocket. "Guess I
should tie up loose ends..." she muttered, and pointed the gun at Rei.
"This time, you're *not* coming back!" she sneered at the spasming First
Child.
"Dead Scream."
"Disruptor Bolt!!!"
Twin beams of purple-white energy screamed past Akagi, making her drop her
gun. "Who the hell...!?"
Sailors Pluto and Saturn stepped into the light.
"The planet of time, Pluto is my guardian star. The Soldier of
Revolution, Sailor Pluto!"
"The planet of destruction and rebirth, Saturn is my guardian star. The
Soldier of Rebirth, Sailor Saturn!"
"The two Outer Soldiers..." Sailor Pluto began.
"...called forth by a new crisis..." Sailor Saturn added.
"...are here!!" they said together.
Andrew: And they still have time for their speeches.
Ruri: It's a Law of Anime.
"Dr. Akagi." Sailor Pluto said. "Put down the remote, you don't have to
do this."
Duo [Pluto voice]: You always have the volume up too loud, and keep
changing channels on me! Give ME the remote, damn it!
"SHUT UP!!" Akagi screamed, making the two Sailors step back. "What do
you know? What the FUCK do you know? You weren't here. You weren't here
to see what went on here...what he did..." she ranted, pointing to Ikari.
"You weren't here, so what can you do now, hmm? One push on this
button..." she waved the remote, "...and it's goodbye to everyone's
worries. And I doubt even Sailor Moon can save your precious asses from
this!"
"Dr. Akagi...please listen to reason." Sailor Pluto said, trying to calm
the frazzled Akagi down. "You're a scientist, you deal with logic. Ask
yourself this: Is this a logical reaction?" Sailor Pluto could hear
thumping coming from the other side of the massive door. <Good, everything
is in place.> "Now, Dr., just put down the remote, and we can talk about
this rationally." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Saturn
tensing: If Akagi made a move, Saturn would be ready. <Good> Sailor Pluto
thought.
Akagi looked at the remote for a second before looking up at Sailor Pluto.
"Fuck rationality."
She pushed the button. <Mother, I'm coming.>
Nothing happened.
"WHAT!!?" Akagi shouted as she looked at the remote. "Rejected by
Capsar?!" <Mother, you chose him...over me?> Then, Akagi blacked out, the
result of Saturn hitting her with the butt end of the Silence Glaive.
With the immediate crisis over, Pluto took charge. "Saturn, heal him."
she said, pointing at Ikari.
Andrew [Saturn]: Do we HAVE to?
While Saturn was healing Commander Ikari, Pluto went over to Rei, who, in
all the confusion, had lost consciousness because of the sudden pain.
"Rest now, little lady," Pluto whispered, laying a hand on the girl's
forehead "...for today marks the first steps on the path to your destiny."
She looked up. "And the fate of the world."
"Pluto?" Sailor Pluto looked over at Sailor Saturn, standing next to the
healed Ikari. "He's better now, Sailor Pluto." Sailor Saturn said, while
scowling down at Ikari.
Everyone: DAMN!
"Thank you, Saturn." Pluto went over to Ikari and crouched down so she
was right in his face. "You disgust me." she said. Ikari's face was back
in a emotionless mask. "What you have done to your son, your collegues,
even your own *wife*, what you almost accomplished here today...you disgust
me beyond all possible words." She stopped for a bit to regain her
composure. "Know this, Gendou Ikari: My Queen may forgive you-it is in her
nature-your own *son* may even forgive you...how he would boggles even
me...even if he forgives you, I will *never* forgive you for what you and
your collegues in SEELE would have brought about today." She looked up as
a hole appeared in the huge door, with a crescent shaped energy bolt
spending itself against the far wall of the chamber. <Good, they're just
about through.> she thought.
"What right have you to judge events *you* weren't even here to prevent?"
Ikari asked. "Except for the incident with the 14th Angel, where have you
been?"
"What right have I?" Sailor Pluto asked herself. "I have lived since the
beginnings of recorded time on this world. I have seen things that would
even make *you* pale. I have seen countless civilizations fallen...I've
even caused a few of those falls. I have planned for the survival of the
human race as it is now, for unlike you and your 'friends' in SEELE, I know
the human race can still grow as a species without any help from
nearsighted individuals like yourselves." She sneered at Ikari on the last
word. "You have your plans, and I have mine. Now, we're working with my
plan."
Andrew: Yeah, stick it to him! [Cheers]
Ruri: In case you couldn't tell, he's a Setsuna fan.
Rei's scream of pain interrupted the discussion between the two. Pluto
turned around to see Sailor Saturn crouched over Rei. "Hotaru-chan, what's
wrong? I thought you healed her."
"I *did* Setsuna-mama! I don't understand what's causing thi..." Saturn
broke off as a spray of blood erupted from Rei as her chest was torn open.
Duo: Bad?
Andrew, Angel, Ruri: Bad.
"HOLY SHIT!!!" Saturn recoiled from the sight and grabbed her
communicator.
**********************************
NERV Control Room
**********************************
In the NERV control room, Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Solaris were directing the evacuation of the remaining personnel still
alive.
Suddenly Mercury's communicator went off. "AMI!!! GET DOWN HERE,
STAT!!!!" Saturn shouted over the communicator.
Mercury acknowledged Saturn then turned to Venus. "Minako, get everyone
out of here. I'll come up with Usagi and everyone else."
Venus nodded. "Right." She then whispered to Mercury, "Be careful,
Ami-chan."
Mercury nodded. "I will." She then teleported to Central Dogma in a
spray of ice and mist, following Saturn's communicator signal.
**********************************
Central Dogma-Now
**********************************
A flash of ice and mist heralded Sailor Mercury's arrival into the depths
of Central Dogma. As she reoriented herself for the landing, she slipped
in a puddle of blood. "What...?!" she exclaimed.
"Ami!! Over here!!" Saturn called her over to where Rei was, still
bleeding, though not as much as before.
Mercury quickly went over to the prone girl and activated her visor.
"Hotaru, what happened?"
"She was doing fine, Ami. I had healed her...I thought I had healed
her...and looked around this place." Saturn stated calmly, in spite of the
fact that she was scared stiff. "Next thing I know, she awake and
screaming her head off while her chest is ripping open. I can't think of
anything that could cause this."
"Neither can I." Mercury replied, scanning her visor. "Wait..." she
adjusted her visor. "There...about chest level...there's something
inside..."
The rest of Mercury's observation was cut off as the door to Central Dogma
suddenly exploded off the wall in a blue flash of energy. Everyone ducked
as the door came crashing down near them. Standing in the doorway, was
Evangelion Unit-01, looking for all the world like it was about to kill
someone. Behind it, the Excaliburs of Erica Carter and Julia Martins were
getting up from where they had dodged Eva-01 during its charge at the door.
Andrew: Uh-oh...
Saturn and Mercury shielded Rei's body with their own as Eva-01 stomped
into the room, eyes alight with rage. Eva-01 looked around the room, then
looked down at where his father still lay. The eyes of Eva-01 narrowed,
alit with a terrible rage, and the giant Evangelion raised a fist,
seemingly to crush Commander Ikari flat. Fortunately, Erica's Excalibur
tackled Eva-01, sending it into the nearby wall, where Unit-01 struggled to
break free.
All: FORTUNATELY????
Inside her Excalibur, Erica was fighting with her controls as the
Evangelion struggled to break free.
<Warning! Structural stresses approaching tolerance limits!!>
Ruri: In other words, the thing's about to break.
"Aww crap!! What the hell is going on!" Erica swore as she fought with
her controls. "Kid, please calm down before you break something!" <Namely
me!>
A com signal from the Silver Moon came in. "Chief, this is Mariko. I've
been monitoring your sit, and I've got someone here who might help."
"Mariko, any help will be appreciated." Erica cringed as a shudder went
through her mecha's frame. "Just hurry, please!"
A new face came up on the screen. "Major, this is..."
"Yeah, Ibuki. You sent the directions. Any ideas?" Erica asked.
"Just one. The Evangelion is controlled by the pilot's mental impulses,
so..." Maya said.
A cracking noise reverberated throughout Erica's Excalibur. "So...what?"
Erica asked, panic beginning to show on her face. By that time, Julia's
Excalibur had moved up to help hold Eva-01 back, although even with the
extra help, they were both stretched to the breaking point trying to hold
back the bezerk Eva.
"Whatever the Eva feels, the pilot also feels." Maya said over the
comlink.
"Hmmm...if that's true, then..." Erica muttered, then grimaced.
"Aww...mannnn."
"What?" Julia asked.
"Julia, stand back, I'm gonna try something." Erica said, shaking her
head. Julia stood back as Erica's Excalibur ignited its back thrusters,
throwing it and Eva-01 up against the wall. <I'm gonna hate myself for
this later> Erica thought. "Kid, for what I'm about to do, please forgive
me." she asked, clapping her hands.
Then Erica's Excalibur straightened up and brought its knee joint...to
slam Eva-01's crotch area.
Duo: And that's something that should've been done to Shinji a long time ago.
Ruri: You're mean.
Duo: [sighs] Yeah, guess I am.
Inside Eva-01's entry plug, Shinji Ikari went pasty white. Insane with
rage as he had been, he couldn't ignore the sudden phantom pain emanating
>from his most private region.
Watching from below, Tuxedo Kamen winced and whispered to his wife,
helping out with Rei.
"Remind me not to get her angry again."
"Sure, Mamo-chan."
Stunned, Eva-01 slid down the wall to lay crumpled on the floor. "Sorry,
kid." Erica whispered as she turned to where Sailor Moon and the rest were.
Over by Rei, Sailor Mercury had arrived at a solution regarding Rei's
condition. "Based on her condition, there's no time to make a proper
diagnosis, so...we'll have to improvise." She turned to Sailor Moon.
"Usagi, we'll need the Silver Crystal, but only at low power. We just need
to stabilize her so Saturn can heal her." She turned to Saturn. "Hotaru,
as soon as Usagi uses the Crystal, heal her with everything you've got,
understand?" Saturn nodded and gathered the necessary power. Erica and
Julia hopped out of their Excaliburs and ran over to where Tuxedo Kamen was
standing with Pluto.
"Ready?" Mercury asked. Moon and Saturn nodded. "Go!"
The Silver Crystal glowed brightly in Sailor Moon's staff and spread its
rays out over Rei while Saturn glowed with healing energy, both working to
heal the stricken Child.
A few minutes later, Rei's convulsions had eased as the wounds closed up,
allowing Rei to slip into unconsciousness. Saturn and Moon staggered back,
exhausted from the effort. Tuxedo Kamen caught his wife, while Pluto
supported Saturn. "Now that that's over with." Tuxedo Kamen said, holding
onto Sailor Moon. "Can we get out of here?"
"I agree." Sailor Moon said. "Erica, any suggestions?" she said, looking
over at the two majors.
Erica thought a bit. "First things first, can you three still fly?" At
the nods of all the Sailors, she continued. "Good, here's what we'll do.
Tuxedo Kamen can ride on my Excalibur's shoulder again, Julia, you take the
girl with you, I'll take the old man, and Pluto can carry the woman.
"I'm not going anywhere with him and that *doll*!" Dr. Akagi snarled.
Erica's eyebrow twitched, and she stomped over to where Dr. Akagi was,
summoning her psionic sword. Pointing it at Akagi, her eyebrow twitched
again. "Ma'am," she said in a voice as cold as ice, "I am having a real
*lousy* day so far. *Please* don't make it any worse for me...or
yourself."
Akagi looked at the pissed off mecha pilot, then looked at the sharp
energy sword she held, and shut up.
"Good," Erica said. "Now that that's settled, let's get the hell out of
here." She turned to walk towards her Excalibur. "Julia, wanna give me a
hand with this lug?" she asked, pointing to Eva-01.
"Err...sure, Erica." Julia said, carrying Rei and heading towards her own
Excalibur.
Behind them, the three Sailor Senshi developed sweatdrops.
"You're right, Mamo-chan. I wouldn't get her angry."
"So true."
After helping Commander Ikari into Erica's Excalibur (Erica: "Cause any
trouble and you'll be freefalling back down!"), the two mecha, three
Senshi, four NERV personnel, and one EVA unit began the trek to the
surface. Any UN hoverships encountered along the way were mercilessly
dealt with by the Excaliburs plasma cannon and missile launchers (Tuxedo
Kamen had to duck every time Julia used her launchers). Eventually, the
group were a few meters from the opening into the Geofront, where the
Silver Moon was waiting for them.
"Alright!!" Erica shouted. "Another five meters, and then we run like
hell to the Silver Moon. Then, it's goodbye to this warzone!"
But as her Excalibur neared the opening (Shinji has regained consciousness
and was now in-between the two Excaliburs), Julia let out a shout.
"ERICA, HEADS UP!!!!!!"
One of the MP Evas had jumped in front of the entrance, blocking the
group's way out. Erica let out a curse. "Damn it! Get outta our way!!"
She raised her Excalibur's plasma cannon, and the Senshi prepared their
various attacks.
"Beam Chakram!!"
Duo: It's a Xena crossover now?
"Tornado Cannon!!"
Andrew: Better than Xena.
"Scatter Blade!!"
The MP Eva was suddenly blasted by multiple energy beams while twin energy
disks sliced into it twice. The white Eva roared and turned to face its
attackers, leaving its back exposed...
"Crescent Moon Beam!!"
Mercury Aqua Mirage!!"
"Disruptor Bolt!!"
The MP Eva was knocked back form the entrance by the Senshi's attacks,
sending it careening into a pile of debris. Missiles and cannon fire from
the Excaliburs quickly buried it. "Now stay down!!" Erica snarls, then
turns towards their unexpected rescuers. "The Alpha Iczelions?!"
Andrew: YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!
Ruri: Although he just changed tense... in the middle of a paragraph.
Kiiro Ijima, Kawai Kai, and Nagisa Kai stand on a nearby ledge, their
Iczelion armors in Alpha mode. Stray energy discharges spark from Kiiro's
Tornado Cannons, Nagisa's arm blades are glowing, and Kawai is holding two
energy disks. "Hi, Major!" Nagisa smiles. "Bet you never expected to see
us, did you?"
"Nagisa!" Sailor Moon shouted.
Ruri: And we're back to past tense again.
"Hi, Usagi-chan!!" Kawai smiled and waved.
Then two UN tanks rolled around the corner, their cannons lowering for the
shot.
"Oh, shit!!" Erica shouted, spinning her mecha to fire...
"Gravity Lance!!"
A purple and black blur slices the two tanks, which then collapse in on
themselves as the local gravity fields around them are suddenly multiplied.
Ruri: And now back to present tense.
Andrew [Ignoring grammatical errors]: Hi, Nami!!!
Ruri: Baka.
Erica blinks. "I see Nami is as direct as ever."
Nami Shima lands by her fellow Iczelions. "The way to the ship is clear!
Let's go!!" she shouted. The Iczelions leap towards the ship.
Ruri: "Shiina"
"Okay, let's go!!" Erica shouts. The group runs towards the waiting
Silver Moon.
*************************************
Aboard the Silver Moon...
*************************************
"Atsuko. we're aboard!!" Erica says as she secures her mecha. "Lift
off!!"
Ruri: Either change the full stop to a comma or capitalise the W.
"Slight problem with that, Erica!" Atsuko replies from the bridge. "We
took a hit somewhere that knocked the primary igniter out. The
auto-circuit for the secondary system is also out!"
"Which means we can't lift off?!?" Erica shouted into the comlink,
stepping out of her mecha's cockpit.
"Not yet." Atsuko replies. "We've traced the fault to Junction R-71, in
the floor of the mecha bay. I'm sending Jake to help out!" On cue, the
lift doors open and Jake Andrews, the computer expert for the Knights, runs
out onto the catwalk, heading for the bay floor. Erica follows him, moving
NERV refugees out of the way.
Jake reaches a access hatch in the floor and opens it up. Sparks and
smoke billow out of the panel. "SHIT!!" Jake curses.
"How bad is it, Jake?" Erica asks.
"Bad, Major." Jake replies. 'I've got faults in three junction bridges.
I gotta bypass them all before we can hope to take off."
"How long?"
"If I had some help, maybe two, three minutes?"
The NERV "bridge bunnies" come up to the two soldiers. "Mind if we help?"
Makoto asks.
Jake nods. "Sure. Help me set up the bypasses."
The four get to work. "Jake," Erica says, "I'll be on the bridge. Get
that fixed ASAP!"
"You got it, Major!!"
Erica heads to the lift, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen following. Once in
the lift, Erica turns to the newlywed prince and princess.
"Hell of a way to start a honeymoon, isn't it?" Erica muses.
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen laugh.
On the bridge, Erica quickly moves to her seat by Atsuko. "Status!"
"Engines are still no-go, Erica!" Atsuko reports.
"Defense grid at 40% and falling!!" Mariko says.
"What about weapons?" Erica asks.
"Software fault with the tracking interface!" Amy Sullivan reports.
"Auto-fix routines are tracking it now, but for now, it's strictly line-of
sight."
Duo: So, in simple terms, trouble.
"Hmmm..." Erica muses. "Do we have scatter-missiles in the launchers?"
she asks.
"Yeah, but that won't be too useful unless we take off." Amy says. "Unless
you like having us roasted by out own missiles!"
"Okay." Erica says. By this time, Fuyutsuki and Commander Ikari have come
up to the bridge. Erica presses a comlink. "Jake, how's the engines?"
"Just a sec, Major..." Jake said. Throughout the ship, a rumbling
started. "Got it!!" Jake yelled from the mecha bay. "Engines up!!"
"Let's get the hell out of here!!" Erica shouts. She and Atsuko pull back
on the control sticks, causing the Silver Moon to rise from the Geofront
ruins. "Amy, as soon as we clear, fire the scatter-missiles and fire the
forward batteries." Erica orders. "Hopefully, that will make those UN jerks
think twice about chasing us."
"Right, Major." Amy replies.
As the Silver Moon cleared the hole in the Geofront roof, several UN
batteries trained on it. But the UN forces were suddenly thinking of other
things as missiles and plasma shots fired from the Silver Moon into their
locations. In the chaos that ensued, the Silver Moon quickly raced to the
safety of space.
Ruri: And the author raced back to the safety of past tense.
As the ship left the Earth's atmosphere, Erica let out a sigh of relief
and sat back from the controls. "Finally..." she breathed.
"Interesting ship you have here." Commander Ikari mused.
"Erica turned to face him. "You haven't seen the last of what we and this
ship can do." she replied. A shimmering light brought her attention to
Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon, who were now detransforming. As they did,
Fuyutsuki let out a gasp.
"Mamoru? Is that you?!?"
Mamoru looked over at Fuyutsuki. "Sensei?" he asked.
Fuyutsuki nodded. "I haven't seen you since your wedding." He looked over
at Usagi. "And it is a pleasure to see you again as well."
"Thank you, sir." Usagi replied. "I see we're not the only ones with
secrets to explain." she muses.
"Indeed we're not." Fuyutsuki replies. "This should be an interesting next
few days."
"Yes, indeed." Erica says. "Atsuko, head to Liberty Station. Mariko,
contact the station. Tell them to set up a triage area in Bay 9 as soon as
we dock."
"Yes, ma'am!" Atsuko and Mariko respond.
Julia came up to the bridge at that moment. "Erica, the pilot of that
purple robot just came out." she said.
"Is he okay?" Erica asks.
"Well...." Julia says. "As soon as he got out, he came to the floor and
looked around the bay with a blank look in his eyes. He scared me a
little." she shudders.
"Anything else?" Erica says.
"Well, after two minutes of doing that, he let out a bloodcurdling scream,
scaring the hell out of everyone there." Julia said. "Then he fainted dead
away. Sayoko is looking at him now."
Andrew: I don't suppose this "Sayoko" happens to be the one from Fight!
Iczer-One, does she?
"I'm going down there." Usagi stated. She and Mamoru headed for the lift.
"What the hell is going on now?!?" Erica muttered.
*************************************
Silver Moon-Mecha Bay
*************************************
"It's alright, no one will harm you now. You're safe." Usagi cradled the
unconscious Shinji Ikari in her lap as Mamoru and Sayoko Keikio, along with
the Iczelions, looked on.
"I gotta tell you, Mamoru," Sayoko was saying, "whatever was done to that
child has seriously unbalanced him."
All: <Grumble about a certain NERV commander>
"You scanned him?" Mamoru asked.
"No," Sayoko replied. "I don't need a direct scan to tell that this kid's
mental balance is seriously whacked." She took a breath. "I recommend we
keep an eye on him when we get to the station, just in case he tries to
take his life."
Usagi gasped. "You think it could go that far." she whispered.
"Easily, Usagi." Sayoko responded.
Mamoru put a supporting hand on his wife's shoulders as she looked down at
Shinji Ikari.
<Oh my God.>
*************************************
Silver Moon-Bridge
*************************************
"Knights, you are cleared to dock in Bay 9. Trauma teams are standing
by." the controller at Liberty Station said as the Silver Moon neared the
giant asteroid-turned space station.
"Confirmed, Liberty." Erica said. "Coming in, now."
"Welcome home."
Erica sat back from the controls, letting Atsuko handle the docking.
"This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?" she mused.
*************************************
EDF Station Liberty-Medical Bay
*************************************
Shinji Ikari awoke in a hospital bed. Turning to his left, he saw a
window separating his bed from Rei's bed, where she lay, silently resting.
Turning to his right, he saw Auska, her head wrapped in bandages and
several machines surrounding her. Her bed was also separated from Shinji's
by a windowed partition.
Shinji then looked at the window near his bed, which presented a
spectacular view of the Earth from Liberty's present orbital position.
Sighing, he looked at the ceiling, and took a breath.
"This sucks. Why does it always have to be an unfamiliar ceiling?"
***The Beginning***
*************************************
Next time: As the Senshi and their allies recover from the sudden time
shift, their questions about their guest yield some suprising and
horrifying results. Can they cope with a world fifteen years out of their
own experience? Also, some new guests bring a suprising revelation about
Star Admiral Romney's "daughter." What is it?
Andrew: The Slayer? [Angel whacks him] Hey, I don't remember ever seeing
Buffy's dad turn up in the TV series!
Plus, SEELE ups the ante
with a Eva attack in space. Who will survive in the cold depths of the
unknown? Next time: "Revelations of Dark and Light/Eva Attack!" the next
story in the Destiny's Path series!
Andrew: Hope it's out soon!
*****************************
Author's notes
*****************************
It's done.
After nearly two years of off and on progress, the saga of Destiny's Path
is finally underway.
Andrew: At last!
I really don't know what happened to make me delay
this thing for so long. I guess it was a number of things all conspiring
against me. Okay, okay, enough ranting.
Andrew: Heh, I'm guilty of taking huge amounts of time as well.
During the writing of this, I guess I changed the basic concept around
several times. You'll probably see that reflected in later chapters.
Ruri: I'll be taking notes.
Yes, I know everyone is probably very OOC in this. This is supposed to be
an alternative version of events that happened in the movie (which I
finally got to see...thanks VKLL!), so some variation is to be expected.
Opening and closing themes will probably change with each chapter. That's
totally up to me, although suggestions are welcome! :-)
Okay, that's probably it. Any C&C is appreciated. Arigato!
Andrew: In conclusion?
Angel: Not too bad.
Ruri: I reccomend you make sure you stay in the same tense, though - and
be careful to complete your sentences properly.
Duo: We'll all look forward to the rest of it.
All: BYE!
________________________________________________________________
Andrew Dynon
"Humiliation is nothing to be ashamed of."
- Justy Ueki Tylor
"Stories have to be told to exist. They exist in the telling and retelling."
- Itzhak Roeh