Yeah, I know I'm late. Again. But those of you who watch the weather
channel may have noticed that Arkansas is catching ice storm after ice
storm, and electricity is an iffy prospect at best. To all those I owe C&C,
I'm working on it.
Thanks go to all those who have commented on this, especially Stuart
Ferguson and DB Sommer. Thanks also to my prereaders, Bart Kelsey and
Glazius Falconar.
C&C will be gladly accepted, and any comment will do.
Merry (late) Christmas, and a happy new year! May your beer never lose its
head!
Ragun
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: xgp5.txt
Fei waved nonchalantly as his fellow pilot walked into the
examination room about fifteen minutes late. With his other hand
he held a bandage to the back of his head.
"Sleep late?" Fei asked.
Bart shook his head. "Briefing. They're worried that
another Power Seraph might show up. They should relax a little,
I can handle it." He walked over and took a seat fairly close to
where Fei was sitting to one side of the smallish room adjoining
the main lab.
Fei didn't bother to reply.
"Through with the physical?"
Fei nodded, slowly. "Watch out, Ritsuko's on a rampage.
She's got this big needle and she insists on jamming it into the
back of your head."
Bart winced and rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Yeah, I remember those. They usually only do them once a year,
though. Fine time to start now."
"Tell me about it. She jabbed another one in my spine."
Fei held his hands up several inches apart.
"Ah, well," Bart replied philosophically, "I guess you have
to take the bad with the good. Maybe later she'll give me a
sponge bath." He looked up as she entered the room, followed
closely by Maya Ibuki.
She held up a short, thick needle with a wide base mounted
on a strangely shaped syringe that looked like it was designed as
a punch weapon and gestured for him to proceed to the examination
room. "Just in time, Pilot Fatima. If you'll just come this
way, we can get started." She made a slight motion with the
syringe that was precisely calculated both to draw attention to
it and make it seem as threatening as possible.
Bart frowned. "Tell me, Doctor Akagi, do you enjoy your
work?"
Ritsuko smiled, not quite evilly. "Every second, and thank
you for asking."
He sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."
Fei waved good luck to him and eased into a more
comfortable position on his seat. As the trio walked from the
room, he could hear Maya's assurances that all Bart would feel
would be a _slight_ sting. He laughed slightly. Ritsuko must be
in a good mood this morning.
About ten minutes later Bart emerged, also holding a
bandage to the back of his neck. He turned and glared behind
him, which was answered with a faint giggle from Maya.
Grumbling, he walked back over to his seat and glared at Fei.
"You could have told me they were going to use an anesthetic."
Fei shrugged. "Dr. Akagi asked me not to."
"Ha ha," Bart replied flatly. "What's with her today?
Usually she's got the sense of humor of a drill instructor."
"Don't know."
Bart snorted. "Well, whatever it is, I hope it goes away.
Angels are bad enough, but I don't think I can handle a doctor
who likes practical jokes."
Bart was far from the only one to notice Ritsuko's odd
behavior, but he was the only one to complain about it. Maya
loved it, mainly because she was in on it, and Citan... The
esteemed Dr. Uzuki did his best to ignore his underling as she
practically flitted around the lab, running fifteen tests at
once.
(At least she doesn't react like Yui,) he mused, examining
the test results for himself. Yui loved to cook, especially when
she'd just made an important breakthrough. He did have to watch
his weight, after all.
"Commander, I've just finished the final tests on Pilot
Fatima. He shows no traces of the byproducts found in Pilot
Wong, and electron scans of his body fluids turned up negative,
no clusters found. He is 75% likely to be free of infection,
according to Magi analysis."
Citan nodded, relieved. "That's good, one wildcard is
enough. Tell Fei to avoid close contact with anyone for several
weeks, that he is carrying an infectious disease, but not a
serious one."
"Have you finished with the tests on Fei's spinal fluid?"
she asked.
Citan shook his head. "There are several strange readings,
I want you to look at them." He rose and offered her his seat,
which she quickly took. He unobtrusively looked over her
shoulder, easily keeping up with the speed at which she analyzed
the results.
"Mmm hmm," she hmmed. "Nearly all of his neurochemicals
are at extremely elevated levels, which is normal for Evangelion
pilots. A side effect of the pilot interface. However, his
endorphin levels are off the scale," she said wonderingly. "Most
of our pilots have elevated endorphin response, but nothing like
this."
"I noticed that as well," Citan agreed. "I cannot
determine where the excess endorphin is coming from. The human
brain simply cannot secrete that much."
"The nanoclusters?" Ritsuko asked.
"Probably."
"What I really can't figure out is how he's able to move.
With levels like that, any normal person would be a happy,
drooling idiot, even if you slowly ripped out their internal
organs with a dull, rusty-"
"Thank you, Dr, but I get the point," Citan replied dryly.
"Anyway," she continued, bringing up more chemical reports,
"something is clearly interfering with his ability to absorb
certain compounds."
"Why do you say that?" asked Citan.
"He's still able to move around and operate normally, if a
bit relaxed. About the only side effect I've noticed is that he
isn't mourning his family as much as I would have expected."
Citan moved to her other side for a better view. "Perhaps
that is a good thing."
"Others would certainly enjoy that acceptance," she
replied. "But why would he have that much?"
"Dr. Akagi, endorphin is produced when the body experiences
either injury or pleasure, as part of the reward system. With
that much, his nerves could be sending constant, debilitating
pain signals, but he almost wouldn't feel a thing. If he did, he
simply wouldn't care."
"If the nanites were there to rebuild body tissue, they
might would produce artificial endorphins to counteract the pain
of repairing damaged nerve cells, possibly caused in the angel
attack," she said doubtfully.
"Correct, that is a possibility. Not likely, however. I'm
afraid that Pilot Wong is simply too big of a risk to actively be
used in combat, at least close to Tokyo-three." He looked at his
watch. "Doctor, it's time. Further inquiries will simply have
to wait."
Ritsuko sighed and nodded. "Yes, you're correct."
"And yes, the report on nanotech research will be waiting
when you return."
"Thank you, Commander," she said carefully. "I'm sure it
will be of great assistance to my research."
(I'm sure,) he thought, leaving to find his two mission
commanders.
As expected, they were both on the bridge, running pre-
battle simulations on the powerful Magi interface there.
"Colonel Fatima, Major Katsuragi," he began, alerting them
to his presence and sliding his glasses back up on his nose from
where they had slid down during his walk.
"Yes, Commander?" they replied, coming to attention.
"You already have your orders regarding the use of Unit One
in this battle, but I have come to stress their importance. In
light of certain tests ran during today's physical, it has been
determined that there is a strong possibility of another
berserker incident," he said seriously.
"From Fei?" Misato asked incredulously. "Not from the
Eva?"
Citan nodded gravely. "Fei was in full control of Unit One
during the incident, although prompted from external stimuli and
through no malice or intent of his own." He paused. "We think."
She nodded and bit her lip thoughtfully. "He's going to
want to fight, you know."
"Do _not_ let him," Citan repeated. "Unless all of Nerv
and Tokyo-three is in immediate danger, he must be held back. He
will follow orders."
Misato frowned and started thinking quietly as Sigurd
voiced his own concerns.
"Commander, why have him on the battlefield at all?
Subcommander Black will be holding a sniper position for this
battle, and Bart is a more than capable pilot. I don't feel that
we need Pilot Wong there, at least not enough to outweigh the
risks as you put them."
Citan shook his head. "Our scans indicate three
approaching Seraphs, a common attack unit now that they have
adequate numbers to draw on. However, last time three Seraphs
attacked, they were in the company of a Power Seraph, and Unit
One may be the one thing that saves us all should they break
through. It may well kill us as it saves us, but it may not."
Misato spoke up again. "Fei really caused all that
damage?"
"To be fair, Unit One really did it, but yes," Citan
replied dryly.
"If he can do things like that, he could probably win this
war all by himself, couldn't he," she mused, almost to herself.
"I hope so, but I also hope it won't come to that. That is
why we must continue to train him, let him fight the angels on a
small scale now, and when the time comes..." he trailed off.
She looked up sharply. "Does he know about all of this?"
Citan shook his head. "No. Do not tell him either."
"I wouldn't suppose he'd take it well, knowing that he
killed millions of people and only saved a few," Sigurd added.
"I hope he doesn't find out on his own," she replied.
****************
"Here we go, boys," Misato said seriously. "They're
finally here." On the big screen in the bridge, three blinking
indicators showed the positions of the three Seraphs that were
attacking. "Everyone remember instructions?"
Scanning stations dotted the areas around Nerv, thinning
out as they got farther from the city. Unmanned drones were also
deployed in large numbers; Nerv wasn't taking the chances on
another surprise Power Seraph visit.
"Sure do!" Bart replied cheerfully. "Kick butt. Take
names. Bury their rotting carcasses." His red Eva hefted a
large progressive hand axe, and a rifle as well.
"Yes," Fei replied as well. "But I'm not happy about it."
Well back from the projected battle zone, he stood idly listening
to the radio traffic.
"Bet yer sweet ass, toots."
"Pilot Black, am I going to have to bring you up on
insubordination charges?" Misato barked. "This is a serious
situation, and I expect you to treat it as such."
"Sorry," Jessie's rough voice came over the speakers in the
bridge, although smoothed out somewhat by talking through LCL.
"Sir, yes, sir, Major Babe."
"That's better," Misato replied, smiling. "We've already
wasted more than half a day waiting for these things to get
within range, and I'd like to be done quickly and without
casualties."
Beside her, Sigurd nodded assent. He was there to allow a
more in-depth command, should the need arise.
On her screen, the first of the angels was entering the
area designated as the battle zone, which was well away from Nerv
but close enough for support to arrive quickly. Most of it was
broken forest, about three kilometers from Nerv.
Bart stood also just in the zone, but on the Nerv side,
crouched behind a large concrete layered shipping container he'd
carried out there as a shield.
Jessie's own Unit 8, a black, pygmy-like Eva with a full
size particle rifle crouched on a building on the outskirts of
Tokyo, not the best sniper position, but the best available with
the trailing cord that powered the particle gun.
Fei simply stood unarmed on one of the less damaged areas
of the geofront, ordered to hang back and keep his power level
low. He scanned the overcast sky, noting the recon drones
buzzing over in a search pattern.
Misato held her breath as the trio of angels steadily got
closer, no longer traveling in the search pattern they'd been
moving in for the past day. As the last one entered the
battlefield, she shouted "Bart! Engage enemy now!"
Swift and sure, Bart raised Unit Two up to fire his rifle
over the makeshift shield. The huge gun fired solid core armor
piercing shells at about forty rounds per minute and its
thunderous roar vibrated him to his very bones.
The huge grey humanoid in the lead recoiled under the
assault, making him fight to keep it aimed true, and immediately
started to glow with power. Rather than immediately attack, the
other two responded in kind, expending power on defense rather
than offense.
"Jessie! Do you have a shot?" Misato asked, watching the
battle unfold on the main screen.
"In a minute," Jessie replied calmly, tracking the fight
with his huge gun. "I can only fire every few minutes, and I aim
to make sure every shot counts while it can." He couldn't quite
get a lineup he was sure wouldn't hit Bart if the conflicting
angel energies threw it off course.
"Fire at will." She turned her attention back to the main
fight, even as Sigurd was telling Bart to drive one of the other
angels back from where it had nearly flanked him.
Trees vaporized at the approach of the angels, incinerated
by the barrier they had put between themselves and the bullets.
The second angel was driven back closer to the other two by the
hail of bullets from Unit Two, its field glowing brighter with
each successive hit. Very few were actually penetrating far
enough to hit the angel, and even then they did little damage.
"Hah!" exulted Bart. "Thought you was gonna sneak up on
me, didn't you?"
"Watch your ammo, Bart," warned Sigurd. "You're running
low."
The shells were large and bulky, making it hard to put many
in a reasonable sized clip. Although less than a minute into the
fight, he had already spent more than 80%. He reduced himself to
a few, more accurate bursts.
The defending fire now becoming sporadic, the angels
abruptly stopped close together and started to glow even more
brightly, the glare causing whiteout on the recon cameras for the
bridge.
"I got a shot," Jessie said softly, lining up the head
angel on his sights.
"BART! Duck and cover!" Misato screamed, not needing to
see to know what would be coming next.
Almost instantly, he dropped, leaving his rifle to clatter
on the top of the large concrete box shield as he tried his best
to duck the next attack.
Not that it really helped, as the intense blast from the
three angels tore through the reinforced concrete like their
brethren had done so many weeks before. Bart screamed in
sympathetic pain as the angel's power bathed his Eva, melting
armor and burning flesh.
As quickly as it stopped, Jessie fired his answering blast.
The beam of charged particles found little resistance from the
temporarily spent angels as it drilled a neat hole through the
chest of the lead angel. Even as it was tottering lifeless, he
jumped down from the building and ran from cover to cover,
waiting for the capacitors deep inside Nerv to power up for
another shot before he jumped back on a building to shoot again.
Hearing his friend scream, Fei couldn't stop himself and
broke his silence. "Bart! Are you alright?" he asked, even as
Misato and Jessie were asking essentially the same question.
"Burns to front torso, arms and head, combat ability not
affected," Ritsuko informed dispassionately.
"Oww, just fine. Feels like a really bad sunburn though,"
Bart replied out of habit, not really hearing the jumble of
questions, even as he rolled away from his original position and
sprang to his feet.
"Fei! Be quiet!" Misato snapped as Sigurd started giving
Bart instructions.
"Bart!" he yelled, watching the screen intently. "If you
still have your hand weapon, rush the right angel while its still
building power!"
Half listening to her companion's orders, Misato instructed
Jessie to attack the left angel as soon as he could. He grunted
in response, watching his charge indicator that had just began to
fill.
Screaming a combination battle cry and scream of pain, Bart
flung Unit Two and the melted remains of the hand axe still
clenched in its hand at the still standing angels.
Not powering up for another combined blast, the angels
physically rushed to meet Bart's attack.
Extensive combat experience dictated his next move, which
was to duck right, sever the closest angel arm with his axe, and
hopefully bury it in its back before either it or the other
managed to hit him. However, he hadn't noticed that his finely
crafted weapon had also been hit in the blast, leaving it as
little more than an expensive club.
Even as he ducked right and swung, the left angel had
tracked the move and started to circle. The right angel's arm
failed to sever as expected, leaving him to gasp in shock as the
powerful blow jarred the useless axe out of the Eva's grip and
slammed into its ribs. Bart found himself knocked off of his
feet like he'd been clotheslined, his startled yell mixing in
with the commotion from the bridge.
Almost instantly the angels were on him, their hard,
fiercely strong fingers tearing into Unit Two even as their halos
washed over it.
"Ow! Let go!" Bart protested through gritted teeth as he
fought from the ground, attempting to break free. LCL from the
Eva's circulatory system ran freely from the rents and tears the
angels had gouged in its torso.
"Bart, get out of there!" Sigurd yelled, breaking his
composure.
Misato switched her personal screen to a veiw of the black
Eva crouched on another roof. "Jessie! Bart needs help now!"
"I've got a bit more to go on the charge," he replied.
"But he's gotta get outta there before I can shoot. With the way
those halos are conflicting, no telling where it'll go." Even
so, he had the rifle already lined up.
"Shit!" Misato cursed. "Bart! You've got to move!"
"I'm really tryin'," he grunted, fending off the glowing
hands of the angels as they attempted to rend Unit Two from
throat to crotch. Unit Two kicked and scratched, all the
sophisticated fighting moves he'd learned having been reduced to
their most basic level. His concentration rose, building the
Eva's power.
"I'll help him!" Fei yelled, breaking his Eva into a run.
Reflexively, Misato yelled for him to stop, Commander
Uzuki's orders foremost on her thoughts. As he screamed defiance
and continued his charge, she glanced down where the Commander's
furious face had suddenly appeared on screen.
So angry was he that it cost him precious seconds to regain
his voice. "Stop him," he spat finally, and just as quickly
blinked back off, returning her screen normal.
"Fei!" she yelled. "I order you to return to position!
We'll save Bart!"
"Dammit! I won't see someone else get killed!" Fei replied
hotly, having already left the cover of the city.
"That's an order, Fei!" Without a second glance, knowing
he wasn't going to obey, she motioned to Ritsuko. "Cut the
signal."
The limp grey form of Unit One skidded to a halt less than
half a kilometer in from of Jessie's position.
Jessie noted it and returned his attention to his gauge,
which was nearly full. "Particle gun ready," he said just as it
blinked green.
Turning to Sigurd, she asked, "Can he eject? Jessie would
have a clear shot without endangering him."
Sigurd shook his head furiously. "Underground escape isn't
an option, and if he ejected now it'd turn him into a bloody goo
about twenty feet under the earth."
"AAAHHH!" Bart's wordless scream grabbed their attention
to where one angel had finally managed to plunge its hand into
the belly of the red Eva, clear LCL spraying from the wound as it
slowly eviscerated Unit Two, despite the two handed grip Bart was
using to stop it. The other angel was too busy dealing with his
flailing feet to take advantage, but Bart was in too much pain to
really care.
Jessie watched through his sights, as over and over again
both his natural instincts and his targeting program informed him
that there was too much �ther interference to take a shot.
Although it seemed like an eternity to everyone watching,
the angel and Eva struggled in the space of a few moments. In a
desperate move, Bart released his grip on the arm of the angel
and drew back one hand, punching with a clawlike hand into the
chest of the angel; Unit Two's �ther enhanced strength allowing
him to shred the alien form much as it was doing to him.
His cries abruptly stopped, lungs pushed past the point
where they could supply the pressure needed to vocalize, but that
didn't diminish his awareness of the angel's hand tearing upwards
through Unit Two's body cavity.
"Pilot life signs erratic!" Ritsuko suddenly exclaimed,
breaking through their indecision.
"Cut the connections!" they screamed simultaneously,
finally moved to action.
Bart lapsed into blissful unconsciousness, the Eva's
increasingly weak struggles also ceasing, but not before Bart's
last fighting attempts damaged the one angel beyond its ability
to function, and it partially collapsed on top of him, still
propped up by the arms each had driven into the other.
The last angel, however, was completely undamaged in the
fight and, perhaps in vengeance, started to dismember the
motionless red Eva legs first.
Sigurd sighed, closing his eyes. "Shoot it, Jessie," he
said softly.
Doubts aside, he immediately fired.
****************
Darkness.
Vision shut off and lacking internal lights, Fei lay rather
awkwardly, strapped in upside down in the LCL.
Utter silence.
Not even the vibrations of heavy footsteps or explosions
broke the monotony anymore, only his own yells sounded in his
ears.
Anger.
This was a subject Fei had some time to think on, as the
manual eject button didn't work.
He sat and stewed for over an hour, alternatively screaming
in rage and demanding to be let out or pleading to know what was
happening outside. For all he knew the angels had killed
everyone and he was going to be left there for eternity.
Occasionally, he would fight and twist to be free, pulling
with all of his might against the straps and pounding with all of
his strength on the controls and every surface in reach, but the
best he did was leave a few dents.
Finally, several buttons lit up on the inside of the entry
plug and hydraulics thrummed to life, slowly opening the hatch
and letting light filter in through the LCL.
Blinking madly at having been in darkness for so long, Fei
hit the switch to release the buckles and climbed out the top in
a wave of LCL.
Commander Uzuki waited impassively on the ground beside the
motionless hulk as Fei emerged and slid to the ground wetly,
before doubling up and retching the LCL from his lungs and
stomach.
Waiting until Fei's ragged breathing calmed, Citan spoke. "You
disobeyed a direct order."
"Bart was gonna die, and I could have saved him," Fei
replied, his voice growing stronger and eyes adjusting to the
light. "Is he okay?" he asked, standing to his full height,
although he was still forced to look up slightly to meet his
Commander's gaze.
Citan nodded once, sharply.
Fei breathed a sigh of relief.
"That does not change the fact that you disobeyed orders,
possibly putting us all in danger," Citan repeated impassively.
Fei's head rose in defiance. "And how was that?"
Citan's mouth was a thin, hard line. "Last time three
angels attacked, a Seraph of Power arrived undetected and killed
over half of Tokyo-three."
Fei winced in remembrance.
"If another had attacked while you were away being a hero,
it could have destroyed what is left of Tokyo-3, and killed
everyone at Nerv."
"But-" Fei began, only to be cut off.
"You didn't think of that, did you? No, you wanted to be
the hero, impress your friends, make up for your mistakes."
Fei frowned.
"There is no room in Nerv for heroes. What we need is
people who will follow directions and do their job, not some
young pilot who thinks he knows best."
Fei's eyes darkened in anger, everything he'd wanted to say
and do in the entry plug flooding back to him. His muscles
tensed.
"You've already got an upcoming mission, one of vital
importance to the people of Moscow, and yet you jeopardize it
with this foolish grandstanding."
"Stop."
Citan ignored Fei's quiet interruption. "Would you have us
tell all the people huddled behind the Moscow geofront 'Sorry, we
can't help, our only remaining pilot tore up his Eva and now you
just have to wait for the angels to come get you'?"
"Shut up," Fei said, this time much louder. A red haze
started to obscure his vision.
Citan fixed him with a cold glare. "Pilot Wong, if you do
not see fit to obey your superiors unless it suits you, you will
be removed from the roster and we will make do without you. We
need all the pilots we can get but the one thing we do _not_ need
is a loose cannon."
With a wordless roar, Fei launched himself at Citan.
Effortlessly, he dodged the telegraphed attack, slapping
Fei's outstretched arm with one flat palm to throw him into a
spin and using his legs to trip him and send him sprawling into
the grass.
"So, you just want to fight. I must admit, I'm not
impressed by your choice. The angels are the enemy, not me," he
said calmly, no trace of anger in his voice. "You just can't
seem to make the right decisions today, can you?" he asked
rhetorically, settling into a deceptively relaxed stance.
Fei hadn't stayed down long, but took his time in sizing up
his opponent. He remained light and balanced, focusing all of
his attention on the man in front of him. He feinted, darting
forward in an apparent leg sweep but kicking hard against the
ground to leap into the air, swinging his right knee in a brutal
attack on Citan's head and punching low to catch him if he
ducked.
Citan waited until Fei had jumped, then kicked his own left
leg at Fei's, still stretched out from the jump. The hard blow
did little damage, making a satisfactory wet smack on the LCL
covered plugsuit yet failing to bruise, but did leave him
staggering to regain his footing from the failed attack.
Fei backed off once again, looking for an opening.
Citan took his time recovering from the kick, demonstrating
his mastery of his art and body as he slowly brought his leg back
by his side with nary a wobble or hesitation. He settled into a
much deeper stance and dug his shoes into the ground for
traction.
Fei shifted his own stance in return, going on the
defensive.
"Fei, the chain of command is there so that we can maximize
efficiency and effectiveness. You have to work with the system."
He left the 'or else.' unsaid.
It was brutal and over in seconds.
Fei found himself face first on the ground, both arms
twisted painfully behind his back as Citan straddled him.
"Now listen, Fei. You are going to go to Russia, kill
angels, save people, and above all, _follow orders_. Do I make
myself clear?" He might have twisted Fei's arms even further to
punctuate his sentence, but chose not to. Fei knew who was in
charge. All he wanted to do was remind him of it.
"Yes," Fei replied, grimacing.
"Very well then. No disciplinary actions will be taken."
He let go of Fei's arms and stepped to one side, offering his
hand in assistance.
Warily, Fei accepted it.
Citan nodded, glad that Fei hadn't tried to press the
matter. One never could tell, sometimes. And that was really
what it was all about.
Without another word, they both started walking back to
Nerv, leaving the Eva for the crews to retrieve. Less than
halfway back, Citan's cell phone started ringing.
"Yes?" he answered tersely, noting the sideways flick of
Fei's eyes.
"Commander," came Sigurd's clear voice over the phone,
"Remember that 'situation' in Russia?" he asked seriously.
"You didn't call to go over that, now get on with it,"
Citan replied irritatedly.
Somewhat taken aback by his commander's tone, Sigurd
hastened to answer. "Well, we just received word from Russia.
Everything's going to hell, and they've lost most of their Evas.
They need help, and they actually needed it yesterday."
Citan's expression changed, although to what Fei couldn't
tell. "Well, I'm afraid that since our time machine isn't
working at the moment, they'll just have to make do."
Fei, having only heard only one side of the conversation,
looked startled.
"How much time before our teams are ready?" Citan
continued.
"Another few hours, we're way ahead of schedule. The angel
attack actually sped things up, as we could pull more workers
from evacuation," replied Sigurd. "We need more time to prepare
Unit One, however."
"Good. Have Unit One picked up immediately. We need
everyone on their way as soon as possible." Citan hung up.
****************
Vladislav shivered as the wind blew through the ragged
holes in his uniform, despite the repairs he'd attempted to make.
He scratched his long brown beard and winced in pain as he pulled
a few frozen bloodcicles from it. Discarding the frozen pieces
and bits of hair without a noticeable glance, he continued
scouring the frozen farmlands from his lofty vantage point.
In his eyes, he knew more about angels than anyone he'd
ever met, having been following their progress for several years.
Thanks to a few words in the right places, he'd even been sent
around the world to study them in other countries. He'd enjoyed
the pay and he had gotten to see the world for free, but now he
wished he'd never heard of angels.
Why, oh why, couldn't he have been assigned to one of the
wiel combat teams?
The events of the last few days coursed through his mind
over and over again. The last thing he remembered was scouting
the position of the enemy when the ground erupted all around him.
He vaguely remembered hearing what sounded like angels singing
from above, but he may have just been imagining things, hard as
it was to tell through his thick headgear. He'd woken up in a
snowdrift, half frozen and partially deaf, and had hastily made
for the highest structure around.
He hunkered down farther on the lee side of an abandoned
farmhouse roof to avoid the biting wind and snow, but left his
head sticking above the peak. "Damn blizzard," he complained,
more because of habit than any real feeling.
The snow was so thick that he really couldn't see anything,
despite having state of the art equipment. Laser rangefinders
and light amplification devices were pretty much useless in a
blizzard. Earlier he was relying on infrared imaging to scout
the field, but that was foiled when three large super-hot blips
of bright white walked onto the scene, obscuring all other heat
sources. He'd been forced to change the settings to watch the
huge humanoid beings tear into the Russian defense line.
That had been right before the explosion.
Giving it up as essentially a lost cause, he tucked his
head back down and dropped the binoculars around his neck,
pulling out a tiny palmtop computer. All of his surveillance
equipment was attached to it through a cable that snaked in from
one side, and theoretically it would record everything he saw and
heard, but after having been through EMP storms and an explosion,
he wasn't sure.
"Let's see if this works," he murmured in an almost
monotone voice.
Amazingly, it did, and he lost little time tweaking some
controls on his binoculars. Changing the setting back to
infrared, he adjusted the sensitivity level so that the big
angels wouldn't white out the screen. He wouldn't be able to
spot small, low intensity heat sources like humans, but that
wouldn't matter. It was nearly impossible to miss an angel.
Raising the binoculars back to his eyes, he scanned the
field once again. Several tanks crawled slowly across it,
visible only because something had damaged their heat shielding.
Blazing hotly in the center of their formation was an amorphous
blob, nearly on par with the energies given off by an angel.
He cheered privately to see that Nerv-Russia had at least
one Evangelion still going. Maybe they had a chance after all.
Using the Eva's heat signature as a guide, he continued
tweaking his binoculars. He was interrupted by a sudden flash of
white light that blinded all sensors and even leaked in around
the eyepieces. He reeled back in shock as the computer buzzed
and beeped, attempting to record everything.
"What the hell was that?!" Vladislav loudly asked himself,
as if expecting an answer from thin air. A ferocious shockwave
nearly knocked him off the roof, quickly answering his question.
Water sprayed all around him as snow melted from the heat.
He regained his hold and glanced down where the screen on
his palmtop displayed the statistical data from the blast. His
jaw dropped. All bands of the visible spectrum were within that
blast, as well as large quantities of heat, UV-rays, X-rays...
Hell, it even contained high intensity gamma rays. Every type of
energy wave was focused into that blast. He looked back through
his binoculars, which had started working again.
The entire field glowed dimly from residual heat, but there
was no sign of the Eva or the tanks. (It figured,) he thought.
He'd seen smaller versions that had destroyed most of Nerv-
Russia's helicopters. At least this time he didn't have to dodge
falling shrapnel.
He searched and searched, but the angel never appeared.
Finally, he'd had enough. It would be a treacherous trip across
the broken landscape, living off the land, avoiding the wrath of
God, but Vladislav's mind was made up. Nothing in the
regulations said he had to stick around after Nerv-Russia was
destroyed, so it was time for him to take his leave.
He climbed carefully to the ground, shivering where icy
water trickled through his clothes.
A giant waited for him at the bottom.
At least, that's what it looked like to Vladislav's fear
addled mind. Standing a little over three meters tall, it was
incredibly manlike in both proportion and features, except for
the tail swishing behind it. He couldn't see any sexual
characteristics, even though it was naught but naked grey flesh
from the feet up.
Vladislav babbled incoherently, stumbling backwards into
the snow. His hand reached for a weapon that wasn't there,
having been lost since he'd gotten knocked out so long ago.
It smiled at him, a tight, very human expression that
didn't show any teeth, and reached one massive hand out to him.
Suddenly, it moved its mouth, but his thick earwarmers and
damaged hearing wouldn't let him hear it.
He shook his head. "I don't know what you're saying.
Just, just go away, okay? I'm unarmed!"
Frowning, it tried again.
He started backing away slowly. "No, no, I can't hear you.
Leave me alone, monster, thing, whatever you are."
He never got a third chance.