2010-05-13 - XIII: Bardiel

SOME TIME AGO

Central Dogma is quiet. Too quiet.

With only Makoto, Shigeru and Maya occupying the bridge -- for they were, after all, the bridge bunnies -- boredom soon set in. Makoto quickly got sick of hearing Shigeru talk about how awesome the latest Porkkkupine Penis album was, Shigeru was rather creeped out by Maya going on and on about how wonderful her Dr. Akagi Senpai was, and Maya was getting somewhat annoyed with Makoto for trying to get her to tell him the type of shampoo Misato was using. A bloody argument would have erupted if not for Shigeru having the bright idea:

"Who's up for strip poker?"

It took some persuading, but Maya was eventually subjected to enough peer pressure to agree. The two males were beside themselves with joy. The sweet, shy, demure, innocent Maya Ibuki... stripped down to her bare necessities for their eyes only. OH HO HO!!

40 MINUTES LATER

Shigeru and Makoto are in their boxers, faces red. Their clothes are piled around Maya, who looks immensely pleased. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of Central Dogma, the three bridge bunnies are in the middle of their final hand.

That awful, terrible, cheating, nasty Maya Ibuki, she had obliterated them at every turn. No matter how high their hand was, Maya would always have one higher. Makoto had Two Pairs? Maya had a Three of a Kind. Shigeru got a Straight? Maya got a Flush. And no, these are not simply double entendres - this is strip poker for crying out loud!

Now, having reached their final humiliation, Shigeru and Makoto are both broken to the ninth degree.

"I have a a Full House," says Makoto, sounding horribly depressed.

"Four of a Kind," says Shigeru, sounding like he is about to cry.

The two men wait for Maya to reveal her hand, no doubt a Straight Flush. And they wait. And wait. And wait. And finally Maya, who has grown very very quiet and very very red, mumbles, "I-- I only got... One Pair."

ZAZOOM!!

"WE WON," scream Shigeru and Makoto in delight. They jump up like children, hugging and sobbing and shaking hands in triumph. Already they huddle in the corner, butts swaying in the air, planning what they will ask Maya to remove. And that's when every monitor in Central Dogma begins flashing red and the alarm sounds off.



NOW

Tokyo-03 is empty. The citizens have all evacuated ahead of time. The only sound heard throughout the streets is the rise and fall of sirens, echoing between building. A smoldering sun hangs low in the sky, casting the city in a garish orange light. Dark shadows stab across the earth in wide strokes, heralding the imminent dusk.

Tokyo-03 has marked its time and was now waiting for death.

Far below the surface, however...

"Is there any visual of the Angel yet?", demands Misato, her voice loud and clear. Central Dogma has good acoustics.

"Uhh," replies Shigeru, flicking through various satellite pictures. He looks so destitute as he works, a stark contrast to the high tension filling the bridge. He's still upset over the missed opportunity to see some of Maya's flesh. Whatever this Angel was, people had better rip it to shreds and avenge his game of strip poker.

Finally Shigeru announces, "Nothing yet."

"Goddamnit," rages Misato. "Over a hundred fucking satellites up there and not ONE can give us a clear visual of the Angel?!" Resisting the urge to bite down on her beret, the Major turns to Maya. "Any word from Izu yet? Have they managed to track it down? Do THEY have a visual?"

"Negative," says Maya, who is both relieved and horrified that the Angel chose this time to appear. And appear it did, right outside of Izu Base.

There was a large explosion at the time, causing the inhabitants of Izu to jump to the conclusion that they were under attack. By the time they scrambled their fighters, though, all they found was a large crater a short distance away from the base. It took around fifteen minutes of heavy radio chatter, as Izu attempted to figure out what the hell happened, before NERV came forward about a new Angel approaching Tokyo-03 from the direction of the EFA outpost, and everyone put two and two together.

"God," exclaims Misato. "Fine. God. Fine!" Stupid useless Izu. "Who needs a visual anyway? We know WHERE the Angel is coming from. Hook me up to our guys and gals."

Makoto nods and does just that. Those who are arriving to Tokyo-03 to fight the Angel are then treated to Misato's plan, the Major ordering them to spread out across strategic locations in and around the city. They were going to lay an ambush for the dear Angel.

Occupying their usual spot in the command post above the bridge are Fuyutsuki and Gendo. Both of them silently observe the proceedings. So far, so good. Another day, another Angel attack, another step forward into terror.

Alia is on her guard while near Japan. While nominally under EFA control, there are a few interesting threats in the area... and some of them are large enough threats to force city evacuations. It's the signs of several vehicles all leaving Tokyo 03 that catch her eye from the sky, along with tiny bits of EFA radio chatter her status as one of their allies lets her overhear. She brings the wind elemental Zefholm over Tokyo 03 proper, trying to spot any familiar machines in the hope of joining up with them; Alia's previous encounters with the strange, towering monsters attacking this region proved that while they have trouble hitting her, she doesn't have enough firepower to bring one down alone, either.

EARLIER

Latooni picked up the phone. She was halfway through dialing a number - Leo's - before her other phone started blaring music. She had, finally, gotten it to stop playing that electronic-sounding ancient pop song; it is now playing Bach instead.

NOW

Latooni Subota is uneasy. She had a bad day yesterday, or at least a confusing one; it's her night that was bad. When she woke up, she immediately starting pulling up reports, press releases, all sorts of things.

And then the organization she had started to investigate called her for deployment. What were the odds?

Still, whatever her personal uncertainties after a talk (loosely speaking) with Rei and some of Huang's notes, Latooni is not in favour of just leaving Tokyo-03 to get ravaged by an extraplanetary monster. And their plan to ambush it suits her. She has never been fond of playing fair.

As one of the best suited to strike from stealth, Latooni took her Dagger N rather one of her faster units. The Dagger has one major advantage the others don't, and she's using it right now.

Specifically, she is totally invisible, on top of a building and functioning as spotter. As long as the Dagger doesn't move much, the system doesn't draw a lot of energy; she can sit there for a long time, even if she couldn't fight without dropping it.

She ignores the dull feeling of uncertainty and focuses on the mission.

SPACE BATTLESHIP EXELION

IT'S REALLY KIND OF A SUMMARY OF EVENTS MORE THAN ANY ONE MOMENT IN TIME

Noriko Takaya has spent the last few days slipping back into her routine, after spending the better part of a week after the battle - if it could be called such - with Leliel left her in a mental state which could be defined medically as "completely what-the-fucked up."

It's a condition, seriously.

In that time, she attacked Leo Stenbuck in the corridors, stared at a wide and fascinating variety of walls, and /almost/ unsealed the greatest enemy humanity has ever known from the secret bunker in which she has hidden it away, never again to be witnessed by humans, so that she could remind herself of the true face of her enemy. But no...there are certain demons best left buried.

She has also had another workout with Rei Ayanami, which ended with a tearful hug, and Noriko blissfully strolling away from the encounter unwitting of just how manipulative her new "friend" had been. Since then she has been gradually improving her mood, and inspired by her discussion with Rei, been rewatching one of her old classics.

Which is why, when Noriko's little 3066 cell phone starts buzzing, Noriko picks it up, and Shigeru gets a snatch of someone decreeing "I am the beautiful soldier, SAILOR --!" before Noriko finds the mute button and yelps, "Sorry, the remote was---yes? Is it an Angel!?"

NOW THE POSE ENTERS INTO AN ACCOUNT OF PRESENT EVENTS

In the sky above Tokyo-03, a star appears - boosting in too fast to be any natural phenomenon. RX-207 Totoro, the Machine Weapon v2 Takaya Custom which is built mostly on the premise of working like a smaller-scale Gunbuster, detatches the high-speed photon thrusters it used to get from Martian space to Earth in only half an hour, and begins to plummet through the atmosphere like an unusually axe-laden Kool Aid Man, arms crossed across its chest just as Noriko's crossed her own, the inertial canceler taking the brunt of the force of re-entry.

She hums the last few bars to the eighth repetition of Ai no Senshi (the classic original version, of course, which very nearly doesn't exist anymore outside of Noriko's collection), and then clicks her music player off and opens up her radio.

"This is Takaya!" she cries! "RX-207 Totoro is on scene! I've received your marker, I'll make my way to that point as soon as I'm through re-entry! ETA, two minutes!"

INSIDE THE GEOFRONT

Rei Ayanami is being shuttled to her Evangelion, where it waits for her down in the depths of the facility. While the little tram moves, she holds a book. It's written in English -- this young adult novel about a young female page at court, attempting to prove herself worthy of becoming a knight, and the trials she faces during that time. Rei doesn't know what it's called. She makes a pained face as she stares at the first page -- and then flips to a later section, before staring at that, too. Her eyes scan the small ink shapes impressed upon the paper, but no meaning emerges from them. She flips back and forth through the book, as if it were some kind of choose your own adventure -- each time she stops, her face growing a little more troubled. She sneers, she squeezes the bridge of her nose, she grabs at her temple. Her head hurts so much.

Then she arrives and it's time to change. Rei tucks the book into her A-LAWS greatcoat's pocket and inhales sharply.

INSIDE THE GN EVANGELION

Rei Ayanami is sitting inside the plug of her monstrous unit. She feels ill at ease. She's waiting for systems to activate -- for that magic moment where the canister she's sitting in will fill with iridescent LCL that will flow into her nostrils, her mouth, into her ears, seep into her tear ducts, bind itself to whatever's left inside -- the conduit between her nervous system and the giant cyborg's -- the missing link between this world and something else.

Through the red eye of the Eva, for a brief moment, Rei thinks she can see someone. It's a male shape, she thinks. Gendo? No. Too small. Shinji? Maybe. It's dressed like Shinji, but the hair's too light. Rei looks away for a moment, at one of the instrument panels, part of the usual systems checkup. When she looks back, the figure is gone. She can see someone else, though. Gendo Ikari. As if he'd always been there.

LCL begins to seep into the plug. Rei, uncharacteristically, suddenly seems very afraid. All she can do is ask, quietly:

"Why are you letting this happen?"

To whom the question is addressed remains unresolved. Rei's head lolls back as the LCL overtakes her. Her lips twist in shapes that are not words, nor even sounds.

NOW

GN Evangelion Unit-00X moves into position on the launch platform, ready to hurtle upward through the face of the Earth.

SOMETIME AGO

Kaji enters Shinji's hospital room casually. He looks around and tries not to frown when he notices a lack of get well cards. Asuka's room was practically full of them. I mean yeah there was one from Misato and some of Shinji's friends but it was a meager display on one table. "Right. Shinji, lets get you out of here. I'm taking you to Bennigans."

Shinji looks up at Kaji and just blinks. Why was it adults always took him to Bennigans when he hurt himself? He just sighs and accepts the offer with a slight smile.

Several Months ago

Misato and Kaji stare is disbelief at the sign on the door of Bennigans. "A never ending beer glass for the parents of a child celebrating his birthday.." Misato repeats with widening eyes.

Kaji only nods, the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "That's a very good deal."

"But where are we going to get a kid?"

"Shinji?"

"What about Asuka?"

"Asuka will complain that we're not sharing any of it with her."

Misato nods slowly and thus began the great Bennigans tradition.

NOW

Shinji sighs, relaxing his cockpit. He was in a fairly good mood after Kaji bought him lunch yet again....A lunch that was interupted by being called into duty. Now Shinji sits, staring blankly as the technicians get ready to launch Unit 1.

"Shinji, we don't have visual confirmation on the Angel so you need to be careful. We don't know what it is capable of."

Shinji gulps slightly. He recalls that statement well. It means Shinji, you are about to get hurt again by some weird alien horror. "Yes, Misato but are we sure it's an Angel? I mean don't they usually make their pressence more well known?"

"Yes...Just be careful, alright?"

Shinji forces a smile and grunts in affirmation, feeling his Evangelion move toward the launch platform.

Ayato doesn't even try to raise the other operatives here to fulfill Order 3066 as RahXephon races from Nirai-Kirai, because aside from sporadic bursts of communication from TERRA he knows what he'll get: static.

Angels are still fringe science in some ways, even for TERRA, whose job it is to deal with things of their nature; they certainly don't have the same base of knowledge on the creatures that NERV possesses, so thus far TERRA-affiliated researchers' attempts at figuring out whether the persistent radio interference is some quirk of the monsters' AT Fields, their quantum, gravimetric or electromagnetic signatures or something else entirely in conjunction with RahXephon's similarly difficult to quantify... everything have gone awry.

On the up side, Ayato's done pretty well without the luxury of being in full communication with everyone else present, if 'pretty well' is defined as 'coming home deeply traumatized a few times of being killed'.

There's no finesse about Ayato's approach; he expects not one monster but two, just as there has been since Sandalphon, and so he keeps RahXephon high above Tokyo-03 to scan for them; it would not, after all, do to miss the Angel or the Chimera's appearance.

SOME TIME AGO

L-

o/` Fly me to the moon, o/`

o/` and let me play among the stars~ o/`

o/` Let me see what spring is like o/`

o/` on Jupiter and Mars~ o/`

Really? /REALLY?/

NOW

A vaguely humanoid distortion settles onto a building next to Latooni's Dagger N; it moves almost totally silently and smoothly, and the only thing that gives away the fact that there's anything there at all (except at extremely close range) is the extremely thin stream of burnt orange GN particles trailing out of the shape.

Technically, Leo Stenbuck is supposed to be back a ways... but there's been no sign of the Angel, and he's fairly certain that with the 1 Gundam's active camouflage up, he's just as invisible as Latooni is. The Gundam's already meager GN particle stream dies out entirely as it settles onto the building; Leo squints at the position Latooni was supposed to be in, increasingly unsure that it's actually there, and hesitantly reaches out to grope around with his MS's hand.

The hand ends up on the Dagger N's arm after only a moment of feeling around, and Leo toggles his communications systems over to contact ciruit and says, without preamble, "Lat, it's me. Are you okay? We haven't really had a chance to talk since the last one, and..."

 Shinji Ikari transmits, " Does anyone have any idea what we're fighting?"

Last night, a worrying message was left on Excellen's voice mail.

There was no reply when she attempted to call back. Even now, as the Tausendfuessler designated for ATX use chugs into Japanese airspace as it veers towards Izu Base, the redial button has being hammered every ten minutes since they entered EFA-controlled territory.

It doesn't take much to get her BigSister instincts up and running; she is used to nerves and sass and grumpiness from certain individuals, but never the outright terror underlining the panicked words left for her to hear. Neatly usurping escort on a necessary supply run for her team's needs that, coincidentally, happened to be arranged for today wasn't difficult. If anything, it got her out of Kyosuke's hair to let the man sort out paperwork and saved Bullet from whatever mischief bored blondes got up to when left to her own devices.

It's the 34th attempt to raise Johnny Domino on his phone while teasing her squad leader about being 'boring' that is interrupted by the emergency callout regarding the Angel from Izu Base. The timing couldn't be worse, truth be told, but she's not one to let aliens run riot on her homeworld turf. And her machine isn't noted as one of the faster machines in the joint taskforce for nothing.

Excellen might not be part of the team assigned to order 3066, but who'd refuse one more helping hand in dealing with the monster? So it is that silver-white streaks into Tokyo-03 airspace in the wake of the passage of the Angel. Not that anyone knows what the damned thing looks like. All they've been able to confirm for her is that she's been following its trail the entire way. Still, if the Angel is here (somewhere), he'll be here, and then they can talk after.. "Assault-2 and the PTX-007-3C Weissritter, here to lend aerial support," she calls on the joint band frequency, eyeing units familiar and...not so familiar; the latter are tagged as the friendlies if they're not automatically updated on her HUD.

Macua Huitl is back in Japan for whatever reason and is off away from Tokyo 02 training, that's when the phone from Nerv she'd got some time after the last angel she'd encountered. She's just perched up in one of the ruins in Tokyo 01 when it happens. She calls for her G fighter's lander and she's making for Tokyo03 things could be getting down right messy.

It was a risk to go help, but then again NERV did seem to keep the war off when they were dealing with Angels and if it rampaged across island nation of Japan it wouldbe pretty bad too, right? She hasn't even had time to get back to base and find out about her promotion, but right now there's another cosmic horror to punch.

ELSEWHERE

It's a nice, warm spring day. Akira Tadokoro is currently asl--

bzzzzrrrrt

bzzzzrrrrt

"Gnuhhhhhhhh," Akira groans, rolling over annoyedly at the phone.

He falls off the bench, landing on the grass with a 'thump'.

"Gnuhhhhhhhh," Akira repeats.

RIGHT OVER THERE

NEARBY

"Stupid Angels," Akira grumbles. He sits in the cockpit of an apparently normal though nicely painted M1A Astray, apparently able to fly without the stupid rotors and only /some/ rocket propulsion. This is largely due to the power of psychic bullshit, but that's irrelevent. The important part is that he's here, approaching the spot where the Angel is supposed to be.

"Where is it," he transmits, yawning as he does. "Should be asleep right now..."

Akira Tadokoro activates his MBF-X1AT Astray-TT unit.

Touching the Dagger N causes a minor ripple in space as the arm moves about half foot when Leo bumps it. It stills a moment later.

"I am all right," Latooni says, by the same contact-communication technique. "But we need to talk. I was about to call you when this came up. So - as soon as we can." Directly afterwards might be hard. Even if one of them suffered nothing more than a broken rib from being bounced around in their cockpit, it would still make it hard to talk.

Of course, if by a miracle they both come through it all right, she won't complain. She just has perfectly reasonable doubts about that happening.

SOME TIME AGO

Asuka Langley Sohryu suddenly sits up. It takes a moment for her to become aware of her surroundings. There's no Japanese-style door here, no posters of handsome boy-band hunks on the walls. The white ceiling, the white tile floor, the white walls--this isn't her room.

So where is she?

She looks down at herself. An IV is strung into one arm. Her eyes follow the line to an IV bag, hanging from a pole.

A hospital...?

It's then that it comes to her, in one brilliant flash; being at school, but not being herself... Leo Stenbuck, his hand, the burn--

Her hand shoots up to her face; fingers scramble around to touch, to feel what she knows already is there--or in this case, isn't.

None of the doctors tell her what happened, but she already knows. She's angry. Angry that they think she's so stupid that she hasn't realized it yet. Angry that she's been tricked by an Angel. In the end, it's Misato who tells her, and even before she can press forward the words, Asuka's hurling things at her. Her pillow, the candy, the flowers Kaji brought her. She rips the IV out of her arm in the process, but still Misato stands there motionless, and bears the brunt of Asuka's anger.

And then she tells her her eye is gone.

NOW

Inside of EVa Unit-02 sits Asuka Langley Sohryu. The bandages she was wearing days earlier are gone now, replaced with a large, black eyepatch. Her lips are tugged into a frown, her fists tremble on the unit's controls. She's already on the launch pad, prepared for deployment.

"I'm going to kill it," she says, her voice low, almost trembling. "That's all I need to do. I'll make those Angels pay for what they've done."

Cagalli, unlike Macua, does /not/ get a phone call from NERV; no, she is the worst kind of person: a tagalong. When she found out that Macua and Akira were getting calls, well, she just couldn't sit back and do nothing. After all, NERV is not exactly an organization that she trusts with /her/ people.

As such, the Strike Rouge has been promptly prepped, and joins the M1A Astray in heading out toward the Geofront, only to find what she thinks is a whole lot of nothing. "... Do they call you guys up for 'nothing we can actually see' super often?" Cagalli asks, already a little impatient.

She doesn't have any weapons free yet; right now, she's just... looking.

"Usually it's... rampaging already," Akira remarks, flagrantly disregarding pose order like some kind of Latooni to reply to Cagalli.

TWO WEEKS AGO

The Evangelion pilots, as well as many members of NERV 3066, were absorbed into the twelfth Angel, codenamed Leliel. Emerging out of the Angel many hours later, nearly every person who spent time inside the hostile lifeform exhibited varying degrees of mental instabilities. In some cases, people even incurred physical injuries.

Whatever people experienced while being trapped inside Leliel took a heavy toll, and Johnny Domino appeared to have gotten the worst of it.

Upon his return to the real world, Domino's mental state was termed by Ritsuko Akagi as 'highly compromised'. For quite some time after his return, all the Agent did was sob his little heart out and vomit his little stomach even more out. Reacting violently to physical touch and failing to acknowledge when people spoke to him, Johnny Domino was eventually placed in isolation.

However, the reason for the Agent being separated from his comrades and locked out of sight was not because of his fractured psyche, as some have guessed. Indeed, NERV as a whole cares very little about the mental well-being of their employed pilots. Rather, the reason was to do with something far more tangible.

Standing inside a white room, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi reaches over and turns on an X-Ray Illuminator hanging on the wall. Next to her, Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki leans forward to get a better look at the X-Ray images on display. They are brain scans of Johnny Domino -- one set taken during a procedure medical evaluation prior to Leliel's appearance, the other set taken directly after the exposure to Leliel.

Behind the two, a sign above the door dryly notes the room to be 'Metaphysical Biology Research Room 1'.

After a time, Fuyutsuki inquires, "Is that it?"

"Yes, sir," affirms Ritsuko. "No physical scars, no flesh wounds, no internal bleeding. Just... this."

Fuyutsuki studies the brain scans a moment longer, noting the differences. "You have found no evidence of contamination," he says, a silent question mark at the end of his statement.

"No, sir," replies Ritsuko. "We've ran every test we could. We found no trace of the blue pattern. As I said, just this."

Fuyutsuki takes an intake of breath, long, loud, ponderous. Finally he concludes, "Fascinating. Wouldn't you say so, doctor? How wonderful it would be, and how sad, if this was the closest any mortal man has come to being touched by god." The Vice Commander offers a kind smile. Akagi does not return it. She doesn't believe in god.

NOW

Ritsuko all but bursts into Central Dogma. A long piece of paper trails behind her as she moves, displaying a blue graph. There's a clipboard in her other hand, holding a printed dossier. For a woman of usually fine graces and level-headed reservation, seeing her rush up the stairs leading to the bridge is a somewhat disconcerting sight.

Misato doesn't look at the doctor, though. She's busy nodding her head at the radio. "Acknowledged, Assault-2, Noriko." To the side, Shigeru narrows his eyes at Takaya's voice. That girl is a goddamn NERD. The kind he used to BEAT UP when he was a HIPPY back in SCHOOL. And yet, after summoning Noriko, Shigeru can't help but have a hunkering for some Neo Sailor Moon...

"Major," Ritsuko calls out to Misato, having reached her destination. Despite her rush, the woman hardly broke a sweat. "The MAGI finished its spectral analysis of the target. This isn't any ordinary Angel. It contains three unique life signatures. Two of them match readings already present in our database. It's--"

Shigeru doesn't let the doctor finish, crying out, "Target has breached Sector 2! It is within our visual range."

Misato's attention is immediately drawn away from the doctor, the woman spinning around to look at the holographic monitors. "Put it on," she orders.

A video feed titled 'Observatory Area-2' blinks into existence, showing the outskirts of Tokyo-03. There are a few seconds of tense silence as nothing happens, until a few birds take to the sky, fleeing in terror. The Angel steps into view.

A collective gasp fills Central Dogma.

"What the fuck--", exclaims Misato.

"N-no way," says Maya.

"That's... Domino's," sputters Makoto.

"Holy shit," curses Shigeru.

Even Fuyutsuki seems startled by what is shown in the feed, his brow rising in surprise. The only two people who don't show any concern at the reveal of the Angel are Ritsuko and Gendo. Ritsuko - because she already knew. Gendo - because a smile is spreading on his face.

Walking past the camera at an even pace is Johnny Domino's Chimera unit. Sinewy threads of a fungus-like growth cling to the beast's left arm, reaching up to its shoulder and neck, coating them in a disgusting slop. Patches of ugly flesh adorn the entire right side of the bio-unit, starting at its face plate and going all the way down to its knee. Judging by the way the armor seems to have caved in around the edges of these unnatural patches, the flesh developed on the outside before forcing its way under.

Of those who have gathered at Tokyo-03, Latooni and Leo will be the first to spot it. Then everyone else, as the Angel emerges from behind the hills surrounding the city, making its steady approach.

And far undergound, safe in Central Dogma, Ritsuko finally gives voice to what she had meant to tell Misato when she first arrived: "Johnny Domino is in there."

Her words carry across all open frequencies.

Johnny Domino changes into his Possessed pilot form.

Johnny Domino's Chimera transforms into its Thirteenth Angel Bardiel mode.

"Oh, there it is," Akira says, entirely helpfully.

 Latooni Subota clears her throat. "Angel incoming. Image... image ready."

 Shinji Ikari transmits, " No."

 Akira Tadokoro transmits, "Yeeeaaah, uh..."

 Shinji Ikari transmits, "No..."

 Latooni Subota transmits a shot of Domino's Chimera covered in ropy fungoid stuff. But you knew that.

 Akira Tadokoro transmits, "Ain't that the, uh... thing with the tentacles, and the spiders?"

 Shinji Ikari transmits, "That's not it. That's Domino. That's not the Angel. It's a mistake."

 Shinji Ikari transmits, "Guys, you are making a mistake."

 Akira Tadokoro transmits, "If they say it's the Angel, Ikari..."

 Leo Stenbuck transmits, "..."

 Shinji Ikari transmits, "THAT'S DOMINO!"

 Shinji Ikari transmits, "Domino is not an angel! It's a mistake"

 Akira Tadokoro transmits, "No, that's his machine, and an /Angel/!"

 Latooni Subota transmits, "I ... according to Dr. Akagi, it's both. It is my preliminary analysis that the Chimera is infected with... something. Look at the growths."

 Rei Ayanami sounds weak and confused. "...Johnny...?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Akira Tadokoro transmits, "So are you gonna go wimp out on me or are we gonna cut him out?!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari transmits, "Then we've got to get him out of there!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "Who has precision weaponry?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Akira Tadokoro transmits, "I've, uh..."

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami stills sound lost. "Don't... don't... hurt him. Don't hurt Johnny. I... Rei... Rei Ayanami. Decisive All-Purpose Humanoid Weapon GN Evangelion Prototype Unit-00X. Launching."

<Radio: F - 3066> Akira Tadokoro transmits, "Uh, I've got a T-Link System, I can do some precision stuff if I work at it."

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "I don't want to hurt him, Rei!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami transmits, "He... we were folding... cranes together. And -- it -- don't -- Johnny, I need--"

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami suddenly cuts out.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck asks, coolly, "Where's the cockpit?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "In the chest cavity."

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck transmits, "Roger."

Totoro is obvious as it approaches - the bright white plumes of photon-thruster fire are easy to see pretty much anywhere, particularly as darkness begins to close in and the great machine's running lights become more visible as well. It's fairly enormous - in true Buster Machine Corporation fashion, what could've been done in a 15-meter mobile suit was done with 40, most of it full of obscure redundant systems, armor, state secrets, Noriko's secret doujin stash, and God only knows what else. Arms crossed, it descends from the sky like a judgmental god.

It touches down, its weight failing to crush the ground beneath thanks to the power of the Inertial Canceler - instead it merely cracks, spiderwebs spreading out in every direction around its huge feet. Noriko takes a slow, deep breath. OK. Just an Angel.

Rei turns to her, and says, Coach, I didn't want you to get involved. Rei's here. Rei's being hurt.

Her nose wrinkles as she sneers at the cockpit forward screen, slashing her arm outward. "Buster Tomahoke!" she yells, and the hilt of the weapon ejects into her waiting hand, the tension wires pulling harder against her to simulate the added weight. "Never the same trick twice," she reminds herself. "It won't do that again." Still, her heart's hammering in her chest, terrified - frightened at the ease with which the last one completely shattered her control and her memories.

So this is the power of a Space Monster. Can 'they' do this, too? She grits her teeth, and for a moment the thrill in her heart is upon her throat, choking her, but she stops - breathes, remembers her training, her lessons. Anything can be overcome. Nothing is invincible. Not with courage. Not with a burning heart. Not with....

With her free hand, she wraps fingers around the ribbon trailing down from her head. Totoro does likewise, miming clutching something in midair. With hard work and guts, she thinks, even this can be overcome, right?

And it is exactly as Noriko's resolve flares higher that the signal comes through, and she snaps eyes up to see the face of her enemy, and she nearly chokes on her own tongue. "That's the--!?" she stammers, floored. "Chimera!?" She feels cold, suddenly, like ice is winding its way through her body instead of blood.

"The enemy is...Johnny!?"

Alia looks skyward as several interesting units arrive; there's the Totoro for one, and the Weissritter which Alia recognizes just fine. Excellen's announcement is met with an optimistic, if melodramatic, remark: "Then the skies are secured at least twice over, it seems!" This confidence is dimmed a little as two Gundams and an Astray arrive, commenting to herself cautiously, "Orb..." Still using their old name, it seems. Despite Alia's misgivings, Katharon's forces seem content to ignore her for now. Open transmissions provide a more interesting focus anyway; whoever 'Johnny Domino' is, he's apparently innocent enough and/or important enough that some restraint is called for in attacking the Angel... the Chimera, and Alia is baffled by it. "Is that from La Gias?" The monstrous appearance suggests it, for those unfamiliar with the A-LAWs-employed machine. Thus, Alia brings her wind elemental up a little higher to get a better angle on the Chimera. A palm-thrust conjures up a horizontal tornado, one she aims low to drill at the machine's legs on the assumption that 'whoever Johnny is', is likely in an upper-body or head cockpit. And if she misses... well, the street will take the drilling instead, perhaps.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has attacked Johnny Domino. Tornado added to their queue.

"This is Lance-1, I'm en route to the Geofront."

Within the depths of a sleek white, humanoid mobile suit is Sarah Zabiarov, her expression grim as she helms the Woundwort. Though she had received the call late, word traveled fast, like wildfire: the 'Angel' making its descent upon the prone cityscape was not just any typical monstrosity--

It was apparently possessing Domino's Chimera unit.

Exhaling a soft, airy breath, the young lieutenant tries to calm her rattled nerves. She didn't need this now, the girl thought. Not after her conversation with Revive Revival, not after the concerns that had mounted thereafter; now this..?

"I guess...as leader...it's my responsibility," she quietly tells herself.

"I...I have to help him."

The GN-Tau powered white unit makes its descent, though rather than touch down on its peg-like legs, the mobile suit hangs in the air. Giving a scan over the other presently-gathered units, the girl's thin lips pull into a tight line across her face. She doesn't like this situation one bit. Something tugs terribly at her; Sarah, however, cannot discern why. The conversation on the radio buzzing in her ear doesn't help her--one voice in particular.

Her hands clench slightly around her Woundwort's controls.

"We'll talk afterwards," Leo assures Latooni, because half the time he doesn't think about things like 'the possibility of being injured'. At a twitch of Leo's hands, the 1 Gundam gives the Dagger N's arm a light squeeze; it's the closest he can come to physical affection, and really just sort of comes naturally. He lets the touch linger for several seconds...

... and then, right as he was going to release it, he ends up accidentally continuing it, because oh hey the Angel. Leo's head and the 1 Gundam's both swivel towards the approaching Angel. Leo's eyes narrow as he focuses on the approaching figure, and then suddenly widen, when he realizes what it is.

"That's probably bad, huh?" he asks Latooni; the 1 Gundam finally releases her Dagger's arm and takes a step away, deactivating its camo as it reaches for the GN Buster Rifle attached to its arm.

The first thing to become visible is the Gundam's V-fin; the rest of the machine gradually appears as the magical effect of 'visibility' spreads out from the antenna like a wave. Leo grimaces inside the machine, as panicked radio chatter floods his cockpit. People are - understandably - concerned.

He's not. "Where's the cockpit?" he asks coolly, as the now fully visible 1 Gundam raises its buster rifle towards the approaching Chimera. After a beat, he gets his answer. "Roger." The tip of the buster rifle twitches downwards, orange energy swelling on it...

... and then a brilliant beam of burnt orange energy, as thick and as tall as the 1 Gundam's torso, erupts out of the tip of its weapon, carving across Tokyo-03 towards the Chimera's left knee. Hit or miss, the beam keeps going, carving a massive, red hot trench into the ground behind the advancing 'Angel' that stretches for kilometers before finally coming to a stop.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Johnny Domino. GN Buster Rifle added to their queue.

That's...

Latooni goes all business almost immediately. Sorry, Leo; you have to wait until afterwards, and she doesn't even bother to respond to him. She identifies the unit and passes on the information to her team, such as it is, despite that inner core of uncertainty getting worse. That is Johnny. She /knows/ Johnny. And if Dr. Akagi says he's in there, he is.

Latooni focuses on the fungoid growths and the weird ropy patches of flesh. That is not normal even for Chimera. At long range, she snaps some pictures for analysis while still remaining invisible. It's quite obvious that something is /on/ the Chimera, some sort of infection. Can Angels be a parasite? Like a tick... if they lance it, will it die?

The Dagger N does not fly, but it runs and jumps almost impossibly well. Latooni drops off the building, shimmering back into visibility by fading through most of the colour spectrum before settling on its actual green, a prismic halo surrounding it for several long seconds.

Latooni is willing to bet she is the best pilot here at precision. She advances at a run, right hand on the longer of the two anti-armour swords - but it'll take her a bit to get there.

SOME TIME AGO

Shinji and Johnny work hard to clean Misato apartment. Shinji looks over at the older man and smiles, kind of unnerved that he is getting along so well with someone he barely knows. Domino was a good guy though.

SOME TIME AGO

Shinji sits on the edge of bed staring at the floor. Today he kind of figured out who Asuka liked. He sighs, falling backwards into his bed. So it was Domino. Shinji frowns, feeling his eyes get moist as the view of the ceiling becomes blurred. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Domino was one of Shinji's best friends. Between him and Ayato, Shinji could keep going with his time with NERV. They held him up...So if he had to, Shinji would step aside if Domino and Asuka hooked up. It was the least Shinji could do. After all, he wasn't good enough for anyone.

SOME DAYS AGO

Shinji flinches as he is almost hit by something Asuka throws at him. "Asuka...I mean. I'm sorry I'm not Jo--" Shinji flinches again as he hears Asuka shriek at him, followed by another object. This one does hit Shinji, sending him to the floor. He coughs as the air leaves his chest and he crumbles to the floor. He is never good enough...probably why he clings to his friends like he does. "I--*weeze*"

NOW

Shinji stares forward as the target is announced. "No...That's Johnny! Johnny isn't an angel." Shinji says in a almost shakey voice. He feels the weight on his shoulder come back as the Evangelion jolts as it reaches the surface. He can't do this. What if he hurt Domino?

Johnny Domino. A friend of Shinji.

Shinji can't do this. It would be as bad as hurting Toji, Kensuke, or Ayato.

"Shinji, launch! We need you to engage the target." Misato prods Shinji over the radio. "Shinji, we can get him out of there....You just need to try alright?"

Shinji hears this and Akira yell at him. He can only nod, listening to the radio chatter as it becomes chaotic. He no longer can understand the jist of it...

"Unit 1...launching. With Magoroku Equipment...Attempting the rescue of Johnny Domino." Shinji's voice holds a degree of self doubt. He knows while the others might be able to...Shinji can't save Johnny Domino.

Unit 1 pulls out a katana from one of the buildings and charges forward, attempting to slice through some of the armor around the cockpit.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Johnny Domino. Magoroku-E Counter Sword added to their queue.

Rei Ayanami hears some things as the platform lurches and begins final countdown to launch. Things like, oh, that an Angel has apparently possessed Johnny Domino and that people are going to attack him. Rei, currently adrift somewhere else entirely, is pulled back into some semblance of reality. She mumbles out something and then her radio cuts out. It just does that, now. Maybe someone's listening in.

So it is when you live this life, though, however little of it may remain.

The next thing Rei feels is being shot upward at a ridiculous velocity. Doors in the Earth open and prepare to eject the tunnel's occupant -- conveniently enough, right next to the Totoro.

What rises from the ground is the bleak, malignant shape of GN Evangelion Unit-00X. Its dark blue form is cast into further shadow by all of the glowing orange panels -- the light of its GN-Tau drive shines through its ribcage, illuminating it from within, like a hand closed around a lightbulb. The thing takes a step forward, then another. It doesn't walk -- it doesn't prowl -- it lurches.

It seems sick.

Unit-00X is also heavily armed, though. A Pellet Rifle is clutched in its arms, and it raises the gun -- then lowers it -- then raises it again, unable to decide.

Inside, Rei's eyes are so wide that she thinks the skin at the corners might tear, if she thinks at all. She seems locked in this loop of inactivity, choking sounds beginning to emerge from her throat, unbroadcast.

"Deploying Eva Unit-02!"

The red Evangelion shoots skyward, Asuka's hands tightly squeezing the unit's controls. Light fills her cockpit as the Eva emerges from the earth, and as if on cue, a building opens to her left, revealing the unit's pellet pistol. It takes Asuka a moment to notice it; if it weren't for the sound of the shaft opening, she likely wouldn't have seen it at all.

In one fluid motion, she reaches out to grab it, and misses, her fingers grazing over its surface; she flushes red with embarassment, which shifts to anger, and manages to grasp it with a second try.

"I'll make them pay," she mummurs; she attempts to line the gun up on the approaching target, but her arms are shaky. She narrows her eye on the approaching Angel, and it's then that she sees it.

Johnny's Chimera.

"What?! That's the ANGEL?!" Asuka's head spins, and the answer comes, directly from Ritsuko:

"Johnny Domino is in there."

Asuka grits her teeth, then spins her head back towards the figure in the horizon. For a single unbearable moment, she finds herself herself at war not with the Angels, but with herself.

The pellet pistol is still shaking in her hands. The weapon is still directed at the Chimera. Her finger is still quivering on its trigger. She wanted to kill the Angel, not HIM!

A sudden flash of light races towards Johnny; her eye darts to its source. Then in one sudden movement, Asuka turns, pellet pistol still in hand.

This time, she doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Leo Stenbuck. Pellet Pistol added to their queue.

Now, Cagalli Yula Athha is no friend to Johnny Domino; indeed, she is not even certain she particularly likes him, and the odds they'd be considered anything more than 'acquaintances' are pretty low. But just the same, he's a human being at the mercies of some horrible monster -- and that, the Princess just can't handle.

She sees several others rush in toward him, trying to pry him out with sheer force... but she seizes up a little in the cockpit, glancing over to the M1A Astray on her flank. "I --" The Buster Rifle shot races forward, and /that/, she knows, has no chance of getting him out of there. "Are you people insane?!" she transmits over the broad band. "Firing for the center of mass isn't going to get that guy outta there!!"

She does not rush in. For a moment, Cagalli Yula Athha, usually the first one to run in screaming, has no idea what to do other than 'sit and wait for a more obvious course of action.'

SOME TIME AGO

'It has to get worse before it can get better' is what Ayato and Johnny Domino have been telling themselves for the entire hour they've spent working tirelessly on cleaning the apartment shared by Misato Katsuragi, Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Sohryuu. Accordingly, the place looks even dirtier than when they began, cluttered as it is with spent beer cans, cleaning supply, articles of clothing, litter, trash bags--the only way to get things sorted out and junked appropriately is to get them all out into the open, but damned if the process isn't an ugly one.

"... she, I guess, peer pressured us into drinking with her? Is it still 'peer pressure' when she's older?" Ayato takes a momentary break from shoveling cans into the bulging black bag in his right hand as he contemplates this, but the only conclusions he's able to reach have less to do with the age appropriateness of that particular term and more to do with Misato Katsuragi being an alcoholic to an almost depressing degree; after all, if she were more together, he and Johnny wouldn't be here to pick up the slack while Shinji is recuperating from the injuries sustained while dealing with the Ninth Angel. He frowns, begins to sag, but...

"The Major's got a pretty good head on her shoulders, even if it's a little lifted most of the time," Johnny assures Ayato with a grin and a firm shoulder-clap.

"You're probably right," Ayato murmurs. An almost musical clattering of refuse rises from his trashbag as he slowly returns to scooping cans into it. "'Major', after all."

"Yeah," the Agent replies as he gets back to tossing Major Katsuragi's clothes into a few sorted piles, "Even if she /did/ lock me up with--ah, forget it..."

NOW

"Jo... krrk-kssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh ...."

The moment after RahXephon's commsys stokes Ayato's hopes only to dash them again, the Chimera's unmistakable profile is on the horizon. The red hexagons lining his vision field rush to close in tighter around the image dead center before him and as the margins are eliminated the Chimera - and its new 'upgrades' - loom large in the teenage pilot's view.

"That--" he whispers breathlessly - it's getting hard to keep air in his lungs all of a sudden - as his eyes open as big as they'll go. "--that--where--" He tries to swallow but his throat is dry, constricted; actually, it's getting really difficult to avoid /choking/ the more he stares the Chimera down, nevermind swallow.

"What're you--what're you all..." he tremblingly whispers to... well, noone as he watches the bulk of the defenders seemingly resign themselves to watching.

"That's--" His body is so racked by shuddering that he actually pitches forward somewhat in his cockpit with only his control rods to keep him steady. More shuddering follows, more hyperventillation--it's only when a chance glimpse of Unit 1 approaching the Chimera tells him that his friend might be in danger that he can compel himself - and RahXephon - to move, and at that point he snaps sharply upright and begins sliding both rods into their housings; RahXephon's stillness breaks as it descends into an increasingly sharp dive towards the Chimera.

"This is /it/!" he screams as the Mulian robot's speed increases and the volume of the indistinct song buoying it in the air rises. "No more--no--mrrr---rrrrraaaa--rrrraaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Ayato's scream becomes the RahXephon's scream becomes an invisible lance of raw sound waves piercing the air deafeningly as the angelic machine makes its fly-by. The target is the Chimera's--well, anything, /everything/; chest, abdomen, stomach, arm, foot, groin, whatever Ayato's sonic javelin /can/ pierce, he will happily accept because he has voice enough, rage enough, heart enough to do this until one or both of the alien angels is no more.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Johnny Domino. Harmonic Bombardment added to their queue.

Within the cockpit of her Woundwort, Sarah frowns.

While some of the gathered forces are swift to advance upon the 'infected' Chimera unit, Sarah Zabiarov is anything but eager. The very idea of having to raise a weapon against a 'friend' does not settle well with the young lieutenant. Sure, this is her /job/, but what if it winds up killing him..?

Pinching her eyes shut, the young woman just shakes her head. Domino has a lot of friends here. They won't /let/ that happen to the pilot. They /care/ don't they? They want him back safely just as she--

Something, however, snaps Sarah out of her thoughts, and instantly green eyes shift and dart over the field. What is /she/ doing here..? Why would /she/ even care..?

"Hmph," Biting on her lip, the young lieutenant finds her resolve, her once-shaking hands going still. One wrong move and she'll--

"This is Lance-1," Sarah steadily states across frequency. "I'm engaging the Angel." Sucking a sharp breath past her lips and deep into her lungs, she guides the machine, raising its arm and the attached rifle, taking aim. And then, with a piercing shot of yellow energy, it fires at the Chimera's left shoulder.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has attacked Johnny Domino. Long Beam Rifle added to their queue.

Veering towards the RahXephon -- now that is one heck of a classy Super if she's ever seen one, the blonde can't help but think, casually running a sensor sweep much like a guy checks a girl a a bar in passing while pretending to be subtle -- there's a cheerful chirp of acknowledgement from the Weissritter's commsys to Alia's declaration. Eyes in the skies indeed!

But these eyes don't spy the one she's looking for, even as Weissy is cleared for Tokyo-03's airspace by the NERV crew in Central Dogma. The hell kind of agent shows up late to the party anyway? Vaguely aware of the flurry of radio activity, Excellen settles her hands on her controls with care, watching as each of her weapon systems come online in a steady blip of coloured lights across the dashboard. When they finally call the sighting, however, everything seems to freeze a moment as her targetting scanners lock onto the shadow emerging over the horizon.

And now, staring at the rising shape steadily progressing towards the Geofront, Excellen knows why Johnny hasn't been answering her calls.


 * 1) I feel like something terrible is about to happen. Please, when you can--#

The white gespenst custom is already burning a blue trail through the skies towards the target. She's fought Chimera before, after all, albeit with the biomech in much better shape and not looking like a leper. As such, she makes a point to keep herself out of Ayato's blast range as the harmonic wave blasts on through, though she is quick to follow: aiming specifically for the face, the recently installed Particle Spreader is fired, targetting the eyes and muzzle. Blind it? Well, one can hope..

They have to disable it. The boy is still in there.. Johnny Domino, all round pain-in-the-ass and adoptive 'younger sibling', is in /there/.

"You IDIOT," she roars abruptly at the Angel-possessed Chimera, suddenly and utterly furious -- with him, with his squad, with NERV. And most especially with herself, for not checking up on him sooner. She managed to kinda-sorta keep vaguest of the vague tabs on Rei, after all. Why didn't she do the same for him..? "Didn't I tell you TO NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID!"

Regardless of whatever he deems a suitable response to that question, assuming she can even raise a response from the pilot, something else catches her attention back to see friendlies...firing on friendlies?! What the Hell??

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has attacked Johnny Domino. Particle Spreader added to their queue.

Akira is good at yelling at people till they do things. It's a wonder he isn't a drill sergeant or something.

"Yeah, I think to get a call from these guys you gotta be a little cracked," Akira transmits to his Katharon comrades. He watches the Chimera, frowning. He thinks he knows the guy inside, but... well, an Angel is an Angel, right? "Anyway, we'd better get in there. C'mon, Cagalli!"

The Astray-TT dives forward and darts in, moving in close. He goes for a passing strike, igniting both beam sabers and raking them across the Chimera-Angel's head before pulling up again, preferrably before he's grabbed by a tentacle and torn apart or something. Good thing he's not good friends with Johnny Domino or anything.

"Usually you're the first one in, Cagalli! Why you hesitatin'?" Akira asks, trying not to flip because /augh another eldritch horror/.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Johnny Domino. Twin Beam Sabers added to their queue.

Macua Huitl last encounters involved his mecha going out of control and tentacles. she's got no issues in punching some sanity into him. She's been careful here and has been sniffing into some rumored connections a group she's looking into may have with NERV also saving people from Angels right? She follow in right after Akira, Cagalli is noted and gets a radio as does Akira.

'Well isn't this just peachy looks like Domino got a problems'

Then she fires off a shot from her heads vulcans.

COMBAT: Macua Huitl has attacked Johnny Domino. Head Vulcans added to their queue.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has missed Johnny Domino with his GN Buster Rifle attack.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has struck Johnny Domino with a major critical hit using Tornado!

COMBAT: Macua Huitl has struck Johnny Domino with a minor hit using Head Vulcans!

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck Johnny Domino with a solid critical hit using Twin Beam Sabers!

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has struck Johnny Domino with a glancing hit from their Particle Spreader attack!

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has missed Johnny Domino with her Long Beam Rifle attack.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck Johnny Domino with a major critical hit using Harmonic Bombardment!

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Magoroku-E Counter Sword!

OVER A WEEK AGO

Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari stand in silence inside an elevator. Only the rhythmic tick and hum of the mechanical components that make this journey possible can be heard, as the men's ride descends ever deeper into the bowels of the Geofront. Fuyutsuki, poised with rigid pride one step behind his once-student, stares ahead with dull, tired eyes.

These long elevator rides were not to his liking.

Yet even as his eyes remain directed at the same spot, the Vice Commander's focus is aimed elsewhere: observing Gendo's form through his peripheral vision. The older Ikari remains a mystery, standing with his nose very nearly touching the elevator doors, saying nothing, doing nothing, betraying nothing.

Even though Fuyutsuki is unable to see the Commander's face, he knows it is as cold and dead as ever, and it will remain as such until Gendo can finally be reunited with Yui.

Until they're all reunited with Yui.

A minute passes -- a minute and ten seconds -- a minute and thirty seconds -- a minute and forty -- a minute fifty-two --

"Was releasing him such a good idea?", Fuyutsuki breaks the silence. He is talking about Johnny Domino.

"He has played his part," says Gendo.

"He hasn't been rendered an invalid quite yet," counters Gendo's right-hand man. "You've kept him under our watch all this time. Giving it up right after he was exposed to the Angel..." Fuyutsuki trails off. Gendo has known him long enough to tell when Fuyutsuki doesn't approve of something.

"The Angel has done an admirable job," replies the Commander. "Johnny Domino is no longer of any concern to us. Do not mistake my actions for mercy."

Fuyutsuki sighs. He, too, has known Gendo long enough to tell when there is no point in arguing. "I pray that this does not come back to haunt us," he says, bringing the subject to a close. "For our sake... and for his."

NOW

Fuyutsuki's eyes flicker to Gendo. The older Ikari was, and is, a mystery. Did he foresee this eventuality? Did he make a calculated gamble? Or was all this a series of amazing coincidences that played right into Ikari's hands? Only one thing is certain: Fuyutsuki's prayer was for naught.

Misato brings a hand up to her forehead, her eyes all but boring holes into the holographic monitor before her. She hadn't heard from Johnny ever since he resigned from NERV 3066 following the encounter with Leliel. And now here he was... an Angel. Or-- no. His bio-unit was the Angel. He was inside... possessed? Conscious? The Major listens to the radio chatter filtering across the NERV frequency band, her mind constructing and tearing down potential strategies.

Finally she speaks after the Evangelion units are launched. "Latooni Subota. You will have to cut Domino out. Akira Tadokoro, if Latooni fails, you're next. Leo Stenbuck will cover for you... both of you. Once the Evangelions reach the surface, they will assist in subduing the--"

"Belay that order," a hard voice interrupts Misato. The woman turns her head to look up at Gendo. The Commander has almost never overruled her in the past. What the hell?

And indeed, Gendo, sensing where the wind is blowing, does something he rarely ever bothers doing - he takes direct charge. "This is Commander Ikari," he says, loud and clear across the radio. "As of 1700 hours this afternoon, the target has been classified as the thirteenth Angel. This is not a rescue operation. The life of the pilot is irrelevant. Eliminate the target at all costs."

The Commander says all this with an unfeeling voice, even as various units outside already make a move for Johnny Domino.

As for Bardiel, it remains oblivious to the drama taking place. The Angel continues its approach, unperturbed by NERV's personal army that is waiting for it. That is, until some of them actually attack. Bardiel comes to a halt, hunched and silent.

"I repeat," says Gendo across the radio. "Eliminate it at all costs."

Bardiel's body begins shaking, as if the beast is investing great physical exertion into something. A moment later the air around the Angel ripples as an AT Field forms. Latooni's analysis gear will be able to tell the girl that this is an absolutely pathetic AT Field, one of the weakest any Angel has so far been shown to manifest. If Bardiel is seeking to use this AT Field to protect itself, this battle could very well be over in a heartbeat.

A multitude of attacks come down upon the beast where it stands. RahXephon's scream shakes the earth, causing dirt, rocks and grass to explode upward from the shockwave all around the Angel. Alia's tornado sends everything even higher, obscuring the Angel from view within this cloud of dust. Leo's and Sarah's beams lash into this maelstrom of filth, producing a bright flash of light. Then Excellen, and Akira, and Shinji -- there's no way Bardiel would have survived this with its weak AT Field. Except Bardiel doesn't seek to use the AT Field for protection at all.

A split second before various blades swing through the cloud of dust in an attempt to bite into Bardiel's flesh, the Angel leaps. Flung with great speed -- far greater than anything the size of the Chimera should be able to achieve -- the beast emerges from behind its filthy cover, leaving a trail of dirt in its wake. Using the AT Field to give itself an unnatural boost, Bardiel flips through the air. Dark ichor oozes from behind cracked portions of the Chimera's exoskeleton, indicating that people's efforts were not in vain... and yet... and yet!

Sailing across the battlefield, Bardiel whips past the charging Latooni, its leap sending it towards one of the units that did not, in fact, attack it. Indeed, out of all those who showed signs of aggression towards the Angel, Bardiel actually aims to slam into the RX-207 Totoro and tackle it to the ground.

Tackle it and then rip it in twain.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Noriko Takaya. Angel of Absolute Control added to their queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has struck Noriko Takaya with a Dynamic Kill critical hit using Angel of Absolute Control.

Knock Out! Noriko Takaya's RX-207 Totoro unit has become disabled!

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a glancing hit on Leo Stenbuck's 1 Gundam using Pellet Pistol.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami sounds like all of the air is being sucked out of her lungs. She can't even get a word out.

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari transmits, " Rei?"

Shinji groans as he watches the blade cut into the 13th Angel. He doesn't know this thing as an Angel. This is Domino's suit. This was not the enemy. So how could ever be expected to fight Domino? And yet, here he was. Shinji almost stumbles backwards when Bardiel jumps and lands on Noriko, blinking as he tries to regain some sort of composure. This is not real. This is another nightmare. This is just like that other angel. This was a nightmare. Shinji was going to wake up soon and it would all be over. And yet...

Shinji hears his father over the radio and freezes. "What?! No! Father! We can't! Domino is in there! Please! Give us a chance to save him! I can do it. I know I can! Just let me try!" Shinji isn't so much brave as babbling to avoid going through with the order. Shinji somehow knows his father is not an evil man. He couldn't really expect Shinji to kill Domino.

Could he?

No. Gendo wasn't that cold. He didn't care about Shinji but Shinji was worthless. He wasn't a good soldier like Domino or a powerful pilot like Ayato. Shinji is worthless so he was expandable and Domino wasn't.

"I'll cut you out of there Domino! Just give me some time! Please! I'll do my best!" Shinji tries to radio the Chimera, coming at the Angel with a slash at a place not too close to the cockpit. "Domino! Hang on!"

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Johnny Domino. Magoroku-E Sword added to their queue.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has activated a spirit command.

Noriko's hands are shaking. What does she do, what /can/ she do? It's Johnny! It's not just like, a taken-over Chimera, Dr. Akagi said Johnny's /in/ there, she can't just /fight/ it! Noriko can say she'll help people all she likes, but Totoro isn't MEANT to just hug something until it falls over, it's for fighting and destroying! She doesn't /have/ any weapons that she can hold back like that! What's she going to do, hit it with the blunt of her axe!? /It's got two heads/.

Her head's spinning. She yells "Johnny!" helplessly, completely at a loss for more effective plans. She grits her teeth, shaking. It's the enemy. She can't let it get through. It's JOHNNY, she can't just attack him! She frowns, Totoro's sensors picking out that distortion - a force shield, some kind of AT Field? "What's he doing...?"

The choice is taken out of her hands. Bardiel somersalts skyward, and Noriko only has time to yell, "Wait, it's after ME!?" before its hands sink into Totoro's armor, just as its back impacts the ground. Noriko screams.

Then it shreds Totoro in half, diagonal across the torso.

It's quick, brutal - coolant tubes spray clear liquid everywhere, while an ammo compartment for a device that isn't loaded hits the ground and explodes behind them, shattering the ground and sending flame and sparks and debris everywhere. A water main ruptures, spraying the whole area with misting rain. The tomahawks fall limp. The whole machine snaps, crackles - the degeneracy reactor failsafes kick in, collapsing the internal black holes and simply depowering the entire machine rather than allowing a catastrophic failure. Noriko screams in fear from the first lunge until her radio cuts out.

Her cockpit, power and control connections shredded, rolls away like a marble, gently sloping toward the sea.

Latooni Subota hears orders from NERV that, for a change, she likes. A rescue operation. Save Johnny Domino. "Acknowledged," Latooni says - an instant before Gendo comes on the line.

She lets him talk. Her eyes narrow behind her too-thick glasses. She understand that it might be necessary - and yet, and yet... "Negative," Latooni says, quietly. "We will attempt the rescue operation." She does not care if it gets her in trouble with NERV. She does not care if NERV never listens to her again. "If it fails we will kill it."

Latooni hangs up on Gendo. She cuts her coordination from NERV HQ entirely.

Instead she focuses on the here, the now. The Angel leaps past her so fast that even Latooni's superhuman reflexes cannot keep up; the Dagger N spins as fast as it can and is /still/ too late to stop the infected Chimera. She doesn't even come close. It distracts her from what Asuka is doing.

It lands on Noriko's Totoro, and Latooni's eyes go flat as it begins to rip and tear. It's tearing her team. It's /destroying/ the people she needs to keep safe - she sees the cockpit roll, she thinks Noriko is safe, but that doesn't make it much easier. She'll have to get someone to get the cockpit. For now, though, she fights.

Latooni drops the hilt of the bulbous knife into her palm, takes aim, and throws. The knife arcs through the air, a glimmering streak of silver aimed directly at the biggest nodule of exposed flesh and fungus. On impact - if there is impact - it drives in several feet, sits there for perhaps a third of a second, and then detonates in a spray of shrapnel and concussive blast. "Stop it!" Latooni's voice crackles along the local defenders' band. "Don't kill him, but - stop it!"

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Johnny Domino. Stiletto Rocket-Propelled Anti-Armour Penetrator added to their queue.

Alia winces at Cagalli's words, strange given the elemental machine pilot was among those targeting the legs and not the presumed cockpit location. She waits for some of the heavier bombardment to subside, getting a lot to think on. First, the call for extermination rather than rescue. She drops off-radio long enough to make a disconcerted 'hmph' about that, then blinks as the Totoro just gets... /savaged/ like that. It's quite the eye-opener. But once the shock wears off, Alia opts to try to do something Sarah was trying moments ago; targeting a shoulder. She sends Zefholm diving at the unbelievably powerful possessed-Chimera, halberd axe-head held out for a fly-by slash. A quick twirl lets her follow up with a tip thrust at the left arm, then start to glide backwards and ascend; she has little interest in staying near a target with that kind of power, and likely to draw huge incoming firepower on it regularly.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has attacked Johnny Domino. Halberd Combo added to their queue.

"What the--!!"

Shock and surprise fill the young lieutenant's face when the infected Chimera and its Angel host Bardiel leap from the cloud of debris. She was almost /certain/ she had dead aim on the creature--but now it proves it was barely hindered by its assailants. Briefly, Sarah panics.

Biting hard upon her lip, Sarah snaps her mind out of panic and worry; instead, she focuses. She /has/ to--that thing is about to try and take out the Totoro--

'Try,' being a severe underestimation.

Startled as she witnesses the subsequent massacre of the Totoro unit, Sarah finds herself having second thoughts about her sortie to Tokyo-03. Should she have..? Wouldn't it be better if she left this to more capable pilots? And with /her/ here /and/ Leo here AND Domino being stuck inside a creature that seems ridiculously capable of destroying everyone...

With a sharp gasp, Sarah's mind just shuts off.

"U-understood," Sarah transmits across defenders' line in response to Latooni.

That's when the Woundwort suddenly throws itself toward the possessed Chimera, utilizing the beam emitter within the attached long beam rifle to create a large sword--a sword she slams at one of the Chimera's legs in hopes of just /disabling/ the thing.

"Johnny...please stop this," the Newtype girl murmurs.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has attacked Johnny Domino. Beam Saber added to their queue.

Leo glowers as his beam vanishes within a maelstrom of wind and dirt. If he hit, he sure as hell can't confirm it... although, to be fair, he can't confirm the miss, either. It's Schroedinger's Firearm Discharge. "This is why I prefer working alone," he confides to the Haro docked to his left.

The Haro responds, happily, with, "TEAMKILLER, TEAMKILLER!"

Then the top of the bulding the 1 Gundam is standing on explodes into a massive cloud of dust and debris as a round from Unit-02 punches through it. The Gundam briefly vanishes, plunging downwards deeper into the building; an instant later, it erupts out of the side, its GN-T Drive spinning up and spewing a thick cloud of burnt orange particles out behind it into the now collapsing building.

"Check your Goddamn fire!" the boy snaps; that was an accident, obviously. Asuka's crazy, but she's no Shinji. Even if she... has a history of friendly fire incidents...

"TEAMKILLER, TEAMKILLER," Haro repeats, flapping indignantly. "TEAMKILLER, TEAMKILLER!"

"Please, God," Leo mutters to himself, as he wheels the 1 Gundam around to face Bardiel again, "Do not let her start this shit right now!"

Any further discourse on that topic goes away when the Angel fucking /tears Noriko Takaya in half./

So... that's pretty cool.

"Fuck," Leo blurts, overwhelmed briefly by shock.

"FUCK, FUCK," Haro agrees, like a delightfully retarded parrot. "FUCK, FUCK!"

As the 1 Gundam begins returning its buster rifle to the mounting spot on its arm, its eight Fangs spring out of its shield, blasting through the air on thin, hyperdense streams of orange particles, to drive the now lit beam blades on them into the Angel's, uh, everywhere.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Johnny Domino. GN Fang Prison added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck transmits, "Do /not/, I repeat, do /not/ get close to this thing if you can help it!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Akira Tadokoro transmits, "Uh, sure, okay!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami transmits, "c-- c-- coach--"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "I don't think that's possible."

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "I'm going to have to, to scrape it off - I'll do it invisible, though!"

Cagalli does not even give Gendo the opportunity to finish his orders; she isn't beholden to him, so, fuck him and the horse he rode in on, quite simply. As she turns her attention back to the machine, she sees it rather unceremoniously annihilate Noriko's Totoro.

She pales. The machine is taken down quick and merciless, and it's at this point that Cagalli finally gets the resolve to do something. ... in no small part thanks to Latooni's clear, straightforward orders. They're the only thing that makes sense right now.

Drawing the beam rifle of the IWSP, Cagalli decides to do something that feels smart and sensible here. Rather than aim for the cockpit like Leo, she barks out, "Start with the legs! Get the damn thing to stop moving!" With that, she does -- precisely that, sniping at the legs of the Angel with her rifle.

As the shots ring out, she murmurs, "Shit, shit, /shit/..."

COMBAT: Cagalli Yula Athha has attacked Johnny Domino. Beam Snipe added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck transmits, "Bull/shit/ you will! I'll do it, you stay back!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov mutters something.

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "I am more experienced with precision attacks than you are."

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota may have just looked at the furrow in the street. Briefly.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck sputters for a moment. "Fine, you can deal with that, but at least give me a chance to make it less dangerous!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "Understood."

Unit-00X drops its Pellet Rifle when Johnny -- or -- /whoever/ -- rips Noriko's Totoro in half. Unit-00X is right there. Rei Ayanami is /right there/. And she can't do a thing. She can't stop it. Well. Maybe she could have.

Maybe she could have if she wasn't just standing around waving her gun around like an idiot.

Maybe then the man she--

--wouldn't have ripped her mentor in half.

Noriko's cockpit bounces away. Rei stands there, in shock. Unit-00X does the same. Then something happens. She can't hold it in. She can't hold it back. She can't even figure out what she's doing, let alone why. She moves. The GN Evangelion lunges. She doesn't care if she absorbs fire from getting in the way of anything. She needs to--

--act, somehow, someway--

--"JOHNNY!"

Rei's cry is agonized, shredding her throat from the foreign emotion that manifests -- or, rather, emotion that was once foreign, growing increasingly familiar. Unit-00X moves to try and tackle the Chimera -- the Angel -- Johnny -- to the ground and pin it there with its bare hands, its GN Drive glowing bright in its belly.

"JOHNNY, /PLEASE/!"

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Johnny Domino. Don't Do What Rei-3 Don't Does added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck huffs. "That goes for the rest of you, too -- oh for the love of-!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Lance-3!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami transmits, "/JOHNNY/!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck transmits, "Cease fire!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Lance-3 what are you doing??"

Chimera no more. Even as Excellen sets her friend's machine to enemy on the IFF screen, the AT Field causes chaos with her sensor array, giving herself something else to focus on as the brutally abrupt orders are issued by Gendo Ikari.

No. No way. They can't be /serious/. They've confirmed the pilot's in there, there's no DAMNED WAY--! Inhaling deeply, the blonde pilot doesn't remain where she is, no sir, already arcing high to fly literal circles around the alien-infected catmonstermechthing. They can take it down and remove the pilot. They'll gut the damn thing to remove him first, she sure as hell--

Has she ever mentioned how much she adores Latooni? "Following your lead, Lat," the blonde transmits with a grin far too wide to be playful.

And then Hell takes charge, as the unangelic Angel proceeds to savagely disintergrate the Totoro with nary a pause for breath. Blanching as Noriko's screams fill her cockpit, the eventual silence is merciful indeed. Tracking the tumble of the cockpit, she at least makes a point to relay the coordinates to Central Dogma. Even if for some straaaange reason she can't quite make their orders out right now. Cough.

"DOMINO! Wake up, damn it, are ya just gonna let it hijack your machine like that!?" She doesn't have a squirt bottle to sprits the bad kitty with. Split missiles will have to do instead; again targetting the head, she locks targeting systems on a point directly at the back, where the skull joins with the neck. The missiles whistle in fury as they descend, released from the cannisters like a swarm of angry bees, intent on making impact.

If she can just keep its eyes up here, that'll give others more time to slash its legs out from under it. Surely...

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has attacked Johnny Domino. Split Missile added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami continues to scream herself hoarse with variations of 'JOHNNY!' until her signal distorts, dopplers, and breaks loose from 'being able to be heard.'

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "N-no... damn it. What is /wrong/ with her?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari transmits, " Rei!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck transmits, reflexively, "There's nothing /wrong/ with heeee-e-eghhn..."

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "There is. It's her machine, I think, but NERV didn't respond to my letter..."

Macua Huitl can only watch in mute horror as Bardiel just rips Totoro. Noriko surivor of the Top Squadron, pilot of the Gunbuster just got ripped apart in one single attack. She sees the machine go down and she turn to face the thing. There's little she can do at this point and it seems Latooni is going after Noriko with that dealt with. She waits long enough to deal with this thing. She's not sure she wants to get close to Johnny in this state she might get split in two and she'd feel it. She brings up the wrist blasers and inside the strange energy doubles of the machine's weapons appear about her wrists and she fires at Johnny.

COMBAT: Macua Huitl has attacked Johnny Domino. Wrist Blaster Burst added to their queue.

Asuka lets out a long string of German curses.

There's no point in trusting any of these idiots to do the right thing! They didn't even care that they were firing on one of their own! Why should she care if any of tem lived or died?! She was probably just as disposable to them as Johnny Domino was!

They didn't matter! None of them mattered!

"What are you guys, stupid?! If you keep shooting at him like that, you're going to kill him!!"

Asuka grits her teeth, still clutching hard at the controls. "Are you idiots okay with that?! Is it okay to just start shooting at it just because it's an Angel?! There's--"

But before she can continue, the Angel slices right through Noriko; in one smooth hit, Noriko's unit is shredded into two, coolant liquid spewing from the unit's injuries. Asuka's eye widens with a mixture of surprise and fear.

Was it possible that... this wasn't Johnny anymore?!

Orders from Gendo come in before Asuka can ponder the thought, and she lets out a derisive snort. Radio chatter soon follows--and contrary to what Asuka thought, it seems that no one WANTS to kill Johnny Domino.

But not wanting to doesn't stop them from attempting to! She'll kill all of them if she has to, and she'll save Johnny and defeat the Angel herself!

"Check my fire?! You're the one who maimed ME!"

Asuka pulls the trigger again.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Leo Stenbuck. Pellet Pistol added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck sounds in a much worse mood than he was mere moments ago, which is impressive, because, you know, Angel. "Big surprise the- are you /FUCKING KIDDING ME RIG-/"

A rush of air fills RahXephon's cockpit, courtesy of its comm system; it's heavily interspersed with static and more locally, the sound of Ayato himself catching his breath; throat may not be near to going raw from exertion, but he still has lungs that need air to give his desires a voice and the RahXephon a tune to sing to.

"Hello--hello?!" he futilely, angrily gasps. "Are you /there/? How are--nnghrgh--"

Nothing, no indicia to denote the radio carrying his voice, no light, no feedback, /nothing/, as usual; without being able to communicate with the others present, he is as good as alone, even with so many allies around him. It suits, though; his TERRA-exclusive operations tend to involve the deployment of support fighter planes, and while he has the luxury of being able to communicate with /them/, the basic tenants of working with a unit have been instilled in him by those operations and these deaf, mute ones; he's grateful for the help, even if he can't coordinate with them.

Even if some of them seem hesitant to move on the Thirteenth Angel.

Even if--

--even if one of them is torn in half like a synagogue veil.

"B--BM-1--/Noriko/?!" Ayato screeches as Totoro's cockpit rolls away. "Noriko--Noriko!"

Motes of golden light fan from the orbs embedded in RahXephon's hands, compress into ropey, whip-like beams that stream down and attach themselves to those orbs, then finally coil together to form a pair of long, presumably - it's /light/, it has no physical substance - sharp, superfine thaumatophotonic planes. The RahXephon snaps to a stop and swings back towards the Chimera like a pendulum, its initial approach having taken it beyond the possessed bio-unit; when Ayato and the RahXephon jerk their right arms back so that their fists are level with their heads, a soft, clean, brassy note rings through the air around it and a shimmer passes along the length of the blade.

"NORIKO!"

In truth, he barely /knows/ Noriko Takaya beyond the context of their shared membership in the Fraternity unit, but the principle--the grim, awful principle keeps his heart aflame. RahXephon lifts sharply, points its shining blade towards the crown of the Chimera's head and in a stream of light and sound and snow-white feathers, it races to drive the tapered tip of the blade home, where hopefully the Thirteenth Angel's terrible alien brain stem will be pierced and it can finally, /finally/ be ended.

... at least, this might be the plan if the 00X hadn't tackled the Chimera to the ground at the last moment, when it's too late for the RahXephon to pull up and avoid collission.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Rei Ayanami. Blade of Rah added to their queue.

Akira feels a little bit ill at ease, watching the thing tear apart the Totoro. That couldn't be that much worse than an Astray. If he got close again... if he even got /tagged/ by that... what the hell would it do to /his/ mech?

"Legs. Uh, right. Right." Akira tries to shake it off. "C'mon, man," he mutters to himself. "You've seen worse than this...! They're just... they're..." He trails off, trying to reassure himself. They're just... what? Monsters? No, they're not 'just' monsters, and he can't lie to himself like that. They're something... else. Something alien and incomprehensible. He can't say they're 'just' monsters.

Akira's will to use the T-Link System against it suddenly drops like a stone. He opens the hidden panels on the Astray-TT and gets a missile lock, firing just as Unit-00X leaps on top of the Chimerangel. The missiles swarm, bursting around it and the Angel.

Akira's cry of, "Oh, /crap/," is about as sincere as he can get it. Fortunately, there aren't /that/ many missiles, and, well, it's only an Evangelion. NERV has infinite dollars, they'll be fine.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Rei Ayanami and Johnny Domino. Long Range Missile Salvo added to their queue.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck Johnny Domino with a minor hit using Long Range Missile Salvo!

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck Johnny Domino with a solid critical hit using Don't Do What Rei-3 Don't Does!

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has struck a solid critical hit on Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X using Halberd Combo.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X using Beam Saber.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck a major hit on Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X using Blade of Rah.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a major hit on Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X using Magoroku-E Sword.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X using GN Fang Prison.

Knock Out! Rei Ayanami's GN Evangelion Unit-00X unit has become disabled!

That's the problem with Rei Ayanami:

Every now and then she jumps on top of someone who everyone else is attacking, and they end up beating /her/ up instead. Bardiel -- the Chimera -- Johnny's hand spears into Unit-00X's -- Rei's belly, through armor plating and into sloppy, soft tissue that leaks out sparkling orange LCL and thick, viscous red blood. It hooks her and refuses to let her go, even as the hits rain down upon her.

A beam from Cagalli snaps off a shoulder fin.

A shot from Macua hits her in the hip.

A missile salvo blasts Unit-00X's foot off at the ankle.

Latooni's missle strikes it right in the spine, blasting away a large section of armor.

Excellen's missile, meanwhile, hits the Eva in the elbow joint, ripping its forearm clear off.

Inside, Rei Ayanami is being broken into pieces. She can no longer feel pain because pain is not something that can be felt anymore, just known in the same way that one knows gravity on Earth. It is an inescapable force that binds her and refuses to let her go.

Pieces of Unit-00X's leg are torn away by Alia's halberd.

The beam saber of Sarah's Woundword slashes the back of the Eva's neck, splitting her vertebrae.

Rei screams.

The Blade of Rah impales the Evangelion right in its cyborg buttock. Its attendant leg spasms and goes limp.

Shinji Ikari, Rei's dearest and oldest friend, slashes a deep wound into the thing's side, causing more blood to spill, more guts to slosh out.

And then the GN Fangs.

"--johnny--"

The Fangs sink in deep. They spear through the back. The Haro's aim is impeccable. They're pointed right for--

"--johnny i need you--"

--a spot Leo Stenbuck knows all too well.

A spot he's seen an Evangelion get hit in before.

SOME TIME AGO

The powder-blue, scorched suit lifts its left arm, directing it towards the Eva. LCL drips like globs of blood off the tip of its swords, orange liquid sizzling into nothingness with every contact with the blades' crackling, energy edges.

"... I'd take care of your li'l girlfriend for ya. Well, guess what. One way or another..."

The Sword Strike leaps high into the air, becoming like a dot against the sky. Its rocket anchors launch from both its wrists, /slamming/ into the shoulder and head of the Eva. Instantly, they begin to retract; their tensile strength isn't nearly enough to lift a machine as massive as the Eva into the air, but the fact that the Strike's thrusters are aiming to propel it downward should hint to the simple fact that it doesn't /want/ to pull the Eva up.

"... I'M MAKIN' GOOD ON ONE OF MY GODDAMN PROMISES TODAY!!"

It wants to come /down/ to greet the Eva /personally./

NOW

The Fangs come this close -- /this/ close -- to hitting the Evangelion's plug. But even then, as they sink into the monstrous unit, who can tell if they did or they didn't? Suddenly, the thing goes limp. It stops moving. Rei Ayanami's radio signal, already intermittent throughout the encounter, dies completely.

There's a still moment where the worst could have happened.

And then the plug ejects.

Launching in the same direction as Noriko's cockpit rolled off in, Unit-00X's plug is covered in sparkling GN LCL, and it lands like a bullet, or like a lawn dart thrown into soft earth.

Bardiel -- Johnny -- is left with a hundred-foot-tall rag doll, decorated with a dim orange afterglow as its GN Drive shuts down.

A WEEK AGO

Rei Ayanami's quarters on the Minerva are... not quite what Johnny Domino had expected. From the strobe light on the floor to the posters on the walls to the weird stickers littering the place to the goddamn PAPER GARLANDS OF HEARTS AND STARS HANGING FROM THE CEILING, Excellen Browning's personal touch can be felt in every square inch of this room.

After the initial shock wore out, Domino decided he liked it. The juxtaposition of Rei Ayanami's reserved demeanor with the flashiness of her room was rather endearing.

Sitting on the floor with papers scattered around them, Rei and Johnny are busy folding origami cranes. Or rather, Johnny is folding them. Following the injuries Ayanami sustained inside Leliel, the girl could not fold any cranes of her own - not until her hands finished healing.

Having enlisted Domino's aid for as long as the bandages remained on her palms, Rei watches the Agent work. Her expressionless face may seem to indicate she isn't at all invested in whatever is happening around her, but the truth is, Rei observes Johnny with great interest.

The way he carefully brings the corners of the paper together; the way his fingers press the paper closed, sliding across every fold he makes; the way he would sometimes begin humming something, then stop, then begin humming again.

"There," says Domino, holding up a finished crane. He slowly turns it around in his grasp, letting Rei look the creation over and provide final judgement.

The Agent never thought he'd find origami half as enjoyable as he does now. Following the experience with Leliel, sitting there with Rei and doing something as mundane as folding cranes was good for Johnny. It felt like a step back to normalicy. A step back to real life.

Rei finally nods, giving her mute approval. Johnny smiles. He grabs a black marker and moves to write his name across the crane's wing. There are over a dozen such cranes sitting in a pile, bearing Johnny's signature.

If only the Agent could continue having these nice quiet moments with his friends. If only life could be so simple. Maybe then he could recover -- could forget all the memories Leliel implanted in his head, forget about Leila, forget about strangling her...

Halfway through his name, Domino freezes. His grip over the marker tightens. His eyes widen. He can hear her again - Leila's voice, whispering in his head.

"..it feels soft.."

"..please don't.."

"..come to me.."

NOW

Bardiel brutalizes Noriko's unit right in front of Rei. There is no mercy, all the while Noriko screams in the background.

Deep in Central Dogma, Maya has to hold back a shriek of horror at the sight. She isn't the only one among the bridge denizens to be shaken by Noriko's fate. And what WAS Noriko's fate? Was she dead? Was she alive?

"FUCK," curses Misato. "Somebody get me vitals on her, stat! --Shinji, there's no time to waste, your one chance is running out. Get Domino out of there before--"

"No." Gendo again. He duly noted Latooni's refusal and subsequent desynching. A useless pawn on the battlefield. "Shinji, your top priority is the destruction of the target. This isn't a game. It is either you or the Angel. If you hold back, you will be responsible for everyone's deaths." Aw, that's sweet. Gendo cares about the well-being of all the people gathered to fight Bardiel. See, he isn't cold-blooded at all!

Above ground, Bardiel continues ravaging Totoro, clawed fingers digging deep into metallic innards. Bestial grunts and growls escape from the Chimera's mouth as it works its dark magic on what was once--

Before the Angel has time to react, Unit-00 is upon it. Totoro's shredded remains fall out of the Angel's grasp as Rei Ayanami does to it what Bardiel did to Noriko only a moment ago: tackling it to the ground. The First Child yells Johnny's name over the radio, as do a number of other people, but the Agent does not respond -- he can't. And as Unit-00 lies there on top of Bardiel, the Angel punches into the Evangelion's stomach, an initial attempt to keep the enemy away... but that's as far as the Angel's attack goes. Once it has its fanged fingers digging into the Eva's flesh, Bardiel becomes a docile little critter.

Lying there passively, the Angel allows Ayanami to cover it, content on letting the fresh wave of attacks hit the Evangelion.

And as Bardiel lies there, it stares up Unit-00. There's something about that Evangelion. Something that goes beyond Unit-01, or Unit-02. Something that goes beyond the GN-saturated LCL, even. It's the pilot. Bardiel can sense Rei. She was no ordinary human.

She has also stopped moving. Or rather, Evangelion Unit-00 stopped moving. Bardiel takes it as its cue. The beast pulls its right hand out of the Eva's belly. Reaching up with bloodied fingers, it closes them around Unit-00's throat. The air around the Angel shimmers once again, the AT Field used to push Bardiel back to its feet. But if people thought Bardiel came out of this unscathed, they are wrong.

A number of the fleshy-growths adorning the Chimera's body are scorched now, some of them dangling by loose, bloody strands. After all the violence Rei had absorbed in its place, how on earth did Bardiel suffer this damage? The answer is Latooni. She is, indeed, an exceptionally precise young pilot. Bardiel knows this now. It felt the proof.

Holding Unit-00 by the throat like a grotesque ragdoll, the Angel waves the Evangelion at those gathered. Is it a primitive warning to stay away or suffer the same fate? Or is it a primitive display that the Angel now has a shield? The beast peers around the battlefield, seeking Latooni's machine. It turns its head around, twisting it at an odd angle, before a sickening crackling sound is heard, and Bardiel finishes turning its neck 180 degrees. There, behind him, was Latooni's machine.

The Angel's body twitches, limbs following the head's example, twisting as the flesh molds itself into a new position. Armor cracks and breaks, as the bio-unit's body within no longer fits as it should. And then, finally facing its enemy, Bardiel's free arm shoots out. It extends ever longer, mutating at a rapid pace, seeking to grasp the girl's unit and smash it down on the ground.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Latooni Subota. Twisted Growth added to their queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has struck Latooni Subota with a Dynamic Kill critical hit using Twisted Growth.

Knock Out! Latooni Subota's GAT-S02R Dagger N Proto unit has become disabled!

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has missed Johnny Domino with her Long DES-G07D+ Anti-Armour Sword counter attack.

Alia has the good sense to stop attacking the Eva; she executed one halberd swing only by virtue of being in mid-slash at high speeds when Rei dived in the way too fast to truly stop the attack. She ascends and watches, baffled. "What was /that/ about?" Not privy to any of the history between those involved, she's at a loss as to any conclusive reason one pilot covered for a possessed 'enemy' like that, though she can make plenty of sensible guesses. Most of them are meaningful enough that Alia backs off, content to keep Zefholm darting about in various directions in the sky; wary against an attack, but not immediately launching any of her own, in case what just happened has stirred the Johnny Domino within... ...and that is clearly not the case, not with the Chimera assaulting Latooni so. She tries to zip around to be well above, yet behind, the Eva-equipped Chimera/Angel. Zefholm's wings unfurl, the gems within the tips lighting up and firing thin green rays down upon it, hoping to slip in several small hits while its... impressive attention and power is focused elsewhere.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has attacked Johnny Domino. Wing Beams added to their queue.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has missed Leo Stenbuck with her Pellet Pistol attack.

Shinji's eyes widen as his sword strikes Unit 00's back. He is stunned, falling backwards into the dirt. The mighty Unit 01 seemingly crawling into a fetal position as its pilot watches Unit 00 and the damage they just caused. Shinji wants to scream but he's too much in shock to do anything but cry. "Why is this happening?! I just---" Shinji sobs, looking at Unit 00 with a quivering lip.

"Rei...Please be ok...I..." Shinji attempts to get Unit 01 up but ends up falling back to one knee. "Rei...You're my best friend. I won't let anyone hurt you. Rei, if I don't have you...I don't think I can survive in this world...Rei...Rei...Rei. You're my fam--" The guts fall out of Unit 00 as it drops as just another mess on the ground. Shinji's show of strength just drops as it just stares at the guts on the ground. Rei...Rei...Rei...Rei....Rei is gone. Shinji wants to scream but he is frozen, listening to the Nerv channel. "Misato....Rei....Is she?"

And then Gendo has to open his mouth, causing Shinji's grief to turn to stubburn fear. "No...Johnny is still in there! I don't want to loose everyone I care about! Please just give me more time, father. Please don't..."

Latooni Subota feels sick to her stomach when she sees the Chim - the Angel - use Rei as a human shield. Well, the Evangelion, and it's not a human - but that's the general idea. It's smart. Many of the other Angels seemed animalistic; Leliel did not, though, and this one...

This one is clever. It plans. She doesn't know what to think about that.

Latooni draws one of the Dagger N's swords, the longer one. She needs to get it away from the destroyed units. She needs to slice the fungal coating off the Chimera, to either shut it down or disable its parasite. It really is like a tick.

Except ticks don't make their targets mutate horribly. The arm comes at Latooni far faster and from a far longer range than she thinks is possible; her blade whistles around in an arc, attempting to stop it or cut it off at the wrist or /something/. She fails. The arm goes straight through the center of the Dagger, coring it.

Large parts of the body are totally intact; the upper chest is still fine, the arms and legs look to be mint condition. The blade doesn't even have blood or ooze on it when Latooni drops it, giving it its first dent of the night.

But what the Dagger no longer has is a stomach... or an engine. The machine hangs, completely powerless, every light off, before sliding to slam on the ground with a crunching sound.

In an act of desperation, without even the power to run her emergency eject system, Latooni forces the hatch open by main strength, looks left and right, and then runs from the ruin of her machine. She looks in better shape than expected; the one strike wasn't anywhere near the cockpit, though she moves stiffly, possibly from whiplash, and one of her arms is cradled against her side while she trails blood from an open wound. She can find somewhere to hide.

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota crackles. Backup personal radio. "Keep trying! I can get away if you distract it - "

Before her, Sarah watches not only as the Totoro is utterly demolished, but also as the Unit-00 /leaps/ in harm's way and essentially uses its body to shield Johnny's Chimera. Despite her cries, Sarah cannot get through to her comrade and fellow Lance. The girl /won't/ listen. It only agitates Sarah further.

That girl...the feeling she gives her...

Her arms tense tightly, shivering beneath her black and red normal suit as she watches Rei's unit suffer not only beneath her assault, but others' as well. She can hardly pay attention to everything crashing around her--including Asuka's reluctance to actually /attack/ the Angel possessing Johnny and, instead, Leo.

When the Evangelion Unit-00 is waved about, Sarah just grits her teeth, jaw aching considerably, however dimly aware of it she may be. But such is short-lived; the unit turns its attention from the Eva toward Latooni's machine.

Seconds later, it is completely destroyed.

"Damn it," the girl quietly hisses to herself. This is going poorly. First Noriko's Totoro, then Rei's 00, now Latooni's Dagger--no telling what's /next/. But she can't be afraid. If he's in there--there has to be a way to get him out!

"Domino! Please listen! Don't /do/ this!" Sarah cries in a desperate attempt to hopefully get him to listen if he's still in there. "I know you're there--just /stop/ this! Let us help you!"

The long beam rifle is hoisted, its tip glowing and crackling with energy. If he won't listen...they'll have to /kill/ him. If she wants to help protect her friends, it has to be done. But that doesn't make it any /easier/ for Sarah.

"Domino, listen!!"

The long beam rifle snaps off a shot, aimed at the center of the Chimera's forehead.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has attacked Johnny Domino. Long Beam Rifle Snipe added to their queue.

Leo's heart stops beating for the entire length of time in between his Fangs burying themselves in Unit-00X and the ejection of the Evangelion's plug.

When it finally ejects, he lets out an explosive breath... and immediately wheels on his Haro. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" he shouts, his hand snapping out to smack the little spherical robot. "I SAID CEASE FIRE!!"

"SORRY, SAYLA," Haro wails, obviously distraught. "SORRY, SAYLA!" So great is its distress that the Fangs buried in the Evangelion simply deactivate, tumbling out of where they're impaled and falling lifelessly to the ground.

Leo is still slapping his Haro around like it was Louise Halevy when the first round from Asuka's next volley whizzes just past the 1 Gundam; instantly, he switches back into business mode, interrupting his shouting on the radio mid-sentence as the 1 Gundam whirls to face Unit-02, swinging its shield up to cover its body.

"/ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!/" Leo shouts; this engagement is falling apart, and fast. Another round from Asuka whizzes past the Gundam, and then a third smashes into its shield. The comparatively huge round caves the slab of E-Carbon inwards with a tremendous spray of sparks, but it doesn't penetrate, and the flattened round bounces off and tumbles heavily to the ground.

"IS THIS REALLY THE-" Leo begins; his shout drowns out into a strangled, wordless cry when movement in the corner of his eye makes him turn his head just in time to see Latooni get impaled. His heart stops beating again, his eyes widen, and his entire body seizes up for about three seconds, his hands holding his controls in a death grip.

When the Dagger N collapses to the ground, Leo Stenbuck loses the ability to make rational decisions.

In one fluid motion, the 1 Gundam turns towards Bardiel, its right hand reaching behind its shield to draw the enormous beam saber hilt sticking out of its elbow. It's already accelerating by the time it holds the hilt out to the side and ignites it, a massive orange blade leaping out of the object.

The Gundam dives straight in towards Bardiel, beam saber lashing downwards in an attempt to sever one of the 'Angel's' arms; that is to say, one of Chimera's arms. Somewhere in there, Leo appears to have switched communications over to loudspeaker... but he's not saying anything, he's just screaming.

Oh, boy, is he screaming.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Johnny Domino. GN Large Beam Saber Rampage added to their queue.

This is rapidly going completely pear-shaped.

The Princess's weapons take down not Johnny's machine-turned-Angel but Rei's Evangelion, and subsequently, he turns his guns on Latooni -- or, more accurately, his creepy-ass bio-growth on her. "Oh shit, shit, /shit/, shit, shit, shit," Cagalli says, doubling the proportion of 'shit' to 'words that are not shit' of her previous sentence. "I -- that --"

Cagalli's heart sinks. Just what are they /fighting/ here? At first she'd thought the use of the entire power grid just to power one big stupid gun was excessive, but now... just what monsters has NERV declared their chosen opponents? Her resolve falters further -- and then she sees Latooni, climbing out of the cockpit and apparently bleeding. She's reasonably certain her weapons can't do shit against the Angel, certainly not without killing Johnny -- but /that/... that's something she can do something about.

Boosting over toward Latooni, Cagalli hastily pops her cockpit and drops the entry cable. "Grab on!" she shouts to Latooni, her tone desperate, amid Leo's screaming.

SOME TIME AGO

"Okay," Johnny Domino conspiritorially whispers to Ayato as the pair walk the New Neo Shinjuku ward of Tokyo-03, "just remember what I told you: lots of alleys, side streets, crowds... these guys, they're /tenacious/, but if you're smart, you can duck them for a little while. You remember /that/, and--okay..." The corners of Johnny's mouth quirk into a grin. "... they'll still follow you around, but you'll mess with their heads a little; think of it as revenge."

"Alleys, revenge, right," Ayato murmurs with all the graveness of a student preparing for a final exam; one glance behind himself, to the Japanese man in the Hawaiian shirt and the Italian mirrorshades and his stoicism, his determination deepens. "/Right/. Ready."

"Good--let's break, and I'll meet you down the way, alright?" Johnny begins to wander away from Ayato with an easy, practiced non-chalance, making for a knot of people huddled around a street magic act; similarly, Ayato tries to look natural as he ducks into the first alley he sees, but he's pretty stiff about it; it probably comes from spending pretty much every waking moment being watched by /someone/.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

"You have got to be joking," Ayato glumly mumbles as he exits a cozy, neon-lit boutique.

"I wish I was, but I think you actually pulled /more/ tails stomping around like you were--drastic measures, y'know?" Johnny is /still/ wearing practiced non-chalance as he exits on Ayato's heels, though it's got more to do with his trying not to burst out into laughter than any attempt to fool a shadowy NERV agent. The little tray of takoyaki he's nibbling from helps.

"I wasn't /that/ bad, and even if I was, I--/this/..."

"Only thing they had in your size, man; you heard the girl, there's a costume party tonight."

Sighing, Ayato comes to a stop beside a little bush planted beside the boutique; his body temperature is racing upwards, and while he's in pretty good shape he's feeling the need to make sure he's got all of his wind before continuing this little adventure. "I just--"

One of Ayato's hands - now encased in a ball of green velour connected to the rest of his body by a length of artificially ribbed fabric meant to give the illusion of a cable-like arm - gestures to at himself and the alarmingly lifelike(if, you know, large) Haro costume he's concealed behind. The mouth and ears are even capable of flapping, but it requires that the wearer pull an arm inside to work a few strings, so it's a little awkward; if he were a paid mascot he'd probably have to do it regardless, but he's just an annoyed seventeen year old boy, so no such luck.

"--/really/?"

"Yeah, well," Johnny murmurs as he carefully averts his eyes and holds the back of his hand over his mouth to conceal his smile. "we'll practice a little, sometime, and next time it won't have to come to this." Once he has a hold of himself he spears a piece of takoyaki and holds it out to Ayato without looking to him; it's a quiet offer.

After about five seconds of Ayato not accepting it - body-concealing costume and deeply-rooted shame, after all - the bush beside the pair riffles with low, mocking male laughter; a glimmer of Italian mirrorshades is visible beyond the foliage.

"Goddamnit," Ayato exhales, palming his big happy Haro face with his spherical Haro hand.

NOW

Ayato feels his right hand sinking through tortured metal and flesh and LCL; as the luminescent blade sinks through 00X's armour, he remembers gently, inadvertantly, repeatedly kicking its pilot while she was on her back and dazed in an ephemeral prison and the mixture of horror and adolescent embarrassment and--and exhultation that isn't his but he can't quite help but own regardless is a heady and confusing melange that keeps him trembling in place well past 00X being broken and thrown well away from the heat of combat.

If 'the heat of combat' weren't getting hotter with every passing moment, he might just /stay/ locked up in his own discordant feelings and sensations, but Latooni's Dagger N is broken in a heartbeat while the RahXephon stands there uselessly, and just like that they are down three defenders in nearly as many minutes.

He knows Latooni even less well than he does Noriko, but it's the same awful principle that not only stirs him into action but detonates his fury. A few rivulets of LCL are still trailing down the length of the glowing weapon drawn from 00X's body; they rapidly become curls of scented steam when Ayato's wordless, nigh on /mindless/ scream of rage lends heat and length and breath to the RahXephon's blades.

In short order, they are less katars jutting from its forearms and more swords, or perhaps even more aptly /spears/ clutched tightly in its clawed white hands; with little regard for /anything/ beyond the Thirteenth Angel's demise, the RahXephon suddenly jolts forward in a reckless charge, arms raised and held out to either side as if ready to envelop the infected bio-unit in a warm, mechanical embrace.

You know, the kind of 'warm, mechanical embrace' that terminates in a shaft of magical light driving towards the Chimera's upper back so that it punctures armour and travels violently through its frame until it emerges somewhere around the lower part of its chest and a second photonic spear aimed to dig straight down through Bardiel's shoulder, its chest, its leg, its foot, the ground it's standing on...

RahXephon and the 1 Gundam might well end up making a Chimera sandwich when it's all said and done; as it is, its cacophonous, pilot-driven melody is sort of synchronizing with Leo's screams.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Johnny Domino. Wrath added to their queue.

---Ah fuuuuuuuuck

Rei's intervention wasn't planned for. Hell, she sure as heck didn't see it coming and Excellen's got a pretty damned good view of the battlefield from the air. She's even LESS prepared for the machine's response to the tackle of Unit-00, gutted and its throat ripped open with feral teeth.

And then the head does.. And the cracking and the.. For a moment, her vision turns grey, and it takes everything Excellen has not to flip her helmet visor open and spill the contents of breakfast and lunch.

It is a very near thing. She's seen a lot of things, but that... Is this what those who obey the call of 3066 forced to deal with every time? No wonder everyone comes out of these things abso-fucking-lutely INSANE. This just takes the cake, the biscuit and the tin they were all being stored in. She can feel her stomach flip as Latooni now has her machine shredded in turn, middle ripped away. That she gets away...!

A quick shout out, and she's already rolling with what she needs to know. All thanks to memory, of the Gundam Fight, and cleavings, and a plane being buried into the back of Domino's machine. <<Access to the pilot's cockpit is centered along its back! If we can cut away the infection, cut that open, maybe we can get him free!>> She hopes. Oh god, she really hopes. It's a Chimera, not a Hydra (thank GOD) and, well. Given its riddled with alien parasites right now, that means no bees, right?! <<If we can cut off the head..!>>

He trusted her. He didn't trust easily, if he trusted at all, but he trusted her and Excellen will be damned if she lets that trust be betrayed! There's no time left to waste with thinking. And no more pussyfooting around: drawing her main weapon from its shoulder holster, she takes one long slow, deep breath.

The gauge on her screen fills, bar turning red to amber to brilliant green. "Hang on, Domino," she hisses between clenched teeth. "Hang on just a little longer.." The massive barrel is spun once, before golden light snakes free, the powerful blast burning through the screams, the terror, the blood..

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has attacked Johnny Domino. Oxtongue Rifle E added to their queue.

Pellets whir right past Leo; only one comes to close to meeting its target--and quick action by Johnny forces the pellet right into a shield.

She missed! How could she have?! She had him there in her sights! He was right there!

"Johnny, I need you..."

Asuka spins around, her missed attack temporarily forgotten; her eyes hit Unit-00 just as the fangs sink into its body. The unit deactivates, and much to Asuka's disappointment, the plug is ejected.

Johnny, I need you, she hears distantly. I need you.

That bitch. That little bitch Rei! It doesn't matter that she's compeltely neutralized, she's still a threat. Rage pulses through Asuka's body. She can't lose! Not to HER! Not to anybody! If Johnny had to choose anybody, it was going to be her! She was the best! She was the smartest! She was the number on pilot NERV had!

Latooni's unit is struck, and like the others before her, falls to the ground with a shudder.

And when Leo starts screaming, Asuka starts screaming right back.

"You think you can have whatever you want! You're going to kill him just because you can't stand the thought of him having that little bitch, Rei!"

She lifts her pellet pistol again and aims; her head aches from focusing so hard with one eye, and even Asuka doesn't know how long she can keep this up.

But she's going to see this through until the end.

"I'm not letting you have Rei! I won't let you hurt Johnny, either!"

Her index finger tightens on the trigger.

"And I'm dumping you!"

She fires.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Leo Stenbuck. Pellet Pistol added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami can be heard faintly, covered in a snow of static, from the emergency band of her escaped plug, sounding faraway, halfway gone: "--na la el na refah na la el--" And then the signal dissipates.

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari transmits, "Rei..."

Mental note: rocket arm. Do not engage.

DO NOT ENGAGE. NO SERIOUSL--Oh, well, now that Cagalli is down there...

The Astray-TT follows Cagalli's Gundam to the ground. It interposes itself between her mech and the Angel, using it's body as a giant shield wall. With any luck, it'll actually deter it a little, or at least mean it has to go through him, which'll slow it down a little bit. Maybe. He hopes.

Akira is bad at this 'planning' thing, okay.

So now the Evangelion and the Dagger are both history. This is rapidly getting fucked up. Well, /more/ fucked up. Akira's tense, and he can't /un/tense. He can't use his easiest power right now, since it'll just get /him/ fucked up, and he's having a hard time keeping his connection with the T-Link System stable, so that's... bad.

"Grrh. Hurry up!" he snaps, probably at Cagalli, possibly at himself. He doesn't really know what to do. He arms the missiles again, another salvo getting ready--and then Asuka flips out and shoots at Leo, who, in Akira's experience, has a pretty brutal robot. If he goes down they lose another big gun.

"Hey, idiot! Leave him the hell alone!!" Akira snaps. He points the Astray-TT's beam rifle at the red Evangelion's back as he fires a volley of missiles straight ahead at the Angel, letting the missile lock guide them. His eyes glow gold for a moment as he synchs with the T-Link System more fully, and the mobile suit's does as well. They aren't made to do that.

"You shoot him down and we lose a big piece of our offensive power!" Akira can see /that/ much. "I /live/ near here, and I don't want the whole place vaporized because you can't stand /losing/ and taking a hit to your /big fat ego/!" She didn't /say/ that... but he knew it anyway. Being a mindreader has perks.

Perks like the ability to telepathically slap Asuka upside the head, after a fashion, which he does. It may feel like she got hit with a rock, except without the messy part of actually getting hit. Just the headache after. It might suck just a little bit.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Johnny Domino. Long Range Missiles added to their queue.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck Johnny Domino with a major critical hit using GN Large Beam Saber Rampage!

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Wing Beams!

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Long Range Missiles!

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Oxtongue Rifle E!

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has struck Johnny Domino with a major critical hit using Long Beam Rifle Snipe!

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck Johnny Domino with a major hit using Wrath!

On the allied radio bands, Koichiro Ohta suddenly takes the stage, announcing: "This is Exelion. We are not receiving Takaya's life signs."

The RX-207 Totoro is cold and dark as it rolls - very slowly, downhill. Toward the sea, where it will sink, and with its emergency power cut, she will die very quickly. It's cold. It's dark. She's scared, and for that she slams her shoulder against the door harder, harder, harder yet, but there's nobody who can hear her when she screams. "Coach!" she yells, slamming against the door. She's psychic as a lump. Nobody will hear her. "Rei! Jung....!"

She tries to stop herself from crying - she sniffles, and scrubs at her eyes, hissing, "I promised them...I'm not...I'm not that PERSON ANYMORE!"

She slams the door with all the power of her despair.

But despair...is the one thing which has no power at all.

The cataclysm of violence is legendary. They fight each other - the creature shreds the fat, tall one, sending its core bouncing away like a marble. She screams - he can feel her sorrow, feel the guttering of her spiral power as her machine, which she trusted, is annihilated so easily. She feels all of their weakness - their fear and cowardice, as finally, an enemy truly capable of fighting them appears.

Why now, of all times? Why do they hesitate at the first sign of true strength? He had briefly had a glimmer of hope - briefly, he dared to dream that their spiral power could overcome the challenges before them, and truly lead men to stride the stars once more, triumphant over the face of all creation. Now he knows.

They would destroy these pitiful creatures, who dare to call themselves human. This one...if it isn't stopped, it will do the job. Would his own kingdom be safe? Perhaps.

...but no. That is no option.

From the angle of the setting sun, a spine of blackness tears through the air, infinitely long, and does not stop until it has speared through the creature's skull.

A figure of pure black stands on one of the still-present buildings. Its arm is outstretched - a single drill tendril stretching from its palm all the way through toward Bardiel's head. On sensors, it reads as a simple mobile suit, albeit with no apparent power source. But those with special senses know that presence - like an infinite malice, coiled around some hidden core.

"Is this the limit of your power, humans?" the Spiral King rumbles, deeply, on open frequencies - his voice shakes into one's very bones. "The first attempt to weaken your resolve, and you fall to pieces. So this is the state of your world. Full of warriors, too frightened to make war."

Two more drills shriek downward to tear Bardiel's skull to splinters.

"Then allow me to show this creature for you - the folley of trespassing in the domain of the SPIRAL KING!"



Lord Genome has arrived.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has attacked Johnny Domino. Drill Whip Barrage added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Who... who /is/ that?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Latooni Subota transmits, "I can't see - hold on -"

<Radio: F - 3066> Akira Tadokoro breathes, "Oh, shit."

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "'Spiral King..?'"

COMBAT: Lord Genome has struck Johnny Domino with a devastating hit using Drill Whip Barrage!

LESS THAN A WEEK AGO

"You have no clearance to enter," intones the Section 9 guard, blocking Johnny's way into the entry lift to the Geofront. "Leave, please."

Johnny Domino gnashes his teeth at the guard's words. The young man's patience is running thin. His face looks very pale in the harsh sunlight.

Domino has been hearing Leila's voice -- the Angel's voice -- with growing frequency. Whispering fragmented sentences in his head, words overlapping and making little sense... it was driving the Agent crazy. He could barely sleep or eat. His duties to A-LAWS were suffering and, as a result, /he/ was suffering. And despite having quit NERV 3066 following Leliel, Johnny Domino now finds himself going back.

He needed help. He needed help badly.

"My name is Johnny Domino," repeats the Agent, showing his now-obsolete ID card. "I was part of NERV 3066."

The guard is unimpressed. "You have no clearance. Leave." No 'please' this time.

If only Domino knew that the moment his resignation became official, NERV would wash their hands of him. If only he knew the Angel would keep haunting him. If only he knew, and knew, and knew... it's an Agent's job to know.

"Damn it," spits Domino. He is so exhausted. His nerves can't take much more of this. "Look, I know Misato Katsuragi. /Major/ Misato Katsuragi! And I know Ristuko Akagi and Maya Ibuki and--!"

Then the voice again, taunting him.

"..an empty shell.."

"..the future.."

"..do you love.."

"CALL THEM OUT," snaps Johnny, trying to drown the Angel's whispers with his own loud cries. "CALL THEM ALL OUT! I CAN'T STOP HEARING HER, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS, I NEED THEIR HELP!" In his outburst, the Agent fails to notice the guard mumbling something into a communicator.

"PLEASE, JUST-- JUST RUN SOME MORE TESTS, GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD." Before Domino even realizes, two more members of Section 9 appear, grabbing Johnny and dragging him away. The voice in his head continues, unabated.

"/PLEASE/," the young man shouts. "THE ANGEL IS DOING SOMETHING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EXPERTS ON ANGELS. /I DON'T WANT TO KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS/!"

NOW

One by one, the Angel fighters fall prey to the wrath of God. Bardiel disables Latooni with one brutal assault, eyes glowing with murder. As further attacks come its way, the beast hunches -- almost seems to cower, if not for the fact that it is in the process of crushing Latooni's engine in its outstretched palm.

Leo's attack catches the Angel off-guard, the power behind Stenbuck's fury nearly as ferocious as Bardiel's might. The elognated arm is sliced clean through. The beast bellows to the heavens, its limb crushing numerous buildings as it comes down, beckoned by gravity. Waving its fleshy stump around, Bardiel refuses to be surprised twice.

As Alia and Akira make their own assault, the Angel makes good on its primitive threat, using Unit-00 as a shield. The Evangelion jerks wildly in the beast's grasp, body ravaged. This is coming out of someone's paycheck at NERV. Unfortunately, its shield doesn't help Bardiel any against the combined assault of Sarah and Excellen.

Their beam discharge is far too powerful. First Sarah's, then Excellen's, the shots hit Unit-00 and punch clean through it, scorching the Angel on the other side. Sarah hits it in the stomach, Excellen neatly fries off a third of the Chimera's face. Unfortunately, where the weapons succeeded, words fail. As Sarah attempts to contact Domino -- in fact, this is true for anyone who attempts to do so -- all she will hear is a gutteral sound over the radio. A deep heaving of gurgling breaths. It doesn't sound like Johnny Domino. It doesn't sound like anything human. But it's coming over Domino's radio... coming from within Chimera's cockpit.

And then Ayato. Oh, Ayato.

RahXephon comes, raining down its wrath. The Angel raises its AT Field, a pathetic attempt to block Ayato's advance. RahXephon rips through it with ease. The Angel can only stand there, its body smoking, bleeding, pulsating, as the wrath of Ayato Kamina pierces its body. Bardiel refuses to be captured, though. The Angel will NOT allow RahXephon to embrace it.

Stumbling, staggering, fleeing-- Bardiel is actually /fleeing/, going on the defensive.

Below, in Central Dogma, Gendo, who was quite pleased when the Angel revealed itself to be Johnny Domino's possessed unit, is no longer pleased. Asuka focusing her firepower on Leo, Shinji refusing to follow orders, and Rei--

"Rei!" The name escapes from Ikari's lips before he can notice.

Misato, too, echoes this sentiment: "REI! God--goddamnit! ASUKA, STOP MESSING AROUND AND HELP REI! /FOCUS/, ASUKA. PLEASE!"

It is of no use. Evangelion Unit-00 succumbs, and Gendo can only watch, cold, hard, and unforgiving. The Commander's hands, fingers intertwined in front of his mouth, slowly drop to his desk.

"Shinji," he says. A dark storm brews inside of him. "A soldier who refuses to fight is worthless on the battlefield. If you refuse to take responsibility, I have no use for you." The man takes a deep breath. "This is an order: eliminate the target." Whether Shinji realizes or not, this will be the final chance Gendo gives his son.

Then a drill goes right through Chimera's head.

Bardiel stops in its tracks. The beast never saw it coming, so bent was it on getting away from Ayato. Now it is no longer going anywhere. Then two more drills follow. Blood is sprayed every which way in a fountain of gore, the head diced into a fine red pulp.

Unit-00 slips from the Angel's grip, crashing to the earth. A second later, the headless Angel follows suit, collapsing to the ground, motionless. All manner of fluids pour out of the gaping hole that was once the Chimera's head. The Angel, Chimera, and Johnny Domino, are helpless before Lord Genome.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has missed Leo Stenbuck with her Pellet Pistol attack.

Alia's attention perks up briefly as Excellen speaks. "So, simply refrain from hitting the back too hard and directly, and treat the rest as surgery? Very well! I..." ...She cuts off as Lord Genome arrives in spectacular fashion, recognizing him almost immediately and stating the obvious, "If he's left to his devices, this friend of yours won't survive..." She descends so that she's firing /up/ at Genome, given his rooftop perch; a miss may take out a chunk of roof, but hopefully little more. Zefholm's halberd tip points at the distant Spiral King, a pink circle with arcane runes laid around its perimeter forming in front of the weapon. "Radiannnt...." The circle turns into a thick beam of prana energy, streaming through the sky in the hopes of engulfing his machine, "Buster!"

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has attacked Lord Genome. Radiant Buster added to their queue.

Oh thank God, Latooni thinks, while trying to calm Leo down by radio and still have enough breath to escape. Her arm hurts like a bitch. She is just as glad that she gets a lift up.

Latooni scrambles up the entry cable one-handed and still manages to do it faster than most people can with two. She practically throws herself into the cockpit area, reaching back and closing the door behind her - and only then does she let her heart beat at human levels, trying to get it to slow down so she doesn't feel light-headed.

"Thank you," Latooni says, still trying to coordinate by radio. "I'm getting reports of - of the Spiral King. I don't know what he's doing here, but..."

She can't give Cagalli an order. That's crazy. Latooni tenses and does so anyway, still gripping her wounded arm tightly. "Stop him from killing Agent Domino. Please. And still stop the Angel."

Shinji is too busy crying to really pay attention to the Spiral King. He stares blankly at Unit 00's entry plug, hoping she's alright. He is so alone...Even Asuka is not calling for him. He looks over to Ayato and wonders if the boy was just being nice to Shinji. He feels the circular thoughts dig him deeper and deeper into himself. He really can't do anything to stop this. He wants to but he just can't move.

"But...." Shinji feels cornered by his father, feeling his tears dry. "Why do you do this to me? Don't you understand? I can't do this! Rei, Domino! Are you happy you're taking everything away from me? Just like you took my mom away from me, father? Are you really not happy just taking my mom away from me and sending me to live with relatives who care about me less than you do?! Did you really hate her as much as you hate me?!" Shinji yells back at his father, sniffling as the LCL stings his already reddened eyes. "I can't kill one of my best friends! I won't do it! We can still save him! It doesn't have to be like this!"

After the 1 Gundam's beam saber carves through the Angel's arm, neatly severing it, it handily reverses its grip on the weapon and raises it for another strike. Not even Latooni's voice, when it rings in Leo's ear, telling him that she's okay, can stop the young man's rampage...

... but apparently Lord Genome can.

The 1 Gundam freezes in mid-stab when a drill punches through the Chimera's head; Leo whips his head around to look at its source, his eyes suddenly aglow with yellow light. He's not sure what the shit just happened, but he's pretty sure he's not okay with it. As Bardiel collapses, the Gundam turns to face the distant Lazengann. Leo opens his mouth to speak--

-- but instead just kinds of squawks in furious disbelief, because Asuka is /still shooting at him./ And... also telling him that-- what. WHAT.

"YOU CAN'T DUMP ME!" Leo shouts, his fury at Bardiel handily rerouting itself towards Asuka, as the Gundam whirls to face Unit-02 again, weaving away from a pistol shot and, somehow, slapping another out of the air with its still-lit beam saber. "BECAUSE WE WERE NEVER DATING! OKAY?! JUST BECAUSE WE HAD SEX DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE DATING! THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! SO STOP CALLING ME!!"

The Gundam starts to turn back towards the distant SpiraL King, but stops and turns back to Asuka long enough to add, "AND YOU'RE A SHITTY PILOT!"

/Now/ the 1 Gundam turns fully back to Lord Genome again, and Leo roars, ever the picture of eloquence, "WHAT THE /FUCK/ DO YOU WANT?!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Leo..!!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck is just shouting for the sake of shouting now, apparently. "WHAT?!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami's intermittent bizarre chant, washing in and out of earshot like the tide, is cut short by the air leaving her lungs, like someone just played a non-diegetic record scratch.

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Don't you talk to me like that!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Sarah Zabiarov transmits, "Act like a /Captain/, /sir/."

As Latooni issues an order to the Princess of Orb, Cagalli almost on reflex takes it, affirming, "Right." It is about three seconds later that she realizes what she just agreed to. Lord Genome, the last time they met, tore her Zaku apart. She survived more or less on his sufferance. Can she really fight him, in a clusterfuck like /this/?

Cagalli grips the controls tight, trying to summon up that resolve she's so well-known for, and...

... nothing.

She turns to Latooni, nerves clearly shot. "I -- I can't do this," she admits, after a few seconds. "I can try to keep that wound closed up and walk you through anything complicated on the IWSP. But -- I've fought Lord Genome before. I'm no match for him."

She sets the machine to 'hover' for a moment, evacuating the controls. "... Please."

Latooni Subota activates her Gundam Strike Rouge unit.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has reset their systems to full.

Latooni Subota's Gundam Strike Rouge transforms into its Strike Rouge IWSP mode.

Things just continue to get worse in the mind of Sarah Zabiarov.

The shot she fires--coupled with Excellen's--causes the girl to wince. She doesn't want to hurt the Chimera. That thing...it saved her once. Johnny used it to shield her from harm. And now here they are, fighting it, /hurting/ it. It isn't supposed to be like that..!

"Domino," the girl murmurs, looking away at her hands, the finger on her lever's trigger. This isn't easy for her--she wants to protect him, to pay him back. But how can she protect someone she cares about when they're stuck inside some possessed /monster/?

"Alex, you said this would be easy..."

When Sarah's gaze lifts back to her panoramic monitor, there's someone and some/thing/ she didn't expect. The man--this self-proclaimed 'Spiral King'--deals a nasty blow upon the creature. With wide green eyes Sarah observes before she simply slams a button on her console.

"P-please, don't destroy the core of that thing!" she cries in nigh-desperation to Lord Genome. "Someone is stuck inside..! Your help is appreciated--but..!"

Flinching at Leo's words, Sarah feels her veins run cold. How can he talk like that..?

Revive Revival was right after all...

Sarah flinches.

Without a word the girl descends upon the wounded Chimera, drawing two sabers from leg-mounted compartments. Taking them in hand, she attempts to dive in low and plunge them into the monster's leg and JERK, hoping to at least sever a leg and disable it. "Come on..!"

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has attacked Johnny Domino. Dual Sabers added to their queue.

COMBAT: Cagalli Yula Athha has activated a spirit command.

They're fighting the Thirteenth Angel on the Thirteenth of May. Someone somewhere has the most horrific sense of humour.

The strange gargled breathing sets Excellen's nerves on edge, an icy sensation that trails down her spine as she watches Bardiel's reaction. Defensive..Is it afraid now? Afraid of them? Afraid of dying? Afraid of the Spiral King, who's just walked in and wrecked what shit they couldn't manage, impaling what was left of the head and beheading the monsterous mockery of a mecha?

A little of all of the above, perhaps. Excellen herself is terrified, and yet in spite of this, she cannot back down. Johnny still needs them all, especially now, crippled as his alien prison has become. "DOMINO!" Roaring his name, hands curl around her controls and the fleet white machine twirls middair. Alia's quite right: if they leave such an opening, Genome won't leave anything for them to recover. "Damn it, Domino!"

And she refuses to leave here with anything less than an /alive/ annoying little brother figure. "Zabiarov, watch yourself!" She doesn't /think/ she'd hit Johnny's squad leader by mistake, but.. Drawing more power from the energy cell banks, a second lance of golden light scorches through the air; with effort, the barrel of the oxtongue rifle is swung from one side to the other, sweeping the blast along the back and corrupted side of the fallen Bard-imera -- and perhaps striking Lord Genome, should he dare attempt to close the distance. She'll brave that danger, if it means she can cut to the heart of the matter and free her friend. "C'mon, you owe me one! Don't you DARE...!"

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has attacked Johnny Domino and Lord Genome. Oxtongue Rifle E - Sweep added to their queue.

Oh.

Shit.

Latooni slides into the cockpit seat without hesitating more than a second. "All right," Latooni says, before judging her options. This is not a machine she knows, but many mobile suits have similar controls; she gets it moving straight quickly. "I don't think I need anything complicated." Latooni's voice is tight, partially with pain - her arm is killing her now that she's actually trying to use it - and partially stress.

The Strike Rouge has a railgun in one hand and a beam rifle in the other. Latooni uses carefully aimed shots from both, one after another, to both try to drive off Lord Genome and take out some more of that overglopped flesh on Chimera.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Lord Genome and Johnny Domino. Suppressing Fire added to their queue.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami, through a wall of fuzz, like a broken guitar amp: "--leo? leo, can you--" kkkssshhh "--leo?"

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck repeats, "WHAT?!" After a beat, he adds, "OVER!!" Presumably for Sarah's benefit.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami doesn't sound intimidated by the shout; mostly, she just sounds like she's in pain. But then, her toneless voice has microtextures encoded into it that someone with Leo's experience could easily hear, even if they elude others: "--johnny. you need to save... johnny." kkksshh "--need him--" ssszzzhhh "--can't do this without hi--"

SOME TIME AGO

What was a sightseeing venture to Nirai-Karai Island where Ayato lays his head(and TERRA operates, not that /that/ came up during the trip) has turned into something... else. The sun is setting and Ayato has been perched on a high, rocky outcropping for nigh on an hour, pencil scratching deftly across a page in his sketchbook; it'd been under an arm the whole day, and he'd even broken it out to scribble in it once or twice when inspiration struck in the course of he and Johnny Domino's walkabout, but nothing like this.

"So..." the Agent murmurs as he peers over Ayato's shoulder as he has all this while, "You just... what, look at something until..." He trails into a soft noise of dismay borne more from his own unfamiliarity with the process of creating art than offense for being made to wait for such urges to run their course. The sketch is still kind of rough, but the basic pattern - a sunset and waterscape not unlike the one they're looking out over, save for the addition of a lighthouse off to the right with a woman faced away from the picture and looking out over the water - is clear enough by now.

"Sometimes," Ayato answers amidst a soft, distracted chuckle. "Or I just get an idea, or a feeling, or... /something/ and the only way to handle it is with a pencil or a brush or clay, or /whatever/, y'know?" He stops for just a moment after putting the finishing touches on the woman's hair, taps the pencil eraser thoughtfully against his chin for a couple of seconds then abruptly sets pencil and pad both on the rock beside him.

Springing to his feet, the formerly time-displaced teenager offers Johnny a pat on the back and a sheepish, apologetic smile before beginning to briskly weave his way away to head east. "Speaking of which, I just--I gotta go see if what I'm thinking will /work/; I'll be right back, okay?" he calls to Johnny as he negotiates the rocks.

"Wh--oh, uh, sure, okay..." Johnny peers between the fleeing Ayato and his sketchbook for a little while before taking Ayato's seat, picking the book up and gently flipping through its pages.

It doesn't take long before he's moved to grab the pencil, too, so that he can try his hand at this 'art' business'.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

It didn't take Ayato long at all to get the perspective he was after, once he figured out how to walk the rocks without killing himself; he's been back at his original post and peering quietly over Johnny's shoulder since returning, quiet so as not to disturb the Agent's work and curious to boot.

And kind of amused, too, but right up until the addition a wobbly line that makes the vacant-eyed, short-haired girl Johnny is trying to sketch look a little like a warthog in something meant to approximate a school uniform, Ayato was able to keep a lid on his laughter. At that point though, an amused snort cracks from his nostrils; Johnny starts, nearly drops the pencil and snaps his attention to the boy behind him; the vaguest hint of crimson is in his cheeks.

"She's--she's just this friend I have," Johnny defensively says. "Sh--wait, ugh, what the hell ever, why am I even defending myself." He sags, groans and turns away from Ayato and his barely muffled laughter, shoulder muscles clearly tensed just a tad. "It's not like I've ever /done/ this before."

"It's--it's okay, everyone--everyone has to start--some--where--a--aah--haah..." Ayato exhales, doubled over and clutching his stomach. If it weren't for Johnny's reaction, this would not be even half as funny as it is, but there it is; Johnny actually winces every now and again due to the continued sounds of laughter, but at least he isn't facing Ayato anymore. "I--I can--teach--"

"Maybe," Johnny quietly allows. "I..." He looks at the page and winces at himself rather than Ayato. "... maybe."

"Come--come on," Ayato forces out before sucking in a lungful of air and more or less steadying himself; that done, he's just about settled and able to seat himself securely beside Johnny. He waits until he's wiped a few stray tears from the corners of his eyes to note, "You might even like it." After half a beat, he grins, elbows Johnny a little and suggests, "Your friend might like it too."

"I..." Johnny's eyes fix on the sketch girl's; if /anything/ in the picture is accurate, it's the weariness, the dead emptiness of her gaze, the sense of a girl who's lived a thousand awful lifetimes and has been numbed by the experience.

"... the jury's still out on that," he finally determines.

NOW

Ayato Kamina has never heard of a Spiral King - can geometry even /have/ a monarch? - but who or whatever he is, the small part of the young pilot that isn't deep in the throes of mad, unfettered hate is so relieved that it would like to cling to who/whatever this 'Spiral King' is and lay his head against the ruler's no doubt powerful chest until the horror of Bardiel's--of /Chimera's/ continued existence goes away.

But no, the only chests here are his own and RahXephon's; the former can feel the warmth of blood and assorted other fluids sluicing through the panel lines of the latter's body as gravity pulls the liquids downwards. For that matter, he can practically feel it gathering and pooling in the minute hollows where his ribs attach to his sternum on the way down.

He probably won't be getting any hugs from Lord Genome, but this is pretty close to how that might actually go.

RahXephon stalks towards the downed Chimera as the blood reaches its hips; physics and its own movement send droplets of fluid scattering slightly away from the mechanical god's body with every step, grotesquely staining the street, nearby buildings and abandoned cars along the way... where Ayato and RahXephon's careless advance don't merely flatten these things for being in the way, anyway. There are no more screams, at least not now, for all that Ayato's features are twisted into a mask of wrath and his every manipulation of RahXephon's control rods comes out more like the jabbing of a knife than the careful handling of a mecha pilot. When the pair reach the Chimera, they just... stop.

And then Ayato raises his right leg high.

And then RahXephon's blood-spattered right foot is a colorful blur descending gracelessly to Bardiel's torso.

And then if the first blow strikes it'll happens again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Near-feral grunts and groans accompany each blow.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Johnny Domino. Curb Stomp added to their queue.

Her attacks miss again. How can this be happening?! Why can't she protect him?!

"You can't decide that!" she snaps back, though Leo can, and he has, and they weren't ever dating, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows that he's right but won't ever admit it. "I don't want to talk to you anymore, anyway! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

And then for the first time since entering Unit-02, Asuka relinquishes her steely grip on the unit's controls. Her hands press hard against her head; this headache, it wasn't just from focusing--it wasn't just from attacking Leo! Her head spins towards Akira, and the Eva's six eyes narrow on his unit.

"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" Asuka shrieks shrilly. Her hands find their way back into the unit's controls, and she clumsily lifts her pellet pistol and aims it towards him.

But from behind him, she watches as a single drill digs through Chimera's skull.

Misato's screaming orders through the radio, but suddenly, the commander's voice sounds unfocused, like she's hearing it from far away; Asuka's pellet pistol slips out of her unit's hands, and falls to the ground.

It's in that moment that Asuka realizes it. That Johnny isn't just a replacement for Kaji. She likes him, and she's afraid of anyone else taking him away from her.

She wasn't stupid; she knew how many friends he had. She knew that Rei liked him, too. And she was afraid, more than anything, that he'd choose anyone else over her. Even if she WAS the one to save him, he still might choose Rei over her.

He might choose HER over you, she hears distantly.

<Radio: F - 3066> Leo Stenbuck, astonishingly, does not yell. He transmits about a second of silence, though.

<Radio: F - 3066> Rei Ayanami, rapidly being overtaken by static: "--please, leo, pl--" And then her voice is gone again.

The Spiral King descends. Leo Stenbuck flips his shit. Asuka shrieks, as he knew she would. He keeps the weapon levelled, and...

And...

"Shit," he mutters. Akira doesn't know what to do. With Genome hitting the Angel, does he let him go to town or does he stop him? What do they /do/ here? There is no good answer. He hates this. When it was straightforward, back then... those days are gone, though. He sighs inwardly, raising the beam rifle.

"Hey, you!" he transmits. "You were with that ghost thing back then, right? What are you even /doing/ here if you're not with /that/?!

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has missed Lord Genome with her Radiant Buster attack.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has missed Lord Genome with her Suppressing Fire attack.

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has missed Lord Genome with her Oxtongue Rifle E - Sweep attack.

They don't know what to do about him. Of course they don't. They are frightened, tearful, weak creatures. Humans...

Pathetic.

Alia's Zefholm launches an assault, sheering the top quarter off the roof. Lazengann pirouettes into the air, arcing away gracefully, into the air. Drills snap out - some bisect incoming shots, others drill through incoming beams. One or two pass through the drill whips, and Lazengann simply arcs between the shots, landing on a rooftop and then lunging again, this time toward the ground. "Hoh?" The Spiral King rumbles. "You would stop me from killing an enemy of your own world? Truly, you humans continually prove yourselves more ignorant with each passing day."

The Spiral King leaps down from its perch, neatly avoiding Excellen's fire, letting her simply blast a building to ribbons behind him with no concern. "I will deal with that later," he says, and then lunges, swinging a roundhouse kick at Chimera's body, and then lunging in to rip out its chest.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has attacked Johnny Domino. Show Me Your Delicious Organs added to their queue.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck Johnny Domino with a minor hit using Suppressing Fire!

COMBAT: Excellen Browning has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Oxtongue Rifle E - Sweep!

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has struck Johnny Domino with a major hit using Dual Sabers!

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck Johnny Domino with a solid hit using Curb Stomp!

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Sarah Zabiarov has successfully covered Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has struck a major hit on Sarah Zabiarov's TR-6 Woundwort using Show Me Your Delicious Organs.

Knock Out! Sarah Zabiarov's TR-6 Woundwort unit has become disabled!

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Excellen Browning. Angel of Hail added to their queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has struck Excellen Browning with an apocalyptic critical hit using Angel of Hail.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Ayato Kamina. Angel of Hail added to their queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has struck Ayato Kamina with an apocalyptic critical hit using Angel of Hail.

LAST NIGHT

Johnny Domino is sitting on the bed in his quarters. There are dark circles under his eyes. His shoulders are hunched, a pathetic display of a broken spirit.

"..if you touch a rainbow.."

"..there isn't anything worth.."

"..through the looking-glass.."

Tremors pass through Domino's body in a near-constant flow. The Agent is holding his specially issued A-LAWS aPhone with both hands, gripping it with desperate, shaking fingers. One hand is grasping at the top, pressing the device against the young man's ear, the other hand cupping the bottom, pushing the mouth-piece as close as possible to the Agent's lips.

He dialed Excellen's number. He almost never calls Excellen on her personal number. It figures that the one time he does -- the one time it's really important -- she is unavailable.

Prompted by a recording to leave a voice message, Domino opens his mouth. His breathes come out loud and uneven.

".....Excell.....Excellen." Johnny Domino swallows. "I can't...", he trails off. "I need...", he trails off again.

"I can't-- go on like this. Everything's been getting worse. So much worse. Sleep, eat, focus... /focus/, I can't FOCUS. She keeps talking-- talking-- always talking. Even after I killed her, talking!"

Domino pauses, trying to regain control over his breathing. It has gotten more hitched and paniced the longer he spoke. He needs to stop and pull himself back together before he completely breaks down.

"..going, b-being sent to Izu. To pick up--"

"..without us there is.."

"..beyond the heavens.."

"..please come to me.."

Domino whimpers - a wrenched, dry sob.

"Not important," he chokes out. "Not important... after this, I-- please... please. Don't have anyone. Don't trust anyone. Rocbell, gone."

Rocbell Dajalah had been visiting Domino and taking care of him for the past week, as much as her duties allowed her. Now Rocbell's duties no longer allowed her.

"There's nothing," says Domino. "I don't...", he trails off for the final time. "I feel like something terrible is about to happen. Please, when you can--"

Johnny stops, once again forcing himself to calm down. After a few seconds he ends his message without another word.

NOW

Bardiel lies helpless on the ground, feeling everything. From Sarah stabbing at its leg, attempting to severe it, to Excellen's shot, washing over its body. If the Angel still had a mouth, it would cry out.

But Bardiel has no mouth. It can't scream. At this point it doesn't even move anymore. Not when Sarah brutally severes the leg, not when Excellen leaves a deep, throbbing gash in the beast's chest, not when Latooni fires at the fleshy growths, causing them to burst like balloons filled with water, not when Ayato begins stomping on it... Bardiel has been stopped, at long last.

Or has it?

Its arm moves, a blur as it whips through the air. Extending onward, Bardiel's fingers seek Excellen's unit. Feeling with its AT Field, the Angel lashes out, grabbing the Weissritter and swinging it about, using it to smash repeatedly at the RahXephon and push it back.

This is followed by the beast sitting up, body shaking from the effort. The disfigured flesh inside the hole where the neck once was begins bubbling. Something from within is poking closer and closer to the surface, until finally, a mass of ugly meat thrusts out. Bardiel has grown a new head. It is a featureless lump, with two large grooves where eyesball should have existed.

With its new head in place, the chin begins straining, pulling downward... until finally the flesh where a mouth should have been rips open, oozing blood. Opening this gash wide, the beast roars. Both its leg and arm begin quivering and jerking about, regrowing as well.

Bardiel is still alive.

Below, in Central Dogma, Gendo Ikari says nothing. His hands are resting on his desk still, now balled into fists. For a moment, Gendo thought the day had been won. When Lord Genome appeared -- someone NERV has a minimal file on -- seemingly come to defeat the Angel, the older Ikari felt a bitter relief in his stomach. But then... Shinji's words, and Bardiel refusing to die, and people on the battlefield attacking Lord Genome, the one person who CAME HERE TO FUCKING ELIMINATE THE TARGET AT LONG LAST.

Gendo Ikari did not wait all this time for the opportunity to get rid of Johnny Domino and his Chimera, only for the opportunity to slip away. Gendo Ikari did not bide his time, going behind SEELE's back in order to initiate his own version of Instrumentality just to see it all come tumbling down. Gendo Ikari did NOT create Rei Ayanami just to watch her die because of his insufferable son. And Gendo Ikari... will take none of this any longer.

Standing at his Commander's side, Fuyutsuki closes his eyes.

The Commander of NERV rises to his feet, transcending fury. "Disconnect the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01," he orders. "Activate the Dummy Plug System."

Maya and Misato look up in shock. Maya stutters an urgent, "B-but sir," while Misato offers a more defiant, "That system hasn't been tested yet! Sir, you can't--"

Gendo refuses to listen: "The Dummy Plug system is better than a useless child. You've been given your orders. Follow them!"

One second ticks by. Two seconds. Three...

"Yes, sir," says Maya. She turns back to her console. Misato, Makoto and Shigeru can only stare at her as she gets to work.

Shinji Ikari changes into his Out of Control pilot form.

Shinji Ikari's Evangelion Unit-01 transforms into its Berserk Evangelion Unit-01 mode.

Almost immediately, the cockpit of Unit 01 goes completely dark. Shinji blinks, looking around catiously. Did the power just go out? He didn't disconnect from the cable so how could Unit 01 be out of power?! The question is answered as the Evangelion restarts, this time displaying a red tint to all the interfaces as a distant whirring grows louder as it comes on line. "Whats going on?!" Shinji yells as it grows louder. "What are you doing, father?!" Shinji is answered as a metal plate folds over his face, somewhat blocking the view of the screen in front of him. "What's going on?!"

The command staff is silent as the system begins to come fully online, the Dummy Plug now almost completely covering Shinji's grewing confusion over the radio.

What was going on? While the Eva was seemingly coming back online, Shinji couldn't feel the nerve connections anymore and with this plate in the way, Shinji couldn't see anything. It was almost as if he was taking out of the equation...But they needed him to pilot, right? Unit 01 wouldn't work without him, right?!

Unit 01 stands up slowly as the eyes shift from green to the same red that covers the entry plug. It moves slowly toward Bardiel, looming over the Chimera. Even as the robot's are usually the same size, the Evangelion seems to have puffed up to intimidate the Angel that much further. This pace does not last as suddenly Unit 01 is just right up on the Chimera, slamming it's hand toward the biomechanical beast's eyes. It doesn't even look at the Rahxephon, shoving past it to get even closer to the Angel. Two fingers attempt to enter the skull and just start pulling on whatever. The other hand starts to punch the "Angel" with enough force to crack some ribs or atleast knock it back so the pull from the other hand is extra effective. Even if the Angel pulls back, Unit 01 will follow after it, not pausing to give it anytime to breath.

From the command room, many of the technicians watch in horror. Maya Ibuki even throws up under her station as she watches Unit 01 go to work in a way that too the pilot's restraint completely out of the equation. The wet sound of meat being pressed together than suddenly pulled apart does not help Maya's reaction any. Nor does the sudden meaty rip help as Unit 01 finishes its first pull.

Shinji hears what's going on and continues to yell. "What's going on?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FATHER?! DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! SOMEONE STOP ME! PLEASE! DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! STOP THIS! STOP!!!!" Shinji screams over all channels, somewhat muffled by the loud whirr from the cockpit. "PLEASE! NOT LIKE THIS! FATHER! STOP IT! STOP!!!"

Unit 01 continues to tear into the Angel, huddled over it. First an arm comes flying back, striking anyone who is close enough to be hit by a severed arm, still wet with gore. After that, noone could tell you what parts are being flung around. Unit 01 continues to work, finally stopping as it reaches what looks like an encasement where the cockpit would be.

It is at that moment, Shinji manages to bend the metal divider in front of his face. He stares in astonishment. "Ok...We can stop now." Shinji pulls at his controls. Nothing.

"Please stop now! We saved Johnny! Everybody wins, ok?!"

Unit 1 raises back it's hand, flating it out.

"FATHER! NO DON'T! PLEASE!!! STOP IT NOW!!!"

Evangelion Unit spear hands into the Chimera's chest, ripping into what would be the cockpit. "FATHER!!!!" Unit 01 doesn't stop, even as Ritsuko Akagi announces that all vitals from the Angel have ceased. As it continues, Shinji sobs, trying to look away as the Chimera becomes less and less recognizable.

How could he do this? This whole fucking organization just made Shinji kill one of his best friends. And it was that man who was responsible. That man who never even looked at him. He hurt Rei time and again. He might've killed Johnny. Mark Shinji's words, he was going to bring Nerv to the ground tonight. He was going to crush the hardwork that his father used to cause Shinji nothing but suffering.

<Radio: F - 3066> Macua Huitl transmits, "... here I go!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Macua Huitl transmits, "I had it with baldy!"

And then everyone turned their guns on Genome.

Left confused and startled, the young lieutenant has an obviously different perception of the situation. Frowning as several open fire, Sarah just lifts a hand to her face and rubs her forehead with a sigh. Why are they suddenly opening fire? He's helping /them/ attack the rogue Chimera unit!

With another exhale, Sarah refocuses. "Okay..." she tells herself. "Focus. Forget Leo, forget everything else. Focus on getting that cockpit /out/ of there." Her arms tense up, eyes swiveling over the scenery. "If I have to do it alone, that's okay."

He's a friend and a squadmate. He /needs/ her help.

It's about then that Genome leaps off the rooftop after deftly avoiding /every/ attack slung at him. Surprised, Sarah Zabiarov watches the man closely--but notices something. He's going to kick at the chest cavity of the Chimera. That's where--

"N-no!!" Sarah exclaims, the GN-Tau drives of the Woundwort flaring up with brilliant burnt orange particles. Swerving around the Chimera's legs and upwards, the machine moves as quickly as it can to interpose itself between the incoming strike and Johnny's Angel-infested machine. "You have it wrong!"

The roundhouse strikes the Woundwort /hard/, causing the entire machine to buck viciously and stir its pilot within. Gasping, the young woman struggles desperately to hold onto her controls and keep it stable. "L-listen--please! The cockpit is in the chest--you c-can't, you can't hit it! Please--!"

With one terrible slam of his fist, Genome's hand and arm pierce through the chest of the Woundwort.

Exposed to the cold chill of the atmosphere to Tokyo-03, Sarah's cockpit has been all but obliterated. Steel twists and winds nastily through the shell, the young woman half-pinned as steel warps its way through an arm. But she doesn't look agonized; instead, she just calls out hoarsely:

"Please help us stop that machine! P-please help save...the pilot! The block is in its ch-chest! Please!! I don't know who you are, but...we need...your help!"

Pausing, the girl wobbles, green eyes looking to her gory arm. "I..."

Shaking her head weakly, the lieutenant's consciousness seems fleeting.

"I need your...help...I owe...owe him my l-life."

The Woundwort's systems shut off, GN-Tau drives dimming and winding down. Only then does the unit--if not held by Genome's arm--freefall toward the empty streets of Tokyo-03.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Johnny Domino. A Father's Love added to their queue.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck Johnny Domino with a major hit using A Father's Love!

Knock Out! Johnny Domino's Thirteenth Angel Bardiel unit has become disabled!

Tearing some scraps off of her shirt to try to keep Latooni from /falling apart/, Cagalli mostly focuses on that -- until everything goes completely insane outside. Cagalli looks up, seeing the Woundwort a complete wreck... and blanches, again. This /one/ enemy has caused so much pain...

She isn't even sure what's happening, completely, anymore. "Oh God, oh /God/," Cagalli says, not even having the presence of mind to curse appropriately for an islander. "I..." Unable to even really formulate a full thought, Cagalli just keeps doing her best to prevent Latooni from bleeding too badly.

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari transmits, " SOMEONE STOP ME! NO!"

<Radio: F - 3066> Shinji Ikari sobs. "Why are you doing this father?! Why?"

Alia is quick to justify herself even as she speeds through the city skyline to pursue Genome, "I don't know the person in there, but he's a friend to some that I don't mind helping. That's good enough!" She will be too late to prevent his assault... but that is handled by, indeed, one of Johnny's friends... to devastating effect upon them. Quickly flitting off to a side so that missing won't hit the TR-6 or possessed Chimera, Alia starts to line up a volley meant for Genome... and hesitating a moment, baffled. For lack of context, it /looks/ like the pilots -- or at least Eva-01's pilot -- has opted to decide 'screw it, murder time' on this rescue mission's objective. Certainly the enemy Angel at hand has been dealt with, though it's almost certain to her that Johnny Domino has been killed in the process. She may not be specifically shaken by his apparent demise, not knowing him, but she can be shaken by the sheer... gore of how that transpired. "None of this makes sense anymore... they're just turning on one another time and time again..." In all her times witnessing the Evangelions fight, at least one of them has engaged in willful friendly fire on each occasion. This, however, is in a whole new league. Increasingly confused by what's going on, she guides Zefholm to ascend above the city skyline and begin to pull back. Not retreating, but definitely withdrawing to try to make sense of the situation and whether she has any good reason to stick around.

Well 'ooops'.

Between AT Field and the fantastically fast regrowth of arm, the alien limb snatches Excellen up unawares, and smashes the little white Gespenst custom again and again and again and again and again against the Super Robot. The Weissritter is smaller and lighter and not half as armored as the RahXephon...this ends about as well as can be expected.

When, finally, it is released, it's barely recognisable AS a Gespenst varient. Armor imploded, steel plates fall away; the tesla drive is too damaged to maintain the output required for flight and it veers abruptly on release before descending abruptly.

Fortunately, the building she ruined in passing when trying to catch Genome in the tail end of an attack is there to 'catch' her. She adds to the collateral damahe, wedged against it. Inside the cockpit, half her screens are cracked or full of snow.. But not the main camera, though some terrible miracle.

"...Johnny..." she gapes, horror filling her lungs, making it impossible almost to breathe. She can hear Shinji's screams from inside the cockpit of the Evangelion, the pleas that fall of deaf ears. She cannot move, cannot intervene, cannot help the young man who reached out to her. Asked her for her help.

Even as the colour drains entirely from her face, she does not look away. She's failed him in every other way that has counted today. Excellen has no right to turn away -- never mind that she couldn't, even if she wanted to.

Asuka can only watch in horror as the destruction unfolds around her. Ayato strikes the Chimera repeatedly with his foot, then is hit by the Angel; Sarah blocks an attack meant for Johnny, and falls in battle; Excellen, too, is struck by the Chimera's attack.

And then she hears Shinji shouting over the radio; until now, she hadn't heard his cries, the same way she hadn't heard Misato bark out orders.

"SHINJI! NO!!"

She moves towards him, but it's too late to stop him from inflicting damage; Unit-01 slams its hand into the Chimera's eyes, gouging them, then pommels him again and again and again with his other fist.

Asuka reaches out to grab him, to stop him from attacking any further, but her hand slips and she misses. She watches as he he pierces through the Chimera's chest, where she's sure Johnny would be. Blood pours out of the wound, and she's not sure if it's Johnny's or the Chimera's or maybe both.

"SHINJI, STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Asuka's arms are trembling, and so is Unit-02's.

"STOP IT!" And when he doesn't, she reaches out to grab Unit-01's arm.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Shinji Ikari. Asuka GRAB! added to their queue.

SOME TIME AGO

Within a pair of massive, identical black metal and plastic wombs, Ayato Kamina and Johnny Domino are doing battle for the entertainment of the tiny crowd gathered around the monitor bolted above the costly rig. Above /that/, there is a garish sign that reads 'BURNING PT XTREME: HYPER MEGA CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION Z' in slick white characters backgrounded by a whorl of fire and accompanied by a super-deformed Gespenst.

Not that there are any Gespensts to be found today, though.

As they have for the last dozen matches, Ayato and Johnny are, respectively, piloting the blue and white, angelically themed and harp-bearing Brave God Ra-Dei-Phonus and the fearsome, jetblack Leonidus with its lion-head breastplate, faintly demonic wings and wickedly sharp claws; with Burning PT's increasing role as a military recruitment tool, there are actually a number of competitive co-op missions involving two players working to achieve a goal while hindering - or defeating - the other.

After a series of basic one on one fights whose decisions have mostly been split between the two, they've moved onto these competitions, and after quickly determining that the scenarios involving rescuing hostages and dealing with civilian disasters are too, well, boring, they've moved on to the simulator's robust selection of anti-kaiju scenarios.

This is where Ayato began to pull firmly away from Johnny, mostly by demonstrating his willingness to pick the other off while he was busy dealing with the complications of lava-spewing squid - as Johnny handled a friendly fire incident with the AI-controlled SDF, Ayato snuck up and used the Brave God's photosonic swords to skewer Leonidus to 'death' - and electromagnetic centipedes - Ayato at one point just straight up snatched Leonidus from the ground and utilized the Brave God's deadly harp to vibrate the bestial mecha into nothingness - before dealing with the monster at hand.

Once again, as a massive bird with a lazily falling trail of ballistic feathers fluttering to the already savaged ground circles Neo Tokyo, Ayato is keeping pace with the monster not to stop it, but to successfully deflect some of the falling feathers so that they land squarely atop Leonidus instead of the city.

After the fifth or so, the leonine robot's life bar empties and the camera briefly couses on Ra-Dei-Phonus' human-like face a moment as the beginnings of a victory song play.

"Geez," Johnny grinningly says over the intercom linking the two BPT units, "you don't play around, do you? Y'know it's easier if we do /some/ of 'em together, right?"

"Yeah, but if I have to beat /both/ of you to win, I figure... why not get rid of the biggest threat first?" Ayato replies. The smirk is evident in his voice as he turns his attention to getting ahold of the bird, Quiellon, before it razes too much of the town.

"Aw. I'm touched," the Agent dryly answers. He takes a moment to tousel his own hair and quietly groans at the sweat building against his scalp from the heat of this confined and poorly ventillated space.

"Four outta seven."

A FEW DAYS AGO

"Straight to voicemail..." Ayato murmurs as he hits his clunky cell-phone's 'End' button and tosses it aside. The first week or so after the awful experiences inside of Leliel were largely spent trying to put out the biggest, brightest traumas raked up with little time for proper socializing. He combs his fingers through his hair with a frown; part of him remembers flickers of Johnny from those compressed months in Tokyo, but then, Leo Stenbuck was conjured to be a part of the illusion too; somewhere down the line, the /real/ Johnny might even get a macabre kick out of the idea of his being pulled from a bunch of city defenders' collective unconsciousnesses once the story doesn't hurt so much to tell.

For now, Ayato would settle for being able to get in touch with the Agent at /all/, though; his communicative absence is probably a coincidence, but it's a touch worrisome all the same.

NOW

RahXephon teeters when Unit-01 barrels past it; it still has a foot in the air, its balance is not what it could be but it actually seems as if it'll stay upright anyway. The wings sweeping back from the sides of its head are flapping minutely to provide it with a little extra stability; all seems to be well, until the Weissreitter's chassis just outright carves a diagonal wound through RahXephon's chest.

Predictably, the Mulian mecha isn't standing anymore after that.

Light gushes from the wound, magnitude pulsating between brightness and dimness like spurting blood. RahXephon's blades, spears, whatever they were roll lazily from its hands, dissipating into motes of light that will themselves disappear as if they never were.

And in the cockpit, Ayato is a twitching, wide-eyed and screeching mound of agonized flesh clutching his chest on the RahXephon's cockpit floor because as best as he can tell something just ripped his goddamn heart out. One hand is straining for the edge of the angelic robot's command console all the while; given a little time for the pain to subside, it will be enough to bring him back to his seat, but not yet.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a glancing hit on Shinji Ikari's Berserk Evangelion Unit-01 using Asuka GRAB!.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has counter attacked for a minor hit on Asuka Langley Sohryu's Evangelion Unit-02 using Gnaw.

Macua Huitl is shocked when Genome comes, his presence is scary, no the thing of nightmares. You don't need to be a newtype to know he's a damn eldrich thing that wants harm to you and the rest of the world. Still she then realises she doesn't want Johnny Domino dead, punch him several times yes, but not dead. She's moving in as Shinji also now loses control and attacks her machine stands ready she's not sure what to do. She looks from Shinji to Genome, the Gundam shifts and keeping an eye on both as Asuka goes in. She's going to try to make for the Chimera and see the status of it's pilot. The damn abomination can die, Johnny's the only thing worth anything in there...

Latooni Subota's arm is not actually cut up that badly. It's that Latooni's heart rate is too high, a side effect of her stressing herself as much as she is. It is already starting to slow while Latooni pilots; mostly at this point it just hurts, and it's left her pale.

She is also pale because she is now as confused as anyone else. The Chimera, mutating, striking repeatedly. Genome, going ballistic, destroying yet another robot. And Shinji - Shinji, being controlled. She doesn't know how. She turned her feed to NERV off.

Latooni does not know what to do, but it is not in her to do nothing. She brings the beam rifle up and takes one very precise shot at Lord Genome, carefully aimed in the way she is known for. "Back away," she warns, on radio. "I do not know what you want here." The Evangelions? The Angel? /Both/? But she's not going to let him do it.

The Strike Rouge continues to move towards Johnny and Shinji, too. This may be... unwise.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Lord Genome. Beam Snipe added to their queue.

Lord Genome rushes in towards the downed Chimera, and the 1 Gundam just... stands there, watching, its arms hanging limply at its sides. Inside, Leo Stenbuck stares at the approaching Spiral King, his entire body trembling in a mixture of despair and anguish and jealousy and rage. R-- /she/ wants him to- and he- but she- and-

Job. It's his job, it's his job, his job is to protect people, he wants to protect people, even assholes like Johnny Domino, even if she- if-

His breath caught in his throat, Leo suddenly shoves forwards on his controls. The 1 Gundam rocks its weight forwards as it prepares to spring forth and intercept the Spiral King...

... but Sarah Zabiarov gets there first.

The Gundam's leap forwards turns into a sort of collapse when the Lazengann's hand plunges through the Woundwort's chest and Leo just straight up stops paying attention to things like 'controlling his mobile suit.' Apparently, tonight was explicitly designed by God to torture him.

For several moments, the 1 Gundam remains sprawled on the ground, looking up at the impaled Woundwort, Leo's mouth hanging open. He has no idea what to even do. Crying is at the top of his list, but, obviously, that's out.

"... heh... h-heh..."

Apparently, his brain decided number two was laughing, and never told him.

"H-hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The Gundam plunges its beam saber into the ground and pushes up, climbing smoothly to one knee. It rips the weapon out of the now-molten pavement beneath it. Around it, the fallen GN Fangs suddenly flare to life again, zipping up off of the ground, their beam blades igniting. As one, they whirl around and accelerate towards the Lazengann, attempting to plunge into the thing's chest.

An instant later, the 1 Gundam charges, springing up off the ground and sweeping its beam saber in a vicious slash down at the Spiral King as it drops towards him. The second it touches the ground, it twists and slams its shield outwards towards the machine; in the same instant, it casually tosses its beam saber aside, and its now empty hand reaches out to grab Lord Genome's machine and fling it straight up into the air.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The 1 Gundam whips its arm just so, and its buster rifle detaches from its arm and flips into its hand; it points the weapon straight up and pulls the trigger.

A beam of orange energy as thick as the 1 Gundam itself erupts out of the rifle's barrel and straight up into the air towards Lord Genome. A shockwave of dust ripples away from the Gundam as the beam erupts out of its weapon, and hit or miss, the blast stretches past the Lazengann and up into the sky, boiling away clouds as it lances through - and even just 'past' - them on its journey to somewhere far, far away.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Lord Genome. 1 Senshi added to their queue.

Akira has no idea what the hell is going on at this point.

"Agh, why the hell won't this whole day make any /sense/! Can it /get/ any more screwed up?!" he shouts at the air. "And no, that is /not/ a challenge, universe! So just--/STOP/!"

Fortunately, he turned off his radio so it didn't transmit. Unfortunately, he was still /listening/, so now, he suddenly has something he has to do. This is precisely why, in fact, he is flying at full tilt straight at the Dummy Plug-filled Unit-01. Shinji Ikari may have done him wrong in the past, but he felt really bad about it afterwards, and Akira has wanted to get some payback for a while anyway.

"THIS IS FOR EATING ME," Akira shouts. "AND NO, I WILL NEVER /NOT/ HAVE THAT EXCUSE!"

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Shinji Ikari. Holy Blow added to their queue.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck a glancing hit on Shinji Ikari's Berserk Evangelion Unit-01 using Holy Blow.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has counter attacked for a solid hit on Akira Tadokoro's MBF-X1AT Astray-TT using Rip And Tear.

"F*@$ YOU TOO, UNIVERSE," Akira replies with rancor, knowing that whichever god is playing dice hates him right now.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck a solid hit on Lord Genome's Lazengann using Beam Snipe.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck a major critical hit on Lord Genome's Lazengann using 1 Senshi.

ONE HOUR AGO

Chimera stands a short distance away from Izu Base. Rain falls to the earth in a heavy, unyielding torrent -- a freak spring shower, one that meteorologists did not foresee.

With its synthetic mane soaked and its exoskeleton glistening in whatever little light penetrates through the storm clouds, Domino's bio-unit produces a soft growl. In the cockpit, Johnny was suffering.

It took Domino some time earlier to fully interface with Chimera. The young man couldn't concentrate, hearing the Angel's voice. And now Chimera could also hear it. Linked to the Agent, the bio-unit could feel whatever its master felt, and Chimera didn't like it.

"..in the darkness.."

"..the dragon sleeps.."

"..come to me now.."

Johnny Domino bites at his lower lip. Even with Chimera's mental presence, Domino doesn't feel the least bit comforted or safe against the onslaught of whispers.

Taking a deep breath, the young man steels himself, preparing to speak over the radio and make an effort to sound like nothing's amiss. "Agent Johnny Domino," he identifies himself, "Second Lieutenant of A-LAWS, pilot of the Bio-Mechanical Compound Organism Chimera, Security Clearance Delta-THX1138."

"Please stand by," says the comm officer on the other side of the line. Domino exhales.

The rain outside intensifies, turning into a shower of hail. Johnny barely registers the sensation of the ice bouncing off of his bio-unit. The scent of damp earth, the chill of the air, the sound of the storm - Domino draws away from all of these, sinking deeper into himself.

"Agent Domino," the comm officer returns. "Permission granted to proceed. Please follow docking procedure G.1 with your unit."

Johnny doesn't respond.

"..come to me.."

"..come to me.."

"..please come to me now.."

"Uhh, Agent Domino?", the comm officer ventures. "You have permission to approach."

"..come to me.."

Johnny Domino gasps. Standing there at the center of the storm, with hail bombarding the earth all around him, and with the voice ringing in his head, the young man has a moment of clarity. It's as if all the noises and sources of distraction have been silenced -- all the motions slowed down to a crawl. In that moment, Johnny understands: it wasn't /him/ that the voice was talking to all this time.

"It's coming," says Domino. The comm officer doesn't have time to air his confusion.

Bardiel -- mingled with the water, mingled with the air -- descends upon the Chimera.

There's a flash of light before a loud explosion rocks Izu Base. The flames pierce through the heavens and spread out in the form of a gigantic cross.

NOW

Bardiel is still in the process of reconstructing itself when Evangelion Unit-01 approaches. The Angel heaves, panting with a sickening wet sound as further blood flows out of the gash that acts as the beast's new mouth. It roars, attempting to intimidate Unit-01, to keep it back.

Bardiel is still too weak. It needs more time. Fucking hell, the Angel just needs a few more seconds before it can stand up to the Evangelion! GIVE IT MORE TIME--

Bardiel's roar devolves into a gurgle as Shinji's unit gets to work. This gurgle rapidly fades away into nothingness as Bardiel finds itself ripped to shreds. An arm goes sailing, trailing blood in the air, following by chunks of the chest, the stomach -- and the new head, destroyed in much the same way as the previous head did.

There is very little recognizable left of the Chimera by the time Unit-01 plunges its fist into the beast - just a pile of shredded organs and violated meat. That's how Unit-01 remains for a moment, arm sunk deep into what was once Johnny Domino's bio-unit. Thick, dark blood squirts out from inside Bardiel's chest, escaping through the thin space around Unit-01's arm. Finally the Eva pulls out.

The core of the Angel has been destroyed -- the core of the Angel, which has been residing inside the cockpit.

Bardiel, the thirteenth Angel, is dead.

Chimera, the Bio-Mechanical Compound Organism, is dead.

Johnny Domino, Agent of the Earth Sphere, is...

Shinji screams more as Unit 01 continues to work on the Chimera. He shrieks in between sobs, eventually just curling up and trying to pull himself out of reality. There was nothing he could do...He would need to wait until control was restored to him.

He looks up as Asuka yells for him to stop, staring with widening eyes. "STOP IT NOW! THAT'S ASUKA! YOU CAN'T ATTACK---" And Shinji's plea is answered as Unit 1 turns to look at Unit 02 pull away from it's grasp, attempting to knock the red Evangelion away with a shove.

As for Akira, his attack strikes the unit hard enough for it to turn it's full attention on him. The Attack dents into the armor and it does make the automated beast look him over. So that's why the purple Evangelion pulls off Chimera's remaining arm and swats Akira away with it.

"Take the Dummy Plug offline. I've seen enough." Gendo Ikari says with a slight smile. "Reactive the pilot. Lets see if he can atleast walk the Unit back to the platform."

Shinji freezes as the entry plug returns it's normal orangish hue. He stares at the ground. "Asuka...Don't go back to base..." Shinji says over the radio as he starts to walk Unit 01 toward the entry bay.

Without saying anything, Shinji decends toward Central Dogma.

Sarah Zabiarov puts her pride aside - and perhaps, her life, to protect Johnny Domino.

The Spiral King listens as she begs him to save one of his own subjects. His eyes are closed, deep in thought, though he shows nobody his face through radio, instead merely rumbling, deep, and sincere. Perhaps he can be reached? Perhaps--

"No," the Spiral King says, directly, and with a brush of his arm, he knocks the unit to fall freely toward the empty streets below. He does not even check to see if she is dead. "I have killed husbands, fathers, sons and daughters. I have done this because they are enemies of this world."

He turns - watching with neutral eyes as the Evangelion savages Chimera, rumbling, "How can you call this anything but your enemy? How can you call such creatures your allies?" He stays where he is - arms crossed, simply watching.

"No. Even that is irrelevant. Your weakness. You beg for aid in saving what you love. I sense the touch of the Spiral in you, girl. But if you require so much help to save so small a thing..."

He turns, as Latooni appears - blasts him right in the shoulder, squarely. "...then you never truly desired it at all."

And then Leo Stenbuck goes mad. Eyes narrow. Despair. Absolute and complete. Yes, he knows that feeling. Leo's power is significant - he charges at the Spiral King with all of his fury, but it is a fury driven by infinite sorrow, and thus it is a fury that the Spiral King need never concern himself with. The fangs slash in and through, but while Lazengann staggers back from every shot, it doesn't die, Lord Genome does not howl. 1 Gundam springs up and slashes downward - and still, Lord Genome does not reply. Hurls him into the air.

Vaporizes him with laser fire.

"This weakness," the Spiral King declares. "Finally, you begin to understand the futility of your works."

The laser bursts apart around him like it never existed. --No, that's wrong. It scatters, shattering in every direction, the massive GN Buster Rifle shot scattering around and around, blasted apart by a massive drill that Lazengann has built of its drill tentacles. "Finally...at last..." His arms uncross, his bald head ignites within the cockpit - he leans forward, eyes wide and grinning a psychotic rictus. "Finally...you show me the true face of your people! Succumb to it! Suffer under it! Face my power, and understand ABSOLUTE DESPAIR!!"

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has attacked Leo Stenbuck. Giga Drill Breaker added to their queue.

Alia quickly comes to the conclusion there is still a reason to fight here; there's a chance to destroy Genome even as he tries to drive others to despair, and destroying him is an outcome that would be quite desired. The tips of Zefholm's wings light up again as it makes a strafing run over the Lazengann, firing a series of thin beams down at Genome's machine in the hope of overwhelming his impressive agility through sheer volume of fire. "Even despair can have power," Alia comments to him... calmly, at first, then with more heat to her voice, "But it's not how I plan to fight you, and I won't let you spread any more of it today!"

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has attacked Lord Genome. Wing Beams added to their queue.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Lord Genome has struck a Dynamic Kill critical hit on Leo Stenbuck's 1 Gundam using Giga Drill Breaker.

Knock Out! Leo Stenbuck's 1 Gundam unit has become disabled!

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has counter attacked for a minor hit on Lord Genome's Lazengann using Furueru 1.

As Lord Genome's - to use the technical term - enormous drill wingwong plunges in towards the 1 Gundam, it tosses aside its emptied buster rifle, and detaches its shield with the bang and flash of the explosive bolts it's attached with. And then Leo proves that he is currently totally off his rocker - as if the crazed laughter didn't already do that - by...

... reaching up and catching the tip of the drill as it reaches him.

Equally unsettling is the fact that it kind of works for a little bit.

As the 1 Gundam stands there, its feet digging into the ground, its GN-T Drive whining with the effort of putting out as much thrust as it can, an increasingly thick cloud of orange particles spreading out around it, it holds the Giga Drill Breaker off at arms length, sparks and terrible noise emanating from where its hands make contact with the thing.

Leo howls with laughter, leaning as much of his weight as he can into his controls. He had hoped to keep this up his sleeve as long as possible, but even through his little psychotic episode he can tell that he's in a very bad spot. So he interrupts his laughter to throw his head back and scream, his voice manic,

"TRANS-"

And then the 1 Gundam's hands explode, and the tip of the Giga Drill Breaker plunges into the mobile suit's chest, cutting through the armor like it was nothing.

As it so happens, however, Haro likes to live, and as the tip of the drill... uh... drills... its way into the Gundam, the cockpit block suddenly rockets backwards into a waiting slot on the GN-T drive... which promptly ejects backwards out of the mobile suit, flying away to crash heavily into a nearby building.

Meanwhile, the Spiral King fucks the 1 Gundam so hard it literally disintegrates.

Akira Tadokoro charges Unit-01, swinging a fist. It swings back.

Akira Tadokoro comes to in the dimly lit cockpit a minute or two later, apparently embedded in a hillside.

"Guhhhh," he says, not for the first time today.

Macua Huitl goes to get Akira and pull him out of the hillside. SIGH

Things are not going well. Yes, the Angel is dead and gone - apparently, anyway. Latooni is not sure about Johnny. Rei's machine is down, Rei with it; Sarah is wounded and may be dead; she has no idea what became of Noriko. Leo is sounding worse than ever.

Sounding... and looking, when the Spiral King goes after him.

Latooni's eyes harden. She very deliberately pauses, removing her analysis glasses and handing them to Cagalli, like she was her squire and this was an arming ground. She won't need these. She doesn't want to look. She wants to hurt someone.

Repressing the shaking in her wounded arm, Latooni swings the Strike Rouge around and redlines the engines in a way that Cagalli, who does not have the benefit of the seat, will probably find uncomfortable. She figures out how to make the machine draw both its swords, figures out how to swing. It isn't fancy, like she would be in the Dagger.

It's just vicious. "Get away from them," Latooni says, her voice sounding uncharacteristically tense. "Get away from him! All of them! Spiral King!"

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Lord Genome. Ship Cutting Sword Slam added to their queue.

COMBAT: Alia Winchester has struck a solid hit on Lord Genome's Lazengann using Wing Beams.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck a major hit on Lord Genome's Lazengann using Ship Cutting Sword Slam.

As Cagalli realizes just who Latooni is engaging, courtesy a momentary peek up toward the panoramic viewing 'screen,' she promptly panics. "Are you kidding?! Do you even know who that is?!" she asks of Latooni, momentarily releasing her hold on the wound; it's probably not /critical/ that she keep it held at this point, but just the same, it's probably not exactly pleasant, either.

After a second, she adds, a little more quietly, "But -- if you think you can do it --"

Oh God, she thinks to herself. Oh God. Why did I give this crazy little girl the keys to the car.

Latooni Subota is not crazy.

She is doing this /very/ deliberately.

Rei Ayanami is probably crazy.

She has long since passed out from blood loss, though.

It kind of happens when your friends all kill you so hard every single hole in your head starts pouring crimson.

Leo Stenbuck is /definitely/ crazy.

But now he's passed out, too, so.

Lord Genome erases the 1 Gundam from this universe, drilling it with such force that what parts of it he does not destroy directly are blown apart by the sheer excess of Spiral power. Genome lands, the 1 Gundam hovering in midair for a long moment before exploding in every direction. He turns, looking ready to strike again.

They do not let him. Alia assaults him - blasts Lazengann backward into mid-air. Lordgenome scowls, and slowly...his arms cross back over his chest, lips curling upward.

"Of course," he murmurs. "I became excited, to finally see a glimmer of understanding in the eye of an ape. How unsightly."

Latooni comes at him, screaming her defiance, and the Spiral King simply floats there and allows her to catch his machine in the gut, smashing its face in and sending it soaring away from the field.

But as he flies, he rumbles, deep and resonant, "It seems there is much I do not understand in this place. I will return."

Alia has no particularly coherent reply for Genome's remarks... they amount to little more than a surprised yet angry noise, and she briefly urges Zefholm on to chase him... and quickly thinks better of it; that's a classic way to get ambushed. With much of this part of Tokyo 03 devastated, machines of all affiliations strewn in ruins and having until just now been fighting amongst themselves to varying degrees... she finds herself face to face with the Strike Rouge. Her next words betray that she likely never saw the pilot-swap that took place within that Gundam, as she makes a transmission directly to it, audio-only. "Cagalli," Definitely unaware of the swap, but at least the intended recipient is in the cockpit. "I no longer have a reason to fight here. I'm leaving you alone, and I hope you and yours will do the same. Good bye." With that, Alia guides Zefholm to ascend further, planning to fly away from the area and return home; Genome's involvement in these matters is something she fully intends to inform Langran's leadership of, even if all of this is a very peripheral thing to Langran's politics at best. He's enough of a threat that any movements of his need to be reported.

He's leaving.

Latooni does not follow. See? She's not crazy. She's pale, and a little wild-eyed - but that could be blood loss rather than anything else. Her breathing is perfectly under control. She is not ranting, raving, laughing, or /anything/.

She stares after Genome for several long seconds and then turns, lowering the Strike Rouge down toward the Chimera's ruin. "Thank you," she says, to Cagalli. "You didn't have to do that."

She doesn't respond to Alia. Not her robot, technically.

Deciding not to respond to Alia, Cagalli instead just turns to Latooni, saying, "... jeez, thank /you/. I ... kinda lost my nerve there." An unintentional pun?! "Really -- I don't think I'da been able to do that myself..." She breathes a sigh of relief, turning her eyes down to Latooni's wound, then back up to her face.

"Hey, uh, after I get you cleaned up and fix that up a little better... do you think we could talk about -- uh -- what the hell just happened?"

On one hand, Latooni wants to answer. On the other...

"I don't think I could tell you very much," Latooni says, more quietly. Maybe her arm is getting to her. "It was very chaotic. And I need to get back, and check on Agent Domino and Noriko and Johnny and Zabiarov... I think I was the commanding officer on site, since NERV is EFA and not A-LAWS."

She pauses again, then adds, "But when I know, I can tell you some." Not all.

THEN

The Geofront continues to be on high alert. It has been only 5 minutes since the defeat of the 13th Angel and all stations seemed to be easing up from battle ready preparations. This was halted almost immediately as Unit 01 broke into the Geofront, rampaging toward the command pyramid in the complex's center. Within seconds, command confirmed that the Evangelion had no gone berserk but was actually in full control of it's pilot, now attempting to kick in the command center.

"Shinji! We couldn't help it! It had to be done! Calm down! I'm sur---" Maya tries to reason with the pilot from her station, looking at the other technicians with a horrified expression. She flinches when she's cut off by a suddenly very direct Shinji Ikari.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! IT DID NOT NEED TO BE THIS WAY...Domino was my friend. One of my only friends AND YOU BASTARDS TOOK HIM FROM ME!!!!" Shinji shrieks, bringing Unit 01's foot down on the pyramid with a thunderous stomp.

"Shinji! It's one pilot for the whole world! Would you just stop this!" Aoba tries the heavy handed approach, somewhat irritated that they allowed the Third Child to get this far. Nerv had all kinds of fail safes. They had to when they were handing super weapons to teenagers....Mentally ill teenagers. "Would you just get a hold of yourself!"

Shinji glares at Aoba on his screen, evening out his breathing. "Oh I am about as fucking clear headed as I'm going to get. And I got a full battery charge too. THAT'S ENOUGH POWER TO TAKE OUT THIS WHOLE FUCKING GEOFRONT IF THAT BASTARD DOESN'T COME OUT HERE AND PAY FOR THIS! ALL HE DOES IS TORTURE ME! FIRST HE TOOK MY MOM AWAY! NOW HE'S TAKING AWAY EVERYONE I CARE ABOUT! COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME, YOU COWARD!!! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVERYTHING, FATHER!" Shinji shrieks as he stomps violently on the pyramid in between sobs.

In the command center, Gendo narrows his eyes, watching this display with a rising anger. Finally he gets to his feet, turning his back to the screen. "I don't have time to deal with temper tantrums. Turn the pressure up high on the Third Child's Entry plug."

"Won't that--?"

"Just do it. After that, send a team to restrain the Third Child and put him in the bridge. I'll deal with him eventually." Gendo says evenly as he starts to walk off to handle other things.

Shinji shrieks as he continues to stomp on the pyramid. "YOU BASTARD! YOU JUST LIKE HURTING---" Shinji stops as suddenly the entry plug begins to make a noise. "What are you---?" Shinji is stopped by a sudden jolt, slamming him into his chair before letting his body bounce back up. His eyes tense as he can feel the air being knocked out from his lungs. He wheezes once before blackness overtakes him.