2010-03-21 - VIII: Sandalphon

SOME TIME AGO, THE GEOFRONT, CENTRAL DOGMA

"Blue signature detected! Repeat - blue signature detected!"

Alarms echo throughout the Geofront, heralding the appearance of yet another Angel. NERV personnel scamper to and fro, rushing to their posts in this hour of crisis. Major Misato Katsuragi bursts into Central Dogma. Marching up to the main holographic monitors, the woman demands, "Where is it? Have you got a lock on it already? Is it approaching Tokyo-03?"

"A-almost," replies Maya Ibuki, her long, slender fingers typing furiously at her console. "It's already within Japanese borders. But there is some interference, Major. I don't think--"

Gendo's harsh voice cuts in: "What you think is of no consequence. Give us results." All eyes snap upward to the Commander, the loyal Fuyutsuki by his side.

Misato gives a crisp salute. "Sir," she begins. "I strongly recommend we issue evacuation orders to the civilians. The shelters are--"

"I GOT IT," Maya cries out. "The Angel has been located in...inside a..." blinkblink. "Volcano."

A collective sound of surprise and confusion follows this announcement. Maya Ibuki keeps typing. "The target is not moving. Initial readings seem to suggest it might be, uh. D-dormant?.."

Gendo pushes his glasses up his nose. "Just as expected," he utters.

Fuyutsuki sighs. "Everyone," the second in command finally speaks. "Stand down from red alert." A brief pause, and then he adds. "For now."

SOME TIME AGO, THE GEOFRONT, GENDO IKARI'S OFFICE

The MAGI has long since finished its calculations and computations, announcing that an operation to extract the Angel from within the Volcano has a 98% chance of success. On the other hand, extracting the Angel without waking it up has a meager 15% chance of success. In other words, lame.

Sitting in his office, elbows on his desk, fingers intertwined under his nose, Gendo Ikari listens. Misato has come up with a plan and was now debriefing the Commander for final clearance.

"And as you can see in diagram 3.1a," the Major says, "once Unit-02 has been secured to the tubes, we shall lower it into the volcano. The science team has assured me that with the D-Type Equipment they've refitted for the Second Child, both Evangelion unit and pilot will be protected from the extreme heat. Although, I'm afraid there is no guarantees regarding the pressure..."

And thus concludes the briefing. Misato stands at attention, waiting for Ikari's judgment. After a long moment, Gendo says, "I see." What it is he sees is a mystery, considering he never once glanced down at the large collection of paperwork and diagrams Misato unloaded on his desk at the beginning of this meeting.

Be that as it may, the Commander continues: "Your plan is approved, Major. However, I see no reason why we should endanger the life of a valuable Evangelion pilots when we have recently acquired the services of third party," and third rate, "pilots."

Misato is stunned. "T-third party?! When?.."

Gendo ignores her question. "Major," he instructs. "You will inform the Second Child that her services will not be required for this operation. And after you do that, issue NERV Order Number 3066. We shall be utilizing the services of a certain... individual."

SOME TIME AGO, JOHNNY DOMINO'S QUARTERS

Johnny Domino, holding a small baby-bottle filled with milk, has finally managed to back one of Masaki's cats into a corner. Kuro -- or perhaps Shiro, Domino isn't quite sure which is who yet -- stares at Domino with a horrified look in its eyes, fur standing on end.

"HSSSSSS," goes the cat.

Johnny prepares to leap at the creature and stuff the tip of the bottle into its mouth when something in his pocket starts vibrating.

Digging out his specially issued NERV cellphone, Johnny opens his one (1) new message and starts reading the contents of NERV Order Number 3066.

"...WHAT? They want me to jump into WHAT? What?! Are they trying to get me killed?!"

SOME TIME AGO, THE GEOFRONT, CENRAL DOGMA

"Yes," says Gendo Ikari.

Misato, not too comfortable with the Commander's answer to her question, whatever her question may have been, nevertheless nods and turns to the three bridge bunnies under her command.

"We will commence the operation in one hour," she informs them. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, I predict the Angel will have become neutralized by oh-eight-hundred hours." Unfortunately, everyone at NERV has long since learned that the only reliable predictions are those predicting unforeseen circumstances coming to pass.

And speaking of unforeseen circumstances... "Ah!", Maya squeaks. "T-there's an incoming call from Akagi's team at the site."

Misato nods, "Patch it through."

Maya taps a few keys, causing a box to pop up on one of the holographic monitors, saying AUDIO ONLY. Ritsuko's voice invades the command center: "Mm, Dr. Akagi here. I apologize for the unexpected call, but I have some good news and I have some bad news."

A tense silence follows, until finally, Ikari, sitting at his usual post, intones: "Continue."

"Well," says Ritsuko, who may or may not be a bit smug about getting Gendo to break down and request to hear more. "The bad news is that your plan is not going to work, Major Katsuragi. I'm sorry."

All at once, a collective cry of desperation and frustration fills Central Dogma. Misato almost throws her beret down on the floor in disgust. Ritsuko chuckles. "Wait, wait," she says. "Don't get ahead of yourselves. The GOOD news is... me and my team have successfully extracted the Angel from within the volcano. And, it's, still... sleeping."

Desperation is immediately replaced with jubilation. Maya Ibuki clasps her hands to her chest, filled with the warm fuzzlies at the knowledge that her senpai accomplished such a feat. Misato laughs, deciding this new development calls for a celebratory can of beer. And sitting on the other side of the line, Ritsuko Akagi takes a long drag from her cigarette, soaking in the tobacco and sounds of appreciation coming over the speakers. The scientist is feeling immensely pleased with herself, and for good reason. 'Only 15% chance of success, eh mother?', she thinks.

Unfortunately, the only person who does not seem pleased with these news is none other than Commander Ikari. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turns his head around on a rigid neck. Staring up at Fuyutsuki, Ikari utters: "Cancel NERV Order Number 3066."

Fuyutsuki swallows, "I fear it is far too late, old friend."

Alas, it appears that Gendo Ikari would be denying Ritsuko of sex for the whole of next week.

NOW, NERV CONVOY EN ROUTE TO THE GEOFRONT

Chimera marches alongside the convoy transporting the dormant Angel to a NERV base near you.

Sitting inside the bio-unit, Johnny Domino grouches. On the one hand, he didn't have to jump into a volcano after all. On the other hand, not only does he have to babysit a pair of TALKING CATS, now he also has to babysit a FREAKING ANGEL. This day couldn't get any worse.

"Oy," Domino snaps. "Get off of my lap!"

"And sit where?!", Kuro snaps right back.

THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOKYO-03

NOW

Sandalphon, the Eighth Angel, was retrieved from an active volcano less than one hour ago through a cunning plan involving Evangelions, super-armor, and Ritsuko chain-smoking. It was, per a heretofore undisclosed mission objective, captured alive. This is presumably because it is an Angel in a pre-natal state -- trapped within some kind of cocoon, not yet 'hatched,' for any better way to describe it.

Once it got out of the volcano, though, transporting it to a facility where it could be cut apart and examined and god-knows-what-else was another story. There was no reliable, safe way to do this, so they had to settle for doing what they always do: using Rei Ayanami. The A-LAWS pilot has been tasked with hauling duty -- that is, the cocoon has been placed on a massive hovercraft-like platform that is being dragged across the landscape by Unit-00.

Inside the plug, Rei Ayanami can feel her shoulders go stiff. The exertion of the task won't deplete Unit-00, but it's certainly a workout. The hovercraft wobbles, and Rei pauses, assuming that she's gotten tired and that her synchronization (the lowest of the three Eva kids) has suffered. "Pausing travel for systems check," she reports.

The hovercart wobbles again.

Rei Ayanami is about to say something when Sandalphon emerges from its cocoon, exploding outward. The beast is huge -- bigger than an Eva, even -- and was incubating in superheated magma, apparently, considering the rolling waves of glowing yellow sludge that splash out of its shell not only knock Eva Unit-00 back, but begin to dissolve its armor and eat away at its rotten flesh. It's not going anywhere.

With a shrill bellow, Sandalphon flops about, flapping its fins and lifting into the air. The thing is so hot that whatever ground isn't molten by the gush of its birth is instantly burned and scorched.

In the Geofront, emergency sirens sound, and the threat level elevates. 00 is down. Now it's up to the others -- Evas and otherwise.

 Rei Ayanami transmits, "Sensors indicate unexpected energy spike from Ang-- /ungh/"  Rei Ayanami static.

Asuka Langley Sohryu is furious.

Dealing with the Angels is supposed to be the job of the Eva pilots--not some boy-pilot riding around in an Evangelion knock-off! But no matter how times she protested to Misato, she just wouldn't change her mind.

"It's been decided," she told Asuka. "There's no changing the commander's orders."

The alarm rings, and immediately, Eva Unit-02 is deployed. Fine. If they thought they didn't need her, she's show them! She'd show all of them! She was the most capable Eva pilot! She was the only one who could destroy the Angels! She'd be the one to do it this time... and there wouldn't be another time she was overlooked in lieu of a second-rate pilot like Johnny Domino!

The Evangelion pierces the surface, and Asuka races forward towards the Angel Caravan, a line of cable trailing from the back of her suit to the NerV base; she doesn't bother waiting for Shinji--she's not going to give ANYONE the oppportunity to outdo her.

Then suddenly, she sees the creature itself, atop the other Evangelion. Plumes of smoke rise from whatever the creature touches; Asuka's arm tenses. "W-what is that thing?!"

SOME TIME AGO LA GIAS

Leo Stenbuck is at a general store in Langran with Masaki Andoh, preparing for their upcoming camping trip. While Masaki works out a deal with the proprietor - in this case, 'a deal' meaning 'give us this shit for free, I'm Masaki Andoh' - Leo browses the shelves, frowning thoughtfully.

Jung was right, he muses, as he appraises a tent so primitive it doesn't even have climate control. I should have brought my own stuff... Christ, it's like the Dark Ages down here. But then they also have magic and robots.

Weird as hell.

Leo looks up as Masaki approaches him, and opens his mouth to speak... but he's suddenly cut off by the shrill sound of Jpop emanating from one of his pants pockets. It takes him a few seconds to realize what's going on, and the nhe fishes the phone out of his pocket, just staring down at the NERV logo branded on its cover as it blares its ringtone through the store.

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/`

Leo glances up at Masaki, and observes, "Well, this can't be good news." He flips open the phone, raises it to his ear, and doesn't even get a 'hello' out before an operator in Tokyo-03 is rattling off an invocation of Order Number 3066 at him.

SOME TIME AGO A SHUTTLE

Leo paces impatiently on a shuttle en route up out of La Gias; he is in the middle of his seventh attempt to raise Latooni Subota on his phone, his /actual/ phone, not the NERV phone provided to him as part of the contract he signed just hours before he went on leave.

"Come on, come on, come on," the young man mutters; he nearly bursts when there's the distinctive 'click' of someone picking up. "Lat? It's me. I need a favor."

SOME TIME AGO RIKSENT TRANSPORT SHUTTLE

Unlike Leo, Latooni had the foresight to actually look at the phone when she signed up for this ('analyst's work', they told her, because there isn't anyone else in the EFA who specializes in mid-combat analysis the way she does). Hers does not play annoying J-Pop.

Unfortunately, she had limited alternative options, so it plays a rather electronic-beep-sounding version of Ode to Joy instead.

Once the transport shuttle was en route, she actually paid attention to the constantly ringing second phone. Leo, she reads off the call display. What does he want at a time like /this/? "Hello?"

SOME TIME AGO, BUT NOT AS MUCH TOKYO-03 GEOFRONT

"It was all I could bring on short notice," Latooni says, sounding apologetic. "They were both loaded onto the shuttle already, so it was no trouble. And it is an effective machine," she adds, which is true. Top of the line. "And you have the primary unit."

Of course, in this set of machines, the 'primary' unit can come under control from the 'secondary' and not vice versa. It's only primary because it's Shine's.

"Oh," she adds, "you will have to change out of those clothes. They do not have the back clip."

RIGHT NOW

A pair of machines fly in from Tokyo-03 proper. Latooni reaches up and flips the special communicator switch, giving Shine's Fairlion-G a permanent video connection to her own -S; it's just a little facial portrait in the corner. "You heard the secondary alert. ...Let's accelerate."

Leo Stenbuck activates his XAM-007G Fairlion unit. Latooni Subota activates her XAM-007S Fairlion unit.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has reset their systems to full.

SOME TIME AGO

"Dr. Ikari, it has been some time since our last conversation."

Shu Shirakawa stands before a crystalline viewing screen in an unknown location. The long gaps between his responses hint that he is somewhere in space. His knowledge of instantaneous transmission makes the question of just how far out he is a hazy one. "I hope you found my last correspondence to be pleasurable."

Gendo Ikari is inscrutable. His hands hide any expression he may inadvertently take during these negotiations. It is a sign of wisdom and weakness. "Eight is here. As peers, you owe me aid from our previous transaction."

Shirakawa raises his hand, the long sleeves of his robe disguising his movements. "As peers, I would owe you this in any case. The scientists of the world have to help each other, yes? Our research is humanity's gain."

"Yes."

"Then I have no choice."

NOW

Above the field of newfound knowledge is Granzon. Unrestrained, it has ripped its way into this place. Unlike the other NERV allies, it has little interest in immediately containing this threat. Bursts of radiation override local sensors; the pattern repeats through usual frequencies before rising and lowering to levels that are undetectable yet still hamper usual communication and conventional readings.

"How wonderful! I hope many people die before this becomes serious."

Shinji has been on stand by since the operation began. He sits, hugging his knees in the entry plug of the already deployed Unit 01. He hasn't said anything to Asuka since this mission started. He hasn't said anything to Asuka in general since he was put into mandatory counseling and taken off the piloting roster for a few weeks. Despite this, Shinji has had a very good two days so he isn't feeling too bad about himself.

He shifts his focus to watch Unit 00 in the distance, smiling slightly. He has made peace with one of his closest friends. He looks at the clock on his plug suit, sighing. Damnit. Why couldn't this go faster? Ayato was probably going to come over tonight to learn to cook. Despite Shinji only knowing the guy a day, he was eager to keep this new friend as a sign of things beginning to change.

Shinji's train of thought is derailed at the sudden alarm in his cockpit. He looks over to where Unit 00 is and stares as the Angel emerges. "REI!" Unit 01 moves quickly to one of the weapon deployment stations, taking a pellet rifle as the building unfolds.

"Damnit! I won't let you get hurt again!" Shinji moves quickly toward the battle zone.

MINUTES AGO SOMEWHERE NEAR TOKYO-03

"Yeah, I got it. Thirty-sixty-six, right?" Akira Tadokoro looks down the long street, lined with identical and poorly numbered homes. He lowers his cell phone slightly as he looks over, spotting the first one. The number on it makes him begin to despair "Uh, you sure that's the right number? I'm at seventeen and it goes up by halves--"

Something like a loud cracking sound echoes across the distance--or maybe not at all, though he hears it all the same. Akira turns away from the street, resting the bottom of his package-laden bag on a handlebar of his motorcycle. He has a strange feeling. The kind of feeling of foreboding and danger that someone might get when rousing a predator from it's sleep.

Akira stares off to his left at the outskirts of the city. He murmurs into his phone, "Hey, Toei... I'll call you back." There is a slight 'click' as he flips it closed and drops it into his pocket, starting up the bike.

NOW

Akira turns onto the street near the rear of the convoy, pausing at the corner of a building. He squints at the familiar emblem. "NERV. And this heat, which means..." Nothing good, but he really hasn't got a clue as to what's going on. The only thing he can do, then, is stick his nose right where it doesn't belong. He rides closer, moving through side streets and taking advantage of the panic to get to an intersection further ahead.

The Evangelions running around kind of give him his second hint. Akira stares up at them and at the Angel, jaw dropped, stopped in the middle of the street to go, "Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!"

Angels make peculiar sounds -- just about the only thing all of them have in common. As far as anyone's been able to determine -- and they've tried -- they don't have a spoken language. And yet all of them communicate, somehow, through sound, whether Ramiel's sine-wave song or the gurgling wet death-rattles of Gaghiel. The sound of Sandalphon is somewhere in between. It resounds with depth, power, and force, but it reaches such high registers that one might think it was Meer Campbell without the Neo-Auto-Tune.

Not unlike an infant, really.

The hulking, ray-like beast hovers over Evangelion Unit-00. It cries out at it, making its bleating noises, as the heat that its body gives off not only melts what metal still adorns the Eva's frame, but causes its biological tissue to actually and literally /catch fire/, sending up thick, foul-smelling smoke. It doesn't seem to be trying very hard. Then again, Rei Ayanami is unconscious, unable to fight back.

So when Evangelion Unit-02 goes all batshit and begins running right at it, Sandalphon is possibly finally given cause for alarm. With a loud, whooping scream, it soars toward Unit-02. Those well versed in animal psychology may want to read into the way it rears back, dragging its form up and hovering tall, as if trying to assert its dominance through size before it lunges forward and attempts to swipe a superheated fin at the Specialest Eva Pilot.

But reading that much into it would be silly, right? It's an Angel.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Asuka Langley Sohryu. Fin Slam added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has set their HP to 7 person boss HP.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has missed Asuka Langley Sohryu with her Fin Slam attack.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has counter attacked for a minor critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Progressive Knife.

SOME TIME AGO TOKYO-03 GEOFRONT

"Yeah, yeah. And thanks a ton, Lat," Leo says over his shoulder, as he pulls on a pair of gloves. "I can't get to any of my machines while I'm on leave except the Zoid, and I'm not big on the idea... of..." He trails off when he turns around and sees what Latooni is holding up towards him.

The young man's face blanches; he looks down at his physique, and then up Latooni. "You're kidding, right?" he asks uncertainly, after a few seconds of awkward silence.

NOW HERE

"Yeah," Leo responds to Latooni, a little sullenly. Sure enough, the red Fairlion accelerates, bursting through the sound barrier as it closes on the increasingly chaotic NERV convoy alongside its purple counterpart.

Inside the cockpit, Leo shifts uncomfortably. The flight suit - a mandatory piece of equipment for driving the Fairlion - was made for someone smaller and skinnier than him, and it is an exceedingly tight fit.

It was also, he notes bitterly as he reaches between his legs and... adjusts things, designed for a girl.

Compared to the discomfort of the pilot suit, the strange cockpit layout is nothing, and Leo's never had much problem with those, anyways. He pulls his hand away from his groin and sets it back on the controls. "Shit," he sighs to Latooni, as the Angel looms higher and higher on his viewscreen, "These things get uglier every time, huh?"

Underneath the quipping facade, Leo is willing himself as hard as he can not to notice... well, everything. Don't notice that Rei - no, not Rei, don't notice that Not Rei is hurt. Don't notice that she's even present. Don't notice that this thing is like a giant infant. Don't notice that you're about to kill it for trying desperately to defend itself. Just do your job.

Just do your job.

The red Fairlion's hair rollers light up with energy as Leo opens fire, beams spraying out towards Sandalphon's back as it lunges at Unit-02.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Rei Ayanami. Double Rolling Cannons added to their queue.

Unit 01 charges forward like a brave little soldier. It's pilot narrowing his eyes as he moves into position just as the Angel swoop attacks Asuka. "Asuka!" Shinji yells despite knowing better. Asuka was probably going to chew him out for worrying about her. Shinji scowls to himself, costing himself time as moves Unit 01 into a crouch, aiming the pellet rifle ahead. Shinji growls, as he squeezes the trigger to let a few rounds fire off into the Angel.

YESTERDAY

"I will try not to let you down, Rei." Shinji looks up finally and sighs. "I will try to be better every time you come down here, Rei. Just so you don't worry." Shinji clenches his fist and feels his knuckles crack. This both disturbs and surprises Shinji who never really does anything physical. Maybe this was the path to manhood...Wait no, Shinji does something physical with this hand. He blushes and lays his hand back down.

NOW

Shinji's eyes narrow further as he goes hog wild, firing the pellet rifle continuously toward the Angel. The Barrel was probably overheating at this moment. Shinji didn't care. He had to keep fighting because it was what he was good for. "ARRGH!!!!!!!"

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pellet Rifle added to their queue.

In Latooni's defense, she does not often have to predict sizes. She thought it didn't look bad, though - well, except for the skirt-like frill. It really does show off his new build.

That's why the concealed cameras pointed at the pilot, installed to keep an eye on Shine in case of problems mid-fight, are all recording to a little box in the Fairlion-G. She'll get it out later.

Right now, though, she is all business. "Yes," Latooni says, as she uses what scanners her Fairlion has, recording images as she makes sense of the readings. Well, there are some things that are obvious to any scanner.

"Thermal readings are very high," Latooni broadcasts, to all allied forces. "Please be careful about approaching it more directly - " She pauses, because she's getting some additional readings. Readings that should /not/ be here...

The Fairlion-S looks up, slowly, at Granzon as it glides after the -G. Independently, the rolling cannons take aim at the Angel and pepper it with shots, identical to Leo's except for the fact that they are lavender, not pink.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Rei Ayanami. Double Rolling Cannons added to their queue.

Johnny Domino, in his attempt to split his attention between controlling a bio-mechanical horror and also yelling at cats in his cockpit, finds his nerves especially strained. "My lap is not a rug," he continues. "Get down on the floor!"

"Eww, are you kidding me?", Kuro spits. "I'm not touching any part of this disgusting meatosaurus!"

Domino bristles: "The hell did you just call my Chimera?!" But before he can make a move to choke Kuro, Evangelion Unit-00 comes to a halt, forcing Chimera to stop as well. Johnny blinks, refocusing his attention on the view outside. The Evangelion is doing something. The Agent isn't sure what. He narrows his eyes, scrutinizing the Eva's actions.

Kuro, for her part, looks up at Johnny in a manner most suspicious. The Chimera cockpit has no monitors, no traditional controls. All it has is Domino, and very very little space otherwise. And speaking of Domino, the young man is currently staring off vacantly into space. The black cat doesn't like it. But maybe, just maybe, she can use this opportunity to escape and--

"Look," Domino starts, startling Kuro. His voice sounds distant, his eyes dull. "If it's good enough for him," the Agent points at Shiro, who is sitting on the floor with his back to Domino, looking terrifyingly despondent. "Then it's good enough for you.."

Kuro refuses, responding with a scornful, "Unlike THAT dork, some of us have /standards/! But I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone like YOU doesn't get it."

The cat expects a rebuttal of some sort - a really stupid comeback to her own wonderfully witty insult. But Johnny doesn't say anything.

And that's when Rei speaks on the radio. Except... Johnny blinks, hearing a faint crackle invading his cockpit, followed by a teeny voice. "..what?.." The Agent starts patting around his piloting suit. "Where's my radio?"

His gaze darts down to Kuro, who sits there, watching him with very big, very incriminating eyes.

There's a pause. Outside, the Angel bursts out, an act completely lost on Domino.

Then Kuro spins around, pressing her face against Domino's radio which she hid behind her back all this while. "HELP! HELP!", she shrieks. "WE'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED, HELP!"

Johnny's surprise is only overshadowed by his anger, "WHAT THE FUCK, GIVE ME THAT!" The Agent lunges at the cat. And outside, Chimera, through the magic of Feedback, does exactly what Domino does, lunging at the Angel from behind.

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Rei Ayanami's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Rei Ayanami. GIMME THE STUPID RADIO added to their queue.

 Kuro transmits, "HELP! HELP! WE'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED, HELP!"  Struggle noises.

 Latooni Subota swallows. "Thermal readings are very high, please do not approach it directly. And, um."  Latooni Subota transmits, "Readings consistant with Shirakawa's Granzon... be careful."

 Shu Shirakawa [U] has posed.

"Hello, NERV personnel and associates. This is Dr. Shirakawa. We would appreciate your assistance in containing this threat. Please disable but to not destroy the subject."

The Granzon rotates silently midair, tilting downward to face the rampaging creature. The armor along its chest slides back, revealing the primary rod of its projector array. The reflector panels set around it are already creating a visible feedback loop, the air rippling with the short charge.

The near-invisible alteration of the surrounding gravitational forces lance out in several distinct 'tentacles,' pinpointing the Angel before spreading out in a tangible skin-tight field. It is not a deadly attack. It may not even harm it. The pressure Granzon applies is probing in nature.

This is a thing to be studied.

COMBAT: Shu Shirakawa has attacked Rei Ayanami. Graviton Gun added to their queue.

REI! It always had to be about Rei, didn't it?! If she were in trouble, would Shinji go crying out for /her/ the way he did for that mindless drone of an Eva pilot?

Asuka doubts it.

The pilot of Eva Unit-00 is the least of her concern; she couldn't care less if Rei Ayanmi lived or died. The most important thing is destroying the angel--and every moment she wastes is a second she can be outdone. With a flick of her wrist, her progressive knife snaps out of her arm armor and into her hand.

"Let me show you what a -real- Eva pilot can do!"

She races towards the Angel, but the piercing scream of the creature sends Asuka to a halt. The toe of her suit digs deep into the earth, sending rock flying forward.

And then Sandalphon launches itself towards her; as if by reflex, she swings her arm forward, as it swings its fin towards her. The creature's fin grazes over her Eva's arm, smoke rising from her armor. She flinches, but her progressive knife still reaches its target. She pulls the knife out, and throws it forward again--another attempt to stab the creature.

A variety of different sounds come from the radio, but Asuka ignores them. If anyone thinks she's going to let this Angel live they're mistaken!

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Rei Ayanami. Progressive Knife added to their queue.

The heat rolling off this thing is the first sign to Akira that he should probably not be closing in on it on foot. The second sign is probably the fact that it seems to have disabled an Evangelion without much visible effort, and, much as he'd like to think he can take just about anything on with his bare hands, he hasn't yet succeeded in taking down one of /them/.

This isn't really what's going through his head, though. His thought process is that of instinctual, primal fear, translated into verbal form in a very simple manner:

"/Holy shit/, an Angel!!"

Akira guns the engine on the motorcycle, pulling a one-eighty and zooming back down the street. He sees NERV reinforcements trying to futilely hem it--and, by association, him--in, and takes a sharp turn to the right. The street curves, and he looks up as he starts back towards the Angel, looking for another way to get out of here without abandoning his ride. That's about when he sees--

"/Holy shit/, the Granzon!!"

Akira's previous experience with the Granzon involved showing up and watching it basically be impervious to any of his efforts to harm it. The fact that it's attacking this thing, though, is sort of confusing. He couldn't read his mind then, and he probably can't do it now, so he's just as much a mystery to him as ever.

Akira comes to a stop in a park. "Oh, screw this," he mutters, looking around. There's enough space, he thinks. He takes a deep breath, says a silent prayer that it works a second time, and then thrusts his fist into the air, shouting at the top of his lungs. "BURIKI DAIOOOOOOOHHH!!"

The earth splits and the titanic iron machine erupts from the ground, rising with an earthquake as it draws up to it's full height of two hundred and fifty feet. Akira disappears inside along with the bike, hidden away somewhere inside. It draws an equally huge two-handed sword up from the ground next to it, holding the Massacre Blade at the ready with both hands, facing down the not-too-distant Angel.

"Okay," Akira says, breathing again, connecting to the machine, "this is gonna get messy." Hopefully the NERV goons over there know enough not to shoot at him, too.

Akira Tadokoro activates his Buriki-Daioh unit.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Double Rolling Cannons.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has missed Rei Ayanami with her Double Rolling Cannons attack.

COMBAT: You have missed Rei Ayanami with your GIMME THE STUPID RADIO attack.

COMBAT: Shu Shirakawa has missed Rei Ayanami with his Graviton Gun attack.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has missed Rei Ayanami with his Pellet Rifle attack.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Progressive Knife.

What a -real- Eva pilot can do, as it turns out, is...

...lay there, cyborg unit dismantled and half-melted, still burning like some kind of protesting monk.

Asuka does pretty well too, though, the knife slamming into the creature's underbelly and causing it to emit a terrific cry of pain. It thrashes, turning to face the sky -- in time for Leo Stenbuck to salt its wound with some pink cannon fire. Another howl, and then things get kind of bad.

Because everything that comes in the seconds after -- the pellets from Shinji's rifle, the crushing gravity of Shu's weapon, the lavender licks of lethal light from Latooni, and Johnny Domino's attempt to get the STUPID RADIO -- all beach themselves like ships ramming a jetty. Sandalphon's Absolute Terror field flares to life, psychedelic fractal geometry illuminating the sky as it manifests one of the most powerful, potentially metaphysical forces known to man.

With another roar, Sandalphon soars upward. Leo's Fairlion hurt it. And now it apparently wants to hurt Leo. Its horrible mouth stretches as the thing lunges toward him, trying to bite at the unit with teeth and breath so blazingly hot that anything it does manage to chomp off /will/, as the ad suggested, melt in its mouth.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Leo Stenbuck. Grinding Bite added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a glancing hit on Leo Stenbuck's XAM-007G Fairlion using Grinding Bite.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has activated a spirit command.

Shinji listens to Asuka scream, feeling his nerve die as he keeps looking between Asuka and Rei. And then there's that guy. Shinji's eyes narrow as he watches Leo come save the day and utterly ruin any chance of standing up on his own. Shinji keeps firing the pellet rifle until it just stops working from either becoming jammed or running out of ammo. Shinji doesn't bother to check, deploying a progressive knife and charging forward to help cut open the Angel. He has gotta do something or he's trash.

He is only useful for this.

He needs to somehow fix everything and make headway on his promise to Rei.

Shinji screams at he leaps forward, attempting to leap onto the Angel's back. To hold on, Unit 01 stabs down to make a makeshift handle or atleast shank it a little. "ARGGH!!!!!!!"

Way to go, spaz.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Progressive Knife added to their queue.

Leo, distracted as he is by his flight suit's attempts to crush his genitals, doesn't notice the Granzon until Latooni points it out; he glances up at it even while he's still firing the Rolling Cannons, frowning thoughtfully. It isn't like he's going to miss; he just has to get past the AT Field, and in his experience, that's just a God damn coin flip.

"What's /he/ doing here?" the young man mutters to himself... and, of course, to Latooni, thanks to the constantly open comm link between the two Fairlions. The Fairlion-G weaves to the side, careful to stay well clear of the Granzon's line of fire, and Leo continues after a moment, "Keep an eye on him, Lat. I don't trust him."

Latooni, of course, can be trusted entirely to keep watch on Shu, which leaves Leo free to do theoretically more important things, like not being bitten in half. Sandalphon's jaws close around the Fairlion-G, and the machine's two arm daggers snap outwards to cover its fists and hum to life.

The weapons snap up to catch the top row of teeth, and the Fairlion's feet snap out to catch the bottom; its Tesla Drive ramps up to maximum power, and the machine literally holds the Angel's jaws open, its vibrating knives spraying sparks into the air as they slowly saw into Sandalphon's red-hot teeth.

Unfortunately for Leo, the Fairlion is not a very large or powerful machine, and this is not working out very well. The machine's frame is beginning to crumple from the pressure... to say nothing of the heat, which is slowly melting the Fairlion's feet and knives, and peeling the paint.

The heat is so strong, in fact, it even pierces through the climate control of the cockpit. Within seconds, Leo is sweating like a pig, which really only makes his muscles stand out even more against the already too tight pilot suit. This is undoubtedly far more distracting to Latooni than it is to Leo, however, as he doesn't seem deterred at all when he sucks in a breath and roars, "VOSTOK--"

The Fairlion-G's shoulder... things snap forwards to project into Sandalphon's mouth, brilliant balls of pink energy forming on the ends of them. A moment later, Leo cries, "--LAAAAASEEEEER!!"

The screaming is probably unnecessary... but either way, a massive beam of pink energy erupts out of the red Fairlion's chest and into the roof of Sandalphon's mouth. It also happens to send the Fairlion flying backwards out of the Angel's jaw; it performs an extremely fruity backflip to recover, and then lifts away to regroup with Latooni and the Fairlion-S.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Rei Ayanami. Vostok Laser added to their queue.

Without his precious radio near his ear, Johnny Domino doesn't get to hear anything of what Latooni and Shu have to say. Kuro, on the other hand, does.

Trying to avoid the Agent's grasp, the female cat leaps and hops from legs to forearms to legs again. Like a hyperactive little grasshopper, the black fiend keeps slipping from between Domino's flailing fingers. When Latooni's voice first filters through the communication device, the cat's acrobatic act only intensifies.

"LATOONI!", the black feline wails. "LATOOOOOOOONI!! YOU GOTTA FIND MASAKI AND--"

And that's when Shu Shirakawa's voice gets broadcasted. Kuro immediately loses her balance, and Johnny finally grabs her.

"Gotcha," the Agent exclaims, wrapping both hands around the critter's little body. Kuro mewls, getting ready to fight to the death. Johnny opens his mouth, "Now you rotten good for nothing little piece of OWWWWW!!"

No, that last bit wasn't Kuro unleashing Unlimited Claw Works on Johnny. It was Chimera slamming into Sandalphon's AT Field. Kuro blinks as Domino works his pained jaw. Chimera gives a not-too-gentle mental jab to its pilot, signaling that Johnny should really stop messing around with lesser creatures and start paying attention to what's outside. So Johnny starts paying attention to what's outside.

"/WHAT THE HELL IS THAT/?!"

Finally, Domino catches sight of Sandalphon for the very first time.

Uttering a curse, the Agent reclaims his rightful control over Chimera. The bio-unit snarls, feeling its resolve melding with that of its pilot. Closing its right hand into a fist, a large spike springs out of the Chimera's gauntlet. Goddamn Angel waking up in the middle of the goddamn trip. All Johnny wants is to go back home and lock the cats in a closet. And if there's an AT Field in the way, then so help him God, Johnny Domino is going to rip right through the goddamn thing and beat the Angel senseless.

The fact that the Angel is made of Really Hot Stuff is still unknown to Domino.

And as Chimera begins its vicious assault on Sandalphon, inside the cockpit... Johnny Domino hasn't moved since he uttered a curse. All he does is sit there, hands still closed around Kuro's body, blue eyes staring dead ahead. The black cat glances left. The black cat glances right. The black cat whispers into the radio still in its possession: "Latooni! Psst. Laaaatoooniii! You gotta tell me, what's going on out there? What's Shu doing?! I can't see a thing here!"

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Rei Ayanami's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Rei Ayanami. Spiked Punch added to their queue.

"Ah! The 'Absolute Terror Field.' Such an interesting frequency. With the second iteration of--... reroute--... yes."

A colorful bird flits around the cockpit. It comes to rest on a switch. It does not weigh enough to tilt it. "You'll need its brain, its brain, right? Take its brain!"

Shu clucks his tongue and wags his finger. "Its brain would be helpful, but not necessary. There are many other ways of obtaining this information."

The bird shakes violently. It makes several indescribable noises before shrieking "I WANT ITS BRAIN!"

"Chika, dear thing, I had hoped knowledge that I am researching a way to kill you would curb your temper."

"I'll dissect its brain for you! MY BEAK IS SHARP! Give it to meeeeeeeeeeeeee~"

Dr. Shirakawa is more interested in the readings from the graviton pressure. He considers the strange readings. "It would seem the most prudent way to kill all these things would be to instigate particle acceleration from a collision-type reality where they could not nullify. A simple matter of finding it."

The Granzon remains in its imperious position. Its chest array emits degeneracy particles steadily, an outstretched hand serving as an impromptu variance emitter to cycle through possible frequencies. The Eighth Angel is submitted to a continuous stream of annoying rays appearing from the air, attempting to find the proper way to pierce its field.

COMBAT: Shu Shirakawa has attacked Rei Ayanami. Wormhole Beam added to their queue.

When Asuka pulls her weapon out a second time, there's little left to it but the pommel of the weapon; a dull knob of a blade still remains attached, the metal still melting in big drops, landing in a smoking silvery pool on the earth below.

Asuka throws the progressive knife to the ground as the creature turns, its sight set on Leo. Asuka knows that suit! That's Rei's boyfriend, isn't it? It figures that the only boy worthy of Asuka's attention is the only one who managed to land a hit on the Angel.

Asuka reaches behind her, grabbing her polearm from its place on her back. Sure, this thing will melt too, but she can't afford to run back to grab a pellet rifle--especially if its as ineffective as stupid Shinji just demonstrated.

She'll show NERV. She'll show all of them. Even IF their weapons are no match for the Angel, she'll demonstrate perfectly that no Angel is a match for the power of Eva Unit-02.

And once again, she races towards the Angel, and swings. The pole gives Asuka some distance between herself and her opponent--and judging from the beads of sweat drenching her red locks--it's distance that she needs.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Rei Ayanami. Polearm added to their queue.

"I am," Latooni says, which is true; but she can keep an eye on Shu, who is not attacking /them/, and fight the Angel at the same time. Aren't Coordinators wonderful? She even has some attention to spare for Leo.

Latooni dives in after Leo out of sheer reflex - You Do Not Leave The Other Fairlion In Danger is about the first rule of driving Fairlion-S. She draws the assault blade as she goes, the chainsaw-like sword whirring to activating as she attempts to cut Fairlion-G's legs free even as Leo fires the laser. The way she manages to get out of the way of /that/ is practically precognitive, although honestly she was just reading both sets of data again.

One of the cats sends her a message. She forgets which one is which at first, then says, "Kuro, I am - kind of busy right now - Shirakawa appears to be assisting us with the Angel, but we're keeping scanners pointed at him." Latooni doesn't trust him even if he /did/ leave the Divine Crusaders.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Rei Ayanami. Assault Blade added to their queue.

"Okay, okay, it's an Angel, so--" Akira looks frantically around the large cockpit. At the advice of one of his friends, he's begun compiling a List of Things To Do/Not Do and keeping it in here. He finds a yellow note stuck above the ancient controls, and pulls it off to examine the hastily-written words on it. Only two lines are legible among the otherwise crazed scrawl.

1. DO NOT READ ANGEL'S MIND

Akira squints at that. That's awfully specific. Maybe he should actually take his own advice for once.

Akira grabs the bolted-on radio and starts transmitting. "Hey, NERV pilots! This is Akira; you look like you could use a hand!" Buriki Daioh takes off with it's massive jetpack, flying above the landscape and dropping out of the sky at the Angel. He assumes people will be smart and fast enough to get out of the path of the gigantic metal brick. "You don't shoot at me, and I don't shoot at you, a'right?"

Buriki Daioh comes down with the huge blue and black magical sword pointed down at the Angel, thrust at it's center mass. Akira wants to see how it deals with something a little less high-tech, but immediately regrets his plan when he breaks into a sweat just by getting near. Good thing it can't get much hotter.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command. COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Rei Ayanami. Massacre Blade added to their queue.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has missed Rei Ayanami with his Vostok Laser attack.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has missed Rei Ayanami with his Massacre Blade attack.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Assault Blade.

COMBAT: You have missed Rei Ayanami with your Spiked Punch attack.

COMBAT: Shu Shirakawa has missed Rei Ayanami with his Wormhole Beam attack.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Progressive Knife.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a solid critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Polearm.

Sandalphon is slow but mighty. Some ideas are better than others in handling this. For example, shooting lasers into Sandalphon's mouth has a bizarre effect, because it's so damn hot in there that it just ends up sizzling the thing's maw and doing little else. Somehow, Angels have mastered the art of melting lasers.

Another option is to just jump on top of the thing, which is maybe not the smartest thing to do, considering its surface temperature. As soon as Shinji Ikari lands atop Sandalphon, his armor begins to sizzle and smoke, and warning alarms flash everywhere inside his cockpit -- all singing the tune of 'don't let your Eva get melted, son.' Still, the Progressive Knife sinks into its back at the exact same moment as Asuka's polearm penetrates its belly. Not a second later, Latooni's Fairlion swoops in, with characteristically perfect timing, to take a big whack out of the thing's face in the course of cutting Leo free. With another hellacious roar, the beast's AT Field flares to life once more.

In doing so, it not only throws Shinji off and pushes Asuka away (crumpling her polearm into more of a giant jagged melty shiv), it also gives the two Fairlions a violent telekinetic shove -- and repels the other incoming attacks, be they punches, massacres, or wormholes.

Bellowing again, the giant... thing thrashes around, one Progressive Knife stuck in its belly, handle already oozing and dripping from the heat, another stuck in its back, not quite melted yet. It seems to be in pain, and not thinking, just acting. It melts the Progressive Knife in its belly enough that the blade falls free, more puddle than weapon -- and when that metaphorical finger in the dyke (easy, Asuka) comes loose, superheated blood /sprays/ from its body.

Right toward Johnny Domino.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami's High Pressure Fluid has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Johnny Domino. High Pressure Fluid added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck you with a major hit using High Pressure Fluid!

COMBAT: 3309 points of damage taken! 9691 health points left!

Ayato Kamina has arrived. COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has reset their systems to full.

Kuro listens to Latooni, ears flattened against her head. The cat overheard enough chatter between Johnny and random people earlier to comprehend that there's some sort of enemy codenamed an 'Angel' or whatever. So hearing about an 'Angel' isn't what bothers the feline, no. What bothers her is the part about Shu.

"Assisting you?!"

Kuro is aghast.

"Latooni, don't trust him," the cat urges. "No matter what he says or does, do not drop your guard--"

The cat is interrupted mid-sentence when Domino suddenly cries out, "GODDAMN!" Outside, Chimera's attack is repelled, leaving both pilot and bio-unit agitated.

Inside the cockpit, though, nothing changes. Aside from that one verbal exclamation, Johnny Domino remains unmoving, and Kuro's near heart-attack was but a false alarm.

"Tch," Kuro spits. "If only Masaki was here!" But he's not, and Kuro is on her own.

Craning her neck about, the black cat looks over Domino's fingers that keep her captive before making a valiant attempt to wriggle free. "Hnnn! Hrrrrrnnnn! HNNNGNGNGNG!" The feline squirms, flapping to and fro like a fish out of water. Alas, to no avail. Frustrated and panting, Kuro finds that she has no choice but to resort to...

"Shiro," whispers the black female. "Shiiiiroooo!" No response. Shiro remains with his back to Kuro, head hanging low, ears nothing but a dead weight. 'Poor Masaki', thinks Shiro, a dark cloud hovering above the whitest of felines. 'He's probably waking up in a tub of ice cubes in Guam right now'.

Kuro gnashes her teeth. She prepares to throw the radio at Shiro's head when things seem to go to hell. It begins with Domino gasping, uttering a choked, "Ahh--", and then he screams. His hands clench around Kuro in pain, causing the black cat to shriek as well, and then the entire cockpit seems to tip over. Outside, Chimera roars, falling backwards as the spray of Angel blood eats through its armor and ravages the flesh underneath. The beast spasms, rolling around in the dirt, trying to get the hot liquid to stop hurting.

Inside the cockpit, Domino remains secured to his eat, even as Chimera jerks around. Kuro, too, remains secure in Johnny's grasp. Shiro, on the other hand...

"WAAAAH," the white cat wails, flying around and slamming into one spongy wall after the other.

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Rei Ayanami's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Rei Ayanami. Piercing Roar added to their queue.

Shirakawa watches impassionate as the graviton beam cycles through known frequencies. The charging numbers go red one after another. Nevertheless, even this useless affront to the Absolute Terror Field adds to his terrifying knowledge base.

His familiar, Chika, is not as patient.

"MURDER IT! There are precious things inside it and it would be wonderful to have them! Its brain, yes, but its heart and skin and blood! We could take its skin and stretch it over its bones and make a golem out of it. Then we could flood a city with lava and it would be invincible!"

"My relation to you often causes me existential terror, Chika," Shu replies. He begins the uplink to NERV. His accumulated data is of great concern to Gendo Ikari. It is the least a fellow scientist can offer.

"Shirakawa!"

The sidescreen in the Granzon's cockpit lights up. Two burning spiral eyes fill it, radiating an eerie glow exceeding the output of the holographic display. "You are called. Obey."

"I suppose," Shu comments to no one, which usually means 'Chika' in practice, "I can always capture another Angel. There is only one Spiral King."

Above the field, the Granzon disappears into the folds of improbability.

"They get more invincible every time, too," Leo mutters; he's fairly certain he saw an AT field form in Sandalphon's mouth right before Latooni helped him punch out of the thing's jaws. It just doesn't seem fair. And what the /shit/ is Shu Shirakawa doing? Is he--

"Is he /testing/ this thing?!" Leo blurts aloud, circling the Angel at a safe distance as it sprays its own innards at Johnny Domino like some kind of lethal sea cucumber. "Son of a--" Leo jabs briefly at his radio controls, opening a communications line to the Granzon, and opens his mouth to give the good Doctor a piece of his mind...

... and then the Granzon disappears, just like that. Leo's jaw snaps shut, and he reaches up to rub at one of his temples. For a few moments, the young man empathizes with Masaki's overwhelming hatred for the guy.

"Well," he comments to Latooni, turning his attention back to Sandalphon. "I don't know what the hell his deal was, but at least we don't have to worry about /that/ anymore. Now..." Leo rolls his shoulders and resettles his grip on his controls. "I'm going in. Back me up!"

And, sure enough, in the Fairlion-G goes, its two vibrodaggers snapping forwards over its hands again. The red machine slips underneath the Angel's reach, wails at it with a flurry of lightning-fast slashes and stabs, and then... pirouettes, briefly becoming a bright red, extremely girly buzzsaw.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pirouette Piquee added to their queue.

As soon as Unit 01 climbs on top of the Angel, it burns. It burns like Misato's prom date's.....pants. They caught on fire. yeah...>.>

Shinji screams as the pain surges into his body and makes it very hard to hold on. Especially since his entire body feels like it's on a giant skillet. The brave young pilot of Unit 01 screams as he feels the LCL begin to cook until the Evangelion just lets go. Now looking more blackened than purple, as it wobbly stands up again.

Shinji breaths heavily as he frowns at his radio. Asuka doesn't care. She never cares about him. She is always gone and then he tries. He tries hard to fix it all and it just blows up in his face. Shinji growls under his breath as all of this becomes painfully obvious as even some stranger named Masaki comes to his rescue.

The blackened purple Unit 01 retreves another again from the weapons dock and takes aim. Not wild this time. Precise. Aiming to use each bullet to systematicly destroy him like those others seem to be doing to him. "I'm...nothing..."

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pellet Pistol added to their queue.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has activated a spirit command.

Latooni Subota pulls up and around, shaking molten blood off the Assault Blade before it either sets up or melts the segments. "I know," she says to Kuro, though she does not say anything else. Her attention is split too many ways and she's not a big talker, anyway.

Latooni shoots a glance at the readout from Granzon. Pressure increasing - and then it vanishes. She briefly debates trying to figure out where the hell it went, realizes she does not have the time for that right now, and points the scanners at Akira instead to keep an electronic eye on him, too.

"I am coming behind you, Leo," Latooni responds, as soon as he prepares to dive. Her own knives lock into place, but she's still holding the sword; when /she/ comes in, spinning behind Leo, her buzzsaw-like attack is a good deal wider and louder. She is likely to lose the chainsword, though, if she manages to hit the hide.

She comes in at an angle to Leo, so that, if they both connect, the cut is more X-shaped than anything else. It looks practiced. It isn't.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pirouette Piquee added to their queue.

The Massacre Blade is violently shoved off-course. It strikes the street instead, plunging into the pavement and parting the road like a hot knife through butter. Akira grits his teeth and pulls it back out, twisting it slightly in the ground and cracking the surface before it swings upward, narrowly missing a building while raising it back to his shoulder.

The heat is intense, and Akira feels every bit of it. He tries to tough it out, but it's too much for him to stay close for too long. The Evangelion pilots might feel something when they get hit, but it's like Akira /is/ Buriki Daioh when he pilots it. With that kind of temperature...

Buriki Daioh glows an icy blue for a moment, it's outline flickering. It spreads out all around it, blurred copies of it appearing and disappearing. Supernaturally-created ice suddenly starts to form, frost appearing on every surface, covering streets, buildings.

Sandalphon is no exception. Akira directs the cold right at it, trying to freeze it solid and stop it in it's tracks.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Rei Ayanami. Buriki Freeze Image added to their queue.

And for the third time, Asuka's weapon makes contact, the blade piercing the creature's stomach almost at the exact moment Shinji's progressive knife penetrates the creator's armor. "And that makes four," she says smugly--but her satisfaction is short-lived; the creature pushes her backwards, sending her toppling onto her ass, and her polearm--the only melee weapon she had to give her some distance between the creature and herself, is crumpled and melts to the ground in a puddle of silver.

Her hair--usually thick and fluffy--hangs damp and limp over her face. She definitely doesn't want Mr. Kaji to see her looking like this!

Asuka doesn't give anyone else the time of day--the only thing important is defeating the Angel and showing her true worth to everyone!

Slowly, Asuka stumbles to her feet, then looks back at her opponent, eyes narrowed.

Then launches spikes from the back of Eva Unit-02.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Rei Ayanami. Spike Launcher added to their queue.

Tereno Empireo Rapidmova Reackii Armeo is a small organization formed as a response to a very specific breed of alien menace. For years, hwoever, that alien menace has been largely silent, and TERRA's only real resources have been experimental - non-transformable, even - fighter jets and fairly skilled pilots.

TERRA, then, has been a vestigial agency for years, with nothing to provide the Federation beyond land to train its up and coming pilots on.

Within the last several months - shortly before the formation of the A-LAWS task force - that changed, with the appearance of the angelic RahXephon machine and its teenaged pilot. With actual resources to offer, TERRA has been on call to scramble the RahXephon in response to large scale threats for some time, and today is maybe the biggest they've received. Ever since the larval Angel was extracted, its personnel have been at the ready, alarm klaxons have been blaring; RahXephon is /fast/ for something of its size, and making the trek from Nirai-Kanai Island to Tokyo-03 to intercept the Angel should something go amiss is of little real consequence.

The distance proves to be great enough, however, that when the winged, primarily white and blue machine does not arrive until /after/ the Chimera's een blasted head on by pressurized blood.

"Sorry," Ayato Kamina sharply radios over Federation frequencies. "I was supposed--well, it doesn't matter /now/. Can someone gimme the situation?"

Ignorant of how absurdly hot Sandalphon is, Ayato does not stop until his machine is floating just before the Angel's face. He draws his arm back, drives it powerfully forward, and in response the Mulian god-machine throws a hard punch intended to smash the thing's brain pan, or at least give it a concussion.

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

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has missed Rei Ayanami with his Pirouette Piquee attack.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has counter attacked for a minor hit on Leo Stenbuck's XAM-007G Fairlion using Body Press.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has missed Rei Ayanami with his Buriki Freeze Image attack.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has counter attacked for a minor critical hit on Akira Tadokoro's Buriki-Daioh using Feeding Arm.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has missed Rei Ayanami with her Pirouette Piquee attack.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has missed Latooni Subota with her Fin Slam counter attack.

COMBAT: You have struck Rei Ayanami with a minor hit using Piercing Roar.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has missed you with her High Pressure Fluid counter attack.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Pistol.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Spike Launcher.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Rah Punch.

"Arrrgh, god," Domino croaks. His entire body is rigid with the sensation of being boiled alive. Thankfully, the inertial dampeners are already picking up the slack, dulling the pain filtering down through the feedback system.

Chimera, too, begins to recover, flooded with bestial fury. Grunting, the beast rolls onto its stomach one final time before climbing to its feet. Steam rises through the grotesque holes and ellipses left in the bio-unit's exoskeleton. Sandalphon is messing with the wrong bio-unit, baby!

Meanwhile, inside the cockpit, Kuro has absolutely no idea what happened. All she knows that Shu is out there (actually he isn't anymore), Masaki is NOT out there (unfortunately still the case), and Johnny is a FREAKING MADMAN (debatable).

With the cockpit upright again and no longer jerking around, Shiro has found himself back on the floor, sprawled on his back, legs in the air. Nothing is broken, but the white cat is very frazzled. "Guuuuu," he emits, eyes swirly.

Kuro tries her luck once more: "Shiro. Hey Shiro! Get up!"

"Mnnnhhh," Shiro goes, slowly regaining consciousness. "What... what's happening?"

"We gotta get out of here, Shiro," says Kuro. "Shu is out there! We gotta find Masaki!"

"SHU?!" The name is like a magic word. Shiro is back on his feet in no time, eyes wide. "We must get out of here and find Masaki," he repeats in earnest. Looking around the cockpit, the white cat tries to formulate a plan. How did they enter the cockpit? Johnny somehow sank through a series of membranes or something. Kuro found it disgusting. Shiro was too depressed to pay too much attention.

"There's no hatch," says Shiro.

"Then MAKE ONE," says Kuro.

Domino doesn't hear this exchange at all. He is far too engrossed in the battle with Sandalphon, his mind linked with Chimera's. Out on the battlefield, the bio-unit thrusts its arms forward, letting loose a thicket of tentacles. The sinewy appendages grow out of the beast's gauntlets, ever-extending towards their target. Even if Sandalphon burns through them with its body, they will still manage to squeeze and rip before being consumed by--

The tentacles stop, jerking in mid-air. Inside the cockpit, Domino emits an "Urk!" His body hunches forward, mind ripped away from the battle and back to the here and now. Oh god, there was--there was something inside of him. Something pricking inside his chest!

Kuro cheers, "That's right, Shiro. Chew. Chew! CHEW!" And Shiro does indeed chew, brandishing claws and fangs in order to dig a tunnel out of the cockpit.

Sandalphon's rage seems to have been ignited by the latest wave of attacks. Its AT Field flashes intermittently, but while it does so, the beastly thing thrashes around, trying to swing and bite at anything that dares come too close. Some, like Latooni, manage to clear the thing's fins, but don't get a chance to do any damage themselves. Some, like Leo and Akira, find themselves stunted by the AT Field -- and then caught in the wake of the monster's agonized dance, its enormous body slamming this way and that carlessly. Its blood continues to spray, although less fervently, and it avoids Johnny Domino's Chimera again -- but the roar of the bio-unit seems to repel the Angel. Almost as if it's cowering.

That's the opportunity that the Evangelions need. Spikes ripple through the air and embed themselves into Sandalphon's... face? Well, that bit of it that most resembles one, anyway. Blood continues to leak out, dripping from the wounds and probably melting a hole to China.

Which is what we in the business call 'foreshadowing.'

Shinji's Pellet Pistol takes advantage of the wounds already delivered, too, hammering at weak, injured spots in Sandalphon's hide before it can focus its AT Field again. The coup de grace comes, of course, when Ayato Kamina arrives in the RahXephon. It strikes the beast right in its wounded maw, the impact and the sizzling blood enough to leave the powerful machine's knuckles a little warped but no worse for wear. The punch to the skull sends it flopping downward, though, like a fat guy into a community pool, and the impact causes just as much of a splash --

-- because it /melts/ the Earth, causing a ripple of lava to spatter everywhere, slinging hot, molten rock at a few fools who dare tread close enough!

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Ayato Kamina, Latooni Subota, Shinji Ikari, and Akira Tadokoro. Rampage added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a glancing hit on Shinji Ikari's Evangelion Unit-01 using Rampage.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has counter attacked for a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Pistol.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a major hit on Latooni Subota's XAM-007S Fairlion using Rampage.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has counter attacked for a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Rolling Cannon.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a solid hit on Ayato Kamina's RahXephon using Rampage.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a solid hit on Akira Tadokoro's Buriki-Daioh using Rampage.

Shinji stops when he hears the voice of the newcomer. That machine? What was it? And why was..."Ayato?" Shinji opens up communication with the main radio channel. "Why are you here?" He is perplexed, suddenly realizing this guy isn't as normal as he thought. A million questions race through his mind, each more profound than the next one. And all Shinji can ask is a timid, 'why are you here?' There was so much more Shinji meant and wanted to say but he couldn't find the words.

...Especially when Unit 01 is burned by burning hot magma. The pilot screams as the pain surges through him again, almost making the Evangelion double over in pain. "Ugh...Damnit." Shinji drops his pellet pistol, drawing a pellet rifle for yet another building. He opens fire again, still wincing at the pain. "Ayato...You're with the military?" Shinji asks inbetween feeling pretty damn awful.

Shinji opens up a channel to Asuka again, despite his better judgement. "Asuka...You ok?"

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pellet Rifle added to their queue.

Leo grimaces in irritation as his half-melted arm daggers strike, again and again, against the rippling hexagonal AT Field that protects Sandalphon... and the grimace quickly turns into one of pain when the Angel suddenly shifts, smashing its side into the Fairlion-G's entire body and sending the machine tumbling away.

The rebuffed Fairlion lifts higher into the air rather than rushing back in... which turns out to be a good idea when Sandalphon bellyflops and conjures up a huge splash of /God damn magma/. "Lat, heads up!" Leo calls, much less helpfully than he wishes it had been. The young man's grimace makes its final morph of the moment, into one of anger, when Latooni gets... well, lava'd. "Alright, you son of a bitch, if you like lava so much, then..."

The red Fairlion's shoulder things snap forwards again, and the machine rockets upwards, climbing high into the air over Sandalphon. As the Fairlion accelerates, a blue field shimmers into existence around it, rippling outwards from the extended shoulder things, yes I literally have no noun better than 'things' to refer to them as.

Pylons, maybe.

"SONIC CUTTEEER!!" Leo roars; the Fairlion does a dainty backflip and drops into an almost perfectly vertical dive, still wreathed in blue, blowing through the sound barrier again as the fifteen meter robot proceeds to bodyslam the much larger extraterrestrial alien and drive it even further into the melting ground.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Rei Ayanami. Sonic Cutter added to their queue.

Johnny whips his head around, eyes burning with the fury of the seven suns. "STOP CHEWING ON MY CHIMERA!"

Shiro pauses at the sound of Domino's voice. The white feline tilts his head around, suckling on a tiny portion of Chimera's rubbery cockpit-flesh. He gives Johnny an enxious look.

"Don't listen to him, Shiro," cries Kuro.

"SHUT UP!" Johnny cries right back. And in an act of anger, he finally flings Kuro at the wall. The black cat slams against the soft surface, plopping to the similarly soft floor. She does not appreciate this treatment.

"EW!!", comes the horrified reaction. Quick as lightning, Kuro zips up Domino's leg, up his chest, and stops only once on top of his head. Roosting in his hair, the black cat seems deeply traumatized, fur sticking every which way, claws out, pupils tiny.

And Johnny? Johnny naturally spazzes the hell out. Flailing about, trying to get the cat to get the hell off of him and stop digging into him with her claws, the pilot is having one of the worst days of his life.

And Chimera? Chimera has absolutely no idea what the fuck is going on. All it can do is growl as Domino's spazzing is translated through the Feedback system, forcing the bio-unit to act the same.

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Rei Ayanami's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Rei Ayanami. Ridiculous Kung-Fu Mastery added to their queue.

"Am I okay? What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Most girls would be happy to have someone worry over them--especially in the midst of battle--but not Asuka Sohryu Langley. She takes something as innocent as a few words of concern as the ultimate insult. "Not everyone is as pathetic and helpless as you are!"

Sorry, Shinji--you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.

"This stupid thing won't go down no matter what we do!" she complains. Still, she won't let herself be shown up by anyone else there--least of all the idiot Shinji Ikari. Reaching out to the nearest building, a panel suddenly open, revealing one of the massive Evangelion pellet rifles stored inside.

She turns, aims, and prepares to fire, her finger tight on the trigger when--

Johnny Domino flails right into her line of vision.

"You idiot!" she screams into her radio. "Get! Out! Of! The! Way!"

And with no regard to Johnny's own livelihood, Asuka fires.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu's Pellet Rifle Strafe has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Rei Ayanami and Johnny Domino. Pellet Rifle Strafe added to their queue.

The lava hits Latooni's machine with what would be a wet slap if it wasn't drowned out by the sizzling of exposed metal bits being superheated and scorched.

Latooni does not scream because, unlike SOME people here, she isn't actually connected to her machine. It does get uncomfortably warm inside, and she uses the assault blade to scrape some of the cooling lava off the legs of her Fairlion; she has to discard the blade afterwards, it being too hot and soft to use as a weapon. And probably jammed. She's not going to find out the hard way.

Latooni flips the sonic projectors over the Fairlion's shoulders as she hovers in place almost directly over Sandalphon, using the updraft of the heat to stay up more easily. She wishes, briefly, that she'd had time to reload some grenades on this thing; although they're hardly standard issue, they're fairly effective -

At precisely the same instance as Leo either slams through the barrier or slams /into/ it, Latooni blasts the Vostok Laser downwards, a thick beam of purple energy surrounded by a halo of sonic vibratory pressure from the shoulder-mounted projectors, the whole thing swirling like it had an internal helix. It comes uncomfortably close to the Fairlion-G. How much do you trust her, Leo?

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Rei Ayanami. Vostok Laser added to their queue.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck you with a solid hit using Pellet Rifle Strafe!

COMBAT: 1553 points of damage taken! 8138 health points left!

Buriki Daioh is massive, and it's armoring is something nearly legendary. Crashing into it hurts the pilot more than the machine, but marks are still left. It wobbles and stumbles, momentarily taking pause as the pilot tries to get it to actually cooperate.

Lava does not help. The iron body smokes and heats up, pieces of the ancient Babylonian armor running off it in metal rivulets. Akira yelps and recoils in pain, and pulls Buriki Daioh backwards two large, thundering steps. It raises it's colossal bla--sword, bringing it up above it's head in two hands.

Akira pauses to watch Asuka shoot up the Chimera. He's not sure how to feel about that.

The Massacre Blade comes down again, a furious shout accompanying it while it hacks and slashes it's way to glory! Akira is determined to actually get through that AT Field, one way or another.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Rei Ayanami. Metal Assault added to their queue.

Ayato is just about as surprised to hear Shinji as Shinji is to hear him.

His response is a direct, well-thought out: "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" because he is burning all over. The unexpected heat radiating from the Angel's body, through the Xephon system's knuckles and finally through /his/ knuckles distracted him just enough to leave him entirely at the mercy of flying magma.

"Aaah... haah... aaah... nuh--nnh--..." he exhales as he pants breathlessly and brushes his hands frantically over his body. Molten rock clings to RahXephon's body like burning Jell-O, threatening at every moment to compromise its armour, and worst of all searing every inch of Ayato's nervous system.

"NO!" he finally exclaims. Trembling, he surges forward in his seat to seize both of his control rods and shove them forward. RahXephon responds to his physical gesture and immaterial strength of will by pulling into a sharp dive towards the downed Angel, rather than just kind of hanging in place and suffering. Its mouth opens; an eerie, beautiful, horrible and ostensibly masculine voice echoes across the battlefield, and by the time the Mulian mecha is low enough to land atop the Angel, the clinging magma is gone.

"You--" Ayato hisses as RahXephon's arms circle one of the odd black protrusions "--don't belong--" the machine - and moreover its pilot - struggle against the flickering AT Fieldo, the Angel's physical resilience, and the persistent feeling that half of their bodies are pressed against a stove's eye to try ripping the big black knob away in one violent motion "--here! DIE!"

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Rei Ayanami. Wrath added to their queue.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Sonic Cutter.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck a solid critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Metal Assault.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Vostok Laser.

COMBAT: You have struck Rei Ayanami with a solid hit using Ridiculous Kung-Fu Mastery.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck a solid hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Wrath.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Rifle.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Rifle Strafe.

The Angel, as near as can really be concluded, panics. It doesn't behave like a killing machine bent on destroying everything in sight. In the past, these things have just been monolithic forces that float in the general direction of the Geofront, killing everything in sight. Israfel and its halved body, ripping people to shreds. Ramiel, blasting Unit-00 so forcefully that its limbs were obliterated.

Still, at least 'destroying Unit-00' is something Sandalphon has in common with the others. Rei Ayanami remains unconscious, and even if she weren't, 00's molten armor has started to cool and basically fuse it to the landscape. The flesh affected by the raging fire has largely burned itself up. It just looks like a dessicated corpse. Well. Moreso.

Anyway: Sandalphon doesn't act like one experienced with Angels might expect. It doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to what it does -- no grand plan. And when the battle starts to get incredibly fierce... it's almost like the huge thing is trying to get away. But that's not really an option, as everyone converges on its metal-melting, flesh-searing, cockpit-jungling form and unleashes a hellacious beatdown.

Leo Stenbuck's Sonic Cutters rip into the thing's hide, causing blood hotter than molten steel to spill out in a disgusting wet rush. Akira Tadokoro's Buriki-Daioh need not worry about cutting through an AT Field, as none manifest, letting the Massacre Blade smash right into what might be Sandalphon's spine. Latooni Subota's Vostok Laser, a weapon which was rather useless when fired into the thing's mouth, has better luck when her blasts strike the wound opened by the Massacre Blade. Its hide is tough. Its insides are hot, but weaker. Just ask Johnny Domino, whose ridiculous kung fu mastery is such that he punches /through/ a weakened spot on the thing. He might come back with a severely deformed hand, but hey. Then they can just call the Chimera 'Johnny Deformed,' like the classic novel.

Ayato Kamina takes a less direct route -- but nonetheless opens another hole in the monster when he rips a chunk of it away. Asuka Langley Sohryu may also catch Johnny Domino in the crossfire, but a good half of her shots hit home, battering the wounded Sandalphon as mercilessly as one would expect of the Second Child. Add to this Shinji Ikari's own barrage, the bullets coming too fast and furiously -- they melt at Sandalphon's touch, yes, but at the touch of its insides, after breaking through its hull.

Sandalphon's roar is louder than ever before, and distinctly pained. It is a living thing being torn to pieces. And it won't die without a fight. Just ask Asuka. Maybe it can sense her rage. Maybe it's threatened by her. Maybe it's a lion. But whatever the case, it still tries to open wide and bite the Evangelion Unit-02's head clean off its shoulders.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Asuka Langley Sohryu. Swim Swim Hungry added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has missed Asuka Langley Sohryu with her Swim Swim Hungry attack.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has counter attacked for a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Pistol.

Johnny Domino grasps at Kuro, trying to pull her off of his head. It doesn't work very well, because the black bitch has secured a tight grip over the Agent's scalp with all four paws. It most certainly doesn't help Domino, the fact that Kuro also has her claws out, keeping her pinned in place.

"Gnrrh," Domino grunts, feeling blood trickling down his skin. "Let! GO!"

But before the Agent is able to rip Kuro off, Chimera's arm becomes deformed due to the Angel's hot and moist innards.

Johnny cries out, taken completely by surprise. Releasing Kuro, the young man grabs at his own arm, tears streaming down his contorted face. Chimera lets loose another roar, pulling a rapidly melting stump out of Sandalphon's body. Dark ichor and white pus ooze to the ground, tainting the scenery. And then, to top it all off, Chimera is pelted with pellets. And it hurts.

That's the last straw. Domino's mind ascends from his own body and into that of Chimera. Melding with his bio-unit once again, the young man returns to the battlefield, furious, pained, and OUT OF PATIENCE!

Oh, and as for Johnny's radio? Yeah, he still doesn't have it. Kuro does. And when Asuka yells at her to get out of the way and calls her an idiot, the traumatized feline yells right back, "AHHH THIS IS COMPLETELY DISGUSTING AND SICK!"

Asuka will take note that the person yelling at her is not Johnny. In fact, it sounds distinctly female.

But nevermind Kuro. What Asuka should be looking out for is the Chimera. Operating on blind rage, Domino doesn't even think as he makes his next move. All he knows is that the red giant with the rifle shot at him, and he and Chimera were going to rip that very same red giant to pieces. All of his anger towards the Angel, towards the cats, towards Masaki... it's being taken out on Asuka. Thus go the tentacles, aiming to violate Unit-02 in the most painful way possible.

Inside the cockpit, off to the side, Shiro keeps nipping and tugging at the cockpit-flesh. The rubbery substance refuses to yield.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: You have turned on your [Dauntless] spirit command.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: You have turned on your [Valor] spirit command.

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Asuka Langley Sohryu's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Asuka Langley Sohryu. Slumbering Beast added to their queue.

As it turns out, the answer to that question is 'pretty thoroughly'. Leo twists a little bit away from the laser as it cuts by him, but he doesn't do anything more than flinch a little on the camera feed to Latooni's Fairlion. In fact, despite his screaming of attack names and the fact that he's very obviously in 'combat mode', he seems perfectly relaxed.

So relaxed, in fact, that as the Fairlion-G lifts back up towards Latooni and away from the Angel, he seems to be having... a conversation with someone over the radio. "Yeah, you know how it is. Gotta save the world," he says, to... someone. After a few moments, he continues, "Uh, can we talk later? I'm sort of... fighting an alien." Another pause, and he finishes, sudden agitation in his voice, "Yyyep. Later."

"Sorry about that, Lat," he says sheepishly, the Fairlion-G shooting the Fairlion-S a glance that somehow manages to look guilty. "You know how it is. Now... where were we...?!"

And then, suddenly, a comparatively enormous Assault Blade is in the Fairlion's hand, roaring to life with that distinctive chainsaw noise. The red machine gives the weapon an unnecessary twirl, and then dives back down towards Sandalphon, attempting to simply bury the chainsword into the distracted Angel's back.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has attacked Rei Ayanami. Assault Blade added to their queue.

COMBAT: You have struck Asuka Langley Sohryu with a devastating critical hit using Slumbering Beast.

Shinji winces at Ayato's response, not sure how to take it. Maybe he was occupied? He did sound like he was in a lot of pain...or just plain angry at something. It doesn't help that Shinji is yelled at for caring about Asuka BY Asuka. The pilot of Unit 01 groans wondering if he is at all surprised by the reaction. Asuka was just that sort of person. He continues to fires more into the Angel's firey shell, holding to overload it or something. If that even works.

Shinji sighs, reaching up and pulling his other progressive knife into his hand. In a feat that he learned from first person online military sims, Shinji tosses the knife in a move he learned from Kensuke because A) Kensuke is a jerk and B) Shinji wants to see if it works. The purple Evangelion flings the knife upward, hoping to hit the Angel in a critical part when it comes back down. Even better, it might hit Leo.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Progressive Knife Mastery added to their queue.

"You know," Latooni says, only sounding a /little/ distracted, "I can see your cockpit." She raises one hand, just slightly, so he can see her in the constant connection.

She puts it back on the controls a moment later and pulls up sharply, trying to avoid being accidentally slammed into by the thing. It's dangerous to even stay /close/ to it. Lat glances down just in time to see the Chimera start going absolutely insane and start tearing up EVA-02.

"Domino," Latooni transmits, before correcting herself, remembering who called her most recently and correctly identifying where it came from. "Kuro, Kuro, please come in - tell Mr. Domino to stop attacking his own side!"

She can't do anything else about that. She has to keep an eye on Leo. Latooni dives in again; she is out of Assault Blade but has, somewhere, managed to conceal Wildraubtier's G-Revolvers about her person. Latooni pulls up early, firing all twelve shots that she can without stopping to reload, picking her targets carefully to penetrate the stupid AT-Field. She hates that thing and she doesn't even know what it /is/.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has attacked Rei Ayanami. Double G-Revolver added to their queue.

Akira's Massacre Blade is a potent weapon indeed. The core is formed from the sword of the same name, acquired from a slime from La Gias and forged with an archaic and arcane method to make it empower the rest of the huge weapon.

It cuts through armor like it wasn't there. AT Fields will slow it down, but a mech would have to be incredibly heavily armored to actually stop it. It could be better, but Akira hasn't figure out how to purify it just yet. He draws back the weapon, readying Buriki Daioh for the counterattack.

It never comes. The Angel tries to eat Unit-02, and then the Chimera does something... pretty awful, actually. Even if Akira holds no love for NERV, he thinks that some things are just /wrong/. "Eugh! What the hell, dude!" His course of action is to raise the Massacre Blade again, readying the weapon...

...to, apparently, cleave the Chimera's appendages off and give Asuka a hand. It's not Akira's fault if this isn't a precision weapon and he cuts off more than he intends, though!

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro's Buriki Blow has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Johnny Domino. Buriki Blow added to their queue.

Asuka just barely manages to avoid the Angel's attack; its jaws snap dangerously close to her face, its breath hot on the armor of her Eva. She can feel the plate melting from her Eva; just being this close in proximity to the Angel is enough to cause damage to her beloved Unit-02. She falls backwards, the creature still hovering dangerously close to her unit.

"Why can't you just DIE already?!" Asuka's finger tightens on the trigger, sending a series of pellet bullets at the creature's chest; even as the bullets pour through it, the muzzle of the rifle begins to melt, the barrel steaming an even more brilliant red.

Then suddenly, the bullet stops; barrel clogged with melted metal, the entire weapon malfunctions. Empty click after empty click meet every squeeze of the trigger; from the corner of her eye, she sees motion. She turns--just in time to see a stream of tentacles pierce through the half-transparent steam.

Then through the half-transparent steam comes a stream of tentacles; they suddenly seize her, wrapping tightly over her unit's body, squeezing her painfully. She lets out a small, choked cry of pain. She forces her eyes--clentched shut to open, only to find them facing...

Johnny DOMINO?!

Fury races through her, even through the pain. That idiot. That idiot! THAT IDIOT!

"YOU IDIOT!" she finally manages to screech. And pulling against the squeezing force of his tentacles, Asuka pulls her arm backwards, and then forwards.

Sending the rifle barrelling towards the Chimera.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu's Rifle Throw has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Johnny Domino. Rifle Throw added to their queue.

"I'm in the military!" Ayato snaps as RahXephon coasts away from the bucking Angel. He is not angry at /Shinji/, precisely, but he's angry, and tempering it is not going to happen right now. The quivering piece of questionably divine flesh in RahXephon's arms is flung carelessly away as the RahXephon ascends.

He sweeps his vision left, right, then finally he sees Asuka handily avoiding Sandalphon's maw, only to be violently assaulted by a horrible, bloody monster. He recognizes the Eva-02 because it carries a fair amount of cache, and he was briefed on the Evangelion units due to the occasional bleedthrough of NERV and TERRA's focuses.

He does not recognize the Chimera.

"And this mission, this--" He swallows roughly and tries to ignore the lingering heat in his chest, legs and arms. "Why--" The RahXephon's palms begin to glow wickedly. "Why--why are there so many--"

Finally, rather than struggling to express himself through shaking breaths and tightly clenched teeth, he just screams. And RahXephon screams, shattering the windows of a nearby building with its markedly unique voice. Its right palm is driven forward through the air; yellow light cascades along its palm, coalesces into a piercing beam and lances towards the Chimera.

"GO!" he screams. His left hand drives forward; the RahXephon's responds by sending a second beam arcing through the sky to skewer the angel. "AWAY!" He continues firing beams from both hands; the rest are punctuated by screams that are no less wrathful despite their lack of words, and once four or five in all have been released at the two terrible monsters, he slumps in his seat and struggles for breath.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina's Symphony of Light has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Johnny Domino and Rei Ayanami. Symphony of Light added to their queue.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has successfully covered Rei Ayanami.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Assault Blade.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Double G-Revolver.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck a solid critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Symphony of Light.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has missed you with his Buriki Blow attack.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck you with a solid hit using Rifle Throw!

COMBAT: 2314 points of damage taken! 5824 health points left!

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has missed you with his Symphony of Light attack.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a devastating hit on Leo Stenbuck's XAM-007G Fairlion using Progressive Knife Mastery.

TOKYO-03 GEOFRONT

NOW

Misato Katsuragi turns away from the screens displaying the action, puts her face into her hands, and screams.

For, like, seventy seconds without breath.

THE BATTLEFIELD

NOW

Sandalphon doesn't receive quite as vicious a beating as it did before, but it's still hurting. It's erratic in its flight path. It tries to repel its attackers, but its AT Field manifests as barely a flicker, let alone a proper shield to wall itself off. Every time the Field fails to appear properly, another shot from Latooni's Fairlion's guns chips away at its dense hide. It bleeds from just about everywhere. Its blood is searing the landscape, changing the topography, forming burning rivers that cut into the ground like it were irrigating crops, or etching the image of some kind of particularly ugly tree.

The chainsword that Leo's Fairlion wields sinks into the wound already opened by the Massacre Blade. If Leo was hoping to bring that weapon back to Shine intact, then, well, he can always declare it Latooni's problem and run for it, because it's coming back a complete mess after its plunge into the Angel's body. This is nothing, though, compared to RahXephon's terrible cresendo -- a cacophony of light and noise, magic and cruelty, that rends the Angel's body and leaves it quivering in the air, struggling to contain itself...

...until it charges the angelic robot, attempting to ram it so violently and sharply that you'd think it was a Ptolemaios pose from a year ago.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has attacked Ayato Kamina. Angel of Abnormal Shrimp added to their queue.

COMBAT: Rei Ayanami has struck a glancing hit on Ayato Kamina's RahXephon using Angel of Abnormal Shrimp.

Johnny Domino works his dark magic on Unit-02 when a familiar sensation ripples up his spine. An incoming attack! In one swift motion, all tentacles are recalled, sucked back underneath Chimera's exoskeleton. Less than a second later, Akira comes swinging down at where the tentacles were but a moment prior. The bio-unit snorts, not at all impressed by Buriki's attempt to further mutilate it---

DONK!

A pellet rifle bounces off of Chimera's head with a very unhealthy sound. The beast staggers back, its one whole arm clutching at its faceplate.

In the cockpit, Domino similarly clutches at his forehead, palms covering his eyes.

On top of his head, Kuro shivers, then blinks as Latooni's voice breaks through her consciousness. "Latooni," the black feline calls out. "Latooni, I'm stuck with a madman! Please, he's out of control. You must get Masaki, before Shu destroys everything and everyone!" And as her panic mounts, Kuro turns her words on the Agent.

"Do you hear that?", she demands of Domino. "Shu is dangerous! You've got to let me go! I want Masaki! HE NEEDS ME! So stop acting like this! Stop, stop, stop, Stop, Stop, STOP, STOP STOP STOP!" With each 'stop', the cat hits Johnny on the head with the radio.

Latooni will hear a distinct 'bop bop bop'-ing sound coming from her own communicator.

As for Johnny, this is the tenth last straw in a series of last straws. "UNNNNGH," he growls. "THE HELL!.." Then he feels the same familiar sensation moving up his spine again. Immediately, Chimera spins around, moving its arm in front of its body. RahXephon's assault strikes the bio-unit's gauntlet. An explosion of colors erupts upon impact, rays of colorful light breaking off every which way. The shattered rainbow takes a second to dissipate.

By the time it does, Chimera has already unleashed its next attack. Opening its mouth wide -- wider than should be possible -- a low rumbling rises within its throat. This is no roar that's building in its chest, however. It's locust. A swarm of them, shooting out of the beast's throat, spreading far and wide across the battlefield.

And they are hungry.

COMBAT: Your attack has been added to Rei Ayanami, Ayato Kamina, Akira Tadokoro, and Asuka Langley Sohryu's queue.

COMBAT: Johnny Domino has attacked Rei Ayanami, Ayato Kamina, Akira Tadokoro, and Asuka Langley Sohryu. Hive Swarm added to their queue.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: You have missed Ayato Kamina with your Hive Swarm attack.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has counter attacked for a minor hit using Blades of Rah!

COMBAT: 1273 points of damage taken! 4551 health points left!

COMBAT: You have missed Asuka Langley Sohryu with your Hive Swarm attack.

COMBAT: You have missed Akira Tadokoro with your Hive Swarm attack.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has counter attacked for a minor critical hit using Ridiculous Akira Nonsense!

COMBAT: 236 points of damage taken! 4315 health points left!

Shinji blinks at Ayato's reaction again as he just watches the Rahxephon. What the hell was that machine? It was almost weirder than the Evangelion. He is pretty intraced by the machine until he spots his knife strike Leo's Fairlion. Shinji cringes as he wishes he didn't enjoy that too much. That guy has it coming...even if that was an accident.

Instead of worrying about it, Shinji opens fires on the Angel again. He tries to keep from smiling on nailing that jerk in the side.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has attacked Rei Ayanami. Pellet Rifle added to their queue.

Slowly, Eva Unit-02 lifts itself uncertainly to its feet and maneuvers back towards the city's tall skyscrapers, a few stray tentacles still wiggling frantically from where they cling around her arm. Asuka brushes them off with an arm as she runs, then stretches the other to a nearby building. Slots open on the building's side, revealing yet another one of NERV's pellet pistol guns. "Fine then," she says, reaching in to grab the weapon. "If you want a fight, then I'll give it to you!"

With one quick motion, Asuka steadies the pellet pistol, then lets out a spray of bullets.

Japanese citizens, your tax dollars at use!

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu's Pellet Rifle Strafe has been added to your queue.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has attacked Rei Ayanami and Johnny Domino. Pellet Rifle Strafe added to their queue.

The Massacre Blade is a large, unwieldy weapon that Akira really has no idea how to use correctly. It misses the tentacles and chops through the side of a building, shearing the corner off and sinking a good twenty feet of it into the ground with ease.

And then, BEES. Well, locusts, which are probably about as bad. The swarm spreads around Buriki Daioh, and Akira nearly flips out at the magain. He lets go of the sword, the arms of Buriki Daioh flailing wildly at them for a few seconds, ineffectually. "Okay, okay, gotta think, uhhh... bugs hate... fire!" He starts to focus--and then stops.

The words 'massive collateral damage' come to mind right alongside 'increased tax rate.' He /does/ live in this country, after all.

Akira takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Buriki Daioh stands still, but it's eyes glow even more brightly with golden light. He tries his damnedest to use his mind-reading in a different way, to send out a thought of 'Do Not Want' to the locusts so they... well, don't try and strip the flesh from his bones (or his robot bones). There's a faint wind, and nothing seems to change.

But he isn't eaten, or even so much as scratched. This is an improvement. And there's probably no side effects, either!

Akira exhales in relief, and leans on the control console. He hears a click, and opens his eyes to look down. The missile button has been depressed, and he looks up in time to see Jomjom Bullets just kind of going every which way, most of them careening with little actual accuracy at, fortunately, the angel.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has attacked Rei Ayanami. Jomjom Bullet Raid added to their queue.

Another beautifully discordant note ripples across Tokyo; the locust seeking the rents in the RahXephon's magma-marred body begin vibrating until, abruptly, they all explode into individual clouds of particulate matter. They fall like biological confetti, and through the filthy haze falls the near-pristine, angelic form of the RahXephon.

Its hands are still aglow, but the light shifted, coalescing on the top side of either hand. Vague collections of mystical photons expand slowly outwards, sharpening, widening, gaining form and definition to become glimmering blades.

The Mulian machine's bulk hits the Chimera at the center of its mass to force it to the ground; a couple of NERV-issue pellets bounce off of its white armor, but they're rather more like the stinging bites that the Chimera's swarm could not inflict than anything properly harmful.

"MONSTER!" Ayato roars as one of those glowing blades is shoved into the Chimera's shoulder. He is not quite so violent in day to day life, but the RahXephon--no, the situation, the situation, with monsters of wildly differing description terrorizing a parcel of his adopted home, that brings it out of him, just as Mulian Dolems and other assorted evils tend to.

"THIS IS MY--" he begins to scream as the other blade finds a small chunk of the Chimera's side. He would do his best to keep Johnny Domino's mecha pinned with those weapons, to tear the Chimera apart bit by bit, if it weren't for Sandalphon catching him entirely off-guard. Its bleeding, lurching bulk easily shears him away from the Chimera; the RahXephon is pressed rather helplessly against its head, and while the damage is superficial /now/, the machine's inability to free itself easily leaves it vulnerable.

Right about then, Somewhere, elsewhere, nowhere, a single drop of water falls into a pool; both the sound and resultant ripples spread outwards, echoing in the blackness for several seconds before fading away.

Right here, right now, in the RahXephon's cockpit, Ayato Kamina's blue eyes flash red and his lips part. His voice--the RahXephon's voice--their voice resonates angrily from deep within the god machine. It can't easily peel itself free from Sandalphon by twisting or moving the right way; instead, it will try to force /Sandalphon/ away from /it/ by blasting it full in the face by what amounts to a sonic railgun.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has attacked Rei Ayanami. Harmonic Bombardment added to their queue.

The Fairlion-G's feet slam into Sandalphon's back, and it wrenches its Assault Blade free of the thing's flesh. Leo scowls at the sight of the ruined blade; he's suddenly glad he hasn't had any luck getting hits with the knives. The machine tosses the ruined blade aside, and turns to leap back up into the air--

-- and then, from literally out of nowhere, a Progressive Knife comes out of the sky and impales the Fairlion through the side, pinning it to Sandalphon's back. Inside, Leo is slammed backwards into the seat, gasping in shock and pain. After a second to catch his bearings, Leo slowly and deliberately turns his head to lo at the nearby form of Evangelion Unit-01.

00 is down, and 02 appears to be very busily attempting to manage a teamkill... which, technically, does not remove it from the suspect list, but something tells Leo it was Shinji. The possibility that it might have been an accident never even crosses his mind.

Leo's face flushes red with fury, his entire upper body visibly tensing. No wonder Gendo was talking about there being a 'place for him' at NERV... Ikari and the redhead are /incompetents/, apparently, and-- ggrhgnnrg--

The pinned Fairlion reaches up and wrenches the still-vibrating knife out of its body; given that the weapon is almost as long as the Fairlion itself, this is quite the feat, and it saws an even larger hole in the machine on its way out. Gripping the weapon in both hands, it rises off of Sandalphon's back and turns towards Unit-01.

Inside, Leo forces himself to take deep breaths. Okay, he tells himself, you have a right to be angry. But now's not the time to deal with this. If you hop on that bandwagon, you're part of the problem. Just focus on the Angel. Focus on Latooni.

Its pilot still grinding his teeth in rage, the Fairlion-G lifts back into the air and heads to regroup with its counterpart.

The bullets do not do a lot of damage. Latooni did not expect them to, but they /did/ (maybe) distract it for a few moments. She'd like to think they did, anyway.

Latooni shoves both revolvers back on the magnetic clips when she sees Leo get shanked through the side with a giant sw - knife. Size difference. Right. "Leo, are you - " He's ll right. She hears him. But that doesn't mean he's in any sort of situation to keep control. /And/ the radio is annoying her. Maybe not Kuro. Kuro's okay. "Shu left," Latooni says, distracted, before she turns on her mass-broadcast radio again: "Stop attacking each other! Please!" She means it.

Latooni turns her attention back to Sandalphon. That thing needs to be stopped before it melts something else. "Leo, I am going to take control of your machine," she says, her hand hovering over a switch. "Do not panic. This is perfectly normal."

She flips the switch.

Suddenly, Fairlions are under her simultaneous control; Latooni says nothing because the entirety of her attention is focused on driving two things at once, something that is hard even for her. Her eyes narrow behind her thick glasses, which are practically green from the outside from all the notes and information projected on the inside of the frame.

The Fairlions dive in together. Latooni puts them into a synchronized orbit around the Angel for a few moments before making them both spin, whirring into tiny buzzsaws. Latooni is spending so much attention on this, followed by the inevitable dive, that she has no real idea what Leo is doing in his cockpit.

Which, by the way, isn't actually unresponsive. It's just taking input from somewhere else.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Latooni Subota has started a combo.

"Uh... okay..." Leo says uncertainly, relaxing his grip slightly on his controls. He's not terribly certain why he's /here/ if she's just going to take control of his robot, but, well... this is normally Her Highness's, he supposes, and she probably needs the help.

Either way, he's learned enough about women to know not to argue with them unless it's absolutely necessary, no matter how angry he might be at Shinji.

Leo's stomach gets left behind three or four times as the Fairlion-G whirls around Sandalphon, spinning wildly. With nothing else to do, the young man pours all of his effort into not getting dizzy from the unpredictable movements of his machine... which is tougher than it sounds.

And then, suddenly, he's just... standing there, a bit aways from Sandalphon, with an MS-sized spotlight shining down at him out of the air. An alert on his HUD commands him to dance, which Leo is pretty sure is not going to happen. "Uh... Latooni?" he begins, glancing over his shoulder at where the Fairlion-S is still wailing on Sandalphon.

... well... maybe if...

After a few heartbeats of standing in the spotlight looking awkwards, the Fairlion-G suddenly turns and jets back towards the Fairlion-S, Leo taking advantage of the few seconds his machine is spared from Latooni's attention. The red Lion practically crashes into the purple one... but instead of an explosion, the two simply spin to a stop, their hands clasped together, posed like they're about to waltz.

"It wanted me to dance," Leo explains, with a half-hearted shrug. And so he does.

The two Fairlions resume their dance to the symphony of destruction, hand in hand, circling around Sandalphon again and again, their vibrating arm daggers tearing at the thing's flesh. Occasionally, they twist into an enormous spinning buzzsaw of pink and lavender blade murder... but even then, their hands remain clasped, like a pair of ballroom dancers.

Eventually, they back off a few hundred meters; as one, they turn to face Sandalphon, and their sonic projectors flip outwards from their shoulders and light up with blue energy. There is a cut-in - a thoroughly impossible one - in which Leo and Latooni share an extremely heterosexual embrace. Any possibility of it being romantic is dampened by the fact that Leo is still wearing a pilot suit several sizes too small for him that happens to include a skirt.

Leo doesn't scream the attack name, not this time; instead, he just murmurs, the fury at Shinji having drained from his face and voice. "Latooni..."

And then the two Fairlions, rotating rapidly around each other, crash back in towards Sandalphon, surrounded by an enormous aura of blue energy as their Sonic Cutters combine into one continuous field of sonic energy.

COMBAT: Leo Stenbuck has activated a spirit command.

COMBAT: Combo! Leo Stenbuck and Latooni Subota have attacked Rei Ayanami. Maybe I'm A Heartbreaker added to their queue.

COMBAT: Ayato Kamina has struck a major critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Harmonic Bombardment.

COMBAT: Akira Tadokoro has struck a minor critical hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Jomjom Bullet Raid.

COMBAT: You have struck Rei Ayanami with a minor hit using Hive Swarm.

COMBAT: Combo! Leo Stenbuck and Latooni Subota have struck a major hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Maybe I'm A Heartbreaker.

COMBAT: Shinji Ikari has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Rifle.

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck a minor hit on Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon using Pellet Rifle Strafe.

Knock Out! Rei Ayanami's Eighth Angel Sandalphon unit has become disabled!

COMBAT: Asuka Langley Sohryu has struck you with a solid hit using Pellet Rifle Strafe!

COMBAT: 1474 points of damage taken! 2841 health points left!

Let's be honest here: Sandalphon didn't stand a chance.

The swarm of missiles unleashed by Akira Tadokoro's Buriki-Daioh intermingles freely with the swarm of locusts set loose by Johnny Domino's Chimera. The results are predictably horrible. Missiles penetrate wounds, but so do locusts, and sometimes the same wound. In fact, it's a bit of a catastrophe all around -- the locusts tear at Sandalphon, the missiles blow up Sandalphon, the locusts tear at the missiles, and the missiles blow up the locusts.

And through all of this, yet more hell unfolds for the Angel. The cloud of missiles and bugs is dispersed by Ayato and RahXephon's unholy assault. Its cry of pain is drowned out by the sound of the harmonic bombardment, filling the open space of the molten, burning landscape. The noise staggers it, knocking it backward, causing its wounds to vibrate, to split open further. How can it have this much blood? As the sonic assault persists, Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 assist, Pellet fire ripping into Sandalphon, bursting one of its eyes.

Then the Fairlions unite. The combined strength of their Sonic Cutters is even louder than RahXephon's wail, and more destructive, too. In a flash of violent light, the attack rips Sandalphon open. There's no other way to phrase it -- it's as if someone slit the huge, ray-like Angel down the center, grabbed a wing on each side, and pushed them back, folding it like they were closing a book. Blood everywhere. And at the center, its core.

Which Asuka Langley Sohryu shoots. A Pellet smashes into the red orb. Then another. It cracks -- then shatters completely, spilling out so much blood that one would think it was some sort of dimensional conduit to the Foul Dracula Dimension. And just like that, the whole thing dissolves, melts, oozes over the landscape, causing smoke to rise and a small gorge to settle and cool.

INSIDE EVANGELION UNIT-00

NOW

Maybe Leo Stenbuck is a heartbreaker. Well, that's not such a 'maybe,' but maybe sometimes the stars align and things happen in a way that can't quite be explained. Maybe someone sees a loved one who lives 2,000 miles away, waving to them from a small distance away. And maybe that person died 2,000 miles away, just at that moment. Maybe there's a sense beyond the senses. Maybe it pushes you, pulls you, lets you know when your soul is hurting, because maybe your physical body can't process that kind of data.

Maybe Rei Ayanami woke up from the sound of the dual Sonic Cutters. Maybe it was something else. And as she stares at her darkened cockpit, life support barely functioning, maybe she feels something she can only understand in the way that someone can understand something they've only read about in a book. Maybe her soul /is/ hurting, but she doesn't know why -- or maybe she does know why, but she can't see it as anything more than taboo math. Maybe the gap is too far to ever bridge.

Maybe it'll never stop hurting.

Maybe there's nothing she can do about it.

Ever.

TOKYO-03 GEOFRONT

NOW

Misato Katsuragi lays on the floor of the operations room. Everyone else is rather relieved, but Misato's face is still in her hands. "I'm going to kill those kids," she moans weakly.

Akira Tadokoro suddenly feels profoundly relieved that he is in no way in the employ of NERV or the Earth Federation.

He isn't sure why.

Johnny Domino finds his consciousness absorbed further and further into the beast he pilots. With every passing moment, more of Domino's mind scatters away, like leaves blown in the wind. With every heartbeat, that which once was there and is now gone gets replaced with bloodlust.

Johnny Domino doesn't fight it. He is beyond salvage, willingly giving himself to Chimera.

Asuka once again hits the bio-unit, adding fuel to the flames. One-armed and severly burnt, even in such a pathetic state, Chimera should not be underestimated. Its yellow eyes flicker red, a surge of indescribable loathing rising from deep within it.

Asuka was going to die. Chimera would dig through Unit-02, rip out the delicious prize, and squeeze it until all the juice has been drained. That's how Asuka was going to die.

But before Chimera can do anything, whatever remnants of Domino's humanity remain are swallowed up by a distinct sensation of 'Do Not Want'. Akira's psychic attack, aimed at the locust, echoes inside Johnny's mind. There's a flash, bringing with it visions of nightmares, shattered worlds, endless possibilities for the future filled with death and despair. Everything Johnny Domino fears, hates, and simply 'does not want' assaults him in quick succession.

Chimera stands helpless, feeling the consciousness of its pilot being ripped apart by a force unknown. And then Ayato is upon the beast, tackling it, piercing its flesh, pinning it to the ground. The bio-unit roars, squirms, but without its pilot, Chimera is not whole.

Kuro, who has been sitting on Johnny's head all this while, hitting him with the radio, finds herself lying on the floor a second time, thrown off when RahXephon took down the bio-unit. A few tremors pass through the cockpit... and then all is still.

Shiro moans, trying to untangle his tail from the rest of his body. Kuro moans too, her brain swirling with the residue of panic and blunt trauma. A number of thoughts swim to the surface of her mind. First, Latooni's final admission that Shu is gone. Second, the fact that Masaki is not there. Finally, Johnny Domino, who is lying there motionless.

Kuro's heart skips a beat. Ignoring the fact she is touching the disgusting flesh of Chimera's, the black cat stands up, staring at Agent Domino. Her eyes widen. She looks down at the radio that lies at her feet. The same radio she used to hit Johnny over the head with. Then she looks at Johnny again.

There's only one conclusion Kuro can reach from this: "..I killed him.."

"I told you," Asuka says, lips pulled into a cocky grin. "There's no replacing the pilot of Eva Unit-02." Perhaps Johnny's freakout was fortuitious after all! Who'd ever seen Eva Unit-02 freak out the way that his Chimera did? He was more of a liability than an asset. Asuka's eyes glaze over the battlefield momentarily before turning back to the NERV facility in the distance.

There's more important things to worry about than the broken and battered still remaining on the battlefield. "I'm going to take a shower," she announces, brushing her sticky hair off her neck.

And with that, Unit-02 flounces off back to headquarters.

In all the times she's done this (once) Latooni has never had the other person /take control/ again. She relinquishes it once she realizes that is what Leo is actually doing, that it's not bad feedback, and that he is actually pretty good at it. Who knew he could dance?

"Leo..." Latooni swallows, then lets the moment be for about five seconds.

And then she goes and breaks the mood. "...we need to check the others. The ones trying to kill each other, and - " Rei, but she's not going to say her name in front of Leo. "...well, we should."

Fairlion-S lifts up slightly, then drifts, on low thrust, towards Domino and Asuka. The skirt trails sparkles as she does. It really does look hugely girly.

Shinji sighs when the Angel is no more. Great. It was time to go home and spend tonight by himself. Maybe he would install his new fantasy RPG. Unit 01 stands in place, looking over to the Fairlions. He sighs for a moment, suddenly feeling bad about accidently hitting Leo. Maybe he should contact Leo over the radio while he returns to base. Yeah...Great idea, Shinji. Shinji takes one last look at Rahxephon and heads toward the launch bay.

"Good," a soft, feminine voice says from behind Ayato. The RahXephon's chorus has dropped off into rippling silence. Ayato has dropped off into exhausted, breathless panting. The RahXephon hangs motionless in the air. Slender hands brush against his shoulders fleetingly, and then he is alone in his cockpit once again.

In a few minutes, he'll probably get around to flying back home, probably after vomiting in a corner of his cockpit or something.

Thank God most of his cockpit is filled with water.

Leo only begrudgingly exits the moment, even after Latooni has; apparently, being in the middle of a sea of Angel blood while people who are ostensibly his teammates may be trying to kill each other a few hundred meters away is, apparently, not enough to kill the mood for him. "Yeah," he says simply.

The Fairlion-G floats up after its counterpart, and follows after it towards their assembled allies. Thankfully, it looks like the friendly fire is dying down, now that the Angel is dead. Which... is almost as baffling as the fact that it happened at all was irritating. Speaking of irritating: he ends up on the radio again, and, once again, his words transmit to Latooni's cockpit, as well!

"... yeah. What's up?" ... "Yeah. An accident. I gotcha." ... "It's fine. No harm, no foul. You missed the cockpit, anyways." ... "Oh, no, I believe you." ... Sigh. "Just don't let it happen again. Are we done?" ... *click* Leo disconnects the comm line without even saying goodbye, and accelerates to pull up next to the Fairlion-S, having lagged behind while he was talking.

"Fucking prick," he mutters, as he rejoins Latooni.