Neon Genesis Evangelion Higher Learning Strike Fiss, 2000 Eighth Lesson: Separation Anxiety "You two in position?" Shinji whispered, looking past the corner of the nearest building to see the edge of the giant, ball-shaped Angel. For the first time, he could feel his heart pumping in excitement instead of terror. While his mind was usually wracked with self-doubt and questioning, he knew that he had the highest sync-ratio, that Tokyo 3 was at full operational capacity to back him up, and he had the chance to prove his courage to Asuka. Asuka, however, was having a problem with her power-cord pulling on her back. "No! An EVA can't move that fast, you know." She mumbled, ejecting her current umbilical cord to replace it with a new one stationed on a closer power-building. "Ahh...that's better." She sighed, feeling the movement return in her feet. With daydreams of a victory kiss in his mind, Shinji decided to get this over with. "Not there yet?" he whispered. "Not yet." Rei replied, sneaking around a building, trying to stay out of the Angel's line of sight. Shinji began to fidget. His hand balled up and released a couple of times, testing the plastic and rubber of his plug suit's glove. He liked how it felt like his fist was flexing. It felt even better with his mind synced up so his fist was a few hundred pounds of Angel- Crushing, armored Evangelion fist. "I'll just have to stop it myself." He gritted his teeth, unable to hold back any more. Everyone watched in surprise as EVA-01 jutted it's arm around the corner of the building and shot three lightning fast rounds of weapon fire at the giant zebra-colored sphere above their heads. Of course...that was when it disappeared. Ritsuko gasped. "It..." The entire room lit up in red as a giant warning sign flashed over the walls. Misato looked around, not believing the sudden change. "WHAT?!" "Pattern Blue! Angel CONFIRMED! Directly beneath Unit-01!!" Shinji looked down in horror as he felt himself sinking. "A...a shadow!?" Training took over and his aim dropped, emptying round after round into the black goo that seemed to be sucking his body into itself. "What is this stuff! This can't be happening!" Misato watched hopelessly from the command room. "Shin-kun! GET OUT OF THERE! SHINJI!" she yelled at the screen to no avail. A gasping Ayanami could be heard on the com. "Ikari-kun!" Asuka watched in horror as Shinji was sinking already past his waist. "Baka! What are you doing!??!" she yelled. Shinji's screams could be heard on the com, filling her heart with ice- cold horror. "AAAAAAARGH! Misato! What's going on!? MISATO!?!" his voice became more desperate as only the upper portions of EVA-01's chest were visible now. "ASUKA!" he begged. "Ayanami! Help me!" Both EVA-00 and 01 were frozen, unable to move as they listened to Shinji cry out. "Misato! Can you hear me!!?! MISATO!?!?" "Eject the plug!" Misato yelled. "Send the signal!" Maya turned around. Her eyes showed an equal level of horror as Shinji's voice. "No response! It's not working!" "MISATO! MISATO-SAN!!" She watched as the last tip of purple and green armor disappeared into the black muck below. "SHNIJI!" she forced herself to think. "Asuka! Rei! Get Unit-01! HURRY!!!" Asuka was already running towards the Angel. Her mind was whirling. Anger was taking over...and she welcomed it. Each bone-jarring step her EVA made brought her closer. "That BAKA! He gets A's on all his tests...but the moment he steps out into the real world..." Rei was already firing into the Angel...who had reverted back to a sphere-shape...with a long-range, massively powerful rifle, but the shots were just flickering off it somehow. They passed right through and impacted into Tokyo 3 buildings behind it. The moment it did disappear again, Asuka felt her feet grow colder. "A...a SHADOW!" she gasped, leaping into the air as Ritsuko said something. No time for orders, just MOVE! The street below her began to sink into the shadow's umbra. Luckily, she had managed to scramble onto a sky-scraper in time not to share Shinji's predicament. It didn't end that easily, though, as the buildings around her, and underneath her began to sink. "AAAGH!" she gasped, quickly jabbing her Progressive Axe into the side of the building, followed by her knife to allow climbing holds to get to the top. "The..." she gasped, watching the sight in front of her eyes. "The city...is sinking!" Buildings for a block around her began to slowly sink and tilt like they were built on quicksand. Asuka held tight, hoping her perch would last at least long enough for Shinji to reach out for help. But the giant, purple hand never came. Asuka's scanners and eyes waited, but saw nothing but the mockingly simple blackness that was the Angel. "Units! Pull out of there!" Misato's order came finally. "WAIT!" Asuka cried out. "Shinji and Unit-01." Rei said suddenly. "They're still in there." Misato was shaking. "This is an order..." she said with her teeth clenched. "Retreat." I'm not about to loose all three of you today, she thought to herself. Asuka watched, helpless, as meter after meter of Shinji's umbilical cable slid into the night-black shadow. Not far away, just far enough to be safe from the Angel's shadow, Sensei Kaoru stood, leaning up against a lamp-post. He had watched as the final feet of cable stopped coming, and broke off somewhere in the black abyss. Shinji would only have about sixteen hours of reserve power left. This fact was classified, as were most of the Evangelions statistics. However, Kaoru knew those sixteen hours. He knew that Asuka and Rei would be recalled back to NERV, and at the end of those Sixteen Hours, the mighty, vengeful wrath of Misato would be unleashed. Whatever resources she could muster would be employed as revenge in knowing that Angel had killed Shinji Ikari. It was quite probable to assume this Angel would destroy the entire city. Kaoru turned away from the edge of the shadow with his left hand in his pocket. His right lifted up and edged the wire-framed spectacles to a more comfortable point on his nose. His lips hesitated for a long moment... but finally came to rest in an eerie smile. NAVADA DESERT: NERV SECOND BRANCH--- If given his day in court, Dr. Modrou Walken would have had an easy defense. This tall, skinny man was well liked by his co-workers at NERV Second Branch, and he was accepted as the resident genius of the project. Hand picked years ago by Dr. Akagi and Commander Ikari to further their interests in the states, Walken had been the key figure in reproducing the Evangelion test data in the new location. Also, he had been in charge of handling the S2 Engine project. Yes. If put on trial for his actions, most people would be supportive. Mentioning how he was one of the most trustworthy persons they've ever known. How he would always put his duty before personal goals. As he gazed over the expanse of coolant, into Unit 04's cage, a small twinge of regret flickered through his mind. After all, there would be no trial. Not if this worked. There would be no witnesses. No complications, and the world would soon have one less of these accursed golems on it's surface. "How do the connections look?" he asked his support staff. All of which trusted him completely. Evangelion Unit 04 was currently running on what was called "dry power" mode. The umbilical cable was attached to it's back, keeping it's pre- borderline systems running as they ran diagnostics. However, they had not yet engaged and powered up any of the nerve connections or organic components. That would require a pilot anyway. The plan was to have everything in top condition for when the S2 organ came online. Thus, making the transfer as smooth as possible and leaving less to chance in what was the first run of such a device. He noted the reports of his staff as they recited numbers and statistics from their scans and computer screens. All the while, his eyes were on Unit 04. The giant, crooked grin that it bore was almost comical...but the sheer power underneath it's silver and black bindings was nothing to laugh at. It's core was now, also, not simply a dead, black-red orb at the center of it's power. Months of computer time and 'spare parts' from the Angels already destroyed had given this beast the ability to power itself. Even in it's most docile state, it's Core now glowed a dull red color due to the S2 organ now implanted inside...visible only by the internal cameras set up to monitor the activation. "Are we holding stable?" Dr. Walken asked, already knowing the answer. "Affirmative, sir!" replied his second-in-command. "We have the bakelite standing by, personnel are clear, and the cage restraints show all green." Good. The Magi would relay to Tokyo-3 that the test would be successful...right up until the end... "How is the S2 system looking?" Walken asked. "Everything's green, sir." came the hopeful reply. "Excellent." he smiled. It was an odd smile. Almost sad. He knew he was doing this for the good of Humanity. That it was to accelerate SEELE's plans. Still, it would mean his death. The deaths of everyone here. Commander Ikari would wake up tomorrow morning in his fool's bed with the news that the Second Branch had been wiped off the face of the Earth. And he would never know it was part of the grand scheme of things. "Activate the S2." he said simply. Wait... .... Something was wrong. The blackness stopped all of a sudden, forcing a silence out of the screams and yells around him as everyone realized the results of the test. But Walken saw something he had not been expecting. Just before he, his bridge crew, and the entire facility of NERV Second Branch was swallowed up by a black pit of reverse-light... Unit 04's eyes glowed. It's jaw snapped open. It bellowed an ungodly roar. Then, it began to punch through the black. The last thing he saw were the massive, unrestrained claw-like fingers rip through the wall, climbing up to the surface. SEELE would not be pleased...he mused as reality collapsed around him. Then, he died. To be continued... --------------------------------------------------------------------- Did I not promise plot? Is it not spooky? Good. ^_^ That should stop the complaints that nothing was happening. Hopefully this didn't come too late. I had a busy week. Forgive long e-mail reply times! Special thanks go out to Tozetre, Senie, and at least a dozen of my most fanatical readers who will probably read this minutes after it is posted. It's a pleasure to provide such a well-received story. There's LOTS more, so enjoy! Also, once I get up to 10 Lessons, I'll start grouping these in handier 10-Lesson chunks so my website directory doesn't get too bloody huge. e-mail: strikef@bigfoot.com website: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110 archive: Hell yeah! Just send me mail about it. Strike Fiss, Ninja Crowbotics 2000. Khattam-Shud, EOF.