- - - - - -
The void that constituted Leliel was so alien, so empty, so dark... Shinji was half-convinced he was seeing everything but nothing. It felt far more freakish than fighting building-sized monsters in desperate melee. At least there, things were relatively simple: Giant monster, kill.
Here though... Shinji didn't even know where here was, or if there even was a here.
Great... Maybe Asuka gets the last laugh, he thought glumly. Misato... Rei... Mom... Dad... I'm sorry everyone.
He at least had a sense of movement, but that was pretty much it-Intertia carried over from entering the Angel. Otherwise, all around him was nothing but darkness. It almost seemed to take a life of it's own, as though something was always just out of the corner of his eye. But when he looked, it vanished. He shivered, and rubbed his arms.
I did want to go into space someday, but doing it through an Angel? Not my idea of... Wait... He pulled down his visor and turned it on, tapping into the sensors of his Eva. Just enough power to get a reading.
The Eva's sensors were bouncing off something else in the perfect darkness-Something physical. And the time between the sending out of the sensor beam, and it's return, were getting smaller and smaller with every passing second.
Something's coming... But what? It was hard for the computers to get much off the object approaching him, but it was at least the same size and general shape as an Evangelion. He checked his power reserves.
Not much, but just enough to send a signal... Wonder who jumped in after me. Maybe Asuka had decided to go in after him. Or Rei. Or...
"Evangelion Unit 01, to unknown Unit. Respond, over," he signalled. He shut down everything but the communications system, and waited, acutely aware of his breathing in the entry plug. It took a few moments, but his receiver got some static.
"...Unit... Zero... Who...?"
"Damn..." Shinji risked a little more power. "This is Unit 01, to unknown Unit, I say again, please respond."
It took a little longer, and the signals bouncing back indicated that whatever was out there was almost close enough to be seen visually. Shinji decided on caution-For all he knew, he was just hallucinating.
"... This is Unit 01, who are you?"
Shinji blinked. "Who am I? Who are you?"
"Shinji Ikari..."
Shinji was stunned for a second. He didn't know what this was, but he wouldn't get any more answers just sitting there in low power mode. He brought the Evangelion back online, mindful of the three minute counter running. The entry plug shifted around him, displaying the darkness he'd come to expect, with the green glow of his Evangelion's various luminous components casting useless light into the abyss.
The light, however, wasn't the only one. Shinji's jaw dropped as he got a good look at the approaching unit. It was glowing green, just as his was, just enough to allow him a look at the silhoulette of the Evangelion, and the tall crash horn that emerged from it's helmet.
"No way...!"
Between the two powered-up Evangelions, space seemed to ripple and wobble, like Jell-O struck by a spoon. As though peeking out, something red could be occasionally seen.
"THE CORE!" Both Shinji Ikaris shouted. Both drew their Progressive knives, and both unleashed their AT Fields to full power. The deep red of Leliel's core shown faintly in the abyss, as two gigantic hands grasped it.
"DIE!" Both Shinji Ikaris again shouted in unison, their Progressive knives stabbing forth. As one, the two Evas pierced the very heart of their foe, cutting deep into it. It split apart, and with an unEarthly scream it burst into red light. The other Unit 01 vanished from view, leaving Shinji alone as the world turned red.
The plug went dark as the timer ran to zero, but not before Shinji was able to get a look at blue sky overhead-Just a glance, but more than enough to reassure him he'd gotten home. He took deep breaths of LCL, and felt a giddy smile on his face.
"That... That was... Wow..." He sighed, leaning back in his throne. He laughed. "Oh man..."
He couldn't wait to tell everyone about this. Asuka would mother hen him as usual, and tell him he was an idiot, sure, but it was worth it to know she cared. Rei would just give him that little strange smile of hers, just happy to see him alive. Touji would probably give him a high five.
And Dad, and Mom... Well, that would probably be the best part.
"Thanks Mom," he said, patting the side of the entry plug. "We're home now... We're finally home."
- - - - - - -
The void that constituted Leliel was so alien, so empty, so dark... Shinji was half-convinced he was seeing everything but nothing. It felt far more freakish than fighting building-sized monsters in desperate melee. At least there, things were relatively simple: Giant monster, kill.
Here though... Shinji didn't even know where here was, or if there even was a here.
Great... Maybe Asuka gets the last laugh, he thought glumly. Misato... Rei... Mom... Dad... I'm sorry everyone.
He at least had a sense of movement, but that was pretty much it-Intertia carried over from entering the Angel. Otherwise, all around him was nothing but darkness. It almost seemed to take a life of it's own, as though something was always just out of the corner of his eye. But when he looked, it vanished. He shivered, and rubbed his arms.
I did want to go into space someday, but doing it through an Angel? Not my idea of... Wait... He pulled down his visor and turned it on, tapping into the sensors of his Eva. Just enough power to get a reading.
The Eva's sensors were bouncing off something else in the perfect darkness-Something physical. And the time between the sending out of the sensor beam, and it's return, were getting smaller and smaller with every passing second.
Something's coming... But what? It was hard for the computers to get much off the object approaching him, but it was at least the same size and general shape as an Evangelion. He checked his power reserves.
Not much, but just enough to send a signal... Wonder who jumped in after me. Maybe Asuka had decided to go in after him. Or Rei. Or...
"Evangelion Unit 01, to unknown Unit. Respond, over," he signalled. He shut down everything but the communications system, and waited, acutely aware of his breathing in the entry plug. It took a few moments, but his receiver got some static.
"...Unit... Zero... Who...?"
"Damn..." Shinji risked a little more power. "This is Unit 01, to unknown Unit, I say again, please respond."
It took a little longer, and the signals bouncing back indicated that whatever was out there was almost close enough to be seen visually. Shinji decided on caution-For all he knew, he was just hallucinating.
"... This is Unit 01, who are you?"
Shinji blinked. "Who am I? Who are you?"
"Shinji Ikari..."
Shinji was stunned for a second. He didn't know what this was, but he wouldn't get any more answers just sitting there in low power mode. He brought the Evangelion back online, mindful of the three minute counter running. The entry plug shifted around him, displaying the darkness he'd come to expect, with the green glow of his Evangelion's various luminous components casting useless light into the abyss.
The light, however, wasn't the only one. Shinji's jaw dropped as he got a good look at the approaching unit. It was glowing green, just as his was, just enough to allow him a look at the silhoulette of the Evangelion, and the tall crash horn that emerged from it's helmet.
"No way...!"
Between the two powered-up Evangelions, space seemed to ripple and wobble, like Jell-O struck by a spoon. As though peeking out, something red could be occasionally seen.
"THE CORE!" Both Shinji Ikaris shouted. Both drew their Progressive knives, and both unleashed their AT Fields to full power. The deep red of Leliel's core shown faintly in the abyss, as two gigantic hands grasped it.
"DIE!" Both Shinji Ikaris again shouted in unison, their Progressive knives stabbing forth. As one, the two Evas pierced the very heart of their foe, cutting deep into it. It split apart, and with an unEarthly scream it burst into red light. The other Unit 01 vanished from view, leaving Shinji alone as the world turned red.
The plug went dark as the timer ran to zero, but not before Shinji was able to get a look at blue sky overhead-Just a glance, but more than enough to reassure him he'd gotten home. He took deep breaths of LCL, and felt a giddy smile on his face.
"That... That was... Wow..." He sighed, leaning back in his throne. He laughed. "Oh man..."
He couldn't wait to tell everyone about this. Asuka would mother hen him as usual, and tell him he was an idiot, sure, but it was worth it to know she cared. Rei would just give him that little strange smile of hers, just happy to see him alive. Touji would probably give him a high five.
And Dad, and Mom... Well, that would probably be the best part.
"Thanks Mom," he said, patting the side of the entry plug. "We're home now... We're finally home."
- - - - - - -
