OOC: And we begin another episode of Dastardtly Day of Destiny Disasters. Our next contestant is OLORIN, who has a survivability rating of 13.51%. Will he beat Xmans new level in pathetic scores? Or will he do worse, and sink below -10...
IC: A small apartment in Tokyo-3... housed many things.
Beer. Beer. Beer. Instant Ramen. Beer. Microwave chicken. A penguin. Too much crap around the floor.
And three people, one of which was a headstrong girl, one of which was... a loser, and one of which was a courageous, intelligent captain, who had the misfortune to find her spirit being lifted away from her, to be replaced by a decidedly more base entity...
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!* And the clock flicked over to 7:00, with the annoying-as-hell alarm going off..
OOC: Sorry it took so long. ^_^;;
As the blaring sounds of the alarm wafted through the air, Olorin
cracked open his eyes.
He winced as rays of sunlight lanced into his brain and raised his
hand quickly to block out the obnoxiously bright light.
He sat up quickly, and discovered just as speedily that hadn't been the
smartest thing to do, as the world started spinning around him, nausea
nearly overtaking him.
"Oooooh.... Fuck my head hurts," he groaned in pain as he rubbed his
temples.
"Ok, first things first, shut the goddamned alarm up," he muttered to
himself. He shaded his eyes with his left hand as he reached for the
alarm, and flicked the power off.
Without the alarm causing spikes of pain to shoot through his skull,
Olorin's mental functions began the slow process of booting up for the
day.
He blinked several times, examining his still outstretched arm, which
was slim and unblemished, then he glanced around at the cramped room
which had beer bottles and women's clothing strewn across the floor,
"What the hell?" He muttered, shocked. "Where am I? For that matter,"
he added, looking himself up and down, "Who am I?"
He was only able to consider those questions for a few moments,
however, as his stomach chose that moment to inform him of its
disquiet, nausea returning in full force.
He scooted to the side of the bed and shakily stood to his feet,
before staggering towards the doorway. After the first couple steps he
stumbled, legs tangled in a pair of pants, and fell to his hands and
knees. The motion caused his nausea to worsen and he began retching,
throat burning with acidic bile, barely able to contain the vomit
trying to force its way out.
After retching for several moments, the nausea receded, for the most
part. "Ugh, I feel like shit," Olorin muttered as he unsteadily pushed
himself upright, staring balefully for a moment at the cloth covered
breasts sticking out from his chest.
He carefully bent over and extricated the pants from his legs, then,
noting the draft below his waist, he slowly slipped the garment on.
After Olorin finished putting the pants on, he noticed his bowels
calling out to him for relief.
"This is not my day," he grumbled, slowly walking towards the door,
"And I have this truly awful feeling that it's gonna get much worse."
He placed his right hand on the door handle and rested his head against
the cool surface of the door for a moment, grateful for the small
amount of relief it provided his aching head.
Steeling himself, he opened the door and slowly hobbled through the
doorway, unconsciously fingering the cross hanging from his neck.
Greeting Misato's eyes was the dining room of her little apartment. It was *CLEARLY* too cramped for her...
...at least, once you add in all the trash lying around, and the fact that two children were also living in the house, one of which about as much stuff to fill a small country, and the other who had nothing but an SDAT player.
"Hi, Misato!" said a tall, red-haired girl happily. She was wearing a typical Japanese school uniform, and had a bookbag next to her on the ground. "The little loser over there insisted on getting your morning beer out for you, even though I TOLD him they get warm really quickly.."
Shinji raised a hand in greeting, a slight smile on his face. "Good morning, Katsuragi-san..."
And another splitting headache crashed across Misato's skull..
OOC: Well, Olorin wins the prize for the LONGEST POST so far..
Olorin managed a tired wave in greeting to the two children, as he
gritted his teeth in pain.
Great, he thought, staring blearily at Asuka and Shinji, how the hell
did I manage to wander into Evangelion? And whose sick idea was it to
put me into Misato, of all people?
He massaged his temples as the headache intensified again, "Be back in
a minute," he mumbled walking in the direction he thought he remembered
the bathroom was in.
So this is what a hangover feels like, he mused, still massaging his
temples. Note to self: never, ever, get drunk.
As Misato shambled off, Asuka turned to Shinji.
"That's odd. Usually she dosn't even move until she's had her beer."
Shinji shrugged. "Maybe she's making an effort to get off them?"
The two paused for a moment.
<->
Laughter followed Misato throw the bathroom walls, as she entered another cramped area. A pile of laundry lay in one corner, a shower in another, and a toilet in the furthest corner.
A large cupboard was marked "Girls" and a much, much smaller cupboard with see-through glass was labeled "Boy".
The Boy cupboard has four items: A razor, shaving cream, a bar of soap, and a toothbrush.
Olorin closed the door behind him and quickly strode towards the
toilet, trying his best not to think too much about what he was going
to do. He inhaled deeply, then slowly released his breath, like a diver
about to take a plunge, and pulled his pants and underwear down around
his ankles, sitting in the same motion.
He sighed in relief as the tension in his bowels eased, then winced as
another stabbing pain in his head made itself known.
He leaned forward slightly and rested his head in his hands, trying
to will the pain away, singing softly under his breath. Slowly, but
surely, the headache faded into the background.
Olorin stared up at the ceiling for a moment, before reaching over and
grabbing off several sheets of toilet paper. He quickly wiped himself
off, desperately trying to think of something else, and failing rather
horribly.
By the time he'd finished Olorin was blushing a deep shade of crimson.
I might as well get cleaned up, while I'm here, he thought sourly,
extremely annoyed at himself for being embarrassed.
Lifting his left leg out of the pants and panties, he kicked them
into the middle of the room with his right leg. He reached up and
pulled the shirt off over his head and tossed it to meet the other
clothing.
He stood up and walked over to the shower, turning it on and stepping
under it before it could warm up. He closed his eyes and placed his
face in front of the cold stream of water, feeling at peace listening
to the sound of the water cascading out of the showerhead, the last
vestiges of his headache disappearing. Turning around as the water
reached the temperature he found most comfortable, he felt the water
beat down on his back, relaxing muscles he hadn't even known were
tensed.
Feeling much more alert, Olorin stepped out of the shower and walked
over to the pile of laundry in the corner, looking for something to
wear. However, the disheveled nature of the clothes and the pungent
odor of sweat rising from the pile dissuaded him from grabbing
something.
Olorin grumbled to himself as he walked over to the clothes he'd
discarded earlier, "Why couldn't they store clean clothes in the
bathroom like I do at home?"
He sighed to himself and dressed himself in the clothes he'd worn
coming into the bathroom, "Oh well, these'll do until I can find
something clean to wear."
He began walking towards the door, stretching as he went.
"Well, let's see what this crazy day will hold in store for me, shall
we?" he muttered to himself, a small smile flitting across his lips.
He opened the door and walked through, humming "Suicide is Painless"
under his breath.
When Misato got out the shower, Asuka and Shinji were gone. Misato's beer still stood proudly on the table, and a small note attached to it said: "Don't forget! Ritsuko wants you in the labs today!"
"Hmmmmmm, guess the kids must 'ave gone to school already," Olorin
mused, walking into the dining room and finding it empty.
"And what have we here?" Olorin asked, picking up the note and reading
it, "This could be a small problem...."
He walked to the front door, opened it, and looked out, scanning the
area, "Damn, you can't see the GeoFront from here," he muttered and
ducked back inside.
He thought for a moment, "Ok, lets see, what do I need to get to the
GeoFront.... I could walk there, but that would take a while and it
doesn't get around the fact I don't know where the place is.... I could
try to drive, but there's even more problems with that, as I've never
driven before...."
He shook his head, "Either of those would take far too long."
"I know there's something I'm missing, what is it?" he mumbled,
frustrated, "What would be the simplest way to get there?"
You could actually see the lightbulb go on over his head, "Of course,
all I have to do is call one of Misato's friends and ask for a lift
'cause my car won't start!"
"Which means I need to find the phone number of one of Misato's
friends...." he considered, "Nobody as flighty as Misato could remember
the phone number and address of everyone she knew, which means she
probably has an address book."
Olorin walked over to the open door to Misato's room and examined the
messy room, "Might as well get started looking for it now," he sighed,
"Maybe I can find some clean clothes in this pit while I'm at it."
He walked into the room and started his search....
Clean clothes quickly presented themselves, being another identical pair of Misato's usual clothes.
Locating an address book was a little problematic, though. There wasn't one in Misato's bedside table, and cleaning up the rest of the room was a formidable enough task that one could search forever and still might not find it.
If, of course, one was there at all. The phone wasn't in her room, and a quick search revealed nothing related to the phone in any way.
Misato DID turn up a small-calibre pistol, though, along with a couple spare clips. The ammo looked to be slightly bigger than 9mm, possibly a 10mm or other calibre which was unknown to before 2015. She also turned up a small picture of her father, which caused more than a few odd emotions to go through her head.
Olorin traced a finger along the face of the man in the picture, not
showing any outward reaction.
He stared down at the picture, at the face he'd never seen before, and
felt more emotions than he could remember feeling in all his life.
Love, hate, sorrow, happiness, fear, guilt, and other emotions he
couldn't even name.
"Father," he heard himself say, in a trembling voice, thick with
emotion.
Olorin slowly, carefully, set the picture back into its resting place.
"What," he gasped, still shuddering, "What's happening to me? I never
lose control. I don't lose control. I can't lose control."
He stood there for several moments, his head slightly bowed, trying to
get ahold of himself.
He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, as he slowly raised his head. His eyes
glittered lightly, almost as if they had been iced over, and a small
smirk played across his lips, "Now, where was I?"
"Ah, yes, I remember," he said, quickly doffing his clothes and pulling
on the clean set he'd layed out on the bed.
He quickly grabbed up the pistol and clips, looking over them for a
moment, "Good, safety's on, first round's chambered.... And the clips
have 13 bullets a piece, not too shabby."
He slipped the gun into his right pocket, and the clips into his left.
"Well, there's no address book here.... Or, at least, not one I can
find in this pit." He thought for a moment, "Maybe she's got a speed
dial feature on her telephone, it can't hurt to check...."
"Well, might as well get moving, 'Time waits for no man' and all that
shit...." He glanced down at the picture for a moment, a single tear
rolling down his face, before quickly turning and walking away....
Misato did in fact have speed dial buttons on her phone.
All twelve had labels.
Ritsuko-Home
Ritsuko-Mobile
Nerv-HQ
School
Delivery Agency
@#%!@aji.
The last one had numerous skulls written on it, along with about half of it ripped out.
The remaining buttons had several names unknown to the series, three of which were guys, and three of which were girls.
OOC: We are the slow, resistance is futile! @_@
Olorin smacked his head lightly, "I should have thought of this in the
first place, baka Olorin. Remember, when in doubt, K.I.S.S."
He looked through the list of names for a moment, chuckling at the one
that just had to be Kaji's, "Talk about a real love/hate relationship...."
He started to smirk, then blanched, "Note to self: avoid Kaji if at all
possible."
"It's Ritsuko who wants me in the labs today, so she'd be the logical
first person to ask," he mumbled to himself.
Olorin picked up the phone and speed dialed her home phone, "If she's
not there I'll just try her other number next...."
He held the phone up to his ear and waited....
Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring.
Ring. -click.
"This is the residence of Akagi Ritsuko. I am unavalible at the moment, but leave a message, and I'll get back to you."
*BEEP!*
OOC: Ack! My posts are getting smaller! ^_^;;
Olorin rolled his eyes. They can make giant mecha, but they still can't
come up with a better answering machine message, it figures, he mused.
"Oi, Ritsuko, this is Misato, I need to speak with you as soon as
possible. There's a few things that I need to discuss with you that
I believe you will find to be most interesting...."
And not much happened after that, leaving Misato in her room with a sense of worry and a growing realisation that she was going to be late...
OOC: 'tisn't much, but there wasn't much to work with. ^_^;;
Olorin waited impatiently for several moments, trying to see if Ritsuko
was screening her calls. After a distinct lack of response, he quickly
disconnected and dialed out to her mobile number.
"Next...." he quipped, with a small smirk.
This time, the phone answered...
"Misato, why aren't you here yet?"
..and Akagi Ritsuko sounded somewhat peeved.
Olorin chuckled for a moment, "Good morning to you, as well, Ritsuko."
"As to why I'm not there yet, well, it's a rather long story,"
Olorin mused, "It'd be more efficient if I told on the way to NERV,
after you picked me up; I wouldn't wish to delay you more than
absolutely necessary...."
Ritsuko sighed.
"What happened now, Misato? Did you get pulled over for drunk driving? Or did you manage to crash the car?"
"Um, not exactly," Olorin hedged, "As I said, it's a rather long story.
It'd be much easier to explain in person...."
Ritsuko sighed again.
"Fine, I'll come and pick you up, but you better have a good reason, or Ikari will probably get angry. Even YOU aren't usually this late..."
The phone clicked, leaving Misato alone...
...and half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
"Misato, hurry up."
OOC: There's nothing vital to do while you wait for Ritsuko, and you *need* to catch up with everyone else. Speed posting mode... on. o-o
OOC: I'll try and hurry my posts along as much as I can. ^_^;;
Olorin raised an eyebrow at the phone, then set it down, "That was a
bit.... abrupt."
He considered for a moment, "Well, I guess I'd be a bit annoyed too."
"Hmmmm, what should I do next?" He pondered, then his stomach started
growling, "Ah, yes, food. Food is good...."
***
Olorin started as the door bell chimed and Ritsuko's annoyed voice
called for him to hurry up, "I'll be there in a moment!" he called
back, quickly finishing the last of his instant ramen.
He stood up, quickly strode to the door and opened it, "Sorry to keep
you waiting."
A pretty woman in a white lab coat, white pants, and conspiciously black vest met Misato's eyes. She had a distinctively annoyed look on her face.
"So, what's the problem this time, Misato?" she said, turning and walking back to the elevator..
Olorin rolled his eyes as he followed Ritsuko. I guess politeness isn't
her strong point, he mused.
"Only sort of, Ritsuko," he replied cryptically.
"Only sort of what, Misato? The car is only sort of broken? Honestly, you make less sense than my mother did..." Ritusko reached the car, opened the doors, and got in the drivers seat.
"Get in."
Olorin slid into the passenger seat, "No, I'm only sort of Misato,
Ritsuko."
He thought for a moment, "Reflexes, emotions, body and a few flashes of
memory are what I have of Misato. My mind, such as it is, is not hers."
He closed the door and strapped on his seatbelt, "Don't ask me how I
got here, your guess is as good as mine."
Ritsuko blinked.
"I'm sorry, run that by me again? You're only sort of Misato, and you have no idea how you got here?"
"That would be correct," Olorin replied, "The main reason why I didn't
drive into NERV today was the simple fact that I've never driven
before. Well, that, and the fact that I have no idea where it is."
"That makes it just a little difficult to get there," he said, a small
trace of amusement in his voice.
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow...
...and switched into Dr. mode.
"Tell me, how long have you been like this? Have you experianced this.. condition before?"
Olorin sweatdropped at the quick change in attitude, "I haven't had
anything happen like this before, at least, not to my knowledge. As for
when this started, it began when I woke up this morning."
"Just in time to experience my first hangover, ain't I lucky?" Olorin
added sourly.
Ritsuko blinked, and started again.
"Start from the beginning. What happened, who are you, and what are you doing?"
The Geofront came into view on Misato's left..
"My name is Jason Dunbar, though I prefer being called Olorin, I have
no idea what the hell happened to me, or Misato, and, at the moment, I
appear to be riding in the passenger seat of your car as you drive us
to NERV," Olorin stated, "Was there anything else you wished to know?"
Ritsuko nodded, thinking for a moment.
"I see," she said, in a tone that made it clear that she did not.
She turned the car away from the geofront..
"So you're somebody else, who happens to be inside Misato's body," she continued skeptically. "And what happened to the.. real Misato?"
Olorin blinked, "As I just said, I don't know." he shrugged, "I wish I
did, there's nothing I'd like more at the moment than to be back at
home listening to jpop and jrock or watching anime and pestering my
friends online."
He sat back and sighed, "Maybe we've switched places for some reason,
and she's back in my body, maybe I've gone stark raving mad and this is
all a delusion, hell, it's even possible this is all a dream."
"Ya know, it's interesting, just yesterday I would have given anything
to be able to do something different; now I just wish I could go
back," he mused, pondering the situation.
Ritsuko listened intently, digesting every word, it seemed.
"I.. see. And where, exactly, did you come from?"
"The United States, specifically the Snoqualmie Valley in the central
area of Washington State, quite a ways out into the woods," Olorin
replied. "'tis a nice enough place to live, especially if you don't
like to be bothered often."
Olorin stretched for a moment, then began drumming his fingers on the
armrest to the tune of "Ode to Power."
"So, how long are we going to keep driving around, anyways?" he
inquired, head bobbing to the beat his fingers were drumming out.
"We're going to stop... right here."
A large, white building surrounded by barbed-wired fencing came into view. Ritsuko pulled up outside a small gatehouse.
After exchanging a few words with the guard, large gates opened, and Ritsuko's car began driving on road, surrounded on both sides by a nice, well-tended lawn.
A few men in white came outside the building, and approached the car.
"For your own protection, you see. Even if you really WERE who you said you were, we couldn't leave you in the outside world.
And if you're not, you're insane, and hopefully, these doctors can help you."
Olorin chuckled to himself, "Well, so much for honesty is the best
policy. Feh, you could at least get rid of the goons, I'm not gonna
hurt anyone. You could've at least given us a chance, Rit-chan."
He sighed and reached into his right pocket, grabbing the gun by the
barrel and taking it out, before handing it to Ritsuko, "I expect
you'll want this," he reached into his other pocket and grabbed the
clips, before handing them over as well, "And these as well."
"Oh well, I can't really blame you, my story is somewhat ludicrous....
Ok, more than somewhat," he smiled for a moment, "It has been a
pleasure conversing with you, M'lady, though I wish we'd met under
better circumstances...."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. She was about to open her door when-
Sirens blared! Klaxons whined! Lights flashed!
"Angel sighted! Angel sighted! All NERV personelle, report to the Geofront!"
Ritsuko instantly shut the door of the car and revved the car like she was... well, Misato, really.
"Well. Saved by the bell, it seems. For your own sake, at least *try* and act like Misato, hmm? We don't have a spare commander handy, and Gendo is.. well... you know.."
"I shall endeavor to do so, Rit-chan," Olorin replied cheekily, before
sobering, "Considering your reaction was trying to throw me in the
funny farm, with you being my best friend, I don't even want to think
about what Commander Ikari would do."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "You didn't honestly expect me to believe that story, did you? We live in the real world, Misato, not the world of delusions like some.. some anime-based RPG."
"A real world with giant robots built to combat angels descended from
heaven to save the human race from extinction," Olorin replied dryly.
"Yeah, someone accidently switching bodies is so much less likely."
Olorin stared balefully at Ritsuko, "It doesn't really matter now,
we've got work to do, and the first order of business is for you to
give me an overview of the abilities and weapons of the Evas that I'm
going to be commanding in the coming fight."
"And try and make it quick, we're a bit low on time at the moment."
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Because one implausability becomes truth does not mean all others follow the same pattern."
Olorin met Ritsuko's raised eyebrow with a flat glare, "Nor does it mean
they should be dismissed out of hand because they don't conform to
your narrow worldview."
"How long have you known Misato, Ritsuko?" Olorin inquired, his voice
scornful, "Now think about this next bit real hard, 'cause it's obvious
they don't give genius scientists as much brain power as they used
to, even if Misato was playing a lark this morning, do you really
think she'd continue to do so in an emergency?"
"Now give your ego a fucking rest; I'm going into a situation blind
where people's lives are at stake, people who I care about, and I'm
not going to let you jeopardize their lives with your petty bickering!"
Olorin made a visible effort to calm down, then continued, "Now, tell
me what I need to know."
Ritsuko bit back a truly scathing reply, and remained silent for a moment.
Then, "..and you think I *don't* care about them? Perhaps I don't. I'm clearly insane to bring back an at least partially delusional commanding officer to lead them.
What you need to know.. what you need to know.. why would I know? I don't command. I study. You merely take the stage at the command bridge, and issue orders. They get followed. I analyse the combat and try and give you tactically relevant information.
Commander Ikari isn't going to be present today. It was supposed to be secret, but there's no harm in telling you now. He's on another trip in Antartica.
As for the combat capabilities of the Eva's... each is armed with a progressive knife and a pallette rifle. They are both capable of producing AT-fields, but these tend to have little effect on angels, other than to disrupt the angel's AT field.
The Eva's physical capabilities are that of a well trained gymnast, only much, much larger. Anything else you need to know?"
Olorin's eyes softened as he sighed wearily, "I know you care about
them; I'm sorry for implying otherwise. It's just that.... I've never
been in a situation where people's lives depended on me; I'm scared
spitless that I'm going to do something wrong and I'm gonna lose them."
He was silent for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts into some
semblance of order, "Your tactical analysis is exactly what I want,
along with some technical data. You say they have a rifle, what's the
ammunition size? What's its fire-rate? What its ammunition capacity?
What's the top speed for each Eva? Which pilot is the best at close
combat? Which is best at ranged? Which pilot is the best at improv?
The answers to those questions should get us started; I'm sure I'll
come up with some more questions before we arrive."
"I don't plan on leaving this to chance," he smiled infectiously, "And,
after this battle, perhaps we can have a debate as to whether or not
personality dislocation exists. I'm sure it would be most fascinating."
"31.5cm FMJ rounds, 450rpm, 120 shots a clip. The top speed for each Eva has never been defined, but estimated around 375mph. The pilots individual skills are relatively equal to each other. They rarely have actual field training excercises, so I can't give exact results.
Though, Asuka had training before she arrived, and Shinji has the most experiance in actual comat.
Anything else? We're almost there.."
Olorin mulled the information over, filing it away for later use.
His brow furrowed in thought, "Not at the moment, but the second
we arrive I'll need the analysis of the angel we'll be facing."
"I could also use a map of the surrounding terrain, preferably one
that allows for a three dimensional perspective," he continued, "If I
think of anything else I'll need, you'll be the first one to know."
"I don't know what kind of angel it is yet, and maps can be found at the control room."
"I know that you aren't aware what the angel is yet, that's why I said
'the second we arrive' instead of 'right now'. I'm well aware that you
aren't omniscient."
"Where, exactly, in the control room are the maps?" he inquired.
"On the main screen, of course. The tactical map displays the location of the Eva's, the Angel, and surrounding terrain.."
Olorin nodded and mumbled to himself, "That'll be rather useful."
He sat back and closed his eyes, centering himself for the coming
conflict. I always said I was a good tactician, he mused, I guess
it's time to put my money where my big mouth is.
The rest of the trip to NERV was in silence.
The car passed through a tunnel, some kind of futuristic toll gate, and ended up parked... inside the geofront.
And what an amazing place it was.. but Misato didn't have time to look at it before arriving just outside a large, pyramidal structure.
"This way," murmured Ritsuko, opening a service door and stepping through...
He inclined his head in acknowledgement, and hunched forward slightly,
before following Ritsuko silently....
Misato was led by Ritsuko into a veritable maze of walkways, conveyors, lifts, escalators, and doors.
Leading her through the hodgepodge of walkways, Ritsuko eventually led Misato to another ordinary-looking door.
"I have to get down to the technical lab and analyse the battle from here. But this is your door. Stay focused, and remember: You're the highest ranking officer there. What you say goes.
Any last questions?"
"None that I can think of," he replied, a slight tremor in his voice,
"Try and get the analysis of the angel to me as fast as inhumanly
possible; I'll see you after the battle, ne?"
He waited, nervously, for her to respond.
Ritsuko nodded, and walked off back the way she came, dissapearing within the maze of tunnels.
Misato turned back and entered the command room...
..and came to a rather impressive-looking hall.
A largish platform was directly in front of her, with the three massive Magi computers in the center. Around them sat three technicians; one with long hair and a cool disposition, one with short, spiky hair, a pair of glasses, and also a cool disposition, and a slight young woman with a mildly panicked disposition.
Far more impressive, though, was the massive command screen in front of Misato. It showed the topology of the surface; a large, grey area that signified Tokyo-3, and a vast expanse of wilderness.
A red triangle was heading from the wilderness towards Tokyo-3, and two blue triangles were centered in the middle of Tokyo-3, marked Eva-01 and Eva-02.
A technician ran up to Misato, and said, "Glad you could make it, commander. Asuka and Shinji are already up, and Rei is just finishing preperations. We're still analysing the angel, but we should have visual contact in a few moments."
He rushed off too quickly for Misato to say anything, leaving her on the command deck as the ranking officer.
Several pairs of eyes turned to her, awaiting her command...
Olorin concentrated on the map, closely examining the terrain, and
calculating the distance between the outer fringes of the city, the
Evas and the incoming hostile, "I want the point at which the angel was
first detected displayed on this map, and it's course since that time."
He continued, eyes still glued to the map, a thoughtful look on his
face, "Get me a headset I can talk to the pilots with, and put that
visual up now, I need to know what we're dealing with."
Misato spoke and she was obeyed. The tactical map flickered, the changed, updating to her specifications.
The Angel's course had been in a straight line, and had travelled roughly thirty kilometres from the East of Tokyo-3 to arrive at it's present location since it arrived.
"Visual contact isn't possible right now, Katsuragi-Taisho. If the Eva's get closer, we can establish visual contact..." said a technician in a hurried voice before handing her a headset.
Olorin grasped the headset and held it against his side, "To send out
the Evas now, with one of their number prepping and the analysis on the
angel incomplete would be foolhardy."
He raised an eyebrow at the technician and started in a chill tone, "I
would appreciate if you thought before making another suggestion, the
entire reason we gather this information is so that we don't send The
Children in blind. Something that you should well know. If you can't be
bothered to make intelligent suggestions, then don't make them at all."
"Am I understood?" He finished with a glare.
The technician was cowed by Misato's speech, stuttered out a "h..Hai!" and walked off, trembling.
Olorin stared after the technician for a moment. A bit harsh, but next
time he should put some thought into his suggestions, hopefully.
"How much longer until Rei is ready to launch?" Olorin questioned,
returning to the situation at hand.
If I don't get some information soon, he thought, frustrated at his own
impatience, I'm gonna go stir crazy....
"Immediatly," somebody unidentifyable called out.
"CAPTAIN! The Angel is within the borders of Tokyo-3!" screamed out a tech. "Visual on screen... now!"
Abot a quarter of the screen was taken up by a live image, presumably from some hidden camera.
The ground was almost flat. A few skyscrapers towered here and there, but most of the housing and main buildings had been stored beneath the Geofront.
And slightly off to the side was the angel...
It even looked like it's namesake. A towering behemoth, standing on two massive, golden legs, and two distinctively wing-like objects sprouting from it's back.
However, it's torso was anything but angellike. It seemed to be a massive bundle of nerves, body parts, bones, and disgusting looking things all jumbled together. Amazingly, it kept the whole body together.
And the place where it's face should have been instead showed a massive, jutting horn, which looked quite sharp...
The tactical map indicated it was moving quite quickly towards the two stationary Evas...
"Launch Rei and pipe the visual to the pilots!" Olorin snapped out,
before slipping the headset on as he examined the angel.
"Shinji, Asuka, break and attack the incoming angel, do your best to
avoid a head-to-head pass; try to outflank it, the angel's wings should
hamper its peripheral vision and lateral movement."
"Rei, once you reach the surface, immediately move to assist the other
Children."
He reached up, covering the microphone with his left hand, and called
out, "Where the hell is that analysis?!"
Everything started happening at once. Shinji and Asuka began to move around the side of the Angel; there was a tremendous booming sound as Rei's eva began to launch, and Ritsuko's voice came in through the intercom, jabbering out, "Misato! We're detecting strange energy patterns from the wings! We know that the angel can't fly, but watch out!"
Olorin was somewhat nonplussed when his first thought upon hearing
Ritsuko's statement was; Objection, characterization.
I need to focus better, he mused, and I really need to stop watching
Law & Order.
Returning his attention to the situation at hand, he dropped his left
hand down, idly fingering the cross around his neck, "Shinji, Asuka,
the doctor has detected unknown energy patterns emanating from the
Angel's wings, proceed at your discretion."
He paused for a moment, "Good luck."
The three pilots chirped an affirmitive, and Asuka and Shinji both went into a run, moving towards the sides of the angel.
Ritsuko's voice screamed over the intercom.
"We're detecting nuclear reactions in the center of the wings!"
But it was a little too late.
The feathers on the wings dropped away, revelaing two appendages formed of pure energy. It was really bright, almost as if it was light from heaven...
Asuka and Shinji, strangely, were not deterred.. in fact, they seemed spurred onwards, practically flying towards the angel..
He winced at the volume of Ritsuko's shout, before paling at the
message it conveyed. He opened his mouth to order them to evade,
then stopped himself short as they sped up.
Anything I said would simply distract them at this point, he thought,
swallowing audibly, and the last thing they need at the moment is me
second-guessing their judgement.
I hope they know what they're doing, he worried, eyes clouded, as he
gripped the cross tightly.
May the wave guide you upon your path, my children, he prayed, eyes
riveted on the Evas speeding towards the Angel.
The Angel's wings flared particularly brightly...
Twin beams of light shot out from the center of it's wings, directed straight towards Asuka's heart.
Ritsuko was screaming technical crap through the intercom, the tech's were talking all around, and Shinji was yelling in anger, rushing towards then Angel-
The beams of light abruptly cut off, and Asuka's eva slumped to the ground. Shinji let fly with a powerful body-slam..
..but the Angel spun around, shedding it's brilliance in a mystic swirl.
It stood, facing away from Eva-01. A brilliant, glorious sound sung from the angel, high and pure and holy.
Eva-01's chest started to spurt blood, and the great machine crumpled.
Only Rei was left standing, having just appeared on the surface...
"Rei, I want you to move in and provide covering fire for the downed
Evas; lure the Angel away. Continue moving and be evasive, but get
that son of a bitch away from them, understood?" He ordered, his cold,
controlled, voice betraying none of his inner turmoil.
How the fuck are we supposed to kill this piece of shit? He thought
frantically, it brushed off two of the Evas like they were nothing more
than gnats, how the hell can we stand against that kind of power?
"Hai."
Rei stated strafing the angel with high-calibre rifle fire, which, as per usual, did absolutely nothing visible to the angel.
The angel started tracking Rei with it's wings, and Ritsuko was screaming something about a repeat of the energy buildup...
OOC: I hate being sick. >_<
There are times that I truly hate my life, Olorin mused, watching as
the bullets did absolutely nothing. If I was a pilot I'd at least be able
to do something, instead I'm standing here, helpless to do anything
for them.
He swore mentally as he heard Ritsuko's shouted warning, Fucking Hell!
Can't I catch one break?
"Rei, take cover behind some buildings and keep moving, pop up and fire
a few shots occasionally to keep the Angel's attention, but do not stay
still long enough for it to track you, understood?"
Rei complied, hiding behind a skyscraper.
The prompt blast from the Angel's wings lanced towards the building and demolished it.
Thankfully, it didn't *quite* reach Rei, but the force of impacting the building partially transferred to her, and she stumbled back a step..
OOC: My brain is fried. @_@
Thank the wave that they make buildings sturdy here, Olorin thought
to himself, now, how the hell do I kill this thing? Damnit, I should have
been more careful from the start. I should have known better than
to rush in without full knowledge of the enemy's capabilities.
With only a single Eva there's no way to outflank this thing, and it's
already shown that a frontal assault has a snowball's chance in hell of
succeeding. He fumed at himself, think, God damn you! What are you
missing? How can you win this?
He breathed in and out, slowly, several times, trying to slow his
racing thoughts, ok, I have a single Eva, unless by some miracle the
others recover, to fight what is obviously a superior opponent, how do
I give my pilot a fighting chance?
He swallowed several times, trying to sooth his parched throat, and
massaged the top of his nose with his right hand; the familiar habit
oddly calming him. How, indeed?
Misato's indecision almost cost her the battle, as the angel let fly with another blast from it's other ring.
Rei managed to fall flat (not a mean feat for the size of the EVA), but the Angel was now closing in on her, evidently to finish her off..