AN:well,here it is,the long awaited rewrite to Less of a Bastard...you'd think I'd have this out sooner or at least be able to tell you I've got more chapters lined up but sadly that's not the case all in all working on writing in general lately has been realllly difficult for me,doubly so for working on this re-write,anyways I hope you like it. Chapter one of Less of a Bastard Redux!
Below what was once Japan,a monster moved. A Battalion of tanks stood guard,awaiting the creature's arrival.
The whirl of airplane engines could be heard in the distance,shortly followed by the sight of two bombers cutting through the air and releasing their weaponry at the black vulture in the waters below.
The water parted as the deployed mines detonated in contact with the creature. It continued onward,unfazed by the explosives.
Hundreds of meters below ground,NERV's headquarters were in general pandemonium. Shouting was aplenty,mostly from the military personnel in the bridge that hadn't know what to expect from their enemy.
"The target is still intact,it's continuing to move toward Tokyo-3."One of the Military's operators shouted, distressed.
Above the bridge two men and a young boy watched the large display that showed the military's operation,the units moving frantically about the country and the utter failure of the thirteenth tank battalion at doing any damage to the enemy.
"It's really been fifteen years..."The oldest among the three,Fuyutsuki, murmured.
"Yes,certainly so."Agreed Gendo, hands tented below his nose.
"The Angels have returned."Fuyutsuki said. "A shame,i had hopped our predictions would be wrong."
"Such a development was unlikely from the very beginning."Gendo retorted. The old man gave a small chuckle
"Ah,but you can't blame an old man for being hopeful,can you?"Fuyutsuki asked in a joking tone.
"Hmm."Gendo hummed. "I suppose not."
Shinji watched the two men's 'banter' for a second before looking back at the screen,cringing slightly as the Angel trampled another one of the JSSDF's tanks underfoot. Poor guys,they don't deserve this.
His eyes shifted toward the generals below him,three in total and all dressed in the regular military attire,some more awarded then others,all of them made famous by the impact wars.
They were also livid,making demands of their underlings and seeming rather distressed at the lack of effect their weaponry was having on the angel. Dubbed 'target-02' by the military,it didn't even have the additional 'Sachiel' classification given to it by Nerv. They're not using the information we've given them about it,is it pride or idiocy? Shinji asked himself. Probably both,it is the JSSDF after all.
A few more minutes passed with little of note occurring,the Military simply continued to fail at doing any damage toit's enemy in rather ridÃculos fashion. Gendo's head shifted toward his son ever so slightly,an indication he wished to speak with him.
"Shinji."
"Yes commander?"He asked,his tone professional as it always was when it came to dealing with his father while on the job.
"If it comes down to with,you will have to be our pilot."His father stated. Shinji nodded.
"I'm aware."He answered. "On the test unit,correct?"
"Yes,we cannot risk another failed activation on the prototype."Gendo said,thought Shinji could notice the hidden sorrow behind those words,he still blamed himself for what happened to Ayanami.
"What matters is that the pilot is alive and recovering commander."
"I see."Then,there was a moment of silence. "You are uncharacteristically taciturn. Is everything well?"
Shinji nodded in response.
"I'm just stressed is all." Gendo nodded silently before returning his eyes to the screen.
Below them,the generals continued with their endless tirade of orders and demands,even mistakenly giving commands to some of Nerv's own staff,it was somewhat humorous to see the staff either meekly follow the commands of people who were not their superiors or just ignore the generals and continue doing whatever they had been before.
"Where the hell are the forces from Iruma?!"One of the generals shouted.
"You ordered them not to deploy five minutes ago..."Shinji murmured,thankfully unheard by the men below.
The confusing incompetence of the Japanese military continued on for another hour,guided missiles,helicopters,VTOLS and artillery doing nothing to even slow down the Angels advance by more than a second or two and the casualties were already in the tens of thousands. Shinji would have found their incompetence funny if the loss of life wasn't so tragic.
At the end of the hour,quite exactly in fact,one of the phones that had been directly set up with a line to Tokyo-2 rang,the prime minister no doubt. The general listened to to the commands from the other side,giving a few 'uh uhs' and 'okays' before putting down the phone and raising from his seat.
"Very well...permission has been given by the Prime minister...deploy the special weapon."His command was firm and left little room for arguing. Good,Shinji thought,the sooner they realize not even their weapons of mass destruction can damage an Angel the sooner 01 can be deployed and the fewer deaths there will be.
Minutes passed,seeming to drag on for an eternity as bomber wings from Iruma approached the Angel,all armed with decoys to distract the gigantic enemy while the plane in the very far back of the formation had within it the superweapon.
The decoys were deployed,a storm of flares that distracted the Angel long enough for the N-2 mine to be deployed. Soon Air became an ever increasing ball of plasma,rising high above even the Angel's massive height. Then,it collapsed in on itself,exploding outward at unbelievable speeds,the N-2 mine,a weapon to dwarf even the nuclear bombs of old and the sad result of the same decade long war that had birthed the career of the generals below him.
The camera feed went dead,destroyed in the explosion and even Nerv's sophisticated sensors were having difficulty picking a reading on the Angel following the sudden interference. But Shinji knew for a fact that the Angel was still there,perhaps injured,but certainly alive.
"Well Ikari."The head general spoke up,turning toward the man in question with a cocksure smile. "It seems we won't need to use your toy after all. We've finally proved NERV's worthlessness."
Uncharacteristically Gendo sucked up some air through his nose,a small chuckle.
"Laughing are we Ikari?Well,we'll see who's laughing when you and your sorry bunch finally stop receiving all the special benefits you've been getting from the UN." Gendo ignored the General's continued rambling and turned toward his son.
"Shinji,please prepared yourself,Unit-01 will deploy shortly."He ordered.
"Of course commander,give the Generals my word that I will try not too humiliate them too much."He said,giving a court bow to the men below as he descended down the elevator and toward the more restricted parts of Nerv's headquarters.
Immediately after stepping out of the Elevator he was greeted with a familiar face.
"Hello Shinji-Kun."He looked at and sighed somewhat.
"What do you want Ritz?"He asked in annoyance to which she put a hand on her chest in mock shock.
"How rude Shinji-Kun,can't I simply say hello to my surrogate son once in a while?"Shinji just looked at her for a second with the expression of someone who didn't believe her lie for even a second. "I was actually being somewhat nice this time. I came to ask you if you were ready."
"I have no choice but to be ready,the entire world's counting on me"Shinji said,to which Ritsuko simply shook her head.
"You say things like that far too often,do I need to remind you that you're not forced to do this?"She asked.
"It's not a matter of choice Ritsuko,there are millions of pepole counting on me just in Japan,across the globe the fate of Billions are on my hands,i have to be ready or people will die." He said.
"Really,you take things to heart too much,if your philosophy doesn't change your bound to run into a problem in this line of work."Shinji nodded.
"I know."Ritsuko just looked at him for a moment,at a loss as to what to say.
"You know?"Once again,a nod.
"I do."
"And that's it?You won't stop?"She asked
"Nope,that's not my style!"He said,flashing her a grin and thumbs up as he did so.
"You Ikaris really are something else aren't you?"She asked,thought the question was clearly rhetorical. "Well,get going,we wouldn't want you to be late for your first combat operation,Misato would gut me if I held you too long."Ritsuko said.
"Ah,yes,you don't want to deal with an Angry Misato,you'll wish you'd volunteered to fight an Angel bare handed instead."Shinji joked,to which Ritsuko herself gave a small laugh. "Later Ritz."
"Until next time Ikari."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Entry plug felt cold when it was deactivated.
"Cryogenic process terminated." Shinji listened to the chatter coming from the bridge throught the radio. "Right Arm clamp now operational. Check ramp position."
"Position is go for first contact activation." Another one of the bridge crew answered back.
"Loading crane prepared,termination plug removal sucessful,waiting for pilot go ahead." Shinji leaned in and clicked a button to start transmitting to the bridge.
"This is Ikari Shinji,First Child,i am ready for initial insertion."He could hear the clicking of buttons on the other side before he could feel a slight movement.
"Roger that,Entry plug Number Thirty three being inserted into Evangelion Test unit zero one."A few seconds passed and the movement stopped. "Pilot confirm Plug has stopped moving."
"Affirm,plug has stopped moving." Shinji replied.
"Roger that,LCL injection will begin in T-minus 5 seconds,stand by." Shinji nodded in response,even if they didn't have a camera feed on him yet.
Then,the LCL started dripping down,Shinji doing his best to convince himself that even thought it tasted,smelled and felt like blood it wasn't blood...well,it wasn't Human blood at least.
He didn't try to hold his breath,taking a deep breath of the red liquid and forcing back his need to puke as the LCL was oxygenated.
"Second phase beginning,preliminary Synchronization underway." One the crew stated.
"Bi-directional circuits online,A-10 Nerv connectors operating within expected parameters."Shinji leaned in to the plug's chair as the crew continued on,taking in a big breath,or rather gulp,of LCL.
"Harmonics normal,no disturbance. Third Stage underway,Synchronization level rising,50,60,holding steady at 70%"Maya,one of the bridge's personnel that Shinji had actually interacted with in the past,said
"That's 2 points below average for Shinji,isn't it?"Misato asked,to which Shinji could hear a slight 'yup' in response from Maya.
"It's not too worrying,a real operation is much more taxing on the pilot than a test,proceed as per usual"Akagi could be heard ordering in the other side,thought her voice was more muffled,probably because she was in the back of the bridge checking raw data as was the usual.
"Roger that Senpai,all readings optimal,pilot Ikari,confirm your ready for combat operation." Once more Shinjiu nodded.
"I'm ready." With that there was some more chatter from the bridge,shortly followed by a slight and sudden tug as he was moved from the holding platform to the main launch platform. Ah,my favorite part of the deployment process the sudden 'fuck you of death at mach 14'. Also known to everyone that was not Shinji as 'launching '.
"Very well then...Evangelion unit 01...LAUNCH!"
Shinji was immediately sent barreling upward at unimaginable speeds,breaking the sound barrier,if he wasn't surrounded in liquid he was pretty sure even a small bump at this stage would kill him,even surrounded by LCL he wasn't so sure he wouldn't just immediately explode when coming into contact with anything else. Thankfully he did not explode.
What did happen was that he found himself face to face with the Angel,no more than a hundred meters,a tiny distance for their gigantic bodies.
"Releasing docking clamps!" Shinji heard come from the other end of the comms but he wasn't paying attention,completely focused on his enemy.
"This is Evangelion Unit 01,engaging enemy." With that,he took out his prog knife,prepared himself and leaped.