Asuka was the first to snap back to reality; she aimed her pallet rifle at the newly emerged "Angel" and opened fire, the shots kicking up the water near the creature. Shinji immediately followed suit and fired his own rifle however before their shots could close in, it dove back beneath the waves.
"Do you think we drove it off?" Shinji asked.
"Don't be stupid, it's probably getting ready to attack." Asuka snapped back.
The two carefully edged closer to the water, their rifles ready as they carefully examined the water for disturbances. The sea seemed calm for a moment, that is, until the water near the docks began to bubble giving way to another eruption of water as the yellow creature emerged and gave out an unearthly cry, its remaining tendrils flailing about. Asuka clenched her teeth and prepared to shoot it. Yet, before she could, the creature's legs buckled, causing it to collapse onto the docks with a loud crunch, its massive body crushed the remaining buildings beneath.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed.
Shinji approached the creature, making sure to keep his rifle ready. It was then the shore near Asuka burst and the reptilian "Angel" leapt from the water and onto Unit-02, its enormous weight knocking the EVA onto the ground. Its pilot could only let out a frustrated grunt as the cockpit rumbled from the sudden impact. The "Angel" let out another roar before tilting its head to the side and bringing its jaws down towards Unit-02's head. Asuka reacted swiftly, raising Unit-02's hands to stop it. Her own hands gripped the controls tightly and kept them pushed forward, causing the EVA's hands to tremble as they tried to push back the creature's jaws.
"Asuka!" Shinji shouted.
Shinji turned Unit-01 towards the struggling pair and fired three bursts from his rifle, careful to make sure his shots did not hit Asuka. However, since Shinji had not given Unit-01 time to lock on, the shots barely grazed the "Angel". Luckily, it was enough to cause the creature to wretch its jaws away from Unit-02 to face the other EVA, allowing Asuka to draw her progressive knife and slashing the creature's shoulder. The reptilian "Angel" let out a shriek as red blood oozed from its wound before it jumped over Unit-02 and barreled in the direction of Tokyo-3.
Asuka got Unit-02 to stand once more before she put away her progressive knife, her image appearing on Shinji's comm.
"Thanks for your help, I guess." She begrudgingly muttered.
"Umm you're welcome." He hesitantly replied.
Misato suddenly came on both of their comms.
"Asuka, Shinji can you confirm the status of the second Angel?"
Shinji turned Unit-01 around and approached the yellow creature still lying on the dock. Upon closer examination, he could see the creature had deep lacerations around its shoulder and neck as well as gashes around its legs. Its torso slowly expanded and contracted, with each contraction causing it to emit a low gurgling noise.
"Yeah, it looks like it's alive but…injured." Shinji relayed.
Unit-01 reached out its hand and touched one of the gashes, causing the creature to let out an unearthly cry while flailing its tentacles. Shinji quickly retracted Unit-01's hand.
"I see, well in that case I want you two to go after the third Angel. Rei just launched and she's going to retrieve the first one. Make sure the third one doesn't get to them and try to see if you can capture it as well, got it?" Misato ordered.
"Got it!" Shinji replied as Unit-01 sprinted after the third "Angel".
"What about the squid? Shouldn't we try to bring it in?" Asuka asked while she looked at the miserable creature with a grimace.
"It's clearly not going to go anywhere Asuka, now go back up Shinji." Misato replied.
Asuka let out a slight frustrated sigh.
"Fine." She said before Unit-02 ran off to catch up with Unit-01.
Misato watched the monitors intently, a scowl overtaking her face. Ritsuko walked over to Maya and leaned next to her.
"Have there been any changes in these…creatures' readings?" Ritsuko asked.
Maya shook her head "Negative, their blood types are all orange."
"I see, and what's the Magi's analyses?"
"None yet, they agree with your recommendation of capturing and studying them, but they can't seem to resolve what exactly these things are."
"Interesting…"
"What's the status of the rendezvous?" Misato suddenly interjected.
"Our escorts will be arriving shortly, ETA fifteen minutes. Scans show the vessels have not yet reached the dock." Makoto replied.
"Good, make sure to keep them updated on the locations of the EVAs and the…Angels." Misato turned to Shigeru, "Also send an inquiry to the US government about any…unusual military investigations" she ordered.
Ritsuko walked up to Misato with a smirk.
"Looking forward to meeting our new guests?" Ritsuko inquired.
"I'm hoping for at least some kind of answer." Misato shot back; her voicing filled with impatience.
"It will certainly be an interesting meeting" Ritsuko strut passed Misato and up to Maya "What's the current status on the Angels?"
"The first Angel is still grounded from Unit-01's attack but struggling to return, the second Angel has been immobile since it re-emerged and the third Angel is still being pursued by Units-01 and 02, ma'am." Maya replied.
"And Unit-00?"
"Unit-00 is inbound for the first Angel as we speak."
"Good, now bring up the second Angel" Ritsuko ordered.
The huge screen, currently showing the two EVA Units in their chase, split to show the second "Angel" still lying on the wreckage of the dock with its wounds plainly visible. Ritsuko observed the image for several moments before gesturing for Maya to close it. Misato looked over and raised an eyebrow.
"Something up?" Misato wondered.
"Possibly, but…I am not sure," Ritsuko sighed and turned to Misato "Today has been a very unusual day even for our line of work." She looked back to the screen.
The unit of ships, led by the HEAT Seeker, approached the port where their contact had told them to meet. As it came into view, Nick could see four black sedans parked not far from where they were heading. Once docked, Nick and Monique were the first to depart only to be greeted by six men in black suits and sunglasses waiting for them. Monique stepped forward towards the man at the front of the group.
"私たちが会っているのはあなたですか?" she addressed.
The man nodded "はい、私たちはあなたを基地に護衛します." while he gestured towards the cars.
"そして、それはどのくらいかかりますか?" she followed up.
"これ以上20分未満、一度そこに私たちの上司は、会議を手配しません." He stated formally.
The rest of the HEAT team and a couple of the soldiers soon joined them.
"So, I presume these gentlemen will be taking us to whoever sent that warning?" Nick asked.
"Correct, it shouldn't take too long to get there." Monique confirmed.
"This is going way better than the last time we came to Japan" Elsie commented.
"Alright, Mendel you and Randy get NIGEL ready, the rest of us and the troops will…" Nick began.
Only for one of the soldiers came rushing off the ship while carrying a pair of binoculars.
"Dr. Tatopoulos! Look!" he shouted as he handed Nick the binoculars and pointed across the shore.
Nick grabbed the binoculars and used them to scan the shore. At first, all he saw were roads and distant signs of civilization until his gaze fell upon another port, this one covered in the remains of wrecked buildings and smashed equipment. But what caught Nick's attention was the figure on top, it was hard to see every detail from his distance, but the dark yellow hide and limp tendrils told him it was the Crustaceous Rex.
A chill ran down Nick's spine as he handed back the binoculars.
"Alright change of plans, three of your men will accompany us to the base while the rest retrieve the mutation." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." The soldier replied.
"What's up jefe? What did you see?" Randy spoke up.
"We've found the Crustaceous Rex and it seems Godzilla has already incapacitated it." Nick stated.
"Dang, looks like the big guy's already started the clean up ahead of us. Did you at least see him finishing the fight?" Randy inquired.
"No, I didn't see any sign of him. Mendel, do you have any info?" Nick asked.
Mendel looked over his pocket computer before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, it seems he's gotten out of range, from the faint signals I can pick up, he's gone further inland."
"Do you think he might've found another one of the creatures?" Elsie interjected.
"Probably, hopefully he'll track it down before they get too close to civilization. We should get moving, maybe even on the way we'll find them." Nick said.
The HEAT Team nodded as Monique gestured to the men in black and they began escorting them to the cars.
The pair of EVA units sprinted after the creature, their colossal feet sending small shockwaves through the earth while leaving massive footprints in their wake. Despite their efforts, they failed to close the distance between themselves and the reptilian "Angel" for several minutes. The flat shores of the nearby towns gave way to raised ridges and mountainous bases as their chase led them into a pass. The path through twisted twice along the way but the EVA units managed to keep a bead on the reptilian figure yet even with the turns, the creature's speed did not diminish. At a third turn, Unit-01 raised its rifle before firing a burst at the creature while it shifted. However, the shots only managed to hit the rockface.
As they cleared the turn themselves, the two could see the end of the pass and the skyline of Tokyo-3 near the glistening Lake Ashino. Unit-01 stopped in its tracks before it raised its rifle once more, Shinji took a deep breath while he watched the monitor. The screen showed the shrinking figure of the reptilian "Angel" with the display carefully moving two circles over it before signaling a lock-on. With that, Shinji pulled the trigger causing the rifle to rapidly fire off its rounds. Unit-02 stopped just short of passing Unit-01 as its shots peppered the creature's position along with the surrounding rockface, kicking up a cloud of dust. After several seconds, the rifle let off several clicks before becoming silent altogether.
Shinji and Asuka waited with bated breath as the dust settled. The two slowly moving their EVA units closer. They watched their monitor's carefully for any signs of movement or presence. It was not long before the cloud cleared and revealed that the creature had disappeared with no sign of it up ahead.
"What the hell?! Where did it go?" Asuka exclaimed, her voice coming on Shinji's comm.
"I-I'm not sure…" Shinji mumbled.
The pair reached the area where the reptilian "Angel" had been barreling down just as Shinji had taken the shot. At first, it seemed no different from any other section of the pass save for the holes made by the stray shots but as the giants carefully searched, Shinji noticed a massive pile of rocks forming a break in the otherwise seamless rockface to the right of their position.
Misato then appeared on their comms.
"Shinji, Asuka, what's the status of the third Angel?" she demanded.
"We…we don't know." Shinji admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"I thought I could stop it before it got into the city, so I stopped and let the EVA take its aim…" Shinji explained.
"And then you lost it." Asuka continued.
"You didn't see it either!" Shinji shot back.
"Alright I get it you two, just…" Misato let out a sigh "get back to the city and help Rei with the first Angel, we'll figure out where to go from there." She ordered.
"Yes ma'am" the two replied
The EVA Units began walking towards the city with a brisk stride, leaving the pass behind while approaching the city's edge. The two stopped after clearing the entrance when they heard a low rumbling although looking around, they could not pin its source. It was then the rockface behind them burst into a shower of stone as the reptilian "Angel" erupted from within, leaping from the hole and onto Unit-01. Shinji could only let out a yelp, the creature colliding with the purple EVA and causing it to drop its empty rifle before falling to the ground. But even while Shinji's heart raced and his eyes shut in bracing for the shockwave, he still managed to adjust the EVA to roll with the momentum before pushing forward on the controls leading to the EVA kicking the creature off.
It soared through the air for a moment before crashing back to earth with a loud thud and rolling over. It quickly regained its footing and faced Unit-01 just as it was standing back up with Unit-02 approaching from behind the purple titan. The creature smashed its tail into the ground while staring down Unit-01, the EVA just getting back on its feet. It was then a flash of light rode up the reptilian "Angel's" spines, its mouth opening to release a stream of bright green fire as its roar echoed. Shinji barely had time to get his bearings before Unit-01's chest was struck by the flames. Even with the specialized armor surrounding the EVA, the intensity of the heat caused the LCL to boil.
Shinji screamed at the top of his lungs as the liquid around him seared every inch of his body. His hands gripped the controls tightly but with Shinji's mind consumed by the agonizing pain wrapping its burning embrace around his entire being, they were unable to move further. Outside, Unit-01 stood as it was blasted with green fire, its hands raised slightly but moving no further. After several painful seconds, the creature ceased and Unit-01 fell to its knees, its head slumped back. Shinji sat in the cockpit with his head held down, the attack was over, but his skin was still stinging, his ears were ringing, and his thoughts were lost in a haze.
The reptilian "Angel" cocked its head to the right as it saw the EVA unit fall but promptly turned its attention to Unit-02 just as it reached Unit-01's position. Another flash of light ran up its spines followed by a second stream of green fire emerging from its mouth. Unit-02 immediately ducking to the left, the pillar of flames missing its right arm by inches. The creature tilted its head to move the fire closer with Unit-02 responding by leaping out of the way but causing its umbilical cable to whip into the fire's path with the intense heat severing it. The umbilical plug suddenly dropped off Unit-02's back as Asuka's screens turned red and a five minute countdown appeared.
"Verdammt!" Asuka shouted before pulling back on the controls.
The red EVA unit stood up, unsheathing its progressive knife, and charging towards the creature. It let out a roar as another flash rose up from its spines but Unit-02 swiftly closed the distance, grabbing it by the throat and pushing it to the ground. The creature began uselessly shooting its green flames while the red colossus tried to plunge the knife into the creature only to be stopped by its hands grabbing the EVA's wrist. The creature's tail smacked the ground and its hind legs scratched at the EVA's thighs although it did little to deter the EVA from continuing their struggle.
Asuka grunted while pushing forward on the controls, she could hear faint groans and creaks from the unit's armor as she continued to push the progressive knife towards the creature. The counter ticking downwards with every second the struggle persisted, her focus was fully on moving the knife forward however she would occasionally glance at it. Four minutes and twenty seconds. Three minutes and thirty seconds. Two minutes and fifty-five seconds. Her concentration was momentarily interrupted when the creature's claw managed to scratch the right thigh joint. Despite the pain shooting through her right thigh, Asuka did not waiver, only pressing Unit-02's strength further. The reptilian "Angel" tenaciously held up Unit-02's wrist, the glowing pink knife a swift jab away from piercing its hide.
Asuka yelled at the top of her lungs as she tightened Unit-02's grip on the creature's throat. One minute and ten seconds. Her hands clenched the controls, the solid metal embedding through her gloves to press against her skin. Forty-five seconds. The creature let out a weak shriek when she feels its strength fading and her push growing smoother. Her heart pounds in her chest with her gaze focusing in on the final attack.
And then the cockpit went dark.