Bardiel, the Thirteenth Angel, had assumed a form that was common to the world of the Lillan. It was a brown reptilian shape with a giant shell on its back, four stumpy legs, and a horn on its head. Is this form adequate, Eldest? he asked his leader through his telepathic bond, the bond which had never been enough.
More than adequate, Dread Messenger, came Kaworu's reply. Where our brothers have failed you will succeed. If Adam is anywhere in this earthly realm, you will find Him.
Adam is here, Eldest. I can assure you. And I swear by all that is holy that I will return to Adam so that our people may be as one, Bardiel affirmed.
May God go with you, Dread Messenger, and beware our dark sisters.
May God be with us all, Eldest. With that, Bardiel commenced his attack.
"Pattern analysis confirmed," reported Maya. "It's an Angel."
Misato sighed. With Commander Ikari and Vice Commander Fuyutski on another expedition to the South Pole, Misato once again found herself as the acting Commander-in-Chief during an Angel attack. This time, the enemy had taken on the form of a giant turtle. If turtles had a huge horn jutting out of their foreheads and a core in their underbellies. "Initiate accommodation of the central block and notify all ministries. Prepare all Evangelions for launch," she ordered from her seat on the command balcony.
Five minutes later, the ceiling echoed overhead as the skyscrapers of Tokyo-3's central district finished their descent into the Geofront. "Accommodation of the central block is complete. Evacuation progressing in the first through fourth districts," reported Misato's aide, Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga.
"Notification of the government and all related ministries complete," added Senior Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba.
At Misato's side, Ritsuko looked on with satisfaction. "Well, everything's ready. But who's going to lead this operation?" she asked.
Misato smiled knowledgeably. "Roll out all Evas for launch," she ordered.
Strange, thought Stacy as she entered the plug. I'm not scared. I'm not even nervous. I'm just anxious. She didn't even flinch as the LCL filled the entry plug, nor did it register on her tongue. She jerked the door open and passed easily through the mirror. Then she felt herself being lifted onto the catapult.
Meanwhile, Asuka was in the middle of a hissy fit. "No! Whose lame-brain idea was it to make her leader? She's nothing but a dumb rookie!"
"It was mine, Asuka," shouted Misato. "We don't have time for this!"
"No way! I'm not going to be led around by some mama's girl!" With that, she manually launched herself toward the surface.
"Asuka!" barked Ritsuko.
Misato rested a comforting hand on Ritsuko's shoulder. "That's okay. Let her take the point if she really wants. After all, she'll probably have it from now on, anyway. Eva launch!" she cried.
Below them, Hyuga studied the Angel. "Gamera?" he remarked incredulously.
"Will you get your head out of that manga for just two seconds?" Aoba yelled at him. "There's no one around here that sounds even remotely like Tiffany Grant!"
Asuka shot up toward the enemy. Damn them for wanting that dork Sailor Scout to lead! It wasn't like she was more qualified or anything. Sure Stacy had a higher synch ratio, but Asuka'd had more experience. You couldn't lead a drunk to a bar, Stacy! she thought.
She saw the Angel dead ahead. Quickly, she grabbed two guns from a nearby armament building—a structure that held weapons in it for the Evas—and began to fire wildly at it. First neutralize the AT Field by firing a volley, she thought to herself.
But then the bullets simply vaporized as they reached the phase space. Asuka watched in horror as she could almost see the Angel laughing at her through the AT Field.
Stacy tried not to scream as the Eva shot toward the surface. Was this tearing her face off or what? Not since the rotor at the amusement park had she felt this kind of centrifugal force. The elevator ride abruptly stopped as a door slid open to reveal the combat zone that was now Tokyo-3. Soon she was flanked by Units 00 and 01, and the threesome watched as Unit 02 fired her guns again and again at the giant turtle that was their target.
"I'm neutralizing its AT Field, aren't I?" asked Asuka frantically. The Angel reared up on its hind legs and shot its forelegs out toward the Eva, aiming just under her arms. It then jerked its legs upward through the sockets, severing the arms along with the pesky, irksome weapons that she held in them.
Asuka screamed in agony as blood-red coolant sprayed from her sockets. My arms! My arms! Dear God, my arms! No! They aren't my arms! The Eva's arms. Aren't they? This can't be happening! This can't be happening to me! Kill it! Kill it, kill it, kill it! With that, the armless Eva began to run toward the Angel.
Omigod! thought Stacy. What's she doing? She'll kill herself! "Misato, quick! Break the nerve connection! Now!"
"Hyuga, do it!" cried Misato.
Ten seconds later, the four-eyed head of Unit 02 was sent flying through the air by a thrust from the Angel's horn. It sailed directly toward the other three Evangelions. "Duck!" ordered Stacy. The threesome stooped as the head crashed into the building behind them.
Maya covered her eyes and jerked her head away from the monitor. Both Aoba and Hyuga's eyes were wide as their mouth's hung open, paralyzed with the sight they'd just witnessed. Meanwhile, Ritsuko broke into a cold sweat.
"Pilot status?" inquired Misato.
The three lieutenants still stared at the monitor in shock.
"Pilot status?" Misato's voice was anxious. We had to have broken the connection!
Maya tore her hands away from her eyes and reluctantly looked at Asuka's cardiac monitor and brainwaves. "Pilot's life signs…confirmed." Her face lit up.
Misato breathed a sigh of relief as the tension let out of room at once. Unit 02 was heavily damaged, but at least Asuka was alive.
Asuka sat at her controls in her entry plug, angrily wishing she had something to smash. I lost again! I can't believe it! Now those two idiot twins and Wonder Girl will get all the glory. Why couldn't they just let me die? Her thoughts formed words. "At least death wouldn't have been this humiliating," she said morbidly.
Well, now we know why they painted it red, thought Stacy wryly as she looked at the corpse of Unit 02. She gazed across at the advancing Angel. Guns were definitely out. They needed to get in close and use their close range weapons to penetrate the field and pierce the core.
"It would appear that this Angel is beyond our capabilities," noted Rei.
"But…we can't just give up!" cried Stacy. "That thing has to have a weakness."
"Okay, but what?" asked Shinji. "I mean, it's a giant turtle. Can you think of a way?"
An idea suddenly formed in Stacy's head. "Simple. We flip it on its back."
"But how do we get close enough to do it?" protested Shinji.
"We surround it," replied Stacy.
"We surround it?" repeated Shinji incredulously.
"Yeah. One of us will charge directly at it as a distraction while the other two circle around in a wide arc around the buildings. They will approach the Angel at the front from either side. Meanwhile, the distraction will attempt to break through the AT Field. The flank's job will be to assist if needed. Once that's finished, we'll all grab its horn and flip it up and over. Understood?"
"I will take the spearhead," volunteered Rei.
"No," said Stacy. "I'm the one who thought up this crazy idea. It's only fair that I get the riskiest part. Rei, you take the left. Shinji, you take the right. Everyone ready?"
"Roger," acknowledged Rei.
"Right," came Shinji's reply.
"Okay then, move out!" ordered Stacy. I've always wanted to say that.
As Shinji and Rei moved away from her on either side, Stacy began to charge directly toward the Angel. The Angel's left foreleg shot out at her, catching her in side of the abdomen. Stacy clutched her stomach in pain at the deep gash, but then doggedly ran on, dodging the giant turtle's attacks. Stacy jumped up into the air and flipped toward the Angel, and struck the AT Field that was her first target with a martial arts kick.
Stacy recoiled from the impact and began to claw at the barrier with her fingers, expanding her own AT Field and trying to pull it apart like a potato chip bag. It was the only was to neutralize the phase space. But it's no good. This field's too strong. But then her efforts were suddenly reinforced.
Stacy looked around and saw that Shinji and Rei had joined her on either side and were now expanding their fields to help Stacy. With a loud snap, Stacy tore the force field open. "Yes!" she exulted, grabbing the horn.
Rei and Shinji quickly formed up behind her. "Everybody, heave!" ordered Stacy, spreading her legs for balance. Even with the combined help of Shinji, and Rei, Stacy felt her face turning red with exertion. Every muscle in her body ached with the effort. White light began to flash in front of her eyes as her adrenal glands struggled to block out the fatigue. Then, just as she thought she could lift no more, they suddenly lifted the Angel and threw him down on his back into the armament buildings in the form of a giant wrestler's suplex.
Stacy took out her progressive knife as she ran on top of the turtle's underbelly toward the core. Once I destroy that, this thing's history! Stacy remembered. She found the glowing red sphere in the direct center of the Angel's stomach and drove her prog knife in.
In the command center, Misato braced herself as she saw the core's glow change from deep red to bright white. She knew what that meant. "It's going to self-destruct!" she cried.
Five heartbeats later, the Angel exploded upward in a five hundred foot tower of fire. Then, toward the top, the flaming pillar spread outward in two opposite directions, forming a gigantic cross.
Unit 03 walked out of the center of the explosion, flanked on either side by Units 00 and 01.
They had done it.
Major Misato Katsuragi and Doctor Ritsuko Akagi both stood inside the cages as the three pilots emerged from their entry-plugs. "Good work, everybody," congratulated Misato. "Commander Ikari will be pleased with how you all handled it."
"Yes. You defeated the Angel, and you kept the property damage to a minimum this time," added Ritsuko. "Especially you, Stacy. I didn't think you were capable of taking charge of that kind of a situation."
Stacy pointed at herself. "M-me?" In the midst of the battle, she hadn't even noticed herself giving orders. But it was just that the job needed to be done and…
Ritsuko continued. "In fact, I'd say we've found our field commander. Right, Misato?"
Misato smiled. "Sound's good to me."
Stacy's gaze went from Misato, and then to Ritsuko, and then back to Misato. "Field commander? Me? Field commander?" Her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed to the floor.
"Stacy!" cried Shinji and rushed to her side.
Ritsuko shrugged. "Don't worry, Shinji. It's just battle fatigue. You were doing some heavy lifting out there, after all. I'll go get the smelling salts." Ritsuko turned and then stopped. "You know, I get the feeling that I forgot something." She laughed. "Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me eventually." With that, she walked out of the cages.
As the sun set over the buildings of Tokyo-3, from the decapitated and dismembered Unit 02 there came a muffled whine. "Will someone please let me out of here? Come on, the rescue teams should have been here by now! Misato? Ritsuko? This isn't funny anymore! What's that smell? Mein Gott, the purification systems are breaking down! What's that thing floating by me? EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW! Somebody let me out, now! Please? I'll be good from now on, I swear! Can anybody hear me? Misato…"
Asuka's whining continued long into the night.
I was going to do an extremely long afterword, but to tell you the truth, I don't think I have the disk space. So, I'll just list all of the in-jokes 50% of you probably didn't get, but the other 50% of you did.
Fanfic Reference