Neon Genesis Evangelion: Asuka Versus Godzilla
From: "boyfriend_of_hikaru" <boyfriend_of_hikaru@my-deja.com>
Asuka Versus Godzilla
Neon Genesis: Evangelion OFF series #1
By Austin Covello
Based on the characters created by GAINAX.
"Oh come on! Give me a break!" cried Asuka Langley Soryu. She, Shinji, and Rei were at Misato's condo, watching some old Twentieth Century tripe that was on TV called "Godzilla vs. Mothra." People back then must have been easily amused. What were the ratings for it now, though? A zero point three? Of course, that didn't stop that idiot Shinji Ikari from getting into it.
"Yeah! That's it! Slug that moth!" he cried, cheering Godzilla. "Isn't this great?" he asked Rei Ayanami, whom he had invited over.
Rei, on the other hand, was intensely examining a kernel of popcorn as if she didn't know what it was for. Hadn't she *ever* eaten popcorn and watched old movies before? No, Asuka realized, probably not.
Rei sniffed at the kernel. "I don't understand this part," she said. She didn't whine, she didn't ask for an explanation, she simply stated it as a matter of fact.
That wouldn't stop Asuka from putting in *her* two yen worth, though. "It's called 'popcorn,' Rei," she said mock sweetly. "You put it in your little mouth, chew it up good so you don't *choke*, and swallow it."
Major Misato Katsuragi came into the room with a tray of drinks: Beer for herself, tea for Shinji, coke for Asuka, and mineral water for Rei. "This is great!" she enthused. "I remember seeing the old '97 American version in the movie theater when I was a kid! It was awesome! Godzilla was stomping everything in sight!"
"Misato, are you drunk?" asked Asuka. "We've got our own version of this in real life! Angels are bad enough without adding giant lizards into the mix."
"I don't know," said Shinji. "Watching a giant kimodo dragon stomp Tokyo flat is pretty fun. Besides, I don't think even an Eva could take Godzilla."
"Are you *nuts*?" shrilled Asuka. "My Unit 02 would make mincemeat out of that reject from Jurassic Park. And every Angel we've ever beaten makes him look like Barney!"
"She's right," Misato said to Rei. Rei nodded.
"Not with the way *you* pilot," countered Shinji.
"He's right," Misato said to Rei. Rei nodded.
"Are you trying to say all of those Angels weren't tough?"
"Not as tough as Godzilla!"
"They're both right," Rei said to Misato. Misato nodded.
"Does anyone besides me realize how stupid this conversation is?" asked Misato. "I mean, you're comparing real life with old movies. Don't you two realize how dumb you both sound?"
Shinji just shrugged. "No dumber than usual," he said in a self- deprecating manner.
Asuka flushed, both angry at being called dumb, and embarrassed. It *was* true. This *was* a stupid conversation. But she was *right*, dammit!
"And for the record," Misato lectured, "why destroy him at all? He might do us all a favor and gobble up those moronic politicians in The Committee." She hiccuped and then yawned. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to bed. G'Night!" With that, she got up, stretched, and stumbled to her room.
Asuka turned away from Misato and saw Shinji once again staring at Rei. She fought down a momentary surge of jealousy. Maybe it would be better to finally admit her feelings for him, to just get it out in the open. Maybe if she did, he wouldn't admire Rei so openly. Hell, Rei didn't love him. She wasn't capable of love, couldn't he see that?
But no. It wasn't proper. It was the male's job to court the female. That was how she had been brought up. And besides, Shinji was so much of a wuss that he couldn't even express his feelings to *Rei*, and talking to Rei was like talking to a wall. Why, even if he would return her feelings of affection, he'd probably douse his drawers before he could admit it from fear that she'd bite his head off! Which left the unsolvable riddle: How could Asuka get Shinji to be her boyfriend if he patently refused to make a fool of himself for her benefit?
Well, the first thing she had to do was get him to stop staring at Wonder Girl over there. Simple enough. She stalked over to Shinji and smacked him across the back of his head. "Shinji, you idiot! Don't you know that it's impolite to stare at another woman?" --...as opposed to me...-- "Why didn't you invite Kensuke like you were going to? Rei's such a drag." --I wouldn't even mind that pervert Toji over that wind up toy you're drooling over!--
Shinji rubbed his smarting head. Asuka suppressed a wince as she realized that she hit him harder than she had meant. "Kensuke had made other plans. Besides, Misato thinks all of us spending time together will help us function better as a team!"
"Oh, so we're a *team* now!" She paused to think up something scathing. "Well, let me tell you something, Third Child..." Shinji winced. She only ever used his piloting designation when she was really mad. "...we women aren't pieces of meat for you to drool over! You're supposed to like us for our personalities! And now it's time to go to bed, children." With that, Asuka stalked off to her room and slid the door shut so hard that it recoiled. She slid it again, a little more gently this time.
"I wonder how," Rei said.
Shinji turned to Rei. "How what?"
"How we could like her for her personality."
In spite of himself, Shinji laughed. It was easy to forget that the soft-spoken Rei had a sense of humor, however weird it might be. "I wouldn't know," he replied.
"Thank you for having me over, Ikari. It was... fun."
"Anytime, Rei."
***
"Greetings, Asuka."
Asuka awoke and turned on the light. Then she groaned. It was *him*.
Asuka instantly realized that she wasn't awake. *He* only came in a dream. *He* was her tormenter, that disgusting little pervert poking around in her subconscious. With his red eyes and white hair, his face handsome to the point of being pretty, he reminded Asuka of nothing less than a male version of Rei. Asuka had known, ever since she had been chosen to become an Eva pilot and *he* had manifested himself, that he would take something important away from her. Maybe he'd even take away everything that she held dear.
*He* went over to Shinji. Gently, he caressed his sleeping head. "He seems so peaceful, doesn't he? Don't you wish you could be like him? So calm and accepting? I may just steal him away from you, you know."
Asuka grabbed the nearest available object-a book-and threw it at him. "You stay away from Shinji! Don't you *dare* touch him, you pervert!"
He laughed, a chill, mirthless sound without any comfort to it. "Why, my dear Miss Soryu, don't you think I'd be good for him? *Much* better than you, I'd say. Why, with the way you torment him, it's a wonder he hasn't turned homicidal."
"How dare you!" cried Asuka. But deep down inside, she knew it was true. Not that this little bastard would be any better. She had at one time wondered if he might be her conscience. But he was just too evil. And, Asuka had realized, he had a personality all of his own, too separate from her to be a part of her.
"No, you know better than to believe I'm your conscience. But why don't we come to the point? I couldn't help overhearing your conversation this evening over the channel three movie. I, for one, agree wholeheartedly. We are much more fearsome than some blowup puppet."
So. Asuka had suspected as much. He was an Angel. But why was he tormenting her? Did he hope to bring her synch ratio down from within her mind? Or was he simply riding around in there until he could get close enough to his objective in Central Dogma?
"All in good time, Asuka. You'll find out, all in good time. But you think that you, along with your blasphemous toy, could ever defeat... Godzilla, was it?"
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "You bet I could. And my 'blasphemous toy', as you call it, is the finest fighting machine in the world! I'd stomp that overgrown salamander in less than five minutes, just like I killed your baby brothers!"
He laughed again. "You Lillum are so arrogant. You believe that, just because God created you in His own image, you are Gods yourselves. And your Evangelions are mere byproducts of your arrogance, a sacrilege against Him and Us. Very well. I'm going to do you a favor, Asuka. I'm going to let you prove your little theory."
"Oh. Let me guess," Asuka returned his bantering tone. "An Angel is going to come down here in the form of Godzilla? Don't make me laugh."
"Of course not. Like I said, we won't demean ourselves by pretending to be something you Lillum use to pass the time in between feeding and mating cycles. What you will battle will be a footsoldier, no more, no less. I shall bid you good evening now." He bowed mockingly and vanished.
***
Asuka sat up in her bed, cold sweat dripping from her forehead and her hands clammy. As usual, she was panting after her little visit. She looked out the window. Dawn was beginning to break over Tokyo-3. Golden beams of sunlight streamed out of the clouds, touching the massive skyscrapers. Asuka sighed.
"Screw you, Morning," she groaned. What she really needed was a shower. Asuka had taken a Criminal Justice course in college, and she had learned that the first thing a rape victim did when she got home was take a shower. Asuka wouldn't have gone so far as to say she had been *raped* by the Angel, but she had certainly been violated.
As the little droplets of water flowed out of the nozzle, Asuka took care to make sure some splashed into her eyes. While sleep normally refreshed and rejuvenated a human being, when that Angel appeared, it was as if she had stayed up all night without it. At least, that was how it effected her *mind*. Her reflexes were always catlike and quick. But her head felt heavy and sandy, she was prone to dizzy spells, she was short with everyone she worked with (--as if my temper weren't bad enough on it's own,-- admitted Asuka to herself with rueful candor), and worst of all, her thought process was sluggish. And that always meant a decrease in her synch ratio. The fact that her mind needed the sleep that her body refused to grant her left her in one of the worst paradoxes the Angel could have made her face.
--The Angel...-- Now that she knew for certain that little pervert was an Angel, what could she do? Who could she tell? Telling Misato was out of the question. If Misato knew that an Angel was riding around in her head, she'd go straight to Commander Ikari. And who knew? She may never be allowed to pilot an Evangelion again... or worse. Dissection was something that didn't exactly appeal to Asuka. Shinji and Rei were out for the same reason. There was only one person she was likely to be able to tell. Unfortunately, Hikari would probably end up scared of her for who *knows* how long. And besides she wasn't about to jeopardize her closest friend because of something that hadn't done her any physical harm. So she couldn't tell anyone.
She stepped out of her shower, wrapped a towel around herself, and opened the door to the gaping cavern that was Shinji's mouth. "*Guten Morgen*, Vacuum-Boy. Careful not to suck up all of the oxygen. Your lungs might explode," she bantered. Shinji stared after her as she walked back to her room to change. Asuka looked over her shoulder threw her parting shot. "Hey, Shinji! Take a picture, why don'tcha? It'll last longer, you know." She sauntered back to her room, deliberately swiveling her hips to make her walk more sensual.
--I will never understand women,-- thought Shinji as he rubbed his eyes sleepily and walked into the bathroom.
***
Asuka and Shinji arrived at school early as usual. Shinji, having been teased and tormented by Asuka on their walk as usual, eagerly went over to where Toji and Kensuke were sitting and began discussing last night's movie with them.
"It was great! Godzilla was the most fearsome creature I've ever seen!" said Shinji with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "It was like Tokyo didn't stand a chance."
"I've got some Sega games based on Godzilla," said Kensuke. With his glasses and mousy hair, he looked less like the armed forces buff that he was and more of a computer geek. "If you don't have to go to headquarters today, you and Toji can come over and we can play them."
"Sorry, but I've got to work."
"Why?" asked Toji. "I don't see any Angels around."
"There's more to piloting than just fighting Angels. But anyway, Godzilla was just trashing Tokyo, and then..."
From her seat next to Rei, Asuka stared at Shinji while listening to the Three Stooges. --They'll find out what Godzilla is like soon enough,-- she thought sourly. Her thoughts drifted back to Shinji. What did she see in him? Not his looks, certainly. Shinji was ordinary looking at best, the kind of face your eye just skipped over. Was it the way he piloted his Eva? No, Asuka didn't just go for someone because of his occupation. How about his personality? Wait a minute. *What* personality? He was about a step up from Rei with personality. Maybe it was just the fact that it would be convenient. After all, they lived together, they worked together, and they went to school together. Why *shouldn't* they go out?
As Asuka gazed at Shinji, she could help but notice his eyes. They were always so full of thought, so introspective. Asuka suspected that he was holding back some of the things he observed. He didn't talk much, but his mind was always working. He was thinking about everything and everyone. If only she could draw him out! Then she'd know for certain what he thought about her.
"If you ask him, he will talk." A soft, feathery voice said to her. Asuka turned. Rei had been watching her stare at Shinji. --Idiot!-- she berated herself. --You let your guard down! Think, Asuka. How do I get out of this one?--
"What are you talking about?" asked Asuka with feigned dubiousness.
"Ikari. You were staring at him."
Asuka forced a snort. "Are you kidding me? Why would I stare at *that* lump? He's much more suited to you, after all."
Rei gave Asuka a look that most people give to a lunatic. She wanted to let Rei know that the feeling was definitely mutual.
"You had a visitation last night," said Rei.
Her tone was so casual that it took a couple of seconds for the impact of the statement to sink into Asuka. --Oh God! Does she know? How could she? But she does! Say something!-- "You know something, Wonder Girl? You're weird."
"What happened?" asked Rei, ignoring her insult.
"All right. If you absolutely must know, I had a bad dream. A nightmare. That's all. Does that compute, Asimov-breath? Hello, this is Dr. Susan Calvin to Robot..." Asuka's voice trailed off as she saw everyone staring at her. She realized that she had been screaming.
Asuka made a disgusted sound and stalked off to the bathroom. Once she got there, she put her hands over her eyes, fell to her knees and began crying.
***
After school, Asuka caught up with Shinji and Rei as they walked to NERV headquarters. Rei was nibbling daintily on a kernel of popcorn as she walked. "What'cha doing, Rei?" asked Asuka. She was acting as if her outburst hadn't even happened, which was usual for her.
"I'm studying popcorn," replied Rei in her usual subdued monotone. She nibbled again. "Yummy," she deadpanned.
"Looks more like you're stuffing your face with it to me," remarked Asuka dubiously. She snatched a kernel out of the bag, flicked it up into the air and caught it in her mouth. Then she made a sour face. This popcorn was far from "yummy."
Rei, meanwhile, tried to imitate Asuka's trick. The popcorn kernel bounced off of her nose and into a gutter. Shinji stifled a grin.
"This popcorn *sucks*!" complained Asuka. She looked at the name on the bag. Sure enough, it was the store brand. "Where did you get this stuff?"
"Commander Ikari gave it to me," answered Rei.
Asuka snorted. "That figures. The bastard can't even buy name brand popcorn, he's so cheap!"
Rei's eyes narrowed at Asuka, and her free hand balled into a fist. She began to bear her teeth. Asuka hid a cruel smile. This had gotten a bigger rise out of her than anything else Asuka had ever said. Time to milk it for all it was worth.
"Of course, what do you expect from a guy that won't even spend time with his own son? We've got a deadbeat dad running NERV, right Shinji?" As long as she was at it, empathizing with Shinji wasn't a bad idea. --That son of a bitch. He won't even talk to his own son, but he treats that wind up doll Rei like she was his own daughter? Damn him!--
Shinji was smiling. "You read my mind." Meanwhile, Rei was on the verge of apoplexy as she glared at Asuka.
"Oh, excuse me, did I offend you? I'm sorry." Asuka bowed in mock sincerity and put her hand to the back of her head in an apologetic gesture. She knew that if she backed off now, it would just leave Rei in an impotent fury with no outlet. --You want me, Rei? Well, you know where to find me!-- She took Shinji by the arm. "Come on, Shinji. I'll walk you to headquarters."
"Um... okay, Asuka."
Asuka and Shinji picked up the pace, leaving Rei to trail behind. Rei, meanwhile, took out her frustrations on some nearby soda cans.
***
When most of Asuka's classmates (especially the gung-ho Kensuke) thought of being a pilot of an Evangelion, they mainly imagined themselves slugging it out toe to toe with the nastiest Angel that Tokyo-3 had ever faced with mind and mecha becoming one, and the celebrity status that came with it. Sitting in her LCL filled entry plug, bored nearly to tears, the rambunctious redhead wanted to slap all of them. The fact was that about ten percent of an Eva pilot's job revolved around actual *piloting* while the other ninety percent had more to do with synchronization tests, practice drills, equipment tests, and experiments that ranged from boring to demeaning to downright painful.
Asuka could just hear mad Dr. Frankenstein-Ritsuko Akagi-laughing in the control booth, screaming, "It's alive! It's alive! HA-HA-HA-HA!" And if Dr. Akagi were Frankenstein, that'd make Lieutenant Maya Ibuki Igor. Asuka chuckled to herself as she pictured a hunchbacked version of the pretty, young officer hissing, "Oh yes, master. Yes, master!"
Ritsuko's image popped up on the com window. "Asuka! Your synch ratio just dropped again. Concentrate!"
"Huh? Oh. Well, I'll do my best, Ritsuko," she said demurely. --Can that woman read minds?-- With that, she decided that playtime was over, and it was time to get to work. Grimly she sat in the plug-no! She was the Eva. Grimly she stood, immersed up to her shoulders in the LCL bath and meditated.
***
"She was thinking something nasty about me. I can tell," Dr. Ritsuko Akagi said to Misato. They were in the control center, and Ritsuko was hovering over each crew member like an insecure mother hen.
At the con, Commander Gendo Ikari watched with cold eyes through rose-tinted glasses, his fingers steepled with interest. It was so unlike Ritsuko to let something as petty as being *thought* about behind her back get to her. At his side, Vice Commander Fuyutski stifled a grin.
"What makes you say that?" asked Misato.
"Oh, you heard how innocent she was trying to sound. 'I'll do my best, Ritsuko.'"
"It's a moot point, now, Ma'am," said Maya. "Her synch ratio is back up to where it was. And it's rising."
"Excellent," Commander Ikari murmured. If nothing else, these little bouts of quality time were allowing them to synch better with their Evas. Their rates were better than they'd ever been, especially Shinji's.
*Shinji...* Although he'd never admit it, he was proud of his son. Shinji was becoming quite the field marshal during the battles, and he was expressing himself more and more. Shinji had exceeded his expectations as a pilot, saving the lives of more people than he'd ever know. And that meant more people would live see the fruit of his plans.
"And you have so *many* redeeming qualities," said Misato with mock sarcasm.
"Unlike you," countered Ritsuko smoothly.
Misato frowned as once again Ritsuko out-bantered her.
***
Off the coast of Japan, water rippled as a small earthquake hit the country. At the International Seismic Research Center, administrator Dr. Usagi Nobungi sipped her coffee and checked the printouts of the latest readings. Her eyes widened as she looked at the readings.
"Take a look at this, Bob," she said to the American man sitting at the console in back of her.
Dr. Robert H. Tremain studied the printouts with interest. "So? It wasn't even a two-pointer. We didn't even feel it." What was she getting at?
"Yeah, but that's not the strange part. Take a look at the epicenter."
Tremain's jaw dropped in shock as he looked at the quake's location. "That's not a fault line!" he exclaimed.
"Exactly. That means it's not a natural phenomenon."
"I'll check for any construction projects that could cause the disruption."
"Good. Meantime I'll notify the local authorities and..."
The lab shook as another earthquake hit, sending Nobungi and Tremain sprawling to the floor. "*Jesus!*" Tremain swore.
Nobungi, meanwhile, had already gotten to her feet and was stumbling to get to a red stopper on her console. A fresh tremor threw her off balance, and sent her careening toward her panel. There was a loud *thwap* as it took her in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her. Nobungi collapsed to the floor in a heap, sucking oxygen. She pulled her stomach to her spine, and put her hand up on the console, searching blindly with her fingers and no longer trusting herself at a vertical base. She finally found what she was looking for and slammed down hard on it with her hand.
Alarms blared as the evacuation code came on the screen. Tremain helped Nobungi up to her feet and they-along with the rest of the personnel-made their way toward the exit as fast as they dared.
Outside the seaside complex, scientists watched in horror as a one hundred fifty foot giant green reptile rose from the depths of the ocean and began inexorably to move toward them.
"Scatter!" bellowed Nobungi over the din. But the seismologists were way ahead of her as they raced into the woods.
Meanwhile, the gigantic lizard slowly arrived at the Research Center and negligently crushed it with the sole of his foot, moving toward his goal.
***
At NERV HQ, sirens shrilled as the command team struggled to ascertain the situation. "The United Nations just reported that the International Seismic Research Center has been destroyed!" cried Communications Officer Shigeru Aoba. "A large lizard-like reptile was reported to have been sighted!"
"What the hell?" Misato's astonished voice cut through the tension.
"We've got video footage from our cam recorders," said Misato's assistant, Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga.
"On screen," barked Misato.
Hyuga punched some buttons, and the viewer displayed the titanic green reptile lumbering toward Tokyo-3. Abruptly he stopped and threw his head back and roared.
"It's Godzilla!" cried Aoba.
--That can't be right,-- thought Misato. --Godzilla is a fictional character. Unless...--"Scan for pattern. It's possible that this could be an Angel."
"The pattern's black, Major," said Maya.
"What? That's impossible!"
"Take a look for yourself, Ma'am."
Misato went over to the console along with Ritsuko. Sure enough, black alpha waves danced on the monitor.
"We've got a call from the Committee. They want an Eva out there right away," said Aoba.
Misato feigned a sigh. "You'd think that they could take care of their own messes for once." She became serious again. "Red Alert! Notify all local authorities and secure the city for battle mode. Role out Eva Unit 02 and have Unit 01 on standby." --All right, Asuka. Time to put your money where your mouth is.--
***
Asuka heard the sirens blare and felt herself being lifted onto the catapult. The communications window popped up with Misato's face on it. "Asuka, you're taking the point on this one. I want your AT Field at maximum and use your guns."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," grumbled Asuka irritably. "Tell me something I don't already know. How about, 'don't forget to aim for its core.'"
"It doesn't *have* a core, Asuka. It's Godzilla, or something that looks a hell of a lot like him."
"What? How am I supposed to beat this thing if it doesn't have a weakness?" asked Asuka skeptically.
"I'm sure we'll find a way."
"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one fighting this thing."
"Oh well. I guess I should just alter the operation to have Shinji take the point."
"Yeah," said Asuka sarcastically. "I'll give you two-to-one odds he asks Godzilla for his autograph."
Misato sighed. "Just don't screw this one up, okay?"
"When have I *ever* screwed up?" Then she thought about the significance of her question. "Don't answer that."
***
"Launch Eva!" bellowed Misato.
The catapult thrust the big, red, four-eyed robot up to the surface. Asuka looked around and saw an armament building open to reveal a hand rifle. She ran over and took it and began firing at Godzilla as he entered Tokyo-3. The bullets bounced harmlessly off of his chest.
***
"The guns are having no effect!" reported Maya frantically. "His skin's too thick!"
"She may have to go hand-to-hand," said Ikari.
"Isn't that a little risky?" asked Fuyutski. "This isn't even an Angel."
"In a way, it's worse. We don't know the motivations of this... Godzilla. It could be out to do the same thing; a third party, if you will."
"Or it could just be passing through."
"...leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Either way, the taxpayers paid too much for these defenses to have them destroyed in a meaningless conflict. Not to mention the fact that *we* can't afford to lose them, either."
Fuyutski's shoulders sagged. At least the civilians were safe. When Tokyo-3 converted to battle mode, all the livable buildings were transported underground to the Geofront. There, the citizens of Tokyo-3 were transported to shelters in an orderly fashion as the battle went on above ground.
"I only hope Asuka can beat this thing."
***
"Die, damn you!" screamed Asuka as she fired her pulse cannon to no avail. The shots just bounced off of Godzilla's leathery tough skin. Godzilla roared with fury and began to run toward her with surprising speed.
Asuka began firing wildly as Godzilla speared her. The air whooshed out of Asuka's lungs as they both crashed through an empty armament building.
***
"Unit 02's down!" cried Maya.
"Role out Unit 01 and prepare him for launch!" cried Misato. "Do it!"
***
Godzilla hammered on the immobile Asuka as white light flashed behind her eyes. The pain in her head had now receded to a dull ache as her adrenal glands began to work overtime. Asuka struggled to get her legs up under the beast's stomach. Meanwhile, Godzilla's claws had wrapped themselves around her metallic throat, planning to throttle her. Asuka kicked out with as much power as she had, and sent Godzilla sprawling.
After that it was *her* turn to attack. As Godzilla got up to one knee, she elbowed him in the spine and sent him back down to his stomach. He rolled onto his back. Asuka kicked him in his side for good measure and then began to stomp his face. "You're not so tough, now, are you?" she gloated. But she spoke too soon.
Godzilla caught her foot in his claws. With surprising strength, he pushed up on her robotic sole and sent her toppling backward into another armament building. Asuka was so mad that she barely felt her head hitting the pavement, but it gave Godzilla a chance to get back to his feet. He shook out the cobwebs and turned toward her.
But Asuka was already back up, and she rushed back toward him, ready to beat the living hell out of him. She threw a kick up to his maw as Godzilla landed a clumsy but effective punch on the side of her head. She reeled as a dizziness took her. Godzilla then began clawing wildly at her face, but the irritated Evangelion ducked and unleashed a handful of combination blows that were half boxing and half martial arts. It was a style that Asuka commonly employed during hand-to-hand sparing, and it was one of the few things that could throw Shinji off balance. And it should have worked with Godzilla.
But somehow, the gargantuan lizard managed to absorb most of the blows. Asuka finished her flurry with a right hook, but Godzilla somehow managed to get under her arm. He began to claw behind her.
--Now, what is he... the Umbilical Cable!-- Asuka realized his plan a second too late. Sparks flew as the Eva's primary power source became a writhing headless snake.
***
"He's destroyed the Umbilical Cable!" shouted Hyuga.
"Asuka's operating on full power," chimed in Maya. "She's only got one minute of reserve power left!"
"We don't have any time to lose, then," said Misato. "Launch Unit 01."
Hyuga punched the launch code. Then he gasped. "The catapult won't function! It's a torn cable to the power supply!"
"Move it to catapult number two," ordered Misato.
"Negative, Ma'am. All of the catapults are down."
"How long before reserve power can be directed to the catapults?"
"They're working on it, Major. They estimate two minutes."
Misato's heart sank into her stomach. Asuka was on her own.
***
Asuka knew that she only had one minute to finish this thing off, or die. But what was his weakness? She grabbed Godzilla by his neck in a chin lock. She twisted his head around in an effort to snap his neck. But his bone tissue was too strong, and Asuka winced as she took two elbows to the side of her face.
***
"Forty-five seconds," intoned Maya.
Cold sweat dripped from Misato's brow. Unless they could get a better estimate on those catapults, her friend and ward was doomed. "Hurry up, dammit!" she screamed, knowing all too well that it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference.
***
With forty seconds on the clock, Godzilla had begun to take the advantage as Asuka began to despair. After all of those Angels, she was going to go out to an inflatable puppet. How humiliating.
The thought of embarrassment set a fire raging in her stomach. Dammit, she was *not* going to die like this! Not if she could help it! In a rage, she threw a wild punch directly at Godzilla's left eye. Out of reflex, Godzilla closed it just before it landed.
--What the...--
***
"Thirty Seconds." Maya's voice was deadpan, drained of all emotion as she counted down the mere seconds that Asuka had to live.
Misato, however, was ecstatic. "Did you see that?" she asked Ritsuko. "Did you see how he closed his eye like that?"
"*I* saw it. But the important thing is if *Asuka* saw it," Ritsuko said dubiously.
"I hope so," said Misato.
***
Asuka had indeed seen it. She rocked Godzilla with a hard left. Then she took out her progressive knife. Measuring Godzilla, she drove the knife directly into his eye. Green liquid oozed out of the socket as the blade pierced the brain underneath. Asuka jerked the dagger out, and Godzilla toppled to the ground. Fifteen seconds later, the 3D viewscreen in the entry plug faded to black as her Evangelion lost power, and she was just plain old Asuka Langly Soryu again.
Asuka sighed, exhaling air bubbles in the Link Connection Liquid. "They'll probably have to call a tow truck to get me back to HQ. How embarrassing."
***
One hour later, Asuka climbed out of her entry plug to find Misato and Shinji standing in the holding bays waiting for her. Misato ran up to her and hugged her. "You did it!" cried Misato.
"Um... sure, Misato," replied Asuka somewhat awkwardly. Misato usually never got this emotional after a fight. "What did you expect? Me to just roll over on my back and say, 'kill me'?"
Misato chuckled and then sniffled. Asuka looked at Misato's tear ravaged face. She'd been crying! She must have been worried about her. But why? No one *ever* worried about her. Maybe Commander Ikari had chewed her out really bad for making *her* go out instead of Shinji.
--Speaking of Shinji...-- Asuka forced a frown. "And just where the hell were *you*, Third Child?" Asuka asked with feigned menace.
Shinji's eyes widened in fear as Asuka advanced toward him, hands balled into fists despite the combat fatigue she was feeling. "Uh... ah... um..." he stammered with callow.
"You were supposed to be my backup, you idiot! What were you doing, having a cup of tea? I bet you just couldn't stand the fact that *I* was the point man for once, you prima donna!"
"Well, that is... you see..."
Asuka faked a punch at Shinji's petrified head, and instead grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pulled him forward into a kiss full on the mouth. Misato laughed out loud.
Asuka pulled away. "Gotcha. Did you honestly think I was going to hit you? Shinji you idiot!"
Rei walked into the hanger area. "I've discovered the meaning of popcorn," she announced softly.
They all stared at her. Even Asuka was interested in this one. "What is it?" she asked.
Rei looked at each of them in turn and lifted her face up in with the severity of a woman with an earth shattering revelation. "It's junk food," she stated flatly.
Asuka sighed with relief. "Is *that* all? I could have told you that, Rei. Now if you could describe why it pops, *that* would be interesting."
"Boy Asuka," said Shinji with admiration. "You really killed Godzilla. I mean, he never stood a chance. Wait until Toji and Kensuke hear about this!"
Asuka looked at him as if he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. "Are you stupid? That has to be the toughest battle I've ever fought. He was at least on par with the sixth angel."
"Yeah, but you made it look easy. I mean, I don't think that anyone else could have done as good of a job."
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that you could have done better?"
"Yes. I mean *no*!"
Misato listened as the exchange escalated. The two of them were having the same argument as last night, only they had both so radically altered their positions as to have a complete turn around on their old arguments. One thing was for sure, this was a match made in heaven.
"Do me a favor, you two," Misato interrupted. "Make sure I receive an invitation to the wedding, okay?" She walked out of the bay.
"Now what do you suppose she was... Yah!" Shinji yelped as Asuka put an arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Asuka laughed at Shinji's scare and strutted out of the hanger toward the locker room. Another day of work over at last. As Misato would say, Miller Time!
To Be Continued...
Next Episode
When NERV decides to hire out the Evangelions to generate revenues, Asuka finds herself hired by B-ko Daitokuji, daughter of the famous mecha designer Hikaru Daitokuji. Asuka's job is to defeat B-ko's longtime rival, A-ko, a girl who has super-powers. Tempers flare as Asuka clashes with her new employer. Can Asuka beat this latest challenge? Or will she defect over to the other side? It's in the next episode: Asuka versus A-ko.
