2022-05-08: The Island of Death 3: Wisdoms End

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<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

Previously: A monster floated out of the Kyushu Zone, a living island hungry for flesh and information. Enslaved and altered by the vile Jama Empire, Jophiel, Angel of Wisdom, floated towards the ultimate destination of all Angels: Tokyo-03. It was simply taking the scenic route. Engaged by NERV and Black Knight forces, Jophiel was inert until attempted sample taking sprung the Jama trap. Above, a desperate battle against an army of the dead is waged by humanity's defenders. Below, inside the beast.

All there is to do is survive.

Shinji Ikari awakens into the dark. Am I dead?, he thinks, flexing a hand and realizing there is no way being dead would hurt this much. It's dark, pitch dark, and everything feels vaguely warm. How long has he been out? Where's Unit-02? Where's anyone else? His power must be depleted, right? "So it's just you and me until I suffocate." Shinji says, looking at his LCL prison. Why did he leap in anyway?

Unit-01 rumbles, slightly, as if in recrimination. Shinji looks the other way, blinks, and realizes that there's still power; the plug is still in Unit-01. The monster must've eaten one of the battery ships! The fate of the sailors is horrible, but all Shinji can think, right now, is the chance of making this thing move.

The great brown, black and red scab Unit-01 is trapped inside shudders, bulges, and splits as a clawed purple and green hand forces its way out. Caustic fluids flow out of the scab, as Unit-01 slumps to the fleshy 'ground' that makes up Jophiel's innards. Inside is a biological hellscape held in check by strange purple tumors, gleaming in the endless darkness. Shinji does not have the scientific or sorcerous background to understand them, but these tumors are how the Jama are controlling the beast and suppressing its ATField. Someone more knowledgeable may be able to use them to guide the Evas to everyone's only hope of escape.

The wicked core of the Angel. 

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

WARNING: BLOOD PATTERN BLUE DETECTED. XENOMATERIAL CONFIRMED ATFIELD CONFIRMED HYPOTHESIZED AS THE 8TH ANGEL CODENAME: JOPHIEL

WARNING: FOREIGN CONTAMINANTS DETECTED. SUSPECTED JAMA INTERFERENCE.

BEHOLD: PHANTOM ANGEL.

To those 'fortunate' enough to fall into the inner world of the newly christened Jophiel, welcome to a world of rippling flesh and scissoring teeth. Of oozing saliva running down undulating walls of muscle and prehensile tongues drawing yet more of its prey deeper into its cavernous gullet lined with bulbous purple, tumorous growths. The shape of this world is vaguely conical: Wider toward the top and narrower towards its base.

The sky is a constantly shifting dome of flesh, clay, and teeth through which only the occasional narrow shafts of light can be seen. Often gouts of seawater and the half chewed corpses of sea life are poured through the dome and into the creature's greedy gullet. Occasionally a prehensile ribbon of flesh shoots up out of the pit and through the dome to snag unseen sea birds high overhead and drag them screaming down into their doom. Rarely... things larger and more metal than flesh are dragged in as well.

Besides the scant light from the shifting dome overhead, there is an oppressive red glow to Jophiel's world. The glow flares brighter on occasion, and is accompanied with the hideous sounds not unlike that of a poorly socialized individual masticating without care on a particularly savory meal. The sound of wet smacking and snapping, deeper within.

To those unfortunate enough to earn the attention of the great devouring beast, and dragged in by one of the many prehensile ribbons of flesh lining its inner body, they will find the creature attempts to pull them into one of the walls. The flesh yields, attempting to incorporate them physically even as the mixture of thick saliva and noxious gastric fluids begins dissolving away their armor. Ruddy tendrils rise out of the gray-blue ground to cover and harden into a brown scab like material.

This is not a place you want to be. Not the least because of the blinding dark and deafening silence, save for the thrumming beat of a heart ... and what sounds uncomfortably like words.

One such victim of this attention is Unit-02, its armor compromised. Prehensile ribbons of flesh spear the 'machine' through its open wounds - the flesh of the Angel integrating with something deeper inside and attempting to drag the Asuka and her unit deeper to her doom...

... meanwhile a great brown, black and red scab RUPTURES sending a gout of ruddy caustic fluids pouring across the ground below. As is offended by this act of defiance the entire creature emits a piercing shriek from deeper within, its teeth snapping wilder and tongue-like appendages whipping with new energy. If Unit-01's goal was to get its attention, it was a great success. If not...

... things are about to get a lot worse, real soon.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has deployed in Jophiel.

KTS: Ouka_Nagisa has deployed as a Boss for 6 opponents. 

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

Someone is knocking on the door.

That's how Lucine's mind conceptualizes it, in terms that she can understand. Someone is knocking on the door, and she knows she should not answer, no matter how loud the knock is. Not even if the someone behind the door was someone she previously went in to save, because they were in pain. Her time to react had been an hour ago, when she had flown in to rescue the someone from the kaiju, following on a thread that she, as a survivor, could no more ignore than stab herself in the gut. By the time her mind was able to process that the kaiju-sized being *was* the one calling out, it was too late.

And the knock, now that Lucine is inside the 'someone' that she had so wanted to save, is persistent.

The someone on the other side wishes to know her, to understand her, to understand the cells that make her up, and it will devour each and every atom slowly so that it gains the knowledge it wishes, and understands. The Dianthus's armor was designed to withstand the harshness of space; the digestive fluids of an Angel will need some time to get through it. The cockpit is airtight. Lucine has managed fine so far, but eventually, she will run out of fuel. She will run out of air. The Angel can wait.

Lucine knows this, because she has seen the others that had been lured like her. They must have been in its immediate path, because they are naked to the acids there, being only flesh and bone.

The Angel took its time.

No matter how soft or loud the knock, Lucine should not answer. Not even for them.

As she sits in her cockpit, music plays over her livespeakers, a soft piano that contrasts with the fleshy brutalness of the environment.

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9tcHoD6r0c )

It is as much a signal of humanity as it is an elegy for those she saw.

Hugging her legs to her chest, Lucine listens to the piano piece, conserving her energy. ".... I can't answer you. I will not open the door." 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

FIVE MINUTES AGO

By its nature, the Proto Helios is ill-suited to a delicate sample-gathering operation. It and its pilot wait within the Over the Rainbow's hangar, ready to step onto the catapult at any moment. This is the second time Liam 7-020 has sortied with the machine he was designed to fly, and it's... comforting. He's been watching the tactical feed for the past fifteen minutes, and he needs every bit of comfort he can get. His fingers started itching the moment the Black Knights showed up, but the signal to launch never came--Commander Katsuragi felt the EVAs could handle it, and he will not disagree with her.

Liam keeps watching, his fingers twitching, adrenal regulators ready to send him into fight-or-flight. Then, all hell breaks loose.

The Angel's master--master?!--reveals himself in the skies above. The fleshy 'ground' gives way as Eva-02, and Asuka, are swallowed whole. More machines follow. Liam's heart pounds against his ribs as tactical data flashes across his screen.

WARNING: BLOOD PATTERN BLUE DETECTED. XENOMATERIAL CONFIRMED AT FIELD CONFIRMED HYPOTHESIZED AS THE 8TH ANGEL CODENAME: JOPHIEL LAUNCH AUTHORIZATION GRANTED

"This is Pilot Seven-Dash-Zero-Two-Zero," Liam says, his voice tense, but hollow. "Launching." The Proto Helios steps forwards, onto the catapult rails. Launch braces lock in place around its armored feet, and Liam hears the distant hum of electromagnets charging. He settles into a loose crouch, and his machine does the same. The countdown begins.

3...

He doesn't know the enemy pilots. He has every reason to hate them; he was there when the Black Knights unleashed Behemoth upon Nagoya, like the men from space unleashed--

2...

Stop, Liam thinks. Breathe. Control the fury, like Hephaestus taught you. NERV needs you.

1...

But does he know them? He barely knows any of them, at best, and Asuka did her damnedest to drive him off.

LAUNCHING

All those thoughts vanish as the catapult goes from zero to 200 kph in the space of a second. Over five and a half gs slam into Liam's body, but bone lacing, cerebral gel padding, and cardio-thoracic stabilization turn it into a gentle shove. The Proto Helios takes flight, wings of plasma spreading out behind it as the SUNBURST system starts to spool up. Its jets burn hard as it swoops towards the skeletons amassing at Ikima's unholy call. More plasma curls from the vent in the palm of its hand, shaped by will and circuitry into a knife--

Something lashes out from below. Liam sees it on the panoramic monitor, and jerks away--but something slimy and glistening and corpse-colored shoots up from another angle, like a frog's tongue. It wraps around his Gundam's right ankle, drags it down with enough force to shove him against his restraints. More tentacles, glistening and pallid, stretch out from the Angel's bulk, reeling in its prize. Liam barely has time to scream as the Angel's bulk gives way to a yawning hole, a toothless maw. He tenses everything in both legs, but the thing holds on with a death-grip. He reaches up--

In his mind's eye, he sees them reaching up, waving, tears in their eyes--

The Proto Helios vanishes into the maw. A heartbeat later, it seals shut--the faint, distant glow of the SUNBURST lasts a second longer, and then disappears too. 


<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

NOW

It's a small mercy that Liam can't feel everything the Proto Helios feels, despite the deep, intense connection afforded by the modified Mobile Trace. Rhythmic pressure against his Gundam's armor--peristalsis, on a kaiju scale--drew him deeper into the Angel, interrupted by the odd spasm as the Proto Helios' plasma emissions built to the point of pain. He's come to a stop. His Gundam lies face-down; he dangles in the cockpit, suspended by emergency restraints around his limbs, and the coolant tubes plugged into ports on his spine. It's hot. His panoptic display shows more of the same thing it's been showing since he got swallowed, just burned and scab-like and bloodied. Every animal instinct in him is screaming. It's taken effort not to claw and kick and fight as the thing dragged him in. Now--

Now, a shudder passes through the burned, bloodied sac holding the Proto Helios--something nearby breaks free. Liam looks at the sensors and sees what he was hoping he'd see--the reactor signatures of other machines, the ones swallowed by the Angel. He tenses up, and feels the SUNBURST powering up. The thing's saliva and gastric juices haven't compromised the armor, or the plasma conduits.

A massive thermal signature ignites just below EVA-02's prison. Moments later, the sac explodes in a great, gory fireball, like the world's worst hot dog in the world's hottest microwave. A voice crackles over the local band.

"Proto Helios active and uncompromised. Pilot Seven-Dash-Zero-Two-Zero reports visual contact with EVA--" A pause. Which one is the purple and green one again? "Multiple EVA units, one of which is--being--integrated." For what feels like the hundredth time in the past five minutes, Liam's gorge rises. He fights through it. "Pilot! Red EVA pilot, respond!" Adrenaline carves through the hollowness in Liam's voice. Answer. Please answer.

Proto Helios, meanwhile, digs superheated fingers into the behemoth's stomach lining, tight and claw-like. It's hot enough to burn on contact. This /cannot/ be pleasant for Jophiel. 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


Karma is standing in front of a class , giving a lecture to a bunch of blank faces, they are all smiling and happy and Karma is happy to see his students learning. Then the bell rings and class is dismissed, but the bell just keeps ringing and ringing and ...

Karma wakes up in a horrible position, knightmare frames do not make for the best beds even in emergencies and he is going to feel this for the next few weeks. Clearing his head he sees the alarms going off and lets out a groan as he tries to remember what happened while turning off the alarms.

Let see there was that pain in the ass purple Eva, they were fighting, he was about to resolve the purple Eva being a problem, then the ground began to move and he was pulled in along with others. Now here he was inside the belly of whale.

Disabling the alarm and scrambling in the dark, there are a couple of sparks before the longshot comes back to life. "Thank god for extra power cells." With the unit alive a harken burst through the blood sac that the longshot ended up in, bursts through and pulls the custom burai free.

Over open comms he broadcasts out, <"This is P-1 of the Black Knights, anyone copy."> and along with broadcast activates a recovery transponder. No matter who finds him, it is better then just sitting in wherever he is.

As he waits for any response he takes time to reload his knightmares rifle and even manages to find a large piece of shrapnel, possibly Eva armor, to act as a make shift shield. The darkness and sound of the heartbeat eventually gets the better of him as he sends a flare up as high as it can go so he can get a good look at things.

KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3. 

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Guilt is a powerful motivator. It's also a powerful distraction. As the red Unit-02 was swallowed up, the Guren's pilot felt that very distraction take hold. She'd been the reason the pilot couldn't avoid being eaten after all. So stuck was she in those self-defeating thoughts at that moment, that even as the Guren leapt and weaved in the shockwaves of the Angel's shuddering... She was caught unawares when a wicked gorge opened up squarely in her landing zone, sucking the Guren down into its formless mass. Into oblivion.

When Kallen awakens next, the inside of the Guren is bathed in a red light. Warning signals in every direction. She shuts them down gradually, as she tests the controls... Mostly working. Not perfect, but the Guren is still operational. To be safe, she grabs the Uniform on one wall of the cockpit, fumbling into it over top of her piloting suit, visored hat and all. After all, if she's still alive, that means there's hope for that aggressive girl and everyone else.

She just has to hope they'll agree to work with her, even with her identity hidden. To that end, as a silver claw begins ripping its way free of a gory cocoon, a short-range radio is employed. Static giving way to a voice as the Guren erupts from its prison like a blood-soaked falcon. "This is Operative Q1, over. If anyone can hear this, we need to establish a co-op effort." It's not perfect, but it can't hurt. They need to establish communications early, to have the best hope of escape. She's done everything she can to ensure the Guren is mobile and capable of pulling its weight down her. Systems bypasses on certain safety mechanisms, emergency recharge, a couple minor overclock settings... If they fail down her, it's goodbye to the world outside regardless. Still, the Guren is an expertly made piece of experimental machinery, it won't fall apart so easily under the strain. And Kallen is a determined woman. Determined to live. To save everyone trapped down here. And...

Yet unseen, she squeezes a certain precious gift, left by someone long passed. For good luck. 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


Incoherent static crosses the radio on the short range band, which then becomes battle cries broken up by the static. And Evangelion Unit-02 and pilot fight like a cornered badger with a machete. The Evangelion's Restraint Armor is melted around the left calf area and its left elbow's armor is gashed open minutely, creating vulnerable soft spots for Jophiel's tongue which has speared the Eva and dragged it off its feet.

From on its back, she forces the Eva to hack, and hack as she's dragged further and further, striking a tooth every now and then as she's pulled ever downward. Yet it's a losing battle, whatever progress she makes is lost when Jophiel simply does it again.

Alarms blare as her entire Entry Plug is covered with warning messages - and a single timer that's been counting down ever since a few seconds ago since she lost the Umbilical cable. She doesn't need to read them to know what the error is.

I'll kill it kill it kill it you've survived worse you've survived worse you've survived worse this is all her fault this is all her fault thisisallherfaultthisisallherfault! See you soon.

It's pilot howling in desperation and pain and fury as her LCL bubbles up around her, Unit-02 hacks a prying appendage away to try and stop the momentum of the drag. Two more take its place. She chops at them viciously with the Prog Knife. The ones she'd cut before regenerate and stab at her again. And all the while the flesh creeps and scabs outward over the Eva's crimson armor.

The swings are slowing, the pilot's cries of defiance are growing fewer and farther between. With one last slice... she abruptly raises her AT Field before the tongues can get her again. They batter against the outside of it. Several trying to curve around. It's a momentary reprieve, which she uses to have Unit-02 stand up by hooking it's half-crippled left arm around a sharpened tooth of the great maw and using its leverage to push it to its feet.

Keeping it's AT Field raised, the pilot just takes the time to breathe. A timer counting down by her side. She doesn't look at it. She looks ahead to the Sandlion like pit. Her entry plug's radio reconnects the Helios gets close as if using all the other suits breaking down as relays. '-lot! Red EVA pilot, respond!" Oh she responds alright. "Don't think for a moment... I need help... I've got this!"

It's an absurd statement on its face. Right now Evangelion Unit-02 has been disarmed of most of its armaments, it can hardly take a step forward. The moment she drops her AT Field things will get much, much worse. Parts of it are already covered over by the Angel's putrescent flesh.

When the Eighth Angel comes, I'll allow you to do as you please as long as it abides by the mission's parameters. If, by the end of that battle, you continue to feel as though you could have defeated it by yourself, then you can do and say whatever you like going forward.

A girl who puppets dolls just to reassure herself every night that she can do everything by herself, and can only rely upon herself growls out her disdain at all of them.

"Can do it... by myself! Don't need... /any/ of you to... to... get the job DONE!" 'We need to establish a co-op effort.' That message in particular reaches her at an unfortunate time as her anger boils over, "-ESPECIALLY YOU!" 

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

There is a problem. One of the people down there is not a combatant, not anymore. A closed-top command jeep sits inside Jophiel, recently swallowed. The driver is dead, or close enough - injured and knocked unconscious in the collapse, no time for medical attention, and only not being fed to the beast in case it makes it stronger.

The other man in the jeep is Hayato Jin, NISAR Captain. One may ask 'what the hell is Hayato doing in Kyushu during an angel situation in the first place?'

He wanted samples, and other Hayato Jin things.

Taking the front seat and pushing the injured driver in the back with an almost callous disregard, he attempts to see if the jeep can be moved, trying to keep it from getting attacked. If he can't move, he's dead.

And Hayato isn't ready to die.

A hand moves for the speakers and radio, as Liam is heard over the local band. With cold precision, he picks up the receiver and the microphone. All on the local band can hear this, not just Liam, but he's focusing on him.

"7-020, this is Captain Hayato Jin. I am currently commandeering a jeep within the Angel. For all who can hear this, priority is destruction of the Angel's core without unit sacrifices. Any further casualties will likely empower the Angel."

Putting his foot on the pedal, Hayato speaks up again, trying to navigate towards the purple spotts and avoid AT field or anyhting that might eat his jeep. He keeps the motion slow - a fast drive will anger the beast, and this isn't an action sequence for him. It's survival horror.

"Avoid damaging the tumors. They're likely suppressing the AT field. If we are to both kill and escape the Angel, we will have to navigate around them." 

<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.

NOW

With the plug open on board the Carestia, Eisen is seated upon the edge of the metalic cylinder. One leg up, arm leaning over it, gazing off into the distance of the caustic biological 'hellscape' around them. Tongues and tendrils are reaching inside of the 'cavernous' section inside of its flesh, just barely giving some 'cover' within Jophiel. Creeping flesh and strange inner walls roiling and moving around them, seeking them. The 'seal' on his eye has been released, and it keeps making small whirring noises. Adjusting and scanning the area. A wire running from the mechanical unit that covers his eye to a slot near his neck. A second set of wires coming out and leading into a small PDA looking device.

The young scientist is patiently recording as much of the situation as he can. Another series of wires are running into the Plug itself and up to a small cube-like computer, which is showing a charging time as well as various system errors. The youth hangs his head for a moment, touching against the arm that is leaning cross over his knee. A deep breath escapes him.

A glance down, staring down as the vessel he'd managed to connect the Carestia to, the generator chugging its last chugs, before the caustic nature inevitably will cause it to stop working. The ship itself largely torn apart, and it'd taken quite a bit of physical work to get it going. He lazily glances over at the PDA again as it collects data, and he looks up again at the 'region' he finds himself and the Carestia in. Thinking back of how he got here.

He looks to the side of the machine, at two massive cylinders attached to metalic 'straps' hanging from the back of the Carestia, above the flight turbines.

"She's almost charged." He then calls out down below to a honey-blonde woman within the LCL beneath him. "After that, we're getting back to what we were doing and seeing if I can join up with my allies."

They'd gotten just a small reprieve after minutes of constant fighting, and Eisen working to get into a region where he could get the pressure off ever since entering Jophiel. His body aches. He's tired, and he's wearing a helmet to protect him from the caustic nature of the beast. The cylinder is protected by an airlock that is allowing him to get a read on things from the outside for a moment. He was hoping that his cybernetic eye would be able to get a better look at things than using Carestia's own sensors.

EARLIER

"If those fossils want to get in the way of the defense of the Earth over politics, they can slice their bellies open. Gentlemen we need those samples. If this is what we suspect, an embryonic Angel kept in stasis because of the Kyushu Mists, it is our one chance of getting ahead of these things. Our one hope of an offensive. Of finding the source of these creatures and ending this war before it rips the planet in half! Be ready to sortie in fifteen, and that's an order!"

The Carestia had responded to the call, and was doing exactly as was asked. Remaining on the edges of the battle, Eisen had somewhat single-mindedly focused on the task of gathering samples. Using a special weapon which keeps launching a claw into the Angel's body, spinning and creating an interference field with its progressive claws, before tearing chunks off and pulling it into the Cylinders, locking away the material.

WARNING: BLOOD PATTERN BLUE DETECTED. XENOMATERIAL CONFIMRMED ATFIELD CONFIRMED HYPOTHESIZED AS THE 8TH ANGEL CODENAME: JOPHIEL

Eisen turns, the Carestia turns, as the thing comes 'alive'. Ikuma's voice still booming out over the world. The flesh beneath him warps. Wanzers begin to reach the surface. The thing beneath him moves. Opens up and tries to swallow whatever it can find around it. Reaching up from the waters, gulping up one of the nearby 'Battery' ships that is offering support for the yet disconnected Carestia.

But what's worse, nearby is another ship which is getting pulled down, right along with the battery vessel. One bearing the Royal Insignia of the Sanc Kingdom! The battery ship is luckily autonomous, but the civilian vessel has no such luck! The Carestia races to move to grab onto it, as they are drawn down!

A fleshy scab 'forms' around the Carestia, immediately starting to fill with a caustic material, making it immediately difficult to tell up from down as it floods and starts trying to dissolve all that has been gathered. Including the battery carrying ship! Getting the immediate sensor input, an A.T. field forms instinctively, as Eisen is put into the rough situation of dealing with whatever personel are alive on that ship.

The plug on the Carestia pops open, and Eisen puts on an environmental helmet before getting out of the plug in order to pull Relena into the Evangelion before the caustic nature of Jophiel has a chance to do irreprable harm to the girl - having to 'dive' through the caustic material eating at his plugsuit before getting the only surviving member off; Relena Peacecraft.

NOW

The wires get pulled leading from his body to the PDA, and to the computer sitting near his feet. The latter gets put back into the access surface to the LCL, and the PDA gets put into a plastic baggie, before he seals it in a second carrier that he secures close to the entry to the LCL.

Eisen dips his body back into the LCL, closing his mouth and nose as he slides in, and then forces his body to take a deep breath. That intense sense of liquid pushing against his body makes his body try to hold his breath. But he forces himself to open his mouth and take it in. It bubbles for a moment, as he slides into his cockpit.

He looks at his side, where Relena Peacecraft is able to hold onto a 'railing' at the side of the cockpit. "Hang on. We are going in deeper." He declares, as the plug properly locks in, and the lights come to life once more around Relena. She's had to deal with Eisen's rather rough piloting style for a while now, and no doubt she can tell just how exhausted the pilot is. There's tears and damage to his plugsuit, with weakspots almost exposing his skin in a few spots because of spending some more time outside of the protective nature of his Evangelion.

The youth then begins the dive deeper inside, as he spots the tell-tale red color of Unit-02.

"There's one. I'm going to approach the unit ahead."

As the jet turbines on the Carestia engage, and the battery on the ship behind it dies. The Carestia's tail ripping the umbilical cord off, and blasting off across the living insides towards the pilot's Evangelion. Spotting other active combattants in the area. The wings opening up and a gossamer light flickering to life between as Eisen makes for a straight line, moving and evading as many of the 'tongues' as he can on the path towards the unit.

"Miss - I am relying on you to handle communications. Just keep holding on, and don't fall down." 

<Pose Tracker> Relena Peacecraft has posed.

Relena Peacecraft was visiting Tokyo-03. Why is Relena visiting Tokyo-03? Well, because she had recently invited Asuka to the Sanc Academy and Asuka did things that were characterful of Asuka. Considering who Relena is, one might recall how she engages with a certain, shall we say, character type. All in all, Asuka insulting her intelligence repeatedly is nowhere near as shocking or socially twisted as someone telling someone to their face 'I am going to kill you' when they invite you to a birthday party so all in all, Asuka has a long way to go to offend Relena Peacecraft.

And so Relena wants to just kind of ... engage with her a bit. Playfully, by the way she understands it. Asuka might understand it in another way. That's fine.

So she was coming into Tokyo III on boat because that's one of the benefits of royalty.

She was ont expected for there to be a giant monster attack today. Right? Probably not. The civilian vessel is soon under attack--Relena, though she is almost certainly fucked, remains perfectly calm. This isn't because she isn't in danger, nor is it because she has an escape plan, it's because Relena is just that weird that she can look death in the face and say to it--

'Ok.'

--Without it even being a death wish or anything like that.

Nevertheless, as happens often, Relena is rescued. Not by Heero or even Asuka, but--

--Eisen? No idea who that is. But she is pulled into the Evangelion and--

--oh maybe she wasn't saved, Relena thinks, because now she's drowning.

Well that's something. She reaches for her throat as she is forced to take a breath and--

--....somehow it works.

Her first comment to this is a, "Huh."

NOW

Relena calmed down pretty quick there. She endured the crazed piloting of Eisen quietly without complaint though she did occassionally yelp in shock but she can see the guy is...

Taking some hits.

"Your condition--" She begins.

He's going to approach. Relena holds on and, well, "I don't intend to."

She scans around a bit and adds, "How do I handle the communications?"

She scans the area, looking for someone. Something.

She really is handling this eaten alive thing TWICE pretty well.

KTS: Relena Peacecraft targets Eisen Daiwel with Prospect! 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.


Jophiel, Angel of Wisdom.

Desperately devouring any scrap of knowledge it can find.

Orders to launch are given. Black Knights and agents of NERV alike are consumed, one by one. Among them, Evangelion Unit-02, fighting feverishly to its last, and Unit-01, trying to save it. And as others are gobbled up one by one in a mindless quest for understanding--

A silvery-white figure might be glimpsed free-falling through the heavens.

Quite literally somersault diving for the open mouth of the Eighth Angel. There and gone--

  • SCHLUP*

--in a flash.

~*~

People fight. People struggle. Pilots from disparate sides reach out to try to work together, and others lash out at the very idea of cooperation. Within the distended, saliva-slathering belly of the Angel of Wisdom, everything is a struggle that seems to work against an inevitability. There is only darkness to greet most everyone who finds themselves here. Darkness, and for some --

o/` "Baby, baby, don't look so sad~ There's gonna be a better tomorrow!" o/`

-- Singing.

It's a cheerful defiance to the bleak, tumorous horror of Jophiel's fleshy inner world, very nearly drowned out as the Angel reacts with shrieking, viscous rage as one of its great scabs is broken open. Unit-01 all but gushes to the digestive grounds in a rush of fluid. And as it collapses, as its pilot gets his wits about him--

o/` "There'll always be a blue sky on the other side of those heavy doors~" o/`

That singing is there to greet him, personally.

The silver-white armor of Evangelion Unit-04 is a tarnished and defiled thing, partly decorated with curtains of meat that hang dripping and twitching from its shoulders, hips, wherever chunks of it have snagged upon jagged restraint plates. Its left hand is covered with its drill-loaded gauntlet. In preparation.

The right is offered out to Evangelion Unit-01, as it leans forward.

"Hey, Puppy Boy," comes a familiar voice over the communications line. Despite the situation, Mari Makinami Illustrious' voice is a warm thing. Gentle. Friendly. Excited?

"Her Highness needs your help."

Concerned.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has deployed in Evangelion Unit-04.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Relena Peacecraft assesses Eisen Daiwel's prospects, increasing his SP! 

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

There are people down here?

Shinji's ears perk as he picks up the radio transmissions. Captain Jin? In a jeep?! When he was sucked in he was with. Shinji rips the boat out of the side of the Angel, scowling a little at the damage. He stole a car battery once, it has to be a bit like this, right? A few moments later, Shinji's got an awkward, dangerously unstable portable backpack. Maybe he can refuel the others. Maybe.

Maybe a giant silver robot is singing in front of him. Shinji gives his colleague the same mildly stunned look he gives her every time she shows up like a heavily armed Ramona Flowers. "Uh." Shinji says, but considers the fact that a fresh, fully charged Evangelion just showing up is a strong argument for God not hating him after all. "Good to see you, Makinami." He means it, to his surprise. And then she gets to the point.

Asuka. He was holding her hand when-where did she go? And those other mobile suits? Unit-01, Mari will see, stands up straighter as Shinji forgets to be terrified. "<Hello?>" Shinji tries the radio, hears a lot of unfamiliar voices-the Black Knights survived and Shinji's surprised he's happy about that. "<This is Unit-01. I'm converging.>" Shouting.

There she is, Shinji thinks, limping his unit towards the shouts of defiance. The great purple monster bursts onto the scene, drawing its progressive knife. It breathes its slow, creepy breaths. "Hold still." Shinji says through the loudspeaker, putting one hand on Unit-02 and digging his prog knife into the awful flesh of Jophiel. "I salvaged a battery from one of the ships, there's a spare cable." Unit-01's ATField flickers to life as he expects the Angel to move on him while doing this.

"<Black Knight Units, I'm pinging here."> Shinji says, his voice much steadier than his heart, "<Converge on us. Be advised, the glowing...uh tumors are friendly. We can follow them to rest of the NERV units. Eisen? New guy? Can you hear me? Be advised, there are survivors down here, we're going to try and meet up with you!>" Unit-01 holds an arm out to Unit-02, moving to shoulder its weight while Asuka recovers and charges up. "<Maybe we can kill this thing before Captain Jin feeds us to it to see what happens.>" This is said like a joke, though Shinji's fellow Eva pilots may realize the joke is that it absolutely isn't. KTS: Shinji Ikari targets Ouka Nagisa with Progressive Knife Twist! KTS: Ouka Nagisa parries Shinji Ikari's Progressive Knife Twist, taking 1440 damage!

KTS: Shinji Ikari has engaged Ouka Nagisa

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

why...

lonely...hurts...separate...hurts...

misunderstand...hurts...join...understand...

consume...learn...grow...rise...expand...find...achieve!

Perhaps the most unnerving aspect of Jophiel's inside world is that it's not utterly unfamiliar... at least, not to anyone familiar with anatomy and physiology. Though things are arranged in a hideously twisted and alien way the buildings parts of this beast's body are surprisingly terrestrial. Human, even. The teeth in the outermost sections of this great beast are not wholly unlike the incisors or canines one would find in their own mouth... if they were simply upsized and composed of a bone white chitin instead of enamel.

If Hayato's goal is to avoid anything that might end up eating his jeep or him for that matter, he might find it a difficult journey. It seems every square meter of this beast's inner world is geared toward devouring all that might come inside. A school of fish is poured through a temporary fissure in the fleshy dome rolling over head, and promptly ground into a grisly paste by a set of premolar-like teeth embedded into one of the walls of the great conical pit.

Meanwhile the universe grinds onward in the great Karmic Tragedy of Asuka Shikinami Langley, as it seems to answer her insistence that she will handle everything herself with more and more allies. Either those that were pulled into the beast breaking free of their scabbarous cocoons releasing more noxious bile and caustic acid to wash across the shallowest level of the great beast's maw.

As Mari arrives to offer the puppy boy a hand, as she declares that 'Her Highness needs your help', as Shinji reaches forward to dig his prog knife into the terrible flesh of Jophiel to free the Second Child, the beast emits a horrifying boneshaking shriek!!

The flesh so speared spasms around Shinji's blade, attempting to whips it from his hand before retracting bleeding but unsevered. Meanwhile a larger ribbon of flesh shoots out to wrap around Unit-02's leg and drag it deeper into the maw, greedy for its prize and attempting to separate her from her compatriots. Meanwhile a pair of large canine-like teeth scythe out of the wall attempting to catch the offending arm of Unit-01 and crush it between them!!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Shinji Ikari with Bite!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Asuka Shikinami Langley with Tongue Tied!

KTS: Ouka_Nagisa Changes attack to Mari Makinami Illustrious, Eisen Daiwel, Kallen Kozuki, Karma Sato, Liam 7-020, and Lucine Azul with Seismic Scream.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa rattles Eisen Daiwel, making his next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream, taking 2700 damage!

KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Shinji Ikari parries Ouka Nagisa's Bite, taking 1350 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Shinji Ikari

KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa anchors Asuka Shikinami Langley, forcing her into close range.

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley fails to Parry Ouka Nagisa's Tongue Tied, taking 4440 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Karma Sato successfully avoids Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream

KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream

KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Liam 7-020 charges into the attack!

KTS: Liam 7-020 successfully avoids Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream

KTS: Kallen Kozuki charges into the attack!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa rattles Kallen Kozuki, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Kallen Kozuki fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream, taking 4920 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious successfully evades Ouka Nagisa's Seismic Scream 

<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.

Eisen reaches to a panel to the side, and then opens it. It's got what looks like some standard controls in there for military frequencies. It's got a light that indicates it is seeking for a signal. "I'm not sure if we are dealing with Minovsky radiation in here, which would be messing with our communications. But see if you can find an active band. And if needed, switch us to loudspeakers." He remarks, without looking away.

The entire view has changed from the dull insides of an inactive cockpit to seeing the biological horror within this Angel in full view. And soon, Shinji's voice starts coming through. "Oh... it's Shinji." Eisen calls out with a grin. "See if you can get us on that channel!"

He then runs a hand through his hair, binding it back a bit so it doesn't get in the way of his sight. Gritting a bit as his arms ache, he answers Relena; "Don't worry. I fight better when hurt." Which isn't exactly a /lie/, but he sure as heck is feeling battle-worn and tired.

When Relena manages to shift the channel, Eisen Daiwel finally replies to Shinji Ikari; <"Hey kid, good to hear a friendly voice in here. And let's not get fed to this angel. I still have a lot more angels to defeat. And I am not going to die something so lame as to slowly being devoured..."> He then gets this wicked grin on his face that starts to pull at his expression. <"Carestia does the devouring in this Angel-Evangelion relationship.">

This is followed soon-after with being slammed down by the sudden sonic screetch. The Carestia halts for a moment, putting one hand forward and forms an A.T. field to attenuate the blow, but the sonic volley beats down so powerfully upon its body, that Eisen practically shrinks down a bit in his seat. Heated bubbles form around his hand as the synchronization rate with Carestia suddenly sky-rockets. Relena can see the youth gritting his teeth as the pain tears across his senses and bites into his entire body. The suddenly reversal of momentum doesn't help, as the Carestia starts to fall for a moment, before the jets can re-engage and a burst of it slows their descent before they come to a halt upon one of the massive ridges of flesh.

"Quick tutorial to Angels. All of them have a Core that maintains their structural integrity." He explains to Relena real quick, using that to 'distract' himself from the pain. "We're looking for something that looks like an orb so perfectly round, it should be illegal." His gaze skips about, trying to figure out what to hit to hurt this Angel from the inside.

"Let's see if we can get some of its attention off of my allies..." The youth then adds, as he takes a deep breath and tilts his head down a bit. It's like he's reaching for something. To draw deeper on something. Then, a sudden glance back up, as his right eye begins to glow a green light and he digs deep back into that well of energy.

As the jaw of the Evangelion Unit-Zahllos - Carestia practically UNHINGES for a moment. It then STABS its wings down into the flesh of the Angel itself, and throws its chest forward. Its head shifts, bobs, and moves as if releasing something from deeper within. Within the pilot, Eisen Daiwel lets out this scream that almost sounds like it should never come from a human. This gutteral yell as he pulls on all that pain his body is already feeling, "LET THEM KNOW WE ARE HERE--- CARESTIAAAAAA!"

And as that peak gets hit, the Evangelion begins to roar, its wings digging deeper, and the Evangelion's true side demands to be heard. Declaring it is here. Demanding to be heard!

DEMANDING that this challenge be accepted! A sonic wave bursting back against the walls of Jophiel as Eisen shows that this Evangelion will not shrink back from an Angel's own roar! KTS: Eisen Daiwel targets Ouka Nagisa with Annihilator's Roar! KTS: [Spirit Defense] Ouka Nagisa's Wisdom Through Experience activates, and her spirit is adjusted. KTS: Eisen Daiwel enervates Ouka Nagisa, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Eisen Daiwel anchors Ouka Nagisa, forcing her into close range. KTS: Ouka Nagisa blocks Eisen Daiwel's Annihilator's Roar, taking 4840 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Eisen Daiwel's Experience This Curse With Me! activates, causing Deject! KTS: Eisen Daiwel has engaged Ouka Nagisa KTS: Eisen Daiwel begins a Formation attack! 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


The Longshot hears Kallen's voice and lets out a sigh, " At least she lived, I can only imagine trying to explain to Zero that your 'Queen' was taken off the board because she got eaten by a giant island kaiju thing." Then he hears more voices over the radio and then hears the whiny voice of that purple eva. "Guess I didn't get him."

The Burai makes it way towards the ping of Unit-01 when Karma stops feeling a pain in his head , complaints of pain and being lonely, it's not the most clear cut message. Then the loud scream echos through the gut and Karma's burai shakes but the poor rusty thing is all ready a bucket of shakey bolts that is about to shake apart as is so the damage is superficial.

As the Longshot finally gets into view of the others he takes notes of the tentacle things that are grabbing people and whatever else it can feel out and as Karma watches he blinks for a moment, "This reminds me of a very old very bad movie about giant worms under the earth." His own comments echo into the void of the cockpit as he takes aim at the tentacles.

<"This is P-1, targeting the tentacles."> Over open comms the pilot calls his shot and then opens fire at the tentacles, hoping to remove a few from existence.

KTS: Karma Sato has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Karma Sato has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.

KTS: Karma Sato targets Ouka Nagisa with Longshot Sniper Rifle Quick Shot!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa blocks Karma Sato's Longshot Sniper Rifle Quick Shot, taking 1410 damage! 

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

Lucine's mother told her there are those who can carry conversations, mind to mind, but she was never one of them. And, neither is Lucine. She can only hear, when the presence is this large. "I don't want to..."

And then, seemingly all at once, there are several voices knocking on the door. Lucine rouses, looking to her reciever, and reaches up to tap it on, half-aware.

<"... I'm sorry... I can't answer you..."> A beat. <".... wait, you are all... on the line? Liam? Asuka, you're here as well?">

This is before Asuka even responds, but Lucine feels that burning ball of anger as if she was standing next to Liam's Gundam.

<"Did it lure you all in? I thought someone was in pain, so..."> Lucine pauses again. <"... Though.... I imagine... you all came because these are the sorts of things you deal with...">

A jeep. Someone is in a Jeep.

The piano stops.

"<This is Lucine Azul, piloting the Dianthus Mk. 3, from Nergal. Please, if you can hear it, _don't open the door!_>"

She is beyond the ability to explain. One hour(?) has been enough.

Clawing out of the cleft that had nearly enveloped her, the Dianthus crouches on the edge of it like a hellish damselfly finishing drying its wings.

The Dianthus flies into the open air of the stomach, as as the angel shrieks, she offers a yell of her own, the five 'wings' on her Dianthus's back opening out in a radial circle.

"< I am alive! >" 


<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

All around the Guren, the cavern begins to shudder and quake. The broadcast of unnatural, horrifying words is largely not too noticed by the pilot, she's simply not quite so 'attuned' to such things. Or at least... she's not as deeply affected as many here might be, by that aspect of the beast. Though for an instant she feels a spark of agony inside her head. But the physical issue of the Guren shaking itself apart is another matter entirely! She's woefully inexperienced with these sorts of sonic weapons, and in her zeal to ram through it to reach her allies, takes the brunt of the damage. Pieces of plating fall from the machine, lost into the fleshy hellscape. Still, she pushes on, landspinner wheels making a deeply discomforting squelch as they rip up chunks of gut.

The Guren, finally, connects with the location of the Eva Units by following the purple, luminous growths, as suggested. The purple one seems to be in a particular pickle, perhaps something she can help with. The machine raises its arm to make up for the severe lack of height, plunging an oddly tuning-fork shaped knife toward the surface behind the tooth Shinji's Eva is presently sparring with. The situation feels like it calls for an emergency root canal. <"Seems like you could use an assist. Are you alright inside there?"> Strangely enough, it actually sounds like the squad leader of the enemy faction might CARE about the safety and well-being of the NERV pilots. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with Lunate Crown v.2 Howl! KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Ouka Nagisa with Fork Knife Riposting Slash!

KTS: Lucine Azul rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Howl, taking 2700 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Kallen Kozuki's Fork Knife Riposting Slash, taking 4080 damage!

KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.

The Proto Helios claws its way upwards, and clings to the wall of Jophiel's stomach like a butterfly freshly-emerged from its chrysalis. Carbonized glop sloughs off its shoulders, near its main, wing-like plasma jets. The rest of the maneuvering kit sputters reluctantly, disgorging boiling fluids. "Fuck," Liam breathes, in Irish. He remembers hearing that after a folding table collapsed, sending a pizza onto the floor. He was told not to repeat it unless it was warranted.

If this doesn't warrant it, Liam doesn't know what /does/.

Return transmissions. Coherent transmissions /here/, in the belly of the beast, from the other machines. The wash of adrenaline steadies, and Liam feels hot tension around his heart, like he felt whenever the other Crucible subjects returned from training, or the clinic. He's not alone. He's not alone. "Seven-Dash-Zero-Two-Zero acknowledges, P-1, Q1. Status of your machines? Field is saturated with corrosive compounds--"

'I've got this!'

A familiar voice screams at him, and Liam knows, suddenly, who's in the red EVA. His stomach lurches. "Asuka, your machine is compromised." He can see the flesh crawling over it, probing for weaknesses. It seems to have found a few already, judging by the unwholesome rippling there.

'7-020, this is Captain Hayato Jin.' Instructions follow, and Liam makes inferences. NERV personnel? Likely. He can't think of why anyone else would be on the island in a /jeep/, of all things, but then again, why take that risk? The EVAs were doing that.

"Orders understood and acknowledged, Captain Jin," says 7-020. "Core identification remains paramount. Evacuation of all surviving personnel essential. Priorities set." Is there a living being inside that Gundam? One could be forgiven for assuming otherwise--Lucine sure did--given the hollow tension in that voice, and its odd diction.

The Proto Helios' jets finish cycling. Superheated air and plasma ignite beneath it, and it lets go of the wall, flying into the central lumen of Jophiel's stomach. "Are all Angels this... awful?" Liam asks, once Shinji's done speaking. "Wait--Unit-01, above!"

The Proto Helios jukes to the side, twisting around another falling object. Liam's brain processes sensor data with uncanny speed, putting it together--another swallowed machine, same basic signatures as the other EVAs. "Unknown EVA, identify--"

She's singing. Liam's body keeps moving, and his machine mimics it; it grabs a fistful of wall with a superheated hand, anchoring itself next to EVA-02. Between the raw bulk of two Evangelions, the smaller Proto Helios is amply shielded from both tongue and tentacles, but the scream--that's something different. It's a wave of raw force that could literally shake his machine apart. Liam lets his body go limp as possible, and simply rides out the shockwave; the Helios blows to and fro, like a leaf on a tree branch, but nothing breaks.

"SUNBURST approaching second-stage activation." Vents splay open along the Proto Helios's back, and the plasma wind blowing from them glows brilliantly. Liam brings his fingers together and starts clawing at the tissue holding Eva-02 in place. "Acknowledged, P-1, keep them off us. Unit-01, initiating purge of foreign biomatter. Advise you to tell me before I hit internals." 'Internals'. He thinks there's more machinery, and the thing's trying to assimilate /Asuka alone/.

And then, another voice. "Lucine?" Liam's throat tightens. She's speaking about someone in pain, about doors, and-- "What--why--" Is it-- "Hear what?"

KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with Basic Strike!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa parries Liam 7-020's Basic Strike, taking 1260 damage!

KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


The singing comes over the band, and Asuka just sets her jaw. Trying to focus on herself, her own survival rather than that singing above and behind - pretending like she's the only one here that matters. However that's not entirely possible, Mari's influence tends to chip away at the edges of that mono focus that she places on herself and her goals.

Without occupation to tempt Asuka Shikinami Langley -- what would she do?

There are others here, and as much as she wants to ignore that presence - she can't. "Shut up... four-eyes... all of you..." Not even able to get out a complete version of her nickname. Eisen's usual aplomb gets almost no response, until she hears a familiar second voice over the same frequency as Eisen's entry plug. Asuka goes incoherent with rage at the idea he brought an actual Princess of a foreign nation into the belly of an Angel. "YOU MORONS! GET. AWAY. OUT!" As if she were calling for him to retreat, for Lucine to retreat, for everyone to just /leave/ - as absurd as that is.

As Unit-01 approaches her, it's in that moment of rage that he finds Unit-02 and its pilot. It's half-crippled left arm is trying to maintain its control over the AT Field. The hinge in Unit-02's joint not flexing properly. The right arm, it whirls on him, and for a second...

... she's pointing her Prog Knife right at him, like she's just lashing out at any possible threat that comes nearby. Asuka's breathing is steady, but loud over the radio. It's easy to imagine she might use it on him. Then slowly she lowers the tip back towards Jophiel's encrusted flesh. "/Don't./" He does anyway, sawing off the flesh, as she does the same. "Stupid... Stupid... Stupid!" She repeats towards his act of assistance.

...but if you were to fall into Hell, Shinji would dive in after without hesitation to save you.

The battery attaches, the cable attaches. "I don't need to be /saved/!" She snaps at him, despite him by all rights giving her the means to keep going when she could barely take a step forward. As her Eva tries to shrug off his offer of assistance, just this time not at knife point - yet she doesn't full on shove him away either - when he tries to hold her up.

'Asuka, your machine is compromised.'

"I will... get the job... done!" Her reprieve finished, she just looks forward again, "I'll kill it by... /myself/!"

The AT Field drops so she can take a limping step alongside Unit-01, and pandemonium breaks loose. The tongue lashes out and catches Unit-02 by the leg as she tries to slice it in twain mid-strike. Before her blade can cut down, it yanks Unit-02 off it's feet and starts dragging her away from Unit-01. With a howl of pain as she feels the pains of her Evangelion acutely from her synchronization, she stabs the Prog Knife down into the flesh to slow her descent, cutting a long trail down it's flesh as it pulls her further, and further down.

Yet for every meter it takes her, she gashes against the hungry flesh all the more, punishing it for every moment it brings her closer to death.


KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley targets Ouka Nagisa with Progressive Knife Thrust!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa parries Asuka Shikinami Langley's Progressive Knife Thrust, taking 1380 damage!

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

Liam has military precision. Good. Hayato can work with that. As Lucine shouts not to open the door, Hayato misunderstands entirely.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I'm not opening the door."

Shinji doesn't get a response, but only because Hayato considered feeding everyone to the Angel as one of fifty possibilities and crossed it out as 'a terrible idea'.

The school of fish being devoured isn't ignored. Watching the 'ground', Hayato moves to push his jeep further forward, trying to find more of a way out, gunning it if he needs to avoid a quick mandible or tongue whip. He hears Asuka's voice. She's losing it, but maybe she can cause some damage for them.

"Langley."

His voice is steady, even, cold, and on the local band. He's not sparing her feelings.

"Are you really so naive? You can't even handle a social situation. What makes you so sure you can just murder an Angel? Leave it to the professionals, unless you think you can prove yourself..."

Set her off in a murderous rage of ripping things apart. It worked for Ryouma Nagare.

<Pose Tracker> Relena Peacecraft has posed.

Oh there she is, Relena smiles suddenly even in this weirdass situation.

But first she speaks to Eisen. "I see, so I should keep my eyes open for it. I'll try--there is nothing else 'round' that I might mistake it for, yes?"

This Eisen fellow seems....well he seems pretty legit all told. He rescude her and is now being cooperative? Encouraging her to help? She hasn't experienced this sort of treatment from any kind of pilot in her entire life. He didn't even threaten her or tell her to get out of the way. What a strange fellow, Relena thinks.

Or maybe he's not strange? Her ideas of what constitutes as bizarre have eroded some as of late.

Nevertheless, she does send out a transmission.

"Ah! Asuka! This is not quite how I planned my little visit to go, but I hope it still remained a surprise." Oh my god. "Is that the mobile suit you pilot? I love the colors. I'm glad to see you hard at work. This is actually rather fortuitious because seeing you at work is the best way to get to know you, right? Please, don't mind me. Act like I'm not even here."

She then asides, to Eisen, "I thought she could use some encouragement," softly.

KTS: Relena Peacecraft has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Relena Peacecraft has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Relena Peacecraft targets Asuka Shikinami Langley with Demoralize!

KTS: Relena Peacecraft demoralizes Asuka Shikinami Langley, reducing her Morale drastically. 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.


Unit-04's crash landing is dangerously close to one unofrtunate Proto Helios. Fortunately --

The pilot of this particular Evangelion knows when it is ideal to collide with others and when not to collide with others.

Good to see you, Makinami, says Shinji Ikari, once Unit-01 is back on its feet.

Mari Makinami Illustrious responds as one ought in a deleteriously dangerous situation:

She has her Evangelion form a <3 with its hands.

"Your guardian angel is here~."

But there's only so long she can spend on teasing, especially in a situation like this. Her focus is elsewhere -- namely, the deeper interior of the Eighth Angel, where she can hear shouts and screams of stubborn - afraid - defiance from a girl desperate to be able to be strong enough alone. Unit-04 lingers for a moment as Unit-01 limps towards that source; within its entry plug, Mari's brows soften, that blue gaze hooding as it drifts to peer at those undulating tongues and chattering teeth.

"There's always something new, isn't there?" she muses to herself.

"... But maybe this is just what you need too, Princess."

And with that, Evangelion Unit-04 starts sprinting deeper into the burbling abomination, digestive juices and flesh flying free from it as it goes.

o/` "Keep believing in only the good stuff~ And one day you'll find that you can forgive anything~" o/`

And it's singing, still, that greets Asuka's mumbling demands to shut up -- her raging requests for everyone to get away. In the distance, something silver approaches, the growing coat of digestive juices making it gleam unsettlingly in the darkness.

Unit-01 stabs at the creature's fleshy protrusions to free its red and damaged counterpart. A shriek ripples outward, so intense the sheer force of it would be enough to potentially damage eardrums and blast Evangelion Unit-04 backwards --

o/` "BABY BABY! DON'T THINK YOU'RE LONELY~! DON'T GIVE UP LOVIN' SOMEBODY NEW~!" o/`

-- and Mari decides the best defense is a good offense.

It's singing that greets screaming, broadcasted defiantly louder as Evangelion rushes past, and then seeks to leap -OVER- the twisting, flying Proto-Helios. As it twists in mid-air, the Evangelion's AT Field blossoms, becoming an octagonal, pulsating barrier that literally cancels out those incoming soundwaves as much as they amplify Mari's own. Is it -- responding to her music?

Twisted upside-down, Evangelion Unit-04's fingers wiggle in an overhead wave to the Proto-Helios' pilot in passing before it soars deeper into the beast. The Rapidborer drill gauntlet at its right arm hisses forward, locking into place around its hand. Drill bits spin up.

The singing stops, for a few precious moments, for Mari to offer something to Unit-02's pilot over the broadband:

"Everyone needs to be saved sometimes, Princess."

And then, Unit-04 collides with some of the ribbons of flesh, drill-first, the heavy carnage of spinning drill bits looking to churn anything in its path into so much viscera as it follows Unit-02 deeper into the Angel.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious targets Ouka Nagisa with Rapidborer - Pulverizing!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Mari Makinami Illustrious's Rapidborer - Pulverizing, taking 3300 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

All hell is breaking loose. This has defined Shinji's life for the past age. It is weird that Asuka somehow got to know all the fresh recruits before him but, Shinji reasons, he did fall off the wagon and spend the last week in his room, even blowing off synch tests. He really shouldn't be thinking of that, but the alternative is-

-thinking about the tooth currently sticking through his left wrist. Unit-01's, that is, but the pain is unbearable, even as he's looking at a prog knife pointed at his chest. Shinji and Unit-01 seem to almost share the same expression, a look of mild contempt, exhaustion and, ultimately, understanding. He just waits and lets her recharge. "Think if it as me saving myself then." Shinji hisses, low, the kind of aggressive voice he only uses when really, truly stressed out. "One more Evangelion is one better shot at the core, even if I have to drag you there."

"Or think of it as me looking after Misato. I'm not going to look her in the eye and say I let you die. You never think that you have someone waiting for you to come home, damn it-!" And then-too many people for it to get that intimate. "<Thanks, uh, Liam. Listen we've got to get every Eva we can to the Core, right? I think Captain Jin knows the woah what is that.>" As Lucine's mech shows up.

Big party here, and Shinji finds himself nodding to Kallen for her professionalism. "<Thanks, BK forces, uh, Nergal forces. Just follow Unit-04's example, dig through as much as you can and when the mundane attacks stop working that'll. That'll probably be the core."> And then Jophiel's other tooth slams into Shinji's other wrist. Unit-01 holds its head back in pain, taking a step back, and its horrible yellow eyes gleam (in the cockpit, Lucine can see a FLASH: a boy's teeth grow into a set of fangs, his eyes starting to gleam red, looking less like a man than a rabid dog they stuffed into a uniform-) as Unit-01 reaches out to grab the teeth by their gums, struggle, and tear them out, sending the massive bladed bone protrusions digging into Jophiel's horrible inner flesh!

"< I can't believe the rookies get all the gimmicks.>" Shinji says, mostly to Asuka but he's in the running his mouth stage of battle psychosis, holding one of the teeth out as a crutch as Liam and Mari dig Asuka out of the flesh pit; he can't get too far from Unit-02 or the plugs'll disconnect. "<A sing along Eva, huh? >"

KTS: Shinji Ikari has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Shinji Ikari targets Ouka Nagisa with Haymaker!

KTS: Shinji Ikari rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Shinji Ikari's Haymaker, taking 4300 damage!

KTS: Shinji Ikari has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Shinji Ikari begins a Formation attack! 

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

HURTS!!

hurtshurtshurtshurtshurtshurtshurts

seperates...hurts...why...understanding...no...hurts...stop...

Another uncomfortable aspect to those inside of Jophiel: It is clear this beast understands pain. Or at least... it responds to pain with the most basic animalistic responses: Aggression. Just as when Shinji's prog knife dug into its flesh it responded with trying to bite through Unit-01's arm, every attempt to attack or even escape its grasp results in it lashing out more violently than before.

Sometimes this is involuntary, as in the case of Kallen providing the beast with an impromptu root canal!! The attack is successful and with one final spasm the muscle holding the tooth grows limp... but simultaneously it creates an acidic spray of digestive fluids and viscera that threatens to coat the Type-02 Guren Mk.II! A similar spray is emitted with Unit-01, now freed from by Kallen's effort, actually managed to perform an impromptu extraction and drive both teeth back into Jophiel's gums!!

A sniper shot from Karma does not meet the tentacle as it is intercepted by a gnashing tooth. Some broken shards of chitin down rain down and pierce through its own flesh as the creature's body spasms in pain! In an autonomous reaction to the attack, the creature's salivary glands begin to overproduce saturating the air around Karma's machine in the mildly caustic spray. The flow of the saliva threatens to pull the 'Longshot' deeper into its gullet. Meanwhile the SHRIEK emitted by Eisen's Carestia the teeth of the moster to clench tight, the sonic force waves causing their chitin to crack and shatter! Including a pair of pre-molar like teeth which intend to try and shut him up by grinding him between themselves!

An attempt by the Proto Helios to dig its hands into the flesh dragging Asuka's unit deeper is met with a sudden, contractual spasming of the gray-black walls it is clinging to. It's like the beast FEELS the HEAT as is gagging in reflex, the walls curving and pushing the Gundam away from its prize. Meanwhile, Asuka's prog knife catches a tendril and severs it in twain!! The now bifurcated pieces swinging and knocking the blade aside as it retracts... but just like that another fleshy tendril greedily grabs onto Unit-02!!

'Everyone needs to be saved sometimes, Princess'

The ribbons of flesh are caught in the biting bits of the drill! Cruelly the flesh is pulled, twisted, and finally torn!! The broken appendages flailing as they withdraw deeper into the beast in a spray of caustic fluids. Eyes following these tendrils of flesh disappear in the dark will notice then that there is where the oppressive red light grows brightest - pulsing still in time with the horrible chewing, grinding sounds.

It is there at the bottom of the pit where Jophiel's core can be seen, sitting in a charnel pit of ground up bones is viscera amidst a sea of bile. The bile swirls slowly inwards, pulling the remains of creatures deposited in the lowest level up an into the core.

... it is also there where multiple sets of massive, molar-like teeth are arranged in a cross shape pattern in front of one another. Each one chewing in a rhythm so that only the BAREST glimpse of the core can be seen.

Maybe with impeccable timing, and with the purple tumors surpressing its A.T. Field, a bullet could make it through the gauntlet of teeth and pierce the core. But... just how could a single unit hope to get through all those violently gnashing teeth without ending up ground to pulp and dumped in that acid sea?

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Asuka Shikinami Langley with Shock!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Mari Makinami Illustrious with Digestive Spray!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Shinji Ikari with Digestive Spray!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Kallen Kozuki with Digestive Spray!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa shocks Asuka Shikinami Langley, reducing her Morale significantly.

KTS: Shinji Ikari fails to evade Ouka Nagisa's Digestive Spray, taking 3520 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Karma Sato with Slavering Beast!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Eisen Daiwel with Crush!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Liam 7-020 with Gag Reflex!

KTS: Karma Sato blocks Ouka Nagisa's Slavering Beast, taking 4840 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Lucine Azul with Tongue Lash!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Wall Spirit Command.

KTS: Lucine Azul fails to evade Ouka Nagisa's Tongue Lash, taking 2880 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Lucine Azul

KTS: Eisen Daiwel fails to parry Ouka Nagisa's Crush, taking 5400 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Eisen Daiwel

KTS: Kallen Kozuki successfully evades Ouka Nagisa's Digestive Spray

KTS: Liam 7-020 fails to Parry Ouka Nagisa's Gag Reflex, taking 4400 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa repulses Liam 7-020, forcing him to disengage.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious fails to evade Ouka Nagisa's Digestive Spray, taking 4840 damage! 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


The corrosive saliva in the air is dissolving the suit around him but all Karma does is cover his head and weapon as he tracks Unit-04, "A deeper dive, well if you insist." Keeping the dissolving shield up he proceeds to listen ot the purple Eva's direction and follows the singing Eva.

Whether it is the adrenal, the teeth, or just that moment of clarity that sometimes hits Karma whenever he is in battle who is to say but as he falls behind 04 he notices the so called light at the end of the tunnel. <"I have a shot">

Using his Harkens he hangs himself in the center of the Maw and aims straight down into the center and takes a deep breath before he fires a single shot down this things damn throat.

KTS: Karma Sato has activated the Alert Spirit Command.

KTS: Karma Sato targets Ouka Nagisa with Longshot Sniper Rifle Aimed Shot!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Karma Sato's Longshot Sniper Rifle Aimed Shot, taking 3500 damage!

KTS: Karma Sato roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable. 


<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


'Think of it as a better shot.' "Don't need... a better shot. Just /mine/." As she refutes it. However now with the cables they are linked, and as much as she wants him to go away, Unit-01 is still there.

'Langley.'

Asuka doesn't say anything immediately, as if ignoring him, panting as she tries to survive. The last thing she wants or needs is anyone's advice or pep talk. Her inability to navigate a social situation falls on deaf ears. A social situation isn't comparable to an Angel fight. However telling her to leave it to the professionals...

"BASTARD! YOU THINK I CAN'T? GO TO HELL!"

... in her mind, she /IS/ 'the professionals'. Yet there's nothing to provoke her more than a challenge that she can't do it. Relena though tries to offer her own brand of 'encouragement'. The fact that there's a /Princess/ of a foreign nation on the battlefield though just distracts her all the more.

And as Relena chats her up like she's just having tea on a 'Bring a Princess To Work Day' while watching her in an office cubicle, the LCL in Asuka's entry plug bubbles like it's boiling, as she makes an incoherent sound for a while- "YOU- SPOILED LITTLE-" Before she then directs all of her fury at Eisen for bringing her at all, "I hope you've picked out a grave site Chuutwo - as after the Angel... /you're next/!"

Mari's music had faded into mere background noise, until the singing stops, and in the still and the silence her next comment is jarring... 'Everyone needs to be saved sometimes, Princess.' If not for the efforts of the Helios and Unit-04 she'd be dragged down into the pit - without Unit-01's tether that timer might already have expired. It gives her enough breathing room that her heart pounds a bit less. Her response to Mari is so quiet that it might be easy enough to miss. "Not me."

Unit-02 stands up, taking a knee like a sprinter at a meet. Shinji though jokes her way, /jokes/ - he's casual enough to be making jokes while she's in a more desperate situation than she's ever been. It's a jarring contrast to her. Somehow though, she sounds less /angry/ about her situation. "If you want - disconnect and stay with her Daddy's Boy. You two can have your sing along. I'm going for the core. You don't want to be dragged though acid you'd better not slow me down."

It looks like she's just going to sprint and leap right into the pit - following the path of those slithering tendrils. That would be normal for her to leap before she looks. Yet there's nothing normal about this situation. She looks... there's the core. The visual she gets inside her cockpit dissects every single layer of defenses, despite how she acts, she isn't stupid. She doesn't have her crossbow, two Prog Knives but only one arm in any sort of shape to wield it, two pylons full of nails. An AT Field which won't buy her much time in that awful maw.

The analytical part of her mind comes up with one conclusion: It's impossible It wars against every facet of her identity which tells her Not for me Her identity becomes not her shield, but her despair.

It's not fair, I could do this if that girl hadn't! No you couldn't.

"Damnit." Asuka curses, it doesn't matter that it's impossible. She'll make it happen - or else what was the point of her existence? "/Damnit/!" And in that despair over how hopeless a situation it is for her alone, she actually voices it aloud, "How am I supposed to get to that!?" 


<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.

<"I don't know what you are talking about, but I didn't hear anything but what's got Carestia's ears ringing."> Eisen answers Lucine, <"Are you experiencing any psychic phenomenon with the target Angel?"> The youth inquires with her. Though he's yet to experience any such Angels, he's heard from Shinji that a battle with an Angel places a pressure on one's mind. He's always wondered if they had any kind of special psychic reading to them. He can't exactly tell himself, he's as psychic as a doornail.

The synchronization rate of the Evangelion drops again. It keeps going up and down, but it can't keep a stable connection. He glances aside at Relena for a moment, but doesn't say anything, before glancing forward again. Due to her presence, there is interference with the signal into his Evangelion, so Eisen is having to assert himself far more than he normally does. It's part of what has caused the exhaustion so far. But he's been utterly silent on this fact to the Princess.

"Just point it out if you see it." Eisen answers Relena. "I'll let you know if it's not what we're looking for. It should look like it's filled to the brim with red blood." He adds with a gritting look on his face as the Carestia burns its jets and jumps, releasing itself from its current position.

"Tssk, hey -- that's not how you encourage Asuka! That girl has the spirit of a /demon/. If you want to encourage her, you challenge her. You tell her she can't do something. Naive statements will just irritate her. And she'll misunderstand any attempts at pacifying her -- thinking you are making fun of her." He glances in the direction of the red unit, continueing on approach. The pressure of the jets pushing him hard into the seat, but he's keeping the velocity lower, so that he doesn't dislodge Relena. Which is making all of this really difficult.

"And there it is." Asuka is yelling at him!

<"Worry about yourself first, Loud Phoenix! I'm piloting with a second seater, and I'm still out-performing you!"> A bit of a lie - but he hopes that will encourage Asuka the right way.

Holding back is not something Eisen is good at!

Instead, he reaches to the side of the pilot seat and presses a panel at the side. Pulling a cord, which suddenly unfolds a very awkward 'seat' at its side with straps. "Strap in." It's very utilitarian, and clearly meant for a technician to sit during maintenance. Not for a combat operation! <"And please - at least call it an Evangelion. It's not a Mobile Suit."> He adds, feeling the pain of that misconception practically in his bones!

The youth then suddenly gets this nervous feeling to him, and as his head snaps up, so does the Carestia's. Massive teeth come down, pre-molars slamming towards him from top and bottom. They're too large to get out of the way of, so the youth does the next best thing. The Carestia grabs hold of the Sonic Spear on its back and jabs it up into the air, and /TURNS/ the moment that spear impacts the top molar. Relena and Eisen are both turned upside down -- so she better have strapped in! A light suddenly flashes over the cockpit's screen, and the insides suddenly turn RED as Eisen extends an A.T. field from the unit's left hand while holding the tip of the spear upwards - using it as a 'stick' to stop the molars from collapsing upon the Evangelion. A fierce A.T. field extends!

By all means, by all regards, according to physics, the Carestia should have ceased to exist in that moment. Such enormous molars coming upon it. But instead...

Intead, PAIN.

Instead, the Evangelion and the Angel share that sensation. As Eisen yells out! Bubbles FLARE up across his entire body, as the Carestia experiences an intense pressure. Above them, the spear BORES into the angel, tearing into that molar, but the pressure crushes all over the Evangelion as Eisen tries to hold back the massive physical force. Tears are impossible to see amidst the LCL, hidden amongst the angry rush of heat that flares over his body. A few red marks starting to form over his hand, and Relena might see his hands being 'pushed back' from the controls. Almost being /bent back/ - before he manages to get a second wind and pushes again! Pieces of metal tear off of the Evangelion as the A.T. field almost cracks away!

<"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"> The unit's spear begins to bite through, and the moment there's enough of a gap created by the progressive spear's intense destruction 'above' them - near their feet, the unit releases the A.T. field and BORES through the Angel. Flesh envelops them. Acid bites against the unit, before it pierces out on the other side and falters in its flight for a moment, before the Jet turns on and flies deeper in.

Eisen is almost hyperventilating, his left eye twitching a bit, but he's grinning. "Well, if you end up dying here with me, at least it was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience, huh?" He asks the Princess, but he's not even looking at her as his gaze has set on something else. Something Relena has called out. Pointing on a path. The Core. Hidden away behind gnashing teeth and filfthy bile.

The Carestia plummets straight towards the pit, without even a moment's regret. He knows he cannot make it down there, not in one go, but he can at least blaze a path for others as the Carestia. <"WINGS OUT! TUSK CUTTING ACTIVATION!"> Eisen declares, the skeletal wings of the Carestia fanning and the arms reaching back, grabbing hold of some of its pinions and /pulling them off/, revealing progressive spears. The first one is slammed into one of the first molars, followed by the Carestia darting around Karma's well aimed shot and stabbing into the next.

<"CLEARING A PATH!"> Eisen declares - partially to Asuka.

The Carestia continues to move, slashing its wing-blades across the thing's body, trying to avoid the bile with each movement, chipping into the teeth and rupturing gum!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel targets Ouka Nagisa with Sonic Glaive Cut!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa parries Eisen Daiwel's Sonic Glaive Cut, taking 2070 damage!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Eisen Daiwel completes the Formation attack! 

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

Liam is confused, understandably so. <".... The... Ngh!>" Lucine muffles a cry, her hand massages the side of her head. As Hayato reacts gruffly, the young pilot glances up.

Eisen asks her directly, and Lucine answers helpfully by dodging the question entirely. <"You said something about a core? That will destroy it, right?">

Softly, to herself, Lucine whispers, to the Angel beyond the door, "I suppose... I will be able to help you. Just in a way you will not appreciate. But, soon... you'll be free from this prison. As will we. Please, wait for us."

Wait for them, because one of the strongest among them is still trapped in the gristle and muscle of this prison of flesh.

Not only that, this Princess is trapped in here with them.

<"... The sooner the Angel is dealt with, the sooner we can get away."> It is a reply to Asuka, without the directness of saying her name, or indicating that they'd all have to work together. It's pointing out a goal. Because Lucine can't ignore how that burning ball of molten emotion gets brighter and brighter as everyone talks.

Or how Shinji, outwardly seeming more like the singing EVA pilot's side of the spectrum, bares fangs and red eyes just as sharp as the tooth comes down on his-- no, the EVA's wrist.

These pilots... is that how they're able to pilot such giant machines, despite being younger than she is? Something... unique.

<"I think.... I have a visual on something ahead. I'm going ahead to get a closer look."> Something among all those teeth, like the serrated leaves surrounding a bud, something red, and glowing.

A tongue lashes out just as soon as Lucine is able to grasp some sense of what she is looking towards, knocking her aside like a leftover dislodged crumb. <"Ngh! Hold on.... I think I can...">

There is no hope of her dodging all those teeth.

<"Asuka, if I am able to shoot out some of those teeth, that might give you, Shinji, or the singing pilot an opening. Liam, perhaps... if your heat can distract it? It's.... very... hurt. And I... can only apologize.>" She clears her throat. "<..... for getting myself caught.>"

Such a lie.

"<The others... I don't know your strengths... I'm sorry, I have no suggestions, but I trust you all don't need anything from me but my assistance.>" The Dianthus yanks the Arbalest from its back, and holds it sideways, drawing the string of energy like it was a crossbow. <I'm lining my shot. It's in my sight. Releasing-->

A beam pierces an impossible path to that perfectly spherical bud.

"<Orion shot!>"

KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command.

KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Lucine Azul's Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot, taking 4275 damage! 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


The walls spasm. Liam's heart tightens at the sight of it--it feels pain, just as he does. But he bares teeth in a grim, adrenaline-edged smile as dopamine floods into his system. Successful hit. If every inch of this thing's flesh is a weapon, he will treat it as such. Cauterize it. Incinerate it. Keep it from eating anyone else.

Asuka has other plans.

'I'll kill it by... /myself/!'

"No," Liam says. He keeps carving, using the Proto Helios' bare hand like a cautery tool. "No, you won't. Hold as still as you can, you're almost--" Captain Jin interrupts, and in an instant, something cold and familiar settles on the back of Liam's neck. Like the coolant tubes, laboring as they always do when the Proto Helios is active. Like the hand of a man who broke him so he could build him into something stronger. A tool. A weapon. Hephaestus.

The walls spasm again, this time with violent force. The muscular contraction slams into the Proto Helios, knocking it away from the Evas; the feedback from the Mobile Trace is like being hit dead in the chest by a slamming door. The breath rushes from Liam's lungs. His machine tumbles away from the wall, and falls ten or so meters before Liam can right it. The armor isn't breached, but a dozen little red lights now speckle Liam's damage readout. Damage to some of the secondary plasma-control cores. He /needed those/.

Liam had not been looking down. Now, he looks down. "Core sighted," he says, his voice gone utterly inflectionless with the enormity of what he's facing. "The core. Correct?" Someone confirm. Someone confirm that is the core before he explodes in a nova of raw violence against this abomination--

Mari kills that awful line of thought before it goes any further. For about half a second, Liam stares at her EVA, translucent polymer shields snapping into place. "...Understood?"

Yet another of those awful tongues does to Unit-02 what its counterparts on the surface did to the Proto Helios. It could even be one of the same ones, for all Liam knows. "Asuka!" Something approaching anger boils out of him, and the Proto Helios lets go of the wall, dropping into the open lumen. The oppressive moisture of Jophiel's digestive tract turns into a heat-haze halo around the smaller machine. It takes just a second for Liam to track Eva-02's descent, and adjust his course. The Gundam drops downwards, angling its jumpjets to keep from smashing into the walls, or the other machines.

"FACULA spooling up," Liam says. "Preparing long-range bombardment." Karma's shot provides essential tactical data; he saw that orange field around Zoia's Eva, and around the others. The /teeth/ seem like they might be beyond its coverage, but it's a guess. "P-1 confirms presence of localized AT Field. Repeat, P-1 confirms presence of localized AT Field, adjust fire accordingly! Dianthus--Lucine, adjust your fire! A direct shot will only hit the field!" There's something deeply /intense/ in Liam's voice, like fury that someone cut free and then soldered back into place at a different angle. Adrenaline soaks his brain. Fight-or-flight is in full effect. His training and cybernetics turn him into a fighting machine.

The Proto Helios keeps position with Eva-02, its pilot stubbornly refusing to leave Asuka's side. Or Lucine's. He doesn't want to think that something like /this/ could talk to someone. He can't hear it. /How/?

The two cannon apertures on the Proto Helios' torso snap open. "Targeting for effect," Liam says, his own teeth a more mundane mirror of the bared rows beneath him. Plasma roars from the Gundam's cannons in short, sharp bursts, each magnetic waveform targeting one of the teeth. "Cutting you a path, Asuka!"

KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with FACULA - Plasma Shot!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa blocks Liam 7-020's FACULA - Plasma Shot, taking 1120 damage! 

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Knowing this creature behaves like the living, biological terror it is, makes certain strategies come to mind more simply. In this case, it's a matter of dentistry. Kallen's father told her a story once about a dental trip where he needed one pulled and replaced. Bless the man, but he's bad at omitting the details he should probably leave out. Like how his mouth shot blood everywhere. That tale comes to mind as she's ripping out the canine here, giving her the foresight to dip low and let Jophiel's corrosive jet go flying overhead, splattering across the far wall.

"<Understood, it's a pleasure to be working with you all on this operation. To the pilot who asked for status report, the Guren is in... acceptable condition. All weapons are functioning. Medium armor damage, but still holding strong.>" She's not especially angry right now, even at Asuka's screaming earlier. She's a little scared, but pushing that down. Mostly, she's hopeful. Maybe this could show something to their previous enemies. Open them up to other possible futures. To Asuka she offers a question, and maybe a bit of a challenge. "<How good's your throwing arm? Guren has some grenades in the chamber on the smaller arm... think you can hit the core with 'em?>" The arm which is technically a grenade launcher... but honestly Kallen's no sniper. She's more of a demolitionist if one must compare. She doubts she can make that shot terribly well, so she'd prefer to keep ripping open a wider path, as she travels alongside the giants of steel and flesh.

In fact, that's what she'll do, coming to a sliding stop as she first makes a sweeping kick with the Landspinners to draw out a solid reaction. And then ducking low to strike at the point of emergence with the Iron Nail. Catching a tooth or bone and using it to gouge open a massive gap can really only benefit them all.

KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Ouka Nagisa with Iron Nail Slash!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa blocks Kallen Kozuki's Iron Nail Slash, taking 2520 damage!

KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Relena Peacecraft has posed.

Relena looks a little sickened by Eisen's description but she nods quietly to him. Quiet at first. But then Eisen speaks to her about Asuka.

"I believe she finds me quite challenging," Relena admits to Eisen, ignoring the crack about being naive. It's not the first time she's been called naive and it probably won't be the last. She's honestly not sure what she's doing to encourage people to call her that. Reckless she'd understand, but naive? She doesn't feel naive.

"Oh in my experience, the real demons are the ones who think themselves as angels." Relena says. "...Pun not intended. But the Federation is rife with them. I'd sooner consort with demons, if that's how angels are like."

She listens to Asuka's shouting and Eisen might get the sense that Relena finds it charming by the way she smiles and the way her eyes light up when she hears it.

"Well I do tease occassionally. I'm a bit of a girly girl." She adds. Then, a little quieter as she straps herself in. "Is her callsign really Loud Phoenix." She is trying not to giggle at it and is covering her mouth with a hand to help.

Teasing stalls when she sees Eisen hurting. Her eyes widen and she says, "Oh gosh--are you..." She's about to ask a question but Eisen asks his first.

"I'd rather die here than to an Oz assassin," Relena admits though she wonders if that's even going to happen. It might be Romefeller. Or Lady Une acting on her own-- "But--"

She sees it. "Ah! That's it...isn't it??"

She points with her finger, eyes squinting.

But she does add to Asuka, in an almost offhanded manner, "We do all seem to be in quite the fix, Asuka, I know you don't need my advice for what you already see."

"Ah but--again--just musing aloud to myself, Asuka. Sorry, I couldn't help but voice my thoughts."

KTS: Relena Peacecraft has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Relena Peacecraft has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Eisen Daiwel

KTS: Relena Peacecraft targets Asuka Shikinami Langley with Despirit!

KTS: Relena Peacecraft despirits Asuka Shikinami Langley, reducing her SP drastically. 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

<"Hm? Oh, no!"> insists Mari Makinami Illustrious ever-so-guilelessly, in the moments before her strike.

<"It's not a feature. He just likes my singing!">

Is she claiming the Evangelion is enjoying itself--

Between the spinning tips of Unit-04's drills, the flesh of Jophiel becomes so much mush.

But an Angel isn't dangerous for simple, straightforward reasons. Oh so often...

It's in the consequences of actions where an Angel truly shines.

The entire interior of the Angel of Wisdom is like a weapon designed towards breaking things down the more they resist, and Mari is introduced to this inescapable fact when its wounded flesh bursts into an acidic flush of fluids. Like a dissolving arterial spray, thick liquids splatter across Unit-04's chest, sweeping all the way up along the right side of its face; everywhere contact is made, it mades silver-white plating bubble and boil and liquify in record time, eating straight past the Evangelion's AT Field.

The reaction is instant, and unrestrained. Within the entry plug, Mari screams, gripping her face as LCL bubbles violently off the right side of it. Evangelion Unit-04 mimics the motion, palming its face with its ungauntleted hand as it staggers backwards from where Unit-02 has been freed. The whine of grinding drills comes to a stop. Glimpses of a strange eye within that partially-digested helm can be seen, rolling about rapidly.

Within her Evangelion, Mari Makinami pants rapidly. She feels the invisible injuries scoring her face.

And she smiles.

"Aaaahhhh.

"I really can't get this feeling anywhere else~."

For now, the singing has stopped. Evangelion Unit-04's hand falls from its face; at the same time, its left shoulder pylon hisses open, expunging a prog knife from its depths for Unit-04 to grab with a skillfully spinning flourish. It staggers forward, towards the depths, peeking upon the pit as steam rises off the side of its face.

"Scary scary," muses Mari, in a way more thrilled than anything else. "Every part of you is dedicated to breaking down every part of everyone else, huh?"

She smiles. But that smile is a sad thing, as she spins that knife between Unit-04's fingers.

"... That's too bad. You can't see the whole from just looking at the pieces."

Mari eyes the operation time on her Evangelion. She watches the others attacking from range, or diving into the pit in the case of the Carestia, before turning towards Unit-02 and Unit-01, and the pilots within.

<"'It's impossible,'"> declares Mari, as if she could read Asuka's thoughts. The smile is in her voice when she speaks next.

<"I think you know the answer though, right?">

And here, that white, steaming Evangelion begins to sway.

<"You get strong by embracing weakness. That's what humans do best.">

And with a little salute of that knife-bearing hand and a little, "ta-ta~" Evangelion Unit-04 falls backwards into the pit.

"Okay! Let's do this, partner!"

Unit-04's knife STABS into the fleshy walls of Jophiel's insides as it falls. It slows its descent -- and provides it an anchor point from which to brace itself as it falls towards the charnel pit. With a fire in her eyes and a grin at her lips, Mari focuses on the gnashing teeth beyond. And as others unload their assaults on it, Unit-04 -springs- towards those chewing molars --

--and looks to SHOVE its left Rapidborer right into the maw.

She doesn't look to reach the core. She can't. She'd fail and dissolve, in seconds.

But she could last long enough to provide an opening.

She can last just long enough to support others, and maybe NOT die.

And isn't that a thrilling thought?

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious targets Ouka Nagisa with Rapidborer - Unsettling!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa blocks Mari Makinami Illustrious's Rapidborer - Unsettling, taking 870 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

"<That's kind of a sad thing to apologize for. Maybe in a better world, you could've helped it.>" Shinji says to Lucine, cracking his neck and getting splashed in the chest by digestive acid for his trouble. Shinji hisses, low, trying not to scream, no one needing another breakdown right now. Everyone's flailing away at the turning, twisting maw, but it doesn't change the fact.

That the core is inaccessible. The flesh is regrowing and rearming at a rate that makes a core hit impossible. Just hitting it isn't enough, they have to stop it. How?

Oh, Shinji thinks, that's how. Heh.

Unit-01 detaches its umbilical cable just as Asuka demands he does. Is he really-?

"<I've got an idea. It's going to hurt.>" Shinji explains, softly, and Unit-01's thumb reaches up to brush across its 'nose'. Tetsuya said that helped, sometimes. The monster seems hesitant, almost. Its ATField ripples and twists around it, and Unit-01 hovers off of the ground, slightly, as it walks into the acid pit. No, on top of the pit.

For a second, Shinji Ikari walks on water.

Unit-01 holds its arms out, and GRIPS the whirling, damaged teeth, using some of the holes everyone's heavy fire ripped into the twisting shield of bone and acid, struggling with muscles that dwarf Unit-01's own. Shinji's head lulls back from the struggle, the pain of the act of might causing his bones to crack and shake under his skin, he can feel the pressure through the LCL as Unit-01's arms and legs bulge under the force of it all. It hurts.

Unit-01's left leg is pierced by a tooth and its lower leg shatters into an explosion of gore, bone and metal; only a quick ATField crutch keeps Shinji from immediately dying. It hurts. Shinji and Unit-01 look at the person they trust to make the impossible strike his soul's built the bridge for. "Asuka!" Shinji calls out, "Finish it, please!"

KTS: Shinji Ikari has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Shinji Ikari targets Ouka Nagisa with Rip and Tear!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to parry Shinji Ikari's Rip and Tear, taking 6030 damage!

KTS: Shinji Ikari has engaged Ouka Nagisa 

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

Asuka yells, but she's not doing the thing. She's trying, but the core's still there. Hayato revs the motor, and guns it faster, straining the engine as he moves for a clearer exit, narrowly missing getting gored to death.

"Langley! If something seems impossible, and you can't do it, then why are you even here? Are you supposed to balk at the impossible, at certain death?"

"No! You're the next generation. If you're such a goddamn professional, show it to me! Prove it wrong, or die here a failure! Break your barriers, or get forgotten!" He's got hot-blood in his voice.

"The impossible is just a word they use to hold people like us back!" 


<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


Eisen claiming he's outperforming her just gets an almost bestial snarl out of her - because right now he might very well be right. The idea that he'll get the kill rather than her is galling in and of itself. Relena though... Relena... her jaw clinches, a vein pops on her forehead, as Relena keeps pounding home her powerlessness in this situation. "Shut up! SHUT UP! How stupid are you! You just go on and on like we're playing some chess match at tea!" Relena doesn't even think she should be here... yet it's her duty to protect her anyway. She's all that stands between her and oblivion, and she /can't/ do it!

Lucine offers a strategy, and amped up by Relena both she snaps at her almost reflexively. "What do you think that thing can even do against an Angel flower girl?" After she's said it though, she realizes it at least offers a ghost of a chance. If Lucine does what she says and Liam does what she told him to do, and he agreed to do...

... yet she willfully tries to reject it anyway. "I don't /need it/ Labrat! Don't tell me what to do!"

What's most galling of all is that the pilot of the Guren offers her assistance, /her/. The one who made her look like a rank amateur on the battlefield, who put her in this position in the first place. All the Guren pilot gets is a cold rejection, "Go dunk yourself in the acid, and flip off the radio first so I don't have to hear you."

Hayato goading her with the idea that she'll be a 'failure' 'forgotten'... if she can't do this. Like so many Shikinamis that died for her to get to this point. "One more word old man- ONE MORE!" One more word and what? He really got under her skin with that one. "And I won't rest until you're eating your dentures."

Mari gets her attention as she seems to see right through her, "For you!" She retorts childishly. Yet she's right that she knows the answer. 'You get strong by embracing weakness. That's what humans do best.' "How are you even more full of nonsense than usual today!?" Asuka recoils from the idea of admitting weakness, or even being /human/. Yet before she can say anything else, Mari's little ta-ta strikes her. And Unit-04 springs into the acid with that borer extended. "You're /crazy/!" The alarm of Shinji detaching the cable sounds and Asuka barely has time to process what Shinji means by 'it's going to hurt' as Unit-01 walks right into the acid. It makes no sense. None of them competing to get ahead, get the kill for themselves, just to grant her - or someone else an opening.

Struck by Liam's cannon and Lucine's beam. Borers from Unit-04 churning into the maw even as Unit-01 tries to pull one back. They're /dissolving/ just to give her this shot. "You're /all/ crazy!" Adjusting Unit-02 on the edge of the acid pit, she gets ready to sprint right into that to try and take the opening... but before she can...

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley targets Ouka Nagisa with Pass!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Asuka Shikinami Langley's Pass, taking 0 damage! 

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

The Princess arrives at the end of her journey. The cursed jewel that dragged her into this dark realm is in sight. All that is required is that she crush it... but how without being crushed herself?

Whether it is impeccable timing or superhuman reflexes, Karma's bullet manages to pass through all the molars. It seems that this battle might be ended in a single well timed shot!!

A hexagonal energy field manifests!! The bullet impacts against it, shredding itself to pieces as it rains down in hot shards piercing the sensitive lining beneathe the acidic sea.

The result is for the entire beast to spasm, its teeth drawing shut and, also, preventing access to the core.

AFRAID!!

I know.

First...of...Us...where...why...

I'm sorry.

pain...too...much...help...where...where...

please...stop...pain...

We'll put an end to this soon.

Those who came to the aid of the Princess, above her many objections, try their best to carve a pathway for her. A progressive spear from Eisen's Carestia slams into one of the molars, carving free a large chunk of chitin! The Dianthus fires its Arbalest, drawing the energy weapon back like an archaic weapon millenia older before firing a beam of intense energy that burns and MELTS through the chitin leaving a red hot hole through several rows of molars.

The Proto Helios swoops in and fires its powerful bursts of superheated plasma into the rows of teeth with enough force and heat to cause them to crack and splinter as they burn. Kallen makes a sweeping kick with the Landspinners before following it up with going low to rise into a tooth crack strike with the Iron Nail.

The Glasses Girl and Puppy Boy strike next. Mari driving her rapidborer directly into the tooth filled maw with satisfying, grinding impact!! Shards of bone fly free... though satisfying as it may be it fails to dig deeper. It's not until the Unit-01 strikes with enough impact that it badly damages its OWN LEG that the weakened chitin explodes outwards in an impressive shower!! The resulting spray of bone and viscera severing several nearby tongues and gouging out great bleeding holes in the gray-black flesh of Jophiel.

... but in the end the barriers hold. Whatever intense pain this creature is suffering, it remains an intimidating and immovable threat. The entire world of Jophiel shudders violently, those shards from Karma's bullet still irritating the sensitive lining of the beast's stomach, and suddenly the jaws fling themselves open as a violent gout of acidic bile rushes up and past the damaged jaws!! The tidal current carrying the undigested remnants of fish, mammal, and bird as it is carried up and spills out of the pained beasts body.

In that moment, the seven jaws of the beast are left open and quivering. Then one by one - innermost first and then outermost last they start to close. There is just enough time for enterprising individuals to attack... and perhaps to get into the way of one of those jaws to give their compatriots their own time to attack the core.

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL!!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Asuka Shikinami Langley, Shinji Ikari, Mari Makinami Illustrious, Kallen Kozuki, Liam 7-020, Lucine Azul, Eisen Daiwel, and Karma Sato with Gastric Reflux.

KTS: Shinji Ikari blocks Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Karma Sato blocks Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux

KTS: Kallen Kozuki fails to Evade Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Liam 7-020 charges into the attack!

KTS: Liam 7-020 successfully avoids Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Gastric Reflux, taking 4836 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. 

<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.

<"That's right."> Eisen manages to snap between attacks to Lucine, unable to draw more attention away from the attack pattern as the gnashing teeth are giving him severe trouble. The wing blades are meant to be used against enormous enemies, certainly. But with the Progressive tips boring, they still are only doing minor damage. And the A.T. field this deep in, protecting that core is making his life far more difficult than he'd like to admit!

Still, that wicked grin doesn't disappear off of his face. This is /challenging/. And that just seems to drive Eisen on further!

"If you are challenge for her, good on you. But I'm not sure what kind of relationship you are intending to form with Unit 02's pilot." Eisen answers Relena between little hisses of pain under his breath. At the question on the callsign being Loud Phoenix, he just quickly snaps a grinning; "Yep." That's a lie. "And I like your view on Demons... seems I may turn out to like you - Queeny."

"Going out to an assassin would be pretty bad-ass of a way to go though!" He then quickly snaps in there as he tugs on the controls and shifts the angle of descent, rising back up! Shinji has gotten close, so he has to keep an eye out. As much as Shinji and him don't interact well, Eisen knows to watch for him. That boy does some amazing work when he's cornered.

He doesn't know much about Mari yet on the other hand. But every time she talks, he can't help but grin just a little bit. The singing isn't for him, but she has a way with people he respects. More importantly, much like him, she seems to LOVE fighting against Angels.

<"When we take down this angel, someone remember to grab Hayato Jin. I don't know how its body will collapse, but that flood of blood may cause some serious issues."> Hayato may seem immortal, but Eisen has CONCERNS in regards to the structural integrity of a human body and a JEEP versus the sheer physical existance of Angel Blood coming crashing down on someone. That includes its actual body!

The youth then grits as he spots something moving deeper in. That green bile is staring to move more!

<"I'll show you then!"> Relena; <"I'll show you what DEMONS we here at NERV are!"> His head shifts to the side, back and forth, teeth showing, biting at the LCL; <"To defeat these ANGELS - WE HUMANS BECOME DEMONS AND SHOUT! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, ASUKA!?"> Yell! <"YOU'VE SEEN MORE THAN ANY OF US! YOU'VE SEEN THE HEART AND TRUTH OF HUMANITY! SO TAKE THAT, AND USE IT!">

He's seen it before. During his first Angel battle. The sheer precision of that girl's strikes. The Unerring shots that hit that Core that day.

<"A.T. FIELD! EXPAND!"> The unit moves, as the bile comes. The spray splashes across the body of the Carestia. Tearing into metal. Flaying its legs. Searing falanges off of its wings, and shattering some of its spears. Marks start getting so omni-present on Eisen that his Plugsuit is wearing away. Red sparks slash across his body as the LCL reacts to the extreme damage that the Evangelion is taking. Some of the bile seeping through gaps in the armor, rushing through its bioligical innards. Eisen keeps his hands on the controls and PUSHES forward! The A.T. field keeps breaking, and with some trying, re-establishing amidst the caustic assault.

The Plug Depth increases. Small rainbow-like warping lights spool up from within, only to be rejected and be pushed back a bit again.

<"CODE - ANNIHILATION!">

As the Carestia HOWLS within, and SLAMS into one of the jaws with its shoulders, right before the wings FAN out like a twin set of half-moons! Carestia moves, and raises its arms, expanding the force as it leaps into the jaws and turns. The Carestia like a monster, /staring/ at Asuka...

As its wings create a 'hole' through which to fire. Almost like a reticule, while the molars move in to crush Carestia! The A.T. field holding it. Eisen's body slumping forward, panting, gritting his teeth. His shoulders in pain as each wing is creating its own pressure point against the molars along each side! Each wing spearing into the Molars to physically hold them back!

Staring at Asuka, even though the Carestia is dangerously close to the shot Asuka needs to make.

Staring at her, because Eisen trusts her.

Eisen knows.

ASUKA WON'T MISS.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel targets Ouka Nagisa with Oppression!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel enervates Ouka Nagisa, reducing her Morale significantly.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Eisen Daiwel's Oppression, taking 4080 damage!

KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Eisen Daiwel's Experience This Curse With Me! activates, causing Deject!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Eisen Daiwel begins a Formation attack!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Eisen Daiwel with Chew!

KTS: Eisen Daiwel's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel fails to parry Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 6300 damage!

KTS: Relena Peacecraft's Sub-Pilot has been disabled.

KTS: Eisen Daiwel's Evangelion Unit-Zahllos - Carestia has been disabled.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


The longshot's harkens are dissolved by the gastric acids as they eat away and it falls ever closer to learning the inner workings of a Kiaju a bit to upclose. The Burai falls and lucks out the fall isn't straight down as instead he lands against a set of teeth ready to mash him.

Immediately he jabs the shield into the jaw and braces against it as he does everything to not be devoured. In all of this mess the comm chatter has been a bit crazy and it makes his appreciates the Black Knight comms and more. Finally as he feels for a moment he has things stable he speaks up over the comms, <" I am just going to be straight with everyone but if someone doesn't do something we are all going to die. So it doesn't matter what is done, what does and doesn't work. Do it anyways.">

Karma's own motivational two cents is given and then he fires random shots down into the maw trying to do something just like he just said. No aiming this time though, just fire until the rifle clicks because it is out of ammo.

KTS: Karma Sato targets Ouka Nagisa with Longshot Sniper Rifle Quick Shot!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Karma Sato's Longshot Sniper Rifle Quick Shot, taking 1950 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Karma Sato with Chew!

KTS: Karma Sato blocks Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 8160 damage!

KTS: Karma Sato's Type-1R Burai Custom 'Longshot' has been disabled.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


"Acknowledged, Q1," Liam says. "Remain alert. It will know we've found its weakness." Right? It's already demonstrated response to pain; if it has any sense of proprioception, it should be able to tell that the machines inside it are getting close to its core. Part of him desperately hopes not, like how his entire abdomen ached after they installed a few tiny synaptic controllers in his adrenal glands.

But this whole experience has confirmed one thing for Liam: if he assumes the worst, the Angel will not let him down.

To wit: there's another stomach beneath those jaws? How many stomachs does this thing /have/?! Is this entire chamber just one long, distorted mouth?

But there's a rumbling deep beneath. The Proto Helios' sensors ping red; Liam glances at the environmental status array, sees elevated levels of simple organic molecules, hydrochloric acid, and God knows what else. Thoroughly hostile.

In the next moment: Oh God, it's going to--!

"BACK!" Liam shouts, fear lacing with rage in his voice. In the Proto Helios' systems sits the coded equivalent of a red button labeled EMERGENCY OVERDRIVE and nestled beneath several layers of shatterproof polymer. Liam flips up those metaphorical layers, one by one, as the Proto Helios /dives/ into the gullet. The Gundam glows brighter and brighter; the armor turns reddish, then gold, then white with heat. Some of the paint--the kind of enamel they use to coat reentry vehicles, refined for even more heat resistance--starts to flake off. The Proto Helios becomes a tiny sun in the belly of the beast. The tide of vomit rises to meet it.

None of it touches the Proto Helios. Gastric acid flash-boils the instant it hits the machine's corona. About a third of the jet vanishes, flash-boiled into superheated plumes--transmuted into things that are definitely hot, but less likely to strip armor from supports and flesh from bone. The Proto Helios' armor distorts and melts under its own heat, but remains proof against the volcanic eruption of chyme. The Gundam dives through the first pair of jaws, maneuvering deftly so as not to scrape the molars. It dives through the second, the third, the fourth--and it doesn't stop until it gets to the final pair.

Adrenaline sings in Liam's brain. He sets his heels on a molar and braces his arms. He breathes, slow and deep, eyes wide and bloodshot--daring this creature to crush him, if it /can/. "SUNBURST within optimal reaction rate," Liam says, "clear backblast!"

More vents flip open, releasing superheated gas and screaming, ionized hydrogen. Liam aims the circular central vent at the muscles on one end of the jaws, and the wing-like rear vents at the muscles on the other end. "SUNDOG, UNLEASH!" Liam roars.

Raw plasma pours from the vent, a column of blinding light. The backblast isn't to be sniffed at, either; it was enough to turn wet sand into a layer of superheated glass a meter thick. What could it do to flesh and bone?

KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with SUNBURST - Coronal Mass Ejection!

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

The Guren is slathered in intestinal muck and fluid, sloughing off sheets and layers of the armoring. A lot of red and orange is laid to bare chrome and wiring. Sparks shoot off the machine, catching a few fires on the acid and gas here and there. "<Dammit, those jaws are a problem... ghh... I'll keep one open. Q1's orders to BK units and anyone who cares to listen, SET THAT CORE UP FOR COMPLETE ANNIHILATION, METHODS ARE YOURS TO PICK, BUT YOU ALL DAMN WELL BETTER COME BACK ALIVE!>" So she can be a team leader when she wants to be. Even if she's not as inspiring as Zero or Mafty.

And before anyone can contest her poor life choices, she's already spinning in, wheels beginning to melt and grind away as the tiny crimson bird latches onto a pair of jaws to hold them apart, smaller hand using its knife to improve the grip on it. And inside, the pilot flips a switch, causing the whole Guren to begin overheating. "<WAVE SURGER, OVERCLOCKED AND BOMBARDING!>" Streams of heavy smoke and heat distortions waft from the Iron Nail arm as it pours everything into the Wave Surger's unmatched capacity for chain reactions, if anything will make this thing scared to close its mouth again, it'll be the pain of a burning, sizzling meal. And the pilot closes her eyes to send out her thoughts afar. Though it's unlikely they could possibly reach, right? 'Zero, Emmy, Milly... Mom, Dad. I'll make it home to all of you. Even if it breaks my body almost to death, I'll get back. Naoto-nii... I know you're watching. I'll keep making you proud, that I'm doing what's right.'

KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Ouka Nagisa with Wave Surger Eruption!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Liam 7-020 rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Liam 7-020's SUNBURST - Coronal Mass Ejection, taking 5790 damage!

KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Liam 7-020 completes the Formation attack!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Kallen Kozuki's Wave Surger Eruption, taking 6903 damage!

KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Liam 7-020 with Chew!

KTS: Liam 7-020 fails to Parry Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 8160 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Liam 7-020

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Kallen Kozuki with Chew!

KTS: Kallen Kozuki fails to Parry Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 8160 damage!

KTS: Kallen Kozuki's Type-02 Guren Mk. II has been disabled.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

Liam's earlier advice draws a small smile from Lucine, even if no one can see it from where she is, right then. <"Thank you, Liam.>" A pause. "<.... I should have asked it it's okay, to call you that... I didn't ask Asuka either... But, if it weren't for all of you, I'd probably be the Angel's last.">

Which is an odd thing to say, as Shinji comments about Lucine's accidental admittance of sympathy for the Angel.

Lucine finds herself letting out a soft laugh, tears springing up from the relief of having let go of that small nugget of tension. <"... I guess it is. In a better world, definitely. But not in this one.">

It's in pain. She so desperately wants to hate it, after she saw what it did to the other victims. She knows that, even now, it'd do the same to her. And it wouldn't even because it personally hated her. The Jovian Lizards were mindless, so she could feel free to hate them. She can't even allow herself to do the same here, can she?

Who is it reacting to? Did it hear her words? But... she was not the first here, and those weren't her exact words. And even if they were, why would she be hearing them echoed back to her? Is it another voice?

She tries to reach out to that other voice, even if it's like flailing in the deep end of a pool without any idea of how to float. But in the smallest chance, she hopes the smallest bits of mental data get through in her flailing.

'Thank you.'

There's not much she can devote, beyond that. A spray of bile, and Lucine's instincts fire up, instilled through a bounty hunter's firm (and sometimes tipsy) lessons and weathered by the Mars invasion almost a year ago. The Dianthus flicks around the droplets, twisting like a dandelion seed in the approaching gust of a storm.

Being close to Liam, she casts a worried glance towards the Helios. "<... Please be careful...>"

As she moves, balls of energy are left behind, leaving a field of pain for those teeth the moment they try to move. <"Asuka! Avoid these coordinates! The rest is up to you!">

KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies, taking 1875 damage!

KTS: Lucine Azul begins a Formation attack!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Lucine Azul with Chew!

KTS: Lucine Azul fails to retreat.

KTS: [Mirage] Lucine Azul's Glimmer Engine activates, and she slips into a mirage.

KTS: Lucine Azul fails to react to Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 0 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has engaged Lucine Azul

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

Next to Unit-04 lands Unit-01, a violent dervish of destruction that maims the massive Angel so powerfully it harms itself in the process. Even as she forces her Rapidborer's into those masicating jaws in order to keep them open, Mari Makinami Illustrious looks sidelong towards the damaged Unit-01 and the reckless pilot driving it.

There's something almost like pride in those blue eyes of hers, for a precious few seconds.

Which is of course why she just has to remark, even past whatever pain Shinji might be in from his stunt:

<"That's a nice look for you, Puppy Boy." <3>

The heart is implied, this time.

It's also short-lived, because any living creature will fight to survive, even one as compromised as this, and as alien as an Angel may be. It's only seconds later that Jophiel's jaws open wide, the bellowing of the beast belching bile into the air and drowning them in a current of detritus and corrosive fluid. Mari can't afford to move, and so she doesn't; instead, all that digestive acid sears across Unit-04's body, burning her on an existential level as her teeth grit together and feverish bubbles bloom across her entire body in a burbling flush of frothing LCL.

"buh--" spits out Mari. Her eyes are fire. "C-c'mon -- c'mon! You don't... nuh-need to break me down -- I'll show you what me and Unit-04 are made of...!"

The progressive knife is abandoned with a toss. And as Evangelion Unit-04's arm swings up with the motion, the Rapidborer at its elbow hisses forward.

"I'll show you every - last - BIT OF US!"

And Mari makes good on that promise the only way she can with an Angel. The second Rapidborer locks in.

And Mari SHOVES it directly into the digestive abyss to join its partner in -relentlessly drilling- into that chitinous maw, the shriek of chewing drills meeting chewing teeth creating a chaotic harmony of violent sounds that is as good as any music to Mari Makinami Illustrious' ears.

And, shoving both hands deep into the jaws of a beast at full force, she has only one last thing to say:

<"It's time, Princess! Do it!">

Embrace weakness.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious targets Ouka Nagisa with Rapidborer - Pulverizing!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Mari Makinami Illustrious's Rapidborer - Pulverizing, taking 6960 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious completes the Formation attack!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Mari Makinami Illustrious with Chew!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Asuka Shikinami Langley

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious fails to parry Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 6360 damage!

KTS: Mari Makinami Illustrious's Evangelion Unit-04 has been disabled.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

It hurts.

Shinji manages to close off the acid pit with some good old fashioned ripping and tearing, having weaponized his own ATField to close the chokepoint to the gastric pool. Almost got it. Everything explodes around Shinji but he has no time or energy to pay attention to anything but the job at hand, forcing Unit-01 into position. It holds its arms out, and there's another shudder as Shinji positions himself to physically hold one of Jophiel's jaws open. Unit-01's arms shake, already bruised and cracking, and huge hunks of metal come flying off, revealing the grey flesh beneath. If they don't win here Shinji'll be as vulnerable as Asuka was!

There's a crack! Shinji looks at his legs, as Jophiel's gums come up to try and crush him!

Unit-01's left leg is pierced by a tooth and its lower leg shatters into an explosion of gore, bone and metal; only a quick ATField crutch keeps Shinji from immediately dying. It hurts. Shinji and Unit-01 look at the person they trust to make the impossible strike his soul's built the bridge for. "Asuka!" Shinji calls out, "Finish it, please!"

KTS: Shinji Ikari targets Ouka Nagisa with Haymaker!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage.

KTS: Shinji Ikari rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Shinji Ikari's Haymaker, taking 2700 damage!

KTS: Shinji Ikari has engaged Ouka Nagisa

KTS: Shinji Ikari begins a Formation attack!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Shinji Ikari with Chew!

KTS: Shinji Ikari's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage.

KTS: Shinji Ikari blocks Ouka Nagisa's Chew, taking 7560 damage!

KTS: Shinji Ikari's Evangelion Unit-01 Test Type has been disabled.

KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. 


<Pose Tracker> Relena Peacecraft has posed.

"Whether I live or die has always been out of my hands," Relena tells Asuka. "What can I do but say that I'm counting on you? I am counting on you, Asuka."

Eisen does make some kind of insinuation and it makes her wonder to herself. What kind of relationship does she want to have with Asuka?

Maybe she's more like Treize than she'd like to admit, Relena thinks. An adverserial relationship--it doesn't really bother her either, nor does it get in the way of her respect for someone she has respect and admiration for. And she does like to be a little...teasing too. Playful.

She struggles with the thought for a moment that she might not be too different from someone she nearly shot. She takes in a breath, and lets it out slowly. It calms her. She imagines Heero's threat. Yes, that woke something inside of her didn't it? She wants to know more about this side of herself. She wants to interrogate it.

"Yes, that's how my father died." Relena tells Eisen. "So badass as it is, I don't wish to go the same way." It's almost apologetic, the way she says it.

She smiles, though, and adds, "You're rather charming yourself, sir demon." She dips her head.

She lets Eisen shout to Asuka. She thinks, at this point, she has said all that she can say to her right now, even though there is so much she wants to say still. But there's always the matter of timing, isn't there?

"I think," She says to Eisen instead. "She is someone I want to recognize me. And I want to recognize her. That's who Asuka is to me."

It's a strange way of putting it, maybe.

"They're counting on you." She says to Asuka, though this isn't by radio. "This is who you are, isn't it? But it isn't everything..."

As calm as ever, even in this dire situation. 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


... the Angel's pain is made manifest, it's struggle to survive even something Asuka can respect, sending up a shower of acid while she has her AT Field down. For a moment all that's out of her is a clinched down, agonized shriek of synchronized pain from the acid bath. The pilot panting as she recovers, seeing the maws of the beast open - then start to close... and as they do people respond by rushing into those jaws.

The pilot who humiliated her in that Guren getting chewed up. Even Eisen now, who she thought of /all/ of them would be the one who would try to take the kill from her is offering it to her as he urges the Carestia forward with with the monarch of a kingdom in tow that for some fathomable reason /wants/ to recognize her and be recognized in turn. "Demon!? What is with you spewing your Chuuni nonsense RIGHT NOW!?" Mari bades Unit-04 to shove its borers into its maw. Shinji forces Unit-01 into the beast's jaws to keep them held open.

All of them trusting her to do this, gambling their lives on her. It's an absurdity she can't understand, as Relena gives voice to what she's seeing but hardly believing. 'They're counting on you. This is who you are, isn't it? But it isn't everything.'

It's all in motion, everything they're doing crashing against the Titanium Reinforced walls she'd built around her worldview and turns them into the Walls of Jericho.

It's like they want us all to be stupid together

'It's time, Princess! Do it!" 'Asuka! Finish it, please!"

Unit-02 starts to move at that moment, racing to the edge and leaping like an Olympian Long Jumper, Prog knife in hand as she shouts at the two of them.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO - DAMNIT!"

Flinging the Prog Knife in the gap at the core they're making for her. It looks like it won't have enough force to get the job done against that AT Field - as it's assuredly going to stop the moment it arrives against it. Everything stops when it strikes an AT Field without enough force.

Unit-02 isn't done though, as the Eva attempts land dead center on the bullseye she created with the Angel's AT Field and her knife to stomp down upon the pommel with the Evangelion's full weight - and if she's fortunate, if they're all fortunate through the core.

It is unlikely that anyone will ever get her to admit it to them out loud... what she does by accepting their assistance in this moment... but Asuka Shikinami Langley embraces weakness...

... because her kind of strength never would have brought her any further than an unmarked grave.


KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley has activated the Valor Spirit Command.

KTS: Asuka Shikinami Langley targets Ouka Nagisa with Progressive Knife Drive!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Asuka Shikinami Langley's Progressive Knife Drive, taking 4500 damage!

KTS: Ouka Nagisa's Jophiel has been disabled. 

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

One by one, the unwelcome aides to the Princess strike against the the beast, its gnashing teeth and even the cursed jewel. Realizing then the direness of their situation, each one in turn offers their own bodies and safety to hold open the great maw so that another might assault the cursed jewel.

And those assaults are WITHERING! With each strike, with each violent thrust and fiery gout of superheated plasma, the barrier protecting the jewel becomes weaker. It begins to flicker, and shake and tear. The beast is weakening even as its great teeth begin to descend. The full force of the world of Jophiel coming down to crush each and everyone one of them... and threatening to leave the Princess all alone.

Just like she wanted... right?

'If you're such a goddamn professional, show it to me! Prove it wrong, or die here a failure! Break your barriers, or get forgotten!'

<'To defeat these ANGELS - WE HUMANS BECOME DEMONS AND SHOUT! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, ASUKA!?'>

<'So it doesn't matter what is done, what does and doesn't work. Do it anyways.'>

'SUNBURST within optimal reaction rate, clear backblast!'

'<SET THAT CORE UP FOR COMPLETE ANNIHILATION, METHODS ARE YOURS TO PICK, BUT YOU ALL DAMN WELL BETTER COME BACK ALIVE!>'

'<'Asuka! Avoid these coordinates! The rest is up to you!'>

<'It's time, Princess! Do it!'>

'Asuka! Finish it, please!'

'What can I do but say that I'm counting on you? I am counting on you, Asuka.'

Unit-02, damaged from the start, strides forward through the gap made by its compatriots - now all straining and failing under the crushing weight of Jophiel's anguished fury. The Princess flings her hopes, their hopes, in the form of a blade into the badly scored surface of the core. And the blade finds purchase!! But it's shallow... much too shallow to be a finishing strike. Already the bile is rising again, the noxious fumes rising, and soon another rush of dissolving acid will surely be sent between the teeth to sweep all away!!

That is until the final blow is struck at the end of Unit-02's heel, driving the prog knife deep and through the core of Jophiel. There is an ear piercing shriek!!! And at once everything grows still within the Jama Empire-enhanced beast's body. For barely a second, it seems like the world of Jophiel and the world without Jophiel as a whole holds its breath...

I Understand.

The cursed jewel, the S2 Organ, Jophiel's core, cracks at the point of impact. Veins of fissures spread out further and further throughout the entire sphere as suddenly a rush of red fluid begins to escape from the cracks. First as a spray, then a gush, and then a torrent!! The entire fleshy body of the creature - its many tongues, its hideous snapping teeth, even the fleshy dome obscuring the sky from view bubbles, blisters, and then bursts in spray of red LCL! In the end all that remains of Jophiel is that that spray of red fluid, a cross shaped explosion splitting the sky, a rainbow produced from the light of said explosion and the LCL fluid falling like rain, and a sandbar marking the closest distance to which the Angel of Wisdom came to Tokyo-3. Upon that sandbar the various critically damaged units that had participated in battle will find a place of refuge as they recover, and wait to be recovered from, their ordeal. 

<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.

"Heh, I wish my moms and dads had a cool backstory like that." Eisen grits between his teeth as the Molars crunch in. The arms of the Carestia warp, splinter, CRUSH, only for the A.T. field to re-engage. Some of the wing-spokes tear, but the others take on the pressure! The creature's maw opens, blood drooling out of it, and being dissolved immediately. The almost draconic looking thing looks exhausted as its pilot.

Eisen's eyes flicker, unfocusing from time to time. His breath shakes as the pressure gets to be too much. Alarms are blaring all over the unit. His arms and legs engulfed in pain. "Be careful with wanting people to recognize you. Make sure that no matter what they see, it is the one you want them to see -- do not get swallowed up by what /they/ want to see!" He huffs and then grits out a; "And make sure you're COOL when they do see you! HOOOOOAAAA!"

The Evangelion roars out in anguish and pain, but he refuses to let this chance to get away from them!

"But it's nice ~hnn~ to be seen." He then adds in anguish and pain. A spark of metal blasts, and metal flashes past his cheek, tearing into a chunk of the metal patch that protects the right side, scarring his cheek beneath it instead as it is deflected. "Though charming isn't what I'm going for here."

The dagger flashes past, and Unit 02 follows suit, rushing right past the Carestia. Right past all those other units giving her a route.

"But I wonder if she sees what we see in her." He then mumbles to himself as his voice cracks and his body weakens. He refuses to relent, but his body... the Evangelion's body. The moment Unit 02 is past, it's like a latchkey sequence. Just for a moment, relief washes over him. That wicked smile turning soft for just a moment...

CRUSH!

The molars clench! The Carestia disappears just after Asuka dives in. An arm flies off and free into the space beyond.

"There it is." Eisen whispers to Relena as that shriek rips through space itself.

But the Chitin chips. It cuts. It is ripped apart as behind them, Asuka dives into that core and tears it with her kick!

Ca-klunk!

And the Carestia is released from its clench, torn apart, as the red falls. As the LCL envelops them and the gulf floods forward. Eisen's head slumps with this stupid grinning look on his face - as right at the edge of the corner, Relena can see a countdown he'd been fighting this entire time.

00:00:00

The cockpit darkens, and they are sent into the sandbar of Tokyo-3. The torn apart Carestia coming to lay like roadkill against the sands. Its head tilted at a weird angle. A broken spear at its side. Eventually, the recovery crew would get to releasing the plug from the outside, to aid in freeing Relena and recovering Eisen - carrying him off on a stretcher. 

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.


On the precipice between a victory over the eighth angel and a moment where they all die... it somehow falls into victory, despite every effort by the Second Child to obstruct it. The Angel undergoes its image collapse in a bloody rain.

The timer on Unit-02's power reserves runs out as a rainbow shines overhead to mark it. 00:00:00 and the coruscating red hues of her Entry Plug turn to blue as everything powers down. With one succinct motion she flips a switch, and shuts down the radio and it's separate supply of power.

When the LCL pumps are off, there's a stillness that's otherworldly in an entry plug without the currents flowing. A sensory deprivation chamber in a mechanical womb.

Inside it, Asuka Shikinami Langley just breathes. The only sound that inhalation and exhalation. Twin feelings of the palpitations of her heart and the LCL moving in and out of her - and then... nothing but the LCL in and out of her chest.

She held them all in such contempt - The Old Man, The Flower Girl, The Labrat, The Darling Princess, The Black Knights... thinking she was in competition at all times in a race to the top against The Chuutwo Flunky, The Four Eyed Crony, and Daddy's Boy... who entrusted their /lives/ to her.

To have learned all the wrong lessons the entirety of her short existence, to be shown she is so completely and thoroughly wrong... it's not a happy feeling.

There is no celebration for Asuka Shikinami Langley at this turning point in her life. Curling up in her seat, her thoughts her only companion, she presses her forehead against her knees and hugs her arms around her legs.

"I couldn't do anything by myself."

In this moment, she is a child without even her doll to comfort her. 


<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

Shinji feels the Angel's death, which he feels is a bit unusual. Isn't that more of an Ayanami thing? Maybe they've all become strange, in the impact of the Angel War. He vaguely hopes the Black Knights don't turn on them, because.

00:00:00

Because he isn't going anywhere. Sometimes Unit-01 does not care about the rules, but it feels like this isn't one of them. It almost feels.

Shinji opens his eyes despite being awake, in that suffocating feeling when you're trapped in a dream because you're so exhausted you think you're awake. These can last for hours.

"We need to talk." It's her, the black haired Ayanami with the radioactive green eyes and the mona lisa smile. Only she's not smiling now, as her fingers dig into Shinji Ikari's shoulder. "About how you treat sensitive equipment."

Shinji's eyes move wildly within the entry plug, his abused flesh moving slightly as thought he were experiencing combat-grade stress despite the LCL's natural depressant qualities.

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