Chapter 23:
Solarside Struggles
AFTER HAVING ITS OVERGROWN ARM blown to bits by Eva-0.0 from low orbit, the Sahaquiel Angel Carrier lost its balance and dove right into the rocky mass of Yomotsu Hirasaka. Its remaining wing, now over a thousand meters long, flew straight into the ground, carving a crater into the landscape and kicking up a cloud of sediment.
As much as Six wanted to finish it off, she had other Carriers to worry about, and they were nowhere to be found. The last thing she needed was an ambush. She dove into a nearby fissure to hide.
“Cat Ears!” Six said. “Mari, are you alive?”
She tried hailing the pilot of the U.S. Eva, the girl whose genes had been spliced with those of animals. Unfortunately, the burst of gamma rays caused a storm of electromagnetic interference. She’d lost Mari’s position, and now her comm link was also down.
Six and the Angel Carrier were on the Earth-facing side of Yomotsu Hirasaka. Mari and Wolfpack, on the other hand, were fighting the Torwächters on the sunlit side.
New scent coming in. Still Shinji, but weak…?
Back in Hakone, Super Eva had turned into a pillar of salt, inflicting sudden changes in Torwächter B’s previously efficient movements. Mari had no way of knowing this, of course, but her keen sense of smell picked up on it. She’d been fighting against Shinji’s heart in Torwächter B, but now she felt the presence of Shinji himself. The Torwächter’s double movements were awkward. It was as if the injection of power had caused it to lose coordination, even coordination with A1.
In the end, Mari’s target was still the Asuka/Eva synthesis. If this fake Shinji was having trouble walking straight, all the better. Now was her chance to pounce on Asuka.
The U.S. Eva channeled its will to the pack in its A.T. Field. Mari was surprised to find that the ones farther away from her had begun moving of their own accord. If Nerv U.S. saw this phenomenon, they would be forced to admit that Mari was right in saying that she lived with the animals whose DNA was spliced with hers.
There were about twenty shades in all, which looked like distortions in space. They stalked around the Lance of Longinus before leaping at Torwächter B.
He was engulfed in the mist of the endless flock of birds. His heart had taken control of his body, and he still couldn’t remember his name.
The lightning snake continued its assault. It branched off, creating twenty lesser shades of itself, which now surrounded him. Unsure whether he could protect her, he worried for the girl clothed in wind behind him.
<<Sweet release!>>
His heart turned his body around to grab the spear.
No! Stay close to her!
His heart exploded into a violent dance, as if flinging away his pent-up gloom. Using the exaggerated motion, he charged right through the swarm of snakes. He made it to the other side unscathed and landed on a sandbank. Together with his stolen body, he jumped off of it and brought the spear down onto the water, splitting it in two.
<<This is amazing!>>
He heard the joyous voice that was his own and yet not. His vision grew darker in the chaos.
What are you going to do once you’re me?!
<<Well…for now, I’m going to free myself from my shackles.>>
Wait! Protect the red girl!
<<She is no longer—>>
Wolfpack’s swarm rushed Torwächter B.