Chapter 39:
Mutant Eva

 

“GO AFTER THE QUADRUPED,” the Kaji-vessel ordered Ayanami Rei Quatre.

“Are you talking about Six’s new Unit Zero Type-F?” Quatre asked this to annoy him, since she couldn’t fight back.

“That’s right. You are to reclaim the replica Longinus. The black giant doesn’t know the trouble we went through to create that thing. He seems to be prioritizing the Ikari child at the moment, so this is our chance to take it.”

Kaji had already abandoned this particular puppet of Ikari once before. He’d traded Trois for Quatre, since he needed some way to control the Eva. But even though he knew she was little more than a puppet, he couldn’t help wondering sometimes…

What is this puppet up to?

“Go over the ridgeline. Keep a low altitude and then approach the point in a counter-clockwise fashion.”

Quatre’s mutant Eva spread the wings she’d taken from an Angel Carrier in the shadow of a mountain and flew. The Q.R. Signum had changed her unit significantly.

She’d initially had the same model Eva as Trois, but hers was the first of the three 0.0s that were made for space operations. Her right arm, and the gamma-ray laser cannon fused into it, had been cut off by Super Eva during the battle at the Apple’s Core.

“I’m unarmed.”

“You can commandeer that weapon. I don’t know if you have the aptitude for it, but at least you can swing it like a blunt object.”

Kaji pointed his chin toward Azumaterasu. Shinji had cast it aside before he awakened. Quatre walked over to it and pulled it out of the ground with her remaining hand.

“I can’t observe its power flow…but the material strength is quite high. What’s wrong?”

Kaji wrinkled his forehead. “I’ve seen this bow before…but it looks different somehow…”

The mutant Eva maintained its low altitude, though it wavered from time to time. The bow was far taller than it was and far too heavy to carry with one arm.

“I’ll fill the plug with LCL if we’re fighting.”