Ascension Chapter 6: Fuckin Laser Beams.
Ascension Project: Chapter 6, Fuckin Laser Beams
Additional stuff: A view into how awesome it would be to have an S2 engine.
When the light faded from his vision, Shinji was standing in a large room, with a padded floor and metal walls that gave off a faint blue glow. When he looked up, he couldn’t see the ceiling or any sign of sky, only a black expanse that seemed to lead into empty space.
Kaworu remained at his side, still holding his hand and squeezing it reassuringly now and then.
Only one of the Angel’s avatars remained, an immense, brutish being, armored heavily from head to toe. Its arms were heavily muscled and the armor seemed to have been molded around them. He carried a shield placed in front of his chest, that stood almost as tall as himself, yet he carried it like it weighed almost nothing. Two heavy broadswords were strapped to its back, and the chestpiece of the armor flowed into the helmet to form a monstrous skull.
The figure made no move to invite Shinji forward, and seemed content to wait a thousand years for him to find the courage to step forward.
Shinji looked to Kaworu who simply smiled at him and nodded towards the figure.
A heavy sense of dread fell over Shinji, and it took all his willpower to release Kaworu’s hand with a final squeeze and take two steps towards the giant warrior.
“I’m glad you’ve found some bravery in that small form. You’re going to need it if you hope to survive my teachings.”
The voice carried no attempt at compassion or caring, and only expressed a small sense of approval in Shinji’s courage. It almost reminded Shinji of his father, a voice virtually devoid of emotion, and that was focused purely on the results it wanted.
“The most important ability that Angels possess is undoubtedly the AT Field, the ultimate shield against outside attack. Today I’m going to teach you how to use it, but it will be up to you to master the skill.”
Shinji swallowed hard and nodded. The figure’s voice was beginning to affect him, and a cold lump was forming in his gut. He wanted to hit the Angel, but he knew it would do absolutely nothing, and would more likely hurt Shinji himself.
“An AT Field is formed from the strength of your will, and sense of individuality. Without the latter of the two, you can’t form the field in the first place, but without the former it will shatter like glass. You must learn to focus your thoughts on why you need the Field. I need it to defeat my enemies and protect my body. What will you use your field for human?”
Shinji pondered this for a moment. Why would he need an AT Field? He didn’t want to die, but he couldn’t think of why else it would be useful. It was only his own selfish grip on life that might make him deploy one at all.
The Angel stood in silence while Shinji thought, giving no indication how seriously impatient it actually was.
As Shinji struggled to come up with another reason to focus on, two orange flashes of light appeared in the Angel’s helmet.
When he tried to move out of the way, the two beams hit him with the force of a freight train, hurling him into the back wall of the room.
Kaworu stared in shock, and began to move toward Shinji before the knight rushed forward and smacked him aside with his shield, sending Shinji’s friend flying towards the distant ceiling.
“Did you see it?” the figure asked
Shinji groaned and struggled weakly onto his feet.
“I said did you see it?” the figure demanded again
“See what?” Shinji coughed
“Oh, so you didn’t see it?” his tone was almost surprised “Well let’s try that AGAIN!”
Shinji yelled as the lasers returned again, and again, and still a third time, repeatedly pounding him into the wall. His head hurt, he could barely stand, and his ears were ringing, but that last time… he had seen it.
A pure blue shield of energy, only inches from the surface of his body, had deflected the deadly beams each time.
“Wait, I SEE IT. I SEE IT!” Shinji yelled
“Perfect!” The Angel roared “Now show me something stronger!”
The beating resumed, an endless barrage of beams that pounded Shinji until he could no longer stand, and then could no longer kneel. He lay there as the Angel fired on without remorse, each shot still being stopped by Shinji’s small blue shield.
“Why are you doing this?!” Shinji groaned “I can’t make anything stronger!”
“I’m telling you, I can’t do it!” Shinji was angry, this sad excuse for a teacher seemed to have some kind of personal grudge against him, and was using the training to take it out on him.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting but I’ve never made an AT field before. I’m weak!”
“I HAVE SEEN IT!” the figure roared.
The knight vanished, now replaced by a terrifying goliath. The 10th Angel, the one who had killed Ayanami, and nearly Shinji himself, was alive. Shinji fought the urge to run, to hide, anything to get away from this monster. He was done with letting himself be kicked around. He was going to see the Angel dead at his feet.
“You killed me with ease that time long ago. The field of the Eva is directly proportional to what the human pilot would be projecting if they could. Now you don’t require an Eva, because you are just as powerful on your own, as you were as a pilot back then. Fight back.”
Anger. Fury. Hatred… None of these words could describe the pure wrath Shinji was feeling towards the Angel. A lifetime of loneliness and sorrow had come to the surface, and wanted nothing more than to kill the enemy that stood before him.
As Shinji took his first step towards his foe, a new sound touched his ears. A cry of rage perhaps equal to his own, and that seemed to be coming from far above.
When Shinji looked towards the distant sky, he saw a shining orange light, a great fireball headed straight for the 10th Angel. Within this mass of blazing energy, Kaworu was hurtling back down at tremendous speed, pushing himself downwards off of his own AT Field. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward as Kaworu tore through the 10th Angel’s field, slamming it against the wall before jumping directly between them, his own AT Field sealing the 10th Angel away from Shinji.
“Shinji! Are you alright?” Kaworu rushed over, gripping Shinji in a tight hug.
“I’m okay Kaworu. Just a few bruises.” Shinji breathed
Kaworu turned towards the Angel, who had managed to extract itself from the crater in the wall, and was now staring at the two of them.
“You went to far. He’s not ready for this kind of pressure yet.”
“There is no other option if you want him to be ready for the world outside.”
“You have to be gentler about this, he’s just a child.”
“A child with the largest responsibility in the universe, and you are not one to talk, an Angel who never even attempted to revive our kind from the frozen north!”
Kaworu was visibly hurt by this, and it enraged Shinji even further. To take out it’s anger on Shinji was at least reasonable but hurting Kaworu was going too far.
Blue light began to gather in Shinji’s clenched fists, dripping to the floor in brilliant cobalt tears.
“Stand aside Kaworu.” Shinji’s voice sounded different, like more than one person was talking as he spoke.
“Shinji I can’t let him hurt you.”
“You should be more concerned about me hurting him.”
Kaworu’s eyes widened and although Shinji couldn’t see it, his eyes had turned crimson, and a bright glow was coming from within his chest. Had he removed his shirt, he would have seen half of a small red globe a bit bigger than a baseball.
Nodding slowly, Kaworu moved aside and brought down his AT field. Instantly the 10th Angel moved to hurt him, his blades flying towards Kaworu, aiming to cut him in two. They never came close.
Shinji’s AT field appeared in front of Kaworu right on time, causing the 10th Angel’s blades to shatter on contact. As the Angel reeled back, screaming in pain, Shinji roared, leaping towards its S2 Engine and hitting it with a punch that could’ve split a mountain.
Even as the Angel fell Shinji continued to attack, ripping into the Angel’s body, burning great craters in its form with his blue fire. He ravaged the creature’s body, creating wounds larger than Shinji himself, blue runoff mixing with the Angel’s blood.
After what seemed like an eternity, Shinji stood up, the light fading from his hands, and his eyes returned to normal. The only trace of power that remained were the blue tears running down his face.
Looking at the Angel as it lay in agony, not even trying to move, Shinji felt terrible about what he’d done, and had a distinct urge to throw up if such a thing was possible here. Kaworu was right by his side, holding him as Shinji sobbed into his friend’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry Kaworu, I… I didn’t mean to. I was just so angry, and I thought he was going to hurt you, and…” Shinji’s voice trailed off as his tears overwhelmed him, taking a moment to try and calm down before he spoke again.
“It’s alright Shinji. You’re safe now, we’re both safe.” Kaworu gently stroked Shinji’s back as he spoke, and it seemed to help him calm down.
“It’s not alright. He’s dead, and I killed him. I murdered him with my own hands!” Shinji’s throat hurt and he was finding it difficult to breathe. He was trying to focus on slowing his breathing down when he noticed Kaworu was laughing.
Turning around to see what Kaworu could find so funny, Shinji was surprised to find the knight standing where the Angel’s corpse had been. One of his swords was shattered, while he leaned on the other like a crutch. His chestpiece had been ripped open, his shield was gone, and most of his helmet had been crushed, yet he stood tall as if nothing in the world could truly bring him down.
Although Shinji couldn’t see his face, he had the distinct feeling that the figure was smiling at him. The knight stabbed his remaining sword into the ground, and sank to one knee with a heavy crash. Although a human would have been rendered mute by the damage he had taken, the figure’s voice was clear as always, and carried an obvious note of pride.
The body of the knight fell to the floor, breaking into ashes as it hit, which were then sucked towards the darkness far above.
Shinji turned towards Kaworu, who smiled back at him for a moment before asking,
“Did you find out why you need to use your AT Field?”
Taking both of Kaworu’s hands in his, Shinji leaned towards Kaworu’s ear and whispered,
“So I can keep you safe forever.”
In the next few days, Shinji learned many skills from the various other Angels. Laser beams from the 5th Angel, clad in crystalline blue armor that constantly shifted its form. Telepathy from an Angel with a pair of shining wings on it’s back. Computer access from an Angel that seemed to be a ghost made of light, covered in nodes and circuit patterns, a lesson that Shinji had barely passed. After learning all these skills and several more, Shinji still felt that his first lesson had been the most important to him.
Now, on the Thirteenth day of dreaming, all of Shinji’s lessons were complete, and he was spending his last few moments back in the main chamber with Kaworu. They had been swimming earlier that day, and both were ready for a break. They lay together on the sand, watching the stars overhead before Shinji would wake up.
Shinji was enjoying this time with Kaworu, and he silently wished that this would never end. But something was troubling him, and he couldn’t think of a better time to mention it to Kaworu. Turning on his side towards Kaworu, he gently poked his friend, who opened his eyes and smiled at Shinji.
“What is it?” Kaworu asked “Is something wrong Shinji?”
Shinji was nervous about what he had to ask, but he swallowed hard, his voice shaking with anxiety.
“Kaworu? When I wake up again… will you… will you still be with me?”
His friend smiled and nodded as if he could not be more sure of it.
“Of course Shinji, I’ll always be with you. Even if you feel alone I’ll do everything I can to make it better.”
Kaworu’s words made Shinji feel warm inside, and he lay down again, snuggling into Kaworu’s chest.
Shinji stayed like this for a long time, eyes closed, comfortable with staying here as long as possible. He lost track of time entirely until Kaworu leaned over and kissed him.
His eyes snapped open to find Kaworu looking completely innocent, and Shinji couldn’t help but smile at how odd Kaworu was. He was about to return the favor, when Kaworu spoke two words that Shinji had been dreading for a while now.
The moment Kaworu spoke Shinji went blind. He tried to scream but found he couldn’t do that either. He was floating in darkness, unable to make a sound, unable to find Kaworu. Shinji began to cry.
After a very long time, Shinji spotted a light ahead, gray in color, like the fog at the beginning of his dream.
Entering the light, he turned back to be sure there was no other way. As he was pulled into the portal, he saw all the Angels standing in the darkness, weapons raised high. Just before his head entered the gray light, he heard one word, spoken by the Angels as one.
As Shinji passed through the light completely, he felt better than he had in a long time. He had a purpose, a task to complete. Nothing had been kept from him, and he knew what to do. As he felt himself coming closer to consciousness, Shinji Ikari was confident that everything would turn out fine.
