#wcdash

[reseterror]

Seven, you’re up. 

“Dude, what if the island is everyone’s minds?!” 

[than3tos-blog]

The ground ruptures, and with it, the umbilical cable severs. Five minutes will pass, and Unit-01 will go silent. Shinji can barely sustain the AT field with how much the Eva has already been worn down, and the LCL is nearly suffocating him at this point. 

Between swirling black splotches in his vision, Shinji is able to make out the collapse of the hospital before Unit-01 tumbles down into the fissure with a cascade of rocks and debris. Shinji feebly pulls on the triggers within the entry plug; Rika is still in that building! He might be able to get out yet, or Unit-01 could awaken in berserk mode, or--  There’s a resounding crack, and another horrifying screech echoes somewhere in the distance. Even if Shinji were to somehow eject himself from the entry plug, an even deeper shade of black awaits him.  He closes his eyes and inhales, and the foggy LCL makes him cough again. He’s so tired. His thoughts smear and his vision blurs. There’s still more he can do. There has to be something more for him to do. Shinji raises his arm, fingers extending towards the last remaining beams of light until the cold sets in and he can no longer breathe. 

[than3tos-blog]

Courtesy of future housing, Shinji was able to make preparations for Unit-01 with the help of robot maids. It took maybe an hour between them; the LCL is old, but the umbilical cords are connected and she’s ready to move on the barest minimum with Shinji taking the pilot’s seat. Shinji didn’t think he would ever need Unit-01 for anything at all, but now he’s secretly thanking his past self for keeping her around.  There’s no thinking about it at this point. Shinji knows that Rika--and possibly others--are likely stuck inside the hospital, and the island itself is under fire. Literally, it is on fire; lights speed by overhead, and the sounds of screeches in the distance are unnerving.  It’s times like these that really remind Shinji of home...but those thoughts don’t belong here now. All it is to him is another war zone. Shinji can’t think about it.  The Eva creaks back to life with Shinji in the cockpit; there’s an irritated groaning coming from within the beast and the ground shakes as she takes her steps towards the hospital.  Shinji can’t help coughing. The LCL really is expired, and although faint now, he can still smell the acrid scent of blood. A little further... 

Unit-01 stops once it reaches the hospital. Another groan, and a flickering orange light that is the AT-field is deployed around the entire city block, shielding it from flames and other products of destruction. Shinji will hold it up, for as long as it takes. 

[elegiacgarden-blog]

It took a long time for Elk to finally accept that the apartments were no longer safe. He had himself under the delusion that the goats would fix it again, like they always do, and things could go back to somewhat-normal. However, when the repairs never came, and the destruction gradually began to get worse, Elk had finally packed up what he could and took on a nomadic lifestyle within the trees and remote reaches of the islands. He knew how to camp, of course, along with some basic survival skills. 

He still tended to the field of aromatic grass that he planted--as much as he could before it was too cold and snowy to continue, but with how much care that had gone into it, it would only be until the thaw of spring that the grass would come right back. 

Unfortunately, this would not be so. A series of rumbles and a thick haze of smoke coming from the farm lands would mean that the grass would not grow back. Elk didn’t even need to go to the field to know that it had been destroyed, and yet, he found himself at the edge of melted snow and charred earth. 

“Mia...I’m sorry...” 

[elegiacgarden-blog]

Nope. NOPE. 

He’s fleeing.