Closed are the Gates of Heaven 1a (AdEva, IC)

[garter_snake]

"Geh." Gilles gasped as the Vice-Commander slammed him against the wall. Looking around as he regained his composure, he realized that he was surrounded by armed and trained men under a clear chain of command with the base defenses activating around him.

Score one for running away.

Gilles took in a breath and found is voice. "Vice-Commander, something, I don't know what, has infiltrated the common room. It's shaped like a man, but made out of black rocks. There was a red flash of light, and it was there. Do you know what it is?"

[PalusAbel]

Within the dorm, the Angel silently watched the pilots make their exit. It surveyed the Operations Director, who had remained behind as a guardian, with calm stillness. It tilted its head to the side and waved its scepter. Mathew would find himself sliding across the floor as it did so, as if he were a statue sliding across a pool of ice. The Angel pushed forward into the hallway, pursuing Grace and Ty.
____________________________________

"It is, without doubt, an Angel. We will attempt to slow it down as much as possible while you pilots flee to the Evangelion cages. Here come pilots White and Kirby. Go now. Lead them." Lonell instructed Gilles so, then firmly guided him behind the wall of Kevlar marshaling in the hallway. Over the tops of helmets and riot shields, the profiles of Ty and Grace came into view. The soldiers parted to let them pass, then sealed the gap once they had gone through. Almost before the Angel turned around the corner, Lonell gave the signal to fire. "Bring it down!" Twelve assault rifles roared in concert, sending a curtain of lead flying down the corridor. Not a single bullet found purchase in the Angel's body, however, as its A.T. Field effortlessly deflected every last round.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla turned around and gasped at the sight of the new Angel towering over the complex and the smoking ruins where there had previously been a cliff, Angel corpse, and research team.

"Well... f*ck a duck. There's always a bigger fish in the sea. Hey Sheridan, I think you're gonna need a bigger bo..."

Her head snapped around at the metallic sound of a gun's slide being cocked to find herself staring right down the barrel of said gun in Sheridan's hands.

"What is your goddamned problem, Sher-BANG"

****************



















Wake up.

What... what is this? Where am I? Where is this?"

Wake up.

I'm... I'm dead, aren't I? Sheridan, she... she killed me. Why did she shoot me?!

Wake up.

That bitch! I'll kill her, I'll kill her, I'll... GAH!

Wake up.

What is that noise? What is that goddamned droning noise?! Argh...

Wake up.

Can't think clearly... that noise... and who the hell are you?!

Wake up.

Grr... AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!

Wake up, and embrace your fate. Wake up, and embrace the rage. Wake up... it is calling you. Go find it. Now, AWAKEN.

*****************

Layla awoke screaming at the top of her lungs. Every single inch of her body hurt, though the worst of it was focused on her left eye, which she could no longer see out of at all. Obliterated by the bullet fired from Sheridan's gun. Yet... was that it? Did she somehow get shot point blank in the face and only lose an eye?

How did... no, forget it. It doesn't matter. Who gives a f*ck?! Only one thing matters now. Find. The. Bitch. Find the bitch. Find the bitch! Find the bitch! Find The Bitch! FIND THE BITCH AND GUT HER!!!

The rage and anger over what had happened to her subsumed her, and she let herself be engulfed by it. She screamed again, this time one not of pain but of feral wrath. She was not Layla, not right now. She was The Beast.

"YEAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH! SHERIDAN, WHERE ARE YOU?!!"

The Beast ran forward, screaming incessantly like a banshee. When she reached the door from which she'd exited, she actually knocked it aside so hard it left a noticeable dent from the blow. She continued charging forward heedlessly, blowing by startled and scared NERV employees who passed in the sides of her red-tinged tunnel vision like brief flashes of light on the highway, yet her charge continued. If she was capable of rational thought at this point, she would probably be terrified at her present state of mind. But, her rational, logical centers were officially out to lunch, and in their place was a frenzied blood wrath with only one single thought on her mind: KILL SHERIDAN KILL SHERIDAN KILL SHERIDAN KILL SHERIDAN.

Door after door was slammed through, hallway after hallway passing before The Beast but no sign of her quarry. And then, after crashing through yet another of the doors (which, if she had been caring enough to notice, were blast doors that were supposed to be impregnable), she found herself in the middle of an ongoing battle. To her right were a bunch of soldiers firing uselessly, the grim-looking Subcommander, and her fellow pilots. And to her left was...

"Oh. Forgot about the Angel... hehehehehe."

The Beast's face grinned the evil smile of a Cheshire Cat about to devour a mouse.

"HAHAHAHA!!! You're not her... but you'll do for a warm-up. COME HERE!!!!"

An orange glow erupted around her, which, if you didn't know any better, would swear looked rather like an AT Field. Then her right arm seemed to shudder before suddenly transforming into a giant bone and muscle... lance, or something like that, stretching twice as long as her original arm had been.

With a guttural cry, The Beast bound down the hallway, raising her twisted right arm in an attack. The bone tip passed through the Angelspawn's AT Field like it was tissue paper, impaling the Angelspawn hard enough for the tip to pass through to the other side.

The doll pushed itself off the lance, trying to retreat and regroup against this unexpected threat, only to be stopped dead in its tracks as The Beast's AT Field flared and somehow stopped it cold from moving another foot.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN?! HURRY UP AND DIE!!!"

Her arm came back, and she brought it across in a single devastating blow that bisected the doll. Her target stared dully at her for a moment, before exploding in a cloud of smoke and leaving only ash and sparks to drift to the ground, all that remained of the doll.

The Beast screamed in victory, then turned towards the group of people. Her eyes bored in on Lonell, still as calm and unruffled as he ever was.

"Where... is... she?! Where is... that bitch... SHERIDAN?!"

Spoiler: The Revelation

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Okay, Layla's looking... quite a bit different from her Awakening, most of which she hasn't even realized yet due to the fact she Frenzied upon Awakening. For starters, she's now 8'2" and massing 320lb. Her clothes have fared poorly because of this: her shoes and shirt were both completely shredded, her jacket is barely covering her "twins" at all right now (though it helps that her hair apparently decided to grow down past her waist), and her pants were luckily baggy enough that they're still intact. Her glasses, assuming they're even still intact after the gunblast, are missing. Her right arm seems to have turned into a giant bone and muscle lance of sorts (kinda like this, though narrower and without all that flared crap past the elbow). Her right eye (the one not wrecked) is shining red from within, reminding you of a cat in the dark, or an Evangelion's eye. Her skin has a slight shiny tinge to it. And she appears to be generating a P-sized AT Field and just used it to somehow drag the Angelic avatar towards her. There are... multiple other changes, these are just the obvious ones.

[PalusAbel]

None of the soldiers present could utter a word for sheer surprise, but Lonell remained entirely composed. "Pilot Zhao. I take it that the Commander is the one responsible for your present condition. Her current location is currently unkn--" Layla's sudden charge cut him off mid-speech. From his sigh, it seemed that he expected as much, and, even in the face of such a foe, he refused to budge from where he stood. The enraged pilot's arm-lance hurtled toward his skull, but its tip failed to pierce Lonell's upraised hand as easily as it had the Angel's heart. In fact, the lance made no impression upon his skin at all. "Pilot Zhao, stand down. That is an order. None of us here mean you any harm. There is an Angel proper floating above our heads as we speak. You have better things to do than fight us here. Get down to your Evangelion and settle your score with the Commander once you destroy the immediate threat." He flung the lance to the side with disdain.

Spoiler

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The nature of Layla's reappearance triggers an Angelic Fear Test of Rating 3. However, she does not cause any Insanity. At the time of this edit, Ty and Grace have already rolled. Gilles still needs to roll, as does Mathew if he comes outside.

[Zazax]

Ty blinked, sweat beading on his forehead and pulse quickening.

Had he heard that right?
Was that... Layla?

He shuffled back a step.

What? How? Why?
What?

And it didn't seem like Lonell's statement had calmed her down. Whatever had happened to her, if it really was her, Layla seemed ready to start killing people.

His pulse racing, Ty caught himself shuffling back again. This wasn't right. Layla was the closest thing he had to a best friend, and now he was so terrified of her he could barely tolerate being in the same hallway as her.

Despite all attempts to will otherwise, he shuffled back another step.

If he didn't do something fast, people were going to die. So he did the only thing he could think of.
If Layla really was in there somewhere, he needed to try and reach her.

His voice was almost a squeak and trembled slightly despite his effort to hide it. "Layla? Is that really you?" He closed his eyes to black out the terrifying scene before him and forced himself to take a step forward. A small one. "If we don't hurry the Angel's going to start killing people in the city. Innocent people, not people like the Commander. People like my sister. You haven't met her yet, have you? After we take care of this Angel, I'll introduce you to her. You'll like her." He gulped. "Come on, we're Eva Team Awesome, right? Let's go kill us another Angel."

Spoiler

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Flubbed the Fear Test. Shock is as follows:
The character can barely abide the thought of close contact with the atrocity that triggered this shock, its surface almost seems to writhe and squirm before them. They will avoid entering melee combat range with the trigger if at all possible. The character’s WS is halved and they gain an Insanity point every time they are hit by a melee attack, until they snap out of it.

[garter_snake]

Gilles nodded at the Vice-Commander's words, then turned to leave when a massive crunch echoed through the hallway. Staggering a step back, he made the mistake of turning around, and saw it.

It was massive, over eight feet tall and heavily muscled. From its right arm protruded a long, bone like lance, and at its feat were the remains of the miniature angel that had been pursuing them. It turned its red-eyed gaze to the rest of them, looking at them with unchecked rage.

As Gilles took all of this in, he noticed one last thing.

It was wearing...

Second's...

clothes...

No. No way. This can't be happening. Gilles thought, as his mind tried to comprehend what was happening. His vision swam before him, and he covered his face with his free hand.





Gilles looked up. He was pinned, his back against a rusty sheetmetal wall of an Old USSR prefabricated building. The Commissar had was holding him down with one hand while parrying Jovan's attacks with the combat knife in his others. Gilles squirmed, pushing his arm into the Commissar's grip, then backwards, into its weak spot, the gap between the thumb and middle finger. In that instant, Gilles's hand darted to the small of his back, to his spare dagger, and found a very surprised and angry kitten.

"Ow!" The sharp pain of Gorbechev's fangs brought Gilles back to reality. Shaking his head, he reassessed the situation. A crazed monster who might be Second, locked in combat with the Vice-Commander, and an Angel attacking the base. Time to leave.

Turning on his heel, Gilles sprinted away from the scene, heading towards the hanger.

[AmberVael]

Everything was moving so quickly, too much happening at once to process it all; Grace only noticed fragments as she ran- soldiers clattering down the corridors, Lonell barking commands, Gilles slammed against a wall. She kept a tight grip on Ty to keep him close, to make sure someone got out of this with her.

And then a blast door was torn open in front of her with a shriek of protesting metal- something, no, someone, crashing through it with a blur of motion. Grace dived out of the way and pressed up against the wall as the thing charged the angelic avatar and effortlessly cut it shreds with its bare... bone lance arm. She spared one moment to look at the person, to try and take stock of whether they were a threat.

...Layla?

She hesitated, pausing for just one moment as she tried to make sense of it and decide what to do. Then she renewed her grip on Ty and tried to keep running and pull him after her. "Ty, there's no time! We gotta go or it'll be too late!"

[Durami]

Mathew stood there for a moment, assessing his situation, he knew they had AT fields, so the chances of him performing any action against the creature is nearly pointless, what then could he do? clearly he wasn't a target, he was moved aside instead of flat out killed, what then? Limited ammunition perhaps? it seems small compared to the other angels, but what does that even mean...not like we know how they're sizes generally are.

Mathew would process all this in time before turning around and running towards the hallway, pulling out his cell phone to inform the bridge of what little information he could manage to obtain before immediately stopping at the sight of the creature be utterly destroyed.

Mathew's eyes widened slightly at the new being that stood before him before pulling his phone to his ear. "We have more hostiles , what is that thing?" -he would state before looking for cover, and seizing it when he has the chance, looking for the pilots as he does so.

[CrimsonKnight]

A voice was crying out in the distance, but she couldn't hear the words over the Beast's screaming. Unable to hit Lonell, her rage settled over the nearest available target: one of the armed responders. In a flash, she forcibly checked Lonell aside and barreled straight into the helpless man, the blow from her grisly weapon shattering his arm's bones and leaving him screaming in agony. His cries were short-lived, as she rammed her lance straight through his heart until the tip was poking out of his back. The Beast brought the twitching corpse up and held it overhead, still impaled on her arm and letting the blood drip down onto her.

That voice again... what does it want... who is it... so hard to think... just focus on the... Ty?!

Two lights had appeared before her, and after a moment, she realized through the red haze she was in that they were eyes. Ty's eyes. Staring at her with a look of fear on his face, even as Grace was dragging him away from her. Layla was dumbfounded.

What is... why are they scared of... what is this? What is this?!

She managed, with an extreme effort, to suppress the rage that had been clouding her judgement. Suddenly, in a moment of clarity, all of it hit her at once. The Angel attack, her altered body, the grotesque mutation that had formerly been her right arm, the small pile of ash that used to be an Angelspawn... and the dead man at her feet with a giant hole where his heart used to be.

"What... happened? What happened to me? What did I do? WHAT DID I DO?!!!"

She backed away from the corpse slowly and jerkily, ignoring the leveled guns of the security team leveled at her head before Lonell briskly jerked them down. Without even being conscious of it, the arm lance seemed to twitch and buck before suddenly twisting back into a normal looking arm. She continued moving backward until her back hit the sealed blast door behind her, at which point she sank bonelessly into a sitting position leaning against the door, tears beginning to pour down her face as she stared unblinking through the hands cradling her face at the unmoving body.

"What did I... what did I... what did I..."

Spoiler

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Third Willpower Test to break Frenzy successful with use of Fate Point per the Can't Get Any Worse variant rule.

[PalusAbel]

"Pilot Zhao, save your tears for another time. The Angel will soon bear down upon us. You must get to your Evangelion." Lonell seized Layla's hand, which had moments ago been a terrifying weapon, into his own. He hauled the crying pilot to her feet and stared her in the eyes as he said, "Go now. There is no way to tell how long we have before the Angel attacks again, but it will not be long. Even as you are, you cannot hope to face it alone. Unit-01 is one of our greatest assets right now, and she will not move without you."
_______________________________________

In the hangar, a space a hundred meters tall and twice as many wide, the four Evangelions were being equipped for battle at Sheridan's command. She stood upon the viewing platform shouting and waving to the frantic engineers. At the pilots' entrance, she delegated the nearest engineer as supervisor before running down to meet them. She stopped halfway when she saw Layla. "...guys, get in the Evas right now. I know you must be dying for an explanation, but this is really not the time nor place for it."

[garter_snake]

Gilles slowed down, breathing heavily as he entered the hanger, the sound of running footsteps behind him indicating that Kirby and White were not far behind. Gorbechev's claws were digging into his back, He looked around. Engineers were swarming over the Evas like ants, attempting to rearm and outfit them before the Angel destroyed them all, and the Commander was directing them from a raised dias.

Gilles then heard two more sets of running feet come to a stop behind him. White and Kirby had arrived, it appeared. And then... a third set. Gilles dared not turn around to confirm who that third was, opting instead to distract himself by removing his coat and wrapping it around Gorbechev.

The Commander had noticed them in the meantime and had run down to meet them, stopping short about six meters away.

"...guys, get in the Evas right now. I know you must be dying for an explanation, but this is really not the time nor place for it."

For a moment, Gilles felt very tired. It had been a long day. But the Commander was right. This enemy wasn't something that they could run away or hide from.

Gilles strode past the Commander on his way to Unit 02, handing the kitten-in-a-coat to her on the way. "Please hold on to that for me."

Climbing into the entry plug, Gilles closed his eyes and waited in the dark while the engineers loaded it into the Eva. He opened them as the display turned on, showing his surroundings through the sea of LCL He turned on his comms. "This is the Third. Who has command?"

Spoiler

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I assumed that Layla, Grace, and Ty were going to make it to the hanger without incident, let me know if that's wrong and I'll edit the post.

[AmberVael]

As they reached the hangar Grace finally let go of Ty. "We can do this." She said, not entirely sure if she was trying to assure Ty or herself of that. For a moment she hesitated, but then she was off again, moving as quickly as she could to her EVA.

The process of entering the EVA was all a blur- she couldn't entirely figure out how she got there, she only knew that her hands were shaking as she took up the controls. Terror and boiling guilt clashed discordantly with rising anger and desperation, a terrible turmoil that seemed to leave part of her strangely calm and detached. She knew what she had to do. "Ready." She reported from her cockpit, her voice steady but distant.

I'll do whatever I have to do. She thought to herself, clenching her hand into a fist.

[CrimsonKnight]

Lonell's words had less than the desired effect, as Layla was blankly staring down at the ground, stammering something incoherent while tears continued to run down her face. At last, with a sigh and mild look of disapproval, the Subcommander grabbed Layla's arm and began forcibly dragging her after him towards the hanger with no resistance from her. Under other circumstances, a giant crying woman being dragged by a stern man two feet shorter than her might have been hilarious. In this case, with the blood coating her, her blank-eyed stare, and one eye a bloody ruin and the other looking so... alien, it failed to be amusing in the slightest.

Once in the hanger, he manhandled her, still unresisting, into the entry plug. He didn't waste time with the plugsuit, what with her massive increase in size. Instead, he merely strapped her into the plug chair and placed the A-10 clips on her head before shaking his head and exiting the plug, leaving Layla alone inside as the techs sealed the hatch. With a jolt, the plug was loaded into Unit-01 and LCL began to trickle into the plug, yet Layla still seemed lost in her thoughts and unresponsive to the situation and her surroundings.

[Zazax]

The moment Grace released his hand, Ty turned towards Unit-00 without breaking stride. He moved on autopilot, his mind elsewhere as he processed what was happening. Having had a moment to cool down, he worked through recent events and revelations. He climbed up the side of his Evangelion, noticing but not acknowledging its distinct lack of a right arm, before pausing just outside his entry plug.

On a whim he spared a glance towards Grendel, only to see the Vice-Commander stuffing an unresponsive Layla into the plug.

That's definitely Layla. She doesn't have the arm spike anymore, so I couldn't tell at first, but she's still taller than the Vice-Commander. What happened?
I can wonder about that after the Angel is dead. Or do I want to lose the other arm as well? Or worse?
This is just preparation. I've got time to think. Something huge just happened, and I need to find out what it was; what caused it. Layla just killed an Angel without an Eva, and people are dead!
Very true. But there'll be plenty of time afterwards for that.
But we don't know anything about it yet. With no information on what it's capable of, we can't really make any plans to defeat it, and sitting there worrying about it isn't going to help. Not when I can be spending that time trying to figure things out.

Ty hesitated a moment longer, than climbed into his plug. He closed the hatch behind him, then sat and waited as the systems around him booted up and the plug filled with LCL.

I hope I can do this down an arm.
It's not like I've used them for much so far anyways.

He glanced up at an indicator as a particular system came online, and he set his jaw. It had worked once, as far as he could tell, and despite his initial, shocked reaction, she was still his friend. He opened a private channel.

"... Layla? Can you hear me?" He paused, suddenly unsure of what to say. There wasn't much he could say. He didn't even know what had happened, much less how to console a friend over it. And he wasn't particularly good at that anyways.

After several seconds of hesitation, he closed his eyes. He could only think of one thing to say, and although it wasn't particularly original, it was heartfelt and sincere, and he'd never said anything like it to anybody before.
"Just one thing. I wanted you to know I'm, uh, here if you need me. To talk, or anything. That's all." He blinked, then switched off the comm, his face red with embarrassment.

[Durami]

Mathew would step into the command center with his slow confident stride, his jacket forgotten in the corner of the mess hall as he slowly brushes aside a lock of his hair. "Mathew Gray, O.D, Just arrived so we'll have time for pleasantries later. Give me a run down on our supplies, the condition of our evas and any information the magi may have discovered, on the angels. I want a check on the syncro ratings for our pilots. especially Layla, keep a close eye on her." Mathew would step forward and activate communication with the pilots. "This is Mathew, I had hopped we would have been able to have a few practice runs together before something like this occurs but no better teacher like the battle field. We'll see what we got on the angel soon."

Gray would take the moment to look at the men and women who are now under his command and a soft sigh would escape his lips, "and so I've returned." He would mutter softly in his mind as he glanced at the screens and waited.

[PalusAbel]

Sheridan surveyed the bridge with a tense expression on her face that loosened very slightly at the sight of Mathew stepping up to his post. "Now that your Operations Director is present on the bridge, I will be stepping out. He has command. If you need me, I will maintain radio contact." Just as she turned to leave, warning lights and sirens blared up all over the room. "The Angel's transforming... Dammit, get those pilots out there now!"

Outside of Nerv headquarters, the Angel had sunken down into a fetal position upon the ground. Its body of black obsidian began to crackle and chip like an eggshell, and soon enough a new body of gleaming white marble arose from its back, leaving the empty shell upon the ground to crumble into dust. The reformed Angel had all the austere grace as an immaculate statue, and upon its face was a bird-like mask with four eyeholes. A pair of wings grew and spread to their utmost from each of the Angel's temples, and, as the it took its crystal scepter back in hand, these wings exploded in a shower of sparks and light, making look like nothing so much as antlers of lightning. The Angel raised its scepter above its head, where it was struck a hundred bolts of electricity from its wings. These peeled off the outer layer of crimson to reveal the icy blue of the densest glacier, itself glowing with power. A deep rumbling gave way to a shriek that threatened to tear the air to ribbons; the Angel had finally found its voice.

Spoiler

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At long last, your combat map, courtesy of garter_snake. The 6dam tall buildings and Nerv HQ act as 8 and 16 AP cover, respectively. The barracks and storage sheds act as 4 AP cover. The green thing is supposed to be a park/lawn for Nerv HQ, and doesn't necessarily have any particular significance. I also did not arrange the pilots in any particular order - if you want to swap around, feel free. Your umbilical cables start "underneath" you, so to speak, coming from the elevator shaft itself. You guys begin the battle with the effects of an 11-30 roll on the Magi Analysis table, and will roll again after Ty's action each round, as per the FOR SCIENCE! variant rule.

"The Angel’s exact physical location is known, and precise information on its distance from battlefield landmarks such as umbilicals and Evangelions can be provided on request as a Free Action. In addition, you know the Angel's Size is Average. You gain 1d10 Research after the battle."

Initiative Order:

• Mathew*
• Layla
• Grace
• Gilles
• Angel
• Ty

*As per the Operations Director Initiative rule, Mathew may act at any point in the initiative order so long as he has the appropriate actions available, timing, etc.

Angel Hit Locations:
Head: 1-10
Right Arm: 11-20
Left Arm: 21-30
Core: 31-40
Body: 41-70
Right Leg: 71-80
Left Leg: 81-90
Scepter: 91-00

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla made no reply to Ty, or any indication at all that she'd even heard his words. She spent the elevator ride curled up in a semi-fetal position in her seat, arms wrapped around herself and her torn clothing. She quivered uncontrollably in fear. Not of the Angel waiting for them topside. It was the monster in the entry plug that had her paralyzed in terror. It was... herself.

Daylight broke over the Evangelions as the cargo elevator breached the surface and came to a halt. Data from NERV's sensors and cameras came up on their screens, showing the Angel's exact position within the base. Grendel unexpectedly moved forward in a hurry, Layla wasting no time.

"This is... Unit-01. Moving out."

The clipped, quiet, terse tone was so unlike Layla's normal method of speaking that it almost seemed impossible to have been her talking. The hulking EVA led the way, advancing at a brisk pace until the Angel was sighted before.

"Angel in sight. Ready to Neutralize."

In her plug, Layla was gritting her teeth. The sight of the Angel had woken the Beast back up inside her, and it was demanding to be uncaged and let its fury be unleashed upon it. But she wouldn't, she couldn't let it out again. Couldn't risk harming another ally... or worse, one of her friends.

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Half Action: Move
Delay Half Action
Map

[AmberVael]

As Helel was launched to the surface, Grace tightened and loosened her grip on the controls, eyes focused in front of her, waiting for the flashing lights of the elevator to resolve into the surroundings of the NERV HQ. The angel had gotten too close for comfort and there was no time to prepare, and every reason to try and push it back and dispatch it as quickly as possible. She wouldn't be able to afford to hesitate; this time she would need to prove herself.

The yellow eyes of the Evangelion gleamed and its limbs tensed as its field spread around it, an ephemeral and whirling force. Grace realized she had done something different with it this time, but she didn't have the luxury to examine- besides, it felt right, somehow better than it had before. Above her the exit rushed closer and closer...

Then she was out. Data from the Magi pointed her towards the angel and so she didn't wait for anything else. Grendel was ahead for only a moment before Helel blurred past, leaving strange scintillating ripples in its wake. The stark white Eva lunged forward towards its prey with smooth grace at incredible speeds. "Closing in." Grace reported, her voice crisp and calm, but underscored with an implacable voracity.

With a sharp whine Helel's short blade thrust forward, the white hot point aimed right at the angel's head.

Spoiler

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On the way up the elevator, Grace spreads Accelerated Territory, increasing her agility bonus by 3. Attacks against her after she has moved 10dam are penalized by -15. Deflection 3.

Full Action: Charge
Attack has 7 degrees of success.
7 ATS + 7 degrees (full from weapon expert), + 1 (from the progressive knife) gives a total of 15 Breach.

Damage: 5, Righteous Fury Confirm, 1
The 1 rolls over to a 3 due to progressive.
Total done is 18 damage, with Penetration 6.

Map.

[PalusAbel]

Helel's superbly aimed knife closed in on the Angel's head, threatening to severely damage it if not destroy it outright. The Angel's scepter seemed aware of this fact, and interposed itself between the blade and its wielder's skull with a life all its own. The oscillating blade ground against the crystal with a shrieking shower of sparks. Sensing a momentary advantage, the Angel tightened its focus, and lightning jumped from its wings to the scepter, wreathing the weapon in a greater field of energy. This field ate away at the blade until it became nothing more than molten slag. With a final push, the Angel repulsed Helel a few meters back, leaving Grace to consider a new fighting strategy.

Spoiler

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The Angel successfully Parries Grace's Charge, and destroys her weapon as per the Power Field quality.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla watched as Helel barreled forward past her, and nodded.

This works. Let Grace take point, just hang back and support. No need to go all in, no need to feel the Angel's bones breaking and muscles tearing and blood falling as it... oh goddamnit."

With a thought, Grendel's AT Field was sent outward at the Angel, coordinated to weaken the Angel's own field just as Grace struck at it. It was only in the field's weakened state from being used in such a manner that Layla noticed it was different than before. No, both it AND Grendel felt different, she realized. The field had been denser, more closed in on Grendel's body and less spread out around her. Was it a reflection of her mental state, trying to keep the Beast caged in her mind?

Even more strange was Grendel, for, if anything, it felt... less scary. More protective than it had been. And she could swear that she could feel its senses just a bit more clearly. Between herself and the Angel, her EVA had ironically become the safest, most comforting thing right at this moment.

Spoiler: Actions

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Delayed Half Action: Neutralize (6 ATP)

[garter_snake]

Gilles looked around as the linear catapult ejected Unit 02 above ground. The other four were here as well, deployed in close formation.

Ok. Gilles took stock of the situation. Flat terrain, no real change in elevation. Lot's of cover and obstruction, though. Gilles breathing slowed, and he calmed down. He had never thought that combat would be a calming thing, but after what just happened...

Alright. We can do this. Stick to cover, use smoke, surround, and finish it. Gilles nodded to himself, and turned on his coms. "Guys, I think I have a p-" Layla sped by, followed shortly by Grace. "Or do that, I guess."

Unit 02 moved to the edge of the building and aimed around the edge, firing two quick shots from its Pallet Rifle to suppress the angel, but his aim was wide, the bullets impacting the ground to the right of it.

Spoiler

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Half action move.
Free action aim(precise)
Half action obscuring barrage(pallet rifle is burst)

map

[PalusAbel]

Having fended off Helel's first attack, the Angel waved its scepter back and forth, building up a charge on the lead edge. Once the crackling of the scepter's field became a dull roar, the Angel tried to bring its weight to bear on the Evangelion before it. To its dismay, the swing was carried too far to the side, and so it failed to touch the opponent at all. The weapon's fulgurant wake, however, did succeed in carrying Helel to the side. The Angel paused as it realized that Layla stood some six score meters away. The air about its winged skull flared more strongly than ever before as the Angel recognized who its true opponent should be.

Spoiler

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The Angel attacked, missed, and manoeuvred Helel once space to the right. Updated map.

[Zazax]

Ty closed his eyes and slowed his breathing as he rode the elevator up. He soon felt the increasingly-familiar feeling of Unit-00's AT-Field wrapped around him like a protective cocoon. When he had first felt it, during the simulation, it had been alien and distressing, but he was somewhat surprised with himself how quickly he had taken to liking it. It was... comforting.

He idly, for lack of a better word, 'flexed' it. 'It can do anything you can think of, as long you think hard enough about doing it', the Commander had said. It had certainly lived up to that so far.

As he came to the surface, Ty glanced around. Wasting no time at all, Grendel began moving forward, followed shortly by Helel. It was good to know Layla was at least capable of moving Grendel. She'd been totally out of it. Ty followed their example and moved out as well.

Coming to a halt behind the storage sheds, he glanced around, seeing Layla and Grace closing on the Angel. He momentarily considered taking a shot at it with his pistol, but brushed the idea aside.

As Gilles moved up to take position on the corner, Ty Pinged his AT-Field, taking a quick moment to mull over his findings. "Guys, this Angel's AT-Field is half again as strong as mine, using the standard spread pattern we all started with. That Neutralization that Layla hit it with cut its Deflection clean in half."

Maybe I can use the AT-Field to attack. Not by throwing something like against the last Angel, but with the Field itself. It acts like a force field on the basic spread pattern, which implies a physical barrier, and can grab things, which also implies some sort of tactile force. Maybe I can hit things with it.
Makes sense. Worth a try.

He concentrated and tried several times, unsuccessfully. An odd feeling came over him, indescribable but definitely there, but he kept trying anyways.

Spoiler

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Ty deploys Accelerated Field in the elevator, increasing his Agility Bonus by 4. Attacks against him are at -15, since he moved this round but used 1 ATP.

Half Action: Move
Free Action: Ping (1 ATP). Awareness Test succeeds. Angel has 12 ATS, 6 Deflection (Layla's Neuting the other 6) with Deflective Field spread.
Half Action: Stock 4 ATP with AT Booster.

Map.

[Durami]

Mathew would remain silent for a moment, observing as the Angel made swift work of the helels weapon before nodding towards his crew. "The angel would not have capabilities to destroy such weaponry if it wasn't capable of suffering injury from it, Send an additional knife to Helel and ensure that it reaches her."

Mathew would step forward his eyes glancing towards the cameras of each Eva as he rapidly begins to formulate a plan. "Grace, prog knife heading your way, that strike provided us with good Intel, grace and Gilles, move and neutralize the enemies At field, I've provided some information to add you in your strikes from observing your initial movement Grace. Layla, once they have successfully removed the shield strike at it with your spear, sending you some additional information for that now as well, Little rough around the edges but if you move your Eva like I assume you do this should provide you with the aid you'll need. Gilles, I've just arrived and have yet to grasp the affects of Ty's more complex AT abilities, I've been told you're a strategist, Apply the capabilities of him as his eva on the field as you deem best right now, If you notice any sudden changes Gilles, change the plan as needed."

As he stated this he would turn towards the crew men and began informing them on how to send the data he wanted sent, in moments diagrams would appear on both Grace's and Laylas Evas showing them the lift and positioning they would need.

Spoiler

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First turn: Spend support supplies to provide Helel with a second prog knife. as well as send it toward her, second turn, Precision targeting for both Layla and Grace as my two half actions to allow them to halve the angels armor for their next strike. Do we roll Magi for info on the Eva as well?

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla listened to Mathew as he gave out orders, then shrugged.

Okay, at least he's doing his job. No idea if they're dumb orders, but he's already better than Elvenes was. Wait... what is the Angel doing?

Despite blocking Helel's blow with its sceptor and the near misses from Comrade Prime's shots, the Angel seemed to be fixated on Grendel... on her.

"What's your game? What do you want with me? ...oh. I get it. You recognize me from earlier when I destroyed your little puppet. Fine with me then, come over here and I'll RIP AND TEAR AND... stop it. STOP RESISTING AND GET ANGRY... no, no, NO! Sit down and shut up, I am not unleashing you again until you learn how to heel properly, got it?! Christ... I'm really starting to lose it. Keep calm, gotta keep calm or I am totally f**ked."

Layla sent Grendel forward, cautiously compared to Grace's reckless charge despite the urge to just unleash brute force on the Angel. Stick to the plan, wait for the others to bring the field down so she could attack it...

Spoiler: Actions

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Free Action: Maintain Neutralize (2 ATP)
Half Action: Move
Half Action: Delay
Map
Notes:
+2 AP on all locations from Layered Field.

[AmberVael]

With one smooth motion Helel flung the remains of its molten weapon from its hand and took its replacement in a tight grip. The narrow yellow eyes of the Eva seemed to flare brighter as it returned to the offensive, refusing to back down even after the futility off its last attack.

Don't take your eyes off of me, monster. The world seemed strangely clear to Grace, everything sharp and focused around her. She flung her shield to one side as she urged Helel forwards, reaching out to seize the angel by the arm and wrest it into a position with her Eva's strength.

Spoiler

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Half Action: Ready Weapon
Free Action: Drop shield
Half Action: Grapple! Successful WS test.

[garter_snake]

"Acknowledged." Gilles said in response to Matthew. It was nice to have a chain of command again.

Peeking around the corner, he sighted the Angel along the Pallet Rifle's iron sights. Unit 03 attempted to grapple with it, but it seemed the Angel was successful in evading her grasp. Gilles glanced to the side display, where the combatants' AT Field strengths were displayed, accounting for the updated data from Ty. Gilles grimaced. White hasn't neutralized its AT field. He started for his coms to inform the rest, but stopped when he realized that Layla's field strength was stronger than it had been last battle. It's a bit of a risk, but... Yes. They could make it.

Gilles exerted his AT Field fully over the Angel, and sent another two quick, suppressive shots its way. He tapped open his coms. "Kirby, assist me in providing suppressive fire on the Angel. Throw rocks at it, or something."

Spoiler

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Half action Neutralize, 5 ATP spent.
Free Action Half-aim Pallet Rifle(precise)
Half Action Obscuring Barrage on Angel(Fired on Semi-Auto w/ Burst, test not attack so Breach inapplicable.) Success. @Palus:Opponent may make an Easy (+20) Perception Test as a Reaction or else it may not take any Full Actions until the beginning of your next turn.

Stats

Spoiler

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Deflection: 0
ATS: 0
ATP:0
Rifle Ammo: 2/6
Right hand: Shield
Left hand: Pallet Rifle

[PalusAbel]

The Angel sidestepped Helel's attempt to grab hold, only to meet a storm of iron and lead with its face. It staggered back with a hand raised to its featureless visage. Through the gun-smoke came Grendel's spear, thrust at the Angel's leg. Its humming blade ground against the crystal scepter that darted in front of it just in time. With a shriek, the Angel heaved the scepter up and lunged at Grendel with the intent to strike it down, but the Eva recovered quickly enough to deflect the counterattack. The attack was only part of its motivation, however, and the Angel used the commotion to slip away from the melee.

Spoiler

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The Angel avoided Grace's Grapple Attempt, and was thereafter subjected to Gilles' Obscuring Barrage. Layla attacked it through the smoke, but the Angel managed to Parry. The Angel counterattacked but failed to make contact, and slipped away via Assassin Strike.

Updated map.

[Zazax]

Another failed attempt. Ty gathered his will for another attempt when he noticed something. Unit-00's AT-Field wasn't any stronger, but there seemed to be... more of it.

What the...
That's... unusual.

He quickly took stock of his situation, and then it finally clicked.

So... I can use my AT-Field like a capacitor. That's awesome.
And it means I have more power for a moment.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Gilles' message. He grimaced.

So that's all I'm good for, is it? Everyone else has swords and guns, and I throw rocks. Or use this crappy pi-
Rocks? ROCKS?! Who does he think he is? Does he not realize I'm bending the laws of physics to my whim here? I'll show him rocks!

Unit-00's AT-Field solidified into a plane of force in front of it before launching out towards the Angel.

The Angel turned and jumped back into some sort of portal that formed as it moved, Ty's attack flying past and catching only air.

It then stepped out right beside him.

Huh.
Prepare to die, Angel!

Spoiler

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Full Action: Focal Thrust. Augmented for 6 ATP. Attack succeeds. That's 17 damage with 6 Pen right to the Core.

Stupid teleportation Reaction. *grumble grumble*.

Map.

[CrimsonKnight]

Layla sighed. Well, trying to fight the Angel in melee seemed a losing proposition. Between being able to somehow destroy their weapons and its disturbing skill at blocking with that scepter of it, it seemed as though striking from a distance was the safer option. Too bad that previous experience had taught her how useless the EVA standard guns were, even if she wasn't a horrible shot to begin with.

"If only I could use the AT Field offensively somehow. I mean, if you can create a force field, pick up objects, and improve your EVA's speed or durability, why not attack with it? I mean, besides chucking stuff at it like Ty... wait, what is he doing?"

No sooner had Layla said that to herself than Ty had focused his AT Field into a flat plane and sent it flying full speed into the Angel... or would have, anyway, if the damned thing hadn't suddenly disappeared and reappeared right by Ty.

"How the hell did... right. AT Field magic. It's only impossible until you convince yourself it's not. Okay, let's see if I can do that too..."

She brought Grendel's field out in an imitation of Unit-00's, and sent it flying at the Angel. It failed to teleport again, but her elation at pulling the manuever off was short lived as the Angel seemed to shrug it off like it was nothing more than a stiff breeze.

"Oh come on. *sigh* Worth a shot."

Spoiler: Actions

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Full Action: Focal Thrust (6 ATP). Attack was successful. Deals 5 damage with Breach 8 and Pen 0 to the Angel's Core, with the Angel's effective armor halved for this attack due to Precision Targeting.