I don't own Evangelion, I just write stuff about it.
Before we get started, I just want to thank all those who've read the original version of Useless Trivia and hope that you enjoy this Director's Cut edition. As you probably know, I was never happy with the original version of Chapter One and planned to change it, but since I let the characters tell the story starting in Chapter Four, they've gone and blown holes in my plot and advanced the timetable in ways that make it necessary for some changes to be made before we get into the next few chapters.
Useless Trivia was originally conceived as a trilogy with the first part setting up the plot and introducing the characters before the real meat of the story kicked off in Book Two. But a number of things I was saving for the second book have ended up in the first and things that should have been made clear early in the story never were. So I find myself needing to revise things and add some necessary foreshadowing. Also added are some deleted scenes and others have been extended to include things I missed. Hopefully this won't be too painful.
And just for kicks I added something stupid at the end...hope it entertains.
Thank you for viewing my work and please review!
And now, let the madness begin:
Useless Trivia (Director's Cut)
Episode 01: Radical Departures
By Species247
/Outside Moscow, Russian Confederacy/
Ryouji Kaji was not a man who was prone to panic or misgivings. He had seen things in his thirty years that few men could imagine, was privy to secrets that would drive a godly man to despair, and had done things that would make many wish him dead. As a Chief Inspector for NERV Intelligence, it was his duty to investigate the strange and unnatural events that seemed to crop up in the aftermath of Second Impact with such regularity, a job that sent him to the far corners of the globe, poking his nose into all manner of incidents which might have some effect on the secret agenda of the SEELE Council or the shadowy Human Instrumentality Project. Like today, for instance.
The media had been quick to jump on the event, but so had the U.N., but then it's not like it could have been hidden all that much to begin with. After all, how does one hide that fact that there was an explosion a mere fifty kilometers outside Moscow that registered a 7.8 on the Richter Scale? Beside the fact that hundreds of people had been injured by the shockwave, that had leveled dozens of buildings in the older sections of the city, and left a mushroom cloud visible for nearly three hundred kilometers to boot? Fortunately no one was paying much attention to the few eye witness accounts that stated they had seen an explosion shaped like a cross. At least that was something.
NERV Moscow had not been seriously damaged in the blast, but they had immediately become suspicious of the event and called in the experts, which meant Kaji had been dispatched with all haste from Branch-5 in Great Britain to head up the investigation. Now he stood at the edge of a massive crater, looking down into the carnage and whistled to himself as he surveyed the area. Work crews scrambled to set up lights and excavation equipment as other members of Kaji's team descended into the crater to search for evidence. The tall Japanese special agent just shook his head with a sigh, his ponytail swishing from side-to-side as he looked down at what was lying at the bottom of the pit.
Looking back up at him was what appeared to be a giant helmet, the size of a small house, dented and burned from the heat, parts of it seemed to have been melted off. Kaji was not as surprised as most would have been, but the men from NERV Moscow had freaked when they saw it. The crater was in an area that had once been an iron mine back in the days of the Tzars, and later the communist regimes that followed, but it had been worked out by the mid-fifties and condemned. The area had been used for weapons testing up until Second Impact, and then finally abandoned. All available records indicated the area should be completely deserted.
But it was obvious that someone had turned the old mine into an underground base of some kind, the broken remains of structural supports, piping, and equipment visible in the crater made that obvious to even the most casual onlooker. The fact that there was also the severed head of an Evangelion lying in the pit narrowed the possible suspects somewhat.
Kaji pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial as he held it up to his unshaven face.
"It's me," he said to the voice at the other end, "It's confirmed. There was an Angel here," he paused as the other man spoke, "No. The guys from NERV Moscow were clueless. I don't think this facility had anything to do with us."
Considering how easy it would be to intercept his cellular signal and decrypt it, despite the 128-bit encryption key, Kaji wisely chose to fore go naming the suspect that he believed was behind the incident. He wasn't wrong in his suspicion either. They had left their calling card on the forehead of the dead EVA after all.
The symbol of the Seven Eyes of God.
/This Is Only A Dream…/
The streets of Tokyo-3 were deserted of people only a few short hours after the sun had set. The sirens had stopped wailing at noon, shortly after the population had finished scurrying into the hardened bunkers that promised safety from the devastation now being visited upon the city. A monster now prowled the urban landscape, bizarre cross-shaped explosions blossoming across the skyline as it sought a way down into the facility hidden beneath the metropolis.
A loud roaring crash drew its attention as a large section of the pavement opened to disgorge a giant purple and green warrior to do battle with the monster. The black monster stood and watched as the purple giant, its thick metal plating seeming to bend and throb like a living being came free of its restraints and took a halting step toward it.
"He's walking!" a woman exclaimed over the radio just before the giant purple robot tripped and fell flat on its face.
"Shinji! Get up, quick!" another female voice yelled as the black monster stomped over to the fallen warrior and grabbed its head in its left hand, "Move!"
"What's the status of his defense systems?"
"The systems are off-line! He has no weapons!"
"What!"
The monster lifted the limp form of Unit-01 and seemed to look it over for a moment before it grabbed the left arm of the Evangelion and began to twist and yank on it. After a few seconds the arm gave out with a sickening crunch of torn metal, broken bone, and tearing flesh. The young pilot screamed out in pain as he felt the horrible damage being done to the purple giant.
Then a glowing spear seemed to slide back out of the monster's elbow. The energy spear drew back from the Evangelion like an arrow in a bow before it suddenly slammed forward through the monster's forearm, through an opening in its palm, and stabbed into the right eye of Unit-01. Again and again the glowing spear slid back and snapped forward into the purple robot's head like a battering ram.
And like a thousand times before, the Evangelion was thrown back into a building as the energy blade finally burst through its head. Torrents of bright red blood began to erupt from the wound as the mighty robot's head sagged forward. As the nerve connections between machine and pilot began to fail, the young boy slumped forward in his seat as his vision faded to black….
"No! Shinji!" a dozen voices seemed to scream in unison as the dream faded, and the Sleeper awakened.
/Sawada Residence/Northern Japan/
A thousand kilometers north of the fortress city of Tokyo-3, a fourteen year old girl screamed as she bolted up in her bed, mercifully awakened from her nightmare. Clutching the covers tightly to her trembling body, she stared out the window at the half moon peeking out from a cloudy sky as she caught her breath. She waited a few minutes before rubbing the sleep from her eyes and climbing up off her futon as she turned on the lamp sitting on her desk. A quick look at the glowing green numerals on her alarm clock convinced her she would be getting no more sleep this night. Especially after that dream.
That dream. The girl crossed the room to her dresser and gazed into the mirror perched above it. The image she saw was a familiar one, but not the one she expected to see. An elfin face framed by short blue hair and red eyes gazed back at her.
The girl closed her eyes and shook her head to get rid of the ghostly apparition, hoping, praying that the image was not real. Opening her eyes again, she looked and found another face staring back at her in the mirror. It was the same face but the hair was long and dark, hanging loosely down her back instead of in its usual braid. The eyes were blue and rimmed with tears.
"Rei?" the concerned voice of an elderly man spoke from her bedroom door, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Sensei," the girl replied with a croak, her voice cracking from emotions she was still trying to fight down, "I just had another nightmare. I'm okay now."
"Good," he answered back, relief in his voice, "Good."
Rei Ayanami sighed as she listened to her teacher amble off down the hall to his room as she stared at her reflection. The old man could never understand her or what she had been going through for the five years she had been living with him. Only one person knew what demons haunted her dreams.
The dreams are getting worse… His voice whispered in her head.
"Yes," Rei whispered in reply to the phantom.
The first year in her teacher's house had been difficult for her, but then the Voice began talking to her and she hadn't been so lonely. Then the dreams had begun.
Dreams of Angels. Dreams of Evangelion. Dreams of Shinji, Asuka, and a living doll named Rei.
"I am not a doll," the girl hissed at the mirror, daring her ghostly companion to comment.
For once the Voice remained silent.
/Later that Day/
It has begun.
The voice echoed dully in her head, the voice of the man only she could hear. And the message was the one she come to dread for the past four years. She turned from her chores, the dishes suddenly forgotten in the sink, to look at the TV. The news report showed scenes of devastation in Russia, stock footage from the massive earthquake that had rocked the Moscow region the day before.
She cocked her head to the side in annoyance as she realized it was just more of the same old news. A new series of aftershocks had been reported to the east of the original disaster and more troops were being sent in to aid the Russians. She snorted in disgust at the false alarm.
"Will you stop it!" she hissed, "Its not time yet. Just an earthquake."
She smirked as she felt the presence within her bristle.
The UN is censoring the reports. the Voice whispered, This is the being of the end. Sachiel has awakened.
"Prove it." she growled back, "I say its just a natural disaster, you spaz."
Tonight, He mentally grinned, Check the Internet. You will see.
"Fine." she snorted, "If it means that much to you."
In his recliner in front of the TV, the teacher and guardian of one Rei Ayanami Ikari listened to what sounded like another one-sided conversation between the child and her imaginary friend. He sighed and reached for the bottle of sake, carefully refilling his glass and trying to ignore the young voice in the kitchen. At least he was getting paid well.
/Later That Night/
After all the chores and her homework were done, Rei logged on to the net and began sifting through various stories on the disaster in Russia. At first glance it all seemed pretty normal, but the Voice kept urging her to dig deeper.
"Are you satisfied yet?" she sighed three hours later.
Yes, the Voice replied, The facts are all there in plain sight.
"What are you babbling about?" Rei growled, "It's a big earthquake."
In Moscow? he whispered.
"Why not?"
Have you noticed that the nearest tectonic plate is three hundred kilometers away? Or that a quake of that magnitude would send aftershocks along the fault lines to north and south?
Rei surfed to a geological website and pulled up maps of the Russian heartland. "You're right. There are no fault lines extending this far east." She tapped a few keys and zoomed in on the devastated region. "And the way these aftershocks are moving east…" she looked at her notes and plotted the various towns the news reports had said had been hit most recently, "The quakes _are_ moving east!"
Not just moving, the Voice said sagely, More like marching.
"Not very bloody fast." Rei glanced at her notes and then checked the map again, "Oh shit."
Do you see it?
"The troops," she hissed, "They're not sending them into the disaster area."
Of course not, He laughed, You don't send Tank Brigades to aid disaster victims, you send Military Police and Medical units.
"And you don't post units from western Europe a hundred klicks into Siberia!" Rei gasped as she realized where the massive troop movements were headed. "They're deploying them to intercept it."
Yes. But they will fail…
"Yes. Conventional weapons are useless against the Angels…" Rei whispered under her breath, the words spoken as a mantra, and one she had feared for years now. She began plotting new points on the map.
"Looks like the UN and Russian forces will make their stand here," she rested a finger on the computer screen, "Just north of Nizhniy Tagil, tomorrow? Then it will cut the Trans-Siberian Pipeline two days later, if it keeps moving at this speed." She tapped the screen and watched it shift right to left, a red line plotting out the march across Siberia, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and into the Sea of Japan. She closed her eyes with a heavy sigh as the line crossed the water and hit shore, two hundred sixty kilometers south of Tokyo-3, but she now had no doubts of its actual target. That the line missed was only due to a lack of data on her part, she knew.
"Sachiel is coming." she whispered in dread, an icy fist closing around her heart as she spoke the words and gave voice to her hidden fear. "The Angels are back. And all Hell is about to break loose."
Too late, the Voice giggled, Way too late, my dear.
"Oh, shut up." Rei growled, "And stop pissing on my dramatic dialogue!"
Is that what you call it?
"Asshole!"
/NERV HQ/Hakone Region, Japan
It was a familiar scene to any fan of the anime as the Battle Staff of NERV stood at their positions on the Bridge to monitor data on the first of fifteen Angels they would be called upon to fight. The three Bridge Technicians sat at their consoles, Colonel Misato Katsuragi and Doctor Ritsuko Akagi stood on the deck behind them, and the two commanding officers watched it all from their perch on the Flag Bridge five meters above them.
"These data feeds we're getting from the UN forces are worthless!" Lieutenant Maya Ibuki screamed at her monitor as she watched the fuzzy images on the screen.
"Well, just be glad they're giving us something," blonde haired Dr. Ritsuko Akagi said as she looked up from her clipboard and glanced over at her young assistant, "According to the Charter they don't have to give us anything until they toss the ball in our court."
"Yes ma'am," the young technician replied sheepishly, "It just seems so pointless. Can't they see how useless it is to try and fight that thing?"
"The Security Council still thinks in terms of conventional and strategic combat forces," Colonel Misato Katsuragi growled into her coffee cup as she stood next to her friend Ritsuko, her long dark, purple-highlighted hair draped over her right shoulder, "And until they throw everything and the kitchen sink at it they won't realize that the Angel is something beyond their experience."
"Fools," Ritsuko whispered as she gazed over Maya's shoulder at the data scrolling down the screen.
"Well, that won't last for much longer," Lt. Makoto Hyuga, the spectacled male technician, said looking up from his console, "Once the Angel defeats the army they assembled in Russia they'll have no choice but to defer to us."
"Maybe," Lt. Shigeru Aoba, Hyuga's long-haired counter-part, offered from his position, "But that won't be much help for the poor bastards that thing is going to stomp on tomorrow."
"You'd think they would have gotten a clue when it tap-danced over the six divisions the Russians were able to scramble into action defending Teykovo yesterday." Misato grunted as she glanced at the data on Hyuga's screen. "I have to admit they managed to assemble a rather impressive little army out there."
"I'll say," Makoto smiled, looking up at her, "Four Russian Tank Armies, an American Corps of armor, the German Second Army, and fifteen divisions from China."
"Plus a grab bag of regiments and brigades from sixteen other UN member nations, on top of the six hundred attack jets they got out there," Shigeru whistled in wonder, "That Angel is walking right into the middle of World War Three."
"I doubt it will matter," Ritsuko sighed, "All those forces will do is act as a speed bump to the Angel."
"If that," Misato grunted, "And then they will start tossing N2 mines at it once it kills all the soldiers."
"They're all going to die, aren't they?" Maya whispered.
"Yes, a futile gesture," the blonde scientist grunted and then turned to head to the coffee pot, "But they might actually buy us some time."
"We're going to need it." Shigeru Aoba muttered.
Misato let her gaze sweep over the bridge as three technicians focused back to their duties. The mood was grim, as well it should be she mused. Everything depended on them, and they weren't ready yet. But the UN might just get lucky in the battle tomorrow.
"Yeah, and pigs might learn to fly." she growled into her coffee cup.
/A Few Meters Above/
"The UN has chosen its ground wisely, but…" Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki said as he gazed down at the holographic display that made up the main floor of the massive Command Center.
"A futile gesture." Commander Ikari whispered as he leaned forward and assumed the contemplative and slightly intimidating posture the command crew had long since dubbed as the 'Gendo Position'.
"It would be wise for them to stand down and shift responsibility to us," the older man began in the strong, wise tone that he had perfected in over three decades of teaching, "But the UN does have a duty to perform."
"And it would not do for them to show weakness at a time like this." Gendo whispered.
"They will not give up their position of leadership so easily," the former professor nodded, "A shame, really. They waste lives that need not be lost."
"Indeed."
"And so we can expect a D-12 declaration in twenty-four hours or so," Fuyutsuki sighed. "They will expect us to respond in a show of force."
"What the Council wants does not concern me," the Commander said as he stood and turned to leave the bridge, "We will not throw away our advantage by dispatching an EVA to Russia."
"So we will proceed as planned?" Kozo smirked, "The old men on the Council will not be pleased."
Gendo stopped at the lift doors and looked back at his executive officer, the two sharing a brief smile, "The scenario will proceed as planned."
"And what of Rei?" the older man queried his former pupil.
Gendo looked away, swallowing hard at the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, "We don't need to involve her just yet."
Kozo Fuyutsuki sighed as the doors closed behind the Commander and he turned back to gaze out over the activity on the lower bridge. "You can't hide her forever Ikari," he whispered to himself, "She's too much like her mother."
/Same Place, Different Day/
The next day found the Command Center fully manned as the NERV Command Staff assembled to monitor the battle soon to erupt on the Russian plains. Many of the technicians and department heads gasped as they got their first look at the enemy. As the appointed hour arrived, silence fell over the bridge as the assembled group watched in horror as the UN forces threw themselves into battle against the Angel.
Thousands died in vain as the battle stretched across fifty kilometers and lasted six hours. The men and women of NERV watched the spectacle, first with hope, then with growing sorrow and trepidation. In those six hours, any confusion over the necessity of their powerful organization were swept away and many swore oaths to avenge those who gave their lives that day.
The final hope, that the power of an N2 mine might succeed where brute force had failed, came at last. Another hour passed in silence as six of the most powerful explosive devices in the world were dropped on the target, singly at first, then two, and finally in a last desperate gamble using three N2 mines at once. At last the UN admitted defeat and withdrew what little remained of its forces and watched powerlessly as the Angel, damaged but only slowed down, continued on its relentless march into the Siberian hinterlands.
As the battle finally sputtered to a close, the assembled staff began to break up, some heading to conference rooms, others to laboratories. When the long expected D-12 Declaration finally arrived from the UN Security Council, only the Commanders, Dr. Akagi, Colonel Katsuragi, and the three primary bridge technicians remained on the bridge. The message was typically long-winded in the manner of all bureaucratic documents, but the final result was still the same: NERV was given Executive Authority to combat the threat of the Angels.
It was a declaration of war. The Angel War had begun.
/Sawada Residence/
We cannot delay any longer the, Voice whispered in the back of her head.
"I know that!" Rei growled in reply, "But I'm supposed to wait for the Commander to send for me, or have you forgotten?"
We could go by the book, the Voice teased, But you'd look silly in a boy's plug suit.
"Shut up!" Rei snarled as she grasped her braid and tugged hard on it a couple times, "Do you have any idea how much I hate you?"
Words cannot adequately quantify the depth of your animosity to my presence. came the reply in a soft and largely emotionless monotone that sent chills up the girl's neck.
"Don't ever speak to me in that tone of voice ever again!" she snarled, "You got that, Wonderboy?"
Of course, My Dear. came the melodious reply.
"I am _not_ a doll, got it?"
Rei sat down before her computer once more and made one last sweep of the three websites she had managed to get the best information from. She sighed as she noticed a whole new batch of D-17 Evacuation notices that had been posted within the last hour for a one hundred kilometer wide corridor across the entire Siberian landmass. The news still claimed the disaster was an earthquake, but the new D-17's were being blamed on damage to the Trans-Siberian Pipeline and a creative mix of other threats.
The last site she checked was not a Russian site, but one in Japan, and this one confirmed her worst fear. The city of Tokyo-3 was beginning a series of civil-defense drills and the city's main employer, NERV, had canceled all leaves and vacations for its employees. Then Rei noticed that the Prime Minister of Japan had scheduled a sudden visit to the city and rumors hinted that there would be a major announcement concerning the quasi-military research organization by the end of the week.
Rei logged off the net and shut off her computer with a heavy sigh. She closed her eyes and played a jumbled collage of half-remembered battles against the massive creatures called the Angels. The memories were not truly hers, but a gift from the unwanted Voice in her mind. It was the collective story that in another place and time was known as Neon Genesis Evangelion, or more specifically, the Canon. A hundred variations of the main story were also hers to recall, each based on a different fan fiction, each and every one a dream sent to her over the past four years by the presence of the Voice.
Rei sighed as one of the few memories she could truly call her own sprang briefly into focus. It was one of the few she could remember of the last three months she lived with her father in Tokyo-3, right before he sent her away. She had happy then, she had her father's love, all was right in the world. But then he had abandoned her and sent her here to live with Mr. Sawada, a distant relative on her father's side. And despite everything, she could not remember anything from before those happy three months. Mr. Sawada called it Disassociate Amnesia due to abandonment issues. Rei called it bullshit. Either way, it brought up the fact that her life experiences were largely limited to just what she could remember of the last five years.
And there was nothing in her collective knowledge to properly guide her now. She was not the same emotionless girl that was fated to die fighting the sixteenth Angel. She had never been to Terminal Dogma. She had never tasted the foul substance known as LCL. She was not the critical component in the Dummy Plug System. Rei Ayanami Ikari was not a doll.
She wasn't an Evangelion pilot either. She was just a normal Japanese schoolgirl who had been abandoned by her father and sent to live with a distant relative after her mother had died in a freak lab accident. She was living out the role of Shinji Ikari, the so-called hero of the Evangelion story. Of course, unlike Shinji, she had some idea of what was in store for her.
Her collective memory suggested that she could simply follow the plot she was familiar with, make small changes here and there, and everything would work out in the end. She could avoid Third Impact. It would be so easy. If she were Shinji Ikari.
Rei stood up and walked over to her dresser and looked into the mirror. The face was familiar, the only major difference was the length of her hair. Soft brown tresses, not blue, framed her elfin face, but she had long ago let it grow out to hang down to the small of her back. She preferred to wear it in a single thick braid, often letting it hang over her right shoulder, and had developed the unconscious habit of playing with her braid when her mind wandered, and pulling on it when she was frustrated.
Her blue eyes and dark brown hair accented the healthy color of her skin, so different from the albino coloration she always feared she would see reflected back at her. The dreams had haunted her sleep for so long now that confirming her identity in the mirror had also become a thrice daily ritual. The fear that she had somehow been transformed into the blue-haired half-angel of the EVA chronicles was one that she fought hard to dispel nearly every chance she got.
Still human? the Voice chuckled softly in her mind.
"No thanks to you," she whispered in reply, "If I wasn't sure I was already completely insane, you would be enough to finish the job."
Don't worry, He reassured her, You are the sanest person I know, Rei.
"Thanks," she said as she moved to sit on her bed, "I think."
Once, I might have thought you the Doll, His soft voice raising the hairs on her neck, But that time is well past. And anyone who might think you were, would have second thoughts the moment you opened your mouth to speak.
"Oh, Fuck off!" she snapped in reply.
My point precisely!
Rei flopped back and threw an arm over her face with a grunt. Even after four years of sharing space in her head with a rabid EVA fanboy, and a FanFic writer to boot, she still had problems dealing with him. Just knowing that he was there in her head was enough to drive her out of her mind, especially if she thought he was trying to sneak peeks at her or was trying to access her secret fantasies. In a way, having a permanent resident in her mind had prompted her to develop a high degree of mental discipline and focus, perhaps the only major similarity she admitted she might have with the Doll.
As she thought about it, she couldn't help but smile at a few memories that floated up from the depths of her mind. The first few months she had to deal with the Voice had been a difficult period of learning to guard her thoughts and keeping a firm grip on her sanity. In time she had learned to feel when He was present, and when He was trying to do something naughty inside her head. But time had given her lessons that had made life easier for her as well.
Just to keep in practice, Rei let her thoughts drift for a moment, her mind slowly focusing on the presence in her head. He was drifting in the void she had come to calling her gray matter, an area that held little interest beyond the fact that it was a calm and quiet area of the mind, a perfect place for Him to sit and rest, but close enough to the "Surface" that both were able to communicate. She smiled as she realized that He was not yet aware that she was stalking him. That changed the moment He felt the shift in her mood.
Oh shit… He groaned as He "looked up" and noticed her mental avatar looming over his psychic self.
SMACK!
Rei laughed out loud as He went sprawling from the impact of her mental slap.
That was uncalled for Darling.
"Yeah," she giggled, "But it sure felt good!"
Fine. I know when I'm not wanted.
Rei waited a few minutes to make sure His presence had really moved out of her head and away from her "Train of Thought" before she let her mind drift toward heavy thoughts. While He could occasionally be of help with certain issues, knowing that He was constantly looking over her shoulder made it difficult to live in any way approaching a normal life. It really made her self-conscious in the shower, and in the locker room at school.
Rei closed her eyes and let her mind drift over a variety of scenarios. She could wait for the letter that the Commander, the only title she referred to her father by these days, would surely send in the next few days. While that was the option she was expected to take, Rei knew that to do so meant that she would no sooner arrive in Tokyo-3 then be thrown into combat against the Third Angel. This scenario scared her more than she cared to admit as it left everything to chance. Rei had no illusions that she might be a better natural pilot than Shinji, she would rate herself as hopeless in the piloting category if asked.
Another option, and the one favored by her psychic co-conspirator, was to jump-start the game by going to Tokyo-3 now, without waiting to be summoned, and demand training. Rei wasn't so sure about this option, but it might give her a better chance of survival if she really did get the training her blue-haired counter-part would have had by now. But this option also meant seeking a meeting with her father sooner than she wanted, a gut wrenching prospect no matter when it happened.
As Rei thought more about the events she was being drawn into, she realized that no other options really existed at this point. Not unless she wanted to run away. And that wasn't really an option at all.
Rei wrestled with her problem for a time before she finally opened her eyes and rolled over on the bed. A quick glance at the clock on her nightstand showed that half the night had passed and dawn was only a few short hours away. With little hope to get any useful sleep, Rei sat up and made her decision.
/NERV HQ/Next Day/
"Are we ready?" Ritsuko said as she noticed the figure entering her office.
"Yes ma'am," Maya replied as she set a small stack of folders on the desk, "Unit-00 is standing by in the Fourth Cage and Chief Watanabe says his crew are ready for tomorrow."
"Then I guess we better get out of here and get some rest for the big event," the fake blonde said as she finished off her coffee and rose from her chair.
"Its hard to believe we're actually going to do our first full activation test tomorrow," Maya said with a bit of wonderment in her voice, "Its amazing, really."
"Yes, it is. But we would have done it soon enough in any case," the scientist smiled at her young assistant, "One can't stand in the way of progress."
"Still..." Maya sighed, "You don't think we're moving too fast. Do you?"
"We have no choice, you know that," Ritsuko said off-hand as they left the office and headed for the lift that would take them up to the Geofront, "If we are to have any chance of defeating that Angel then we need to make sure we have a fully combat ready EVA."
"Do you really think we can beat it?" Maya whispered.
"Well, its not really in our hands," Ritsuko sighed as they reached the lift and she hit the Call button, "Once we activate and launch, its all in the hands of the pilot."
"Do you think he's up to it? I mean…" Maya stammered as her thoughts moved to their pilot.
Ritsuko stepped into the elevator as the doors opened, chewing over her answer as the younger woman joined her. "I know you have doubts about the First Child, and you're not the only one. But he has been training for this for five years now."
"We could transfer Unit-02." Maya offered.
"Yes, and the Commanders have explored that option," Ritsuko grinned, "But the weather over central Europe isn't working in our favor at the moment. Our options really are limited for now."
"So its all up to Unit-00 and the First Child then."
"Yes," Dr. Akagi grimaced a bit, "At least until the Marduk Institute locates the Third Child and we can safely activate Unit-01."
"I just wish they would hurry up and find him," short-haired young woman blurted out, then drew back in shame at her breach of etiquette, "I mean, it would be better if we had more pilots when we finally have to fight the Angels."
"Oh, I agree Maya," the blond smiled to put her young assistant at ease, "As it is, having just the two pilots available is going to make things difficult enough as it is. Once we get Unit-02 transferred here we will still be skirting the edge. There is no telling how nasty the Angels will really be."
"I just hope the new pilots have more personality than a zucchini," Maya whispered wistfully as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
"Me too!" Ritsuko chuckled as they left the car and headed out of the lobby into the Geofront.
"Have a good night Ma'am," Maya smiled sheepishly and moved off toward the train station that would take her up to Tokyo-3 and her small apartment.
"Good night Maya," Ritsuko whispered to her departing protege as she began walking to meet her date for the evening.
As the two parted ways, Ritsuko began to contemplate her concern over the First Child and his ability to pilot EVA. As the head of E-Project, she had access to a great many secrets. She hoped the First Child would become a good pilot given time. But the Angels seemed determined not to allow them that time.
One secret that haunted her thoughts was the fact that the Third Angel had not appeared at the appointed time or place as written in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a fact that had many people concerned. Commander Ikari had already spent the better part of two days in meetings with the SEELE Council discussing that fact. He had spent hours going over various parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts trying to determine how these developments would affect the scenario and consulted with her on several aspects of the plan which it now seemed had failed to survive long enough to see first contact with the enemy. Of course, the definition of first contact was open to debate, and Ritsuko was well aware that there had already been a number of major engagements in this war long before the Third Angel awakened. The horror of one battle that waged five years ago stilled haunted her and the one she loved.
But the biggest secret she carried that night, one she was forced to keep hidden even from her friends and colleagues, hurt her the most. It was a very simple and, to many minds, an insignificant fact. The Third Child had already been located several months ago. In fact, Ritsuko had known for several years now who that person would be. And that knowledge ate at her every day.
But now wasn't the time to recycle those thoughts. Doctor Ritsuko Akagi had enough on her mind and on her schedule now that the Angels had begun their assault without wallowing in old regrets. Tonight was one of the few that she might have to enjoy her life for the next few months as the battle to protect mankind raged in the streets of the city above, and she had every intention of making it a good one.
A smile crept to her lips as she neared the benches at the north end of the Pyramid Lake and she saw that her lover was already there waiting for her.
One thing never changed, the man was as punctual as ever.
/Sawada Residence/Later That Night/
Rei sat in silence, listening patiently for any indication that her guardian was still awake. It had been an agonizing hour, waiting in the dark by the door to her room, waiting to make sure she could slip away without alerting the old man to her plan. She grinned in the darkness at the thought of the note she had left on her desk, a ploy really, indicating only that she had left early for school and hopefully enough to buy her a few extra hours to make a clean getaway.
Excited?
Rei almost giggled as she nodded her head in reply.
Then let's get this show on the road! the Voice laughed.
Quiet as a ghost, Rei grabbed her backpack and suit case before gliding out the door and through the empty house. She mentally thanked Him for the advice, given weeks earlier, that she memorize the layout of the house so she could move around in the darkness. That advice was not absolutely necessary tonight as the light from a full moon coming in the windows greatly aided her efforts at swiftly navigating from room to room. In a few short minutes she was at the front door and out of the house.
She stopped short as she reached the street, realizing at last that she had been holding her breath as she made her escape. Crouching in a deep shadow, Rei took a few minutes to catch her breath as she took in her surroundings and listened for any sign that others were out who might detect her.
How do you feel? He whispered from somewhere near her left ear.
"Like I'm about to pee my pants!" came her whispered reply, and she nearly giggled a moment later when she realized what she had said.
Welcome to the world of covert military operations, Darling.
"I thought you were in the Navy?" she giggled quietly.
I was, He replied, And like they used to say; 'Not just a job, but an adventure'.
"Never heard that one," Rei whispered as she stood back up and began to slip from shadow to shadow toward town.
Before your time, He sighed, Long before your time.
They passed the next few minutes in silence as Rei moved away from her former residence as quickly as she could, avoiding houses and people as best she could. After they had gone half a kilometer, He finally advised her to stop trying to become a ninja as the people were becoming greater in number as they got closer to the center of town. That and He figured that she would just draw attention to herself if she kept it up.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Rei asked under her breath as she walked out on to the main street.
Yeah, I'm sure, He sighed in reply, The first battle is always the worst, but we can't avoid it. Better that we take any advantage we can get. Especially since….
"I might not be able to make the EVA go berserk," she finished, "Alright then."
Minutes passed in silence as Rei made her way toward the bus station. Numerous inquiries over the internet had assured that she carried the necessary money for the trip, a precaution He had insisted on that Rei now realized insured she had no reasonable argument to use if she decided to back out. Doubt began to nibble away at her resolve the closer she got to the station, but her feet continued to move forward until finally she came to the main entrance.
Scared?
"I won't run away," Rei said with a conviction she wasn't sure she really possessed.
Alright, next stop; Tokyo-3! He exclaimed.
"Yippie kie-yah," Rei grunted and walked into the station.
/SEELE Council Chamber/
Gendo Ikari sat in a dark chamber at the foot of a conference table as the images of the four members of the SEELE Council that separated him from Lorentz Keele at the head of the table continued their endless debate.
"Ikari," a thin, man with round spectacles droned on, "Are you certain NERV will be able to use EVA effectively against this Angel? Can you justify your confidence despite the fact this Angel does not conform to the descriptions given to us in the Dead Sea Scrolls?"
"That is the reason NERV exists," Gendo replied as he folded his hands together in front of his face, "We anticipated that some deviations from the scenario might occur. We can weather this storm."
"Are you leading us to believe that additional deviations will occur?" the fat man to Gendo's left said.
"That is a reasonable assumption," he replied, "As this council is aware, we have encountered other anomalies in our translation of the Scrolls. As long as NERV can successfully engage the Angels, we can make the necessary adjustments."
"So we must depend on you then?" a third man on the right asked.
"The Angels are reacting to advances being made in the Human Completion Project," Gendo replied, "As that Project progresses ahead of schedule, the Angels are not bound by the prophecies. Unless you can alter that fact, then yes. NERV is the only hope."
"We have already entrusted you with too much power, Ikari." the thin man hissed, "We will not give you Adam as well. We will bring Adam home once the Project is complete."
"It seems," Keele finally spoke, "That perhaps it is time we bring in the Third Child."
Gendo stiffened in his seat.
"If the Angels are no longer bound by the Scrolls, then we will need to strengthen our position and balance the playing field."
The thin man nodded his head, "Yes, bring Units 01 and 03 online."
The fat man looked across the table to the fourth, balding American, "What is the status of the Units in America?"
"Unit-03 is undergoing systems tests and final upgrades. It could be ready for deployment in a month or so," he sighed, "But Unit-04 is still far behind schedule. It is still suffering unexplained necrosis in the third stage organs."
"Very well," Keel rubbed his temples around his visor, "We'll see that Unit-03 transfers to Tokyo-3 once it finishes the upgrades." He looked up at Gendo, "I trust you will have no problems choosing the Third and Fourth Children?"
"I can have the Third Child brought in right after the Unit-00 Activation Test today," Gendo sweated, "The Fourth Child will be chosen by the time we receive Unit-03."
"Good," the thin man grinned, "The rest of the meeting does not concern you."
The four men faded away in the darkness to leave only Keele facing Commander Ikari.
"Ikari. You know there is no going back," he said before fading away as well.
"Yes," the Commander whispered to the darkness, "Mankind has no time left." Gendo rose and walked to the door, stopping to look back into the darkened room, "It is as it was before. You have set your plans in motion, despite your claims to the contrary. Like those before, you choose to rewrite history to suit your needs, rather than learn from it. You idiots never learn…"
/NERV HQ/Yet Another Day/
"The First Child has entered the Fourth Cage," a perky female voice echoed over the intercom, "All personnel are in position for Unit-00 Activation Test."
"Well," Ritsuko muttered as she moved up behind Maya's seat, "Here goes nothing."
"Famous last words," Misato snorted as she looked out over the Command Center floor.
"Begin the Evangelion Activation Test," came the Commander's voice from above them.
"Everyone cross your fingers," a gloomy Hyuga muttered from his station.
"Insert the Entry Plug and stand by for First Stage connections," Ritsuko said to get them all focused.
And the test began.
/Sawada Residence/
The old man looked out the kitchen window as he held the phone in his hand. He knew what his duty was, but fear of reporting his failure made him hesitate. If only he'd realized what he was getting into twenty years ago when Ikari first showed him the Truth, he probably would have eaten a bullet, but now…. The girl had played him for a fool, no doubt there. The note she had left on the kitchen table should have tipped him off, but instead had sent him off on a wild-goose chase when the school called to tell him she was marked as absent. It wasn't until he had wasted several hours out looking for her that he checked her room to discover her bags and most of her clothes missing that he realized the truth.
Rei Ayanami had run away.
The old man had spent an hour drinking and pondering her reasons for leaving. He had tried to recall any memory that might offer a clue. He had been so careful, but had he made a slip somewhere? Had he said or did anything to arouse the girl's suspicion? Had any of his secret meetings been seen? But no insights had been forthcoming.
Slowly he reset the phone in its receiver and knelt at the low table. He reached for the bottle of sake sitting there and poured another cup. He could not delay his report for long, but he could wait until he was good and drunk to do it. And if Gendo Ikari didn't like it, that was too bad.
The bastard should have known the old man wasn't good with children. After all, look how well he turned out!
/Outside Old Tokyo/
Rei leaned back in her seat and watched the scenery as the bus sped along the New Coast Highway. Here and there buildings poked up out of the water that covered the outlying district of what was once the old city of Tokyo. Her thoughts drifted haphazardly as she wondered what she would find in Tokyo-3. She glanced down at her watch, noting that she still had several hours before reaching her destination.
You really should try and get some sleep. the Voice said for the tenth time.
Rei didn't reply, her thoughts in turmoil as they constantly returned to the same place; the inescapable reunion with her father. Gendo Ikari, Commander of NERV.
In time the thoughts began to quiet and her eyes began to slide closed. And for a short couple of hours, Rei Ayanami slept, her destiny on hold.
/Elsewhere/
It begins? The time is too soon, what are those idiots thinking? I suppose it matters not. The game has begun again. And this time I shall not fail.
—
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes: As I said before, this story needed some extra details added in early in order to have it make sense later when the Big Reveal happens. As much as I wanted to do a complete rewrite of the chapter, I also realized how much I hate it when other authors go and do the same thing, making the story something entirely different in the process. So instead I just added back in a couple of previously deleted scenes, padded a few scenes with extra dialogue and slipped a few oblique references of things to come. Hopefully it was enough. And now to top it all off, I present an Omake that came to mind as I was celebrating the completion of chapter five. I thought about posting it as a stand-alone one-shot, but didn't think it would fly on it's own, so here it is in all it's glory. Hope you enjoy.
Useless Confessions (The True Story Behind The Story/Or Something Stupid Like That)
It began, as most things do, because of a girl. She wasn't just any girl, of course. She was 'The One'. The kind that explodes into your life like the Third Impact, makes herself at home, turns your life upside down, gets bored and walks out one day, never to be seen or heard from again. And once she's gone, you're never the same again. She was living proof that God is in His Heaven...and you know the rest.
Life losses some of its meaning once she's gone. You barely remember the girls who came before her, and God help the ones who follow because you'll always compare them against her and feel cheated. And let's face it, once you've spent so much as one night with the 'The One', second best just won't cut it. Sure, you'll still do Lil' Miss Second Best, along with her mom, sisters and ten best friends. But you'll still kick the whole lot of them out of bed and change your religion for just one more night with 'The One'.
I only mention this because Species247 lived with 'The One' for an entire year. A year that changed his life forever (trust me on this, he won't stop talking about it). Her name was Pulse. Why Pulse, you ask? Because she still had one (trust me, she loved that joke).
Pulse was not her real name of course, but rather the nom de plume she had used for the last few years in the pursuit of a career few parents would wish upon their daughters. In technical terms, it was her Stage Name. You see, Pulse was a Stripper.
Most of you are probably rolling your eyes and saying to yourselves, 'Oh, it's one of those stories…'.
Well, yes. And no.
I only bring this up because, well, if anyone is to blame for the creation of the FanFic story known as Useless Trivia, she's 'The One' (pun intended). I'm pretty sure she'd like all the credit as well. That's assuming, of course, that people actually like the story, it wins some kind of award, becomes an internet classic, generates ten million hits and gets bought by Gainax and turned into an HBO live action series.
Not that the author is holding his breath. It's just that he's pretty sure she'd kick his ass if she found out that he'd made money off something that was technically her idea to begin with. No, she did not create Neon Genesis Evangelion (nice thought though), she just came up with an idea for a FanFic based on it. Sort of.
You see, during the year 'The One' spent with said author wrapped around her little finger (good times), they shared a lot of things together. The most important ones (to this story at least) were a love of anime, beer, sex and a good fight. Because let's face it, if you don't argue over the finer points of an anime, then you can't really call yourself a fan, can you? And nothing beats sex.
Fortunately for Species247, the wrath of Pulse was usually directed at FanFic authors, who in her opinion, SUCKED. The thing that really set her off was, as most people can probably understand, the dreaded Self-Insert and Original Character stories. The girl had some kind of sixth sense when it came to homing in on a Mary Sue or an SI with delusions of grandeur. She hated them with a passion and flamed each one she found mercilessly until she was kicked off a site (or the author faded into obscurity). But, just for the record, she did find a couple she actually liked.
As anyone who has ever been in a relationship can attest, there will be arguments and other rough spots. Pulse and Species247 had plenty. The only one that matters to this story involved FanFics. Evangelion based FanFics in particular. And a rather infamous one at that, one so infamous that 90% of you probably can guess which one with only a small clue. Here's a hint; the main character (Gary Stue/OC/SI/all of the above) has been killed, maimed and tortured by more FanFic authors than even Gendo Ikari. Yeah, that one.
The argument raged for about a week before a resolution of sorts was reached. Actually, it was more of a challenge to put up or shut up. Species247, eager for some Make Up Sex, put up.
The challenge? Write a good Evangelion story involving both an Original Character and a Self-Insert. Sounds simple enough, right? Then why do so many stories of that nature prove otherwise?
"The One', in her infinite wisdom, forced our hero to prove he was capable of meeting her challenge before she gave it up, however. You can guess what happened next. Like any good and horny, red-blooded American male with a choice between Make Up Nookie and no nookie at all (with 'The One'), the poor fool said the first thing that popped into his head.
While the exact words he said that night have been lost in the mists of time, it probably sounded something like; "I'll make it so everything the guy knows about Evangelion is just Useless Trivia!", or something like that. Then he realized what he'd done and nearly choked to death on his own tongue. Luckily for him, she bought it. Too bad that meant they spent the next few hours talking about how he was going to do it. Precious hours that cut into their nookie time.
Before you ask, hell yes, it was some incredible nookie.
But the story doesn't end there. It all began because of a girl. It might have ended with some incredible sex. Unfortunately, as some of you may know, great sex sometimes results in long term complications. You see, our hero became a daddy that night.
Yup. As a result of a night of mind-blowing, hot, wet, sweaty, stuck to the wall kind of sex, Species247 got a bouncing baby girl out of the deal. And the poor fool's been paying for it ever since. Why? Because, dear reader, as you might remember, Pulse left him. And of course, she stuck him with the Child.
Some of you can sympathize with the guy. It's never easy for a single parent, especially when the kid is bound and determined to grow up to be just like her hellcat of a mother. Not quite a carbon copy, thank God, but close enough that her dear old dad lives in fear of the day she changes her name to Star and brags about how many dollar bills she can fit into her G-string.
Now you're probably wondering what in the hell does their love Child have to do with anything!? Glad you asked (or this whole story would be pointless). You see, the birth of this Child was all part of the Scenario. They named her Ai…
You might know her better as Rei Ayanami Ikari, Useless Trivia's very own foul-mouthed Third Child (in accordance with Marduk Report Ver.3.78 with Appendices in blah-blah-blah…). Yeah, her. Ai-Chan, as in Rei A.I., get it? Good. Moving on.
So, what's the point, you ask?
The point is, Gendo is the Man! No, really! Species247 feels your pain, dude. If he been stiffed with a whiny brat like Shinji, he'd have walked out too. Besides, Ai-Chan (or Rei in Gendo's case) is cute and reminds the author of the love he lost. Like the Man said, "She's all I have left, Kozo,". And as any man who has been lucky enough to spend at least one night with 'The One' will tell you; Third Impact is a small price to pay for even one more night.
The only problem is, Ai-Chan is too much like her mother. Unlike Shinji, Ai would kick his ass long before he could pull the trigger on the world. Of course, it wouldn't stop him from trying.
I think I was trying to make a point with all of this (or was it a moral?).
Oh yeah, something about a girl (or was it a three-some? I forget...).
Oh, that's right; A guy got horny. A girl offered him some if he made a fool of himself on the internet. He did it. They did it. And he's still paying for it.
And yeah, it was totally worth it.
There you have it. Scientific proof that God is in His Heaven, and...you know the rest.
—The End—
Preview!
Don't miss the next exciting chapter, Episode 02: Bitter Reunions as we attempt to activate Unit-00, Rei hits Tokyo-3, Gendo learns his child is MIA, Rei invades NERV, and we witness the drama and tear filled reunion of a father and his daughter. Maybe. Well, maybe not the tears part. Who knows?