Chapter 2
I rolled quickly to one side as another bolt nearly hit me in the chest. Piloting protocol took over and I decided to try this one by the book. Continuing my roll, I ducked behind a building and took cover. I checked my motion-tracker. Ground-level readings were still negative. That meant that my target was up high.
I peeked cautiously around the side of the building and looked up. Hovering over the city blocks, about a hundred feet in the air, was a gigantic, blue polyhedron. The thing seemed to sense my presence and lit up like a Christmas tree. A streak of light stabbed in my direction, forcing me to take evasive action again.
"I can't keep running," I muttered, "Sooner or later, he's going to zero in on me, and that'll be the end of it. Damn it! I haven't had to actually think about a simulator run in nearly six months!"
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we caught this now," said Katsuragi, "If you'd freeze up like this on a real battlefield, you'd be dead already!"
"Shut up and let me work!" I snapped at her. I immediately regretted it. She was my new commanding officer, after all.
My brain worked furiously. This scenario was new to me; that was obvious. What confused me was how they could have programmed new training scenarios into their databanks. I thought that I had seen all possible danger scenarios. Then it made sense. The Angels were all attacking here in Tokyo-3. The team here at NERV Central would have all the newest data on our enemies and be able to put together up-to-date training sequences. I cursed myself a fool for not realizing this before now.
All right, I thought, time to think on my feet. What do I need? I need cover, and a weapon. That's what I need.
"Major! I need a weapon!" I shouted.
"There's a gun building one kilometer west of your current position," major Katsuragi replied, "Nice to see you up on your feet and thinking. I was afraid that you'd have to be given instructions."
"Not bloody likely!" I retorted. My Eva and I moved out fast from behind the hill that we were currently hiding behind. As I moved, I felt myself getting closer and closer to oblivion. I could feel the air rushing past my face as I ran. I felt the heat from the Angel's beam as it narrowly missed me for a third time.
I reached the gun building and pulled out the machine gun that was sent up to me. I wheeled around the side of the building and rolled clear as another beam disintegrated it. I brought my weapon up to bear on the blue monster and fired a volley. I saw the phase shift in the air as its AT Field became active. I swore loudly as I saw my weapon have no effect.
"Another angle," I muttered, "Try another angle of attack."
"Incoming!" rang out major Katsuragi's voice.
I looked up and saw my opponent light up and discharge another particle beam. I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge this one; I had no room to maneuver. I instinctively threw my arms up in front of my face to shield myself. I didn't feel any impact from the beam.
"What the hell is happening?!" the major demanded.
"We don't know!" I heard one of the techs replied.
Curious, I looked up to see what was happening. What I saw still amazes me to this day. My arms were crossed in front of me, and the Angel's particle beam was splitting and tubing around me. My Eva's AT Field had deployed and was deflecting the Angel's beam. A sudden idea struck me.
I changed the angle of my deflection and tried to walk towards the Angel. I knew that if I lost my footing, it would be all over for me. It was a struggle, and I was almost knocked off my feet several times. However, I managed to get close enough to the Angel and change the angle of my arms so that my hands were pushing the Angel's particle beam right back on its source. The heat was unbearable. I could actually feel my hands starting to burn.
With a large blast, the Angel detonated, sending me flying through the air. When I landed, I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the stark, white walls of the simulator lab.
"Now ejecting entry plug," said a technician. My screen went dark and the next thing I knew, my hatch was open and the LCL was being drained from the plug.
I gagged and spat up the LCL from my lungs. I hated the stuff. It always smelled and tasted like blood, and it took me hours to get rid of the smell from my skin. I climbed out of my entry plug and was greeted on the catwalk by Ritsuko and the major.
I detected a very sensual personality in Katsuragi. She was an alcoholic, as well as a slovenly house-keeper. However, when there was trouble, she was sober and intense. She cared deeply for the children she had been placed in charge of. I sensed an intense trauma from her past. My eyes slid out of focus with shock. This poor woman had seen the Second Impact first-hand!
Second Impact. The UN's official report on the event was that a meteorite, no more than a few centimeters across, had slammed into Antarctica, vaporizing all of the ice instantly. Now, the report said that the meteorite was travelling at nearly the speed of light, but anyone with half a brain for physics would know that that speed is unattainable by anything that has even the slightest amount of mass. No object as small as what the UN described could hit hard enough to release the kind of energy it would take to vaporize an entire polar ice cap! From what I could glean from the files I could hack at the American branch, the Second Impact was actually caused by the very first Angel. A research team had been studying the creature when suddenly, without cause or warning, the Angel exploded, vaporizing the ice cap and wiping out the team. Apparently, from the feelings I collected from Misato (and that's what she preferred to be called; Misato) her father had sacrificed his own life to put her in a life pod and seal her in, just moments before the main blast. She still harbored some father issues, but that wasn't anything unusual around this place, I was beginning to think.
"How the hell did you do that?!" Misato demanded.
"Do what?" I asked, confused.
"A couple of things," said Dr. Akagi, "First off, your Eva used its AT Field offensively. That's the first time that's ever happened. You used it to block the Angel's particle beam and turn it back on itself. That was a creative strategy. I'm impressed."
"Don't be," I replied, "I just got lucky right there. I probably couldn't do it again if I tried."
"Secondly," Ritsuko continued, "As you were moving to evade the Angel's beam, I watched your synch ratio with your Eva spike to 99. That's unheard of. One percent higher and you probably would have been absorbed into your Eva."
"Maybe that will explain why my hands hurt," I said, feeling a stinging in my palms. I was used to the psychosomatic pain from wounds sustained by the Eva, but this wasn't just in my head. My palms actually hurt; bad. It felt like I had held them against a red-hot sheet of metal for about fifteen seconds.
"It could, indeed," Ritsuko assented, "Well, that was impressive, nonetheless. Come into HQ tomorrow, and we'll introduce you to the two other pilots."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," I said, "Where am I going to be staying?"
"Well, since a lot of the buildings in the city have been destroyed during the Angel attacks, we thought you'd like to come and live at my apartment building," Misato said cheerfully, "Of course, we'd have to have some kind of welcoming party for our new housemate."
"Don't go to any trouble on my account," I said modestly, "I appreciate the place to stay, but I really don't like parties all that terribly much."
"Hmmph," Misato pouted, "Well, you're just about as much fun to be around as Shinji is. He didn't want to have a party when he moved in, either. However, when Asuka moved in with us, I sorta put my foot down and we had a little party, anyway."
I caught images of that "little party". Misato had gotten so drunk that she puked in the sink. However, her charges had enjoyed themselves. Even their friends had had a good time. A face came to the forefront of her mind. He had longer hair like mine, and his face was very scruffy and messy-looking. A name came with the face: Kaji, Ryoji Kaji; her old boyfriend. They had been together during their college days and had had a mainly sexual relationship. There was very little emotion, just physical contact. She had never actually had a meaningful relationship in her entire life. Truthfully, I felt really sorry for her.
"Please," I said, "can I just see where I'm going to be staying? Jet lag's kicking in really bad, and I'm bushed."
"All right," said Misato, "Let's wait for Shinji to get out here, and then we'll go, okay?"
"Sure," I yawned.
A few minutes later, the Third Child appeared, looking tired and a little dejected.
"Why is it that whenever we run that particular simulator program, I'm the one who always gets blasted right off the bat?" Shinji complained, "I had enough of that the first time I faced the Fifth Angel!"
"Wait—that was the Fifth Angel?" I interrupted, "You're kidding, right?"
"Not in the slightest," Shinji answered, "And what happened was almost exactly like the first time. I come up from the catapult and get blasted right in the chest!"
"Yeah, well, it worked out for the best, didn't it?" Misato asked, "I mean, you and Rei defeated the Angel, and we're all still here."
"Yeah, I guess so," Shinji sighed.
I could still sense waves and waves of resentment coming off of the boy. I could also sense that he didn't really enjoy his job as a pilot. He did it for some reason, but I'm not sure if he even knew exactly why he did it. I know I sure as hell couldn't fathom why he kept piloting if he hated doing it.
But, after all was said and done, Shinji still felt some worth in his piloting. I got the sense that he piloted because he was looking for the praise of others; maybe his father. It was pathetic.
Don't give the poor kid a hard time, I told myself, He doesn't remember his mother, and his father ignores him, as well as everyone else who isn't useful to his obsessions. I can't fault him for wanting to get some attention from someone, even if they're a complete stranger.
"All right, guys," Misato was saying, "You ready to go?"
"Sure," Shinji replied dully.
"Ready whenever," I said. To be perfectly honest, I was more than ready. I was starting to get impatient. I was tired, sore, cranky, and in desperate need of a shower, and by the time we got to Misato's apartment building, I was afraid for my life! The woman drove like a fucking maniac! I don't know how Shinji ever survived this long if he had to ride with her all the time. Whatever. Misato led me up to their apartment door and pointed down the corridor.
"You're two doors down from us," she said, "Here's your key."
"Thanks," I replied, taking the key, "'Night."
"G'night," Misato responded. Shinji made a motion with his head that said "The same goes for me, too."
I unlocked the door to my new apartment and stepped inside. I found a large stack of boxes lining the side of the hallway.
Good, I thought, my stuff's arrived. I can start living out of the boxes until I have time to put stuff away.
I walked by my stuff and into the main room. The first room I came into was the kitchen area. It was simple; white walls and tile floor with white appliances and furnishings. I checked the fridge; nothing. I looked in the freezer; nothing but some TV dinners and ice.
Hmm, I thought, Obviously, I'm going to have to do some shopping at some point. But right now, I'm more tired than I am hungry, so I think I'll go to bed.
I wound my way through the few short hallways that the apartment had to offer and found my way to the bedroom. I looked across the hall and saw the bathroom. It had a full shower and bathtub set-up. I was still wearing my plug suit, so I just pressed the button on the wrist to depressurize it and stripped it off. Not bothering with any kind of pajamas, I fell into bed and slept.
A.N.: Same thing as last chapter, folks. Reviews are welcome, but flamers and spammers will be blocked and reported as abuse. Thanks for understanding!
