The Dastardly Muffin – As far as my military knowledge goes… ughh… anyway, when the time comes I'm having her downgraded into cafeteria lady.
Blitzsthrahl – Kudos to this guy for reminding me that I have to point out that Eva is not 60 ft tall… though Shinji (his POV, scene) saw only top part which I though is only 60 ft. Sorry if this brought confusion.
Zenosyke, Mo Eazy – Fabulous reviews. I'll definitely keep it in mind. Kudos.
And ofc, thanks everyone for reviews and favs. I didn't really expect this much positivity, and I really appreciate it a lot. I noticed that I've made so much grammar mistakes that it's ridiculous.
Important - So I've researched those internet grammar wizards or beta readers… sup… and I absolutely failed to get myself one… I don't know if they all ignored me but they all did… I sent a lot of applications and no one answered… so, if there is anyone interested please contact me!
I didn't really expect to receive so much positive feedback on comedy… glad you like it. Keep in mind that this fic is not comedy… though I will put that genre…
I don't own Eva…since I lost the bill.
There will be shitty grammar here, but I WILL revise it once I get beta reader…
The Perfect Pilot
Chapter 2: It got worse.
By: Concerned Citizen X
Misato was the first one who wanted to protest, to tell at least something to back up Shinji, though situation was too delicate for her to intervene.
The mood was very foreboding ever since the tense silence swallowed the whole commanding office, together with the dim cargo. The only noise that could be heard came from grunting young boy in the centre of Evangelion station. For a long suffocating period everyone ignored the Angel that was coming closer by seconds.
Just a second ago Commander Gendo Ikari or NERV revealed his identity to the boy who, for everyone's surprise, remained calm, or better to say, didn't react as everyone expected. He just bowed his head, allowing his forelocks to cover his face, raised his finger and whispered: "Give me a second."
They all watched Ikari Shinji, the new boy who looked more like grenade with released safety clip than human, all waiting for his reaction in anticipation. His face was bowed, though it was clear that it was convulsing, he spoke incomprehensible words in his chin, which appeared to be curses, and bobbed back and fourth while flexing his arms. He was going to blow.
In the spur-of-the-moment some even mumbled to each other, incoherent facts, hoping to break the grim atmosphere. The boy left them all breathless when he clapped his arms and grunted loudly. To everyone's surprise the boy remained still for a while then simply looked up and sighted, exhaling all of his stored air. He appeared to be perfectly tranquil, which relieved few but also disappointed some.
Keep calm Shinji. You can do it. You prepared for this moment for a long time. Don't get his hillbilly beard distract you. You mustn't blow, you mustn't' laugh.
"So," Shinji hesitated, looking at the railings above. "You're my dad, huh?"
Gendo, who remained content for the whole time nodded.
That beard.
Shinji cringed. "Let's just get this clear. You want me - teenage boy without any combat training or experience whatsoever, to pilot this huge ass robot, instead of trained professionals, military men or Schwarzenegger look-alikes… me? To battle a giant 200ft pile of walking murder? …Why exactly?"
"You are the only one who can pilot it. Only children can pilot Evangelions." Gendo informed, turning to the commanding bridge. "Prepare the docking cambers. Our pilot is here."
Are you fucking kidding me?
Shinji swallowed, his nerves became visible again as the anger rose up. "Wait a minute," He shouted, setting every gaze on himself again. "First off, this was not a fucking plausible explanation, and what made you think that I'll accept this nonsensical proposal? Kids pilot giant robots? Do I look like I have brain damage? Even if that made any sense, you still had like, 10 years to prepare me, and you call now? Dear fucking Haruhi, does any of this make sense to anyone?"
Shinji looked at the two women close to him. None of them responded. Misato looked dumbfound as he was. She made a silly face and rubbed the back of her head. On the other hand, Doctor Akagi remained calm.
The bitch knew.
"One more thing," Shinji spoke, looking back at Gendo. "Let's just ignore all those biblical revelations and focus on the reason why I'm here. You want to tell me that you abandoned me for 10 years, without giving me anything - no money, clothes, shelter or even a fucking goodbye. And suddenly when you felt like it you just decided to call, just to make me pilot your fucking robot, which can apparently be piloted only by me? Is any of this true?"
"Everything is correct," Gendo retorted. "I found a purpose for you, thus you are useful to me again. Either you will pilot or get out. NERV has no business with childish brats."
As soon as the last word stopped echoing through the room another suffocating silence swallowed the room.
Misato felt that, everyone from railing crew to command bridge felt that, even Ritsuko Akagi twitched a bit, for some reason. They all looked at now forlornly looking teenager. People of NERV always thought that commander Ikari was extremely cold and cruel person, in joke some even spoke of him as atrocious being from another planet. Now they were not even sure. These were not some transparent lies, far from that; the man never seemed to joke in his life. They all realized the hard truth behind that fuming young boy, and the rage finally made sense.
"Okay," Shinji spoke, controlling his voice. "You want me to leave, sure, I'll leave. I got what I wanted anyway. Maybe I did want your money, or at least anything that could redeem you. I'm not even sure myself. Though seeing you as you are – just forget it. I don't need anything from you, screw that, I'd rather die than take anything from you. Seriously, I have no words for you – I am speechless. You make me sick, so sick that I can barely keep my voice controlled, but it's not just you. Every single person in this facility, who makes robots that can only be piloted by children and don't give a rat's ass about it make me sick. You all make me sick. Don't throw your responsibility on me… pilot your own robots and leave me out of it!"
Shinji bowed his head and turned for the exit.
"So, you are running away?" Gendo asked, his tone implying disapproval.
"No, I am NOT. And why do you even care? It's not like your ego is big enough to survive the apocalypse. "
No response, only silence.
Only sound that could be heard was the echo of Shinji's footsteps. The boy was walking to the elevator, not even bothering to look at all the people starting in his way. No need for unnecessary eye contacts. The Angel was their problem, not his, and so was piloting. It all sounded too absurd - robots, Angels… he didn't belong to this world. He moved onwards, trying not to think about it too much.
"Shinji, wait," Ritsuko called. "You don't understand. If you don't pilot it the whole world will be destroyed, not just us, but the whole world, think about it for a second. Could you really live with that?"
Shinji's nerve twitched. He was definitely right – he hated that blonde. "And could you live with the fact that you send kids into death? That you successfully made fist mecha that defiles laws of physics, but in the same time made the shittiest mecha in the world that defies laws of physics. It's not my problem. It's your problem, your responsibility. Deal with it, make another one and try again. The world doesn't simply fall by destruction of one facility, just run and make another one. It's as simple as that."
"No, Shinji you don't understand-"
"-And how the fuck can I," Shinji retorted. "You gave me no answers at all, just ass-pulls, all you ever told me clearly was to pilot this piece of shit. Do you people even know what you're doing? You should be abhorrent to this, what is your problem?"
Doctor bit her lip and backed off. This was as far as she could go without breaking any NERV protocol. It wasn't like she didn't feel any empathy, though the kid made it hard for her. She couldn't stand to hear her life work being bashed in front of her, but she was rational woman, she understood his point of view. She couldn't help it but to keep her mouth shut and prey for divine intervention.
In the same time Gendo, who didn't even flinch on his son's outburst opened the communication intercom. "Wake up Rei, quickly. Our spare is useless."
"But sir, she is still injured." came a rough old voice from the other side.
"Well, she is not dead?" He retorted. "Get her on the line."
"Yes sir." came a brief reply. The new blurry image popped on the screen.
"Rei?"
"Yes, commander?" New, soft voice sounded from the screen.
"You are needed, our spare is useless. Go to Unit 01's container immediately and try again."
"Yes sir."
Shinji felt humored. He came all the way to be threaded like this? They didn't even need him in the first place, though it didn't stop them to tell all those lies. He started to loath them even more, how can they even look in the mirror was beyond him. Without much thought, he moved on.
Misato was next to come in his way. "Shinji wait," she pleaded. "Don't run away from your father, or above that, from yourself."
Wut?
"First off, I'm not running away," He responded, looking disinterested. "Second, what's up with that line? Soap operas? So please, in favor of not making this more dramatic as it is and not pissing me off to excess you should back off. I've made my mind already."
Paco and Roberta, my favorite.
She shook her head and moved in front of him, cutting him off from passage. "Listen, Shinji. I might sound selfish, and I can't deny it I am selfish. Delivering children at battlefield makes me equally sick. Me delivering them to battlefield makes me even sicker but can't you understand what is happening here? We are in the middle of war, and war takes its victims. Our enemy won't stop after we are destroyed, it will only bring more consequences for the whole world. And you may not even realize how grave this situation really is, to be honest neither do I, but what choice do we have anyway? We either do what we have to do and think about it later, or die not doing anything. If you condemn us it's the same as condemning yourself and the whole world with you. Can't you realize that? Come on kiddo, I believe you could do it if you really wanted. Just do it for yourself."
Shinji received her words in awe; he was taken aback enough to take a step back. He gulped, looking up to eye the woman before him. He inspected her expression. The woman managed to hold determined look even with those teary eyes, she looked honest to him.
Maybe the anger and confusion that swirled in his head really did interfere with his reasoning. He started to doubt his blunt decisions. He was rash, he never really thought his through. He didn't even blame himself, it's not like they suddenly broke it to him in 30 minutes or anything. Maybe he really was just childishly neglecting the needs as they told him. Ignoring the immense fear he felt, the only good reason why not to pilot was because of their lack of information and their approach. If it really was all true, then he really was ditching the people, he was actually leaving them defenseless against the giant monster.
Then he remembered.
"And what about your other pilo- iiiii..."
Before he could finish the medical team broke into the room, escorting the screechy metal gurney with the girl he remembered seeing somewhere before.
Oh fuck my life…
To his surprise it was the same blue haired schoolgirl he saw on the station, though now her outfit was very different, not to mention that she looked like she came from a very bad car accident. She wore something that appeared to be white sleeveless latex suit. Together with all these blooded bandages and eye patch she reminded him of certain video he came across in one of his many internet adventures. More he inspected her the more she crept him out.
The ground suddenly agitated and broke everyone's balance, making Shinji kiss the ground with his forehead. The people immediately started to quaver all sorts of nonsense – target position, damage measures and other things Shinji could barely derive from the whole mess. As he looked up he noticed that the girl was squirming on the ground, twisting from the pain of the impact, and maybe from her wounds. Without giving it much thought, he got up and rushed to her side.
He quickly slid to her position to help her out. Slowly placing his arm on her back he managed to support her into sitting position. As he tried to pick her up he noticed the blood on his palm, he started to worry.
"L-listen a-are you ok," He stammered, while both quaking and lifting her up clumsily. As he pulled her up she twitched and hissed from the pain, making him stop instantly.
Giant monster is coming, money is flying everywhere, I need to pee, there is this creepy girl here, everyone is shouting, I NEED to pee, shit is getting real, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna miss Haruhi, my parents never loved me… whoa…whoa…whoa… she is cute.
Another explosion stroke threw them off balance, sending all sorts of debris right in Shinji's way. He reacted on instinct; he closed his eyes, pulled the girl tighter and screamed in high pitched tone.
Nothing.
He could still feel his limbs. He moved again, and to his surprise he realized that he was still alive. He half opened his right eye only to see that there was certain something blocking his sunshine. His jaws dropped.
"What just happened?" Doctor Akagi shouted at the command centre.
"Unit 01 moved on its own, apparently..." came a female voice from the bridge.
"That's impossible, units can't move by themselves." She protested, packing herself up.
Misato did the same, the moment she pulled herself up pain in her back returned. She cursed in her chin and turned to the pilots. "Are you guys ok?"
Shinji gulped, and then turned to face the woman. "Yeah, I'm like… alive. Splendid! I guess this purple one really likes me… And you know what; this is one of those situations where good answer just… doesn't exist… yeah it's totally that. It's like caveman-midget-gay-porn… nobody knows why it exists…or why somebody did that… yeah, the same shit…"
"Uh huh," Misato replied, puzzled, disturbed.
Shinji just nodded, fanatically. Then he finally realized that he was still holding that blue haired girl. He quickly shook his head to clear his mind, and slowly held her up and placed her back on the gurney.
Nice one Shinji, scream like a girl, and babble bullshit so she can see how brave and manly you are… wonderful.
"Are you hurt?"
Of course she's hurt you fucking imbecile.
"I-I'm okay…" She replied in pained tone, which worried Shinji.
Shinji sighted. "Good. Just don't move. Um, not like you can move or anything… ughh…anyway just lay there and do your damsel in distress thingy. I'll take care of this shit for you,"
I am?
"What was that Shinji," Misato shouted. "Did I hear that right?"
Blue haired girl blinked in confusion.
Shinji frowned, and then scratched his head. "Just a second,"
Am I really doing this shit? Oh well, I don't have much choice do I?
He sighted. "Um, yeah. Since your pilot looks like chewed-up shit… wait," He eyed the blonde girl. "It's not like I think you look like shit or anything, its figure of speech and… yeah, you look pretty- I mean… oh whatever…" He turned back to the older woman. "ANWAYS, I'm doing it. But don't get me wrong, I'm doing it only because she would die… and this time only."
Nice, make her believe that you are doing it for her…
"Very well," Gendo spoke from above, with the sly smile on his face. "Prepare Unit 01."
"Hey, you bearded… cunt, "Shinji shouted at the man, though whispering the count. "I changed my mind. I want your bastard money. You got that? I want provisions, insurance, child support and everything there is to offer to standard pilots? Is that clear?"
Gendo felt humored, it wouldn't bother him even if he asked for million. "You will get your money."
"Good. And don't forget, this is one time only." Shinji replied, looking back at the surrounding people. Both Ritsuko and Misato gave him a nod of approval, and the girl on the gurney remained silent as always.
Shinji leaned closer to the bandaged girl. "Look, I know you're in pain and all, but could you give me some advice or something. This is kind of life and death situation we have here, and I don't know jack shit about piloting. So, could you tell me some tricks or something? "
The blue haired girl slowly nodded. "You need to…" Then she hesitated, twitching a bit.
"Just take your time," Shinji spoke, worryingly. "It's not like something huge is coming to murder and possibly even eat us."
"You have to… open..."
"I have to open?" Shinji asked in anticipation.
"You have to open your…"
"My…"
The girl swallowed. "Heart… you need to open your heart to your Evangelion."
"..."
"Uh HUH?" Shinji hesitated. "…That's everything?"
The girl nodded.
"…"
"Well then…" Shinji replied, moving away from the gurney. Looking around he started to twiddle his thumbs in the air. "Quickly! Fetch this girl a psychiatrist."
The girl blinked, feeling utterly confused.
Shinji looked back at her. "You know what? About that whole 'I'm piloting it for your sake'… umm…could you please forget that? I'm actually doing it… umm… just for the sake of it… cya."
I'm losing it…
The girl just observed him walking to the older women, not even knowing what she was supposed to infer from all this. She decided not to think.
"Let's do this before I changed my mind," Shinji shouted. "Which is most likely to happen in 2 minutes if I stay here…?"
"Where are the BUTTONS?" Shinji shouted from the entry plug. "How can I even pilot it without fucking buttons?"
"Just calm down, Shinji," Ritsuko cheered over the intercom, drawing heavily on her cigarette. "Evangelion is mostly controlled by your thoughts, though sometimes it can even respond on your whims. You will get used to it quickly. There are two controllers to help you, along with status tablet. Relax, you'll be fine."
I feel like I forgot something…
In the same time LCL liquids started to fill the plug.
"Calm down? Yeah sure why not… WAIT, WAIT, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?"
Oh…
"RELAX Shinji," Doctor spoke. "It's just LCL liquid. It will supply you with oxygen. You got nothing to worry about. Just swallow it and relax."
In the plug, Shinji swallowed, and then coughed it out violently before it successfully filled his lounges. "Oh Haruhi, this shit tastes like… ughh… ten year old strawberry jelly… mixed with hobo's saliva…ugh...like, fuck this."
Doctor Akagi closed the communications, killing her cig in the ashtray. She sighted.
"How bad is it, Rits," Misato asked in concerned tone, placing her coffee mug on the table. "Please, just tell me that we didn't send him in certain death. He'll be fine, right?"
"I'm not sure…" Doctor replied, eying her old friend. "We were not prepared for his current mental state… it could get tense but it should work in theory. We expected at least 10% synch, he should provide at least that much… but I don't know."
"10% is not enough," Misato shouted, slamming her cup on the table. "He will die, for heaven's sake! How could you even ask this of him if the chances were that bad?"
"Look," Doctor interrupted, rolling her eyeballs. "It's not like we had any choice, and you know that. Just do your job and I'll do mine."
Misato frowned. "Fine…"
Doctor turned to the command crew. "Maya, initiate the synchronization sequence."
"Yes, mam." Young woman replied solemnly.
Doctor pushed push-to-talk button on her desk tablet. "Shinji, we will now synchronize you with the unit, just relax and try to clear your mind."
He felt humored. "Yeah… sure…"
She closed the link. "Start the process," She barked." And provide me with details."
"Connect the main power supply."
"Transmit power to all circuits."
"Yes, sir."
"The second contact is beginning."
"The connection of A10-nerve is operational."
"Set Japanese as command interface." Ritsuko barked.
"All initial contacts are all right."
"Connect the mutual lines."
"Everything seems to be normal," Maya Ibuki informed, dispatching the information on the main screen. "We are ready to initiate synchronization sequence, Captain?
"Just a second," Misato replied, pushing push-to-talk button. "Shinji, how do you feel?"
"Is that rhetorical question?" Shinji spoke to the intercom, nursing his head. "I feel used, violated, and edgy. My head hurts and it's beyond me how I managed not to pee myself for so long… and if I accidentally did, it would get filtrated in this LCD thingy, right? No danger of… Bear Grills?"
Misato took a second to eye Ritsuko. The other woman shook her head. "Yes Shinji, it would get filtrated. Just relax for now. We'll try to synchronize you with your Unit, so if you feel anything strange just open the communication link, ok?"
"Oh, right." Shinji scuffled. "I'll just stop imagining my painful imminent death and sing some children's rhymes. So, let's just start this coz I really need to pee."
"You'll be fine. I promise I'm treating you with ice cream later." Misato said, masking her concern. She closed the link, and took a deep breath. "Start synchronization sequence!" She barked at the staff.
The command crew observed as the process went almost fluently. Both Shinji's and Unit 01's mental waves spiked here and there, though in the end they successfully merged on 21%. They all felt relieved, knowing that Unit 01 will at least be combat sufficient.
"Is everything, ok?" Misato asked loudly.
"Everything seems to be fine, Captain." Maya replied. "We are ready to dispatch Unit 01."
Misato sighted in relief. Her gut feeling told her that something could go very, very wrong. She was about to open the communication link to check pilot's status when Maya suddenly cried out. "Wait!"
Oh boy…
"We have a problem! His mental readings started to jump really, really fast, and so are Unit 01's!" Maya shouted rapidly. "I'm not able to read them any more. They are moving too fast. Captain?"
I knew it. It was too good to be true. Misato grunted. "Abort the synchronization, NOW!"
"We can't, something is interfering with the process!"
This is getting too dramatic. Misato quickly opened the link. She was about to speak when she was cut off by very loud screams of the Third Child. His cry was very high pitched, almost ear molesting. It sounded like chickens in slaughterhouse on judgment day.
Some personnel closed their ears, unable to endure the noise. Misato couldn't. She was worried sick and no one was doing anything useful. "Sedate him, NOW!" She shouted desperately.
Then it stopped, he went completely silent. Misato closely leaned to the intercom while Ritsuko preoccupied herself with status reports.
"His readings are stable."
"That wasn't the effect of sedatives," Maya informed. "Something else calmed him down. Readings are still unclear, and we don't know what exactly happened."
"This is bad." Ritsuko spoke, stopping at the half of one report. "We have a serious problem."
Misato, who already reached for the intercom, ignored the panicking doctor. "Shinji are you all right?"
There was a brief silence. Then, sudden groan escaped the lone shaded figure in the entry plug, suggesting that someone was not happy with the sudden turn of events.
"Shinji? Hey! Shinji are you OK?" Misato shouted, desperately.
"You… filthy… lying whore!" Shinji shouted from the entry plug. "'It will be alright' she says. All right my ass. You fucking mind raped me, you sack of shit. Netorare got nothing on this - THIS was real mind-rape."
Misato sighted in relief.
"I swear to Haruhi I'm bringing this whole place down. I'm calling social centre, hygiene department, prime minister, pizza delivery… ANYWAYS what the fuck do you think you're doing? Explain yourself!"
In the meantime Ritsuko leaned over Misato's back, holding some pappers. "Shinji, listen," she shouted. "We had some errors…"
"I noticed…"
Doctor gulped. "Listen… we have a serious problem and I really need your full attention for this."
"Make my day…" He replied with the hint of spite in his voice.
Ritsuko gulped. "I have a feeling that you might not like it."
"Just do your thing, doctor. But do remember, I AM in giant robot."
"W-well you s-see," She stammered nervously. "Your synchronization went well at first, but… it kind of went slightly out of control. We are still unsure of total percentage, but something really bad happened with your merging. You see, you kind of connected directly to Eva's nervous system, which was of course our original plan… though not exactly as this."
"Meaning?"
"We could say that your bond is so strong that… umm how to put this correctly? Erm, basically if Unit 01 gets direct damage it will be translated directly at… you… kind of…so… if Unit 01 accidentally looses its arm or head… yeah… I'm really, really sorry for this Shinji."
He went pale. His mouth was wide open. Misato dropped into her chair.
"And that's not everything, unfortunately," She continued. "You see, you kind of have 2 minutes before you get infected with mental contamination…kind of. And well, you are kind of stuck in the entry plug…"
Shinji had absolutely no idea what that was, he didn't even care, though it sounded so bad that it left him terrified.
As he finally tried to protest, he was interrupted by Ritsuko. "And Shinji… if you hear any voices… that's normal…"
He was back in trance. Misato face-palmed in disbelief.
"Well, it's not that bad," She cheered nervously, looking silly as she spoke. "Just remember, Shinji – you have 2 minutes, and don't get hit… at all. Well, good luck! You will need it…" She closed the communication link, leaving one incoherent child alone in entry plug. "Well then," Risuko spoke, looking around the command bridge. "Will anyone take the honor, Misato?"
Misato just shook her head, giving her very, very angry look. "I'll pass…"
"All right then…" Ritsuko pouted. "LAUNCH THE EVA!"
In the plug, Shinji forcefully gripped his seat as his gravity sense suddenly disappeared. His trance was broken, and realization took place. He was finally going to face the Angel, and he was anything but prepared. He started to shout and scream his lounges out through the link. He unconsciously moved his arm, and his Unit responded. He hurt his thumb.
As he emerged on surface he realized that he was in big, big trouble. The giant looked directly at him and started to move his way. He was scared shitless. On top of everything, he peed in his suit.
They lied to him, it felt awful.
Shinji ducked behind the long flat building, making himself out of sight. "NOBODY TOLD ME ANYTHING ABOUT FUCKNG LASERS," He shouted at the intercom, as another purple beam passed right above his head. He spun around and rushed for another shelter, leaving the former completely melted.
"Shinji, you need to get close to the enemy," Misato yelled through the communications link. "You have only minute, and if you don't get any closer and actually fight that thing we are all as good as dead!"
"I don't know if you noticed just now, but it has some inconvenient tendency of MURDER!" Shinji retorted, swinging his Unit from this cover to another one, avoiding yet another beam that almost scratched his back. He moved backwards, expanding the distance between him and the Angel. "Purple beams of murder, Misato - lasers, fucking purple cross-shaped lasers. They have a rather nasty habit of exploding, which is pretty much referred as big deterrent in most cultures."
"Shinji you have 45 seconds," Misato informed. "You will have to charge him or you will run out of time. When he shoots at you I want you to run as fast as you can and attack the red sphere in his stomach. You copy?"
"Pardon my French but FUCK YOU!" Shinji replied, running past several blocks. "It's not as easy as it sounds, for crying out loud. If that laser hits me I'm fucking dead. So let's just run the ever-lasting-fuck out of here and turn this perfectly accomplished love-hate-lasers relationship to long-distance one."
In the same time Shinji barely managed to evade yet another beam that still managed to knock him over. He slammed hard on his back, which made him spit all liquids from his stomach. He observed as the beam destroyed two buildings as their fidelity was equal to brick wall. He took a moment to catch some air through the LCL liquid. Grunting, he pulled himself on his feet.
"Shinji listen, there is NO time, you only have 30 seconds more," Misato spoke. The whole command centre was up on their feet, observing the flow of battle in disbelief.
Shinji was panting hard. He was running solely on high surge of adrenaline. He had no idea that piloting in sitting position could be so exhausting. "I think I basically lost all the conceivable luck I was ever going to get," Shinji spoke between breaths. "You know what? Even though your plan seemingly has longer list of flaws than English dictionary, I still think that number of my mental scars still exceeds it. And I'll actually accept this absurdity. Not because you asked for it. Oh hell no, I'll do it because that fucker asked for it."
Shinji jumped over his shelter, turning towards the giant. Giant fired instantly, but Shinji, once again managed do dodge by falling on his robot's bottom, on top of the truck. It hurt like hell. "That's it fucker." Shinji shouted as he slammed his fist into the intercom. He stood up and charged the target. "It's fucking personal, you holy piece of shit."
He was getting closer and giant shoot again, scratching the tip of his shoulder. It wasn't enough to put him out of course. He crushed the roads as he ran, and sent the cars flying. When the Angel shot again he jumped, avoiding yet another beam. He had no idea that robots could even jump this high, ignoring the universe logic he jumped again, flying over at least dozen of blocks. Adrenaline took over his senses, it felt majestic, liberating.
"15 seconds more," voice from the intercom sounded.
"Shinji, listen, you will have to penetrate his AT-field." Misato shouted.
"I'LL PENETRATE HIS WHAT?"
In that second Unit 01 slammed onto Angel's AT-field. Making such devastating force that pushed both Angel and the rest of its surroundings backwards, slamming few cars into nearby flat buildings and households. His hands were on fire, but he managed to push further none the less.
"7 seconds!"
"Shinji, there is NO time." Misato yelled. "Use your horn!"
"USE MY WHAT?"
"Shinji, open the rift with your arms and use the horn on your forehead to hit the core, it's his weak spot." Misato shouted rapidly.
"THIS SOUNDS SO WRONG!"
"4 seconds."
Shinji pulled the orange barrier with all his might, took a step back and pushed himself forward as hard as he could. He closed his eyes and extended his neck.
"2 seconds!"
"Thrust is as deep as you can!" Misato shouted.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!"
Everything went blank.
Shinji slowly opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings; the bright light hurt his eyes. He was underneath the unfamiliar ceiling in empty medical-like room, probably hospital. It took him some time to remember everything. He grunted.
Shinji took a deep breath and pushed himself upwards. He twitched from pain as he put some pressure on his arm. He cursed in his chin and looked at the problem. His arms, his both arms, were completely covered in bandages. He inspected it a bit and found out that his skin was damaged in a way that his usual skin tone was replaced with burnt pink tissue. It looked terrible. There was also some sort of metal exoskeleton above his bones; it was probably the thing that enabled him to move them properly.
He inspected his medical file: 2. level burns on arms, currently disabled, fractured ribs, broken nose, bruises."
Splendid…
He leaned back to his comfortable bed. Fact that medical bed is actually comfortable pleasantly surprised him, though he did sleep in terrible places. He closed his eyes but he wasn't tired. The confusion, anger and concern that swirled in his mind denied him his well-deserved slumber.
How did we even know that core was fucker's weak spot anyway? At-field? Was that doctor even natural blonde? Will I get my ice cream?
"What do you think they are talking about?" Aoba asked his two fellow staff members, looking at the triplet of Gendo Ikari, Kozo Fuyutsuki and Ritsuko Akagi discussing something above their station. "They seem pretty upset about something. I can tell that much at least. "
Maya Ibuko shrugged, taking a sip of her black coffee. Makoto Hyuga looked at them and did the same. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"
"Since somebody actually found some balls to ask some questions." He replied, leaning back on his chair. "Look, everything around here is taboo, we all know it. And to be honest I don't like it. I found myself asking a lot of questions about this whole operation."
"Are you trying to imply something?" Maya asked, giving him a dumbfounded look.
"Look, that stuff does not concern us in any way." Hyouga intervened. "We are only getting paid to do our jobs, nothing else. So don't play with fire Shigeru, I like my job very much."
"You are such a pussy, Makoto," Shigeru mocked. The other man just hissed. "There is just too much of weird crap around here, and you know it as well as I do. We all just suspect something murky, but no one ever bothers to actually do something."
"So what of it," Makoto exclaimed, loudly. "It's not our business, Shigeru. Stifle your curiosity for once. "
"Oh, don't be such downers," Shigeru half-whispered, leaning closer to his friends, they did the same. "What if… you know? That stuff about Rei and commander."
"Shigeru!" Maya hissed in horror.
"Quiet," Shigeru hushed. "What if it's actually true? Could you really look in the mirror knowing that those kinds of things happen here? Just imagine it, maybe sub-commander is involved to."
"SHIGERU!" Maya screamed in terror. She got shut by Makoto's arm over her mouth, leaving her mutter in protest. She slapped it off.
"You have no imagination," Shigeru pouted, rising up from his chair.
"Where do you think you are going?" Makoto protested, while nursing his palm.
"I'm buying that kid a beer."
Shinji had absolutely no idea if some great universal force prevented him to cock slap his father, or was it just bunch of bodyguards that looked mean. They just went past each other in hallways and he couldn't even spill one word. He wanted to ask at least one question that bothered him, though he just couldn't. His father wasn't anything particular, sure, he did emit terror around himself but it hardly bothered Shinji. He told himself not to waste any time on that man, and he planned to do so. It was his finally day here, and if they even were to speak in future they would do so with lawyers. He continued on his way to the reception.
On his way he accidentally stumbled in the nearby doors and noticed someone familiar through the small glass window. It was that same blue haired girl, who was now sitting on the medical bed in her room, looking aimlessly out of the window.
Even though she creped him out, he decided to check up on her. She looked pretty injured back then. He could even get some answers he wanted.
He knocked on the door two times. "May I come in?"
"Yes," She replied with soft voice after a brief moment of silence.
He slowly opened the door and entered, slowly closing them from behind. He gave her a greeting wave and sat on the metal chair near her bed. He had to admit that girl looked cute no matter how creepy she seemed before.
"I never really caught you name."
"Why are you here?" The girl interrupted in demanding tone.
Shinji was slightly taken aback. "Emm… I was worried, obviously. You looked pretty beat down there."
What the hell is her problem?
"Worried about me?" The girl asked in confusion.
"Well you looked… distressful… so naturally, yes I was."
The girl still looked confused. She lowered her gaze for a moment to analyze the given information. She looked up at him and nodded. "I think I understand. Very well then, I will accept your proposal to converse with me."
Creepy…
"How… wonderful," Shinji murmured sullenly, scratching his arm. "So, I still don't know your name?"
"Oh, yes," The girl spoke, giving that disoriented feel again. "My name is Ayanami, Ayanami Rei."
Shinji rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
Why do I even care? I'll just forget it in 2 minutes…
"Well then. Pleasure to meet you… Ayenami-san. Can I ask you a few questions, if you don't mind?"
The girl nodded. "You may do so, pilot Ikari."
"Ok then, and please, leave Ikari out. Just call me Shinji like everyone else does. I don't really like that Ikari part."
"Very well, you may start your questioning, pilot Shinji."
Why does this feel like principal's office?
Shinji gulped. "Well, for start…are your injuries any better?"
"I am completely fine." She replied robotically.
"You sure?" Shinji asked doubtfully. She was, after all, covered in more bandages than he was.
"Yes." She replied simply.
"I'm very glad for you." He replied, earning yet another weird look from the girl. "No need to get so tense." He cheered. "I just woke up hurt after life and death battle of my life. I could use some friendly chatter with someone of my age; Haruhi knows that every adult here is insane."
Rei nodded, even though she didn't share his view. "I received information that the battle went successful." She informed. "I must congratulate you for accomplishing such achievement by breaking a lot of military protocols, battle logistics and with such minimal skill and determination. Even though your tactics involve a lot of unnecessary collateral damage I never knew that battling is possible in that way."
Shinji gulped. "Beginners luck…"
"I noticed that you also like to perform battle shouts, which strangely sound like female screams when troubled. I don't really understand the purpose of them since they don't seem very efficient. Also I have a reason to doubt that the Angels are capable of hearing you. I suggest that you revise your strategies."
At least she became talkative…
"Oh, where I come from men do it all the time," Shinji lied, scratching the back of his head. "It's a thing you know… "
"I see…"
I'm loosing my points here…
"Let's just forget about all that piloting stuff and focus on you instead." Shinji said giving her a silly look. "So, why die your hair blue? I mean, Japan these days… giant monsters and fashion. Not my thing…"
"You are mistaken, pilot Shinji. My natural color is blue."
Shinji slowly nodded in confusion. "Uh HUH... your parents must have been… exotic..."
"I do not posses any parents."
Shinji felt dumb. "I am very, very sorry." He apologized. "I didn't know."
"I do not understand, pilot Shinji." Rei interrupted. "There is no reason for apologies. I never had parents in the first place."
He gave her astonished look. He couldn't determine if she was serious, really damaged or was just pulling his nose.
"Okay…" Shinji hesitated, not even bothering to press further into that matter. "I presume that you live with your guardian then?"
"I live on my own."
The girl continued to shock him more and more. "…independency," Shinji concluded. "How commendable… and I though I was the only one. Who needs guardians anyway?"
"I do have a guardian." The girl informed. "Your father, supreme commander Ikari, is my legal guardian. I thought you were told."
Oh….
OH…
He narrowed his eyes. "Really?" He began. "How… interesting. I believe we started off wrong, Ayurnami-"
"-My name is not-"The girl tried to interrupt, but was interrupted herself.
"-ANYWAYS!" He continued. "Don't mind me complaining but while I spent my childhood days… in certain places, you on the other hand, had a privilege of living on my precious father's expense. Is this true?"
"I think that you are correct." The girl replied, not getting the obvious negativity. "Your father provided me with all necessary expenses, if you are interested in that?"
The boy felt humored. "He is such Mother Teresa… true saint among us. You must be grateful that you have him as your guardian."
"I don't think I understand…"
That's it… she is brainwashed.
"Listen, I don't blame you for anything, "He started, as he moved from his chair." But I really, really, really hate you right now. It's nothing personal, if it helps. It's just that my brain is currently screaming bloody murder and if I don't find certain bearded cunt to feast on I might just go slightly more insane than I thought I will ever go. So, in favor of not unleashing any anger on you, my dear… associate, I will go and look for that certain someone. It's been pleasure to know you. I hope we absolutely never see each other again. Good luck with your life and piloting… "
He opened the doors and was about to step out when the girl suddenly spoke.
"Are you not going to pilot Unit 01?"
I tell her that I hate her and she worries about damn robot…girls these days.
"Hell no," He replied bitterly. "Why the fuck should I? And why are you doing it? Is paycheck that good, or is my father forcing you to do it?"
"I am not being forced," Rei replied, emotionlessly. "It's my duty."
"Look…" Shinji spoke, shaking his head. "I don't really care what you do with your life, but I will seriously advise you to reconsider this. I was out there, and I'll admit it – I was scared shitless. I don't even know how skilled you are, but you can die there."
"It doesn't matter."
Shinji remained puzzled. "Excuse me…"
"It doesn't matter if I live or die. If death is what they need from me I would comply without hesitation. I don't understand your logic, pilot Shinji? Please explain."
Shinji's jaws dropped as the words hit him; he was once again completely speechless. He remained there in disbelief, observing her closely as she still she still looked dead serious. He waited for a second, maybe a minute, hoping that she would tell him that it was a joke, a sick absurd joke. She seemed to wait for something as well, probably the explanation she demanded. She was serious, he figured. He shook his head and rushed outside, leaving the girl in complete confusion.
Father… you fucking piece of shit. What did you do to this girl? We're going to have a nice talk…
"Nurse!" He shouted through the halls. "Take me to my father, and fetch this girl an exorcist!"
Hope you liked it. If you did please leave me a review. If not… do the same…
I apologize for grammar… I repeat this will be revised.
That's it from me. Cheriooo!
