The Angel of Rain.
"All your vitals appear normal. None of your cuts and scrapes are particularly bad, and you're not showing signs of concussion... though I'd like to keep you in the infirmary for the night, just to be safe."
The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, with dark brown hair and a dusting of freckles over her nose. They looked nothing alike, yet something about her reminded Asuka of Ritsuko. It was an unsettling association in context.
"Would you be okay with that, Miss Sohryuu?"
Asuka glanced around the infirmary, then across at the other end of the room where the survivors of Daemon were. A curtain had been put up around the most severely injured of the trio, as Nerv medical staff feverishly attempted to save the man's life. He had been struck by three minigun bullets. The uninjured member of Daemon stood near the curtain, fists clenching and unclenching. There was blood on the floor.
Another medic was attending to the last of Daemon, the female with the sarcastic streak. Sitting on a bed, staring at the floor as the medic saw to her hurts, she didn't look quite so sarcastic. Looking at her, Asuka felt tired.
"Miss Sohryuu?"
Asuka looked up at the doctor.
"I just want to sleep. I don't think I can do that here."
"Of course, we can provide a private room, away from..."
The doctor glanced towards the other end of the bay where sounds of frenzied activity issued from behind the curtain. Asuka looked at the doctor's name badge. Helen Coulsen... Not Japanese, obviously, though she spoke the language well.
"Are you in charge here?" she asked. The woman shook her head.
"No, that would be Doctor Ito. He's the one heading the team attending to your friend." She nodded towards the curtain. "I suppose you could say I'm his second in command."
Asuka gritted her teeth.
"Were you in Nerv... before...?" The woman nodded. "Did you know..."
Coulsen smiled gently.
"Doctor Ritsuko? Not personally. I was in one of her departments but I didn't get to associate with her much. I was fairly junior back then, just another doctor in the medical facility, but she was kind of a hero to all of us."
Asuka stood up.
"And look where heroes took us..." she muttered. "Look, Doctor Coulsen –"
"Helen, please," the woman cut in.
"...Helen. I just want to find Rei and get out of here. Do you know where they took her?"
Coulsen nodded.
"She's in an examination room down the hall. Room 4b."
"Thankyou," said Asuka and she moved past the doctor to the entrance. As the door hissed open, she came face to face with Rei. Maya stood behind the blue haired girl.
"Rei!" exclaimed Asuka. "Are you okay?"
The younger girl nodded.
"I received no serious injuries."
Asuka grabbed her hand and with a quiet, "Come on," marched out of the room and down the corridor. They were half way back to their rooms before Asuka realised Maya was following them.
"What do you want, Maya?" snapped Asuka. Maya looked upset by Asuka's tone.
"This isn't my fault, Asuka," she told the redhead. "I've been on your side this whole time."
Asuka released Rei's hand and took a deep breath, calming herself.
"I'm sorry," she said after a pause. "I know you're not to blame Maya. What did you want to say."
"What are we going to do?"
Asuka looked from Maya to Rei and back again.
"What can we do?" she asked. "The Angels are back."
"We don't know that for certain," replied Maya, "it might just be Shamshel." She took a step forward and looked directly into Asuka's eyes, her voice lowered. "We can still run."
It was an attractive idea, even now, but, deep down, Asuka knew it was no longer possible.
"And when the Angels attack? Who'll stop them? Even if it's just Shamshel, conventional troops and weapons are useless, we've already seen that. Besides, Misato has already asked me to stay and I've said yes."
Maya stepped back again.
"Then I suppose I'll do the same. Commander Katsuragi has offered me the rank of chief technician, and full authority over the technical department and the new generation supercomputer."
Both Asuka and Rei looked surprised at this.
"The Magi?" asked Asuka. "Have they rebuilt it?"
Maya shook her head.
"No, this system is based on my own work. Mine and Doctor Ritsuko's... I started working on theoretical maps after the incident with Iruel. I wanted to counter the threat of hacking from within Nerv that the the eleventh Angel posed. When I showed my work to Ritsuko, she told me to carry it on with her assistance, but it never got beyond the planning stage. Apparently, this new Nerv found our preliminary work and expanded on it, creating a scaled back version of the old system, less processing power, but more safeguards should things go wrong. They're calling it Disciple, as the technology follows on from the Magi supercomputers... that and the hardware is split into twelve rather than three."
"Haven't they tired of that mythology yet?" sighed Asuka.
"Apparently not," replied Maya. She looked conflicted, then she suddenly seized Asuka's hand in one of hers and Rei's hand in the other. She joined them all together. "You know I won't use guns," she told the surprised pair, "I won't kill. But I will fight, in my own way, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect both of you. You both deserve to be happy, more than anyone I know."
Asuka blushed fiercely and glanced at Rei, who was looking back at her. Then she looked at where their hands were joined, before finally turning her eyes back to Maya's earnest face.
"Are you stupid?"
Misato smiled and switched off the security feed at her terminal. The trio holding hands disappeared behind the static grey of an inert monitor.
"They seem to be getting on well," said Makoto who stood at her side, clipboard in hand.
"Thankfully," agreed Misato, looking up. "It seems even the end of the world wasn't enough to break them. Then again, it's difficult to break what was already broken..."
"Are you talking about them, or us?" asked Makoto. Misato smirked at him.
"You show me one person at Nerv that wasn't damaged in some way," she told him, "and I'll call you a liar. But that's why we're working now. We're working to put things back together."
"The Angels seem to have other ideas about that," replied Makoto, grimly. He handed Misato the clipboard. On it was a short report and several pictures. "We think we've found Shamshel."
"That was quick," replied Misato. She studied the pictures, which appeared to be of a rain swept alleyway and some kind of humanoid remains. The implications dawned on her. "This is..."
"No known human weapon can do that to an Angel," Makoto told her.
"Another Angel... It looks like it's been burned."
"Or given an acid bath," replied Makoto. "There were human remains nearby, a homeless man, we think. Same state. Worse actually."
"Acid suggests..."
"Matarael," nodded Makoto. "There's more. These remains were found very close to where Shamshel broke surface. The Angel didn't get far before it was picked off. We've blocked the hole, but in my view..."
"That's like shutting the door after the horse has bolted."
"Or closing the pen once the wolf is inside."
Misato looked at him hard. Then she handed him the clipboard.
"Organise patrols, make it a priority, but make sure our personnel know not to engage the Angel unless otherwise stated," said Misato. "And keep Asuka and Rei on standby."
Makoto nodded.
"And Daemon?"
"For the moment, we'll have to consider Daemon as inactive."
Her second in command looked at his notes.
"You should know, Commander, the bar incident... We weren't able to get there before the police this time. I've sent a clean-up team, but I'm afraid the damage has probably already been done."
Misato closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. Another headache...
Sitting in his office, Koga heaved a sigh as he looked over the reports that were rapidly piling up on his desk. Things were apparently going to hell. What had started with two sightings of the first child had quickly escalated to multiple homicides, various property damage and a spreading panic amongst the local population.
A bar had been torn up, it looked like a whirlwind had hit it from the inside, and the patrons hadn't escaped the fury of its passing. Stepping into that room had been like stepping into a horror flick, such was the catastrophe and confusion he had witnessed. There were no bodies, only pieces. Hunks of flesh that defied conventional identification. DNA testing had to be undertaken just to know who had died, and even then it was nearly impossible to be sure everyone had been accounted for.
Koga shuddered at the memory.
And that hadn't been where it had ended. After drawing a blank at Miss Ibuki's apartment, they had tried Asuka's last known address, only to find another dead body on the doorstep and the apartment ransacked. There was no sign of the German.
Outside his office window, the continuing rain crackled insistently against the glass. It had hardly let up since this had all started. Or at least since the incident with the shop assistant.
"Got an ID on the apartment body," Suzuki told him, sitting down beside his desk, notes in hand. "Hiro Kawaguchi, construction worker. Works at the same construction company as one Asuka Langley Sohryu. So that might explain why he was at her apartment."
"Maybe..." said Koga.
"Cause of death: extreme loss of blood due to severing of right hand. No other visible injuries."
"Did they find the hand?" asked Koga.
"Oh, yes, you're going to love this," said Suzuki, flipping through his notes, "DNA testing showed it matched a hand at the bar massacre. There's also a trail of blood leading most of the way to Miss Sohryu's apartment that even this rain couldn't entirely wash away."
"So whatever happened, he had his hand chopped off and then he was dragged through the streets of Kaibyaku so he could die at the apartment. God."
"Could it have been self inflicted?" asked Suzuki. "Could he have made his own way?"
"I don't think so," replied Koga. "There wasn't much blood at the apartment, so Kawaguchi must have been bleeding out on the journey. It's unlikely he would have made it without some kind of assistance..."
Koga picked up the photo of the bar interior. It was difficult to make out anything amidst the debris. The floor and walls were soaked in blood and choked with dust.
"I hate to say it, but I don't think a human could have done all this..."
"You think it was Rei?" asked Suzuki. Koga didn't reply. "Have you contacted Naoko-san?"
Koga threw down the photo and sighed again, sitting back in his chair.
"No reply at her apartment. The acquaintance you left her with says Naoko didn't stay long before returning home.
There was a commotion from outside Koga's office and the door swung abruptly open. Two men in suits and dark glasses walked in. They looked remarkably similar, both fairly young, in their late twenties or early thirties, Koga thought, with solid builds under their identical dark suits. Behind them, the desk clerk danced from foot to foot, looking upset.
"I tried to stop them," he told Koga. "They wouldn't listen."
"It's okay Shinichi, get back to your desk, we'll handle this."
"We're from the Housing Committee," said the first suit without preamble. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a badge. "We're here to collect all the evidence you have on an incident that occurred at a bar in the business sector."
Koga stood up at the same time as Suzuki. They exchanged a quick, uneasy glance.
"As far as I'm aware the Housing Committee has no degree of authority over the police," said Koga. "And why should they need evidence on a multiple homicide?"
"We're acting with the authority of the central council, Captain," replied the man. And here he produced a document, handing it to Koga. Koga glanced down at the proffered paper and then dismissed it.
"That's a piece of paper."
"It is the full authority of the council, detective."
"I wasn't aware the council had the authority to give people bits of paper," replied Koga. Behind him, Suzuki snorted. The suit merely regarded him coolly from behind his dark glasses. Koga stared straight back. "I suggest you return to your committee with my apologies. I'm not going to offer up evidence on an ongoing murder investigation."
"Are we going to have a problem, Captain?" asked the suit, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Now, hang on," began Suzuki angrily, starting forward, but Koga stopped him with a raised hand. He fervently hoped whatever his partner had done before third impact it had prepared him to back up his combative outburst, because Koga wasn't as fit as he had once been and these two men were large and looked like they knew how to handle themselves. Still, he couldn't back down now.
"If you intend to take our evidence, young man, then you'll have to do it with me dead or unconscious, because otherwise you're not taking another step here."
The suit smiled a thin smile, then made to make that step. Koga braced himself and sensed Suzuki do the same.
"There'll be no need for that," said another voice from outside the office.
An old man wearing an immaculately pressed charcoal suit and tie entered the room. He was well dressed and smart, but his face was weary and lined, his advanced age apparent in his balding head and careful bearing. Dark bags hung under his slightly rheumy eyes and he walked with a slight stoop. Nevertheless, the man immediately commanded attention and the force of his personality shone through his aged appearance.
"Superintendent Inoguchi!" exclaimed Koga, straightening. "These men are attempting–"
"I know what they are attempting Saburou," interrupted the senior officer. "I am afraid their authority is genuine. I have already agreed the transfer of all the material you have gathered regarding the Rei case." He shot an angry glare at the two suits. "Though I am a bit disturbed that you people would be so indelicate as to come into my station and immediately begin throwing your weight around. I have half a mind to go back on my promise to your boss."
The man in dark glasses visibly relaxed and, after a moment, bowed in apology to Inoguchi. The older man accepted it with a nod.
"You can't give away all of our evidence, Sir," said Kuro, "we're in the middle of an investigation!"
"I can do whatever I feel is best for this station and this city, Sergeant," Inoguchi told him sternly. "I am the Senior Superintendent and you will have to get used to following my decisions if you want to be a detective here."
Kuro looked slightly cowed.
"What about our investigation?" asked Koga, looking from the men to the Superintendent. He had to force down his anger. He hadn't had to suffer this kind of manoeuvring since before third impact. He quashed his feelings of frustration with his immense respect for Inoguchi. The old man had rarely misstepped in the past, even when faced with the massive power blocs that had bumped up against one another in the time of the Angels.
"I understand the council will be beginning its own investigation."
"I wasn't aware they had an investigative branch," replied Koga, his voice tight. Inoguchi merely looked away. The second suit stepped forward, holding a large box.
"If you wouldn't mind, Captain," he said. Koga regarded him, then nodded to his desk.
"It's all on there," he told the man stiffly, reluctant to give them any help at all. The suit nodded and they both pushed past and started transferring files into the box. They collected all of the witness statements, all of the files from the two cases, all of the photos and CCTV stills. They even ejected the data disks from the monitors, and closed and boxed Koga's laptop. Suzuki started to protest at this, but Koga silenced him with a gesture. All the while the two men worked, Koga watched Inoguchi. The old man refused to look at him.
"That should be everything," said the second suit, and with that the two men pushed past once more. The first suit exited without a backwards glance, though the second paused in the doorway.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he told the room, without a hint of irony in his voice. Nobody responded.
When the men had gone, Suzuki nearly exploded.
"What the hell was that? What are we even doing in this station? What was the point of starting up again after third impact if we're going to be ridden all over by –"
Koga interrupted the man.
"Suzuki! I need something to calm my nerves, and I can see you do too. Go and get us some coffee, would you?
Still fuming, the younger man left the office, but not without directing a long hard stare at the superintendent. When he had gone, Inoguchi spoke up.
"It's good to see we still have young ones who are passionate about the job."
"Kuro's a good man," replied Koga, staring at his desk, "a little impulsive and hot headed at times, but he's got a sharp mind."
"He's learning from the best," said Inoguchi, with an appreciative nod. "I can't tell you how happy I was when you returned, Saburou."
"Not so happy that you wouldn't interfere in my investigations, it seems," replied Koga. The superintendent coughed a rueful laugh and began to turn away. He knew that was all the apology he'd get, and that this meeting was now over, but something rankled with Koga, a phrase Inoguchi had used. In the aftermath of the near fist fight with the two Committee men, he was still feeling a little light headed, and he decided to push his luck.
"Why did you call it the 'Rei case'?" he asked.
They hadn't yet reported all their findings to the superintendent. Sure, he knew about the supposed sightings, and about the massacre at the bar, but Inoguchi had made a leap in associating one with the other. It was a leap that even Koga had been unwilling to make until now.
Inoguchi paused, apparently caught off guard. He didn't answer the question and Koga didn't like the slightly haunted look in the old man's eye as they stared at each other for long moments.
"Is she here?" he asked, quietly.
"That isn't our concern," replied Inoguchi. "There is plenty of work for us to be getting on with. I suggest we do so."
He turned away, leaving Koga in his office with more questions and a bigger headache than when he had arrived.
Inoguchi turned down the blinds in his office, before crossing the darkened room to his desk. He sank into his chair with a weary sigh. His old bones were getting weaker and perhaps his will was as well. He'd wanted to break down and tell Koga everything. He almost had.
All that had stopped him was his desire to protect his subordinates. Koga might have had the sense to steer clear of trouble – a debatable point given his past – but the younger ones like Kuro Suzuki... they didn't yet understand how the world worked. They were idealistic, and while that had its advantages, it was a trait that was wont to get them into trouble – or worse – without the right guidance.
And I suppose that means you do know how the world works, eh, old man?
Inoguchi smiled ruefully. The young ones didn't know how the world worked before third impact. Truth be told, who did know how the world worked now? Not even Inoguchi could make that claim. It was all being made up as they went along.
So perhaps things aren't so different from before?
He reached out and drummed his fingertips absently on his desk, then reached for his phone, punching in the number they'd given him. It rang once then there was a click.
"I'm afraid now isn't the best time, Superintendent. How can I help?"
Inoguchi pursed his lips. There'd not been much respect for his position before third impact, and it seemed as though that wouldn't be improving any time soon. The young man on the other end of the line was always polite, but never more than that.
"A couple of your men showed up at the precinct today. They took files on an ongoing murder investigation away with them."
"Ah, yes, I apologise for not contacting you directly first. Things have been a little... hectic here. We have strong suspicions the murders relate to an ongoing emergency."
"With the return of the first child, you mean?"
There was a pause on the end of the line. Inoguchi filled the silence.
"They almost came to blows with two of my detectives. I almost had a mind to let them."
"It wasn't our intention to upset your officers, Superintendent."
Inoguchi ignored this semi-apology, if that's what it truly was.
"You have her in custody? She's contained?"
There was another pause.
"We do."
He sighed and sat back, then rubbed his eyes with the slender fingers of one hand.
"Well at least that's something. We can relax in the knowledge that these incidents will be removed from our streets."
The silence on the other end of the line continued. Inoguchi sat forward again, worry creasing his already lined forehead.
"They will stop, won't they?" he asked.
"Superintendent Inoguchi," said the young man, calmly, "we are grateful for your continued co-operation. Please be assured that your ongoing assistance is vital for the future of Kaibyaku and the whole of humanity."
The line went dead.
After a long moment, and with trembling fingers, Inoguchi replaced the handset.
Hyuga sighed and hung up the phone.
"Problems?" asked Misato. She was leaning against the edge of his desk, reading a report.
"No more than usual," replied Makoto, sitting back in his chair. "Sometimes I long for the old days when I only had responsibilities of a first lieutenant. All I had to worry about was the day to day running in operations and the antics of my colleagues."
Misato snorted.
"Don't give me that," she replied, "you were always a career man. You'd have made chief technician given time, and then most likely have progressed to command ranks and even beyond. Your own branch maybe."
"Not if it would have taken me away from you," replied Hyuga smiling. Misato looked at him with a hint of amusement in her eye.
"Well, I'm not going to take responsibility for my subordinates foolish notions," she replied, "even if it meant getting you to spy for me was much easier than I expected."
"You wound me," said Hyuga, in mock distress. "I was only ever professional in my conduct and honourable in my intentions towards a commanding officer."
Misato leaned over him, leering.
"Which is why you put yourself in such danger for your commanding officer, is it? And weren't you just talking about not having to worry about anything but operations?"
Makoto laughed ruefully and rubbed the back of his head.
"Thankyou," said Misato, quietly, the exaggerated leer gone from her face, replaced with a serious expression. "And sorry. I wish I'd said that at the time."
Makoto looked surprised, but before he could say anything in reply, the door to his office opened and Asuka entered, with Rei trailing behind.
"I never understood the adult obsession with flirting," said Asuka, looking at the pair disdainfully, hands on hips.
"Good evening to you too, Asuka," said Misato, sarcastically, straightening from her position leaning over Makoto. "I trust you've acclimatised to your new surroundings."
"How long until our apartment is ready?" asked Asuka, not beating around the bush in the slightest. "We've been here a day and it already feels like too long. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible."
Makoto cleared his throat.
"I'm afraid there's been a bit of a snag with that..." he began.
"You can't leave the base," stated Misato, bluntly. "One of your co-workers at the construction site was found dead at your apartment."
That brought Asuka up short, eyes wide.
"God...! Who was it?"
"A man named Hiro Kawaguchi. He was murdered."
"Hiro!" gasped Auska.
"You were close to him?" asked Makoto. Asuka shook her head.
"Not especially. He was just... normal towards me. Friendly, but we weren't friends. When I started working at the site, everyone avoided me except Hiro. He just treated me like I was anyone else... I really appreciated it... What happened?"
Misato and Makoto exchanged glances.
"We think one of the Angels was looking for you and used him to discover your address," said Misato.
"God..." repeated Asuka.
"So you see why you can't leave the facility?" asked Misato.
"But –"
"Plus there's the issue with the hole Shamshel made into the facility," added Makoto. "We've blocked it up but we can't guarantee another Angel hadn't entered before we did."
"Wouldn't we have been attacked if it had?" asked Asuka.
"There's the chance that it's lying low for some reason," replied Misato. "My first guess would be you two. You and Rei are the best defence this base has got, if we let you leave, there's a chance that might trigger an attack."
Asuka's shoulder's slumped.
"So you're saying that we have to stay here and wait to be attacked? Can't you get your engineers to detect this Angel if it's on the base?"
"It'd be nice if that were the case," sighed Misato, "however, Disciple isn't up and running yet, and it doesn't look like it will be for a week or two at least."
"Maya took one look at the work that had been done and insisted the hardware be taken apart and construction started again from base parts," said Makoto, looking rueful.
"Something about 'the engineers we've got working here not knowing what a bloody power socket is, let alone quantum circuitry!', or some such," agreed Misato, doing a passable impression of the former lieutenant, now chief technician. "Besides which, our detection methods were never that reliable in the past. Certain of the Angels seemed to be able to obscure their signatures until the opportune moment. We have no reason to believe that will have changed."
Asuka slumped further.
"And we still have no idea what they want or why they're trying to get into the facility?"
"About that," said Misato, standing up. "Could you both come with me."
Matarael stopped, sensed.
The children were moving again. Where they were moving to, the Angel couldn't know for certain, but he suspected it was towards the presence he felt emanating from the belly of the underground facility.
No, it wasn't a presence, per se. He hadn't even been aware of it until he infiltrated the base, so weak was the feeling it gave off, but he was aware that it was similar in form to himself and his Angel siblings.
Similar, but not the same. The... form, whatever it was, was not self aware, it didn't think, it only existed. And yet it still possessed a degree of individuality... it was like a being in the deepest of dreamless sleep. Or a creature waiting to be born.
It was also an irrelevance. All that mattered was that Matarael reached the children first. But that was proving difficult. Since he had entered the base, many hours ago, he had not been able to get close to the children for fear of being spotted and an alarm being raised. If the worst came to the worst, he could most likely kill the majority of the humans – no, the lilim – on the base, but the time taken in doing so would allow the children to arm themselves against him. He was not as strong as Shamshel had been and the tables could easily be turned if they tried to corner him and hunt him down. His best chance was to remain hidden and stalk his prey until they were separated or isolated from their protectors. Then, and only then, would he strike.
And yet, as the hours stretched longer, Matarael's frustration grew. The lilim seemed to know he was there, as if they could sense his presence. They prowled the corridors in teams and avoiding them was getting harder. On several occasions already he had been forced to hide in dark corners or rooms, or even in the upper reaches of the places with higher ceilings.
The cough wasn't helping. It hadn't worsened, but it was by no means improving. More than once it had almost given him away as guards had passed close by. Perhaps his body had given up on trying to adapt and he would be stuck with the cough for the rest of his lifespan, however long that was. Perhaps... but if so, he wouldn't have to worry about it for much longer, whatever the case.
More lilim were coming, they approached from the corridor behind. Swiftly, the Angel drew himself aloft, using his extra limbs and pulling himself through the metal supports that hung the lights in this space, into the darkness above. It was an interesting fact about the lilim that, while they were watchful and alert, they even so hardly ever looked up. There were three, two in front and one walking backwards and sweeping his rifle across the corridor from which they had come. As expected, not one raised their eyes into the darkness of the ceiling supports. Even if they had, they may not have seen him, such was his prowess at remaining motionless, a shadow within a shadow.
But then the coughs threatened him once more. He hacked silently, holding the breath in and closing his throat so he would make no sound, as the lilim passed, unheeding, below him. For a moment the tiniest choking sound escaped him, but the soldiers carried on, deaf to his slip. Pretty soon, they were beyond his vision and around the corner at the end of the corridor.
The urge to cough eased as the lilim disappeared. Matarael dismissed them, and refocussed on his real quarry. The children had until now remained among the highest concentrations of lilim, but now they were moving towards the lowest parts of the base where there were fewer lilim. And that presented an opportunity.
He just had to find a way to follow them. He had to find a way down.
Moving to the end of the corridor, his route opened before him.
Ito Sugihara stepped into the elevator feeling wearier than he remembered ever feeling before. It had been a long day, what with Shamshel's attack and the subsequent medical emergency with the member of that military unit, Daemon. There had been worse times before third impact, certainly, but back then he hadn't been in charge of the whole medical team, with the all added pressure of responsibility. Now he not only had lives on his hands, but also the expectations, hopes and fears of a sizeable team of doctors and nurses, all looking to him for leadership. With the Angels returning, he had to show them that, in spite of this new crisis, humanity could endure once more. Saving lives was just one way of doing so.
He swiped his card, then reached for the elevator console and his hand hovered over the button that would have taken him down to the lower reaches of the base, as he considered checking on his own personal projects going on down there.
Commander Katsuragi had so far displayed a much more open philosophy to research than her predecessor had. Gendo Ikari had been tight fisted in his approach to Angel technology, with many of the departments completely in the dark as to what other departments were up to. And almost no one had known about Lilith and the true purpose of Nerv. The old Nerv.
Misato Katsuragi, by contrast, had allowed the free exchange of information and ideas surrounding the return of the Angels and the technology required to defeat them. Many members of the different scientific departments and disciplines currently occupying the base had experiments and trials going on down in the most secure labs, Sugihara included.
Plus the artefact was down there.
Doctor Coulsen might be down there, as well. Sugihara liked Coulsen. The entire medical department liked her, it was difficult not to: she was fiercely intelligent, but she was friendly at the same time, affable in an endearing way. It helped that she was good looking and looked after herself, at the age of thirty-five, but her looks were just the icing on the cake, so to speak. She could have been half as good looking she would still have been considered adorably fascinating.
Yes, everyone liked the lovely doctor, but Ito Sugihara liked to think his feelings were just a little bit deeper. A widower at forty-three, he had been married before, but was unattached romantically, something he knew was the case of Helen Coulsen as well. Sugihara's wife had died shortly before third impact. Her death had come during Shamshel's attack, when parts of the city had been flattened in the battle between Shamshel and Unit-01 – including the office his wife had worked in and in the basement of which she had been taking refuge.
Truth be told, though, they had been distant long before that, his work for Nerv keeping them apart both physically for long periods and mentally when they were together, when he had to keep so much of what he did locked up inside. This distance might have contributed to the fact that they had never had children. He had loved her, in spite of this, and her death had affected him badly.
Helen was different. She knew exactly what he did, as she did the same things. He didn't have to keep anything from her and the feelings that he'd found developing weren't necessarily to be discouraged. Except perhaps on professional grounds...
His finger hovered over the button for a moment more, then he shifted and punched the button that would take him to command. In the end, it was the fact that Doctor Coulsen might be down below that changed his mind. While it would be nice to see her, she would no doubt be busy and seeing him in his current state would hardly help his cause, romantically speaking.
No, he would report to command, then maybe get a bite to eat in the cafeteria, before making his way home to his apartment for a well earned night's sleep. Apparently it was still raining outside. He'd forgotten to bring his umbrella.
As the elevator began to ascend, he leaned back against the wall and rubbed his weary eyes. At forty-three years of age, he wasn't getting any younger. These long days and stressful times were adding to the dark smudges under (and the wrinkles around the corners of) his eyes. Yes, definitely better that Helen didn't see him at the moment! He could always catch up with her tomorrow, maybe ask her out for that meal, as he'd been trying to work up the courage to do for several weeks now.
The doors opened and people got on, the doors closed. The doors opened and the people got off again. As he rose slowly through the levels, Ito thought back to the day he'd just finished. The soldier from Daemon had lived... just. He was now in a recovery bay, hooked up to enough machinery that if some alien were to come down and attempt to classify his species, they'd be forgiven for thinking he was a cyborg. It was necessary, however: being struck by three minigun bullets and living was, as Ito understood it, unheard of. He'd been extremely fortunate as to the glancing nature of the strikes, but even so, great chunks of his flesh had been blown out and the resulting loss of blood had very nearly killed him.
Ito had managed to stabilise his condition and now it was down to the flesh-smiths of the grafting department to regrow and reknit the tissue. There were wonder-workers in that department, Ito knew, but even so, he found himself wondering if the man would ever walk again, let alone return to his unit. It brought home to Ito exactly how fragile their lives were, all of them. At any moment it could be taken from you.
As the elevator finally slowed towards his floor, Ito stood, preparing to step out. The doors hissed open, but the doctor found his exit blocked by a looming figure. Raising his head, Ito Sugihara looked up into yellowed eyes, contained in a face of pallid, unhealthy skin.
The alien eyes, blue in yellow, were the last thing he ever saw.
The commander led them through the facility, along travelators, through corridors and bays, down elevators. Asuka followed on behind, with Rei trailing a little further back.
"How big is this place?" asked Asuka.
"Nowhere near the size of the Geofront," replied Misato. "We wouldn't have had a hope of building something on that scale nowadays, and certainly not in the time we had. But it's big enough for our present needs." She glanced around at them. "Actually, we're having trouble filling the place – though we're recruiting new personnel all the time. The city planners intended the facility to be a disaster relief centre, originally, before the council re-purposed and extended it for our needs... though, really, it's fulfilling its intended purpose as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of much more of a disaster than the Angels coming back. Especially with humanity on the brink as it is."
Asuka looked back at Rei who trailed behind. Whatever the young girl thought about the resurgence of Nerv didn't show on her features: her face was unreadable.
And just when I thought I was getting her to open up, thought Asuka, bitterly.
"Where are you taking us?" she asked, looking forwards again.
"I'm taking you to the lowest levels where our most important research facilities are."
They reached a heavy door with guards on either side. One of the guards saluted her, to which she nodded in reply and pushed her key card into the slot by the side of the door. It beeped and the heavy door ground open.
"We need to upgrade the security systems as soon as possible..." muttered Misato. "Card scanners just don't cut it." She looked at them as they hesitated in front of the door. "Well, come on then, miss 'second-in-command'."
Asuka frowned hard and stomped forwards, passing into the space beyond.
It was a laboratory complex. Misato walked them through, pointing out areas of interest, weapons testing ranges, robotics bays, vehicle departments, even a hangar under a central shaft that was stoppered by heavy interlocking doors. Scientists and technicians were dotted about, though not in great numbers. There were no aircraft however, only parts that looked like they had been salvaged from wreckage. Asuka didn't want to think about where the wreckage had come from.
"We don't have many aviation experts at the moment," Misato told them, "though hopefully several are on their way from the United States as we speak."
They moved on, Misato leading them towards what looked like a bunker doorway, wide sliding doors that appeared able to deflect missile impacts without any trouble. Again, her key-card allowed them access via a side doorway. They passed into a high ceilinged but dimly lit laboratory of serried work benches and shelves filled with sample jars and chemicals. Along one wall were many large glass tanks filled with pale translucent fluid.
Looking back, Asuka saw Rei's eyes were wide with apprehension. It was obvious she didn't want to approach the containers. They were unsettlingly similar to the vats she and her clone siblings had been grown in.
Then she saw the first in line was occupied.
For a sickening moment, Asuka saw Rei – another Rei – in the tank, then her focus returned and she saw that wasn't possble.
The tank contained remains, remains so badly dismembered, burnt and mutilated they were almost unrecognisable. Almost. Scraps of what looked like red fabric floating in the liquid told her everything she needed to know about the occupant.
Asuka reached back and took Rei's hand, squeezing and feeling the girl squeeze back. It gave her a warm feeling. She cleared her throat.
"Misato," she began, "what is this?"
Misato looked at her seriously.
"You said so yourself: No secrets." She stepped towards the tank, reaching out a hand to touch the glass. "This is all that's left of Shamshel."
She looked around the room. A technician working at a bench nearby nodded in greeting to Misato. Apart from him, the room was empty of other people.
"Where is everyone?" she asked him.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hyuga called down and asked for the suspension of activities while you were giving our guests the tour," replied the technician. "Most have already left. I'm just completing a few necessary tasks before turning in for the night, myself."
"And the lighting?" asked Misato, nodding upwards.
"We're keeping the lights low to prevent further degradation of the Angel remains. We've managed to find a liquid suspension that appears to have halted immediate decay. Structural and material testing is scheduled to start tomorrow."
"Very good," replied Misato, turning back to Asuka and Rei.
Asuka had her head in her hand.
"You're experimenting on Angels?" she said.
Misato frowned.
"Yes," she replied. "What did you expect?"
"Not this," said Asuka, releasing Rei and stepping forward. "What happened to not making the same mistakes all over again?"
"If the angels are attacking, we need to be prepared. We need as much information as possible about the threat. We have to make informed, level-headed decisions if we want to have a hope of combating the Angels again."
"And this is coming from the Queen of level-headed-decisions," snapped Asuka, looking severe and folding her arms. "What were Doctor Ritsuko's projections of success for your plan to defeat Sahaquiel last time? Please tell me, oh Queen?"
The technician nearby stifled what might have been a snigger with a cough. Misato glared at him and the man smiled sheepishly, turning back to his work.
"It worked, didn't it?" she answered. "Do you suddenly not trust me to do what's best for everyone?"
"After Third Impact?" Asuka shot back. "Why should I?"
Misato folded her own arms, a dangerous smile on her face, her eye twitching.
"Oh, I don't know... because I was the only one in Nerv trying to stop it?"
"And a great job you did of that!" spat Asuka.
"Well maybe this time will be different if I have everyone on my side rather than working against me! Anyway, I didn't bring you down here to have an argument with you, I brought you down here to bring you up to speed. Not everything that's going on here is thanks to me, you know? Some of this stuff was here already."
Asuka looked supremely annoyed, but shut up at this. Misato stalked to the far end of the room, where most of one wall was taken up by armoured metal shutters. Asuka and Rei followed, apprehensively.
"This is the last shock I have for you, I promise," said Misato, turning to them. She nodded to the technician, who retrieved a remote control from the bench and hit a button on it. The shutters rolled smoothly upwards.
Beyond the extra thick armoured glass, housed in a panelled cell the size of a small house, lay the head of Unit-02.
One side of it's head was more or less intact, the red armour patched and reworked over the intact sections of skull. The other side was a cratered mess of reconstituted skull fragments and grey-purple skin. Thick cables trailed from holes in this side of the head and snaked to computational units set up around it, which in turn sprouted wires that led to ports on the panelled walls. On the armoured side, the two familiar green eye lenses had been refitted. On the side with no armour covering it, two further eyes stared blankly out at nothing.
Asuka took it better than Misato had expected. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but managed to keep from vomiting. All that escaped her lips was a small moan. She seemed unable to say anything else. It was left to Rei to voice what Asuka was thinking in a quietly resigned voice.
"You're using Eva technology..."
"We are," replied Misato. "The armour you wore yesterday was constructed using technology culled from Unit-02. The AT projectors as well. Don't worry, Asuka, it's dead. We aren't rebuilding the Eva series."
Asuka staggered to a bench and leant heavily upon it. Rei moved until she was standing awkwardly next to her, but didn't seem to know what to do to comfort the former Eva pilot. Misato regarded the German, coolly, until she regained herself.
"Are you okay," she asked after a few moments. Asuka straightened, stretching her shoulders, and turned hot eyes on Misato.
"I'm fine," she said. Then she pointed towards the cell. "I want this stopped. I want that thing destroyed."
Misato shook her head.
"I can't do that," she told Asuka.
"I have a veto on all plans I–"
"Not on this," replied Misato, cutting her off. "We need this technology Asuka. So much was lost during Third Impact. Humanity was weakened and its ability to protect itself stripped away. This –" she pointed at the huge head "– is the only way to get it back."
"But you're using Eva technology!" insisted Asuka, as if that simple statement was a conclusive argument all in itself.
"Well what would you have me do?" hissed Misato in reply. "The Evas were the only weapon proven to be effective against the Angels."
"But you can't! You can't start working with the Evas again, they were SEELE's tools for bringing about instrumentality! We'd be no better than them if we carried on their work!"
"SEELE are gone – and you need to get your priorities straight, Asuka. This is survival we're talking about!" replied Misato.
"Priorities?" sneered the German. "That's rich coming from the person who, in spite of everything, was depressed because she turned thirty!"
The technician coughed again, louder than before. This time, Misato ignored him.
Rei was looking between Asuka and Misato, concern on her face, but unable to work out how to interject.
"Well, at least I've grown up a bit!" continued Misato. "At least I'm willing to make the hard choices! What would you do? Tip everything we've learnt into the sea and run away so you can shack up with your new girlfriend?"
"My new girlfriend?!" replied Asuka, looking genuinely shocked. "You... I don't... you can't think..."
"Oh, touched a nerve, have I?" smirked Misato. "Never were much good with relationships, were you?"
"Says the one who kept running after a man who came on to SHINJI!" yelled Asuka.
The coughs coming from the technician were now a gale. Misato whirled on him.
"Now, really, that's too much–"
But the technician wasn't listening to them any more. The technician wasn't listening to anything at all.
His corpse hung in the air, held aloft by long slender limbs, dripping blood onto the sterile floor from where the sharp tips of the appendages had pierced his body, lifting him up like a ragdoll. Behind the hanging doll of a corpse, a tall figure stood. He – Asuka assumed from the figure's build that it was a he – was dressed in a full length duster coat, and it took her a horrified moment to realise that the segmented limbs that had pierced the technician through originated from this coated man's back.
The technician's corpse dropped to the floor as the Angel released him and took a step forward. More coughs raced from behind the buttoned up collar and the Angel hunched over.
"Scatter!" shouted Misato.
The room was suddenly drenched in blood red light. An alarm started wailing and it seemed that for a moment, the Angel appeared confused by the new sound and the change of lighting. Misato threw herself one way and Asuka pushed Rei in another direction, disappearing behind the rows of workbenches.
The communication bead in Misato's ear crackled and then Hyuga's voice came over, tight with suppressed panic.
"Commander! Matarael is in the facility, it killed Doctor Ito! We think it's on its way down to you!"
Misato pushed her back against another bench.
"A little late, Makoto..." growled Misato, pulling her pistol from its holster under her arm. "Get troops down here on the double! We're unsupported with no eva gear!"
"Yes ma'am!" replied Makoto, and he disappeared from the line.
Misato rolled around the bench and fired her pistol at Matarael, but the Angel whipped it's iron hard limbs in front of itself, easily deflecting her bullets. She rolled behind another bench, fully expecting the Angel's arms to pierce her through at any moment.
But it never happened. Looking around the bench, she saw the Angel had turned away from her. She fired again, and again the limbs stopped the bullets, moving unnaturally fast to its owner's defence. It didn't even turn back.
Even though she was the only one attacking it, it seemed reluctant to go after her, which could only mean one thing: it wanted Asuka and Rei.
But what could they do but run? Misato saw them scramble from bench to bench, trying to stay low and keep from the Angel's view. Matarael followed them implacably, turning over tables and shelves to get to them, shattering test tubes and glass beakers on the floor. How could they fight it? They had no weapons and no armour. They were defenceless. Misato nearly so herself. All she had was a pistol. She looked down at the gun in her hand.
How could she fight an Angel? How could she even hope to harm it?
How could she hope to...
Hope. She felt it blaze through her as she realised what she must do. But she'd have to get close, closer than should reasonably be possible.
She opened a communication line to Asuka, fearful that with its nearly-human form, it might also understand human language.
"Asuka!" she whispered. "Distract it! Keep it focused on you!"
"That doesn't seem to be much of a problem," the young German hissed in reply. But she jumped up from behind a bench and began yelling swear words in German, while star jumping and waving her arms. Matarael let out an unearthly roar and went after her, smashing the bench aside. She pushed Rei away from her and dived to her right, towards the cell containing the Eva head, but Matarael was quicker and lashed out with a limb, catching Asuka heavily across the chest and throwing her against the glass. As she lay propped up against the window, gasping and trying get oxygen into her lungs, the Angel loomed over her. Pulling open the collar of its coat, it revealed its horror of a mouth, its myriad sharp teeth and wet tunnel maw. With a choking sound, it began bringing up the corrosive bile that would end the German.
"Asuka!" cried Rei.
The room lit up green. The brightest green Asuka could ever imagine. The emerald glare banished the sickly red of the warning lights entirely. It took her a moment to realise the light was coming from behind her and she twisted around against the glass and looked into the cell beyond.
The lenses in Unit-02s helmet had lit up like green fog-lamps and the uncovered eyes seemed to stare at the Angel with unbridled and unrivalled hatred as if it could banish the horror with its gaze alone.
The Angel itself looked as surprised as anyone in the room. It straightened, backing away from the green glow and, at that moment, Misato stepped up to the Angel and pushed her pistol against its temple.
"I just remembered there was one Angel killed by conventional weaponry..." she said. The pistol barked in her hand.
Even with Matarael's preternatural reactions, the bullet couldn't miss. It ploughed through the creature's head, destroying whatever passed for its brain before exiting and slamming into the wall, several metres away. Matarael crumpled to the floor and a thin rill of acid expelled from its throat, setting the floor tiles fizzing as it ate steadily through them.
The commander looked down at the corpse of the Angel-human as it twitched its last. Then she looked up at Asuka.
"Matarael never did have a strong AT field." She told her.
And she lowered the pistol.
Outside, on the streets of Kaibyaku, the rain finally stopped.
