Evangelion

Cat's Cradle

Problem Three: The Zero Child

Marching down the security wing of section two, was an exhausted Gendo Ikari with is his eyes barely open. His uniform was crinkled, his jacket top was open, and his fists were clenched. As he passed members of Nerv Security Forces, they parted to the sides of the hallway like the red sea. He turned multiple corners before he reached an area guarded by two armed security members. They both saluted the Commander as he slammed open the door and continued down a hallway were he saw about ten men all wearing black BDUs and MP-5s slung to their sides. He passed them and entered into a room were Doctor Ritsuko Akagi stood with other doctors staring through a window.

"Ah, Commander Ikari, good morning." Ritsuko smiled as she motioned to have her colleges leave with her hand.

Gendo pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "This better be worth it."

There was a slight pause as Ritsuko allowed Gendo to look through the window. "Oh, I think it is worth it." She looked in to the window that showed the rouge clone named Yukari shackled to a bed naked with multiple cords and wires strapped to her body.

"What the shit is this?" Gendo muttered as he placed his glasses back on.

"This is Rei III, well kind of..." Ritsuko stated in a slight tone of disbelief.

Somehow, Gendo was not to shocked, that there was another clone out of the sea. "This isn't the first time we had a sleepwalker." After yawning he glared at Ritsuko as he continued, "Dispose of it. You better not be telling me you woke me up for a damn sleepwalker?"

"That's true, but this fish out of water is..." Before Ritsuko could finish Gendo began to walk away.

"Destroy her..." Gendo's words drive cold daggers into Ritsuko's skin. "Waste my time on this shit."

"I wouldn't have called you if it was that easy, sir." Ritsuko strived to show that the problem was greater than Gendo could possibly imagine. "That clone is the last one!"

"What!" Gendo turned to Ritsuko in utter shock. "What do you mean the last one?"

"This isn't a sleepwalker; she was created by of shadow program hidden in the MAJI." Ritsuko hands Gendo her tablet. "She is frankly a work of art. Though I need to take more tests, but it seems this clone was engineered its own PERI,,, Created by none other than.,,"

"Yui!" Gendo dropped the tablet to the ground and gripped his tightening chest. He turned and stared out to the naked child in the other room.

Ritsuko nodded her head, as she folded her arms in front of her. "The program, was a little over thirteen years old. She hid it in the original Rei Experiment divers."

The fear and silence Ritsuko saw in Gendo's eyes had her hair stand on the back of her neck. Gendo placed his hands on the glass and bowed his head. "My dear sweat Yui, what in God's name have your done."

Seeing Gendo was not going to speak, she knelt down and picked up her tablet thankful the screen didn't break. "When she was created it shoot enough power into the room of Gauf, it fried every last one of our clones."

"What is her mental state at?" Gendo whispered softly. He looked to Ritsuko, "does it match… Is it similar to…"

Feeling that Gendo was not truly paying attention to her, Ritsuko handed him the tablet once more. "I did a full body scan, CAT scan, MRI, EKG, A.T. Field simulation, and a PERI comparison test." She lets Gendo read the findings. "Though she has similar wave patterns, the clone is not your wife."

"Her primary electrophysiological response interface patterns..." Gendo whispered to himself. "They're..."

Nodding her head, Ritsuko leaned against the glass, "They are impossible, a uniformed cascade similar to that of the Maji, she is a walking talking full-fledged biological artificial intelligence."

Both turn and look at the girl that's seems so vulnerable naked on the table. "Place her in interrogation room three." No one responded to Gendo's command as he began to leave. "This just changed everything; we lost control of our destiny."

The only senses of the five Yukari had was her sense of hearing and a sense of touch, and what she heard, and felt was not pleasant. The clone had a bag over her head, hands were handcuffed together, which they handcuffed to her waist, and just to be sure she was not Houdini, her feet were chained together. Now awake and after dragged for about ten minutes, she was thrown into a room. The door slammed shut behind her just as she began to stand. All she left was the sound of her heart racing in the silence in the room. Therefore, she waited for her fate, minutes turned into hours and food was becoming a big part of her thoughts. She was not just hungry but scientifically starving. It felt like an entire day had gone by since she woke in the pool of LCL and, she was dehydrated. She was tired as she nestled herself into a corner of the room, yet she could not sleep. Just as all hope was lost, she heard the door open a man in heavy boots march over and yanked off the black bag on her head and gag in her mouth. The man kept her head to the ground as he removed her bondage.

Before Yukari could say anything the man exited the room closing the door leaving her in near darkness once again. Once more the room became empty and quiet, but at least this time there was just enough light she could see on the other side of the room was a one-way mirror. Finding she is wearing different style hospital clothes. She began to feel a little edgy but still willing to make a light of her predicament, Yukari decided to walk over to the mirror and fool around.

On the other side of the mirror, sat members of Nerv Section Two, with their suits freshly pressed, as well as Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Ritsuko. Fuyutsuki began to chuckle as the girl in front of them picked her nose and placed her foul findings on the glass.

"She acts four years old..." Ritsuko muttered as she smiled at the child like antics.

On the other side, Yukari decided that physical actions are not enough. "Look, before your spade me, rape me, or do anything horrible, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Look I don't want any arguments or disagreements why don't you cut me loose, and we come out of this as unlikely friends."

"Sit down." An intercom bellowed to Yukari in a computerized modulated voice. "We have questions to ask you."

Seeing a stool in the center of the room, Yukari walked over and took a seat; she looked to the one way mirror and responded, "as long as they are tiny weeny questions."

"What is your name?"

Mad at the fact that they did not laugh at her antics, made her want to refuse to go along with the interrogation. Knowing she really did not know her name she decided to use the one, she made up. "Ayanami, Yukari..." The clone smiled as she swung her legs, thinking she might as well have fun, as her mind is brought to think about the principles of psychodynamic psychology. Before the voice could speak again Yukari said, "You know if I am going answer questions maybe you should answer some questions."

"Who are you?" The voice said.

Crossing her arms, Yukari shock her head. "Look, all I got is some simple questions. You know where I came from, so you know I have less answers than questions. Most likely you would learn more from my questions from you, than answers I give to questions I don't know the answer too."

"What are your questions?" The voice bellowed.

Smiling, Yukari looked to the floor, "Supposed you went in here and dug a hole in the floor."

"Okay, I dig a hole in the floor." The voice paused, "This line of question better lead to something."

Pointing her finger to the mirror, Yukari said, "Why should you come in here and dig a hole in the floor?"

There was a pause again. "I am not digging a hole in the floor. Do you want to escape?"

"No." Yukari quickly said, "I am asking you a question. Why are you going to dig a hole in the floor?"

"You said suppose that I go over and dig a hole." Was the response Yukari received.

Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, Yukari sighed, "You see you don't even know what you are taking about."

There was silence than the interrogator said, "You said you wanted to ask questions."

"Okay." Yukari looked back to the mirror. "Suppose you walked into a baseball stadium. What teams are playing?"

"I don't know." The voice said, "What kind of questioning is this?"

Flabbergasted, Yukari threw her hands into the air. "Then what the hell are you doing in a baseball stadium?"

"I am not in any stadium." The voice countered, "I am in interrogation room 3, Nerv Headquarters Tokyo III."

"Ah." Yukari rubbed her chin. "You see you don't know what you are talking about."

"Stop talking about the baseball stadium. We are getting off track."

"No we are not." Yukari said as she hopped off her stool and put her hands on her hips. "I need to teach you these things. So hear me out." Walking up to the mirror Yukari said, "So what is the first thing you buy at the baseball stadium?"

"I get takoyaki." The voice said. Nodding her head, Yukari has realized in what part of Japan Tokyo III was located in. The modulated voice then added, "with ponzu sauce not takoyaki sauce."

"Wait what?" The clone took a step back. "Takoyaki sauce was made for takoyaki. For the love of all that is natural and good!"

The voice countered, "Not mine."

Shaking her head, Yukari pointed at the mirror. "Then it's not Takoyaki, how can you have takoyaki without takoyaki sauce? I mean it is called takoyaki sauce that means the two, they go together."

"Let them go together, I am not going to spoil any romance." The voice responded in a witty retort.

"Hey now, who is talking about romance?" Yukari smiled and walked back to the stool. "Do you know where takoyaki sauce comes from?"

"I don't know."

Sitting back on the stool, Yukari responded, "How can you not know this? They manufacture takoyaki sauce. Did you know they spend millions of yen a year to manufacture takoyaki sauce? Those factories support thousands of people just to manufacture takoyaki sauce, and those people support countless families. Look at you, for no reason you want to close those factories down all because you don't like takoyaki sauce!"

After a moment of silence the voice said, "Are you saying that if I don't eat takoyaki sauce, that a factory would close down?"

"No that's not it!" Yukari tried to interget but was interrupted.

"This is 2015, half of food manufacturing is automated, so you can make them redundant, I am still not going to eat it."

Crossing her arms, Yukari shook her head, "That's right let the computer just do everything. Kick them to the streets to save some money. Causing husbands to live in dishonor to their family."

"I'm not causing husbands dishonor." The voice countered. "You don't even know what a husband is."

"Of course I do." Yukari said with a smirk. "A husband is a sweetheart after it was ripped from a chest." Smiling, Yukari said, "Don't think I would want one, they might get to obsessed. "I have one more question."

"This will be your last question."

After a deep breathe Yukari said, "Okay, say you are at Tokyo Three international airport, and you buy a ticket. Where are you going?"

"I am not going anywhere?"

Narrowing her eyes, Yukari leaned forward. "Then why did you by a ticket?"

"I am not buying a ticket."

Throwing her hands in the air, Yukari yelled, "Than what are you doing in the airport?!"

"Most of the world was destroyed during second impact, where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"Second Impact." Yukari mind nearly gave her a heart attack; she leapt off the stool and ran to the mirror. "Have the angels returned yet? I know I should be doing something but I can't remember what!"

"Yes."

Giving a sigh, Yukari bowed her head and walked back to the stool. "I am here to destroy the angels."

The door opened and entered was a tall man of Japanese descent. He walked in silently to Yukari who bowed her head and took a seat back on the stool. "I don't remember my real name..." Yukari whispered. He stood there as if a statue, his cold heartless eyes, gave Yukari chills. "Oh, I came from a pool with dead bodies in it..." Yukari decided that thing were a bit too serious for her tastes. "I would look into that, if I were you." After a meow and a sigh, Yukari whispered, "Am I in trouble?"

"That depends..." Gendo responded with just a whisper.

"On..." She asked as Gendo bent down and took hold of her face. Yukari didn't like him that close and his rough scared hands were uncomfortable against her sensitive skin. Yet, she let him take a light to her deep yellow eyes, and then to her scalp, and mouth.

"Can you stop being a pervert?" Yukari jerked back and said, "My systolic blood pressure is probably 120 mmHg. my diastolic blood pressure is around 66 mmHg, and my pulse rate is a steady eight- eight beats per minute, so can you stop with the groping."

Gendo simply glared at the girl in silence. A moment later, a female entered the room with medical equipment, and for some reason Yukari knew what it all was.

"Naoko?" For some reason Yukari thought that was her name, and spoke it without thinking. All Ritsuko did was stare at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me..." The tall Doctor mumbled as she runs her hand through her blond hair.

The yellow-eyed girl looked at her hoping that once more, that she was the Naoko she knew. "Naoko right... Naoko Akagi... Wait, your hair is blond."

"My name is Doctor Ritsuko Akagi... just how do you know my mother's name..." Ritsuko asked.

Yukari thought about it, and then thought about it some more. With no clear reason; she just smiled and pointed to her head. "I... don't know... You look funny with blond hair..."

After a small sigh, Ritisuko held up a tablet. "You are the last, of sisters to a girl named Ayanami-san Rei." Ritsuko's voice began to fade as she read from the screen.

"Meow?" Just because the woman in front of Yukari waved around a PH.D, did not mean she was not going to catch the fact there was more of her. "What do you mean last of?"

Slowly Ritsuko begun to hook clips to Yukari's head. "There is more than just one of you, however you are the one of two left alive." The doctor tone deepened as she etherized alive.

"Oh... so I come to life in your gooey cesspool of people parts, yet you don't know me..." The reminder of the LCL made Yukari cringe. "Have you even seen that stuff! It's so gooey..." If Ritsuko was trying to win her trust, she was failing. Yukari had a feeling she was in a big mess of lies, that she had to conform to, or she would die.

"We didn't wake you; you woke yourself, so yes we know what you are, we just didn't know who."

Yukari guessed that is the simple way to put it, but she had a feeling the good doctor simply wanted to avoid the word clone. "So where is this, sister, of mine?" Yukari said as she waved quotations marks with her fingers as she spoke the word sister.

"She's on her way." The doctor took no notice of two large men in black suit walking into the room followed by Gendo.

"Oh great the pedophile is back." Yukari's mumbled defiantly. She knew she was playing with fire, but she also felt that Gendo didn't want to see any harm to her, she was something special. With those thoughts in mind she gave a cold stare and said, He tried to grope me!"

Ritsuko faked a cough to get her attention; Yukari look at her still concerned about the Commander. "Ayanami-san, this man, in front of you, is Commander Ikari-san Gendo. He's the reason you're still alive, he can just as easily change his mind."

Somewhat embarrassed that she just called the self-appointed lord and master, a pervert, Yukari bowed her head to show a little respect. "Sorry Sir."

"Your existence is a privilege." Gendo scorned at Yukari in a monotone voice. "It can be easily taken away. I have spared your life for two reasons. That you will work under the organization NERV and do whatever my subordinates ask. Second you will give up all information you have knowledge of."

"You're Shinji's father..." Yukari asked as she began to bit her toenails. Everyone looked away in disgust from Yukari, as she bit her nails. Ritsuko grabbed Yukari's feet and pulled them away from her mouth.

Gendo clenched his fists before her stormed out of the room. Yukari looked over to Ritsuko. "He is defiantly the boss around here."

Ritsuko gave a small sigh as she tapped on the tablet screen before handing it over to Yukari. On the top line of the tablet it read, 'Your Eyes Only' just below that Yukari read out, "Zero child?" She was then handed an identification card by Ritsuko, Yukari quickly noticed that it wasn't of her for the girl in the photo had red eyes not yellow.

"I don't understand..." Yukari looked to the Doctor that seemed to be writing something down on a separate table. "Why does this thing call me the Zero child? And this picture isn't me."

The Doctor took no time to answer the teenagers questions. "The picture is that of Rei, your sister. Don't worry it's only a temporary ID card. Zero child is what the Marduk report calls you. It will be your pilot designation if we decide to let you into an Evangelion."

Yukari's shoulders sink and her head bows as she spoke, "The formal name is "General-purpose Humanoid Decisive Combat Weapon - Artificial Human (Cyberoid) Evangelion. In order to implement the Human Complementation Project, Evangelion's were built, being able to deploy A.T. Field as well as neutralize it; it is the only weapon that we humans have to counter the Angels. It takes its power from electricity and without external supply, it can maintain only 5 minutes of activity. Thus, usually it takes the electrical power it needs through Umbilical Cable."

Yukari began to rub her temples and looked up to see that Doctor Akagi was staring at her in shock. "What did you just say..."

"Meow..." Yukari muttered unsure what just happened. "Did I say something?"

"My god that was word for word..."

Next problem: Sisters...