Shinji was screaming as the LCL around him and within him boiled. He was screaming as the pain felt by the biological components of the Evangelion fed back into him through the miracle of Synchronization, that allowed the human component of the mighty war machine to give motive and motion to the colossus. He screamed as he developed what was termed "Sympathetic Injuries" on his chest in the same location as the Fifth Angel, Code Name Ramiel, was hitting the Evangelion with it's directed high energy thermal lance. But mostly, Shinji screamed.
Misato Katsuragi, U.N. Forces rank Captain, Armor Branch, currently seconded to NERV as the Division 3 Operations Commander, theoretically third in command of NERV on a day-to-day basis, tried valiantly to bring order to the chaos in the command room at NERV Central.
"Recover the EVA! Bring the lift back down!"
"We can't! The locks are fused, they've melted shut!"
"Deploying Armor shield!"
A ten foot thick sheet of lead and steel reinforced concrete shot up in-between the Evangelion and Ramiel. The Angel's beam however cut through the armor with the same difficulty that it cut through Unit-01's AT field, which is to say that it went through it like a hot knife through ice cream, melting through the armor block as it rose to it's full height in front of the Evangelion, and then causing it to melt down around the central portion as it continued it's attack unabated.
"Blow the charges for that entire block! Bring that whole section down!"
Lt. Makato threw open the toggle cover for Block 43's demolition charges, and flipped the toggle switch resting within. Blocks of C4 detonated, destroying specific locking clamps that held the immediate area of the lift gate in place, sending part of the street, the catapult lift, and the Evangelion tumbling back down through the shaft.
"Cutting Pilot's Synchronization! Connection's broken! Life-signs negative! Pilot is entering cardiac arrest!"
"Give him a heart massage! Begin defibrillation!" Dr. Akagi shouted as she dashed from the command deck towards the cages to oversee the recovery operation from there.
"Defibrillation started! No response!"
Up above the hurried movements of the command floor, Commander Ikari sat, unmoving from his position, watching the various screens and monitors. Fuyutsuki watched him as he observed the bridge crews' attempts to start his son's heart again. So cold, watching his son die. Did you anticipate this? If he dies here, what will you do? Will you make the call that you know you must? Even if it costs you your wife?
"We have response! Cage 3, prepare for impact!"
The limp form of war machine came tumbling down out of the shaft's entrance into the launch area, rolling to a stop against the massive blockade barriers, erected for such an eventuality. A massive crane went into operation immediately, righting the giant and giving access to the Entry Plug, which was in the process of ejecting in response to the commands from the bridge.
"Pilot's life-signs are erratic!" Dr. Akagi called from the cage. "We're taking him to medical! Prepare the ICU!"
Gendo shifted his gaze to the main monitor, watching as the Angel, now back into it's diamond shape, floated over to a section of Tokyo-3's city center, which, miles below, sat over the very pyramid that made up NERV Central's main offices. Miles below this, lay Terminal Dogma, where the object of Ramiel's, and all other Angels, past and future, search lay.
"The Angel is extending a protrusion! It's... It's beginning to drilling into the city!" Lt. Aoba cried out, somewhat confused. "Why isn't it using it's directed energy beam?"
"The Magi are working on it!" Lt. Ibuki, having taken over in the absence of Dr. Akagi, sat at the Magi's main terminal interface, putting the three supercomputers to the task of figuring out the Angel's course of action.
"ICU reports that they have the Third Child! They are beginning preliminary medical screening!"
"The Magi report an estimated time of twelve hours until the drill breaks through into the Geo-Front!"
Gendo stirred finally, pushing his chair away from the desk as he stood. "Captain Katsuragi, come up with a plan to defeat the Angel. Report to me in my office once you have one. You are in command here." He nodded at her salute, and left for his private elevator, Kozo trailing after him.
Misato watched the doors to the elevator shut behind the two men. Whirling around, she glared at the main screen. "OK, Options people, what do we have? Ideas, resources. Let's get to work!" She moved over to join Maya at the Magi terminal. "Have they come up with why it's not burning it's way through the armor plates instead of burning it's way through? It certainly put out enough power when it attacked Unit-01."
"They are withholding judgment right now."
"OK. Makato! Release Rei from Unit-00. She's on tertiary standby right now. Have someone brief her on that. Tell her to get something to eat, or some shut eye."
"Roger!"
"Now, what can we do to test this bastard's abilities?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei looked up as yet another doctor exited the doors to the ICU ward that held Ikari. The doctor didn't so much as glance at the still plug-suited girl, who reeked of dried LCL. Perhaps I should attempt gaining entrance once more. Why do they say nothing to me when they exit? Why do they keep me from entering? It is not as if I would attempt to instruct them on what to do. I merely wish to observe. She watched two nurses as they hurried forth from the room. It has been one and a quarter hours since they recovered him. Evangelion Unit-01 did not sustain any broken limbs from it's fall back down the exit shaft, so he should be intact as far as that is concerned. The LCL would have protected him from shock and kept him from bouncing around inside the plug itself, so that leaves only wounds from the thermal weapon itself. Rei had watched in mounting horror as the recovery teams had righted the boy's Evangelion and pulled him from the plug. His skin looked scalded, and they had put him into an oxygen shrouded gurney before rushing him off to medical. When they had her exit Unit-00, and explained that she was on Level-3 Standby, allowing her to move about Central Dogma in either Plug Suit or other clothing, she had ignored suggestions of eating or resting and instead had come to the medical ward in the hopes of observing the medical staff working on Pilot Ikari. Those hopes had been crushed when they kicked her out of the room, and told her to go somewhere else.
Why am I so... agitated about his current status? Did he not attempt to take the Commander's glasses for his own? Did he not reject me at my apartment? Did he not state that he held no faith in the Commander, or his Work? Did I not physically reprimand him?
Hypothesis: I have an unconscious... attraction? desire? for the physical closeness and contact with him. I have not demonstrated this in the past with other subjects, except perhaps the Commander. However, that is due to a loyalty out of the bond of daughter to father, and due to my being party to the Plan. Is this the feelings between siblings? None of the subjects in Class 2A or Classes 1B or 5D or 7E ever commented on such... solicitousness about their siblings before. Observed evidence also suggests that the experiment in the apartment would not have been deemed 'appropriate' contact between siblings by the accepted social norms. Perhaps this is why he did nothing? Does he view me as a sibling? Observed data supports siblings being extremely protective, even violently so, in the defense of siblings. Student Suzahara assaulted Ikari over the fact that his sister had been hurt during the attack. This does not explain his wanting to protect me when he first arrived. He did know that the Commander is my father. She paused her mental dissection of the reasons behind their interactions as she watched yet another doctor exit the ward and move past her without comment. I do not believe that he is even aware of our relationship. Otherwise I do not believe he would have been so quick to insult the Commander in such a fashion. So, if he does not view me as a sibling, why then is he so protective of me, if he is not similarly struck by physical attraction? The Commander is attracted to HER, for some reason, so it stands that he should have inherited the proper genetic codes for experiencing physical attraction. Perhaps he inherited his father's unexplainable 'taste' in females?
Another doctor walked by without comment. Just how many are there of them in that room? Rei thought irritably. And why do they continue to say nothing to me? Is it not normal to speak to those waiting outside medical facilities for information on patients to actually give them information? What must I do to them to obtain the data that I seek?
While she began to make plans that included kidnapping the next person to walk out of the room and ignore her, a nurse walked up to her, a clipboard in hand. "Miss Ayanami? What are you doing down here?"
Rei turned her head to woman who addressed her. It is the nurse who is actually a Section 2 agent. Agent Kokoro. "I am waiting for information on the current medical status of Pilot Ikari." Why else would I be wasting my time waiting in a ICU waiting area? There is nothing to do here but wait, appropriately enough. Wait and be ignored by these people with their arbitrary rules on people with higher security clearances than them being inside an ICU when they are working on people that happen to be important experiment subjects, causing them to work with incomplete medical history data when doing Science to them later on.
Rei had found out the importance of having a complete medical history on her subjects when Student Kensuke Aida went into anaphylatic shock upon being stung by a bee.
"Oh, him! Well, let me go in and see what I can find out for you." Turning to go, she paused and turned back. "Did... did you come straight here from your Evangelion?"
"Yes."
She smiled. "That's so sweet of you. Wait right here, I'll be back in a jiff!"
Rei just stared at the Section 2 agent as she disappeared into the ICU. Why would I wait elsewhere? Would waiting someplace else have gotten me the information I seek faster? How long is a jiff? I am not familiar with this unit of chronological measurement. I do not see how my arrival here directly from Unit-00 increases how I taste. I also do not see how she would be able to appraise how sweet I taste without actually tasting me with her tongue, and I do not believe I wish that. In addition, LCL tastes like blood, and it not particularity sweet, and since I have not showered to remove it, and it dried on me I suspect that I would taste like blood rather than candy. She blinked. Oh, I see. She was using 'sweet' to describe my interest in him as being kind, or suggesting that I am enamored of him. She shifted her head slightly down to look at the floor as a faint pink tinged her skin. Perhaps I am enamored of him. I am still unsure if I wish to conduct experiments of physical closeness with him.
Perhaps I should not be too hasty in disposing of that collar. It would be a waste of resources to discard it without using it for something, after all.
She looked up again, hoping that Agent Kokoro wouldn't notice the fact that she was blushing. Agent Kokoro, being trained to notice and read people's body language, because she was indeed a Section 2 Agent, and not just a nurse, of course noticed. And, being that she was a Section 2 Agent, she made no indication that she noticed.
"Well, they still have him in a LCL bath. He should be coming out of it in about an hour. He'll keep his hair, but he'll have to be careful for about a few weeks with hot liquids and IV exposure on his skin until it completely heals. With the current medication drip, he'll be asleep for the next four hours at least, which is good. Does that help?" She smiled kindly at the blue haired girl, sitting completely still in one of the chairs.
Does this help with what? While it is the information I sought, it was not for any particular experiment, just updating subject data. "Yes."
"Well, now, I think that you should go and take a shower then, and get cleaned up. He'll be moved to his room, B301, once out of the LCL bath if they find nothing else wrong with him. You can visit him in there. You know where it is, right?"
"It is three doors further down the same hallway as the room I am assigned when admitted to the Medical Wing." So we are assigned rooms here, and it is not merely coincidence.
"Yep! So, go on, get out of here. Get something to eat, or get some rest. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they come up with a plan to stop that thing up there."
"Yes." Why do they keep telling me to go eat? I have not expended enough calories to make my body demand additional fuel.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Misato glared at the blue diamond. Well, I don't think I'll ever say that diamonds are a girl's best friend anymore. Another thing to be angry at the Angels about. "What's the status on the decoy?"
Lt. Makato looked up from his terminal. "The tug should be raising it now." He pointed to the main screen. "There it goes!"
Up on the large view-screen, a small tug was pulling a 1:1 scale inflatable decoy model of Unit-01 towards the Angel. They cut a line, and the decoy's arm swung up, 'aiming' a pistol at the Angel.
"We're getting a high energy reading!"
The Angel shifted it's form again, and fired it's hateful thermal ray at the decoy, vaporizing it and the tug in seconds.
"Now!"
The Type 12 Mk.6 Self-Propelled Mortar, which actually was an artillery piece, rolled out of hiding, and fired an experimental 500mm SABOT projectile at the Angel. The munition itself was considered overkill by many, due to the fact that actual projectile was a 120mm depleted uranium rod, could theoretically tear through more armor than existed on any one target. If there one thing that NERV was known for in the defense sector, however, (besides of course, being NERV and being run by the 'King of all Bastards') was for overkill being their bread, butter, jam, honey and biscuits.
Gendo Ikari Fact #17- God's in his Heaven because he's scared of Gendo Ikari's Superior Firepower.
The Magi had suggested a 68% chance of the rod penetrating the Angel's AT field, which so far had shrugged off dozens of cruise missiles, and several concentrated artillery barrages, of the likes not seen since the trenches of WWI.
The reason they gave it such a high chance was that it should be fast and small enough of a projectile to escape the Angel's thermal weapon. It had fired on all missiles that had been carrying N2 munitions, destroying them from afar instead of letting them break upon the seemingly impenetrable wall of it's AT Field.
Everyone in the control room groaned in disgust as the field flashed into view, again, and the SABOT round ricochet off to impact into a mountain. The Angel fired upon the Type 12, vaporizing it just as completely as it had everything else it had shot at that day, with the sole exception of the Evangelion.
Dr. Akagi cursed as she threw her hands up into the air. "The Magi just gave me a busy message. They've got nothing else right now. That SABOT round should have punched right through the damn thing like... like... like a gamma ray through paper!"
It's really bad when Rits has problems expressing just how unhappy she is with a situation. Almost all she ever does is complain about things. Misato mused to herself.
Poor Sempai! She's so stressed, what with working on stabilizing Shinji and trying to come up with a way to break through the AT Field. Maya watched her supervisor sympathetically.
"OK folks. What else do we have in the labs? I know we've got to have something that packs a ridiculous punch. It's what we do! We're NERV! We don't just grandstand here, we SuperDuperMaxigrandstand. We specialize in making things bigger and better, if for no other reason than we get more money from the U.N. in a month than some countries generate in a year." Misato started pacing back and forth. "What do we have that's just super experimental, and not even weaponised yet?"
Lt. Aoba started scrolling down through his terminal, looking through all NERV funded research projects. "Well... we've got an LHC, about 400 pounds of antimatter, most of it anti-hydrogen, some of it anti-helium."
Misato perked up at the mention of antimatter. She turned to Ritsuko, a manic smile on her face.
Ritsuko, knowing her friend all to well, shook her head. "Don't even think about using antimatter. It's not something that we'd be be able to use. It would need a massive warhead, just to keep the magnetic containment in place until it detonated against the target. The Angel would shoot it from miles away."
Misato's grin became a scowl. "Damn it! There's got to be something that we can use." She turned back to the long haired tech. "What's a LHC?"
"It's a Large Hadron Collider. It's a massive particle accelerator. It's currently being used to test particle bombardment on portions of the Fourth Angel's recovered core, to help NERV-03 with S2 research."
"A particle accelerator you say? Don't things have a tendency to explode when they get hit by accelerated particles?"
Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "That is the general idea behind a particle beam weapon, yes, Misato."
"So why don't we have one of those?"
"We do. A prototype, anyways. The problem is that the Magi say it's not powerful enough to punch through that AT Field."
Misato's face screwed up into a grimace as she mentally chewed on that information. "Any way that we could use the LHC to power it? Or use the LHC itself?"
"No, it's pretty much stationary. We don't have enough time to disassemble it, move it and reassemble it with the proper modifications."
"Damn. Well, do we know of anyone else that could be working on a particle gun? Maybe we can commander it."
Agent Ken, the Command Deck Section 2 Liaison Officer put down his omnipresent coffee cup. "The JSSDF have been working on a test bed particle cannon. Let me find out the particulars." He sprinted off towards the Section 2 office.
Misato turned and smiled at Ritsuko. "And who says that Section 2 doesn't ever do anything around here?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei Vier!
Gendo looked at Captain Katsuragi over his tented hands. As usual, he let Kozo speak for him.
"You want to commander the JSSDF's particle cannon test bed system, and combine it with our own prototype, and then plug into the national power supply grid to use as an Evangelion sniper weapon, staged at our secondary site at Matsushiro."
"Correct Sir." Misato answered with all the calm, composed confidence that she wasn't currently feeling as she stood alone before her two superiors. Damn it Rits... You should be in here too, if only as moral support. I seriously doubt they needed you down to supervise moving Shinji from the ICU to his hospital room. She shifted her weight from foot to foot slightly, feeling the beginning beads of perspiration forming on her forehead. I don't get it; it's so cold in here, I shouldn't be sweating unless I was on fire! And why is it always so dark? Maybe he really is a vampire. It would explain the weird glasses.
Gendo spoke slowly and evenly, still not shifting from the position of someone watching something because they must, not because they wanted too. "What do the Magi say?"
"They give it a 17% chance of success with two affirmatives and one conditional. It's the plan with the highest chance of success that is workable within our time-frame."
"Then you may proceed, Captain. The fate of Mankind rests on your plan."
Misato bowed, giddy relief threatening to break out as laughter. "Thank you Sir." She turned and left the office as fast as she could without actually breaking into a run. YES! In your face Ritsuko!
Kozo looked down as Gendo began to page through the report the Captain had delivered with her brief. "How are they going to modify the JSSDF's weapon? If it's powerful enough to punch through the AT Field, why not use it right away?"
"As it is, there is no means to aim the device. The plan is to cobble them together, using our prototype for the aiming and firing mechanisms, and theirs for the power components. Unfortunately, since this is going to be a very power intensive system, the power control devices will most likely fail after successive shots, meaning that for optimum use, they will have to replace the device after each firing. You can see here-", he said as he pointed to a diagram, "where they plan to overcome this issue with the use of a massive solid-state fuse, here, where the chamber analogue is located. They will also have to allow time for the 'barrel' of the weapon to cool, because even though the weapon is a kinetic in nature, and not thermal, due to the massive size of this weapon, the wall resistivity converts electric energy into heat quickly, and if fired for prolonged periods it will experience warpage. This weapon will be the single largest linear particle accelerator yet, several times the length of the former SLAC, which was still the largest in the world when the American west coast was covered in several tens of feet of water during Second Impact."
"So, like a regular sniper, we will have to hope for a one shot, one kill eventuality? I doubt the Angel would let such an attack as this go unpunished."
"Indeed. You will note that the Captain has left her defense plans unmentioned, as of yet."
"She must have something in mind."
"I am sure that she does. It is not without reason that I lobbied for her assignment here. She is quite the capable tactician, and her personnel history with the Angels will ensure that she will do everything in her power to see them slain."
"A happy matter for all, then."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei looked up at Misato as the Captain entered Shinji's room, motioning for her to follow her back out into the hallway. Glancing at the still sleeping boy, she snapped the book she had been reading shut, and placed it on the chair before exiting the room.
Misato watched the boy through the window. "How is he doing Rei?"
"He is currently sleeping off the effects of the drug mixture administered to him to keep him docile during the LCL bath to aid in the repair of the damaged internal and external tissues of the lungs, nose, mouth, throat, in addition to the ears, eyes and skin due to the LCL of his Entry Plug boiling. He developed a minor burn as a sympathetic injury over his sternum, and the doctors state that he should avoid direct exposure to sunlight and hot liquids for the next two to three weeks until his epidermis is completely repaired. It is estimated that he will awaken in two hours, unless he continues to sleep naturally."
He will remain asleep for another four hours past that if I measured the additional morphine I administered for him correctly. But then, that's none of your business.
"Good. He deserves some rest after what happened." Rei blinked at the Captain's statement, and then blinked again when she clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You know, I'm not surprised that I was told I could find you down here. We'll have to trade notes on him later," Misato winked at the teenager, "but right now you and I need to take a little trip."
Rei blinked again. We need to trade notes? How does she know that I am taking notes on him? I have no physical notes. I was not aware that she was doing experiments on him as well. In fact, all supportive evidence suggests that she does not even have any sort of working background in Science. How has she managed to hide this from HER? SHE is very good with Science, and she has at several times made free mention that the Captain is 'as thick as a block of wood'. Of course, this as a metaphor for being intellectually challenged is not very effective, as blocks of wood come in all manner of thicknesses.
"I do not wish to leave on a trip, Captain. I would prefer to remain here. The medical ward is within the prescribed limits of a Level-3 Standby Status."
"I know you want to watch over him, and trust me, it's killed me that I haven't been able to check on him sooner, but I had to come up with a way to kill the Angel. The thing is, I'm going to need your help in getting the parts we need."
"I do not understand, Captain. I do not have sufficient authority to be able to obtain items that have been denied to you. Commander Ikari would be the one to appeal to, or Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki."
Misato grinned. "I don't need help like that Rei. You see, the thing of it is..."
As the purple haired Captain described her plan to the blue haired Pilot, Rei felt a new warmth growing within her. The Captain may not have had the interest in science that Rei did, they shared two things in common; a purpose in killing the Angels, and an interest in Shinji. While the latter might cause friction between the two (even if Misato was unaware of it), the former would definitely bring them closer together.
The Captain's plan... it is GLORIOUS! A masterpiece of Science. I will have to obtain the schematics. Perhaps I should look into expanding my understanding of physics. I may be able to overlook her conducting her own experiments on Ikari, as repayment for this... this... this thing for which my mastery over describing things is not sufficient enough to describe.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
The JSSDF head of Weapons Development, General Ayumu Hamada, a decorated veteran of the Impact Wars, was not someone who was easily bullied. He was a good leader, and had clawed his way up the ladder in battles both down-range and at the home office. He proud of his rank and position. He also knew that some battles couldn't be won. He knew when to break contact, to use soldier's parlance.
He stared at the U.N. Special Operations Order for Commandeering of Materials Deemed Necessary for the Betterment of Mankind. Directive Z387 was a joke, it was a nonsense directive. Never before had a single one been issued and actually followed through on. They were used as threats; to bring obstinate nations and organizations to the bargaining table. If someone actually tried to enforce such an order, nations would go to war. It was an unenforceable document, and thus powerless.
Until today.
He knew about NERV, of course, for while it might still be relatively new to most of the world, in the Defense Sector, well, they weren't the 500 pound gorilla in the corner. They were the humpback whale in the school swimming pool. Even if he had been ordered by his superiors to ignore the Directive Z387, he couldn't. It wasn't for nothing that NERV titled the Evangelions as 'Mankind's Greatest Fighting Weapon'. He could only say one thing to the purple haired terror, several ranks below him, and one thing only.
"But... this is just so bizarre!"
Misato smiled sweetly at the General. "NERV thanks you for your cooperation, General." She turned to face the far wall, and keyed the handmike she wore. "OK, Rei, open her up! Be careful though, it's a piece of delicate machinery!"
General Hamada watched in detached horror as the roof of the warehouse that housed the testbed particle cannon was wrenched off by NERV's yellow cyclopean monstrosity. It reached in with one hand, and plucked the cannon up as easily as he might a cigarette, withdrawing from the warehouse as it stood up, moving back to the air field where a NERV cargo plane waited impatiently to whisk several years of work away. He knew, deep within his heart of hearts, that he would never see that cannon again. The whole project was as a good as scrapped because of this.
I'm going to resign. His thoughts became morose as he watched the NERV Captain jump back into her jeep and speed off after the yellow giant. I'm going to resign and go find something else to do that can't be just taken away from me. Damn them. Damn them and their giant robots. Damn them all to hell.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
When Rei returned to Shinji's room after showering, changing into her school uniform and attending Misato's brief on Operation Yashima, she picked her book, a text on genetic engineering, up and reopened it to the page she ha left off on. She found herself unable to focus on reading, however. Her thoughts kept dragging back to the Operations Director's words from before. Closing her book again, she stared at the boy who was rapidly becoming a source consternation to her.
He most likely will wish to refuel his body by consuming food upon waking up. I have observed numerous instances where the providing of such food is seen as a sign of affection. She stood and moved to the door, glancing through the window, and not seeing anyone, poked her head out the door and looked up and down the hall, confirming that the on-duty nurse was sitting at the nurse's station filling out paperwork. She ducked back in, and locked the door.
Due to the desire to allow his epidermal layers to breath, they did not dress him in the normal hospital gown. Her eyes flicked to the light-weight bedsheets, drawn up to his mid chest. This would be a optimum time to experiment with physical contact, to see if the same sensations are available with him being unconscious. She watched his face, seeing none of the usual stress or tension that plagued his features normally when he was awake. Why do I feel such apprehension? There is no reason to expect him to wake up at this time. Her gaze drifted back down, and again the faint pink burned on her delicate features. I... I must... I must be bold. I must be bold for Science!
Having made up her mind and worked up her courage, although she didn't recognize it as such, she pulled back the sheet to his mid stomach, the faint pink growing much more pronounced and threatening to become a full fledged red as she felt herself grow warm. The more bare skin of his that I observe causes an exponential increase in my internal body temperature. While he appears to be skinner than most of the sought-after males in Class 2A, it does not appear that my base physical reactions care about this.
She darted a last quick look to the door to ensure that no-one had come up to it and was observing her through the window. She idly wished for a curtain of some sort to draw over it, before returning her attention to the prone figure before her.
As he is currently incapable of initiating contact, I must do it myself. Unconsciously taking a deep breath, she carefully climbed up onto the hospital bed. Moving so that she was straddling him with her knees, she snaked her arms under his around to his back, and drew him up into a hug, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. My internal body temperature is rising at a much higher rate than anticipated. This is much more pleasing than the experiment at my apartment. She hugged him a little tighter, and moved so that she was resting on his lap. Oh my.
Shinji, still asleep, mumbled incoherently, and hugged her back, his arms linking around her.
She squeaked, her eyes going wide as she froze. Did I wake him up? After a few moments, she relaxed, confidant that he was still sleeping. Unhooking his arms from her, she laid him back down onto the bed before getting off. Gabbing the bedsheet, she tucked it back up to it's prior location, smoothing out the wrinkles. Breathing heavily, she darted for the door, almost forgetting that she had locked it when it refused to open when she pulled on it.
She made her way down to the cafeteria. I must obtain a movable cart for which to bring him food. I... I think that I will get more than he could probably need. Sharing food is another accepted sign of affection. Also, I will obtain a replacement plug suit for him. He most likely will wish to dress before eating. Her brow furrowed in frustration. She wasn't feeling too keen on him getting dressed right off the bat. Perhaps if I am similarly disrobed, he will be content to partake of a shared meal before dressing.
I wonder if the Captain has already preformed such an experiment as this on him? Her previous elation with the Captain's plan, even with the sheer awesome factor Rei had to give to the new Sniper Positron Gun, even if Shinji's higher synch score and familiarity with firearms meant that they had chosen him to be the one to use it, was slipping away. I do not think that I like the idea of her using him for Science at all. She pursed her lips as she frowned, not even realizing that she was doing so as she hurried down the corridors. She might have come up with the idea for the gun, and while the heat resistant ceramic tile and silica areogel shield fashioned from several space shuttles, but I do not like the idea of her messing with my test subject. I will have to find a way to ensure that she does not interfere with or ruin my experiments. She does not get to do Science to him.
It would not be fair to say that Rei felt like this because she didn't like to share her toys, because that would suggest that she ever had toys when growing up. She had a few, pilfered scientific tools, to be sure, but no toys.
As she continued down to the nearest cafeteria in the massive complex that made up NERV Central, she was completely unaware that while she had taken steps to ensure that no one had been watching her from the hallway, or interfering if someone had, she had completely forgotten about the security cameras present in almost all parts of the base, including the medical wing. Such as the camera that was in Shinji's room, tucked unobtrusively in a corner, that kept a careful watch on the son of the Commander. The same camera that fed to that very same Commander's office. That very same Commander, who, despite all outward appearances, against all popular opinion on the matter, still loved and cared for his son. Even if Rei hadn't ever set foot in the boy's room, the camera feed would have been on, to allow Gendo to keep an eye on his boy.
Gendo stared in open-mouthed disbelief at the screen as Kozo pounded his thigh, laughing harder than he remembered doing so in a very long time. Gendo raised a shaking hand to point at the screen. With a slow, deliberate movement, he turned to his oldest friend. "Did... Did you just see what I just thought I saw?"
Kozo, actually crying in mirth now, could only nod his head.
Gendo moved back to stare at his slumbering son, who was blissfully unaware of what had just taken place. "I am the fucking master at this. I tell her to think about getting closer to him. I specify that it's not an order. I tell her it's up to her. She hangs out for hours waiting for him to get out of the ICU. She gives him more morphine, to ease the pain that she knows that he must be in, as she's felt it so many times before. She can barely tear herself away from his side, even on orders. Just when I'm thinking that I'm going to have to step in and stir the pot, she does the whole 'looking to see if I'm being watched' bit, locks the door, almost pulls him out of the sheets and hugs the boy in his sleep."
Kozo, able to talk again, sighed in contentment. "And when he hugged her back, in his sleep. That sound she made. Priceless."
Gendo pulled up another camera feed, watching Rei as she wandered the halls. "I wonder what she's doing now? She looks like she's unhappy with something."
"I don't know about that, but... I'll admit that I had my doubts when he showed up and you told me how you were adjusting the plan. I think this proves you right. They'll do what you've got planned in the end. It's only a matter of time, and keeping them alive until the end."
"It'll make it harder, though. I want them to live so very much." Gendo opened an archived portion of the feed and paused it where the two teenagers shared an embrace, staring at it, memorizing it and committing it to memory. "There's a small chance that they might."
"A very small chance. It's better than no chance, no matter how small."
"Yes. That is my hope. My only hope. I know that we will accomplish the rest. I'm going to have to start distancing myself from Rei a little. I can't be tempted to alter things further."
"You could always go for Plan B." Kozo knew that as long as Plan A had a chance, Gendo wouldn't go for Plan B, barring massively unforeseen circumstances.
"I could, later on, when we've got more names. But they would be targets. Keel would not forgive any of us, no matter how innocent the Pilots, or anyone else might be in the whole matter. Besides, Plan A is still for the best. I accomplish two of my goals, at the least."
"You'll be dead either way. Plan A or Plan B. But I understand. I'd be making the same decision, I think if I were in your shoes. But, it's still can't be easy for you to sacrifice them for the sake of the world, even if you get something out of it."
"I just wish that she had told me about this whole mess with GEHIRN before."
"I wish I had never written that letter of recommendation."
Gendo switched the stilled image off. "It is unfortunate that wishes do not come true."
"Perhaps. The repairs for Unit-01 are complete, and everything is going to schedule as far as the power relay grid is concerned. I don't know about you, but I was wishing for things to move along those lines."
Gendo stared flatly at Kozo. "If I turn the soap opera that is Shinji & Rei's life back on, will you promise to stop making snarky comments?"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Shinji blinked, staring at a ceiling that was rapidly becoming a familiar one. "I'm alive, then."
"Yes."
Startled, he jerked into an upright sitting position to look over to the owner of the voice. "Ayanami?" She was sitting in one of the chairs, a large book in her lap, and a push cart sitting next to her. "How... How long have you been here?"
She watched him silently for a few moments. "I have been here as long as mission requirements permitted." She pulled a small notebook out of her uniform's pocket. "I will now brief you on the Operation Yashima timetable. At 1800 Pilots Ikari and Ayanami will report to the main cages. At 1900, Evangelion Units 00 and 01 will move to the temporary command headquarters at the Matsushiro site. At 2330, Units 00 and 01 will move to attack positions. At 0000, the attack will begin." She paused, looking up into his face, lined with apprehension and worry, all traces of the serene peace she had observed on it before now missing. "You will be briefed on the actual mission parameters upon our arrival at Matsushiro." She closed the note book, setting it and the larger one on the ground next to her chair. She stood and pushed the cart closer, and pulled the cover off, revealing an assortment of sandwiches and fruit, along with several cans of tea. "A meal, before we must report to the cages." Reaching under the cart, she produced a plug suit, still in it's bag. "A new one, for you to wear."
"I'm not hungry."
"We leave in sixty minutes." No! Eat the food! Eat the food with me.
"Do I really have to fight again?"
"Yes."
"I'm not sure if I can. I don't know if I do it."
"You must." What is wrong with him? Does he not understand that to not fight is to die? To allow humanity to die?
He slumped down, looking dejected, shaking his head. "I don't know." he whispered, almost to himself.
She blinked, unsure of the new feelings welling up. In a very rare case of her mouth running before her brain, she spoke, also in a whisper. "Then stay here. I will do it for you. I will go alone." She turned to leave, all thoughts of sharing a meal with him gone, having fled from her mind. If she was to face the Angel Ramiel by herself, the Captain needed to be informed.
Shinji, his eyes wide as the realization of what his sitting this battle out meant, called to her. "No, I'll do it. I can't let you face it alone."
She turned in the door, confused. What should I say? I have not observed anything coming near to this situation to have a good comparison. Perhaps... flirting? Lighten the mood, as it is said?
"Don't show up looking like that then, Pilot Ikari." While the idea of piloting the Evangelion nude has been bandied about before, it is not considered viable due to the potential for embarrassment of the pilot in accordance to social norms. Thus, the suggestion of him reporting nude to the cages is an amusing one, as the embarrassment of being nude in public is considered by many to be amusing. Success!
Shinji stared at her for a moment, not understanding, and then looked down, and realized that he wasn't wearing anything. He shrieked, and grabbed the sheet up about his neck, hiding everything from view once more, with the exception of his face, which was turning bright red. "Sorry! Sorry... can you leave?"
No success? The mood seems to not have been lightened. This is disappointing. I need to figure out what went wrong. I shall have to pay more attention to others when they engage in the flirting.
"I... I will go. I will meet you in the cages." She stop in the door, looking back. "You should eat something." She turned and left, quietly closing the door behind her.
Author's Notes:
Wow. OK, so this battle with Ramiel is what kicked off this whole idea in my head. I was watching Rebuild 1.11, and at the point when Shinji's been blasted by Ramiel's counter-sniper shot, and he's all screaming in pain and whatnot, when Gendo orders Rei to take the gun and take the shot herself, and Misato asks for him to have some faith in his son, just there in my mind I hear reply, all cool as a cucumber, "But Captain, I have nothing but faith in my son."
From there I just couldn't get the idea of a Gendo who loves his son, and had nothing but faith in him, but is still willing to sacrifice him to halt Impact. So I started watching the original series again, looking at how it worked in, and with a few tweaks, some added conversation where there wasn't any viewed or overheard bits before, it could work.
So I started to write it. The original plan was to focus totally on Gendo, and how his faith in his son to be able to pull through and do the impossible worked together with his plan to stop Seele.
We know that Yui was with Seele before Gendo, or at least that was the vibe that I got when watching the show. So I figure, he's dating this chick he digs, and then, bam! She casually drops Seele's plans to cause Armageddon. He's shocked, outraged, and wants to stop this, but he's just a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. He's got no way he can stop this from occurring, even if he killed as many of the people as he could who were involved in it. So he joins forces with them, hoping to put his own talents in understanding people and manipulating them in order to get to a position where he can stop them. Along the way he marries his girl, and they have a son. He begins to build his power base, bringing in her old professor on board with Seele, if not letting him know just what he's up too just yet.
Then comes the infamous contact experiment. Gendo, crushed that she would throw him and Shinji away to achieve immortality as a eternal monument as proof of mankind's existence, he begins his new plan; what he's currently working on right now. (It's Plan A) It does involve getting to Yui, but more importantly is that it involves stopping 3rd impact and removing all of Seele, for good. After Shinji is brought back into close proximity to him again, he decides to change things a little, and now instead of yeah, all the little lambs are dead, there's a tiny chance that they might get through alive. Slim, but it's there. They'll need massive amounts of therapy to undo the mindfuck that he put them through getting them there, but hey, they're alive, right?
As for SCIENCE!Rei/GLaDOS!Rei, well I'm not sure as to just where the hell she came from. I just sat down to write chapter 3 and bam! Out of nowhere, here she comes. I'm glad that other people like her as much as I do. Originally, everyone else was going to be almost the same as canon, with as few modifications as I could work. Obviously, Rei and her internal thoughts are going to take a more active role than I had originally planned. Plus, I love the idea of a 5 year old Rei poking a multitude of things with her stick of Science. She always capitalizes it.
Gendo Ikari Facts. Yes, they are a little contrived, but let's face it, Gendo Ikari is to intimidation and stares as Chuck Norris is to Martial Arts and Roundhouse Kicks. As much as I might wish that I had the brilliant idea of putting Gendo in the place of the bearded ninja, well, that honor goes to the supremely talented Gregg Landsman, who graciously allowed me to borrow this story mechanic.
So, tl;dr:
Gendo: good guy, but still an asshole, and is still a flawed human being.
SCIENCE!Rei: not originally planned.
G.I. Facts: Borrowed from Gregg Landsman, and if you're not already reading his stuff, you should be.