Chapter 10: Stupid bolt Pt.1

Shinji skidded to a stop outside the entrance to Unit 02's hangar. He looked further down the hall and saw no overturned carts or unconscious NERV-lings.

"Well... She didn't go down that way...", he whispered to himself, scratching the back of his neck in frustration, "But where the hell cou..."

He stopped as he noticed the door to his left.

It's worth a try...

He laid his palm on the biometrics scanner beside the door and waited while the machine verified his identity. A warm computer voice announced that he was, in fact, Shinji Ikari and released the gargantuan locking bars that secured the door to its frame.

Shinji put his hand against the door and gave a gentle push. Although the door weighed in excess of 20 tons and was constructed of solid steel, it moved with incredible ease and smoothness. One needn't apply any more effort than would be required to open a standard door.

Shinji stepped into the cavernous hangar housing the Red Demon and let the blast door hiss close behind him, waiting until he heard the soft click of the locks bars reengaging before he made his way towards the Eva.

He stopped in front of Unit 02 and stared for a minute at the four eyed behemoth standing before him, submerged up to its neck in LCL. Though he knew the biomech was completely immobile in its current state, what with its umbilical cable unplugged and no entry plug inserted, he couldn't help but stifle a shiver at the thought of what it was capable of.

Here stood one of the most powerful weapons that Mankind had ever unleashed upon the Earth, and it was piloted by a child.

A child... Like him.

The thought still left him disconcerted ... That the powers that be saw fit to bestow upon him and the other pilots the honor (curse) of piloting these... These tools of Salvation... These mechanical...

"Monsters...", Shinji finished the thought out loud, his voice echoing around him. He stood there for a few more moments before turning back to the task at hand.

"Where the hell could she have gone...", he asked out loud, knowing full well nobody was there to answer him. He started to head for the Plug Insertion control room, but was stopped as a soft sob met his ears. He immediately pinpointed the origin of the noise as coming from somewhere high above him.

Looking up, Shinji began scanning the numerous catwalks that crisscrossed the air above him. He noticed a gate hanging open on one of the higher ones.

"Well, it's worth a try...", he muttered as he made his way to the elevator.

Thirty seconds and 20 stories later, Shinji found himself standing in front of the gate that had caught his attention in the first place. He stood for a moment and listened for any more sobs, but found it difficult due to the noise produced by the large fans above him as they circulated cold air around the hangar.

Nevertheless, he managed to catch a slight whisper of what sounded like a crying girl. He pulled the gate shut behind him and made his way across the walkway, shivering as he walked directly through the stream of an air conditioning vent.

As he neared the other side, the sounds of soft sobbing steadily rose in volume. He turned a corner at the other end and found himself confronted with a crying redhead. He tensed up, but relaxed when he realized that she hadn't seen him.

She was leaning back against a wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. Every so often a soft sob emanated from the girl and Shinji could hear her mumbling. He couldn't make out what she was saying, so he quietly made his way towards her.

As he neared her, the words slowly came into focus, though not all of them; some were still obscured by her legs. Still, he could make out the gist of what she was saying... And what he heard froze him in his tracks.

He couldn't believe it... Was Asuka really...

A discarded bolt lying on the floor chose that moment to make its presence known by clanging down between the slats in the floor.

She looked up at that moment and caught sight of Shinji. He realized that he had been involuntarily moving closer and that his foot had caught the bolt in question and sent it falling.

Shinji clenched his eyes shut in embarrassment and when he opened them, Asuka was staring at him, her eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Ummm... Hey, Asuka..."