Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from the fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Ten: Close/Faster
The skies above Tokyo-3 were gray, and a steady, warm rain fell from the heavens. Some of the city's more macabre residents wondered if it were God weeping over the destruction of His messengers at the brutal hands of humanity. The rest just grabbed an umbrella, grumbling about the weather.
But most of the patrons enjoying lunch at the Pulse didn't even know it was raining outside, such were the wonders of the Geofront.
"I really shouldn't," Maya said, eyeing the cocktail before her warily. "I mean, I have to go back to work after this…"
"Oh, loosen up," Misao said. "It's not like you'll be falling down drunk after just one glass, and we need to celebrate your promotion somehow. And besides, it would be rude of you to turn down the drink I bought you from my limited funds."
Maya smirked. "I know how much you and the other pilots make," she said.
"Unfair, isn't it?" Misao replied without missing a beat. "Still, I'm surprised that you know. Shinji-kun didn't realize he was drawing any kind of salary at all for a while there."
Maya smiled and took a sip of her cocktail. "I suppose I'm well and truly stuck with this job now," she said, grinning ruefully.
"Looks like it, Major," Misao said with a grin. She soon sobered, however. "Maya, I didn't just ask you here to celebrate. I want to apologize to you, too."
Maya didn't reply, just looking at Misao expectantly. Misao grimaced slightly. Maya usually dismissed almost any offense as nothing; the petite brunette had never once so much as raised an eyebrow when Misao went about belting out orders to Maya's subordinates like their positions in NERV had never changed. That fact that she wasn't shrugging off what had happened now was a clear indicator that Maya realized just how unacceptable Misao's behavior at Mount Asuma had been.
"I'm sorry for undermining your authority during the operation to capture the volcano Angel," Misao said. "I let my emotions get the best of me. I promise, I won't let it happen again."
Maya leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Well, I guess it's not too surprising that you felt like you were still in command, considering how you do most of my tactical planning for me."
"The tactical planning was one of the main reasons I took that job. It's not like I felt as if I was taking some burden away from you, even though I realize it might have seemed like that to you," Misao commented. "So, you forgive me for acting like an idiot?"
Maya smiled. "Of course. It would be foolish of me to snub my best advisor, now wouldn't it?"
Misao grinned in response. Inwardly, however, she was dreading what she knew she had to do soon. Gathering up the courage to apologize to Maya had taken less effort than apologizing to Shinji would, of that she was sure. Maybe she could try and get him alone this evening.
"Oh," Maya said, "I just remembered. All of the pilots have sync tests this evening. Including you, since the extra Unit One test plug for you has finally been completed. Would you please let Shinji and Asuka know?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Misao nodded.
The test plug was dark and peaceful, though for reasons Shinji couldn't even guess at, it did not offer the unexplained sense of comfort that sitting inside the entry plug of EVA Unit One did.
It did, however, offer a much better place to think.
Things had been much better between himself and Misao since she had wished him luck before the battle against the last Angel. They hadn't been fighting, and he'd resumed sitting at the pilot's table at school during lunch.
Shinji wished he could just leave it like that. Unspoken agreements came much more easily to the socially awkward pilot than a good old fashioned palaver. However, he just couldn't.
He still felt guilty about their fight. Ever since he'd stopped being angry with her, the moment he'd accused her of viewing the other pilots as nothing more than something to use against the Angels had replayed over and over again in his head whenever his mind was idle. None of the other terrible memories Shinji possessed had ever tormented him so much, which was truly saying something. He still felt shame burn bright and painful within himself whenever he pondered just how malicious he'd felt at that moment, how his desire to hurt her had overridden every other impulse in his soul.
On top of that, things hadn't really gone back to normal between them. While they certainly weren't at each other's throats or giving one another the cold shoulder any more, there was a noticeable awkwardness between them, and Shinji absolutely hated it.
She also didn't tease him as much as she used to, and he missed it, to his considerable surprise.
There was no avoiding it. He was just going to have to apologize to her and hope she forgave him.
"Rei and Asuka have reached the edge of the contamination zone," Sakura reported from the test plug control room.
"Hmm, but it looks like Shinji and Misao can both take a little more," Ritsuko observed over her assistant's shoulder. "Lower Shinji's depth by another point three and Misao's by point one."
Sakura nodded and typed in the appropriate commands, causing Shinji and Misao's command chairs to slide slightly down in their test plugs. "They've reached the edge of the contamination zone," the tech reported.
"Incredible," Ritsuko said. "Shinji's overtaken Asuka."
"It's like that boy was born to pilot EVA," another technician commented.
"This is going to cause problems," Maya spoke up from behind them.
Ritsuko turned and gave her former protégé a confused look. "What in the world do you mean, Maya?"
Maya sighed. "Asuka's extremely competitive. She's not going to take the news that she's not number one anymore well. And Misao's been chomping at the bit to get into battle since she was designated the Fourth Child. I'm afraid she's going to explode if she doesn't see combat soon, but with Shinji's score so much higher than hers, I just don't have a good reason to put her in."
"This is why I prefer working with machines," Ritsuko commented.
Maya couldn't help but smile slightly. "Computers are much easier to understand," she agreed.
The test completed, Sakura drained the LCL from the plugs and opened the hatches. A few minutes later, the four pilots reported to the control room to find out how they'd done.
"That was excellent work, Misato," Ritsuko said. "Your sync ratio has increased by seven points since the last test."
Asuka "hmphed" slightly. Misao was very low on her list of potential threats, especially considering her inability with every EVA besides Unit One, but she still didn't like it when others received praise for their skills with EVA.
Misao, for her part, looked up hopefully. She had almost given up all hope of ever managing to surpass Shinji, but if she was making that much progress…
"However, Shinji was this week's top achiever," Ritsuko said, shattering her friend's hopes.
"Me?" Shinji asked, surprised.
Ritsuko nodded. "Yes, your score has increased by ten points in the last ten days. This means that you now have the highest synchronization ratio of all the pilots."
"What?!" Asuka shrieked.
Shinji winced. While he cared about his performance as an EVA pilot, he had no particular desire to overtake Asuka in the rankings. All that really mattered to him was staying ahead of Misao, thus keeping her out of the entry plug.
"It's not that big a deal, Asuka," he said quickly. "I mean, sync ratios aren't everything. My sync ratio could've been 200 percent, and it wouldn't have helped me figure out how to beat that last Angel."
This mollified Asuka, but only slightly. "Well, I'm sure that in the heat of battle, you'll have difficulty keeping up those numbers," she said. "So cherish your victory while you can, jerkface!"
And with that she stomped off. Shinji sighed, And things were going so well between us, too.
Misao shook her head, feeling her frustration mingling with pride for Shinji's accomplishments. It annoyed her that the boy had to make excuses for excelling, thanks to Asuka's hang ups. Still, she couldn't deny that a small part of her was practically gleeful to see Shinji and Asuka's relationship head south. She tried to ignore said small part of herself, but it was impossible to do so entirely.
"Well, come on," she said. "Let's get changed and head home."
Asuka was already venting to no one in particular by the time Misao and Rei reached the ladies locker room. "The idiot thinks he's so great just because he can sync so high with so little effort!" she exclaimed. "Damn Invincible Shinji!"
"Asuka, Shinji-kun worked his ass off to get up to speed before you got here," Misao said flatly. "And if there's anyone in the world who's less full of himself than Shinji Ikari, I've yet to meet him."
Her words made her recall when she'd accused Shinji of putting effort into piloting because he wanted glory. Misao now felt very foolish for saying such a thing—this was Shinji, after all—but it had seemed logical at the time. After all, there had been no other potential reasons for Shinji to put his heart into piloting that she'd been able to think of.
Misao frowned. Why did Shinji start really trying when it comes to EVA, if not for glory?
"You would defend him!" Asuka growled, spinning around to glare at Misao and pulling the Fourth Child from her reverie.
"What?" Misao asked, suddenly feeling a rush of unexpected nervousness.
"Oh, don't give me that," Asuka said, crossing her arms. "I know that you like him. It's as plain as day around the apartment."
"Th-That's not true," Misao protested, cursing the stammer she couldn't keep out of her voice. She'd had no idea it was so obvious.
Asuka laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, right," she said. "You know what else? He likes you, too. If you really want to pilot, you should be nasty to him again. That would probably send his sync ratio plummeting and let you finally see some action."
Misao was appalled by the maliciousness of her fellow pilot and housemate. Yet at the same time she was tempted to see if Asuka was correct. Had she always had the power to get herself into battle against the Angels? Did she really matter that much to Shinji that a few unkind words from her could send him into enough turmoil to erode his piloting skills? Ritsuko had mentioned something about the increases to his sync ratio halting during the time that they'd been fighting…
What the hell are you thinking?! She suddenly demanded of herself. Misao was willing to do a great many things to have her revenge against the Angels, but hurt Shinji? Never.
"You just want me to screw him up so you can have the top spot again," Misao spat. "Well, forget it! And if I ever catch you doing this kind of scheming again, I'll talk to Maya and ask her to put you in the backup position for every battle from now on!"
Asuka ground her teeth together, and she was very tempted to lash out at the Fourth Child, both verbally and physically.
But, for once, the Second Child restrained herself. Contrary to what some would believe, Asuka did have her limits, and even she was rather shocked at what she'd just tried to do. Ashamed, even.
Not that Asuka would ever admit as much to anyone, so the two Children finished their business in the locker room in stony silence.
What am I going to do with these kids? Maya wondered as she looked over the Children's profiles in her office. All of them, even Misao's, had a number of red flags that Maya could easily spot, and she was far from an expert on human behavior. Under more normal circumstances, no soldier in their mental states would be given a high pressure task like piloting EVA.
Then again, under normal circumstances, no young teenager would ever be made a soldier at all.
The whole thing infuriated her. The pilots had all been through enough pain in their lives. Now not only did they have to bear the weight of the world on their young shoulders, but they had to do it with other people of such differing personalities that they were almost certain to fight.
And I get the hopeless task of somehow making them work as a team, Maya thought. Even when one of them works hard and acts like a professional, that just causes more problems.
Her brooding was interrupted by a knock at her door. Maya looked up just in time to see Ritsuko walk in. "Sempai!" she said, cheering up at once.
"Hello, Major Ibuki," Ritsuko replied with a grin, bowing respectfully.
Maya wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, please don't, sempai."
Ritsuko chuckled. "Gomen, Maya, I couldn't resist," she said. "I know you probably don't think that your promotion is something to celebrate, but you have been doing a good job. Even Commanders Ikari and Fuyutski must think so. They left together for Antarctica recently, and they've never both been out of Japan at the same time before. So I thought you deserved a little something besides that new rank insignia…"
She reached into one of the large pockets on her lab coat and produced a small, rectangular item wrapped up in gift paper.
"For me? Domo arigato, sempai!" Maya said, accepting the gift and tearing off the paper. She gasped when she saw what it was. "The latest book in the Love and Destiny series? But how…?"
Ritsuko grinned. "I've seen you reading romance novels on slow days, or at least I did when you worked as my assistant," she explained. "Personally I never enjoyed those things, but far be it from me to criticize another's hobbies."
"Sempai…"
Unable to express herself with words, Maya reached out and hugged her former mentor. Ritsuko was surprised but soon returned the embrace, enjoying the simple show of affection without any hidden and potentially insidious undercurrents like she those she shared with Gendo.
"So," Ritsuko said after they had separated, "would you like to go out for a drink tonight to celebrate? I'd have taken you to the Pulse during lunch for cocktails, but I'm afraid of turning you into Misato."
Maya forced herself to chuckle along with Ritsuko, fervently hoping that the blonde couldn't smell any alcohol on her breath. "I would love to, sempai."
"Remember this place, Shinji-kun?" Misao asked.
Shinji gazed out over at Tokyo-3, bathed in the orange light of the setting sun. It was really a spectacular view, and with the city in its peacetime formation, it was impossible to tell by looking at it that the place was built to be a fortress.
He smiled. "How could I forget?" he asked. "You took me here after my first time in EVA, so I could see the city transform."
Silence fell for a few moments after that, both of them thinking how everything, especially one another, had changed since then.
"I'm sorry," they both said abruptly.
Misao blinked. "What do you have to be sorry for?" she asked, confused.
"You're the one who used to be an officer," Shinji explained, looking away. "I had no business telling you what you should've done during the battle. And I shouldn't have said that I thought you just thought of us as components to make the EVA work. I know you care more for us than that."
"Shinji-kun, you have nothing to apologize for," Misao said firmly. "You were right. It wasn't my place to fight with Maya like that during a sortie, and I was treating Asuka like she was…disposable. I let my emotions get away with me."
"Why?" Shinji asked meekly.
Misao sighed, toying with her cross pendant. He had a right to know, she decided. "As you know, my father led the expedition that accidentally caused Second Impact..."
Shinji listened silently as Misao told him about her dysfunctional relationship with her father, who sounded so much like his own, and how it had come to an abrupt halt thanks to Second Impact and Adam, the First Angel. How she hated the Angels with every fiber of her being.
He realized that all the time he'd been scrambling around, desperately searching for a reason to pilot EVA, he had never wondered what Misao's reason for joining NERV and wanting to pilot was. To him, she had always been this idealized person—perfectly happy, vibrant, and not screwed up—who just happened to work for NERV. It was jarring for him to find out that this wasn't the case, but he found that it didn't diminish her in his mind and thus didn't lessen his motivation to protect her. He just felt like he could understand her better.
He realized that it had been selfish of him, in a way, to expect Misao to be exactly the way he thought she was, the way he'd believed he needed her to be.
"Still, none of what happened to me is an excuse for what I did at Mount Asuma, or for what I said to you there," Misao said. "I shouldn't have accused you of those things."
"I really don't pilot for glory, or because I feel like I have to be the hero," Shinji said softly.
Part of him wanted to add "I pilot because I hate EVA, and I care about you. I don't want you to go into that terrible thing, or into the line of fire against the Angels."
But the words caught in his throat, and Shinji found he couldn't say them. He was too afraid. Afraid that Misao would think the idea of him defending her ludicrous, or that she might demand he step aside and allow her to pilot. Because even knowing why Misao wanted to join the battle, he still didn't want her to. Perhaps it was arrogant of him, but he didn't think she truly appreciated Evangelion's dark power. She hadn't seen that horrible, soul piercing green eye reforming in Unit One's uncovered head immediately after the First Battle of Tokyo-3, after all. He had.
So he said nothing further, and the potential moment of confession was lost.
"I believe you. I don't know why I ever thought you piloted for such self-centered reasons," Misao said with a small smile.
She found herself unwilling to press him about what his reason for fighting really was. As she herself knew only too well, such motivations could be private, and she didn't want to intrude upon his privacy, despite her curiosity.
"It was foolish and heartless of me to say things like that to you, and I swear I'll never let it happen again," she continued. "Can you forgive me, Shinji-kun?"
He smiled. "Of course I forgive you," he said. "That is, if you forgive me."
"Shinji-kun, I already told you, there's nothing to forgive," Misao said. "Though I would appreciate it if you'd vote for me to be leader if the power ever goes out again."
"I may have to vote for Rei if it happens again. She's the one who knows her way around the base," he said with a grin. He quickly sobered again, however. "Still, Misao, I do think there's something to forgive. I knew you cared about us even when I said you didn't. I was just so angry that I wanted to hurt you, and for that I'm sorry."
"I understand. I forgive you," Misao said. She looked at him pensively for a moment before giving him a small smile and adding, "You know, you've matured a lot since the day I first picked you up, more than I ever would have expected. For a while there I was afraid that you'd collapse under the pressure, but you've risen to the challenge of piloting EVA like a champion, Shinji-kun."
Shinji blushed. "A-Arigato."
"So, still best friends?" Misao asked.
"Still best friends," Shinji confirmed.
They hugged one another tightly. It began as a friendly gesture, nothing more, but almost immediately both Shinji and Misao were struck by how right it felt. They parted slightly, their arms still loosely draped over one another, and looked silently into each other's eyes. Then, though neither of them consciously commanded their bodies to do so, they both slowly began to lean forward.
Time seemed to elongate until each second felt like minutes. Shinji's head was spinning. He could barely believe what was happening. He had always considered Misao to be attractive, of course, but not until this moment had he realized just how much he wanted this, nor had he ever dared to hope anything more powerful than friendship could exist between them.
Misao's heart was pounding. They had gotten close enough now that she could feel his hot breath on her face.
This can't just be teenage hormones, she thought distantly as she stared into his eyes.
It had taken her a long time to really admit to herself the attraction she felt for him, but now it was impossible to deny any longer. He had become so close to her and so dependable since her transformation, totally unlike her father. She closed her eyes…
What the hell are you doing?! He's just a kid! The part of her that was still almost thirty screeched from nowhere.
Startled, Misao pulled back abruptly, out of Shinji's embrace. He looked confused and hurt, and she turned away, unable to meet his eyes.
What the hell was I doing? She thought. Maybe Shinji and Asuka weren't meant to be, but he still deserves better than a crazy whore like me.
"Let's…let's go home," Misao said, her voice thick.
Shinji just nodded and the two began the trip back to the apartment, an unspoken pact to never mention this incident again already formed between them.
When Makoto reported that an Angel had been detected, Maya's first thought was that it was a good thing she hadn't had enough alcohol the previous night with Ritsuko to be hung over. Her second thought wasn't really an actual thought so much as it was burst of panic as she realized she was at the top of the chain of command with both Commanders near the South Pole, more than a hemisphere away.
"Status report," she ordered, somehow managing to keep her voice from shaking.
"The Angel appeared about two minutes ago in orbit over the Indian Ocean," Makoto said.
"Send recon satellite number six into that orbit," Maya said.
"You got it," Sakura said. "T-minus two minutes to contact."
"The target has been sighted," Aoba said.
The main screen switched to a view of the Tenth Angel, a huge orange thing that looked like it had an eye in the center of its body. Hyuga gasped. "It's enormous."
"It's big," Maya agreed gravely.
"Recon six in now in range," Aoba announced. "Commencing data search…search complete. Transmitting data."
Mere seconds after he said this, the satellite scanning the Angel crumpled, and the image of it was replaced by snow. Maya grimaced. "A new use of the AT field," she said.
"All right, Situation Room, everyone," Maya said. "And somebody contact the pilots."
"The Angel has been dropping parts of its own mass onto the Earth for the last two hours," Sakura reported. "The combination of the AT field impact and simple kinetic energy has been causing huge tidal waves when it hits the ocean."
"Unfortunately, it looks like tidal waves will be the least of our problems," Ritsuko put it. "The Angel has been steadily correcting its error ratio. It's learning to aim itself."
"We detonated an aerial N2 mine on the target," Makoto added. "No effect, I'm afraid."
"The Angel has been hiding since then," Aoba continued. "It's using its ECM jamming to keep us from accurately locating it, despite its size."
"It's coming here," Maya said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "They all come here."
"It's a safe bet," Ritsuko agreed. "And if it falls on us, this area will become part of the Pacific Ocean."
"Can we contact the Commander?" Maya asked.
"No, we can't get through the Angel's jamming," Aoba said.
"What do the MAGI say?" Maya asked.
"All three recommend evacuation," Sakura answered.
"What will you do, Maya?" Ritsuko asked. "You're the one in charge of all this now."
Misao, present but silent, watched Maya intently. The Fourth Child wasn't so sure of her own judgment anymore, but if Maya couldn't handle the pressure, she would have to step in and help her again.
But, to Misao's relief, Maya rose to the occasion. "I am issuing a D-17 special declaration. I want all civilians and D-class personnel within fifty kilometers of here to evacuate immediately. Also, tell the Matsushiro base to backup the MAGI."
"What about us?" Makoto asked. "Will we evacuate as well?"
"Let's get all the civilians out of here first, then we'll confront that," Maya said.
She made an admirable attempt at hiding it, but Misao knew that the new Operations Director hadn't fooled anyone. Maya didn't know what to do.
"I thought I might find you here," Misao said, causing Maya to look up from what she was doing.
The current Operations Director was in a laboratory that rarely if ever saw use during the times when NERV was combating an Angel. Her face was bathed in the green glow from a computer screen that Maya had been working at intently.
"Hello, Misao," Maya greeted her.
"You shouldn't disappear like this," Misao chided Maya softly. "It's bad for morale when the leader vanishes."
"It'll be worse for morale if everyone realizes that the Operations Director doesn't have the slightest clue what we should do," Maya replied, clearly miserable. "Besides, they don't need me there to evacuate the city."
"There's symbolic value in having the person in charge at the helm in a time of crisis," Misao pointed out.
"Sitting around and being symbolic on the command center won't help me figure out how to proceed," Maya countered turning back to the computer.
Misao sighed inwardly. Leave it to a computer technician to look to the MAGI for a solution.
"What have you found out?" Misao asked.
Maya gestured to the screen, and Misao leaned in and looked at the data displayed there. She winced.
"I have to make an impossible choice," Maya said miserably.
"Welcome to command," Misao said softly with the ghost of smile. "Listen, Maya, you have to do what you think is right. I'm not going to make this decision for you, but whatever course you choose, I'll try and help you proceed as smoothly as possible."
"Thank you," Maya said.
"Whatever you decide, decide quickly," Misao added as she left.
"I'm surprised at you, Maya," Ritsuko said.
The gargantuan task of getting everyone evacuated had finally been completed, and the heads of the Operations Department and Technical Division One were taking a powder in the ladies room while they could.
"Honestly, so am I," Maya confessed.
"The MAGI have calculated the chance of success as one in ten thousand," Ritsuko said. "This is a foolish gamble to take."
"I've run the probability assessments, sempai. All of them," Maya replied. "Several times, in fact. And while our odds winning this battle if we fight are bad, our odds of winning the war if we don't aren't exactly stellar, either."
"What do you mean?" Ritsuko asked.
"Even assuming that the remaining Angels aren't stronger than the recent ones, which is a very big assumption, the MAGI calculate that the chances of NERV defeating them with Central destroyed are miniscule," Maya said. "After all, the branches were created for EVA construction and research, not combat like Tokyo-3. Allowing this Angel to destroy the city and then trying to fight its remaining siblings would be like letting a computer virus take over the MAGI and then trying to excise it with a laptop."
Ritsuko's eyes narrowed. "What are the odds of NERV defeating the Angels with Central destroyed?"
"Slightly better than the odds of the EVA's stopping this Angel, according to the MAGI," Maya admitted reluctantly.
"Then why aren't we all evacuating?" Ritsuko demanded, exasperated. "Maya, you're using one probability assessment as justification to ignore another! Why?"
"Because I believe that we have a better chance of winning here than the MAGI calculate," Maya said.
Ritsuko's eyes widened. "You are doubting our greatest technology?"
"I'd more say that I trust the pilots, and the EVA's," Maya responded. "Think about some of things we've seen done, sempai. The activation of the 'O9' system, the success of Operation Amaterasu, the destruction of a marine Angel by an EVA in B-type equipment. The odds of all that happening were terrible, but it was done. I guess I've come to believe that the pilots and the EVA's have something that the MAGI can't figure into its probability assessments."
Ritsuko sighed. "I never thought I'd see the day you put your faith in luck, Maya."
"I've seen a lot of things out of myself I thought I never would, since I got this job," Maya said. "Excuse me, sempai. I need to brief the pilots."
"What?! You want us to catch it in our hands?!" Asuka demanded, incredulous.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want," Maya said. "This Angel is essentially a giant mass driver. You three will use your EVA's and AT fields to catch it before it can impact."
"What if the EVA's can't stand the impact?" Asuka asked.
"Then Tokyo-3 will be destroyed," Maya answered.
"What if you can't figure out where it's going to fall?" Asuka asked.
"Then Tokyo-3 will be destroyed," Maya repeated.
"If we pull this off, it'll be a miracle," Asuka said, scowling.
"Miracles aren't something that just happen," Misao put in with a frown from her place next to Asuka. "They're something that people make happen."
"Listen," Maya said, "given the low chance of success, I won't order you to do this. You may refuse this mission if you wish."
The four pilots responded with silence. Maya nodded. "The regulations say that all of you need to write a will. Have you done that yet?"
"I don't need to write a will," Asuka snapped. "I'm not going to die just yet."
"Neither do I," Rei agreed. "There's no point to it."
"I don't plan on dying either. Besides, I have no good stuff anyway," Shinji said, grinning weakly.
Really, if he was going to die, his only concern was that he somehow make sure that Unit One went with him.
Misao forced a chuckle at her friend's rather weak attempt at humor. "I don't plan on kicking the bucket anytime soon."
Maya smiled slightly. "I knew I could count on you. Now, we've estimated where the Angel is going to land, but there's a lot of area to cover, so we're going to put each of you at separate positions."
"How have these positions been determined?" Rei asked.
" 'What little data we have…and women's intuition,'" Asuka said in a surprisingly good imitation of Maya as the three primary pilots rode the lift up to the EVA cages. "I don't believe this. This is the craziest operation ever!"
"We've done crazier things, though I can't quite think of one at the moment," Shinji said. "Besides, you could have refused, you know."
"Hmph, and let you have all the glory?" Asuka asked. "No way, Third Child! I still have to prove that I'm the best pilot, and that Mr. Almighty Highest Sync Ratio will crumble under pressure like cheap tinfoil."
Shinji just sighed.
"All right, you guys, you can go now," Maya said, returning to the command center after the EVA's had been launched. "There's no need for you to risk your lives, too."
"Sorry, this is our job, too," Aoba said.
"Yeah, we can't let those kids risk their lives all by themselves," Makoto said.
"…right," Sakura said reluctantly, sitting back down in her chair.
Maya smiled and nodded. "Thanks, guys," she said, then turned to Misao. "With Shinji piloting Unit One, there's no need for you to be here. You can evacuate if you wish."
"No," Misao said softly. "There's no point."
Which was true, so far as Misao was concerned. If this operation failed, all her close friends would die. NERV would likely wither and be shut down, probably to be replaced with a program featuring something as useless as the Jet Alone. Shinji would die.
There would, in short, be no reason for her to go on living.
Maya frowned but nodded and turned back to the main screen.
Waiting inside the EVA for the operation to begin, Shinji couldn't keep his mind from drifting back to that near kiss with Misao yesterday. It came as little surprise to him. The previous night, even the soothing melodies provided by his SDAT couldn't keep thoughts of it at bay. His SDAT had for years kept his mind off of his inner demons when he lay down to sleep, but against the memory of how tantalizingly close his lips had come to Misao, it was powerless.
That almost kiss had haunted his dreams the previous night as well.
He wished they had kissed, but, failing that, he wished they hadn't nearly kissed. In that moment, he'd lost his ability to fool himself into thinking he didn't desire her that much. Now that he'd been forced to acknowledge it, but couldn't have her…
Shut up! He mentally snarled at himself. You're being an idiot. Misao deserves better than a screwed up coward like you! Concentrate on the mission! And remember: win, or lose so hard that there isn't enough of Unit One left afterwards to fill a bento box.
"The Angel has been sighted!" Maya announced over the radio a moment later. "All EVA's get on your marks!"
Shinji nodded and did as he was ordered, a look of steely determination on his face.
"Commence the operation!" Maya ordered.
The umbilical cables were ejected from all three EVA Units at once. "Let's move out!" Shinji shouted.
Asuka threw Unit Two into a full out sprint the instant Maya gave the order, barely taking the time to disconnect her umbilical cable from it first.
The normally light footed Evangelion tore up dirt and pavement as it ran across the city, toward the falling form of the Tenth Angel, the crimson titan transforming into a blur with its speed.
Faster! Asuka urged her Unit Two.
She had to prove that she and her production model were superior to Shinji and his test-type kludge.
Faster!
All those years of training, years in which she'd sacrificed so much for Evangelion, would be for nothing if a boy who hadn't lain eyes upon EVA until mere months ago surpassed her.
Faster!
She was the best. She had worked damn hard for the title, and she would be damned if she'd lose it to a weakling like Shinji Ikari.
Faster!
After all, if she lost to a pathetic wuss, what would that make her?
Faster!
Unit Two left the city proper, and a tall, grassy hill directly below the Angel came into view. She looked up at beast, resembling a giant, alien eye wreathed in plasma from its descent. It looked almost like a hieroglyph, a hieroglyph large enough to blot out the sky and rain death upon the earth.
All in all, it was a suitably impressive foe and definitely a worthy adversary for the Second Child of NERV. Asuka urged Unit Two to even greater speed.
Then she saw the violet form of Unit One crest the hill. Asuka's jaw dropped, and for a moment, her mind was clear of everything besides her shock. Unit Two came dangerously close to stumbling as its pilot gaped, but Asuka was able to regain control in time.
"Spreading AT field!" Shinji shouted, as nearby structures and trees were blown away as Unit One's invisible barrier expanded.
Unit One held its arms up as the Angel descended, a hexagonal shield of energy flashing into view as the Third Child fought gravity and the Tenth Angel's momentum. Asuka could hear Shinji grunting with the effort, knowing that he could feel the strain in his own body.
Her training taking over, Asuka finished her journey toward ground zero practically on automatic. With a thought, Unit Two's AT field exploded into existence with a flare of light, and the scarlet war machine lifted its arms and accepted part of the burden from its violet counterpart.
"Where the hell is Rei?!" Asuka demanded of no one in particular, knowing it would take all three EVA Units to end this battle.
"I'm coming!" Rei replied over the radio.
Seconds later, the blue giant joined Units One and Two on the hill, and the third AT field bulwarked the defense against the Angel.
"I got it!" Shinji shouted. "Do it!"
The left shoulder pylons on both Units Zero and Two opened, revealing the progressive knives concealed within. Rei grabbed her weapon and sliced a hole into the Angel's AT field with surgical precision, exposing the core, which looked like a red pupil at the center of the Angel's false eye.
With a roar, Asuka plunged her knife into the core. There was a shower of sparks, and then the Angel's AT field abruptly died, rendering the would-be destroyer of mankind no more than a very large, inanimate object.
Exhausted, the three EVA pilots finally allowed its mass to crash down onto the ground. There was a great explosion, and a crater that would become a new lake was formed.
However, Evangelion had been made to shrug off far more than that. When the fire and smoke and dust cleared, the three EVA Units could be seen in the center of the crater. Their batteries had nearly run dry, but they, and their pilots, were unscathed.
Shinji let out a sigh of relief and opened communications channels to both Asuka and Rei. "Well, we did it," he stated simply.
Asuka just glared at him in response. She wished he would boast about how he had made it to the Angel first, so she could blow up on him.
Shinji just blinked at the Second Child's belligerent expression, wondering what he'd done to upset her now.
The mood in the command center was surprisingly tense considering the great victory NERV had just achieved, but everyone knew why. The Second Child was currently a powder keg just waiting for a spark. Even if not everyone was quite sure why Asuka was in such a state, everyone could see the barely restrained rage in the redhead's eyes and her quick, almost violent movements.
Maya looked at Asuka's scowling face and held back a sigh.
"Our wireless communications have been restored," Aoba announced. "We're receiving a transmission from Commander Ikari in Antarctica."
"Connect him," Maya ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Aoba replied.
A two dimensional hologram of a window marked "Sound Only" appeared from a small projector by Aoba's terminal.
"Sir, because of my actions, Unit One had incurred some damage," Maya said. "I aplogize for this, sir."
"Destroying Angels is what the EVA's were created to do," Fuyutski said. "We're fortunate that the damage was minimal."
"Excellent work, Major Ibuki," Gendo spoke up. "I'll leave the handling of the rest of this in your capable hands."
"Yes, sir," Maya said.
The screen winked out.
"You might have spared a few words of congratulations for your son, Ikari," Fuyutski commented as he and Gendo left the radio room of the ship they were aboard.
Gendo smirked slightly at the slight but perceptible sourness in his former teacher's voice. "There was no need," he said. "Shinji's focus and motivations have shifted. He no longer pilots in an attempt to earn my approval. At best he would see words of encouragement from me as the icing on his proverbial cake."
"So why does the Third Child pilot these days?" Fuyutski asked.
Gendo didn't reply, refusing to admit that the exact reason continued to elude him.
"Well, you guys pulled off the impossible again," Misao said cheerfully. "Keep this up, and the remaining Angels won't know what hit them!"
She, Shinji and Rei were currently sitting in an upscale sushi restaurant, partaking in a celebratory dinner at Misao's insistence. Misao had originally wanted to go to a steak place, but they had changed the plans when Rei had told them she was a vegetarian. However, since each of them drew a rather substantial paycheck, they decided to indulge themselves anyway. Rei was now quietly consuming horrifically overprice veggied rolls, while Shinji and Misao ate sushi with fish and crabmeat in it.
"I hope so," Shinji said. "Say, why isn't Asuka here?"
"She…wasn't in the mood to come," Misao said, her expression darkening.
It's not hard to figure out why, Shinji thought. He didn't want to piss off Asuka, but he had to do what he had to do.
"I see," he said, then forced a smile. "Well, shall we make this a regular thing? Come here after every victory against the Angels? Who knows, they might start calling this place the pilot's restaurant."
"Pilot Soryu may never wish to join us," Rei pointed out.
"Asuka never sits with us at lunch, either," Shinji argued amicably. "That hasn't stopped everyone from calling our spot the pilot's table."
Misao smiled. "It's a little late in the game to start up a post-victory tradition, but what the heck? Every time EVA hands another Angel its ass, we'll come here to celebrate!"
Shinji nodded. "It's settled, then. Rei, I hope you'll be joining us when we come here in the future."
"If I am able to, I will," Rei said, actually smiling slightly.
So the three Children made a vow, blissfully unaware of the fact that they would never visit this particular restaurant again.
Author's Notes: First of all, please don't shoot me for getting your hopes up with that aborted kiss. Second of all, I know that several of you have expressed hopes that Shinji would tell Misao his reason for piloting. If I were doing fan fiction for a different series, I probably would have done that. But this is Evangelion, an anime that, behind the giant mecha battles, was a show all about a group of screwed up individuals who should have been able to understand one another, should have been able to lean on each other, and should have been able to keep each other from collapsing into complete wrecks at the end, but didn't. Instead there was animosity built upon misunderstandings and misconceptions, pulling away from others, pushing others away, and just a general failure to connect.
In short, the characters in Evangelion do not talk to one another about their feelings, at least not unless something really extraordinary happens first to compel them to do so. But take heart, dear readers. Really extraordinary isn't an impossibly tall of an order in the city of Tokyo-3.
Anyway, on to the matter of Maya's decision to fight the Angel rather than evacuate. I couldn't allow the Angel to destroy Tokyo-3, but Maya just up and deciding to stay and fight in the same manner Misato did wouldn't have felt right. So I put poor Maya firmly between a rock and a hard place, and hoped that her character has been changed enough that it didn't seem OOC of her to have gone against what the MAGI suggested was the best course of action. There's far more logic in her decision making process than there was in Misato's in cannon, but she does still make a leap of faith.
Now, next up is…well, actually that's up to all of you. In my rough draft, I pretty much skipped episodes 13 (the Eleventh Angel, the one that hacked the MAGI), 14 (mostly a clip show, plus Unit Zero going berserk with Shinji inside), and 15 (Shinji and Gendo visiting Yui's grave, as well as the Shinji/Asuka and Misato/Kaji kisses, which obviously wouldn't occur here). Really, they only got mentioned. However, if enough of you want me to, dear reviewers, I'll cobble at least one chapter together for this trio of episodes. If not, then it's on to the Twelfth Angel we go.
Orionpax, you have an odd tendency of reading my mind; Shinji surpassing Asuka's sync ratio had always been part of the plan for this chapter.
NefCanuck, remember, though Misato never really showed it until the head trip that was the last two episodes of the series, she had her own self-esteem issues, feeling that she was filthy. Then there's all the new issues caused by her transformation, plus the fact that Shinji and Asuka's relationship had become more amicable while he was fight with Misao, so her conclusion at the end of last chapter does make some sense when viewed from her perspective.
As always, thanks to all my readers and reviewers.
Omake
Lightweight
"I really shouldn't," Maya said, eyeing the cocktail before her warily. "I mean, I have to go back to work after this…"
"Oh, loosen up," Misao said. "It's not like you'll be falling down drunk after just one glass, and we need to celebrate your promotion somehow."
Shrugging, Maya picked up her glass and began to drink.
One hour later…
Hoping that Maya would like the book she'd purchased for her, Ritsuko walked into her former subordinate's office. She stopped short at what she saw.
Maya was half laying on her desk in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. Ritsuko would have thought that the petite brunette was sleeping, if not for the quiet giggles that were emanating from Maya.
"Maya? Are you all right?" Ritsuko asked worriedly.
Maya looked up and grinned. "Super duper, sempai!" she replied cheerfully, noticeably slurring her words.
"Have you been drinking?" Ritsuko demanded.
"Just—hic!—just a little," Maya confessed. "Misao bought me a drink to…to celebrate!"
Maya dissolved into a fit of giggles, as though what she'd said was the funniest thing she'd heard in a very long time.
Ritsuko wiped a hand over her face, unable to believe what her old friend had done to her old protégé.
"Maya—"
"You're pretty, sempai," Maya interrupted her.
Ritsuko felt her face heat and her ears burn, though she didn't know why. After all, she didn't have any kind of feelings for Maya, and Maya probably wouldn't have any feelings for her after a few cups of black coffee.
Right?
"A-Arigato, Maya," Ritsuko said, "but—"
"I gots a Jacuzzi back home," Maya interrupted again.
"Huh?"
"A Jacuzzi. Ya know, it's like a hot tub, but it's all bubbly and the water goes whoosh around you!" Maya explained. "The nice men brought it one day, and it's really nice. Do you wanna come to my place and try it?" she added in the tone a child might use while offering some prize or present to another child, grinning drunkenly at the blonde.
Ritsuko blinked once, twice, three times. Then…
"Eh, what the hell? I can take off work early today," Ritsuko said.
"Sugoi!"