Chapter 27:

In Gendo's office...

Gendo grows tired of waiting for Ritsuko to "need something" and goes back to his machinations, part of which involves trying to utterly break Shinji, while making it appear that he's genuinely trying to help and make amends with the boy. Part and parcel of that is hiring an inept, but not too inept, therapist to address the trauma that Shinji, Rei, and Asuka went through, thanks to the Cult of Xian.

Fuyutsuki: "What are you up to, old friend?"

Gendo: "Ah, professor Fuyutsuki. I'm going over the list of available therapists. The Children are going to need one, one we can control, after what they experienced."

Fuyutsuki: "Oh? This level of concern for their well being is new..."

Gendo: "Their well being? Hardly. I'm doing this only because both Ritsuko and Misato have been bothering me for a while on this. Loathe as I am to admit it, they do have a point."

Fuyutsuki: "Oh? Then who shall we recruit for the task?"

Gendo scrolls through a list of resumes on his laptop until he spots someone he considers "promising."

Gendo: "This fellow, a Fraiser Crane, looks promising."

Fuyutsuki: "Why him? He's a talk-show therapist, down on his luck, I might add, and living in the Boston Warzone, of all things. Why he doesn't even speak a word of Japanese and will need an interpreter during the sessions..."

Gendo openly smiles at this assessment. "That's what makes him perfect! He must be desperate to get himself and his family out of there, and we can use his need for an interpreter to monitor everything he says or does where it concerns The Children and his sessions. Plus, he's not dangerously overqualified, if you get my meaning. I mean, a talk-show therapist? How skilled can he be?!"

Fuyutsuki: "I understand. I'll begin making arrangements immediately."

Gendo: "Very good."

Boston:

As the result of numerous "left-leaning" judges being lenient on gun-crimes, and other criminals, street gangs have basically taken over the city. The after-math of Second Impact has not helped. The area is basically a military dictatorship under the control of three prominent gangs. The Cryps, The Bloods, and M-13, all vying for supremacy. The citizens are trapped inside, unless they can somehow acquire a travel visa, and that's basically the same as an Act of God. It is in this environment where Dr. Frasier Crane tries to run his talk-show. One wrong word or phrase could easily get him or his relatives killed, and he's had quite a few close-calls already. So when he receives the official invite from NERV to be the therapist of a handful of children, with an attached exit Visa, he has great difficulty restraining himself...

Fraiser: "Dad, Niles! We can finally get out of this hell-hole!"

Martin: "What the hell you talking about? No way in hell any of the three ruling 'parties' is going to give us a Visa, not with all the flak you give them on your show..."

Fraiser shows his father, Martin Crane, the invitation letter from NERV, the attached Visa for Fraiser himself and extended family, and the contract for psychiatric services with the five, now six, Eva pilots and the pilots of the TRIDENT.

Niles: "A ticket out of here, in exchange for therapy sessions with a handful or two of teenagers? That seems way, way too good to be true. There must be some catch..."

Fraiser: "WHO CARES! Still, I don't suppose it would be a bad idea to have a lawyer look it over..."

Martin: "You mean... That woman?"

Fraiser: "Who else? I'll fax the contract over to her now..."

Niles: "Please tell me she's not coming over..."

Fraiser: "Of course not! Why would she come back into this hell-hole of a city? Even if she clears the check-point..."

The phone rings, and Fraiser is quick to answer it, on speaker-phone, so everyone hears it.

Lillith: "And what have you got yourself into this time, Fraiser?!"

Fraiser: "A way out of here... Did you get the fax?"

Lillith: "Fraiser, did you ever wonder why I got exclusive custody of our son?"

Fraiser: "A massive gender bias in the child welfare system?"

Lillith: "... I'm not going to dispute that. The real reason is that you tend to leap first and look later, maybe... when you're bleeding from your forehead because you hit that thick skull of yours on something! This contract is legally sound, but it's full of gotchas!"

Fraiser: "Like what?"

Lillith: "There are several phrases that jump out at me, just on a cursory reading. 1.) Once you accept the terms of this contract, you can not resign, retire, or withdraw without our express written consent. 2.) Due to the sensitive nature of your work environment, your movements and actions, and those of any people in your party, will be closely monitored at all times. 3.) You and your party will reside in the accommodations we provide and no other. 4.) Attempting access to restricted areas without proper authorization can result in severe disciplinary consequences up to and including the immediate termination of all offenders, with extreme prejudice... The last one is the most alarming. It means if you go anywhere that NERV doesn't like, or even try, they can kill you! Don't forget that Tokyo-3 is an active war zone! On a regular basis, they're under attack by beings of light the size of skyscrapers that even a nuke can't barely scratch, on a good day. Are you certain you want to do this?"

Suddenly a tank rolls by the building where Fraiser's penthouse apartment, which he shares with his father Martin, his brother Niles, and Daphne, the wife of Niles, and then RPG and anti-tank rifles go off in the background.

Fraiser: "Looks like I'm going to have to! This place isn't even remotely safe! Besides, the job is therapy for one, maybe two handful, of teens. How hard could it be?"

Lillith: "That's another thing that bothers me. This contract doesn't specify the teens' problem(s) that you're supposed to treat! You could very quickly find yourself over your head! I must strongly advise against taking this job... but if you must go, toe the line and be on your best behavior at all times. No more of your notorious 'I'm the smartest man in the room' nonsense. I'm sure you won't get a fist to the face, as usual. You might, just might, get a gun to the face instead!"

Fraiser:"... Better a gun than an anti-tank missile... INCOMING!"

Fraiser, Niles, and Martin dive to the ground as an RPG flies through one window and out the other.

Martin: "I don't care how rotten this NERV job is! We're out of here, NOW! Niles, get Daphne and pack-up for the next flight out of here. Fraiser, call your producer, Ross, and get her to meet us at the airport. We sure as hell are not leaving her here!"

Fraiser: "Lillith, if you want to meet me at Tokyo-3, even if it's for no other reason than to laugh at me, feel free to come, but we no longer have a choice, an RPG just flew through our apartment. I'm taking the NERV job..."

Lillith: "Fine. I hope I'm wrong about this.."

Fraiser: "Of course, and thanks."

Lillith: "Don't mention it. I mean it."

Back at NERV HQ, in Ritsuko's lab...

Ritusuko is giving Misato, Rei, Shinji, and Asuka a full physical and debriefing them concerning what happened in North Korea... as the news plays showing the country being stormed by armies from every country on the planet, including China, which has apparently had enough, the last straw being the DPRK's involvement with the Cult of Xian, responsible for destruction of parts of the Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world.

The DPRK's actions and history makes it disgustingly easy to blame, and frame, the Kim regime for any and all atrocities committed in the process. In fact, the after-math makes the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia look like choir boys by comparison.

Jacqueline Natla is being incarcerated and interrogated elsewhere.

Ritsuko: "Well, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

Misato: "The bad news, please. Let's get it over with."

Ritsuko: "Okay. Pilots. The collars no longer work. I'm sure you're all aware of this."

Everyone nods.

Ritsuko: "Shinji-kun. We can heal you up in the LCL tank, but your skin, and … everything normally covered by a swimsuit is going to be exceptionally sensitive for the foreseeable future. Take extra care going outdoors in the daytime, or doing anything and everything 'intimate.'"

Shinji: "(Sigh) Yes, ma'am."

Ritsuko: "Asuka-kun. Fortunately, we can fix your arm, by 'pickling you like a beet' in an LCL tank. Unfortunately, your right eye is gone, forever. There's nothing there to regenerate."

Asuka: "...SHIT! At least my guts aren't hanging out... especially as I'm one giant cramp right now."

Ritsuko: "That time of your cycle?"

Asuka: "Yeah, Herr Doktor."

Ritsuko: "Okay, I can give you a little something to help."

Asuka: "Thanks."

Ritsuko: "Rei-san... There's no genteel way to say this. Even reconstructive surgery won't help you. Your left breast is... gone, so is the underlying muscle and cartilage. Your ribs are okay... barely, but your skin would never allow nor recover from the surgery required to place a silicone implant. Even if we could... "

Rei: "I would wind up looking weird, wouldn't I?"

Ritsuko: "I'm sorry. As for those hand-shaped gouges heading towards your abdomen... It's amazing you can still breathe! The damage is extensive! Even the LCL tank wouldn't allow them to regenerate as it's pure scar tissue. The risk reward ratio for the surgery required to fix that just doesn't justify the attempt."

Shinji looks down at his right hand, and just cries... like a little boy whose favorite toy was taken away.

Asuka: "Good grief! Why are boys such perverts?"

Rei: "Asuka-chan..."

Asuka: "I know, I know. I'm sure there's some kind of sappy sentimental story here, but..."

Rei: "His right hand wound up on my left-breast the first night we started living together. Purely by accident, of course. He took the fact that I didn't.. to put in your terms, 'slap the living shit out of him' in response as the first sign of affection he's experienced in years. So yeah, there is 'some kind of sappy sentimental story' involved. And now..."

Asuka: "The touchstone of that affection is gone, forever."

Rei: "Yes..."

Asuka: "Oh geez! Now I feel bad. Oi, Shinji-chan! Tell you what. Next time we're in the bath, I'll let you play with mine."

Everyone: "Eh?!"

Asuka: "What? Just so you know, this is the first time I've made such an offer, so be grateful!"

Rei: (Smiles sweetly) "Yes. Thank you, Asuka-chan!"

Shinji: "Are...you..."

Asuka: "Don't make me regret it, Third!"

Shinji: (Sniff) "Thank... THANK YOU!"

Shinji breaks down crying on her shoulder.

Rei breaks down crying on her other shoulder.

Asuka: "Oh, good grief..." (And breaks into an oh-so subtle smile.)

Misato: (Facepalm) "... "

Ritsuko: "That was as subtle as a neutron bomb, Asuka-kun." (Sigh) "Okay. Now for the good news. Whatever Natla-san has done seems to have greatly stabilized all three of your A-T fields. She seems to be telling the truth, from what I can tell. It might, and I stress might be safe to go further than a good grope or two, OR being separated without restriction for about a half-hour, but not both in a 24-hour period. In my capacity as the official doctor here at NERV, should the three of you decide to 'experiment', and something does go wrong, call me immediately! I won't judge, trust me. I'll just do what I can to make sure you stay alive and well."

Everyone: "Yes, ma'am!"

Ritsuko: "Now... about this little girl here..."

Rea just sits happily on Misato's lap, munching on some Pocky candy that Misato gave her.

Rea: "Hello, Ritsuko-Obasan!"

Ritsuko: "...Obasan?!"

Misato: "Sweetie, that's rude. Call her Ritsuko-Sensei, okay?"

Rea: "Really? Sorry, Ritsuko-Sensei!"

Ritsuko: "... Thank you, Rea-tan!"

Rea: "Hehehe! You're nicer than I thought!"

Misato: (Ruffles Rea's head) "Good job, sweetie!"

Rea: "Hehehehe! Munch, Munch, Munch!"

Ritsuko: "Such a sweet and well-behaved child. That's a surprise. Oh well, do you have any idea how she came out of Eva-00? Any speculation is welcome."

Misato: "Not a clue. I had already disembarked from the entry-plug at that point. All that happened is that I asked Shinji-kun, Rei-kun, and Asuka-kun to hug Eva-00, as a thank you for coming to the rescue and 'pop' there she is!"

Ritsuko writes in her notebook. "Interesting. Rea-tan, what do you remember?"

Rea: "Hmmm. I was in a dark, scary place, alone, until suddenly, there was a light and I heard Shinji-oniichan, Rei-oneesan, and Asuka-san. I followed their voices into the light, and here I am! Can I have more, Misato-san?"

Misato: "Sorry, all out, sweetie. Rits, you got anything?"

Ritsuko: "No sweets, sorry, but I do have some fresh coffee..."

Misato: "Coffee? For a four-year-old?"

Rea: "I want to try it!"

Misato: "It's going to be hot!"

Rea: "Please!" (Puppy-dog eyes)

Misato: "Alright, but be careful!"

Rea: "Yay!"

Ritsuko takes a coffee-cup but doesn't fill it all the way, just a tiny amount, and Rea tries it.. when Misato instructs her to dip her finger in it and lick her finger.

Rea: "... Hot... more please!"

Misato: "She likes your coffee, Rits!"

Ritsuko: "Unbelievable..."

The rest of the interview gives Ritsuko all details observed by those on the scene of the battle and the phenomenon that caused Rea to find her way out of the Eva's core, but none of it really serves to give her a definitive means of replicating the process...

To be continued.