Chapter 51
That night, in the shared quarters belonging to Tanya and Viktoria...
Tanya is sleeping, or trying to, with little success. She tosses and turns fitfully as the memory of how she returned to a modern Earth, though not the one she's originally from. On thatEarth, she was a male salary man, in his 40s, working the HR department in some company whose name she no longer remembers, spending the last night of his life with the unfortunate task of having to fire an irredeemable employee who abused drugs and refused numerous company offered rehab programs, was habitually tardy, or simply absent with no notice, approval, or valid reason, and when he was at work, would deliberately perform poorly, just to spite his fellow workers and the customers. Despite all this, the doomed former employee had the gall to plead for his job, as if he was some kind of innocent victim, when he had burned every bridge and turned down every single offer for assistance.
The male HR manager, who Tanya used to be, on his way home, waiting at the train station, was shoved by the terminated employee, in a fit of rage, off the waiting platform and into the path of the oncoming train which had no time to stop before a fatal impact.
Upon being killed by the collision, the man finds himself being greeted by a being identifying itself as "God." This "god" then proceeds to force him into a theological debate regarding faith and prayer, a debate the former salary man actually wins. In a fit of pique, this entity, which will forever be known as "Being X" from that point on, deliberately misinterprets the salary man's arguments.
One: "Rational people will not believe in any god without conclusive proof" became "people will believe in God if there's plenty of magic and miracles around."
Two: "People will generally not offer anything, including prayer, if they have nothing to gain by doing so" became "people will not pray if they are content, but will pray if they are in distress."
As such, "Being X" dumped the soul of this salary man into a five-year-old little girl... in an Earth on the brink of WWI as a German citizen, and with a massive amount of magical potential, so she could not avoid military service.
After many setbacks, struggles, and life-or death battles, some of which were a very close thing, she was "blessed" with the Elenium-95 orb, which forces Tanya to pray to "Being X" before every use, or it might explode with the force of a nuclear bomb, but that's not enough, no.
Since "Being X" wants Tanya to worship it, completely, unreservedly, mind, body, and soul, to be its "holy messenger," it has made Tanya's life a living hell, with the threat of complete oblivion and being forgotten as if she never existed if she dies hanging over her head, while putting her life in near constant jeopardy, and doesn't seem to understand why this only serves to piss her off...
Eventually, after all Tanya's efforts to find a peaceful life backfire, spectacularly, thanks to "Being X" directly manipulating Tanya's life, the many, many, enemies created by its machinations, calling Tanya "THE DEVIL OF THE RHINE," for having the gall to actually defend herself from their aggression, launch an attack of such overwhelming ferocity against her and her battalion of mages, that she might as well be facing an oncoming nuclear holocaust.
Just as one of the missiles is right in Tanya's face, Being X stops time and offers a "choice." Either Tanya follow it to NERV Berlin to "instruct the faithless" of its existence, and "awaken their faith" or simply do nothing as the missiles tipped with unstable Elenium-95 cores detonate, scattering her atoms to the four corners of the planet, along with her battalion.
Having just a split second to decide, she naturally takes the "offer," grabs her closest underling, Viktoria, and flees through the portal created, unable to save her men from the onslaught...knowing that they were atomized, and helpless to stop it. Even though she viewed her men as shields, she was quite fond of them. The guilt of being only able to save her adjutant, crushes her deeply and fills her with an unquenchable desire to see Being X, not only "fired" from the position of "god" but killed in the most horrific way possible. Passing by a church, any church, unnerves Tanya so much, she has to repress the urge to atomize the building, leaving not one molecule intact.
She was really looking forward to being the pilot of Eva-03 because she'd get to kill "Angels." But... as we all know, this wasn't to be.
Viktoria hears her commander's tossing and turning, and addresses Tanya.
Viktoria: "Still having those nightmares, Lt. Colonel?"
Tanya turns to see Viktoria in the simple, yet elegant, baby-doll outfit which is the first thing she purchased for herself upon coming to NERV Berlin.
Tanya: "Yes... That BEING X! ..."
Viktoria, a full-grown adult woman, takes the barely teen Tanya, and hugs her to her breast, petting her on the head. This is something she'd NEVER do in public, not only because Tanya's her superior officer, but because of the massive age difference between them.
Viktoria: "It's okay to be angry, and sad. We lost all our friends and team-mates we cared about so much. If you want to hate this 'Being X' for not saving them too, that's fine. Still, I'm glad."
Tanya: "Eh?! What are you talking about?!"
Viktoria: "Of all the people you could have chosen to rescue, you chose me!"
Tanya: "You know you're just a shield to me, right?!"
Viktoria: "Of course you say that, Lt. Col. You always have. Still. I know you better!"
Tanya: "And what do you know?!"
Viktoria: "You don't like to show it, for whatever reason, and I won't pry, but you have actually been very kind to me since the day we met. You treated me, me, a lowly conscript, with genuine respect and admiration, while berating the two cocky volunteer recruits, for being cocky and entitled. In every other unit I found myself, I was berated for being a conscript, while the cocky volunteers got treated with respect and dignity. You trusted me with your darkest secrets and let me see the real you, good, bad, or ugly, when you had no reason to trust me."
Tanya's face goes a bit pale at that. She could have been courts-martial-ed and killed for admitting to deliberately placing those glory-hound hot-heads in a bunker, knowing they'd be targeted by artillery and killed, and then admitting it.
Viktoria: "You may say different, but I know you give orders that make sure we get home safely, and if we disobey, we have every right to die, and we deserve it. During the 'training' exercise that made us all elites, when an avalanche broke my leg, you may have berated me in public, but I know that I'm alive because of you. I'm sure you berated me not only for the sake of the rest of the recruits, but so I wouldn't be bogged down by guilt for holding them back later in a real firefight."
Tanya's eyes widen at that statement, as that's clearly not what she intended. She wanted them all to drop out so she wouldn't be saddled with suicide missions as the head of a mobile battalion, but it's still a perfectly rational deduction. Tanya didn't believe she could fall in love, being a person with "a rotten personality and every complex known to man," but here she is, falling, and hard, for her adjutant, naive or not, for being the perfectly rational person, she wishes she could deal with, as opposed to the morally myopic bastards she's had to deal with ever since Being X came into her life.
Tanya: "Visha... If it were not for the fact that I'm your superior officer, female, and the serious age difference between us, I'd marry you right here and now. Right or wrong, you're the most rational person I've ever met, and you chose me, despite my rotten personality, for sound, logical reasons! I don't know if I can even feel love, but if I can, you're the only one for me..."
Viktoria: (Weeping tears of joy) "Lt. Col! Thank you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
From that night onward, the two of them stopped sleeping in bunk-beds and shared the same mattress...with all that implies.
The next morning at Tokyo-3's hospital...
Misato is napping at Kaji's bedside, to not miss the time he wakes up, both because she cares about him, and to get answers...
Contrary to all expectations, Kaji wakes up, he barely has time to get his bearings before Misato's gun suddenly appears in his face.
Misato: (Although her tone is even, her rage is palpable) "Inspector. Because you were thrown into traffic, and you're currently in a hospital bed, you're being given this one chance. If I had found you alive and well by Gendo's side, I would have shot you dead after the stunt you pulled. Taser me from behind so that sick bastard can kick me in the gut and that's before mentioning that it's 'business before pleasure' and promising worse when he's a provable rapist? And is now wanted for TREASON among other grievous charges, for the rest of which he was convicted? I'm going to ask you once, and only once, why you felt it necessary to help that bastard, and it had better be good, DAMN, DAMN GOOD, or I will shoot you to death right here, and I have the tribunal's permission. Well, what's your excuse?"
Kaji: "SEELE."
Misato: "SEELE?! What do they..."
Kaji: "N2 Mines, several, in Geo-front."
Misato: "... The Eva would survive, we won't."
Kaji: "Yes."
Misato: "So your ploy was to lure him into a trap and let SEELE deal with him?"
Kaji: "Yes."
Misato: "And you're aware that SEELE's been trying to kill us, yes?"
Kaji: "...Yes."
Misato: (Sigh) "Well, I'll grant you that it was a damn good reason for you to act the way you did. STUPID, but understandable. Do you have any ideas where these N2 mines are?"
Kaji: "No."
Misato: "Oh good grief. As if I didn't have enough to worry about with the Angels, terroristic death cults, and having two of our best pilots trapped in their Eva, with the third presumed dead... Eesh. Can you at least tell us where Former Commander Asshole might go?"
Kaji: "GEHRIN."
Misato: "Well, it's not much, but it's a start. YOU stay put, and get well." (Points at Kaji's hand-cuff to the hospital bed.) "It's not much, I know, but Yamamoto and the rest of the tribunal have placed some very, very competent guards at the door, and this place is being constantly watched. I've got work to do, and thank you for giving me a reason to not shoot you." (Kisses Kaji on the forehead) "See you soon, lover, and don't forget your promise to make it up to me."
Misato leaves the room.
Kaji: "..." (Sigh)
Meanwhile, in the Eva core...
Kyoko looks much better. She's certainly a long, long way from being completely healed, she at least looks like a scrambled Rubik's cube as opposed to a Picasso painting of one.
Natla: "Whew. I … need a break."
Yui: "Impressive, Natla-san. Though it's only been a week, there's clearly much more to be done."
Natla: "Goddess or not, I can't do it all at once. This all I can do now. Go ahead and have a chat Soyu-kun. Let's see how she's holding up."
Asuka: "Alright, alright, geez. Momma? Can you hear me?"
Kyoko: "My daughter (My daughter). How you've grown... Oh, and you brought a boy home (a boy home). You been treating my girl (my girl) right, young man?"
Asuka: (Crying happily) "Yes, Momma! He cooks, cleans, loves me up one side and down the other. Him and his wife!"
Kyoko: "I see... Wait... HIS WIFE?! (His wife?) Are you the other woman?!"
Asuka: "MOMMA! We're married! I'm her wife!"
Kyoko: "(Her) Her Wife (Wife)... HER?!"
Asuka: "Yeah. We've exchanged vows. I'm sorry you missed the ceremony..."
Kyoko: "I.. do not understand."
Asuka: "It's a complicated Japanese thing. Just... I love them, Momma, and they love me."
Kyoko: "Are you happy? (Happy?)"
Asuka: (Sniff) "Yeah. I'm happy."
Kyoko: "Then I'm glad (glad). All I want is to see you happy. So when can I see the kids? (Kids)"
Asuka: "MOMMA! It's still too soon for us. We have to beat the Angels first."
Kyoko: "Angels (Angels)?...!... How long (long) have I been here? (Here)"
Yui: "Ten odd years, dear."
Kyoko: "My god (god) I've missed so much of your life (life), Asuka-chan. I'm so, so sorry."
Asuka: "Momma! It's okay. I love you, it's good to have you back..."
Kyoko suddenly remembers something...
Kyoko: "What have I done (done)? I... MISTOOK A DOLL FOR YOU!"
Asuka: (Crying) "Momma..."
Kyoko: "AND I HUNG THE BOTH OF US!"
Asuka: "MOMMA!"
Kyoko: "OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD!"
Natla: "Sleep."
With just a touch, Natla puts Kyoko to rest again.
To be continued...
