Chapter 53

What Gendo, aka Principal Kuno, was looking for in the Kuno house was a scroll he secreted away long, long ago, something his father had bought from Indy's archaeological competition, a scroll nobody could identify with a language nobody understood, a parchment written by the First Ancestral Race, the ones who seeded Earth with life.

It was found in the ancient pyramids of Eqypt in the tomb of Ramses II, the Pharoah who foolishly pursued the Israelites into the Red Sea in a fit of wroth for the death of his first born son due to plague, and was drowned alongside his army for it, or so the story goes.

Gendo had gone to many scholars far and wide trying to get it translated, but none could, until he met Professor Fuyutsuki and got access to the "Dead Sea Scrolls" with the translation guide.

Now he's looking at what could possibly be the way to control a progenitor directly, without a medium, which was Rei's role.

Principal Kuno: "Those bastards think they've stopped me?! HA! I'll make them pay, I'll make them ALL pay... Turn the world to LCL so they can 'become gods' to mold and shape it as they see fit? Hehe, oh, they'll get that alright, except someone else will be the 'tuner' and 'creator,' and they're going to see how it feels to have some outside power control them, day and night... FOR ETERNITY! As for that brat... I haven't forgotten about him, no. Once I'm through, I'll see to it that he is allowed to just barely grasp his wants and needs, only to have them yanked away over and over again... Just like in Re: Zero! HAHAHAHAHAHA! They may have stolen Rei away from me, but little Rea will soon be in my grasp, and I've already decoded the trick to shut off her powers. Wait for me, little girl. Just a bit more..."

Aside from meals, calls of nature, and his duties as the Kuno "stylist," Principal Kuno does not leave his assigned quarters at all for the next week or so as he carefully studies the Egyptian "Dead Sea Scroll" in his possession, and tries to deduce the location of the former Misaki estate that was handed over to Rei, Shinji, and Asuka as a "wedding gift" by Tenchi Masaki.

Meanwhile, at Tokyo-3,...

Life goes on, everyone completely unaware of the threat(s) hanging over them. Misato does her best to find and disarm the N2 "mines" smuggled away by SEELE within the Geofront.

Kaji, under heavy guard and constant watch, does his best to recover from having his head almost squashed like a watermelon under some poor sap's tires when Gendo threw him out into traffic.

Vice Commander Fuyutsuki, also under careful watch, continues to guide Misato on the workings of NERV, trying to get her up to speed with the many, many "black box" projects Gendo was working on, or had Ritsuko Akagi working on under him, or both.

Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, knowing it's just a matter of time before the next Angel attack, is desperately trying to make some use of the mangled Eva remains left behind by Zeruel/Natla's rampage and the inept piloting of Mari "Illustrious" Makinamy and Kowaru Nagisa.

Inspired by the American movie "Pacific Rim," she eventually settles on meshing together the remains of Eva-05 and Eva-06 into a dual-core, dual-pilot Frankenstein's monster construct. To be honest, it's the only viable option as neither Eva is anywhere near intact enough to ever be whole again on its own.

Misato: "So this.. thing is going to require both Mari and Nagisa to operate?"

Ritsuko: "Yes. It's the only viable option we have."

Misato: "Great. I've got to put pilots through sync training again."

Ritsuko: "I could try to re-tune it for Mana and Kensuke..."

Misato: "Much as Kensuke would love the idea of piloting this Eva, no. I'm now very well aware of what actually makes them tick, and I don't think it would be a good idea to try and hunt down someone that close to Kensuke and Mana... which reminds me, Rits. How are you doing, and what's your decision?"

Ritsuko: "Are you asking as my commanding officer, or my friend?"

Misato: "Both."

Ritsuko: (Sigh) "I'm keeping the baby. After considerable counseling by Dr. Crane, and double checking the statistics he provided to me, I've come to the conclusion that an abortion would not only make my psychological condition worse, but would be exactly what that bastard wants as it would give him yet another lever he could use to manipulate me, and he's got too many of those already. Besides, even if it wasn't for all that, I've got too much innocent blood on my hands already, I don't need to add any more."

Misato: "Are you sure, Rits? Adoption is..."

Ritsuko: "Not viable. I've checked. There's just too damn many orphans around, thanks in large part to Second Impact and the ensuing wars. Maya's agreed to help me..." (Starts weeping) "God! I don't deserve that woman, but her love is a gift freely given, and I really, really need her right now."

Misato: "I'm always here for you too, Rits. Don't ever forget it."

Ritsuko: "Thanks, Major... Kitty-Kat!"

Misato: "I told you not to call me that!..."

Both: "Bwahahahahaha!"

Misato: "Well, I'm off to go whip those two disappointments into shape. Just let me know if you need anything."

Ritsuko: "Will do. How's … the inspector?"

Misato: "Recovering. Gendo really did a number on him, throwing him head-first under the wheels of an innocent motorist. The fact that he's alive right now is a miracle."

Ritsuko: "Alright. We'll talk later, Major. We both have a lot of work to do."

Despite being the most viable option, the sync training goes slowly and poorly for Mari and Nagisa, as they have absolutely no romantic interest in each other, which is the variable that gave Asuka, Shinji, and Rei the motivation to act as if they shared one skin. It's not that they're making no progress, it's that whatever progress they do make tends to be drowned out by near-constant bickering, back-biting, and mutual blaming.

Mari: "Why don't you ever take this seriously, Nagisa-san?"

Nagisa: (Sarcastically)"As if this lowly me can ever keep up with the 'Illustrious' Makinami-san..."

Mari: "GHAH! You silver-haired freak! Who the hell told you it was okay to rifle through my h-doujin, and use it as source material? Small wonder Rei-san and Shinji-san don't like you..."

Nagisa: "That is wildly inappropriate, especially coming from you, you four-eyed pervert glasses, trying even harder than me to get into Shinji-kun's pants..."

Both: "MAJOR, YOU CAN'T FORCE US TO WORK TOGETHER! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

Misato: "You know. We really don't have time for this nonsense from the two of you. Since the 'gentle' approach is not working, I'm going to have to go with the more 'direct' approach."

Misato summons NERV techs who then forcefully slap Mari and Kowaru into a harness deliberately designed to mimic the restrictions under which Rei, Shinji, and Asuka had to live under as a result of Ireul.

Misato: "No more Ms. Nice Major. You two are going to do everything together, and I mean everything. You will learn to live as if you literally have only one skin, or die trying, and right now, nobody here at NERV, including me, has the luxury or patience to care which outcome results. I've already tasked Dr. Akagi with finding a way of handing the job of piloting the Eva-chimera over to Kensuke and Mana if the two of you don't find a way to get your act together. The reason we're in this mess is that the BOTH of you have been nothing but a liability since Eva-05 and Eva-06 arrived. You showed promise when you got Eva-02 and Eva-01 to help Mana and Kensuke fend off Matariel, but since then your piloting has been a disgrace! THAT ENDS NOW!

Mana and Kensuke look like they're going to object, but a withering glare from Misato shuts them down.

Misato: "Forget about 'personal space,' privacy, or modesty. Until I deem it otherwise, you are going to be living like Shinji, Rei, and Asuka had to for the past few months. That means not separating more than a meter apart. So same bed, same bath, same bathroom, you name it! You try to remove or disable that harness before then, and you will be punished with a nice taser level shock! You try to separate more than a meter apart, and the harness will make you feel like it's ripping your skin off! I'm through with the both of you trying to find excuses and blaming each other for failure! YOU WILL ADMIT YOUR SHORTCOMINGS AND OVERCOME THEM! IS THAT CLEAR?!"

Mana and Nagisa: "Ma'am! YES, Ma'am!"

Misato: "Good. Now let's get this sync training on the road, for real this time!"

With the threat of gruesome, painful, and gory death hanging over them, the two begin taking their sync training far more seriously...

Back at the Ikari estate...

Rei and Rea are having their standard session with Dr. Fraser Crane.

Rea: "Mommy! I wanna go see Pappa!"

Rei: "We can't, Sweetie. He's trapped in the Eva core, remember?"

Rea: "Oh... I'll get him out!"

Rei: "Wait!"

POOF! Rea vanishes.

Rei: "Oh great... I worry when she gets to be a teen and wants to go see her boyfriend."

Fraser: "I don't blame you."

Inside the Eva core...

Natla, Asuka, Shinji, and Yui have managed to get Kyoko to at least somewhat resemble a human being again.

Kyoko: "Ah, Asuka, Yui-san... Shinji-kun was it?"

Shinji: "Yes, Soryu-san."

Kyoko: "Oh, good. What were we talking about again?"

Shinji: "Asuka?"

Asuka: "We were talking about me being married, Momma."

Kyoko: "To this fine young man?"

Asuka: "...Sort of..."

Kyoko: "Sort of... oh! That's right, you married his wife! … Is that some kind of Japanese custom?..."

Yui: "Yes, Kyoko-san. Asuka-san here has agreed to be the 'comfort wife.' Trust me when I say she's being loved up one side and down the other."

Kyoko: "I.. don't get it, but as long as she's happy..."

Rea: "Hey-ey-ey! What-cha doing?"

Shinji: "REA?! How did you get here?!"

Rea: "Silly Pappa!"

Kyoko: "Pappa?! Asuka... Explain this real quick..."

Asuka: "She's his and Rei's daughter..."

Kyoko: "...Daughter?! I DID NOT RAISE MY CHILD TO BE A HOMEWRECKER!"

Asuka: "Momma! She's adopted! Rei-chan can't have children!"

Kyoko: "Shinji-kun, young man, is this true?"

Shinji: "Yes, Soryu-san. It's why Rei wants Asuka to be the comfort wife..."

Kyoko: "...So Asuka is to be the surrogate mother?"

Yui: "That's the closest 'Western' equivalent, yes."

Kyoko: "... I wish I could faint right now."

Yui: "Natla-san. I must congratulate you. This is far, far better than last time..."

Natla: "Yes, there's been considerable improvement, but we're still far from done."

Kyoko: "Umm... Who are you again?"

Natla: "Jacqueline Natla, at your service." (Bows) "I am... a specialist who was hired to help you recover."

Kyoko: "Ah, thank you, Natla-san. I don't remember much, but it is good to finally wake from that … nightmare, and at least see my daughter as a person again. Even if I can't bring myself to understand the nature of the relationship she now finds herself in."

Natla: "I'm honored."

Rea: "Pappa! Let's go home! Mommy is worried!"

Shinji: "Rea, Sweetie. I want to, Asuka-san wants to go too, but we can't." (Whispering) "When we get out it will be Asuka-san's birthday. Can you ask Mommy to have a party ready for her?"

Rea: "Oooh! Okay, Pappa! I'll tell her!"

Rea suddenly disappears from the core.

To be continued...