February 18, 2027 - Operations Center, Evangelion Center, Tokyo-3
The familiar aura of a flux was something well-known to Nerv personnel, as it was to anybody with access to a television or info feed. The glowing, multi-armed cross cut from sky to surf, penetrating the surface of the ocean and boiling away the water in a constant, hissing steam. From the heart of that flux, the Others would pour, destructive and hungry in their desire to rampage and destroy. All Nerv staff were familiar with it. It was always elsewhere, though. Never this close to home.
Not next to Tokyo-3.
"We can be grateful that it's stable," a German technician murmured. "It's steady, strong, we don't have to worry about imminent collapse and mass back-feed."
"Yeah, but that would only be an issue if it was in an urban center," Ritsuko countered, "This is in the middle of the ocean."
"Has there been any movement in the transit core?" an officer on loan from South Korea asked, referring to the traditional space from which Others emanated.
"None," someone called. "Not a sign."
"Misato!" another voice called from one of the rows of computer banks. The young woman, staring at the large projections on the wall, turned her head sharply. A Nerv tech stood over everyone else, his headset in his hands. "I just received word from the SDF, they're mobilizing the coastal picket, two air defense wings, and at least three battalions from within the area."
"How many of those are armored units?" she demanded.
"Only one," he replied. "But the other two are artillery and air defense artillery."
"Make sure they feed us their projected positions and current locations, as well as any deviations from their intended movement paths or delays," she ordered. She turned her gaze back up to the primary screen, which transmitted an image from a coastal camera. This was bad. She had no doubt that the Evangelion Center would be a fortress within a fortress, but their best weapons were inert. If it was simply the before-seen classification of Others bursting through, they might defeat the incursion. If it was something…bigger…well….
"Do you think whatever comes out will head here?" Ritsuko whispered.
"Of course," Misato said. "We know the Others have direction in their attacks, and we have to assume that the things going on in this center will attract them somehow."
"How? We haven't really confirmed that the Others can detect each other in such a way," Ritsuko said.
"I would rather assume that they can and act on that," Misato replied.
"We have something emerging," someone said. "I'm commandeering the main screen for imagery, now." The largest monitor on the wall, flickered, and then transmitted a new angle on the flux. It seemed to shiver, the heart of it fluttering, growing larger and then smaller. Misato studied it, waiting for the expectant cloud of insect-like aggressors bursting out like smoke. "Emergence…now. Right there," the same voice said, and a square appeared over a portion of the flux. A shape pushed through, solidified, and then…
"Oh, geeze," Misato mumbled as the shape continued, a great spike pressing through the maw. A second emerged after it, two more. Within a minute, a great creature had pressed through the flux, which was beginning to collapse behind it. It looked like a great spider, twelve legs equally arranged around a diamond-shaped body. The legs, however, did not touch the ground, but splayed out. The creature was floating, almost gently, through the air. Hanging below the 'body' was a pyramid, and on each face of the pyramid was a gaping, almost human mouth.
"That is a massive AT Field," Ritsuko murmured. "It's supporting itself and moving with it. Do you think it can still attack with it, or do you think it'll use it's mass?"
"I really don't want to find out," Misato murmured. "What is the size projection?"
"We're estimating each of the arms at 200 meters, the body possibly…sixty at the widest? We need more imagery."
"The 112th Strike Wing is reporting that they've started an attack run, using spastic missiles. They should be beginning their assault in thirty seconds."
"AT Field build up!" A flurry of red lines criss-crossed the hulk of the beastly Other, and someone gasped. "And…the 112th is pulling back. They've just lost eight planes."
"That could have been worse," Misato murmured, rubbing her face. "No survivors, I'm guessing. How long until it's over the city."
"At the rate it's moving, forty-five minutes."
"AT Field build up again, this one is going to be big!" A single, blinding beam this time, and the image broke apart in static. The room shook, and the lights dimmed for a moment. A new image popped up, one from on observation post in the hills. The Other was a little smaller, masked now in a plume of smoke and fire. "Looks like a probing attack."
"It's coming," Misato murmured. "You should probably get out of here."
"You need an expert on the deck to assist," Ritsuko said. "Are we going to evacuate the Evas?"
"I have no clue. I think we'll just have to bury them and hope for the best," Misato murmured.
"Self-destruct?" Ritsuko gasped. Misato shrugged, but said no more.
"What's going on?" Rei stood just within the doorway to the observation deck, hollering at anyone she thought would listen, but no one was paying attention to her. Personnel were scurrying through the corridors, rushing to stations and places far too important to stop and waste time answering a child's questions. Asuka was starting to get irritated as Rei was continually ignored, and finally let her irritation get the best of her. She kicked the shin of one passing technician, who cried out and stared at her, shocked and angry.
"My friend is trying to ask you something!" Asuka snapped.
"Asuka! Rei!" Both turned at the sound of Naoko Akagi's voice. The technician, rubbing his bruised shin, took the opportunity to escape. "What are you two doing here?"
"We were in the observation deck when the alarms started," Rei said. "What's going on?"
"An anomaly has opened up. We're expecting an incursion of Others," Naoko explained. "We need to evacuate you two right now."
"Are you going to use the Evas?" Asuka asked.
"No, we can't," Naoko said. "We can't activate them, hon. Don't worry about that, right now—"
"Wait," Rei said. She was glancing back to the observation deck. Asuka stared at her, hearing a strange tone beneath the word. She glanced into the observation deck…and then remembered the conversation they had earlier.
"Rei, we can't wait," Naoko insisted, "We have to go now."
"This isn't the time to try that," Asuka said, ignoring Naoko.
"But, they won't move, and if what you said is right, then…."
"We didn't even agree if it would work for you!" Asuka insisted.
"Do you want to try?" Asuka's mouth snapped shut when Rei gave her a very firm look. Naoko looked lost, unsure of what this conversation was ultimately about. "I'm not scared of it," Rei continued. "I…I want to try. I don't want you to have to, first. It scares you."
"What are you two talking about?" Naoko finally snapped, perplexed.
"What if…." Rei squirmed for a moment, as if caught by a seizure, trying to force the words out. "What…what…?" Naoko was concerned, never having seen Rei behave like this. She was clearly agitated, and clearly wanted to say something. This was not the time and place for that, but it was clearly important to Rei.
"Sweetheart, what is it?" Naoko asked, laying a hand on Rei's shoulder.
"Unit-00 will work if I pilot it, right!?" Rei squeaked. Naoko went bone-white, stunned by what she had just heard.
"Eh…Rei, where…what are you talking about!?" Naoko gasped.
"I know about the Evas! I know they need…us. The kids. They need us to work, right?"
"I don't know that," Naoko insisted.
"But you think it. You and Mama. You both think it, and that's why you sent Shinji away. It's why you brought Asuka back, right? There was something different about 02 that meant you felt it was better to try with Asuka than me or Shinji. Right?"
Naoko felt trapped. She glanced at Asuka, who glanced back and forth between Rei and expression was tense, but not surprised. They had already talked about this, Naoko realized. There was no point in lying. "Yes," she said. "Yes. That's about the gist of it, Rei."
"I can pilot 00," Rei said. "If you put me into it, I can make it move. And you don't have to make Asuka do that with 02."
"Rei, you don't know that. We don't know how they would move, we've never had a chance to test them," Naoko insisted. "We don't even know if it's safe for you kids just to sit in them."
"I can figure it out," the girl replied, not sounding convinced herself. Naoko looked at the earnest girl, then to Asuka. The Others would be coming. They might destroy this facility, all of their research, the Evas, the samples. All of it would be gone. She gripped Rei's shoulder tightly, and the girl whimpered from the moment of pain. They really didn't have a choice, did they?
"Yui's gonna kill me," Naoko mumbled.
"Those look adorable," Asuka sighed, poking at the Synchronization Headset clipped into Rei's hair. Rei was trembling terribly, but still resolute in her decision to get into Unit-00. Naoko was mumbling to herself as she checked portions of the too-large, black Plug Suit that draped over Rei's too-tiny frame.
"That's not important right now," Rei mumbled, as Naoko murmured for the fifth time what a horrible friend she was, what a horrible person she was, and how Yui would cut her into pieces when she got home.
"No, please…hold up your hands like this and go 'Nyao,'" Asuka insisted, curling her own hands into a caricature of paws in front of her face.
"Asuka!" Rei whined, "Why would I care about that?"
"I'm just trying to make you smile," Asuka said. "You look scared."
"I am scared," Rei mumbled. She looked as though she was cold, she was shaking so badly. Asuka felt bad for trying to tease her, but didn't know what else to do. She laid her hands on Rei's cheeks, and smiled.
"You'll be okay," she said. "Unit-oo is a good one, remember? It'll protect you."
"I want it to," Rei muttered.
"Okay, Rei, this suit will fit in a moment, but the plumbing connections haven't been sized to you, so they might feel strange, okay?" Naoko said.
"…plumbing connections?" Rei asked, concerned. Naoko raised up the girl's wrist, and pressed a button on the large band that encircled it. With a whoosh, the suit tightened to Rei's frame. The girl gasped, then wailed, bouncing up on the balls of her feet.
"Ah!" she whined, and began shaking her hands in panic. "I don't like this!"
"It's okay, you'll get used to it. I've worn a Plug suit before, too, remember? Trust me, you get used to it."
"How's it feel?" Asuka asked, morbidly curious.
"I don't like this!" Rei repeated, about to cry.
"Okay, forget it!" Naoko said, unable to bear it. "This is a bad idea. We're not doing this."
"Yes, we are!" Rei insisted, staring down at the Plug Suit and waving her hands helpless. It was one of the smallest Plug Suits they had, but it was meant for someone larger than Rei. Despite being tightened, it was still felt strangely loose in some areas, or too tight in others. Then there were the plumbing attachments, the chest fitting, the strange sensation of the gloves that seemed both too big and too small. It was just a mass of bizarre, uncomfortable sensations, and Rei felt jittery, violated, and squeamish. She was still determined to go through with this.
The room shuddered slightly, and the lights dimmed for a moment. "What…what was that?" Asuka asked.
"…If we're going to do this, we do it now. Rei, are you sure?" Naoko asked, ignoring the question for the moment. It was cruel to ask a child if they were certain of doing something like this, and it was cruel to go through with it. There was simply no time for other options, no other options. Naoko stared at the little girl, a frightened copy of Yui. The girl nodded, almost spasmodically. Naoko inhaled deeply. "Okay. Let's go. We walk to the Plug, put you in, and we do it fast before I change my mind or someone stops us. Got it?"
"Yes, Dr. Akagi," Rei grimaced, turning towards the door. They walked swiftly towards it, the movement bringing a whole new mass of bizarre discomforts from the suit. They marched through, down the corridors, back to the paddocks, up to the loading gantry. Naoko bullied her way past the guards, who gaped in shock and recognition at the 'pilot' who followed her. Cycling through the door, the copper-sick smell of LCL flooded their senses as they entered the paddock proper. Even under threat of attack, the technicians remained, just in case. It was their place to be, their emergency stations.
"Rimmer," Naoko called to the chief tech on duty. "Is the Plug ready for insertion?"
"Always, Dr. Akagi, but this isn't the time for a test," the scrawny Brit insisted. "Aren't you supposed to be in one of the shelters?"
"We aren't running a test," Naoko said, brushing past the man as he came to greet her and heading straight towards the Plug. It sat in an insertion apparatus, ready for loading. "We have a Pilot."
"We…we do?" He glanced down at Rei. She looked up at him, and smiled weakly. "The…this is one of the mermaids…holy crap, this is Dr. Ikari's kid!" He began to pale, and turned to Naoko. "Dr. Akagi, did you know this was the Ikaris' daughter."
"No, Rimmer, I had no clue. Thank you for educating me on the identity of this mysterious child!" Naoko snapped, frustrated and testy. "Is this going to be a problem?"
"…She's a kid!"
"She is, and she's the chosen pilot of Unit 00," Naoko said. To hell with it, she thought. Might as well spill the beans now.
"Who chose her?" Rimmer insisted.
"Unit-oo did. We've known for a long time, now," Naoko said. "We've just been trying to avoid the issue. I've shared a very important secret with you, Rimmer, now shut up and help me get this thing ready for launch!"
"Yes…yes, ma'am!" he babbled, and rushed to oversee the rest of the technical crews, all of whom had begun to stop and stare at the strange sight of Rei. Naoko swallowed, and glanced down at Rei. The girl stared down at the back of Unit-o0's head.
"Is that true?" Rei asked. "It chose me?"
"Yes," Naoko said. "You didn't really know, did you?"
"Asuka figured it did," Rei said, distant. "I didn't believe her."
"I told you so," Asuka insisted, but there was no triumph in the words. Naoko shook her head. The children were smarter than she gave them credit for.
"Okay, Rei," she sighed. "In you go."
Rei knew some things about the Evas that were, more or less, academic. At least, to those who knew the Evas. She knew that much of the cybernetics had been in place before there was actually flesh grafted to them, and that the Evas were grown around the reinforced structures. Very little of the creatures were actually cybernetic, but the parts that housed the Plug were completely mechanical, save for vents to allow the Evas own internal LCL supply to seep into the Plug and oxygenate the Pilot.
In the end, of course, that's what the Eva had for blood. LCL. The thought gave Rei a momentary shudder, which was strange. She normally felt so at ease within LCL. Why should it frighten her this time?
Because if this works, and this thing moves, you go outside. And there are things outside. Awful things, things that Mama said weren't really under the bed or hiding in the closet. They were just on the other side of reality, waiting to come over.
She shifted in the LCL, glancing around the Plug. She sat on a reclining crash couch, two massive joysticks on either side of it. A whole bevy of buttons and switches and other things surrounded her, but she couldn't make heads or tails of any of them. There was a gentle glow coming from somewhere, lighting the space. It felt like it was designed for someone bigger than her…which it was. This was a bad idea.
"Rei? Rei, can you hear me?" Rei squeaked, grabbing her head. The voice was Dr. Akagi's, and clear as day, but it was coming from inside. For a brief moment, Rei thought she had lost her mind.
"Dr. Akagi?" she whispered. "Is that you?"
"Yes, Rei, it's me. The Headset is stimulating your auditory cortex directly. You're hearing me in your brain. Pretty neat trick, huh?"
"Eeeeaaauuugghh," Rei whined, rubbing at her face, her forehead, her scalp. "I don't like it!"
"I know, Rei. You'll get used to it," Naoko said.
"Where's Asuka?" she mumbled. She wished Asuka was here next to her, if only to share in the misery.
"I sent her with an escort to the main command center. I'll be moving there myself if this works. Okay, we're going to try and synchronization process on this end."
"What do I need to do?"
"Just relax, okay? Empty out your brain and just relax." Rei shrank down on the couch, regretting having opened her mouth in the first place. It was too late to back out now. Or was it? She could just call it off right now. Call it off and stop. Get out. Run away or hide in a shelter. She could do that. And yet, Rei had seen what these things had done to her family. Sent her friend away, sent her brother away. Asuka's mom was dead because of one. Over all of that, there was the intrinsic link between her and…this. Rei, her sisters, they were all the same as this. In a way, the Evas were siblings. And they had not worked yet. It was important they worked, and now the city was under attack.
They had to work. Just this once. Relax, Rei thought. Just relax. Just relax.
It's you!
"Who said that?" Rei yelped, panicking.
"Who said what?" Naoko asked, the voice echoing in Rei's skull. Rei glanced around, certain she had heard a voice. A voice very familiar, but she couldn't place it.
It's you! There it was again. I've been waiting. You're just as I imagined. It was a soothing voice, and Rei felt her pounding heart slow…relax…she felt safer, somehow. I'm so happy to meet you…the voice whispered, receding to somewhere else. Somewhere…beyond…this….
Rei closed her eyes, and felt her arms relax. She tasted the LCL, imagining herself surrounded by the mermaids, feeling them nuzzle her as she nuzzled back, like a crowd of kittens. This was a safe place. This was the safest place in the world…
The Plug lit up.
"What…hey, Unit-00 just reported a full light up. That can't be right, that's got to be a glitch."
"A full…what does that mean?" Misato asked, turning to Ritsuko. Her friend was crossing the command deck to stare at the tech's monitor.
"I don't believe it: Unit-00 is active and mobile. We have full synchronization with the pilot!" She turned back to Misato. "It's waiting to deploy!"
"Systems are up! AT Field is strengthening. Holy God, that thing is alive and kicking!" the tech cheered, enthusiastically. Misato stared at Ritsuko, shocked beyond words. She had not had any of the Evangelions in mind at the moment, instead worried about the approaching Other. She had been thinking about evacuations, about removing research material and potentially destroying the Center in a last ditch effort. An Eva was active, though. An Eva was active, and that was all she cared about. It was imperfect…but they had a weapon. She knew better than to question good fortune.
"Move it to the catapult and launch it, right now," Misato said. "And put me through to the pilot. Who is the pilot, anyway? How did they get it working?" As soon as she finished asking, Ritsuko made a strangled sound, and turned to face Misato, her lips pressed tightly together. "What? What, Ritz, why are you—" Misato asked, pushing the woman aside and checking the pilot profile that had appeared on screen. She gasped, her eyes widening…then narrowing dangerously. "Noooo," she murmured. "No, no, no, nononononono…." She was practically screaming as she grabbed the monitor. As if to drive the point home, a high and delicate voice cut through over the speakers.
"Um…hello? Test…uh…testing. This…this is Unit-00! Reporting…or…saying hi…I guess," the all-too familiar voice said.
"…Mom's gonna kill me," Misato whimpered.
