Episode 20 - (Nearly Done with) A Break from a Piece of the Action
Maya kept her focus on the current subject of her observations as she input data into the spreadsheet she had up on her computer. Data that, unfortunately, had yet to show anything remotely new. It'd been that way for almost the entire time that the presently-tiny Leiliel, the 12th Angel, had been the newest addition to NERV HQ's labs. Yet in all the time that it'd been there, floating in the ACME progressive jar that Freakazoid had provided them, Leiliel hadn't really done much of anything except look around the lab, like an eye taking stock of its surroundings. The fact that it didn't 'blink', unnerved Maya a bit. Thankfully, mostly she felt bored by the lack of activity the captive Angel was showing.
"There's gotta be something you do other than, well, float," Maya said to herself as she added another line of data. She then took a moment to grab a tiny cookie from the bag she'd gotten from the vending machine a couple of hours prior and munched on it. She failed to notice a few of the crumbs fall into the small air holes in the lid of the jar, and when Leiliel saw them coming, it quickly shifted forms into a tiny black hole and swallowed them-something that Maya did notice, much to her surprise. Her level of surprise further increased when she saw the orb avatar return, only with its pattern now resembling a smiley face. Maya, for a few moments, was speechless. Deciding to check to see if she wasn't imagining things, Maya carefully unscrewed the lid, took out another cookie from the bag, and dropped it into the jar. Leiliel quickly reacted, shifting into its Dirac portal form to devour the cookie whole. Returning to its orb avatar form, the smiley face pattern became even more pronounced. Maya was startled when she heard the diminutive Angel go "mmm" in response to the cookie's taste. Wanting to confirm a second time, just to be on the safe side, Maya warily dropped another cookie into the jar, which Leiliel quickly, delightfully devoured. A small smile emerging on her face, Maya quickly got her phone out and immediately dialed a number.
"Hello? Maya? What's going on?" Ritsuko asked on the other line.
"Sempai, you've gotta get down here! I had a breakthrough with Leiliel!" Maya excitedly replied. "Turns out our guest is a bit of a real Cookie Monster! You've got to see it to believe it, trust me!"
A few minutes later, Ritsuko walked into the lab briskly towards where Maya and the jar were.
"All right, let's see your 'Cookie Monster'," Ritsuko said.
"Just watch," Maya said in turn as she got out another cookie from the bag. Once again, she dropped it into the jar and Leiliel promptly ate it, with Ritsuko becoming highly surprised by the smiley face pattern on the orb avatar as well as the sounds of the Angel of Night savoring the taste of the treat. It was official: the Angel currently in their possession (that wasn't down in Terminal Dogma or grafted onto Commander Ikari's right palm) was a foodie-a foodie with a sweet tooth.
"Maya, this is brilliant!" Ritsuko commented, impressed with her protege's discovery. "We might be able to get it to cooperate more with our tests, thanks to you." The head scientist then gave it some more thought before she looked back up at Maya. "I'll need to get back to my other task for now, but going forward I want you to try experimenting with different foods, maybe see which ones will act as good 'rewards' for Leiliel."
"You got it," Maya agreed with a nod.
"Heh, I wonder how it'd react to Shinji's cooking..." Ritsuko mused to herself as she went to leave the lab.
Once she returned to her workspace, Ritsuko set about wrapping up her current assignment, at the behest of Commander Ikari. On his orders, and utilizing some schematics sent to him by Gutierrez, Ritsuko had constructed a remote-like device designed to detect Freakazoid's particular energy signature, and she was just putting the finishing touches on it. As soon as she snapped the casing together, she got on the phone and let Gendo know the 'Freakafinder' was complete. All she heard in return was one word:
"Excellent."
At that moment, Ritsuko tried her hardest not to picture a evilly-grinning Gendo wearing a dark blue suit and an orange tie, hunched over at his desk with his hands tented menacingly while the outline of a nuclear power plant steamed in the background behind a large window.
The streets of Tokyo-3, evening...
Freakazoid was on his usual rounds, having just thwarted a simple bank robbery mere moments ago, when he caught sight of something in the sky. Someone was shining a bright spotlight-a light that had his logo on it. A curious look on his face, he followed the spotlight to its source, the roof of the Tokyo-3 PD's headquarters, and found two familiar faces standing next to the spotlight. One was Sgt. Kusagabe, and the other was, surprisingly, Ryoji Kaji, his trademark sloppy grin on his face.
"Hey, I know you!" Freakazoid said as he recognized the latter. "You and that Misato lady saw me and Lilith playing Uno the other day!"
"Ryoji Kaji," the unshaven spy introduced himself as he and Freakazoid shook hands, "honored to meet one of the world's greatest heroes."
"Oh, I wouldn't say greatest," Freakazoid said, feigning modesty with a dismissive wave. "So, what's with the signal?" he asked, scratching his head as he looked at the spotlight. "Huh, actually, never thought of getting my own before now..."
"Figured it was an easier way to contact you without driving all over the place and hoping to run into you," Kaji replied with a shrug. "I mean hey, it works for Batman."
-X-
At that moment, somewhere across town in the apartment of one Mayumi Yamagishi, the bespectacled bookworm in question sneezed.
"*Ugh* Why me?" she said as she adjusted her glasses, bemoaning her being subject to such a tired anime cliche.
-X-
"Inspector Kaji's been wanting to talk to you for a while now," Kusagabe explained. "Thought I'd be the go-between on your behalf."
"Well, since you got my attention, what's this all about?" Freakazoid asked the scruffy spy.
"Call it curiosity," Kaji said. "Not about your...superheroing, but your interactions with all things NERV since arriving in the city." He then glanced a bit at Kusagabe before continuing. "Think we can talk somewhere more discreet?"
"Oh, don't mind Kusagabe, I trust him!" Freakazoid replied, vouching for the officer. "Think you can tune us out, Kusagabe?"
"Consider me 'not here'," the police sergeant replied as he turned around and started reading a newspaper. Freakazoid and Kaji turned back to face each other as their conversation resumed.
"So far, in your time facing the Angels," Kaji said, "you somehow ventured into the MAGI on one occasion, and just recently figured out a way to take control of Evangelion Unit-01. And of course, me and Katsuragi walking in on your little game with Lilith. So my main point is...how much of the true face of NERV do you know about?"
"Well..." Freakazoid said almost eagerly, arms slightly crossed with his hand holding his chin.
NERV HQ, sync testing lab, around the same time...
The four pilots were well into their sync and harmonics tests for the day, but today something was going to be very different, as far as the pilots of Units-01 and 02 were concerned. It began when Shinji started feeling something slightly shifting as he held his concentration. And then, unexpectedly, he heard the least likeliest sound one could ever hear while syncing with an EVA:
The sound of someone knocking on a door.
Within his mindscape, Shinji looked around nervously, until the sound of the knocking came again, making him turn around to see a door.
"Um...who is it?" Shinji asked, apprehension in his voice.
"Shinji?" came a voice from the other side of the door. "It...it's me. It's mom."
Shinji's eyes widened upon hearing that. "M-Mom?! B-but...it can't be-" he said in disbelief. As far as he knew, Yui Ikari disappeared in an accident during the contact experiment with Unit-01-the very machine he'd been piloting. But now, after hearing her words, he began remembering the sound of her voice. "Can it...?"
"May I-may I come in?" Yui asked.
Shinji hesitated a moment, before finally saying "Yes". With permission granted, the door opened and in walked Yui. Sure enough, long-forgotten memories came flooding back to Shinji, and he quickly ran to her, where she wrapped him in a hug that'd been a long time coming. It felt good, really good, something he never realized he'd wanted till it happened.
"I thought-I thought you were gone," Shinji said as he looked up at Yui. "I went to your marker weeks ago..."
"I'm here, Shinji, I always have been," Yui replied. Hearing her say that caused Shinji to realize something right then.
"That warm feeling I've felt whenever I piloted..." he began to say. "Was that-?"
"Yes," Yui answered with a smile on her face. "I wasn't truly gone, Shinji. What happened all those years ago was the EVA absorbing me into its core. It's how you've been able to sync with Unit-01 all this time."
"But why?" Shinji asked. "Why did you even go through with it?"
Yui hesitated briefly before she answered. "Do you remember what I said the day of the experiment?"
Shinji nodded. "You said you were going to show me the bright future you were making for me," he replied.
"That wasn't entirely why," Yui admitted. "The other reasons have to do with those who were in charge of my work, and those of everyone who worked at NERV's predecessor, GEHIRN."
"What are you talking about?" Shinji asked, confused.
"...Shinji, have you heard anyone at NERV mention anything about a 'UN Human Instrumentality Committee?'," Yui asked.
"Briefly, mostly off-hand," Shinji answered. "I'd heard they're the ones that control NERV's money. How father usually speaks to them whenever the budget needs to be increased or something."
"...*SIGH* Shinji, I can definitely tell you that they're that, and more-much more," Yui said. "The Committee itself is just a front. It's the public face of SEELE."
Shinji was surprised by this revelation. "SEELE? What's that?" he asked.
"They're the Illuminati-the for real one," Yui replied. "They're a group of cruel, old, rich men obsessed with gaining immortality. To that end, they've had their hooks sunk into virtually every major power structure on the planet-governments, military forces, conglomerates, you name it, there's a thread that ties them back to SEELE. And I'm sorry to say this, but our family-my side of it at least-was part of its upper echelons for years. I know this will be a lot to take in, but please hear me out."
Shinji, already awed by what she'd been telling him, nodded for her to continue.
"To achieve their goals, one of the entities they set up was the UN Artificial Evolution Laboratory, which your father and I joined before we were married. They were the ones who put together the expedition that Misato's father led, to Antarctica. They didn't know it at the time, but Professor Katsuragi and his crew were being sent to their doom. SEELE deliberately set events into motion that led to them finding Adam, the First Angel...and from there, Second Impact."
Shinji was shocked. Second Impact, made to happen on purpose?
"Your father, conniving sneak that he is, actually visited the team at the old men's behest and left with all the data the expedition collected, mere moments before Second Impact occurred. I never let it show, but I was utterly disgusted by what had been done. I'd joined the UNAEL because I was thinking that we'd be making a difference in the world. As time went on and the Lab was reorganized as GEHIRN, I started learning more and more about what the old men had intended. To say I was horrified that my own father willingly went along with it was an understatement. More so that your father felt the same at one point, devoted to it as much as he was to me. Then Project-E began.
The EVAs are actually armored clones created from Angelic material-Units-00, 02, 03, 04 and 05 were derived from Adam, while Unit-01 is the only one derived from Lilith, which made it the linchpin for SEELE's plans. I helped design and develop what would become Unit-00 and Unit-01, and when 01 was nearing completion, I knew I found a way that I could put a stopgap in their scheme. The old men had begun to suspect I was going to oppose their agenda, so I needed to act fast, or my life would be forfeit. I made arrangements for Unit-01's contact experiment to occur earlier than planned, with myself as the test pilot. Unit-01 was still attached spiritually to Lilith, and if my hypotheses were right, it would act in the way I intended, and would stall the old men's efforts for some time. I told Prof. Fuyutsuki, who also was under threat from SEELE, but I didn't tell your father because he would've tried to stop me. Then came the day of the experiment, and, well...you know the rest."
Shinji nodded sadly, remembering clearly the events of that day.
"I'd thought that your father would know what to do, that he'd try to help you after my absorption. I'm not ashamed to say I was wrong. Shinji, I am so, so sorry for scarring you like that. I never meant for it to happen, you have to believe me. I was trying to protect you, but in the end, I did more harm than good. I want to make things right, I truly do."
Shinji decided to pose a question at that moment. "What was SEELE planning to do? Why did they want the EVAs built? Why all, well, this?" he asked, arms outstretched to indicate the multiple things he questioned.
"I told you they were obsessed with achieving immortality," Yui answered. "How they plan to do it? By bringing about a Third Impact."
Shinji's eyes went wide with horror. "WHAT?!" he said. "How?!"
"They've been using ancient documents called the Dead Sea Scrolls as a road map for this," Yui explained. "They predicted everything-Second Impact, the coming of the Angels, the building of the EVAs, and the undermining of the spirit of three children of prophecy: you, Asuka, and Rei. Once the conditions outlined in the Scrolls are met, which includes defeating all 17 Angels, they can then proceed with a 'ceremony' that will wipe out all human life on the planet. Once done, the souls of humankind will be merged into a great super-being, with the SEELE council as its ruling consciousness."
"That...that's horrible," Shinji said with fear in his voice. "There's-there's gotta be something we can do! We need to stop them!"
"Right now, we can't," Yui said dishearteningly, before embracing a more hopeful demeanor. "But there are forces at work with the goal of stopping SEELE in mind. You know Misato's boyfriend, the guy with the really bad stubble?"
"Mr. Kaji?" Shinji asked in turn. "What's he-?"
"His role as a UN inspector is a cover," Yui said, "he's been working as a triple-agent on behalf of the JDA, spying on both NERV and SEELE, trying to bring them down from the inside."
"How do you know all this?" Shinji asked.
Yui smiled a bit. "Being plugged into the MAGI has its perks," she replied. "Anyway, he's not the only one. As of late, Freakazoid's working on stopping them too."
"Freakazoid?!" Shinji said with surprise. "When did you meet-OH, right, when the 13th Angel attacked."
Yui nodded. "He took control of Unit-01," she elaborated, "allowing me to deal with the Dummy System before it could do the same. I owe him a lot, and he convinced me to abandon all pretense of mysteriousness and just talk to you. It was just the shot in the arm I needed."
"I'm glad it worked," Shinji said. "Wait, does that mean that the other EVAs-?"
"So far, only Unit-00 and Unit-02 have cores powered by human souls," Yui said. "I don't know who's in 00, but 02's has Asuka's mom, Kyoko. Right now, they're having a conversation like ours; Freakazoid met with her earlier and convinced her to speak with Asuka. I imagine she's probably unbelievably happy right now."
"I'll bet," Shinji replied, before he got serious again. "So, what should we do?"
"For now, keep quiet about all you learned," Yui instructed. "If you can, you, Asuka and Rei should speak with Kaji and Misato, let them know they can trust you. Freakazoid's working on trying to get more people involved, so hopefully, we can strike back at SEELE when the time's right. In the meantime, I think you'd better get ready to de-sync-the test is ending soon." When Shinji frowned, Yui smiled and held his cheek for a moment. "Don't worry, we'll talk again soon. Please be careful, and remember, don't say a word." She then gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Shinji."
Shinji nodded, and made the motion of zipping his lips to prove he understood. With that, the testing finished, and Shinji found himself back in the real world. As soon as he and the other pilots exited and made their way to the locker rooms, he and Asuka stopped for a moment, letting Toji and Rei go on ahead.
"Asuka, did you-?" he began to ask.
"My mama's alive," Asuka said in a giddy whisper, "she's alive!" The smile vanished from her face as she suddenly got serious. "Looks like you, me and Wondergirl have a lot to talk about later." Shinji, himself also wearing a serious expression, nodded affirmatively at that statement.
The roof of Tokyo-3 PD HQ, around the same time...
"...And that's about the half of it," Freakazoid said as he rolled up the projector screen, having finished his explanation of SEELE and its plans to Kaji with a nicely-put-together PowerPoint presentation. "Any questions?"
Kaji just stared at Freakazoid, his mouth agape, awestruck by what he'd just learned. Kusagabe continued to read through the paper, undisturbed and unperturbed. Kaji then did a double-take from Freakazoid to us and back, as all the facts and information he'd been gathering over the course of his investigation started to fall into place like puzzle pieces. Pieces that now formed a very whole picture. Kaji's face then twisted into a grimace of equal parts anger and realization as only three words escaped his lips:
"I KNEW IT!" he exclaimed with gritted teeth.
Below him, a subtitle appeared that said No he didn't.
To be continued...
**Author's Note(s)**
Another breather chapter (full of so much exposition!) before Freakazoid squares off with Boa-Magnon again. ANYWAY...
Yep, I gave the fun-sized Leiliel a massive sweet tooth. "The Call" is disrupted by the Angel's snacking. Its portal powers will come in very handy for the future confrontation with the Lobe and the crossover-within-the-crossover that factors greatly into it.
Ritsuko, of course, is trying to refrain from imagining Gendo as the frequent malevolent presence on
The Simpsons known as C. Montgomery Burns.
Kaji utilizing a signal light on top of a police headquarters building to get Freakazoid's attention is a shout-out to his taking up the Dark Knight's mantle in both the original and revised versions of author Chuckman's "Last Child of Krypton". The sneeze cut with Mayumi alludes to Mike313's Superwomen of EVA 2 story "Dark Lady of Tokyo-3", where the bookworm's Batgirl.
Freakazoid's "Well..." is lifted from when Gutierrez finally asks him what his weakness is in the season two episode "Hero Boy".
Yui calling SEELE the 'for real' Illuminati riffs on the title villain of Freakazoid, season one, episode two's first segment being called "the bogeyman-the for real one". (Didn't say his name, not falling into that pit, you can't make me...)
Kaji's reaction at the end of Freakazoid's presentation mirrors Freakazoid's own from the season two episode "The Freakazoid", after he finds out the truth about the "Superhero Code Book" that's been giving him trouble throughout the story.
And now for some fun, combining Fan Boy's 'Ode to Leonard Nimoy' from season one, episode five with the 'Dot's Poetry Corner' segments from Animaniacs.
OMAKE 7 - Rei's Poetry Corner
The scene opened on the exterior of the Japanese branch of the Warner Cafe, while the sound of a bass and bongos filled the background.
Announcer: "And now, 'Rei's Poetry Corner'."
Inside, an audience sat at tables lit by small candles, all eyes focused on the spotlit stage. Rei was standing at the microphone, a stool next to her with a glass of water resting atop it.
"*Ahem* 'An Ode to Freakazoid'," Rei said as she readied herself at the mic. She then began to recite her (first-ever) love/beat poem:
Freakazoid, oh Freakazoid,
Within my heart, you have filled a void.
You have found heretofore unknown ways to make me smile and laugh.
For once, I'm wary of making a conversational gaffe.
When you aren't around, I feel quite blue,
more so than my signature hairdo.
I'd call you up on the telephone,
but the act is not sufficient alone.
But soon a new idea appears in my head,
where I'll write a letter, a song, an anthem, instead.
As soon as the Angels are gone, and all existence is no longer on the line...
Freakazoid, oh Freakazoid, will you be mine?
Rei then took her bow to an applause of snapping fingers as she said "Thank you".
At a table in the back, an incognito Freakazoid (wearing one of those 'Groucho' glasses disguises) talked with the person sitting next to him.
"So, whaddya think?" he asked them.
The other person sitting at the table gave it some thought before she replied.
"She's got potential," Dot Warner said as she took a sip of her tea. "I'd say give her a few more pointers, and she'll be going places."