"You know your assignment, yes?"
The question, coming from the monolith hologram labeled "02" in big red numbers, was directed towards a teenage boy with ashen gray hair, red eyes, and an almost deathly pallor.
"I do," the boy replied, an eerie smile on his face. "It appears my time draws near."
"Indeed it does," SEELE-02 said in turn. "It is only through sheer luck that we were able to smuggle you out of the Berlin facility without Gutierrez knowing."
"Extremely fortunate, considering he has not deciphered all of the Dead Sea Scrolls just yet," the boy added. "Otherwise he would have discovered my origins do not truly reflect that of the dossier he was handed after usurping leadership of SEELE."
Behind his façade, SEELE-02 nodded. "Nor has he been able to suss out those of us who remain loyal to Chairman Kihl's vision. But enough sentimentality-time is of the essence if we are to implement the Human Instrumentality Project in secret. Therefore, it falls to you, the final messenger, who also holds the soul of Adam. Now go-ingratiate yourself among the masses. Integrate yourself into NERV as best as you can. Then, when the opportunity arises-strike!"
The boy nodded in affirmation. "I understand," he replied. The hologram of SEELE-02 then blinked out, and the boy began heading towards the road. Once he stopped by the side of it, he put into play that which he gleaned from the copy of Hitchhiking for Newbies that he had consulted prior to his arrival in Japan. He assumed a slight slouch in his stance, stuck his right hand in the corresponding pants pocket, and with his left hand, curled all of his fingers till his thumb remained sticking up. He then turned it sideways and proceeded to move his thumb in a 90-degree angle, a motion he repeated until a truck stopped for him. The driver leaned out his open window to address the boy.
"Yo, kid," the driver started to ask. "Where ya headed?"
The boy's smile remained present as he answered. "Tokyo-3, if you don't mind."
Upon his delivery of that line, the background orchestra promptly played the equivalent of "bum-bum-BUUUUUUMMMM!".
Episode 36 - Kaworu-Come-Lately (New Kid in Town)
"That was...a lot I never thought I'd see," Kensuke said, commenting on the things he and Mayumi (from their vantage points in their respective Freakazones) had witnessed while the Freaks had been given the 'grand tour' of Terminal Dogma two days ago. The two of them were talking as they made their way to school, trying to digest what they'd learned. "Even after all the stuff I found out about while 'rooming' with Freakazoid, I still can't believe how much literal mad science went on right under everyone's noses like that!"
"I hear you," the bookworm replied. "While I'm happy Shinji and Rei found a new way to connect, the rest...let me put it this way, it's going to take a whole lot of Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and a dash of Rumiko Takahashi to wash away the rest of Terminal Dogma from my mind."
That's a binge I can get behind! Freakazette added.
"All that aside, right now I'm just worried about what the 17th Angel's going to be like," Mayumi said.
"At least it's the final Angel," Kensuke said, "then all we need to worry about is stopping Commander Ikari and Gutierrez."
Which means we've got a whole lotta preparing to do! Freakazoid stated. Finally, I can dust off that 80's training montage wardrobe I've been saving for a rainy day!
Kensuke sighed a bit at hearing that. "We'll check the music stores to see if they've got any Vangelis, Stan Bush, or John Cafferty," he said resignedly as he and Mayumi walked through the front doors of the school. Minutes later the rest of the classroom had filled up, and Hikari had done her usual 'Stand-bow-sit!' routine as Ms. Mumphrey walked in.
"Good morning, class," the undercover Boa-Magnon greeted. "Before we get into today's lesson, there's someone who would like to introduce themselves. For the first time in a long while, we have a new student joining us." She then turned to the doorway. "You may come in now."
The students of classroom 2-A turned to greet the new arrival, and found themselves surprised by who just walked in. For a certain group of students, even more so.
The boy (as described in the teaser above) had a near-deathly pallor about his skin, to say nothing of his ashen gray hair. The most remarkable features about him were his ruby-red eyes. A smile that was equal parts charming, yet slightly unsettling graced his lips. The boy wrote his name on the board before turning to face the rest of the class.
"How do you all do," he greeted with a slight bow. "My name is Kaworu Nagisa. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
A small amount of chatter erupted among the students, all of it brimming with curiosity about Kaworu. Shinji and Asuka eyed each other warily, as did Kensuke and Mayumi. Rei, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely.
There is something about this boy, she thought to herself, that, as they say, seems to raise my hackles. The moment she thought that, a puzzled look appeared on her face as she looked towards our direction. "Did I say that right?" she asked. "'Raise my hackles'...?" Responding to her concern, a thumbs-up appeared from below the screen, which the First Child noticed. "Thank you!" she said with a small smile.
Shifting the focus back to our bespectacled duo, Kensuke and Mayumi whispered their suspicions to one another.
"You don't think...?" Mayumi started to ask.
"Couldn't be...could it?" Kensuke asked in turn.
Would you look at how most of the girls are all over him? Freakazette asked. You'd think it was the second coming of River Phoenix or something.
Who? Mayumi asked her 'roommate'.
Joaquin's brother, the female wacky wonder answered. He's before your time.
Funnily enough, he makes me think of a young David Bowie for some reason, Freakazoid noted.
That's not what we're thinking! Kensuke said to Freakazoid as he tried to bring him back on track. Mayumi and I think he might be like-well, like Rei! As he thought this, he 'motioned' his 'roomie' towards Rei's direction. Upon taking that glimpse, Freakazoid began to understand what Kensuke was saying.
You sure he's not just some regular albino kid? the male wacky wonder surmised.
Look at how Rei reacted to him, Kensuke pointed out. Those two hadn't met before today, and yet she's already sensing something 'off' about him. Plus, given what we now know about her, she's probably capable of sensing others like herself.
Well, when you put it like that, there's only one good way to see if your theory holds water, Freakazoid said. Here's what we'll do...
The school's main hallway, hours later...
It was the end of the day, and all the students made their way out of the school, eager to get home or to whatever activity they'd planned on doing for the late afternoon. Kaworu, the new fish in the pond, wasn't in as much of a rush, and took his time as he walked the halls, ruminating on the human experiences he'd gone through so far today. So engrossed was he in his thoughts that he didn't see where he was going and unexpectedly crashed into another person.
"EEP!" Mayumi squeaked as she and Kaworu fell to the floor, along with the tall stack of books she was carrying. "I'm so, so sorry, I didn't see you there."
"It's all right," Kaworu replied as he helped Mayumi up while she adjusted her glasses. "Allow me to help you with all this."
"Oh, wow, thank you!" Mayumi said in turn.
All right, Mayumi, time for phase 2, Freakazette nudged. Remember what we practiced...
"So, you're new to the city, right?" Mayumi asked with all the bubbly-ness she could muster. "I'll bet back home you had an innnnteresting life. The places you've been and the things you must've seen, my goodness..."
"Oh, I would not say my time in Berlin was that much of what you would call interesting," Kaworu replied as he picked up a book or two.
"You lived in Berlin? In Germany?" the bookworm asked, feigning surprise. "Oh, that definitely qualifies as innnnteresting! I said to my friend Asuka-she used to live there herself-'I bet you met a lot of innnnteresting people'. I'm always innnnterested in meeting innnnteresting people..."
While Mayumi kept Kaworu engaged as they picked up books, Kensuke quietly tip-toed behind Kaworu, a pair of tweezers in his hand, and carefully, just carefully, plucked a stray hair from the back of his head. Luckily for him, Kaworu seemed to be quite oblivious to his actions. He didn't stay long to find out, as he then quickly bolted for another part of the hallway before he could see the new kid react. By the time he got away, Kaworu had managed to help Mayumi get all her books back into a neat stack.
"...Anyway, thanks again for helping me, and for listening to my spiel," Mayumi said. "Hope you like it here!" With that, the bookworm made off for the school library. Kaworu, slightly puzzled by the long, one-sided conversation he'd been engaged in, shrugged and headed out the door. As soon as the coast was clear, Kensuke and Mayumi reconvened near some lockers.
"Did you get it?" she asked.
Kensuke answered her by showing the tiny vial that now contained the lock of Kaworu's hair.
Perfect! both Freakazoid and Freakazette said.
Moments later, the two specs-wearing teens left the school and ducked into an alley. Having made sure the coast was clear, they both said the magic words:
"Ooooh, Freak Out!"
In a flash, Freakazoid and Freakazette dashed out of the alley and zoomed off to the Freakalair.
The Freakalair, minutes later...
The two Freaks were in one of the Freakalair's labs, where they, R.O.D.D.Y. and Naoko were analyzing the hair with a variety of tests and gizmos. When they finished, they waited about fifteen minutes for the results. A *PING!* signaled them that they were in.
"Well? Whaddya got?" Freakazoid asked.
"It's just as the kids suspected, laddie," the digital Scotsman replied.
"Like Rei, this Kaworu is a human-Angel hybrid clone, what NERV and SEELE codenamed as a 'Nephilim'," Naoko explained. "The main difference between them is that while Rei's Angelic side comes from Lilith, Kaworu's is all Adam. In fact, thanks to some files I was able to covertly sneak a peek at from NERV's Berlin facility, it turns out Kaworu actually holds the soul of Adam itself."
"And that means...?" Freakazette asked expectantly.
"It's highly likely that Kaworu is the 17th Angel," Naoko answered grimly.
The Freaks (and their 'roommates') became highly surprised by this.
Wait, if Kaworu came here from NERV-Berlin...Mayumi began to theorize.
Then that means SEELE deliberately sent him here! Kensuke finished. But wait, hold on-why would they do that if Gutierrez shut down the Human Instrumentality Project?
"More than likely, it's 'cause there may be a wee number on SEELE's council who might be die-hards for Kihl's original plans," R.O.D.D.Y. put forward.
"Now there's a nice wrinkle," Freakazoid mused. "Still, we'd better keep an eye on Kaworu, see how he goes about his business."
The shore of Lake Ashi, around the same time...
Shinji and Asuka decided to take a short walk by the lake, right when a beautiful sunset was just starting. It made for quite a bit of romantic scenery, and the two of them took in every ounce of it as they strolled barefoot on the sand, arm-in-arm. (If one were more imaginative, the two of them, with the city at their backs, would've made for a decent homage to the cover of the Bob Dylan album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.)
The two of them eventually came to a stop next to a sculpture set near one of the walkways and watched the sunset for a while. Both of them were musing on how far the two of them had come since Asuka had arrived in Japan, part of them amazed at how their relationship had progressed.
"Asuka?" Shinji asked.
"Yeah?" the redhead responded.
"You ever think about...?" Shinji asked further.
"Think about what?"
"Well...what you'd want to do when this is all over?"
Asuka gave him a slightly-quizzical look before turning back to the sunset. "It's funny, I actually have been thinking about it for a little while now. I mean, I've got you, my mom's actually alive-all the stuff I lacked when I was pushing myself as an EVA pilot, I've practically got it back. I actually like the idea of finding something to do with my life, about being done with piloting some 10-story tall war machine."
Shinji smiled a bit on hearing that. "So what are you thinking?"
"...Well, after getting my doctorate, obviously," Asuka began, "I was thinking that I'd want to-"
Before she could finish her thought, both their ears perked up at the sound of someone humming, which slightly startled them. Asuka was not too happy.
When I get my hands on the idiot who killed the mood...she mentally grumbled. The two of them turned to the source of the humming, and found it-or rather, him-sitting atop the sculpture. Said source turned out to be their mysterious new classmate, and the tune he was humming happened to be one of the most frequently-used classical pieces in most popular media: Beethoven's 9th Symphony, the "Ode to Joy".
"Ummm..." Shinji sounded.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" Asuka crossly demanded, hands on her hips. "We were kinda having a moment here..."
"Hm? Oh, my apologies," Kaworu replied. "I was unaware of your presence. Forgive me, I was just admiring the view and felt a little music would be warranted."
"Really, now?" Asuka asked skeptically.
"Yes," Kaworu answered. "I find singing to be enriching for the soul. All of music, really, as it is the crowning achievement of Lilim civilization. Don't you agree, Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Sohryu?"
"Uh...Lilim?" Shinji asked, confused. "Is that some kind of ancient people? I don't remember reading about them in history class." Something else then occurred to him that he didn't register at first. "Hey wait, how'd you know our names? I don't think we introduced ourselves to you."
"You did not," Kaworu said as he got down from the sculpture. "But you two are quite well-known, even if you aren't that aware of your position."
"And just how do you know about our 'position'?" Asuka pressed, an eyebrow arched.
"Ah, where are my manners?" Kaworu corrected himself. "I believe I unintentionally, as they say, buried the lead. I know about your positions because I am in the same one as well. Like you two, I am one of the Children that's part of the design. Specifically, I am the Seventh Child."
Hearing this took Shinji and Asuka by great surprise. "SEVENTH Child?"
Kaworu nodded in response. "But you can just call me Kaworu, if that is all right."
"Seriously? Then the 17th Angel's gotta be dangerous enough that they sent you here as a back-up," Shinji surmised.
"It would appear to be the case," Kaworu said in turn. "I do look forward to working with you and the rest of the pilots."
"Riiight..." Asuka said before she promptly nudged Shinji into making a beeline towards the direction of the apartment. "Well, would you look at the time! We've really gotta get back. See you at HQ!" With that, the two of them hastily started walking back (Shinji with a bit of reluctance), after taking a moment to slip their shoes on before they got off the sand. As soon as they were out of Kaworu's earshot, Shinji spoke up.
"Asuka? Weren't we being rude leaving him in the lurch like that?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
Asuka rolled her eyes a bit before she answered. "Do I have to do the thinking of the two of us? Listen carefully, sweet baka of mine: didn't he seem awfully strange to you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Think back to earlier today and what he said just now," Asuka elaborated. "When he first came to class, Rei was glaring daggers at him, a kid she never met before today. One who, just a couple minutes ago, claimed to be the Seventh Child, sent to us as a back-up with the 17th Angel coming seemingly any day now. One who ALSO happens to possess some of the same physical traits as your sister, complete with eyes that'd make Dracula envious. Speaking of Rei again, given what we know she's capable of, wouldn't it stand to reason that she glared at him like that because she could actually sense something off about the guy?"
Shinji considered Asuka's words as they continued on to the apartment, realizing Asuka made some valid points. "If you're right about all that, then we need to speak with Rei the minute we get back."
"My thoughts exactly," Asuka affirmed.
Meanwhile, back at the lakeshore, Kaworu looked on after the retreating forms of Asuka and Shinji.
"Hmmm...the Second and Third Children are much different from what I was initially presented," he pondered. "How unusual..."
Kaworu's eyes then glimpsed a three-week-old newspaper laying on the ground near a recycling bin. His eyes widened a bit with astonishment when he caught sight of the front page photo and headline, showing Freakazoid and Freakazette in the aftermath of their thwarting of a carjacking ring. He then briefly looked our way before giving himself a face-palm.
"Oh, no..." he bemoaned, "I've incarnated into one of those universes, haven't I?"
To be continued...
**Author's Note(s)**
At last, Kaworu's come to town! And soon, he's gonna wish he didn't!
The chapter's title riffs on "New Kid in Town", a song from the 1976 Eagles album Hotel California.
Mayumi name-drops two famous English authors in Austen and Christie, and the famous manga-ka behind Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
Mayumi's stalling tactic while she and Kaworu pick up her books riffs on Bug Bunny's lines from when he gives Gossamer the hairy monster a manicure in the 1946 Looney Tunes short "Hair-Raising Hare".
Kaworu's line at the end of the chapter is a nod to the fan theory that he remembers everything that happens to him in other timelines of Evangelion.
On a different note, the latest chapter of GainaxVel3o's "Shinji Ikari: The Amazing Spider-Man" story is up, and features a guest omake by yours truly! You'll recall that I threw a small nod to that story in Episode 14 (aka chapter 17) of my story; well, the omake is a follow-up to that cameo that I think you'll all enjoy.
And now for some fun, inspired partly by a short fanfic by author Charles Xavier (no, not the one you're thinking of).
Omake 16 - Fowl Play at NERV HQ
The pilots were all gathered in the briefing room, where Misato and Ritsuko were about to announce something-or someone-to them.
"All right guys," Misato started, "with the threat of the next Angel over our heads, we've been sent an additional pilot for backup. So let me introduce you to the newest addition to our corps." Her hand pointed towards the approaching plugsuit-clad figure. "Everyone, meet the 7th Child, Jun Boo-yaku!" When the new pilot stood fully-revealed, the other pilots were taken by surprise by how...unusual he looked. He was a bit taller than them, and had distinctly...avian-like features, complete with a beak and feathers. Even his legs looked more birdlike than human. The pilots, at first, were unsure of what to say, until Toji spoke up first.
"Uh, well, welcome to the team, new guy!" he said as he held out a hand. Boo-yaku stared at Toji's hand curiously, as if he didn't understand the gesture.
"Brahk," Boo-yaku responded. "Bahk-bahk-bahk..."
The others were puzzled by this.
"Great, first weirdo we've gotten in a while," Asuka muttered under her breath.
"H-hello," Shinji greeted. "I hope we work well together."
The words that came out of Rei's mouth proved to be quite unexpected. "I believe he is a chicken," the bluenette said.
The others were taken aback by what Rei had just said.
"Rei! I'm surprised at you," Shinji said.
"Never took you for the type who'd jump to conclusions so quickly," Asuka added. "And believe me, I'd know!"
"Yeah, Ayanami, you just met the guy!" Toji chimed in. "You don't even know what he'll be like as a pilot!"
"But it is the truth," Rei responded. "I am telling you that Boo-yaku is a chicken, a giant chicken."
"Really, Rei, we usually expect better of you," Ritsuko slightly scolded as she ushered everyone into the testing chambers.
Minutes later, everyone was observing Boo-yaku as he sat in Unit-01's entry plug.
"You doing fine in there, Boo-yaku?" Misato asked through the comms.
"Brahk brahk brahk-khah!" the '7th Child' responded as he gave something of a thumbs-up.
"How's it looking?" Misato asked as she turned to the bridge bunnies.
"Everything checks out for first stage," Makoto reported.
"Second stage went through successfully," Maya added.
"Readings are a bit unusual, but so far, so good," Shigeru threw in. "Annnnd...third stage passed."
All eyes then turned to the purple EVA as its eyes lit up. Then, to everyone's shock, the EVA suddenly broke free from its restraints...and did something completely unexpected. It started scratching at the floor with its foot while flapping its arms as if they were wings, and then appeared to peck at random spots on the ground.
"Wha-what's going on?!" Ritsuko asked. "What the heck is Boo-yaku doing in there?!"
Suddenly, EVA Unit-01 stopped and started clutching its head, before it then got to its knees and forcefully ejected the entry plug. The metal cylinder went flying out of the EVA's back before landing in another part of the test chamber.
"Quick! Get a medical team down there and get him out!" Misato ordered as she and the others went down to check on the new pilot's well-being. By the time they'd gotten down there, the plug had been opened, spilling LCL out onto the floor, and Boo-yaku stumbled out in a daze. As he wobbled about, his plugsuit got caught on a broken part of the plug and was torn straight off. The staff and pilots found themselves further shocked by what stood revealed in front of them.
Boo-yaku Jun was, in fact, a giant chicken. Literally.
"Bahk-bahk-bahk-kah!" Boo clucked, flapping and running around like an actual chicken would.
The others just stood there, gaping at the sight before them, nearly-speechless. Only Rei said something to break the tension.
"I believe I told you all that he was a chicken," she affirmed. "And I was not calling anyone names."
Up in the Commander's office, Gendo and Fuyutsuki observed all this on a closed-circuit monitor. The two commanders looked at each other, still stunned and befuddled by what had just occurred, if the massive sweat drops by their heads indicated anything.
"Fuyutsuki?" Gendo asked.
"Yes, Ikari?" the former professor replied.
"Is it just me, or has the Committee gotten...sloppy?"
The next thing Boo knew, he was literally kicked out of NERV HQ and landed on the ground outside the pyramid-shaped building. Unfazed by this, the large chicken stood back up, dusted himself off, and began making his way out of the city.
Freakazoid and Freakazette then appeared from below the screen and turned to address us.
"Come on, sing it with us now," Freakazoid urged.
"You all know you want to!" Freakazette added.
The two of them then launched into a familiar refrain.
Freakazoid and Freakazette:
You wear a disguise,
to look like human guys,
but you're not a man,
you're a chicken, Boo!
