Chapter 1 - Just Call Me Agatha
The mid-morning sun beat down on a small house on the outskirts of Fujikawa. In the guest bedroom of that house, a young brown-haired boy stood at his window, searching the sky for any sign of clouds. He gave up after a minute, and resigned himself to another uncomfortably warm day as he sat back down at his desk.
As part of his teacher's effort to help him learn another language, Shinji was now staring at a piece of paper on his desk with only two words on it.
Dear Pen-pal,
Shinji had quickly become able to speak the language well enough that his teacher called it 'fluent enough to get by', despite the fact that the boy had started later in life than was recommended for teaching a child a new language. The old man then remarked that a Japanese accent made the language sound a little strange to his ears.
Shinji knew the language enough to be able to write clearly, even if he did make quite a few mistakes, but he simply didn't know how to talk to somebody he'd never met. After all, he knew literally nothing about the person who would be receiving this letter. His teacher refused to give any hints, stating that it was better to learn about a person from that person. Shinji didn't even know if the person he was writing to was a girl or another boy.
My name is Shinji Ikari. I am writing to you from Japan.
He decided to start with the easy bits, his name and where he was from, but hit a wall again. What was 'supposed' to come next? After staring at the paper for ten minutes with no progress made, he eventually got up and looked for his teacher.
"Having trouble?" the old man asked as he glanced over his book at Shinji. There was no television in the house; the old man kept himself occupied by teaching his student, reading, or tending the small garden behind their house.
"Yes sir. I don't know what to write about," Shinji replied. "I know you're not going to tell me about them, but..."
"Since you don't know the person yet," the teacher gently interrupted, "why not tell them a few things about yourself? Get the ball rolling, so to speak. That way your pen-pal will also have things to respond to when they write their own letter back. But since it's your first letter, don't try and cram your life story in. You can tell them more about yourself as time goes on."
After a moment's thought, Shinji nodded and thanked his teacher before returning to the letter. The words came a little easier now that he had something to write about, even if he did feel like it was rather narcissistic to talk about himself so much.
I am seven years old and living with a teacher where I am home-schooled...
After an hour of slowly writing the rest of the letter, Shinji got up and went back to his teacher.
"Done? Let me take a look then." The old man moved to his desk where he uncapped a red pen and started to read, circling every mistake he found. Several minutes passed before he handed the letter back. "Correct these errors, then it will be ready to send. Oh, and you can drop your last name from the introduction. No need to be so formal. They're a pen-pal, not a CEO."
Shinji didn't know what a 'CEO' was, but he got the point. Once it was completed to the satisfaction of his teacher, he licked the envelope flap and sealed it up. He then wrote the address he was given on the envelope, and the teacher and his student went out together to post it.
As the envelope slid into the mailbox and the lid slammed shut, Shinji fervently hoped that his new pen-pal wouldn't hate it.
XXX
With every day that passed, Shinji's nervousness slowly grew. He tried to keep himself occupied by putting more effort into his studies, but soon found himself out of homework and admonished by his teacher to 'take a break'.
So he decided to go out into the garden and help his teacher by doing some weeding. Within ten minutes he was back inside holding his arm under the kitchen tap where an errant rose thorn had gouged a nasty line in it. The next day his teacher handed him a long pair of gardening gloves and told him to be more careful.
Just when it seemed to him that the person had decided not to bother replying, a letter landed on his desk. Shinji stared at it for a moment, then up at his teacher. The man gave a little smile before returning to his chair and book.
The young boy had to take a minute and several long breaths before he felt up to opening the letter, which he did with the utmost care.
Dear Shinji,
Apparently I'm not allowed to tell you my real name. Security or something. For now, just call me Agatha.
He slowly read the letter out loud, stumbling over some of the longer words.
I'm also not allowed to tell you about what I do, which I only found out after writing the first letter. They could have told me before, but I appear to be surrounded by the dumbest smart people in the history of IT. So in a way this is already the second letter I'm writing to you.
I'm six and a half years old, and since you wrote the address on the envelope, you should know where I live. The weather's kind of nice here all year long, unlike what I've heard about Japan. Endless summer would drive me crazy.
Shinji paused for a moment as he looked out his window at yet another clear sky. Japan's eternal summer, something to do with Second Impact changing the planet's weather, was only generally tolerable during the wet season, but that tended to bring its own problems. He wondered if 'Agatha' would ever come to Japan, or if he would ever go to see them.
With one final frown directed at his window, Shinji continued through the letter.
So you play the cello, huh? Are you any good at it? My dad once bought me an instrument, but I only managed a few lessons before stuff got in the way. Maybe I'll have another go once things have settled down.
He involuntarily shivered a little when the pen-pal mentioned her father, and the next line didn't help his sharply dropping mood.
You say you're living with a teacher being home-schooled. Where's your mum and dad?
Anyway, that's enough from me for now. Apparently it takes about a week for mail to get from here to there, so I expect to hear from you again in two weeks at most. Don't keep me waiting!
Regards,
Agatha
Shinji wrote his reply that same day, mentioning that he had been playing the cello for a few years, but didn't feel like he was very good at it yet. He almost asked Agatha what instrument she had received, but something told him that it wasn't a good idea to bring up the girl's father. He definitely couldn't bring himself to write about his own parents, especially when his mother was-
He shook his head. Now was not the time to think of such things.
But despite the taboo subjects, it got much easier to write after the first letter. As they learned more about each other, even with Agatha's 'security thing', their letters slowly grew longer and longer. Shinji's skill at writing in her language grew by leaps and bounds, until eventually his teacher claimed that there was nothing left for him to learn.
He still wrote the letters. Finishing a class was no reason to suddenly ignore a friend, even if he still didn't know what she looked like. Apparently the security issues Agatha had to deal with extended to photos as well, so she couldn't send one to him. He had made an attempt to send one to Agatha, but in her next letter she had said that it never reached her.
For Shinji's tenth birthday, his teacher got something that would make their correspondence much easier: a computer. Thankfully, it allowed for easy typing in both Japanese and German. In their final written letters, Shinji and Agatha exchanged email addresses. Then they moved to the World Wide Web.
Both of them were ecstatic about no longer having to wait nearly two weeks to talk to each other. Now, at most, there was a day's delay between emails. Even when Agatha was busy -she wasn't allowed to say what with- she would always reply as soon as she could.
Time passed, and their long-distance friendship grew. The two of them would occasionally send small gifts to each other through the mail, and Shinji occasionally sent a recording of himself playing the cello so that Agatha would stop badgering him about it. Apparently she really liked the pieces despite his own feelings on them.
And then the two of them discovered an instant messaging program.
XXX
Agatha: I heard something really dumb at school yesterday during lunch.
The message alert jingle dragged Shinji out of his maths homework. A distraction was just what he needed, as the numbers on the page were starting to melt together.
CelloBoy: What was it?
Agatha: Some girl got a stupid boy to give his soul to her.
CelloBoy: ...What?
Agatha: Exactly what I said. They're boyfriend and girlfriend, and she gave him a fancy looking piece of paper and told him to sign it. Something about how his immortal soul now belongs to her til infinity blah blah blah.
CelloBoy: Um... does the soul even exist?
Agatha: Well, there's myths and legends and such about people selling their soul to the devil for things like money and power. But how would you sign away something intangible?
CelloBoy: It almost sounds like the girlfriend wanted to marry him, only... not?
Agatha: Yeah, binding them together for eternity. Blech. So sappy. He didn't even read the contract before signing it, like a dumbass. She could have put anything in there. For all we know he's now permanently enslaved to her.
CelloBoy: So do you believe in the soul?
There was an uncomfortably long wait before Agatha finally replied.
Agatha: Hell no. Just look at this contract I found on the internet. I think it's the same as what I saw the boy sign.
Shinji clicked the link. The image slowly loaded, and his eyebrows raised at how fancy the contract looked. Ornate line-work bordered a full page of text, with lines such as 'In exchange for _, I hereby offer my immortal soul to _ (hereafter referred to as THE RECIPIENT)' and 'This pact is legally binding, even if physically destroyed.'
CelloBoy: This thing is weird.
Agatha: I know. Somebody actually sat down and created this. See that bit about the Infernal Administration?
With a quick look back at the image, Shinji found the part in question.
CelloBoy: 'If at any time the details of this pact are called into argument, or an attempt to alter the pact is made, an agent of the Infernal Administration must be at hand to oversee the negotiations.'
CelloBoy: Um... wow. Whoever made this sure was thorough.
Agatha: Yeah. Lot of time on their hands or something.
CelloBoy: Would such a thing even be legal? You know, if the soul did exist. This is just something you found on the internet.
Agatha: If it existed then of course it would be legal. Probably. But it doesn't, so it doesn't matter. Hell, why not print it out, sign it and send it to me in exchange for some chocolate? It's about all that contract's really worth.
CelloBoy: Heh. Maybe I'll do that anyway. I wouldn't mind some chocolate.
Shinji pressed CTRL-P on his keyboard, sending the image to his printer. He raised an eyebrow when he returned to the messaging client and saw the next message.
Agatha: Wait, really?! You're actually gonna sign it?!
CelloBoy: Why not? You said yourself that it's all bogus.
Agatha: ...Well... Fine. But just in case it isn't bogus, I'm gonna send you some damn fine chocolate. Don't want you to feel ripped off in case science discovers the soul or whatever.
CelloBoy: Thanks. I'm looking forward to it. And if by some miracle that does happen, I won't hold it against you. Oh, what should I put on the contract for what I'm getting?
Agatha: Do whatever you like. Bogus, remember? Anyway, I better get going. Nearly 8am here, gotta get ready for school.
CelloBoy: Yeah, I should get back to my maths homework. Talk to you again soon.
Agatha: Later.
Agatha has signed off.
As Shinji posted the letter an hour later, he wondered if the pact required that both parties actually be physically present for the signing. Then he shrugged as he remembered that it didn't matter anyway, before walking back home, eagerly anticipating, as the contract clearly stated, 'some damn fine chocolate'.
XXX
What am I doing? thought Shinji as he waited in the fluid-filled metal tube. I move halfway across the country because my father sent a letter with one word, arrive right as... something attacks, end up trying to fight that thing in a giant robot I've never seen before, resulting in me falling flat on my face and getting my rear handed to me. Then I pass out from getting stabbed in the head, and wake up in a hospital to find out that not only did I not actually get stabbed, I'd somehow killed the... Angel or whatever.
He exhaled slowly. And now I've asked to start training just because I remembered what my friend told me a while ago. 'Just because you don't want to do something you have to, doesn't mean you should put it off until the last minute. If you get it over with as soon as possible, you'll feel much better afterwards.' Seemed like she was speaking from experience too.
Shinji let a single tiny humourless chuckle escape his mouth, unnoticed by the people observing him. I wonder if Agatha would be proud of me for this. He scrunched his eyes closed and sighed. I just don't want to screw up again. Everybody already saw me fall over and damage their expensive robot. I really don't want to disappoint Misato again either, especially after she's offered her own home to some kid she's just met.
He opened his eyes again. It seemed as if the people in charge were almost ready.
Alright... here we go, Shinji.
XXX
"Alright," said the blonde woman, tiredness evident in her voice. "Let's begin."
As the bridge crew before her began tapping at their consoles and calling out progress reports, a purple-haired woman stepped up next to her.
"When was the last time you slept, Ritsuko?" the woman asked. "Were you up all night getting ready for this?"
"Of course I was, Misato," Ritsuko grumpily replied. "I wasn't expecting the Third Child to want to start training so soon after being released from the hospital. His profile didn't give any hint that he'd want to be so... pro-active."
Misato shrugged. "Poor kid almost got his ass kicked because we sent him out with no training. Maybe he wants to be as ready as possible for next time."
"Perhaps." Ritsuko looked up at the giant holographic screen which showed a brown-haired boy sitting in a metal tube. "How do you feel, Shinji? No rush today, so take the time to get comfortable. You'll be in there for a few hours."
"I'm alright, Doctor Akagi," Shinji replied.
"Good." At a hand signal from one of the bridge crew, Ritsuko called out, "Prepare for the first simulation. Since we didn't have time to do it properly before, we're starting right from the beginning: basic movement."
Two new screens appeared in the air in front of the bridge, the first showing the view of the simulated city from the massive bipedal machine the boy was piloting, and the second showing a map of the area. A red line began to grow on the map, heading into the city and weaving about the buildings before exiting on the opposite side.
"Since this is just a simulation, don't stress about crashing into anything," said Ritsuko, before quickly adding, "But that doesn't mean you can just smash through it. You will be doing this until you get it perfect."
"Y-yes ma'am."
XXX
It took over an hour before Shinji managed to cleanly walk through the city, and another half hour before he could do it at a run. After that came basic combat training, first with the giant-robot-sized knife located in Unit-01's left pauldron, and then with a giant-robot-sized pistol, before moving onto what the blonde scientist called a Pallet Rifle.
Target the centre.. pull the switch...
Bullets the size of cars slammed into his targets, while shell casings bigger than buses fell to the ground at Unit-01's feet.
"You're doing great!" came the enthusiastic exclamation from his new guardian and roommate after a couple hours of shooting at stationary targets, then moving targets, then finally targets that returned fire and attempted to attack him. "Still a ways to go, but we're not expecting to make a sharpshooter out of you in a day."
"A week then?" he lamely joked.
Misato chuckled. "Hey, you'll be starting school in a couple days, remember. Call it a fortnight."
The scientist lady cut in. "Well now that you know the basics of CQC and how not to shoot yourself in the foot, it's time we teach you about the final weapon in the Eva's arsenal: the AT-Field."
That was when things started to go wrong.
XXX
"No AT-Field detected."
"I think we should take a break now," suggested Misato. "We've been at this one thing for an hour with absolutely no progress."
Ritsuko sighed, the thumb and forefinger of one hand slowly stroking her forehead. "Fine," she relented, "Ten minute break to go over the systems again, then we'll have one more go."
No anomalies detected, no errors in the code, no mechanical malfunctions. And yet for some reason the Third Child seemed incapable of generating an AT-Field. It certainly wasn't laziness or stupidity on the boy's part, as it was clear he was trying his best. A glance at the screen clearly showed the despondence Shinji was feeling at being incapable of performing an apparently simple task.
"Ideas, anybody?" Ritsuko asked the room after a few silent minutes. "Anything that might cause this? Anything else we can try?"
"Um..."
The blonde scientist turned to the mousy female bridge officer. "Let's hear it, Lieutenant Ibuki."
Maya Ibuki flinched a little as the gaze of everybody in the room fell on her, but soon recovered. "Perhaps we could get another pilot in? Maybe Pilot Ayanami could teach him, since... well... she's a pilot too?"
"A good idea, but the First Child is still in a serious condition." Ritsuko glanced down at her tablet and scanned through a few files. "At least a week until she'll be ready for release."
"And another damn Angel could attack tomorrow for all we know," Misato grumbled.
"Precisely."
"How about the Second Child then?" asked Shigeru Aoba, the long-haired bridge officer "She's not injured, but she is in Germany."
Ritsuko nodded. "Good idea. We can set up a conference call between the pilots." A quick look at her watch and some swift mental arithmetic gave her the current time in Germany. "It's about ten-thirty in the morning there now, so she'll likely be on-site already. Let's get NERV-Berlin on the phone and tell them to get her ready."
XXX
Fifteen minutes later a new screen was added to the holographic display. A young red-headed girl with blue eyes, clad in a red plugsuit, glared at the camera with arms folded.
"Alright, where's this damn rookie who doesn't know how to use his AT-Field?" she demanded. With a few button presses, Maya connected their comm systems. Immediately, her head drew back. "Him? Hmph, not much to look at, is he?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shinji's head shot up from where it had been nestled against his chest ever since the last failed attempt. Any further words died in his throat as he locked eyes with the newcomer.
"Ah good, might be something there after all," Asuka murmured almost to herself in German as a smirk began to form on her face.
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Um, I can understand you, you know," he replied, also in German.
The Second Child's eyebrows almost flew off her face as they shot up. "Holy shit, you can actually speak German?"
"Yes, I learned it when I was a lot younger-"
"As interesting as I'm sure your conversation is," Ritsuko interrupted in typical adult annoyance which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she couldn't understand them, "can we please get back to business?"
"Alright," Asuka replied with a sigh as she moved back to Japanese. "So. Third Child. You got a name? Preferably something easier to say than 'Third Child'?"
"Ah, my name is Shinji Ikari."
"Shin-" The redhead paused, frowning for a moment as she tilted her head to the side and her gaze turned introspective, before shaking her head. "Shinji Ikari. I take it you're the Commander's son, then?"
"Y-yeah."
Asuka scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Great, nepotism." Before Shinji could respond, she barrelled on. "And you're having trouble projecting an AT-Field." Her eyes shifted, moving from the camera that showed Shinji's face to the bridge. "Nothing wrong on your end I take it?"
Misato nodded. "We've gone over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Twice. We're hoping that since you're a pilot you'd be able to better explain, and demonstrate, how to do it."
"Alright then." Asuka interlaced her fingers and stretched her hands out in front of her. "Pay attention, Third Child! Watch how a real pilot does this!"
Nobody heard the softly muttered, "Why did she bother asking my name?" coming from Unit-01.
A new screen appeared where once had been a map of the simulation area, now showing a view of Asuka's Evangelion; the red and orange Unit-02. For a moment the view shimmered, as if heat waves were distorting the image before abruptly vanishing once more.
"Unit-02 has deployed its AT-Field," Makoto Hyuga reported.
"Done! So simple even you could do it." Asuka loftily stated.
"But... how?" Shinji confusedly asked. "I didn't really see you do anything."
"Ugh. I said to pay attention, stupid!"
"To what?! All you did was frown, then start insulting me!"
German curses started to flow from the mouth of the Second Child. "Look. All you have to do is imagine a barrier in front of you..."
Ritsuko mentally tuned out the squabbling brats. Pilot Soryu was now going over ground they had already trodden with Shinji, so all she could do was hope that something clicked for the Third Child so they could continue his training.
Preferably before the next Angel arrived.
She sighed heavily and wished there was a free chair for her to collapse into. She had been hoping to have a little free time to unwind after the Third Angel's attack, but Shinji had insisted on starting training. "This isn't working," she muttered as she leaned on the console next to Maya. "There's no logical reason why the Third Child can't project an AT-Field. He synchronises just fine with Unit-01. Should we try him in Unit-00?"
"I'm afraid I don't know as much about the Evas as you, ma'am, so I can't offer an explanation," Maya admitted. "The only thing I can think to ask is: from your perspective, how exactly does the pilot project an AT-Field?"
"Simple," replied Ritsuko. "Well, sort of. As the pilot focuses on generating the barrier, their soul resonates with the Eva's core, which then amplifies it and actually projects the AT-Field. That's part of the reason why-"
"Um... excuse me?"
Ritsuko looked up and glared at the interruption. "What is it, Pilot Ikari?"
Shinji fidgeted in his seat while Asuka glared irritatedly at him. Clearly their training was still not producing any results.
"What you just said about the pilot's soul..." the boy slowly said. "Could you... please repeat that?"
"What?" Ritsuko blinked owlishly for a moment. "You mean what I said about how the pilot's soul resonates with the core?"
"Yeah. That." Now Shinji was looking edgy, nervously shifting around in his seat.
"Stop wasting time, Third," Asuka angrily cut in. "We're not going anywhere until you can get your damn AT-Field up."
"B-but I think this is really i-important!" Shinji stammered. "The thing is, it's going to sound s-stupid!"
"Of course it will. Stupid boy, stupid ideas."
"Knock it off, Asuka," Misato sharply rebuked. "We've tried literally everything. I want to hear what he's got to say. Maybe it's the cause for all this."
Asuka slouched back into her pilot chair and threw up her arms. "Fine. Waste everybody's time some more. See if I care."
"I-I mean it though! It's going to sound stupid and you're going to laugh at me!" Shinji sounded like he was almost about to start crying.
"Everybody settle down!" Misato's authoritative voice cut through the air and into the two entry plugs, and the bridge fell completely silent. She stared around the room, focusing on each individual for a second before continuing on to the next. Finally, she spoke in a lower tone of voice. "Okay. Shinji, this is a serious problem for all of us. We promise not to laugh. Go ahead and say what's on your mind."
Out of the corner of her eye, Ritsuko clearly saw Asuka roll her eyes, but said nothing. It was the Ikari brat's time to speak.
"R-right. Um... So..." In his entry plug, Shinji blushed and stammered and looked anywhere but at the camera. "A-a few years ago, I-I..." He buried his face in his gloved hands. "Oh gods..." A single look from Misato kept the bridge silent, and Shinji soon found his voice again. "A few years ago I...
"I sold my soul for some chocolate."
A pin falling on the floor would have sounded like an explosion in the deathly quiet room. But then...
"Snrk."
Misato slapped a hand over the offending mouth: her own. But she couldn't stop the small chuckles escaping past her fingers. Next to her, Ritsuko was looking down at the floor and shaking her head in bemusement, a smile evident on her lips. Even the bridge officers were unable to remain stoic.
"Really, Shinji? Some chocolate?" Misato remarked, trying desperately not to erupt into outright laughter. "I mean, I know I've said in the past that I'd sell my own soul for some beer, but at least I stipulated that it would need to be a slab or better."
"You said you wouldn't laugh!" Shinji's plaintive whine echoed throughout the bridge.
Somehow, that made it worse. Now Ritsuko and the bridge officers were openly grinning, but the upward tilt to Maya's mouth seemed strained as the woman glanced around the room.
"I thought about selling my soul for more musical talent," Shigeru admitted. "Couldn't find any buyers though."
Now only one person wasn't laughing.
And she was sitting in her entry plug, eyes so wide open they were in danger of falling out of her head, staring at the camera showing Shinji's defeated expression. Finally, after the blonde doctor made some remark about having already sold her soul, she shuffled forward on her chair and began stabbing at the holographic keyboard next to it. With a glance at her fellow pilot, who was now beginning to curl up into a ball of embarrassment, she took a deep breath.
"ENOUGH!"
The sheer volume of the shout nearly sent Misato and Ritsuko stumbling to the ground. Later, NERV personnel would claim they had heard the Second Child all the way from the cafeteria.
"W-what was that?" Ritsuko shakily asked.
"Pilot Soryu patched herself into Unit-01's external speakers," Maya replied after a moment.
"You're goddamn right I did! Because I'm a fucking genius, but you people are apparently utter dumbasses!"
Misato raised a hand to tuck a lock of loose hair back behind her ear. "We're sorry, Asuka, it's just-"
"What is going on here?"
Everybody on the bridge turned towards the raised platform where the Supreme Commander of NERV would sit. Commander Ikari himself was not present, but the gray-haired man currently staring down at them was proving he was just as capable of inciting fear in his subordinates. An aura of extreme disapproval radiated off of him.
"Who the hell are you, old man?" Asuka demanded.
The newcomer stared through the screen as if he were about to strike the arrogant girl dead. "I am Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. Would you like to tell me why I was capable of hearing your voice from the Commander's office, Pilot Soryu?"
"Sub... shit," Asuka muttered as an embarrassed blush grew on her face. "Um... sorry sir, I've never seen you in person before." She shook her head and rallied. "I want to level a complaint against these bridge officers for harassing my fellow pilot, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki."
"These officers? Harassment?" An eyebrow raised on the sub-commander's face. "Rather a serious accusation. Tell me what happened."
The adult officers remained abashedly silent as a thirteen year old girl spoke of them laughing at a fourteen year old boy who was just trying to offer an explanation for his inability to do something they had asked of him.
"I see." Fuyutsuki rubbed his chin in thought. "By the way, I'm not condoning this sort of behaviour, but I've read your profile. Why are you sticking up so adamantly for a boy you don't know, to the point that you essentially hacked into our system just to defend him?"
Asuka looked away, tapping her forefingers together nervously. "...Because I do know him. We've known each other for years."
Down on the bridge, Misato slapped a hand to her head as she came to a realisation. In Unit-01's entry plug, Shinji leaned forward in his chair, shock painted all over his face.
"Hello Shinji," Asuka quietly said, staring into his eyes through the camera. "Just call me Agatha."
XXX
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XXX
A/N: This story is already on Sufficient Velocity. Right now I've started to go through and edit it for publishing on AO3 and FFN.