Act I: Germany
Twenty two hours had passed her by as she sat in the hard chair laid out by the librarian. This wasn't odd in any way. She'd come in at Five O' Clock and leave at three, typing vigorously at the shitty laptop that came from her publisher. The twelve thousand words she mashed into the screen had been long forgotten by the sleep deprived woman. She'd read the words over in the morning, hoping they would be decent enough not to have to re-write them... again. The second shift librarian was new, he couldn't possibly understand what was happening. Then again, not even the older ones knew how she did it. Finishing the last sentence, she saved, then closed the laptop quickly, making sure not to damage it in any way.
She waddled over to the entrance, merely grunting as the late-shifter said goodbye. The woman plopped in her car, slightly shaking the thing. That was to be expected from an old model like this one. The less than 5 minute drive to her overpriced house was probably not worth bringing the car, but it was just easier this way. She already did her part to save the world. Deafening silence met her when she arrived home. That meant her roommate was off on another gig, that in turn meant she'd be getting fast food the next few days.
Sighing, she slumped into her bed. The used furniture creaked and groaned under the weight of the woman. The dreams and nightmares came easy, but it was best to forget about them come morning.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Asuka Langley Sohryu is a renowned researcher of Anthropological studies. She
has made many discoveries in the field of child development and the effects of con-
ditions surrounding them. She was an Evangelion Pilot for the infamous organization
NERV. She lives with her roommate Shinji in New Tokyo.
She hated all of it. The stupid gifts they brought her, the expensive wine and food, the overly posh individuals, and most importantly the way she was treated like a flower. She didn't need a bunch of inbred creeps walking on eggshells when they would speak together like her stupid father, Karl, would tell everyone to.
Karl was a bastard. The asshole slept with a nurse as her poor mother laid in the next room over. They were married before the dirt covered Mama's coffin. And yet here she was, watching Christina and the child that replaced her congratulating each other on how many asses they could kiss. She hated her 'Step-brother'. The only reason that she came was because her roommate was out of town for the next week or so. That and she could see Dr. Meyer and gossip about the newest studies and how obsolete the field of Anthropology was these days.
There he was, sitting next to his replacement family. She didn't care anymore, she rather just ignored how he was a cheating bastard who took the royal status from her mother. Her mind wandered back to a time when she was eighteen, just a few months after the UN had completed the construction of "New Tokyo". The city she called home was built on the remains of Tokyo-2, which in turn was built on a farming village in Middle-of-Nowhere, Japan. The day was only a month after turning the legal age where she could change her name, she wanted to never associate her name with her old job, nor her asshole father. She would have changed it to 'Shikinami', a Japanese ship that sank in World War Two. She ultimately went against the idea after she realized she would only tarnish her mother's name.
Unit-02 and Other Ways to Traumatize Children Asuka Langley Sohryu Page 23
Karl Langley was an American who moved to Germany at the age of 16. He shou-
ld have stayed in the States.
The way he met Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu involves a lot of politics, and even more
lies by the man. While Kyoko worked hard to earn several doctorites and raise a child,
Karl used his family's influence to earn a shitty desk job that could barely pay rent in a
one-room apartment. Lucky for that bastard, his wife was rich. In every facet of life, I
strive to be more like the hard working Kyoko and less like the arrogant Karl. Sadly this
was the story of my parents. Even sadder, Karl Langley is the only one who is still alive.
My Mama was partly absorbed by Evangelion Unit-02. Leaving her broken in the mi-
nd for six months. Yet for almost a year and a half, he was sleeping with her nurse; Chr-
istina. The, at this point, wealthy Karl seduced her, despite being around twice her age. I
would almost pity the woman, but I don't. She tried replacing my mother, instead of acti-
ng like how a newly introduced parental figure should. Instead of slowly gaining the trust
of a very clearly traumatized girl, she tried to replace her entirely. What didn't help was
the fact they never shut the door while having sex at the hospital where my mother was.
Even when she was allowed to come home, Christina stayed.
Then they replaced me. At this point I was fully engrossed in my training to become
an EVA pilot. Mama's death had spurred me to become an eight year old workaholic, fully
being taken into NERV's systems. I wanted nothing to do with the big, empty house in the
German countryside. This was when I found out that Christina was pregnant.
Uwe Langley strutted down the stairs that he would never inherit. The house would belong to her after Karl dies. The only reason she didn't own it now was the fact she didn't want to fill out the extremely long and tedious paperwork. That and she liked Japan better, there were less idiots there. Uwe was the king of entitled douchebags. He had no right to be here, yet he walked around like he bought it with his own money. If she was ever to prematurely acquire the house, she'd kick his ass out first. He was the reason she ever considered it. She avoided him for as long as she could, but he walked straight toward her. He'd poster how much better off he was, not understanding she could kick his ass to the curb if she wanted.
"So it looks like you showed up. I never would have thought you'd come to Father's party. After all, you're always talking about how much you hate us and what we're about."
"Shut up. I came because my roommate was out of town and I got a free ride. Cathy is expecting me later. I never come because of Karl. Much less you or Christina."
"As to be expected from someone who views us as lesser than her."
"You are."
With that she took a final sip of the wine she was sipping, slamming it down hard enough to crack the bottom of the cheap 'glass'. The woman walked out the door and whipped out her phone. She opened an app and ordered a ride. The car took only five minutes to arrive, but in that time she thanked the serving staff, the maids and the security. A white SUV pulled up to the entrance that she was waiting at. The man confirmed it was her and drove the forty minutes without asking questions, just letting the music play. It was better this way, it always was.
The home of Catherine 'Cathy' Meyers was a lot smaller than the Manor that the "Sohryus" lived in. That being said, it was in no way small. Being a successful Anthropologist had some benefits. It was already past eleven, but she was well past buzzed and just wanted some sleep. Knocking extremely too loud, the drunken woman was just a few minutes from passing out on the doorstep. Thankfully, Cathy opened the door and allowed her in. After a brief scolding, the woman crawled into the guest bedroom and swiftly fell asleep.
The morning brought nothing but a severe hangover. The night was mostly a blur, aside from a brief interaction with her Step-brother. She got up and wandered to the suitcase she hauled over to the house early last evening, before she went to the gathering. It contained a few sets of clothing, it wasn't like she was planning to spend more than two days here. Today was when she would...
A knock at the door stirred her.
"-ka! You still asleep? It's half past Ten! If you are, then you should stop drinking so much when you come."
It was Cathy. The two went far back, meeting almost five years ago. They met at a conference in Spain. Cathy gave the presentation, while the woman was in the audience. Having getten her degree at thirteen, she had spent the last five years either giving testimony to the UN, doing interviews, conducting research, or attending places like this. She was already known for several tests on the developing mind in several situations, including replicating some of her own childhood traumas in hopes to discover what made her tick. Her most famous study involved asking a group of four year olds, eight year olds, and fourteen year olds who had no mothers. It focused on what they would give to see their mothers once again, often the answer by the younger kids was they'd give anything, while the older kids and a few younger kids would express how they didn't know their mother enough for it to be worth it.
Cathy opened the door to the room, peering at the freshly woken woman. There she stood for a few minutes conversing about a colleague who published a bogus study last month. Both knew that the other didn't really have much to talk about. The woman was only here to get inspiration for the hardest part of her book. The part about her mother.
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I loved my mother. I still do in fact. But she wasn't ever there for me. When I need-
ed a presence that could stabilize me, she wasn't there. She was even the root cause
for a large number of problems through my teenage years. But I can't do anything but
love her.
No matter how she broke herself trying to perfect an impossibly flawed mechanism,
leaving behind a young, highly impressionable child. Yet she wasn't gone, she was just
not a person anymore. Her mind was in several pieces, shattered into two jars. One jar
was open, allowing her a view of the child she created, yet the other was closed around
a scarecrow masquerading as her own daughter. The closed jar ripped open it's top one
day, taking the scarecrow with it.
The scarecrow manifested as a rag doll. I hated that doll more than anyone has hated
anything. I still turn my head at dolls, even to this day. This doll was me to her, even
when I would watch her in the hospital she would call her Asuka.
"My darling Asuka, Mama cooked your favorite for you. If you complain about what
you like and dislike, that girl will laugh at you."
I was that girl. It was the worst moment in my already extremely low life. There was
nothing that hurt me more than that. It was like that almost every day, or at least when
Karl wanted to visit his replacement.
The woman stood at the unmarked grave of her mother. The cemetery was almost completely empty. Not many people wanted to be reminded of the fact that they could die, especially since most of them have experienced a type of death before. She knew it too well however, having actually died, before being brought back. Instrumentality was like that.
"Hello Mama, it's been a while. Not since the last battle. Even then, I still wonder if that was even you, or just my own imagination. The fact is, I think about you often. I think about how you died, how you saved me, and how you doomed me. I'm writing a book now. Not like the others, this one's a memoir. It's my way of moving on, from EVA, you, and my childhood. Sometimes I forget it's been ten years since Third Impact and that I'm no longer a teenager, but a young adult. And honestly, I don't know which is harder. But I'll get through it, I always have."
At this point, Dr. Asuka Langley Sohryu walked out of the borderline abandoned cemetery that housed her mother's grave. Truth be told, it was very unlikely she would ever see her mother's body. Her soul, or souls, were still wiped across the moon. If the ladle souls of both Dr. Ikaris were still there, her mother's would be too. It was ironic in a way; she visited the grave to move on, yet she felt even emptier. This must be what they're talking about when they describe becoming an adult.
The walk through the small city surrounding the area was plessent, if mostly absent in Asuka's mind. Her thoughts fell around wildly. She'd have to make a few addendums to her chapter on Mama. The street was starting to get buisier, culminating in a crowd. Why the hell were they here? It was a simple CRT shop.
"Why is it so crowded here? Do people really care that much about old TVs?" Asuka asked, plainly annoyed at the large disturbance.
"That's Alexus Lebretus! He's the last SEELE member in Germany!" The guy next to her said. Asuka raised an eyebrow. She thought they were all in custody. Just another rung on the ladder she supposed…
"Whatever."
Asuka continued her walk without further interruptions from her past city was quiet, despite the small crowd around the barbershop she passed. The strong wind propelled by the German Autumn blew her wild red hair in its wake. The sweatshirt she wore protected her from the lower temperature, but not from the chills she got every time saw the slightest hint of winter. Winter freaked her out. Having spent over half her life without it, snow still made her uneasy. It reminded her of a distant past where her hatred was ruled by her ghostly co-worker. The pure white that would cover her new world, derived from the body of a falling god and ordered by the man who compelled her. Fortunately, there was still a month until it would start snowing again. The grown woman, afraid of snow.