We're heading towards the finale of the Opening Arc! Woot Woot! Got some great action and scenes coming up in the next few chapters! Enjoy!
I do want to take a quick moment to talk about some things however. Scenes and Characters from various other versions of Evangelion are going to be in this story. Those being, the Manga (Mainly for backstories and some scenes exclusive to it), Rebuild (Mainly 2.0, as well as introducing Mari as an extra character), and a few videogame storylines (1st and 2nd Impression, and Girlfriend of Steel). This allows me to both utilise more characters, and make larger changes to the main story as we go along.
August 7th, 2015
"So that's what it's like when you smile..." Shinji glanced over at Misato as they wandered the hallways of NERV HQ. Shinji would be going with Misato to take a look at something once he had been given his pilot status back. Misato wandered ahead of him, muttering as she walked.
"What was that?" Shinji asked, wondering what Misato was talking about.
"Just thinking. Although, I think that was the first time I've actually seen you smile." Misato smiled at him, taking an opportunity, while the boy had his guard down, to tease him. "You're pretty cute, Shinji. Cuter than you'd think anyway." Shinji blushed as Misato started to poke him with her elbow, a teasing grin on her face.
"Misato..."
Steps could be heard coming down the hallway. Shinji and Misato glanced up at the noise, seeing Rei Ayanami come into view. She stopped when she saw the Third Child.
"So... you didn't quit."
"Yeah... I came back." Shinji smiled slightly in reply. Rei expression didn't change. She pushed past Shinji, not rough, but noticeable.
"I could have piloted Unit-01 perfectly well." Rei said no more as she continued around the corner, disappearing from view. Shinji and Misato stared after her, in Shinji's case, dumbfounded.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Nah." Misato replied, "She's like that with everybody. Unlike you, nobody has ever seen Rei smile."
Shinji continued to stare at where Rei once was. Thoughts clouding his mind. 'What happened to her?'
June 31st, 2015
"Begin Activation."
- Neon Genesis Evangelion S2 Works - Disc 3, Track 8 - E-5 (Rhythm Only) -
"Connecting main power to all circuits."
"Main power supply connected. Commencing Activation system." Gendo stared straight ahead at the visage of the orange Evangelion Unit-00, currently being held in restraints against the far wall. Unit-00 was having an activation test with the First Child, Rei Ayanami, currently inside Unit-00's Entry Plug. "Activation Voltage is approaching critical level. 0.5, 0.2. Rising." Inside the small control area, Ritsuko Akagi and Kozo Fuyutsuki stood, also watching the activation test.
"Beginning the second phase of the activation."
"The First Child has begun link-up."
"Start-up system, Phase 2."
"Synapses inserted. Junctions connecting."
"Cardiograph transmitting pulse."
"All circuits operational."
"No problems with initial contact."
"Power supplied to brachial muscles in both arms."
"All nerve links check out normal."
"Checklist satisfactory up to 2550. Cleared to 2580."
"Preparing for third stage activation."
- End -
"Counting down to absolute borderline. 0.9... 0.8... 0.7... 0.5... 0.4... 0.3..." Suddenly a large crash sounded, and warning alarms blared across the entire facility. "The pulses are flowing backward!"
- Neon Genesis Evangelion OST I - Track 17 - EVA-00 -
Across the control area, Unit-00 started to fight against its restraints, pulling and tugging against the wall, said wall was starting to crack under the pressure from the giant robot.
"Something's going wrong in the third stage!"
"Rejection occurring in the nerve centre elements!"
"Cease contact! Break all circuits through number six!" Ritsuko instructed Maya.
"Negative! The signal's not being received!"
The Orange Evangelion Unit pulled hard against its restraints. Struggling for a moment, the Evangelion managed to shift hard forward, pulling the arm and shoulder restraints from the wall, pulling out chunks in the process. Stalking forward, Unit-00 headed towards the control area, where the various NERV employees stood.
"Unit-00 is out of control!"
"Abort the experiment. Shut off the power supply." Gendo replied, not looking at Maya at all. His focus completely on Unit-00.
"Yes, sir!" Maya replied, smashing the glass pane covering the lever with her bare fist. Yanking on the lever, the Umbilical Cord came straight out the back of Unit-00, dropping to the floor with a massive clunk.
"Unit-00 has switched to backup power!" Ritsuko called out, watching as Unit-00 continued to stalk towards them, wringing back and forth, whipping its head around in multiple directions.
"Thirty-five seconds until complete shutdown of Unit-00."
In a fit of rage, Unit-00 lifted up its arm and launched a punch at Gendo Ikari, who continued to stand still, watching intently. The glass cracked, ready to collapse at any moment. Unit-00 quickly followed this up with five more punches, denting the wall and cracking the glass. On the fifth punch, the glass gave way and collapsed, falling to pieces across the floor of the Control Area. Gendo finally stepped back, shock etched on his impassive face.
"Commander, it's dangerous! You need to get back!" Ritsuko called out as Unit-00 slumped for a brief moment, the back opened, and a plug shot out the back.
"Auto ejection sequence activated!"
"Dammit!" Gendo replied as the Entry Plug trailed along the ceiling, the thrusters giving it the last push it needed. Unit-00's Entry Plug resided in the top corner, pushing against the two walls.
"Complete shutdown of Unit-00 in ten seconds!"
"Use the Bakelite suppression system! Hurry!" Ritsuko called out, before hearing a loud clang. The Entry Plug's thrusters had stopped working, and the Plug was falling rapidly to the ground.
"Rei!"
As Unit-00's Entry Plug landed, red liquid started to be sprayed from the walls, focused on Unit-00 alone. With a final push, the completely out of control Unit-00 began to smash its head into the walls, trying to do as much damage as possible. This didn't last long, as Unit-00 deactivated and slumped forward, completely silent.
- End -
"Get me down there right now!" Gendo called out to the various operators in the room, who quickly got to work in bringing NERV's Commander down to the ground level. Everyone was shocked. The Commander had never shown so much affection towards someone before.
As soon as Gendo landed, he ran straight towards Unit-00's Entry Plug. Gendo grabbed the emergency release handles immediately. Jumping back quickly, Gendo lost his glasses to the ground as his hands burned from the immense heat coming from the Entry Plug. Trying again, the staff watched as Gendo willingly burned his hands to open the Entry Plug. Swinging the door open, the red LCL poured out as Gendo stuck his head inside.
"Rei, are you alright?" Rei slowly lifted her head, blood was flowing from a fresh wound behind her blue hair. The colour contrasting drastically against the White of her Plug Suit. Rei slowly nodded in confirmation, although she certainly didn't look okay. "I see." Gendo replied as no one moved.
On the ground, Gendo's former glasses melted slightly due to the excessive heat, the glass cracking under the pressure.
August 7th, 2015
NERV was hard at work. After the incident with Unit-00 weeks prior, it had been contained in Bakelite, a fast-acting red phenol resin, designed to quickly harden from its liquid form in the event of an Evangelion going berserk and losing control, allowing NERV to keep the operation under control.
Up above, Gendo Ikari stood watching as the hard resin was attacked by a variety of machines, with the intent of breaking it apart and freeing the Orange Evangelion.
"Rei Ayanami. Age: Fourteen. The first test subject chosen by the Marduk Institute. Officially called, the First Child. Designated pilot for the Prototype Evangelion Unit-00. Her past is a complete mystery, eradicated. All personal records, erased." Ritsuko recited as she had a drink at the local bar with Misato.
"So, do we have any idea what caused the accident during the test?" Misato replied, taking a large gulp off her drink.
"We still don't know. However, we've come to a consensus that Mental Instability on the part of the pilot was a primary cause."
"Mental Instability? In Rei?" Misato thought to herself as Ritsuko took a cigarette in hand and started to smoke. 'Rei? Mental Instability? That girl barely has any emotion. How can it be that?'
"Yes. In the aftermath, her mind became much more disturbed than we had anticipated."
"So, what did happen?"
"I don't know. But, she could have..."
"Did something occur to you?" Misato glanced across at her friend, wondering on her face.
"No, it can't be it."
The site of Unit-01's battle with Shamshel was currently bustling with activity. White outlines marked the places where Unit-01, as well as Shamshel, had landed. Around the site, a large amount of tents and buildings had been erected around a larger tent hiding something.
"So, this is what our enemy looks like." Shinji commented as he stared up at the tarp, covering the large body of Shamshel. Said Angel was currently hovering beside Shinji, completely bewildered by the situation.
"This isn't creepy at all."
"It's awesome, Shamshel!"
"Not everyone is amazed at the same things you are Sachiel." Shamshel replied as Sachiel continued to buzz around the area in glee. He didn't get to see his own body so seeing his brothers was a good backup.
Misato laughed as she walked into view, staring up at the bulky form of the Angel. She had forgone the red jacket and skirt today, instead deciding simply on a black shirt and set off jeans. Up above, Ritsuko Akagi, wearing her signature white lab coat, continued her investigations of the Angel itself.
"Amazing. Everything except the core itself is basically intact. This is a perfect sample." Ritsuko was glancing at her clipboard, where she had noted as much as possible about the Angel. "Thanks, Shinji! This will be a great help!"
"Yeah, yeah," Misato replied, sounding very bored. "Have you found anything interesting yet?" Ritsuko sighed as she came down to their level, indicating with her hand, she led the small group towards a small room. Seating herself at the computer, she ran some code, ending with the numbers 601 appearing on screen in bright green.
"What the hell is this?" Misato asked, confused by the situation.
"This is the error code for: cannot be analysed." Ritsuko replied.
"You mean, you have no idea what it is?"
"Yeah. What we do know is that the Angel is composed of some type of matter."
"Big surprise there." Sachiel sarcastically commented, getting a look from Ritsuko in the process.
"Shut up, Sachiel." Shamshel said, causing Sachiel to stick his tongue (or at least, what they thought was his tongue) out at him.
"This matter is conducted by a type of waveform property, like light." Ritsuko finished after being interrupted.
"But you've found its power source. Right?" Misato asked as everyone took a drink of the coffee they held. Sachiel dropped his to the ground, prompting a brief laugh from Shinji. Shamshel just grunted, a bit annoyed, having a perfect grip on his own cup, with all his legs.
Moving away from the Angel slightly, Ritsuko replied. "Well, something like that. We haven't been able to figure out any of its operating principles."
"So we've finally found something that we don't understand yet." Misato replied.
"It's a whole new world of mysteries." Ritsuko replied getting up from her seat. "For example, take a look at this. This is the Angel's inherent waveform pattern." Ritsuko indicated to the screen, which was currently showing the very colourful patterns of the Fourth Angel.
"It can't be..."
"Yes. While they may be composed of a different form of matter, the actual composition, in terms of actual arrangement and spacing of the patterns, is a 99.89% match with human genes." While Misato slowly commented on the very high number, Gendo and Fuyutsuki walked past the door. Shinji glanced up, having caught something concerning his father. Shinji didn't pay attention as Ritsuko continued to explain. "It really shows just how limited our level of understanding is." Turning his head out of the door, he saw Gendo and Fuyutsuki inspecting the damaged core.
"This is the core?"
"What about the rest of it?"
"The core's pretty deteriorated. Don't expect to be able to use it as a reference, Commander."
"That's not a problem." Gendo replied as he handed something to Fuyutsuki, revealing the burn on his hand. "Dispose of the rest of it."
"What's wrong, Shinji?" Misato asked, concern written across her face.
"Oh... nothing." Shinji replied as he turned back to Misato and Ritsuko. Shamshel floated up to Shinji and lightly hit his face.
"Don't lie, kid. It won't help you in the future."
"When you speak like that it's like you want everyone in the room to pay attention to you." Sachiel gave his input, floating up and sitting on Misato's shoulder. Shinji sighed, before glancing outside again.
"It, just seems like my father has burned his hands..." Shinji replied sheepishly, hiding his head from view.
"Burned them?" Misato replied. Shamshel flew into the hallway for a brief moment, inspecting the Commander's hands. Sure enough, they were currently a bright red. The commander hadn't bothered to bandage his hands. Instead simply letting the burn sit.
"I can confirm. The Commander's hands are dangerously red." Shamshel stated as he flew back into the room. Shinji nodded, moving forward.
"I just wanted to know what had happened?" Shinji said quietly.
"I'm not sure." Misato replied. "Do you know, Ritsuko?" The Captain turned to her friend, asking all over her face.
"Yes. It happened before either of you joined NERV. Unit-00 went berserk during its activation test. You've heard about that, right Shinji?"
"Yeah..."
"The experiment went wrong. The pilot was trapped inside."
"Rei Ayanami, right?" Shinji asked, earning a nod from the scientist.
"Yes, and Commander Ikari rescued her. He opened the super-heated hatch with his bare hands."
"I don't believe it... My father did that?"
"Yes, he did. And that was how he burned his hands." Ritsuko finished. Taking this as their cue to leave, Shinji, Misato and the two Angels headed out. Back in the hallway, Shinji and Gendo locked gases once again. Shinji turned away in annoyance, wandering down the hall in response. Gendo smirked as he went.
August 8th, 2015
Physical Education was in full swing. While the females of the class were currently participating in a swimming activity, the males were on the track below, playing a bit off Basketball. Needless to say, the males were more focused on the females in their swimsuits than their actual activity.
"Oh my god! Those guys are looking at us!"
"They're all perverts!"
"Guys! Come on! We've got to focus here!" Hikari tried in vain to stop the commotion that a lot of the girls were making. Considering the swimsuits, Hikari felt quite exposed and blushed as she was checked out from below. Hikari frowned as no one listened to her. She glanced down at Toji, sighing. 'Why can't I tell you how I feel?'
"Man," Toji stated, staring up at the girls at the pool, "Hikari has great breasts doesn't she?"
"What'd you say?" Shinji asked Toji, wanting to confirm what he just said.
"I said, the girls all have great breasts, don't they Kensuke?"
"Yeah..." Kensuke sighed, his gaze not wavering from the girls, not even registering what Toji said before.
'Toji likes Hikari?' Shinji thought as he glanced up and caught Hikari staring down at said jock. 'And she likes him back?' Smiling slightly as Hikari quickly turned away at being caught by Shinji. Toji frowned slightly, coming into Shinji's face.
"Hey, big shot!" Shinji turned slightly, the smirk still on his face. "Who're staring at so intently?" Toji asked. Shinji, deciding to mess with his friend replied.
"Hikari?" Shinji replied innocently as Toji's face fell instantly.
"Not funny."
"Yes, it was." Shinji grinned in reply, before turning back to the pool above. Setting his gaze on Rei, sitting by herself, against the back of the fence.
"It's Ayanami... isn't it?" Kensuke asked, a massive smirk on his face as he pushed Toji towards the ground. Toji grunted, pushing Kensuke away from him, turning back on Shinji.
"Is it her breasts? Or her silky thighs? Or how about..."
"Her glistening..." Kensuke joined Toji in teasing Shinji... who simply frowned at them.
"What about Hikari, Toji?" Shinji swiftly cut in, smirking in Toji's direction.
"That's not important!" Kensuke smirked at Shinji. To them, it was very important.
"Come on!" Kensuke cut in. "Why could you be looking at her?"
"I don't like her like that. It's just... she always seems to be alone." Toji and Kensuke frowned.
"Come to think of it..." Toji replied, "She hasn't had a single friend since she started here."
"There's just something about her that... makes her hard to approach." Kensuke added. "Like she's always in her own world."
"She probably just has a lousy personality." Toji commented, as Rei continued to sit in silence. Rei turned her head slightly, glancing at Shinji briefly. Shinji quickly stuck his fingers in Toji's nose, intending to move him around as a puppet. As he moved Toji around, the girls started to laugh a lot, Shinji smirked as they laughed, smiling slightly when Hikari went on a bit of a rage.
"Toji! Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" She cried as Rei just stared from beside her.
'Damn. She didn't laugh.' Shinji thought as Toji got back up in anger. 'Is she some kind of robot or something? Nah, she can't be.'
"What the hell do you think you're doin'!?" Toji cried from beside Shinji, who payed him no mind. "Hey, Ikari! Listen to me!"
"Oh!" Shinji replied, turning to Toji. "Let's just we're even now." Shinji stated giving Toji a happy smile as he grinned back. The shrill sound of the whistle got the three boys moving again. Jogging around the track, Toji and Kensuke continued to speak.
"I mean, you're both Eva pilots, right? You should know her better than any of us."
"Kensuke's right." Toji confirmed as Shinji came to a stop.
"Well, I've never actually spoken to her." Shinji shook his head as he caught up to his friends. "Don't worry about it. Besides, can't let Hikari catch you looking at her, right Toji?"
"Wha-?" Shinji laughed at his friends discomfort, bringing a smile to his face.
"Evangelion Unit-01 is currently entering the third stage cooling process. Lower all systems to Phase 3 in Cage 6." Shinji sat in silence inside of Unit-01. Standing across from him, in full view, was the orange visage of Unit-00.
"The harmonics and synchronisation tests were all good. All numerical conditions have been satisfied."
"Roger. Transmit the results to Balthasar."
Across the Cage, Rei was standing in her white plugsuit, preparing to enter Unit-00's Entry Plug. With silent steps, Gendo Ikari walked towards Rei.
"Transmitting the full range of the Entry Plug's data to Melchior."
Rei smiled at the sight of the Commander. Hopping down from Unit-00's shoulder to greet the man. Speaking slowly, with a small smile on her face.
"This is Melchior. Roger. Circuits connected."
"Initiating third stage cooling process. CBL circulation has begun."
Shinji stared as his father gladly replied to Rei. Feeling a sense of betrayal, Shinji couldn't look away. 'Why? Why can't my father talk to me like that?'
"Condensation reactor. Commencing operation. Vent waste fluid to the second purification system."
Gendo and Rei continued to speak across the cage, with Shinji having no way to know what they were saying. He sat in silence and anger. Anger at his father for leaving him.
"T-minus 1,050 minutes till Unit-00 re-activation test."
- Neon Genesis Evangelion S2 Works – Disc 2, Track 14 – B-16 (Rhythm Only) -
"What is this?" Came the surprised voice of Ritsuko Akagi that night. Sitting on the floor of the apartment, Ritsuko Akagi stared at the slop that sat in front of her. The slop that was supposed to be her dinner.
"It's curry!" Misato replied cheerily as Ritsuko stared at her friend in disbelief.
"You mean you still eat that instant stuff!?"
"Look, you're a guest. You have no right to complain!" Shinji glanced up slightly as he served Shamshel, who hadn't yet had the experience of Misato's cooking just yet. The Fourth Angel had been warned by his brother that the food wasn't necessarily the best. Yet, he was tempted to try it to see if his brother was just messing with him. Which, considering the Third Angel's personality, was extremely likely to him.
"Misato? Don't you want anything?" Shinji asked, after serving Shamshel, who was staring at the plate in wonder.
"Oh, sorry!" Misato replied, taking her plate away to reveal a cup of instant ramen underneath. Quickly filling up the cup with boiling water, she brought it over to Shinji. "Ta-da! Pour some of that right on top, Shinji!"
"You can't be serious?"
"Go on! You guys have no idea how good this is!"
"Okay..." Shinji replied warily as he started to pour some into the cup. Sachiel stared, wonder in his eyes.
"This is gonna be awesome!"
"Ordinary curry flavoured instant ramen can't compare to this! Yeah, come on!" Misato prepared to eat, settling into her seat. "Let's eat guys!" Everyone stared at Misato, simply stunned at what she was doing... giving the cup a good mix. "Yeah, the trick is to put less hot water in the soup!" Misato happily picked up a set of ramen with her chopsticks, gladly slurping them down afterwards.
Shinji and Ritsuko stared at Misato, before picking up the spoons and taking a bite... promptly stopping as soon as the curry hit their mouths. Misato hadn't gotten any better at cooking, as Ritsuko had very quickly figured out. "Misato cooked tonight, didn't she?"
"Yes." Shinji and Sachiel replied in tandem.
"You can tell!" Misato replied happily, continuing to slurp down her ramen.
"That was absolutely disgusting!" Shamshel cried after spitting his food back onto his plate. "How do you live with this woman!?" Misato gave the Angel a glare at that remark, which everyone else in the room agreed with.
"Its taste gives it away..." Ritsuko commented dryly, "Only Misato can make instant curry taste so awful." Pen-Pen stared at the group from the door, ready to get his own dinner. Ritsuko continued to speak, addressing Misato directly. "Next time you invite me over, make sure it's Shinji's turn to cook."
Pen-Pen retreated to his current abode, where, in his bowl, was the same instant curry that Shinji, Ritsuko and the Angels had just had. The penguin took a bite, promptly falling to the ground in shock after he had eaten. It was that bad.
The crash caused Shinji to glance towards Pen-Pen, wondering what had happened.
"You know, Shinji, you really ought to move out." Ritsuko stated, causing the Third Child to face the scientist. "You shouldn't let one bad roommate ruin your life."
"I'm used to it now. Besides, she's not that bad, just a bit... slobby."
"Shinji..." Misato drunkenly stated, having started on the beer after finishing her ramen. "Ritsuko. Never underestimate the ability of the human animal to adapt to its environment. Anyway, if he does move..." Misato had been shaking her beer can the entire time. "Shinji, can you bring me another beer, please?" Shinji rolled his eyes as he stood and exited the room, heading towards the kitchen. "The red tape would be a pain." Misato continued before her dilemma. "He does have his permanent security card, you know."
- End -
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ritsuko suddenly cried, reaching for her handbag, rummaging through it. "Shinji, can you do me a favour?"
"What is it?" Shinji replied as he re-entered the room holding Misato's next beer can. Ritsuko reached up to Shinji, handing him a similar security card to his own.
"Rei's new security card." Ritsuko replied, "I keep forgetting to give it to her." Misato eagerly grabbed her next beer, quickly chugging it down. Both Shinji and Ritsuko just stared at the Captain, wondering how she could keep all that alcohol down. "Sorry, Shinji. Would you mind delivering it to her before going to headquarters tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure." Shinji replied, taking the card in his hand. Turning it over, Rei's normal, cold face stared back at him. Misato glanced up from her beer, smirking as she could tease Shinji.
"What's the matter?" Misato slyly stated. "You're staring at Rei's picture, aren't you!"
"What!" Shinji replied, a faint blush pinking his cheeks. "No I'm not!"
"Yes he is!" Sachiel called, flying up to Shinji's shoulder and settling on it. "Now, Shinji buddy, when you're talking to a... wah!" Shamshel had pulled Sachiel down hard, bringing the Angel to the ground.
"Be quiet."
"Come on, Shinji! You're blushing!" Misato gleefully called out, covering her face to hide her laughter. "Hey, now you have a reason to go to Rei's place, don't you?" Shinji aggressively sat down, annoyance written on his face.
"Stop teasing me!"
Misato started giggling as she shook her beer can in front of her. "But I love teasing you! You always take it so seriously!" Shinji stared at Misato in annoyance. Sachiel was laughing along with Misato, who was having way to much fun with the situation. Shamshel sighed at his brother's antics.
"Funny. That's just like you Misato." Ritsuko commented, causing Misato to stop and glare at her friend. Shinji smiled in relief, before returning his attention to Rei's card.
"I just find it strange that I know so little about Ayanami, even though we're both Eva Pilots."
"She's a nice girl." Ritsuko replied, deciding to slightly join in on the teasing. It was fun after all. "But she is like your father. She's not very adept at..."
"Not very adept at what?"
"Living, I guess... Also being a loving girlfriend."
"Doctor Akagi!"
"Haha! Shinji's got a crush!"
"Shut it, Sachiel!"
つづく
So that's another chapter done! We learn more about Rei every second do we. Couple scenes from the Manga here: The intro, with Shinji and Misato meeting Rei at NERV, and I incorporated Shinji's gag with Toji during the P.E. scene. All in all, a long nice chapter.
I thought about including a school scene in here, but felt that P.E. was enough. I also debated on including Gendo and Rei's conversation outside of Unit-00, but decided against it.
You all know what's coming next! Until then, Ciao!
