Evangelion

Gemini Rising

By Rollinaround

Episode 2

What Shall We Do Now?


Shinji Ikari lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling in a lonely bedroom aboard the AAA Wunder. Not the worst place to spend the war; it was a step up from the brig at least. He had room to move, a small window gave him a view of the outside world, and the Captain had provided him with a few books to keep him occupied, plus Asuka had promised to visit him when she could.

Even with all that, he wondered how long he could stay here before he went stir crazy. It had been three days, and he had not once left the room. The bathroom was ensuite, and all his meals were brought to him, so there was no reason for him to step outside. And so he lay there, under a dim light reading through a book on theoretical biology. It was a difficult book to read; partly because of the advanced science, beyond his education level, and mostly because Zeruel wouldn't shut up.

The Angel was starting to get testy, it had convinved itself that they would be locked away forever, unable to test the limits of their strength. "How long must we be forced to remain in this hovel?"

'Until they let us out.' Shinji replied.

"And if we never get out?"

The kid closed his eyes, and thought on it. He'd always known it was a possibility. Accident or no, he'd still killed millions of people, and shown he could do it again. 'We'll get out.' he promised, 'Kensuke and Asuka will be looking out for me, and Misato.'

"You don't sound very sure of yourself." said Zeruel, "These people shunned you from the moment you arrived, threatened to kill you if you disobeyed them. You have the potential to become an incredible warrior, and they will try to take that from you."

'Well, maybe I don't want to be a warrior!' Shinji thought, rolling over on his bed, 'Maybe I don't want to enjoy hurting people, you ever think of that?'

"You enjoyed hurting Itachi."

The boy curled up into a ball. 'I know. That's what scares me though. Remember in the water plant when I pounced on that worker, and threatened to beat him if he blew my cover? He hadn't done anything wrong! And I got the same rush from that I did from fighting Itachi and his men. What if I get addicted to it? What if I stop caring about who I fight? What if..."

He had no time to dwell on that idea, as he heard a buzzing outside his room. The door whooshed open, and Shinji was greeted by a red-haired young lady in a pink plugsuit. "Hey Puppy Boy~" said the girl in the doorway, a familar smirk painted on her face.

"Miss Makinami?" said Shinji, opening the door.

"Please, call me Mari." She said, "You don't have to stand on ceremony when you're with me. You lonely?"

Shinji was caught off guard. She was abnormally cheery, given the situation."Um, I guess..."

"Awww, let's fix that." the girl replied, taking the backpack off her shoulders and pulling out half a dozen thermoses. "Thirsty?"

"I am actually." he admitted, "But are you sure it's ok to be here? I heard you're supposed to be training with Asuka, and this seems a little, excessive."

Mari shrugged it off. "Nah, it's fine!" she told him, "The Princess went up to medical for a checkup so I got some time to kill. Besides, now we've got access to Elysium's water plant, we don't have to worry about rationing the stuff." She unscrewed one of the metal cylinders, revealing a pool of golden brown liquid. "Ah, it's been so long since I've had milk tea!"

"You seem to have a real thing for tea..." Shinji said, graciously taking a mug from her.

"You have no idea~" Mari sniggered, "You should see my entry plug, it's always full of green tea bottles by the time I get out. I guess it kinda comes with the territory."

"Territory?" Shinji asked her, "What do you mean?" He tried to think back to all the times he'd met her. His English wasn't great but he did recall her saying something about Europe when they first met. On top of that, despite having a very Japanese name, the girl didn't really look Asian. "Mari, if it's alright to ask, where are you from?"

"Britain." She replied, taking a big swig of her tea. "I'm mixed race: Japanese on my Dad's side, English on my Mum's."

"Oh..." The boy's shoulders sagged, and he felt the sting of guilt once more.

"What's wrong?"

"Mr Clarke..." Shinji began, "He told me your country sank beneath the ocean. I- I'm sorry, I want you to know that I never meant to-"

"Second Impact."

That confused him. "What?"

"Britain went underwater in the Second Impact." Mari explained, "I wasn't even alive at the time."

"O- oh..."

"Come on Puppy Boy," the Fourth Child sighed, "You're not gonna go about blaming yourself for everything are you?"

"Of course not!" Shinji said, defensively. "It's just..." He knew that not everything was his fault. His Father was just as much to blame for Third and Fourth Impact, if not more so. But at the same time, looking at everything had happened, it was hard not to feel guilty about every little thing.

"Cheer up Puppy," Mari said leaning over and petting Shinji on the head, much to his annoyance. "You've had some screw ups, but I still think you're a good boy."

"Please stop that." the boy moaned, leaning out of her reach.

Mari snickered at him. "Sorry, you're just too easy sometimes. Anyways, you don't need to worry. To be honest I kinda prefer Japan. I mean I'll always love my "country", but I haven't set foot on the HMS Over The Rainbow in years. Ever tried living on a single ship with an entire nation of people? It's like a birdcage!"

"That, does sound pretty uncomfortable." he conceded, "What about your parents? Don't they miss you?"

"Don't have any." she told him, surprisingly easily, "They went missing when I was around five. Kaji's raised me ever since."

"I'm sorry to hear that." the boy replied, solemnly, "I lost my Mother too."

"I know." Mari said, "So did the Princess."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't ask her about it though, it's kind of a touchy subject." Mari smiled sadly as she set her mug down on the coffee. "Kinda weird isn't it, every Eva Pilot just happened to lose their Mom at some point?"

"Yeah, that is weird," said Shinji, as he leaned back in his chair. "It's almost like..."

"There you are!"

Shinji almost fell backwards, but managed to hold the chair in place, narrowly avoiding a face full of hot tea. Asuka stepped into the room, giving her co-pilot a very disgruntled look. "You were supposed to wait for me Four-Eyes."

"I know," said Mari, acting like a child who got caught red-handed, "But the Puppy just seemed so sad and lonely. I figured he could use a friend."

"He's got me for that." Asuka said, pulling the Fourth Child out of her seat.

"Oh, is somebody jealous?" Mari teased, "Afraid I might snatch him away from you?"

"You assume way too much..." Asuka growled, taking her out the door.

And so, once again, Shinji was alone. He was just about to start feeling sorry for himseld when the Pilot of Unit 02 poked her head back into the room.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, alright?"

Shinji couldn't help but smile as Asuka ducked back out of the room. He didn't expect his time on the Wunder to be a happy one. But with Asuka and Mari around, who could say it was boring?


Asuka slumped over on her bed, weary from yet another failed simulation. "This. Is getting. Ridiculous." she groaned, burying her face in her pillow, "How are we supposed to get in sync, when you can't keep up with my movements!?"

"You're the one who keeps moving out of position." said Mari, who say on the bunk below, "How am I supposed to match up with you when you keep going off script?"

They had gone through a simulation, not too different from the last: a dual-cored Angel that split itself in two and had to have both cores destroyed at the same time. WILLE had modified the simulation, so both Pilots used the same equipment, and were expected to follow the same strategy in unison, but it didn't work out that way. Asuka had used long ranged weaponry in the past, but close quarters was more her style, and Mari had been the sharpshooter for the past few years. They'd performed noticeably better than last time, but they still got their asses kicked in the end.

"You're a soldier!" Asuka protested, "You're supposed to adapt in these situations!"

"It's a sync test, not an actual combat situation." Mari pointed out, "The idea is to get is acting and thinking in tandem. Besides, how am I supposed to adapt when you insist on improvising all the time?"

"Urgh! I dunno..." the young Captain grumbled, rolling over and staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know how we're ever gonna be ready..."

"You're a lot testier than usual." Mari said, "Did something happen up in the lab?"

"No." Asuka snapped, "I told you it was just a regular check up." Even she knew she wasn't very convincing.

"It's back, isn't it?"

The Second Child let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. Only in my dreams right now but, it's back."

"So what does that mean for you as a pilot?"

"Doesn't mean anything." Asuka said, firmly, "I'm the only one who can pilot Unit 02, so I'll keep doing it."

"What if it takes over?" Mari asked her, "What if it happens while we're piloting? That thing coupd end us you know."

"I'll handle it." her partner insisted, "It's been talking to me in my sleep for years, I'm not gonna panic over that."

Mari said noting, but Asuka knew her friend saw through her.

"I'm not going to let it get to me." she promised, "I'm Asuka Shikinami, and I'll be damned if I'm letting that, thing get to me..."

Mari turned out the light, and let her friend get some much needed sleep. She'd had a rough day, and they were only going to get rougher as the war went on.


Ritsuko's heels clicked against the steel floors as she strode through the Ship of Hope. Salutes were exchanged with each man and woman that she passed. You didn't just walk by the Vice Captain without showing her due respect. Akagi, in turn, saluted them. Her innovations in Computer Science and Weapon's Technology made her one of the most valuable people in the organization, but it was the crew that kept her alive.

She swiped her card through the lock to Shinji's room, and the light turned green as the door slid open. "Shinji." said the Doctor, startling him out of bed.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Doctor Akagi." he said, shaking himself awake, "Um, sorry to be rude but, why are you here? My checkups not til this evening right?"

"Get dressed and come with me please."

He followed behind her obediently, looking somewhat nervous as she led him to the elevator. She exchanged salutes with the crew, just as before, but the prisoner got a much different reception. At best, they marched past him without another word, at worst, they whispered insults in his ear.

"I'm afraid you'll need to get used to that." Ritsuko told him, "We'll do what we can to mitigate it, but there will always be people who shun you."

Shinji's gaze never left the floor. "I know..."

"Cheer up," said Ritsuko as they stepped into the elevator, "I didn't let you out just to make you feel bad about yourself."

"Why did you let me out exactly?" he asked as they were taken up to Floor 7. The door opened to reveal a pristine central hub, filled with complicated machinery the boy couldn't hope to identify. Dozens of men and women milled about the place, all clad in lab coats and technician's uniforms, speaking in jargon that, to the layman, would have been as discernible as Latin.

"Welcome Shinji," said the Vice Captain, "To Research and Development."

At the end of the hall sat Ritsuko's office, overlooking a the main lab; where WILLE's scientists were hard at work on any number of projects.

She reached into her desk and took out a cyan binder. It contained what she called a Career Tree: a long list of potential jobs, each with their own list of promotions opportunities, career spinoffs, e.t.c. Multiple positions had been considered, including kitchen work, janitorial services and the like. Such jobs, however, were impractical for what they were trying to achieve. Shinji's post had to be something within his skill level (or lack thereof), something that wouldn't put the crew at risk, and something from which he could learn new skills that might help him find employment during peace times.

She handed Shinji a small grey card, attached to a lanyard. "This is called a Work Pass." she explained, "It grants special permission for prisoners to leave their cells at appointed times, to perform their duties (provided the have an escort with them)." It was intended for vital crew members who'd broken the law, to keep the ship running optimally until the offender could be replaced. That said, nothing forbade her from giving them out to civilian prisoners, and Shinji was a special case.

Shinji took the card from her with some trepidation. "Thank you Doctor," he said, "But I don't think I understand; what's going on here?"

Ritsuko smiled at him, "Starting today, Shinji, you are my new personal assistant."


Shinji Ikari spent the day rushing from place to place, getting Ritsuko coffee, doing heavy lifting for her and retrieving important documents, while she focused her attention on WILLE's main project. He'd asked her what exactly she was working on, but she had insisted that it was confidential.

His co-workers, if he could call them that, were generally polite to him; none of them called him a murderer at least. But at the same time, every time he had to work with them, he could feel the sense of unease coming off them. Still, it was better treatment than he expected.

He returned to his room that same evening, escorted by Sakura Suzuhara. He was fresh off of his daily checkup, and his was ready for a long night's sleep. His new job wasn't as physically taxing as his work on the farm, but it was tiring in it's own way, it was the monotony of it that really wore him down.

"Dinner will be brought to you shortly." said the Medical Officer as she ushered the boy into his room. "I'll take you for your next checkup the same time on Monday."

"Thank you." Shinji said, bowing as the Lieutenant turned to leave. "Wait, Ms Suzuhara I need to talk to you."

"Later, Mr Ikari." she replied, "Later."

"I'm sorry!"

She stopped in her tracks.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Touji." he said. He only just kept his nerves from getting to him. He didn't want to make her angry, but he had to say something. "I never meant to hurt him. I know he meant a lot to you. He meant a lot to both of us."

Sakura whipped around, her eyes burning with fury. "You knew." she hissed, "You knew what you'd done. And you still had to go and make everything worse." The girl got right up in his face, and Ikari shrank back in fear. "I gave you another chance. I warned you never to get in an Eva, but you did it anyway." Never once did she raise her voice above a whisper, but her anger was overwhelming. "All you think about is yourself."

"I... I'm sorry, I just wanted to make things right." Shinji replied, weakly, "I was only trying to help."

Sakura raised her hand to strike him, and Shinji made no attempt to stop her. If anyone had the right to hate him, it was Sakura.

But her palm never touched his cheek. She lowered her hand, and exhaled as the look on her face turned from rage to disappointment. "I don't want to hate you, Shinji. I wanted to believe you were better than that."

"So did I." he told her, "I just, didn't know who to believe anymore. I didn't trust Dad, or Misato. I just... I did what I thought was right, and I screwed up." Sakura just shook her head, and turned to leave again.

"Please," Shinji whispered, near to tears again, "I know what I did was wrong, but I want to make it up to you; to everyone. Please, I'll do anything."

Sakura turned back to him one more time. This time, what he saw in her eyes wasn't anger, or disappointment. It was pity.

"We'll see, Shinji." she told him, "Take care." With that, she stepped out of his room and locked the door, leaving him alone once again.

Shinji sat on his bed, stewing in his shame and self pity. He took a sip of Mari's tea to calm himself, but it had gone cold by then, and the bitter taste stuck in his mouth for the rest of the night.

"Don't let your guilt hold you back." Zeruel said, "She was wrong about you."

'No." Shinji thought, laying back and staring at the ceiling, 'She was right.'


A/N: I apologise if the first couple chapters have been a bit short for you guys, but I promise things will start to pick up in Chapter 3, and I'll do my best to make the next one longer. See you there!

-Rollinaround