Interlude 8: No Ringing in the Cold Silence

JNV Seikaku, Another World, Early 2020

Asuka glared at the mirror and found herself hating what stared back. She hated what she saw. Or, more accurately, what she didn't see. She had just had her 18th birthday only a few days ago. She should have been growing dramatically, filling out in the sort of places that rather good-looking women like Misato were.

But only a 14-year-old was staring back. And for whatever reason, the anger simmering in her chest flared at the thought.

She didn't fully know why she had been seemingly frozen in time while everyone else around her had continued on. Doctor Akagi said it might have had something to do with being connected to the 9th Angel. Then Mari had been shown to have stopped aging.

'So just doing what I do, what I do best, makes me a freak.' she grimly mused. 'I, the great Asuka Soryu-Langley… wait, what?'

She didn't know why she had thought she was Soryu-Langley instead of Langley-Shikinami, but it sounded… familiar, somehow…

She shook her head. She chalked it up to the lack of sleep. Her last nightmare…

She'd felt her skin burning, ripping, tearing, and she clutched at her face, unable to stop it from tearing off and floating away. She watched helplessly as the dangling curtain of skin slowly turned, and her own face leered at her with glowing eyes.

"Well, would you look at yourself?" She, or at least her face, moving without her willing it to, said in a mocking tone. "All your skill, all your training, and you couldn't even get the drop on an Angel that wasn't even bigger than you? The others must be sooo proud of you."

"Shut up!" she'd shouted. "What even are you?"

"I'm your new friend, little Lillim." her face replied. "The one that didn't abandon you and try to break you in his jaws."

"The 9th Angel…"

"Oh, please, I'm more than a number." The 9th Angel replied. "I am Bardiel. And after all, it's not like you don't have a number either, Subject Number 276."

"I'm Asuka Langley-Shikinami, you monster!" she'd shot back. "I'm in control here, not you!"

"For now, little one." Bardiel had replied, stretching her mouth impossibly wide into a rictus grin. "For now."

After that, she'd resolved to never sleep again. And so far, she'd stuck to it. 10 days straight, with no negative effects. That face… the fact that the Angel wasn't just some beast, but a being with a name, a personality…

She shook her head again as she finished getting ready, giving one last glance to the snazzy eyepatch that Doctor Akagi had whipped up, along with the far slimmer, though still somewhat chunky DSS Choker, and started to stalk the halls of the ship she was on to go towards the helipad of the cruiser she now lived on.

They had been properly on the run for four years now, only ever docking for any length of time at a small village in Japan, running and touching base from port to port around the world, scavenging what they could, hoping to be like rats under the notice of the ascendant NERV after… the rest of the Impact. A shockwave of red, an unearthly howl, and whatever had been started five years ago had been finished. Or at least it seemed like it. It was no way to live, and her blood boiled for a fight no one else seemed to want to have.

She walked past the room where Misato and Kaji stayed in, then paused as she noticed the door ajar. That didn't usually happen. She tilted her head towards the door and heard a quiet weeping. It was Misato crying, she realized.

The sound made her blood begin to bubble again. "If some idiot did something, I swear…" she walked over to the door and rapped on it. "Hey, Misato. Can I come in?" she said somewhat brusquely.

There was no response, so she pushed the door aside and entered. The room was dark, the only light coming from a computer screen that cast a harsh glow on the glass of alcohol beside it. Misato sat slumped over it, her head in her hands.

"Misato…" Asuka continued, softer now. "Who hurt you?"

She came to Misato's side, and heard a single word, barely above a whisper. "Ryoji…"

Asuka blinked, then looked at the monitor. On the screen, there was a single message, date-stamped as sent nearly a month ago, and received just now.

'Ikari attempting to finish Impact. Found out, on my way to stop him. I don't think I'll make it out. Love you and our son. I'll see you again somewhere.'

It was so simple. And yet, it bowled Asuka over. Ryoji Kaji had been in and out over the four years that they had been shipborne, but he was a decent man. Hell, anyone had to be decent to put up with her. Like… no. It was still too fresh, even so long after.

And their son… still so young, and living with the Hikari's in the village that they had found. He might never truly know his father.

'Not like you really did, either.' she thought distantly, cynically. "Misato…" she said aloud as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm… I'm sorry."

They stood there for a long while. The Eva could wait.

. . .

The Titanskeep

Ymris kept a close eye on the repurposed loading crane, glancing at times at the cobbled-together walls and ceiling that enclosed the massive container vessel that had become the home of the Evangelions under their care.

The crane held within its grasp one of the last carefully worked sheets of metal that would go into the new mechanical arm that was being built for Unit-02. It was almost entirely at odds with the rest of the Unit, a large, geometric, dull brown appendage that starkly contrasted with the bright, streamlined form of Unit-02.

'And a world's difference from...the Mass-Production Evangelions.' Ymris mused as the plate lowered into place, and the crews- her crews- began to swarm onto the plate, the little stars of arc welders flaring to life.

Tavis had kept her updated as best he could. They'd found three of the MP-Evas, or the Herald Units, as they seemed to be called here, in Asia and Oceania: one in Australia, one in the Philippines, and one in China. The location of the others, however, appeared to be region-locked. They would have to go globetrotting to find a base somewhere with the other locations. It would be a far longer search than anyone had anticipated.

"I hope you don't mind me invading your space." a clear, almost hard voice said, causing Ymris to jump slightly as her line of thought became a scribble.

She looked to her left and found herself looking at a woman in dark clothes, a plate carrier on her chest and back clinking slightly as she leaned against the rail.

She was of a fair complexion, with jet black hair cut to her shoulders and kept out of the way by a green headband, with similarly green eyes that glanced over at her every once in a while as they seemed to drink everything in.

"No, no." Ymris replied after a moment. "I'll share."

"Oh, good." the woman replied, turning her gaze back to the mechanical arm. "Man, this is something, isn't it? I've always been fascinated by anything made of metal." she chuckled slightly. "If I were smarter than I am, I might be in your shoes, being a mechanic and all."

"I see." Ymris replied. "So, what did you go into instead?"

"Security." the woman replied frankly. "I was in Section 2 before what happened 5 years ago happened. Now, Colonel Katsuragi has me as head of security."

Ymris blinked. She had looked somewhat familiar, hadn't she? She'd seen this woman before, in the few meetings that Misato had taken the time to have with "the new staff". "You're… Beifong, right?" she said slowly.

The woman grinned as she looked over at Ymris. "The one and only. Glad to be remembered."

Ymris nodded as they both looked back up at the crane as it began to lower another piece of shaped metal to its position. "Where are you from?" Ymris asked casually.

"China." Beifong replied. "Where doesn't exactly matter anymore. What about you? Tennison sounds American to me."

"I'm from Wisconsin. In America, like you said. Grew up there my whole life, almost." Ymris said. It was strange to say that at first, but Ymris had settled into the role with time and practice.

"Gotcha." Beifong said, before a moment of silence passed between them, broken only by the din of the ramshackle bay.

"You know, I did quite well in Section 2 for a rather particular reason." Beifong began, and Ymris blinked at the non sequitur.

"I always had a solid feel for the truth." Beifong continued, and Ymris felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. "And what you said is not the truth. Not by far."

Beifong turned bodily to look at Ymris. "Now, you could have fooled just about anyone else. But no lies get past Toph Beifong. Just make sure you remember that."

It was a silent, tense moment before Ymris nodded and Toph smiled. "Now, I'll leave you be, get a different angle on this arm you're putting together. Nice to meet you. We'll talk later."

With that, Toph walked away, leaving Ymris to ponder on the interaction, and what it might mean for her mission.

. . .

Geofront Ruins

Kaworu Nagisa, cool and in control, waited patiently as the doors of the somehow miraculously working elevator opened into Terminal Dogma. It was a massive, utterly dark space, devoid of all lights made by the Lilim to illuminate the slumped form of Lilith that sat in the LCL of her creation, the air reeking with the stench of dried blood. The only light that broke through was the slight twinkling within the depths of the LCL of what he had come looking for.

He paid no heed to the stench as he walked to where he knew was the edge of the lake, peering into its depths with a sight beyond any mere mortal's, scanning intently as the few stray lights that had leaked from Lilith's decaying form swam like sea life within.

After silent moments, he found, seemingly, what he was looking for. A singular bright light, far in the distance near Lilith, that stayed near the surface as if hoping to break out.

'Your unknowing hope is commendable, spirit of Lilith.' he mused. 'Now, you must put that hope to use.'

He grabbed ahold of the soul with his AT Field, delicately spinning a form that would be familiar to it with a power that he knew lay far beyond what even SEELE understood him capable of. But SEELE were only puppets, really, he thought as the soul came closer and closer to the shore. How they danced to his tune, these arrogant, foolish young Lilim did. How they all danced to the music that he played, as he waited for the one he wished for more than all reality.

As the once errant soul reached the shore, Kaworu smiled slightly as he heard a slight pop, and one Inspector Ryoji Kaji flopped onto the artificial beach, gasping and coughing for air.

Kaworu allowed this to play out and waited for the man to finally stand. As he did, Kaworu began to speak. "Mr. Kaji. It seems your attempt to stop myself and Ms. Ayanami has… complicated things."

"What?" Kaji said in between heaving breaths. "What do you mean?"

"The time has come." Kaworu continued, heedless of Kaji's question. "NERV has become… detrimental to the cause we both seek to espouse."

"What?" Kaji repeated.

"The happiness of humanity." Kaworu replied. "Such happiness, it seems, must come at the cost of the Evangelions, of NERV. Therefore, we must show Commander Ikari the true will of the human spirit."

It was a silent moment. "Okay." Kaji finally said. "I'm going to need a few minutes to process what exactly you just said, because I can't make heads or tails of it. And I'm going to need some clothes, too."

"The latter we will find for you." Kaworu said. "As for the former, I am organizing your rather rabble cohorts into an organization capable of standing up to NERV. And, as its Commander, I find myself in need of a Deputy Commander. You shall be as such."

Another pause, followed by a shrug. "Alright, then. I guess I'll let Misato know."

"To that I must object." Kaworu replied. "There must be secrecy, else the Commander will discover us and… end things. Messily. Your continuation of life, and our involvement in this endeavor, must remain hidden. You understand the necessity of secrecy, do you not?"

Kaji regarded the boy for a moment. "Only if you can guarantee that I'll see Misato and my son after all this is over. Then, and only then, I'll join your little shadow crusade." he said, his tone brooking no argument.

"Very well, Deputy Commander Kaji." Kaworu said with a slight smile. "Welcome to WILLE."