On the shores of the Atlantic coast, a gigantic, humanoid, black figure
finally stopped. Its pursuers, the tanks and VTOL aircraft that NATO sent
out In vain to stop its relentless westwards march, kept their respectul
distance. The black monstrosity roared, as it arched its back at an inhuman
angle, its arms, almost as long as its entire body, raised, pointing to the
sky in an all-too-human gesture of triumph.
Without casting so much as a glance back at its pathetic pursuers, it crouched, focusing its strength into its knees, then it sprang forward, leaping into the air above the Atlantic ocean, clearing the partially submerged buildings of what was once the city Le Havre. At the very apex of its leap, it sprouted gigantic black wings from its back that bore it aloft, smoothly gliding over the ocean.
"Thank god, it's gone," said an anonymous tank commander. "It's NERV's problem now."
NEON
GENESIS
EVANGELION
A3I: Waiting.
"Wings. Eva Unit 03 was never designed with wings," said Ritsuko Akagi, chief scientist of the United Nations agency, NERV.
"It's heading westwards. Headed here, no doubt;" commented Shigeru Aoba, once a mere Lieutenant in NERV, but now, the commander of the agency, tasked once more with protecting mankind from the menace of the creatures that men call Angels.
"There's no way it could have grown them by itself," Ritsuko muttered to no one and every one in particular. "Someone must have grafted them on."
A man dressed in the white uniform of the US Navy cleared his throat, attracting their attention.
"Well, it's obviously heading here. It's instinctively seeking anything resembling its own kind," said Rear Admiral Starling, stating the obvious. "So, Dr. Akagi, it looks like you told the truth during your trial after all."
A man wearing the beige uniform of NERV walked up to the three of them, and saluted. Shigeru and Starling returned the salute, while Ritsuko merely glanced sideways at him, arms crossed across her chest. The nameless console jockey handed a printout to Shigeru, and left, but not before saluting them again. There were words exchanged, which Ritsuko paid no heed to, until both men returned their attention to her.
"48 hours before that thing reaches here, right?" she asked knowingly, arms still folded across her chest.
"No. It's moving faster than expected," replied Shigeru. "The MAGI say 24 to 36 hours, depending on whether we can slow it down."
"Or choose to slow it down," continued Starling.
"Choose to?" Shigeru asked, turning his head to the American. "Explain, please," asked, narrowing his eyes a little.
"I am going to recommend to the President that we not attack the Angel if and when it crosses United States airspace. The Angel isn't interested in attacking conventional resistance," replied Starling, the everpresent plastic smile slowly disappearing.
"That's wishful thinking," Ritsuko snarled. "You know it's coming here. You know it will clear out anything in its way, at the very least… "
"I'm sure you'll beat it," finished Admiral Starling. "I will contact the Security Council to authorize your actions when I return to my ship. Good luck," he said, as he turned around to leave. Shigeru raised his arm; his hand cocked in a salute, as the admiral's back rapidly receded.
"Go to yellow alert!" Shigeru bellowed out the order.
Shinji sat on the chair in the Commander's office, alone, his eyes fixed on the individual patterns on the carpet. It didn't feel fair, not at all. He had told Shigeru and Ritsuko that he was never again getting within sight of an Eva, let alone pilot one again, and now, here he was, back at NERV against his will.
Compared to the huge empty space that was his father's office, Shigeru's office was tiny, yet the painful similarities were there. The desk was meticulously kept neat and tidy, there were security men outside, and it felt very, very cold.
The door slid open, and Shinji could hear Shigeru's boots on the carpeting, the soft thuds getting louder as he approached. Shigeru made his way to his chair, and cleared his throat to get Shinji's attention. Shinji raised his head, his face an unreadable mask.
"Shinji, I haven't seen you in months! How have you been doing?" Shigeru asked, carefully trying to upset the Third Child. Ritsuko had warned him of the boy's fragile emotional state, and she had been very particular about not cracking his fragile mind.
"Now, Shinji, you do know why we called you here," Shigeru said, carefully studying the boy's face for any adverse emotional reactions.
"NERV isn't asking you to pilot." Shigeru continued.
"So, that's good," was Shinji's quiet, noncomittal response.
"All we ask from you is to stay with us here at NERV, until the Angel is defeated. You're an important person to us," Shigeru said, gently, trying to get to his point.
"You want me to cover for Asuka, isn't it?" Shinji asked softly. Shigeru was taken aback, but he quickly recovered, nodding in response to the question.
"Did Ritsuko tell you that beforehand, Shinji?" Shigeru asked again.
"No." Shinji replied. "It's my only use to NERV," he continued.
"Shinji, I hope it doesn't have to come to that," Shigeru said. "But if anything were to happen to Asuka, you're the only pilot we have left."
"I see," Shinij replied.
"We can't afford to lose," Shigeru continued.
Shinji merely nodded.
"What were you thinking? Why didn't you say something?!" Asuka practically shrieked at Ritsuko in the ladies' room, having practically stalked her for much of the morning, finally cornering her in the deserted ladies' room. She saw Shinji and his security detail being brought to meet the Commander, and she knew that there was only one damnable reason for that to happen.
"I wasn't told. The UN wanted it that way, I suppose," Ritsuko said unhappily. "They don't realize that if he gets into an entry plug, it's as good as over."
"You could have told them that!" Asuka snapped. "Now that baka might actually pilot! In his state!" Asuka turned off the running water, shaking her hands free of the clinging drops of water, echoes of her last few words ringing throughout the room.
"My word carries little weight, either with the UN, or with Aoba. But I don't think that will come to pass. They won't use him when they still have you, Asuka." Ritsuko replied as calmly as she could, trying to quiet the doubting voices in her mind. "I could run a sync test on Shinji. It's likely that he'll fail," Ritsuko said, a faint trace of hope registering in her voice.
Asuka reached for the paper towel, drying her hands. She checked her beige NERV uniform before zipping up her red jacket all the way to her neck. "I think they've already thought of that," she said to Ritsuko, doubt evident in the way her eyes were squinting at her reflection in the mirror.
"In that case, there's only one reason they want him." Ritsuko said. She willed herself to use the words. "The Evangelion by itself is too weak to fight the bindings and programming. That's why it needs to synchronize with a living being."
Asuka's eyes narrowed. There was nothing here that she didn't already know, but she recognized the look in the Chief Scientist's eyes. There was some deep secret that was about to come out.
"The Eva doesn't really need to obey the pilot." Ritsuko said, with a long sigh of relief at the end. "Pilots are a safety characteristic. We forced the Eva to do only the things its pilot wants it to. But when the pilot tells the Eva to do whatever it wants," "
"What?" Asuka asked, startled and confused.
"Remember the dummy plug system we used to beat the Thirteenth Angel thei first time?" Ritsuko asked.
Asuka nodded as she remembered the basic concepts of NERV's Dummy Plug System, while trying not to recall Shinji's frenzied screams over the communications system when his Eva crushed Touji's entry plug. Then the dark epiphany hit her. Asuka grabbed Ritsuko's arm so hard that Ritsuko's fingers tingled.
"Shinji in a dummy plug?!" she said in desperation as her fingers clenched ever tighter.
"Considering the state he's in, that would be the only way they can make him function in combat." Ritsuko answered in grim certainty.
"How could Shigeru even let himself think about it? What kind of monster has he become?" Asuka asked again.
"I don't think he knows, Asuka," Ritsuko said. "We kept the technology under lock and key in the Dogma. However, that doesn't mean Starling hasn't found out that it's possible."
"Ritsuko, were you even human before the Impact?" Asuka asked bitterly as she released Ritsuko's arm. Ritsuko kept silent.
Asuka brushed a lock of red hair away from her blue eyes. She looked at Ritsuko, hands on her hips, her jaw set. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to win, then."
Ritsuko nodded dumbly, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Asuka spoke again.
"But I'm not going to do it for you, or for NERV, or because Admiral Starling has a mandate from the UN. I'm doing it so that baka Shinji doesn't get turned into a drooling vegetable. He's practically a vegetable now anyway. "
There was a pause.
"I'll pray for your success, Asuka," Ritsuko said, with more determination that usual, eliciting a loud, unexpected bark of a laugh from Asuka.
"You're an atheist, remember?" Asuka asked, before she made her way out of the ladies room, not bothering to make way for the young woman who was coming in. Ritsuko watched her leave, and ran the tap again, collecting the cold water in her hands before splashing it carelessly over her face. She needs to feel alert, badly.
In the commander's office, Shigeru offered Shinji a cup of green tea.
"Shinji, I know how horrible it had been for you. I was there, remember? I heard Asuka screaming for you. I saw everything fall apart, and all I could do was give Fuyutsuki status reports, hoping he could do something, but I never knew that the end of man was his one wish."
Shinji nodded dumbly.
"But this time, this time, Shinji, we have a fighting chance. This time, your father and his mad plans aren't there to sabotage us."
Shinji's face darkened at the mention of the most hated person ever to exist.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Shinji. I realize it was wrong to mention him."
Shinji opened his mouth to speak. "Aoba-san," he said softly, so softly that Shigeru had to lean forward to hear him.
"Aoba-san, if there was no choice, I'll do all I can."
"Thank you Shinji," Shigeru said, genuinely relieved to hear the words. Had Shinji said no, and stuck to his guns, Starling would have been deeply unhappy.
"We'll set up a ready room for you in the bunker complex," Shigeru said as he got up. "Come on, Shinji, I'll walk you there myself," he said, gently taking Shinji's hand, tugging him ever so delicately to stand up.
On the bridge of an American aircraft carrier, several miles offshore from the Japanese coast, Rear-Admiral Starling was greeted with salutes. He responded in kind, before turning to the ship's captain.
"Any word from the President? Or the UN?" he asked, unhurried. He knew already what the message was going to be, but he was interested in finding out how long it would take for those politicians to realize it.
He was handed a sealed envelope. Tearing it open, his eyes carelessly scanned the ciphered message, mentally decoding the message that only he was authorized to read.
He grunted approvingly. "Ahead full, Captain," he said, immediately triggering chain of commands that moved the mighty ship's massive turbines, moving the aircraft carrier, and its attendant ships, further away from Japan.
Shinji sat alone on the bench in the ready room. There was a locker; there was food and drink on a table should he so wish to eat. His plugsuit, the exact plugsuit he wore into battle against the Seventeenth Angel, hung neatly in the locker. He slowly hummed a tune, trying to drown out the incessant thoughts in his head with the soothing tunes of the Ode to Joy. Kaworu always did like that song.
The door opened, and a woman stepped in, her silhouette in the doorway giving her identity away.
"Hello, Asuka," Shinji said reflexively, without feeling relief or anxiety.
"He's in here, all right," Asuka said to someone standing next to her. "Come on in," she invited the mystery person.
Hikari poked her head in nervously. "Hello, Shinji," she stammered.
Shinji slumped his chair, the feeling of despair growing each second. Here was another thing he could never run away from.
"Asuka, are you sure this is a good idea?" Hikari asked, suddenly unsure of her friend's plan.
"Just come in," Asuka said, reassuringly. She was sure that this was the best way. She didn't want to give Shinji the chance to run away from this. It took some bluster and a few unpalatable German phrases to get Hikari into the Geofront crater, no thanks to the yellow alert, but Asuka knew the opportunity was too rare to miss.
Asuka pulled up a folding metal chair that was leaning against the wall, set it up and offered it to Hikari, who gave her a questioning look, but took the seat regardless.
"The Third Impact was not your fault," Hikari said. "I was wrong," she continued, trying to establish eye contact with Shinji. "I don't remember what it was like, Shinji, but you do. You must have tried to stop it."
While Hikari spoke, Asuka walked over and closed the door. This matter was between Children, and she just wanted to shut out the problems of the outside world for a little while. .
Even though the outside world was looking in.
It wasn't Ritsuko's idea to eavesdrop. She just wanted to check on Shinji, and told one of the security people to turn the security camera in his ready room on. She raised an eyebrow, noticing Asuka and Hikari talking with the boy.
She ordered the audio feed opened as well. The sound was tinny, and she had to concentrate to make out the words, especially Shinji's words, because he spoke them in an unsure whisper.
Ritsuko smiled to herself, noting the details of the conversation between Shinji, Asuka and Hikari, silently analyzing each of Shinji's spoken responses, looking for signs of a catharsis. She felt a little guilt intruding on a private moment, but it nothing she wasn't used to. It was just another one of those secrets she had to keep.
Through strength of will alone, Ritsuko glanced at the clock, realizing that she had spent two hours observing Shinji's makeshift therapy session. She had to tear herself away from the monitor, realizing that it was about time Shigeru had his lunch.
Ritsuko walked calmly out of the security building, squinting a little in the bright afternoon sun. She walked briskly, not wanting to spend too much time in the sun, all the way to NERV's command building, barely noticing the blue helmet guarding the main door.
As Ritsuko walked past the door to the War Room, relentlessly making her way to the staff cafeteria, she thought about what she saw earlier. Asuka's effort was noble, well intended, but too direct.
Helping Shinji required subtlety, but dealing with that grouch Aoba required downright sneakiness, Ritsuko thought, smiling to herself bemusedly at the idea.
She neared the door to the cafeteria, and then stopped. She took a deep breath, making sure that she had her usual serious expression on, and gently pushed the door open. There, sitting alone at a small table, was Shigeru Aoba, Acting Commander of NERV, with his boxed lunch. He was such a creature of habit, Ritsuko noted, that he would still eat here like the rest of the staff, instead of ordering food be brought into his office.
"Am I interrupting, commander?" Ritsuko asked as she made her way to his table in the cafetaria. Shigeru put down his chopsticks, his enjoyment of the boxed lunch now gone forever.
"What is this about?" Shigeru asked, his eyes looking up from his meal at her.
Ritsuko sat down opposite Shigeru, and looked around to make sure they were the only two people left. It was way past lunch hour, and the next meal break wasn't going to be for another two hours, so the place was quite deserted.
"Commander,the Angel seems to be heading towards the Newfoundland shoreline," Ritsuko said, cautiously trying to lull him with other matters first.
Shigeru's eyebrow shot up quizzicaly. "Canada's east coast, sir," Ritsuko gently reminded.
"Oh," Shigeru replied. "Still quite a distance from us. Commander, but I just wondered if you noticed something about the Angel," Ritsuko said.
Ritsuko could tell from his expression that he had no idea.
"Commander, don't you think there's something strange about its flight path?" Ritsuko asked, a little bit of smugness in her voice.
"No," Shigeru replied. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"Bear with me, sir, but as far as we know, Angels don't think like we do, correct?"
"According to you," Shigeru replied, recalling the many scientific briefings Ritsuko gave him when he was just another NERV employee. To think about it, she had a point. Even the last one, that boy, didn't really act like a normal human being. "So what does this have to do with the Angel on its way here?"
"It's flying westwards, across North America. The shortest line from Europe to here is northwards, across the Arctic. Commander, don't you see? It's taking the long way around because someone is telling it to fly west. It's being piloted sir, it's the only logical explanation."
"That's terrible," Shigeru mumbled. He remembered what happened to Toji, the Fourth Child, in the aftermath of the first battle against the Thirteenth.
"Wait, if there's a pilot, and he's in control of the Eva," Shigeru started to say something, but Ritsuko was not going to let him finish that thought. "Or maybe, commander, the Eva is in control of the pilot. We can't discount that possibility." Shigeru looked down, his right hand clenching into a fist, slowly punching the tabletop in a controlled release of frustration.
"Asuka will fight, commander. But Shinji… I recommend we pull him out of here." Ritsuko said, peering out from her glasses at the Commander.
"No. We can't afford to lose. We have to stop the Angel no matter what." Shigeru was sure enough of that, at least.
"Commander, may I remind you what Shinji's reaction was after he found out what his Eva did to the Fourth Child?"
Shigeru paused, remembering. Shinji went ballistic at the sight of Toji's broken and battered body being extracted from the entry plug of Eva 03, and afterwards threatened to use Eva 01 to destroy the Geofront.
"Commander, we can't risk using Shinji. Not in his mental state." Ritsuko continued. " I understand this is a UN-mandated order, but you have got to tell them that Shinji is of no use as a weapon of last resort."
Shigeru bit his lip, feeling frustrated.
"You seem to be rather concerned about Shinji after your trial," Shigeru commented.
"This is about all of us, commander, not just the Third Child," Ritsuko said, trying not to let herself take the bait.
"I'll talk to Starling about it. Now if you'll excuse me," Shigeru said as he slowly rose up from the chair, "I am feeling rather nauseous. Perhaps there was something unpleasant around here," he said as he started to make his way, unhurriedly, to the exit.
Inwardly, Ritsuko let out a cry of triumph. She knew it; Shigeru Aoba was nothing like Gendo. She could find his buttons; she could make herself indispensable to him no matter what he felt about her. Most importantly, she could keep Shinji safe, and if she kept Shinji safe, she could keep herself safe as well.
"Did you think we got through to him?" Hikari asked, as Asuka escorted her out of the building.
"For that baka's sake, I hope we did," Asuka said.
"I just hope we didn't damage him any more," Hikari said, slightly worried now. Shinji's numbness to his surroundings disturbed her. He reminded her too much of what she herself had become since she came back to life. He reminded her of her own apathy, her bags of unremoved garbage, the plates that stacked up in her sink, the dirty laundry she wore again and again. She had become what Asuka had been once, after she fought that space Angel and lost.
"Cover your eyes, the sunlight can really get you after so much time in here," Asuka warned, her hand grabbing the thick steel lever that opened the door to the NERV bunker complex. She gave a sharp tug and electro- mechanical servos and gears did the rest, opening the bombproof door.
Asuka was right, the sunlight was rather painful after spending so much time in the relative darkness of the bunker. Hikari covered her eyes with her hands, waiting for her eyes to adjust again. Asuka stepped out, gently putting a hand on Hikari's back, guiding her friend out the door before it automatically closed in thirty seconds.
The pair walked along a concrete path under the hot afternoon sun, occasionally bumping into other NERV staff, and sometimes, walking right past blue-helmeted UN soldiers. Hikari noticed someone, craning her neck to make sure just who it was.
"Hey, Asuka, isn't that Ritsuko?" Hikari asked.
Asuka turned her head in the direction Hikari was pointing to. It was the mad scientist, no doubt about it.
"Yeah, it's Ritsuko. Now there's someone you can kick without feeling guilty," Asuka said, sneering.
"You don't sound too fond of her." Hikari questioned. It was strange, after all, she did have dinner with Ritsuko and Shinji almost every night.
"We look after someone in common, that's all." Asuka said. "Come on, I'll walk you to the crater's edge," Asuka said, trying to avoid the subject.
"Oh, okay, I just saw something weird about Ritsuko, that's all," Hikari said.
"What?" Asuka asked.
"She was smiling," Hikari said.
The plastic smile on Admiral Starling's face looked increasingly forced.
"Well, Commander, I do understand that this is your agency, but you're responsible for more than just your people, you simply have to remember that," he said over the video conferencing screen in Shigeru's office.
"Well, Admiral, my Chief Scientist has just assured me that any attempt to use the Third Child in combat may prove, ah, counter-productive, at least, not in the current mental state he's in," Shigeru said, suddenly uncomfortable with what he just said.
"Commander, I must remind you, there's an Angel on its way to where you are. " Starling said again.
"Yes, I am aware," Shigeru said. "I understand why you had to withdraw your naval forces away from here, too."
"No hard feelings, Commander, but you do realize that conventional resistance isn't very effective against Angels. That's why we had to be sure. We just can't afford to leave anything to chance. I still feel the Third Child could help NERV defeat the Angel"
"Yes, Admiral. We're aware of that. Don't worry about it too much, NERV has always found a way. I'm confident the Second Child will defeat the Angel," Shigeru said, his sweating palms hidden in his pockets, out of sight.
"Very well, commander. I hope the Security Council concurs with your decision. Good luck," Starling said, before he cut off the link.
Shigeru leaned back in his chair. Damnable job, he silently swore to himself. He was doing a good job making sure NERV was battle-ready again, but there were all these competing factors interfering with his duties. He briefly wondered how his predecessor managed, before the cold chill reminded him there were things that were better left dead in the Third Impact. The UN was very insistent he uses Shinji in combat, but Shinji wasn't keen on piloting, and the boy was practically on the borderline of a nervous breakdown. Then there was Ritsuko factor. She still had the cold, aloof demeanour he remembered, but she actually seems to care, genuinely care, about the Children. He felt in his heart she was up to something, but there was never any positive indication.
He thought again about the situation. Why would the UN be so insistent about the Third Child?
Asuka and Hikari stood on the edge of the Geofront crater, looking at the cluster of buildings that housed NERV, and at the inert form of Asuka's Evangelion that seemingly shimmered in the late afternoon sun.
"What a view," Hikari commented.
"Hmm, yes, quite. You can look Angel-girl right in the face from here, you can even see the red in her eyes," Asuka said.
"No, not Ayanami. I'm talking about NERV. You can see everything from here," Hikari said.
"Take a good look," Asuka said, smiling. "When I'm done with that Angel tomorrow, the view might not be so pretty."
Hikari hummed her acquiescence. "I'm not going to evacuate to Toyohara. I'm not running. I'm going to stay here and root for you to win," she said, determination in her voice.
Asuka was stunned, but Hikari didn't give her the chance to object.
"If you lose, it's the end of us all anyway, and I want it to be as quick and painless as possible, just like the Third Impact."
"I won't lose," Asuka said. "Not to that thing, not to anyone, ever again."
She looked across the lip of the crater, right into the gigantic sightless eyes of the dead Rei that loomed over the horizon.
"Especially you," Asuka thought ruefully, staring at Rei's giant dismembered head.
Despite himself, Shinji was getting quite bored, sitting in the ready room, alternately looking at his plugsuit and then the ceiling. It had been hours since Shigeru told him to wait here until further notice. Asuka and Hikari had left, and he couldn't be sure whether to be glad they're gone, or bang his fists on the door and yell at the top of his lungs until they come back.
He now wondered if he could open the door to the room. Perhaps they had locked him in here? But if Asuka and Hikari could come in, he saw no reason why he couldn't come out. He walked to the door, and tentatively reached out his hand to open it.
The door opened of its own accord, startling Shinji, who jumped backwards instinctively.
"Shinji-kun, is my appearance so hideous it scares young men away?" Ritsuko asked, still wearing a faint trace of the smile that came after she spoke with Shigeru.
"Um, ah… Ritsuko-san, I'm sorry, I didn't…" Shinji tried to mouth out something that was acceptable to her, but his overloaded mind simply could not come up with any, leaving his mouth to do the thinking, supplying various sounds and half-formed words.
"I'm joking, Shinji-kun," said Ritsuko again, her face looking rather strange with that expression on her face. Was that her version of a smile? Shinji wondered. He never really saw Ritsuko smile before.
"Come on out," Ritsuko said. "NERV has decided not to risk you in combat. We're going home for the night, then in the morning your security detail will take you to Matsushiro until Asuka beats the Angel. Now, is that all right, Shinji?" she asked, the words coming out faster than his confused mind could decipher. She was saying that he didn't have to pilot, was that it?
"Uh. Yes," Shinji answered, the only reaction he could muster.
"Good, now let's go home," Ritsuko said gently.
The sun was setting, and the MAGI had come out with a new estimated time of arrival for the resurrected Thirteenth Angel, but neither Ritsuko nor Asuka cared. They were busy with dinner.
"Think the three of us can actually finish a whole chicken?" Asuka asked, uncertain, as Ritsuko shoved a raw bird into the microwave.
"Hmm. I haven't seen Pen-Pen around," Ritsuko commented. "I certainly hope that was chicken…" her voice trailed off.
"Not funny," Asuka said, returning to her task of mashing the potatoes.
"Has Shinji come here yet?" asked Ritsuko.
"No. I could hear him play his cello on my way here," Asuka said.
"Good," Ritsuko said. "That gives us some time," she said as she set the bird to roast.
Asuka looked up at her quizzicaly.
"We need to talk about Shinji-kun," Ritsuko said. Not waiting for Asuka's response, Ritsuko ran the tap, washing her hands clean. "They won't give up. I took him out of danger today, but they won't rest until they make him part of the Dummy Plug System."
Asuka almost dropped her wooden spoon. That horrible thought from earlier in the afternoon returned to cloud her mind.
"But… why him? Why not me?" Asuka asked.
"Asuka, you have to understand. The core of the Dummy Plug System…"
"Wondergirl," Asuka said, remembering Ritsuko's testimony during her trial.
"No. Not just Rei." Ritsuko said. "Truth is, anyone would do, but Shinji was perfect. Eva 01 would never have rejected a Shinji dummy plug,"
Asuka's blue eyes narrowed in anger, and she stepped up to Ritsuko, grabbing her arm and pulling the older woman closer, without resistance.
"Stop talking in riddles, damn you!" Asuka shouted. "I'm not Misato, and I'm not Shinji, so stop thinking that I won't understand or I can't handle it! You're going to tell me just what the hell that baka has to do with the Dummy Plugs, or so help me…"
A knock on the door interrupted her anger.
"Shinji!" Ritsuko gasped.
The doorknob twisted, and Shinji poked his head in nervously.
"Is.. is everything all right?" Shinji asked slowly, before a rather loud squawk from under him drew his attention. Pen-Pen stood at his feet, having come out from its unknown hiding place, jumping up and down as if glad to see Shinji.
"No, Shinji, nothing's right!" Asuka yelled at him, causing him to shirk back in the doorway. "Ritsuko practically murdered that chicken in the oven! I told her, just rub salt and pepper on it and roast it, but nooo, she had to go fusion on us and rub wasabe on it too! Have you ever had any wasabe-flavoured roast chicken?"
"Uh, no. No!" Shinji said, shaking his head in fear of Asuka's wrath.
"Well, you're about to!" Asuka shrieked at him. "We're going to feed you wasabe flavoured roast chicken, and if you don't explode or choke, we're making you eat the whole damn bird!"
Shinji's eyes were downcast, his shoulders slumped slightly at the verbal lashing Asuka gave him for no reason whatsoever. Then again, it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. He had been learning to ignore her diatribes, but she seemed so nice, so caring, just a few hours ago, and now, she was abusing him yet again. He did the only thing he could do, and that was to slink away, shuffling his feet towards the dining table.
Ritsuko laid a hand on Asuka's shoulder, slowly leaning over so she could whisper her thanks in Asuka's ear.
"This isn't over," was Asuka's harshly whispered reply.
Without casting so much as a glance back at its pathetic pursuers, it crouched, focusing its strength into its knees, then it sprang forward, leaping into the air above the Atlantic ocean, clearing the partially submerged buildings of what was once the city Le Havre. At the very apex of its leap, it sprouted gigantic black wings from its back that bore it aloft, smoothly gliding over the ocean.
"Thank god, it's gone," said an anonymous tank commander. "It's NERV's problem now."
NEON
GENESIS
EVANGELION
A3I: Waiting.
"Wings. Eva Unit 03 was never designed with wings," said Ritsuko Akagi, chief scientist of the United Nations agency, NERV.
"It's heading westwards. Headed here, no doubt;" commented Shigeru Aoba, once a mere Lieutenant in NERV, but now, the commander of the agency, tasked once more with protecting mankind from the menace of the creatures that men call Angels.
"There's no way it could have grown them by itself," Ritsuko muttered to no one and every one in particular. "Someone must have grafted them on."
A man dressed in the white uniform of the US Navy cleared his throat, attracting their attention.
"Well, it's obviously heading here. It's instinctively seeking anything resembling its own kind," said Rear Admiral Starling, stating the obvious. "So, Dr. Akagi, it looks like you told the truth during your trial after all."
A man wearing the beige uniform of NERV walked up to the three of them, and saluted. Shigeru and Starling returned the salute, while Ritsuko merely glanced sideways at him, arms crossed across her chest. The nameless console jockey handed a printout to Shigeru, and left, but not before saluting them again. There were words exchanged, which Ritsuko paid no heed to, until both men returned their attention to her.
"48 hours before that thing reaches here, right?" she asked knowingly, arms still folded across her chest.
"No. It's moving faster than expected," replied Shigeru. "The MAGI say 24 to 36 hours, depending on whether we can slow it down."
"Or choose to slow it down," continued Starling.
"Choose to?" Shigeru asked, turning his head to the American. "Explain, please," asked, narrowing his eyes a little.
"I am going to recommend to the President that we not attack the Angel if and when it crosses United States airspace. The Angel isn't interested in attacking conventional resistance," replied Starling, the everpresent plastic smile slowly disappearing.
"That's wishful thinking," Ritsuko snarled. "You know it's coming here. You know it will clear out anything in its way, at the very least… "
"I'm sure you'll beat it," finished Admiral Starling. "I will contact the Security Council to authorize your actions when I return to my ship. Good luck," he said, as he turned around to leave. Shigeru raised his arm; his hand cocked in a salute, as the admiral's back rapidly receded.
"Go to yellow alert!" Shigeru bellowed out the order.
Shinji sat on the chair in the Commander's office, alone, his eyes fixed on the individual patterns on the carpet. It didn't feel fair, not at all. He had told Shigeru and Ritsuko that he was never again getting within sight of an Eva, let alone pilot one again, and now, here he was, back at NERV against his will.
Compared to the huge empty space that was his father's office, Shigeru's office was tiny, yet the painful similarities were there. The desk was meticulously kept neat and tidy, there were security men outside, and it felt very, very cold.
The door slid open, and Shinji could hear Shigeru's boots on the carpeting, the soft thuds getting louder as he approached. Shigeru made his way to his chair, and cleared his throat to get Shinji's attention. Shinji raised his head, his face an unreadable mask.
"Shinji, I haven't seen you in months! How have you been doing?" Shigeru asked, carefully trying to upset the Third Child. Ritsuko had warned him of the boy's fragile emotional state, and she had been very particular about not cracking his fragile mind.
"Now, Shinji, you do know why we called you here," Shigeru said, carefully studying the boy's face for any adverse emotional reactions.
"NERV isn't asking you to pilot." Shigeru continued.
"So, that's good," was Shinji's quiet, noncomittal response.
"All we ask from you is to stay with us here at NERV, until the Angel is defeated. You're an important person to us," Shigeru said, gently, trying to get to his point.
"You want me to cover for Asuka, isn't it?" Shinji asked softly. Shigeru was taken aback, but he quickly recovered, nodding in response to the question.
"Did Ritsuko tell you that beforehand, Shinji?" Shigeru asked again.
"No." Shinji replied. "It's my only use to NERV," he continued.
"Shinji, I hope it doesn't have to come to that," Shigeru said. "But if anything were to happen to Asuka, you're the only pilot we have left."
"I see," Shinij replied.
"We can't afford to lose," Shigeru continued.
Shinji merely nodded.
"What were you thinking? Why didn't you say something?!" Asuka practically shrieked at Ritsuko in the ladies' room, having practically stalked her for much of the morning, finally cornering her in the deserted ladies' room. She saw Shinji and his security detail being brought to meet the Commander, and she knew that there was only one damnable reason for that to happen.
"I wasn't told. The UN wanted it that way, I suppose," Ritsuko said unhappily. "They don't realize that if he gets into an entry plug, it's as good as over."
"You could have told them that!" Asuka snapped. "Now that baka might actually pilot! In his state!" Asuka turned off the running water, shaking her hands free of the clinging drops of water, echoes of her last few words ringing throughout the room.
"My word carries little weight, either with the UN, or with Aoba. But I don't think that will come to pass. They won't use him when they still have you, Asuka." Ritsuko replied as calmly as she could, trying to quiet the doubting voices in her mind. "I could run a sync test on Shinji. It's likely that he'll fail," Ritsuko said, a faint trace of hope registering in her voice.
Asuka reached for the paper towel, drying her hands. She checked her beige NERV uniform before zipping up her red jacket all the way to her neck. "I think they've already thought of that," she said to Ritsuko, doubt evident in the way her eyes were squinting at her reflection in the mirror.
"In that case, there's only one reason they want him." Ritsuko said. She willed herself to use the words. "The Evangelion by itself is too weak to fight the bindings and programming. That's why it needs to synchronize with a living being."
Asuka's eyes narrowed. There was nothing here that she didn't already know, but she recognized the look in the Chief Scientist's eyes. There was some deep secret that was about to come out.
"The Eva doesn't really need to obey the pilot." Ritsuko said, with a long sigh of relief at the end. "Pilots are a safety characteristic. We forced the Eva to do only the things its pilot wants it to. But when the pilot tells the Eva to do whatever it wants," "
"What?" Asuka asked, startled and confused.
"Remember the dummy plug system we used to beat the Thirteenth Angel thei first time?" Ritsuko asked.
Asuka nodded as she remembered the basic concepts of NERV's Dummy Plug System, while trying not to recall Shinji's frenzied screams over the communications system when his Eva crushed Touji's entry plug. Then the dark epiphany hit her. Asuka grabbed Ritsuko's arm so hard that Ritsuko's fingers tingled.
"Shinji in a dummy plug?!" she said in desperation as her fingers clenched ever tighter.
"Considering the state he's in, that would be the only way they can make him function in combat." Ritsuko answered in grim certainty.
"How could Shigeru even let himself think about it? What kind of monster has he become?" Asuka asked again.
"I don't think he knows, Asuka," Ritsuko said. "We kept the technology under lock and key in the Dogma. However, that doesn't mean Starling hasn't found out that it's possible."
"Ritsuko, were you even human before the Impact?" Asuka asked bitterly as she released Ritsuko's arm. Ritsuko kept silent.
Asuka brushed a lock of red hair away from her blue eyes. She looked at Ritsuko, hands on her hips, her jaw set. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to win, then."
Ritsuko nodded dumbly, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Asuka spoke again.
"But I'm not going to do it for you, or for NERV, or because Admiral Starling has a mandate from the UN. I'm doing it so that baka Shinji doesn't get turned into a drooling vegetable. He's practically a vegetable now anyway. "
There was a pause.
"I'll pray for your success, Asuka," Ritsuko said, with more determination that usual, eliciting a loud, unexpected bark of a laugh from Asuka.
"You're an atheist, remember?" Asuka asked, before she made her way out of the ladies room, not bothering to make way for the young woman who was coming in. Ritsuko watched her leave, and ran the tap again, collecting the cold water in her hands before splashing it carelessly over her face. She needs to feel alert, badly.
In the commander's office, Shigeru offered Shinji a cup of green tea.
"Shinji, I know how horrible it had been for you. I was there, remember? I heard Asuka screaming for you. I saw everything fall apart, and all I could do was give Fuyutsuki status reports, hoping he could do something, but I never knew that the end of man was his one wish."
Shinji nodded dumbly.
"But this time, this time, Shinji, we have a fighting chance. This time, your father and his mad plans aren't there to sabotage us."
Shinji's face darkened at the mention of the most hated person ever to exist.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Shinji. I realize it was wrong to mention him."
Shinji opened his mouth to speak. "Aoba-san," he said softly, so softly that Shigeru had to lean forward to hear him.
"Aoba-san, if there was no choice, I'll do all I can."
"Thank you Shinji," Shigeru said, genuinely relieved to hear the words. Had Shinji said no, and stuck to his guns, Starling would have been deeply unhappy.
"We'll set up a ready room for you in the bunker complex," Shigeru said as he got up. "Come on, Shinji, I'll walk you there myself," he said, gently taking Shinji's hand, tugging him ever so delicately to stand up.
On the bridge of an American aircraft carrier, several miles offshore from the Japanese coast, Rear-Admiral Starling was greeted with salutes. He responded in kind, before turning to the ship's captain.
"Any word from the President? Or the UN?" he asked, unhurried. He knew already what the message was going to be, but he was interested in finding out how long it would take for those politicians to realize it.
He was handed a sealed envelope. Tearing it open, his eyes carelessly scanned the ciphered message, mentally decoding the message that only he was authorized to read.
He grunted approvingly. "Ahead full, Captain," he said, immediately triggering chain of commands that moved the mighty ship's massive turbines, moving the aircraft carrier, and its attendant ships, further away from Japan.
Shinji sat alone on the bench in the ready room. There was a locker; there was food and drink on a table should he so wish to eat. His plugsuit, the exact plugsuit he wore into battle against the Seventeenth Angel, hung neatly in the locker. He slowly hummed a tune, trying to drown out the incessant thoughts in his head with the soothing tunes of the Ode to Joy. Kaworu always did like that song.
The door opened, and a woman stepped in, her silhouette in the doorway giving her identity away.
"Hello, Asuka," Shinji said reflexively, without feeling relief or anxiety.
"He's in here, all right," Asuka said to someone standing next to her. "Come on in," she invited the mystery person.
Hikari poked her head in nervously. "Hello, Shinji," she stammered.
Shinji slumped his chair, the feeling of despair growing each second. Here was another thing he could never run away from.
"Asuka, are you sure this is a good idea?" Hikari asked, suddenly unsure of her friend's plan.
"Just come in," Asuka said, reassuringly. She was sure that this was the best way. She didn't want to give Shinji the chance to run away from this. It took some bluster and a few unpalatable German phrases to get Hikari into the Geofront crater, no thanks to the yellow alert, but Asuka knew the opportunity was too rare to miss.
Asuka pulled up a folding metal chair that was leaning against the wall, set it up and offered it to Hikari, who gave her a questioning look, but took the seat regardless.
"The Third Impact was not your fault," Hikari said. "I was wrong," she continued, trying to establish eye contact with Shinji. "I don't remember what it was like, Shinji, but you do. You must have tried to stop it."
While Hikari spoke, Asuka walked over and closed the door. This matter was between Children, and she just wanted to shut out the problems of the outside world for a little while. .
Even though the outside world was looking in.
It wasn't Ritsuko's idea to eavesdrop. She just wanted to check on Shinji, and told one of the security people to turn the security camera in his ready room on. She raised an eyebrow, noticing Asuka and Hikari talking with the boy.
She ordered the audio feed opened as well. The sound was tinny, and she had to concentrate to make out the words, especially Shinji's words, because he spoke them in an unsure whisper.
Ritsuko smiled to herself, noting the details of the conversation between Shinji, Asuka and Hikari, silently analyzing each of Shinji's spoken responses, looking for signs of a catharsis. She felt a little guilt intruding on a private moment, but it nothing she wasn't used to. It was just another one of those secrets she had to keep.
Through strength of will alone, Ritsuko glanced at the clock, realizing that she had spent two hours observing Shinji's makeshift therapy session. She had to tear herself away from the monitor, realizing that it was about time Shigeru had his lunch.
Ritsuko walked calmly out of the security building, squinting a little in the bright afternoon sun. She walked briskly, not wanting to spend too much time in the sun, all the way to NERV's command building, barely noticing the blue helmet guarding the main door.
As Ritsuko walked past the door to the War Room, relentlessly making her way to the staff cafeteria, she thought about what she saw earlier. Asuka's effort was noble, well intended, but too direct.
Helping Shinji required subtlety, but dealing with that grouch Aoba required downright sneakiness, Ritsuko thought, smiling to herself bemusedly at the idea.
She neared the door to the cafeteria, and then stopped. She took a deep breath, making sure that she had her usual serious expression on, and gently pushed the door open. There, sitting alone at a small table, was Shigeru Aoba, Acting Commander of NERV, with his boxed lunch. He was such a creature of habit, Ritsuko noted, that he would still eat here like the rest of the staff, instead of ordering food be brought into his office.
"Am I interrupting, commander?" Ritsuko asked as she made her way to his table in the cafetaria. Shigeru put down his chopsticks, his enjoyment of the boxed lunch now gone forever.
"What is this about?" Shigeru asked, his eyes looking up from his meal at her.
Ritsuko sat down opposite Shigeru, and looked around to make sure they were the only two people left. It was way past lunch hour, and the next meal break wasn't going to be for another two hours, so the place was quite deserted.
"Commander,the Angel seems to be heading towards the Newfoundland shoreline," Ritsuko said, cautiously trying to lull him with other matters first.
Shigeru's eyebrow shot up quizzicaly. "Canada's east coast, sir," Ritsuko gently reminded.
"Oh," Shigeru replied. "Still quite a distance from us. Commander, but I just wondered if you noticed something about the Angel," Ritsuko said.
Ritsuko could tell from his expression that he had no idea.
"Commander, don't you think there's something strange about its flight path?" Ritsuko asked, a little bit of smugness in her voice.
"No," Shigeru replied. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"Bear with me, sir, but as far as we know, Angels don't think like we do, correct?"
"According to you," Shigeru replied, recalling the many scientific briefings Ritsuko gave him when he was just another NERV employee. To think about it, she had a point. Even the last one, that boy, didn't really act like a normal human being. "So what does this have to do with the Angel on its way here?"
"It's flying westwards, across North America. The shortest line from Europe to here is northwards, across the Arctic. Commander, don't you see? It's taking the long way around because someone is telling it to fly west. It's being piloted sir, it's the only logical explanation."
"That's terrible," Shigeru mumbled. He remembered what happened to Toji, the Fourth Child, in the aftermath of the first battle against the Thirteenth.
"Wait, if there's a pilot, and he's in control of the Eva," Shigeru started to say something, but Ritsuko was not going to let him finish that thought. "Or maybe, commander, the Eva is in control of the pilot. We can't discount that possibility." Shigeru looked down, his right hand clenching into a fist, slowly punching the tabletop in a controlled release of frustration.
"Asuka will fight, commander. But Shinji… I recommend we pull him out of here." Ritsuko said, peering out from her glasses at the Commander.
"No. We can't afford to lose. We have to stop the Angel no matter what." Shigeru was sure enough of that, at least.
"Commander, may I remind you what Shinji's reaction was after he found out what his Eva did to the Fourth Child?"
Shigeru paused, remembering. Shinji went ballistic at the sight of Toji's broken and battered body being extracted from the entry plug of Eva 03, and afterwards threatened to use Eva 01 to destroy the Geofront.
"Commander, we can't risk using Shinji. Not in his mental state." Ritsuko continued. " I understand this is a UN-mandated order, but you have got to tell them that Shinji is of no use as a weapon of last resort."
Shigeru bit his lip, feeling frustrated.
"You seem to be rather concerned about Shinji after your trial," Shigeru commented.
"This is about all of us, commander, not just the Third Child," Ritsuko said, trying not to let herself take the bait.
"I'll talk to Starling about it. Now if you'll excuse me," Shigeru said as he slowly rose up from the chair, "I am feeling rather nauseous. Perhaps there was something unpleasant around here," he said as he started to make his way, unhurriedly, to the exit.
Inwardly, Ritsuko let out a cry of triumph. She knew it; Shigeru Aoba was nothing like Gendo. She could find his buttons; she could make herself indispensable to him no matter what he felt about her. Most importantly, she could keep Shinji safe, and if she kept Shinji safe, she could keep herself safe as well.
"Did you think we got through to him?" Hikari asked, as Asuka escorted her out of the building.
"For that baka's sake, I hope we did," Asuka said.
"I just hope we didn't damage him any more," Hikari said, slightly worried now. Shinji's numbness to his surroundings disturbed her. He reminded her too much of what she herself had become since she came back to life. He reminded her of her own apathy, her bags of unremoved garbage, the plates that stacked up in her sink, the dirty laundry she wore again and again. She had become what Asuka had been once, after she fought that space Angel and lost.
"Cover your eyes, the sunlight can really get you after so much time in here," Asuka warned, her hand grabbing the thick steel lever that opened the door to the NERV bunker complex. She gave a sharp tug and electro- mechanical servos and gears did the rest, opening the bombproof door.
Asuka was right, the sunlight was rather painful after spending so much time in the relative darkness of the bunker. Hikari covered her eyes with her hands, waiting for her eyes to adjust again. Asuka stepped out, gently putting a hand on Hikari's back, guiding her friend out the door before it automatically closed in thirty seconds.
The pair walked along a concrete path under the hot afternoon sun, occasionally bumping into other NERV staff, and sometimes, walking right past blue-helmeted UN soldiers. Hikari noticed someone, craning her neck to make sure just who it was.
"Hey, Asuka, isn't that Ritsuko?" Hikari asked.
Asuka turned her head in the direction Hikari was pointing to. It was the mad scientist, no doubt about it.
"Yeah, it's Ritsuko. Now there's someone you can kick without feeling guilty," Asuka said, sneering.
"You don't sound too fond of her." Hikari questioned. It was strange, after all, she did have dinner with Ritsuko and Shinji almost every night.
"We look after someone in common, that's all." Asuka said. "Come on, I'll walk you to the crater's edge," Asuka said, trying to avoid the subject.
"Oh, okay, I just saw something weird about Ritsuko, that's all," Hikari said.
"What?" Asuka asked.
"She was smiling," Hikari said.
The plastic smile on Admiral Starling's face looked increasingly forced.
"Well, Commander, I do understand that this is your agency, but you're responsible for more than just your people, you simply have to remember that," he said over the video conferencing screen in Shigeru's office.
"Well, Admiral, my Chief Scientist has just assured me that any attempt to use the Third Child in combat may prove, ah, counter-productive, at least, not in the current mental state he's in," Shigeru said, suddenly uncomfortable with what he just said.
"Commander, I must remind you, there's an Angel on its way to where you are. " Starling said again.
"Yes, I am aware," Shigeru said. "I understand why you had to withdraw your naval forces away from here, too."
"No hard feelings, Commander, but you do realize that conventional resistance isn't very effective against Angels. That's why we had to be sure. We just can't afford to leave anything to chance. I still feel the Third Child could help NERV defeat the Angel"
"Yes, Admiral. We're aware of that. Don't worry about it too much, NERV has always found a way. I'm confident the Second Child will defeat the Angel," Shigeru said, his sweating palms hidden in his pockets, out of sight.
"Very well, commander. I hope the Security Council concurs with your decision. Good luck," Starling said, before he cut off the link.
Shigeru leaned back in his chair. Damnable job, he silently swore to himself. He was doing a good job making sure NERV was battle-ready again, but there were all these competing factors interfering with his duties. He briefly wondered how his predecessor managed, before the cold chill reminded him there were things that were better left dead in the Third Impact. The UN was very insistent he uses Shinji in combat, but Shinji wasn't keen on piloting, and the boy was practically on the borderline of a nervous breakdown. Then there was Ritsuko factor. She still had the cold, aloof demeanour he remembered, but she actually seems to care, genuinely care, about the Children. He felt in his heart she was up to something, but there was never any positive indication.
He thought again about the situation. Why would the UN be so insistent about the Third Child?
Asuka and Hikari stood on the edge of the Geofront crater, looking at the cluster of buildings that housed NERV, and at the inert form of Asuka's Evangelion that seemingly shimmered in the late afternoon sun.
"What a view," Hikari commented.
"Hmm, yes, quite. You can look Angel-girl right in the face from here, you can even see the red in her eyes," Asuka said.
"No, not Ayanami. I'm talking about NERV. You can see everything from here," Hikari said.
"Take a good look," Asuka said, smiling. "When I'm done with that Angel tomorrow, the view might not be so pretty."
Hikari hummed her acquiescence. "I'm not going to evacuate to Toyohara. I'm not running. I'm going to stay here and root for you to win," she said, determination in her voice.
Asuka was stunned, but Hikari didn't give her the chance to object.
"If you lose, it's the end of us all anyway, and I want it to be as quick and painless as possible, just like the Third Impact."
"I won't lose," Asuka said. "Not to that thing, not to anyone, ever again."
She looked across the lip of the crater, right into the gigantic sightless eyes of the dead Rei that loomed over the horizon.
"Especially you," Asuka thought ruefully, staring at Rei's giant dismembered head.
Despite himself, Shinji was getting quite bored, sitting in the ready room, alternately looking at his plugsuit and then the ceiling. It had been hours since Shigeru told him to wait here until further notice. Asuka and Hikari had left, and he couldn't be sure whether to be glad they're gone, or bang his fists on the door and yell at the top of his lungs until they come back.
He now wondered if he could open the door to the room. Perhaps they had locked him in here? But if Asuka and Hikari could come in, he saw no reason why he couldn't come out. He walked to the door, and tentatively reached out his hand to open it.
The door opened of its own accord, startling Shinji, who jumped backwards instinctively.
"Shinji-kun, is my appearance so hideous it scares young men away?" Ritsuko asked, still wearing a faint trace of the smile that came after she spoke with Shigeru.
"Um, ah… Ritsuko-san, I'm sorry, I didn't…" Shinji tried to mouth out something that was acceptable to her, but his overloaded mind simply could not come up with any, leaving his mouth to do the thinking, supplying various sounds and half-formed words.
"I'm joking, Shinji-kun," said Ritsuko again, her face looking rather strange with that expression on her face. Was that her version of a smile? Shinji wondered. He never really saw Ritsuko smile before.
"Come on out," Ritsuko said. "NERV has decided not to risk you in combat. We're going home for the night, then in the morning your security detail will take you to Matsushiro until Asuka beats the Angel. Now, is that all right, Shinji?" she asked, the words coming out faster than his confused mind could decipher. She was saying that he didn't have to pilot, was that it?
"Uh. Yes," Shinji answered, the only reaction he could muster.
"Good, now let's go home," Ritsuko said gently.
The sun was setting, and the MAGI had come out with a new estimated time of arrival for the resurrected Thirteenth Angel, but neither Ritsuko nor Asuka cared. They were busy with dinner.
"Think the three of us can actually finish a whole chicken?" Asuka asked, uncertain, as Ritsuko shoved a raw bird into the microwave.
"Hmm. I haven't seen Pen-Pen around," Ritsuko commented. "I certainly hope that was chicken…" her voice trailed off.
"Not funny," Asuka said, returning to her task of mashing the potatoes.
"Has Shinji come here yet?" asked Ritsuko.
"No. I could hear him play his cello on my way here," Asuka said.
"Good," Ritsuko said. "That gives us some time," she said as she set the bird to roast.
Asuka looked up at her quizzicaly.
"We need to talk about Shinji-kun," Ritsuko said. Not waiting for Asuka's response, Ritsuko ran the tap, washing her hands clean. "They won't give up. I took him out of danger today, but they won't rest until they make him part of the Dummy Plug System."
Asuka almost dropped her wooden spoon. That horrible thought from earlier in the afternoon returned to cloud her mind.
"But… why him? Why not me?" Asuka asked.
"Asuka, you have to understand. The core of the Dummy Plug System…"
"Wondergirl," Asuka said, remembering Ritsuko's testimony during her trial.
"No. Not just Rei." Ritsuko said. "Truth is, anyone would do, but Shinji was perfect. Eva 01 would never have rejected a Shinji dummy plug,"
Asuka's blue eyes narrowed in anger, and she stepped up to Ritsuko, grabbing her arm and pulling the older woman closer, without resistance.
"Stop talking in riddles, damn you!" Asuka shouted. "I'm not Misato, and I'm not Shinji, so stop thinking that I won't understand or I can't handle it! You're going to tell me just what the hell that baka has to do with the Dummy Plugs, or so help me…"
A knock on the door interrupted her anger.
"Shinji!" Ritsuko gasped.
The doorknob twisted, and Shinji poked his head in nervously.
"Is.. is everything all right?" Shinji asked slowly, before a rather loud squawk from under him drew his attention. Pen-Pen stood at his feet, having come out from its unknown hiding place, jumping up and down as if glad to see Shinji.
"No, Shinji, nothing's right!" Asuka yelled at him, causing him to shirk back in the doorway. "Ritsuko practically murdered that chicken in the oven! I told her, just rub salt and pepper on it and roast it, but nooo, she had to go fusion on us and rub wasabe on it too! Have you ever had any wasabe-flavoured roast chicken?"
"Uh, no. No!" Shinji said, shaking his head in fear of Asuka's wrath.
"Well, you're about to!" Asuka shrieked at him. "We're going to feed you wasabe flavoured roast chicken, and if you don't explode or choke, we're making you eat the whole damn bird!"
Shinji's eyes were downcast, his shoulders slumped slightly at the verbal lashing Asuka gave him for no reason whatsoever. Then again, it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. He had been learning to ignore her diatribes, but she seemed so nice, so caring, just a few hours ago, and now, she was abusing him yet again. He did the only thing he could do, and that was to slink away, shuffling his feet towards the dining table.
Ritsuko laid a hand on Asuka's shoulder, slowly leaning over so she could whisper her thanks in Asuka's ear.
"This isn't over," was Asuka's harshly whispered reply.