DISCLAIMER: I do not own Evangelion. However, I own the software that the MAGI and EVA's run on. And until i release a critical security update for them, they will always have security loopholes (the MAGI) and be forever temperamental weapons of war (the EVAs). They'll rue the day they didn't pay their registration fee.

"Speech"

[Thought]

Unintended Consequences 05: Baptism amidst Fire

NERV, Evangelion Unit-01 cage

"I'll pilot it"

Hidden by shadows, Gendou allowed himself a smirk. [Everything is just as I planned] He did not allow himself the time to enjoy his small victory. There was much to be done if his scenario was to be realized. He strode from the observation box, making his way towards the elevator that would take him back to the command center.

As the doors closed, he mentally ticked a box off his planned scenario. There was still much room for error that held fatal results for all involved. But for now, this particular section of the scenario was complete. It was time to move to the next one. [Your time of usefulness has begun Third Child. Do not disappoint me.]

XXXXX

Maya Ibuki was worried. The tremors had subsided, but the Angel on the surface was not likely to have given up either. Additionally, their only hope of stopping it lay in the hands of a confused, young boy who had just been brought in. Ironically, their best chance of survival had the greatest chance of dying first as he listened to her sempai's instructions. [Is it really going to be alright like this?]

Her fingers raced across the control panels even as her mind roiled with doubts and fears. This wasn't a drill. It wasn't practice. It was the real thing. Her fingers faltered. She shook her head [Concentrate! I can't let him down. He's depending on us for survival as much as I am on him] In lighter times, that line of thought would have brought a blush to the young bridge tech, but the seriousness of the situation quelled any such reaction.

Responding to the ready signals that flashed across her board, she activated the pumps that flooded the entry plug with LCL. Unsurprisingly, Shinji protested despite Ritsuko's assurances. Maya couldn't blame him. Even with the knowledge that LCL was breathable, she could never bring herself to willingly breathe it. Once the plug was flooded, she began initiating the command sequences that would create the link between pilot and machine. The results brought a barely audible gasp to her lips. "Borderline circuit passed. The unit is active." [Even Rei couldn't synchronize with Unit-01 on her first attempt! And she's been training her whole life for it! Who are you Shinji?]

XXXXX

[That's our best chance, huh?] Hyuuga Makoto didn't share in the confidence that Commander Ikari had. In his opinion, sending a 14 year old with no training to pilot a 20 storey tall machine of destruction to fight an equally large and deadly being struck him as clinically insane. But he was a bridge technician. His job was to monitor his console and support the pilot via the systems that were arrayed before him, not to offer his opinions.

[Still, there's some small consolation] True, the lad could synchronize with the Evangelion on his first try. And the synchronization rate looked promising. [If he knows how to fight, maybe it will work out] But now was not the time for worry or doubt. Whatever his misgivings, the boy, Shinji Ikari he reminded himself, was designated to pilot the EVA and subsequently, to fight the attacking Angel.

"Eva Unit-01 launch"

Obeying Katsuragi's spoken order, Makoto's fingers flashed across the control panels. Locks were released and the electromagnetic ramp that the EVA stood upon raced upwards in a trail of discharged electricity. The unit's path was traced across an electronic progress board as it raced towards the surface, immense hatches opening and closing as it approached, entered, and passed each section depicted in the diagram.

As the armored unit raced towards the surface, Makoto thought of only one thing. Unknown to him, that line of thought was shared by every member of the bridge crew to varying degrees.

[We're relying on you Shinji. Don't let us down.]

XXXXX

As the unit raced to the surface on its launch platform, Shinji was subjected to a myriad of thoughts, his current situation being one of the more prominent ones. [This is terrible] There was some justification to that line of thought. The unit's rapid ascent currently was crushing him to the seat by the immense g-forces he was being subjected to. It was as if three very large and heavy men were sitting on him.

Hanging on for dear life, trying his best to stay conscious as the edges of his vision blackened, a strange, ironic thought occurred to him. One that had not surfaced in his mind before. Not when he had beheld the robot, not when he was cradling the girl beneath the protective shield of the unit's hand and most certainly not when he agreed to pilot it. [I don't know how to pilot it]

He panicked. Opening his mouth to ask the crew for instructions on how to use the behemoth, he forgot his surroundings. With an audible clack, the g-forces brought the upper part of his mouth to close painfully on his jaw. A faint tinge of red mixed in with the LCL. He had bitten his lip in the incident.

Before he could think on it further, the final hatch open and the platform came to a rapid halt, forcing the head of the unit up. Through his monitor, Shinji saw the Angel was standing before him. It was time to fight for his life.

XXXXX

Somewhere in Tokyo-3. Street level

"Ooh, that baka onii-chan! He's always so forgetful!" Little eight-year old Mari Suzuhara ran with all her might, trying to reach a designated shelter that was still open, braided hair lashing wildly behind her. Clutched in her hands was a locket. Not any ordinary locket, but her mother's locket. One of the last few possessions of Kumiko Suzuhara, it was a link to her children, trespassing the border of life and death through the medium of cherished memory. Contained within were several small items that held immeasurable sentimental value to her and her brother, each filled with irreplaceable memories.

Her elder brother, Touji Suzuhara had always carried it with him. However, he never wore it, insisting that it was something "guys" didn't do. As it was, he always carried it in his pants pockets. But today, he had forgotten it in the rush to get to the shelters.

"Hurry Mari! The shelters will close soon!" Touji was gripping her hand as the two of them ran towards the shelters. She didn't really understand what was going on.

Everything had seemed so peaceful that day. When the announcements came, she was playing in the small community playground and had missed it. She would have continued playing blissfully there had Touji not arrived later, face frantic as he called out for her.

"Mari! What are you doing here!? Didn't you hear the announcement?" Relief washed over his face as he grasped her shoulders.

"What announcement Onii-chan?" She didn't really know what was going no, although it did seem rather quiet for the middle of the day.

He scrunched his face in exasperation. "Never mind. We need to get to the shelters quickly." Grasping her hand, they ran as fast as Mari's little legs could carry her. They had approached the shelter entrance, guarded by armed soldiers when a thought occurred to her.

"Onii-chan, did you remember mama's locket?"

Panic momentarily washed over his features as he checked his pocket. "Crap! I must have left it on the desk when I ran out!"

Mari stamped her foot. "Onii-chan! How could you forget!? I'm going to get it." And with those words, she wriggled free of his grasp and began running down.

Touji turned to follow her, but a strong grip on his shoulder restrained him. "Where are you going kid? Get into the shelter! We're going to close it in less than 3 minutes." It was the shelter guards.

"Mari! Get back here! Come back!" Her only response was to turn around and stick her tongue out at him before she disappeared from sight.

She sighed. She had found the locket, carelessly placed on her brother's desk. That had been more than 5 hours ago and it was starting to get dark. [baka onii-chan. If only he wasn't so forgetful]. Slowing down a little, she came to a halt, placing her hand on the wall beside her for support as she tried to regain her breath.

A tremor shook the ground, causing her hand to slip as she fell to the ground. "Oww...an earthquake?". Mari had never experienced one in her life before, but her brother described it to her during an emergency drill. She had risen to her feet when another tremor shook the ground, nearly caused her to lose her balance.

"What's going on?" she wondered out aloud before the answer became all too obvious. At first, it was only a distantly spotted object, low and long, darker than the shadows in which it resided. Then another darkened object joined it, stretching an impossible length as a new tremor shook the ground.. [A leg] her mind told her. Then it came fully into view. Highlighted by the various lights that stubbornly burned in the city, she could make out a pair of massive shoulders, thin limbs and a thick frame. A red orb dominated the center of its chest. But what stood out the most were the twin bones that could only be described as faces. [A monster!].

For a brief moment, the girl stood paralyzed as she somehow felt its baleful gaze on her.

A large hiss of compressed air and a roaring sound made its way to her ears but the gaze prevented her from registering it. And then, twin pillars lanced out and the view of the monster was blocked by a rising giant. Unlike the first beast, this one had a metallic tint to it. But to her mind, it was just another monster. Snapped out of her shock, she did the only logical thing that came to mind.

She ran.

The ground shook and trembled as she ran, seemingly mocking her efforts at escape. Unwilling to turn back, she could only guess that the two titanic beings were fighting each other. She would never know the victor of the terrible struggle that night.

XXXXX

[Why am I so weak?] These thoughts ran through the pilot of Unit-01 as it lay before the Angel. He had made the decision to fight so that another need not. To fight so that the death of another would not weigh on his conscience. To fight, to protect. But reality had shown him the foolishness of his decision. He had barely commanded the behemoth to take its first step, guided by Ritsuko, when it overcompensated, falling face down. Frantically, he tried to command it to rise, to fight, to do anything but lie there on the ground, mocking his folly.

And then he felt it rise. But the Evangelion rose not on its own power. The Angel had gripped its left hand, raising the unit to eye level. Death seemed to be promised in the eyeless sockets of its twin skulls. [No! Not like this! I won't let this happen!] The indecision and laments of moments ago were blasted away by resolve and determination. As if that was the catalyst, the behemoth responded to his unspoken desire, swinging its free hand in an arc to land forcefully on its opponents face. The clenched fist struck squarely on the skeletal face.

For a brief moment, it staggered back, apparently surprised at this unexpected aggression. Then it hunched its shoulders, straining immense muscles.

With a thunderous crack, the imprisoned wrist snapped.

XXXXX

"Shinji, that's not your real arm that's broken. It's only the sensation from the unit!" Ritsuko desperately tried to calm the boy. [It's too soon.] She had not liked the idea of bringing an untried and untrained boy to pilot the unit in the very first place. She had even objected to Gendo in his office when it became clear that he was summoning the boy for this very purpose. As was his habit, he had overruled her, stating reasons she could not refuse, yet could not fully accept.

[We should have gone with Rei] The pragmatic part of her acknowledged that with appropriate training and time, he would be a suitable pilot. But time they did not have. Rei, even injured as she was, would have the experience and the training to better control the situation and defeat the angel. She might have died on the battlefield, but that was a calculated risk. Not the wildcard that was currently presented before her. That other part of her, the one she kept buried deeply within her psyche, wanted Rei out there, wanted Rei to scream, to die, to forever disappear. As it was, that part was never allowed to surface. Not while she remained in control of herself.

"Reduce feedback levels to 50%!" Reducing the pain and keeping the pilot active was her primary concern for now. Even as the bridge crew hurried to carry out her orders, the Angel picked up the Evangelion by its head. Her throat tightened. She knew the terrible power hidden in that arm.

"Shinji! You have to fight back!" Misato also knew what was hidden there.

The words had barely left Misato's mouth before a brilliant purple lance drew back and slammed into the unit's eye, shaking the entire unit like a rag doll.

They watched, speechless, as the Angel continued to ram the unit's eye, the only counterpoint to the immense energies being imparted to the behemoth being the howls of agony from its hapless pilot.

XXXXX

Pain. The pain was unbearable. The sudden numbness of the entire hand. An avalanche of sensations running through the afflicted limb. One moment it was icy cold, so much so that his flesh felt like it was breaking apart, piece by piece. The next it was burning hot, so terrible was the heat that he expected his blood to boil. His mind flitted between rational thought and the soul-consuming agony. And then, there was more.

Agony. A needle, searing hot, seemingly smashed into his eye. Pain on a whole new level coursed through his body. Conscious thought fled and all that he was aware of was that horrific needle being plunged again and again into his eye. The pain in his wrist utterly forgotten, he brought up both hands to cover the wounded organ, to somehow shield it from that maddening needle. But to no avail. Again the needle stuck home. Again he screamed his agony to the world. And then he felt no more. Black tendrils of unconsciousness reached out to grasp him.

Before his mind succumbed to that final onslaught, one tiny, whispered voice reached out to him. Its crooning tone lessening the pain that tore at him. Singing a lullaby that was somehow familiar. And then, vision fled and he knew no more.

XXXXX

"Why is this happening!?" Mari covered her ears to shield them from the thunderous noises that emitted each time that purple lance slammed home. It did little to silence the thunder of her heart as it raced in her chest. Her legs screamed for rest and her lungs burned for air. Her vision swam drunkenly before her but still she could not stop.

She had tried to run from the fight, but just when she had thought she was safe, the purple machine had smashed through a building, landing only meters away from her. She had turned and run, but by some perverse decree of fate, the fighting had always erupted near her. But fate had not been swift. Each time the combatants came close to her, she had avoided injury, be it from struggling titans to falling debris.

But now, she harbored some small hope of getting away from them. One of them was losing. And losing badly. She could still hear the thunder-like sound of that horrible lance striking the other combatant. But they had not moved from that spot. While she on the other hand was speeding away as fast as her feet could carry her. A bend in the road offered her the chance to get away from them. To disappear from their view. To get to safety.

Fate was not such a kind mistress.

A wet tearing sound, but immensely amplified, tore at her ears. She held her course and continued running, but a brilliant light from behind forced her to pause and look back. She wished she hadn't. Its head pierced by the terrible lance, the purple behemoth was flying towards her, still transfixed to the lance.

It struck the building beside her with the sound of a thousand hammers striking stone, the shockwave flinging her to the floor. As she struggled to her feet, she was suddenly drenched by a shower of liquid. In her shocked state, she brought up an arm to sniff at it. [It...it smells like blood!!] And she was covered in it. Oblivious to everything, she could only stare at the crimson liquid as it slowly dripped down her arm, her legs, her hair, to pool before her. Dully, her mind noticed that the liquid was everywhere.

The groan of failing masonry and the shriek of tortured metal snapped her out of her trance. Looking up, she saw death written in the blocks of concrete and chunks of steel as they broke free from the shattered building, tumbling towards her.

Futilely, she brought her gore-spattered arms up to cover her head as she screamed the wordless shriek of a lost soul.

And the rubble landed, mercifully cutting the cry short.

XXXXX

"Circuits 27 through 197 complete failure! Circuits 213 and 259 in danger of failing!"

"Nerve linkages are being severed! The unit is not responding!"

"Shinji!"

"Unit-01....is silent"

A palpable silence fell at this announcement, each and every member of the bridge crew contemplating the horrific meaning behind that statement. Before the display screen, the Evangelion stood silent, head bowed in defeat.

Unaffected, Gendo continued to sit at his station, his eyes giving no hint of concern or worry.

As abruptly as the silence fell, the one remaining eye of the Evangelion erupted in a blaze of light and life.

Fuyutsuki whispered. "It looks like we've won"

"Indeed" was the equally quiet reply.

And they watched in silence as the Evangelion began its baptism of life in a rain of fire and destruction.

END OF CHAPTER 05


Alex Ikari: I do need to put down scenes which have happened before. Boring or not, there are some subtle changes there. Trust me on that, its neccessary.

A/N: Whew thats number 05 down. Boy, writing chapters when you don't have a clear outline is tough! Sorry about the lack of fight scene descriptions. Since its Shinji's first fight, i figured there wouldn't be much difference between the canon and this version. Frankly, from what little i've already written, i have come to the conclusion that i suck at writing fight scenes anyways.

Now about little Mari. It was tough thinking of how i was going to put her out there in the line of fire without resorting to teleportation techniques. I mean obviously if Mari was to be injured, she would have to be out of a shelter or there would have been more casualties if it was a shelter that got damaged. So i gave her a plausible reason to be there and tada, one Mari in hospital.

Now you may be thinking, 'How can Touji blame Shinji for what happened? Isn't he at fault?'. Well in a way, he is. But he's human too. I'll let you figure out what that means. Heh.

Well, Ja Ne. See you next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews.