Disclaimer: I am sorry to say that I do not own Evangelion or Godzilla (though if my brilliantly evil plan works out they will both be mine hahahahahahahah!).
Chapter 7: The Truth Revealed (Sort Of)
"Alright young man," said Ritsuko in her most serious and stern tone, "You have some explaining to do." She held up a clipboard in front of her for Ishiro to see. Ishiro assumed that it was his medical records.
That alone gave him pause. He shouldn't have had to assume anything. By rights, Ishiro should have known the exact contents of the papers of that clipboard with a single thought. It was at the same moment that Ishiro realized that he was completely naked under his sheets which had fallen down considerably the instant he had sat up. With a surprised yelp, Ishiro pulled the sheets far enough over his body to preserve what was left of his dignity.
What's going on? he wondered. However, Ishiro was nothing if not capable of improvising. He quickly took stock of his current situation. There were only two things about him that could have caused Ritsuko to act the way she did. The first was a minor annoyance; the second was nothing short of life threatening.
Fortunately for him, it was the former. "Explain to me how this is possible," snapped Ritsuko, jabbing at the clipboard with a pen she had pulled from the pocket of her white lab coat. From the look on her face, Ishiro wouldn't have been surprised if she had tried to run him through. And in his current state, he would have been hard pressed to stop her. "When did you get a prosthetic implant?"
It took all of Ishiro's will power to avoid letting out the loudest sigh of relief heard this side of the solar system. Despite the fact that he was holding his true feelings back, Ishiro allowed himself to relax visibly. "Oh this?" he said innocently. He reached with his left hand and pinched at the skin of his right hand. He then pulled down. The skin peeled away to reveal a mass of circuitry and metal joints. All were created to the exact configuration of the bones, muscles, tendons and nerves of the human hand. "What is so important about me having a prosthetic?"
"It should be impossible to properly synchronize with an Eva with a pilot who uses prosthetics. The electric signals that manipulate prosthetic limbs interfere with the conductivity of LCL, that's why the Fourth child can no longer be used as a pilot." Ritsuko was now tapping her pen against the clipboard incessantly.
Ishiro shrugged indifferently. "I have had no problems synchronizing with Unit 14 thus far. I don't see why it should be a matter of concern for me or you."
Ritsuko could only shrug at this. "Maybe you're just a special case," she theorized. The look of interest flashed across her face. "How did you get that prosthetic?"
Ishiro smiled indulgently. "Remember how I said my mother worked for the government organization G-Force?" Ritsuko nodded. "Well, my mom had several friends in the business. One of them was a geneticist who was conducting research on G-cells. In fact, it was this scientist's research that I was using in order to do my own research now.
"Well, anyway when I was about five, my mom went to visit her friend and was kind enough to take me along with her. Her friend at the time was conducting research on G-cell capacity for the absorption of radiation. Testing this meant taking a sample of G-cells and exposing it to so much radioactive energy that the cells began to release that radioactivity back into their environment. When my mother took me to visit her friend in her own lab, her friend was careless enough to leave a sample jar of freshly tested G-cells open. While they were making small talk, I wandered around wherever I wished. Eventually I found this intriguing jar of G-cells. Like a perfectly normal child, I was inclined to stick my hand in the jar.
"You'd be surprised at how much radioactivity a G-cell can hold. My hand was nearly burned to a cinder and the condition would have spread to the rest of my body had not that same quick thinking doctor who had first conducted the tests amputated my hand at the wrist.
"Thanks to her distinguished service for the government, my mother was allowed to consult some of the finest doctors in the world and utilize some of the most advanced technology. A prosthetic hand was created that was almost a perfect mechanical replica of my original hand sans skin, a synthetic form of which was applied over the top. That's how my prosthetic came to be doctor." Ishiro folded his arms imperiously.
"Well," said Ritsuko, "It appears that you have lived a most exciting life Pilot Saegusa." She looked at his medical records one last time before setting them down on the table by his bedside. "I see no problems with you're being released this afternoon. I will schedule a full synchronization test tomorrow for you." Ritsuko left at a brisk pace.
Without her watching him, Ishiro sighed with absolute relief and let his body slide all the way down under the covers. He was glad that that was over. If there was one secret about him that Ritsuko had to discover, that would be it.
Of course, if she ever found out about his other secret, or worse, if Gendo Ikari found out, Ishiro Saegusa would most likely cease to exist. If they found out that I am psychic, he thought, They would be virtually forced to kill me.
When Ishiro had first touched the mind of Gendo Ikari, Ishiro Saegusa found out exactly how precarious his situation really was. Gendo believed, per his readings of the Dead Sea Scrolls, that human evolution had hit a dead end. Thus, the human instrumentality project was born, its purpose, to stimulate a man made "next step" in human evolution by fusing all human souls into a single greater entity.
Ishiro made all that bunk. His psychic abilities had been passed to him via his mother, therefore revealing that his psionic nature as a genetically inheritable trait. This meant that Ishiro was the product of the next natural step in human evolution. In other words, everything that Gendo Ikari had ever worked for was absolute foolishness. Furtermore, Ishiro concluded that if Gendo attempted to initiate the instrumentality of man despite this, he could set into action a chain reaction that would result in the complete destruction of all humanity.
His perfect world would become his worst nightmare. Ishiro had also realized upon touching Gendo's mind that Gendo would not completely disregard all of his work based on the fact that his research had led to the wrong conclusions. Rather, if the man encountered an obstacle in his path, he would simply have it eliminated. The fact that he was manipulating the instigation of Third Impact to reunite with his wife would make him all that more determined to see that insure that anyone and everyone were out of his way.
Ishiro also knew that now he was more vulnerable than ever. For some reason, his abilities were no longer functioning properly. He had tried to probe Ritsuko's mind to find out why she had come calling, only to find that he could no longer reach out to touch her mind. During their entire conversation and throughout his lengthy story, Ishiro attempted to reach out with his psychic senses and determine the exact nature of his surroundings, only to find that he could not do so.
Ishiro's analytical mind came to the conclusion that his exertions in the cockpit of Unit 14, involving a feat of psychic projection that had been impossible for his mother, to turn Godzilla away from Tokyo 3 and towards Old Tokyo, had robbed him of almost all his psychic abilities.
I guess all that remains now is to see whether or not they return. This did not sit well with the boy. Throughout his life, Ishiro had come to rely on his psychic abilities as a supplement to all five of his senses. It was perfectly natural for him to reach out with his psychic powers to better discern his surroundings or to delve into the thoughts and dreams of those he interacted with. Without them, Ishiro felt shut off, like all of his senses had been suddenly dulled. This sense brought with it a sense of extreme disorientation.
The boy lay back and closed his eyes, letting his breathing slow as he relaxed his body. If anything, rest would be the cure for his ailment. Perhaps if he rested enough his powers would return quickly.
***
That was definitely strange, thought Ritsuko as she made her way back to the Command Center. Past a certain point it seemed he was more worried about what I could have found out than what I did find out. After years of working on Project E, a job which also entailed conducting psychological examinations on her staff, a task Ritsuko trusted to no one but herself, she had become quite adept at reading people's facial expressions.
He was definitely worried that I'd find out about something more than a prosthetic, she realized. She decided to think about it later and pushed those thoughts aside as she reached to bridge.
Makoto smiled as he watched her sag into an unoccupied seat, much the same way she had earlier that day only she now looked even more tired. "It must be one of those days," he commented.
Ritsuko nodded tiredly. "I hate days like these," she groaned.
***
It was the day after their battle with the dragon. Asuka had slept in Shinji's room again. She seemed to be much better after her change in sleeping arrangements. Misato, considering how well they had done the previous day, gave them the day off from any chores they had.
Asuka dragged Shinji by his wrist through the mall. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately to Shinji's point of view), the place had not been damaged in the latest kaiju attack. School had been canceled for the day due to the attack. And to Asuka, a day off meant only one thing, a shopping spree. This resulted in her dragging Shinji from store to store, making him try things on, making him wait while she tried on new clothes of her own, and forcing him to look at everything that he could have cared less about. Yes, Shinji Ikari was truly in a sorry situation. Once again, Asuka was pushing her NERV debit card to its limit, leaving Shinji to pick up the tab. In fact, the poor boy was beginning to worry that if Asuka pushed this shopping spree too much longer he might not have enough money for that month's grocery bill.
"Asuka, don't you think you have enough now?" begged Shinji from behind a massive pile off bags that carried all the things that Asuka had bought.
"I guess we've gotten enough," mused Asuka as she contemplated yet another display in the windows of a clothing store.
If by 'we' you mean 'you', thought Shinji as he watched her. He kept his thoughts to himself knowing that he very well risked a pummeling by voicing his opinion of her shopping habits. "If we get anymore I might not be able to afford the groceries for this month," he told her.
"Fine," said Asuka exasperatedly, "But let's get something to eat before we go."
"Why not," sighed Shinji.
They sat down in the food court. Shinji set down Asuka's bags and went to get them both something from one of the many fast-food restaurants lining the court. After bringing back their food, the two children ate in silence.
Finally, Shinji decided to break that silence. "Do you think we'll be able to go on our next class trip?" The next class trip was a camping trip in the forest. Shinji had been camping once when he stumbled on Kensuke while running away after the battle with the fourth Angel. He had decided that with the exception of NERV agents showing up early in the morning to take him back, he rather enjoyed the experience.
Sadly, the last time their class had taken a trip, Shinji and Asuka had been forced to stay behind because they were on permanent standby. Furthermore, once Misato had learned about their poor grades in school, she had forced them to catch up on their studies.
"I hope so," said Asuka softly. She was in a pensive state, which was quite unusual for her. Both she and Shinji had worked hard to keep their grades up this time around so that Misato would only have on excuse to keep them around. "Maybe they'll only need one or two pilots on standby this time."
"One can only hope," agreed Shinji. To his surprise, he saw that Asuka was now rubbing her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied, "I'm just a little tired." She lowered her head onto her arms, her meal now forgotten.
Shinji gently reached out and took her hand. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked gently.
"I still had some nightmares," she admitted, "But I wasn't as afraid anymore for some reason."
Shinji smiled. "Let's go home."
"Yeah," mumbled Asuka, "Let's."
Shinji grabbed their purchases for the day and led Asuka gently out the door and to the nearest Tokyo 3 Loop Line station. Setting their stuff down inside the train, they sat side by side as the train pulled out of the station. Asuka's eyes closed and she rested her head on Shinji's shoulder.
After a few moments, Asuka began to tense up and her breathing became erratic. Shinji realized that she was having nightmares again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Asuka's breathing slowed and she relaxed again. Shinji reached up with his other hand and stroked her cheek. "It's okay Asuka," he murmured, "I'm here for you."
They rode the train until they reached their stop. Gently, Shinji withdrew his hands from Asuka's shoulders and shook her gently. Asuka's eyes slowly opened. "Was I asleep?" she asked groggily. Shinji nodded and helped her up. After he had shouldered Asuka's purchases, and followed her out off the train and off of the station platform, heading for home.
***
Ishiro stepped into his own spacious apartment. Sitting down on the couch in front of the TV he sighed. "It's good to be home," he murmured.
***
Misato opened the door to her apartment and entered as quietly as she could. The door closed behind her with a hiss. The woman gently tiptoed into the kitchen. As she expected, she found a plate of food with utensils already set out for her. The plate was covered with tin foil so that she could heat it when she got back. Misato had been working yet another late night at NERV.
She put the food in the microwave to reheat it. After that, Misato tiptoed down the hall to check on the kids. As she expected, Asuka was spending the night in Shinji's room. She was very glad to see that the two children still slept in separate beds. She smiled when she saw that Shinji was holding Asuka's hand. Misato had no complaints about the children's sleeping arrangements so long as they didn't go too far. They are just kids after all, she thought.
Misato heard a beep from the kitchen, indicating that her food was warmed up. Misato pulled the food out of the microwave and set it down on the table while she went to get a beer from the refrigerator. Seating herself at the table, she dug into her dinner. The food was delicious; obviously Shinji had cooked.
After eating her dinner, Misato went into her room and crawled under the covers of her futon. She was asleep instantly.
***
The blaring of an alarm clock snapped Ishiro into wakefulness. He slowly sat up and got ready to greet the new day. Ishiro prepared a simple breakfast for himself while getting the coffee machine going. There must be something wrong with me, he thought, drinking coffee at my age. After that, Ishiro decided to test to see if his power had returned overnight.
Slowly, he tried to reach out with his mind and touch the consciousness of another person whom he couldn't see. He was glad to know that his experiment was a success as his thoughts found a janitor in the hallway outside his room. Satisfied, Ishiro began to get dressed for his synchronization test later that day.
***
Shinji and Asuka got to school a few minutes early. Everyone in the classroom was talking excitedly about the upcoming school trip. Asuka sat down next to Hikari and started a lively discussion of her own. Shinji joined Touji and Kensuke near the back of the class. The two boys were already talking animatedly about the upcoming trip.
"I've heard we'll be camping," announced Touji when Shinji joined them. Kensuke nodded glumly. Camping was one of his favorite pastimes. However, it was something he preferred to do either alone or in a much smaller group.
"It would be a lot better if I could just go out on my own," moaned Kensuke.
"But then it wouldn't be a 'class' trip would it?" commented Touji prodding Shinji in the arm, "Right?"
Shinji grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Right," he said, holding back laughter at his friend's antics.
"I bet you're just saying that 'cause you'll get to be with the class rep," taunted Kensuke. Touji blushed, prompting laughter from both Kensuke and Shinji.
"What about you?" Touji asked Shinji, quickly changing the subject, "Hoping to hook up with Asuka?"
Both Kensuke and Touji grinned evilly at Shinji whose face was quickly turning a color to match his roommate's hair.
Kensuke suddenly remembered something. "Hold on," he said, "Will you even be able to make it this time? If I remember right, last time you couldn't come 'cause you were on standby."
"Well, I don't know," admitted Shinji.
At that moment, the bell rang to signal the beginning of the class. Hikari quickly directed everyone through the "stand, bow, sit," routine. As was typical, the teacher rambled on about second impact. It was the same speech he had given them day after day after day. Shinji could practically recall the speech in his sleep. And thus a new day of boredom and monotony began.
***
"We're done Ishiro," announced Ritsuko over the omm..
"About time," muttered Ishiro as LCL drained from the entry plug. After finding out about the particularly unique relationship Pilot Saegusa maintained with his Eva, Ritsuko had declared that Ishiro would now conduct all synchronization tests in the entry plug, synching directly with the Eva, rather than using the standard test plugs for the procedure.
"That's all the data we'll need for today," said Ritsuko.
"Then I would like to see the data on this Eva," stated Ishiro, "Particularly the data on its organic components."
"Why?" asked Ritsuko.
"I have heard rumors Dr. Akagi that the cells of the Eva, which are virtually identical to Unit 01, were spliced with cells from another source. Could you tell me what that source is?" Ishiro folded his arms across his chest, showing that he wouldn't take no for an answer. Ever since his unique experience inside Unit 14, Ishiro had wondered where the soul within the Eva had come from. He had a strong feeling (probably more than helped by his clairvoyant abilities) that the answer lay somewhere in the Eva's genetic structure.
"I can show you," said Ritsuko. She led him to a computer terminal plugged into the Magi. There, she called up the files on the Eva. Having built the Evangelion, Unit 14 in particular, almost by herself, she knew exactly where to look. Soon, she had a file that listed all of the sequences for the Eva's genes. "We made sure to record the sequences for the cells that we spliced with the Eva's before we did so."
She pointed at a sequence code on the screen. "We were confused at first because the cells we spliced with the Eva's had three different gene sequences from different sources. Apparently, the samples were the results of a different splicing experiment of their own. The first set of genes we deciphered was, surprisingly enough, from the cells of a common rose, and these had been spliced with cells from an unknown human female. These genes were then spliced with a third set of an unknown origin."
"You don't know where the third set of genes came from?" Ishiro was surprised. "Isn't that risky doctor? If you don't know what the source cells are, then you can't properly predict what effect splicing them with the Eva's will have."
"So far we've had no problems with the results of the splicing," replied Ritsuko, "As you can already tell."
"That is true," Ishiro admitted, "Though problems may surface in the future."
"What makes you so nervous about this?" asked Ritsuko.
Ishiro's face went blank all of a sudden. He appeared to be deep in thought. Ritsuko decided against asking him what was going on. Apparently, everything he had heard had given Ishiro something to think about.
Ishiro's mind was quickly putting two and two together. Erika, those cells have to belong to Erika. I wonder, Erika, a rose, and something else. Why does that sound familiar? Wait a minute! My mother told me about something like this! Ishiro spun on his heel and began to walk towards his lab.
"What's going on?" demanded Ritsuko as she rushed to catch up with him. Ishiro didn't respond. Instead he actually began to walk faster. A few seconds later, he broke into a frantic run.
When Ishiro arrived back at his lab, he rushed over to the computer. There, he pulled out one of the disks left to him by his mother. They contained most of the data she had assembled over time in G-Force. Ishiro quickly typed the password and began a search.
When the search option came up, he typed in one word. ERIKA. He got results instantly. "I was right," he muttered.
"Right about what?" asked Ritsuko, as she entered the room. She was breathing heavily from rushing to catch up to the enigmatic pilot.
"My mother told me about a specific kaiju that she had dealt with at one time. Your description of the cells spliced with the Eva's reminded me of something my mother told me about that kaiju." Ishiro pointed to the screen and the data it displayed.
KAIJU CODE NAME: BIOLANTE
'Biolante was the creation of Dr. Shiragami, a well known geneticist. Dr. Shiragami formerly worked for a corporation in the country of Saradia. A terrorist attack on his lab claimed the life of his daughter, Erika Shiragami. Dr. Shiragami spliced the cells of his daughter with the cells of a rose. He later returned to Japan with the rose containing his daughter's DNA.
'However, an earthquake nearly killed the rose. Desperate to save his daughter, Dr. Shiragami joined a group of scientists in creating anti-nuclear energy bacteria in anticipation of a possible attack by Godzilla. While working on the bacteria, Shiragami secretly spliced G-cells with the cells of the rose containing Erika's DNA.
'The rose mutated into a bizarre creature that Dr. Shiragami named Biolante after a Norse legend. Biolante fought with Godzilla on two occasions. The first was as a giant rose in Lake Ashino. The second time the two kaiju did battle outside Osaka. Biolante's form had become much more formidable and bestial. The second time, Biolante managed to defeat Godzilla and drive him into the sea. Afterwards, Biolante transformed into what appeared to be a cloud of pollen which then departed the Earth for parts unknown.'
"So you're saying that the cells we spliced with the Eva's came from Biolante?" said Ritsuko. Ishiro nodded. "Then that means that the third sequence must have come from Godzilla." Ishiro nodded. Ritsuko cupped her chin in her hand. "That would explain the increase in the Eva's increased regenerative abilities and its ability to modify its structure and its immunity to radioactivity."
"However," interjected Ishiro, "We still have yet to see the long term effects of splicing the Eva's cells with G-cells. Godzilla cells are notorious for their ability to cause dramatic mutations if they come in contact with the cells of another creature. It is unlikely that we have seen the only effects of the G-cells on the Eva's structure."
"We will continue to keep the Eva under observation," stated Ritsuko, "Though I'm fairly sure nothing will happen."
"I hope you're right Dr. Akagi," mumbled Ishiro, "I'd hate to see what damage a Godzilla/Evangelion hybrid is capable of." His eyes widened at another random thought. "How did NERV come into possession of cells from Biolante?"
"I honestly don't know where those cell samples came from?" admitted Ritsuko, shrugging.
***
Some time ago:
The forest was unusually quiet. Not far from the outskirts of Tokyo 3, the forest showed the telltale signs of the fierce battle that had taken place not so long ago. Though now, the damage that resulted from the battle now extended much further than what the battle itself had wrought. Per Ishiro's instructions, the workers from NERV had purged the area to eliminate any contamination of the local ecosystem. Now the forest was covered with massive spaces of ash. NERV had been very thorough indeed.
However, being completely thorough is nearly impossible when one is operating on a microscopic scale. For every area found to be contaminated with G-cells that was burned, there were two or more tiny areas that survived. In one such area, there lay a miniscule piece of Godzilla's flesh.
Not long after the battle, a single praying mantis stumbled upon the morsel and following its hungry nature, promptly devoured it. The insect was almost immediately seized with convulsions as its insides began to shift and transform. After a moment, it regained control of itself and wandered on its way. Not too much later, the mantis found a female of its species and successfully mated with her. As per her instincts the female devoured the male once the process was completed.
In that fashion the strange effects and mutagens of the G-cells spread throughout the mantis population. It wasn't long before the changes caused by the cells became more and more apparent as the mantises began to grow. Time passed and the creatures got bigger…and bigger.
***
Ishiro flipped through the report on the last kaiju that had attacked Tokyo 3. Some photos of the battle had been taken, but they were few and far between. Almost all digital forms of image recording had simply ceased working when the dragon had arrived. Ishiro studied one of the surviving photos.
"What did Commander Ikari call this thing?" he asked.
"The commander has dubbed the creature Manda," replied Ritsuko, seated across the desk from him. This elicited a chuckle from Ishiro.
"Clever, naming him after the mythical guardian of Mu." Ishiro grinned.
"Mu?" inquired Ritsuko.
"You don't know about Mu?" Ishiro was incredulous. When Ritsuko shook her head, "Mu is the eastern version of the legend of Atlantis. Only, instead of being in the Atlantic, Mu is in the Pacific."
"I see," said Ritsuko.
"Apparently, in addition to being able to stop any form of communication within a certain radius of himself, Manda appears to be able to camouflage himself from any form of detection including visual and infrared, finally, Manda also appears to be capable of some form of hypnosis." After paging through the report, Ishiro looked up at Ritsuko. "The other pilots and Misato also tell me that he exhibited some very strange behavior."
Ritsuko nodded. "Misato reported that the creature appeared to be trying to break into the geofront."
"Not unlike an Angel then," mumbled Ishiro.
"Asuka told me that after he had subdued Unit 01, Manda tried to drag the Eva towards the sea."
"Strange," muttered Ishiro, "Why would Manda have such a strong interest in Unit 01."
"And finally, when Unit 14, piloted by Rei arrived on the scene, the kaiju appeared to grow quite confused and as a result of that confusion, retreated into the ocean."
"It is obvious that Manda's confusion stems from the similarities between Units 01 and 14. The question is why was Manda so interested in Unit 01 in the first place?"
Ritsuko rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "Unit 01 is certainly different from the other Evas." Ishiro nodded, "But I'm not sure that that is the cause of the creature's interest." Ishiro nodded at this too.
"Perhaps it was not really Unit 01 that Manda was looking for," suggested Ishiro, his face pensive, "Perhaps it was looking for something that was like or akin to Unit 01."
"That is plausible," agreed Ritsuko, "However, what could that be?"
Ishiro's face suddenly grew very serious. Ritsuko suddenly noticed that his eyes had changed from brown to glowing red. She realized that Ishiro had already been watching her through the infrared spectrum for some time now. "Don't play the idiot with me Dr. Akagi," he said bluntly. Ritsuko, taken aback by this sudden change in his attitude, was dumbstruck. "I know that you know what this thing Manda could be looking for is and you have no intention of telling me."
"I am not authorized to tell you," said Ritsuko helplessly.
"It doesn't matter," sighed Ishiro, "I already know in any case."
"What!?" exclaimed Ritsuko.
"The thing that Manda was looking for was the second Angel…Lilith." Ishiro smiled coldly.
"H-how did you know that?" demanded Ritsuko. She didn't how Ishiro had come to the conclusion that Manda was looking for Lilith. But how did he know that Lilith existed in the first place, much less that she was in the custody of NERV. Both Misato and Shinji had seen Lilith, however they were under the impression that the white figure nailed to the cross was actually Adam.
"I have my ways of finding out," replied Ishiro ambiguously, "I also know that both Unit 01 and Unit 14 were created from Lilith rather than Adam unlike the other Evas."
Ritsuko was speechless. Ishiro said one last thing. "I can assure you that this room is not bugged Dr. Akagi. No one but us knows anything about this conversation. I suggest you keep all this to yourself." For some reason, Ritsuko could only agree with him.
"And now, back to Manda," said Ishiro abruptly, "Knowing what we do, we have good reason to believe that Manda will return to Tokyo 3 in the near future." Ritsuko nodded. "I doubt that we are at a point right now where we have the means to overcome his ability to silence all communications." Once again, Ritsuko nodded. "We need a different way for the pilots to communicate."
"Perhaps we can use a visual signal system," suggested Ritsuko, "We would set up certain signals for the pilots to commit to memory so that they're not totally in the dark when Manda comes back."
"That sounds like a good idea," agreed Ishiro. They quickly began to work out the fine points of the system, agreeing almost immediately that it should be based on Morse code. Their talks went forward from there.
After they had finished, Ritsuko left to see that the system was built and installed on the Evas. As exited through the doorway, she stopped and turned around. "I don't know how we ever managed here without you," she commented.
"You did," replied Ishiro chuckling, "I just make things so much easier." He stopped suddenly. "Oh and one more thing," he said quickly, reaching into one of the drawers of his desk, rifling through papers and printouts, "How is the reconstruction of Unit 00 going."
"It's actually ahead of schedule," replied Ritsuko.
"That's great," said Ishiro excitedly, "If you wouldn't mind staying a few minutes longer, I have a suggestion for Unit 00's armor."
***
"Are we going to be allowed to go?" demanded Asuka as soon as Misato entered the apartment that evening. Misato froze, grinning sheepishly. She knew exactly what the fiery redhead was talking about. Sadly, she had no answers yet.
"I can honestly say I don't know," said Misato, holding her hands out in front of her, making placating gestures.
Instead of calming the irate Second child, this only served to irritate her further. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!?" she roared. The force of her voice alone almost sent Misato stumbling back out the door.
"Uh Asuka," said Shinji a gingerly as he could, "I don't think screaming about it will allow us to go if it's decided we should."
To Shinji's shock, his halfhearted attempt at calming Asuka actually worked. Asuka took a deep breath, letting it out slowly while letting her shoulders slump. "You're right," she admitted, "It's nothing to get worked up about." She turned around and went into the living room.
Both Shinji and Misato looked where she had gone. Misato had gone completely slack jawed. Shinji merely stared. Both of them were completely flabbergasted at the change that had come over Asuka. Finally, Shinji snapped out of his daze. Turning to look at Misato, he noticed that she was still standing there, her jaw hanging open. Gently, he reached over, put his hand under Misato's chin, and pushed her mouth closed. This seemed to awaken Misato to reality as well.
They immediately went about their regular tasks. Shinji went into the kitchen and began to fix dinner. Misato went into her room to change out of her work clothes. While Shinji was cooking, Misato came into the kitchen and went straight for the fridge. Fortunately, Shinji had taken the opportunity when he had gotten back to completely restock Misato's beer supply. Misato grabbed two cans of beer immediately, and closed the fridge behind her. She sat down at the kitchen table and opened one can. Not hesitating a second, she chugged down the entire can in a few seconds. She immediately switched to the second can and began to drink out of it at slower pace, taking leisurely sips.
"Better?" asked Shinji sarcastically.
"I needed that after what just happened," groaned Misato, "I wish they would tell me these things, but noooo. They insist on waiting until the last minute. It's like the personnel division enjoys watching me take the brunt of Asuka's fury when it's at its peak." She sighed and set down her beer. "I do know this however, the new pilot, Saegusa, will be staying here for sure."
"Speaking of Ishiro, where has he been?" asked Shinji, "He hasn't been in school since the first time."
"He's been down at headquarters. Commander Ikari gave him his own project to work on studying the G-cells and analyzing all other kaiju related information. That's why he's supposed to stay here." Misato laughed loudly. "Not that he'd want to go though. That boy's glued to his work more than Ritsuko."
"I guess that's what a college education'll do for you," commented Shinji.
"Then obviously it didn't work for Asuka," added Misato loudly.
"What was that?" growled Asuka from the living room. Both Misato and Shinji broke into laughter, Shinji pausing only long enough to announce that dinner was ready.
During dinner, Misato stayed silent as she watched Shinji and Asuka chatting away like old friends. She was amazed at the changes they had both undergone. It used to be you had to prod Shinji to string more than three words together in a conversation. And as far as conversations with Asuka went, Shinji more or less tended to remain silent while Asuka babbled on. Asuka for her part had rarely tolerated anything more than a yes or no reply from Shinji. But now, they both talked eagerly and openly. They really are making progress, realized Misato, smiling happily.
***
Later that evening, Misato retreated to her room and picked up the phone. She quickly dialed Ritsuko's number. "Hello?" said Dr. Akagi on the other end of the line.
"Ritsuko," said Misato urgently, "Any word on whether or not the kids can leave on that trip?" She looked over her shoulder at the door to her room. "I don't think it'll be much longer before Asuka throttles me for not letting 'em know."
"Well," replied Ritsuko, "If we can finish rebuilding Unit 00 in time, Rei would be able to stay along with Ishiro. That would probably satisfy the Commander. But if Rei wants to go on the trip…"
"Come on Ritsu," said Misato, using her nickname for her old friend, "You know that Rei would never deny a request for her to stay."
"True," agreed Ritsuko, "Though I've been noticing recently that she's been acting very strange...for her I mean."
"Yeah I've noticed it too," commented Misato, "She's becoming more open to others."
"I think that Ishiro has something to do with it."
"No argument with you there. And it's not just Rei who's changed. Both Shinji and Asuka have really opened up, especially with each other. It's like they're completely different people."
"Not only that, but Asuka's synchronization ratio skyrocketed after the last battle. Her scores are better than Shinji's now."
"That's great!" exclaimed Misato, "Asuka'll be so pleased when she hears."
"She already knows."
"What? But how can she?"
"I told her. Is that so strange?"
"But," Misato nearly dropped the phone from shock. Normally, Asuka would have bragged all evening long about how she had beaten the Third child. "R-Ri-Ritsuko," she stammered into the phone, "I think my children have just been kidnapped and replaced with robots."
"What?" said Ritsuko, snorting with laughter over the phone.
"I've been with the kids all evening and Asuka didn't mention her synch ratio scores once."
"I told her about them yesterday."
"That just makes it even stranger. Asuka went for two days without even mentioning anything about it."
"I noticed her reaction seemed rather dull when I told her about it," Ritsuko's voice was pensive, "Maybe Ishiro has something to do with that as well."
"I'm not so sure about that," declared Misato, "They've hardly seen Ishiro since well before he lost consciousness during his last mission. He's locked himself away in his lab all the time and hasn't set foot in their school since he went there his first day. I think it has more to do with Asuka's nightmares."
"Really?"
"Asuka's nightmares got so bad that she started sharing a room with Shinji."
"WHAT!?"
"Don't worry Ritsuko, they still sleep in separate beds. It's just that now they sleep in the same room and Shinji holds her hand while they sleep. You should see it. It's so cute."
"That must mean that Asuka is starting to open up to Shinji more," observed Ritsuko.
"That's the impression I'm getting. So, what has Ishiro been up to in that lab of his?"
"You won't believe what he found out Misato." Ritsuko's voice was grave. "We studied cell samples from Unit 14. Remember how I told you that the Eva's cells were spliced with cells from another source?"
"Yes."
"Well, after hearing what we had found out about these mystery cells, Ishiro did a quick search through the data his mother left him on kaiju and he figured out that the cells actually came from a kaiju called Biolante, a monster created by splicing the cells of a rose, a human, and Godzilla together."
"No way! Where did you get samples of this kaiju?"
"I have no idea. Gendo gave me those samples to work with and I'm not about to ask him where he got them. I'm not even sure he knows."
"So essentially, Unit 14 has G-cells spliced into its cellular structure."
"That and Ishiro concluded that the soul that resides in Unit 14 to be that of a woman named Erika Shiragami."
"That must mean that she was the human in the Biolante equation."
"Exactly."
"That's pretty impressive work for a fourteen-year-old." Misato chuckled.
"You're telling me. It's become quite clear that Ishiro wasn't lying when he said that he had gotten a college level education. And unlike Asuka, he's using his."
"What else is Ishiro working on?"
"The thing he's been devoting the majority of his attention to is trying to unravel the mysteries of Godzilla's genetic structure. He's looking quite intently for the source of Godzilla's unnatural regenerative abilities. In addition to that, he helped me develop a contingency communication system in the event of the return of Manda."
"Manda?"
"That's what Commander Ikari decided to name the dragon that attacked the other day."
"Oh. And what's this system based on."
"A flashing light signal using Morse Code as the base."
"Asuka won't be too happy that she would have to memorize Morse Code."
"It won't be too much of a problem. There's no real rush. Ishiro has already told me that he knows it and I also know that Rei will pick up on it quick (if she doesn't already know it herself). They can take over for Shinji and Asuka if Manda comes back."
"That's great. Is there anything else."
"Yes. Ishiro commented on my reconstruction of Unit 00 and stated that he had a suggestion for Unit 00's new armor."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Ritsuko's voice told Misato that the good doctor was quite impressed by Ishiro's skill and knowledge, "He believed that with a certain modification to the armor, Unit 00 could become a very effective counter-kaiju weapon. He suggested that over the standard layers of fortified armor that we use a coating of NT-20 artificial diamond armor. The armor can be used to channel energy based attacks directed against the Eva into a temporary storage unit that will transform the energy into a plasma beam which can redirect the energy back at its source."
"That's incredible! Where did he come up with that?"
"Actually, he didn't come up with it. He told me that the same system was the basis for G-Force's Mechagodzilla robot."
"That's still pretty good for a kid like him. Commander Ikari'll have to look out or Ishiro may get his job."
Ritsuko laughed derisively. "Well I can say that I would mourn for that bastard if he lost his job. After I destroyed the dummy plug system, he offered me a choice, Unit 14 or the brig. It wasn't too hard to decide."
Misato looked at the clock and noticed that it was getting rather late. "Well I'll talk to ya' later," she said, "Bye." She hung up.
"What a day," she muttered. She got up and left her room. She wandered down the hall into the kitchen for a beer before joining the children in the living room.
"I have some good news," she said coming in, "If Ritsuko finishes rebuilding Unit 00 in time, Rei and Ishiro can stay while you two go on the class trip. And right now, it looks like she won't have any problems fulfilling that deadline."
"That's great!" exclaimed Asuka.
"Just remember that it's not set in stone yet," reminded Misato.
Asuka was already in the kitchen dialing Hikari's phone number. Seconds later her voice could be heard from the kitchen. "Hikari! Guess what! I can come!"
Shinji chuckled at her eagerness. After chatting with Hikari for a few minutes, Asuka hung up and came back into the living room. "Well?" she said, grinning at Shinji, "Are you going to call your fellow stooges now and let them know you're coming."
Shinji shrugged. "Sure, why not."
This is great, thought Misato, Now they'll really have a chance to live like normal kids for a little bit at least. She was sincerely happy for them.
Asuka could hardly sit still she was so excited. This is going to be so much fun, she thought.
If only they knew.
Announcement: This is the last update I'm going to make for a while. Over the next two weeks I'm going to be in Ireland on vacation. I'll update in the first week in August and try to make weekly updates as much as possible. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter. The next chapter borrows a bit from a couple of Eva fics that I've read and a bit from Godzilla 2000, by Marc Cerasini.
***
A note for serious Godzilla fans: A reviewer mentioned that I have read the Godzilla books written by Marc Cerasini. Indeed, I have borrowed a few elements of these stories and incorporated them into my own. While on the subject of said books, I have heard several remarks by people far and wide across the internet that no one has ever been able to find a copy of the last book in Cerasini's Godzilla saga Godzilla And The Lost Continent. If you are looking for this book, don't bother. The fact is that the book was never completed and published, which is a shame but there is little that can be done.