Disclaimer: I apologize for such a long wait between updates. Evangelion is strictly the property of Gainax studios. Ladies and Gentlemen, enjoy the show.
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Episode 2: Unfamiliar Ceilings
Begin Transmission:
"Do you think it wise to be leaving now?"
"The Committee must be informed of what transgressed here, I'm leaving you in charge for now Sub-Commander, and I trust you can handle things while I'm gone."
"Do not worry as long as we have the Eva we should not have much trouble."
"Very well then Fuyutsuki, I will contact you as soon as I return."
"Have a safe trip Yui," the phone clicked, the dial tone ringing in the Sub-Commander's ears. Kozo sighed, rubbing his temples.
"I'm getting to old for this," he muttered, standing and leaving his office in silence.
---
Early morning light shone over Tokyo-3 bringing life to the damaged city for another day. Police, Firefighters, and Rescue crews scrambled in every direction doing their best to dig out those trapped under debris and rubble left in the aftermath of the Angel's attack against the city. A large armored vehicle moved between the busy uniforms heading in the direction of the geo-front.
"I can't believe all the damage the Unit-1's brain case withstood, I'm surprised it wasn't liquefied, I kind of feel sorry for Rei, her cerebellum must have taken a lot of stress," Ritsuko stated, looking up from the file in her lap.
"Her cerebellum? Don't you mean her heart?" Misato questioned, turning to face her friend. She shrugged and went to looking over her files.
"We're here," Misato stated, bringing the vehicle to a stop.
"Ritsuko, Misato, just the two I was looking for!" A voice called from out side.
"Oh, God not him," Misato groaned, yet she smiled as the owner of the voice neared the truck.
"What do you have against Nicholai anyway?"
"Well lets see, he's cocky, annoying, and let's not forget that I out rank him, but he makes more money then I do," She listed, using her fingertips as a guide.
"He also saved your life," Ritsuko added. "If it wasn't for him, you'd be dead in a ditch, literally." The two exited the truck, and went to meet the head of the weapons department.
"If you'd be so kind as to follow me ladies, I'm sure you'll find what I have to show you is of great interest," Nicholai stated as the two approached him. Turning, he lead them down to one of the many tents that had been set up in the center of the crater were the Angel had self-destructed. The inside of the tent was fairly simple, a desk sat off towards the back of it with a single lamp set on top of it and several files and rolls of blue prints. In the center of the tent stood a conference table surrounded by chairs, and covered with a large map of Tokyo-3.
"We are here," he pointed to the large red circle on the map. He walked over to the desk and picked up some of the blue prints and laid them out on the table.
"These are designs for automated defensive structures, as you probably saw outside we've started construction on several of them, upon completion they will be loaded with mortar shells and other anti-personnel weaponry. We also will be setting up armory buildings that will be housing weapons for the Evas in combat and several umbilical stations, all of which are represented by the x's here on the map. Everything should be finished by the end of next week and then the city will be able to defend its self if another Angel shows up."
"Impressive," Misato stated letting out a long whistle.
"And just how much is this going to cost us? In case you haven't noticed we're already stretching the funding the UN has given us."
"Surprisingly we're under budget so I don't think we have to worry about much right now Doctor." The ringing of a cell phone prevented anyone else from speaking and Ritsuko began to root through her pockets.
"Hello?"
"Speaking."
"Yes I have them."
"Okay I'll let them know.
"Yes I'm bringing them. Okay, thank you," she sighed in annoyance and hung up the phone.
"I've just been told that Rei's woken up, I have to get back to headquarters and deliver these files to the Sub-Commander, and so I should probably be going. Do you think you can stay here Misato or do you want me to give you a ride to the hospital?"
"I'm almost finished here so I could give her a ride, besides I'd like to meet the Commander's daughter myself," Nicholai offered. Misato looked between the two for a moment; she shrugged one shoulder and headed out of the tent.
"Thanks Ritsuko, but I think I'll wait for Nicholai to finish, I wanted to talk to him for a few minutes anyway."
"Suit your self," she replied, and she walked out of the tent towards the truck. "Talk to you later guys." Nicholai stared at Misato in confusion. She smiled and walked away.
"I'll be by the cars," she called over her shoulder leaving the weapons technician in stunned silence.
---
"Where am I?"
"You are here."
"Where is here, who are you?"
"This is your mind. I am you; you are me, the flesh of my flesh."
"I'm in my head, am I dreaming?"
"What are dreams, but your subconscious speaking through you?"
"Where are you, let me see you!" Rei called out. A light appeared in the dark expanse accompanied by the sounds of approaching footsteps. The light stop moving and faded out, the darkness around her shifted in vivid images. Rei found her self-standing in the middle of a park over looking a beach.
"This place, I've been here before."
"It is a memory, one of your first," a voice spoke from behind. She spun around, and she gasped at what she saw. Before her stood her father just the way she had remembered him from when she was a child.
"Dad!" She called out, running to him with open arms.
"God, I've missed you so much," she cried, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. She felt his strong hands drawing her into a comforting embrace just as he had done when she was a little girl and felt safe and loved.
"As I have of you, but I'm here now and we will be together forever." Rei looked down and gasped, his arms had become violet snakes that began to tighten their grip on her. She looked up at him and screamed it was no longer the warm, smiling face of her father she was looking into, but the grinning, armored, demonic visage of Unit-1.
"Stay with me," it moaned. "Stay with me forever!"
"No!" Rei shrieked struggling in it's vice like grip. "Let me go!" Her eyes snapped open and she sat up still screaming, a cold sweat running down her face. Shuddering, she lay back down and pulled the sheet tighter around her. The words of the Eva still echoing in her mind.
"We will be together forever."
---
"Just out of curiosity why did you decide to come with me?" Nicholai question as they pulled into a parking space out side of the hospital.
"You saved my life so I figured I had to do something to pay you back, but don't expect me to be nice to you for very long, I still don't like you," Misato replied stepping out of the car.
"That's all I wanted to know," he stated, the two entering the complex.
"Excuse me," Misato began, approaching the reception desk. "We're here to pick up Rei Ikari; could you tell us what room she's in?"
"Are you her parents?" The secretary questioned.
"What!?" Misato snapped, annoyed. "Do I look like I'm old enough to be her mother, her sister maybe, but not her mother!" Nicholai shook his head in embarrassed by his co-worker's outburst.
"We work for NERV, we're here to escort her back to HQ for debriefing," He stated.
"I'll need to see some ID." Nicholai reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing the receptionist the silver and crimson card. Misato dug frantically through the pockets of her uniform, but to no avail.
"I must have left my card in your car, just give me a minute so I can go get it."
"I'm sorry miss, but I can't let you in with out ID."
"Just wait here Misato and I'll go get her," Nicholai said.
"Fine!" She grumbled, not looking too happy about it.
"What room did you say she was in?"
"406, that's on the 3rd floor, the elevators are right down the hall to your left."
"Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up," Misato grumbled, sitting down on one of the benches in the reception area. Nicholai thanked the secretary and headed down the hall, boarding one of the elevators. The third floor was devoid of people as far as he could tell. The hall was lined with gurneys and the air stank of disinfectant and vomit. To his right were a series of doors, most of which were closed.
'Okay what room did she say it was, 406 six or 416?' He wondered making his way down the corridor and looking into the open doors for a sign of the commander's daughter. He noticed a crop of spiky black hair sticking out of the folds of a bed sheet in one of the rooms as he passed. He paused and looked back in.
"Excuse me," he spoke, standing in the doorway. The occupant rolled over facing Nicholai; a bandage similar to the one adorning Misato's forehead was wrapped around their skull.
"Oh, sorry Michael, have you seen the commander's daughter?" Michael shook his head and rolled back over. He shrugged and continued down the hall. After passing several more rooms, he came across another that was open. Poking his head in, he could see a teenaged girl with light blue hair lying in the bed in the center of the room starring up at the ceiling.
"Excuse me, is your name Rei?" The girl turned to him and nodded as she sat up.
"Hi, my name is Nicholai, I'm the head of the weapons department at NERV," he greeted, entering the room.
"So, how are you feeling?"
"Alright I guess," she replied.
"Have you seen a Doctor yet?"
"No."
"Well let me go find one, and we can leave."
"Where are we going?"
"Captain Katsuragi and I are here to escort you back to NERV for your debriefing," he answered.
"How come my mother isn't here to take me?"
"The Commander had to leave on important business."
"I figured she wouldn't have come anyway," Rei muttered. Nicholai left to find a doctor to sign her out. Rei stood and walked into the bathroom. She discarded the hospital gown and dawned her LCL soaked clothes.
"Are you ready?" Nichoali asked as he walked back in. Rei nodded and followed him out. She was silent through the rest of their trip through the hospital.
"It's about time," a violet haired woman exclaimed as they approached her.
"Rei, this is Captain Katsuragi, she's the head of NERV's tactical division," Nicholai explained, gesturing to Misato.
"Hi Rei, nice to meet you. Sorry about not picking you up when I was supposed to, but as you can see I got a little sidetracked," she greeted, pointing to the bandage wrapped around her head. Nicholai looked down at his watch.
"We should probably get going," he announced. Misato nodded and the trio made their way out of the hospital.
---
"Can you tell me what you remember about your fight with the angel?" Sub-commander Fuyutsuki interrogated.
"I remember being forced into the Entry plug and told how to pilot the Eva."
"Anything else?"
"The Angel hurting me and my mom saying that I was about to die and that I'm useless. The rest is just a blurr," Rei answered. The Sub-commander nodded, jotting several things down in the file before him.
"That will be all thank you," said Fuyutsuki, leading her out of the office. Nicholai stood across the hall propped up against the wall, Misato paced back and forth in front of the office door.
"Captain Katsuragi will escort you to your living arrangements, here is your key," The Sub-commander stated, handing Rei a key.
"Am I going to be living with my mother?"
"No, the commander thought it best if you lived by your self."
"Sir, do you think it is wise to let her live by her self?" Misato inquired.
"It's alright, I don't mind living alone."
"No offense Rei, but I don't think you would last five minutes alone out there."
"What are you suggesting Captain?"
"I think she needs a female role model to live with, someone to teach her how to survive in this city."
"I can arrange her to move into your apartment Captain," Kozo stated.
"W-what?" Misato sputtered. "That's not what I meant; I thought she could move in with Maya."
"Maya," Nicholai laughed. "Come on, the girl has shorter hair then I do, she's about as far away from being a female role model as I am."
"Well since you seem so interested in Rei's living arrangements then she can stay with you."
"Would that be appropriate Sub-commander? I mean she is a girl."
"What does me being a girl have to do with anything?" Nicholai looked at her in disbelief. 'Maybe she should live with me, there's a lot she needs to learn,' Nicholai thought.
"Very well then Sub-commander, well what do you say Rei, want to live with me?"
"I guess, are you sure you want to have me?"
"No problem, just let me call my subordinates and let them know I'm leaving," Nichoali said dismissively, pulling out his cell phone and waiting a few moments.
"Saske, it's me I'm leaving so you're in charge."
"Because I'm taking the commander's daughter home with me."
"No you sick bastard I just volunteered to let her live with me."
"No you can't put the moves on her. Maybe we should talk about this later."
"No, not at my place!" Nichoali shut off the phone before the disturbing conversation could go any farther.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Hey how 'bout we go get some stuff for a party?"
"What kind of party?"
"A welcome home party for you," he explained as they made their way out to the parking lot.
"Was that wise Sub-commander?" Misato questioned.
"It seems so," he replied, stepping back into his office. 'I'm getting to old for this.'
---
Rei stood beside Nicholai as he loaded the contents of the shopping cart on the checkout counter. She looked up from the magazine she was reading at the few other occupants in the store.
"Can you believe how many people left?" She heard one of the women in front of them say.
"Well I'm not surprised, not with all that's been happening here," her friend replied.
"How so?"
"Well first it was that giant monster that they're calling an Angel that attack and then that giant robot. That thing did just as much damage as the monster. I can't believe the pilot was so reckless, someone could have gotten killed. What I'm wondering is they find these people." Rei sighed and looked down back at her magazine, the woman's words pulling at her heart. She had almost died protecting them and all they had to say was how reckless she was, they were all ungrateful.
"Hey, do you mind if we make one more stop?" Nicholai asked as they headed out towards the car.
"Alright." A few minutes later Nicholas pulled up into a small alcove looking over the city.
"So this is Tokyo-3?" Rei asked, stepping out of the car and looking out at the bleak appearance of the city.
"Just wait." As if on cue a series of massive buildings rose up from the ground, dominating the sky line. "This is the city you saved, a fortress for all humanity, Tokyo-3."
"It's beautiful," Rei mumured at the sight of the sun's twilight glittering off the massive steel structures. They stood in silence for a few more moments before getting back into the car and leaving. They arrived a sort time later at a large whearhouse in a shanty looking part of the city.
"You live in a warehouse?"
"Above it actually, I do most of my work on the Eva's weapons systems here if not at NERV," he explained. The inside of the warehouse was enormous. To the right several crates where neatly stacked reaching close to the ceiling. An office area was set up in the far left corner consisting of a computer, a workbench and two filing cabinets. On the far wall in the back a flight of stairs went up to a door that most likely leads to the living quarters. In the center of the room stood a large, tarp covered object.
"What's that?" She inquired, pointing to object.
"That is my latest project," he explained, pulling off the tarp and revealing a massive knife the size of Eighteen-wheeler. "I call it a progressive knife; it produces high powered ultrasonic frequencies which allow it to cut through almost anything. When I'm finished, it's going to be the standard weapon for the Evangelions."
"Do you come up with these deigns your self?"
"Most of them, but it's really team effort, without the others in the weapons department I wouldn't be here." Rei nodded in understanding, adverting her gaze back to the gigantic blade.
"Since you'll be living here, I guess I should give you the grand tour," Nicholai exclaimed suddenly. Rei shrugged and followed him as he made his way up the stairs in the back. Nicholai slipped his keys into the lock on the door and pushed it open. He turned around, noticing Rei had not moved from her position at the top of the landing.
"You can come in you know."
"I don't want to intrude," she replied meekly.
"You're not; this is your home now too." Rei took a timid step into the entrance hall.
"I'm, I'm home."
"Welcome home!" Nicholai turned and lead her down the hall and into the living room. Rei's eyes widened in shock, the room was so clean that it was disturbing.
"As you can see this is the living room," Nicholai announced, stating the obvious. He looked down at his charge, noticing her shocked expression.
"To clean?" She nodded.
"I'm not usually home so I don't really have a chance to make things messy, and in what little free time I do have I clean, force of habit I guess," he explained. "Anyway on to the rest of the tour!" He led her into another hall, this one lined with doors.
"That's my room to the left of you; just knock before going in if I'm in there." The duo stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall.
"This is where you'll be staying," he stated sliding the door open and flicking on the light. A modest looking bed was set up in the corner next to the window. A desk with a small reading lamp stood against the far wall along with a dresser.
"I know it's not much, but you can decorate it however you want. That reminds me, your stuff should be here in a little while." He closed the door and the two left.
"What's this door here?" Rei asked as they made their way back to the living room.
"That's the bathroom, shower/tub, toilet, sink, standard stuff. Hey, are you hungry? We're heading towards the kitchen anyway." Rei nodded, remembering that she had not eaten since the day before. Nicholai lead her into the kitchen which was just as freakishly clean as the living room. Rei sat down as he went to work with a large pot and several items of food she had never seen before. After several minutes of him fooling around with the stove, Nicholai turned and handed her a steaming bowl of some type of stew.
"I hope you like potlepka, it's kind of an acquired taste, but it's all I have right now." Rei looked down at the stew with a quizzical expression. Carefully she dipped her spoon into it and brought it up to her mouth allowing the warm broth to flow across her tongue.
"This is actually pretty good," she commented, taking another spoonful.
"Glad you enjoy it." Nicholai set another bowl down on the table, but instead of sitting down he grabbed an apple from a basket on the counter and headed off to his room. "I'll be right back," he called over his shoulder. Rei shrugged and continued eating unaware of the curious eyes watching her from above. Slowly, it moved around in a circle observing the azure haired newcomer before coming to a single conclusion, it wanted a closer look.
"I wonder where Wolf got off to," Nicholai thought as he regarded the large, topless cage that took up most of the wall before him. Suddenly a high pitched scream split the air.
"Oh." Nicholai ran from his room and into the kitchen to find his new roommate running around in circles with a large, writhing mass of fur and wings flopping around on her head.
"Get it off, get it off, get it off!" she cried.
"Rei, stop moving and hold still." Rei obeyed and stopped flailing her arms around. Calmly, Nicholai approached her and removed the offending creature from the girl's hair, relocating it to his shoulder.
"Well it looks like you already have become acquainted with Wolf."
"Wolf?" Nicholai gestured to the creature perched on his shoulder.
"She's a fruit bat, and your other roommate," He explained as he held up the apple to the bat's fox like face. Rei watched fascinated as it took the piece of fruit in its front claws and started nibbling on it.
"Why do you have a fruit bat, aren't they illegal?"
"Yes, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about her and you should see Misato, she has a warm water penguin living with her." Nicholai focused his gaze on Rei's tussled hair which now had strands of bat shed mixed in with it.
"You should probably take a bath and get the bat fur out of your hair. You can borrow some of my clothes until yours get here." Rei nodded, walking off towards the bathroom. Stripping, she pulled back the curtains, and turned on the water. When the tub finished filling she stepped in, leaning against the back of the tub and closing her eyes, allowing the cleansing water to work it's magic.
"Most people relax when taking a bath, but bad memories always seem to find me here," she thought.
"Maybe I should be nicer to her she doesn't seem to be used to living in a place like this, but she's probably already made her mind up about me," Nicholai mused as he finished his dinner.
---
Rei pulled back the covers on her bed and slid under them. Nicholai had let her borrow some of his clothes as hers had yet to arrive and she had to admit they were comfortable even though they hung off of her thin frame in a gaudy manner. Wrapping the blankets tighter around her, the young pilot pulled out her CD player and set it to play track 6. She closed her eyes letting the music soothe her.
"For so long I have felt alone, content to live with unrest, longing faded into countless nights that buried my weary heart, but you brought an end to this dead hour," blared over the head phones.
"And meaning to a calloused life held in your arms, but too far from my heart." The door to Rei's room slid open and Nicholai stood in the frame. Rei tried her best to feign sleeping, but she was sure he could tell she was awake.
"What you did yesterday was very noble, Rei, you saved alot of people, I thought you might like to know that. Goodnight, Rei." Nicholai turned and left, closing the door behind him.
"These thoughts of you will carry me through the darkest nights, while your eyes rested in mine I remember the way you looked at me and the way you drew me close." Rei squeezed her eyes tighter, Nicholai's words playing over in her mind.
"With one deep sigh, scattering pieces of my restless mind forgetting all that we left behind."
"And these thoughts of you will carry me through the darkest nights."
: End Transmission:
TO BE CONTINUED-