Tokyo-3 Arcana

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, German.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).


Chapter 12

As the Dust Settles Down


Tokyo-3, NERV HQ
Central Dogma, 06:51:58 P.M.

Shinji's calm voice broke the terrified silence in Central Dogma. "I need you to send three rescue crews."

Makoto answered with some hesitation. "Shinji, we are not receiving any life signals from Unit-03... I fear the pilot is... dead."

"I have only a few seconds left, send the three crews. I assure you, the other pilots might be all a little banged up, but I doubt it's bad. Just do me a favor, check on the signal from the plug, not from Unit-03."

Unit-01 energy counter reached 0:00:00. The comms channel crackled off.


Makoto hesitated for a moment, before doing as Shinji had suggested. "I can't believe it! He's right. I have a signal from the plug, it's very weak, but steady."

Maya gasped, "You mean..?" Her fingers quickly tapped a series of commands on her console, verifying the information. "…the Fourth Child is alive and well?" A slow smile full of relief appeared on her face.

Makoto looked at her. "Shinji got the plug out before going to town on the Angel!" The relief he felt was evident in his voice. "When did he do it?" he hissed, more for himself than anybody else. He turned towards the Perch. "Commander Ikari, extraction of Unit-03's plug confirmed. Permission to send the recovery crews to its current position? Sir?"

"I'm afraid the Commander has left Central Dogma, Lt. Hyuga." Answered Vice-Commander Fujutsuki. "Still, permission granted."

"Yes, Sir." Makoto smiled.

"But… when did he got the plug out?" Aoba repeated Makoto's question, at nobody in particular.

"That's a question for another moment, Lt. Aoba. Right now, we have four pilots to recover."

"Yes, sir." Shigeru unhooked a phone, and began instructing the crews already in place.


Tokyo-3, NERV HQ
Commander Ikari's Office, 07:02 P.M.

Gendo Ikari sat at his massive desk, fuming. Despite his insubordination, the Third Child had killed the Angel with a brutal efficiency he hadn't expected from him. Somehow, despite all the money, resources, and effort sunk into the project, the Dummy Plug had failed its first field test. That was a setback. A very annoying setback. He would have to do major damage control during his next meeting with the old men.

The brat had somehow managed to kill the Angel, after rescuing the sacrificial lamb he had placed for him to kill or maim, breaking his own spirit in the process. The plan had been simpler than anything. Just force the Third Child to either fight against one of his worthless friends; or to be an impotent participant of the same killing or maiming thanks to the Dummy Plug releasing all the savagery of the Evangelion itself.

But that plan had failed.

Not only that, the Third Child had managed to not destroy Unit-03! That could be a problem later on. At a minimum, he would have to stretch the budget until his Scenario could be enacted…

"Damned Third Child!" He whispered, alone in his lair. "But there is more than a way to break you." He picked up the phone, and pressed a button. He had a call to make.


Tokyo-3 Subway Tunnels
Abandoned Side Tunnel Nr. 6, Section 26-D
07:16 P.M.

A gang of six goblins looked desperately for an exit. They had gotten lost a while before, and now were deep into the areas still in construction that had been left unfinished when the Third Angel appeared. Their stomachs growled almost constantly. They had been hunting for rats and other vermin, but this deep into the system, prey was rare.

The leader, Gurk, was very aware that unless he found some food soon, the rest of the tribe might very well dispense with any pretense of obedience and make him into goblin stew. No, they wouldn't do that.

They had no water. They would roast him, yes, that would be better. He imagined a nice, hot, piece of juicy meat, ready to eat. He began to salivate a little.

Suddenly, the goblins glimpsed a small light in the distance, they fell silent as one, and took out their dogslicers. There was prey here!


The goblins finally had something to eat. A longshanks had wandered into the tunnel, waving around a strange lightstick. The goblins hid quickly between the abandoned containers and miscellaneous refuse left behind by the construction crews.

The longshanks walked strangely, just like a gob who had drank stinkwater. He was making strange noises. When he got closer, the goblins could finally understand his words, he was singing!

Badly!

"…Fly me to da moooooon…" The longshanks hiccuped, and took a swig from a bottle before continuing, "..AAAN led me play amonnn da staaars..!"

Had there been such a thing, the goblins would have won a contest for Synchronized Predatory Grins.


In Route to Tokyo-3, Mount Nobe
EVA-02's Designated Position; 07:26 P.M.

A bright light inundated the Entry Plug. Asuka shielded her eyes with a hand. "Okay, what happened?" She growled at the recovery team.

"Well… What's the last thing you remember during the fight, Pilot Soryu?" the woman shone a small light on her right eye, watching the pupil contract, and comparing it with the other eye a moment later.

"Unit-03 jumped at me and crushed the bazooka against Unit-02's face. It hurt like hell. That's it."

"Hmm… Well, yes. That checks." The woman moved a finger in front of Asuka's face. Dutifully, the German-raised pilot followed it with her eyes. "Headache? Dizziness? Nausea?"

"Headache, yes. Not too bad." It was the usual procedure after recovery, especially when a pilot had been knocked out. Resistance was futile, and the only thing it would earn her was a longer stay at the hospital. "What happened after that Gott-damned Angel put me to sleep? I guess we won."

"He did." It was obvious to deduce to whom she referred. "The guys who actually watched the fight say the Third Child was amazing. Finished the fight in a flash."

Asuka sulked a bit. "Of course he did…" a hint of bitterness tinged her voice. "Invincible Shinji-Sama! All Hail the All-Mighty Slayer of Angels!" She paused, realizing that he might have used some magic to end the fight as fast as he could. She hoped that was the case, and her anger melted away.

Not following her train of thoughts, the woman snorted. "Don't be like that." The woman helped Asuka put an evac-harness. "The Thirteenth Angel was quite a monster." Soon, the pilot was out of the plug, and ready to descend to the ground.

"It was a damned freak!" Inwardly, Asuka wondered if Shinji had seen something even remotely alike in that other world. Suddenly, her bitterness went down another notch. Of course Shinji had won! Five years of combat training with an expert fighter! Still, having been taken out by surprise hurt her pride.

The recovery team already had a crane set and ready. The woman signaled the ground crew, and Asuka felt the rigging tense as the crane lowered her to the ground, where a team helped her down. A moment later, the woman descended too. "Come, I have to do a more in-depth check."

Suddenly, Asuka froze. "What about the other pilots? What happened to the one in Unit-03?"

"I don't know, there's another team at the place. But we operate independently, you know."

"Yeah… Hey, can you get somebody to tell me?"

"I'll ask. But right now, you need a check-up."

Asuka nodded and walked to the mobile hospital. 'I need to check on the others,' she thought. "Any news from Matsushiro?"

The woman paled a little, even in the harsh light of the field lights, it was noticeable. "They are still working. Word is they haven't located anybody yet."


In Route to Tokyo-3, Mount Nobe
00 Field Recovery Team Site,
Near EVA-01's Designated Position; Same Time

Rei Ayanami sat on a folding chair, alone and hurt in the middle of the hive of activity around her. She held her left arm against her chest, remembering the awful pain she had felt. First, the acid burns. followed by the ripping of her arm. The EVA-s arm. But as she was still synched with it, it had felt as if her own arm had exploded in agony.

'Why didn't the Commander wait..?' It was the thought that kept running through her mind. 'Major Katsuragi would have waited. It was only a three second delay. I could have endured that pain…'

She was surprised at the strange emotional responses she experienced. The only other time she could remember something similar was…

…When she had slapped Pilot Ikari.

However, there was another emotion in the mix. It was… annoyingly persistent.

As she had no real experience with that particular emotion, she had no way to name it. And as she had no one to ask, it disturbed her. Normally, she would have asked the Commander about it, but some old instinct warned her not to. Dr. Akagi? No. She had been of very limited help last time she had asked her about emotions, dismissing her concerns as irrelevant.

Maybe Pilot Ikari would know… She would have to ask him later.

For the moment, she just stayed there, sitting on the folding chair; while the recovery crew prepared Unit-00 for transport back to the GeoFront.

Eventually, somebody would come to pick her up.

In the meanwhile, she could only remember, and think.


In Route to Tokyo-3, Mount Nobe
03 Field Recovery Team Site,
Near EVA-01's Designated Position; Same Time

"Damned fine job this!" From his place on a cage at the top of a crane, the chief of the recovery crew examined the damage on Unit-03 and whistled softly. "Hey, Mahiro; check on this." He pointed at the cut on the belly area.

"Clean cut, sir. Progressive knifes do that."

"Oh, yeah, can cut through a 15 inches solid steel plate, and still have enough edge to shame those old knife ads. Still, Mr. Purple put its hand through this, and basically showed Unit-03 its own heart! The hole is wider, but the edges are clean."

"A noticeable small amount of damage, sir. Now that I see." The sub-chief whistled softly. "The guys at EVA Maintenance 01 are setting up a betting pool. How long will it take us to repair Unit-03. They have almost nothing to repair on Unit-01. It seems all the damage it got this time was a couple of scorched armor plates at the back, plus assorted scratches and scuffing. I think they might only need to clean and paint."

"Really? Put me in with a week. No, six days. This guy only has to have its core replaced, and two arms broken. we can have it back on its feet really soon." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hey, add a clause. The bet is cancelled if Akagi doesn't clear the Unit. The time starts running when Akagi authorizes us to work!"

"Right; I'll tell them that." Mahiro adjusted the position of the crane. "It could have been much worse, if the Third Child's performance against the Third Angel is any indication." He paused. "Sir. The ground crew is signaling. They have the main anchor points ready. They await for your signal to lift Unit-03 to the transport platform."

The chief spoke on his radiocomm. "OK, guys, we have a bet against the guys at Maintenance 01! We need to get this baby back to the cages and check it from top to bottom for any residual contamination! Then we get to put it back on its feet! Move it, people! We have a bet to win!"


In Route to Tokyo-3, Mount Nobe
EVA-01's Recovery Site; 07:32 P.M.

"At last." Shinji stood in the Entry Plug when the hatch opened. Seeing the two guys from Section-2 hanging down from the evac harnesses, their usually immaculately pressed black suits messed up by the straps, made him smile a bit. Still, it was obvious why it was them instead of the Recovery Team. "What took you so long?"

The oldest of the two spoke rigidly, "Third Child, you are under arrest for insubordination, hijacking an Evangelion Unit and whatever else the Commander decides."

"Sure, if you can lend me a couple of permanent markers and wait a few minutes, I'll gladly add vandalism to the list. I think Unit-01 would look smashing with a moustache and a monocle." He smiled to show them it was just a joke.

The two burly men exchanged a look, from behind their sunglasses.

The chief shrugged and turned back at Shinji. "Don't resist, there's a whole team down there."

"Not even dreaming of that. I'll go quietly. Do you want to handcuff me here or down there?"

The two exchanged another look, one that clearly said 'I'm not getting paid enough for this.'


In Route to Tokyo-3, Mount Nobe
EVA-01's Recovery Site; 07:35 P.M.

"Hey, help me out with the hatch!" a short man yelled. "It's a bit twisted out of alignment! We need to force it!"

A crew jumped down from the personnel transport truck, one of them had a crowbar, and used it on the edge of the hatch. At first, it had no effect, but with the help of two of his team mates, the hatch popped open. A flood of LCL came out the Entry Plug.

The man peeked inside. Finding an unconscious Toji Suzuhara inside, his body completely limp, he had fallen sideways against the side of the Entry Plug. Quickly, the man put two fingers under the kid's jaw, and waited.

"He's got pulse and is breathing, both are steady; team! Call the doc!"


Tokyo-3, NERV Hospital; Room 326
07:36 P.M.

Mr. Suzuhara watched as his daughter finally stopped trashing in her sleep. For a very long time, the child had been suffering from nightmares. Reliving the long time she had been trapped by debris during the Third Angel attack.

This time, her bad dreams were different, she muttered her brother's name again and again. It seemed she was more scared than she looked like before the NERV medical team had brought her here. Her worry about her brother's new job was clear to see; even though nobody, as far as Mr. Suzuhara could tell, had said anything to Sakura about exactly what Toji would be doing for NERV to pay her medical treatments.


NERV Secondary Base at Matsushiro
Above the Ruins of the Control Bridge, 08:52 P.M.

"Make way! Make way! Casualties coming thru!" An urgent voice cleared the space around the ingress shaft. Ryoji Kaji looked up, hoping to see his friends.

It took the rescuers a long time to stabilize the place. Finally, they could enter the place to look for survivors.

Hope flared in Kaji's heart, but no, the first survivor was one of the local bridge bunnies, a tall man who usually scowled at anything and everything. Kaji cleared the way of the paramedics, who promptly moved the injured man to a field hospital for checking. After the first man, another team brought the next victim. Another bridge bunny, this one female, unconscious. It was clear she had at least a broken arm.

Kaji kept on working, he only took a moment to wipe his forehead with a sleeve, the field lights shone brightly over the place, heating the air. He felt like he was in a desert.

A couple of men were conscious enough to direct the rescue crews to places they might find more survivors. So far, only one fatality had been found. A guard who had been crushed to death by a vending machine; ironically, the man was well known for his distaste for the prepackaged snacks in that machine.

Kaji kept on working.


Tokyo-3, Horaki Household
Same Time.

"Well, I guess that's all we can do for the moment. Your stars are different than mine. I can't wait to learn all their names and tales, Hikari." Limiry lay down on the soft grass, enjoying the night breeze.

HIkari laid down too, she sighed, looking up to the sky. "You should have seen them a while back. We had a few hours without electricity, and the sky was so clear that night. You could see many more stars than now."

"Yeah… I guess the lights here are too bright. Still, the stars we can see now are beautiful. Desna's beautiful gift. They remind us that the night is not a time for fear, but for resting and appreciating our lives."

Next to them, Nozomi slept peacefully. It was way past her bedtime, and the child just couldn't keep awake for long. After two unsuccessful tries to get her to her bed, Hikari covered her with a warm blanket, rolling another for her to use as a pillow. Once she and Limiry finished the lesson, the three would go back to the house.


Tokyo-3 Subway Tunnels
Abandoned Side Tunnel Nr. 6, Section 26-D
09:37 P.M.

The goblins had eaten their fill, and between spectacular burps and patting of bellies, were passing the bottle around. Actually, they were fighting to take the bottle from each other.


Author Notes.

Not much to add this time. Shinji is quite a bit OOC this time. The magical cat is not yet out of the bag, but it is definitively peeking out; the battle cat is certainly out by now. Shinji has a lot of aggression to work out, and being cheeky is one way of dealing with that. Escalla's influence, no doubt.

Curiously, I find myself very interested in the little scenes we didn´t see in the original series. I love to write the big scenes (the fight against Bardiel was one of my motivations to write this story. I just thought how would the Justicar manage the fight, and it came up to my mind almost blow by blow), but the little vignettes allow me to develop characters and themes.