Tokyo-3 Arcana
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 13
Good News, Not So Good News, No News, Intriguing News, and Very Bad News
NERV Secondary Base at Matsushiro
Temporary Field Hospital;
Close to the Ruins of the Control Bridge, 10:28 P.M.
"You were very lucky, Misato." Kaji hesitated for a second, before taking her right hand in his. "I'm glad. Very glad to see you again." He abstained from telling her about the nine dead bodies he had seen carried away to a mobile morgue. "I think you were the last to be found. You were the closest to the edge of the event..."
"What happened?" she moaned.
Kaji licked his lips before answering; he was really thirsty after several hours of hard work, but that could wait for a while. "An Angel posessed Unit-03. It caused an explosion that knocked down most of the cages, dragging down the Central Dogma area. Something fell over you, but Ritsuko got it worse. They just evacuated her to the hospital. You are not in any immediate danger, but you'll have to keep those bandages for a few days."
She nodded. "I feel like I was on a week-long bender..." she groaned. Misato almost jumped from the gurney when she remembered. "Oh, god... I hadn't the chance to tell Shinji! I need a phone, please."
"Misato, you are hurt." Softly, he pushed her back down on the gurney.
"I don't care. Get me to a phone." She tried to get up again, Kaji grabbed her shoulders as softly as he could, and pushed her back down again. Misato resisted a bit, wincing when she noticed the pain in her left forearm.
He pulled his own cellphone and gave it to her. Misato fumbled with the device, trying to input the number with her right hand. She was unusually clumsy.
"Allow me." he took it back and asked, "Central Dogma?"
"Yes." She nodded, wincing at the pain in her arm. A few seconds later, Kaji held the phone to her ear.
"Maya? Major Katsuragi." she gulped while Maya spoke. "A little hurt, but more or less okay. I need to speak to Shinji. Can you transfer the call?" A brief pause as the petite lieutenant answered. "What? Why? Who gave that order?"
Kaji frowned. He had heard some partial reports. Supposedly, Unit-01 had disabled the Angel. He had few details.
"But he's okay, right?" a sigh of relief followed Maya's inaudible answer. "Did somebody tell him about the Fourth Child?" a long pause. Misato sighed in relief. "Are the other pilots okay too?"
Misato seemed to be about to cry. "Thank you, Maya." A pause. "She's on her way to the hospital." She looked interrogatively at Kaji.
The badly shaven man guessed her question and took the phone from Misato's hand. "Dr. Akagi has a couple fractures and maybe a concussion. She has to be un observation for a few hours before they can say if she's released or not. What about the pilots?"
Misato laid down again while Kaji relayed the news. "Asuka and Rei are okay. A bit worse for wear, but nothing beyond residual sympathetic pain from their synching with the EVAs." His eyes opened wide at the next part, "Shinji was arrested for insubordination and taken to the brig." He paused. "Toji is still unconscious and under watch at the hospital. Whatever that God-damned Angel did to hijack Unit-03, they guess."
A couple of paramedics arrived. "Major Katsuragi? We will transport you to the hospital now, we have many injured; so, hopefully, you won't need to stay beyond tonight. Do you want somebody to accompany you?"
Tokyo-3, NERV Hospital; Room 107
Next Day (Monday); 7:42 A.M.
"I just can't explain t, Dr. Namiya. The Fourth Child should have woken hours ago!"
The older doctor checked the vital signs of his new patient. "Agreed. There is absolutely no sign of any brain injury that could cause such an alteration of sleep patterns."
"At first we thought he might have hit his head and slipped into a coma, but there's no detectable physical trauma, and the brainwaves are completely wrong for that." The young doctor scratched his head in amazement. "For all the readings and samples we have taken, young Suzuhara is simply sleeping."
"Keep him under watch, I want to know whenever his state changes."
Outside the room, a very scared man paced, waiting for the doctors to come out the room and tell him what was wrong with his son.
On the bed, Toji Suzuhara lay on his back, several sensors were attached to his body, monitoring his life signs, and sending their readings into a medical analyzer.
The only sound coming from him is the soft hiss of his breathing.
Toji Suzuhara sleeps.
And dreams.
Tokyo-3, GeoFront
NERV HQ; Brig, Cell 17, 8:00 A.M.
Shinji Ikari lay on the hard cot of the small, dark cell he had been thrown in the previous night. The Commander hadn't deigned to be present during the process.
The pilot was keeping his emptions under control. In fact, the hard bed even had helped him to sleep. As he woke up, he ran down a mental checklist. He was in good health, his fight against the Thirteenth Angel had gone well.
Jus would have approved. Polk, not so much. Not enough style for him. It had been just a brutal, very one-sided brawl. Just the way the Justicar had taught him to do. Hard and decisive.
Had he had the time, he would have observed the Angel for a couple of minutes before engaging, but he discarded that advantage to spare Rei the pain she had obviously suffered. Still, Shinji thought Jus would have approved. A single nod of his head had been high praise from the grim ranger back on Oerth.
Shinji smiled at the thought. Escalla would have wolf-whistled her approval. More than once, Shinji had heard the faerie princess comment on how much she loved to see the Justicar release his more than respectable battle prowess on a bunch of enemies deserving of a serving of apocalyptic fury and justice.
The Third Child was in no hurry to get out. He knew it would be only a matter of time. Still, he was very worried. So far, he hadn't gotten word of what had happened at Matsushiro. Misato could be hurt or… No. The Major had to be alive.
Shinji needed to speak to Asuka, or at least send her a message; yes, that would be best. The German raised girl needed to keep on with her learning of magic. And he feared the girl could get impatient.
Toji was also a cause for worry. He had used two EVA-scaled spells to gain an advantage against the Thirteenth Angel, and he was not sure of what effect the magic could have had on a human. What he was sure of was that Toji had been knocked down, asleep during the fight, sparing him the pain of the EVA unit. If, and it was a big if, he hadn't been affected, the jock would have been in a world of pain.
Still, Shinji stuck to his teacher's lessons. There were things he couldn't affect. Obstacles were to be dealt with. There were several ways to do it. Avoid, surround, nullify, or destroy.
He had decided this time, it would be better to simply keep his head down for a while, let the Commander think the stint in jail had cowed him into submission. Of course, being able to get out of his cell with a simple spell was a major factor on his peace of mind.
However, the first thing he had to make sure of, was his own fighting condition. 'Lets keep this to just between me and me, okay?' He thought.
Before getting up, he looked around the dark cell. Somehow, he was sure there would be cameras looking at him. The Commander wasn't somebody to leave anything to chance.
So, hiding his hands under the thin blanket, he contorted his fingers and whispered a word, "Noctaris", and the darkness in the cell, a mere absence of light, was replaced by a very different darkness. Magical darkness, impenetrable to normal light. And, according to several sources, it could even block infrared light.
Right now or very soon, somebody would be running around like a headless chicken, he thought, amused.
'Ah, well… let's use the time.' He didn't even need to see to know the place. His ears were tuned to a myriad of clues the echoes gave. Just by ear, he knew exactly where the walls were; and by memory, the places of the cot, sink and toilet. The young man stood, and began with a series of exercises, to loosen up his muscles and joints, and to keep up his strength. He was still thin as a rake, but his muscles were like steel cables. Shinji was deceptively strong for his age, size and weight, as many monsters and villains had found out to their, not too long, surprise.
While he continued with his routine, he dedicated half an ear to any noises from the outside. He wasn't disappointed. Eight minutes later, he heard hurrying steps coming from the upper level.
Smirking to himself. Shinji returned to his cot, using the blanket as a towel to make sure there was no sweat on his face. Once he laid down again in the same position he woke up, he whispered, "Dhawnar"; and the magical darkness was replaced by its natural counterpart.
The small slot that served to pass food to the prisoners opened up brusquely; a beam of light fell squarely over Shinji's eyes. He didn't have to pretend much that the light was annoying. "Wha..?"
Somebody looked inside the cell, the eyes swept carefully over all the cell. At least the part visible from the outside.
Several minutes later, a plate of food was slid inside. Shinji took it.
It wasn't exactly up to his standards, but he was not put out by it either. More than a few times, during the previous five years back on Oerth, he had to eat far worse things. Both as part of his training with the Justicar, and other times due to sheer need. He sniffed the food carefully, taking care to mask a spell to make sure there was no 'extras' in his meal.
He didn't trust the Commander to not drug him.
Detect Poison was a very handy spell to know. He made a mental note to make sure Asuka learned it as soon as possible. The way things were changing around here it would be prudent to be cautious.
Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari/Soryu Apartment, 9:16 A.M.
Asuka paced around the living room. She was full of nervous energy. She knew she should calm herself, but she still hadn't received any news of Shinji or Misato.
Just when she was about to reach for the phone and call NERV HQ, the door opened. "…I'm home…". If her voice was any clue, Misato was bone tired and in some pain.
"Finally! What happened, Misato? Where's Shinji?" Asuka stopped when she saw the state Misato was in. Next to her, Kaji held her with a hand. A spike of jealaousy flared in her heart, but it was brief and surprisingly small. "Are you okay? Kaji, is Misato okay?"
"Better than Rits, at least. Shouldn't you be at school?"
Misato interrupted the exchange "Could somebody get me a beer?"
Behind her, Kaji shook his head in the negative. "Are you out of your mind? You sound like you're medicated to the gills! A beer now could kill you!" She turned at Kaji "We just had a big Angel fight yesterday. I'm automatically excused from school the next day. Remember?" Kaji smiled at Asuka, glad the redhead had caught the warning.
"Yeah… right. I forgot."
"Coffee then..?" Misato insisted.
"Warm milk and that's my last offer." Crossing her arms with absolute finality, Asuka glared at her guardian.
"I'll take it…" Asuka and Kaji guided Misato to the kitchen table, and helped her to sit down.
"Okay, will somebody tell me what happened yesterday? You look like you got caught in whatever happened at Matsushiro." the german pilot hissed, while she fussed with the stove. "Where are the Baka and Wonder Girl? And what about Jock-Stooge?"
Misato held a hand against her bandaged head, biting her lower lip. "Not so loud, Asuka, please. My head is killing me… A building fell on me yesterday. I am lucky not to be worse."
Kaji took a moment to hand Misato a couple of pain-killers. Part of the treatment some doctor or another had insisted on. While the Major swallowed them along a few gulps of water, the scruffy looking man explained. "The explosion at Masushiro, was the Thirteenth Angel waking up and possessing Unit-03." At Asuka's impatient 'I already know that.' glare, Kaji decided to skip to the important part. "When the Angel knocked you down, Shinji broke ranks, and went to help you. By the time he arrived to Unit-00's position, the Angel already had attacked Rei. Shinji arrived right on time."
"My sources tell me it was a very short fight. He said he would be very careful not to get into Shinji's bad side, just in case he can do even a quarter of the things he did to the Angel outside the EVA."
The UN Inspector expected some rant from Asuka, but the redheaded pilot simply nodded. "It was about time he took the kid things seriously. What did he do to it?" Inside she was almost cheering for Shinji!
Kaji rubbed his chin. This was not the way Asuka would normally react… "Well… He broke Unit-03's arms with an elbow strike, and then went aztek on it." He realized then that Misato as looking at him sideways with a face full of disbelief.
Asuka arched an eyebrow. "Aztek?"
Recognizing the warning signs, Kaji hurried up to finish the story. "He basically pulled out Unit-03's heart and showed it to the Angel."
Misato raised her head after hearing that. "Shinji did that? Really?"
"So my sources tell me. I guess there might be some exaggeration thrown in, but the fight records should clear it."
Misato sighed. "Kaji, I need you to take me to NERV, I have to talk to Shinji and find out why he disobeyed orders. I need to apologize too. I should have told him about Toji."
"The reason is obvious." Asuka threw her hands up. "Commander Ikari is a moron. We had to deploy in a line, like stupid mooks in a videogame! We couldn't even see each other!"
"So you agree with Shinji on this?" Kaji smirked, awaiting for the inevitable explosion.
Asuka glared at him again. "Yes. Even he realized just how idiotic the Commander's plan was."
While Asuka poured the milk in a mug, she looked at Misato. "You don´t really need to apologize for that. Shinji already knew. He finally decided to use that lump of gray matter between his ears and realized who the Fourth Child was way before we were called to NERV."
Misato´s jaw fell. It took her almost twenty seconds to reboot her mind. "Still. I want to. I should made the time. Both as an officer and as his friend."
Asuka shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I doubt he would hold that against you."
Tokyo-3
Ayanami Apartment; 9:40 A.M.
Rei Ayanami rested on her threadbare bed. Trying to come to terms with recent events. After a pair of Section-2 Agents brought her to her dilapidated building, she had skipped her meagre dinner of instant soup and dehydrated vegetables, and went directly to bed. She still felt some residual pains in her left arm, both from the Angel's attack, and from the detonation of EVA-00's arm. The only thing to do about then was to rest and wait. Using any type of pain relief medicament could clash with her main regime of chemicals. And in any case, the effect they had on sympathetic pain was too small.
So, Rei Ayanami rested, waited, and thought.
She wasn't immune to introspection. In fact, it could be said she was particularly vulnerable to it, due to her extremely limited social interactions.
However, and despite her life-long indoctrination into Commander Ikari's Scenario, she had started to feel…
What?
Before she could refine her query to herself, she saw something move in the window by the corner of her eye. She turned her head just in time to see a gigantic spider enter her apartment. It was bigger than a dinner plate. Not that the creature could fit over a dinner plate, the abdomen of the creature was by itself bigger than said dinner plate.
Detachedly, Rei watched the spider move carefully towards her. She ran through a series of possible actions. Slowly and calmly, she extended her hand towards her school bag. It was still full with the books from last week. She wrapped her hand on the cloth strip, and waited. After long minutes, finally the spider was at the right distance. With all her strength, Rei swung the bag over her bed.
Author Notes
Again, the verbal components for Shinji's magic are my creation. As a general rule, I think low level spells have short verbal components. One or two syllables for 0 or 1 Level spells. The higher the level, the longer the verbal component should be.
Both words sounded good to my ears, and each has a connection to the desired effect. Noctaris to night, Dhawnar to, well… dawn. Dhawnar doesn't correspond to the verbal component of the Light spell (Bewgath), because in this case, it is used to cancel a Darkness spell.
The long term effects of Toji's dreams will be revealed on time.
He will be a member of the party. With a mostly physical role, as we already have three magic users, a Sorcerer (dual class, actually), plus a Wizardress, and an Acolyte in training. Now, both Shinji and Asuka will be using magic (more or less) as described in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook; but Hikari will eventually go into the D20 Modern character class that´s closer to the traditional D&D Cleric. (The reason why Shinji and Asuka are the only ones who can use that kind of magic will be revealed later).
Currently, Toji is considered a Strong Hero, Kensuke a Smart Hero, and Hikari a Dedicated Hero. They will get their advanced classes after their first adventure/quest.
