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 15

Believe It or Not, It is the Truth...


Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari/Soryu Apartment, 01:26 P.M.

"I´m very sorry, Rei. I find your story a bit hard to believe. A giant spider? At your apartment? Are you sure it wasn´t just a nightmare?"

"I am very sure, Inspector Kaji. I do not dream." Rei´s face was perfectly still. There was no hesitation in her words. Somehow, that simple declaration shook Asuka to the core, even more than realizing Ayanami could actually be related to the Third Child.

Asuka looked at them with a strange expression on her face. "Wait, Kaji. I believe her. I have never known Rei to lie."

Rei blinked twice, and studied Asuka´s eyes, surprised by the unexpected show of support. "I brought the remains of the creature, but they disintegrated in the container." She put the container in the table. The clear plastic showed the interior, there was nothing inside.

"It disappeared?" Asuka took the container, turning it around in her hands, looking for anything that could have remained inside. ´Like gott-dammned mooks on a videogame…´ she thought; the irony of those words didn´t escape her.

"The process looked closer to sublimation than simple evaporation; as the remains of the spider's body passed directly from solid to gaseous before dissipating completely. I nor and venom seemed to evaporate at a very fast rate. There was nothing left. Not even any visible residue. There might be something, but I cannot see it. I kept the container closed for later study, though it was not made for scientific purposes, and it wasn´t sterilized, so the possibility of contamination is present." Rei put her school bag on the table, and took the contents out careful and methodically, like a coroner would extract organs from a corpse, dictating their observations. "There is a slight discoloration on the floor of my apartment, and on my bag. My books were similarly affected, as if they had been exposed to water or some other liquid. I won't risk touching them directly, as the spider´s venom could still be present. I will request replacements." Finally, the took the portable computer out, "The laptop was broken on impact, but apparently did not have any direct contact with the creature´s bodily fluids."

Asuka looked at her strangely. "You have to work on your double entendres, Wonder Girl. That can be misinterpreted."

At that point, the door opened, and a tired but energized Misato entered. "I´m home."

"Welcome home, Misato. How are things at NERV?"

"Weird, Kaji. Very weird. Shinji is still in the brig. I had to cash a couple of favor to speak with him." She turned to Asuka. "He told me to get a little bottle from his school bag, and to ask you about it, Asuka. What´s in it?"

Asuka paled a bit. "He told you about that?"

"He just told me to drink it, and that I would feel better. Now spill, what is in that bottle?" With her good hand, she put Shinji´s school bag on the table, while Rei hurried to put her stuff back in her own school bag. Misato rummaged inside Shinji's bag until she found the bottle. It was made of glass, cut in an interesting pattern. Inside it a clear blue fluid sloshed.

Kaji scoffed. "C´mon, Katsuragi. I seriously doubt Shinji would have anything to do with drugs. It´s probably some herbal concoction or something like that."

Asuka looked briefly at Rei, than at Kaji, and finally at Misato, she exhaled. "It is just a mix of herbs, honey and spring water, but it´s also more than that. From what he told me, there´s nothing harmful nor addictive in it, I assure you." She took the bottle from Misato´s hand, and put it carefully on the table, at clear sight of everybody. "It´s also a token of his trust. If he was willing to give it to you, it means he has a lot to tell you. Kaji, I´m sorry." She looked at him with wet eyes. "I don´t know if Shinji is ready to include you too. Could you please go out with Rei for about fifteen minutes? It´s important." She waved a hand towards the empty container and looked at Rei. "Wonder Girl, I think you are in it too. Just in an unforeseen way. It found you, I'll tell you what I suspect after I've spoken to Misato. It's just that I'm not sure of how much I can divulge now."

Seeing how serious Asuka was, Kaji exchanged a look with Misato, a silent conversation flowed between them in just a couple of seconds. Kaji nodded. "Okay, Rei, how about we go get some food at the store. Anything you´d like?" He turned to Asuka and Misato.

After Misato's negative, Asuka shrugged, "Just a few sodas, please."

As the door closed, Misato turned to Asuka. "Okay, little miss, spill."

Asuka took breath.


Tokyo-3, GeoFront
NERV HQ, Commander Ikari's Lair, 1:35 P.M.

Gendo Ikari watched the replay of the fight against the 13th Angel. So far, he had studied the available footage 15 times. His face seemed set in stone. Not a single muscle moved to betray his thoughts.

´There is something strange here.´ he thought, but couldn´t put his finger on exactly what it was. Leaving aside the unfortunate surge of electric energy that had fried the Dummy Plug, the fight seemed strange. It wasn´t the usual desperate movements of the Third Child when he was cornered into fighting, nor his deliberate style when he had time to plan his attacks.

The Evangelion had moved with coldness, precision, deliberation. Using his strength and weapon to devastating effect. Those were not the movements of a school boy with little combat training, not the terrifyingly chaotic fury of the Berserker.

No.

These were the movements of a combat veteran.

One who didn´t lose sight of his objectives in combat, as the amazingly efficient rescue of Unit-03´s pilot showed.

Gendo selected the recordings from a different camera, and replayed the fight once more. This time, it was clear that the first two knife strikes were meant to cut most of the exotic matter fibers that held the partially ejected plug into place.

Then, a swift kick to the Evangelion had provided the force needed to rip the remaining tendrils while Unit-01 held on to the semi-exposed plug. Before renewing the attack, Unit-01 put the plug on the ground with both speed and caution.

Once the hostage had been removed from the equation, Unit-01 and its pilot proceeded to demolish Unit-03.

Removing the core showed cunning and ruthlessness. It had been destroyed with such force that the fragments left were absolutely useless for research purposes.

Commander Ikari stopped the images. He lifted his orange tinted sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.


Tokyo-3, Horaki Household
1:35 P.M.

Reverently, Limiry rolled her scroll, and put it back into its case. Hikari sighed.

"Well… It seems you are too distracted, Hikari," said the gnome cleric. Hikari nodded.

"Sorry, It´s just that I haven't had any news of Toji, not even Asuka knows if he´s okay."

"Tell you what. Let´s take your mind outta the track it is now. Let´s go to the highest place you can see. It is time for you to leave your first mark!"

"My mark?"

"Sure. As a Desna cleric, you have to travel far and wide, see the world, look for out of the way places, and then, leave a mark there, so the next dreamer who comes along know that you were there, and left them a mark to say hi."

Hikari thought about that for a moment. "But… My family…"

Limiry slapped Hikari´s arm. "Take it easy, girl. You are not ready yet to leave the nest. That will be when you are of age. In the meanwhile, you, and me along for the walk, will get to know this wonderful city as no other inhabitant does! Now, have you a personal sigil? It will be a good mark to leave behind."

"Um… well… I could use the kanji for ´light´, I guess…"

"You could, but nah! There must be a more personal symbol." Limiry traced a drawing on the dirt. It looked like a circle crossed by three horizontal lines. "This is mine. The world…" she retraced the circle. "My birthplace…" the center line. "The sea…" the bottom line. "And the sky." She looked at Hikari. "It means that I have traveled the world, even before entering to Desna´s service. I have traveled a lot, seen many countries and known many people. Even if I can´t remember them all too well, I know in my heart I have walked through a lot of boots and spat a lot of dust from many roads."

Hikari nodded. "I see…" She thought deeply for a long time, while Limiry played with some complicated device she brought out from a pocket.

Finally, Hikari´s fingers seemed to move on their own accord. Her hand traced six lines, forming a rough circle.

"Very nice!" Limiry clapped. "Looks fine and recognizable."

"It´s a drawing I made as a child. I wanted to write my name as ´light´", but didn´t know the kanji, so I made this. Just light, without something to project it."


Tokyo-3, Convenience Store,
Near the Katsuragi/Ikari/Soryu Apartment, 1:37 P.M.

"Well, Rei. I guess we have to waste a few minutes more before returning. Anything else you´d like to get?"

"A couple of packages of precooked vegetable soup would be nice, Inspector Kaji."

"Okay, take your pick."

Once outside, they sat on a bench at the ground floor of the building. Kaji closed his eyes for a second. "Hey, are you absolutely sure you don´t dream, Rei?"

"I have no memory of any oniric activity on my part." Rei looked directly ahead.

"I think I head some guy in college explaining that. Supposedly, his brainwaves during sleep showed he was dreaming, but any dreams he had didn´t pass to the short term memory, so he didn´t even remember having any dreams. I guess it could be the same for you."

"I concede that possibility, but I have some documentary proof of my experience." She took her cell phone out, and a few seconds later, she had the pictures on screen. "I took these pictures about a minute before the spider´s body disappeared completely."

Kaji examined the pictures, comparing them to his, admittedly short, knowledge of spiders. "Wait, you mean it? It´s not a joke?"

"There is nothing to gain by joking with something like this." Under her usual neutral voice tone, Kaji thought he perceived a slight annoyance.

Kaji amplified the image. If this thing was a simple prop, it was a movie quality prop. A very, very expensive prop for a very expensive movie.

"Damn…" he whispered. Rei´s pictures were very good. Clear and detailed, no blurry images. Even the hair like filaments in the bug´s body were clearly defined in the image.


Tokyo-3; Mrs. Hayabusha's Inn;
Backyard; 1:40 P.M.

"Easy, young manling, go slowly. Move the chisel one fraction of an inch after each tap." Rusilka Burningforge guided Kensuke´s hands. He was working on a piece of hardwood. Rusilka had traced a simple drawing on the surface, carving simple geometric shapes would be a nice starting exercise for Kensuke.

Kensuke had his tongue firmly stuck at the right side of his mouth. He measured his strength, and tapped the little hammer against the chisel´s head. A minute sliver of wood began to raise.

"That´s it, now, change direction for the next tap. Remember, you are not forcing the shapes out. Coax them, a sharp hit with only scare them. They are shy, and very skittish. If you scare them, they will flee, and the wood will be ruined."

"Um… It´s just a board, Miss Rusilka."

The dwarven artisan dope-slapped Kensuke. "A board is something you use to build a boardwalk or a raft. We are not building a boardwalk nor a raft."

Kensuke rubbed the back of his head. "I don´t get it."

"I know," Rusilka sighed. "You have been raised to see only the surface. There is more to your work stuff than that." She passed her fingertips over the smoot surface. "Each board is different, the grain is particular to each piece of wood. This is good wood for carving. There is great potential in it. That´s why I chose it."

Kensuke examined the wood again. This time, paying more attention to the way Rusilka´s drawing matched with the grain of the wood.

Suddenly, he gasped.

"Ah. You see it now?"

"…Yes…" Kensuke whispered reverently.

"Try again. Let the wood itself guide your next tap."

Kensuke put the chisel back on the wood, and tapped delicately at the head. Rusilka smiled in satisfaction. "Better, young manling. Keep at it, don´t force the wood, don´t force your tools. Don´t force the shapes. Let them come to you. They want to come out and see the light."


Matsuhiro Secondary NERV Base Ruins.
Sublevel 26, 500 meters away from the 13th Angel Crater.

A small red and black spider appeared into a forgotten room. Followed by another, and another. Soon, there were thousands of spiders, covering a human sized mass on the floor. It was as if the shape was materializing under the spiders, or the spiders were turning into something else.

There was nothing of note here. It was an apparently empty room, isolated from the rest of the base by design. It was to serve as a temporary refuge in case of an Angel attacked. Now, the detonation caused by Bardiel had completely closed the room.

One wall consisted of a series of lockers, containing REMs by the hundreds. The Ready to Eat Meals were bland in flavor, but quite nutritious for their size. There was enough food for about 30 persons to last for a month in the refuge.

In the center of the room, the swarm of black and red spiders chittered and seemed to dance over a human-sized form. They were biting again and again.

Slowly, a hand emerged from the swarm. Black fingers closed around a fistful of spiders, and squeezed. The arachnids popped in the hand´s grip. It was a delicate hand, with long, thin fingers and red, sharp nails.

The swarm moved away from the owner of that hand. A thrilled syllable froze the swarm in its place.

"Oh, no, my dears. You won´t go anywhere."

The female scooped a fistful of spiders, and put it ravenously in the waiting mouth. She chewed delicately, wiping the ichor from her full red lips.

She repeated the process several times. Regaining strength with each mouthful. Finally, she stood up in all her dark-skinned glory.

"So, you failed, Mother. You took EVERYTHING from me. My power, my followers, my very divinity, my sacred relics even. You took everything you could! But you couldn´t take my life!"

The young woman jumped up, as if trying to strike at the heavens. Yelling at the top of her lungs, "DO YOU HEAR ME, MOTHER? I AM STILL ALIVE! I AM ALIVE! AND I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!"

Her rant spent, she looked around. Her black eyes didn´t need light to see. "Where in the Demonweb am I?" she hissed.

She walked to the nearest locker. "And who the Abyss is NERV?"


Author Notes:

Spoiler Alert!

For this story, I am considering the events in the Greyhawk novels as canon. So, there was no War of the Spider Queen. Lolth was completely and definitively obliterated from existence by Escalla and Cinders, with some help from Morag.

The last arrival to Tokyo-3 Arcana is no one else but Laveth, Lolth´s daughter. As far as I know, she only had one appearance, the adventure "The Harrowing", published in Dungeon Magazine (Issue 84, Jan/Feb 2001). If you can find it, it´s a cool story. The cover for the story is beautifully done, with a giant sculpture of Lolth´s face, and Laveth standing proudly in front of it, while a swarm of red spiders comes out os cracks and holes in the statue.

In The Harrowing, Laveth conspired to usurp Lolth´s place as the drow only deity. However, something failed (pesky adventurers), and Lolth wasn´t feeling particularly merciful (not that she was merciful at any point, mind you…).