It had been three weeks since Shinji and Gendo had gone to the grave of Yui, and it had been two weeks since Asuka had been released from the NERV hospital ward. For Shinji, these last three weeks had felt like eons to him, first he had been left alone in Misato's apartment for an entire week with only beer and instant ramen to feed himself with.
Second, ever since his German roommate had returned with their shared guardian everything became his fault. Misato wouldn't dare blame the newfound orange-haired recluse for anything without risking a screaming match. Ever since she'd returned, Asuka was even more of a hair trigger than before, except she didn't react in screaming insults when she was ignited. Rather Asuka seemingly lost all the bite she had and instead, it was replaced with screaming and crying nonsense.
Everytime Asuka and Misato got into it, Shinji would just walk off to his room and put his SDAT on, but recently even that didn't work. Instead of being able to absorb himself into his peaceful classical compositions, Shinji would instead invoke the undeserving wrath of his guardian. She'd scream and yell at him to stop running away, and to come and apologize for what he'd done. Shinji never did anything besides cook anymore, and sat in his room. Yet that was his crime, apparently.
Being the silent specter of the Katsuragi household was slowly becoming more agonizing and difficult with every passing day. The anger of the once "Red Devil" had passed onto his guardian, and the self-deprecation and self pity had passed from Misato to Asuka. Shinji had watched carefully as the color seemed to drain from Asuka. It had started with her hair, which she changed to have black highlights. Then it moved to her clothing, which became darker and darker, to the point where black on black attire was quite common for the German girl. Finally her personality became sullen, cold, and oddly quite calm.
Shinji was intrigued by this shift in the once flamboyant classmate of his. The seemingly depressive nature Asuka had developed attracted Shinji, he was enticed by the beauty he had only just begun to notice from her, both in personality and in looks. In recent days Shinji spent most of his time thinking of his fellow pilot, and it's what kept him distracted during her and Misato's verbal engagements. One thing caught Shinji's attention from the most recent engagement, and it was something Misato had said. "No one wants to kiss a girl in black."
Shinji had no idea why Misato would say this, as it was way out of the blue. Not only that, for some reason when he heard it, it pissed him off. Almost as if, he was feeling defensive of the way she dressed. Shinji didn't understand it at all, but he had a grave feeling he was attracted to Asuka, and that thought scared him more than death itself.
For Kurtz, time had become merely an illusion, especially inside the Evangelion where he had chosen to reside for the last three weeks. The mechanical effigy to God had become his dark home. Yet Kurtz was oddly optimistic, he could feel his lost power returning.
"Soon, I may be able to take my physical form again… just maybe…" Kurtz lamented to himself. The cold steel of the Evangelion's plug provided little comfort for the Abyss Knight's trapped soul. He knew NERV had evidence of him residing in there, he'd heard 'Ritsuko' the blonde bitchy head scientist speaking about it to Shinji's degenerative guardian of who Shinji lovingly called 'Misato'.
Apparently after his little charade with Perceros and taking control of the Evangelion, the sensors had picked up a "sudden surge of energy equal to fifty times the Chernobyl explosion, that lasted a matter of seconds before Shinjin was rendered unconscious".
This apparently peaked the blonde one's attention, as not even an Evangelion's battery could replicate even a fourth of that surge at maximum output. This pleased Kurtz's ego, but also made him realize they'd be rummaging around inside the plug for whatever, or whoever caused Kurtz devised a plan, if he was going to be discovered one way or another, it would be on his terms, not NERV's. So the Abyss Knight weighted, to unveil himself on his own terms.
Ritsuko huffed as she walked through the bowels of NERV, and anxiously tapped at the clipboard in her hand. Something was deathly wrong with the entirety of the Evangelion project. Everything she had worked for was on the brink, and if what she theorized was wrong, it wasn't just her job she would be losing. The leading theory she had was angel contamination, and really it was the only situation that made sense. Ritsuko was holding onto the literal prayer that this contamination scan was going to be, even if the angel had disguised itself upon first contamination, there was no way it would be sneaking past this next scan. Ritsuko rounded the corner, and there stood, Kaji, of all people. He noticed her and took a drag of smoke before speaking.
"Where are you going, Rits?" Kajispoke.
"The Evangelion bay." Ritsuko said deadpan.
"Someone's in a fucking mood." Kaji mumbled.
"No I just have actual business to attend to, we're sweeping Evangelion Unit 01 for contamination in ten minutes, so I don't have time to fraternize Kaji."
All the sudden Kaji got uncomfortably serious, and it put Ritsuko on edge to a level she hadn't felt in years. And then he said something that made her heart and stomach both plummet.
"What you're going to find up there is going to make you more scared than anything else ever has in your entire life, and it will haunt you for years. I suggest you take every second you can until that sweep to enjoy the calm air, for nothing will ever be the same once you step off this elevator Rits." With his unnaturally profound statement, Kaji went back to smoking for the few seconds left until his floor was reached. And once he got off, he seemed to disappear completely behind the thick, metallic doors of the elevator. Leaving Ritsuko scared, and alone.
After what felt like an eternity Ristuko reached the Evangelion bay and Unit 01's holding pin. She looked forward and saw the team was already there, and everything was set up, all they were waiting for was her command. Ritsuko signalled the team to start the process when she reached them… and the scan concluded…
Nothing.
"What… there must be some kind of mistake, there has to be." Ritsuko cried to Hyuga. But he simply shook his head and replied. "Mam, there's no mistake, the scan came up to show nothing's in the Evangelion or contaminated it."
"Start a second one, I want whatever caused that energy serge to be figured out. I'll do it myself if I have too." Ritsuko ordered. And so the second scan was set up and just before Hyuga activated it, Unit 01's maw opened up, and with it followed an ungodly sound. A deep, guttural voice spewed forth from the mechanical God.
"I am the prophet of Armageddon, sworn Knight of the Abyss, charred protector of the blackened flame. This mockery of God I inhabit is pathetic, nothing more than a harbinger of your own Holocaust of NERV's imposition."
"What… the fuck… was that" Ritsuko screamed.
"My name is Kurtz. For now I am bound to this effigy you call an 'Evangelion' and it's living failure of a pilot." Kurtz spoke through the Evangelion.
The crew and Ritsuko all stared at Unit 01, horrified at the giant robot that wasn't supposed to move, much less speak without a human pilot. In his fear and adrenaline, Hyuga pressed the activation key on the contamination scan, hoping this endeavor would do something, but it did nothing.
"I see you failed to understand your position compared to mine. I am a soul trapped inside of a seventy five meter metallic mockery of God, while you are but human vermin that I could so easily crush with this abomination's mere hands." The Evangelion roared. And if as on cue Unit 01 brought it's hand up to the guard rail beside the team and crushed it. Making Ritsuko scream in terror and the entire team run. Only Hyuga and Ritsuko were left, staring at what they hoped to God was just a simple nightmare. But that frail hope shattered as Kurtz continued to speak.
"I am not human, far from it in fact, so don't expect to merely be able to kill me once I leave this wretched plug. And I suggest you not try anything with the pathetic son of Gendo, there's a side of him no one has seen, and no one would wish to see. While he may seem incapable of it now, that boy has enough anger to crack the sky, and with the Evangelion at his fingertips, even the Gods will tremble." Kurtz spoke, intentionally striking a humorous amount of fear into the two below him. While the Black Knight slightly exaggerated his wording, it was still true. Kurtz could tell Shinji was a distrubed individual the moment they met.
Ritsuko and Hyuga quickly ran from Unit 01, leaving Kurtz to ponder.
Quite frankly Shinji, unnerved the ancient knight. The boy could hold his own if he had something to fight for, but that is the only thing holding Shinji Ikari back. The scariest part to Kurtz was the fact it's what Gendo and Shinji had most in common. The old knight's intuition had told him as such the first time he'd laid eyes on the older Ikari. Gendo bore the expression of a man hellbent on changing something, and when Kurtz had seen the grave both the Ikaris had come to visit, well the old knight simply confirmed what his intuition had foretold.
Gendo Ikari was going to bring his deceased wife back from the grave, even if it meant bringing the world to its knees.
Kurtz knew Shinji was just like this, he'd seen it in his memories. Kurtz could feel the anger when Gendo had used the injured "Rei" as a bargaining chip for Shinji to pilot the Evangelion. Kurtz could feel the disgust and near hatred for Asuka the boy had held during the coordination exercises. Yet the boy kept it hidden eerily well, and that is what most disturbed the Knight, as Shinji was just a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right moment to be set off. Kurtz knew that was bound to happen soon, and with the strange feeling Kurtz could feel from Shinji, an affinity for a certain red haired girl the boy knew, the set off for the Ikari boy might come sooner than the old knight wanted.
Shinji sat in his room, his SDAT blaring the usual somber compositions of ages since past, when the usual intrusive screaming began. To Shinji it had become ambient, as the two women seemed to get along less and less with each other as the days time it seemed different, it was louder, more obscene than usual. However, Shinji simply kept ignoring it, and the screaming grew louder and louder to the point even Shinji's indifference was at its limit. Then, he heard something that shook him, something Shinji had never expected to hear from his guardian.
"Fine! Fuck you too you little German slut! I've had it with your shit! I'm done, you and that pathetic excuse for a man Shinji can do whatever the fuck you want, I'm having that brat's father wire you two money and to stay here, or else I'm fucking quitting. Not even Kaji would want you at his drunkest now you bitch!" Misato had screamed loud enough to wake the dead.
Shinji heard Misato stomp out, and then slam the apartment door behind her. Then, a sound Shinji would've never thought he would ever hear echoed through the apartment, the sound of crying.
Shinji knew only one person could be making that sound, but Shinji never thought the great Asuka Langley Sohryu could ever sob as loud as she was now. And that… scared Shinji, it scared him and he didn't know why.
"Go to her, comfort her. You know what to do Shinji." The voice of Kurtz echoed into Shinji's mind. Except, Shinji didn't know what to do. He was scared, but he trusted the man in his head, which seemed insane to him. But Shinji didn't have much else of a choice.
Shinji crept out of his room and saw Asuka laying on the floor, bawling into her hands. He moved closer to her, anxiety filling his heart to the brim. Shinji wanted to run, every molecule in his body was screaming for him to turn and run, that he would regret this. Yet Shinji didn't run, instead he placed his hand on Asuka's shoulder, Shinji didn't know what to do, and pure instinct took over the boy. Asuka turned to look up at him through teary eyes, and even though caught off guard, tried to put up a false sense of normality.
"What do you want, idiot?" Asuka blurted out through the tears, and she could tell it didn't sway Shinji one bit. Instead, it only reaffirmed the thought that something was wrong with the girl in front of him. Shinji did something born from pure human instinct and wrapped his arms around the trembling girl in front of him. He pulled her head to his chest, and started stroking her hair in the calmest and smoothest movement he could.
"It's alright Asuka, it's alright." He whispered, which only earned him heavier sobbing from the girl in front of him. Yet Shinji sat there, standing his ground against the fear consuming him. For Shinji, having the source of his newfound strength in his arms, was extremely rewarding, but his reward only lasted for so long. Eventually Asuka stopped sobbing, and just sat in his arms. Shinji looked at her, mesmerized by her beauty, to him it was still as striking as it has been recently, even at this low moment for the German girl. He could feel her start to move in his arms, and so Shinji relaxed his grip.
"What are you doing…" Asuka spoke to him, her head still buried in Shinji's chest.
"Comforting you…?" Shinji mumbled with heavy uncertainty.
"Why now…" Asuka said, a cold edge sat with her words.
"What do you mean Asuka"? Shinji asked, as he felt the confusion and fear return to him. The German girl sat up and out of his arms and stared at him, her eyes seemed to glow red with a newfound anger, and it seemed all directed at Shinji.
"Why now?! Why not before when I needed it just as badly as I do now! WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE FOR ME?!" Asuka screamed, and she reacted in a way she hadn't meant to, she slapped Shinji. The slap was loud enough to be heard echoing in the apartment, and as soon as she reacted this way, Asuka could feel the guilt build up in her stomach, along with fear.
Shinji looked into her eyes, and saw pure panic and fear in them, before something unexpected for the both of them happened. Asuka got up and ran, she ran out the door and it slammed behind her, leaving a bewildered Shinji, confused and alone as usual.
"I suppose I need to tell you that you need to go after her, don't I?" Kurtz sighed in Shinji's mind. Wondering how the kid didn't immediately take off running when Asuka did.
"I hope to the Gods he can survive these upcoming trials Shinji has imposed upon himself, will his heart and soul be strong enough to take them is the question… maybe the redhead's the key to all this. I just hope I'm not wrong, and can do enough to help the kid, because if I'm not, well… he may just bring about the end of Humanity on this planet." Kurtz lamented to himself as Shinji threw on his shoes, ready to chase after the girl who seemed to have struck his heart. And as Shinji did, he left an ancient knight uncertain for the first time in thousands of years, uncertain not for just himself, but for Shinji… and the rest of Humanity.
Author's note: I don't own Evangelion or claim to. All rights go to their respectful owners, I simply came up with the idea for this story and Kurtz. Merry Christmas everyone! I wanted to get this chapter out over the break and before New Years, and made this one a little longer as a present for all of you!