Stage Eleven [ When I Fine Peace of Mind ]
Misato downed another beer and tried to remember Kaji's words to her but they were a big mush. At this point she could only remember how he touched her and caressed her. His smile and his eyes. For some reason he'd looked sad. Her phone went off for some kind of take off alert but she paid it no mind. The Getter Team again. Whatever. She was too hung over to give a shit about anything right now. Shinji could open the door buck nude and she would only laugh at the unexpected sight.
The door opened and she gave a mumble of a hello to Shinji, Asuka, and Kei. The three walked in and Kei gave the kids a wave and nodded to Misato before she left. Shinji shut the door and Misato sighed.
"Glaaaadyouuuuuur'e A-Okayyyy." Misato managed to slur before she put her head to the table and concentrated on how numb her mouth felt. It was relaxing. The table was cool to her forehead and she would be comfortable in her current state to just pass out.
"Good night, Misato." Asuka said and switched off the light. Misato heard some bumping and Asuka whispered something about an idiot. What idiot? Her? Shinji? Or Asuka? Or Pen-Pen? Misato didn't know and for some reason it was hilarious. But she was probably referring to Shinji. A door shut and Misato took a deep breath as she passed into the realm of sleep.
/
"Thank goodness for hangovers." Asuka whispered as she sat up on her bed, gesturing for Shinji to sit with her.
"Oh for crying out loud. I want you to talk to me, Shinji. So get over here." Asuka whispered and gestured even harder. Shinji was blushing but still sat at the very end of the bed, sitting up straight and looking over his shoulder to make eye contact with her.
"Idiot!" Asuka whispered. "If you're that far away, you'll wake up Misato." She said, grabbing the back of Shinji's plugsuit and pulling back. He slammed into the side of the bed next to her and there was a squeak from the bed's springs. Asuka winced.
"Ow." Shinji said dryly and looked peeved for a slight moment.
"Hey, I forgot how soft this bed was." Shinji commented, his eyes returning to their normal shape.
"Never mind that. I'm – I'm really sorry, Ok?! I have been nothing but a capital B bitch to you ever since we met." Asuka said.
"Asuka, I-"
"Shut up and let me finish!"
"Sorr- Ok." Shinji said, shutting his lips.
"Good. From now on I'll try to be . . . gentler. That means no hitting or kicking you unless it's part of our training or if you're really being a pervert. And . . . I'll try to only call you an idiot if we're joking around." Asuka said.
"That means a lot. Thanks." Shinji said.
"Still not done, Ikari. Also . . . If you want, I'll move into the smaller room. I – I shouldn't have just taken over your space. Not when Misato invited you here first." Asuka reasoned.
"No. You don't have to do all of that. I'm fine with my room. Just – had to get used to it is all. And besides, you've already put all your stuff in here. It would be a hassle for us to trade rooms again." Shinji responded.
"But – you know I'm sorry, right?" She asked.
"Enough that I'm starting to get tired of hearing you apologize to me to be honest." Shinji responded, exhaling in humor at the irony.
"Good. Now. Can I hug you again?" Asuka asked him, looking deadly serious now. She was blushing but it didn't lessen the look in her eyes.
"Y – yeah that's – that would be nice, actually." Shinji said to her.
This time he opened his arms and let her scoot over to him, laying sideways so that their bodies were facing each other. The mattress helped with the plug suits but they were still a bit awkward to accommodate a full embrace with.
"You're so warm, Shinji. Can you – hold me tighter?" She asked him, feeling vulnerable as she let the tense and powerful pilot persona go. Shinji gave her a light squeeze and kept the pressure on. Meanwhile Asuka wrapped one arm around his neck and put her other hand on his shoulder and held on tight.
"That OK?" Shinji asked her.
"It's great." Asuka said and let herself relax after a few moments. Suddenly things got really warm and she felt stifled in the plug suit.
"Hey if we actually want to sleep here together, we should change clothes. That would make things more comfortable." Asuka said and Shinji blushed. Asuka frowned and sat up quickly.
"I'm going to change and use the bathroom. You want me to get you some clothes from your room before I come back?" She asked him.
"Yeah. Just some night clothes and some underwear is fine. Thanks." Shinji said and Asuka nodded.
"As if the great Asuka Langley Soryu would make you sleep in that plugsuit. And again, thank goodness for Misato's dependency on alcohol." Asuka said and got up to put together an appropriate set of pajamas and grabbed a pair of white underwear.
She left and Shinji blushed. Did he hear her right? Did she seriously just say they'd sleep together?
/
Misato was in the same place as before, snoozing away on the table. Asuka had half a mind to send her guardian to bed but didn't want her to catch that Shinji was not in his own room.
Asuka relieved herself before she changed into a simple white tee and a black pair of shorts. She took the time to brush her teeth and give her armpits a test sniff to see if she smelled horrible. She was OK, but still rinsed her face with some water and decided she looked OK for bed.
Then the hard part. Shinji's room. She exited the bathroom and opened his door, finding the usual things in their usual places. Cello in case and leaned neatly against the wall. A row of his white long and button up shirts hanging in the closet. And his SDAT Player on the bed, connected to a set of earbuds.
She found a fresh pair of underwear in the dresser, glad he was wearing boxers at his age and snagged another white T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. Then she swiped the SDAT Player and left the room.
Her paranoia told her Misato would be outside the room, but it was thankfully wrong. Instead she saw Pen-Pen looking up at her with a curious look. It told her that the penguin knew something was up, just not exactly what.
Asuka nodded to the penguin and left the room. She walked across the hall to hear light snoring from Misato. Mortifying but if Misato could sleep through her own snores, Shinji and her could have some more time to talk.
"All done?" Shinji asked and Asuka grinned, throwing his clothes at him. Shinji caught them and Asuka pointed at the door.
"Your turn to change and wash up, Third. If Misato sees you coming to my room, the alibi is that I took your music player, ok?" She asked, pulling out the SDAC player for Shinji to see.
"O-Ok. Just ask next time before you take it like that. See you soon." Shinji said and left with a slight smile.
And Asuka felt terrible all over again. Dammit! I just apologized for being such an asshole and then I take his stuff without permission. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She yelled at herself.
". . . Misato?" Asuka heard Shinji say.
"Hhhhhhhhhmmmmm. . . Shinji?" Her guardian mumbled.
"It's late. You had a bit to drink, so let's take you to bed. Here, I'll help you up."
"MMMMMMmmmmmm Ok." Asuka heard and then some disjointed yelping from Shinji as Misato laughed.
"Ya still in yuuure plug suit?"
"Yes. I didn't have time to change yet. And these are fresh from the wash. Misato, can you walk?" He asked.
"Uh-huh. Jusst don' pick me up wif yuure puuuuurrple Evaaangeeeeelion, kay?"
"Yeah. Just . . . hey, you need to brush your teeth too. Come on." Shinji said in a forced whisper.
"Awwwww, so nice to me, Shinjiiii. You're a real housewife."
"Ow! Don't pinch me, Misato!"
"Haaa haaaa. Shinji, you're so flustered." Misato said and Asuka heard the bathroom door close and then some far off comments from Misato as the brushing of teeth could be heard.
"Thank you soooo much. Now I'll give ya privacy. And I'll see ya in tha morning. Prolly wiff a big hangover."
"Then it's best you get some rest, Misato."
"Night Shinji! Night Asuka!"
Another door closed and Asuka heard some stumbling as Misato likely made it to bed. Then a few minutes passed and her door creaked open.
Asuka turned to see Pen Pen had opened the door and looked to her with as close to a shrugging gesture as a penguin could approximate before pointing to an approaching Shinji with a flipper.
Asuka sighed and nodded at the bird and it saluted her before waddling away. Shinji entered the room none the wiser and shut the door lightly before he re-joined her.
"Oh, you put your plug-suit away?" Asuka whispered and Shinji nodded. "I just threw it on my bed. I'll have to hang it up later."
"Worry about that tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about." Asuka said as he lay down on the bed and she put a hand on his wrist.
"I'll go first." She said and took a deep breath to lower the barriers that her mind set up around other people. This was going to be harder than she thought, but if she really wanted to open up to Shinji, she'd have to start from the beginning. The last time she saw her mother.
/
Rei Ayanami floated in the middle of the orange tube, staring blankly through the LCL at a focused point on the wall. It was as it always was. She remained suspended in the space and waited for the Doctor to return.
The memories still played in her head in bursts of images and she didn't remember all of them clearly.
Yet.
She did not feel freshly made. Though she was the third copy, the next in a line to fulfill NERV's ambitions, she still felt like the body was familiar.
And there was the headache. She'd had it since the hospital trip after Go had touched her with that green fragment and it was in a word, irritating.
After five minutes of waiting in the tube, Rei heard footsteps. The door slid open and Dr. Akagi walked in, looking distracted as she checked Rei's vitals and electronic charts around the room.
"Everything looks good on my end. How are you feeling, Rei?" The doctor asked, looking up from her work to make eye contact.
"I am fine, Doctor Agaki." Rei spoke through the LCL. "However, I have a slight headache."
"Hmmm. That could be from your back-up body for a number of reasons. Let me know if it gets any worse and I'll get you something for it."
"Of course, Doctor." Rei responded. She breathed in the liquid she floated in and wished that it tasted different. It was not a thought she'd had before. A thought containing a preference. She felt strange.
"Doctor Akagi, if it is not inappropriate, I have a query." Rei voiced.
"Oh? What would that be?" The Doctor asked, sounding intrigued. After all, the Commander's pet never asked anyone random questions.
"What . . . kind of things do you like?" Rei asked her.
"What do I - like?" Doctor Akagi repeated, sounding at a loss for words. "Um – cats. . . bonsai trees. . . some kinds of rock music. Why do you ask?"
"I do not know. I simply remember a conversation regarding personal preferences and was curious as to what yours are." Rei stated.
"Well – everyone has preferences. That's what makes us human-" Dr. Akagi said quickly and then stopped immediately.
"But – I am not completely human, am I?" Rei asked rhetorically.
"Well . . . no. But perhaps that human side of yours is kicking. There's not much time left until the Project is finished. And Unit 00 still has to finish extensive repairs. Remember that even with your body being Lilith's vessel, you're still a teenage girl. You should take this time to enjoy yourself and try new things if you want to. " The Doctor proposed.
" . . . Is that an order?" Rei whispered.
"No. It's just a suggestion. You can't just order someone to have fun, after all." The Doctor said.
"I see. I am not used to making decisions based on my own emotional state." Rei responded.
Ritsuko began typing like a demon into the computer she was sitting in front of.
"Well, enjoy the freedom to choose while you can." Ritsuko said as her fingers kept striking the keys in rapid succession.
"The freedom to choose. . . I never felt like it was something I had." Rei said, looking down at her hand as her thoughts took her to an unfamiliar place.
/
Shinji was once again at a loss for words as Asuka finished speaking. She'd gone from grabbing his wrist to having him hold her while she squeezed him like a life preserver as the story ended. She was sobbing quietly but he could feel her trembling as he heard the end to the story.
Just like his own mother's experiment with Unit 01, Asuka's had done the same for Unit 02. She'd come out of the Evangelion but – something had gone wrong. Asuka's mother was never again the same. Asuka explained her mother's fixation on the doll and then the tragic end to the story.
And all he could do was listen as he held her.
"I – that's horrible." Shinji said, realizing that an apology wouldn't help fix the past.
Then it was quiet. Enough to be almost frustrating until she spoke again.
"And you. Shinji, how is your mother in Unit 01?" Asuka asked him.
He took a deep breath and exhaled as he prepared to start crying himself.
The story was quick, and he felt that going into a lot of detail was not needed.
"So your mother never came out of the EVA." Asuka whispered and Shinji nodded as he clung to her.
"I missed her but – now I don't know how to feel. I know that sounds horrible to say considering your mother's gone, but. But I still find myself angry with her. She knew about all of this stuff and I'm only finding out about it now." Shinji admitted.
"But . . . if even a single part of my Mom's soul could be in Unit 02, that means I have to pilot it again." Asuka whispered. "You didn't need to suffer that much, Shinji. And your father. . . I bet he wants to try and get your mother back somehow."
"With the Instrumentality Project thing?" Shinji whispered.
"I don't know. Kei didn't know about it but if she's going to ask around then we'll likely know more." Asuka responded and sighed, rolling on her back and staring up at the ceiling, grasping Shinji's hand in her own as she closed her eyes.
"Tomorrow. . . we're going to try again. Now that we've talked, I feel way better." Shinji said, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Likewise. Thanks, Shinji. And try and get some sleep." Asuka said, returning the squeeze.
/
Hayato frowned as he downed his sixth cup of coffee.
"The Contact Experiment . . . how much else do we know?" The Professor asked Doctor Yumi.
"That's about it, sadly. Dr. Kabuto's daughter in law, Nishkiori knew more but she . . . " Yumi stopped speaking and Hayato nodded.
"Right. She vanished. Her husband, Kenzo Kabuto then focused all of his time perfecting Great Mazinger, but regarding Yui Ikari, we don't know what happened to her. Go's report was helpful, but we'd need a private audience with Shinji, Kaji, and most likely one of NERV's top brass just to begin an understanding of what truly happened." Hayato scowled and threw the notes down.
"You should rest, Commander Jin." Yumi said, the pepper gray hair in the doctor's own mustache and bags under his eyes suggesting he needed sleep as well.
"I know. But with the Getter Team deployed and undercover . . . I can't help but be on edge." The dark haired man said with a frown.
"Tomorrow Kouji will deliver his report as well. And Benkei should provide both Mazinger and EVA teams some training now that Ryoma's gone for a bit." Dr. Yumi said with a wry grin.
"Dr., are we missing something else? Another weakpoint in NERV's structure?" Hayato asked.
"Weakness? I don't think so. They're pretty well organized. The Children are – as you said – manipulated to depend on being pilots. And NERV is a more connected group to the Japanese government than either the Getter Research Labs or the Photon Power Labs." Yumi stated, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I thought you were going to sleep?" Hayato asked and Kennosuke Yumi smiled.
"Well with NERV as our topic, I find I'd have more worries about them than an attack by Dr. Hell. I truly wish Dr. Kabuto was still with us. He'd have a better sense of what to do in this situation."
"Maybe. Or he'd go off his rocker like Dr. Saotome did. It bothers me that I'm having such a hard time with this." Hayato said and then he paused.
"As you know, I used to be a terrorist before Dr. Saotome scouted me out. Than after my time with the Getter Team I was in a special unit to try and take down Professor Rando. And after that I find NERV - an organization that I just can't crack. . . . I guess you could say I see it as a challenge." Hayato said with a grin.
"More of a challenge than Shin Dragon?" Yumi asked, taking a sip of the coffee.
"Well – in a sense. Once our Super Robot Army is re-organized, I feel we'll have a better shot at facing Saotome, Dr. Hell, and the rest of the Invader bastards." Hayato said and stood to look out the window at the dark skies.
"And the Angels . . . even they'll be easier to face. Tetsuya contacted me earlier." Yumi stated and Hayato looked back to him in surprise.
"What did he find?" The man asked and Yumi smiled.
"Mazinkaiser's secret. And some much needed information that's on it's way. He wasn't comfortable telling me that through even an encrypted phone call."
"Mazinkaiser's secret, eh? So the ultimate Mazinger still has a few surprises for us?" Hayato asked with a wicked smirk. "I just hope Kouji's up for whatever that secret is."
Yumi closed his eyes and smiled. "Well I have to admit I'm proud of the boy. He's proven himself much more that I'd first thought when I met him. He and Sayaka . . . and Boss. They've all done more than their fair share around here."
"He has. I've seen the footage of him using Mazinkaiser and I'm impressed. It's good knowing he's looking over the EVA pilots' shoulders. Considering how the last few fights have gone, it's a good then that the Photon Labs has Mazinkaiser in our custody again."
"And what about Great Mazinger?" Hayato asked. Yumi nodded.
"I have a proposal I came up with along with the other professors. We've found a way to condense Super Alloy Z even further and strengthen it. Rather than replace all of Great's armor with new Chogokin Z, we'd like to try out this process for ourselves. We hypothesize a similar process was used by Dr. Kabuto to create Mazinkaiser's invincible armor.
"How long will that process take?"
"A few days. We'll need to use the Great Booster to launch Great into space and begin the process on our allied Space Station, but once that's done . . . it will be the birth of a new and improved Great Mazinger." Yumi finished and Hayato nodded.
"And in that time, we'll have Getter Robo Go brought up to speed. I've even got a reserve pilot ready since Go's on a mission right now." Hayato declared.
"Then we're well prepared on our Super Robot front. But as for NERV . . . we'll have to keep digging." Yumi said.
Hayato shook his head. "Once Operation Jackrabbit concluded, we'll know more. Until then I don't want to so much as think about Gendo Ikari without a plan ready to outsmart him."
"Then I'll show you what we've proposed for Great Mazinger. And in the meantime, you can tell me all about what you've been doing at The Tower." Dr. Yumi said, standing up and leading Hayato from the break-room out to the main hangar bay.
/
The Invaders didn't know sleep. Even something like exhaustion was a foreign concept to them as Dr. Saotome worked, checking on Shin Dragon's systems as the three Invaders waited.
"This is a waste of time, you know. Even without the Human Instrumentality Project working, we can still get what we want." Saotome said, sounding a bit irritated.
"Still, a member of the Japanese Science Counsel we assimilated was a member of this SEELE group. Why destroy the world when we can let the humans do the dirty work for us? Then we can take everything at once." Cohen said and Stinger nodded.
"I suppose that makes sense. . . I just wonder how effective Human Instrumentality will really be? When something like Getter Rays are at play, I find underestimating humanity is often fatal." Dr. Saotome said, looking over his shoulder to the two other Invaders.
"Still . . . we're completely prepared for them! We're not some primitive Dinosaur Empire, or Hundred Demon Empire! We adapt to whatever the threat is! Even something as deadly as the Getter Rays." Stinger said, crossing his arms and looking around.
"Even this Shin Dragon . . . Humanity's best hope for facing us is our decisive weapon for snuffing out any fools stupid enough to oppose us." Dr. Cohen stated.
"Still . . . The Shin Getter Robo. And Dr. Kabuto's rival creation – this Mazinkaiser . . . both represent what science is capable of using Getter Rays and Photon Power to their fullest extent." Saotome said in response.
"Underestimating the humans is fatal. However they often are guilty of overestimating themselves." Another voice said in a quiet tone.
The three Invaders' grins widened as they turned to the tube of emerald liquid, cracking and shattering as a pale skinned form emerged. Small, and thin, the figure stood to their full height as the Invader cells reconstructed a white padded uniform around them.
"I see you're done rejuvenating your body in the Getter Rays." Saotome observed.
"Yes. . . they were helpful. My Host's memories are very simple. Yet they will suffice. I believe her purpose and mission will fill in most of the gaps for you." The other said, their voice soft and composed despite the wavering shadow tendrils and yellow eyes emerging from Stinger and Cohen's forms every few seconds.
"That's wonderful news! It seems the Metal Beast's defeat was not a terrible loss if you were what we gained!" Stinger yelled in glee.
"Yes. An Invader with insider knowledge of NERV's structure and ultimate goal. I imagine you will be an amusing distraction considering your host's original function." Dr. Cohen seconded as the new Invader nodded, her blue bob of hair swaying slightly as a twitching and yellow eye coming out of her face retracted, replaced by smooth and ivory skin and clear red eyes.
"Now, what would you like us to call you, my dear?" Saotome asked as he turned to their guest.
The other figure stepped out from the dark bowels of the same cloning pod that Go Ichimonji was birthed from, the form-fitting uniform complete with patches of orange, black, and lime green in various placed.
"The same name as my host. Please refer to me as Rei Ayanami." The fourth Invader said neatly before her blue eyebrows creasing slightly as she gave the other three a shark-like grin in return.