12:30pm, simulation area.
Having stripped off her school uniform, Rei slid on her white plug suit and pushed the wrist button, causing it to tighten around her slender frame. Nonchalantly, she made her way out of the changing rooms and into the cages, some small part of her mind thinking back to the last time she'd sat in an entry plug.
Anger, pain. Feelings I do not understand, and yet I felt them without feeling them. My failure will not occur again. She will not get the better of me.
Having been assisted into her entry plug by some technicians, she wrapped her hands around the control sticks. The plug sealed before being inserted into Unit 00's spine, with armour sliding over the entry point.
A multitude of colours flashed through the interior as the hud came online and her eyes synched to those of her steed, leaving Rei to peer down at the observation room. She knew most of the staff in there were nervous, and whilst she didn't understand fear, she knew a huge armoured fist smashing through reinforced glass would have a less than positive effect on the individual.
Along with them, she could see Sub Commander Akagi walking back and forth between monitor screens checking practically everything before they continued. And right at the front, almost touching the glass, was Commander Ikari.
It was as if there were nothing else in the room, his mere presence blotting out those of everyone else.
Rei knew just how much of a shadow the man could cast over those around him. A shadow so great that it was to shroud the world in darkness...
"Good afternoon, Ayanami-san. How are you feeling?" Ritsuko's face popped up on her video link.
"I am ready, Sub Commander." She acknowledged.
The faux blonde ran a hand through hair she thought may turn grey at some point in the near future, sighing.
"Alright. If anything even slightly goes wrong however, this test will be aborted. Take your time." She leaned back from the monitor and looked into the back of her commander.
"Sir?"
"Do it." He said coldly
Heeding this command of oh so few words, the Section 4 staff began to type into their various keyboards, with a few occasionally looking up at the gold and white titan with fear and apprehension.
"Establishing Pilot Link in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6..." Lieutenant Ibuki counted down as many tensed.
Except the commander of course.
Rei meanwhile closed her eyes and opened her mind, starting to feel the Eva's strength, power, and speed filter back into her. She was it as it was her. The thought of the last time she'd felt such power flashed through her mind, causing a few of the monitors in the room to start beeping.
"Ayanami-san?" Ritsuko immediately barked over the radio.
"It is under control, Sub Commander."
The beeping stopped and the measurements resumed normality.
"PL established. Commencing S2 Core activation." Maya called out as electricity and other, more indescribable energies were fed into the Eva, various noises made by the monitors notifying the staff of systems coming online.
And here's were it went wrong last time.. Ritsuko lit a cigarette to calm her nerves, hand gently brushing the recently installed emergency override button.
Rei mulled over that particular memory, not through fear of course, but out of a desire to prevent it from happening again. The event which nearly cost the young pilot her life.
10:15am, Wednesday the 7th of June
"Sub Commander, we have a problem." One of the staff called her over.
Today was a big day for NERV, as it was the very first activation of the first Eva they'd ever built.
Unit 00.
Despite being the prototype and predecessor for Unit 01, and being utterly out classed by Units 02 and 03 alone, the "old girl" as the staff liked to call it was still among the most powerful weapons in history. It was their work, and they took pride in it.
And today was its moment to shine.
Which was why Ritsuko was annoyed something wasn't going one hundred percent correctly. With the commander present, she was determined to get everything right today.
She didn't need him, as she kept telling herself, but would make damn sure the cold bastard king needed her.
"What is it?" She said harshly.
"PL link is acting kinda strange...increasing and decreasing..." He peered in a little more.
"Lieutenant, status on the pilot?"
"Pilot's vitals are fine...but cranial activity..." Maya stopped mid sentence and looked up, her complexion paling.
"We're getting feedback from the Eva."
Silence descended upon the room for a few moments, after which Ritsuko brought herself over to the comms seeing and hearing nothing but static, as the Evangelion lifted its head and stared at them.
"Ayanami-san, are you alright in there?" Ritsuko's voice became concerned.
No response.
"Cut the connection now!" She screamed as the monster made some sort of inhuman growl.
"Signal's not being received-"
"Then cut the fucking power!"
"Hai!" The sound of fingers on keyboards was frantic, with the Eva ripping its restraints off and lumbering towards them, armoured hand clamped firmly on its head as if nursing a headache.
"All non-essential staff, evacuate immediately! That includes you too, sir!" Ritsuko threw in the commander's direction, truthfully not caring much whether or not he heeded it. He simply stood there, nonchalantly, the non-essentials scrambling for the exit. This was further helped by a gargantuan fist impacting the window.
By some miracle sent by heaven itself, the glass bent but didn't break.
"We've done it, power is cut. S2 Core energy depleting in fifteen seconds...automated eject triggered!" Her gaze snapped up as the beast's back slid open.
Oh Spirits...
The head of Section 4 and her staff could only stare on aghast as Unit 00's entry plug rocketed forth from the monster's back and directly into the wall. It careened against it then crashed to the floor. All of a sudden, the rampaging Eva faded from existence for Ritsuko. Right then and there, all she could see was that mangled entry plug lying on the floor.
Come on...she's more durable than any human...she'll be fine...
At the point when the window nearly collapsed in on itself from the rogue Eva's furious assault, the monster's power ran out. Its fist remained implanted in the window, but it wasn't moving anymore, frozen in time.
"S2 core at zero percent power. Unit 00 is offline." Maya said, shaking.
The young Lieutenant spent a while trying to control her erratic breathing as she fought off a panic attack. In her flustered state, she, along with the rest of the staff, barely noticed Sub Commander Akagi disappearing through the door, white lab coat billowing behind her.
The faux blonde didn't usually run, but today was, as one can guess, different. Descending the staircase into the actual simulation room itself, she brought herself over to the broken entry plug with all due haste.
The emergency release hatch was dented, steam coming off it due to the sheer amount of heat produced by ejection.
Her first attempt to open it ended in failure, as the searing heat caused her to snarl in pain. But Ritsuko, never being one for giving up, grit her teeth, curled her fingers around the latch and pulled hard.
It burned, it burned so much. But she didn't let go. Eventually and with great effort, the latch came undone, causing a river of LCL to flood out of it.
Leaning in through the hatch, a pair of green eyes fixed themselves upon a battered and broken girl.
The unearthly child raised her own weak red gaze to meet hers.
The two didn't say a word to one another.
Ritsuko sighed, nodded, then murmured a quick "okay."
She's lucky to even be alive...it's going to take more than a dip in the rejuvenation tank to fix this...
Gently, she hauled the badly wounded albino from the plug, too focused on the current situation to notice her commander had not moved a muscle, despite the armoured glass in front of him being broken.
Nor had his eyes displayed a hint of compassion or worry for the thing which was the clone of his wife. In fact, the blue orbs remained the same as they always were.
Cold as ice and uncaring as the Universe.
12:45pm, Friday the 30th of June
"Power at one hundred percent. PL is established and solid. Unit 00 has been activated." Maya relayed with a sigh of relief as the staff applauded and cheered.
All save for two.
Whilst Gendo simply observed, hands folded behind his back, Ritsuko was communing with the young pilot.
"Any issues to report?" She said.
"No Sub Commander." Rei answered.
"Are you sure?"
"There have been a few minor problems with my lower left rib. It will not affect my duties."
The faux blonde breathed in deeply through her nose.
Minor problems usually meant broken or fractured in Rei speak.
"I'll get you some pain killers as soon as we're finished up here...take your time with the rest of the test." She cut the comms and scowled straight into her commander's back.
I told you twenty days wouldn't be enough!
Knowing however the task at hand deserved her entire attention, she dropped her gaze and returned to work.
Over the next fifteen minutes or so, with the Pilot Link established, Rei's synchronising with Unit 00 was constantly monitored, percentages fluctuating only in a minor manner between fifty-eight and sixty-five percent.
"That's good...very good." Ritsuko muttered to herself as she fished out another cigarette from her pocket and lit it, producing smoke that caused some people to cough and splutter.
Yes I know it's not any good for me, but hell, we'll all probably be dead soon enough so why not?
"Begin movement tests." The commander's voice caused many to look up in shock, and for the Sub Commander to snap her cigarette in half.
"Commander...with all due respect...I think it's miraculous we've even activated Unit 00 without trouble, it's always been the most unstable one. I would recommend we take it a little more slowly-" She stopped mid sentence when Gendo fixed his gaze upon her.
"Hai." She metaphorically ground her teeth.
Noticing the clicking of keyboards had stopped, she took a look at her paling staff who'd watched the contest of egos with some apprehension, fearing a full blown argument.
"What are you all looking at? No one told you to stop working!" She snapped at them, causing the twelve or so people in the room to type away again, as the various restraints on the Eva began to unlock.
Looking back at her superior, Ritsuko was now confronted with his back.
Good, I don't like looking at you these days anyway...
"Ayanami-san, we're going to be carrying out some movement tests. Don't exert yourself, just take things one step at a time." She relayed.
"Ryokai."
She waited for Maya to pull up the various steps of a movement test on her monitor, then began reading them out.
"Alright, to start with I'd like you to take one step forward..."
1:15pm, cages.
Synch tests were becoming normal by now.
All he had to do, was sit in his Eva, close his eyes, empty his mind of thoughts, and then the Sub Commander would tell him he had a synch rate of sixty-seven percent. Apparently not quite that of some of his "colleagues" elsewhere in the world, but impressive for someone who'd only started piloting some weeks ago.
He often pondered the fact he'd apparently be joined by other Eva pilots soon enough. With Rei back on active duty, and an entire fleet carrying a further two Evangelions to Japan, he felt nervous and excited.
The thought of having to socialise with "comrades" was unnerving, but the idea he wouldn't have to face the Seraphim by himself...was a relief.
Having finished his own synch test some five minutes prior, Eva Unit 01 was being lowered back into the bowls of NERV, with Shinji sitting tight inside, his plug suit driving him mad as usual.
The was a loud clunk and jolt as the Eva slid into place and the restraints closed around it. It would take another five minutes for his plug to be removed, the job being easy within NERV central itself.
In the meantime, Shinji could sit there and watch the world go by through the eyes of his own drivable weapon of mass destruction.
On the other side of the room, stood Unit 00.
He'd never seen the other Eva before, and it intimidated him. It's strange machine like head with single eye appeared to stare into his soul, rather different from the more human looking Unit 01 that only made him feel slightly uneasy these days.
Looking a little more closely, he focused on a figure having just gotten out of the entry plug attached to the golden titan. A figure with blue hair and white plugsuit.
And then, to his complete surprise, on the connecting cat walk, strolled his father.
What is he doing here?
Upon noticing him, Rei gracefully jumped down from her plug and went over to Gendo. The two talked for a little, with the commander maintaining his ice cold expression, and the albino...smiling.
Shinji's eyes widened in shock as his father nodded in response, then gave a microscopic smile himself.
Son of bitch! His subconscious snarled as the two parted ways.
He smiled for her...he's never done that for me...never...
He let his emotions bubble and boil whilst his plug was retrieved from Unit 01. LCL was vented, allowing him to breathe actual air again, which was a relief. For he was beginning to hate that orange goop.
The top of the plug slid off, allowing artificial light to cascade through, causing him to blink a few times as his eyes readjusted to not being synchronised with his Eva.
Stretching out in a manner that caused his bones to satisfyingly click, he stood up and stepped onto the cat walk to which his plug was now attached. Around him, dozens of technicians ran around doing things he didn't know about. Nor really cared.
However, standing a few metres away, was someone he did care about.
"Sixty-seven percent synch, not bad at all, Shinji-kun. You're improving." Misato smiled with her arms folded.
"Thanks...I guess..." His gaze drifted back to Unit 00, the bluehead he sought having vanished.
"Something on your mind?"
"No...no...it's nothing..." He awkwardly swept the question under the rug and walked over to Misato, forcing a smile. Which faded away when he saw her raised eyebrow.
"What?"
She chuckled and shook her head.
"Shinji-kun, it wasn't so long ago that I was a teenager. I know what trying to avoid a question sounds like. So...what's up?" She put across in the friendly and open manner he liked. And felt compelled to tell the truth whenever queried by it. Much to his irritation.
"Gah...it's just...seeing father...with Ayanami-san...it's kinda..." His shoulders slumped a little, his eyes dropped to the floor, a sigh escapin his lips.
"Upsetting?" Misato offered.
"Yes..."
"If it's any consolation, I think you're kind of lucky."
Shinji's mind shattered into a million pieces, as he fought every inch to scream back.
Lucky!? How is anything in my life fucking lucky? I've lost things you will never understand, I've seen fucking horrors, Katsuragi-san, so don't tell me I'm lucky!
And then all those thoughts disappeared when she spoke again.
"The commander is a difficult man at the best of times. I can barely stand working with him...but living with him? Spirits I wouldn't be able to cope with it..." She dwelt on the numerous briefings she'd had to have with him in his ridiculous office, huge symbols of western religions she didn't understand etched into the ceiling and floor.
Pompous bastard thinks he's better than everyone else. How are you his son?
Misato could draw no comparisons between the two, the quiet but kind young man who'd kept her apartment tidier than it had ever been before without giving a thought to reward, was incomparable with the equally quiet, but far more domineering and straight up creepy old man who sat above everyone else.
The JSA didn't call him "the bastard king" without reason.
Shinji found there was some truth to her words, inwardly shuddering over the thought of living with his father. Perhaps...some approval might be appreciated, but his cold and uncaring sperm donor showing any open affection for him? With the bridges between the two firmly burned, it would just seem forced. And it would take a lot for him to accept, given just how much hate he felt.
But he wasn't always like that...
"Maybe." Was all he could manage to say.
"And on top of that...they're creepy together aren't they?" Misato added.
"Yes."
Whilst a little part of him did feel some envy for Rei, the rest of him felt chills run down his spine at the mere thought of Gendo's smile. Something wasn't right with that, and that's without her being a clone of his mother...
No. That's ridiculous, even father couldn't be capable of doing that...could he?
However, Shinji Ikari would not have time to dwell on this. For at that moment, the alarms to blared.
"Code blue, I repeat code blue has been declared. Seraph has been detected, and is inbound to our location, all personnel to battle stations level one immediately!" Caspar's voice boomed, in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
Once he got over the initial shock of all the sounds shrieking, he realised what was about to happen. His heart skipped a beat for a few seconds before he steeled himself.
I've killed two before, I can kill this one.
He was shocked by his confidence, even more so by his legs fearfully yet automatically carrying him back over to the entry plug. It was as if...it were natural by now.
"Prep Unit 01 for launch, I'll be on the command bridge!" Misato barked at the technicians, disappearing into one of the lifts.
1:30pm, Tokyo-3, economic district
Ramiel hovered towards her target, senses darting back and forth to detect energy or movement.
Some of the Voor sky ships had been shadowing her for a while, perhaps thinking they were out of range.
Horribly wrong, but she had a thing against killing living creatures that weren't trying to do her any harm. For there simply was no sport in hunting the helpless.
But unlike Sachiel, the Divine Lord's finest hunter would kill you in a heartbeat if she so much as detected hostility. Unlike Shamshel however, she didn't kill to slake blood lust.
Out of the eldest three, Ramiel was the most mature, having even found one with which she shared the bond and started a family, unlike her elder brothers who devoted themselves to the many arts of war.
They were always the better swordsmen...gods I miss them.
Anger flooded into her mind.
You'll pay for that Vooren.
The crystal blue octahedron decelerated as she came over Tokyo-3's skyline. According to the Fist's sources, every single previous attack by her people upon humanity had been met with a useless but gargantuan amount of fire power.
Now there was nothing to be seen.
Hunt the prey for long enough, and it starts to learn.
Suddenly, her senses tingled as energy soared towards her from beneath the ground.
I see...Purple Devil...killer of my brothers...come to me.
The purple titan popped forth the ground, with Ramiel instantly angling her pattern of attack to its left.
Less obstruction, it'll go that way.
But it didn't. The Eva stood perfectly still. Perhaps the most unwise thing any prey could do in front of a warrior race's greatest hunter.
A shrill laugh echoed through the Divine Heir's mind.
Oh how a hunter loves a target who stays still.