Chapter 6: New Plans
Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters. If there is any resemblance to real live people or characters of other stories then this is purely accidental.
Temporary camp
Six hours have passed since Shinji sunk into the black pit. The sun was beginning to set, and everyone was hard at work. Misato was in a conference with Ritsuko and various other technicians.
Overlooking the cliff stood all the Evas, Nerv's and the newcomer's. Asuka was nearby, leaning against the railing and looking at the ball that was floating in the distance. Her thoughts resumed their original track after the interruption from the younger pilot. Asuka kept thinking of the events that had happened. First Shinji had told her that he was worried for her, and then he went and saved her from whatever fate that he was currently going through. At first her thoughts were angry, in that Shinji had out staged her, but later her thoughts calmed as she realized he could have left her to sink. Flying through her mind were several explanations, each more crazy than the last. The only conclusion that she could come up with was that he really cared for her. This epiphany was not what she had expected, and was so mind-boggling that she thrust the idea out of her mind. In an attempt to blot the thoughts coursing through her tired mind, Asuka listened in on the conversation that was occurring among the people collected in the base.
"Currently the shadow is holding position. Expansion has stopped at a diameter of 600 meters" Makoto was saying.
Misato let out a slight sigh before turning to the people standing close by. Shuri-Shara was standing by the console that Maya was working at, looking over her shoulder and making her slightly nervous. At five feet, he was shorter than most of the people here.
Standing by the door of the tent was the leader, Hunter. Of average height, he still stood out the most with his aura of strength and confidence. Looking back at Misato, he said, "I guess you wish to know the plan that we had originally planned"
Ritsuko answered for her, "Yes, we do"
The remaining member of the trio was currently working on the Evas, fixing the problems created earlier by their haste. Standing very close to six feet, Kaitos would have been the tallest if he wasn't slumped over slightly. When he had first stepped out of his plug, he stumbled and had a coughing fit. His physical problems continued to list longer as he pulled out a cane to lean against, and pulled out a bottle, taking a long swig which calmed his coughing.
The leader of the group came over to the table where a series of maps was laid out. Clearing his throat, Hunter first asked, "Doctor, why don't you first tell me what you know of the target"
Looking over the notes on her clipboard, the faux blonde went into a lecture of the information she and the others had collected.
"As your friend said, the shadow is indeed the true form of the Angel"
Ritsuko said this with a slight look of grudging respect for the young man
"It is 680 meters in diameter and three nanometers wide. Within that space is an inverted AT field. Within the field is a region of space that can only be described as a Sea of Dirac in abstract mathematics."
Ritsuko looked over at Hunter saying, "It is quite possible that it is connected to an alternate universe"
"Yes?" Hunter asked
"It is quite impossible for three new Evas to be built and readied for battle, units 03 and 04 are still under construction in America, and neither matches the descriptions of your Evas"
"Yes?" the younger pilot asked
Misato took a few moments to process the information before coming to a similar conclusion that the doctor had made. Turning to the shorter pilot, she asked "Your all from a different universe?"
Hunter answered bluntly, "Yes"
With a smile on her face at her correct thinking, Ritsuko asked a question.
"So I can presume that you are all alternate versions of our pilots?"
"No"
Misato was looking on with an incredulous look on her face and was about to ask some questions of her own when she was interrupted. What was surprising was that she was interrupted by Rei.
"How did you come to be here?" the blue haired pilot asked, "And why do you wish to help us?"
Looking at her, Hunter answered, "The answer to the first question I cannot give. The second is harder to answer, but answer we can"
When he said this, Shuri-Shara came over and continued to answer for him.
"We all have orders to help, but we all decided we wanted to help"
Rei asked, "Why do you desire so?"
Wryly smiling, he answered enigmatically, "Curiosity killed the cat"
Seeming satisfied with her answer, Rei turned away and joined Asuka by the railings. The red-haired girl turned away from the blue-haired girl and attempted to ignore her. It seemed to be going well until Rei talked to her.
"Pilot Sohryu, it appears that you do not appear to be yourself of late"
Turning on the quiet girl, Asuka vehemently said "I am perfectly fine! Instead of worrying about me, why don't you worry about that pathetic excuse of a pilot?"
At this, Rei walked up to Asuka and looked her in the eye. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Asuka asked, "What? Am I annoying you with my insults of your precious Shinji?"
Even though she said this, Asuka couldn't help the feeling that passed through her. She turned away and walked to a different spot to watch the Angel. Since night had fallen, the area surrounding the circle and the floating ball was illuminated with lights. Looking at the Angel, Asuka's thoughts once again revolved around a certain pilot that was trapped there.
Rei watched impassively as Asuka was obviously having internal conflicts. She turned back to the black pit as well and began contemplating what she had learned. The pilots are beings from alternate realities, so it seemed odd that what they did while traveling was help other people. Another thing that seemed strange was that they all seemed to know each other very well, even though they were from different worlds. To add to the mystery was the black Eva that jumped into the pit. This Cairn was most likely another traveler, and if there was him who knew how many others there could be.
A/N: I hope this answers those questions about my OC's, more details in upcoming chapters
While the two original pilots were lost in thought, the two travelers were rejoined by their third member.
Wiping his hand on a cloth, Kaitos told his leader, "Well it seems it's all going very nicely, but I don't think we'll finish before the sixteen hour deadline"
At this everyone turned to the clock that was set up on one wall. Over eight hours had passed since Shinji fell into the black pit.
Sighing, the double-voiced kid said, "We had better hope that Cairn can get Shinji out"
Ritsuko turned from the terminal that she was working on. Looking from one person to the next, she said "You still have yet to tell us what your original plan for destroying the Angel was"
Kaitos coughed slightly before he answered the question "The Angel is impossible to attack from the outside. The only way to actually hurt it is to attack from within the Sea. The Evas would extend their AT fields and rip apart the only thing that was allowing it to exist"
Misato, although being unable to follow mostly because she didn't have a physics degree, was able to answer "They would rip apart the inverted AT field…"
"And the Sea would burst, allowing the Eva to escape and destroy the Angel in the process" Ritsuko finished for Misato.
Kaitos nodded as if a teacher to a very astute student, "Yep, that's the plan in a nutshell. However, due to the fact that the cables would have been sheared off and the internal batteries had insufficient power, they needed a new power source, hence the need to implant the N-core engines"
Misato asked something that had just formed in her mind, "So that's what your friend, Cairn I think, is going to do?"
"No"
Misato asked angrily, "Then what is he doing?"
Holding out a hand to ward off the two women's anger, Hunter explained, "Our Evas don't have the same capability for AT fields as yours do. What Cairn's going to do is give Shinji the power to do so"
After that statement, his face was stone and he refused to answer any more of the questions that were being asked of him.
"I think that we need to be prepared for anything" Kaitos said, "let's go to our Evas and-"
"I don't think so"
About ten Section 2 agents had leveled guns at the trio.
"We have many more questions for you people, and if you get in your units you may leave us with them unanswered" Ritsuko told the pilots, "so we need you to stay. Please accept our hospitality"
The three looked at each other and seem to be silently communicating with each other. With a nod, all three sat down on the ground with their hands in the air. Surprised at their compliance, Ritsuko had them put under guard.
Overlooking the encampment, a shrouded figure stood. The leader turned and faced the three others behind him.
"Three captured and one in the Sea," he said coldly, "This is not how we planned the scenario."
One spoke, the same as the one who had fought Asuka at the school, "Sorry, sir, but there are times when we must deviate from the original plan. That is the way of our organization."
The smallest spoke up nonchalantly in a child's voice, "So we just go with the flow as our code says, and all will be well"
The third person, which up to this moment had been silent, decided to speak up, "Keep this up, sir, and you'll be just as you were before"
Not saying anything, the supposed leader turned back to look over the visage that was before him.
Here's six completed, my apologies for it being a little shorter. A few more chapters and this Angel is done, then on to the next threat. Again, if my story seems odd, it's because I'm having a hard time putting it into words. Till then, R&R, and I'll get back as soon as I can.