Chapter IX

Beautiful Behemoth

Shinji Ikari rang the doorbell of Rei Ayanami's apartment.

'Ayanami? Are you there?'

The doorbell did not ring. The battery was dead. Neglected.

Shinji pulled on the handle, and to his surprise, the door was unlocked.

'Ayanami? Rei?'

No answer. Shinji took his shoes off politely and walked into the room. It was dark, and grey. There was no carpet. The bed was like something from a prison. The walls were filthy. The kitchen was filled with unwashed cutlery and crockery. Bloody bandages sat on the ground, having never been cleaned up.

'Perhaps she isn't here.'

Shinji examined a pair of half-melted glasses. Weren't these his father's? He subconsciously put them on, only to hear something behind him. There stood Rei Ayanami, the First Child, naked except for a towel.

Shinji tried to force words out. This was wrong. Rei came towards him, her expression never changing. She didn't even seem to blink. She reached for Shinji's face. She was trying to get the glasses.

'Agghhh...' Shinji tried not to touch Rei's body in embarassment. How was she so unconcerned for her nudity?

He lost his balance suddenly, collapsing on top of Rei, who clutched the glasses tightly. A few moments passed.

'Please get off,' Rei said in a quiet voice, while somehow polite.

Shinji stared in horror at his hand. It was on Ayanami's breast. 'Uh, uh..uh...'

'What?' she seemed unconcerned. She calmly dressed herself.

Shinji said, 'Dr. Akagi...Ritsuko...told me...to give...you...this...' He held out the card

Rei turned. She took the card from his hands. 'Thank you, Third Child,' Rei almost whispered. 'Please leave.'

Shinji quickly put his shoes back on and left. He felt his face. It was warm. He had gone bright red.

Shinji ran away from the apartment as fast as he could. He didn't understand what had just happened, but it frightened him. He felt his face again. It was cold. He had gone pale.

Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Amy, you open the notepad by typing "NOTE" in at the command line.'

'Okay. And...how do you open up the calculator?'

'Did they even give you a manual?'

'No...'

'You mean you haven't checked your drawers yet?'

'No, I assumed those were yours...' Amy opened the drawer. 'Hey, look, a manual! And look, all the commands!'

'GOD!' Shigeru shouted, crushing his cup of coffee and spraying it everywhere.

'Calm down, Shigeru,' Maya defended. 'She's new here.'

Suddenly, the door hissed open.

There stood a man dressed in full NERV uniform, inclusing scarlet shoulder pads, beige jacket, beige trousers, and a pair of black boots.

'Doctor?' Amy asked. 'What are you wearing?' She was still dressed in civilian clothing.

'I wear a NERV uniform now. NERV uniforms are cool.'

'You look...kinda good, Doctor,' Makoto forced himself to admit. He was still upset the Doctor had been employed on such short notice.

'Thank you, Makoto,' The Doctor said.

'I could really go for some lunch right now,' Shigeru remarked, checking the time. 'One-thirty. The cafeteria'll be closing up soon. I'd better be getting over there, quick.'

'I do believe I might join you,' the Doctor said. He thought for a moment. 'Do you think they'd do fish fingers in custard?'

The speck on the horizon glinted in the sun. It was a midday sun, shining high at the speck's very crest. The speck was finally ready. It was time to set to work. Slowly, but surely, unseen mechanisms began working in the great crystalline leviathan's body, and it lurched onward into the detection zones. It heralded its entrance with its hellish, yet heavenly fanfare...

'Auuuhhh. Auuuhhh.'

The Fifth Angel had come.

VWEE-RP! VWEE-RP!

'My God, we've just detected an Angel entering the vicinity of Tokyo-3!' Makoto cried. 'We have visual!' A massive, blue octahedron, crystalline in nature, hovered into view. It was moving quite quickly, but appeared to be taking its time.

Maya quickly picked up a phone and punched in numbers. 'Captain Katsuragi? Get here quickly, there is another Angel attack currently in progress.'

Ritsuko quickly entered the Command Centre. 'I heard the alarm!' She looked at the screen. 'The next Angel...'

'Right,' The Doctor said. 'The next Angel.'

Commander Ikari calmly entered the room and assumed his post. 'Where is Captain Katsuragi?'

'She's not on duty, sir,' Ritsuko replied, turning to him.

'Oh. How...disappointing. Launch EVA Unit-01.'

'What?' The Doctor asked, turning. 'You don't even know what it is yet. You're telling a teenage boy to go out and face it?'

'Yes. That is how the Evangelion pilots work. Send him out.'

'Shinji isn't here!' shouted Maya.

'Well, get a hold of him. Now.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Commander Ikari, may I ask, in which way are you and Shinji related?' the Doctor asked.

'Is this really the time, Doctor?'

'Yes, yes this is the perfect time, Commander Ikari. Tell me, now. What relation?'

'He is...he is my son, Doctor.'

'Your son, Ikari. So, you're sending out your son, your only child, in order to defeat what could be a potential threat to his life?'

'Yes,' Ikari replied, coldly. 'Now, be seated.'

The Doctor turned away and sat down.

The door hissed open. 'I heard there was an Angel attack,' the voice of Misato Katsuragi called. 'I came as fast as I could.'

'Good, Captain Katsuragi,' Commander Ikari said. 'The Third Child is not here. Do you have anything to do with that?'

'No, Shinji is...The Third Child is...at school.'

'He should be here,' Ikari said. 'Send out Rei if needs be.'

'She isn't here either?'

'Such lack of efficiency!' Ikari shouted, slamming his hand down on the desk.

'Third Child has just entered through main gates!'

'Shinji!'

'I'm late,' Shinji muttered, running for the changing rooms.

He quickly got in, taking off all his clothes and placing his plugsuit on.

'Come on,' he said, pressing a button on his wrist to pressurise the suit. He quickly ran to his EVA Unit.

'Shinji, you're late,' a voice said on the radio.

'I know,' he replied, jumping in to the Entry Plug.

'Shinji, prepare to confront the Angel,' Misato said. 'It's approaching the centre of the city. Be warned, it could be dangerous. We're not sure what it does yet.'

'Okay, Misato.'

The lift carried Shinji right up and into the city.

He stopped, the Evangelion's head jerking into place.

'Shinji, are you there? Can you see it?'

'Yes, Misato...I'm here. I can't see it yet.'

'Wait...' Lieutenant Aoba called out. 'High-energy reaction detected in the target!'

'What?' Misato yelled.

'Its circumferential parts are increasing speed and concentrating!'

'That means...' Ritsuko uttered, in disbelief.

'Shinji, dodge it!' Misato cried.

'Huh?'

'DUCK!' the Doctor shouted.

Without even thinking, Shinji leapt to the ground. The Angel fired a bright particle beam clean through a building and over his head.

'Pilot is stable!' Makoto announced.

'Good! Shinji, retreat!' Misato ordered.

'Yes, ma'am!'

The Evangelion quickly scampered back into the lift as the Angel corrected for its error and tried to melt the door off of the elevator.

The Angel hovered for a few moments, then suddenly released a huge, organic drill, which began boring into the ground.

'Angel has begun tunnelling into GeoFront.'

'Really?' The Doctor said. 'That means it's coming to us.'

'And why is this a good thing, Doctor?' Commander Ikari asked.

'Because, Commander,' the Doctor said, politely, 'The one thing you never do after attempting to kill an innocent is come straight to me.'

'You're insane.'

'Am I, now? Would someone insane care for a teenage boy who was almost burned alive? Would someone insane want to prevent something clearly intent on ending human lives from doing just that? Would they, Commander?'

The Commander did not reply.

'Captain Katsuragi, I may be a mere computer technician as of yet, but I assure you, I can and will help you, right here, from this desk. And all I need is for you to move those Evangelions out to an exact spot. Because I have a plan.'

Misato paused. 'Certainly, Doctor.'

'Right, first, Ritsuko, I want you and the others to find out when this thing is going to reach us.

'Right, Doctor.'

'Misato, get the pilots in the know for the next mission just as soon as I come up with it.'

'Yes, Doctor.'

'Shinji, can you hear me?'

'Yes, Doctor...'

'Right, meet Misato somewhere. Get this "Ayanami" you talk about.'

'Okay, Doctor.'

'And Pond...' the Doctor said, turning to Amy. 'Come with me.'

'Yes, Doctor.'

'Gentlemen...we're going to take this Angel down, not through brute force, not through sheer bravery...but a mix of that, and some brains.'

'Doctor!' Ikari shouted. 'How can you assume command like this? How dare you stroll in here thinking you can defeat the Angel!'

The Doctor formed a small smile. 'Trust me,' he said. 'I'm a doctor.'

All characters, settings, and boxes of a blue time-travelling nature are owned by Studio GAINAX and the British Broadcasting Corporation, and other affiliates. I own none of these things. Please don't sue me. I don't like being sued.

Author's note: I wrote that last section while listening to "I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who Series 5 soundtrack. For maximum enjoyment, I suggest you do the same.