Disclaimer: No ownership over any concepts or plots expressed in this work of fiction is stated or implied. The author intends no financial gain from the distribution of this material and makes no claim of copyright or trademark.
S
Misato stared down at the mountain of papers on her desk and took a long drink of foul tasting canned coffee, from a can that had been sitting out on the desk since she last saw it. She flopped down in her chair, leaned back, and groaned. Shinji would be of no help, since the school had just finished transferring into the unused warehouse they would be using until the regular building was repaired or replaced, which would probably be never, since there was no budget for anything. Somehow, bizarrely, the entire installation's budget had been cut, despite the need to re-arm the defensive positions, somehow repair the cavern wall where the angel had tunneled through it, and perform a dozen minor repairs and upgrades all around the base.
Somehow, as operations director, the problem of conjuring this funding from somewhere had fallen on her. Worst of all, she had two days to prepare for an activation test, and the Commander had insisted, in light of how the previous tests had gone, that it be conducted in the open air cage at the Matsushiro facility. Most of the equipment was already there, but she was constantly being pestered by everyone to the drivers of the trucks moving the umbilical apparatus to a store owner whose cat was run over by a trailer bearing a heavy Evangelion locking pin. The Eva was already standing in the cage, locked down and covered with a tarp.
When Ritsuko opened her door and barged right in, Misato both welcomed and resented the intrusion, until the scientist closed the door, bolted it, and then pulled Misato's beaten guest chair across the floor and pushed the back under the doorknob. She pulled a folder out from under her arm and passed it over the desk to Misato without speaking.
"What's this?"
"The Marduk Institute report identifying the Fourth Child," said Ritsuko.
"Fourth Child?" said Misato. "Why? Can't we just have Nagisa do it?"
Ritsuko shook her head. "No. I asked Ikari that same question and the answer was categorically negative. On top of that, he insisted I unfreeze Unit Two and move it back to the cage immediately. I have the techs down there doing it now."
Misato looked at the folder with apprehension. She knew that all of the kids in the pilot's class were candidates, whatever that meant. It always seemed a little suspicious to her that the Institute only seemed to identify a Child precisely when they needed one, and they never bothered to notify them about Kaworu at all- his paperwork showed up a week before he did, out of the blue, the same as any other inter-departmental mail.
She opened the folder, and her eyes went wide.
"This has got to be a mistake," said Misato.
Ritsuko shook her head. "I… " she leaned closer. Not here, she mouthed.
Misato bit her lip as she read the name at the top of the page again, as if it would change to grant her wishes, but it was there plainly, as unforgiving as if it were etched in stone. Designated Fourth Child.
Hikari Horaki.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Ritsuko nodded. "So do I. I had an idea."
"Yeah?"
"I think it might be a good idea for Asuka to skip school that morning."
Misato sighed, and nodded. "I'll have the others on standby, too. I'll leave a written order that Unit Two is not to be deployed without direct authorization from me."
"Good luck," said Ritsuko, rising. "He'll just ignore you. I have to go. I have to go down to the school and bring this girl into the office and tell her she's being drafted to pilot that thing."
The sense of normalcy was of great comfort as Hikari took attendance on her clipboard and bustled around the room. It wasn't a room, per se, but a partitioned section of warehouse floor marked off with carpeted room dividers, the kind commonly used in offices. There was a rolling blackboard, the kind that flipped around, up at the front, and only enough desks for the number of students they had, which was around ten. There were no windows to view trees outside, and there would be no gym classes. The schedule was shortened accordingly, as an emergency provision, although no one seemed to mind.
She couldn't help but smile. They were subtle about it, or thought they were subtle, but Shinji and Asuka were clinging to each other like wet grass. Nothing that violated the school's rules about public displays of affection of course, Hikari wouldn't have that, but they walked in step now, rather than Shinji following three steps behind, and their hands would brush against each other. They sat next to one another, and Shinji craned his neck to look at something on Asuka's screen.
In the end, though, Shinji and Asuka could have had a full makeout session on the floor for all that Hikari could pay attention. She was distracted by Toji, constantly nervously glancing at her and looking away whenever she returned his gaze. She'd already agreed to go out with him again, but it didn't seem to calm his nerves any. Kensuke looked more downcast than usual. He hadn't even bothered opening his computer and was just leaning on his hand, glancing every once in a while at Rei, who seemed bewildered without her favorite tree to stare at.
The display she earned when she called for the class to stand, bow, and sit was meager. Only two others had shown up, outside their little group, and she had to tick off the absences of the others. Word would probably come down today or tomorrow that they'd withdrawn, and their families were moving away. Tokyo-3 had never felt like a bustling place to her, but it was emptier now than ever, and she felt nervous walking to school, if only a little.
The first teacher started up with the same boring, rambling lecture about the Post-Impact Wars, somehow managing to pick up where he left off, which was simple since he never seemed to get anywhere near a point. Hikari flipped up her laptop lid and logged into the chat, only to be surprised by how slow it was. It made sense, given how few students were present that day. She leaned on her hand and looked up at the lights hanging high overhead on the open ceiling and tried not to fall asleep.
It took her a minute to realize that even the teacher had gone silent. She glanced down at the computer's clock. Two hours had passed, and she must have nodded off. She sat up, and saw a woman in a lab coat and a Nerv badge that she'd never seen before standing in the entrance to the classroom, a folder tucked under one arm. A quick glance over her shoulder, and she could see that Asuka recognized her.
"I'm here for Hikari Horaki," the woman said, quietly.
Trembling, Hikari stood up, and pressed down the lid of her laptop. She glanced back at Asuka, and saw the color had drained from the other girl's face. Shinji was glancing around nervously, and even Rei took notice, sitting up from where she was fiddling with her computer. Hikari gave them a week wave and followed the woman out into the "hall", which was basically a space between the partitioned rooms. The high ceilings and tight quarters between the wall partitions made the space feel huge and confined at the same time.
"Do you know who I am?"
Hikari shook her head.
"My name is Ritsuko. It's okay, you're not in trouble."
Hikari relaxed a little, but there was something in the way she said it that suggested it wasn't quite true, a faint tick of her eyebrow. They walked together until they turned into the small area the school had turned into an impromptu office. Hikari felt a twinge in her neck when she saw that it was empty; everyone had cleared out. Ritsuko put her folder down on the a table and motioned for Hikari to sit down beside her.
"Do you know what the Marduk Institute is?"
"No, ma'am," said Hikari. She glanced at the badge she wore. "Uh, Doctor."
Ritsuko slid the folder across the table to her. "The Institute is a group of scientists who examine potential candidates for the Evangelion program. You have been chosen as the best potential pilot for Evangelion Unit Three."
Hikari tried to say something, but nothing came out. She was at once seized by excitement and fear, her stomach doing flips as it tried to climb up into her throat and freeze into a ball all at once. Ritsuko frowned, and touched her hand.
"You don't have to do this."
"I don't?"
Ritsuko shook her head. "We can find someone else. You don't have to."
"Do you know who would take my place?"
"No," said Ritsuko. "They don't tell me until a pilot is chosen. I don't know what to tell you."
Hikari opened the folder, running her fingers along the pages of the heavy papers inside. It was a contract. The signature lines were on the front page. Her father had already signed at the bottom, and dated, the ink smeared slightly where his hand had passed across it. She stared at the blank signature line and just felt cold.
"So if I don't do it," she said, "You'll get someone else."
Ritsuko nodded.
"Someone like me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Another kid?"
Ritsuko sighed. "Yes. Only children can pilot the Evas. I'm sorry."
Hikari picked the pen up off the table and held it in her hand. The smooth black plastic didn't have an answer. She put her hand on the paper and let the tip of the pen just hover there for a moment, while she thought about it.
"What are all these papers?"
"Terms of the contract. You'll be given a…" Ritsuko's voice caught a little, "a full scholarship, transfer to any school, and a salary."
Hikari touched the pen to the paper. "I don't know what to do."
"It's dangerous," said Ritsuko. "I'm not going to lie to you about the risks. If you sign those papers you'll be required to pilot the Evangelion in an activation test in two days. So far, we've had two major emergencies during these types of tests."
Hikari hesitated. It was as if the woman was trying to convince her not to sign. "But if I don't do it, someone else will have to."
"Yes," said Ritsuko. "Unfortunately."
Hikari sighed, and then she signed the paper. Her signature was off kilter and shaky, and she didn't so much put the pen down as drop it. She folded her hands on the table and twined her fingers together to stop them from shaking.
"I'll do it," she said, quietly."
Ritsuko stared at the signature. "Are you sure? You can still change your mind."
Hikari looked at her feet. "I'm not going to change my mind."
Ritsuko folded the papers back up and took them. "I'm the head of Project E, Hikari. I'm going to oversee the activation personally. I'll take care of you, I promise."
"Can I go back to class, now?"
"I… I'm afraid not. I have to take you with me. We have a lot of work to do."
Asuka ran so fast, Shinji nearly forgot to pretend he was having trouble keeping up. She jumped the turnstile that led into the Geofront entrance, and the guard at the gate gave him that look as he did the same, but waved them on with a sort of bemused indifference; it wasn't the first time either of them had ignored the nonsensical security measures. In those of moments of supreme clarity that came only during times of stress, he wondered what the hell the turnstiles were actually for.
"Slow down," he called, already knowing it was pointless.
She didn't stop until she was in the tram car, panting. Shinji didn't bother faking fatigue anymore, but sat down beside her as she flopped in the seat. She finally managed to get enough breath to speak.
"I will not calm down," she said sharply, crossing her arms. "Akagi just kidnapped my best friend."
The ride down into the Geofront was long, and tense. Asuka held her head up, but he could tell she was upset in a hundred subtle ways, from the way she wrung her hands to the way the toes on her left foot curled and uncurled. When the tram car stopped, she jumped up and stalked out onto the platform, and he rushed to follow. The second security check waved them on, and they were in the cold corridors of Nerv headquarters.
Shinji followed her to Ritsuko's lab, only to find it unoccupied. A technician in the hallway said that Ritsuko was down in the cages, so Asuka headed there. Shinji touched her arm, she nodded, and he headed for Misato's office. He stopped at the door and knocked, and headed inside. She was poring over some paperwork, checking off boxes with a pen, and looked immensely tired. When she looked up and saw him, she dropped her pen.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing she said. "It's not my decision."
Shinji pinched his nose and adjusted his glasses. "Whose is it?"
Misato shook her head slightly, and a chill ran down his spine. He looked around the room, not at the walls but through them, and saw his suspicions were well founded. There wasn't a listening device, there were three listening devices, but no cameras, thankfully. He touched his finger to his lips, and then to his ear, and pointed them out. Misato blinked in surprise.
I thought there was one, she mouthed.
Shinji shrugged.
She nodded. "Ultimately, it's her decision. I don't know how pilot candidates are chosen; it's above my pay grade."
She took a random sheet of paper and scrawled a note on it. I want you to be there.
He nodded vigorously.
Hikari was still fumbling with the thing they called a plugsuit. The one they'd given her was black, and it seemed surprisingly bulky. She shrugged it into it, pulled it up around her neck, and it just hug there limp, like a empty bag, the sleeves dangling loosely over her arms. She had to struggle to keep it upright. She felt exposed, which made sense given that she was naked underneath of it.
She almost jumped out of the suit when Asuka stormed into the locker room.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Putting on this plugsuit," said Hikari, "The one they gave me is too big, I think I need a new one."
Asuka sighed deeply and rubbed at her temples. "Change out of that. We're leaving."
"What?"
"You're not going to be a pilot. I forbid it."
"Huh?" said Hikari. "You can't do that."
"Yes, I can," said Asuka. "I don't want you to pilot, it's too dangerous."
"I made my decision," said Hikari.
Asuka didn't seem impressed. "This is ridiculous, we already have a spare pilot."
"No, we don't," said Ritsuko.
The older woman looked tired, Hikari saw, even more so than she did that morning. Asuka rounded on her, planting her fists on her hips.
"What do you mean? Get Nagisa off his worthless ass and put him in that thing."
"That's not an option," said Ritsuko, her voice tight. "The Commander has expressly forbidden it. He's grounded."
Asuka huffed, but shrank back.
"Hikari," said Ritsuko, "I don't want to rush you, but we need to get you into the test plug. I want you to be clear on the process before we perform any actual tests."
Hikari nodded, watched Ritsuko leave, and sighed.
"How, uh, how does this work?"
Asuka looked vacant as she gathered the sleeves of the suit up around Hikari's wrists, then held up her left arm. "There's a switch here, on the wrist. Press it to compress the suit."
Hikari touched the button. There was a hiss and a rush of air blowing up out of the neck of the suit over her face, rushing up her nose. It made her want to sneeze. The material shifted and moved on its own, slapping tightly against her body. She felt it cinch up between her legs and around her back and over her chest and yelped. She stared down at herself in disbelief.
"I can't wear this!"
"Wait here," said Asuka.
A moment later, she returned with a robe.
"Oh," said Hikari, "They didn't say there were robes."
"They don't give you one," Asuka said absently, "This one is mine."
"Oh," said Hikari, shrugging into the robe. She pulled the fuzzy collar tightly around her neck. "Thank you."
"No problem," Asuka said absently.
"Are you made at me?"
Asuka blinked. "No," she said. "Come on, I'll walk you over to the test plug."
"I don't like this suit," Hikari mused, shuffling along in her borrowed robe. "Are they always like this?"
"Yeah," said Asuka. "It's like a wetsuit, there's some survival and monitoring junk in the chest, a lot of boring science stuff. Be thankful, the original plan was for us to go naked."
Hikari's eyes widened.
"I'm kidding," said Asuka. "I'm used to it. I've been wearing one of those since I was nine."
"Wow," said Hikari. "I never really thought about it before. This place is kind of scary."
Hikari continued on, and Asuka grabbed her shoulder. They stood at the end of a much larger space. Asuka moved next to her, and put her hands on both shoulders.
"Hold on," she said. "You need to prepare yourself. It gets to some people, seeing them up close."
Hikari blinked, and they walked on. When she stepped out into the vast open air of the cage, she gasped. There was a cloud along the ceiling, a thin wisp of mist that hung around the lights, fuzzing them. The space was dominated by huge alcoves- only two of them were occupied. She could see the purple and green armor of Unit One poking out of one of them, but when she walked further along the walkway, dangling high above a seemingly infinite sea of red liquid that smelled like blood, she recoiled from it.
She'd seen them at a distance before, in pictures, but up close, it was so wrong, like the angles of the armor didn't quite match up, and she felt like it was watching her. Its eyes were hidden behind two huge lenses, and seeing herself reflected in them, it felt like it was focusing on her no matter where she stood. Asuka took her by the hand and pulled her along, and Hikari relaxed a little.
Until it moved.
A groaning sound filled the huge space, spilling across the walls and returning as an echo. The Eva's head swung ever so slightly, and Hikari strangled a cry in her throat, clasping her hand over her mouth. Asuka hugged her tightly.
"It's okay," she said, surprisingly gently, at least for her. "A temperature differential in the neck makes it do that sometimes. It's just a machine, I promise."
Hikari nodded and walked on, stumbling a little. Her legs felt heavy. She wanted to ask Asuka the question, but she didn't dare, for fear of the answer.
If it was just a machine, why was it breathing?
Misato was running on coffee and about three hours of sleep in two days. She probably shouldn't have been driving, but then, there were people who would have said that of her regardless. She wished that Shinji was old enough and then snickered at the absurdity of it. Why would he bother driving? He'd probably never go through the trouble of getting a license. He was sitting in the passenger's seat, for once. Asuka was back at Nerv, along with Rei, and Misato shuddered to think of him, Kaworu. She hunched forward over the wheel like an old woman and stared at the road.
Shinji looked up the slope at the testing facility. It was a huge operation, essentially an Evangelion cage built into a hillside, along with the entire massive infrastructure that required. There was a whole series of power transformers for the umbilical system and a thousand other wires, connecting the systems at the remote site back to the monitoring systems at headquarters, all dangling from towers that swayed in the wind. The road leading into the facility sloped steeply upwards, and Misato took off her ID badge and set it on the dashboard, and then turned up the air conditioning.
"Are you cold?" she asked.
Shinji looked at her blankly. "Oh, right. Must be nice."
He shrugged.
"You're worried," she said, mostly because talking helped keep her from nodding off and driving down the hillside. "I can tell you're worried."
He must have been, since he didn't reply to her.
"Listen to me," she said, dumbly. "I sound like an old lady. You'd think I was your mother."
He did look at her then. "I wish you were," he said, quietly.
Misato blinked. "Uh," she said, "I-"
"The road!" he shouted, yanking the wheel.
The car swerved and the tires squealed. As she worked the wheel back and forth to even the car out. There were some stares as she pulled up to the security checks, a pair of booths with armed guards standing. Instead of the standard scissor bar, there was a heavy set of iron columns that sank into the ground when they buzzed her in. She waved when she drove through, then risked leaning back in her seat. Somehow, there was traffic, winding the rest of the way up the mountain.
She pulled the car in behind the others, and yawned deeply.
"Do you think anyone would notice if I, uh," Shinji gestured upwards with his hands.
Misato sighed. "Bad idea."
He shrugged.
She reached over and tugged at his collar. After his old suit was destroyed, he made a new one. Ritsuko gave him the plugsuit material and he dyed it himself, turning it a rich blue, and sewed the emblem on and added a thin pair of red boots made of the same stuff and what Misato insisted on calling Red Underpants. One change he made this time was cutting the sleeves short enough that he could wear it under his regular school uniform, with only a tiny bit of blue poking out around his neck if he didn't button his top button.
"No one is going to be looking at me," he said absently.
"You're worried," Misato insisted again.
"Remember what happened to Rei, and then the incident with Unit Two," said Shinji, avoiding Kaworu's name.
"Well, we fixed that," said Misato, "Unit Two is up and running, apparently."
It sounded half-hearted, she knew it. Shinji looked at her, and she saw a cloud in his eyes.
They advanced a few yards. Misato was tempted to put the car in park. "Watcha thinkin'?"
"I was just thinking about something," said Shinji. "Something about the Evas. It doesn't matter."
Misato eyed him for a while, and then focused on her driving, such as it was.
Fuyutsuki took a drink, the last swig of whisky in his bottle, as a point of fact, to calm his jangled nerves. Something about the activation test set him on edge. He had a sneaking suspicion about why Unit Two would have rejected Kaworu so violently, and if his suspicions were correct, the girl would have no problem piloting Unit Three. Still, a bit of worry was a healthy thing to have at Nerv, as was the gun he had tucked in his pocket, concealed by his jacket. He kept his hand on that gun as he walked out of his office.
He didn't have anywhere to go, exactly; the one perk his position had was the lack of any actual duties to perform, save when some actual work, usually something profoundly boring and innocuous, found its way to Gendo and had to be delegated. At times like this, when there was something on the horizon that bothered him, he would rise and let his feet carry him where they willed. It was a technique he often used when he was still a professor. A difficult page from a paper he was working on or a disagreement with a colleague or the frustration of a belligerent student would evaporate after a few hours of aimless walking as his mind drifted and he could see new possibilities.
One day all the new possibilities went away, but the habit remained. He ended up standing in the elevator with a very nervous Maya Ibuki.
"Lieutenant," said Fuyutsuki.
"Sir," said Ibuki, looking absently at her feet.
"You seem distracted. Is there a probem?"
"No, sir. Well, there is, but-"
"Well?" said Fuyutsuki.
"I'm nervous, sir."
Fuyutsuki nodded, and bobbed on his feet. "Why would you be nervous?"
"Doctor Akagi isn't here," said Maya. "If something goes wrong, I'm on my own."
"I'm sure you'll do fine. She is very confident in your abilities. Your performance reviews are all glowing."
"Thank you sir," said Maya, before she scurried through an open elevator door.
Fuyutsuki considered following her, thought about touring the bridge, and decided against it. He would be seeing it later, as the authority in the room while the installation went on standby during the test. It would involve a great deal of standing silently until nothing happened, before he went home for the evening. He let the elevator continue on, until the doors opened.
Into the elevator stepped Kaworu Nagisa.
Fuyutsuki stiffened. He'd only heard rumors and innuendos, never seen the boy in person. His crimson eyes flashed, and he stood in an easy manner, leaning on the wall, staring at nothing. Every few seconds, his eyes flicked to Fuyutsuki and back to the wall. He pushed the button for the cage levels.
"I'm told you've been returned to active status," said Fuyutsuki.
"That is correct."
"I see," said Fuyutsuki. "Well, hopefully we won't need your services today, eh?"
"Hopefully," said the boy, smiling secretly to himself. "Excuse me."
The doors opened. Fuyutsuki let him leave and then stood there for a moment, before he walked out onto the cage level himself. He veered away from where Unit Two now stood and headed for Unit One's cage. Some small part of him hoped that the alleged temperature differential would produce a movement from the huge machine as he entered the vast space, but it was as still as a stone and silent as the grave. It stared down at him with dull black lenses that took everything in, and he stared back, fancying that if he stared hard enough, he could see Yui's face somewhere within. He leaned on the railing and watched the Evangelion for a while.
He felt a presence to his left.
The girl leaned on the railing beside him, and didn't speak. She was dressed in her plugsuit under a white terrycloth robe, and looked both eager and apprehensive. He could hear the creak of her gloves as she gripped the railing tightly, as if she feared falling, or else it was the neck of someone for whom she held a special distaste. Fuyutsuki straightened.
"Everything will be fine," said Fuyutsuki.
"Every time we have an activation test, an angel shows up," she girl observed, leaning on her hand.
"True," said Fuyutsuki. "You're worried for your friend."
She didn't answer him.
After a while she said, "Thank you."
"For what?"
She stood up, but didn't look in his direction. "What you said. You were right. I was being stupid."
"You weren't being stupid," said Fuyutsuki. "You were being anything but stupid. I just hope everything works out for the two of you."
She nodded.
He looked at her. Her profile was familiar, and she hadn't put the clips in her hair yet, and so it hung down around her face in loose waves, the same way that Kyoko wore it. He leaned on the railing until she turned slightly as she noticed his attention.
"What?"
"Has anyone ever told you how much you look like your mother?"
She froze, then slowly turned away from him. "Maybe," she said. "Did you know her?"
"Well," said Fuyutsuki. "She worked her for several years before she relocated your family to the Berlin facility. She designed many of the systems the Evangelions used. I still remember the first time I met her. She was in coveralls, her hair tied up in a bun, and covered in so much grease she had to use a mop to get it all off. She crawled out of Unit One's knee joint and offered to shake my hand. I declined."
Asuka smirked. "Tell me more."
"She was good friends and bitter rivals with Shinji's mother. They always worked to outdo each other, to be the first to solve this or that problem. They'd get into screaming arguments and then go out drinking with each other while Gendo and your father sulked at home."
He saw her smirking, and went on. "You know, they drafted me to watch you now and then."
"Huh?"
He nodded. "They were both such busy women, and loved their children deeply, but there was so much to be done." He took a deep breath. "Someone had the idea that because I was a college professor once, I was basically the same as a teacher and would be good with children."
"I can't really see that."
"I had the same objection, but there I was, watching you and Shinji roll around in a 'play pen.'" He said the words as if they belonged to a foreign tongue.
"I don't remember that."
"You were too young. You don't remember living in Japan when you were younger, do you?"
"I left before I learned how to read," Asuka shrugged. "I grew up speaking German."
"So, you wouldn't remember the spider."
She leaned on the railing. "What spider?"
"A fairly large hairy eight-legged gentleman once crawled into said playpen while I was asleep. Shinji was terrified of it."
"Did you kill it?"
"No, you did. You picked up a toy truck and beat it to death. The poor thing was dead for five minutes while you were pounding on it."
She laughed, and there was something refreshing in it. "He's not afraid of spiders anymore."
"No," said Fuyutsuki, "I suppose he wouldn't be."
The both laughed at that.
"I should go," he said. "You'll be wanting to prepare for synchronization, soon. The test will begin shortly. I'm sure everything will be fine."
"I hope so," she said, absently.
Hikari was alone in the small changing room that, paradoxically, doubled as an elevator, carrying her up to Unit Three. She thought it was odd that Ritsuko actually asked her what color she wanted her plugsuit, and that she got what she requested. Now that she looked at it, holding it up in front of her, she regretted just saying "Yellow". Her hands were shaking when she threw it over the bench and started to undress, slipping out of her school uniform. It was cold in the elevator, and she shivered as she pulled the suit on, bring it up around her shoulders. She wondered how Asuka managed with her long hair. This time, she managed to find the button but still yelped when the suit compressed around herself. Lying on the bench were a pair of nerve clips, heavy round ones with tiny triangles of metal protruding from the top, like antennae. When she pulled her hair back and slipped them in, she looked at herself in the mirror and, absurdly, her first thought was that it made her look like a catgirl.
The phone rang. She picked it up and put it to her, minding the cord. A corded phone was a weird thing to begin with.
"Um, hello? Do I have to say 'over'?"
"No, Hikari," said Misato. "I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"Fine, I guess," Hikari said, glumly. "I can still go to school, right? I mean when I'm not piloting?"
"Of course," said Misato. "Asuka does, and so does Rei."
"I won't have time to be Class Representative anymore, though."
"I know," said Misato, "I'm sorry about that. We can put you on standby, status, maybe."
"That's okay," said Hikari. "I wouldn't want o inconvenience anyone."
"You won't. You remember what to do."
Hikari nodded, remembered she was on the phone and said, "Yes, I remember."
She hung up, and the elevator slowed, then came to a stop. When it opened, a blast of wind hit her, and she instinctively grabbed the guard rails. The gantry that led to the entry plug hung over the vast space of the open air cage, and though it was mostly shielded, a strong breeze swept across it. She closed her eyes, held the railings, and walked slowly, one foot in front of another, until she reached the stairs. She climbed them carefully, gripping the railings for dear life, until she could grab the edge of the plug hatch and drop in. Her feet slipped a little on the curved inside of the plug, but she kept her balance.
"I can't believe I'm really doing this," she said, to no one in particular.
Once she was in the seat, she pulled the control yoke down until it clicked, locking her legs into the stirrups. She took a deep breath, waited, and tried to relax as the plug rang with the hollow sound of LCL flowing in around her. It was cold and the cold bit her through the suit immediately, and it got worse when it touched her face. They were quick about the process, though, and it quickly warmed enough to be comfortable. She opened her eyes, wincing at the expecting sting from water, but felt nothing. Finally, as her lungs started to burn, she had to breath out. She blew a great cloud of bubbles, then leaned back, fought her gag reflex, and breathed in.
She managed to only cough a little as the fluid flooded her lungs. It felt heavy and sticky, like she had a cold, and she didn't like it very much. She jumped when Misato started talking and the sound came from inside her head, the woman's image superimposed on the world in front of her- again, it was a purely mental projection.
"We're starting synchronization. It'll be just like we practiced, okay? Stay calm."
Hikari nodded. It still felt too weird to talk. She leaned back and tried not to move as she felt the curiously itchy sensation of something sliding up her back and tingling at the base of her neck and on the top of her head, where the clips were. It was like someone was pulling on them. The next phase started, the flash of colors on the inside of the plug, strands of hue floating on the LCL itself as her visual processes adjusted to a second set of inputs. The last stage was the strangest, the sudden doubling, as she felt aliens sensations in her arms and legs. She could feel herself restrained by bolts running into her arms and legs, but she could still move.
Ritsuko spoke with the most profound sense of relief.
"Hikari, you have achieved successful synchronization. All of our boards are green, and you have completed the third stage connection with a synchronization ratio of twenty-three percent. You're not combat ready yet, but that's fairly impressive for a first time."
Hikari smiled with relief. "Wow," she finally managed, confused by the thickness of her own voice. "Thank you."
"Wait," Ritsuko shouted, cutting her off. "There's something wrong! Shut it down! Shut it down!"
A lance of ice shot through the base of her skull, and Hikari screamed.
It all happened at once. Hikari's scream, high and gurgling from the LCL, rang through the small control room of the Matsushiro facility. Unit Three rose up on its heels, tore free of the cage locks, pulling the mounts along with them, and threw back its head. It struggled against the empty air, then reached up and began tearing at its own helmet. It ripped a section of armor plating loose, threw its head back once more, and through a bleeding mouth filled with jagged red teeth, it roared.
"What the hell is going on?" Misato shouted, turning to Ritsuko.
"It's not the Eva!" Ritsuko screamed, "There's a blue pattern! There's an angel in-"
Unit Three lashed out, grabbing a section of the superstructure of the cage, and threw it. Shinji watched it tumble through the air in slow motion. He moved forward, his limbs moving with lightning speed through the air as everything else moved with languid slowness, as he unleashed the full power of his nervous system. He had but to pay attention to the world, and it slowed down. He took Misato first, scooped her up by her waist, spun around, and yanked Ritsuko's chair away from the console. She fell from it, reaching for empty air, her cry of alarm drawn out into a slow bellow. He put his arm under her shoulders, pushed both women together as hard as he dared, and flexed his back to shield them as much as he could. The debris hit the entire sloping wall of the crater where the facility had been built and scraped the control room from the earth like a weed. He felt it crashing against his back and pushed against it, lifting off from the ground.
He lighted on the rim. The rest of the control structure was hanging by thin threads of steel, like a spider-web of sliver hanging on the inside of the hollow mountain. He lowered the two women to the ground and let himself focus on them. The world resumed normal speed.
"Are you hurt?"
"I don't think so," said Misato, "Oh God, Hikari-"
"I'll get her," said Shinji, "Call it in, get some medics out here. I have to go, those people down there are dead if I don't get them off those platforms."
"Go," Ritsuko shouted, "I have my phone, go!"
The debris had started the process, shredding open the back of his shirt. His cape fell free and flapped in the wind. He grabbed the rest and just tore it off, shirt and pants and shoes and all, and when he reached up to take off his glasses, they came away too easy. One of the earpieces had sheared off, and the lenses were cracked. He dropped them to the ground beside Misato and dove into the crater.
He didn't have much time, and he knew it. He went under the first platform, thought about lifting it to the rim of the crater, but if he did, the rest would fall away into the open space. Instead, he pushed it back into place, the metal squealing, and focused his gaze on the places where the metal had torn into shining ribbons. It sizzled with a heat patina, then turned red hot and pressed back together.
He rose into the view of the technicians on the platform. "I don't know how long that's going to hold," he shouted, "Get out while you can!"
They nodded, tossed down their hard hats, and ran for the escape ladders. He did the same thing, platform, as rapidly as he dared. He had to be quick, but he couldn't abandon these people to die. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Unit Three crest the rim of the crater, scrabbling over it like an animal. The Evangelion reached the limit of the shortened testing umbilical, ripped it from its back, and sniffed it like a beast before tossing it back down. Then, it sank down into a crouch and leapt out, landing in the fields on the other side with a great spray of debris and mud.
There were five more platforms. He held the last one, the lowest one, while the technicians evacuated it. When the last of them were safe he let go, and the entire structure groaned, shrieked, and twisted down into the bottom of the crater, folding in on itself. He bobbed in the air, took a deep breath, and headed for Unit Three.
The Evas had been deployed.
All three of them.
Fuyutsuki was sweating. He stood behind Gendo, and watched his superior tense as the three Evas reached the surface and began moving forward in a loose formation, Unit One taking point, arms held out like a wrestler. He could see the faces of the three pilots on the screen. Kaworu looked almost happy, his lips curling into a near-smile, excitement in his eyes. Rei was less serene than usual, her eyes darting back and forth. Asuka was fury incarnate, her face frozen in a grimace of pure rage.
"Okay," she said, "This is a search and rescue operation. Nagisa, you're on backup. Keep your ass out of this until I order you in. Rei, you're with me. I'm going to restrain it; I want you to retrieve the entry plug."
"Understood," said Rei.
"I don't take orders from you," said Kaworu.
"You do if you want to keep your gonads," Asuka shouted, rounding on the space in her vision where she must have seen his image. "Now shut the hell up until I give you permission to talk, freak."
Kaworu seemed, if anything, amused.
Fuyutsuki let himself hope a little. Asuka and Rei were a team, they knew each other's fighting styles and movements. Even in her absence, Katsuragi's influence could be felt. They might make it out of this alive, and pull the new pilot free. If they could get her plug to safety, she would survive.
If they couldn't, Gendo would have him write the letter.
As if he knew Fuyutsuki thought about him, Gendo lowered his hands from his mouth, and sat up.
"Pilot Soryu, you are not in command here. I am. Your mission is to destroy the designated target."
"The designated target still has a pilot in it," Asuka said angrily, "We have to get her out."
Gendo's face was a mask. "She is expendable. Unit Three is lost to us. You will terminate it."
"No," Asuka said sharply.
Fuyutsuki felt his fists clench involuntarily as the ebon form of Unit Three appeared at the edge of the camera system's sight. It scrabbled like an animal, almost spider-like, limbs bending at impossible angles. It hissed and snaked around the three evas.
"I'm going in," said Asuka.
"Pilot Soryu," said Gendo. "You will-"
Asuka ignored him and charged, his voice drowned out by her screaming.
Shigeru Aoba straightened in his seat. "Sir, I have a small object on radar, I think it's Superman-"
"Irrelevant," said Gendo. "Be silent."
Fuyutsuki moved closer to him. "Ikari, there is still a chance we could-"
Gendo silence him with a look.
Unit One advanced on the rogue Eva, crouched, and charged. Unit Three danced back, avoiding her grasp, but was not so clever as it thought, as Unit Zero shoulder-checked it, knocking it off balance. Unit One struck Unit Three in its midsection as it stood up, then grabbed its forearms, dragging it in a lazy circle as it twisted. The rogue unit's mouth worked and spewed horrid sounds, ancient cries of hate from another world. It lanced forward, snapping at Unit One like an animal.
Rei moved around beside it, then behind it, and roughly grabbed the Evangelion by the neck. She struggled with the armor plating. It came away in strips, held to the Eva's body by a sort of glue, long thin strands of a luminous blue material. She was grunting with effort.
"I cannot reach the plug," she said, scraping at the mass of the substance.
Unit Three snarled, its head spun around one hundred and eighty degrees, and it bit Unit Zero in the face, gory red jaws cracking down on the white face plate. Rei screamed, dropped the control yoke, and scrabbled at her face, writhing in her seat. Asuka looked over to her side, tensed, and bit her lip as she wrestled free, grabbed Unit Zero, and shoved her back, out of the creature's grasp.
"Rei's lost her optics," Maya Ibuki said, almost absently. "She can't see."
"Rei," Asuka said sharply, grunting as she twisted against Unit Three, "Get out of here, fall back. Do you hear me? Fall back."
"I cannot," said Rei, "I will compensate."
"No, it's too dangerous, you-"
Unit Three's arm shot out and took Unit Zero by the wrist as it shouldered Unit One away. It pulled Rei around, slammed her to the ground, and bit into her wrist. Rei yelped in pain, grabbing at her arm, and twisted sharply in her seat, wriggling out of the control yoke. Thick blue foam was dribbling down Unit Zero's forearm plating, mingled with the Eva's rich red blood.
Gendo tensed.
Rei rolled, pulled her arm free with a shout, and stumbled backwards, clutching her own arm against her chest as she held the Eva's at length, stumbling away from the battle.
"Rei, get out of here," Asuka shouted, slamming into Unit Three.
"Blow the connections on Unit Zero's left arm, " said Gendo.
"But sir," said Maya, "Rei is still synched, she'll feel it if I-"
"Do it," Gendo snarled, rising to his feet.
Maya shook as she typed in the commands. The explosive bolts blew at once, and Unit Zero's one arm dangled for a moment from bits of stretched out flesh, bone, and cables until it fell free, hitting the earth with a dull thud. Screaming, Rei fell backwards, the Eva carving a rent in the hillside beneath it.
"Pilot Soryu," Gendo said, insistently, "You must destroy it. Now."
Asuka dodged the Eva's snapping jaws, scraping her fingers uselessly against its back. Unit Three's fingers erupted in long claws, gleaming silvery in the sun, and lashed out. Three razor sharp blades pierced through Unit One's thigh and out the other side, coated in red. Asuka gurgled in pain, her lip bleeding from the force with which she bit down on it. She set her jaw and redouble her efforts, pulling the offending claws free, struggling with the enemy's hands.
In reply, Unit Three's shoulder pylons burst apart, and two long limbs of slippery gray flesh grew forth from the joints, and the hands locked around Unit One's throat. Asuka was shoved back in her seat, and deep impressions formed around her neck from the synchronization. Through all of this, Kaworu stood, and did nothing.
"Pilot Soryu," said Gendo. "It will kill you unless you destroy it. Kill it. Now."
"Commander Ikari," Asuka croaked, "Go fuck yourself."
"Enough," said Gendo, face reddening with fury. "Nagisa, end it."
Kaworu sprang into action, charging across the open ground. He shoved Unit One out of the way and brought Unit Two's knee up in a fierce kick that caught the rogue Eva in the face, sending it toppling backwards. He drew both of the progressive knives from the pylons at his shoulders and ducked under the multi-limbed swing of his enemy, cutting deep rents in Unit Three's midsection, spilling fountains of red gore.
"Ikari," Fuyutsuki breathed, "For the love of God-"
Asuka's scream was incoherent, wordless, a gale of fury as she charged. She got Unit One on its feet and thundered towards the battle even as Nagisa pressed Unit Three further and further back, dodging its strokes and landing blows of its own, savagely wounding it. The rogue Eva fell to one knee, wailing in pain.
"Ibuki," Gendo said calmly. "Desynchronize the Second Child."
Maya spun in her seat. "Sir, what? She'll be helpless, she-"
"She's useless. Do it. Now."
Maya trembled. Fuyutsuki could see the indecision on her face. Her mouth worked silently. He, Kozo Fuyutsuki, was letting this happen.
"Belay that," he said.
Gendo rounded on him. "Shut up."
Breaking into a sprint, Gendo slid down the ladder to the lower level before Fuyutsuki could stop him, ran to Ibuki's console, and roughly shoved her out of her seat. She landed with a cry, and the two technicians next to her stood up, only to freeze when Ikari's gaze fell on them. He typed the commands in himself.
Unit One slumped forward, nearly falling from its own momentum.
Asuka started screaming. "What are you doing? Turn it back on! Turn it back on!"
He had to get her out.
Shinji slammed into Unit Three's back, and the impact broke the hard shell of blue whatever the hell it was that had formed over the entry plug, mostly exposed from Rei's efforts. He dodged a hammer blow from Unit Two and realized, to his horror, that Kaworu was stabbing the progressive knives in his hands into Unit Three's back. He was trying to hit the plug.
He clawed against the blue sludge with his hands and when that didn't work, he blasted it with the heat of his vision, unleashing the full fury of it. It steamed and blackened, and he was able to get enough of a grasp on it to tear it away in a great sheet, twisting his whole body. He turned just in time to see Unit Two bringing a knife down at him.
He turned, put his feet against the Eva's back, and caught the blade. It slid between his hands, the point inches from his face, the heat waves washing from the progressive vibrations over his forehead, and sweat beaded there. He turned and with an almost animal shriek, the blade skimmed over the Evangelion's back.
He turned and he rammed his fists into Unit Three's back. He could see the plug, he could almost touch it, he was almost there. He yanked on the emergency release, but it was useless, seized up. He had no choice. He risked his heat vision again, melting the armor plates that jutted out of Unit Three's back to slag. He almost fell when Kaworu pinned it to the ground. The entry plug rang like a bell, and he heard the twisting and grinding of bending metal. The surface curved inwards as the whole structure started to twist.
Tears streaming from his eyes, he ripped it open with his bare hands, and wriggled inside. Hikari lay twisted and unmoving in the control seat, and it was the only thing keeping the metal from crushing her. The blue sludge, like a lichen, was crawling towards her, but hadn't touched her yet. Her arms hung free at her sides, but her legs...
"Oh," he moaned, "Oh God."
Hikari's left leg was pinned between the ruins of the control yoke, grinding as the plug grew smaller and smaller, crushing around them. He did the only thing he could. He tore the whole seat free and pinned himself between it and the crushing sides of the plug, shielding herself with his body. He couldn't see any injuries to her neck or head but he was sure her arm was broken, too. Her breathing was shallow, so he ripped the collar of her plugsuit open to free her up a little, and she coughed too-dark LCL over her chin. He did his best to cradle her arm as he curled her against himself in a tight ball.
Unit Two's fist rose over his head. Hikari's leg wasn't going to be coming loose. The shadow of an angry fist darkened his tiny screaming world.
He pushed up. He put his back against the plug and he held her and he pushed, and a great segment of it tore free, falling into space as he lifted up with her. He held her to his chest and felt her heartbeat. He rose up and up as Unit Two's firsts came down, pounding on the stricken Eva, almost a beast itself. Kaworu tore into it savagely, and great gouts of gore and flesh fountained into the air and slammed back to earth, bouncing languidly as they landed, rubbery.
He had to get Hikari out, he had to get her safe.
Then, Unit Two's arm shot out, and its fist closed around them.
Shinji bellowed in fury. He held Hikari against him, her shattered leg dangling against his own as Unit Two's crimson fingers closed around him like a vice. He shook as he struggled to keep the fingers apart without hurting Hikari or dropping her. He didn't have a choice.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. The world turned red hot.
Unit Two's hand fell away, tumbling into space, the smoking stump cauterized, charred black. Unit Two retreated from him, and when he saw the medics far below, he headed towards them.
Misato ran, Ritsuko struggling not to keep up, but to pass her, arms pumping furiously at her sides. Some small part of her mind noted that it had been a long, long time since she'd seen Ritsuko cry. They reached the ambulance together, skidding on their shoes to stop. Ritsuko had to grab Misato to keep her from bowling over. They were loading Hikari into the back of the ambulance, her tiny broken form covered in a white sheet. Her face ashen, an oxygen tube under her nose.
Shinji was on his knees, his head on the pavement, his hands clutching his head, screaming incoherently into the ground. As the ambulance pulled away he reared up and slammed his fist into the asphalt so hard it cracked in a series of concentric circles, almost spilling Misato from her feet. She sobbed and ran to him as he stood up, brushing his cape aside to throw her arms around him.
"It's not fair!" he screamed at the sky, "It's not fair!"
"Wait!" Ritsuko shouted at the ambulance, waving her arms. "I'm a doctor, open the doors! Open the doors!"
The ambulance slowed, but didn't stop, as the medics threw the doors open and Ritsuko yanked herself inside, dropping a shoe in the process. She slid in beside Hikari and started taking her vitals as the door closed.
Shinji fell into Misato's arms, weeping bitterly. "It's not fair," he said over and over, "I'm Superman and I couldn't save her."
Misato hugged him so hard it hurt, and she wondered if he could even feel it. All she could do was repeat "She'll be okay," again and again against his furious sobs, but it rang hollow. Misato didn't need to know medicine to know that leg was gone. Hikari would never walk on her own legs again.
It felt like forever until he caught his breath and pulled away from her, scrubbing at his face with his hands, but he couldn't hide his reddened eyes, or the raw skin around his nose. Every other breath was a deep sniff. Misato let him stand, and then pulled back.
"I have to go," said Shinji. "Get to Asuka. Call Kaji."
"What are you doing to do?"
"What I should have done already."
Misato turned and ran, flagging down a humvee.
Fuyutsuki could feel it, could feel the change in air pressure before it happened, and he ducked to the side, moving to the edge of the bridge. The center of the ceiling caved in with a great crash, heavy chunks of masonry and wires falling straight into Gendo's desk, smashing it to kindling in a matter of seconds. Shinji descended from the opening, his cape trailing out behind him, his costume scuffed and covered in oil and what was probably dried blood. His eyes were coals, steaming as his tears vaporized.
Gendo calmly walked up to the upper level to meet him.
"You're coming with me," Shinji said quietly.
"And where do you propose that I would be going?"
"I'm taking you the United Nations. You're going to answer for your crimes. No more games, no more spies. It's over."
Shinji paled. He wobbled on his feet a little, and suddenly looked deeply confused.
"You know," said Gendo, "You made an excellent point at the memorial. I didn't bother with the box."
From his pocket, Gendo drew a luminous green crystal, the size of a tennis ball. It bathed the room in a sickly green glow, and when it washed over Shinji, it hit him like a physical force. He stumbled backwards over the debris, crawling away from the green glow. He coughed, hard, obviously pained. Gendo ignored it and walked forward, holding the rock out in front of him.
"I don't think I'll be going anywhere. You really thought you were invincible, didn't you? There are no heroes, boy. Not in this world."
An animal fury flowed up Fuyutsuki's legs, tightened in his chest, and curled his hands into fists. He cried out as he charged across the platform and barreled into Gendo, pushing him away from Shinji. Gendo held onto the rock for dear life, twisting, an Fuyutsuki drew back and punched him, hard. His lip bleeding, Gendo turned, and the rock tumbled out of his hand, thumping like a heavy piece of glass as it slid across the platform. Fyutsuki shoved his arm under Gendo's neck and pushed him back against the railing.
"You son of a bitch," Fuyutsuki roared, kicking his leg under Gendo's, forcing him over the rail.
"Yes," Gendo croaked, and shot him.
The gun was in his belly, aimed up into his chest. He never heard the one that got him. Fuyutsuki slumped back, hit the rail, and slid down onto his side, clutching at the wound in his gut. Dark red blood sluiced between his fingers, and a creeping cold flowed through him as he tried to draw a struggling, ice-hot breath that wouldn't come no matter how hard he pulled. He watched as Gendo calmly picked up the rock and strode out of the room, as easy as you please.
Shinji crawled over to him, still slightly green, and sweating. Tears flowed freely from his eyes and patted on the smooth black floor as he lifted Fuyutsuki up, pulling him into his lap. It had to be his imagination, but he felt soft fingers touch his cheeks and slide around his head, and smelled a familiar perfume, drowning out the iron stink of his own blood. Yui, blessed Yui, bright and ethereal and too pure for the world, leaned into his vision, and touched her lips to his. A single tear rolled down her cheek to his.
"Be not afraid," she said.
He whispered her name.
Then, he died.
You have been reading
Last Child of Krypton: Redux
Chapter Fourteen: Today is the Time for Goodbye