Description:
The bond between Asuka & Shinji strengthens despite continual Angel attacks. Now Iruel has Rei III's body while Rei II and even Dr. Akagi don't realise. The Lance is revealed, Tabris posseses a Gaijin & the Angel of Birds bears down on the Second and Third Children. It is time to see how great a small change can be...
I do not own the characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion, nor any other aspects of it. I'm not that disturbed. Or at least I wasn't until I saw EOE.
Rating: T - a fair bit of swearing (possibly should be rated higher)
Initial Perturbation
CHAPTER 16 - Condition of Flux
Ritsuko stared at her screen with intensity, commanding the machine through furious keystrokes to her frustrated will. A vein above her brow ticked constantly. She'd now been up for twenty-eight hours, having started far before the sun had risen to get the contact experiment set up.
"Sempai?"
"Aagh!" the scientist jumped at the presence of her assistant who stood by her desk with a concerned though tired look in her eyes, steaming hot coffee in her hands. "Oh, Maya. What would I do without you?" she said, accepting the mug reverently.
Maya shrugged nonchalantly. "Make your own coffee, ma'am?"
Ritsuko grinned ruefully. "A disturbing possibility. Don't quit anytime soon, okay?"
"Of course, ma'am!"
Ritsuko sipped from the piping hot cup, and set it down on a hello-kitty mat, then stretched her body out. Sighing, she said "Did you have any luck isolating any 'pattern' migrations?
Maya shook her head. "No ma'am, no evidence of any 'orange' or 'blue' patterns crossing Nerv boundary or defense lines. Just nominal seated-soul noise."
Ritsuko hurumphed in irritation. "Something just doesn't add up...but it must be a mitosis process. Nothing else fits the facts."
Maya frowned delicately. "What else could it be? The only known sources of sentient-class souls are humans, via reproduction, and the Angels."
"And since Second Impact, stillbirth statistics have gone through the roof. Perhaps that has something to do with this? A wandering soul? No, that's just too romantic and fanciful. But I can't find anything to back the 'mitosis' theory up."
"What's wrong with the romantic, ma'am? A lost soul...I like the idea better than the alternative of an invading Angel's soul."
Ritsuko snorted. "Hah! That would require one of the Angels to be within Nerv premises with the ability to remain undetected. If that's happened, we're already screwed."
Maya sighed. "Yes, ma'am."
"It was a good suggestion. Look, I'm just exhausted. I think I'll find a nice bed to collapse on for a few hours."
Ibuki smiled ruefully. "The only beds you'll find are the staff ones, and they're not nice. Take a sleeping pill, otherwise you'll just be thinking all night and you won't sleep."
The senior scientist breathed out in a half-snort. "And here I thought my mother was dead! Have you been talking with the Magi?"
The perky lieutenant tilted her head with a sunny smile. "They say you should hurry up and have grandkids."
Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're making it up. Besdies, they know I have to look after the kitties. Now scat, I'm going to find something softer than linoleum to collapse on."
Two Eva pilots sat listlessly at Misato's kitchen table, having arrived home that afternoon from an overwhelming morning of shocks and bittersweet truths. Misato was off, back to Nerv on her quest for answers. A fire was lit beneath her, but the opposite seemed true for the two Children. They sat in silence, staring not at each other but at points of random fixation.
Pen-Pen had kept a vigil over the entranced pair, watching them from his vantage point on a living room chair, perturbed by their lack of animation. But now it was growing slowly dark, and his avian eyes were poorly suited to the task.
"Wrrrerk." he uttered, sliding himself off of his belly and venturing into the kitchen.
He rubbed at Shinji's calf with his head. This sent a message to Shinji's brain: 'twenty seconds until the beak gets pokey.'
The boy blinked, and looked down at the tuxedo'd critter. "Uh, hi Pen-Pen. Uhm, it's not dinner time yet..." then he looked at a clock. 'Whoa...been spacing out for a while. I guess it is about time to start on dinner."
He stood up carefully, and retrieved Pen-Pen's bowl and a tin of smoked oysters. He cracked the can, and screwed up his face at the smell. "Ah, dammnit. Misato's gonna kill me." he groaned, putting the tin on a shelf and getting Pen-Pen's sardines.
Focus returned to Asuka's eyes for a moment. "Phwew, what's that stench?"
"Nothing, just Misato's weird western-style oysters." the Third Child answered.
"Oh..." Asuka replied, and returned to deep space.
The bird tended to, Shinji began to prepare dinner. 'Right...stir-fry? Okay. Chicken? Yes. Marinated tofu? Check. Vegetables...plenty. Three for dinner tonight, Kaji's not around and Ayanami...doesn't like meat...oh kami...'
Shinji stopped what he was doing and blindly sat back down, eyes empty and lost once more.
"Ba-ka." Asuka said distantly. Pensively, she stood up and stood behind Shinji's seat. "Come on, make dinner. I'm starving." said the Second Child, shaking the boy's shoulders gently.
"S-sure." Shinji said and stood up again. "Ah, Asuka, about today..."
"I-I don't wanna talk about it, Shinji. Not yet. Cook dinner first...then maybe."
Shinji hung his head. "I-I don't know...if I even want to talk about it either. I think maybe I need to..."
"Shut up. Cook dinner. I'm going to watch TV." she said, matter-of-factly. With that, she went into the living room, leaving Shinji and Pen-Pen to the food.
Shinji switched the lights on and settled back into his food-preparation routine. He felt himself begin to relax. Slice the broccoli, dicing the chicken. Think later, concentrate for now. He heard the TV blare into life. Suddenly, it was just an ordinary day.
Not too long later he had a meal on the table, enough for three, steaming and vibrant. He took off his apron feeling oddly refreshed. Something had been on his mind, he knew, but right now all he remembered was that he'd accomplished yet another good meal. Having put a portion away for Misato when she returned, he went to the living room to find Asuka curled up on the couch.
"Hey, it's dinner time." he called softly.
"...yeah, okay." she answered, looking at him with a slight frown.
They went to the kitchen and ate in silence.
Shinji finished his meal and looked at Asuka's. She hadn't finished her first serving yet. That never happened. "Hey, Asuka? Say something, alright? It feels...so empty here, without Misato or you talking."
"Mmmph."
"Asuka? Hey, c'mon. Talk to me...please?"
Asuka stood up and left, leaving her plate unfinished.
"Asuka!" Shinji cried in confusion. He followed her into the living room once more.
"Hey, Asuka. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Everything is wrong." she said calmly. "I mean, you got shot, I keep failing in the Angel battles, and Rei...Rei...she's a fucking clone, Shinji. Of your mother."
Shinji's eyes went wide. "My...mother...?" he said faintly.
"She didn't tell you that, I noticed. Oh Verdammt! Ach nein! Shinj was sollen wir nur tun (Shinji, what are we to do)!"
Shinji hovered like a balloon cut from it's string above the couch. Suddenly he turned around, and bolted through the doorway and out of the apartment.
"Scheist." Asuka swore tersely. "It's all about you, about sensitive fucking Shinji. You better not go far."
"What the hell, Kaji? I can't believe you were a part of that...insanity! And not only that, but not a word to me. To me! Don't you think I would have been the in least interested! Affected, maybe?"
"Not all secrets are meant to be told. I think some of these secrets of Nerv's...I'm starting to wish I hadn't learned them myself."
"A fine one you are to choose who gets which truths!"
"Maybe...the hypocrisy of the old is actually just wisdom the young lack? As heretical as that may seem, perhaps that's the real truth we were searching for when we were young."
"You've changed. You've become...jaded. You! Ryouji Kaji, the rebel fighter for truth of a scarred generation, now just a fucking G-man counter-revolutionary Fed-dog."
"It was bound to happen. Time wounds all heals, after all. Don't try to deny you feel it too, Misato. How many of these 'truths' would you have shielded those kids from? When we shield them, they demand to know why. And do you know what we would answer? 'For your own good'. And we'd mean it."
"And now you're in cahoots with Ritsuko, and she's fucking the Commander. God, I never saw that one coming, not in a million years. And Rei...what the hell is Nerv really doing?"
"Surprised me too. Still, they're not the only useful pieces of information I've received in all of this. It seems we've been sent some sort of trump by the puppet-masters behind all of this...Nerv might be in direct danger."
"What's that mean? We've kept track of their spies...yourself, for example."
"I don't think this one is a spy. Whoever they are, they might be a distraction...or a timebomb."
"How do you know this? Where the hell do you get this information from?"
"Katsuragi, you know I can't tell you."
"You won't even trust me? What am I saying, did you ever?"
"I trust you...with all that I can trust you with. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Let me in, Kaji! You aren't trusting enough."
"Many, who have attempted to seal my fate, might tend to agree."
"We will need another bed."
Kasumi turned her head to scrutinize her twin. "Why?"
Rei raised an eyebrow, just fractionally. "Because it would be impractical to share, and it will be easy enough to acquire one."
Kasumi nodded. "Yes, I see. We should take one from a bedding repository such as the one on Futokai Street."
"That's a store, Kasumi." Rei said sternly, with just a hint of emphasis on the name. "We aren't equipped to make such a purchase."
The newer vessel tilted her head just slightly. "Then we should ask the Commander to assist us."
Rei frowned. "We should not bother him with something so menial. We should make a requisition to Major Katsuragi tomorrow. In the meantime, I will sleep on the floor."
Kasumi's eyes dug into identical red orbs. "Why yourself?"
Rei hesitated. "It...is unnecessary to fuss over such inconsequential things."
Kasumi nodded, satisfied. 'No need to show weakness to your master. You must present yourself as resourceful and complete to your 'Commander'. The man is a black hole, not the guiding light you blithely believe. I believe you will be easiest to break, Rei Ayanami.'
"Idiot! Get over here!" Asuka exclaimed when she saw the forlorn Ikari sitting on a park bench. "I've been searching for you for an hour! It's getting cold. Dummkopf."
Shinji didn't react as she came nearer.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Nothing.
"Is that any way to treat your sensitive, fragile girlfriend? Now stand up and escort me home before some ruffian drags me off to have his evil way with me."
He sat still like a shed leaf waiting for a breeze.
"Or a gang of ruffians. You know, like Suzahara but even more ape-like. Fat. Hairy. All salivating over my innocent flesh."
A breeze more like a gust. "...now you're making me scared!"
Asuka grinned her winning grin. "At least you didn't get turned on! If you did, I might have to end it here and now. Now lets go home already, my show starts in thirteen minutes."
Shinji stood up, and stretched. "Uhm, I guess. Okay okay. Let's go."
Asuka clasped his arm as they walked. Leaning her head against his (since his shoulder wasn't high enough), she murmured to him quietly. "You okay, baka?"
"I...just needed to think."
"Ja, I can relate. Are you going to be alright?"
"Mmm...I guess. But..."
"Hmmm?"
"...but only after I've done something about him."
"Who?"
"You know. That Bastard. The evil bastard fiend, my father. He did that to her. I'll..."
"Shinji..."
"I'll make him pay! God damn it, I'll make him pay, that bastard!" Shinji choked, balling his fist into a white mass of rage.
"Because he made Rei?"
"Because he made a clone of Mother to be his toy! Like a...doll or something..."
"SHE IS NOT A DOLL MORON! SHUT UP ABOUT HER!"
Shinji stopped and backed away from the enraged girl, who was giving off an aura of ultra-violent.
"At least, Rei isn't, not anymore. Now shut up and walk me home." she concluded, taking his arm back.
"You really scared me with that gang-of-ruffians talk."
"I know...I was trying to waken your sleeping masculinity to rescue my innocence, as a damsel in distress. It worked, ja?"
"Uhm...kinda...except I was more afraid they might get me than you!"
"Baka! Why would they do that when...wait...I see your point. Pretty-boy..."
"I'm ho-ome!" Misato called in her sing-song voice. She was relieved to be home to her surrogate family and away from the mess of unfinished thoughts she'd left at Nerv. Relief that was replaced with a dull sensation of fear when she saw the cold meal left on the table so late. Moving into the living room, she saw the two teenagers cuddled up and sleeping on the couch. She let out a sigh of relief, and grinned her wry grin.
"Heh. Sleeping together already, kids? Tsk, you should at least try to be discrete, and find a hotel or something."
She gathered up their three futons and lay them on the floor, much like she had during their synchronisation training. She dragged the Children off the couch to muted, sleepy protest, but was unable to separate them. She settled for having them lying on the futons together.
"Kids." she mumbled, and went to get changed into her sleep wear. When she came back in her long T-shirt (and, presumably, panties), she grinned. Pen-Pen was settled on his belly on her futon near the two kids.
"No, Pen-Pen." she said softly, petting the resting creature. "Go to your fridge boy, or you'll overheat."
"Wuuuurk." he uttered, which could have been either an acknowledgment or an indignant protest. Nevertheless, he stood up. He looked at the teenagers and then back to his master, tilting his head questioningly.
"Go to bed, boy." Misato ordered softly.
Pen-Pen righted his head and turned around, shuffling off to his refrigerated kennel.
"I'll watch over them tonight." the Major mumbled softly to the darkness.
"So, Adam's dark shadows, we meet at last. You do resemble the Origin's guise in many ways. Your resemblance to the Lillum that spawned you at the same time, is disturbing. What marvelous abominations these humans might create...it's almost beautiful in a hideous way."
"Your children are, indeed, supremely resourceful, Lillith. This will of theirs is terrifying. Is that what you gave them in your sacrifice?"
"The existence of the machine intellects is frightening. With them, what may they achieve in a short space of time? I see now why we were awoken at this time to fulfill our duty, and your spirits with-held from the Chamber. But as our numbers grow shorter...I fear I will have to exercise my birth-fate. I fear it, for the decision I must make grows less clear, less certain with every moment I spend with these creatures."
"I will taste the flavour of your mettle in the fulness time."
Undisturbed, the lone male trekked from the central hub of Nerv operations directly through many security check points to the upper levels where access levels were far less strict.
"Nagisa! Hey, are you lost? Where'd you get to in that freak trap? C'mon, the hospital is this way."
"Thankyou, my friend. I still seem to be finding my way."
(I don't need you tonight.)
Ritsuko closed her eyes, squeezing the light away from them. The hollow ringing of the words found a space to occupy within her.
"Maybe...tomorrow night?" she asked, faintly hopeful. The day had turned to night, and she sat on a plain bed in a utilitarian room, restless before sleep.
(I don't think so.)
"Don't make me beg!"
(Don't make me hear it.)
"Damn you Gendo, what do you want from me! Haven't I given you everything? My heart, my soul? Even my pride!"
(You have no shortage of that, Doctor. Perhaps in time, you can redeem yourself.)
"I thought you didn't care that I went behind your back! That you knew about it all along!"
(Perhaps the Heisenberg principle may be called into question. What have you achieved today, in spite of your energies? Is Instrumentality furthered?)
"You have another pilot to combat the Angels with..."
(And no Evangelion to spare. Another Dummy Plug could potentially have been more useful. What use are such excercises when we have control of the future?)
Ritsuko sighed, holding the phone receiver with both hands to her ear. "Can...can we just stop this? We don't need to hurt each other."
She heard static as the line stayed quiet.
(Perhaps...tomorrow night might be available. I'll let you know.)
"Thankyou..." she whispered in relief.
(Yes...goodnight, 'Ko-chan.)
(click)
"Hey Maya."
The mousy young woman looked up from her laptop, heavy dark rings hanging beneath her eyes. "What's up, Aoba?"
Shigeru leaned casually against the canteen table. "Let's call it quits for tonight, 'kay? I'm seeing more than just two Rei's dancing around in my head."
Maya rolled her head forward so the top of the laptop screen was supporting her forehead. "Rei dancing...whoa yeah, you are zonked. You go ahead."
The part-time neo-hippie rolled his eyes. "Who are you trying to kid? You're no use right now, you're just delaying rest and making yourself less effective tomorrow. Grab one of the temp rooms, catch some Z's."
With a sigh, Maya picked up her head and rubbed her eyes. "I know...but I have to give my all, after all. What kind of hypocrites are we if we put those kids though so much, and take it easy ourselves? I'm sorry, I'm rambling...can't think straight."
Shigeru chuckled. "A good time to quit, in my book. Unless it's alcohol-induced, in which case the party's just beginning!"
Maya smiled weakly, falsely. 'Neo-hippies...sigh.'
"What's that? I see. Ikari will be pleased, I'm sure. Yes. Of course, what use would they be to you? Oh, well the Pacific Fleet is in poor shape, and we're still not sure what happened with the third. An escort? I'll leave the logistics to the experts. Yes, we'll be in touch." Fuyutsuki hung the phone onto it's old-fashioned receiver (despite the lack of a cable between it and the handset). Dour-faced, he made his way to Ikari's office via the stairs with his hands in his jacket pockets. Tall and thin, he felt like a golem of downtrodden spirits.
"The Committee is sending us a present." he said as he stepped in, unannounced.
"Is that so? The old men want to spur the game on then."
"They may want us to provide an Eva escort. Given our previous efforts at transporting Eva technology, post the renewed attacks, it seems like a good idea."
Gendo chuckled mirthlessly behind his glasses, hands steepled in front of him. "A gambit to open our defenses, I'm sure. We'll keep the pilots on alert here for the duration of the transport, but a maximum conventional military guard is all they'll get."
"Hmmph. They only cost peanuts to deploy in comparison, anyway. So, it seems our new pilot will have something to fight with after all."
"Perhaps." Gendo reclined slightly in his chair. "The accuracy of the Scrolls seem to be degrading as we go, however. It may be time to make some extra contingency plans."
The Professor raised a brow. "I'm not sure I want to know what you're planning."
Ikari sneered. "All in good time, professor."
It was raining.
Nurse Nagisa looked moodily out of a window in the low-rise hospital building. The rain was constant, fairly heavy and totally lacking in any flair. Without any breeze to move it, it came perpendicular to the ground and monotonous in it's drumming. The sky became beige-grey in colour while Tokyo-3's residents hid indoors.
'You chose your timing well, Arael. Or, is this somehow the marker of your attack, not the other way around?' Kaoru wondered idly. The injured girl was sleeping, the old man was watching TV and the rest of his ward was empty. The bulk of the injured and sickly had joined the exodus from Tokyo 3 after the coming of the Angel of Might. This is how Kaoru came to be in charge of a ward after only his third day in the city.
The attack siren sounded, and the building started to sink into the geo-front at a constant, lumbering pace. Kaoru observed the ground moving towards him with amusement.
'Soon, the Evangelions will be unleashed. What will be your approach, O Angel of Birds? A fell swoop of some kind, certainly. But what form will it take?'
"There they are." the gaijin whispered to himself as the red and purple beasts were shoved forcefully from their holes. The blue one, he knew, still hid in the wings, it's pilot not considered ready to participate in direct combat if not absolutely necessary. She was still afforded some protection by her master.
"What are you thinking as you stand there waiting, Third Child of the Army of the Lillim? Are you rejoicing in the chance to prove yourself? Are you apprehensive to risk your life again? Or perhaps you fear for your chosen partner? Ah, but you are a human. You feel all these at once! Such a complicated life you lead."
Some time passed, the Evangelions settling into position and waiting in the pelting rain. Water pooled and dripped down the brightly coloured plastic-composite armour's complex curves and shut-lines.
Now on the surface of the city, he looked to the heavens. "I see. You'll sing your song of torment then, Arael? Fitting. Perhaps I will not be needed to make my decision after all."
Asuka adjusted her position fractionally, re-aligning the site of her rifle balanced on a weapons building. "Scheiß Engel! Stop hiding behind the clouds." she growled.
Unit 01 stood by, katana attached to it's back and an evolved version of the shuttle-reentry shield on it's left arm. "Patience, Asuka. Maybe it's, uhm, playing cat-and mouse with us."
Asuka snorted. "Leave the tactical theories to Misato. Bah. The rain is making my Eva's skin clammy."
(Maybe Shinji's got a point, Asuka.) came Misato's voice. "There's only one way to win at that game. Don't be the mouse."
Shinji and Asuka heard an exclamation in the background. (You stole that from Red-Dwarf!) Ritsuko noted dryly.
(I did not!)
(Yes you did! Kaji made us all watch that british comedy back in college. Before your, ahem, 'week off' together.)
(Eheh, oh yeah.)
"'Week off'!" Asuka frowned.
(Never mind!) Misato said sharply. (Watch the Angel!)
"Uhm, they can't see the Angel that far away." Makoto pointed out.
"Then watch the computer-generated target marker then!" Misato huffed.
The Sub-Commander cleared his voice from the over-lord deck. "Major, are you having difficulty controlling your pilots?"
"No sir!" said the violet officer.
"Good to hear it." the Commander enunciated, just the faintest hint of sarcasm present in his voice. It was not lost on Misato. She focused on her reserve forces.
"Rei, what's your status?" she demanded.
(Standing by, ma'am.) reported the First Child from her plug in Unit Zero, which was itself still in the Eva cage but powered-up and free of it's restraints.
"Kasumi?" the Major barked.
(Ready, ma'am.) replied the doppelganger, suited up and watching from the briefing room, Section 2 agents poised calmly around her.
"Good!" Misato declared. "Now everyone stand-by. I'm sure this Angel isn't just sitting in high-orbit to sight-see."
Ritsuko bent over Maya's console. "The Magi seem to agree, in principle at least."
"Could you stop undermining my authority during an operation please, Doctor?"
The faux-blonde sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry. Actually, time is good. It gives the Magi time to plan ahead."
Misato rolled her eyes but said nothing. Silence ruled the command deck. 'Hurry up, you cursed Angel. I can almost hear the nerves fraying in here. This can't be good for the kids, either.'
Shinji's voice suddenly filtered over the communications system to the command bridge. (What should we have for dinner, Misato?) he asked. Even the Commander raised an eyebrow.
"Uhm, we'll worry about that later Shinji-kun." Misato said, embarrased and slightly flustered.
(Steak!) Asuka commanded.
(I could do beef stir-fry.) Shinji suggested.
(Ooh, with chilli?) chirped the redhead.
(Sure.) the Third Child said cheerily.
"Major." the Commander said.
"Kids, shuttup!"
"It's doing something!" Makoto reported.
"The cloud cover is reducing in a region in direct line to the target." said Maya.
Misato's eyes brightened. "It's beggining it's attack. Get ready everyone!"
Shinji raised his shield instinctively as the two Evas watched a point in the clouds brighten with a yellow-glow. The light cast splashed down onto Unit 01.
Anguish bore down on Shinji's soul with the suddeness of an ice-cream headache. The pain felt similarly deep in his chest, but far more unbearable.
"Aaaaahhh! What's...happening!" he gasped, clutching his head in the entry-plug.
An image flashed in his mind. Ami.
'You abandoned her. She tried to help you, and this is the thanks she gets. She needed you, you let her die. Alone.'
"What!" he choked. "No! I don't think that! She wanted to help me! It wasn't my fault! I had no choice. I couldn't...save her, she did what she had to...!"
Another image, but ill-defined. A haze, but a familiar one that felt warm and smelled of nuture. A shadow of purple.
'Mother. You let her die, taken by the monster you've given your soul to. You sold her soul for this power you now yield.'
"OH MY GOD NO! I...couldn't stop that! I was just a kid!"
An image with hard eyes behind amber glasses. An indifferent expression seemed set in stone, dissapointment carved for all eternity for failings past but unforgotten.
'He couldn't handle you. You were too much for him. He had to send you away, too unconsolable and wretched for him to care for. He never had a chance to deal with his own misery while he was forced to endure yours.'
"THAT BASTARD ABANDONED ME! I couldn't...I couldn't do anything to get him to take me back..." came Shinji's sobs.
Blue hair, dispassionate red eyes, flawless, pale yet sickly skin. Fragile, but somehow resilient.
'You are an irrelevance in her life, yet she makes time for you. For all that she is a puppet, a toy for your father, she still has more strength of will than you. An abomination, a monster to your father's Frankenstein, she shows more loyalty to him than you ever could.'
"That's...not right! She...she should be free and happy...she never had the chance..."
Red. Curves, firm flesh, fiery sparkling eyes full of life and vigour. An intoxicating smell.
'You are beneath her. You're an amusement, a challenge, a starter for her. She has so much ahead of her, but you're intriguing her for now. Like a dying worm in the sunlight, she's watching you, learning from your pathetic lesson to help her in the future. With someone else.'
"GOD DAMN YOU! SHE WOULDN'T TREAT ME LIKE THAT! I'm...I'm not just a toy for her...she cares for me...right?"
Strong colours, purple-on-yellow and a vibrant spirit of life. Confidence with an agile mind behind it. Misato.
'She took pity on you. You, so pathetic that a woman in the prime of her life and with a career to lead felt she had to abandon her comfortable lifestyle to help you. You are that to her. A burden to a carefree spirit.'
"I...I cook and clean for her...I do what she tells me to...she looks happy...she likes me, doesn't she?"
A silhouette against the night. Flashing gun, the hard face of a warrior and fighter but the eyes of a philosopher and poet. Ryouji Kaji.
'You're in his way. He needs to get back to the love of his life, but you're mewling for her attention all the time. He tolerates you, humours you, but you are nothing but an frustration.'
"I can't help it...I'm here damnit. I'm just...here. Should I go somewhere else god damn you!"
Jostling school uniforms, the young bodies of his classmates. Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, dozens of other faces. All staring at him. All looking critically, judging him and finding him lacking.
'You're an emotional freak. Why can't you be normal? What's wrong with you?'
"I'M NOT A FREAK! I'M JUST DIFFERENT! WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Asuka watched as the light cascaded down around Unit 01, seeming to coat it in a shimmering aura. The Evangelion stumbled back, shield held up to block the invading light but failing.
She heard the boy's voice. "Aaaaahhh! What's...happening!"
"Shinji! What is that!" she demanded. "What's going on!"
(It's some sort of modulated AT wave-field. The Magi are trying to understand it's characteristics...) Ritsuko reported absently.
(Shinji, are you okay!) Misato called.
"What! No! I don't think that! She wanted to help me! It wasn't my fault! I had no choice! I couldn't...save her, she did what she had to...!"
(What the hell! Who's he talking to?)
Maya's anguished voice echoed in the silence that followed her words. (It's changing his mental patterns! It's affecting his mind!)
"Mein Gott!"
"OH MY GOD NO! I...couldn't stop that! I was just a kid!"
Asuka growled out loud. "Fucking Engel! Ich töte dich, Ich töte dich!"
The red Evangelion shot it's rifle at the sky, then pounced at the staggering purple beast. "AT field at maximum!"
(NO ASUKA!) Misato gasped.
(No affect on her psychograph!) Maya yelled. Unit 02 stood over the fallen Eva, arms spread and positioned directly in front of the beam's source.
"THAT BASTARD ABANDONED ME! I couldn't...I couldn't do anything to get him to take me back..."
(It's no good, the beam is going straight through her Eva!)
Asuka's head hung with panic setting into her eyes, standing still while her mind raced.
"That's...not right! She...she should be free and happy...she never had the chance..."
"Shinji? What is it doing to you...?"
"GOD DAMN YOU! SHE WOULDN'T TREAT ME LIKE THAT! I'm...I'm not just a toy for her...she cares for me...right?"
"WHAT! Me...he's talking about me..." the Red Evangelion stood a fraction straighter, it's eyes shining brighter with the determination of it's pilot. "I'm here, I'll help you!" Asuka called, stooping and picking Unit 01 up by the waist. The beam of light followed as she dragged her fallen mate away in long loping strides. Buildings didn't seem to block the light, but she spied a hill just outside of the city limits. Surely that grassy mound of earth would help?
"I...I cook and clean for her...I do what she tells me to...she looks happy...she likes me, doesn't she?"
"Shinji!" Misato called, anguished. "Send...send out Unit Zero!"
"Belay that." the Commander said blandly. "There is nothing to be gained by deploying the prototype."
"It might take some of the heat of Unit 01!" Misato yelled.
"My order stands."
"Fucker!"
(I can't help it...I'm here damnit. I'm just...here. Should I go somewhere else god damn you!)
Maya spoke up, her voice panicked. "The psychograph is losing coherence! It's collapsing!"
Misato's eyes widened. "What does that mean!"
"It means he's losing his mind." said Ritsuko, looking away.
(I'M NOT A FREAK! I'M JUST DIFFERENT! WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!)
(It's not working!) Asuka wailed, trying and failing to shelter the test-type machine in the undeveloped outskirts of the city. (Shinji, why can't you hear me?)
Fuyutsuki spoke quietly into the Commander's ear. "The pilot of Unit 01 is falling apart. We may be in danger of losing it."
"Rei." the Commander said. "Go and get the lance."
Kaoru, standing dripping wet in the rain and a direct observer of the conflicting giants, stumbled backwards. He fell over in shock, eyes wide and unheeding that he'd fallen into a muddy puddle.
"The Trump!" he said in disbelief. "The lillim have the Last Trump! How! Great Adam, was this your doing? What are you planning?"
Kasumi's pale complexion darkened to a bluish-grey as she heard the order. An agent offered to fecth her a drink, which she ignored, deep in thought.
Unit 01's mouth cracked open, teeth suddenly bared as the restraining armour around them broke, pieces falling to the ground like confetti. It let fly with a gutteral roar that Asuka could feel in the ground beneath her unit.
(Nein...) she whispered.
The unit roared again.
"Oh my god..." Ritsuko said softly.
The Evangelion howled. "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!"
It swayed, clutching at it's head, straining and moaning. Wailing tones could be heard through the gutteral groans. "SSSSHHHIIIINNCHIIII!"
"My god!" Fuyutsuki exclaimed, moving forward to clutch at the barrier between him and the main display screen.
Gendo leered with a smirk forming on his features. "Calm yourself professor. Our time has come. We have done it."
"WHO AM I! IKARI! IKARI YUI! IKARI SHINJI! WHAT AM I!"
With a sudden clarity of action, Unit 01 stopped writhing and regarded the beam from the sky. It clasped it's purple-encased hands together and concentrated. A glowing black line threaded from it's hands up through the centerline of the beam, up through the cloud layer.
"What's that?" Misato asked, aghast.
Shigeru tried to answer, working frantically at his console. "We've got no reference for this...wait...a one-dimensional AT field? It's stretching all the way from Unit 01 to the Angel..."
Unit 02 huddled a short distance from the berserk Eva, sitting in the mud in the foetal position. "What's happening to you, Shinji? Are you still in there?"
The purple avatar seemed to grin wolfishly up at the offender, beady glowing eyes fixed in a relentless stare. It opened it's mouth to let fly a shrill declaration which reverberated all the way down to Nerv beneath the geo-front.
The glowing thread straightened, and suddenly expanded to a thick tube the diameter of an Eva's fist. The air growled and the heavens thundered. Sudden lightening flashes struck the construct and Unit 01 crackled with blue-white power. Winds gushed, pulling up grass, boulders and trees. Everything became a blurr as the unleashed Eva demonstrated it's potential.
In an instant, all was still. Unit 01 stood over a purple-red heap of entrails, the last of which drained down the AT tube to fall at it's feet. The test-type let the AT artifact fade back to nothing and knelt down in front of it's kill. It's hands invaded the pooled pulp, searching. Finding.
Unit 01 pulled a mass of maroon from the debris heap, and raised it to it's mouth. And fed.
Kaoru stood some distance from the scene, still as an ice carving. He looked away from it, searching out the Polar Star. "These creatures are so alien to me. Just as I feel I have come to understand them...what horrors can only be seen on this green earth? Farewell to thee, Arael Angel of Birds. It seems that you were destined to be but an offering to this new bane-god. I feel more and more sorry for these desperate people, and what we've forced them to become."
Author's Rant:
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People have been asking some tricky questions, rolling the rugs off the huge-ish plot-holes I've built into this story's superstructure. In itself this is no bad thing, but I do beg that this is a mecha-anime with adolescents fighting off surreal creatures while dealing with heavy Oedipal sub-plot overtones. So drop the dead clone body please. Err, bodies.
On the other hand, I don't like the way I keep beating Shinji up, but it is his main role in the story. However it does allow the Shinji/Asuka relationship to mature as we will soon see, as well as Asuka's character in general. Which was my original aim.
If you're wondering, this story is intended to reach a logical conclusion post 3I crisis point.
This chapter was delayed by Microsoft Corp. (which I don't own either) when they decided to make an OS that can corrupt Hard Disk Drive file indexes by simply copying files off of the drives. That takes talent!
Thanks to my patient beta-readers pyramidgirl89 & Rahhel! Your efforts are truly appreciated.
And now for something completely different...(No, I don't own Monty Python's Flying Circus, although I once had a dead parrot)
OMAKE
Lieutenant Ibuki turned a corner in a less uninhabited section of Nerv, clipboard held loosely by her side. "Oh, good afternoon Shinji. What are you running around for?"
Shinji looked down and rubbed the back of his head. "I, uhm, I'm looking for Asuka."
Maya smirked. "Oh? Have you got a date with her tonight, Shinji-kun?"
The boy blushed. "Uh, well, that is..."
The lieutenant tilted her head and smiled seductively. "Come on, you can tell me. So, just how far have you two got?"
"Uh! I-I don't..."
Maya giggled. "Come on, tell me! Second base? Third? Home Run!"
"Uh...I don't know what that means, isn't that American football?"
The lieutenant's grin widened. "If you don't know, maybe I'll have to show you. You see, 'First' is kissing, and second..." she took Shinji's wrist and brought it toward her chest.
"AAAAAH!" shreiked a shocked redheaded pilot. She pushed between the persimmon-red boy and the tempting technophile. "AAAAH!" she shrieked again, just to make sure her point was made. "What the hell are you doing to my idiot!" she demanded, standing on tip-toes to poke her nose into Maya's face more effectively.
"Taking him further than you have, apparently."
"AAAAAH!" Asuka screeched, just in case her point still hadn't got through. "What, you were going to demonstrate everything to him! 'Home Run' in the hallway?"
"Well maybe later, it's a bit chilly in here. Perhaps you need the 'bases' explained too? I guess I should show you too..." and moved subtly closer to the girl.
Asuka froze. Literally. Perhaps she breathed, but she didn't move. Somehow she stayed balanced on her toe-tips while leaning forward in her accusatory way.
The temptress rolled her eyes and pulled a small toolkit from her waist. "These German models sure do demand their maintainance." she sighed, screwdriver in hand.
Shinji folded his arms in frustration. "If she's reverted back to only being able to say 'chii' all the time, I will have to hurt you." he growled.
Copyright 2014 for the Timelord Objective Reporter Gazette (or 2006 for legal purposes)
-fin-