Chapter 16 – Blackout
It had been two days since the Eighth Angel had been destroyed but even so she'd barely had a chance to breath until now. It was a welcome reprieve for Ritsuko to be able to get out and do some of her laundry. During the past week with everything leading up to the preliminary Dummy System tests everything else had taken a back seat. Now that things were at a relative lull, the Dummy Plug's source code taking a back seat to the weapon system installation on Unit 00. Gendo had decided it pertinent that they move things closer to their original schedule of completion until the memory profiling codes were revised. That said, she was finally able to actually catch up on things. It did help that she might have... inflated the time she needed to rewrite the code though. Considering how much sleep she'd lost in pursuit of that damned autopilot system, she felt not the least bit guilty about buying herself some extra time to work.
When she arrived at the laundromat nearest to her apartment, purchased her detergent, and shoved her dirty clothes into a washer. She let out a yawn as the machine whirred to life. It certainly would have been nice to have another cup of coffee before leaving the house. She had quite a long day ahead of her getting the weapons systems of Unit 00 online. Oh well... she could simply raid one of the many staff rooms at NERV...
The door to the laundromat opened and Ristuko turned to see Maya and Aoba stepping inside. Maya was carrying a bag of laundry and Aoba seemed to just hanging around, his guitar slung over his back. "Oh hi there Senpai," Maya said with a grin. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Morning Dr. Akagi," Aoba greeted with a nod, adjusting the guitar bag he carried on his back. "Strange seeing you outside of work."
Ritsuko sighed. "As if I'm ever not working," she replied. "Any moment I'm not spending at NERV on the various projects there is spent with housework."
"It's just the life we live," Maya stated as she shoved her laundry into the machine next to the one she was using. "There's always something more to do."
Her friend and assistant was so very right about that. It was Maya's insight that had elevated her to basically be her right hand when working with the Evas. "Always," Ritsuko replied. "That's what we get for working for NERV."
"Ha," Aoba interjected with a smirk as he loaded the machine third in the line with his garments. "I thought I was supposed to be the cynical one among us."
Ritsuko snickered. Even though he was definitely a slacker at heart, she did appreciate the long haired technician's sense of humor. It was probably why she didn't refer him for any disciplinary actions whenever she caught him reading one of his heavy metal magazines on shift, that and when he was doing his job he was pretty good at it. "Don't worry, you still are," she shot back.
"Good to know," he quipped before pointing over his shoulder at the door with his thumb. "I'm gonna grab a soda, either of you want anything?"
"I'm fine, Aoba-kun," Maya replied as she walked over and stuffed her clothes in on of the four machines in the small building.
"Same," Ritsuko added.
"Suit yourselves," he returned. "Grab me when the wash is finished."
Within a few minutes the washers had finished their cycles. Ritsuko and Maya moved their things to the dryers below the washers with Maya taking the liberty of moving Aoba's things for him. "So have you had a chance to catch up on any sleep, Senpai?" Maya asked. "You've had dark circles under your eyes for weeks now."
Ritsuko gave a lopsided grin. "I have but certainly not enough," she replied.
"You work yourself too hard," her colleague returned with a sympathetic tone. "Whatever it is that Commander Ikari has been having your work on must be important."
Ritsuko chuckled. She could probably trust Maya with any information regarding the Dummy System, she would probably end up as her assistant in tweaking it when it finally was viable and online, but Gendo wanted things top secret for now. "Trust me, it is," she said. "And highly classified might I add."
The dryers finished their work and all their clothes were warm and dry. "I'll tell you what though," Ritsuko continued. "That's nothing compared to the cost of doing laundry these days."
"Definitely," Maya replied. "I just wish I could get more time to do my laundry. This is the first time I've managed to get mine done in over a week."
Aoba reentered the laundromat. "It could be worse," he replied. "At least we sleep at home."
"I'll admit, you have a point," Maya replied.
Ritsuko sighed. Aoba certainly was in no shortage of cynical remarks... "So I guess we should head in," she stated. "If we're lucky we can catch the next train in."
"Sounds good, senpai," Maya replied cheerfully.
Aoba snickered wryly. "Back to the salt mines..." he muttered.
It was the first day that classes had resumed after the end of the school trip and Shinji couldn't help but be relieved that things were returning to normal. As much as he enjoyed being able to take a few days off of school it was nice to be able to see his friends again. In the two days between Asuka's fight with the Angel and returning to school he'd been able to catch up on quite a bit of missed work thanks to Rei coming over and helping him study. Asuka had helped too, when she wasn't bragging about how she had a college degree and that going to junior high school in Japan was too easy for her. The morning routine on the first day of classes resuming began with the usual routine. He awoke, made breakfast for everyone and ate, prepared lunch for himself, Asuka and Rei, met Rei at the door, and began walking to school with both her and Asuka.
Misato had informed him before he left that that himself and both his fellow pilots would have to report to NERV after school. Apparently he and Asuka had a harmonics test slated for the afternoon but Rei had the reactivation of Unit 00 with its combat upgrades schedules. He hoped it would go well for her. Perhaps her knowing that was coming up was why she'd been so stressed when the last Angel showed up, that she'd have to go out and fight again. If that was the case, it was an anxiety he wholeheartedly understood...
"I Wonder how the class trip turned out," he mused, trying to keep his mind from lingering on unpleasant things as they neared the school. "I haven't heard a thing from Touji and Kensuke since they left."
"I'm sure that they enjoyed themselves," Rei voiced softly.
Asuka snorted. "I'll bet those stooges you hang around with would be amused by anything," she quipped.
Shinji glanced over at her with a lopsided grin. "They're not that bad..." he murmured.
Asuka turned her attention to Rei. "Come on, Rei, back me up on this will ya?"
"They might be abrasive at times but they do not offend me," Rei replied evenly. "I believe I've said this before."
Asuka huffed in annoyance. "Still, they nearly made Shinji lose his second battle," she retorted.
"But he still won," Rei reminded.
Shinji sighed. This conversation was going to spiral in many a direction he would rather it not... "Can we change the subject?" he asked meekly.
Asuka waved her hand dismissively. "Fine, fine, whatever," she said. "Now that you mention it I haven't heard anything from Hikari either, so I'd guess the trip was either super fun for everyone or a total wash."
"The weather was supposed to be good on Okinawa," Shinji returned. "So they probably had fun."
Asuka stepped ahead of him and Rei with a confident grin as the made the final turn on the way to school. "Oh well, who cares if they did or didn't anyway," she replied smugly. "We got to go to a hot spring so it was like we got our own field trip."
"The spring was indeed quite enjoyable," Rei voiced.
"Exactly," Asuka continued. "So I doubt we missed anything really special anyway."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "You say that like you're trying to convince yourself," he replied.
"Oh can it!" Asuka spat back.
Shinji chuckled to himself. That about confirmed his suspicions. In a few more minutes the group had reached the school. They filed into their classroom just like it was any other day and as he took his seat he saw Touji and Kensuke moving from the back of the room to say hello before the day's classes began.
"Hey, Shinji, how's it goin?" Kensuke greeted with a grin.
"Sucks you missed the class trip, it was a blast!" Touji added cheerfully.
Shinji smiled. "It's fine," he replied. "I'm glad you guys had fun. What did you guys do on Okinawa?"
"Dude, we got to scuba dive and surf!" Touji proclaimed. "Ever been diving before? It's awesome!"
Shinji thought back to what he'd done during his most recent deployment in his Eva unit... "Can't say I have," he replied.
"You gotta try it some time, Shin-man," Touji insisted.
Shinji looked away toward where Asuka and Rei sat. Asuka was talking with Horaki and Rei appeared to be listening dutifully. "I'll take your word for it," he replied.
"Tell you what though, I'm a bit upset we didn't have time to visit the battle memorials," Kensuke voiced. "That was why I wanted to go, anyway."
Shinji sighed. He would never understand why his friend was so obsessed with battles and war. One would think that after seeing what a real war was like inside the cockpit of Unit 01 would have given him enough of a fill of warfare for a lifetime. "Well you can always go on your own time," he returned softly.
"I guess so," Kensuke replied. "So what did you do while we were gone?"
Shinji frowned. He couldn't tell them about the battle in the volcano. Misato had informed him after everything was wrapped up that the entire incident was classified. As far as the public knew, the incident had never occurred and no Angel had been discovered... His father's words of praise rang in his mind. No... that was too personal to share. That hope was something he wanted to keep to himself for now. Talking about that was something he didn't want to do should it come to nothing and he look like a fool for believing things could be better...
He supposed he could tell them about what he'd done afterward, going to the springs. That was really the only other thing of note he'd done other than just study. Even days later that evening still stirred pleasant feelings. He remembered the relaxing waters, watching Pen-Pen enjoy himself, the sound of Rei's laugh, holding her hand again... That last part had been a bit awkward, but everything else had been pleasant enough. He pushed that thought out of his head. Her holding his hand was just a gesture of concern on her part. She saw him as a friend, nothing more, and he felt the same... He kept telling himself that...
"Not much," he replied, softly. "I had a chance to go to a hot spring, that's about it."
"Sounds relaxing," Touji returned.
Shinji nodded, allowing himself to smile just a little. "It was," he stated softly
Ritsuko had made it to the train station just in time. Thankfully the station was empty for the most part. She couldn't help but note that the public spaces in Tokyo 3 were increasingly less crowded. It was understandable though, considering the circumstances the populace was constantly subjected to. Ever since the Third Angel showed up a few months ago there had been an ongoing exodus from the city. That said, who could blame people for leaving? As depressing as it was that the city was slowly trending toward ghost town status, it was nice that getting through the lines at the various train stations was a breeze now.
The train station door opened and she stepped inside with Maya and Aoba following close behind. There was only one other occupant in the car that they'd entered, a man who was sitting down facing the door and reading a newspaper. He lowered the newspaper for a moment and Ritsuko recognized him as the vice commander of NERV. "Oh, Commander Fuyutsuki," she greeted. "Good morning sir."
"Good morning sir!" Maya and Aoba chorused the way one would be expected to address a superior officer.
Fuyutsuki rolled his eyes and returned to reading the paper. "Eh, morning," he replied lamely.
Ritsuko couldn't help but find his dismissal of them just a bit amusing. She at sat down beside the older man. "Strange to see you outside of NERV this early," she said. "Any particular reason?"
Fuyutsuki proceeded to close his eyes and scowl. "I have to represent Commander Ikari uptown," he flatly stated.
"Ah," Ritsuko replied. "Today is the city council meeting, isn't it?" She'd heard something about that coming up but the exact specifics of it had slipped her mind, not that she cared anway. She couldn't be bothered with the administrative aspects of NERV's presence in the city anyway.
"It's an exercise in ennui," Fuyutsuki replied. "Ikari always saddles me with the most tedious and boring assignments. I couldn't handle it without the Magi's help."
That got her thinking. "Speaking of tedium, aren't the city elections coming up?" she asked.
"Yes, but it's not like it matters," Fuyutsuki replied. "The council has little real authority. Actually the Magi run just about everything."
"Really?" Maya asked. "The same three super computers we use to run our operations?"
"Yes," Fuyutsuki returned. "The city government is run by the majority decision of three different computers. I suppose it's a form of democracy in a matter of speaking."
That was one way to put it. It was more like three dissociated personalities of a autocratic dictator fighting with one another as far as she was concerned... Ritsuko had a love and hate relationship with the Magi computers. They'd been designed and built by her mother and they had been her mother's scientific magnum opus. She'd even told her once that she'd put an aspect of her personality into each of the three Magi computers as a sort of checks and balances in their logic reasoning programming... She'd never had all that great of a relationship with her mother and due to her duties for NERV she was quite a bit reliant on her mother's work to do hers. This would always cause her a good amount of mixed emotions to say the least for a multitude of reasons...
"And the council members just go along with their decisions?" Maya asked.
"Well, it's been an effective form of government so far..." Fuyutsuki replied with a wry grin.
"This city really is built on science," Maya stated with a grin. "We're so lucky to living in such a time of progress."
Aoba rolled his eyes. "Ugh, technophiles..." he muttered cynically. Ritsuko couldn't help but see both of her coworkers points of view.
Fuyutuski lowered his paper and turned to her. "You're running an experiment with Unit 00 today aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes," Ritsuko replied. "We're going to be performing tests of the weapons integration system and prolonged power activation systems at 10:30."
"I see," Fuyutsuki replied. "I'll expect good news."
Ryouji Kaji tread light on his feet as he made his way though winding hallways in the bowels of NERV. He was somewhere above Terminal Dogma as the lowest level of the geofront complex was called, but soon enough he'd get down there. At present he was on his way to the power control servers. His handlers in the PSIA had given him orders to disable the power for Tokyo 3. From what he understood, the Japanese government was becoming concerned with NERV's growing power within their country and as such wished to test their capabilities...
It was a quite simple plan to be honest. They wanted him to cut the power systems to see how NERV would bring them back online. Seeing what order the systems came back would give the Japanese government a good idea of what the weaknesses in NERV's defenses and where they were. Somehow he couldn't help but feel that his other employers would find the information useful as well, they might very well have been partially responsible for charting out the plot he was now putting into action. It would be just like SEELE to be pulling the strings in the background like they seemingly were with everything else...
Kaji pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He had a job to do and he was going to do it. Regardless of who had ordered the sabotage, he would carry it out. It was something he could use after all. Hopefully before he installed the virus that would cut the power he'd be able to glean some information of what SEELE and NERV really wanted and what it had to do with the real cause of Second Impact. At the end of the day, that was the only reason he continued to comply with his increasingly questionable orders.
He swiped the key card he'd pick-pocketed from one of the security personnel earlier in the day and gained access to the level that was his goal. Now hard part of the operation began namely getting around on the level without being seen or raising suspicion. This wouldn't be too much of a difficult task as he was in NERV uniform and therefore he blended in just like anyone else. Still, if someone were to see him trying to gain access to the server rooms themselves then it wouldn't end well for him so caution was still at the forefront of his mind. With a light stride he made his way through the maze of hallways toward his destination, careful not to appear suspicious but also keep out of sight from any patrolling guards.
Soon enough he had reached the the hallway that contained the room that was his objective. Unfortunately for him two security guards were making a patrol down the hall. Kaji scowled and ducked behind a corner. There was no way that he could get passed them, they needed to leave the hall... All he could do was listen in on their conversation as he thought up a plan of action.
"I'm telling ya," the taller of the two guards said. "Things are getting pretty interesting around here. Wonder how many monsters are going to show up until this shit is over with."
"Who knows," the other guard responded. "One day this crap with over with."
That was indeed the hope, Kaji noted. He looked around of the ceiling to check for any cameras and how to avoid their sight line if possible. Finding only one directly over the entrance to the server room doors he solidified his plan of action...
Kaji reached into his pocket at retrieved a coin of the smallest denomination he had on him. With a swift action he hurled it down the hall so that it sailed past the guards and impacted the fork at the end of path before ducking back around the corner.
"What the hell was that?" The first guard spoke.
"No idea," the second replied. "Think it might be the maintenance guy coming around to sweep the halls?"
"No idea, but we should check anyway," the first stated.
Kaji peered around the corner as the guards moved away. Once they were around the corner of the hallway he made his move, stepping silently toward the server room door. He swiped the stolen key card yet again and opened the door, shutting it quickly behind himself. Now was were the fun began...
He put on a set of latex gloves as not to leave any finger prints for evidence and proceeded to get to work. He inserted the disk he'd been provided with into the control computer and proceeded to initiate the shutdown to be scheduled for later in the day. As soon as he was sure the files would be uploaded, he silently began his egress only after gaining access to the security camera feed and deleting any evidence of his presence.
Ritsuko stood in the observation deck looking out at Unit 00 as the tests progressed. So far so good, things were going as planned. The new combat armor seemed to be integrated well and the power consumption seemed to be normal. The only thing missing was the pilot to actively participate but they would have time at a later date. After all, Rei had been through quite a bit recently, no reason to put her through something stressful unnecessarily.
"Looks like things are going as we hoped them to," Maya stated cheerfully.
"Indeed," Ritsuko replied. "Let's up the power consumption and proceed to activation."
"Yes senpai," Maya answered before punching in some commands into her console.
So far things had gone alright with the exception of a few control connections running awfully close to maximum tolerance levels. That said, they'd need to find some way to work around this. Should the Eva draw too much power it could lead to cellular degeneration, or worse, a chance of unleashing a berserk state.
"Simulated activation closing in on borderline," Maya notified. "Just a few more seconds."
And then the alarm klaxon sounded in the testing bay...
"Abort the test!" Ritsuko shouted. "Break the circuits!"
"Cutting circuits," Maya stated.
The lights dimmed down in the test chamber and all power to Unit 00 was shut down. It took all of Ritsuko's composure not to curse in frustration. Just when things looked like it was going to be a smooth run with the test things just had to hit a snag... As if she didn't have enough on her plate already with the Dummy System, now Unit 00 was refusing to cooperate with its retrofit. It was beyond frustrating. It would honestly be worth it if she could ever get any kind of recognition from Gendo but... day by day she lost a little bit more faith in that.
After about ten seconds the lights came on again. "Power supply restored," one of the technicians in the room called out.
The display in front of Maya booted up and began displaying the Evangelion's individual nerve connection circuits. One of them amid the many dozen on the screen was displayed in red instead of green. Ritsuko frowned. "Looks like it's that one again," the muttered.
"Yes," Maya replied. "It seems the power conversion efficiency is 0.8 percent lower than our calculations."
"The conversion is barely within tolerance though," one of the technicians in the observation booth stated, a worried look in his face. "What do we do?"
Ritsuko knew the Evangelions well enough by now. Of the three units that she was tasked with maintaining, Unit 00 was by far the most troublesome, constantly plagued with gremlins and mysterious issues. She had a few sneaking suspicions as to why this might be, but there was no way to confirm if they were true... Despite this, she never failed to get the prototype Eva functioning properly. This upgrade and retrofit would be no different. "Lets try it again using the same configuration but lower the reciprocal conversion rate by 0.01," she replied. "Start it again."
"Yes doctor," chorused the technicians present.
Ritsuko crossed her arms and stared out at the giant armored cyborg. Even if it took all day, she would have Unit 00 combat ready before she left. She would do this, even if it was just to satisfy her own personal pride.
If there was any moment at school that Rei genuinely enjoyed it was most certainly lunchtime. Not only was it a break from the monotony of the school day but she also got to enjoy the food Shinji made for her. She found herself sitting on the roof of the school in a group with Shinji, Asuka, Horaki, Suzuhara, and Aida. As much as she would have preferred to spend lunch with Shinji alone she knew he was enjoying getting to spend time with his other friends, he hadn't seen them in nearly a week after all. She supposed she should be grateful for the limited time she got to spend with him just the two of them all things considered. Still... it had been nice to hold his hand again after the battle with the Angel in the volcano...
She knew she was scheduled for a routine harmonics test along with her fellow pilots for the afternoon so she'd been a bit surprised when Dr. Akagi had phoned her in the morning before she'd left her apartment. The doctor had informed her that in the afternoon after the harmonics test she'd have to report in for a few tests with Unit 00 to make sure the combat retrofit of her Evangelion were functioning properly. This wasn't something she was all too worried about but it did reawaken the thoughts and worries she'd been having about the Dummy System. Eventually she'd come to the conclusion that it was best not to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy her day at school with her friends. It was nice to be able to relish in the moments where she could just be... normal, like everyone else and not have to think about her Angelic genetics, her purpose in the commander's schemes, and the looming threat of Third Impact...
At present everyone was discussing the subject of the class trip. Horaki was explaining that though they'd been able to spend time at the beaches they'd been limited for time due to an approaching storm and so they'd only spent a day and a half swimming and diving. She was also embarrassing Suzuhara who had previously been bragging about his prowess diving but apparently the boy had refused to go back in the water after encountering and stepping on a jellyfish that had washed up on the beach.
"That's not how it happened, Shinji, believe me!" Suzuhara desperately implored. "I didn't refuse to go back out there, our guide just wouldn't let me!"
Aida snickered. "Heh, you've been exposed..." he muttered under his breath.
"Come on, back me up, dammit!" Suzuhara growled.
"Suzuhara-kun, it's understandable that you didn't want to swim anymore after that," Horaki said with a tired expression. "What's wrong in admitting that?"
"Cuz that's not what happened!" he whined.
"I'm inclined to believe Hikari over you any day of the week," Asuka stated with a smug grin. "Besides, even your nerdy friend is on her side."
"Yeah, Touji-kun," Aida added. "Not to mention you screamed like a little kid when you stepped on it."
"Hey, she just called you a nerd," Touji countered weakly. "Shouldn't you be going at it with her now instead of ganging up on me?"
Aida laughed. "Jokes on her or anyone, I own that label," he retorted.
"I'll bet you do, four-eyes," Asuka quipped.
Aida's expression soured just a bit. "Hey, that's a little too far," he huffed.
The raucous conversation continued on and Rei sat there eating the lunch that Shinji had made for her simply listening in on it. Even if she didn't have much to add she enjoyed listening to and seeing her friends get animated about things. She took another bite of the curry tofu that Shinji had brought for her and relished in the flavor of it. Perhaps at some point she should ask him for the recipe. It would be quite beneficial to learn how to cook better meals should she be successful in her mission to avert the Third Impact...
"How is it?" Shinji asked her, leaning in closer as not to speak over the conversation his friends were now having.
She swallowed the bite she was chewing on and looked down at her bento box. His face was awfully close to hers... Why did that make her heartbeat accelerate? For that matter, why did she keep asking herself questions along that line of thinking? "It's very good," she replied.
"Oh good," he returned with a soft smile. "I was worried I made it too spicy."
She smiled and looked back down at the bento box in her lap. The curry was indeed a bit hot but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Still... it was nice of him to ask. "You needn't worry," she replied softly.
Their conversation was interrupted by Aida before Shinji had a chance to say anything "Hey Shinji, Ayanami," glasses wearing boy spoke. "Have you two heard there's going to be a career guidance meeting coming up?"
Rei couldn't care less about things like that, she had far more important things to worry about in comparison. Third Impact would make any type of vocational preparation unnecessary, so until that was no longer a possibility she would not pay it any mind. However, this appeared to concern her closest friend. Shinji's eyes widened at the question. "What?" he responded.
"Yeah," Suzuhara added. "We're supposed to inform our parents about that, weren't you paying attention when sensei mentioned it?"
"N- no," Shinji stammered. "I guess I wasn't."
"Jeez, no wonder your grades are suffering," Asuka teased.
"Well, there's going to be a meeting about advanced classes for career preparation," Horaki stated. "Make sure to inform your parents or guardians about it. Seriously, Ikari, you shouldn't be daydreaming in class so much."
"Oh..." Shinji replied, frowning. "I see..."
The gears in Rei's mind began to spin. This was perfect, a chance to force Shinji and the commander together, to get them closer if possible. She'd heard the commander praise his son after the latest Angel attack and had taken it as an encouraging sign that her words in his office had had some sort of effect on him. Perhaps if Shinji were to talk to him it would lead to further connection and an opening of the commander's heart. With time that might lead to him abandoning his ultimate goals... "Will you speak to your father about this?" she asked.
Shinji's expression shifted and for a second to something other than a dour frown but it was only for a moment. Rei could only wonder what it was that flashed through his mind. "I... I think I might, yeah," he returned softly.
"How come you're making it sound like such a big deal?" Asuka asked. "Every time you mention your dad you get even mopier than normal. Is your relationship with your father really that strained?"
"Asuka, that's a bit rude to ask, don't you think?" Horaki voiced.
"What?" Asuka huffed, gesturing at Shinji with an open palm while turning her head to the class representative. "You should have heard him the other day when they spoke on the phone."
Rei tensed hearing her redheaded friend speak like that. Indeed Shinji's relationship with his father was very strained. She glanced over at him and noted how his expression had become even more downcast. She hated seeing him looking like that... "We... don't get along all that well," he replied.
"Yeah, I can see that by the look on your face," Asuka stated, just a hair of concern making into her tone and past her cocky expression. "How come?"
"I'd rather not talk about it..." Shinji muttered, taking a bite of his food.
Asuka shrugged. "Whatever," she said before redirecting her attention. "Rei, think you might sign up for any of those classes?"
Rei shook her head lightly. "No," she replied. "I'd rather not."
"Not that you'd need it anyway," Suzuhara piped up. "You're, like, the smartest person in the class. If anyone needs extra lessons it's Soryu."
Asuka whipped around and glared at him. "Hey! Don't you know I have a degree from a very prestigious university in Germany?" she huffed.
"Well, you suck with kanji," Suzuhara replied flatly. "That's like basic stuff we all learned in elementary school."
"Dummkopf, werde gefickt!" Asuka snarled.
Suzuhara glared back at her. "I might not know what you said, but I know it was something rude," he growled.
"Hey!" Horaki scolded. "Can't you two get along?"
"Oh come on, class rep, I'm enjoying the show!" Aida stated, barely suppressing a laugh.
Rei watched as the conversation devolved into chaos with everyone except herself and Shinji gesticulating wildly and talking over one another. It was a bit ridiculous to watch but she knew it was just... normal teenage banter. She felt her lips curving upwards. This kind of thing, watching her friends argue over things of no importance was a bit humorous...
Shinji spoke up. "Looks like things are getting back to normal..." he mused with a sigh. "As normal as they can be at least."
Rei's smile grew and she nodded in agreement. "Indeed they are," she replied. She returned to munching on the meal that Shinji had made for her. Even though she very much enjoyed it that he made her bento nearly every day, the more he did the more strange it made her feel. She didn't want him to think she took it for granted... "Thank you again for the food..." she added softly. "You know you do not have to do this for me..."
Shinji shrugged. "It's no big deal," he returned. "I'm just glad you enjoy it."
She felt in in her chest, that warmth that she felt when he was close began to grow and her smile intensified. "I always do," she replied.
Kaji smirked to himself. The upload he'd been tasked with had gone smoother than he'd expected. Just another few hours and the government would get the security probe that they wanted and he would be free to carry out some surveillance of his own during that time if he was lucky. He ejected the desk from the control terminal and stashed it back in his pocket, making sure to set things back as they were before he'd arrived before starting his egress. Once he was sure that all evidence of his presence was erased he crept toward the server room door with the silent grace befitting of a veteran field operative.
Slowly he slid the door to the hallway open and peered checked to see if the coast was clear. Finding the hallway empty he slid out into it and shut the door behind him. Creeping down the hallway careful to remain in the blind spot of the camera in front of the server room door he couldn't help but smirk to himself. "NERV really needs to step up it's game..." he muttered to himself.
It didn't take much effort to avoid the guards, their footsteps were quite audible on the tile floors. With almost a casual stride he moved swiftly back towards the elevator being sure to check his six discretely every so often. When he reached the elevator he breathed a sigh of relief. At this point no one would even think he was suspicious, he might very well have gotten lost and ended up on this floor after all...
"Hey you," a voice called from behind him.
He breathed a sigh before turning around. He'd prepared for the possibility of running into persons who might question him. It was a good thing he was a smooth talker, time to put the silver tongue of his to use. "Who, me?" he replied with a smirk to the security officer who had approached him. "Something the problem?
The guard stepped closer. Kaji noted that the man's Mpi 69 submachine gun was hanging loose at his side. Clearly he did not see him as a threat. "Haven't seen you before," the guard said. "You new here?"
"Well I wouldn't say I'm that new," Kaji replied. "I'm just a little lost. Headquarters is a vast and sprawling complex after all."
"Very true," the guard replied with a grin. "What department are you assigned?"
This guard certainly was a bit of nosy bastard... "Intelligence," Kaji answered truthfully, his grin never wavering.
"Oh shit!" the guard replied with a laugh. "Then you really are lost! That's about twenty floors up."
Kaji nodded. "Thank you much," he returned. The elevator doors opened behind him and he stepped backwards into it. "I'll see myself there."
The guard nodded. "Take care," he said with a cheerful smile.
The doors of the elevator closed and Kaji heaved a heavy sigh. His cover had been retained and by the time the coming outage occurred he would be long gone from the place of origin. It was a definite relief but... the way that the guard had approached him raised his own suspicions. He wouldn't be surprised if Commander Ikari had agents watching him and if so they'd probably been doing it for a while. When he thought about it he wouldn't be surprised if the commander of NERV had put a tail on him as far back as Wilhelmshaven... Should this be the case, it opened up many cans of worms.
As the elevator began its rise toward the upper floors he began to ponder the possibilities. If he was actively being shadowed by commander Ikari's agents, did he have a reason to be worried? Thinking rationally about it, no, he didn't have a reason to be alarmed so long as his life still held purpose for NERV. Commander Ikari was most likely aware of his other employers. Having said that, if the commander wanted him out of the picture he could do that at any time and most likely would in the event he lost his usefulness. Kaji frowned. He would have to start feeding Ikari more information on the government's plans in regards to NERV if he hoped to keep his head...
"I certainly picked an exciting line of work..." he muttered to himself.
It was the end of the day at school and Shinji had quite a bit on his mind as he walked to the courtyard in front of the building with Rei at his side. Asuka had hung back with Horaki for the time being but they'd all agreed to meet at the school's front entrance before heading to NERV for the scheduled harmonics testing. He'd been debating ever since lunch if he should talk to his father about the career guidance. There was no easy answer to this, just like there were no easy answers to any question related to his one living parent.
Talking to his father was always very difficult for him for a multitude of reasons. His father made him feel anger and bitterness and sadness and... he just wished that could change. He wanted to connect with him but for so long he'd felt afraid and despairing that things could never be any different. Then, amazingly, his father had praised him for his bravery in rescuing Asuka from the volcano. That had come as a total shock. He'd never thought of himself as courageous in the slightest or ever believed his father would praise him as much as he'd wanted to hear it. Those words kept playing over and over on repeat even days later... They gave him hope that maybe things could be different. Maybe...
"Is something the matter?" Rei asked.
His usual melancholy frown twitched upward slightly. Even though he continued staring forward he could sense that Rei was looking at him with that pensive look of concern of hers. "I... have a lot on my mind," he hesitantly replied.
"The things on your mind, do they have to do with your father?" she asked, her voice flowing softly.
His frown inverted and he couldn't help but suppress a laugh at the question. It was amazing how she just seemed to... get him. It was something about her that he truly appreciated and valued. There was never any judgmental tone in her voice like he'd occasionally hear from Asuka or Misato, just friendly concern. What made him laugh though was just how easily she'd hit the nail on the head, like she'd read his mind or something. "Yeah," he replied, his soft smile evaporating. "How'd you know?"
"You displayed a strong reaction at lunch when Horaki spoke of the career guidance interview," Rei returned. "It was a logical assumption."
Shinji nodded. Well... no use in beating around the bush. "I keep thinking about what he said after the last Angel," he confessed. From there the words kept spilling out. Rei was one of if not the only person he felt comfortable enough to talk with about things like this "He's... never praised me before. It's... kinda... a lot to take in. Now I can talk to him about this career thing but... I don't know how to approach him. It's hard. I want to... have him in my life. Even if he's been cruel to me, I still want that. It's pathetic, I know..."
"I see..." Rei replied. "Perhaps you should talk to him. It is possible your relationship can continue to mend."
It made his breath catch in his throat to hear her say that. She knew his father better than he did since she'd been his ward for quite a long time or at least she was legally... Considering that he made her live in that run down building it was clear that his father and her weren't that close. Still, she knew him better than he did. If she thought that there was a chance then maybe there was some reason to hope. That was scary and delightful all at once. "You really think so?" he asked.
Rei nodded. "Yes," she stated softly. "I do."
Shinji let her words sink in before he replied. "I... guess I should call him then," he replied. "Right?"
Rei nodded once again. "That would be a good place to start," she said softly.
Indeed it would be, but easier said than done... He fell silent as they continued toward he front of the school through the hallway. Many thoughts filled his head but foremost of those was the... anxiety and hopelessness that always gripped him when thinking about his father. The... cruelty that his father was capable of scared him. The fact that he sent him away and then took Rei in just for the sake of her becoming a pilot was evidence of how callus he could be. Shinji's thoughts began to wander. Rei was his father's ward like he was Misato's. He'd lived with a teacher and drifted through life aimlessly but what had Rei's life been like before that? She'd mentioned a while ago that she was selected to pilot the Eva at a young age. It got him thinking... "Can I ask you something... personal?" he murmured.
"You may," Rei returned.
"What were your parents like?" he asked.
Rei's eyes widened and she blinked in surprise. "M- my parents?" she stammered quietly.
"Yeah," Shinji continued. "You never talk about them. I know that my father became your guardian so you could be a pilot but... you never talk about your parents. I'm sorry I'm asking this but... what happened to them? Are they..." he trailed off, unable to finish that sentence.
Rei's expression darkened and she stared off down the hall and Shinji began to worry that he'd upset her or awakened some bitter memories. "I... don't remember my parents," she replied. "They were... gone... before I was old enough to remember them..."
Now it was Shinji's turn to be slightly shocked. "Oh..." he replied. He felt his stomach knotting up. He knew all too well what that was like, he didn't remember his mother... He couldn't help but feel like a real jerk for asking her about that, he should have known since she didn't talk about it that it was sensitive subject... "I- I guess that's yet another thing we have in common. I don't remember my mother since she died when I was three. I'm sorry... if what I asked upset you..."
Rei shook her head. "It's alright," she returned softly. "I am not offended."
The tension in his chest lessened just a little bit. "Still..." he spoke. "I shouldn't have brought it up."
"You had no way of knowing," Rei replied softly.
The two of them exited the school and stepped outside into the heat of the afternoon. Once more Shinji couldn't help but start to get locked into his own head. He frowned as he began to spiral in self loathing. How could he have been so stupid? Why couldn't he have not just kept his damn mouth shut!? Even though she said it was fine he still felt awful... "Losing one parent is hard enough," he murmured. "I can't imagine losing two..."
"I- it's in the past," Rei replied, her voice still retaining some discomfort. "I... try not to think about it. I would much rather focus on the present and the future."
Shinji couldn't help but admire that strength of will that Rei had. "I wish it was easier for me to do that..." he murmured.
Rei nodded. "It's... not the easiest for me either," the replied.
"Hey guys, why the long faces?" a familiar snarky voice called out. "Nervous about the tests this afternoon?"
Shinji turned his head to see Asuka approaching with a cheerful grin. "Not really," he replied. "It's just another test."
Asuka planted her hands on her hips. "Then what's on your mind?" she asked. "You look even mopier than usual."
Shinji sighed. It would be easier to just... shove it down than try to explain it all again. "It's nothing," he replied. "Let's just head to NERV..."
"Are you going to call your father about the career guidance?" Rei asked softly.
Before he had a chance to respond Asuka cut him off. "Wait, that's what's been bothering you since lunch?" she huffed. "Just call him and get it over with! What's the worst that could happen, right Rei?"
Rei nodded softly. "I concur," she quietly stated.
Rei was right, there was some truth in Asuka's words. What was the worst that could happen? His father might dismiss him and things would remain as they always had at the worst? That... sucked, but it wasn't all that bad of an outcome. Well, it was a depressing outcome, but it was one he'd already learned to live with... "Y- you have a point," he stammered out.
"Of course I'm right," Asuka replied with a playful smirk, laughter in her voice. "It's me saying it, y'know?"
Shinji took a deep breath and let it out. There was no sense putting it off then... He pulled out his cell phone to dial his father's office but... it was dead. He turned to Asuka and Rei with a sheepish expression. "Is... is it alright if we stop at a pay phone on the way in then?" he asked.
Rei nodded. "I do not mind," she replied.
Asuka shrugged. "Sure, why not," she returned.
Shinji couldn't help but allow himself a small smile. It was certainly nice to have friends that were supportive.
Ritsuko couldn't help but be pleased with herself. It had taken a good amount of the day so far but the kinks with Unit 00 had seemingly been worked out. She sipped the lukewarm cup of coffee that she'd been slowly consuming over the past hour and grinned. "Alright, it seems we've finally managed to integrate the fire control system," she stated. "Now all we need to do is implement the precision targeting software."
Maya turned around in her seat and smiled. "Well, at least that's going to go smoother than solving the power consumption errors we had earlier," she replied.
Ritsuko nodded. Thank whatever gods may be for that... There had been points during the tests of the power soak and all of the various nerve circuits where she'd been afraid she'd never get the damn things balanced. "Yes indeed," she returned. "It seems we'll be combat ready by the end of today."
"Commander's Ikari and Fuyutsuki will certainly be pleased, even if we did run a bit over schedule," Maya added.
Ritsuko looked back out the window and the one eyed face of Unit 00. Considering the amount of problems the unit had, especially how it had nearly gone berserk at the last activation before the Fifth Angel, she wanted to make sure that all the upgrades and updates had taken. "We're not out of here just yet," she replied. "I say we run a full scan of every system before we finish for the day."
Maya turned back to her station. "Alright," she replied. "Sounds like a good idea, just to be safe."
Ritsuko sipped her room temperature coffee and winced. She wanted to warm it up but she didn't want to leave in order to do so, she had to supervise after all. Hopefully they wouldn't find any further errors. She had enough problems to work out on other projects. As she stared off at the enormous cyborg in the testing cage her mind drifted back to the Dummy System. Perhaps she could tweak the input parameters and process the data she'd collected again and see if the error persisted. Hopefully she'd get a chance to put that hypothesis to the test.
"Initializing level one connections," one of the technicians called out.
Ritsuko shoved those thoughts from her mind and slammed back the last of her coffee. Those thoughts would have to wait. She still had the present experiment to focus on...
Rei walked beside her two closest friends as they headed toward NERV for their respective tests. Asuka and Shinji were talking about schoolwork that they were having trouble with but she herself was silent with her head dipped and watching her feet plodding forward on the sidewalk. The conversation she'd had with Shinji lingered in her mind. As pleased as she was that Shinji had decided to try and reach out to his father the fact that she'd had to lie to him once again saddened and worried her. It reminded her yet again that she could not share things with her closest friend as much as she might have wanted to...
It had been a complete surprise when the conversation had shifted to the topic of her own parents. She'd lied and told him that she didn't remember them but the truth was that she'd never had parents. This wasn't something she could have explained without opening up talking points that she'd prefer to leave buried... How could she explain to him that she was an artificial creation? He could she explain that she wasn't even fully human? How could she explain that part of her genetic makeup came from his... She couldn't... and that fact hurt. One day she might be forced to reveal it and that was terrifying. What if he couldn't accept... who she was or what she was? The prospect of losing her closest friend tore her up inside... and all she could do was lie to him. The lies were better than the truth. They were somehow easier to manage than the truth. The fact that that was the truth of the matter was sickening...
"Hey, either of you want to grab a snack?" Asuka shook her from her thoughts. "And there's a pay phone over there, Shinji, if you want to call your dad."
Rei looked up to see that they were about to pass by a convenience store that indeed had a pay phone sitting outside of it. "Sure," Shinji replied. "I wouldn't mind a snack."
Her stomach was still very much full from lunch but the heat of the afternoon was making her parched. "I wouldn't mind acquiring something to drink," she said.
"It's settled then," the fiery redhead declared. Rei didn't have a chance to react as Asuka grabbed a hold of her arm and started pulling her toward the convenience store's entrance. "Come on, let's grab a drink and let Shinji call his dad."
"O- okay," Shinji stammered.
Rei couldn't help want to stand with him as he made the call, she knew how difficult it would be for him to talk to his father but Asuka's grip was quite strong. "You don't need to pull me along," she voiced quietly as soon as they entered the store.
Asuka let go of her and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry," she said. "I just figured you'd want to stand by with him while he did it, that's all."
Rei tilted her head to the side. "Would that have been a problem?" she asked.
Asuka chuckled and smirked. "This is something he's gotta do on his own," she replied. "He's gotta learn to stand up for himself without anyone holding him up."
Her words, as gruff as they were, held a truth within. As much as Rei wanted to be there for him the bottom line was that she couldn't coach him through everything. "I understand," she replied softly.
Asuka nodded. "Good," she replied before crossing her arms. Her tone softened just a bit when she spoke again. "So... from what I hear Unit 00 is going to be finished with its combat retrofit today. How do you feel about being combat operational again? When we sortied at Mt. Asuma you seemed quite shaken up..."
Rei glanced down at the floor. There was no way she could explain the reason why she'd been so very unnerved during the deployment on the mountain. It was yet another thing she was forced to conceal from her friends. "I have some reservations, yes," she replied honestly. At least she could be honest about that...
"I get it," Asuka stated. "But you'll have me and Shinji to back you up, so don't worry, okay?"
Rei felt her lips curving upward. It was... nice to have such supportive friends. She hoped she'd never lose that. "Thank you," she replied.
Asuka grinned. "Don't mention it," she returned warmly.
Misato stood up from her desk and stretched. Hunching over paperwork all day was truly taxing. It was a battle that she knew she'd never win. That was her life though, she supposed, success meant a retention of the status quo and failure meant disaster. If not her whole existence, then it certainly summed up her career at NERV, and as much as she'd come to accept it over time it still was very tiresome at times. She barely got time to do anything for herself anymore because of all the forms she'd had to process recently due to all the deployments against the Angels. At least she had Shinji to cook around the house and she'd been lucky enough to convince Hyuga to pick up her dry cleaning today. If it weren't for these little things she was sure she'd never catch up on anything outside of work.
Thankfully she'd managed to finish filling out all the forms and administrative crap in the wake of the incident at Mt. Asama the previous day. One more letter to a random alphabet bureau and she was sure she'd lose her mind. Thankfully the pilots would be arriving soon which meant she could actually get out of her office and and away from her desk. That said, she might as well get a head start. She left her office and stepped down the hall towards the nearest elevator. She'd decided to just go to the bridge and wait for the pilots show up and maybe grab a coffee along the way...
When she reached the elevator she turned around to punch the button for her target floor but the sound of shoes clacking on the tiles floor of the hallway. She frowned upon noting the identity of who it was that was dashing toward the lift...
"Hey!" Kaji shouted, panting as he dashed toward her from down the hall. "Hold the elevator!"
That was something she very much did not want to do. The less time she spent talking to or seeing that scruffy scoundrel the better. She reached out and pressed the door close button and waited. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. The doors were just about to shut... and...
"Got it!" Kaji huffed as his hand jutted between the doors just before they clamped together.
Misato's lips contorted in a frustrated grimace as she let out a hiss of disapproval. This was just her luck...
Kaji stepped inside and the elevator began to descend. She tried her best not to look in his direction as that would just give him opportunities to try and mend things and that was the last thing that she wanted... "Man, I haven't ran like that in years," he stated as he tried to catch his breath but that sickening suaveness in his voice remained even so. "So, what's with the black expression, sunshine?"
"It's nausea from having to see you," she bit out.
Kaji snickered to himself. "Well, if it means anything, I'm still pleased to be in your presence," he replied with that shit eating grin of his on full display.
Misato groaned. This elevator ride couldn't end soon enough...
Shinji stood before the pay phone just outside the convenience store, steadying himself to make the call to his father. He practiced in his head what he'd wanted to say a few times after Asuka and Rei had entered the store but still he didn't quite feel prepared. It was hard to reach out no matter how he looked at it. He knew that if he was rejected then nothing would be different and still it was hard. These things are so much easier to think about then to actually do... he thought to himself. I mustn't run away... With a shaky hand, he grabbed the receiver and dialed NERV headquarters.
The line rang twice before someone picked up. "Thank you for calling NERV Japan, how may we direct your call?" the person on the other end spoke cheerfully.
Shinji swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hello, this is Pilot Shinji Ikari, er- th- the commander's son..." he mumbled out softly. This was already not going how he'd hoped it would... "C- can I speak with him?"
"You'd like to speak to Commander Ikari?" the receptionist replied.
"Y- yes," Shinji stuttered. "I'd like to speak to... my father."
"Please wait while I transfer you," the receptionist replied. With that, hold music began to play, which seemed to go on forever. As the seconds ticked by, Shinji began to lose hope. Just as he was about to hang up the phone and forget about ever calling, the hold ended as his father picked up the line. "What?" was the cold and gruff inquiry that his father levied. No hello, no how're you doing, just... "what?"
Even over the phone he could feel his father's domineering presence. "He- hello fa- father, I- I-" he stammered softly.
"Spit it out," his father snapped. "I don't have all day."
This conversation was very quickly going off the rails. Shinji knew he had to salvage it while he had the chance. If only he could just stop stuttering! "Th- there's a career guidance meeting at school," he said. "I was hoping that-"
His father cut him off. "I've delegated all those responsibilities to Katsuragi," he bit out. "Don't bother me with such things."
Shinji couldn't hold back anymore, lest his father just hang up on him. "Well, I w- was h- hoping tha- that we c- could spend some time together," he stuttered. "I- is that too much to ask?"
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Eventually his father responded. This time his voice wasn't as cold but it was still rather guarded. "I might be able to make some time..." he replied.
The weight in Shinji's chest seemed to evaporate. It was shocking but in a good way. He'd honestly expected just to be shut down. The fact that he hadn't been was a good sign. The flickering ember of hope he carried that things might actually change was kindled. "R- really?" he asked timidly.
The line began to crackle. "I'll b- le- v on busi- n- la- this week. P- ha- af- t- I- ge- b-" then the line went dead.
Shinji was perplexed and a little bit saddened. It seemed like he might have actually been getting somewhere with his father but the call just had to get disconnected... From what it sounded it didn't seem like his father had hung up on him so that was interesting. He couldn't help but wonder what the cause of that might be. The phone lines at NERV never got disconnected...
"So how did it go?" Asuka's voice pulled his attention away from the matter at hand. "You called him, right?"
Shinji looked over to his side and saw Asuka and Rei walking up to him. Rei held a bottle of water while Asuka had a couple bags of peanuts and a can of iced tea. They both looked like they were concerned for how the phone call had gone. "Did you manage to reach Commander Ikari?" Rei asked.
Shinji nodded. "Yeah, I talked to him," he replied. "But a strange thing happened..." he trailed off, unsure of how to explain what happened.
"Come on, Shinji, just spit it out!" Asuka huffed. "It can't be that big a deal!"
Shinji shuffled his feet as he formulated an explanation. "I- I managed to get in touch with him," he replied softly. "But... he said the career thing was Misato's problem."
"I see..." Rei murmured. "So it did not go as intended?"
Shinji scratched the back of his neck. "I'm... not sure," he returned. "After that I... asked him if he could make some time to see me and... I think he agreed. Then the line got disconnected."
Asuka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, disconnected?" she asked. "He hung up on you or something?"
"I don't know," he replied, becoming a little uneasy with how pushy Asuka was becoming. "It just... cut off, like there was some kind of interference and the line just failed."
"That's very strange..." Rei murmured.
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Well you can clarify it with him in person after the harmonics test," she returned. "Don't let things like that get under your skin!"
Shinji had to admit that she was right, he could very well clarify things with his father when and if he saw him at NERV. "I guess you're right," he replied with a sigh. "Sorry, it's just stressful..."
Asuka pinched her nose. "And you don't have to apologize for everything," she groaned. "God, you're hopeless!"
"I'm happy you were able to speak to your father," Rei stated with a ghost of a grin, cutting into the conversation before Shinji had a chance to reply. "Perhaps in time your relationship can indeed improve."
Shinji took in her words and his lips curved upward. Rei always knew what to say to get him out of his funk or at least lighten his spirits just a little bit... "Yeah," he replied. "Maybe you're right."
"Good," Asuka grumbled whilst cracking open her can of iced tea. "We've established that talking to your dad is hard to do, whatever, let's get moving! It's hot out and we're gonna be late if we just hang around here. By the way, here, this is for you." The fiery redhead then tossed him one of the bags of peanuts.
Shinji caught the bag and looked it over before returning his gaze to the girl who'd thrown it. He found it odd. One minute she was being rather abrasive and the next minute she'd bought him a snack? "What's this?" he asked.
Asuka shrugged. "What?" she replied. "You said you wanted a snack, right?"
"Well yeah," he replied. "I jus-"
Asuka cut him off. "Well then beggars can't be choosers," she snapped with a smug grin before turning on her heel and starting to walk down the sidewalk. "Come on! Let's move!"
The redhead's behavior was truly confusing... Shinji glanced over at Rei with a furrowed brow. "What was that about?" he asked.
Rei, from her expression, seemed nearly as puzzled as he was. "I do not know," she replied softly. "But we are expected at NERV soon."
Shinji silently nodded in agreement and the two of them began following behind Asuka. Shinji peeled open the small snack size bag of peanuts and began munching away, trying his best to push the phone call with his father to the back of his mind. Hopefully Asuka was right and he'd be able to him after the tests. Until then, he would try his best not to worry about it... emphasis on try.
The elevator jolted to a stop and Misato looked up at the floor counter display to find it had gone dim. This was quite perplexing, in fact, it shouldn't even be possible...
"Huh? Power's out?" Kaji muttered, staring up at the same display that she had been eyeballing as puzzled as she was.
Misato turned to him, unwilling to believe that was a possibility. It would mean that she was stuck inside this damned elevator with Kaji of all people... "No, it can't be," she replied. "It's not possible."
Just as she'd said that, the light in the elevator shut off leaving them in pitch darkness. After a second, the emergency lights switched on, bathing the elevator car in a dim red glow. Something really bad must be going on if the power was out... "Something's wrong," she stated. "Maybe there was an accident..."
Kaji shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps Dr. Akagi made a mistake," he replied, his cheerful demeanor not soured in the slightest.
Misato shook her head. "No, there's no way Ritsuko would screw up and cause something like this," she replied.
Kaji leaned back against the elevator wall and put his hands behind his head. "Oh well," he sighed. "Whatever is the cause I guess we'll just have to wait until we're rescued."
Misato groaned. "That can't come soon enough..." she grumbled.
Kaji placed his left hand on his chest and dramatically placed the back of his right palm on his forehead. "I'm so very hurt," he retorted, his sly grin never wavering. "If we're going to be stuck here for a while, and who knows how long that might be, we might as well be civil to one another."
Misato crossed her arms with a scowl and faced away from him. He was right, but she didn't want to be civil with him. She wanted to be away from his smirking, scruffy, maddeningly insightful, handsome... she cut off that line of thinking and drew and deep breath while pinching the bridge of her nose. What cruel powers had conspired to leave her in this miserable situation? The answer to that question eluded her... She composed herself and stared up at the darkened display above the doors. "The back up system should kick on any minute now," she stated confidently.
She could only hope she was right about that...
Ritsuko was quite satisfied with herself as the testing with Unit 00 reached it's conclusion. The machine was finally combat ready and she was certain that all the kinks with power and control had been ironed out. As the experiment wound down in preparation for the arrival of its pilot and the subsequent testing, her mind drifted back to the Dummy System.
The power and weapon system integration tests on Unit 00 had given her numerous ideas she wanted to play with in regards to that project. She'd managed to get Unit 00 to cooperate by modifying the power and data link inputs to force a result so... why not try and salvage some of the data she'd collected from the initial contact experiment and modify the parameters to its input into the system? It was certainly a promising idea, but how would she implement it? Perhaps a new cataloging program? No matter what, she'd have quite a bit of work to do...
She sighed. She was bordering on becoming obsessed and she knew it. No, correction, she was already obsessed... "Let's start wrapping this up," she ordered to the room around her. "Begin final diagnostic."
"Yes, senpai," Maya replied dutifully. However, before anyone had a chance to as much as flip a switch, the lights in the room cut out along with the main lights in the testing chamber. The room was plunged into near total darkness. Thankfully there were still some dim blue emergency lights shining into the room from the Eva test cage. It was then that Maya spoke again, this time sounding a bit worried. "The main power supply has shut down. Voltage level is zero."
Well this was an unexpected and startling development, in fact it should have been impossible. She could feel the eyes of all the personnel in the room. Slowly she turned her head to glance at the crew over her shoulder. "Uh... It's not our fault," she voiced awkwardly.
"So... any idea of what might be the cause of this, senpai?" Maya asked nervously.
Ritsuko turned to look at her young assistant and friend, taking in her expression of worry before returning her gaze to the giant cyclops they'd just been running tests on. She'd let her grasp of the situation slip for a moment and that was unacceptable. Her lips tightened and the next words she spoke she made sure to speak them with authority. No idea," she replied. "but the backup system should have kicked on by now."
"So what do we do?" one of the technicians asked.
Ritsuko turned back to face her subordinates. Regardless of what was causing this issue, it was her duty to show strength "The tests are complete." she said in a level tone. "This is a minor inconvenience and as such you are all dismissed. Maya, we should report to the bridge and see what's going on.
Maya nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan, senpai," she stated with a soft smile.
The technicians in the room began moving towards the door. The first man to reach it pressed the open switch and the door didn't move. He grabbed the edge of the steel door and put his weight into forcing it open, grunting as he did so, but alas it held firm. "Looks like it won't move," the man said. "We're stuck in here."
Ritsuko scowled. This was certainly looking like a major inconvenience. The backup power should have kicked in by now, but considering it hadn't, she was unwilling to wait for whenever that would be. "Well, don't just stand there," she commanded. "Find something to force it open."
Rei trudged beside Asuka and Shinji under the sweltering heat of the sun. She had to admit that she was rather glad that she'd purchased a bottle of water at the store. As Asuka and Shinji occasionally spoke to each other she remained silent with a vacant look, staring down at the lines of the sidewalk as they scrolled past. In the back of her mind was a growing intrigue... Something about how Shinji had described the call with the commander ending had raised questions, but perhaps more importantly, jogged a memory...
The phone lines at NERV should not under any normal circumstance fail. This was due to the multilayered backup systems for all electrical power lines within the geofront and specifically NERV central. For a call to become disconnected would require numerous systems to fail all at once which was something that was nearly impossible, but it wasn't completely impossible...
It would be possible if NERV had completely lost power...
She recalled that in the timeline she'd lived in previously there had been a blackout at NERV. During a test with the Evas there had been a power outage that had lasted a number of hours but... if something similar were to be happening right now then even more memories of the past no longer lined up. According to her recollection,the blackout had occurred after the arrival and defeat of the Eighth Angel, the one that had used it's body to bomb Tokyo 3 from space. Well... she supposed if that Angel existed in this timeline that it would no long be the Eighth. The nomenclature of the beasts didn't matter, the point stood in that that particular adversary had been killed before the blackout. This raised many questions and filled her with a now too familiar apprehension...
What if that Angel or any Angel attacked while the power was out, if the power was out? What could they do in that situation? There would be no early warning, no umbilical power to the Evas, and potentially NERV would be unable to deploy them at all. She felt every muscle in her body begin to tense up. No, that shouldn't happen... but it could. She hoped that it wouldn't happen...
"Rei, are you alright?" Shinji asked, shaking her from her thoughts.
She realized that she had been starting to breathe a bit fast, that she was clenching her fists rather tightly, and her closest friend was eyeing her with concern. Rei slowly nodded. "I'm fine..." she lied. "The heat is starting to get to me."
"I agree," he replied. "I should have ran in and gotten a water like you did."
"Lucky for us that there's entrances to the geofront all over town," Asuka voiced over her shoulder. "Air conditioning, here we come."
Rei looked down at the pavement once again. If the power was out she doubted that it would be any cooler in the halls of NERV than outside. She felt fear and anger and worry in that moment. She hated how she couldn't talk to her friends about her anxieties. She was afraid of what lay ahead of her in so many different ways. She was worried that if things continued being different that she wouldn't have the strength to face it.
The most bitter part of it all was that only time would tell. She could only face things as they came, just like anyone else. The idea that from now on the future was a complete unknown was simultaneously liberating and terrifying, but it was something she had to embrace otherwise she would break.
For the sake of the world, she could not break...
Author's Notes
Well, the events of Episode 11 were initially supposed to be one chapter, but as it exceeded 17,000 words I decided it would be best to split it up into two parts. That said, the next chapter should be up rather soon after this one, hopefully less than two weeks.
Things are definitely heating up for our heroes, are they not? Lots of major happenings in the prelude to the appearance of Materael. Rei continues to deal with the divergence between her timeline and the anime timeline and Shinji finally gets a spark of hope that things with his father can change. If I had to pick a scene I was most proud of, it would probably be Shinji's scene with Rei right after school. The character drama is getting heavy...
As always, I adore reading your reviews. Please let me know what you think! And don't be afraid to reach out to me directly with any questions though I refuse to give out any spoilers.
Regards,
A.F.