Envy
It was a day of foreboding as American Military helicopters brought a monster to Japan.
Their mission was simple: they were to transfer Evangelion Unit 03 to NERV Japan's Matsushiro facility, away from potential danger to their own country. Japan was already at the epicenter stage of most Angel attacks, the top brass found no reason to cling to problem projects when someone else could deal with it.
The helicopter pilots kept focus, trying not to gaze down at the Unit below. The machine was every bit as tall and menacing as its siblings, only looking more fearsome by the black colors carved into it. The face structure was near identical to Unit 01, missing only it's the horn, which served to add to the uncanny effect of Unit 03 not remove it.
Engineers would tell stories among themselves of hearing garbled whispers while at work, or seeing its yellow eyes glow on their own during night time shifts. One even heard a strange, almost oozing sound the night before the incident in Nevada; the engineer chalked it up to bad sleep but everyone at the base agreed on one thing.
Unit 03 had to go.
Go it went, arriving under the watchful eyes of Major Misato Katsuragi and Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, standing on a platform to oversee it. Neither woman could shake the sense of wrongness they felt upon Unit 03's touchdown. Ritsuko would have used her position as the current head scientist, now that Naoko Akagi had left to Germany, to evict Unit 03 from the premises. She couldn't however, definitely not with the reason Unit 03 was even here at all.
"The U.S. government foisted this upon us." Ritsuko said. "The second branch was wiped out, everything with an 89 kilometer range gone thanks to an error in calculation or sabotage. The S-2 engine is gone, Unit 04 gone, their base is gone, so now they're dropping off their problem at our doorstep."
"They've never been great at handling responsibility." Misato said. "They insisted on building the machines themselves, without oversight or working in tandem with our other facilities. Now when things go wrong on their turf they pass it onto us."
"No one could have predicted the result Misato."
"That doesn't make it better Ritsuko." Misato sighed. "A lot of good people died that day, good people… Some of them I knew."
Pilot Makinami was there for Unit 04's test. Misato always thought she was a nutcase, but the thought of that excitable and cheery girl disappearing like that left her cold. Everyone from that branch, Dr. Richards, his wife Dr. Storm, her brother, Private Grimm, countless others lost.
"God, Reed's family was on the base," Misato pinched the bridge of her nose. "The kids… I knew those little tykes, they didn't deserve any of this…"
"They were all pulled into a Dirac sea, much like Shinji did in the last Angel battle," Ritsuko said. "The chances they survived are slim."
Misato turned her head. "But not impossible?"
"Even assuming they survived the contact, they would have been torn apart by whatever was out there. We were lucky Shinji even made it back at all."
The Major slumped her shoulders on the handrail. The whole thing was depressing. Humanity was already playing a dangerous game, with tools they didn't understand against an enemy they summoned to this world in the name of their own selfish greed. She only hoped Shinji and Asuka could make it out of this unscathed.
"On the upside, the other pilot managed to avoid getting dragged in." Ritsuko said. "Who knew she could be so lucky?"
Indeed, Marie Vincennes was a lucky girl. It was one of the reasons Asuka hated her, along with her passive aggressive condescension that somehow stung more than Asuka's brand of stinginess. Marie got on Misato's nerves one too many times, especially when she kept taking things without permission.
Let's just say Misato was not amused to find Marie in the middle of kidnapping Pen Pen.
"How did she get out of that?"
"Apparently Marie had been pulling a heist somewhere in Vegas when the test happened. Came back with a little cat pendant actually."
Misato shrugged. "Dunno whether to be proud or laugh about that."
"Both? Anyway she's been transferred to NERV's British facility." Ritsuko frowned. "If she passes the psych tests, we might have her transferred here."
"… since when did we have psych tests?"
"It's the standard elsewhere. It's only us that hide our problems."
They heard metallic clangs of rushed footsteps. Misato and Ritsuko saw one of the engineers catching his breath, before he readied himself.
"Major, we might have a problem." He said finally. "One of our flame throwers is missing."
"Missing? What for?"
"We don't know, one of our guys saw it getting taken. Webbing was left behind." The man said. "They even said they heard things in the walls."
That put Misato on edge immediately. "Get Section-2 on the go, increase security and make sure no one leaves the facility until I say so."
The worker ran to fulfill his duty, as Misato adjusted her jacket.
"I don't know what he's doing doing here, but Spider-Man's got another thing coming if he thinks he can just waltz right in without consequences."
"How do you know it's him Misato? Why would he risk being here?"
"We'll find out what, as soon as we have him in a cell. Let's just call it a hunch."
Misato gazed back at Unit 03, seeing it wheel inside the hangar. She shivered, sensing that where were bad things to come soon, whether she wanted it or not.
Who would have thought carrying a big, clunky flamethrower would make crawling through air dents harder?
Spider-Man was already regretting his choice as he crawled through the ventilation shafts. Earlier in the day, Shinji told Misato he and his friends were going camping in the woods, so he wasn't too worried about somebody connecting him to Spider-Man. The plan was going so well too. Set up camp, change into Spider-Man, break into the base through a blind spot in the cameras, then get into Unit 03's cage.
The flamethrower came in and that was when things got complicated. The heavy garbage heap made noise if he moved too much, so and Shinji had to be careful to keep quiet. Maybe he should have taken Kensuke's grenade suggestion.
"No, then I'd just drop the grenade and we'd blow ourselves up for no good reason." He harshly whispered to himself. "Just remember why you're here Shinji. Don't run away now."
He thought of how earlier Kensuke revealed to Shinji and Kaworu about Unit 03's transfer, how Kaworu then revealed another on of his secrets.
"The plan would be to have Unit 03 taken over by an Angel. It would be Bardiel, the 13th and the weakest due to his AT Field not being very strong. He is vulnerable to fire and sonic waves."
"Wait, you mean loud noises can stop him?"
"If they were sufficiently concentrated, yes. However his most dangerous weapon is the ability to assume direct control over the things he possesses. I shudder to think what might happen if he gained control of a human, let alone an Evangelion, so I must implore you, Shinji… you must kill him before he causes a rampage in Unit 03."
Shinji took him at his word. How could he not, when it was Kaworu who told him this? For the good of mankind, Spider-Man needed to stop the Angel before it could destroy anything. It beat having to fight the thing in an Eva at least. Touji didn't come, saying that he wanted to stay with Sakura, which Shinji understood and accepted. They deserved to be happy.
Surprisingly, or maybe not that much, Kensuke was easily convinced into this endeavor.
"There's an Angel controlling an Eva? AWESOME, we're gonna break in like we're some kind of awesome super spies!"
"We would be, so long as I don't get caught. Again." Shinji whispered. "Maybe this one time… no, the moment I hope it shatters in an instant. Hmmm, maybe if I think negative I won't be in danger?"
A silly thought, but Shinji could be deluded when he wanted to.
He checked the last cover to find the guards had left for their patrol. Good. He kicked the duct cover, letting it and himself fall to the floor. He also carefully adjusting the flamethrower so it didn't go off early and fry someone. Most likely himself.
Hours skulking around and now Shinji found himself face to face with the new Evangelion. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel intimidated by it's dark visage, a fear not felt since he first saw Unit 01 months ago. Shinji never liked the Evas, but this one felt more ominous than normal, before even thinking about the Angel's potential possession of the thing. He shook his head, supposing quite rightly that he should ignore the fear to focus on the task ahead.
"Now if I was a parasitic alien monster hiding in an Eva, where would I be?" He asked himself, pulling up the flamethrower's gun. "More importantly, how do I not sound crazy saying that?"
He watched the Unit's form, searching for any potential hiding spots. Throughout his time at NERV, Shinji wondered about SEELE. He thought they would restrain themselves while the Angels attacked, but sending Kaji to take Adam, allowing Bardiel to possess one of their own, he underestimated how far SEELE would go for their scenario. What was the Commander's back up plan if the pilots failed to stop it?
'I will glare at it from my table, then yell at it to leave. It's what I would do with my son.'
Shinji laughed at that mental image. One of these days he'd try webbing his father to the chair and see how he'd react. Instead Shinji noticed part of the Eva's plating was loose. He would just chalk it up to incompetent management but there was a strange white goop surrounding the frame.
It was moving.
"There we are!"
Spider-Man webbed the plate, using both hands to pull the plate open. It was difficult, whatever was keeping it attached was also pulling back, almost fighting to keep it there. The struggle was there, at least until Shinji used more strength to force it right off. He found a most disturbing sight.
One of Unit 03's control devices was covered by a moving, thick white substance of the Angel, crawling, shuffling, bubbles forming around it which released the odd gasp when they popped. Shinji thought he could hear vague whispers, unnerving him.
"I'd say this was nothing personal, but that'd be a lie." Spider-Man readied the flamethrower. "If things didn't come to this I wouldn't do it. See you never."
Just as he was about to press the button, his spider-sense tingled.
"FREEZE FREAK!"
Spider-Man turned around to find several Section-2 agents wielded guns at him. He was more caught off guard upon seeing Misato and Dr. Akagi making their way to the front.
"i don't know what you think you're doing, but you're not going to sabotage one of our Evas!" Misato yelled from where she was standing. "Get down your knees now!"
Fight or flight? Too many agents trained on him around to make an escape route, so Spider-Man decided to try honesty. He only hoped he could get through to Misato before the Angel fought back.
"Major Katsuragi, how wonderful to see you." Spider-Man said. "I don't normally drop by the base unannounced but I learned you guys got a creepy goop infestation problem in this here Eva, so I decided to do my job as a good citizen and to kill it before it spread to the base!"
"A likely story," Ritsuko chimed in. "We made careful searches around Unit 03 and we found nothing."
"I'm serious Doctor, you might want to take a peek in here it's quite serious."
"Drop the floor now!"
"I'm not joking guys, if you can check there's an Angel right here! Let me torch it!"
As he was distracted trying to convince them, parts of the alien ooze started forming upwards. A tendril was birthed from it's mass, slowly, creepily, quietly, sneaking up to the boy's arm.
"Okay tell you what Spider-Man." Misato said. "You drop the pack first, then we take a look inside."
"Look you gotta believe me, it's in here I- let me lower the gun if that's what it's going- wait hang on!"
Misato and Ritsuko were the first to notice, the rest of agents following in horror just as they saw Spider-Man being gripped in the air by a monstrous white tendril. Soon all could see a blobby mess ballooning up from the Eva's control device.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"MONSTER, IT'S A GODDAMN MONSTER!"
"My God… it can't be…"
"An Angel here?!" Misato turned to one of the agents. "Shoot the thing, get Spider-Man free!"
Some of them complied, aiming their guns at the creature and firing. The bullets passed through the Angel. It regenerated from the holes left in, some of it dripping to the floor, but it had to drop Spider-Man as well. Now he had a better shot at it.
"Thanks guys, now flame on!"
With the push of a button, the Angel was blazed to hell and back. A loud, shrill screech of pain was heard across the hangar, freezing everyone in place as they were all witness to the Angel dying before them. They saw the flames rise up while the monster tried to change shape, to escape its fate, only to ultimately succumb to its demise. The Angel known as Bardiel died as it lived, weak and afraid, unable to escape the fate of its bretherin. Spider-Man could only gaze as the monster's mouth dissolved to the floor. The agents were no better, shaken to their core by the experience.
"Can't believe that was… how the hell did it get here…"
"Like a demon, that thing was friggin' evil…"
Misato recovered first. She glanced at Ritsuko, who shook her head at the unspoken question. 'I didn't know.' Misato accepted that, asking the logical question.
"How did that thing get in here? Get the flamethrowers, search the Eva and torch anything that moves."
Upon giving the order, she then turned to see Spider-Man taking off the pack, stretching himself.
"Hold it!" She called out. "You still broke into this facility, how did you know the Angel would be here?"
"Can't say Major, in order to get in I had to sign a contract that contained a strict confidentiality clause." Spider-Man responded, raising his arms in the air. "See ya later!"
He took a step back and fell from the platform he was on, taking advantage of the Agents' distraction with the Angel to escape into a hallway.
"Lock down the doors!" Misato commanded. "Don't let him escape this time!"
As alarms blazed and agents scrambled, Ritsuko gazed upon the remains of the Thirteenth Angel, now lost to the flames. She placed a hand on her own cheek in shock.
"An Angel right underneath our midst… there's no way the Committee couldn't have known about this. Spider-Man, we may owe you our lives twice over."
"I wouldn't jump in on that wagon yet." Misato frowned. "Somehow he knew what would happen… I'm starting to think he may be someone from NERV."
In the time between this moment and the next couple of hours, Section-2 would search for Spider-Man to no avail. He had escaped the way he came, with none the wiser. The unfortunate part was that no one spotted how a piece of the Angel had survived the torching process. A very piece of white goop managed to slither across Unit 03's frame, too small to be seen. With the way it's white sheen gave away to black, it would now be indistinguishable from the Eva itself. Bardiel could not risk another attack. Instead, he waited until he was sure time was right.
"WOOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!"
While he wished it had gone better, Spider-Man still merrily swung his way through the forest, a happy glee in his movements.
"Angel down, didn't get caught, some nice fresh air!" Shinji spoke to himself. "The Eva's creepy but I can't think of one that isn't. Even mine, and that purple would take the sting out of anything else."
Shinji was happy. It was a weird feeling for him, but getting a victory was pretty nice after everything that happened recently. Kotei, Inumaru, Sakura, the Angels, they were still there, they had happened. But in the here and now? Shinji was content with his lot in life. It was worth the trouble.
"Can't wait to tell Kensuke and Kaworu! They should be right around… here!"
Spotting a small light around the trees, Shinji dropped down next to some bushes. Luckily the birds didn't shit on his normal pile of clothes, taking them so he could quickly get changed, Once that was done, Shinji headed to the light to find his friends sitting around the campfire, cooking some marshmallows.
"Hey Shinji! You made it back, and not a scratch on ya!" Kensuke whistled. "I was kinda getting worried for a minute there but I knew you could make it."
"Did you?" Kaworu said. "I distinctly remember you stepping back and forth and swearing a lot in anticipation."
"I'm allowed to have feelings! The real question is how you're able to be so calm all the time."
"I hide my fear well, even though I also believe in Shinji's luck."
"Whatever," Kensuke brightened up. "Did you get the Angel? What was it like? Did you see the cool new Eva? Is it black or dark blue? Were there any cool stuff I should know about?!"
"Um well, I torched the Angel as much as I could." Shinji said. "It was scary honestly… It was this living, slimey… thing that was moved on its own, it grabbed me by the arm. If I don't get nightmares about that, I'll be lucky "
"That's weird," Kensuke raised an eyebrow. "Don't you kill Angels all the time Ikari?"
"Yeah but in the Eva I was protected, here I was… was…"
"Vulnerable." Kaworu summed it succinctly. "In the Eva there is a distance between you and the Angel. Even your pain is shared between you and the machine, it is not on the same level as killing something with your bare hands. Burning a defenseless lifeform alive, even knowing it was necessary, would shake anyone."
"Yeah… that's about right." Shinji nodded, scratching his own hand. "I just hope I never have to do something like that again."
"Huh, yeah I guess I can see what you mean." Kensuke smiled. "In either case, you beat an Angel and saved the world again, Spider-Man! Man I wish Touji were here, he doesn't know what he's missing."
"Is he still not visiting his sister?"
"Yeah Nagisa, but we're the Spider-Clan! It's a bro code thing." Kensuke yawned, surprising himself. "Oh well, I'm gonna head to bed right now 'cause I'm tired. Good work team!"
Kensuke patted his friends on the shoulders before went inside his tent to sleep. That left Shinji and Kaworu alone, the fire framing them in orange light.
"He called us a team, though we hardly did anything," Kaworu tilted his head. "It was you who did all the work. Unfortunately. Was the danger too great?"
"Eh, regular. I'm used to getting shot at."
"With how your costume stands out, you might as well have painted a target on you. You should be dead a thousand times over."
"That's what happens when you spend every day practicing. Soon you get so good everything feels slow."
"Like right now?"
"No, we're in an important moment. That's something you make time for." Shinji shrugged. "Even if it's not a total team effort, you and Kensuke being here is enough honestly. It's nice to know my friends got my back."
"Even though I am an angel, who is sworn to kill you?"
"Kaworu, friends swear to kill each other all the time. It's practically human culture."
The two boys laughed at that. Shinji pulled Kaworu to a spot a bit aways from Kensuke's tent, not wanting him to hear about this part.
"So, uh, did I really do it Kaworu? Are you still able to sense Bardiel?"
"I don't know… let me see…"
Kaworu closed his eyes. He breathed in and out, looking oddly relaxed as he did so. Shinji found it almost soothing to watch him, wondering what went through his mind. He may look human, talk like one, but Shinji realized Kaworu was probably different in ways he hadn't considered before. The first time Kaworu showed a glimpse reality became unbound. What more was inside his heart? Some days, Shinji wanted to find out. Kaworu opened his eyes then.
"I am unable to sense Bardiel. You did it." Kaworu smiled. "There is no more cause for concern."
"Alright so that leaves three more ahead. It won't be easy but with four Evas we should be able to take them down."
"Four Angels. You forgot about me again, Shinji. I am still a danger to everyone around you."
"It won't come to that," Shinji had been actually wondering about something for a while. He asked then, "If you're worried about your destiny, why are you helping me fight the other Angels? Aren't they… well…?"
"Family? I suppose they are, but I do not know them. We are born apart, separated by weeks, months, even years in my case. We are aware of each other, but there is no loyalty between us, only our mission to find Father or Mother. There is no love between us Angels, not the way you love Misato or your friends. Sometimes, I wonder what it must be like to love another like that."
Shinji knew what that was like. The uncertainty of one's own heart, where they stood with others… he reached to Kaworu's hand, startling the other boy.
"You don't have to see it that way. Asuka, Touji, Kensuke, they're your friends too, Kaworu. I just… well, I wish you didn't have to be so alone. It's not a good feeling, believe me."
"Just you saying that is enough brings me joy." Kaworu gripped Shinji's hand. "Our time may be brief, but I cherish every moment of it. Thank you."
Something changed in Kaworu when he said it. Shinji saw a blush form around his cheeks, seemingly coming to a realization. He breathed, his smile falling just a little bit.
"I… that is to say, we, work to ensure everyone's happiness Shinji." Kaworu looked down. "No matter what happens, remember that."
The way he said it made Shinji feel strange. He couldn't place what it was, only that it felt familiar. He gave Kaworu a glance over, appreciating him. Shinji knew Kaworu had no malicious intent, but there was something in his voice that gave him pause. He felt there was a weight to those words that weren't spoken.
"I will… I promise."
There was no more said after that. After a couple of more moments, Kaworu went to his sleeping bag, dozing off almost instantly. Shinji went to his, hearing the grass move and crickets chirp among them.
It was nice to be in an environment where the sky was the only ceiling. The stars were vast tonight, the million bright lights were something to get lost in. Every moment Shinji wondered more and more how could he have missed this, the thought that that life was beautiful.
As he couldn't sleep yet, Shinji decided to keep himself busy. He pulled out his S-DAT Player and began a new tape.
"We will begin this lecture discussing the biological properties of a symbiotic organism. Symbiosis comes from the merging of two other organisms, coming in synch and coming into a mutually beneficial relationship …"
Yui Ikari Lecture Tape #18. Asuka gave it to him under the Sub Commander's orders, which Shinji decided to listen to since then. It was the first time he had heard his mother since he was a child. All he could remember was a comforting presence, a bright light… something warm… a reminder this was the woman who gave birth to him. The day she vanished created a hole in their family, one that can never be repaired.
Yet he couldn't ignore that she was a scientist at NERV. One that Mayumi's father knew, who spoke with hatred along with his father. Were both of them suckered into joining SEELE? Was father in it first but mother forced to come along? How culpable was she in its crimes against humanity?
Shinji hoped to find out soon, though there was a creeping dread brewing within him. What would he do if the truth came to light?
"Ladies. Gentlemen. We have a situation."
Several of NERV's best and finest were gathered in the Commander's office, watching a holographic projection of Spider-Man's break in the other night. The footage of him torching the Angel replayed over and over.
"Spider-Man was found at the Matsushiro site, just as we transferred Unit 03." Commander Ikari spoke. "This was not the first occurrence, for he had already interfered in the investigation of the traitor not too long ago."
Maya flinched at the traitor part, remembering the near death experience she suffered. She felt Ritsuko place a hand on her shoulder, which calmed her nerves to a degree even as the Commander continued.
"The interloper managed to break in twice to our facilities. This cannot be allowed to continue anymore. Given the ease in which he had been able to escape our grasp, it is in all likely hood probable that Spider-Man may be someone working for us. An investigation will be drawn immediately. Interrogate our employees and report any suspicious activity you may hear. This is not up for debate."
Despite what the Commander just said, a brave fool raised his hand up to debate.
"Excuse me sir," Makoto Hyuuga, not one for bravery, felt the need to speak. "I understand the security risk he provides but… he stopped an Angel before it could attack. Isn't that a good thing? Maybe we could try working with him, see what he gets out of this?"
The Commander put his hands together, covering his mouth. Sub Commander Fuyutski and Lt. Shigeru Aoba looked away, already knowing what will happen.
"I want you to think about what you just said, Lieutenant. You are suggesting that NERV, as of now the only safeguard against humanity's enemies, allow a masked vigilante known for his violence into their ranks unabated, after interfering in crucial operations that could mean the end of us all. You are telling all of us that is the most logical action we should take with an intruder in our midst."
Makoto scratched the back of his head. "Well when you put it like that, I guess it sounds a little…"
"Stupid? Yes, which is precisely what you are."
The lieutenant shrunk from the Commander's gaze, remaining silent as Gendo stared back at the others.
"Are there others with similar hair brained suggestions around here? I would like an answer right now just to see where you stand."
No response.
"All is well then. Meeting dismissed."
The meeting was adjourned. As crew members and high ranking officers alike left the office, Sub Commander Fuyutski came closer to Gendo, voicing his own concerns.
"It is fortunate Spider-Man came when he did. Our scenario is not in jeopardy."
"He is still an inconvenience to us. A child like him has no business in the affairs of men."
Fuyutski sighed. "I am a little more concerned about your plan for Unit 01. The dummy plug system has yet to be tested, we are not sure if it can even trigger the berserker state. If it goes wrong, we'd be putting NERV at risk."
"Don't be ridiculous. Both Akagis checked the system twice over, if there were errors they would have told us. The Angels are hardly adaptable beyond their base instincts so any concerns launching the system in the middle of an operation should not be an issue."
"It's still an unknown quandary. We should not take it lightly."
"If our pilots are disobedient it will not be a problem. We need that S2 Engine more than ever, now that the Second Branch has failed."
The S2 Engine was the key to their scenario. An infinite self sustaining spiral organ that only Angels had. All attempts to replicate have failed. The idea was to trigger Unit 01's berserker state enough times that it's instincts would drive it eat the engine, but that plan failed when Unit 01's untrained pilot managed to pilot Unit 01 effectively enough to avoid it. Only once had the Eva gone berserk, so NERV needed a surefire way to trigger it.
The Dummy Plug was pitched so they could control an Eva without the use of a pilot. that much was still true, but it's true purpose was to trigger the berserker stage to take care of an Angel. There was no true control, only a directed path for slaughter.
"Nevertheless Ikari, we must not underestimate anything. Our plans would be for naught if the Angels are able successfully defeat our Evangelions."
Gendo hummed in agreement. "True. Death creates nothing after all."
Fuyutski wasn't sure Gendo took the warning seriously. Then again, if Gendo wasn't stubborn they wouldn't be in this situation now would they?
"You have not seen Ayanami in a while."
"If she chooses to reject me, who am I to deny her wish? Her purpose will be fulfilled regardless."
With a sense of foreboding, Fuyutski grappled with the knowledge of how far Ikari would go. He had seen what the man would do when embarrassed by his son, barely avoiding the girl's death, what else would he do with the right opportunity?
Somewhere else at NERV, Misato and Ritsuko were watching Maya pulling up a file on the computer.
They saw footage of Spider-Man burning away the Angel, then his escape long after. They have several cameras that provided the angles but there always seemed to be a way for Spider-Man to avoid them.
"You're right Misato, he has to be someone from NERV. Or spy." Ritsuko reasoned. "The only people who might have known about the Angel's weakness would be the Committee."
"Yet he also went out of his way to stop the spy that broke in before." Misato said. "Maybe it's a right hand versus left hand situation, but somehow I doubt it. Who would he report to anyway? No government agency would hire a guy like him."
"Especially not one so inexperienced." Ritsuko said. "Spider-Man is probably not a spy. What do you think he could be?"
There was a dark thought Misato had a few nights ago. Now she had to share it.
"I've had a theory, based on what's been gathered about him. I think he's on the same age bracket as our pilots."
"You sure?"
"Positive. His voice, his posture, he's… young…" Misato swallowed something. "Why is he doing this? What does he gain? I don't know why, but I have to figure it out."
"What are we going to do with him?" Maya threw her own hat into the ring. "Unmask him? Throw him in prison? Major if he really is a kid… I'm not sure if that's right…"
Misato had thought of that scenario. She had long nights to think about that, wondering what she would do if she tore off Spider-Man's mask and found Shinji underneath it. Anger? Worry? Guilt? The idea that she could have sent this boy to his death not too long ago sent chills down her spine.
"… what do you think Maya?" She asked her. "What would you do with him?"
Maya was taken aback by the Major's question. Her eyes moved from side to side, thinking, until her answer came.
"I'd… I'll be honest, I don't know. There's so many questions around him. But-" Maya turned around, determined. "I know that if it weren't for him, I would have died. I'm- I'm not sure how I feel about superhumans, mutants, whatever they are, but I know Spider-Man deserves better than being hunted like he was before."
Ritsuko and Misato looked at each other. A passive agreement was forming among the three, though not voiced out loud. Not yet.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Ritsuko went to gather files."For now, we have another to attend to. Our new pilot."
Misato raised her eyebrow. "Come again?"
"The Marduk Institute selected the Fifth Child for Unit 03." Ritsuko explained, the part where the Marduk Institute was a lie already known between them. "You're… not gonna like this."
She handed a file to Misato, who peeked inside to see who it was. She let out a sharp gasp.
"It can't be! Not him!"
Much as he loved his bros, Touji Suzuhara liked to play basketball by himself.
It let him think when life got complicated. He did what he had to do, go to school, talk the shit with Shinji and Kensuke (who wouldn't SHUT UP about how the guys killed an Angel, whoopdy freakin' doo), visit his sister, now this. Afterwards he'd be back home and… mope, he supposed. He hated moping.
Despite what everyone said, Sakura was the real tough one in the Suzuhara household. Even when kidnapped by a freaky lizard monster she remained as chipper as ever, going on and on about her savior Spider-Man. Touji found it hard not to get a little jealous. He wasn't used to his baby sister worshipping someone who wasn't him, but it really wasn't that surprising. Spider-Man was amazing. It is quite hard to hate someone who'd jump into a trench to save lives.
Especially when he knew him personally. Shinji may have been a scrawny little guy with the visibility of a wallflower but he makes up for it by being crazy brave when he had to.
"Can't say I'm much compared to that…" Touji threw his ball into the basket. "I'm tired of being the third wheel."
Touji couldn't say he made the best choices. He and Kensuke only had one experience inside the Eva, and just that single time gave him enough nightmares to last a week. How Shinji put up with that and being a superhero wasn't exactly a mystery. He had courage.
Touji wouldn't call himself courageous. He was simply desperate.
"Are you sure about this Suzuhara? It's okay if you need time to think about all of this, what we're asking you to do is quite dangerous."
"I know what I want, lady. Just as long as my sister gets treatment I'll do anything you tell me to do."
"Very well. Give us your measurements and we will call you when we feel you are ready.
Touji loved his sister. If making a deal with the devil was what it took to save her, he'd do it in a heartbeat. That didn't take away the stench of his choice, what it meant for him down the road.
"Suzuhara? Is that you?"
Catching the ball with his hands, Touji turned to spot a familiar freckled girl off the corner.
"Hikari! I was just playin' over here." Touji blushed. "You doin' okay?"
"D-Doing fine really," She blushed around him as well. "I was wondering if you'd like to… but you're not… well, you're looking a little lost so maybe-"
"Maybe what?"
"Nothing. Forget I said anything." Hikari turned around. "Good day Touji!"
But Touji dropped the ball to go after, running next to her quickly.
"No I'd like to- um," Touji realized she hadn't actually explained what she wanted to do. He improvised. "Well I can hang out! If you want. Is it?"
"Actually, yeah, that was what I was going to say that. Still have some left over food from school so I thought we'd eat some."
"That'd be nice." Touji smiled. "I don't think I said it yet, but thanks for coming to see my sister the other day. You made a good impression on her, so did Ayanami, heck she even said nice things about the Devil!"
"Asuka's not that bad, she's just grouchy." Hikari tried to defend. "I swear you two are going to kill each other one day."
"I've got my lance ready when that happens. So, um, your place or mine?"
They decided it would be better to head to Hikari's apartment. Her sisters were out at the arcades, it wouldn't be a problem for them. After a couple of hours they entered the house, taking their shoes off and their bags on the floor.
"So Touji, have you ever had a fruit cobbler?"
"Don't think I did. Is it tasty?"
"Yeah! They're a type of pie, let me show you."
Cooking alone with a girl, now that was something Touji could say he had over Shinji and Kensuke. Heh. Hikari molded some bread to her liking while he took out a bunch of berries from the fridge to settle on it. Standing close to each other, they found making the food made things feel normal.
"It's a foreign recipe." She explained. "My dad likes to pick up them up while he's working overseas. Nozomi, Kodama and I had countless fights while making these things."
"That's pretty cool. Sakura and I used to play dolls growing up. She didn't have many friends so I had to. It was… kind of fun…"
A chuckle. "Wow Touji!"
"What's so funny?"
"I just didn't expect you to play with dolls. It's cute. You definitely love Sakura."
"With all my heart." Touji looked down. "Dunno what I'd do without her, she's so fragile. Brave too."
"Was that what you were thinking about when I saw you earlier?"
Sighing, Touji shifted until he laid his head on Hikari's counter, watching her place the cobbler inside of the oven.
"Things have been growing so weird… Angels, Evas, my sister's in the hospital, I'm friends with the one that put her there… not that Ikari and I have beef anymore, heck he's practically a brother by now… Spider-Man, now that was outta nowhere."
"I was pretty surprised he even exists." Hikari admitted. "I thought he was some kind of prank or hoax from Kokoro, but we saw him! It's amazing…"
"Incredible even," Touji's voice lowered. "He keeps an eye out for people… he saved my sister when I couldn't."
Hikari placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it.
"You know that's not your fault right?" She said. "We were all so worried about what that monster would have done to Sakura… I'm just glad that monster didn't come for you too."
"I know, I know, I just wish I could do something you know?" Touji faced Hikari. "Well, now I can, but it's going to be dangerous work."
"What do you mean Touji?"
"…"
Hikari was confused at first. Then she took a step back, realizing what Touji was saying.
"… Touji, what did you do?"
The next day. Asuka smiled like she enjoyed the morning sun. Meaning of course that it was fake.
How can she be happy, when her best friend Rei Ayanami was sitting next to the three of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse? There was, of course, the Third Child with his sneaky conniving ways, then glasses stooge who smiled like he just found out a dirty secret, and Nagisa gathered together in their little cabal of perverts, watching Kensuke's computer.
She was already mad at the sight of the other two, but Shinji? The boy who broke her precious web shooters (that took hours to fix) and only mumbled vague apologies? Disgusting.
"What are you stooges staring at?" She said, "Are you selling pictures of me on the internet?"
"Oh hey Asuka." Kensuke said. "I gave up on that stuff a while ago. Actually I was showing parts of my trip! Lots of cool tanks there!"
"It seems strange to be fascinated by weaponry Aida."
"Well Kaworu, just because something's designed to kill doesn't mean you can't appreciate the craft involved!"
"If you say so."
"Oh right," Kensuke realized something. "Ayanami, do you know anything about the new pilot?"
Asuka was shocked. "How'd you know there's another pilot?!"
"I hack in my spare time. I'm surprised you don't know."
"I am not at liberty to reveal any information." Rei said simply. "It is confidential. Only the pilot may inform others if they so wish. Like Ikari, who has chosen to keep a secret identity."
Good. At least Rei isn't a total moron... unlike Shinji. Asuka honestly enjoyed it when Shinji gave Ayanami a strange look.
"It's still weird I haven't been informed." He pointed out. "Aren't we going to be working together for the duration of this war? Shouldn't we get a heads up?"
"They are still finalizing the results Ikari." Kaworu said. "Once they do, NERV will inform us when the time is right."
"Maybe… still, I just can't help but shake this feeling." Shinji looked around the room. "Anybody seen Touji?"
"He said he needed some time off to think about stuff," Kensuke adjusted his glasses. "He seemed so out of it last I saw him…"
"That stooge? Thinking? Now that's a first." Asuka smirked. "Whatever, I'm still the best."
Ayanami raised an eyebrow. "Did Shinji not surpass your synch ratio not too long ago?"
The group of friends had to laugh among themselves when Asuka glared at Ayanami, an embarrassed blush on her face. How could she betray her like this?! Not in front of these idiots!
"Okay fine, Shinji's better. I'm still second best." She smirked. "That's better than any of you useless monkeys could ever be. I'm also still the smartest girl here."
"On that I can agree on. No one's as smart as you." Shinji narrowed his eyes. "Your teaching methods could use some work though…"
"Bah, you'd learn faster if you stopped being lazy."
"I don't like overworking myself. Besides my grades are getting better!"
"A D to a C, wow such an improvement."
"It's better than nothing!"
"You may be fine with complacency, Third Child, but I actually like to push myself to be my best."
"I do too, but I also know some things are just too hard. I'll always be better at some things than others."
Kaworu decided to be a little cheeky. "Ah, a lovers quarrel… I think you two could really work together."
He expected either of them to be indignant or blush, but when Shinji and Asuka turned to Kaworu, they seemed more bemused than anything.
"If I wanted to date a wimpy loser like him, I'd go with glasses boy over here," Asuka said. "I certainly don't need this one here."
"I'm not in the mood for a relationship now." Shinji explained. "If I was, I think Asuka and I would sooner choke each other out than get too close."
"Damn right!"
Kaworu shrugged, deciding to brush that off. He was a bit surprised when he sae Rei glaring at him from her desk. She turned away but the impression was made.
'Hm, I seem to have hit a nerve with her… maybe I shouldn't poke too hard.'
His pocket vibrated. Kaworu took out the phone he had and pressed it to his ear.
"Yes? Oh… yes I will be there."
He shut it off, starting to pack his bag. "I'm sorry, but I have been called to NERV. Apparently they want me to oversee the Fifth Child's test with Unit 03."
"You? Why you?" Asuka was confused. "You're hardly all that great."
"To be fair, I did beat your synch ratio record for years now."
One embarrassment is enough but two? Asuka stomped to her chair, angrily moping.
"I hate you all…"
"Alright then," Shinji waved at Kaworu. "We'll see you a little later I hope. Maybe you can give us a hint about the Fourth Child, who he is?"
Kaworu nodded. "I'll be sure to let you know. Whoever he is, I will ensure the Fourth Child is protected."
A couple of hours later, Unit 3 was about to have it's first synch test.
Kaworu Nagisa inspected the Unit from the control panel. He did not share the same trepidation others had about it, at least not for the same reasons. It was a unit like any other, a facsimile of his own father. With Misato and Ritsuko here, he wanted to be sure this time did not go wrong.
"Dr. Akagi," He asked, "is there reason why I was called here?"
"The Commander ordered it. If the pilot can't synch with Unit 03, we'll be having you test it in his place."
Kaworu had to admit, Dr. Akagi's reasoning made some sense. He nodded, watching the computer monitor reveal its pilot.
"I've got a… few questions," Touji Suzuhara said, messing with his plugsuit. "If the suit's made of unstable molecules, shouldn't I be... um… explodin' or something?"
He wouldn't say the suit was uncomfortable, quite the opposite it fit him surprisingly snugly, but the thought of blowing up right in the middle of this
"It's a bit of a misnomer." Dr. Akagi said. "In our line of work we face many unknowns coming from mind bending or reality breaking concepts we've only begun to understand. The plugsuit was infused with cosmic energy that makes it easier for the user to synch with the Eva, but to also withstand highly corrosive, hazardous material that would threaten the user. To put it simply, a nuclear bomb wouldn't cut it any more than a plain knife. So don't worry, you're not actually going to explode"
"… Okay…"
He didn't really get it, but it sounded sort of cool. Probably the last cool thing before they break him in.
"Don't worry Touji," Misato tried to reassure. "Just get through this test and we'll be fine."
Touji nodded, remembering what he was here for.
"But, NERV has four pilots already! Why do they need a fifth?!"
Hikari was bewildered. Why wouldn't she be, when she just head Touji was going to put his life at risk against those monsters!
"Dunno." He admitted. "Apparently they need me to test a new Eva of theirs they flew in the other day. I don't have a choice. The medical costs are risin', they got the funding… this might be the best way for Sakura, to protect her…"
Hikari grabbed his arm, making him see her face.
"Touji, I love your sister," Hikari started to say. "Heck I'd do anything for my own sisters, but this? This is… couldn't you ask Ikari for-"
"I don't need his help, nor want him to." Touji said. "He's done a lot for us already with his Eva. I'm not gonna push all my problems on him, there's things I need to take care of on my own. Great power, great responsibility, whatever he says."
"But the Eva, you yourself said it was dangerous!"
"I know Hikari, I know how friggin' evil the Eva is, I've been inside one for cryin' out loud, not for the faint of heart. I felt every pain Ikari was going through while in there, with some of the Angels I'm amazed he, Ayanami or the Devil were able to keep up."
Touji sighed, trying to collect his thoughts.
"But I don't wanna be useless. I've thought about this a while, but what do I do? Ikari's got the Eva and… other stuff, Kensuke's got his computer otaku shit, but me? I'm a dumb jock who sits back and does nothing. Spider-Man protected my sister, not me. So I'm gonna make myself worth somethin, especially if Sakura is getting treatment."
Neither said a thing. Hikari realized she wouldn't change Touji's mind… and that in his situation, she might do the same for her own sisters. That being said…
"You're not dumb Touji." Hikari said. "It's selfless what you're trying to do, you've got more courage than you give yourself credit for."
But there was one more thing she needed to add, something that she felt he needed to hear.
"Just remember you don't have to do it alone. Shinji had the other pilots to help him fight the Angels. Don't shut him out, or anyone else. Tell him please."
"… right… let's just finish the thing…"
They did, not continuing that conversation further. By the time the oven was done, the two ate the fruit cobbler together. It didn't taste amazing, conversation was sparse after what happened but Touji did not mind. He could feel the atmosphere relax.
"Maybe Hikari…" He said. "After the test, we could… go out somewhere? My treat?"
"… Sure…"
"She said yes…" Touji whispered amidst the plug. "I can't believe it!"
How could he believe it? He had a crush on her for a while, but it just exploded ever since she visited his sister. Touji never thought he could feel so smitten! The energy he had would leave him with enough to take out all the Angels himself!
Assuming he'd see any action. Touji had to admit that made the decision easier in his mind, figuring that with four pilots on the base there wouldn't be a need for him. On the other hand, grueling hours for synch tests? Didn't sound so hot…
"Suzuhara, we're about to start inserting the LCL into the entry plug. Don't be alarmed."
LCL? Before Touji could even ask an orange liquid flooded the plug. It reached up to his mouth before he breathed it in, getting the full pilot experience.
"Stuff tastes like trash…" Touji said. "How does Ikari handle this crap?!"
"He doesn't. Anyway harmonics are stable. Preparing final testing phase."
Outside of Unit 03, Kaworu had his eyes closed. The test seemed to be going smoothly so far. He only regretted not being honest with Shinji before.
When Shinji burned Bardiel, he had not destroyed him entirely. Kaworu sensed some piece of Bardiel had survived the other night, but did not tell him out of fear of putting him in any more danger. This was a problem he could deal with himself.
Kaworu sensed his "brother" in the facility, that much was certain. Bardiel was in here somewhere, it's just thst his AT field was too small to be detected precisely. Bardiel was always the weakest of his siblings, ironically by having a heart that was too easily understood by others.
'Bardiel… show yourself…' Kaworu thought in his mind. You will not be hiding for much longer.'
To his surprise, he felt a headache coming. A soft, raspy laugh came through his mind.
"Tabris! I knew you had to be the one to sell me out. You were the softest brother, but I didn't expect you to go so low as to be actively assisting the humans!"
'I had to.' Kaworu continued. 'I am a pilot of NERV, it is a part of my cover.'
"Nonsense. The things you are doing go far beyond the scope of your mission, Tabris. You may be content to rebel against Father out of fondness for your human, but I am not! I will finally prove myself to our family and show them what I can really do."
'Don't do anything stupid Bardiel.'
"You are just saying it because you're too late…"
While Kaworu wondered what that meant, Touji continued to sit on the plug, trying not to puke from the taste of the LCL. The light inside the plug was dim enough that some things passed through his peripheral vision. Even when Touji felt something crawling up his feet he just assumed that was somehow the effect of the LCL.
It wasn't until he looked down that he noticed the creature consuming him.
"Hey!" Touji yelled. "There's something on me!"
"Suzuhara your heartbeat is rising."
"HELL YEAH, THERE'S A BLACK GOOEY THING ON TOP OF ME, I CAN'T GET IT OFF!"
Outside, the visual feed on Touji's monitor was becoming static. The technicians tried to bring it back to no avail.
"Damn it what's going on in there?" Misato asked. "Ritsuko?"
"A foreign organism was detected in the plug!" Ritsuko was becoming paler by the second. "It's… not clear what it is…"
Kaworu realized what had happened. He gasped in horror.
"… Bardiel, what have you done?"
Before anyone in the room could react, the ground was shaking. Unit 03's eyes glowed bright yellow, its arms breaking out of the restraints with frightening ease.
"I have achieved true symbiosis, Tabris. Now I will find my father!"
An explosion occurred at Matsushiro an hour ago.
The other pilots were called in to pilot their Evas. Nobody was sure what happened, and everyone was afraid of what might have occured.
"Misato, Ritsuko, Kaworu… how could this happen?" Shinji said. "How can there be another attack so soon?
"I'm worried too but keep focused!" Asuka yelled through the comm link. "There's an enemy down here and all we have the Commander to lead us."
"Do not take that tone with me. I am still your commanding officer." The aforementioned Commander stated. "Get into positions, we identified the blue pattern as an Angel."
"Sir," Rei said. "The Angel may be too powerful to fight on our own. I suggest allowing us to keep ourselves together in case we get-"
"Are you defying me Rei?"
Rei was visibly surprised by the cut off. "No sir, I was merely suggesting we proceed with caution."
"My suggestion is that you obey. Your purpose is to follow orders. Do I make myself clear?"
"… Yes, sir."
"Good. Now get into positions."
Gendo's channel closed, leaving Asuka and Rei's comm links open to Shinji.
"Is it just me or is the Commander being more of a bitch than normal?" Asuka asked. "He usually pretends to be professional."
"It does not matter. We proceed with our orders."
The three Evas split off to their designated spots. Asuka would take right flank, Rei got left flank, while Shinji was caught in the middle. They sat and waited for the signal to attack. While that happened, Shinji worried over what happened at Matsushiro. Misato and Kaworu were there…
'If it's another Angel… I don't care who this guy is, he isn't going to get out of here standing.'
He clutched the controls harshly, Mayumi, Rai and Kotei flashing through his mind. How many more good people had to suffer because of him? When would it stop? Shinji wanted to stomp the Angel with foot and ensure it could never fight again.
"Shinji."
The burst of fury dissipated when Shinji looked up to see Rei on the monitor.
"What's the matter Ayanami?"
"Do not lose sight of yourself." Rei said in a comm link. "The Angel had caught us all off guard. Major Katsuragi would want you to focus on defeating it, nothing more than that."
Shinji wasn't sure if she read his mind or was always that intuitive. Either way, he nodded. "I will Ayanami. Thanks."
His spider-sense detected it immediately. It started as a bizarre ringing in his ears, before Shinji felt the footsteps outside.
"Ayanami, be careful. I'm getting a bad feeling…"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Asuka was screaming. Her comm link went dead as Shinji and Rei scrambled to figure out what happened.
"The Angel took her out?" Shinji exclaimed. That was too quick!"
"It must move fast," Rei said. "Shinji, do not engage him, we must- NO!"
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzt
Rei's comm link was also cut off. Shinji found he was alone in this fight. The Angel could strike at any given moment, as such he focused hard. He used his Eva-enhanced spider-sense to scout the area and search for the Angel. At first nothing came, only feeling the ground and mountains… until…
tktktktktktktk
Footsteps. Louder… getting louder…
tktktktktktktktktktktk
Where was it? It was rushing from somewhere, it sounded like…
tktktktkTKTKTKTKTKTKTKT
Immediately Shinji willed Unit 01 to move as something crashed next to him. He was not, however, lucky enough to avoid a slash across the chest, causing Shinji to grab his own. The enemy lunged at Unit 01, knocking them to the floor, but Shinji recovered enough to kick it off of him. He recovered long enough to get his bearings, to get one good look at his assailant.
He was shocked to find Evangelion Unit 03, dragging it's feet across the ground, waiting to strike.
"Unit 03?" Shinji said in fear. "But how is that possible? The Angel…"
It could be one of two things. Either it was a completely new Angel that shared the same powers as the one before, or he's being menaced by the one was supposed to be dead. Bardiel, that was the name Kaworu gave him, he torched that creature himself!
"Blue Pattern detected. Target identified as an Angel." Commander Ikari said. "You are to eliminate it at once."
Shinji glared at his father. "Who's the pilot?"
"Irrelevant. Your priority is to end its life."
"If I'm going to do that I'd at least like to know who I'm up against. Who's in Unit 03's plug?"
"Do as I say!"
"Give me a name and maybe I'll consider it."
At the moment, another comm link opened. The visual feed was distorted at first, before gradually becoming clearing.
"Shinji? Is that you over there?"
"… Touji?"
It was him alright. Touji sat in the entry plug like… well, like he hadn't just demolished two Evangelions one after the other. He seemed almost pleasant even.
His plugsuit, on the other hand, was what raised red flags. The blue parts in Touji's suit were black, much like the top was. Throughout this new suit was messy, gray web patterns that covered the front and waist. The top itself sporting a foreign white spider symbol, who's legs stretched across the body to the back. Touji grinned.
"Nobody told you yet? I'm Unit 03's pilot." He spoke. "Or at least, they were testing me for that today. Went pretty well all things considered, right up until I met my new friend."
Shinji frowned. "Touji, don't tell me… don't tell me that the Angel took control of you…"
"He has a name you know. Bardiel." He continued. "He didn't do anything like that. We just… connected. We are both and one at once. Believe it or not, I don't actually want to fight you Shinji. I am much more interested in what's inside of NERV."
Another comm opened. "Ignore the Angel, Third Child, destroy it."
"i can't do that, not yet." Shinji shut it off, focusing back in Touji. "Bardiel right? You get out of my friend's body and maybe we can avoid another fight."
"No can do, Ikari. That went out the window the moment NERV took our father…" Touji's eyes bulged, his voice becoming a furious snarl. "Oh, and when SPIDER-MAN BURNED US ALIVE WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT! WE WILL HAVE OUR REVENGE FOR MAKING US WEAK! It's nothing personal human… get out of our way, or we make mincemeat out of you like we did all. your. FRIENDS."
He made sure to put special emphasis on those words, watching Shinji squirm in anger in his Eva.
"What's it gonna be Ikari? Are you planning to kill me? I know you don't gave the guts to do it yourself, you coward!"
Shinji remembered what Rei said moments before. He smiled ruefully. "No I guess I don't. Guess I'll settle for saving you."
Touji smirked. "Your funeral."
The visual feed cut off on both ends. the Evangelions charged at each other, ready for a beatdown.
First, both Evangelions grappled each other, the two staying engaged in their struggle. Unit 03 headbutted Unit 01, using that opportunity to try to claw at Unit 01 again, before Shinji turned the tables by dodging the attack and then swiping Unit 03 off balance. It regained its balance quickly to kick Unit 01 in the gut, making Shinji shudder from the pain. it then proceeded to punch Unit 01 repeatedly across its body.
Shinji knew he had a tough fight ahead. No fire, no sonics, no allies, no obvious weak points to exploit. Unit 03 was relentless in it's assault, so Shinji, much as he didn't want to, needed to keep up. He grabbed one of Unit 03's arms and attempted to squish it, while using the other to punch its face.
"Pilot Ikari, you are not obeying orders." Father appeared again on the comm link. "It has already defeated your fellow pilots in battle, if he destroys the Geo-Front it would be the end of us all. Destroy the Angel."
"Not when the pilot is still in danger!" Shinji told him off. "I'm going to handle this one, Commander."
Thanks to what Kaworu told him, Shinji had a pretty good strategy on what to do. He took out the Progressive Knife from his shoulder pad, aiming it at Unit 03 which made it in it's tracks. The plan was simple: cut the entry plug from Unit 03, then smash the rest of it away in one fell swoop.
Not really an ingenious plan admittedly, he still didn't know how to deal with the Angel, but saving Touji took priority in this case.
Unit 03 moved like a predator, most beastly than man. Stomping its ground, a subtle snarl as it stalked the ground, eagerly waiting for its chance to attack. How much of this was the Angel's possession or the Unit's own berserker status was unknown.
Shinji decided to try a little trick. He lowered the knife just enough, then allowed Unit 03 to lunge again. Instead of evading the attack, Unit 01grabbed Unit 03 close, aiming the knife to its neck.
"Come on come on, get that plug…"
He found it hard to penetrate the plug entrance when Unit 03 was holding him down, opening it's gaping mouth with blood red teeth to try to bite Unit 01. A few times Shinji felt the knife poke something, but just before he could try any more Unit 03 grabbed his arm, aiming to bite once more before he kicked him off again.
This time Shinji went on the offensive. He jumped upwards to kick Unit 03 in the head, then going behind it to get a better look. He was more successful stabbing the plug entrance but Unit 03 elbowed Unit 01 in the gut, making Shinji drop the knife.
"Shit!"
Then Unit 03 grabbed Unit 01 by the neck, lifting it up in the air to crush its cursed opponent to death.
"Grrrrrrrrrrr!" Shiinji growled. "Let go of me… you're not… gonna get away with this."
He started hearing voices in the plug. The Commander and Maya, they were talking about something.
"This is ridiculous. Ibuki, activate the Dummy Plug now."
"Now? Sir we haven't even tested it!"
"Do it! the pilot is refusing to cooperate."
Everywhere around Shinji became dark. Even the visual feed for Unit 01's eyes was lost, depriving Shinji of even that comfort.
"What's going on?"
Unit 01's systems came back online but now everything was read. Ikari could feel Unit 01's arms moving… but his own were still in place.
"How… how is this happening?"
Unit 03 kept strangling Unit 01, but that soon changed. First, Unit 01 grabbed both of its enemies arms and snapped them, causing Unit 03 to scream in terror. Unit 01 then stretched the arms out, beginning to kick Unit 03 repeatedly in the chest.
None of it Shinji did.
"I can't move it, I can't stop this!" He realized then. "Father! Did you have something to do with this?!"
The visual feed returned, showing Gendo almost sneering in response to his son.
"Since you refused to obey, we had to activate the Dummy Plug system." He said. "A disobedient pilot is less than worthless, not when we have a machine that do the piloting for us."
Stopping it's kicks, Unit 01 savagely started punching Unit 03, breaking it's armor plating apart from the force of the impact. It had no care for the pilot within the Eva. It cared only for it's death.
"This is insane! Stop this, let me take back control!"
"You are in no position to make demands of me, Third Child. For your little temper tantrum you will sit back and let the adults handle this. This incident will be enough grounds to suspend you from piloting."
Unit 01 grabbed Unit 03 by the neck. It was getting dangerously close to ending Unit 03, and by proxy Touji's life. Shinji could feel his hands and body doing these actions, not being in control yet forced to feel the pain regardless It was a nightmare made true.
"I feel it… I feel Touji's neck on my hands… how could you do this to me Father?!" He yelled. "Why would you want this father?! Answer me!"
"Why Third Child?" Gendo smirked at him. "Because I won't allow your childishness endanger the planet. You will not embarrass me like you did before, Third Child, not again."
An awful realization came to Shinji, remembering the one and only time he and his father talked. A petty act of spite for what happened in the graveyard…
Shinji looked around the plug, trying to find something, anything he could use before Touji was killed. The controls wouldn't work, they were cut off by the Dummy plug, he couldn't will the Eva with his mind, but there was one switch…
He pulled on it, starting a countdown.
"What the-" Gendo was startled. "You activated the self destruct?!"
"Call it part of my little temper tantrum Dad." Shinji said firmly. "If Touji dies from this then I'll take myself out with him. Unit 01 will be gone but the Angel would be dead. Everyone wins here."
The smirk disappeared from Gendo's face quickly, replaced by unbridled rage.
"Cease your foolishness Third Child! We need Unit 01 to battle the other Angels! If you die humanity will be destroyed!"
"Asuka and Rei can pick up the slack without me." Shinji continued. "Of course if Unit 01's that precious to you we could always avoid desruction by shutting off the dummy plug. Either we die, or we live. Your choice."
Father and son stared each other down for a good long moment. These two were unable to faze each other.
"Very well. Ibuki, deactivate the plug. This will not be without consequence, Third Child."
The comm link shut off for good, Shinji felt control return to him, the lights in the plug going back to their normal orange glow. Unit 01 was his again.
"Okay. Now we do things my way."
Luckily for Shinji, Unit 03 seemed down for the count. He went over to grab the Progressive Knife on the ground and used it to cut Touji's plug out of the Eva.
"Good Touji, now we can go home… You'll see Kensuke and Hikari, maybe we can… can…"
The entry plug in his hand burst open. A black suited creature crawled out of it and climbed all the way up to Unit 01. Before Shinji could even react, he felt his plug being taken apart. He turned to see…
Spider-Man? Not exactly, but looking at the suit more clearly it was made to resemble his own outfit. The white lenses on the creature's face added more to the eerie mood, while the mouth broke apart to reveal a set of sharp teeth. Whatever this was, it hungered.
"Before we see our friends, we need to have a little chat… Spider-Man."
The creature grabbed the plug with his tentacle and took it away to the woods.
Shinji fell hard along the grass, just outside the entry plug.
Ordinarily the forest would be beautiful, framed red by the sunset, the darkness making it intriguing, but now that only made the situation more frightening. Away from his Eva, Shinji couldn't use his spider-sense to detect the Angel anywhere.
There was rustling. That indicated to him that Touji was nearby, but where he would strike Shinji didn't know.
"Touji…" He called out. "Touji, you're being controlled! Fight it! He's just using you you!"
Shinji felt a kick behind him, sending him to the ground. He was grabbed by the creature before he punched Shinji repeatedly.
"We are not using one another. We are in synch, ready to take back our strength from you!"
He aimed another punch at Shinji, who blocked the attack before he also punched Touji in the gut, then using both hands to send him back a bit. Touji jumped back into the bushes, out of sight.
"What are you talking about, the Angel is going to kill us all!"
"We are united in glorious purpose." A harsh voice said. "I want our father, our mother, yet your ilk destroy us…"
"Because you'll do it to us if we give up." Shinji said. "Get away from my friend you bastard!"
"You call him your friend but you don't even know his fear!"
Shinji needed to stall for time to come up with a plan. So he indulged the Angel.
"Okay, what's he afraid of?"
"Touji had the admiration of his sister, his strength to protect her and Kensuke. You are the reason he is so afraid, so full of doubt, you understand? He envies you, fearing your growth will destroy his own. You will leave him behind, just as you have… others.."
"I would never do that!" Shinji yelled back. "Touji don't listen to him!"
Catching a shadow in his peripheral vision, Shinji fired a web at Touji, keeping his hand stuck to a tree in place so he could attack. Touji kicked his friend away, ripping the tree using his webbed hand to slam it on Shinji, who dodged out of the way.
Touji freed his hand from the webbing, turning both his hands into tendrils to slash at Shinji, who moved out of their range by web zipping upwards. Escaping to the trees above wasn't enough however, as now Touji slashed the trees down with his tendrils in an attempt to take Shinji down.
"You can't run from us! You'll see us everywhere, even in your nightmares!"
"Yeah…" Shinji breathed. "Tell me something I don't know."
He jumped behind Touji, aiming to take him down, but Touji anticipated this and kicked him back as well. He slashed at Shinji, drawing blood from the boy, who then head butted Touji and quickly rammed into another tree, punching him repeatedly.
"I don't care how many times you attack, I'll do everything I can to pull you out of there!"
He tried to rip the suit off, only to get a nauseous, fearful angry SCREAM that caught him off guard. Bardiel dug his claws into Shinji, stabbing him.
"YOU WILL NOT SEPARATE US! WE ARE SYMBIOTIC IN NATURE, YOU WILL NOT TOUCH OUR SOUL!"
He threw Shinji down to the ground, starting to kick him down repeatedly. Touji felt a savage glee doing this, finally not holding back any longer against this brat who came into his life and fucked it up for so long. If it weren't for him his sister would never have been in danger at all!
"If you get in our way again Spider… we're going to have to be your venom."
Before he could stomp any more, Shinji moved out of the way, launching another web to escape. Now it was Touji's turn to be left wondering where he was. He raised his hands to his mouth and started licking the blood on them.
"You're not getting me Ikari! I know every move you make, how you think! I'll kill you the moment you take another step back!"
Just then, Shinji swung using a branch to knock Touji into another tree, smashing him and that tree down.
"I'd like to see you try Touji."
Touji was unmoving. The white lenses in his eyes were shut, hardly breathing. Shinji panicked.
"Touji… Touji no!"
He went over to his friend, trying to find some pulse by checking his neck.
"Oh, thank God you're alright," Shinji sighed. "I don't want to lose anyone else, not again, not you- urk!"
The creature grabbed him by the neck, his eyes opening wide, his grin baring it's sickening sharp teeth in a cruel taunt as he tried to strangle him.
"Poor Shinji Ikari, no father, no mother, no one to help you now… we will protect our friends unlike you. With your death we will have our GLORY!"
Shinji could hardly breathe. Not with his lungs getting crushed bit by bit.
"Father will love us, once we get rid of you, the world will belong to my brothers! Tabris will be punished while I win!"
The creature then felt something unexpected. A hand softly, gently caressed the side of Touji's cheek.
"You hear that Touji? It's just using you…" Shinji said. "I'm sorry I didn't notice it before, but no one hates you. No one is leaving you. We care about you, Kensuke, me, Hikari, even Asuka wouldn't want to see you like this… don't give in… please…"
The creature stared at Shinji… then he let go, convulsing in sharp, agonizing pain.
"Why… what are you DOING?" Bardiel screamed. "YOU BETRAY US AT THIS MOMENT, IN OUR TIME OF TRIUMPH?! HOW DARE YOU, HOW DARE-?!"
Touji ripped through the suit. It kept trying to take over his body, regenerating fast, but it bought enough recovery time for Shinji to spin a web at Touji and pulled him out of there.
"No, NO!" Bardiel screamed. "I MUST GET AWAY, I WON'T FAIL FATHER!"
The little Angel tried to slither away to escape, but Shinji used both hands to web the creature up.
"You won't be leaving anywhere," He said, "i'm just gonna have to… plug you in!"
He tossed the captured Angel inside of the broken entry plug. Very quickly Shinji made sure to seal the hatch with webbing so it wouldn't escape. After a couple of minutes, he went to Touji to see if he was okay.
"Ow, oh Shinji…" Touji clutched his head. "That... hurt…"
"It's okay Touji. We got here."
Shinji helped him up, giving him breathing room. It was then that. Shinji noticed atouji was naked, blushing before turning his head to the side.
"Help should be arriving shortly," Shinji explained. "We're gonna have to make up a story. Spider-Man was in the woods and saved us probably."
"You really think they'll buy that garbage?"
"I don't have many better ideas."
"We'll come up with some stupid shit I guess." Touji looked down. "Shinji… I'm so sorry."
"What for?" Shinji breathed in and out. "You were possessed by an Angel."
"I was but… it wasn't just the Angel. I was so mad at you, myself, so… ugh, feelings are friggin' shit to explain… I wanted to protect Sakura, but mostly? I was jealous."
Shinji stared at him agape. "Jealous?"
"Look at you! You're Spider-Man, you swing around the city and save countless lives! Kensuke's an otaku but he's a tech genius, he's got prospects I never could. Hikari? She's responsible and mature, she could do better than everyone else. Me? I got no future, I ain't strong like you or smart like him or Asuka or those NERV guys. I'm nothing… You don't need me."
He was surprised to feel arms wrapping around him. Shinji was not the type to express feelings, but when he did…
"Touji, even if I don't need you, I do want you in my life." Shinji said. "Your sister loves you, I can tell. Kensuke loves you. Hikari loves you. We love you because you're a good friend who gives it all he's got, even if he's not the brightest. You're so much better than you think! Even now you broke out of the Angel's control, that's more than nothing!"
Touji was shocked at what Shinji said. Part of him feels terrible, ashamed of what he put his friend through. Yet the joy he felt upon hearing those words was undeniable.
"Heh… Coming from you, I might actually believe that…"
They shared a laugh, resolving to wait for back up to arrive. The crickets chirped in the background as they waited.
"… So Ikari... are you really just gonna pretend I'm not here butt ass naked?"
"Yeah."
"... Okay..."
Author's notes:
Saw No Way Home, third fav Spider-Man movie ever, now that's nice. Remember how I said neither Black Cat nor Venom would be in this story? Well I changed my mind on that.
Plans changed quite a bit when I had Shinji his powers back last chapter, because I needed to find a way to make this chapter more interesting, which inadvertently paved the way for this version of the Bardiel fight. In hindsight Bardiel as the symbiote made the most sense due to how little we saw of that Angel, the most being that white fungus thing that was attached to Unit 03. I get the sense that Bardiel wasn't particularly strong on it's own due to how it needed to take over Unit 01. Unfortunately this means the Venom omake I wrote is now Non-Canon, though certain details from that are still happening. I hope you liked how he was handled!
As for Black Cat, I have a story planned for Asuka after the Zeruel fight/Unit 01 retrieval chapters and it just so happened that Author0fntent's omake, which had Marie Vincennes as the character, had a perfect character to include in that story. Some liberties will be taken but I hope to stay true to what he wrote there. All credit belongs to him!
Time for answers:
Truenofan86: I agree with you, Manashin's pretty cool, it's a shame the Shinji and Mari thing had to happen. Hopefully what we do with Mana is cool enough. For you, I'll try my best to finish the fic by the end of the year, though I have to say that whatever I write for Spider Verse will never be as good as your short, I actually performed that out loud to my friend and we were so excited and giggling the whole time!
IReadTooMuchEvaFanFic: She wouldn't resist the opportunity to brag about her mechanical arms at all lmao, gotta write that as an omake.
Z-King: Little bit, they won't be official for quite a while but the seeds are planted.
gabeherndon308: You might get your wish!
RealRemainder: No worries, the Spider-Man Boogie song was from Toei's Spider-Man show. The story on that one's great, apparently this band and song were so popular the villain of the series decided to make robot duplicates of the band to make a version of the song that could kill Spider-Man. God that show's awesome.
Next: Kaworu
Omake:
"Far from a favor" by Johnny Freeman and GainaxVel3o
The sun set on Tokyo-3.
Shinji and Touji returned from playing basketball, (or rather, Shinji, sucking at baseball with everyone pitying), talking while on their way to Shinji's apartment.
"So, you think you can make it by 7?" Touji asked.
"If nothing comes up, sure!" Shinji nodded, "I mean, it's just a movie night right?"
"Just a movie night- Shinji, Godzilla's Return is a classic! I can't believe you call yourself my friend."
"Mhm, well pardon me for not having a childhood full of Godzilla memorabilia."
"That's more of a Kensuke thing… sheesh, I forgot you didn't have one."
Shinji rolled his eyes as he opened the apartment door, finding it dark instead of lit.
'Guess Misato's coming home late.' he thought, stepping inside to turn on the lights.
"You know I'm glad we're doing this Touji," Shinji smiled. "I've been so busy caught up with everything I haven't time to relax with you guys. I think Kaworu's starting to like me."
"Good on you man, thanks…" Touji whistled at the thought, "This reminds me of when Hikari and I first fell in love, we was finishing our fruit cobbler-"
Shinji panicked when he heard a thud behind him. Turning around hastily he saw Touji lying on the ground while Rei held a blowgun, closing the door behind her.
"AYANAMI!?" Shinji screamed, "WHAT THE HELL!?"
"Pilot Shinji. I need your help."
"What did you do with Touji?" He bent down and checked his pulse. "Thank goodness he's not dead.."
"I only applied a knockout pinch." She explained, "But that is irrelevant. I require your assistance."
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"Shinji."
"Oh god, he hit his head pretty hard."
"Shinji."
"Ayanami, Help me get him-"
Shinji felt a strong slap across his face, snapping his attention to Rei rather than his friend. She put her hand down and simply turned to the door.
"We need to go."
"What? Where?"
"You are going to the bank, Shinji. And we're acquiring 400,000¥."
"400- Rei, why do we need that much money?"
Rei looked at Shinji, disturbing him as the uncanny valley effect came over him.
"Joji needs his money." Rei answered. "And if Rei smacking a bitch is bad, Joji capping a bitch is worse."
Shinji felt bad for Rei, only putting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"We could ask Spider-Man to help us with this Joji guy."
Rei turned to him, putting a finger on her chin to think.
"Yes… He can take us to the bank faster."
Shinji had to sigh. "Not like that."